Don't Cry For Me Chapter 7, an inuyasha fanfic

A/N: Sorry about the time between updates...I was just handed another lovely project for another one of my classes, and had to get that done before I could keep writing...didn't take long...but I'm a frequent updater, so sometimes it bugs me. LoL. Anyway, hope you like chapter seven!

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Don't Cry for Me
Chapter Seven

The demon called Akumaru laughed in amusement. "Inuyasha...you are still standing in my way...and now, you even have your sword drawn?" He chuckled. "I take that to mean that I am indeed going to have to kill you..." he nodded. "You should have stayed out of this and saved yourself the pain..."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered. "Don't do it...there's something wrong. He's not worried at all...He might hurt you..."

"I don't care about that, Kagome. If he wasn't standing right in front of the doorway, I would have already suggested that you run...but it looks like the three of us will have to take the hard way out of this situation..." Inuyasha frowned.

Miroku took a deep breath. "Inuyasha...should I...?" he asked. He was holding loosely onto the prayer beads that bound his cursed hand.

Inuyasha shook his head. "This is too small a space, Miroku. I don't want innocent people to get hurt because of this..."

"Well I don't want you to get hurt!" Kagome retorted.

"He hasn't done anything yet, Kagome. He's just trying to intimidate..." Akumaru's sword came forward, and Inuyasha gasped in surprise as he lodged it into his stomach.

Kagome screamed. "Inuyasha!"

"I told you not to get in my way, half demon." he smirked.

Inuyasha thrust his sword into the ground for balance.

"Kagome...if you come with me willingly, I will not kill Inuyasha. As it stands, he can not even stand on his own. I doubt he could fend me off for long, even if you wanted to stay..." Akumaru smiled.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, and then glanced in Miroku's direction. Miroku's jaw fell to the floor in realization.

Kagome gulped. "You promise you won't hurt him...or any of my friends? You will leave them alone, and you won't come after them anymore...?"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed. "No! What the hell are you thinking?"

Kagome seemed not to hear him. "Answer me..." she nearly commanded.

The demon nodded. "I've come for you, Kagome. I have no need to kill any of your friends..."

"You can't trust him!" Inuyasha groaned.

"If it means he wouldn't hurt you..." Kagome began.

"No, it just means he would kill you!" Inuyasha yelped. "I just got you back, Kagome! I don't want to lose you again! What would have been the point? You can't just give up and let this guy have what he wants!"

Kagome looked down at the floor. Inuyasha's blood was collecting in a rather large pool at his feet. He still had his sword plunged into the ground to keep himself in a standing position. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt...if it's me he is after...I can't let it happen..."

She took several steps forward.

"Lady Kagome..." Miroku pulled at the prayer beads holding back his cursed hand. He was now standing in front of Inuyasha, between him and Kagome. "I'm going to do it..." he whispered.

"Miroku...no...there are still people in the village that could be hurt..." Inuyasha groaned.

Miroku groaned in anger. "Lady Kagome!" he yelled. "I insist that you..."

"Miroku...take Inuyasha and get out of here..." Kagome commanded.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Oh, no, wench! The monk isn't taking me anywhere!" he growled. "And you aren't going anywhere either..."

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, and gasped. She felt a sudden surge of power, and it certainly wasn't coming from her foe. She turned slowly to see that Inuyasha's grip had, if possible, tightened around his sword. He jerked the weapon out of the ground with a low growl, and motioned for Kagome to get behind him. Miroku gulped and followed suit.

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Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks. "That demon is in the old woman's village!" he realized. "Damn! I left Rin there!" He paused a moment when he turned, another realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"Lord Sesshoumaru...?" The toad Jacken squeaked. "Are you all right?"

"Jacken...can you sense that...?" Sesshoumaru asked rather than answer his question.

Jacken screwed up his face in concentration. He blinked. "What is that, master?" he frowned.

"I think...I think that is Inuyasha..." he whispered, more to himself than to his servant. "Come, Jacken," he said louder, "we need to return to the village immediately."

"But..." Jacken whined.

"Now!" Sesshoumaru ordered loudly, although the look on his face did not change.

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Inuyasha growled.

