InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trapped from Within ❯ Coming Together ( Chapter 4 )

AN:

Summary: IK MS "Their humanly weaknesses were what kept them defenseless to their enemy. Each and every one of them were trapped by their fears, their pains, haunted by their own faults and need for revenge. But alone, they would only succeed in failing."

Genre: Angst/Romance, Drama, Tragedy

Rating: PG13

Chapter Warnings: Horror. Angst. Death. Blood.

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Trapped from Within

Chapter 4

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Sometimes, when Sango was left alone, she dreamed.

Dreamed of horrible, twisted, cruel things that made her skin crawl and chilled her to the bone. Blood and death and a hand so real and so dead reaching out to her, grasping her in its bony fingers, holding onto her as though she was its chance at life. It would terrify her.

And she would open her mouth to scream, but suddenly her mouth would be filled with something slimy and wet and it would slither down her throat and poke out of her lips. It would inch and crawl and creep slowly down her face until she could see it clearly on her nose or her neck and she would scream louder and harder and faster because she was being filled with worms. Writhing, wriggling, bloody worms. And maggots would sprout and eat at her skin, tearing at the layer of tan tissue to chomp on the succulent red flesh beneath. Coats of slime would cover her eyes and seep between her eyelids. Dirt would slowly begin to pile around her, solidifying her in place, ever so slowly killing her.

And that Black Hand would drag her down, pulling her to them, where she belonged, moaning low. She would be in the throes of death, paralyzed with terror, unable to scream or cry or fight back. She would be unable to breath, choked and suffocated by invisible fists.

And then she would wake up, springing from her bed sweat soaked and afraid and crying because she felt so dead and dirty and disgusting. She would stand up and stumble to the bathroom, turn the shower on scalding hot, and scrub and scrub and scrub till her skin was red and raw and bleeding. But no manner of scrubbing could ever peel away the dirt that seemed to soak in her skin. And every time she stood in the mirror, staring at her teary eyed blurry form, she would cry so hard out of despair, cry so hard because they were dead and she couldn't reach them, couldn't be with them, because she was too afraid.

She was too afraid to die, too afraid to give up and follow her family to where they lay. And that was why she lived, she got up in the morning, she suffered, she searched for revenge. That was why worked and worried and dreamed of nightmares so terrifying, they haunted her like white surreal ghosts with invisible soft fingers.

She was afraid. Afraid of those nightmares and that darkness and that death. And she couldn't move on, couldn't get over it, was trapped by her own humanly fault.

She hated her weakness almost as much as she hated the murderer of her family.

"Excuse me." The words were said short, quick, and irritated. A fat gaudy-dressed lady started and turned towards the sound of the voice, her large purse swinging. The leather bag smacked into the thin, figure of Sango as she stood unwavering in the crowded sidewalks of Tokyo. She wore a long black trench coat and a traditional black police uniform hidden from view underneath. A rather angry scowl glowered on her face. She looked pissed and scary. The summer sun beat down on her back heavily, drawing sweat onto her brow.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Terribly sorry about that." The woman was suddenly flustered, nervous. "Here, let me move out of your way." With a waddle, she heaved her large heavy bulk to the side and into a skinny shrimp of a man without so much as a glance, trying to desperately move out from the angry girl's path. With a curt nod, Sango continued on her stride, ignoring the nervous glances sent her way every once in awhile.

Pissed did not even begin to describe how she was feeling about her fears, her job, her failures. Everything was piling up, the work was being doubled, tripled, but none of it was paying off and nothing new was coming up. And to make matters worse, the dreams had come back, now that she wasn't working 24/7 all the time. It left her hollow and empty and tired, but above all, it left her frustrated and angry and she could do nothing to relieve the tension and worry that was bearing its burden onto her thin shoulders.

With an aggravated sigh, Sango weaved her way through the crowd, making her way towards the café two streets away from her office building. She really needed some coffee to get her brain and mind working at high gear, not to mention it would lift her spirits a bit. She had never been very cheerful before her daily mug of coffee, and she would be a whole lot nicer once the black liquid was in her system. Now, if only the people around here would understand that…

"Excuse me…Pardon me…Would you please get out of my way??"

