A/N: Well, I finally got tired of waiting for two more reviews, you were all two short, so I'm posting this. I hope you enjoy it, I'm sure it makes chapter six look like road kill. Personally, I had a great time writing this, so it was finished in two days.

--------- : Change of views. "......" : Spoken words

- - - : Time change. Italics on their own: Thoughts.

Chapter Started: 10/12/04 Chapter Ended: 10/13/04

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters that go by the names of the Inu cast. I own all other characters and this universe is intellectual property of me and a bunch of other people who I've probably forgotten. The point- don't copy it!

.:Forgotten Freedom: A Cruel Reality:.

.:By: Darkwolfgal:.

With a jolt he sprang to his feet, his nose twitching. There was blood on the wind, and that demon scent he had scented before was stronger now, and fresher. This demon was nearby, and had apparently struck already.

But who was the victim?

Leaping quickly to the ground he ran to the door, seeing Kikyo and a crowd of worried servants and guards. Apparently in the commotion they had forgotten he had attacked one of their own for he was met with no aggression and easily broke through the crowd and came face to face with Kikyo.

"Inuyasha," she said curtly, giving him a cold glare that sent shivers up his spine. "You are a half-demon, are you not?"

That didn't need an answer so he didn't give one, but his eyes narrowed. He could see her brown eyes, so different from Kagome's though they were sisters, switch to the Tetsusaiga but she said nothing about that. She said nothing about the goings on of the day at all actually, her subject was completely different.

"Go into the forest and find out what we're up against."

He bristled, knowing he could slice her head off with a single swipe of his claws...

"Kagome's missing, and Kaede-"

The first word was all he needed as encouragement and he nodded, leaping past the servants and into the forest, running easily through the underbrush. If Kagome were to die...

I'd go with her of course.

But is that the only reason why you're hurrying?

And why are you caring now, I thought she was poisoning my mind?

She's been 'poisoning' your mind, not mine.

We are of the same mind!

Not exactly...

Oh just be quiet!

He brushed his thoughts away just like he brushed the irritating branches away. What he thought didn't matter, if he wanted to live through tonight Kagome had to be saved, but from the fresh metallic scent of blood, her blood, he wasn't so sure even a full blooded demon could get there in time.

Suddenly the air around him changed and he felt his ears pin. There was power in the air and instinct made him go into a crouch just as the massive explosion of violet light reached him.

The light was blinding, he couldn't see a thing. The world was suddenly a bright violet and if he didn't know the ground was down beneath him he could have sworn the world had flipped over, throwing him into nothingness.

Something, a vague something, came hurtling towards him and he caught it instinctively yet again and ducking back down, whatever it was gripped tightly to his chest.

It was only when the light had faded did he realize he was somehow holding Kagome, unconscious, in his arms.

Relief filled him at once, before he realized her green kimono was stained a dark red around her waist and his fingers were red with blood, warm blood.

With a start he lowered Kagome to the ground, clearing away her hair, and looking at the jagged gash on her right upper arm.

It wasn't a knife wound, or anything made by claws or fangs, and the wound on her back, lighter but bleeding freely, looked more like something sharp had hit her there, hard.

Before her could begin to think of what demon could have done this the bushes rustled, making him turn, one hand resting on the useless Tetsusaiga just for the sake of having something, anything, to use against the thing besides his own claws.

The bloodstained pincers of the massive centipede demon poked out before the six eyes and the rest of it's brownish plated body followed, it's many legs letting it rear up into the air, clicking it's pincer's menacingly.

He removed his hand from Tetsusaiga's hilt and took Kagome's limp body in his arms, leaping clear just as the demon's pincers struck the ground behind them. They were stuck in the soil for a while and he used that time to leap away, leaving Kagome in the shelter at the base of the tree before dealing with the demon.

It reared again and clicked it's pincers, he drew the rusted blade of Tetsusaiga and held it with both hands, cursing the blade's bad condition.

The demon struck again, clicking it's pincers together where Inuyasha had stood just a few moments before. He appeared behind it, smashing Tetsusaiga into the back of it's head.

Neither blade nor shell gave way and he was forced to leap clear again, diving into the sheltering tree branches as the demon tossed it's head wildly. It had certainly felt the blow but it wouldn't do any lasting harm. Inuyasha cursed his father's blade, willing it to become the same fang his father had wielded.

