Disclaimer: I have temporary amnesia, so I forgot what to write here...
something to do with Inuyasha though... hmm...
(A/N: Wow, the response to the last chapter was quite amazing... I don't think I've ever got so many reviews for just one chapter - so thank you to all who reviewed! I like reviews ^_^!!! You can write as many as you want, I wouldn't really mind ^_^. So, on with the story... and you might be interested to know the title of the next chapter... that's at the bottom of the page @_@)
Two Faced:
Reunited
Inuyasha and Kagome walked side by side at a fairly leisurely pace. Every now and then one or the other would sneak peeks at each other, but never at the same time. It wasn't a comfortable silence in any way. The tension was so thick the air seemed solid between them. Kagome's fingers kept fidgeting with the edges of her torn shirt hem as she took another peek at a rather expressionless Inuyasha.
"Say something." She said wearily after a while.
Inuyasha sighed and cocked his head the other way. "Like what?"
"I don't know... talk about the weather for all I care... just start a conversation..." she mumbled.
"Somehow most of our conversations always start with you saying 'say something'." He remarked dryly."
"Because it's the only way to get you to talk." She shot him a look. "See, we're having a conversation right now."
Inuyasha didn't say anything to this and they lapsed into silence again. Kagome just rolled her eyes and turned her head away. If he was going to be immature about this then fine. "Look's like it's going to rain soon, eh?" she commented absently.
"Yeah... look at all those black clouds over there." Inuyasha agreed.
"You know... I heard a little while ago that the coast should be getting some frequent tidal waves this year."
"Really?" Inuyasha tried to feign interest.
Kagome sighed and gave up. There was no use forcing this issue... they'd just get used to each other again in time. But for now she wasn't going to speed up and walk ahead, that would leave her back open to him and she still didn't really trust him with her back. Sense told her that if he wanted to kill her then he would have easily have done that by now... but some deeper instinct told her to never close her eyes to him because of what he'd done behind her back in the past.
Hopefully she would get over that feeling in a while.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and noticed she had a rather distant expression. He realised this was a moment to say something profound and meaningful that would win back her trust... but nothing really came to mind. The best thing he'd managed to come up with was a lame 'I'm sorry'. But strangely enough it summed up all he felt towards her. He was sorry.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly caught sight of something ahead and he changed what he was about to say. "Oh my god..."
Kagome glanced at him and then noticed his gaze... she followed it and stopped. "Oh no..."
Inuyasha broke into a run, heading straight for funnels of dark smoke that were spiralling into the air from the village down the road. Kagome followed him but at a slower pace. She had this sinking feeling that somehow she wasn't going to find what she wanted in this village.
They reached the already broken down gates and passed straight through into the primitive like village of wooden structures. Half of all those structures were on fire, and the rest were either smouldering piles of ash or just rubble. There were one or two left standing but there wasn't much else to suggest anything else had survived.
But the damage looked fresh, though there was no sign of any attackers or villagers amongst the ash clogged air.
Kagome pressed a hand over her mouth and nose in an effort to avoid breathing in the ash. "This is awful... who'd do a thing like this...?"
"Who do you think?" Inuyasha snapped harshly. They were at the edge of a demon infested forest in the middle of demon infested country. Who else could do such a thing?
Kagome looked around and a shiver went up her spine. That feeling that someone had just walked over her grave was back, and it definitely wasn't due to cold shivers since the air in that village was like a furnace. She decided to put it down to the creeps...
Inuyasha sighed and looked around. There was little chance Kagome's father was hanging around him... alive...
A soft groan from a pile of building rubble nearby caught his attention and he waved to Kagome to get her attention. "Over here!"
Inuyasha quickly shoved most of the rubble out of the way to find the source of the groan, and quickly discovered that it had sounded from the young man trapped beneath. Kagome quickly flitted forward upon seeing the survivor and quickly brushed the remaining rubbish out of the way. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"
The man couldn't answer since he was busy groaning in pain. They could both however see that a large wooden timbre rafter was pinning him down to the ground. That thing looked especially heavy and difficult to lift. "It'll be ok... hold on..." Kagome fought another shiver that trailed up her spine.
"I'll get it." Inuyasha said quickly and took a step forward. No sooner had he done that he was knocked flying through the air to land amidst the rubble with a cry of pain. Kagome spun at once to see who had thrown him... and slowly her gaze trailed upwards... and upwards until she was craning her neck. "Oh god..."
