InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Part One: Downfall ❯ Releasing the Demons ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 4:Releasing the Demons

The rest of the night passed by uneventfully. As the sun rose over the horizon shining through the shimmering gossamer curtain that the cave provided with its waterfall, Kagome stirred slightly. Slowly opening her eyes as a particularly pesky ray of light reflected off the water and directly into her eyes. Stretching she looked around her cave, slightly confused until she saw the shimmering barrier that still surrounded her. The night's events rushed back to her in a flood, momentarily overwhelming her.

Pulling her energy back within herself, Kagome was amazed at her sudden control in her power. It was astounding, and yet also very confusing. It's almost as if a dam had been broken when her heart broke. But, her newfound power came to her too late. Her son was already dead.

Lowering her head, she allowed a fear tears to escape from their prisons. As they made their way down her face and dropped to the ground, Kagome gasped when flowers sprang from where the tears fell. This was going to be a very long day.

Getting to her feet, Kagome gathered her few possessions, i.e., her bow and arrows and headed out of the waterfall. Looking about while stretching her senses, she sighed when she didn't find anyone in the immediate area. Looking to the west, she sensed a shard, possibly more and moved her feet in that direction. Soon she found a path that was well used, with relatively little obstacles and lost herself in thought. She didn't really need to pay too much attention to where she was going. Besides, her instincts would warn her to any oncoming danger.

Completely unaware Kagome continued walking through the forest, lost in the labyrinth of her thoughts. Through the day she walked, completely oblivious. She revisited the void where she had been trapped a month and a half ago. She would get Kikyou for that in due time. As she walked various demons, attracted to her power and the shikon attacked her, only to come in contact with her barrier. Only to return to the ashes from whence they came.

Soon the sun had set, and night was setting in. Onward she continued. Her thoughts chaotically shifted from topic to topic, often coming to rest on Inuyasha only to flit away when the pain became too great. The after effects of her love for him still shook her soul with sporadic, violent spasms. She thought she had placed an ironclad hold upon those residual feelings, the bit of love that would always remain, and squeezed most of the life out of it. But it's always hard to forget your first love. She could no sooner kill her kid brother, than vanquish all memories of him.

Unfortunately she could not put such an iron rule on the thoughts of her lost son. Sniffling slightly, she looked to the sky with unseeing eyes as she continued her trek. A random demon came flying from the left, hitting her barrier, just as countless had done before. It turned to dust on contact. Sighing, she realized that the moon was now directly above her. Half finished with its upward arc suspended only momentarily, it awaited its downward spiral.

Her thoughts of past, present and future were like demons. They flocked to feast on the festering remains of her soul. They have come to finish the job. And for once, she wasn't fighting it. As a matter of fact she welcomed the darkness that would undoubtedly consume her. She awaited its comforting arms. But she could not go to it so easily. She had revenge to exact.

As the sun began to rise, Kagome began to search for a place to sleep and hide. She had finally run out of energy and decided to rest for a bit. Finally coming to a cave, she walked a ways into its depths, where the darkness enshrouded all and lay down to sleep. Just before her weighted eyelids slid shut she placed a barrier about two feet in front of her, sealing the cave. The next twenty-four hours were filled with nameless horrors as she dreamed of faceless monsters.

~X~

//What do you see in the dark?//

Panic. That was all she felt. It was all she couldfeel. Blearily looking around her, all she could see in the surrounding forest was the blurred outlines of trees. To her left there was a soft whisper of gossiping leaves causing her to snap around in that direction. She was facing due east.

She didn't know such a piece of information as that, per se. Something told her, was pushing at her. It was trying to get her. Something familiar was coming her way and it terrified her. She knew that if whatever it was found her now she would perish. She would suffer an eternal rest; something that she longed for. However, it was a luxury that she could not afford. Revenge bound her to this earth, if only for a little while. She would not die yet.

//When the demons come for you//

So she turned to the north. To the north she saw trouble as well. A lone wolf howled in the distance. Unpleasant things would befall her should she take that route. She could see that she would be forced into many things that she wasn't ready for, nor did she want.

She turned to the south. To the south she saw death. A massacre. Should she go that way, she could help many. Save many lives. But, if she chose that direction, she would quickly lose her way. She would lose sight of her objective and she would die.

