InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Enough ❯ Chapter 4: Let Go ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

He had a plan. He would go and seek her out. Yes, he’d see her. Inuyasha was going to see Kikyo. Springing through the branches, weaving between the trees he was a silver-red blur as he all but flew towards his goal. He knew leaving to see Kikyo while Kagome was very absent some five hundred years in the future was NOT the smartest idea he had ever had, especially with this weeks’ events fresh and hanging over his dog eared head.

For one thing, everyone would get the completely the wrong idea, and think that he was off having some kind of tryst with her. Inuyasha snorted loudly; there wasn’t even the remote possibility of that. Kikyo may have been many things, a beautiful, kind, strong woman, and his former fiancé; but she was now a dead clay woman. He briefly wondered how dense his human friends could get.

There was no getting around the fact that she was dead, an unnatural thing. Every time he had previously tried to ignore that rather blatant fact, his demon side had thoroughly pounded the forced reminder into his stubborn skull; forcing him to see his relationship to her logically. Yes, he had been willing to relinquish his youkai blood, and become human for her, to be with her and he still had promises to keep to her, but…


Things had changed; he had changed. Kagome had changed him; he was no longer the person who wanted to renounce half of his self. He had found Kagome, and in her, he had found acceptance. Kagome… Oh Kami, Kagome. He wanted so much to surrender, to drown in, and surround himself in her… So completely that the world faded away. Soon, he promised, but first he needed closure with Kikyo. He was letting go, of a memory, a dream proved unfulfilled and fruitless. He knew he could do it, let go of the echoes of a life long past, but could Kikyo?

He didn’t know, and if he was wholly honest, a small part of him did not want to. It was a small part, the part of his heart that still mourned the loss of what could have been; but never was. He wasn’t a fool, he knew that small part would always cherish the memories and feelings he had for Kikyo; but that didn’t mean he had to let that his past with her control his future.

It came upon the breeze her faint sent nigh intangible to even his perceptive nose. The acrid smell of decay, clay, ash, and grave soil mixed with that of the human that she once was grew stronger; he was getting closer. It burned and stung his delicate nostrils, clinging cloyingly in the surrounding air, choking him; forcing him to bite his tongue hard to prevent himself from gagging. His ears were twitching madly as they detected the siren song of her soul collectors. He could see them now as they swooped and glided casting their eerie glow. Inuyasha supposed that the creatures could have been considered beautiful had he not known their purpose. However, he was fully aware of what they were used for; and he could find nothing beautiful in the soul stealers even if they did belong to Kikyo.

He could find no fault with Kikyo for using the creatures, for she had never wanted to come back, and it was partly his fault that she was. He slowed his pace; the last thing he wanted was to be dodging purity arrows. He entered the clearing, and hew saw her almost immediately her distinct red-white Miko garb making her stick out like Jinenji at a neko family reunion.
He vaguely pondered the choice of colors for the traditional dress, since it was like painting yourself a target and shouting, “Over here demons! I’m a nice, tasty priestess! Eat up!” He violently shoved his stray and an errant thought to a dusty corner of his mind, fore, now was not the time for such foolish ideas.



She was sprawled in the crook of a tree, her feet lazily hanging over the branch. She looked like something out of a dream, her long hair free, unbound, and dancing in the wind. Her soul collectors twined through the branches of the tree, depositing their shimmering cargo of souls, and he as watched her, she absorbed the glowing souls; further separating her from the woman, the human that she had been. Inuyasha froze; and he forced himself to remember why he was here. Breathing deeply, he could only pray that this turned out to be a better plan than he expected.

He took a step forward and called out her name ever so softly, “Kikyo…”

Her eyes opened, she sat up and looked into his molten orbs, “Inuyasha…”
He visibly swallowed, and mentally prepared himself to let go.