InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Accept One's Fate ❯ - Ghosts of the Past - ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: imoshen

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama / Action / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.19.2008 | Updated On: 10.20.2008 | Pages: 12 | Words: 12.0K | Visits: 378 | Status: Completed

A/N: Here we go again : ) Please enjoy. Many thanks to XoxGaaraxoX for the nice beta-work.

Chapter 4

- Ghosts of the Past -

“Where is she?!”

Inuyasha was furious as he sat on a high branch, gazing over the forest in front of him. The cave that he and the rest of the group had stayed the last few days in had almost vanished in the dawn.

“Three whole days have passed and still…there is no sign of her,” Miroku added, his eyes searching for a small frame of a woman with dark hair. His eyes looked up into the sky when he heard a load roar, only to see a big fire-cat gliding through the air.

“Nothing!” Sango shouted when she saw Miroku's questioning look. Kirara landed. As the demon-slayer lifted her head to see Inuyasha still sitting in the tree, she lowered her voice.

“We should go on, Miroku. Kagome isn't in this area any more. We searched these woods for three days. Maybe she was abducted and is being held as a prisoner somewhere else.” As she spoke those words, she felt an invisible fist clutch her heart. She was worried to no end.

Three days ago she had witnessed with her own eyes, how Kagome's body had disappeared in a bright, blue light. Since then they hadn't found any sign regarding the whereabouts of Kagome, it almost seemed as if she had never existed. First Miroku thought that it had something to do with the jewel, that Naraku had it completed somehow. But they knew it couldn't be possible, not without the shards that were in Kagome's possession. It was then that Shippou went through the girl's backpack, and found the little container which held the shards of the Shikon No Tama. It was something that worried Sango even more. Kagome had vanished, and she didn't have the shards with her. Because of this, the jewel couldn't be whole again. There was no clue at all. Did this also mean that Naraku didn't abduct Kagome? If he had, wouldn't he have taken the shards too?

This left only one question. Where did she go?

Sango felt small hands clenching to her sides from behind. When she turned her head, she saw that Shippou had buried his face into her back, his little body shaking with sobs. It was hard for all of them, but especially for the demon child. They explained to him that there was still a chance that they would find Kagome healthy and alive. However, it couldn't ease the pain that Shippou felt about Kagome's disappearance.

She turned her head, looking into the trees to find Inuyasha. She knew that the only thing keeping the half-demon from falling apart was his rage. He was worried sick, Sango knew that, but she had him never seen so furious. He was desperate to find Kagome. She knew he would do everything to find the priestess, and so would everyone else.

“Inuyasha, come down. It's going to be dark soon, and we have to talk about our next actions,” Sango told the half-demon. Right after the last word left her lips, a red blur rushed to the ground.

“Keh!” Inuyasha folded his arms.

“I'm no human, I can see perfectly well in the night,” he told her in an arrogant tone. But Sango could hear that there was something else within it - there was a coldness- and bitterness she had only heard once in his voice. That was the time when Kikyou had died at Mount Hakurei. It didn't really help ease her worries.

“Shippou need's his rest, Inuyasha, and me and Miroku are no demons. We will be of no use if we can't eat and sleep. If we want to find Kagome, we will need all of our strength,” she explained to him with patience. She tried to sound calm. She tried to keep it together, but with every hour that went by it became more and more of a challenge to Sango. She didn't want to think about what would happen if they couldn't find out what power took Kagome.

The half-demon turned around and walked two steps away from her. His eyes were searching the clearing in front of him. Since he couldn't find anything, his ears went limp.

“I can't sit around, knowing that Kagome is somewhere out there and in danger,” his voice was low.

“The only person who could know about it, is dead,” he added, turning around to look at the small grave near the cave.

After Tomoko had died, they lay her on a bier for one day and buried her body afterwards. Since they didn't have a tombstone, nobody would ever know that the old witch had lived here. It was sad, that she was lonely even in her death, but Inuyasha figured that she would want it this way. After all, it was her choice to live all alone near the mountains - maybe the loneliness meant peace for her.

