InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgiving Loss ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, no matter how much I hate to admit this. This anime/manga along with all of its characters belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. This disclaimer is valid to all chapters of Forgiving Loss. Though they do not belong to me, BlueAngel326 loves to toy with them, a lot.

Chapter 10 Burden

“It's been about two weeks, right? Since Kagome started her training?”

“Yeah.”

“And she's gotten this good already?”

“Yeah.”

“That's amazing!”

“Yeah.”

“If only she'd recover this fast, then everything could be solved.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know any other word than `yeah?'?”

“Yeah.”

Rin pulled at Inuyasha's hair, trying to catch his attention. “Inuyasha, you need to snap out of it, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Rin groaned in dismay. “Okay, I get it, Inuyasha. I know what you're trying to say. You don't want me around, is that it?”

“Yeah.”

Rin frowned. “Fine, be that way. I'll leave you alone. See if I care that you're feeling sad and lonely while you sit there doing nothing but saying `yeah'.” The neko hanyou leapt from her perch in the tree next to Inuyasha. “Hey, Kagome, I'm gonna go, okay?”

Kagome released her current arrow, which directly hit the bull's eye. She looked back and waved to her friend. “Okay! Thanks for stopping by, Rin. Ja ne!”

“Have fun with Mr. Mopey over here. Jaa!” Then Rin leapt down the stairs to the street and out of sight.

“Mr. Mopey?” Kagome queried. She looked at Inuyasha as he dropped from the tree as well. “Who was she talking about?”

“Don't know, don't care. Ready for a break?”

Kagome nodded with a smile. “Actually, Kikyou said that she had somewhere to go today, so she said that I could stop early today if I wished.”

“You ready now?”

“Almost. I just need to clean up a bit. Could you help me store the targets away please? I'll pick up all the arrows.”

“Yoshi.”

“Arigatou, Inuyasha-kun.” Kagome smiled brightly at him.

Inuyasha turned around slightly blushing and tried to wave it over. “Wakata, wakata. L-Let's just hurry up so we can go.”

“Yoshi!”

Inuyasha pulled out all the arrows from the targets and handed the arrows to Kagome before picking up all five of the targets and walking to the edge of the shrine to the storage room. As he was setting the targets into their respective places, he noticed an unfamiliar scent on the grounds. Remaining calm, he finished storing the targets and locked the shed tight, all the while sniffing out the intruder with a low growl. Not able to pinpoint the intruder's location, he called out, “Show yourself, whoever you are.”

“Aw, the cute wittle doggie does have a good sense of smell. I guess it's not good enough if you couldn't find me, though,” a female squeaked out jokingly in a tiny voice.

“Where are you, you little wench?”

“Ahhh, come on. I wanna have a little fun with the wittle doggie. I know! Let's play hide and seek. If you can find me, then I'll give you a doggie biscuit. How does that sound?”

“Okay, wench, you just pissed me off. You've just messed with the wrong guy because right now, I wouldn't mind getting a little work out from tearing you apart.”

“Oh, oh, do I get to walk the wittle doggie? I've always wanted one to play with, but all I have is a wolfie, and he doesn't like to play as much as I want him to sometimes. We always end up being interrupted.”

Inuyasha snarled. “That's it. Either show yourself or I'll just blast you out of your hideout.” He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and swung it over his shoulder. `I can't just blast the whole place. Kikyou might not like that.'

“Come on. It's no fun if you just ruin the place. Besides, I don't think your friend will like that. Ikuyou! It's a game! Game!”

“Yoshi. You asked for it.”

Inuyasha leapt into the trees, hoping to find a bolder trace of her scent, but it was hopeless.

“I hope you don't think that you can find me by just using my scent. You may be able to sense my presence, but I've already arranged for your keen sense of smell to be rendered useless. You'll have to do better than that if you want to win this game.”

`Chikushou. She's right. It's as if she's everywhere simultaneously. And she isn't making any kind of noise. But why can't I tell where she is from her voice?' Inuyasha leapt from tree to tree, searching for anything out of the ordinary or any sudden movements. He found none.

“Very good, my wittle doggie. You're finally starting to get close. Too bad you don't understand the game.”

“I'm tired of being played with! Show yourself, dammit!”

“Ah, temper, temper. You don't want to be put into time out, do you?”

Inuyasha growled in frustration. `I can't find a single trace of her at all. Her voice isn't coming any specific direction, and her scent is everywhere. But why? She's emitting no youki, so she's most definitely not youkai. But how can she mask her presence so well without the use of youki?'

“You're getting closer. Just a little bit more and maybe you'll figure out the game. I'll make the rules; you'll just have to figure out the clues.”

