InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tomorrow ❯ Chapter 30 ( Chapter 30 )

Chapter Thirty

Kagome sat up with a start. Had she heard a noise? Thunder, perhaps? She didn't know. There was no echo of the sound in the quiet temple.

Perhaps it was the silence that had woken her.

Kagome sat up and shivered as the cold hit her. She looked up, through the hole in the ceiling of the old shrine. The sky was silver. There was no rain, no wind. She stood up and slowly walked out of the shrine.

InuYasha and SesshoMaru had already noticed the end of the Tsunami. As ever, SesshoMaru was perched on the roof of the battered shrine. InuYasha was standing further away on the small island, near the beach, staring at the distant and empty skyline, remembering a time when it was not so empty. Or perhaps thinking of the things SesshoMaru had spoken of, quietly, among the rain and the wind. Of a world long gone.

Kagome peeled away one of the ofuda that had shielded the shrine from the storm and let it fall to the ground. Like a sleepwalker, she wandered across the island, noting how most of the vegetation had been uprooted or drowned. And yet, there was a flower still alive.

She hardly noticed how cold it was as she knelt down next to the tiny pink flower. She reached out to touch its cold petals. They should not flourish this late in the year, surely? She careful cupped her hands around the flower, as if warming it. It made her think of Hanako. The “flower child”.

She wondered when SesshoMaru had changed, that he'd talk of memories that clearly caused him so much pain, especially to InuYasha. Maybe it was Kagura's influence. Maybe it was Rin. Thinking of Hanako explained a lot of why SesshoMaru protected Rin...

Her fingers froze on the stem as something drifted down and settled onto the flower. Something tiny and white.

A snowflake.

She looked up at the silver sky as, slowly, more tiny white flakes began to fall, spiralling down to the earth. After the noise of the storm, this silent snow seemed eerie. There was not even any wind. There was only silence.

She looked back down at the flower. A drop of water joined the melting snowflake. Surely it couldn't be raining? But something freezing slipped down Kagome's cheek, and she realized that she was crying.

“Kagome?” InuYasha said softly, instantly appearing at her side. She shivered, and he wrapped his warm arms around her. Still, she couldn't stop crying. The more snow she saw, the sadder she felt.

“What's wrong, Kagome?” he asked. “It's only a light snow. We still have time to get to Hokkaido...”

“I know,” Kagome gasped, struggling to hold back the powerful urge to cry. “It's just... I don't know what will be waiting for us there. I feel so scared. I feel like something might have happened to them...”

Inside the shrine, though Kagome didn't know it, Sango was crying too. Miroku held her.

“It w s only a nightmare,” he said. “Calm down... was it so bad? What was it about?”

“Y-Yuki and Haruka,” Sango gasped, trying to control the powerful sobs. “I saw them as children. And they were running away from me. I could never see both of them at once. I was starting to forget if there was one of them or two...”

“It's all right,” Miroku said, rubbing her back soothingly. “They're as tough as their Okaa-san. I'm sure they're all right. Listen, the tsunami's over. Soon, we'll see them again. Everyone will be all right. We have to hold onto that.”

“You're right,” Sango muttered, regaining control. “We have to move. Once I see them safe, I'll be fine. I'm just worried about them...”

“InuYasha and Kagome are already up,” Miroku said. “I'll see how Kohaku and Rin are...”

“He's right,” Sango whispered again, to herself. “They'll be all right. He's right. I hope he's right...”

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Some hours earlier

Yamazaki opened his eyes the second the wind died. He hadn't been sleeping. The fire in his gut was too strong for that. But he already knew that his days were numbered. Before they ran out, he had to see that white bastard burn... and that little bitch...

“Hayashi,” he called. The younger man appeared almost instantly. He looked pale and worried. Perhaps he was catching an illness. The bad weather may have been good for sailing, but it was no good for health. “Wake and rally the men. The tsunami is over. We move as soon as possible, understood?”

“Of course, Yamazaki-sama,” Hayashi said, bowing out.

An hour later, Yamazaki had bullied the captains into giving him a horse, and a damn fine horse it was too. Hayashi said he'd ride another. Despite the burning pain in his stomach, Yamazaki felt the dark glee of knowing that, soon, justice would be done.

“Are the grenadiers already in place?” he asked, as Hayashi rode up beside him.

“Yes, Yamazaki-sama,” he confirmed. “The youkai who fight will be shot, and those who flee will be crushed. We will have them.” And yet, there was an odd undercurrent to Hayashi's words.

“Are you worried that the plan will fail, Hayashi?” Yamazaki asked. Hayashi quickly shook his head.

“Of course not, Yamazaki-sama,” he said, “Your idea is perfect. Turning their own tricks against them. The wet weather does not agree with me, that is all.”

“I hope you'll be well enough to fight, then!” Yamazaki replied jovially.

It took some hours to reach the ruins of the holy mountain. By the time they drew near, it was past midnight.

