InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Project Hope ❯ Dark Pasts ( Chapter 8 )

Ok…sorry that the last chapter was so short. I just wanted to update so I cut the chapter short…

(Incase anyone is confused, Naraku is human in this fic. I didn't think it would be right for him to be a demon since he has a HEP. Even though he's messed up.)

Chapter 8

Impending Danger and Dark Pasts

Swinging her leg back and forth, Yura yawned loudly. What was taking those idiots so long? She'd been waiting for Kagome's group to get back home but it seemed that they were taking their time. Running her fingers through her short black hair, Yura stretched and lay back on the branch.

Staring at the leaves, Yura wondered what was so important about this particular Hope? After all, Naraku had never attacked any others before. If a demon did escape, he let his men do the work and get them back. But a full fledge attack…Yura tried to remember the last time that she had done something that Naraku had told her not to.

~flashback~

The disgusting figure of Naraku loomed over Yura as she bent over on the ground. Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Naraku toyed with his electric rod. "Stupid demon. Come now, you know that you can't disobey. It's in your blood. Your disgusting, filthy demon blood."

Yura managed to raise her head, her face twisted in anger and hate. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to see her hair cut through Naraku's neck and sever his head. But she couldn't and she hated herself for that weakness. Yura snarled and spit at Naraku's face.

Naraku wiped the spit from his cheek and pushed the button on the rod. Grinning nastily at her, Naraku took the rod and pressed it against her stomach.

~end flashback~

Her weakness. It was in her blood and there was nothing she could do. The very blood pulsing through her veins was what made her a prisoner. A slave. Every time she tried to resist what she was told to do, there was pain. Pain in her heart and mind. It was like trying not to breath. She just couldn't do it.

Her mother had been like this. The first "successful" demon to be like this. But her mother was weak. She wrapped her hair around her neck and killed herself. No Yura wouldn't die like that.

Yura smiled at the thought of killing Naraku. `Naraku, when I die I'll drag you to hell with me.'

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~

Now that the lessons were over, everyone wanted a break. The whole group decided to have a picnic on the hills where it was dry and pretty. The gentle slopes were covered in springy almost moss like grass and flowers of every color. Butterflies fluttered from flower to flower making it look like the hill was alive.

Breathing in deeply Kagome exclaimed, "It's so beautiful out here!"

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had never seen a place like this. After all it wasn't like the HEP had recess. Their bare feet felt like they were being massaged. And the air was so fresh. Rin and Kagome spread the blanket out on the grass and set the picnic basket on the blanket. Chow-time.

The basket was filled with chocolate-dipped strawberries, chicken salad, chicken sandwich, turkey sandwich, ramen and lemonade. Everyone grabbed his or her favorites except for Inuyasha and Sesshomaru having no idea what to eat. But the delicious scents were making their mouths water and their tongues ache. Rin put down her turkey sandwich and took a chicken sandwich from the basket.

Handing it to Sesshomaru she said with her full mouth, "Try dis. It's really good."

Sesshomaru stared at the sandwich down his nose then accepted the food. He took a bite and chewed very slowly. Rin resumed eating and talking. Sesshomaru took another bite. The meat was tender and delicious and the bread soft.

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was just sitting there so she grabbed the last ramen and handed it to him. He looked over at her. "What's this?"

Kagome peeled back the "lid" and gave him a fork. It was all ready to eat. "It's ramen. Pretty much the same as noodles and it's really good."

Inuyasha lowered his face and sniffed cautiously. It smelled okay. Taking the fork Inuyasha poked at the noodles savagely until he got some and put it in his mouth. Kagome grinned happily when Inuyasha kept eating and eating like a starved elephant. Kagome loved this hill. It reminded her of her childhood home. Kagome put her sandwich down and stood up.

"Guys, I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back soon." When everyone nodded and went back to eating, Kagome turned and merrily walked off.

Inuyasha watched her go and decided to follow her. He quickly got to his feet and walked off after Kagome. He found her lying at the base of the next hill, humming to herself. Multi-colored butterflies flew over to her and fluttered around her. Inuyasha gazed upon this peaceful scene for a moment then joined Kagome. She stopped humming and looked at him, surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Do I need a reason for everything?"

Kagome shrugged right back at him. "Fair enough." Looking at the sky she began humming again. She had a beautiful voice. He had been told about the rituals where she sang. Inuyasha frowned suddenly, an annoying question returning to him. The smooth and addictive melody continued and Inuyasha cleared his throat.

