From the Future

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Author's Note: So glad you guys are back. Enjoy!

Dedication: This chapter that I broke down had originally been dedicated to reviewer kikyophobia. I'd like to re-dedicate this first chapter to her one more time.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. do not belong to me. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But right now they're mine to manipulate. I'm going to have so much fun.

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Chapter 3

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When Kagome woke again all was quiet, and she was in a very large amount of pain. Her head throbbed, her body throbbed, and her ears were giving off that high-pitched ringing noise that usually accompanied dead silence. She opened her eyes and the early morning sky hung in her vision, dark and bleak and weary, overcast in clouds. It seemed as if the heavens knew that death had happened right under its nose.

It took her a while to realize that she was moving. She felt her feet being dragged over the rocks and dirt on the ground, and heard grunting behind her. Whatever was dragging her had taken a hold of her wrists, and was moving at a very slow rate, pausing after every heave, rasping as if on the verge of death.

Kagome instantly thought it was Naraku dragging her away to kill her; or worse, torture her. But she didn't have the strength to struggle. She couldn't get her arms or legs to move. A wail rose in her throat, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she realized that this was the end. This is what it all boiled down to. Absolutely nothing but defeat and death. Naraku had won, and now the entire world as she knew it was doomed.

Is this what future Inuyasha had been talking about? If so, why had this time turned out so different? For surely Inuyasha was dead. Otherwise, Naraku wouldn't be dragging her away right now. Otherwise, he'd still be fighting, she knew him well enough.

It took a while for her to realize that Naraku was dragging her down a path that had been walked by her so often she'd memorized it. Of course it looked a bit different now, as she'd never been dragged on her back down the path before, but it was definitely the way to the Bone Eaters Well.

Oh God. Was this how Naraku was going to reach her time? By jumping through the well with her? Was she about to do nothing as destruction and death loomed over her modern friends and family? Was she about to stand by and let this sorry son of a bitch destroy her life as she knew it?

With a sudden outcry of rage, she gathered all of her strength and yanked her arms back. It must have caught him by surprise, because she was able to free herself easily. She started to roll onto her stomach, ready to defend herself to the best of her abilities, ready to fight him until he killed her, ready to-"

"Kagome!"

She froze, her heart pounding in her throat, her pulse jumping from her wrists, and she looked up to see a worried-faced Inuyasha, bruised and beaten and bloody. His right eye was closed and swollen, and his bottom lip was a deathly purple color. But it was Inuyasha. Not Naraku.

"Inuyasha?" She whispered out, relief flooding her body now that she knew that A) Naraku hadn't taken her hostage and was about to kill her, and B) Inuyasha was, indeed, alive.

"Kagome, you're awake! Do you feel any pain? Is anything broken?" He asked, his voice shaking.

She shook her head and raised her hand tentatively to his cheek, feeling him wince under her touch. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, realizing he must be in a lot more pain that she was.

"No, I'm okay, I just…" he sucked in a gasping breath, and from the look on his face Kagome guessed he probably had a few broken ribs. "I'm sorry I was dragging you." He said. "We need to get into the well, and you were like dead weight. I cant-" he seemed ashamed of what he would say next. "I'm too weak to carry you right now. Can you walk?"

She nodded this time, and stood, slowly, her body physically exhausted. Inuyasha wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling her along next to him as they made their way down the path.

Slowly, the well came into view, and as the beaten couple limped into the small clearing. a horrific scene unfolded before them.

Every single child Kaede had brought to the well to try and save were not dead… They were slaughtered. Shredded.

Kagome's eyes widened at the gore, and she opened her mouth and let out a scream, causing Inuyasha to flatten his ears. He quickly slapped his hand over her eyes and tucked her face into his fire rat coat, growling deep in his chest in an effort to calm her down.

"It's okay, just… just don't look." He told her lamely, scrunching his nose and placing his other hand over it to try and cover the smell. It didn't help much.

