Friday, January 7, 2005

   InuYasha 39
Kagome stopped struggling abruptly, shocked more than subdued at the quiet hiss in her ear. After a brief pause, the hand over her mouth inched away slowly, leaving her free to growl out angrily, "Why should I believe you?"

There was a bitter laugh behind her, even as the unseen bonds loosened and her attacker backed away, "Because, like it or not, miko, we have something in common now."

Kagome's brows drew together in suspicious confusion as she turned, her eyes glowing bright blue in her agitation, "K-Kagura?!"

The wind youkai gave her a smile filled with self-disgust, "Ironic, isn't it?"

Kagome took a step back, coming up against the damp rocks of the spring as she cursed herself for being caught defenseless, "What the hell could you and I possibly have in common?"

Kagura took a step towards her, her eyes grim and serious as she grabbed Kagome's wrist, "Naraku has been watching you, you know. He knows you've been bound to the damn hanyou and you don't know who. He-"

Kagome brought her elbow up against the woman's face, slamming her to the ground even as she leapt back and slid into a crouch. Her hands flexed as she hissed out, "Don't fucking touch me, you bitch!"

Kagura rose to her feet carefully, her eyes wide with surprise as she lifted her hand to touch the blood seeping from her nose. After a moment, her expression filled with grudging respect and more than a little awe, "So... it is true... You have changed..."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kagome's eyes narrowed even as she shot a nervous glance towards camp, wondering why Inuyasha hadn't come for her yet.

"You know exactly what I mean," she gave the younger girl a smirk, reaching into her kimono to pull out her fans. "Think about it, miko. Naraku knows more about binding spells that any other youkai could hope to learn in a dozen lifetimes. It's the only reason I am forced to stay with him," her lips thinned as she said the last, her hatred easily flowing into her voice.

Kagome turned her full attention to the woman, blinking in surprise as she processed what she'd just admitted. Her brow furrowed in cautious curiosity, "Binding spells... You're bound like that? Bound to Naraku?"

"Much like you're now bound to Inuyasha," Kagura set her jaw and nodded grimly. "Naraku formed us from himself, after all. He holds my heart to keep me and... and I do not wish to die. I'm a coward..."

Kagome felt an unwanted curl of sympathy for the youkai, self-consciously reaching down to cover the tattoo when it gave a sharp twinge and started to pound, "Why me? Why are you telling me all this, Kagura?"

Kagura looked up at her, her eyes full of pride, but at the same time a sort of pleading desperation, "You can help me, miko."

Kagome's brows rose sharply, "Help... you? What makes you think I would do that? After everything you've done, what the hell do you think would convince me to trust you enough to help?"

Kagura smiled, her eyes gleaming at the weakening she sensed in the young woman, "Because I can help you too."

**

"So you'll still come to me after all."

Inuyasha spun around in alarm, his face full of surprise and disbelief, "Ki-Kikyou? What are you doing here?"

Kikyou walked slowly from the shade of the trees, her bow held loosely in one hand and her eyes dark with accusation, "I wanted to hear it from you personally."

"Hear what?" he frowned, his ears flattening as he took a cautious step back. His heart gave a strange lurch, turning his attention back in the direction of camp, 'Was that mine or Kagome's?'

"You debased yourself with that imitation," her hand clenched, brows lowering in pained anger at his inattention. It hadn't been so long ago that when he was with, nothing would turn his thoughts, "You let that girl seduce you."

Inuyasha's head snapped around, "What did you say?!"

"How could you?" she whispered, notching an arrow as her expression twisted in rage.

"Shit!" Inuyasha leapt to the side to dodge the unexpected attack. "Kikyou, stop!"

"You should have helped me kill her before, Inuyasha," she shook her head and readied her next arrow. "You should have kept your promise and come to hell with me."

"Things have changed," his eyes filled with regretful pain as he took another step away from her. "I...I can't keep that promise. I'm sorry, Kikyou..."

"I will not let you go, Inuyasha," Kikyou took aim again.

**

"Why would I need your help?" Kagome frowned in confusion, her growing curiosity pushing away even more of her tension as she regarded Kagura.

Kagura sat on the edge of the spring beside Kagome as though she had all the time in the world, "Naraku knows how to break binding spells, but he won't tell me for... obvious reasons. But he 'will' tell you."

"Just how fucking stupid do you think I am?" Kagome snorted, folding one arm beneath her breasts as her other hand lifted to close around the vial of shards at her throat. "Naraku suddenly wants to help me figure out the spell connecting me to Inuyasha? Out of the kindness of his heart? Try another one."

