Chapter 2: Inuyasha, the Terrible Demon

"Inuyasha! It's me Kagome, come to your senses!" Kagome screamed, hoping that the gentle Inuyasha she knew and loved would unmask itself from the terror that stood in front of her. She lay there on the ground, frightened that the Inuyasha that stood in front of her would be his true form if they collected the shards of the Shikon Jewel. She started to regret ever coming to this era; she started to regret even meeting Inuyasha.

'No', she thought, still quivering in fear as Inuyasha approached her wounded body. 'Coming to this era was a blessing, and it is now my job to make Inuyasha stay in his half-demon form, the form of this man that I love most. But my worry for now is how I am going to get out of here alive!'

"Kagome…" came a voice from behind the injured teen. It was Totosai! He was alive and conscious! "You must lead Inuyasha to the Tetsusaiga! It is the only way he will be transformed back into his half-demon form…. and hurry!"

"But Totosai, what about the others here! I cannot leave them here!"

"Do not worry about them, there in good hands."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Kagome reluctantly agreed. 'How can I get him to follow me to the Tetsusaiga…I've got it!'

"Kirara!" Kagome yelled, as the beast came running to her full speed, ready to take off with Kagome. Right before Kirara had reached her, Kagome yelled out the "sit" command to Inuyasha, pinning him to the ground, but instead of changing him back to his half-demon form, this act only made him angrier.

Now, airborne on Kirara, Kagome took off in the direction of the Tetsusaiga, hoping Inuyasha would follow them and leave the rest of the group alone. Fortunately, he was following Kagome and Kirara, but catching up and looking more dangerous than ever. 'We better reach the Tetsusaiga soon, for Inuyasha's and my sake.'

"Kirara!" Kagome exclaimed as she spotted the great sword sticking out of the side of the mountain. "See if you can balance yourself on top of the Tetsusaiga, I've got a plan." Kagome pointed towards the sword, shining and reflecting the rays of the sun, as to show Kagome where it was. As she lifted her arm to point, she felt a sharp pain and remembered where Kagura's blade of wind had sliced her.

Kagura, the wind sorceress, the terrible incarnation of Naraku, had been mutilated before her eyes. She will never forget the sight of her gory death, the way her body parts were sliced by Inuyasha's sharp claws like a hot knife through butter, her bones snapping as easily as you would snap a twig.

They had finally reached the Tetsusaiga, but with Inuyasha hot on their tail. As instructed by Kagome, the obedient Kirara balanced himself on the Tetsusaiga, waiting for the arrival of Inuyasha.

"Hey, are we playing circus or are you going to fight me?" Inuyasha taunted from the ground below, looking up as the talented Kirara balance himself on the sword as a circus clown would on the high wire. And, without another word, Inuyasha leaped up from the ground and was headed fast towards Kagome and Kirara; claws ready and sharp as ever.

'Great, this is just as I planned.' Just as Inuyasha was about to swing his sharp claws and rip open Kirara, he jumped out of the way to the right, leaving Inuyasha swiftly heading to the Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha had already swung his arm towards the place where Kirara had been before he had jumped and sliced the mountain instead of Kirara. To Kagome's relief, her plan had worked, and the rock that Inuyasha had attacked and that was falling to the ground below contained the precious sword of Inuyasha, the Tetsusaiga.

The rocks were falling faster and faster each second, and, at impact with the hard dirt road at ground level, they all broke into pebble-sized pieces, the Tetsusaiga ricocheting of the dirt road and eventually landing flat, reverting to its normal size.

Kagome realized this, and knew that now all she had to do was reach the sword and somehow get it into Inuyasha's hands. With Inuyasha shaking the rock deposits and tiny pebbles out of his nails and off of his arm, Kagome knew that he would be attacking in a faster manner than before, and realized she had little time to think. Finally, she knew what to do and yelled out her next order to Kirara.

After listening to Kagome, Kirara jumped down to the Tetsusaiga. Kagome then reached down and grabbed the sword with her good arm. Unfortunately, her good arm was her left and she was right-handed. All she could do was hope she hit her target and that Inuyasha would react according to her plan.

Looking up into the sky, all Kagome could see was the angered Inuyasha, dropping fast to where Kirara and her were standing. She braced the Tetsusaiga tightly in her left hand, hoping she could make Inuyasha catch the sword in defense when she threw it at him. When he holds the Tetsusaiga, he will transform back to his half-demon form. This was her last hope.

When Inuyasha was about twenty feet away from her, she threw the sword as hard as she could, catching the approaching dog-demon off guard. He reached out his hand toward the soaring Tetsusaiga in an attempt to defend himself. 'Yes! He's going to catch it.' Kagome thought, a triumphant grin crossing her face. But, to her surprise, Inuyasha did not catch the sword, but swatted it away easily with a swing of his arm.