She knew they would have to walk through the bloody mess to get to the well itself, and was thankful beyond relief that Inuyasha took the reigns and led her through the mess. Of course, there was no way they could avoid stepping on the remains. Kagome felt her stomach churn and bile rose up her throat as she felt the burned, torn flesh of children under her feet. It was a struggle not to throw up.

She screamed again when the next step she took forced a loud cry out from under her foot, and both she and Inuyasha tripped back, Inuyasha pushing her behind him, growling out through his teeth, his fists raised.

Kagome had two quick thoughts, one right after the other. The first was that Inuyasha didn't have his sword anywhere on him, otherwise, he would have pulled it out instead of raising his hands in defense.

Immediately following was that Shippou had just poked his head up from under two severely mangled children.

"Shippou!" She cried, feeling the sudden crash of relief and guilt at the same time. He was alive! Oh, thank God he had survived! But how could she have possibly forgotten about him? Where had he been? When Naraku had arrived, she had panicked about Inuyasha and the villagers, while Shippou had slept on in Kaede's hut! How had he gotten out? How had he survived?

"Kagooomeeee!" He squealed back, leaping up at her and wrapping his tiny arms around her neck.

She hugged him back, twice as hard, her eyes closing as she relished in the feel of the little fox-child that she thought of as her own. "Oh, Shippou!" She sobbed. "Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

He shook his head from the crook of her neck and whimpered a couple of times. "I thought you guys were dead, because M-Miroku and S-S-Sango…." His voice trailed off into loud, crying sobs.

"Oh, Shippou… it's okay, we-"

"I hate to break up the reunion," Inuyasha growled out in a low voice, "but he's coming again. We need to get through the well. Now."

Kagome didn't have time to react to Inuyasha's sudden demand, because suddenly, he was there. His form was smaller than when he'd been destroying the village, but his presence sent chills up Kagome's spine all the same. Shippou whimpered in her arms.

She knew this had to be what Future Inuyasha had been talking about all along. How she had died along with everyone else, and he himself managed to escape… She was saddened by the thought that she was about to die, but what saddened her even worse was the thought that Inuyasha was going to be all alone for another five hundred years.

Naraku chuckled. "Little pitiful children. So young, so naive, so…"

"What the fuck do you want, asshole?!" Inuyasha snapped at him. Kagome saw his hand immediately flick to where his sword should have been, a reflex on his part. She closed her eyes as Inuyasha swore under his breath and raised his fists up, prepared to duke it out the old fashioned way.

"Inuyasha…" Naraku seethed. "You have been a thorn in my side since Kikyou decided to help me out." He grinned. "She always came back to the cave positively reeking of your scent…"

"Shut the FUCK up!" Inuyasha roared.

Kagome saw her chance. She'd been inching her way backwards slowly towards the well when her hand landed on something hard and long and wooden. Not daring to move more than necessary, as she might draw attention to herself, she moved her eyes down to see Kaede's set of arrows, along with her trusted bow. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that Kaede must have left the children with it for some sort of protection.

It was sad that the children weren't able to protect themselves as Kaede had originally planned, but little had the old woman known that by that small action, she had given Inuyasha and Kagome a way out. A way to survive.

Kagome whispered to Shippou to hold onto her as tight as he could, and she slowly, slowly raised the bow and placed an arrow in the string. She waited for the perfect moment to make her move, and studied the scene before her eyes, watching the two demons battle it out verbally. Her first thought to make Inuyasha move out of her way was to sit him, but that thought was just as quickly dismissed, as Inuyasha would be stuck to the ground for a few good minuets, and if Kagome missed her target….

She would just have to trust that Inuyasha would obey her command without the help of the beads.

Taking in a deep breath to steady herself, she stood up and screamed out "Inuyasha, duck!"

Only years of traveling around the Feudal Era with Kagome could have made Inuyasha drop as quickly as he did. Kagome pushed all the spirit energy she could into her arrow and let it fly.

