A/N: Hello, everyone! I have a few ideas for different Inuyasha stories… and now that I finally have some time, I'm going to try and put a few of them out there. I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you like what I have so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or the characters.

Chapter 1

This was it… Our final stand against the evil that was Naraku. He had chosen to come to us this time rather than luring us into one of his traps. As the darkness on the horizon approached, I could feel the strength of my companions electrifying the air all around me.

My brother arrived minutes before, and stonily offered his help in what was sure to be the toughest battle of our lives. Normally, I would have told him that it was 'my fight' and to 'back the hell off.' Instead, I haughtily snorted and stood back to let him stand among our ranks. In response, he nodded to me in what was a rare show of humility from the Lord of the Western Lands; we were both fully aware that our momentary armistice would end with Naraku's death.

We had chosen to meet the bastard in an open field several miles from the village. There was only so much time before he arrived... As we left, I told the old priestess and the fox demon child to evacuate the villagers as quickly as possible, just in case the fight escalated within the lowlands of the village. I had expected the kid to throw a fit because he wouldn't get his chance for 'revenge' against the monster, but surprisingly he followed the old woman out of the hut without resistance.

Releasing the memory, I glanced around at my fellow comrades noticing that everyone wore a look, not of fear, but determination. We had all suffered at the hands of this beast, and every one of us were more than ready to give our lives to kill this son of a bitch… hopefully it would not come to that. Along with my brother was the cursed monk, a demon slayer, her large fire feline, myself and … Kagome.

I sighed softly under my breath, too soft for anyone to actually hear. If I had my way, she would be nowhere near this battle; hell she wouldn't even be in this century if I had any say about it. Inwardly growling at her stubbornness, I snuck a look from the corner of my eye at the young beauty standing beside me. She had her wooden bow clenched tightly in both of her delicate hands. Her eyes did not waver from the dark skies and black clouds creeping steadily closer. Part of me couldn't help but admire her unwavering bravery, while another part of me wanted to take her away from here and throw her back down that damned well myself, even though I knew that she wouldn't stay away. She had suffered as much as the rest of us at the hands of our greatest enemy. She deserved to be here, fighting alongside her friends.

Looking forward again, my thoughts continued to dwell on the raven-haired girl at my side. In the past year, we have grown to understand each other really well. She can be a little spitfire at times, but she has somehow managed to change me... Before, I never would have let anyone into my life, and here I am standing in an odd group of sorts. People seem to gravitate to her. I don't delude myself into thinking that I am charismatic enough to have made such great friends without her. Far from it! Its humbling sometimes just to watch Kagome be Kagome... How can anyone in the world really be so wonderful...? And yet at the same time so damn frustrating? I couldn't help but smile as I daydreamed. Out of all the people I have ever met, she is the only person who has a stubbornness that could challenge my own. Or a temper that can flare just as big and suddenly as mine. Meaning that most of the time, she manages gets her way.

Despite her fiery attitude, she is loving, and caring… She sees the good in everyone, no matter how undeserving they are… no matter how undeserving I am. That girl was the first person to bother looking past my gruff words and come to see who I am underneath. I would never admit it out loud to anyone, but I don't think there is anything in the world that I wouldn't do for her.

The darkness was practically upon us, racing at a speed that no earthly creature could possibly match. I tensed as I felt the evil aura wash over me. My heart was racing with anticipation for the upcoming battle. I was beginning to lose myself in the tension of the moment when I felt a small hand make its way in between my clenched fingers. Shocked, I looked down to find Kagome's lightly blushing face softly smiling up at me. Allowing myself a moment, I let myself get lost in her deep brown eyes that were so full of life. We would win this fight. I would make sure of it.

We didn't go into the fight with a set strategy for beating this monster, and in hindsight, that may not have been the best idea. Even though we are all attacking with everything that we've got, I don't see Naraku becoming weakened in the slightest.

Sesshoumaru sent another arc of blue lightning at Naraku, courtesy of his Tokijin. Pieces of the evil hanyou went flying all over the battlegrounds. Kouga was slicing from the front while I used the Wind Scar from behind, sending more chunks of flesh flying through the air. The pieces would merge together and eventually re-attach themselves to their master, making our efforts seem in vain.

"Damn!" I yelled to no one in particular. Sango and Kilala raced past me in the sky above. I glanced at the monk who was using his sutras attempting to at least paralyze Naraku, but it didn't seem to be working. It was almost as if Naraku wasn't even trying to fight back.

Returning to the fray, I jumped high above the evil beast, planning to rain down adamant upon him. Before I could even move into position, I was struck down by a rogue tentacle. I stood quickly and saw from the edge of my vision that Kagome was shooting her arrows from a safe distance away. At least she was smart enough not to get in the middle of the fight.

My eyes were drawn to the darkness behind her. Pieces of flesh were silently moving in the wrong direction, away from the battle. I couldn't see far enough into the distance to see exactly what they were doing, but it was enough to put me on edge. I bounded to the middle of the confusion, and shouted loud enough for my brother and the monk to hear, "I don't know what the hell he's planning, but I saw chunks of the bastard sneaking off behind us!"

Miroku forcibly sliced into Naraku with his staff. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he asked, "Could he be planning to attack us from behind? Is this Naraku just a decoy?"

"I'm not sure," I said slicing into the bulbous mass of writhing flesh with the Tetsusaiga. "I didn't see where they were going."

