InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Facets of the Living Jewel ❯ Crudelius est quam mori semper timere ( Chapter 48 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters. Ms. Takahashi does.

 

 

Crudelius est quam mori semper timere

By Licentia poetica

 

 

Kensei Higurashi pressed his fingers against the small indentations in the ridges of bone above his eyes, massaging the nerves that exited there to ease his terrible headache. He breathed a sigh of relief as the ache diminished.

 

`Thank the gods that's over.'

 

The fluctuations that had drawn at his power had ceased, but he had been awake all night trying to hold the anchor in the Sengoku Jidai against the time rip.

 

`I'm hungry. How long has it been since I ate? How long has it been since I slept? Lying on the floor unconscious doesn't count.'

 

He pulled his hands away from his forehead and turned from the Well. He walked through the time dwelling to the kitchen, trying to decide whether he wanted breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

 

`I miss Innin's oden,' he sighed at an all-too-familiar ache of separation in his chest.

 

With his mouth watering from remembered flavors, he passed the room where his family and friends stood holding Naraku's black hole in their time constraints. Out of habit he glanced in at the still forms, walking quickly by the door. He took two more steps and froze in shock. In the silence following the cessation of his footsteps he heard a faint noise.

 

`What now? What is that sound, and what was that…was it movement?'

 

A soft, muted, rhythmic sound was coming from the room he had just passed. He backed up a few steps and looked into the room. His eyes widened in shock.

 

“Gods!”

 

Although the movement was miniscule, Naraku's black hole was pulsing gently like the beating of a heart. Each pulse gave off a dim radiance which illuminated the still figures in the room as if they themselves were being drawn into the event horizon of the breach.

 

`What is happening? How can it move against their control? Has something increased its power?'

 

He carefully stepped around the room, sliding around the backs of the silent sentinels to get a better look. He held his hand closer to the sphere but couldn't break the time barrier around the figures to sense any change in the time space fabric.

 

`It doesn't seem to be larger…there's no breach out here. It's just…pulsing.'

 

His mouth pursed in irritation. `Damn Naraku! I'm hungry. I'm tired. I'm lonely, and I miss my family. Gods, this time thread is driving me crazy, and with my powers anchored I can't See the choices!'

 

His stomach gave a low growl and the headache returned.

 

`To hell with this! I'm going to eat breakfast…dinner…whatever before I contact Midoriko. There's no one here to help me if I pass out from hunger. This'll just have to wait.'

 

As he walked toward the kitchen again, he had to smooth down the hair on the back of his neck. The pulsing glow and the soft susurrations were unnerving, and he had to fight the feeling that he was making the wrong decision.

 

`Damn! I'm tired of living like this! But maybe it's so much worse because we're finally on the time thread out of the Nexus.'

 

He hesitated, and in the silence behind him the pulse of the black hole whispered promises of oblivion.

 

His stomach growled, and pragmatism warred with his sense of disaster.

 

`Maybe I'll just have a quick snack…I'm afraid this is serious.'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kaede pursed her lips as she listened to Midoriko's narration of the events at the time rip.

 

`Good. This fills in the gaps of information, but it does not explain Kanna. I will be interested to see this “child” for myself.'

 

She gave a little groan as she tried to pull her aging body up over a rise, leaning heavily on her staff. Kohaku, walking easily just ahead of her, turned and took her other arm, lending her his youthful strength. She smiled at him and patted his hand as they reached the summit of the hill.

 

“Ye are kind to an old woman, Kohaku. I thank ye.”

 

Kohaku smiled back at her, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He turned from her and continued walking as Midoriko resumed her tale. Kaede listened, but most of her attention centered on the youth.

 

`Something is different since Inuyasha was so blunt with him. He is stronger; his aura is calmer. Perhaps Inuyasha was right; the boy needs to take action to be able to heal.'

 

Glancing at Midoriko as she animatedly described Inuyasha's attack on Sesshoumaru after the time rip was closed, Kaede was once again discomfited by her sister's body using unfamiliar facial expressions and gestures.

 

`What is left of my sister is somewhere in that body. She used to be so serious and calm; she never would have become so excited by the situation. And she would never have allowed Inuyasha to act as a full demon; she would have purified him immediately! Midoriko must have been frightened, yet she allowed Inuyasha the freedom to choose his own path.'

 

She smiled as she realized she was thinking about Midoriko as if she were a younger woman.

