Disclaimer: Do I own Inuyasha? No. Do I own any of the characters that Rumiko Takahashi has created for us to enjoy? No. Do I wish that I did? Damn right I do. Do I own Rhiodoru? I'd better, since I created him. Do I own Masaka, Shinobu, Akika, Mutsu, and Isao? We can hope so. Will I ever own Inuyasha? I seriously doubt it, and it wounds me to the very soul. :P
( " " talking, italics thinking )
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Body to Body
The pain erupted all around her, all through her. Kagome tried to scream but couldn't. It hurt! She struggled to control it, she had to control it. It was torture. She could feel the pain tear at her with each laboured breath, each wound an agony of its own. She pushed the pain down, tried to ignore it. The task proved impossible.
Through the haze of pain, she tried to focus on her surroundings; anything to take her mind off the pain. It was dark. She realized that her eyes were closed.
Inuyasha's eyes, she corrected herself.
She began to consider how bizarre she felt. She felt bigger, much bigger. That made sense, since Inuyasha was taller, broader, and more muscular than her. She took a moment to marvel at the differences between the female and male bodies. She also realized that she was being bombarded by sounds. She tried to wince at the racket she was hearing, belatedly remembering that she couldn't. How did Inuyasha stand it? Everything was so loud. And the smells! She hadn't realized there were so many smells in the world, or such a range of them.
Attempting to push the pain to the back of her mind, she focused on Inuyasha's acute senses.
She could hear the sound of her – Inuyasha's - heavy breathing. She could hear her own breathing, from her body, which, judging by the direction of the sound, was right in front of Inuyasha. She could smell her own scent, as well as Inuyasha's, although his only faintly. She guessed it wouldn't do if all he could smell was himself. She could feel skin under Inuyasha's fingers, and realized it was her own cheek under his hand. It was such a bizarre realization.
She also realized that she could hear another person breathing to her right. The sound of the person's breathing was too low-pitched for a woman, so it must be Miroku. She listened to crackle of a fire for a moment. Struggling to ignore the pain lancing through her, she then began to sort through all the smells Inuyasha's powerful nose was picking up in the hut. Her scent, Inuyasha's, Miroku's, and a female scent that immediately made Kagome think of Sango, but it was faint; the slayer wasn't there. Wood, straw, dirt. Smoke from the fire. A cat smell that must be Kilala, close, but not actually in the hut. She thought Shippo must be with the demon cat as what she imagined must be his scent was the same strength as Kilala's. She could smell an old woman's scent that could be none other than Kaede. There was a faded reptilian scent that could only be Rhiodoru. There were also some very faint scents of other humans that Kagome didn't recognize. She could smell the trees outside, the overlaying of human scent from the rest of the village, some herbs that Kaede must have left in the hut, and a metallic scent that was probably the Tetsusaiga. There were so many smells.
How did Inuyasha stand it? The sounds, the smells. It was already driving her mad. She guessed that he was probably used to it, so it didn't bother him in the slightest. She imagined that in her body, he would feel completely lost, with a pathetically weak sense of hearing and smell. She began to wonder what his sense of sight was like. Better than hers, she knew. She wanted to move around so she could feel firsthand just how physically strong Inuyasha was. At the thought of how much pain that would cause her on top of what she was already suffering through, she changed her mind.
Kagome realized that she could now hear footsteps approaching. Still struggling with the pain, she focused on the noise. She had the sudden urge to twitch her ears towards the sound. She inwardly smiled, wishing she could. There were two sets of footsteps, one light and quiet, one heavy and slow. She focused on the scents. It was Sango and Kaede. They were heading for the hut.
"Have you seen anything?" Sango's voice asked outside the door. Kagome wanted to flinch at how loud it was. She made a mental note to remember not to raise her voice to Inuyasha anymore. It must be downright painful for him.
"Not a thing!" Shippo's high-pitched voice chirped. Kagome immediately understood why Inuyasha always found the kitsune so annoying – if his voice sounded like that to her ears, she'd be annoyed all the time too.
Kagome heard the door flap rustle as someone pushed it to the side. Sango and Kaede entered the hut. The footsteps stopped beside her - beside Inuyasha.
"How are they? Any change?" Kaede's voice rang in her ears. She wanted to yell at the old woman not to talk so loud so close to her. It hurt. And the pain of the wounds was bad enough already without adding this.
"No change in Kagome, but Inuyasha is getting steadily weaker. He can barely breathe." At least Miroku had the sense to talk quietly.
