Fallen Souls 7/25 by Cassandra

[paxbanana]

Fallen

Chapter 7



Kagome sat up in one fluid movement, a gasp of terror breaking from her lips.

It was dark, all around. Moonlight seeped in hazily in between parted trees and she sat, breathing painfully, chest lifting and falling erratically.

He did it. He did it even though I fought, even though I begged-

?Kagome.?

Startled, she snapped her head around to see Inuyasha seated and leaning against the trunk of a tree, Tetsusaiga resting against his chest, the way it always did when he stood watch over the others as they slept. His eyes were hooded, arms crossed over his blade. And his hair was silver, his eyes amber. In the night he was still half-demon.

?Nightmare?? he asked quietly and something shone in his gaze.

She stared at him, wide-eyed. ?Yes. Nightmare. A very bad nightmare?? she whispered and she turned back around slowly, head bowing wearily.

I had a nightmare that you forced me and that you still wanted her. After everything she put you through you still wanted her-

?You called for me,? he murmured to her back for she did not turn back around to face him. ?You called out my name as you slept.?

She tilted her head a bit, inhaling, even as her eyes closed painfully. ?Gomen ne,? she whispered. ?It was a very bad?nightmare.?

Behind her the half-demon hesitated. And then she heard the sounds of him rising and he came closer, crouching down behind her but not moving to make her turn to face him. ?What was it about?? he questioned quietly.

She didn?t answer him. She would never answer that question. Never. Instead, she looked at him over her shoulder, gazing into his amber eyes from up close for he sat hunched, like a suspicious dog. She stared at him, silently. And then she looked at herself.

She?s no longer pure. She no longer cares. And if that is the kind of person you desire?

?If Miroku was in it-? he growled haughtily.

She turned to face him, lifting a hand to his face, her finger pressing to his lips. The gesture brought him to a freezing halt, his eyes widening as she leaned into him intimately. ?Miroku-sama was not in it. Only one person was in it with me.?

He stared at her, seemingly shocked beyond words.

She lowered her eyes to his lips, her finger sliding down to his bottom lip and tugging at it almost playfully.

I?ll become her. I?ll become more than her, become what she wished she could have been, so long ago. I?ll have what she wanted?

Inuyasha lowered his own eyes to her lips, stiff. But his eyes darkened and she had seen his eyes darken the same way in the blackness of her dream, her beloved nightmare. She rose forward a bit, bringing herself closer, but then she was passed his lips and he exhaled tremulously, eyes closing as she leaned her cheek against his lips, her own lips whispering against his skin.

And I won?t allow the Shikon no Tama to stop me. I won?t bear the burden of being a Priestess. If she can have you her way, her twisted way, then I?ll have you in the only way she could not?

Her mouth stole across his jaw and he leaned away from her, only offering a soft, ?Wait-? as she followed, not willing to release him. Not just yet.

I?ll have you as a simple girl.

And with only a small smile she pulled away, rising to her feet. He stared at her, frowning, as she simply turned on her heel and sauntered off, the Shikon no Tama clutched in her hand and glowing eerily in the darkness. And he could only follow with his eyes, his breathing coming out in gasps, his silver hair blowing in the gentle wind.







?How is Miroku-sama?? asked Kagome, looking over toward Sango.

The other girl was lying down, her face turned to the brilliant sun, and beside her was the wounded monk, dozing quietly. ?Complaining. Again. Complaining about, ?Oh, the pain, the pain?only one thing would make me better?? And we all know what that one thing is.?

Kagome chuckled inwardly and she turned her face in Inuyasha?s direction where he sat in the tree, glaring at her suspiciously. ?Sometimes, Miroku-sama has the right idea in mind,? she murmured.

Sango peeked an eye open and glanced at her. ?Maybe we aren?t agreeing on what that ?one thing? is?? she questioned.

?Oh, she seems to understand perfectly,? Miroku added suddenly, and he flinched as Sango batted at him.

?I thought you were asleep!?

?Well, I?m not going to get any sleep if you keep hitting me. I won?t get better if you keep it up, either!?

