InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Single Wish ❯ Scroll Two ( Chapter 2 )

<i>A Single Wish</i>

 

By: OtakuSailorV

 

*~* Scroll Two - A Devil Released *~*

 

Kagome woke to find that her family had already gone; her mother had been kind enough to leave a note detailing where they had gone and where to call in case of an emergency. Kagome smiled softly at the phone numbers listed. She had been through hell and back and yet her mother still thought that she needed to call the police. She was sure that if someone were breaking in she could handle it.

 

Outside the rain was just beginning to drizzle, lightly pattering outside. But there were dark gray clouds on the horizon that flashed and made the ground shudder under their force. Kagome was briefly reminded of a distant battle, almost long forgotten. It had been almost like a contest of strength between Inuyasha - newly equipped with Tetsusaiga - and the Raijuu brother's.

 

It had been dark and stormy out like this then, but it had been different - she recalled now. Yes, there hadn't been any rain then.

 

And it was then that they had come across the always-cute kitsune cub, Shippo. Kagome realized that she had often been rather motherly to the little kit, facing off against Inuyasha whenever the little one was harmed and holding him whenever he was sad or scared. She sighed to herself, ruffling her bangs thoughtfully. Demons lived for hundreds of years; maybe she would see him again someday.

 

A fanciful, rather hopeful grin crossed her lips at that time and she went about her business the rest of the day with a light step to her movements.

 

* * *

 

By mid-day it was pouring rain, so hard that Kagome could barely see three feet out of her windows from the downstairs, and only a little more from the upstairs. It pounded hard against her roof, making a droning noise that made her feel like she was drowning. It was eerie in the house since it was so dark during the part of the day that should have been so sunny. And whenever the lightening flashed it cast long, spindly shadows across the empty rooms.

 

When the thunder rumbled, the whole house seemed to rattle. The little empty tins that sometimes contained cookies jiggled uneasily on the countertops, banging against each other and creating a thunder of their own. Amidst all the noise sat Kagome, in a whicker chair that her mother had bought at a western store. It was set in a part of the house that had several more of the western-style furnishings, so that it fit in.

 

Uneasily she would shift whenever the sky boomed, cracking loudly, and tap her pen in time with a happy, sugary song that had popped into her head. A chill went up her spine several times as a sudden cold breeze swept by. Altogether, she was very jittery and nervous. She had never known herself to be like this during even worse thunderstorms before. So why was she all strung up about it now?

 

Biting the end of the pen thoughtfully, she collected her things and headed for her own room. She always felt more comfortable there anyway. <i>`I hope mom and them aren't getting wet.'</i> She thought as she climbed the steps, awkwardly trying to keep her books in her arms.

 

She arrived in her room, still a little tense and set up her things, promptly going back to her studies. She couldn't let herself be distracted, there was still too much she had to do.

 

Kagome went on fine for a little while; soon finding herself absorbed in the text, though it held an empty meaning to her. She scowled at her History textbook. It had no records of her friends' escapades, and denied the fact that demon's existed. She could hardly believe she had gone along with such a fact before. A feeling of uselessness found it's way into her as she looked over the brief chapter summaries of Feudal Japan. Not a word, not a single word about Tetsusaiga the infamous demon blade, of Sesshoumaru, emotionless ruler of the Western Lands and possibly still the ruler. She scoffed at it derisively, giving it a scornful look.

 

She sighed. She couldn't possibly expect them to know, could she? It was definitely a big part, their war against Naraku, but. . .they were only human, and they could only understand so much. . .

 

What was she supposed to say to them anyway if she contacted them about how illegitimate their book was. “Hey, you see right here? Well, right here should be our story. . .Oh, you don't know it, well, it all started fifty years ago. . .and yeah, I'm her reincarnation, and I got pulled in to this well, but it's just a well now, and. . .”

 

Yeah, they'd buy it. They'd give her a one-way ticket to the loony bin that's what they'd give her.

 

A sudden, brilliant clap of thunder accentuated by a bright flash of white lightening made her flinch, almost jumping out of her skin in fright. A yelp of fear escaped her lips as she heard something crack loudly. It sounded like wood snapping, and she wondered if the God Tree was all right. Peering out, she found that the flash of lightening had dazzled her eyes. Rubbing them, she tried again to peer through the rain at the God Tree, but couldn't see it.