Suddenly, the monk's words sunk in. He was right! She focused on the feel of breathing. It was so hard. Each breath was a painful challenge; the struggle to breathe properly completely unnatural. Why was it so hard to breathe? She focused on the other feelings in Inuyasha's body. It was almost impossible to stay sitting up; all his muscles were weakening at an alarming rate. She wanted to cry.
Inuyasha!
The others started whispering but Kagome was no longer paying attention. She strained to feel the presence of Inuyasha's mind, silently offering him her strength and support.
Don't give up, Inuyasha! You can do it! I know you can . . .
She waited, struggling with the pain that seemed to get worse as Inuyasha's body weakened further. She desperately hoped that the fading strength in his body did not indicate fading strength in his mind too. She silently urged him to finish ridding their minds of Rhiodoru's trap.
Hurry, Inuyasha!
"What if they die?" Sango's tear choked voice asked quietly. Kagome struggled to tune them out. Curse Inuyasha's good hearing.
Miroku's subdued voice answered. "We'll just have to hope that Inuyasha can save Kagome before that happens. I don't think there's much hope for him though. He's too weak to survive this. Just look at him." Miroku's voice broke at the last words.
No! He can't die! Not after all we've gone through! Not after I finally find out that he loves me!
There's still hope! She told herself. Inuyasha will pull through! He has to!
"Do not give up hope yet." Kaede's raspy voice comforted. "Ye forget Inuyasha's resilience. He may yet pull through."
The others didn't answer. Kagome waited with barely restrained panic. Inuyasha had told her to control her emotions. Panicking now would not help him.
Inuyasha's breathing was becoming more painful. She could hear, and feel, each torturous gasp. She felt a strange flutter in her – his – chest. A wave of fear washed over her as she desperately hoped that that feeling did not mean that Inuyasha's heart was beginning to fail along with his lungs. She realized for the first time just how serious Inuyasha's condition was. Miroku was right.
Suddenly, the presence engulfed her.
Inuyasha! She cried out in relief.
No answer. With an almost painful wrench, she felt her mind roughly jerked forwards, the sensations of Inuyasha's body fading.
Once again there was darkness.
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Kagome regained consciousness slowly. The first thing she noticed was the lack of sounds and smells. She felt strangely handicapped without Inuyasha's heightened senses. The next thing she realized was that she felt very tired and weak, but other than that, fine. Then she heard Inuyasha.
The harsh, heavy, ragged breathing sounded like he could barely get air into his lungs. His breathing had become incredibly irregular. Kagome snapped her eyes open. She squinted in the light from the fire, searching for Inuyasha's face.
She took in the scene all at once. She was lying on the floor of the hut. Sango, Miroku, and Kaede were all huddled nearby, talking quietly. They were going through some of Kaede's herbs, shooting worried glances at Inuyasha's heaving back. They hadn't realized she was awake.
And then there was Inuyasha. He was leaning over her. At the sight of him, she wanted to cry. His face was haggard with exhaustion, his features scrunched up in pain. She stared in horror as he tried to force himself to breathe, his gasps for air becoming slower and weaker. He struggled desperately for breath as the life slipped from him.
His eyes slowly opened, but seemed unable to focus. He winced in pain with each breath.
"Inuyasha," She breathed.
He briefly focused on her. For a moment, life sparked in his eyes. Then, with one last, painful gasp, his eyes closed, his body going slack. He collapsed on top of her, and didn't move.
With his sudden weight on her chest, she couldn't move. She was pinned. But Kaede, Sango, and Miroku were instantly at Inuyasha's side, pulling him off her.
"Kagome, you're okay!" Sango said, relief flooding her features as she saw the girl awake.
"Inuyasha!"
Kaede's desperate voice summoned the two girls to the old woman's side. Miroku had Inuyasha propped in his lap, leaning over the hanyou's face.
Kagome stared. Inuyasha wasn't gasping for air anymore. Why had he stopped? Kagome's tired mind struggled to comprehend.
Miroku slid out from under Inuyasha, placing the hanyou's head gently on the floor. The half-demon's face was slack, unmoving, lifeless. Miroku's anguished face came up to gaze miserably at her.
"He's stopped breathing. I'm sorry, Kagome. He's gone."
The world seemed to crash in on her.
"No!" She screamed, rushing to Inuyasha's side. She crouched down beside him, putting her hands on each side of his face.
"Inuyasha!" She begged, sobbing. "Please don't die . . . I need you, don't leave me. Please! Inuyasha!"
She leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his, tears streaming down her face onto his. She sobbed harder, feeling as though her heart were dying a little more with every second that passed.
No! He can't die! He can't! He can't . . .
