InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Part One: Downfall ❯ Before I'm Dead ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Before I'm Dead

That night, Sesshoumaru sat in his room. He rarely used it, except during times like this, where he needed a place to rest, to heal. That night, he knew he should be sleeping, it would better help him heal, but something was bothering him. He wasn't sure he did the right thing in leaving the wench out there to die. Yes, he had promised her he would kill her. But she wasn't dead when he left her. It wasn't like him to just leave an enemy without ensuring their death. Yes she was on the verge of death when he left her, but there was the minute chance she would somehow survive.

Scoffing, Sesshoumaru tried to convince himself that there was no way. There was no way she could have survived; after all, she is human. However, that was not as comforting as it should be. He was still mulling over the lack of human scent in her blood, and the extraordinary power display. Something wasn't right about her, but he was too proud and in too much pain to move from his bed. If she died, then so be it, if not then he would just have to kill her next time. With that reassuring thought, he forced himself to relax and fell into a disjointed sleep.

~X~

As he fell into sleep, he felt a certain amount of wrongness pervading the dreamscape he was in. It was almost as if this was not his own. He stood on the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset. He was standing on the western most borders of his lands. This was similar to the dreams he had been having for the past two and a half months. He would stand on a cliff and watch the sun as it sunk lower into the sky. Tonight however, he appeared just as the sun set. He could hear the hushed quality that blanketed his lands as the last of the light had faded. As the night wore on, he could hear the demons that haunted his lands at night gather to attack some hapless creature. He turned from the horizon to look over his enshrouded lands.

As the creatures attacked, something passed through his consciousness. It was a desperate cry for help. Something about the cry tugged at his buried heart, and instilled fear. Without a second thought he leapt into action. He became a mere blur of white.

When he reached his destination, he was barely gripping the last vestiges of control. He could see the demons inching closer to himself and ultimately the creature he stood before. He snarled viciously, warning the creatures to stay back, but when they ignored his warning he attacked.

As the sun began to rise, he finished off the last of his foes. He turned to the creature he was protecting and was shocked at what he saw. Before him stood what he could only describe as a goddess surrounded by the flames of hell. The creature before him had inky black hair that flowed loose to her mid-back. She was swathed in a fiery off the shoulder kimono and flamed wings sprouted from her back. He was too shocked to move. She looked like a creature he had encountered before, but he could not place it. As she took a step towards him, he realized that he could not see her face. Even with the light of the sun shining behind him and the light she emanated, her face was still covered in shadow. When she reached out her hand to touch his face, the dreamscape began to ripple and fade. He was thrust into a black void and fell into a dreamless sleep.

~X~

//Moon hangs around
A blade over my head//

A scream echoed through out the clearing. The forest lay still, waiting for the echoes to diminish, and for the peace of the night to be restored. After five minutes of silence, a cricket tentatively chirped, only to be silenced by the rustling of leaves. Something was swiftly moving through the woods. A hunter was on the loose and its' prey was nearby, wounded, defenseless.

Kagome awoke with sweat streaming down her feverish face. Pain shot through her chest, but she ignored it. Something wasn't right. The forest was unnaturally quiet. She caught a faint scent on the wind. She didn't even realize her senses were heightened to nearly quadruple what was normal for a human. The scent she caught was one she recognized.

Inuyasha.

//Reminds me
What to do before I'm dead//

She growled. He was looking for her. The leaves began to whisper softly and branches groaned under the weight of him jumping from branch to branch. She tried to get up to move, but found she was in too much pain. She still had a fist-sized hole in her chest, but now she could see her lung under the thin layer of the forming muscle. She had to get moving before Inuyasha caught her. She was still too weak to get her revenge.

//Night consumes light
And all I dread//

Shadows were cast over her, blocking the moonlight from reaching her. A barely audible gasp was heard. Golden eyes looked out at her from the shadows. Weakly she tried to attack before she lost all strength to move. When he moved closer to her, she weakly screamed and a shield was thrown up only for it to fall again a moment later. It wasn't even strong enough to keep him away. When his hands touched her, she flinched and silent tears coursed down her face before she finally passed out from blood loss once more. All her struggles had reopened her chest wound.

//Reminds me

What to do before I'm dead//

~X~

He raced towards the village with the young girl slung over his shoulder. He would reach the village where her friends resided in a matter of hours. He glanced at the girl he held. She was very unique, and very complex for a human. She was also slowly dieing. `I'll kill the bastard who did this to her,' he growled.

//Sun reclines
Heats my mind//

As the sun rose, he was pulled deeper and deeper into a seething, all consuming rage. When he had found her, that bastard Inuyasha was about deliver the killing blow. Her shield stunned him enough that Inuyasha didn't notice his approach. He didn't like to attack from behind, but Kagome's safety, her life, was at hand. Stealth was the only option.

//Reminds me what to leave behind
Light eats night//

As the rays of the sun kissed the last of night's lurking shadows, Kouga put in an extra burst of speed. He didn't know how to treat the kind of wounds Kagome had and he was surprised to say the least that she was even still alive. She had a hole through her chest for pity's sakes.

