Thank you to everyone who tried to convince me that my battle scene didn't suck. I still don't believe you, but it was nice that you tried! Well most of this chapter is sort of downcast. There is one little spot of fluff, but that's about it. And I really hope that you guys like the end.
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Mind ReaderChapter 18: Kouga's Worse Nightmare
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Sango, seeing that Kouga was working on bringing the injured Inuyasha to lie beside Kagome, started walking to the still body of Kirara. She wanted to run to her cat, but her feet betrayed her thoughts. Her feet dragged, as much as she wanted to see Kirara she didn't want to discover that her cat had died during the battle. When she finally arrived she breathed a big sigh of relief. Kirara was still alive. Though bruised and bloodied her chest rose and fell at a steady pace.
Sango knelt down and gently picked up Kirara. Then cradling the cat to her chest she walked back to the group of injured people. Kouga had already brought Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru over. He soon arrived, the unconscious monk over his shoulder.
Kouga lightly smiled at the demon exterminator. He gently placed Miroku on the ground. "Well, I guess we should start taking them back to Kaede's hut."
Sango surveyed her injured friends. "Yeah. We should take Kagome and Sesshoumaru first they seem to be the most severely injured."
Kouga nodded and moved to pick Kagome up. He stopped when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Sango staring at him with sad eyes.
"Kouga, I can't take Sesshoumaru back. He's too heavy for me. I have to carry Kagome."
Kouga's eyes looked pained for a moment but then he moved and picked up Sesshoumaru instead.
Sango placed Kirara on Kagome's stomach and then picked up the fallen girl. Together she and Kouga walked back to Kaede's hut. When they walked into the hut Rin and Shippo started crying. Their two favorite people looked like they had died.
Rin ran up to Kouga and grabbed one of Sesshoumaru's big hands with her two small ones. She looked at his face and gasped when she saw the hole in his neck. She looked at Kouga fearfully. "Is he…" she trailed off, she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'dead.'
Kouga shook his head at the traumatized girl. "No, he's alive." He gently laid Sesshoumaru on the ground. "And I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you are watching over him."
Rin let a small smile flit across her face before she sat by Sesshoumaru's head and started running her hand through his hair.
When Sango sat Kagome down Shippo immediately went to her side. "Did Akki look her in the eyes again?" he asked, not bothering to disguise the fear in his voice.
Sango sighed and lifted Kirara off of Kagome and placed her beside the girl. "Yes."
"Stupid squirrel," grumbled Shippo. Then he finally noticed Kirara. "WHAT?" he shrieked. "Akki killed Kirara? Nooo! I never got to play tag with her! Nooo!"
Sango waited for Shippo to calm down but when she realized that it would never happen she gently bopped him on the head. "Shippo, she's not dead. But she may soon be if you don't give her room to breathe."
Shippo jumped back from Kirara. "Not dead," he laughed, embarrassed. "Oops, didn't see her breathing. Sorry 'bout that Kirara," he said.
Sango rolled her eyes and looked up when Kouga stood up.
"You can stay here. I can bring back Inuyasha and Miroku myself." Without waiting for a response he left the hut.
Sango moved to follow him when Kaede gently grasped her shoulder.
"Let him go Sango. He can do it himself. And I'll need your help here."
Sango nodded in understanding. "What do you need me to do?"
"Fetch some water please," said Kaede.
Sango grabbed the bucket and left the hut. Kaede shuffled to her collection of herbs and picked out the ones she would need. Once Sango got back she started tending to Sesshoumaru.
"What happened Sango?" asked Kaede.
"Akki had him by the throat and seemed to be sending waves of energy through him."
"Then all he'll need to do is rest and let his demon healing ability mend his body." Kaede looked up when Kouga walked in with Inuyasha and Miroku over his shoulders. He placed them on the ground and then sat down by Kagome. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Kouga, what is the matter?" asked Kaede sharply.
Kouga opened one eye. "Nothing. Help everyone else. I'll be fine."
"Akki looked him in the eyes. And Kouga started screaming in pain," informed Sango.
Kaede took that in and quickly prepared a drink for the wolf demon. "Here, drink this. It will help the pain," she said while handing the cup to Kouga.
Kouga took it without complaint and drank it down at once. "Thanks," he sighed.
Kaede looked from Kouga to Inuyasha. 'I sure wish Inuyasha could learn some manners from Kouga. It would definitely make my job easier.' Kaede moved back to Inuyasha and Miroku and efficiently tended to their injuries. She turned to Kagome and administered the same herbs she did the last two times. Once finished she sat back and surveyed her work. 'Not bad. I can still move pretty fast with these old bones.'
Sango walked up to the old healer. When Kaede glanced up Sango held out Kirara. "Please Kaede, can you mend Kirara? Akki attacked her and I don't know how long she has," she whispered, her eyes downcast in pain.
