MysticalDreamer: hmm... i have no idea where this came from...
disclaimer: dont own it
chapter one
Inuyasha, a hanyou who was extremely protective of certain people, sat contently in a tree, watching over everyone down below.
There was Kagome, who was standing over the fire. She stirred the ramen, which his mouth began to water over the sight of it. She was laughing at something.
Next to her was Shippo, who had eaten some of her candy, and was bouncing all over the place, talking gibberish.
Then there was Sango, who was polishing her Hiraikotsu after the last battle they had. She was still in her Slayer attire, as the fight had ended not too long ago. Near her, was Miroku, sitting quietly in a somewhat meditative stance, obviously thinking about something.
"Its ready!" called Kagome, taking the ramen off the fire.
Everyone got up cheerfully, heading over towards her to get some tasty noodles. Inuyasha beat everyone to it, first in line for some of his favorite dish.
Just when he was about to dig into it, trees toppled over near their campsite. Everyone jumped up on alert.
Crashing through the forrest came a large demon, complete with the foamy mouth and homicidal eyes.
"What?" asked Inuyasha. "Come to get killed?" he asked, unsheathing the Tetsusaiga and running towards the creature.
"Kirara!" shouted Sango, grabbing her Hiraikotsu and jumping onto the cat demon's back.
Miroku took, had took off towards the demon. Meanwhile, Shippo lost his hyperness and leaped into Kagome's arms.
"Stay back Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha.
Kagome nodded. She dashed behind a tree, clutching Shippo tightly, but not before grabbing her bow and arrows.
The Tetsusaiga transformed, and Inuyasha attacked. He slashed at the demon, who growled.
"So, ya don't speak do ya?" he shouted. "Well thats fine with me 'cause you ain't got nothin' to say when you're dead!"
"Stop yelling at it Inuyasha, and just kill it!" shouted Sango, sounding a little annoyed.
The demon looked to her, and swung its claws at Kirara. She dogdged, but the aftershock of the slash sent Sango flying off her cat and smack into a tree. She cried out in pain.
"Sango!" shouted Kagome. She ran out without thinking to help her friend. "Sango! Please be okay!" she cried.
Sango opened an eye. "I am fine." she said. She attempted to stand, but nearly fell before Kagome caught her. "I must fight!" she declared.
"Not this time!" said Kagome. "You're too injured now. You won't be a lot of help."
"Any help is better than none!" said Sango, pushed Kagome off of her and once again taking hold of her weapon. She ran foward, straight at the demon.
"Hiraikotsu!!" she shouted, sending her giant boomerang sailing at it.
The demon deflected it, sending it right back at Sango. She ducked just in time, and it sailed over her head. When it came back, she snatched it, but it sent her to the ground.
"Stand back!" shouted Miroku. "I'm going to use the Kazaana!"
"Wait a sec there Miroku!" yelled Inuyasha. "I'll get this bastard with the Tetsusaiga!"
With that, he ran foward and sliced at the demon, cutting him in two pieces. He turned around and looked at Kagome. "Any shards?" he asked.
She shook her head. "None."
"Okay, Miroku!" shouted Inuyasha. "Clean up this mess!"
"What am I, cleaning service?" he said under his breath as he unleashed his Wind Tunnel to suck in the two pieces of demon.
Inuyasha's ears twitched. "I heard that.."
"Forgive me, great one..." Miroku grumbled.
"That too."
Miroku said nothing.
Kagome rushed over to Sango. "Are you okay? Can you stand?" she asked.
"I'm fine.." she said, pulling herself to her feet.
"No you're not. Your back is bleeding a bit.." said Kagome, seeing the blood seep through the back of her shirt. She pulled Sango's arm over her shoulder. "Come on. Lets get it cleaned up."
"Okay.." said Sango.
Shippo jumped out from behind the tree and landed on Kagome's shoulder. "Everything is okay now, right?" he asked.
"Of course, Shippo-chan." replied Kagome. "We just need to fix up Sango's back and everything will be fine again!"
"Good!" grinned Shippo.
"Miroku-sama! Inuyasha!" called Kagome. "Come on! We gotta clean up Sango's back."
