A Nightmare Come True
~What's going on?~ she thought to herself. ~Where am I?~ She opened her eyes. Slowly, her vision adjusted. She looked around her and saw many people laying on the ground. She felt something ooze down her face. ~What's this?~ Red puddles formed around her body. She saw a red blur and passed out.
Kagome sat up in her bed, panting, cold sweat was running down her face. ~What's going on?~ She though to herself. ~It. it was only a dream. No, I nightmare. It was so real! How did I fall asleep?~ She looked down and saw her math, grammer, and English (as a second language) books strewed all over her bed.
~Oh, I must have fallen asleep while studying.~ Suddenly, she heard footsteps running down the hall, coming towards her room. "Great," she thought to herself, "Sota knows he shouldn't be running that fast in the house, even if he IS being careful! He better not break anything or else I'll get blamed for it one way or another."
To her surprise, a young man of fair build, and white hair entered her room, a bored look played across his face, annoyance glinting in his yellow- orange eyes.
"Inuyasha?! What are you doing here? I told you I'd be back the day AFTER I took my exam, not the day before!"
The young half dog demon turned towards her.
"What do you think I am? Stupid?! I knew that!"
Inuyasha usually came to "retrieve" her early anyways, but every time he did, she just didn't expect it. She didn't know why, but it seemed to highly disturb him every time she was away. He always said it was because her being gone wasted his time. Even if there was another reason, she'd never get it out of him.
"Oh, so why are you here?"
"A demon passed by today."
"Really?"
"No, not really. Isn't that what I just said?"
"Another one? Are you serious? Didn't we cross one just before I left? Well, did he have a shard of the Shikon Jewel?"
"No."
"Was he another one of Naraku's lackies?
"No."
"Was it Sesshomaru?"
"No."
Kagome was becoming seriously annoyed with Inuyasha's blunt, vague answers. She was confused though. He usually didn't play this "you guess, I'll tell you when you're right" game with her.
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
"Did he even attack you?"
"No."
"Do we know him?"
"Yeah."
"Sheesh!" Kagome thought, "Finally, we're getting somewhere!"
"Who was it?"
"It was Jinenji."
"Oh? . why? What did he want? Is he alright? The villagers aren't still making fun of him, are they?"
"We already took care of that the last time we were there, remember? As for what he wanted. He wanted to talk to you."
She blinked in confusion. Jinenji was a half demon living with his mother on the outskirts of a village. He was an incredibly tall and ugly half demon who had been treated horribly by the nearby villagers.
They had thought he had been killing and eating humans, villagers who had tried to steal the healing plant from their family's fields. The actual killer was a female spider demon who was trying to feed her strange little children.
When the villagers tried to attack Jinenji's home, the demon appeared, killing people left and right. It just so happened that Jinenji saved all of the surviving villagers by killing the mother of the little spider demons.
After that, they forgave him and even helped him plow the fields that had been destroyed in the battle.
Little did Kagome know. Jinenji was really starting to like her, or sort of favor her, the way her little fox friend, Shippo, did. Kagome was the first human female Jinenji had ever spoken to (not including his mother), and the first person to ever treat him like a human (once again, not including his mother). He couldn't help but favor her.
"His mother died. He wants us to come to her funeral."
Kagome's confusion changed to instant concern for the half demon. His mother was the only family he had. She really did stand up for him for a lot of things. She was his protection, his wall.
Inuyasha wasn't surprised to see her concerned. He would have been worried if she hadn't acted that way, but now that she had, he could bother her about it.
"Oh no, is he alright? Loosing her must have been hard on him."
"What's the big deal anyway? Who's ever heard of a whimpy demon? I lost my mom when I was only about 5! He needs to toughen up!"
"Inuyasha? Don't you have any sympathy at all?"
"Why should I? Wasn't my mother."
Inuyasha could be so frustrating sometimes. She couldn't believe it. Kagome had to pretend like she could see right through him, whether or not she could. That way, he wouldn't become to confident of himself.
"Well, if he wants me to, I'll come. When is it?"
"Tomorrow at noon."
Silently, she cursed her ill luck. Her test was a 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. She could still go, she just wouldn't have time to change her clothes, freshen up, and make herself look appropriate for the funeral..
"Tell him I'll be there."
Inuyasha couldn't believe this. Perplexed, he yelled, "Oh, so now that some whimp's mother died, you can drop everything just to go see her get buried?!?"
"Inuyasha! Don't you care at all? HE LOST HIS MOTHER!!! He's not you. He actually cares about his mother. Sometimes I wonder if you have a heart! Then, every time I do, I remember you love a DEAD WOMEN WHO'S TRYING TO TAKE TO INTO THE DEPTHS OF ."
At this, her voice trailed off. She could see his ears were starting to flop down wards, and his eyes and head were starting to droop.
She hated having to reminding him of Kikyo. Kagome was the reincarnation of a very powerful miko, a high priestess who had died over 400 years ago. At least she had in Kagome's time, but in Inuyasha's, In Feudal Japan, it was only 50 years ago that Kikyo died. Urasue, a demon, created a clay body of Kikyo using her creaminated ashes and, capturing Kagome, removed her (Kagome's) soul from her body and put it into Kikyo's. Now, hungering for life again, but having no way to do it, Kikyo steals the souls of women to preserve herself, her soul, all the while trying to take Inuyasha back to the underworld with her. Kikyo's theory is that time will stop there, allowing her to live for an eternity in Inuyasha's heart (since he's not dead yet).
"I'm sorry Inuyasha. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He said before walking across her room, opening the window, and jumping out.
"Huh," Kagome said aloud, "I hope I didn't hurt his feelings. Oh well, he'll be fine, I'm sure. Besides, I've got to really cram for this test if I'm going to pass high school."
Even then, she wasn't sure he was going to be fine, and as she studied, the thought of Inuyasha's well being probed the back of her mind.
Late into the night, she studied. She read and memorized until fatigue and weariness finally overtook her, and she fell asleep.
*** Inuyasha jumped from Kagome's window. He thought about what Kagome had just said. "Maybe that is what she wants to do," he thought to himself, "but I still did fall in love with her, so it shouldn't matter, right? I don't know."
Of course he was talking about Kikyo. He knew Kikyo had wanted to take him to the underworld. Just. till now, it hadn't mattered so much. Every time he saw her, he still had to "rescue" her, whether or not she needed it. Now, though, the realization of how cruel and evil what Kikyo wanted to do was starting to sink in. Yet. It still didn't particularly matter to him.
