DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the other characters.

Chapter Twelve: Do You Really Love Me?

Inuyasha stared in surprise when he saw Kikyo standing at his door. "What are you doing here?"

Kikyo launched herself onto Inuyasha and hugged him tightly around the neck. "I heard about how Kagome was kidnapped and how frustrated you were so I came to comfort you."

Inuyasha was shocked at her behavior and removed her arms from around his neck. "Kikyo, you didn't need to come. I was gonna go rescue Kagome soon."

"I only wanted to help you," Kikyo pouted. She even pretended to allow a few tears to escape her eyes.

Inuyasha couldn't stand to see any girl cry so he quickly led her up the stairs to his bedroom. On the way, he had to pass the living room and Sesshomaru and Rin looked equally shocked to see Kikyo in their home. Inuyasha just shrugged and hurriedly dragged Kikyo up the stairs.

"You don't think that he will still cheat on Kagome?" Rin spoke up fearfully.

"No," Sesshomaru answered calmly when he had regained his composure. "My half-brother can not be that dense."

The answer served to relieve some of Rin's doubts and fears, but she couldn't help it but worry. She looked up helplessly at the stairs and prayed that Inuyasha would not do anything that he would regret.

INUYASHA'S ROOM:

"Inuyasha, are you feeling alright?" Kikyo reached out an arm to run lazy circles across his back. She was currently sitting next to Inuyasha on his bed.

"Look Kikyo, I don't love you," Inuyasha began. "I love Kagome and you knew perfectly well that I didn't love you when I kissed you the other day and throughout the course of our secret affair. I had already told you that I did it because I needed to get Kagome far away from me, to prevent her from getting hurt."

"But Inuyasha, I love you," Kikyo wailed and pretended to cry.

Inuyasha sighed. "You mean you love my money. Kikyo you know that you could never love me. I'm a hanyou and you once said that you never thought that anyone could ever love me. But then there was Kagome…"

"What?" Kikyo sneered sarcastically. "She loves you? Please don't make me laugh. Why don't you look at this and tell me how much she loves you."

Kikyo took a picture out from her purse and handed it to Inuyasha. Inuyasha stared at the picture before he dropped it as if it burned him. In the picture, Kagome was kissing Naraku.

"And look at the time that is displayed when this was taken, 9:45," Kikyo went on. "Pretty recent. I don't think that you should go to the pier…it's probably a trap."

"How do you have this picture?" Inuyasha asked her suspiciously.

"I…it was sent to Sango and Miroku. I just stopped by to ask them why you weren't answering my phone calls," Kikyo lied quickly. "Then I just took the picture and headed over here."

Inuyasha didn't know what to believe. He had thought that Kagome could forgive him, but he didn't think that she would actually go to Naraku. Did Naraku really convince Kagome to love him? Or were they both planning to trap him when he came to the pier? All these questions revolved around Inuyasha's head…with no clear answer. Suddenly, he couldn't help but feel so hollow. An empty feeling was gnawing at him as he realized that he had allowed the love of his life to slip from his hands.

Kikyo headed over to Inuyasha and hugged him. Inuyasha began to cry. He didn't want to believe that Kagome really was lost to him forever, but the picture showed it.

Inuyasha didn't notice that Kikyo had slipped a dagger our from her shirt sleeve when she hugged him. She was about to plunge the dagger through his back and straight to his heart when the door opened. Inuyasha looked up in surprise when he saw Miroku and Sango. The two had finally arrived in time to see Kikyo holding the dagger and getting ready to stab Inuyasha.

"Let him go right now!" Sango yelled at Kikyo, but she couldn't stop the descent of the dagger as Kikyo stabbed Inuyasha.

Inuyasha cried out in pain, but the dagger had missed his heart when he had shifted. It only went through his back and left a lot of blood. Miroku ran over to pull the dagger out as Sango tackled Kikyo to the floor.

"How dare you!" Sango screamed at Kikyo. She landed a punch to Kikyo's nose, hoping to break it. Kikyo managed to flip over and send Sango flying off her. Sango was surprised at Kikyo's strength and got into a fighting stance.

"Oh please," Kikyo spat. "I don't need to dirty my hands fighting the likes of you. Besides, I completed the mission that I was assigned."

"No you didn't," Miroku calmly spoke up. "You didn't manage to kill Inuyasha…and isn't that what Naraku wanted?"

Kikyo's face contorted in anger before Inuyasha sprang forward and used his hand to grab her around the neck. He pinned her to the wall and growled. Sesshomaru and Rin walked in to the sight of Inuyasha holding onto Kikyo's neck and her attempting to stop him from choking her.

