InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Exchange ❯ For Hate ( Chapter 15 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: RozeFire 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy / Angst / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.13.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy / Angst / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.13.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Completed
AN: Here's the REAL chapter 15 - sorry about the mix-up and sorry about the wait ^_^ Just discovered I failed my art exam, weird since that's supposed to be my best subject beside English (but surprisingly, I'm still a cheerful little sod today) and I'm having a job interview tomorrow for a place at my local Waterstones book store (a fitting place to start a career in writing I think ^_^).
Soul Exchange
For Hate
< br>
Kagome let out a little puff of a sigh as she let her head drop forward to rest against the window of her room. The cold glass chilled her forehead as she rolled her head from side to side, trying to chase away her bad thoughts. She was in no way tired... though that was strange since she had been worrying herself into a state of hyper-concern over Inuyasha's welfare - with all reasoning she should be exhausted. Where the heck was she pulling the energy from to turn into an Insomniac.
God... she hadn't even been this bad when Kouga had disappeared without much warning - off to war. And here Inuyasha had just gone to pick up his father and she was fretting like he'd marched off to get hanged.
Kagome's eyes had at some point glazed over and she no longer focused on what lay in the palace grounds before her. Instead she noticed the rivulets of water that streamed down the window - not in little droplets - but covering the window completely in a thin sheet of water, making everything beyond the glass smeared and blurred.
A lash of thunder streaked in the distance, followed a few seconds later by a rumble of thunder. Kagome did the little calculation in her head that her grandfather had taught her and reckoned the lightning must have been a couple of miles away... probably (and hopefully) frying Sesshomaru that very moment.
Movement through the blurred window caught Kagome's attention and she peered more closely to see below. She could just about make out the flickering torches below in the courtyard, shielded from the rain by little covers... and in the light she could just about make out the vague image of a white haired person getting off a horse.
For one elated moment she thought it was Inuyasha - until she realised the horse was brown, not white... and slumped back with disappointment. It was Urami returning from her village on Kagome's gelding. That had ticked Kagome off quite a bit. Urami had taken the horse without even asking permission... though Sango had reasoned it was probably only because Urami had thought it was a palace horse free for the taking.
Urami had left yesterday... two days after Inuyasha's departure... Why couldn't Inuyasha have come back first? Then she could have enjoyed an Urami-free time with Inuyasha - and possibly meet his father and the Shikon.
Kagome sat in silence for quite some time, various different thoughts running through her head...
"Oh that's cute... you miss him." Naraku's voice made her jerk around to face him.
"Why don't you arrive outside and then knock?!" Kagome hissed angrily. "Then maybe I wouldn't get so jumpy!"
"You were just thinking about him, weren't you?" Naraku sounded amused. "Particularly the way he walks... you like his walk?"
Kagome reddened instantly. "That's good... here's another. I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred..."
"You're sweet, Baby, but don't get too attached. Why haven't you killed him yet?" Naraku stepped forward towards the moonlight lit square before her and the window. He stopped before he stepped into the light, remaining in the Shadow. "I wonder what could be taking so long..."
^_^
The only sound that really greeted Inuyasha as his horse slowly plodded between the lakes towards the palace gates, was the sound of the rain hitting the ground with a rapid pattering sound. The grass beneath him was so waterlogged that the horse was having trouble walking through it, seeing as it's hooves sank down a couple of inches into the mud.
Ahead of him he could see the sentries at the gates looking out at him, while a few other runners had been sent back inside the palace, probably to inform his mother of his arrival.
Inuyasha expected to feel a pang of concern for his mother... a pang of sadness... but he found himself emotionally spent. He just stared dully at the path before him while tensing a hand on his father's back, to keep him from slipping off the horse.
By the time Inuyasha drew to a stop just below the steps to the entrance of the palace, Lady Inu and Sango came hurrying down the steps, regardless of the heavy rain. They both stopped halfway down, the moment they saw Inuyasha and the body across his lap wrapped in a large white bedding sheet.
