Fallen Souls 4/25 by Cassandra
Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 4:03 pm
Disclaimer: see previous
Fallen
Chapter 4
?Ano??
Inuyasha lifted his head at Kagome?s uncertain voice. She stood before him, hands clasped behind her back and she looked quite uncomfortable, cheeks slowly turning red. ?About last night??
Inuyasha?s dog ears twitched.
Behind him, Miroku straightened suddenly, his staff clinking. ?About last night?? he asked, halfway through packing up their things for another long walk. And his face contorted in sudden pain. ?Kagome-sama?you and?Inuyasha?? he asked, wounded.
Shippo looked from the monk to the hanyou, whose face was rapidly turning different shades of red.
?Oy! Baka!? the hanyou shouted at the wheezing monk. ?It?s not like that-?
?Yes, Miroku-sama,? Kagome said instead, causing the hanyou to freeze in place, jaw hanging open. ?Inuyasha and I. Last night. Gomen nasai.?
The monk was by her side in an instant, hands clasped around hers. ?Is there nothing between us, then?? he asked her mournfully, gazing into her eyes as she looked up at him. ?Nothing at all? After so long wandering together, you and I, can you not find it in yourself to love me? To be mother to my child??
?No,? she answered. ?My heart belongs to another.?
Miroku sighed and turned away, still grasping one of her hands. ?Alas,? he murmured, lifting the back of his free hand to his forehead woefully. ?I have lost to the half demon. What a piteous day, indeed. But fear not, Kagome-sama for I will be by your side still. Awaiting my chance. Just as soon as Inuyasha turns his back-? and he peeped a look at the hanyou.
Shippo stared back, sitting alone in the clearing. ?He?s been gone for a while already,? he answered the unspoken question with a shrug.
Inuyasha grumbled as he walked, palm resting on Tetsusaiga?s hilt. ?As if,? he mumbled. ?Can?t turn my back for a second with him??
But he slowed as he walked, head bowing a bit. It would be a sight, though. The human and the hanyou. He hesitated, lifting his head to look up at the morning sun through a part of trees. Where had he heard that before? It was the same song he had already sung, with Kikyo. He had a tendency to fall hard for humans, even after all the pain he had gone through because of them. But maybe in the end, the small voice in his head, the one that sounded like Kikyo, was right. Maybe in the end, all he wanted was to be accepted.
He glanced over his shoulder as he heard them approach and, coming around a tree, they appeared. And was that?the monk?s hand on her?
?Hey!? Kagome screamed and she instantly threw a punch that landed the monk in the tree.
The hanyou wisely held in the cheer he had been ready to give as Shippo merely looked on, fluffy tail twitching.
Miroku quickly pulled himself loose of the bark and appeared beside Kagome once more as she clenched another fist. ?Gomen nasai, Kagome-sama. I misinterpreted the signs you were sending me-?
?Signs??
A sudden scent reached Inuyasha and he whirled to face forward again, hair settling around his frame. What was that? He lifted his hand back to Tetsusaiga?s hilt and Shippo suddenly landed on his shoulder, also sniffing. ?Inuyasha-?
?I smell it. But where is it??
?Do it again and I cut it off!? Kagome growled behind them and Inuyasha looked over his shoulder once more.
Just in time to see the large demon lift its head above his quarreling companions.
?Kagome!? Shippo cried, falling off Inuyasha?s shoulder as the hanyou tensed for battle.
It was hideous. They always were. But this one slobbered and spit on top of being ugly. Sunlight beamed across its scaly hide and it was an insect from the look of it. An enormous insect with two incisors snapping angrily. Above it suddenly arched a metallic-looking black tail. A stinger.
?It?s a scorpion,? Shippo whispered as Kagome and Miroku only then saw it.
The tail streaked down, biting into the ground in front of Miroku as he dove and shoved Kagome back. Dirt and pebbles flew and the creature pulled his tail from the ground, swinging once more.
