A Mother's Daughter by Wolfe

Murdered

Her heart beat wildly within her chest. He had asked her to meet him out here, just the two of them, and it made her mind wickedly fraught with jubilant thoughts of a progressive relationship. Her one hope within her bosom: was he finally letting her go?

As she entered the ordained clearing, she found herself alone, except for the dancing crackle of the creek and the gentle caress of the breeze winding about her form. The large oak tree, sitting along the creek a bit with many branches overhanging and giving the creek an air of romance in the dwindling light of dusk, was overflowing with large above grove roots, giving testament to it's age as well as providing many a sitting accommodation. A natural offer she whole heartedly accepted, perching herself upon one of the large roots and arranging herself into a meditation position.

As she meditated, she allowed the flow of nature to take over her awareness. The creek and it's laughter eased her soul, while the swaying branches calmed and cleared her mind. The song of birds and the hum of the nightlife awakening filled her dulled human hearing. So engulfed in the way of nature, she heard not the two sets of approaching footsteps. She remained in peaceful meditation until she heard the faint whisper of her name upon the slight breeze and the distinct twang of an arrow.

It was white, hot pain that shot from within her chest as if it had a life of its own. She was fortunate the bowman was not absolute in the perfection of the bow, for the arrow had struck a few mere hairs from the intended mark. The fire spread through her body, resonating with the throb of her heart. As the pain and confusion began to cloud her sight, silver spun light and sharp amber eyes invaded her vision and thusly her mind.

“In-nu-” his name unable to form upon her lips. He was here! Her mind focused on that one point and held on to the accepted knowledge that he would save her.

“You are not Kikyo,” was all he said, grabbing the shaft of the protruding arrow and twisting it to finish the incomplete job. The rush of fire within her collapsed into a rage of blinding numbness as the darkness swarmed her vision and her life.

#

Inuyasha made fairly quick work of the body, tearing at the limbs and dismembering it beyond recognition. He ignored the dirt clinging to him and digging under his nails as he buried the pieces around the oak tree. The yellow bag, which he had managed to swipe from the camp without the other's knowledge, rested innocently at his side, waiting to join its owner beneath the ground. He took more concentrated effort to ensure the body could not be found and leaving only the great oak tree as the marker of her grave site.

The woman standing behind him, halfway in the shadows, was busy chanting low without her voice, focusing entirely on beckoning the recently deceased's soul into her own being. A gasp from her lips drew the hanyou's attention for a mere moment, stopping in his task to gaze at the woman in concern.

“It is only the rejoining of my soul, love,” she reassured him. Taking her words for truth, Inuyasha turned back to his dirty task of hiding the murdered girl.

Kikyo, for her part, was inwardly struggling under the onslaught of immense power and the sheer weight of the deceased girl's soul. My soul was never this huge! It's a wonder she was able to be so hyper with all this pain! Not to be deterred from her plan, Kikyo used all her will power and her desire to live to hold onto the soul which had such magnitude the undead miko felt as if it was crushing her.

“Come, love,” Inuyasha's voice broke through her thoughts.

Kikyo placed a shaking, ice cold hand upon his cheek. “Take me to the cave, my Inuyasha. I need to complete the processes or my soul will move on.”

Nodding, the hanyou lifted his prize with care and carried her off.

*edited*