A/N: Sorry, wanted to fix some things and OMG THIS IS WHY YOU STICK WITH ONE STORY AT A TIME DEAR GOD I am so SORRY

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Itty Bitty Pretty Eight

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"NOOOOOOO!"

Despite its bone chilling pitch, the monk's heart wrenching scream came too late. Emi's blood gushed in time with the beating of her heart - coming thick and strong at first, flowing generously through her fingers as they fruitlessly attempted to quell the copious liquid pouring forth from her body.

Rushing forward, the monk pressed his hand against the largest of the gouges as he called for Sango to assist but no matter the pressure he applied, the blood still gushed between his fingers and oozed under his hands. It spread sickeningly over the light green kimono she donned - the bright red quickly darkening, taking on a brownish hue. Miroku pleaded hoarsely for her to look at him, to stay with them, even as he felt the very fluid of her life drain away.

Time itself suddenly became irrelevant; the seconds could have been hours, or hours mere seconds. In that suspended moment he was the eye of her storm - the only thing Emi could force herself to focus on even as her vision blurred and the monk spoke in urgent tones to the two horrified newcomers.

As her eyelids grew heavy, she forced herself to rasp out through mouthfuls of blood, "Cave...hill...day..."

"Shhh..." the slayer cooed as she pressed two fingers against her neck, "You're going to be okay. Don't worry about that right now."

"No...no..." the brown haired girl gasped painfully, "Save...they need..."

The rest of the heroes' protests and words of comfort sounded distorted - as though she was at the bottom of an endless well. As darkness crept into the corner of her mind, the first tear of many trickled down her face as she wished quietly for her mother before knowing no more.

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"NOOOOOOO!"

"Oh shit! Did I hit Sango?!" Inuyasha cursed as he quickly landed and effortlessly maneuvered Kagome onto his back before taking off, "Fuck!"

The only thing keeping him sane in that moment was that the stench of the copious amount of blood that had been spilled wasn't that of the slayer but of the woman who'd shrunk him. That fact did little to calm his frazzled nerves, however. Miroku's reaction made little to no sense. Why would he be so distraught about the downfall of any enemy?!

"What the hell happened?!" the hanyou spat out as he arrived in the clearing to the bizarre sight of the monk and slayer working feverishly to stop the bleeding on the little hanyou girl, "Why are you trying to help her?!"

"Sango, I need you to apply pressure to some of these wounds!" Miroku cried out as he pressed his hand futilely against the injury to her jugular - ignoring the two newcomers entirely, "Quickly now!"

"What happened!? Who is she?!" Inuyasha repeated a little desperately as his blood went cold in his veins, "I didn't...wasn't she..."

"It's too complicated to explain at the moment," Sango replied breathlessly as Miroku pleaded with the young woman to hang on, "Suffice it to say she's been misled and we had agreed to help her before...before this."

Inuyasha would be the first to admit...to himself...that there are times where his brain fried up. It's no excuse for his impulsivity he knew but he did try to own his behavior. Anymore he tried to help, tried to be good, and then a trigger would be flicked. His friends were in the presence of the demon who'd shrunken him, who most likely was going to hurt them and he reacted on instinct - wind scar was too unpredictable and untamed so his claws would be utilized to minimize casualties. However, now that he apparently miscalculated his mind turned - cold, fearful, anxious...

"Who misled her?" Kagome's quiet voice cut through his thoughts, "What do you mean?"

"Tsubaki apparently is harder to kill than we thought," Miroku replied bitterly, "She convinced this young woman that the only way to save her family was to deliver Inuyasha unto her."

"Wait, we killed her," Kagome replied fearfully before adding - sounding somewhat unsure of herself, "Didn't we kill her?"

"I have no reason to doubt her story," Miroku responded in a tone that left no room for argument, "She had released us moments before she was attacked."

"I was just trying..." Inuyasha protested weakly as he stared at his claws in horror before glancing up at the bloodied remains of the girl before him, "I didn't know."

"No one blames you for your actions," the monk sighed heavily as the blood flow lessened significantly as the girl's eyes fluttered closed - her mouth still mumbling partial statements before a long, gurgling sigh left her lips and her body went limp, "But she's gone now."

"No, no she's not," Inuyasha responded in an authoritative voice, "I can still hear her heartbeat and...and she's a half-demon. It'll take more than this to kill her. You two, take her back to Kaede's. Kagome and I will go find this cave she's murmuring about. I'm sure it'll have her scent on it."

Nodding numbly, Miroku scooped the limp woman into his arms, "We'll join you as soon as she's settled."

"Alright," Inuyasha responded hoarsely - grimacing at the sight of the torn flesh that was still bubbling grotesquely as her heart continued to beat weakly, "Hurry. She might be a half-demon but she needs care immediately."

In a flash, the monk and slayer took off leaving the stunned and traumatized pair behind them. Amber eyes followed the rescue party as they flew out of sight as the pit of his stomach fell clear out. The guilt felt like gasoline in his gut - his insides dying slowly in the toxicity, needing no more than a spark to set it ablaze. It made no sense! How could he have read that situation so entirely wrong!? Everyone in that clearing reeked of anxiety. That was the same girl who had cursed him and his missing friends were there with her. Still, based on their reaction, he'd miscalculated on a massive scale. Inuyasha knew he'd must've done something pretty awful when he had to work so hard to justify it. He was a shoot first, and then when everyone was dead ask a question or two type of guy yet it'd never backfired so soundly on him before now.

He needed to make this right and figure out what the hell was going on.