Ugh...I'm putting way more fluff then I'd like to in this chapter, but I need it to progress the story. Oh, and one more thing, why the hell are there random shaks in the wilderness? They seem to find them alot in the show. Enjoy and please review!
WARNING:Severe Yusuke Out of Character-ness a few places in this chapter, another problem at the expense of moving the romance...and a few other things, forward
Yusuke awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. Apparently the miasma had left his body with something similar to a hangover. Yusuke had been left to sleep for a few reasons. The first being that, as he had freed Kohaku, the others thought he should be allowed to do whatever he wanted (even Inuyasha, though he wouldn't have admitted it), the second being that they would be staying there that day; Miroku was not doing well.
He had used up what little strength he had helping Sango look for Kohaku's body, he had had to sit and rest as soon as he reached the hut, no one noticed at the time, they had all been too busy praising Yusuke. Sango was tending to him now, his act of heroism had not gone unnoticed.
Yusuke only stayed inside a few minutes after waking, sure, his head was killing him, and he wanted nothing more then to just lay around and be lazy all day, but he thought he should give the two some privacy.
"Yusuke, you're up!" Kagome said, seeing him walking towards her.
"Yeah..." He said glancing back.
Yusuke ate little, his stomach was bugging him.
"Inuyasha," Yusuke said, the half-demon looked up, "Thank you for protecting Kagome for me last night." Kagome marveled at this, she was even more surprised when Inuyasha gave a quick nod to acknowledge this, instead of saying something to get Yusuke fired up.
"Kagome, walk with me." Yusuke said. Kagome got up and walked away with Yusuke.
They walked in silence until they found a nice grassy hillside.
"Something you want to talk about?" Kagome asked.
"Nah, not really." Yusuke said, laying down in the grass, putting his head behind his hands and closing his eyes.
"So you want me out here so you can take a nap?"
"No, I'm just relaxing."
It was a while before either spoke again. Kagome was sitting by Yusuke, she was pretty sure he was asleep, until he spoke.
"I'm sorry I've been doubting your power, you can really kick ass when you want to." He said without opening his eyes.
"Well, I can only do that with arrows."
"Not just arrows, trust me, you have a really strong punch."
Kagome laughed.
"So why are we out here?"
"A few reasons. I wanted to lay down until I got rid of this headache, I thought I should give Miroku and Sango some privacy, and," Yusuke opened his eyes, "I wanted to be alone with you."
Kagome looked into his eyes, they were much more peaceful then usual.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"Not much."
"You know, I do have aspirin in my bag."
"Why didn't you say something??"
"You didn't ask." Kagome said. Yusuke grumbled, there was no defying that logic.
Kagome rummaged around in her bag and pulled out the bottle. Yusuke took it gratefully.
Kagome saw Yusuke looking at her, well, he seemed to be more studying her. She wondered what he was thinking.
"God! She's amazing. Nice, but a she has a backbone. Always prepared. Caring. One of the finest bodies I've ever seen, with a cute face to match. Just so...perfect. God I love her...Wait! Did I just think what I think I thought?" Is what she would have heard if she had been hearing his thoughts. She didn't know Yusuke had just scared the living crap out of himself.
"Umm...Yusuke?" She said a minute or two after Yusuke had thought this (he was still staring at her and he hadn't spoken). Yusuke kissed her. Neither of them knew how long the kiss lasted, all they knew was that there was more emotion in this kiss then in any they had had before.
"Ya know, if we do that all day, one of us is going to end up with a really bad tongue cramp." Kagome said after the kiss broke.
"It'd be worth it." Yusuke said with a grin on his face, he had chosen not to act on this new revelation, not yet anyway, the concept still frightened him.
"I meant me," Kagome said, half laughing.
The day continued with them talking again, somehow, neither ever ran out of anything to say. Kagome was nestled between Yusuke's legs, head against his chest, his arms surrounding her. They didn't realize how long they'd been there until the sun began to set. They stopped talking to watch.
Yusuke didn't really care for the sun setting, but he could tell Kagome did, so he kept quiet, letting her soak in the sight that she didn't usually see (surprisingly).
"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" She said.
"Yeah..." Yusuke said not taking his eyes off Kagome.
Kagome heaved a sigh, "We should get back, we've been gone a few hours." Kagome said. Yusuke realized he must have slept until about noon.
They arrived back at camp, Inuyasha gave the air one sniff and asked, "Where the hell have you two been?"
"You know, around." It was Yusuke that answered. He was acting oddly, it wasn't just his eyes that seemed more at peace; for a short time at least, his whole demeanor had changed.
"Are you two ok?" Kagome asked Sango and Miroku, who were sitting around the place where the fire would be.
"Yes, thanks to the administrations of Lady Sango." Miroku said. Sango gave a small smile, though her eyes weer bloodshot, evidence she had been crying recently (She had been cursing herself for her actions putting Miroku in danger).