"Kagome duck!" Inuyasha yelled behind her, but she was frozen in complete and utter fear. Her mouth opened, but no words came out, and she was so scared her knees had locked and hadn't even bothered to get to the buckling stage.
The huge centipede monster just loomed over her, weaving slightly from side to side and staring at her as if entranced. Everything inside her screamed that she run... but part of her ordered her not to abandon the poor man she was shielding from view.
Without warning something slammed into her from behind and she screamed as she was crushed to the ground. It took her a moment to realise it was Inuyasha, and he'd just saved her from getting chopped in half by one of those blade like pincer legs of the demon.
"You ditz! I told you to duck!" he yelled, all but heaving her up and throwing her to the side, all ready to fight the demon hand to hand if he needed to.
Unfortunately the demon wasn't interested in the little hanyou since it's sights were set purely on Kagome as it lumbered around to track her movements. Kagome gasped and quickly backed away. Looking around she quickly realised that THIS had been the demon responsible for this damage. And the chances that her father was lying under the rubble somewhere... she snapped her glare back on the enormous demon, which had to be twice the size of the last one she'd seen. "You MONSTER!!"
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled angrily. "NOT the TIME!"
"YOU DID THIS!!" Kagome yelled angrily.
The demon didn't seem to hear her, or probably didn't really understand, and started towards her again, shuffling along a metre at a time. Kagome shrieked and broke into a run.
Inuyasha cursed and looked back at the lone survivor. He couldn't leave him much longer or he'd suffocate... so he quickly grabbed the timbre, heaved it off him in a massive force of effort and turned back around. "Hey! WEEDY!"
The demon ignored him and continued to follow Kagome. Inuyasha snarled and heaved the timbre back past his shoulders, before throwing it forward with a yell. The rafter hit the demon on the back of the body and clattered to the ground. Slowly the dim-witted monster turned and stared back at Inuyasha with its blank black eyes. To that thing, the impact must have felt like a twig falling on its head.
But Inuyasha had got its attention now.
Suddenly Kagome was no longer interesting and the demon started to shuffle back towards Inuyasha. The villager behind him was having difficulty getting to his feet, and so Inuyasha had to lead it away. He saw his chance a short distance away and broke into a run towards the last few houses that remained standing. He hurled himself onto the roof with two bounds and looked back. He was about to smirk - before he realised the demon intended to body slam the building.
Thinking fast he quickly scrambled to the next building and saw Kagome standing below him. "Would you just stand back and let me handle this?!"
"Look out!" she yelled and pointed behind him.
Unfortunately he'd been too slow and suddenly he looked down to find a leg protruding from his chest.
Kagome was frozen in horror below and couldn't bear to look. "Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha yelled out as he was then lifted clean into the air by the leg that skewered him, he had to hold on for dear life but he couldn't breath and kept spluttering blood from his mouth.
"NO!" Kagome looked around for some kind of weapon and spotted Inuyasha's kendo sword lying on the ground beside the injured survivor. She quickly all but flew to grab it before turning back to the excessively large demon. How the hell was she supposed to use it? It wasn't like she could run him through since even wooden timbre couldn't dent that tough scaly hide.
But hearing Inuyasha cry out in pain again as he dangled helplessly... and to see the trickle of blood running down his chin was enough to set her mind. She didn't care.
"Leave him ALONE!" Kagome ran forward, tearing off the scabbard as she ran. She barely noticed the way the hilt seemed to heat in her hand as she ran forward.
The demon paid her no heed... until she rammed the blade into its body.
It screeched in pain as a flash of light was set off... Inuyasha slipped off the leg and fell the whole eleven metres to the ground where he landed with a dull thud. Kagome didn't notice. She let go of the sword and grabbed a splintered plank of wood, half blind in anger while it was the fear that drove her on now.
"You won't hurt him!" she screamed and hurled the splinter as hard as she could at the demon. It occurred to her that she wouldn't make any impact on it... but when the splinter pierced the skin the explosion it caused literally threw her backwards and off her feet.
The rush of air around her whipped her hair around and she curled herself up into a tight ball on the ground to protect herself. It was several seconds before the light, sound and wind died down... and only then did she dare herself a peek. And she screamed.