Most of the people were polite enough to move out of the way when she asked, but some idiots were stubborn, and stupid. Messing with her at the moment was not a good idea and only those to thick in the head to understand she was pissed, didn't back of like kicked puppies. The idiots were just annoying.

But in a way, they were also a great stress reliever, Sango thought absently as a rather obnoxious male with long sideburns was thrown into a near by garbage can, courtesy of her generosity. The brief thrill was worth the trouble she would receive if her advisors found out.

"Excu-"

She stopped abruptly as the middle-aged man scampered out of her way before she could finish. A young lady with a small child quickly ushered the girl into a nearby store with a nervous backward glance. A small stray dog yipped and scrambled down the street with its tail between its legs.

Sango blinked.

The wonders of a little brute force.

With a shrug, she continued down the sidewalk. Dodging one last old lady, Sango pulled herself from the crowd and stood before the café.

The café was pretty new looking. The building had a fresh layer of paint on its front and the window's and doors gleamed prettily in the sun. With a heavy sigh of relief, Sango walked towards the door and pushed it open. It gave a soft jingle. Immediately she was assaulted with clean fresh cold air, and the rich smell of ground coffee. With a half smile, she stepped in and the door closed gently behind her.

The café looked just as good outside as it did inside. The walls were white and clean white tiles made up the floor. The only color that really stood out was the dark red shade on the booth seats, and it added a nice touch to the look that normally wouldn't have done anything to any room. Plopping in one of the cushioned waiting chairs, Sango closed her eyes a moment, resting a bit.

And that Black Hand would drag her down, pulling her to them, where she belonged, moaning low. And she would fall deeper and deeper into the world of dirt, and her father's corpse would move and open its arms to her, eyes hollow and filled with slimy worms. And it would cling to her as she struggled, and she would cry because she was refusing her father, hating him because he was doing this to her.

Hating herself for doing this to him.

Sango's eyes snapped open. Sitting up straight, she breathed heavily, shakily, her hand trembling in her lap.

She couldn't escape those dreams. They were painted on the back of her eyelids.

"Um…excuse me miss?"

Sango looked up at the slightly nervous waitress. The girl fidgeted with the hem of her apron. "Umm… would you like to be seated?"

Sango stared at her, dazed. It took her a moment for the words to sink in. "Oh!! …Yes, yes I would." Sango blushed a bit for her slowness, before standing up and dusting off her trench coat with a hand. With a slightly anxious nod, the waitress gave Sango a wobbly smile and led her down the isle and into a booth corner near the window.

"Here is your seat miss."

Sango nodded her thanks and slid down the seat. The waitress left, giving only one uneasy backwards glance. With a sigh, Sango propped her chin in her hand and turned to face out the window, watching the pedestrians walk by, ignorant to the troubles of the world.

She was going nowhere on her case. She, the "prodigy", incapable of doing anything to rescue her brother and avenge her parents. "Spider", the notorious Yakuza leader and damn genius at escaping his well-planned doom, was still out there, still wreaking havoc to so many innocent lives, and she could do nothing but work her ass off and hope.

But hope was a silly thing, for it did nothing to help her. It brought her spirits up only to have them crushed under fate's unkind heel, damning her every dream to hell. She was so weak to still cling to it, still believe in it. She was as good as dead with or without it.

Sango's fist clenched and her face hardened. If only the damn illusive "Spider" wasn't so damn smart. If only she could some how out wit him, get him from the inside and nail him.

If only she could find it in herself to overcome her fear, to seize it in a controlled grasp and scatter it into the four winds. Then she would be able to concentrate better, be able to find him so much more faster without the fear and pain that seemed to haunt her where ever she went.

If only.

"And what is a beautiful young lady like you sitting here all alone?"

Sango jumped in her seat, whipping her head around at the voice.