Turning to face west once more, she saw death there as well. But, in that direction lay security. Granted, she didn't want to face many of the things that lay in that direction, but in that direct and only in that direct did she gather a sense of peace. Only in that direction would she find sanctuary. Hesitating, she looked to the south. Her soul called to her to help those who could not help themselves.

Something decided her mind for her. From all directions came a plethora of demons from a myriad of species. The only direction that she could head in was west. A light shone from the west that mesmerized her. It was a pure light that she had never seen before. It was the setting sun.

//If only you could have seen
how fucked up my life used to be//

Taking off in a dead run, she reached for the light. She reached for the sun. She knew she couldn't reach it at this distance, seemingly hundreds of miles away, but she knew that she needed to try. Her very life depended upon it.

From behind, she could hear the lumbering demons crashing after her. She didn't need to look back to know this. Yet, something compelled her to. It was almost as if she needed to confirm that they were indeed chasing her, in spite of all the noise they made in the midst of their chase.

//Then everything starts to change
supposedly healing my pain//

Looking back up she realized her mistake. Before her lay the embodiment of all of her inner demons; starting with Kikyou. Before and behind her, her insecurities and her negative thoughts found some sort of embodiment. Be it in the form of people or demons that they had fought before, or monsters that she have never seen before, they surrounded her.

//I never thought I'd feel this way
I never thought that I'd see a day
I'd run away from anything or anywhere or anyone//

Looking around she whimpered in despair. There was no way she could defeat them all by herself. She would need help. But help she did not have. She was on her own here and she knew it. Whimpering once more, she cringed when Kikyou approached her.

When the incarnation stood aught but two feet in front of Kagome, she lifted her hand and delivered a sharp slap. Clutching her cheek as tears welled in her eyes, she whimpered once more, and cringed, curling in on herself.

Looking down at the huddled mass of flesh and bone, Kikyou scoffed in disgust. "You insult my very existence," she sneered, "How dare you parade around this country side, flaunting the fact that you're myreincarnation when you rely on a hanyou to protect you? You're a disgrace!" she screamed at the quivering mass.

//NO!//

At Kikyou's words, something in Kagome snapped. Sharply looking up, Kagome's eyes flashed pure black before, they returned to their normal hue. Glaring for all she was worth, Kagome slowly rose to her feet. With fire flowing about her figure, Kagome slowly took a step forward, bringing her and the dead bitch nose to nose.

"I rely on no one!" she snarled before she backhanded the red and white clad version of the dead miko, sending her careening backwards into the demons behind her. Growling viciously well for a human, she sunk into a fighting position she didn't even know she knew and waited for the demons to attack.

//It's all these demons haunting me
It's all these little things trapped inside of me
Releasing me from all my sin//

She knew they would attack. It was an instinctual thing that gnawed at her insides, causing them to twist and turn. Looking about her eyes flashed pure white before they were upon her. Dodging, ducking and slashing with claws generated by her miko powers, she fought like any demon.

From out of nowhere, some sort of demon came crashing down upon her, pinning her to the ground. Struggling to raise, she found that the beast was too heavy to lift. Struggling was in vain. And then they were upon her.

//Its taken me all of my anger
And taken me all of my hate
To learn how my life came together
Releasing the demons again//

Giving a feral roar, her anger rivaled that of a demoness defending her young. In a burst of power all of the demons in a ten-mile radius were purified. But she knew that would not hold them back. There was more, and they were coming for her. Gathering her scattered wits, she rose to her feet and with a burst of inhuman speed, headed once again to the diminishing light of the setting sun as it sank lower into the horizon.

//And now I look through my minds eye
And see where my past needs to rest//

She knew to her very core that if she didn't escape her demons that she would perish. Just as she knew that if she didn't make it to the horizon before the light disappeared she would be lost forever, she would have nowhere to turn to. The darkness would fully envelope her.

//It's always disturbed by these voices
that echo inside of my head//

Continuing on her way she gave a sharp cry as she stumbled and fell. Behind her she could hear the whispering of leaves and the groaning of branches as the next wave began to catch up. Lifting herself to her feet, she ignored the pain in her ankle and began to run again. She had to make it before the sun set. It was already half way down!

