A/N: Here's chapter eleven! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far, and please keep your comments coming! I love that people seem to enjoy this story so much:D

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Don't Cry for Me
Chapter Eleven

"Kagome...I want you to get out of here." Inuyasha whispered. He looked back at Sango, who was still standing behind him, along with the rest of his friends. All of them appeared to be prepared to fight to protect the young couple. Inuyasha blinked twice to ensure to himself that they all were indeed there. He sighed. "I don't want any of you to get hurt..." he admitted after a moment.

"Well Inuyasha...you can't choose our battles for us...and right now, we all 'choose' to help you out. We're your friends. That's what we are here for, remember?" It was Miroku who replied. "Besides, you'd throw a fit if it was us in your position, so let's just say we're paying you back for all those other times you saved our skin, all right?"

Inuyasha groaned. "All right..." he frowned.

In front of them, Ryo growled, and Inuyasha drew his sword.

"Sesshoumaru," he whispered. "Exactly how big a deal is this guy?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I don't know...but he took down several members of his own pack by himself...so we have our work cut out for us." he admitted. "Just make sure Kagome is protected, Inuyasha. I don't want father to turn over in his grave because of all of this. If he was alive..." Sesshoumaru trailed off. "This is not typical of any dog demon pack...we are very loyal...that is why the bond between mates is a bond for life..."

"I understand, Sesshoumaru..." Inuyasha nodded, stepping out from behind his older brother.

Kagome followed suit, her bow loaded and aimed straight at the dog demon Ryo. Lest he dared to move an inch, he would catch an arrow in the chest. Right now though, he was still standing right where he had been standing since his arrival. No one had made the first move...yet.

From behind all of them, an arrow sailed over head and hit Ryo squarely in his chest. Kagome knew from whence the arrow had come. Sesshoumaru turned in surprise to see Rin standing behind him to his left, preparing to load another arrow into her bow.

"Rin!" he yelled at her. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm shooting the bad guy, Lord Sesshoumaru! I'm helping! It will be all right! I can do it! Lady Kagome taught me how!"

Without another word, Sesshoumaru charged forward, clashing swords with Ryo. He would have to deal with his human charge later...right now, he had himself a rogue dog demon to dispose of.

Inuyasha followed his brother's example, charging forward with his sword at the ready.

"Two on one isn't fair, Lord Sesshoumaru," Ryo mocked. "Can't you handle me on your own, or must you employ your hanyou brother's help? It's quite sad, you know? Your father would have made quick work of someone like me..."

"Shut up!" Sesshoumaru snarled, his eyes turning blood red for an instant. "I am not my father!"

Inuyasha jumped back when this happened. He had only seen his brother this angry once or twice in his entire life, and he didn't want to be too close, should his brother's anger lead to his transformation.

"Stay back!" Inuyasha warned. "If he transforms, he could accidentally trample all of us!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru would never hurt us!" Rin gasped in pure horror. She herself had never seen the normally quiet demon lord in his true form, and had no clue why the prospect of his transformation was such a big deal. She considered him her protector. To her, he was not someone to be feared unless you were his enemy...which Ryo certainly was.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome called. "Don't transform! Please! There are innocent people in this village who could get hurt!" she pleaded with him.

"I think Rin is right..." Miroku mused. "I do not think that he will transform..."

Kagome sighed with relief, aiming the arrow she still had yet to fire. She let it fly, a blue trail of energy following it as it went. She hit her mark as she always does, hitting Ryo in his chest. This was the second arrow to hit him there, and he yelped in surprise when it made contact.

Sesshoumaru nodded to Kagome, who, along with Rin, already had another arrow ready and aimed by the time the first had hit.

Inuyasha soon rejoined the fray, jumping in from the side and bring his sword down. The large blade sliced Ryo's arm, and he growled. Pushing Sesshoumaru back just long enough, the rogue dog demon planted his sword in Inuyasha's stomach and then promptly sent him flying backwards into the nearest wall.

"Ah...!" Kagome yelped in pain, grabbing her stomach and retreating into a curled position. Her bow lay forgotten on the ground. "Inu...yasha..." She groaned. "You hurt...him..." she stammered.

Sesshoumaru turned around, allowing everyone to see the look of worry on his face. "Lady Kagome!" He yelled. "Get back up! You can't let it win! Inuyasha is not dead!" Because you would be a lot worse off if he actually was, the demon lord thought to himself.

