InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Secrets of the Shinju (Part I): Sesshoumaru's Stolen Memories ❯ Images From the Past ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Seven

Images from the Past

Sesshoumaru was standing in a field. He could smell fresh grass and flowers blossoming around him. He heard the giggling of a girl and then saw her come running towards him. She had beautiful crystal blue eyes and dark silver hair that was peppered with strands of brilliant white. She was no more than eight years old, and he quickly recognized her as Sakura. He too was in the body of a child. The girl continued to giggle and call his name. She was dancing and spinning, enjoying the sun being on her and the fresh air in her lungs. He too began to feel the excitement of such a beautiful day. The two began to chase each other and play in the grass. He could tell this was something they did often. After they calmed down, she sat in the grass and asked him to join her. The two sat and talked for what felt like hours, though was really only minutes. Sakura realized that it was time for her to go home, and she quickly kissed him on the cheek and then ran from him. He sat there dumbfounded and put his hand where her lips had briefly been.

Moments later he stood and started to walk home. When he got there he saw his mother watching. She had a silly smile on her face as she greeted him. He blushed, knowing that his mother had seen Sakura kiss him. She reached out and brushed some hair from his face and gave him a warm smile. "After we have dinner, I will talk to you about a few things." Sesshoumaru and his mother ate dinner alone. He could tell his mother was unhappy about something, but did not ask her what it was. He went into his own room after he was finished eating, and soon he heard a knock on the door. His mother looked into his room and asked him if she could come in. He nodded and she came in and sat beside him. "Sesshoumaru, I saw Sakura kiss you on the cheek. You don't need to feel embarrassed about that, it's only natural for the two of you to care about each other. Sakura is your best friend, one of your only friends. You are reaching the age where you will start to notice your relationship with females changing. Just remember that if you ever need to talk to me, you can. I love you very much." His mother kissed him on the forehead and left his room.

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Kagome suddenly realized that something wasn't right. She had fallen asleep with Kilala and Sesshoumaru. She now found herself walking through the forest alone. It was a very bright night, the moon lit up the path in front of her. She continued to walk, unaware of where she was going, but something was drawing her in this direction. A short while later she came upon a small castle. It looked deserted, and she had no real desire to enter it. However, she was still being pulled in the direction of this building. Once inside she was overwhelmed by jewel shards, there were many here.

She could also sense a great negative energy here. She had been around many demons, and yet never felt such a power. It was as though someone was deriving their very life essence from the pain of others. She searched the castle for the jewel shards yet could not locate them. She also noticed that she was not interacting with anything here. It was as though she were not real. Suddenly she found a door that nearly made her wince. Inside the room there was energy so negative that it nearly made her shrink back and leave. Instead she slowly opened the door. In front of her she saw a woman, no a demon, that was looking intently into a mirror. The demoness had flowing black hair and when she turned to look around the room; she also appeared to have black eyes. Her eyes were like nothing Kagome had ever seen before. They held no life in them. They appeared to be nothing more than pools of ink. Yet they seemed to hold the key to a deeply vicious soul. Kagome looked closer at the mirror and saw there were images playing on it, much like a movie. She stepped closer and could see what appeared to be a young Sesshoumaru with a young female demon.

The demoness quickly stopped the images and frantically looked around the room. She began speaking to someone, though it was unclear to Kagome what she was saying. After a few more minutes, it dawned on Kagome that it was she, the demoness was looking for. The black haired woman was now going for a powder that was in a small jar. She began sprinkling it all over the room and when she got to Kagome she dropped some in front of her. Suddenly the demoness looked right at her with a look of shock on her face. Instantly, Kagome woke with a start. She was again cuddled into Kilala. She looked up and noted the extremely bright moon. She then looked at Sesshoumaru who appeared to be having a nice dream. Kagome sighed and got up and began to walk around quietly. The dream she just had was very real. It was as though she had just left her body behind and sent her soul out. Kagome gave a shudder and then returned to Kilala, to spend the rest of the night in a dreamless sleep.

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Miroku looked to his friends. They had been traveling for days. They had met up with several small demons, though none as tough a challenge as the one with the jewel shard had been. It was growing more and more intense around him all the time. He noticed that neither InuYasha nor Sango appeared to be having the same problem as him. He could only assume that the barriers that had been erected were specifically designed to keep out people with spiritual powers. The closer they got to Naraku and Hitomi the more pain he felt. It had started off as mere pressure, but now his head was in great pain. At times it felt as though his lungs were being squeezed and he would no longer be able to breathe. Then he glanced at his hand. His wind tunnel too, was beginning to feel the pressure. He had no intentions of telling the others, his monk training would allow him to ignore the pain and continue on their journey. However, he certainly hoped they arrived there soon.

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Kagome was already awake when Sesshoumaru woke. He had a bright aura around him this morning, and she noticed his personality had changed slightly. He seemed almost happy. Again she took note to the fact that he changed after having dreamt. It was obvious to her now that Hitomi was purposely feeding him memories. Though why she was sending so many happy ones was beyond Kagome. She sighed as she gathered her things and left for the lake. She needed to bathe before they began any training this morning. She returned to camp after she was done, and again noticed how happy he was this morning. He smiled at her when she returned and said "Good Morning" in a cheerful voice. Again she was filled with a certain amount of dread, as though the second shoe were just waiting to drop.