Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha, but this is my own plot!
I'm really sorry this took so long...but, its here now...right?
Well, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It was kinda hard to write, because I don't want the gang to seem out of character. They don't do they? Sorry, just some writing insecurities. -cheeky smile-
Well, here we go again...
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Chapter 10
"Hikari!" Amaya snarled at her sister, "You wern't supposed to hit that woman!"
With a glare, Hikari aimed her staff at Amaya, "Father doesn't understand how to take care of these fools, how to really cause them pain. Their strength is as a group, knowing that they are with people they know will watch their back is what gives them that strength. What better way to take it away than to turn them against eachother..."
With a cruel smile, Amaya relaxed, "How I love your wicked ideas. Father will be pleased...I believe I know the first step to take in our new plan..."
Both sisters looked to the monk who kneeled beside the slayer, fear in his voice as he called her name. The woman was bleeding heavily, and without help, could die.
"We'll take him with us. Lets go, Inuyasha is coming," Hikari ordered and Amaya whispered some words and Miroku collapsed motionless, then Hikari picked him up, "Time to return to father."
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"Sango!" Kagome yelled hopping quickly with determination towards her friend after jumping off Inuyasha, "Sango! What happened! Where's Miroku?"
She didn't answer, and Kagome's worry doubled. Her side was bleeding and her clothing was soaking up more and more blood.
"Inuyasha! We've got to stop the bleeding!" Kagome yelled franticly, "Hurry and get my first aid kit!"
Inuyasha didn't dare waste the valuable time Sango had and took off his fire-rat top and handed it to Kagome for her to stop Sango's bleeding, then took off as fast as he could, worried about the amount of blood Sango had already lost and the fact that Miroku wasn't with her.
'This isn't good, but I can't worry about Miroku right now, Sango will die if Kagome can't help her,' Inuyasha told himself and once reaching the fire where Kirara had once been, grabbed all of Kagome's thing in one arm and ran on, figuring Kirara had smelt Sango's blood herself and went to check.
As he thought, Kirara was there when Inuyasha got back, and so was Kohaku and Shippo.
"Sister!" Kohaku yelled with tears in his eyes while Kagome worked on Sango's wound, looking like she was fighting back tears herself.
"Please Sango...you have to stay with us...we're not done yet, we still need you..." Kagome whispered so quietly that only Inuyasha could hear, "You and Miroku finally came to an agreement...you can't die on him."
Inuyasha watched Kaogme put bandages on the more steadily breathing Sango and he watched how gentle she was, how caring, and knew the slayer would be alright, because Kagome was there. She would make it all alright.
Kirara was sitting calmly in her kitten form next to Sango's head, just as confident in Kagome's ability as Inuyasha was himself.
"I think she'll be alright. It's ok Kohaku..." Kagome whispered to the shaking boy and Shippo jumped onto her shoulder.
"Hey Kagome, where's Miroku?"
Looking around she felt worry rising again, "I don't know...Inuyasha, what do you think?"
He shrugged in answer, not knowing and not wanting to state the possibilities.
"We should take Sango back to camp so she can lay down and keep warm by the fire. She's lost a lot of blood," Kagome whispered quietly, busy in thought, "I'll ride on Kirara with Sango to make sure she's alright, but lets just walk. No running or flying."
'I guess she's right, it's safer for Sango, but where in the hell is Miroku? I don't even smell him...' Inuyasha thought silently to himself as they returned to their little camp.
The unconcious slayer was laid on Kagome's sleeping bag to get rest, and Kohaku sat right next to her, wide eyed and scared without moving.
Shippo sat across from Kagome on the other side of the fire by Kirara, who was was laying right by her best friends head.
"Inuyasha...who do you think did this?" Kagome whispered as quietly as she could while leaning against the half-demon.
He knew who had done it. Inuyasha could smell the demon woman who had got away and another scent that was almost identical to hers.
"Those sister demons. I caught their scent around Sango," Inuyasha replied without looking at her, keeping himself focused on the red, orange and blue flames.
"What about Miroku?" Kagome questioned on just as quietly as before.