Before she could see if she had hit her target, Inuyasha slammed into her chest and wrapped his arms around her, causing them to fly backwards and down into the opening of the well.

Kagome heard Naraku's agonizing scream, and saw the giant tentacle that smashed onto the top of the well. Pieces of sharp wood came flying at them, but time pulled them away before they could be buried.

Everything in Inuyasha's time disappeared, and the loud crash of the destroyed well echoed with them as they passed through time.

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As the silent tears fell down Kagome's cheeks, wetting the rough, tattered, blood-stained material of Inuyasha's fire rat coat, she felt the cool ebb of time pass and come to a stop as she and Inuyasha stood rooted to the bottom of the well, which, surprisingly, was still intact in her time.

His arms were wrapped around her body, hugging her to him as if he were the only thing protecting her in the world. Which he was now, in a way. She breathed deeply into his chest as he hugged her tighter, understanding and feeling her pain himself, she knew.

But all the comforting, understanding hugs in the world wouldn't make it better. While she had changed future Inuyasha's tale of what he'd been through only slightly – as she had managed to survive this time, and they'd come back through the well – the others were all dead. All murdered by someone so evil it shook Kagome to her core.

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that her friends were gone. Dead. The painful way in which both Miroku and Sango had passed on burned into her memory. The image of Miroku literally being consumed by himself into nothingness and his painful, agonizing, tortured cry had struck her soul.

She had honestly believed, in her heart of hearts for years now, that one day their little band of heroes would take down Naraku, and the curse that had haunted Miroku since he had been born would disappear, giving his life freedom again. She honestly believed that Sango and Miroku would live free and die free – together – as happy and content as possible.

How had it all gone so horribly wrong? How had the visions of their futures as happy-go-lucky friends all come to a screeching halt? How was it that they had, instead, ended up dead – before either of them could even truly express the love she knew they had shared for each other?

Sango… She'd been so trustworthy and sincere. Kagome had felt closer to her than any other female friend she'd ever had. Sango had been strong willed, strong bodied, strong hearted, and yet still inexplicably feminine. She'd taught Kagome things no one else could have possibly taught her. And she'd saved Kagome's life on quite a few occasions, as well.

And Miroku… Although his moments of groping had been rather awkward for her and infuriating for Inuyasha and Sango alike, he had been somewhat of an older brother to Kagome. A sort of mentor, as well as a protector. And even though he had never been as… intense as Inuyasha was with watching over Kagome, Miroku had taken it upon himself to watch out for her all the same. He'd saved her life plenty, too.

It saddened her to no end that the two of them would never be able to confess to one another, their true feelings and how deep they ran. She remembered a conversation she and Sango had gotten into one night in a spring while out on a shard hunt. It seemed like such a long time ago, but it was the moment Sango had truly let her feelings go and confessed to Kagome how she really felt.

"Oh thank God for natural hot springs," Kagome moaned as she massaged a rather stubborn kink in her neck. She eased herself slowly into the warm, steamy water and smiled a smile of relief. "These trips would be a lot less pleasant without them." She glanced over at Sango, who had just finished stripping off her warrior gear.

"I agree!" She replied, grinning back as she sunk into the water herself. She let a satisfied sigh escape her lips. "But it's got to be rather hard for you, hasn't it? I mean, those stories you tell me about hot water on command any time you want…"

Kagome laughed. "I wish I could get you to my time, Sango, I think you'd really love baths and westernized beds and cars…" She sighed. "Trips like these would take much less time if we had a car, too." She laughed much more loudly at the thought that popped into her head, trying to get a car through the well and then driving it around the feudal era.

Sango sighed shaking her head slightly. "Yeah, well, I wish you could get me over there too! It would give me a break from the pervert."

"Aw, come on," Kagome teased, "he's not that bad! You know he fondles you out of love."

"Yeah?" She retorted. "So then what does he fondle you out of?"