?It?s mine-? Inuyasha growled and he pulled Tetsusaiga forth, brandishing it as pure light burst from the hilt. A moment later the worn blade had morphed into the fang and he leapt, coming down blade first, onto the creature?s head. The blade tore into the scale and the beast issued a high-pitched shriek, instantly swinging its head about.
?Inuyasha-? Kagome cried and she cut back another cry as the hanyou was flung aside, body falling to the ground several feet away.
Miroku lunged forth, swinging his staff, and he evenly sliced through a leg, bringing the creature down and off-balance suddenly. He clenched his jaw and rolled, the tail barely missing as it swung above his figure.
The scorpion turned on Kagome, bringing her back a step in sudden fear. Tail still swinging for Miroku, it snapped at her with its two front incisors.
?Kitsune-bi!? Shippo cried and pure light burst from his hands, forcing the scorpion back a step.
A blur moved at the creature?s hind quarters and Tetsusaiga chopped through another leg, forcing the creature to fall unevenly onto its rear. The tail swung, flailing, and Inuyasha dove under the demon?s front, slicing upward furiously.
The creature screamed once more, struggling as the hanyou tore Tetsusaiga from its body. One front leg lifted and knocked into the half demon, taking him down and holding him to the ground just as its tail missed the monk once more. Tetsusaiga fell from the hanyou?s grip, sliding across the dirt and stopping several feet away.
?Kagome!? Inuyasha shouted, and he looked up to where she stood frozen. ?Where is the Shikon shard??
Kagome looked at him, wide-eyed, and then slowly raised her eyes to the creature, searching. And searching. She studied it, even circling about fearfully but she couldn?t find it even though, the more she hesitated, the more she felt it. If she strained, she felt the power of a shard but she couldn?t see it. She didn?t know where it was?
?Kagome!? Inuyasha shouted once more and she looked at him frantically, trembling. He stared at her from the under the grip of the creature?s leg, his eyes widening as she shook her head at him, a hand lifting to her mouth in fear. And she suddenly felt, deep inside?
What good am I..?
Miroku looked toward them, down on one knee, his staff held at the ready. And then the tail swung up before him, swiftly, and Kagome shrieked blindly at him, a raw scream.
?Miroku!?
The tail tore into the monk?s chest, close to his collar, and his blood flew from the sudden attack. He went down with a muffled cry, slamming roughly into the ground, dust floating up from his contact with the dirt.
?Miroku!? Inuyasha yelled as the creature lifted off the hanyou a bit to exert more pressure into the piercing tail.
The monk winced, trembling, and the demon leaned into him, his tail stabbing clear through him and into the dirt ground underneath his form.
?Hiraikotsu!?
The large boomerang suddenly came through the clearing, streaking across the ground and cutting cleanly through the tail. Kagome gasped, straightening, and from the trees came a large beige feline creature with furious red eyes. Fire smoked around his form and seated on his back was Sango, dressed in her extermination gear. She leapt from Kirara?s back and landed in a crouch beside the monk, long hair flowing.
Miroku smiled at her faintly as she leaned over him, fear in her eyes. ?It?s nothing,? he whispered. ?Just a cut-?
Sango took hold of him roughly and pulled him against her. She was sure his eyes had widened but a moment later she took hold of the tailpiece still embedded in the monk?s chest, ripping it free. He stiffened in pain but barely had a moment to register anything more for she suddenly rolled to her left, taking him with her as the ragged scorpion?s tail swung down, barely missing them. She ended up straddling him and he grimaced, settling painfully once more.
?And here I thought you were just lonely and wanting attention?? he gasped, clenching his jaw against the pain from the wound.
?Shut up,? Sango said softly, and her tone was heavy with fear. She lifted a hand above her head and the bone boomerang returned, its weight forcing her to clench down to keep from being dragged.
Inuyasha bucked under the scorpion?s leg, and with an angry growl he swiped with an open-clawed hand, tearing streaks of light across the scorpion?s leg. The creature let loose another screech and then, wobbling, he fell flat, Inuyasha buried under.
