****OK I just want to place a note/warning here. I most definitely did not plan the story to go like this at all. I had an idea and started writing and whatever powers may be took me in a dark direction right out of the starting gate. This beginner is a little intense and if you're not a fan of one of the main (good) characters dying, you may want to not read this one. Also, I sort of modge-podged the name of the plant demon together using a translator and a quick google search so sorry if it's terrible I just really thought that if I kept Sango true to character, she would know the exact name of the demon, as demonstrated multiple times throughout the show.****
She hardly felt the impact of the barbed vine as it rent the tender flesh of her belly. She stumbled backwards, lowering her bow to put pressure on the wound.
"My shirt is ripped! Mom is going to be so mad." She gazed down at the white fabric soaking up the red of her blood, and the gash etching across it.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice could be heard shouting from somewhere behind the demon. It was a great, hulking thing made of vines and thorns. The flowers blooming all over it were gorgeous but that only meant they were poisonous as hell. Large yellow eyes peeked out from underneath the tangles of vines and it opened a wide mouth to try and devour her.
Kagome quickly got to her feet and managed to jump out of the way before Inuyasha's form rose above the demon, sword raised. He let out a "HIYAHHHHH!" As he swung the sword quickly down, driving it straight through the top all the way to the bottom of the creature. It wailed a garbled cry of pain as it died, its two halves falling to the ground.
"Kagome! Are you OK?" Inuyasha quickly put Tetsusaiga back in the sheath and rushed to Kagome's aid. She could see that he had sustained some scratches but it wasn't anything serious for him. His demon blood would quickly heal him.
Kagome groaned at the now obvious discomfort in her stomach.
"Damn! Sango! Grab Kagome's things, she's hurt!" Inuyasha gently lifted her top to look at the wound. Her fingers grasped tightly to the injury. "Kagome, you've gotta let me see." His golden eyes rose to hers.
Kagome grunted and slowly pulled her fingers away. Inuyasha winced and placed his hand over the cut. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo came rushing over.
"Kagome! Kagome are you hurt?" Shippo hopped over to Kagome and observed the situation.
"I'll be OK, Shippo." Kagome managed but the pain was getting worse. That wasn't a good sign.
Sango dropped to her knees next to Kagome and opened the backpack she'd retrieved. She dug through it frantically until she found Kagome's medical supplies.
"Kagome, did you get hit with one of the vines?" Sango pulled out an antiseptic and some gauze. By now she was well-versed in the ways of using Kagome's medical supplies.
Kagome nodded. "Yeah. I thought I could get a shot off but it was faster than me I guess." She sucked a hiss in through her teeth as Sango poured the alcohol on the wound to disinfect it.
"That demon is known as a shikimin budonoki. The entire demon is a mass of toxic vines and flowering buds. The barbs on the vines are the main way it delivers poison to its victims." Sango bandaged the wound and pressed her hand to Kagome's forehead. "You're already starting to get a fever." She frowned deeply.
"Oh no! What do we do now?!" Shippo started to freak out.
"Knock it off! Panicking isn't going to help." Inuyasha grabbed the fox kit by the tail and suspended him in mid air.
"Is there an antidote?" Miroku stepped forward and knelt down next to Sango.
"Yes, but we are going to need herbs from Jinenji's farm. Some of them don't grow naturally in this region." Sango said grimly as she pulled a bottle of mixed herbs from Kagome's backpack.
Kagome was starting to feel very fatigued suddenly. Sango quickly mixed some of the herbs in Kagome's water bottle and forced her to drink some.
"What's that?" Inuyasha inquired as he watched Sango all but pour the mixture down Kagome's throat.
"It's an antidote but it won't be entirely effective against this type of poison. Inuyasha, you stay here and protect Kagome. Miroku and I will take Kilala and go to Jinenji. It would be wise not to move her, it will make the poison spread faster." Sango handed him the water bottle.
"Give her more in a few hours. Kilala!" She called and the twin tail was at her side in an instant. She and Miroku mounted the cat's back and took off into the sky.
"Please hurry." Inuyasha said under his breath as he released Shippo and knelt behind Kagome, drawing her against his chest.
