For Inukag Week 2017 day 2 Fear.
Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she watched her husband transform. His fangs elongated three times their normal size, his growls turning into feral snarls. When she saw the purple slashes deepen in color on his cheekbones and his eyes turn crimson red, she knew that he was past the point of being rational.
Kaori stood to her right, clinging to her leg with an iron grip as her golden eyes watched her father in pure terror. Kagome held her newborn son tighter in her left arm, his ivory head of hair popping up out of his wrappings with every wail he produced. Gently, Kagome touched the soft,ebony velvet of her four year old daughters ears as she gathered her attention, hoping her calm would let her child know there was nothing to fear as long as she was there.
The quarter-demon child looked up at her mother, needing her reassurance. "Sango!" Kagome yelled to her friend, fighting the wind that ripped around them. The retired slayer rushed to her side, leaving Miroku to shield her own children in a barrier in the trees, safe from any type of attack. "He doesn't know the demon is dead!" she yelled, bouncing her son as best as she could, trying to shush his frantic cries. If Inuyasha's attention was drawn to this direction before Kagome could assure their children's safety, it would surely end in tragedy. "Take the children to Miroku, you all get into the barrier. I'll handle him." quickly, Kagome took her five day old son out of the sling and kissed his cotton white head before handing him to her most trusted friend. Sango tucked the boy against her chest, holding him tightly against the wind. Then Kagome knelt low, pulling her daughter into an embrace. Even though the noise from the demonic winds was loud and menacing, she knew her daughter's sensitive ears would hear her as she brought her lips to them and whispered calmly to the trembling girl.
"Daddy is okay. He has a part of him that's very protective and sometimes he gets caught up and can't turn that part off. Momma has to go and make him see that everything is okay now and no one is hurt so he can turn off that part, okay? You are my big girl. You are so brave. Daddy is going to be so proud of you. Now I need you to help Auntie Sango protect Kazuki. He's still very very little. Are you going to be my big girl and help your baby brother?" she asked, holding the little girl by either side of her head gently. Silently, the hanyou child nodded and grabbed her mother's face as Kagome kissed her forehead gently, nonplussed by their equally black hair mixing into one giant being around them, whipping in random directions.
Quickly, Kaori ran to Sango, who looked Kagome in the eye and nodded before running back to the barrier with the children.
Kagome stood then, facing the howling demon who bore the face of her husband.
"Inuyasha!" she called, walking forward. Her sore and aching body was long forgotten as she straightened her back and advanced on the man. Quickly, the demon turned to face her, baring his elongated talons like butcher's knives as he snarled at her. "Inuyasha!" she called again, this time making direct eye contact with the raging being. "I know you're in there! The demons are dead! Your children are safe! I'm safe! Please come back to me!" she called, holding out one hand to him in a display of peace. She was answered by his snarling howl. Her eyes scanned demon now, his blood soaked clothing clung to his body. She still wore his red haori, draped over her shoulders in haste. "Inuyasha.. "She whispered, limping towards him even more. Her body still hadn't healed from the birth of their son, and she was fully aware of every single tear and bruise she bore. She knew he could smell her blood. And just as the times before, she ignored the adrenaline running through her veins in the face of this uncertainty. His gaze pierced her blue irises framed in crimson, as he seemed to calculate her existence. In a movement faster than she could comprehend, he was suddenly face to face with her, his claws digging into her throat as she was lifted off of the ground completely. "please.." she ground out, her voice rough from the pressure," please come back.." slowly, Kagome lifted her hands to touch his face, her fingers trembling. Just as she open her mouth to plead once more for his return, a small voice was heard over the raging winds. "Daddy! Don't hurt her!"
Kagome's eyes snapped wide as her daughter's voice registered with her. Tears of fear ran down her cheeks as she saw Inuyasha's gaze lock onto the little girl fighting Sango's grasp as the slayer attempted to drag the girl back into the protection of the barrier. "Momma!" the girl cried, her voice cracking from the effort. "Inuyasha.. in…please.." Kagome gasped, trying desperately to regain his attention, her blood gliding slowly over his knuckles. As quickly as he arrived, he vanished from her side.
