Disclaimer: Yes! I own Inuyasha!!!!!!! Actually, I don't. Sorry to disappoint. -_-;;

Author's Note: ::Pout:: I was going to wait until I had ten more reviews…but I only have three! So sad! No one likes my story anymore? :( Waaaahhh!!!!!! But anyway…I posted this chapter anyway, since I'm nice…So: Yay! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! ^_^ Think of this as a Christmas present from your favorite author… Hope you enjoy! Please review!

My Lady Miko

~ by Four-Eyed Bookworm

Chapter 4

Pain. All he could feel was pain; the sharp needles that jabbed incessantly into his back, and the liquid fire that raced through the veins of his chest and legs. Every single part of his body ached and throbbed, pulsed and pounded. Even his hair hurt. Funny. The only part of his body that didn't seem to be hurting at all was his right arm…there was a soothing numbness there that cut off all feeling from everything below the elbow. He cracked open his eyes carefully, first one violet eye, then the other. Staring into the almost pitch black space around him, he tried to turn his head towards the right.

That single movement brought such a second wave of pain that Inuyasha almost felt as if he were going to faint again. He clenched his jaw tightly to prevent himself from screaming, and looked at the dim outline of his hand, which lay motionless on the ground. He tried to command his arm to move, but it, bent at a strange angle, seemed detached from the rest of his body. Oh, great, just what he needed…a broken arm. Sighing dramatically, he examined the rest of his appendages, making sure that none of his other crucial limbs were broken. Okay…it wasn't too bad, just one broken arm and numerous cut, bumps, and bruises. Of course, how was he to know, since he could barely move enough to test them?

Well, now came the hard part. He had to get up. Well, obviously, since he wasn't going to lie there and wait until dawn, when there was the chance that someone might be taking an early-morning stroll and suddenly discover him… So, Inuyasha tried propping his good arm up in order to heave himself up off the ground, thinking that it shouldn't be too difficult. Boy was he wrong. As soon as he braced his left arm against the ground, another sharp stab of agony raced up his arm, making his whole head dizzy with pain. Groaning, he collapsed back down onto the ground with a wince.

"Great. I can't even get up off the ground…let alone climb that stupid tower again…What I wouldn't give for a ladder right now…and my demon powers back, too. *Sigh* I really am pathetic…can't even get into that girl's room, let alone kill her…Sesshoumaru is going to slice me into shreds if I go back like this. And I'll be ridiculed for the rest of my life…as if I wasn't being teased to death for being a half-breed anyway…"

He thought about giving up and just going back, admitting that he was a weak, pathetic excuse for a half-demon, and letting his brothers' demons take over… But that would go against every principle he had ever followed, not to mention the way his pride and ego would be in danger of being trampled into a flat pancake if he acknowledged his defeat…Minutes later, he made up his mind angrily:

"Feh! No way I'm going to just lie here and give up! I can do anything a full-demon can, and I'll be damned if I let a fucking tower stop me! Besides, it might the only way Sesshoumaru will let me become a full demon once I finish the job…I'll climb that tower and get into through the window, or die trying!"

A few minutes later, Inuyasha was wishing that he had just died from the fall and broken his neck, for the pain he was experiencing as he tried to move was seriously causing him a slow, torturous death… Since it was only midnight, and he was still a human, his arm stood no chance of a speedy recovery, and every movement brought a fresh jolt of pain up his arm.

"Kuso!" He cursed, closing his eyes and allowing the pain to recede before moving into a half-crouch, using the wall as support. He turned around slowly, and looked up once again at the window before gritting his teeth and using his left arm to throw the grappling hook up into the air, praying fervently that it would hook onto something on the roof and stay. The rope he held in his hands became taut when he pulled, so he knew that it was relatively secure. He was about to bring his arm up to grab the rope, forgetting that it was broken, when he suddenly felt another knife of pain slice through his arm. He fell back to the ground, whimpering softly, caressing his right arm, which had now begun to bleed from his exertions. Rocking back and forth, Inuyasha finally managed to open his eyes again. He knew that he wouldn't be able to climb the rope with one arm dangling uselessly, so, searching around blindly, he found a stout stick on the ground, which he braced against his arm and tied tightly, using his blunt teeth, with ragged strips from his kimono. Then, carefully extricating the red shirt off of his arm, he wrapping it closely around his arm, forming a makeshift splint to keep it in place and to staunch the bleeding.

Somehow, the dog-demon-turned human managed not to howl in pain as he grabbed onto the rope with his good hand, using his agile legs to boost him up the tower, moving slowly and stopping for frequent rests. Somehow, he managed not to let go of the rope, even though, at times, he slid downwards, causing fearful rope-burns on his palm. Somehow, Inuyasha managed not to fall, not to scream, not to do anything but climb determinedly upwards, panting heavily and biting his own tongue to keep from crying out. And somehow, through the luck that the gods bestowed upon him, or perhaps, just by his own strength and stubbornness, he managed to finally make it to the window that was halfway up the tower.

Luckily, it had been left open, so Inuyasha swung a leg over the sill, careful not to wake up the occupant of the bed towards his right. As the rest of his body passed through the window, he felt a slight tingle run through his blood, and shivered, but attributed it to the cold air. Exhausted by the pain and movement, and light-headed from the loss of blood, Inuyasha slumped down into a corner of the room and closed his violet eyes. He was quite sure that when dawn came and he turned back into a fully-healed hanyou, the girl who was lying on the bed would still be there, and he'd have no trouble killing her. So, Inuyasha folded his broken arm to his chest protectively, took a deep, shuddering breath, and rested. Little did he know that he was soon to be proven wrong in his predictions when he woke up the next morning…

Yeah…I know this was a short chapter…sorry! I'll make it up to you, I promise! My next chapter will come out really soon! (I better get more than just three reviews next time! ^_^) And I'm still working on chapter 27 of The Course of True Love Ne'er Did Run Smooth…

Review Reponses from Chapter 4:

SaiyanPrincess – Hi! Thanks for reviewing! Oh, and just out of curiosity: Do you like DragonBall Z? ^_~

Sapphire – Yep! You're right! I would never let Inuyasha kill Kagome! Of course, as to the kidnapping…you'll just have to read more to find out! ::wink:: Oh, and yes, I guess Miroku and Sango might be in the fic later on, …if enough readers want them to appear…(hint.hint)

Cashmere – Wow! You reviewed again! Thank you so much! I feel so special! I'll try to make the chapters longer, just for you! ^-^ Merry Christmas!