InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Malice ❯ Unbound: Coming Apart at the Seams ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 5: Unbound: Coming Apart at the Seams

Sango ran a hand over her face, wiping the tears away with a weary sigh. Looking down from her seat atop Kirara high above the landscape, she nodded sadly to herself.

Almost home....

After leaving the hut, she had climbed on Kirara and she had immediately headed this way, as if she had known exactly where her human needed to go. Not surprising, Kirara was a neko youkai, meaning she spoke in thoughts, not words, and she read thoughts, not words. So Kirara had known exactly what her charge needed.

Sometimes, it was nice not to have to talk, yet still be understood.

As they descended towards the village she'd been born in, she fell into memories, memories of a time long past, when this place had rung with the sounds of life, a time that she sometimes longed to return to with a desperation that frightened her. Because that time could never be again. The only way she could be with all those people again is if she died, too.

A bitter laugh sounded. Did Kagome wish to return to a past, a past without Naraku, Inuyasha, hell, a time before she'd known any of them? Had she started sometimes wishing that she could let it all go and welcome death with open arms?

She had been fighting this battle for so long already, at first, the only things keeping her alive were her need for vengeance, and then Kohaku, when she'd found out he was still alive. Time had healed a lot of that, most of the time now, she didn't wish for death.

But Kagome had just started on the path, she had just been dealt the trauma, she had such a long, weary road to follow, and that thought almost broke her heart.

As she stepped off Kirara's back, her eyes were pulled to the neat rows of graves that were all that remained of the people that had lived and died here. Wandering over to them, she sank down onto her knees, tears beginning to fall again at the thought of anyone like Kagome having to traverse the long, cold road to recovery.

The worst thought, though, the one that hurt the most, was the thought that Kagome might not even choose to recover.

I watched as my Kagome went home through the well today. It is laughable that none of the group that she has traveled with for so long have even noticed that they are being watched. After all, now that I have claimed her as mine, I must keep watch over her as a good mate should, shouldn't I?

That thought makes me laugh - and laugh. Mates. Hmpf. Mates belong to each other, but that isn't how this works. Kagome belongs to me, yes, but I do not belong to her.

This is slavery, in its purest form.

You see, the desire for her grows more in me everyday. Tainting her once was not enough, I want to spend eternity doing so. It started off as a way to destroy her purity, nothing more, but now, I think I will still want her once her defilement is complete, and any pure, innocent part of her has long since been drowned in darkness.

In fact, as exciting as her innocence is, I think her, defiled, steeped in hatred, will be even more exciting.

So I watch, and wait. Soon, once those poor fools begin traveling again, I will show myself to them.....

I will savor the taste of the fear and hatred of my beloved once again.

Kagome slipped over the edge of the well, on the side facing away from the village, if someone came looking, she'd remain hidden. And that's what she wanted, gods, that's all, just to be left alone. Solitude, what sweet fortune.

Why am I waiting around here anyway? I can't face Inuyasha, I don't want him to see what I've become! I'm filthy now... and even if it's partly because he left me, I still can't see him again. She laughed, it wasn't a healthy laugh, it was a frightening laugh. And why does it even matter if I'm tainted? It's not like he cared anyway, I'm his shard detector, who cares if I'm used goods, I can still find shards just fine, right?!

She laughed again, the sound becoming unbalanced as she became somewhat hysterical.

Face it, sister, you're worse than used goods, used goods would have been Koga, or Hojo, or pretty much anyone... but Naraku? I'm so beyond used, that it's not even possible to save anything - I bet I can't even be recycled, sorry Kikyou, we won't be reborn again, and it's all my fault, I wasn't enough like you, dear priestess, not strong enough, not smart enough, hell, I wasn't good for anything but the shards...

Her laughter trailed off into quiet sobs, as she wrapped her arms around herself and just held on, Gods, I feel like I'm gonna disappear if I don't hold on, but then again, why should I even bother?

Don't I want to disappear?

Her eyes closed in despair, exhaustion beginning to take a toll; she couldn't fight the horrible mix of thoughts and emotions swirling around in her tired mind any longer. She was beginning to crack, the unnatural, calm shell that she'd maintained for days was finally breaking.

Those horrible sobs are what caught Miroku's attention as soon as he entered the clearing, rushing towards the well, he threw himself around the side.

He wished he hadn't. This young woman, who had always been so strong, so determined, was a hysterical, sobbing mess. The moment that she caught sight of him, she started screaming.

And she wouldn't stop.

Terrifying, hysterical screams of pure fear, they just kept coming from her throat, and Miroku backed away, horrified at the reaction from her. He watched blankly as she scrambled away from him, throwing her arms up to cover her face and cowering against the well, sobbing for him not to look at her.