Intranced in thought, Inuyasha barely even noticed Miroku, Shippo, and Sango hiding in the bushes. He almost missed them, but Inuyasha's sensitive dog ears picked up the sound of the bushes russling nearby.
"You guys can come out now. I could smell you from the other side of the well."
Of course, he really couldn't. He hadn't been paying any attention what-so- ever to his surroundings, but they didn't know that.
Slowly, all three of them stood up and climbed out of the bushes.
"So, what did she say?" asked Shippo.
"She said she wishes Jinenji would die. What do you think she said?"
"He was just asking a simple question Inuyasha!" Sango retorted. "Don't get so angry over nothing."
"Oh! So you're saying that the things that make me angry are nothing, eh?"
"As a matter of fact-" Sango yelled back.
"Actually," said Miroku, cutting Sango off, "she was just trying to say that you shouldn't get angry over what other people say."
Inuyasha didn't really have an answer to that, and with that, he leaped into the air, leaving the three friends to wonder what had happened in Kagome's time to put him in such a bad mood.
"What was up with him?" Shippo asked, always the innocent one.
"Who knows." Said Miroku, "It's not like we ever understood him anyways."
Sango laughed and said, "Well, we better get back to the village. That's the way he was heading anyways. I'm sure Kaede will have something to say about it. Let's ask her, okay?"
"Why?" Miroku asked, "Ask about what?"
Shippo looked from one person to the other as the two spoke, but he was getting tired of them talking about leaving and still not leaving. He started to walk off. Sango and Miroku didn't notice.
"Did you see that look on his face?" Sango answered. "That's the look he gets when he's thinking about Kikyo."
Suddenly suspicious, Miroku asked, "How would you know what he looks like when he's thinking about Kikyo? Are you jealous?"
"Are you telling me you've never noticed?" Replied Sango, "I thought it was so easy to see."
Miroku stared at her skeptically.
".after Kagome pointed it out to me."
Miroku burst out laughing.
"Alright, let's go. Hey, where's Shippo?" Sango asked.
Sango and Miroku looked down the path and were surprised when they saw Shippo pretty far away from them.
"Guess he took off without us." Said Sango, "Come on, let's catch up!"
With that, the two took off full speed after Shippo. As they were running, they talked.
M: "You're sure Inuyasha was thinking about Kikyo?"
S: "Positive. There are specific signs you know. One for sure."
M: "Oh really, and when did you become such and expert?"
Sango laughed.
S: "Well, one of the most identifiable signs that Kagome told me was the ears. She said 'If you wanna know his mood, look at his ears.' She told me a whole group of ear emotions, but the one I remember most is if he doesn't have dirt or grass in his hair, and he isn't saying 'stupid girl', but his ears are drooping, that means he's thinking about Kikyo."
M: "Well, it really sounds like he's thinking about happy thoughts. I wonder what they are."
Sango was getting bored and depressed talking about Inuyasha's depression. Finally, she said,
S: "Oh, I don't know. Can we just talk about something else? At least until we get to the village and talk to someone who might know something about it."
M: "Do you really think Kaede will know? The only person I can think of who would 'know' something about it is Kagome, and I don't think she'll give us a straight answer."
S: "SOMETHING ELSE PLEASE!"
Miroku laughed.
M: When do you think Shippo left?
S: I'd say somewhere around that time when we were talking about leaving and now.
Miroku laughed again, but Sango had had a very serious "I don't wanna talk right now." Tone in her voice, and he decided to respect that, so the talking died down and the two just ran at a steady pace till they caught up with Shippo.
Sango had been thinking about Kikyo.
"What is it with that lady?" She thought to herself. "Why is she after Inuyasha? Well, I know why she's after him, just. why can't she go away? Inuyasha and Kagome would be so cute together if only KIKYO weren't there."
Sango thought of a snake every time she thought of Kikyo. "How could Inuyasha love her? Why would he choose her over Kagome? Kagome isn't trying to enforce a world of pain, sorrow, and death upon him. She isn't trying to force anything upon him, in fact. I already know she loves him deeply. Why doesn't he love her back?"
Frustrated with her incapability to answer her own questions, Sango gave up the subject for now and just concentrated on catching up to Shippo.
With that, she said, "Race you!", and started running, full speed, towards the small fox demon.
"What took you guys so long?" Shippo asked. "I thought you would never get here."
Miroku hit him over the head with his staff.
"Why did you take off?" Miroku asked.
Shippo stared at him for a moment before answering.
"I was bored."
Sango raised and eyebrow at Shippo who shrugged in response.
"Let's go, we'll be at the village soon, then we can talk to Kaede." Said Sango.
"Talk to her about what?" asked Shippo.
"Stuff about Kikyo." Miroku responded.
"Oh, the dead lady. okay." Said Shippo.
(Have you noticed? Somehow, once again, the story got away from our hero.)
Inuyasha leaped into the air. Sailing over trees, he reached the village in just a few minutes. It was more than plainly obvious which direction he had gone in, he was sure Sango, Shippo and Miroku would follow. It was just a matter of time.
Meanwhile, he really had some thinking to do. He had to figure out why he couldn't seem to help always being so mean to Kagome every time he saw her. He should be happy when he sees her. He had, after all, chosen to continue the jouney with him, even after he had chosen Kikyo as the one he loved instead of her, but he couldn't seem to help it. Every time he saw her, it was like someone flipped a switch within him that caused him to become Mr. "Mean and Nasty".
He was also having second thoughts about his decision. Kagome wasn't trying to kill him, and she actually loved him. Kikyo wanted him to live with pain and death for eternity, and she only used to love him. Now she hates him for not dying with her and she hates Kagome for taking away the life Kikyo never had.
Now that he thought about it, it was kind of like a messed up triangle. Kagome loves him, but he loves Kikyo. Unfortunately, it stops there. He wasn't too sure if Kikyo COULD love anyone anymore.
"He loved Kikyo." He thought to himself, or at least he thought he did, but he wasn't sure if he had convinced himself of it or if he really believed he still loved a dead woman who was trying to kill her reincarnation. Actually, choosing between Kikyo and Kagome had been a hard decision. He had been protecting her for so long, he had become used to her being around him so much that he had started to develop affection towards her, not really a love, but stronger than a like. He would rather go through a century of alien water torture than tell her that, though. He had made his choice, it was too late to change his mind. He felt bound to his decision.
He got to Kaede's temple and walked into a room close to the door. This was the room right next to Kaede's, the one she usually let Inuyasha and everyone else sleep in. He opened the door, lit a fire, and went back to his thoughts.
Miroku, Sango and Shippo arrived at the temple at around mid-night. They found the entire village was totally and completely silent. Everyone had gone to sleep, including Kaede.
