Crusade Against the Moon

Chapter Five : Possession

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor the characters from the show.

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Sango trembled in his arms, and he squeezed her tightly, trying to calm her with a comforting hand on her back. Despite his efforts, she pulled away, her face flushed and forehead wet with perspiration. "He's gone," she cried, grabbing at his robes, her mind refused to believe something like this would happen again. "He was watching the kids, and, and when I came back home, he was gone!"

"What?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Gone!" She repeated, "Kohaku's gone!"

"How's your chest feeling?"

"Fine."

Kagome glanced at him, her eyes had gotten used to the darkness now. They were getting closer to town, and the moon was a familiar beacon in the night.

She tugged slightly at the warm hand she was already holding, "let me look."

Bright as a flame, Inuyasha's eyes locked with hers. "Don't start that now, wench."

Hands on hips, she moved to block his path, the bag of herbs in her fist swung carelessly at her side. "I'll be quick."

An arm still around a barrel of rice, Inuyasha was forced to stop. Typically, he would have been annoyed, but he just didn't have the heart for it. That stubborn glint was in her eyes again, and he had to fight the smirk she influenced on him. "Outta the way," he said, "before you hurt yourself." Walking towards her, he was sure she'd move, but resolute as ever, she refused to budge.

He, the unstoppable force, against the immovable little priestess from the future. His chest was practically a hairs length away when she grabbed at his robes and pulled them apart.

He made a sound of protest, shocked at her intrusion.

Twinkling like the night sky, her eyes grew wide, and she slowly moved a hand over his bandaged chest, "I remember," she whispered, "really, I do... but, I forgot just how fast you heal."

Inuyasha huffed, lowering the barrel to his waist, "that made no sense."

Instead of responding, she continued her inspection, her delicate hand touching a random part of the gauze, then dragging it carefully to the edge.

He swallowed. "I told ya' not to bother."

Kagome pretended not to notice the way her hand shook. She could feel his skin radiating hotly through the bandage, the little silver hairs on his chest shining like rippling waves. "I should.. take it off."

"F'ckin do it then," he bit out. Feeling completely vulnerable and open and hoping she couldn't hear how loud his stupid heart was thrumming.

Knotting her eyebrows, she dragged her eyes up his chest and had a snarky response just about ready to slip from her lips, but a golden glimmer under his beads stopped her. Totally overcome with affection, a hand went to her heart as she whispered his name.

"You kept it," she murmured, "after all this time." Swallowing the lump in her throat, she went for the heart shaped locket, its surface carved with spiraling golden designs.

Inuyasha let the barrel slip from his hands, his claws dragging against its side in a failed attempt to steady its landing before just letting it drop. He grabbed her hand, simultaneously trapping her and the keepsake, then pulled them towards his chest.

Body moving a step closer from the force, Kagome gasped. Eyes wide, they connected with his own.

She felt his thumb slide over her knuckles before he gazed down at their hands, not able to witness for the moment how she could see through his very soul. He swallowed nervously, a few seconds passing before admitting in a hushed tone, "it's one of the only things I own."

Goosebumps rose on her arms. She was rendered speechless. Grazing his jaw with her fingertips, she drew his attention in the dark of the woods. Yes, it was one of the few things that he owned, but she also heard the unspoken words beneath those. The necklace was special to him, it was something he treasured and refused to take off. So she smiled softly, whispering, "thank you", and felt as he leaned closer, and pulled her in for a tight hug. Bodies flush against each other, she moved her arms around to press him tighter.

With a shaky breath, he admitted, "It's the only thing I have of you".

Heart skipping, she opened her eyes to stare at the dark canopy of trees above them. There were so many stars. "Did you open it," she asked quietly. Had he looked at them - looked at her?

His body shook around her with his chuckle, and he pressed his face against her ear, rubbing his face against hers as he did so, and raised a clawed hand on her head to get her impossibly closer, "I did," he whispered.

Kagome closed her eyes to revel in the sensation his warm lips were having on her, and leaned her head against his. She wasn't even thinking coherently anymore. What ever thoughts entered her mind slipped right through her lips with out abandon. "How many times?"

"Every time," he confessed, "every damn time I went to that fuckin' well".

