AN: A darker story that I'd like to hear your opinions/comments on.

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So It Goes

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The stench of blood was overpowering as the heat intensified the coppery scent in the air. The field was drenched with it, thick and warm, pooling together in puddles on the ground.

Kagome choked on the smell. It filled her nose, her mouth, and suffocated her. Too strong, too much. She had to move, had to get away from the scent and the horrific scene that surrounded her.

"Kagome, when I let loose the kazaana, I want you to run a fast as you can back to the well."

"No! I can't, I—"

She raised herself up off her stomach with her hands. Something warm and wet covered her cheek where it had been pressed against the sticky grass. She could feel the way it slowly ran down her face, her chin, and a few red droplets landed on her arm, sliding across her skin like tears.

Her fear took hold of her when she heard a sound from behind. Panicked, Kagome tried to lift herself up to sit on her knees, but pain gripped her and she collapsed as she silenced a scream. No doubt of it now; her leg was broken.

But she couldn't stay here. No, anywhere but here. Her breath came faster in quick, frightened gasps that burned her dry throat as she crawled forward, dragging her leg like the useless limb it was. She hauled herself through the mess and kept her eyes only on the ground beneath her, crimson stained as it was. She was too afraid of what she might see if she looked anywhere else.

"Do as he says, Kagome. We can only hold him for so long."

"I won't leave you! I can get through to him, I know I can."

A dry sob escaped her, her vision misty as she tried to get away, one inch at a time. Her arms grew tired as they pulled her along, her one foot sliding across the ground, but stopping wasn't an option in her mind. Just keep crawling, just keep moving, just keep escaping….

A soft rustle and then an equally quiet thud in front of her; her arms wobbled with fatigue and she let herself fall with a wet splat. She couldn't look up. If she didn't, then it wouldn't be real.

"Please, Kagome. Please!"

"I—hold on, just don't—Shippo!"

A hand tangled in her hair and yanked her violently upward. Her back arched in a most unpleasant way as she stared into that all too familiar face.

"It's yours, Inuyasha. You worked the hardest for it. Make your wish."

"…I…"

She couldn't make out his features too well, tears blurred her eyes, but it didn't matter. Those beautiful eyes were golden no longer. They were angry and dark, red with rage and reflecting the blood thirst within.

Lips pulled back and fanged teeth were barred as the demon holding her growled. The tears poured down her cheeks upon seeing that face she knew and loved so much contorted and animalistic. Claws bit into her scalp, but she barely noticed. Her fear came to such a height that she had no choice but to let it recede or drive her mad, and she was left empty and crying over the loss of everything. Her friends. Her love.

Her life.

She could barely see through her tears; the world was just a hazy blur. She liked it better that way.

"Inuyasha, don't you remember me?"

She could hear the smile in his voice.

"No."

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When he broke the girl's neck, there was no sense of remorse or regret. Not an inkling of guilt ran through him. Just another kill, one of many to come.

He let the body drop to the ground and stepped away from it. A few drops of the girl's blood had managed to stain his hands. He licked them away accordingly, though without much thought.

He couldn't help but admire the scene around him with a smug satisfaction. It felt good to kill. It felt right. And they had put up such a good fight, too. The man had been swift, and that strange weapon of his, a definite nuisance; the girl combined with the power and force of the neko youkai had given him a moment's trouble; even the kit had fought well until he had slashed him to pieces.

All had fought but the one girl. She had never even raised a hand to defend herself.

His gaze darted to the body at his feet. A low growl rumbled in his throat. Useless girl.

He crouched down and peered at her face in closer proximity. He seized hold of her chin and turned her face his way, sightless eyes gazing vacantly forward. Why hadn't she fought? A stupid human with no survival skills, that's all she was. He squeezed her jaw tighter and tighter in his frustration, but there was no reaction from the body.

Something splattered across her face. A drop of liquid. Another fell onto her cheek and rolled down the dirtied skin. And another.

It took him a long moment to figure out it was coming from him.

His hand went to his cheek and he couldn't comprehend why it was wet, what this substance was that was pouring from his eye. Eyes, he corrected; the other side of his cheek was covered in the same salty liquid as well. He scratched at it with his claws.

This was somehow the girl's fault, he knew. A defect that she had given him. She had been suffering from the same thing before he snapped her neck.

He knocked the body away from him angrily. He was set on giving it a kick for good measure, but he stopped inexplicably midway through the motion. The desire to perform such an action vanished and although the loss of will irritated and baffled him, the problem soon ceased, and so it no longer mattered.

He stood and turned his back on the scene he had created. Suddenly, it had lost its appeal. The deep sense of contentment inspired by the surroundings fluttered away with the light breeze that brushed against him, carrying with it the harsh, metallic smell of the air. His purpose here was finished and he no longer wished to stay.

Standing there amidst all the carnage, he tried to think of what his objective was or should be, but nothing came to him. He didn't remember much from before. All he knew was that he was an incomplete being no more. He was a full-fledged demon, now. He was whole.

And he had never felt more empty.