“Kirara, take Shippou back to the cave,” Sango whispered into the ear of the fire-cat as she slipped of her back. There was no use to discuss their plan in front of the kid. Shippou was already worried enough and it wouldn't help him to calm down. As soon as Kiara took Shippou far enough away that the demon couldn't hear their words, Miroku spoke.

“We have to face the fact that Kagome isn't in these woods anymore.” One of his hands rubbed his chin. “We have to find out what might have happened to her.”

“But where could we start? Who do we know, that might know something about that? I have never, ever heard of something like this, that a person would just... vanish,”Sango murmured her last words.

“I can't even find her scent,” Inuyasha whispered, turning his head back to the forest. He avoided looking Sango and Miroku in the eyes. Sango knew that he was trying to hide his true feelings, but after years of traveling with Inuyasha, she knew the truth.

“We will find her, Inuyasha,” she told him as she placed one of her hands on his right shoulder. “We only have to find a place to start looking for her.”

“Tomoko didn't speak of any villages nearby, but I think we should look for some. Maybe there are people living deeper in the mountains. Clearly they would know about any power that is among this forest,” Miroku spoke with a low voice. His hand clasped his staff firmly.

You may think that demons are cruel, but believe me, there are places in a human's soul that are much, much darker… merciless and horrid.

“Maybe Tomoko did speak the truth. Maybe she did met Naraku. Remember what she told us about him? How she met him, and what he was looking for?” Sango suggested.

It was at that time that a demon had created a powerful weapon. It was powerful enough to consume a human by its light; to give a man's life to our gods where he would be punished for his sins.

As she turned around, she looked Inuyasha in the eyes.

“This can't be a coincidence. First we met this witch. When she gained our trust, she told us about how she met Naraku, and that he was looking for a weapon that was sealed hundreds of years ago. Only a few hours later, Kagome disappeared. No, there has to be a link that we haven't found yet,” she said.

So at the risk of one's life they had taken this weapon, and brought it to a sacred place, hidden from every living creature. They bonded the weapon for all eternity so that nobody would be ever able to use it.

“Your friend is not anymore.”

When they heard the new voice, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha whirled around. Inuyasha had his hand at the shaft of Tetsusaiga, but as soon as he saw who the voice belonged to, his hand went limp and he blinked twice.

“Kikyou?”

*************************************

“I don't think she has a fever anymore.”

“But she is still unconscious. She's been asleep for three days now.”

There was a light.

It was white and it seemed to dance right before her eyes. She thought she heard voices, but the words didn't make any sense yet. She couldn't figure out what they meant. There was a noise in her head that swallowed everything else.

It hurt's.

“Give her time. This one is a strong one. I can feel it.”

It was a man; the voice of an old man. Kagome tried to open her eyes, but it was no use. She felt weak; incredibly weak. In fact, it seemed as though the only thing she could do was lie there and breathe.

Breathe.

In, and out.

The priestess put all her energy and concentration into this simple task. She took one breath after another. Somehow she remembered the words of her mother.

Don't let the panic overcome you.

Those words... she had almost forgotten them. It must've been years ago that her mother had spoken them to her, outside in the rain in front of their house. It was the first year without her father.

She breathed. Just in and out. It helped. With every breath she took, she felt a little bit stronger. Just one more. Only one more breath. Maybe she would be able to open her eyes.

“One more day. She should be awake when the sun set's for the night,” the old voice spoke.

“If you say,” a woman replied.

“Do you question me?” he asked her harshly.

“No. Forgive me. I had no right to doubt you, Kiyoshi-sama.”

Breathe.

As Kagome took one large breath, she opened one of her eyes. For a moment there was nothing but orange, a lot of yellow, mixed with red and white. Dots were dancing in front of her eye. When she finally opened both of them, she shut them quickly again. The light hurt her too much, like a needle that pierced right through her skull.

Kagome groaned.

“She's awaking,” the woman mentioned nervously.

