InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ghostly Ambition ❯ Lost... ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer - I do not own InuYasha or any of the original characters; they are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation for personal and shared enjoyment of true InuYasha fans that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Constructive criticism is always welcome

Author's Note - Thanks to sherezade and LadyOrion for your reviews!

Sherezade: for a writer, putting clues in a story is like walking a fine line. It's easy to see the clues for what they are for 'me' because I know what's behind them, but at the same time, I don't want to be too obvious or give too much for that will spoil the plot and thus ruin the suspense. At the same time I don't want to be too vague or I will loose the reader's interest. (See the fine line?) Everyone sees things in their own way, patterns seen by one may not be seen by another. Take me, I see the humor in a lot of things…sometimes when it is MOST inappropriate; it gets me in trouble all too often. LOL So don't feel lost, we all have our own strengths. As for fluffiness…I think there might be some at the end (remember, tension is a little high for that right now) I love the InuYasha/Kagome pairing; I prefer cannon stories the best. I have tried my best to come up with plots that could be dropped into the series/manga almost anywhere and feel like it belongs there. I'm currently working on a fifth story and it's being stubborn….

Oh, my. I hope I didn't bore you. *Shakes head in self disgust* You know, I gave my first lecture when I was 8 years old to a 5 year old boy about how he, "should treat others the way you want to be treated," because he was being a little brat. It worked too…I shamed him and he chilled out. I…um, guess you can tell that I like to talk. LOL!!

One last thing…I do not hate any of the characters from InuYasha (except for that sick bastard Naraku, but he belongs to Ms. Takahashi to torture) so whatever happens, it's not out of petty spite. So I'm apologizing in advance…

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Chapter Four: Lost…

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Her heart pumping and her breath sobbing out of control, Kagome almost careens into the Goshinboku in her mad dash from the house. Both hands reach out, grasping the rough bark to keep from falling, and she looks up through her tears at the dark branches with faint stars winking between gently swaying foliage. She can just make out the outline on the trunk that marks where a crazy hanyou had been sealed against it almost five hundred years ago. `InuYasha…'

She looks back at the dark house and feels panic swell up inside. `No!' Kagome shakes her head and pushes away from the ancient tree, stumbling the first few feet before running for the well-house. Flinging open the doors, she makes her way by memory and by grasping the railing to keep from breaking her neck going down the wooden stairs in the dark. She lets go at the bottom, feeling forward with her feet and hands in the pitch-black interior of the old building.

A sudden sharp pain stabs behind her eyes. She bends over with a gasp, cradling her head between her hands and gritting her teeth against the painful throbbing, staggering blindly in the dark. Something dangling below her nose and shining with its own light catches her eye in the darkness. She grasps it in her hand to stop its crazy motion, frowning in confusion at the foul tint that is slowly corrupting the Shikon no Tama shards rattling in the tiny glass bottle she carries around her neck for safe-keeping.

`How…is that…possible…?' Kagome shakes her head, ignoring the pain lancing through her temples as the healthy pinkish glow fades further as she watches. Her mouth drops.

--- "Show me…" ---

She gasps, arching backwards in agony. ---The Shikon no Tama being ripped from its hiding place in her flesh…Mistress Centipede swallowing the Tama whole and reveling in the ecstasy of power flooding through her…The disgusting crow-youkai that lives off corpses, also swallowing the whole Tama, swelling in size as it absorbs the tiny powerhouse of energy…Her arrow streaking towards the large creature and the ensuing explosion as the Shikon no Tama is shattered, fragments scattering to the four winds…a simple bear gone insane from one fragment imbedded in its head…Kouga's incredible speed enhanced by the shards in his legs…Kohaku's extended life courtesy of a shard…The Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten, and how the elder's power increased manyfold after devouring his dead sibling's shards---

Flash after flash of images of those who have used and abused the power of the shards keep tearing through her mind and she lurches forward, her thighs hitting the edge of the well and pitching her head-first over the side. The deep voice follows her, whispering incoherently to her, one word echoing in that strange place between times.

--- "Yes!" ---

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The dark-haired girl climbs out of the well in the moonlit forest of the distant past, standing barefoot in the grass and breathing deeply of the cool night air. She stretches her arms above her head and sighs with a smile, "At last!" Her arms drop and she looks around at the clearing to get her bearings before turning and walking confidently into the darkness amid the trees. She reaches up to wrap a hand around the little glass bottle hanging around her neck, glancing down at the dull glow with a slight twist to her smile.

