InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Middle Road ❯ Sonne (alt. ending II) ( Chapter 26 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Ejecta2248586 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Romance / Psychological / Mystery / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.26.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Romance / Psychological / Mystery / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.26.2004 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Sorry, y'all, must of caught me in a manic state during that last chapter. Won't happen again.
'Fraid I don't own Inuyasha now, either. *sigh* Whatever...
Anywho, this is the second alternate ending.
Sonne
There was no light at the end of a tunnel, no lost loved ones guiding her into nirvana, no first glimpses of the birth canal had she been reincarnated; there was just...darkness.
"Kagome?!" Shippou cried franticly into the midnight darkness of the cave, obviously very worried about Kagome.
"Sh-Shippou?" Kagome was confused, disoriented, maybe even relieved. Maybe. She felt a furry object pounce on her, hugging her around the neck, crying into her blouse.
"It's all right, Shippou." She said. "I think."
"Why didn't you answer?"
"I..." Kagome squinted into the darkness, hoping to see something."I don't know."
"Is everything all right, Kagome-chan?"
"Sango!" Kagome threw herself in the direction of the voice, hugging the object, dropping the kitsune.
"I'm...flattered, Kagome-sama, but, you know, Sango-sama and myself are engaged." Kagome could imagine his smirk even in the darkness. He finished. "I think it would not be proper."
"Feh." Kagome slapped him on the arm and went to the other voice, hugging Sango affectionately.
"Wh-what happened, you guys?"
"I don't know, Kagome-chan, I just woke up in this cave. I was so relieved that M-- I wasn't dead."
"Hey! What about me?"
"Come here, Shippou." he crawled on top of her head, happy that Kagome was safe. Kagome gasped..
"And what of Inuyasha?" She could feel the pregnant silence hang over them, brooding over what they all knew was true.
"Whatever," She said numbly, feeling the wall of the cave, going in what she hoped was the right direction to leave this cursed place. "Let's just get out of here."
* * * * * *
Inuyasha felt a numb blackness all around him, an almost unfelt coldness. He was not completely lucid as he drifted in and out of conciousness. All he saw around him was darkness, cold and lonely and menacing darkness. But there! a flicker above him, like light shimmering through water. He could feel his senses slowing returning to him. His eyes were open, he could hear, and he felt a slight saltiness on his tongue. As if he had fallen through some netherworldly portal, instantly he felt his body wake up, shocking him into meaningless spasms, clawing and grasping for something to hold onto, for some way out of here. He could not breathe.
The world swirled around him as he floated, his lungs burning with a fire. He calmed himself down. He was only wasting air. He must be rational, logical. Yes, he must think his way out of this. Damn it, thinking was not known as one of his best traits. He looked, in the direction where he thought he had seen the light, and swam toward it. Though, it was so black he didn't know which direction he was really swimming. He didn't care, he had to find air soon or he would die.
* * * * * *
The others fell behind as Kagome felt her way along the walls of the cold wet cave, trying to find light. That's what she needed to see. Light. The Sun. The Darkness surrounded her, withering away at her already fragile mind, as she searched the endless corridors of a sunless labyrinth, needing to find the gentle strokes of warm sunshine across her face. She needed to escape. Frantic now, she ran, ignoring the dreamlike echoes that reverberated after her as her friends yelled her name. Everything else faded away now, only Freedom could take her out of this trance. That or...
But that didn't matter anymore. Inuyasha had gone ahead, he had wanted to change the way things had happened. Inuyasha had actually wanted to make it so they had never met. She loved him, but, if he still intended to fulfill his mission, she would not object. If he did not feel the same way about her after all this, then there was nothing she could do but let him decide.
Kagome sprinted now, at full speed, barely using her fingers to feel the edges of the tunnels around her. She will never stop, no matter what, until she dies or she leaves this damned place. Before she could even form this thought fully, she tripped on a loose rock and went face forward, landing with a splash in the gently-moving current of the underground river.
