Nothing as Planned-Part II

"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.

She didn't even flinch when his palm came to rest against her cheek. She held still for a moment, only crinkling her nose with the smell of blue and red blood now smeared on her face. He was…not behaving like he had in the past when those stripes appeared on his cheeks. From what she remembered, he was usually so caught up in violence and bloodlust that he couldn't focus on anything else. Not her welfare, not restraint—nothing at all. He almost seemed…in control—even concerned about her. She could remember a brief time when he had been pushed this far by Tessaiga, as the only other time there was thought behind his actions.

"I'm alri—" she started as Inuyasha's ear flicked. He grabbed her under the arms and leapt away, before the beast slammed down where the two had been sitting. Unfortunately, without the ability to see or smell clearly, Inuyasha rammed right into a tree, slamming his back right against it. Kagome realized then that her decision to run into the woods was the worst possible, with the newfound speed of the monster, and made graver by the temporary blindness of her husband. She shifted her head around, realizing that they weren't too far from the river offshoot, where there would be less things to run into.

"This way!" She latched onto Inuyasha's hand, dragging him along as she sprinted through the clearest paths she could find, so he wouldn't run into anything.

"Where?" He asked. Kagome nearly got a chill from the sound of his voice. The tenor of the voice was similar to her husband's, but the rasp behind it and the resonating snarl were much too like a demon's. She didn't answer him, but with every log or rock she ran into she warned him of, she looked back at him once. He was trying to wipe the blood from his eyes, and he opened the once, showing off the red and blue of his demonic blood. He quickly shut them with an aggravated growl.

She heard snapping brush and came to a halt before the demon crashed right in front of them. Inuyasha ran right into her, and the beast grabbed at both of them. Inuyasha swung his sword, severing the appendage that held himself. Kagome nearly squealed as she was lifted into the air, before an idea struck her.

"Kagome?!"

She ignored the call, allowing the beast to draw her closer to its mouth until she was within reach. She gripped the tentacle that held her, allowing her Miko energy to burn the hide. Within an arm's length of its mouth she lifted her one arrow and forced her hand down as hard as she could. The energy that had been drawn into the arrowhead burned a hole through its bony armor and blazed with a white light. The thing screeched as she drew it back out. It threw the Miko away from itself. Kagome landed at the water's edge with a thud. Her body shook with the force of the impact, and she was shaky to get up as the thing stumbled out of the forest, still wailing. Her husband emerged soon after, slicing away blindly at the slowed creature.

"Kagome!" He shouted again.

"I'm over here," she returned, nocking her arrow and taking aim. The thing was slower now, but she still couldn't get a clear shot with her husband in the way.

The enraged thing took a swipe at the hanyou, sending him sprawling onto his back, but not immobilized. He struck blindly, but caught Tessaiga in a chink in the armor, continued through, and severed the fleshy tail. A wave of Miko energy brushed violently against him and the smell of burning flesh reached his nose as chucks of gore fell atop him. He stood and brushed the bits of flesh away, nose twitching wildly to catch the scent of his wife. Running footfalls made him tense, but he exhaled I relief a second before thin arms came to wrap around his chest from behind. She came in front of him to examine his wounds. She ran a hand over the wound on his chest, and stared at the bare, healed skin through the hole in his clothes. That was…usually it would take at least a while before he was fully healed.

"That's the last of them?" He asked. Kagome nodded, before remembering he still had his eyes shut. She told him she didn't sense anything, before instructing Inuyasha to sit against a tree. She hurried back with a container of water to flush the blood. He tipped his head back and blinked rapidly as his wife poured water over his eyes. She pushed his hair away to look at the source of the blood, only to realize that the cut had healed as well. A memory from earlier days struck her. Whenever he was injured while his demon blood flared up, his wounds would heal almost instantly. Much faster than the normally increased rate of healing he had.

"You're handlin' this well."

Kagome tipped the water container once more over Inuyasha's eyes, washing the last of the blood out. Inuyasha blinked forcefully, squeezing the excess water from his eyes. He blinked the clarity back into his vision, focusing ahead to make sure his sight was back to normal.

"When…you don't seem surprised that you're…" Kagome murmered.

Inuyasha wiped his face with his sleeve. When he blinked once more and looked back to his wife, his eyes were still pink, but Kagome couldn't tell if his sclera's color was still residing, or if it was from the irritation. The purple stripes were still etched into his skin, but she could see the color receding.