"Hey, I was wondering…what happened to your mom?"

The happy tune stopped abruptly. Kagome looked at him, her expression expressionless. She sighed and said, "I told you she was killed."

Inuyasha shook his head. "You told me that. I mean who killed her."

Kagome didn't say anything for a while. Inuyasha had no idea why he wanted to know but it was like a bug. He had to know or the curiosity would eat him alive. He heard his own voice speak, so suddenly that he surprised himself.

"My mother was a human. My father was a demon. They really did love each other even in the circumstances that they were mated in."

Kagome was shocked that Inuyasha was talking about his past with her. She listen to him speak. "My mom, before she was captured, was a lady of high stature. Her name's Lady Shinju." (shinju means pearl in Japanese I think) Inuyasha's face looked tight. "She was really beautiful and kind. She was the only human that ever loved me."

Kagome smiled sadly and put her hand over Inuyasha's. "I'm sure she's wonderful."

Kagome decided that it was unfair for him to have to tell her his painful memories with her telling him anything. Kagome took a deep breath.

"I was born far from here. Our village had hills like these all over the place. My mom and I used to pick flowers and hang them all over our rooms. She was beautiful. Her name was Kotori. (I think that means baby bird. Or sweet little bird…) The name was perfect for her. She could talk to animals and plants you know."

Inuyasha sat there and didn't say anything. He just listened. The bittersweet pain in Kagome's voice made him almost wish he had never asked. But Kagome kept talking.

"My father met my mom when he was in school. They fell in love, got married and here I am. But there were problems."

Kagome's voice broke and she gulped loudly. "My mom believed in the equality of humans and demons. She was in a group called Justice. But my father was different. He didn't like demons at all."

Kagome stopped again. Inuyasha's sharp eye caught something. A single tear rolled down Kagome's cheek. Then another. Hiding her face in her knees, Kagome's frame shook with silent sobs. Inuyasha looked wildly around for someone. He hated it when women cried. Awkwardly, Inuyasha patted Kagome on her back. When she didn't stop Inuyasha wrapped his arm stiffly around her shoulder.

Kagome leaned into his chest. She felt so small, curled against his chest. Rather abruptly she stopped and viciously wiped at the tears. She must not cry. She hadn't cried in so long. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry."

Inuyasha shrugged. "It's okay."

Kagome wiped her cheeks even though they were pretty much dry. "I don't think I can tell you what happened."

Inuyasha felt a tiny bit disappointed. But this was the first human since his mother to care for him and it was his first friend. He didn't want to hurt her. But he was totally blown off course by what she said next.

"I can't tell you, but I can show you."

Inuyasha frowned. "Show me?"

Kagome nodded and attempted a feeble smile. "It's a little trick I picked up from Kaede. I can show you memories." Well that was a nice talent to have.

Inuyasha crocked his head. "Ok. Why would you show me these things? I mean it's not like we're like this." Inuyasha crossed his index and middle finger.

Kagome looked flabbergasted by the question. Following his gesture she said, "I don't really have a good reason. I guess I just want to share this with you. After all you are my friend."

After a moment of silence Inuyasha nodded. "Well lets get this over with."

Nodding, Kagome turned so that she was facing Inuyasha. She gestured for him to the same so that they were both sitting, looking at each other. Kagome let out a breath.

"Ok. I need you to match your breathing with mine. Breath for breath. Concentrate on the sound of my breathing. That's it." Kagome reached forward and took Inuyasha's hands and locked fingers. Now their hands were hovering between them, locked together. Inuyasha felt a sudden burst of energy from Kagome and was shocked to find that they were now engulfed in blue flames.

But these flames weren't hot. It was cool, flowing over them like a waterfall. Kagome opened her eyes and nodded, giving Inuyasha the ready sign. Before Inuyasha could prepare himself, A black portal opened under them and they both fell in to the endless timeline.

~~*~~ Inuyasha~~*~~

We were falling. The dark portal was filled with sounds of laughter, crying, yelling and smells of every kind. I realized that this was time. This tunnel held the beginnings and the ends of time. I looked over at Kagome and was almost annoyed to see that she looked perfectly calm. Like this was a walk in the park for her. I felt her squeeze my hand.

