Disclaimer- I don't own him or anyone else in the story

Chapter 35- I Cry Because I...

The room fell silent, the only notion of life being the breaths that filled the air. Nobody moved for a moment, until the cry of one girl set the rest into action. The gun was dropped in pure shock, and blood dripping onto the floor next to it.

"Gatenmaru!" Shuunan shouted, running to her brother. Inuyasha slowly stepped away from him, grabbing his side from which the bullet shot through. Crimson liquid poured over his hand as he stared at the unconscious boy.

"What did you do!" Naraku shouted, glaring angrily at the boy on the floor. Pure rage filled his eyes as Naraku walked towards him, shoving Shuunan away from her brother and flipping the kid onto his back. He slapped him once before shoving him on the floor when realizing he was blacked out.

"You should have known...I can move quicker than he could shoot...I could knock him out much faster than he could fire. He was aiming for my heart, he only got my side." Inuyasha wheezed out, ignoring the burning sensation in his side. Trying not to wince as another wave of pain spread through him, he kept his eyes on Naraku.

"You took off your chain in front of humans, I'm surprised." His voice was eerily calm, sending chills down everyone's' spines.

"It's all over Naraku...I can hear the sirens...you're screwed." Inuyasha muttered, smirking slightly as his chain that had hung around his neck before the shot dropped out of his hand. Naraku growled before shaking his head, laughing menacingly.

"I won't go down until I know she's dead." He said, looking up. Inuyasha glanced in the direction he was looking, his eyes slightly widening when she was already towards him. By now she had shaken out of Sango's grasp, who was holding her when the bullet was shot.

"Kagome stay away!" She paid no heed to his words, quickly standing in front of him when he stumbled forward. She stared up at him, apparent fear in her eyes.

"Are you Oka Inuyasha? You're losing so much blood." She said, looking down at his side before looking back up at him. He let out a growl before speaking.

"I told you to stay with Miroku, why don't you listen to me?" He whispered harshly, causing her to smile weakly.

"You would have done the same thing for me." She replied, placing her hand on his cheek. He blushed slightly before looking back at Naraku, who was now moving towards the gun. His eyes widened before he cursed. He's got more bullets in there!

"Everyone down!" Inuyasha shouted, dragging Kagome to the floor. Sango ducked when the gun went off again, gasping when Miroku pulled her behind an overturned table.

"She will die tonight." Naraku said, smirking as he aimed another bullet at the couple on the floor. Moving quickly, Inuyasha pushed up onto his feet, grabbing Kagome's hand and pulling her up. He jerked her forward, moving away from the floor that Naraku had just shot.

"He's gone insane!" Kagome yelled out, looking back at her ex boyfriend.

"No I couldn't tell!" Inuyasha stated sarcastically. "Now shut up and keep moving." She looked at where Naraku had previously shot, gasping when something shined off the floor.

"Inuyasha your chain!" Kagome quickly stopped, pulling her hand out of his grasp. She ignored Sango's cry of protest, moving back and grabbing the chain.

"Damnit Kagome!" Inuyasha said, moving back to the girl. Before he could reach her, a crisp shot rang through the night, seeming to stop time. A sudden gasp filled the air, Kagome's eyes widening slightly as extreme pain exploded in her thigh. She stumbled backwards, blood quickly staining the white skirt she wore. Two more shots entered the air, though neither hit the trembling girl on the floor.

"Shit." Naraku stared at the empty gun, hucking it to the side before lunging at Kagome. He didn't make it though because Inuyasha quickly punched him, pinning him to the floor with his hand around Naraku's neck.

"Move an inch and I'll kill you now." Inuyasha said, his golden eyes staring warningly into Naraku's purple eyes.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's ears twitched when he heard Kikyo's scream, but wasn't able to move his gaze away from Naraku. He listened as the group moved to Kagome, trying his hardest to keep his concentration on Naraku.

"I'm fine guys..." Kagome's voice was soft, showing that her words were lies. She continued anyways. "You have to go look at Inuyasha, his side got hit with the first bullet."

"The boys will take care of him; you have to show me where he hit you though." Sango said, watching Kagome struggle to pull up the cloth of her skirt. She only moved it two inches up before the bullet hole came into view.

"That's a pretty deep hole." Kikyo said, looking up at her friend.

"Guys how's Inuyasha doing?" Kagome asked. Sango smiled softly at her friend's concern, looking up slightly when the sound of sirens came bursting through the distance.

