Kagome and Inuyasha had been traveling together for a few weeks now, and things had been fairly smooth. Inuyasha hadn't really opened up to her very much, and Kagome doubted that this would change anytime soon. Still, he didn't seem to mind her chatter that she used to fill the silence. It didn't feel like an awkward silence to Kagome, but the forest could get a little too quiet at times. Inuyasha wasn't much for conversation, but she felt reassured by his presence. Kagome, however, soon fell ill.
They continued side by side their search for the Tetsusaiga, and Kagome listened when Inuyasha talked about the sword. He claimed that it could kill a hundred demons in one swing, but she really had trouble picturing that. Inuyasha was strong, but how could he slay that many demons at once?
Unfortunately, they hadn't run into too many human villages, but Kagome didn't find herself minding it too much. She didn't really want to settle somewhere else, and felt more comfortable with Inuyasha. She knew, however, that she couldn't continue traveling with him for too long. He had made it pretty clear that he didn't want her trailing after him forever.
One day, Kagome was collecting berries, since she wanted to help their food stores. Inuyasha was particularly adept at catching wild animals for food, and Kagome felt like she hadn't been contributing too much. Unfortunately, Kagome hadn't heard the slithering behind her, and she looked up with a shriek.
"Inuyasha!" She called out.
Of course Inuyasha was nowhere to be found, and the only thing she could keep doing was run. Kagome soon hit a dead end, and was surrounding by a loose circle of rocks. She turned around, determined not to be eaten by this snake-like demon that was about twenty feet long. She threw her hands out, and a strange blast of pink energy shot out of her hands and threw the demon back a fair distance. Kagome stared at her hands, but snapped out of her daze. Without wasting time, she took off at another sprint, but felt herself tiring. Her fever seemed to be catching up to her, and she could sense nausea. Kagome cursed her rotten luck; it was just like her to get sick at a time like this.
Kagome tripped over something, possibly a rock or her own two feet, and she gave a short shriek. She held held up her arms again as the snake lunged down at her. Feeling the energy blast again, Kagome had no time to avoid the red-clad figure who jumped in front of her. Inuyasha received the full brunt of her attack, and she saw him fly a few feet away as he fell to the ground with a grunt. Kagome was horrified at what she had done, and quickly ran towards him, despite feeling weak.
Unfortunately, the snake demon hadn't given up, and sped towards them. Inuyasha raised his claws, and Kagome heard a yelp as his claws connected with the snake's head. The demon had sunk his fangs deep into Inuyasha's shoulder, and Kagome could see some sort of purple poison coming from Inuyasha's shoulder. Kagome wasn't too familiar with toxins, but it partly looked like miasma to her.
She sincerely hoped that Inuyasha's durable body would help him. Kagome noticed a huge burn mark on Inuyasha's back from her blow, and was again flooded with guilt. He was clearly unconscious, and as the minutes passed by, she became far more worried. Unsure of what to do, Kagome started to get up to go get some water for them, but she felt a clawed hand grab her wrist to stop her.
"Where are you going wench?" he asked weakly. "I'll just have to come rescue you."
"Inuyasha!" She exclaimed, not caring about how joyful she sounded. "You're alive!"
"No thanks to you," he muttered, trying to prop himself up with his arms. He winced, and fell back down.
"It was an accident," she whispered.
"Yeah, whatever," he dismissed, looking away. The expression on his face was unreadable, but she tried not to think too much of it.
"We have to go to a village, Inuyasha," Kagome said. They couldn't keep traveling while he was in this state, and Kagome had no interest in continuing to walk while sick.
"Fine," Inuyasha agreed after a few moments of silence, shocking Kagome. "I've been around these parts before, and there's a village up ahead."
The fact that Inuyasha had agreed so easily to go rest in a village meant that he was in bad shape. She could see a light sheen of sweat on his face, and he looked exhausted. Kagome was worried for his safety, and didn't give herself too much thought. He was the main priority now.
"Thank you Inuyasha," Kagome said, relief coloring her voice. Inuyasha gave a slight nod while looking ahead, and slowly propped himself up on his arms, using a tree for assistance. Kagome had never seen him this slow. He almost looked...scared. Kagome understood that he was hurt, but he seemed to be preoccupied by something else.
"But we stay inside all night," he ordered, surprising her. "No wandering. I don't want to have to save you again."
"Well, if I'm such a nuisance then, maybe you should just drop me off here!" She snapped at him, annoyed. He hadn't said anything like that in a while, and she had no idea where his bad mood was coming from.
"I just don't like this place," he muttered, disregarding her comment. "After tonight, we leave."
"Yes," she agreed.
Inuyasha was very much on edge today, more so than usual. Usually, she would describe him as alert, but she could feel his tension. It made her rather anxious too.
As they walked through the village, she saw people staring at them, and at times, even glaring. Inuyasha was slowly walking, still injured from her energy blast and the venom. Despite this, she saw fear as they walked by. Kagome passed by one of the villagers, and asked for an inn. The villager obliged, but she could see her glare now directed towards Kagome.