Inuyasha finally jumped from out of the trees and landed in the middle of the opening. `She has to be near. There's no way that she could not be here. But where? I have no choice.'

Inuyasha raised the Tetsusaiga. “Kaze no Kizu!” Tetsusaiga released a powerful lightning blast towards some trees, but before the blast could reach them, it curved upwards and faded into the sky.

“N-Nani?! How the hell did that happen?”

“Bad doggie! You almost killed the trees, and that's not very nice! Don't you dare do that again, or I'll have to punish you.”

`So she averted the blast away from the forest. I wonder…'

“What are you doing? You don't plan on disobeying me and being a bad doggie, do you?”

“I already told you. I'm not your little plaything to do as you please! Kaze no Kizu!” This time, he released a wider blast at the trees, and again it was sent upwards before reaching the trees. He repeated this over and over, and each time had the same outcome.

When the girl spoke again, she sounded exasperated and upset. “Bad doggie! I won't forgive you! And look! You've made a big mess!” The stones of the floor were cracked and debris lay in broken pieces all around Inuyasha. “Now I have to clean up your mess.” All of a sudden, the debris was floating and was placed back into their previous respective positions, making the ground completely filled without a single trace of it being damaged.

“How did-?” Inuyasha widened his eyes in surprise. `That explains it! She's no ordinary human. She has telekinetic powers, using them to avert Tetsusaiga's attacks and to restore the stones. And if she can do that, what else can she do?'

“Oh, you're so close, Inuyasha. You're just missing one more piece of the puzzle.”

`How did she know my name? And why does she make it seem like she knows what I'm thinking. In fact, it seemed like she knew what I was planning to do this whole time. Does that mean she's…? Chikushou!'

`Bingo! You finally figured it out, my wittle doggie! Now that you know that I have psionic abilities, what are you going to do? You still haven't won yet since you don't know where I am still.'

“So you've been talking in my head this whole time?”

`I thought we just established this fact, koinu-chan. Weren't you paying attention earlier? If I spoke out loud, then you'd find where I was. Since I make the rules, I can do whatever I want.'

“Not for long, you won't. Once I find you, you will so pay.”

`You better hurry. I don't think your friend can wait, especially since ookami-chan should be there.'

“My friend? Kikyou?”

Suddenly, a scream was heard across the shrine grounds.

“Kagome!”

 

Kagome screamed as she dropped the bundle of worn out arrows that were knocked from her hands. She was too startled and unaware to see exact details of who knocked into her as he apparently had youkai speed. She had been too preoccupied by her thoughts of Inuyasha to even notice his youki. She turned to the direction that she saw the youkai leave in and found him standing on top of a wall where the targets normally stood. He had shoulder-length brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite his human appearance, she could still sense his youki, indicating that he was of a certain youkai.

“Keh, for a great miko, you seem to be a feeble human girl. Are you really the great and powerful Kagome, or did I just catch you on a bad day?”

“H-How do you know my name?”

“Let's just say that I have my sources. How about we focus on more important things such as how you're gonna protect yourself if you don't pay attention. I could've killed you easily right at that moment and still can without lifting a finger.” Suddenly, the youkai dodged the arrow that Kagome had quickly launched while he was speaking. “And what was that?”

“Stand still and you'll find out. Now, tell me before I turn you into a youkai kabob. Who are you and why do you know my name?” Kagome brazenly strung up another arrow, ready to aim and fire again if needed.

“Whoa, the fragile miko has toughened up, eh? Well, I guess I can't play like I thought I'd be able to. If I do, I might get hurt. Might, that is.”

“I'm not as weak as you think.”

“Yeah? The Kagome from before would have known not to leave her guard down so easily without her protector. Or is it that you have forgotten that as well, weak little miko?”

Kagome tried not to let his comment faze her as she aimed once again at him. “I'll ask once more. Who are you and why do you know about me?”

“Those arrows can't hurt me if you have no energy in them. Again with the forgetting I see.”

“Shut up! You don't know anything about me!” Kagome yelled as his words were finally cracking her bold countenance.

“Oh, I know more about you than you know about yourself. You believe that you are weak because you could not save yourself from hurting the one you love the most when you do not even remember what that means. You doubt yourself because you feel that you are a burden to everyone around you, and yet you can't trust the words of your lover because he hurts as well because of your suffering. Just because you put up a brave face does not mean that I can't see what's going through your mind. Now, accept the fact that you are nothing but a bundle of doubts and can't go on like this, not when everyone tries to help but you just keep pushing them away. Accept the fact that the only person that you are burdening is yourself.”

“Nande…? Why are you doing this to me? You're just like the voice before…” Kagome sank down to her knees sobbing.