The complete tense silence around him as Inuyasha slowly dismounted was almost unbearable. The guard's heads were all bowed in deep respect... as it didn't take a genius to figure out who was wrapped in the white sheets.
Sango was frozen to the spot, looking as white as a sheet with a trembling hand pressed against her mouth as though she didn't trust herself not to scream. When Inuyasha slowly pulled his father from the horse to carry him into the palace, he was stopped as his mother arrived before him, blocking his way.
She was just as pale as Sango as she timidly reached out for the edge of the white sheet to push it back from over Lord Inu's face. She looked at her husband for a moment, almost calmly before stepping aside. "Take him in..."
Inuyasha moved off up the stairs as Sango brushed past him on her way to his mother. His steps faltered slightly, half from the burning pain of a wound on his side, and half because he heard his mother begin to sob freely behind him.
He just went on inside out of the rain where servants were already waiting to take Lord Inu off his hands. "Please Lord Inuyasha... allow us to-"
"I can manage." Was Inuyasha's curt reply. He ignored their offering hands and walked on. But the pain in his side was increasing the longer he held his father... and his father was not a light man.
He'd only managed to walk a few metres before he began to falter and had to stop.
The servants were at his side to steady him. "Let us take him, your majesty..." the kept saying quietly.
They took hold of his father's body and gently tried to pull him away. Inuyasha was reluctant to let go, almost feeling as though they were deliberately trying to rob him of his father. But eventually the pain in his side won over and he had to let go.
He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as he was all but pushed out of the way, and slumped against the wall to slide down, unaware that he left a smear of his own blood behind him. The servants took his father off to gods no where, and after a while Lady Inu passed him, clinging to Sango while they both cried softly.
If Inuyasha continued to just sit there the rest of the night, he'd bleed to death by morning. So he slowly forced himself to his feet and headed off to find Urami to tend his wounds. He reached the bottom of the stairs when the Captain of the Guard stopped him.
"Lord Inuyasha... what happened...?" the man asked carefully, taking in the Prince's bedraggled appearance, the rips in his clothes and the wounds that showed beneath.
"He was hostage." Inuyasha shrugged simply. "I got there, he died, I brought the palace down."
"Literally?" the guard looked surprised.
It had only taken one swing. With that he'd ripped the Miko in half and crumbling the foundations of the building itself. Everything after that had just been a domino effect. He'd managed to get out just in time, like a lot of the humans as the main palace had come down... then the other buildings around it had collapsed in as bits of the palace fell outwards.
Most had gotten out... but not everyone. And those who had been trapped by rubble... Inuyasha didn't feel in the slightest bit sorry for them. He wanted to know how Tessaiga had suddenly turned so powerful... but he didn't remember what he'd done to transform the blade. It had changed back pretty quickly after the first swing.
"You did well, your majesty." The guard bowed humbly. "You're brought his body back to be honoured at least."
Inuyasha stared at him, the vague thought of licking the man's neck like Kagome had suggested flashed through his head, turning his thoughts back to the girl in question. He excused himself and pressed a hand against his bleeding wound to try and stem the flow as he headed up the stairs to the rooms. If anything, he wanted to see Kagome more than Urami. She'd understand, she'd be comforting, and her voice wouldn't grate on his nerves and worsen his headache.
He only vaguely realised that he actually wanted Kagome's comfort... a long time ago he hadn't even wanted that off his own family or Sango when Kikyo had died. It felt strange... but as long as no one knew it, he would allow himself to want it off Kagome.
Besides... he had a little present for her.
^_^
"Kagome. .. little Baby..." Naraku stepped around the moonlight from the window to lean against the wall beside it. "What could possibly preventing you from killing Inuyasha."
Kagome turned her thoughts to something less suspicious in case she thought too loud for him to hear. Instead, she fixed her thoughts on something random... pond weed.
"It couldn't be love... could it?" Naraku sneered.