Shippo, from where he lay on Kirara?s chest, snorted and promptly returned to sleep.

?This is nice,? Sango murmured with one last swipe at Miroku, and she smiled up at the sun. ?We don?t get to rest often and the weather changes too much.? She moved her bone boomerang over a bit and curled her arm around it.

?It?s true,? Kagome agreed. And she looked down at her hand where she held the Shikon no Tama. It shimmered brilliantly and she felt her animosity well up inside, gazing at it blankly. It always swirled with such pretty, innocent colors. She wondered what it looked like inside, from Midoriko?s point of view.

Very slowly, she turned her head and looked up at Inuyasha through her lashes.

His expression was wavering as if he expected the worst.

She smiled at him, darkly, and swiftly closed her hand over the jewel, lifting it to her chest as she suddenly rose to her feet.

?Kagome?? Sango asked, the gesture bringing her out of her dazed state.

?I need to return to my world for a few days,? she said and she wandered over to her backpack, tossing in several items. She pulled out the first aid kit she carried and brought it over to Sango as the girl rose onto her rear. ?Hold this here for Miroku-sama. Change the bandages often. And always clean the wound with this.? She held up a small bottle of alcohol. With that she closed the kit and handed it to the exterminator.

Sango nodded as she accepted it.

?I?ll be gone for a few days,? Kagome finished.

?And the Shikon no Tama?? inquired Inuyasha quietly from the tree.

She didn?t bother looking at him. ?That goes with me. Everywhere,? she stated and she closed up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. Her bike rested against a tree a few feet away and she went to it, taking off the kickstand.

?Bring more ramen,? Shippo said groggily and he still seemed asleep.

?Hai,? she said with a small smile to his dozing form.

She had only just gotten on her bike when finally Inuyasha rose. ?Oy-? but she ignored him and kicked off, riding down the hill. She only had to go for a few days, get a few things in order, work on her plans. Which meant she needed to be away from him. Away from them as a group. Just for a little while.

There was a sudden weight on the back of her bike and she looked over her shoulder to see him directly behind her, his face dark. ?Inuyasha-?

?Keep going. We?ll talk when you get to the well,? was all he said and he rose to his feet, holding himself up on the bike spokes, his arms crossing over his chest.

Kagome faced forward again, her hands tightening on the handlebars angrily. It was always like this. He always had something to say, some reason for her not to go to her world. She wasn?t there to be his slave. Hell, he needed her to find the Shikon shards; it wasn?t the other way around! She was the one who didn?t need him! She would hear an earful once they got to the well because he always had something to say. She pedaled faster, angrily, not even feeling the air as it blew across her hair.

And had he really thought she was going to leave the Shikon no Tama with him? A half-demon who only wanted to become fully demon? There was no way! None at all! She wasn?t crazy or stupid. He would be a danger with the power of the jewel in his grasp. He would wreak havoc, destroy entire towns and villages. He would be the very creature that woman had hunted so many years ago.

The sun was blindingly powerful and she bowed her head against the glare.

He was a creature. That?s all he was. A demon. A thing. A thing that had managed to make two humans fall in love with him. And he wasn?t even a nice demon. She pedaled harder still, feeling the burn in her lungs. How had he ever managed that? And what had she seen in him to make her fall so hard?

So hard..?

The well appeared in the distance and she realized she has been pedaling enough to make her heart beat painfully in her chest. No, that was her anger. Her anger at him. At his presence. His voice. It was boiling inside, raging furiously and it was searching for an outlet. But now was not the time. First things were going to be done her way, until she had everything that was owed to her. Until she had him-

She screeched to a halt, hoping somewhere deep inside that the continued momentum would have flung him but he was off her bike before even she was. She dismounted and kept her back to him, readjusting her backpack and stooping to lift the bike.

He shoved her aside unceremoniously.

?Hey-? she shouted, throwing him a glare that she wished would cut him into pieces. And as he lifted the bike for her, ?Don?t even think about it! I?m going whether you like it or not! Nothing you say is going to stop me from going and if you think you?re going to hold my bike like?like some sort of hostage-?

