Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Run Kagome

Chapter 26 "One Step Forward and Two Steps Back"

Elkönigin

He leapt through the trees back towards the village that they'd come from. Fires were burning from hut to hut and men ran around trying to put them out. Inuyasha landed in the middle of the village and looked around before he started throwing them around.

He didn't really care who was injured and who was not. They all needed to pay for what they had done or attempted to do to Kagome and to Sango. He threw one man across the village and heard him land with a resounding thump. He grabbed another man's shirt and then paused. He smelled of Kagome. The man struggled vainly against his grip and Inuyasha threw him into the wreckage of a burning hut before he did something that he would truly regret.

There was one man left, if he could even be called that. He held a dented shovel and swung it around for a moment before Inuyasha caught the handle with his open palm. The wood snapped and the man looked at the broken stick and quivered.

"Who is the leader?" The man didn't respond and Inuyasha punched him once, lightly, knocking him to the ground. Okay, it may have been lightly for him. "I know that he isn't here." No response. "Is he in the village with the women?" No response. "I'll find him with or without you. Now tell me who he is." Inuyasha growled, grabbing the man's shirt.

"The Elder!" He shouted suddenly. His voice lowered to a whisper and he shook when he spoke, "It's the Elder." Inuyasha smiled and threw him across the village and then some. He looked around at the devastation before he leapt away and towards the village.

He didn't bother to wash his hands of the blood before reaching the village. His sleeves covered his hands for the most part. The women and children stared at him as he landed and he scanned the village.

"The old man, where is he?" He asked and the children disappeared into the huts. Some of the women started to arm themselves and he caught sight of a hobbling figure disappearing into a hut. He landed in front of the thatched door and ripped it off as he stood in front of the entrance. The Elder was standing there, shaking at the sight of him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as Inuyasha stepped inside.

"What? You didn't think that I'd let you get away with something like that, did you?" The old man didn't answer. The old man reached for a bell, but Inuyasha crushed it in his fist before it could ring. "I'm going to kill you for what you did."

"Forgive me!" He bowed down at Inuyasha's feet.

"You were going to sell them into slavery!" Inuyasha shouted. He'd expected people to be rushing the hut right about now, but everyone seemed to be waiting outside for them. He couldn't kill the women and children. It wasn't in him. But the old man, his eyes focused on the groveling pile of flesh at his feet. He shifted his conscience into the back part of his mind and grabbed the old man's neck, pulling him to his feet and off.

The neck crushed easily and the elder landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, gasping for air. It served him right; it did. Inuyasha's nails had broken the skin and five holes bled out red blood onto the floor. He watched for a minute or so, in the blackness of the hut until he knew that the man couldn't be saved.

He saw Kagome's pack with Sango's clothes lying next to it. Inuyasha slung it over his shoulder and held the bow and quiver in one hand and the clothes in the other.

He walked outside and into the midst of the women who shook at the sight of him. They held up pitchforks and hoes and other various gardening tools, ready to strike. He just looked at them.

An unspoken line went through them.

You know what I can and will do.

None of them approached him and he leapt away and back towards Kagome.

He washed his hands in a small pond before continuing onward. He could still smell the blood, but the physical evidence was gone. No traces of anything that could be seen. He didn't feel bad for anything he did tonight. They deserved it. They deserved something worse than that; a punishment he couldn't give, not that he didn't want to.

He turned back towards where Kagome was and headed towards the camp. He landed just outside the firelight and Miroku turned towards him as he walked towards the group. Kagome was still sleeping next to Kilara, right where he'd left her. He dropped the pack and everything else beside it.

"Did you accomplish everything that you wanted?" Miroku asked and even Inuyasha noticed the slight sneer in his voice.

"Yes and no." He shrugged and sat down next to Kagome. The dark bruises flickered across her body in the firelight. One on her arm lay in the shape of a handprint stood out lividly on her pale skin. At least she was sleeping peacefully. There was a least one thing that he could be thankful for. They were all sleeping and after a moment he reached out and took a lock of her hair between her fingers. He smoothed his fingers over it and let it fall against her shoulder.

She shifted slightly in the blankets and he fixed his jacket over her.

At this point there was nothing that he could do to help until she woke up. He'd been gone for hours and yet there was no sign of the sun rising. Maybe the sun refused to rise anymore. It would serve him right. If the sun no longer shone for him, he could take that.

He sat next to the fire, next to Kagome and wondered how he'd managed to get them all in this mess.

Inuyasha sat by the fire as the rest of them slept off the effect of the drugs. Even Miroku still seemed to be under its effect. The girls slept soundly, occasionally coming around to consciousness within the span of hours.

There was something obscene about having to wait for them to sleep off the effects of the smoke and drugs. Sango came to first of the two of them; Miroku had been sitting there with him waiting. Neither one of them wanted to move until both of the girls had woken. And neither of them had spoken about what happened when Inuyasha revisited the villages.

Sango stirred and coughed roughly; Miroku helped her sit up.

"Miroku?" She rasped and pulled the cloths around her form. Miroku seemed to make sure that she remained decent.