Kagome's fists bunched against the cloth of her night clothes. "No. There have just been a few complications..."
"Like what? Pond weed?"
"No... there's a servant girl for Inuyasha... her name is Urami." Kagome glanced up at him. "Not a friend of yours is she?"
"Never heard of her." Naraku said evenly.
Kagome cursed mentally. So she wasn't a Naraku underling either... god... how depressing to know Urami wasn't evil.
"So what has she got to do with anything?" Naraku prompted.
"I'm afraid..." Kagome sighed, for once allowing herself to express her true feelings... even if it was to Naraku... "She might be getting under Inuyasha's skin more than I have... I'm afraid he might prefer Urami than me..."
"One slutty little maid mustn't stand in our way, Baby." Naraku said shortly.
"She isn't a slut..." Kagome whispered.
"I don't care." He snapped. "I an running out of time Kagome. You and I have a bargain. You kill Inuyasha and then I'll release your soul the second he dies. If I run out of time before you do the deed, then your soul will never be free."
"I know!" Kagome barked. That worried her. She was never going to kill Inuyasha... NEVER. Her soul would never be free again... but soon he might return with the Shikon and then she could at least hide herself and her soul from Naraku. She only needed a few more days at least, until he returned. She just needed more time, and she had to get Naraku off her back until then.
"When are you going to kill him Kagome?!"
"Soon!" She hissed back angrily. "I'll kill him soon! I'll seduce him, I'll flirt, I'll do anything it takes - I'll be your little princess of darkness and I will kill him before your time is up or whatever. I want my soul back - I'll do this - so don't think I won't. Now bog off until I do it - you just make me nervous!"
"There's my little hissy fit baby." Naraku smirked under his baboon mask. "Just don't forget..."
"How could I forget...?" Kagome said spitefully and slumped back against the window.
Naraku chuckled and shuffled away from her. "Good... I'll see you again when you commit the murder... or else I'll appear to you when my time is up - to tell you I'm dragging you back to hell with me. That's what happens when your soul is mine... you'll be with me forever... for eternity..."
Kagome shivered as he disappeared, and hugged her knees tightly. She'd never have to go anywhere with him if she had the jewel. The jewel was her life line...
Inside the jewel was a piece of the soul of one of her ancestors... that's why the jewel had landed itself with Kikyo. And if Kagome had the jewel, she'd be able to tie her soul to herself again, and Naraku would never find her essence again in whatever plane of existence he lived in.
Outside Inuyasha leaned against the wall outside her bedroom door, staring at a mark on the wall opposite him. He'd just heard the entire conversation... and he recognised Naraku's voice. There was no one in heaven, earth or hell that possessed such a smooth talking tone. Naraku had used it to entrance Kikyo and poison her mind...
And now he was talking to Kagome. About killing him.
Inuyasha pushed off the wall and absently tried to brush his sopping wet bangs out of his eyes. He needed to dry off... he needed a bath... he needed a someone, probably Urami, to tend his wounds - he had a rather pesky one on his back that he couldn't reach from where a rafter had fallen on his back in Hinohara palace.
Urami's voice might annoy him a little, but it would be worth it, she was a gentle worker and would take care of him. Then after a good night's sleep he would be able to work out Tessaiga's secrets and probably attend his father's funeral.
The people outside looked on in surprise as they saw their prince exit the palace and head straight out the gates through the rain, obviously having some destination in mind.
He eventually stopped by the lake and pulled the Shikon no Tama from inside his ripped jacket. He stared at it blankly a moment before pulling back his hand and launching the small bead into the air. He watched it through the screaming torrents of rain until it met the surface of the lake and disappeared for good.
He stared at the spot it had disappeared neutrally, ignoring the rain that hammered against his skin almost painfully. He had planned on giving it Kagome... but...
Now he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.
As he made his way back to the palace he wondered briefly on whether he should have his father buried or cremated...
Oh yeah... and whether he should have Kagome hung or beheaded.