Without saying a word, Sesshoumaru turned and raced off in the direction of the suspicious lumps of our enemy. I felt that he was capable of handling the problem alone, so I attacked Naraku with even more ferocity to distract him from the dog demon's disappearance. Kouga, seeming to have caught on that something was amiss, redoubled his efforts against our foe.

Nothing we were doing seemed to make an impact against the evil hanyou. All of us were attacking him with everything that we had, and yet the bastard continued to chuckle as if we weren't slicing him to bits.

Minutes later, my heart leapt into my throat as I heard a terrified scream from Kagome. I turned just in time to see the bloodied body of my half-brother being flung roughly to the ground a few yards away from the young girl. Foolishly, Kagome immediately rushed over and tried to assist him as he struggled to stand to his full height. My eyes searched the darkness behind her while my heart beat erratically in fear. Kagome was much to close to whatever had managed to sink its fangs into my half-brother. It coudln't have been more than a few moments before my brain kicked into gear, and my body jumped into action. I heard her frightened gasp, and raced to save her before it was too late. I saw her try to aim an arrow at the faceless mass towering before her, but the giant blob snatched her from the ground before the arrow could take flight.

"Kagome!" I screamed, forcing my legs to move faster. I could see her struggling to break free from the flesh monster. Without warning, the creature took off moving faster than I would have thought possible in the direction of the Sacred Tree. I couldn't use the Wind Scar without potentially hurting Kagome, so I was forced to follow the pair into the forest.

In the open field, I began to gain some ground on Naraku's fleshy fiend. "Hey! Get your ass back here, you coward!" I screamed in a hopeless attempt to slow him down. I was pissed... I could feel a striking fear for Kagome coursing through my veins, threatening to stop my heart. If that damned creature hurt her, I would drag his sorry ass down to hell myself!

All the while, I could see her struggling against the hold that the blob demon had around her. I guess she could see me trailing after them, because she turned her fearful eyes to me and screamed, "It has the jewel, Inuyasha! If we can get the jewel from this thing, then Naraku dies!"

That was quite possibly the best thing that I had heard all night. I surged forward with new hope fueling the every step that I took. I was almost upon the monster, when it suddenly began to slow. I took the chance and surged forward, slicing the beast in two large halves with one swing of the Tetsusaiga.

Turning to assess the damage, I was hit hard by the half that I had just cut away from Kagome. I smashed through a tree, and hit the ground with a force that would have killed a human. I could hear her struggling against her own half of Naraku's flesh behind me, when I was caught and thrown to the side again.

I traveled much farther this time, smashing through several more trees, and tumbling across the rough ground. It was a miracle that I had managed to hang on to the Tetsusaiga through all of that. I dug the sword into the ground as a crutch and tried to stand, feeling overwhelming pain shooting through my body. When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were in a small clearing close to the Sacred Tree, and Bone Eater's Well.

How dare that bastard think he can take Kagome away from me? Snarling with anger at my combatant, I pushed the pain aside, and saw the halves had again become one. The now whole creature had rushed past me and was attempting to lose me deeper in the forest. There was no way I was gonna let that happen.

My already tired muscles were beginning to fail me, but I resumed the chase, determined not to let the monster get away with Kagome. I caught up with them easily as they were nearing the clearing that held the Bone Eater's Well.

I pushed my already tired legs, and leapt in front of the creature's path. It halted immediately, and I growled a warning that it chose not to heed. The flesh demon once again began to approach me. I backed up slowly, trying to think of a way to free the girl from her captor. I was halted when my back came in contact with the wooden edge of the well. Glancing over my shoulder, I realized I had nowhere else I could move to.

Kagome had been gritting her teeth and struggling against her captor with all her of her strength. Finally she managed to free her right hand from the writhing skin of the demon. She raised the arrow quickly to strike the jewel glowing within the monster.

Lashing out in an attempt to stop the young girl, it sent several tentacles out in all directions trying to prevent its impending demise. A stray tentacle stabbed me in the shoulder, knocking me off of my already straining legs. I fell backwards down into the well, and heard a crashing noise along with a bright pink light from above as I felt the rushing wind of time flying past me.

Only a moment or two passed, before I felt myself gently resting inside the cold walls of the Bone Eater's Well of the future. Bone chilling fear gripped me as the full weight of what could be happening to Kagome at this exact moment hit me head on. As quickly as I could, I pushed against my teetering willpower, and jumped out of the deep well. Swinging myself back over the lip, I dove back into the wooden slats, waiting for the slip of time to wash over me. I was surprised when I felt my bare feet coming in contact with the packed dirt that made up the bottom of the well.

I could feel my heart racing, and the fear and adrenaline taking over what was left of my already exhausted mind. "No…" I whispered to myself in shock. "No no no, this can't happen…" I said in a rush.

I leapt back out of the well, only to jump right back in it. I closed my eyes, hoping, wishing, praying to feel that powerful sensation of the passing dimensions. Again, I was only confronted with the soft thud that I made when I hit the bottom of the well.

"No!" I screamed, angrily, lashing out at no one. "Kagome! No! You can't do this to me!" I began to dig frantically, scratching at the hard packed dirt with my claws. "You can't leave me behind like this! I have to know you're ok!" I shouted, falling to my hands and knees at the bottom of the well. "I have to know you're ok…" I said emotionally, afraid to admit that I had been defeated.

I spent all night in that well. Unsure of what to do, but afraid of doing nothing. The night passed slowly… it was quite possibly the longest night of my life. When I finally gave in to my exhaustion, it was with a battered body, and a broken heart.