---The Prophecy That Was Destined To Join---
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho. I cry…
A/N: OK! This is my effort for a really long chapter this time… Man, the trip back from Portland was so tiring…
Enjoy onegai!
Chapter 21: What May Be Forlorn Hope
Midoriko's Cave…
"KAGOME!"
"What happened to her?" Kahyi cried out.
"I-I think she's worn out from the traveling, I-I don't know? Why are you asking me! Ask her!" Sango went into hysterics.
"I can't! She's unconscious!"
"Then don't ask, because how should we know?"
A piece of rubble from above fell down and clonked Kuwabara on the head, "Hey! Don't do that Urameshi!"
"What the hell did I do? I'm all the way over here!" Yusuke was all the way across the cave where Sango was standing beside Kagome. Kuwabara was on the other side.
"What's it this time…" Kahyi groaned.
Rumbling was then heard and the walls of the cave shook, making cracks in random places.
"The sky is falling!" Kuwabara cried out.
"Idiot!" Genkai shouted over the noise, "It's the ceiling! We have to get out of here before it caves in!"
"Pssh!" Yusuke complained, "Why is it that whenever we're just about to accomplish something, or have, the place we're in starts to crumble?"
He hastily picked up Kagome and handed Shippo to Sango.
"Let's go!"
Weaving through the tunnels, Genkai and Kahyi leaded the way. Once in a while, the group would have to climb over fallen boulders to get to their destination quickly.
Outside Midoriko's Cave…
Their eyes widened. It was already morning outside. They had spent HOURS inside the cave. Morning had come. There was another day left.
"Stop panting" Kuwabara complained.
"Why don't you?" Sango retorted.
"Because I can't!"
"Exactly!"
"What?"
Sango rolled her eyes. It would be no use bickering over something he really didn't understand. She turned her attention to Yusuke.
"Kagome…" he whispered, cradling her in his arms, hoping for the best. Gently, he stood up, "I better call Botan to open a portal"
"Well of course, dimwit!" Genkai replied.
Sighing, he laid Kagome on the transformed Kirara and flipped open the tiny, blue compact.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Botan"
"Oh, hey! How did it go?"
"Not very well. We've got the facts, but Kagome's passed out. We think-"
A cough was heard behind him from Sango.
"I'm sorry, SANGO thinks that she's running out of energy. The journey took a lot out of her. The scroll didn't give any information on how she'd die though. I have a feeling that there are other scrolls, but we're running out of time quickly"
Botan gasped, "Kagome! Do you need a portal? I think she needs to be treated quickly!"
Yusuke nodded his head wearily.
"I'll be right there in a few seconds"
In the background you could hear her voice, "Miroku! Could you watch the kids for a minute or so? I need to go pick up the search party!"
"Sure, go ahead, koi!"
Yusuke, Genkai, and the others raised an eyebrow at that last statement. 'Koi?'
Botan turned back to the communicator, "Be right there!"
"Alright" Yusuke closed the compact with a tiny click and slumped down on the ground as the last bits of support from Midoriko's Cave crumbled to rubble.
Beside Sango, a swirling vortex of blue opened up and Botan stepped through.
"Oh kami! We need to get Kagome to the temple now! Yukina might be able to help a little. She has a high fever too!" Hastily, Botan carried Kagome and literally sprinted into the portal. Giving each other worried glances, they jumped into the portal as it closed behind them.
Genkai's Temple…
When the group arrived in the temple, Kagome was already laid down on a futon, with a wet towel pressed down on her forehead.
Yukina shook her head in regret, "There's nothing I can do…I'm sorry. If this keeps up, she won't be able to survive longer than tomorrow…"
They bowed their heads in sadness. Not being able to stand it, Sango burst into tears and ran into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. The walls of the temple rumbled at the force.
"I'm going to visit my sister" Kuwabara announced quietly, leaving without another word.
"I'm going to check on Miroku…" Kahyi left the room towards Miroku to deliver the news.
"I must inform Koenma about this" Botan left without a trace too.
Feeling that Yusuke needed some time alone with his cousin, Genkai swiftly evacuated the room, headed towards the living room where Shippo lay with Kirara.
When no one was in the room anymore, Yusuke broke down. Yes, the most feared punk in the district cried his heart out for his cousin.
An hour passed and finally, Yusuke fell asleep on the floor beside the bed that a certain miko resided in.
Sango's Room…
"Why?" Sango cried out, sobbing. She vented her frustration onto the wall beside her bed.
"Why her?" Screaming out in frustration, she pounded the wall, denting it. Deep, crimson red blood leaked down her fist as her knuckles submerged in her own liquid.
Someone behind her snorted, "That's not smart" he remarked.
"What do you know?" she whirled around to come face-to-face to Hiei.
"I know that punching the wall will do nothing" he smirked.
"Stupid youkai" she muttered, wiping the tears out of her eyes with her free, un-injured hand.
"Baka ningen" he shot back.
"She's just like a sister to me! And she might die!" Sango screamed out in frustration again and punched wall over and over again, salty liquid streaming down her face.