Black demon insides were sprayed here and there and what was left of the lower half of the demon was still standing. And as she stared with hitching breath, it slowly wavered in the air before crashing to the ground, the sword still embedded in its hide.
"Oh my god... oh my god... oh my god..." she chanted again and again. She felt sick and weak... and she couldn't believe what she'd just done. "Oh my god - Inuyasha - did you see - Inuyasha!"
She scrambled over to him where he still lay on his stomach, with a slowly spreading blood stain on the dry ground. "Oh no... Inuyasha..." she grabbed the back of his jacket and shook him gently. When he didn't respond she shook him harder. "Don't leave me - you said you wouldn't - wake up!"
He groaned and twisted away from her reach. "Leave me alone... I've just been run-through... have some respect."
Kagome couldn't care less about respect and roughly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him onto his back to see his face. She didn't like the blood trickle from the mouth, or the gash above his temple which had spilled thick fresh blood down his cheek. "Crap..." she touched his head gently. "Does it hurt?"
"The parts that bleed do, yes." He batted her hand away sharply and attempted to sit up.
Kagome just stared at him. "How can you do that?!"
"Do what?"
"You were skewered and you just sit up and... and..." she frowned suspiciously suddenly. "Did you bump your head...?"
"It's ok..." he pointed back to the other survivor who was sat in what could be an open eyed coma for the amount of movement he had. "Go see to him."
Kagome only hesitated a moment before quickly running towards the other survivor. "Hey, you ok?"
"Thank you... thank you... you saved my life... thank you..." he repeated over again.
Kagome's head swam a little and she had to sit down for a moment. "Are you ok...?"
"Yes... much better... thank you... thank you..." he nodded quickly.
Kagome sucked in a breath to calm her churning stomach. "D-do you... Have you seen a man around here...? His name is Higurashi... he's my father..."
The villager shook his head. "If he was here then he would have evacuated with everyone else to the village down that road and to the further south..."
Kagome frowned. "If everyone evacuated, why are you still here?"
"I was to kill the demon, I'm a demon exterminator." He drew himself up. "Can't you tell?"
Kagome stared at him before gingerly patting his shoulder. "Good job...great job..."
"Kagome..." she looked around to see Inuyasha had managed to get to his feet and was busy trying to tug his sword free. "In future... get straight to the blasting... and no messing around with my sword..." he tugged it free and landed with a grunt on his behind. "...ok?"
Kagome shook her head. "You shouldn't be walking around."
"What did you have, a grenade in your pocket or something?" he frowned at her.
He hadn't seen what had happened... and truth was... she didn't really understand it. But she knew the prophesy was coming true day by day... "Yeah... something like that..."
^_^
"Are you ok...?"
"Yeah...
"Are you ok now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Because if you're not then we can stop." Kagome watched him like a hawk. "Are you ok?"
"No! I've been run through - by chest is fill with blood - my sword is covered in blood - my throat is covered in blood and I have BLOOD all over my shirt and jacket!" he snapped.
"Well..." Kagome shifted uncomfortably, stopping their walk. "Why didn't you say so?"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash blood out of a shirt?!" he growled. Tugging at his dark green tank top under his rather badly stained brown jacket.
"Not really..." she shrugged lightly.
"It's hard, ok?" he snapped and leaned back against a tree that was at hand. He winced as he did so. "I'm not ok... ok?"
"Ok..." she nodded and twiddled her fingers together. "So... are we ok, to get moving again?"
He rolled his eyes and stood straight again, using his sword as a crutch. Kagome frowned slightly and stepped forward. "You can lean on me, if you want."
"No thanks." He said bluntly.
Kagome took a deep breath and tried again. She was still rattled from her last experience. "Ok... then let me say this another way... can I lean on you?"
He stared at her a moment before quickly remembering to roll his eyes and look away. "Fine." He outstretched his arm to allow her wrap her own arm around his back and help support his weight. She sighed with relief. He was still strong for her even when he was so badly injured. She had to stop herself from leaning into him, knowing she'd only cause more pain.
They carried on walking slowly along the muddy path for quite a while in a more comfortable quiet than usual. After a moment Kagome summed up her courage. "You know... back when I killed that demon... I didn't use a grenade..."
"A flame thrower?" he guessed half-heartedly.
"No...
"Missile launcher?"
"That would be in my other pocket." She said dryly.
"Then what?" he glanced down at her.
"I don't know how I did it... but I think its those powers that the prophesy said I would have. You know... not entirely human... but not really demon."