A young man stood there behind here, an eyebrow lifted in question. He had short black hair and beautiful blue eyes and he wore a starchy grey business suit that for some reason looked good on him. His hands were braced on the edge of the table, telling Sango he wasn't about to go anywhere unless she answered him in some way or another.

Sango cursed in her mind. How had he snuck up on her? Had she been really that blind and stupid to her surroundings? How could she have let herself doze off like that? Had she really slacked off that bad?

But for some reason, in the back of her mind, the small voice in her head whispered that it wasn't because she couldn't detect him, it was because he didn't want her to detect him. It made her wary and nervous. Because if it was so, then this man was a professional.

She decided to be blunt, hoping it might scare him off. "Its none of your business really." She retorted, her own delicate eyebrow raised. "Because if you could ask questions about me freely, I would be asking you how and why you snuck up on me so quietly." Take that. She thought. The man blinked, caught off guard for a moment, before he chuckled.

"And I would be telling you 'It's none of your business really.'" With a charming grin, he cocked his head to the side, the epitome of innocence. "Unless of course, you made it your business. For how could I resist such an extravagant beauty?"

Sango gave him a disbelieving look. Was this guy for real? She was a breath away from snorting.

Well, two could play at that game. "You never know, maybe I will." Sango replied dead serious, purposefully missing the innuendo he threw at her. "I've always wondered how sneaky bastards seemed to get around." When he only gazed at her, shocked, she gave him a small smirk of her own. "And so far, you seem like a sneaky bastard to me."

The man stared at her a long moment, making her slightly nervous. Then, out of the blue, he did something she least expected.

He began to laugh.

Hearty, good-natured infectious laughter that left her struggling not to crack a real smile herself. After a few minuets, his laughter toned down and he shook his head with a grin. "And to think I was about to miss a chance of talking to a beautiful lady with such cunning wit." There was no sarcasm in his tone; he was being honest.

This time, she really did crack a smile. "Flattery will get you no where."

"So I have noticed." He returned pleasantly. With another shake of his head, he straightened and gave her another grin. "Now, for the real reason I came over here."

Sango blinked. There was a real reason?

The man smiled at her skeptical look, but continued on. "If you will allow me to ask, may I share a booth with you? All the others are filled and the hostess near the front said you looked a bit lonely, which I agree full-heartedly with. Will a poor and charmingly single companion be a bother to you?"

He said it with such bravado, such daring, as though he was only doing his duty as a man to a lady in dire need of attractive company, that Sango couldn't help but laugh. It was the cheesiest thing she had ever heard, and the serious way he said it, being so humble about lending out his "charmingly single" self, was also what made it almost sweet.

Still laughing and trying to ignore the arrogant smirk beginning to grow on his face, Sango could only nod. Why not give the man a chance? It wasn't like he could attack her here in a café and she was well trained in self-defense. Besides, he was making her laugh and that was something close to a miracle when she hadn't even had her coffee yet.

He slid into the seat opposite of hers cheerily just as she was finally able to get a hold her small laughing outburst. With a last chuckle, she shook her head. "You've slid into the wrong booth if your looking for a lady in dire distress. First off, I'm no lady…" she saw the peculiar look he gave her and quickly added, "a woman, but no lady. And I'm not looking for seemingly charming single men. I am only here for my daily dose of coffee because I'm never in a good mood before it."

The man was quiet a moment, gazing at her face, before he said. "Your in a bad mood? Then your good mood must be angelic"

A light blush lit Sango's cheeks. "I told you before, flattery will get you no where."

The man only smiled. "Flattery? It had never crossed my mind."

Before Sango could give a flustered reply, the waitress came forward, smiling. The man turned and inwardly, Sango gave a sigh of relief. "Hello, my name is Chezu and I'll be your waitress." She paused, looking between the two, before seeming to decide something. " And what can I get for the happy couple?"

Sango's face burned crimson. Whaa…? "Umm…excu-excuse me miss, but-"

"Yes, I'll have a strong black coffee." Her companion interrupted cheerfully. "And…" he turned to her. "What kind of coffee would you like…?"

