Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Ok kiddies, let's see what Inu-yasha has to say about Kagome's relationship with Sessho-maru. We all know how level-headed the hanyou is, so I'm sure it will be a calm discussion. Hehehehe……

The Beginning And The End

Chapter 8

Inu-yasha woke up again for the fifth time since trying to go to sleep. He noticed Kagome was gone, out for her early morning walk no doubt. Maybe I should find her and clear the air between us. I was stupid and should just apologize. Over the past months he'd come to truly care for her and he wasn't going to lose everything they'd built up over a kiss. He would just have to live with Kagome as his friend. For now. He was sure that if he just gave her some time, she would come to care for him as much as he cared for her. He stood up and stretched before taking a deep breath and locating the direction in which Kagome had gone, and in a blur of red and white, he was gone.

As he approached the shore of the stream he saw her bag, clothes and towel, but no Kagome. He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere. "Kagome? You around?" He smelled the air again and caught her scent coming from further up the riverbed. And there was another scent too. He grabbed her stuff and shoved it in the bag, throwing it over his shoulders before heading further up the river. As he flitted along he smelled the air again and when he realized who the other scent belonged to, he felt a tightness in his chest. Sessho-maru! If he's hurt her I'll rip him apart!

As Inu-yasha tracked down Kagome's scent, he heard her cry out and then a growl. When he reached the two, he looked on in horror. He's raping her! Inu-yasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga,

"Let her go you bastard!"

At the sound of Inu-yasha's voice, they froze. Sessho-maru pulled back from Kagome's neck, calm golden eyes meeting stunned green eyes.

"I said let her go now you depraved piece of shit!"

His eyes still fixed on Kagome, he slowly backed away a few steps, pulling his pants up and tying them. He offered his shirt to Kagome to cover herself. "This is not what you think, Inu-yasha. I am not hurting Kagome." He turned to face his brother, his face calm, showing no emotion. "As you can see, she is unharmed."

Inu-yasha looked over at Kagome who was still leaning against the tree, panting, flushed, with Sessho-maru's shirt barely covering her naked body. Inu-yasha looked from Kagome to Sessho-maru and back again.

"Kagome. Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine, Inu-yasha. Sessho-maru wasn't attacking me. It's ok." She took a few steps past Sessho-maru, toward Inu-yasha, "Just calm down and put Tetsusaiga away please. I can explain everything." She came to a stop a few feet from the confused half-demon and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him sheath his sword. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but---"

"Tell me what? What's going on---" Suddenly Inu-yasha's eyes went wide with realization. "You and --?" His voice had lost its anger, and now carried all his confusion, hurt and disbelief. "How--?" He took a step towards Kagome. "Why--?" He took another step and was now standing inches away from Kagome, his eyes pleading with her to tell him this was just a nightmare.

Kagome didn't know what to say. One hand clutched at the collar of the shirt as if it would protect her from this horrible situation. "Inu-yasha…." She reached out for his hand and as their fingers entwined she felt him trembling. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner. But we were getting along so well I didn't want to ruin it."

Inu-yasha felt the demonic pulse course through his body at Kagome's touch. His eyes took in the full picture of a half naked Kagome in Sessho-maru's shirt, and Sessho-maru himself standing off to the side, unflinching in his calmness. As Inu-yasha's eyes raked over Kagome, he saw a small trickle of blood make its way down from her neck. His eyes widened and the pulse became stronger. No…he...he marked her. Kagome….His heart began to beat faster. His breathing became heavy and he emitted a low growl. He bared his fangs in a menacing smile and tightened his grip on Kagome's hand.

"Kagome, get away from him!"

Sessho-maru called out the warning too late. As Kagome turned towards the shouted warning in confusion, using his lightening speed Inu-yasha slashed Kagome's throat with his razor-sharp claws. He let Kagome drop where she stood and stared down at her as she lay bleeding to death, gasping her last few breathes. When he looked up for his brother, wanting to kill the bastard, all he saw was a flash of golden eyes and the slash of a silver blade. Sessho-maru had plunged Tokijin right through Inu-yasha's midsection. The surprised half demon fell to the ground, his blood starting to mix with Kagome's in the soil.

