I really couldn't bear to post two horribly short chapters, so I combined two.


Inuyasha awoke with a terrible headache and the tips of his fuzzy dog ears were stinging. He was lying in the grass and he didn't know how he had gotten there. There was a warm, slightly damp weight on his chest and stomach. Vaguely, he remembered the demonic balls of energy, but his senses had to be going haywire. He smelled Kagome's blood... on him. No way in hell could her blood be on him, she wasn't even supposed to be back yet! But how much time had passed since the balls attacked? He noticed the sky was significantly darker... The scent was so strong he was beginning to get sick. It was on his hands. On his clothes. He completely reeked of her scent ridded with blood.

What the hell was going on?!?

Shaking his aching head, Inuyasha looked down. Kagome was curled against him, lying flat on her stomach, one arm draped over his stomach. Her head was on his chest, hair splayed across her face and him. He sat up carefully, trying not to disrupt her. But when he moved, she whimpered in pain. Sango and Miroku came closer as soon as they saw Inuyasha had come to. It had been only a few minutes since he lost consciousness. Inuyasha inhaled the scent of Kagome's blood with every breath and got even more worried. He was wide awake now, and not imagining things.

Working on instinct, he turned her onto her back. Her head lolled to the side, hair still hiding her face. He was distracted, however, by her torn and bloodied shirt. Lifting her shirt only halfway, he found four very deep, very jagged slashes across her stomach; the origin of most of the blood. There were deep slashes along both of her arms as well. One gash was barely below her neck, grazing her collarbone...a little higher and she would have been killed instantly. Gently tilting her head to the right and sweeping her hair away from her face with his hand, Inuyasha found three more deep cuts across her left cheek. The wheels moved in his head and he put the pieces together...her blood on him, the cuts that were clearly made by an attack, Sango and Miroku looking scared... No! It couldn't be...

Turning, horrified, to Sango and Miroku, he asked, "D-Did...I...do that?"

Sango nodded numbly, there were no tears left to shed .

Inuyasha stared at Kagome in horror. "No." It was all he could say, and he whispered it. After a moment, he found his voice, "NO!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. He was growling and yelling in frustration, roaming around in circles. "Damn it!" He looked at Sango and Miroku. "Why did you let her get near me? Why the hell didn't you distract me! Why didn't she stay away?! She never stays away! I could have killed her!"

The impact of those words sunk in, and Inuyasha froze on the spot. Wide-eyed, he rushed back to Kagome. Listening intently, he put his hand around her wrist. There was utter and complete silence, not even the wind stirred.

He heard it, felt it, a pulse, a heartbeat...but it was faint, even for his ears.

Kagome was dying...And it was all his fault...

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Across the forest, a solemn figure, with two others by his side, sensed something was amiss. He had felt a very strong pulsation, and though it was faint, he felt a recognition. He had sensed that before...yet he could not yet place it. He was a very strong and capable youkai, but even his fur had stood on end when he felt those pulsations. But he whiffed an odor he dubbed disgusting and deemed this worthy of investigation. Especially if the owner of that scent was involved.

One of the figures by his side, a small girl, tugged on his sleeve. The other figure, a green, impish looking creature, watched the exchange with semi-interest. His great eyes bulged out of his head, yet he had the air of a loyal servant. A bored loyal servant...

The man looked down at the girl, and some of his icy demeanor melted. Slightly.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Is there something the matter?" Her big brown eyes searched his amber ones and he gave the ghost of a smirk. "I have to go see to something Rin. Jaken will care for you. Jaken," He stated, calling the green creature's attention.

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru?" He replied in a nauseating nails-on-a-chalkboard voice .

"Look after Rin. I sense my half-brother afoot."