A/N: i think a new chapter every two days sounds good! i'll try to stick to that!

this chapter is terrible haha,,,; Kagome is acting this way mostly because she's a teen girl near a cute guy! you'll see what i mean!

also, a bit of InuKag feels in there.

Bloodied Promises

Chapter 4

The half-demon bounded from cliffs to trees, grasses to rocks, even the roofs of houses in order to find Kagome.

She had misunderstood the night before.

She had no idea what was happening, and he had to fix that.

Of course, it couldn't be too late to fix it, right…? Sesshomaru wouldn't just kill her on the spot, hopefully…

'Keh! I'll just kill him and use that sword to bring 'er back!'

Though his thoughts remained arrogant and obnoxious, his heart was pained. The thought of Kagome dying with no help and calling for him made him shiver. What if she had died…? He wasn't able to wield Tenseiga either… he decided to move a little faster.

The smell of human blood intruded his senses as he passed a body of water. It reeked of Sesshomaru and more importantly, Kagome. There was no doubt Sesshomaru had been near her blood. Was it possible… she really was killed at his hand?

He leapt across the rocks until he reached the end of the river, to which he turned in either direction, hoping for a sign of the lost girl and his half-brother. The thought of him taking her away was literally one of the worst things his mind could conjure up. It was almost as bad as him thinking about Kagome leaving his side forever. Well, he still had a shred of confidence that neither would happen, not as long as he was alive.

The stench of blood began to grow as he took a chance and walked straight ahead. He assumed this was the right way. Man, if only the others were here too… but it was his fault and his obligation to fix.

The half-demon stopped in his tracks as he realized that a trail of Kagome's blood on the floor is what led him on this path. Inuyasha let out a low growl through gritted teeth. He felt his blood get hot, senses becoming more sharp. The place suddenly reeked of Sesshomaru. He followed it to a clearing somewhere far into the woods. Kagome's blood stopped short here. Inuyasha looked up from the floor, finally seeing his brother, completely alone. Kagome and his companions were nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?!"

His brother turned to face him. His eyes were cold and emotionless, like usual.

"Your blood is starting to smell like a full demon's. Calm down," He narrowed the golden eyes that matched Inuyasha's. "I didn't kill her."

"This place reeks of her blood! What's going on?!" It was just like his older brother to tease him and disregard the feelings of anybody else. "Just tell me so I know to kill you now or after I find her!"

"Sesshomaru, I'm back! I left my clothes with Kaede, there was blood all over them. Jaken and little Rin took A-Un to go mushroom picking." The scent of sweet maple and white begonias filled the air from the West. The two brothers looked over, recognizing the distinct smell as soon as it entered. Kagome had changed from her sailor uniform into the clothes of a priestess. Her eyes quickly flickered from Sesshomaru to Inuyasha, who looked both terrified and relieved.

"Inuyasha!" A Cheshire grin planted on her face as she ran to him. Obviously, the long pants was something she wasn't used to, and she tripped on her way, being pulled up by the clothing at the back of her neck by none other than Sesshomaru. He hadn't even looked at her. His focus was Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Did he force you over here?!" He pulled his right sleeve up, knuckles cracking. Obviously, he had ignored the fact that she just spoke to the other demon like a friend not even a minute before. "Whatever. It doesn't matter now. I'm gonna end him right now!"

Claws out, Inuyasha pulled his hand back and jumped straight above Sesshomaru. "Soul-scattering iron claws!"

The demon quickly dodged the attack and appeared behind his sibling. He didn't seem fazed by the attempt on his life. "I am using her for the time being. She has promised to assist me on my quest to locate Naraku."

He froze. What did that mean? Did he really hurt Kagome so bad that she betrayed him like this? What did their promise mean?

The priestess attempted to explain herself. "Inuyasha, please understand… his help is necessary to defeat Naraku and you know that," When Inuyasha scoffed, she scowled. Sesshomaru was surprised in her sudden change of attitude. "You know, Inuyasha, you're lucky I'm thinking of you even know! All I wanted was to help!"

"You're not helpin' by teaming up with Sesshomaru. You guys look gross together, like some sort of messed up couple." Inuyasha crossed his arms. Why didn't she just shut up and come back?

The 'messed up couple' looked at each other. The full-demon seemed insulted by the statement, while Kagome felt heat creeping up around her ears and nose again.

"Do not group me with her. I am not the brother who falls for human priestesses."

Kagome admired his tough attitude, even though she was being insulted. He was a man of few words… confident but not cocky, rigid and exact, even his posture was sharp and perfect. He was truly the opposite of her demon friend. But it's not like he was a good person so what he looked like didn't matter.

"You shut up! Kagome and I are leaving!"

Inuyasha reached for her arm, but like she did to Sesshomaru when he approached her the first time, she pulled back with wide eyes.

"…Kagome?"

"Just… go! I don't want Sesshomaru to hurt you!"

The man truly didn't feel the need to hurt the half-demon today. He was walking away.

"Kagome, let's go!" Inuyasha was getting upset with her.

"You go! I've gotta do this for you! Kikyo can sense the sacred jewel and she's a better archer than me. Let her join your group!"

He was shocked. He was shocked that this girl he knew to hide behind him and scream when she was in danger actually felt the need to protect him this time. As he began to walk away, he made a vow to always come back ever so often to check on her and make sure Sesshomaru wasn't doing anything funny. It was the strangest thing… leaving her there. He knew she was strong on her own, but for her to give up her spot for Kikyo? He stopped short and cocked his head back at her.

"Are you sure about this?"

He watched as she jogged her way to Sesshomaru's side. They looked way too close for his liking. "Yes, Inuyasha. I'll be okay. It's just for a little while, just until we find Naraku. We'll all kill him together, okay?" She turned again, giving him a half-hearted smile.

He nodded even though he didn't mean it.

"I'll be back for you. I'll never leave you, Kagome."