InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Not Knowing ❯ Nightmares ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Nightmares

 

~Mira's Dream~

 

She was four again; her father had just brought them home from the woman that she had not seen in years, her own family. Her family on the other side of the well that she too, used to cross. Even with her mother before her premature bereavement.

 

Her father had set her in her bed and had walked out. Mira pushed back the covers on her bed and walked on her stubby little legs to the front door, sliding it open a crack. The smell of the night sky was calming and welcoming to her. On the nocturnal breeze, many more scents bombarded her nose.

 

Her dads, the lake, her brothers from earlier, and… well, another scent. Warm and familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time to her. She watched as her father sat up and stared at the darkness of the forest mouth. Watching… and waiting.

 

Then, just then, a woman stepped into the clearing. He ran into her embrace. This was her parent's reunion that she had witnessed so long ago. Young Mira smiled as she smelt the tears from both her parents, both happy to be with each other.

 

But as we all know it that did not last very long. The next thing that registered into Mira's head was the scent of blood. What she saw, was her mother going limp, seeing the tentacle like arm, strike her in the back. Falling, collapsing into his arms.

 

Everything then started bleeding and blending together. Soon enough the room grew dark, only then did the raging fire appear behind her. She looked back at her self, and Mira was her own age again. Surrounded by flames. Even in her dream, they still felt real, she could feel the heat and the burn as she touched it. Mira then heard a chuckle dome from behind her. She knew who it belonged to.

 

That awful man, that evil hanyou… Naraku. But, it wasn't him that frightened her… but the countless corpses that laid behind him in a heap. Her village, her friends and family. Her father and brother.

 

Her anger grew at the site. She struck, unaware of the dark hanyou's power. Mira was unable to land the attack. Then again, it was kind of hard when you're in a death like grip.

 

His grip was different, compared to Koga's just a few days prior. One was, Naraku's grip was cold and disgusting feeling. And two, unlike Koga, who had broken the skin, Naraku's fingertips were blunt as any human. But she really wished it had, just to get the blood flowing.

He chuckled again, “Poor defenseless Mira. Small and weak, just like your pitiful mother. She had paid her price and now it is your turn. You will suffer the same fate as your village did.”

His voice was cold and sent shivers up Mira's spine. Thanking the gods when he finally released her neck, she inched away quickly, before standing to her full view, highly guaranteeing that there would be a bruise on her neck. She looked back up at the man, as he released the tentacle like arm… and struck her down the middle……

 

~End Dream~

 

“AHHH.” She screamed as she bolted up from her place in the grass, feeling the change in the air that was once so much warmer. Now turned icily cold. The night had fallen fast. The sky was midnight blue and the stars were already starting to appear like diamonds in the inky spray.

 

She huffed and tried to regain her breath and steady her heart rate. Sweat dripping down from her forehead and dampened her kimono. Causing it to stick to her skin and her body to shake with the wetness that clung to her. Mira looked around, seeing that she was by herself. She stood and bounded off into the forest.

 

Didn't take long for her to run and reach her destination, her fathers hanyou blood that existed in her veins had proved to be helpful in times like this.

 

She reached a lake, within the cluster of the forest around it. Completely private and no one was capable of getting in without climbing a few trees and jumping over a few boulders. Totally isolated.

 

Mira fell to her knees at the shore, and stared at her reflection. There, on the side of her neck, was that damn bruise. The mark where Naraku had chocked her.

 

`Impossible, it was only a dream… wasn't it?' She brought her hand up and touched it, and hissed in pain.

 

The large black and purple blotchy mark on her neck, covered most of her collar bone as well, as if the swell had spread, but will quickly heal with in the hours to come.

 

But now her mind drifted back to her dream. Voices followed her through out the night as she ran here. And she tried to ignore it, but… her mothers death, her weakness… she felt as though they were mocking her. Coming after her next.

 

She pinned her ears under her hands and clutched them tightly to her head. Squeezing her eyes tightly, tears escaping the folds. She clenched her teeth so tightly she could have sworn she cracked one. She felt her fangs rubbing against her lower lip, causing it to go raw and start to sting from the cold air hitting it.

Poor Mira couldn't take the voices that she could hear under her pressed ears, so… she screamed to the heavens above.

 

Poor girl couldn't help it. She rocked back and forth on her knees and finally managed to open her eyes and look at her reflection. The whites of her eyes had turned slightly red and her once amber eyes were now bleeding slowly to a steel blue.

 

Breathing slowly, she tempted to calm her demonic side, which was angry with the hanyou that had frightened her other counterparts. Mira knew that her demon half, was not dangerous, but merely misunderstood. Just like her father's demonic presence.

 

~Back at the hut~

The family had heard her scream. Waking up Sango and Miroku, who had gone to sleep not that long ago.

 

“Did you hear that Miroku?” She asked as she bolted up from her side of the futon.

 

“Sounds like Mira.” Her husband said as he stood from his side and stared at the reed mat that separated their room from the main hall. It was not long before both Saya and Honou had run in.

 

“Mother you heard that correct?” Saya asked.

 

Sango looked up to her daughter and nodded her head. “Mira is probably hurt; we should go and help her.” She continued.

 

Her mother nodded again and stood up, her husband following suit. All dressed in their demon slayer outfits, excluding the monk; they ran outside and followed the scream

 

~Back home~

Shippo had woken up from his slumber from the loud scream that had echoed throughout the lands. Any one with sensitive hearing like he and his foster father would have heard it. No matter how far they were.