Kagome groaned, slowly and shakily getting to her feet. "It...hurts..." She frowned. Looking over, Inuyasha was still unconscious, but she could tell he was still alive. She could hear his heartbeat...

Something about seeing him this way got her blood boiling. It was true, if Ryo did not further harm him, he was going to live...but Ryo had hurt him...and that made her angry.

"Mommy..." Shippo whispered, awe in his voice. "You're glowing..."

At hearing the small fox demon's words, Ryo momentarily stopped his assault on Sesshoumaru and gasped. "No! This can not be allowed to happen!" He jumped over Sesshoumaru and charged at Kagome, his sword held out in front of him.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled. "Watch out!"

Kagome released a low growl from somewhere deep in her throat. "I'm fine, Sango." she assured her friend. "I've never felt better, actually..."

Ryo stopped dead in his tracks. "You...transformed...you're...you're a hanyou..." he stammered.

Kagome blinked. "Hmm...so I am." she nodded in a matter-of-fact voice. "Are you scared?" she smirked. "I'm only a hanyou...half power, right? So, what are you so worried about?"

Shippo and Sesshoumaru blinked in surprise at Kagome's statement.

"Kagome, did you just..." Sango began.

"I am not afraid of you, half-breed." Ryo finally answered Kagome's question. He seemed to be thinking a moment. "Brace yourself, woman. You will die. I can no longer permit you to live..."

"Lady Kagome!" Kagome glanced over. Sango's sword was flying towards her. She caught it in her right hand, and studied it for a moment.

"Thanks, Sango!" she smiled. "You were saying?" she turned to Ryo.

Miroku blinked. "She sounds just as bad as Inuyasha...don't you think?" he laughed to Sango. "I guess that means she inherited Inuyasha's attitude problem from him, huh?"

"It's not funny, Miroku. This guy is pretty much matched with Sesshoumaru...and even back when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha would fight, Inuyasha had a hard time...and he's been working with his powers since he was born...not to mention how much older than Kagome he really is when you think about it..."

"True..." Miroku realized.

"We can help her..." Sango decided.

"I don't think so!" Ryo held his hand up, and Shippo, Rin, Kohaku, Sango, and Miroku flew into the nearest tree.

Miroku was the first up, and he ran forward, only to be thrown back by an invisible force. He groaned. "A barrier? How? What the...?" he whispered to himself.

"A barrier?" Sesshoumaru repeated.

"We can't get out!" Sango yelled. "Kagome, be careful! We can't get out of here!"

Kagome wheeled around. "What happened? What did he...?" she began. Almost as soon as her back was turned, she felt something slam hard against her head, and she fell almost immediately into darkness.

Sesshoumaru charged forward, but he too was thrown back.

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"What the hell?" Inuyasha groaned groggily as he woke up. He looked around. There was obviously panic among the villagers. He could hear the worry in their voices. He opened his eyes, and several of them, along with the old woman Kaede and Kagome's mother, were all staring at him. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Inuyasha..." Kaede sighed.

"What's wrong, old woman?" Inuyasha took a deep breath. He blinked. This was about the time that he noticed that Sesshoumaru and his friends were standing behind the group that was gathered around him. Sango in particular looked as though she had been crying. That was when he smelled it. It was faint, but he could still catch the scent of Kagome's blood.

He gasped, and jumped up almost immediately. "Where is she?" he demanded of everyone around him. "He didn't...I mean..." he stammered.

"He knew how to put up barriers, Inuyasha. I don't know how. Even I couldn't penetrate them...and then he hit Kagome in the head with his sword and took off. By the time Lady Kaede was able to free any of us, he was already well hidden. His scent was completely gone. We've been trying to wake you up for a while now. You're going to have to find her..."

Inuyasha gulped. "What will he...I mean what do you think...what is he going to do? What is he planning?" Inuyasha shot questions at his older brother.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "I don't think he plans on killing her, Inuyasha. He said he was going to, but he could have easily done so after subduing all of us, and he did not..."

Inuyasha visibly shivered. "Well, if he doesn't plan on killing her...what are his plans?"

"I...I really don't know, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru admitted.

Sango took a deep breath. "We...we tried, Inuyasha..." she stammered. "I'm sorry..."

"It wasn't your fault, Sango...we'll find Kagome. I can do this. I'm linked to her, remember? I will be able to find her that way."

Sango nodded hopefully.