?Inuyasha!? Kagome cried and she lunged forward, taking Tetsusaiga into her hand. With a shaky breath she fell forward, stabbing the creature through the head with the shabby sword.
The creature managed one last shriek as its head parted in half under the blade of Tetsusaiga. The pieces fell to the ground before Kagome as she slid to her knees, hands clenched around the fang?s hilt. Looking down she grimaced, shoving herself away from the black blood that oozed out. A moment later the creature began to melt into a large mass, falling apart, and all she did was stare, bile rising in her throat.
With a groan Inuyasha rose from the mess, disgust on his face as he swiped at his clothes, fingers sending the black stickiness splattering all around. ?Why can?t they just die?? he grumbled and he lifted his head to look at Kagome as she raised her eyes to him. ?What happened?? he asked her, taking a step forward. And then he glanced over his shoulder to where the monk still lay with the demon exterminator. ?Miroku!?
The monk waved wearily and Sango forced his hand down, looking irritated with him.
Inuyasha turned back to Kagome, coming closer. ?What happened?? he asked again.
She shook her head at him, hesitant. ?I?don?t know,? she whispered and she looked down at Tetsusaiga still caught in her grasp. ?I couldn?t see it, Inuyasha. The Shikon no kakera?I couldn?t see it, but I felt it. I feel it still but?? she didn?t even bother lifting her head, ?I still can?t see it.?
Shippo scooted closer, bushy tail twitching, and he dug into the mess of molten scorpion. ?It?s here,? he said and he lifted a glowing piece of crystal, waving it at the hanyou. ?The Shikon shard, I have it!?
Inuyasha glanced at him and then slowly, once more, looked to Kagome.
Unwillingly, she lifted her gaze back up to meet Inuyasha?s. ?What good am I?? she asked him softly.
Fallen
Chapter 4
?Ano??
Inuyasha lifted his head at Kagome?s uncertain voice. She stood before him, hands clasped behind her back and she looked quite uncomfortable, cheeks slowly turning red. ?About last night??
Inuyasha?s dog ears twitched.
Behind him, Miroku straightened suddenly, his staff clinking. ?About last night?? he asked, halfway through packing up their things for another long walk. And his face contorted in sudden pain. ?Kagome-sama?you and?Inuyasha?? he asked, wounded.
Shippo looked from the monk to the hanyou, whose face was rapidly turning different shades of red.
?Oy! Baka!? the hanyou shouted at the wheezing monk. ?It?s not like that-?
?Yes, Miroku-sama,? Kagome said instead, causing the hanyou to freeze in place, jaw hanging open. ?Inuyasha and I. Last night. Gomen nasai.?
The monk was by her side in an instant, hands clasped around hers. ?Is there nothing between us, then?? he asked her mournfully, gazing into her eyes as she looked up at him. ?Nothing at all? After so long wandering together, you and I, can you not find it in yourself to love me? To be mother to my child??
?No,? she answered. ?My heart belongs to another.?
Miroku sighed and turned away, still grasping one of her hands. ?Alas,? he murmured, lifting the back of his free hand to his forehead woefully. ?I have lost to the half demon. What a piteous day, indeed. But fear not, Kagome-sama for I will be by your side still. Awaiting my chance. Just as soon as Inuyasha turns his back-? and he peeped a look at the hanyou.
Shippo stared back, sitting alone in the clearing. ?He?s been gone for a while already,? he answered the unspoken question with a shrug.
Inuyasha grumbled as he walked, palm resting on Tetsusaiga?s hilt. ?As if,? he mumbled. ?Can?t turn my back for a second with him??