 

He tossed the covers that had failed to cover him completely, bounding out of his room, down the hall and out the door, where he saw his foster father standing at the shore of the lake. Looking up at the still bright sky.

 

“That was her, wasn't it?” He asked as he approached Inuyasha cautiously until he was tow steps behind him.

 

Inuyasha just looked at his son over his shoulder and looked back at the sky and nodded.

 

“Should we find her? It sounds like she could really use some help.” Shippo said as he stood along side Inuyasha, age 24 and he was still shorter, as kitsune are originally smaller than inu. Surprisingly, Shippo was big for a kitsune.

 

“If she needs help, then she will come to us. But I refuse to go and help her if she does not want it.”

Shippo could see that he was worried for his daughter. And he understood fairly well.

 

Inuyasha sighed, “Come on runt. Might as well go and check on her.” He said as he started to walk along the shore to the forest. And Shippo slowly followed.

 

~Mira~

She stood in the water now, her feet dipped into the refreshing coolness. Her arms extended out from her body and the moon contrasting down on her shimmered when it was caught in her silver strands. Glowing on her skin making her give the impression of a tenshi (angle or a heavenly being).

 

Her miko supremacy swirled around her in a bluish glow, only adding to the beauty on her skin and highlighting her hair even more.

 

This was the easiest way, she deemed, to calm her demonic aura, to let it know that she was unharmed. And it seemed to work, as though her demonic power accepted her miko aura.

 

Mira could feel her inner demon relax; her cries of release waned and faded. A baby being sung to sleep after an hour or so of crying, balm on sore lips, her miko power soothed not only her demon side, but her herself.

 

`He's coming after me now. And my family.' Red started to seep into her eyes again, but this time she held it under control. Mira looked down at her mirror image in the crystal below her, bent down and dipped her hands in, causing gentle ripples to float to the sides of the lake. Sipping the cool refreshing water, Mira felt a little better.

 

Snap. A loud noise came from behind her, and she quickly turned around. A little to fast, though. She had lost her footing and slipped into the cold irrigate. Her eyes snapped shut as she fell, only to open them once more and lift her arm and shake the dampened material that clung to her body like a second skin.

 

She looked up and who to find, Honou. Staring at her soaked form, Mira narrowed her eyes, and growled at him for the intrusion.

 

He blushed and looked away. Mira cocked her head to the side in confusion, looking down, she knew why seeing that her form could be easily seen from under the dark blue dampened material, she blushed, but did no effort to cover herself.

 

“Mira! Are you all right!?” Saya's voice rang through the forest, a good forty fee behind her brother.

But that didn't mean that someone wasn't closer. Sango bursted through the trees and stood next to her son. Seeing the state that Mira happened to be in, sitting in the water looking off to the side with a blush on her face.

 

She giggled softly, remembering how Kagome used to be like that, too. But she was more modest, like Inuyasha. Sango reached behind her back, and untied the green skirt and held it up and walked up to her.

 

Mira brought her gaze to meet the other female and frowned, embarrassed; her father had taught her better than this.

 

`Never allow people to see you in weakness. Not unless you know that you can trust them.' His words rang through her head.

 

So Sango was not surprised when she reached down to help Mira up, and she didn't take her offer. But she did obtain the jade colored textile softly, letting a silent `thank you' slip through her lips as she slipped the green material over her shoulders.

 

Saya's scent came clearly into Mira's nose; she froze and saw the girl step out from behind the distant trees.

 

“Mira! We heard you scream, is everything alright?” Saya now stood in front of her, bending over to set her hands on her knees, huffing and trying to catcher breath.

 

Mira smiled smally and set a clawed hand on her shoulder and walked past her.

 

Sango and Honou watched her head back; she looked over here son's stiffened form, “Thank god you're nothing like your father.” She said as she shook her head and walked in the same direction.

Honou stared at his mothers retreating back.

 

~~

Mira walked in silence, allowing Saya to think of what she was going to say. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off, “I need you to take me to the sacred cave.”

 

Saya's mouth clamped and nodded. Then she started going in a different direction. Mira blinked at her sudden change in direction, and gripped the green material tighter and followed.

 

Trailing the long way to the cave, they went over rough terrain, terrain Mira wasn't very used to. Stepping on twigs and very sharp piles of dirt hidden under the shrubs and vines that seemed to snake out from the roots of the trees that seemed to gather closely.

 

She brought her hand up and gripped the Shikon Jewel, feeling it pulse on her neck, in attempt to calm it down. Though it refused. The pulse only seemed to accelerate with every step closer to the cave.

 

`It's home.' Is what she was thinking as she felt her heart pound with the rhythm of the jewel.

 

The rocks along the side of the mountain they had been walking by had changed color slightly as they carried on. The boulders colors had turned white.

 

`Limestone.' She thought as she continued to follow Saya gazing at the shale. She had been completely quiet. Mira watched from behind as Saya look up at the gravel and the misshaped rocks.

 

Saya stopped, looking at a cave. Mira stood slightly behind her. Around the mouth of the cave, sacred sutras had been hung. Weathered and battered through the harsh winds and rains of time. Who knows how long they have been there.

 

But, at last now, Mira can finally get some answers.