She let the water run through her hands for a moment, feeling the coolness, letting her mind forget her deep-welled anger and sadness and animosity toward No One, and Every One. Just one small leap, and she would be underwater, floating in a eternal lucid stillness, never waking up from this surreal dream she had lived in over the past days, weeks, or was it months? She had no idea now. Eternity seemed distilled into a moment and a moment diluted into Infinity. Maybe she was still asleep. Maybe she would wake up at any moment and realize that all this hurt, anger, sadness, joy, love, beauty, loathsomeness and pain was all an illusion. That her entire life was simply a dream that would end as she woke up inside, around, and part of Nothingness. Where form was empty and empty was form* and the Big Picture could be seen clearly.
But all she felt as she stood, serenly readying herself to die, by her own hand, no less, was the indescribable silence around her, and the cold and darkness that consumed her world now. Kagome stood on the eroded granite bank of this river, this Acheron, this River of Woe, preparing to let it take her, let Charon ferry her out of the darkness of life into a brilliant and beautiful Al Aaraaf, a virid Eden, a blissful Nirvana. Everything Kagome had felt in so long came out in a single tear, a tiny, crystal seeping of all negativity distilled into a drop of salty water.
Her world was crumbling at her feet, yet, in the darkness, she smiled. It was not a particularly happy smile, but one that showed that she held hope of what would happen next.
So, her arms dangling at her sides, Kagome fell soundlessly into the river, never holding her breath.
* * * * * *
He pulled himself out, gasping for breath. The heavy burden that sat on his back weighed him down as he crawled onto solid ground. Looking far ahead, into the dark, he saw the remnants of daylight reflecting onto a distant cave wall. Life lied ahead in the glorious rays of the sun. Inuyasha grunted as he vigorlessly crept, step buy step, toward the light. Forever lasted those five minutes as he stumbled, then crawled to the cave's entrance. The fight to save that weight on his back has bereft him of any energy he had left.
Miroku and Sango and Shippou and Kirara sat around small entrance of the cave, staring into the small watchfire they had lit. Sango was the first to speak again.
"Shouldn't we go back and look again, Houshi-sama?" Her eyes were full of concern.
Miroku sighed. "I'm afraid that the daylight is waning. Tomorrow, as early as possible we will be able to collect some materials for torches. Until then," He looked away. "we must wait...and pray Kagome's all right."
A voice interrupted their talk.
"She'd be fuckin' dead 'fore you guys ever saved her." Inuyasha gently laid Kagome down, holding her head as giving every bit of Will he had to stay awake. Just a few moments more, he thought. The others stared, astonished, at the battered Inuyasha, unable to form a complete sentence. Until Shippou spoke up.
"Inuyasha!" He cried, running to the side of his surrogate mother, holding her hand. "What happened to Kagome? Is she gonna be all right? What's going on?"
"I don't know, Shippou." Inuyasha spoke with a frighteningly distant and detached voice as he stared at her face. He leaned his face up close to hers, to feel her warm, albeit shallow, breaths. He sighed with relief as he knew she was alive.
The others built a small camp just inside the entrance of the cave, though none dared venture beyond the sanctuary of the fire. Miroku made sure that the fire kept going, Inuyasha was responsible for hunting, and Shippou, with his faithful companion Kirara, went searching for berries on occasion. Sango never left her adopted sister's side.
Four days they waited, all anxiously hoping that their most important mutual friend would recover, fearing what none of them would dare speak. At night, while Sango slept, Inuyasha would sit next to Kagome, just staring at her. He would never say a word, never move, just stare at her, having so many unspeakable emotions to relate to her. But what if she was stilll blind? He could never see the same eyes he pictured in his mind. Those gentle, colorful, emotive eyes that so endeared him to her. Of course, he could see her eyes if she was blind, but never would he see that same reflection of life, that glimmer of joy and hope that made him want to stare into her eyes forever. But now, he eyelids covered them.
She had always held such a strong grasp on her life. Always optimistic, always seeing the possibilities in something or someone. It was obvious that Inuyasha saw the world through a different filter than her. Maybe because she had not seen as much suffering and pain and anger and heartache, perhaps she was somewhat näive when it came to the world, but Inuyasha would give anything to be able to see the sun through her eyes. It must be brighter, purer, more majestic, sitting in its heavenly loft above clouds, coming to greet the world with a smile every morning, and a colorful sigh upon sunset. Kind of like Kagome herself. Anything, he thought, he would give anything...
