InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Genesis ❯ Seven ( Chapter 7 )

 

 

 

A heavenly smell awoke her, and she began to take a deep breath when a sharp pain suddenly rushed up through her left side and she halted, almost choking. She gasped, her body immobilized, and when she tried to move her arm, fresh pain started and she gritted her teeth against it.

“Don't move.” Came a voice from beside her and it took her a minute to realize who was speaking.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a wooden ceiling, shadows dancing from a light source that appeared to be a fire. She didn't even try to hide the confusion that appeared on her face, and she closed her eyes in thought. She backtracked as far as she could remember, until she had dissolved into that world of fantasy and deceit. She frowned and fast-forwarded until she couldn't remember any more. She remembered the pain, though, and the feeling of falling. She sighed.

“How badly am I hurt?” She asked, and her throat was dry. She had to swallow a few times before it was comfortable, but it still felt raw.

“You have a deep wound just below your lung. Another in your shoulder that isn't that bad, and you've been scraped up just about everywhere else. You're lucky you didn't puncture a lung,” his voice was gruff, and she bit back a laugh.

“Lucky…” she mumbled. She was tempted to fall back asleep, but then her stomach rumbled and she was suddenly very hungry. Her eyes drifted over to the fire that was in the corner of the room, and she spotted a piece of meat propped over the flames.

Stubborn as she was, she tried to get herself into a sitting position using her left arm. She struggled for a second before she heard a sigh, and felt hands on her helping her into position. When she was comfortable as she could be, she took a breath and looked at InuYasha who was crouched to her left, watching her as if he was trying to determine how good this could be for her condition. She gave a small smile and thanked him, and he watched her for a few more seconds before standing and walking to the fire.

She watched him grab a smoked piece of meat and slide it down the stick so she could place her hands on either side, and bring it over to her. She took it and touched it with a finger, noticing it was hot. She held it, letting it cool and he sat down near the fire poking at what appeared to be a fish. She couldn't help feeling weak and useless as she was, and apparently the three days of peace theory had been shot to pieces. So what would they do if it suddenly came barging through the door and she could barely walk?

She felt like she was weighing him down. He had carried her here, tended to her wounds and caught food. So far, he had done everything productive and she was feeling more than a little guilty. She looked down at the piece of meat he had cooked for her and he shoulders sunk.

“I'm sorry,” she said, her voice quiet. She heard him shift to look at her, but she didn't look up. “I'm a burden.”

He didn't answer right away and she wasn't sure he'd answer at all. She felt horrible, and her head was pulsating lightly. When he spoke she had to listen hard to hear him.

“I'm glad you're here.”

Her eyes widened and then she smiled. She ate the meat, and as soon as she finished she felt better already. Outside it was pitch black, and the only light in the room was the quickly dying fire. She watched him poke at it absently and wondered what he was thinking. She didn't ask him, since she knew he wouldn't tell her either way.

She laid the stick on the floor beside the couch, and she had barely started moving before he was by her side helping her. She was glad that he was paying so much attention to her. It felt good to have someone watch over her for a change. When she grabbed what she thought was a blanket, she blinked and realized it was his coat. She didn't look at him since she was sure she'd blush if she did. It was warm from her body, but it smelled like him and she buried her head in the old pillow of the couch so he wouldn't see her face flush.

He was pulling the coat down over her curled legs, and she suddenly felt elated. It was nice to be like this, to be with someone who didn't look at her with pity but challenged her in a sense. She was warm, and since she was full, the urge to sleep was coming back full-force. She rubbed her uninjured cheek against the collar of his coat, and drifted into a hazy state.

“I'm glad I met you,” she mumbled before she drifted off entirely. She didn't see how he paused walking back to the fire, or how he glanced back at her with pain in his eyes.