“Get me some water girl,” the man with the name Kiyoshi commanded.

Kagome could hear thuds steps on wooden ground, as a screen was pushed to the side and then closed again.

“The light... it hurt's...” she managed to say. She felt how terrible dry her mouth was. She heard a rustle of fabric. Behind closed eyelids, she noticed the room had gotten darker.

“Try it again,” the man told her. Kagome obeyed.

Carefully she opened her eyes, and discovered that the room really was darker. It smelled like somebody had blown out some candles. When her eyes adapted to the light, she could make out some vague silhouettes. She blinked once, then twice, and with every blink she could see more of her surroundings.

As she assumed, she was lying on a futon. There was a small fireplace right at the end of her bedding to keep the small room warm and cozy. As she turned her head to the right, she saw the body that belonged to the voice she had heard just seconds ago. It was a man, and though she was lying on the ground, he seemed to be incredibly small. She believed that he was only two heads taller than Shippou. As he walked around her bed, she saw that he had a hump underneath his clothing. The fabric looked old and used. His gray hair had almost completely fallen out. When he looked at her, she saw the wrinkles around his deep, gray eyes.

The sound of the screen being pushed to the side got her attention. Kagome saw a woman walk into the room. She held a bowl of water in her hands. When she saw Kagome awake, her eyes went big.

“Oh, so you're up,” she chirped as she put the bowl to the side of Kagome. Brown eyes stared heavily at the cool liquid.

“You were right Kiyoshi-sama, as always. I shall go right away and tell the mistress...”

“Kazumi, stop,” Kiyoshi told her as he took a hold of her arm.

“Give her some water,” her ordered her, pointing to Kagome. Even though the light was dime, Kagome could see the dark color that was rising in Kazumi's cheeks. The girl dropped her shoulders.

“I apologize,” she spoke as she turned herself to kneel down beside Kagome's head. She dipped a wooden ladle into the water. With one of her hands she helped Kagome hold her head up, and with her other she led the ladle to the young priestess's lips.

When Kagome swallowed the first sip, she grimaced. It felt like fire in her throat, and didn't bring any of the relief she'd hoped for.

“What is that?” she managed to say as she brought one of her hands up to her throat.

“You should take smaller sips. Your throat is probably very dry. It will hurt if you drink too fast,” Kiyoshi explained as he watched her from the end of her futon. Kagome starred at him.

Thanks for the notice...

“Here, try again,” she heard Kazumi's voice as the young girl brought the ladle back to her lips.

Kagome took a small sip. When the cool liquid met her dry lips, she could feel the water run down her throat, deep into her empty belly. She took another, and another. With every sip, she felt a little bit stronger. As she drank she took a better look at Kazumi.

With her big, green eyes the girl seemed very young, but when Kagome looked closer, she could see that it was just an illusion. The elf-like, pointed ears gave away that she wasn't human. Her hands, that held the ladle, had calluses and scarred skin which made her look a lot older than her eyes would show. Her long, dark green hair fell over her shoulders down to her lower back. The simple orange kimono was worn out, and seemed to be a little too small for her.

When her thirst was satisfied, Kagome found enough strength to speak:

“So where am I and what happened to me?”

Kazumi looked at Kiyoshi before she answered the priestess's question with a small smile on her lips:

“You're in Lady Chiyoko's house. She found you down in the woods, half frozen to death. It was very kind of her to (8) take you with her,” the girl told her as she put the bowl of water to her side, so she could sit right next to Kagome's head.

“Master Kiyoshi took care of you as he was ordered. You had a very high fever,” she added.

When Kagome heard those words, she tried to find the right pictures that would fit Kazumi's telling. There was only a high pitched scream, fire and smoke.

Kagome dropped her head. She closed her eyes to search her memory for any clue, but there were only blurred colors, a lot of orange and red. She could smell blood in her memory, but was it her own? As she opened her eyes, she lifted her right hand to feel her head. Nope, no bandages, bump, nor cut. So her loss of memory couldn't come from injury, could it? She looked down at her arms. No blood, scratches, or wounds either. As she lifted the blanket, she saw that the rest of her body was unharmed as well, and... she'd been stripped out of her clothes. Instead she wore simple Japanese undergarments that left her arms uncovered, and weren't longer than the skirt of her school-uniform.

