Hi, dear readers. I've got this latest addition out in just seven days. A welcome change, I think, to the long wait times I've been giving you.

The chapter is slightly shorter than most, but longer than the last, so that's a plus, I guess. I don't know. For some reason, recently I feel like my entire life is falling to pieces around me.

I don't know why, or what causes this, but whatever it is, it's got me in a bit of an odd position socially. But I believe I'll muddle through somehow. I always do.

Anyhow, I couldn't think of a good name for this chapter. If anyone does, then let me know. I'm stumped.

Reviews. (There were so few...am I losing my fanbase?)

.

Kai19: Where are you? You didn't review...you didn't respond to my email either. Is something going on? Tell me.

Ryguy5387: A lot of things are going to happen very fast in the next few chapters, so just hold on to your hat. I'd hate to see you lose your precious apparel.

Thief of Baghdad: Here! Take my gold coins and spices. But you'll never get ownership of the story! *shakes fist* It's not so much that Tobias hasn't grown into his powers, it's just that...well, read.

slvrstarlight: It might just. * Kagome has to deal with it, is all. * Yeah, that's kind of a trend for Inuyasha, eh?

Hanyou-demoness: Do you really think I'd kill off Inuyasha so soon? You have no faith in me. I'm going to kill him off LATER – oh, but I say too much. (Or am I joking?)

Lunar InuYasha: Inuyasha has some strength to him when it really gets down to the wire. Yeah, that April Fool's day joke was cruel, wasn't it?

Kegger007: Christopher Walken said what now? I'm confused. * It might...it might not.

RyoSanada1717: That just goes to show you: Mess with Kagome and you face the beast (Inuyasha). * I'm actually not sure if that's really his name, but that's what I've heard... * TELL me about it. High school sucks sometimes. * A Kikyo fan? DIIIIIE!!!! * Read Tybalt's entrance. Read Romeo and Juliet. Then tell me where I got Tybalt from.

.

STORY!

.

************************************************************************

.

Chapter 56: ...

Inuyasha stood, breathing heavily. Blood was oozing from his huge wound and pooling on the ground beneath him. Tetsusaiga transformed back into its rusty state, and he slowly sheathed it.

Tobias approached. His eyes were closed, and he was looking down. Inuyasha glanced over in his direction.

"You."

"I'm sorry," muttered Tobias.

"You'd better fucking do better than that," snarled Inuyasha. "Why were you just lying there like a goddamn pansy? With your help, I could have killed that bastard, but you just sat there and whimpered to yourself."

"I didn't attack for two reasons, Inuyasha," said Tobias in a soft, sad voice. "First, it wouldn't do any good. He's too strong."

Inuyasha jerked his head over to the bottom of the crater. The General's bloody arm still lay there, like some grotesque trophy. "You call that not doing any good? I wouldn't be surprised if that asshole bleeds to death. I gutted him like a fish."

"No, Inuyasha. You're wrong." Tobias looked up and met Inuyasha's eyes. "What you did to him only slowed him down. I give him a day, maybe two, before he's back on his feet and stronger than ever before. He heals faster than I do, and faster than you do."

"I don't think he can heal that arm back onto his body," grumbled Inuyasha. "Even I can't do that, and I don't think you can either."

"I don't know about that, Inuyasha, but I don't doubt that he can. You want to know the other reason?" Inuyasha looked up at Tobias. He glared at him.

"I didn't want to say this when we were in your time, because I wanted everyone here to hear it. I had a plan, for when we got back here."

"A plan?" said Kagome faintly.

"Yeah. I thought that we could all hide in the deepest, darkest place we could find until Kagome finally figured out how to reunite the shards of the jewel. Then we'd make some wish, I don't know, and I'd leave. Without the jewel, the General didn't care about you all. Only I mattered to him."

Tobias glared back at Inuyasha. "Even as I saw the General take the shards from you, I still had a plan. Did you forget that I had this?" And Tobias reached under his armor, into his clothes; and pulled out the last, the very last Shikon shard.

"I would've taken this and ran. To mainland Asia, maybe Europe, it didn't matter. What mattered was that the General wouldn't have given you a second thought, and would have gone chasing after me. Sure, you wouldn't have the jewel, but who really cares?"

