InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Trapped from Within ❯ Dreams ( Chapter 2 )

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Thunder struck outside, lighting the dim room of the apartment. Rain pounded on the glass windows, beaded droplets streaking down the pane in natural remorse, as though the sky was shedding unshed tears for those who could not.

A figure lay on the bed quietly, slim pale legs twining with sweaty sheets, delicate lids closed, hair splaying across her bare body. Her porcelain white skin was marred with bruises and cuts, her trembling lips were swollen and red. She lay a sleep on her back, her legs twisted to the side, her lithe form bare to the world, and a hand over her heart.

But she did not sleep peacefully.

She slept with troubling dreams, her fingers clenching the thin sheets tightly. Suddenly she twisted, her back arching, and a whimper escaped her prone form, a sound both haunting and melodic, both terrifying and, to the cruel at heart, pleasing.

It was a sound that would start a chain reaction of events so terrifying, and yet so welcoming into her distraught soul that she would be torn between her mind and her heart, a familiar throbbing that was ever insistent in her pain-filled life.

It would change every thing she knew and thought about life, about people, and even about herself.

It was a journey in it's self, and a simple syllable that would start it all.

It was in essence…… the beginning.

But of course, she knew nothing of what she whispered in her sleep; dreams were all she thought of and even then, each word spoken would be forgotten in the moment of reality.

After all, she would soon be awoken anyway.

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Trapped from Within

Chapter 2

By Airith

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She walked quietly, her bare feet slapping against cold, moist stone cobbles. The hallway was dark and clammy, a frigidness seeming to vibrate and gather in the air like mist, twining in tendrils of ashen only to be swept away by an unseen breeze.

The feel of a faint wind against her icy skin brought a tiny shiver; she scowled and brought a pale hand up to her offended flesh, soothing it in a rubbing gesture. But it was only a mild irritation, like when a fly buzzes around your hand and you swat it away absently. She dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

Turning down a flight of stairs, droplets of water glimmering on the walls and dripping down to puddle on the floor, she reached out to run her hands across the banister, her fingertips brushing against rock, the smooth concrete surface caressing rough and callused pads. It felt remarkable good against her torn and bruised digits.

Her senses were sharp, keen and perceptive like a hunter in the night, and with each step she took, descending deeper into the depths of the dungeon, did she let her senses spread out and probe the darkness. Without pause she stepped off the last step of the stairs and turned towards a hallway, her pale legs pumping back and forth, the muscles bulging and stretching.

The smell of moss and decay filled her delicate nose, a scent she had long since been familiarized with, and her slitted-eyes, an inky black that strangely glowed in the dark, skimmed across the tiniest of detail in the cobbled walkway; the crumbling of a pebble, the small puddles of dirty frozen water, the patches of moss collecting in the corners. Nothing escaped her critical gaze, but none of it was new; nothing changed down here in the darkness where moonlight was a dream and loneliness was your companion.

But then again, it didn't really bother her.

She ruled the darkness, or so she liked to believe, for she was the only creature that lurked down here when every day was night, when there was no difference in sunrise and sunset, when there wasn't even a sun to tell the difference from.

The halls and walkways she treaded upon were all familiar to her; memorized by both sight and feel, and if she were blind she could still find her way, still move about in silence and predatory stealth, mostly unseen and always unheard.

But sometimes, as she would lurk through the maze, pattering down complex webs of corridors and passages, thirst never quenched, hunger never fed, she would feel the flittering of life or the sound of existence, something beside her almost non-existent silent self, and she would snap her head, her eyes wide and searching, only to find no one, no disturbance in her surrounding home.

And no matter how many times she would scowl and move on, banishing the sound as her imagination, the hairs on her neck still bristled, her hackles still raised. She knew there was something their, putting her on edge at the most tense of moments, and chasing her into a fear and uncertainty that she hid in her cold pale sham of a body, just as she chased her thoughts around and around in her mind.

Was there really something out there? Proving to her time and time again that she was only a pawn and a thing to be used in the ever-continuous game of life?

It really was like a game; a game of wits, a game of hunt and yet every time she stood there alone with the slightest feeling of fear, her face stoic and emotionless, her heart beating at an irregular rate, she couldn't help but think that all though she acted the predator…. she was also the prey.

Instinctively, she reached out towards the darkness, searching for reassurance, and the shadows, moments before impassive and unmoving, clung to her, moving about her and wreathing her like a cloak.

It really was a strange thing darkness; an opal pitch so surreal and lucid, she could almost grasp it in her fingers, bend it to her will, tease it into substance.

It had been both her ally and her enemy; she had never really been sure which side it chose, but for now it was peaceful and content in its hunger to just linger and cling absently to her.

At least for now. Her thoughts returned to her.

Predator and prey.

Turning down another corner, her hands tracing patterns and symbols on the walls, she didn't notice the change in the air when it did happen, the familiar tangy substance that hovered in circles around her suddenly swirling violently in vicious cycling winds, towering above her in strength and size. Her body instinctively stiffened into a rigid stance.

