InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What The Future Brings ❯ Flashbacks Of The Truth ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 7 - Flashbacks Of The Truth

Previously - -

Kagome had a strange feeling within her. She was too distracted by a weird aura that surrounded her body to focus on the fight between Inuyasha and Kaida. Kagome quickly heard a rattle in the bushes and trees in the forest. She could've sworn she saw someone pass by abruptly but couldn't figure out who… and the last thing she knew, she blacked out. That person… so familiar…

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Kagome shot up from the cold ground with a look of complete confusion on her face.

“What was it that I saw in the forest behind the bushes?” She asked herself.

She slowly stood up so as not to lose her balance, for she was still weak after all she had been through. More and more flashbacks started becoming fresh in her mind. She could hardly remember her own name once she regained consciousness after the brutal hit she took from Tetsusaiga but now everything was starting to become clearer… everything except how Inuyasha didn't really hurt her.

Kagome wasn't sure which way it was back to Kaede's hut and quite frankly, she didn't even really want to go back there. For all she knew, Inuyasha could be waiting to slice her up into little pieces with his sharp claws. Kagome winced at the thought of being harmed again. But then Kagome remembered the flashback of Inuyasha and her other friends fighting Kaida.

`If I remember watching Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango fighting Kaida while I stayed a good distance away before I got hurt, then why do I also remember Inuyasha and Kikyo being the ones who tried to hurt me?`

Kagome continued walking trying to figure out how it was that she really got hurt and which of the two scenarios to believe was true. Mostly she couldn't get her mind off of who the person lingering in the forest could've possibly been.

“That person in the forest… so familiar… too familiar, actually…” Kagome said aloud, looking at the ground and scratching her chin in thought.

Kagome looked up and stopped dead in her tracks, only to become face to face with the undead woman herself. Kikyo. It seemed as though she just appeared out of nowhere. Kagome hadn't sensed anybody's presence at all.

“Ah, why are you wandering around in such a dark forest?” Kikyo smirked as she looked around taking notice that Kagome was by herself.

“…and without Inuyasha. You should know better than that. Some demon could be lurking out here ready to eat you alive”, Kikyo gave Kagome a wicked grin.

“Hmph, as if I need him to protect me…” Kagome retorted. By the look of confidence on her face, you could've never guessed that Kagome really did need Inuyasha. At that moment would've been a great time for him to show up, though. But Kikyo looked right past Kagome's optimistic act and knew the real truth.

“Hm… maybe you're right. I mean, after all, he IS the one who nearly killed you with his precious sword. Why would he protect you if he was trying to get rid of you?” Kikyo replied deviously.

Before Kagome could think of a clever answer, another flashback came to her. This one could be the one to answer some of the questions that were basically torturing her. OR it could put her into a deeper state of confusion.

*FLASHBACK*

Kagome glanced into the forest trying to figure out who it was lurking in the bushes. She squinted her eyes and finally saw the outfit of a priestess. That priestess being Kikyo. Kagome quickly gasped as she saw Kikyo form into one of her very own soul collectors.

“Kik-” Kagome whispered looking a bit disturbed at Kikyo's presence.

She was cut off as she blacked out. The last thing she saw was the soul collector approaching her, and rapidly too.

*END FLASHBACK*

“You become a soul collector to go inside my body…” Kagome said breathily, without another thought in her mind.

So much for Kikyo's clever plan. Kagome could tell that something was up being that she could recall Kikyo forming into a soul collector and heading straight for her body. What Kikyo didn't know was that Kagome was confused about the whole situation. Kikyo thought that Kagome had figured out the entire thing.

“Well, I guess you are smarter than I thought. Who would've thought, I mean after hanging out with that half-breed Inuyasha I figured you'd be dumber than bricks,” Kikyo said in a frustrated tone.

This comment about Inuyasha angered Kagome, but Kagome, being the clever girl that she was, made it out to be as though she knew everything about Kikyo's little scheme so that Kikyo would spill everything to her.

“Yeah, well I guess part of my plan worked because you are no longer with Inuyasha”, Kikyo said wholeheartedly.

“Eh… well uhm… what didn't work in your plan?” Kagome said almost making it completely obvious that she wanted to know more.

