InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Between Darkness and Light ❯ Gone ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi does.

Between Darkness and Light

Chapter 13: Gone

By Cataluna

Breaking the kiss, "What was that?" referring to the loud noise she had just heard coming from inside the living room. Kagome attempted to look through the glass panel door, though she was quickly becoming distracted by the feel of his lips trailing down the side of her neck, sucking and gently nipping on the pulse point. She involuntarily arched her neck, and ran her hand through his thick hair.

"What was what?" he mumbled back with a bit of annoyance at the loss of her lips. The only sound he could hear was the loud beating of her heartbeat, and the little moans and gasps of pleasure she was making. He smirked against her skin and pulled her closer to him, at the same time leaning them forward so that her back was bent slightly against the railing.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what she was trying to say, but her brain had turned into mush. With her hair flapping in the wind, all she could think of was how good it felt to have his hot lips against her skin, trailing lower and lower.

Letting out a loud gasp, her eyes fluttered open. She regretfully pushed him away and buttoned her shirt. Blushing, "Not here. " smiling shyly at him, motioning to the other side of the glass door.

Inuyasha nodded, panting softly. 'This isn't exactly the right time or place to do this, but. 'What were we trying to do anyway?' He was not "experienced" in the sense when it came to the matter of women like Miroku was, but now he was beginning to understand exactly why Miroku was "that way." All he knew was that he wanted more of her. He took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on top, his thumb rubbing it lovingly, before leading her back inside the apartment.

They walked in hand in hand only to find Miroku nursing a large red handprint on his cheek, and Sango glaring accusingly at him from the other side of the room, looking like she was about to kill him.

"What happened?" Kagome dropped his hand and walked over to Sango's side in concern. The exterminator remained too busy shooting daggers from her eyes at him to answer.

"It was a total misunderstanding," Miroku mumbled in his defense to no one in particular.

Inuyasha sighed, and flopped down on the couch, one arm hanging over the back of the chair. Kagome was still naïve to Miroku's "habits and behaviors" largely due to the fact that he had made certain to never leave her alone with him. Plus, Miroku knew better than to mess with someone he had claims to. "What do you think happened? The lech tried to feel her up probably and she smacked him, simple as that."

Miroku opened his mouth to defend himself, but quickly closed it, when he realized that he was trapped in room with three highly skilled fighters, and they were all majorly pissed at him right now. He dropped his head in defeat, "Sango, please accept my apology. I guess I misunderstood your signals and got a little carried away. I hope you won't think the worse of me because of this," gazing at her with a very serious expression on his face.

She didn't exactly know what she should think of his apology. He seemed sincere enough. Maybe he just got caught up in the mood or something, but. Inuyasha had hinted that he had trouble keeping his hands to himself. She looked over at the others who knew him best for reassurances.

Kagome seemed just as doubtful as she was about his sincerity.

Not wanting to drag this out any longer, he decided to help him out. "Look Sango, he may be perverted but he's harmless. I don't think he'll try anything like that again."

"Thank you, Inuyasha," he gratefully told him.

"Oh and if you try anything like that with Kagome, I'll kill you."



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Dawn was already nearing by the time they had finally agreed to rest for the remainder of the day and continue their quest in the evening. Needing a little time-out from all the excitement and traveling, Kagome was relieved and surprised that Inuyasha had agreed to their decision, since he was never one to be patient. She thought that he was acting a bit strangely when they parted, but had shrugged it off by contributing his behavior to things not exactly going the way he wanted them to.

Too tired to travel all the way back to her place, Sango had politely declined Miroku's invitation to sleep at his apartment, and accepted the offer to stay at her place instead.

Kagome was grateful for some company. Her mother had left a couple of days ago to go stay with her aunt, leaving the house all to herself. She had wanted Kagome to go away with her, to get away from the horrible memory for a while, but she couldn't of course, she had her duty and her responsibilities. It was because of her that her brother was gone. Kagome knew that she shouldn't blame herself for Sota's death, but... she kept thinking that if she had been a better slayer or had patrolled earlier, none of this would have happened.

