Whoa... was that a quick update or what...?

Compared to the like, one-a-month thing I had going on before. xD

Anyhow, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own it

"Hey Sango, I left something in my locker. You go on ahead." Kagome said. The final bell had rung and everyone was filing out of the classrooms.

"Okay, I'll wait for you here." Sango replied.

Kagome forced a smile. "No really, you don't have to. You go on ahead. I need some time to get my head around things, anyway."

Kagome's heart was pounding as her friend observed her sceptically. She felt as though Sango's eyes could see straight through her; straight through all the lies she had just told. What then? How would she be able to get to get to Naraku? Did she even want see Naraku? No; of course not!

Then Sango's gaze turned sympathetic. "Okay, I understand. You need some space. But you know, if you ever need someone to talk to, we're all here for you."

Kagome swallowed and nodded. She felt so guilty. To avoid raising suspicion through the sorrowful look she was certain was forming on her face, she turned on her heel and headed back to the locker.

Naraku was waiting for her; leaning against the cool metal casually with his beady eyes staring at her. Kagome could barely resist the urge to shiver as she felt the weight of his gaze embrace her small frame.

"You made it."

"I did."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"No. You told me not to."

"Good." Kagome blinked. That voice wasn't coming from Naraku. It came from the figure that emerged from around the corner, her smirk stretching from ear to ear.

"K-Kikyo…?" Kagome asked, genuinely confused.

Kikyo's smirk grew wider. "That's right."

"What are you doing here?"

Kikyo's voice was as hard and as cold as steel. "To finish you off." She whispered.

Kagome broke into a cold sweat. "W-What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" she revealed a big, extremely sharp knife from behind her back. "I'm going to finish you off."

Kagome took a step backwards. "Why?"

"You should know the reason."

"Inuyasha? But I broke up with him! He doesn't love me any more! He loves you!" Kagome cried. The people moving from the classrooms had dispersed and the corridors were now empty. Everything was silent, save for Kagome's heavy breathing and the sing of the knife through the air as Kikyo waved it threateningly.

"I know he loves me. Still; I need to make my point clear."

The knife slashed through Kagome's arm and it was all she could do not to cry out. The pain; it hurt so much. She could feel the warm blood leaking away onto the ground.

Kikyo attacked again and again. Another slash; this time around her stomach. Then another near her hip. Kagome gasped and fell to the floor. She felt so weak; so dizzy from the blood loss. Pain throbbed through her.

Every slash brought another wave of pain. More blood fell. Kagome didn't know how much more she could take.

She was being punished. She knew, deep down, that she deserved it. Everything anyone had ever given her she deserved. All of the laughter from her classmates in America echoed deafeningly in her ears. Tears welled in her eyes and she closed them.

I deserve it, she thought bitterly, I deserve everything. Mom, dad; I'm sorry. I'm a failure. You didn't deserve a daughter like me.

Dark was taking over her vision. Everything around her was fading away. She was dully aware that the slashing had stopped. She could smell something; some type of perfume. It swam inside her nostrils and would have made her cough if she hadn't been so weak.

"What are you doing?" Naraku asked with a frown.

"Getting rid of the scent, idiot. I don't want to be sent to jail, do you?" Kikyo hissed.

Kagome couldn't make out what they were saying. She only heard their angry voices as slurred jumbles of words tripping over one another.

"So why'd you kill her, then?" Naraku pointed out.

"She's not dead… yet."

"So what do we do with her now?"

"Take her over to the trash and dump her there. Someone will find her eventually." Kikyo replied dismissively.

"Glady." Naraku smirked and captured the girl's lips in his. Kikyo kissed back.

When they pulled away, Kikyo gave Naraku a meaningful look. "You know I have a boyfriend, right?"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides; that was the deal. I write the note, I get a kiss."

Kikyo sighed. "I suppose. Now, about the girl…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

Kagome had the feeling that she was being lifted. She felt strong, muscular arms pull her up, almost crushing her with their weight. The darkness was closing in fast and she had to squint to make out Kikyo's retreating figure. She could still hear voices; all female, all lost to Kagome's ears.