"What?" asked Miroku. "Sango is hurt?" he said, rushing over to them. Inuyasha trudged along behind him.
"I'm fine, Houshi-sama.." said Sango, groaning a bit. "It's just a scratch."
"There was a hut not to far from here." said Kagome. "Let's head back there."
And with that, they all headed for the hut, despite Sango mumbling about how she was going to be better in no time.
After cleaning her up a bit, they all settled down.
"Kagome-chan.." said Sango, sitting up, and still annoyed that she was being forced to do this. "You're clothes.. and you... you've got some of my blood..."
Kagome looked down, then at her back as best she could. "Oh.. it's okay." she said.
"No. I feel terrible." said Sango. "I don't know how many uniforms you've maimed or destroyed because of blood and such."
"Its okay, Sango-chan. Really." said Kagome.
"There's a hot spring around here." said Sango. "At least go soak for a bit."
"I'll wait til you can go."
"No.. they won't let me." said Sango, tilting her head in Miroku and Inuyasha's direction. "Go, Kagome-chan."
Kagome sighed. "Do you really want me to?" she asked.
Sango nodded. "I don't want to keep you cooped up in here because I'm *injured*..." she shook her head at saying injured, as she considered it a minor scratch...
"Okay, I'll go.." she said. She walked over to her bottomless backpack and pulled out what looked like a robe of sorts. "I'll just go soak for a bit.. then tomorrow we can stay longer." she said.
Sango nodded. "Okay." she said. "And no, Houshi-sama... Kagome-chan doesn't need someone to watch her. She's not going to get killed just taking a bath. Besides.. if she screams, Inuyasha will hear her and run off..."
"Hey!"
"Its true, ne?" asked Sango.
Inuyasha just grumbled, and turned around.
Miroku sighed. "If you insist.. I will remain here and keep an eye on you Sango.." he said.
Sango rolled her eyes. "You take everything the wrong way.." she said.
"Eh? What was that?"
"Forget it."
"All righty!"
Kagome laughed. "I'm gonna go now. To get back as soon as I can.." she said, before leaving the hut for the hot spring.
She made her way through a small bit of forrest, before coming to the clearing that was the springs. She smiled. "Okay Sango... maybe I am a little happy you convinced me to go.." she grinned.
She slipped off her clothes quickly, and jumped into the spring. She leaned back against a rock. "This does feel good..." she said softly.
Kagome soaked for a good ten minutes before she realized how much time had passed. "Oh gods!" she said, grabbing a bar of soap out of somewhere from the robe. She quickly gave herself a wash, and dove under to wash off the suds.
"I'll skip a hair wash today.." she said, sticking her hair back under the water once more. "I wish Sango was here... I'd feel a little better staying longer..."
She stood up to get out, then froze. She grinned a bit. "Maybe...just a minute or so longer... Gomen ne, Sango-chan.." she said.
She sat back down in the water, twisting her hair into a bun at the top of her head. It fell a bit, like it was hanging off her skull. She sank to her shoulders in the warm spring and sighed. "I wish I could do this every day... Then again, that might spoil it's glory..."
Kagome became lost in thought, thinking about random things that varied from InuYasha, all the way to what the next kind of shampoo she'd get would be.
She opened a lazy eye and looked upward. Then both opened and they bulged. "Gods!" she shouted. "They are going to be so mad at me for this!!!" she wailed, leaping out of the water.
She grabbed her robe and pulled it over her, as her clothes were still covered in a mess of blood and dirt. After taking the bath, she really didn't want to put them back on. She'd just wear that extra uniform from her backpack until she went home.
"I must have been in there for at least twenty minutes, half an hour!" she said, bending down to gather up all her things. "InuYasha's probably on his way here now..." she grumbled. She went to grab her sock, when a chill went up her spine.
~Eh..?~ she thought, standing up straight. ~There is definitely someone here...~
She closed her robe more tightly, and her thumb twitched. ~ I don't sense any shards... And its not Miroku.. I wouldn't get such a horrible feeling if it were him...~
Kagome closed her eyes tightly, willing the feeling to go away. She thought maybe it was just her imagination. When she opened her eyes, the feeling was still there.
She took a deep breath, and slowly began to turn around.
Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the figure standing about ten feet from her. "Nara-" she started.
The next thing she knew, he was in her face. He pressed his lips against hers in a forceful way and she squealed. She began to just move anything around wildly, to get him away.
He leaned away, but grinned at her in a sinister way.
"Naraku.." she said in a low growl.
"Well well..." he said. "For a second I thought you were Kikyo... but now I see you're not. What a foolish mistake I made..."
"Get away from me..." she said in a demanding voice. "All it takes is a scream, and InuYasha will come flying."
"Really now?" he asked.
Kagome moved backwards, to get as far from him as possible. "Leave!" she shouted.
"I really don't believe you're in a position to tell me to do so." he said, still with a downright evil smile.
Kagome gave him the glare that sent InuYasha cowering, but he did nothing.
"Now that I think about it..." said Naraku, taking a step closer to her, which made her go back another step. "Kikyo has got nothing on you... After all, you're still alive. Not to mention... you look so much alike..."
"Why are you here?" said Kagome, making sure to keep her robe as tight as possible.
Naraku just smiled his evil smile as a reply.
Kagome opened her mouth to scream, but Naraku spoke. "Don't scream." he said. "Just as easily as you scream, I can kill you right now."
She trembled. ~Should I chance a scream..?~ she thought.
"Kikyo hates me..." said Naraku. "She will forever. She is of the undead, so she cannot die unless she is killed..."
"Don't you think I know that?" snapped Kagome.
Naraku once again grinned evilly. "Ah, of course... You're much smarter than that..."
Kagome glared again, stepping backwards until she was up against a large rock near the waters of the hot spring.
"Now you see... what I figure is this..." spoke Naraku, with that ever familiar evil smirk upon his face. "If I can't get near Kikyo... there's always..."
Kagome began to panic even more now than before, as he took a step towards her.
"There's always her reincarnation..." he said in a low, sinister voice. "Which is.. you."
Kagome opened her mouth to scream as loud as she could, but Naraku was there again. He covered her mouth with his hand.
"Kagome..." he whispered.
Her eyes widened with terror as he moved closer and closer. Then she closed them.
+
A scream in the distance sent Inuyasha's ears perking up. "I know that yell..." he said. He jumped to his feet. "Kagome..."
He ran out the door.
Miroku looked to Sango. "That did indeed sound like Kagome-sama." he said. "Should we go?"
"Why are you asking!" shouted Sango, standing. She nearly fell, but Miroku caught her and they dashed out of the little house.
"Kirara!" shouted Sango.
The cat demon transformed, and Sango and Miroku hopped on her back. Shippo wailed as he ran after them, grabbing Kirara's tail before she took off.
Inuyasha sped through the forrest faster than he ever had before. Kagome has screamed numerous times, but this was different.
"Kagome!" he shouted, voice echoing throughout the trees.
He picked up on her scent, and flew in that direction. It was towards the hot springs. He ran as fast as his legs would go, pushing himself to run even faster.
There was another scream, again Kagome. This one sounded more like a word, but he couldn't tell exactly what she was trying to say. It was almost as if... someone were stopping her...
His eyes widened.
After getting to the springs in half the amount of time that it had taken Kagome to get there, he touched ground. He looked around, trying to sense her.
Then he did.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha dashed over to her figure, leaning up against a rock. She looked out of it, and extremly pale.
He kneeled down in front of her. "Kagome?" he asked.
She looked up with eyes full of terror. There were tears pouring down her dirty face, and her robe was wrinkled.
She pulled her knees closer to her, staring past Inuyasha. She whispered something unaudiable.
"Kagome?" asked Inuyasha softly.
".. st-stop..."
Inuyasha looked at her, puzzled. "Stop...?"
"STOP!" she shouted at him, backing into the rock as close as she possibly could.
"Kagome..." said Inuyasha. He moved a bit closer to her.
"STOP!!" she shouted again. Her eyes widened, and she began to cry more frantically. Her hair was slowly falling out of a twist, and strands dangled in her face.
Inuyasha froze. In this kind of situation, he had no idea what to do. "Kagome..." he whispered. "It's me... Inuyasha..."
"Inu...Inuyasha...?"