Sango was speechless a moment. He was actually going to let the waitress think they were going out? Her face grew hotter.

Wait, why was she so flustered? She never acted like this around men, no matter what was said. Scolding herself mentally, she turned to the waitress, trying desperately to cool down her blush. "I'll also have a strong black coffee."

The waitress nodded, writing their order on her notepad. "And will that be all?" When they both nodded, she snapped her pen into her shirt pocket and slipped the notebook in her apron. "It will be here shortly." With that she bustled off.

They sat in a moment of silence, both comfortable in the stillness, before Sango sighed with a small smile and shook her head. Pulling out her hand from under the table, she extended it towards him. "My name is Sango."

The man stared at her hand, silent, before extending his own hand and gripping hers in a tight hold. "My name is Miroku."

By the time Sango had left back for her work place, she had forgotten every problem and fear she had been feeling before and was feeling the best she had felt for a long time.

Maybe, all she had needed was a little companionship.

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Kagome woke up to the smell of blood in the air and the taste of salt in her mouth. At first, she seemed to be floating in a cloud of soft gentle darkness, the kind that came when you were still half way between the dream world and reality. It was soothing and warm and it kept her numbed from her feelings and thoughts. From the emotions bottled behind a pained heart.

She felt nothing but emptiness in those few moments of bliss. And it felt nothing like what she had been told about it. It wasn't cold, it wasn't lonely, it was just…nothing. And she loved it because it wasn't crowding and suffocating and plotting her demise. It was just simply her in her own little world. And she was drifting, continually drifting, and was one with herself, with her light, with her darkness. She could be what she wanted, do what she wanted, think what she wanted.

She loved it.

Then she woke up and reality set in and the pain flooded her body so fast and so ferociously that nothing became everything at once. And she missed that nothingness and yearned for it. And she cursed her mind and her body and her heart. And she cursed her weakness and her will and her hope. Because it flooded her and chilled her and burnt her so deeply. And it hurt and she had hurt for far too long.

The smell of blood and the taste of salt became more defined, more real, more there. And she opened her eyes and mist clouded her mind and she made herself forget her selfishness, her desire, her strength. Because she didn't have the right to have them.

She awoke afraid, empty and innocent.

Her vision was blurry. Pain throbbed at her temple and her throat felt stretched and starchy. It was as dark as midnight. She dragged her eyes shut again.

She shivered. When had her room become this dark and cold? The warmth of her sheets had always chased away the numbing tingle that she felt in her hands and arms, in her legs and feet. But this time it hadn't. She struggled helplessly with the feeling, her mind having reverted back to a child's simplicity. She couldn't understand it. What had gone wrong?

She sat up dizzily, clutching her head in her hands and hoping everything would stop swaying. Why was it moving? Her eyes, having shut tightly, cracked open slightly. She saw a room, a door, her own lap, and more darkness. It wasn't her own room. It was a strange room, one shrouded in a black shadowy fog. It confused her. Why was she here? She placed a palm on the ground to steady herself.

Something undeniably wet dampened her hand. What? She fisted her palm, bringing it into her face, trying to see it. She couldn't. After a moment, her tongue tentively darted out and tasted the liquid. She spurted and gasped.

Blood. Salt. The droplets swirled in her mouth, coating every inch with its heaviness. It tasted like the sweat on her skin and the red in her veins. She coughed and swallowed. It slowly drizzled down her throat. The taste did not go away.

Her hand dropped, pressing back onto the ground, and she closed her eyes.

Where was she? She tried fighting the fog in her mind, searching desperately for answers that would put to rest the fear nestled deep in her chest. Why hadn't she woken up already? Did Kouga need her? When had she fallen asleep?

Then something sharp stabbed at her thoughts and her mind moved. It matured from child to teen to old, it became heavy with duty and love and selflessness. It remembered things that a teenager her age should never have learned. Her mind cleared, developed, and fished through its memory for the one word to explain her predicament.

Kidnapped. That's what had happened. She had been kidnapped.

