Kagome tugged at the straps on her back, ensuring the quiver remained firmly against her, no room to loosen and fall slack. Grasping her bow, she stood decisively, desperately attempting to fight down the cowardice that boiled lowly below her throat. She wished there was more time, that she didn't have to jump headfirst into this nightmare, but the promise she had made fastened her resolve and allowed her to take a final breath before leaving the safety of Kikyo's home, progressing along the pathway toward where her company waited.
By their approximation, the rest of the original procession would be advancing upon the village presently, just as the small group were set to leave in search of Naraku. Inuyasha had determined this for the best, declaring that if any more were to join their attack, the onslaught would be held back by weaker warriors and likely, many would lose their lives needlessly.
"If we can't defeat him, they stand no chance." He had held fast, and Miroku, Sango and Kagome had to admit he was right, though they had originally argued for patience and to wait for back up. Even Shippo was to be left behind despite his fox magic, under the guise of protecting Kaede and the village, but truly, for his own safety.
Travelling somewhat slowly, she realized she was trudging to hold herself back and resolutely kicked up her pace. She wanted so badly to be stronger, but every step was a fight. I have to do this. She confirmed to herself, the jewel half swinging from her neck in reminder of her promise. I'm not the person who runs away.
Looking up as she made her way down the path, she had no idea how much that ideal was about to be challenged.
XOX
It was easy to find Inuyasha as he waited, fully prepared as usual, his impatience clear as he awaited the groups departure. Kikyo called up into the tree he had situated himself in, waiting for Kagome to return from cleaning herself up and preparing for their exit. With a roll of his eyes, Inuyasha leapt from the bough he had been sinking into in annoyance and fell to the ground with a deft land onto his feet. Leaning against the trunk of the tree, he greeted the priestess with a nod of his head.
"Everyone ready to go?" He asked sourly, revealing his opinion of the wait time.
"Not quite yet." Kikyo's unwavering voice prodded at his rising irritation, and he let out a small huff. Casually, the priestess faced off with the hanyou and let her cryptic smile pre-emptively warn him of why she had sought his presence. "Inuyasha, do you still wish for Kagome to stay behind, or go home instead of joining us on this mission? Do you really think she will be so useless in this fight?"
"What are you trying to imply?" Inuyasha snapped, rebuking Kikyo's suggestion with a darkening glower. "Sure, Kagome's weak, and yeah, I would rather she sit this one out. But she wants to do this, so I'm not going to stop her. I'm just going to have to protect her, like I said I would anyway. I'd be lying if I said it isn't worrying me, but that bastard Naraku is outnumbered, and we'll catch him off guard. Besides, the fucking mongrel is coming, and Miroku has that wind tunnel. We have plenty of power on our side."
"You're confident." Kikyo mused, stepping forward and tapping her chin. "In that case, you don't believe you need Kagome for this battle? You're simply allowing her to come, against your better judgment?"
"What kind of question is that?" Inuyasha stopped leaning and stood up straight, becoming irritated with the line of questioning that seemed to suggest just what the wolf had; he was allowing Kagome to put herself in harm's way. "I won't ever need anyone for a battle. Obviously, I'd prefer if Kagome didn't put herself in this position. She's the least experienced of us all, you know that."
"Then what would you say, Inuyasha, if I told you there was a way to make Kagome return to her home, just for now, as you wish?" Stepping so close to him that he had to stumble back into the bark of the tree, Kikyo stretched up toward his face, watching his eyes widen in response.
"W-what do you mean?" He stuttered, confused by her proximity but intrigued by any suggestion that could possibly keep Kagome safe. He leaned forward, matching her motion, unsure why Kikyo had done so but considering it might be something she wanted to speak about lowly; and if keeping this a secret helped guard Kagome, he would play along. He lowered his neck and leaned so his ear hovered near her lips. "What is it?" He hissed in wait as Kikyo stood on the tips of her toes and carefully placed a palm to his cheek.
Observing the hanyou, she watched his expression carefully, a plan that been unravelling since Kagome first informed her of her decision to stay finally forming to action. It isn't right, she had said when Kagome first explained her reasoning, and Kikyo still felt this to be the truth. Although the girl was resolute and had advanced in her studies at an incredible speed, the priestess still felt it her duty to right the time passage she had ripped. This she could only do if Kagome removed herself willingly. Already Kikyo had concluded that if the jewel passed to Kagome when she first travelled through the time barrier, that in turn meant that once Kagome breached the well, so too the jewel would return to her own possession. All she had to do was get Kagome to the well. Returning Inuyasha's expectant stance with determination, Kikyo closed her eyes and delivered the most critical part of her plan.
Before he could mentally assess what had happened, her cool lips were on his, pushing into his flesh with a light and distinct pressure. With nowhere to pull away to, Inuyasha closed his eyes and gently reached both hands out to press Kikyo's shoulders back until their faces disconnected with a light smack of her lips.
