InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Fates ❯ Degeneration ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 2: Degeneration

Aiko watched as Yasha moved across the courtyard and down the steps into the main shrine courtyard, stopping in passing and reaching a hand out to carress the damaged bark of the Goshinboku, before continuing on and heading down the stairs. Once he was out of sight, she sighed, then stepped back into the house and slid the door shut.

What a difficult fate had been handed to her daughter... and by extension, the young man who had just left. She didn't envy either one a bit.

Still, she would do what she could to help, and it was time for her daughter to take the first tentative steps in her new life - a life without the hanyou from the past. A life that was supposed to include the hanyou that was here, now.

Heading back up the stairs after a quick glance into the kitchen to make sure that dinner was still coming along well, she drew in a deep breath, then pushed open the door to her daughter's room and walked in.

"Kagome?" she asked softly, moving to stand beside the bed, she grabbed the drinks she'd set down earlier. "Are you thirsty, dear?"

Kagome slowly turned her head and opened her eyes, glancing sullenly at her mother, before she dropped her gaze and nodded slightly.

"Y-yes, please," she whispered.

"Here, dear, let me help you sit up." She reached around her daughter's back with her arm, and lifted, pulling her into a more upright position, then placed the pillows behind her to support her. Once that was done, she twisted open the cap on the dink, and handed it to her daughter.

She watched silently as Kagome drank. It was difficult for her to see her daughter this way, and even harder to feel it in her aura - there was so much turmoil and darkness swirling inside her right now.

She already knew what most of the problem was, being that Inuyasha's reincarnation was running around Tokyo, and Kagome was now home permanently, it was obvious that Inuyasha had chosen the other woman - the one Kagome was supposedly reincarnated from.

But she honestly hadn't expected something like what she was now seeing from her daughter - this went beyond his choice of another, after all, Kagome had been pretty sure already that such was her fate. So what could be causing it?

Kagome finally finished with the first bottle, and setting it aside, she reached for the next one.

"Kagome, dear... what was all that about earlier?"

She stiffened as her mother asked about something she really didn't want to discuss - now or ever. But she knew she'd never get out of it, so reluctantly, she asked, "What?"

"I heard you yelling at Yasha earlier, Kagome. Now answer me, dear. I never taught you to be so rude to a guest in this house."

"I'm sorry, mama, but if he's here, then he's your guest, and I don't want him near me." She turned her face away and stared at the spot where her bed met the wall.

"What has Yasha ever done to you for you to treat him that way? From the impression I had gotten from him, you've never met him before." Aiko stared hard at her daughter, surprised... she wasn't even willing to look at her own mother, and for Kagome, that was unheard of - she'd always been an open book, never fearing to show the world what was in her heart.

"He's spouting the same load of crap that Inuyasha was - how our souls are bound by the kami and he's my other half, like Kikyou was Inuyasha's. I don't buy it," she hissed, "and even if it's true, I want no part of anything to do with Inuyasha, Kikyou, or the past. It, and he, are dead to me."

Aiko sat back in shock at her words - things were worse than she'd thought for Kagome to be acting like this - so hateful.

"Daughter, you will listen to me. It is time to snap out of it. What has you so angry? The fact that he chose the other one? But you knew he would," she said, at Kagome's anguished sound, "so why do you act this way now? And to dishonor the kami the way you have, by denying their will... you are a daughter of this shrine, Kagome, and you will act like it."

At that, Kagome began to laugh. "I think the kami have gotten everything they could take from me, mother. There isn't anything left that they'd want." She turned her face up to stare at her mother, a mad light in her eye. "Would you like to see what the kami have left of me? I can show you..." she trailed off, then laughed again, a dark, haunted sound.

Aiko stood and backed away a bit as her daughter began to glow, and a huge soul began to move out from within her... it took forever, it was so large. But as Aiko watched in awe - even as a miko herself, she'd never seen anything like this - she could see that its light was dim, swirling with darkness, it was fractured and twisted in pain.

"Kagome! Stop that this instant! Pull it back now, daughter." Aiko didn't want her to lose her already tenuous hold on her soul, or her sanity.

"But I'm showing you what the kami have left me with, mother. Now do you see? I don't even know who I am anymore." She slowly allowed the drifting portions of soul to sink back within her body.

"You are Kagome, and nobody else."