Her eyes snapped open, and her fear grew. No comfort came with those words.

"Oh…oh no…" she whispered hoarsely. "Oh God, please…" She scrambled to her knees, pushing up against the hard…tile. Yes, it was tile. It felt smooth and cold under her fingers, like it had been polished into soft perfection. Her legs splayed around her and she looked up frantically, trying to peer through the darkness and find some sort of light. She knew it was hopeless.

"Please…this can't be happening…" Tears pooled at the rims of her eyes, making the large and glassy, and her bottom lip trembled. How could this have happened? How had they snuck into her house? Her breath caught in her throat and fear paralyzed her body. Had they gotten Kouga?

With a terrified whimper, Kagome struggled to her feet. Her body was numb and slow, and she fell once from her inability to balance successfully. Finally, after a few tries, she had found a footing she could stand with. Reaching out her arms, she stretched them in front of her blindly and took a hesitant step forward. She had to get out of there. She walked.

Her steps echoed in the room, soft scuffles that if not for the silence, would have been inaudible. "Please…" Her fingers wiggled, straining for some solid surface. She needed to find something to cling onto to, to reassure her that she was real and alive and could feel. She wanted to know she wasn't going to wander through this darkness for the rest of her life. Because she dreamed it enough, lived it in her mind enough; she couldn't live it anymore. It was all too much.

Her finger brushed against something - a wall, and a breath swept into her lungs forcefully. She hadn't even been realizing she had been holding her breath. Pressing against the wall, she rested her head against its surface, letting the coolness of the tile chill her hot sweaty cheek.

Something low moaned from some 35 ft away from her and the sound of dull scratching filled the air. Kagome froze, her mind blank.

What was that?

Suddenly, a blaring light exploded on from the ceiling above and a thousand screams pierced the air. She was instantaneously blinded, pain blossoming behind her eyelids. Wrapping her arms around her head, Kagome fell into a crouched ball and pressed her head between her legs. The ground beneath her began to shake slowly, ever so slowly, growing and growing…

Pressing a bloody hand to her temple, Kagome forced her eyes open and struggled to her feet. Something was happening. Something was happening and she had to get out of there…

But before she could run, something caught her eye. A small huddled group of red blood and flesh and moaning was piled in to the center of the room. And on the crimson stained floor, a dying woman with a large web-like symbol burned onto her skin was trying to crawl away. A trail of dark red blood followed her faithfully, and the woman was screaming, continually screaming, trying to form words through a choked mouth filled with black crimson. Large frantic eyes rimmed with red roved the room crazily, a black pupil in the center of a frightened white eye.

"…Nu!!…Nu…"

Suddenly, those white roving eyes focused on Kagome and the woman's dry, bleeding lips moved against the blood pouring from her mouth.

Run…please…save yourself…

The words seemed to float around Kagome, suspended in the air, combing invisible fingers through her hair and whispering in her ear. It held desperation and pain and the will to see others escape. It held the acceptance of death. A steady dull throbbing beat pounded in Kagome's ears, blocking out everything but the din of her own heart and that one single word.

Run.

Run.

Kagome trembled, reached out desperately, so desperately, as though she could reach the woman in time…

Suddenly, the sound of a gate opening echoed through the room and an invisible chill washed over the room. Everything went silent. Kagome froze, her eyes wide, her hand still outstretched. Her breath was swept from her lungs, as she watched the woman's eyes widen further, watched her gargle silently in a frenzied fear. Blood spilld faster onto the ground, puddling black and Kagome would have screamed if she had strength to do it. But…but something was happening…Slowly, so slowly, Kagome turned her head, wavering.

A scream, much stronger then anything she had ever felt vibrate through her before, fought its way towards her mouth, trying to find a way out. But she couldn't move, couldn't open her constricted throat. Fear seized at her neck and wrung it with an iron fist, forcing her breath from her lungs and leaving her empty. Dry, constricted, useless, Kagome stopped thinking, stopped breathing, stopped living.

A monster stood not 20 feet from her.

