**~~How'd ya like the previous chapter? Getting better????? Review please
^^ Nat, your ideas coming up really soon in the next chapter~~**
=============Chapter twenty=============
"INUYASHA!!!!!" Kagome cried. InuYasha' s blood was visible, as it spread out across the muck.
Kagome tried to jump in to search for InuYasha, but Miroku and Sango pulled her back. "Get to land!" Sango commanded Kilala.
Kilala landed back on the land.
Kagome ran to the swamp and stared at the spot InuYasha had disappeared into.
Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Shippo watched Kagome in silence. A tear ran down Kagome' s cheeks.
Miroku looked down at the ground in sadness.
"He did this for us, and for you Kagome. He would've pulled you down as well if he hadn't let go"
"InuYasha......" Kagome whispered, ~you should've pulled me down with you......I would have helped you fight the youkai...... why did you let me go.....I would have even happily died with you....NOW I MUST SUFFER LIFE WITHOUT YOU ~
"Kagome....." Sango whispered, "Inuyasha would have wanted us to continue on our journey......"
"He didn't die, I know it!!! I would have felt it if he had died. HE TOLD ME! He said that he wouldn't die!" Kagome cried desperately. "We have to go find him!"
"We can't, it's too late.....Kagome......"Sango said sadly, as a tear also ran down her cheeks. "We want to search for him, but....."
"KAGOME!" Miroku cried, seeing a woman flying fast towards Kagome.
"Huh?" Kagome turned around, and felt herself being picked up by the youkai. Kagome did nothing to get out of the clutch of the youkai, her thoughts much too preoccupied with the thoughts of InuYasha. Her life now seeming a bit worthless.......but then she remembered her mother, grandfather, and brother, Souta. ~Mama has already lost papa, she wouldn't be able to bare losing one more person.....~ Kagome decided.
"Let go of me" Kagome said seriously.
"Do you want me to? Think again" the youkai asked.
Kagome looked down to see the land far below.
"Hmmm....would you rather like to be smashed up, or become my food? I need a small snack, the humans I have are too big for my appetite at this moment"
Kagome looked at the youkai. Her eyes were big and glowing red. Her mouth looked human but had fangs sticking out of her lips, and her skin was purple.
"KYAAAAA!!! Let me go!!!!!!!!!" Kagome screamed, "A-a-actually, don't l-let go!"
****************************** "Sango, we have to go after Kagome!" Miroku cried.
"But what about InuYasha?! You heard Kagome, he could still be alive!" Sango said.
"YAH! InuYasha can't be dead...He just can't be!" Shippo cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Females. Fine, then you stay, I'll go after Kagome" Miroku sighed. He got on Kilala and flew after Kagome. ~Girls, they believe anything with their soft hearts, poor Kagome. She'll be really hurt when she finds out that InuYasha will not be coming back..~
Sango stared at the swamp. Silence. She sighed. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe....he is gone...."
"Don't say that?! How can you give up on InuYasha like that?!" Shippo cried.
Sango looked down at InuYasha' s Tetsusaiga. She picked it up. "kagome might feel closer to InuYasha by having this" Sango muttered.
They sat, staring at the swamp, losing hope at every passing minuet.
Suddenly, Shippo and Sango shot their heads up when they started to see bubbles arising in the swamp.
"What is this?" Sango muttered. ~He can't be alive. So much time has passed...~
There was a slight explosion in the swamp as a figure robed in red jumped out.
"INUYASHA!" Shippo cried in happiness, standing up to go run over to him.
InuYasha landed on the ground, his face looking down at the ground, his claws covered in the blood of the swamp youkai. Sango felt a weird sensation, she couldn't see his face since it was covered by a shadow.
Sango held Shippo back from running towards InuYasha.
"W- What are ya doin?!" Shippo cried.
"This..... aurora I sense from him.....is evil......this is not InuYasha....but...."
InuYasha looked up to reveal a murderous looking red pair of eye. He evilly looked at them, he growled, revealing sharp fangs.
"It's his full youkai form....."
"I need to kill more" Inuyasha growled, cracking his knuckles.