"Oh, Kagome please hang in there!" Shippo climbed into Inuyasha's lap to cling to Kagome's arm.
"Don't worry Shippo." She smiled lazily at him. "I'll be fine." She lied. Her eyes were already growing heavy and it was getting hard to breathe. Was she going to die here? She guessed it wasn't so bad that at least if she were to die, she would die in the arms of the man she loved.
"Kagome? Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice became very far away. Or maybe it was Shippo's. At some point she had closed her eyes. They would not open for her. She wanted to be terrified but she was honestly at peace. Her every breath was getting weaker. She knew full well that she was dying. She wasn't sure how long it had been since Sango had left. She mustered all the strength she had and managed to open her eyes. It had been midday and now the night sky greeted her. Inuyasha was still holding her, but this time, he was cradling her head on his shoulder. She could see the tear trails on his face and his face brightened when their eyes met.
"Kagome?" He smiled a little and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Hey there. How are you feeling?" He raised the water bottle and attempted to give her more antidote.
As Kagome came into consciousness, she realized that her body was in a world of pain and she was also practically paralyzed. It was no longer her abdomen alone that hurt, it felt like her entire body had been run over by a truck. She was freezing, but also sweating. She felt nauseated. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he turned her away from him in time for her to vomit. It hurt to vomit. Her throat was raw and the muscles she had to use to facilitate the task were already in enough torment. When she opened her eyes, she saw that this wasn't the first time she'd thrown up. She must have been doing it in her sleep as well. Inuyasha slowly scooted backward. There was a trail of vomit. He was trying not to move her but he had to move at least a little each time it happened.
"Shippo, bring me the water." Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder.
Kagome could hear Shippo's excited panting as he brought Inuyasha the item he asked for, even though it was almost to heavy for him to carry the large bucket. Inuyasha swished a cloth around and wrung it out. He wiped the cloth gently over Kagome's mouth and down her neck. He put it back in the bucket and cleaned it and squeezed the excess water out again. He placed the cloth on Kagome's forehead and pulled her head back against him. She felt him drape a cover over the rest of her body. She could hear the crackling of wood on a fire and could feel the heat from it. She closed her eyes again, having been overcome with exhaustion, probably from the expulsion of her stomach contents. Breathing was extraordinarily hard now and her head spun relentlessly. She knew that she wasn't going to last much longer.
"Inuyasha..." She croaked. She forced her eyelids open just a bit to see his face one last time.
He put his palm on her cheek. "Don't try to talk, Kagome." He whispered to her.
She drew a shaky breath, and realized then that her entire body was trembling quite hard. "I just...wanted to see you one...last time."
A tear rolled down his face and he shouldered it away. "Don't talk like that." He choked back a sob.
"Thank you...for everything." Her last breath slowly filtered out of her lungs as she looked up at him. He watched in horror as the life dulled from her eyes. Her body went limp and her heart which had been beating erratically, now ceased to beat. She was dead.
Inuyasha clutched her harder to his chest and set his agony on full display. He sobbed as he buried his face in her hair and curled them both into a ball. A brokenhearted Shippo sat on the ground beside him crying into the back of Kagome's shirt. The two of them sat there for what felt like an eternity until there was nothing but silence. Inuyasha eventually fell silent, holding Kagome in his arms, still as a statue. His body had grown rigid; a shell to protect them both and now a representation of what was left of him. The hollowness inside him threatened to swallow him from the inside out. Shippo had eventually cried himself to sleep. He was just a kid after all and he bawled his little eyes out until he literally passed out.
The sound of Kilala's paws landing caused his ears to twitch and he slowly raised his head.
Sango hopped off Kilala and started to run for them when she saw the state of Inuyasha's face and the unmistakable pallor of Kagome's skin. She stumbled to her knees and her hand that had been gripping the herb mixture slowly opened and it dropped unceremoniously on the ground. She gasped and her hand covered her mouth as she began to cry.
"No...Kagome..." She sucked in a quick breath as she let her body fall forward on her hands.
Miroku knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms to let her mourn there. Although he couldn't hold back his tears either.
"How long?" Miroku asked quietly.