 

`She is older than I, with more power and more experience, yet she is…vivacious. I doubt that my sister could have matured into such a woman.'

 

She heaved a sigh, smiling and shaking her head as her two companions turned to her with expressions of concern.

 

“I am fine. Ye need not be concerned about this old woman. It has just been…exciting for the last two days, and I am weary.”

 

`I realize it is tanha, but I wish that Midoriko was not in Kikyou's body. She has explained how Kagome would not accept Kikyou's soul fragments back, but my sister's remaining soul needs to mature and it would be better if she could die to be born again in another body.'

 

The elder miko gazed seriously at Kohaku as he resumed walking. `The boy needs to heal as well. It will be a long struggle for him to overcome dukkha and follow the Path, and Naraku might still control him through the shard. I wonder…death might be preferable to living under Naraku's influence; at least his reincarnation might have a better chance at reaching Nirvana.'

 

Her gaze strayed to Midoriko and her sister's body again. `Better death than life as one of the undead, be it in a bewitched body or trapped in the Jewel, forever fighting evil.'

 

She gave another sigh, and the gentle smile with which Midoriko took her arm to help her made her ache for both her sister and the Time Lord.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miroku sat in the seiza position of meditation, ostensibly guarding Kanna and trying to clear his mind by focusing on the Eight Fold Path, but twinges from his cursed hand kept intruding on his awareness.

 

As soon as Inuyasha had leaped away he had offered to keep an eye on the girl while Kirara and Sango rested. Sango's face had gone pale and serious when Yourei Taisei told Kirara that she would be helping Sango learn to battle in the air, and Miroku knew that the taiji-ya was worried about upholding the honor of her family.

 

`I would be concerned about falling off Kirara, but Sango is frightened that she will dishonor her training.'

 

Sango lay quietly behind him with her head pillowed on Kirara's flank. Her eyes were closed, but her hands were moving in a miniature dance as she obviously concentrated on katana katas in her mind. Kirara's purr rumbled rhythmically as the neko tried to soothe her companion.

 

`She trusts me enough to relax when a possible enemy is near. She honors me,' he thought before quirking a grin. `More likely she trusts Kirara or honors our new allies.'

 

He let his eyes roam over the Kai-wolves who encircled the demon child, keeping watchful vigil. Kanna sat cross-legged, holding her mirror against her stomach and staring at a point halfway between her knees and Miroku.

 

All but one member of the pack surrounded Kanna, sitting straight with their ears on point, eyes fastened on the girl as if she were a fat rabbit. Across the circle, the pregnant bitch lay on her side in the shadow of a tree behind the smaller male.

 

`I wish Inuyasha had given me their names. It seems odd to call them `dog' since they're obviously crossed with wolves. The bitch with the blue eyes will have her puppies soon.'

 

Aoi was panting and obviously uncomfortable. Shiro's eyes flashed at Miroku as the Kai-wolf noticed where he was gazing, and a low growl grumbled in the clearing.

 

“Easy boy,” Miroku grinned, “your mate is close to her time, so you must be on edge.”

 

Shiro yipped in irritation. “I told you to watch the Scentless One, beta brother! Keep your nose and eyes sharp, she is not to be trusted.”

 

`The human must be good for something! After all, he is the Pack Leader's beta, but he doesn't understand how to keep watch over prey.'

 

“Easy boy. Kagome or Kaede may know how to help her.”

 

Shiro snorted. `If he calls me boy one more time I will bite him. I'm not a human!' He growled softly. `It is easier to speak to them when the Pack Leader is here.'

 

His eyes flicked to Kirara as the neko's purr stopped. She was regally gazing at him with a wicked glint of humor in her eyes.

 

“MMmmmrr prrrraoow mmmm hsst! Mmrrowhhsssaa rraow.”

 

Shippo appeared from behind her back, licking his fingers and stuffing his box of Pocky back into his juban.

 

“She's right. You won't get him to understand you, and I don't speak Inu that well. Wait for…” he grinned up at Kirara and spoke in her language: “Mmrrowhhsssaa.” He gave a wicked giggle. “I wish you'd let me call him that to his face.”

 

Kirara didn't condescend to answer. She merely quelled the kitsune with a disdainful look.

 

Miroku had turned to watch, fascinated by the exchange.

 

`I wish I had the gift of tongues. I miss too much of these conversations.'

