InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness in the Hearts of Light ❯ Shadows ( Chapter 11 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Felan Silverchild 
This is where it REALLY starts to get interesting.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Post-apocalyptic / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 193 | Status: Completed
This is where it REALLY starts to get interesting.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Post-apocalyptic / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 193 | Status: Completed
A/N : I’m just adding another begging session in here. If you liked this chapter at all, please let me know! If you hated it, tell me what’s wrong and what’s not working for you! Let me know if you just want more? Hahaha ... I told you it was begging.
Chapter Eleven : Shadows
Sango stepped from the house with a dark look in her eyes from what the old woman had just revealed to her. She quickly pushed it back as she picked her way through the village to find Miroku. He was leaning over a wooden fence line that skirted a small stream, ignoring the screams of protest from Shippo.
“Are you alright, Houshi?” She gingerly touched his shoulder but found she wouldn’t be able to hold his gaze. In turn she just leaned against the fence beside him in a similar posture and stared into the black, flowing waters.
“I’m sorry, Sango. I couldn’t bear to be in there any longer. I felt like I was.. suffocating.”
“Should we go on? Kirara would get us there by morning. I think I know the area she told us about.”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t seem right.” Sango could suddenly feel his gaze on her and she blushed, but still couldn’t look him in the eyes.
~If only you knew.~ Sango added to herself.
Shippo was huffing again.
“I was sleeping really well you know. But since he won’t let me go back then I say lets get going. The sooner we get Kagome back the better.”
“She is like a mother to you isn’t she, Shippo?” Sango smiled down at him and somehow felt a little sad.
“She treats me nice. A lot nicer than Miroku or Inuyasha do.” Shippo snagged his arms across his chest and stuck his tongue out at the monk who paid him absolutely no mind.
“It was for your own good, Shippo.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you feel it? The house was drawing you in, feeding off of you.. in a way it was purifying you.” Miroku unwrapped his cursed hand and held it out towards the others. He ignored their sudden fear and waited for their reaction.
“Houshi!” Sango took a moment to suppress her surprise. “Your hand.. the curse has shrunk! Why then did you leave? If it could have healed completely?”
The hole in his palm had shrunk to the size of his smallest fingernail and whistled as it tried to inhale everything but managed only a slight breeze for all of its efforts. Already it was beginning to stretch its edges dangerously out again.
“Because I could feel it doing more than just that.” He didn’t explain any further though as he re-wrapped his hand. Miroku looked down to see Shippo passed out on the ground. “Perhaps I should have warned him a bit first. I wonder though if Kirara would be able to transform now either. We may be stuck walking. Even Myoga is still knocked out.”
Sango looked down to Kirara in her arms and stroked her gently. He was right, she probably wouldn’t be able to transform.
“I suppose we just walk then.” She hazarded a smile at him as he bent to pick up Shippo and threw him gracelessly over his shoulder.
“We might as well.” He smiled back. It was then she realized he had taken the opportunity to snuggle her rear with his free hand. But he leapt away just in the nick of time and took off running.
“Houshi!!” She grabbed Hiarikotsu from her back and thrust it up into the air. It landed only inches in front of Miroku as he slammed face first into it and fell back hard onto his rump.
“That’s cheating.” He rubbed his nose as she caught up to him.
“And what you did was cheap.” She plucked Hairikotsu out from the ground and threw it over her shoulder again as she walked on leaving Miroku on the ground.
She was shocked to see him in this state. He was soaked through with blood and sitting in her bed with his back against the wall.
~Yes, it’s really me. I’m sorry.~
“Why can’t I touch you?”
~I don’t know, but I’m .. I’m afraid. Am I .. dead?~
“No! You can’t be!” He tried to stand and fell to the floor at her feet. “I.. I can’t lose you, Kagome. I love you.” He leaned forward to try to hold her but slid instead into unconsciousness as he fell forward and through her.