Her heart skipped and ached, and tears gathered at the edges of her eyes as she listened to him. Disbelief of what was happening, of what he was saying made her breath come out shaky. This man, where she had stopped jumping in the well, had continued week after week for three years. In awe of his pure stubborn will, deep down, she almost felt like she didn't deserve him.

So then, what was it? Persistence, dedication? Her eyes flew open, realizing one thing she'd never really said to him, but had demonstrated time and again with her actions. How many times had he come close to hearing her admit it to everyone else. He had to know, there was no way he didn't. Why else would he wait for her so long? She swallowed thickly. Were her feelings finally being reciprocated?

Closing her eyes, she turned her head and pressed her lips softly against the bend of his jaw.

Inuyasha's body went rigid around her, and she immediately began to panic, wondering if maybe she had moved too fast too soon. Was he not ready? Did they need more time? An uncharacteristic curse went repeating through her mind.

She heard him say her name, and felt his hands drag across her arms, then he pulled slightly away.

She felt like a deer facing oncoming traffic in the middle of a highway during rush hour. Eyes wide and tears drying, Kagome quickly opened her mouth to apologize, but his laugh stopped her. A lopsided grin lifted his cheeks as he watched her. "What's with the look?"

"What?" She asked quietly, dumbly.

"I prefer that picture of you yelling at me," he said, referring to the locket that had started this whole thing. He lifted his hands and held the sides of her face tenderly, brushing the last tears from running down her cheeks.

She felt so open and vulnerable that she just couldn't say a thing. Her heart was beating almost painfully in her chest as she grabbed on to the sides of his open robes, like if that would bring her spinning mind back into some kind of equilibrium.

The locket, had she really been screaming in the picture? She thought back to the cramped photo booth it was taken in and realized that yes, she had been. More specifically, she had yelled at him to sit.

Feeling only slightly guilty, she cracked a smile and blinked her wet lashes, "you deserved it".

He huffed indignantly, leaning down to her face half lit by the moon, her chocolate orbs staring up at him like jewels. His eyes followed the curve of her cheeks, her nose, and he spoke quietly, tenderly "you've always been so kind to me, Kagome." It was supposed to be sarcastic, because being sat was no sugar coated "request". But near the end, he realized that yes, Kagome had been kind. She'd accepted him in every way he was, even in full demon form, not caring if he'd maim her to pieces. She'd walked to him with arms wide open, where the whole world before that time had turned him away just for who he was.

She blinked back a blush at his proximity, his forehead suddenly resting against her own, "Inuyasha," she whispered. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to say it so bad. And there went her heart again, thundering so hard she swore she could hear it booming through the sky. But she was distracted, their noses touching, eyes closing, mouths a breath apart.

As soft as satin, he kissed her ever so sweetly. She felt her insides fall to pieces beneath him. His thumbs brushed delicately over her cheeks, lips lingered, they cherished each other in one of the most intimate of ways, and he pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers a second time. She could feel his body relax around her as he whispered her name.

Her lips tingled in a way she never thought they could. Nerve endings going hay wire, head fuzzy, she felt a natural body high.

Opening her eyes lazily, she peeked up at him, surprised to see him looking back down at her. Golden eyes dripped like honey into her soul, warming her and filling her with a sugary goodness she knew she'd quickly become addicted to. A clawed hand slid to the back of her neck, prickling and tickling her in a way that felt almost sinful.

They were drunk, completely and utterly inebriated in each other. Intoxicated with this warmth radiating between their bodies, this feeling of complete adoration, this unspoken love, this forbidden fruit they both represented to each other, and he pulled her in, needing – wanting a second taste. She heard him make an indescribable sound as they met again and almost melted like a hot candle where she stood. She leaned heavily on him for support, and he wrapped his other hand around her, pressing it to the middle of her back and holding her like he'd never done before.

His hair tickled her cheeks, and his robes scratched lightly against her legs, and there was no where else in the world she'd rather be.

The trees whispered around them, insects chirped in a synchronized melody, and fireflies danced for the star-crossed lovers who were utterly and completely absorbed in each other.

Inuyasha pulled only slightly away, rubbing his cheek over hers and whispering in her ear, "don't ever leave me." His voice faltered. It was so soft, so sensitive... she almost cried.

"I won't."

"Promise me," he asked. His heart thundering desperately inside him.