"Worry about yourself right now, he's doing Oka." Kagome shook her head slightly, lifting up the chain that was still clutched in her hand.

"You have to put this one him before anyone else sees him." Kagome said.

"I'm on it." Kikyo grabbed the chain, moving from Kagome over to Inuyasha, who was now lying on the ground while both Kouga and Miroku kept an eye on Naraku. She knelt down next to him, watching his eyes open up to look at her.

"So what are you exactly?" She asked, watching him smirk.

"I'm what they call a half demon." He said, his laughter labored. Kikyo slowly looked form his ears to his fangs, which were biting his lower lip to keep in painful moans.

"You're kind of cute with the dog ears." She said, smiling slightly before handing him the chain. "But I guess some of the paramedics might get a little freaked out, so you should put this back on."

"Kagome...how's Kagome? Is she alright?" Inuyasha forced himself to sit up, slowly placing the chain on before glancing around. When he caught sight of the stained skirt on Kagome, he ignored his own body and stood up. Even when Kikyo placed a hand on his wrist to stop him, he merely shook it off as he walked over to Kagome, whose breathing had gotten worse. She looked up at him, gasping slightly when he dropped down next to her.

"Inuyasha..."

"Idiot, I told you to stay behind..." He said, rolling his eyes when she only smiled. Leaning forward, he lightly nipped her nose with his teeth, watching her eyes widen with slight satisfaction. Before she could ask about the strange motion, the door of the club had been thrown open.

"Paramedics are here." Sango said, sighing when the sight of the medics came into the room. Soon following them were the police, their guns drawn in front of them.

"We got a report of a teen with possession of a gun in this facility?" One of the cops looked around, his eyes resting on the boy on the ground. "The suspect is unconscious."

"Sorry about that." Inuyasha coughed out, wiping a small trail of blood dripping past his lips before smirking. "Let's just say I wanted to stay alive, just for the hell of it."

"All of you are coming to the station for questioning." Another cop appeared next to the first one, glancing back at the paramedics. "Get in there and check up on the kids, I see blood."

"Over here!" Sango waved her hand, pointing at the two on the floor. Inuyasha glanced back at Kagome, swearing when he noticed her closed eyes. Looking back down at her leg, he noticed with slight fear that it had not stopped bleeding.

"What happened here?" Two separate stretchers could be seen, and the paramedic knelt down next to Sango. She shook her head lightly, staring as Kagome was placed on the stretcher.

"It happened so fast. First Gatenmaru had the gun, then he dropped it, then Naraku..."She trailed off as she watched Inuyasha cross his arms, sending a look at the paramedics.

"I don't want to sit on the friggen stretcher." He growled at them, making each one take a step back. Sango quickly rose to her feet, placing a hand on his shoulder. He glared back at her, but softened his gaze slightly when seeing who it was.

"You need to listen to the medics; they know what they're doing. You got shot in the side; they need to make sure that none of your organs got injured." The glare came back again as he shook his head.

"I'm not listening to these people. They said Kikyo ran into a tree, and we all knew she got stabbed! Tell me why I should give them a moment of my time?"

"Because if you don't go, Kagome will be there all alone." She replied, keeping contact with his gaze. It only took him a moment of thought before shrugging her hand off of his shoulder.

"Fine, but I can get in the damn ambulance on my own." He replied, straightening up before walking as straight as he could behind the medics. Though blood still dripped down his side, he refused to let anyone touch him until he was inside the ambulance. With the doors slamming shut and the vehicle speeding towards the hospital, Sango clutched her hands over her heat, a look of worry spreading over her face. She now stood in the doorway for the club, watching the lights in the distance.

"You worried about them?" At Miroku's smooth voice, Sango looked from the dark sky towards him. Though he smiled and stared out at the endless night, she could easily see his tenseness.

"As much as I should be." She replied softly. He nodded, but didn't bother to respond with words. She let the cold air pass over her, pushing her hair into her face. Slowly a hand came out, lightly brushing it out of her view. When she glanced over, she blushed when she realized it was Miroku who now cupped her cheek with his warm hand.

"Miroku?" She asked, staring up at him. His intense stare tore her down the middle of excitement and wonder.

"Sango, after seeing what happened, after everything that went on tonight, I can't keep holding things from you." He seemed to stop only to stare at her, his lips' shaking causing Sango to open her mouth in shock.

