InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When We Awaken ❯ Ch 10: I Am Awakened, Part I ( Chapter 10 )

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

Chapter Ten: I Am Awakened, Part I

I nuyasha was at the Sunset Shrine resting within the branches of the Goshinboku tree. Dappled sunlight flickered across his features as the leaves fluttered in the breeze. As he looked down, he could see Kagome attending to her shrine duties, a broom in her hands. He had considered leaving, but he didn’t have the heart to do so. He had just left her room in the morning, along with a certain kitsune who had slept much better than he did.

He had been spending all of his nights and some of his days with Kagome. Of course, his nights only consisted of guard duty and of seeing Kagome cuddle up with a young fox demon, as if he were a stuffed animal.

He crossed his arms as a frown etched itself across his face. It had been hard to be around Kagome since he had returned from his father’s exile. He knew more than anything that he craved Kagome’s presence, but he felt like there was a wall between the two of them. More than anything, he wanted to be close to the miko, but found himself falling short on how to do so. The girl had been aloof since the attack by Naraku and he still didn’t quite understand why it had made her so sad. He understood that Naraku was a kid in her past that she had cared for, but he was now a monster on a murderous rampage—one that seemed to be focused on his death. Try as he might, Inuyasha didn’t have much sympathy for Naraku. The guy seemed to have more in common with a sociopath than an innocent young boy.

A woman’s voice called out, “Kagome.”

Inuyasha turned his head to see Mrs. Higurashi approach Kagome.

Kagome stopped her sweeping of the shrine grounds to smile at the middle-aged woman. “Yes, Higurashi-san?”

The older woman smiled briefly with a gentle warmness, before she blanched and looked away from Kagome’s face. “You look so much like her,” the older woman said as she wrenched her hands.

Kagome paused to put the broom gently down and walked cautiously over to Mrs. Higurashi. The middle-aged woman was still looking at the ground when Kagome put a hand on her shoulder.

Mrs. Higurashi startled with the small touch. “Please don’t,” murmured the older woman. She turned and looked at Kagome resolutely. Her face was momentarily a stoic mask before a fissure broke. Tears started to meander down her cheeks as she gazed lovingly at Kagome. “You look…you look so much like her,” the older woman sobbed before she drew away with a bitter expression. “But…you’re not her…you will never be her, no matter what Souta thinks.”

The young miko could have soured at the dour look on the mother’s face, but instead softness suffused her features, combined with muted pity. Despite the hands off approach of most Japanese, Kagome reached for the woman’s hands before drawing the older woman into her embrace.

“Grieve, Kun-loon,” she whispered. “I am grieving, too.”

With those words, the dam broke on the woman’s emotions and the sobs increased in volume. Inuyasha looked away. He was never comfortable with seeing a woman cry, no matter who is was, but to hear that Kagome was grieving as well, and knowing exactly whom she was grieving for, made his heart feel icy cold. How could Kagome accept him when she was still thinking about a dead man?

The two women stood under the Goshinboku tree for an interminable period of time. The older woman still sobbed and the younger woman still held her in her arms, attempting to be the mother’s anchor in the storm.

Eventually, the older woman pulled away and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. “I didn’t mean to do that…I...”

The younger woman made a shushing motion with her lips. “Kun-loon, it is only natural to be sad when you have lost a loved one.” Kagome paused and seemed to be considering her words. “I too, have lost a loved one.

Inuyasha turned to see the older woman looking up at Kagome as surprise flitted across her features. The young miko continued, “It really happened ages ago, but it seems like it was just…” Kagome turned to look helplessly at Mrs. Higurashi who filled in her remaining words.

“It feels like it just happened. The wound is too fresh,” added the middle-aged woman. She sighed.

Kagome gazed at Mrs. Higurashi’s tear stained face and spoke, “Sometimes I feel like any passing happiness I have felt is a betrayal of the one I have loved...”

The older woman nodded in understanding.

The miko continued, “But I realize that he would have wanted me to be happy.” The girl looked at the other woman with sad eyes. “He wouldn’t want me to spend my entire life in mourning...”

Mrs. Higurashi smiled softly and then added her own words. “The one you have lost would have wanted you to keep on living. The one you loved wouldn’t want your life to be filled with sadness.” Inuyasha noticed that the older woman chuckled before a wry smile found itself on her lips. “Thank you, Kagome. It is not often that I learn a lesson from someone younger than me.”

Kagome looked at her with a soft grin on her face. “Grief is its own teacher. We just need to be open to what it is trying to teach us.”

