A/N- I got this out as soon as I could. It took me a bit to make everything make sense, and I hope you guys like this chapter. Don't worry, the next one will have some romance…I know, finally! I'm excited to write it.
Enjoy!
The Colors of Emotions
Chapter 36
Life in the Enemy's Hands
"Kagome, come on! You have to wake up!" Inuyasha shook the lifeless body that blood was spilling out of. The hanyou was just trying to wake her up. Too bad common sense didn't instruct him that he needed to stop the bleeding. Kagome wasn't breathing, and Inuyasha wouldn't listen for a heart beat, he couldn't take it if he didn't hear one.
"Come on Naraku. You've saved her before. How about you do it again!" Inuyasha cried while staring intently at Kagome's face. A tear escaped the pools of amber. It landed on Kagome's cheek and slid down her porcelain face. "Wake up Kag!"
Footsteps were heard approaching and a horrified Miroku ran onto the scene. "What happened!!!" Miroku yelled. All of his usual calm had evaporated as soon as his eyes landed on the blood. Miroku's face became livid. "She ran because of you!" He yelled with an accusing finger at the hanyou, who only sat there with his hands on Kagome's shoulders.
"I didn't know!" Inuyasha defended in a whisper.
Miroku lunged at the hanyou and knocked him over onto the ground. He raised a fist and was about to slam it into Inuyasha's face, until he saw the defeated look in the hanyou's eyes. The fist lowered, and Miroku spat out, "You better hope she lives." Miroku quickly retreated to Kagome and checked her for a pulse. Thank the Kamis that there was a light flutter. But the bleeding had to stop.
Miroku didn't even know all of the circumstances, but he had seen Kagome hurt too many times because of the hanyou, and this time, the monk snapped. Quickly assessing that the arrow in her thigh had not gone all the way the way through, he carefully removed the arrow thankful that she wasn't awake for this pain. Miroku started to peel off the purple robe of his that Kagome had been wearing when Inuyasha had the nerve to stop him..
"Miroku, I want to take care of her." Inuyasha admitted. "You need to tell me what to do though."
Though still in protective mode, Miroku backed off and instructed Inuyasha to remove the clothing around the wounds. But he was wrried about the arrow in Kagome upper arm. The weapon has gone all the way through and came out a good five inches on the other side. "Try not to touch the arrow. Just rip the clothing that covers around the wound." The hanyou did as told, while Miroku ripped his bloodied robe into strips. Miroku removed Kagome's pants, and not a perverted though entered his mind. Of course, he would be able to tease her about this later, if she lived that is…
Shaking his head, Miroku tightly wrapped one of the strips around the wound in her thigh. He looked up to see that Inuyasha had carefully removed the fabric around the arm wound. "Inuyasha, cover her up with your haori. I'm going to get that arrow out."
"No."
"What?"
"I want to do it. I need to take care of her." Inuyasha admitted.
"This is no time to start feeling guilty! You can take care of her when blood isn't
pouring out of her body! Kagome will die if we don't stop this bleeding. Let's only hope that Naraku will give her some energy to keep her heart beat going, but that won't save her. Now move out of my way!" Miroku yelled.
Inuyasha obeyed, but he still hovered. Miroku took a deep breath and took the shaft of the arrow in both hands. He proceeded to snap the weapon in half so it would be easier to withdraw the ends from both sides of her arm. As soon as the parts were pulled out, one from the back and one from the front, Miroku wrapped another strip around her arm.
He was so glad Kagome hadn't woken up yet. That would have hurt like hell. Miroku turned around and shoved Inuyasha back, and then wrapped the pale girl up in the hanyou's haori.
"We need to get her back to camp Inuyasha. There are clean bandages and modern medicines in her pack. Carry her." Miroku ordered. He turned around and picked up the forgotten jewel, while Inuyasha scooped Kagome gingerly into his arms. He slipped the chain the jewel shard hung on around Kagome's wrist. Then they took off.
The monk cringed. If Kagome woke up, she would live. She would be in a lot of pain, but she'd live. If she didn't wake up soon, than she would probably die before nightfall. The two worried men had helped. But, though Miroku hated to admit it, at the moment, Kagome's life was entirely in Naraku's hands…
*
"Well this is awfully familiar." Kagome sneered from her position on her back with the mist swirling above her. "Do you think you could maybe change the setting of this place?" Sarcasm was practically dripping from her voice. Kagome was not in a good mood. Well, how could she be? Inuyasha betrayed her and ran off to Kikyo. Said clay model shot arrows at her, made her second guess herself, and then caused her to nearly commit suicide…again! Kagome scowled. 'I hate this.'
"I don't know, I kinda like this place. It has an ominous atmosphere." Naraku nonchalantly retorted her.
"So I basically died...oh wait, this has happened before huh?" There's the sarcasm once again.
"Listen dearie, you can't lose energy from feeling betrayal, get wounded by arrows, and then waste the small reserves of energy left by shooting your hatred at Kikyo." Naraku stood before Kagome, offering a hand to help her up.
Kagome ignored him and stood up on her own. "Well I didn't mean to attack Kikyo. I just was so confused and my feelings slipped out. Wait…you said I killed her with hatred?"
"That's right. Seems a lot like a certain dream you had." Naraku chided. Kagome flinched when she realized that everything Naraku had told her was going to happen, actually happened! Naraku continued, "Well, you really don't have any reason to stay with your umm…what would you refer to them as? Friends? You should just come to me now Kagome."
"Tempting, but no thanks. Can I wake up now?" Kagome was really getting tired of this conversation.
