Author's Notes – Okay, now you guys are just pampering me. All these reviews for such a simple story! I admit there are a few actions scenes, but a lot of it is kinda slow. If you keep up with all this praise it's going to go straight to my head. Well, until then, I will religiously perform my duty and come out with chapter after chapter. Thank you all!
Opposing ForcesThe rushing winds blew Kagome's hair all around her, and she looked as beautiful as a falling tennyo from the heavens. In her mind's eye, her hand was reaching out towards Inuyasha's and it was almost within reach…
"KAGOME!!" Suddenly, from out of the forest from the other side of the river, Kouga jumped off the cliff and raced down the side towards Kagome. He jumped towards her, but without the powerful Shikon shards in his legs anymore, he didn't have enough momentum to make it to the other side. So he wrapped his arms tightly around her form and broke the fall into the water.
Back on land, Ayame, Ginta and Hakkaku had barely come out of the forest to see everything happen. "Kouga!" Ginta exclaimed.
"He's gone!" Hakkaku grabbed his head in shock and disbelief.
"Our leader's DEAD!!" Both grabbed each other and started crying like babies.
Ayame grabbed both by the collars and pulled them in close. "Listen to me! Kouga is not dead! And neither is Kagome!"
"Their not?" Both said curiously.
Ayame put her brothers down and sighed. "Here's what we're gonna go. You two head towards Kagome's village and tell her friends about this. Inuyasha will want to know what happened."
"What about you?" Ginta wondered.
Ayame looked at the water and narrowed her eyes to chips of jade. "I'm going after my man." Then she ran along the cliffs, following the river to where both Kouga and Kagome would likely come ashore.
Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged looks, then ran across the bridge towards the village.
* * *
"How could she leave without you knowing about it!" Sango asked the cowering kitsune cub.
"You were supposed to be watching her!" Miroku added.
"But, she was asleep! I didn't think she'd go anywhere!" Shippo defended himself.
"Right now, Kagome-sama's mind is very fragile and she's capable of anything." Miroku said sadly.
Sango hefted Hiraikotsu on her shoulders and turned towards the door. "I'll start looking for her."
As soon as she stepped outside, a little girl came running up to her with tears in her eyes. "We need to talk to Kagome and Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru-sama's hurt!" It was Rin and behind her, Aun still had its master on its back.
Miroku came outside upon hearing the commotion, along with Shippo, and gasped when he saw the beaten and barely breathing demon prince. "Sesshoumaru."
"This is all Inuyasha's fault! That ugly hanyou did this to his own brother!" Jaken berated from his standpoint on the ground. He reached maybe up to Miroku's kneecaps. "Explain yourselves!"
"First, Shippo, why don't you lead them and Sesshoumaru's friend to Kaede and Kimiko-sama. I'm sure they brought herbs with them there. They should be able to help Sesshoumaru's healing along. Even though he may not like it, he'll thank us later." Sango instructed the fox demon.
"Right!" Shippo took crying Rin's hand in his even smaller one and lead her and the beast to the others at the far end of the village.
"Now before you start blaming us, Inuyasha did this to himself." Miroku began to explain. "He's decided to become a full demon using the completed Shikon no Tama."
"Isn't that human girl of yours, Kagome, supposed to be protecting it!" Jaken continued to accuse.
Sango got mad and lifted Jaken up by the front of his robes and brought him up to her face. "Now listen here, you little toad. Kagome-chan is a great priestess, but nobody's perfect. He stole it in her sleep and ran off into the forest. If I hear you say one more bad thing about her, servant or not, Sesshoumaru's going to find you in pieces!"
Jaken visibly paled and nodded quickly, sighing in relief when the enraged taijiya put him down on solid ground. "Do you even know where she is?"
"Inuyasha!"
"Sister-Kagome is…!"
Ginta and Hakkaku came running into the village with their arms in the air, waving them around like chickens with their heads cut off.
