"Love Implies Anger. The man who is angered by nothing cares about nothing."
Edward Abbey
Chapter 4: Kagome
I felt life flow back into me as I took a sip from the pool. I didn't know what the dragon was trying to do by having me drink from this but I see now that these are some type of healing waters. With everything that happened today, it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm not in a trusting mood. But, I had nowhere to go and no other choice to take. Thankfully, the dragon wasn't just blowing smoke.
I cupped another handful and continued to drink. Slowly but surely, the aches within my body began to dissipate and the bleeding in my side slowed to a stop. I went as far as to wash my face and neck of grime and started to feel like a brand-new woman.
Feeling a bit more refreshed, I turned my attention towards the strangely quiet dragon.'Wow. Even with as big as he is, he's still so small compared to this cave.'I wanted so badly to know where we were. I couldn't think of any location close to Inuyasha's forest that could hide a cave this big, much less for a dragon none of us have seen! So many questions swirled in my head and the only one who could answer them was the last person I wanted to ask.
I tilted my head as I watched him. With his head laying upon his arms, he had a sort of resigned feeling about him. It's almost as if he was brooding or sad. Looking back, I noticed that with every move he made, he was tense. But now it was as if it had all been washed away, replaced with an air of melancholy.
"Hey!" My voice echoed off the walls. I watched as he slowly narrowed his eyes, the orange glow reminding me once again that I was in the presence of a monster that could swallow me with one bite.
'Why must you humans be so irritating?'I winced as his voice drifted in my mind.'So far, your powers are the only redeemable quality about you. I swear if Midoriko weren't your predecessor-'
My interest piqued. Midoriko's predecessor? Wasn't I Kikyo's reincarnation? What was this dragon going on about? Since being dragged back into the Fuedal Era, it's practically been hammered into me that I was Kikyo's reincarnation. With having priestess powers myself and being born with the Shikon No Tama inside my body, I never questioned the role I was meant to play or the past life I had. I simply accepted it.
But why did I never stop to think of my relation to Midoriko since the jewel came from her? What was it that tied us together outside of our spiritual power? And why was this random dragon just mentioning this now?
'Are you even listening to me?'While being trapped in my own thoughts, the dragon had moved closer to me by the pool. His presence was incredibly stifling and the warmth from his body chased away any chill that had been left from the rain.
I blinked my eyes, too afraid to say anything since I was indeed not listening to him. He huffed and once again settled his head on his arms. With him closer now, the cave felt smaller if that was even possible. His skin was warm, appeared leathery, and was a dark red. It faded to black going down his arms to his feet and his wings were black in color as well. His tail, the same tail that threw me against a tree, was long and looked like a large serpent on its own.
'He's intimidating that's for sure. I'd probably be more scared if it wasn't for his attitude.'
Said dragon whipped his head away from me to grumble.'Some reincarnation you turned out to be. At least Midoriko paid attention.'
My annoyance turned to rage.
My rage turned to sadness.
And my sadness overwhelmed me. As if like magic, I could see Inuyasha standing in front of me, an expression of anger present on his face.
"You can't do anything right!"
"Kikyou never missed a target!"
"Maybe you should just go back to your own time. We'll have Kikyo find the jewel shards so you can focus on those stupid tests. At least then we wouldn't have to wait. We probably would have beaten Naraku by now!"
I gasped as I felt the hot sting of unshed tears. It was that last comment that triggered our last fight. It was that comment that diminished any love I had left for Inuyasha and it was that comment that sent me spiraling over the edge.
As his words spun around in my head, all feeling in my body vanished. I felt cold; numb.
The only emotion left was a white-hot rage building through me. I felt it start from deep within, radiating in my chest, almost stifling my breathing. It spread through my arms and legs and settled into my fists. It was the first time in a long time I could say I felt anger like this.
'How could he?! I promised him that I would always be by his side, and this is how he treats me! 3 years later and what do I get? Nothing!'I could feel my body shaking as a pink haze began to take over my vision.
"Miko..."
"What?" My voice was so cold, so unforgiving that I found it hard to recognize it as my own. Judging by the look on Tatsuo's face, I could tell my voice had the same effect on him as it had on me.
"Well?" I snapped. "Don't you have anything to say? Or is it that you're all out of it insults?" I couldn't control what I was saying. The more I talked, the more fired up I became. No longer was it Tatsuo in front of me, but another person. A person wearing all red with silver hair and dog ears.
"Why don't you say something now huh? First, it's Inuyasha with Kikyo and now it's you with Midoriko. I'm so sorry if I'm lacking and don't compare to these oh-so-great women everyone can't help but compare me to. It's not my fault that I was born like this in the time that I was!"
Through my haze, I could see Tatsuo gaze at me with a look that was a cross between pity and anger. Those orange, otherworldly eyes were so expressive despite belonging to such a cold being.
"Kikyo this and Midoriko that! What about Kagome? What about me? What about who I am and what I WANT?!" I felt the cave shake with the force of my voice. The roaring of the water wasn't even enough to muffle my shouting.
I fell to my knees once the last little bit of anger left me. I bent forward, panting, as adrenaline rushed through my veins. Never had I felt do powerful, so...
Alive.