As she saw a grinning Miroku before her inner eye, she sighed. With her friend in her mind, she suddenly realized the last moments of the past few days.

“I was all by myself?” she asked disbelievingly - why would Inuyasha, Sango, Miorku, Shippou or Kiara leave her alone? Where had they been when this Chiyoko had found her?

Were they... dead?

Fear gnawed at her heart. The room felt colder and Kagome felt sick.

“What about... my companions?” She didn't know these people, so Kagome decided not give too much information. Nobody must know how she was related to the others.

“The lady didn't speak about that. There might have been somebody else, there might not. But I'm sure, that your companions are all right. Lady Chiyoko would have brought them with her, if they were injured,” Kazumi tried to calm Kagome when she saw how upset the girl was.

Kagome could remember the picture of the cave, the first rays of sunlight breaking through the clear morning air, Inuyasha's grumping - and the cold skin of Tomoko's body. In fact, it was the very last thing she could remember. What had happened since then? Even though.... Kagome stopped her track of thoughts; in her last memory Inuyasha had been all right.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Kagome came to a conclusion: as long as she couldn't remember everything, she would try not to worry too much. It wouldn't help her at all, and now she needed was a sharp mind to put the pieces together.

As she tried to force her mind back to the last event she could remember, Kagome still couldn't understand why Tomoko had to die. She had only known her for a few hours, but to her it seemed that there was more. The priestess knew that Tomoko had so much more knowledge. When she spoke with her, she couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something that Tomoko wanted her to know, but couldn't tell her. But after all she had heard from Tomoko's life, maybe it was her time to go.

Yes.

Kagome swallowed hard. Tomoko was at peace now. She just knew that she should be grateful that the old witch had a silent death. After all the fighting and the horror she had witnessed, it was only fair to grant her this simple luxury.

As she remembered the illusion Tomoko had created to fool them, another memory got in her mind. It was a memory of blood that appeared to be almost black against fresh fallen snow.

“There was a fight...” Kagome whispered.

She had the feeling that something was pressing down at her chest. Her gaze trailed off as she tried to look further into her mind, to find more of the jigsaw pieces. She saw fire, silver, and a crimson moon. There was a beast, fighting with a vague white figure. Kagome tried to see the face of the person, she wanted to know who this was, and - it wasn't Inuyasha.It wasn't Inuyasha! As silver hair wrapped around her memory, all she could think was that it wasn't him or anyone else of her friends.

“Don't thank me,” Kiyoshi scoffed, as he walked around her bed, so he could stand right next to Kazumi. Even though the girl was sitting, Kiyoshi wasn't taller than her. As he turned to the maiden, he spoke.

“Give her a couple of hours. Obviously she suffers from loss of memory. It should return to her, but before this happens there is no need to inform the lady about her condition.” With that, he went out of the small room.

“I was rude wasn't I?” Kagome whispered and starred into blankness.

“After all that you just told me, I should show some gratitude. Thank you, Kazumi,” Kagome said honestly as she looked the demon-girl in the eyes. Kazumi smiled.

“Oh, Kiyoshi is always a little bit... grumpy,” she giggled. She suddenly realized what she had said, and her eyes went wide. She clutched her mouth with both her hands.

“I shouldn't have said that,” she murmured as she rubbed her already red cheeks.

“It's okay,” Kagome laughed softly.

“Somehow he reminds me of somebody,” she explained to Kazumi with the picture of two fighting demons in her head. One was a little fox-kid and the other a full grown half-demon with doggy ears. As her laughter died and Kagome returned form her memory into reality, she locked eyes with Kazumi.

“Now tell me... what exactly did happen three days ago? I need to know Kazumi. I have companions, and I don't know what happened to them. I need to find them as soon as possible.”