****************************** "Who are you?!" Kagome demanded.
"A youkai by the name, Hina "
"Are you.....really going to eat me?"
"You must be a stupid girl. Have I not been implying to devour you for the past few minuets? Of course I am, I will hang you from a rope on top of a fire, and wait till you're all roasted"
"KYAAAAAAA. I NEVER IMAGINED THAT I'D BE EATEN AS A ROASTED TURKEY!!!!!!!!!"
"I like my food best roasted" Hina replied. From the corner of her eyes she saw someone headed towards them, but still far away.
"Ah, here we are" Hina said, as she flew to the ground.
Kagome looked around to see a humungous pot boiling with water, and many humungous piles of woods on fire and a rope hanging above it from a tree.
Kagome heard someone scream, she slowly turned around to see one human who was hanging on a rope by the neck with fire blazing around him...and a woman who was hanging onto a rope and below her was a blazing hot fire.
"That will be how I'll roast you" Hina said, pointing slowly at the man hanging by the neck. Kagome's eyes widened.
"I love to see the faces of females when I do that . It was just a joke, that will be how you die" Hina said, pointing at the woman hanging onto a rope looking quiet weak, as if she were going to let go and fall. "I have special ways of cooking, it's different by the genders"
Kagome backed away to escape, but Hina grabbed Kagome and flew her into the air.
"Hold this" Hina said, pointing at a rope that was hanging above a blazing fire with smoke, the rope tied to a tree branch.
"NO!"
"Then I'll have to just drop you in there!" Hina said. Kagome quickly took hold of the rope. Hina let go. Kagome screamed as she now held the rope tightly. She could feel the heat of the fire burning slightly against her skin and the smoke hurting her eyes.
"The longer you hold on, the longer you live" Hina said, then she muttered something. Kagome saw dead skeletons starting to move.
~What's going on?~ Kagome thought. Then she saw the reason, Miroku and Kilala were now being held by the skeletons and thrown into a cage.
"My......what a wonderful day. I catch one girl and it comes with a guy and a .....youkai. Yum" Hina said with a laugh.
"KAGOME! HANG ON, DON'T LET GO!!!!!!" Mioku yelled
"WHAT YOU SAID WAS KINDA COMMON SENSE!" Kagome yelled back, sweating from freight and from the heat.
Kagome looked at the girl beside her, she was screaming.
"HOT, HOT, HOT! I can't stand it any longer!" the girl cried, "I'd rather die then suffer like this!"
Kagome turned pale and looked down at the fire blazing below her.
"SHUTUP GIRL!" Miroku yelled seeing that the girl was making Kagome more scared.
****************************** Sango jumped away from InuYasha' s attack. Shippo screamed as he ran up a tree.
"I need to feel the flesh ripping through my claws" InuYasha growled as he looked at Sango in a blood thirsty look.
"Stop it InuYasha!" Snago cried, not wanting to injure him.
"Shut up and die!!!!!"
He ran towards her, he slashed his claws at her, but Sango hid behind her boomerang, causing his claws to get stuck on her weapon. He pulled it out, . Sango jumped away. InuYasha ran towards her, but disappeared in a flash.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" then Sango felt something speeding speeding towards her from behind her. She spun around to see InuYasha's claws miss her by an inch, but it cut off a piece of her armor. Sango gasped. ~ His claws...are so sharp~
"Sorry Inuyasha, but I'm gunu have to do this!" Sango said as she threw her boomerang at him. But he backflipped to the side. Sango's weapon returned back to her.
Sango ran to InuYasha with her sword, meaning to just knock InuYasha out for a while. But InuYasha jumped high into the air, Sango tried to see what InuYasha's move might be, but he had jumped in front of the sun making Sango unable to see him.
He landed right behind her, she moved away just in time to get just her cheeks a bit cut. She swung her sword at him, but broke the sword. Sango gasped, looking down at her now useless sword.
~If only I can give this back to him~ Sango thought moving away from InuYasha' s strike. Suddenly, she felt InuYasha punch her, as she flew back, slamming hard into a tree, cracking the tree in half. Sango grunted as she stood back up, she looked down at the Tetsusaiga that lay in front of her, she then held it in her hands.