Inuyasha didn't answer, he just returned his head back to where it was. Kilala laid down and nuzzled against Sango and Miroku to aid in their grief.
After Sango and Miroku had managed to compose themselves, they all sat there in contemplative silence for a time.
"What now?" Sango finally spoke up. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
There was a long silence before anyone answered.
"Inuyasha, you need to return to Kagome's time and inform her family." Miroku said, clearing his throat.
Inuyasha raised his head and nodded. For the first time in several hours, he set Kagome down on the ground and covered her entirely with his kimono. He stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. All the commotion had woken Shippo up. He used his renewed energy to curl up against Kagome and continue to cry.
"We should take her back to Kaede's village and give her a proper burial." He said to no one in particular as he stared off into the distance.
"We should bury her beneath the Sacred Tree." Sango countered. "The tree is still present in her time, near her home right, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha turned to face her. "Yeah...You're right. We should do that." He bent down to scoop Kagome up and began walking. Sango offered Kilala but Inuyasha was deaf and blind to anything but his current objective. The rest of them followed on in sorrowful silence.
Kagome opened her eyes slowly. She was standing in a dark room, but she could see her body. She looked down and the wound on her stomach was gone. She felt healthy. Healthier than she had in a long time, in fact. She gazed around and saw nothing in front of her.
"Where am I?" She wondered, asking herself as well as anyone that might be nearby. Not that she had any hope of that.
A light appeared a ways off and it illuminated her surroundings. She was in a cave. There was dirt and rocks beneath her feet. The walls climbed several stories high and stretched out far behind her. She recognized this place. She had been here before but where? Why was she here now? How did she get here? Where was Inuyasha?
As the light in the room grew brighter she could see a set of large stone doors that were opening. On either side of the doors were two gargantuan stone statues.
Gozu and Mezu
Her eyes snapped open.
I'm at the gate to the underworld. That must mean I'm dead.
She then remembered her last moments with Inuyasha. The poison plant demon attacking her and inflicting the fatal wound. The last image she could remember was Inuyasha's face, crying over her.
Kagome wanted to be sad but the emotion literally would not come to her. It was strange how she could feel everything and nothing at the same time. It felt like her body was floating and she began to approach the door. Gozu and Mezu watched her as she walked toward the door. On the other side was pure light. She could feel the pureness and it felt safe. Warm. It drew her in and she went for it. Tendrils of light snaked out and wrapped around her as she got closer. She stepped through the gate and was completely enveloped by light. It was like being in a hot spring. She felt completely relaxed and happy.
Her body was yanked violently back through the gate. She skidded across the dirt and looked up at Gozu and Mezu.
"Do you wish to pass?" One of their voices filled the cavern.
Kagome was baffled and searched for the source of what just transpired. Around her waist was a chain. It had an otherworldly glow and she could see it extending backwards through the cave. She watched as it tugged her further back.
"Do you wish to pass, or not?" The booming voice asked again, impatiently.
Kagome tried to open her mouth to answer but her voice was gone. She tried to free herself from the chain but it wrapped tighter around her midsection and then began wrapping around her legs and arms. It started to drag her into the darkness. She kicked and thrashed to no avail. Gozu and Mezu shrank into the distance as she slowly sank into the darkness. The chain pulled her to the edge of a precipice. Below was an endless pool, shimmering brightly with the same glow on the chain that bound her. The water lapped gently, despite that there was no wind, nor any other clear reason it should be moving but she knew she didn't want to plunge into it. She flailed with all her might but against her will she was pulled into the water and everything went dark.
Kagome lurched into a sitting position and gasped for breath. Breath. She looked down, and saw her ripped shirt covered in blood and the bandage Sango had placed. She touched her face, her arms, her shoulders, and ran a hand through her hair. She was alive! She felt rejuvenated! Sango must have gotten the herbs from Jinenji and she must have slept off the poison.
The visions with Gozu and Mezu must have been a fever dream. She concluded as she slowed her breathing down.
"Inuya-ah!" Kagome started to call out for Inuyasha as she turned her head to look for him when a familiar pair of feet come into view, and they weren't Inuyasha's. She snaps her head upward to see that she's staring up at none other than Sesshoumaru.