 

 

XDD

 

 

He sat against the wall listening to the sound of her breathing. It calmed him, and he closed his eyes. His leg was brought up, his arm draped limply over the top, his other leg stretched out. His head was back, resting against the wood of the old wall. The fire had gone out long ago. Black smoke was slowly drifting away through the ventilation shaft, and the woods were quiet. The handle of his gun poked him uncomfortably, but he ignored it. He was too preoccupied thinking about other things.

She didn't know how hard it was for him to hold himself back. He tried so hard to keep things from developing into emotions he couldn't, didn't, want. It was so unfair, and yet he thought he had been able to overcome that harsh truth. Something inside him knew that he wouldn't be seeing her much longer, and he sat there, watching her, listening to her breathe, the soft beating of her heart. Soon he'd be asleep again for a thousand years in the blink of an eye, and he wouldn't be able to stop it if he tried. He had become attached, and that was dangerous to both of them.

And yet he wanted to be attached. He craved normality and peace. He desired the feeling of waking up and knowing he had a whole day ahead of him to just live, and that there would be another day like it tomorrow, and a day just like it after that. He never asked to be put into this confinement because that's what it was. He was sentenced to clean up the world every time it got itself into a mess. He never asked to be created if this was to be his only reason in life.

He told himself that it was only because it had been over two million years since he had interacted with a human. He said it was only because he was desperate, that he would take a chance with anything that saw him. And he may be desperate, he admitted, but at the same time there was something more that went beyond desperation. He wanted much more.

In the distance, a wolf howled and further beyond that his ears picked up the sound of a twig cracking. Opening his eyes, he got up and slowly walked to her side, crouching down in front of her. She had turned in her sleep and his coat had slid off her at some areas. He gently pulled it off her, careful not to wake her, not just yet. He threw it over himself, sliding his arms through the sleeves, and a strange sadness overwhelmed him, the emotion shining brightly in his eyes in vivid contrast to the dark of the night.

He allowed himself the luxury of tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers tracing the outline of her jaw, her cheek smooth to his rough, calloused fingers. He drew back as if he had been burned, but he reached back out and tentatively smoothed her bangs back from her forehead. He sighed. She wouldn't even remember this after, and he'd be alone again, like he always had been. She had a family to live for and if he couldn't do anything else, he would make sure she would see them again.

 

 

^^

 

 

Kagome had been sleeping peacefully when a cold hand had come down on her mouth and her eyes had shot open, instantly alert. She jerked around until a pair of amber eyes came into view above her and she stopped almost instantly. He had a finger to his lips, and his eyes were talking to her, telling her how important it was that she not make a sound. She nodded, her heart beating slightly faster than normal from his touch, and he removed his hand from her mouth.

She watched as he grabbed an old blanket that was ripped in more places than it was together, and stand her up, quickly draping it around her so that the white nightgown she was wearing was blocked out by dirty brown. She didn't know what was going on, but when she heard an odd noise from the outside the front of the house she knew that whatever was out there was looking for someone, was looking for them. She didn't argue or stumble when InuYasha reached an arm out and maneuvered her around so she was against his back.

She gripped his coat tightly, alternating between watching his profile and glancing at the front door where the sounds were becoming louder. She must have shaken, because she felt his hand suddenly cover her free one by his side, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Close your eyes,” he told her with a quietness that could barely be called a whisper, and she saw him close his own.

As soon as he said the words, the front door burst open with a crack and a slam as it hit the wall behind it. She rested her head against his back, her heart pounding wildly. She looked down in the space between their bodies and tried not to focus on what was standing in the doorway, sniffing, grunting and searching for them. In the back of her mind, she knew that she shouldn't make any sudden movements or even dare to breath loud enough that it would hear her and find them. She would have thought InuYasha was perfectly calm and composed if it weren't for the death grip he had on her hand.

When he started to move, slowly, she directed her eyes downward to the space in between their bodies and watched his feet, or what she could see of them. She matched her movements with his, taking slow, languid, smooth steps. She didn't question how well he knew the layout of the room, or where he was leading them to or why they were moving at all. She trusted him, she realized, and she tightened her grip on his coat.