 

“What was he trying to say to me, Shippo? And what did Kirara answer?”

 

The kitsune sauntered up to him, grinning, but the grin faded and he ducked behind Miroku as a chorus of growls threatened in the clearing. Kanna's head had moved, and she was staring at the kitsune. Miroku immediately turned around, his hand moving to the rosary beads. A throb of pain ached through his cursed hand, but he ignored it.

 

`Nine of us to guard one small girl, yet we all feel that she is a threat.'

 

Kanna's eyes moved to Miroku's face, then back to the point on the ground between them. The growls diminished as she became motionless again.

 

`She is so still it is hard to tell if she's even breathing.'

 

Miroku closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on controlling his own breathing and trying to find inner peace. `Inuyasha felt I would be able to control Kanna, because she only released Sango and the others when I threatened her with the Wind Tunnel. Gods! I don't know if I can use it again!' The pain was familiar, though less sharp than the tear he had received from the praying mantis.

 

Shippo, interpreting Miroku's stillness as caution about Kanna, peeked around his arm slowly. Seeing that Kanna was not threatening, he crept out and sat down next to the monk.

 

Miroku smiled. “So Shippo, what did they say in Inu and Neko?”

 

“He said you should watch Kanna, not his mate. I didn't understand the rest, though there was something about her scent,” Shippo quietly stated, eyeing Kanna. Since the girl remained motionless, his voice returned to its normal banter. “Kirara told him that no one but another dog could ever understand him and to wait for Inuyasha.” He grinned up at Miroku and turned around, sending a jibe at Kirara.

 

“If only a dog can understand a dog, how come you can talk to `Mmrrowhhsssaa'?”

 

Kirara gave a disgusted snort and began purring for Sango again.

 

Shippo sat next to Miroku and grinned up at him, whispering. “I love teasing her. She's so…neko.”

 

Miroku grinned back and settled into seiza again. Just as he regained position an intense throb of pain lanced through his cursed hand and he clenched it against his thigh. He fought the fear that twisted in his gut, breathing slowly and rhythmically as he had been taught.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jinx repressed a growl as she smelled the pain from the Pack Leader's beta human male.

 

`What was his name? Beta brother Miroku…I love his scent. I will never forget that scent, but it is full of pain and fear now.'

 

She raised her nose slightly higher and tasted the air, her mouth open to help gather the smallest odors in the still air. The pain and fear wafting through the air ebbed, replaced by his normal smell.

 

`He is not frightened by the Scentless One. It is his hand, the one that contains the terrible wind. Yet he controls fear so quickly, and the Pack Leader trusted him with his life.'

 

She shifted, flicking her ears as she heard sounds of people talking in the distance. One was the old human that was Pack sister.

 

`More like Pack Eldest. I wonder what the Pack Leader sees in her.'

 

Jinx lay down and crossed her paws, laying her head on them and reluctantly answering Shiro's growl.

 

“Yes, alpha. I will watch the Scentless One.”

 

`She's not going anywhere; she wants the Pack Leader's mate.'

 

An acrid taint wafted through the air. `There is pain in his smell again. He is Pack Brother, so I will make him my human. I will protect him from the Scentless One and tolerate his mate and the arrogant neko.'

 

She watched the other members of the Pack, noticing that Bandit kept glancing between her and her human as he kept his watchful vigil. `He will not mind. I will tell him when we eat, if we ever get to. I wish the Inu no Taisho would return; I'm hungry!'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miroku, eyes closed momentarily, was again attempting watchful mediation but without much success. `I wonder why my use of the Wind Tunnel frightens Kanna when it is not directed at her.' He quirked his mouth in a self-deprecating smile as he opened his eyes again to keep watch on the girl. `If she only knew how effectively I terrify myself, she would walk away laughing.'

 

A cold tremor of pain lanced up his arm. `Kanna was right. The Wind Tunnel has expanded, but I believe that she sensed something different about it before it widened.'

 

The lack of feeling in the center of his palm that had manifested itself ever since he was a child was considerably larger in diameter. He had felt it lurch as he held the Wind Tunnel open against the time rip vortex: the strain of holding it open for so long against a power of equal magnitude had sent pain lancing through his hand and he knew that he should shut it immediately.

 

`I kept it open. Inuyasha would have been lost if I hadn't, but it's become much worse.'

 

He had been relieved to see Inuyasha jump away from the rip, and had hurried to contain his kazanna as the winds from the time rip weakened, but it had lurched again just before he sealed it.