Inuyasha stopped short. "What? You mean you're half demon?"
"No... I just... have weird powers..." she shrugged helplessly. "But I didn't realise I was doing it... and now I regret it because I feel really sick..."
"Well... I'm glad you did, you saved my life." He said evenly.
Kagome smiled thinly. "You owe me BIG for this, you know."
"So you care about me?" he said in what he hoped was a casual tone.
Kagome stiffened and began walking them again. "A little... I wouldn't have just sat back and let that thing kill you and..."
She trailed off as she stopped dead and stared straight up the path they were travelling. Inuyasha followed her gaze and suddenly grinned. "Told you so..."
Miroku and Sango were both walking along the path and had stopped dead wearing the perfect mirror expressions. "Kagome!" Sango shouted.
"Sango!" Kagome suddenly dropped Inuyasha and ran straight towards her friend. They caught each other in an embrace and cried out happily. "Oh my god - I was so worried! Where have you been?!"
"Looking for you two!" Sango cried in return, setting Kagome back down. "We thought you were goners on your own!"
Kagome turned to Miroku who suddenly held out his arms, expecting the same treatment as Sango. But feeling in high spirits Kagome just stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the cheek. "I'm glad to see you in one piece."
Miroku smiled at her. "Don't I get a hug?"
"Maybe next time I think you're dead." Kagome grinned back.
Miroku shrugged and held his arms out to Inuyasha instead. "Come on tough guy, how 'bout one for old time's sake?"
"Urgh..." Inuyasha remarked from his position on the floor.
Sango and Miroku both winced at his wounds. "You ok, over there?"
"I'll live..." he sighed before adding. "Barely."
"I see you've been doing your job protecting Kagome, eh, Inuyasha?" Sango smiled.
This comment, for some reason, elicited a long pregnant pause from both Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome was blushing and Inuyasha was squinting at the sky, doing his best to ignore the pain and the topic of conversation. Both Sango and Miroku traded looks that let each other know they were thinking the same thing. Something had happened between the two of them... something either good or bad... they were either closer... or further apart. But they didn't know which.
"So!" Miroku clapped his hands. "Most of the group is back at the village that way. The rest are either missing... or on the look out for your father, Kagome."
"We heard about Kenji." Kagome said slowly.
"Yeah, he got separated. We thought he was with you guys." Sango said with a frown.
Kagome winced. "The demon killed Kenji..."
Sango's mouth dropped. "He killed Kenji?!"
"That bastard..." Miroku scowled deeply before sighing. "Well... I guess there's nothing to help him now."
"We should get you two back to the village and treat your wounds, both of you." Sango eyed Kagome's shredded skirt. "And get you some new clothes."
Miroku looked between the jagged tear in Kagome's skirt and then Inuyasha's claws... then he looked at the four streaked tear across the front of Kagome's shirt and then Inuyasha's claws. Revelation hit him at once and he nudged Sango at once the moment Kagome turned her back to go help Inuyasha out.
"I think our little pair of bickering magpies turned themselves into love birds." He whispered quietly.
Sango stared, completely confused for a moment before he mouth dropped open again and her eyes widened. "Whoa... I don't believe that..."
"We'll see." Miroku smirked. "Bet you a hundred yen that he shredded more than her skirt while we've been gone."
"Miroku!" she elbowed him hard before thinking. "I'll take that bet. There is no way Kagome is that easy..."
"Who said it was easy?" Miroku turned his smirk on her triumphantly as they both saw Inuyasha's hand brush against Kagome's thigh as she helped him up. Neither of them seemed to notice the brief contact, and it wasn't long before they were both up and moving again.
Kagome smiled when she reached them. "Lead the way then."
Sango and Miroku exchanged wary glances before turning and heading back.
Kagome may have smiled but she was the epitome of anxiousness. She had no idea if her father was alive and well... since so many people had led her on a wild goose chase. Maybe now she was getting somewhere. She was just glad that Sango was alive... Inuyasha hadn't killed anyone after all.
"You ok?" she asked, giving him a gentle, comforting squeeze.
"Ask that again and I won't be held responsible for my actions." He said menacingly.
Kagome just rolled her eyes and smiled. He had a right to be crabby, what with how badly he was injured. She was just glad everyone was safe.
(A/N: Hmmm... well... next chapter - 'Sex and Soap operas' ¬_¬';;; Think whatever you want...)
