InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone ❯ Flight ( Chapter 3 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: RhiannonoftheMoon 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.24.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 4.8K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.24.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 4.8K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t not own Inuyasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 3 – Flight
Kagome let her feet take her where they wanted to go. As much as she loved her friends, she had to be alone for a while. The talking and laughter, normally welcome, comforting sounds, were hurting her ears. Worst of all, every time she looked at Inuyasha, she him in Kikyo’s arms. She could hear footfalls behind her and hoped they would go away. She just didn’t want to deal with anything right now. All in all, she was developing a pounding headache.
The footsteps were getting steadily closer, so she sighed and turned around. Silence. She didn’t see anyone but she knew he was there; the cedar scent on the breeze identified him.
“You can come out, Inuyasha.”
Slowly, he stepped from behind a tree. She had seen him as a human many times, but his black hair and dark eyes always seemed to take her by surprise. She missed his triangular ears.
“What do you want?” She crossed her arms under her breasts and gave him a stern look.
He mimicked her stance, tucking his arms into his haori. “What the fuck’s the matter with you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to keep her mounting anger in check. He was showing concern for her, in his way, but she didn’t want to discuss it with him at the moment.
“The hell you do, wench.” He stomped up to her until they were almost nose to nose. “Tell me why you could smell the lake.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. Something deep within her recognized his demeanor as a challenge and was not willing to back down. “I don’t have to tell you anything,” her voice deadly quiet as she slowly leaned toward him, closing the distance between them.
‘What has gotten into her? She’s responding like a youkai.’ He could feel an energy brushing up against him that was completely different than her normal miko aura, which was strangely absent. It raised the hairs on the back of neck and sent a shiver down his spine. He cursed his human form; he would have been able to sense a lot more if he were hanyou. “I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong!” He grasped her shoulders and shook her.
She reacted without thinking, bringing her hand her hands up and shoving against his chest. He stumbled backward several steps and fell hard, landing on his butt and staring up at her, shocked. Her eyes had become a cold ice blue and her lips were drawn up in a snarl. “What makes you think I need your protection? Shouldn’t you be protecting your precious Kikyo?” she growled between clenched teeth.
He got to his feet slowly, warily, unsure of what she would do next. Kagome was not a physical fighter. She yelled a lot and osuwaried him, yes, but no more than that. He thanked kami that she didn’t carry a knife. “This ain’t about Kikyo, it’s about you.”
Kagome’s mind was in a haze; all she could focus on was that her head was about to split apart and that this man had hurt her. She clenched and unclenched her fists in time with the pounding in her head. “It’s always about Kikyo. You were with her last night, weren’t you.”
“What if I was?” He immediately regretted the automatic defensiveness but couldn’t quite bring himself to explain. He had been keeping people at a distance for too long. Even his friends were kept at arm’s length.
“And I’m just your jewel detector.” Menace seemed to radiate off of her as she cracked her knuckles and took a step toward him, but pain shone at the back of her eyes.
“Kagome… I promised to avenge her death, you know that.” His voice had lost its usual gruffness. He hated to see her in pain and the fact that he had caused it tore at his insides.
“Then go to her!” she roared, finally losing the battle with the foreign rage. In one bound, she was on top of him, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed the rosary beads that contained his subduing spell and, with a vicious yank, broke the strand. “That’s what you want!” She flung a handful of beads into the lake and leapt to her feet. “This pathetic human won’t slow you down ANY MORE!” she screamed at him and tore off into the forest.
He stared after her for a moment, then jumped to his feet, scattering the remaining beads over the sand. “Kagome, wait!” He ran into the forest, fully intent on following her, but after a few minutes of crashing blindly though the thick underbrush, realized that it was impossible. She was gone and he couldn’t track her in this form.
His shoulders slumped as he made his way back to the scene of their fight, his heart aching and a suspicious burn starting in the back of his throat. He already missed the weight of the rosary. The subduing spell had been a thorn in his side, or a pain in his neck, but it was his first connection to Kagome. Now it was gone; she had broken it. She had left him, for good maybe, and he could do nothing about it.
He replayed the argument in his head. Nothing he had done was out of the ordinary and would never have caused her to react like this, though he really hadn’t realized how much she resented Kikyo. Sure, he knew it upset her when he went to see Kikyo. But she had accepted that Kikyo was a part of his life. She had promised to stay with him, despite it. It slowly dawned on him that he might have to tell her how he felt if he wanted to get her back.
