A/N: (EDIT) Here is the next chap! This may seem to end rather abruptly because its FULL version, which is a LEMON, is on another site. Two sites, actually. It is posted on both and to those who can't find it, since the two sites seem to be having problems, here's a link:

http / inu. adultfanfiction. net / story. php? No 6445 & chapter21 (remove spaces)

By the way, I know that the actual word 'miasma' means 'cloud' or 'mist'. I just used it as a sort of proper noun in this fic to refer to Naraku's poison thingy. Anyway, on with the chap! Please tell me what you think! R and R! Enjoy!

20. Eternity

oooooooooo

"What the fuck..." he began.

"Poison... liquid miasma... he had injected it at me when he kissed me... Inuyasha..."

Her loss of consciousness prevented her from saying much else.

oooooooooo

"KAGOME!!!" Inuyasha shouted in alarm, shaking Kagome. He pulled her up into his arms in panic, shaking her almost roughly as he called her name repeatedly. He brushed her wet bangs away from her face and futilely fanned her with his hand.

He laid her down on the ground and crept down. He sucked the wound on her leg with his mouth, absently thinking that he was doing the first aid treatment for a snakebite. He spit out the blood that he had sucked up and put his mouth back on her leg, desperately pulling out the poison, along with her infected blood.

"Inukkoro!" a voice called from somewhere in the cave. Inuyasha reared up and noted that Kouga's scent was suddenly coming closer.

"Oi, dog-turd! Have you found - KAGOME!!!" Kouga shouted when he saw Kagome's limp unconscious form lying in Inuyasha's arms. "What the hell happened here?!"

"She got poisoned... we have to get out of this hellhole," Inuyasha replied. "The poison that infected her is starting to spread through the cave and I think this thing is falling apart," he added when he realized that the scent of the air around him was rapidly changing as well.

"I got ya," Kouga replied and turned back towards the exit. Inuyasha held on to Kagome tightly before racing off and heading out of the cave.

Both youkai frantically ran out of the crumbling, miasma-filled structure, with Kouga furiously kicking falling debris out of their way for Kagome not to get hit. Both emerged from the cave, sweaty and dirty, to be greeted by a reddening sky, signaling the coming sunrise.

'My twenty ninth day,' Inuyasha thought absently, setting Kagome down once they were more than a few meters away from the cave. He laid her on the ground before him, his face pale.

Kouga stooped down and put a hand on Kagome's forehead. "She doesn't feel hot."

"I told you, she was fucking poisoned! Of course she doesn't feel hot!"

"Hey, I was just checking!" Kouga shouted in defense. "What kind of poison did she get?"

"I have no fucking idea," Inuyasha replied, lifting her head off the ground and putting her head on his lap. Kouga seemed too upset and distracted to protest. "But she did mention something about... I'm not sure..."

"Well what did she say?!"

Inuyasha snarled at the wolf and looked back at Kagome, wiping sweat from her brow. "She said it was liquid Miasma, I think."

Kouga gasped audibly and Inuyasha was distressed. "What? Do you know what that is?" Inuyasha demanded as his panic continued to escalate.

Kouga nodded. "Miasma... it's a powerful poison... was Naraku in there?"

It was Inuyasha's turn to gasp. "Hai... You know the bastard?"

"Of course I know that fucker! Everybody knows him! He took the princess away!"

Inuyasha went silent as he watched Kouga's expression change into that of seething rage. "He has done a lot to this world... now no one can even get to him... wait... YOU got to him! Why didn't you kill him!?"

Inuyasha went into defensive. "Because the guy fucking disappeared! The moment I got there, he just turned and disappeared!"

Kouga turned his gaze away from both him and Kagome. "Miasma is Naraku's deadliest aura," Kouga said, before glaring at Inuyasha. "How did she catch miasma?"

"I don't god damn know, alright?! I never even knew about Crystallia until a few damn weeks ago!" Inuyasha blurted, before catching himself. 'Shit. I said too much.'

