A/N:
This chapter has been written only 10 years after the previous ones. I felt obliged to finish this. You'll note that my style has changed, and this was written fast as this story needs a conclusion and I want to be writing my Hellsing fanfic. Final chapter is currently in progress. It will be published in the next couple of days.
Disclaimer: Only the cliche plot is mine.
Kagome felt her breath catch as she saw him standing under the sakura, his silver tresses dancing with the blossoms. She stepped forward hesitantly to make sure the grass didn't disappear from under her feet. This was a dream - of this she was sure, but just in case she wasn't going to simply run out into her fantasy...Dream witches were not unheard of. Kagome walked slowly up the rise towards the tree. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice her yet - his eyes transfixed somewhere off to the horizon. She bent under the branches to come round the trunk and she felt a slight tug as her hair caught along the cherry shoots sending a fresh cascade of blossoms. The quiet rustle caught Inuyasha attention and he angled his head slightly to look over at her. Kagome saw the amusement glimmer in the amber depths as he turned to face her and extended a hand out to greet her. Tentatively she stretched out hers and shyly clasped his fingers. Inuyasha's smile was disarming and so very different compared to the usual smirk that she was used to. She was gently guided to stand beside him by the tree. Kagome could feel the color rise to her cheeks standing so close to him. Even in her own dream this felt like an impossible situation - to have the Inu so close and without his scathing shield on the fore. All she could focus on was the gentle pressure of his thumb pressing against her palm as his fingers traced patterns along hers. How she wished to be able to record this fragment of a dream...if she couldn't ever have the Inu at least she could carry forward these moments of her imagination to re-play to soothe the hurt of his careless words in the real world. The gentle scrape of his claw against her arm brought her attention back sharply. His hand had left her hold, as he traced a line up her arm with a hooked finger. Inuyasha wasn't looking at her directly. His gaze was hidden behind his long silver bangs and a shiver ran along her spine as the electricity of his touch came to linger at the crook of her arm. "Kagome, listen..." Inuyasha's voice was hushed and she strained to catch the words standing even this close to him. "Please don't be angry with me. I don't know how to say things without screwing them up." Her heart leapt in her throat and she moved her hand to catch his hand again in hers, clasping it to her breast. The quick movement caught him by surprise and he looked up to meet her gaze. The wind whipped his hair around them into a protective curtain and he stepped forward to bring her closer. Kagome's eyes widened a fraction as he brought up his other hand to move a wayward hair brushing his knuckles against the heat of her cheek - almost a caress. Tilting her head slightly into the movement she closed her eyes whispering his name with a breath laced with desire. Suddenly the dream crashed around her falling faster than the cherry blossoms as her nose suddenly itched. Spastically itched. Brilliant blue suddenly opened to the heavy grey of the night sky to stare into large golden stars. Stars that were far too close for comfort. Stars that suddenly blinked. She noticed his hand hovering by her face and a strand of midnight hair curling around a claw. "Neh?! I'm so sorry, so sorry! the wind was blowing things everywhere and it was all over your face. Your hair I mean, not the wind. I was just moving it away - gomen! " Inuyasha babbled as he madly scrambled back from Kagome's sleeping bag." His cheeks aflame as he moved to the far side of the camp. The fire had died to a low ember glow which means that it was a couple of hours since they had made camp. Kagome twisted over in her sleeping bag to look at Inuyasha's form. She stared at him for a few seconds registering that this was the real Inu - clumsy, awkward and trying to get as far away from her as possible. Yep, she was back in real life. With a sigh she moved to prop herself up a bit. "What were you doing Inuyasha?" The bit in her tone was unintentional, but she really hadn't wanted to wake up from her dream. "I told you already. There was a lot of wind and I was trying to keep our gear from blowing away when I noticed that you were going to suffocate under your hair nest, so I tried to help. Jeeze, wench - why do you have to be so suspicious all the time?" Inuyasha's tone was defensive; obviously offended by her underlying accusation. Admittedly, she wouldn't be too far off the mark. He had taken advantage of the situation to watch her for a moment and he had whispered his apology for making her cry. It was an extra bonus to feel the silkiness of her hair run through his fingers, as he had tucked a few strands away. Curiously it was a bit rougher than he imagined, but they were travelling on foot through the forest... "Err, thanks I guess. Next time though maybe just don't tickle my nose." Kagome gave him a small smile. It was great to see her smiling at him again. "Listen Kagome," his words brought back her dream into stark clarity and she felt a blush rise. He looked so handsome in the glow of the remains of the fire. "I think you should know that you shouldn't get offended so easily...A Miko should be stronger than to get angry at a joke." He brought up a hand to scratch his twitching ear with a lopsided smile in return to hers. Braving the cold night air Kagome grasped at a nearby stick that hadn't made it into the campfire and hurled it awkwardly from her sleeping bag at the Inu. Stupid demon dog just had to keep rubbing it in. The tender whispers of her dream youkai were definitely reserved for just her imagination. There was simply no way this creature could evolve into the man she was dreaming about. "What was