InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Mysterious Little Visitor ❯ Scroll Ten: Sakura Petals Rippling the Blood of Time ( Chapter 10 )

A/N: Just to clarify, I do not write lemons so don't ask. Araigotu!

Scroll Ten: Sakura Petals Rippling the Blood of Time

A circular swing of a massive blade…

The unleashing of the true wound within the wind…

Energy…

So much energy…

Youki…

Chi….

Unbridled, surging power…

Cold…

Untamed…

Sightless….

So much mist...

Like crimson…

Like blood…

Trickling down…

Like petals…

Sakura…

Drenched in blood…

Ripple…

Time…

"Lord Monk," Sango murmured, "I don't like this at all…."

Miroku nodded, cradling the girl closer to his chest. "Neither do I, Sango, neither do I."

"I-Inu-Yasha…?" Kagome asked again quietly, her palm barely clasping onto her bow, an arrow quaking within her tremulous hand as she slipped it back into her quiver. She stared at the hanyou, his face still obscured from view, head lolled low.

Another deep, resonating growl emitted from the boy. His bloodied fingers stiffly arced as his breathing grew into the frantic panting. "…R-run…r-run…" he choked out, his voice husky and harshly forced. He wheezed more rapidly. "R-run…Kagome…." Inu-Yasha felt his eyes grow larger as he gave a short gasp…that…fervent vigor was diffusing throughout his body; the dull pain…was intolerable.

However, the girl couldn't will her body to move. Her legs quavered and gave way. She collapsed to her knees, her bow sliding just out of arm's reach. The air around her kept growing colder and colder; akin to the sensation of impending death. A shiver of foreboding seeped down her spine, a wind picking up in the cavernous space causing the flaming torches along the wall to flutter their red-tinged light.

Then something even more disconcerting transpired.

Laughing.

Sadistic laughing.

Sadistic laughing echoed off the blood-stained, crimson walls as the normally familiar head of silvery hair turned upwards. A well-known, feral smirk was spread over the aspects of the handsome, young face. Yet that smile…that was not his own. That was not Inu-Yasha.

It couldn't be.

This…monstrosity before them all…it looked like him…. But it couldn't be, wouldn't be, shouldn't be him. Not Inu-Yasha.

Golden eyes transfigured into lethal, odious pools of scarlet with stripes of electric blue at the heart of them; the desire for anguish and bereavement glittered acrimoniously. The hair spun of moonlight spilled in impetuous tangles over his back and shoulders, blood of another and his own matted in it. Red haze filtered in and out as a single stripe of purple crossed over each cheek…. The claws elongated on the long fingers of the calloused hands; knuckles cracking so deafeningly. A sneer of abhorrence curled on his lips; long, white fangs slipping out as the mouth continued to chuckled maliciously, insanely, solitarily in the grotto of Mount Fire Soul.

No, it couldn't be true…it couldn't be…

"Inu-Yasha…?" Kagome whispered again. She swallowed, her heart having been vibrating in her mouth; she could now feel it viscously slither down her parched throat.

The transformed hanyou leered more. That sound…he could hear that sound…it was like music to his ears. That girl…her name eluded him at the moment…but the hum of her frenetic heartbeats gave him shivers of sadistic delight. His yearning for her was even more consuming than the lust of bloodshed…even more than to hear her terrified screams of agony if he was to slice her open with his keen talons, viscera splattering messily to the gory ground. How he pined for the young woman…oh, how he thirsted for her…for her to be close to him… He yearned for… "Kagome…" the deeper voice growled, his primal form shifting towards her, feet dragging as he breathed in her scent. Lavender…a tranquil perfume to his demented mind.

"Inu-Yasha…please…fight it," she pleaded softly to him as he grew nearer to her with each intense footfall; one treading in a pond of cooling blood, making it ripple ill-fatedly. Trepidation rose in her voice and in her eyes. One of her slender hands grasped on to the front of her shirt, the racing of her heart severe beneath her palm. The other steadied her shuddering, lithe form.