~Inuyasha!~ She tried to touch him but was frustrated as her hands went right through him. It was more than she could stand. ~Someone please help him!~
The door burst open.
“Kagome?!” Kioshi stood there staring at her.
~You can see me, too?~
“And hear you. But you aren’t a ghost.” He relaxed visibly. “Thank goodness. For a moment there I was afraid you were dead.”
~Can you help Inuyasha for me please? We can talk when he’s back in bed.~
“He’ll be fine. We can just leave him there, it’s more suiting for him.”
Lightning crackled around her ghostly form.
~When did you become so cold, Kioshi? I thought you were better than that.~
He could feel a cold chill run down his back.
“I’m sorry. It isn’t like me to be this way, but I just don’t like him.”
~I can’t force you to get along with him but can I ask you to take care of him for me, please? I can’t bear to see him hurt like this. In his human form he could die from an injury like that. How did he get wounded so badly?~
Kioshi lifted Inuyasha from the floor with ease and settled him back into the bed. Kagome hovered over him and stroked the air over Inuyasha’s forehead, frustrated that she couldn’t touch him.
“I smell Raiju all over him so I can only assume they were in a fight. It looks like he got a wound similar to yours only a lot larger.” Kioshi pulled back Inuyasha’s clothes to show a horrible wound the size of a hand punctured through the same area Kagome had been struck with the arrow. “If I didn’t know better I would say it was on purpose. Like a warning.”
~He’s still bleeding from it too! It’s no wonder he passed out. Please do something for it, Kioshi? He could die.~ She sounded horrified. And Kioshi felt a little jealous again.
“You’re more worried about him than yourself aren’t you?”
~He’s saved my life so many times. We’ve been through so much together.~
“But he wasn’t there for you this time.” He knew as soon as he said it he shouldn’t have. Her form flickered and seemed as though it was fading from view.
~Save him.. for me, please Kioshi.~
“Please don’t go, Kagome. I’m sorry I said it, it’s only that..” He didn’t finish his thought but instead stood up and sighed deeply. “I’ll go see if I can find something to wrap his wound.”
~Thank you, Kioshi, I’m glad you’re here.~
He looked back at her and felt a smile forming for the first time in a long while.
“Don’t worry, Kagome. We’ll figure this all out.” Kioshi left the room.
~I wish I could touch you, Inuyasha. I wish I could heal you. Did you mean it when you .. said you.. loved me?~ She felt a tear trickle down her ethereal cheek.
She could still hear the rain pouring outside and felt the most miserable she had ever felt before in her entire life. Kagome had no inkling how to fix things this time or if they ever could be fixed. Most of all, her chest ached from the words she never thought she would hear from Inuyasha; and suddenly she felt most afraid that she would never be able to touch him again.
Kagome turned her shimmering face back towards Inuyasha prone form. His bloody wound was still exposed in all its horrible glory. She remembered all too vividly how it had felt for her, but this was much worse.
~If only I could touch you and comfort you.~ Kagome closed her eyes and ran her fleshless fingers through Inuyasha’s shoulder. There was a sudden tug against her arm as she touched his angry wound and was overwhelmed as heat poured out from her through her hand leaving her cold and feeling strange. She had no idea what was happening and ventured a fearful glance down.
Her hand glowed like fire and Inuyasha’s face flushed bright red as he began to grimace. Kagome tried to pull away but couldn’t. It was as though she was suddenly shackled to him somehow and was being pulled in.
~No! What’s happening?!~ The room began to radiate with power. A furious knocking rumbled on the door with tiny echoes of Kioshi’s voice following but she felt herself floating further and further away. It was even becoming difficult to see the room. It was like looking through murky water, but Inuyasha was still visible to her and she found her eyes couldn’t turn away. Everything was focused completely on him.
Her fingers even began to seem solid as she felt the wound hugging around them. The sensation of it was tightening and uncomfortable but Kagome couldn’t and wouldn’t pull away. Somehow, through her, a power had emerged that was healing his flesh little by little.