“Because I'm here to help you realize something important.”

“What?” she asked as she tried to wipe her eyes, still not sure if she should believe this unknown youkai.

“Kagome!” they heard Inuyasha bellow from across the shrine grounds as a resounding boom followed immediately.

“Inuyasha!” she spoke in surprise.

The brown-haired youkai just shook his head. “Looks like she overdid it again.”

“She? What are you doing to Inuyasha?! Tell me before I forget my reason for not shooting you in the first place.” Kagome raised her arrow to him again.

He sighed. “Look, let's not start this again. I'll explain.”

 

“If you or that youkai of yours dared to have laid a hand on Kagome, I'll make you suffer worse than you can imagine,” Inuyasha growled out to the girl whom he still had not found.

`Depends if you can find me. Besides, I'm sure he didn't do too much to her. I'm pretty sure she's still alive. I think. Does your friend have a tendency to make others angry? My friend has a short temper, kinda like yours. Guess it runs in his family. I heard his brother is worse. You have a brother, right? I heard that he's hot. Oh! What ARE you doing? You can't go that way.'

“And why the hell not? I'm tired of your babbling.”

`Trust me. You won't want to go that way.'

Inuyasha disregarded her warning and continued to run towards the direction her left Kagome until he head rushed into something solid, but invisible. He fell back on the ground, but not before receiving the biggest headache in his life. “What the-?” He stood back up and walked until he felt a solid wall blocking his path.

`It's a shield that not even your sword can penetrate. The only way to get rid of it is to stop me. But, of course, you've gotta find me first. Doesn't exactly work without know where I am, unless you can sense my psyche, which I doubt.'

“Why you little- I'm tired of being toyed with! Show yourself, dammit!”

`No can do, Koinu-chan. There wouldn't be a point of hide and seek if you didn't seek me from my hiding spot.'

Inuyasha took Tetsusaiga in his right hand and began running the perimeter of the barrier with it looking for any weak points.

`You'll find no weak spots in my barrier. It's much too wide for you to encircle and find any if there were any. I've perfected it to the point that it's balanced everywhere.'

`Encircle? That's right. It curves enough to be about a spherical shape. In fact, that's how most barriers are. So if I find out where the center is, then I'll most definitely find her and tear her head off.'

Inuyasha continued running round until he circled the circumference enough to get a good idea of where the center was. It ended up being right in the middle of the grounds. But still he saw nothing. Some clouds had passed over, and when the sun had shone through, he noticed something peculiar: a shadow that wasn't his. He looked up to see a girl about 100 meters above me smiling and waving down at him. She had long blue hair with dark sapphire eyes and what looked like a long scarf running through a bangle on each of her wrist. (AN: Think of Peppita from Star Ocean)

“You found me! Game over.”

“Oh, the fun is just starting, trust me.” Inuyasha leapt upwards ready to swing Tetsusaiga and hack the girl in two.

“Wait just a minute. I didn't mean for you to actually attack me.” She raised her hand to him and pointed a finger at him.

“Nani?” Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped in midair. His arms and legs could move, but his body had lost all other momentum.

“Don't think that I plan on getting hurt when I didn't even lay a hand on you.”

“Let me go, or you will be more than just hurt,” Inuyasha growled.

“Inuyasha!”

Both Inuyasha and the mysterious girl looked in the direction of Kagome's voice. She was running by herself, unscathed. Inuyasha's eyes widened as he realized that Kagome hadn't been hurt, that she was perfectly fine.

“Kyourime. Yamete.”

“Hai, ookami-niichan!” The girl saluted the guy who was standing on the wall near Kagome. Consequently, she lost her concentration on Inuyasha, and the poor hanyou fell since his immobilization had been made physically right again, otherwise known as the pull of gravity. About two feet from the ground, he suddenly stopped, and the girl placed him gently on the ground.

“Kyourime.”

“Gomen nasai. I forgot.”

“Inuyasha, daijoubu ka?”

Inuyasha embraced Kagome as soon as she approached him. She almost fell on him at the sudden action, but she balanced herself on her knees. “Inuyasha?”

“Don't ever scare me like that. When you screamed, I thought I might have lost you when I couldn't escape.”

“Inuyasha, daijoubu. I wasn't hurt or anything. I was just surprised. They-”

Inuyasha suddenly stood up and brought Kagome behind him. Finding Tetsusaiga, he held it up to the two unknowns threateningly. “Explain yourselves before I resume to killing you.”

“Inuyasha, calm down. They're not here to fight. They're here to help.”

“It's true. We don't mean any harm. We only wanted to see how much Kagome's progressed and how the connections were,” the girl spoke.

