Pellets of rain were drubbing his body and the wind was howling like a living creature. The fierce wind was attacking as if trying to peel him off of the ground. He dug in with his feet so as not to loose to the wind and right now it seemed that nothing could save him. The forest was dense with trees shaking noisily. Torn leaves were flying through the air and pounding his body along with the raindrops. The raindrops were entering his eyes, preventing him from keeping them open. He was so close to the village but the storm was making it almost impossible to continue.

'In that storm, who's going to respond to me?' Inuyasha thought after reconsidering his decision to shout for help. 'Even if there is someone nearby, the wind would easily wipe out my voice.' he was right about that – he would only waste his strength.

A driving gust of wind almost swept him off his feet. He grabbed onto a nearby tree for dear life. He managed to hold on and the wind calmed for a second, just in time for a painful spasm in his chest. He doubled over and fell on his knees. If he didn't get to the village, to Kagome, he would surely die here.

'Fucking storm! Where the hell did it came from?' he badmouthed the weather to himself, while looking up at the darkly moving sky. Exactly one week had passed since he left the village. If it wasn't that storm he would've already been there. He could imagine how angry Kagome must've gotten when she hadn't found him.

It was last night when the winds started to pick up and the sky darkened. It was like something bad was going to happen very soon and the nature itself was feeling it. After Kikyou's soul snatchers had left him and he had rested for a while, the pain had disappeared but with the approach of the storm it started to return. That made him think that all was Naraku's doing and actually he was right. Somehow deep in his heart he knew that, he could've easily predicted it but he didn't pay attention.

There was no way that he wanted to be out in the open with a storm on its way. He had thought that the storm wasn't going to hit until the next day and had decided to rest for the night. It was then that the winds had suddenly picked up, while he was asleep of all time. So, he had hurriedly decided to start moving toward the village.

When the weather was nice the forest was abundant in wildlife, but now there were no signs of life. It was like every living creature had run away days ago. The hanyou thought that if the trees could've run they would have, and he couldn't help but have the strange feeling that he had something to do with all this. He could barely feel Naraku's youki surrounding him and probably that's why the animals were afraid, but with his senses dulled because of being human he just couldn't tell how much notable it was.

"Will I ever make it back alive?" Inuyasha asked himself and started to slowly push forward.

Whenever he let up to take a breath, the wind seemed to become stronger. He felt like it was playing with him, trying to throw him in the air like a torn leaf. His haori was hanging around his waist, his shirt was still on him but it was soaked to the bone and was hanging un-tugged on him, showing the scar from Kikyou's arrow on his chest. His wet hair was sticking on his forehead and face and it felt gross, but he didn't have the time to think about that right now.

"It's like a natural shower." he said with a little amusement in his voice and again tried to push ahead. Right now he could give everything for a nice and warm shower in Kagome's time, or in a hot spring...

He felt a throbbing pain in his hands and noticed that they were covered with scratches. It would have been a miracle if he hadn't been hurt, the way he was holding onto trunks of trees so as not to be blown away by the wind. His sides hurt too, from the constant bumping in the trees and falling on the ground every now and then. I addition to the injuries, he was feeling cold, and every time he tried to move his limbs ached in pain.

'Even if I make it out of here alive, I'll probably have to stay in bed for several days.' Inuyasha thought while driving winds assailed him again and he desperately tried to keep his feet, resisting the wind with all his strength.

Suddenly he slipped and slid on the muddy and slippery ground. He lost his balance and shivered with fear as he realized that he was sliding in the direction of a sheer cliff. He frantically tried to grab hold of a branch of a nearby tree but it broke. The next moment he was sent off the cliff into midair. While falling he could see the village right ahead but right now he didn't think he was going to make it to go there.

Then an unbearable pain in his head made him loose consciousness as he crashed on the ground. His cry for help as he was falling wasn't heard by anyone. He just laid there unmoving and one easily could think that he was dead. But it wasn't long before his consciousness started to return slowly in a chill that seemed to freeze to the bone.

'Ugh... Where am I?' Inuyasha thought and tried to move but failed. 'It's so dark... It's cold...' it was then that he realized that he couldn't see anything and he was sure it wasn't because it was dark outside.

"Shit..." he said and this time managed to roll over on his stomach. "Come on, move!" he tried to yell but his voice came out just a little louder than a whisper. After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts to move he managed to stand up on his hands and knees. Not able to do more he started to slowly crawl toward the village.

At Kaede's hut everybody were quiet. They were listening to the wind and shivering every now and then. Kagome, who was sitting close to the door, was shaking all over. The others had told her to move closer to the fire but she had refused. She had a strange feeling that something was wrong with Inuyasha and they won't hear him if he comes back.