"I'm here." He told her and she coughed. She started to stand on shaky legs, but Miroku was on his feet and steadying her before she could object. She paled suddenly and put a hand to her mouth.

"Sango?"

"I think—I think I'm going to be sick." Miroku helped her stagger off away from them. Inuyasha heard the sounds of heaving within the trees, but drew his eyes back to Kagome as she stirred.

For the first time in a long while, when she looked at him she was focused on his face.

"Inuyasha?" She asked as she attempted to sit up. She quickly caught his jacket slipping off her shoulder and then seemed to realize that she was indeed naked. "Why am I naked?"

He quickly switched to defense mode, "I didn't do anything!"

"Sorry," she stated quietly as he helped her sit up completely. "I didn't mean for it to sound like it was your fault."

"I found your bag and your clothes," he stated simply. He leaned in front of her to grab the bag; she snaked her own arms around his neck and felt him freeze.

"Thank you." He briefly reveled in the fact that they would be okay. She was getting better; she was.

"What's with the sudden mood swings?" He growled at her, trying to regain some sense of his own masculinity. She let her arms slide away as he brought her clothes into her hands. "You're going to want to change."

She took the fresh clothes from him and nodded.

"Can you hand me the water?" She asked, her own throat burning from the acid and the smoke. He handed her the bottle of water, which she took gratefully. Gulping the water, he watched her drink. He took the empty bottle from her; she rolled her legs underneath her, attempting to stand. He watched her for a moment, moving to get her feet underneath her. She was having issues.

He grabbed her arms gently and pulled her to her feet. He held her arms for a moment too long and quickly pulled his hands away.

"Sorry!" He answered quickly. It seemed appropriate. She smiled and patted his arm lightly.

"It's alright." She didn't say anything as she walked out of sight into the trees, before he could say anything, "I'm not going far," echoed out of the trees. He didn't like it, but resigned himself to listen and wait for her to step back out.

The sound of clothing rustling and the wind through the trees cluttered the air and he swiveled his ears around to listen to it.

She stepped out slowly, carrying his jacket in her arms. She walked up to him and held his jacket out to him at arm's reach. The chill had already settled into the air and didn't show any sign of leaving. Fall was really starting to settle in; earlier temperatures had fluctuated back and forth between summer and fall. But he could feel the subtle changes in the seasons that were starting to affect everything around them.

How long had it been since all this started? He took the jacket from her and she started walking in front of him.

"You wear it for now. It's getting cool," he told her, throwing it over her shoulders. She looked at him and he stared to the side avoiding her gaze. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see her tightening it around her shoulders and clasping it closed with both hands. He let his posture relax. He couldn't figure out what to do around her.

Oh yeah, it was all easy around her when she was unconscious or delirious. He didn't like it, but at least he could figure out what to do. When she was awake, he didn't know what the hell to do and most of the time he felt like an idiot.

He watched her walk a step in front of him.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"What?"

"Thanks for everything."

He was dumbfounded; he couldn't say anything, which was probably for the best in the end, otherwise he would have just made a fool of himself. Kagome sat down next to the fire and held his jacket tightly around her.

"Kagome? Are you okay?" He asked, sitting beside her.

"I'm fine." She answered quickly; her voice wavered.

"You sure about that?"

"I'll be fine."

"I don't doubt that, but that doesn't answer the question about now."

"I'm fine." She was getting angry; he could see that. "I don't need to be saved every instant of the day." He almost laughed; the key word being almost. He'd learned that his first thoughts usually got him plowed into the ground when it came to Kagome. He always seemed to be the one plummeting face first into the ground whenever he tried to convey his own ideas.

"You don't?" He asked her and she started, averting her eyes back towards the fire. She wanted a yelling match; she wanted a reason to sit him straight into the ground. But he wasn't about to fall into that trap. She just wanted an excuse to end the conversation and change the topic from her.

He watched her and she seemed about ready to burst into tears. She hadn't cried since she'd been coherent and if what he thought might have taken place took place, then she should be some kind of emotional mess. Though he didn't necessarily want her to randomly burst into tears either. But he supposed that if it helped her in the end, it was probably worth it.

He hated dealing with this kind of stuff.

A single tear trailed down her cheek and he saw it. His stomach dropped.

She wiped it away with the back of her hand and curled her knees up to her chest.

"Kagome?"

"Is it bad that I want to go home?"

"I guess it depends which home you're talking about."

"I want to go see my mom."

"You do remember why you left, right?" She rolled her eyes at his statement and lost the tension in her shoulders. The sound of heaving came from the bushes. Kagome winced.

"I hope Sango's alright; she's always had a hard time whenever there was a miasma."

"She'll be fine."

Miroku helped Sango back into the firelight. She looked pale and smelled of vomit. Inuyasha crinkled his nose slightly at the smell.

"I think we need to head back to Kaede," Miroku stated plainly as he removed Sango's arm from his neck and helped her lean against Kilara. With the firelight already casting it's own glow and shadow, Sango looked about ready to die at any given time.

"With as much time as we spend going back and forth to Kaede's village, we'll never catch up to Naraku."