Inuyasha's scent masked the scent of the one who had harmed her so, so he had no clue who it had been. He knew it hadn't been Inuyasha because her blood did not stain his scent. Oh how he desperately wanted to follow that trail, the trail of Kagome's blood, back to the bastard that had left her for dead. How he desperately wanted to go back and kill Inuyasha! But time was of the essence. Kagome's life hangs in the balance.

//And all I never said
Reminds me what to do before I'm//

By noon he reached the old hag's village. As soon as he stepped into the village there was a flurry of activity. Many of the village women panicked and the men grabbed the nearest tool that could serve as a weapon and moved in to attack the demon. An old miko rushed out of a hut; bow in hand. When she spotted his precious cargo, she rushed to his side to check her injuries. One glance told her all she needed to know and she curtly ordered him into the hut that she had vacated.

When he entered, he was greeted with the sight of a recovering monk and a fawning demon exterminator. When he burst into the hut, the two froze in shock. When they recognized Kouga with their sister and best friend their exclamations were that of fear, concern, and mounting rage.

"I'll kill that bastard!" Sango cried, tears streaming down her face. Kaede had calmly ordered to set Kagome down on an empty futon and had set to work on making her comfortable and bandaging and cleaning her various wounds. Outwardly, Kaede was as calm as the time she had to deal with Inuyasha after his second fight with Sesshoumaru. She had maintained an outward calm as she had tended to his destroyed stomach. Inside, however, she was seething just as much as Sango.

//To see you
To touch you//

"Yo, what's gotten into mutt face? When I found him he was about to kill my woman, but he wasn't the one who gave her all those wounds," Kouga asked.

"Did you kill the bastard?" Miroku asked in a strained voice. Kouga was surprised by the intensity of his voice. In all the time he had known the gang, Miroku was the calm, level headed one no matter what. He must greatly care about Kagome to be that upset.

At Miroku's question, Kouga slumped. "I couldn't-,"

"What do you mean you couldn't?!" Sango screeched.

"If you would let me finish, woman, I would tell ya!" Kouga exclaimed. "I couldn't kill him, because doing that would have meant Kagome dieing. The most I could do for her was slow the bleeding, but if I had left her there to brawl it out that the mutt, she would have died on that forest floor!" he cried passionately.

//To see you
To touch you//

They argued back and forth well into the evening, while Kaede worked on Kagome. Not long after they had started arguing, Kaede had banished them from the hut, so they had set up a vigil just outside. Day had long passed, and night was about to finish its' trek when an exhausted Kaede stepped from the hut.

"She will live… for now. There's no telling if she'll live through the next day or so," Kaede wearily reported before she returned to the hut. There was a collective sigh from the group as they slightly relaxed. She at least had a greater chance of surviving. Slowly they rose and filed into the hut. The next day Kouga left to return to his tribe, they deserved to know what had happened to their beloved sister.

//Epochs fly
Reminds me//

Another day and night passed before Kagome finally stirred. She had been in and out of a delirious consciousness the entire time, but now it seemed she was lucid. Kaede hovered over her, and was replacing a cool cloth on her forehead when Kagome's eyes snapped open. Sightless eyes looked around, before they finally focused and recognition flashed.

"How did I get here?" Kagome asked, a bit of fear pervading her senses.

"Kouga brought you here half dead three days ago," a male voice replied from a corner of the hut.

`I know that voice,' Kagome thought in confusion. `Where do I know that voice from?' then it hit her. there was only one person who had such a deceivingly innocent, yet wise, voice. "Miroku?" she asked, tears gathering in her eyes as her breath caught in her throat. "H-how are you alive?" she asked, "You were dead… Where's Sango?" she asked in a panic.

"Shh," Miroku whispered soothingly, "She's asleep."

"H-how?" Kagome asked, her voice trembling. "You were both dead when I found you." A surprised, distressed look crossed his features as his face paled.

"Actually, we were hoping you could tell us," Miroku countered after regaining his composure. For now he would spare the poor girl of imparting him with the gory details.

//What I hide
Reminds me//

For a moment, Kagome sat, a pensive look gracing her features. She wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him what exactly was going on, why she couldn't go back to her home, but found she couldn't. Every time she would open her mouth to begin, she would think better of it and close her mouth.

Her mother had warned her that her powers were growing. She had told her, but she did not believe. She even overlooked her sudden ability to use her powers more freely, because she did not want to see. If she accepted what was happening, then she would have to begin her true quest. It was a quest that she greatly dreaded, but knew she must endure.

"Kagome, you should rest," Miroku said, breaking into her thoughts. He could see her inner conflict and wondered about it. He knew there was something of great magnitude troubling her, because her usually blindingly bright, pure aura was significantly dimmed. Swirling gray nearly completely blocked out her usually whitish pink aura.

//The desert skies
Cracks the spies//

Sighing in relief, Kagome curled up on the floor and stared into the fire. She was completely entranced by the flames. Something about them called out to her, almost as if she were a part of them. And she was. She belonged to the flame, just as her ancestors before her.

//Reminds me what I never tried//

"Miroku," she whispered into the darkness of the hut, still mesmerized by the flames. When he grunted softly in reply, being too tired to actually speak, she continued. "I have to tell you something in the morning." With that they both fell into a fitful sleep.

//The ocean wide salted red
Reminds me what to do before I

Die//

~X~