At that, her dark giggles and laughs stopped, and she looked out the window suddenly, staring sadly into the distance, and Aiko could see, even in profile, that her daughter's mind was centuries away at that moment.

"But who is Kagome?" she whispered, a slight frown of confusion crossing her face. "Do you know?"

Aiko caught her hand over her mouth, holding in the frightened sound threatening to escape.

This wasn't Kagome.

Kagome was lost, somewhere inside her own soul.

---sSs---

Yasha walked aimlessly, still in shock and hurting terribly. How could things have gone so horribly wrong? It wasn't supposed to be this way - she was supposed to come home from the journey, take a little time to heal and readjust, during which time they would quietly get to know each other, and then go from there to the rest of their lives. Joyously.

It wasn't supposed to have turned out this way.

She was his, and yet, she was denying him, turning from him, and demanding that he leave and never come near her again. And she wouldn't take back that last part of her soul.

This whole thing was wrong on so many levels he didn't even know where to start.

How could something kami ordained go so wrong? Had they really used her up so much that she had nothing left in her heart to give? Or was it all because of Inuyasha... and Kikyou?

Shoulders slumping, he turned towards a park that lay nearby, needing the space and the quiet. He knew he needed to get home, he didn't want to worry his parents, but right now, he just couldn't face anyone. They were expecting happy news - not this.

Everyone in the family knew who he was, knew who he had once been, and knew who Kagome was - and what they were to each other. It had been passed on from Kikyou and Inuyasha from the earliest time - always, from eldest son to eldest son, that in this era, his reincarnation would be born of his family line, and would find his match in Kagome. They had known her name, where she would live, what she looked like... everything.

But they had not expected any of this.

When he had been born, his parents had known who he was immediately. Since the days of his preincarnation, all the family had been born with Kikyou's dark coloring - except he. He bore Inuyasha's coloring. He hadn't even been two years old, and he'd already been asking for 'Gome, and when would he be able to see her.

The answer had always been the same - after she had saved him. Then he would see her.

And now, he felt cheated.

He'd spent most of his life watching over her, secretly, always making sure she was safe, and he'd had time to fall in love with her. She hadn't had the same, however, and because of that, she'd answered the pull of her soul - but towards the wrong incarnation - and now, it looked like, all because of Inuyasha and Kikyou, and all the screw-ups they'd made, that he would pay the price by losing his soul-mate.

He really wished he could go back in time and kick Inuyasha's ass.

Hard.

He glanced around at his surroundings, noting the early evening mist flowing across the ground and weaving amongst the trees, and shivered. It reminded him of her soul... it left a fey feeling in the air, and his heart sank even lower at that thought.

Her soul... his soul, they were one and the same, and yet, her part of it was crumbling like a sandcastle on the beach at high tide.

He had to wonder if she could even be saved...

---sSs---

Dinner that night in the Higurashi home was subdued - Aiko had already spoken to her father-in-law about Kagome's state of mind, and her refusal to take back that part of her soul.

He was deeply concerned and adamant that before she even had a chance at healing, she had to take back that part of her soul that was missing. Unfortunately, when she'd noticed that Yasha hadn't taken it away earlier, she'd gone ballistic - completely refusing to stay in her room if it wasn't removed from her sight.

The soul orb was trapped behind a barrier of Kagome's own making, and the only way to heal her was to get her to take it back. Aiko didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon, though... and at the rate she was deteriorating, they didn't have the time to try to convince her.

She was not concerned with the barrier around the orb itself, after all, she was a miko herself, though not of her daughter's caliber, she still was more than strong enough to break such a barrier. No, it was most definitely not that. The problem was that she feared that forcing her to take it back may just cause more harm. She wanted to be sure that it wouldn't, or at least, as sure as they could be.

She would have to ask Yasha when he called if he could think of any way to make sure that taking in that piece of soul didn't do anymore damage than it already had just by being in the same room as Kagome.

She was worried, and she wouldn't even attempt to hide it - she'd never heard of anything like this, and she had no idea of how to handle it.

It was apparent to anyone who looked at her that she was going downhill, and fairly fast... her mental state was dangerous if not handled correctly - but what was correct with something like this? It wasn't like they could even take her to a psychologist or counselor for something like this - missing pieces of your soul wasn't a problem they were exactly equipped to handle.

So now what? Where did they go? She didn't have any idea.

