InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fall From Grace ❯ Chapter 11

Ch. 11

 

 

 

“Shut up, Kag.” Inuyasha said softly as he dragged her to him. He'd felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders when Kagome had kissed him. All the months of wondering and guilt had been washed away with that one kiss. Now he was sure that she felt the same way he did. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at her, a slight smile on his lips. “I've been meaning to get around to that,” he whispered as his lips descended on hers.

 

Inuyasha had never known anything as sweet as Kagome's lips. Comparing them to anything else would be a crime. As he deepened the kiss, he felt a sharp prick in his neck followed by a slight pressure. The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth as the pressure became greater. Then, as quick as it had begun, the pressure disappeared.

 

Kagome looked at him, a frown on her face. He vaguely noticed the red stain on her lips as his head began swimming. She leaned away from him and pressed a finger to his lips.

 

“You're bleeding,” she said with a note of concern. Inuyasha grimaced in pain, feeling like his body was on fire. The center of the pain seemed to start somewhere in his neck, throbbing to the beat of his steadily declining heartbeat. He tried to focus on Kagome's panicked face. “What's wrong?” She asked in alarm.

 

“I…feel a little…lightheaded,” he said slowly. “I think I bit my tongue.” He swayed a little, his legs suddenly feeling like rubber. Kagome grabbed him around the waist, trying to give him support, but she couldn't hold him up and she cried out as they both fell to the ground.

 

“Did I hurt you?” She asked, her expression registering confusion. She held his head in her lap, smoothing the hair from his face. Inuyasha looked up at her, seeing the face of his best friend, the only woman he'd ever loved. How could she think that she could ever do anything wrong by him?

 

“You can never hurt me, Kagome.” He told her. He wanted desperately to tell her how much she meant to him, how he wanted to be with her as long as she would allow him to, but he couldn't find the strength. He felt as if his body was floating in a thick fog and he had no control over its destination. He never got to tell her those things as his head lolled to the side, his eyes sliding closed, locking him in a world of darkness.

 

~^~

 

“He's waking up. Make sure he's restrained securely.”

 

Inuyasha heard the voices, but they seemed to be coming to him through a long tunnel. With a low groan, he opened his eyes, squinting up at the bright lights.

 

“Dim the lights. His eyes have to adjust.”

 

Inuyasha turned in the direction of the voice, frowning at the tall, dark-haired man standing beside him. “Who are you?” He asked, trying to sit up. Much to his surprise, his torso and legs were strapped down to a metal table.

 

“What the hell is going on?” He asked, panic setting in. He looked around the room, spotting someone else. “Kagome?” He couldn't make out her features, but the long hair and slender figure looked familiar. He watched as she stepped from the shadows.

 

“Sorry, wrong person.” The woman said with a sultry laugh. “My name's Kikyo. And you,” she said with a slight smile, “are my new pet.”

 

Inuyasha frowned, trying to loosen the restraints holding him. “Who the fuck are you people and what do you want from me?” He watched with wary eyes as the man walked over to him, his coal black eyes studying him intently.

 

“In short, Inuyasha, we're your new family.” The man glanced at the woman. “Go get a blood pack. He'll need it soon.” The woman gave Inuyasha a wink before sauntering out of the room. Inuyasha's mind reeled. This was too surreal. He felt like he was walking into a movie about halfway through, leaving him lost and confused as to the plot.

 

“Blood pack? What the hell am I going to do with that?” Inuyasha questioned, his stomach feeling queasy. The man looked at him, those beady eyes seeming to burn right through him. “Why drink it, of course.”

 

Inuyasha recoiled in horror. He wanted OUT of this place NOW! With all his might, he pulled at the restraints. He didn't care if it took him hours to break through, as long as he got as far away from this place and these people as he could.

 

“There really is no use in continuing that,” the man said, his voice holding a slight edge of annoyance. “You might as well give in to the fact that you're one of us now.” Inuyasha stopped cold, panic grabbing hold of his heart with a vise grip. “One of you?” He echoed. The man nodded slowly, a small smile on his thin lips.

 

“Yes, Inuyasha. One of us. An Immortal…or for the more common term, a vampire.”

