InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Side of the Moon ❯ So, You Wanted the Truth? Since When? ( Chapter 5 )

Meg: So, I would have updated this weekend, but my Muse got a new video game and decided to abandon me for a few days. *cough * weekend * cough*

Muse: e.e Oh, give it a rest! Can you play Jak 2 and TELL me that Jak is not hot with his new hiar and gotee and hover board and rifle and machine gun and… * trails off*

Meg: * looks at Muse oddly* o.O Well, this is new…

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Title: Dark Side of the Moon

Rating: R

Obsession: Inuyasha

Genre: Dark, angsty stuff. Lots of it. And a bit of romance.

Main characters: Kagome (duh!), Naraku, Miroku and Inuyasha (sort of). May be others later.

Summary: Check the first Chapter!

Feedback: Duh!!

Author's Note: Hey, this on'e slonger than usual! O.O That's good. I hope this becomes a habit. Thanks to Virous, Mystery Rose, nemetfire, Blueberry Shortcake, JustIN SANE, Lonely lil Outlaw, Deadly Tears, Raylee Starweaver, Slywolf9 and everyone else (For reviewing AGAIN! ^^) for their wonderful REVIEWS! Responses are at the bottom!! Please enjoy the chapter!!

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Dark Side of the Moon

By: Meg

Chapter 5

The wind was cold; it sent blades of ice against her neck in the night air. Kagome had tried to turn in Naraku's hold, but he only held onto her more fiercely. His claws pricked her skin. She let out a whimper at the sharp contact, and then he seemed to go rigid. She felt the muscles tense beneath her and she silently questioned why.

Kagome looked at him, but his sights were set forward, with a cold, almost malicious look in his eyes. His face was blank but for his eyes. It reminded her of the wind against her neck. She watched them, seeing the shadows there and knowing what they meant. He, like her, had spent the last few nights without sleep. She remembered the ghost-like appearance of herself in the mirror. It was present in his face also. Kagome suppressed a smug smile.

She did not linger on his face, not wanting him to think that she took some kind of fulfillment from staring at him. Instead, she resumed her earlier position and rested her chin on her arm, which rested on his shoulder, while looking behind them. A new sight caught her eye then; she noticed lavender tendrils trailing behind him. As such low levels, she knew the miasma would not hurt her. Her eyes continued to watch the curls of mist twirl in the wind as they traveled, finding abstract shapes that captured her attention.

As time passed on, she began to wonder how far where ever he was taking her was. It seemed like hours had passed since he had brought her through the well with him. She was tempted to ask how long it took to get there, but she repressed it. She chanced a quick glance at him. He didn't look like he wanted to talk to her. She didn't blame him; Kagome didn't have much of a desire to converse with him again. They were enemies, after all. Even so, she wondered why he was holding her so tightly. The grip he needed to simply keep her from falling was surpassed long ago. She looked below them. The altitude was higher now than before. A thick nightly fog obscured the view below and all she could manage to see were the shapes and shadows of the forestry below them.

She then suddenly felt her stomach lurch. Her eyes flew to Naraku, narrow with distrust. He said nothing and did not look at her. They were descending, she realized. Her gut lurched again, both from altitude and expectation. The miasma that was once the curling smoke of lavender was now inky and nearly black. It swirled around her. In fear, she gripped the white fur of the skin around them both. She braced herself for the poisonous gas, but no pain touched her. The mist swirled around her like a velvet curtain, blocking her view from anything more than a foot or two away. How could she be breathing in the poison? It didn't seem to be affecting her at all. Her eyes went to him, now without so much animosity. Her eyes stayed on him and did not falter. " Naraku," she said his name solidly, more braver than she felt.

He said nothing. Time ticked by without a response. She opened her mouth in order to form a question, assuming that she had his unspoken attention. Before words could be formed, his other arm emerged from its hiding and his hand instantly found her neck. The movement had been quick and she gasped out in surprise. Kagome felt the tips of his claws rest against her skin. She instantly froze, becoming taut in his grasp. The hand on her hip tightened, but the hold on her neck was still. He was not strangling her, nor trying to. Instead, his thumb felt against her skin. It ran over the scar on her neck and the fresh cut.

She felt it pulse like before. She knew they were responding to him; they had been inflicted that way on purpose. He had a link to her, she reasoned. Somehow, that idea did not strike her as quite the repulsive thought she expected. It was strange. Something felt natural about it, like she somehow expected the scars to connect her.