“…to move on?” the older woman questioned.

The miko paused as if considering her words. “We all need to move on eventually, but not without paying heed to the past—to the ones we have loved.”

The older woman sighed again. “I actually came out to tell you that Hojo would not be able to make it to work today.”

Kagome frowned in consideration. “Hojo? Why can’t he…?”

The older woman sighed. “He said that he was sick. But I think there’s another reason. A reason that I have been meaning to share with you.” Mrs. Higurashi looked at Kagome meaningfully. “Hojo is a sweet young man and has been helping out at this shrine for about three years now. But you need to know that he dated Kikyo.”

Kagome gasped and looked at Mrs. Higurashi in confusion. “What? He?”

The middle-aged woman continued. “And you look just like her.” She paused to take a steady breath. “You look just like Kikyo. I have seen that look on his face before. The way he looks at you, he looked at Kikyo the same way.

The older woman stared directly into Kagome’s eyes. “He never mourned Kikyo the way the rest of the family did. It was almost as if he didn’t even recognize that she had died and then he…”

“Then he started to pay attention to me and helped me to take over her job…” supplied Kagome in understanding.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded. “He never grieved; he just used you as a replacement for the girl he had lost.” She paused. “I am so sorry, Kagome. This should have never happened. I don’t know how I could have possibly let Souta and Hojo talk me into letting you stay, seeing that you look just like my daughter. I think both Souta and Hojo have been living in denial. They think you are…”

Kagome murmured the words. “They think that I am Kikyo.”

The older woman nodded in agreement. “I thought that you should know. Souta is an open book, but Hojo…”

The miko only took the older woman’s hands in hers again and held them fast. “Thank you for telling me this, Kun-loon. It makes so much more sense now. Why Hojo was so dotting…”

“I’ve been wanting to warn you, child, but…”

Kagome only looked up at her, smiling. “There was no need to warn me. I have honestly been too filled with my own grief to respond to the attentions of another. But thank you for letting me know. I will be fine.”

With her final words, the two women hugged. The older woman sniffed and dabbed the tears from her cheeks before turning away and going back to her home.

Despite Kagome’s nonchalance about the matter, Inuyasha was fuming. Hojo was using Kagome as a substitute for a dead girl. The hanyou didn’t stop to think that perhaps Kagome was doing the same thing with him. He just knew that the simmering anger he had felt for Hojo had been percolating in his veins for a while, and for once, he had a solid outlet in which to vent his frustrations. Without a backwards glance, he ran away from the shrine grounds, with no one being the wiser for his disappearance. He needed to talk to Hojo once and for all.

Inuyasha paused in front of a lime-green condo door on the outskirts of Tokyo. Other small buildings buttressed it, boxing in the location. High stucco walls and stately maple trees surrounded the home, giving it the appearance of seclusion.  Inuyasha rapped on the door. He had been visiting the same location since he had first met Hojo in elementary school. Back then, he had felt a kinship with the boy, since he also knew what it was like to be a hanyou, what it was like to be an outcast. But now, instead of friendship, bitterness marred his countenance.

No one answered the door. He sniffed and realized that Hojo’s scent was old; the boy was not at home. However, the scent of his grandfather permeated the building. All he could smell was decay, dusty residue and the lingering scent of a man who was close to death.

“Open the door, old man! I know you’re in there!” bellowed Inuyasha as he pounded on the door again for good measure.

For a few moments there was no sound, until a shuffling noise drew closer to the front door. Suddenly, the door was thrown open with a vengeance revealing an old wizened man with a hunched back. Steely black eyes peered up at Inuyasha in anger. Hojo’s grandfather had long tendrils of wispy gray hair interspersed with whitened strands. Gray-blue veins were laced over his face and his gnarled hands. His chalky lips drew together in agitation; he seemed on the verge of a tirade.

Inuyasha was determined to get in the first word. “Where is Hojo? I need to talk to him.”

The old man only harrumphed in reply, “How the hell should I know where he is? He hasn’t been here since yesterday. Said that he had an important errand to run that would take him out of town.”

The hanyou sniffed realizing that the grandfather must have been telling the truth. Hojo’s scent had long faded. The boy hadn’t been home for a while.

Inuyasha stared at the old man’s eyes again. “Tell him that I need to talk to him when you see him.”

Beady eyes looked up at him in contemplation. “And why do you need to talk to him, young man? What is so urgent that you needed to bang down my front door?”

With a steady calm Inuyasha looked the old man in the eye, as if in challenge. “Kagome. He needs to stop trying to see her as anything more than a co-worker.”