Suddenly there was a dull thud outside and everybody startled. They exchanged worried looks but nobody went to see what was going on. Then the straw mat covering the door moved aside and there he was. A human Inuyasha stood in front of them. Blood was practically flowing from a large wound on his forehead and the left side of his head, his shirt was soaked with blood and water and his arms and torso were covered with scratches.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome gasped and as he started to fall forward she stood up and caught him, falling on her knees herself.

The others rushed to them and Miroku and Sango placed the hanyou on a futon near the fire. They removed his haori and shirt and were left in shock from the strange bluish scar on his chest. But there was no time to waste and they all helped with everything they could to clean his wounds and bandage him. After everything was ready they took their time to look at him better.

"Why is he human?" Shippo voiced out the question everybody else was asking in their minds.

"I have no idea." Miroku said and looked at Kagome, who just shook her head.

"I think I know why." Kaede's words made the others look at her with interest. "By the look of it, the scar on his chest is made by a purifying arrow."

"P-Purifying arrow..." Kagome said and her eyes widened.

"Are you saying that Kikyou-sama shot him?" Miroku asked the question which Kagome didn't have the courage to say.

"There is no doubt about that." the old Miko said sadly. "I can still feel her aura around him. This arrow must have drained his energy and that is the reason he is human now."

'No...' Kagome thought as she looked at Inuyasha and shook her head. 'How could she? She said she loved him... How could she do this to him again?'

Inuyasha felt warm and at peace. As he slowly started to come to consciousness he could barely hear someone talking but that didn't really matter to him. Surprisingly his chest didn't hurt anymore, only his other wounds, and that made him think that he must be close to Kagome. He wished it was true and tried to open his eyes. He succeeded but a sudden feel of nausea made him groan.

Soft hands touched his bare shoulders as he tried to roll over and curl into a small ball. The hands pushed him on his back again and he heard his name being called. Another attempt to open his eyes made the world around him start spinning. This time he didn't close them and as his vision started to clear he saw Kagome's worried face. She was leaning over him and on an impulse he lifted his arms and embraced her.

"Inuyasha!" she almost screamed as she crashed on top of him. She tried to move away as she heard him groan in pain but despite it he continued to hold her.

"Kagome-chan, you ok?" Sango asked, moving closer to her and Inuyasha.

"Yeah." the girl said breathlessly and couldn't help but blush at the looks everybody were giving her.

"Do you want help?" Miroku asked with a strange smile on his lips.

"No..." she heard Inuyasha whisper and looked at him. His slightly opened eyes slowly closed before he continued and she knew that he would pass out again. "Please, stay with me..." he said and his hold on her loosened.

Kagome sat up and looked at her friends. They all gave her the same strange smile, showing her that they had heard Inuyasha, and she felt the heat in her cheeks rise even more. Nobody said anything and soon all went to bed. Kagome sat next to the hanyou, just holding his hand, and when she was sure that everybody were asleep she lied next to him, placing one hand over his chest.

'I should've made him promise not to get hurt while I was away.' the girl thought and closed her eyes. 'You've got a lot to explain tomorrow, Inuyasha.'

He felt her when she lied next to him and a content smile formed on his lips. Now he didn't feel not only the pain in his chest but his whole body felt good. He sighed deeply and moved one hand to her shoulder and as he let it rest there she snuggled closer to him. Despite everything he had lived through for the past two weeks he was happy to finally be able to hold her like that. He could finally tell her that he loved her but not until Naraku was defeated.

'We will kill that bastard and then...' Inuyasha thought and slowly drifted off to a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

Rain fell in sheets, whipping the forest into a frenzy of branches and leaves. The wind howled in its furry as it blew through the eaves of the small hut. It was quiet and dark, only a dying fire in the middle of the room was keeping the people inside warm and was giving them at least a little light. They were all asleep, all except a certain hanyou and the girl that was lying next to him.

She moved to get up and just sat next to him, watching him. He looked like he was sleeping but she knew him better than that. She knew his breathing when he slept; she had seen how his eyes moved when he dreamed. Now he was definitely faking it, but this time she wasn't going to make him tell her what had happened to him.

'I'm very angry, Inuyasha.' Kagome thought and bit her bottom lip. 'No, I'm worried to death, Inuyasha.' she corrected herself and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She stayed like that for a while and closed her eyes, just listening to his breathing.

Pain, it was all he was aware of – searing pain. The moment Kagome had moved away from him he felt like he had hit the ground very hard. He wanted to get up, to at least open his eyes but his body refused to listen to his mind's demands. After a moment that seemed like an eternity he strained to try to move again but his muscles turned to jelly. The smell of the damp air filled his lungs as he gasped for air.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome was taken out of her thoughts as she heard his strangled gasp and a quiet moan. He didn't answer her and she leaned closer to him. "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing his pained expression.

