((((IMPORTANT)))): I added two chapters yesterday, so be sure to read them both before this one.

Chapter 10: For Her Sake

Sunset was fast approaching the valley. Not that it mattered; the storm would hinder any light from their sight in no time at all. They might as well be in complete darkness. This is why darkness has always been so feared. There is no way to tell just what might be a few feet in front of you, lurking in the shadows. Even in the most blinding light, shadows still exist, no matter what. But even in eternal shadow, the hanyou hoped to bring lightened hope to the heart of his Kagome. Even in endless shadow, there can always be a light to guide the way through the danger.

Inuyasha carried the sleeping girl into the other room and set her down onto the futon. Her hands were still wrapped tightly around his haori, out of fear. He sighed. She wasn't going to be at all happy with him when she found out what he was planning. But he had to do it. He refused to let her get close to the danger that awaited at the end of his journey. As an unconscious prayer, he hoped that she would forgive him, and realize it was a labor of love. Her happiness, her safety… that was all that mattered to him now. It couldn't wait any longer.

He pried her hands off his haori and brought them away, but as he did, the fingers grazed his rosary, which make a clacking sound in response. He looked down at it. 'Shit. I'll never be able to do this if I get sat. But how can I get it off if only Kagome can do it?'

Thinking for a moment, the hanyou found his solution. He brought her hands up to the necklace and ran the under part of her fingers along the beads. As a reflex, she grabbed onto them tightly. Just what Inuyasha was hoping for. He guided her hands upward, taking the beads with her. The necklace slipped off of his head. 'Why didn't I try that before?' he wondered.

He wrapped the rosary up and placed it in a hidden spot on the other side of the room. One more virtuous kiss he placed on her forehead, and he smiled sadly, 'She isn't gonna be happy one bit.'

The monk's snores were loud enough for Inuyasha to follow without a scent at all. He sighed in annoyance. With a noise like that, it was a wonder they hadn't been tracked down yet by a youkai. When he found Miroku, he was perched against a tree trunk with his head bowed forward, fast asleep. His staff was still held close to him, a habit that he had developed after so many battles. A few leaves had managed to drop from the tree and land perfectly on his head, as if in jest. Inuyasha pushed him on the stomach with his foot, causing the monk to fall over into the dirt. He woke immediately and clenched his shaft tightly in preparation to attack, but when he saw who it was he relaxed a bit, "Huh? Wha… what is it, Inuyasha?"

"Go get Sango and Shippou. I have a job for you," the hanyou replied.

Miroku eyed him curiously, suspecting something dangerous, "What kind of job?"

Inuyasha flexed his claws impatiently, "You'll do what I say, monk!"

Miroku nodded quickly and scrambled to his feet to find the others. Inuyasha took the time to lock down everything he could for when the hurricane arrived. He could sense it loaming nearby, and they would have to move quickly to get past it. As long as he could rely on the other's powers, he had hope for his plan. There was more than just the battle to worry about. This hurricane also brought into worry that which connected him and Kagome: the well. Once he was sure he had everything in place, he returned to retrieve Kagome, and he scooped her into his arms. How grateful he was that she didn't wake at the movement. At least it would leave him some time to get to their destination.

When he emerged again, the others had arrived, looking concerned. Inuyasha walked past them, "Come on."

That unusual look on Inuyasha's face was never a good sign. It was that look of blind determination that always got them into trouble. Shippou jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder, "Um, Inuyasha? Shouldn't we be going that way… like away from the hurricane?"

"No. We are going to the well," Inuyasha replied somewhat solemnly, and with good reason, for he was sure he would get a bad response.

The kitsune confirmed this, "What? Inuyasha, why? Are you dumping her?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and shrugged him off his shoulder, "No, you stupid runt. I'm just sending her back there until I take care of something. Besides, she'd be better off since there's a storm coming."

Sango looked at the ground as she walked, "Yeah, but she would want to be with us to make sure we were okay."

Inuyasha nodded, "That's true, but she'll just have to put that aside for now. After everything that's happened, this is how it's gonna be whether she wants it or not."

"Are you going with her, Inuyasha?" The exterminator asked, "You know you should still be with her."

Inuyasha bowed his head and held Kagome closer, "No… I can't. I have to find Naraku and defeat him alone."

The others stopped and cried in unison, "What!"

Sango didn't wait for a response, "Are you crazy Inuyasha! Tonight of all nights! This is no time for a battle. A hurricane is about to come. And why would you battle alone if we're here?"

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at them, "You're going to protect Kagome."

"Huh?" Shippou pondered, "How can we do that if we can't go through the well?"