The older man narrowed his eyes and sneered. “What right do you have to tell my grandson what to do? If he wants a girl, he can have her. Don’t get involved!”

“I do need to get involved. You don’t understand!”

“Understand what?” questioned the old man.

“Hojo isn’t over Kikyo yet. Every time he looks at Kagome, he just sees Kikyo.”

The older man just looked up at Inuyasha in scorn. “You don’t understand anything, boy. If you think Hojo is still pining for Kikyo, then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought you to be…”

The front door was then suddenly slammed onto Inuyasha’s face. He sat there for a moment before frowning and walking away. Evidently, both Hojo and his grandfather were delusional.

Inevitably, Inuyasha found himself back at the shrine grounds he had just left. Even though he knew the Taijiya had a constant guard posted around the premises, something in his heart simply felt lighter when he had Kagome under his watchful gaze.

He slumped on one of the branches, his leg drifting underneath him, swinging in the breeze. He thought that finally confronting Hojo, and perhaps finally ending their long-standing friendship would quiet his unease, but unfortunately, it only worsened. He wanted closure; he wanted this strange dance that he had with Kagome to end.

Inuyasha licked his dry lips. For some reason, a clean ending eluded him. However, he was more certain than ever that he needed to not only protect Kagome from any attacks, but he also needed to protect her heart.

He heard several grunts and the heaving of a large object before he turned to see Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi trying to move a stone statue.

Inuyasha didn’t think, he simply dropped to the ground noiselessly behind the woman.

“Oi, need some help?” he asked while rolling up his long red sleeves.

Kagome beamed a smile at him, while Mrs. Higurashi startled at his appearance, puzzlement on her features.

“Did Hojo send you as a replacement?” asked Souta’s Mom in confusion.

Inuyasha only grinned and proceeded to pick up the statue effortlessly, surprising the middle-aged woman who openly gaped at him. “Where do you want it?” he asked. He attempted to make it look like the 50 kg statue was heavy in his two arms, but he could only smirk to himself when he imagined carrying it on one finger.

Mrs. Higurashi only pointed wordlessly to a place on the grounds. “Kagome why don’t you and…what was your name again, dear…?”

The hanyou looked up as he attempted to move the statue, and was about to speak before he was cut short.

“Ash,” Kagome added with a smile. “Do you remember meeting him when I moved in?”

The miko and the hanyou-in-disguise shared a shy smile. “This way, Ash.” Kagome murmured before gesturing to another part of the grounds.

As they started to work together, the tension on Kun-loon’s face started to dissipate. Worry fell and was replaced with amusement as she watched them. A small half-smile graced her lips before she left the two alone to complete the shrine tasks.

For the next two days, Hojo was too sick to work at the shrine. Even though Inuyasha knew the excuse was only a ruse, he was all too happy to take over most of the boy’s duties.

Mrs. Higurashi even hired Inuyasha as a temporary shrine worker to handle the ever-increasing crowds that were starting to pour in during the springtime. Inuyasha didn’t need the money, but having a ready excuse to be around Kagome lightened his spirits.

By the time he was finishing up his chores, he paused for a moment to look at Kagome. She was pausing to look at the sun setting over the wide expanse of downtown Tokyo, her eyes adrift in wonder. He wiped the dust from his clothes and walked over to the girl who was lost in a daze.

“Kagome?” he asked as she looked ahead in the distance.

The girl blinked and then hurried to resume her duties. “Sorry, Inuyasha. Sometimes this new world just seems so curious.”

“Curious?”

Kagome gestured to the Tokyo skyscrapers glimmering in the golden bronze and neon red of the setting sun. She paused again, her face resting on the tip of the broomstick she was holding. “This city has become so big and vast. And I don’t understand those huge mirrored houses…”

“Mirrored houses?” questioned Inuyasha as he looked again at the skyline. “Oh, you mean the skyscrapers?”

Kagome only blushed at his response and then tried to look nonchalant as she started to sweep the grounds again. But this time she seemed frustrated. Inuyasha didn’t quite know what to make of her behavior. All of a sudden she seemed to be at war with the dust underfoot, sweeping her straw broom across the concrete in frustration.

He only stared at her in perplexity for about a minute before her odd behavior stopped. “I…ever since I first saw this strange new city I wanted to…”

It was Inuyasha’s turn to blink. “You wanted to…?”

“I want to visit one of those tall mirrored houses…those ‘sky-scrap-ers’?”

