Author's Note: Thanks for all the support everyone! I love you all and thanks to you and your encouraging words I can continue this story with confidence! Thanks also for all your creative suggestions on how to make Inu Yasha remember Kagome. Sorry everyone but I already used the kiss idea in previous chapters remember? When he transformed the first time. So I'm afraid I can't use the idea twice. But I will make it mushy don't worry about that.
Chapter 22 (right?): Connected by Blood.
Kagome panicked frantically "No" she looked at the pocket watch, only 10 minutes left. If she was going to save herself and her soul, she was going to have to do it fast!
But what could she do? Inu Yasha was past saving now, and Kagome feared that if she even tried to get close to him he wouldn't hesitate to claw her to death. This was going to be even harder than Kagome could have ever imagined. Not only would she have to make Inu Yasha realize her feelings without saying them aloud, she would also have to do it without getting too close.
That bitch Kikyo, this was all her fault. If not for her dirty tricks Kagome wouldn't be in this mess right now. But still, deep down in the bottom of her heart, Kagome could not fully hate Kikyo. After all, they were related. But that wasn't only that reason. In a way, Kagome was almost grateful towards Kikyo. In spite of everything she had done to harm her, it was Kikyo's doing that caused her to meet Inu Yasha. And it was also Kikyo's doing that caused Kagome to be unable to leave Inu Yasha or get even 3 feet away from his castle without the premonitions stopping her.
It was because of this that Kagome was somewhat forced to see past Inu Yasha's monstrous appearance and into the heart of gold that lay underneath the scars of his pain. No one had ever done that before. Kagome was so used to judging things by their appearance that she had almost forgotten how to get to know someone.
But that wasn't entirely her fault either. After all, people had always thought her father was crazy because of his ideas and the impression he gave to the world. They also thought her odd because she always seemed to have her nose in a book. But if the village people had gotten to know Kagome and her father maybe they wouldn't have been so quick to call them odd and crazy. Kagome inwardly thanked Kikyo for reminding her of why it was so important to see past someone's outward appearance.
The battle raged on and Kagome could feel parts of her body going numb. Looking over to her left, she saw Rin and Ayame running towards her. "Kagome-chan!" Rin screamed out as the two knelt beside her "Are you alright, we thought you were dead!"
Kagome smiled weakly "I can't die yet" she said hoarsely, grunting in pain as she tried to sit up "Not when I have so many things to do first."
"Kagome-chan you shouldn't move" Ayame said "you have too many wounds."
"But I have to!" Kagome cried suddenly "I have to get up and go with Inu Yasha, I must end this battle."
"You can't!" Rin shouted, tears of grief streaming down her dirt-stained cheeks "You'll die!"
"She's right" said a masculine voice. Not Naraku's, and not Inu Yasha's, but Koga's "You shouldn't over exert yourself" he said weakly, crawling over to them.
"Koga" Kagome said harshly "Are you still alive."
"Don't do anything rash Kagome" he replied with a small smile "You shouldn't hurt the one that's going to help you."
"Help me!" Kagome cried out in disbelief "If anything you've harmed me the most! You turned my love into a real monster, you made my friend betray me, how in hell are you going to help me?"
"Would I be redeeming myself if I said I'll take you to wherever Inu Yasha is running off to?" Koga questioned.
"What?" Kagome said confusedly, looking over to Inu Yasha, who was indeed running off, chasing Naraku deep into the forest. As much as she hated the thought of it, she was going to have to trust Koga.
Though he had hurt both her and those she cared about, he was the only way she had to get close to Inu Yasha. Checking her watch, the hands moved slowly I must hurry she said or Inu Yasha shall never be saved.
Kagome looked back to Koga with a desperate expression on her face "please" she said "take me to him."
Koga smiled and lifted Kagome onto his back "Consider this my apology for hurting you so badly" he said "I truly am sorry Kagome you must know that."
Kagome smiled in spite of herself and said "Consider this my acceptance of your sincere apology" and with that she kissed him gently and friendly like on the cheek "Now let's go Koga, and hurry!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Koga sprinted off, careful not to drop Kagome who lay almost limply on his back "Inu Yasha has quite a history" he said in a desperate attempt to keep Kagome from falling into an eternal sleep "the curse placed on him is quite complicated."
