Chapter 7

"I...have to kill…" Gaara muttered, clutching his head. It was as if he was fighting two battles at once, though one of them couldn't be seen.

Inuyasha was now on his own, against an opponent he knew was too powerful for him to beat. His friends were down for the count, some quite possibly on the verge of death.

Despite the horrible odds, though, he refused to give up. He was fighting for his friends and the one he loved, and would never give up as long as they were in danger.

He tightened his grip on Tetsusiaga and charged for Gaara, making one last ditch effort to defeat him. He didn't care if it was futile at the moment; his friends' lives depended on him, and he intended to give it his all no matter what the consequences were.

As expected it didn't do much, and Gaara easily overtook him. This time, though, the red-haired boy was going in for the kill. He put much of his power into a counterattack, one which was just too powerful for Inuyasha to handle; he intended to end this.

Through dozens of shards of Tetsusiaga the sand burst, powering on toward the half-demon. The mass of sand finally hit its target, and soon Inuyasha was tightly wrapped in a trap made entirely of sand. Escape was impossible.

He looked up at his opponent, a mix of desperation and rage twinkling in his amber eyes. He knew this was the end, and he hated himself for not being able to do more. This feeling of intense anger nearly burned a hole in the one who had done this to him, he wanted more than anything right then to break free and rip out his throat.

Gaara looked at his prey. He had finally captured the half-demon and was in the perfect position to fulfill Naraku's last request. But for some reason, he found himself hesitating, suddenly having second thoughts.

He was about to put into effect the appropriate hand signs and utter the words that would end Inuyasha's life when an intense pain filled his head. It was a pain that was all too familiar to him, one that he wished he would never feel.

He dropped what he was doing and clutched his head again, trying to make the pain go away. He knew exactly what it was that was making him feel such agony; Shukaku was acting up again in all the excitement, and was trying to take over again. Or rather, it was already in control.

It was then that he realized what he was doing. It gave him mixed emotions and ultimately triggered an important memory, one that would definitely turn the tables in his battle against his inner demon.

Naruto's voice rang through his head, repeating the advice he'd spoken of after the two of them had fought. Those words brought back Gaara's real self and gave him the strength to force the demon back into submission.

After a few moments of him groaning and moaning in pain he looked up. He'd fought hard to bring himself back, and he was now in control. He never wanted anything like what had happened with Naruto to happen again, no matter what. He looked at the scene and immediately regretted what he'd been doing.

Inuyasha was completely defenseless, yet Gaara was still punishing him. He decided to let him go, and try to explain; after all, if Naruto had understood, maybe this guy would too. Now that Shukaku had been subdued, he could act civilized again.

"I…" Gaara said as the sand fell away harmlessly from Inuyasha, "I didn't know what I was doing. I was…taken over by…something horrible."

He didn't want to reveal the truth about himself and what was inside him just yet, that kind of information usually scared away anyone he talked to.

Inuyasha stayed put and didn't answer. A creepy vibe was emanating from him, one that everyone seemed to recognize. Gaara especially; though it was slightly different from when his demon took over, he knew that aura a mile away.

Since Tetsusiaga had been destroyed and he still thought he was in danger, his full demon form had emerged. He'd lost all control and could go completely crazy at any moment without warning.

And this time, thanks to the ever-destructive Naraku, Kagome wasn't around to help bring him back safely. Nobody knew how to do that but her.

Gaara stepped forward to try to talk to Inuyasha and see if he could respond. He thought that if he wasn't too far gone, he could attempt to bring him back, having gone through that many times himself. It didn't work in the least and only caused him to come alive and lash out.

As Gaara continued to advance Inuyasha lifted his head. To him all he saw with those blood red eyes was a threat, a threat that had to be eliminated.

Soon Gaara was very close to the berserk half-demon, who lashed out violently. With a massive force he clawed at Gaara. That single blow was so powerful it knocked Gaara back, his sand armor crumbling slightly. It was then that he knew that it wasn't a good situation.

"GRAAH!" he roared, as he slashed at Gaara once more. It was the last think he did before a miniscule part of his human side reemerged for the shortest period of time. He ran from the scene, hoping to find someone to help him, and not wanting to hurt any innocent people, especially his friends.

Gaara stared at where Inuyasha had been only moments ago, slightly shocked. Nothing like that had ever happened to him, not since his bout with Naruto had he observed such raw power. After recovering he looked over at the ones he'd wounded.

They looked pretty bad, and he felt that he somehow had to make it up to them. He didn't quite know how to make up for his mistake, though, so for the time being all he could do was make them comfy and let them rest, hoping that they'd be alright.

::change in focus::

"Lady Kaede! Lady Kaede!" a frantic villager cried in desperation, bursting into the old priestess' home. His face was filled with fear and worry and his face was as pale as a ghost, as if he'd just witnessed something terrible.

"Yes, what is it?" Kaede asked soothingly. By the look on his face it was very important, but at the same time she had to calm him down. If he stayed like this there was a good chance something would be lost in translation.