"I would have," growled Inuyasha.

"But now that won't work," said Tobias, and anger suddenly flooded his voice. "Because you had to be so fucking reckless and attack him, now you matter to him. Now he's marked you all!"

"Keh," snorted Inuyasha. "We can take him."

"No we can't! And that's the whole point!" Tobias went up closer to Inuyasha, as the rest of the group timidly closed in. "I thought that maybe, just maybe I could lure the General away from you without you taking any serious damage. But I couldn't, because of you!

"Listen to me, Inuyasha. This has happened to me before. Every time I find some people I call friends, some people whom I trust, the General arrives. He either kills them, or puts them through the most horrible torture you can imagine. He does it because he likes to see me suffer. That's the only reason I can think of. He enjoys watching me in pain.

"I thought I could avoid that fate with you. But I was wrong. It's happened before. It's happened thirty times before. He always attacks the ones I care about. And because of you...because of you deciding to attack him, you've sealed your fate, and all of theirs."

"Listen to me, you idiot!" roared Inuyasha. "Me and you together can kill him. Now stop fucking feeling sorry for yourself and maybe we'll have a chance to win!"

"WE DON'T!!!" Suddenly Tobias was right in Inuyasha's face, and yelling at him. "Don't you get it? We can't win! He's invincible! He's unstoppable! I've never so much as even seriously hurt him before and you think that you can take him down?!"

"YES!" roared back Inuyasha with equal fervor. "You're getting all depressed because he broke the well and threatened us! Listen to me." His voice suddenly dropped to a hiss. "I'm pissed off at him for breaking the well, too. Now Kagome will never see her family again. You think I don't care about that? You'd think she'd be crying her eyes out over it, but she's not! She's dealing with it. She's made of stronger stuff than you! Put yourself together!"

"You don't get it, Inuyasha," gritted Tobias. "This was a fluke. A lucky accident. The only reason you managed to hurt him is because for some reason, his emotions came out, and his power dropped. That same attack would've bounced off of him if he had been at normal strength. You got lucky, but you won't get lucky again."

"Seems to me we've figured out how to kill him," snarled Inuyasha. "Just get him angry about something and cut his fucking head off! We would've been able to cut him to pieces if you hadn't been sitting there like a baby!"

"You haven't done anything!" roared Tobias. "All you've done is hurt him a little bit, and he'll get over that! You've done more harm than good. I thought you cared about your friends, Inuyasha," he said, flinging his arm out to indicate them. "Apparently you don't. When you attacked him...you doomed them all to death!!!"

Silence.

A stray leaf fluttered to the ground.

The only sound that could be heard was Inuyasha's labored breathing and Tobias's angry muttering.

Inuyasha limped over, slowly, painfully, to the center of the crater. He picked up the blood-soaked arm, still armored, with bits of metal and bloody cloth trailing from its cut end, and brandished it before him like a club.

"Do you see this?" he said, in a low and dangerous whisper. "Do you see this blood? That was his blood. That was the General's blood. I attacked him and I drew his blood. That's more than I've ever seen you do." He flung the arm to the ground. "You're about as strong as I am, so get a fucking grip and we'll be able to take him down. And stop whining about how he's causing us pain. We'll deal with it. He didn't kill any of us, did he?" He waited about half a second. "No. He didn't. We'll survive. We'll get on with our lives. I wish I could say the same thing for you."

Silence again.

Sango came over to Inuyasha, coming closer to inspect his wound. "Inuyasha, you might bleed to death from that cut! I think you need to-"

"No." He cut her off.

"Are you crazy? He nearly cut you in half! You-" Inuyasha looked up at her and hit her with a glare that – despite her steeled nerves – made her take a step back.

"I'll be fine." He glanced over to Kagome, who had not moved from her spot.

"Mate," he called out. "Come here." Slowly, Kagome walked over to Inuyasha, until she was right in front of him.

"Are you all right?" he said softly. "Did he hurt you at all?"

"He barely touched me, Inuyasha," she said quietly in response.

"Are you okay? About this whole thing?" Kagome looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but her voice did not waver.

"I'll survive, Inuyasha. We'll figure out something...I know we will."

