A/N: I just want to yet again thank everybody for reading this story and sending me your wonderful reviews! I'm sorry that it is taking me so long to get to the actual dance, but there is still a few more days until the big event that I feel that I can't ignore. It is coming soon though! Thanks for being so patient with me, and I hope that you enjoy this installment of The Dance.
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, however Kaedo (pronounced Kay-Do) is a product of my own imagination.
Back at their camp, Sango rose to her feet. The wolf demon's attack had been strong, but fortunately for her, his aim had been a little off. She reached again for the boomerang forged from a demon's bone and readied her-self to attack. Miroku nodded to her, the pain in his head forgotten in battle, and reached into his robe and brought out a sutra. He pressed it to his lips and closed his eyes for a moment in silent prayer, then flung it in the direction of the demon. The demon was fast, however, and nimbly side stepped the attack. He readied his claws to attack again, but was stopped by an enraged hanyou.
"Well, well! If it isn't the famous InuYasha." The wolf demon jeered at him, his cropped black hair blowing faintly in the wind. "Ah, I see that the lovely little Miko is with you as well." He gestured towards Kagome. InuYasha growled and pushed Kagome behind him.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want?"
"My, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. I am called Keado of the wolf-demon tribe." The demon said with a mocking bow. " I am here to relieve you of the Jewel shards that you possess. If you hand them to me now, perhaps I will spare your pathetic lives."
"Keh, if you want our jewel shards, then you'll have to get through me to get them!" InuYasha snarled unsheathing his Tetsusaiga. It transformed to its full glory and InuYasha raised it over his head. "Everyone, stand back, and let me deal with this flea bag."
Kagome hesitated and placed her hand on the sleeve of InuYasha's fire rat robe. "InuYasha, this demon looks familiar." InuYasha gave her a quick glance in surprise to this news, but did not back down from where he stood.
"Kagome, where have you seen him before?" InuYasha demanded lowering his sword in front of him. Kagome closed her eyes and searched her memory for the answer.
"I think it was when I first met Koga, yes, I'm sure of it!" She exclaimed. She looked at the wolf demon pointedly and shouted. "You're from Koga's tribe."
The wolf demon grinned baring his fangs at her and chuckled menacingly. "If you can call those pathetic excuses for wolves a tribe, then yes, I assume you are correct bitch."
"Did Koga send you?" InuYasha snarled at him figuring that the mangy wolf demon was too afraid to face him. He knew that Koga had his sights set of claming Kagome for his own, and he did not doubt that he would go to any price to achieve his goal. "Did he send you to kidnap Kagome again, because if she is what you're after, then you can just forget about it." 'I would rather die than see Kagome in the hands of that damn wolf.' He thought to himself as he prepared himself to attack.
Kaedo grinned and turned to Kagome. He looked over her body in a way that she felt undressed and she shuddered in revulsion. "I have not come for the Miko but for the jewel shards. I admit this much, Koga has finally done something right by voicing his claim over the lovely Kagome." He licked his lips. "Perhaps I will claim her for my own, she is quite beautiful." The gleam in his eyes made even the lecherous Monk seem like a saint. "It would give me great joy to see the look on your face InuYasha when I mate her before your eyes as your soul leaves your body."
Kagome stifled a cry of fear that had risen up in her throat and buried her face into InuYasha's back as she sensed what Kaedo meant. He intended to rape her. She felt her stomach churn and she clung tighter to InuYasha for protection. The hanyou sensed her unease and felt his demon side fighting for control as his anger rose knowing what Kaedo was implying. He clutched his sword firmly in his hands and snarled. "You will die before you touch a strand of hair on her head."
"We will never let you have Kagome" Sango cried fiercely stepping up to InuYasha's side to hide Kagome's body from Kaedo's sight. Her she clutched her Hiraikotso firmly. She wasn't giving up Kagome or the Jewel shards without a fight.
"Wolf, what use do you have of the Jewel shards?" Miroku demanded joining Sango in front of Kagome.
