Disclaimer: This story is loosely inspired by "A private affair" by Beppe Fenoglio.

None of the characters belongs to me but the original ones.

The war described in this story is of pure fiction and in no way relates to actual historical events.

Chapter Four: Underground

He had always thought of the hills as the natural theatre of love,

But there he had been forced to do the last imaginable thing: the war.

"Are you out of your mind?" Inuyasha exclaimed once he recovered from the shock. "I can't go back as human! I'd be like serving them my life on a fucking silver platter! I'm useless in this form, my strength doesn't match those energumen. Besides, this passage of yours seems to be quite long."

Kagome put the hands in front of her and waved them trying to stop his temper tantrum; she didn't even finish listing her reasons and she couldn't do it this way. "Inuyasha… please, listen to me. I know you're still shocked from the fact that I dared to suggest something like this but believe me ther-"

"Shocked? Shocked is an understatement wench! Loneliness made you crazy evidently. I can understand why you helped me – I'm grateful and I'll always be, really – but when you tell me you want to come with me during a suicide mission and that you want to purify me as if it was nothing I really wonder if you've lost it!" he burst out not giving her the time to continue. He stood up and started pacing back and forth, his blood boiling. With a huge effort, he controlled his aura; he knew very well what happened when he let any kind of feeling loose, the situation he was in now was nothing but a consequence of that after all.

Kagome let him vent up his anger and when she deemed it safe, she tried to speak again, "Inuyasha these tunnels are safe, I've already told you that I've gone through them alone more than once. They're equip-"

Inuyasha turned sharply toward her, his expression horrified. "And why in the seven hells were you underground? What on earth were you doing? Do you enjoy getting into trouble?" he interrupted her again.

The half-demon couldn't explain why fear had suddenly gripped his heart in a vice, nor why the mere thought of her standing alone and helpless in the war made his heartbeat rise feverishly.

"Will you stop interrupting me?" she huffed. Arms crossed and a pout on her lips – Inuyasha had to admit, she was cute as hell when she was angry, even if it wasn't the time to think about such things. "I'm trying to say something here!" She huffed once more and then resumed, "How do you think I get my supplies? Surely not from somewhere nearby, have you had a look around? There's nothing, this village has always been remote but during the war, it's even more of a sentence. Miroku or my friend Sango usually comes from far away through these passages; they would have no other way."

"What the heck Kagome, this foolproof plan of yours is falling apart from every point of view... are you going to tell me that the tunnels aren't so secret now?" he ranted, his voice growing louder and louder.

"Calm down now! Do you want to call the hunters back with your screams?" she hissed in response. Inuyasha immediately closed his mouth, ears drooping, and he let himself fall back onto what had been his bed for the last hours. "Well, now that we begin to understand each other," Kagome started again when she noticed that he had no intention of resuming his screaming, "Only Sango and Miroku know the passages and they are trustworthy, not to mention that you would still be human and would only have to say that I showed you the way, should you meet them – a very remote possibility."

As she spoke Inuyasha started thinking about the situation the monk was in and if it was a good idea to inform Kagome. She was talking about it as if she really knew him at the end – if she had been bringing him supplies for two years; it was likely even though she thought of him as too much touchy-feely – but at the same time he didn't want to distress her and she definitely wouldn't react well to the news. Kagome gave him the impression of a very emotional and determined woman; if her reaction earlier was any indication, a bit violent too. Should he risk it at this very moment while they still had more important things to think about? In the end, he decided not to do it, maybe he would tell her before he left or better, he could release Miroku once at the castle safe and sound and Kagome wouldn't have to know anything about it.

How positive we are all of a sudden, he inwardly thought.

"You're really set on this idea of yours of turning me into a human! Do you think I'm happy about it?"

"Of course not, but that is the whole point of the plan and as such necessary. I was telling you that these underground passages are tested and had been used for decades. There are torches galore and the route is marked on the walls. You have no reason to fear, but rest assured that if you go through them as a half-demon even that path North-West that circumscribes the forest will not be able to hide your aura from those there right now," she told him confidently while maintaining a fierce and determined look.

Inuyasha sighed and then ran a hand over his face. Why on earth was he in this situation? Ah sure, Kikyo...

Damn you Kikyo, look where you led me with your damn lies, look where you led your own family. And while you stay safe in your shelters reserved for other deserters like you, they have to think of the best way to save their own skins.

"And how long would the effect last?" he asked resignedly. Not that he had much desire to purposely get purified, but he knew Kagome had a reason. Getting out of those lands in his current form at the moment was nearly impossible if he wanted to avoid being noticed.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know?" His eyes reduced to two slits.