He heard someone calling him but the voice was getting weaker and weaker with every passing second. No matter how hard he struggled he couldn't move – just laid there on the floor. Even if he had some strength left in his body it all fled him as a new stronger pain spread through his whole body. It was like wounds from previous fights were coming back and he couldn't do anything to stop them. He groaned and out of reflex, bit down on his lip to keep the sound from escaping.

Kagome was panicking very fast – she saw him bite on his bottom lip, drawing blood and a second later she heard him groan. She was well aware that he was in pain but all his wounds were cleaned and bandaged, and that was what was driving her crazy. How could she help him if she didn't know what was wrong with him? The others started to stir but didn't wake up and in the condition Kagome was she didn't think of calling them for help.

Inuyasha's breath seized in his throat as another wave of pain washed over him. He felt something warm flow over his shoulder and the bitter smell of blood filled the air – his blood. He finally managed to open his eyes but just closed them again, as his vision wavered. He tried to yell but failed and nothing but a pained groan came out. Unconsciousness came up to him like night, sudden and dark.

"Kagome..." the single word left his dry tortured throat as he sunk deeper into nothingness.

She was leaning toward him, not daring to touch him. She had seen the large bloody spot that appeared on his left shoulder and had removed the shirt she had placed on him when she had sat up. There was no wound; it was like the blood was streaming from his skin. Fortunately Kagome wasn't the type to stay panicked for too long and quickly gathered her thoughts. She woke up everybody in the hut and hurriedly explained what had happened.

"This is not good, child." Kaede said while she took some herbs and started to prepare them to boil them.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked as she was said to press the shirt to the place from where the blood was coming. "What's wrong with him?"

"This is a side effect of the purifying arrow." the old Miko explained.

"So, it is trying to kill him?" Sango, who was helping Kaede with the herbs, asked and the old woman nodded.

"Can't Kagome use her powers to neutralize the arrow's power?" Shippo asked from Miroku's shoulder.

"No." the monk said and moved closer to Inuyasha to help Kagome. "Right now his body would take everything like a destroying force and he will die. That's why Kaede-sama is preparing those herbs..."

Inuyasha was falling more and more into the darkness. He felt calm but at the same time – cold, and suddenly pain washed his mind in have that seemed to be with no end. His last coherent thought was of why didn't the pain leave him at least when he was unconscious. Even the darkness became painful and crushing and he felt like loosing his body, he became light and the same time something was pulling him back down.

Kagome had started crying some time ago and hearing his pained groans didn't help much for her composure, but she was still holding. Shippo was staring with wide teary eyes as his hanyou friend was struggling for his life. Miroku made a sign for Sango to take the small kitsune outside and she complied. Kirara fallowed the demon exterminator too. The herbs were going to be ready in just a few minutes.

"I will have to use my powers, won't I?" Kagome asked with shaky voice and looked at Kaede.

"Yes, my child." the old Miko said. "You will have to oppose to the purifying power inside him. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I can." the girl nodded and a few tears fell on Inuyasha's chest.

He groaned softly and his breath came in gasps, his chest struggling to rise with each hard fought breath. He moaned something out in his semi conscious state and his right hand came to his chest and he placed it over the tears. The monk and the old Miko looked at each other and then at Kagome.

"Kagome, do it now." Kaede commanded and the girl looked at her confused.

"We don't need the herbs." Miroku said quickly and pulled the blood stained shirt away from her hands. "Concentrate and use your powers." after that he took her hands and placed them on the hanyou's chest.

Kagome closed her eyes and suddenly she felt something being pulled out of her. It wasn't really necessary for her to anything – Inuyasha was taking all the energy he needed all by himself. His whole body surrounded with pink glow and the blood from his shoulder started to disappear. If the bandages on his wounds were removed there wouldn't be any wounds left anymore.

After a few minutes he stopped draining energy from Kagome, turning back to his hanyou form, and she collapsed on top of him unconscious. Miroku moved her to lie next to the hanyou and left her there. He and Kaede didn't say anything to each other – they simply thought the same and they knew that. For them it was obvious that this king of power draining wasn't something Inuyasha could do just like that. He was a hanyou and even if he was a full demon, dog-demons couldn't do such things.

Something bad was coming and they could feel it. They didn't know why Kikyou fired an arrow at Inuyasha again but they didn't think she did it to kill him. There was more to it but without the hanyou there was no way to figure it out. For now they just hoped that whatever the problem was they wouldn't loose a friend.

TBC