Fallen Souls 3/25 by Cassandra

[paxbanana]

Disclaimer: see former chapters


Fallen

Chapter 3



Miroku sighed, deep in thought. Beside him, Shippo sniffed the air, fox tail twitching. ?Something smells really good?? the kitsune murmured, eyes closing as he sniffed a bit more. ?I love Kagome?s cooking??

Kagome sat before a large pot of boiling water and she glanced over toward the child, smiling cheerfully. ?You like rabbit with your ramen, ne, Shippo-chan?? she asked him.

?Um, um!?

Inuyasha wound his way around a large tree to their left, also seemingly lost in thought. Kagome glanced over for a small moment, frowning delicately, before turning back to the pot of stew.

And Miroku sighed some more.

?Oy, bozu,? the hanyou growled, casting a glance over. ?What are you thinking??

The monk didn?t open his eyes, which had been closed since they had sat down in the small clearing for dinner. ?I think?? he said gravelly, ?that the small village not too far from here has the scent of evil and should quickly be cleansed. Before the night is out, in fact.?

Inuyasha managed to control his facial expression, Shippo looking up at the monk with wide eyes. ?You want to sleep indoors, you mean,? he stated, lifting a clawed hand to the pulsing vein near his temple.

?It is only to be expected if we are to save the village.?

Kagome merely continued to smile.

The hanyou lifted his face to the sunset, the frown on his face deepening as he crossed his arms over his chest. ?I suppose?for the night, it would be all right?? he mumbled after a moment absentmindedly.

The new moon would be upon them soon enough and he didn?t want to be caught off guard. The completion of the Shikon no Tama was still far off, the way they were progressing, which meant more youkai everywhere they went.

Kagome turned back to the stew quietly. ?After dinner, then?? she asked.

Miroku rose then, causing everyone to look toward him and he held forth a clenched fist. ?I will go now and arrange a space for the group. In the meantime, eat without me. I will have some when I return.? And he turned to stride down the hill they sat upon.

Inuyasha bowed his head, thoughtful. ?Shippo,? he said, and he threw the kitsune a glance. ?Go with him.?

?Me??

The hanyou?s eyes narrowed.

Kagome looked at the hanyou questioningly and then towards the small fox demon as he quickly stood and hopped off after the vanishing monk. ?Inuyasha?? she said slowly, and she looked back towards the half demon, ?nan desu ka??

The half demon came closer and gingerly sat down beside her, eyes averted. Kagome paused in the middle of stirring the stew, lowering the ladle as he hesitated with an irritated expression on his face. ?Inuyasha-?

?You?ve been acting strange all day,? he mumbled, arms crossing over his chest, the long red sleeves of the haori enveloping his hands entirely. He refused to meet her gaze, even as she leaned toward him to catch his eyes.

?Have I??

He didn?t reply, instead closing his eyes and clenching his jaw.

Kagome blinked. ?Hmm. Gomen nasai. I didn?t mean to?? she murmured, biting down on her lip. ?I wasn?t even aware-?

?Is it because of the youkai?? he cut her off and his tone was soft.

?Youkai??

The hanyou paused for a moment and then, slowly, he opened his eyes, gazing off down the hill where he saw Miroku and Shippo walking. ?You?ve been different since. More quiet. Keeping to yourself too much.?

She tilted her head. ?You don?t like hearing me complain as it is-?

?Iie,? he bit out and he turned his head to look at her, silver hair fluttering with the sudden gesture. ?No. Something?s different.? His eyes narrowed as he tried to read her expression but there was nothing there, nothing except the casual worry of not understanding.

After a moment she smiled at him and then scooted closer to him, effectively bringing him to straighten up stiffly. ?Nothing?s wrong, Inuyasha. It?s your imagination.? And she slid her arm through one of his as he looked at her suspiciously.

?Honto?? he asked in an undertone.

She smiled up at him brilliantly and nodded. ?Honto ni.?





?Inuyasha!?

That creature. That miserable, twisted creature. With her long, reaching arms, damn her. Damn her. Long, pale limbs, still reaching after so long, to take him away. Away from her. Drag him to hell.

Damn her.

?Inuyasha!?

With her beautiful dark hair and gentle eyes, contorting into a beast of malice. The brilliant light as she had pulled at him, dragging him into the ground as if he had belonged to her still. Still.

He wasn?t hers anymore. Their time was ended, having passed from the earth over fifty years before. It was her turn now. She had no right. No right! She would never have a right to him again, not if she could put a stop to it.