They didn't get a response, because Inuyasha let out a yelp of pain as he was struck in the head by none other than Kagome. She had awoken. "Put me down this instant, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha sighed. Now he was in for it, but he continued walking regardless. "Inuyasha, I said put me down! I heard what you said and I'm not going. Do you honestly think I would leave you in the middle of a hurricane? And you're gonna go off to fight Naraku now? Inuyasha, you know you're not ready to fight him yet. We need more time to prepare."

"There isn't more time," Inuyasha said, and he thought, 'I won't see you suffer one more day.'

Kagome hit him on the head again and glared at him, "You are so blind and stubborn! Put me down!"

He just glared back and kept on walking. She bonked him again. "Put me down!"

He wouldn't budge. She squirmed and squirmed, trying to break free, but he tightened his hold on her. When she started getting really rough, he threw her over his shoulder. She yelled, "Baka! You are such a stubborn ass. I'm sorry, but I have other plans. Osuwari!... Huh?"

Nothing happened. She repeated, "Osuwari… OSUWARI OSUWARI OSUWARI!"

The others blinked rather curiously at this new revelation. Kagome was baffled, and she panted for breath in anger and frustration, "What is going on? Why won't you sit?"

Inuyasha answered candidly, "I had you take the necklace off when you were asleep."

Kagome gasped, "You bastard. How dare you take advantage of the situation! Damnit, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha just sighed and kept on walking, despite Kagome's protests. They finally made it to the well, and the wind was already picking up. "We better get out of here soon," Miroku pointed out, "This hurricane is gonna be big. I don't think a human could survive it."

Kagome was still complaining, "Inuyasha, this is madness! Let me go right now or I won't forgive you. You hear me! I… I… I won't speak to you ever again!"

It was a lie and they both knew it. He sat her down on the edge of the well, still kicking and screaming, and she looked at him angrily. "Baka! Baka! Baka! Do you honestly think you can do this alone?"

Inuyasha had to at least try to make her understand, "I can't put you through any more danger, Kagome."

"And what about your safety? Without help you will die." Kagome responded.

"Don't be ridiculous," Inuyasha replied, trapped in his own pride, "I have the Tetsusaiga. I can beat him, Kagome. I know it's early, but this has to be done."

"No it doesn't," she protested.

"Yes it does," he exclaimed, his nose pressed against hers as he glared at her.

"No it doesn't," she repeated.

"Yes it does," he repeated as well.

The others sighed as they saw the fight before them go back and forth between the two. It was just like old times. Inuyasha growled slightly, "If I use my Tetsusaiga, I will defeat him. Nothing can stop me, not even you. God, can't you have just a little faith in me?"

"This has nothing to do with faith, Inuyasha. This is called thinking. You should try it some time."

"Keh!"

"You are being irrational, Inuyasha-sama," a small voice called.

They all looked around. That was definitely Myouga. Sure enough, he appeared on Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha turned his head away from the old flea, "Keh! What are you doing here, Myouga-jiji? I don't have time for your nonsense."

"Inuyasha-sama, you must not battle Naraku yet," Myouga commanded with a determined look.

"What? Why?" Inuyasha protested.

"I have just received new information. According to legend, Tetsusaiga's most ultimate power is the Bakuryuuha. However, Bakuryuuha alone isn't enough to defeat the power Naraku has gained from collecting such a great amount of shikon shards."

"Then I'll use Kongousouha and be done with it," Inuyasha shrugged the ordeal off.

Myouga spoke up, "No, that's not it. At first I thought so as well, but I have been informed of another legend. It has been prophesized that your Tetsusaiga will become unstoppable if the Bakuryuuha is used in a certain way."

"What way is that?" Sango asked.

"This I do not know. Supposedly, this strategy can only occur under extreme conditions. This trait was passed onto the sword by your father, but it has never been used, since your father died soon after passing it along. Inuyasha-sama, you must find what the secret is. With a power such as that, you could defeat Naraku. It is your destiny to destroy him with the Tetsusaiga, but there is still one more piece of the puzzle to be filled before that can happen," Myouga said.

Inuyasha flicked him off, sending him flying. He replied dryly, "Gee, thanks for the big help."

Kagome spoke up, "You see, Inuyasha? You just heard it for yourself. You can't go off and fight alone. I'm going with you!"

"No, you're not!" Inuyasha countered, "I'm going to send you back to your world until this is over!"

"And what will that do? Nothing!" she said.

"You'll be safe there, from Naraku and the hurricane."

Kagome now looked at him with pleading eyes rather than anger, and tears were starting to form. She took him into a hard embrace, "Inuyasha, please don't. I don't want to lose you."

Inuyasha's face softened at her sudden change in attitude. He'd rather have her loathe him than cry for him. He cradled her head in his hand, "You won't. I promise."

"Argh! You're so stubborn! I'm not going to leave you!" Kagome yelled.

