A/N: Hi! WARNING: This fanfic is going to end soon. I have it written up to chapter 40. Here is Chapter 35. Please review and let me know what you think!

Becca: Hey, Yuka isn't supposed to die…Rin is…I wasn't sure if I made that very clear…anyway, as always, thanks for your review!

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My Only Hope
Chapter Thirty-Five

"Let me go, Kikyou. I don't want to hurt anyone…" Kagome snarled.

"Oh, but I want to hurt you. You can make an exception, can't you? I want you to scream before you die. I hope you beg, that way I can see the look on Inuyasha's face when I kill you…"

"I won't." Kagome swore. "Do you realize that killing me will kill him? What good will it do you when we both die, huh?"

Kikyou laughed. "You won't." She shook a small vial of purple liquid in front of Kagome's face. Whatever it was, Kagome did not recognize it. It smelled putrid, and she never remembered Kaede having ever taught her to make such a concoction. She frowned at the scent, and knocked Kikyou's hand away from her face, bringing her sword up as she did so.

"What the hell is that stuff?" demanded Kagome.

"Nothing my little sister would know about, if that's what you're wondering," Kikyou nodded. "This potion is how I plan on killing you and not Inuyasha. It reverses the effects of that troublesome mating mark the two of you carry. You're going to drink it. To Inuyasha, it will feel as if you really have died…and he'll come running, of course…just in time to watch you die for real…"

"Like hell I'm going to drink that nasty stuff!" Kagome growled, her grip tightening on her sword. She ran at Kikyou, but her sword did no harm to the undead miko. It just slid through her body as if she was nothing but an illusion. Kagome's eyes widened, and she paled. "What the hell…?" she whispered.

"Surprised?" Kikyou smiled. "I thought you would be. Now…drink!"

Kagome blinked in confusion as Kikyou rose her hand. She felt herself fly backwards, hit the wall of the barrier behind her. Suddenly her body could not move, and her sword dropped to the ground like a useless prop. A wave of pure panic went through Kagome's body as she struggled to regain her independent movement and lost. She tried to conceal her fear as Kikyou slowly approached her, a smirk playing across her lips.

Kikyou unscrewed the top to the bottle of purple liquid, bringing it ever closer to Kagome's mouth. Kagome shut her lips tightly. Kikyou frowned at her small resistance, and punched Kagome in her stomach.

Kagome coughed as she felt all of her air get caught in her throat. Kikyou had her by her throat now, and poured the putrid smelling liquid into her mouth. Kagome coughed and sputtered to get the liquid out, but Kikyou still looked satisfied.

"There is nothing you can do about it, Kagome. It is done…" she laughed.

Kagome began to feel as if she was standing outside in a snowstorm, although the cold feeling wasn't coming from outside her body. It started in what seemed like the pit of her stomach and spread outward from there.

Kagome groaned. She had been without Inuyasha before, but whatever that potion was, it made her feel as if part of her had died on the inside. "Inuyasha…" she whispered.

Inuyasha jumped up, nearly knocking heads with a concerned looking Sesshoumaru. "What do you think you are doing, little brother?" he demanded.

Inuyasha groaned. He had suddenly felt so cold…like a part of him had died or something. He looked around the room. Toku and Taka were in the floor playing with Shippo. Yuka was smiling at him from a corner of the room. His brother was sitting cross-legged on his futon, as if guarding him…and Kagome…he didn't see her anywhere.

"Sesshoumaru! Move! I think something has happened to Kagome!" he yelled. "Get off of me so that I can go help her!"

"She didn't want you there, little brother. I was only doing my part to help…" But Sesshoumaru gasped as something about his brother's scent began to change. His eyes widened when he realized that the crescent moon-shaped mating mark on his brother's neck was slowly fading away to nothing. A wave of panic had Sesshoumaru jumping up from the futon in a hurry.

"What the hell?" demanded Inuyasha.

"Go, Inuyasha. Hurry up. She's still at the village…and I think you're right. I think something is very, very wrong…" he whispered.

