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Back to the Future

XXXXXX

Inuyasha's chest heaved erratically as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He'd been injured this badly before and recovered he told himself. This was nothing but a thing. He'd be fine and...and...he'd finally be with Kagome. They'd have brats of their own and...and they'd be happy. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. None of it had been how things were supposed to have gone.

A single traitorous tear slid down his pale cheek as his pained hazel eyes met Kagome's watery sapphire blue. It was a slow kind of torture to watch her struggling to hold back tears when there was nothing he could do. Every time he tried to force words of comfort all that came up was a fresh onslaught of blood which only seemed to accomplish her trying to shush him. Darkness was creeping steadily inwards from the corner of his mind and with each passing second his body grew colder.

"Stay with me," she pleaded softly as she ran her free hand down his cheek, "Just stay with me."

He wanted to. More than anything he wanted to but his body was fighting against him. He tried to convey how much he loved her and how sorry he was for this fate through his half-lidded eyes. No matter what happened Kagome always had been able to know exactly what he meant through small things like that. She'd know when he was sorry by the way his ears lay flat against his head. She knew what every one of his smirks or growls really meant. She knew when he needed to be left alone and when he needed her there by body language alone. She'd always just... known.

"I know," she whispered then as she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his temple - as her body shook with silent sobs, "I love you too. It'll be okay. You're going to be okay."

Nodding silently, Inuyasha lost the battle to keep his eyes open as a tear streaked down his cheek and a shaky breath escaped his lips.

"No," Kagome managed to choke out, "No. You've...you've fought off worse injuries than this before. You can't just give up. Not again."

It wasn't like he wanted to give up this time. More than anything he wanted to brush this injury off as nothing and carry on. The problem was that he was more human than anything. It wasn't like the night with the spiderheads where some miraculous Band-Aid fix would give him time until the sun rose again. The sun was already up and shining. This time wasn't a matter of just holding out until his youkai managed to save him. There was no youkai coming back. He was mostly human and injuries like this killed humans no matter how hard they fought to stay alive. That's all there was to it.

"Just stay with me. Please," Kagome's voice broke on the last word as she pleaded from what sounded like a great distance away, "I love you. Stay with me."

He tried.

Oh, how he tried.

But still the world went black.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"There is nothing I can do," Sesshomaru answered in his typical stoic fashion as he stared down at the bloody comatose semi-hanyou, "His heart still beats."

"Isn't Tensaiga a sword of healing?" Kagome asked tearfully as she moved Inuyasha's head into her lap and leaned over to press a kiss on his temple, "Couldn't you just kinda wave it over him and see what happens?"

"No," the daiyoukai replied sternly as he narrowed his eyes, "The more pressing issue is the miko. Her heart is missing, yes but she too has not passed on."

"If we, uh, kill her would he retrieve his youkai?" Kagome sniffled quietly, "Or is it just gone?"

"Killing her would do many things," Sesshomaru answered in a monotonous tone, "It may restore his youkai or it may not. The dark curse that allowed your friends and Naraku to regain their memories would break. They would no longer know you. Your case is different - I believe you would remember more than they given you were familiar with your past self. Is that something you are willing to risk?"

Glancing down at Inuyasha, Kagome sniffled loudly before sending a glance at Sango who had been watching the scene with a sad, resigned look. Anora - for her part - looked defeated beyond words and was playing idly with the pearl around her neck as she listened passively. Meeting her friend's sapphire eyes, Sango sighed heavily before standing up and holding her head high, "It was unnatural for me to remember my past. I'm sure Miroku would agree. Do what you must. I accept the consequences."

"Sango-chan," Kagome whispered tearfully as she stared up at her old friend, "This might not even work. I don't want to lose you."

"It was wonderful to see you again," Sango responded as she knelt down beside the young woman who had saved her in more ways than one, "I never thought I'd have that opportunity and I'm so grateful that I did but I've lived my life. I don't want to interfere with this one."

Nodding in understanding, Kagome reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around her friend who responded with equal enthusiasm, "I'm sorry."

Laughing once, Sango pulled back and gave the young woman a curious look, "For what? You've done nothing wrong."

"I'm just...sorry. For not being able to find my way back. For having you remember and now forget. For you seeing Miroku and losing him. I'm just...sorry," Kagome whispered quietly as she stared up at her friend with watery eyes. Shaking her head, Sango leaned forward and placed a kiss on her friends forehead before wrapping her arms tightly around her and pulling her to her chest, "Miroku and I had so many good years together - if we're meant to be, we'll find a way. I hope we can become friends in this life as well but if not, I just want to thank you. You and Inuyasha. You saved all of us in more ways than one. I can never repay you for what you've done but this is a start. If this will save him, it's a small price to pay."

"I'll take the dark miko with me. I'll give you a day together before dispatching her," Sesshomaru interrupted softly - the gentleness in his tone surprising both slayer and miko as they turned to gape at him before shaking off their surprise.

"Thank you," Kagome whispered as she bowed slightly before glancing down at the unresponsive man in her lap, "But what about Inuyasha?"

"I'll give him something to speed up his recovery," the daiyoukai responded - a flash of something that might have been affection flashing across his face quicker than either the miko or slayer could quite place, "He will live. That is not a concern."

Sagging visibly in relief, Kagome ran the back of her hand down her love's cheek before looking up at the man who had tried to kill his brother more than once. Actually, now that she thought about it - there were so many times he could've killed Inuyasha and just didn't. Sure, he'd injured him and they fought like cats and dogs but there'd been times when he'd thrown himself in harm's way to protect the man he'd refused to call brother.

"Will we see you again?" Kagome asked awkwardly - grimacing at her tone, "I mean, uh, would you want to come over for dinner or...something?"

"I would speak with him once he is recovered," Sesshomaru answered with a slight nod of the head before turning to the fiery red haired fox, "Are you capable of taking him to their apartment?"

"Yes," Anora answered morosely as she got to her feet, "I can do that."

XXXXXXXXXX

He woke suddenly, every thought in high definition. His crust filled eyes took in every ray of light and his ears were overwhelmed with the various noises blaring from seemingly every direction. It felt like he'd taken a beating - every muscle in his body ached, and his head felt like someone was kicking it in with annoyingly steady rhythm. What the fuck happened?

"Hey," came Kagome's relieved sounding voice as her hand ran through his hair and her fingertips gently traced one of his ears, "Welcome back."

"What happened?" Inuyasha croaked - his voice thick and hoarse from disuse, his face crumpled in confusion as he tried to piece together the jumbled images in his mind , "Did I die?"

"Almost," Kagome cooed affectionately as her fingers continued their delightful voyage over his hair and ears. "But luckily it turns out that I wasn't the only one who went after you."

"I'm sorry," Inuyasha murmured softly as he leaned into her touch, "She only managed to trap me because I was weak."

"Don't apologize for anything. You're not weak. You're not going soft. You're just more yourself than you have been," Kagome chided lightly as she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his cheek, "You just weren't yourself."

"That's not an excuse," Inuyasha protested weakly as the corners of his lips twitched upwards, "But I am glad you found me."

"Me too," Kagome cooed as she maneuvered herself to lay out beside him and rested her face in the crook of his bandaged neck and he weakly lifted his arm to rest around her waist.

"So...so you defeated Tsubaki?" he asked suddenly after a few moments of comfortable silence, "She's gone?"

"Yes," Kagome whispered back as she snuggled slightly closer and wrapped her arm around his chest, "But...but the spell she had on Miroku and Sango broke when Sesshomaru, uh, killed her. They...they don't remember anything from the past few days even."

"Oh," Inuyasha mumbled unsure of what to say or how to even express his disappointment. Finally after taking a shuddering breath, he managed to say the one sentence he could think of to describe everything he felt about losing his friends once more, "That sucks."

"Yeah it does," Kagome sighed miserably as she tightened her arm around his incrementally, "But at least we have each other and...and Shippo."

"True," Inuyasha snorted - an action he immediately regretted as it caused a strange coughing fit that had him expelling what looked and tasted like blood that was not his own and had him cursing quietly under his breath, "What the hell?"

"So...uh, Sesshomaru may have, uh, gave you with some of his blood to sped up your healing and repair your youkai," Kagome admitted sheepishly as she buried her face in his neck, "He wants to talk with you when, uh, when you're better."

"The hell..." Inuyasha repeated in an amused tone that had Kagome's lips twitching upwards, "Was Tensaiga just not an option or something? Why that? That's just...wrong."

"I don't know," Kagome soothed as she continued to run her fingers through his hair, "but honestly I don't care. It worked."

"I ain't complaining," Inuyasha chuckled good naturedly as he leaned into her touch and sent her his signature smirk, "Just telling ya my opinion is all."

Nodding slightly, Kagome swallowed thickly before continuing her admissions, "You still have the job for Miroku's incarnation when you recover. Ryo wanted you to know."

Inuyasha huffed as he rolled his eyes, "Maybe I should just leave well enough alone. As much as I miss them, it ain't them. I'll find something else."

"Whatever you want," Kagome chuckled before adding in a more serious tone, "But don't turn him down just yet. Just because it isn't them doesn't mean that you can't start a new friendship. Maybe you're meant to be friends."

"Destiny," Inuyasha sighed as he incrementally tightened his grip around her waist, "Yeah, maybe it is."