Nothing happened and he lunged again, risking a slash at the thing's underbelly with his claws and Tetsusaiga. Nothing but sparks came out of that, and him nearly being crushed.

He leaped clear again, suddenly noticing the thing's rear end, the part with fewer legs that served as a 'tail', swish around behind him, uncovering Kagome's body. The demon saw her too and started towards her while Inuyasha threw himself at it again, managing to pierce an eye before being thrown off and hitting a tree, slumping to the ground near Kagome.

The centipede demon reared again, roaring in pain, before driving it's at Kagome. Inuyasha threw himself between them, only half on his feet, using Tetsusaiga's blade and his strength to keep the pincers away, managing to deflect them aside.

As he leaped clear this time he couldn't help but see the tips of his silver hair stained crimson with Kagome's blood and the one drop of red that flew off into the air...

... and fell onto the blade of Tetsusaiga.

Suddenly the blade glowed a bright yellow, the almost blinding light paralyzing the centipede demon for a moment, and when the light cleared he saw the sword that had been embedded into his memory, massive and sharp with a tuft of fur just above the leather wrapping around the hilt.

Tetsusaiga had transformed.

"Now you're going to die!"

he cried, swinging the sword even as he hung in midair. A massive scar of yellow appeared in the air, streaking across the demon, causing it's body to fade into dust as the streak cut it in half.

When nothing was left he turned back to Kagome, sheathing Tetsusaiga and taking her in his arms, careful to avoid the bleeding wound on her back and upper arm, and heading back to the house.

---------

"Kagome... wake up."

A voice called, soft and cold, exactly the opposite of how her she felt. She was burning with heat and pain. As she opened her eyes everything was fuzzy, but she recognized her room, lit with torches, and Kikyo's silhouette.

"Kik...yo?" she asked weakly, trying to sit up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." warned another voice as she began to feel the sting of pain in her back and relaxed. Instead she turned around to find Inuyasha lounging against the windowsill, his hands red as well as some of his silver hair.

Red with blood, my blood.

"What... happened?" she asked, glancing at them both.

"You were attacked by a centipede demon, I had to go out and save you." replied Inuyasha, but under his annoyed manner there was a small note of relief, but Kagome hardly noticed.

"It had pincers... didn't it?" she asked, barely registering Inuyasha's nod.

Her dream, just like her dream. The bushes had rustled, she had turned and pulled them back, revealing the pincers and jaws, dripping with blood. Someone else's blood. Which meant it had killed someone first, and soon after.

Suddenly something seemed to be missing from her room, something important.

"Where's Shippo?"

"Outside, I needed to tend to your wounds." Kikyo replied matter-of-factly.

"What about mom?"

From the glance Kikyo flashed Inuyasha she got the idea.

"Where's mom, where's Kaede?" she cried, trying to get up but falling back as Kikyo pushed her back down.

"Shh... Kagome, you need you rest-"

"Where's our mother, where's Kaede!" she cried, fighting at Kikyo's strong hands in her fear.

"Kagome, you need your rest, Kaede is fine!" Kikyo replied but even she could not hide her worry and it only made Kagome even more afraid.

"KAEDE!" she screamed, feeling tears prick against her eyes.

In the moment that her mouth was open Kikyo moved, tipping something into Kagome's open mouth, and suddenly the world was fuzzy and she was so tired she could barely move.

"Find... Kaede..." she murmured as she drifted off into her forced slumber.

- - -

Her eyes blinked slowly open, her surroundings still hazy. She had a huge headache, but at least it blocked out the pain in her arm and back.

As she lay back in her bed she realized the sun was rising, and someone had drawn back her curtains to let the light shine in. She smelled the sweet spice scent of their candles, which meant they had been burning almost all night.

She shouldn't have fallen asleep, she shouldn't have. She remembered being worried but last night was fuzzy... too fuzzy...

Something caught her eye as the sun glinted off it's lacquer polished surface. A mug, and when she moved it to sniff it with her left hand she wrinkled her nose immediately as she saw and smelt it's contents.

Rockfern... they had given her Rockfern. She would have been out like a light for at least a day... but this had been brewed in water and it was old. They hadn't had fresh Rockfern in days...

But it had had the same effect, last night was as fuzzy as a sheep's wool, but there were also ways of trying to counteract Rockfern. There was a vine that grew high on the trees. It was hard to come by, and even harder to find the petals, but they lasted so long....