The scattered beads were almost lost in the darkness. Only by running his hand over the sand could he find a few of them. Gathering the beads he could find and stowing most of them in his haori, he sighed and glared at his reflection in the lake. Barely visible, a human boy with brown eyes and black hair glared back. Something had been done to her and he had failed to protect her from it. “Some kind of spell,” he murmured and rattled the beads his hand. This strange enchantment had not only affected her senses; it had given her much greater strength. He was not a weak human and she had pushed him over as if he were a child. ‘But when? The only time she was alone was when she was bathing…’
“The hot spring!” he shouted aloud, and with a new determination, sprinted back toward camp.
She ran as fast as she could, heedless of the twigs that tore skin and pulled hair. Abstract, bloody images flashed through her mind as the forest blurred by. She wanted to bite, slash, maim! Her body vibrated with a growl and her head pounded with a red heat.
~~~
A painful stitch in her side finally slowed her down. As her pace lessened, so did the throbbing in her head. Gasping for breath, she collapsed against the trunk of a gnarled oak tree.
The reality of what had just passed came crashing over her. ‘What have I done?’ Tears welled up in her eyes and she leaned her head back and blinked, trying to keep them from falling. Now that the irrational anger had faded, she was ashamed of her behavior and afraid of the consequences of her actions. ‘I left him, all but pushed him to Kikyo’. She pressed a fisted hand against her mouth and choked back a sob.
A pungent, sulfurous scent distracted her from her misery and brought her surroundings into sharp focus. Something was close, and it was nasty. Realizing that she was once again alone and unarmed, she hurriedly grabbed a nearby rock and stood with her back to the tree. She grasped it to her chest and closed her eyes, sending her purifying power into it. Nothing happened.
“Jewel sssshardssss… I ssssmell them,” a voice hissed from the darkness. Kagome’s eyes shot open in panic. Staring in the direction of the voice, she redoubled her concentration and thrust as much miko energy as she could into the stone. It didn’t even glimmer.
Her head was beginning to throb again, and the bloodlust was rising back to the surface of her mind. Clutching her temples with her free hand, she groaned in pain and fear. ‘Let me out’ whispered a small voice from deep within her. ‘We can win this, you and I’. “No… I’m a miko.” ‘You wanted strength and power. We can be very strong’ “I can’t do this!” She wanted to turn and flee but she her legs weren’t responding.
The smell of brimstone was almost overpowering, bringing tears to her eyes. She dropped the rock and covered her nose and mouth, trying not to gag. Scales and a long, toothy snout flashed through the brush. ‘It’s already started. Resist and the lizard will kill you.’ The voice was right; her miko powers weren’t responding and she was alone. She took a deep breath and opened herself to the new power.
Converting /tmp/phphNLHf2 to /dev/stdout
Chapter 3 – Flight
Kagome let her feet take her where they wanted to go. As much as she loved her friends, she had to be alone for a while. The talking and laughter, normally welcome, comforting sounds, were hurting her ears. Worst of all, every time she looked at Inuyasha, she him in Kikyo’s arms. She could hear footfalls behind her and hoped they would go away. She just didn’t want to deal with anything right now. All in all, she was developing a pounding headache.
The footsteps were getting steadily closer, so she sighed and turned around. Silence. She didn’t see anyone but she knew he was there; the cedar scent on the breeze identified him.
“You can come out, Inuyasha.”
Slowly, he stepped from behind a tree. She had seen him as a human many times, but his black hair and dark eyes always seemed to take her by surprise. She missed his triangular ears.
“What do you want?” She crossed her arms under her breasts and gave him a stern look.
He mimicked her stance, tucking his arms into his haori. “What the fuck’s the matter with you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to keep her mounting anger in check. He was showing concern for her, in his way, but she didn’t want to discuss it with him at the moment.
“The hell you do, wench.” He stomped up to her until they were almost nose to nose. “Tell me why you could smell the lake.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. Something deep within her recognized his demeanor as a challenge and was not willing to back down. “I don’t have to tell you anything,” her voice deadly quiet as she slowly leaned toward him, closing the distance between them.
‘What has gotten into her? She’s responding like a youkai.’ He could feel an energy brushing up against him that was completely different than her normal miko aura, which was strangely absent. It raised the hairs on the back of neck and sent a shiver down his spine. He cursed his human form; he would have been able to sense a lot more if he were hanyou. “I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong!” He grasped her shoulders and shook her.
She reacted without thinking, bringing her hand her hands up and shoving against his chest. He stumbled backward several steps and fell hard, landing on his butt and staring up at her, shocked. Her eyes had become a cold ice blue and her lips were drawn up in a snarl. “What makes you think I need your protection? Shouldn’t you be protecting your precious Kikyo?” she growled between clenched teeth.
He got to his feet slowly, warily, unsure of what she would do next. Kagome was not a physical fighter. She yelled a lot and osuwaried him, yes, but no more than that. He thanked kami that she didn’t carry a knife. “This ain’t about Kikyo, it’s about you.”
