A/N: I'm back! Hope you like this new story, because I have to say, writing it was a blast! Without further ado, my newest creation!
Naraku's tentacles were everywhere. His strength was never ending it seemed. Inuyasha narrowly avoided his last attack. The hanyou's strength was quickly diminishing. The battle had been raging for hours, and it seemed that everyone but the enemy was spent.
"I can't keep up this pace for much longer." Inuyasha thought.
He leapt out of the way as Naraku tried to stab him.
"Inuyasha, you're getting slower by the second. Don't tell me that you're tired already." Naraku chuckled.
"Shut up you bastard!"
Inuyasha launched another attack at the evil hanyou. He looked up to see his friends battling Naraku's lesser demons. Sango and Miroku made an excellent pair, and quickly vanquished the vermin. Everyone was fighting so hard, but it seemed like they were getting nowhere. Inuyasha saw a sacred arrow shoot through the air, and it hit its target dead on. His heart swelled with pride.
"She's gotten a lot better since we started this journey."
Inuyasha was brought back from his thoughts by a searing pain in his right leg.
"You should pay more attention when you're in battle." Naraku stated.
He ripped his tentacle out of Inuyasha's flesh and smiled as the hanyou fell to his knees.
"Get up Inuyasha. You're taking all the fun out of killing you."
Inuyasha smirked.
"Oh yeah? Someone's going to die today, but it ain't gonna be me!" he yelled as he unleashed the Wind Scar.
Naraku just laughed at his feeble attempt at murder.
"You still think you can kill me with your Wind Scar? You're even more foolish than I thought."
Inuyasha leapt at Naraku with Tetsiga raised, but Naraku simply strengthened his barrier.
"Ha! You think that can stop me? I've broken through your barrier before Naraku, and I can do it again!"
Inuyasha summoned the power of the Red Tetsiga and broke through the barrier with one blow.
"That was too easy."
"You have just sealed your mortal friend's doom. By breaking my barrier you have allowed me to release a highly toxic miasma. No mortal can survive its effects. They will all die within minutes."
Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror.
"What!"
Naraku laughed.
"They are already feeling the effects. You cannot save them Inuyasha, in fact, you killed them."
Inuyasha couldn't control his rage. His eyes flashed red and he screamed, "You lying bastard!"
He raised his sword and sliced Naraku's body in half.
"How can this be?" Naraku yelled.
He watched as his body disintegrated until he was nothing but a head.
"This is the end Naraku! Prepare to die!"
"How did he suddenly summon this power?"
Inuyasha brought Tetsiga down for the final blow. Naraku's head was butchered, and it disintegrated right before Inuyasha's blood red eyes.
"It's finally over." he thought as he returned to his normal self.
Suddenly a thought hit him.
"Kagome!" he yelled as he sprinted to where he last saw her. He could see her on the ground.
"Kagome! Are you okay?" he asked kneeling beside her.
"Inuyasha….I'm…..I'm so cold. I've never felt this cold before." she whispered.
"Don't worry Kagome. You'll be okay. I promise!"
He looked up and saw that Kirara had Sango and Miroku on her back, and Shippo was with them. He took Kagome in his arms and ran over to them.
"Come on Kirara! We have to get them away from here!"
The fire cat demon nodded and followed after him.
"Kagome, hold on. I'll take care of you. This is all my fault."
Inuyasha ran until he was sure they were clear of the miasma. He laid Kagome down gently and helped Shippo do the same with Miroku and Sango.
"Inuyasha, what happened to them? They were fine, but then they all just fell down." Shippo said staring down at Kagome.
"They were poisoned. When I broke through Naraku's barrier, he released a highly toxic miasma."
"Then why weren't we affected?"
Inuyasha's head dropped in shame.
"The miasma only affects humans." he whispered.
"Naraku knew my biggest weakness and now...Kagome…"
"Will they be okay?" the kitsune asked.
"I don't know. Naraku said that no mortal can survive its effects."
Shippo gasped.
"You mean they're all going to die!"
Inuyasha jerked his head up.
"Of course not! I won't let anything happened to them! I won't let Kagome die!" he yelled angrily.