Kazumi saw the seriousness within Kagome's eyes. It made her even sadder. This strange, human girl seemed to be very caring and fair minded. To be honest, she couldn't remember the last time somebody had thanked her. But, there she was, the human-girl that had only known her only for a few minutes, and had already shown her gratitude. It was only fair to tell her the truth to help her out, but she couldn't.

“I am very sorry... oh; I don't even know your name...”

Now it was Kagome's turn to blush. She sat up a little bit, and shook her head to chase off the embarrassment.

“I am sorry Kazumi. My name is... Kagome.” At first Kagome hesitated a little, but she couldn't think of any reason why this girl shouldn't know her name. After all, she had just learned that she was saved by these people - so this could only be good, right?

“Kagome,” Kazumi repeated. “What a strong name... but I'm very sorry. I can't tell you anything. I have just told you everything that I know.”

“What's with this Chiyoko? You told me earlier that it was her who found me. She should be able to help me with my memories.”

Kazumi clapped her hands together, nodding her agreement.

“Yes. Lady Chiyoko,” she explained, “is the mistress of this House. Her lands start where the sun rise's in the morning, and end where it sets behind the mountains. I'm certain that she wishes to speak with you as well, but as Kiyoshi already said, you're still very weak. You have to regain some strength first.”

“Why?” was all Kagome could reply.

“It would be disrespectful to our Lady. You can hardly stand yet,” Kazumi explained to her, and suddenly Kagome felt like she wasn't meant to be here. It felt wrong to lie in this bed, to talk to this girl.

“I need air,” she told Kazumi. The world before her eyes began to loose its color.

Again Kazumi clapped her hands, this time twice. Only a few seconds later, Kagome heard multiple footsteps outside of her room. As soon as she heard them, the screen opened. Another small woman came into her room, and placed folded fabric at the end of her futon. Before she could say anything, the woman left the room, leaving her and Kazumi alone.

“It should fit you,” Kazumi spoke as she turned around to give Kagome some privacy.

Kagome slowly rose to grab the foreign fabric. She looked at it. It was a simple red Kimono, but its color was already fading. Somehow Kagome thought that she would have expected more since she was a guest. She quickly slung the thick fabric around her body and made a firm knot in the little black belt to held the clothing together. When she looked up again, she saw that Kazumi had placed a pair of wooden sandals, wrapped in fur, in front of her bed. She put them on as the maiden turned around to face her.

“Follow me,” she told her as she went outside into the hall. With weak muscles, Kagome lazily got her tired body out of the bedding and stood up. The world around her was spinning. She figured that she stood up too fast. The feeling only lasted a few seconds; and when she felt stronger, she finally walked the few steps through the opened screen to follow Kazumi.

At first she was a little disappointed. She had thought of high walls, with drapes hanging from them, luxurious art and more... well, what more? As far as she could tell, she thought of this Lady Chiyoko as a rich, aristocratic demon. She knew that it may be stupid to build such a picture in her mind, but even if it was wrong she still had expected... more elegance.

As she looked down the hall, she saw more and more wooden screens to each side. Candles were standing on the ground between the single rooms. The wax created a little puddle around them, but there was nothing more. Kagome turned her head to look behind her and saw that her small room was in fact the last one - the hall ended here. The walls seemed black in the low light. Kagome got the feeling that this place wouldn't give her the answers she needed - it was as dark as the memories in her head. The walls around her seemed like a prison. It seemed as if they were trying to keep the pictures of her lost memory out of her mind, just as they kept the light out. It felt oppressive.

“Come,” Kazumi spoke, breaking through her thoughts as she immediately started to walk.

As Kagome followed her with shaky legs, her eyes hung on the small back of the girl in front of her. She had the feeling that if she looked away she might loose herself - so she clung desperately with her eyes on the soft orange fabric. Everything around her made her feel so small, as if she was only a firefly, lonely and lost in a world she couldn't understand. Even though she felt kindness coming from the foreign demon in front of her, it didn't make her feel any more welcomed. Kagome thought that she might be only a burden to the Lady of the House, as well as Kiyoshi, who obviously wasn't very pleased with his mistress's order to take care of her.