Kouga grinned. "I knew it. You're not from this realm, are you?" he practically stated.

Inuyasha nodded hesitantly. "I was sent here for Naraku. Now shut up about it!"

"Where does Naraku reside right now?"

"NANI?!"

Kouga looked exasperated. "You were sent for Naraku, so you probably know where he is better than I do. Now, where the hell is he hiding?"

Inuyasha blinked. "The palace dwellers said that he is in the garnet tower. What of it?"

Kouga stared and told him he was an idiot, before standing and turning away completely, facing the north. "The fucker is in the garnet tower, and I need him to be able to cure Kagome."

The wolf turned to regard Inuyasha briefly. "I'm gonna go and find him... maybe I could find an antidote or something. You stay with Kagome."

Inuyasha glared at the youkai who dared to order him around, but held his tongue. Kagome was in serious danger, and Kouga was naturally faster than him. He could get to the garnet tower faster. "Keh. Ok. But what made you think you can get anything out of him?"

Kouga shrugged. "I'll do everything to save my woman. I'll leave her to you for a while. Take care of her while I'm gone. If I'm not mistaken, there's an abandoned shack somewhere here. Take her there. Alright?"

Kouga rushed off before giving Inuyasha the chance to reply. The inu hanyou blinked, then turned his attention back to Kagome. He lifted her again, bridal style, and sniffed around futilely, looking for the shack Kouga had mentioned.

He caught the faint scent of wood and dry grass and concluded that the scent must be coming from a hut of sorts. He kissed Kagome's forehead lightly, before running off in the direction of the scent.

"Kagome, please be alright," he pleaded silently. He hurried further when he saw her wince and stretch her fingers, desperately looking for the source of her discomfort. "I can't lose you, Kagome. Not like this..."

He ran even faster, if that was even possible at the rate he was going, when he saw a dark shape in the horizon. The rising sun was starting to glow overhead, and he reached the shape as the sun completely revealed its glory.

It was the shack that Kouga had mentioned. Inuyasha would have leaped in joy had he not been holding Kagome. He kicked the door open and sniffed, looking around the house. It was completely empty, and not a single living scent clung to any of the walls. It seemed as if the house had been abandoned years ago. It was roughly only fifteen square feet large, but it would suffice.

In a corner of it was a very old blanket, and Inuyasha didn't trust it enough to put Kagome on it while she was so fragile. Instead, he squatted down and rested Kagome on his lap, slowly taking his haori off. He pulled it off completely and laid it on the old rug before setting Kagome down. He noticed that a small fireplace was in the center of the house, though not a single log of wood could be found within it.

He looked down when he heard Kagome let out a small sob. She was still unconscious, and he noticed that her face was pale and her lips were a bit blue. He gasped, before instinctively reaching down to grasp her hand.

"Fuck!" he nearly shouted when he touched her. Kagome was ice-cold. Inuyasha really began to panic now. They were all alone in the middle of nowhere, his girlfriend was infected by a strange sort of poison and he had no clue as to what he was supposed to do.

He ran a panicked hand through his hair and muttered curses under his breath. Kagome was now panting softly, shivering, and she was sweating profusely despite the cold that surrounded her body.

Inuyasha was trembling in frenzy. "Dammit Kagome! Wake up!" he yelled, but nothing happened. She just continued her panting breaths and Inuyasha's brain was clouded with fear. What if Kouga couldn't make it back in time for the antidote? What if she died? He could barely choke down the thought of sitting there and watching his only love die.

He took her into his arms and hugged her trembling form, pressing her close to his chest. Tears began to form in his eyes as he realized that his ignorance may lead to his losing Kagome. "Kagome... wake up, onegai..." he whispered in her ear, softly inhaling the wonderful scent of her hair. "Kagome... aishiteru. Don't leave me... I can't lose you!"

oooooooooo

Naraku sat by the wall of the highest tower of the garnet palace. He glared ahead, seething at the silver-haired hanyou who had kept him from taking Azalea... from taking Kagome. He had been so close! So close, he had even managed to inject some of his poison into her already.

