A/N: Since FFN doesn't have the ability to add tags like AO3 does, I'll be adding any warnings that are applicable at the start of the chapter, so unless you want to dive in with both feet, check here first. Later chapters will definitely require warnings and I won't be held accountable if you didn't take a second to read them.
His bloodied hand smeared the edge of the door as he lurched forward, grabbing the rim of the toilet seat, emptying the contents of his stomach. He hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary but his body was rejecting everything he was putting into it lately in one way or another. If he wasn't burning his esophagus dry heaving the last of the bile after losing his meal he was silently begging the gods to let the explosive diarrhea not be the thing that killed him. No one wanted to die on the toilet anyway, but the pain he felt certainly felt like his lower half was being split open.
This had been something that had been happening for weeks now, and he still hadn't found a cause.
Something was wrong with him, he was sure of it.
But today… today was the last straw. Waking up to discover that he was covered in blood was the most terrifying thing he thought he'd ever experience. Realizing that it was his blood made it worse.
Finding out that it was his claws that carved into his body in his sleep was what had the previous nights' dinner coming up.
Inuyasha shuddered and gasped for breath as he weighed his decision to try to stand or wait. In the end he stood, legs shaking and sore from hitting the tile floor so hard, and he moved to lean against the sink. The dark hair that fell in his face was tangled and matted with dried blood – he must have run his hand through his hair in his sleep – he surmised. His complexion was paler than usual, but that was to be expected when one couldn't keep food down and wasn't getting as much rest as he let on. The dark circles were a brilliant shade of purple and sunken in, making the dull brown expression looking back at himself in the mirror appear more dead and lifeless.
The bloodied hands gripped the white porcelain sink, smearing what fresh blood remained across its surface as well. He knew he was going to have a lot to clean up – sheets, floor, toilet, door, sink… but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was a struggle to swallow right that second. He'd buy some heavy duty multipurpose cleaner if he didn't have any later.
Slowly, Inuyasha brought his left hand up to his view. He couldn't bring himself to look down either. One at a time. Assess the mess in small doses. He inwardly grimaced at the sticky feeling and how the dried blood pulled at his skin as he moved his fingers around, studying his hand like it was something he had never seen before.
In a way, he hadn't.
Long claws had grown overnight, pulling into a point. It almost looked like something out of the Halloween accessories section at the local drugstore each year, but more…detailed. Realistic looking, if you will. Even with the dried bits of blood cut into the grooves on his nail bed, and underneath….
His stomach lurched again when he realized what he was looking at.
That…that was skin. His skin.
He had done that.
Inuyasha leaned forward, bracing himself against the sink with his pelvis as he fought with the soap dispenser in a hurry to wash the evidence out of his cuticles and nails. It had to go away. He couldn't stand to look anymore. The water turned rusty as the last of the horrifying image was washed down the drain. Inuyasha dried his hands, and took a deep breath before pushing off the sink to assess just what he had done to himself in his sleep.
There were rips in his clothes and stains just about everywhere. How he managed to do this to himself in his sleep without waking up was amazing and terrifying. He slowly peeled off his tank and pushed the sweatpants off his hips, kicking them into a pile. There was no use trying to save those. The rips were too bad, even if he could get all the blood out. He swallowed and started the slow exploration of his now naked body, taking note of where each slash mark was.
This didn't make any sense. The amount of blood had to have meant that these cuts were more accurately gouges in his body. So…how was it possible that each mark looked like an inflamed scratch from a cat? They were dark red, slightly swollen, but the skin had…sealed?
Inuyasha shook his head, running his now clean hands through his hair, grunting when he reached a bloodied mat. Right. He needed a shower. His body was still stained with dry blood even if the cuts were fading.
It was a shaky maneuver, but once he was over the spray of the hot water, he felt he could think.
What the fuck was going on?
And what would Kagome say?