The quietness of the house was disturbing. It only added to the reminder that Sota was.... She would never hear loud music blasting from his room, or hear him laughing at something stupid on TV. Sometimes she would go into his room, which had remained undisturbed since that night, and imagined him suddenly barging through the door, yelling for her to get out of his place.

A lone tear slipped down her face.

It did not go unnoticed by the older girl. "Kagome? Are you ok?" Sango asked gently, her eyes meeting hers with concern.

"Yea, everything's fine. Something got into my eyes, that's all," she wiped the salty droplet away with her sleeve and forced out a smile. "Anyway, you can sleep in these," handing her t-shirt and shorts.

Unconvinced with her explanation, she looked down at the clothes in her hand, "Kagome, I know we haven't known each other for long, and we didn't exactly start off being in the friendliest way, but if you need to talk to someone."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," giving her another weak smile, then stared at the patterns on the ceiling with her hands behind her head. Sota was still a difficult subject for her to talk about with anyone.

Deciding to change the painful topic, she turned to face the girl on the floor. "So what do you do when you're not fighting?"

Yawning, arms stretching above her head. "Nothing really. just more training and some studying. Exciting life, huh?"

"I know the feeling," Kagome replied.

"But you have someone. you have Inuyasha," she propped up her head with her elbow and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh," letting out a nervous laugh, and subconsciously touched the bruise on her neck that he had given her. She could still feel his lips devouring her.

Noticing the curious look Sango was giving her, she quickly pushed the image to the far corner of her mind. "I know that you haven't exactly seen his best side, but he can be really sweet and caring sometimes. Overall he's a great guy." She tucked the cover closer to her chin, eyes sliding close.

"So I've heard." She paused for a long while, not sure if she had the right to ask the next question. "Are you.are you in love with him?"

The only reply she received was the sound of light snoring.



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He perched on a large tree branch with his head leaned back against the rough bark of the trunk, awaiting the breaking of daylight. His glowing eyes drifted down temporarily to the carcass of a large deer he had just drained, and made a mental note to bury it properly later.

After leaving Kagome's house, he had taken advantage of what was left of the remaining darkness to hunt. He had agreed to delay the trip mainly because his last encounter with her had left him with a sense of restlessness, a wanting that needed to be satisfied. He closed his eyes and grabbed a nearby branch tightly, almost splintering the wood, as he recalled the feel of her pulse thundering loudly beneath his mouth. It wasn't just her blood that he hungered for.

Though he hadn't had any fresh blood for a while, he knew that he could resist the urge to sink his teeth into her soft flesh and taste her sweet, warm blood. It was a thirst of another kind that had him worried. Her scent, the way she walked, the feel of her lips. everything about her drove him wild.

He opened his eyes to the dawning rays, pupils dilating in order to adjust to the blinding light. 'How in the fucking hell did I survive all those years without you, Kagome?'



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Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he tried once again to catch a whiff of the alluding current of air. He cursed loudly, breaking the dead silence that had surrounded them since the start of their journey. The group paused in their track and turned to stare at him curiously, wondering what had pissed the hanyou off.

He ignored them, and continued walking, nearly stomping. Only the fact that he didn't know where he was going kept him from running far ahead. He hated this, the not knowing, the uncertainty. He had relied on his nose for so long, but now. The wind's unusual calmness was making it extremely difficult for him, and the forest was much too quiet. All his senses were useless. muted. The only thing he could smell was the scent of those around him. 'Is this what it's like to be human?'

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered, lagging a little behind with him for some privacy.

"What?" he replied sharply, instantly wished that he wasn't so harsh.

She didn't seem to notice his tone of voice and eyed him with concern. "You're okay? You've been acting all fidgety and stuff all night."

Hoping she would understand since she was the only other one who had heightened senses like his, "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" clearly confuse by his behavior.

He groaned in frustration, and stared straight ahead, concentrating on the landscape instead of his rising temper. "The lack of-. Feh, never mind, just fucking forget it," ending the conversation. The last thing he needed right now was to get into a pointless argument with Kagome.