"I won't," she repeated, voice shaky, and lifted her hands up to his face, both of their eyes opening with a determination they both recognized and knew all too well. "I promise," she declared, "I won't ever leave you again," and she pulled him down for a kiss to seal her undying vow.

They didn't really know what they were doing, or how these things were supposed to go. Short kisses turned into long lingering ones, and it felt right.

Kagome raked her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheekbones, his nose; adoring every plane of his face she could reach. Eyes still closed, he smirked and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. How had he gotten so lucky? To find a girl that could fill him with so much affection, it made him forget all the shit he'd gone through his whole life. She was spoiling him. And he had to admit, with all the times he'd saved her clumsy ass, he deserved a little indulgence.

She loved him, she loved him so much. She wanted the world to know, she wanted him to know, "Inuyasha," she whispered against wet lips, "I -"

He cut her off with another short but sweet kiss. His thumb caressing the side of he neck as he pulled away, he whispered, "someone's coming."

"What?" She blushed, just now realizing that they'd practically been making out all alone in his forest, and under the stars. "Who?" She asked, trying to clear her frazzled mind, "where?"

"Kirara," he said, nose twitching, "I can smell the smoke and fire from her paws."

She grabbed the sides of his robes, not bothering to apologize for ripping them apart. "We should close this up before -"

"Kagome! Inuyasha!"

Jumping from the proximity of the monk's voice behind her, she thanked the stars for the darkness so he couldn't witness her cherry red face.

The giant feline bounded towards them gracefully, crossing before them and landing so that Miroku could dismount before them.

Still saddled on Kirara like a western cowboy, he eyed his older friend with a raised brow, "As much as I'd love to ask," he dragged, taking in their disheveled look, then turning back to the said half demon, quickly changing the subject, "we need your help."

"With what?" Inuyasha asked, crossing his arms irritably over his opened haori.

Thunder clapped above them, followed seconds after by lightning, blazing the area for a few short moments where Kirara's own flames didn't reach. Kagome felt the first signs of rain hitting her skin. They watched Miroku expectantly, waiting as his demeanor grew more ominous.

"Kohaku's missing."

Kagome stifled a gasp, "I thought he had left the village?"

"He came back," Miroku explained, "he'd been watching my children a little before sundown."

"What makes you think he went missing?" Inuyasha asked skeptically. "Did ya check around the village?"

"That was my assumption as well, Inuyasha." Miroku let out a long breath, "but the hut was in disarray. Things were knocked over and broken, spewed across the floor," he motioned with his staff. "Something happened in there. The girls had run out to Kaede's with Seiichi in their arms."

"Did they see anything?" Kagome asked, saving the name of Miroku's first born son to her memory banks.

"Smoke," he said, face going completely serious, "they saw smoke. They thought he was chocking. They ran to get Kaede's help, but by the time they had returned, Kohaku was gone."

"Fuck."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha, "do you think," she didn't even want to say it. Afraid that if she did, it would be true. She swallowed, "do you think it followed us?"

Inuyasha cursed again. "I don't know."

"We need to go," she demanded, "before it really starts raining."

"Right," he said, getting ready for her to mount him.

"Inuyasha, your bandages."

"Like you said," he raked his claws over the gauze, shredding them to pieces before they fell like leaves to the ground, "I heal fast." He closed his robes and reached over with an urgency he didn't have before, grabbing her hand and pulling her to his back, "lets go."

Bounding through the parameter of the village, it didn't take long for Inuyasha to catch Kohaku's scent, which as presumed, was also heavily drenched in smoke. Scrunching his nose, he murmured a soft 'got it' for Kagome to hear, before turning and making a b-line straight into the woods.

Moments later, he stopped, straightening up in a heavily wooded area as Kagome slid off his back to peek around his arm. "Where is he," she whispered, surveying the ground before them, hoping to catch a movement in the shadows.

The loud creaking of timber brought her attention up to where Inuyasha had already been looking. Pockets of moonlight peeked through like an old horror film, swaying and changing as the leaves distorted their shape.

"Ahhh," a voice sighed and echoed into the night. Loud enough to hear, faint enough to frighten Kagome into grabbing the back of Inuyasha's haori. "We meet againn." The creature's vocals were smooth until it reached the end, breaking up into three fiendishly raspy sounds.