"Oh well," said Sango, "we can talk to her in the morning. Let's just get some sleep now."
Miroku and Shippo agreed and they walked into their room. To their surprise, Inuyasha was still awake, but he was doing a very weird looking dance around the fire.
When they came in, he froze in surprise and stared at them.
Miroku and Shippo burst into laughter. Sango just giggled quietly to herself.
"Please Inuyasha (hahaha), don't let us stop you (hehehehe). Continue, (ahahaha) I insist!"
Miroku collapsed on the floor in a gale of laughter.
"Oh shut up Miroku!" Yelled Inuyasha.
"No offense Inuyasha," Sango, always the polite one, said, "but what were you doing anyways?"
"I was just trying to kill this weird thing on the ground, but it kept on pinching my feet!"
"Ahh." said Miroku, finally catching his breath and getting up off the floor, "the joys of shoes."
Inuyasha threw Miroku a nasty (cruel, evil, I'm going to kill you) look. Miroku just continued to smile.
Shippo had been rolling around on the ground laughing hysterically. Every time he managed to control his laughter, he took a look at Inuyasha and just collapsed laughing again. Inuyasha walked over to the little fox demon, a seriously annoyed look on his face.
Then, he did what he usually did when Shippo annoyed him, except this time, Kagome wasn't around to say the dreaded "s" word. Yes, if Kagome uttered the word "Sit (boy)", the prayer beads Kaede had placed around his neck would draw him to the floor causing a deep hole in the ground in the shape of his body.
"OW!!!" Yelled Shippo in complaint. "Stop it, that hurts!"
Inuyasha just stared at him and continued to hit Shippo until his bumps had bumps. "Someone's gotta teach you some manners you little bug."
"I'm not a bug!" Shippo retorted, "I'm a fox!"
"Should we step in?" Sango asked Miroku.
"Well. you must admit that Kagome spoils him and discipline is good for him." He replied.
"Yeah, but don't you think Inuyasha's being a little hard on Shippo?" Sango replied in a concerned voice.
"Nah, he'll be fine. He's a demon, remember?" Miroku answered back. "Besides, Inuyasha won't go on forever."
(Six hours later.)
"You were saying?" Sango turned to Miroku.
(In the background, you hear Shippo) "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,."
"Okay, now we should stop him." Miroku said. "Inuyasha, isn't that enough?"
Inuyasha turned to Miroku annoyed, then smiled wickedly. He walked over to Miroku and started to hit him in the head.
(Okay, okay, this didn't really happen and it's not apart of the story. Actually, it's not even relevant. I just thought that you guys might like a good laugh. Okay, so where were we again?)
"Well, whatever." Inuyasha said, standing upright.. He walked to a corner and sat down.
"Inuyasha? What happened at Kagome's house?" Sango asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it. None of your d#&n business. Good night." He said.
Everyone layed down and went to bed uneasily. They really had to wonder what put Inuyasha in such a bad mood.
*Beep*Beep*Beep*
"Oh my gosh! It's already 7:40?! Why didn't anyone wake me up?!? I'm going to be late for my exam now!"
Kagome woke up and found herself where she had fallen asleep the previous night. Quickly, she ran into her bathroom, grabbing some clothes and a towel. After her shower, she brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and dashed downstairs. She didn't have time for dinner and ran all the way to school.
"Oh no, I'm going to be late." She panted.
The bell rang and as it did, a loud "Ah, oh no, I'm late!!" was heard echoing through the halls of Kagome's school.
Inuyasha twitched. He sat bolt upright..
"Kagome!!!!!"
Miroku, Shippo and Sango all turned to look at the half demon as he fell out of the tree from the sudden movement he'd made.
"Inuyash! What was all the yelling for?!" Sango yelled, worried tone in her voice.
Miroku smiled pervertedly. "Thinking about the love of your life, Kagome?"
Inuyasha gave Miroku a low growl and a cold stare.
"Ooo, Inuyasha loves Kagome, Inuyasha loves Kagome!" Shippo sang teasingly.
"Shut up brat!"
Miroku and Sango laughed as Inuyasha chased Shippo around, quickly picking up Miroku's staff, which was lying on the ground.
"Let's see. A, C, D, A, B A, D, D, C, A, D, A. Oh. is that right?"
*Erase*
*Scribble, scribble*
"Jeez, they couldn't make these easy, could they?" Kagome looked over her paper. Satified, she turned it in, then said to the teacher, "May I leave earlier? I have a funeral to go to."
"Of course you may."
Kagome was dressed and ready. Quickly, she jumped through the well. Everyone was waiting on the other side.
"Kagome! You're back!" Shippo cried.
"What took you so long wench?" (Of course, Inuyasha)
Kagome stared at him, annoyed, and uttered the dreaded "s" word.
"Sit Boy!"
Inuyasha was immediately dragged to the ground by the prayer beads around his neck.
"How did you do on your tests?" Sango asked.
"Oh, I don't know. They were hard though."
"I'm sure you did well." Sango smiled encouragingly.
"We should get going." Miroku said.
Kagome looked around to see all the villagers surrounding Jineji, watching him as he buried his mother. She saw a single tear glimmer in the light before it falled down his face. Of course, Inuyasha saw it too and just scoffed.
Kagome starred at him for a long time. She just starred and starred, her eyes watching his. He wasn't facing her though, he was ignoring her purposing. She knew he felt her eyes on him.
Finally, he got frustrated. "What do you want wench?"
A surprised expression came over her face as she fully realized how rude starring was and turned away, back to Jinenji.
"Huh, that's what I thought."
Kagome blushed, but as soon as she was sure he was looking away, she looked back at him. ~What's wrong? Something's not right about that glint in his eyes. He looks kind of.. Cute?~ She felt her self blush. ~What am I thinking? Inuyasha? Cute?~ She scolded herself, but she couldn't get the idea out of her head.
She heard crying among the awkard silence. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Jinenji. He was starring at her a sad expression on his face and a glint in his eyes. ~His eyes are so sad, sad like. Inuyasha's?~
Jinenji looked at her and smiled a heart breakingly sad smile.
"Jinenji, I'm sorry."
"It's alright, it's not your fault. My mother lived a full life and in her last years, she has accomplished all she'd ever want to. We're friends with the villagers now thanks to you and she told me that her life, no matter how much suffering was in it, was worth it because people have accepted me."
He then walked off, towards a low hill crowned with flowers, a favorite spot of his no doubt. Everyone watched him, everyone except Inuyasha. ~What's he looking at?~ She followed his gaze and saw he was watching the grave.
