Part Two: Battling Inner Demons

It looked at the demon's glowing staff and it pushed the she-human behind it to protect her from harm.

The light glowed brilliantly and it shot out to them and the demon grabbed the she-human and leapt up into the air. Landing by the other humans it gently placed its human beside them and with a curt nod from to the male human went back to face its opponent. It maneuvered carefully around the demon to avoid further injury and able to inflict small but serious wounds on him. It enjoyed putting the demon in pain and his lips broke into a leer. Its vision was becoming blurry but it knew that if it failed killing the demon that would make it the lesser demon and it wouldn't be able to protect the she-human that gave it pleasure. It mustered all the strength it had and raised its claws aggressively at the demon.

Kikyo fumed silently at the damn Raidon for ruining it. Inuyasha turned docile and had stood there, entranced by her touch and she loved every minute of it. His ear wiggled beneath her fingers and his face had relaxed. The sensation she felt while rubbing his ear, running her fingers down his arm, across his muscular chest, his lips brushing her fingers caught her off guard but she didn't want it to stop. She now watched as Raidon distracted Inuyasha and was hoping that he had not bled too much. Even though he was in his demon form that didn't mean he couldn't die. Kikyo knew she couldn't stand idly by and let him fight on his own. Looking frantically for his sword, she spotted it not far from where he had collapsed earlier and ran to it taking it into her hands.

"No Kikyo," Miroku said stopping her. "If you go out there you might die. It was obvious that Inuyasha wanted us to ensure your safety before he left."

"I know that but I want to help him." Kikyo told him and ran passed him. His wounds were great—from the extreme loss of blood she was surprised he was still able to stand and continue fighting in his condition—he might not survive his injuries if they didn't give him medical care immediately. She acted on reflex and clutched his arm tightly. She saw his eyes turn to her and surprise was written on his face.

"Inuyasha you have to cease this fighting now. You'll die if we don't treat your wounds."

Inuyasha's brows furrowed in confusion and he held his head as if he was experiencing a massive headache.

Kikyo…

The demon heard a voice inside his head and tried to control itself but the voice kept trying to regain control of the body. It hated the voice inside its mind but managed to suppress it for now. Looking down at the sword that the she-human carried it became repulsed by its presence. The sword seemed to be calling out to it and somewhere inside, it wanted to grip the hilt and turn back to what it used to be before.

Kikyo stood beside him and moved the sword closer to him. She saw the repulsed look on his face but she had to keep trying. "Inuyasha," she said quietly but earnestly. "If you don't grab your sword and change back, you'll keep fighting and you'll die from your injuries."

Inuyasha blinked at her words and looked down at his bleeding abdomen. Touching the wound he looked at the blood that dripped continuously onto the ground. It was like he had just noticed it so she urged on. "Let's go Inuyasha. Take your sword."

Inuyasha's face was filled with indecision and she grabbed his hand. His eyes turned to hers and they closed briefly as he thought of his decision.

"Kikyo…"

Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise. He said her name. While they watched Inuyasha begin to battle with Raidon again Miroku told her that Inuyasha loses all of his mind when transformed and doesn't really speak but this thesis was rapidly changing.

"Yes?" she asked him softly.

"I… I'm not sure…" he said as he held his head tighter.

"Inuyasha, don't you want the Tetsusaiga? It will make you stronger." she then added. "If you take it, I'll pet your ears again."

Inuyasha blinked and looked at her, glanced at Raidon than back again; trying to decide what he wanted to do.

"You want me to pet your ears don't you?" she asked him teasingly.

Inuyasha seemed to be coming back to himself when he blinked and began to scratch his head.

"All right if you don't want me to—" she said as she pretended to leave.

"No wait a minute!" he said quickly. "Uh… I…"

"That's it. I've had enough!" Raidon shouted and shot another bolt of light towards them.

Inuyasha reacted quickly and took Kikyo into his arms holding her close as he jumped away from the ball.

It jumped away from the ball and gracefully landed onto a clear area and set the human named Kikyo down beside him. Looking back at the sword, it narrowed its eyes at it but gripped the hilt and took it from her. Slashing the sword down in one stroke, a strong wind hurled towards the demon in front of them. After the light from the strange sword had dissipated, the demon found itself beginning to change. Emotions were coming back and the need for blood was fading.

Inuyasha looked down at his body and clutched the Testsusaiga tighter. Seeing that the demon Raidon had vanished enraged him but knew that Kikyo was safe; for now. Glancing at Kikyo out the corner of his eye he saw that she was safe and was glad he hadn't hurt her while he was in his demon state.

"Kikyo…" he began but then collapsed onto the ground in the pool of blood that had spilled out of him.

"Inuyasha!" she said in alarm and kneeled beside him as the others came running to them. "We have to take him to Kaede's immediately."

Kikyo desperately hoped that they weren't too late.

A/N: Why is it so short…? This sucks… Any complaints...?