"InuYasha take the sword!" Sango cried.
InuYasha ignored Sango, kicking the sword away, and pushed Sango to the ground, wrapping his hands around her neck and raised his claws to rip her neck.
"THINK OF KAGOME!" Sango cried, shutting her eyes tightly. Ready to die.
InuYasha felt a heart beat. His hands were still around Sango' s neck with his claws in the air, but the claws didn't move. He just froze.
InuYasha got off Sango and moved back, still his full youkai form. A picture of Kagome telling him to never lose the sword flashed through his head. InuYasha's mind started to ache as something fought within his mind. He held his head, trying to get the pain out of his mind. He looked at the sword not far away.
"That name....is so familiar....Ka..gome" InuYasha muttered as he unsteadily walked towards the sword with his hands stretched out towards the sword.
"Ka-gome?" he muttered again, his vision getting blurry from pain in his head.
Sango watched in amazement. ~Even in his youkai form....when no human feelings are supposed to exist, he still remembers Kagome......~ Sango watched as InuYasha reached the sword.
InuYasha held the sword, and suddenly felt great pain punch right into him from all the pain he had already gotten, but had not felt the due to his full youkai form. He felt all his strength wash out of him as he collapsed to the ground.
"HE COLLAPSED?!" Shippo cried as he ran down the tree.
"INUYASHA!" Sango cried, running over to him.
~His half youkai body is unable to take on the full power of a youkai....he does not know how to control his power, thus he would fight, feeling no pain, but would fight to his death.....~
Sango and Shippo were now crouching near InuYasha who was covered in blood and muck. He slightly opened his eyes,
"Ka...go....me" he said weakly, "where.... is....she"
Sango looked away. InuYasha forced himself up, grimacing from the pain.
"Where....is she?!" he asked again.
"She....was taken away by the youkai witch.....but don't worry! Miroku has gone after her!"
"He can't save her alone. He is probably now in one of the cages. Now I remember why the story of that witch sounded so familiar.....50 years ago, before Kikyo went to destroy Hina, that youkai witch, for stealing some of her people, the villagers told Kikyo that the soldiers should go and check it out before she went. First a soldier went, I followed to see. Hina commanded these skeletons to capture the soldier. Then another after another. All strong, but all captured. I watched how the men and women were killed then eaten. Hina has great powers. But I didn't do anything then, because that was before I .....actually started to have feelings for Kikyo. So I didn't go and help. Kikyo finally decided to go, but by then, Hina had moved somewhere else....and now...Kagome.....is probably...." InuYasha fell back to the ground, he could feel moist in his eyes.
"DEAD?!" Sango asked desperately. "SHE CAN'T BE!"
"She better not be....I'll save her, even if it means that I'll die trying in my weak state. I'll get her back....no matter what" InuYasha said in bitter sadness. InuYasha used his sword to get himself up.
Sango helped InuYasha walk, as he followed his scent.
"Sango, sorry" he said.
"For what?"
"I almost killed you, didn't I? I see serious wounds all over you"
"Why....would you think that....you did it?" Sango quietly asked, looking away.
"you had the same look Kagome had on once..."
"I'm alright with it, it wasn't even your fault!" Sango said.
"Keh, whatever......"he replied, still unable to get his mind off Kagome.
************************* Kagome' s mind swirled from the smoke, her skin burned from the heat, her lungs filled with pain, with scenes of people falling to their death repeating over and over again in her thoughts. Kagome could feel her grip dying out on her, she could feel one finger slipping off the rope after every passing few minuets. Her two arms that were holding onto the rope ached like hell. One of her arms gave out, as it now hung loosely at her side. Only one arm kept Kagome alive...
"Kagome, don't give up!" Miroku kept saying. Kagome heard nothing. All she could feel and hear was the pain she was in and the scenes of people burning up.
Kagome stared blankly at nowhere.