She rang the bell that she knew would be on her night stand and Kikyo entered, eyeing her with a worried look in her cold eyes.

"Kik..yo?"

"Kagome, you should be asleep." she couldn't help but notice how her sister's eyes flickered to the empty mug in her left hand.

"I'm thirsty... and my head's fuzzy... I think Skyvine tea will do the trick." she replied carefully, letting her voice break as often as it needed to, since i was an effect of the Rockfern.

"That's a strong herb, sister. Are you sure it is necessary?" Kikyo knew Skyvine's properties as well as she did.

"Yes... I have a huge headache..."

Kikyo nodded and left, returning a moment later and helping Kagome prop herself up on an extra pillow and sheets a servant had come in with. She could see Shippo eyeing her worriedly from the doorframe but he didn't dare disobey Kikyo. She smiled reassuringly at him before checking her mug and seeing that it was indeed Skyvine petals that were soaked into it's brew.

She took a sip, closing her eyes and enjoying it's warmth and then she remembered.

Kikyo was at her bedside, she was screaming something, and Inuyasha was eyeing her from the window and then...

"Kaede..." she whispered taking a moment to register the name.

"Kikyo, where's Kaede? Where's our mother?" she demanded, scaring the wits out of the servant though Kikyo was quick to press her back against the pillows.

"I'm sorry Kagome... but I don't know." Kikyo whispered, her own eyes, icy brown, were sparkling with something besides ice.

Kagome stared at her, feeling the tears start to prick...

... but none fell because at that moment there was a huge clamor in the hallway and Inuyasha kicked open the door.

---------

He stood there, panting heavily, exhausted after his night's efforts. There had been more of them, the centipede demons. There were more, many more, and two had decided he was a threat.

Worst of all, the Tetsusaiga hadn't been any help to him at all, until he had seen Kaede.

Kaede, who was the heavy burden in his arms, draped over with his outer yukata.

Kaede, who was dead.

They stared at him, the servant and the sisters, as he stood there half leaning on the door frame, the door quivering at one side of him. He saw the recognition in Kagome's eyes first as their brown depths, sparkling with tears, turned to the burden he held in his arms.

Kikyo gave a heavy sigh, wiping all traces of sorrow from her face, and strode forwards, helping the servants relieve him of Kaede's body, leaving Kagome to her room with him.

And that was when her tears started to flow, and when he finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

- - -

It was in the afternoon when he woke, his wounds from the night before barely scratches, though they still stung.

With a growl he got to his feet, supporting himself against the wall while observing his surroundings. He had fallen asleep against the wall in Kagome's room, after she had started crying, after he had brought the dead remains of Kaede back to her, just like he had been ordered to...

Where was Kagome anyways? He was going to have a word with her about her flapping tongue, the foolish girl nearly got him killed searching for her mother.

With a growl he strode through the hall, noticing how the servants averted their eyes.

Well of course, I just brought the dead lady back.

It hardly mattered, he just wanted to find Kagome and if they wouldn't look at him he wasn't going to get anything out of them.

He stumbled upon her scent out of doors after grabbing a new fire rat yukata from the servants and he easily tracked it, going to the borders of the forest where she sat, sobbing quietly, behind a tree.

He strode right up to her, turning and glaring down at her. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were red. Trails of tears ran down them, though no more flowed. She had cried herself out, all the better to make her listen to him.

"Hey, Kagome!" he snapped with annoyance and no little anger.

"You nearly got me killed last night, you know that?"

She stared at him blankly, as if she barely registered his words.

Another bit of tinder added to his sparking fury.

"Did you hear that? With your little 'find Kaede' you made me run back into this damn forest again after saving your butt!"

She said nothing, just stared straight ahead.

A spark barely missed the bunch of soft flammable tinder.

"And you didn't even have the decency to say 'thanks' the first time!"

She made no move to indicate she had heard. She could have been blind and deaf, nobody could tell the difference.

That was it, the tinder caught.

With a surge of fury he grabbed her collar, pinning her against the tree trunk though not choking her.

"Hey, are you listening to me?!"

he got no response and his temper flared. He slapped her, the force of his blow jerking her head to one side, though he had been restraining. That wouldn't bruise even the weak skin of a human. It seemed to snap her into reality and he continued.

"Just get over it already, Kaede is dead, dead you hear! She's not coming back so just get over it!" he shouted, his face inches from hers.