"Yeah, well that's cuz I've about gotten used to this shit happening now." Inuyasha flinched at the sound of his own voice. That low rumble in the back of his throat was unfamiliar to him, and needlessly held a threat towards even his loving wife. Yet, if he thought about it more, the rasp and roar to his tone was becoming more recognizable to his own voice.

Kagome's brows knit as her husband continued.

"Happens all the time now. Someone figured—I dunno who; Sango, Miroku, the old flea—that it's whenever I lose enough blood. Bah…something about final measures to protect myself."

Kagome's eyes opened wide at that last part.

"Final measures?! As in you were close to death? Inuyasha! If I had—"

"Woah, woah, hold on—I wasn't close to dying! You know full well I've survived worse! That ain't the first time I been stabbed through the chest." He saw Kagome tense at his words. He couldn't help the snarl in his voice, but the last thing he wanted to do was make Kagome nervous. He opened his mouth to speak again, but with a shake of her head, Kagome interrupted him.

"Is…is that the case? But Inuyasha, I've never seen you transform unless—"

"Yeah, well things are a little different now," he said, looking directly into her worried eyes. Kagome stared back for several seconds. Her eyes dropped away. The markings on his face had receded, and he closed his jaw properly with his more manageable canines. His ears perked up at the sound of her sigh. He continued to stare on as she crossed her arms and looked away. It was another few seconds before she visibly shivered.

"Wow, this is…this is so weird. It's the first time I've felt like I actually missed something while we were separated those few years."

Inuyasha squinted just a second before straightening his back.

"You ain't missed anything really. You've seen me get like that all the time. It was just that the last time you…did…" Inuyasha's eyes widened with the memory of the last time she really had seen him transform. He jumped to his feet, grimacing when Kagome startled.

"Kagome…" he muttered as he stared at her.

Kagome blinked several times before tilting her head to the side.

"The last time you saw me transform was—how come you're not freaked out? Damn, I—I tried to kill you the last time you saw me like this."

Kagome's puzzled expression dropped into calm, as she very pointedly made eye contact with her husband.

"No. Magatsuhi tried to kill me."

Inuyasha's thought process stalled out for a second as he mulled over her words. There was something wrong with that statement. He didn't know what it could have been, but something wasn't quite right. The wheels began turning as he tried to pull forth just what was so…wrong about her words. There was some need for him to correct her, but he couldn't remember the reason. He tried to go back to that dark, foggy day in his memory, but it was just that. Fog obscured every bit of the memory, as it would a dream.

Suddenly, a clue popped up. He brought his hand up to watch the final changes to his blue and red-covered claws and remembered why her statement seemed so wrong. Yes, he had been possessed. No, he would never—ever—have it in his head to harm Kagome in any way. That didn't change the sensory memory he was getting now. Her blood. The scent of it had clung to his claws then, his only indicator that he had used them against her. Whether he had been possessed or not—being weak enough to let himself be possessed—that still weighed heavily on his mind. It didn't matter whose mind had been in control, it was still his claws that had carried out the deed.

A small hand covered his own then, bringing it back down to his side. Her eyes were so clear and loving—despite the worry that sat at the surface now.

"I don't know what's going on in our head," she started softly, "but no, the only reason I have to be freaked out is 'cause you just said…I don't understand Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blinked.

"Don't understand?"

"Well, these demons weren't that big, or even tough. So why now? Why did you transform now?"

"What? That's what you're worried about?"

"Of course! You said you were close to death, but these should have been easier to take care of, so why were…Inuyasha don't scare me, but does this happen all the time when you've been going out with Miroku? I never thought you were ever in serious danger—"

"What? No! You think I'm stupid, I'd never let myself be killed by any of these vermin," Inuyasha scoffed, unaware of her place of mind.

"So why now?"

The next words tumbled from Inuyasha's mouth before he had a chance to think them over.

"Miroku can handle himself. I don't gotta worry about him."

Kagome's face hardened as Inuyasha caught the implications of his own words. His mind ran in circles for a second too long as he tried to find a way to correct his words.

''I can't handle myself? You told me the exact opposite of that not too long ago."

"W-well yeah. I-I mean," he stammered, "that's—I just, uh, I kept looking over at you because I was…Miroku's not my wife, okay? I don't get distracted checkin' to see if he's alright."

Kagome's expression went calm, but Inuyasha had the sneaking suspicion that was a false calm.

"So, you let your guard down…in the face of a foe…because you were with me?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips.

"Yeah, okay, I did. I let my guard down because I was stupid enough to think you couldn't handle yourself, and I paid for it, okay?"

"Shouldn't you have a little more faith in me?"