 

`For a moment I thought I would take Kagome and the others with me.'

 

The terror that he might be dying, taking Kagome, Midoriko, and Yourei Taisei with him since they were so close to him, had driven him to his knees in supplication to the gods. He recalled his jumbled thoughts at that moment and shook his head.

 

`One would think that a follower of Buddha would try to keep his last thoughts on Nirvana, and not on a woman. Ah, Sango, I certainly felt “happiness, compassion, love and joyous effort” while with you. Perhaps, since our joining followed the precepts of correct meditation, you would have led me to Nirvana after all.'

 

A smile quirked his mouth, but it immediately disappeared. He had lived so long with the knowledge that his existence was precarious at best that it no longer frightened him as it had when he first inherited the curse, but the memory of the terror that he had just felt, the fear that he might succumb to the Wind Tunnel's ultimate doom and take other beings with him, made him shudder.

 

`It is one thing to face the reality that I may be prevented from ever reaching Nirvana myself, and quite another to know that I might take an innocent soul with me to whatever lies beyond the Wind Tunnel. I hope my father and grandfather can forgive me, but if I do not destroy Naraku I will end the cycle with me. I cannot bring another soul into this battle. '

 

He stiffened and squared his jaw against another stab of agony from his hand. Kanna reacted to him, her onyx eyes lowering to his cursed hand after meeting his eyes for an instant. She stared at the rosary beads for a long moment before reverting to staring in front of her.

 

`I do not understand Kanna at all. How does she sense the Wind Tunnel? What is her purpose here among us?'

 

He was also appalled at his own desire to inflict agony on Kanna; the anger that consumed him when he saw Sango's inert form and knew that the child demon had stolen his love's soul had caused him to stray from the Path.

 

`I wanted to use the Wind Tunnel on her bit by bit, tearing pieces off of her slowly.'

 

He shifted in the seiza, arching his back slightly to take the stiffness out of his shoulders and twisting his mouth in revulsion at the images his mind conjured.

 

“I visualized hurting her. I used the techniques of my training to enforce despicable thought.' He shook his head. `This is not the Path, Miroku. You have fallen into tanha.'

 

He sighed, disgusted at himself.

 

`Focus your mind on the present, Miroku. The seventh aspect of the Path; be aware of the `here and now' not the `there and then' in meditation.'

 

He tried again to settle himself into watchful meditation, yet found his thoughts drifting in a new direction.

 

`I have always been willing to protect the innocent with the kazanna, but in the past few months I am not so sure that it is wise to let the black hole take a living thing. Physics is different in the kazanna. I can see the physical forces bending material in odd ways as it is drawn in. Perhaps I have not been sending beings to the afterlife, but trapping them as surely as Kikyou's arrow trapped Inuyasha.'

 

He eyed Kanna's mirror with distaste. `She has trapped Kinka's soul in the mirror's magic and refuses to release it, yet I wonder if her mirror and the Wind Tunnel are not equally evil. I even wonder if the Wind Tunnel is not more evil; at least if she makes a mistake she can release a soul.'

 

“Damn!” he whispered, sickened again by his curse.

 

`I am unable to control my thoughts today!'

 

He gave up any semblance of meditation and turned to the side so that he could see Sango out of the corner of his eye. Although her pose seemed relaxed he could tell she was quite tense; her hands were still moving through miniature kata forms.

 

`I wish she could sleep. I suspect she is still tired from our late night.' His face softened in a tender smile as he remembered her fierce words: “I want what every other woman has known long before she is my age! I do not want to go back upstairs!”

 

He gave a soft chuckle. `Sango, my warrior woman. She showed me no mercy.'

 

Another stab of pain lanced through his hand, and he flexed it as if holding it tighter would stop the curse from expanding. Kirara, who had been keeping both eyes fixed on Kanna, gave him a fleeting look, purring softly.

 

“You must not use the Wind Tunnel.”

 

His head whipped back to the center of the circle and a chorus of growls met Kanna's flat pronouncement.

 

She was staring directly at him, arms wrapped around her mirror, face expressionless.

 

`She is so void of expression I cannot read her. How can she sense my pain? Why is she here?'

 

He heard soft movement behind him and Sango sat next to him. Shippo growled softly on his other side. He smiled at them both for their support.