Inuyasha couldn't help but look at her. It wasn't a choice, it was a need he had, but when he gave into that need, he lost all concentration and his sences didn't seemed to be able to pick up anyone but her.
"Yeah, he had been there," Was Inuyasha's short reply.
"Do you think Hikari and Amaya did something to him? If he was with Sango when she got hurt, he would have never left her. I'm worried..."
Inuyasha agreed silently, forcing his eyes away from Kagome and telling her, "You worry too much."
Kagome pulled away and looked at him angrily, "Inuyasha, Miroku has disapeared! He's gone! You should be just as worried as I am!"
"Will you get off my case if we go looking for him? Sango can't go and the others will have to stay with her," Inuyasha snapped.
She reached for her bag and pulled out her first aid kit, "If Sango needs anything, you can use this. Hopefully we'll be back before sunrise."
'I guess we're going...' Inuyasha thought dully, standing and waiting for her to climb on her back, 'Hopefuly they won't try to attack Sango again, I don't know if they can protect her by themselves.'
"Let's go Inuyasha," Ordered Kagome in a voice that said she was upset with him.
What did she expect? She did enough worrying for the both of them, so he felt no reason to admit he was worried too and only make it worse.
The darkness didn't slow them down a whole lot, but Kagome got more worried as they went on.
"Inuyasha, have you caught his scent yet?" Kagome asked with a shiver that Inuyasha felt but remembered his fire-rat kimono was with Sango.
"You shouldn't be out you know. Your going to freeze."
Kagome stared at his hair that was blowing in her face and couldn't believe him, "Miroku being alright is a little more important than me being cold, Inuyasha. I'm not as weak as you think I am..."
Inuyasha got angry at that, not believing that she could think HE thought she was weak, when he didn't know anyone stronger, "Just because I worry about you doesn't mean I think you're weak!"
She paused without saying anything just to look at the side of his face. Kagome knew he worried about her, everyone knew that, but she had always thought that he thought she was defenceless.
"But when you don't have any strength left, I want you to be able to rely on me," Inuyasha continued in a murmer.
"Thank you..." She whispered in a low voice that Inuyasha wouldn't have heard had he been a human, and she smiled.
He glared over his shoulder, "Feh. Whatever."
'There it is, there's Miroku's scent!' Inuyasha yelled to himself and sped up, following it.
Kagome knew but asked anyway, "Is it Miroku?"
"Yeah, its faint, but its definatly him."
'Thank God he's alright...everyones alright,' Kagome thought with relief, 'But what's he doing so far away? Did the sisters just dump him off? What are they trying to pull...'
"Inuyasha...could it be a trap?" Kagome whispered.
"I don't think so, I can't smell either of those women, or Akakios."
Kagome nodded and closed her eyes tiredly, trying to ignore the throbbing of her ankle.
'You can't be weak after that conversation...' Kagome told herself sternly, 'You can be hurt AFTER Miroku and Sango are safe, and only then.'
What perfect timing she had to trip and fall. Inuyasha was right, she was a kluts and always had been. Always tripping and falling over herself.
"How much farther?" She questioned.
Inuyasha looked back at her, feeling that heat he felt when he did so, but answered her, "Not to far, five minutes maybe."
They finally reached the monk in a medium sized clearing. He was laying in the middle of it, face up with eyes closed, like he was simply sleeping peacfully.
Inuyasha stopped maybe a couple yards away from him and let Kagome down, but when she started to go toward Miroku, he grabbed her arm.
"What?" Kagome gasped in surprise.
"Somethings not right..."
There was a flash of light before the demon sister Amaya and Hikari apeared, laughing.
Inuyasha pushed Kagome behind himself roughly, ready to protect her at all costs, and yelled to the smug women, "So thats why I couldn't smell you. You put up a barrier. Now why the hell did you hurt Sango!"
"Oh Inuyasha, don't be so angry. We're just having a little fun. She's alright isn't she? Your priestess was able to heal her correct?"
"Shut up, that doesn't matter, you still tried to kill her!"
The taller one with short white hair called Amaya shrugged as she responded, "Not really, my sister was just enjoying going against our father. No harm done, right?"