Inuyasha nodded. "What about you?"

"Go, damn it! I'll stay here with the twins and I will bring them and Yuka back to the village when we are sure that the danger there has passed!"

Inuyasha took off towards the village.

Meanwhile, Kikyou laughed at Kagome's predicament. "Have you given up already, wench? Oh, and you're not even dead yet…that will make my retrieving my soul all the more easy…"

"No…" Kagome frowned. "I won't let you…"

"What are you going to do when you can not even move?" Kikyou smirked.

Kagome glanced down at her sword, which lay forgotten on the ground. Totosai had forged that sword for her to seal her demonic side…to keep her from losing control over her body. She frowned. She could only hope that it didn't come to that…

"There's Inuyasha…right on time." Kikyou pointed, and Kagome glanced over.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.

Kikyou rose her hand as she had done to Kagome, and Inuyasha rose into the air and froze there. He yelped. "Kagome! What's going on? Did she hurt you? Are you all right?"

"Have a seat, Inuyasha…" Kikyou closed her hand, and Inuyasha flew back into a nearby tree. He was still unable to move. "I'm going to make this slow, so you two have enough time to say good bye…" she smiled.

"What?" Inuyasha screamed.

Whatever color was left in Kagome's face slowly drained from it as she watched Kikyou unsheathe a katana that hung at her side. She had never known Kikyou to carry any other weapon besides her bow, and the new look in the undead miko's eyes frightened her.

"Kikyou…what the hell are you doing?" yelled Inuyasha, panicking.

"Getting my soul back. What does it look like?" Kikyou replied in a sarcastic sort of tone. Kagome closed her eyes tightly as Kikyou ran at her with the blade. Kagome groaned loudly as the blade met with her stomach. Blood coated the weapon and fell to the ground, quickly soaking through her haori.

Kagome closed her lips tightly, letting her tears fall silently. She wasn't going to give Kikyou the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She wasn't going to beg. She was going to be strong. For Inuyasha.

Inuyasha paled even more. He felt a wave of nausea hit him like a punch in the stomach. All that blood…was Kagome's. His mate. Yet, nothing was happening to him. Why wasn't he hurting just as much as she was? He knew she would try to be strong, but even from this distance he could smell the salt of her tears. His hand automatically went to the spot on his neck where the mating mark should have been.

He gasped. The mating mark…it was gone. Completely gone. What had happened? What had Kikyou done? Inuyasha was reminded of that cold feeling that washed over his body when he woke up across from his brother.

Kagome was going to bleed to death if something wasn't done soon…and because his mark was gone, Inuyasha could do nothing but watch it all unfold.

"Kagome!" he yelled. "Stop it! Your history is with me, remember?" he screamed at Kikyou. "Leave Kagome out of this!"

"She is me, Inuyasha. She has part of my soul…and I want it back."

"Why…my grandfather…" Kagome moaned, looking up at Kikyou for a brief moment before her eyes fell back towards the ground.

"Because, Kagome…he's only human. People fear that which they do not understand. Your grandfather is no exception to that rule, stupid girl…"

Kagome could feel her blood start to boil. She knew the outcome of her anger could possibly be horrible, but she had no will power anymore with which to calm herself. She closed her eyes as she felt her body pulse with a sudden surge of demonic power. She was able to ball her hands into fists. She stared down at Kikyou.

"You…can't…have it." She growled between gritted teeth.

"Can't have what?" Kikyou smirked.

"My soul. It's mine." Kagome answered. She was able to move again. Her eyes were clouding over with bright red. Her claws grew even longer. Kikyou took a surprised step back as Kagome grabbed the hand in which Kikyou held the katana. Kagome squeezed, and Kikyou's hand crumbled to dust at her feet. The katana fell to the ground.

Kagome swiftly picked up her own sword, and thankfully, felt a small measure of control return to her. That, however, was not going to stop her from destroying Kikyou. Kagome rose her sword into the air, and brought it quickly down. Kikyou had no time to move. She screamed, and fell into a pile of dust at Kagome's feet.