There was a long pause as the flames of his anger burned, his glaring amber eyes boring into her own and then...

"You're right, Inuyasha."

her voice was eerily calm, emotionless, monotone, so different from her expressive voice. It took him a moment to remember she wasn't Kikyo, she was Kagome.

The flames were suddenly doused.

"I'm just being stupid, Kaede's dead, there's no use crying over her."

again the monotonous voice, a freaky sound to be coming out of Kagome. He stepped back, removing his hand from her collar. Without his support she slumped to the ground, her knees folded beneath her.

"My mom... she's dead... and all I'm doing is dragging this place down, aren't I?"

he didn't say anything, he couldn't, his mouth had suddenly gone dry.

Kagome had pulled out a knife.

---------

It was just an ordinary knife, so easy to slip away from the kitchens. No one had noticed it, they had all been too busy mourning for Kaede. It had been so easy to hide, fitting easily in her pouch, and now she stared at it's sharp gleaming blade and then held it to her breast, the tip pointing towards her. Her hands slid to the left, to let the knife hover over her heart.

This was it, she was leaving, she was going to see Kaede again. She pushed her hands outwards, closing her eyes, and thrust the knife at her heart...

... but the pain never came.

She was face to face with a shocked Inuyasha who was holding the knife in his hands. He stared at her, she met his gaze with the blank stare of her own.

"Why did you stop me?" she murmured.

"Why didn't you let me end it, why are you so cruel?" her expressionless tone she had worked so hard to keep faltered, despair making its entrance with her last words. She had always tried, really tried, to be kind to him. Why was he so heartless?

"Because I was wrong." he replied, his own words soft.

"You can't just 'get over it'. It's not that simple."

and then he shocked her, pulling her into an embrace, the knife discarded on the ground beside them. Somehow he had known this was what she needed. Perhaps he wasn't so heartless after all.

She leaned into his chest, her eyes closed, her hands clutching the cloth of his shirt. His arms tightened around her comfortingly, letting her know they were there, as if he could block out the pain, shielding her behind his red sleeves.

"I've lost a mother too."

he said and the tears returned, flowing faster than ever, pouring in torrents that ran down her cheeks as she sobbed for Kaede, for herself, and for the half-demon that held her so gently, letting her cry herself out.

Reality, it was just too cruel.

A/N: Did you like it? Tell me, there's a purple button somewhere below that wants to be pressed. Anyways, I think around 20 reviews will be needed for another chapter so review review and review!

Lame Little Preview: Inuyasha killed three but there are more left in the forest, and they aren't too happy about their losses. In need of help, Kikyo decides to call upon the help of some long forgotten allies, and a few that are still fresh in the mind of a certain half-demon. Chapter Eight: Coming of the Taijiya.

Amaya Mitsu: Well, now you know!

Inuyashaonly1: Yeah, poor inu, but I'm feeling pretty sorry for Kagome two.

NordicaVB: Well, how else could he beat three centipede demons, I don't think I did enough on the Wind Scar though.

Inutashio: Three! Yay! -eats all three at once-

Keyo-Red Angel of Hope: Yuppers, and sand is pretty worthless stuff. Depends on what kind of sand though, but anyways, hope you liked this update.

Cheli81: Oh I know, I usually stay away from those fics, except in Life Exchange since Inuyasha was supposed to be insane.

TwistedBlackAndRedRose, MeMe, Pheobe Holly, Arhu, Anime-Devil-101: Sorry, but I couldn't exactly make the chapter really really long could I? You would have never gotten the update.

Copperline Kitty: Lol, yes they are idiots in chapter 6.

Dragon Man 180: He's something like an adopted family member, I need to give him more parts though. Miroku is not going to appear in this one, but Sango, a young Sango, will have a small part. It'll tie in with the next story I'm writing, Sorrows of a Demon Slayer.

Calyne: Yeah, I'm obsessed with ICness, and my first chapter had that affect on me too, though I think everything went downhill until this chapter.

Neko-Yuff16: I actually like bows and arrows, they're cool... somehow, oh well. Here's the update, I need to find more reviewers.

R.I.S.T.O.S: Lol, again? I've had this asked quite a few times, I went as far as putting a note in my profile. Don't worry, this will be finished in about two chapters. I might put in a short epilogue if I feel like it.

Anyways, please review, I want at least over 15 before I post, I think 20 was a bit too much to ask. Anyways, I hope you liked this one.

Darkwolfgal