Kagome sighed and almost bumped into Kazumi's slender back when the girl suddenly stopped. She watched as she slipped a screen open. Suddenly a gust of wind entered forcefully the warm hall, ripping at her clothing. Instinctively Kagome grabbed the edges of her Kimono, pulling them closer together so the wind wouldn't get through. As she walked behind Kazumi into the open, she let out a sigh of disappointment.

There was a large inner courtyard, surrounded by a building shaped like a square - she could see wooden sidewalks that went parallel to the walls, which were free of snow. Right there in the middle of the courtyard was nothing but snow, not even one footprint could be seen and Kagome wondered if flowers would bloom there in spring. She hoped her companion would lead them further so she could see more. Forgetting all about her weakened body, she took one step forward. As the wind pulled at her clothes, she saw that there was nothing; only more walls, only more doors that wouldn't open for her and show her the link to the past three days.

“Where are you taking me?” Kagome asked as she felt the icy air running through her lungs. It was cold, clouds hung heavily from the sky as they kept the sun hidden.

“Out. You said you needed air,” Kazumi replied as she looked at the priestess with one eyebrow rise. “Was it not your wish?” she asked again, “Don't you feel well?”

“No,” Kagome replied slowly to her as she lifted her head to get a better look at the sky.

“I just would like to see more - after all, I don't really know who brought me here, why I am here. It would be only fair to show me a little around.” Kagome hoped that Kazumi would grant her this wish.

Even though she felt grateful that this Lady Chiyoko had taken care of her, she wanted nothing more than to get out of this place to look for her friends. But even more, she wanted to know how she got into this mess. What had happen to her that she lost her consciousness? Where are her friends? She hoped that every single one of them would be okay.

“I can't do that. I'm sorry,” Kazumi spoke as she bowed a little. “But prisoners aren't allowed to walk around Lady Chiyoko's property.”

Pris...

Kagome stared at her. “What?!”

**********************************

“Kikyou?” Inuyasha stumbled, not believing his own eyes. He was unable to move. How could he have missed Kikyou's scent?

The earth stood still around him. All he could focus on was the woman in front of him. It had been such a long time since he had last seen her. He wasn't prepared for this moment; this wasn't how it was supposed to be! For nights he had played this moment in his head over and over again. In his fantasies he had hold her. He had whispered into her ear, that he had thought that he had died with her at Mount Hakurei - that living without her was worthless. How many nights had he lain under the stars, thinking of how to follow her. Now she was standing in front of him, and he couldn't do any of these things.

As he lost himself in her brown eyes, he saw something behind them that he didn't expected to find. He followed the line of her graceful nose, down to her red lips. Her raven hair was lifted by a soft blown wind and divested her slender neck. He swallowed hard, his eyes turning back to her face, but it wasn't the face he had known.

While he tried to get his feelings under control, Sango took a step forward.

“What do you mean by that? Kagome isn't anymore?” she asked in a harsh voice. Her right hand clasped Hiraikotsu's hilt. Did this mean that Kagome was... dead? No, it couldn't be. It couldn't end like this!

“Sango...” Miroku said as one hand reached out to grip her left hand. His fingers brushed over her knuckles. Finally, Sango took his offer. Her fingers closed around his; her grip was firm but shaking.

Out of the corners of her eyes, Sango could see Kirara leaving the cave. While she was running forward to the group, she transformed her body and soon the sparks from her paws would fall down to the earth as she flew through the air.

“Kirara!” Sango shouted.

“It's okay. I'm just upset about what Kikyou told us; there is no danger from her.” She tried to sound calm, but the truth was that she was terrified. If what Kikyou said was true, and Kagome wasn't any longer under the livings...

“Your friend is neither dead nor alive,” Kikyou spoke finally, breaking the heavy silence.

It was Inuyasha's turn to speak: “What?”