Suddenly, she remembered a story Kaede had told her when they were chatting one night.
Inuyasah is a demon, but only half. He's also half human, and he's hurting inside. His heart aches with the pain of loss and only ye can heal it now. Sister Kikyo would have been the one to heal his wounds had she not died at such a young age. That's why she wants to kill ye."
"What wound? Why is he in pain?"
"Yon demon's mother died when he was only a pup."
"His mother. was she human?"
"Yay, indeed she was. When Inuyasha was young, yon brother, Sesshomaru and yon step mother kicked them out of their home."
"Oh. that's so sad."
"indeed it is."
~He lost his mother when he was only so young. Poor Inuyasha. Wait a second! Poor Inuyasha? He doesn't always have to take it out on me!!! Why is he --~
Suddenly, Kagome was cut off in her though when an explosion rang out and iNaraku and many of his bees and minions appeared.
"What? How did I miss them? !%*# it!" Inuyasha screamed as a mass of demons jumped on him and started attacking him or blasted him.
Kagome ran for Miroku, Sango and Shippo. ~We need their help! We need to get Naraku away from the grave site!!!~ She panicked and ran as fast as she could for her friends.
Inuyasha couldn't believe he'd let himself be taken by surprise. ~How could I?~ Silently, he cursed himself. ~Is Kagome alright? !%#* it, where did that wench go?~
He pulled out the Tetsusaiga and lept forward. He couldn't access the windscar and he needed it right now. One by one, he started to pick off the monsters. "Where are these coming from god !#*% it! This is an endless string!!!"
Suddenly, a large ball of fire flew by and Sango's boomerang knocked out demons, left and right.
Arrows fired from behind him. Inuyasha was careful not to get in the way of any of the arrows, watching their destructive power work it's magic on the flying pests.
Naraku sat, content, in a tree nearby, watching the gang fight for dear life.
Miroku couldn't do anything until the villagers started to show up. One of them brought an extra bow and quiver of arrows and handed them to him. He began to fire, and though his arrows didn't have nearly as much power as Kagome's, he, being a munk, still did sufficient damage.
Jinenji came charging down the hill. He rammed the monsters and started to push them back, away from the village, away from his mother, into the deep forest.
Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome and the villagers quickly followed suit.
*boom*
A fire blast, but from where? Kagome looked around, she didn't see anything. How strange.
Suddenly, it started raining fire and jumping was all the gang could do to avoid being burned to death.
Inuyasha slashed, jumped, rebounded and slashed again, following this pattern because it was efficient.
Then. to his horror, a veil of white pass his eyes, but only for a second. ~What the !$&% was that? !#*% it, where are they all coming from?~ Realization hit him. "Kikyo."
Kikyo was standing at the root of the tree Naraku was sitting in, watching the scene. She drew an arrow and aimed it straight for Kagome. "Die."
Inuyasha searched for Kikyo and saw her with her bow drawn, pointed straight for Kagome's back. "NO!!! Watch out !%*$ it!!!" He lept for Kagome to push her out of the way. ~Why am I doing this? Who cares! Kagome, hold on! Move! Don't die!!!~
Kagome, Sango and Miroku all turned toward Inuyasha when they heard his screams. Kagome watched him. ~What's he doing? He should be fighting!~
"Look behind you!"
~What's he talking about?!~ Kagome turned around just in time to see a purple flash. The arrow hit her in the diaphragm and went straight through. She collapsed, hitting her head on a large rock when she hit the ground.
"KAGOME!!!!" everyone called. They wanted to run for her, but they couldn't.
Pain consumed her. "No." she cried weakly, "look behind you." A large tornado appeared, the work of Naraku, no doubt, containing poison. They were unaware of it and passed out. She tried to think hard, but she couldn't seem to remember what was going on right then.
~What's going on?~ she thought to herself. ~Where am I?~ She opened her eyes. Slowly, her vision adjusted. She looked around her and saw many people laying on the ground. She felt something ooze down her face. ~What's this?~ Red puddles formed around her body. ~Inuyasha. she thought. I love you.~ She looked up and saw a blur of red before passing out.
Inuyasha lept from the demon he had just killed. "Kikyo." He said menacingly. "How dare you hurt Kagome!"
Kikyo smiled. "Why do you care? It is not as though you love her."
Suddenly, realization hit him. He did love her. It make him happy to know it. He loved Kagome. "You're wrong, I do love her! I LOVE KAGOME!" he yelled.
"How sweet." Said Naraku. "Too bad you'll never get to tell her how much you care for her."
He smiled wickedly. Inuyasha was half blind with rage and weary with fatigue from all the fighting he'd done. This would be easy.
Naraku emitted his poison and drew a long, dark blade. He attacked Inuyasha, and to his perverse pleasure, the dog demon couldn't fight back. "I've won." He laughed.
Inuyasha fought with all of his remaining strength, but he realized he wouldn't be able to kill Naraku without some amazing miracle.
Grey swirls consumed him. Inuyasha recognized them. ~The windscar.~ He held up the Tetsusaiga and jumped up. His sword followed the path of a single line.
Naraku couldn't believe it. "He's using the windscar! How could he?! NO!!!!"
Kikyo smiled wickedly. "The WindScar can't touch me." She said. Those were her last final words.
Kagome woke up and saw Kaede. She was confused, what had she been doing before she lost conscience. Suddenly she sat up. "INUYASHA!" A wave of pain hit her and she layed back down slowly.
"Don't ye worry about yon demon. He is alright." Kaede pointed to the demon laying in the corner of the room.
"He's been watching ye. He called ye back here."
~Inuyasha.~
"What about the others?"
"The monk and the demon fighter are fine. Yon villagers carried them back here."
Inuyasha's ears twitched and he suddenly woke up. "You old hag! I told you to wake me up if Kagome came around!" he yelled, but not very loudly, he was still weak.
Then he saw Kagome. Kaede smiled and left.
"Kagome. How do you feel?"
"Tired, weak, in pain." She responded. "How about you?"
"Me? I feel happy." He said smiling
~Happy? He must not be feeling well~ "Happy?"
"Yeah. I was so scared when Kikyo shot you. When I was fighting the final battle with Naraku, I realized something."
". something? What?"
"I love you."
Stunned she starred at him. "You what?" ~How could he be saying this? It he serious?~ Angry thoughts, sad thoughts, happy thoughts, thoughts of pain and love and joy ran through Kagome's mind. Then, she looked up at his face. She saw him watching her. Watching her with true love in his eyes.
She smiled, "I love you too".