Kaede took the cat demon with gentle hands. She looked over the injuries and then set about making them right.
Sango sat down and watch Kaede work on Kirara. Her eyes were glistening with tears but she refused to let them fall. She knew that if she started crying she wouldn't be able to stop.
Kaede looked up an hour later. "She was badly injured Sango. I did all I could for her. Now all we can do is wait and hope for her recovery." Kaede stood up and deposited the cat into Sango's arms. She then left the hut to make her rounds in the village.
Sango sat there holding Kirara. She gently ran her finger up and down her cat's face. The next time she looked up she was surprised to see that it was night. She had sat there for hours, just holding her cat in gentle arms. She looked around the hut and took in the forms of her friends. Rin was curled up in the crook of Sesshoumaru's arm, her head resting on his chest. Shippo was lying on Kagome, his ear over her heart. Kouga was still sitting behind Kagome. His eyes were closed in a healing sleep. Everyone else was still unconscious.
Sango sighed and before she knew it she was softly crying. She started off crying for Kirara. She knew that if her cat died her world would come crashing down. Kirara was the only one left from her previous life. Kohaku was still around but he was a slave to Naraku. Kirara was the only one Sango had left to remember her village and family by. She cried for Kirara for several minutes. But before she knew it she was crying for everyone. How everyone had tried their hardest and had nearly died for it. In the end they still fell to Akki. But most of all she cried for Kagome. It was too cruel for someone to be so loving and full of life to by dying by the hands of an evil monster. Sango jumped when she felt a hand close over hers. She looked down to see a hand clad in rosary beads covering her own smaller one. She moved her eyes until they met Miroku's.
Miroku gave Sango a soft smile. He tried to sit up but he still didn't have full control of his body. There was still too much negative energy traveling through it. So he instead opted for grasping Sango's hand tighter. "Why are you crying?" he asked softly.
"For everyone," she responded, "you, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kouga, but especially Kagome and Kirara."
Miroku closed his eyes in pain but reopened them a minute later. "Don't cry. You're too brave and beautiful to cry."
Sango gasped but then smiled at Miroku. She didn't say anything but she did tighten her fingers around his before she was finally able to drift off to sleep.
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The next morning Kouga woke up to Kagome's whimpers. He was wide awake a second later and crouched by her side. He took one of her hands in his and gently squeezed it.
"Kagome," he whispered urgently, "it's just a nightmare. It's alright. You're safe."
"Inu…yasha."
Kouga's heart broke when he heard Kagome whisper Inuyasha's name. She was obviously frightened and she called for Inuyasha. Not him.
Kagome suddenly starting thrashing wildly. The hand Kouga wasn't holding started trying to ward off some invisible monster.
Shippo woke up with a start. He looked dazed for a minute before he realized where he was. He jumped off of Kagome and stood by Kouga. "Kouga! What's wrong?" he asked.
"How the hell am I suppose to know?" grumbled Kouga.
"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, still in the throes of her nightmare.
Sango jumped awake at that scream and was at her friend's side in an instant. "What's wrong?" she asked Kouga.
"I don't know! She was sleeping peacefully and then she started doing this," shouted Kouga, directing his comment to the girl who was not kicking her legs wildly.
"If we don't stop her she's going to hurt herself!" said Sango, placing her hands on Kagome's shoulders and holding the flailing girl down. She grimaced in pain when Kagome's free hand hit her in the face.
Shippo moved down to hold Kagome's feet down. He grabbed one but was then thrown into a wall as Kagome unleashed one particularly hard kick.
Kouga and Sango managed to smile at the kitsune. Kouga left go of Kagome's hand and moved to hold Kagome's feet down. He succeeded where Shippo failed. He smirked at the kitsune. Shippo stuck his tongue out at Kouga and then grabbed the arm Kouga had abandoned. This time he was thrown up to the ceiling. He hit the ceiling and fell to the ground with a resounding thump! Shippo gave up trying to help hold Kagome down.
"Has she ever done this before?" asked Kouga desperately.
"No," replied Sango, managing to move her head before she got hit again.
Kagome gave a violent lurch, it was almost as if someone had kicked her in the side. She then did something that terrified Sango and Kouga. She brought her hands up to her face and started clawing at her head. Scratches started forming all over her face. And Sango and Kouga were powerless to stop her. It was taking all of their power to hold Kagome down. If they left go of her she would injure herself further.
"Get out! Leave me alone! Get out of my mind!" screamed Kagome, her voice full of fear. "INUYASHA!"
Then a remarkable thing happened. Inuyasha's ear twitched and even though he was still unconscious one hand reached out and grabbed Kagome's. Kagome immediately quieted down.