"Yes." he said slowly.
"Inuyasha?"
He nodded. "Yes." he repeated.
Kagome stared at him now, instead of staring past him. Her eyes seemed to come more into focus, and she looked into his eyes.
"Inuyasha!!" she screamed, jumping foward into him. She gripped the top of his haori tightly, and continued crying.
He wrapped his arms around her back, still confused, but he wanted to compfort her. ~Something happened to her... And I am going to find out what...~
"Kagome?" he whispered.
"Don't... don't leave.. leave me..."
"I'm not going to.." he said. He rocked her a bit in his arms. He felt the girl's tears begin to seep through his shirt a bit. She was not going to stop her crying anytime soon, but that didn't bother him.
"Inuyasha... Inuyasha..." she said, lightly, over and over.
All he did was sit there, unmoving. He continued to rock slightly, attempting to calm her down. She just sat there, crying and crying and crying.
The others still hadn't shown up, and it had been a good fifteen minutes or so. Either they got lost, or didn't follow.
"Kagome?" he whispered. "I'm going to stand... and we're going to go..."
She nodded into his chest.
Inuyasha gathered her body in his arms, and stood up. She was still gripping his haori, and her face was now buried in it.
He walked slowly away from the hot springs, and slowly headed back for the hut. He walked through the forrest, carrying Kagome in his arms.
Inuyasha looked down at her face, but could not see it. He heard her still shedding tears, but didn't try to stop her. He wasn't going to.
After taking much longer to walk back through the trees for obvious reasons, Inuyasha arrived back at the hut.
Sitting just outside it, were Sango, Miroku and Shippo. Shippo took a flying leap towards them, but Miroku grabbed his tail. He knew something was wrong.
"Kagome-chan..?" whispered Sango, trying to stand up. Miroku motioned with his hand for her to stay seated.
"I don't know what's happened.." he said. "But any sudden movements could be hazardous to Kagome-sama..."
Sango nodded, not letting the struggling Kirara out of her grasp.
Inuyasha walked closer, and stopped just outside the stairs leading into the hut. They all looked at him questionably, but he shook his head. He headed inside, after Miroku had opened the door.
Inuyasha sat down near on the mat that had been set up for Sango. Kagome still didn't move from his embrace.
The other three soon came in, with Miroku still holding Shippo, who was desperately trying to leap at Kagome to find out what was wrong.
"Inuyasha?" asked Sango.
He made no answer. He just looked up at them, and mouthed the words, "Please... Don't be offened, but could you ... leave?"
Miroku nodded. He helped Sango to her feet, and opened the door. He led her and Shippo out, and gave one last look at Kagome before closing the door behind him.
Inuyasha looked back down at her. "Kagome...?" he whispered.
"N..n..."
His ear twitched. "You don't have to tell me now.." he said. "I'll wait...what's important is you right now, Kagome.."
She looked away from his haori at last, and leaned her head against his chest, still crying but not as hysterically as before. "N..n...na..."
Inuyasha looked down at her. "Kagome?"
"Nar..nar.."
Inuyasha tingled. Could it be..?
"...Naraku..." she whispered.
Inuyasha fumed on the inside. He remained come physically, for Kagome's sake, but his mind exploded.
"Kagome.." he said lightly. "What did he do?"
Kagome stared blankly ahead again. "He.. he.."
"Kagome.. you don't have to tell me.."
She shook her head. "I.. I have to.. " she whispered. She clutched him tightly, closing her eyes halfway, as if she was tired.
Inuyasha hugged her more gently. "Kagome.." he whispered.
Her mouth opened and shut, as if she was trying to find the right words. "He.. Naraku... he..." she said. "...he ... raped me..."
Inuyasha's blood exploded. His mind was raging, all with hatred for the demon. He kept as still as possible for Kagome, but didn't know how much longer he'd last without killing the damn demon.
All he did, was pull her closer and hug her tighter. "Kagome..." he whispered. "Stay like this as long as you want..."
And she did. She didn't move from her position, and she eventually fell asleep that way, resting in the safety of the hanyou's arms.
He was afraid to move, because he didn't want to wake her up. Soon, Inuyasha too fell asleep...
