Save Your Soul by Suchiko

Chapter 1

[I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, only this story.]

~ Chapter 1 ~

In the black and formless void, all avenues of sensory perception are rendered useless and inoperable. No particle of light passes the eye, nor wispy memory of a scent through the nose, nor life giving wind into the lungs.  The dark world seems all at once infinitely large and empty, yet so claustrophobically small that one could almost feel the grasping tendrils of blackness tightening around them. And so she stood for quite some time, a lone, solid figure in a world of nothingness, waiting for the spark of life to strike and fill the space around her. And it came. Warm orange light filtered through eyelids she was not aware had been closed, and the soft breeze brought the tickle of tall grass around her legs and its crisp, green scent to her nose. She inhaled a deep breath of the sweet air, taking into her body the life that had radiated out of the nothing around her, and opened her eyes. She was on the farm.

           Kagome stood in the middle of the growing field of wheat, still green with its youth. The house stood to her left, and the weathered barn loomed at her right, both summoning forth a flurry of snippets of the past to her brain with a dizzying pace. Days and months raced across her vision in a frenzied progression of all the memories that took place there, finally ending in a quick burst of light as the final scenes petered out, leaving only the image of the farm before her. The image called to her innermost yearning, pulling at her heart, but knowledge of what the future would hold would not allow her to pretend she was part of this world. She stood fast in her position, not daring to take a single step further into the apparition of the farm and risk losing her only solid connection to reality.

           Expectantly, she turned her head to the barn and waited, though not for very long. Through the gaping wooden doors came the figure of a man, slowly solidifying from a lonely shadow into the softly smiling image of her Hiro. As soon as the warm evening sun revealed his face, her resolve had been broken. Hot tears stung her eyes and flowed freely down her face as he approached, the gently swaying stalks of wheat parting before him like waves. He stopped a few feet before her, and they stared into each other’s eyes, both sharing the unspoken understanding that he would go no further.

           She took in the sight of him through watery eyes, her muscles tensing in preparation to step forward and cross the invisible threshold between them. But she was hesitant, and a heavy uncertainty settled over her chest. What if he was not as solid and real as he appeared? What if he simply faded away in her arms? Kagome was unsure of whether her heart could take the disappointment, but seeing his calm and gentle face made her want to believe again. She took a tentative step, and he opened his arms wide to her in welcome. Doubts shattered by the simple gesture, Kagome flew into his embrace, sobbing loudly into his chest as a wave of relief washed over her.

           She could feel his arms around her like a protective ring, and she could smell the warm scent of earth and pine that was so customary to him. He stroked her hair gently, attempting to soothe her tears with sweet words. But no sound came. She could feel his jaw moving as he spoke, even feel the rumble of his voice emanating from his chest, but still the only sound that reached her ears was the rustling whisper of the wind through the field. Quieting her dying tears, Kagome struggled to listen, but was only met with a familiar, acrid scent that struck her heart cold as ice. She was afraid to lift her gaze, but even then she could already feel the heat.

“Hi…Hiro…?” she asked in a shaky whisper.

His body went still, and even his silent voice stopped its low thrum in his chest as the smell grew stronger and more pungent with each breath. Tears pricked her eyes once more as she sent a silent prayer above and held him closer despite the growing heat that burned her skin. Slowly, her ears began to pick up the ragged sound of his labored breathing.

“Hiro… please stay with me… I can’t…” she pleaded through her tears.

“Kago…me…” the figure responded. His voice was distorted, bubbly and jagged. Nothing at all like the man she once knew.

Kagome snapped her gaze up to his face and paled instantly at the sight of him. Hiro’s kind, smiling face looked back at her on one side, the other looking down on her with the menacing eternal grin of a skeleton. Shriveled and charred bits of flesh still clung to the scorched bone, and the remaining flesh of his face and body were slowly burning away. She winced in pain as his embrace turned violent, his skeletal fingers and nails digging into her flesh painfully as he gripped her arms.

“All… for nothing…” he seethed, black wisps of smoke billowing from his mouth as he spoke. “Finish it… Kagome…”

           The barn behind them burst into flame as she pleaded with him to return to who he was. The rest of his flesh was steadily burning away, the skin curling up and fluttering away in the breeze like scraps of paper. The tall, black carcass began to drag her steadily toward the blaze, and the eager flames reached out in an effort to touch her, spreading to the fertile field and devouring everything in their path.