“Connections?”

“Between the two of you. Apparently, both subjects need work, but we'll do all we can to fix that.” The girl smiled playfully as she landed next to the guy.

“And tell me why we can trust you.”

“Because you have no choice in the matter,” the guy said in a very serious, but calm, tone.

“Is that a threat?”

He smirked. “Perhaps. I've heard of you and that renowned sword of yours. The Tetsusaiga, forged from your father's fang and then again from yours, nee? Guess it's not all that powerful if it was formed from your pathetic tooth.”

“Would you like to see?” Inuyasha asked agitated.

“You couldn't even touch me with such trash.”

“Inuyasha, calm down!”

“There's no way to avoid it. You'll just have to get used to it. Jirasu-daishou requested it, and we've already accepted. There's no way to back out of it now,” the girl said, trying to pacify the two heated men.

“Chikushou! That damn Jirasu. Always butting in.”

“Jirasu….daishou?”

“He's the head of Seikyo no Tenshi. He's an annoying little bastard who doesn't know when to keep his nose out others' business. So he assigned you two to look after us like we're a bunch of pups?”

“Sort of. He wants us to observe Kagome's progress, how you're handling the situation, and try to help restore Kagome's memory so we can get this case resolved. So until Kagome restores her memory and we figure out who was after you in the first place, you'll be seeing a lot of us. My name's Kyourime. And this bag of grumpy and temper is Kurokami. Isn't he adorable?” She latched on to Kurokami's arm like a little girl. “Well, we have to be going. Jirasu-daishou wants us to report ASAP. Don't worry. You'll be seeing us around a lot, so you won't miss us for long. Ja ne!”

Both leapt behind the wall and disappeared.

Inuyasha sighed and sheathed the Tetsusaiga.

“Well, looks like we have more help than we can handle.”

“You got that right. Next time I see that Jirasu, I'll murder him.”

“I'm sure he has good intentions. All of them.”

“Keh. Whatever. Let's just go home.”

 

 

Kagome had decided that everything was well enough for her and Inuyasha to return to their home. She was confident enough in herself to live on her own with Inuyasha, and Kaasan hadn't mind at all. As long as Kagome was comfortable with her decision, she felt it wasn't any of her business. Promising to stop by often, they returned across town to their home that had been vacant ever since they moved in with Kaasan. It was just like the way it had been left, and Kagome was glad since she had missed it.

Kagome walked from the bathroom with a towel draped across her head. `A nice hot shower is just what the doctor prescribed. It feels good to be home. I kinda missed having a little privacy, not that Kaasan didn't give us any. I guess when a girl has her own home it feels different living her life there than living with her mother. Yeah, that's it. Having a house of my own does feel pretty good, especially when I have someone special that I can share it with. Speaking of whom, I wonder what Inuyasha's doing…'

Kagome walked towards the master bedroom and was opening the door when she heard a loud booming sound from within that made her recoil. `What?'

“Chikushou!” she heard a voice from inside yell.

`Inuyasha?' She cracked the door to see Inuyasha punch the wall and again the boom resounded. His back was to her, but she didn't need to see his face to tell that he was in pain. She could feel it tugging at her heart strings as if each pluck was made in excruciating pain. She wanted to walk over to him, to comfort him, to ease him of whatever pain he was feeling. But she stopped from opening the door even further when he cursed again but weakly this time.

“Chikushou…I couldn't protect her again. I failed, and she could have been hurt. Some youkai could have attacked her when I was away. How could I have been so stupid to have left her like that? Chikushou!” Again, he punched at the wall.

Kagome backed away from the room after closing the door. Why couldn't she have realized it before? Why didn't she see it all those times he caught the sorrow in her eyes? He knew how she felt so useless to him, so weak that she couldn't protect herself. That's why he felt the need to protect her, to shield her from as he did. He knew that she was so fragile now, now that she was so wrapped and twisted in her confusion. So he wanted to keep her from feeling so by lending her his strength, but she still remained in his way. In her heart, she was holding him back and hurting him worse than herself.

Kurokami's words came back to her. However true and sincere they were, she still couldn't get the doubts in her mind. They were all too true to not be false. How could she fight something that seemed so true in reality, but her heart told her differently? She truly didn't know anymore.

Good. Update. Might be a while before I return. I've been neglecting EE. That's all for now. Jaa!

BA326's Final Words

How does one make a Dr. Pepper extra spicy? I've been asking myself lately. Working at the window taking orders the other day and some lady asked for a large Dr. Pepper with extra ice and I accidentally pressed extra spicy. I had too much fun that day. BTW, check out my BIO. I updated a couple of things, especially my quotes.