InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Change Time ❯ Finding Sesshomaru ( Chapter 3 )

 

 

Beta Approved Version. Mega huggles to my Jenny-y-poo for fixing this. Dedications added to this. If I missed you tell me, beat me, hate me. I'm sorry!!! If you read, review I need the praise and criticism to carry on. LOL Death threats always welcome! (you know who you are)

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

Finding Sesshomaru

 

Two months later . . .

 

Kagome awoke to the same sunlit yellow walls, the same mixture of floral scented cleaning supplies, and the same white bedspread with the all-too cheery flowered print. But all similarities ended there. Nothing was the same and would never be the same. She punched her stark white pillow as tears began to once again well up in her sunken eyes, in hopes of inflicting the same amount of pain to it as she held in her heart. Prayers for an angel of mercy to remove her from the hell she had awoken to two months prior when the spider demon, whom she found out to be one of the many demon servants that now filled the family shrine, pulled her from the well had yet again been unanswered.

 

She slowly turned her head to stare into the full length mirror hanging perfectly on her burningly bright bedroom wall. It held in it a reflection that was not the same. The half-starved sickly-looking girl staring back at her was not the same. Her once beautifully vibrant brown eyes that held the world captive were now encased in dark purple rings, streaked with the remains of salted tears and glistening with fresh ones about to fall. Her face was shallow and pale from lack of sleep, primarily due to the plague of horrific nightmares that haunted even her waking hours. The luster of silken hair was now a matted black mess of crinkled knots and unremovable tangles. It was as if she were gazing into the eyes of a ghost…a ghost that reflected her torment and pain. Kagome brought her hands to her face and let the tears fall.

 

“Kagome?” The softness of her mother's voice spoke as a tap came lightly from the other side of her closed and locked bedroom door. “Kagome, please come out of this room; it has been two days.”

 

Listening to the pain and need in her mother's voice, Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. She despised herself for putting her family through this but her mother was not the same, her brother was not the same, her grandfather was not the same. Nothing. Nothing was the same and he was gone.

 

She had awoken from a coma one month after being rescued, to a world that had completely turned upside down. Demons were now everywhere, doing their human masters every command, without question, without argument. It was sickening. At first, Kagome vowed to right the wrongfulness of this world gone mad, pouring herself into every history book imaginable, hoping to find some clue or some hope. But there was no history, no starting point to the insanity that held her. It was as if it was always a world of master and servant.

 

But Kagome knew better. She knew there was a time when her life was simple and demons were nonexistent or otherwise very well disguised. She knew of a boy, well a half-boy and half-demon named Inuyasha whom she loved greatly from the very depths of her soul. But he was gone. They were all gone and she was left with the memories.

 

At first they took pity on the girl who had awoken from the fever-induced coma, who spouted out the names of people who didn't exist. They believed it to be the after-effects of the trauma her body had sustained. Only when Kagome got her first glimpse of the demons and she began screaming and ranting on about how it was not possible that they existed still did they start pumping her with the tranquilizers and antidepressants. Then, they began telling her now rich and very powerful family that the accident had driven her insane and hopefully, with intense therapy, she would recover.

 

No one she knew, or better yet had grown to know, existed anymore. They were different; all part of her nothing…part of the unending torment of wanting what she once had.

 

“Why? Why like this? Why me? Why Inuyasha?” She sobbed silently into her pillow to no one and everyone while the memories of his every smile, every laugh, and their last moments together flooded her mind. “How can this be happening?”

 

“Kagome?”

 

Another tap upon her door but it was not her mother and it was not gentle.

 

“Kagome, get up. I will not have this young lady. I understand you had a horrible accident but it is time to rise up from this and start anew. ”

 

`Oh my Gods.' Kagome held a great loathing for this unfamiliar grandfather, but felt equally angered at herself for feeling that way. Couldn't they just let her go? Let her die in this room of failed happiness. Why did they persist on trying to make her accept this fate, this change in time?

 

The tears began to burn as they intensified, passing over the chapped skin of her cheeks, and dripping carelessly onto her now soaking pillow. She could play the role of perfect daughter and granddaughter, give up and give into this strange world she now found herself thrown into against her will, but something deep inside her would not allow it. This something burned in her like the flames of the wind scar, like the heat of fox fire. It was this something that kept her from believing in this changed time and world around her.