"She was the closest to Naraku and I when the miasma was released. She's felt its effects longer. It doesn't matter! I won't let her die! I couldn't live with myself if she died, because it'd be all my fault. If I hadn't broken through that barrier, none of this would have happened. I have to save her!"
Inuyasha walked over and picked up Kagome.
"Come on! We'll take them to Kaede. She should be able to do something."
Shippo just nodded. He was still too worried about his friends. He didn't want them to die, it was his worst nightmare! He jumped onto Kirara's head after she had Sango and Miroku on her back.
"Come on Kirara, let's go!"
The fire cat demon grunted in response and took off after Inuyasha.
"Hey, Kaede! Are you here old woman?" Inuyasha called walking into her hut.
"Yes Inuyasha, I'm here. What do you need?" she asked standing up.
Kirara walked in with Sango and Miroku.
"They've been poisoned by Naraku's miasma. I need you to administer an antidote, and fast!"
Kaede looked up in shock.
"Naraku you say? You fought him?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"I defeated him, but I had to tap into the power of my demon blood. It was awakened when I thought Kagome was dead."
Kaede stopped her examination of the girl in question and looked up.
"Was it now? Why do you think that happened?" she asked.
Inuyasha gave her a puzzled look.
"I'm supposed to protect her, and I couldn't. It was because I broke through his barrier that the miasma was released. I felt guilty, that's why my demon blood took over." he admitted.
"Aye, that makes sense, but I think there is more to it than that. Tell me Inuyasha, did your heart ache when you thought Kagome was dead?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"Huh? How did she know?"
"Wh…what do you mean?"
"I mean, did your heart feel as if it had broken?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why?"
The old woman nodded.
"Just as I thought."
"This is a very important turn of events."
Inuyasha was becoming more confused by the second.
"What? Why?"
"Your heart broke when you thought Kagome had died. This awakened your demon blood and gave you the power to defeat Naraku. I have thought this for a long time, but had no way of proving it until now. Kagome is the source of your power. When you're protecting her your power increases, but when you thought she was dead, your power increased so much that it surpassed Naraku's. Your heart knew it had to avenge her death, so it called upon your demon blood. This could only happen if your heart fully belonged to Kagome." the old miko explained.
Inuyasha blinked.
"My heart belongs to Kagome?"
"Are you telling me that I'm in love with Kagome?" he asked.
"No, I'm simply saying your heart belongs to her. Whether you love her or not, you will have to figure out for yourself. I'm certain however, that you lost your heart to Kagome somewhere along the way, even if you didn't realize it. It's the only explanation for what happened."
"How can my heart belong to her, if I don't love her?"
Kaede sighed.
"You are a very complex person Inuyasha, and you have a very complex heart. You will have to figure that out your feelings for yourself."
Inuyasha looked down at the ground.
"There is an antidote for the poison, right? You'll be able to cure them, right?" he asked.
"I believe so."
"Good."
Inuyasha turned and left the hut. He walked past Shippo and Kirara and into the forest. He walked until he was at the God Tree. He leapt up into it, until he was hidden in its branches. The hanyou sat in the tree and let his thoughts consume him.
"Kagome is the source of my power. I knew that, I'd figured that out a long time ago, but I didn't realize my heart belonged to her. I care for her, sure. I hate to see her hurt, and the sight of her tears kills me, but, how could I lose my heart to her and not even know it. It doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't I have felt it, my bond with her strengthen? What about Kikyo? If my heart belongs to Kagome, does my life still belong to Kikyo? How could it? I don't love Kikyo, I know that much. I didn't know what love was until I met Kagome. I…I do…love Kagome. I love her more than anything else in the world. She accepts me no matter what form I take. She's always by my side, she worries about me, cries over me, and what have I done? I've gone to Kikyo. I've left her, I've hurt her, I've…I've…broken her heart. She means everything to me, and I've broken her heart. Never again. I won't ever hurt her again. I'll tell her how much I lover her when she gets better."
Inuyasha let his head fall.
"I'm sorry Kagome. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to figure out my feelings." he whispered.
