InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Voices ❯ Field of Voices ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: So. I have writer's block. But the block is small and chipped and weak and should be demolished soon. As a consequence I am speeding through these chapters. However I let my fingers roam (which is like my remedy) and popped out this strange one shot and it almost went away. ^_^ It was like having a one-night stand with another fic to clear my head. Strange analogy but…ah well.

 

As far as the rest of the crew, I haven't decided who will appear and who won't. I've drafted some parts with Miroku but it isn't set in stone. Let's just see?

 

Also: This chapter hasn't been sent to my Beta because we kept missing each other. I didn't want everyone to wait forever though, so read and enjoy, try to forgive any mistakes, and I'll have the beta version up when I get it.

 

***

Field of Voices

***

 

There was, for all appearances, a castle.

 

And castles belong to kings.

 

But this one just belonged to him.

 

He walked down the hallways in an absent minded sort of way, letting his feet take him to the room he wanted to go. His nails traced the wall lightly as he walked, feeling the rough stone slide beneath his fingers. The echo of his steps bounced around him and in the flicker of the passing torchlights, he was oddly comforted by the dark atmosphere.

 

He came to a thick wooden door and pressed his hand against it. It swung back lightly and let him in.

 

This room was bare except for three pedestals against the far back wall. One of them had nothing on it; it's contents now on the floor. He walked over to it and looked down at what appeared to be a small bird cage. Its bars were made out of a deep blue, almost black, colored glass and pearl white bone. The cage was shattered into pieces, its captive long gone.

 

There was a smile.

 

It rarely happened.

 

With a glance at the other two items, he turned and left. The door swung shut behind him with a quiet and final click.

 

On his way out he grabbed a white baboon pelt and slid it on.

 

***

 

Inuyasha was worrying Kagome. Not because he seemed to have been struck by some unknown and unseen assailant. Not because he seemed unaware that he had hit his head somewhere and there was a slow trickle of blood sliding down his forehead. Not even because right before the attack she was certain he was about to murder her.

 

Kagome was worried because Inuyasha would not stop yelling at her.

 

Yelling.

 

As in, he had a voice to yell at her with.

 

He rose hastily, advancing towards her. “What did you do to me!?” he shouted madly. His voice was clear and strong.

 

“Um…You can talk,” she answered sounding utterly surprised.

 

“I told you not to make any more wishes!”

 

Kagome stepped back, holding her hands in front of her chest in a defensive gesture. “Yes but…Inuyasha…” she said cautiously.

 

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?!” Inuyasha was screaming wildly. He grabbed a very stunned Kagome roughly by the arm. “What the hell did you do?” he asked again, looking at her bewildered face. “What did you say!?”

 

Kagome was trying to snap herself out of it. “I um,” she said shakily. “Uh,”

 

“Out with it, you stupid little twit!”

 

She woke up out of her daze. “Hey!” Kagome replied with an anger of her own. “Who do you think you're talking to!?”

 

“Do you know what you've done!?” Inuyasha shouted. “Tell me what you said this very instant or so help me-”

 

“I said `I wa-`”

 

“Without the `w' word!”

 

“I said I, uh,” Kagome's angry huff had been thrown off by the restriction of a word. “uh, I `w' to understand.”

 

Inuyasha dropped her arm. She rubbed it, massaging the pain. He was giving her this panicky bewildered look. “What the hell were you thinking!? I thought you understood when I told you not to make any more wishes!”

 

Kagome blinked. It was weird, hearing his voice, after all this time. It would have been…kind of pleasant if it wasn't screaming at her at the moment.

 

“It wasn't a wish it was a want,” she said, giving him her own interpretation. “You didn't say I couldn't want anything!”

 

“Why the hell would I tell you-” he groaned, slapping his hand against his forehead and rolled his eyes. “Never mind! It's too late now.”

 

“What's too late?” she asked cautiously. “What are you talking about?” she blinked. “And how can you talk? I didn't say I wish-”

 

“SHUT UP!”

 

“Hey!” Kagome started a screaming match of her own. “I don't know what I did or how I did it but you can talk now! You could at least say thank you!”

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Thank you, you dumb bitch, for calling Naraku's attention to us!” he cried. “I can't fight him right now, I don't even-”

 

“Stop being so cryptic!” Kagome cut him off. She poked him hard in the chest. “Why is it too late and who is this Naraku person and what does he have to do with anything!” she cried.

"Naraku is-"

"Me," came a cool and calm voice, cutting off their argument completely.

Both Inuyasha and Kagome turned to face the newcomer. He was standing a couple of feet away from them, as if he had been there all along. “I believe he is referring to me... Good evening.”

Kagome gasped. “Naraku is a baboon?” she asked, clearly thrown off and confused by this arrival.

 

There was silence.

 

A leaf blew by them, pushed by the gentle wind.

 

“It's a pelt, you moron,” Inuyasha said at last, clearly at the end of his patience. “He's wearing a pelt. But I can guarantee you it looks better than his actual face,” he spat.