“She is not in this world anymore,” the undead priestess repeated her words.

Inuyasha took one step forward. “Why?” was all he could ask, still too overwhelmed with his feelings.

“You mean heaven, hell and earth,” Miroku spoke, when Kikyou didn't answer “Isn't that right, Lady Kikyou?”

“Kagome isn't in this one anymore? Does this mean she is...?” Sango stuttered.

“No,” Kikyou answered.

“Then you do know where she is?” Inuyasha asked her.

He wanted to reach out for her, but before he could lift his hand he stopped. He had thought that he couldn't live a day without her. Back then, fifty-three years ago, he had believed that there was a world where demons and humans could life together in peace. It was Kikyou that showed him that it was possible - it was her that showed him that life was worth living. Then he lost her.

“No,” was her reply again.

“What does this mean?” Miroku asked again. Sango and Inuyasha didn't seem as though they could form a clear thought after all that had happened, so he decided to take the lead for now.

“Wherever I walk, I can feel her,” Kikyou spoke with a calm voice as she took her bow from her back.

“After all, she is my reincarnation,” she said as the weapon lay loosely in her hand.

“Lady Kikyou,” Miroku begun again, “if I may ask, why are you here? Did you see anything that might be suspicious? Did you come because of Kagome?”

The priestess shook her head.

“I passed the mountains because of an aura I was chasing. It was nothing I have ever felt before. I did not know if it was good or evil.” She locked her eyes with Inuyasha's. “I hoped I would find Naraku... instead I found you.”

Inuyasha felt her gaze staring right into his soul. She had sealed him to the sacred tree. It was meant to last forever, but it didn't. Three years ago he awakened from her spell, not knowing how much time had passed, looking right into what he thought were her eyes.

“If you can feel Kagome or at least her aura, then you can help us to find her?” Sango asked as hope was in her voice.

There was a long pause, before Kikyou continued: “I can't feel her.”

"No..." Sango winced, using Hiraikotsu as a support to keep herself from falling. Her knees felt like they would give way any moment.

"Her aura disappears from time to time, it doesn't mean that the priestess is harmed. Yet."

"So you can't feel her, when she is in her time," Miroku said as he took another step forward to lock his gaze with Kikyou's, "Is that correct?"

Kikyou put her head back. The quickly moving clouds reflected in her brown eyes. Out of the corners of her eyes, Sango could see how Inuyasha's gaze clung to the dead priestess. The demon-slayer couldn't understand, how Inuyasha could lose himself to his feelings, even when one of their dearest friends might be in great danger.

“Kikyou,” Inuyasha said in a husky tone.

He was surprised how foreign his own voice sounded. It was just as foreign as it had sounded to him, when he spoke his first words after fifty years. He had looked at Kagome and believed that it was Kikyou. It wasn't her, he had quickly realized that. It wasn't long until he heard what had happened to both of them. That Kikyou died because of Naraku; that she died with the belief that he, Inuyasha, was her murderer. Three years ago he had felt lost, like he had when his mother died. Full of rage, he never believed that he would be able to feel again and yet he did. Because of one human girl that always believed in him - something he couldn't do. This girl wasn't Kikyou. Even though Kikyou stood right in front of him... when he looked into her eyes, he saw death. But Kagome was still alive, she just had to be. He wouldn't repeat his mistakes.

Sango felt the cool air whispering over her skin as Inuyasha stood in front of her. She believed she could see his frame trembling, but she had never seen that the half-demon lose his face in front of others.

“Please,” he whispered, “if there is a chance, help us.”

Sango almost fell back. If it wasn't for Miroku, she would have. She couldn't believe her own ears. Did Inuyasha actually beg Kikyou to help them? The half-demon was never the one who asked for help - he was just too damn proud. Maybe she had judged him wrong? Was he more concerned about Kagome than she thought? Her gaze hung on the silver hair that brushed over the back of his red haori. She was desperate to hear the answer from the priestess.

Kikyou straightened her back.

“I will.”