Dear Gods... that was the only thought that could even take shape in his mind. He snapped his head around as he heard shouts, help was coming from the village, but it sounded like all men - and somehow, he thought that they would only make things worse.

Turning, he sprinted to the opening in the trees that led to the village, placing himself in the middle of the path, determined to keep everyone away until he could send someone for Kaede.

Unfortunately, he couldn't block the treetops... and that's how Inuyasha got there.

"What the fuck, Miroku?! Where is she?!" The hanyou was panicking, her shrill screams were hurting his ears, he'd never, ever heard screams like that, not in his entire two hundred years of life. "ANSWER ME!! Can't you hear her, oh gods, can't you hear her?!!"

"Inuyasha! Don't! Stay away from her, you'll only make it worse!" Miroku waved the village men off, instructing one to get Kaede and bring her as fast as possible, before moving back to the well at a dead run.

Inuyasha wasn't about to let anything keep him from getting to her, he couldn't stand the sounds; something inside him was breaking apart as he listened to her. Moving around the side of the well, he stopped dead, frozen with shock.

Nothing could have prepared him for what was happening right in front of him.

As soon as she'd caught sight of him, she'd tried to shrink herself into a tiny little ball, and was begging him not to hurt her anymore. Dazed, soul in turmoil, and heart breaking, he dropped to his knees, and held out a tentative hand towards her.

"Kagome... it's me! You know I'd never hurt you, please, stop crying, it's okay!"

As soon as he said that, she scooted back away from him, curling deeper into herself. "NO!!! It's not okay... it'll never be okay ever again, so don't lie to me, you bastard!" She was shaking so hard you could barely understand her.

Inuyasha's eyes widened with even deeper shock, and the hurt, the anguish that came with her words was clear for all to see. He looked up at Miroku, confusion evident in his gaze. "What the hell, monk? You didn't tell me that she was like this!"

Miroku motioned for Inuyasha to stand and follow him to the other side of the well. "She wasn't like this before, Inuyasha! I've never in all my days seen anything like this... Gods - the screams!"

Inuyasha punched the top edge of the well, watching as it caved in. "Fuck! What the hell did that fucker do to her, Miroku?!" He slumped over suddenly, like it just hurt too much to even stand anymore.

Kagome....

"What did he do to her?" An anguished whisper, one that the man standing next to him couldn't answer.

Kaede sighed wearily, shifting herself as she sat on the floor of her hut near the fire. When she'd arrived at the well, Kagome was too exhausted to scream anymore, and only muffled sobs were coming from her. She wouldn't let anyone near her, they'd had to wait 'til she'd passed out on her own to get her back here.

She was still unconscious, and it had been hours.

Inuyasha was sitting near her, he wouldn't leave her side; he just sat and stared at her. It was becoming a tad unnerving, to tell the truth.

"Inuyasha."

"What, old hag?" His gaze remained fixed on Kagome.

Shaking her head, she shifted again. "Maybe ye should go outside and get some air for a little while."

At that, he looked up. "No! I'm not leaving her again!"

"Isn't it a little late to worry about that, Inuyasha?" At his shocked look, she sighed again. "She is safe here, ye know that, Inuyasha. There is no point in overdoing it now, the damage has already been done. Hovering over her when she is safe will not change anything."

"Go ahead, say it old hag, I know you're all thinking it anyway! It's my fault that she's like this!" Inuyasha stared her down, daring her to deny it.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha, I did not realize your name was Naraku." She leaned forward a little, moving closer to the fire, before looking back up at him. She chuckled at his blank look. "Or maybe we were all mistaken and ye are the one that hurt her. Is that what happened?"

He thrust himself to his feet and paced the length of the hut before smashing his fist into the wall. "Fuck! Don't toy with me, Kaede! I'm in no mood for it. How can you play these stupid word games when Kagome's lying there broken like that?!"

"And what would ye have me do, Inuyasha? Lie to ye?" Her brow rose. "Ye didn't cause the injury to her, foolish boy. There is no sense in placing blame when we don't even know what it is that happened."

"Stupid hag! I may not have done - whatever the fuck it is that he did, but the fact is, I left her behind, easy game for that bastard, so in the end it's my fault! And I don't need to know what he did to know that!" He spun back around, dropping down, he sat near her, lowering his head into his hands.

"If I hadn't left her... gods, if I hadn't left her, she'd be okay now."

"Maybe, or maybe not, Inuyasha." She shrugged. "Did ye break your promise to always protect her?" Giving him no quarter, she stared at him, waiting for him to look up before saying point blank, "Yes, ye did. Nothing I or anyone else can say can change that. But, unless ye are a god, there's no guarantee that you'd have been able to prevent what happened, even if ye had been there."

Closing her eye, she rocked forward, closer to the fire. "There are never any guarantees, Inuyasha. Ye of all people should know this."

Inuyasha just stared at her.