Inuyasha
"Kagome look out!" The demon was behind her and too close for her to be able to move out of harms way. Inuyasha swung the Tetsusaiga, forming the Wind Scar hoping it would hit the demon and save Kagome.
"Hopefully the demon will be distracted by the Wind Scar so Kagome can get to safety. That's the only thing that matters right now," thought Inuyasha. Sango was above with Kilala, while Miroku was getting ready to open his wind tunnel after the Wind Scar took effect, but it was no use, the demon kept coming towards Kagome, ignoring the Wind Scar!
"Inuyasha, it's not going to work! Kagome, run and try to move out of the way!" yelled Sango. As Kagome looked for a way out, Sango lifted her Hirikous and slung it at the demon from behind, forcing the demon to turn around. Inuyasha ran and grabbed Kagome just in time to move her away from the Wind Scar. The demon was slashed into pieces, allowing Kagome to find the jewel shard.
"It's in the demon's forehead."
"Well go and get it, don't just stand there looking stupid."
"Who are you calling stupid Inuyasha?!"
"Here we go again. Inuyasha calm down, Kagome will you please get the jewel shard from the demon?" asked Shippo with a loving smile.
"Why is it always me? It's disgusting!"
"Because you're the only one with powers strong enough to purify the aura. I know it's a little gross but you've done it millions of times before."
"I know but…err ok whatever. I'll get it." Kagome reached down to the demons forehead and pulled out the sacred jewel shard. After she put the shard with the rest of their collection, they all sat down and rested.
After their long journey together, they had collected a great number of jewel shards from both demons and humans. But there were a number of jewel shards they still needed to find. Most of them Naraku possessed, but it wouldn't be long now before they caught up with him. Inuyasha had been following Naraku's scent for a few days now and Kagome kept feeling his aura getting stronger. The Shikon Jewel shards he had were so close, but not close enough.
"So Inuyasha, were do we go from here?"
"We go east, Naraku's scent keeps getting stronger from that direction. Sango…"
"Yes, what is it?"
"I also smell Kohaku's scent too, he's with Naraku."
"Oh, I see."
"Don't worry Sango, I'm sure Kohaku will be free once we kill Naraku," said Shippo.
"Yes, I know. It's just…it's hard to accept that fact when we also have to consider he might not ever be free from him, even if he is dead."
"You can't think like that, Kohaku is strong. Once we have killed Naraku, he will remember you and be able to live a life again."
"Thanks Miroku, but…"
"That's the problem with you humans, ya'll always think negative. You always think of the consequences before you've even begun to fight. The consequences come afterwards. You can't think of them if you haven't even won the battle. Sango, don't you trust in me, Kagome, and Miroku?"
"Yes, you know I do, but…"
"But nothing. If you trust us then shut up about what might happen cause if we say it's not gonna happen then it's not ok." Sango looked at Inuyasha with amazement, he actually showed come compassion and worry about how she felt.
"Thank you Inuyasha. I'm sorry."
"Don't bother. Let's get some sleep, we're gonna need it."
Later that night while everyone was asleep, Inuyasha was woken up by a strange feeling. He looked down from the tree where he was sleeping and saw Miroku, Sango, and Shippo asleep by the fire, but when he looked where Kagome's sleeping bag was, she wasn't there.
"Kagome…where could she have gone at this time of night?" Inuyasha started sniffing around, trying to pick up Kagome's scent. He finally found it, leading him towards the woods. He ran into the woods and didn't go but maybe five minutes and he spotted Kagome sitting on a log beside the river. He stopped behind some bushes and watched her, she looked so beautiful to him, but at the same time, she looked sad.
"I wonder what's wrong with her? Did I do something…?" he thought to himself. He stared walking towards Kagome, worrying that he might have done something to upset her. Inuyasha was about ten feet away from her when he stepped on a twig and it snapped, making Kagome jump.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?"
"I woke up and didn't see you so I came looking for you."
"Sorry if I worried you, I just can't sleep."
"Don't worry about it, I couldn't sleep either." Inuyasha turned and looked at her face to face, and then he said…
"Kagome, what's wrong? I was watching you from a distance and you looked like something was troubling you and you look pale…what's the matter?"
"It's nothing…I just have a lot on my mind. So much has happened so quick, and we are so close to finding Naraku, but the closer we get, the more scared I become. We don't know what to expect from him, and the thought of loosing Sango, Miroku, Shippo…especially loosing you, I can't help but worry. You probably think that I'm over reacting or something but this is just how I feel and I can't help it."
Inuyasha looked surprised… "Is she really that worried about me and about finding Naraku?"
"No, I don't think you're over reacting. We all know what could happen if something goes wrong and Naraku survives. And from the way I see it, Naraku might have a lot of jewel shards and a new body, but he doesn't have enough power to over come us. We've beaten him before and we will do it again, except this time it will be for good."