She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle though as her hand, one of the few things she could still focus her eyes on, began to fade. It frightened her, but she had to hold on as long as she could. If she could somehow manage to keep her grip long enough she might be able to completely heal him. It would be worth it to her, no matter what her consequences would be.
“Kagome?” His voice was groggy and his eyelids heavy, but he smiled up at her briefly.
~I don’t.. think I can last much longer. Inuyasha… did.. did you mean it what you said? Do you really.. love me?~ Her form flickered like a candle flame and began to disappear.
“Kagome? Kagome! Wait.. PLEASE!”
Her voice couldn’t push through the haze anymore but he could still see her lips as they moved with the words: “I’m sorry. I love…” and then she was gone and he felt more alone than ever before.
It took several moments before he realized his shoulder was whole. It didn’t make him feel any better.
There was a loud crash as the door broke free and dropped in more than one piece to Kagome’s floor. Kioshi stood there panting and upset.
“What happened? What did you do to her?”
“She.. She disappeared. I don’t know what happened. She ..” He touched his shoulder and looked away. Kioshi saw it and shook his head.
“How could she heal you? She’s only a human. Even a Miko doesn’t have that great of a power. It was so strong that I could barely stand outside of the room. I was pushed back. It was unbelievable.” Kioshi shook his head and sat in her desk chair in astonishment.
“Is she.. dead?” Inuyasha choked on his words.
“No. I have no idea how it happened but somehow she was cast from her body. And from the amount of power I felt just now.. it worries me. Just what is going on here?”
“Maybe we should see Raiju. Somehow I feel like he will have a few answers for us.” The anger in Inuyasha’s eyes burned like fire and spread to Kioshi.
“I think you’re right. But maybe first we should talk to Haru.”
The same thought passed between the human Inuyasha and Kioshi. As long as there was a chance, Kagome would be saved at whatever cost.
Gingerly, she stood up and hugged her arms tightly around her. It was the first time since she had left her body that she had felt any real sensations again; for some reason that worried her deeply.
“Where am I?”
“Yomi no Kuni.” The voice echoed with power and sent shivers up her spine.
Kagome let out a little gasp. “I’m in .. hell?!”
“The land of the dead. It can be a prison.. to some.”
“Who.. who are you?” Kagome couldn’t explain why, but she felt.. at ease around this boy. He couldn’t be too much older than Sota. His eyes, which seemed to encompass so much within his gaze, filled her with warmth until she could barely feel the cold anymore.
The air around him shifted. “I am sorry that you have been caught up in all of this.”
“In all of what? And why am I here?”
“You’re here because you used too much of your power to heal your friend and so your soul.. well, withdrew to where it could more freely regain its strength. For now it is more natural for you to be here than in the living world.”
“Then I am.. dead!” Kagome’s face shimmered with tears as it contorted with pain. “I won’t ever be able to see Mama or Sota or Grandpa again or be with Inuyasha or Kioshi or the others! I’ll never finish school or grow up or get married or.. or..” She couldn’t bring herself to say anything else. It was such an overwhelming and horrible thought and she felt like she was going to hyperventilate, if that was even possible anymore. She just had to sit down, but when she touched the ground, the earth beneath her fingers moved and slithered and seemed to breath. “Eahhh!” Kagome tried to leap away but it was the same everywhere.
“This place changes continually. It embraces the souls of those that are too weak to continue into another lifetime and absorbs them to grow and change. Ironically enough, you might say this place is very much alive. Much the same as you.. as well as myself.” The boy motioned with his hand and in immediate response the ground sprouted up with two chair-like appendages. Kagome looked shocked but wasn’t sure she could bring herself to sit in one for fear it might eat her, literally.
“Kagome, you still have the chance to regain your body. You have a great deal of power in you, and by some amazing chance you have retained a connection to the living world and your body despite all of Izanami’s efforts.”
“How.. do you know my name? I never told it to you.”
