InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Simple and Clean ❯ Logical Insanity ( Chapter 28 )

Okay, I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I did warn you… I went to Japan and so I couldn't update ^_^ yay Japan! I did start up school again as well, so I'm a little swamped at the moment…eeef. Also, I got a really depressing response from my one-shot story… hardly anyone even took the time to take a look. - sob - Was it really that BAD??? And on a stranger note, you may notice that I do not have review responses in this chapter. This is because now authors are not allowed to leave responses to their readers (on fanfiction .net) I know, it sucks, but thank you all anyways for the awesome reviews!

 

Recap:

Sango heard the sound of soft, reassuring footsteps behind her, the other persons breathing rhythmically in tune to her own. Miroku settled down beside her and silently intertwined his hand in hers, squeezing gently. A soft, wistful tear ran down her cheek to the grass under her head as a small trail of light whisked through the stars. As the two lips touched, she wished for a place called home.

 

Chapter 28

Logical Insanity

 

Dedicated to

GreenDayLover and xdazedconfusionx (thanks for the adds!) and Kittencutie, Kotori Susayski, randomperson-chan, Randomnobody, Brandishot, AkeryouSesshoumarusMate who reviewed this chapter and/or my one-shot!

 

 

-I-

It wouldn't have been as bad as it had turned out to be climbing up that mountain except for the fact that it was windy. The cold was uncomfortable, and the thinning air made everyone a bit dizzy, but it was to be expected. What they weren't expecting was to have to literally crawl on their hands and knees in certain parts of the trail just to keep from being buffeted right off the darn mountain by the clinging, pulling claws of the relentless wind. Kouga, whose costume, though short, seemed to provide him with the warmth of the wolf-skins, was the least bothered by the cold. He informed them about the dangers of hypothermia, and of sudden changes of altitude. Mostly he talked just to keep himself and the others awake, alert, and attentive so no one was left behind, legs half frozen in the rugged mountain terrain. Inuyasha muttered about sudden changes of attitude as he shivered uncomfortably.

Everyone else seemed to manage well enough, but Kouga wasn't the only one worried about hypothermia. Sango, who was wearing the two layers of her costume, kept glancing over at Kagome, noticing that her lips had begun to change into a chilly shade of purple-blue. Her school uniform wasn't exactly the best thing to be wearing in the cold weather.

As night fell on the second day, the party, now exhausted, bedded down. Miroku scouted out a place that would keep them warm and safe from snow drifts. He was the only one with satisfactory

(after Inuyasha had argued that he had slept in a tent before and Sesshomaru had added that it had been in the back yard and that he had made him sit with him the whole night because he was afraid of bears) experience in the art of survival because many of his childhood years were spent in the company of other poor children forced, like himself, to participate in the strange rituals of Boy Scouts.

As the shadows deepened and bled into each other, the sounds of the forest became muffled by the darkness and the snow, which by that time had become visibly thicker. The few trees and shrubs that were growing provided only little protection for the travelers, and it looked as though many of them were fighting their own battles to survive in the frigid climate, their branches gnarled and bare, reaching for the warmth of the disappearing sunlight.

Kagome, though nestled into her bedroll, began to shiver, and when she finally found sleep, it was fitful and light. She dreamt of a strange castle in the hazy miasma that seemed to stay far away no matter how far she walked. After waking suddenly, and recovering herself against the cold, she dreamt again, the second just as strange as the first. She dreamt of a young girl of about her age, her chocolate brown hair curving down to the small of her back. Her almond eyes holding the broken innocence of the remnants of childhood; she seemed so familiar, as though Kagome had met her somewhere before. The girl held out a hand to her, and she to the girl, only to pull back in surprise as the figure began to dissolve into flakes of pure white snow at the fingertips, blown away into the night.

When Kagome woke, she did not remember her dreams. Perhaps she had been not meant to remember them, or maybe it was the blinding brilliance of the early morning sun glistening off of the crystalline expanse of snow that wiped her memory of the night's messages. Sitting up, Kagome felt something fall from her shoulders; she turned in her bedroll to find a red overcoat lying behind her in the snow like a large puddle of blood, contrasting strangely with the purity of the snowy ground. Picking it up, Kagome realized that it was Inuyasha's haori. She smiled slightly, remembering the ice skating trip and how Inuyasha had hated the cold. A dull pain squeezed her heart as she realized how long ago that had seemed.

-II-

 

You must choose between what you have come to believe, and the truth. As they walked on, Kikyo glanced up to that foreboding fortress high above her in the grey sky, perched precariously on the mountain like a man in a hat that was too small for his head. She wondered what awaited them in that castle, and if it was really this Naraku who would indeed have all the answers they had been seeking. She thought this and Midoriko's words echoed in her head, a distant reminder of her own mission. The far away plea for some closure to her jumbled mess of memories and emotions lying settled as the snow at the bottom of a snow globe before it is turned upside-down and into chaos.