The full-demon-transformed-boy halted abruptly, only paces fore her. Fight it? Fight what? Inu-Yasha thought coarsely. His head began to throb uncontrollably; the pain excruciating as it vaulted from temple to temple. Memories flashed through his mind as he sunk to a knee, the frightened, quickened breathing commencing once more. The boy's hands shot up to his scalp, clenching firmly onto his cranium, fistfuls of hair snagged betwixt his claws. His eyes widened, pushing his senses and heart and lungs to the limit as they sped even more. Everything reeled about him; it was alien. The scarlet eyes darted wildly around; the sense of entrapment overtaking him as he mentally devoured so many images. So many, so indistinguishable…except one.

Kagome…her pools of blue-grey were not committed entirely to fear but…pity? Sobriety? The gaze she was giving…it was to him. Inu-Yasha knew it. This girl was peering directly into his eyes.

Through him…with an eloquent glance; reaching down to his soul…and frenzied heart; the turbulent time standing still.

He couldn't take it.

Inu-Yasha couldn't allow that look.

He had to rid himself of it.

Shut it away, destroy it….

Yes…annihilate it….

The boy began to snarl again, eyes dancing with ferocity; his psyche renewed to the impassioned drive for carnage, to feel the blood of the blameless rain upon him, those chaste to his ardent craving. Staggering at first, Inu-Yasha crept a bit faster towards Kagome, still enjoying the guise painted on the beauty's features; the music born of her unease pumping the adrenaline swifter through his veins as it chimed in his ears. "Girl…" he rumbled, stretching his abnormally long, clawed hands just before her, raking them through air, beckoning her to him. "Come…."
Kagome swallowed again, her eyes wide as she shuffled rearward on her knees, furthering herself from her weapon. Her friends stood unsure of what to do with the dog-demon's volatile actions; their breath communally bated. "P-please," she feebly stuttered, "fight this, Inu-Yasha…fight this and return to normal…." He was getting closer; the girl could feel the fringes of his hot breath upon her face. Her own inhalations quivered violently as her back brusquely met the wall, free of fresh blood…for now….

He halted again as he gaped at her, dubious at her words; the transformed-hanyou's eyes flickering with ambry-gold. "Fight…it? Fight it?" he repeated softly for a moment, going quiet as his body shuddered.

"Y-yes," Kagome feverishly whispered, hope evident in her tone, the luminosity of the torches wavering again as a cool draft flew swiftly in, a few sakura petals dancing in. "Fight it."

He stared at her pensively before chortling madly. "Fight it? FIGHT IT?!" Inu-Yasha snarled; his fangs displayed ominously. "Do you wish me to return to the weakness of a half-breed, tied to dismal, human emotions?!" he queried, his voice rising as his pools of scarlet went vacant. He charged at her. "DIE!"

There was no way she could evade it; Kagome knew this was the end. The monstrosity of the person she once cherished more than life…was about to take her life…crush her as a sacrifice towards the abomination of the humanity within himself.

"Kagome! Catch!" a child's voice screamed as a long, battered blade came hurtling towards her.

The girl's eyes widened as she caught it by the hilt. The Tetsusaiga…! She clutched it dearly to her chest as her eyes snapped shut; Inu-Yasha's face just in front of hers, claws raised and eyes inflamed…. She waited for the inevitable, a sense of hope tingling her nerves nonetheless.

The inevitable never came.

Eyes remaining closed, Kagome dared to release one breath and promptly exchange it for a fresh one. The new mouthful of air caught in her throat when she felt the hairs on her head rise a bit; subsequently, a tender caress on her cheeks from something pointed and undoubtedly perilous. The tracing of her facial aspects glided to under her chin, and she involuntarily lifted it, gulping as she swallowed another breath hurriedly down to her burning lungs; a cross of dread and harmony mixed in her stomach. The tingling of her raising skin drifted over her countenance and down to her neck. Kagome's heart raced ever faster.

Then it arrested in her chest, trapped behind her ribcage.

Something warm…and lightly damp licked her throat.