 

It was at that moment that Inuyasha felt the real world melt away, replaced with some bizarre alternate universe. He stared at the other man with glazed eyes, not really seeing what was in front of him. “A…vampire. You're…a vampire.” He repeated the words, as if saying them over and over would make them false, would make this nightmare disappear. But the man was still standing beside him, that same annoyed expression on his face.

 

“You now belong to the Coven, an organization of sorts headed by a group of vampires called the Elders. This,” he said with an air of finality, “is your new life. The life that you used to lead is as dead as you are now.”

 

Inuyasha shook his head, refusing to believe what he was hearing. Everybody knew vampires were just a myth, creatures created from pure fantasy. This guy was just some fucking whacked out psycho who watched way too many horror flicks.

 

“Look, why don't you just let me go and I'll forget this ever happened. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone.” Inuyasha tried to reason with him, forcing himself to sound calm and reassuring. The man shook his head and gave a cold chuckle in response.

 

“It never fails the first time,” he muttered. He bent down close, his face mere inches away from Inuyasha's. “For some reason I thought you'd be different.” He gave Inuyasha an odd look before continuing. “Listen and listen well,” he hissed, his onyx eyes swirling with specks of red. “This is all real. You no longer belong to the world of the living. Your place is here, in the shadows.” Inuyasha watched, mesmerized, as the man opened his mouth, his tongue running across a pair of razor sharp fangs.

 

“A god among mere mortals, feasting on their blood.”

 

Inuyasha didn't know whether to laugh outright or scream. There was that floating feeling again, as if he were being carried away in a tidal wave of madness. “Don't look so horrified,” the man said. “The taste for blood is already in your system. You'll soon be craving it.”

 

“W-what?” Inuyasha stammered, his eyes widening. A chilling laugh surrounded him, smothered him. “The moment that you died, you needed blood to reawaken your body. Kikyo provided you with the proper…nourishment and here you are.”

 

“You're not scaring my new pet, are you, Naraku?” The man looked up just as a packet filled with ruby liquid was tossed his way. He caught it and returned his gaze to the man trapped in front of him.

 

“Of course.” He said with a glint of enjoyment in his crimson eyes. Kikyo walked over to them and looked down at Inuyasha. He stared at the both of them, his mind still in denial of his situation.

 

“Aww, it's ok, baby,” she cooed, stroking his cheek gently. “Everyone's scared their first time.” She glanced at Naraku with pleading eyes. “Can I feed him? Please?” Naraku rolled his eyes before relenting. He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest.

 

“Make it fast. I have a meeting to attend to.”

 

Kikyo smiled and returned her attention to Inuyasha. She winked at him, her chocolate orbs taking on a scarlet hue. She ripped open the thick plastic container with her jagged canines and held the contents over Inuyasha's mouth.

 

“Open wide, baby,” she purred, gripping his mouth with one hand and forcing his jaws open. Inuyasha was surprised by her strength, but quickly got over it as he saw the thick red liquid pour from the packet.

 

`God help me!' His mind screamed as the liquid splashed onto his lips and down his throat. He closed his eyes tightly, his stomach clenching at the pungent liquid. It filled his mouth, its flavor seeping into his taste buds. After a few moments, his struggling lessened until he became still. His eyes snapped open, amber replaced with a dark crimson.

 

“More.” He demanded. Kikyo smiled, obliging him. “As you wish, baby.”

 

~^~

 

“That was the beginning of my new life. I learned to do everything that was required of a Coven member,” Inuyasha said, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he recalled his earlier times with the Coven. “I trained day and night, honing my natural combat and stealth abilities that came along with being a…vampire.”

 

He was afraid to look at Kagome, imagining the look of abject terror on her face. With a sigh, he continued on, forcing himself to get through the story.

 

“There wasn't a minute that went by that I didn't think about you, Kagome. I wanted to see you, but that was one of the things the Coven wouldn't allow. Once you become a part of the Coven, your ties to the past are severed. Breaking that rule leads to…certain consequences.” Inuyasha closed his eyes, feeling a dull throb start up in his temples.