At that comment, Inuyasha only beamed a smile. “So you want to go up one of those?”

Kagome twiddled her thumbs and looked briefly at the ground before looking up at him again. “Yes…?” Her answer hung in the air like a question.

For once Inuyasha was enjoying her discomfiture. He smirked. “How about we finish up and close down the shrine. Then we’ll go visit a skyscraper tonight?”

“Really?” Kagome beamed a winsome smile in his direction. For a brief second, Inuyasha’s heart felt lighter than it had for weeks.

Inuyasha was smirking to himself. Kagome’s favorite mode of transportation seemed to be a piggy-back ride. The first time she had tried it, he had been annoyed, now he was simply bemused.

His hidden ears picked up on most of the conversations that surrounded them. He grinned when he realized that Kagome had no idea what was being said about them and their curious mode of transportation. Most people assumed that they were simply a couple and that Inuyasha was being a gentleman. He could only snort in amusement.

Inuyasha had taken Kagome from the shrine to the subway system in Tokyo. She was still amazed at the large metal trains that swooshed into the station at breakneck speeds and then pulled away with a soundless jolt, whizzing past underground tracks. However, what she had learned from her past experience was not to go near the electric train tracks. At least she was now being careful, Inuyasha mused.

They quickly exited the concrete tunnels of the Tokyo metro to arrive into sea-salted air, bright neon lights and the cool dark of night. Hundreds of men and women teemed down the streets in all modes of dress. Most women were dressed fashionably with tall boots and short skirts, while most men were sporting leather jackets and skinny jeans.

Kagome couldn’t help but to gawk at some of the men and women who walked past them; the brilliant hair colors of bright pinks, blues and greens astounded her.

“Over here,” Inuyasha pointed to a large skyscraper that loomed over them, like a solid ebony shadow, its mirrored sides reflecting the multicolored lights of the Roppongi shopping district.

Kagome allowed herself to be led along. Inuyasha had to often stop and let her stare at things he wouldn’t have normally noticed, like the large interior atrium with glass elevators and gleaming, curved metal staircases that hugged the interior.

He quickly pulled her into one of the glass elevators. At first, she pressed her small hands up against the glass and looked up and down at the buildings interior. But once the small space started to zip upwards at an incredible speed, she quickly moved away from the glass panes and stood resolutely by Inuyasha’s side. The elevator chimed at the 54th floor and the doors opened. Cold air rushed into the elevator as Inuyasha lead Kagome outside.

For a few moments, she was immobilized as she looked onto the scene. The elevator had stopped at the top of the building. It was an open aired helicopter port with railings around the sides and one security guard keeping watch. They were now 238 meters above the ground, standing on the top of the steel and glass building. Surrounding them was a panoramic view of Tokyo at night. The city gleamed in the blackness, like a glowing computer circuit board.

The miko allowed herself to be drawn as Inuyasha pulled her over to the side of the building. However, once they started to get close to the railing, Kagome’s feet appeared to be glued to the metal floor. “I…I can’t,” she stammered as she looked wide-eyed at the glittering neon and the meandering red and white streams of light that made up the highway far below.

“You can’t?” Inuyasha smirked. He only looked briefly at the miko before he walked all the way over to the skyscrapers edge, the high wind whipping his black hair around his face. There was a metal railing behind him and a plexiglass shield, but for Kagome it looked like he was teetering over the brink. The hanyou made it a point of leaning backward and balancing on only one leg. He knew the invisible glass would stop him from falling, but Kagome didn’t know that. To an observer, it might look like there was empty space behind him and a very long way down.

Suddenly, her fight or flight instincts took over. The girl walked stubbornly to Inuyasha, pounding her feet onto the ground with each step. Her eyes seemed to blaze with fury before she grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him away from the edge.

“What are you trying to do?” she hissed.

The hanyou only looked down at her, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Getting you over to the edge, wench!”

The miko looked like she was going to have an apoplexy. A tick developed between her brows and her mouth opened. “How many times I have I told you my name is Kagome? Ka-Go-Me!”

Inuyasha simply smirked and moved behind her, holding her up against his larger frame and then he inched her forward, like a rigid robot.

The miko’s eyes widened to comical proportions as she was slowly moved closer and closer to the edge. Inuyasha felt her form stiffen to the point of being immobile. In order to distract her, he started to point out the sights.

“That’s Tokyo Tower,” he said while pointing to a red and white lattice structure in the middle of Tokyo. A red flashing light graced its tall spire.

