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Journey of the Heart	By : HauntedReality Category: InuYasha > General Views: 3798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Journey of the Heart: Chapter 6 - Dreams

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha and his
companions are not mine to own.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

Night had settled upon the strange, hollow world.

They had bedded down for the night. Kagome was snuggled
under a blanket of soft grasses due to their lack of provisions while Kouga kept watch over the sleeping girl. He was fascinated
by the systematic rise and fall of her chest and the way her skin glowed under
the firelight.

�She looks more peaceful than I�ve seen her since, well, I
guess I�ve never seen her look this peaceful. Exuberant, yes, embarrassed, yes,
agitated, most definitely, but never this serene.

�I guess if I am going to be awake on watch out duty I could
at least be trying to figure this place out. It should be easier than trying to
figure her out at least.�

Finally looking away from her sleeping form, Kouga relaxed with his back against the base of a tree and
reached out with his heightened demon senses, enhanced further by the shards
embedded in each of his legs. He felt the bark make only a mild impact upon his
skin while the night air brought only the vaguest scents to his olfactory
senses. Even the fire that crackled and danced only a few paces away emitted only
the barest measures of warmth and light.

As the demon prince studied a fallen leaf, trying to
understand why the very colors of nature seemed strangely flat, he noticed
something even more peculiar--the leaf took on the lustrous state of being he
had grown to expect. Kouga blinked slowly, thinking
he had only imagined the change, but sure enough, it was more vivid than it had
been. Or had he been wrong earlier?

He decided he would try another experiment, so he
concentrated on the fire. He pictured the intricate movements of the flickering
tongues, roasting over the smoldering embers. He imagined the thick, hearty
scent of the chalky smoke, and he carefully envisioned the way the fire would
coat him in a blanket of warmth.

And just as it had with the leaf, the fire took on a more
lively radiance, exhibiting all the properties Kouga
had focused upon it.

�What the hell?� Kouga said, not
realizing he had spoken aloud.

�What�s wrong?� Kagome asked in a clear voice, free of any of
the grogginess it should have had after waking up so abruptly.

�Hey, I thought you were sleeping.�

�And I thought you weren�t in the habit of talking to
yourself. I guess we were both mistaken.� She pulled herself out from under her
forestry bedding and curled into a sitting position next to the fire. Dark
strands of hair clung to her cheek until she tucked them behind her ears.

�You are just full of surprises.� He said while admiring her
innocent beauty.

�Such as?� She tilted her head and
smiled at the demon regarding her.

�Well, you managed to trick a demon�s senses into thinking
you were asleep for one. And for another, you�ve been through a fight with a
giant spider, sucked into a vortex, explored new surroundings, and been not
quite sleeping without any bedding.� His voice added extra sarcasm before
evening out for a more serious finish, �But you are still beautiful.�

Kagome blushed deeply and cast her gaze down to her toes.
They were painted a light blue shade. It made Inuyasha
uncomfortable when she used nail polish, so recently, she had been making sure
her toenails were always covered. It was one of the ways she had tried to keep
him from ignoring her, but as always, the only thing it got her was negative
attention.

She struggled to remember every detail to take her mind off
how warm she felt after Kouga�s remark. The bottle
had been shaped like a heart and bore the name Opalescent Azure in bright pink
glittery letters. Her mind blanked so she just continued to watch her
opalescent azure toes as they curled, uncurled, curled, uncurled, curled half
way, uncurled.

�I made you uncomfortable.� He said lowering his head to
catch her attention.