Hina opened her eyes from her meditation. She looked up at Kagome. ~That girl is the only girl that has survived this long. I'm damn hungry. She had mentioned a person named InuYasha many times. That he was not dead and would come and save her, the priest and that fluffy big cat ... InuYasha ...Hm, I know him well. My swamp demon did not destroy him......if she believes that InuYasha is alive, and that is the only reason she is living...~
"Let go Kagome, InuYasha is dead" Hina said.
"No....no...."Kagome muttered, "not....InuYasha.....no"
"He is, I own the swamp Youkai, I can sense it when my youkai has caught and slaughtered a trespasser..... HE IS DEAD!"
The small light that had glimmered hope in Kagome's mind disappeared. Kagome's mind went dark. "InuYasha...." she muttered, as her whole body gave out. ~Good-bye~
"KAGOME!" Miroku yelled and another voice in unison. "Huh?" Miroku turned to see InuYasha dashing towards Kagome who was falling towards the fire.
InuYasha immediately forgot about his weak state and dashed for Kagome, "KAGOME!". InuYasha jumped through the fire, pulling her out before it burnt her.
Kagome could feel cool air again for some reason. ~Am I dead?!~
InuYasha lay Kagome gently on the ground. Anger filled him as he looked down at Kagome who looked in so much pain, and so lifeless. He glared at Hina. The youkai who had hurt Kagome.......and the youkai that had depressed Kikyo so much by devouring her people.
InuYasha stood, and attacked Hina with his Tetsusaiga attack.
"It's the.....Bakuryuuha" Sango gasped in surprise, stopping right in front of Miroku's cage. "the strongest Tetsusaiga attack........He has done it for the second time"
After the flash of light died away, Hina no longer remained, not even her ashes. InuYasha turned and ran over to Kagome, and fell to the ground beside her from the pain of his wound.
"Kagome....."
Kagome sat up without much difficulties. InuYasha stared at her in surprise as did Sango who had finally let out Miroku and Kilala.
"You look.......well" InuYasha said.
"I know......weird eh? One minuet I feel like I'm in hell, the next minuet I'm in the cool air, my arms ache pretty badly, but not that badly. My skin isn't in pain ,as it should be, and my mind feels a little fine" Kagome said.
"BUT you on the other hand DO NOT look fine. Hey.....how did you escape....."Kagome's eyes watered up, " I THOUGHT YOU DIED!!!!"
"Guys, Guys!" Shippo panted , running towards them.
InuYasha moved back a little, not sure of what emotion Kagome would next change to. "I told you.....I wouldn't die!"
"I know....but still...."Kagome looked up, "don't ever leave me again"
InuYasha looked deeply into Kagome's tearful eyes, and smiled. "I wont....if I can help it.....come on. Let's get going. Everyone is waiting for us."
InuYasha moved to stand, but crouched down on the grass, grimacing from his extreme pain. Kagome flung her arms around InuYasha.
"You better help it! You better not die on me! You better not! Don't scare me like that next time!" Kagome cried, weeping on InuYasha' s shoulder.
~ Kagome.... you're safe. I'm glad. Kagome..... Thanks for caring~ InuYasha thought with his eyes shut.
InuYasha unsteadily stood up and held Kagome's hand and pulled her up, as they walked hand in hand to Kilala and the rest.
Kikyo watched InuYasha and Kagome from a distance. ~they're holding hands....InuYasha is too busy thinking about Kagome that he did not catch my scent as he normally does.....Kagome is a pitiful fool. When will she ever learn that InuYasha's heart will forever belong to me? But I am no longer the person he loved and protected 50 years ago, but just a shell of the Kikyo he loved.....but I will become Kikyo......if I have the soul of the person whom I hate the most now, of the person who is trying to take InuYasha away from me~
Kikyo grabbed her shoulder as it started to bleed again. ~This dead, soulless body....I can't stand to live like this. I want to be how I was 50 years ago.....strong and pure.......I need......her soul~
"I have made my decision, even if It will corrupt me, it will only be corrupting a dead corpse. When I become human, I shall start freshly and purely again. I need....Kagome's soul"
**~~ Hey ppl, how'd ya like this chapter????? Review, and tell me if you liked it. ^^, Keep on reading !!~~**
=============Chapter twenty=============
"INUYASHA!!!!!" Kagome cried. InuYasha' s blood was visible, as it spread out across the muck.