At her 5th punch, a wrist holding her back stopped Sango.
Carelessly ripping a piece of his coat up, he wrapped it around her knuckles, stopping the bleeding a little.
He didn't know why he did it. Hiei just felt compelled to do it though.
Sniffling, Sango rubbed her eyes and starting crying again. Without anything to vent her anger and feelings on now, she just leaned into Hiei and grasped his shirt, sobbing even more.
Shocked a little, he didn't know what to do, so Hiei just sat there, patting her on the back gently and making an effort to comfort her. He would try and find Kurama. Hiei was very worried now. But even if he found him, they wouldn't get back in time.
So now they would just have to wait and hope for some miracle to happen.
Koenma's Office…
Koenma sat there in his teenager form, muttering something about traitors…
"Stupid traitors! I send him to seal the rip in the barrier, but nooo! He just has to go back to the temple to check if Yukina's alright and ditch the mission entirely!"
He brought his fist down onto his desk with a bang, the red ink seeping through the papers and staining the desk.
"We'll just have to try and hold for a while…But for how long?"
Somewhere in Underground Makai, South…
Kurama woke up and rubbed his eyes wearily. 'Where am I again? Oh yeah…in Makai. I think'
Somewhere in the depths of his mind, a voice snorted and yawned/Time to get going before Karasu comes. That creepy guy seems gay and I don't want to stick around/
Agreed.
Getting up, Kurama stretched a little bit and looked around the room.
'I better take some form of weapon just in case…' he grasped a pole from the cage and slipped out the door.
Making his way through the hallway, Kurama cautiously stayed on guard and found another doorway with the help of Youko. Peeking in, Youko deemed it safe, so Kurama slid in there and continued his search to get out.
'A window!' He exclaimed in his thoughts, quietly making his way to it and jerking it open. It appeared to be new because it opened without a single squeak or groan from the ghastly, rusted hinges.
"Ahh!" he covered his eyes from the blinding outside light. Being accustomed to the damp cage for a month had its serious downfalls. It took another half an hour to adjust to his surroundings again.
/It's morning/
Hai, it is
/How many more days do we have for Kagome/
Kurama dimly counted his days in the cell and gathered his thoughts. 'We have around 1 and a half days!'
/WHAT? We don't even know where we are/
Let's get going then! This is for Kagome!
Using his better instincts, Kurama headed through the thick, deep forest in the direction of north, but he didn't know that.
"I need to find a rip in the barrier…" Kurama muttered, heading towards the barrier separating Makai and Ningenkai. It was still around a 7-hour trip away and it was already morning on the LAST day…
Kurama sat on a rock, thinking warily while recovering some of his energy.
He remembered all the times they shared. The scheme in the closet, the night under the stars when he proposed…
----------------------------------------------------------------Flashback-------------------------------------------------------------------
There was silence as they sat there looking at the moon.
"Hey, Kagome…?"
"Yes, Kurama?"
"I…I… I love you a lot and through these past months that I have gotten to know you, I've denied it so many times but I just ignored it until now. I love spending time with you and I can relax in your presence. I need to know, will you be my mate?"
"Oh, Kurama…I-I love you too and yes…I will be your mate"
----------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback-------------------------------------------------------------
He sighed. Getting back up, he pinpointed the way to the barrier and trudged down the path.
Genkai's Temple…
He blinked once. Twice. Yusuke yawned and rubbed his eyes and the morning rays filtered down through the window to his left.
Yusuke heard a door click open and he looked up.
"She's not getting any better" Sango sat down on the edge of her bed and felt her forehead, "Her fever's gone up and won't stop ascending in temperature" The cousin noticed that her eyes were red and puffy.
Yukina quietly entered the room, "I checked up on her last night. Kagome was thrashing in her sleep and crying" she gave a worried glance to her sleeping form. The ice maiden's eyes were red as well.
"Kagome…" Yusuke whispered, placing his hand on top of hers, "We have to try and find Kurama"
Somebody else sighed from the door.
"Even if we did find him, we wouldn't be able to make it back before midnight" Genkai turned around in regret and walked out the door, but not before mentioning, "But it's worth a try…dimwit, call Hiei"
"Hie-"
"I'm right here, fool" He jumped in from the window and did the strangest thing. He HUGGED Sango!
Yusuke gawked, "Uh…where's Miroku, Kuwabara and Kahyi?"
"They told me that they went with Botan to try and look up a little more information for the prophecy," Yukina explained.
"How much longer do we have?"
Sango bowed her head down, "9 hours"
"WHAT?"
Somewhere In Makai…
Kurama looked up at the moon. It was around 10pm… ((I know, you can read the sun and probably not the moon, but let's just pretend we can, shall we…))
"I've got to go faster" he gritted his teeth as the gash on his leg caused him pain.
He had gotten it just a few hours ago…
-----------------------------------------------------------------Flashback----------------------------------------------------------------
Rocks suddenly sprayed out of the ground in his path. He stepped back and a rock flew past his leg, tearing his skin in the process.