He had meant to use just enough of the liquid miasma to immobilize her, so she wouldn't put up much of a fight as he had his way with her, but the plan backfired. He had accidentally injected a couple of drops too much when Inuyasha came in.

He had no idea what was happening to Azalea at present, but he believed that she was strong enough to surpass it. If not... she may die.

He punched a hole into the wall as the realization hit him. "Had I just killed her? Had I just taken the life of the woman whom I have loved and lusted after for all these years? The one whom I had sold my soul for?" he asked out loud, fury building in him.

Should he find her and help?

"No," he resolved softly as something occurred to him. If she died, he just might be able to bring her back anyway.

He grinned maniacally, holding up the glowing Shikon no Tama. 'If she dies, this can bring her back. Then I can have her.' If she doesn't, all the better. He wouldn't have to use the shikon.

The Shikon... a force that could make or break an entire realm... was stored within a small gem. It was strange, to say the least, knowing that the Shikon was the reason why Azalea was so powerful... the reason why she could not even be touched by any man.

And now that the power was not within her, she was just an ordinary girl - though she did still have some holy powers. Because while it was the shikon that served as her source, she would never have been able to use and command the power if she didn't have any powerful magic of her own.

Naraku smirked again. 'I would have you, Azalea. No matter what. I swear it.'

A knock on his door startled him out of his musings. "Come in."

Kanna came in, holding up her mirror. "Naraku-sama, the ookami prince is coming for you."

Naraku glanced at the mirror and noticed that it was, indeed, Kouga. He was running at a frantic speed, heading for his dwelling, but was still too far off to even reach him within a day's span.

Naraku just grinned again. "Let him. He is easy prey."

oooooooooo

Inuyasha fanned the fire to life and grinned when it blazed fierily. He looked back at Kagome and noticed that she had at least stopped shivering.

It had taken some time for him to convince himself to let go of her long enough to find firewood and light a fire. Actually, it had taken him a lot of time. It was already quite late in the afternoon, and he had missed out on his lunch already.

It was actually a rather hot day (as usual), but he desperately needed the fire because of Kagome. Besides, it would be dark in a short while. She was still shivering, and the thing that had finally convinced him to get up and make a fire was the fact that Kagome had begun to subconsciously groan in her sleep and say that she felt cold. Figures - she was shivering, and her skin was cold.

Inuyasha picked up the rag that he had found and wet it with water from his magic flask. He had warmed the water over the fire and was now applying it to Kagome's forehead. He didn't know whether she was getting better or worse, and in his frightened state, the fact that he could have taken her and looked for a healer completely slipped from his mind.

He took her hand in his and mused as Kagome's body calmed down enough and stopped trembling. Her lips were no longer blue, so he supposed she wasn't as sick as she was when Naraku had struck her.

He looked up at the sky and noted that the sun was relatively high, but not at its peak. 'Hmm... I wonder if Miroku is out of the castle by now.'

He sat bolt upright and nearly slammed his head against the wall. 'Of course! That hentai houshi must know what to do!'

He scrabbled around and took his amulet out of the robes that Kagome was laying upon.

oooooooooo

The wind blew mercilessly against them, but neither paid any heed. Her hair was flying in all directions and his robes went this way and that, but it was alright. Carefully combed fur was all tangled and both people were holding onto it for dear life as they flew hundreds of feet from the ground, but they were all still joyful.

Gods... it felt sooo good to finally leave the palace!

Sango laughed as Miroku complained that her hair was in his face. Miroku grinned when Sango slapped him for his groping her backside. But it didn't matter.

They were out to be useful again. They could finally help Inuyasha.

It was a way past midday, and the flying trio could see that the sun would be setting in less than an hour. The sun was already low on the horizon painting the sky lovely shades of red and gold, and the pair had set off very early in the morning, carefully finding comfortable positions on Kirara's back as they rode off. Sango had looked sad as she gazed as the dry fields of Crystallia, but they had tried to keep the depression out of their minds.