~The End~
~What's going on?~ she thought to herself. ~Where am I?~ She opened her eyes. Slowly, her vision adjusted. She looked around her and saw many people laying on the ground. She felt something ooze down her face. ~What's this?~ Red puddles formed around her body. She saw a red blur and passed out.
Kagome sat up in her bed, panting, cold sweat was running down her face. ~What's going on?~ She though to herself. ~It. it was only a dream. No, I nightmare. It was so real! How did I fall asleep?~ She looked down and saw her math, grammer, and English (as a second language) books strewed all over her bed.
~Oh, I must have fallen asleep while studying.~ Suddenly, she heard footsteps running down the hall, coming towards her room. "Great," she thought to herself, "Sota knows he shouldn't be running that fast in the house, even if he IS being careful! He better not break anything or else I'll get blamed for it one way or another."
To her surprise, a young man of fair build, and white hair entered her room, a bored look played across his face, annoyance glinting in his yellow- orange eyes.
"Inuyasha?! What are you doing here? I told you I'd be back the day AFTER I took my exam, not the day before!"
The young half dog demon turned towards her.
"What do you think I am? Stupid?! I knew that!"
Inuyasha usually came to "retrieve" her early anyways, but every time he did, she just didn't expect it. She didn't know why, but it seemed to highly disturb him every time she was away. He always said it was because her being gone wasted his time. Even if there was another reason, she'd never get it out of him.
"Oh, so why are you here?"
"A demon passed by today."
"Really?"
"No, not really. Isn't that what I just said?"
"Another one? Are you serious? Didn't we cross one just before I left? Well, did he have a shard of the Shikon Jewel?"
"No."
"Was he another one of Naraku's lackies?
"No."
"Was it Sesshomaru?"
"No."
Kagome was becoming seriously annoyed with Inuyasha's blunt, vague answers. She was confused though. He usually didn't play this "you guess, I'll tell you when you're right" game with her.
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
"Did he even attack you?"
"No."
"Do we know him?"
"Yeah."
"Sheesh!" Kagome thought, "Finally, we're getting somewhere!"
"Who was it?"
"It was Jinenji."
"Oh? . why? What did he want? Is he alright? The villagers aren't still making fun of him, are they?"
"We already took care of that the last time we were there, remember? As for what he wanted. He wanted to talk to you."
She blinked in confusion. Jinenji was a half demon living with his mother on the outskirts of a village. He was an incredibly tall and ugly half demon who had been treated horribly by the nearby villagers.
They had thought he had been killing and eating humans, villagers who had tried to steal the healing plant from their family's fields. The actual killer was a female spider demon who was trying to feed her strange little children.
When the villagers tried to attack Jinenji's home, the demon appeared, killing people left and right. It just so happened that Jinenji saved all of the surviving villagers by killing the mother of the little spider demons.
After that, they forgave him and even helped him plow the fields that had been destroyed in the battle.
Little did Kagome know. Jinenji was really starting to like her, or sort of favor her, the way her little fox friend, Shippo, did. Kagome was the first human female Jinenji had ever spoken to (not including his mother), and the first person to ever treat him like a human (once again, not including his mother). He couldn't help but favor her.
"His mother died. He wants us to come to her funeral."
Kagome's confusion changed to instant concern for the half demon. His mother was the only family he had. She really did stand up for him for a lot of things. She was his protection, his wall.
Inuyasha wasn't surprised to see her concerned. He would have been worried if she hadn't acted that way, but now that she had, he could bother her about it.
"Oh no, is he alright? Loosing her must have been hard on him."
"What's the big deal anyway? Who's ever heard of a whimpy demon? I lost my mom when I was only about 5! He needs to toughen up!"
"Inuyasha? Don't you have any sympathy at all?"
"Why should I? Wasn't my mother."
Inuyasha could be so frustrating sometimes. She couldn't believe it. Kagome had to pretend like she could see right through him, whether or not she could. That way, he wouldn't become to confident of himself.
"Well, if he wants me to, I'll come. When is it?"
"Tomorrow at noon."
Silently, she cursed her ill luck. Her test was a 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. She could still go, she just wouldn't have time to change her clothes, freshen up, and make herself look appropriate for the funeral..
"Tell him I'll be there."
Inuyasha couldn't believe this. Perplexed, he yelled, "Oh, so now that some whimp's mother died, you can drop everything just to go see her get buried?!?"
"Inuyasha! Don't you care at all? HE LOST HIS MOTHER!!! He's not you. He actually cares about his mother. Sometimes I wonder if you have a heart! Then, every time I do, I remember you love a DEAD WOMEN WHO'S TRYING TO TAKE TO INTO THE DEPTHS OF ."
At this, her voice trailed off. She could see his ears were starting to flop down wards, and his eyes and head were starting to droop.
She hated having to reminding him of Kikyo. Kagome was the reincarnation of a very powerful miko, a high priestess who had died over 400 years ago. At least she had in Kagome's time, but in Inuyasha's, In Feudal Japan, it was only 50 years ago that Kikyo died. Urasue, a demon, created a clay body of Kikyo using her creaminated ashes and, capturing Kagome, removed her (Kagome's) soul from her body and put it into Kikyo's. Now, hungering for life again, but having no way to do it, Kikyo steals the souls of women to preserve herself, her soul, all the while trying to take Inuyasha back to the underworld with her. Kikyo's theory is that time will stop there, allowing her to live for an eternity in Inuyasha's heart (since he's not dead yet).
"I'm sorry Inuyasha. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He said before walking across her room, opening the window, and jumping out.
"Huh," Kagome said aloud, "I hope I didn't hurt his feelings. Oh well, he'll be fine, I'm sure. Besides, I've got to really cram for this test if I'm going to pass high school."
Even then, she wasn't sure he was going to be fine, and as she studied, the thought of Inuyasha's well being probed the back of her mind.
Late into the night, she studied. She read and memorized until fatigue and weariness finally overtook her, and she fell asleep.
*** Inuyasha jumped from Kagome's window. He thought about what Kagome had just said. "Maybe that is what she wants to do," he thought to himself, "but I still did fall in love with her, so it shouldn't matter, right? I don't know."
Of course he was talking about Kikyo. He knew Kikyo had wanted to take him to the underworld. Just. till now, it hadn't mattered so much. Every time he saw her, he still had to "rescue" her, whether or not she needed it. Now, though, the realization of how cruel and evil what Kikyo wanted to do was starting to sink in. Yet. It still didn't particularly matter to him.