* * * * * *
Finally, a fluttering of eyelashes, and she was awake. Around her, she smelled woodsmoke, the aroma of cedars and pines that made the forest nearby; she heard the crackling of the fire, the wind soughing through the trees, the chirrups of birds; she tasted salt on her toungue, and felt a soft blanket against her skin. But she saw nothing.
"K-Kagome?" It was his voice. He was hovering over her, peering down at her half-asleep form. Miroku and Sango joined around him, staring down at her. Kirara purred and rubbed against Kagome's arm, and Shippou pounced on her stomach, dancing and laughing and greeting her after her four-day convalescence. She saw nothing. Wait! She saw dim, moving shadows, silhouetted against a bright sun.
"Guys?"
"Hai, Kagome-chan?"
"How-how long..."
"Four days." Miroku answered.
"F-..."
Kagome blinked, and there was light and darkness. Still no color in her vision, but she could see clearly enough to distinguish the silent Inuyasha from the others.
"I-Inu...yasha?"
"Hai."
A small smile went across her face, and she reached up to grab his hand, squeezing it.
She blink tightly once more, squinting and opening her eyes. She could see, but everything was blurry. But that would likely get better with time. The world was a beautiful and colorful place once more, and she could see it. Was everything they experienced all in her mind? She'd never know, and she was not sure that she wanted to. They never spoke of it again, the cave, the witch, the friendly old lady, everything that had happened in these last day, hours, minutes, was forgotten. They started again anew, and Kagome appreciated this thing called life with unexpressable vim and vigor.
She always saw the sun in a way that no one else ever could, and the life returned to her eyes. Inuyasha never thought again of his regret for ruining Kagome's life, and everybody and everything lived happily ever after.
********** *
Not that you care, but I was listening to Rammstein's inspiring sone "Sonne" during the writing of this chapter, and its influence on the theme is pretty obvious. Again, just so you know, not that you care. I'll try to do one more chapter, and that's it for this particular story. So I wouldn't mind if you gave you honest opinion of my, to quote Kitsunefirelover from his review, fucked-up mind. I couldn't have put it any better myself.
'Fraid I don't own Inuyasha now, either. *sigh* Whatever...
Anywho, this is the second alternate ending.
Sonne
There was no light at the end of a tunnel, no lost loved ones guiding her into nirvana, no first glimpses of the birth canal had she been reincarnated; there was just...darkness.
"Kagome?!" Shippou cried franticly into the midnight darkness of the cave, obviously very worried about Kagome.
"Sh-Shippou?" Kagome was confused, disoriented, maybe even relieved. Maybe. She felt a furry object pounce on her, hugging her around the neck, crying into her blouse.
"It's all right, Shippou." She said. "I think."
"Why didn't you answer?"
"I..." Kagome squinted into the darkness, hoping to see something."I don't know."
"Is everything all right, Kagome-chan?"
"Sango!" Kagome threw herself in the direction of the voice, hugging the object, dropping the kitsune.
"I'm...flattered, Kagome-sama, but, you know, Sango-sama and myself are engaged." Kagome could imagine his smirk even in the darkness. He finished. "I think it would not be proper."
"Feh." Kagome slapped him on the arm and went to the other voice, hugging Sango affectionately.
"Wh-what happened, you guys?"
"I don't know, Kagome-chan, I just woke up in this cave. I was so relieved that M-- I wasn't dead."
"Hey! What about me?"
"Come here, Shippou." he crawled on top of her head, happy that Kagome was safe. Kagome gasped..
"And what of Inuyasha?" She could feel the pregnant silence hang over them, brooding over what they all knew was true.
"Whatever," She said numbly, feeling the wall of the cave, going in what she hoped was the right direction to leave this cursed place. "Let's just get out of here."