When Sango and Kouga thought it was safe they let go of Kagome. Kagome stayed still, one hand enveloped by Inuyasha's.
"Well I've never seen that before."
Kouga and Sango looked up in surprise when Kaede spoke.
"Where the hell were you when all that was going on?" growled Kouga.
"I was watching you guys," she replied.
Sango's jaw dropped. "What? You mean while I was getting clobbered by an unconscious girl you were watching?"
Kaede wisely nodded.
Kouga jumped up, one hand clenched tightly. "Why you old hag! Why didn't you give Kagome one of your herbs?"
"If I went it there Kagome would have hit me. My job doesn't require me to risk my health. Besides, you guys seemed to be doing quite a fine job by yourselves."
Sango rubbed the bruise that Kagome had left on her jaw line. "Oh yeah. Me and Kouga had it handled, huh?"
Shippo jumped up. "Hey! I was helping too!"
Kouga turned to the runt, one eyebrow raised. "You? You were using the time to hitch free rides on the flailing limbs of Kagome."
"I was just getting ready to help you guys again when Inuyasha stopped her," said Shippo defiantly.
Kouga scoffed at the kitsune. "Yeah, ok. You can think that as hard as you'd like. We'll never believe you." Kouga than returned his attention to Kaede. "But you. You are a healer. You have no reason for sitting on the sidelines." He took one step towards Kaede, one arm flexed dangerously.
Sango was beginning to think Kouga would actually attack the old lady when Kaede calmly reached behind her. She brought her hand back to the front, but this time with the addition of a rosary.
Kouga sadly didn't see that. He kept advancing on the old lady.
Kaede quickly said the spell and sent the rosary on its way. Now Kouga saw it. It was kind of hard to miss, a rosary floating through the air making its way towards its doomed target.
Kouga's eyes filled with fear and he backed up into a corner. "No! No!" he screamed, "pull it back! I won't attack you! I swear! Pull it back!"
But alas Kaede had no power over the free rosary. Even if she wanted to (which she didn't) she wouldn't be able to call it back. The rosary was free. And it wouldn't rest until it doomed the life of its target.
Kouga watched in horror as the rosary got closer. He tried to swat it away but his arms had become lifeless. The rosary had him now. Just a few feet closer and the rosary would claim its prey. Kouga started clawing at the wall behind him as the rosary floated above his head. Then it gently fell down around his head and landed softly on his chest. The rosary was victorious. It had claimed another victim.
Kaede grinned at the wolf. "Now the next word out of Kagome's mouth will finish off the spell and will be the subduing word."
Kouga, Sango, Shippo, and Kaede all stared at the sleeping girl. They were all waiting for Kouga's fateful word. Luckily for all of their sanity they didn't have to wait long.
"Inuyasha," breathed Kagome, snuggling closer to the hanyou.
Kouga's face was one of pure disbelief and horror as he plummeted towards the ground. He now had one more reason to hate the hanyou.
SMACK!!
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Betcha didn't see that one coming! But this should definitely make the story a little more interesting. Poor Kouga. Smirk. But anyways, I tried to make the transition from sad stuff to humor smoothly, so hopefully I achieved that. If not, oh well, nothing I can do about it now!
Also, thank you to everyone who helped me think of more characters. I greatly appreciate it. My new story has been posted-The Reluctant Gladiators, and I hope that some of you will check it out. It's a dark, definitely non-humor fic. Something just a little different from what you're used to! But I really like it and hope you give something that is non-humor from me a chance. Now just a little forewarning-it will contain character deaths. A lot of character deaths. So if that is something you hate I release you from me wanting you to read it. But in my personal opinion it contains much better writing than this fic does. I'm trying my hand at displaying different emotions better. Well that's enough of me pushing a story on you guys. Sorry about that, but I had to do it once!
And now time for review responses (there's a lot this time-I thank you!):
Kagome Goddess of Light: Thanks for the vote of confidence. I appreciate it! And I hoped you liked what came next!
Ladyhawk89: Aww, but it's ok to turn into a deranged fan when it's for the precious kitty!
XXmiroku4everXx: Hehe, if you don't like main characters dying than I guess I'll let you out of reading my fic. But if you want to read what I hope will become a good story I won't stop you…: )
Animeluvr229: Rest your heart, Kirara will live. And Kagome can't tell everyone about her ability. Then all the fun will leave the story!
Bombermanfanatic: Oh he's about a foot and a half. Give or take a few inches. But since he's so powerful he can take down foes (like Sesshoumaru) down without even flinching. And I'm not quite sure what mistake you're seeing. Since on the internet it say's Kagome fell, not Akki fell.
Moonglow gal: yeah, Kirara is ok. And you're right. I don't think I want to know what you mean by 'shave him.' In fact, it kind of scares me.
