She didn't know why, or what. All she knew was that there was something inside her, strangling her, pulling at her, piercing through her core and back. She had somehow ended up in the circle of Hell, and she couldn't escape it. She did the only thing she could do.
She let all her pains build, forcing a strange sort of strength. Grasping...something, she opened her mouth, and she screamed.
He heard it. All the way down at the river, helping Sango clean Kagome's bloody and crusty clothes, he heard it, and swiftly he began to run.
Kagome...
It was her. He knew her voice anywhere. He could even tell this was her, this strange howl he heard. He couldn't get to her fast enough, it seemed. Up the hill, through the rice patties, passed Shippou and Kirara, in between the village huts, around the temple, and finally, Kaede's hut. He could see it. There was another sharp cry, and he was startled to see Lady Kaede scamper from inside the hut, to the side of it, dropping handfuls of stained white linens into a deep weaved basket. She hurried to one of the ladies not far from her, screaming for new bandages. Something about a hemorrhage. He knew that word. No!
He flew through the hut door, ignoring Kaede's warning, and he halted himself. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe!
Kagome lay before him, writhing, her body, and chest racking, moving weakly as if to fend off some invisible danger, and for the first time since he arrived with her at the village, he saw the full extent of her great wound.
The hole in her chest gushed, flowing over her bare, waxen breasts, and into her long, black strands of hair. Her hands grabbed idly at things. The blanket, the floor, something! He seized them as best he could, fighting to hold her still. She could put up quite a fight, and he could hear her heart beat. With each beat, more blood spurted forth, dirtying the ground, mat, and himself.
"KAGOME!" he shouted at her, as if it would help to calm her down.
"You have to take her to her world, Inuyasha." Kaede stood behind him, "There is 'nay a thing I can do for her now."
He nodded, oblivious to her in her simple, but now blood stained panties. He scooped her up.
With a sprint in the right direction, he headed to the well, ignoring Miroku and the others, as they ran towards him. A hospital. He had to take her back, and find one of those. He had seen one, once before. He knew where it was.
There it was! The well was just before him, and he hugged her tightly, taking a large lunge towards it. Gently, he floated in, it seemed, and through the worlds.
Many hours passed, as Sango and Miroku waited by the well. Morning had become afternoon, afternoon had become evening; evening had become night, and night it seemed, headed for the dawn. It was a miracle, or so it did appear, as Inuyasha's head finally popped forth from the little wooden well, and Sango steadied Miroku as he jumped up to greet him, full of questions.
"Look at his eyes." She said silently, tenderly. Miroku did. The half-breed's eyes, were dead, it seemed. Red, and weary, they made no contact as he stood at the edge of the well, shadows covering his brow.
"Inuyasha?" came Miroku's steady voice after a brief silence, "Is Kagome, okay?"
"Terminal, they said." Was his quiet reply, "They said her wound had caused terminal damage to her system." Finally, he looked up. "What did they mean, by terminal?"
In all actuality, the look on Miroku's face, and the pain in Sango's eyes told him.
"Are you going to go back for her?" the kind monk asked.
"No." his response was quiet, and quick, "When I go back for her...if I go back for her, I will be bringing her to stay with me, and not one second before."
A/N: So, obviously by the staggered amount of reviews I received last chapter, I've made a mistake somewhere along the lines. Four reviews last time, compared to thirteen, the time before?? Am I retarded? -sniff- I hope this chapter is better well received. If not, I don't think I'll continue. I'm sorry.
(PS: I haven't had a chance to proof-read this chapter.)