InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections ❯ Temperament ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha is property of Rumiko Takahashi and her respective publishing companies. Credit for the characters and the original story belongs to her.

Summary: Kikyou dies and the remainder of her soul returns to Kagome. However, it seems as though part of her consciousness has gone with it. Kagome must now deal with new feelings as she now shares many of Kikyou's memories. How will it change her relationship with Inu Yasha? How will it change the way she sees all of her friends? And how will it effect the final battle with Naraku? Kagome learns how much of a person is defined by their life experiences and how much is just who she was meant to be.

[Inu/Kag pairing]

[rated R for language, mild violence, and sexual content in later chapters (rating may increase)]

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001//Temperament

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Wind coursed through the forest, whipping around the trees at great speed. Leaves flew from the branches and crashed to the ground. Along the edge of small stream, a young woman stumbled in the madness. The harsh wind assaulted her small frame and her long black hair blew wildly to her side. Her feet struggled to hold maintain her balance as the remainder of her strength left her. Her thin wooden sandals smacked against the mud while the hem of her red hakama gathered patches of dirt and mud along its edges. As she tried to increase her speed, the world started spinning and she lost her footing.

The ground met her body while her chest heaved, her mouth falling open, gasping for breath. Her gray eyes darted upwards and she prayed to the gray sky peaking at her between the treetops. No one was coming to save her and her heart tore. The silvery sky was quickly growing dark with the setting sun as she looked at it through the frame of silhouetted branches and leaves. The world was suddenly seemed much larger than it had ever appeared before.

Water threatened to cascade from the corners of her eyes, but she bit her quivering lip to ward off the galling tears. The world was spinning around her and she felt incredibly lost. She had been so strong for so long and she was afraid to loosen her grip after having come so far. All her sorrow and grief took control as the world became dark around her.

She felt the presence of her Shiki-Gami nearby but they could not reach her. She cursed under breath while she dug her fingers into the loose mud. Frustration surged through her veins and she felt a surge of strength. She pushed herself off the ground and tried to focus her energy enough to stand. Her arms locked up and she felt herself weakening again.

She could not believe a mere priest had reduced her to such a state. She had met him in a nearby village and he had noticed her condition. Shortly after her arriving he took it upon himself to bring her to rest. She had been amused at first, thinking the simple priest could do nothing. However, he proved to be stronger than she.

After all she had accomplished she had fallen victim to someone just like herself. She wanted to be angry with the man but she could no longer justify her anger. He had done nothing she would not condone herself. The apologetic look he had given her still remained engrained in her mind. His honest and sorrow-filled eyes had reminded her so much of her own.

She looked ahead of her into the forest and her vision blurred. Tears fell freely from her eyes and landed on her hands that were half buried in the mud. It was the first time she had cried since she had been alive. The tears burned on her colorless cheeks, but they also felt somehow refreshing. It was as though each drop was cleansing her soul. Every mistake she had made was slowly fading away.

She almost laughed to herself as she thought about it. She had lived her life thinking she could make no mistakes at all. How wrong she had been. Even after death she still made mistakes. She was, after all, merely human… and humans, she realized, inevitably die. In the end, life was just a fleeting moment. Her time had passed long before however untimely it may have been.

She tried to choke back her sobs, but it could not be helped. She laid in the mud, and dampened her hakui would tears on one side and mud on the other. She watched the pure white fabric become stained with the peaceful components of nature. Earth… water. She followed the red stitching of her sleeves as the end lay submerged in the stream next to her. She watched the red color reflect against the surface of the water and it danced in her cold eyes.

She felt a little empty for dying without any blood. But she had no blood to bleed. Her body was dry and false. Her mere existence had been a mistake. Though she wished she could exist in a true reality she knew it was never possible. When it was all over, her body would disintegrate and no one would even know she had been there.

Her cries increased only to be lost into the wind. She had survived attacks from Naraku, but a priest had killed her in the end. The stark reality threatened to anger her, but she remembered that she was the same way. She had once believed that she was the most powerful but she had been proven wrong. She could not even figure out what exactly he had done to her that made her unable to absorb souls.

Was her resurrection truly just a mistake by Urasue? Or was she resurrected just so she could realize that she was not as powerful as she once believed? And if that was so, had her arrogance been her true mistake?

No. She did have a purpose. She may not have defeated Naraku, but she knew the truth. Part of her urged her on but she realized her will was fading. She laid her head on her arms and watched the cool stream drift slowly by her while the wind wrecked the forest around her. A small smile played at her lips as she began to accept her death. After all, she was already dead.

Her breath came in short, ragged, intakes. She knew Naraku had to be defeated, but her fate was cast. Her desire to destroy the evil that had haunted her for so long was trying to move her body but it was weakening. She knew her soul was trying to escape. It had been trapped in her clay body for much too long. Her will was no longer strong enough to hold it in.

She thought of Inu Yasha. All of the promises that were broken between them would remain so. However, she had always known they could never be together as they were. She wanted him to follow her into death but she also wanted his happiness. This incongruity in her heart had tortured her for such a long time but she finally understood things she previously had not.

She had blamed him at first, but now she knew the truth. As much as she had tried to hate him, she knew her love was even greater. It made it easier for her to let go.

She thought of Kagome. She was jealous of Kagome in more ways than one. She could see, of course, how happy Kagome made Inu Yasha. She thanked and hated Kagome for it at the same time. Her own conflicting emotions made her mad enough to follow Inu Yasha, but truthful enough to leave him just out of her reach. Her time with Inu Yasha had ended the moment she sealed both of their fates in the Shikon no Tama. Had she thought about it, she may have realized the mistake she made when she allowed her feelings to take over. Emotions were so impossible to control.