'What? What didn't I sense that demon?'
/Just kill it/ Youko urged on.
Kurama mentally scowled, something he hardly did. 'Well it isn't easy with you commenting on every fault I make'
"Rose Whip!"
His trademark whip sliced through the air and beheaded the demon before it finished getting out of the ground…Purple blood spewed everywhere.
-------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------
Blood was no longer spewing out of his leg but rather, crusted little bits around the vine he had used to wrap around the injury.
Around half an hour later, he arrived at the infamous barrier.
'Can I trust you Yoko?'
/Well, Pssh, of course you can/
Kurama raised an eyebrow, 'I mean really'
Youko sighed mentally /I won't do anything else, really. Besides, we need to get to Kagome/
Your right.
Youko then took over Kurama's body, but still in his human form, started searching for a possible rip in the barrier.
/Found one/ Youko alerted Kurama.
They successfully slipped through.
Kurama regained control and glanced up at the moon, "It's around 11pm…" he whispered.
The fox looked around, confused about where he was. Now what?
Koenma's Office…
"Oh well…" he muttered, "At least only the lower level demons have passed though…"
Koenma took a peek at the radar again and bolted upright in his seat.
"A S-class demon just passed through!" he nearly screamed.
Flipping open whatever he used to communicate with Yusuke, he yelled into the device.
'Dad's gonna kill me!' He wailed in his mind.
"What do you want pacifier-breath? I'm not in a good mood"
He could tell by that. There were red and black rings under his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but an S-Class demon just passed through the barrier! I need you to destroy it! It will probably only take 15 minutes!"
Yusuke sighed, "Fine toddler, but this is only to get you to stop bothering me. But what's more important? The Reikai and Makai, or one, single, DAMNED S-Class demon?"
Without another room for conversation, Yusuke seemed to slam the communicator shut, but not before a single drop of tear splattered the screen.
Genkai's Temple…
"What is it Yusuke?" Sango lifted her head up from Hiei's sleeve she had a death grip on.
He sighed, "Toddler jerk needs me to do an errand, I'll be back in around 15 minutes, or so he says…"
"Sure then" Botan responded, opening up a portal. Yusuke took one last glance at Kagome's sleeping form and stepped through.
Somewhere in Ningenkai…
"Gotta get this done fast…" he muttered, positioning his rei gun.
He heard a twig snap in the distance and a shadow walked by, possessing youki energy.
"HEY! YOU! GET OUT HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU QUICKLY!"
The shadow turned to Yusuke and took a step towards him, saying something that he didn't catch.
"YOUR DEATH WISH!" Yusuke yelled and fired, "SPIRIT GUN!"
The blue orb of energy whizzed at the form. Yusuke watched as the figure narrowly missed the blast, out of surprise.
Yusuke smirked, but then it faltered.
"What the hell did you do that for?" the form hissed at Yusuke, clearly agitated, tired, and dreary.
"To kill you of course, stupid" he snorted arrogantly.
"Kill me? Yusuke! And to think you were also smart enough to not call me stupid" the shadow growled.
Yusuke peered into the shadows questionably, "Who are you?"
"Kurama of course! Now where's Kagome?"
"KURAMA!" Yusuke exclaimed, racing up to his friend.
"Where's Kagome?" he repeated.
"In Genkai's temple! She's not doing so well, but she has to see you to get better!"
"I know, but its kind of hard with you blabbering your nonsense away right now" Kurama hinted exasperatedly.
"Oh-right!" He flipped open his blue communicator.
"Yes, Yusuke?"
"I've found Kurama! Open up a portal to the temple right now!"
"Right away!" Botan exclaimed excitedly. In the background, you could hear her shouting, "Guys! Yusuke found Kurama!"
A couple minutes later, a blue portal opened up and Botan stumbled through. Briskly, she grabbed hold of Kurama and Yusuke's arms, dragging them through the portal.
"Yo, Botan! What's the rush now?" Yusuke scowled, rubbing his wrist after she let go.
"YUSUKE! In case you haven't noticed, WE have 5 more minutes UNTIL MIDNIGHT!"
"Ahh! Get your ass over here Kurama!"
Silently, they walked into the room she was in, somewhere on the other side of where they were before.
"Kagome…" Kurama whispered in horror. Her complexion was pale and she was sweating. But besides all of that, she wouldn't wake up.
Yusuke grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard, "Wake up! Kurama's here! Wake up! C'mon Kagome! Don't you die on me now!"
Kurama sat on the bed and slightly leaned over her face.
Everyone in the room held their breaths. In order for her to know he was there…there would have to be some proof. But she wouldn't wake up, so how would she know?
He watched as the desperate cousin roughly shook her shoulders in agony. Seconds passed as it seemed like long, dreadful hours.
And then it came.
Her last intake of breath.
What do you think so far? I made a longer chapter, Yay!
Hope you enjoyed it, onegai review!
Sayonara,
Tenshi-Battosai