InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Humanity's Valor ❯ Poisoned Illusions ( Chapter 1 )

HUMANITY’S VALOR

It was so cold…..why was it so cold?

Where had this unforgiving arctic come from? As she shivered in her crouching position, Kagome thought about the feeling of loneliness that had settled in her stomach. The feeling was so …unfamiliar, foreign. She could not see anything more than ten feet in front of her, everything surrounding her pitch black, howling, and eerie.

A wild wind had started, billowing snow coming to rest on Kagome’s head and shoulders.

“I-Inuyasshha…get m-me out off he-re…,” she breathed. It felt as if her lungs were on fire…or frozen. It was one of those feeling, you just could not tell which was which. So little air was getting to her, blowing away with the steady wind, making her mouth dry and throat frozen. She could feel something tingly in her leg, but brushed it off as numbing…which was not really a good thing to do.

Suddenly, the scene before her changed. It became sunny, bright. A large mirage was displayed in front of her, and she saw a desert. The feeling of loneliness disappeared and was replaced with something else, something that felt almost like apprehension or anxiety. Nevertheless, she quickly forgot about the feeling, and giggled instead at the feeling of the sand between her toes, tickling her calloused feet. She stood up and stretched in the warm sun. Kagome gawked at the infinite rolling hills of sand.

She stood transfixed, immobilized, limp, staring at the hills. She did not know how long she stood and gazed at the hills. Their snake-like movements had captured her mind and eyes.

As the wind stopped from the earlier winter scene, she gathered the air around her in gasps, unfreezing her throat. She cleared her mind and thought back to the moments before these…illusions…had trapped her. Kagome needed to remember how she had gotten here….if here was anywhere.

She had been with Inuyasha and the gang and they just finished battling a snake youkai. A newcomer who called herself Mikuro appeared after that and had introduced herself to them as a healer. She said that she had witnessed the battle and saw Kagome get hurt during the encounter, and decided to approach us to see if she could be of any help. Inuyasha had set Kagome down near a tree where she could rest and Mikuro had given her a drink to ease the pain, like a sedative. It stunk really badly, almost like gas and garlic. She remembered Sango coming over to look at the wound, saying that it wasn‘t too deep and didn‘t look that bad, but her voice sounded muffled. Mikuro said something and in the very beginning of her sentence, I couldn‘t hear her anymore. Inuyasha had gotten up from where he sat at Kagome’s side and looked angry and said words that were never heard. Everything had become blurry and then…nothing.

Kagome didn’t remember anything after the sedative. Had Mikuro done something to her? Had she put something in the drink other than anesthetic to make her have these dreams and emotions? Why had Inuyasha looked so angry?

Kagome sat down in the sand, feeling very worn out, dazed, and tired. Her mouth began to water and she lay down staring up into the sun. The heat was probably getting to her. If Kagome guessed right, then this was a bad thing. She knew the symptoms of it, but she wasn’t sure if this was it. She pulled at the skin of her arm and when she let go, it stayed up. She was dehydrated. Super dehydrated. Just like she thought.

Kagome tried to get up, but failed. She tried again, and got to her knees but fell over. One more try, she thought. On the third try, she made it. She started walking up and over and back down the never-ending hills of sand.

She walked for what felt like miles, over maybe one hundred hills, whether they be big or small. It’s just what it feels like though. That doesn’t have to mean that it’s right, does it? On the other hand, maybe it does…Kagome thought. Just have to…get over this…hill and…I know I’ll be back…

She fell on her knees and collapsed face first into the sand. She lay there, almost inert, and drifted into a nothing…again.

~~~~In the Real World~~~~

“What the hell did you do to her?!” Inuyasha yelled. He wasn’t stupid; he knew what an anesthetic did to a person, and this wasn’t it. He jumped up and unsheathed Tetsusaiga, ready to defend Kagome.

Miroku had his right hand set at the ready and Sango gripped her katana tightly, the Hiraikotsu being of no use at such short range. Kirara transformed next to Sango and Shippo shakingly stood next to Kagome, with his Fox Fire ready to protect her.

Mikuro cackled and said, “You fools, how could you not sense my demonic aura being shielded? Are you truly that weak? I shielded it right after you destroyed the snake and yet you still did not recognize another foe approaching. Hahahaha, you sad, pathetic beings.”

“Don’t make me ask it again, bitch! What did you do to Kagome?!!” Inuyasha screamed at her. He was sick of her talking. Why was that all everyone ever did? Never any action!

“Nothing, I only gave her a drink. Just to cool her off and make her sweat, make her blood flow swift and fever rise. Make her heart race and divide her life in two binds.”

“What the fuck does that mean?!” came from Inuyasha.

“It means she gave Kagome a poison. It’s a gas, called arsine, turned into a liquid, and mixed with arrowroot, asbestos, ascarid eggs, and aryl. The edible bulb of the arrowroot plant grows tremendously fast, and if swallowed, the plant will grow throughout the skeletal system, paralyzing the individual. The asbestos is a mineral used for its inertness; the ascarid is a parasitic nematode worm that causes inflammation of the wounds. When they are implanted in a fresh open sore, due to the body heat, they hatch and infect the injured area. Aryl is just another name from a chemical group, a resultant from benzene or another aromatic hydrocarbon. Which means, Inuyasha, Kagome is poisoned by double amounts, paralyzed by skeletal and mental systems, and will be in terrible pain if we don‘t do something.” Miroku patiently explained.

“Thank you Miroku, for explaining it for me,” said Mikuro, who bowed to him in gratitude.

“Anything for a beautiful….woman. Now, I must ask you….” he walked up to her and bent down on one knee, grasping her hands. She didn’t even flinch away. “Will you bear my children…and save Kagome?”

Should’ve seen that one coming, Sango thought. She, Inuyasha, Shippo, and even Kirara were standing there, gaping at him. Why, in all of this, in this battle where Kagome’s life was ticking away, was he womanizing at this very moment?!

“MONK, you are unbelievable!! After Kagome’s better, I’ll let her do the honors this time, since it’s her life on the line, and oh are you gonna be sorr-”

“RRAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!” screamed Mikuro.

Miroku jumped back as he placed the sealing sutra on a very distracted Mikuro’s wrist.

Her screaming continued. Inuyasha smashed his head to the ground covering his ears, “THIS BITCH SCREAMS LIKE THE BANSHEE HERSELF!!!SHUT HEERRR UUUUUUUUUPPPPPPP!!!!”

The sutra finally wore away, leaving Mikuro stuck in an icy prison, forever.

“It’s about time she shut up. I think I need some ear surgery or something.” Inuyasha popped his ears.

“Wait…..Miroku? Um, don’t we need her to get rid of the poison and paralysis in Kagome?” Shippo asked. It was a good question, and Sango thought she would have at least thought about it before she started screaming at Miroku for womanizing.

“Should we unfreeze her and force her to tell us?” asked Sango.

“No. Not at all, my dear Sango. I know the remedy to cure this. The problem is getting the herbs and juices.”

Sango and Shippo sighed. They should’ve known it wouldn’t have been that easy.

“How long might it take?” Sango asked.

“I don’t know.” he shrugged.

“You’re hopeless Miroku.”

~~~END CHAPTER ONE~~~