+
MD: review please ^-^
disclaimer: dont own it
chapter one
Inuyasha, a hanyou who was extremely protective of certain people, sat contently in a tree, watching over everyone down below.
There was Kagome, who was standing over the fire. She stirred the ramen, which his mouth began to water over the sight of it. She was laughing at something.
Next to her was Shippo, who had eaten some of her candy, and was bouncing all over the place, talking gibberish.
Then there was Sango, who was polishing her Hiraikotsu after the last battle they had. She was still in her Slayer attire, as the fight had ended not too long ago. Near her, was Miroku, sitting quietly in a somewhat meditative stance, obviously thinking about something.
"Its ready!" called Kagome, taking the ramen off the fire.
Everyone got up cheerfully, heading over towards her to get some tasty noodles. Inuyasha beat everyone to it, first in line for some of his favorite dish.
Just when he was about to dig into it, trees toppled over near their campsite. Everyone jumped up on alert.
Crashing through the forrest came a large demon, complete with the foamy mouth and homicidal eyes.
"What?" asked Inuyasha. "Come to get killed?" he asked, unsheathing the Tetsusaiga and running towards the creature.
"Kirara!" shouted Sango, grabbing her Hiraikotsu and jumping onto the cat demon's back.
Miroku took, had took off towards the demon. Meanwhile, Shippo lost his hyperness and leaped into Kagome's arms.
"Stay back Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha.
Kagome nodded. She dashed behind a tree, clutching Shippo tightly, but not before grabbing her bow and arrows.
The Tetsusaiga transformed, and Inuyasha attacked. He slashed at the demon, who growled.
"So, ya don't speak do ya?" he shouted. "Well thats fine with me 'cause you ain't got nothin' to say when you're dead!"
"Stop yelling at it Inuyasha, and just kill it!" shouted Sango, sounding a little annoyed.
The demon looked to her, and swung its claws at Kirara. She dogdged, but the aftershock of the slash sent Sango flying off her cat and smack into a tree. She cried out in pain.
"Sango!" shouted Kagome. She ran out without thinking to help her friend. "Sango! Please be okay!" she cried.
Sango opened an eye. "I am fine." she said. She attempted to stand, but nearly fell before Kagome caught her. "I must fight!" she declared.
"Not this time!" said Kagome. "You're too injured now. You won't be a lot of help."
"Any help is better than none!" said Sango, pushed Kagome off of her and once again taking hold of her weapon. She ran foward, straight at the demon.
"Hiraikotsu!!" she shouted, sending her giant boomerang sailing at it.
The demon deflected it, sending it right back at Sango. She ducked just in time, and it sailed over her head. When it came back, she snatched it, but it sent her to the ground.
"Stand back!" shouted Miroku. "I'm going to use the Kazaana!"
"Wait a sec there Miroku!" yelled Inuyasha. "I'll get this bastard with the Tetsusaiga!"
With that, he ran foward and sliced at the demon, cutting him in two pieces. He turned around and looked at Kagome. "Any shards?" he asked.
She shook her head. "None."
"Okay, Miroku!" shouted Inuyasha. "Clean up this mess!"
"What am I, cleaning service?" he said under his breath as he unleashed his Wind Tunnel to suck in the two pieces of demon.
Inuyasha's ears twitched. "I heard that.."
"Forgive me, great one..." Miroku grumbled.
"That too."
Miroku said nothing.
Kagome rushed over to Sango. "Are you okay? Can you stand?" she asked.
"I'm fine.." she said, pulling herself to her feet.
"No you're not. Your back is bleeding a bit.." said Kagome, seeing the blood seep through the back of her shirt. She pulled Sango's arm over her shoulder. "Come on. Lets get it cleaned up."
"Okay.." said Sango.
Shippo jumped out from behind the tree and landed on Kagome's shoulder. "Everything is okay now, right?" he asked.
"Of course, Shippo-chan." replied Kagome. "We just need to fix up Sango's back and everything will be fine again!"
"Good!" grinned Shippo.
"Miroku-sama! Inuyasha!" called Kagome. "Come on! We gotta clean up Sango's back."