Intranced in thought, Inuyasha barely even noticed Miroku, Shippo, and Sango hiding in the bushes. He almost missed them, but Inuyasha's sensitive dog ears picked up the sound of the bushes russling nearby.
"You guys can come out now. I could smell you from the other side of the well."
Of course, he really couldn't. He hadn't been paying any attention what-so- ever to his surroundings, but they didn't know that.
Slowly, all three of them stood up and climbed out of the bushes.
"So, what did she say?" asked Shippo.
"She said she wishes Jinenji would die. What do you think she said?"
"He was just asking a simple question Inuyasha!" Sango retorted. "Don't get so angry over nothing."
"Oh! So you're saying that the things that make me angry are nothing, eh?"
"As a matter of fact-" Sango yelled back.
"Actually," said Miroku, cutting Sango off, "she was just trying to say that you shouldn't get angry over what other people say."
Inuyasha didn't really have an answer to that, and with that, he leaped into the air, leaving the three friends to wonder what had happened in Kagome's time to put him in such a bad mood.
"What was up with him?" Shippo asked, always the innocent one.
"Who knows." Said Miroku, "It's not like we ever understood him anyways."
Sango laughed and said, "Well, we better get back to the village. That's the way he was heading anyways. I'm sure Kaede will have something to say about it. Let's ask her, okay?"
"Why?" Miroku asked, "Ask about what?"
Shippo looked from one person to the other as the two spoke, but he was getting tired of them talking about leaving and still not leaving. He started to walk off. Sango and Miroku didn't notice.
"Did you see that look on his face?" Sango answered. "That's the look he gets when he's thinking about Kikyo."
Suddenly suspicious, Miroku asked, "How would you know what he looks like when he's thinking about Kikyo? Are you jealous?"
"Are you telling me you've never noticed?" Replied Sango, "I thought it was so easy to see."
Miroku stared at her skeptically.
".after Kagome pointed it out to me."
Miroku burst out laughing.
"Alright, let's go. Hey, where's Shippo?" Sango asked.
Sango and Miroku looked down the path and were surprised when they saw Shippo pretty far away from them.
"Guess he took off without us." Said Sango, "Come on, let's catch up!"
With that, the two took off full speed after Shippo. As they were running, they talked.
M: "You're sure Inuyasha was thinking about Kikyo?"
S: "Positive. There are specific signs you know. One for sure."
M: "Oh really, and when did you become such and expert?"
Sango laughed.
S: "Well, one of the most identifiable signs that Kagome told me was the ears. She said 'If you wanna know his mood, look at his ears.' She told me a whole group of ear emotions, but the one I remember most is if he doesn't have dirt or grass in his hair, and he isn't saying 'stupid girl', but his ears are drooping, that means he's thinking about Kikyo."
M: "Well, it really sounds like he's thinking about happy thoughts. I wonder what they are."
Sango was getting bored and depressed talking about Inuyasha's depression. Finally, she said,
S: "Oh, I don't know. Can we just talk about something else? At least until we get to the village and talk to someone who might know something about it."
M: "Do you really think Kaede will know? The only person I can think of who would 'know' something about it is Kagome, and I don't think she'll give us a straight answer."
S: "SOMETHING ELSE PLEASE!"
Miroku laughed.
M: When do you think Shippo left?
S: I'd say somewhere around that time when we were talking about leaving and now.
Miroku laughed again, but Sango had had a very serious "I don't wanna talk right now." Tone in her voice, and he decided to respect that, so the talking died down and the two just ran at a steady pace till they caught up with Shippo.
Sango had been thinking about Kikyo.
"What is it with that lady?" She thought to herself. "Why is she after Inuyasha? Well, I know why she's after him, just. why can't she go away? Inuyasha and Kagome would be so cute together if only KIKYO weren't there."
Sango thought of a snake every time she thought of Kikyo. "How could Inuyasha love her? Why would he choose her over Kagome? Kagome isn't trying to enforce a world of pain, sorrow, and death upon him. She isn't trying to force anything upon him, in fact. I already know she loves him deeply. Why doesn't he love her back?"
Frustrated with her incapability to answer her own questions, Sango gave up the subject for now and just concentrated on catching up to Shippo.
With that, she said, "Race you!", and started running, full speed, towards the small fox demon.
"What took you guys so long?" Shippo asked. "I thought you would never get here."
Miroku hit him over the head with his staff.
"Why did you take off?" Miroku asked.
Shippo stared at him for a moment before answering.
"I was bored."
Sango raised and eyebrow at Shippo who shrugged in response.
"Let's go, we'll be at the village soon, then we can talk to Kaede." Said Sango.
"Talk to her about what?" asked Shippo.
"Stuff about Kikyo." Miroku responded.
"Oh, the dead lady. okay." Said Shippo.
(Have you noticed? Somehow, once again, the story got away from our hero.)
Inuyasha leaped into the air. Sailing over trees, he reached the village in just a few minutes. It was more than plainly obvious which direction he had gone in, he was sure Sango, Shippo and Miroku would follow. It was just a matter of time.
Meanwhile, he really had some thinking to do. He had to figure out why he couldn't seem to help always being so mean to Kagome every time he saw her. He should be happy when he sees her. He had, after all, chosen to continue the jouney with him, even after he had chosen Kikyo as the one he loved instead of her, but he couldn't seem to help it. Every time he saw her, it was like someone flipped a switch within him that caused him to become Mr. "Mean and Nasty".
He was also having second thoughts about his decision. Kagome wasn't trying to kill him, and she actually loved him. Kikyo wanted him to live with pain and death for eternity, and she only used to love him. Now she hates him for not dying with her and she hates Kagome for taking away the life Kikyo never had.
Now that he thought about it, it was kind of like a messed up triangle. Kagome loves him, but he loves Kikyo. Unfortunately, it stops there. He wasn't too sure if Kikyo COULD love anyone anymore.
"He loved Kikyo." He thought to himself, or at least he thought he did, but he wasn't sure if he had convinced himself of it or if he really believed he still loved a dead woman who was trying to kill her reincarnation. Actually, choosing between Kikyo and Kagome had been a hard decision. He had been protecting her for so long, he had become used to her being around him so much that he had started to develop affection towards her, not really a love, but stronger than a like. He would rather go through a century of alien water torture than tell her that, though. He had made his choice, it was too late to change his mind. He felt bound to his decision.
He got to Kaede's temple and walked into a room close to the door. This was the room right next to Kaede's, the one she usually let Inuyasha and everyone else sleep in. He opened the door, lit a fire, and went back to his thoughts.
Miroku, Sango and Shippo arrived at the temple at around mid-night. They found the entire village was totally and completely silent. Everyone had gone to sleep, including Kaede.