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---- Aimlessly floating…time is meaningless…adrift in an ash colored world…

::Foolish Girl!!::

Kagome raises her head from her fetal position but doesn't bother to look around the gray, featureless nothing surrounding her…there is never anything there. "Huh?"

::You let him discover how to use the Shards!:: The softly feminine voice raises anxiously.

Kagome frowns dully, "What do you mean?"

::Snap out of it!! You've left yourself exposed and he's plundering your memories! Block him before he knows everything!!::

"Block him?" She repeats numbly, "How?"

Something like a sigh drifts through. ::Create a Barrier!::

Kagome looks around aimlessly, "I-I don't know how."

The voice softens a bit. ::Imagine a place where you feel safe - Quickly, while his attention is elsewhere!::

"But-?"

::Anyplace! Do it now!::

Kagome closes her eyes, the darkness behind them is somehow less frightening than the dull emptiness, and thinks, `…safe…' The golden-eyed hanyou comes to mind.

::No, no! It must be a place!:: Impatience colors the soft but insistent voice.

The girl feels a bit embarrassed that her thoughts are not hers alone and racks her brain. The comfortable image of her bedroom comes up but seems silly and she goes to shake it away.

::No! That's good - fine! It will do. Now imagine you're there…four solid walls to keep him out!::

She frowns, thinking of how soft her bed is - the slight squeak in her door hinge - the smooth feel of her desk - the smell of her favorite perfume that she had given up wearing in consideration for a certain hanyou's overly-sensitive nose but kept near her bed next to her clock - the creak in the wooden floor three steps from the doorway…

Her feet touch something solid and she opens her eyes, surprise flooding her, "It's here - I'm here." She spins around, looking at the colorful posters on the walls and at the pink curtains that match the covers on her bed. She smiles and flops down on the soft mattress. "Ahh…"

::Good. You're not so useless after all.::

"Hey!" Kagome sits up in a huff, looking for the voice that seems to come from everywhere. "Who are you anyway?"

::What lovely manners.::

Kagome feels slightly ashamed, a nagging feeling that she should know who the speaker is dancing at the back of her mind. Something shadowy flits past her window and catches her eye. She stands to look out, expecting to see the tree and shrine grounds as usual but there is only the gray void swirling beyond. `I'm not…home.' Her shoulders droop and she rests a hand on the solid-seeming windowsill, staring out at nothing. ----

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Birds greet the new day with enthusiastic song, fluttering up in droves from the fields in search of breakfast. The peaceful village comes alive with movement as its inhabitants begin their daily routines to ensure their continuing prosperity. One simple hut stands slightly separate from the rest at the bottom of a hill, next to a long flight of stairs leading upwards. The hanging covering the doorway of the hut lifts and the old one-eyed Miko steps out, saying over her shoulder to the occupants still inside, "I have things to do and will be back later." She sighs, adjusting the shallow basket in her hands, and goes on her way.

Miroku pokes at the ashes of the fire absentmindedly, watching Sango continue to try and coax Shippo out of his gloom with a sweet from Kagome's home. The kitsune refuses to raise his head and gives a tiny sniffle every now and then, still upset over the previous night's events. The tiny Kirara `mews' and nudges Shippo until he pats her half-heartedly on the head.

Sango sits back, her discouragement showing and twirling the unwanted lollipop between her slender fingers. `That's an improvement…small as it is.' She sighs and meets the Monk's watchful eyes.

He, in turn, looks over at the brooding hanyou in the corner of the room with his continual forbidding silence distancing him from his companions. He comes to a decision and faces forward to cheerfully ask, "Well…who wants to come fishing with me?" That got everyone's attention.

Shippo and InuYasha look at him like he's gone crazy, but Sango nods; catching on quick. "That sounds like a good idea." Her knowing gaze takes in the dismal pallor on the young kitsune's face, `Fresh air and sunlight will do him good.' She gives him a determined smile of encouragement and adds with an air of practicality, "That way we can repay Kaede for putting up with us and not eat all of her food."

"Keh!" InuYasha stands in a huff, totally clueless, and stomps toward the doorway, "Do what you want." He thrusts the hanging out of his way impatiently and leaves.

Miroku shakes his head, `Still beating himself up…' and stands. He looks down expectantly at Shippo. "Coming?"

Between Sango's smile and Kirara nudging him from behind, Shippo reluctantly agrees. He hops onto Miroku's shoulder to accompany him.

The young woman stares at the doorway long after they are gone, contemplating how good he is with children in spite of his personal habits. When her twin-tailed companion demands attention, she snaps out of her daydream and flushes in embarrassment.