* * * * * *
Inuyasha felt a numb blackness all around him, an almost unfelt coldness. He was not completely lucid as he drifted in and out of conciousness. All he saw around him was darkness, cold and lonely and menacing darkness. But there! a flicker above him, like light shimmering through water. He could feel his senses slowing returning to him. His eyes were open, he could hear, and he felt a slight saltiness on his tongue. As if he had fallen through some netherworldly portal, instantly he felt his body wake up, shocking him into meaningless spasms, clawing and grasping for something to hold onto, for some way out of here. He could not breathe.
The world swirled around him as he floated, his lungs burning with a fire. He calmed himself down. He was only wasting air. He must be rational, logical. Yes, he must think his way out of this. Damn it, thinking was not known as one of his best traits. He looked, in the direction where he thought he had seen the light, and swam toward it. Though, it was so black he didn't know which direction he was really swimming. He didn't care, he had to find air soon or he would die.
* * * * * *
The others fell behind as Kagome felt her way along the walls of the cold wet cave, trying to find light. That's what she needed to see. Light. The Sun. The Darkness surrounded her, withering away at her already fragile mind, as she searched the endless corridors of a sunless labyrinth, needing to find the gentle strokes of warm sunshine across her face. She needed to escape. Frantic now, she ran, ignoring the dreamlike echoes that reverberated after her as her friends yelled her name. Everything else faded away now, only Freedom could take her out of this trance. That or...
But that didn't matter anymore. Inuyasha had gone ahead, he had wanted to change the way things had happened. Inuyasha had actually wanted to make it so they had never met. She loved him, but, if he still intended to fulfill his mission, she would not object. If he did not feel the same way about her after all this, then there was nothing she could do but let him decide.
Kagome sprinted now, at full speed, barely using her fingers to feel the edges of the tunnels around her. She will never stop, no matter what, until she dies or she leaves this damned place. Before she could even form this thought fully, she tripped on a loose rock and went face forward, landing with a splash in the gently-moving current of the underground river.
She let the water run through her hands for a moment, feeling the coolness, letting her mind forget her deep-welled anger and sadness and animosity toward No One, and Every One. Just one small leap, and she would be underwater, floating in a eternal lucid stillness, never waking up from this surreal dream she had lived in over the past days, weeks, or was it months? She had no idea now. Eternity seemed distilled into a moment and a moment diluted into Infinity. Maybe she was still asleep. Maybe she would wake up at any moment and realize that all this hurt, anger, sadness, joy, love, beauty, loathsomeness and pain was all an illusion. That her entire life was simply a dream that would end as she woke up inside, around, and part of Nothingness. Where form was empty and empty was form* and the Big Picture could be seen clearly.
But all she felt as she stood, serenly readying herself to die, by her own hand, no less, was the indescribable silence around her, and the cold and darkness that consumed her world now. Kagome stood on the eroded granite bank of this river, this Acheron, this River of Woe, preparing to let it take her, let Charon ferry her out of the darkness of life into a brilliant and beautiful Al Aaraaf, a virid Eden, a blissful Nirvana. Everything Kagome had felt in so long came out in a single tear, a tiny, crystal seeping of all negativity distilled into a drop of salty water.
Her world was crumbling at her feet, yet, in the darkness, she smiled. It was not a particularly happy smile, but one that showed that she held hope of what would happen next.
So, her arms dangling at her sides, Kagome fell soundlessly into the river, never holding her breath.
* * * * * *
He pulled himself out, gasping for breath. The heavy burden that sat on his back weighed him down as he crawled onto solid ground. Looking far ahead, into the dark, he saw the remnants of daylight reflecting onto a distant cave wall. Life lied ahead in the glorious rays of the sun. Inuyasha grunted as he vigorlessly crept, step buy step, toward the light. Forever lasted those five minutes as he stumbled, then crawled to the cave's entrance. The fight to save that weight on his back has bereft him of any energy he had left.
Miroku and Sango and Shippou and Kirara sat around small entrance of the cave, staring into the small watchfire they had lit. Sango was the first to speak again.
"Shouldn't we go back and look again, Houshi-sama?" Her eyes were full of concern.
Miroku sighed. "I'm afraid that the daylight is waning. Tomorrow, as early as possible we will be able to collect some materials for torches. Until then," He looked away. "we must wait...and pray Kagome's all right."
A voice interrupted their talk.