"Oh well," said Sango, "we can talk to her in the morning. Let's just get some sleep now."
Miroku and Shippo agreed and they walked into their room. To their surprise, Inuyasha was still awake, but he was doing a very weird looking dance around the fire.
When they came in, he froze in surprise and stared at them.
Miroku and Shippo burst into laughter. Sango just giggled quietly to herself.
"Please Inuyasha (hahaha), don't let us stop you (hehehehe). Continue, (ahahaha) I insist!"
Miroku collapsed on the floor in a gale of laughter.
"Oh shut up Miroku!" Yelled Inuyasha.
"No offense Inuyasha," Sango, always the polite one, said, "but what were you doing anyways?"
"I was just trying to kill this weird thing on the ground, but it kept on pinching my feet!"
"Ahh." said Miroku, finally catching his breath and getting up off the floor, "the joys of shoes."
Inuyasha threw Miroku a nasty (cruel, evil, I'm going to kill you) look. Miroku just continued to smile.
Shippo had been rolling around on the ground laughing hysterically. Every time he managed to control his laughter, he took a look at Inuyasha and just collapsed laughing again. Inuyasha walked over to the little fox demon, a seriously annoyed look on his face.
Then, he did what he usually did when Shippo annoyed him, except this time, Kagome wasn't around to say the dreaded "s" word. Yes, if Kagome uttered the word "Sit (boy)", the prayer beads Kaede had placed around his neck would draw him to the floor causing a deep hole in the ground in the shape of his body.
"OW!!!" Yelled Shippo in complaint. "Stop it, that hurts!"
Inuyasha just stared at him and continued to hit Shippo until his bumps had bumps. "Someone's gotta teach you some manners you little bug."
"I'm not a bug!" Shippo retorted, "I'm a fox!"
"Should we step in?" Sango asked Miroku.
"Well. you must admit that Kagome spoils him and discipline is good for him." He replied.
"Yeah, but don't you think Inuyasha's being a little hard on Shippo?" Sango replied in a concerned voice.
"Nah, he'll be fine. He's a demon, remember?" Miroku answered back. "Besides, Inuyasha won't go on forever."
(Six hours later.)
"You were saying?" Sango turned to Miroku.
(In the background, you hear Shippo) "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,."
"Okay, now we should stop him." Miroku said. "Inuyasha, isn't that enough?"
Inuyasha turned to Miroku annoyed, then smiled wickedly. He walked over to Miroku and started to hit him in the head.
(Okay, okay, this didn't really happen and it's not apart of the story. Actually, it's not even relevant. I just thought that you guys might like a good laugh. Okay, so where were we again?)
"Well, whatever." Inuyasha said, standing upright.. He walked to a corner and sat down.
"Inuyasha? What happened at Kagome's house?" Sango asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it. None of your d#&n business. Good night." He said.
Everyone layed down and went to bed uneasily. They really had to wonder what put Inuyasha in such a bad mood.
*Beep*Beep*Beep*
"Oh my gosh! It's already 7:40?! Why didn't anyone wake me up?!? I'm going to be late for my exam now!"
Kagome woke up and found herself where she had fallen asleep the previous night. Quickly, she ran into her bathroom, grabbing some clothes and a towel. After her shower, she brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and dashed downstairs. She didn't have time for dinner and ran all the way to school.
"Oh no, I'm going to be late." She panted.
The bell rang and as it did, a loud "Ah, oh no, I'm late!!" was heard echoing through the halls of Kagome's school.
Inuyasha twitched. He sat bolt upright..
"Kagome!!!!!"
Miroku, Shippo and Sango all turned to look at the half demon as he fell out of the tree from the sudden movement he'd made.
"Inuyash! What was all the yelling for?!" Sango yelled, worried tone in her voice.
Miroku smiled pervertedly. "Thinking about the love of your life, Kagome?"
Inuyasha gave Miroku a low growl and a cold stare.
"Ooo, Inuyasha loves Kagome, Inuyasha loves Kagome!" Shippo sang teasingly.
"Shut up brat!"
Miroku and Sango laughed as Inuyasha chased Shippo around, quickly picking up Miroku's staff, which was lying on the ground.
"Let's see. A, C, D, A, B A, D, D, C, A, D, A. Oh. is that right?"
*Erase*
*Scribble, scribble*
"Jeez, they couldn't make these easy, could they?" Kagome looked over her paper. Satified, she turned it in, then said to the teacher, "May I leave earlier? I have a funeral to go to."
"Of course you may."
Kagome was dressed and ready. Quickly, she jumped through the well. Everyone was waiting on the other side.
"Kagome! You're back!" Shippo cried.
"What took you so long wench?" (Of course, Inuyasha)
Kagome stared at him, annoyed, and uttered the dreaded "s" word.
"Sit Boy!"
Inuyasha was immediately dragged to the ground by the prayer beads around his neck.
"How did you do on your tests?" Sango asked.
"Oh, I don't know. They were hard though."
"I'm sure you did well." Sango smiled encouragingly.
"We should get going." Miroku said.
Kagome looked around to see all the villagers surrounding Jineji, watching him as he buried his mother. She saw a single tear glimmer in the light before it falled down his face. Of course, Inuyasha saw it too and just scoffed.
Kagome starred at him for a long time. She just starred and starred, her eyes watching his. He wasn't facing her though, he was ignoring her purposing. She knew he felt her eyes on him.
Finally, he got frustrated. "What do you want wench?"
A surprised expression came over her face as she fully realized how rude starring was and turned away, back to Jinenji.
"Huh, that's what I thought."
Kagome blushed, but as soon as she was sure he was looking away, she looked back at him. ~What's wrong? Something's not right about that glint in his eyes. He looks kind of.. Cute?~ She felt her self blush. ~What am I thinking? Inuyasha? Cute?~ She scolded herself, but she couldn't get the idea out of her head.
She heard crying among the awkard silence. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Jinenji. He was starring at her a sad expression on his face and a glint in his eyes. ~His eyes are so sad, sad like. Inuyasha's?~
Jinenji looked at her and smiled a heart breakingly sad smile.
"Jinenji, I'm sorry."
"It's alright, it's not your fault. My mother lived a full life and in her last years, she has accomplished all she'd ever want to. We're friends with the villagers now thanks to you and she told me that her life, no matter how much suffering was in it, was worth it because people have accepted me."
He then walked off, towards a low hill crowned with flowers, a favorite spot of his no doubt. Everyone watched him, everyone except Inuyasha. ~What's he looking at?~ She followed his gaze and saw he was watching the grave.
