Nothing As Planned-Part I

"I would like to hear this news for myself, but I can't at the moment," Miroku told his friend while pouring water over his garden. "Ichiro is still nursing; I can't risk Sango falling ill."

"Who's sick?" Asked a female voice, before a black-haired woman walked into view. Her Miko robes were covered in moss. She patted herself off with one hand and balanced a basket of mushrooms on her hip.

"The girls've got some sort of stomach problem," replied the hanyou sitting atop the garden fence.

"Oh. Miroku, why didn't you say? I can give them something to settle their stomachs a bit."

The young father waved off her concerns.

"I've already given them a little medicine." He sighed, "right now I'm watching to make sure they don't get worse." He turned to Inuyasha.

"I am sorry, my friend."

Inuyasha shrugged.

"I get it. Your kids're sick, no need to go chasin' rumors when they may not have any payoff anyway."

Kagome touched her fingertips to her lips as she looked between the two men.

"Why can't Inuyasha go by himself? It would be a lot faster for him to travel alone to check on this rumor, wouldn't it?" Inuyasha shot her an annoyed look, as if she had said something wrong. Kagome tilted her head in confusion, and shifted her gaze to the monk. He was mouthing something for a moment as he looked overhead.

"Well—" he started but was cut off my a loud scoff from his friend. Kagome looked back to her husband as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Miroku cleared his throat and continued.

"Yes and no. He could very well travel the distance, but should the rumors be true—"

"Whatever humans needed a demon slain would never let me set foot in their village, let alone pay me when it was over," Inuyasha finished for the monk.

Kagome gawked.

"That's-that's-that is—"

"Pretty damn common."

Miroku hummed in agreeance.

"However, they are much more trusting when they see that a monk is beside what they presume to be a demon. They assume I have—" he turned to glance at his friend, "everything under control."

"Bah," Inuyasha huffed, "some damn trained dog is what those bastards assume I am." Unfortunately, Inuyasha was exactly right. Though he wore Shinto beads, most simple folks couldn't tell the difference between those and the mala Buddhists kept. They assumed the beads about his neck were some unique form of the prayer beads. Their holy energy used to keep the 'demon's' power suppressed until the monk had use of them. They were pretty far off in their assumption, but below that was a layer of truth, through a different practice, and a different hand to rein the 'demon' in.

Miroku clicked his tongue once.

"Oh, don't worry. Everyone around here knows that there's not a soul alive that can get a leash on you…besides Kagome, of course," he relayed, flashing a smile towards his female friend. She rolled her eyes. Inuyasha's scowl just deepened, not welcoming of the dog reference. Miroku turned back to his house to check on his family and Kagome followed. A thought struck her suddenly.

"What if I go with him?"

Miroku stopped at his door.

"Now there's a thought."

Kagome gave the idea more thought.

"Yes! It would feel good to get out of the village for a change, even if it is just a rumor."

A soft thud followed by light footfalls ran up behind her.

"Not happenin'," Inuyasha declared. Kagome spun to face him. Inuyasha felt a chill down his spine with the sparkly, happy, hopeful brown eyes that glittered up at him. That was the look of a very determined Kagome. If he didn't think of a good argument now he would never get through to—

"Wouldn't it be great Inuyasha? Traveling around, helping people. Just the two of us—just like the days before Shippo, Miroku, Kirara, Sango? Oh, it'll be wonderful."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to try and shut her dow—

"That way Miroku could stay at home taking care of the girls, and even if the the rumor turns out to be nothing, then he wouldn't have to take time away from home for nothing."

"Now wait just one minu—"

"Oh, I should tell Kaede I'll be leaving for a while. I'm sure she won't mind when I explain the situation to her," she said, pushing past her stunned husband to speed walk down the path.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called out.

A suspisious-sounding giggle came in reply. She was doing that on purpose! Inuyasha took one look at his friend—who was desperately trying not to laugh—before chasing her down. He caught up to her in a second, holding her by the arms. Her overly-excited façade dropped into a softer, knowing smile.

"Inuyasha," she began.

"No," he said with a shake of his head.

"Come on."

"We're not going. I'm not letting you go."

Kagome sighed. Things had started to seem a little mundane since Shippo had left, and she figured this would be a nice change of pace. She told him if would be a little like a vacation for her—one that would bring with it a little bit of nostalgia. Besides if the rumors of a village in need of demon slayers, they'd be able to keep whatever reward the village got together for them. Inuyasha refused to hear it.

"Yeah, and what then? What if there is a bloodthirsty monster out to swallow up humans, hm?" He huffed, "you're not leaving the forest. It's safe here."

"The forest is only safe because you're around. So technically, I'm only safe when I'm with you. Which I will be. When we leave together."

Inuyasha scowled.

"Don't try to twist this on me."

Kagome sighed. Inuyasha looked off to the side. An eavesdropping group of women—working outside their stuffy houses—immediately turned back to their work. He leaned closer to Kagome to whisper.

"I just got you back. Just a few months ago, I—"

"Don't twist this on me," Kagome repeated his words.

"You'll be right with me. That's where I'm safest by your ideas, right?"

