In the Dark…

Shadows Rise to Meet You

It was raining when the arrived on the other side of well, making Kagome blink in confusion over the sudden change in weather. Inuyasha was already changing back to his youkai form, which proved that however hidden the moon was behind the thick clouds, it was still there, saving him from having to be human.

“Inuyasha?” She blinked up at him, shivering in the cold rain. It was falling steadily, a slight wind blowing to chill them both the more. He sighed and shook his head at her.

“Didn’t you pack something to cover your head with?” He grumped at her, upset that she hadn’t thought of this. “You just got out of the hospital, Kagome—I don’t want you getting sick.” He was worried about her—she still looked too fragile to his eyes, too easily broken to what Naraku could think up for her—he had almost succeeded once in killing her, and he didn’t want to give the bastard another chance to do it.

Face twisting into a grimace, she set her pack on the ground, already digging through it for her coat. “Of course I did—I just didn’t think I would need it so soon. You certainly didn’t tell me that it was raining.” Her eyes narrowed at him, yanking the coat out of the depths of her pack before hastily putting it on, the hood drawn over her head.

She could barely see him in the dark, but he was hastily shaking his head in the negative. “I’m fine.” His voice was a little clipped, back to the more gruff attitude he had when he didn’t want them to know how worried he was about his friends. The rain tricked down his face, making him shiver momentarily before shaking it off. “Let’s get back to the village—everyone has been worried about you.” He lifted her pack up as soon as she fastened it shut again, eyes directed ahead, but briefly lighting on her, making sure that she was okay.

“Hai, Inuyasha.” Holding the coat tighter around her, she wished that the rain would lessen up or at least warm up. She hated this cold rain. It seemed never ending, no break in the clouds. It usually rained for days when it started out like this—and she only hoped that it would end soon. It was bad enough having to fight Naraku and defeat him for the last time. It was even worse doing it when you were freezing cold, rain trickling down the back of your neck, keeping a constant chill on your body.

A flash of lightning sounded overhead, and close—she instinctively moved closer to Inuyasha, who swore suddenly and yanked her out of the way. Just in time—a bolt of lightning hit the tree she had been standing next to, splintering it and sending the huge trunk crashing to the ground. Directly over the well, smashing the outer rim to pieces and the shower of dirt that had been kicked up by the fall filling up the entrance. Her mouth fell open in shock and she stared at it, and then back at Inuyasha with stunned disbelief. She had no way home—no way of telling her family that she was okay, no chance of escaping if it got to the point where she needed to escape.

Inuyasha saw her look and shook his head quickly, already knowing what she was thinking. Pulling her close to him, he observed the tree and the place where the well had been. “It’s not as bad as it looks, Kagome. We can always dig it out—move that tree. You’ll be fine.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Now, let’s get the hell out of this forest before something else decides to crash around us!” He let her climb on his back as he shot out of the forest, taking less than half the time it would have if they had walked at the pace they had been going. The rain was steadier now that they were out of the trees, nothing to block the water from hitting the ground. The packed dirt was quickly turning into thick mud, and Inuyasha’s face twisted into an expression of disgust as he hurried over to Kaede’s hut.

**

Miroku’s eyes opened wide when he saw Kagome, Inuyasha right behind her, dropping her pack on the floor with a muffled thud. They were both dripping wet from the rain outside, Kagome wrapped up some strange colored coat that kept her relatively dry. She pulled the coat off with a sigh, wrapping it up and stowing it next to her pack. She then turned to everyone, smiling widely.

“I’m completely well—hugs are welcome.” She embraced Miroku first, Inuyasha glaring warningly at the monk to not try anything on Kagome. He did behave himself, something that shocked all of them—no matter the threats from Inuyasha. Pulling away, he held her hands in his.

“You are looking very well indeed, Kagome-sama. I see that your modern doctors were able to take care of those wounds. You are experiencing no pain, I assume?” He tilted his head by way of inquiry and she gave him a reassuring shake of her head.

“No pain at all—they managed to fix everything up and take care of the pain. I’m ready to fight along everyone else.” She greeted everyone in turn, hugging Shippou tightly to her when he clung and wouldn’t let go of her. “I swear, I am.”