Probably because I'd go flying into god knows where in time if she let go. And since I didn't want to be camping with the dinosaurs, I held unto her. I was starting to feel relaxed in the gap in time. Instead of falling, it now felt like I was floating in cool water.

But my relaxation deflated like someone had taken a fork and stabbed it. We fell out of the portal. Not my most graceful landing, I'll tell you that.

"You could have warned me, idiot!" I pointedly said to the wench, who by the way had landed on top of me.

That unbelievable little girl just shrugged. I got up and looked around. We were in a yard. It was actually pretty nice. It had a few trees and the grass was green. The house was a medium sized Japanese home. Not to shabby. Ok, ok. Not shabby at all.

"So where are we?" I asked.

Kagome scratched her ear. "This is my old home." She sounded nervous. Well we were here and there was no turning back.

"We going in?"

She nodded and walked to the front door. I was about to use the push the sliding door, but Kagome just walked through the wall. Much more convenient. I did the same. The inside was nice. It was decorated with soft colors like faded lavender, sea foam blue, pale rose and what not. There was a little girl sitting on the floor playing with a wolf demon.

I whispered to Kagome, "What if they see us?"

Kagome said, a little too loudly for my taste. "They can't see or hear us. If they could then we might accidentally change the past."

I walked up to the two kids. The human girl had shoulder length black hair and blue gray eyes. The two kids were playing some dumb kid game. It might have been go fish.

I asked over my shoulder. "Who's the kid?"

Kagome chuckled. "Can't you tell? That's me."

My eyebrows raised in surprise. I looked more closely at the girl. It was Kagome. Her cheeks were fatter and hair was shorter but it was her alright. I jerked back when someone else entered the room. Ok, two people came in the room. Kagome came and stood next to me. The two people were arguing. Kagome took a step forward like she was going to go to the woman and man.

"Mom…dad…" My excellent ears heard the soft whisper.

So those were her parents. The mother had the same regal look as my mother did. But she was a bit shorter. Even though she was arguing with the dad. (I'm going to call him Dad. I don't have a name so bear with me. The mom will be Kotori since that's her name.)

Kotori had a kind mouth and gentle face. It was her eyes that were flashing dangerously.

Dad on the other hand looked like he was ready to tear apart the house. He had black hair and eyes so sharp they could've cut my skin. And damn he looked mad. As they got closer, young Kagome and her friend scurried back and pressed themselves against the wall.

"Kotori, are you mad! How dare you let a demon in my house!"

Kotori threw up her hands in frustration. "Why must you see that child as a demon. She is just the same as our Kagome! A child. She is Kagome's friend that wanted come and play! I think it's you that's mad!"

Dad turned on the demon child. Advancing toward her, he picked up a wooden lamp and shook it at her. Suddenly, the young Kagome jumped up and in front of her friend defiantly.

"Daddy stop it! Don't hurt Lena!"

I looked over at Kagome. Her face was so blank that she looked like she was asleep with her eyes open. "What the hell! Let's stop that bastard!"

Kagome's eyes flicked toward me. "We can't."

I growled, furiously. I went to hit that lamp out of his hand but I fell right through him. Why the hell did that happen?

~~Kagome POV~~

No. No. I wasn't here again. I wasn't here, watching my family crumple and fall apart. Everyday I awoke and went to sleep with the image of my family together. Hoping that all of it was just a bad dream.

I forgot that Inuyasha was there. I wanted to forget everything else too. The perfect child always smiles. If you smile than the rest of the world will think that you are happy. And they won't know how torn up you are inside. That's how I had lived for so long. But being here changed everything. Everything.

Inuyasha rushed at my father, trying to stop him from doing…doing what he had already done. I saw him fall through my father's figure. I told him that there was nothing we could do. We were ghosts here. Ghosts of the future.

Inuyasha rushed at dad again, trying to stop him. But he couldn't do anything. "Kagome, what's going on?"

I shook my head. "We can't change what's already happened."

Kotori, my mother, rush between my now furious father and me. Her ebony hair that flowed with the elegance I couldn't achieve even with hours of brushing. Her gentle and kind brown eyes. She grabbed the lamp and threw her body weight against my father, causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

Without knowing that I had moved, I found myself reaching out to my mom, trying to keep up. Trying to stop her from falling. It was almost like she saw me. Her eyes met mine. But they were really looking through me. Her hand reached out as if she was trying to grab my hand. My fingers closed around what should have been her wrist. But all I caught was thin air.