Kagome looked at him, she really didn't want to say what was on her mind at that point, but it was one thing that was worrying her more than Naraku. Whatever the answer he gave her was…she knew what she had to do.
"What about Kikyo? You know Naraku is still after her…and he won't stop until he's killed her. What are you going to do about her?"
Inuyasha didn't know what to say. His eyes showed Kagome everything he had felt when she asked that question…hatred, love, betrayal, but most of all pain. He knew from his heart that he was going to do everything he could to protect Kikyo from Naraku but he didn't know how to tell Kagome.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to get involved unless she really needs my help so shut up about it and quit worrying."
"Inuyasha, please don't lie to me! You run off every time you smell her scent or see her soul collectors…how am I supposed to not worry when I know that you would die for her and leave me for her? I know you still love her, but I love you too and you know this. Why can't you leave her alone…she's dead! She doesn't want your help Inuyasha, she's told you that before. Why do you keep on fighting to be by her side?"
"Kagome, I…"
"Don't Inuyasha, I can't deal with it right now."
"Is this really what's been bothering you? It hasn't been just us facing Naraku that has you worried…"
"Yes this has been bothering me, but I'm ok. Really…I just had to let off some steam. Well I'm about to go back and go to sleep so I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Inuyasha." Kagome turned around and walked off. But before she could take another step Inuyasha was in front of her, glaring at her with a look Kagome had never seen before.
"Inuyasha…" but before she could say anything else, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her to him. He embraced her so hard, it felt so right. She didn't return the hug, but only looked up into his golden eyes.
"What is it Inuyasha? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I would never leave you alone on purpose; you should know that by now. I love you too much to put you in danger, but I owe Kikyo something for her life being taken because of me. She died because of Naraku, but I'm the one who stole the jewel and didn't try to figure out what was going on. I let her die alone and hurt and that's something, no matter how long it takes me, I must to do for her. I'm not telling you this to hurt you, but to let you know why. Until I met you Kagome, I didn't love or trust anyone. You opened my eyes and helped me be happy, and for that I will always love you. But until my debt is repaid, I can't let her die or get hurt or I will never forgive myself."
"Inuyasha…I'm sorry. It just hurts to think of you dying because of her, for her. I can stand a lot more than your average person, but loosing you is one thing I don't think I would be able to accept. You owe her something, yes that is true. But I don't think it should be your life. Because Naraku made you betray each other, I think killing Naraku is payment enough. But you're going to do what you think is best, no matter what anyone says. And that's one thing I love about you Inuyasha, just please no matter what happens, you do what you feel you have to. Can you promise me that?"
"Yes, I promise…but I won't hurt you in the process."
"No, even if it hurts me Inuyasha, I want you to do what is best for you, no matter what that is."
"I can't hurt you…I won't hurt you!"
"Inuyasha please…"
"No Kagome, as long as I know you're alive and happy and by my side I'll do whatever I have to. But hurting you is one thing I refuse to do no matter what."
"But Inuyasha…"
"No Kagome…I won't, end of discussion. I've made up my mind, just know I will always be here for you, no matter what happens."
Kagome leaned in and rapped her arms tightly around him. She never wanted to let him go for any reason, she couldn't bare it. She put her head on his chest and started to cry, the tears wouldn't stop.
"I'll always be here Kagome…just call my name and I'll be here, I promise."
Chapter II
It was morning and Inuyasha was the first up, as always. Kagome had fallen asleep on his chest so he didn't want to wake her up. He gently slid her over to her side and went out to make sure everything was clear. Everything he and Kagome had said last night was still on his mind, but something was still bugging him, what he didn't know.
"Inuyasha, I see you're awake."
"Miroku, when did you get up?"
"Just now. Inuyasha, what was wrong with Kagome last night? She seemed pretty upset."
"She was, she's really worried about finding Naraku, and about Kikyo."
"Kikyo…well that is a surprise. Does she know something about Kikyo that we don't?"
"Not that I know of, but I do know she's been acting really strange lately."
"You've noticed too I see. I don't like to pry but something tells me Kagome knows something and she's not telling us."
"Why would she do that? She knows that if something is wrong we will help her or deal with it the best way we can."
"Deal with what?"
"Kagome, you're awake."
"'Bout damn time. What did you want to do, sleep all day?" snorted Inuyasha.
"Well excuse me Mr. Sunshine! If you wanted me up earlier then you should've woken me up!" snapped Kagome back at Inuyasha.
"Ok you two, it's early in the morning, do ya'll have to start this now?" said Sango getting up from Kilala's back.
"Let's get packed up and get out of here. We need to start finding more jewel shards. While we've been lying around Naraku has probably found more shards."