Kagome had wondered what Inuyasha had meant by humans shunning her, but she was beginning to understand. She was seen as a sympathizer, but she didn't feel shame. Kagome's first loyalty was to Inuyasha, and if others hated her for it, so be it.
"He'll kill you one day, girl," she spat. "In your sleep, demons are violent. He should be purified by our high priestess, Tsubaki."
"He's shown me more compassion lately than anyone I know," Kagome retorted, not bothering to thank the woman for her information.
Kagome had seen Inuyasha's ears turned in her direction, but he didn't face her. She assumed he had heard her exchange with the villager. He said nothing as she returned to his side, and let her lead the way.
They walked inside, and were guided to a simple room with wooden floors. Inuyasha set their things down, and collapsed once it was just the two of them.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, sitting next to him, looking at his weak state. His breathing seemed shallow as well.
"We need to leave first thing tomorrow morning at daybreak," he said, looking away from her. "Don't worry, I wouldn't force you to stay with these people."
"I feel a dark presence here," Kagome agreed. "They told me about a high priestess, Tusbaki. I wonder why there's an evil aura."
"A dark priestess," he muttered. "It's best we don't linger, you should rest."
Kagome could feel herself getting woozy, and happily followed his advice. Inuyasha had managed to move himself to his usual upright position, and they were silent for a few hours. Soon, darkness hit, and Kagome felt herself fade, wanting to get some much needed rest. The last thing she saw was Inuyasha, looking even more tense than before, if that was even possible.
After what only seemed like a few minutes, Kagome heard a slashing sound and a grunt. She quickly woke up and rubbed her heavy eyes, looking to see who Inuyasha had fought this time, but she was alone in the dark room. She scanned the room twice, and couldn't find him anywhere. Where Inuyasha had been, she could see splatters of blood. Something was sincerely wrong. Inuyasha hadn't been her biggest fan, but she knew he wasn't the sort of person to abandon her without warning. Could the noise she had heard have been him?
She knew Inuyasha had been injured in the fight against the demon, but he hadn't seemed like a few humans could defeat him. He had been rather tense though, but why? Inuyasha had told her not to step out of the room, but she had no interest in waiting to see if he would come back. If he had abandoned her for some reason, she wouldn't hang around the village. She suddenly remembered something one of the villagers had said, something about purifying Inuyasha?
Without hesitation, she slowly brought herself to her feet and quietly left the shelter of the inn. Kagome noticed that tonight was a new moon, and it made her shiver. The darkness was ominous, and the passing breeze increased her anxiety. As she walked, she saw some light through the windows of a nicer looking home. Kagome approached, and could feel a strong evil aura inside. She crept to the window, and was horrified at what she saw. A woman with dark hair was smiling maliciously down at someone who had long black hair. The man was bound by his hands, and Kagome's priestess powers sensed that these people were trying to suck away his energy. The flickering flames showed Kagome that the man was in terrible shape, blood seeping out of his body.
As he turned his head a little more, she gasped at what she saw. The man with the long black hair looked exactly like Inuyasha, but he was missing his claws and ears. Inuyasha was human. Kagome quickly came out of her frozen stupor when she saw one of the villagers stab the human Inuyasha. If they made it out of this alive, she would ask him about his transformation later. She understood why he was so weak, the poison was still flowing through him and his demon powers were gone for some reason. Kagome heard something about a "half breed" through the window, and decided that she'd had enough.
Before Kagome could make her next move, she was grabbed from behind and thrown into the cabin towards Inuyasha. He managed to shift his body to cushion her fall against the wooden floor, and fell back with a grunt. Kagome was shaking, and she could see his glare against the group of people surrounding them. The men had brandished spears and swords, and she couldn't see a way out with Inuyasha still human. In that moment, she cursed herself for being so weak. She was useless to Inuyasha; if she hadn't hit him with her power, they never would have stayed at this village. In fact, staying here had been her idea.
"Kagome." Inuyasha spoke quietly, and his arrogant self was nowhere to be found. He sounded absolutely defeated, and it made Kagome fear for their survival. "Why?"
"I couldn't leave you," she murmured. "Not like this." She knew that he was asking her why she had come back for him. Kagome desperately wanted Inuyasha to see that he wasn't what these people said; she wanted to heal his pain. However, that was the problem, a person had to want that change.
Kagome met the eyes of the woman, who she assumed was the dark priestess Tsubaki. Tsubaki walked over to them, and she pulled Kagome's chin up, staring at the girl with sharp eyes. Tsubaki had a disgusting smile on her face, and Kagome felt her anger increase. As Kagome became more furious, she felt her strange powers stir inside her.
"Let him go!" Kagome ordered. Her words were met with a strike to her face by Tsubaki.
"Leave," Inuyasha told her, weakly.
"No," she said stubbornly, not taking her eyes off of Tsubaki.
"Ah, I see that this half-breed is your pet," Tsubaki mocked. "A pity that his master has come looking for him. I was in the process of trying to get his blood, but it appears that a strong poison has tainted it. Purification will not work. He's virtually useless to me. However, come morning, I will have much better use of him."
