Chapter 4

Authors Note: I don't own InuYasha

Previously: "Yes, it's been a long time. I've missed you, Kagome," InuYasha finally managed to say. Looking directly at Kagome she could see the hanyou's once vibrant golden eyes were dulled.

Chapter 4

"What happened," she went to bend down to pat his head, the way she knew he liked, but he shivered and cringed at her touch, "InuYasha?" she asked again. He clamped his eyes shut.

"Let's take him to Kaede-sama," Miroku suggested.

Kagome was about to cry. She desperately wanted to know what happened to him, "Kouga will you…um," she paused, trying to ask Kouga to do a favor for InuYasha was the day you'd find out that pings could fly.

"Carry him?" Kouga eyed her.

"Please!"

Kouga sighed, "Sure."

"Thank you!"

Kouga walked over to pick up the injured hanyou, being careful not to hurt him, "No…" InuYasha mumbled, "Put me down."

"We have to go get you fixed up," Kouga protested.

"No!" InuYasha squirmed out of his grasp only to hurt himself more.

"Come on, InuYasha, we need to get you treated! Stop moving!" Kouga yelled

"I don't want to make you guys do anything you don't want to…" InuYasha muttered, "I know you all hate me."

"We never said we hated you, InuYasha," Kagome countered, trying to find one of his ears to scratch.

"You all did," the hanyou chocked out, he wanted to cry, but kept his façade going. No one would see him cry, especially not Kouga.

"We didn't mean it," Kouga said as he walked towards the entrance with InuYasha in his arms.

'Kouga's being nice!' Kagome thought gleefully. Snapping out of her thoughts and said, "Let's hurry!"

Kouga ran as fast as he could without hurting the hanyou, they reached the hut in no time. Kaede-babaa immediately went to work on his wounds while Kagome told her everything she knew.

Rags of blood lay everywhere, none of the wounds would stop bleeding. They applied medicine and herbs to his gashes which made them sting even worse. He wanted to cry out for his mother, but she was dead. 'Everyone hates me. I'm not wanted anymore. They're not happy,' the thought kept coming up.

Kaede-babaa applied some ointment to the hole in his stomach, which made his gasp for air, "Stop," InuYasha pleaded weakly. He chocked and tried to push himself away.

"Stop, InuYasha! Ye will hurt yourself!" Kaede-babaa protested his movement, but it didn't stop him.

"Please, InuYasha!" Kagome asked. 'Why?' she asked herself. She wanted to hold him down, but she knew it would only hurt him. The schoolgirl wanted to cry, she saw Shippo had already started.

InuYasha managed to push himself up on one arm. It hurt but he didn't care. He wanted to get away and find Naraku. That demon seemed to be the cause of all his problems, why can't he be the end of them? The hanyou collapsed, he couldn't take it anymore, he closed his eyes, 'I don't deserve to live,' he thought.

"Can InuYasha come out and play?" a harsh voice asked, muffled by the rain.

Kouga was the first out the door, "Have you come to die, Naraku? I feel like killing you," he asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Heh," Naraku smirked, "that only looks cute when InuYasha does it."

Kouga growled and mumbled something like 'Naraku's an asshole'.

"What did you do to InuYasha?" Kagome asked as she stepped outside, bow and arrow ready for firing.

"He-heh-heh, what haven't I done?" The demon grinned maniacally.

"What are you saying, Naraku?" Miroku questioned, as he joined Kagome.

"Kuhuhu. Fools, 2 years ago, I, Naraku, set a trap meant to ensnare all of you, and it worked perfectly."

"What trap?" Sango asked as she hurled Hiraikotsu at Naraku, he easily dodged it, even as it came back from behind.

"That day, in the forest, when InuYasha and Kagome parted….what do you think caused that?" Naraku asked has he let out some of his deadly miasma at Miroku, who barely managed to avoid it with the help of Kirara.

"InuYasha came back from trying to track you down," Kagome started, "He looked hurt, so I asked if he was okay, then he slapped me in the face and yelled at me, he was so mean. He said he hated me and that he never wanted to see me again," she started to cry, "Then he ran off," she stopped to wipe her eyes, "When he came back he acted like he didn't do anything wrong."

"Fools," Naraku said plainly.

"Wind Tunnel!" Miroku yelled as he opened up his Kazaana. Noticing the Saimyosho nearby he had to close it back up.

"That was the trap. The InuYasha that stood before you that hurt you, called you names, yelled at you, was I, Naraku."

"No…." Kagome panicked.

"Yes. Then I left, sensing that he was near. The half-breed really was confused when you started yelling at him. Confusion turned into anger, so he yelled back. Then you ran off to your time and left the jewel with him," he stopped to chuckle, "Then he went back to the slayer and monk, trying to explain why you weren't there, but they didn't trust him. Then they left."

b-bump

'This hurts!' his mind screamed.

"He went off alone after he tried asking the wolf for help. Pathetic!" Naraku sat down on a rock, "Then him and I met in battle each week, or it would seem so. It was fun watching him fight desperately against my puppets."

"No! Why would you do this!" Kagome wailed.

"Because he's pure evil," Kouga answered.

"InuYasha, you gotta hang on! Okay!" Shippo cried.

b-bump

"He-heh, I wanted to make his death just like Kikyo's," Naraku laughed.

InuYasha could hear his heartbeat in his ears. It was so loud.

b-bump

'Kagome, please help me!' his mind continued to scream. The hanyou started to cry.

"No!" Kagome sobbed. 'I remember…InuYasha told me that Kikyo died because they were unable to trust each other. Sango, Miroku, and I, we didn't trust him... an now he's…' she thought dejectedly.

'Sorry, Kagome, I really am.' He thought to himself, unsure if he said it out loud.

"He can't die on me!" Kagome sobbed, sniffling and hiccupping as she rubber her eyes. Naraku disappeared in his miasma cloud, getting in one more evil laugh before he left.

Miroku patted her shoulder, "Let's go check on InuYasha, okay?" he asked, looking as if he was going to cry also.

"Okay," she stood up. They all walked back towards Kaede-babaa's hut, glad that they weren't hurt from Naraku. Sango open the door and they all piled in, "How is he?"

"Kagome?" Shippo looked up, crying.

"Yea, Shippo?"

"He's dead," his sobs soon became wails.