(A/N: Wow, the response to the last chapter was quite amazing... I don't think I've ever got so many reviews for just one chapter - so thank you to all who reviewed! I like reviews ^_^!!! You can write as many as you want, I wouldn't really mind ^_^. So, on with the story... and you might be interested to know the title of the next chapter... that's at the bottom of the page @_@)
Two Faced:
Reunited
Inuyasha and Kagome walked side by side at a fairly leisurely pace. Every now and then one or the other would sneak peeks at each other, but never at the same time. It wasn't a comfortable silence in any way. The tension was so thick the air seemed solid between them. Kagome's fingers kept fidgeting with the edges of her torn shirt hem as she took another peek at a rather expressionless Inuyasha.
"Say something." She said wearily after a while.
Inuyasha sighed and cocked his head the other way. "Like what?"
"I don't know... talk about the weather for all I care... just start a conversation..." she mumbled.
"Somehow most of our conversations always start with you saying 'say something'." He remarked dryly."
"Because it's the only way to get you to talk." She shot him a look. "See, we're having a conversation right now."
Inuyasha didn't say anything to this and they lapsed into silence again. Kagome just rolled her eyes and turned her head away. If he was going to be immature about this then fine. "Look's like it's going to rain soon, eh?" she commented absently.
"Yeah... look at all those black clouds over there." Inuyasha agreed.
"You know... I heard a little while ago that the coast should be getting some frequent tidal waves this year."
"Really?" Inuyasha tried to feign interest.
Kagome sighed and gave up. There was no use forcing this issue... they'd just get used to each other again in time. But for now she wasn't going to speed up and walk ahead, that would leave her back open to him and she still didn't really trust him with her back. Sense told her that if he wanted to kill her then he would have easily have done that by now... but some deeper instinct told her to never close her eyes to him because of what he'd done behind her back in the past.
Hopefully she would get over that feeling in a while.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and noticed she had a rather distant expression. He realised this was a moment to say something profound and meaningful that would win back her trust... but nothing really came to mind. The best thing he'd managed to come up with was a lame 'I'm sorry'. But strangely enough it summed up all he felt towards her. He was sorry.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly caught sight of something ahead and he changed what he was about to say. "Oh my god..."
Kagome glanced at him and then noticed his gaze... she followed it and stopped. "Oh no..."
Inuyasha broke into a run, heading straight for funnels of dark smoke that were spiralling into the air from the village down the road. Kagome followed him but at a slower pace. She had this sinking feeling that somehow she wasn't going to find what she wanted in this village.
They reached the already broken down gates and passed straight through into the primitive like village of wooden structures. Half of all those structures were on fire, and the rest were either smouldering piles of ash or just rubble. There were one or two left standing but there wasn't much else to suggest anything else had survived.
But the damage looked fresh, though there was no sign of any attackers or villagers amongst the ash clogged air.
Kagome pressed a hand over her mouth and nose in an effort to avoid breathing in the ash. "This is awful... who'd do a thing like this...?"
"Who do you think?" Inuyasha snapped harshly. They were at the edge of a demon infested forest in the middle of demon infested country. Who else could do such a thing?
Kagome looked around and a shiver went up her spine. That feeling that someone had just walked over her grave was back, and it definitely wasn't due to cold shivers since the air in that village was like a furnace. She decided to put it down to the creeps...
Inuyasha sighed and looked around. There was little chance Kagome's father was hanging around him... alive...
A soft groan from a pile of building rubble nearby caught his attention and he waved to Kagome to get her attention. "Over here!"
Inuyasha quickly shoved most of the rubble out of the way to find the source of the groan, and quickly discovered that it had sounded from the young man trapped beneath. Kagome quickly flitted forward upon seeing the survivor and quickly brushed the remaining rubbish out of the way. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"
The man couldn't answer since he was busy groaning in pain. They could both however see that a large wooden timbre rafter was pinning him down to the ground. That thing looked especially heavy and difficult to lift. "It'll be ok... hold on..." Kagome fought another shiver that trailed up her spine.
"I'll get it." Inuyasha said quickly and took a step forward. No sooner had he done that he was knocked flying through the air to land amidst the rubble with a cry of pain. Kagome spun at once to see who had thrown him... and slowly her gaze trailed upwards... and upwards until she was craning her neck. "Oh god..."