?Kagome! Iie!?

The world was black. A painful darkness all around, the black landscape and the dreamy mist. Here was where she would stage her final confrontation. Once and for all. Her anger was pulsing in this unforgiving world. She would have what rightfully belonged to her. She would have him.

Her bow wavered.

Where was he? Where was he? She couldn?t see him, the world was too dark all around and she couldn?t see. Inuyasha was out there, fighting the youkai and she needed to help him. She needed to be by his side, to strip the youkai of the Shikon no kakera he had consumed. Only she could see it and what good was she to him if she couldn?t detect it? What good was she?

?Kagome!?

His voice rang clear across the landscape, raw with grief, and she saw it, saw the shimmer of the Shikon no kakera, far off in the distance. And from here she could strike it. She could pierce it through with an arrow, right through the youkai?s ugly eye into his skull. Rid the world of his hideous form. Once and for all.

See me?

Silence suddenly encompassed the black world, the shimmering Shikon shard twinkling eerily still. And from behind came the blow, raking across her shoulder, claws digging into her skin and ripping. Tearing. In this silence she fell, her form falling weak and slipping to the ground as if she weighed nothing more than a fluttering piece of paper.

See me?

No. This wasn?t the way she would die. This wasn?t the way she had died. This wasn?t the way she was going to die. The witch priestess had fallen this way but not her. Not her. She would not give Inuyasha another terror-filled memory, another death.

Her bow let loose the arrow with a sharp sound before falling away from her fingers. She couldn?t feel. She couldn?t breathe. It was so warm, the blood running down her arm, and she wept as she saw it, staining the whiteness of her shirt. No, no, no. Not again. Not again?

See?me?

The arrow struck the glimmer in the distance. The light that it emitted was dazzling, blindingly beautiful, and it washed over her, painting her a silver blue, as if she lay in moonlight. She gazed into it, straining to see to the core. But in the core stood Inuyasha, at last, flying through the air as if he were a part of it. Always hanging suspended, eternally floating. She smiled faintly, her hand held outward across the ground towards him, wishing to touch him, embrace him, once more.

Only me?

And he rose up above her, appearing through the white light and on his face were his tears, slipping down his cheeks as he cried out her name, stooping to drag her across the ground and into his waiting embrace. So warm, his arms. Always so warm.





She awoke suddenly on her stomach, eyes snapping open with a gasp, and all she saw was the darkness, even now. She looked about frantically into that blackness, silence hanging around her as heavy as a thick blanket, suffocating her. Her eyes weren?t adjusting to the shadowed world. Panic crashed down on her and she reached out a hand in terror, her nails scraping across wood as she stretched out on her stomach, clawing.

No. No, no, no?

Small sounds were breaking from her mouth, frightened whimpering as she dug into the wood. And her other hand met her first, also clawing fruitlessly, dragging across the surface, raking.

No?Inuyasha?

A hand came from the darkness, reaching out into streaking moonlight, and clamped down on her wrist, halting her terror-stricken search. She let out a muffled shriek, now struggling blindly, and a second hand appeared, cupping her cheek tenderly.

She froze in mid-grapple and raised her eyes to the owner of the hands.

Inuyasha?s face was sorrowful, his thumb grazing her cheek, his other hand still gripping hers from where he leaned over her protectively. As she gazed at him he smiled for her, and she saw the sadness still in his gaze, shimmering in his amber eyes.

?Inuyasha!? she cried out and she closed her eyes, relief sweeping over her. His other hand released her wrist and also lifted to her face and she felt herself lifted slightly as he pulled near to her, his lips brushing a kiss to her forehead.

?It?s all right. It was just a dream. A dream?? he murmured, his breath warm on her skin, and she bowed her head away from his mouth, throwing her arms around his legs and embracing him, pushing her face into his lap.

?I was afraid. I was afraid?? she whispered as tears streamed down her face, onto his clothes and seeping into the material. ?You won?t see me. You won?t-?

He bowed his head, arms wrapping around her head and holding her to him sadly.

?You won?t see me??



To be continued...

[Eden]

This is an intersting fic that leaves me feeling strangly confused. Of couse, these types of fics need more then just a couple of chapters to make sence sometimes.

I will await the rest! I can't stop now!

~Eden

[Nausica?]

I agree with Eden. I'm still confused, but it's nothing that a few more chapters won't fix (hopefully)

* muah *


- Naus