"I don't...what do you..." Sango tried to sort her thoughts, but they only mocked her before running around her mind once again. Slowly, as if unsure she would be burned or not, Sango placed her hand against his chest. At the beginning she had planned to push away from him so they could find out how they would get to the hospital. That thought soon melted from her mind when he spoke.

"I want to be with you, and know that you want to be with me too. Only you and only me. I don't want anything like this to ever make me wonder if I'll be able to show you how much I dream of you or how much I care for you. How I wish you would have let me kiss you, and how you scared the hell out of me when I caught sight of that fire. Your smile, your laugh, and your eyes...god, I love your eyes." His rambling seemed to slow as she felt a blush creep to her face. "I just want to be able to show that...I love you..." Miroku grabbed her other cheek, pulling her forward only to claim her lips with his.

The fire that spread through her stomach seemed to skip past the butterflies, which pounded against the inside. Her hand now fisted in his shirt, and she gave into feeling before pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Suddenly the world stopped, and nothing but the warmth against her mouth and the arms wrapping around her waist kept her alive. If they separated, she didn't know if she'd be able to take another breath.

Ration poked its ugly head in Sango's mind, and the reminder that her friends were currently being rushed into the hospital caught her pulling away from him slowly. Realizing with a shock that darkness that did not come from the night covered her eyes, she lifted her eyelids to stare at Miroku. He smiled at her, and she took a moment to catch her breath before speaking.

"You pick the most inappropriate times to be everything I wanted. Stupid pervert." When his smirk became apparent, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the dance room. Looking around while trying to cool down from the flush-causing kiss, Sango walked towards Kouga and Kikyo. The two were currently speaking with one of the police officers, who looked at if the words coming from their mouths were the most shocking sentences he had ever come across.

She tried to give each of them a smile of warmth when she stopped towards them, letting her hand loosen on Miroku's to give him enough room to pull away. Her smile became twice as convincing when he only laced his fingers between hers before standing next to her. The other two stopped before glancing at the two, Kikyo suddenly laughing.

"Kouga, you owe me ten bucks!" Kikyo said, glancing over at her boyfriend.

"What, no I don't." Kouga said, looking at Kikyo as if she had just lost her mind. Kikyo nodded quickly when she pointed at the two.

"They got together before Inuyasha and Kagome! So you owe me ten dollars." Kouga stared at the two before shaking his head.

"No way, you two are together?" Miroku only looked over at Sango, who was already looking at him.

"I don't know, are we?" Miroku asked, laying out all his cards. She didn't waste a moment to answer.

"I thought I made that obvious."

"Damnit you two! Couldn't you have waited!" Kouga said, watching the rest laugh at him while he sighed. The clearing of a throat caught the group's attention while they looked back at the police officer.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really need to get the facts before we take the three to the police station." Kikyo nodded, placing her attention on the officer. "Now I understand that the boy we found unconscious had an infatuation with you?"

"Yes sir that is correct." She replied.

"And your friends said this is why he had the gun?"

"Yes. The boy with him is named Naraku; he used to go out with my best friend. Of course they broke up because of his involvement with another girl, and he still had feelings for her. That's why he got angry when she stared to have feelings for that boy who went in the ambulance Inuyasha."

"And you think that he was the one who thought of this whole plan?" Miroku started to speak at the accusation.

"We know he did it, since he admitted it to all of us. Even Gatenmaru's sister will confirm that. He had access of the files of the camp, and he admitted to stabbing Kikyo earlier on in the camp."

"The files had records of the accident, which Naraku tried to have me take for him." Kouga said, watching the cop write down the information. "The doctors had concluded that she had hurt herself."

"Look, we would love to talk about this more but our two good friends just got rushed out of here in an ambulance and we would be really appreciative if there is any way you can give us a ride back to camp so we can go see them." The police officer sighed, pocketing his notepad before answering Kikyo.

"I don't know if I should do that, you are only kids."

"Please officer, I beg you. I need to see Kagome, she's my best friend." He stared at Sango for a moment before sighing.

"Alright, I'll drop you off at the camp." They each smiled before following the officer out of the room.

Scene Change

Inuyasha groaned as he slowly let his eyes open, staring up at a white ceiling. Slowly sitting up, he winced and looked down at his side, sighing when he noticed the stitches the doctors had placed in him after taking out the bullet. Or at least he hopes so; they had drugged him before he could see.