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The dark-haired figure concealed in the shadowed canopy of the forest and dressed curiously in pink flannel watches the village from her perch high in a tree, observing the various departures of a particular hut set slightly apart from the rest. The old woman's leaving is deemed unimportant, but the red-clad hanyou's direction is duly noted. The watcher holds perfectly still as the red and white blur speeds towards the trees, passing practically under her before disappearing into the undergrowth, `Heading for the Well, no doubt.' She gives a quiet chuckle of confident amusement at his predictability and turns to continue staring at the hut.

Her diligence pays off as the hated Monk emerges with the harmless kit and strolls off. With a quick survey around to make sure she will not be seen while keeping one eye on the black and purple garbed man, she shimmies down the tree with expert ease, her various weaponry carefully strapped down to prevent unwanted noise. Once on the ground, she trots off in the same direction the Monk is headed, shadowing his movements in secret.

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Shippo sits on the bank of the stream, holding the Monk's staff across his lap and fingering the folded material next to him while sighing repeatedly and feeling useless. He watches Miroku wading in water up to his knees, with his outer garments removed and his under kimono hiked up to keep it from getting too wet as he searches for any unsuspecting fish swimming by.

Miroku makes a sudden grab, splashing water everywhere and comes up with empty hands. He shrugs good-naturedly and bends over to continue searching, really waiting patiently for the troubled kitsune to open the lines of communication.

Shippo flinches back from another fruitless foray, wiping droplets from his face, "You're not doing so good."

Miroku keeps his eyes on the water and shrugs, "Doesn't matter; it's the trying that counts."

Shippo looks at him quizzically, "Well," he puts up an arm to protect from more spray, "it looks like you're trying too hard." He watches for a minute before commenting, "InuYasha doesn't splash nearly as much."

Miroku nods, still searching for fish and carefully guiding the conversation, "That he does. But then, he's had a lot more practice than me." He sighs, "Still, there are other things that InuYasha tries too hard at."

"Like what?" His child-like curiosity gets the better of him.

"Like trying to be responsible for protecting everyone and then pretending that he doesn't need those people at the same time."

Shippo frowns, rolling that idea silently around in his mind. "Is that why he's so angry all the time?"

Miroku looks over and nods again, "That's what I believe. And it just gets worse when he thinks he's been negligent and something bad happens. Even when it couldn't possibly be his fault."

Shippo looks down at the sun-dappled grass for a few quiet moments. "You mean like what happened to…Kagome?"

`Finally…' Miroku glances at him, "Exactly. InuYasha blames himself and will most likely be unbearable to be around until she is happy again." He makes a noisy snatch at another elusive fish, feeling it slip through his fingers and coming up empty.

In spite of the warm sunlight, Shippo shivers when he thinks back to the other night; of waking up because he couldn't breathe and seeing the lack of emotion in Kagome's eyes and of the angry look on her face for those few moments before she released him. "Miroku…do you think that…I…umm, did anything to make…Kagome…mad at me?" The question was full of confused pain.

Miroku straightens and says firmly, "Absolutely not!" He turns and sloshes towards the bank. He sits on the edge with his feet still in the water before turning his head to look directly at Shippo. "Kagome-sama loves you and would never willingly do anything to hurt you. You did nothing wrong!" He sighs, "She's just having a difficult time right now and we all must do our best to help her."

Shippo sniffs and whispers, "I was…so scared." He feels the Monk's arm rest around him.

"It's all right to be scared. She's scared too." He sits there for a while listening to the buzz of insects and the comforting sound of the water lapping lazily around his dangling ankles. A dark form swims close and he jumps up with a shout, making a mad grab for the large fish.

Shippo bounces up and hops back and forth; caught up in the rush and completely distracted. "OH! It's a big one!" He watches Miroku wrestle the wriggling fish out of the water and shouts his encouragement. "Throw it over here!"

Miroku holds on desperately to his scaly opponent and feels his foot slip. He heaves the fish blindly as he looses his balance and falls in with a yelp. Water fountains everywhere, drenching both banks and the excited kitsune. Shippo blinks his eyes clear and pounces on the flopping fish, trying to grab it and only making it shoot forward along the wet grass. Miroku comes up gasping in time to see his catch tumble back into the stream.

Shippo looks at the man looking half-drowned and sitting up to his neck in the water with a crestfallen expression and begins to giggle. Miroku meets his amused look and smirks, inciting more giggles. He begins to chuckle himself.

Neither is aware of the silent watcher in the trees, biding her time and ruthlessly awaiting the perfect opportunity.

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