 

The rain fell with renewed force, making her think it might pound right through the roof. Shivers ran up her spine. Instinctively, Kagome spun toward her door, but saw nothing. Turning back to the window, she wondered why she kept feeling like something really bad was happening.

 

* * *

 

He was free! Free from that blasted tree and all it's Holy bindings. He laughed to himself thoughtfully as he flexed his fingers, narrowing his blood red eyes at the rain that was falling so heavily on him.

 

Naraku stopped in his thoughts of regained freedom as he picked up on a strong, pure power. He recognized it immediately.

 

It was like Kikyou's: soft, enchanting, melodic, soothing, but somehow different in it's own way. A different kind of determination and love laced through the pure tones, creating a new song out of an old melody. It far outshone the original, but one had to listen very clearly to it's sweet song to notice this.

 

Now, standing in the pouring rain he could hear it loudly, above even the pounding of the water all around him. Beating in time to the ever-present symphony of nature, twining in and moving out, creating it's own solo tune at times. But there was a slight distortion in it, as there always is in human auras when they have a powerful emotion suddenly take over. This time, the bold, whisper tones of fear and apprehension, nervousness was heard, quivering lightly in the song, though it still flowed on.

 

Naraku smirked to himself, his red eyes gleaming brightly in the pure white, watery downpour. How perfect that his prey be so close and within his grasp when he reawakened.

 

Looking about, he discovered that the world had vastly changed from what he remembered, but he had been in the God Tree for sometime. He couldn't have assumed that time would stand still, that progress would be forsaken.

 

Chuckling darkly, he strode toward the direction of the miko wench's aura. What a surprise she would get when she saw him again.

 

* * *

 

Kagome gasped as she felt it, the revival of a dark aura from long ago. Her heart pounded in her chest. She thought about going downstairs for the telephone, but what good would that do her if she were correct in her assumptions? Then nothing would be able to save her, and she would only be calling for help that could not come. She shivered; wishing fleetingly that Inuyasha was nearby. She waited to glimpse the red haori, but she knew he wasn't coming. . .

 

She opened her eyes again to see crimson red meet her outside the window. She yelped. Lightening flashed, and the supposed illusion was gone again.

 

Kagome sighed with relief, after sitting on the floor, dazed and puffing for air hurriedly. That had scared her way too much, for a minute there, she had thought she had seen. . .

 

“Hello, miko.”

 

She froze, rigid and unsure of how to react. She recognized that voice, and the weird thud of water droplets on wooden floor and carpet informed her that she was not simply imagining it. She swallowed and turned slowly to see that her assumption was correct.

 

He was here, not only was he there, standing in her doorway, smirking, but he had the nerve to be alive and looking healthy as ever as well.

 

<i>`N-Naraku?!'</i> But how?! It wasn't possible! He had been sealed inside of the God Tree. . .

 

He smirked at the fear radiating off of her suddenly. Her aura sang with terror, and it filled him with pleasure. He could drown in it almost.

 

Water rolled down his fingers, dripping on the floor in the silence as she quaked, uncertainty showing in her vision.

 

His smirk grew larger, showing one of his sharp-tipped fangs in a sneer. How would he make her suffer first? There was no one else around, so he could not force her to watch as he killed them in front of her eyes. And everything around here was foreign to him. How much time had passed since his `death'?

 

Well, he would have to settle for the direct approach then, though he wanted to draw out her torture. She <i>had</i> locked him away and destroyed the Jewel; he wouldn't allow her to go unpunished for that. How <i>lucky</i> she was that her spell had come undone at such an opportune moment. Not even the hanyou or any of her other silly little friends were around to bother him now either.

 

“Naraku. . .But how did you. . .?” Kagome was finally able to find her voice and defiantly stood, regaining her composure, though she was still shocked that he was alive.

 

“You better not have hurt the God Tree, Jii-chan would have your head.” She added in a warning tone. She was aware of how childish that sentence had sounded, but she couldn't stop it, it had splurged out before she could correct herself.

 

He raised an eyebrow at her mockingly. Her life was on the line and all she was worried about was that blasted, ruddy tree? She had always been strange that way, even back when they had been fighting against each other for the Jewel.

 

“I am surprised you are no different from when we last met.” He said casually, looking her over. Indeed, she had not changed even slightly, except for a change of clothing. Like time had stood still for her while the rest of the world had been going on about its business.

