InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ More Than Anyone ❯ Restored ( Chapter 2 )

A/n

Not much an explanation to give here. I resurrected this story for numerous reasons I'm sure. I was told it was left up in the air, and truthfully, I felt partly guilty for putting Inu in that situation *bites lip*

 

So, without further ado, I give you…

 

The conclusion to--

 

 

More Than Anyone

 

 

 

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Truly, Kagomes hell was made of rain.

 

It fell all around her, meshing with the ground, and staining her uniform, finding whatever dry warmth she had, and stealing it away like a burglar in the night. It caught on every curve, seeped through every pore of her body, soaking her to the bone with a cold aftertaste that had her begging for fire.

 

If Kagome had thought the drizzle before was the rain, the only thing to describe this was as a downpour. The world seemed dark and grey outside her line of sight, a haze of rain and fog blocking out anything she dared to imaging was beyond the debris. She couldn't see past her own hands, but Inuyasha was close enough, that she could still see. After all she was still laying on top of him.

 

And there was no way she would leave him now.

 

She could see his haori underneath her body, and even through her shielding it had managed to become drenched with a questionable mixture of blood and water. His neck and hair were sopping wet, giving the impression he had fallen in the mud, as though it had nothing to do with the explosion, or the rain.

 

His face was contorted in mild pain, and his ears winced back every time a rain droplet fell on them. She had seen her own dog do the same thing once before. Ears were sensitive, one of the many reason dogs did not appreciate the rain. But then again, not many people did.

 

Kagome held in her tears like the brave girl she claimed to be, but she nearly broke as the heart beneath her grew weaker and weaker. His breathing had become slowed, and he hadn't even opened his eyes, but she could only guess that they would look glazed and distant, even if he did.

 

She hated herself.

 

Here she was, one of the few friends Inuyasha possessed in the whole world, and she would sit here and simply let him die. She agonized on the thought, wondering how selfish she could be, when the one she loved was dying in front of her, and she wouldn't do anything to help.

 

But what could she do?

 

What could a miko like Kagome do to help him? Mikos and demons could only use their power to destroy one another, not support. Kagome couldn't help him; if she even tried to heal him, she would purify whatever demon-blood still lived in his veins, and doom him to the death of a mortal. It was only the demon-blood that had kept him living so long. She wondered, if it was her, how long it would take for her to die.

 

The thought only hit her once.

 

If Inuyasha, a hanyou of half-demon blood, (the Inu-taishos blood at that) was this damaged, what were the chances her mere mortal friends had survived? The thought made her want to wretch, pour out whatever contents were still in her stomach and alleviate the nausea she felt building in side her. She stopped only for the sake of not defiling Inuyasha any further. He didn't deserve it.

 

She had seen people die before, but this was someone she thought could never die; someone she thought she would have her whole life to deal with. And now, she would let all those chances slip away, just because she couldn't help him?

 

The severity of it all broke down whatever logic she had and attacked her right at the heart.

 

And she couldn't stand it.

 

She whimpered against his chest. Still warm; still living. She thought she felt his blood trickle across her fingers, but she didn't care at the moment. The rain washed away the remnants of the dead, she knew that much; If it would stop the wound from bleeding she would keep her hand on the open wound all night. She couldn't let him die.

 

She shuddered against him again, the icy whip of a rainy wind forced her closer, and her uniform felt sodden against her chest. Maybe she would die of hypothermia. But then again, she didn't care.

 

“Inuyasha…” Her eyes didn't even open as she whispered the words. In fact, she clenched them tighter together, in a struggle to keep in whatever tears remained. “I can't lose you now…I just can't…” She curled up her body closer to his, almost spinning into a fetal position.

 

What she felt right now, was so indescribable to her. She was in love with Inuyasha. It was something she had never expected to feel so forceful. She had seen movies, and read books, and she had an idea what love looked like, but never experienced it truly. She had had a crush on Inuyasha, but when had it become so overwhelming? It was so powerful, so unbelievably strong, that it hurt her to the point of physical pain that she cared so much. She cared too deeply for him, and it was destroying her.

 

Love, in this way, was too unbearable to survive.

 

She nudged her head on his shoulder. He didn't seem to move. “Maybe, this is my fault…” she whispered, talking into the wind. It seemed at this point, she was speaking to whoever was listening, but Inuyasha didn't say anything. Though there was no response, he didn't seem to mind; that or he wasn't listening. Maybe he could no longer hear. “It was me…If I hadn't have shot that arrow—“she grasped the air for emphasis. “—maybe…maybe we could all still be here, now.”

