CHAPTER EIGHT

If Only You Would Let Me

Slowly and painfully he opened his eyes, dually registering the ache that seemed to be shooting through his brain. He was tempted to just keep his eyes closed for a moment, but then he remembered something.

"Kagome..." He mumbled, bringing his amber eyes fully open. His eyes widened when he realized he couldn't see anything but darkness. Quickly he bolted to his feet. This place was already alarming him, and he hadn't been there long at all. What was worse is that he didn't have any clue as to how he had come to be in here. He stuck his nose into the air, sniffing desperately for any scent at all.

"Damn..." Inu Yasha mumbled. There were absolutely no scents or auras that were detectable to him. A light growl began to rise in his throat.

He couldn't see anything, couldn't smell anything, and there didn't look to be a way out from his current point of view.

"What the hell!" he screamed out in frustration. Great, he was stuck at the beginning of some dark maze with no clue where the end was and absolutely no plan as to what course of action he should take.

On instinct his hand quickly went to the Tetsaiga's hilt. There was no way he was gonna be caught off guard and defenseless. His ears gave a light twitch in their new found alertness. In his mind he tried to piece together some sort of plan for escaping. Unfortunately for him, nothing was coming to mind. There just didn't seem to be any kind of way to develop a plan when he felt so blind. Then a thought came to him.

"Maybe someone brought me here..." he mused to himself.

He rifled through his most recent memories. He remembered being on the brink of loosing control, to turning into a full demon even though the Tetsaiga had been by his side. But then she had saved him from himself, like always. Kagome's voice alone had been enough to stop him. This path brought a new question up.

Her voice. He hadn't been able to tell where it was coming from. It was as if she was there, within his reach, but she wasn't. He knew all to well she was still laying helplessly on that bed. But that didn't make any sense either. Her lips had never moved, yet there was no other body that voice could have belonged too. How exactly could he have heard her?

"Maybe Kagome is here too..." He pondered how something like this was even possible. He searched his surroundings once more, looking for something that would hint at Kagome's presence. He was once again disappointed by its bleakness. Knowing that it was useless to look around right now, he decided to try and remember everything that had happened the previous night. 'After the transformation stopped, I just blacked out.'

Inu Yasha wrinkled his nose at this. There was no pain that had caused his unconsciousness, and he wasn't one to suddenly up and faint. He did remember having a severe head ache when he woke up in this place, but that was the only pain that he could recall.

He grunted as he realized that he would get no further with his current path of thought, he returned to his musings of Kagome. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Kagome was in this place somewhere as well. And if he was right, like he was sure he was, he needed to find her, and quickly. Then he could get them both out of here.

Looking once more about himself, Inu Yahsa chose a direction and took off. He was determined to find and bring Kagome back no matter what.


Kagome was just starting to settle down. She was so worried about Inu Yasha. Streaks of tears were still evident on her cheeks, her eyes were slightly puffy and tear-filled. She wasn't crying as hard anymore, but a few drops were still escaping her eyes.

She couldn't explain it, but she just knew that he needed her help, and she wasn't there with him. This thought caused new tears to spring to her eyes, but she held them back as best she could. Crying never helped anyone do anything. Everything seemed okay now though. That feeling, whatever it was, had disappeared and all that was left in its wake was a feeling of loneliness and despair, emotions Kagome never liked. She sunk to her knees. Her thoughts were so jumbled and she felt overwhelmed. Her little outburst had cost her a lot of energy. And still, she had gotten nowhere in this god forsaken place! What the hell was she supposed to do now!

New tears of frustration began to mingle with the old ones. 'Why can't my life be simple?' She wondered. Others may have said a prayer in this position, but not Kagome. With all the evil she had seen in the world, she seriously doubted the existence of a higher power. No, she wasn't pessimistic or anything of the sort, she just believed that people were masters of their own destinies. She also believed that there was good in everyone, just not everyone showed it or had much of it at all. But with her philosophy came a responsibility for herself. She knew she couldn't count on a higher power to save her; she would have to do it or have someone help her.