Kagome tried to jump in to search for InuYasha, but Miroku and Sango pulled her back. "Get to land!" Sango commanded Kilala.
Kilala landed back on the land.
Kagome ran to the swamp and stared at the spot InuYasha had disappeared into.
Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Shippo watched Kagome in silence. A tear ran down Kagome' s cheeks.
Miroku looked down at the ground in sadness.
"He did this for us, and for you Kagome. He would've pulled you down as well if he hadn't let go"
"InuYasha......" Kagome whispered, ~you should've pulled me down with you......I would have helped you fight the youkai...... why did you let me go.....I would have even happily died with you....NOW I MUST SUFFER LIFE WITHOUT YOU ~
"Kagome....." Sango whispered, "Inuyasha would have wanted us to continue on our journey......"
"He didn't die, I know it!!! I would have felt it if he had died. HE TOLD ME! He said that he wouldn't die!" Kagome cried desperately. "We have to go find him!"
"We can't, it's too late.....Kagome......"Sango said sadly, as a tear also ran down her cheeks. "We want to search for him, but....."
"KAGOME!" Miroku cried, seeing a woman flying fast towards Kagome.
"Huh?" Kagome turned around, and felt herself being picked up by the youkai. Kagome did nothing to get out of the clutch of the youkai, her thoughts much too preoccupied with the thoughts of InuYasha. Her life now seeming a bit worthless.......but then she remembered her mother, grandfather, and brother, Souta. ~Mama has already lost papa, she wouldn't be able to bare losing one more person.....~ Kagome decided.
"Let go of me" Kagome said seriously.
"Do you want me to? Think again" the youkai asked.
Kagome looked down to see the land far below.
"Hmmm....would you rather like to be smashed up, or become my food? I need a small snack, the humans I have are too big for my appetite at this moment"
Kagome looked at the youkai. Her eyes were big and glowing red. Her mouth looked human but had fangs sticking out of her lips, and her skin was purple.
"KYAAAAA!!! Let me go!!!!!!!!!" Kagome screamed, "A-a-actually, don't l-let go!"
****************************** "Sango, we have to go after Kagome!" Miroku cried.
"But what about InuYasha?! You heard Kagome, he could still be alive!" Sango said.
"YAH! InuYasha can't be dead...He just can't be!" Shippo cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Females. Fine, then you stay, I'll go after Kagome" Miroku sighed. He got on Kilala and flew after Kagome. ~Girls, they believe anything with their soft hearts, poor Kagome. She'll be really hurt when she finds out that InuYasha will not be coming back..~
Sango stared at the swamp. Silence. She sighed. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe....he is gone...."
"Don't say that?! How can you give up on InuYasha like that?!" Shippo cried.
Sango looked down at InuYasha' s Tetsusaiga. She picked it up. "kagome might feel closer to InuYasha by having this" Sango muttered.
They sat, staring at the swamp, losing hope at every passing minuet.
Suddenly, Shippo and Sango shot their heads up when they started to see bubbles arising in the swamp.
"What is this?" Sango muttered. ~He can't be alive. So much time has passed...~
There was a slight explosion in the swamp as a figure robed in red jumped out.
"INUYASHA!" Shippo cried in happiness, standing up to go run over to him.
InuYasha landed on the ground, his face looking down at the ground, his claws covered in the blood of the swamp youkai. Sango felt a weird sensation, she couldn't see his face since it was covered by a shadow.
Sango held Shippo back from running towards InuYasha.
"W- What are ya doin?!" Shippo cried.
"This..... aurora I sense from him.....is evil......this is not InuYasha....but...."
InuYasha looked up to reveal a murderous looking red pair of eye. He evilly looked at them, he growled, revealing sharp fangs.
"It's his full youkai form....."
"I need to kill more" Inuyasha growled, cracking his knuckles.