"Kagome! Kagome!"

Sessho-maru felt for a pulse but there was none. He stood up, still shaking in anger and waiting for the death apparitions to show. Once he saw the little gremlin-type creatures, he drew the Tenseiga and slashed across Kagome's body, destroying the harbingers. Kagome's body glowed bright yellow, and when the light died down, there lay Kagome, alive, with no visible signs of injury. Sessho-maru sheathed the sword and for the first time, thanked his father for the gift he'd thought useless all these years. He bent down and picked her up, careful not to jostle her.

Sessho-maru looked down at his brother, knowing that he wasn't dead, and not caring whether he lived or died. He left his brother to his fate and raced back to his fortress with the unconscious priestess.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He heard Sessho-maru scream Kagome's name. He was face down on the ground and he could smell the overwhelming stench of his own blood mixed with Kagome's. What have I done? Did I just kill Kagome? He felt a small gust of air and knew that Sessho-maru had taken Kagome away. He closed his eyes, his body willing him to fall into the waiting blackness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was aware of people talking. They sounded upset and confused. He tried to open his eyes, speak, something, anything to let them know he wasn't worth their concern and to just leave him but he felt his body being handled gently and he fell back into the blackness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first time Inu-yasha opened his eyes after his confrontation with Kagome he found himself in familiar surroundings. He was in Kaede's dwelling. He recognized the smell before he opened his eyes to see the warm, semi-dark room he was accustomed to sleeping in whenever they visited the village. He tried to get up but his body refused. He turned his head to stare at the fire and saw Shippo sleeping across the room, snuggled into a little ball of fur.

What will they do when I tell them that I killed Kagome?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He blinked his eyes open again and this time it was light out and Kaede was in the room, preparing something over the fire with Shippo watching with rapt attention.

"Good, you're awake."

The calm, relieved voice of Kaede was like a knife in his heart.

"Inu-yasha?" Shippo bounded over to his side and hugged him around the neck tightly. "I'm so glad you're awake! We were so worried! How do you feel, can I get you anything we're making up some medicine for you right now and Sango and Miroku should be back soon they've been out looking for Kagome." At this last part the little fox youkai stopped and took a deep breath, his whole countenance and voice falling at the mention of Kagome. "She's been missing for a week now. We were hoping that when you woke up you could tell us what happened."

Inu-yasha looked into the sad and desperate eyes of the young kitsune for the briefest of moments before looking away at the ceiling.

"She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'?"

"Just that. She's gone. Tell Sango and Miroku to stop looking."

"Inu-yasha……?"

Kaede's question was interrupted by Shippo's rant. He grabbed Inu-yasha's ear tails as he stood on his chest and screamed at him.

"What do you mean 'gone'! I want a better explanation, Inu-yasha! Who took her? Why did they kidnap Kagome? Stop laying here like some worthless animal! Get up! We have to go rescue her, Inu-yasha! You have to go get Kagome back!"

Inu-yasha just lay there, dead golden eyes meeting the hysterical kitsune's which were now overflowing with tears. Kaede eventually grabbed Shippo and held him tight against her, petting him, soothing him, as she had done every night since they found a half-dead Inu-yasha in the woods and brought him to her home.

"Inu-yasha…..I understand that whatever happened was traumatic, but we need to know what happened to you and Kagome and we need to go rescue her. Now you rest up and take this medicine. I'll be back to check on you in a little while."

As Kaede left the room, she heard a choked sob from Inu-yasha and for the first time since he arrived, she was more worried about the hanyou than she was about Kagome.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sango and Miroku arrived later that night looking tired and distraught. They sat down and gratefully accepted the food offered by Kaede.

"Did you find anything?"