"Amusement."

"I'm sorry?"

It was Kagome's turn to sigh. "Miroku fondles me when he wants to get a rise out of Inuyasha, that's all."

Her friend shrugged. "Well, Inuyasha is rather overprotective of you, Kagome."

"I know, and while it's sweet to a point, it can get annoying." She eyed Sango up. "But stop trying to change the subject here! Miroku is different when he's around you." She smiled a wicked little smile. "And you're rather different when you're around him, as well."

Sango's face flushed a deep scarlet, and Kagome knew that it probably wasn't due to the hot spring they were immersed in. "Argh!" She threw her hands up into the air and shook her head. "Alright, I'll admit it. That pervert really gets to me!" She looked up at Kagome's smiling face. "I'll admit that I like him, more than just a friend, but I honestly don't think that he's ever going to want anything serious. He likes women too much to just be there for one."

Kagome bit her lip and shook her head slightly. "I don't think that's it, Sango. I honestly think that Miroku is just desperate that his family line doesn't run out, with his curse and all." She held up her hand at Sango's retort and smiled a genuine smile at her friend. "He's desperate for it, but he acts differently towards you despite his desperation. Besides, we're getting close to bringing Naraku down to where he belongs, and once Miroku's spell is broken, I'm sure he'll ask you to be his wife."

Sango's blush deepened, which Kagome hadn't thought possible, and she sputtered in embarrassment. "K-K-Kagome! I was just saying that I have feelings for him, I have no intention of imagining being together like that any time soon!"

"Mmm, but don't deny that you don't think about it occasionally." She retorted coyly. "All girls think about getting married someday. Even me."

It was Sango's turn to smirk. "You dream about getting married? To whom?"

And it was Kagome's turn to blush. She coughed. "Well, no one in particular, I just dream how the wedding will be and such…." she finished lamely.

"Uh-hu." Sango added sarcastically. "I don't suppose you see Inuyasha standing next to you at all?"

Kagome turned her head away. "Not in the least."

"You're so bad at lying Kagome!"

"Whatever!" And in desperate need for a conversation change, Kagome splashed Sango, and they continued on in their little splash fight until Miroku 'accidentally' walked in on them.

But now they were both dead.

How could Kagome possibly go on? How could she live while knowing she failed to save two people whom she thought of as her family? As her closest friends? It was a tragedy. Tears kept welling up. Never ending as they splashed from her eyes and down her cheeks.

And then a thought struck her. Shippou. She had managed to rescue Shippou. She remembered the relief of seeing him alive. Alive and well. She squeezed her arms around the little kit that was being hugged between-

….Wait…

Wait, where was he? Kagome's body stiffened, and she pulled back from Inuyasha's grasp to look down at where the little kit should have been snuggled firmly between the two of them.

"Shippou…" Kagome's voice was a whisper as a fresh layer of dread fell over her. She slowly lifted her gaze up to Inuyasha's face, who had just realized the kid was gone along with her, and her mouth fell open. "Inuyasha… where's Shippou?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth as well, but closed it, not knowing what to say.

"No… NO!" Kagome yanked herself away from Inuyasha and flung onto her hands and knees at the bottom of the well, searching the dark corners for him. "Shippou!" She cried out, fresh panic crashing over her in waves of turmoil. She started to dig at the earth, frantic, out of her mind with worry. She had saved him. She had saved him! He had been right with her! She'd felt his warm little body as they'd slipped through time! How had he gotten away?! How could she leave him back there?! "SHIPPOU!

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Never in his life had Inuyasha been in such a situation. He had never seen Kagome lose it. He had never not known what to do. Usually in dangerous situations he killed whoever was causing the danger. He always went to the source. But in this case, the source of the problem had just beaten the crap out of him, killed two, no, three of his closest friends, and had somehow managed to rip away the child of his pack.