"Inu Yasha…" she whispered. He was always the one she could count on. When it came down to it, he could save her and make everything okay. A few thoughts of him began to comfort her. She could feel her eyes becoming drier. The sea of emotions that had claimed her was beginning to ebb.

She shifted into a more comfortable position on the ground. It would be fruitless to try and search for anything in her current state. A good nap would ease her mind and regenerate her body. The ground was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable; it lacked its own texture. The air in this place seemed to stay constant and it really didn't feel hot or cold. It was hard to say if there even was a temperature. Kagome's body gave a slight shiver. This place was eerie and definitely not somewhere that she would willingly spend her time. But it was of no matter right now. She laid herself down, positioning herself in the most comfortable position she could find. Her arms came up to her head and crossed, creating a semi-comfortable pillow. Brief thoughts of someone finding her came to her mind, but she dismissed them. If someone did find her while she slept it was very likely that they would find her even if she didn't stop to rest.

Kagome laid there in silence, waiting for the escape that comes with the world of dreams.


His temper was starting to rise as he continued his journey into the darkness. He had to have been searching for a good two hours now, and still he felt like he had gotten nowhere.

Of course, the bleakness of the area wasn't helping. He couldn't tell whether he had been past certain places or not, and for once his nose could not aid his eyes. Being one with keen senses, he was used to relying on them. A feeling of helplessness was beginning to claim him, the only thing that kept him from giving in was his enormous ego. Inu Yasha couldn't help but wonder why there were no scents in this place. It was one of the strangest things he had ever come across. No matter where he went, there was always a scent that could be associated with the place. Here, there was none.

Regardless, he was still hell bent on finding the raven haired girl that had called out to him. In all honesty he was beginning to become slightly afraid of what could have become of Kagome. Though he couldn't sense anyone in this place it didn't mean there wasn't someone else in here.

Subconsciously he began to move faster, hoping to find her before anything else. It was almost as if the place could read his mind. A small dot came into sight ahead of him. It was huddled against the ground and little else could be perceived about it. 'Kagome…' he thought. His heart began to beat more rapidly in anticipation. He was sure that this figure had to be his Kagome.

As he got closer and closer he could make out a white shirt and green skirt, but he still could not smell her at all. Things just didn't add up in this place.

"She's on the ground? What the hell happened to her?" He wondered out loud. There didn't seem to be any reason why she would be lying down unless she was… He stopped himself at that thought. There was no way that could have happened, not here and not to her. His mind was now racing. 'No she can't be… how could this happen!' Everything began to blur slightly in his sight, but he made sure that her figure stayed clearly in his view.

When he finally came upon her he sunk down to his knees next to her. His eyes scanned her body for injury while his ears picked up her steady heart beat and he could feel a wave of relief wash over him. He couldn't stop himself; before he knew it he had pulled her body against his in a firm embrace. His arms held her to him tightly, like he would never let go. It was rare that he did things like this, yet here he was. What was it about this girl that made him so spontaneous? Why did he worry so much about her? Why did his heart speed up when he thought she was gone? He couldn't answer any of these questions, but found himself content to just hold her for now.


The last thing that she expected to be awakened by was Inu Yasha. She also really found it odd that he was holding her right now, and he was definitely holding on tight. She relished the feeling of being in his arms. There was so much comfort for her there and it was already known how she felt about him. Never had she actually said the words 'I love you' but she had implied it many times.

Her senses began to return to her and she began to wonder why he was holding her. Inu Yasha didn't do things like this, and even more rarely did he do them without a reason for it. However, these thoughts did not stop a small blush from spreading its way onto her cheeks. She couldn't stop herself; it was a purely involuntary reaction. Her body began to become aware of just how close he was to her. His warm breath was brushing over her neck, sending shivers down her spine, and she was pressed up against him. She began to feel uncomfortably warm. When she realized these things, she began to push herself back from him.

He let her go willingly, allowing her to draw herself away from him. She had every right to not want to be near him. 'I don't even deserve her,' he thought to himself as he recalled certain events from earlier in the day. He ran out of time for his self pity when he heard Kagome speak.