Akumaru laughed with amusement. "Now what is this little surprise?" he smirked. "The half demon had a little bit of power on reserve, did he?"

Miroku shook his head with worry. "Kagome, he still has his sword..." he pointed. "I don't understand...how come he is still changing?" he whispered. "Do you think we should...?"

Kagome frowned. "No, Miroku. I don't think he has completely changed...his sword has to be away from him for that to happen...but I do think he's tapped into some of his power. I wouldn't worry. He's never hurt any of us before. He's trying to protect us..."

"You are bleeding all over the place, half demon. Do you honestly think that extra little bit of power will somehow save you and your friends?" Akumaru mused. "I will get what I came here for. I always get what I want, Inuyasha. Always."

"Not this time, you won't..." Inuyasha swore under his breath.

Kagome frowned. "Be careful, Inuyasha...please...you're still injured..." she whispered softly.

So much pain and so much darkness
In this world we stumble through
All these questions I can't answer
So much work to do

"I don't plan on losing, Kagome. I made you a promise a while back, remember? I don't break my promises." Inuyasha whispered to her.

Kagome nodded slowly.

"Lady Kagome, what does he...?" Miroku wondered out loud.

Kagome smiled slightly. "He told me he would always protect me," she told him, "and he hasn't failed me yet," she added proudly.

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Sesshoumaru gasped uncharacteristically when he finally reached the old woman's village. The demon he had been looking for had his half brother, his half brother's woman Kagome, and the perverse monk all trapped in Kagome's hut. The demon's scent got stronger and stronger, but so did this odd feeling of power coming from Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru stopped completely. "Rin is no longer here," he said out loud. "She was taken away with the rest of Inuyasha's pack..." he observed. "They must have already been confronted by the demon before they could get out..."

"Lord Sesshoumaru...are you planning on helping your half blood brother and his human friends?" Jacken frowned.

Sesshoumaru looked down. "Jacken..." he said in a low, warning tone of voice. "Do not question my motives. Ever..."

"I understand, Lord Sesshoumaru..." Jacken nodded hard. "Are we here to help the demon, then?"

Sesshoumaru knocked Jacken unceremoniously on the top of his head and growled. "Do not open your mouth again if it will only be to make another one of those idiot statements, Jacken!" he growled in anger.

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Akumaru stopped dead, and turned his head sideways to listen. "Apparently, some of your reinforcements have arrived..." he smirked. He took a deep breath. "Although...hmm...there is something rather familiar about that scent...I can't put my finger on it...it was so long ago..."

Inuyasha blinked, and took a deep breath. He blinked. His half brother Sesshoumaru and Sesshoumaru's servant Jacken were in the village now. Could the scent Akumaru picked up on have been Sesshoumaru's? And if so, what was so familiar about it? Did this demon know Sesshoumaru?

Inuyasha growled, bringing his sword down and finally sending Akumaru flying through the wall of the hut.

Sesshoumaru stood just outside. He looked with mild interest down on the demon that Inuyasha had just knocked down.

Akumaru jumped up in surprise. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" he gasped. "I thought it might have been Lord Inutaisho..." he whispered. "The two of you must be closely related..."

"And Kouga called this guy 'really intelligent', didn't he?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Lord Inutaisho was my father. I am the ruler of the western lands now, Akumaru..." Sesshoumaru growled. "And that," Sesshoumaru pointed to Inuyasha and Kagome, "happens to be my brother and his intended that you have been trying to hurt..."

At this, Akumaru looked somewhat alarmed, but kept his composure.

Jacken tugged on Sesshoumaru's robes.

He looked down. "What, Jacken?" he frowned.

Jacken cleared his throat. "I remember this demon, Lord Sesshoumaru," he said, boldly looking into the not-so-amused eyes of Akumaru. "According to your father's decree, he was banned from hunting his victims on your father's land..."

Sesshoumaru blinked and nodded as though he had just remembered something of great importance . "Thank you for reminding me, Jacken..." he replied simply, and glared at the demon in front of him.

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose in interest, and he let his sword fall to his side. Within minutes, he was back to his normal self as he watched the spectacle in front of him.

Akumaru frowned. "Your father, the mighty Inutaisho, is dead. I can do as I please..." he smirked.