< br>
AN: Sorry I have to leave it there, I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but I have to start my homework now. I'd delete the second chapter fourteen but it isn't showing up in my account... I swear I only posted the one chapter. I haven't a clue what's going on... so just ignore the double chapter thing for now ^_^
Soul Exchange
For Hate
< br>
Kagome let out a little puff of a sigh as she let her head drop forward to rest against the window of her room. The cold glass chilled her forehead as she rolled her head from side to side, trying to chase away her bad thoughts. She was in no way tired... though that was strange since she had been worrying herself into a state of hyper-concern over Inuyasha's welfare - with all reasoning she should be exhausted. Where the heck was she pulling the energy from to turn into an Insomniac.
God... she hadn't even been this bad when Kouga had disappeared without much warning - off to war. And here Inuyasha had just gone to pick up his father and she was fretting like he'd marched off to get hanged.
Kagome's eyes had at some point glazed over and she no longer focused on what lay in the palace grounds before her. Instead she noticed the rivulets of water that streamed down the window - not in little droplets - but covering the window completely in a thin sheet of water, making everything beyond the glass smeared and blurred.
A lash of thunder streaked in the distance, followed a few seconds later by a rumble of thunder. Kagome did the little calculation in her head that her grandfather had taught her and reckoned the lightning must have been a couple of miles away... probably (and hopefully) frying Sesshomaru that very moment.
Movement through the blurred window caught Kagome's attention and she peered more closely to see below. She could just about make out the flickering torches below in the courtyard, shielded from the rain by little covers... and in the light she could just about make out the vague image of a white haired person getting off a horse.
For one elated moment she thought it was Inuyasha - until she realised the horse was brown, not white... and slumped back with disappointment. It was Urami returning from her village on Kagome's gelding. That had ticked Kagome off quite a bit. Urami had taken the horse without even asking permission... though Sango had reasoned it was probably only because Urami had thought it was a palace horse free for the taking.
Urami had left yesterday... two days after Inuyasha's departure... Why couldn't Inuyasha have come back first? Then she could have enjoyed an Urami-free time with Inuyasha - and possibly meet his father and the Shikon.
Kagome sat in silence for quite some time, various different thoughts running through her head...
"Oh that's cute... you miss him." Naraku's voice made her jerk around to face him.
"Why don't you arrive outside and then knock?!" Kagome hissed angrily. "Then maybe I wouldn't get so jumpy!"
"You were just thinking about him, weren't you?" Naraku sounded amused. "Particularly the way he walks... you like his walk?"
Kagome reddened instantly. "That's good... here's another. I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred..."
"You're sweet, Baby, but don't get too attached. Why haven't you killed him yet?" Naraku stepped forward towards the moonlight lit square before her and the window. He stopped before he stepped into the light, remaining in the Shadow. "I wonder what could be taking so long..."
^_^
The only sound that really greeted Inuyasha as his horse slowly plodded between the lakes towards the palace gates, was the sound of the rain hitting the ground with a rapid pattering sound. The grass beneath him was so waterlogged that the horse was having trouble walking through it, seeing as it's hooves sank down a couple of inches into the mud.
Ahead of him he could see the sentries at the gates looking out at him, while a few other runners had been sent back inside the palace, probably to inform his mother of his arrival.
Inuyasha expected to feel a pang of concern for his mother... a pang of sadness... but he found himself emotionally spent. He just stared dully at the path before him while tensing a hand on his father's back, to keep him from slipping off the horse.
By the time Inuyasha drew to a stop just below the steps to the entrance of the palace, Lady Inu and Sango came hurrying down the steps, regardless of the heavy rain. They both stopped halfway down, the moment they saw Inuyasha and the body across his lap wrapped in a large white bedding sheet.
The complete tense silence around him as Inuyasha slowly dismounted was almost unbearable. The guard's heads were all bowed in deep respect... as it didn't take a genius to figure out who was wrapped in the white sheets.