Kagome cringed at the idea, repulsed that the touch felt anything but unpleasant. There was nothing natural about a link between them. There was nothing even remotely natural about him. Familiarity was a different matter. She knew that this feeling hadn't been the same as before. She'd never felt anything but hatred towards him until this very moment.

His hand slowly left her neck. His fingers seemed to linger on her skin, even though it was gone. A ghost of the feeling haunted her senses like a disturbing dream. She hated it, even if it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. She huddled herself away from his other arm while still being held by the other. It wasn't right that anything from him felt good. He was evil.

He killed everyone, she reminded herself. He's killed your future with Inuyasha. He's a murderer.

But he's brought him back also, another part of her argued.

Soon, the miasma began to wane, as though they had passed through a dark cloud. She looked over her shoulder and saw a large castle below them, partially hidden in wine colored mist. From above, the grounds looked empty. There was not a soldier nor servant to be found. The place looked lifeless. There was no sign of any vegetation anywhere. She could tell where a garden had been, but now there was only the dark, clouded pond left as well as a few dead trees.

She felt Naraku touch down to the ground. Her eyes still wandered around the grounds, trying to find any sign of life. Their landing had been in the courtyard, but no one greeted them; something she expected in a castle, but not one that belonged to Naraku. She guessed whoever had once dwelled there were now long dead. Naraku had probably dealt the blow and enjoyed it as well.

Kagome's attention to the surroundings left and she noticed that she was still held firmly in Naraku's grasp. She looked at him briefly, trying to squirm out of his grasp. His head snapped towards her, watching her. He silently questioned her with an expression, while pushing the ends of his claws into her hip, through her clothes.

" Let me down," she said softly.

The pain intensified while his expression was changed, making her give him her full attention. The look in his eyes spoke to her. "I decide when you get to move," they said.

She winced. The flat line of his mouth bent into a slight curve. " You are holding onto me as well," he said to her lightly.

Her eyes flew to her hands, which were fisted into the fur again from the pain inflicted from his claws. She instantly let go, her eyes darkening in anger. She glared at him, but he smiled lazily, enjoying her reaction like a fine wine. That, that…arrogant bastard! And thinking he owns me-

Her train of thought was broken when he moved, releasing her and setting her on the ground. She took that moment to realize just how much taller he was than her. He began to walk and she took it as her cue to follow him. Her eyes were narrowed at his back, but the anger that fumed through her began to melt as she remembered that the demon in front of her was responsible for bringing her Inuyasha back to life. She wanted to see him so badly. Her heart swelled up painfully as she remembered the last image of him that she'd seen: the calm and eerie stillness of his face and body that resembled death, but still showed life. She missed him so much. Kagome wrung her hands together in worry. She weakly hoped that now, with a second chance, she'd be able to tell him that she loved him as well as everything else that she longed to.

Her eyes caught clear sight of Naraku again. His hair was like a raven's wing resting from flight and his posture was dignified and the clothes he wore, of what she had seen, looked just as noble. He was, on the surface, quite a sight to behold. He was human looking, and yet still very demonic. His fingers were tipped with claws and his eyes were crimson and dark, yet he still had most of the physical attributes of the young lord he had possessed so long ago.

Naraku was giving her this second chance that she cherished so. She could bet her life that he would want something in return. With what happened only a moment ago when she wanted to move, she hoped that he wasn't going to ask for that type of compensation. She glared at his back, narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth.

" I find it very rude for you to give such looks to me in my own home. Especially since I brought you here personally. I could have made you walk."

She was tempted to reply with a remark, but kept her peace. Her eyes fell downward and she glared at the barren earth that exhaled dust as they walked over it. After a few more paces, he turned around. They had reached the end of the large, dark courtyard and he was already standing on the veranda of the building, beside a shoji door. Kagome looked at her feet and realized that in her haste to leave her era, she'd left in her socks. She quickly removed them and stepped up on to the veranda. As she did so, she could nearly feel Naraku's eyes on her. When she turned, she saw that the mask concealed his face again and the black holes stared back at her. He opened the door, revealing only inky blackness inside. As she stepped through the doorway, the dark cavities watched her movements.

The moment she entered, she could see absolutely nothing. She heard the door close behind her and the faint light from the moon outside was gone. Kagome stood there, unwilling to move. Doubt hit her: what if this was a trap? Was Inuyasha really here?

Within a moment, lamps were lit by unseen means. Naraku was behind her; she almost felt his breath at her neck. That thought quickly left her as a new vision filled her eyes.