“There are few secrets here, young one.” His young face smiled with a secret joke. “And you are far from dead so worry yourself no more over it. In a manner of speaking, your body has been borrowed and healed. Unfortunately, Izanami could not enter your body until you were near death, but luckily, she would not wonder around with an imperfect or dying body.” He watched her face for any reaction and saw in her eyes her horror. “That’s right, she sent Raiju after you to injure you near death. It must have been very painful.”
“Why me?” Kagome gratefully slumped into the disgusting chair. It felt oddly comfortable and she relaxed easily into it, as relaxed as anyone could get considering the circumstances.
“Because you are unique among the humans, and in fact among anyone or anything else. Even the woman you are reborn from cannot compare. There is a special quality about you, but even I don’t know to what depth it runs. Even if I did I’m not sure I would tell you. It might go to your head.” He smiled warmly.
“I feel so confused. Who are you?”
“My name .. is Izanagi.”
Kagome’s face went pale, the color almost visibly dripping away.
“I.. Izanagi? Not seriously?!”
“So you’ve heard of me?”
“But that makes you a.. a GOD!” ~What do I do.. should I bow or something?!~ Kagome wasn’t sure she could stand any more shocks like this.
“For now, I’m just another being. So I ask that you treat me as such. Like you, I am trapped outside of my usual and preferred confines and I find myself relying on you to open the cage doors for a second time so I might .. go home.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were a god, how can you be trapped anywhere?”
Izanagi sighed and looked openly upset.
“IzanaminoMikoto found a way to make good her promise to me. She found a way through you and the ones you love to open the gateway to free herself and in turn trapped me in her place as ruler of the underworld. Of course,” He seemed to stare through her as he spoke. “..it has thrown the living world out of balance as well as the land of the dead. Without the Chigaeshi no Okami to separate the two worlds, the dead will become free to return to the earth and the living will have little to keep them safe. Worse still is the rest of her promise. She intends to destroy one thousand lives everyday until human kind are wiped from the face of the planet and she holds domain over it all.”
“But why?! How horrible! Why would anyone want to rule over a dead world? What use is there in it?” Kagome’s hands began to tremble as she thought of her mother and young brother, their faces smiling in her memory.
“It is her revenge.”
“Revenge for what?! What could be worth all of those lives?! It just isn’t worth it for all of that!” Suddenly the room crackled with power and bowed outward. The walls of almost living tissue creaked and groaned like wood under stress as they gradually began to give against the power filling the room. With tears in her eyes, Kagome didn’t see what was happening around her.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you so deeply, but I ask you to try to calm down. There is still yet a chance we can stop her.. if we keep clear minds.”
Kagome opened her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. She hadn’t realized what kind of power she had been releasing until now nor that she even power like this. She felt somehow worse for it.
“I don’t understand any of this. How can we possibly stop her. She’s a god, and you’re trapped down here, and I don’t know how to leave either. And I .. I wish this were all just a really bad dream.”
“I have faith in you.” Izanagi found himself laughing again at some personal joke, but not outwardly in such a situation. He did still remember some of the rules of human society. You just weren’t supposed to laugh at inopportune moments, at least not if you were trying to be a likeable person. “You alone have a strong connection to the living world that will allow you to return when you’re strength is rejuvenated. It is your heart.”
“Inuyasha?”
Izanagi nodded his head meaningfully. “And Kioshi.”
“Kioshi?”
“He is the third piece of the puzzle.”
“How do I go back though?”
“You have to want to be by their side. You’re desire to be there with them will intrinsically draw your spirit, which imbues your heart as well, to their side.. in the living world.”
“What about you? How do we free you?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“But you’re a god!”
“A god that has no idea how to escape a trap meant to keep powerful beings confined for an eternity. Ironic.. since I created it.”
“Yeah. It makes no sense.” Kagome blurted it out before she could help herself. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to sound so disrespectful!”
“You are right though. But to my defense, this place was created to adapt and retain its contents, not let them go. ChigaeshinoOkami, the great stone that serves as the gate to separate the worlds, somehow hides the key. Will ironies never cease.”