"As if you could purify me," Inuyasha spat out. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kagome was shoved to the side, and one of the men hit Inuyasha across the face.
"Silence half-breed!" Tsubaki yelled, tightening her hand into a fist, making Inuyasha wince. She addressed Kagome now. "You girl, why does a priestess travel with this abomination?"
"I'm not priestess," Kagome said darkly. "Not a priestess like you, anyway."
"I feel strong power within you," Tsubaki replied easily. "You don't deserve the title priestess by trying to shield this mongrel."
Kagome crawled back to Inuyasha. No one had attacked her yet, probably because she wasn't considered a threat, so Kagome started trying to untangle the knots holding Inuyasha's hands together. She managed to free him after a few tries, but he wasn't in good shape with his open wounds and the snake demon's poison still flowing through his human body.
"You'll be a tasty thing," one of the men said, advancing on her.
"Bastards. I'll slit your throats!" She heard Inuyasha rasp out to them.
Kagome looked at the villagers in disgust, and saw Tsubaki and the men converge on them. Without thought, Kagome threw out her hands, and a strong blast of pink energy knocked them over. She felt a warmth envelop her and Inuyasha, and it pushed back at their attackers. Tsubaki screeched, and launched another attack, and whatever was shielding them threw her attack back at her. Who had been doing this? Did Inuyasha have spiritual powers when he turned human?
Without giving too much thought to it, Kagome only focused on getting them out. She didn't even go back to the inn to get their things, since they hadn't been traveling with too much anyway. Really, it was just food and some herbs, and Kagome assumed that they could find those somewhere else. Kagome looked back, and saw that Tsubaki wasn't chasing them.
They made their way to the woods, and Inuyasha took one misstep, causing them to crash to the ground. He visibly winced, and hit the ground with a grunt. His breathing was shallow, but he still seemed conscious. Kagome was at a loss for words, but finally spoke when she could get her thoughts straight.
"What are you?" Kagome asked finally, confusion coloring her tone.
"A half-breed," he said, no emotion in his voice. "You heard them."
"No. What happened to your demon powers?" She demanded. "You're clearly human."
"On the night of the new moon, I turn human, it's my weakness. They'll be back with the morning light."
"You should have told me!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "We shouldn't have settled into that village. I knew you were tense."
"I was right not to tell you," Inuyasha replied simply.
"As your travel partner, shouldn't I know when you're more vulnerable? There are two of us Inuyasha, you don't have to be alone!" She said this quite passionately.
"You're a danger to me, wench," he snapped at her. "Those powers you used are exactly like Kikyo's. She tried to kill me last time. Why do you think I didn't tell you?"
"I would never hurt you on purpose, Inuyasha," Kagome said quietly, trying not to show how hurt she was. However, she couldn't mask her tears. "You know that."
"How am I supposed to know that?" He demanded.
"We're friends," Kagome said firmly. "That should be reason enough."
"Keh. I don't have friends," he replied petulantly.
"Well, you should learn to recognize them," she snapped at him. He said nothing, and that seemed to end their conversation.
Inuyasha still hadn't lifted himself from the ground, and made no move to try to prop himself up. For her part, Kagome didn't have any energy either. She was still stunned by the energy blast, and whatever barrier had saved them. She would question Inuyasha in the morning to see if it was him. Perhaps they had some ally who was watching out for them, or something. All Kagome knew was that they had barely made it out alive. For the second time that night, Kagome allowed herself to fall asleep.
A few hours passed, and Kagome flinched due to the morning light as she opened her eyes. All of her limbs felt heavy, but she felt much better, her fever and nausea seeming to have faded. As the memories from the night before flooded through her mind, she looked for Inuyasha in a panic. He met her eyes with a deep gaze, and she saw that he was leaning against a tree trunk, alert. Inuyasha seemed to have fully recovered, and Kagome sighed in relief.
"You're back," she said softly. "We're both alive."
"I'm not so easy to kill." Kagome smiled at him, relieved to hear his proud self again. She gave a slight giggle.
"Why are you still here?" He asked her, quiet again. Kagome had no idea what he was talking about.
"Um," she hesitated. "Where am I supposed to go? Last time I checked, we were nearly killed in that village."
"You're not safe with me," he argued. "I'm a bastard to them, I shouldn't even exist. It's only a matter of time before we run into dangerous demons. I told you about my brother..." Kagome interrupted the beginning of his rant.
"Not to me," she said softly. "You're not a half-breed to me. I am your friend Inuyasha, and we'll continue our search together."
Kagome took his hand, and gave Inuyasha a gentle smile. Inuyasha didn't know what to say to her. He believed that they were friends, but this made him especially nervous. Caring for someone made a person vulnerable, and Inuyasha didn't like feeling this way. Despite this fear, he could feel his trust in her growing. However, he had a lingering thought in the back of his mind. This was the last time he would ever place his trust in someone, and if Kagome betrayed him, he would be ruined.
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