"Kagome duck!" Inuyasha yelled behind her, but she was frozen in complete and utter fear. Her mouth opened, but no words came out, and she was so scared her knees had locked and hadn't even bothered to get to the buckling stage.
The huge centipede monster just loomed over her, weaving slightly from side to side and staring at her as if entranced. Everything inside her screamed that she run... but part of her ordered her not to abandon the poor man she was shielding from view.
Without warning something slammed into her from behind and she screamed as she was crushed to the ground. It took her a moment to realise it was Inuyasha, and he'd just saved her from getting chopped in half by one of those blade like pincer legs of the demon.
"You ditz! I told you to duck!" he yelled, all but heaving her up and throwing her to the side, all ready to fight the demon hand to hand if he needed to.
Unfortunately the demon wasn't interested in the little hanyou since it's sights were set purely on Kagome as it lumbered around to track her movements. Kagome gasped and quickly backed away. Looking around she quickly realised that THIS had been the demon responsible for this damage. And the chances that her father was lying under the rubble somewhere... she snapped her glare back on the enormous demon, which had to be twice the size of the last one she'd seen. "You MONSTER!!"
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled angrily. "NOT the TIME!"
"YOU DID THIS!!" Kagome yelled angrily.
The demon didn't seem to hear her, or probably didn't really understand, and started towards her again, shuffling along a metre at a time. Kagome shrieked and broke into a run.
Inuyasha cursed and looked back at the lone survivor. He couldn't leave him much longer or he'd suffocate... so he quickly grabbed the timbre, heaved it off him in a massive force of effort and turned back around. "Hey! WEEDY!"
The demon ignored him and continued to follow Kagome. Inuyasha snarled and heaved the timbre back past his shoulders, before throwing it forward with a yell. The rafter hit the demon on the back of the body and clattered to the ground. Slowly the dim-witted monster turned and stared back at Inuyasha with its blank black eyes. To that thing, the impact must have felt like a twig falling on its head.
But Inuyasha had got its attention now.
Suddenly Kagome was no longer interesting and the demon started to shuffle back towards Inuyasha. The villager behind him was having difficulty getting to his feet, and so Inuyasha had to lead it away. He saw his chance a short distance away and broke into a run towards the last few houses that remained standing. He hurled himself onto the roof with two bounds and looked back. He was about to smirk - before he realised the demon intended to body slam the building.
Thinking fast he quickly scrambled to the next building and saw Kagome standing below him. "Would you just stand back and let me handle this?!"
"Look out!" she yelled and pointed behind him.
Unfortunately he'd been too slow and suddenly he looked down to find a leg protruding from his chest.
Kagome was frozen in horror below and couldn't bear to look. "Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha yelled out as he was then lifted clean into the air by the leg that skewered him, he had to hold on for dear life but he couldn't breath and kept spluttering blood from his mouth.
"NO!" Kagome looked around for some kind of weapon and spotted Inuyasha's kendo sword lying on the ground beside the injured survivor. She quickly all but flew to grab it before turning back to the excessively large demon. How the hell was she supposed to use it? It wasn't like she could run him through since even wooden timbre couldn't dent that tough scaly hide.
But hearing Inuyasha cry out in pain again as he dangled helplessly... and to see the trickle of blood running down his chin was enough to set her mind. She didn't care.
"Leave him ALONE!" Kagome ran forward, tearing off the scabbard as she ran. She barely noticed the way the hilt seemed to heat in her hand as she ran forward.
The demon paid her no heed... until she rammed the blade into its body.
It screeched in pain as a flash of light was set off... Inuyasha slipped off the leg and fell the whole eleven metres to the ground where he landed with a dull thud. Kagome didn't notice. She let go of the sword and grabbed a splintered plank of wood, half blind in anger while it was the fear that drove her on now.
"You won't hurt him!" she screamed and hurled the splinter as hard as she could at the demon. It occurred to her that she wouldn't make any impact on it... but when the splinter pierced the skin the explosion it caused literally threw her backwards and off her feet.
The rush of air around her whipped her hair around and she curled herself up into a tight ball on the ground to protect herself. It was several seconds before the light, sound and wind died down... and only then did she dare herself a peek. And she screamed.
Black demon insides were sprayed here and there and what was left of the lower half of the demon was still standing. And as she stared with hitching breath, it slowly wavered in the air before crashing to the ground, the sword still embedded in its hide.
