'I hope Inuyasha didn't wake up when I left.' Armed with bow and arrows, Kagome rode her hot-pink bike through, what Kaede had named 50 years ago, the Forest of Inuyasha. The miko was on a mission.
Only a few days ago, Kikyou had appeared before Kagome as she gathered some medicinal herbs for a wounded Inuyasha. Confronting Kagome, Kikyou demanded that she hand over the remaining shards of the Shikon Jewel. Kikyou had planned on ending this troublesome reincarnation's life, but had misjudged herself. She grew weak from her lack of souls. Retreating back into the depths of the forest, she had left Kagome with a warning. "Meet me in 2 days in the Forest of Inuyasha. I will send one of my soul-gatherer's to lead you to the location. If you decide not to come, I cannot promise the health of any of your friends." With a cold smile, she had vanished.
Kagome had pondered over the situation every day since then, wondering what the walking-dead priestess had in store for her. That same question continued to linger in her mind as she followed the promised soul gatherer on bike. It led her through the thick forest until they came across a clearing among the trees. Kagome hopped off her bike as she noticed Kikyou sitting on the ground under a tree, absorbing all the souls her gathering demons had brought for her.
"I'm quite pleased you've come." Standing, Kikyou glanced at Kagome after absorbing the last remaining soul. "What do you want, Kikyou?" Kagome readjusted the arrow sack on her back, growing uneasy simply by being in her presence. "Foolish girl. I told you before what I wanted. I will give you one last chance to give me your Shikon fragment." Kikyou glared at her reincarnation, knowing quite well that she would not simply hand her the remaining fragments.
"I'm not giving you anything! We've fought hard for what we have, and I'm not going to let you take it like you did last time." Kagome was furious. The last time they had confronted eachother like this, Kikyou had taken the large chunk of the Shikon jewel from her, and she wasn't about to let it happen again. Kikyou drew her bow and aimed an arrow at Kagome. "So be it." In an instant, Kikyou released the arrow. It glowed as it cut through the air, hurling towards Kagome. Panicked, she quickly dodged to the side. As the arrow nicked the skin on her upper arm, Kagome, eyes wide, realized Kikyou's intentions. She was trying to kill her, and this time, there was no escaping and no help. Kikyou smirked her. "With you out of the way, no one will be around to protect Inuyasha anymore."
Kagome clenched her fists. "I won't let you harm Inuyasha!" She raised her own bow and positioned an arrow, ready to release it. 'Wait..I can't kill her. Inuyasha would hate me if I even harmed her. Oh man...What am I going to do?' Before Kagome could figure out an answer, Kikyou had fired another arrow at her. Kagome dodged just in time for the arrow to miss it's intended mark through her heart. The tip of the arrow sliced through the skin of her shoulder, causing Kagome to to release her own arrow. The arrow narrowly missed Kikyou's head, taking a few strands of her hair with it. Kagome grabbed at her bleeding shoulder. Luckily enough, it had only gone through the skin and nothing else.
"Stupid girl. I don't want to harm Inuyasha. I want to kill Inuyasha." Kikyou positioned another arrow at her target. "Don't you understand? Inuyasha loves you! Why do you want to kill him?" Kagome prepared to dodge another of the lightning-quick arrows. Kikyou glared even more at the young woman. "I never loved Inuyasha." With that said, the arrow flew. Kagome caught a glimpse of something red out of the corner of her eye. A wide-eyed Inuyasha stood before them, a look of hurt covering his features. He had heard Kikyou, and her words had pierced him deeper than any of her sacred arrows could possibly manage.
Kikyou's final arrow ripped through Kagome's side. With a sharp gasp of pain, she fell to the ground, unable to move. "Inu..Inu..yasha.."
Inuyasha's mind went numb as the scent of Kagome's blood filled the air. His hands balled into fists as he trembled in anger. "You will pay for this..." Kikyou laughed at him. "Oh really. I've hurt her before and you've never layed a finger on me. What makes you think you can do it now, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha roared in anger as his youkai blood pulsed through his veins, changing his amber eyes to blood red. In blinding speed, Inuyasha leapt towards her, claws poised and ready to rip her to shreds. "GO TO HELL!!!"
Kikyou, completely caught off-guard by his transformation, managed to barely deflect the raging half-breed long enough to escape. As Kikyou dissapeared into the darkness, she glanced back at the changed hanyou as he yelled at her to come back and fight him.'There's no way I can destroy him in that state...he's too unpredictable..'
Inuyasha turned his attention to the badly bleeding Kagome, his demon blood gave way to his normal state as his emotions over-powered even his strongest urges. He kneeled beside her. "Kagome? Kagome, please...Say something.." Kagome's eyes were shut and she made no attempt to move. Her breathing was becoming horribly shallow.'I've got to get her back to the village, and fast..' Gently, he picked her up and cradled her against him, sprinting his way through the woods. "Please hold on Kagome..."
In a matter of a few minutes, Inuyasha had Kagome at the village where he quickly found Kaede. While she mended Kagome's wounds, Inuyasha, who had nearly paced a trench infront of her hut, was sent to gather more healing herbs for Kagome. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou waited patiently for any news from Kaede on Kagome's status.
Inuyasha returned shortly with an enormous basket over-flowing with different herbs just as Kaede stepped into the door way of her hut. "My Inuyasha. It would seem ye cleaned out the surrounding area of every herb it had."
"Cut the crap, granny. How's Kagome? Is she ok?" Inuyasha set the basket down beside him waiting rather impatiently for an answer. "Ay. Kagome is stable for now. The wound to her side was deep, but missed vital organs. If she can make it through the night, she will be fine." Inuyasha rushed past her into the hut, and set his eyes upon the unconscience face of Kagome as he sat beside her. Her cursed himself over and over for not being there to protect her. 'If I hadn't been so damn stupid, I could have destroyed Kikyou before this ever happened! Damnit all!'
"Inu..yasha?" Inuyasha's ears twitched at the strained voice of Kagome. "Shh..Don't strain yourself. Just get some rest. I'm right here." Kagome was out again, her body was too weak to even say more than a word. Inuyasha took her hand in his and gently stroked it with the pad of his thumb. '..And here is where I'll remain, by your side.'