 

“Kagome!” Her grandfather barked his order.

 

“Fine” Kagome shrieked her answered.

 

“Good. When you are ready, I would like to talk with you downstairs.”

 

Kagome listened to the thumping of his footsteps as he left the threshold of her doorway and went down the hall until they became the skipping beats while he made his way down the stairs. She turned her head once more to look at her ghostly reflection. Someone somewhere knew the answers she so desperately desired. Did they know of her? Did they know of Inuyasha and how he gave his life for her?

 

“Inuyasha.” The whispered name escaped her lips so silently. She had been forbidden to speak it since she returned from the hospital, as though if she stopped saying his name, she would forget him, forget herself.

 

She would never forget and these memories would haunt her every breath until she was dead.

 

Brushing the tears from her eyes, she slowly began to slide her legs from under the comforter. It was still painful to move or, for that matter, to breathe. She could not help but bite her lower lip and hiss as the thin material of her sheets burned the still healing wounds as it lightly crossed over them.

 

The damage Naraku's miasma had inflicted upon her was irreversible and she would limp for the rest of her life. This made her ghostly image, if imaginable, even more haunting. She needed to bind her leg tightly, almost cutting off her circulation, in order to deal with the pain of simply walking. The strongest of pain killers were prescribed, but it was like putting a band-aid over a fresh amputation and the side effects were gruesome. Kagome was now accustomed to chewing and swallowing them like candy.

 

Still biting her lip and cursing through clenched teeth she raised herself into a full sitting position, swaying a bit while she adjusted to the movement. Mornings were never her favorite time of day but the new rituals that went along with them made them even harder too bare. At first her mother insisted that Kagome have three servants around her at all times, but once Kagome was able to move and think on her own she forbade them to follow her.

 

She slid herself to the edge of her bed, tasting her own blood as she bit harder into her lip. The pain shot through her like white-hot daggers and her chest burned as she held her breath, trying with all her might no to cry out. She stood, swaying a bit as little white lights danced like fireflies before her eyes. After a few moments the nausea subsided, and she stared once more into her hated mirror and its horrid reflection of a once beautiful girl turned offensive. She lowered her eyes and began limping toward her private bathroom.

 

An hour and a half later Kagome emerged from her room wearing her now customary grey sweats and her unmanageable hair haphazardly tied back in a bun. Modern medicine seemed to be doing its job but she still took each step with caution as she made her way slowly, step by step, down the stairs. The whispering voices of her mother and grandfather were traveling from the entryway of the kitchen.

 

`Most likely talking about me,' Kagome thought, annoyed.

 

She made her way down the hall toward the partially-open kitchen door and, not wanting to embarrass them during their heated conversation, knocked on the wooden frame of the doorway. All conversation ceased and Kagome gave a small but a triumphant smile. She could hear her mother rush to slide the rest of the door open.

 

“Oh Kagome. You look . . .” Her mother's pause in trying to find a word that would not give away her distaste of her daughter's attire was fitting. They were, after all, quite well-off in this new world and her mother's new style of dress reeked of the money they now had. “Lovely.” She smiled.

 

Kagome found it hard not to laugh from the sheer insanity of it all, right in her `not-her-mother's' perfectly made-up face and highlighted, long, flowing hair.

 

“Kagome.”

 

Her mother's voice was etched in that fake singsong way it sometimes took now. She took Kagome's hand with her perfectly manicured fingers and, like one leading a blind child, wrapped it in her arm. “Some of your friends have stopped by to see you, dear.”

 

Kagome tried to break from her mother's grasp but her mother was using her weakened condition to her advantage and she pulled her into the kitchen. “It's for your own good,” She half-whispered pulling harder.

 

“Moth . . . err ah . . . hi guys.” Kagome plastered her fake smile to her face. “Uh . . .” She scratched the back of her head. “What brings you here?” She felt the chapped skin of her cheeks crack more.

 

“Hi Kagome,” Eri started “You look . . . uhhh.” Eri looked to her friends for some help.

 

“Better . . . You look better,” Yuka finished for her.

 

Kagome looked to Ayumi to see how far she would go in the blatant lie. She was never one to keep from stating the obvious and Kagome was not disappointed.