“Order the men to load their guns,” Yamazaki said. The captains rode off to obey. The men were well-trained, and excited to get a proper battle against the monsters. They soon formed into organised ranks.

“Yamazaki-sama, should we not wait for daylight?” Hayashi asked. Yamazaki shook his head. The pain was blazing worse than ever. He would not wait for dawn, because there was a chance, he knew, that he would not reach it.

“They will likely smell us,” he said. “We must waste no time. Forwards!”

He spurred his horse on, through the piles of rock and rubble, fallen trees giving way to bare land. From the sky, it could be seen that no vegetation grew in a perfect circle around the destroyed mountain. A mountain from which a multitude of voices was rising.

“They have noticed us! Top speed! Send up the signal!” he called. A man fired his gun into the air. The voices grew louder, but further away.

Yamazaki crested a hill to see them fleeing in masses, towards the small pass through the rubble where his men were waiting. As he rode down the hill, sending the last of them fleeing faster, he saw a face through the crowd: Kazeko. With an angry yell, he chased after the distant figures. They vanished quickly. Any second now, the men would set off the explosives, crushing or trapping the youkai. Just like what had happened to him.

There was no explosion. Yamazaki rode on through the rubble, the soldiers and officers on horses on his tail, the foot soldiers behind them. Most of the men on horses were steering their horse with one hand and raising their gun with the other. As they saw the trees begin again through the rocks, they realized why the explosives had not been set off.

The men lay in pools of blood by the piles of bombs and gunpowder. In between the two huge piles stood a girl with hair as short as a boy's, wearing the clothes of the dark warriors.

She was smiling the most disturbing smile that Yamazaki had ever seen.

She had a grenade in each hand.

Yamazaki dew his sword and abandoned all thought. He did not think about what was most likely about to happen, what the consequences would be, what the chances of him reaching her first were. The feeling was peaceful, in a way. His shirt felt heavy and damp. He swung his sword at the she-warrior.

She slipped the pins from the grenades.

She was still smiling as they hit the explosives.

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In the noise and confusion, the screaming and fear, no-one heard the sound of shattering. Yuki did. It resonated through her entire skull as she saw them.

Why did she think she could bury this? That she could forget it? That it would simply go away, fading into nothing? It felt like a stain in her mind. A stain that she couldn't wash away. The more she tried, the bigger it grew. And it was breaking her.

They were going to die. They would all be slaughtered.

Yuki looked over her little brothers and sister, her cousins, her friends. She looked, for a long time, at Haruka and Isamu. Haruka was crying, Isamu comforting her.

She was still holding the grenade that she'd taken from the soldier.

She couldn't let them die.

That was when it shattered.

“Satsuki,” she said, a stupid, dangerous plan forming in her head. “You got that guy's grenade?” She barely felt the heavy explosive as it was tentatively pressed into her hand. She only thought of how she would do it. She couldn't think about the consequences.

“Ane-ue,” Kazuki said, his voice sharp but distant, “what are you doing?”

Yuki couldn't bring herself to say. Instead, gripping the grenades, tensing her muscles to run, she said, “Buying us time. Use it well, all right?”

She ran. Pushing herself as hard as she could, running faster than ever before, she headed back towards the distant noises of yelling men and clattering hooves. She couldn't remember going this fast before. She almost laughed. These were probably the kind of results Okaa-san's athletic training was aiming for. But it wasn't training that pushed her onwards, made her forget the burning in her lungs and legs.

She stopped when she saw the two piles of explosives. Walking slowly now, she stood directly between the two piles. Yamazaki had probably wanted to provoke a landslide, to crush or trap them.

Oh, there'd be a landslide all right. She waited as the calls drew nearer.

“YUKI!”

That was Haruka's voice, wasn't it? A voice just like her own. Yuki grinned wider. She and Haruka had always been so close, as if they were two halves of the same person. She wasn't going to disappear. Not today. Not ever.

She turned to flash a smile at her sister. Isamu and Kazuki were running, too. Resting her eyes on him for a second. Yuki turned around, to see Yamazaki riding at her. She'd never seen the man before, but she knew. Surely horses were faster than that?

She slid her thumbs under the pins, raising her arms. Yamazaki raised his sword.

“YUUUUKIIIIII!” Isamu yelled. Yuki didn't look back. His voice was still ringing in her ears as she looked Yamazaki in the eye and, still smiling, flicked out the pins and flung the grenades into the two piles of explosives.

Only at the last second did she close her eyes.

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The world exploded in fire, a gaping hole in the mountain crumbling and collapsing, pouring over the path and those soldiers who had earned the glory of leading. Yamazaki was the first to fall, the fire engulfing him as if he were falling into hell- his rightful place, no doubt. Something was flung from the blast, high into the air, falling amidst the rain. Red rain, issuing from a torn and burnt corpse. Isamu leapt and caught her, wincing at the unnatural way that her body lolled in his arms.

