InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Odds n Ends: General Audience ❯ What She Knew Too Late (Kik) ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

 

Genre: Dark/Angst

Characters: Kikyou

Type: Drabble

Rated: PG

 

=#= What She Knew Too Late =#=

 

She burns; and her tears are unable to quench the tongues of flame that lick at her flesh.

 

Through the haze of smoke, she remembers the untarnished naivety of her youth. Back before good and evil smudged into shades of charcoal, she revered fire as a sign of undying justice, of burning resolve, of unwavering determination.

 

She used to feel a kinship with its bright purity.

 

Burdened with protecting the Shikon no Tama, she came to fear the dark, the dangerous, the unknown. With respect but no understanding, she utilized fire as an efficient, bright ally.

 

That was before the flames started to consume her.

 

She knows now that it is no better than Naraku in its greedy consumption of anything and everything as it struggles to survive and grow stronger. Properly controlled, fire can mean the difference between loss and salvation of lives. With the proper kind of flame, evil can be banished and a soul saved. Yet, even then, it is nothing more than a dangerous tool that can turn on its wielder.

 

Before, she never saw the price that flame demanded for its obedience. She always saw the righteousness of the purpose and not the casualties.

 

She bid them burn her body with the jewel, not understanding that the Shikon no Tama is a different kind of fire. Within her blazing flesh, her soul burns as the jewel's flame demands its price. She understands, too late, the true nature of the Shikon no Tama.

 

Devourer of Dreams.

 

=#=