Kagura wrinkled her nose in annoyance, absently flicking her wrists to toy with her fans, "I'll be the first to agree that Naraku cannot be trusted, miko, but he despises things happening without his knowledge. He is... intrigued by your situation, and in my opinion, he has become more than a little obsessed with you."

Kagome took an uneasy step back, her lip curling in disgust, "Obsessed with me? He... wanted Kikyou... didn't he?"

The other woman's brows rose mockingly and she nodded, "In the beginning. But over time, with the older and stronger you've become, the more he's been drawn to you instead of her. You're the one he watches in his mirrors now, miko."

"Am I supposed to be flattered?" a shudder went through her at the thought of Naraku watching her. 'Why am I even listening to her? Where is Inuyasha?' her gaze strayed to the path again.

"If I were you, I'd be cautious," Kagura shrugged, watching her closely as her aura fluctuated between the normal human feel and that strange youkai aura that had enveloped her ever since she had thought she was in danger. "However, Naraku IS powerful, and he is very knowledgeable with problems like yours. Unless you want to be tied to that hanyou for eternity, you will come with me now."

"Wait, eternity?" Kagome's eyes widened, her body stiffening as she turned to face the woman. "You mean this will happen even when I'm reincarnated?" she demanded, trying to ignore the way her heart started to pound. 'It...it can't be...' she bit her lip, the conversation with the voice echoing in her head.

"Reincarnated?" Kagura's expression filled with genuine surprise. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know...what?" she urged, afraid of the answer, but needing to hear it all the same.

Kagura gestured with a fan at Kagome's altered appearance, her expression saying quite clearly she thought the answer was obvious, "Miko, you feel like a youkai, not a human. You seem to switch between the two...like now... If you're still a mortal after what has happened to you, I'd be amazed."

Kagome gaped at her, her hand lifting to her mouth as she took a step back before she dropped heavily to her knees. It was impossible, wasn't it? Her throat went dry, hands fisting hard in denial as she shook her head against the possibility. This was Kagura, after all, she'd lie in a heartbeat to suit her purposes.

Kagura tilted her head down to meet the girl's gaze, her own uncharacteristically sympathetic, "You really didn't know."

"You're lying," Kagome whispered, her eyes sparking as the growl rose threateningly from her throat.

"I could be, except I don't have a reason to lie about that," she shrugged, completely unconcerned with the accusation. "I could prove it, but not here. It would draw too much attention and that would make it impossible for us to speak."

Kagome nodded dumbly, feeling the prick of tears behind her eyes as she turned her face again towards their camp, 'Where IS Inuyasha?!'

"He won't come," Kagura answered the naked question on the miko's face.

When Kagome's head snapped around, her eyes narrowed and glowing dangerously, Kagura quickly held up her hands to convey her innocence, "I did nothing. I have simply been waiting for a time I could approach you uninterrupted. The undead miko is near and he went to her."

Kagura hadn't thought it possible, but the air around the miko instantly turned frigid, the youkai aura rising and completely obliterating any trace of human blood. Kagura leaned away from the girl nervously, shivering at the chill, and astounded at how quickly the transformation occurred. Kagome's face was perfectly expressionless, her pupils fading as she rose to her feet, but the air around her had grown nearly oppressive with menace and Kagura had to swallow several times before she could speak again.

"At least with Naraku, you are aware of the dangers up front," Kagura murmured, reaching out to close her hand on the girl's shoulder. Her eyes widened at the power vibrating off the girl, and she quickly released her in fear of being purified, "He... he can set you free of the hanyou and if you promise to help me free myself, I swear to you that I will keep you alive. I'll even help you leave the jewel shards you have with the safety of your companions to prove I have no ulterior motives."

Kagome still said nothing, lifting her head as searched the air for Inuyasha's scent.

Kagura held out her hand again, making certain to put herself in the miko's line of sight, "This is the only chance you will have to make this decision. Naraku is not often in a mood to be generous like this, and if you don't come now, he may change his mind."

Kagome's hand snaked out and caught the wind youkai's wrist in a nearly crushing grip. She yanked the startled woman forwards and growled in a low, deadly voice, "Show me Inuyasha."

**

"Don't do this, Kikyou," Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet, his expression grim as she reached for yet another arrow.

"You've betrayed me for the last time, Inuyasha," she hissed out, enraged at his reactions. "You've broken your promises to me."