Inuyasha…

She hurried to the edge of the room, where Inuyasha sat leaned against the wall. She hurried to him instantly and fell to her knees beside him. She found ropes that were stained with his blood bound his hands. She wanted to hold him, but fought the urge; he was badly wounded from what she could see. By now, tears of happiness and heartbreak mingled down her cheeks. His own face was bruised and he was unconscious. She looked around for something to cut the ropes with. She found a knife a few feet away, the blade colored red. Kagome didn't want to touch it, but reasoned there was nothing else. She unbound his hands and lay him down on the floor as comfortably as she could before flinging the knife away from her.

She sat and watched him for a moment. He was alive! Her fingers touched his face where he wasn't bruised, as though testing to see if he were real. The picture did not fade this time and more tears of happiness fell down her eyes. When she regained her voice, she spoke, " I need-" she began.

" It is already here for you."

She looked up and saw bandages and hot water, as well as various ointments scattered around her. Her eyes went to Naraku. He did this to Inuyasha, even though he had brought him back to life. She was both grateful and bitter, but the former seemed to rise above the two. Her eyes went back to Inuyasha, choosing to ignore Naraku for now, and saw that Inuyasha was now lying on a futon. She said nothing and began to clean up her beloved.

After cleaning him to the best of her ability, which meant she'd bathed him as well as she could without stripping him, she noticed that his skin was warm. She felt his forehead and noticed the fever. To say the least, it surprised her; Inuyasha was a half demon, which meant that he was not subject to the same illnesses a she. Then again, he was also half human; maybe it was possible, she reasoned. Kagome sat on her knees at his bedside, continuing to bandage wounds. As she bound his shoulder, she noticed that he lacked his rosary. She paused when the realization hit her. Had Naraku taken it off? Surely it was impossible, as she was the only one able to. She looked up at Naraku with wary eyes. The dark sockets of the dead baboon looked back at her. Naraku was quiet, acting only as a bystander. Her attention shifted back to the injured hanyou, eyes searching for any more differences, but finding none.

She noticed the beads of sweat on his brow, making his silver bangs stick to his forehead. She brushed them from his face. Cold water had appeared beside her the moment she had found need for it. She wrung a cloth in it and laid it on his warm forehead. The service was not a surprise to her, but she found it a little strange how it knew what she wanted. As she applied the coolness to his face, she heard him give out a groan. He was stirring from his sleep.

His eyes cracked open and the gold glanced up at her. She became relieved that he woke up, her mind choosing to push the ideas of a demonic fever to the recesses of her mind. His mouth opened to form words, but nothing came out, only a deep labored breath. He closed his eyes again and his brow creased in pain. Kagome moved and put his head in her lap and fed him some water. She half expected him to grumble about how he didn't need her help, but he was quiet. She wasn't even sure if he knew who she was right then.

She wrung the cloth in cool water and replaced it on his forehead. " Inuyasha," she said his name softly, "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad you're back."

Tears of joy came down her face again and she took hold of his clammy hand. She saw him try to move, but his face twisted into pain and he froze, rigid. Kagome quickly uncovered the blanket to check for reopened wounds, but there were none that she could find. " Don't move or your wounds will bleed again," she told him softly.

Movement caught her eyes and she remembered that Naraku was still there. Her eyes fell upon him and found his disguise gone. He was now dressed in shogun attire with gi and hakama. He was leaning against the wall, his arm resting on his raised knee. He did not look at her, but rather at the far wall to her left. She gave a mildly confused look that he did not see.

Her attention to Naraku was pulled towards Inuyasha again as he groaned out in pain. His face was twisted in agony and his eyes were opening again. " Kagome…" he spoke softly.

Her fingers went down his face again, and she smiled faintly that he knew whom she was. " Inu…"

Her voice stopped, as did her heart, and something dawned on her. She waited with baited breath for him to speak again so she could be sure. She saw how he was falling back into sleep. She prayed that she had heard wrong. " Kagome…" he murmured softly.

Confusion hit her with full force. No, how can this be?

Her heart dropped to her stomach. Her body didn't seem to want to move any more. She stared down at him, or at least what she thought was he. "Inuyasha?" she whispered, half hoping that he would stay asleep.