 

“I obeyed their rules and regulations, knowing there was no where else for me to go. But I couldn't stop thinking of everything that had been taken from me. I resented the “gift” they'd given me, hating the fact that I was nothing more than a freak. I wanted my life back, the life that was stolen from me.”

 

He stopped, realizing his anger was causing him to transform. He willed himself to calm down, not wanting Kagome to see him like this. On top of everything he'd just told her, actually seeing him in his vampire state would probably be more than she could handle. He smirked, realizing that there was still a small part of him that foolishly believed she'd still feel the same about him after everything was said and done. If he was smart, he'd just leave without another cursed word.

 

Inuyasha rose to his feet slowly, still not brave enough to turn around. “I only told you all this because you deserve to know the truth about what happened that night and because in some small way, I think you blamed yourself for what happened.” Knowing Kagome the way he did, he was sure she'd carried around a fair amount of guilt. “Just know that you couldn't have changed anything that happened…” He was surprised when he felt a hand tug at his own, slender fingers intertwining with his.

 

“That's…quite a story you told me,” Kagome spoke up, her mind still reeling. She didn't know what else to say after finding out that vampires, apparently, were real and her best friend was one of them. She bit her lip, dreading what she was about to say.

 

“I'm going to need some time to…figure out what all this means, Inuyasha.”

 

Kagome felt his hand tighten around hers. “But that doesn't mean I don't still love you. My feelings haven't changed.” She leaned her body against his, resting her head on his shoulder. She swallowed the words she desperately wanted to say, words that would keep him here with her, but she chose to listen to her head instead of her heart. What she needed was distance between the two of them so she could let it all sink in.

 

“I want you to leave now, Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha nodded his head slowly, feeling that flicker of hope inside of him extinguish with those words. Why should he expect more from her? After everything he'd told her and put her through for the past year, why should he expect anything more than this?

 

He opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent. His emotions threatened to overwhelm him, make a fool of him so he slipped his hand from Kagome's grasp and quickly left, leaving his past behind once and for all.

 

Kagome looked down at her empty hand, her fingernails digging into her palm so hard she thought she would draw blood. She couldn't hush the nagging doubt that she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life.

 

~^~

 

By the time Inuyasha made it back to the manor, the sun was just beginning to raise, the sky tinged with pink and orange. He was cutting it close, but he was in such turmoil that he didn't care whether he lived or died.

 

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that he wasn't alone.

 

“Long night?”

 

Inuyasha glanced up at the familiar voice. Kagura was sitting at the bottom of the staircase, a troubled look on her face. He frowned. “Nothing to write home about,” he muttered. He was about to move past her and up the stairs, but he hesitated. There was obviously something on her mind. With a sigh, he put aside his own anxieties and took a seat beside her.

 

“Anything you want to talk about?” He asked. She glanced at him before looking away. “Actually, Inuyasha, there is.” Her voice was hushed, as if she didn't want anyone to hear them. Inuyasha looked around, half expecting someone to be peeking from the shadows.

 

“Yeah, well what is it?” He asked, thinking she was acting more somber than usual. She stood suddenly, beckoning Inuyasha to follow her. His curiosity growing, he followed her to her personal study, taking a seat on one of the red leather wing-backed chairs. Kagura closed the doors quietly behind them, making sure to lock them. Now Inuyasha was even more intrigued with all the secrecy.

 

“Ok, Kagura, what's going on with you?”

 

Kagura paced the floor in front of him, her hands clasped behind her back. “I've sat up all night debating whether or not to come to you. If we're caught, we'll both be in deep shit.”

 

Inuyasha's brow raised, surprise written clearly across his face. “Are you trying to tell me something, Kagura? Because if you're trying to say you want to get with me, I'm flattered because you're hot, but -” He stopped when he noticed the look on Kagura's face. She stopped mid-pace, a look of utter incredulity on her petite features. Her green eyes were narrowed to tiny slits.

 

“First of all, idiot, you're the last person I would ever “get with”. And secondly, this is serious business.” She folded her hands across her chest and sighed. “I shouldn't even be here telling you this, but I couldn't just turn a blind eye.”

