InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Trust ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs solely to its creator, Rumiko Takahashi. However, this story and the explanation behind which Kagome turns into a youkai belongs entirely to me. Ask, before you use it.

 

Chapter 1

 

Her eyes fluttered open as the gentle tendrils of sleep released her from her rest. Her dreams had been filled with memories of a night much like the one today. It was a beautiful night with the crescent moon shining above her, and the soothing sound of wind made her heart ache with nostalgia. Not that she had realized it was a soothing sound at the time. It was only in retrospect, when the dream came back to haunt her, that she could extract every ounce of serenity from that vision and learn to lay aside the grief that tormented her soul with regret. It didn't matter that remembering brought a different subset of guilt to haunt her.

 

But, she had finally returned home to her ancestors' shrine, and she was ready to face that guilt, to face them. She had finally returned after four long years of studying in the States. It had been one of the few places that would accept her pledge to buckle down and continue the progress she had made over the last four months at a yobiko. None of the universities in Japan would consider her, citing lack of progress over the past three years of high school as unacceptable. They completely disregarded her `illness' as a valid excuse for such poor performance.

 

She shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable spot against the aged bark of the Goshinboku. She missed this. She missed the feeling of peace and tranquility that the night and moon gave to her. It made her feel closer to him in a way.

 

The sky just wasn't the same in America where she did her undergrad. There, it was just too different and lacked the complex history her homeland exuded. It was just different, foreign, and left a sour taste in her mouth despite the four years she spent living there.

 

Her heart belonged to Japan and no other.

 

She sighed lightly, thinking of what would happen in eight more months. Her grades had greatly improved through both the cram school and her own efforts which got her into college in the first place. She managed to maintain that pace again at her university. It took a perfect 4.0 to prove to the University of Tokyo that she was hardworking, dedicated, and capable of joining her fellow countrymen in the pursuit of knowledge. That, and she applied early so despite being wait listed, she was able to procure a coveted spot in their medical program.

 

She couldn't wait to start, hoping to combine modern medicine with the knowledge that Kaede taught her through practical experience during her three year stint in Sengoku Jidai. But first, there were things she needed to take care of; demons she had to face.

 

She shifted again against the crinkled surface beneath her. She had waited long enough. It was time to return to her past, to the past. Sliding off her perch, Kagome turned and rubbed her fingers along the indentation where an arrow once locked a hanyou in eternal slumber. She needed to see him, see how Sango fared during her four year absence from the past. She owed it to them and the dead.

 

The twenty-two year old woman hefted an obscenely cheery yellow backpack onto her shoulders, the weight unnoticed despite its bulging appearance. She dashed to the well house, whispering a soft farewell to her family before she jumped inside, silver strands of hair among the black glinting in homage to the moon.

 

—\-|-/—

 

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles. It had been a long four years since Kagome disappeared down the well, indirectly telling them that she needed to get her life back on track. She had left him alone with a broken taijiya, though he often wondered if she had been running away from a certain someone and the grief they all shared.

 

He could still remember that day when Naraku finally `kicked the bucket' as Kagome liked to call it. The nightmares still managed to pierce his sleep with an aching pain. It was worse now there was only two left in the pack he had acquired with Kagome's help.

 

Three years of bonding; three years of traveling together, and it all ended one early spring day. He shut his eyes, blocking out the vision of empty sky above him. He didn't fear the ground some twenty feet below. He wouldn't sleep this night, human though he was. He never slept this night unless Kagome was near, if Sango was near, because he could trust those two to wake up if there was danger around and wake him up in return. Miroku could only be counted on if there was a female involved. At least, that's how it used to be.

 

Gritting his teeth, the vision once more returned to him. The landscape was torn to pieces with the wild swing of his sword, with the power of his kaze no kizu. Tentacles littered the ground, twitching with a malevolent desire to destroy the sword that severed them from Naraku's body. Demon ashes graced the air, coating his sweat-soaked body, and yet the battle raged on.

 

Miroku was gone, taken out by a lucky blow. Kirara was fighting side-by-side with Sango as she cried her tears and unleashed her despair on her enemies. Kohaku was already gone, his shard necessary for the completion of the jewel. All that remained were the two Kouga once had, now in Kagome's possession.

 

His lips sneered as he watched Kouga get battered nearly senseless with another wave of the disgusting appendages. The wolf was a pathetic fighter without the speed of the shards to back him up. Out of seemingly no where, however, a flash of brilliant light took care of the slimy limbs, scarring Naraku with a new wave of pain.

 

He turned his back on Kagome as she rushed to the wolf, concern coloring her voice as he weakly whispered his farewells before he too, passed away. He cringed as the miko's sorrow filled the air with her sobs.

 

He had no time for grief, no time to comfort his best friend. There was no room for distractions.