 

She whimpered with a smile, tears of pure sadness falling down her face, mixing with the rain to darken and fall faster. She wanted to die.

 

She wanted to die, so that she wouldn't still be alive when he was dead. She wanted them to go together, because she knew, however many seconds, or minutes or days she lived after that moment that they would be filled with only agony and heartache.

 

She raised her head to look at him. “Inuyasha…”

 

He didn't move. She felt his heartbeat, but still, she panicked.

 

“Inuyasha…” she shook his shoulders a bit, sloshing his hair further into the rain. His face didn't even change expression. She grew a bit more frustrated. “Inuyasha, please look at me—“ There was no response. “Look at me…” Still no response.

 

Her eyes grew blurry as she began shaking his shoulders, grabbing his head in reflex. “Inuyasha, look at me!” Her face grew more pained, her voice rampant and filled with despair. “Look at me!” He remained completely unaware as she shook him so violently he might have furthered an injury. Her frustration came out in a strangled cry: “Why won't you look at me?!” The tears finally fell, and Kagome fell into a heap of weeping, shameful limbs and faces.

 

Somewhere inside her, a piece of her heart had been broken. Something had been irreparably shattered, and changed.

 

Suddenly the world began closing in on her, and she knew, just out of nature, that she was dying.

 

She felt a sting of tears, as the wave of emotions crashed against her unguarded soul once more, so much she felt it had the power of something beyond death.

 

And that's how she knew.

 

She looked upwards to the Kamis in silent prayer, almost regretting what she had to do, but sadly giving into the fate that was given to her.

 

She had never once guessed, that this was how it ended.

 

She stroked a gentle hand across his dirty cheek, smearing a blotch of light rain into his skin, and smiling as more tears fell. She felt a tug, and bit her lip

 

“You must forgive me.” She whispered, and hesitatingly drew back. She held her frown only a moment, wishing he would be awake to see it. He wasn't. “But your life, is more important then mine.”

 

She felt the dull luminescent hum that began, and she accepted the feeling willingly. The ominous light brightened and expanded, a blanket of white noise surging through the air. She felt the last of her spirit tugged at; though broken and shattered, it was the last thing she had left to offer. The light silently accepted.

 

She looked down once more, as if for the last time. She didn't smile. She cried. “You must be saved…”

 

She thought of Sango, and of Miroku, and of Inuyasha; she pictured the smiling Kirara, and the youthful Shippou. She would do anything to save her friends, and they knew that too…she only wished…they'd understand. With those thoughts in mind, she had only one last regret.

 

She shook her head once more, and thought one last time in the safe confines of her mind. It was her last selfless wish to ask. It was the last she knew she would have.

 

 

 

`Save them, please…'

 

 

`Save them all.'

 

 

 

 

 

*******

 

Something abruptly changed.

 

It was a stir at first.

 

He thought he saw lights, and off pitched colors, hovering in a blank, white sky. He saw pitches of greens and blues surface and disappear, and he finally realized he couldn't feel anything anymore.

 

He could hear things. Muffled things. Things he wasn't sure were really there. They sounded like echoes in his mind, shifting this way and that. His ears couldn't pick them up very well; it was as if they weren't in the physical world. And they didn't sound like a battle site.

 

One thing he was certain of though. The rainfall had stopped.

 

There wasn't fire, or moans, or crumbling rocks; rather there was water, and wind, and birds. Why would birds be near an explosion sight? The forest life was dead… The thought brought a question to mind. Why did he feel grass under his fingers? It was dull, and fuzzy, the haze of his mind making everything blunter and softer. But he could feel it. Soft grass and earth lay just under his feet…where was the debris?

 

The sounds around him stood adjointed from the world, as if they were only small stars and colors in the vast expanse of space. They were so far away, he could barely make them out for what they were; and when he did, they didn't make sense. It was as if he was hearing things from underwater, or a sheet of plastic wrap. It was all dulled, flat, and barely recognizable.

 

But he heard it. And he smelt it. He could probably see it to, had he the strength to open his eyes. It was all so sharp and bright he couldn't immerse himself into the world of the waking. Until…

 

“Inuyasha!”

 

He went on sudden alert. The sounds snapped back into focus, becoming clear and readable. The light dimmed and diminished, shrinking back to the shine of a clear summer's day. Hadn't it been raining? The faint smells around assaulted him violently, suddenly intensified and eagerly mobile.