 

Sango gave him a tentative smile which disappeared completely when she turned to Kanna. Her face and voice became harsh.

 

“What do you know that you're not telling us?”

 

Kanna blinked slowly. “I only know that the curse is growing.”

 

Miroku placed his left hand over Sango's arm, restraining her for the second time that day as she hissed in a breath and flexed her fist. Mildly, he asked “Why are you here, Kanna? Why did you leave Naraku?”

 

“Naraku killed Kagura.” Her voice betrayed no hint of emotion; no fear, no hate, no anger, no sorrow.

 

Miroku's eyebrows shot up. “Were you frightened that he would kill you?”

 

Kanna paused for a long moment before answering calmly. “I was not frightened by Naraku.”

 

`I can NOT read her. I don't understand her motivations.'

 

Miroku rubbed at his neck with his left hand. “Yet you left Naraku. Why?”

 

Again there was a long pause. “I had learned all that he could teach me.”

 

Miroku stared at her in consternation. `What is this child?'

 

Sango stirred next to him. “Why did you come to us?” Her voice was slightly calmer.

 

“I must learn from the miko Kagome.”

“What can she teach you?” Sango's tone immediately became harsh again.

 

`I swear if she gets within a foot of Kagome I'll flatten her with Hiraikotsu!'

 

“I must learn about love.”

 

Flat, expressionless, the answer left them all speechless. A full minute went by.

 

Shippo finally growled into the silence. “You leave Kagome alone.”

 

Kanna stared at the kitsune, then slowly turned her head to look at Miroku. “The Wind Tunnel is larger now, much more powerful. I can feel it.”

 

Miroku clenched his fist against another painful throb. `If I could read her I might know whether that was a deliberate change of subject or whether she is truly concerned. If she is concerned, why should she care?'

 

Sango turned to Miroku, worry etched on her features. “Is this true, houshi?”

 

Miroku closed his eyes against the fear he saw in hers. `My father's hand was bright red before he left me to die. If it is my time I need to leave and find a secluded place.'

 

He sighed against his own weakness. `Well, I have been avoiding looking at it since I closed it against the rip…'

 

He opened his eyes and gave Sango a gentle smile. Knowing that he might soon be looking at his own imminent death, he brought his cursed hand forward.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Translations:

Crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem: Latin; It is more cruel to always fear death than to die. (Seneca).

 

Mm...rr...owhhss...saa: Neko; Inuyasha

 

Event horizon: the sphere is the simplest three-dimensional geometry for a black hole, and the surface of this sphere is known as the event horizon. Behind this horizon, the inward pull of gravity is overwhelming and nothing can escape.

 

Seiza: “correct sitting”. The most formal and classic sitting style in Japan. The person sits on the heels of the feet with the dorsum of the feet flat on the ground, knees straight in front and back completely straight. Sitting this way takes practice, but provides both a stable base and greater ease of movement than sitting cross-legged.

 

Tanha: craving or desire, the cause of dukkha

 

Dukkha: suffering

 

 

Review thanks:

 

FF (Over 250 reviews!!! Thank you all, `cause they make my day and keep me writing!)

Photographing Poetry, Inuyasha05, The Painted Lady, Fenikkusuken (and thanks for the camaraderie, fellow inhabitant of the ring of fire!!!), Moomoogirl1, Lady Niltiak (I missed you! I hope your friend is doing better now, and take care of yourself, too, O.K.? You sound sad.), XxkittiexxstarxX13, yoyo person (Love that happy dance!), Taskforce: Spartan (You might be surprised how much I know about quantum physics. It's sort of a passion of mine! I would love to let Miroku educate Inuyasha….hey! Another story line!

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alternate story ending (Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, Halo, or Pooh either)

 

Darth Master Chief nodded at his demon apprentice.

 

“Well done, Darth Sesshoumaru. You have learned to open a rip in the time space continuum with the Tenseiga. Now, go forth with this plasma rifle and fry the little Kanna creep.”

 

“Master, she is but a child. She is no threat to our ultimate plan to stop the Covenant.”

 

“That's what you think, apprentice. Her code name is Prophet of Truth…or maybe Half-truth…oh, wait is she a half-demon? I'm getting confused! Anyway, take this plasma rifle…”

 

 

 

In another corner of the Hundred Acre Wood, the Prophet of Mercy grinned evilly as he educated the hanyou. `Hah! A few more minutes of this and I'll have him destroying everything in sight. Thanks to the Tetsusaiga, we will finally have the location of the Ark.'