****************************** "Who are you?!" Kagome demanded.
"A youkai by the name, Hina "
"Are you.....really going to eat me?"
"You must be a stupid girl. Have I not been implying to devour you for the past few minuets? Of course I am, I will hang you from a rope on top of a fire, and wait till you're all roasted"
"KYAAAAAAA. I NEVER IMAGINED THAT I'D BE EATEN AS A ROASTED TURKEY!!!!!!!!!"
"I like my food best roasted" Hina replied. From the corner of her eyes she saw someone headed towards them, but still far away.
"Ah, here we are" Hina said, as she flew to the ground.
Kagome looked around to see a humungous pot boiling with water, and many humungous piles of woods on fire and a rope hanging above it from a tree.
Kagome heard someone scream, she slowly turned around to see one human who was hanging on a rope by the neck with fire blazing around him...and a woman who was hanging onto a rope and below her was a blazing hot fire.
"That will be how I'll roast you" Hina said, pointing slowly at the man hanging by the neck. Kagome's eyes widened.
"I love to see the faces of females when I do that . It was just a joke, that will be how you die" Hina said, pointing at the woman hanging onto a rope looking quiet weak, as if she were going to let go and fall. "I have special ways of cooking, it's different by the genders"
Kagome backed away to escape, but Hina grabbed Kagome and flew her into the air.
"Hold this" Hina said, pointing at a rope that was hanging above a blazing fire with smoke, the rope tied to a tree branch.
"NO!"
"Then I'll have to just drop you in there!" Hina said. Kagome quickly took hold of the rope. Hina let go. Kagome screamed as she now held the rope tightly. She could feel the heat of the fire burning slightly against her skin and the smoke hurting her eyes.
"The longer you hold on, the longer you live" Hina said, then she muttered something. Kagome saw dead skeletons starting to move.
~What's going on?~ Kagome thought. Then she saw the reason, Miroku and Kilala were now being held by the skeletons and thrown into a cage.
"My......what a wonderful day. I catch one girl and it comes with a guy and a .....youkai. Yum" Hina said with a laugh.
"KAGOME! HANG ON, DON'T LET GO!!!!!!" Mioku yelled
"WHAT YOU SAID WAS KINDA COMMON SENSE!" Kagome yelled back, sweating from freight and from the heat.
Kagome looked at the girl beside her, she was screaming.
"HOT, HOT, HOT! I can't stand it any longer!" the girl cried, "I'd rather die then suffer like this!"
Kagome turned pale and looked down at the fire blazing below her.
"SHUTUP GIRL!" Miroku yelled seeing that the girl was making Kagome more scared.
****************************** Sango jumped away from InuYasha' s attack. Shippo screamed as he ran up a tree.
"I need to feel the flesh ripping through my claws" InuYasha growled as he looked at Sango in a blood thirsty look.
"Stop it InuYasha!" Snago cried, not wanting to injure him.
"Shut up and die!!!!!"
He ran towards her, he slashed his claws at her, but Sango hid behind her boomerang, causing his claws to get stuck on her weapon. He pulled it out, . Sango jumped away. InuYasha ran towards her, but disappeared in a flash.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" then Sango felt something speeding speeding towards her from behind her. She spun around to see InuYasha's claws miss her by an inch, but it cut off a piece of her armor. Sango gasped. ~ His claws...are so sharp~
"Sorry Inuyasha, but I'm gunu have to do this!" Sango said as she threw her boomerang at him. But he backflipped to the side. Sango's weapon returned back to her.
Sango ran to InuYasha with her sword, meaning to just knock InuYasha out for a while. But InuYasha jumped high into the air, Sango tried to see what InuYasha's move might be, but he had jumped in front of the sun making Sango unable to see him.
He landed right behind her, she moved away just in time to get just her cheeks a bit cut. She swung her sword at him, but broke the sword. Sango gasped, looking down at her now useless sword.
~If only I can give this back to him~ Sango thought moving away from InuYasha' s strike. Suddenly, she felt InuYasha punch her, as she flew back, slamming hard into a tree, cracking the tree in half. Sango grunted as she stood back up, she looked down at the Tetsusaiga that lay in front of her, she then held it in her hands.