"I don't think we've got much of a choice this time," Kagome told him. He growled in frustration.

"Whatever, get Shippo, we'll start back," he stood and helped Kagome to her feet as Miroku maneuvered Sango over to where Kilara lay. Kagome put Shippo onto Kilara, of which he slept through completely.

Once they'd collected everything they needed, Inuyasha motioned for Miroku to get a head start.

"We'll see you there," he told them and Kilara took off towards the sky. He put out the fire with some dirt and waited a moment for his vision to adjust. It was dark, with almost none of the moonlight coming through the tree branches. Kagome had to be nearly blind.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, tilting her head slightly here and there. She gripped his jacket tightly.

"Right here." He walked towards her and touched her shoulder. He could hear her sigh.

"It's dark."

"No kidding." He joked and she glared at him through the darkness. He almost laughed at her, again, the keyword here being almost. "Here, get on." He turned around and waited for her.

"I can't see you." He glanced over his shoulder and saw her reaching out just short of him. Reaching over his own shoulder, he grabbed her wrist and pulled it to his own shoulder. She gripped his inner shirt and hesitantly climbed on to his back.

Once he was sure she was safe, he leapt off after Kilara. Kagome had her arms wrapped around his neck, he could the feel the fabric of his firerat jacket rubbing against his skin.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. She didn't have to speak loudly in order for him to hear her since her head rested on his shoulder. "Why didn't you ride on Kilara?"

"Sango's in need of help." He felt her tense up. "What I mean is, is that Sango needs to see Kaede quickly and with us riding on her, we'd only slow her down."

"Right, of course." She withdrew from him and settled herself on his back alone. He had a feeling if she could have, she'd be in the fetal position. He growled inwardly. Why was so this so damn frustrating?!

He wanted to tear something apart. He couldn't even tell if it was his fault, although he wouldn't be too far off if he guessed that it was. Or at least had something to do with him.

Kilara flew above them and she stopped at daybreak, he landed beside them. He'd been leaping through the trees all night and his legs were starting to feel the effects of it. Not that it really bothered him, but the muscles felt a little wobbly.

Kagome stirred on his back and he looked at Miroku.

"Why are we stopping? We've still got a long way to go before we get to the village." Inuyasha looked over at Sango, who didn't appear to be getting any better. Her skin was still pale and glimmered under the light from sweat.

"You were slowing down," Miroku stated.

"Keep going! I'm fine! Worry about us when you get to Kaede's!" He growled at him and Kilara made her own statement.

"Is everything okay?" Kagome asked from her place on his back.

"Everything's fine, Kagome." Inuyasha glared at Miroku for being an idiot and leapt off in the direction they had been going.

"Why'd we stop?"

"It was nothing. Go back to sleep." She tightened her hold on his neck and stirred slightly.

"Stupid monk."

He could see Kilara flying above them and making better time; Miroku better not stop again, Sango didn't look like she could really hold out for much longer. He'd have insisted that he and Kagome go forward after the shards, but there was something wrong in the way Kagome was acting. Before he'd been almost resisting noticing the change in her, but now he couldn't turn his eyes from it. He couldn't not see the change.

That and the drugs should have been out of her system by now. They'd used some powerful shit, but she should be recovering, but it all seemed too slow. His thoughts flashed back to finding her in the shed with that bastard on top of her. He shook them away, but they lingered just under the surface. Reminding him that they were there.

He growled. The urge to rip something apart at the seams still lingered. Even though he had decimated the so-called village, it didn't feel like enough. He wanted to tear the earth away from underneath it for what they had done or almost done. It wasn't right.

The nightmares would resurface. He knew that plain as day. One step forward and twenty steps back. Every time he felt like Kagome was moving on and getting better, something would come along and completely destroy and send her back even further then where she'd been in the first place.

It was ridiculous.

They were going back and forth so often it was no wonder that Naraku had so many more jewel shards than them. But then again, they'd had more problems than they started with.

Who would've guessed that Kagome's father would come back? She never gave any signs that he was such a bastard, not before he came back at least. He'd lost sight of Kilara above him. The trees blocked the rest of his sight. He leapt up into the branches and up through the tree tops. He spotted the cream colored cat ahead of them, significantly ahead of them.

He'd run for long distances before, but he'd never really had the extra weight on him. She didn't weigh much and Kilara was carrying the yellow bag. He hadn't really had a chance to get any real rest. Of course, neither had any of them. Well, except maybe Shippo. He was probably the only one; well, maybe Kilara, but she wasn't getting any rest until she reached Kaede. Although to be truly honest, she probably wouldn't rest until she knew Sango was okay.

Day broke over the edge of the tree line and he sighed and pushed onward, following the two-tailed cat back towards Kaede's village.

E here. I know, it's been a while. But here's a chapter. This is more or less a free flowing plot, so I'm having to make this work as I go. Anyway, I hope to get the next one out in a month or so. I'd say by my birthday, but I'm not thinking that's going to work. I've started this new diet (The Best Life Diet) and exercising is taking away some of my writing time.