"It's going to hurt when you wake up. You were hit by two arrows. I can numb the pain in your mind, but when you wake up, it's gonna hurt like hell. And you'll have to face Inuyasha…after all, you just killed Kikyo." Naraku smirked. "Thanks for that by the way."
Kagome paled. "I didn't mean to." She whispered. What was strange, Kagome never had felt that she hated Kikyo, so where did that emotion come from? Looking at the man in front of her, it wasn't hard to figure out who had fed her that power. "You better not make me do any more of your dirty work."
Naraku laughed. "So what if it wasn't truly your emotion. You had so much power built to attack her anyway, I just changed what kind it was. You were jealous. I fed you my emotion and, badabing, you killed her…permanently. And Inuyasha betrayed you. What do you have left?"
"I have people that care about me. And I doubt Inuyasha meant to betray me." Kagome decided to take everything slowly. She could forgive and forget…she just hoped Inuyasha could too.
"You wanna wake up now Kagome? All you have to do is ask. If you think you can face him, I'll give you the energy to wake up. But I've seen how weak your mind has become. You are doubtful. That's all I need." Naraku assured.
"I don't doubt Inuyasha." But the tone even sounded fake to Kagome. She was so emotional right now that she didn't know what to think. If Inuyasha could forgive her for killing Kikyo for good, she could forgive him for anything. It would just take some time to fully accept Inuyasha back.
'Do I love him or not?'
Kagome lifted her eyes to glare at Naraku. "Wake me up." She ordered .
*
Inuyasha ran at top speeds back to his group's little camp, and Miroku astonishingly, didn't stay too far behind. Who knew a human could run that fast? The two arrived back in no time at all, and were met by a frantic Sango and bawling Shippou. Inuyasha set Kagome on her sleeping bag and Miroku filled in Sango on what had happened. Sango made sure to send plenty of dirty looks at Inuyasha's back.
Shippou cried and cuddled against Sango since he couldn't get near Kagome with Inuyasha there.
"If she doesn't wake up soon, she'll die." Miroku whispered to Sango as the two walked away from camp, not having anything else to do. Shippou was cradled in Sango's arms, and gasped at the comment, as did Sango.
"We can't do anything else. It's up to Kagome, well actually Naraku, if she lives or dies." The monk continued.
Sango looked at Miroku. They were out of Inuyasha's hearing range by now, and he was too worried to focus on a conversation anyway. "He loves her."
"She loves him." Miroku answered.
The two looked at each other. "He doesn't deserve her." Sango whispered.
"But I think he needs her." Miroku retorted.
"But how can she always return to him when she can't trust him. He's always after another girl." Sango asked.
…okay, somehow this conversation wasn't about Inuyasha and Kagome anymore was it?
"Let's go back Sango." Miroku answered.
When the two returned, Kagome had yet to wake up and that had them all worried. Inuyasha had cradled her body in his arms and he'd laid his head on her chest to listen to her heartbeat. It was still there.
"Come on Kagome. Say something, anything so I know that you're okay." Inuyasha asked of her pale face.
No response. But suddenly, Miroku could sense Naraku's aura. It was so faint that he had missed it before, but it was there. "Inuyasha. He's in her mind."
Inuyasha looked up questioningly, but then his mind dawned on who 'he' was.
"It's up to him now then." The hanyou whispered.
He stared intently at Kagome's face, hoping beyond hope that she could pull through this and just open her eyes. He needed to hear her voice again. The guilt was overwhelming Inuyasha, but he blocked the fact that this was all his fault until Kagome was okay. Or at least, speaking again. What was the fun in beating yourself up over something if Kagome wasn't there to assure you it wasn't your fault?
"Kagome, say something." Inuyasha begged.
No answer.
"Kag, please." He persisted.
It was quiet, but Kagome answered his prayer. She suddenly sucked in a sharp breath and whispered, "Damn, that bastard wasn't lying." There was a cringe on her face.
Inuyasha couldn't control his grin. He was so happy to hear her speak that he started to laugh. Miroku started laughing too, and Shippou and Sango just launched themselves at Kagome to envelop her in a big hug.
Kagome opened her eyes slightly to glare at the laughing Inuyasha.
The hanyou stopped his laughs of joy and asked her, "Who wasn't lying about what?"
"Naraku wasn't lying when he told me it was gonna hurt like hell when I woke up." Kagome answered, murmuring.
Inuyasha looked back up at Miroku from his crouched position beside Kagome and questioned, "She'll be okay now, right monk?"
Miroku nodded his head. Well, at least Kagome was okay from this injury. Now that she was awake it meant that she hasn't lost a fatal amount of blood, and they could rest assured that she would live through the night.
"Get some rest Kag." Sango advised. Kagome didn't need to be told twice. But not before she gave one last look at Inuyasha.
It was one of hurt, but there was something else. It was an emotion that Inuyasha could fully sympathize with. Kagome felt guilty.
Inuyasha didn't know how this would end. But he had just realized something. The fact had been building more and more in Inuyasha's mind ever since this whole kotsonu thing had started.
First it was the constant threat of her dying from her new powers.
Then the fact that Naraku wanted her.
Now Kagome already seemed to have forgiven him for leaving her, but she felt guilty about killing Kikyo, just because she thought Inuyasha still loved Kikyo.
But the thing that she said that really made him come to realization was when Kagome unconsciously called the Feudal Era her home.
There was no denying it and he no longer had any doubts about it.
The strangest feeling of relief washes over one when they realize something they should have known and accepted a long time ago.
Inuyasha was in love.
He was in love with Kagome Higurashi.
Oh boy did he had some thinking to do…
*
I love you guys!
-vold- (Meggie)
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