She looked at him curiously, and also a little hurt, not sure if she should obey his wishes or continue to press for answers. She had never seen him act this way before, so nervous, so jumpy, like a wild animal trapped in a cage. 'What did he mean by "don't you feel it"? Feel what? The lack of what?' Her eyes narrowed, 'He was expecting her to know what he was talking about and what he was feeling. Well I'm not some kind of mind reader. Urg. Man!' His anger was starting to rub off on her.

"No, tell me." She stepped in front of him, stopping Inuyasha in his track

He glared down at her. "Didn't I just say to forget it?" forcing each word out in between clenched teeth.

"Look, I'm just worried about you. You're acting all-" she stopped, noticing that he was no longer paying attention to her, instead he seemed to be focused on the light breeze that they had just encountered for the first time that night. The current of air felt warm and heavy, not at all a relief from the hot night. And that smell . though she could not place or identify it, there was something about it that unnerved her. 'Was that what he was talking about?' glancing up at him. He appeared to be in a daze, brows furrowing in concentration. She lightly touched his face, trying to snap him out of it. "Inuyasha?"

He blinked, and suddenly grabbed her wrist, causing her to jump in surprise. His eyes focused on her only slightly before snapping his head up to look ahead at Sango and Miroku. They had finally gotten tired of waiting for them to finish arguing and had gone on ahead. From what he could tell, she was in the process or reciting a spell that would release the cloak of magic that had protected her home from the prying eyes of the modern world for years.

Suddenly he recognized the smell. He didn't even need to wait for the cloak to dissipate to know what awaited them inside. The hot wind had finally given him the answer he had been searching for. 'How in the fucking world did I miss it?'

The smell he had been trying so hard to figure out now flooded nose, taunting him with its tendrils like mist.

The scent of death.



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He rested his hand on her shoulder, and indicated to the couple behind them. "Don't worry, the arguing is an everyday thing. We should go on ahead, they'll follow us in as soon as they're finished."

Sango nodded and tactfully brushed his hand off of her, before moving ahead, not missing the slightly hurt look on his face. As promised, he had been on his best behavior that night. No unnecessary touching, in fact he was a complete gentleman. She just did not know what to think of him. He appeared to be a nice decent man, but she had learned from last night that appearance could be very deceiving.

An abrupt wind lightly ruffled through her hair, causing her to shiver despite the heat it was giving off. Pausing in mid-step, and she glanced around suspiciously, trying to peer past the shadows. 'Nothing. but why do I feel as though. '

"Sango?"

She shook her head, pushing the nagging feelings aside to the far corner of her mind, and continued on, focusing hard on getting to the entrance stone. She convinced herself that everything would be fine once she and the others were within the fortress, and these weird feelings would disappear.

Biting hard on the bottom of her lip, she pressed her palm against the large granite stone in front of them. It immediately glowed brightly at her touch. She pulled away quickly as though it had just burned her. 'Why am I acting like this. ? I've done this millions of times before, just recite the damn spell Sango.just do it.' Reconnecting with the smooth surface, she at once began to speak the uncloaking spell. The air around them fizzled with magic like it normally would as her home was finally brought into view.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her and she dropped dully to her knees. She gagged and placed her hand firmly over her mouth in an effort to keep the bile of sickness from coming up her throat. 'Why. How. ?'

There was blood everywhere.

The world she had known ever since she came into this world was gone. Bodies were piled high all over the place, remains of her friends, her family. She began to crawl on her hands and knees, not really seeing where she was going, just moving from one place to another in a trance. Through her haze, she could dimly hear Miroku calling out her name, telling her to wait. She ignored him, and kept searching, praying for a miracle.

She weakly called out their names as she wandered, moving aside fragments and corpses. Hot tears blurred her eyes, stinging her face, but she made no move to wipe them away.

Her heart leapt at the sound of a low moan, and the sight of a small bloody hand reaching out from within the debris. She worked frantically to get to that person, hoping.