that for wench?" Inuyasha easily dodged the stick. The movement virtually pointless as it sailed past its mark by a large margin. "I'm just helping you out. Can't I be nice without you always getting angry. " He grumbled settling against the log to get more comfortable and tucking his hands into the sleeves of his yakuta. Kagome couldn't help the upwards twitch of her lips to his last words as she snuggled down into her sleeping bag. It was just like Inuyasha to bundle insults with honest self wished she could see the simple humour in his words and not desperately wish that she could be the miko that was strong enough to impress him. A lone tear slipped down her cheek as she called back her tender dreams to carry her away. Inuyasha watched Kagome from across the campsite. Stupid girl. There was no way for him to say anything to her without fucking it up was there? Why was it so much easier to apologize when her bright eyes weren't staring straight at him. He had resolved to make up for that episode in the forest and for somehow upsetting her before they had turned in for the night, but try as he might the result was always the bloody same. Sure there was no way to get her to care for a half breed demon, but at least he wanted to have her friendship. An honest friendship - not just the current relationship where she bore his presence grudgingly for the sake of the shards. Inuyasha cocked back his head leaning against a log to stare at the empty grey sky. He was simply damned. A sharp tug from inside her chest woke Kagome abruptly. The bright sun blinding her as she curled in on her self from the pain to try and hide back into the soothing calm of sleep. Then the sound of crunching branches and Inuyasha's demanding voice forced her to rise. "Tell me what's going on boy!" Inuyasha held a broken boy in his arms. Sputtering, his eyes wide and limbs dangling the boy's head lolled in the cradle of Inuyasha's arms. "He came from the woods...the dark woods..slithering...silther...Rii...they called him Rii..." a violent shudder shook the tiny frame of the child as he slipped into a final darkness. Kagome was at Inuyasha's side. There was no way to help this boy. Its surprsing he got to them at all. They weren't very close to any villages. She smoothed the hair on his foreheard and closed his eye. Inuyasha just continued to stare at the child in his arms. "I think you should put him down Inuyasha." Kagome rested a hand on his shoulder. She could feel subdued anger coursing through him. His muscles almost vibrating under touch with the restraint. Inuyasha's head was bowed hiding his features. "Is there a shard nearby Kagome?" His tone was hard and all Kagome could see was the hardened set of his jaw. "Yes - I just felt it's presence when I woke up. It's nearby. To the East I think." "That must be where this boy is from...We need to kill the son of a bitch who did this." They settled the child under a nearby tree and Inuyasha rose to face eastward. "Come quickly Kagome. We leave now." Holding onto Inuyasha Kagome felt the rush as she clung to his back and he raced through the trees - a red streak winding in-between the growth. The wind whistled past and forest tones of green and brown changed in sporadic patterns as they quickly covered ground. Kagome's heart clenched for the poor boy and she cursed Naraku for everything. If there was anyone left whom she could save then she would. The acrid stench of burning flesh and wood hit her nose sharply as the trees started to thin. Inuyasha skidded to a halt just past the forest line. The remains of a village was scattered before them with a few structures still left standing. There was no fire, no smoke just a burning corrosive ooze that covered the ground and everything in front of them. A few villagers were visible trying to run from the ruins, stumbling along the terrain. Some could be seen hiding in a few of the standing buildings. Broken sobs punctuated the still air and the crackling noise of splitting timbers as the ooze seeped. An enormous caterpillar dominated the centre of the scene. His head swiveled slowly to face Inuyasha. The large dark eyes glinted in their directioned as he adjusted his mass to head for the dog demon. The ooze seeped from thousands of little holes along his tan chitin clad segments as his body bunched and stretched a lazy crawl across the village towards them. Kagome jumped away from Inuyasha and ran towards a rise. She needed a better vantage point for her bow, and it was better to get as far away from that ooze as possible. "Be careful Inuyasha! That ooze is the most dangerous part of that youkai!" "No shit Kagome!" Inuyasha bit out as he revealed his blade and made a run towards the demon. "You're going to die for what you did here beast!" The caterpillar was surprisingly quick for its size. As Inuyasha leapt to wedge the blade between a segment it bunched instantly blocking the attack with the chitinous array of spikes shot through tiny pores dripping acid green slime. it was the slightest of movements that spared Inuyasha as he twisted through the volley. Grinding his teeth he pushed off the caterpillar body to land on a rooftop breathing heavily. The giant caterpillar head swiveled to look at him curiously and headed for the building. Jumping again Inuyasha repeated his attack and was swiftly blocked again and again. The dance continued as the Inu leapt from building to building with the dull thunk of metal hitting armour resounding through the village. Venomous spikes soared crashing into the ground and creating deadly palisades slowly penning in the dog demon. Kagome tried to call out the obvious tactic that the monster was using on Inuyasha, but he was too absorbed in the fight to hear her as far away as she was. The caterpillar clicked his mandibles. The sound was staccato and sharp in the tense quiet. It caught the Inu by surprise as he moved forward for another attack. It was a fraction of footing lost, the tiniest shift that changed his descending angle. It was enough to prevent