"Right, well, can you move?" Inuyasha queried.
"I will be at my fullest by tomorrow morning."
"Good, I didn't want to stay here any longer then we had to."
"Damn, I was hoping we could crash here a few more nights, not that the spot's great or anything, I just like sleeping inside." Yusuke said. Inuyasha bit back the retort he wanted to say ("Well, by all means, if you're comfortable, then why don't we stay here all year and call off the search for Naraku? Pain in the ass,").
The night came and went, Inuyasha waking everyone up early.
"Doesn't he ever sleep?" Yusuke asked Kagome groggily.
"Of course he does. Him, Miroku, and Sango trade off during the night. I thought you would have figured that out."
"You know I'm not that smart."
"Ok, well, I'm changing before we leave." Yusuke warned her, he would wear a set of clothes for a couple days, he didn't really have that much so he'd decided to 'ration' what he had.
She could have left the hut, but decided to just turn around. Yusuke threw on a pair of light jeans, and a white T-shirt.
They traveled on for a couple days, nothing really interesting happening (unless you counted Yusuke nearly breaking Miroku's hand for being too close to Kagome's butt). Yusuke was acting like his normal self again, he was back to calling Inuyasha generic dog names, back to being bored with the proceedings, and back to letting everyone know he was bored.
Around midday, Inuyasha suddenly stopped. His nose was sniffing the air, a worried expression on his face. Everyone was confused, Yusuke hadn't sensed anything, yet. There must have been alot of whatever this smell was.
"I smell human blood."
They rushed to the scene. Yusuke picking up a very powerful demon's energy along the way. He was not prepared for the sight that met his eyes. There were corpses everywhere, the faces that he could see (and that were left in a distinguishable state) showed pure terror,but that wasn't the worst of it. The ground was stained with blood, there didn't seem to be a single body in one piece. There was the demon, looking pleased with itself, standing in the center, a screaming woman in one hand.
"Hey, put her down!" Inuyasha yelled.
The demon glanced at Inuyasha and threw the woman aside. She began to run as fast and far away as she could.
The demon unveiled it's full height. It was about twenty feet tall, it had green skin and a mane of a lighter shade, enormous claws on each hand, a sharp row of fangs in its large mouth.
"Hello there! Do you wish to be eaten, half-blood? Or is it one of your companions that would like to go first? Please, hurry and decide, I do have a meal waiting, after all."
"Punkass, you want this one?" Inuyasha asked, meaning Yusuke.
No response.
"Hey, I asked you if you wanted this one."
Thud.
"Kid?" Inuyasha asked, there was something wrong.
Yusuke was sitting on the ground, eyes wide and pupils dilated. He couldn't deal with this, he had never seen humans in this state, he hadn't even really seen demons in this state, not in these numbers. He was in shock.
"Yusuke!" Kagome shrieked.
"Bring him around. I'll handle this bastard." Inuyasha said, stepping forward.
"I was hoping for one of the females, they look delicious, and I'm afraid I may be too full after devouring you to fit another one down. It pains me to waste such good food."
"Yeah yeah, ya' son of a bitch, I've heard it all before from a bunch of now dead idiots who overestimated themselves like you."
The demon chuckled. "This will be enjoyable."
"For me!" Inuyasha said, lunging forward and drawing Tetsusaiga. He could have used the Windscar, but he didn't want to desecrate these bodies more then they had been.
The demon carelessly stepped aside, he was very fast for his size. Inuyasha was not deterred though, he made s stabbing motion at the demon, which was again dodged.
"Do you mind if I attack? Dodging can be so dull." The demon said, before making a slash at Inuyasha. Inuyasha managed to avoid the brunt of the attack.
"Hmm...it seems some of my meal was blown away with that last bit...I do need to learn to be a bit more precise." The demon said, and it was right, many of the corpses had been completely obliterated by that attack. Yusuke's pupil's shrank slightly.
Inuyasha was wasting no time. He immediately retaliated with a sweeping strike. The demon caught the blade in one of his clawed hands. Inuyasha ripped it out of the demon's grasp, leaving a cut in it's hand.
"Ahh...now that is much better. I rather detest unfair opposition. I am grateful for the fact that these humans never try to fight back, they prefer to run and hide."
"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY??" Inuyasha yelled at the demon. He swung at the demon again, who dodged.
"I suppose I do tend to ramble, I will attemt to focus on our fight, and not speak at such length. However, I will make no promises."
The fight raged on, the demon seemed to be keeping its word, and was not talking as much. Inuyasha had been injured, while the demon was still only suffering from the cut on it's hand.
"Damn you!" He said, making a slash identical to the one that had injured the demon before.
"You have quite a mouth on you, you know. Personally, I prefer not to use such foul expletives." The demon said, grasping the blade firmly and pulling it out of Inuyasha's hands. He tossed it aside. He instantly followed up with an upward slash from his other claw. Inuyasha landed on his feet, but suddenly seemed like he didn't want to move.