I fell on top of my parents. No…I fell through them. I felt them moving and struggling around me. My dad's fist moved right through me and hit my mom. I sat there on the floor. For a by-stander it would be like watching two people fight inside a transparent ghost.

It was so strange. Then I was suddenly desperate. I flared my arms trying to grab my mom and dad. I tried to hug one then tried to touch another. A choking sound came from my throat. They were right there in front of me, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even hold my mother's hand. I was nothing.

Then, suddenly, Inuyasha was there. He pulled me out of the chaos and held me close to him as I sobbed my mother's name. As I cried and screeched for my father to stop. He held unto me and wouldn't let me go. "Kagome, stop it!"

My eyes fell on my younger self. She-no I- was just sitting there with that scared, horrified look on my face. I saw myself get Lena out the door to safety. As I watched myself hide in the corner as my dad hit my mom, guilt, anger, frustration, untamable sadness and fear rose up in my throat. It felt like boiling water bubbling inside of me.

Inuyasha held me back as I fought like a cat to get free. I strained my arms and legs. Then I screamed, "Kagome get up! Don't just sit there! Get up and help mom!! PLEASE get up! God!"

Rivers of tears dampened my face, neck and hair as continuously begged that stupid child to do something. "No, get up! Why aren't you doing anything! Why? Why? WHY?!" I felt so numb. The strength drained out of me and I went limp in Inuyasha arms. "Don't let her die. Don't do it."

Suddenly the memory disappeared and Inuyasha and I sat under a tree. Inuyasha was quiet when I looked up at him. But his eyes and face were twisted in sadness. The tears that I had hidden under my smile exploded from my breaking heart. I latched myself to Inuyasha and buried my face in his chest. My whole body felt like it was being torn apart as I sat there and sobbed. "Oh…it hurts so much!"

I don't know how long it took for the tears to fade into a few hiccups and when it stopped, I fell asleep.

~~Third person POV~

Inuyasha sat there with Kagome asleep in his lap. He raised his hand and brushed off a few tears. She was crying even in her sleep.

`I'm such an idiot. Making her take me to that place.' He thought.

What he had just seen was something that he had never expected. The cries from Kagome. Those horrible screams and pleas that Kagome had screeched had scratched at his heart. The worst part was that he hadn't been able to do anything.

Inuyasha leaned his head against the tree and audibly swallowed. `This girl's been through the same hell as I've been through. The same pointless war between demon and human was going on in her life too.'

This miko knew what it felt like.

~flashback~

"No!! Mommy!" Two tall men with rods held the seven-year-old Inuyasha as more men dragged his mother away.

Lady Shinju struggled and lashed at the men's faces with her nails, but in without effect. She was going farther and farther away.

The desperation in her eyes was so strong that it could have pushed you to the ground. "Inuyasha!!! No, let me go! That's my son!"

But then she was gone. The door slammed shut and Inuyasha banged at it. He sat there on the cold floor scratching at the metal until there were crevasses from his claws. The child's hand fell to the floor and he sat there in that room all alone. The light went out and Inuyasha crawled back to the middle of the room and lied down. Tucking his knees to his small chest, Inuyasha cried. He cried for his mother.

But his tears wouldn't do anything. In that dark, cold room, a little seven-year-old boy cried himself to sleep without a soul that cared.

