Kagome clung to Inuyasha as he carried her out of the well and through the forest, finally arriving at Kaede's hut just as the sun started to rise. She could feel the presence of Naraku growing stronger in the back of her mind, but she forced herself to focus on Inuyasha, not letting him in. Inuyasha burst into the hut and prodded Kaede with his foot until she finally sat up.
"What is it, you disrespectful hanyou?" She cleared her eye and blinked, taking in the two before. "Oh... oh, my. What has happened?"
"Naraku's trying to take over her mind, that's what. She's pregnant!"
"But how can this be? Surely her miko powers would have prevented such an atrocity!"
Kagome looked up for the first time since Inuyasha had rescued her. Very quietly she whispered, "I...he blocked...my powers." The silence stretched for long moments as they stared at her in shock. Kagome cringed and tried to hide her face again in Inuyasha's fire rat coat.
He stopped her and gently pulled her face up to face him. "You little idiot," he said softly and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I...It was too embarrassing... I didn't want everyone to have another reason to hate me. I didn't even think about...children. Is all this because of it?"
"It is one of the things unique to youkai mating. Females become dangerously emotional when with child, so the males evolved a way to help control it to protect them. At least, that's how it's supposed to work. The part I don't understand is, it is still early. He shouldn't have this kind of control over you for at least another two or three months."
"Could it be that he is using Shikon shards to strengthen the connection?" Kaede peered into Kagome's face. "Child, this might be hard for ye, but ye must remember he stole the powers."
Kagome hesitated. What if Naraku came back as she recalled the memories? She could feel him there, clawing at the weak wall she'd put up looking for the slightest hole in her defense. "No, I can't! He'll come back!"
Inuyasha squeezed her in a tight hug. "Don't worry about that, I'll protect you. If we can get your powers working, then he'll never be able to hurt you again."
"Promise you'll protect me, Inuyasha..."
"Always."
Maybe this is the dream... Inuyasha is saying and acting exactly as I've dreamed of him since the day we met. What has caused this transformation in him? "Alright, I'll do it." Inuyasha put her down on the ground and they sat cross-legged facing each other and holding hands. He squeezed her hands in encouragement; she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Kagome let down her barrier and tried to remember the last time she could reach her miko power. She felt a rush of power sweep over her and suddenly she was being held fiercely in a mans arms. "Inuyasha? Where are you taking me?" she mumbled sleepily.
"Heh heh heh..." The deep-throated chuckle brought her fully awake with a scream. "Inuyasha will soon be no more."
"Naraku! How'd I get here? Let me go!" Kagome struggled against his hold, trying to gather her miko energies to force her way free.
"Ah, poor little Kagome. So weak and defenseless without your powers. I gave you a potion that will block out your miko energy until I give you the antidote, which I doubt that I shall do. And don't think your hanyou lover will be coming to rescue you. I had you flown in, there is no way for him to track you!"
An overwhelming sense of fear arose in her and she began to quake uncontrollably. She shouted aloud this time, slowly leaving her trance. "No, leave me alone! Get away from me!"
Inuyasha gathered her into his embrace. "Kagome! Come back, it's not real!" he whispered fiercely into her ear, rocking her gently. "Fight him off, Kagome!"
Kagome came fully awake and clutched at Inuyasha, breathing heavily. "I made it back. He's not there!" She smiled up at him, the first real smile she'd worn in almost a month.
"Heh. You didn't trust that I would protect you?" Inuyasha's heart melted at her expression and he smiled back to take the sting out of his words.
Kaede cleared her throat, reminding them of why they were there. "Do you have an answer, Kagome?"
She nodded. "He said it was a potion. It left a sort of bittersweet taste on my tongue and was very salty. Does that help?"
"Aye. I believe I know which potion he used. It is a soul-freezing agent, which helps explain why he was able to get inside your mind so quickly. Instead of removing your soul, it goes into a passive state, like a bear at wintertime. It would prevent any active use of you powers."
"That's all nice and wonderful. How do we get rid of it and the kid?" Inuyasha glared at the old priestess. All this talk was taking up way too much time.
"I have most of the things that I need here, but there are two herbs more that I require. I will need gotu kola leaves and dong quai root, both of which only grow near the shore. There is a village that farms rare herbs about three days ride from here."
"Heh. I can make it there by morning." Inuyasha flexed his claws. "I'm a half demon, remember? I don't do slow. You ready, Kagome?" She nodded.
Kaede passed her bow and a quiver of arrows to the young girl. "Even if ye cannot use these to your full effect yet, they will still offer some protection."
"Thank you, Kaede. I am truly sorry for all the trouble I'm making.
"Hush, child. It is not ye who are the troublemaker." She sat by her fire pit and starting building it up for the day ahead.
Inuyasha and Kagome walked out into the early morning hand in hand. They first stopped at 'their' hut to let Sango and Miroku know what was going on. They paused outside the door before going in and Kagome looked up at Inuyasha with a slightly worried expression. "You've left Sango alone with for how many nights now?"