"She'd be fuckin' dead 'fore you guys ever saved her." Inuyasha gently laid Kagome down, holding her head as giving every bit of Will he had to stay awake. Just a few moments more, he thought. The others stared, astonished, at the battered Inuyasha, unable to form a complete sentence. Until Shippou spoke up.
"Inuyasha!" He cried, running to the side of his surrogate mother, holding her hand. "What happened to Kagome? Is she gonna be all right? What's going on?"
"I don't know, Shippou." Inuyasha spoke with a frighteningly distant and detached voice as he stared at her face. He leaned his face up close to hers, to feel her warm, albeit shallow, breaths. He sighed with relief as he knew she was alive.
The others built a small camp just inside the entrance of the cave, though none dared venture beyond the sanctuary of the fire. Miroku made sure that the fire kept going, Inuyasha was responsible for hunting, and Shippou, with his faithful companion Kirara, went searching for berries on occasion. Sango never left her adopted sister's side.
Four days they waited, all anxiously hoping that their most important mutual friend would recover, fearing what none of them would dare speak. At night, while Sango slept, Inuyasha would sit next to Kagome, just staring at her. He would never say a word, never move, just stare at her, having so many unspeakable emotions to relate to her. But what if she was stilll blind? He could never see the same eyes he pictured in his mind. Those gentle, colorful, emotive eyes that so endeared him to her. Of course, he could see her eyes if she was blind, but never would he see that same reflection of life, that glimmer of joy and hope that made him want to stare into her eyes forever. But now, he eyelids covered them.
She had always held such a strong grasp on her life. Always optimistic, always seeing the possibilities in something or someone. It was obvious that Inuyasha saw the world through a different filter than her. Maybe because she had not seen as much suffering and pain and anger and heartache, perhaps she was somewhat näive when it came to the world, but Inuyasha would give anything to be able to see the sun through her eyes. It must be brighter, purer, more majestic, sitting in its heavenly loft above clouds, coming to greet the world with a smile every morning, and a colorful sigh upon sunset. Kind of like Kagome herself. Anything, he thought, he would give anything...
* * * * * *
Finally, a fluttering of eyelashes, and she was awake. Around her, she smelled woodsmoke, the aroma of cedars and pines that made the forest nearby; she heard the crackling of the fire, the wind soughing through the trees, the chirrups of birds; she tasted salt on her toungue, and felt a soft blanket against her skin. But she saw nothing.
"K-Kagome?" It was his voice. He was hovering over her, peering down at her half-asleep form. Miroku and Sango joined around him, staring down at her. Kirara purred and rubbed against Kagome's arm, and Shippou pounced on her stomach, dancing and laughing and greeting her after her four-day convalescence. She saw nothing. Wait! She saw dim, moving shadows, silhouetted against a bright sun.
"Guys?"
"Hai, Kagome-chan?"
"How-how long..."
"Four days." Miroku answered.
"F-..."
Kagome blinked, and there was light and darkness. Still no color in her vision, but she could see clearly enough to distinguish the silent Inuyasha from the others.
"I-Inu...yasha?"
"Hai."
A small smile went across her face, and she reached up to grab his hand, squeezing it.
She blink tightly once more, squinting and opening her eyes. She could see, but everything was blurry. But that would likely get better with time. The world was a beautiful and colorful place once more, and she could see it. Was everything they experienced all in her mind? She'd never know, and she was not sure that she wanted to. They never spoke of it again, the cave, the witch, the friendly old lady, everything that had happened in these last day, hours, minutes, was forgotten. They started again anew, and Kagome appreciated this thing called life with unexpressable vim and vigor.
She always saw the sun in a way that no one else ever could, and the life returned to her eyes. Inuyasha never thought again of his regret for ruining Kagome's life, and everybody and everything lived happily ever after.
********** *
Not that you care, but I was listening to Rammstein's inspiring sone "Sonne" during the writing of this chapter, and its influence on the theme is pretty obvious. Again, just so you know, not that you care. I'll try to do one more chapter, and that's it for this particular story. So I wouldn't mind if you gave you honest opinion of my, to quote Kitsunefirelover from his review, fucked-up mind. I couldn't have put it any better myself.