InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ If only in my Dreams ❯ Attaining Peace ( Chapter 20 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

I still don't own Inuyasha..A special thanks to Almandine-Azaleea who edits these chapters for me. She does a wonderful job and I deeply appreciate her efforts...
If Only in my Dreams ch20
Kikyo sat upon a low hanging tree branch, her soul collectors gliding around her like pet cats waiting to be fed. They were her friends now,her sole companionship in a world she no longer belonged to. She'd given the matter of Kagome and Inuyasha some serious thought these last few days, and while in her heart she felt betrayed, she also knew that things had been far from Inuyasha's control the day she'd died. It had hurt him, she could see it within the depths of his gaze, feel it as she relived his embrace, remembered the softness of his whisper when he'd pledged to go to hell with her.
But was that what she really wanted? No, deep down she wanted nothing more than to move on; whether it be continuing her un-dead existence and moving on without him, or being returned to her place among the dead, resting in peace forever more.
She was tired of living on the souls of dead women. She'd never live a full life this way: never be able to marry, to have children... never really feel the touch of a man, the warmth of a lovers caress or the heat of a kiss. She'd merely exist. And deep in her heart that wasn't what she wanted. Deep inside she wanted peace; she just wanted peace.
Something in the distance pulled her attention. She moved from her place in the tree and circled around slowly, her footfalls silent as she made her way through the dense forest. She knew that stench.
Naraku.
Making her way through the foliage she watched Naraku looking at something in the distance. He turned then, and she followed. In his arms rested a child, her eyes wide in panicked fear as she lay stock still within his unyielding embrace. His aura was masked and yet she'd always been able to feel him, knew of his presence long before he wanted her to. She watched as he weaved his way further into the underbrush and slowly she moved around him, circling him slowly like a predator stalking its prey.
Making her presence known she reached to nock her arrow before stepping directly in his path of travel.
"Long time, no see Naraku. "her voice void of any emotion.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"Naraku grunted before standing the girl he held upon her feet in front of him, his claws cutting the side of her cheek. A strangled cry of pain erupted from the little captive.
"Ahh, but you see it is I who have the pleasure Naraku." she replied, her body picking up on her reincarnation's aura. Silently she reached out for it, beckoning the girl to come to her. They'd need each other for what she had in mind tonight...
"And why,pray tell, would that be so?"Naraku answered, his black eyebrows darting up in interest, his red eyes narrowing dangerously upon her form.
"Tonight we end this, once and for all. But tell me...will you die a coward who hides behind an innocent child?"she hissed, her own eyes narrowing as the tip of her arrow began to glow.
"I see you want to play.." he spat and in a movement so sudden he threw the girl against a tree in the distance; Kikyo saw her body crumbling like a fallen soldier slain in the heat of battle.
X
Kagome tensed, her barrier dropping in an instant. Sesshomaru's presence no longer threatening as she felt the pull of something much moreurgent... Kikyo...
She rushed past him, her body bent on answering this call. Something in it more demanding and needy than anything she'd ever felt before, and vaguely in the back of her mind she thought she'd heard Inuyasha screaming her name. But the sound faded into the distance as she ran full speed deeper into the forest.
Sesshomaru stood silent as he contemplated her hasty retreat. The breeze blew at his back taking her scent with her, but it did little to stop the sound of a child's cry in the distance...but not just any child...Rin.
He was off in a flash, his anger steadily building as he drew closer to where the sound had come from. His speed increased as did the scent of her fear and then the scent of her blood. It was sickeningly sweet, pure in its innocence...and he'd kill the bastard who'd thought to hurt her...his ward...his Rin.
X
Kagome rushed forward, her eyes trained upon the child who lay against a tree. Kikyo stood facing her, Naraku with his back to her. She slowed her approach, her body easing its way through the thick underbrush until she sat just behind the girl.
Sesshomaru was fast approaching, she could feel it. If only she could get this girl out of the crossfire. But in that instant Kagome found herself trapped within a barrier, but it wasn't one of her own, but one of Naraku's making...and deep within her mind she called out to the one soul she needed beyond anything else...Inuyasha..
X
"It seems we have company at our little party, and unwelcome company arriving shortly. But I find that uninvited guests annoy me, and so we'll simply limit their participation...to watching only.." Naraku laughed as he surrounded himself, Kikyo and Kagome within his little prison. Vaguely he recalled the child that now rested within Kagome's arms, but she was of no importance, she'd soon be dead anyway.