Kagome momentarily squelched her fear to ask a question. “What is it?”

Inuyasha chuckled behind her, sending a shiver up her spine. “Mostly it is a tourist trap, but it is also a broadcasting antenna.”

“Broadcasting?” asked Kagome, perplexed.

“You know, when you watch TV and listen to the radio…” Inuyasha answered uncertainly, he wasn’t too sure if the miko from the past had experienced some of the modern day wonders, but apparently she had. She nodded mutely in astonishment. “That’s where they come from…”

Kagome seemed thunderstruck and blinked her eyes. She then looked down at the slowly moving river of red and gold neon lights. “And that?” she asked while pointing, her nervousness starting to fade away.

“That’s a highway,” Inuyasha answered. She only looked up at him with a confused expression. Inuyasha pursed his brows together as he tried to think of an explanation for her. “Oh you know, those subway trains we were on?” She nodded against him. “Those are lots of smaller trains, called cars, that are traveling down a road together. There are so many of them and we are so far away, that we can only see their lights.”

He turned her around and then pointed to a dark shape. But as she looked a little more closely, Kagome could see the fringed tops of green trees in the distance. “And that is the Shinjuku Gyoen that we were at earlier this week.”

Her eyes fluttered in surprise. “I was there? But it looks so small.”

Inuyasha raised one black brow. He liked the fact that for once he was the one who knew everything; he was the one in control. Kagome was acting like an insecure schoolgirl and for some reason he reveled in the discrepancy.

He pulled Kagome’s body closer to his and chuckled behind her ear. “Everything looks small when you are on top of a skyscraper.”

Kagome leaned back against him. “Oh. I finally understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why they call them skyscrapers. We’re almost touching the sky now. Can you touch clouds when you are here?”

Inuyasha only shook his head in bemusement. “Kagome,” he whispered softly.

She turned around to look at him in confusion, but she was still nestled in his arms.

He looked down at her gray-blue eyes. Today they looked like miniature storms, revealing the churning depths that were within. Her mouth fell open as if in question.

Inuyasha looked down at her before he traced her lips with a solitary finger, his eyes starting to close as he moved closer to her.

“Inuyasha,” she murmured unsteadily as her lips gently met his.

Gentle winds whipped around the pair, intermingling their long raven-black hair. Inuyasha’s hands reached down and held her fast to his body, feeling her warmth press up against his chest.

With a sigh and a gasp of breath, Kagome pulled away. Looking up sadly at Inuyasha. The hanyou let Kagome out of his grasp, his arms fisted by his side.

“Kagome?” he uttered, frustration marring every syllable.

Both terror and love seemed to move within her eyes as she shifted back up toward the hanyou, holding his fisted hands in her own.

With shy slowness, she tentatively rested her head against his chest and whispered, “Please, Inuyasha. Be patient with me. Just wait…”

Inuyasha tried to keep a low growl from rumbling through his chest. It felt like he had waited ages for her. Something screamed within him, wondering why he had to wait any longer for the girl he wanted.

He let the feeling of her delicate frame standing next to him calm him down. He didn’t know why she could do this to him, to make him go from adoration to anger in a few swift seconds. But he also knew that he was helpless to do anything about it.

He let out a strangled breath before placing his arms around the girl again, holding her quietly on the top of the Mori skyscraper looking down at the flashing neon lights of downtown Tokyo.

The following day, Hojo was back at the shrine grounds. He was regally dressed in his kannushi robes of purple and white silk. The boy was beaming smiles at everyone. Inuyasha had been trying to talk to him alone, but the boy seemed to be dividing his time between Kagome and the Taijiya on duty, Eri.

Since Hojo seemed to be busy talking to Eri, Inuyasha did nothing to stop it. If the boy could get over Kikyo, by flirting with Eri, it would solve many of the hanyou’s problems. Inuyasha supposed that Eri knew by now that he was no longer available, but he had never spelled it out to her. And of course, all Inuyasha wanted was for Hojo to stay away from Kagome.

Inuyasha told himself that he only wanted to talk to Hojo because the kannushi was using Kagome as a crutch to get over Kikyo. Yet, he had so many other emotions, but he didn’t want to delve into them. All he felt was a driving force gnawing within him that told him to get Hojo away from Kagome.

Inuyasha tried his best to get his shrine duties completed. He was currently tasked with moving some of the objects in shrine storage to the grounds for the spring ceremonies. But his eyes were always on Kagome. He was her self-appointed protector and he took his job seriously.