Kagome’s mind was in a haze; all she could focus on was that her head was about to split apart and that this man had hurt her. She clenched and unclenched her fists in time with the pounding in her head. “It’s always about Kikyo. You were with her last night, weren’t you.”
“What if I was?” He immediately regretted the automatic defensiveness but couldn’t quite bring himself to explain. He had been keeping people at a distance for too long. Even his friends were kept at arm’s length.
“And I’m just your jewel detector.” Menace seemed to radiate off of her as she cracked her knuckles and took a step toward him, but pain shone at the back of her eyes.
“Kagome… I promised to avenge her death, you know that.” His voice had lost its usual gruffness. He hated to see her in pain and the fact that he had caused it tore at his insides.
“Then go to her!” she roared, finally losing the battle with the foreign rage. In one bound, she was on top of him, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed the rosary beads that contained his subduing spell and, with a vicious yank, broke the strand. “That’s what you want!” She flung a handful of beads into the lake and leapt to her feet. “This pathetic human won’t slow you down ANY MORE!” she screamed at him and tore off into the forest.
He stared after her for a moment, then jumped to his feet, scattering the remaining beads over the sand. “Kagome, wait!” He ran into the forest, fully intent on following her, but after a few minutes of crashing blindly though the thick underbrush, realized that it was impossible. She was gone and he couldn’t track her in this form.
His shoulders slumped as he made his way back to the scene of their fight, his heart aching and a suspicious burn starting in the back of his throat. He already missed the weight of the rosary. The subduing spell had been a thorn in his side, or a pain in his neck, but it was his first connection to Kagome. Now it was gone; she had broken it. She had left him, for good maybe, and he could do nothing about it.
He replayed the argument in his head. Nothing he had done was out of the ordinary and would never have caused her to react like this, though he really hadn’t realized how much she resented Kikyo. Sure, he knew it upset her when he went to see Kikyo. But she had accepted that Kikyo was a part of his life. She had promised to stay with him, despite it. It slowly dawned on him that he might have to tell her how he felt if he wanted to get her back.
The scattered beads were almost lost in the darkness. Only by running his hand over the sand could he find a few of them. Gathering the beads he could find and stowing most of them in his haori, he sighed and glared at his reflection in the lake. Barely visible, a human boy with brown eyes and black hair glared back. Something had been done to her and he had failed to protect her from it. “Some kind of spell,” he murmured and rattled the beads his hand. This strange enchantment had not only affected her senses; it had given her much greater strength. He was not a weak human and she had pushed him over as if he were a child. ‘But when? The only time she was alone was when she was bathing…’
“The hot spring!” he shouted aloud, and with a new determination, sprinted back toward camp.
She ran as fast as she could, heedless of the twigs that tore skin and pulled hair. Abstract, bloody images flashed through her mind as the forest blurred by. She wanted to bite, slash, maim! Her body vibrated with a growl and her head pounded with a red heat.
~~~
A painful stitch in her side finally slowed her down. As her pace lessened, so did the throbbing in her head. Gasping for breath, she collapsed against the trunk of a gnarled oak tree.
The reality of what had just passed came crashing over her. ‘What have I done?’ Tears welled up in her eyes and she leaned her head back and blinked, trying to keep them from falling. Now that the irrational anger had faded, she was ashamed of her behavior and afraid of the consequences of her actions. ‘I left him, all but pushed him to Kikyo’. She pressed a fisted hand against her mouth and choked back a sob.
A pungent, sulfurous scent distracted her from her misery and brought her surroundings into sharp focus. Something was close, and it was nasty. Realizing that she was once again alone and unarmed, she hurriedly grabbed a nearby rock and stood with her back to the tree. She grasped it to her chest and closed her eyes, sending her purifying power into it. Nothing happened.
“Jewel sssshardssss… I ssssmell them,” a voice hissed from the darkness. Kagome’s eyes shot open in panic. Staring in the direction of the voice, she redoubled her concentration and thrust as much miko energy as she could into the stone. It didn’t even glimmer.
Her head was beginning to throb again, and the bloodlust was rising back to the surface of her mind. Clutching her temples with her free hand, she groaned in pain and fear. ‘Let me out’ whispered a small voice from deep within her. ‘We can win this, you and I’. “No… I’m a miko.” ‘You wanted strength and power. We can be very strong’ “I can’t do this!” She wanted to turn and flee but she her legs weren’t responding.
The smell of brimstone was almost overpowering, bringing tears to her eyes. She dropped the rock and covered her nose and mouth, trying not to gag. Scales and a long, toothy snout flashed through the brush. ‘It’s already started. Resist and the lizard will kill you.’ The voice was right; her miko powers weren’t responding and she was alone. She took a deep breath and opened herself to the new power.
Converting /tmp/phphNLHf2 to /dev/stdout