"What?" asked Miroku. "Sango is hurt?" he said, rushing over to them. Inuyasha trudged along behind him.
"I'm fine, Houshi-sama.." said Sango, groaning a bit. "It's just a scratch."
"There was a hut not to far from here." said Kagome. "Let's head back there."
And with that, they all headed for the hut, despite Sango mumbling about how she was going to be better in no time.
After cleaning her up a bit, they all settled down.
"Kagome-chan.." said Sango, sitting up, and still annoyed that she was being forced to do this. "You're clothes.. and you... you've got some of my blood..."
Kagome looked down, then at her back as best she could. "Oh.. it's okay." she said.
"No. I feel terrible." said Sango. "I don't know how many uniforms you've maimed or destroyed because of blood and such."
"Its okay, Sango-chan. Really." said Kagome.
"There's a hot spring around here." said Sango. "At least go soak for a bit."
"I'll wait til you can go."
"No.. they won't let me." said Sango, tilting her head in Miroku and Inuyasha's direction. "Go, Kagome-chan."
Kagome sighed. "Do you really want me to?" she asked.
Sango nodded. "I don't want to keep you cooped up in here because I'm *injured*..." she shook her head at saying injured, as she considered it a minor scratch...
"Okay, I'll go.." she said. She walked over to her bottomless backpack and pulled out what looked like a robe of sorts. "I'll just go soak for a bit.. then tomorrow we can stay longer." she said.
Sango nodded. "Okay." she said. "And no, Houshi-sama... Kagome-chan doesn't need someone to watch her. She's not going to get killed just taking a bath. Besides.. if she screams, Inuyasha will hear her and run off..."
"Hey!"
"Its true, ne?" asked Sango.
Inuyasha just grumbled, and turned around.
Miroku sighed. "If you insist.. I will remain here and keep an eye on you Sango.." he said.
Sango rolled her eyes. "You take everything the wrong way.." she said.
"Eh? What was that?"
"Forget it."
"All righty!"
Kagome laughed. "I'm gonna go now. To get back as soon as I can.." she said, before leaving the hut for the hot spring.
She made her way through a small bit of forrest, before coming to the clearing that was the springs. She smiled. "Okay Sango... maybe I am a little happy you convinced me to go.." she grinned.
She slipped off her clothes quickly, and jumped into the spring. She leaned back against a rock. "This does feel good..." she said softly.
Kagome soaked for a good ten minutes before she realized how much time had passed. "Oh gods!" she said, grabbing a bar of soap out of somewhere from the robe. She quickly gave herself a wash, and dove under to wash off the suds.
"I'll skip a hair wash today.." she said, sticking her hair back under the water once more. "I wish Sango was here... I'd feel a little better staying longer..."
She stood up to get out, then froze. She grinned a bit. "Maybe...just a minute or so longer... Gomen ne, Sango-chan.." she said.
She sat back down in the water, twisting her hair into a bun at the top of her head. It fell a bit, like it was hanging off her skull. She sank to her shoulders in the warm spring and sighed. "I wish I could do this every day... Then again, that might spoil it's glory..."
Kagome became lost in thought, thinking about random things that varied from InuYasha, all the way to what the next kind of shampoo she'd get would be.
She opened a lazy eye and looked upward. Then both opened and they bulged. "Gods!" she shouted. "They are going to be so mad at me for this!!!" she wailed, leaping out of the water.
She grabbed her robe and pulled it over her, as her clothes were still covered in a mess of blood and dirt. After taking the bath, she really didn't want to put them back on. She'd just wear that extra uniform from her backpack until she went home.
"I must have been in there for at least twenty minutes, half an hour!" she said, bending down to gather up all her things. "InuYasha's probably on his way here now..." she grumbled. She went to grab her sock, when a chill went up her spine.
~Eh..?~ she thought, standing up straight. ~There is definitely someone here...~
She closed her robe more tightly, and her thumb twitched. ~ I don't sense any shards... And its not Miroku.. I wouldn't get such a horrible feeling if it were him...~
Kagome closed her eyes tightly, willing the feeling to go away. She thought maybe it was just her imagination. When she opened her eyes, the feeling was still there.
She took a deep breath, and slowly began to turn around.
Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the figure standing about ten feet from her. "Nara-" she started.
The next thing she knew, he was in her face. He pressed his lips against hers in a forceful way and she squealed. She began to just move anything around wildly, to get him away.
He leaned away, but grinned at her in a sinister way.
"Naraku.." she said in a low growl.
"Well well..." he said. "For a second I thought you were Kikyo... but now I see you're not. What a foolish mistake I made..."
"Get away from me..." she said in a demanding voice. "All it takes is a scream, and InuYasha will come flying."
"Really now?" he asked.
Kagome moved backwards, to get as far from him as possible. "Leave!" she shouted.
"I really don't believe you're in a position to tell me to do so." he said, still with a downright evil smile.
Kagome gave him the glare that sent InuYasha cowering, but he did nothing.
"Now that I think about it..." said Naraku, taking a step closer to her, which made her go back another step. "Kikyo has got nothing on you... After all, you're still alive. Not to mention... you look so much alike..."
"Why are you here?" said Kagome, making sure to keep her robe as tight as possible.
Naraku just smiled his evil smile as a reply.
Kagome opened her mouth to scream, but Naraku spoke. "Don't scream." he said. "Just as easily as you scream, I can kill you right now."
She trembled. ~Should I chance a scream..?~ she thought.
"Kikyo hates me..." said Naraku. "She will forever. She is of the undead, so she cannot die unless she is killed..."
"Don't you think I know that?" snapped Kagome.
Naraku once again grinned evilly. "Ah, of course... You're much smarter than that..."
Kagome glared again, stepping backwards until she was up against a large rock near the waters of the hot spring.
"Now you see... what I figure is this..." spoke Naraku, with that ever familiar evil smirk upon his face. "If I can't get near Kikyo... there's always..."
Kagome began to panic even more now than before, as he took a step towards her.
"There's always her reincarnation..." he said in a low, sinister voice. "Which is.. you."
Kagome opened her mouth to scream as loud as she could, but Naraku was there again. He covered her mouth with his hand.
"Kagome..." he whispered.
Her eyes widened with terror as he moved closer and closer. Then she closed them.
+
A scream in the distance sent Inuyasha's ears perking up. "I know that yell..." he said. He jumped to his feet. "Kagome..."
He ran out the door.
Miroku looked to Sango. "That did indeed sound like Kagome-sama." he said. "Should we go?"
"Why are you asking!" shouted Sango, standing. She nearly fell, but Miroku caught her and they dashed out of the little house.
"Kirara!" shouted Sango.
The cat demon transformed, and Sango and Miroku hopped on her back. Shippo wailed as he ran after them, grabbing Kirara's tail before she took off.
Inuyasha sped through the forrest faster than he ever had before. Kagome has screamed numerous times, but this was different.
"Kagome!" he shouted, voice echoing throughout the trees.
He picked up on her scent, and flew in that direction. It was towards the hot springs. He ran as fast as his legs would go, pushing himself to run even faster.
There was another scream, again Kagome. This one sounded more like a word, but he couldn't tell exactly what she was trying to say. It was almost as if... someone were stopping her...
His eyes widened.
After getting to the springs in half the amount of time that it had taken Kagome to get there, he touched ground. He looked around, trying to sense her.
Then he did.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha dashed over to her figure, leaning up against a rock. She looked out of it, and extremly pale.
He kneeled down in front of her. "Kagome?" he asked.
She looked up with eyes full of terror. There were tears pouring down her dirty face, and her robe was wrinkled.
She pulled her knees closer to her, staring past Inuyasha. She whispered something unaudiable.
"Kagome?" asked Inuyasha softly.
".. st-stop..."
Inuyasha looked at her, puzzled. "Stop...?"
"STOP!" she shouted at him, backing into the rock as close as she possibly could.
"Kagome..." said Inuyasha. He moved a bit closer to her.
"STOP!!" she shouted again. Her eyes widened, and she began to cry more frantically. Her hair was slowly falling out of a twist, and strands dangled in her face.
Inuyasha froze. In this kind of situation, he had no idea what to do. "Kagome..." he whispered. "It's me... Inuyasha..."
"Inu...Inuyasha...?"
"Yes." he said slowly.