Inuyasha snorted and leaned near the fire, drying off slowly. “She is fine—I wouldn’t have let her back if she wasn’t.” Kagome’s lips curved up in a smile at the arrogant tone in his voice, but let it go.

“There is another thing though.” Her voice softened as she stroked Shippou’s fur softly. “I can’t get back home until after the battle is over. The well… is blocked and I am not going to waste any time in trying to get back home when we have more important things to do.”

Kaede nodded slowly, eyes worried as she handed her and Inuyasha warm bowls of stew. “It has gotten worse lately—the jyaki near the mountains has increased greatly—I fear that is where Naraku is hiding and waiting to make his next move.” Kagome ate her meal slowly as she pondered what the next move could be—she had almost gotten killed with the last attack, she wasn’t dense enough to think that it wouldn’t happen again—that the attacks would happen one by one, randomly attacking them. She could get attacked again, and it was almost likely that it would happen—she was a big threat to Naraku.

Even more so then he knew. Her eyes strayed to the innocent looking backpack, and the contents within. They were heading out the next day—the weren’t going to wait around for Naraku to attack them—they had been waiting for Kagome’s arrival back to this time. Everything was riding on this moment—no more failures or setbacks were allowed.

Finishing off her meal, she set the bowl gently next to her and then looked around the group. They were counting on her—even if they didn’t say so. A lot of this mission rode on her ability to detect the shards, to purify the area—and to ultimately purify Naraku. She only hoped that she wouldn’t let anyone down. Shippou continued to doze in her lap and her eyes stayed on him. She couldn’t let him down.

**

Kagome shivered as another jagged edge of lightning seemed to split the air. It was only heat lightning, but the sky was dark enough as it was—the mood of her companions matching the shade of the sky—without lightning needing to adding it’s own dramatic effect. They were near the mountains, hoping that there would be some sign of Naraku up ahead. Something that would clue them in that the battle could begin—so that it could be over, and they would be in peace. The setting sun against the mountains formed a blood red color, leeching into the sky. Combined with the effects of the lightning and the occasional, distant rumble of thunder, it was a disheartening effect. The only colors that were present were the bright red of Inuyasha’s robes and the lurid color of the sky.

This was worse than the constant rain that had been pouring down just the previous day—this was almost creepier—but the chill had not abated any. If anything, it was getting colder. She could almost see the frost starting to form on the ground.

She was still not entirely healed—something she had neglected to mention to everyone else, and she could feel Inuyasha’s eyes ever present on her, his concern doubled, his watches increasing. It was as if the death of Kikyou gave him a new reason to watch Kagome. A warning, a signal to tell him not to mess up again—this was his last chance. He had been serious before, but now with the impending end looming in their future, it was almost as if she was his only concern in the world. His hatred of Naraku grew ten fold, that the man would dare to hurt something that he had vowed to protect—twice. The two women that he had cared about—both were almost killed at the same time, by each other’s hands and one having been manipulated by Naraku.

Never again—I will never fall for his tricks… I swear that if he ever got his hands on me like he did Kikyou, I would kill myself rather than hurt Inuyasha or anyone else. I will not put the pain of betrayal in his eyes. I’ll bring Naraku down with my bare hands if possible.

“Oi, we’re camping here for the night.” Inuyasha’s voice echoed strangely in the air, bouncing off of something before the sound came back dull and muted. There were weary nods and the shuffling sound of packs against clothing, the muffled sounds of those same packs hitting the earth as everything started to set up camp.

The darkness was ever more present and Kagome couldn’t help shiver at the feeling of foreboding, as if very soon they were going to face even more nightmares—she had faced hers—but what about the others? Her eyes went to the various members of her party in turn—Sango-chan… Miroku-sama… Shippou was already settling on Kagome’s sleeping bag, the small face anything but childlike, and Inuyasha—who was leaning against the tree, eyes sharp as he, too, observed everyone. When his and Kagome’s eyes met, he shook his head.

“You too, Kagome. Get down there and relax. You’ve been walking for too long. You need to rest your body.” He frowned and came over to her, peering at her as if he could see her visible weariness, hands reaching for her face only to snap back, as if he was afraid the physical contact would set him up for more danger.