“Well, I guess I underestimated you, seeing as you have figured this all out. As you already know, me and Kaida were working together to distract Inuyasha from hovering over you every 5 seconds like a love sick puppy. So Kaida went to put up a good fight with him, leaving you to fend for yourself. We both knew that Inuyasha would use his lame excuse for a sword to hit Kaida with wind scar, that being his only attack, and Kaida planned to stay in front of you and turn to ash, leaving wind scar to hit you head on. As it turned out, it did hit you, but I guess his attempt to kill Kaida with wind scar happened a few seconds too late being that you saw me turn into a soul collector and enter your body to affect your conscience.”

Kagome stood dumbstruck by what she was hearing.

`Kikyo was affecting my conscience… oh my god… its beginning to all make sense…`

“Yeah, so… you were in my conscience”, Kagome said as though she already knew that before Kikyo told her.

“The vision I put into your conscience apparently turned you against him, and I knew it would. The vision of Inuyasha betraying you with me was enough to make you go insane with anger. Any fool would know that bottled up jealousy you have. You are so afraid that Inuyasha will forever love me and forget about you.”

The vision of Inuyasha betraying you with me.That line kept replaying in her mind. Kagome realized that Inuyasha didn't betray her. It all played a part in Kikyo's conniving plan.

“I knew that would be the perfect plan to get you away from him for a while. Kaida dying was not part of the plan so I had to work alone in getting you to distrust Inuyasha”, Kikyo blurted.

“But… why didn't you both just kill me there and then when you had the chance? Instead you went into my body as a soul collector which only kept me alive…” Kagome wondered.

“Well, I wasn't planning on having you die because that would mean you'd be done and rid of. I first had to accomplish my goal of having you and Inuyasha be against each other… the way me and him were, before I died and he was pinned to the tree…” Kikyo said with a saddened yet angry look on her face. The ground was all Kikyo could look at as she spoke about Inuyasha.

“But, Kagome, with you dead, Inuyasha would just have a grudge against me for this whole little plan with Kaida and Naraku! He really isn't stupid, he knows we all worked together, and anyway, he would have any suspicion I took part in some bad scheme after my little threat when you were practically ON TOP of him at the well!” Kikyo was bawling now.

This was very hard for Kagome to absorb all at once. After the way she treated Inuyasha, now he would never want to speak to her again.

`Wow, and I treated him like dirt for nothing… I know how he is… he's not going to care if I come back or not… but even if I did-` Kagome's thoughts were interrupted by Kikyo's voice once again.

“Heh, but who knows actually… now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't only my soul collector that kept you alive… I could've gotten my soul collector out of you in an instant and let you die… but the jewel shards around your neck… that's what probably kept your pathetic body alive”, Kikyo seethed.

Kagome looked at the jewel shards dangling in the little glass bottle around her neck. With one hand she gently took hold of the small bottle and lightly squeezed it, as if to thank it for saving her life. Kagome then looked back up at Kikyo, reminded of all the things she has done to her in the past. This little plan of hers had gone a little too far to remain calm.

“Well Kikyo, it seems to me like you wouldn't have done this unless you are still in love with Inuyasha, am I right? That's too bad he doesn't love you anymore… maybe this little experience is tearing your clay heart in half… what a crying shame” Kagome snapped.

“Well, MY guess is that he doesn't love you either”, Kikyo grinned.

“And why would you say that?” Kagome scolded.

“Because Kagomehas chosen to be with Sesshomaru, and wants to kill Inuyasha”, Kikyo snickered.

“What?? What are you talking about?” Kagome's heart was racing.

“Go see for yourself…” Kikyo said as she vanished into the forest.

Without a second thought, Kagome raced back to Kaede's hut using her good senses as a way to try to guide her there. She ran to the window and heard a lot of shouting going on inside the hut. She ducked below the window only peeking her head over a little to see what was going on inside. Kagome's eyes widened as she looked inside and saw exactly what she didn't want to see…

While Kikyo is in the forest with Kagome, someone is doing something to Inuyasha pretending to be Kagome… a duplicate… Naraku is the duplicate… this was to lure Kagome away from Inuyasha.