The creature from the doorway had begun to walk in further, now barely inside the doorframe. She heard the whoosh of its breath being let out in a rush so it could smell again. Its claws and elongated arms scraped along the walls of the hut, the spikes of its elbows dragging and creating an odd, scraping sound that hurt her ears. She couldn't imagine what InuYasha's ears were going through and she wondered how he could refrain from moving to block the sounds at all.

She didn't know how long they had stayed in the hut, playing the deadly game of hide and seek, but once when her foot had bumped against a piece of furniture it had come down upon them, missing them by inches, and InuYasha had quickly backtracked them. They worked their way around the small hut until they were almost near the door and the creature had ventured towards the small fireplace that had died down. It was examining the ashes, hunched over, sniffing and snarling, when they reached the doorway. Kagome, being the closest to the exit, caught her foot on a piece of raised wood and tripped slightly. InuYasha steadied her, and they both froze as the creature turned to look in their general direction.

There was no moonlight, but she didn't find it unusual seeing as the clouds had blocked the skies out. InuYasha nudged her slightly and she put her foot back, moving slowly, ever so slowly as he followed her out the doorway. The creature stumbled over something and let out a sound like a snarl and a bark combined. While it was righting itself, they exited the hut completely. Her hand was still tight in his, and he turned to pull her along behind him at a quicker pace than before, but still not quick enough to create a sound. She followed in his path, as the sounds of sniffing and growling began to fade out and they drew farther and farther away from the cabin.

They walked, their pace increasing, and Kagome's arm was becoming tired. The blanket around her was becoming increasingly hard to hold with one hand, and she pulled it off, the material dragging behind her on the ground. Her left arm had yet to heal fully, and he was pulling on it a bit too hard for her to be comfortable with. She tapped on his back with her free hand and he let go without even looking at her. She frowned and stepped around to face him, looking down every now and then to make sure she didn't trip or make too much noise. When she was in front of him and looked up at him his eyes were watching her and she fidgeted. They were intense, and even in the pitch black of night, the flecks of gold embedded in them shone brightly as the sun.

She waited for him to say something, and absently rubbed her left shoulder, the dull aching sensation slowly fading. When he spoke, he was whispering, even though she thought they were far enough away by now that they could speak normally.

“It's getting too dangerous. You're going to have to stay behind now, and I'll go back and finish it off,” he was talking quickly, and she sensed a bit of nervousness in his voice.

She shook her head, and then realized he probably couldn't see the movement. “No. I'm going with you.” Her voice held conviction but he turned eyes on her that burned with anger at her stubbornness.

“You'll get in the way! I'm not going to risk that, and I'll have to worry about you getting injured instead of focusing on the battle,” he said roughly, and he turned, walking back in the general direction of the hut. She followed after him.

“I won't be in your way! I can even be a distraction if you need one, and-” She was cut off because he had started speaking.

“You're staying here, that's final. You were almost killed last time this thing caught up to us, and I don't plan on that happening again.”

“It's pitch black! You won't even stand a chance if you can't see,” she argued, following behind the entire way.

“I can see better than it can and that's all I need. Start walking in the other direction.” He moved ahead faster but she wasn't about to be left behind. She ran up right behind him and grabbed his arm, spinning him to face her. She had to look up to meet his eyes, but she wasn't intimidated.

“You listen to me for once. We're in this together. Together, whether you like it or not. I'm not going to be left behind, and I'm sure as hell not going to leave you behind to face this thing by yourself.” She was angry, and she wasn't whispering in quiet, soft tones anymore, but something registered to him and his eyes widened for a second before they softened from anger into something much more warm and familiar.