Still attempting to be transfixed by the amazing curling
toes she quickly said, �NO! No, not at all. I...I have
just learned to breath rhythmically so Inuyasha
doesn�t yell at me for distracting him while he is on guard.�

�I see.�

Kagome bit her lip as she realized she had once again
brought up the silver haired hanyou. �Well, why
shouldn�t I talk about him? He is an important part of my life--was an important part. No, IS
an important part. Maybe.� She sighed at her
frustrated, contradictory thoughts. �I guess it doesn�t matter if we don�t find
a way out of here.�

She stilled her body and lifted her head, meeting his
opalescent azure eyes. �Thank you.�

�For what?�

She paused to think about why she had said it. She was just
so grateful to have him with her. She was sure she would have fallen apart
without his reassurance that everything would be alright. She was thankful that
he was gentle with her where Inuyasha would be crass.
She was glad he cared about her and genuinely tried to think about what she
needed and wanted. But how could she put that into words without sounding
foolish?

�Thank you for being sooo...Kouga,� she finished simply.

Kouga leaned forward, so he was
just within reach of Kagome. He stretched one hand out to move some newly
fallen strands of hair out of her face. Her heart raced as his fingertips
lightly brushed her face. �I guess it was the least I could do then,� he said
warmly while he moved to sit closer.

The light from the fire illuminated a sparkle in each of
their eyes, but they failed to notice how no shadow stretched beyond their
bodies.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

�You should get some rest.� Sango
cajoled the irritated hanyou as he fidgeted.

�I should be slitting that bastard, Naraku�s
throat, not lying on my back like some kind of invalid!� He tried to jerk
himself into a sitting position, but only managed to inflame his injuries
further.

Sango forced him back to the
ground gently but firmly with the kind of strength only a tajiya
possess. �You WILL lie still,� she commanded with equal force.

�Keh!� he said by way of
reluctantly agreeing to the situation, seeing as how he had no choice in the
matter. His chest was just a mass of pain, and every movement just caused
electric fire to sweep through the rest of his body, making it unlikely that he
could wage a full assault against Naraku at the
moment.

He stared up at the stars, mentally cursing his condition.
He paid little attention to the fox cub who was
already soundly asleep or to the monk who adoringly watched the demon
exterminator when she wasn�t facing him and lustfully watched her when she was.
He did give some thought to Sango as she worked on
covering their trail and preparing an area for sleep, if only to avoid another
scolding. Something told the hanyou that getting into
a fight with her would be far less advisable than those he so commonly had with
Kagome.

He thought of their last fight. Her pained words resounded
in his human ears. �Something has to change, and I guess it is going to be me,�
she had said. He never wanted her to change. She was perfect--too perfect. He
was half human and half demon. Couldn�t she see he wasn�t whole--wasn�t worthy?
But no, that is part of what made her so wonderful. She didn�t look at people
and see flaws; she saw their positive traits and their potential.

Maybe if he could have seen himself the way she had things
would have been different.

Inuyasha grew more restless. He
didn�t want to be pointing toward the stars anymore. The stars were too much
like her--brilliant and untouchable. Inuyasha turned
his head away from stars that mocked him. It was worth the stabbing sensation
as his nerves rebuked the change in position to stare at the cold, hard ground
instead.

It was unforgiving--like him.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

�So, why are you still awake?� Kouga
asked breaking the silence at last.

�I could ask you the same thing,� she said jokingly folding
her arms in front of her in a serious manner.

�You could, but then you would be one of those people who answers a question with another question, and I�ve never
really trusted those who do that.�

�Oh, you are in trouble now. I�m going to be monitoring your
every response, and when you slip up, I will nail you on it!�

�So, I have your undivided attention, and I may be
punished?� he asked with a devilish grin. �I guess this is my lucky day.�

Kagome blushed again, but this time she didn�t look away.
Instead, she chose to simply ignore his suggestive comment. �I�m just not
tired. There is so much to think about, and I did have that impromptu nap
earlier.� She shot him a guilty little look.

�It was a well-deserved rest,� he assured her. �You really
should get more sleep though. We need to cover more ground tomorrow. And even
though I�ll be carrying you, I�ll need your sharp senses to guide me.�

Kagome�s eyes opened as large as saucers. �My sharp senses?�
she repeated questioningly.

�Of course. Your miko abilities are going to be invaluable in finding our
way back,� he affirmed.

