CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Enter The Demon

Naraku looked over his mangled body. He cursed Inuyasha repeatedly in his mind for doing this to him. Deep within his hidden mansion, Naraku worked feverishly trying to improve his body so that this insullent hanyou could no longer touch him. He combined a wide array of demons and fused their powers constantly, looking for a combination that would not only give him more power, but be lighter than what he has now. He needed both energy and agility to defeat his foe. As Naraku mixed various combinations, he stumbled across an idea. The evil smirk on his face was re-born as he re-played the scheme in his head. His smirk turned into a menacing laugh. It was all so simple. He stared out of the window at the barrier which kept his location a secret.

"This isn't over yet Inuyasha, I will have your powers..."

A group of people was walking down a path towards a small village. Well, you might think it was a group of people at first, but actually it was three humans, two youkai, and a hanyou that were on their way to the next village on the road to get something to eat.

"I'm starving." The hanyou at the head of the group muttered. Inuyasha patted his empty stomach and looked ahead. "How far did you say this village was Miroku?"

"Just above that hill over there." Miroku pointed at a very distant hill.

"WHAT?? That'll take forever!!" Inuyasha put his nose to the air and sniffed for a moment. "Everyone stay here, I'll be right back." Then he shot off into the forest. "Wait!!" Kagome called after him, but it was too late. "What do you think he's going to do?" Kagome asked her puzzled friends. Sango stared at her feet wonderingly. Shippou was sniffing the air vigorously, but smelled nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't get it. There's no demon scent or anything. What could have made him run off?"

'Kikyo'

It was the one word on everyone's mind. Kagome was especially displeased by this. "I think I'll go look for that moro.... I mean, Inuyasha. I'll be back in a flash guys." and with that Kagome too rushed into the forest. 'Just wait 'til I get my hands on you.' She thought as she ran towards where she had last seen the hanyou tear through the forest. 'I'll "sit" you like there's no tomorrow.' Kagome was running full speed when she came upon a river.

"Wha...?, I can't cross this!" A fleeting image of Kikyo embracing Inuyasha passed through Kagome's mind and she sat down to take off her shoes. She scowled as she tried to get that mental image out of her head. 'Baka Inuyasha, why does he always run off like this?' She had just finished taking of her shoes when the calm water from the river broke. Her first instinct was to scream...... and she did.

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"WHAT?!"

Kagome stared at the soaking wet figure as it rose out of the water and walked over to her. "Inu.... yasha?" She couldn't help but laugh at the sight before her eyes. In front of her was a dripping Inuyasha with a big fish in his mouth.

'How could have I been so stupid?? He came to get a fish!'

"Kagome?" Inuyasha watched as the raven haired girl rolled on the floor laughing up a storm. As he stared he smiled not knowing why. He just liked seeing that Kagome was enjoying herself even though it was at his expense. Inuyasha took the fish to the bank and wrapped it in his himono.

"Don't do that, it'll stink!" Kagome was looking up at the hanyou as he wrapped his crimson red himono around the fish. "Well, I don't mind the smell."

"But I do. I wear that sometimes and it'll stink everytime that I put it on!!" Inuyasha's ears drooped. How could he have not thought about that.... Kagome wore his himono sometimes. He set the fish down on the river bank and was about to jump back into the water when he noticed that Kagome wasn't wearing her shoes.

"Were you going to go fishing too?" He asked curiously.

"Uhh... yeah" Kagome's face turned red as she thought about the real reason as to shy she had taken off her shoes. She was reliving the moment when a clawed hand presented itself in front of her. "Come on." Inuyasha was standing before her. 'Oh no! Does he actually want me to fish?' Kagome hesitated and then took the hanyou's hand. He walked her over to where the water was waist deep and stopped there.

"Ok, the trick is to wait for the fish to come to you. Then you just grab them, ok?" Kagome gave Inuyasha an uneasy look and then stared at her reflection in the water. The hanyou's eyes darted back and forth staring at the fish that were swimming in the river.

"There!!" He quickly dove and was under for a few seconds before coming out holding another fish. As the fish fought lively it splashed Kagome and she fell backwards. It was Inuyasha's turn to laugh as she stumbled to get back up.