He managed to calm down after taking deep breaths for a few minutes and when he did he said with the fear still in his voice, "It's Inuyasha…he's back, but…"

"But what? Ye must tell or I cannot help," she said. His nervousness seemed to be rubbing off on her slightly, though she didn't really show it. She didn't want her feelings to provoke his, for that would only lead to disaster.

"It's not the same as before, he's not himself this time!" he cried, completely losing it. He couldn't keep his fear in check any longer and he ran outside to find shelter in case he came their way.

Kaede immediately knew what he meant. Inuyasha had come back, but as something possibly more dangerous than Gaara. This time she'd be ready, though, and already had a plan. She'd made one long ago, just in case of a situation like this.

She too went outside to find that all was calm. But she knew that with Inuyasha the way he was, that wouldn't last for long. Inuyasha was still on the outskirts of the village, and she could pinpoint his exact location by his massive dark aura.

She calmly hobbled over to where he was, and as he came into sight her suspicions were confirmed. There he was out in the open, blood staining his hands. It was human blood, for he was feasting on the guts of two ordinary farmers.

"Inuyasha…" she said, shaking her head. She hated to see him in such a state as this, and wasn't even sure if she'd be able to protect the village she held so dear. She had to try, though, and would give it her all even if it meant sacrificing her life to save the people who inhabited it.

She'd come prepared to risk it all, and with that in mind she sat down. Inuyasha still hadn't noticed her, and she had to act fast. She may not have much time.

A purplish dome soon surrounded Inuyasha, a powerful barrier that would keep him contained. She put every ounce of her power and will into that barrier in hopes that it would work until help came.

::change in focus::

Gaara sat on the ground beside the three creatures he'd injured. He really didn't know what to do, and was starting to get worried; they'd been unconscious for quite a while.

He was about to reluctantly give up on them to focus on what he was to do when he saw one of them move slightly. With a jump he scampered to her, a ray of hope returning to him.

She slowly sat up and groaned in pain. Her arm, obviously, was still broken. When she saw Gaara leaning over her she let out a scream, for she hadn't been awake to observe the turn of events and didn't know that he was normal again.

He backed away slightly, knowing that reasoning with her would be difficult; he'd nearly killed all her comrades, after all. He had to try, though, if any of them wanted to live.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said sincerely, and the look in his eyes proved that. Sango wasn't quite convinced, though, she needed more reason to trust him.

"What did you do with Inuyasha?" she asked nervously, when she saw that he was nowhere in sight. She automatically feared the worst.

He told the truth, knowing he had to win her trust and not sure of what had happened since he ran off, "He started to act odd like he was a whole different person, and then he ran away randomly."

She took that to mean he'd turned full demon. And since the red-haired boy now seemed to be trying to apologize for what he'd done and they had nobody but him to depend on for help, she decided to trust him. Things couldn't possibly get any worse.

When Gaara saw that she'd calmed down a bit he told her some very important information, "We have to get you all medical help fast. Your two friends don't look like they have much time left."

She looked at Miroku and Shippo, who both looked like death was advancing on them. They looked deathly ill, and from that alone she knew that he was right.

"But how? There's no way anyone here can help them, and to get help from the village could take a long while," she said sadly, starting to lose hope. If they died, she and Kirara would be all alone, with no hope of rescuing her brother.

"If I can get back to where I'm from, I think we'll be able to save them. There're some very talented people there," he said hopefully. He knew that people hadn't yet fully accepted him, but more were starting to realize that he wasn't all that bad.

Knowing that it was the only way they might have a chance at this, she accepted his offer. She didn't care if he'd done this to them; she just wanted to save her friends. And not wanting to lose track of Inuyasha, she got Kirara to search him out.

Gaara didn't quite know how the demon in him had gotten him there in the first place, so he just trusted his instinct. With Sango holding both Shippo and him, and Miroku draped over his shoulder, he tried the only thing he could think of.

He concentrated on his home as hard as he could, and miraculously felt the sand engulf the small group of misfits. It was then that he knew it was working; they were all on their way to the Sand Village.

::end of chapter 7::

Wow, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! I've been meanign to but thought I'd finish some other stuff first, mostly the thing that's getting published. Oh man...faints...I've been typing so much in these past two weeks. Gone from having to type over 70 or 80, to having to type only about 20. I'm so braindead right now...

Anyway, on to info of this story. Might have been a little OOC in this chapter, but I really wasn't sure. So I went with it. I was thinking of ending it here, but decided that that would just be confusing. So I'm not making the next part into a sequel, it will be in this. I like the twist that happens in the next chapter...I think you all might like it too.

Next chapter might not be out until after the holidays, I'll be busy with a lot of stuff durring that time. Probably won't be writing at all...but it's all good. Once the new year comes around, I'll start to work on this nearly all the time, since the one that's getting published is now completely finished and the other fanfiction I'm working on can't be finished at the moment.

So...that being said...chapter 8 coming at some point to a fanfiction near you!