Inuyasha gave a small chuckle. "That's my mate. Strong as anything." He looked over at her massive pack. "I hope you brought a lot of stuff...we're gonna be here for a while." Without another word, or change in expression, Inuyasha slowly fell over backwards, landing with a splash in a puddle of his own blood.

.

The General materialized inside his citadel. He took two steps forward, then collapsed. He tried to push himself up, but failed, lying on the floor, still bleeding.

I have suffered wounds ten times more grievous than this, he thought grimly. And yet, this one pains me more than anything I have yet felt. There is something about that hanyou...something about Inuyasha...or perhaps, it is the sword... The witch chose that moment to walk in.

"Ah, Major," she cackled as she walked in. "So good of you to-" She spotted the General's prone form, covered in blood, and shrieked.

"General! Are you hurt? What happened? Was it the boy?" The General grunted. He lifted his head and stared balefully at the witch.

"I am wounded. Summon any demon or human with medical skills...I may need some help." She rushed out of the room, yelling for priestesses and doctors. The General lay still.

I can feel the wounds healing, but they heal at such a slow pace...it is almost as though I did not possess my sword of power. This is something of the greatest importance, and something I must consider. Two demons ran in, picked up the General gently, and carried him off to his room.

.

That night, they made camp near the ruined well. Tobias was silent. Kagome was tending to Inuyasha's wounds; healing though they were, they were life-threatening nonetheless.  She had sewn him up with a needle and some thread that she had with her, hoping that it would hold him together long enough for him to heal.

Inuyasha had fallen asleep, probably from loss of blood, and Kagome couldn't do any more for him at the time. So she was sitting in front of the fire, thinking hard about what was going to happen.

"Kagome," said Tobias softly. She started and looked behind her, to see Tobias come up and sit down next to her. "I'm..." He looked away.

"It's okay," she said, in what she hoped was a soothing voice.

"No, it's not okay." Tobias sighed. "I've cut you off from your family and friends, I've gotten you kidnapped...I've caused you so much pain."

"It wasn't you," Kagome said gently. She moved closer to him.

"Yes, it was!" said Tobias, pulling away from her. "The General only looks for me. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened." He looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Tobias, it wasn't your fault," said Kagome, a little more firmly. "The General is after the jewel shards. He would have come whether you were with us or not. Actually..." She moved closer to him again. This time, he remained still. "You've helped us a lot. Without your help, we wouldn't know anything about the General. Without you, who would've protected me from Inuyasha and the others during that spell? Who would have helped beat that huge golem thing a while back? You've helped us a lot more than you realize."

Tobias said nothing. He sighed.

"You don't have enough confidence in yourself, Tobias," continued Kagome. "You need to realize that you can be just as strong as the General. I've seen you when you're strong enough to take on an entire army. The General isn't invincible."

"Kagome," said Tobias hollowly. "You don't understand. I've tried to attack him before, many dozens of times. I failed every time." He turned and looked into her eyes. "The only time I've ever really hurt him was when we first fought, and that didn't stay with him for more than a day or two."

"Inuyasha hurt him a lot," said Kagome, trying to change the subject. "With the two of you teamed up, I'm sure you can defeat him."

"I don't know. I just don't know." He looked into the fire, the flickering light casting deep shadows over his face. "Kagome...there's something about the General that Inuyasha doesn't know."

"What?"

"The way he usually is...it's not the height of his power, like he said it was. I've seen him at the height of his power. He's...he's unstoppable. I can't even hurt him when he's like that. He could kill me and Inuyasha faster than you could blink." He looked into the woods.

"Umm..." Kagome didn't really know what to say to that. She settled for a reassuring arm around his shoulder.

"You'll beat him," she whispered. "I just know it." Behind them, Inuyasha coughed and spat up some blood. Kagome hurried over to try and help him. Tobias sighed and stared into the fire.

.

The General lay in bed, a poultice covering his wound. Thanks to the healing powers of the miko who had come, combined with the magic of the witch, his life was out of danger. But he was going to be out of commission for a while yet.

Why is it I was so seriously hurt? And why am I not healing like I always do? It must be the sword...I must look into this more closely. The General closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

.

************************************************************************

.

I will give props to anyone who can think of a good name for this chapter. Review.