 

She was visibly taken aback by the mention of this, and the song of her aura changed again to add a touch of nervousness, a secret being hidden in the shadows, quite clear, but quite complex at the same time. He narrowed his red eyes on her; so, she had a secret he had not been able to solve, then?

 

“What is it you are hiding?” He demanded of her.

 

Kagome's mouth opened to speak, but she shut it roughly again, glaring at him as she tried to figure a way out of this. Naraku was in her house, he was a hanyou and much faster than she was, so trying to run would be silly. The only other way out would be through the window, but that might be dangerous. Her mind briefly fluttered around the thought that someone was coming to save her, but she shoved it roughly away from her conscious. It was silly to hold such fancies any longer. She was tough enough to take care of herself, and this time there really was no one to save her. She had to save <i>herself</i> this time. She would have to stop relying on the strength of others in times of dire need.

 

She wasn't going to tell him anything; he could see it in her eyes. Fine, he would force the information out of her, probe her mind until he broke her and took the answers he wished for.

 

Rushing forward, he lifted her off the ground with one arm, the clawed hand pressed tightly around her white throat. She gasped, gagging slight shock. The tips of his claws nearly punctured through, making her squirm in pain, her tiny hands grasping either side of his in an attempt to relieve some of the pain.

 

Naraku tried not to wince. Just to touch her in this threatening way made his skin burn. The miko might not know it, but it was a reaction by her superior mystical powers. She surely didn't control it, but still it was there, protecting her.

 

A whimper escaped her feebly as she fought to get back on the ground. “Put me down!” She ordered harshly, daring to glare at him with those determined, sharp eyes of her. He watched her as if he was bored, but that look peeled away as he smirked.

 

“Tell me, miko. Where's your hanyou now?”

 

Her face lit up in an emotion that he had not anticipated. A strange mixture of outrage, sadness, and desperation. There was another secret here too. Testing the air and reaching out for auras, Naraku found that there were no familiar ones for a good mile or so at least. What was this?

 

Naraku shifted his gaze back to Kagome who was still trying to release herself from his tight grasp. “What fool trick is this, miko? This place is strange. . .” He commented to himself in an undertone.

 

Kagome fought with herself internally over whether or not she should break the news to him that he was five hundred years in the future. On one hand he might be so thrilled to learn that there were no longer any obstacles in his way that he might just take over the world immediately. Or, on the other hand, he might be extremely ticked off by this outcome and kill her in his rage and <i>then</i> take over the world, or whatever he was planning on doing. Neither seemed very good for her or anybody else. She had to find a way to seal him away or divert his attention somehow. Easier said than done when it was Naraku, though. . .

 

Naraku could feel it, he had felt it slightly before, but he had drawn it up to something caused by the Goshinboku and ignored it. But now, as his finger pads and claws snapped around the miko wench's throat, he could feel his youkai powers draining away from him. And it was disappearing at an alarming rate, disappearing to where he wasn't sure; it was just leaving, as if drained into the miko herself. His eyes widened slightly. That was it, the miko was purifying him!

 

He suddenly set her down roughly on her feet. Crossing the room, he sat down crossed legged on the edge of her bed, watching her intently for a moment. Though he was staring, there were many thoughts other than Kagome swimming through his head at that time. First off, he had not felt his power coming back when he had released the miko, nor had he when he stepped farther and farther away from her. The power seemed to be decreasing of it's own accord. Possibly initiated by the miko's powers, but no longer in any way attached. He frowned in his thoughts. Another thing was puzzling him. Inuyasha and his silly friends should have sensed his presence by now or at least have come looking for the young miko in rain like this, but they seemed to have disappeared utterly from the face of the earth. He could not even sense their auras . . .

 

“What is going on here? Why is it that the smell of the hanyou and your companions has diminished?”

 

He looked around at her room with a careful eye, investigating every little thing now that he had a good view. It was all so foreign to him. . .only a few things were familiar and even those seemed strange in this place as well. . .

 

Naraku looked up sharply at Kagome when she hesitated in answering him. “Well, miko?” He demanded.

 

Kagome frowned at him, glaring darkly. “For starters you can call me by my name: `Ka-go-me.' And why should I tell you anything? I don't owe you any explanations.” She felt unexpectedly daring all of a sudden. A tingle of fear was still there, and a hint of anxiety, but nothing so serious that she was sitting in shock again. It wasn't any of his business anyway what had happened. . .ok, maybe it was, but if he really cared, he could get the news from someone else.

 

“Miko.” He said in a warning tone, narrowing red eyes on her.

