InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Alone till Love ❯ The Finding ( Chapter 14 )

Mia: Wow......I never thought, I the positively SEXY Mia, would hit writers block......

Crescent22000: Uhh......sexy? That's not right! Nope, nope. Definitely not right.

Mia: Are you calling me.....FAT?!?!

Inu: Well, we all know you're a cross dresser, so what else could she be talking about!!

Mia: *very evil glare at Inu*

Crescent: CROSS DRESSER!?!?! MWHAHAHA!! JUST LIKE NARAKU!! *falls over, laughing hysterically*

Mia & Inu: !! O o !!

Mia: Confuzzling as that child is, the mystery of Crescent will have to wait! It's finally time for Chapter 14! Yayness!

Crescent: *still on the ground, rolling around, and still laughing hysterically*

Inu: Yeah, okay, on with the story.......*mumbling about how insane these people are*

Chapter 14: The Finding

Time lay still as evening fell, the pale beams of moonlight found Kagome still gripping Inu-yasha, her once so beautiful face stained with tears, with the blood of the breathless Inu-yasha. The sky was growing darker, as Kagome woke, slowly raising herself up upon her hands, and closing her eyes tightly as she saw Inu-yasha in the lessening light.

After all she had been through, Inu-yasha's death had forced her to teeter on the very edge of her sanity. She wanted so badly to rip Kikyo apart, to do worse than what she had already done to her. Kagome had destroyed her soul, what more could she do? The demon almost broke down once again, but the sound of footsteps in the distance made her blink the tears away, and force her to swallow the unutterable sorrow within her.

She inhaled slowly, realizing that Riku was coming. She glanced around her, almost frantically. She could never allow Riku to see her in such a state. Her eyes strayed to Inu-yasha's peaceful face, and she calmed herself. She could never leave him, not now.

"Kagome?!" Riku stepped none too gracefully through the brush that surrounded them, his face exposing his horror at the sight that lay before him. "......What has happened here, my sister?" Riku replied softly as his eyes met Kagome's.

The demons teary gaze faltered and broke, leaving Riku's intelligent gaze to burn into her. Kagome's eyes once more fell upon Inu-yasha's tranquil expression, and she could only barely contain a sob. She swallowed more tears, trying to fall into the cold reserve that Riku had seemed to master.

Kagome had never seen Riku shed tears, nor did she think she ever would. As this thought came to mind, Kagome wished that she too had inherited such mastery of her emotions, as her father before her had also possessed.

Riku kneeled lightly upon one knee before Kagome, his heart aching for his sister. Only the depths of his dark eyes revealed the pain he too experienced. Riku knew, as he had never fully known before, that he could only protect Kagome from so much. Love and all the pain it brought could not be scorned, because in truth, it alone could bring Kagome the healing that Riku now realized he could not provide.

No word spoken, nor any tear shed on his part for his dear sister, would make any difference now.

"Kagome, I cannot speak, for you shall not find comfort in my kind words. I cannot heal you, for only time can heal the wounds of ones heart, of ones soul. I am your brother, and my love runs strong and true for you, but in my arms, you will not find the relief you seek. I have protected you as best I can, but love is not to be disdained. You cannot hate that which you once embraced with no regret."

Riku paused, the wind whispering ever so softly among the moonlight and swaying trees. Stars twinkled and brightened, dimmed and wavered in the velvety sky. The raven haired demon took his sisters blood-soaked hand in his and smiled, despite the situation.

"Regret nothing, my dear one. Love you cannot despise, nor can you comprehend. Love you cannot forget. Remember always......Remember Inu-yasha, for his heart was true, and had beaten only for you. Remember him, for he was stout and his soul was pure. Though the pain is so near to your heart, and it cleaves you with utmost depth, do not wish to forget. Never wish to push the past away, for in the times of darkest evil, only the past itself will sustain your very being."

Kagome wiped away a single tear that leaked down her cheek, and her eyes shone in the pale, pale light. Riku's smile softened his handsome features, his eyes no longer cruelly intelligent, but beautiful and comforting. `I was wrong about Riku, he is not a fool......'

"Kagome, forgive me if my speech has bored you, but I feel it is necessary for you to never forget. We will need Inu-yasha, for your sake, and for the sake of the kingdom. In the end, it will be you Kagome. All will depend on you." Riku stopped suddenly, as if aware he had spoken the wrong words.

Kagome's tears were gone, and her eyes glittered with renewed strength, though pain lingered there. A grimace alone marked the intensity of her emotion as she sat beside her deceased love, her eldest brother kneeling before her in an elegant manner. There was no doubt to Riku that Kagome was strong enough, brave enough, to handle anything life could manage to throw at her.