"InuYasha take the sword!" Sango cried.
InuYasha ignored Sango, kicking the sword away, and pushed Sango to the ground, wrapping his hands around her neck and raised his claws to rip her neck.
"THINK OF KAGOME!" Sango cried, shutting her eyes tightly. Ready to die.
InuYasha felt a heart beat. His hands were still around Sango' s neck with his claws in the air, but the claws didn't move. He just froze.
InuYasha got off Sango and moved back, still his full youkai form. A picture of Kagome telling him to never lose the sword flashed through his head. InuYasha's mind started to ache as something fought within his mind. He held his head, trying to get the pain out of his mind. He looked at the sword not far away.
"That name....is so familiar....Ka..gome" InuYasha muttered as he unsteadily walked towards the sword with his hands stretched out towards the sword.
"Ka-gome?" he muttered again, his vision getting blurry from pain in his head.
Sango watched in amazement. ~Even in his youkai form....when no human feelings are supposed to exist, he still remembers Kagome......~ Sango watched as InuYasha reached the sword.
InuYasha held the sword, and suddenly felt great pain punch right into him from all the pain he had already gotten, but had not felt the due to his full youkai form. He felt all his strength wash out of him as he collapsed to the ground.
"HE COLLAPSED?!" Shippo cried as he ran down the tree.
"INUYASHA!" Sango cried, running over to him.
~His half youkai body is unable to take on the full power of a youkai....he does not know how to control his power, thus he would fight, feeling no pain, but would fight to his death.....~
Sango and Shippo were now crouching near InuYasha who was covered in blood and muck. He slightly opened his eyes,
"Ka...go....me" he said weakly, "where.... is....she"
Sango looked away. InuYasha forced himself up, grimacing from the pain.
"Where....is she?!" he asked again.
"She....was taken away by the youkai witch.....but don't worry! Miroku has gone after her!"
"He can't save her alone. He is probably now in one of the cages. Now I remember why the story of that witch sounded so familiar.....50 years ago, before Kikyo went to destroy Hina, that youkai witch, for stealing some of her people, the villagers told Kikyo that the soldiers should go and check it out before she went. First a soldier went, I followed to see. Hina commanded these skeletons to capture the soldier. Then another after another. All strong, but all captured. I watched how the men and women were killed then eaten. Hina has great powers. But I didn't do anything then, because that was before I .....actually started to have feelings for Kikyo. So I didn't go and help. Kikyo finally decided to go, but by then, Hina had moved somewhere else....and now...Kagome.....is probably...." InuYasha fell back to the ground, he could feel moist in his eyes.
"DEAD?!" Sango asked desperately. "SHE CAN'T BE!"
"She better not be....I'll save her, even if it means that I'll die trying in my weak state. I'll get her back....no matter what" InuYasha said in bitter sadness. InuYasha used his sword to get himself up.
Sango helped InuYasha walk, as he followed his scent.
"Sango, sorry" he said.
"For what?"
"I almost killed you, didn't I? I see serious wounds all over you"
"Why....would you think that....you did it?" Sango quietly asked, looking away.
"you had the same look Kagome had on once..."
"I'm alright with it, it wasn't even your fault!" Sango said.
"Keh, whatever......"he replied, still unable to get his mind off Kagome.
************************* Kagome' s mind swirled from the smoke, her skin burned from the heat, her lungs filled with pain, with scenes of people falling to their death repeating over and over again in her thoughts. Kagome could feel her grip dying out on her, she could feel one finger slipping off the rope after every passing few minuets. Her two arms that were holding onto the rope ached like hell. One of her arms gave out, as it now hung loosely at her side. Only one arm kept Kagome alive...
"Kagome, don't give up!" Miroku kept saying. Kagome heard nothing. All she could feel and hear was the pain she was in and the scenes of people burning up.
Kagome stared blankly at nowhere.