Kaedo advanced closer. "With these jewel shards I will have the power to finally take control of the wolf demon tribe." He said coolly with a malicious gleam in his dark blue eyes. "It was my destiny to become the leader of our tribe after my father passed away, but Koga came along with the remains of his pack. He convinced me to give him leadership saying that if we combined our tribes we would have the strength to accomplish anything." He spat and looked at the ground. "I was a fool and gave up my birthright to him in hopes of conquest, but instead of warring with the other demon nations as was originally planned, Koga has betrayed us all by leading us down the road to our deaths. I know all about the battle with the Wind Sorceress Kaugra that lead to the death of over two hundred members of our tribe, and I can never forgive Koga for permitting such a grave loss to occur. I will destroy Koga and anyone who remains loyal to him, and I will rebuild our tribe to its former glory." He grinned at InuYasha evilly. "And I will kill anyone who stands in my way. Now give me the shards, and Koga's bitch, and I will show you mercy."
InuYasha barred his fangs and growled. " You can take your mercy and shove it up your hairy ass. If you want the Jewel shards or Kagome, you will have to fight me to get them!"
Kaedo sighed and drew his sword, which glowed with a faint blue aura. "Very well half-breed." He sneered raising his sword high above his head. "The sword that I wield is no ordinary sword. It is called Kieskata and was forged from the fang of the first wolf demon that ever walked the earth. It has been passed down through my family for over a thousand years and has slain many others of your kind." He smirked. "You will be begging me for death by the time I am done with you."
"Be careful InuYasha." Miroku warned him from his side. "I sense a powerful demonic aura coming off of his sword. Take care that it doesn't pierce you."
"Keh! Don't worry about me! My Tetsusaiga will break his pathetic sword in half before he has a chance to swing at me." InuYasha bragged readying himself for battle. He glanced at Kagome briefly. "Sango, Miroku! Take Kagome and flee into the forest to protect her."
"I'm not leaving you." Kagome protested a little hurt that InuYasha did not want her at his side.
"Dammit Kagome, get out of here. You are what he is after, and it will be harder for me to protect you if you're getting in my way." He snapped pushing her roughly into Sango's arms. "Now go!" Kagome opened her mouth to protest again, but saw the look on the hanyou's face and bowed her head in defeat. She knew that it was pointless to argue with him over the matter of her safety. The demon slayer, monk and miko readied their weapons and prepared to retreat, when Kagome hesitated and whispered softly. "I sense two jewel shards near-by. They are gaining on us quickly." Miroku and Sango's eyes met and they both nodded. Koga was coming.
InuYasha sensed Koga's presence and smelled the air to confirm his suspicions and grinned. 'Maybe I can kill Kaedo and that mangy wolf.' He saw Kaedo grin as well and knew that the other demon had also caught a whiff of Koga's scent.
"Koga." He snarled not taking his gaze off of InuYasha.
"Kaedo." Koga growled emerging from the dense forest that surrounded them. "Traitor!" He calmly walked over to where Kagome, Sango and Miroku stood frozen and wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist possessively. "Kagome," he said softly looking deep into her eyes. "I've been tracking this deserter for days now, but I never thought that he might come after you. For this I am sorry. He hasn't hurt you, has he?" Kagome was too shocked at the depth of emotion that shone from Koga's eyes to speak and merely shook her head. Koga let go of the breath he held as he awaited her answer in relief. He turned again to his assailant not letting go of Kagome and growled lowly. "Kaedo, you have deserted your tribe and were planning to murder your leader. That is a crime punishable by death."
InuYasha seeing that Koga still had his arm around Kagome drew back and jerked her from his grasp, shoving her roughly behind him. "Get your hands off of Kagome!" He threatened savagely swinging his sword between them. "After I kill Kaedo, I will take great pleasure in killing you as well."
Koga smirked at the hanyou. "You kill me? Ha! Like a puny half-breed could ever kill me, a pure demon." He spat. "I'm in a bad mood today mutt-face, so unless you want to die, stay out of my way. I have other business to attend to."