But he slowed as he walked, head bowing a bit. It would be a sight, though. The human and the hanyou. He hesitated, lifting his head to look up at the morning sun through a part of trees. Where had he heard that before? It was the same song he had already sung, with Kikyo. He had a tendency to fall hard for humans, even after all the pain he had gone through because of them. But maybe in the end, the small voice in his head, the one that sounded like Kikyo, was right. Maybe in the end, all he wanted was to be accepted.
He glanced over his shoulder as he heard them approach and, coming around a tree, they appeared. And was that?the monk?s hand on her?
?Hey!? Kagome screamed and she instantly threw a punch that landed the monk in the tree.
The hanyou wisely held in the cheer he had been ready to give as Shippo merely looked on, fluffy tail twitching.
Miroku quickly pulled himself loose of the bark and appeared beside Kagome once more as she clenched another fist. ?Gomen nasai, Kagome-sama. I misinterpreted the signs you were sending me-?
?Signs??
A sudden scent reached Inuyasha and he whirled to face forward again, hair settling around his frame. What was that? He lifted his hand back to Tetsusaiga?s hilt and Shippo suddenly landed on his shoulder, also sniffing. ?Inuyasha-?
?I smell it. But where is it??
?Do it again and I cut it off!? Kagome growled behind them and Inuyasha looked over his shoulder once more.
Just in time to see the large demon lift its head above his quarreling companions.
?Kagome!? Shippo cried, falling off Inuyasha?s shoulder as the hanyou tensed for battle.
It was hideous. They always were. But this one slobbered and spit on top of being ugly. Sunlight beamed across its scaly hide and it was an insect from the look of it. An enormous insect with two incisors snapping angrily. Above it suddenly arched a metallic-looking black tail. A stinger.
?It?s a scorpion,? Shippo whispered as Kagome and Miroku only then saw it.
The tail streaked down, biting into the ground in front of Miroku as he dove and shoved Kagome back. Dirt and pebbles flew and the creature pulled his tail from the ground, swinging once more.
?It?s mine-? Inuyasha growled and he pulled Tetsusaiga forth, brandishing it as pure light burst from the hilt. A moment later the worn blade had morphed into the fang and he leapt, coming down blade first, onto the creature?s head. The blade tore into the scale and the beast issued a high-pitched shriek, instantly swinging its head about.
?Inuyasha-? Kagome cried and she cut back another cry as the hanyou was flung aside, body falling to the ground several feet away.
Miroku lunged forth, swinging his staff, and he evenly sliced through a leg, bringing the creature down and off-balance suddenly. He clenched his jaw and rolled, the tail barely missing as it swung above his figure.
The scorpion turned on Kagome, bringing her back a step in sudden fear. Tail still swinging for Miroku, it snapped at her with its two front incisors.
?Kitsune-bi!? Shippo cried and pure light burst from his hands, forcing the scorpion back a step.
A blur moved at the creature?s hind quarters and Tetsusaiga chopped through another leg, forcing the creature to fall unevenly onto its rear. The tail swung, flailing, and Inuyasha dove under the demon?s front, slicing upward furiously.
The creature screamed once more, struggling as the hanyou tore Tetsusaiga from its body. One front leg lifted and knocked into the half demon, taking him down and holding him to the ground just as its tail missed the monk once more. Tetsusaiga fell from the hanyou?s grip, sliding across the dirt and stopping several feet away.
?Kagome!? Inuyasha shouted, and he looked up to where she stood frozen. ?Where is the Shikon shard??
Kagome looked at him, wide-eyed, and then slowly raised her eyes to the creature, searching. And searching. She studied it, even circling about fearfully but she couldn?t find it even though, the more she hesitated, the more she felt it. If she strained, she felt the power of a shard but she couldn?t see it. She didn?t know where it was?
?Kagome!? Inuyasha shouted once more and she looked at him frantically, trembling. He stared at her from the under the grip of the creature?s leg, his eyes widening as she shook her head at him, a hand lifting to her mouth in fear. And she suddenly felt, deep inside?
What good am I..?
Miroku looked toward them, down on one knee, his staff held at the ready. And then the tail swung up before him, swiftly, and Kagome shrieked blindly at him, a raw scream.