"Oh my god... oh my god... oh my god..." she chanted again and again. She felt sick and weak... and she couldn't believe what she'd just done. "Oh my god - Inuyasha - did you see - Inuyasha!"
She scrambled over to him where he still lay on his stomach, with a slowly spreading blood stain on the dry ground. "Oh no... Inuyasha..." she grabbed the back of his jacket and shook him gently. When he didn't respond she shook him harder. "Don't leave me - you said you wouldn't - wake up!"
He groaned and twisted away from her reach. "Leave me alone... I've just been run-through... have some respect."
Kagome couldn't care less about respect and roughly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him onto his back to see his face. She didn't like the blood trickle from the mouth, or the gash above his temple which had spilled thick fresh blood down his cheek. "Crap..." she touched his head gently. "Does it hurt?"
"The parts that bleed do, yes." He batted her hand away sharply and attempted to sit up.
Kagome just stared at him. "How can you do that?!"
"Do what?"
"You were skewered and you just sit up and... and..." she frowned suspiciously suddenly. "Did you bump your head...?"
"It's ok..." he pointed back to the other survivor who was sat in what could be an open eyed coma for the amount of movement he had. "Go see to him."
Kagome only hesitated a moment before quickly running towards the other survivor. "Hey, you ok?"
"Thank you... thank you... you saved my life... thank you..." he repeated over again.
Kagome's head swam a little and she had to sit down for a moment. "Are you ok...?"
"Yes... much better... thank you... thank you..." he nodded quickly.
Kagome sucked in a breath to calm her churning stomach. "D-do you... Have you seen a man around here...? His name is Higurashi... he's my father..."
The villager shook his head. "If he was here then he would have evacuated with everyone else to the village down that road and to the further south..."
Kagome frowned. "If everyone evacuated, why are you still here?"
"I was to kill the demon, I'm a demon exterminator." He drew himself up. "Can't you tell?"
Kagome stared at him before gingerly patting his shoulder. "Good job...great job..."
"Kagome..." she looked around to see Inuyasha had managed to get to his feet and was busy trying to tug his sword free. "In future... get straight to the blasting... and no messing around with my sword..." he tugged it free and landed with a grunt on his behind. "...ok?"
Kagome shook her head. "You shouldn't be walking around."
"What did you have, a grenade in your pocket or something?" he frowned at her.
He hadn't seen what had happened... and truth was... she didn't really understand it. But she knew the prophesy was coming true day by day... "Yeah... something like that..."
^_^
"Are you ok...?"
"Yeah...
"Are you ok now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Because if you're not then we can stop." Kagome watched him like a hawk. "Are you ok?"
"No! I've been run through - by chest is fill with blood - my sword is covered in blood - my throat is covered in blood and I have BLOOD all over my shirt and jacket!" he snapped.
"Well..." Kagome shifted uncomfortably, stopping their walk. "Why didn't you say so?"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash blood out of a shirt?!" he growled. Tugging at his dark green tank top under his rather badly stained brown jacket.
"Not really..." she shrugged lightly.
"It's hard, ok?" he snapped and leaned back against a tree that was at hand. He winced as he did so. "I'm not ok... ok?"
"Ok..." she nodded and twiddled her fingers together. "So... are we ok, to get moving again?"
He rolled his eyes and stood straight again, using his sword as a crutch. Kagome frowned slightly and stepped forward. "You can lean on me, if you want."
"No thanks." He said bluntly.
Kagome took a deep breath and tried again. She was still rattled from her last experience. "Ok... then let me say this another way... can I lean on you?"
He stared at her a moment before quickly remembering to roll his eyes and look away. "Fine." He outstretched his arm to allow her wrap her own arm around his back and help support his weight. She sighed with relief. He was still strong for her even when he was so badly injured. She had to stop herself from leaning into him, knowing she'd only cause more pain.
They carried on walking slowly along the muddy path for quite a while in a more comfortable quiet than usual. After a moment Kagome summed up her courage. "You know... back when I killed that demon... I didn't use a grenade..."
"A flame thrower?" he guessed half-heartedly.
"No...
"Missile launcher?"
"That would be in my other pocket." She said dryly.
"Then what?" he glanced down at her.
"I don't know how I did it... but I think its those powers that the prophesy said I would have. You know... not entirely human... but not really demon."