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Chapter Eleven : Shadows
Sango stepped from the house with a dark look in her eyes from what the old woman had just revealed to her. She quickly pushed it back as she picked her way through the village to find Miroku. He was leaning over a wooden fence line that skirted a small stream, ignoring the screams of protest from Shippo.
“Are you alright, Houshi?” She gingerly touched his shoulder but found she wouldn’t be able to hold his gaze. In turn she just leaned against the fence beside him in a similar posture and stared into the black, flowing waters.
“I’m sorry, Sango. I couldn’t bear to be in there any longer. I felt like I was.. suffocating.”
“Should we go on? Kirara would get us there by morning. I think I know the area she told us about.”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t seem right.” Sango could suddenly feel his gaze on her and she blushed, but still couldn’t look him in the eyes.
~If only you knew.~ Sango added to herself.
Shippo was huffing again.
“I was sleeping really well you know. But since he won’t let me go back then I say lets get going. The sooner we get Kagome back the better.”
“She is like a mother to you isn’t she, Shippo?” Sango smiled down at him and somehow felt a little sad.
“She treats me nice. A lot nicer than Miroku or Inuyasha do.” Shippo snagged his arms across his chest and stuck his tongue out at the monk who paid him absolutely no mind.
“It was for your own good, Shippo.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you feel it? The house was drawing you in, feeding off of you.. in a way it was purifying you.” Miroku unwrapped his cursed hand and held it out towards the others. He ignored their sudden fear and waited for their reaction.
“Houshi!” Sango took a moment to suppress her surprise. “Your hand.. the curse has shrunk! Why then did you leave? If it could have healed completely?”
The hole in his palm had shrunk to the size of his smallest fingernail and whistled as it tried to inhale everything but managed only a slight breeze for all of its efforts. Already it was beginning to stretch its edges dangerously out again.
“Because I could feel it doing more than just that.” He didn’t explain any further though as he re-wrapped his hand. Miroku looked down to see Shippo passed out on the ground. “Perhaps I should have warned him a bit first. I wonder though if Kirara would be able to transform now either. We may be stuck walking. Even Myoga is still knocked out.”
Sango looked down to Kirara in her arms and stroked her gently. He was right, she probably wouldn’t be able to transform.
“I suppose we just walk then.” She hazarded a smile at him as he bent to pick up Shippo and threw him gracelessly over his shoulder.
“We might as well.” He smiled back. It was then she realized he had taken the opportunity to snuggle her rear with his free hand. But he leapt away just in the nick of time and took off running.
“Houshi!!” She grabbed Hiarikotsu from her back and thrust it up into the air. It landed only inches in front of Miroku as he slammed face first into it and fell back hard onto his rump.
“That’s cheating.” He rubbed his nose as she caught up to him.
“And what you did was cheap.” She plucked Hairikotsu out from the ground and threw it over her shoulder again as she walked on leaving Miroku on the ground.
~~~~~~***~~~~~~
“Kagome?! Is it really you?” Inuyasha was reaching towards her but found his hand wasn’t touching anything. He looked like he was going to pass out. His face was pale and ashen and he could barely sit upright.She was shocked to see him in this state. He was soaked through with blood and sitting in her bed with his back against the wall.
~Yes, it’s really me. I’m sorry.~
“Why can’t I touch you?”
~I don’t know, but I’m .. I’m afraid. Am I .. dead?~
“No! You can’t be!” He tried to stand and fell to the floor at her feet. “I.. I can’t lose you, Kagome. I love you.” He leaned forward to try to hold her but slid instead into unconsciousness as he fell forward and through her.
~Inuyasha!~ She tried to touch him but was frustrated as her hands went right through him. It was more than she could stand. ~Someone please help him!~
The door burst open.
“Kagome?!” Kioshi stood there staring at her.
~You can see me, too?~
“And hear you. But you aren’t a ghost.” He relaxed visibly. “Thank goodness. For a moment there I was afraid you were dead.”