The miko in question was walking the shrine grounds in her red and white robes. Her long raven black hair was tied back with long strips of white silk and a large wicker basket was resting at her hip. She was taking down the paper prayers that had been tied to the trees around the shrine. Each prayer was gently placed in her basket to be burned in a ceremony at the end of the day. The burnt prayers would then flow to heaven for the kami to answer.

Inuyasha only registered Hojo and Eri in the back of his mind. He noticed that Eri was smiling bashfully at the boy, a gentle blush alight on her cheeks as they talked. Somehow seeing them together made him less…anxious. However, it didn’t still the disquiet that plagued him whenever Hojo was around. His erstwhile friend was starting to make him apprehensive.

He returned his attentions to Kagome and did his best to get his duties done, while still keeping the miko in his line of sight. It was probably this distraction that allowed Hojo to approach him once again without being noticed.

“Inuyasha, my grandfather said that you wanted to talk to me?”

The hanyou’s eyes widened and he berated himself. He really needed to focus on what was surrounding him, rather than a certain miko; this was the second time that Hojo had snuck up on him.

Inuyasha nodded and turned to his former best friend. Now for some reason he only felt immensely agitated with him. He wasn’t one to mince words and followed forward in his usual blunt manner. “I know that you dated Kikyo.” The boy only looked up at Inuyasha bemusedly. The hanyou became even more annoyed when Hojo didn’t seem to show a glimmer of guilt at the accusation. “Kagome looks like Kikyo. You can’t…” Inuyasha paused as Hojo still smiled at him. “You can’t use Kagome like that.”

Hojo only laughed and slapped Inuyasha hard on the shoulder. “Oh, you are worried about Kagome?” The young man looked over at the miko in question and smiled inwardly. “You don’t understand. It’s the other way around.”

Inuyasha’s brows furrowed together in confusion. “What?”

The kannushi walked away from Inuyasha, leaving the hanyou even more confused than before.

Kagome was humming to herself as she started to close up the shrine grounds. It amazed Inuyasha to see how quickly she had picked up on shrine life. But then, he imagined it probably wasn’t so different than things had been 500 years ago. If there was any one profession that Kagome could have kept that would have changed the least in the intervening five centuries, it was being a miko.

She smiled shyly up at him as she locked up the shrine shop. He couldn’t help but to return her earnest gaze.

The sun would be setting soon and she had begged him to take her to the ‘skyscraper’ again to see the city before the sun set.

Inuyasha gazed at the sky. There was not even a sliver of a moon to be seen. He frowned with the knowledge that his night of weakness was almost upon him. He could already feel it. It felt like his muscles were starting to weaken and his blood was starting to thin. He could still feel the last remnants of his demonic power, but it was starting to feel diluted.

He was wearing his necklace of concealment, so no one would notice the difference when the time came. He was almost perpetually hidden away in the image of a black-haired teenager with violet eyes, his dog-like ears taking on the semblance of normal human ones. He would be the only one who would feel the difference. He hated the feeling, but at the same time, he refused to live his life any differently than he would if he were still in possession of his demonic abilities.

He frowned and knew that he should be staying at his home tonight or even staying at the shrine with Taijiya on hand to help protect Kagome. But the miko had been so steadfast in her desire to see Tokyo’s skyline at sunset. He decided not to think any further about it.

Soon they were walking the streets of downtown Tokyo, making their way to the same skyscraper that they had just visited yesterday. This time, when they entered into the glass elevator in the tower, Kagome was almost giddy with smiles and was practically jumping in place.

The elevator suddenly jolted as it flew towards the top of the building. Inuyasha felt an unease wash over him, as he felt traces of his demonic power slowly dwindling away. He simply crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at Kagome’s spirited smile.

He tried his best to look stoic as the girl in question grabbed his arm when they reached the top of the building. Kagome was practically dragging him from the elevator this time.

The miko had her hanyou in tow, but his feet were somehow magnetically tied to the ground and refusing to move. However, Kagome was not to be daunted and with an extra shove, managed to get him to the edge of the skyscraper.

Unlike the night before, this time the sun was still washing over Tokyo and the surrounding skyline.

Kagome started to jabber as she pointed at a copse of trees surrounding a lake, which was in turn surrounded by a network of steel and concrete buildings. “Is that Shinjuku Gyoen?” Kagome asked in delight. “Is that the park we were at?”

Inuyasha only nodded dumbly at her excitement as she looked around the skyline. He was momentarily surprised when she grabbed his arm and pointed in another direction.

“Fuji-san!” said Kagome in reverence.

