InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Light ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

He had just left. Kagome couldn't believe it. They had finally met up again with Sango and Miroku at their most recent campsite after searching for signs of Naraku for weeks. Their little pack had been split up for so long in the search that it was too wonderful for words to meet up with their friends again.

Shippou had been left in Grandmother Kaede's care, as they were all too concerned about the young kit's safety to bring him along. But they would pick him up on their way back to the village. Back to Kagome's home. The village she had protected with her powerful Miko powers since she was a child, along side her cousin Kikyou. Before Kikyou had changed. Before Kikyou had gotten angry.

Angry that the half demon Inu Yasha, who had saved their lives from a crazed centipede demon a few years ago, had fallen in love. Fallen in love with Kagome and not Kikyou. Kikyou had always been very competitive with her cousin in every respect. Kagome was happy and easy natured. She was warm and loving and was loved and adored by everyone that knew her. She was thoughtful and caring and laughed easily. Her spiritual powers were a force not to be reckoned with, though Kagome never boasted about them. She just took it as a part of who she was, and was easily embarrassed when the village people would praise her. She didn't think she deserved praise for doing her job.

Kikyou on the other hand, had a much more cold and unapproachable nature. She hardly ever laughed and she envied her cousin's abilities, her skills, her very nature. Kikyou struggled every day to be the very best. She was angry that her cousin never had to work half as hard as she in their powers. Kikyou wanted to command unwavering respect, but always fell short of what her cousin never asked for, but received all the same. Kikyou wanted to be powerful, very powerful. More powerful then her cousin. Almost everything in her life revolved around out doing her so much loved cousin, Kagome. And when Kagome fell in love with the half-demon, Kikyou naturally wanted to win that from her too.

In Kikyou's anger and grief at not being able to sway the hanyou's heart in her own direction, who in the process of trying to undermine her cousin, had actually fallen for the half breed herself. Then she had tried to strike out at Kagome. Her mind finally having been corrupted by the equally power hungry Naraku, Kikyou had shot an arrow at her. An arrow that would have hit its mark, and succeeded in killing Kagome, had Inu Yasha not stepped in front of the arrow. The arrow that had slammed him into and secured him to the old God Tree, as it pierced him through his shoulder, effectively saving Kagome's life yet again, while placing his own, at great risk.

After Kikyou's failed attempt on her cousin's life and the horror of seeing a purifying arrow embedded in Inu Yasha's shoulder, as he hung limply from the tree, Kikyou had disappeared. Kagome meanwhile worked for days struggling to heal Inu Yasha from the effects of the arrow's power, which thankfully, was not as disastrous as it could have been since Inu Yasha was only half demon. This of course only meant that instead of purifying him instantly, it did it at a much slower, more painful pace. But Kagome had saved him, as he had saved her, and their bond, their love, had only grown. The tree had forever remained a symbol of that love, of his willing sacrifice, as well as a reminder of the tragedies they had endured and overcome.

Now they watched for Kikyou and hunted Naraku, a terrible half demon who had helped to corrupt Kikyou's already questionable heart. A demon that had caused the death and destruction of thousands of innocent lives. All for one thing, one goal, he desired above all else. The Shikon Jewel. A jewel comprised of four of the most powerful demon souls, held together and kept pure by the pure light and power of a powerful Miko's spirit still held within the jewel. A power kept in-check by each protector of the jewel. The jewel's ability to grant its holder immeasurable power was often sought after by demons and evil men alike. The jewel, once protected by the Miko Kagome, had been broken amidst a terrible struggle for its ownership by Naraku. A jewel whose scattered pieces were now almost all accounted for and held in the sole possession of Naraku himself.

A horrible, disastrous truth that was realized the same night Kagome and Inu Yasha had finally rejoined with Sango and Miroku.

The night Kagome's world ended.

********

"Sango, are you alright?" Kagome rushed over to check Sango's wounds. Her arm had been slashed open and the blood was pouring from the wound. If Kagome couldn't stop the bleeding and fast, Sango would never be able to use Hiraikotsu again.

"I'm… I'm okay Kagome." Sango grunted out through gritted teeth as she struggled to keep the pain in her arm from overwhelming her. "Just a couple of scratches," she added in a mock attempt at amusement.

"Sango be still," Kagome quickly chided her. "I've got to stop the blood flow." Kagome propped Sango's battered body against a boulder, and placed her hand over the gushing wound. She then closed her eyes in concentration as a blue light began to glow from the palm of her hand, stretching down the length of Sango's arm, covering the entire wound in a bluish light.

They hadn't even seen it coming. The attack was quick and sudden. Inu Yasha hadn't even been able to pick up any scents before they were suddenly overwhelmed by thousands of lower demons. They had come swarming out of the sky and even erupting out of the ground, simultaneously.

Kagome did her best in purifying as many demons as she could, but her energy was eventually depleted. Even though she was able to take out hundreds of demons, along side Inu Yasha, Miroku and Sango, it was too much. Sango had been badly wounded and Miroku was eventually unable to use the air void in his hand. A curse placed by Naraku on his family. His air void had swallowed too many poisonous insects and had taken their toll on his ravaged system. Inu Yasha had been bloodied from head to toe, his Tetsusaiga swinging wildly, eliminating hundreds of demons each time it sliced through the air, but the demons kept coming. They seemed unstoppable.