~Can you help Inuyasha for me please? We can talk when he’s back in bed.~
“He’ll be fine. We can just leave him there, it’s more suiting for him.”
Lightning crackled around her ghostly form.
~When did you become so cold, Kioshi? I thought you were better than that.~
He could feel a cold chill run down his back.
“I’m sorry. It isn’t like me to be this way, but I just don’t like him.”
~I can’t force you to get along with him but can I ask you to take care of him for me, please? I can’t bear to see him hurt like this. In his human form he could die from an injury like that. How did he get wounded so badly?~
Kioshi lifted Inuyasha from the floor with ease and settled him back into the bed. Kagome hovered over him and stroked the air over Inuyasha’s forehead, frustrated that she couldn’t touch him.
“I smell Raiju all over him so I can only assume they were in a fight. It looks like he got a wound similar to yours only a lot larger.” Kioshi pulled back Inuyasha’s clothes to show a horrible wound the size of a hand punctured through the same area Kagome had been struck with the arrow. “If I didn’t know better I would say it was on purpose. Like a warning.”
~He’s still bleeding from it too! It’s no wonder he passed out. Please do something for it, Kioshi? He could die.~ She sounded horrified. And Kioshi felt a little jealous again.
“You’re more worried about him than yourself aren’t you?”
~He’s saved my life so many times. We’ve been through so much together.~
“But he wasn’t there for you this time.” He knew as soon as he said it he shouldn’t have. Her form flickered and seemed as though it was fading from view.
~Save him.. for me, please Kioshi.~
“Please don’t go, Kagome. I’m sorry I said it, it’s only that..” He didn’t finish his thought but instead stood up and sighed deeply. “I’ll go see if I can find something to wrap his wound.”
~Thank you, Kioshi, I’m glad you’re here.~
He looked back at her and felt a smile forming for the first time in a long while.
“Don’t worry, Kagome. We’ll figure this all out.” Kioshi left the room.
~I wish I could touch you, Inuyasha. I wish I could heal you. Did you mean it when you .. said you.. loved me?~ She felt a tear trickle down her ethereal cheek.
She could still hear the rain pouring outside and felt the most miserable she had ever felt before in her entire life. Kagome had no inkling how to fix things this time or if they ever could be fixed. Most of all, her chest ached from the words she never thought she would hear from Inuyasha; and suddenly she felt most afraid that she would never be able to touch him again.
Kagome turned her shimmering face back towards Inuyasha prone form. His bloody wound was still exposed in all its horrible glory. She remembered all too vividly how it had felt for her, but this was much worse.
~If only I could touch you and comfort you.~ Kagome closed her eyes and ran her fleshless fingers through Inuyasha’s shoulder. There was a sudden tug against her arm as she touched his angry wound and was overwhelmed as heat poured out from her through her hand leaving her cold and feeling strange. She had no idea what was happening and ventured a fearful glance down.
Her hand glowed like fire and Inuyasha’s face flushed bright red as he began to grimace. Kagome tried to pull away but couldn’t. It was as though she was suddenly shackled to him somehow and was being pulled in.
~No! What’s happening?!~ The room began to radiate with power. A furious knocking rumbled on the door with tiny echoes of Kioshi’s voice following but she felt herself floating further and further away. It was even becoming difficult to see the room. It was like looking through murky water, but Inuyasha was still visible to her and she found her eyes couldn’t turn away. Everything was focused completely on him.
Her fingers even began to seem solid as she felt the wound hugging around them. The sensation of it was tightening and uncomfortable but Kagome couldn’t and wouldn’t pull away. Somehow, through her, a power had emerged that was healing his flesh little by little.
She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle though as her hand, one of the few things she could still focus her eyes on, began to fade. It frightened her, but she had to hold on as long as she could. If she could somehow manage to keep her grip long enough she might be able to completely heal him. It would be worth it to her, no matter what her consequences would be.