Inuyasha looked over at the large, gently slopping mountain known as Mount Fuji. He had forgotten that even today it was considered a mystical place. He should have been awed to see the snow capped mountain, but he was too agitated.

He pulled away from Kagome and crossed his arms again, looking at the well-known mountain with a grimace.

The sun was starting to set and most of the tourists that were on the top of the building seemed to be as enraptured as Kagome. The bright sun dipped behind Mount Fuji, bathing its snowy peak in fluorescent orange and fuchsia. The once charcoal gray sides of Fuji turned into a brilliant shade of blue before fading into ebony darkness. Soon the only thing that was visible was the icy reflection of the white peak, and even that was steel gray in the navy colored skies.

Inuyasha felt the draining sensation, like energy was being slowly siphoned out of him. The sounds around him became muted and even the smells became dilute. He didn’t mind not smelling the pollution and urine that assaulted his senses every time he walked into downtown Tokyo, but he did mind being without his strength and healing abilities, especially when he needed them to protect Kagome.

He grabbed the miko without a word and unceremoniously shoved her toward the waiting elevator.

“Moi! Inuyasha!” Kagome fumed. “I was just starting to enjoy the view. Why are you taking me away…?” The girl’s last words dropped as she looked into the violet eyes of the man trying to drag her back. A look of understanding and then sudden horror alighted on her face. She brought up a hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Inuyasha. I should have realized…”

The knowledge that Kagome knew his time of weakness made him even angrier. He jammed his finger on the elevator control, seemingly to command it to go down to the bottom floor as quickly as possible.

He gritted his teeth as they plummeted 238 meters in half a minute. By the time he was at the bottom floor, he quickly walked out of the building, and was trailed by an apologetic Kagome.

“Inuyasha, why didn’t you remind me? You know that I would understand. I could have waited until another day…” continued Kagome as he tried to return them both safely to the shrine grounds.

He had been through his human nights many times before. So he couldn’t quite understand why he felt on edge tonight. He felt like he was balancing precariously on a knife’s blade and that one wrong move would be fatal.

He shook his head. He wasn’t going to think anymore, he was just going to get Kagome back to the shrine before anything happened that he couldn’t control. He stopped his mad dash and noticed that Kagome was actually trailing behind him.

An audible groan emanated from him before he stopped and pulled Kagome next to him, in a protective embrace. She squeaked and looked up at him with a quizzical expression before he continued to guide her home.

A muffled voice came from the small bundle he was holding against his side. “Can you please promise me something, Inuyasha?”

“Hummm…” he murmured.

Kagome pulled out of his embrace and that simply angered him even more. He was about to yell at the girl when she pointed her finger at him. “Promise me!”

“What, wench?!”

“Urgh! Why must you always be so difficult? I said promise me the next time you have a human night that you’ll stay secluded and safe.”

“I don’t play it safe, wench!”

“My name is Ka-Go-Me, Kagome. Not wench. And…” Kagome seemed to have wound herself up into a tirade. “I just want you to be safe. I can’t stand to have you hurt.”

Inuyasha bellowed in her face. “Oh and how the fuck do you think I feel? Do you think I could ever forgive myself if that thing that’s been attacking us ever hurt you?”

The silence sifted between them for a few moments before Kagome moved forward. She pressed the palm of her hand against Inuyasha’s cheek. Suddenly, he felt calmness override his instinctual anger. All he could see were clear blue-gray pools that reflected his human face.

“Inuyasha…” she murmured. Dainty, small hands cupped his face and drew him closer to her. This time, it was her lips that were drawing closer to his. She wore a small half-smile before she moved in to kiss him.

The feeling of her lips finally touching his of her own accord was the only thing he registered in his muddled mind. For the briefest of seconds he let go. He wasn’t trying to protect her and he wasn’t worried. He was with Kagome and she had willingly chosen him. His hands gently wrapped around her waist as he drew her closer to him.

In the middle of his tranquility, he heard a hiss as mists bellowed up around them like a swirling fog.

The kiss was suddenly broken and all Inuyasha could do was to try to shield Kagome with his own body. He sputtered and coughed before the choking powdery gas enveloped them, rendering him unconscious.

His limbs felt slow and leaden. It was as if he were swimming. Heavy water was pulling his body down. Inuyasha tried to move and found that his hands were pulled tight.

His mind was a haze, but the sudden panic of not being able to move his arms caused him to awaken. He heaved a strangled breath and noticed that he was in a tub of some sort. Leaves were floating in the tub and he was half-submerged. His hands were tied taut with rope. He tried to thrash and free himself, but the bindings only cut into his flesh.