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"I brought the girl with me. Unfortunately, the hanyou Inuyasha had already marked her." Ryo reported. "I don't know what you plan on doing with her, exactly...but I hope you can offer some sort of protection. Have you forgotten that my cousin is Lord Sesshoumaru? He will be coming after me because of the atrocities I have committed against my pack..."

"And you are afraid?" the man smirked.

"I...no..." Ryo shook his head. "I don't know." He paused a moment. "What exactly do you plan on doing with the girl? She's useless to you..."

"No," the man shook his head. "She is invaluable. She is Inuyasha's one weakness...and I am going to take her away from him...and get back what was originally mine..."

"Are you sure this will work?" Ryo blinked.

"Positive..."

"How are you going to...?" Ryo began.

The man bore his fangs, and Ryo gasped. "Have you lost your mind? Even I know better than to do that! The girl is already marked. If you disrupt that, it could kill her! Not to mention what Inuyasha would do to you...or Sesshoumaru, for that matter..."

"I am not worried about Sesshoumaru. I fear no one."

"Really?" Ryo smirked. "Then why do you hide?"

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Kagome groaned. The mating mark that Inuyasha had placed on her neck throbbed. "Where am I?" she frowned. "Inuyasha?" She took a deep breath. The scent around her was strikingly familiar...it was something she recognized from her recent past...something she knew from back when she was human...

"Naraku?" she gasped. "No..."

As if on cue, she heard his laughing from the corner of the dark room. She struggled to move, but realized that she was stuck.

"I missed you too, Kagome. That really hurt, you know? You could have been a little gentler when you were killing me...you are lucky to have made it this far...Ryo was supposed to kill you himself...but he is a coward..." Naraku paused a moment. "So now, I have you. But..." he smiled at her and stroked her hair. She turned away in disgust. "I don't plan on killing you anymore. I've decided that you are more valuable than that...you are his weakness, Kagome...and that makes you more precious to me than gold..."

"No..." Kagome shook her head.

Naraku smiled. "If you tell me where the jewel is, I won't kill him..."

Kagome frowned. "I won't do that. You could never kill him before...I doubt that's any different now..."

"Yes...yes it is. Because I am going to take away the one thing he fights for. You. And I won't even have to kill you to do it..." Naraku explained to her, an evil glint in his eye.

Kagome's eyes were uncertain. "What are you talking about?" she growled, once again trying to struggle free of her restraints.

Naraku leaned forward, showing his fangs.

Kagome paled. "Don't!" she yelped. "You can't do that! Get the hell away from me!" she screamed.

Naraku bit down on Kagome's shoulder, and she screamed. It burned. It was unlike when Inuyasha had bitten her. Inuyasha had tried to be gentle. Kagome felt now as though there was acid on her skin. "Stop!" she yelled. She felt as though there was poison dripping through her veins, as though part of her was slowly dieing.

Naraku pulled back and licked his lips. "That was fun, now wasn't it?" he smirked.

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Inuyasha screamed and threw his hand up to his shoulder. "Ah! It burns!" he yelped.

Sesshoumaru stopped dead. "What happened?" he demanded.

Inuyasha groaned, and did not remove his hand. "My shoulder...I...I don't know...I feel like my skin is on fire...ugh..." he frowned. He suddenly felt as though part of himself was fading away, as if he was dieing. "Kagome..." he whispered.

Sango gasped. "Kagome? Inuyasha...what happened?" she worried.

"Kagome...something is wrong with Kagome..."

"Move your hand, Inuyasha..." Sesshoumaru commanded.

"It burns, damn it!" Inuyasha growled. "Kagome is hurt! What the hell does that have to do with..."

Sesshoumaru jerked Inuyasha's hand away from his shoulder. "Inuyasha...where did you place your mating mark on Kagome? Was it on her shoulder? Think! Tell me!" he demanded.

After a moment, Inuyasha nodded.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Damn it...the mark is gone...it will poison her..." Sesshoumaru said under his breath. "Come on! We have to pick up the pace!"

"Poison?" Inuyasha yelped, his eyes growing wide. "What do you mean the mark is gone? It can't be gone..."

Sesshoumaru nodded sadly. "Kagome does not have to agree to be bitten, Inuyasha. The fact that another demon's mark has taken the place of yours is not a good thing...it's poisoning her..."

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A/N: Okay...I know I did it again...sorry. I'll try to update soon...if you promise to review. :D Thanks to everyone who has been supporting this story thus far!