He did not reply. The even breathing of his chest proved that he had fallen back to sleep. Something was wrong; she could feel it deep down, as though her instincts were speaking to her in an indirect way, without clear meaning. Naraku moved in the corner of her eye again and she saw that he was watching her now. He was controlling this, had been controlling everything since the beginning of the end. He should have killed her, just like everyone else, but he hadn't. Was this why he had spared her?

His mouth curved into a smirk that gave her a chill. He momentarily looked down, at the revived creature at her side. Her mouth opened to speak, but she found that her voice had failed her. She felt tears in her eyes, which soon fell down her face without joy. His eyes returned to hers, but her sight was glazed over with blurry tears and denial. His smile widened just slightly and his eyes shone that much brighter in entertainment. " Look at him," he said wordlessly, staring into her empty eyes.

She did not want to look down. Denial was so lovely to live with when you wanted to throw out the pain. She did not wish to see what Naraku had done, because part of her already knew. Inuyasha was gone again. He was never alive again, she reminded herself.

Her eyes squeezed shut, pushing out more tears. Her head bowed over, but her eyes did not open, even though she willed it. She took in a shaky breath, fighting off the sob she wanted to let out. Don't let this have just been an illusion, please, she inwardly begged.

More tears fell out of her shut eyes, welding her eyelashes to each other. Sadness rushed into her like air, threatening to break everything that she had rebuilt. She gathered what courage she could find to open her eyes. When she did, a sob erupted from her throat. Her eyes fell shut again and she held her head in her hands, pulling her hair from her face. Sob after sob rolled though her, shaking her like a leaf in the autumn wind. When her eyes opened, her face was twisted in grief.

Inuyasha was dead, or rather, still dead; he had never been revived to begin with. Her eyes were blurred and nearly blind, but she could see more than she wanted to. The long silver hair was gone. His eyes were shut, but she knew that they were not gold. The fingernails were short and dulled, like hers; like a human. Her eyes trailed up to his ear. They were no longer white nor resembled a dog's, but rather rounded and human; also like herself, but pierced religiously. Her hand fell on his arm, but it took a moment to register any touch. She nearly forgot that he was still asleep. His skin was hot and clammy. The fever was dangerous for him.

Her head slowly moved upwards again, remembering Naraku's presence. His sat still against the wall, his arms still resting on his knee, but the smirk that had bent his mouth was gone and a flat line replaced it. Cold, angry daggers were shot in his direction with her eyes. Her emotions went beyond rage and despair now. They twined together like a rope, making some new thing that she did not identify with. Her body melded them together, rendering it weary of the world and yet still alive at the same time. Her mind and heart both finally agreed again for the first time in weeks. They wanted to destroy and seek retribution.

Kagome's body rose faster than she remembered and she nimbly stepped over her injured friend, as well as the myriad of different healing things that she had been provided for. Her steps were quick, but heavy. She rushed at Naraku, trying to grab hold on him, but he quickly faded away. She cried out in rage when she was unable to grasp him and took his place against the wall. She cured his name aloud, while sobbing again all the while.

Care for him, the echo in her mind said.

How could you do this? Why? She asked him silently. I would have come for him, too!

That does not matter. Heal the Monk. He will die if you do not and then his death will no longer be a 'fault' of mine.

She sobbed harder, louder, but did not respond to his telepathic voice. Kagome leaned against the wall, clawing at the plaster. Her heart felt cracked, shattering what she had healed again slowly, too slowly. Her eyes roamed over to the man lying in the futon. Another sob came out and she closed her eyes to block out the painful sight of what she had seen as Inuyasha, and had been Miroku instead.

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Responses:

RaInWaTeR: Dust Bunnies! How cute! ^^ I have a nest under my bed! LoL And POWER to the Not-So-Happy Fics!

Evil Bunny: Update "Forest for the Trees," again! Please?? I gotta know what happens!!!

Slywolf: I hope this chapter answered your questions! ^^

Blueberry Shortcake: Yes, it mostly likely will be, but…I'm fickle. I get it from my Muse. * points* Blame her.

Nemetfire: Why, I'm so flattered! ^^ I'm so glad you think so!

Kitsune-Balloon: *accepts flowers and crown * Thank you, thank you! * bows* Now, are ya gonna get that new diary up or what? LOL I'm waitin' for it! ^~^

Kasia Matsubishi: Don't worry! It's a triangle! Naraku will get part of her, so don't worry! He's still a main character. I, personally, Love the White Fluffy Monkey Guy, so he'll be a central thing! ^~^

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Review…Clyde is lonely! * Pleads with Big Shiny Eyes*