"You think I go around purifying half-demons as a hobby? Why should I know it?! I can only make a supposition...this night you were struck down just before dawn, and when you awoke, the sun was not yet very high. I dare say you will have a maximum of four hours." She looked into his eyes again, that fierce look did not leave her for a second and he felt comforted by all that determination coming from a woman who was but a slip of a thing compared to him and at the same time did not seem the slightest bit afraid. "I know the route is long but we can't risk losing more time," she continued. "Plus I'd like to get back to the shrine before dark."

"Hey, hey, stop. If I have to undergo something like this, you won't follow me. It's too dangerous and doesn't make sense at all," he interrupted her by returning her gaze. She might have been determined, but he was just as stubborn, he wouldn't budge.

She pouted again, her upper lip was literally sticking out and his eyes inevitably moved to that exact spot, lingering too long. Her cheeks flushed under his penetrating gaze.

"Inuyasha?" she called back to him. Why was he staring at her lips? What was wrong with them? She instinctively brought her fingers to her mouth and he knew he had been discovered. He turned red to the tips of his dog ears and then shook his head to forget his impure thoughts.

He scratched the back of his head nervously as she resumed speaking, her hands now twisting in her lap. "I will gladly agree to stay here if you will as well do as I say."

Kagome and Inuyasha were currently behind the shrine; the girl was leading him towards the entrance of the underground passage.

After a quick goodbye to the other two women - Rin had hugged him tightly, her little hands had nearly chocked him, and wished him luck, while the old woman had merely nodded and patted him on the shoulder - Kagome had packed him some supplies for pure meticulousness and they had set off without further ado. The sooner they left, the sooner they would arrive.

As he followed the young priestess through unfamiliar paths he shifted his eyes to the green expanses that surrounded him and found himself once again thinking about what he had experienced in that forest.

Kikyo, Kikyo, what have you done to me?

I loved you among these trees, and here I am doing the war between these same trees. I thought certain places would forever remain untouched, despite the blood and sweat, thanks to your memory. Now I know that it will never be the case again.

Death, pain, and betrayal now are part of this forest – what has nature done to deserve your distorted image? To deserve the war?

Nothing seemed to be right anymore.

He brought his gaze to the slender figure of Kagome who had her back to him and walked undaunted ahead of him.

Perhaps he would have to find new, untainted memories that would rid this forest of the horror of the war.

Just then, Kagome turned to him, her eyebrow raised and a questioning expression on her face. "Hey... what are you doing? It's not like we have time to waste. The hunters and the monk could be back at any moment. Hurry up!" She shuddered for a nanosecond at the mere thought of Kiyoshi and the movement didn't escape Inuyasha who narrowed his eyes but then decided to address the issue once they reached their destination.

After five minutes, they finally arrived at what Inuyasha at first would have called a dead end. A tall wall stood in front of them covered in vines and cracked in some places. He remained silent as Kagome bent down and began to move some ivy and slowly showed a small entrance, large enough for a crouching man.

He raised an eyebrow; this wasn't the underpass, was it? Was he going to walk through those tunnels on all fours? Was she kidding? The entrance looked cramped just by looking at it, how on earth was he going to move inside it?

Kagome read the shock and scepticism on his face and immediately explained, "Relax, the tunnels aren't like that. Only the entrance is tiny, it's purposely made like this to discourage anyone who notices it despite the dead end. It does look like an animal den, doesn't it? Have a little faith and follow me." She turned to him and signalled to him to bend over as she did and then began to make her way through that narrow passage. "Don't breathe too much; it'll be a few minutes before we show up on the other side."

They crawled through that suffocating, dark hole for what Inuyasha thought was an eternity. Kagome had no problem moving with her slim frame, but for him who was twice her size... he had to squeeze to get in. Damn, they had tried hard to make it look like an animal's lair, hadn't they? He couldn't even believe he had managed to get in.

Finally, after centuries, the girl stopped and began to move some boulders placed there on purpose. He couldn't understand how she could even recognize anything since it would be impossible for humans to even see their hands; it was obvious that she had done this many times before and her fingers were moving by heart.

He finally saw her raise a trapdoor, just like the one in her hut, and go down that second passage. He followed her without a word. To his relief, he immediately noticed the freedom these new spaces gave him; his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and his more experienced senses discerned a long corridor that stretched for miles.