Riku's smile was gone, and a deep frown now replaced it. His long hair tied behind his neck, he took a deep breath and continued. The time of grief would soon need be put aside, and be replaced by the strength and power needed to defeat Auron.

"The Kingdom must be restored. The guardians must now take hold of the enemy. Until now, this has been a mere game, only honor and family in the balance, but now my sister, the very world itself is in danger, and it`s fate now rests in our hands. Auron will stop at nothing, he is a greater evil than even we know. You are the key, Kagome. I can no longer protect you as I once have."

Kagome glanced at Inu-yasha, anger glinting in her eyes. "Auron is a fool of a bastard if he believes the kingdom will be his, more so if he believes he shall overcome this world The guardians are back, and be it even by my own death, we will defeat Auron. I will not let Inu-yasha die in vain, I know Kikyo was but a slave of Auron's........" Kagome's voice broke, and faded.

Riku sighed inwardly, not bothering to ask who Kikyo was. Hers was the soul destroyed hours ago. Riku's senses still tingled with the power of the spell cast. Kagome had loved Inu-yasha more than she had let on, and Riku was certain Inu-yasha had loved his sister just as much.

Such a tragedy had befallen the two, in too short of time. Riku bit back his anger at this. He was certain, though his only evidence be his own intuition, that Inu-yasha had been killed at the hands of Kikyo.

"Kagome, there is much to be planned, but now, I feel it is the time for you to clean yourself and rest. Inu-yasha will remain in your heart forever, do not forget, but he would not want you to grow weary with suffering if still he breathed. Go now to the river and wash yourself, meditate, and return when you are prepared to hear of the upcoming events. We shall not pressure you."

Kagome brushed her hair from her face and tore her eyes from Inu-yasha's limp form. "We cannot bury him. He would not want it that way......" Kagome whispered, voice hoarse and throat burning as she tensed and swallowed slowly. "We must cremate his remains, Riku."

Riku seemed to be slightly startled out of his own thoughts, and glanced at Kagome sorrowfully. "You mustn't watch, Kagome, I will do the final rites, I have such a spell indeed. But go now, my sister, and if only for an instant, be free of all concern."

Kagome nodded, not trusting her own voice. She blinked in the moonlight, and got to her feet slowly, the blood of Inu-yasha soaked into her very skin. "Thank you....." she muttered, eyes burning with some suppressed tears. She swallowed her pain once more, for the sake of Inu-yasha, and walked, thought without her grace or usual beauty, towards the river.

Her face was but a mere façade of strength, however.

Riku accomplished the final rites upon Inu-yasha's body, the ashes lifted in a slight wind, and a small portion filled a tiny, intricately engraved silver vial. The rest of the ashes blew throughout the woods, on the wild wind to rest wherever the breeze may have taken them. "May your soul fly." Riku whispered to the dark skies above.

Inu-yasha was now forever at rest.

Riku placed the vial on a beautiful, glittering silver chain and slipped the necklace into a black, silk pouch. He would give the necklace to Kagome upon her return, he decided after a moment of indecision. The demon's frown deepened, if possible, and his shining hair whipped out behind him in the cool, evening breeze.

"Regret nothing, my dear one. Love you cannot despise , nor can you comprehend . Love you cannot forget. Remember always......"

Kagome had been walking in a daze, blinded by the tears that she had thought were forgotten. Brushing away the beads of her own sorrow, an almost ashamed expression crossed her face. `I'm a demon, and still I cannot forget how human I feel......when will this pain subside? Why must his death affect me so?'

Kagome continued to walk, eyes scanning the ground before her, her head bowed. Weary without cause, and expecting to be alone at the river, Kagome's senses didn't alert her of another presence until she sat upon her knees before the river, and a slight splashing sound was heard.

Gazing into the crystal depths of the river, the demon's eyes unseeing while she sat amidst the almost silent night. Kagome inhaled deeply and almost choked, hands trembling as the familiar scent rolled over her senses. "Impossible......" she muttered, barely hearing even her own voice as she climbed to her feet slowly. The scent was much stronger, but......

The thick foliage of the trees that surrounded her she brushed away in her hurry, all weariness forgotten. "It cannot be, still the scent haunts me!" Kagome hissed, to the evenings cool air. The raven haired demon stumbled, none too gracefully, and knew instantly another stood before her. Fallen onto her knees, hands pressed firmly to the hard, unforgiving soil of the ground beneath her, she could not see who she had almost stumbled into. Slowly, deliberately, she raised her eyes and they locked with two blinking amber orbs that shimmered in the reflection of the water. She choked once again, swallowing the sob that had almost escaped. Before her stood the last person Kagome expected to see....Sesshoumaru.