Miroku looked to Sango who just hung her head. The monk sighed and put the bowl of food down, suddenly losing his appetite.

"No. There's no trace of Kagome. How's Inu-yasha?"

"He woke up this afternoon."

"And?"

"Did he say anything? What happened?"

"Can we talk to him?"

Kaede waved her hands, gesturing for Sango and Miroku to calm down. She took a sip of her tea and stared into the fire.

"I fear he has nothing good to say." Miroku and Sango waited for the old woman to continue. They knew this was just as hard on her as it was for them. "He said for you to stop looking for Kagome. He said she's gone."

"Gone?"

"No…." Sango covered her mouth and tears began to fall. She had managed to keep herself from crying since they found Inu-yasha a week ago. She had to be strong for all of them. Crying wasn't going to find Kagome. But now…. She felt strong arms envelope her and she let herself be held, leaning into the strong body next to her for support.

"Kaede, what did he man by 'gone'? Was she kidnapped?"

"He hasn't said anything else. I am afraid I must think the worst if he's telling us to call off the search."

"She can't be dead. She just can't be. Miroku….she can't be…."

Miroku held Sango tightly and let her cry. He eventually managed to guide her back to the bedroom and put her to bed, promising to check in on her later. As he made his way back to Kaede, he passed Inu-yasha's room and heard a small noise. He stopped and listened closely. Once he realized what it was, he entered the darkened room and whispered into the darkness.

"Inu-yasha?"

He saw movement from the far corner where the bed was laid out. It appeared Inu-yasha was sitting up, propped up in the corner of the room.

"Go away."

Miroku cringed at the voice. It was strangled with sadness. He had indeed heard crying coming Inu-yasha's room. He cautiously made his way into the room and sat on the floor, several feet away from Inu-yasha.

"I just want to talk, Inu-yasha."

"Go. Away."

"What happened with Kagome, Inu-yasha? Where is she? Who hurt you?"

More strangled noises came from the dark corner and Miroku tried to make out the figure as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. But all he could currntly see was the white bandages on Inu-yasha's midsection.

"I told Kaede……she's gone. Kagome….she's……"

"Are you trying to tell me that Kagome is dead?"

He could see Inu-yasha shaking his head back and forth and he realized that Inu-yasha had two fistfuls of his own hair.

"I saw her…..she was…..how could she….?"

"What, Inu-yasha? What was Kagome doing?"

"She…..they were…..no. No, no, no, no!"

Miroku reached out for Inu-yasha as he began to bang his head against the wall. He pulled the hysterical half demon to him tightly and they fell to the floor. Miroku managed to quiet Inu-yasha down, but not before he had secured Inu-yasha with his arms around his chest and his legs wrapped around the half demon's to keep him from thrashing around.

"It's ok, Inu-yasha. Now I want you to calmly tell me what happened."

Inu-yasha felt an eerie calmness settle over him. He felt empty inside. He knew he had to confess his horrendous crime. Perhaps it was better to do it now, in the dark, with Miroku acting as his witness. He was prepared to be hated and punished and he knew he deserved whatever befell him.

"I killed, Kagome." He felt the monk's body go stiff but he continued. "I found her in the woods with Sessho-maru. They're lovers. She'd been lying to me the whole time. Even after I told her I loved her, she still lied to me. When I saw her standing there….half naked in his shirt, a fresh mark on her neck…..I snapped. Ireached out and slashed her throat. Sessho-maru ran me through with his sword and took Kagome away. Like I said…..she's gone."

Miroku lay there, listening to the calm voice describe how he killed the woman he professed to love. He let go of Inu-yasha and lay on his back, staring unseeing up at the ceiling. How can this be? Please let this be some nightmare. Kagome is dead? Murdered by Inu-yasha? He suddenly felt sick and Miroku sprang to his feet and raced for the bathroom.

Inu-yasha lay there, tears running down his cheeks as he stared blankly into the darkness.

To be continued….