Chapter 15

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From the sidelines of the savage river, a woman watched the scene from beind a tree on the banks. Her cold eye's stared as she watched the suffering before her. The suffering shared by the half-demon she longed for and her re-incarnation from the future. A sad longing spread through her eyes. The priestess Kikyou watched until she was sure the girl had pulled herself and the half demon away from the danger of the murky waters, before she walked away into the darkness of the forest surrounding her. Her eyes turning cold as they had been before.

That girl, Kagome. Her true strength and purity comes from within her caring heart. But will that be enough?

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Inuyasha ran through the parlor of the grand manor, sliding over the screen door and running over to his mother. The Lady was always so elegant and beautiful, the sad smile she had on her face seemed so unfitting. "Inuyasha, did you claw a young girl today?"

"I-I'm sorry mother, I won't do it again. It was an accident!" Inuyasha pleaded, afraid his mother was angry with him.

"Was it also and accident to hurl a rock at her father?"

"N-no." The small hanyou sighed.

"You must always remember Inuyasha, humans are not as strong as demons."

"I know mother, I know."

"You should always protect those who aren't as strong as you."

"I will always protect you mother!" Inuyasha said hopping over to sit beside her.

She smiled back at him. Looking as though she was about to say something, but before the words could escape her mouth a terrified gaze and silent scream overtook her smile.

"MOTHER!"

Suddenly he felt as though he was falling through thick darkness. Cold washed over him. He had a great pain throbbing from his body. Then a curiously familiar scent filled his nose.

He was against something, a tree. He looked down at his chest and saw the arrow. "How could you, Inuyasha!" He saw Kikyou stand before him once-more. Then flames were all around. But instead of heat the flames licked at him from all sides with cold.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed at him. Looking down he saw her trying to pull herself up to him, struggling againt the flames.

"I won't leave you here Inuyasha! I won't leave you like this!"

She grasped the arrow and wripped it out from his chest. The flames roared around them, suddenly building into massive pressure and covering them entirely. He could hear Kagome struggling under the pressure but could do nothing to help her. He struggled to move some part of his body. Kagome needed his help, he has to help her. He couldn't see anything. His chest continued to throb as the cold flames engulfed them entirely.

But slowly they were extinguished to a scene appearing at the sacred tree. "Kagome?" Inuyasha said, looking down to see her face smiling up into his before wrapping her arms around him. " Kagome... " Inuyasha sighed, looking down at the pretty girl. Remembering how seeing her that way that night had jolted something inside him. Something he really never acknowledged was there. Taking in her scent he smiled back as he embraced her. Kagome smiled up at him once more."It's alrite Inuyasha, I will never leave you."

Those words brought it all back, Nakamura roaring with laughter as he used his naginata and hurled a giant energy-ball of destruction towards them. He had to protect Kagome, theres no way she could survive a force like that! But the energy was so great that when it hit the tree just behind them, it threw them apart. The last thing he remembered was watching Kagome crash into the water, just before he did.

The blackness surrounded him once more except for a small light glowing off in the distance. Inuyasha ran and ran toward it, he could smell her blood. "Kagome!" He could see her body lying on the grass in that circle of light. Eyes glazing over, her breathing slowly becoming shorter and shorter..

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" NO! KAGOME!" Inuyasha twitched awake. He was lying in Kagomes sleeping bag, the zipped up sides making it difficult for him to move. He pulled himself up but there was a sharp pain that jolted him back. Looking down he noticed that he was bandaged up, The right side of his back was throbbing badly and he noticed that his injury must have been a stab wound, all the way threw to his front chest. The arrow? he thought, feeling the wound, still thinking he was in the dream. He felt around the bandages wrapped around his chest; realising that there was no way an arrow could have made a wound like that.

"Ah, so your awake then?" Miroku spoke from where he sat against a tree, a bandage wrapped around his arm. They were in a small clearing, surrounded by dense trees. Night had fallen and there seemed to be hardly any light but from the fire sitting in the center of the clearing. The rest of the companions surrounded it. Sango and Kilala laid not too far from where Miroku sat and Shippo was leaning asleep near a large stone. "You shouldn't move so quickly Inuyasha. We haven't seen you injured this badly in quite some time. I'm afraid this wound has also affected your last wound from the village attack."

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha voice was gruff and a bit panicky.