 

Kagome narrowed her eyes back. Who did he think he was lounging around in her room like this and demanding things of her after threatening her life?

 

He rose from his seat, coming at her in an angered rush. Kagome flinched, pulling back so that she was almost pressed against the roll-back door that separated the rest of her room from a little closet in which her nice kimono's and clothes hamper were stowed. He didn't get too close, and she wondered why his claws had not already crushed her by now, he simply loomed over her darkly, glaring at her like he desperately did want to kill her.

 

Why didn't he? It would be too easy for him, she wondered to herself, though she wasn't going to complain. She liked being alive, despite how lonely and empty she felt at the moment.

 

Naraku was about to say something when he picked up an incoming presence. Three small, minor auras were heading toward the house. None of which did he recognize at all.

 

When Kagome heard the key in the door, and the slide as the front door was opened, she froze. Her family was home! Her mother called out for her the moment her foot stepped inside, and her brother was heard racing around, coming toward the stairs in search of her. The young miko paled.

 

Her eyes darted to Naraku who looked intrigued and gave her a dark smirk before going toward the door. Kagome cried out, a small `eep' of surprise before lashing out. Her other hand latched onto the handle of her closet door, sliding it open rapidly.

 

Stepping back, she tugged harshly on his kimono, swinging him toward the open closet door. Somehow, using all her strength, she managed to shove him inside. She didn't dare look inside as she slammed the door shut and locked it tightly. Inside there was a crash as he fell into her hamper and then tore the clothes from the hooks in the confined space, searching for a handhold. Kagome winced. She hoped he didn't tear her nice blue and gold kimono. . .

 

He hadn't gone but half a pace from her by then, so it wasn't a far distance, but she never thought she would manage it at all. Letting out a little sigh of relief, she was a little jittery as she stepped out of her room, trying to intercept her younger brother.

 

Souta was still in the hallway, his head just appearing over the top of the steps. “Kagome, Kagome!” He called cheerily, trying to tell her something between gasps for breath. He seemed very excited.

 

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him; she was still a little pale from the tangle with Naraku as she approached her younger brother. Souta pulled on her hand as she got close to the steps, just like he had when he was much younger.

 

“Onee-chan, you won't believe what happened while we were out!! Jii-chan's really upset, but I think it's too cool!” He exclaimed happily, all aglow. Kagome raised her eyebrows higher. What was he babbling on about? If Jii-chan was upset then. . .She reeled slightly. Naraku had busted a hole in the God Tree, hadn't he?

 

“W-what happened?” She questioned as her brother lead her downstairs.

 

* * *

 

Downstairs her mother was already busying herself with getting ready for dinner. “Oh, dear, did you get a lot of your schoolwork done?” Her mother questioned.

 

In a bit of a daze, Kagome looked at her and gave her a small, sheepish smile. “Yeah.” She lied. Well, she had gotten a good deal done, but not all that she had set out to do, thanks to Naraku's intrusion.

 

Jii-chan sat near the dinner table, legs crossed. His eyes looked watery and sad as he peered helplessly at the table. “The Goshinboku. . .” He whimpered slightly. “My beautiful Goshinboku. . .you had just bloomed this spring too. . .”

 

Kagome felt bad for her Jii-chan in that instant. For all the times he had terrorized her with his horrid stories, she felt truly sorry for him. She knew what it was like to loose something that you absolutely loved.

 

Souta drug her to the window. “See? See?” He questioned, pointing outside.

 

Kagome looked out into the rain and spotted the tree. She cringed suddenly. The Goshinboku looked like it had been torn open from the inside out. The inside was as black as charcoal, as if someone had set fire to the inside. She felt saddened looking out at it, tears threatened to spill as they stung her eyes. The last thing, one of the last things that tied her to that age so long ago, to all of her friends. It was gone, defiled and broken in such a horrible way. True, it probably still lived on, it was a very powerful tree after all and had probably seen much worse, but it was still so horrible to see. The poor thing, and it was all her fault for sealing Naraku up inside of it in the first place.

 

A spark of anger lit in her as her Jii-chan sighed with loss again. Her mother equally saddened, but said nothing. Ugh, she would <i>kill</i> Naraku when she got back to her room. The heartless bastard!!

 

Souta seemed the only one that was excited by this. “What do you think did that, huh, Kagome? It had to be something really big and powerful. . .” He rambled off incessantly.

 

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