Only once her body moved on its own did she realize the subtly change in the atmosphere, the surprisingly new alteration in her make-shift home, and suddenly she was wary, her hand pulling away from the stone-cold wall as though it were fire.

Her steps, already ghost like, hinting with the barest of noise, became non-existent, as though she did not even touch the ground at all, and with skill she had learned to rely on, she stalked down the halls, the darting of her eyes the only thing betraying her anxiety. The air was thick with tension.

Predator and prey.

Suddenly something roared in the darkness, a shriek so horrible that she screamed, her body falling to the floor, her hands covering her ears. Never before had she uttered a word in this prison of hers. Her arm slapped harshly against the stone-cold column, the sound of flesh against rock jarring her senses, and the ground beneath her trembled. Her body, cold and numb, curled into a tight ball as the continuous shrieking wrought havoc on her mind.

She was cold……and she wanted warmth.

Predator and prey.

Suddenly, pain coursed through her body, making her back arch, her eyes snap open and another cry escape her throat. It was so cold it burned and like fire it raced through her every vein, igniting pain in every fiber and inch of her pale body.

Black elongated fingers trailed across her spine and curled around her neck, fingers as cold as ice, and she pulled away, flattening herself against the floor, trying to escape the iron like grip that made bile rise in her throat at the mere touch. A harsh breath chilled her ear, rolling down her neck and shoulder.

Whispered words echoed through the hallway.

"…Predator and prey."

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Eyes snapped awake and a choking sound escaped a pale throat as the feel of fingers so warm, they chilled her skin traced the lines of her neck, nail scraping against fast reddening flesh. Looking down at her pale hands, which clenched the sheets tightly, Kagome closed her eyes, her teeth clamping on her lip. Her body shook with terror; a fear of the hands on her back trailing down her spine, a fear of what those hands could do to her delicate pained flesh, both of pleasure and of pain, and a fear that threatened to spill over her weakened heart.

She was too weak; she was too weak to stop him, she was too weak to live without him, she was too weak to do anything but watch as long dark tresses hovered just above her skin, bright blue eyes caressing her small form silently.

Kagome shivered, not daring to turn her gaze.

"..Ka..gome.."

Her eyes widened and she let her head drop, her breath suddenly choppy. The way he had slurred her name, as though it were honey coating his tongue, made her cringe. She wanted to run, to scream. But she also wanted to stay.

Because she feared him just as much as she loved him.

"Yes…Kouga-sama?"

She heard a chuckle from above her, before lips descended upon her bare flesh, heated, possessive and run together from drink. The smell of alcohol reached Kagome's delicate nose.

"…that's right baby girl…."

Kouga grinned on her skin before he nipped her tender flesh, causing her to cry out, mixed of both fear and need.

"…that's right….just like that."

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"Hey Kagome-chan!"

"Kagome-chan!"

Kagome looked up, her hand already moving towards the small bite mark that lay underneath the cloth of her right arm. Covering the mark, she spotted her three friends, and relief washed over her, a grin lighting her face. It was them. Rubbing her shirt absently, Kagome winced slightly as a twinge of pain washed over discolored spots on her arms.

Bruises from the night before still littered her body, a nasty shade of yellow and purple; she had decided to not wear the revealing school uniform in favor of comfortable, and most importantly, covering jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. She would get in trouble, but she would just deal with it.

Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri ran over to her. Kagome grinned at them, relief from before quickly washing from her face. She didn't notice the way Eri slanted a puzzled look at her.

"Kagome-chan! You'll never guess what!" Kagome turned to Yuka, whom seemed to be bouncing with joy. She couldn't help but laugh, the excitement was infectious.

"What is it?" Kagome asked. Ayumi grinned, her eyes sparkling. "You know the field trip to the military base in Kyoto we're going on today?" Kagome looked at her, puzzled, before her eyes widened and she smacked her forehead. "Oh yeah. We're going on a field trip at science period huh? I completely forgot!"

Eri, who had been standing back, rolled her eyes. "That's just like you, you know." Kagome grinned sheepishly, and Eri shook her head. Ayumi continued.

"Well….I heard that not only Hojo-kun is going to be going, but so is Taru-kun and Kouga-ku…"

Ayumi stopped, startled, when Kagome suddenly dropped her book bag, her books and papers scattering across the floor, running students trampling all over them. Yuka blinked, completely caught off guard, and watched as Kagome's head bent, her bangs covering her eyes. Eri stared at Kagome's form in shock. Was she….?

Suddenly Kagome looked up. Ayumi grinned at the sly and happy look that crossed Kagome's face. Yuka laughed, before reaching down to help pick up Kagome's stuff. Kagome knelt down as well. Both Ayumi and Yuka listened as Kagome started chatting about all the things she could do with Kouga.

Eri narrowed her eyes, standing back from the trio, watching her best friend closely. She was too cheerful…..something was up…..

Kagome stood, her eyes strangely sparkling. Stuffing the papers in her school bag, she turned from her friends, making sure to rub the water that was pooling in her eyes, when they're gaze was elsewhere.

She had always been a good actor.

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Wow that was long. Please review! It makes me feel so special and warm inside! ^__^