Pain, hate, suffering

Chapter 8





Kagome had gone to the hot springs to try and gather herself together, although she felt as if she could not do it, not this time, nor perhaps ever again. Perhaps she would stay broken, let Naraku win.



"No dammit!" Kagome said softly, pounding her hand into the soft soil around the spring.



'I can't let Naraku win! I won't.' she thought to herself with determination in her voice.



But just as quickly as it came, it went away, as she remembered all that had happened to her while she was in his custody.



Kagome began to shake again, remembering both what he had done, and had forced Kohaku to do to her.



Wrapping her arms around her, Kagome collapsed to the ground, and start repeating out loud the one word that had kept her from going completley insane during the ordeal.



"Inuyasha...Inuyasha..." she whimpered softly, tears stinging her eyes. But even this word was no longer enough to hold her together, for she knew now that Inuyasha no longer trusted her, her word that she didn't kill Kohaku.



Kagome began to cry out into the forest, the wails of a broken person, in despair, in agony.



Looking on from the forest, Sango had seen enough. Her heart once again broke in two, only this time it was not from seeing her brother dead, it was from seeing her best friend, who she had shunned, in such a state of emotional agony. With a start, Sango rushed to Kagome's side, and pulled her into a hugging embrace.



"Kagome..." she whispered, tears stinging her own eyes as well. No matter what had transpired, how could she have acted the way she did when Kagome had gone through what she had gone through. Sango now realized the terrible mistake that she had made, and would resolve to trying to fix it, and help Kagome in any what that she could to recover.



"There there Kagome, everything is going to be okay now, we're here." Sango continued to whisper, hugging Kagome and rocking her gently back and forth.



Kagome stopped her convulsing, and looked up into Sango's eyes, her big blue orbs red and tear stained.



"Sango?" she asked in an unsure voice.



"Yes, it's me. Don't worry, everything is going to be okay..." re-assured Sango.



"But, you said you hated me..." Kagome whispered, her lips trembling.



"Where did you get that idea?" Sango asked, suddenly confused.



"I overheard you talking, you and Miroku and Inuyasha. None of them trust me, none of them trust me that I didn't kill Kohaku..." explained Kagome before starting to lightly wail again.



"No no no, listen Kagome listen..." said Sango, cupping Kagome's chin with her hand, "I didn't mean what I said. I was angry, and confused at the time, I didn't know what had happened in the castle, and...if you say you didn't kill Kohaku, then I will trust your word on the matter. Please believe me, I've calmed down."



"Do you mean it, you'll trust me?" asked Kagome with a sudden tone of hope in her voice.



"Yes Kagome, I trust you." re-affirmed Sango in a steady and sure voice.



Kagome had mostly stopped crying by now, her sobs reduced to sniffles. She wrapped her arms around the demonslayer and pulled her closer.



"Thank you, Sango." said Kagome, closing her eyes. Sango closed her eyes as well, her tears drying up as a wide smile enclosed her lips. She may have lost her younger brother, but her sister was still here to stay.



* * *



"Tch. What a touching scene, perfectly disgusting." said Naraku with a sneer on his face, watching the scene from Kanna's mirror.



He had managed to somehow elude Sesshomaru, and had met up with Kanna and Kagura later, only to learn that Hakudoshi had been killed by Inuyasha. Naraku had merely shrugged off this loss, one more pawn expended in his quest.



"I wonder how broken Kagome will truly become if something were to happen to Sango, ehh?" wondered Naraku outloud.



"It is something to think about, none the less." he said, his laughter filling the cave that they were sitting in.