InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Circles of Hell ❯ The Fourth Circle ( Chapter 5 )

The Fourth Circle

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Lost. That was the only word Kagome could think of to describe her status. She'd been walking for a couple of days now, only vaguely aware of the time that was passing her by. Maybe she'd seen the sun set and rise during her journey, but she wasn't sure. She didn't even care. Even though sleep was tugging at her eyes, the deeper parts of her mind begging her to stop for awhile, her body pressed forward, step after step. Heading where? Home, she'd thought, but she seemed very far away from where she needed to be. It was shock, pain, and anger all rolled into one, and Kagome wasn't sure how to react to it. For now, she was closed up on the inside, her body completely independent of her clouded mind.

With the legendary sword still clutched tightly in one hand, Kagome continued on.

***

The rain had let up, slightly. It was just drizzling now, but the weary girl was soaked from the earlier rain fall. Her school uniform was dirty and sticking to her body, her hair was unbrushed and clinging to her neck and face. Her steps were becoming clumsy. For the first time in almost two days, Kagome stopped in her tracks, and suddenly wished she hadn't. She was not so far lost in her thoughts and pain that she couldn't feel the ache in her feet, the sleep making her eyelids heavy, and the soreness of nearly every muscle in her body.

All too easily, the young miko dropped to her knees, head bent over her treasures. She could feel the blood rushing back through her legs and to her feet, making her feel it would be impossible to ever even stand again. For awhile, Kagome just knelt there on the ground, in the middle of a field that she didn't recognize.

I know, she told herself. I know I need to stop and rest like this, but I can't. I want to go home. I have to go home. There's nothing left here for me. I've...I've even been rejected. A tear rolled down her cheek. Stop it, girl! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! The Kouga situation is all my fault. I'm the one who hurt him. He didn't really want to say goodbye to me...I don't think.

Kagome shrugged to herself. The sooner I leave this time, the better. Then, I can go back to being normal.

A loud screech interrupted Kagome's thoughts. With only a moment to look above her, from where the noise had come, Kagome's eyes were met with a sight of a gigantic bird youkai that was tearing through the sky, aiming straight for her, it's claws at the ready. On instict, the girl shielded her head with her arms, but to no avail. Kagome only realized too late that the youkai had sensed the power of the completed Shikon Jewel that she wore around her neck, and now the demon bird was scratching away at her arms, her stomach, and her legs. The girl cried out in pain as she felt her flesh being sliced open, but she made no attempt to move. If she ran, the bird would catch up with her. Maybe she should just let herself die here and now...

A light suddenly burst forth from the sheath of the Tetsusaiga, creating a shield for the wounded girl against the demon. The youkai screeched again, this time the sound piercing Kagome's ears, the stench of the foul breath from the demon acting as acid in her nostrils. The smell made Kagome gag, and she would have tossed up the bile in her stomach had she not realized she had a chance to escape. The Tetsusaiga would still protect her. But it seems stronger now...

Kagome never finished her thought. The youkai gave a final screech of frustration before taking off in the direction Kagome had come from. Not wanting to relive that experience, Kagome pushed herself to get up off the ground and get a move on. Plus she had to go tend to her wounds...

Kagome gaped down at herself. The only things she saw damaged were her shirt and skirt, which were both almost completely shredded. My wounds...they're gone. But... The dumbfounded girl looked at the Tetsusaiga. It had simply warded off that evil spirit. Nothing too spectacular. Then Kagome noticed the jewel that hung around her neck was resonating faintly. The jewel..Now that it's completed, it's making me powerful. Well, not powerful, but it's keeping me alive. It's protecting me...

***

The clouds were as dark as ever, but finally the rain had ceased. Kagome, who was now finally getting over the shock of the events that had occured in the past few days. She was moving on to the next steps of her recovery: Acceptance and Depression. It would be several more steps before she'd be able to behave normally again.

At least now, she'd grasped the concept of stopping to rest, which she did when she came across a peaceful looking river. The river was quietly rumbling over boulders that lay in its path. Settling herself down against one of the trees closer to the water, and hugging her sword close, Kagome allowed herself to fall into a stupor.

Only blackness met her. She did not dream. Not even a single thought passed through her mind while she slept. Her eyes may as well have just been closed. No more happy images of her friends and family. No more dreams with happy endings. No more meaningful moments or joyous scenes playing in her mind like films without sound. No more. The darkness had overcome her, and now she would see only darkness. Deep, haunting darkness that would follow her and cloud around her, even when she wasn't sleeping. Darkness that would never allow her to be truly happy again.

The troubling sleep was broken when a familiar screech tore across the plane of blackness in her mind like a shooting star. Kagome immediately awoke, only to be greeted by the bird youkai that had attacked her earlier. This time, Kagome had no time to shield her head before the persistent demon was clawing away at her again. She knew she felt her face being scratched, her chest torn open. There was no escape this time.

Kagome once again used the sheath of the Tetsusaiga as a shield, but the light bursting from the sheath only temporarily deterred the demon. It backed off a moment, lifting itself high above the trees to make a final swoop for the kill. Without really thinking it through, Kagome unsheathed the sword and held it above her as the youkai came diving down, too fast to stop.

The weight of the demon impaled on the sword brought Kagome down to the ground. Halfway terrified at what she'd accomplished, Kagome pulled the sword out from the demon's body, not bothering to wash off the blood before putting it back in its sheath. I've...become a killer. I'm a total murderer now.

The girl didn't stick around to stare at the dead bird. She waded across the river and took off into the woods on the other side, completely disgusted with herself.