The barrier around the two of them disappeared, and Kagome finally felt herself begin to calm down somewhat. Again, her sword dropped to the ground.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelped, finally able to move again. He rushed to her side as her legs caved beneath her. Her haori was drenched in her own blood, and the flow was not slowing.

"Kagome!" Akira and Jin frowned.

"Inuyasha…you need to reinstate the mating mark," Inutaisho whispered. "You need to tend to her wounds."

"Kagome…hang on…" Inuyasha whispered, cradling her in his arms and rushing off towards the hut. He found Kagome's large yellow bag, which thankfully held many pieces of first aid equipment.

Kagome groaned as Inuyasha sat down, trying as hard as he could not to hurt her as he did so. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you."

He began to clean her wound. The wound was very, very deep, but hopefully Kagome's demon blood would help it to heal. He began to wrap the wound in layers upon layers of bandages. The feeble dressing would need to be changed very often, as Kagome was still bleeding a lot, but Inuyasha hoped that the dressing would calm some of that. Kagome groaned in pain as Inuyasha moved to wrap the bandages around her, and he cringed each time she groaned in pain.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered again, carefully hugging her as he laid her back down onto the futon and carefully laid down next to her.

"It's okay…Inuyasha…" Kagome mumbled into his ear. "I love you…"

"I know you do, Kagome. I know." He smiled. "I love you, too…"

He could feel Kagome relax in his embrace. Soon, her breathing was shallow and even. She had gone to sleep. The feeling of her warm breath against his skin sent a relaxing feeling through his body.

Inutaisho cleared his throat, and Inuyasha looked up at him, slightly startled.

"Huh?" he whispered.

"Have you remarked her?" Inutaisho asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No. I didn't want to hurt her." He admitted. "I think I will wait until she is feeling a little better."

"Do not put it off more than a day, Inuyasha. Kagome will get very ill if you wait too long to remark her. She depends on you."

Inuyasha nodded. "I know she does. I understand that." He replied. "I will make sure she is taken care of. I am never going to let her out of my sight again…"

"Do not blame yourself for this, Inuyasha. It was not your fault, and Kagome does not see it that way either. You have to understand, some things are just meant to happen certain ways. Everyone has a destiny. You and Kagome have just had to fight a lot more than most people for yours. Hopefully now that will all be done with, and you and your mate and my grandchildren can live in peace."

"I hope so too, father." Inuyasha agreed. "I'll come out and join the others a little later. I want to lay with Kagome for a while."

Inutaisho nodded. He frowned. "Oh, you may want to talk to Kagome when she wakes up. We found her grandfather. He was shot dead…our guess is that his death has to do with Kikyou's resurrection…."

"It's no surprise. Kikyou killed Urasue as well." Inuyasha told his father.

"I see." Inutaisho nodded. "Well, her brother has been pretty shaken up about it. The monk is going to hold a burial ceremony for the old man later on tonight. We all talked about it, and we thought it best that it be taken care of quickly, given the circumstances…"

Inuyasha nodded. "I agree." He sighed.

"We will let Kagome sleep for now." He shook his head and slowly left the hut.

Sesshoumaru walked into the village followed closely by Yuka. Each of them had one of the twins in their arms, and Shippo brought up the rear of the group. They frowned when they reached the clearing.

"It smells strongly of blood here…" Sesshoumaru coughed. "Is everyone all right? Rin had better not be hurt or I swear, someone is going to…"

"That's mommy's blood!" Shippo paled, but Inutaisho came out of the hut just before the kitsune could run inside. "Is my mommy all right? Where is my dad?" he demanded of the inu-youkai.

Inutaisho shook his head. "Your mommy got hurt, and her and your father are resting right now. They need to be left alone for a little while, okay? I'm sure they are going to be fine once they get some rest…" he promised.

"Are all of you deaf? Where the hell is Rin?" Sesshoumaru growled.

Sango and Miroku looked up from their task. They had been busily preparing Kagome's grandfather's burial site, and hadn't really been paying any attention to Sesshoumaru's demands.