 

“No, she doesn't. Kagome you look horrible.” Ayumi said with a bit too much gusto. Eri and Yuka's mouths fell open.

 

“Uh . . .” Kagome was at a loss for words but quickly recovered. “Why are you here?”

 

“For you of course.” Ayumi answered “We are going to get you a complete makeover and from the looks of it we are just in time.”

 

“Listen I really . . .” Kagome tried to sound thankful, “appreciate what you guys are trying to do for me and I . . .”

 

“She would love to.” Her grandfather's voice boomed as his clenched fist pounded the kitchen table.

 

“Gramps . . .”

 

“Kagome, your friends are here to take you out and you will go.” He finished.

 

The room was as silent as the grave. Kagome could feel the anger and hatred for these strangers welling up inside of her. How dare they treat her like this, how dare they act as if she were fine as if nothing had ever happened? They are not the people she knew and loved. They were imposters playing a sick and twisted game with her and her emotions.

 

“And you will take a servant with you,” her `not-the-same-grandfather' added, as if it made the deal final and set in stone. To prove his point further he stood from the table and gave Kagome a stare of cold steel, daring her to defy him, just before he left the kitchen.

 

“Fine.” Kagome could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she made the proclamation to her grandfather's back. “Let's go.” It was a command, not a statement, and she turned, limping to leave the kitchen in the opposite direction of her grandfather.

 

“That went well.” She heard her mother say in a tearful voice.

 

 

…

 

 

Five hours later, Kagome sat at a small bistro wishing she had never left the sanctity of her overly cheery bedroom that morning. Her head pounded, her leg pounded and she had popped the last of her sanity pills two hours ago. She had now endured a rude awakening, a fight with her grandfather, a hairdresser with a sense of humor, a boutique with no sense of style, and now her friends' gossip. Not to mention the fact she had to bring along a family servant. To say that she had had enough was an understatement. All she needed now was a lethal dose of poison to seal the deal…or another round of drinks. Whichever came first.

 

“And did you see what she was wearing?” Eri was going on about a classmate they had run into earlier.

 

“I know,” answered Yuka. “And did you see who she was with?”

 

“If her mother only knew,” rang the distasteful voice of Ayumi.

 

Kagome watched as the sea of busy shoppers passed them by, seemingly so content with their lives. Every so often a demon would catch her eye and Kagome would flinch before realization took over and she remembered that it was a normal occurrence for these fearsome-faced creatures to walk amongst humans as slaves, and that they were now a part of her everyday life.

 

She turned to look at the spider demon sitting behind her. He was the same demon who pulled her from the well weeks earlier. His neatly pressed, royal-colored clothes reflected the newly acquired importance her family now held. What showed of his gray spindle-like legs seemed to be covered in course white spines. His face was old, showing the wrinkles of a long life. His eyes were slate and almost blank; he seemed not to be paying attention to anything and everything at the same time, lost in a world of daydreams, perhaps. Kagome found herself wondering if this Spider had a family somewhere missing him and was he thinking about them right now? He must have sensed her stares for his eyes became clear and he looked at her questioningly.

 

Blushing a bit at her rudeness Kagome smiled slightly and looked past her spider companion and saw it, or better yet saw him, following closely behind a rather lavishly overdressrd woman.

 

“Am I going insane?” she questioned herself, shaking her head and looking toward his direction.

She saw it again…the streak of silver. It was his silver. Ignoring the puncture of pain, she stood on the seat of her chair to get a better look. Her friends stopped their inane conversation, too stunned by her actions to say anything. She could see the back of him clearly. The vividness of his long hair reflecting in the bright afternoon sun was signaling for her to come.

She jumped from her perch, cursing loudly as her body met the solid ground and her leg began to burn with ferocity. Sucking in her breath and trying to ignore the pain, she straightened herself and began pushing her way forcefully through the mob of shoppers, knocking a few large packages and bags from one of their demon pet's loaded arms. She paid no attention to the angry looks she was receiving or the shrill calls from her friends to come back. Every few seconds she tried, without much success, jumping up to keep him in her sight. All the while she kept the pain as far from her conscious mind as possible, focusing only on reaching him.

“Inuyasha!” She called. Her heart pounding painfully in her chest was threatening to burst if she didn't reach him that instant. The muscles in her leg began tightening in response to the heightened activity it was suffering, as if it had a will of its own and was trying to stop her.