Inuyasha pulled away from the embrace and planted a hard kiss on her lips. Kagome opened her eyes wide at the touch, but her complaints soon stopped as she fell into it. He pulled back and placed his forehead against hers, "I love you."

With that, he pushed her off the edge and down into the well. He peered over the edge and watched her fade away into the darkness. He had thought his last glance of Kagome would be her looking very angry, but alas, the look he saw before she faded away was sad. He really would have preferred it if she was mad at him. It would have made things easier. Reaching quickly for a tree, he tore it off from the roots and shoved it into the well like he had once before so that she couldn't come back. "Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted and snarled.

Inuyasha dusted his hands off, and spoke to everyone, "You are going to guard the well while I'm gone."

They became wide-eyed. "What? Are you nuts? There's a hurricane coming!"

"Miroku, put up your strongest barrier around the well and keep everyone inside. You have to make sure the well doesn't get destroyed, or I'll lose the connection to Kagome's world," Inuyasha commanded.

He turned to Sango and Shippou, "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid or pass out or anything like that. If anything happens to that well, I will not be so forgiving."

They nodded. Inuyasha looked away from them but spoke imploringly, "I'm counting on you guys. It took every ounce of hope I had to send her back when there was a possibility that the well could be destroyed by the storm. But I had to do it. Now I need you to make sure I don't lose her forever. Please… don't let me down."

They stood firm with a look of hopelessness, and sad heavy-hearted determination. Miroku kneeled onto the ground and took a scroll in between his hands and started praying. A ball of twinkling transparent light surrounded the group of comrades. Miroku spoke without opening his eyes or averting his attention, "This will be the strongest barrier I can produce. It should last long enough until the storm passes, and I will make sure that nothing breaks through."

Sango watched as the first drops of rain pelted against the shield. She watched Inuyasha step out of the path of the barrier and into the danger that was the wind, "So this is your true strength then, Inuyasha? Hmm, the kind you refused to show? I think that will be your greatest weapon of all."

To be continued…

HOW TO TELL IF YOU'RE OBSESSED WITH INUYASHA…(I have em all)
1. You add words and the names of characters to your computer dictionary so that it doesn't have that red line indicating misspelling, cuz it's annoying, but you leave Naraku out purposefully cause he doesn't deserve to be part of your dictionary.
2. You regularly use phrases like 'Baka', 'Osuwari', and 'Kso' even if you don't know any Japanese in the least.
3. You think Sesshoumaru is a sexy beast. (no pun intended )
4. Those adorable ears can distract you from homework anytime and anywhere.
5. You want to go to Japan to see the newest movie NOW!
6. You contemplate the syntax and morphology of Japanese in order to better understand the true dialogue of an episode.
7. You want to call your next cat Buyo.
8. You necessarily watch only the Japanese versions with subtitles because you want it to be "authentic".
9. You suddenly want to master archery.
10. You watch the same scenes over and over again just to be sure you can see the love in their eyes or to think about what they're thinking at that moment.
11. You transpose the music into a piano version only using your ears as guidance. (Yeah, go me!)
12. You stay up till 3 in the morning finishing your latest fic chapter.

((((IMPORTANT)))): (kinda): Just a few responses , cause it is actually 3:14 in the morning and I am exhausted. (Hey, those are the numbers for pi… mmm, pie… ahh, stop rambling). But I'll return to responding to you all after this. I pinky swear. (pinky swearing)

kenshinluvr: I totally agree. I think that the chapters after this will be a lot more captivating. There will also be another twist that will actually kinda pull everything together and make it all make sense, so stay tuned please. (hugs)
Mikkasura: You must have a hell of a time dealing with Americans, who think that you all say 'pip pip' and 'cheerio' and 'spit spot' etc. I was informed that 'pip pip' is totally a myth. What's 'bangers and mash'? (hugs)
inuyasha4ever1: Of course he will… he's Inuyasha! Inuyasha no baka! (hugs)
AnimePunk13: The fluff will always… ALWAYS come back. (hugs)
TotallyLost: I mentioned in Ch 6 that Kagome did a test at the doctor because she was 'in heat' right before that time, and unless I suddenly decide that the .1 chance of doctors being wrong on that subject actually pulls though, that option is pretty much kaput… hm, but who knows? Maybe? Oo, I'm so evil. There's a mention of the reason for why Naraku disappeared hidden within the chapter… Good luck finding it. (hugs)
fluffyrachel: Yeah, quite depressing, but like I said in the summary, even the biggest tradegy can have a happy ending, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I definitely won't let this story pass without plenty more romantic stuff. (hugs)
LanierShazar: This is Inuyasha we're talking about. Of course he's gonna do something stupid. But we love him anyway, and it turns out okay in the end. (hugs)
To the rest of you, I LOVE YOU ALL TO PIECES! PLEASE RESPOND EVERYONE! (Hm, now it's 3:31… :( no more pi)