"Inu Yasha?" Her voice was low, and it seemed to just want to make sure he was there. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, to tell her that he was real and that he was here with her. She gave him a small smile and some of the tension visibly left her body. It was amazing how much just him being there could do for her.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked. She was so tired of being confused right about now. Hopefully he would have more of a clue than her.

"I was gonna ask you that," he said, backing away from her slightly. His words were hesitant, as if he did not want to speak at all. For Inu Yasha this was unusual, and Kagome took note of it.

"Is there something wrong Inu Yasha?" Kagome questioned. A small fear began to take root in her heart. If Inu Yasha was worried about something then they could be in trouble. He was always the confident one, it was strange to see him so tentative. A silence came over them, giving Kagome's mind some time to wander. Why couldn't they just be left alone? Wasn't Naraku a big enough obstacle for them? It didn't make sense that they were always the ones being tormented by evil.

"Uhhh…" Inu Yasha stumbled over his words. He wasn't exactly sure he should say anything, but he knew that he had to now that he had gotten her attention. Her eyes looked at him inquiringly, begging him to say whatever it was that was on his mind. He looked away from her and began to speak.

"Well I'm not exactly sure how we got here." He said tersely, not meeting her eyes with his own. Again he let silence fall upon them. He knew his answer had done nothing to help clear things up with Kagome, but he was also slightly afraid to talk to her right now. She was acting so normal towards him. Had she forgotten what had happened only hours before? He couldn't be sure what was on her mind, so he thought it better to let her push the conversation as she would. The last thing he wanted to do was get her upset, which he was sure was bound to happen anyway.

"You don't remember how you got here either? Hmm… this is so weird…" She began, her brow furrowing. Her small hand came up to her chin as she thought. "It's strange, I can't remember much from right before I passed out. Usually I'm not that bad." She said giving him a faint smile as she turned to face him. She was hoping that her small joke would lighten the mood, but Inu Yasha only seemed to grow more uncomfortable. 'There's something he knows that he won't tell me,' she thought. A twinge of anger gripped her heart. Here they were, basically lost and he couldn't trust her with whatever he was hiding.

"You know something," she said frankly. At this he finally brought his head up and looked at her. He could see the small anger that was obvious in the light of her brown eyes. She knew that he wasn't telling her something, and she was right. This made him even more defensive.

"Feh, I don't know what you're talking about." It was the only thing he could say. There was no way that he could think of to actually tell her what had happened.

"Ahhh! You're so stubborn sometimes Inu Yasha!" She yelled in frustration, her face scrunching up as she did so. "I am useful you know! I have a brain too!"

"Well you don't like using it that often!" He bit back quickly on instinct. Immediately he regretted saying anything. Her eyes flickered with hurt at his retort, but then they flared with the anger and spirit that was the Kagome he knew so well.

"You're not one to talk! You're the one always rushing into things and making brash decisions!" Kagome replied bitterly. She wasn't even facing him now, she had her hands thrown up in the air and was mumbling to herself about stupid ungrateful half demons. But after a few moments she came to realize that Inu Yasha had not said anything to her insult. At this she turned around and looked at him. Rarely did Inu Yasha back down from anything, and this was a very strange happening indeed.

"You're right…" He said, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. His eyes were glued to the ground in guilt.

Kagome could only stare at him. What was he so strung out about? This was one weird day indeed. She approached him and stood directly in front of him. Her insides churned slightly with nervousness. He could always turn her into mush, and she knew it. But right now she had a resolution to be strong. She was still not in his line of vision, being that he was looking down.

"Inu Yasha?" She whispered. His eyes came up to meet hers. There were very few times when he had ever had that look on his face, and even less times when she had actually seen it. Everything was so jumbled in her mind and she found that all she could do was stare into his guilt laden orbs. Then everything clicked.

She pulled back quickly, extracting herself from his reach. His hand shot forward as if to grab her. It all came rushing back. She could hear the sounds of brawling, remembered her hurried steps toward them, the first arrow being deflected...

"Kagome…" He pleaded. She let her head drop and she brought her arms about herself in a hug.

"I understand…" she whispered.

The last thing he saw was two small shining crystals fall from her cheek before everything turned once again to dark.


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