InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Middle Road ❯ Interim ( Chapter 20 )

Do not own Inuyasha.

Interim

The time drifted slowly by. Like sand in an hourglass, each moment, each granule dropped irksomely into the bottom bell of already wasted moments into the sea of dull tedium. The ruddy flickers of dim firelight danced effortlessly along the soil ground. Two soft, brown, concerned eyes stared blankly into the flames. Her ebony hair tumbled dishveledly down her back, along her shoulder, and hung irreverantly in front of her unregistering eyes.

A soft groan in the distance.

Wolves howled, their surreally haunting shrieks echoed around her, their melancholy sorrow pouring unceasingly into the cool, stale desert wind. Sango took a long, fleeting glance out over the liquid moonscape as it shimmered with raindrops of moonlight. She heard him stir.

Her companion, or more accurately her patient, contorted with pants of exhausting convalescence. He grunted in pain as an evasive shot of agony went down his spine. He was losing feeling in his legs, his arms responded sluggishly to his orders, his breathing became coarse and ragged.

She looked pitifully over at him, her heart filling with sadness, pity, anger. Sadness for being on the brink of losing her only love, the only one she had ever loved in that certain way, the only one who requited her feelings. Pity at seeing his distressed state, unabled to help, or even ease his pain. Anger for myriad reasons she could not pinpoint. Was she mad at God? Was she mad at herself? Was she mad at him? Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing seemed real.

She doubled over on herself, another watercourse of never-ending tears streaming off her face.

*** ***

"Inuyasha, we're there- here!" Kagome yelled into Inuyasha's large feline-like ears as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Sweat dripped from his forehead. Inuyasha was tired, that was the root of it. After a fitful night of insomnia, Inuyasha was rapidly losing energy. The wound in his stomach had opened again, though he did not tell Kagome. It was not healing as well as he thought it should. He carried her with undying endurance. He would walk through the nine hells and back if her caprice warrented it, such was his devotion. She jumped down.

"Come on, Inuyasha." She said softly, quite aware of the fact that his would was bleeding again. "The well's right over there." She paused abruptly. Could she even go back through the well? Without the jewel, was it possible to go back? She shook her head. No time to think about that. She led the incoherent Inuyasha to the well, and guided him as they jumped in. Before she went down, she looked briefly up at the midnight sky. A tiny sliver of silver shone in the inky heavens above.

"Tomorrow," She said, and lept down.

*** ***

"Come on in, you fool." The old witch muttered angrily to the empty doorway. The curtain slid aside, and in stepped the nefarious Inuyasha doppleganger. His red haori was soiled and in tatters. His left arm and part of his shoulder area was missing. Small, unstopping insects crawled in and out of the wound, repairing the damaged parts. He glared at her.

"You," He said, a malicious, red glow in his eyes. "you said they couldn't kill me." She smirked at him. "So I did." She said. "Obviously I was wrong." She almost smiled. "Didn't know that the dream world was as real as the physical, did you?" She turned calmly back to her meditation, adding: "Be warned 'friend', you should never trust anyone. faith will be your downfall. Faith in God, faith in others, faith in yourself..." He growled and stomped out.

*** ***

"It's all right, love." Sango said gently, stroking Miroku's hair. "It won't hurt for much longer." Her voice caught in her throat. She kissed his forehead, and leaned her head poignantly against his convulsing chest, waiting for it to come. She closed her eyes slowly, red from crying. His chest rose and fell shakily as the life seeped slowly out of him, drifting like an evanescent cloud above him, looking down at his reposing form. His breaths came deep and slow, his heart beating distantly like a clock wrapped in cloth. Breaths came faintly, fading into shallow rasps.

His chest heaved in convulsion, then exhaled a sharp sigh. He was gone. The clock stopped ticking. The life was gone from him. Two glistening, beading drops of salty water traveled unhurriedly from her puffy red eyes, down her fair cheek.

A chorus of haunting, melancholic sobs rang out through the dry, desert air. They were not the wolves.

*** ***

"Inuyasha, wake up." A voice murmured into his ear. He moaned quietly. "Inuyasha!" She shook him. Inuyasha sat up suddenly, wincing in pain as the gash across his stomach tingled with a sharp discomfort. He looked, heavy-lidded, around him, squinting at the early morning sunlight. He was in Kagome's room. He sniffled slightly and cleared his throat, as was his custom to do when he first awoke. He looked at her.

"How long've I been out?" She sat on the bed next to him.

"A few hours." She held a hand to the bandage across her own midsection, through her thin, pajama shirt.

"Wh-?" He started, then sighed. "Why am I here?" She looked confused.

"Because of your wound. Besides, tonight is the new moon. You'll- we'll be safer here until tomorrow." He nodded and took a deep breath, leting out in a gentle sigh. Kagome looked sidelong at him.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" He looked surprised.

"N-nothing is wrong. Why would you think there is?" She sighed herself, in resignation, and stood up with a yawn in her mouth. Inuyasha could not help but yawn, as they are quite contagious, and stood himself, albeit more slowly, and stretched and gaped like his namesake. Kagome almost giggled when his leg kicked slightly.

"Kagome, dear, it's time for breakfast. Oh, and don't forget to wake Inuyasha up!" Kagome's mom called from the stove in the kitchen.

"Alright, mama!" Kagome called back. She turned to Inuyasha.

"Well,' She said. "it's time to eat." Before she finished her sentence, Inuyasha was at the kitchen table, waiting.

Kagome came downstairs to the din of early morning. Souta was readying himself for school. Grandpa was mumbling something unintelligable over his plate, and Mrs. Higurashi was putting a second helping onto Inuyasha's plate.

"Ah!" Mrs. Higurashi ejaculated cheerfully at the sight of her daughter. "Kagome, have something to eat." She looked at Inuyasha. "From the way he's eating, I suppose you two haven't eaten in a while?"

"So!" Kagome brightened. "What's for breakfast?" Mrs. Higurashi eyed her daughter up and down, and, with a somewhat reluctant vehemence, she reeled off the contents of the day's breakfast.

"Well," She said. "we've got...."