Gripping Tetsusaiga tighter for console and inner strength, Kagome scarcely parted her eyelids to find Inu-Yasha, crouched in front of her. He was docile before her, his talons gracing her flesh adroitly, sniffing at the girl; goose bumps emerged on her skin as she shuddered, her mind unwittingly racing. Her cobalt orbs scanned down to the boy; another warm streak of moisture was placed on her neck by his tongue. She swallowed again as he swiveled his head slowly upwards.

Though they were red, the eyes were passive and subservient as they lighted upon Kagome. The passionate wrath that had once illuminated them had died, and was replaced with a different fervor. He touched a palm to her cheek, and she felt his hand adhere to it by something sticky. As the transformed boy shakily removed it, Kagome realized it to be blood.

Inu-Yasha's right hand slinked downwards, his orbs of scarlet sparkled tentatively at her; the visage child-like and uncertain, apprehensive. When she made no attempt to impede his movement, he clasped onto both of hers. He drew the sword away from her, and took it into his grasp. Gradually, the claws retracted on his fingertips, the fangs went to a reasonable length, the stripes disappearing from his visage, and the finally, his eyes revived to pools of honey, transfixed in somber contemplation.

Blinking, Inu-Yasha peered at Kagome, his heart clenched firmly in his chest as he watched her silent tears finally fall, streaks of crimson marked on her rosy cheeks. Timidly, the hanyou inhaled, relief washing over him as he discovered the blood was his own and not hers.

Those eyes of hers, the blue-grey eyes of that reminded him of the sky before a spring rain just a beat prior to twilight…they were what kept haunting him and that was what he recalled from his derangement. Kagome's eyes…and it was raining now from those heavenly pools.

Embracing her, the Tetsusaiga steadfastly within his control, Inu-Yasha brought the girl into his shoulder, bringing himself to one knee. He cradled her flush with his chest, his left hand curled in her ebony hair, stroking her backside. The hanyou rocked her to and fro, hushing her with soothing utterances of breath. "Kagome…."

The girl burrowed deeper into his cloak, her breathing erratic. "Inu-Yasha…I was so scared that you were…." She sniffled as she ultimately began to breakdown in his strong arms.

"I'd never hurt you," he whispered into her ear, his ministrations to her quaking form not ceasing. He took a deep whiff of her scent, remembering how it appeased him so when he breathed it in; her life.

Another gust of wind made its way in, softly, bearing trinkets of whitest snow of the sacred mountain's summit and pinkest petals of the sakura trees.

Kagome moved her gaze to him, looking at him squarely. Trails of tears snaked over blood-smeared cheeks, while her cherry lips trembled but worked determinedly to speak. "But, I wasn't afraid of you hurting me…. I was afraid of you losing yourself again," she finished, her voice barely audible.

Inu-Yasha's dog-ears convulsed as they listened to her every word without interruption. Clutching her even tighter, the boy nuzzled Kagome's hair with his face. "Thank you, Kagome…thank you…."

"F-for what?"

"For saving me…." Again….

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Hey all! About the scroll: short, yes. Worth it, yes. If you don't like the shortness, bite me. ^^ Kidding, kidding…or am I? In any case, please read and review! I need reviews! If few people review, I don't feel so motivated to write. I realize I didn't focus so much on the Little Inu factor, but this was terribly important. In any case, same old same old. This is dedicated to my niece (nicknamed) Rin-chan, my mom-my mommy rocks! ^^--, my best friend Edward Tivrusky (who is actually a girl), my pal Danya, and Soranji-chan. Thanks all for your support!

Inu-Yasha: *walks silently into the room and hands a note to Moonlight*

*looks at it* Huh? "Miss Moonlight Shadow, we are sorry to inform you but, this subject, Inu-Yasha, is…INCURABLE!" *frowns*

Inu-Yasha: HAH! HEHEHE! I told you your stupid classes wouldn't work on me!!

*blows her dog whistle*

Inu-Yasha: AHH!

Hehe.

Anyways, check out my other stories: "On Vacation", "On a Leash", "Shikon High", and my one shot "Hugs and Kisses (And Other One Shots)".

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=380821

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/src.php?auth=73370

Feel free to write me at: hanyou_miko_dreamer@hotmail.com

Ja ne,

~Moonlight Shadow