him from twisting out of the cutting path of a shaft. "Inuyasha!" Kagome's eyes followed Inuyasha's descent. A desperate shine in their depths. The spike went straight through his side leaving a foul green along the the tear in his red yakuta, Inuyasha fell fast and hard onto the ground. His body arching with the pain of impact and the agony searing through the wound. He grunted. There was nothing he could do. For a moment or eternity, he couldn't tell which, the world went bright white. A painful haze centered on his right side as he lay helpless surrounded by a venomous wall of spikes. The giant caterpillar rotated and slowly crawled towards his direction. There was no rush in the movements. The danger was immobilized. With the caterpillar youkai focused in a specific direction Kagome was able to aim towards the glowing shard. It was just visible between two armour plates on the upper part. It would rise and fall with the movements of the demon, shining brightly. Holding a breath Kagome drew the bow and counted the pattern: two up, one down, two up and one down, waiting for just the right moment to let the arrow sing through the air. It shot true embedding itself deep with the fleshy segment. The demon careened sideways flailing across its own palisades clicking its mandibles desperately in a jarring rhythm of pain. Kagome ran to Inuyasha darting by the oozing rivulets in the village. Dropping at his side to her knees Kagome ripped the yakuta to try and clear the wound. She stared at it. There was barely a scratch - what was there to heal? The toxin on this spike was simply a hallucinogen and immobilizing. She swore and shook the half breed. "Inuyasha! Hey! Hey!" Kagome's voice started to gain a pitch of panic as Inuyasha convulsed; his eyes rolled skyward in fits. Briefly he seemed to focus on her. Pupils dilated. "You saved me?" there was such confusion in his tone. "Of course I did, you stupid Inu! It's only fair to return the favour once in awhile, right?" Kagome fisted the material of his yakuta in her hand as she leaned over Inuyasha. "You're my friend. Come back to me now, You've handled worse!" Worry creasing her brow Kagome moved her hand to cup his face, her thumb grazing his cheekbone. "Please Inu..." His eyes rose to meet hers. Amber pools of soft light. "Kagome? That shot...how did you make that shot?" Anger shot through her despite the situation. He'd live that was for sure. "Do you have so little faith in abilities? Seriously you son of a bitch!" She retracted her hand from his face and curled it into a fist punching him in the shoulder. Inuyasha's brows creased as he grunted in response to the attack. There was a looseness to his tongue at the moment. His thoughts were not entirely coherent, but for once he felt like there was no barrier between him and Kagome. Perhaps it was because the only thing he could move right now were his facial muscles. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes briefly. "You're no Kikyo that's for sure. Thank gods for that." Her confused stare greeted him. "What are you trying to say?" Kagome's voice was hesitant and quiet. "You said we're and you didn't let me die. I think that means it's true, right?" Kagome gaped at the half demon. "Ofcourse... what do you mean by that? Of course we're friends! Why on earth would I be helping you otherwise? I'd always try and save you; you stupid mutt." What on earth was Inuyasha talking about? "I'm glad to hear that. I thought you hated me." His voice trailed off. She almost didn't catch the last part as his eyes drifted closed and he passed out. Kagome just sat there staring at Inuyasha. He thought she hated him? She loved him more than anything. He was absolutely irritating and horrible more often than not, but that was all part of the character that made him so special, and beautiful... Kagome`s eyes traced the hard contours of his face. He was relaxed for this brief instant. She trailed her fingers along his cheek. An ear twitched in response to her touch and she couldn't help her smile. If they were friends then maybe they could be more someday, right? A scuttling sound nearby drew Kagome's attention away from the unconscious half demon back to the village. An old lady had come hobbling up, heavily relying on her cane. She looked terribly frail and her snow white hair was up in a tight neat bun despite the chaos that had just ransacked the village. "Miss! Oh, thank you so much for all your help and saving both our village and Rii! Please let me offer a room to you and your friend. He looks like he needs a good rest. Somehow my Inn wasn't completed destroyed during the rampage." Her eyes twinkled merrily with this news. Kagome rose to speak with the old woman, "That would be very kind of you. Thank you. He really needs to sleep this off." she said gesturing to the impassive hanyou. Kagome noticed that somehow all the foul ooze had disappeared. Instead everything just seemed very wet. Casting a bewildered look at the Innkeeper Kagome walked around looking behind buildings. "What happened to the ooze? I don't understand this." Kagome reached out a hand and touched where only moments before was the evil-looking slime. It just felt damp and there were no effects. "Your arrow saved Rii. Our forest guardian - the caterpillar of Ibis, this village. Once that vicious form that the demon struck him with was gone all the other aspects of its evil just WHOOSH!" The old woman flicked her hands outwards "just disappeared! All that ooze is just water now. Perfectly harmless!" She gestured again up into the air with one old trembling hand and started tottering off. "Come this way dear. The Inn is this way. I'll send one of the boys, whichever ones are left, to drag your friend to comfort." She paused looking over her shoulder, one eye squinting. "Unless you can carry him yourself?" Kagome grinned. "No, no. It would be great if you could arrange for him to somehow end up at the Inn. He's terribly heavy."
Inuyasha's eyes flashed dark red before settling into a steeled look.