The sound of small insect like feet clicked against the tile and something long and black moved in the shadows. "Beauty…" the word rippled seductively, soft and dangerous. "Where are my beauties?" A human body slithered into the light.

Long black hair, soft white skin, dark red lips and long shapely arms. It looked like a woman, delicate and beautiful. Her chest was unbound and uncovered. With long sharp fingernails, she dragged her hands across her chest, enticing long winding lines of red to stand out from her white skin, making her look seductive and dirty. She smiled, letting her pupiless eyes gaze upon the group of humans clustered in the middle of the room.

Her teeth were long, sharp and stained red.

"My pretties…" Her voice was soft and delicate and had a bell like ring to it. With a swan like grace, she moved out of the shadows. The light reflected upon the green insect scales that replaced her creamy skin at her waist, forming into the body of a coiled centipede. "So beautiful, so delicate, so human…" She slithered towards the humans, her body sliding noiselessly. She flipped a hand over, as her hips swayed closer, as her body moved forward.

"None of you will believe how much I miss being human. To be so perfect, to be so sinful, to be so…delicious-" Her smile twitched as a tremor of fear passed through the humans. "-looking." She finished. With a deep breath, she gazed at them, sizing them. "But you see, dears, I was taken from my home, and made into…a monster."

Kagome trembled quietly, fear rippling through her body in waves. Her mind was blank, white, untouched with any thought. She went unnoticed by everything and everyone, a shadow in the corner of the gigantic room.

The centipede paused in her journey, placing a finger to her chin. "I was made for the whims of a tyrant, made to destroy those he wished dead in the most disgusting way possible; through digestion." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "In other words, I was made to eat every single one of you." The end of her tail slipped from the shadows and wiggled a bit. Kagome bit her lip.

The woman sighed, deflating. Her ribs poked from beneath her thin skin, and her eyes dulled. Her voice became more real, rather then flity and indifferent. "Its… you can't even describe it. I hate it and I wish I could die. But… I can't." For a moment, a flicker of something blossomed in her eyes, a feeling of true sorrow, before it disappeared with a twitch of insect legs. She straightened, and her face blended back into a look of uncaring seduction. "No one will let me die and my hunger is only sated through a human diet. I can't stop myself eating just as you can't stop breathing. You can only last for so long." She flexed her nails, before turning back down to the humans. "Besides, the only way to stop me is to kill me, and none of you are in the condition to even attempt that."

She smiled again, a sadder smile that was marred with a look of starvation. Her eyes changed from white to red. "I'm sorry." She said softly. Her mouth widened, stretched unnaturally, her fangs and claws lengthened. Someone screamed.

"I'm a monster. One that can only survive."

Suddenly something bright flashed through the room, something that glowed gold with the same, almost artificial light that gleamed in the centipede woman's red eyes. It seemed almost surreal, almost tangible, and it was everywhere. The woman froze, her arms outstretched. Something rippled through the insect like body, almost like a shudder and with a whip of her head, she was facing the wall opposite of where she entered. It was glowing the brightest of gold

The blast that rocked through the building sent the woman flying, her centipede body flying towards Kagome.

Suddenly, Kagome was flooded with air, air that choked her, and she gasped. With a scramble she ran as fast as she could, jumping only just out of the way as a large green coil of body smashed into the wall. Her elbows scraped against the metal rough floor, red blood smearing against the already red stained metal. With a pained look, she looked up her face bloodied and covered with hair.

She gasped.

Standing in front of her, with moonlight for hair and dying suns for eyes, stood a figure too beautiful to be real, shadowed in darkness. Wearing only a red heavy fabric that hung low on his shoulders, the man looked strong and tall and powerful. The tips of his fingers shimmered gold. Sleek, white, faultless, it was the ultimate perfection of man.

But…he wasn't man.

He was smirking and two long canines peeked from inside his mouth. A wild red glinted in his amber eyes and something soft and white twitched on his head.

"So…" he drawled slowly, letting the words roll off his tongue like it was something sweet and new. "What do, we have here?"