?Miroku!?
The tail tore into the monk?s chest, close to his collar, and his blood flew from the sudden attack. He went down with a muffled cry, slamming roughly into the ground, dust floating up from his contact with the dirt.
?Miroku!? Inuyasha yelled as the creature lifted off the hanyou a bit to exert more pressure into the piercing tail.
The monk winced, trembling, and the demon leaned into him, his tail stabbing clear through him and into the dirt ground underneath his form.
?Hiraikotsu!?
The large boomerang suddenly came through the clearing, streaking across the ground and cutting cleanly through the tail. Kagome gasped, straightening, and from the trees came a large beige feline creature with furious red eyes. Fire smoked around his form and seated on his back was Sango, dressed in her extermination gear. She leapt from Kirara?s back and landed in a crouch beside the monk, long hair flowing.
Miroku smiled at her faintly as she leaned over him, fear in her eyes. ?It?s nothing,? he whispered. ?Just a cut-?
Sango took hold of him roughly and pulled him against her. She was sure his eyes had widened but a moment later she took hold of the tailpiece still embedded in the monk?s chest, ripping it free. He stiffened in pain but barely had a moment to register anything more for she suddenly rolled to her left, taking him with her as the ragged scorpion?s tail swung down, barely missing them. She ended up straddling him and he grimaced, settling painfully once more.
?And here I thought you were just lonely and wanting attention?? he gasped, clenching his jaw against the pain from the wound.
?Shut up,? Sango said softly, and her tone was heavy with fear. She lifted a hand above her head and the bone boomerang returned, its weight forcing her to clench down to keep from being dragged.
Inuyasha bucked under the scorpion?s leg, and with an angry growl he swiped with an open-clawed hand, tearing streaks of light across the scorpion?s leg. The creature let loose another screech and then, wobbling, he fell flat, Inuyasha buried under.
?Inuyasha!? Kagome cried and she lunged forward, taking Tetsusaiga into her hand. With a shaky breath she fell forward, stabbing the creature through the head with the shabby sword.
The creature managed one last shriek as its head parted in half under the blade of Tetsusaiga. The pieces fell to the ground before Kagome as she slid to her knees, hands clenched around the fang?s hilt. Looking down she grimaced, shoving herself away from the black blood that oozed out. A moment later the creature began to melt into a large mass, falling apart, and all she did was stare, bile rising in her throat.
With a groan Inuyasha rose from the mess, disgust on his face as he swiped at his clothes, fingers sending the black stickiness splattering all around. ?Why can?t they just die?? he grumbled and he lifted his head to look at Kagome as she raised her eyes to him. ?What happened?? he asked her, taking a step forward. And then he glanced over his shoulder to where the monk still lay with the demon exterminator. ?Miroku!?
The monk waved wearily and Sango forced his hand down, looking irritated with him.
Inuyasha turned back to Kagome, coming closer. ?What happened?? he asked again.
She shook her head at him, hesitant. ?I?don?t know,? she whispered and she looked down at Tetsusaiga still caught in her grasp. ?I couldn?t see it, Inuyasha. The Shikon no kakera?I couldn?t see it, but I felt it. I feel it still but?? she didn?t even bother lifting her head, ?I still can?t see it.?
Shippo scooted closer, bushy tail twitching, and he dug into the mess of molten scorpion. ?It?s here,? he said and he lifted a glowing piece of crystal, waving it at the hanyou. ?The Shikon shard, I have it!?
Inuyasha glanced at him and then slowly, once more, looked to Kagome.
Unwillingly, she lifted her gaze back up to meet Inuyasha?s. ?What good am I?? she asked him softly.
Oh no... Kagome's starting to doubt herself... and now it's affecting her relationship with Inuyasha - with their search for the shards... * grimaces * I sense a guilt trip coming on in the next chapter.
Just keep reading, and you'll get through it. 