InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Path You Follow ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 5 )

The Path You Follow

By: EvilNekoEatsYourSoul

~*~Please Read and Review!!!!~*~

Last time: Gathering his youki beneath him the kidnapper took to the sky, cursing when he noticed the kitsune was now connected to the girl. They left Jaken behind, still unconscious against the tree and headed east.

Chapter 5: Confrontation

~Kagome~

It was cold, swimming in the depths of the murky water. The chill was so deadly, so complete; it surrounded her from every angle and stabbed at her body. Painfully slow, her eyes opened and it was complete darkness around her. She was drowning in this sea of impenetrable ink and yet, her lungs did not burn with the need for air. When she parted her lips, liquid did not seep into her mouth and down her throat as she inhaled. But there was the distinct feeling of water around her; the weightlessness of being submerged was there.

"Where am I?" she asked herself.

She started to kick and paddle her arms, trying to reach the surface of this false sea. Her eyes, they required light; craved it as her body craved warmth and her heart, love. Unable to tell if she was making any progress in her hopeful ascent through the strange liquid, she thrashed more wildly. There was no time, no way of telling how long she attempted to break the surface of this sea of chilly, ebony water. Distantly, she wondered if she were even moving at all, it was hard to tell.

A sob escaped her as she curled into herself, her body balled into the fetal position. In her mind she wondered what everyone else was doing, she considered the fact that maybe she was dead. Perhaps without having even put up a fight, that woman, Koridomi the kuroi miko, had killed her. `I'm so pathetic.' She thought.

"I wish Sesshoumaru was here," no sooner had she said it then her beloved taiyoukai was there before her. Smiling lovingly, he took her into his arms and placed soft kisses on her face. Amazed and relieved at his sudden appearance, she clung to him and started to spout nonsense.

"I was so afraid and alone. Everything was black and cold and it felt like water, but I could breath and. . ."

He put a finger to her lips to silence her, the caring look still on his face. Something about him was different, but she couldn't pinpoint it. His eyes were gentle and before she could ask him if anything about him had changed, he took her lips in a passionate kiss. Lazily, his tongue lapped at her parted lips.

Pulling away, she took a moment to look around her. They were in Inuyasha's forest, near the bone-eater's well. Just the two of them, sitting where the Kuroi miko had left her.

Sesshoumaru brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"I was worried about you, Kagome."

Smiling, she buried her head into the crook of his shoulder, holding tightly to his haori.

"I'm fine now," she said, "for a moment I thought I was lost. But then I thought about you and you came."

His hands were warm against her face as he once again brought his lips to hers. She shivered; her body was still cold. There was sunlight all around them and yet she couldn't feel any of it. It didn't warm her cheeks as she turned her face up to the cloudless sky. The taiyoukai didn't seem to notice.

"Where are Yukiko and the others? Are they alright?" Kagome asked suddenly.

At that moment they walked into the clearing. Sango and Miroku walked side-by-side their hands clasped in one another's. Inuyasha kneeled beside her and Sesshoumaru and Yukiko stood behind him, all of them smiled warmly at her.

"Daijoubu, Yukiko-chan? I know she touched you too, I heard you screaming."

The girl blushed and nodded her head, her warm brown orbs glittering innocently.

"I'm fine, Kagome-san. Gomen for worrying you."

Looking back at the girl behind him, Inuyasha grinned before turning to face Kagome.

"Are you alright Kagome? You were out for a while."

"Hai, hai. . . Everything is fine now."

Reaching out a clawed hand, the hanyou began to caress her cheek gently. Confusion filled her mind when Sesshoumaru did nothing but continue to hold her against his body.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, glancing worriedly at all her friends.

"Of course not, Kagome-chan. Everything is as it should be." Answered Sango who stood within the embrace of Miroku.

"Then what happened between you two?" A knot began to form in Kagome's stomach.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Miroku grinned at her.

"We finally admitted our love for one another, Kagome-sama. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

The miko just nodded numbly, turning again to look at Sesshoumaru and thinking there was something different about the clear, proud, porcelain-skinned face.

~*~

"So, what do we do now?" Miroku asked, looking between Inuyasha and Sango.

The taijiyaa was biting at her bottom lip nervously. Inuyasha was unusually silent, staring off into the forest. Looking in the direction Sesshoumaru had taken Kagome in. Sitting away from them, Yukiko or whichever one of the spirit's that now was in control, leaned against the base of a tree with her hands pressed against the sides of her head. She had been complaining of voices within her mind and had lost control of her body for a few seconds earlier, falling to her knees and screaming. Now she seemed to be lost, trying to organize the multiple entities and their thoughts within her.

"Do we follow Sesshoumaru?" Miroku ventured to speak once again.

"If it's a curse then perhaps we should bring her to a miko," Sango offered.