"What do you mean?" asked Miroku, confusion etched into his features.

Sesshoumaru's face lost all expression. "I left her here with you guys and took Inuyasha and the children back to my castle. Is she safe? Was she injured? She better not have been doing any of the fighting…"

"Sesshoumaru…" Akira paled. Jin had to stand behind her to steady her. "Sesshoumaru…" she repeated, "the girl…Rin…she followed you…"

"No she didn't. I would have noticed!" Sesshoumaru growled threateningly.

Akira shook her head. "I watched her follow you…" she whispered. "We thought she was with you…"

Whatever color was in the pale inu-youkai's face quickly drained from it. "She…followed me?" he repeated, his voice barely audible, even to the youkai in the group. "But…I haven't seen her since I left with Inuyasha…" he paused. "Why wouldn't I have sensed her behind me?"

"Calm down, Sesshoumaru…" Inutaisho warned. "Come. We will look for the girl. She couldn't have gone that far."

"Do you realize where we are at?" Sesshoumaru yelled. "Someone could have killed her!"

Kagome yelped. She had been sleeping, but Sesshoumaru's yelling outside had caught the attention of her sensitive ears, even in her weakened state. She groaned as she tried to move, and felt Inuyasha's strong arms around her.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered.

"Kagome…you should rest." Inuyasha whispered, kissing her on her forehead.

"Inuyasha…Rin…." Kagome frowned.

Inuyasha blinked. "Rin? What about Rin, sweetie?"

"The forest…a demon…I think he might have hurt her…"

Inuyasha's heart panged with guilt. Mine had told him something was going to happen to Rin…she had told him that it would happen soon…but he hadn't realized that such a crisis would come now. His ears rested flat against his head as he thought about his brother, panicking over the little girl just outside his hut.

He sighed, frowned, and carefully stood, trying not to move Kagome.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome groaned.

"Don't move. I'll go talk to Sesshoumaru. I don't want you to get hurt. You need your rest."

Kagome let herself fall softly back onto her pillow. Soon her eyes closed, and she once again welcomed sleep. Inuyasha quietly left the hut.

"Sesshoumaru…Kagome told me something. I think something may have happened to Rin…"

"What!" Sesshoumaru screamed.

Inuyasha jumped. "Be quiet! You'll scare Kagome!" Inuyasha pleaded.

"What happened, Inuyasha? Did Kagome know where Rin went?" Sesshoumaru asked, calming slightly.

Inuyasha pointed. "That way. Kagome thinks she was hurt…" he added.

Sesshoumaru took off. He returned several hours later, a pale Rin in his arms. The girl appeared to be sleeping. Her skin was clammy and she was covered in many scrapes and bruises, small and large.

"What happened to her?" asked Yuka in concern.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "It was a snake youkai. She's been bitten…"

"What…does that mean?" asked Yuka.

Inutaisho sighed. "It means we need an antidote very soon."

"Can Kagome make one?" asked Sesshoumaru, urgency in his voice.

"I don't know, Sesshoumaru. She's been hurt pretty badly…"

"I promised Rin I would protect her." Sesshoumaru frowned. "I obviously haven't done a very good job of that if I let her get hurt like this. What if she dies, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru carefully laid Rin down, and began to pace.

Inuyasha had no reply to this. He had sworn to Mine that he would not tell a soul what he knew about the future. If he broke that promise, their future may be compromised. He couldn't risk that. He sighed. "I don't know…" he whispered. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru…but I just don't know…" Inuyasha looked up, startled. He could smell tears…but they were not Kagome's for once. Yuka was the one doing the crying.

"What's wrong? You're not hurt, are you?" Sesshoumaru worried. "Yuka…"

"No…I'm not hurt. I'm so sorry this happened…" she whispered.

Sesshoumaru wrapped Yuka in a hug. "This wasn't your fault, Yuka."

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose in surprise.

"Inu…yasha…"

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A/N: Yes, I realize I left it there, but there is a method to my madness. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will be up very soon, so don't worry about that. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!