Kaedo watched as their argument escalated in silence as realization dawned on him. 'They're both in love with the human girl. She is more valuable than I ever assumed. If I play my cards right, I can use this to my advantage.' He watched as she looked between the hanyou and wolf-demon helplessly and smirked as a plan began to formulate in his mind.
"Guys stop it! This isn't the time for your fighting!" Kagome cried finally stepping between the snarling rivals.
"Get back Kagome!" InuYasha demanded still growling at Koga.
"Yeah Kagome, get behind me. I'll protect you!" Koga replied reaching for her and grabbing her arm.
"I'm the only one that's going to protect Kagome!" InuYasha fumed grabbing her other arm. "Let her go!"
"No, you let her go dog turd. She's my woman so it is my duty to protect her!" Koga shouted back tightening his hold on the miko.
"For the last time, she is NOT your woman flea bag!" InuYasha argued tightening his grip on Kagome as well.
"Yes she is! I claimed her as mine!" Koga cried staring daggers at the enraged hanyou.
"She didn't agree to it." InuYasha protested. "Therefore you have no claim on her, now let go! You're hurting her." He said seeing Kagome wince.
Sango and Miroku shook their heads silently. Now was not the time for another one of InuYasha and Koga's petty arguments. "It looks like we're going to have to slay Kaedo by ourselves. Those two are going to be no help to us if they continue carrying on the way they are." Miroku whispered to Sango. She nodded in agreement and quickly readied her boomerang.
The argument went on for a few more moments and Kagome finally had enough. "Both of you let go of me!" She demanded enraged. Both demon and hanyou jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly released her. She rubbed her arms where they had held her tight and glared at them.
"Kagome! Did that mangy excuse for a wolf hurt you?" InuYasha asked gazing at the arm that Koga held fast to. "If he did…." He began to threaten violently but she cut him off.
"You're both pathetic! Arguing with each other like spoiled children at a time like this!" She shouted at them shaking her head. "Koga, there is a member from your tribe standing a few yards away intending to kill you, and InuYasha, he threatened to take the jewel shards! Instead of fighting him, you two are standing here threatening to kill each other." She fumed looking them both in the face. Realization set in that the enemy was still amongst them and they turned on Kaedo once again, their rage at each other feeding their lust for blood.
InuYasha pushed Kagome behind him roughly and she ran to where Kilala now stood with Shippo clinging to her back. He had been through many battles, but the sight of them was still a little unnerving. Kagome climbed behind the kitsune and drew him into her lap, holding him close to her breast. "It's okay Shippo. InuYasha will protect us." She whispered into his ear.
Koga now knowing that his future mate was at a safe distance readied his claws and glared at Kaedo. "I've prolonged your punishment long enough Kaedo. Prepare to die at my hands!" He cried flinging his swift body towards his kin. Kaedo grinned, anticipating his attack, and when Koga's claws made contact with his flesh, he laughed and hit him hard in his stomach. Koga gasped as the breath left his body and twisted away.
InuYasha smirked at the wolf demon's pathetic attack and raised his sword. "Now you're gonna see a real warrior in action!" He cried running at Kaedo. He extended his claws preparing to strike the demon's fleshy center. "Iron Reaver…" He cried before he was hit with something hard. He flew back a few feet and picked himself off of the ground, staring in disbelief at the demon that now stood in front of him. "Koga, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"This is my battle dog breath!" Koga growled fiercely. "I don't need you or anyone else's help." He glanced quickly at Sango and Miroku to make sure they both had gotten his message.
"Keh, I'm not doing this to help you." InuYasha snapped defiantly. "No one threatens to take away my jewel shards and lives."
"InuYasha, Koga is right." Miroku voiced. "This demon is from his tribe so he has the greater right to fight him."
"I don't give a damn what you think Monk. He threatened Kagome, and that gives me more than enough right to slaughter the bastard." He cried preparing to swing again.