She wasn�t sure whether to be jubilant he had so much faith
in her or scared out of her mind. Either way, the thought made her head spin,
and suddenly, sleep sounded like a very good idea indeed.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

Kagura strutted through the
corridors of Naraku�s latest lair. This time it was a
cavernous maze set deep into a mountain, but Kagura
did not care if she was in a castle or a cave. It was just another prison to
her--another place to be suffocated and confined within, instead of breathing
the air of freedom.

There was little that made the passage of time more bearable
for the wind witch. She did enjoy a good slaughter and the wolf demon pack had
proven good at bleeding for her pleasure. She also liked to torture the mutt
and his lackeys both physically and verbally. It was really too easy to get a
rise out of Inuyasha though, so she tended to prefer
the tajiya. She had a hard exterior, but mention her
brother and the sparks would fly--or giant boomerang to be specific.

But the one past-time that really helped was her ritual of
devising different and preferably horrifying ways of killing Naraku.

On Tuesday, it was beheading with his breakfast. Thursday
brought drip torture with the daily report. And Friday, she came up with living
burial during her lessons with the new demons recruited to aid in slowing Inuyasha down from reaching the inner sanctum before the
time was right.

Yes, it calmed her considerably to know she would dispense
of her unwanted master one day, but in the meantime, he held her heart in the
palm of his misbegotten hanyou hand, and she would do
his bidding--for now.

Today, that bidding took the form of playing nursemaid to an
overgrown spider with a serious case of indigestion. He would pay double for
such intolerable abuse of her forced loyalty.

�Releasing a swarm of starving beetles into his quarters.�

�Drowning him with the blood from his own
severed limb.�

�Severing his--�

�Kagura!� a familiar, demanding
voice cut off her thoughts.

�His death is not coming soon enough. Yesterday wasn�t soon
enough,� she thought as she approached the pale-skinned demon in rich, lush
robes.

�What news do you have to report?� His voice was even, but
there was a no nonsense air that clearly expressed he was not in the mood for Kagura�s typical hostility and defiance.

�The spider is not well. Her legs should have regenerated by
now, considering how many shards are inside her, but they remain little more
than stubs. More disturbing are the intense abdominal pains, but I suppose that is to be expected.� Kagura
finished, holding back her usual barrage of curses and threats that so often
peppered her debriefings.

�Indeed,� was all the dark haired man said in response which
only served to aggravate Kagura further.
She decided to favor tact over recklessness for once.

�I can be more useful to you if you share your plans,� she
said judiciously. �And the more I know, the sooner I can put one of my plans
into action,� she thought while forcing back the wicked smile that threatened
to appear.

Ignoring her statement completely, he continued to stare at her
with bored, penetrating eyes until even Kagura had to
admit to being uncomfortable. �Check our first line of defenses. Even with the
red Tetsusaiga�s barrier breaking abilities it is
unlikely they will breach it until tomorrow night, but I want to make sure they
are introduced to my pet when they do. See that he is adequately prepared for
his guests.�

She turned sharply on her heel before she was unable to
suppress the venom she felt for the smug hanyou.

�Oh, and Kagura...� he said,
waiting for her to return to her humbled position, kneeling before him, �You
may leave now.� His eyes sparkled at delivering yet another humiliation upon
her proud shoulders.

�Making the bastard human again and forcing him to do MY bidding until his weak body gives
out from exhaustion.� Pleased with her latest death scenario, Kagura went to look for Naraku�s
�pet.�

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

It surrounded her.

A thick, acidic syrup coated her
entire body: hair, clothing, skin, everything. It numbed her into a frozen
position--arms outstretched as if grasping for something or someone and legs
captured in the midst of a run. But there was nowhere to run within the vile
substance that clogged her air passages in its smothering embrace.

A pungent odor burned her lungs. It was very similar to the
smell of rotting flesh. And this was not the first time she had been confronted
with the foul stench. Since arriving in the distant past in a war-torn era, she
had encountered her fair share of tragic scenes: soldiers cut down in the heat
of battle, poverty-stricken towns lying in filthy ruins, and even children
slaughtered in their own beds by demons.

