@ Hehe, Battle! Can you wait? The tension! Here we go! @
Kouga had taken enough. This idiot hanyou not only convinced poor Kagome that she loved him, but also forced her to go jewel hunting with him. Not only that, but he also presumed to love another, which alone would be cruel to someone who loved him, and beyond that even he couldn't choose between the DEAD WOMAN, and precious Kagome. Inuyasha had tortured her to the point of tears, and enough was enough. Now, the battle had begun, and a fair fight it was. Fair in that he, as Kagome's Champion, had kept his newest Shikon shards, allowing for the appearance of a fair fight in her absence. He had left her locked in the iron room so that she couldn't be manipulated any further by the filthy hanyou, or tell him the truth.
Kouga watched as futility drove Inuyasha further and further, never able to land a blow, as he repeated that same pattern, trying again and again to muster speed and strength he didn't have. A hanyou could never compete with a full fledged shard enhanced youkai. A sudden flicker in Inuyasha's eyes called Kouga's attention briefly to the surroundings, and he smelt Kagome. He focused even harder on the fight at hand, but something had changed in Inuyasha as well, and in noticing Kagome his tactics suddenly changed. The routine failed, and Kouga was struck hard, to the face.
Hard Rage filled him, and he darted in faster than ever before, struck stronger than ever before, and Inuyasha was struck to the ground a final time.
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Inuyasha glanced towards Tetsusaiga, pondering pondering the Shikon shards. If Kouga had removed all of them, how was he so fast? Another hit for Kouga. Inuyasha felt the flare of false numbness, where a bruise would form later. He was sure something was different, and he felt as if Kouga knew his every move beforehand. What Inuyasha needed was a new tactic, or a new style, something else in place of his current method. Try as he might though, Inuyasha could come up with nothing, not one alteration on the current pattern. So far he had managed to repeat (in many different ways) the pattern of dodge, block, miss, get hit, rise again. The line between heavily beaten and peril of life grew steadily closer. Though Inuyasha dreaded what would happen should he cross that line, it grew harder and harder to get up. He would not surrender though, not if it meant he could never be with Kagome again.
Down again, Inuyasha pulled himself up to catch sight of a figure behind Kouga, exiting the caves. Kagome… he thought, desperately searching for something to do, when it came to him, such a slight alteration that its results were certain. Dodge, block, feignt, dodge, STRIKE… As he instituted his attack, he saw the changes in Kouga's expression, from boredom, to surprise, followed by pain, succeeded by fury. A counterstrike caught him full in the diaphragm, and the breath left his lungs. He heard two things before he lost consciousness, a quiet, whispered, "No…" as loud as if it had been in his ear, and his own final thought… "Kagome…"
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When Kagome arrive, having gotten confused a few time in the caves, the fight appeared to be drawing to a close. Inuyasha had taken a beating, his face had scrapes on it and a line of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth. What frightened her the most was the desperate look in his eyes. He was searching for something, she knew that, but the question was what? She looked toward Kouga and was filled with fury, a determined stride on her part split the crowd enough for he to move forward. Kouga had Shikon shards! Not only that, but he also hadn't a scratch on him. As she moved forward though, suddenly his expression changed from the triumph to surprise. She looked to Inuyasha, and was filled with pride as he moved forward faster and stronger than before. She moved through the crowd as quickly as possible, to reach them and stop the fight on this high note.
But Kouga struck before she got there, and she stared as Inuyasha flew into a tree. The crowd parted completely now, and she moved forward as fast as her legs would carry her. When she reached Inuyasha, he was trying to rise, but he wasn't Inuyasha…
"No…" She whispered. She thought she could hear his voice, one last time, before the demon part of him took over, Kagome… but she knew it was her imagination. And until Inuyasha took up his sword, he would be Inuyasha no longer.
She looked for Tetsusaiga; this could all be circumvented… with the sword, the sword! It was gone…
Stolen…
@ I know the last bit isn't clear if you haven't seen/read all of the series, so I'll clarify: In times where Inuyasha is in "peril of life," normally the Tetsusaiga suppresses his demon blood. BUT if he doesn't have Tetsusaiga, then his demon blood causes him to "lose his sense of self" and basically he becomes somewhat like an unintelligent bloodthirsty Youkai. Note: This chapter may be subject to revision if I find some of what I thought to be incorrect… @