Kagome looked at InuYasha with admiration from her perch. 'I'm glad that I have him to defend me. I don't know what I would do if I didn't. He is so strong and brave and he can be nice sometimes, even if he doesn't want to admit to it.' She watched as Koga moved to attack once again, and like before his attack met with resistance. She watched as Kaedo laughed and knew that he took great pleasure in Koga's pain. "I wish that there was something I could do to help Koga." She said softly knowing if she tried to help him, her attempts would be met with resentment. She snickered as she looked again at InuYasha and noticed for the first time the anxiety on the hanyou's face. 'He is just itching to fight Kaedo. I wonder why he is just standing there doing nothing. I guess what Miroku said made him think.'
Koga dodged Kaedo's blow and nailed him with a well-placed fist between his shoulders. Kaedo howled in rage at his opponent's first strike and whirled to sink his claws into his arm. Koga managed to twist out of his hold relatively unscathed and countered him with a knee to the stomach. Kaedo collapsed to the ground gasping for air, and Koga stood above him smirking. "Are you ready to die traitor?" He asked reading himself to deliver Kaedo's deathblow. He jumped into the air and dove on the wounded demon, sinking his fangs into the back of his neck. Blood flowed freely from the gaping wound, but Kaedo managed to fling him off and send him flying into a tree. Koga's head made contact with the trunk with a sickening thud and he slumped to the ground unmoving.
Kagome's eyes widened in horror as she looked upon Koga's battered body, and instinctively she flung her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. 'Come on Koga, get up.' She prayed silently over and over, but it was all in vein. Koga made no movement. "Koga!" She cried pushing Shippo off of the safety of her lap and sprinted towards the wounded wolf demon. "Koga!"
"What the hell are you doing Kagome? Get out of here!" InuYasha demanded running after her. He watched in silence as Kagome rolled Koga onto his back and pressed her cheek close to his lips. "Kagome?"
"He's still alive." She breathed relieved. "He's just out cold. We need to get him onto Kilala. She can take him and Shippo back to Kaede for treatment. Can you lift him InuYasha?"
"Keh, you heard what he said earlier Kagome, that he didn't want help from me. Why should I lift a finger to help?" He demanded looking away from her. "If I HAD helped him, maybe he wouldn't be laying there."
"InuYasha, you're the only one who can lift him. Would you really leave him here to die? Besides, I thought that you always said that you would be the one to kill him. Would you let some worthless wolf demon take that privilege away from you?" She asked appealing to his hatred for Koga, and his desire to kill him.
InuYasha struggled with her reasons for a minute. 'Why should I care if he dies? It's his own fault, but Kagome's right. If I let him die here, then I will regret it because it wasn't me who killed him.' InuYasha sighed in defeat and hauled the wolf demon roughly over his shoulder. He might have been helping Koga, but that was no reason to be gentle about it. "I'm going to need a bath after this." He mumbled under his breath as he carried Koga to Kilala. "I stink of wolf." He flung him onto the cat demon's back and told Shippo to take him to Kaede's hut for treatment. The kitsune nodded. Now that Koga was out of the way InuYasha turned his full attention back to Kaedo to find him gone. "Keh! What do ya know. The wolf was too afraid to fight me!"
"InuYasha, behind you!" Sango cried heaving her Hiraikotso with all of her might at Kaedo who gripped his sword charging at InuYasha from behind. He caught the giant boomerang with one hand and flung it back at her. It hit her in the side causing her to stumble into Miroku. He caught her in his arms.
"Why Sango! If you wanted me to hold you, then why didn't you just say so!" He teased pulling her tighter to his chest. She struggled against him.
"This is hardly the time Miroku!" She snapped stepping on the insole of his foot. He grunted in pain and released her.
InuYasha turned around in time to watch in horror as Kaedo's glowing Kieskata pierced his left shoulder. He yelped as searing pain filled his senses. Kaedo's sword had sliced cleanly through his flesh to the muscle.
"InuYasha!" Kagome cried as crimson blood gushed out of his wound. "InuYasha!" She ran towards him.