"Kagome . . ." Miroku whispered, trying to pull her away. She clung desperately to the hanyou's unmoving body.
"Inuyasha," She whispered in between sobs, praying that he could hear her. Her heart slowly bleeding her to death, her soul engulfed in a pain beyond imagining, she pleaded with the hanyou, trying to call him back to her. "Inuyasha, please come back. Don't give up. Don't leave me. I can't live without you, Inuyasha. I love you."
Suddenly, Inuyasha took a shuddering breath. Kagome lifted her head, staring blurrily into his face. He took another small, weak breath.
"Inuyasha!" She gasped in relief. The others crowded around. A small part of her mind realized that Shippo and Kilala had come in, but her attention did not stray from the hanyou. Each breath he took was like music to her ears, a song in her heart.
"He's alive!" Sango gasped with relief, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Miroku, with a relieved little smile on his face, tried to calm a nearly hysterical Shippo.
Kaede brought an herb tea for Inuyasha, instructing the others to lift the hanyou to a sitting position. The old woman slowly and carefully poured the drink down his throat. She told them that Inuyasha needed to be kept propped up to make breathing easier.
"He has used all of his strength to save Kagome to the point where he barely has the strength to breathe and to keep his heart beating. We must make it easier for him. And he must not be disturbed at all. Most of all, he needs rest."
Kagome had the others help her get Inuyasha back to the bed of straw. There she had them prop the hanyou up in her lap.
"I will stay with him." She said firmly. "It's the least I can do after what he's done for me."
The others nodded in agreement, understanding. She cradled Inuyasha's head in her lap, alternating between stroking his hair and rubbing his ears. She knew that when Inuyasha woke, not only would he have the pain of his injuries to deal with - and she knew now just how hard that was to do - but also the pain of the overusing his power. She desperately hoped he wouldn't wake until that pain had passed. She caressed his ears, deep in thought.
He loves me. I can't get over it, it's like all my dreams come true. Oh, Inuyasha, I almost lost you tonight. I almost lost you because I couldn't protect myself from Rhiodoru. I know you would tell me I'm being stupid for blaming myself, but I can't help it. I still feel responsible. But you love me! You were going to die for me, sacrifice your life for me! And . . . I was going to do the same for you. I love you so much, Inuyasha.
"Kagome?" She was brought out of her thoughts by a soft voice. She looked into the Kaede's concerned face.
"Are ye all right child? Did Inuyasha heal ye from whatever that demon did to your mind?"
Kagome nodded. The others waited for more information. Kagome, not feeling like talking, tried to keep it short.
"It was all a trap. Rhiodoru put a spell in my mind that was a trap for Inuyasha. When he tried to save me, the spell trapped him too. He could have saved himself and left me, but he wouldn't. He wanted to save just me, even though that meant that he would die." Her voice broke, tears pouring down her face. "He wanted to die to save me."
"So what happened, Kagome?" Sango asked gently.
"Well, I wouldn't let him die to save me. Inuyasha had an idea, but it was dangerous. We decided to try, rather than one of us having to live without the other. We were ready to die together, if that's what it came to."
The others stared, disbelief reflecting in each of their faces.
"Ye speak as if ye two were able to discuss things before ye acted. How is that?"
"Inuyasha was in my mind, so he could talk into my mind, and then listen to my thoughts when I answered." She sighed sadly, looking down at Inuyasha. "His plan worked, but it nearly killed him. He almost died anyways." She blinked back tears.
"Kagome," Miroku asked, "when the both of you were trapped in Rhiodoru's spell, would you have died to let Inuyasha live?"
"Yes," Kagome answered without hesitation, "without a second thought. Just as I know that he would have for me."
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A/N:
::does super-happy, delighted dance::
Wow!!! Awesome!!! Yay!!! All the reviews! Thank you so much! I got so many wonderful reviews, I just didn't know what to do with myself! I was so inspired, I got this chapter up for you guys three days early! Thank you!
(allin656 – Since I couldn't email you an answer to your question, I'll try to answer it here. (You asked: When Inuyasha is taking Kagome into his mind is her body like soul-less or something like that? I mean is her body just empty or something until Inuyasha heals up again and can re-implant Kagome into her own body?) Inuyasha is basically taking Kagome's mind into his body, actually, his head, to be specific. It doesn't have anything to do with her soul. He is pulling her consciousness, the part of a person's mind that is aware, the part that thinks, into him. Without her consciousness/mind in her, her body does become like a shell, since there is nothing in it to control her body, but her soul is still there. I hope that clears it up for you. If you're still confused, or have any other questions, you can send me an email via my address on my profile page, and I'll reply ASAP.)