Kagome picked up two quite sharp stones that were placed in a small basket next to an unlit torch and immediately lit a fire that illuminated her face and the proud smile she was offering him. She raised the torch and pointed it toward the hallway. "So? What do you think?" she asked winking at him.

"Well, I have to say great-grandpa was smart," he admitted. With all the effort they had put into getting here it was easy to see that any other human would have immediately given up on the idea of going through what looked like an animal's den. Without knowing how the passage worked, it would have been impossible to reach this underground route.

"It wasn't just him," she smiled as she showed him symbols and objects they encountered on the walls. She explained to him how everything worked and how to interpret the various signs that were nothing more than strange cuneiform symbols and should be read more with the fingers than the eyes. "Rin and I have made quite a few changes since the war began. We made sure that anyone who ventured to bring us supplies and means of survival could travel as easily and comfortably as possible. At first, it seemed hard to get here, but after a while, you get used."

He smiled smugly at her, "Smart wenches."

Kagome suddenly stopped and placed her torch in a special entrance there in the wall. She took a deep breath – although the air underground wasn't much - and looked up at him. Gold met chocolate and for a couple of seconds, no one said anything.

Inuyasha knew it was time.

He nodded and didn't give her a chance to speak when she made to part her lips. "It's okay. I'm ready."

She returned the nod. "Just ahead you'll find some branches. To recognize the one to the northwest, read the marks on the walls as I've explained to you." With her fingers, she drew on the walls the signs he would have to recognize. "Once you get into that tunnel it should be pretty easy to get to the other side because it's only one way; there are no other branches, you can be sure of it. If your torch runs out there are plenty of others scattered everywhere. You'll need them since you won't be able to use your magnificent demon sight anymore."

He nodded again but said nothing.

"Alright then... I'll proceed." She placed her hand where his heart was and closed her eyes. It was small but warm. Inuyasha shut his eyes ready for the pain that would hit him soon; being purified for a half-demon did not mean death but it was still a painful process that did not resemble the transformation that took place for him on the night of the new moon. It was not natural, it erased the demonic part by force and as such, it was not pleasant.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, a thought made its way into his mind: what if he passed out like the previous night? Their plan would have gone to hell. Just at that moment, a bright light sprang from her fingertips and struck him in the chest after Kagome had murmured a faint "I'm sorry."

Inuyasha's whole body trembled, he gritted his teeth and hissed in pain, sure that he would be unconscious soon. His eyes and hair darkened, his white ears dropped to the sides of his face, his claws and fangs retracted, and Inuyasha still had his eyelids down and his fists closed. The darkness didn't hit him – if one didn't consider the darkness of his now human senses – and opened his eyes. He looked at his hands in disbelief and then at Kagome that was looking at him worriedly.

"But... how...?" he tried to ask but felt his mouth dried and his tongue twisted.

"What? Did I hurt you that bad?" she asked back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I tried to spare you as much pain as possible but in the end, it's still a purification."

He shook his head and continued to look at her. Now he had to rely on the soft glow of the flame to look into her big brown eyes. "No, I don't mean that, I already knew it would be painful. I'm just saying... why didn't I pass out? Tonight the impact was much stronger when the arrow hit me."

Her shoulders relaxed as soon as he spoke and a faint smile adorned her lips. "Well, first of all, no arrow hit you this time, didn't it? That's something." He could only nod for the umpteenth time. "Besides, I don't hold any negative feelings towards you; my gesture wasn't meant to hurt you so obviously the impact wasn't that hard. If I had even the slightest doubt that the purification would have knocked you out again I wouldn't have dared to suggest such a plan," she explained to him.

"That's great Kagome. I was afraid for a moment that all these plans would be for naught." He returned her smile.

"Well then, there's no time to lose. I have to get back to the shrine as soon as possible and you're on borrowed time from now on, good luck and be careful," she told him before leaning over, rising up on her toes and kissing him tenderly on the cheek. She looked at him one last time, waved her hand and went back the way she came after having lit a second torch.

Inuyasha stood there motionless as he watched her disappear, one hand held the torch she had given him and the other went up slowly to the cheek that still retained all the warmth that her sudden gesture had instilled in him. How was it possible that such an innocent kiss left him almost as paralyzed as those passionate kisses he once exchanged with Kikyo?

The light from Kagome's torch disappeared from his sight and he knew it was time to move. The young priestess was right; he didn't have a minute to lose. He would think about the heat that was slowly taking hold of his heart along with the pain of Kikyo's betrayal as soon as things got a little better for him. Now he just had to think about escape certain death.

He turned in the opposite direction, raised his torch and started to move his legs as fast as he could; luckily, even as a human his physical performance was not entirely poor.