Yasha was their only hope, because she really didn't think that this was something that time could heal.

---sSs---

Etsu looked over at her mate, worry in her eyes. Yasha should have been home by now, and he hadn't even called. Yasuo looked back at her steadily.

"Why are you worried, my mate? You know his destiny is at Kagome's side - and he is more than capable of defending himself against any dangers this world could send against him."

She nodded, some of her fear leaving. But still, some remained. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Etsu was strong in her own right. A full youkai, she had met Yasuo and fallen in love with him almost immediately - and that hadn't changed in all the years they'd been together. Her family had been somewhat upset that her mate was only hanyou, but had tolerated it, as he claimed kinship with Sesshoumaru and the Western House.

Much could be overlooked for such a thing.

Yasuo watched his mate, a smile crossing his face as he took in her beautiful face. So many years they'd been together, and so many more to come. Silky raven hair falling around her face, with beautiful green eyes, she was his calm and his comfort, and he could always tell when something was wrong with her - her eyes were very expressive.

And something was definitely wrong. So he did what any good mate would and moved to take her in his arms, determined to comfort her.

"What is it you fear, love?"

She turned worried eyes up to his and said, "I don't know - but something isn't right. And I fear what this could mean. All I can tell is that there is something wrong with our son."

"Do you want me to go find him?"

Nodding, she said, "Yes, please, love."

Before he could do more than nod, however, the door into the genkan slid open, and they could hear him come in and slide his shoes off.

At first pleased that he was safe, they quickly became even more worried at the feel of his aura. It was roiling with sadness and fear, and a great deal of hurt and worry.

That was definitely not like Yasha.

Normally, he was an ebullient, brilliant person, bold, like a bolt of fire across the sky - but now he felt tired, his fire dimmed. With something close to apprehension, Etsu and Yasuo waited for their son to enter the room.

Both of their eyes widened in concern as he came in, footsteps slow and sad. Neither one had ever seen him like this, so... subdued.

Etsu stepped forward, reaching out a hand to her son. "Yasha, dear, what - what's wrong?"

He lifted his face, tiredly, he said, "She's back. It's over and the well is closed."

Yasuo glanced at his wife, then looked back at his son, a frown marring his face. "But isn't that a good thing, son?"

Yasha chuckled, but it was dark, not his usual happy sound.

"It should have been," he sighed as he reached the couch and plopped down, slumping in his seat immediately. "But it's not."

His parents looked at each other, confused and concerned, and then moved to sit with him. Etsu sat next to him and put her hand on his back for comfort as she asked, "Well, why not? She wasn't hurt or anything was she? She shouldn't have been - according to Inuyasha, she wasn't suffering from more than a few scrapes and bruises when she jumped through the well the last time, right dear?"

Yasuo nodded. "That's right. According to him, she was angry and upset when she jumped, but wasn't injured or anything."

At that, Yasha stiffened, his own anger surfacing. "Yeah, well that bastard was being stupid, then. First off, she was so angry and upset that she didn't come out of the well when she got back... when we found her this afternoon, she'd been down there kami only knows how long - she was unconscious - dehydrated and weak from exposure and lack of food. And that's just the beginning!"

He stood then, shaking off his mother's arm, as Yasuo and Etsu sent each other apprehensive looks.

"When I jumped down to haul her out of there, there was a soul orb sitting there near her... and we all know what it was, now don't we? But Kagome knew what it was, too, and she put a barrier around it - she refuses to take it back. She wants nothing to do with anything that's a part of Kikyou, or Inuyasha... including me."

Etsu's eyes widened. "What? Honey, are you sure? Maybe she just needs a few days."

He shot a look at her, all his frustration, anger, pain and fear showing then, in his eyes. "No, I'm sure, mother. She flat out told me to get out and take the soul orb with me, that she wanted nothing to do with any male ever again, and especially with anything or anyone that had any connection to Inuyasha or Kikyou - she told me that there was nothing there for me, and never would be."

He lifted his head then, from where it had sunk onto his arm as he leaned against the wall, and stared out the window, not noticing the looks his parents were sending each other.

"Her soul is shattered, and her heart darkened... and I don't know if she can be saved," he finished, whispering, as the agony in his heart overwhelmed him, and he lost the ability to speak aloud around the lump in his throat.

"She isn't Kagome anymore - I don't know who she is. And I don't know how to help her."