"It is" Kagome agreed "But maybe it is a curse that should be heard about."
"What do you mean?" Koga said.
"The curse forced me to see past Inu Yasha's looks" Kagome explained, her breaths growing shallow.
"Why is it that you are so desperate to end this quickly?" Koga asked "You're alive are you not? You still have time don't you?"
"No, I'm not alive" Kagome answered him "and my time here is running out much quicker than you realize."
"I'm afraid I don't understand" Koga said confusedly "how can you be dead when you are here on earth, breathing, moving, loving?"
"It's hard to explain but I will try" Kagome said.
"Start from the beginning" Koga said.
Kagome breathed in deeply "in the beginning I was having very weird dreams, premonitions actually, of a bloodthirsty monster with cold red eyes and a penetrating glare. I was afraid, naturally, that I would soon have to face this monster. The premonitions kept coming, until the day my father went to the annual inventor's convention. When he didn't come back I went to look for him. He had gone to a dark, ominous castle and was being held captive there by the exact monster that I had seen in the premonitions. To save my father, I took his place and became the monster's captive. I soon learned that his name was Inu Yasha and that he had a long history as a human. He was a prince, his parents killed by the very man you were in league with."
A look of shame swept over Koga's face at that remark. But Kagome continued, unbothered by this.
"On many occasions I tried to escape. But every attempt failed miserably on account of the premonitions zapping my strength. It was clear to me that I wouldn't be able to go back on my word and would have to stay there with him just as I had said I would. But it was not as horrible as I would have thought. I met many of Inu Yasha's servants, under the same curse as he himself. So I soon grew to love Inu Yasha very much and I was determined to break the spell even though I didn't know how. To be perfectly honest I still don't know how. But something is telling me that if I just let him know how I feel, everything will be alright. That's how it worked in all the books I read anyway. Everything was fine until you and Naraku made him transform and I was forced to sacrifice myself for him. When I died I met Kikyo, my ancestor and the very person who put the curse on Inu Yasha. She was a vengeful, menacing creature and she made a bet with me, I had to break Inu Yasha's curse before 2 hours was up. But when I came back to earth, I found out that my time was being powered by Inu Yasha's demonic power, the angrier he got and the more fighting he did, the less time I would have here. As it is I only have minutes to spare. So that's why I must hurry and break the spell on Inu Yasha!"
"Don't worry Kagome" Koga said, running faster "we're almost there just hang on a little longer!"
Kagome nodded weakly and rested her head on Koga's shoulder, an action that caused him to blush. But he knew that she was in love with Inu Yasha, not himself and there was no point in wishing what he knew could never be true. Running faster, he soon caught sight of Inu Yasha and Naraku. In his full monster form, Inu Yasha did indeed look menacing and scary. Kagome's description matched him perfectly. Inu Yasha followed Naraku, who tried to evade him by jumping quickly onto the roof of the castle.
"What can we do from here?" Koga asked, coming to a slow stop.
"We have to get onto the roof of the castle" Kagome said "that's the only way to get close enough for me to reach him."
"Alright" Koga said, still unsure of what Kagome was planning to do. After all, even after she got onto the roof how was she to reach Inu Yasha? If she even attempted to get within a inch of him he might kill her! Regardless, he knew Kagome had a plan. The look in her eyes made it so obvious that if people were surrounding them, they would be able to tell in an instant. She shone with determination and hope. So strongly that it gave Koga an ounce of inspiration as he got closer to the castle wall. Somehow he knew that things would be okay in the end.
They were soon so close to the wall that if she reached out, Kagome would have been able to feel the coarse texture of the bricks. Koga let her off his back, seemingly stumped. How was she to get to the roof from here? Climbing the stairs would definitely take too much time, but what other choice was there.
"What are you going to do now Kagome?" he asked, curious though he knew this was no time to pry.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kagome said "I have to get to the roof."
"But how?" Koga said "there can't possibly be enough time for you to make if you take the stairs."
"Who said anything about stairs" Kagome said, smirking in spite of her weakness. She reached out a hand and grabbed an edge of the brick that was sticking out. The castle walls were so old and rotted that some of the bricks that were coming apart were beginning to stick out at odd angles. Although at any other time, this would be a hazard, right now Kagome could not have been more grateful that the castle was so ancient.