Before she could take aim again, Inuyasha leapt forward, backhanding the bow out of her hands and deep into the woods to their left. He grabbed her forearms in an unyielding grip and pinned her arms to her side as he growled, "Dammit, Kikyou, stop! I warned you... I warned you before not to force me to choose like this!"

"You made those promises to me long before that child came along!" she struggled once against his hold, then stood still, her body taut and trembling with suppressed emotions.

"And we both died," his ears flattened back, his hands tightening on her arms as he struggled with his own conflicting emotions. "Kagome brought me back, but you...you weren't meant to be brought back like this. It wasn't meant to be between us. I...I have a life with her now."

"Did you take your promises to me so lightly then?" Kikyou turned her gaze up to him, the rage melting into sorrow. "Did I mean so little to you, Inuyasha, that you would turn so quickly to a copy?"

Inuyasha growled low in his throat, giving her a shake, "Kagome is not a copy, Kikyou. You tried to kill her and I can't forgive you for that. I promised to protect you and to kill Naraku, and I will... But you... you have to leave. I won't die and leave Kagome now, and I won't let anyone take her from me. Not even you."

"Then I mean nothing to you now?" Kikyou's voice was quiet and flat as he released her and took a step back. "All it took was this to make you forget what we were to each other?"

"I'm responsible for what happened, and I will punish Naraku for what he has done," he repeated, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides.

"You make no mention of what we shared," Kikyou took a step towards him, her hand lifting to his cheek. "Can you truly forget so easily, Inuyasha? You were going to become human for me..."

A small, warm smile touched his solemn features at that, "I don't have to be human for anyone anymore."

Kikyou's brows drew together quickly in annoyance and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his chest, "I should be the one you love, not her."

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha closed his eyes, standing stiff and unresponsive in the embrace. "I... I can't."

Kikyou turned her gaze to the side momentarily, then leaned up until she had her cheek pressed to his as she whispered, "And I warned you, Inuyasha... I will not share you."

She turned her head and pressed her lips to his.

**

Kagome hopped silently off the feather Kagura had "summoned" to answer her demand to see Inuyasha, pausing when her foot came in contact with something unnatural to the forest floor. She frowned, looking down to find the instantly identifiable weapon.

Kikyou's bow.

Kagura watched the miko bend down and lift the bow, narrowing her eyes warily even as she guided the wind to hide their presence from the sensitive hanyou. She'd never been around a creature under a spell such as the one afflicting this young miko, and the auras she threw off at any given time were wildly unpredictable, power without real control. It was those violent fluctuations that were putting the wind youkai on edge.

She shook off the musings when Kagome sent her a look that seemed to demand direction, the undead miko's bow held horizontally at waist level as though she was restraining herself from snapping it in half right there. Kagura pointed forward and moved to follow close behind when Kagome made her way to the tree line.

Kagura's brows rose sharply when they found a break in the dense foliage and she had to fight to restrain herself from laughing out loud when Kagome went perfectly still.

The undead miko and the hanyou were kissing.

'It's like he's fucking handing her to me on a plate,' Kagura's lips twitched at his idiocy even as she breathed a sigh of relief.

The amusement was short lived when the wind youkai was flung backwards as the energy that had already been roiling violently around Kagome arched madly. She steadied herself with difficulty, lifting her hand to her heart when she felt something pulling at her own energy, dragging her down. Concerned and tense, she leaned around to get a look at the young miko's face.

Kagome's face was deathly pale, her pupils faded into nonexistence as her eyes glowed with masked emotions. Her expression, however, was disturbing in the perfect blankness. A pocket of wind around the girl shifted, startling Kagura as it turned into a small vortex moving opposite of her own directions as the girl's eyes turned glassy... liquid.

Just one more push.

Kagura took a deep breath and leaned close to whisper to the girl holding her control by a thread, "Do you really want to be bound to a man like that forever, miko? Do you want to be a substitute for something he can never have? Is it even your face he's seeing when he looks at you?"

Kagome said nothing, but Kagura could tell from the way her knuckles turned white on the bow that she was listening and she pressed harder, "You have your choice. If you stay, he will use you and leave you at the first chance to be with his precious corpse. Or help me... Help me now and I will help you free yourself from him and spare you a youkai's lifetime of this."

A single tear made it's way down her cheek at the same instant her white-knuckled grip on the bow tightened enough to snap the wood in half. Kagome didn't even flinch when the string ripped apart, lancing back and slicing deep cuts in her face from her cheek down to her jaw on either side.

"Take me to Naraku."


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