Speaking of depression... Miroku was moving in for another good grope when the amulet around his neck began to glow brightly. "Shimatta," he cursed softly as he reached into his robes to take the amulet out.

"Inuyasha!" he yelled enthusiastically as soon as he saw the man's face. "We're on our way to help you out as we speak!"

Miroku's chuckle died in his throat when he finally realized how crestfallen his comrade looked. "Inuyasha, daijobu?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No... Miroku, I need your help!"

Sango looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha's tone of voice. Surprise was evident on the taijiya's face as she asked, "Inuyasha, what's wrong? You sound troubled."

"I am..." the warrior stated. "Do you... do any of you two know what to do about a person who got a bad case of Miasma?"

Sango and Miroku both gasped. Miroku was the first to recover though. "Inuyasha... does this mean you have already run into Naraku? Have you been infected?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm fucking dying? Yes, I ran into the asshole, but the guy managed to poison... somebody from the village he attacked. They all expect me to heal the person," Inuyasha made up a lame excuse, and Miroku never once fell for it.

'So, his companion has been poisoned... this sounds bad,' he mused, before perking up. "It would be easy enough for you, Inuyasha. You simply need to purify the infected person."

"NANI?"

Sango spoke up. "Miasma is made of evil youki, and the best way to eliminate it is to purify it out of the body. You need to let your powers merge into the infected person's aura for a moment, purifying the poison."

Inuyasha stared. "Are you idiots crazy? I don't have any purifying powers! Even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use them!"

Miroku sighed. "I don't know how to do it either, Inuyasha, but it should come naturally for you. As far as I know, there are only two people on Crystallia who have holy powers - you and Azalea-sama."

Something off-screen of Inuyasha suddenly glowed, and Miroku looked stunned for a moment. Inuyasha himself looked surprised. "Inuyasha, wha..."

"I gotta go."

And with that, Inuyasha closed up their communication.

Sango looked up at Miroku and asked what happened. The houshi just looked back at her in confusion. "Wakaranai, Sango. I don't know."

oooooooooo

Inuyasha was nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he listened to Miroku say something about two people with holy powers. He put a hand on Kagome's cheek, tenderly cupping it in his palm when all of a sudden...

"Inuyasha, wha..." Miroku asked, but Inuyasha cut him off with a curt "I gotta go."

Inuyasha looked back down at Kagome as he put the amulet away. Had he just imagined it, or did Kagome's cheek just glow where he touched it?

He touched her face again and saw the same glow emanating from the point of contact. 'What the heck... was Miroku right? Am I really capable of purifying her?'

As he released her cheek, he gasped. The part of her face that he had touched looked slightly warmer than the rest of her pale face. Color had returned to her cheek, but the paleness was quickly creeping back into her skin as long as the contact between them was severed.

Inuyasha quickly took hold of her face again, and realized that he was putting color back to her face simply by touching her. 'I think I AM purifying the Miasma!'

He patted the spot beside the part he had touched earlier, and noticed that the paleness was now taking a longer time catching up to his healing caresses. It seemed like the more he touched of her, the more she healed.

He lost no time in touching the rest of her face. He tenderly caressed her other cheek, her nose, her forehead, neck and even her ears. As he did so, the points where they touched glowed and blood rushed back to it.

He leaned back as soon as he finished touching her face, but frowned when he noticed that the paleness from the parts that he had not touched were creeping into her face. He touched her face again, but the color was vanishing as the wan color of her chest and other body parts began to spread through her again.

That's when he realized it. He was only purifying the parts he had touched, but the poison in those that he hadn't would still continue to spread. Meaning...

Inuyasha gulped and groaned when he realized that he would have to touch ALL of her. 'Shit... this is torture sent by the gods,' he thought in desperation. Kami knew how much he wanted her, and seeing her naked, and actually be able to touch her and not claim her was weighing on him.