"You reek of my brothers blood, demon." Sesshoumaru replied to the woman before him, still on her knees, hands clenched in fists that rested against the hard ground. The demon-ness raised her eyes and Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow in his shock.

`The human......she is Inu-yasha's companion......' he thought, taking a breath slowly, almost expecting a mistake in her scent. `This cannot be! How could she have transformed like this? I sense no deception in her scent.' She had the scent of a demon, it could be no mistake.

Kagome bit back a sob as her eyes locked with Sesshoumaru's. Would he kill her? Rip her to shreds with his dangerous claws? Sesshoumaru seemed slightly interested in her now, with a single raised eyebrow and his eyes never leaving her.

"You are covered in my brothers blood, a mere trace of mine, Kagome, is it?" Sesshoumaru said, voice steady, though laced slightly with many emotions his eyes alone revealed. "Yet, you do not act as though his blood upon you is worthy of triumph. So, do I speak the truth when saying you did not slay my pathetic brother?"

Kagome's gaze steadied and grew angry at his words. "You are pathetic if you believe your voice is alone enough to convince me of your brother's frailty. You are a fool, as well, if you have thought for even a moment that I, who loved your brother deeply, would slay him." Kagome retorted, hair falling from her face to reveal intelligent, steely eyes not unlike to her brothers.

Sesshoumaru's gaze hardened as he beheld the demon Kagome.

`She is beautiful. Before she was as pathetic as my brother, speaking with human ignorance, though her bravery was that of any demon known to me. Yet now......Now she is strong and speaks with elegance and wisdom. An inner transformation as well? I cannot believe my eyes.....' Sesshoumaru's thoughts made his hard gaze lessen. Suddenly, as Kagome began to get to her feet, he realized something of her words.

"You speak as if my brother no longer walks this earth, and his very blood leaks from your robes. Is Inu-yasha dead then? Has he been slain?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, eyes meeting and locking with Kagome's.

The demon woman's anger faded. "Kikyo has slain him, with her arrow. Her arrow, that was meant to pierce my heart......Inu-yasha guarded me from her, and in doing so, gave his life to save my own. Would he not of saved me, I would have perished and he would still breath......and I wish that were so. For it would be better to die so gracefully, than to live life without cause."

Sesshoumaru saw as tears streamed silently down Kagome`s face. For the first time in so many years, Sesshomaru wanted so badly to extend his hand to Kagome, to comfort this woman. In the demon form, she had gained more than beauty and grace. She had gained intelligence, wisdom, and deeper felt emotions.

Sesshoumaru rested one hand on her shoulder, surprising both himself and Kagome. Her eyes fluttered open, to lock with his. "As much as my hatred has burned this long years for my brother, perhaps there was...... some fault in my scorn." the demon said after a moment, as Kagome's eyes widened fleetingly.

`What can I say to that?' Kagome thought, shock and surprise coloring her features.

"Though I do not promise you I speak truly of this fault." Sesshoumaru added after a moment, the corners of his mouth upturned in the very slightest hint of a smile. "I shall now leave you, Kagome, and despite Inu-yasha's fault, he was still my brother. I ask only that you lay him to rest properly, though I still my hatred for him lives on, even in his death."

Kagome nodded slowly, silent with her disbelief at Sesshoumaru. He was declaring his hatred for his own brother, yet asking for his proper burial. She knew his emotions were more complicated than his words had revealed, but she was silent, her eyes resting on Sesshoumaru's seemingly emotionless features.

"Farewell Kagome."

Sesshomaru turned, leaving the still-shocked Kagome behind him. Kagome turned from him as well, gazing into the rushing river once more. Though she could not find ultimate comfort in her brothers words......could Sesshoomaru offer the comfort she longed for? This thought was registered guiltily in her subconscious, as she forced herself to not think of love, or Sesshoumaru. When had she ever held such thoughts when it came to Inu- yasha's elder brother?

Kagome stripped herself of her clothing, and began to wash herself, features softening ever so slightly as she sang quietly to herself, voice steady now and eyes dry, though her voice was indeed sorrowful

The demon frowned slightly, bathing herself as the moonlight danced across the river. She loved Inu-yasha still, though the barriers of life and death parted them. Kagome's determined frown strengthened. He had given his life, so that she may live......and that's exactly what she was going to do.

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Mia: Ooh! Yay! Good chapter if I say so myself. Very dramatic and....uh.....kinda really deep!

*Silence*

Crescent: NARAKU AS A CROSSDRESSER!! *STILL laughing hysterically*

Inu & Mia: both smile, *and then start laughing*

Mia: Ha ha, that is funny! *falls on floor laughing*

Crescent: See you laugh next time laugh!

Inu: *rolling around laughing his head off*

Mia: Bye *waves with a big smile on her face, a moment of silence, then they all roar with laughter*