Inuyasha was about to reply when a scream came from behind him. He turned to find Yukiko writhing on the forest floor, her head held firmly between her hands as she shook it violently and screamed. The others approached her slowly. Continuing her ranting, she drew her nails slowly down the sides of her face, leaving bright red welts. Wanting to stop her from further harming herself, Inuyasha rushed forward and took hold of her wrists.

Her wild movements stopped instantly, as did her screaming. She sat there for a minute simply breathing as Inuyasha still held her wrists in his hands. The color of her eyes was a deep, troubled brown when she looked up at him. At first the tears fell slowly, trickling down her cheeks to touch the corners of her mouth. But they grew in number and soon she was clinging to Inuyasha's haori, sobbing into his chest.

"Feh, it's alright," he said, "everything'll turn out alright, but first we have to help Kagome and then we'll sort everything else out. Okay?"

She nodded, looking hopefully up into his eyes and sniffled. Sighing, he picked her up and ran in the direction Sesshoumaru had gone to, calling for Miroku and Sango to hurry up and follow.

~*~

The forest was nothing but a blur as his powerful legs took him through its entire length in just a few minutes. At the speed he was going he would reach the next ningen village within the next hour. He needed a miko. It didn't matter that most miko's wanted nothing more then to purify every youkai in existence because Kagome had to live. If he had to be purified in order for her to survive this then so be it, he would make that sacrifice. `Just as long as she doesn't die,' he thought.

Kagome lay unmoving against his chest, her skin a sickly pale color that worried him. Her skin was cold against his hands and the only sign that she continued to live was her slow, harsh breathing and her weakly beating heart.

`If she dies from this curse, will Tenseiga be able to revive her? It did when she was wounded, but would it work if she was killed by a curse?' He didn't want to have to find out. Determined to cure her of the curse rather then chance her dying and Tenseiga being unable to bring her back to life, he continued on. The sword seemed to act upon whim and he had his doubts about its abilities.

As a the sight and smell of a ningen village made contact with his senses, Sesshoumaru also noticed a faint glowing from Kagome. It came from the Shikon no tama that hung around her throat. The light coming from it was faint, but hopefully it was trying to help her body fight the dark magic.

Internally, Sesshoumaru cursed the jewel. `The damn jewel is a curse in itself,' he thought vehemently, `it puts her life in constant danger from demons and I know this entire problem with the dark miko is somehow related to that accursed jewel.'

The taiyoukai suddenly stopped in his tracks when he noticed the smell of smoke. Looking towards the ningen village he saw it covered in flames that lapped hungrily at the sky. He could feel the heat on his cheeks, but the flames were not bright. They were black; a shade darker then the night sky as they danced upon the buildings, causing the weak structures to collapse and the people to scream.

There was nothing he could do, powerful though he may be, he did not control the elements. Not to mention he didn't dare put Kagome down of leave her side. `There are other villages,' he thought, feeling a bit guilty. If Kagome were conscious she would insist he do anything he could to help the suffering people. But he saw no way to help them under the current circumstances.

"Only you matter right now," he whispered to her as he sprinted off in another direction in search of another village and hopefully, a miko to help.

~*~

The smell of smoke and death reached his nose before the village came into view. As they approached the hollowed village, Inuyasha put Yukiko on her own feet. Immediately, she collapsed, covering her nose and vomiting at the scent of blood and charred flesh that hung in the air. When she stood her eyes were the piercing blue of clear ocean waters. Though they noticed the change, the group said nothing and began walking through the village.

There were no survivors. None within the village anyways, everyone who had failed to run away now lay dead. Inuyasha noticed that Sesshoumaru's scent did not go into the village; it only circled around it. He didn't know what to think.

"That bastard," whispered the hanyou.

Miroku shook his head and Sango's eyes widened in surprise.

"Inuyasha?" she questioned. Unsure of what had brought on that insult.

"Sesshoumaru was here, his scent is only at the edge of the village but he could have done this without entering the village. If they had pissed him off or refused to help Kagome. . ."

The houshi took a step towards his hanyou friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru has changed since Kagome-sama has been with him. I agree that he may have done something like this in the past, but now, knowing how Kagome-sama would feel if she found out. . . I don't think he would do this. Besides, he knows he cannot afford to waste time while this curse is upon her, she is a powerful miko but it just means she will suffer longer under the curse before succumbing."

Thinking on Miroku's words for a few minutes, Inuyasha nodded in agreement. Sesshoumaru was still a bastard as far as the hanyou was concerned, but he did care for Kagome. That much was obvious even if he didn't show it physically in front of everyone else. Sango and Miroku left to search more of the village in case there were any wounded survivors. Inuyasha stood in the village's center with Takehiko, who now had control of Yukiko's body.

Suddenly, there was a new scent drifting through the air. It smelled of jasmine and Inuyasha closed his eyes, taking it in.