No, Kagome was no stranger to death, but as she choked on
the amber ooze, she frantically realized this death was her own. She wanted to
struggle against it, she wanted to flee or to fight or to cry, but no one could
hear her silent screams as she drowned in the sickly concoction.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

Screams pierced the silent night.

�Kagome,� Kouga said in a soothing
voice as he rushed to her aid.

The shrill cry continued to echo from the powerful lungs of
the young miko, hampered only by the fearful sobs
that shook her slumbering body.

�Kagome!� Kouga
said again, this time louder while grasping her around the shoulders. However, the
feeling of something pressing against her only made her struggle more fervently
and soon her small fists were hammering against the exposed chest of the wolf
prince.

�Kagome, please wake up!� he finally shouted in frustration.

With a loud gasp, Kagome�s eyes flew open. She possessed a
wild look at first. He wasn�t sure if she was going to go back to screaming or
continue attacking his abused chest. Luckily for him, she did neither.

Recognition took hold as she continued to look into his
brilliant blue eyes. �Kou--ga?�

�I�m here, Kagome. And you are safe. I promise I would never
let anything harm you.�

�I couldn�t breath and I-I...� She couldn�t find the
strength to say what had been so obvious only moments
before. And then she felt her hands encased in his larger ones, giving her a
gentle squeeze of support. �I was dying,� she managed to finish to Kouga�s surprise.

Her body felt weak and drained. Remaining upright was too
much of an effort, and even with him holding her hands, she felt so utterly separate
and alone. So she flung herself against him. It was bold and forward of her,
but after feeling her body slowly dying around her, she desperately needed to
be part of something alive.

-ooo-oooooo-ooo-

AUTHOR�S NOTE: Special thanks to BelleDayNight who has been
supportive of my writing all along and always allows me to use her as a
sounding board. Also thanks to Fairia13 who has also been a good source of
ideas and encouragement for this chapter. Make sure to check out their
wonderful stories.

Also, I am very sorry there was such a long delay in
updating this fic. On the plus side, I did complete
my story, Crossing the Line. Check it
out if you like Rurouni Kenshin!

FF Reviewers: becky
(I�m glad you enjoyed), Angel6582 (I finally updated! Aren�t you proud of me? :) ), xInfernal (Sorry it took so
long), Nichole Hibiki (Evidently you aren�t the only
one who wants to kill Naraku), Yoko-obssessor (thanks!), Black-rose23 (I hoped some people
would like those lines. Things just keep unfolding, but they will probably
raise more questions than answers for a bit), Thirteenth Dragon (I�ve been a
fan of this pairing since he was introduced in the anime), SilverMoonsBlackWings
(aww, thanks, you�re awesome), Dakyu
(I�m flattered, thanks), BelleDayNight (Props number
two in this author�s note for you, but you deserve it! Writing fanfics is just more fun when you are around to discuss
them with), SailorKagome (When I got your review I
copied and pasted it to all my friends who were online at the time. It
definitely made my night. Being a deity is a big responsibility, so I hope you
like this chapter!)

AFF Reviewers: kogasgirl_1 (OK, soon didn�t really work out,
but I�m hoping to have the next one up sooner), KogasHentaiLuver
(I am really honored and I promise there will be kissing!), Dragon Lady (That
was lame on my part. I fixed it as soon as I read your review. Thank you for
saying it in a nice way), Fairia13 (Thanks for your help with my thought
process!), Jasmine Fields (He seems to becoming more suspicious, doesn�t he?)

MM Reviewers: animephantom
(Awesome, thanks!), Rinako (I am glad you like my use
of �real� words. I aim to please. Seriously though, thanks!)

Kouga�s Den Readers: Feel free to
e-mail me reviews at wastedthoughts @ insightbb.com (remove spaces).
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Journey of the Heart