?You need time to yourself,? he said quietly, holding the bike with one hand, on his shoulder.

She recoiled at his soft tone. ?What??

He looked at her, and his expression was gentle. And he seemed embarrassed as he realized how soft he sounded. ?You need time,? he continued nonetheless, in a gruffer tone, ?to yourself. Away from this world. Away from?us.?

Kagome stood silently, lips parted.

?I don?t know what has been going on the passed few days. The passed few weeks,? he said and his expression was sincere, albeit a bit sad. ?And I don?t know if?I?ve caused it but you need to go. Just?get away for a bit. Come back to yourself and then?come back to me.?

She blinked at him, her throat dry and as he fell silent she felt the sudden onslaught of tears. She felt her anger, still, and it was sinking away into the pit of her stomach, far away into the recesses of her darkness, but she also felt the urge to suddenly weep at ever having felt such a fury against him. ?Inuyasha-? she whispered, and she lifted a hand slowly.

He gave her hand a small, measured glance before turning away from it and he floated over to the well, hopping up onto its edge.

She stared at him, looking up at him as the sun came washing down over him and she pulled her hand back, wounded.

But it?s your fault. It?s your fault. And hers. Hers, as well, and you always do this. No matter how much you make me believe you can only love me, that there?s the small chance that you would be mine alone, you can?t bear for it to be just me. You can?t bear to be away from her, doing anything in anyone else?s name.

Inuyasha, silently, held out a hand to her.

And you want me to go. You want me to go back to my time. Why? So that your search for her can go unhindered. So that if she does decide to take you back as her only love, you won?t have me holding you back. You won?t feel bad because I won?t be here.

?It?s what you want,? she whispered.

He frowned faintly, his fingers closing a bit in confusion.

If I go, you?ll go to her. You?ll go to her and I?ll be left alone. The way I?m always left alone every time I see the expression on your face at the mention of her name. You always pull away a bit more, and a bit more, and I?m left so alone-

His eyes shimmered in the sun, hair blowing gently, and his hand was still held out to her.

And I can?t let her have you. Because she?s evil. Because she doesn?t understand what it is to have you. To love you. At one point she may have but she gave it up and now I understand. Now it?s me and you don?t?you don?t want me.

She took a step forward and his face was stern but soft at the same time, it was so strange. His curled hand was motioning to her, his claws reflecting the sunlight, and she reached up slowly, allowing his fingers to close around hers, to wrap around her wrist. And then he was lifting her as if she weighed nothing, helping her climb up beside him.

?Will you visit me?? she asked him quietly as she looked down into the well. It was dark down there and it always seemed to lead nowhere but the moment she fell in she knew she would be on her way home.

?I?? he frowned at her, breaking off.

She looked at him, her heart breaking.

Of course you won?t. The moment I?m gone I won?t even exist to you.

She shook her head. ?Forget it,? she murmured and she didn?t care. Without another word she jumped into the well.

?Hey-? he swiped at her but she was gone, the rip opening to claim her. He quickly tossed the bike after her and stooped at the edge of the well, growling, as it vanished from view and then all that was left was the bottom of the well.

?I didn?t think you would be gone so long that I would have to visit you?? he finished softly and he bowed his head, already missing her scent.

[Chibi Reli]

[color=#]What in the world is going on here? Chibi Reli wants to know![/color]

[Kaili Charmer]

Yeah, i finally had enough time to go through all your chapters today... and i'm thoroughly confused....

[paxbanana]

^^ Don't worry, if you keep reading, you'll understand.

[Nausica?]

That last line was a killer - I felt that right in my gut. * cries *

So all of chapter six was a dream, eh? Good. That's all I have to say about that little incident...

Next chapter, please!




- Naus

[Eden]

Ho Boy. I think that it's about time I gave up trying to figure this fic out. Everytime I do, I just get more confused.

I'm going to go with Naus.

On with the next chapter!!

~Eden