~~end flashback~~

By the time that the memory faded away, both hanyou and miko were asleep, haunted by endless dreams.

~~~*~~~

Kagome sighed and slowly opened her eyes. It was dark, almost night. Blinking, she stood up and looked down at Inuyasha. He would be alright. She needed to take a walk.

She walked along the houses without wondering where she was going. Then she realized that they weren't back in the Hope yet. This was another memory.

Kagome's continued walking. There were families out for dinner. Where Kagome had lived as a child had been a Hope that had never been completed. Both demons and humans lived together. But there were some here that didn't like each other. So there was quite a bit of segregation.

Kagome sat down near a sushi bar and thought about her mother's death. It had been a normal day. Her father had gone to work and she and her mother. They had been sitting on the couch tickling each other while watching television when a huge bear demoness knocked down not the door but the wall. She had torn up living room screaming a name that we didn't know. Then she attacked Kagome's mother.

(Kagome POV)

That demoness transformed into her bear form and attacked mom. I didn't know what to do.

~flashback~

The huge brown paw rammed into Kotori's stomach and pinned her against the wall. The little girl screamed, but before she could do anything, the jaws of the bear clamped down on her mother and carried her away.

~end~ (wow…that was one short flashback.)

That was when I ran into the woods looking for my mom. Kaede-san found me after I'd been wandering in the woods for a few weeks.

(3rd person POV)

Kagome got up and dusted herself off. Suddenly she saw her father walking down the street and froze. She stepped back into the shadow trying to hide herself, then she remembered that he couldn't see her.

Kagome walked next to her father. It felt so strange, walking beside him without him even knowing. She looked up at his eyes as cringed. The eyes that had once been kind and warm were now cold as ice. Dad took a turn and stood behind an empty building, Kagome with him.

There was a rustling noise from the bush and a man walked toward Kagome and Dad. He had long black hair pulled back and the same sharp gray-blue eyes as her father. The man (I'm going to call him Man. I'm too lazy to give names. ^_-) walked up to Dad and gave him a sneer.

"Long time no see." The voice didn't have a trace of a trace of warmth in it.

Kagome looked at the two men. What was going on?

Dad sighed. "What do you want?"

Man put a hand in his pocket and narrowed his eyes at him. "I found out something about your wife."

Dad was suddenly interested. "What is it? Tell me or I'll…"

Man scoffed and the "threat." "It seems that your wife -my sister-in-law- is a member if that ridiculous demon rights group called Justice."

Kagome gasped. No. Her father wasn't supposed to know this. And this man was her uncle? How come she hadn't known him?"

Dad roared with rage. "What did you say?!! That disgusting little club that's fighting to get rid of HEPs? My wife is a member! How dare she!!!"

Kagome shrank back. This wasn't supposed to happen. Her father had known that her mom was a part of Justice?

Man grinned nastily. "Yes. But I have a plan to get rid of her."

Dad's head snapped up. Surprised he repeated, "Get rid of her? What do you mean?"

Man's grin grew bigger. "I mean kill her."

A cry escaped Kagome mouth. How could this be? Her own father had been the one to set up Kotori's death? It felt like a hand was trying to crush Kagome heart. Finding it hard to breath, Kagome stumbled backwards, only to be caught by someone.

A someone named Inuyasha. Kagome didn't explain. She needed to hear the rest of this.

Dad tapped his lip then grinned too. "What's your plan, brother?"

"My genius mind has thought of a way to kill Kotori and smash her ideas about demons. You see, I've captured a demon bear cub. I just happened to be there to assist the mother."

He broke off to see Dad's reaction. He nodded eagerly and said, "Go on, go on."

"I told the demoness that a woman named Kotori Higurashi had taken the cub. Of course this demoness was outraged to find that the woman all demons trusted would do such a thing. I should think that that dirty bear is attacking your home right now." Man gave a spine-chilling laugh. "Kotori will die at the jaws of a demon. She'll die with the thought that demons are really horrible monsters on her mind. It's the perfect way to make her suffer!"

Kagome took a step back as the two men began laughing and congratulating themselves on their victory over Kotori. Her father had been the one to kill her mother. Her own blood and flesh had done this to her. Her wonderful mother was gone. All because of this man.

Kagome turned and ran away from the scene and Inuyasha followed. Blinded by tears, Kagome rushed through streets and collapsed in the forest. She heard Inuyasha stop behind her. "Kagome…I'm sorry."

Lay on the forest floor to tired to sob. She simply lied there and let the tears flow. Inuyasha sat down and pulled Kagome in an embrace. He sat there and let her cry on his shoulder as he himself tried to subdue his anger.

Kagome leaned back and looked Inuyasha in the eye. "Now we both know how my mother really died."

Inuyasha saw the fire in her eyes and the anger in her voice. "Let's go home, Kagome."

Kagome nodded. She didn't want to be here any longer. As they fell through the black tunnel, she thought, `Dad, I never ever thought you would go that far. But now it's my turn. I'm going to find you one day and take revenge for what you did to me and mom. For what you've done, you'll pay."

Ok…I told you I'd try to get a longer chapter in. It's not that long but it's the longest so far. I hope you enjoyed it. This is the saddest chapter I've written in the story so far. And if you think that I'm revealing too much too early, don't worry, I know what I'm doing.

Please, please review. Tell me if my attempt to make a sad chapter was a failure. Please.