What did it all mean? Midoriko's prophesy, Naraku, the stolen soul, the kidnapped Rin … what could they all have in common? She tried to lay it out in her head like a jigsaw puzzle, thinking logically like she had been taught in law school. But logic relied on facts, and if the truth was not what she had come to believe than how could she rely even on the facts that she already had? She felt her jigsaw puzzle beginning to fall apart. She was back to square one-or rather piece one. One thing was for sure, there was definitely a logical reason to how they got sucked from the modern world and their own inner problems into the past and into this mess. There had to be.

Then a thought occurred to Kikyo. What if the very reason that they had been transported back to Sengoku Jidai, a time when myths and legends were as common as the nightly news, was to solve their problems without the logic of the modern world? Kikyo sighed, her head throbbing with the altitude. She really had to stop thinking so deep into these things.

-III-

Miroku was the first to see the curl of white tendrils over the snowy rocks. Shivering and tired, the traveler trudged toward the smoke to what they hoped was a safe encampment and explorers like themselves. They were all quite looking forward to speaking to someone else who might have information about the mysterious castle atop the mountain. As they drew nearer though, they realized that it was not a group of people, but rather a hot spring-a blessing in disguise-that had made the “smoke”, which turned out to be steam. The weary trekkers thanked whatever they could (Inuyasha, not being the religious type thanked the monkey that was sitting atop one of the warm rocks. The monkey proceeded to screech and throw snow at him.) for their good fortune.

The hot spring trickled conveniently into a speckling of different small pools, and so the women took one pool and the men took another, as far away as humanely possible after Sango scolded them in advance if they decided to peak. Sesshomaru, not being the public-bathing type went off in search of a secluded pool for himself.

“Watch for rabid monkeys Fluffy, they may come to take back their kin!” Inuyasha shouted in the direction of Sesshomaru's pool, hoping one of the little buggers to a rock to his head. Sesshomaru decided not to mention that if he was kin to the monkeys, most likely Inuyasha was too.

Sango rested her head against a steam-warmed rock and inhaled what seemed like healing fumes dancing on the surface of the soothing water. She felt as if she were melting into a warm darkness that wrapped tendrils of calm around her like a blanket. “Ah, this…sure is…nice…” She slurred as she sunk deeper into the spring. The next thing she knew, Kagome's blurry face swam into view. “Sango! Sango, thank God you're awake.” She said frantically, “Quick… What's you're name?”

“Sango…”

“Where do you live?”

“Uhn… Kagome, I'm fi-”

“What grade are you getting in math?”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, couldn't help myself.”

-IV-

After her fainting experience, Sango decided it might be a good idea to just get some rest. She was tired, and after all, there was always the next morning to enjoy the benefits of the hot spring. She was just a little light headed tonight; nothing a little good old fashioned shut-eye couldn't cure. As she slipped into her clothes, she heard the crunch of snow behind her. Quietly, so as not to alert the attacker, if any, that she was there, she reached down to grab her worn boot. Swinging it silently, the whistling wind covering the swish of the boot, she lodged it in the direction of the noise. A THUD and a “What the-?” ensued and she knew she had hit her target.

Leaning over the familiar figure she said, “I hope you have a big bruise tomorrow. You deserve it for sneaking around while I was dressing, you hentai.” She said frankly, hauling a whimpering Miroku to his feet. He was still rubbing his head as they walked. Where they were walking, wasn't clear, but it just felt natural, so they did it.

“Miroku?” Sango asked, her voice was serious, losing all of the sarcasm and laughter it had held just minutes before. Miroku raised his eyebrow in response. “When will we go home to Tokyo? I…” Her voice faltered, “I can't stand being here for much longer. I miss home too much.” Tears threatened to fall from her eyes and her vision blurred but there was no claming blanket to wrap around her this time.

“You know we can't be the way we are now,” Miroku said, his voice just as grave as her own, his eyes lowered to the snow, blue with the night, “I can't… you know that don't you?” He didn't expect an answer, and he knew that she understood, but he also felt that burning desire for the home that seemed so far away. It had been much too long. He raised his eyes to look at her again, feeling like a stake had been shoved through his heart as he looked at her forlorn face. “I love you,” He said, and the stake went deeper, “I always will, no matter what.” His eyes were the pleading ones now.

“Will you wait for me?” Sango asked, her usually supported voice falling away at the edges like a child. Miroku hugged her tightly, burying his face into her soft hair, “Forever.”

-V-

The scene that enfolded on the vast blue-white expanse, the two forms embraced as one on the field of pureness and frigid cold, would have been something quite mind boggling. As the man and the woman held each other close, as if holding on to each other was the only way they knew how to live, they began to glow. Not the light that the snow reflected, cold and heartless, but a warm light that came from within their bodies, turning the snow and the sky and the moon to black and white. Then, as sudden as the light had appeared, it was gone, and with it the two lovers.

From her perch on a rock, stroking the head of a docile monkey, Midoriko smiled. “You have fulfilled your prophecy… but will the rest share your fate?”

-Chapter End Notes-

Yay! See, wasn't that a happy chapter? How much you wanna bet Midoriko's monkey was the one who threw a hissy fit at Inuyasha? Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought! Arigato gozaimasu!