"SIT!" waves sprung out from where the hanyou spalshed into the water and hit the river bottom. He struggled for a second under water and then came up as angry as ever. "What the hell was that for??!!"

"You shouldn't laugh at a girl!" Kagome's arms were crossed in front of her and she was staring up into space. Inuyasha came up from behind her and folded his arms over hers. "I'm sorry" he whispered into her ear. Kagome felt as if she were about to melt. She tried to keep her anger inside, but as she felt the warmth radiating off both of their bodies her anger was blown away with the wind. This was a perfect moment. there as a calm wind, there was the sound of the river, and best of all, there was her Inuyasha standing so close to her. Kagome turned around her kiss her beloved............

"There's another one!!" the hanyou splashed into the water again and fought happily with a fish, totally oblivious to what could have happened had that stupid fish stayed away. Kagome couldn't help but smile though as he came back up with the fish in his hands.

"Try it Kagome, it's easy!"

They spent a few more minutes in the water until Inuyasha had caught enough fish to satisfy his friends. Then they walked back to where their companions were hopefully waiting.

"What do you think is taking them so long houshi-sama?" (A/N: Again, I usually refrain from using japanese language when it's uncalled for, but this word (houshi) means priest and Sango uses it alot to refer to Miroku. Sorry again and enjoy the story!)

Miroku was looking at the sky thinking something dirty more than likely. "Well, I don't have to guess, but......" Sango quickly regretted asking him this question and walked away so that she wouldn't have to hear the answer. Standing by a few trees she noticed that her friends were coming back.... with fish!! She quickly ran back to where Miroku was and started building a fire.

"What's wrong Sango?" She looked up and told him what she had seen. Seconds later Miroku flew past her to get some firewood. Despite the fact that they were strong fighters and brave warriors, they were all as hungry as hell. Shippou noticed how the two were acting and ran to where Sango had been standing.

"Oy Shippou!! Look what we've got!!" Shippou's eyes were as big as saucers as he stared at the huge fish that Inuyasha had in his hands. He ran down and hopped on to Kagome's shoulder. "So you went fishing, you didn't go see Ki..." Kagome had quickly placed a hand over Shippou's mouth. She gave him a nod and he returned it in understanding. Inuyasha acted as if he hadn't heard, but her knew very well that Shippou had meant to say Kikyo.

"Ah Inuyasha-sama, that's quite a feast." Miroku watched as they put the fish in front of the fire. "Kagome caught them." Inuyasha said with a straight face. Everyone stared at her with Interest. "How did you do that Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, interested to know how Kagome had caught so many fish.

"I didn't catch them!" Kagome turned to yell at Inuyasha and call him a liar, but he was gone. 'Huh? I could have sworn that he was right here.' She looked around and was just barely able to see a flicker of silver hair disappear behind a tree. "Sango-chan, save me some fish ok?" Kagome stood up and ran over to where Inuyasha was.

"Really, what's up with those two?" Sango pondered out loud as she watched Kagome leave.

"Well, you know... when two people get together....." (WHAM) Sango was holding her fist in the air and Miroku's face was buried in his hands.

"I don't need your opinion you pervert!"

Kagome walked quietly as she made her way through the dense forest. She only walked for a bit before she found Inuyasha sitting on a boulder a few yards away from their friends. He seemed to be deep in thought. Carefully she approached him and sat by his side. He seemed to take no notice of her, his eyes were fixated on the evening sky.

"Why don't you trust me?" Kagome was surprised by what Inuyasha suddenly blurted out.

"Of course I trust you! What would make you think that I don't?" Inuyasha now looked at something interesting on the ground. "You thought that I was going to go see Kikyo a little while ago, why don't you trust me?" Kagome's cheeks flushed. How did he know? Had it been because of what Shippou had said? How did he find out? Kagome went into panic mode as she tried to explain herself but she couldn't find the words to do it right.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Forget I asked. Let's go get some fish." He lept off of the boulder and turned towards their little makeshift camp. Kagome's panic was soothed by his actions, yet she couldn't realize why he had a change of heart. After careful consideration though she decided not to question and got off the boulder to go back.

"Hurry up! I'm hungry..... argh! You take too long!" With one swift motion Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and carried her towards the smell of food. When they got back everyone was already eating.

