The End's Illusion, Chapter 2

Chapter 2, Let It Burn.

Since the beginning Inuyasha knew the outcome of this was going to be bad. There was no arguing over the fact that demons were brutal but one this cunning was something completely abnormal, and dangerous.

An overwhelming possessiveness hit him the moment he was back in the present. His first instinct was to check if Kagome by his side, which she wasn’t. Inuyasha’s eyes expanded and his entire body leapt up in panic. He whipped his head around searching through the evergreen of Timberwood Forest - between the tree and hidden in the leaves, but still, there was no sign of the young girl.

Inuyasha remembered watching the scene change. Stun and confusion littered his mind. He saw Kagome look down at the man she just saved, then back at him as if trying to tell them apart. Her features shifted from relief, and even a glimmer of happiness - into mortal terror. Kagome cried out his name, her voice full of anguish piercing his heart. At the same time reaching out a hand to reconnect the two of them. Inuyasha mirrored her actions, wanting nothing more than to stay with her. But before he realised it his surroundings disappeared into the black, Kagome along with it.

“Who was that man?” Sango asked with a tinge of panic. Inuyasha stayed gawking into the core of the forest. Not again, he had lost her. He lost the person he had vowed to protect, more than twice now. In fact, it was more than that. There was more to this than just breaking a promise he made ages ago. He wanted her to be okay, he needed her. Inuyasha needed Kagome to keep him sane, to keep him from living. To give him something worth fighting for. He bit down the inside of his cheek in anger, fists clenching by his sides. His blood boiled in his veins.

No, he wasn't going to let this happen, he was going to get her back! He had vowed to protect her and he will carry on with that promise! Kagome was not going to die, not here, not now, not while he was still around!

“What’s going on Inuyasha?”  Miroku asked with concern. the half demon whirled around to face his friends.
“Trouble, and I have a feeling, a lot of it!” Inuyasha replied before he started to run out of forest.
“Where are we going?!” Sango called as she ran after him.
“Back to village, we've got to start somewhere!”
Hidehisa watched as the group ran back to the village, the hope and determination in their eyes was in fact quite amusing to him, he couldn't help but to chuckle at himself.
How foolish they are! He thought to himself, Do they really believe they have a chance? He watched on for a few more moments before he turned to his captive, his new victim. Kagome Higurashi...


Why can’t I get these images out of my head? Kagome rubbed her forehead to try banish the headache she had, closing her eyes, she breathed out slowly. It wasn’t until today she developed a headache, and it throbbed painfully throughout the entire day. And at times, she’d be doing something then suddenly her mind would get attacked by images blinking before her eyes, replacing her vision with pictures of demons; a man dressed in purple and a woman with a boomerang. Another man with white, wavy hair blowing in the wind, turning to look at her but for some reason, she could never see his face.

But that was only the beginning.  

It took her two days to realise that something was wrong about the life she was living. Yesterday night she was called down for dinner, and as she got down the stairs, Kagome stood in the doorway studying her parents. She noticed how happy they were, they two of them looked like the perfect family even without a daughter. Her mother possessed a smile that was contagious. Her father laughed at almost everything he wife said...and that was when Kagome saw them.

Demon spirits clung onto their backs, looming over their heads like snakes preparing to attack. They’re dangerous fangs threatened to touch their heads, and they were so long it was hard not to notice them. Though for some reason, Mr and Misses Higurashi didn’t acknowledge their presence. It occurred to Kagome that she was the only one who could see them, which in return, those spirits could see her too. Knowing this confirmed her fear; she was trapped in fake world, but couldn't remember how she got there.

She hoped - no, begged, that this life was simply a bad dream. She tried everything, pinching herself, splashing in cold water, even slapping herself, much to Kagome’s dismay, nothing worked. And now she was stuck someplace else where she was cornered by darkness, it was like she was standing in a room with black walls. This path of life felt like an endless pit, and that’s what Hidehisa was aiming for.

The demon gazed upon her with quizzical eyes, his head slightly tilted to the side like a confused child.
Humans are so fragile. He thought, observing the despair flashing across her face and taking a bit of pleasure from it. He seemed to be getting better at toying with his victims from a distance without being noticed. Kagome was like a timid deer lost in the middle of a wood. He could literally feel the fear radiating from her aura.  
Hidehisa gently let down his protective guard, allowing his muscular form to materializing from the nothingness of the night. Stretching out both arms to exaggerate his entrance, in rapid succession, the human girl whirled around.

“Were you ever frightened of the dark as a child, Kagome?” He asked with a controlled tone, with a tint of mockery in it. Kagome's jaw clenched in frustration, turning the rest of her body towards Hidehisa to face him directly, hands automatically place on her hips.
“Where am I?” She demanded trying to hide her obvious fear.
The demon raised a single eyebrow. “I’m surprised you don’t know where you are.”
“Obviously in a nightmare,” Kagome heaved, glancing around hesitantly. Her arms curled around her biceps, gripping the fabric of her clothes as if trying to prevent herself from crumpling down. She remained mute whilst absorbing her surroundings again, before saying, “I want to go home!”
“But you cannot return home.” He said, watching a flood fill her eyes. She was just a teenage girl who couldn’t control her emotions. Tears threatened to streak down her cheeks. “And why not? You’re a demon aren’t you? You have the ability to shatter this fake world I’m currently living in, I want to go back to the real world. My home!”

Hidehisa just stared at Kagome unnerved by her loud words, his head slowly moved side to side, impersonating a wordlessly response. “You cannot return home.”
“Why?” Kagome wailed, her teams turned into droplets dripping from her orbs. “Where am I?”
“Do you really want to know?” Hidehisa asked.
“Yes!”
“Are you sure?” Hidehisa acted so calm it annoyed Kagome to point of desperation. She had to physically contain her whole self, because her body had the urge to shake, if she let herself go completely she would have collapsed on the floor in an emotional state. But being with Inuyasha indeed had an effect on her, she learnt a few things from him that involved containing her emotions. Counting to ten wasn’t one of them, she swallowed back her sorrow, locking it away inside a cage within her chest, she her nails into her biceps harder to stop herself trembling, and to banish the thought of breaking down. Her voice sounded deeper than usual when she said, “just tell me.”

Hidehisa smiled, “You're living in Japan, in the year 2001.”