Much to his dismay, he found that his movements only let him sink further into the mire that was around him.

He heard the cackle of an old lady nearby.

He lurched his head to see an old crone stirring the contents of the tub he was laying in with a long twig.

The old lady cracked one wizened eye at him. “It would have been better for you to simply fall asleep young one. Better to simply fade off into dreamland. Let your mind let go…”

Her words were melodic and he felt his eyelids draw back together again.

“Yes, young one. Sleep, for you have nothing that ties you here to this earth…”

A drifting heaviness fell upon him and he wanted to succumb to its clutches. But something the woman said did not sit well within him. Something was screaming at him to wake up. A voice deep within his mind chanted one thing and one thing alone…

“Kagome!” he cried out as he tried to keep his head above the murky water.

The old woman frowned. “It would have been better if you had fallen asleep peacefully. Now you must endure this with open eyes.”

Inuyasha furrowed his brow and glared at the old crone.

“What in the fuck do you want, Baba?” he yelled as water crept into his mouth. Tiredness crept up his limbs. It was almost as if the water was slowly paralyzing him.

The crone licked her lips. “You…oh no son. It is not you I want.” She leaned forward to rap on his head with the twig she had been using. “What I need lies within that thick skull of yours.”

“What?” he sputtered. “What in the hell is in there? Let me go you crazy, old hag!”

She rapped his forehead with the twig again, leaving a small rivulet of blood in its wake. “Harumph!” The crone sneered at him, paper-thin skin wrapped around her bulging eyes. She cackled as she pointed to a form that Inuyasha hadn’t noticed before.

Lying on the ground next to the tub was a man who sat like a limp doll. But even through the haze of the chemicals in the tub, he could see the clear resemblance.

The man had long silver hair, golden unfocused eyes and two white dog-ears on the top of his head. He was dressed in red robes and buckled to his side was the Tessaiga.

Ice seemed to creep into his veins, pulling him down deeper into the muck. He shook his head and tried to disrupt the image he was seeing. But all he saw was a version of his hanyou self, sitting next to him, like a placid puppet.

The woman resumed speaking. “My name is Urasue. And somewhere deep within your skull is some information I need and I intend to have it. It is too bad that you won’t survive the process.”

The Next Chapter: ‘When I Am Awakened, Part II.’ Yes, the ‘shit’ is about to hit the fan. See you in a month!
Author's Notes:
#1: I was quite surprised that everyone was asking me if Kikyo was going to return from the dead (don’t worry she won’t), yet no one asked me if Inuyasha was going to return from the dead. Kudos to ‘Warm-Amber92’ and ‘Glon Morski’ for getting the closest to guessing that feudal Inuyasha was going to make an appearance… Muhahaha!
#2: I had a few upset reviewers, so I thought that I needed to address the issue of Kagome taking over Kikyo’s room when the poor girl had only been dead for three days... Yes, I agree with my reviewers…that really doesn’t sound right does it? The question is why did it happen and who could possibly gain from it happening? (Sorry, I won’t answer those questions…but you can come to your own conclusions.)
#3: Wow, Naraku got some interesting reactions from my reviewers. It seems that you were equally mixed between ‘Naraku is creepy’ and ‘poor Naraku…he waited 500 years for his love.’ Just so you know, I was trying for ‘creepy.’ ^_^
#4: The Labyrinth quote that I paraphrased in the last chapter was from David Bowie’s song, ‘Within You’ from the Labyrinth soundtrack: “How you turned my world, you precious thing, You starve and near exhaust me, Everything I've done, I've done for you. I move the stars for no one.” (By the way, the ‘Labyrinth’ movie had so much going for it, and yet, it ended without a satisfying conclusion, it was just ripe for fan fiction. Its yet another fan fiction obsession of mine.)
#5: Reviewers: Anon: I hope my previous response on #2 answers your question. I did want to PM you and explain, but you had left a review as a guest and I couldn’t contact you.
Fairy.Rains: I also wanted to contact you, but your PM was turned off. All I can say, is good guesses! But you’ll have to wait until the conclusion to find out your answers.
#6: I’ve been to Tokyo Tower. It is an immense tourist trap.
#7: Inuyasha and Kagome were on the Mori Tower Sky Deck in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo.
#8: I am sorry if you found some sections of this chapter boring, but there was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and I need to hint at some of what was actually going on. Confused? It will all make sense once this tale is done. ;-)