Raven151: yeah! It seems that little sisters are good for something. I'm still trying to find a use for me. But anyways, thank you for starting this story when it's already pretty long. It makes me feel special. : )
TheGoth: Hehe, yeah, everyone but Sango got hurt. Lucky girl.
Crying Crystal Teardrops: Don't worry, you spelled the evil hell squirrel correctly. And there's nothing wrong with being lazy!
Luckykittykagome: I feel your pain. I hate headaches. But yeah, I definitely needed my story to have something other than just humor. To me reading stories that are only funny is only interesting for a little bit. Without a real plot no story can survive for that long. And it also helps if the plot makes sense!
Kay: First, thanks for your review. Second, I don't quite understand what you're saying with the attacks getting through. Are you talking about Akki's attacks or the group's attacks?
Hereiko Nakashima: I'm so happy you find my fic hard to put down! That's so cool. And I'm sure you're a good writer. After all, I kind of think that my writing sucks compared to many of the stories out there. Remember that we our own worse critic!
Dark Inu Fan: Haha, yeah would be ironic to see Rin beat Akki with a hug. But sorry to say that it probably won't quite happen that way. It was a cute idea though! And I don't really feel sorry for the group, esp. Sess and Kouga. After all, they're always putting Inu down for being a hanyou. It's about time Inu can prove he's just as strong as they are!
Priestess-of-suzuka: My vacation was alright although if I came home 2 weeks earlier I would have been happy!
RE Girl: Yeah! I succeeded in making another person sit at their computer for hours on end! I'm so glad you read my story straight through, that must mean I'm doing something right!
Sentinel28: Thanks for the vote of confidence about the battle scene. I guess I do tend to give myself a hard time.
Inuyagura: Well last chapter didn't have humor but I sure hope you liked the end of this one!
AngelCat HellFire: Wow, thanks so much for all of your ideas. You gave me Yura and Myoga. Some of the others I didn't know who they were (7 warriors?) so I couldn't use them. But you're one of the few people who gave me some ideas so I thank you a lot!
FieryDemonFox: aww, why are you calling Akki names? What did he ever do to you? : )
Colhan3000: Yup, Inuyasha definitely showed those stupid full-breeds. If it wasn't for him they would all be dead.
Chickxofxdarkness: aww, of course I care what you did to read my story! I'm a very caring person. It also makes me feel happy that you couldn't put my fic down. I never thought in a million years that something I wrote would be that good!
ACDCchicky: See? I would never dream of killing the poor kitty. She's too cute to die.
Chrisy12: I'll never give up on you. But thanks for telling me so I don't think that you started hating my story! Cuz I actually realize when some of my consistent reviewers (like you) stop reviewing. I love you guys!
Inuchick06: Ok, I forgive you. I guess I can understand where you're coming from, you're obviously a big Kirara fan! And you should definitely try writing a story. I would never tell you not to!
Tess: Thanks for putting it onto your favorites list! And there was a little bit of fluff this chapter, I know not much, but then half of the people were knocked out! : )
Makeyourselfduo: I can't believe you didn't review my other chapters! I thought you liked my story! Just kidding. I'm just glad to have you back! And I definitely understand being busy. Luckily I haven't been busy in a while.
Sakaki-chan: Hopefully this update came fast enough for you!
Koga14: Well Kouga got his necklace, just not in the way you thought! But now he has one with the most interesting word. :)
Putz-6: Yea! You like it! You like it! You like it! Ok, I'll go now.
Siyuri: Wow, thank you for reviewing so many chapters! And thank you even more for the amount of characters you gave me! And thank you again for explaining some of the lesser known characters! Mayu, Midoriko, and Nazuna have not made their way into my fic. I really needed some more girls!
Inuluvher151: Hehe, I sort of find it funny how so many people thought Kirara died. Especially knowing how I could never kill the pretty kitty.
The Mage of Ice: Wow, thank you for all of your wonderful reviews for so many chapters. It means a lot to me when someone starts my story when it's already so long. Especially when they review for many chapters. Thank you again!
Inuyasha's Gurrl: Ooh, I feel honored. And I still love it when I find out that people cried cuz they were laughing so hard.
DeniseD: Thanks for telling my chapter wasn't sucky. I really do need to quit being so hard on myself. And I also greatly appreciate the other characters you have given me!
Ryuu of the Broken Light: Well now, here's your update! Sure hoped you liked it!
Triss Skylark: Hehe, that would be funny, them fighting Akki, Naraku, and a tail.
earthy876: Yeah, people don't seem to like it when Kagome dies. Sort of weird...And I also wonder how they will fight both Naraku and Akki. Since you know I haven't figured it out yet! :)