Inuyasha's arms finally fell around Kagome's shoulders, his eyes wide, blinking, staring into hers. Their faces were only inches apart, his heart fluttering from the horrified look on her delicate features. More blood spilled, he could hear it. Whose was it? He felt something pump through him, his shoulders shaking lightly. Who had been hit?
The hanyou's body jerked forcefully as the sound of ripped skin rang out. His hands slowly and weakly gripped the haori that shrouded the girl's body as his knees buckled. He sank down, his hands gripping what he could, but not enough to keep him up. When he finally rested on the blood splattered bottom, looking up at the miko with helpless eyes.
His eyes trailed downward, his mouth dropping open a crack, his hands touching to his stomach. Gently, he removed his hands to watch the blood pour and cover his hands. And then the pain hit him. It seared through his entire body, jutting in through his back and out through his stomach, exactly where the blood spilled from. The blow had gone right through him.
"Inuyasha!" Sango cried, struggling to decide whether to run to his aid or keep at the monk's side. His face was already starting to bead with sweat, his breath slowly quickening all from one mere insect. They had gotten more powerful over the devious hanyou's absence, their abdomens swollen with poison.
Kagome dropped to her knees, pressing her open hand to the wound as tears welled in her pretty brown eyes. She wrapped him in a limp embrace. Every movement hurt to her, and, already, she had forgiven him. He hadn't meant to do what he had done. She could see it in his eyes as he stared up at her, hunched over and breathing heavily as his own blood poured from the open wound.
"Inuyasha. Oh no. Inuyasha, are you alright?" The girl breathed out in a hurried tone, pressing her other hand to the gaping hole in his back. A short sob echoed from her throat as she tried, desperately, to stop the heavy flow of blood that drenched her hands in warm, red, liquid.
The hanyou didn't reply, simply rose his eyes to her stomach where a small circle of blood was forming, stretching out nearly an inch now. A breath stopped in his throat. Not only did he get impaled, but he hadn't saved the girl from injury. He had failed both ways, barely hanging to the confidence that he had saved her from a death he could fall to with the fatal wound that ripped through him.
"I...I'm fine. You...got...hurt." He stammered, reaching out a trembling hand to touch the bleeding wound that's blood coated a round circle on her front. She merely shook her head, taking his hand in her own to drop her head to his shoulder, her shoulders heaving gently with her tears that soaked through his bloodstained yukata to moisten his skin. His lips parted to let out heavy breathes with a soft, lingering "I'm sorry, Kagome."
"No. It's nothing. I'm completely fine, please, don't worry. Just...don't...don't try to speak." She pleading, trembling slightly as his arms found their way around her to embrace her lightly through the immense pain. He turned his lips to discreetly brush her jawline, his face breaking a slight sweat as he choked back a cry of pain. He tried peering out through his heavy amber eyes but his vision was wavering insanely. His body was shaking beyond his control and nearly completely numb now.
"Kagome. I'm...fine. Don't worry about me." He demanded, suddenly breaking from her embrace to narrow his eyes firmly at her. He needed to be strong, he needed to always be there for her. How could he do that when he lay on the ground, lifeless and cold? He had made it through such injuries before, he could do it again, if only for her.
The determined in half demon stood, groaning slowly and helping Kagome into a stand along with him. He remained, leaning slightly against her, but soon straightened on his own. He could feel Sanraku's evilly gleeful eyes on his back as his blood puddled around him in thick, crimson, sheets. He turned, returning the demon's glare with a shooting gaze.
"Don't-"
"Fool. I'm fine. I've survived these kinds of wounds before."
Kagome sank back, her eyes lowering to her own bare feet, trailing down her legs to watch her own blood trail down the white skin. She sighed, fingering the tiny dot of a wound she had been inflicted with. Just as the thought of guilt that she had only received that while Inuyasha was bleeding to death, if not, something worse, she felt herself begin to feel strange.
Her skin prickled, she felt her stomach turn and bile rise into her throat. She had to struggle to force it down until all the color had drained from her features, leaving her cold and deathly pale. Her legs felt like jell-o, her eyesight wavering madly out of proportion until she felt her knees buckling and her head spinning. Within seconds, she had collapsed to the ground.
Inuyasha spun around at the sound, hearing a soft chuckle ring from Sanraku's throat behind his back. The hanyou made a weak step forward, the teal eyed kit beating him to the fallen miko. He growled, cursing under his breath as he dropped down, sweeping the girl into his arms with a spurt of his own blood across the grass.
"Kagome! Kagome, say something!" He demanded, shaking her furiously. Shippo protested at his side, screaming for him to stop, but the hanyou was nearly frantic now. He brushed his thumb along her blue lips, breath catching in his throat at the feel of her frozen skin. He trembled, sending a pleading glance to Miroku and Sango where they sat, hunched, Sango caressing the monk's hand with teary eyes. He wouldn't shout at the. He knew they wanted to help Kagome just as much as him.
"Ka-" He turned his eyes back to speak out to her again when his words were cut short by a spear of pain jutting through him. He moaned quietly, eyes moving down to widen, his breath slowing as more and more of his blood puddled around him. "Ka..gome...Why?" He finished, a weak and trembling hand moving down to grasp the pale arm that she had shoved through his open wound.
The hanyou's life was fading right before his eyes. He could feel the life draining from him but he held on, stretching on his last strength to raise his dimming amber eyes to meet hers. He watched her, watching the tint of blank red in her eyes as she ripped her arm back through his wound. His blood coated her arm so thickly that he could no longer see the beautifully snow white skin.
..:----.-.---.-..-.-:..
It just keeps getting worse and worse.
Well, this was a short one, eh? I just wanted to save what happens next in a whole new chapter. It's the biggest chapter in the whole dang thing...I think...Well...I don't know.
And yes, Inume, that's pretty much why Sango didn't go to see what was happening. She didn't want to walk in on them!
So, whyyyy...in the world...would Kagome do that, ya think? And poor Inu...the pup's gettin' wasted!
So just keep reviewing...yesh, yesh. And I've also got up another fanfic! WHOOO! If you're a Spirited Away fan...hm hm hm hmmmm!