Yusuke's body, which had already been nearing forcing him to snap out of his current state, sensed that something was wrong. Inuyasha was sitting now, but he didn't seem to be resting. A sudden burst in Inuyasha's demon energy was the push Yusuke needed.
The others noticed Inuyasha's change as well, but they knew what was happening. They were terrified.
"What's going on?" Yusuke asked.
"Inuyasha has transformed. His demon blood is taking over. We need to stop him!"
"How?"
"Knock him out, and restore Tetsusaiga to him. He reverts when it is at his side."
This would all have to wait until after Inuyasha's current fight, however. Interfering now would be even more dangerous.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, apparently that sword keeps your demon blood locked away, which you seem to have wanted. I would not have deprived you of such a prised possession on purpose."
Inuyasha didn't even notice the demon speaking. Markings on his face, his eyes glowing red, Inuyasha lunged at the demon; claws bared.
The demon's leg parted company with its owner. Inuyasha was behind the demon that was now standing one-legged. He lunged at the spine. The demon fell, and uttered it's last words, "Ah yes! A death on the battlefield. It was truly an honor to do battle with you, half-blood. Thank you very much for giving me such a glorious defeat." Inuyasha began tearing the demon to pieces.
"Are you ready?" Miroku asked them all. Kagome and Sango nodded.
"Hold off, I'll do it." Yusuke said, stepping in front of them all.
"Yusuke..." Kagome began.
"No offense, but I'm the strongest one, you guy couldn't manage to take him down."
"But..."
"No buts. Now Kagome, I don't want you sitting him. It'll throw off my fighting and make you a target." Yusuke hesitated, Inuyasha was almost done ripping the demon to shreds.
"Kagome, if it looks like I'll lose; run, fast as you can, and don't look back. You two, look after her, you look after her too, Shippo."
They realized what Yusuke was doing: he was passing on his last wishes, just in case he didn't make it. They didn't understand; they were terrified, but Yusuke was calm; it was unlike how they'd seen him before every other fight, he wasn't jumping up and down in excitement, or yelling his rage at the enemy.
Inuyasha had finished tearing up the demon, making absolutely sure it was really dead, he spotted this new challenger, a human; a meal.
The two charged at each other. Claw and fist raised. Both connected, Yusuke hitting Inuyasha in the jaw, Inuyasha ripping apart Yusuke's shirt (and some of the skin underneath). There was no question of who had come off worse.
It continued. Yusuke was getting torn up by Inuyasha's claws, but Inuyasha seemed completely unaffected. Yusuke charged up his Spirit Gun. He fired the shot at Inuyasha. It was a direct hit, and while normally that shot would have incapacitated Inuyasha, right now it seemed to just fuel the rage.
Inuyasha landed another hit, he scraped downward across Yusuke's chest. Yusuke fell back a few feet, onto his front. It had been a direct hit. Miroku had started trying to drag Kagome away after the hit before that one. She elbowed him as hard as she could causing him to release her, and began to run back to where the two fighters were, tears streaming. She would not leave Yusuke. It wasn't over yet, Yusuke had struggled to his feet.
And as Yusuke sensed Kagome coming near he realized she wouldn't leave, no matter how plain it was he was going to lose. He hadn't wanted to do this...he didn't even know if he could maintain control of himself while he was doing it...but he had to make a decision.
As he made his decision, he whispered one word, "Kagome."
Inuyasha had stopped his charge, his primal instincts had warned him of danger. Kagome could feel demon energy coming from somewhere, completely trumping Inuyasha's own. She watched as Yusuke's hair began to grow and markings appeared all over his body. She watched as Yusuke was enveloped in a bright red glow.
"What?? He's a DEMON??"
HA! LEFT YOU THERE! A little short, I know. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter out within a week, barring some disaster. By the way, the green demon is entirely mine, and has been temporarily dubbed "Sir Slaughter." I had so much fun writing him. He may appear in a future fic (not exactly the exact same demon, as he's dead now, you get what I mean).
Not really many notes, Sorry again for Yusuke being off in this chapter. Please Review.
Review Responses
Animemoonlightgoddess: Thanks...You have no idea how many times I had to rework that. I'm glad the final product came out well. Thanks for the review!
Trinity the Kitsune Kunoichi: Not sure what Sugoi means...but thanks for your continued support of this fic. Thanks for the review!
Jessica: Well, you just saw what happened next, and now Demon Yusuke is in the mix...Thanks for the review!
Kage Fuschichou: Wow, thank you very much. I'm very surprised at how positive my fic is being reviewed. I thought it would suck. Thanks for the review!
Raine: Yes, I have made him fairly squishy...but I think it makes sense for Yusuke to have changed. I have a list of justifications that I'm feeling to lazy to type at the moment, but you didn't ask for those anyway. Thanks for the review!
NEXT CHAPTER:Might of the Mazoku
Alot goin' down next chapter!