Miroku rolled his eyes as he pointed at the two of them. “Go gather some wood, Inuyasha—we don’t need to be a part of your sexual frustration with Kagome-sama.” He ignored Inuyasha’s outraged glare and turned to Sango, apparently ready for some important conversation. “Go now—we would like some type of fire before it gets too dark.”

Growling, Inuyasha hit the priest on the top of the head. “Kagome still isn’t well, bouzou. Keh.” Kagome tugged on his hand, distracting him from the rest of his lecture towards Miroku.

“Inuyasha.. I’m fine.” She looked at the two other members of their party, and the slightly pleading look in Miroku’s eyes to let them have this sparse moment of time. Inuyasha must have caught the same glance in Miroku’s eyes, for he made another grunt and pulled Kagome away, grumbling the entire time.

**

Miroku gave a sigh of relief when the rest of the group had left, Shippou having latched on to Kagome that moment that he found out she was leaving. The small kit had decided to stay as close to Kagome as possible—trusting in Inuyasha to take care of her—there was no doubt about that—but he wanted to be assured of his own part in keeping her safe. Even if it was just for collecting firewood. He then turned to Sango, a worried expression now on his face.

“Sango—we seem to be at the edge, hmm?” He asked, straightening their few belongings around the small shelter. “Kagome-sama was attacked by Kikyou—and now Naraku has one last ally. Who do you think will be next?” Sango blinked and her face blanched at the impending disaster.

“Kohaku…” She whispered. “It.. no!” She shook her head in violent denial. Miroku’s hands gently closed over hers, this time the touches being nothing more than platonic, comforting. For him—it was too near the end for him to be groping her—their friendship—relationship had developed too much for him to ruin it at the end.

“Sango, you know that it may happen, Naraku has used Kohaku against us before—the question is, what are you willing to sacrifice to win over Naraku?” Dark blue eyes were serious as they gazed into Sango’s wide brown ones. Eyes that held pain of loss—of resentment, of knowing just what she had to do.

“You know that he is no longer part of the living, Sango. As much as you want to hold on to it, his time has passed a long time ago.” His gaze went outside for a moment, as if he could see the distant figures of Inuyasha and Kagome. “Much as Kikyou had passed on.”

“Now.. that’s different!” She snapped, eyes going from hurt to blazing. “Kikyou was dead for fifty years. That body wasn’t real, nor was the person animating it. Kohaku is different!” Tears stood out in her eyes as she pulled away from Miroku.

Miroku shook his head. “Think about it, Sango. The brother you loved, helped train—saw grow up—does he resemble the one that is out there now? Who considered killing a small child? Who attacked you? You have to let go of the past, Sango or else Naraku will forever hold this in front of you, denying you peace.”

Sango nodded slowly, eyes still filled with pain—but understanding more clearly than he could know of the decision that had to be made. I have a future here now—not in the past. I can’t have Naraku use my family against me anymore. That always brings us more danger—but I want to save him as well. I want him to rest in peace. If I could only get that shard from his back—he would no longer be a puppet, but finally with the rest of our family, as it should have been.

**

Inuyasha turned to Kagome, raising an eyebrow as they both carried armfuls of wood. “Do you think that they’re done talking yet so we can start the fire?” Even Shippou carried wood in his arms, but was looking cold and ready to get back to their camp.

Kagome grinned and shrugged. “You never know—Miroku-sama might be having a rare moment of understanding with Sango. That won’t end with her smacking him for his perverted ways.” Her face was filled with amusement—even she didn’t think that the monk could learn that quickly, but he had his moments of rare good behavior.

“He’ll be just fine—even if we do interrupt them. “I’m starting to freeze out here!” Shippou’s voice cut through and he shifted from paw to paw. “I don’t care if he is being good for once!”

Inuyasha nodded in agreement and they trudged back to camp, to actually see that Miroku and Sango were still talking quietly, Miroku’s hands actually being in a comforting position instead of a perverted one.

As she set the wood down and set up the beginnings of the fire, Kagome’s face was creased in worry at the sad look in Sango’s eyes. For her to lean against someone for comfort—to realize some of her fears—spoke volumes for how much she had grown to trust those around her—especially Miroku. They would need that trust for the fight ahead.

**