"Apparently, Akumaru, no one warned you about me," Sesshoumaru snarled. "Inuyasha...take Kagome and your monk and leave immediately." he ordered.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to..." Inuyasha began to growl.

Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha...come on." she insisted. "Sesshoumaru can handle this on his own. You two really should get along a little better..." she frowned.

After a moment, Inuyasha nodded, and with one final suspicious and hateful glance at Akumaru, he allowed Kagome and Miroku to climb onto his back, and began to follow the scent of Kirara and the others.

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"That was...a rather odd encounter..." Miroku mused.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Sesshoumaru's really touchy about dad...and well, about everything...but mostly about dad..."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Miroku laughed.

Inuyasha growled. "Shut up, Miroku."

"Speaking of which, Inuyasha, someone I know is bleeding all over the place and should really stop and rest for a minute." she whispered in his ear. "Shippo knows our scent. He can tell the others."

After some time, Kagome finally convinced Inuyasha of the benefits of stopping for rest. The sun was low in the sky, and perhaps Inuyasha's only real motivation for stopping was that darkness would soon be upon them. He rested himself up against a tree as he usually did, and watched Kagome and Miroku in their activities around the small fire they had built.

Kagome had something on her mind since Sesshoumaru had showed up to help them with Akumaru. Something he had said to the demon had really gotten her thinking. She didn't understand what it meant...and on top of that, Sesshoumaru's behavior toward her and toward Inuyasha lately had been strangely opposite of the usual...

His words ran through her head over and over as she tried to grasp the hidden meaning behind them.

At this, Akumaru looked somewhat alarmed, but kept his composure.

Jacken tugged on Sesshoumaru's robes.

He looked down. "What, Jacken?" he frowned.

Jacken cleared his throat. "I remember this demon, Lord Sesshoumaru," he said, boldly looking into the amused eyes of Akumaru. "According to your father's decree, he was banned from hunting his victims on your father's land..."

Sesshoumaru blinked and nodded as though he had just remembered something of . "Thank you for reminding me, Jacken..." he replied simply, and glared at the demon in front of him.

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose in interest, and he let his sword fall to his side. Within minutes, he was back to his normal self as he watched the spectacle in front of him.

Akumaru frowned. "Your father, the mighty Inutaisho, is dead. I can do as I please..." he smirked.

"Apparently, Akumaru, no one warned you about me," Sesshoumaru snarled. "Inuyasha...take Kagome and your monk and leave immediately." he ordered.

Kagome blinked, and turned to see Inuyasha looking at her with interest from his place sitting under the tree. She sighed and walked over to him. Maybe he would know the meaning behind his brother's odd behavior, and behind the even more strange conversation he had been having with Akumaru earlier that day...

Inuyasha scooted over when he realized that Kagome was coming to join him under the tree. "Are you going to be warm enough if you stay over here?" he asked her.

"I'm not cold." She nodded. "I'll be fine...I was actually going to ask you something..." her voice trailed off.

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What is it, Kagome?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath. "Don't you think that...well, that Sesshoumaru has been acting a little weird around me and you lately? I mean...it's a nice change, but I guess it just seems a little odd to me..." She paused. "And earlier today...he said something that I think actually scared Akumaru. He said 'that happens to be my brother and his intended that you have been trying to hurt'...What exactly do you think he meant by that, Inuyasha?" Kagome wondered out loud.

Inuyasha gulped and turned an odd shade of scarlet. As soon as Kagome said it, he knew that she had been thinking about the same thing that he had. He took a deep breath. "I..don't know, Kagome..." he looked away. "I mean...I think I know what he meant...I'm pretty sure...but I'm not too sure that you are going to think that it's very funny..." he stammered nervously.

Kagome laughed slightly. "Well Inuyasha, that will all depend on what it is, won't it?" she smiled. "Can't you just tell me? I've been wondering about it all day..." she gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

He sighed deeply. "I'll tell you...but first...where's that damn monk? I don't want him to get any cockeyed ideas..." he finally caved.

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A/N: I wonder what Inuyasha will say? Tune in next time to find out :D And be sure to review and let me know what you think so far!