 

Inuyasha suddenly grasped the gravity of the situation, leaning forward in the chair. “Telling me what?” He asked impatiently.

 

“The Elders had an emergency meeting last night, called by Naraku. It was concerning you, Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha gripped the arms of the chair, a cold feeling slithering down his spine. Could they know about him going to see Kagome? He'd had a feeling that first night that someone had been watching him, but he hadn't wanted to believe the worst.

 

“What about me?”

 

Kagura gave him a knowing look. “Don't play games with me, Inuyasha. I'm putting my own neck on the line for you and the least you can do is be honest with me.” Inuyasha smirked.

 

“Feh. Why should I trust you anyways? After all, you are one of them.” He glanced away, his face hard. “I can't believe you just said that, Inuyasha.” Kagura replied, a hint of hurt in her tone. “I may be an Elder, but I also thought I was your friend, or at the very least someone you could talk to.”

 

He was instantly ashamed of his reaction, knowing that Kagura had done nothing to earn his suspicion. “I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I do consider you a friend and I shouldn't have said that.” He angrily punched the arm of the chair.

 

“Damn Naraku! He's had it out for me since day one.”

 

Kagura looked at him with a guarded gaze. “This isn't entirely his fault, is it? You're the one sneaking around.” Inuyasha let out a deep breath. “How long have you known?”

 

“For quite some time,” she answered. “I've always had a feeling that you would never quite get the past out of your system, so I've been following you.”

 

Inuyasha's brow furrowed. “So that was you that night at the cemetery,” he muttered. Kagura nodded. He felt a wave of relief wash over him. His secret was safe, at least for the moment.

 

“I'm not the only one who knows, Inuyasha.”

 

That cold feeling started seeping down into his bones, settling there like some disease that refused to shake loose. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back. “He knows?” He heard Kagura's soft footsteps approach him until she was standing directly in front of him. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into a pair of emerald orbs.

 

“He didn't come right out and say it, but he hinted around. I think he ordered Kikyo to tail you. Anyhow, the damage has been done. He's gotten the Elders' attention and now they're more suspicious than ever.” She sighed, giving him a concerned look. “Naraku wanted you thrown out of the Coven immediately, but I reminded them of the -” She stopped suddenly, her mouth clamping closed. Inuyasha frowned.

 

“What?” He asked. She gave a sharp shake of her head. “Um, just reminded them that there was no proof.” She continued a little too quickly. She looked away from him, something flashing in her eyes. He didn't have time to think about it before she turned back to him, placing a hand on his knee.

 

“Please be careful from now on, Inuyasha!” She pleaded softly. “The Elders will be watching you even more closely now that Naraku's given them a reason to. Even the slightest infraction will be enough to get rid of you.”

 

Inuyasha was taken aback by the amount of emotion Kagura was displaying. She was usually so glib and aloof, totally opposite of what he was seeing now. He nodded his head slowly, briefly placing his hand over hers. “Alright, Kagura. I'll be careful from now on.”

 

She gave him a doubtful look. “I'm serious, Inuyasha. Here in the Coven, rules are rules and there's no room for debate. Is she really worth dying for?” Inuyasha opened his mouth to respond, but found he couldn't speak. He knew who Kagura was referring to.

 

“Whether she is or isn't, she won't be a problem anymore.” He said shortly. He saw the questioning look in Kagura's eyes, but ignored it. “If we're finished here, I'm really tired so…”

 

Kagura rose to her feet and took a step back, allowing Inuyasha to walk past her and to the door. He undid the lock, but before opening the door, he said, “Thanks for giving me a heads up, Kagura. I really appreciate it.” As he walked out of the study, he knew that as loyal and faithful as Kagura had been, she was keeping something from him, something big.

 

Once Kagura was alone in her study, she leaned against the door, closing her eyes. She hated lying to Inuyasha, but if that was what she had to do to keep him safe, then she would do it. She would do anything to keep him from knowing the truth.

 

 

a/n: ehhh, not too pleased with this chap, but it's kind of a transition chap…sets up where the story is going from here. thanks for the reviews and hope you all like it!