"Alright you three, clean this mess up!"

"But Kikyo…!" Ayumi whined.

"Oh quit complaining!"

"But blood is so icky." Eri added.

"Why don't you just use your priestess powers?" Yuka suggested.

Kikyo snorted. "You honestly think I'd use my powers on something so trivial. Now, get to work! After all, you want me to make Houjo love you, don't you?"

Immediately all three girls scurried around like crazed rabbits, grabbing sponges and mopes and brooms. Kikyo just rolled her eyes and glared at Naraku.

"Well, what are you still doing here? Get going!"

Naraku muttered something under his breath before walking off, carrying the now unconscious Kagome.

-

-

Inuyasha cursed over and over again as he ran to the school gates. He had done it again. Thinking about his situation with Kikyo and Kagome had made him completely forget about bringing his school project home with him; the same project that was due the next day.

He cursed as he reached the gates; finding them shut and locked. How could he have been so stupid?

Then he remembered what he and Miroku had found during their first year at the school. It was a gap in the tall fence where one of its tall iron spokes had bent through the middle, most probably caused by an angry demon who had to take his anger out on something. It was located near the school's dumpster so no one had really thought to look there. It was the perfect way to get from and to school undetected.

He was wandering over there, not really paying much attention to anything, when his nose caught a powerful odour from the other side of the bins. It wasn't the usual trash smell, though. It was the smell of blood.

His eyes widened when he saw the body there; lying beside the trash like a torn, long forgotten doll. Blood was everywhere. And to make the matter worse, it had to be her.

"Kagome!" he cried, plucking her from where the culprit had dumped her and hugging her limp body to his. His heart was pounding heavily. No… this can't be happening… he thought as he clung desperately to the girl.

Over the pounding of his heart he could just make out her shallow breathing. Yes; it was small, but definitely there.

"Please be okay," he whispered, "Please…"

With that he jumped onto the roof of a nearby building and ran. He ran and jumped, ran and jumped as fast as he could until he reached the hospital. He didn't bother going into the reception. Instead he ran straight through the emergency room doors.

"Help! Someone help her!" he yelled as loud as he could in his hoarse voice.

-

-

It all happened so fast. One moment Inuyasha was holding Kagome, the next two doctors had her and were calling out painfully long words Inuyasha couldn't understand. A nurse whisked him out of the room, saying he couldn't be here and he had to leave. Inuyasha didn't care. Kagome was dying. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

And now here he was; sitting in a waiting room… waiting. Oh, how he hated waiting. His stomach tossed and turned and his palms were bleeding after digging his sharp nails into the skin so many times. A nurse had offered him a bandage for his hands, but he had glared at her. There must have been something hostile about the way he looked – being covered in Kagome's blood, perhaps – because the nurse hastily backed off and left the hanyou in peace.

"Inuyasha!" Rin cried. He looked up to see a very teary-eyed group of teenagers walking into the waiting room. Rin, Sango, Ayame, Kouga, Miroku and Sesshomaru had all come. They all gathered around him; asking him so many questions. What had happened? Was Kagome okay? Where did he find her?

Inuyasha wanted to scream at them. He wanted to tell them to shut up, but he didn't. He couldn't. So instead he stayed silent, not saying anything until they eventually realised that they weren't going to get any answers out of him.

The group waited a while. Then in came Kagome's family. Korari, Ryousuke, her grandfather and Souta all filed into the room.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?!" Ryousuke roared, making all of them jump. His face was red with rage and his eyes blazed with fury.

Inuyasha just looked at him. His amber eyes were dull and emotionless. He looked as though he had aged by years over the last hour.

"Please stop, Ryousuke." Korari sobbed. That just got Ryousuke started all over again.