Kagome, her clothes dirty and her breathing laboured, laid a hand on her pounding heart and took big breaths as soon as she left the small pathway that housed the secret passage. She didn't understand what was happening to her: why had she kissed him? What the hell was wrong with her? He must have thought she was just a stupid maiden.

She fixed her hair and dress in the best way she could and walked quickly back to her hut; this was no time to loaf around. To her horror, she noticed that Kiyoshi was already back and this time with not only the priestess and the monk, but all the other hunters as well; they didn't give her a good impression at all. They were questioning Kaede and one of the men was looking at Rin the way a man should never look at an eight-year-old; Kagome felt a shudder rack her body.

She looked at herself once more and knew she couldn't just show up like this, they would know something wasn't right and she had to resume her mask of a shy and scared young girl. Quickly she walked to the garden located behind the hut, smeared some dirt on her cheek, uprooted the first weeds she found and listened to what they were saying.

"So, old hag, where's the other little girl?" one of the hunters asked in a very rude and authoritative manner. Kiyoshi scowled and silenced him with a death glare.

"Shut up!" he repeated in words. "This is no way to address a servant of the Gods." He turned back to Kaede and resumed that fake expression and his devilish smile. "Please excuse us again good woman; it is known that hunters have hardly good manners. I have come to speak once more with your granddaughter. Could you lead us to her or call her?"

Kaede watched the group in front of her door with a frown and a cold stare, her body trying to shield Rin but to no avail. She let a few seconds pass before answering. Kagome and Inuyasha had left a while ago and with luck, the girl was already on her way back; she just had to stall a little longer. She only offered the unashamed monk a nod – Kiyoshi once again didn't appreciate the attitude the old woman had towards him – and then addressed the little girl without looking away from the men in front of her.

"Rin, go get your sister." The rest of her instructions were implied. "Head towards the hideout and stand by if she hasn't come out yet."

Once the child was gone, Kaede offered no explanation to the men, though she could easily sense how annoyed the monk was.

"Well?" Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow. "As we told you earlier this morning, we are in a bit of a hurry. Do you think we'll have to wait long?"

"I am very sorry houshi-sama, but my granddaughter has many things to attend to during the day so you will have to wait for the child to find her sister." She offered no more and ignored the man's attempts to extort news from her. If he thought he could intimidate her he thought wrong; Kaede was too old and experienced to fall into his traps or let him play his game.

Meanwhile, Rin had found her sister as soon as she had turned the corner. Kagome had pressed her index finger against her lips, signalling for her to be quiet, and then had drawn her to her chest, moving slightly away from the hut.

"We will wait a few minutes here before we make our way back to Kaede-obaa-chan," Kagome whispered in her ear. "I'll say that you found me while I was tending the garden, that way we'll explain the reason for my soiled robes. Is that clear?" Rin nodded. "You will not open your mouth once, I will do the talking. As soon as we go back, I want you to go back into the house and you won't come out of there; I don't want those dirty men to lay their eyes on you again. Am I clear?" The little girl nodded again. "Perfect, then. You've done well my little Rin," she told her before brushing her forehead with the same lips that had kissed the half-demon's cheek moments before.

They waited a few more minutes before proceeding and then Kagome emerged from behind the hut seemingly intimidated and with downcast eyes, the image of a naive peasant girl being impressed by the appreciative glances of her neighbours; her hand remained firmly on her sister's shoulders.

Kiyoshi's eyes lit up with mischief as soon as he caught sight of her, though a mocking smile graced his lips as soon as he noticed the condition she was in. Kagome bowed her head to greet them but also to try to hide yet another shiver caused by the way the monk was looking at her.

The priestess hoped that the encounter lasted as little as possible because she didn't know how much her nerves could withstand under the lascivious gazes of those hunters and the predatory one of the monk.

Inuyasha continued to walk the narrow underground corridors as fast as he could, almost as if he had the hunters and spiritualists hot on his tail again. He wasn't used to doing much during the night of the new moon, staying awake lost in thought while hiding like a coward for the most – as all half-demons did. The only times he'd come out in the open had been when he'd met Miroku and Kikyo. He quickly shook his head to erase the memory of that dark night – now the memories of her no longer gave him warmth, no longer gave him relief, no longer encouraged him before a battle. Now there was only anger mixed with pain.

How would he get through the rest of the war? How would he keep fighting if he no longer had a warm smile to hold on to? He had been alone since the day his mom had been killed and he had never known it.