“I’m sorry, Hiro!” she screamed.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m sorry…” her eyes drifted open. The distraught woman from the dream was gone, and in her place the everyday Kagome sat up in her empty bed. She threw the covers from her legs and stepped over into the perfectly placed slippers waiting to protect her feet from the cold hardwood floor. It was first light.

Kagome walked over to her simple mirror. She brushed out her long, dark hair. But towards the end her hand would slow, and she’d find herself looking back into her own tired, blue eyes. She inhaled a breath of crisp morning air and tried to forget about it, to shed the baggage she’d accumulated over the course of yet another night. Her shoulders did not become any lighter, but they did look that way. She left her hairbrush in the exact same spot she’d picked it up and took a candle with her to light the still dim halls.

The rest of the house was already starting to stir, but for the most part the chilled corridors remained empty, just for her. She would finish the cooking in time to set the table before the first of the groggy staff filtered in to have a quick breakfast and then get on with the day. Baking bread, cracking eggs. It was easy to get lost in the work. Her movements became more relaxed, more natural.

    It was a comfort, those small sounds. It made the big kitchen much smaller. It took her back in time for a bit, at least until the illusion was inevitably shattered. Because in her dream state, Hiro would not come through that door, but it would be a young teenaged boy, a footman by the name of Kohaku. He’d come by her with a morning greeting, then start collecting the fine  china and polished silverware to carry into the main dining room. And he did. She could see that his eyes were still droopy. He’d only been there about a month so far, and early mornings did not come to him yet according to his older sister. But he was a hard worker still. Kagome’s expression softened towards him and she returned his greeting with a customary nod of her own.

    The kitchen was starting to warm the longer the wood stove worked, churning out dish after dish. The servants migrated in one by one. Kagome’s duties were replaced by the main cooking staff, who would begin on breakfast for the guests while she and the others ate their simpler meal. The scratched wooden table opposite the stove began to fill up with the maids, the butlers, the groom, the valets both employed there and brought with them by affluent guests. The quiet was replaced with a lively din. Kagome sat at the head of the sturdy, well-worn table. She ate quietly and gracefully amidst the mingled conversations, contributing the appropriate response when pulled in by one of the others. Watching them laugh and tease each other, enjoy the food she’d cooked, plan for the work of the day. It was one of those times where she could become immersed in the present.

    Even the visiting servants in attendance were welcomed in with open arms as if they’d lived and worked there for years. It was a mark of pride to Kagome, something she always bragged on when approached about her staff. It never felt like a job there. It was always like a large, extended family. That was what made it so comfortable for her, so distracting. Something she could let herself get lost in. Something positive.

    But the third pot of coffee brought a new visitor, a new face that seemed to quiet the room with its mere appearance. Something about him seemed heavenly, ethereal. Where everyone else blended in, he stood apart. His cold, solid gold eyes commanded attention. He scanned the room with an authoritative aloofness that stiffened shoulders and averted eyes away in caution of him. Why had no one seen him come in last night? Even Kagome had stopped motion when he entered. His features were sharply cut, stern even. Pale face emblazoned with firebrick slashes and forehead adorned with a crescent moon as royally blue as his presence. Elegantly pointed ears and long fingers tipped in sharpened claws. He was a demon, and apparently one of strength from the reactions he evoked in the others scattered around the table.

    His eyes moved to his left and down to Kagome’s deep blue. She maintained her composure in the path of his gaze, but internally a deep unsettlement started to form. Call it intuition, but she got the slightly nauseous feeling that this man would bring about countless hardships. It was a thought she didn’t even have time to push away, so pervasive that she had to clear her throat to clear her head. He seemed to get the picture.

“You are the one in charge.” His smooth, deep voice was as commanding as his demeanor. Kagome could only offer a nod in response.

“Yes. Hom- Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi.”

    His expression did not change. He did, however, turn fully towards her. With a carelessness that could only rival an announcement of the time of day, he said to her plainly:

“You will be relieved of your duties in two months’ time.”

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A/N: Thank you very much for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated.