Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me (but oh, how I wish that he did!), nor do any of the other characters that the great and all-powerful Rumiko Takahashi has created, but the characters Rhiodoru, Masaka, Shinobu, Akika, Mutsu, and Isao are my own personal creations, so that means they're mine. Mine, I tell you! :D
ATTENTION READERS: This story is rated R for language, violence, and sexual content. Reader discretion is advised. ::xXxXxXxXxXx::
(" " talking, italics thinking )
Battle of Blood (Part III)
Damn Kagura! Kagome thought viciously as the demon distracted Inuyasha. He had been so docile when she had started to rub his ears. He'd just stood there quietly, merely enjoying the sensation and had seemed to forget about everything and everyone else there. Given a little time and patience, they might have been able to get the Tetsusaiga close enough to Inuyasha to reverse his transformation without putting any of them in danger, or hurting the hanyou any further. But then Kagura had had to go and open her big mouth and distract Inuyasha, and now he had remembered she was there and once again wanted to fight.
The half-demon lifted his claws, preparing to attack the sorceress. He had to be stopped. He was badly wounded – she didn't even know how he was still standing up with all the blood he had lost – and if he battled again, when he transformed back, he might not survive his injuries.
Inuyasha began to step forward, towards the waiting Kagura. Kagome had to stop him. She acted on reflex. She stepped up behind him and wrapped both arms around his waist, throwing all her weight into holding him back. Even though she knew it was fruitless - her weight was nothing to the transformed hanyou - she had to try something. She struggled to hold him back.
"Inuyasha, please don't fight. Please." She whispered, holding on as tight as she could.
At the feel of her arms holding him back, Inuyasha twisted around to look at her. She was surprised to discover the undisguised confusion that filled his blood-red eyes.
Confusion? She hadn't thought that he capable of any feelings besides hate and anger when he was transformed, let alone confusion. That implied cognition. Perhaps he wasn't as mindless when he transformed as they'd thought.
"Inuyasha, look at yourself!" She said quietly but earnestly. "Look at your injuries. If you fight now then you'll die whether you win or lose."
The half-demon watched her, still looking confused. Then, to her utter amazement, he turned and looked down at his body, touching one of the bloody gashes with a claw like he'd just noticed them. Perhaps he had. Kagome made a conscious effort to close her mouth. He had understood what she'd said! He may have lost all sense of self in the transformation, but he still understood her, and had even done what she'd asked.
She moved around beside him, determined to take advantage of this new discovery. She pulled on his arm, trying to turn him away from Kagura.
"Come on Inuyasha. Let's go." She said. A sudden thought occurred to her. "If you come, I'll pet your ears some more." She added enticingly.
He looked from her to Kagura and back again. Kagome realized that he was trying to decide what he wanted to do. An idea came to her.
"Inuyasha, don't you want the Tetsusaiga?" She tried to think the way a demon would think. "It will make you more powerful, you know." She pointed to the sword still clutched in Sango's hands. Inuyasha's demon eyes followed her gaze. Kagome tugged on his arm again. He took a reluctant step towards the demon slayer.
"That's it, come on…" She coaxed.
"I have had enough!" Kagura yelled. "If you won't fight me Inuyasha, then I will just slaughter you all!"
She raised her fan and brought it down in a swift arc. Blades of air shot straight for Inuyasha and Kagome. Kagome screamed in terror. But before the blast reached them, Inuyasha leaped to the side, pulling Kagome after him. The blades crashed onto the ground right where they had been standing a second ago.
Kagome panted as she stared at the torn up ground that might have been her, then she turned to stare at Inuyasha. He had saved her. He was transformed as a demon that knew of nothing but killing, and yet he had saved her from certain death.
Too late she reached to grab him as he leaped after Kagura.
No! He'll be killed!
"Inuyasha!" She screamed.
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The she-human screamed at the demon as it leaped for the she-demon. It ignored her. It had a battle to fight. It had a demon to kill.
The she-demon had tried to harm the strange she-human who could give it pleasure. Its human. It would not allow harm to befall her, especially not at the hands of this pathetic she-demon.
A strange thing was happening to the demon. The odd presence that had intruded upon the demon was struggling for control again. But the struggle was different from before. Now, the two shared control, struggling over the method of battle instead of the reason for battle. Both presence and demon had the same desire – to protect the she-human.
Kagome, the presence whispered with a curious longing at the thought of the human.
This sharing of intent allowed the presence to take more control than it could have before. Now they fought the silent inner battle as equals, both having the same amount of control and advantage as the other. But though they fought on the inside, the body they shared moved in harmony on the outside.
The demon leaped at the she-demon, bringing its claws down in a powerful swipe. The attack connected, the she-demon unprepared for the demon's sudden increase in speed and agility. The combining of demon mind and encroaching presence had awarded the demon with greater strength as well as faster, more developed thought. The she-demon screamed in pain and leaped backwards. The demon pressed with another slash of its deadly claws. Again the blow struck. The she-demon's blood poured. The smell drove the demon's mind to distraction, but the presence kept it in check, driving it to attack with deliberation, not with wild and reckless abandon. One more well-calculated attack and the she-demon would be finished.
The demon feinted to the left. As the she-demon made to dodge its attack and retaliate with an attack of her own, it abruptly switched direction, heading for her straight on. It ripped open her arm, shredding the strange fan she used as her weapon.
The she-demon screamed again in rage and frustration. She pulled a feather from her hair. A huge gust of wind pushed the demon back, rendering it momentarily incapable of delivering a finishing blow. The she-demon soared away on her suddenly giant feather. The demon watched her escape with a feeling of intense rage and bitter regret.
"Inuyasha?"
It turned to the she-human that gave it pleasure. She stood ten feet away, holding a weapon. It looked at the sword curiously.
Tetsusaiga…
The presence longed for the sword. The demon was repulsed by it. The inner battle began once again.
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Inuyasha stared at the sword. Kagome stared at Inuyasha. She could see the struggle in his eyes, even from the distance she stood from him. She started to slowly walk to towards him.
When she stood two steps from him, she stopped and held out the sword.
"Take it, Inuyasha. Please."
His expression flickered from yearning to disgust and back again. He didn't move. She stepped closer. He immediately stepped back.
"Take it slowly, Kagome." Miroku said quietly from somewhere behind her. "Give him time."
Kagome waited. Inuyasha began to growl quietly. His eyes closed briefly, his face filled with conflict and concentration. Then his eyes snapped open. Suddenly, his hand shot out, snatching the Tetsusaiga from her. She gasped in surprise at his sudden movement. He stood there, unmoving, clutching the sword in both hands. She watched as his eyes slowly faded from blood-red to their normal beloved gold. His claws and fangs shrunk, the purple stripes disappearing.
His weary golden eyes finally focused on her.
"Kagome…" He whispered, his voice choked with some emotion she didn't recognize. He said nothing more. Without uttering a sound, he crumpled to the ground like water, seemingly boneless.
Kagome remembered his injuries with a jolt.
"Inuyasha!" She immediately knelt by his side, feeling his pulse. Very weak, but mostly steady.
"Sango! Miroku! Quick! We have to get him to the village! Now!"
As Kagome stared into Inuyasha's blood streaked face, she desperately hoped that they weren't too late.
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