'Damn, Kagome was right...it was a trap...' Inuyasha growled at his own stupidity.
"Why did you want us to come here? What was the trap for?"Kagome questioned with and angry look while limping out from behind Inuyasha.
A gleam formed in Hikari's eyes. It was one that sent a chill down Kagome's spine, "You really are smart for a mere human...but, we plan to kill you, nice and gentle, just for your Inuyasha. You won't feel any pain, you'll just die."
"What the hell are you thinking! You'll have to get through me to get to her!" Inuyasha hollared overcome with rage as he drawed Tetsusaiga.
Amaya let out a ground shaking laugh that even haulted Inuyasha, "So, you'd rather her die a painful death, Inuyasha? Would you rather use torture the one creature on this earth that you completely trust? Would you like us to make her cry and scream in pain and make you watch?"
Hiding behind Inuyasha, Kagome strung her bow as quietly as possible, then leapt out from behind him and shot, the arrow grazing Amaya's left arm.
The angry look on the demon's face made Kagome sweat, but she didn't go back to hide behind Inuyasha. Instead, she strung her bow again.
"You little human...you injured me..." Disbelief was writen on Amaya's absolutly pale face as she held her hand out toward Kagome, whispering words that wern't understandable.
Around Kagome a red orb grew, three feet in diamiter and around six feet tall at the center.
"Kagome!" Yelled the frantic half-demon whose sword turned red as he tried to break the barrier, but he and the sword bounced off landing yards away.
"Inuyasha!" Yelled the just as frantic Kagome as she assulted the barrier with an arrow, which fell to to ground usless.
She felt the air around her growing hotter, the oxegen being consumed by her breathing and not being restored, "Inuyasha, I'll run out of oxygen!"
It was Hikari who laughed this time, looking at the helpless looking woman, "How does it feel Inuyasha? Why don't you watch her slowly run out of air and die...why don't you watch her loose her last ounces of life?"
"AH!" The bellow shot through the air. It full of rage and unhappiness and failure, "DIE!"
"I don't think so Inuyasha..."Hikari chuckled at his atempt, pointing her black staff at him the blob of material shooting out of it and crashing him into a nearby tree with a perfect view of Kagome who was now on her hands and knees breathing in heaving breaths.
Inuyasha struggled but couldn't get himself free.
"KAGOME!" He screamed as loud as he could, determined to have her hear him, to have the whole world hear his anger, "Kagome! You cannot die!"
'Inuyasha...I can't...breathe...' Kagome cried to herself.
"Oh, foolish Inuyasha...but she is...you see why you should never give your heart to such a weak creature?" Amaya stepped up to Inuyasha and actualy slapped him, but his eyes never left her. They never left Kagome, his love, his life. She had showed how much she loved him, she had always stayed with him, and he had failed her.
"KAGOME! I LOVE YOU!"
It echoed through the trees. The simple words from the heart of a half-demon who was loosing the one thing he had ever had.
Kagome colapsed, her head barely lifted, and she stared him in the eyes as she smiled softly, happily, whispering with her dying breath, "I love you to..." then her head fell, resting motionlessly on the dirt.
"KAGOMMMMME!"
His roar fell on deaf ears, as she was gone. Inuyasha stopped fighting the restraints, he sagged against them, his eyes closed.
'Kagome...'
The demons yet again disapeared, and the restraints broke against his weight, then the barrier around Kagome disapeared and the smell of death assulted him. He knew it wasn't a trick...she was gone, and it was all his fault. He had failed her, and his heart felt as if it had been ripped out of his chest.
He went to her slowly, drawing her to him in the tightest embrace he had ever shared with her. He held the lifeless Kagome, who had given her life because of HIM. He held her...
And he cried...
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Uhhhhh...please, please don't kill me...this isn't the end of the story, I promise...or maybe I could make it be...lol, no, I wouldn't do that to my absolutly AMAZING reviewers!
Well, you've come and read what you meant to and it would be much appriciated if you'd review. I NEVER hate getting reviews, just please, don't be TOO mean...
Signing out until next time...
-Destined