The Kindness of Strangers

Disclaimer: (to the tune of "I know a song that gets on every body's nerves")

I don't own InuYasha and I know I never will.

I don't own InuYasha and I know I never will.

I don't own InuYasha and I know I never will,

So leave me alone lawyers!

Chapter 1-Gone

Gone. She was gone, washed away by the never yielding current of the river beside him. He had tried to save her, but it had been too late, by the time he had gotten into the frigid waters, she was too far and the sun went down revealing a moonless night. He had barely been able to get away with his life, something he now wished he hadn't. With her gone, what was the use of going on? What would drive him? The shards? No, they had long since disinterested him. The only reason he still sought them was so he could have an excuse to be near the girl, but now, because of him, she was dead.

The demon had come upon them late in the afternoon as they had been setting up in a small hut near a cliff overlooking this very river. He had been anxious to finish it fast, the sun had been setting and he knew he'd soon be human and defenseless. He had used the wind scar right away, shaking the ground around them. She had been near the edge he noticed, a little too late, and he had watched helplessly as she fell into the river. He called her name and ran to the edge, no longer caring that the sun was almost gone or that the demon had given him a wound on his side and that it was bleeding profusely. She was in danger and she came before him.

The sun went down only a moment after he had hit the water and he had been nearly overwhelmed by pain as he struggled to reach the girl, who was calling him franticly. They were coming to rapids and they both knew if they hit those, they would more than likely not survive. It had been a combination of his human body being too weak and the current too strong that caused him to be unable to reach her and black out. He had woken up at dawn as his demon energies returned surrounded by their friends on the shore, each face sad. But still, he had needed to ask.

"Where's Kagome?"

Sango had started to cry, leaning on the somber Miroku for support. The monk's purple eyes held no amusement and Shippo was even worse, his eyes were overflowing with tears that he refused to cry. The monk spoke. "I'm sorry, InuYasha."

"No!" he protested, sitting up too fast. His side still hurt, his demon blood just starting to work it's magic. "No, she's just a little more downstream! We have to find her before some demon does." He got up even though he knew he shouldn't. "She's fine, we just have to find her."

"InuYasha," still Miroku, "we're over ten miles from where she fell and we haven't found her yet. Even if she did make it farther, it has been mostly rapids, we've passed a waterfall. There's no way she could have survived."

"No!" he protested, not wanting to believe it, "She's just a little ways downstream, or maybe you missed her, or…"

Miroku shook his head. "She's gone, InuYasha," his voice was small, much smaller than usual and he could hear the threatening tears. "Kagome is dead." With the last word, both Sango and Shippo burst out in tears, the fox seeking shelter in InuYasha's pant leg. He had just stood there, not believing it, it was impossible, she couldn't be…

"No! She's alive and I'll find her myself if I have to!"

He had dashed off, searching the riverbanks furiously for any trace of the girl, but there was none. Around noon, his wound had reopened, but he didn't care. Until he found Kagome, he'd not rest.

That had been two days ago and he still had found no trace of her, not a piece of her clothing, not any sign that the river would reveal her final resting place, for now, even he could see she was gone, that there was no retrieving her from the black water that churned beside him, mocking him as he saw the odd pieces of flotsam and jetsam floating lazily on the dark surface, odd branches and the like, nothing that looked remotely human. So, he did the only thing he could, what any demon would do for its fallen mate, he sank his claws into the tender skin of his wrist and held it over the churning water so the crimson life giving liquid swirled in the water. A tribute to his mate, the shedding of blood for his mate's life, even if according to the traditional definition of a mate, she was nothing more than a potential mate, not deserving of the tribute of blood, but their relationship, not to mention the girl herself, had been anything but traditional. There had been an agreement-how long ago? A month now? About that-between them, more of an unspoken promise really, that once Naraku was gone, they'd be mates.

He could remember it so clearly. It had been after a battle with Kagura. He had been horribly injured; Kagome had thought he would die. He had woken up in the middle of the night, the moonlight streaming into the old hut from the single window. Kagome had been re-bandaging him, moving slowly; as of yet unaware he was awake. He remembered his first thought had been of how beautiful she had been with the moonlight playing on her ebony locks and her smooth skin. Beautiful, despite her eyes being red and puffy with salty trials of moisture rolling down her face. She only noticed he was awake when his thumb wiped away the tears, his hand cupping her cheek so she turned to him. She smiled, relieved to see him alive and well, an almost giddy laugh escaping her soft pink lips as more tears fell. He wiped those away as well.

"Don't cry," he ordered gently, his parched throat making his voice unnaturally raspy. "I hate it when you cry."

She gave another relieved chuckle as her hand caressed the one he had put on her cheek, nuzzling into it. "I thought," she paused, trying to keep her voice from cracking with tears, "I thought I was going to lose you."

His hand slipped from her cheek and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly. "You are never going to lose me Kagome, no matter what."

She blushed bright pink, he knew even if the moonlight faded it out so he couldn't see. There was the tiny shift in her scent every time she blushed, something only a person very familiar with her scent could notice. She nearly stammered over her next word. "Promise?"

He smiled gently, ignoring pain. "I'll walk beside you always."

She smiled brightly, nodding. "And I'll walk beside you."

She went back to bandaging, not understanding what she had said. There was no way she could have know that those were the words spoken in the demon mating ceremony. That fact had eluded him until he heard her say those words. He had only heard them once or twice from the flea years before when he had first been taught about the ritual. Those were the words one said to their mate, a promise to protect the other, to provide for the other, to take care of the other. A deep meaning for so few words, but he didn't tell her. Just saying the words didn't make them mates, not without the exchange of blood, but here on the riverbank that had claimed the girl's life, he didn't care.

The blood had stopped now, his demon blood sealing the wound. Funny, the tribute didn't seem enough. It was his fault she was dead after all. If he hadn't used the wind scar, she wouldn't have lost her balance and fallen, if he had been faster, he could have clung to her in the water and kept them both alive. His friends had, after all, been able to find him.

His friends, he hadn't seen them since he had left them two days before, more than likely would never see them again. He hadn't eaten since he had left them but he wasn't hungry, the wound on his side wasn't too much better and even the cut on his wrist although closed still left a mark. Myoga had told him about this too. When a demon lost his mate, his body would slowly waste away if he didn't die instantly. Since Kagome hadn't officially been his mate, his body was still struggling to hold on, saying he should hunt something, hungry or not, or maybe this was just because he was a half demon. Either way, he found himself moving before he had agreed to. He didn't see the point even as he was stalking a pair of rabbits, or when he sunk his claws into their necks, breaking them instantly, not even as he began to devour the raw meat. Oh well, if his body insisted he eat, at least he would have the strength to seek out some demon who would have no qualms in fighting him. Who knew, maybe he'd even find Sesshoumaru or Kouga. What better person to end his life than the wolf prince? He had made a claim on his Kagome, hadn't he? Yes, at least someone would have avenged her death.