 

“In-u-ya-sha,” Naraku said coolly. The name rolled off his tongue in a silky manner, each syllable pronounced as if a separate word. His tone indicated slight disappointment. “I cannot say I am not surprised.” He said. “You really don't learn, do you?”

 

Inuyasha scowled. “Shut up! I'll kill you for what you did to me!” he threatened.

 

Even in the depths of his curse, while his memory leaked away over time, he could never forget Naraku. He was the one who had cursed him to spend the rest of eternity set in stone at the bottom of a pitiful well. The small flame of anger inside Inuyasha swelled with the sight of Naraku, stoked by his presence. Inuyasha let loose another growl, deeper and more hateful than the one Kagome had received a few minutes ago.

 

“Did to you?” Naraku asked, his voice sounding puzzled. “Don't you mean,” here Kagome felt his eyes focus on her and she froze. “Her?” He took a few steps closer in her direction. “Kikyou,” he called softly.

 

“Who?” Kagome replied, extremely confused.

 

“No…” he realized. “Not Kikyou…but the resemblance is certainly striking. Who are you?”

 

“She's none of your business” Inuyasha snapped, leaping forward to tackle him. Naraku's movements were quick -too quick—and suddenly in a white flash he was gone from his spot and behind Kagome. His breath tickled the nape of her neck and she gave a yelp of surprise and darted forward only to be cruelly yanked back by her hair. “Who are you, girl?” he whispered to her skin.

 

“Kagome!” she cried angrily. “Let me go!”

 

“Kagome?” he said, tasting the words on his tongue.

 

“Don't ignore me, you bastard!” Inuyasha shouted, charging at them both. Kagome tried to move out of his way, but Naraku's grip was strong.

 

“Inuyasha, he's got me!” she warned him.

 

“You'd hurt your precious imitation?” he asked as Inuyasha advanced closer.

 

“I don't care about her!” he screamed, raising his claws to attack.

 

“Hey!” cried the shocked Kagome.

 

Naraku pushed Kagome to the ground and disappeared just as Inuyasha's claws were ripping through the air, swiping at the place they had just stood. He reappeared several feet behind him and seemed to consider this. “You haven't noticed the resemblance?” he questioned.

 

“What are you talking about?” Inuyasha snapped, turning to face him. “All I've noticed is that I have yet to make you bleed!” he ran forward again and was easily dodged once more.

 

“Have you forgotten, Inuyasha?” Narkau asked. He was now floating above the river that gurgled lazily beneath him. He gave a cruel laugh. “Irony truly is bitter-sweet!”

 

Inuyasha's growl voiced his frustration. “Shut up and fight me!”

 

Naraku made three clicking noises with his tongue. “So eager to die, my little half-blood.” He mocked. “You're here for completely the wrong reasons. And yet, you don't even remember the right ones, do you?”

 

Kagome, rubbing her abused scalp, looked at Naraku. “What do you want with him?” she asked angrily. Once again, she felt his gaze settle on her.

 

“I'm quite wondering the same thing about you, Ka-go-me,” he drawled her name out, making unpleasant shivers run up her spine. “The demons here seem quite uneager to find you and rip you from limb to limb after hearing about what Inuyasha did to my centipede in the tunnel,” Kagome could hear the smile on his lips. “But that doesn't mean they don't want to try if they were to get you alone.”

 

Her eyes widened in fear.

 

“You do not belong here,” Naraku informed her. “So I give you a choice. Come with me and live, or stay with him and die. Simple, really.” He offered her his hand, sliding it out from underneath the pelt. Kagome noticed it was human and ghostly pale. “After all, Inuyasha will not protect you again-”

 

“I would from the likes of you!” he screamed. “You'll do to her what you did to me, an eternity as a statute!”

 

Naraku laughed. “You haven't forgotten some things, no matter how mistaken you are,” he said before turning his attention to Kagome. “What do you say?”

 

Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha, who was in turn glaring angrily at Naraku.

 

The same Inuyasha who had protected her in the tunnel. Inuyasha who had retrieved her blanket for her and gotten her water.

 

Inuyasha who had made her a promise to get Souta back...

 

“Go away!” she shouted at Naraku.

 

“Hn.” He grunted with a hint of amusement. “As you wish,” he said with another little laugh. “But we will meet again very soon.”

 

He turned to Inuyasha who was all but foaming at the mouth. “She's alive,” he said. And with that, he was gone, leaving the two alone once again.

 

Silence settled over them. They didn't say anything for several minutes. The only noise to be heard was the ragged breathing of Inuyasha as he forced himself to calm down. Finally, Kagome opened her mouth to say something but Inuyasha beat her to it.

 

“Fuck this,” he said, kicking a stone into the river and turning to march up the hill.

 

“Wh-where are you going?” she asked breathlessly. She picked herself up from the ground and dusted off her clothes.

 

“Back to the well,” he replied, “You're on your own now.”

 

Kagome was startled by his new decision. “But no!” she screamed at him, chasing him up the hill. “I chose you!” she reminded him.

