It was on the third day of their pursuit of one of the larger portions of the Shikon-no-tama, yet the creature continued to elude them. As they traveled further, the group was beginning to lose the determination to track down the tiny creature, seen by only Kagome as an odd bowl-headed creature with water contained within. Inuyasha, per usual, was becoming increasingly irrational in his irritation. He stalked ahead of his friends, grumbling and pushing the pace before turning on Kagome, who was dragging her feet and pushing her bike like it was the heaviest piece of metal on earth. "Oi, wench, are you so fucking sure you saw a Shikon shard in that bowl headed weasel? I'm startin' to think yer fuckin' delusional."
Miroku interjected, correcting his hanyou friend as Kagome groaned and glowered, "What Kagome described was a Kappi, a minor water demon. They are very elusive, and may only appear to those it wishes to prey upon. It is very likely that it sees a maiden such as Kagome as purely delectable." He turned a lecherous glance at the young priestess and attempted to wink, but was forced to close both of his eyes in a cringe as Sango's hiraikotsu smacked the back of his head with force.
"So yer tellin' me that we're basically tracking a demon that wants to devour Kagome? That's just fuckin' perfect. Like we need another reason to worry about Kagome getting into more trouble than usual." Inuyasha curled his lip up in a sneer, though he felt his heart clench in worry. It wasn't really Kagome's fault that she was so susceptible to demon attacks, though if she could actually harness even a fraction of her powers she'd probably not be in such danger. "Didn't ya say that the thing was small? Why don't you just fuckin' catch it, Kagome? Bow or feed it cucumbers, or whatever crap Miroku said will get it."
Kagome ground her teeth and rolled her eyes, balling her fists at her sides. "Inuyasha…" She breathed deeply in to regain her composure, the word sit tickling at the tip of her tongue. "You don't think I've tried those tactics? I can never get the thing to look at me long enough to get it to bow, and as for the cucumbers…" Her breath rushed out of her as her eyes caught a quick flash of blue. She followed it until it was just ahead of Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, don't move."
The group froze, though it took Inuyasha a bit longer to recognize the look of concentration on Kagome's features. He followed her dark blue eyes to the spot in the road where she was staring intently. It wasn't until he saw a dribble of water form around what appeared to be tiny cloven feet that he finally fully believed Kagome. Unsheathing Tessaiga, he began advancing on the spot before stopping in his tracks as Kagome commanded seriously, "Sit boy." A curse escaped his throat as he watched Kagome flash passed him and into the nearby line of trees.
A cold hand of fear gripped his heart as he looked frantically towards his companions. "What are you doing just fuckin' watching? Follow her! For fucks sake, Miroku, you said the thing was hunting her." Frustration and anger coursed through his veins as he struggled against the subjugation beads, clawing at the ground as he watched his friends run in pursuit of Kagome. Foolish girl, what had she been thinking?
Kagome left her friends behind, treading lightly after the Kappi, her hands pushing aside the brush and branches as the woods became thicker around her. Soon she was on her hands and knees, struggling through a tunnel of shrubs, paying no heed to the scrapes across her skin or the sharpness of the rocks on the ground beneath her. The tunnel of shrubs ended abruptly and she came upon a small clearing leading to a stream, the water a peculiar hue of gold and blue. There she found the Kappi leaning over and refilling the top of his bowl-shaped head with the water. Taking a closer step, she noted in disdain that the Kappi did not, in fact, have a shikon shard. Her feet faltered and she paused, long enough to grant the Kappi the chance to approach her. Its sea green eyes glittered mischievously as it reached up and grabbed her hand.
Desperately Kagome bowed at the Kappi, as its grin grew larger as it bowed to her as well. Time seemed to slow as she watched the water flow from its head, the water spilling down her legs. As soon as the water touched her skin, she felt her legs collapse beneath her and her vision darken.
Inuyasha soared over his other companions as they hacked through the thicket after Kagome, using the tree tops. He could smell Kagome's triumph, hopeful at first that she had somehow managed to vanquish the demon on her own, but his hope soon turned to panic at her scent changed into shock and fear. His feet hit the bark of the tree on the edge of the clearing just as he watched Kagome collapse into a heap. Leaping down, he rushed to her side and picked her up in his arms, eyes searching her features frantically as he watched her eyes twitch heavily beneath the lids, feeling the convulsions of her muscles as she seized. Had she been poisoned?
Gripping her shoulders, he pulled her against his chest and whispered fiercely against her ear, "Kagome, come on, wake the hell up." He felt her breath shudder shallowly in her chest, and his panic rose like a bile in his throat as he laid her flat on her back. Pinning her shoulders to the ground, he growled out loudly, "Wake the fuck up, you idiot!" He grabbed her wrists and laced his fingers through hers where her nails were imbedding in her own flesh, allowing them to sink into his own instead. When a whimper escaped her lips and her chest arched off the ground in struggle Inuyasha was practically going mad with worry, "Sango! Miroku! Where the FUCK are you?" He turned his gave back to Kagome at the scent of fresh blood, realizing that she would most likely bite off her own tongue if he didn't prevent it. Releasing her hands, he took the sheath of Tessaiga and gripped her clenched jaw in his hand, forcing it open until she was forced to bite down on the scabbard. Returning his hands to interlock with hers, he held her down, helpless to pull her out of whatever stupor she was in.