Until We Bleed

C h a p t e r T w e n t y S i x : B r e a k

Naraku showed her the way to the dungeon, revealing that it has been under her feet all along by a hatch on the floor. Kagome followed him down the steep steps, trying to keep her breathing even over her anxiety. Inuyasha was seriously injured when she had blacked out from lack of oxygen. Could he still be alive with the wound in his stomach?

Snarls started to echo through her ears and she shivered from the familiarity about it. She kept pace behind Naraku even though she wanted to run to where Inuyasha was kept. "How many prisoners do you keep down here?" she asked lightly.

"Just a few at a time," Naraku answered, "I kill them when it gets crowded in their cells."

Kagome bit her lip when they reached the bottom. They didn't have to even take a few steps to reveal Inuyasha's prison.

Chains rattled as his wrists pulled against them, blue fire surrounding the links every time they were strained. His feet dug into the earthy ground to try and give him some resistance to pull away from the wall. His feral red-eyed gaze locked on her and fought harder against his binds, growling through his sharpened fangs that went past his bottom lip. Even though he put up a good fight, the blood dripping from his midsection suggested otherwise and nearly made Kagome cry for him to stop trying so hard. She knew he wouldn't listen while he was fully in his demon state.

"Inuyasha..." she whispered and grasped the wooden beams that separated them.

"Mate..." he purred in his growl of a voice. If possible, he fought harder, his teal eyes remaining on her even when Naraku spoke from behind her.

"How does it feel, Inuyasha, to have lost Kikyou again?" Naraku chuckled as Inuyasha growled. "After this day, you will see her once more as she witnesses your beheading tomorrow."

"I'll kill you!" Inuyasha's demonic voice roared and his eyes snapped to Kagome once more.

Kagome winced as the chains rattled even more, placing her forehead against a horizontal beam as if feeling his defeat for him. "Stop it, Naraku," she murmured, "He doesn't deserve this."

"Of course he does," Kagome lifted her head to face him incredulously. "After your horrible death, he deserves much more than this."

"He kept me alive," she stressed, turning to Naraku. "Please, Naraku, let him go. He's not going to kill me. He helped me survive when I was lost out there."

He frowned and turned to the beast in his cage. "You don't remember what happened, my Kikyou-"

"I'm not Kikyou!" Kagome blew up, "Kikyou died because of you. She isn't me. I'm Kagome. Can you say that? Ka-go-me!"

She didn't know what would happen after that. Would he go berserk and kill her? Or would he keep his hallucinations in tact? When he smiled, her blood went cold.

"Of course, Kikyou."

A/N:

3lue 3utterfly: It's a relief to write Kagome with her sanity back :)