Sango was frozen to the spot, looking as white as a sheet with a trembling hand pressed against her mouth as though she didn't trust herself not to scream. When Inuyasha slowly pulled his father from the horse to carry him into the palace, he was stopped as his mother arrived before him, blocking his way.
She was just as pale as Sango as she timidly reached out for the edge of the white sheet to push it back from over Lord Inu's face. She looked at her husband for a moment, almost calmly before stepping aside. "Take him in..."
Inuyasha moved off up the stairs as Sango brushed past him on her way to his mother. His steps faltered slightly, half from the burning pain of a wound on his side, and half because he heard his mother begin to sob freely behind him.
He just went on inside out of the rain where servants were already waiting to take Lord Inu off his hands. "Please Lord Inuyasha... allow us to-"
"I can manage." Was Inuyasha's curt reply. He ignored their offering hands and walked on. But the pain in his side was increasing the longer he held his father... and his father was not a light man.
He'd only managed to walk a few metres before he began to falter and had to stop.
The servants were at his side to steady him. "Let us take him, your majesty..." the kept saying quietly.
They took hold of his father's body and gently tried to pull him away. Inuyasha was reluctant to let go, almost feeling as though they were deliberately trying to rob him of his father. But eventually the pain in his side won over and he had to let go.
He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as he was all but pushed out of the way, and slumped against the wall to slide down, unaware that he left a smear of his own blood behind him. The servants took his father off to gods no where, and after a while Lady Inu passed him, clinging to Sango while they both cried softly.
If Inuyasha continued to just sit there the rest of the night, he'd bleed to death by morning. So he slowly forced himself to his feet and headed off to find Urami to tend his wounds. He reached the bottom of the stairs when the Captain of the Guard stopped him.
"Lord Inuyasha... what happened...?" the man asked carefully, taking in the Prince's bedraggled appearance, the rips in his clothes and the wounds that showed beneath.
"He was hostage." Inuyasha shrugged simply. "I got there, he died, I brought the palace down."
"Literally?" the guard looked surprised.
It had only taken one swing. With that he'd ripped the Miko in half and crumbling the foundations of the building itself. Everything after that had just been a domino effect. He'd managed to get out just in time, like a lot of the humans as the main palace had come down... then the other buildings around it had collapsed in as bits of the palace fell outwards.
Most had gotten out... but not everyone. And those who had been trapped by rubble... Inuyasha didn't feel in the slightest bit sorry for them. He wanted to know how Tessaiga had suddenly turned so powerful... but he didn't remember what he'd done to transform the blade. It had changed back pretty quickly after the first swing.
"You did well, your majesty." The guard bowed humbly. "You're brought his body back to be honoured at least."
Inuyasha stared at him, the vague thought of licking the man's neck like Kagome had suggested flashed through his head, turning his thoughts back to the girl in question. He excused himself and pressed a hand against his bleeding wound to try and stem the flow as he headed up the stairs to the rooms. If anything, he wanted to see Kagome more than Urami. She'd understand, she'd be comforting, and her voice wouldn't grate on his nerves and worsen his headache.
He only vaguely realised that he actually wanted Kagome's comfort... a long time ago he hadn't even wanted that off his own family or Sango when Kikyo had died. It felt strange... but as long as no one knew it, he would allow himself to want it off Kagome.
Besides... he had a little present for her.
^_^
"Kagome. .. little Baby..." Naraku stepped around the moonlight from the window to lean against the wall beside it. "What could possibly preventing you from killing Inuyasha."
Kagome turned her thoughts to something less suspicious in case she thought too loud for him to hear. Instead, she fixed her thoughts on something random... pond weed.
"It couldn't be love... could it?" Naraku sneered.
Kagome's fists bunched against the cloth of her night clothes. "No. There have just been a few complications..."
"Like what? Pond weed?"
"No... there's a servant girl for Inuyasha... her name is Urami." Kagome glanced up at him. "Not a friend of yours is she?"