"Now what…" Miroku sighed. Things had gotten much more complicated.
When the two wolf tribesmen got to Sango and Miroku, they stopped to catch their breath. Without having to run after Kouga all day, they'd lost their touch with their stamina.
"Well?" Sango insisted. "Do you know where Kagome-chan is?"
"Kouga saw her walk off the edge of a cliff!" Hakkaku started.
Ginta continued, "So he jumped in and caught her!"
"But then he couldn't make it to the other side!"
"And they fell into the water."
"And now we don't know where they are!!" Both exclaimed breaking into tears again.
* * *
Inuyasha jumped from tree to tree, Kagome's scent getting stronger. Those fools did bring her back here. "You've taken her from me, and for that I won't forgive you." He growled low, taking off towards the village once more. The various huts were already in view, but he sped up nonetheless. Her scent… I can't get it out of my mind. Once I have her back, I'm never going to let her out of my sights again. She will be mine…forever!
* *Miroku and Sango looked at each other with worried glances. "If Inuyasha finds Kagome-sama with Kouga…" The priest started.
"Oh no…" Sango shouted back into the hut. "Kirara!"
The little cat demon came out and mewed once, transforming into her bigger form immediately.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Ginta asked.
As Miroku and Sango got onto Kirara, preparing to find the two before the crazed demon did. But before they could take off, Kirara roared and brought their attention back to the front.
There stood Inuyasha, the bottom part of his haori torn in places from his battle with Sesshoumaru, and his bare chest splashed with his brother's blood. His bat wings were extended out to his sides, and his eyes glared at the group before him.
"I'm right here, but the question that you should be asking is how long do I have to live. Because when I get to you, you won't have much longer to figure it out…" He smirked.
* * *
Kouga held Kagome with one arm and stroked towards shore with his other arm. Finally making it to land, he collapsed and tried to catch his breath, making sure Kagome was securely on her back before he did. What could've caused her to do such a thing? Kouga's mind struggled to come up with an answer, but when he came up to look at her face, he immediately noticed the bruise mark on her cheek and the fact that she had stopped breathing.
"Kagome!" He immediately put his lips on hers and gave her some of his air, trying to get her to breath on her own. How could Inuyasha let this happen to her!? If I find out that piece of dog-crap touched Kagome in such a way, I'm going to have him live out a threat of my own…
Once Kouga blew air into her lungs a few more times, she began coughing up water, so he turned her on her side. She hadn't regained consciousness yet, but Kouga would look over her until she did. There was a clearing nearby with a small lake where Kouga could get Kagome some fresh water. Once she awakened, he'd asked her what happened and he only hoped he would get the truth.
* * *
Kagome held Inuyasha's hand and as they passed through the waterfall, they emerged on the other side, where there was indeed a cave, but this one was littered with sparkling jewels and precious stones. The sun reflected off of the waterfall and into the cave, making each stone appear as a multicolored star. It was as if she were walking in the center of the universe.
Inuyasha smiled at her expression and continued leading her into the passageways beyond. "Kagome, I've almost lost you so many times because I couldn't protect you. You've gotten hurt because they wanted to get to me." He said sadly.
Kagome squeezed his hand reassuringly. "But I've learned to take the good with the bad, Inuyasha. There are a lot of memories that I wouldn't have traded the world for."
"Really?" The hanyou seemed unconvinced.
Nodding, the miko began listing some of the special moments she held deep inside her heart. "There was that time when I tried to go back home and that group of bandits kidnapped me. If it hadn't been for you coming and saving me from their leader, he would've ended my life right there. You have no idea how happy I was to see you. Then there was that time when you defended me from Sesshoumaru."
"But it was you who saved me by transforming Tetsusaiga back into its original form." Inuyasha added.
Kagome started to blush. "Then there are those other times when I wish the moments would never end."
Inuyasha's ear twitched and he stopped walking to turn and look at Kagome curiously. "Oh?"