Hina opened her eyes from her meditation. She looked up at Kagome. ~That girl is the only girl that has survived this long. I'm damn hungry. She had mentioned a person named InuYasha many times. That he was not dead and would come and save her, the priest and that fluffy big cat ... InuYasha ...Hm, I know him well. My swamp demon did not destroy him......if she believes that InuYasha is alive, and that is the only reason she is living...~
"Let go Kagome, InuYasha is dead" Hina said.
"No....no...."Kagome muttered, "not....InuYasha.....no"
"He is, I own the swamp Youkai, I can sense it when my youkai has caught and slaughtered a trespasser..... HE IS DEAD!"
The small light that had glimmered hope in Kagome's mind disappeared. Kagome's mind went dark. "InuYasha...." she muttered, as her whole body gave out. ~Good-bye~
"KAGOME!" Miroku yelled and another voice in unison. "Huh?" Miroku turned to see InuYasha dashing towards Kagome who was falling towards the fire.
InuYasha immediately forgot about his weak state and dashed for Kagome, "KAGOME!". InuYasha jumped through the fire, pulling her out before it burnt her.
Kagome could feel cool air again for some reason. ~Am I dead?!~
InuYasha lay Kagome gently on the ground. Anger filled him as he looked down at Kagome who looked in so much pain, and so lifeless. He glared at Hina. The youkai who had hurt Kagome.......and the youkai that had depressed Kikyo so much by devouring her people.
InuYasha stood, and attacked Hina with his Tetsusaiga attack.
"It's the.....Bakuryuuha" Sango gasped in surprise, stopping right in front of Miroku's cage. "the strongest Tetsusaiga attack........He has done it for the second time"
After the flash of light died away, Hina no longer remained, not even her ashes. InuYasha turned and ran over to Kagome, and fell to the ground beside her from the pain of his wound.
"Kagome....."
Kagome sat up without much difficulties. InuYasha stared at her in surprise as did Sango who had finally let out Miroku and Kilala.
"You look.......well" InuYasha said.
"I know......weird eh? One minuet I feel like I'm in hell, the next minuet I'm in the cool air, my arms ache pretty badly, but not that badly. My skin isn't in pain ,as it should be, and my mind feels a little fine" Kagome said.
"BUT you on the other hand DO NOT look fine. Hey.....how did you escape....."Kagome's eyes watered up, " I THOUGHT YOU DIED!!!!"
"Guys, Guys!" Shippo panted , running towards them.
InuYasha moved back a little, not sure of what emotion Kagome would next change to. "I told you.....I wouldn't die!"
"I know....but still...."Kagome looked up, "don't ever leave me again"
InuYasha looked deeply into Kagome's tearful eyes, and smiled. "I wont....if I can help it.....come on. Let's get going. Everyone is waiting for us."
InuYasha moved to stand, but crouched down on the grass, grimacing from his extreme pain. Kagome flung her arms around InuYasha.
"You better help it! You better not die on me! You better not! Don't scare me like that next time!" Kagome cried, weeping on InuYasha' s shoulder.
~ Kagome.... you're safe. I'm glad. Kagome..... Thanks for caring~ InuYasha thought with his eyes shut.
InuYasha unsteadily stood up and held Kagome's hand and pulled her up, as they walked hand in hand to Kilala and the rest.
Kikyo watched InuYasha and Kagome from a distance. ~they're holding hands....InuYasha is too busy thinking about Kagome that he did not catch my scent as he normally does.....Kagome is a pitiful fool. When will she ever learn that InuYasha's heart will forever belong to me? But I am no longer the person he loved and protected 50 years ago, but just a shell of the Kikyo he loved.....but I will become Kikyo......if I have the soul of the person whom I hate the most now, of the person who is trying to take InuYasha away from me~
Kikyo grabbed her shoulder as it started to bleed again. ~This dead, soulless body....I can't stand to live like this. I want to be how I was 50 years ago.....strong and pure.......I need......her soul~
"I have made my decision, even if It will corrupt me, it will only be corrupting a dead corpse. When I become human, I shall start freshly and purely again. I need....Kagome's soul"
**~~ Hey ppl, how'd ya like this chapter????? Review, and tell me if you liked it. ^^, Keep on reading !!~~**