Miroku reached into his robe and flung another sutra at Kaedo. He struck it with his sword dissolving it. "I grow tired of your games Monk." He smirked, lunging at him and slicing him with his claws. Miroku keeled over feeling the large wound in his stomach and crumpled to the ground.
"Miroku!" Sango shouted rushing to his side. She rolled him over and breathed a sigh of relief as she examined his wound. It was deep, but she knew with the proper treatment it would heal. She stood and faced Kaedo, her eyes burning in anger.
"Kagome, don't come any closer. I'll be fine." InuYasha snapped as he saw her come near. His left arm hung limply at his side, useless until his demon blood caused it to heal. Kaedo smirked feeling sure that victory was near.
"So InuYasha, are you ready to reconsider my proposition, the shards and the girl in exchange for your life." He taunted. "In your current condition you stand no chance of defeating me."
Miroku reached into his robe and flung another sutra at Kaedo. He struck it with his sword dissolving it. "I grow tired of your games Monk." He smirked lunging
InuYasha winced as another sharp bolt of pain traveled down his arm, but stood his ground. "Never."
Kaedo chuckled and shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Have it your way." He rushed towards InuYasha again preparing to strike, when an arrow whizzed past him. He stopped and howled with rage. Kagome was now in front of the hanyou fitting another arrow to her bow. "How touching." He snarled. "You need your little bitch to protect you."
"Kagome, what the hell do you think you're doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" InuYasha said angry that she would allow herself to be put in danger. "Get back, I'll be fine." Kagome ignored his request and let another arrow fly. It struck Kaedo in the chest causing him to stagger backwards. InuYasha saw his chance. "Wind Scar!" He howled unleashing his attack. He watched as it engulfed his opponent and felt Kagome clutch his arm and pull him backwards. He stumbled and fell to the ground unknowingly pulling her on top of him. He wrapped his arms protectively around her and buried his face in her downy hair. He peered over his shoulder and sighed in relief as he saw what was left of Kaedo, a pile of smoldering flesh and fur and knew that the battle was over.
"Are you okay InuYasha?" Kagome asked hesitantly, not wanting to be released from his comforting embrace.
"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you? That damn wolf didn't hurt you, did he?" InuYasha asked pushing her away slightly to examine her closely. There was blood on her shirt, but with a quick sniff he was assured that the blood was his own. She was fine. He resisted the urge to take her in his arms again and helped her to her feet wincing as pain traveled down his arm once again. Kagome saw his discomfort and attempted to check the wound but was met with a low growl. "I said I was fine." InuYasha snapped twisting his body from her and clutching his battered shoulder with his other hand. As he turned he saw Miroku still laying on the ground where he had fallen, and Sango gently holding his hand to comfort him. She like Kagome seemed to be relatively unharmed, and he was thankful for that.
"Miroku!" He heard Kagome cry, and he felt himself being tugged in the direction of the fallen Monk. She knelt beside him and brushed his black bangs, wet with sweat from his forehead. "InuYasha, see if you can find my backpack. I need to get some antibiotics on this before there is a threat of infection. InuYasha nodded silently wondering what she meant by antibiotics and searched their now destroyed camp for it. "I'm going to see if I can find something to hold water in." Kagome said standing and taking off in the direction the hanyou had gone, leaving Sango with the unconscious Monk. She sat there for a few minutes stroking his hair tenderly. She gently squeezed his hand and jumped when he squeezed back.
"Argh, What happened?" Miroku asked groggily finally coming to. He clutched his stomach and tried so sit up to no avail.
"You were hurt fighting Kaedo." Sango whispered. "I stayed with you to watch over you." A genuine smile appeared on the Monk's face and he drew his hand still clutching Sango's to his lips.
"Sango." He murmured softly kissing the back of her hand. "Thank you."
She felt her hand burning pleasantly where his lips had made contact with it and blushed. "I-It was nothing." She replied hastily trying to control her conflicting emotions. They sat in silence waiting for Kagome and InuYasha's return for no more words were needed.
A/N: Well that was a nice long chapter! I hope that you enjoyed it! Please read and review!