In no time at all, they caught up to her. Trapping her once more. This time the group was lead by Sango and Miroku. Stopping abruptly, she warily eyed her traveling companions, waiting. Something wasn't right about them; she could feel it.

//Another way that I can hide
another reason to crawl inside and get away

From everything and everywhere and everyone//

Waiting with infinite patience, Kagome was rewarded when Sango finally spoke. "You're a disgrace!" she spat. "You claim to be a miko, you claim to love us. You failed. You failed when you ran away! You failed when you let Shippou die! He died because of you! He died because he loved you! We died because we loved you!" she screeched before attacking, pulling out her hidden katana.

//NO!//

Screaming in anguish, Kagome's eyes flashed black once more, this time the darkness held for a little longer. Dark energy swirled around her as she charged forward, decimating Sango before she could utter another word, and killing Miroku before he had a chance to blink.

Taking off once more, she killed any that got in her way, the sun was three-fourths below the horizon. She didn't have much time left. If she were stopped once more, she would never make it. Pushing back her tears, she ran.

//It's all these demons haunting me
It's all these little things trapped inside of me
Releasing me from all my sin//

This time she didn't get far before she was trapped once again. Partly because she hadn't decimated all of the demons she could like the last time. Ignoring her obstacles, she continued on her way, until something slashed at her back from behind. Throbbing pain coursed through her mangled back as she turned to her attacker.

Stumbling she turned to see Kouga. His claws were bloody, and before her eyes he licked them clean, almost as if he were savoring some exquisite flavor. Eyes flashing white once more, she blasted Kouga as he opened his mouth to speak and turned to the demons that stood in her path. As they lunged at her once more she released another blast that took out thousands of demons.

//Its taken me all my anger
And taken me all of my hate
To learn how my life came together
Releasing the demons...again//

Turning once more, she continued to run. Pushing forward with a burst of youkai like speed, she looked desperately at the setting sun. She didn't have much time left. The sailing was smooth for several hundred feet, and she began to relax when something from the side took her out, causing her to crash into a nearby tree. Crying out, her power flared as demons surrounded her. Those that were too close were purified.

//Facin' the days as I grow into my own
Loving and hating is the same//

Slowly rising to her feet, she looked up to see a red clad figure. And it wasn't Kikyou. Looking into golden eyes that she so loved once upon a time, she lost herself momentarily. Then he attacked.

Jumping back she dodged him several times. She was beginning to tire however. She knew she wouldn't last long. Jumping back once more, she missed that fact that there was a tree behind her. Crying out when her ruined back came in contact with the rough bark, she squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the pain.

Her eyes shot back open when a clawed hand pierced her side. Looking down in disbelief, she slid to her knees when he retracted his arm. Looking up, she saw him lick his claws, enjoying the taste just as much as Kouga had. Maybe it was a demon thing?

//And three-fold I told you
It comes back with laughter
Over and over again
It's coming back//

Then his laughter filled the clearing, as Kagome feebly tried to stand, only to land flat on her ass. Hissing in pain at her bruised tailbone and jarred back, she attempted to stand again, her anger fueling her movements. Her eyes flashed red then quickly shifted to black. She was pleased when her knees locked, holding her up steadily. Looking him in the eyes once more, Kagome gave a war cry as she released a wave of dark energy that dissolved his laughing face and that of anything within five miles, including trees and the like. Miasma.

Looking back at the last rays of light with black eyes, she snarled in anger as she took off once more. She was still running as the last rays caressed the land, faded, then died. As her eyes returned to normal, she gave a wailing cry for reasons unknown to her. She could only feel a sense of loss. She didn't make it in time.

With her cry came all of the demons in the area. Curling in on herself, she knew that a battle with the boundless amounts of demons was fruitless. Crying bitter tears for the lack of light, she gave herself to the demons as they feasted on her flesh. A cloaked figure sat watching in the distance.

//It's taken me all my anger
And taken me all of my hate
To learn how my life came together
Releasing the demons again//

Twenty-four hours later, Kagome woke up screaming, in a cold sweat. Not remembering what exactly her dream was about, she decided to push it to the side for the time being. Dreams never really held a high place in her mind to begin with.

Rising, she lowered her barrier and walked out of her cave to find it morning once more. Expanding her senses she was pleased to find nothing to get in her way as she began walking. West.

~X~