"Like when you held me at the well, and told me you were scared of loosing me. Or when your face was the first thing I saw after Tsubaki tried to control me. You were there for me no matter what, and I want to always be there for you too."
Hanyou Inuyasha brought Kagome into a hug and whispered softly into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. "What about now? Is this one of those moments you will treasure forever?"
Kagome's voice was locked in her throat at the closeness so she nodded instead and tried to swallow the lump, but it was no use. As long as she had been by Inuyasha's side, she never felt this close.
But this is a moment I want to last forever. I never want to leave your arms again, Inuyasha…
* * *
Beholding the creature that was once Inuyasha, the newest company at the village paled even more.
"What in the world is that!?" Ginta, Hakkaku and Jaken all exclaimed, running behind Kaede's hut for cover.
"I have come for Kagome! And if you're going to stand in my way, I will kill you!" Inuyasha flew off the ground, not wanting to hear their pathetic excuses, and slammed into Kirara, forcing Sango and Miroku to the ground.
Sango recovered and jumped into the air. "Hiraikotsu!" She knew they had to at least stop him here, before he found out about Kouga and Kagome…
Inuyasha snarled and defected the youkai-bone aside like a pesky fly, quickly releasing a Sankon Tessou back towards the taijiya.
"Sango!" Miroku grabbed her and jumped to the side, saving them both from painful injury.
Inuyasha advanced on them and one could've mistaken the red-glowing eyes as a thirst for blood. "I won't forgive you." The voice was getting darker and darker with each encounter. He savagely grabbed both adults by their necks and hefted them off the ground. "You're more of a bother than you're worth."
They would've tried to say something to get through to him, but neither could get any air out whatsoever.
"Inuyasha!" Jaken aimed his staff and shot fire from the old man's mouth at his master's younger brother.
Inuyasha flew into the air, dodging the attack, and threw Miroku and Sango into the ground in opposite directions. He then flew down and punched Jaken square in the face, sending the miniscule demon back into Ginta and Hakkaku. "Pathetic." He snarled and entered the hut when no more opposition came.
His eyes widened in shock when he noticed Kagome was nowhere to be found. He howled and jumped out of the tent and frantically sniffed the air. "Where is she!!!?" He shouted, dashing off into the forest, following her scent once more.
Ginta and Hakkaku helped Sango and Miroku to their feet, while Jaken was still unconscious. "What do we do now?" Hakkaku wondered.
Sango winced in slight pain, but Kirara was recovered enough to come over to her mistress and give her added support. "You two take Jaken and go with the others. We have to stop Inuyasha before he can find Kouga and Kagome.
"Ayame is already following their trail. She should be able to get them out of there before Inuyasha shows up." Ginta said.
"With his new abilities, no one can stop him." Miroku used his staff for support. "And we are in no condition to aide them right now."
"But Miroku…" Sango persisted.
The priest held up a hand. "Two hours of rest will do us some good. Then we can try to track them down. Neither I, you, or even Kirara, would stand very long in a fight right now. We need to allow our bodies to heal, if even for a moment."
Sango finally consented, but she didn't like it. Kouga and Inuyasha meeting was never a good idea. But now, it would be even worse. Kagome-chan…please stay safe.
* * *
Inuyasha reached the cliff where Kagome had so faithfully reach out her hand to an illusion of him and sniffed the air critically. When another scent came to his attention, it made his blood boil. His eyes flashed once and he began to growl deep in his throat. "You…I thought I told you never to touch her again. I'm going to kill you this time and nothing's going to stop me."
Taking to the air, Inuyasha skidded along the river and continuously scanned the shoreline. When he found them, they were both dead.
Author's Notes: Okay, not a cliffhanger, but close enough. I plan to post two chapters up at once, as a thank you to everyone. Kouga and Inuyasha aren't finished yet and Kagome's still out of it. Man, this is getting complicated…