"Never heard of her." Naraku said evenly.
Kagome cursed mentally. So she wasn't a Naraku underling either... god... how depressing to know Urami wasn't evil.
"So what has she got to do with anything?" Naraku prompted.
"I'm afraid..." Kagome sighed, for once allowing herself to express her true feelings... even if it was to Naraku... "She might be getting under Inuyasha's skin more than I have... I'm afraid he might prefer Urami than me..."
"One slutty little maid mustn't stand in our way, Baby." Naraku said shortly.
"She isn't a slut..." Kagome whispered.
"I don't care." He snapped. "I an running out of time Kagome. You and I have a bargain. You kill Inuyasha and then I'll release your soul the second he dies. If I run out of time before you do the deed, then your soul will never be free."
"I know!" Kagome barked. That worried her. She was never going to kill Inuyasha... NEVER. Her soul would never be free again... but soon he might return with the Shikon and then she could at least hide herself and her soul from Naraku. She only needed a few more days at least, until he returned. She just needed more time, and she had to get Naraku off her back until then.
"When are you going to kill him Kagome?!"
"Soon!" She hissed back angrily. "I'll kill him soon! I'll seduce him, I'll flirt, I'll do anything it takes - I'll be your little princess of darkness and I will kill him before your time is up or whatever. I want my soul back - I'll do this - so don't think I won't. Now bog off until I do it - you just make me nervous!"
"There's my little hissy fit baby." Naraku smirked under his baboon mask. "Just don't forget..."
"How could I forget...?" Kagome said spitefully and slumped back against the window.
Naraku chuckled and shuffled away from her. "Good... I'll see you again when you commit the murder... or else I'll appear to you when my time is up - to tell you I'm dragging you back to hell with me. That's what happens when your soul is mine... you'll be with me forever... for eternity..."
Kagome shivered as he disappeared, and hugged her knees tightly. She'd never have to go anywhere with him if she had the jewel. The jewel was her life line...
Inside the jewel was a piece of the soul of one of her ancestors... that's why the jewel had landed itself with Kikyo. And if Kagome had the jewel, she'd be able to tie her soul to herself again, and Naraku would never find her essence again in whatever plane of existence he lived in.
Outside Inuyasha leaned against the wall outside her bedroom door, staring at a mark on the wall opposite him. He'd just heard the entire conversation... and he recognised Naraku's voice. There was no one in heaven, earth or hell that possessed such a smooth talking tone. Naraku had used it to entrance Kikyo and poison her mind...
And now he was talking to Kagome. About killing him.
Inuyasha pushed off the wall and absently tried to brush his sopping wet bangs out of his eyes. He needed to dry off... he needed a bath... he needed a someone, probably Urami, to tend his wounds - he had a rather pesky one on his back that he couldn't reach from where a rafter had fallen on his back in Hinohara palace.
Urami's voice might annoy him a little, but it would be worth it, she was a gentle worker and would take care of him. Then after a good night's sleep he would be able to work out Tessaiga's secrets and probably attend his father's funeral.
The people outside looked on in surprise as they saw their prince exit the palace and head straight out the gates through the rain, obviously having some destination in mind.
He eventually stopped by the lake and pulled the Shikon no Tama from inside his ripped jacket. He stared at it blankly a moment before pulling back his hand and launching the small bead into the air. He watched it through the screaming torrents of rain until it met the surface of the lake and disappeared for good.
He stared at the spot it had disappeared neutrally, ignoring the rain that hammered against his skin almost painfully. He had planned on giving it Kagome... but...
Now he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.
As he made his way back to the palace he wondered briefly on whether he should have his father buried or cremated...
Oh yeah... and whether he should have Kagome hung or beheaded.
< br>
AN: Sorry I have to leave it there, I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but I have to start my homework now. I'd delete the second chapter fourteen but it isn't showing up in my account... I swear I only posted the one chapter. I haven't a clue what's going on... so just ignore the double chapter thing for now ^_^