Before Kagome even hit the ground, she released a burst of purifying energy from her hand, hitting Inuyasha square in the back. "No no no.." she whispered, struggling to her feet, as she ran as best she could to the man laying face down in the dirt. The winds ceased and all that remained were the strangled cries of a little girl as she was held back by her aunt. Getting to him, Kagome collapsed onto his listless form, pulling his face into view. "please… Inuyasha please… " She whispered, begging any Kami who would listen to have spared her husband the deadly force of her powers. His face fell limp in her hands, his mouth slightly ajar. "I'm so sorry… i.. I'm sorry." she choked out, pulling him into her lap. Her body shook as she stroked the bangs from his face, his ears fallen to the wayside. "Please don't leave me.." she whispered, stroking his purple markings, her voice desperate yet quiet. "I need you. We need you."
Kagome closed her eyes as her hand cupped his jaw, struggling against her breaking heart as her children cried in the distance. Kazuki's newborn wail and Kaori's terrified sobs ripped her to pieces as she held her husband of five years in her lap. Her grip tightened on him as she ground her teeth, "You idiot." she cursed, her head hung low, "How could you be so stupid.. Taking them all on at once. Haven't you learned a damn thing?" her harsh words held no poison, for her voice faltered in defeat. A faint pressure brushed her hand and in that moment, her eyes snapped open, "Maybe not. But it looks like you ain't learned a damn thing 'neither.' a rough voice retorted, chuckling lightly. Looking down into her lap, Kagome's eyes met spun gold as her husband's exhausted face smiled up at her weakly. "Ya nearly fried me, ya wench." he joked, attempting to draw a smile from her quivering lips. "Don't ever do that again!" she yelled, hiding her face in his collar as she drew him to her chest. "Kagome.. You're bleeding.." he whispered, turning towards her neck and taking in the four crescent shaped gauges as they slowly leaked towards the white collar of her haori.
The little girl in Sango's arms struggled from her Aunt's grip, the past minute replaying itself. As her father had turned towards her, something had changed in his eyes. They hadn't been the fiery red as they had been seconds before, but instead they were back to their gold. "Kaori, no!" Sango cried, grasping after her, but the hanyou girl was too quick, her black hair flowing behind her as she sped towards her parents.
"I was so afraid." Kagome cried, grasping a hand full of his silver hair and drawing him closer. Inuyasha's left hand raised gently, stroking her head. "Yeah.. me too.."
In that moment, Kagome's body jerked from an impact. She didn't need to turn to know that her daughter clung to her father's haori, crying. "He's okay, sweetie. See?" she whispered, leaning back to allow them to see each other. "I remember her." Inuyasha realized, stroking his daughter's tear stained face. Kagome looked down to him questioning, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "not like i forgot her.." He mumbled, sitting up and taking his daughter into his arms.
The little girl wrapped her arms protectively around her father's neck, her black hair a stark contrast to his white, ears pinned to her head in anxiety. "I mean.." He started, smoothing her hair down to calm his own shaking nerves. "I mean I remember her when I was.. you know..her voice brought me out of it. She was scared and I needed to help her.." He whispered, resting his chin on his child's head gently and raising his eyes to once again meet his wife's.
Kagome's eyes widened in response. "There's hope." she gasped. This meant that there was a way to get through to him when he was transformed. That their family wasn't an unlit fuse. That her husband wasn't a stray spark.
Hearing her son's strangled cry from behind her, Kagome turned and beckoned Sango. "Inuyasha!" Sango cried, hurrying towards them. The infants white hair poking from his wrapping. As Kagome gathered her son and held him close and their friends gathered quickly, Inuyasha zoned into the sound of his daughter's heartbeat. Sure. They had been spared this time, and Kagome claimed there was hope. But in the back of his mind, a nerve pinching fear sat. Next time, would they be so lucky?