He listened as Sessomaru crashed into his barrier and laughed all the harder at the filthy growl that could be heard escalating in thedistance." Ahh, what is it Sesshomaru, angry at not being invited to our little get together?" he hissed. "Well, we'll just have to remedy that...how about a parting gift?"
He turned only slightly, his gaze still unwavering from Kikyo's arrow, a tentacle erupting from his body to shoot straight toward the girl known as Rin.
Kagome reacted, her body forcing the little girl behind her as her body lit up in an eerie pink glow, but it was not enough to stop his appendage from spearing through her right shoulder, the pain shooting throughout her body as the tentacle disintegrated from within her. She was pressed against the tree behind her. Gods, if she never got this close to a tree again she'd swear to kiss the forest floor in thanks, but as it was she found herself looking into the crisp white silk of a kimono tucked into a pair of blood red hakamas. Blood splatters could be seen dotting the fabric, but she wasn't sure just what was happening. She could hear someone's harsh breathing in her ear, watched as the shirt she lay her forehead against slowly bled red, and it was then that she fully realized just what had happened.
Kikyo dropped her bow, her arrow slicing through the air only to miss its target. Her legs surged beneath her as she realized Naraku's intent and knew just as certainly that Kagome would throw herself in front of the girl. She was every bit her reincarnation, for she would have done the same thing if things had been reversed, but in that instant she felt Naraku's tentacle burst through the back of her shoulder before hearing Kagome cry out as it went through the front of hers.Time stopped in that instant. Kikyo knew what had to be done, but knew that only way it would work was with Kagome's help. She also knew this moment would be her last...
Their bodies supported each others, each doing all they could to keep the other from falling, each trying desperately to keep from crying out in pain.
"Kagome, you must... listen to ...me, I.. need you... to help me. We..must combine our.. powers, it is the only way to kill him, to ...keep him from re...generating again..."
"Why?" Kagome asked as she raised her head to gaze at Kikyo. Blood lined the side of her face, her brows drawn together in pain as shelooked on with a calmness so befitting her.
"Do you truly love him?" Kikyo asked, the pain upon her face shifting to show the pain within her heart, her words shifting from one subject to another.
"As much ...as you do." Kagome whispered.
"You are truly ...a part of ...me then, for it... is my love... I see radiating in your eyes...You are me, only in a... different package,with... a different.. way of handling the... emotions I was..forbidden to show. We are ...two pieces of.. a puzzle Kagome, two halves... ofa whole soul and... without each other we are ...powerless to stop Naraku. But together...we can end this..I could finally attain...my peace..
"No, I can't ..let you do this...It would... destroy you...I can't take you away from him Kikyo, I can't break ...his heart like... that,not even for you..."Kagome whispered, before her gaze jerked up to witness the spasm of pain the rocketed through Kikyo's frame. It was thenthat she realized that she had formed a barrier and, with each attempt that Naraku made against the barrier to get them Kikyo grew weaker and incurred more injury to herself.
"If you won't ...do this for me, or ...even Inuyasha, then... will you do it... for your child, Kagome. Will you ...help me ...end this sothat your child ...can live its life without.. the threat of Naraku...?"she asked as she took yet another hit from behind, her barrierweakening around them as it sputtered before she closed her eyes and focused upon it , its glow solidifying around them once again.
"How...did you know?"Kagome whispered, the pain of her shoulder radiating throughout her voice.
"When a woman ...is with child... she radiates a...certain beauty, and that... beauty surrounds you Kagome...will you do this, will... youhelp me?"
"Is this the only way, Kikyo, are you ...certain this... is the only way?"Kagome whispered as she closed her eyes against the pain of herdecision, a tear rolling down her cheek before splashing down upon the silk of Kikyo's shirt.
"I'd bet my life on it." Kikyo stated. Kagome's gaze jerked open, her eyes taking in the serene beauty of Kikyo's smile." Sorry, badjoke..." she whispered before becoming serious again.
"Love him well Kagome, love him for both of us."
"I will." she promised," I already do."
Their eyes locked, mirror images of a woman past and present as they met each other head on as the soul they were always meant to share.Their powers blended perfectly, seamlessly, and in the blink of an eye it exploded sending a shock wave across the countryside so intense thatit left Inuyasha' s windscar to shame.
"I love you, Inuyasha"
But those within hearing could not decipher the difference in the voice. None could know for sure just whose voice it had been echoing withinthe stillness of the night...
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I again wish to thank Almandine-Azaleea. She reworded a few of my sentences and made them come together better, as she has done in the next chapter as well. She has been a wondeful asset to my writing as well as a great friend...Thank you again for all your help...I truly appreciate all of it..
Please let me know what you all think so far