InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Taste Of Power ❯ Indecent Proposal ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any characters there in.

Chapter 1: Indecent Proposal

Things were only getting worse for Kagome. Everyone could see it, but no one knew what to do. Kagome wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating and wasn't sitting InuYasha. No matter how badly he needed it.

At the moment Kagome was laying in her sleeping bag staring blankly at the night sky.

"Perhaps she is ill?" Sango suggested, again. Sango, Miroku and even InuYasha were huddled on the opposite side of the camp discussing her condition as quietly as possible.

"She insists that she is well, just tired." Miroku said thoughtfully.

"She's not sick." InuYasha said, "And if she's tired then why doesn't she sleep?"

"Perhaps Kagome should go home for a while InuYasha." Miroku suggested, "To rest the spirit as well as her body."

"If she goes through the well without a jewel shard she can't get back." InuYasha grunted, "We still have to check out this rumor. She can rest after that, if we find a jewel shard."

And then he was in a tree close to Kagome, but not in her line of sight. `Her eyes are like Kikyo's were before…' he thought sadly, `no, her eyes are like dolls eyes, completely vacant. What's wrong with you Kagome?'

Miroku and Sango eventually bedded down themselves, after spreading out of course.

But late into the night Kagome was still staring blankly at the stars. She lay there not feeling, not thinking for the most part. It was strange; it had been several weeks' sense the last of the jewel shards in her care had been stolen. And they hadn't found anymore. She had slowly become… numb. Numb and tired.

That last run in with Kikyo didn't even phase her like it usually did. She just got tired, very very tired. Well, once she stopped to think about it, that was when she lost her appetite. She had already stopped sleeping.

Kagome was a modern girl; she knew the symptoms of depression. But what was she supposed to do? It's not like she could work up the energy to actually care. And it wasn't so bad really, not feeling. She was never sad or angry any more, never hungry either. While she did miss sleep, she didn't actually seem to need it. The exhaustion she felt that lead her to say that she was tired was somewhat a physical need not to stand anymore, one that never grew or lessened. But mostly it was a great weight on her spirit, pulling it down into her shoes, making it difficult for her to keep her head up.

So the morning came. Kagome got up, packed her bag and lead her bike down the road, next to InuYasha. As she had always done, as she felt she would always do, without change, for all time.

*

Kagome was sitting outside a large bland looking dwelling, waiting for the others to finish with the youkia inside. It was some small fast thing that had every one jumping and swearing. InuYasha was about ready to level the house.

She would have laughed, if she had it in her to find anything funny.

The house was on the edge of town, and Kagome was facing the road, away from town.

She wasn't really alarmed when the attractive youkia female in a toga walked up to her. She was smiling pleasantly enough.

"Hello, do you mind if I join you?" She indicated the space next to Kagome, who shrugged. She sat down and stared off in the same general direction as Kagome was. "My name is Sorrell, I'm a youkia."

"I noticed." Kagome said.

"What gave me away?" Sorrell smiled teasingly, "The strange clothes? The pointy ears?"

Kagome looked at Sorrell directly for the first time, "That, and most humans aren't blue."

Sorrell held out her hands to inspect, "I'm not that blue, just vaguely… courpseish."

"I'm Kagome." Kagome said after she realized that she hadn't introduced herself.

"I know," Sorrell putt her hands on her knees, "I've been watching you. We must be careful whom we trust on the other side. But I like you."

"Then why should I trust you?" Kagome asked, "You are a strange youkia after all."

"I have a greater patients for humans than most, I even find them somewhat endearing, at times." Sorrell said, then lifted her right forearm for Kagome to see, on it a strange symbol was burned, "It says truth, in my youth I was, and am, curse to only tell the truth. I know what is wrong with you."

"What?" Kagome asked wearily.

"At first, or mostly, you are suffering from the separation from the Shikon No Tama. The shards connected you to the rest of it, in a way, that allowed the energy you were so used to, to comfort you. To supplement your drained power with it's own. With out this great source of power you are left to fend for yourself. Your not used to it, your not able to recover your power as fast as your used to." Sorrell paused, waiting for the question.

"So all I need is to get a jewel shard?" Kagome asked.

"That would help you, but you have a much larger problem," Sorrell's face fell slightly to a sweet sadness, "You are in love. Did you know that when you love someone you give some of your energy to them? But here it is one sided. You give him your energy, more than one would usually because he seems to need it, and you think you can spare it, and he gobbles it up. But he doesn't give you any of his."

Sorrell paused for a moment, letting what she said sink in, "These things combined are draining your energy dangerously fast. Did you know that women can take energy from men? They can even take it from women who give that man their love. I would hate to be a woman feeding a man all my love energy only to have him give it to a monster who only wants to cause him pain. And then it must be replaced. Draining that women farther."

"InuYasha gives my energy to Kikyo?" Kagome asked numbly.

"There is a way to get it back," Sorrell continued, "I can teach you how."

"Couldn't I just stop giving so much to InuYasha?" Kagome asked again.

"I don't think you could," Sorrell answered, "you love him too much. But you could take back what you give him; he has so much life energy that he would never miss it. Not with your constant donations."

"I don't think I could steal InuYasha's energy." Kagome turned some of her attention to the house again. They were still chasing that thing.

"You wouldn't be stealing his energy," Sorrell said, "You would be taking a sip from a cup filled to overflowing, as long as you give, and he takes that's all that matters. If you take some back he would never notice."

"I don't think-"

"You don't have to," Sorrell interrupted, "I just think you should realize what is going on, and how to correct it." she paused to make sure that Kagome was paying attention, "I have only your best interest in mind Kagome. Can you say the same for him?" Another meaningful pause, "All it takes is a little kiss, once you know what's going on. Just a little kiss, a little sip from an overflowing fountain. He'll never miss it, but it means so much to you."

Sorrell stood up, "Think about it. How long do you think you can continue like this?" She stood up, "Oh, one more thing, if you tell InuYasha about what we discussed he will probably block your ability to take what belongs to you." And with that she continued down the road.

The movement in the house stopped, and InuYasha, Miroku and Sango exited looking somewhat worse for wear but victorious.

"The reward had better be more than a nights…" InuYasha sniffed around, "Hey Kagome, who was just here?"

Kagome shrugged, "Someone."

"She was a youkia." InuYasha scowled, "What did she want?"

"She just talked, she recognized me from our journey." Kagome sighed; she stood and grabbed her pack, "Are we staying here tonight?"

*

A/N: Please review, I need to know if people are interested in this story.