“Kagome?” His voice was groggy and his eyelids heavy, but he smiled up at her briefly.
~I don’t.. think I can last much longer. Inuyasha… did.. did you mean it what you said? Do you really.. love me?~ Her form flickered like a candle flame and began to disappear.
“Kagome? Kagome! Wait.. PLEASE!”
Her voice couldn’t push through the haze anymore but he could still see her lips as they moved with the words: “I’m sorry. I love…” and then she was gone and he felt more alone than ever before.
It took several moments before he realized his shoulder was whole. It didn’t make him feel any better.
There was a loud crash as the door broke free and dropped in more than one piece to Kagome’s floor. Kioshi stood there panting and upset.
“What happened? What did you do to her?”
“She.. She disappeared. I don’t know what happened. She ..” He touched his shoulder and looked away. Kioshi saw it and shook his head.
“How could she heal you? She’s only a human. Even a Miko doesn’t have that great of a power. It was so strong that I could barely stand outside of the room. I was pushed back. It was unbelievable.” Kioshi shook his head and sat in her desk chair in astonishment.
“Is she.. dead?” Inuyasha choked on his words.
“No. I have no idea how it happened but somehow she was cast from her body. And from the amount of power I felt just now.. it worries me. Just what is going on here?”
“Maybe we should see Raiju. Somehow I feel like he will have a few answers for us.” The anger in Inuyasha’s eyes burned like fire and spread to Kioshi.
“I think you’re right. But maybe first we should talk to Haru.”
The same thought passed between the human Inuyasha and Kioshi. As long as there was a chance, Kagome would be saved at whatever cost.
~~~~~~***~~~~~~
Kagome felt heavy as she opened her eyes. Wherever she was now, was so dark she could barely see a thing. It was horribly cold too.Gingerly, she stood up and hugged her arms tightly around her. It was the first time since she had left her body that she had felt any real sensations again; for some reason that worried her deeply.
“Where am I?”
“Yomi no Kuni.” The voice echoed with power and sent shivers up her spine.
Kagome let out a little gasp. “I’m in .. hell?!”
“The land of the dead. It can be a prison.. to some.”
“Who.. who are you?” Kagome couldn’t explain why, but she felt.. at ease around this boy. He couldn’t be too much older than Sota. His eyes, which seemed to encompass so much within his gaze, filled her with warmth until she could barely feel the cold anymore.
The air around him shifted. “I am sorry that you have been caught up in all of this.”
“In all of what? And why am I here?”
“You’re here because you used too much of your power to heal your friend and so your soul.. well, withdrew to where it could more freely regain its strength. For now it is more natural for you to be here than in the living world.”
“Then I am.. dead!” Kagome’s face shimmered with tears as it contorted with pain. “I won’t ever be able to see Mama or Sota or Grandpa again or be with Inuyasha or Kioshi or the others! I’ll never finish school or grow up or get married or.. or..” She couldn’t bring herself to say anything else. It was such an overwhelming and horrible thought and she felt like she was going to hyperventilate, if that was even possible anymore. She just had to sit down, but when she touched the ground, the earth beneath her fingers moved and slithered and seemed to breath. “Eahhh!” Kagome tried to leap away but it was the same everywhere.
“This place changes continually. It embraces the souls of those that are too weak to continue into another lifetime and absorbs them to grow and change. Ironically enough, you might say this place is very much alive. Much the same as you.. as well as myself.” The boy motioned with his hand and in immediate response the ground sprouted up with two chair-like appendages. Kagome looked shocked but wasn’t sure she could bring herself to sit in one for fear it might eat her, literally.
“Kagome, you still have the chance to regain your body. You have a great deal of power in you, and by some amazing chance you have retained a connection to the living world and your body despite all of Izanami’s efforts.”
“How.. do you know my name? I never told it to you.”