Think about getting through this day and then we'll think about the rest of the war, an inner voice told him and he agreed. He had to get through these tunnels and the border guards unharmed, only then could he start worrying about Kikyo's betrayal again. With each passing minute, love turned to pure hatred and anger.

He found himself glad of the supplies Kagome had prepared for him before leaving the shrine and took a long sip of water. He wasn't used to running in that shape and so he wasn't used to his lungs demanding air and a break after a while or to the many droplets of sweat that beaded his forehead and soaked his fire-rat robe. He didn't know how long it had been since they had parted or how much time he had left to reach the exit. He did know, however, that the return of his demonic side was not imminent because he continued to feel weaker and weaker as he ran like a madman in that damned human form.

He was forced to stop at one point. He leaned forward, one hand resting on the wall on his left and the other on his right knee, the torch in an indentation. He realized how much of a godsend these passages really were and how provident the two girls had been. However, even though they were much wider than the kind of burrow they had passed through at the beginning, he still felt trapped down there; he was used to flying through the forest freely and to the wind that ruffled his long hair.

He needed to get out as soon as possible. He didn't want to stay too long underground, the air was scarce and he realized that the way he was breathing and running wasn't helping him either. After another sip of water, he resumed his run, this time more controlled, hoping he was almost at the end.

Inuyasha couldn't say for sure how much time had passed when he finally saw a light that wasn't the torch he still held in his hand. Just as Kagome had told him, the exit of the tunnel was blocked and hidden like the one at the entrance. This time he wouldn't have to go through a small hole though, he would just have to recognize the trap door and climb up it. She had explained to him that at the point where the tunnel ended, there was no way to hide the entrance as they had done behind the shrine, but since it was a deserted and fairly dead spot no one would stop and in any case, it would take a careful investigation to find it.

The light was just a point... a hole made in the hatch to signal to the travellers below that they had finally arrived at their destination before they even reached the end of the corridor.

He did as Kagome had instructed him and as quickly as he could he opened the trapdoor and cleared the exit. Like a thirsty man in the desert, he inhaled the fresh air coming from outside before he even climbed out. He covered his weak eyes that had suddenly been blinded by the sunlight and then walked out. The first part of the journey was over and he was out of the forest, a step away from the northern border of his father's land.

He could not say how long it had been, but he still did not feel his strength returning – what would he do now? No hunter would discover him but he would have to face the guards at the border in that human form. He knew that no demon would welcome well a human; they were at war after all.

He had no choice, he couldn't stand like that in the open without even being armed – Tessaiga didn't transform when he was human and he didn't even have claws anymore. He just had to hope that the robe and the sword at his side might help him to be recognized.

He walked what little he had left to reach the border even faster – the fresh air and light made him faster perhaps? – and without even trying to hide, he appeared before the gates. To his dismay, he recognized one of the guards as Michi, a bull demon who had never been able to stand Inuyasha's presence in court, nor the power he had as the General's second son. He grimaced and prepared himself for the worst, he trusted that none of them wanted to die; if one of them dared to kill him even as a human his father would not hesitate to execute them himself.

He saw the four guards come to attention the moment he stepped into the clearing that housed the access to the lands and saw them draw their swords. Faster than he would have imagined, Inuyasha grabbed Tessaiga and brought it in front of his face for recognition – he could still use the sheath's barrier worst-case scenario – and shouted: "Stop! I am Inuyasha, son of the Inu-no-Taisho."

The dog demon who had immediately gone on attack mode suddenly stopped at those words. He had never seen the half-demon in this form before, why did he even smell like a human?

Katsuo knew that the general's second son had disappeared yesterday morning and there was no getting around the fact that his current condition was the result of whatever had happened to him in the meantime. He did not doubt the prince's words, recognizing both the sword he held in his hands and the robe he wore, not to mention the familiar scent that still marked him despite his human form. He raised his arm and signalled the others to stop the attack but turning slightly towards them, he found only two. He widened his eyes and turned back to Inuyasha.

Michi had completely ignored the words of the half-demon turned human and had grabbed him from behind, throwing him to the ground before he could even react. Inuyasha never stood a chance; the bull, moving cunningly, had avoided any kind of sound that could have reached his human ears. Michi stumped a boot on his chest as he held his sword to Inuyasha's throat, Tessaiga flew out of his hands and he found himself once again one step away from death.

Things had moved much faster than he had thought possible. Would Michi be able to kill him even though he knew death was surely waiting for him if he dared? The smug, devilish look on his face was an appropriate response.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Humans aren't very well received in our lands lately, didn't you know that?"