"STOP?! STOP?! YOU EXPECT ME TO STOP AFTER I GET A PHONE CALL SAYING THAT THE GUY WHO BROKE MY DAUGHTER'S HEART JUST WENT TO HOSPITAL CARRYING HER UNCONSCIOUS BODY?!"

"Dad…" Souta whimpered.

Ryousuke blinked and looked down at the boy. He looked so scared, so small. He immediately calmed down.

"Oh Souta, I'm so sorry." He whispered as he hugged the boy. Souta's eyes were overflowing with tears.

For what seemed like eternity they sat there in silence, save for the occasional sniff and unbridled sob. Then a nurse entered.

"Are you relations of Kagome Higarashi?" she asked in a very professional voice, as though she had done this many times before. Inuyasha didn't want professional, though. He wanted answers.

"How is she?" Korari whispered.

The nurse sucked in a breath and gave them a pitying look before answering. "She's alive."

"Oh thank goodness!" Korari cried as she clung to Ryousuke's shirt and sobbed.

"She's still unconscious, though," the nurse said. She gave another hesitation. "You see, she's in a coma."

There was a gasp and soon everyone was in tears again. Rin cried loudly as Sesshomaru wrapped his arms in a comforting embrace around her tiny frame. Sango was clutching to Miroku like a life craft in a storm and Kouga was whispering comforting words to a distraught Ayame.

In a blur Inuyasha raced out the door. His heart was pounding heavily. He had to be dreaming! Kagome couldn't be in a coma. She just couldn't be…

Sesshomaru watched his brother leave and stiffened. His brother's scent was mixed with… yes; salt. Inuyasha was crying. Inuyasha had never cried; not even when Kikyo left. Sesshomaru had thought his brother was incapable of such an act, yet here he was.

He remembered how happy the hanyou had been when he was with Kagome. Then he thought about how happy he was with Kikyo, which wasn't very happy at all. He remembered how Inuyasha's eyes had always sparkled when he looked into Kagome's. They always looked so dull when he was with Kikyo.

When Inuyasha was going out with Kagome, they never really had a touchy-feely kind of relationship. They got pure joy from being with each other. Sure; there was the handholding and the occasion peck on the cheek, but there weren't any make-out sessions.

Now that Inuyasha was with Kikyo, everything about their relationship was physical. Kikyo was always pressing her body against Inuyasha's. Her lips always seemed connected to his; her tongue always swimming in his mouth (A/N: …ewwww…). She was always tugging him around like an accessory she could show off to her friends.

Kagome never did that. Public displays of affection always made her more than a little embarrassed.

Sesshomaru stared at the door Inuyasha had exited from and wondered if the hanyou was thinking what he was. If so, then was there hope for their relationship? Or was it too late?

Well guys, lots of people guessed what was going to happen in this chapter. You were all pretty close, but... HA! I TRICKED YOU ALL!! YOU ALL THOUGHT NARAKU WAS GONNA RAEP HER!!

I did consider that actually lol. But I like what I came up with.

Reviews:

Morning's Child: Ahaha your pet Bob makes me laff. He tried to bite my hand off and he missed! Hang on, wait... oh. He's in the corner at the moment, chewing on my freshly bitten-off finger. xD

Diamond369: Lol I hate homework, too. Luckily we have two weeks of holidays at the moment, which is why I'm updating so fast.

iluvSokka46: Aww thanks!

UnlovedBandNerd: Thanks! :D

Yashie-and-Kags-Forever: I hate Inuyasha, too. He made Kagome cry. He must suffer!

fluffyluver666: Great. Monkeys... I hate monkeys... lol jk jk Ooooh I really wanna find one of those guy malls now! Imagine the guys... the sixpacks... -insert girly swoon-

kittyb78: Aww I luff your reviews.

inukag47: Good on you!

Lululuvsanime13: Well... he's not quite Kagz's knight in shining armour... but close enough! :) And dankyou for being my fwend I feel all warm and squishy inside

ChristinaAngel: Ooooh is the manga good? I only watched the eps coz I'm lazy lol. I always wondered how the ending turned out...