"Hey! She's an adult; she knows where Kaede lives! Don't look at me; I claim absolutely no responsibilities!"
Kagome sighed and went in. She was surprised to find the two sleeping at opposite ends of the room, with Shippou and Kirara in the middle. Huh. Maybe he is virtuous after all. She found a pointy stick next to the fire and with her free hand wrote a quick message in the dirt, giving them a brief update on what was happening.
Inuyasha huffed and looked up at the sky. "You ready to go yet? The days not gonna wait on us." He bent down so she could climb onto his back and they were off racing for the coast. Gods, I have missed this. He wasn't sure whether he meant the breeze blowing through his hair or having Kagome on his back where she belonged, or possibly both?
He was broken out of his musings when he felt Kagome push his hair aside so that she might see his face better. "Inuyasha?" she began hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"Um...not to sound ungrateful, or anything, but... Why? Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"
"Whaddaya mean? Are you tryin' to say I can't be nice if I feel like it?"
"No, it's just... I need to know your choice, Inuyasha. I don't think I could take it if you forgot me again. Not after this."
Inuyasha ran silently for a while, considering his words carefully. "I didn't have to make a choice, Kagome. I just finally opened my eyes to a few things. The person who walks now in Kikyou's image is not she. The Kikyou I thought I loved died over 50 years ago. This new one is just that, an image. She survives off stolen souls; the real Kikyou wouldn't do that." He fell silent again into a deep thought. Kagome pondered over this for a while, waiting until he seemed ready to talk again. "I also realized another thing, Kagome." He kept his face looking carefully ahead. "When you ran back to your time, I realized that you would probably never come back, not after everything that happened. I never noticed it before, but you've always been there for me, always supporting even though we both thought I would go with Kikyou." Inuyasha landed on a wide branch and Kagome slid off. He turned around to face her, cupping one of her hands in both of his. "I need to be with you, Kagome. Can you ever forgive me?" He drooped his head, looking up at her out of the corner of his eyes in the inu gesture of submission.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome's eyes began to shimmer. "Thank you." She threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. Inuyasha hugged her back, stroking her hair lightly. Soon he caught the scent of saltwater, accented by a soft sniff.
"Hey! I didn't say all that so you can cry at me! Stop that!"
"You jerk! These are tears of happiness! Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear those words?" She smiled up at him. "I'm so glad that you could finally open up like that to me. Thank you."
"Feh. Don't get used to it or nothin'." He turned around, looking up at the sky to take a quick cloud inventory.
Was that a blush I just saw? She smiled to herself. "Say, Inuyasha, it's getting kinda late, and we didn't get very much sleep yesterday. Lets stop here for the night.
"What, you tired already?" He didn't wait for a response; he just lifted her down to the ground. "I think there's a stream nearby. We'll make camp there." They walked on for another half hour or so before coming upon the stream. Inuyasha jumped into it and started going after the fish while Kagome set about getting a fire ready. She just got the fire going when he came back carrying four fish.
"Wow, that was fast. Why four? There're only two of us."
"No harm in having extra." He shrugged. They cleaned and spitted two of the fish, sitting side by side as they watched the sunset. The last rays of sun sparkled off his hair and Kagome couldn't help but stroke it, it was so beautiful. As the light faded, she gasped, watching the silver hairs turn black.
"Oh, no! Inuyasha, I'm sorry! I forgot what night it was!"
"Don't worry about it." He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him again. "Today was worth it." He reached over and pulled the fish off the spit, giving one to her.
Is this why he's being so open, because it's his human night? She accepted the fish and munched quietly, lost in her thoughts. She didn't notice that she was gnawing on the stick until Inuyasha took it out of her hands and gave her one of the extras.
He smiled down at her. "Does the wood taste good?"
She blushed. "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I am; it's usually all I can do to finish one."
"You're eating for two now, remember? At least you are for a little while longer at any rate. Of course you're hungry." She felt less silly when she noticed he was on his second, too.
"And how many are you eating for?"
"I'm bigger than you. I need more food!" He stuck his tongue out her in retort.
Kagome grinned. He's behaving like a carefree little kid! I can't remember ever seeing him so happy. She finished her fish quickly and threw the stick aside and then grabbed his out of his hands.
"Hey! I wasn't finished with that!" He made to grab it back.
"You don't need any more, or you're going to start getting fat."
He pouted, looking indignant. "I will not get fat! Give it back!"
"Nope." She giggled and attacked his ribs, tickling him. After a minute, she realized something was missing. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't squirming.
"Err...Kagome, what're you doing?" He blinked at her, thoroughly confused by her antics.
"Um...you're not ticklish, are you?" She turned beet red, feeling exceptionally foolish.
"Nope."
"Not at all?"
"Not at all." And now it was his turn to grin. "But I know someone who is."
"Really? Who?" She scooted away a few inches.