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha wrapped his fist about the tentacle twisted around his body and sword arm. He clamped down harder until his claws pierced the rough hide of the limb. Vibrant teal blood sprayed out onto his arm and legs. He twisted and squeezed until the tension disappeared. He released his hold and the limb squirmed wildly, untangling from him.

As it would turn out, these rumors were true. Some strange, crayfish-like monsters had suddenly appeared in the lake, and its river offshoot. They were devouring whatever came near the water's edge, and more recently, lifting themselves onto the shore before dawn for more availability of food—namely, villagers that lived near the lake. Those who could leave already had, but those who had no option to were desperately trying to get help.

Inuyasha's eyes searched out Kagome, finding her with two smaller demons nearer the water's edge. He panicked as he watched Kagome run and reach over her shoulder for an arrow. She was so clumsy, he knew she was going to trip—she was going to trip!—and that would be the end for her.

She was so stupid for insisting she come. He was stupid for letting her! She was going to let herself be killed—and it would be all his fault. It was his fault for not being a selfish bastard, and listening to her opinions. He took a leap in her direction. The spindly end of a tentacle wrapped around his leg. His opponent was not the sort that appreciated in being ignored. He was jerked up into the air, before being slammed down against the earth, face first. Inuyasha's world went dark and quiet when he was slammed down a second time. Light returned to him with a terrible burning sensation in his right eyes, and the sight of the creature's spread jaws from the left. Inuyasha struggled against the demon's crayfish-like forelimbs and tentacles. He clenched his fists, noticing he must have dropped the Tessaiga, so his did what he could think of, purposely shoving his hand inside the beast's mouth. It bit down in surprise, but Inuyasha drove his claws up through the soft inside of its throat. His blue, gore-covered hand emerged from the top of the head and the beast toppled from the fatal wound.

Inuyasha threw himself away from the pile of flesh and stumbled in the direction Kagome had been. He could only see from one eye, the other burning terribly. He snatched up Tessaiga and sprinted into the forest, where Kagome had run. He ran right into a warm body and jumped back when he kicked it. It reeked of swamp, rot, and burning flesh.

Thank god! She had killed one of those things. The burning was the result of her arrow embedded in the flesh. There was no time for celebration as he heard the twang of a bow and the screeching of the third beast. Her panting breaths lead him straight towards her, and he knew he had found her when she shrieked his name.

"Look out!"

But there was no way he could. Both his eyes were burning now. He felt the cooling liquid, and tasted the iron of his own blood, he knew it was from a gash over his eye which dripped and clouded his vision. He heard something to the left, and countered to the right. He had made the wrong decision. He realized this as a searing pain tore through his chest.

"Rggh!" he roared when the beast retracted its crayfish-like leg. The backwards-facing barbs ripped open the wound further and Inuyasha fell to his knees with a devastating…splash. More warmth pumped out onto his hands and he squeezed one against his chest. For him to lose so much blood so quickly the path must have encountered an artery or-or…with this much blood, he should have passed out already.

Kagome fired another arrow towards the demon, trying to avoid hitting her husband in the chaos. It snagged onto a tree and sprung itself out of the arrow's path. Kagome moved in front of her husband—she needed to be closer to get a good shot off. Although it was a water-dwelling beast, it moved with incredible speed by pulling itself along by the trees. She didn't even glance at Inuyasha. He had been stabbed through countless times, and would stand up soon.

She heard the low rumbling behind her. That was surely Inuyasha gaining strength from his anger, and he would be up soon to help her. She narrowly dodged one strike from a tentacle, but scattered most of her arrows. She clutched tightly to the one in her right hand. Another strike was meant to wrap around her, but in the moment, Inuyasha wrapped a hand around her elbow and yanked her down to him. The demon had, however, succeeded in knocking them to the side. Kagome came down hard on top of her husband and scrambled to get off his chest and spin around. She glanced at her one good arrow before nudging her husband's shoulder.

"I only have the one shot. I need your Windscar," she told him with a nod. He didn't respond. He didn't move. He didn't acknowledge her words in the slightest, but his growling had never stopped, droning on continuously.

"Inuyasha?" She whispered, daring to look at her husband, and away from the beast slowly moving towards them, stalking them like the prey they were. Kagome let out a gasp as she took in his visage. His face was covered in blood from a wound over his left eye, and his eyes were pinched shut to block the blood. That was not what elicited the gasp. That was the result of seeing the jagged purple streaks growing and darkening on his cheekbones. He was opening and closing his jaw to make way for the longer fangs the emerged from the corners of his mouth.

Kagome fell back in shock, staring fully at something she hadn't seen since…the last time he had this form was inside Naraku's body. He was possessed. Magatsuhi was trying to get Inuyasha to kill her. The… the Tessaiga was right beside him and now so…

"Inuyasha?" She said with a squeak. Inuyasha's ear flicked in her direction before his head turned. His eyes were still pinched closed by his nose and ears twitched to take in her presence. Kagome sat there, shocked, as Inuyasha lifted one clawed hand and moved it towards her.

...

Shorter than the last bunch, but written in 4 hours, so I know there's a lot of mistakes that I will come to edit when it's not 3 am.

Mollusks and other weird critters have blue blood. They have copper in their blood, unlike the iron of red blood. Iron rust is red-orange, Copper rust is blue-green, makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Don't worry.