She looked at him sternly. It wasn't a question he needed to answer. Inuyasha scowled deeply as Kagome turned her head away. She sighed again.

"I need to soak these before the stains set in," she said, indicating her clothes. Inuyasha grit his teeth, but conceded. That was a valid point, but he didn't feel right about leaving the discussion there.

"I'm sorry we don't have two separate rooms available, but we have put up a screen to divide the empty house we have available," explained the man who led them along to the only abandoned hut still standing. While it was now a few hours before dawn, Inuyasha knew it would be better for Kagome to get a nap before they tried to make the trip home. Truth be told, he was a little tired, himself. Right now though, his main concern was a little different.

"Oh, that's fine," Kagome started to wave off his concern, "see, Inuyasha and I are already—"

"—used to sleeping on the ground the way here, so whatever sleeping situation you've got is better than nothing," Inuyasha interrupted.

"Hey!" Kagome frowned at Inuyasha for cutting her off.

"Bah, you sleep. I'm more concerned about getting something to eat."

The man blinked.

"O-oh. Well, my older daughters will be more than happy to prepare a meal for the two of you, since we weren't able to give you much as payment." The sleeves of the borrowed yukata she wore created the perfect place to fidget with the few coins they had been given. The village did seem rather poor, so she was surprised they had managed to scrounge up a few coins to pay the pair. She almost felt guilty for taking the money, all things considered.

"Would you like to eat now, or after you've slept, Miko-sama?"

"Um…" Kagome rocked back on her heels. "I think I'll take a nap first."

The man nodded and showed her into the hut where a pair of straw-stuffed mats were laid out.

Inuyasha tried to be silent as he entered, but the mat scraped against the wood when it fell. Kagome was barely dosing, so that sound and the feel of her husband's presence were enough to draw her eyes open.

"Go back to sleep," Inuyasha whispered as he passed the window to lean against the wall. The light from the predawn sky in through the broken window was enough to see the white-haired man by. Kagome rolled over to face the opposite wall. She tried to stay still, but after a few minutes, she rolled back over to face at her husband. His eyes were closed, but his ears were still twitching to birdcalls. She pushed the thin covering off her and Inuyasha's ears twitched forward at the sound of the fabric moving. His eyes opened to the sight of his wife crawling over to him.

"What're you doing?" he asked, as she crawled directly in front of him. "Hold on," he muttered, unfolding his legs for her to sit between them. He didn't understand when she was doing as she leaned herself into him.

"What're you doing?" he repeated. She shrugged. He uncrossed his arms and pulled them out from between the pair and to his sides.

"You stopped me from saying we were married."

He huffed at that.

"You know why."

Kagome sighed.

"I love you."

Inuyasha looked out the second window. The leaves hadn't yet starting changing colors, but even a short distance further north as they were, he could feel the temperature changing. It wouldn't be long before the very tops of the leaves would begin to yellow. He counted back the months, since Kagome had returned. It was the very end of Spring then. Here it was the very end of Summer. Kagome had been back for three months, and they had been married for three months…but…outside of their circle of friends, that marriage had to be ignored. Inuyasha had known that the second Kagome suggested they marry, and he had the feeling Kagome was coming to terms with it as well.

"Inuyasha…you said that you transformed with Miroku around?"

Inuyasha growled in annoyance. Okay, so he hadn't liked where the conversation had been, but did she really need to bring it up right now? He was just getting comfortable.

"Three times is all."

"Three times? You got that badly hurt three times?"

Inuyasha scoffed. He hadn't really gotten hurt that badly on any of the jobs he'd taken. The first time was actually the fault of humans firing at him. He'd gone on ahead of Miroku on a job, and the humans there mistakenly fired on him while he was tackling the ogre. 'Mistakenly' being a curious word, when the hanyou had six bullet wounds and was down a good liter or two of blood. Miroku had panicked, thinking Inuyasha would go on a rampage, but he instead took his aggression out on the ogre, left into the woods, and returned some minutes later. The second and third time he had been first bitten savagely to the bone, his left wrist bleeding freely. The third was the result of slash to the stomach, when Inuyasha couldn't bring Tessaiga down fast enough.

"But everytime it's happened, I've always known what I was doing. I was awake the entire time, and in complete control of my body."

Kagome was sure that he was, yes, but how could that be so different from earlier times. She had once been told that for every time Inuyasha transformed, it took a little piece of him, and made it easier from something to trigger this form the next time. If that were true, it made sense that losing a couple liters of blood might be enough to trigger it now, made easier by how many times his blood had flared up…but what of the piece of himself that he had lost? He didn't really seem to be missing anything, did he? Was everything that everyone had to say about Inuyasha based on hypothesis and assumption?