At last she came upon him. His back was to her as he walked just a few paces ahead. She knew the familiar stride. She savored the bounce of his long silvery locks as she attempted to regain her composure. It was he, her best friend, her savior, her love.

She broke through the crowd, knocking an old woman over in her wake. She was so caught up in her quest that she did not turn to apologize. People from everywhere were calling out to her. The need to reach him was too strong for the formalities of this insane world. Twenty thundering and intensely painful steps turned into ten, to five, until she reached forward, gripping his strong shoulders, spinning him around forcefully with all the strength she had left. Throwing her body against his firm chest, she caused them both to fall to the ground. Hot tears streamed down her face blurring everything and everyone around her. The burning pain from her healing wounds threatening to take her from consciousness

“I found you!” She cried out pulling him tighter.

He did not move. Inuyasha did not return the gesture with his own bone crushing embrace, offered no breath-stealing kisses. His body remained as solid and cold as the ground they lay upon.

“Inuyasha?” Her voice was a harsh whisper as she gasped for breath. “What is wrong with you?” Gripping his clothes in tightened fists, afraid he would disappear if she let go, she lifted her face to look into his emotionless amber eyes and froze.

“Sesshomaru!”

 

The sea of shoppers began backing off, forming a ring around the two entangled bodies on the dirty city street. Many were whispering in shock giving faces of disgust, while others laughed at the scene of the lame girl on top of a servant demon.

 

“What is going on here?” A woman cried from behind Sesshomaru as she pushed her way past the ring of spectators. “Get up, get off him! You disgusting, stupid . . . oh I should have guessed it would be you. Still falling down are we?” She added with a smug chortle.

 

Kagome was too shocked to say a word. She was frozen, pinned to the chest of someone familiar, someone the same, someone who could remember. She felt the rise and fall of his chest, heard the sound of his breath as he stared at her with his customary stony look.

 

She didn't care if it was the same demon that had, on quite a few occasions, tried to kill her and her friends. She didn't care if it was the same demon that had lost, but . . . his arm had returned. Kagome could feel its well-formed muscles under the red silk top he now wore. She grabbed the hem of the sleeve, tearing it as she forcefully pulled, not caring about the onlookers or his obnoxious owner. She needed to see, needed to know, could he be the same? Gripping his bicep she explored every inch, looking for a scar, a mark, anything. But, try as she might, the only marks she could find were the half-moon indents her fingernails made on his well-defined muscles. Her heart sank as the tears began to fill her eyes.

 

“You're mad! I knew it. I knew that accident took your sanity.” His owner screeched in a rage. “GET OFF HIM!”

“SHUT UP, NYOKO!” Ayumi bellowed in a pant as the three friends reached the scene, pushing there way through the crowd.

 

“Leave Kagome alone, you spoiled brat,” Eri added

 

Kagome felt a slight pressure on her shoulder as Yuka's hand touched her.

 

“It's okay Kagome,” she whispered. “Can you stand?”

 

Lifting her head slowly, tears streaking the mascara from her new make-over down her cheeks, she looked into the cold amber eyes of her Inuyasha's older half-brother.

 

“Do you remember me?” She whispered through her salted tears.

 

“Come on Kagome.” Yuka said, groaning as she started lifting her from the ground.

 

Kagome was half way standing when she felt a clawed hand grip her wrist. The crowd around them was too busy watching the quarrelling girls to notice anything else. Yuka was struggling with trying to set them both upright and had Kagome not been so eager for just one word, one syllable, anything from him she would have missed it.

 

“I remember.”

 

He dropped her hand and with the gracefulness and speed that was Sesshomaru he was back behind his mistress as if nothing ever happened.

 

 

 

 

 

PEOPLE I LOVE AND GIVE ME MOTIVATION, INSPIRATION AND SOMETIMES A GREAT BIG KICK IN THE ASS!!!!! NOT NESSISARILY IN THAT ORDER ^_^

 

JEN “THE HOTT ONE” Who didn't abandon me and stayed up past 1:30 a.m. to beta the dribble I send her!

MUAH!!!!! I'll buy you that pet penguin.

 

ANNETTE “PRACTICALLY PERFECT IN EVERYWAY”

 

~Sintar

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