A/N: I guess there's nothing I can really say that will justify leaving you hanging like that for several months. So instead of making up some pathetic excuse, I'm just going to write the next chapter now. So after I respond to a few reviews, I will begin chapter four of my story, which will be called 23 Days to Live from now on. I appreciate the reviews I have received so far, and I hope that my absence will not discourage you to read my story. Again I am very sorry for the delay, and I will try to speed things up from now on. Oh! Before I go, I would like to ask just one question. Has anyone here ever read the manga or seen the anime of Love Hina? I am seriously considering writing an Inuyasha/LH crossover fic. If you think this is a good idea please tell me so. Thank you.

23 Days to Live:

Chapter 4

Into the Darkness

      An eerie silence was all that met Inuyasha's ears as he quickly ran into the first room of the so-called House of Pain. Fueled by desperation, he craned his head to see if he could hear even the tiniest shuffle of his target's feet. But there was no sound, save for his rapid breathing. The trek had been long, and had even tired him out some, but he would not rest. Not until he made sure Kagome was safe from harm.

'Damnit! Where the hell could he have gone! I arrived just after he did, and yet I can't pick up a trace of either of them. It's as though they've vanished or something. I can't find her scent, but maybe I can sense her fear.'

Inuyasha became angry at that thought.

'Nothing should scare her that much. If only I had been there to protect her. I swear, if that bastard lays one hand on Kagome, he'll wish he'd never been spawned from whatever pit of hell he came from.'

Swiftly crossing the first room he came to the entryway of another. This chamber was at least ten times bigger than the other. Drawing his sword, he cautiously stepped into the room, awaiting an attack at any moment. Easily piercing the darkness, his keen eyesight made out the forms of various metallic and wooden objects. Each one was sinister in design, and here and there he could make out thick iron shackles, spikes, chains, and other creations designed to inflict pain and suffering.

In the very center of the room, he could make out a large wooden table. It reminded him of those 'operating' tables he saw doctors use on the T.V. in Kagome's house. Except that it was much cruder than the heavy metal table he had seen. He couldn't help but also notice the various dark red stains that covered its surface. Many appeared to be years old, nearly faded from existence. But others appeared fresh, meaning that this creature had recently made a kill. He shuddered to think exactly what he used this table for.

The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, as well as another he had come to know well throughout his life. It could only be described with one word.

Death.

Many people had died in this room, and judging by the age of those bloodstains, it had been happening for a very long time. And now this thing was planning the same fate for Kagome!

'Keh! Over my dead body!' was his angry thought. He would save Kagome, and then he was going to rip whatever the hell this thing was into tiny little pieces for ever thinking it could harm her in any way. After all, there wasn't a demon alive that could match his power, not when he had his trusty Tetsusaiga anyway.

Arrogantly, he shouldered his sword and turned to leave the room. But he was stopped in his tracks when he felt a wet substance drip onto his left ear. Faster than thought he spun on his heel, and made a great arcing upwards slash with his sword. But instead of the customary feel of steel on flesh, he only sliced air. Positioning himself in an attack stance, he frantically searched for the source of the substance. Every hair on his neck was standing on end, his sword gripped tightly in his fist, waiting for any flicker of movement, or sound.

But only silence met his acute sense of hearing, and there was no change in the scent of blood and death that he could tell. Warily, he relaxed a bit and put a hand up to brush away the offending liquid on his ear. It felt slimy to the touch, and gave off an odor that much resembled embalming fluid.

'Gods! This shit stinks! But where the hell did it come from? Maybe the enemy is on the ceiling. That thing can fly after all.'

He looked up. And immediately regretted doing so. Even he had to bite back the bile rising in his throat as he stared in horror at the sight before him.

He had seen many things in his life as a hanyou, but nothing as grotesque, sick, and twisted as what he saw before him now.

He must have been looking at 500 bodies. 500 bodies plastered to the CEILING! But that wasn't what had him suppressing the urge to vomit, or cursing his own supernatural eyesight. The truly horrible thing is that each body was stitched to the one adjoining it. And each one seemed to have been stitched up itself, horrible scars covering chests and abdomens.

'What the hell is this?! What kind of monster would do such a thing. Not even demons would do something so sadistic.' His mind was numb, unable to comprehend the horror of the situation. He closed his eyes, attempting to banish the sight, but it was permanently burned into his memory. Except, in his mind's eye he saw one more body added to the human quilt.

Her dead lifeless eyes stared into his very soul. Those hard, accusing eyes, blaming him for her cruel fate. Because he hadn't been there. Because he wasn't there to save her, wasn't there to protect her. He had driven her away, made her cry,

 made her hate him.