Inuyasha wrapped his hand around his sheath and flicked his sword to the ready with a clawed thumb. "Get out of the shadows you coward."

Its snickering rang around them, turning into an awful sound at the end before finally speaking up. "Whyy, all you need to do," it droned, "iis look up!"

Suddenly, a cloud of black smoke materialized before Inuyasha's face. He drew in a quick breath of surprise which clogged his airways, making him cough violently from the intrusion. He quickly lifted an arm over his mouth before forcing his eyes open, the edges watering from the sting.

Not a moment later, Kohaku's giant sickle was rushing at him, breaking apart the black fumes and flying straight to his face. It's sharp edge shining like ice.

He bit back a curse as he pushed Kagome away with the back of his arm, his body leaning in the same direction to get away from the attack. He watched, almost in slow motion, as the weapon missed his collarbone within a few millimeters. It caught strands of his forelocks before the sickle was violently jerked back into opposite direction, disappearing through the smoke the same way it had come in.

Already in momentum, the couple crashed to the ground, a tangle of limbs, robes, and hair. Inuyasha pushed himself up with an arm, turning and reaching for Kagome beside him, "are you okay?"

She groaned, reaching for his hand, "yeah, just a little sore." She brushed a couple leaves from her hair before her eyes went wide, "Inuyasha!"

He turned in time to see the sickle flying at them again. With a quick turn, he gathered Kagome in his arms and leapt to a different direction, dodging it just in time before it was pulled back and thrown at them again. Landing on the trunk of a tree, he pushed off and dodged another.

Fed up with the little dance that was getting him no where, Inuyasha planted his feet on the grassy terrain, making an arc with one foot, he dragged it across the ground, pushing bits of dirt into the air so that he could face the next attack he knew was coming. Letting go of Kagome's legs with one hand and still holding on to her with the other, he pulled at his sword, slashing it in one foul swoop before him. It hit Kohaku's weapon dead on, and he watched as it spun erratically into the air, twisting and turning before landing point first into the ground, it's chain clattering noisily behind it.

Taking a few ragged breaths, he resumed a protective stance around Kagome, an arm still holding her close, his other holding Tessaiga out threateningly. "Let the kid go," he growled into the night.

A laugh undulated through the shadows, swaying around them and then echoing away. A cloud of smoke surrounded the sickle before completely engulfing it, it swirled like a black hole before completely disappearing. The area was left empty with just a jagged laceration in the ground.

"I shaall offer youu a deeal, dog mann," the voice teased behind them.

Inuyasha tightened his hold on Kagome, spinning them both around to look in the opposite direction. He searched the trees with vigilant eyes.

Metal rattled above them, and they quickly looked up, finally catching a glimpse of the boy they'd been looking for.

"Kohaku!" Kagome yelled.

An eerie smirk stretched his face, pulling at the corners in an uncharacteristic grin. His eyes were shrouded by the dark fumes swaying around him, criss crossing and sliding between his limbs. He crouched on a thick branch high in the trees, the sickle mounted on his back, and the moon giving him an unnatural gleam. His arms hung loosely before him like a chimpanzee. "A trade, for a traade," the creature said with Kohaku's mouth, the smirk returning after each word.

Apprehension mounting, the couple looked on, waiting to see what exactly this creature wanted.

It raised Kohaku's long skinny arm and lazily pointed a finger at Inuyasha, "thiss body, for thaat one".

Inuyasha grit his teeth, he let go of Kagome and grabbed his sword with both hands. "Quit fuckin' around!" He hollered. Waving the weapon once in his aggravation, his hair whipping around behind him during the exuberant display.

"Aahhh," the creature sighed, the smoke picking up around him, growing thick and hard to see through despite the moon shining down on him. The dark leaves close by slapped against each other as he dropped his hand to hang before him again. "Weeare at oooddsss," it decided, looking only slightly miffed before smirking again. "Pityyy." His voice broke into three again, leaves detached from creaking branches and swirled around him, engulfing themselves into the black smoke surrounding the preteen warrior.

Soon, only his cheshire grin could be seen, glistening in the darkness until he completely disappeared into thin air. "We shaaall meet, agaaainn." And like that, Kohaku was gone.

(A/N)

What parts of this chapter did you like? Thanks for reading! Please check out my InuKag oneshot, Against the Odds.

~RUBELLA