"Inuyasha?"
He nodded. "Yes." he repeated.
Kagome stared at him now, instead of staring past him. Her eyes seemed to come more into focus, and she looked into his eyes.
"Inuyasha!!" she screamed, jumping foward into him. She gripped the top of his haori tightly, and continued crying.
He wrapped his arms around her back, still confused, but he wanted to compfort her. ~Something happened to her... And I am going to find out what...~
"Kagome?" he whispered.
"Don't... don't leave.. leave me..."
"I'm not going to.." he said. He rocked her a bit in his arms. He felt the girl's tears begin to seep through his shirt a bit. She was not going to stop her crying anytime soon, but that didn't bother him.
"Inuyasha... Inuyasha..." she said, lightly, over and over.
All he did was sit there, unmoving. He continued to rock slightly, attempting to calm her down. She just sat there, crying and crying and crying.
The others still hadn't shown up, and it had been a good fifteen minutes or so. Either they got lost, or didn't follow.
"Kagome?" he whispered. "I'm going to stand... and we're going to go..."
She nodded into his chest.
Inuyasha gathered her body in his arms, and stood up. She was still gripping his haori, and her face was now buried in it.
He walked slowly away from the hot springs, and slowly headed back for the hut. He walked through the forrest, carrying Kagome in his arms.
Inuyasha looked down at her face, but could not see it. He heard her still shedding tears, but didn't try to stop her. He wasn't going to.
After taking much longer to walk back through the trees for obvious reasons, Inuyasha arrived back at the hut.
Sitting just outside it, were Sango, Miroku and Shippo. Shippo took a flying leap towards them, but Miroku grabbed his tail. He knew something was wrong.
"Kagome-chan..?" whispered Sango, trying to stand up. Miroku motioned with his hand for her to stay seated.
"I don't know what's happened.." he said. "But any sudden movements could be hazardous to Kagome-sama..."
Sango nodded, not letting the struggling Kirara out of her grasp.
Inuyasha walked closer, and stopped just outside the stairs leading into the hut. They all looked at him questionably, but he shook his head. He headed inside, after Miroku had opened the door.
Inuyasha sat down near on the mat that had been set up for Sango. Kagome still didn't move from his embrace.
The other three soon came in, with Miroku still holding Shippo, who was desperately trying to leap at Kagome to find out what was wrong.
"Inuyasha?" asked Sango.
He made no answer. He just looked up at them, and mouthed the words, "Please... Don't be offened, but could you ... leave?"
Miroku nodded. He helped Sango to her feet, and opened the door. He led her and Shippo out, and gave one last look at Kagome before closing the door behind him.
Inuyasha looked back down at her. "Kagome...?" he whispered.
"N..n..."
His ear twitched. "You don't have to tell me now.." he said. "I'll wait...what's important is you right now, Kagome.."
She looked away from his haori at last, and leaned her head against his chest, still crying but not as hysterically as before. "N..n...na..."
Inuyasha looked down at her. "Kagome?"
"Nar..nar.."
Inuyasha tingled. Could it be..?
"...Naraku..." she whispered.
Inuyasha fumed on the inside. He remained come physically, for Kagome's sake, but his mind exploded.
"Kagome.." he said lightly. "What did he do?"
Kagome stared blankly ahead again. "He.. he.."
"Kagome.. you don't have to tell me.."
She shook her head. "I.. I have to.. " she whispered. She clutched him tightly, closing her eyes halfway, as if she was tired.
Inuyasha hugged her more gently. "Kagome.." he whispered.
Her mouth opened and shut, as if she was trying to find the right words. "He.. Naraku... he..." she said. "...he ... raped me..."
Inuyasha's blood exploded. His mind was raging, all with hatred for the demon. He kept as still as possible for Kagome, but didn't know how much longer he'd last without killing the damn demon.
All he did, was pull her closer and hug her tighter. "Kagome..." he whispered. "Stay like this as long as you want..."
And she did. She didn't move from her position, and she eventually fell asleep that way, resting in the safety of the hanyou's arms.
He was afraid to move, because he didn't want to wake her up. Soon, Inuyasha too fell asleep...
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MD: review please ^-^