"What the hell was that you witch?" Unsure of how to react to such a random move from his otherwise stoic acquaintance, he sputtered in disbelief.
Before Kikyo could reply, a simple smile crept up one side of her face, almost in unison to the light gasp they both heard. Snapping his head up in the direction of the noise, he saw Kagome raising her hand to cover her mouth, though her eyes were obscured by the soft fringe of bangs he always thought had framed her face so becomingly. He knew by the smell and the shake of her shoulders that tears had begun to accumulate in her eyes. Inuyasha glanced from Kikyo to Kagome and back, his brain slowly catching up to the pieces of information falling at lightning speed in tandem with Kagome's reaction to catching Kikyo with her lips pressed to Inuyasha, and Inuyasha seemingly returning the motion.
"Kagome-"
He pushed Kikyo to one side not roughly and advanced forward, but Kagome had already turned to run, dropping her bow in the process. With only her quiver still tightly fastened to her back, she sprinted quicker than she should with the wound in her chest still sensitive, something Inuyasha noted with his teeth grinding together in mounting fury.
Turning back only briefly to shout, "Kikyo, how could you?" before racing after Kagome, Inuyasha felt his heart sink. How Kikyo had known what would tear Kagome's heart, he had no idea, and why she had done so in such a careless manner, without his compliance, he struggled to understand, but if anything was right, it was her assumption that such an occurrence would be enough to send Kagome flying toward the Goshinboku and the Bone Eater's Well as fast as she could manage. Inuyasha paced behind her, losing her briefly in the village before a roar of departure announced Kirara had leapt into the sky to fly with a single passenger; coming upon Sango, Inuyasha stopped to inquire,
"Sango, what-"
"I was about to ask you." Sango's breath came in short gasps, obviously the result of her speed as she had run to find Inuyasha. "Kagome just sped past me and shouted that she was sorry for taking Kirara, but that she would explain later before they both flew off. What happened? Is Kagome alright?"
Without answering the demon slayer, Inuyasha gave a roar of impatience and burst into the woods, running in full speed toward the well.
XOX
Tears rolled incessantly as Kagome struggled to hold onto Kirara without the weakness in her arms and legs overcoming her and forcing her to let go, until the nekomata landed right before the well, pausing to let Kagome softly slip off her back. Wrapping her arms around the large feline's neck, Kagome quietly whispered her gratitude, and implored her to hurry back to Sango. Indecisive on leaving the young miko on her own in the clearing, Kirara shook her head and bristled her back, giving a quick glance to the surroundings, but Kagome encouraged her with a thankful rub to the ears.
"The others will need you, and I'll be fine Kirara, really." Already she was eyeing the well, swinging her legs over the edge as she let go of her friend and ushered for her to part. "I just need to think for a minute, and I know I should be safe here. Kikyo said, as long as I have the jewel, I should be able to travel through. So if anything comes, I'll simply jump. Okay? I promise. I'm fine."
The large feline gave an unsure glance, but eventually sighed and took a leap into the sky, circling back to reunite with her owner in the village.
Alone, Kagome faced the dark of the well, glad for a moment to let the tears spill without fear of being observed in such a weak emotional state. How could I let myself get so foolishly attached, and so fast? What's wrong with me? She scolded herself, unsure how she had gone from desperate to finding any possible way to escape Inuyasha, to feeling her heart crack in half as his lips touched those of another – even one who resembled her so closely. The confusion of her position held her wavering on the wells edge, thinking back to Inuyasha's behaviour with her since day one. Ever since she had woken beside this well in complete hysterics, he had held her in awe, fear, and admiration. The long and unique silver hair, the intense gaze of his golden eyes, the strength in his cocky attitude, the adorable dog ears perched on top of his head. At first she had feared him, but when he had shown no signs of ever hurting her, only using her, she had softened somewhat, and more when she had learned what sort of life he had lived through to make him so defensive and determined to utilize the jewel.
She thought of his expression when she'd empathized with him and held his hand the first time, the way he had refused to let her fingers free though he'd roughly turned from her, embarrassed. Smiling, she remembered him constantly throwing the robe of the fire rat over her, of his jealous bouts with Koga. Finally, letting a shiver run through her, she remembered the distinct heat of his tongue rolling over hers, the squeeze of his arms around her the night under the new moon.
She held the edge of the well, chewing her lip.
"All alone?"
Nothing colder than the intruding voice could exist beyond the arctic spike of fear that crystalized in her heart as the words purred throughout the clearing, sending goosebumps erupting all over her body. Reaching to her back, she immediately drew an arrow, only to suck in a breath she would not be able to release. My bow, she thought quickly, patting her side to affirm for herself that the weapon was missing. Thinking back to the clatter as she had backed away from Kikyo and Inuyasha and run mindlessly from them, she gulped, but the lump of terror in her throat refused to subside. I left my bow her mind squeaked at her, even as she felt her body being thrown into the air, and a scream died on her lips when she fell into the blackness of unconsciousness.