The pain he felt as he listened to Kagome scream out Shippou's name at the top of her lungs was so intense he could do nothing but stand there, frozen, unable to get his body to move and comfort Kagome like she needed to be comforted.

…Of course, she wasn't the only one needing comfort.

Inuyasha had never been in such a horrifying battle in all his life. What the hell had made Naraku different this time? What had made him stronger? How was it that he was able to defeat Inuyasha and his friends so easily? How was it he was able to kill Sango and Miroku and Kaede with the slightest of ease?

And now Shippou was gone, too. Shippou, whom Kagome had cared for almost as if she'd birthed the child herself. Shippou, who annoyed Inuyasha so much he wished the kit was able to just disappear.

Now he felt like an asshole for ever having such thoughts. True, Shippou was annoying, but weren't all children? What had the little kit done that had really been so bad? Inuyasha would now give anything, anything for Shippou to gnaw on his ear again, or pin him with those stupid fox talismans of his, or tease him about being hanyou.

Inuyasha was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself that he hadn't noticed Kagome climbing the side of the well. He did notice, however, when she stepped up onto the edge and looked down into the dirt at the bottom.

"What are you doing?" He managed to choke out of his throat, looking up into her wet eyes from the bottom of the well.

"I'm going back." She mumbled, hiccupping a few times. "I'm going back to get Shippou."

"Kagome, that's not such a-" He started, only to be cut off by an enraged Kagome.

"We have to get him back!" She yelled, her eyes wide and panicked. "We can't leave him there!"

"Kagome don't be stupid!" He roared up at her, pulling the strength from Gods-knew-where to climb clumsily up over the well himself and grab at her waist, trying to pull her back to safety.

Too late.

She jumped.

"Kagome!" He shouted out as he watched her fall into the well….

…and land on her hands and knees, a giant 'ooof!' pushing from her lungs.

Neither spoke, both too shocked to come to terms with the fact that the well hadn't worked as it was supposed to.

"Wh-what the…" Kagome's voice shook as she pushed up off her hands and looked down at her dirt-stained palms. "…I… can't go back?"

A giant waive of relief washed over Inuyasha, and he slumped down onto the edge of the well, feeling horribly pathetic at the moment for not being able to stop her himself. He didn't dwell on his inadequacy, though. The gashes that decorated his body were sending too much pain searing throughout him. "Good." He answered Kagome's somewhat awed question. "You shouldn't go back, Wench. Don't think for a second Naraku will hesitate to kill your ass!"

"But Shippou-!" She cried.

"Fine Kagome!" Inuyasha had to bite his tongue to avoid calling her another name. Kagome was freaking out, and while Inuyasha had to admit to himself that he was freaking out as well, he sure as hell wouldn't admit it to Kagome. He had to keep her calm. A calm Kagome meant a calmer Inuyasha, and Inuyasha needed to be as calm as he could possibly be. He inhaled a deep, quivering, pain-filled breath and hissed the air back out through his fangs. "It's not working right now, it's probably been blocked. I'll go back and try and get him in a few hours."

"A few hours?! Shippou could be dead in a few hours!"

She was right.

"Kagome-"

"No, Inuyasha, he's in terrible danger over there all by himself! We have to get him!"

He was going to lose it. He couldn't think with her shouting like that. "Kagome, it's not working, we can't-"

"Inuyasha, we can't leave him there, we have to-"

She needed to shut up so he could think. "We can't go through, it won't-"

"We have to!" She cried, drowning out his voice as her own overflowed with anguished frenzy. "I can't believe you want to-"

"Kagome! I can barely fucking move much less jump into a well that won't soften the blow with time! What's the point if it won't let me through, anyway?" His breath rushed in and out of his nostrils as he willed his anger back down into his chest. After he could breathe at a relatively normal rate, he spoke down to her again. "Let me heal a bit and I'll figure it out."

Kagome didn't reply. And for a few moments, Inuyasha was sure she would argue with him again.