Kagome had a strength that was unequivocal. Kagome would not have made the mistake of letting her emotions rule her actions. Kagome was the single most unselfish person that had ever lived. Inu Yasha… he was lucky to have her.

The smile on her face widened slightly, though it still lay delicately across her pale features. Knowing that the jewel would be safe in Kagome's hands, Kikyou let go of the last part of her soul.

A warm glow lifted from the ground and carried itself away on the violent wind.

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The moon hung itself elegantly in the sky as the sun concealed itself behind the distant hills. Four of five travelers were already asleep beneath the black sky ornamented with stars. The young Taiji-Ya lie on her side facing the dying fire while her small fire cat snuggled in the crook of her neck. Behind her, the Hoshi lay as well while he dreamed of eradicating the space between him and the Taiji-Ya while they slept. Perhaps the space between them and the schoolgirl could be done with as well. His dreams set a warm smile on his face while he continued to sleep peacefully.

Across the fire, however, the schoolgirl twisted and turned in an uncomfortable dream. Kagome rolled over and a fine layer of sweat on her ivory skin gleamed in the moonlight. The only one left awake watched her tossing form from above her on a tall tree branch. He stared at her with, more often than not, concealed concern. His white ears twitched on his head as he tried to listen to her breathing patterns. He could hear her murmuring quietly with his heightened sense of hearing but her words were indistinguishable.

Worry was etched across his face as he studied her carefully. He considered waking her up, but decided she would only be angry if she woke to see him standing above her. Just when he decided to ignore her troubled sleep, a sudden surge of light pulled him from his thoughts. He watched in slight horror as the light engulfed Kagome and set the entire clearing in a bright glow. He jumped down and landed abruptly at her side.

Inu Yasha's heart raced as he saw the look of pain contorting her features. She was trying to open her eyes but did not have any luck. She reached out a hand for Inu Yasha but he froze before she reached him. A terrible dread struck him through his heart. Suddenly he knew what the light was and he turned and ran from Kagome in the direction the light had come from.

Kagome managed to open her eyes moments later as the light faded away. She sat up abruptly and sat in her blanket, shaking. She looked up to the tree that Inu Yasha had been sitting in to find him absent. She bit her quivering lip to keep her fears from consuming her. She surveyed the rest of the camp to find the others sleeping soundly. The small kitsune was curled up next to the campfire, obviously unaware of his surrogate mother's distress.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself and whispered Inu Yasha's name. Her voice faded into the darkness with no reply. Her heart raced as she recognized the feeling coursing through her veins. Her soul had returned to her. Kikyou was… gone.

She closed her eyes and absently put one of her hands on her right shoulder. Her features cringed slightly and she thought about the strange dream she had before she had woken up. She had seen flashes of children playing, a old woman gathering flowers, and a doorway. She furrowed her brows. What was the deal with a doorway? It did stick out in her mind, however. It was a doorway she could never remember seeing before.

It was secured with a mat, like the huts in the Sengoku Jidai, but there had been engravings all around it. Her memory was not clear enough to decipher the engravings, but she could see the doorway from the inside. Daylight was streaming in from the sides of the mat, but the room remained fairly dark.

She shook her head. It was just a stupid dream. She was unsure as to why she was getting so worked up about it. She looked into the distance and pulled her hands to her chest. She felt chilled even though it was not a particularly cold night. She once again glanced at Inu Yasha's empty tree branch. She hoped he would be okay. Sighing, she tried her best to fall back asleep.

However, her sleep was once again one filled with distressful nightmares. She woke up during the night, panting while tears streamed down her face. She looked up to the tree above her but Inu Yasha had still not returned. The silence of the night was almost deafening. She considered waking up Sango, but decided against it.

She had been having a dream that she was running. She had been running through the woods while being very dizzy. She had fallen suddenly and when she fell, one of her hands fell in front of her. She had not been wearing her school uniform, but rather the usual miko garb that Kaede gave to her.

She shook her head, wondering why such a thing had shaken her up so much. She had warn clothes like that on numerous occasions. There was nothing inherently strange about dreaming of it. A cool wind dove through their clearing and Kagome shivered. The rustling leaves gave her an eerie feeling as the dream washed back over her.

She could remember it as though it actually happened. She could feel the wind swirling around her, the cold mud under her fingers, and the taste of her tears upon her lips. She whimpered in the night and wished that Inu Yasha was at her side.

However, she realized that it would be a difficult time for him. She had no doubt in her mind that he was out searching for Kikyou. She absently wondered if he would return before sunrise. He had to understand deep down that he would not find her this time.

Kagome took a deep breath, wondering if she would be able to face him once he returned. By the time he did return, he would probably act as though nothing happened and only Kagome would know the truth. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought. She would never understand exactly what he was going through but she did share much of his pain. When he was upset, her heart hurt as well.

Even now, her heart twisted in her chest as she awaited his return. Even though Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were next to her, she felt alone. A deep and somewhat painful ache in the pit of her stomach was growing and it haunted her. She had a strange feeling and it made her nervous. A tear streamed down her ashen face illuminated by the moonlight, while she prayed for Inu Yasha's return.

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A/N: There you go. Chapter 01. How was it? Good? Bad? Horrendous? Please let me know. The more reviews I get the faster I'll update.