"Hey! Why didn't you guys wait for us?" Inuyasha put a hurt look on his face, but really didn't care.

"You took too long and we didn't want to let your hunt go to waste. We saved you some though." Miroku pointed at the fish that were still around the fire so that they wouldn't get cold. Kagome walked over and fetched two; one for herself and one for Inuyasha. Shippou was sound asleep deep within Kirara's fur and Sango was also showing signs of drowziness.

"Hey, why don't you guys take a nap while we finish eating and then we'll leave." Kagome sat down and started peeling off bits of fish with her fingers and plopping them into her mouth. She had grown to like the taste of fresh river fish and didn't mind getting her hands dirty anymore. After eating a bit more she glanced sideways and chuckled when she saw Inuyasha ripping off pieces of the fish with his mouth and chewing hungrily. He didn't eat much, but when he did, he would eat as if it was his last meal. She ate slowly, enjoying being able to eat a peaceful meal with him and hopin that he wouldn't bring up the nasty business about trust anymore.

Naraku marveled at his own genius as a new creation stood before him. This new demon was sure to put an end to his annoying enemy. It stood taller than Naraku with fierce fangs and razor sharp claws. It's cold blue eyes pierced through the darkness of the mansion and it's sensetive smell recognized everyone within the walls. Red hair covering its' entire body made the demon look as if it was in flames. And the perhaps most important part of his new demon, a sword at his hip which rivaled the power of Inuyasha's tessaiga.

"Go forth Inu, and destroy that wretched hanyou!" the dog demon obliged and lept out of the closest window, sniffing the air and finding Inuyasha's scent in a heartbeat. With power and speed to match the hanyou's capabilities, Inu raced through the forest to his destination where his rival sat beside a fire next to his slumbering friends.

"There can only be one dog demon, and it shall be me." Inu muttered as he got closer and closer to the scent of the hanyou. His fangs were bared and his blue eyes were ablaze as he traversed the forest with one hand on Naraken, his sword. It was a powerful blade made straight from Naraku's form. Although not a fang, this blade made from demon bone was stronger than Goshinki's fangs and posessed the power to control the four basic elements. Wind, earth, fire, and water were all at the mercy of this demon blade. Inu would use it to destroy the hanyou and then to destroy his own master.

"There can be only one."

Inuyasha was almost asleep when he smelled the demon approaching. He bolted upright and scanned the area with his keen eyesight, searching for anykind of movement that would tell him where this particular threat was coming from. Not being able to pinpoint a spot, Inuyasha woke his friends up and told them that it was time to leave. Miroku however, sensed the demon and pointed into the forest.

"Inuyasha-sama, something powerful is coming from that direction." Sango grabbed hold of her hiraikotsu and Kagome pulled an arrow out of the quiver on the ground. 'Damn it! I didn't want to get anyone involved.' Inuyasha knew that there was no way that his friends would leave now so he poised himself in the battle ready position and put his right hand on the tessaiga. A powerful force then rushed through the trees and threw them all off of their feet.

"Wind? Is it Kagura?" Sango said out loud as she stumbled to get back up.

"No, this one's different..... and new." Miroku explained as he felt the power emitting from this new monster. He gripped the beads in his right hands, but quickly let go as he heard the buzzing of numerous insects approaching. "Damn it, it seems that Naraku always thinks of everything."

There was another roar of power and suddenly the ground split in two with a violent shake. Again everyone fell backwards from the blast and struggled to get up.

"What he hell is going on?!" Inuyasha called out to his friends through the roaring of the attack. He focused on the forest ahead and lurched forward through the air. "Come out and fight damn you!! KAZE NO KIZU!!" The power of the kaze no kizu sliced easily through the forest and struck it's mark. The figure that had been using trees for cover emerged from the debris without so much as a scratch.

"So you must be Inuyasha. Know that this is your end hanyou!" With that said the attacker gripped a giant sword that was in his hand and swung it fiercely at Inyasha and his friends.

"FIRENZA!" A wave of fire swept along the ground towards Inuyasha and his friends. Everyone lept back in time as the attack scorched the ground beneath them.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" Inuyasha returned the attack with his own blast. A barrier errected around Inu and split the attack in half.