Keh. Whatever. Let the bitch scream all she wanted to. He was in too much damn pain to care. As long as she was in his eyesight, he knew she was alive, and that was all that mattered this second.

Finally, she turned and started climbing up out of the well again. "Fine, but not without me, Inuyasha." She insisted, stepping up over the edge and placing her forehead against his chest. Her hands fisted into his coat. "I've already lost most of my family over there, and I refuse to lose you or Shippou as well."

He shook his head and bit back the wince of pain that threatened to show on his face. "No fuckin' way, Kagome." He did his best to growl. It sounded more like a gurgle. "If I'm going back, it's alone. I'm not risking you again."

She pulled her head back to look up at him, her watery eyes hard as stone, resolution set. "Not without me. What would happen if you just never came back?"

He frowned, opened his mouth, paused, and clutched his fists together. "It might be better that way."

Kagome immediately shook her head. "No, no don't even think like that. You told me that I had to get through the well with you. You told me I had to bring you back!"

His growl sounded genuine this time. "I didn't tell you nothin'! You keep claiming I've said all this crap. I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"It was you!"

"You were duped!"

Her teeth grit together. "No, Inuyasha it was you! You warned me! How else could I have known? How else?"

Ugh. There was no arguing with the woman and they were wasting time. If Inuyasha had any chance of getting to Shippou, it was going to be while Naraku was distracted. He would have to heal enough in a couple of hours to try and scoop Shippou up from the other side. Hopefully the arrow Kagome shot did enough damage to Naraku that he was still recovering.

Not likely, but hopefully.

How could he possibly come back to Kagome and tell her that Shippou had also died? It wasn't something he was looking forward to.

That thought led his brain to acknowledge the fact that he was even more severely wounded than he'd first thought. The adrenaline of the battle and realizing that Shippou was gone had finally left his body, and the hurt now really began to seep in. There was a nasty gash right across his upper chest that was sending pain signal after pain signal to his mind, and he winced, slouching slightly and leaning heavily into Kagome.

"I-Inuyasha?" She gasped, trying to pull herself away to get a good look at him and hold him up at the same time. She looked down at the fresh blood smeared across her top, and then back to his chest where he could feel his life liquid literally pumping out of his skin. "Oh Gods!" She cried, just now realizing how serious his wounds were

He tried not to let the thought of Kagome not thinking about his well-being first get to him. He was alive, and he couldn't blame her for worrying about Shippou instead, who could very well be dead now. Besides, if she was worrying about his well-being, she wouldn't be arguing with him about the rescue.

"Inuyasha, your wounds!" She wailed. "Are you okay?"

Ignoring her for now, he thought for a few seconds about Shippou and their situation at hand. Going back at all was dangerous. He didn't want Kagome to go back, mostly because he was worried that Naraku was still next to the well, just waiting for them to become stupid enough to go back through and face him again. It wouldn't take much for the giant demon to kill them this time around.

Kagome had slipped both of them to the ground, having caved under his weight, and was now peeling away at the blood-soaked clothing that clung to Inuyasha's chest, trying to get a better look. He studied her profile. Her hair was messy and her face was smeared with blood and dirt. Her shirt was torn, she had lost a shoe, and her cheeks were bright red and wet from her tears.

She was still so pretty to him. So beautiful. The thought that he still had her to protect and Shippou to save sent a small surge of strength flushing back through his body. Damn if he was putting her in danger again.

That was it. When he was healed enough to make the trip through time she was not going back with him. "Come on, Kagome, leave those alone." He growled out, more from pain than anything. His wounds were still extremely fresh, and he'd be kidding himself if he said they didn't hurt like a bitch as he pushed himself slowly to stand again. He cursed his body mentally when he had to lean against the wooden shrine surrounding the well.

"Wait, don't move without my help!" She cried, jumping up and holding him up as best she could. "We should get you inside."