Suddenly, she remembered a story Kaede had told her when they were chatting one night.
Inuyasah is a demon, but only half. He's also half human, and he's hurting inside. His heart aches with the pain of loss and only ye can heal it now. Sister Kikyo would have been the one to heal his wounds had she not died at such a young age. That's why she wants to kill ye."
"What wound? Why is he in pain?"
"Yon demon's mother died when he was only a pup."
"His mother. was she human?"
"Yay, indeed she was. When Inuyasha was young, yon brother, Sesshomaru and yon step mother kicked them out of their home."
"Oh. that's so sad."
"indeed it is."
~He lost his mother when he was only so young. Poor Inuyasha. Wait a second! Poor Inuyasha? He doesn't always have to take it out on me!!! Why is he --~
Suddenly, Kagome was cut off in her though when an explosion rang out and iNaraku and many of his bees and minions appeared.
"What? How did I miss them? !%*# it!" Inuyasha screamed as a mass of demons jumped on him and started attacking him or blasted him.
Kagome ran for Miroku, Sango and Shippo. ~We need their help! We need to get Naraku away from the grave site!!!~ She panicked and ran as fast as she could for her friends.
Inuyasha couldn't believe he'd let himself be taken by surprise. ~How could I?~ Silently, he cursed himself. ~Is Kagome alright? !%#* it, where did that wench go?~
He pulled out the Tetsusaiga and lept forward. He couldn't access the windscar and he needed it right now. One by one, he started to pick off the monsters. "Where are these coming from god !#*% it! This is an endless string!!!"
Suddenly, a large ball of fire flew by and Sango's boomerang knocked out demons, left and right.
Arrows fired from behind him. Inuyasha was careful not to get in the way of any of the arrows, watching their destructive power work it's magic on the flying pests.
Naraku sat, content, in a tree nearby, watching the gang fight for dear life.
Miroku couldn't do anything until the villagers started to show up. One of them brought an extra bow and quiver of arrows and handed them to him. He began to fire, and though his arrows didn't have nearly as much power as Kagome's, he, being a munk, still did sufficient damage.
Jinenji came charging down the hill. He rammed the monsters and started to push them back, away from the village, away from his mother, into the deep forest.
Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome and the villagers quickly followed suit.
*boom*
A fire blast, but from where? Kagome looked around, she didn't see anything. How strange.
Suddenly, it started raining fire and jumping was all the gang could do to avoid being burned to death.
Inuyasha slashed, jumped, rebounded and slashed again, following this pattern because it was efficient.
Then. to his horror, a veil of white pass his eyes, but only for a second. ~What the !$&% was that? !#*% it, where are they all coming from?~ Realization hit him. "Kikyo."
Kikyo was standing at the root of the tree Naraku was sitting in, watching the scene. She drew an arrow and aimed it straight for Kagome. "Die."
Inuyasha searched for Kikyo and saw her with her bow drawn, pointed straight for Kagome's back. "NO!!! Watch out !%*$ it!!!" He lept for Kagome to push her out of the way. ~Why am I doing this? Who cares! Kagome, hold on! Move! Don't die!!!~
Kagome, Sango and Miroku all turned toward Inuyasha when they heard his screams. Kagome watched him. ~What's he doing? He should be fighting!~
"Look behind you!"
~What's he talking about?!~ Kagome turned around just in time to see a purple flash. The arrow hit her in the diaphragm and went straight through. She collapsed, hitting her head on a large rock when she hit the ground.
"KAGOME!!!!" everyone called. They wanted to run for her, but they couldn't.
Pain consumed her. "No." she cried weakly, "look behind you." A large tornado appeared, the work of Naraku, no doubt, containing poison. They were unaware of it and passed out. She tried to think hard, but she couldn't seem to remember what was going on right then.
~What's going on?~ she thought to herself. ~Where am I?~ She opened her eyes. Slowly, her vision adjusted. She looked around her and saw many people laying on the ground. She felt something ooze down her face. ~What's this?~ Red puddles formed around her body. ~Inuyasha. she thought. I love you.~ She looked up and saw a blur of red before passing out.
Inuyasha lept from the demon he had just killed. "Kikyo." He said menacingly. "How dare you hurt Kagome!"
Kikyo smiled. "Why do you care? It is not as though you love her."
Suddenly, realization hit him. He did love her. It make him happy to know it. He loved Kagome. "You're wrong, I do love her! I LOVE KAGOME!" he yelled.
"How sweet." Said Naraku. "Too bad you'll never get to tell her how much you care for her."
He smiled wickedly. Inuyasha was half blind with rage and weary with fatigue from all the fighting he'd done. This would be easy.
Naraku emitted his poison and drew a long, dark blade. He attacked Inuyasha, and to his perverse pleasure, the dog demon couldn't fight back. "I've won." He laughed.
Inuyasha fought with all of his remaining strength, but he realized he wouldn't be able to kill Naraku without some amazing miracle.
Grey swirls consumed him. Inuyasha recognized them. ~The windscar.~ He held up the Tetsusaiga and jumped up. His sword followed the path of a single line.
Naraku couldn't believe it. "He's using the windscar! How could he?! NO!!!!"
Kikyo smiled wickedly. "The WindScar can't touch me." She said. Those were her last final words.
Kagome woke up and saw Kaede. She was confused, what had she been doing before she lost conscience. Suddenly she sat up. "INUYASHA!" A wave of pain hit her and she layed back down slowly.
"Don't ye worry about yon demon. He is alright." Kaede pointed to the demon laying in the corner of the room.
"He's been watching ye. He called ye back here."
~Inuyasha.~
"What about the others?"
"The monk and the demon fighter are fine. Yon villagers carried them back here."
Inuyasha's ears twitched and he suddenly woke up. "You old hag! I told you to wake me up if Kagome came around!" he yelled, but not very loudly, he was still weak.
Then he saw Kagome. Kaede smiled and left.
"Kagome. How do you feel?"
"Tired, weak, in pain." She responded. "How about you?"
"Me? I feel happy." He said smiling
~Happy? He must not be feeling well~ "Happy?"
"Yeah. I was so scared when Kikyo shot you. When I was fighting the final battle with Naraku, I realized something."
". something? What?"
"I love you."
Stunned she starred at him. "You what?" ~How could he be saying this? It he serious?~ Angry thoughts, sad thoughts, happy thoughts, thoughts of pain and love and joy ran through Kagome's mind. Then, she looked up at his face. She saw him watching her. Watching her with true love in his eyes.
She smiled, "I love you too".
~The End~