CHAPTER TWENTY
Kagome shrieked as she saw the barbed blade cut into Inuyasha's abdomen. The half-demon didn't make a sound, but a look of overwhelming shock came over his face. His body strained a little as he tried to push himself away from Naku, but the blade had him pinned against the tree, helpless as a dying insect.
"You should've seen that coming," Naku sneered. He gave the knife an extra twist, extracting a faint groan from Inuyasha. "Even if you tried to pull it out, you'd only make it worse. And this stab wound is the most painful way to die."
Kagome felt like fainting. Now she knew why Naku had been fondling that knife on the way. Frantically she looked around for a weapon, but couldn't find anything. Not a branch, not a rock. But I have to do something! she thought wildly. Inuyasha...
A noise between a growl and a groan came out of Inuyasha's throat. "Damn you to hell," he whispered.
"You'll be there before I am," Naku smirked. "Do you want me to gut you like a fish? Or would you rather I slit your throat and give you a quick death?"
Kagome's heart almost stopped. "Inuyasha," she whispered.
"How about the third option?" Inuyasha snarled.
His claws suddenly dug into Naku's wrist, and tore the human's hand away from the knife hilt. With a burst of strength, the half-demon pushed Naku backwards, throwing him off balance. Then Inuyasha's fist slammed into Naku's face, three times, tossing him back to the ground.
Inuyasha forced himself away from the tree with a groan. He was panting, clutching at the dagger hilt in his belly. Kagome could see that he was sweating, and the dark stain around the blade was getting bigger and wetter. "WHO ARE YOU?" he growled. "Are you in league with Naraku? Who sent you to capture Kagome?"
Naku slowly rose, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "Sorry to tell you this, but I don't give out my clients' names. Suffice to say that that beautiful maiden and your head were what was asked for." He smirked.
"Inuyasha, don't!" Kagome cried. If Inuyasha fought someone as wily as Naku now, he would lose.
"BASTARD!" Inuyasha lunged forward, raising his free hand.
But now that Inuyasha was badly wounded, Naku was faster. The human dodged Inuyasha's blow, and slammed his elbow into the side of Inuyasha's head. The half-demon stumbled and fell to the ground. A raw howl of pain rang out as he landed. in a heap, clutching feebly at the knife that was still biting into him. Streams of hot lead seemed to be pouring into his blood -- and he couldn't pull the knife out.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome ran to his side, and helped the suffering half-demon onto his knees. "Inuyasha..."
"D-dammit," Inuyasha gasped.
Then Kagome looked up, Naku was smiling at her -- SMILING, after what he had done. "I'll be back later," he said calmly. "And by the time I do, Inuyasha, you'll probably be dead, or desperate for me to just end it. Because if you pull that knife out, you'll only shred yourself from the inside out. I doubt you'd enjoy that. So spare this lovely girl the sight, and just die quietly."
Then he turned and vanished into the woods.
Inuyasha uttered a faint growl, which slowly dissolved into a pained moan. His fingers were digging into Kagome's arm. She managed to half-support him, helping him scoot back against the tree. He almost collapsed against the trunk, breathing hard. "He's gone... isn't he?" he said faintly.
"I think so," Kagome said. "Inuyasha... hang on..."
Inuyasha just made another stifled whimpering noise. His face was pale and sweaty, and his fists were shaking a little. Kagome had seen him be stabbed before, but he hadn't looked this bad since his own brother had slammed a hand through his chest. It must be because the knife is still in him, Kagome thought. She looked down at the dagger hilt protruding from Inuyasha's stomach. Everything was wet with blood.
But how can I get it out? Kagome agonized. If I try to pull it out, it'll just hurt him even more -- maybe kill him...
She started to reach for the hilt, when Inuyasha's faint voice interrupted her. "Kagome..."
"Yes?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath. His golden eyes were bloodshot. "I need you to do something for me... and you ain't gonna like it."
TO BE CONTINUED