Inuyasha bit his lip and nodded. Moving hurt a lot. But if he could just sleep for a good couple of hours he'd be healed enough to go on the rescue mission without Kagome.

"Hey." Her eyes slowly moved up to catch his. "I want to go with you."

Damn woman could read his mind. He sneered as best he could. "You'll distract me."

She bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes for only a second. A sign that she was nervous and scared. "What if you don't make it back?"

"Have I ever not made it back?" He growled.

Her eyebrows drew together. "It's been close, a few times."

He snorted. "Close doesn't count for shit."

Kagome paused before she slowly nodded. "You'll bring him back?" Her voice was pleading.

He felt that familiar tug behind his bellybutton, the sort of tug that released all those embarrassing feelings throughout his body. "Keh." He muttered out. How could he be thinking of her in that way at a time like this? "Of course I'll bring him back. What do you think I am, anyway? Weak?"

It wasn't much, but it was enough for her to give him a tiny smile. She nodded, and pushed all her strength up under his arm. He raised the corners of his mouth in what he hoped was a comforting smile back. The pain was making it hard for him to think very clearly.

Still, he grabbed onto Kagome's shoulder and let her lead the way to the wooden sliding door of the shrine.

The first thing Inuyasha noticed as she dragged the both of them out into the open was that the sky was not a clear blue, nor was it a saddened gray, like it usually was on Kagome's side of the well.

It was now blood red. Shades and shades of dark red seemed to tumble over each other in the sky.

He was about to bring the abnormality to her attention, but Kagome had already taken notice and pointed a finger up into the sky. "Inuyasha… The sky."

"I know." He mumbled, trying to figure out if he should tell her what red skies normally meant. Of course, he was in Kagome's time now. And while a red sky where he came from was a sure sign that demons were roaming and slaughtering freely, it could mean something completely different in this era.

But he doubted it.

Some twisted feeling in his gut told him Naraku was still definitely on the loose. He had probably lived through the five hundred years with no one in the past to stop him. But how could he say it to Kagome? How would she react? Usually, Inuyasha would be able to tell. He prided himself in knowing her well enough to gauge her reactions to certain situations. But in this case, he had absolutely no idea.

Kagome clicked her tongue in thought as her eyes still searched the sky. "I wonder…" She said, her voice sounding strange. "Maybe a volcano went off?"

He could smell her uncertainty, and turned his head down towards her, catching her red, puffy eyes with his own. "What the hell is a volcano?"

"I-it's a giant mountain that erupts smoke and lava – sorry – liquid fire, kind of. It's extremely rare when it happens, but the sky turning red is one of the signs." Her grip on his haori loosened a bit, and she took a couple of steps across the shrine's sprawling front yard, her eyes glued to the sky. "Although I've never been told the clouds move like that. They seem almost… alive."

Inuyasha nodded, hoping she would think it was a volcano for as long as possible. "Yeah, that happens in my time, too, the ground erupting like that." He said, then noticed that Kagome wasn't by his side anymore, and quickly reached out and grabbed onto her wrist, a shot of panic rushing through him. "Kagome, don't walk away from me." He said, harsher than he meant to. "We don't know what's going on here, but if Naraku really did survive to this time…" He paused, realizing his slip of tongue. Shit.

"Naraku…" Her eyes widened. "You think…?" It was as if a thought just hit her over the head. Her face drained of color again. "Oh God, how could I forget?!" Her voice choked up again, he could smell her panic. "How could I forget what he said to me?"

"What who said to you?"

"I mean what you said to me!" She grabbed a fistful of her own hair and tugged slightly in annoyance. "Of course Naraku would still be here! He was here before. When I died! He was here when you slammed me up against the wall and-"

Inuyasha grabbed onto her arms, cutting her off mid-sentence. He was confused, and Kagome was frightening him all over again, talking like that. "Kagome, you've never died, and I sure as hell never slammed you up against any wall! What the fuck are you saying?" He held his own panic down. What could he possibly do if Kagome's mind got confused? He wouldn't be able to deal with losing another member of his pack.