 

“No, Inuyasha. Plasma is actually matter superheated to the point where the atoms actually disassociate from one another. It's the fourth state of matter, and fairly common. Anyway, your brother will be coming after you soon with a plasma weapon in order to try to take the Tetsusaiga away from you. I would recommend that you counteract it with the energy from the Goraishi because lightning is a plasma state.”

 

Inuyasha stared at Miroku with glazed eyes. “Whaaa…?”

 

“Then again, because plasmas are conductive and can respond to electrical and magnetic fields, perhaps you should use the Backlash Wave, since it undoubtedly uses matter/anti-matter interactions to cause its effects. Collision of a positron and an electron would produce a beauty quark and an anti-beauty quark, as well as an anti-matter/matter pair of lighter quarks, so that would…uhh…remind you of Kagome! Yeah, that's it! And of course Kagome's a beauty, wouldn't you say? Does that mean that Kikyou is an anti-beauty quark? Or perhaps…”

 

The hanyou broke under the strain.

 

“This is all the fault of those stupid books that Kagome keeps bringing over for you!”

 

Taking out the Tetsusaiga he demolished the Well, and in that moment the Ark appeared.

 

“Eureka!” cried Miroku. The Halos were activated and all sentient life was destroyed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ummm…how many did I lose? (L.P. peeks into cyberspace, glad that no one knows where she lives or they might send medical intervention.)

 

Ah well, back to the thanks:

 

FF:

Taskforce: Spartan (Consider this the copyright for my story line…for whatever good that does…), Anima Poetic, Mrs. JediK1 (oh, that Kanna…heh, heh), SylverAngel, Ashtari, hanyou master.

 

MM: (over 150 reviews! Life is good!)

Leo-mae: Please, don't kill me! I do go back from time to time to edit some of the previous chapters, but I didn't update anything new, honest! I put in Kensei's hypoglycemia just for you, since it's genetic in your family…

 

Kagome313: WHOOPIE! I updated!

 

Madosie: I think you're right; things never stay quiet for long in this fanfic. I am glad that Inuyasha and Kagome got some time together…who knows how long it will be before they get any more? Or IF they ever get any more…heh, heh.

 

Evie_Lovejoy: Ah, Inuyasha and Kagome got together, but that doesn't mean there won't be any more angst. You see, that “happily ever after” stuff really doesn't happen. You've read to Kouga's attack on Kagome, so read the next few chapters…trust me, there's some trouble. Thanks for your kind comments!

 

Jessbit: Thanks for the congrats! As for that vacuum cleaner sucking out your brain…don't worry. It took all my brain cells a long time ago…

 

Caitriona695: Yeah, I loved Kagome's evil plans in the last chapter. Just because she's love incarnate doesn't mean she can't take revenge (think of Aphrodite, after all…she was no doormat! Hhmm…maybe there's another Alternate Story Ending here). But Inuyasha is the alpha and is smarter than most portray him, so he didn't let her get away with it completely. I really like the Inudemon, too, although I think Ms. Takahashi will never let him out in the manga. Sigh. Thanks for the support and kind words!

 

Wishes to remain anonymous and anonymous reader: Little one (or little ones), my story is rated “X” on MM and “M” on FF; that means that only mature readers should read it. Your first statement: “I don't know what scares me more; how you describe limes so well or the fact that you CAN describe limes so well!” gave everything away. You see, you were reading lemons. I'm an adult; experience and maturity are two traits that allow me to describe limes (and lemons). I hope you will eventually get both, even though you're obviously too young and shouldn't be reading this at all (stay with the T ratings).

 

Tevrah: I always thought it would be funny if Kagome wrapped Inuyasha's hands in her zeal to heal…and I liked Inuyasha's “look ma, no hands” moment, too!

 

Mace: Thank you for the wonderful concrit. I confess, I was discouraged by the “lime uproar” for a bit, but I gave myself a mental shake and got over it quickly. I am trying very hard to develop both my characterization and plot lines without minimizing characters or “deifying” a single character (great choice of words, by the way). I have never written before and didn't realize how hard it is to maintain the dynamic flow of a story while keeping track of incremental changes in character development and numerous characters. Whew! But it's a great experience, and reviews like yours are a huge help. Thank you.

 

Thank you all for reading, and bless those of you who review!

 

LP