 

He continued to hack and strike away at the thing known as Naraku, fighting to make his way to the center, to rip out the jewel from the hole where his heart once resided. This battle would end today either with his death or with Naraku's. He could not survive another day if all his friends died for nothing; even the wolf was a friendly diversion from the boring, never-ending hunt.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of silver and a blue wave rush towards Naraku. Sesshoumaru had joined the fray shortly after it began. He had been traveling with them, following the same path though his camp always remained separate. It was an unspoken truce they had reached, mostly due to Kagome's quick thinking when they ran into him one to many times a few weeks past.

 

She had deduced they were on the same trail for Naraku, and invited him to share information with an agreement not to pick a fight. The miko had not dared suggest they travel together, knowing that just allowing Sesshoumaru to walk away peacefully was more then Inuyasha could handle.

 

He grinned madly as he hacked off another limb. She was right of course. His half-brother's stench alone was driving him nuts, making him want to bury his claws into Sesshoumaru's backside for the life he was forced to live. But it felt good, fighting alongside him, despite how much it made his blood boil.

 

His arm rose and fell, his voice raw with crying out his attacks over and over again as the sun began to sink below the horizon. It was then the wind picked up, bringing with it a scent of decay and death. He watched with horror as Kagome at last rose from her position next to Kouga, Kikyou standing beside her.

 

It had not taken him long to realize madness had taken hold of her; all the deaths she had witnessed today overriding her sense of preservation. Miroku, Kouga, even Shippou was now just a corpse on the battlefield after sacrificing himself to protect Kagome. He was the first out of all of them to approach death's door. Inuyasha's fears proved true when Kagome dropped her bow and picked up a discarded sword from the ground, clumsily waving it around as she appeared to hack her way towards Naraku.

 

It was unnerving, how the bastard played with her, making her believe she had the strength and skill to fend off his attacks. He wanted her to come to him, wanted her to bring the Shikon shards closer. He let her in beneath his defenses and at the last moment, when her sword was about to pierce his absent heart, he grabbed her to him, knocking the blade from her grip and laughing cruelly at his duplicity.

 

Inuyasha could still hear that laughter which promised everything and nothing. It chilled him as he was struck dumb with disbelief. He couldn't believe Kagome was so stupid as to think she could just charge at the enemy and he'd fall before her. How many times had he tried using that tactic to no avail? And he was stronger, faster, and more experienced then her!

 

His distraction proved to nearly be his undoing as one of those annoying appendages crashed through his stomach, pushing him backwards until he slammed painfully into a jagged boulder. His hand spasmed around his sword hilt as the pain of ripping flesh consumed his body, but he still managed to hold on to Tetsusaiga. It irked him that Sesshoumaru had to correct his stupidity, barely glancing his way as he sent another wave of power to disintegrate the limb that pinned him.

 

With Inuyasha taken care of, the Taiyoukai turned back to Naraku, Inuyasha's eyes following his lead as he waited those precious seconds for his body to start knitting the gapping flesh back together enough so he could move. She was standing there, pressed up against Naraku's slimy flesh, muttering words they could not hear. It wasn't until Kagome's hand was engulfed with a bright pink light that they realized she may be saner then they thought. It was with shock that they watched a glow start to surround the pair and dread when Kikyou's arrow mirrored the energy surrounding Kagome.

 

The arrow pierced Kagome's body, shredding her skin as she cried out with agony as steel split her flesh in two. Her cry doubled when the arrow head managed to pierce her front, still pushing forward with a fearsome momentum. It was when Naraku cried out that they knew the two incarnations had planned something, plotted something behind their backs. A brilliant flash of light was all they saw as Naraku's body exploded from the inside with Kikyou's power while the blast was contained within Kagome's ring of energy.

 

It was a sight he never wished to see again though the nightmare refused to let it fade.

 

Kagome fell, jewel clasped in her hands. Sesshoumaru reached her first, him second and Sango, Kikyou, and a limping Kirara last. She was alive, but barely, the arrow still lodged firmly in her chest as cherry blossoms drifted along her cheek, washing away the ash from the air.

 

Inuyasha's closed eye twitched as he remembered what Sesshoumaru said next to the woman standing behind him. “You have amazing skill, miko.”

 

It was true, Kikyou somehow managed to fire an arrow that could pierce Kagome's ribs and was powerful enough to fight through to Naraku. He was thankful for that skill, because it also meant Kikyou somehow managed to keep her alive despite the foolishness of their plot.

 

“Kikyou,” he sighed, relaxing his tense muscles one by one before he moved further down the bitter track of memory. She gave up her life, releasing her soul back to Kagome now that her revenge was complete.