Inuyasha stopped short. "What? You mean you're half demon?"
"No... I just... have weird powers..." she shrugged helplessly. "But I didn't realise I was doing it... and now I regret it because I feel really sick..."
"Well... I'm glad you did, you saved my life." He said evenly.
Kagome smiled thinly. "You owe me BIG for this, you know."
"So you care about me?" he said in what he hoped was a casual tone.
Kagome stiffened and began walking them again. "A little... I wouldn't have just sat back and let that thing kill you and..."
She trailed off as she stopped dead and stared straight up the path they were travelling. Inuyasha followed her gaze and suddenly grinned. "Told you so..."
Miroku and Sango were both walking along the path and had stopped dead wearing the perfect mirror expressions. "Kagome!" Sango shouted.
"Sango!" Kagome suddenly dropped Inuyasha and ran straight towards her friend. They caught each other in an embrace and cried out happily. "Oh my god - I was so worried! Where have you been?!"
"Looking for you two!" Sango cried in return, setting Kagome back down. "We thought you were goners on your own!"
Kagome turned to Miroku who suddenly held out his arms, expecting the same treatment as Sango. But feeling in high spirits Kagome just stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the cheek. "I'm glad to see you in one piece."
Miroku smiled at her. "Don't I get a hug?"
"Maybe next time I think you're dead." Kagome grinned back.
Miroku shrugged and held his arms out to Inuyasha instead. "Come on tough guy, how 'bout one for old time's sake?"
"Urgh..." Inuyasha remarked from his position on the floor.
Sango and Miroku both winced at his wounds. "You ok, over there?"
"I'll live..." he sighed before adding. "Barely."
"I see you've been doing your job protecting Kagome, eh, Inuyasha?" Sango smiled.
This comment, for some reason, elicited a long pregnant pause from both Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome was blushing and Inuyasha was squinting at the sky, doing his best to ignore the pain and the topic of conversation. Both Sango and Miroku traded looks that let each other know they were thinking the same thing. Something had happened between the two of them... something either good or bad... they were either closer... or further apart. But they didn't know which.
"So!" Miroku clapped his hands. "Most of the group is back at the village that way. The rest are either missing... or on the look out for your father, Kagome."
"We heard about Kenji." Kagome said slowly.
"Yeah, he got separated. We thought he was with you guys." Sango said with a frown.
Kagome winced. "The demon killed Kenji..."
Sango's mouth dropped. "He killed Kenji?!"
"That bastard..." Miroku scowled deeply before sighing. "Well... I guess there's nothing to help him now."
"We should get you two back to the village and treat your wounds, both of you." Sango eyed Kagome's shredded skirt. "And get you some new clothes."
Miroku looked between the jagged tear in Kagome's skirt and then Inuyasha's claws... then he looked at the four streaked tear across the front of Kagome's shirt and then Inuyasha's claws. Revelation hit him at once and he nudged Sango at once the moment Kagome turned her back to go help Inuyasha out.
"I think our little pair of bickering magpies turned themselves into love birds." He whispered quietly.
Sango stared, completely confused for a moment before he mouth dropped open again and her eyes widened. "Whoa... I don't believe that..."
"We'll see." Miroku smirked. "Bet you a hundred yen that he shredded more than her skirt while we've been gone."
"Miroku!" she elbowed him hard before thinking. "I'll take that bet. There is no way Kagome is that easy..."
"Who said it was easy?" Miroku turned his smirk on her triumphantly as they both saw Inuyasha's hand brush against Kagome's thigh as she helped him up. Neither of them seemed to notice the brief contact, and it wasn't long before they were both up and moving again.
Kagome smiled when she reached them. "Lead the way then."
Sango and Miroku exchanged wary glances before turning and heading back.
Kagome may have smiled but she was the epitome of anxiousness. She had no idea if her father was alive and well... since so many people had led her on a wild goose chase. Maybe now she was getting somewhere. She was just glad that Sango was alive... Inuyasha hadn't killed anyone after all.
"You ok?" she asked, giving him a gentle, comforting squeeze.
"Ask that again and I won't be held responsible for my actions." He said menacingly.
Kagome just rolled her eyes and smiled. He had a right to be crabby, what with how badly he was injured. She was just glad everyone was safe.
(A/N: Hmmm... well... next chapter - 'Sex and Soap operas' ¬_¬';;; Think whatever you want...)