Rin noticed the blood on Inuyasha's shirt and looked in horror as Inuyasha began to change into his human form. It was already midnight, and she watched as his fangs retreated and his claws recoiled. His silvery hair became black and his glaring eyes turned a violet shade. (I know that Inuyasha turns into a human as soon as the sun sets on the night of the new moon, but in my story, I made him turn into a human at midnight.)

Inuyasha then dropped Kikyo to the floor. He had lost way too much blood and his vision was starting to blur. 'Kagome,' he thought before the darkness overwhelmed him.

Sesshomaru then glared at Kikyo before he lunged at her. But before he could reach her, a magical shield had formed around her and transported her away to safety.

The others watched as Kikyo's form dissipated, but they had not time to waste. It was already midnight and they would be late getting to Kagome. First, they would have to bandage Inuyasha's wound.

Sesshomaru then took charge. "I will head over to the pier first while all of you tend to Inuyasha's wounds."

Rin ran up to Sesshomaru and kissed him briefly on the lips. "Please be careful."

Sesshomaru just nodded before he left. Sango and Miroku hurriedly grabbed bandages and hoped to stop Inuyasha's bleeding. In his hanyou form, he would be able to heal quickly. But he was in his human form, so he might not stand a chance.

AT THE PIER:

"Looks like Inuyasha is late," Naraku announced to Kagome as she looked at the clock. It read 12:15 already. "Or maybe he decided not to come."

Kagome gulped nervously. 'Inuyasha, where are you?'

Suddenly, the outline of someone was approaching the pier. Kagome looked up expectantly, hoping it was Inuyasha. She swallowed her bitterness when the features of Sesshomaru were revealed.

"So, the hanyou decided he didn't care enough to come?" Naraku asked coolly.

"He is occupied," Sesshomaru stated simply. "Release her now."

"I don't think so," Naraku smirked. "She is a valuable asset to my company."

"You touched something that belongs to the Taiyoukai family," Sesshomaru stated coldly. "So you will pay with your life."

AT INUYASHA'S MANSION:

Inuyasha woke with a start. How long had he been out?

"Finally you're awake," Miroku said to him.

"What time is it?" Inuyasha asked as he looked around for his alarm clock.

"It's 12:20 now," Rin said softly.

"I'm twenty minutes late!" Inuyasha shouted as he struggled to stand up. But then he sat back down. His face turned hard and cold. "I don't care…Kagome doesn't need my help. She'd rather be with Naraku."

"What?" Sango sputtered indignantly. "What are you talking about? Kagome would never choose to be with Naraku. Now hurry up and go get her! Sesshomaru already left to stall for time, but Kagome is going to be very upset if you don't come."

"I could care less," Inuyasha said coldly. Sango just stared wide-eyed at Inuyasha.

"Are you mad?" Sango screamed before Miroku put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you mad because of this picture Inuyasha?" Miroku asked his friend, already knowing the answer.

"Keh," Inuyasha muttered.

"Inuyasha, can't you tell the picture is a fake?" Miroku continued calmly.

"It's not!" Inuyasha denied. "It's Naraku and Kagome kissing."

"No Inuyasha, it's digitally reformatted," Miroku explained. "Come here."

Inuyasha headed over to the computer where Miroku was sitting at. "It's a program called Photoshop (I'm not really sure how much this program can really alter an image, but I know it deals with graphics) and it can slightly change the image," Miroku continued. "Since Kikyo does have some similar features with Kagome, it was easy for Naraku to change the image."

Inuyasha watched closely as the image of 'Kagome' blurred briefly to reveal that it was actually Kikyo. Inuyasha drew in a deep breath and sat back down on the bed. He put his head in his hands and had a look of defeat painted on his face.

"I'm such an idiot," Inuyasha mumbled to himself.

"That's an understatement," Sango muttered before she snapped at him. "Aren't you gonna hurry up and go get Kagome? Sesshomaru is already stalling for you."

"What for?" Inuyasha snapped back. "Kagome probably…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Sango screamed at him before she grabbed his ear and dragged him off the bed. "She needs you now and unless you don't care then fine, sit here then!"

"Ow! Sango that hurts!" Inuyasha yelled in pain. "My human ears are sensitive too you know!"

Sango sent a murderous glare at Inuyasha and he immediately stopped complaining. Rin and Miroku just looked sympathetically at Inuyasha, happy that they were not the recipients of that glare.

"I know Sango," Inuyasha said quietly. "I will save Kagome, even if I have to give my life for her."

With that, he sprinted down the stairs and jumped on his motorcycle. 'I promise I will come for you,' Inuyasha thought to himself as he drove into the night.

Please Read & Review!

Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers! Your reviews really encourage me to write and as usual, I will update ASAP! Quick comment about Inuyasha's mode of transportation. Since he is not in his hanyou form, he can't just simply leap the way he usually does. So, his quickest way to get there would be on his motorcycle.

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