"Kohaku!" Her immediate relief turned quickly into complete horror. 'Who did this. Who could have done such a thing?' Her brother. her little brother was completely drenched in blood. And his arms. 'Oh god, his arms!'

He stirred, his face twisting in pain, "Sis. ," he mumbled, drifting in and out of consciousness.

She touched his cheek, noting how cold it was. "Hang on Kohaku, stay with me."

"I can't move. my arms. Why can't I move my arms?" he asked frantically, attempting to sit up.

Sango bit her cheeks, trying hard to stay calm for him. "Shh. shh. Don't worry about it, everything's going to be fine."

"I'm- I'm scared Sis." He coughed violently, blood spraying everywhere before going still.

She looked down at the crimson red splattered all over her lap. "Kohaku?"



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It was a complete massacre.

Their bodies were mutilated so grotesquely by their own weapons that even he had to look away. Feeling queasy, Kagome reached out for his hand to support herself. He accepted, even thought they had agreed to hide their relationship from their enemies. It was safer that way; they didn't need to give them a chance to see their greatest weakness, each other.

They began looking for survivors, but soon realized it would be fruitless, whoever did this had done their job well.

'Naraku!' He let out a low threatening growl and bared his teeth at the mere thought of his most hated enemy. 'I'm going to tear him apart!!!'

Kagome turned and hid her face in his chest, sobbing quietly.

He froze and looked down at her blinking in surprise as if he had almost forgotten she was there, the muscle around his jaw unclenching. 'Kagome.' His growl quickly died down, and he held on to her just as tightly. He closed his eyes, his nose nuzzling her hair to rid him of the horrid stench by inhaling her sweet scent.



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They had found her lying next to the body of a young teenage boy with her arms wrapped desperately around him, mumbling the name Kohaku over and over again. Refusing to let go of the boy at all cost, she had growled loudly and bared her teeth at them when they tried to get close. Finally, Inuyasha had to knock her out.

He watched the girl on his bed with a worried frown. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, flickering across her face, but she gave no notice of it. Since awakening a short while ago, she had remained unresponsive, not blinking, not moving, her vacant eyes staring off into space.

It was heartbreaking to see such a strong warrior fall apart like that. He could not even begin to imagine what she was going through, to lose everything she knew, everyone she loved in one night.

Leaning forward on his chair, Miroku gently took her hand. "Sango," his eyes searching her face for any sort of response or recognition.

She remained unmoved.

He lowered his head on the bed with a heavy sigh. "Sango, we'll help you destroy those that are responsible. but you have to snap out of this, you're a strong woman. your father and brother-"

"Gone," her voice dull and flat, but echoed loudly in the quiet room. "Everything is gone," turning her face to him.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice to the sight of her looking back at him, tears spilling like waterworks from her eyes, soaking the pillow. He suddenly crushed her against him in relief, not caring if she would slap him for this later. "No, you have us," he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

She stiffened for all but a moment before allowing herself to get lost in his comfort. his embrace.



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~ Kagome's Dream ~

. Her brother was sitting against a wall, his face partially hidden in the shadow.

Kagome smiled. She hid the bow behind her back, and walked over to him. "What are you doing here? Mama was so worried about you.you better go home now. Remember, you said so yourself that it's dangerous to be out in the evening.

"Sota?" He still wasn't answering. 'Is he mad at me?' Kagome kneeled down in front of him, and touched his face.

He grasped her hand tightly, eyes fluttering open.

Startled, she gasped out loud at the feel of ice cold shackled made of flesh circling her wrist. "Sota?" trying to break loose. 'How did he get so strong?'

"Why Kagome?" tears of blood dripped down his cheeks, staining his pale face.

Eyes widening in horror, "Why what? You- you're bleeding." She reached up with her freed hand to wipe them away.

He captured her other wrist, and shook her. "Why did you let me die? Why didn't you save me?" he yelled right into her face, his eyes turning a blazing shade of red. His face began to melt away in a sickening mix of blood and flesh.

Kagome screamed, her head turning madly to look away.

But he wouldn't let her, his face got closer and closer as he shouted out his accusations over and over again...