He opened his mouth to say something, when she saw him stagger, and she was immediately concerned. His eyes widened before clenching shut, and she could tell he was gritting his teeth. He fell to his knees and she was down beside him in a second, her hand on his back as he bent over and began coughing. She felt something sticky and warm, and her heart pulled painfully, her stomach lurching. He was bleeding, she realized, and he was in a lot of pain. His coughing became worse and he was probably coughing up the blood that wasn't seeping out of his back.

She brought her hands to his face and lifted it, trying to let him breathe. She bent down further so she could see him. His skin felt cold to the touch, and at this distance she could a small stream of liquid trickling down the side of his mouth. She was too shocked to do anything, and she started rambling like she always did when she was in panic.

“It'll be okay! You'll be fine, really, it isn't that bad… Stay awake!” His eyelids were starting to droop. “InuYasha! Stay with me!”

He coughed, the action violently jarring his body, as the dull drip of blood registered to her ears. She tried to support his body weight, and she knew she shouldn't move him but she couldn't help it. She didn't want him to die! She wanted him to suddenly jump up and say it was all a joke, that it was a cruel trick, and she'd forgive him… She'd forgive him.

His body became limp in her arms, and he fell forward, his head coming to rest on her lap and her tears welled up behind her eyes, blurring her vision.

“InuYasha…” She whispered, as her hand reached out, shaking, and she pushed his hair back out of his face. His skin was cold, clammy, and she placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently. She swallowed around a lump in her throat, and leaned over, covering the upper part of his body with hers, wrapping her arms around him.

A thump in front of her alerted her to its presence, but she didn't look up. She was filled with too much grief. She hadn't realized it before, but now she knew that she wanted to be with him. She wanted to spend time with him, she wanted to have a chance to know him. She wanted to be able to have fun memories with and she wanted to laugh with him at a joke that only the two of them knew.

She was pushed back violently, and she sprawled back. She lay on her side, drained and overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts. She heard rustling as the creature tossed InuYasha onto his back none too gently, and she tried to get up to move to him, but she couldn't. Staring down at her was that ugly face that had followed them for the past few days of her life. Those days she had spent with InuYasha, those days that had been stressful and terrifying, instead of a chance to be happy and just… live.

She was angry at it, she knew, she was furious, and the shine from the Orb in its hand added to her fury. So what? She thought, So what if it had the Orb? It means nothing, without InuYasha it's all a lost cause.

It picked her up by the neck, chocking her, grinning and baring fangs, its eyes gleaming with delight in her suffering and death. Her windpipe was slowly being constricted until she couldn't breath any longer. Her necklace rested uselessly against the creature's hand, and she was reminded again of what she was going through. She couldn't even escape reality for a second long enough to forget that she was being choked to death. She stared off into the distance just past its head. She would never see her mother again. She would never see Sota, and she would never be able to come home and say `Hi, how was your day?'. Because there would be no tomorrow, or the day after. She'd never see InuYasha again.

As spots began to flash in her head, obscuring her vision, she became oddly numb. If she wouldn't be able to spend her life with the ones she loved, then she didn't want to live at all. When she was on the verge of blacking out, her eyes shut in quiet resignation, and a tear slipped from her under her lashes, falling down her face until it fell. It landed on the pendant of her necklace, and her head slumped forward as she fell into sweet, oblivious unconsciousness.

The necklace, however, pulsated and emitted a wave of light into the forest around them. It burned the creature's hand, and it hissed, dropping her body onto the ground with a careless toss. The necklace pulsated again, and the light that touched its body burned it, the flesh sizzling and it cried out in pain as another wave came, in quicker succession than the last one. As wave after wave came out from the pendant, faster and faster, it tried to run but didn't get far before it collapsed in pain. One final, blinding burst of light encompassed the entire area, and the creature fell, shrieking, before evaporating into a bundle of particles, sinking into the ground and disappearing from view.

A burst of light came down upon them and lit up the sky, spreading to encompass the entire Earth, as the sun came up in the early hours of the morning. It rose until its rays touched their bodies, watching over them, as its light slowly began to warm the ground once more.