He could feel a lower part of his anatomy stand out more than usual at the thought of seeing her naked, but he quickly stomped his thoughts down. 'Shit... just thinking about the prospect is getting me all excited!' he thought in agitation. Would he have to touch her actual skin too? Maybe he could touch her through her clothes and it would still work? It was a hopeful thought.

He decided to experiment. As much as he wanted to be able to touch her, Inuyasha would never dream of taking advantage of an unconscious girl. Specially not THIS girl. He pushed her skirt down and put the hem in the center of his palm as he touched her, so that half his hand was on her bare thigh and half was on her skirt. He lifted his hand, along with her skirt, and gulped again.

The bare leg that he had touched was starting to gain color, but the part that was obstructed by the skirt was still pale.

He would have to strip her. Damn.

He gulped loudly as he tried to decipher how to take her clothing off. He had come close to peeping at her while she bathed before, but never actually had the guts to do it... he had no idea what came off before what, and the fact that he was actually gonna see her naked form was making his blood pound in his head.

He decided to just wing it. He hurriedly took her shirt, skirt and shoes off and after a few blunders and ripped seams, Inuyasha managed to get her garments off. Now for her underwear.

She was wearing a thick bandage around her chest, and he carefully unwound it, trying hard not to really look, to no avail. Besides, such a hope would never be accomplished. He was gonna do a LOT more than just look at her body to be able to heal her.

When her breasts were free from the confining bandage, he looked down to see her junction covered by a small strip of rectangular cloth. 'Panties,' he thought in amusement. He reached down to take them off, but decided to leave her with some sort of modesty.

'I would NOT take them off!' he resolved quietly. He would just feel around her (which in itself made him blush a million shades of red), but he would not look at her feminine junction. It was bad enough that he would be feeling her up. He would leave her with her underwear!

And so, he set to work. The sun had set by now, making the fire his only source of light. Laying over her and straddling her legs gently, he carefully and tenderly touched each and every part of her. He felt a big amount of guilt in his chest, doing this without her consent, but it was the only thing he could do to save her at the moment. And worse than that, he knew that he was privately savoring every moment of it.

He started with her head, going lower not so gradually. He couldn't afford to go too slowly because the remaining poison spread very quickly, and if he didn't hurry, the parts he had purified would be tainted again in a few minutes. He blushed heavily as he worked on her chest, turning his eyes away to not put himself into a bad position.

As he smoothed his palms over her right arm, he realized that he had forgotten to take her wrist bandages off. He had just moved to do so when a small hand suddenly wrapped around his wrist. He stiffened as the hand let go of his wrist, and its owner spoke softly.

"Don't..."

Inuyasha turned towards the source of the voice and came face to face with Kagome. She was neither smiling nor frowning, and her blue/gray eyes were still slightly glazed.

Inuyasha was frantic. "Kagome... please... this isn't what it looks like..."

She put a finger on his lips to silence him, cutting him off mid-apology. "I know," she stated. "I know... how Miasma is treated. Go on, Inuyasha," she told him, smiling softly.

Inuyasha continued with much reluctance, thinking how much easier it was when she was asleep. Every time he touched her differently, Kagome would let out soft sounds of pleasure, and he was going insane. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Kagome..." he breathed, staring deeply into her eyes. "I want to feel all of you... And I want you to feel how much I need you. Let me love you, onegai."

Kagome smiled and nodded, and he lost no time in claiming her lips in a hot, passionate kiss. Inuyasha expressed his love to Kagome fully that night... he showed her his passion, his desire... he let her know just how much he needed her... and Kagome showed him how much she adored, loved and worshipped him.

For that one night... for that one magical night... the two souls were one.

oooooooooo

A/N: That's the chap! I hope you all enjoyed it! Anyway, as I said earlier, this was a short chap because its full version is a lemon, which is posted on both and It's almost completely different from this version, of course. I get more... descriptive when I write lemons. LOL!