“There are few secrets here, young one.” His young face smiled with a secret joke. “And you are far from dead so worry yourself no more over it. In a manner of speaking, your body has been borrowed and healed. Unfortunately, Izanami could not enter your body until you were near death, but luckily, she would not wonder around with an imperfect or dying body.” He watched her face for any reaction and saw in her eyes her horror. “That’s right, she sent Raiju after you to injure you near death. It must have been very painful.”
“Why me?” Kagome gratefully slumped into the disgusting chair. It felt oddly comfortable and she relaxed easily into it, as relaxed as anyone could get considering the circumstances.
“Because you are unique among the humans, and in fact among anyone or anything else. Even the woman you are reborn from cannot compare. There is a special quality about you, but even I don’t know to what depth it runs. Even if I did I’m not sure I would tell you. It might go to your head.” He smiled warmly.
“I feel so confused. Who are you?”
“My name .. is Izanagi.”
Kagome’s face went pale, the color almost visibly dripping away.
“I.. Izanagi? Not seriously?!”
“So you’ve heard of me?”
“But that makes you a.. a GOD!” ~What do I do.. should I bow or something?!~ Kagome wasn’t sure she could stand any more shocks like this.
“For now, I’m just another being. So I ask that you treat me as such. Like you, I am trapped outside of my usual and preferred confines and I find myself relying on you to open the cage doors for a second time so I might .. go home.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were a god, how can you be trapped anywhere?”
Izanagi sighed and looked openly upset.
“IzanaminoMikoto found a way to make good her promise to me. She found a way through you and the ones you love to open the gateway to free herself and in turn trapped me in her place as ruler of the underworld. Of course,” He seemed to stare through her as he spoke. “..it has thrown the living world out of balance as well as the land of the dead. Without the Chigaeshi no Okami to separate the two worlds, the dead will become free to return to the earth and the living will have little to keep them safe. Worse still is the rest of her promise. She intends to destroy one thousand lives everyday until human kind are wiped from the face of the planet and she holds domain over it all.”
“But why?! How horrible! Why would anyone want to rule over a dead world? What use is there in it?” Kagome’s hands began to tremble as she thought of her mother and young brother, their faces smiling in her memory.
“It is her revenge.”
“Revenge for what?! What could be worth all of those lives?! It just isn’t worth it for all of that!” Suddenly the room crackled with power and bowed outward. The walls of almost living tissue creaked and groaned like wood under stress as they gradually began to give against the power filling the room. With tears in her eyes, Kagome didn’t see what was happening around her.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you so deeply, but I ask you to try to calm down. There is still yet a chance we can stop her.. if we keep clear minds.”
Kagome opened her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. She hadn’t realized what kind of power she had been releasing until now nor that she even power like this. She felt somehow worse for it.
“I don’t understand any of this. How can we possibly stop her. She’s a god, and you’re trapped down here, and I don’t know how to leave either. And I .. I wish this were all just a really bad dream.”
“I have faith in you.” Izanagi found himself laughing again at some personal joke, but not outwardly in such a situation. He did still remember some of the rules of human society. You just weren’t supposed to laugh at inopportune moments, at least not if you were trying to be a likeable person. “You alone have a strong connection to the living world that will allow you to return when you’re strength is rejuvenated. It is your heart.”
“Inuyasha?”
Izanagi nodded his head meaningfully. “And Kioshi.”
“Kioshi?”
“He is the third piece of the puzzle.”
“How do I go back though?”
“You have to want to be by their side. You’re desire to be there with them will intrinsically draw your spirit, which imbues your heart as well, to their side.. in the living world.”
“What about you? How do we free you?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“But you’re a god!”
“A god that has no idea how to escape a trap meant to keep powerful beings confined for an eternity. Ironic.. since I created it.”
“Yeah. It makes no sense.” Kagome blurted it out before she could help herself. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to sound so disrespectful!”
“You are right though. But to my defense, this place was created to adapt and retain its contents, not let them go. ChigaeshinoOkami, the great stone that serves as the gate to separate the worlds, somehow hides the key. Will ironies never cease.”
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