Kagome's facial expression quickly changed from her triumphant grin to a frown of sorrow. She knew that throwing the Tetsusaiga at Inuyasha was her only chance of survival, and she blew it. 'This is it' she thought, biting her lip, as Inuyasha was getting ready to slice Kagome.

Suddenly, a giant boomerang crossed in between Kagome and Inuyasha, who was about five feet away from her at the moment. This boomerang knocked Inuyasha out of the way, but he landed unharmed on the ground and looked at the person who attacked him.

It was Sango, who stood there with Totosai, Miroku, and Shippo, all wounded, but were determined to protect Kagome and Kirara. Sango had a wound on her chest, which was wrapped with white bandages, that were now blood-soaked. Miroku, had his arm and chest wrapped up, and Shippo was physically well, but exhausted from his encounter with Kagura. Totosai seemed fine, as he just got he wind knocked out of him by Kagura.

Now, Inuyasha was furious and was running towards the injured group to slay his attackers. Working together, Totosai made a flame wall around the group so Inuyasha was forced to jump in the air. Then, when airborne, Sango would take another shot at Inuyasha with the Hiraikotsu.

The group watched Inuyasha's shadow as it approached the wall of fire. Sango, boomerang in hand, intensely concentrated on the area above the shadow where Inuyasha would jump.

Fueled by anger, Inuyasha did not seem to care if he was lit on fire and surprising the group, Inuyasha ran right through the fire! Sango, who was unprepared for a ground attack from Inuyasha, was unable to defend herself in time and was cut by Inuyasha and sent soaring to the ground ten feet behind her. She looked worse than ever now, her bandages cut apart and her wound from Kagura deepened by Inuyasha's sharp claws.

Sliding to a stop Inuyasha turned around and faced Totosai, Miroku, and Shippo, blood dripping from his fingers. Before Inuyasha could even advance towards the three, Kagome's sacred arrow hit at Inuyasha's feet, the shockwave sending Inuyasha airborne. He landed parallel to Sango, looking obviously much better than she, only receiving a flesh wound in his legs.

This time, Inuyasha did not get up. His eyes were no longer red, and the purple streaks that crossed his face disappeared. He had finally reverted back into his half-demon form.

It seemed that now, in his original form, he felt the pain that he was oblivious to in his demon form. The pain of his wounds finally brought the tough warrior down to the ground and he lie there, flinching as the pain paralyzed him.

Kagome lay on Kirara, bow in hand and looking seriously hurt. She had used all of her energy to fire that shot, and was mostly exhausted from her experience than seriously wounded.

Sango, who, amazingly, was up on her feet, looked like she had come out of a nightmarish event because of her wounds and anxious facial expression. She picked up the Hiraikotsu and joined Miroku and Totosai as they tended to Inuyasha. Shippo, on the other hand, went over to escort Kirara and the injured Kagome to Inuyasha.

"After this experience, I think it's time for us to take a break from all this demon slaying and adventure. I think it would be best for all of us if we stayed at Lady Kaede's hut for a few days." Miroku suggested. Everyone happily agreed to Miroku's proposal, and Sango, Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all headed off to Lady Kaede's hut.

However, Totosai did not join the group as he felt he was in too much danger when he was with them. On the bright side, he sharpened the Tetsusaiga so it would be at its full potential for Inuyasha's next fight. After that, he headed off to the place that he calls home.

Once Inuyasha and the group reached the hut, the first task was to nurse to everyone's wounds. Lady Kaede warmly welcomed them all and personally addressed Inuyasha's wounds, whereas Miroku addressed Sango's and Kagome's. As expected, though, this did not work out, and Miroku was to sleep outside that night.

Otherwise, all was well now. Inuyasha was alive and resting in his half-demon form. Kagome and Sango were bandaged up and resting as well, finally enjoying a peaceful atmosphere, as they treasured every minute of sleep they could get. Shippo and Miroku were the least injured, and they watched over the three wounded, but got some rest and relaxation in for themselves.

It was now past midnight and the whole group was sound asleep, including Lady Kaede, who welcomed them all into her home. They all slept peacefully and Kirara lay comfortably next to Sango, making his owner seem a bit more cheerful. This peace and quiet will not last forever of course, because there is always someone or something out there who is after the Shikon Jewel, and no peace can be enjoyed with the jewel in existence. Hopefully, one day, peace will be dominant, and no evil will be present. But until that day, Inuyasha and the group continue to fight the forces of evil, including Naraku and Sesshomaru, in hope of reaching that dream.