Placing her foot on another odd brick, Kagome scaled her way up the wall, slipping a few times and scraping her wrists and legs. But she knew she had to keep moving if she wanted to save herself, and ultimately, Inu Yasha. So she ignored the stinging of the dirt as it seeped itself into her wounds. From down below Koga could see the crimson liquid trickling down the wall, making great contrast against the pale yellow colour of the bricks. A slight hissing could be heard from the heat of her blood steaming against the stone, frosty from the harsh cold of the coming night.
Kagome shivered slightly but continued up the wall. Time was running out, she could feel it. It was getting harder and harder to climb. But instead of giving up, she tried to climb faster. The only thing that kept her going was the words being repeated over and over in her head I've got to save him, I've got to save him, I've got to save him.
Meanwhile Inu Yasha and Naraku were still fiercely at battle. "My, my Inu Yasha" Naraku said, knowing that even if he could hear, Inu Yasha would never be able to understand any insult Naraku threw at him in his current state "It seems you've gotten a bit faster. I don't know what's made you so angry all of a sudden, but its making you more of a worthy opponent. And that makes it much more fun for me when I destroy you and take the throne!"
Inu Yasha of course, couldn't understand and merely snarled, lunging for Naraku. Though Naraku dodged, Inu Yasha was still able to give him a fairly deep gash along his arm.
"Impressive" Naraku muttered as his torn sleeve flew away from him in the harsh winds.
Kagome struggled to climb, Inu Yasha's newly found speed was eating away great chunks of Kagome's remaining life force. The winds made it hard for her to see, but she continued on. "Inu Yasha!" she called as she reached a spot high enough on the wall to see him "Please you've got to stop!"
Inu Yasha was unable to hear her and simply continued to fight with the enemy that stood before him. "Inu Yasha go back to your original form" Kagome yelled loudly considering her limitations.
What can I do? Kagome thought to herself as she watched Inu Yasha take out his rage on Naraku Yelling to him from this far away isn't doing any good but I don't think I have enough strength to climb the rest of the way up the wall and onto the roof. If I'm going to do something, I have to do it right here.
She thought frantically, searching the very depths of her mind for an answer to this great riddle. When suddenly, it tugged at her, literally. She felt a slight tug on her pinky finger and looked to it. Her vision was starting to go blurry and she could tell that soon, her body would stop moving. But she wouldn't lose, no matter what she would not sell her heart to Kikyo. There around her pinky, was a tiny red thread, the one that connected her and Inu Yasha together. That was it! She would get to him via the thread!
Quickly she pressed the thread to the mouth of one of her wounds, drenching it in crimson blood. She then shook the thread and could only watch as the blood inched its way down the string.
10 seconds left
Kagome shook the string as violently as she could so that the blood would move faster.
9 seconds left
The blood was about half way through the string. Kagome's legs were starting to get numb.
8 seconds left
About three quarters of the way, Kagome was forced to shake the string slower losing the feeling in her hands as well.
7 seconds left
Kagome's cuts from Kikyo's triangle were beginning to tear themselves open again. The stinging pain was almost unbearable but Kagome continued.
6,5
It was getting harder to breathe now. Shallow wheezes were all that Kagome could muster. The blood was only inches away.
4,3
The blood was nearly touching Inu Yasha's fingers. Kagome shook violently one last time, her eyes half lidded as she fought the urge to sleep.
2
The blood touched Inu Yasha's fingers! He pulsated with heat and put his hands to his head "Ka…" he mumbled "go…me…" he said slowly. But nothing else escaped his lips as he knelt down to the ground in pain, the pulsating continuing as the blood swept over the palm of his hand hot with a pure untainted gleam.
Kagome was hanging onto the wall by one hand now, too weak to do anything else; she knew she couldn't fight it anymore. I'm sorry Inu Yasha were her last thoughts.
1
"INU YASHA!" she screamed, letting go of the wall and plummeting down towards the earth "I LOVE YOU!"
Author's note: hahahahahahaha! Cliffie! Wahaha well you know what will get the next chapter up faster! Review, review, review! What shall happen next? You'll have to wait and see.