"Oh, I think you already know." He got a predatory glint in his eye, which made her scoot back even faster, but not fast enough. Inuyasha tackled her to the ground and began tickling her mercilessly. Kagome giggled helplessly, writhing under his pleasantly torturing fingers. She tried to roll him off, but he just rolled with her. They rolled until Inuyasha noticed her breath coming in short gasps. He halted over her, looking down into her laughing face and felt the pure bliss of carefree happiness.
Kagome's breath caught when she realized Inuyasha had stopped playing. She looked into his beautiful brown eyes. Then she noticed the position they were in and felt a subconscious pang of fear.
Inuyasha saw the look that crossed her face and noticed also for the first time where they were. He rolled over and helped her sit up. "Are you alright?"
Kagome straightened her outfit a bit. "Yep!" She grinned at him.
Inuyasha smiled and took her hand, leading the way back to the fire. When they got there, he took off his robe and laid it on the ground. "Its not as comfy as your sleeping bag..."
"Won't you be cold?"
"Feh. Don't worry about me. I'm used to it. You should get some sleep."
"You'll stay with me?" He nodded. "Ok." She made sure her bow was in reach of both of them, they were going to need any help they could get if they were attacked tonight. Seeing everything was satisfactory, Kagome lay down on the makeshift blanket. Inuyasha sat next to her and watched as she fell asleep. He reached over and drew the other side of his jacket around her. He sighed. Never could he remember being so relaxed as this on a night of the new moon. But never before had he confessed his feelings to a woman, and even better, he hadn't been rejected. Tonight was easily the best night of his entire life, no matter how defenseless he might be, no matter that Kagome was still with his most hated enemy's child. Tonight he had found heaven in his Kagome.
Kagome awoke the next morning just before dawn. She started at the sound of an all too familiar voice chuckling over her head and scrambled for her bow and quiver. She was standing with an arrow loaded aimed at Naraku's heart in one swift movement. "You! What are you doing here? Where's Inuyasha!"
"Heh heh heh... I killed him just for you, Kagome. He took a step towards her, reaching out a hand as if to strangle her.
"Kagome! What're you doing?" Inuyasha stood back from her in surprise.
"You! What are you doing here? Where's Inuyasha?"
"I'm right here, Kagome. Don't you remember me?" Inuyasha reached for her, hoping that contact between them would bring her back again.
"Don't come any closer! It was foolish of you to come here, Naraku. Today I will kill you!"
"Kagome, listen to me! There's no one here! It's all in your mind; you have to fight this off!" Inuyasha stood as still as he could, not daring to move an inch. How could Naraku take over her mind so completely? I thought we had blocked him out!
Kagome flinched as she saw the hand reach for her, but then gathered her resolve and re-aimed the arrow. "Don't come any closer!" She smirked. "It was foolish of you to come here, Naraku. Today I will kill you!"
"Go ahead, Kagome. Shoot me if you can. Your arrows are powerless; you can't harm me." Naraku stood there mocking, not making the slightest move to defend himself.
"First tell me why you are here. Why have you been doing this to me!"
"Isn't it obvious, Kagome? A child conceived from the most powerful demon and priestess powers? Once melded within my own body, I will be invincible! Shoot me if you dare, human!
"First tell me why you are here. Why have you been doing this to me!"
Inuyasha glanced nervously at the sky, willing the sun to rise faster. If she shoots me while I'm still human, there will be no way I can survive. I will not die without her knowing who she shoots! "I will not let you kill me, Kagome. Not like this, anyway." He felt the transformation begin as the first rays of sun peeked through the leaves.
"Die, Naraku!" Kagome loosed her arrow.
"Die, Naraku!" Kagome loosed the arrow with a grim smile on her face. She nodded, satisfied, as she saw him tumble backward, with an arrow protruding from his shoulder. She had aimed for his heart, but her aim had been a bit off lately. She loaded another arrow. "Defend yourself, monster!" This time it landed in his stomach.
Naraku lurched and fell to his knees, coughing up bits of blood. Then he smiled and evil smile at her. "So predictable, Kagome. Now I have won!" He fell forward and didn't move again.
Kagome gasped as she felt something dark and heavy lift from her mind, surprised that she hadn't noticed it there before. She fell to her knees and stared at the ground, which was slowly growing brighter. I've done it! I killed Naraku! I'm free!
She looked up to make sure he was still dead, then cried out in horror as the black and purple robes before her melted into bright red. "Oh, no! Inuyasha!" She ran to him and rolled him over onto his back, resting his head on her lap. She noticed with fear that his eyes where still closed and his hair still black. "Please be alive, Inuyasha!"
"Heh. Of course I am." His voice was soft, lips barely moving. "I told you I wouldn't let you kill me." The sun finally rose completely, bathing the little area in a golden light. He reverted back to his normal hanyou form and opened his eyes, looking up at her with love. He reached up with his undamaged hand to caress her cheek. "Not after last night." His hand fell back down and he closed his eyes again.