Responses!

Koinu no Ai: Hehe... gomen for the cliffy. I just can't help it! LOL! I'll try not to leave you all on the brink next time. And hey... this aint a cliffy. Compensation, ne? I'm glad you like my fic. And oh yeah... NO Kikyo in this fic!

LiLmissy16: Uy! LTNS! It's ok, really! I know how hectic high school can be. Flattered nga ako kasi rineview mo pa rin ako kahit grounded ka na. I'm glad you liked my previous chaps. Chap17... The one with the truth or dare? Hehehe... I gotta admit, kinikilig ako habang tina-type ko yun. Haha! And thanks, but I already saw the trailer. It was pamatay talaga! I got the movie from a business-minded schoolmate.

LiL-Kagome: blushes Thanks! I'm glad you like my story so much! Anyway, I'm sure you can do better! Thanks again!

Litwolf689: A Nar/Kag lemon!?! Ew, ew, ew, ew, eeeeeew! That's gross! You needn't worry. I would NEVER, EVER write anything as disgusting as that! Anyway, the biggest anime store in this country, as far as I know, is Comic Alley. I get my Inuyasha stuff from a business-minded schoolmate of mine who sells the cds at a cheaper price. I'm a bit of a cheapskate.

Niku: Don't worry. Kagome is mighty fine by now! LOL! About my Inuyasha stuff, I get them from a certain schoolmate who sells anime stuff for a lower price. The biggest anime chain here in the Phils is Comic Alley.

Dragonstar03: Wehehehehe... I am, aren't I? I will in a few chaps, don't worry! I just can't let him know YET. I have a BIG plan for that little revelation.

Kagomechan1234567890: Whoa... that was a lot of numbers. Yeah! Go Inu/Kag! Yeah!!!!

Trina: Salamat! Thanks! Gracias! Arigatou!

TheWraith: Kanna is like, TOTALLY creepy, in a Halloween sort of way. Naraku as target practice?! ROTFLMAO! That's hilarious! I should suggest that to my archery instructor! I still think you're witty, even if you do say that you're insane most of the time!

BlazinRuby: puts left hand over right chest I swear to kill Naraku painfully and slowly for that! LOL!

KrysTheAngel: Wow! Two reviews for me from you! Thanks! I'm glad you liked my last chaps, and I've got to admit that I grossed myself out while writing that scene with Kagome and Naraku (the perv). Anyway, I'm glad I helped in putting you in 'fluffy mood'. LOL! And about my not working for my tuition, it's not because we're economically stable or anything... I somehow managed to pass the exams into my country's top university. It's a school for supposed brainiacs, so I'm kind of a scholar because my fees are totally minimal, so my dad insists that I have helped him enough already just by making it to UP. But I still wanna work! Waaah! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!!! sweatdrops Now I'm rambling. And I don't mind ranting... I like long reviews, and I rant a lot too! Thanks! And oh yeah... all hail fluff and limes! Hip hip, hooray!

Gueshoo: Hehehe... I'm afraid of blood! Anyway, as I promised BlazinRuby, I swear to kill Naraku painfully and slowly for that. And I STILL think your signature is cool!

Justmeh: Wrong indeed... I was soooo grossed out as I wrote out that scene. EEEW!!!

Hyperchica: Hehe... I guess I just LOVE turning characters into airheads. LOL!

Hanamaru285: I'm glad you like it!

Did I miss anyone? Don't hesitate to tell me if I did. Gomen. That would be fault (right... blame it on everything else, Scarlet!).

Anyway, I would like to say THANK YOU to all those who reviewed this chap and the previous ones. A-I-SHI-TE-RU! I love you all! Please read and review this chap! And if you decide to read THE other version, please review me for that too! I really need to know what people think of my work, lemon or not. Comments, suggestions, positive feedback and criticisms are all VERY welcome! A-RI-GA-TO-U!

ScarletRaven1001