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Inuyasha gently stroked at the long raven tresses that spilled over his lap and onto the sofa, trying his hardest to sooth the sleeping girl. She had been thrashing and moaning almost the instant her eyes drifted close. He had attempted to wake Kagome up several times by shaking her lightly and calling out her name, but she remained deep in slumber fighting with her inner demons.

He glanced up to see Miroku closing the bedroom door silently behind him, motioning with his head for him to follow.

Treating her as though she was made of porcelain, he gently removed her head from his lap and replaced it with a pillow. She stirred and whimpered a little at the loss of his warmth, but quieted down with a soft kiss from him. He watched her for a little while longer until she finally settled, before leaving the room.

"It was Naraku, wasn't it?" Miroku asked quietly as soon as Inuyasha joined him in the kitchen.

Inuyasha clenched his hands tightly into fists, resisting the urge to punch his hand through the wall. "It was that fucking bastard alright. His style, his disgusting scent."

"Damn!" Miroku growled, his voice thick with anger, and slammed his fists down, rattling the dishes on the table. "If we had gotten there faster."

Inuyasha was surprised by his behavior. Miroku was usually the calm one of the group, revealing anger for him was rare.

"He planned the whole thing. he's been watching our every fucking move the entire time."

"And now he has the ring. "



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Kagome sprang up into an upright position, her mouth wide open, desperately gasping for air. 'Sota. ' Still panting, she blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear the horrifying images that continued to linger in her sight. images of her brother calling out to her, blood everywhere, asking her why she was not able to save him. Drawing her knees to her chest, 'Oh Sota. I'm so sorry, please forgive me.'

Her eyes began to search the darkened room for Inuyasha; all she knew is that she needed him warmth, his comfort. His voice, along with some loud banging and shouting led her to the kitchen. She staggered in just in time to catch a bit of their conversation.

"That damn coward Naraku, always using others to do his dirty work," Inuyasha growled loudly, oblivious to the girl standing behind him.

She wrapped her arms around a very startled Inuyasha from behind, nuzzling her face in his back. "Who's Naraku?"





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A/N: Sorry for taking so long with my updates, damn writer's block. I've been working on several other stories too so I can get the first chapter out to you guys soon. I'm also working on revising the beginning of this story and Charade.

Goddess of Death: hmmm.never thought of that before, I guess I might have been influenced subconsciously =), ahh.don't worry you'll get more of those scenes soon. Btw I made this chapter longer just for you

Mattaki: keep worshipping = )

Rhiannon: I know! Darn him for being so cute and sexy. I guess Kagome needs to pay him back.some how.

Aylee the Dragon: good old Miroku, hopefully he'll stop interrupting Inuyasha and Kagome now that he has Sango ; )

Esther: don't worry, Miroku has his own woman to deal with now

Zel no miko: alright now, you can put the knife away

Kagome-chan: hmmm so you "think" you've figured it out

JJ: more chapterS are on the way, I'll try to update as much as possible before I have to return to school *shuddering at the thought*

Chiisana-youkai: I'm so glad you found my story again *big hug*

Foxtrot_Xray: hmm.I never thought of that before, but thanks for the warning, I'll keep that in mind

SportyChic1893, TexasAngel481, Lynn-chan, Abby Rose, Vorsith: Thanks!!! = )

And thank you so much to all the others that I didn't get to mention!!! Questions, comments? Please review!!



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Preview for "Wait For Me", the story I did for Ookami's site. It's A/U and NC17 (seems like I'm writing tons of those lately, you guys must think I'm a huge perv like Miroku). I suck at summary so just read it and find out, all I can tell you is that it is guaranteed to be very fluffy.

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He pressed his mouth against hers lightly, "Feh, it was the same with you too, I'm always threatening guys for hitting on you. But none of this matter now, we're together and they can't tear us apart."

The smile faded quickly from her face, she stiffened and stepped out of his embrace.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" he gently lifted her chin to the sight of tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"I." she collapsed into his arms.

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Well that's it, go read it and tell me what you think =)