"Damn nurses." He muttered, pushing off of the hospital bed. He got dressed into his clothes sitting on the side of the bed and moved towards the door. He took a deep breath as he leaned against the frame of the door, trying to ignore the soreness of his side before pushing into the empty hall. Glancing around both ways before reaching behind him, he slowly unclasped his chain. He didn't remove it fully, but it was enough for his nose to be assaulted with medicine and other human scents that were in the area. Ignoring most of them, he stopped when he caught the smell of Kagome.

"Well that was easier than I thought." He muttered before pushing forward, letting some of his demon blood dull the pain from his side. Moving as fast as his body would allow him, he snuck through the halls, making sure that the doctors and nurses did not catch sight of him. He kept moving until the strong pull of her scent stopped him in front of one of the rooms. Pushing the door open, he shut it behind him before glancing on the bed in the room.

The sudden sight of Kagome sprawled on the bed seemed to constrict his throat. Suddenly dropping his concealment spell into his pocket before moving over to her, he hesitantly sat on the bed before looking at her. Since the wound was on her leg, it was easy to keep her clothes on her while they operated. Looking down at the wounded area, he noticed the white bandage that poked over the side of her skirt. He sighed before looking back up at her, falling off the bed in surprise to see two brown eyes.

"God damnit woman! Give me a little warning next time." He muttered, sitting up from the floor and glaring at her. She smiled lightly before looking up at him ears, the grin becoming larger.

"I see you took the spell off." She said, catching his awkward look before he shrugged. His growl didn't go unnoticed when she stared in wonder.

"What, I can't even relax once and a while without you commenting about it?"

"It's not that." She replied, reaching out from the bed. He watched her hand as it moved up to the top of his head, lightly rubbing it. He stared at her while she giggled, grabbing the other one and doing the same motion. He tried to keep his eyes open, though it was hard from the feeling.

"What is it?" He asked, finally shaking her hands away from his ears.

"I just...I was wondering why you nipped me earlier..." she said slowly, looking over at him. He seemed to freeze for a moment before blushing.

"You disobeyed me, it was instinct. My...my dad used to do it to my mother." She stared at him before her eyes widened.

"Wait, as in..." He stared at the bed as he nodded.

"Not like it really mattered or anything, I just did it because I got pissed." He muttered, never moving his gaze up. He didn't hear a word from her, and slowly focused his ears on her breathing. Finally, the sound of a soft sob reached his ears, and he looked back up at her. His wince was evident when he caught sight of tears.

"Wh-why are you crying?" He asked, watching her attempt to smile before breaking down again. He shifted awkwardly in his spot before slowly moving back onto the bed, dragging her into his lap. She continued to cry as he moved back against the wall, pulling her head against his chest. The slow beating beneath the skin calmed her, and she slowly stopped trembling.

"Stupid girl..." He muttered weakly, though his tone showed he lied. "Are you going to tell me what's with the water works?"

"I...it's just if Naraku had one more bullet, if he could have gotten one more shot..." She felt his grip tighten in warning, but she pressed on anyways. "I would be-"

"Don't say it..." He growled out.

"-dead." That one word sent a shiver down Inuyasha's spine and forced him to face the reality of it all. If Naraku could have shot a little bit closer, if his first shot didn't hit her thigh, would she be alive right now?

"I'd never let him or anyone else kill you, you're what I'm meant to protect, and I'd take the bullet for you." He muttered, feeling his racing heart slow again. When he heard her shaky sigh, his gaze looked down to see her eyes closed, a set of tears running down them. His heart sank, though he tired to ignore it. "Damnit woman, is all you do cry?"

"I cry because I care for you. I only cry for the people I care for..." She whispered, sleeping claiming her mind as she managed out her last sentence. "For the people I love..."

His heart stopped for a moment, slamming into a wall of pure shock. Resisting the urge to shake the girl awake to figure out what she had meant, he stared at the wall in front of him. His ears were ringing, and a steady blush was creeping up to the front of his face. Even when his friends were allowed to see them two hours later, his eyes were still unfocused in one thought. Does...Kagome love me?

Oka, this one was not really a cliff hanger, you guys are lucky this time. I think there are only two chapters left in the story, it seems impossible but I'm pretty sure that's it. I'm hoping to get them done before February vacation, but I'm not sure if I can! Anyways...Does Kagome love Inuyasha? If so, what will Inuyasha do? Why, out of all the places, does Miroku kiss Sango THEN! Talk about bad timing...

Chapter 36- The Last Night and Inuyasha's Only Chance