"Oh, so you have a barrier huh? Just like Naraku's pets to hide behind a wall," Inuyasha taunted the demon as it regained its' postier, "Let's see just how strong you are." The hanyou had a grin on his face, but it was misleading. He was actually worried. He had felt the power of the sword in this demon's hand and it was something else. Inuyasha gripped his tessaiga tightly and ran forward towards his enemy. The power of the two demon blades collided with a flash of light.

"Damn, can't I do anything?" Sango was angry at herself for having broken her hiraikotsu when she attacked the zanbatsu wielding demon from before. Miroku was running forward into the fray with his staff held tightly when a series of youkai cut him off. "What? They don't want us to interfere?" The priest used his staff to fend off the large hoard of demons, seeing as to how he couldn't use the kazanaa on account that there were poisonous bees all around him.

Kagome was very careful while taking aim. They were fighting so closely together. Inyasha was pushing back with his tessaiga while the giant demon also pushed back with his blade. Energy was bouncing off the pair as they both struggled to gain an advantage. Claws dug into the ground as both demon and hanyou fought for a foothold. The power of the blades was steadily increasing as the battling Inu and Inuyasha raised their demon energy to full capacity. Kagome finally took her aim well and fired her sacred arrow. At the same time Miroku came up from a massacre of fallen demons and threw his hamafudas at the demon's side. The power of the two attacks formed a ball of light which ignited into an explosion of great magnitude.

"Did I get him? Is it over?" Kagome stared as the dust settled from the blast. There was a figure standing in the center, but it was too large to be Inuyasha.

Inu raised his blade and prepared to deal the final blow to the hanyou when a staff intercepted his path. The strike brought up sparks what turned into fire and threatened to burn the monk alive, but he stood his ground.

"Inuyasha-sama, are you ok?!" Inuyasha was lying on the floor with and arrow through his arm. The arrow had ricocheted off of Inu's blade and struck Inuyasha in his left arm through his himono. He lifted his head slowly and tried to move but he couldn't. Dazed, he turned to see the arrow, but when he tried to reach for it the arrow rejected him and burned his hand.

"Rahh! Damn it! Kagome! Get this thing out of me!" Kagome still couldn't see what was going on, but she ran into the hail of dust at the sound of Inuyasha's voice.

Miroku was holding back the demon, but he began to feel the power of Naraken as if beared down on him with the power of the elements. Sango came up from behind with her katana in hand and thrust it straight into the demon's back. Still Inu held his place and was determined to slice the monk in half.

"Inuyasha! Oh no..." Kagome stared down at her hanyou with one of her arrows through his arm. She felt like crying. This was not how it was supposed to happen. She had never meant to harm her only lo.......

"Would you stop friggin' staring and help??!! The damn arrow bounced off his stupid armor and hit me!!"

After hearing these words Kagome's breathing returned to normal and she made to grab the arrow. Carefully placing her hand on it, she pulled with all her strength and the arrow disintegrated into nothing. She tried to apoligize but Inuyasha was already up and was standing next to Miroku trying to push back the demon.

"There can only be one inu youkai hanyou.... and it will be me!" Inu regained his strength and started to push both Miroku and Inuyasha back. He even had strength to pull the katana out of his back and thrust it into Inuyasha's side. Before he folded from the pain, Inuyasha pushed the demon back and forced it into a nearby tree. He then jumped backwards and pulled the katana out of his midsection.

"Oy, Sango! I think this is yours!" Inuyasha turned to face the demon again. He placed his tessaiga in a defensive position and awaited for his enemy to make a move. Once Inu stirred Inuyasha prepared himself for the worst.

"Not bad hanyou.... but this will have to be enough for today. I wish to fight you and you alone. When you're brave enough to fight without your friends come and find me. It will be the last thing you ever do." With that the demon raced off into the forest. Inuyasha made to follow him but the pain that was pulsing through his body was finally unbearable.

Everyone watched as the hanyou fell like a limp rag. Miroku was the first one to reach him and checked his wounds. "It's Naraku's poison. Quickly Sango, the antidote Jinenji gave us." Sango ran over to Kagome who in turn gave her a small pack. They put liberal amounts on the infected gash and started making some for Inuyasha to drink. At this point it was a waiting game.