"She's fine Inuyasha, she has barely left your side all evening." Miroku half laughed as the hanyou turned to see Kagome leaned up against the tree behind him. "I'm surprised she had'nt fallen asleep much earlier, I'm afraid the whole ordeal has worn Kagome-sama out."

Inuyasha could'nt take his eye's off of the young miko. Her legs and arms were covered in scrapes and bruises. A scrape had also formed at the base of her cheek, sending arrows of guilt at Inuyasha's heart.

"Miroku, how did I get here? What happened?"

Miroku could see Inuyasha was a bit unnerved. "Well after the blast hit the tree we were all thrown. The tree was splintered and blown apart, you were struck straight through. It's lucky the rest of us weren't hit."

Inuyasha was still looking at Kagome's wounds. She had dozens of her medical supplies strewn all around them. Inuyasha slowly pulled himself out of her sleeping bag, his ears still pointed in Miroku's direction as he continued to tell him what happened.

"You know, it was Kagome-sama who pulled you from the water."

"What?" Inuyasha was entirely surprised by this, Kagome was probably half his weight, if that. "How'd she pull that off?"

"That was a question I asked myself! It seems Kagome has become much stronger since she first arrived here. We found her just as she was pulling you onto the river bank. I will say it was likely a struggle for her though."

Inuyasha pulled the sleeping bag over onto Kagome. Takind care not to wake her before making his way over by the fire to sit with Miroku.

Miroku could see something was deeply disturbing his friend. He had known Inuyasha long enough to know when he was thinking deeply upon a subject that agitated him. The hanyou always had a look as though he wanted to rip a thought from his brain and "Wind Scar" the crap out of it.

"What's aggitating you so Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked at his friend, remembering the dream he just had. The hanyou knew that this recurring nightmare had to be more than just himself worrying too much. It was happening much too often and it always contained the same three woman, all woman who were important to him.

Inuyasha looked at his friend. He knew Miroku often had insight into the way the mind works. But he didn't feel he wanted to convey this information to anyone. Not yet anyway.

"Nothing." He sighed, looking away into the night sky.

"Inuyasha?" he heard Kagome yawn from behind him. Opening her eyes she saw him sitting up in his usual cross-legged position. " Oh thank goodness your awake!" She squealled hopping forward and hugging him.

"Gah!" Inuyasha cringed under the pain from his back.

"Oh I'm sorry." Kagome appalogized, tears falling down her face. "I was so worried! You were hurt so badly and I couldn't wake you!"

"Keh! Like a measly peice of tree could stop me." The half-demon scoffed with his arrogant grin appearing on his face before noticing that Kagome was having a crying fit. "Hey stop crying!"

"I can't!" Kagome cried, shaking. " I'm so glad!"

Inuyasha felt his heart lift up in his chest. She was glad he was alrite. It was kind of hard for him to react to. "Well, stop crying because your happy. Thats dumb!"

"Excuse me?" Kagome glared.

"Only a baka would cry over that." Inuyasha snorted.

"Oh shut-up and sit!"

Miroku watched as the hanyou's face slammed into the dirt, the sound of that and the cusses he uttered after waking everyone else. "That probably wasn't the most sensitive thing to say at that moment Inuyasha." The Monk sighed. Putting his palm to his face. Inuyasha can be so clueless when it comes to female emotions.

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Some distance down the river Sesshomaru was surveying the damage where the battle took place. He could smell the scents of his pathetic half-brother and his friends. The scent of graveyard soil wafted from the other side of the water, mixed with Naraku's demonic aura. As the youkai walked over the ground where Inuyasha and Kagome had stood the blade at his side began to vibrate.

He gripped the sword, thinking to himself. What is it Tenseiga?

"Your hanyou scum of a brother was here my lord. But his scent leads into the water?" Jaken squaked as he surveyed the riverbank.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Is Kagome and Inuyasha alrite?" Rin asked, seeing the disastrous scene where the battle took place. She hoped that nothing would have happened to Kagome. The little girl thought the miko was very nice.

'They're fine." The demon said before turning away and walking back into the forest. The young girl followed, pulling the reins of A-un.

It looks as though the hanyou's human grandfather is someone to be reckoned with. Jaken thought before noticing he was once again being left behind. "WAIT FOR ME LORD SESSHOMARU!"

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A/N: Yeah, so long time no update. Sorry everyone, I plan to update more often now that the summer is ending. Next update should be within the next couple of days. I love how I ended this chapter. I heart Jaken-sama.

PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW. I love to hear your thought's on how I'm doing.