InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Song ❯ A Woman Among Shards of A Broken Evil ( Chapter 11 )

Demon Song 11:

Kikyo nodded. Fixing her piercing gaze on Kagome she took up where Myoga had left off, "The sorceress of Kimara is-" Kikyo was cut off by the sound of a high pitched scream; not unlike that of a young child.

"Kagome, take these." Kikyo shoved her bow and arrows at the bewildered girl, "I must warn the others!"

>.<;;;

Kagome fumbled with the bow and arrows that Kikyo had forced into her surprised hands. Finally, she got everything under control. Looking around for Myoga, she realized that he must have run off.

That coward! Sighing, she jogged over to the edge of the forest that bordered the town on the North-Western side. She could hear the little girl's screams even clearer now.

She charged into the forest, scanning the trees for any signs of movement. What was out there that had made Kikyo so scared? She had run off to get the others; did that mean that whatever had scared her was much too powerful for her?

Suddenly Kagome caught sight of a flash of white through the trees. The pitiful crying of the girl was closer than ever. She rounded a particularly large tree to find a little girl in all white with stark white skin and hair, sitting on the other side of it.

Kagome could not see her face, but she could tell that the girl was crying by the way her body shuddered and the raucous sobs she emitted. Kagome frowned. What was this strange girl doing in a place such as this? The villagers didn't dare go into the forest for they believed that demons lived there. Demons so powerful that-

That was it! This was no ordinary child! Kagome realized her mistake. This girl was obviously not human. Her skin and hair alone were proof of that. She noticed now that the child gave off a shimmering aura that made Kagome feel immensely uneasy.

>.<

Huffing, Kikyo burst through the swinging entrance to the inn's bar. She looked around, hoping that someone that she knew was there. She swore under her breath as she realized that the bar was deserted.

"Your friends aren't here anymore; they said something about going up to the castle." Kikyo froze. That voice! She had heard it before, she was sure of it! There was no mistaking it. How could it be?

Kikyo turned around slowly. Sure enough, there he was, as clear as day. She let out a shuddering breath. "You're supposed to be dead!" The man laughed, shaking his long mane of raven black hair. He was grubby and needed a good shave. It wasn't his face that Kikyo had recognized, for she had never seen his face, only heard his voice.

"That's not the way to greet an old friend!" He said in mock scorn. Laughing, he said, "So Kikyo, it's been a while. Where have you been? I thought you might have forgotten poor Onigumo!"

Kikyo twitched; an uneasy feeling crept up her back, making her shiver. "I see you did well without me." She said coldly. Kikyo tried to hide the fact that she was terrified. She had no weapon, nothing to defend herself with except her own bare hands. She was not aware of what Onigumo had up his sleeve, and truthfully, she didn't want to know.

>.<

"I cannot believe we left Kikyo and Kagome at the inn!" Sango complained fruitlessly to Inu Yasha, Miroku and Sesshomaru. "The only person who should have been left at home was Shippo!"

"Hey!" Shippo yelled at her, glaring, "I can take care of myself you know!" Inu Yasha laughed, "Yeah, see? The little guy's got spirit!" Sesshomaru and Miroku exchanged exasperated glances as Sango raised her hand to slap the Hanyou.

"You *slap* are going to be *slap* a horrible *slap* father!" Sango yelled, while raining slaps down on the back of Inu Yasha's head. Sango stopped long enough for Inu Yasha to stand up again. Rubbing his head he retorted, "Well at least I'm not abusive!"

"Who said you weren't?" *SLAP* Miroku stifled a snigger as he and Sesshomaru watched the two fight. Miroku elbowed Sesshomaru, "He's so asking for it. No wonder he has girl problems!"

"Hey you two, cool it!" Sesshomaru yelled, "We have to go if we want to get to the castle in the next century!" Sango frowned at him, but she at least knew he was right. She admired Sesshomaru. He was the only person in the group besides Kagome to be able to royally tick Inu Yasha off.

Inu Yasha let out a huffy breath and glared at Sesshomaru. Why did everyone have to gang up on him today? Brushing off the dust that had pressed itself into the knees of his pants, Inu Yasha blew out an exasperated breath before continuing to trek up the dirt road to the foreboding stone building towering above the trees.

>.<;;;;;

Kagome froze, looking warily at the unnatural girl. Slowly, the girl raised her head to stare forlornly at Kagome. Kagome gasped. The child looked possessed; her eyes were a dark, almost black, brown and she had no pupils.

Smiling slightly with one side of her mouth she said in a one-toned, creepy little voice, "Your soul is mine now." Something flashed and caught Kagome's eye. It was a silver mirror incrested with strange symbols.

Suddenly, Kagome felt a tug near her heart. It was as if something was being pulled from her very being. And indeed something was. A translucent fiber of something was being dragged from her body. Her eyes followed the strand and watched helplessly as it entered the girl's mirror.

She began to feel her senses dim and all noises, including her breathing, were being muffled. Her vision blurred and her eyelids began to feel heavy. She felt her body begin to rise as her soul was pulled from her body. A harsh wind began to blow, and Kagome's hair sailed out behind her like a blanket of darkness.

Kagome was giving in to her senses. Slowly, her eyes began to close. She shut out all sounds. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep. Taking one last breath, Kagome accepted that she was dying.

But something happened that Kagome had not expected: a small part in her mind cried out to her; making her fight the mirror. She clenched her fists and braced herself as she snapped her eyes open. Her soul was still pouring out of her into the mirror, but she managed to stem the flow considerably… somehow…

Now if she could only reach her bow! Yes, there, her fingers closed around her bow. Getting the arrow would be a much harder task. Cautiously, she tried to reach her over her shoulder to grab one of Kikyo's arrows. But to no avail, her arm was too weak.

Pushing herself even more, she managed to make her way halfway to her shoulder before dropping her hand to her side. The soul draining out of her was depleting her energy.

Kagome tried to focus on something else besides how weak she was. Images flashed through her mind… Shippo laughing… Inu Yasha with an alarm clock imbedded in between his ears… That did it.

I'll do it for Inu Yasha… She decided. Setting her jaw stubbornly, she fought at the mirror until her arm was at her shoulder. Then it was clasped around an arrow.

Bringing up her last reserve of strength, she brought the arrow to the bow and aimed it at the little girl holding the mirror. Pulling the string taught, she let the arrow fly, praying that it would hit its mark.

Kagome watched, horrified as the arrow swerved and hit the mirror instead of the little girl. Much to her surprise, a blast of white energy washed over her face and she felt herself falling.

The last thing she remembered before she hit the ground was the appalling image of the little girl being torn apart and the shattered mirror falling to the earth, spilling millions of tiny shards out onto the mossy forest floor, like a blanket of diamonds. Then Kagome blacked out, a woman bathed in rainbows, the reflections of rays of sun reflecting off pieces of a shattered evil, foreshadowing the hope of things to come.

^.^

Hope you guys all liked the chapter, I'm so happy it's finished! I was overloaded with studying for finals and the onslaught of an ugly case of the flu. I didn't actually get the full flu, but I feel crummy, so that's gotta count for something. Yah, well, I'm also writing another story, `Simple and Clean' and the reviewers on that story are really impatient so I felt really bad that I wasn't updating fast enough and all… oh well, this chapters done and I'm not complaining!