 

It was unexpected, when it happened. He had still been leaning over Kagome's body, checking her heartbeat and trying to figure out the best way to remove the arrow without causing more damage. The only warning he had was the striking of bones as they collapsed to the blood-spattered ground before a blue orb of light crashed into Kagome's body, making her eyes widen as consciousness returned for a brief second. She gasped, murmuring Kikyou's name with awe before blessed oblivion stole her away again.

 

It was yet one more death to weigh him down, to weigh them down. But they had someone to care for, each other to tend to, and so they retreated to camp, finding Ah-Un already settled there with Rin sleeping on his back.

 

If only they had sent Shippou with her, but he refused, knowing he could be of some use as past battles had proven. It would have spared them just a little to see his agonized face before he pounced on Kagome, checking for life within her drained body. But he was already dead, and there was nothing they could do about it.

 

Not even Sesshoumaru.

 

Each lingering soul was long since taken in the confusion of battle; the dead were shuffled beyond their reach as battle waged interminably on. It had taken to long for them to seek Tensaiga's aid.

 

He sighed again, as he flexed his foot, stretching his leg muscles before they cramped for staying in one position to long. That was all he needed tonight, really. His foot cramping up and making him fall out of the tree would be a perfect end to the dull pain still clouding his heart.

 

Still flexing the muscle, he returned to his musings, the sight of Kagome's bleeding wounds, Sesshoumaru turning him away to take care of the taijiya and neko. It was all so innocently contrived, the way he led Ah Un to shield them from view, preserving Kagome's usually annoying modesty considering the state of her school uniform.

 

He had left her in Sesshoumaru's capable care, and then it happened.

 

He groaned, letting his head fall into his hands. He'd never forgive himself for that night, for not protecting Kagome from herself. It drove her away, he was sure of it, but there was nothing they could do, nothing he could do.

 

Not even Sesshoumaru was able to prevent her from fleeing. She just vanished one day, leaving a note behind telling them she needed to finish her schooling before she could return.

 

He heaved a huge sigh, rubbing his aching eyes that were no longer capable of shedding tears. He missed her; he really did. But there was little hope left within him. It had been four years. She wasn't coming back, or else incapable of it. He couldn't even make it through the well; she had sealed it off or it had stopped working.

 

And that was it.

 

As the night stretched on, he continued to follow the stars as they drifted across the sky, counting the hours before daybreak and an end to his self-inflicted torture. With dawn approaching, he at last drifted into a doze, neither awake nor asleep, and filled with the weary weight of sorrow.

 

—\-|-/—

 

Kagome stretched her arms above her head while flexing her muscles. Out of nostalgia, she slowly climbed out of the well, taking in deep breaths of the fresh summer air. She smiled, basking in the untamed beauty of feudal Japan. It has been to long since she visited.

 

Strolling down the overtaken path, she followed it to the Goshinboku tree she had left but moments earlier in her time. It was comforting, knowing that some things remained constant no matter where she chose to tread. The tree would always be there for her, no matter what.

 

Rubbing the tree where the arrow struck calmed her somewhat, her nervousness at meeting friends she had run away from ebbing slightly. She was not looking forward to the confrontation and accusations, but she was looking forward to catching up on the last four years. She just hoped they would let her.

 

As she turned her back on the tree to tread down a path burned into memory, she heard the soft wheezing of someone high above her. Her body stilled as recognition settled itself over her thoughts. There was only one person she knew who would climb the old tree on a night as dark as this one. It had to be Inuyasha.

 

—\-|-/—

 

He muttered softly as he felt the lightest touch brush his lips. It was cruel of the wind to break his slumber so. Feeling the tingling sensation run through his body again, he swiped at the offending passage of air.

 

His hand was firmly stopped with a surprisingly soft touch. Blinking, awake in an instant, he felt his jaw drop and his body jerk in recognition. Kagome knelt before him, her countenance unmistakable.

 

“Kagome,” he gasped. “Is it really you?”

 

Kagome nodded her head in the affirmative as she sat back on her heels, feet delicately posed on the thick branch. “Yes, Inuyasha, it's me. I have another six months or so before I have to return home.” She fidgeted slightly with the edge of her sleeve. “I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I stopped by for a while.”

 

Inuyasha smiled and leaped forward to hug her, forgetting where he was. As his arms wrapped around her shoulders, he began to panic when his forward momentum refused to yield, sending them both toppling to the ground below.

 

Swearing, he jerked her body around, leaving his back exposed to hard earth beneath them as the wind shrieked in passage. Kagome screamed as her face was pressed into his chest. Prying her arms free, she grabbed his sleeve and flipped their bodies in mid-air, feet pointing to the ground. As they landed, she bent her knees, tendons easily accommodating the extra weight on her arm as she held him off the ground before gently letting him fall.

 

Falling backwards, he skidded slightly on the hard ground. Inuyasha stared at the miko in amazement. Kagome was no longer human.

 

—\-To Be Continued-/—