Haruka let out a strangled sob as Isamu gently laid Yuki down. Kazuki heard a gasp behind him and saw Michio and Hitomi staring. He quickly pushed them into the trees. They must have come back to see what had happened to Yuki...

But they didn't need to see this. Isamu and Haruka didn't need to see this. But Kazuki got the feeling that Yuki needed them to.

Tears poured down Haruka's cheeks as she knelt next to her twin, numbly absorbing the burnt clothes and torn flesh. There was blood everywhere, blood identical to her own. Every cut she saw, she felt tearing into her. Tears dribbled off of her chin as blood dribbled from Yuki's mouth. Yuki fought for breath and opened her eyes, to stare at Isamu and Haruka. Yuki's gaze stopped on Isamu and something Haruka saw in her twin's eyes broke her.

“Everyone... safe?” Yuki said. Haruka began to sob aloud at Yuki's torn and broken voice. Eyes bright, face empty, Isamu forced himself to nod. Yuki managed a jagged smile. “Good...” it was less a word, more an exhalation. She closed her eyes as she coughed, thick black lifeblood pouring from her. “Hey... you two...” she managed. “Name... one a'... your kids... after me... alright?” Haruka sobbed even harder, shaking her head as she closed her eyes, to hide the truth as she tried to lie to herself and her sister.

“No,” she said, “You're coming. We'll patch you up. You'll live in Hokkaido with us. Don't go, Yuki! You can't! Please...” she trailed off, now crying too hard to speak. Yuki coughed harder, and Isamu realized that she had tried to laugh. His heart shattered as he looked into Yuki's face, so much like Haruka's, and knew what Yuki knew: she would never see Hokkaido.

“I'm sorry... I... lied to you... both...” Yuki said, looking up at him. “The truth is... I always... as long as... Haruka has...” she drew a shallow breath, fighting to continue. “But you... loved her. And... I wanted... you two... to be... happy... so... I lied...” she closed her eyes, husbanding her remaining strength to say what must be said. “I never told you... that I always... loved you, too... Isamu...” Yuki fell silent, her last rattling breath fading forever. Haruka gasped.

“No,” she said, reaching for her twin's mouth and neck, feeling for breath, a pulse, anything... “No... no... NO! YUKI!! NOOOO!!!”

Haruka screamed as she watched herself die, screamed her pain to the heavens above. Her chest burning, she screamed her pain to a world that kept on turning. Why did it? Her world had ended! She had died! So why was that damned sun still daring to rise, to grace a world where Yuki was dead with light? How dare the wind still blow to caress her corpse? How dare it?!

She felt Isamu's hand against her shoulder and turned, flinging herself against his chest as if being unable to see Yuki's corpse meant that it wasn't real. Yet she could still feel it, as if she had gone into the fire with her sister; her chest burning as if it were on fire, yet the cold numbness as if every drop of blood had poured from her veins. Isamu felt Haruka's pain as keenly as if it were his own as he stared at Yuki's corpse, yet he did not see it. What he saw had happened long ago, happy times long gone in places to which they could never return. He saw both of them, Yuki and Haruka- when had they not been together?

His earliest memory- little girls' faces, giggling, dangling little toys and cuddling him as he lay in his mother's arms...

Chasing them in a childish game, Kazuki too, yet Yuki suddenly tripped Kazuki and Haruka had been too busy laughing to run when Isamu caught up to her...

They'd trained together, such perfect unison in fighting that it was hard to believe anything ever defeating them...

Dancing with Haruka at the party... had he really seen Yuki watching them, with a look in her eyes that he hadn't understood- or had he known, and just ignored?

Haruka in the moonlight, by the little lake... they had been all alone, their first kiss, and yet, perhaps they'd both felt it... the ghost of Yuki, by Haruka's side, always...

Yuki and Haruka... the twins, each, it seemed, half of the same person... always together... always together, until...

Yet now Haruka was so broken, it was as if they'd both died. How could one exist without the other? How could he exist without either? A single tear slid from his face to Haruka's hair, and another, and another, all mingling with Haruka's. They both cried, in the light of dawn, absorbing each other's tears as a balm that soothed the burns and filled their veins once more. And in that dawn, a dawn stained with blood and tears, Yuki alone smiled, the peaceful smile of eternity.

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Speaking of dying, Saphira404, here you go...

*sniffle*

InuYasha is the property of Takahashi Rumiko-Sensei, and I claim no ownership of any of it. All couples not involving original characters will be strictly canon. Aside from Haruka, Yuki and Kazuki, I made up all of the kids, though since birthdates other than Kazuki's were never really stated in the manga, nor names, I've made these up as well. This fanfic will make little sense if you have not read the entire manga, and I'm afraid that to read the last twenty or so volumes you will have to (at the time of writing) venture into the internet, but I strongly suggest that you do buy the Tankoban volumes for yourself, so that Takahashi-sensei can afford to continue gracing us with her imagination. Anyway, hope you enjoy the fic. ^_-