InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Until Death ❯ Decisions Are Made ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the other characters, so please don't sue me!

Chapter 2

Decisions Are Made

 

Kagome knew she was late to camp; she smiled wordlessly to the others, taking her place next to the demon slayer that just happened to be her best friend. Sango smiled warmly at her, handing her a steaming bowl of rabbit stew, noting the desperate glint in the young miko's eyes, and the dark hollows under her brown orbs that seemed, for the first time since she had met her, dull and lifeless. I can't shake the thought that she's hiding something from me, but Kagome tells me everything…doesn't she? She glanced sideways at Kagome, noticing her faraway look, the bowl of stew cooling, forgotten in her lap. As if sensing the attention afforded to her, Kagome picked up the stew, pushing it around in her bowl. “Kagome, are you okay? You don't seem yourself.” Sango asked, voicing her opinion openly for the first time.

Kagome nodded at Sango, offering up another smile for the sake of normalcy. I can't tell her! I don't know how to tell her! Kagome thought, a thread of fear creeping into her mind causing an unbidden shiver to run up her spine.

The dinner continued in silence, without Inuyasha's company, Kagome knew the peace would continue. She felt the consciousness of Kikyo pulling at her soul. Unable to ignore the dead miko anymore Kagome placed the untouched bowl on the ground and hoisted her tired body up with her hands. Her sudden movements caused her comrades to look at her in interest. “Lady Kagome, where are you going?” Miroku asked, though he already knew. They all watched as Kagome turned around, facing her friends, allowing them to read her emotions that lay plainly on her face. A bitter sadness settled in her warm chocolate colored eyes, deliberately wetting her lips, as if each word cost her a portion of her life, she replied, though not above a whisper. “I'm going to find Inuyasha.”

The company of friends watched wordlessly as Kagome, her yellow bag in tow, exited the circle of light and disappeared despairingly into the dark.

Following the soul collectors and their master was easy. Kagome could have easily done it in her sleep. Dropping the worn bag at the edge of the forest for fear of it slowing her down or making too much noise, Kagome quietly picked her way deeper into the forest, careful not to trip over roots and plants that littered the ground before her. It wasn't long before she could see Inuyasha and his dead lover not far in the distance. She silenced her beating heart, using a tree for support, she leaned into the clearing where the two stood.

8

Sesshoumaru easily made his way through the forest, using the scent of his half brother to get where he was going. He knew when he found his half brother, he would find his miko. A new smell entered his senses, and he shook his head. Naraku is dead, why does my brother still dwell in the company of someone such as the dead priestess? Sesshoumaru stopped a distance from the gathering. He was right, the living miko, Kagome, was standing close by, obviously watching everything that was going on between the two before them. He strained his ears to hear what was being said, and his eyes took in the scene unfolding in front of him. Impatiently, he waited for the right moment to execute his plans. Silently, he listened to what the two had to say. Knowing all too well what was going to happen in the end.

Inuyasha was the first to speak, his voice coming out barely more than a whisper as he stroked the ebony locks of his first love. “Kikyo…” he muttered, pressing his lips to her own.

Kikyo broke the kiss, breathing heavily, she ran her cold hand across the expanse of the hanyou's cheek. “Leave my reincarnation, Inuyasha. I'll join your party. Together, you and I can find the few remaining shards (A.N. In this story, though Naraku is long gone, there are still a few shards missing). We can wish for my life back.” She said, her voice silky and persuasive as she ran her long, slender fingers through the soft silver hair of the half demon.

Kagome could feel her breath lodged in her throat as she awaited the answer that would bring all of the questions she knew she was too weak and naïve to voice on her own. Who would he choose?

Inuyasha stared at the miko, contemplating which was better, Kagome or Kikyo, a living, breathing, Kikyo. He smiled at Kikyo, his answer unvoiced, but understood nevertheless.

Kagome thought that her heart had stopped as Inuyasha led a smiling Kikyo away. As the couple disappeared into the deeper depths of the forest, Kikyo turned to where Kagome stood a disfiguring smirk on her face.

Kagome tried to breath, unsure if this was a side effect of her medicine or due to the shock she had just undergone. She fell to her knees, her legs unable to carry the burden of her body any longer. The headache that had been drilling at her head for the last couple of weeks flared, blocking her vision. Falling to the ground, convulsing ground of the forest…with no one uncontrollably, Kagome faintly registered the fact that the medicine she needed was back at camp, nestled within the depths of her bag. She was going to die…all alone…on the cold, wet to hold her. No one to love her. The only person who might of done that for her was walking away, his arms wrapped around a walking, talking piece of clay. Here she was…alone…in the dark.