After a week of intense praying and powerful herbal supplements Miroku, Sango, and Kagome awoke. Inuyasha had kept to himself by the God Tree the entire week. He was there when the three awoke, and Shippo ran to tell him the good news.
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha they're awake!" the young kitsune yelled.
Inuyasha jumped down from the branches with a smile on his face.
"What're we standing around here for? Let's go!" he said taking off for the village.
The hanyou reached it in a matter of minutes and bounded into Kaede's hut. Miroku and Sango were already sitting up and sipping tea, but Kagome was still laying down.
"She is too weak to sit up." Kaede explained to the worried Inuyasha.
He gingerly sat beside her and took her hand.
"Kagome?" he whispered.
The young miko slowly opened her tired eyes. Immediately a smile appeared on her lips and a sparkle came to her eyes at the sight of her hanyou.
"Inuyasha." she whispered weakly squeezing his hand.
He smiled at the act and gently pushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Are you two strong enough to walk?" Kaede asked Sango and Miroku.
They both nodded.
"Then let us leave these two alone."
The three left the hut.
"I'll have to thank the old woman later."
Inuyasha looked down into the eyes of the one he loved.
"Kagome, I thought I'd lost you."
She let go of his hand and cupped his cheek instead. He leaned into her gentle, calming touch.
"I'm sorry that I worried you." she whispered.
He placed his hand over hers.
"Don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry Kagome. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who should be saying sorry." he said.
Kagome gave him a puzzled look.
"What do you have to be sorry for?"
Inuyasha looked away, but turned back to her after a moment.
"A lot of things, but you rest now. We'll talk when you're better."
Kagome nodded and closed her eyes. That night, Inuyasha allowed himself the pleasure of sleeping beside her. He held her hand gently all through the night.
It was another week until everyone was back to their normal selves. The days went by leisurely, everyone was enjoying themselves. Inuyasha, however, was not himself. He had been sneaking off by himself for the past couple of nights. He left at sundown and returned at dawn. No one, except for Kagome, thought anything of it. One evening after he left, she decided to follow him. She stayed downwind of him so that he couldn't smell her, and tread quietly so he wouldn't hear her. She followed him a short ways through the woods until he emerged at a nearby river. She stayed hidden in the trees while he walked out and sat down by the water.
"I have to tell her. I promised myself that I'd tell her, but, what if…what if she doesn't feel the same? Gah! I can't keep putting it off! I have to tell Kagome soon, or else I'll go insane!"
At hearing this Kagome couldn't contain her curiosity.
"Tell me what?" she asked stepping out from behind a tree.
Inuyasha turned at the sound of her voice.
"Ka…Kagome? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I was worried, so I followed you. I heard what you said. What do you want to tell me?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"It's now or never."
He walked over to Kagome and stood a few feet in front of her.
"Kagome, I've know you for three years now. In that time you've cried for me, worried about me, shed blood for me, and put yourself in danger because of me. You've accepted me for who I am, and you've never tried to change me. You've always been at my side and you've stood by me no matter what. No one has ever done all those things for me. I guess it's no wonder that…after all we've been through...after all you've done…that you managed to steal my heart. I…I…love you Kagome." he whispered.
Kagome just stood there. After a couple of minutes of silence Inuyasha turned away from her.
"I understand. I just thought you should know."
The hanyou's heart was breaking all over again. As he started to walk away, what he said finally sank in to Kagome.
"Wait!" she called.
He turned around slowly. Kagome ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
"Oh Inuyasha! I love you too!" she cried into him.
Warmth jolted through his body and he smiled.
"You do?"
She looked him in the eye and nodded. He was so happy that he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into the air. He spun her around twice and then set her on the ground again. They looked into each others eyes as they both leaned forward. When his lips captured hers, both hearts skipped a beat. Love for one another exploded in their bodies, radiating off of them in waves. Love was made that night by the river. Two souls joined as their bodies collided for the first time. What was once a fantasy for the two lovers became an undeniable reality. Words of love and promises of a future were whispered in the grass under a blanket of stars. In that instant, a new chapter unfolded.