They headed out towards the east around noon. Kagome wasn't feeling too good and she didn't know why. Her time of the month wasn't due for another two weeks, and she didn't think she was sick, but something wasn't right and she knew it. As the day went on, they didn't find any shards, only demons wanting to pick fights for the shards they had collected. Naraku's scent wasn't anywhere near by, which was completely different from yesterday. And Kagome couldn't sense any of shards as they kept on either, but yesterday his scent was all over the place and it was coming from this direction. Kagome wrestled around all night, like she was having nightmares or something. Inuyasha came down from the tree to see what was going on.
"Kagome never moves this much in her sleep. I wonder what's wrong." Inuyasha thought to himself. He did not want to wake her, so he let her be hoping she would calm down. Morning came and Kagome hadn't stopped wrestling in her sleep at all last night. In fact, it had gotten worse. Inuyasha didn't want to be noisy and then get yelled at for it so he left it alone, but as the days went on, everything with Kagome just kept getting worse.
Chapter III
"Come on Kagome, what's taking so long?"
"Inuyasha, will you get off my case, I'm coming ok!"
Kagome and Inuyasha had been going at it all morning. Sango had noticed Kagome not being able to sleep the last two nights and last night she couldn't even lie down. Sango asked Kagome if anything was wrong and all Kagome ever said was she didn't feel good. Inuyasha had noticed the change when it happened, but also now, not only had her attitude changed but her scent had changed a little as well. And since Kagome was obviously not going to say anything, Inuyasha decided to ask.
"Kagome, you've been acting really strange lately, what's the deal?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Your attitude is what I'm talking about! You've been more pushy than usual and not only that, your scent smells funny!"
"I'm not being pushy! I never am! I just don't feel good, is that so odd?! Gosh Inuyasha…"
"Kagome are you sure you want to keep looking for the jewel shards?" asked Shippo.
"Of course, I mean it's not like I'm going to die or anything. I might just be coming down with a cold or something."
"Well if you feel like you need to go home or lie down just feel free to do said Kagome," said Sango.
"She's not a weakling Sango, she doesn't need to go home and be babied. Now let's hurry up and start looking for Naraku," said Inuyasha.
And that was that. True enough Inuyasha never stood up for Kagome like that, unless it came to Koga that is, but Kagome wondered if he was actually worried about her. As the day went on, Kagome got worse. She wasn't letting it show because she didn't want to slow down the group.
"Hold on Inuyasha…"
"What is it Kagome?"
"I sense a jewel shard, but…wait! I sense two jewels… no three."
"How many do you actually sense?!" yelled Inuyasha.
"I can't count!"
"Which way is it?"
"This way, come on."
Kagome got on Inuyasha's back and they headed towards the woods. Kagome was sensing something else besides the jewel shards, and she didn't have a good feeling about it either. The closer they got to the jewel, the darker it seemed to become. It was the middle of the day but it looked like midnight. The tree's seemed like they were closing up on them the further they went. Inuyasha started slowing down and then came to a sudden stop.
"What's wrong Inuyasha?" asked Miroku.
"I smell Kikyo, and I also smell Naraku. What is Kikyo doing with Naraku?" Inuyasha thought.
"Inuyasha..."
"I smell Naraku, he's close."
"I'm guessing he's the one Kagome sensed with all the jewel shards," said Shippo.
"It has to be. Remember, Naraku's jewel shard is nearly whole. We had better hurry Inuyasha," said Miroku.
"Right, uh, Kagome are you ok? You look pale."
"I'll be fine just hurry and get to Naraku."
"Ok."
They didn't run much farther until Inuyasha ran right into a spirit shield, except it didn't look like all the other spirit shields they had encountered in the past. It looked like one of Naraku's barriers.
"Is Kikyo helping Naraku? There's no way!"
By this time, Inuyasha was fired up and Kagome knew what was going on. She could sense Kikyo, but something was different about her. She didn't want to say anything to Inuyasha because she knew it would only lead to an argument. They stopped at the spirit shield and Kagome got off Inuyasha's back and walked towards the shield.
"I'll see if I can pass through. I know I'll be able to but I don't think you guys will be able to get through."
"Kagome, you're not going in there by yourself. There's no way you can face Naraku by yourself!"
"I know I can't and I'm not going to try, but at least I can see what's going on and what we're dealing with. That could give me a chance to find a way to break the spirit shield."
"But…"
"You want to know why Kikyo's in there don't you."
"Uhh…you knew she was in there?"
"Of course I did. Just wait here, I'll be right back."
Kagome ran through the shield and disappeared.
"Sango, is there anyway you can use Kilala to fly over head and watch Kagome?"
"I can try but I doubt anything will come of it. This spirit shield is very strong."
"At least try. I've got a bad feeling about this."
As Sango went with Kilala, Inuyasha noticed Miroku was missing.
"Miroku…Hey Miroku, where the hell did you go?!"
"Inuyasha, did you call me?"
"Where did you go?"
"I sensed something right around there so I went to check it out real fast. I keep sensing Naraku and he's not alone."