"She's here, Koridomi, the kuroi miko," Takehiko said from her position behind him.

Spinning around, he saw her. A thin elegant woman who by no means looked weak stood before them. Her hair fell around her in dark ebony waves with eyes that were like a moonless night. On her pale lips was a thin cruel smirk that made Inuyasha shiver. Something stirred in the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside and drew Tetsusaiga from its sheath.

"Oi, bitch! You're the one who did this!" he accused.

Her only answer was a twitch of her lips in what was a momentary smile. When she took a step forward, Inuyasha jumped forward and swung the Tetsusaiga at her but she remained out of range.

"Do you mean to kill me, hanyou? Without even asking how to break the curse on that little miko whore?"

Her hands stretched out towards them. Their bodies froze and she approached them. Her eyes focused on Inuyasha as she stood before him. Long pale fingers moved to touch his face and he fought his fear down. But just as her fingers were about to touch his cheek, they fell to her sides and she chuckled.

"Are you afraid of me, Inuyasha, descendant of the great taiyoukai Inutaisho, defender of the Shikon no tama's protector and one who helped to slay the pure malice that was Naraku? How pathetic, for you to fear a simple woman such as me. If you could move I bet you would look surprised, ne? I have touched two women who love you and through that brief contact in which I cursed them I gained their memories."

While the surprise and hate could not reach his face, it echoed in Inuyasha's mind. `What the hell is she talking about? Two women who love me?'

Suddenly, she walked past him to stand in front of Takehiko. With one finger Koridomi traced a symbol on the girl's cheek.

"Ah, Takehiko, am I correct? How have you and your sisters been? Trapped within this poor little girl. . . slowly killing her. . . You meant to destroy me, did you not? To escape the jewel. Well, I have done you a service then. You are now free of the ruby, but unfortunately without a body so possess you are nothing and so you must linger in Yukiko's body and slowly drive each other mad with the thoughts and emotions that are running wildly through each entities. I suppose this weak little girl will die either way, her soul is so much smaller then the rest of you that I'm sure it won't be long until she fades away completely."

Without having moved, Inuyasha was suddenly facing the two. Koridomi's hand was stretched to him and there was a flash before his eyes. Since he was still frozen his eyes were unable to blink and it took a minute for his vision to clear. Once again, the kuroi miko's hand went to Takehiko's cheek to trace the black sakura blossom marking. He could see it now.

"Your little miko interests me Inuyasha. She still has feelings for you, but also she loves your brother and I know you love her. It's been a long time since I've created such turmoil, I would be glad of the challenge you all offer. So I will give you a chance, I will tell you of the dark blossom, the curse that killed the old miko and will eventually kill Kagome."

Her lips stretched into a full smile that promised death. Pointing with one lithe finger that rested on the center of Yukiko's black sakura, she began her lesson.

"As you can now see, this is the mark of the dark blossom. The flower, a sakura blossom, has five petals," her hand poked at each of the five petals. "There is one for each stage of the curse. Usually, people don't survive the first stage. The old miko died in the first stage. Your miko survived the first stage, which is the abyss; it is nothing but darkness that will eat those without a strong soul. The next stage is delight. It will give the person whatever they ask for. As you can imagine most people do not want to leave the world they create because to them it is perfection and who would willingly leave paradise? The third stage is desire. In this stage the person will be with the one perso-,"

"Hiraikotsu!"

Sango's weapon swept dangerously close to the kuroi miko who stopped talking. Her hand was palm up and when she closed her fingers to form a fist he heard Sango and Miroku cry out.

"Ah, well it seems our little lesson has been interrupted. Well, Inuyasha I will leave you with this, there is nothing that can break the curse save for Kagome's own will to live and the strength of her soul. But the fifth stage is the best and if she lives to the fifth then I suppose I will see you again. Ja ne."

With that said, Koridomi turned to walk out of the village and once she was out of sight Inuyasha and Yukiko fell to the ground. The hanyou took off after her immediately although Sango and Miroku called for him to stop. It didn't matter because he could find no trace of her, she was gone and there was no scent trail.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Reviewer responses:

RED HAT: Argh!!!! You are constantly picking up on things I've failed to even think about! LOL It didn't occur to me that Kaede and Kagome have the same symptoms and that could mean Kaede was alive. But no, she isn't alive it just has to do with her power as a miko not being as much as Kagome's. Thanks for the review.

Aira^o^: Arigato for the review! Exactly, you'll just have to wait and see what happens with the story ^_~. Thanks for the offer but I don't want to ruin the story for you so I'll keep my Sess/Kag secrets to myself for now mwahahahahaha! I'm determined to keep my readers in the dark, well as much as possible anyways. You guys always have a way of second guessing what I'm going to put up in the next chapter!