Then he came. Naraku. His purpose? To take the last few shards of the sacred jewel from Kagome's possession. Inu Yasha had fought to reach her, had even transformed into his full demon form to reach his mate, only to be halted at every turn. Overcome by the thousands of demons that seemed to be birthed from the very air around him.

Kagome had been over come, completely spent by the depletion of her energy sources, which was exactly what Naraku had planned. She could barely lift her head as Naraku neared her and lifted her by her throat. He breathed heavily into her face, the sick pleasure he felt in her defeated form danced wildly in his eyes. Kagome could barely form a coherent thought, much less think to defend herself against him. Her only semi-conscious thoughts were of her mate.

Naraku had torn away the last few fragments of the jewel that hung suspended on a necklace from around her neck. His evil victorious laugh pierced through the screaming, heated bloodlust, of the thousands of demons that had surrounded the now thoroughly exhausted little group.

It was difficult to decipher exactly what had happened after that. The world had become one brightly lit blur of motion and sound. All Kagome could recall was Naraku moving to rip out her heart when a bolt of energy had surged through her. Energy given to her by her mate, given through their bond, given at risk to his own life. But it was all Kagome's body needed, even though her mind continued to swim in distortion. Her body, her spirit, had reacted to the threat before her out of pure instinct, without any rational thought. She was consumed in a brilliant glowing light that touched the very edges of the now scorched and battered battlefield.

The next conscious thought Kagome could remember having, had been waking up in the deserted field with a bruised and battered Sango at her side. Inu Yasha and Miroku were gone. They had left to finish Naraku once and for all.

Kagome feared for her mate's life.

She tried to shake the disturbing thoughts from her head and concentrated on her injured friend.

"Is that better Sango?" Kagome had managed to stop the bleeding with her healing, but the wound was not completely healed. It would take days of intense healing for Sango to regain the full use of her right arm, even with Kagome's extraordinary healing abilities.

"Mmm, much, thanks." Sango gave her a weak smile. "How about you Kagome. How are you feeling?" Sango asked, concerned for her friend who seemed barely able to stand. The night of rest had done little to restore her depleted energies, and the energy used in the healing hadn't helped either.

"I'm alright Sango. A little tired, that's all." The women both looked at each other. Both knowing exactly what the other was feeling, but unable to bring themselves to speak of the fear laying in their hearts.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Kagome reached a hand out and took hold of Sango's hands in her own. "We'll find them Sango. No matter what."

Tears threatened on the verge of spilling from Sango's weakening control. Blinking away her doubts, her fears, she nodded determinedly to her friend. They would find them, or die trying.

***********

Sweat beads down her forehead and rolls down the small of her back. Struggling to keep her breath, to keep from crashing to the forest floor, she fights to push the panic to the back of her mind.

"Oh God, what if I don't make it? What if… no! …can't think that." She grits her teeth and pumps her calves harder against the cold forest earth. Surprising herself with a grunt and a burst of speed at her bodies need to carry her to her destination.

She had only just left Sango that morning. Sango and Kirara had gone on ahead to track down Inu Yasha and Miroku and lend a hand, while Kagome went back to the village to advise grandmother Kaede, the village's head priestess, what had happened with Naraku and to warn her of the possibility of imminent danger.

Shippou had been so excited to see her. He had missed her so much. Kagome had become his adoptive mother after demons had killed his parents. Who knew what would have happened to the small child if Kagome hadn't opened her heart to him.

After relaying her story to Kaede and Shippou, it took quite a bit of time to reassure the young kit that everything would be okay, that they would find Inu Yasha and Miroku, and they would finally kill Naraku. She had left a shattered Shippou in tears. He simply would not be calmed until his adoptive family had returned to him safe and sound.

Kagome was heartbroken at leaving him, but she had no choice, she had sensed something while she was at the village, something terrible. Her mate was in trouble. He needed her, and he needed her now. That was when Kagome began her race through the forest. The sky slowly darkened around her, as she followed the highly agitated emotions being pushed through their link to find her way to Inu Yasha and the rest of her friends.

Flashes of trees and greenery can still be seen in the auburn glow of the setting sun. Giving the impression of a forest caught on fire that will not burn. A flash of red in the horizon catches her eye.

"Wait… please, hang on… don't…" she bites the inside of her cheek and pushes herself harder. Her body teetering on the edge of exhaustion from the exertion.

She was close, she knew it, she could feel him, but something was wrong.

Suddenly the earth shakes and sends her catapulting through the air and over the brush to an open clearing. She lands with a thud. Rocks scratch at her legs, her arms. The sky overhead darkens with the first rays of the sun dipping into the horizon. A flash of white and snatches of gold cause her heart to clench. The smell hits her nose.

"No…no… please no."

She raises her head to take in the horrific scene surrounding her. Demons had been cut down in an extraordinary number as their bodies littered the field of her vision as far as the eye could see. The horizon was nothing but a pile of dismembered bodies, enhanced only by the sight of the burning trees, as smoke began to choke the sky.