 

His senses were back… except maybe the common one, as he seemed to be missing some large piece information. Why did everything seem different?

 

He was broken from his thoughts by the two forms that swirled around him.

 

“Hey!” he snarled, trying to free his arms from the hold they had on him.

 

“Oh Inuyasha, we were so worried!” familiar voices said to him. Suddenly it became clear. It wasn't a “hold” they had on him, it was a “hug.” Of course that didn't change anything. He struggled away from the embrace, and opened his eyes to what he expected to be a damaged world.

 

He was wrong.

 

All around them was the glade that had been before. The trees were just as green, the air just as pure, and the grass, just as much swaying as they had been before. Not a single flower or leaf was so much as burnt, let alone scorched. The sky above was blue and cloudless, promises of sunshine and warmth radiated through the breeze in fields, and the songs of the birds.

 

He took a breath to recuperate. It didn't last as long as a second before another hug was forced upon him by his friends.

 

Miroku smiled at him. “What a happy day Inuyasha,” he paraded, wildly flailing his arms to balance himself after being pushed away. He didn't seem to take offense, and flashed him a genuine smile. “We are so glad you are awake!” He chuckled lightly, giving him a hearty pat on the back. “Fortune favors us today.”

 

Sango barely let him breath from the hug they were “sharing.” Sango was never usually this touchy with anyone besides Kagome; it could only mean she had been truly worried. She giggled mildly. “You are so lucky Inuyasha, we had almost lost hope!” She quickly unfastened her hair band and set it off to the side. She smiled. “You are alive!”

 

Inuyasha scowled. He tried to sit up against a tree, but his friends were crowding him. “Well yeah, that's great and all, but where's—“

 

“Inuyasha!” Shippou bounced onto his knee, shocking him and sending him sprawling across the forest floor. The young fox kit crawled directly up to his eyes. Inuyasha fought his urge to wince. “I thought I'd have to lead the team without you here! “ He popped a lollipop into his mouth without taking his eyes away from Inuyasha's. They were so fixed with curiosity and wonder Inuyasha was finding it hard not to blink. Or growl. “Good thing too, I can't have my own band of fox adventurers while dragging your rag-tag group along.”

 

Inuyasha broke his silence. He pushed the runt off. “Alright, that's it! Get the hell off of me!” Shippou flipped backwards in the air and landed feet first on the ground. He smirked and wagged a finger. “You'd better watch your temper Inuyasha, or Kagome will sit you for sure!”

 

The innocent sentence suddenly set off warning bells in his head. Big, flaming, panic-inducing warning bells. His voice was soft. “Where'd you get that lollipop, Shippou?”

 

The kit gave him a wary glance and shrugged non-committedly. “It was in Kagome's bag, like it's always been.” Inuyasha's voice was still soft, and ominous.

 

“Did Kagome give you permission to have one?”

 

The fox shrugged. Again. “No, of course not, she—“the kit broke off his sentence, his eyes snapping into focus, his voice low with realization. “…she wasn't anywhere near her bag…”

 

Inuyasha looked to the monk and demon slayer. It all flashed back quickly; the explosion, Kagome, his blood everywhere…it had gotten harder to breath. He could remember bits of Kagome talking. He couldn't remember what about, but her voice was light and sweet. If anything, it almost sounded a little sad…

 

He suddenly longed to hear her voice, but…where was she?

 

Inuyasha furrowed his brows. His calm and cool were long gone. “Miroku,” he growled, suddenly on the offensive. The monk took easy notice. Inuyasha's blood began to boil under his skin, the smell of fire and tears entering his memory again. “Where's Kagome?” He seethed.

 

The Monk and Taijiya shot each other thoughtful looks, which soon turned to knowing looks, which soon turned to fearful looks. Sango looked away, averting his eyes at all costs. Miroku spoke in a dark undertone. “We…we thought she was with you Inuyasha…”

 

Inuyasha sank back, unbelieving. Her scent wasn't anywhere. It was simply gone. There wasn't even a trail to follow, it had simply…ended.

 

Here, everything that had been destroyed was alive again. It was a miracle undoubtedly, but it was also too good to be true. His wounds were healed. His friends were alive and uninjured. The world was spinning with life again.

 

So if everyone else was ok… why was it as if, Kagome has simply vanished from his world…?

 

“Kagome…” he whispered, unbidden tears forming in his eyes. He let out a whine, and looked to the clouds. He didn't know what to expect, but all he saw was her smile in the sky. “…What did you do?”