He wished he could take it all back, that he could have been there in her time of need. Maybe if he hadn't been so stupid, he would have been there for her, and none of this would have ever happened. But he knew that wishing was not going to save Kagome. He didn't know how he was going to make it up to her, but one thing was for certain. He was going to make sure that her last impression of him was not of hatred. Forcing the foreboding from his mind, he quickly ran from the room and continued his search.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Kagome groggily shook her head as she returned to consciousness. She had a slight headache, and wasn't fully aware of where exactly she was. There was a sharp pain in her wrist, and as she examined herself in the darkness. She couldn't see, but she felt that she was shackled to a wall by her wrists and ankles, in a spread-eagle pose.

And then it all came back to her in a rush, the alley, her attempted rape, The gush of crimson as one of her attackers lost his head, and poor Hojo crumpling to the ground before her. And then when he, or rather it had appeared, and strangled her captors with his wings. She could remember the overwhelming fear she had felt when she had looked into those eyes. In his eyes she had seen the certainty of her own death. But she had not passed out,

until she had seen it.

That horrible sight that would forever plague her nightmares. All those bodies, some were even children, stitched together like some psycho version of the Sistine Chapel. Just the memory of it made her want to retch, to retch until there was nothing left. It would be an easier death than what was in store for her.

Silent tears streamed down her face as she realized that in fact, she was going to die.

She was going to die.

And there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing but break down and cry. No one was coming for her. No one was going to save her, not this time. There would be no heroic entrance by Inuyasha. He was probably still sulking about their fight, waiting for her to return in two days.

'I won't even get the chance to do those tests I was so worried about.' She thought with a wry smile.

But as the seconds ticked by, and the certainty of her fate set in, she was again reduced to tears. She was drowning in a sea of despair, and she had no hope. There was not even the slimmest glimmer of a chance for her, and she knew it.

"Inuyasha." She whispered brokenly.

Of all the things that were running through her mind as she hung on that wall, the thought of never seeing Inuyasha again was the most heartbreaking. She just wanted to see him one more time, just once more before she died. She wanted to tell him so much. That she loved him, even if he didn't return her feelings. At least she would have told him. Or to even just look into his golden gaze once more, and run her fingers through his silky silver hair. She wouldn't have even minded if he called her wench, or even bitch, as long as she got to listen to his voice again.

Kagome was torn from her reverie as she heard footsteps approaching in the darkness. She glanced about frantically, attempting to pierce the darkness, but all she saw was black. Suddenly, she heard a click and the room was bathed in a harsh light. Blinking to adjust to the brightness, Kagome was finally able to discern shapes and colors. When her eyes finally came into focus, Kagome immediately wished that she was bathed in darkness once more. Because in the dark, she couldn't see the horrors that were all around her.

She began to sob again as she realized that she was not alone in this room. Right in front of her, she could see the corpses of several people, hanging from hooks attached to chains leading to the ceiling. Her eyes trailed up those chains and widened in horror at what she saw.

In the previous room it had been bodies stitched together, but now it was heads, just heads. There were hundreds of them, all seeming to stare at her with their expressions of shock and anguish. All she could do was hang her head, and whimper pathetically. It was just too much for her fragile mind to comprehend. She had seen some fairly brutal things in the feudal era, but nothing, nothing compared to this.

She instinctively shuddered when she felt someone lift her head, one clawed finger beneath her chin. She knew who it was, and just stared helplessly into the cruel eyes of her captor. He tapped her on the cheek jovially before walking away. Kagome's eyes followed his every move as he approached a wall lined with small doors. It was at this moment that Kagome realized that she was in a hospital, a hospital morgue to be precise. It seemed to have been abandoned.

She watched as he opened one of those doors. Watched as a figure covered in a sheet was rolled out. He threw off the cover and she gasped. It was the girl she had seen in her nightmare, Sakura.

"Why?" She choked out. "Why did you have to pick me?"

He ignored her as he bent over his prize, running his nose along her torso as he smelled her body. Then he straightened and reached into the folds of his trench coat, pulling out a long curved knife. He looked at Kagome, his eyes filled with mischief and glee, before he plunged the knife into Sakura's chest, and giving a forceful rip straight down to her navel.

Kagome turned her head and vomited on the floor, keeping her eyes tightly shut. But even though she couldn't see what he was doing, there was nothing to stop her from hearing the whole horrible event.

Nothing to prevent her from hearing the tearing sound as he ripped her apart with his bear hands, or the wet slap of her organs spilling from her body onto the tiled floor. Nothing to prevent the sound of him consuming one of those organs, and then convulsing in pleasure as he absorbed it. Only when she heard his footsteps drift away did she venture to open her eyes. He had closed the door, but left the large pool of blood, and spare body parts that had fallen to the floor.

Staring into the gory mess, Kagome did the only thing she could. She screamed. She screamed until her voice was hoarse, screamed until she passed out from the exertion.

A/N: Don't Hate me!!! (Ducks as sharp objects are hurled at my head.) I know you must hate me now, but don't worry so much. All will be resolved. And I promise that the next chapter will be out in a few days, maybe four. So until then, REVIEW!!! Thank you for your time.

Ja!