The slight sounds of movement and combat could still faintly be heard. Where? Who? Kagome's mind raced as she struggled to interpret the scene around her. What had happened? Where was everyone? When she heard a faint cough to her left and a small voice call her name.

"Kagome"

Kagome's head quickly turned in the direction of the weakened voice. Gasping her shock at the sight before her, she quickly crawled her way towards the raspy voice.

"Miroku, dear gods, Miroku, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Kagome was frantic; her heart was lodged in her throat.

"Ka…gome…" came the weakened reply.

Kagome fought back tears as she looked at his battered, shaking body. He had a gouge across his forehead that was leaking blood into his eye. His robes were torn and there was barely an unscathed portion of skin left on his body. He was a mess.

"Here, let me," she began to say as she reached a hand out to heal the gash on his forehead. But she was immediately stopped in her efforts by the pressure of one of his bloodied hands encircling his wrist.

"No… wait… it's too late."

"What? What are you talking about, of course it's not!" She replied angrily, as she struggled to maintain the last thread of control she could muster on her escalating emotions.

"Kagome," Miroku began slowly, quietly. "I have taken in too much poison. Sssh, please, before you say anything, just listen." Miroku waited for her to nod before continuing.

"Narku… we… we followed him, Inu Yasha and I, after you repelled their final attack with the last of your energy. I believe Inu Yasha had something to do with that, but I don't know. I know that he was beyond reason when he could not reach you. When you managed to repel Naraku and the demons and collapsed under the fatigue, he and I swore we would do everything to protect you and Sango, even if it cost us our lives." Miroku paused briefly to prop himself up on his elbow, it was getting harder to breathe. Kagome didn't know what to do. He waved a hand in front of her, to sway off any attempts at healing.

"We finally found him, but not before he had laid another trap for us. They ambushed us again. The demons, there were so many and… Kagome," Miroku swallowed with great difficulty at the words that came next.

"He found Kouga. He took his shards, killed him. He's there on the field, with Sesshoumaru. He too came to help, but failed. Naraku was… too strong. You have to know, he has the jewel Kagome. All of it."

Kagome couldn't look, she couldn't even believe what she was hearing. Naraku had killed Kouga. Had killed him for his shards. And Sesshoumaru? Dead? It just wasn't possible.

"Then… Sango… she found us," Miroku's voice hitched in his throat as he struggled to keep the tears from spilling, he needed to tell Kagome what had happened, before it was too late. Possibly, it was too late already.

"She…" a lone tear fell from the corner of his eye as Kagome reached out to hold him by his shoulders, giving what comfort she could as tears began to spill freely down her own cheeks.

"He took the shard from Kohaku. She went… she went mad… I couldn't reach her, I tried, but I just couldn't. There were too many of them… she, she's with him now though. I think she's happy now. She's finally at peace, with her family. I'll be with her soon, don't cry Kagome. We tried. Inu Yasha, he's still out there, he won't give up. Go to him Kagome. We'll be okay now."

Finally having been able to deliver his message, Miroku slumped over, his final breath slipping from his bloodstained body, his torn robes flapping gently in the breeze. The only sounds in the now silent forest were that of Kagome's silent sobs as they racked through her hunched over form as she grieved for her lost friends. Her family.

She looks down at the dirt beneath her hands. The earth that is now drenched in the same dark colors that reflected in the sky's fiery hues just moments ago. But why can't she see… why is everything getting so dark? Why can't she hear except for the sound of her heart thundering in her ears?

Kagome began to panic. What was happening, and where was Inu Yasha? Why couldn't she hear the sounds of battle anymore? She turned to face the clearing. Her tear stained face and reddened eyes straining to identify the mass of bodies and shapes, but everything was getting so dark. She took a few steps forward and stumbled as she crashed to the ground.

She reaches her hand out, attempting to touch, to find…something…someone… but where? Through the haze and darkness quickly descending around her she can slowly begin to make out an image, but just for a moment. The pounding of her heart, of her blood rushing to her head makes it difficult to see, to hear.

What was happening? Where was Inu Yasha? Why couldn't she feel her legs anymore?

The unexpected piercing cackle, a hellish laugh, slices through her bleary vision and rips through her plugged ears, causing her eyes to snap open as sound invades her senses once again.

White hair…falling.

The spine chilling laugh pitches to an unimaginable volume, like nails racking down a chalkboard. She cringes and covers her ears with her hands and shuts her eyes to block out the noise, the sight. She can't look… no… not this way. Not him… anything but him. Why? She was too late… too late.

Everything she knew, everyone she loved… gone.

Slowly she looks up to see a mane of white just feet from her own fallen form. Still and unmoving. Her heart and her soul clench in a fiery rage that threatens to consume her entire being.

"Noooooooooo!" She screams out, reaching for that silken mane. A scream that threatens to tear her soul from her body. Tears sting her eyes as the darkness closes around her. With the final echo of her blinding scream, there is a flash of brilliant white and violet light that chases away every shadow, threatening to burn away vision, before darkness envelops the world once again.