 

“So?”

 

“You promised to find my brother!” she balled up her fists angrily. “You can't just leave me here! You—jerk!”

 

Why had she forgotten that this was the same Inuyasha that had almost murdered her three times already? The one that had so flippantly declared `I don't care about her!' before nearly disemboweling her to get to Naraku?

 

A dark thought crossed Kagome's mind, telling her that she had chosen wrong.

 

“And you promised not to make anymore wishes,” he replied quickly. “Looks like you're just as much as a jerk as I am!”

 

“Firstly, I never promised that! Secondly, you can talk now because of what I did, so how about showing me a bit of appreciation!”

 

“You're alive aren't you!?”

 

“Ugh!” Kagome seethed, coherent words no longer forming. They reached the top of the slope and she watched Inuyasha stomp towards the lone tree that stood in the middle of the clearing.

 

He was really going to leave her! He was going to leave and she would be alone, without help or protection…

 

“The demons here seem quite uneager to find you and rip you from limb to limb after hearing about what Inuyasha did to my centipede in the tunnel,” Kagome's mind replayed. “But that doesn't mean they don't want to try they were to get you alone”

 

There were more of them out there. That was definite. And if they knew about her—wanted to hurt her given the opportunity… she wouldn't stand a chance. Not without the protection of Inuyasha. She shut her eyes and screamed “My brother is going to die and it'll be all you're fault because you won't help me!”

 

Inuyasha froze. He had reached the tree that also served as the tunnel. One arm had already disappeared into it. He pulled it out slowly and turned to look at her.

 

“Help me!” echoed a soft yet desperate voice in his head.

 

She thought of her mother, who must be sick with worry by now. She thought of her responsibility as the eldest daughter, as the big sister. She couldn't. She couldn't just abandon Souta now. How could she go home empty handed?

 

“Please,” she said softly. She walked over and wrapped her fingers around his arm and squeezed gently. “I can't do it without you.”

 

Inuyasha stared at her brown eyes and delicate frown.

 

“Please Inuyasha,” the voice from his memory begged. “I cannot do it without you,”

 

“Kikyou,” he whispered.

 

“Huh?” said Kagome.

 

“What?” replied Inuyasha, shaking his head. The memory sank back into his subconscious. But some things remained.

 

“You said `Kikyou' just now.” She explained. “And Naraku said it too. Who is that?”

 

“I don't know,” he lied. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the shelter of the forest. “Come on.” He said, eager to change the topic.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“We need to find shelter and rest if we're going to look all day for this brat of your-oomph”

 

Kagome threw her hands around his neck and squeezed him into a hug, a huge smile on her face. “Thank you!” she cried happily before releasing him. Inuyasha couldn't turn around and face her; scared she would see the crimson blush that had spread across his cheeks.

 

“Feh” was all he replied.

 

***

 

The glow of the fire was soft, warm, and comforting. Inuyasha had once again, retrieved the blanket for Kagome and she wrapped it around herself, finding a good mossy niche in between two upturned tree roots. Inuyasha had taken to a tree branch above her, explaining that he could keep lookout better.

 

Kagome watched him as he stared off into the distance, clearly lost in his thoughts.

 

She held up Souta's pill bottle to the light of the embers and looked through it, watching as the orange plastic distorted the imagery of the fire. She sighed softly and pocketed them again. She pulled her knees to her chest and fixed the blanket again, letting her body build a gentle pocket of warmth.

 

She was in such a mess. And things just seemed to keep getting more and more complicated.

 

Who was Kikyou?

 

And Naraku?

 

And why did he put a curse on Inuyasha?

 

She looked at him again and caught his gaze. He quickly looked away and scowled with a muttered “Feh.”. Kagome resisted a smile and shook the thoughts from her mind, focusing on her only real task.

 

Souta.

 

She would find him. She would. It wasn't a question or a doubt. It was a statement, unwavering and sure. Because…

 

She had to.

 

Mind made up, Kagome decided she could finally close her eyes and rest. They didn't have much time and she would need all her energy for tomorrow.

 

Soon she drifted off to sleep…

 

And in her dreams, Naraku paid her a visit.

 

***

So this chapter was named because first there was only one voice, and viola! A three way screaming match.

 

Next chapter- Dreams of Regret

 

A/N: hanmajoerin [FF] Don't worry! I am like the hardest person to offend in the freakin' free world. Even though my fics are usually heavy Sess/Kag, it's only really because my favorite character is Sesshomaru. I have no pairing preference.

 

Honestly I'm not that crazy about Kagome. I guess in a general sense she's okay, which is why I'm hardly ever true to her real personality. I'm trying though. Anyway everyone should like what they like, and that's perfectly fine.

 

Actually right now I just finished reading a really wonderful Mir/Kag fic. It's complete [I hate stories that don't get completed, which is why I'm really trying with this one even though my brain is fighting me]. It's called Chasing Methuselah by Sandra E. I highly recommend. It's in my favorite stories link. `Till next time!