Fuck it. Losing Kagome would mean he'd lose himself.

Kagome frowned and seemed to struggling over something internally. Finally, she shook her head. "Forget I said anything., I… I'm not thinking too clearly. …If Naraku did manage to survive through all those years, he's going to be much stronger than he was back in your time." She completed, sighing as Inuyasha stepped up beside her.

He inwardly sank into relief as she seemed to calm down a bit. "Just… Kagome, for the sake of me being able to know you're okay, don't leave my side, understand?" He waited for her usual abrupt comeback, and was slightly surprised when she merely nodded.

"I promise." She mumbled, then sighed, wiping at the few stray tears still making their way down her face. "Let's go over to the shrine steps, I want to see if a volcano really did erupt. If it did, we'll be able to see the damage from there."

Inuyasha gave a nod of his head and followed closely behind her as they made their way across the shrine yard. He subconsciously grabbed for his sword, and an uneasy feeling rushed through him again as he berated himself for letting it get lost in the first place…

"Kagome! NO!" Inuyasha shouted out as he watched the giant tentacle side-swipe her with wide, horror-filled eyes. Her body flew several feet before slamming to the hard earth like a ragdoll. "Fuck!" He cried and turned to run over to her limp form.

A cold, slimy appendage wrapped around his wrist and held him back as he shouted Kagome's name. It was a few seconds before he felt the burn of Naraku's strength pulling at his arm.

"BASTARD!" Inuyasha yelled, clawing at the thick tentacle with all his might. His captured fist gripped at his sword. If he lost that, they'd all be dead.

"Kukuku…" Naraku chuckled in a loud, booming voice. "I'm going to rip you into shreds, hanyou." He purred, pulling at Inuyasha's wrist. "But I'll leave you conscious enough to watch as I rape your Miko over and over, as I torture her and cut her and eat her alive." The sadistic pleasure in his voice grew, and the image that slammed into Inuyasha's mind made blood rush to his eyes. "Oh yessss." Naraku continued. "I'll keep you just conscious enough to watch as I torture her slowly, starting with tearing off little pieces of her. Her ear, her finger, her supple, heavy breast…"

The grip on Inuyasha's wrist tightened. He could either lose his arm by Naraku ripping it off him or he could let go of his sword and use both hands to wretch himself free.

"…and I'll keep her nice and awake, too. I want you to hear her screams, Inuyasha. I want you to watch as I eat her flesh and lap at her blood and make her cum as I give her ten times the pain as she'll feel pleasure. She'll scream your name the loudest, I think…"

Fuck the sword. He'd come back for it. Kagome was more important, and so was keeping his arm.

He dropped his sword.

"FUCKING KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER!"

But he hadn't been able to go back for his sword. It was gone. He had the strong feeling Naraku had simply destroyed it.

The bastard.

The only way he'd be able to get it back now is if he tried to search for it when he made his way back to search for Shippou. He felt naked without his sword. Empty. He felt worthless too, not so much for protecting himself, because he could do okay without the sword if it was only himself he had to protect. But that sword was one of his main ways of protecting Kagome. He couldn't count the times that sword had saved her life, as well as the lives of their friends.

Keh! A lot of fucking good it did me this time around!' The thought that he wasn't able to protect their friends made him sick to his stomach. He clutched his free hand to his abdomen and came to a halt, bending over, fighting the urge to puke the contents of his stomach up.

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" Kagome asked, standing over him and placing a comforting hand to his back. "Is it your wounds? Are you hurting bad?"

He grit his teeth together and nodded, not wanting her to know the fear that was consuming him. If he couldn't protect the humans he had come to care for with his sword, how the hell was he going to protect the one he cared for the most without it?

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Please remember to review, I'm serious about my writing and my stories, and if you have anything to comment about or anything to mention or anything to say, I would love to hear it.

~SugarRos