Like the assumption that Inuyasha would be a mongrel beast. That she must be purely his master, and he her guard dog. This village seemed pleasant enough, allowing Inuyasha to eat their food even without Kagome present, but what of the next? That was one of Inuyasha's major concerns if she let their relationship slip outside the village they had taken on as home. He feared the ruin of Kagome's reputation. Her reputation as a Miko…and as a woman. He had heard the names his mother had been called behind her back, and in the case of Izayoi's aunt, to her face. He didn't wish that for Kagome. It was bad enough he had to snip at the rare villager who made comment about her.

He heard Kagome wimper. He turned his attention to her and caught her with her hand on her belly.

"You okay?"

Kagome blinked. "Huh? Yeah, why?"

Inuyasha shrugged it off, settling back into the wall. He heard a coop of chickens somewhere waking up, and not long after, the sounds of voices. He listened carefully for any footsteps that might be coming to check on them. None were coming, but he sat up straighter, and leaned away from Kagome.

"C'mon you should eat something so we can head back."

Inuyasha was watching his wife closely as she walking in front of him. She was walking a little slower than normal, and in turn, he had slowed his pace to compete with a turtle's. Kagome was probably just tired. Hell, he was tired, and he wasn't the one that needed to sleep a third of their life. That was to be expected though. He normally was very tired after being forced into his demon state. Being like that required a lot of energy, he figured.

Kagome looked back at just the wrong time, while his eyes closed for a yawn. When he opened back up, Kagome was smiling at him with a cute chuckle in her voice as she asked if he was tired. He scoffed and crossed his arms. She asked him why he hadn't slept in the hut. He could have waited until morning to eat. His brows knit as a wry grin spread on her lips. She knew his appetite. He was always hungry, and would never miss an opportunity to eat—granted the food wasn't burnt or over-spiced. he had told her once that he probably could go months without eating, but Kagome didn't understand how that was possible in all the times she had seen him gorge himself. He was lucky he provided and ate mostly the meat he caught, or else she'd scold him when they ran out of rice and vegetables.

She held a hand to her belly again, and for a second, Inuyasha thought the mention of food had made her hungry again, but that was wiped away when her other hand flew up to her mouth.

"Kagome?" He asked, as panic flashed in her eyes. She ran off the side of the road. Inuyasha ran after her, and crinkled his nose when the smell hit him. He laid a hand on her shoulder. She threw up again. She wobbled a little, and Inuyasha put his hands under her arms to let her know is she needed to fall back he'd catch her.

"Kagome? What's wrong with you? Did you eat something bad?"

"Ughh," was her only response before her stomach lurched a third time, and she finished emptying her stomach. Her knees wobbled and she leaned into Inuyasha. He pulled her away from the mess and sat her down beside at tree. He laid a hand of each of their foreheads.

"Y'ain't runnin' a fever."

"I'm feeling okay…I just needed to puke a little."

"Right," Inuyasha scoffed. "You gonna be okay for a while?"

Kagome nodded. Inuyasha returned the nod. She said she was fine, but now that he paid attention, he smelled sickness on her, and knew this would just be the start. He had to get her home as fast as he could, and it wasn't gonna work at the snail's pace she was setting. He threw her on his back and took off, trying to run as smoothly as possible. Not twenty minutes had passed before she needed off.

"letmedownletmedown!"

She jumped away from her and hunched over again, this time only resulting in dry heaves. When her stomach had calmed, she sat back and growled in frustration. Inuyasha felt her forehead again and shook his head.

"Well, you didn't have a fever two seconds ago."

"Ohh… I'm sick…" Kagome groaned.

"No shit," Inuyasha returned.

"Is this what the girls have?" Kagome asked, rubbing her hand down her face. Inuyasha shrugged but gave an affirmative grunt.

"You okay for another run?"

Kagome nodded.

"I'd much rather be sick in my own home than out here."

Inuyasha helped his wife onto his back again, and started again in the direction of the village.

I don't know how to fix chapter 13, but here's chapter 14! I don't really want to go into detail, but I always had this idea that after the Kanna and final Naraku arc, Inuyasha has a bit more control over himself why in his demon state, and he goes into it easier, as a way to better protect himself. The only reason it happened here is because he was making a slew of mistakes, A) Taking his eyes off his opponent B) Underestimating his opponent C) Thinking Kagome can't handle herself mainly just because he's got this idea that she always needs his protection based on his fear of losing her again...oh look, I went into detail somewhat.