When Worlds Collide

Chapter 10: The Return

The battleground was deathly silent except for the sound of one girl weeping. And pleading for him to be alive. Kagome clutched at Inuyasha's back, trying to roll him over but failing because her vision was swimming with tears. Sango and Miroku came up quietly behind the young girl.

Still in complete and utter shock at how fast the battle had happened Miroku knelt down beside Kagome and gently rolled the hanyou over. Several very audible gasps could be heard. The front of Inuyasha's fire rat haori was completely eaten away by the venom and if you didn't know of the white shirt he always wore beneath it you never would have guessed he had one. His chest looked like it had been hollowed out by the massive burn eating away at his body. The burn had been so severe it turned everything black. In a vain attempt to soothe the burn Inuyasha's body was oozing pus from the borders of the burn.

Kagome reached out a hand and tentatively brushed Inuyasha's cheek. She willed his eyes to open and show her that he was still alive and kicking. "Inuyasha?" she whispered, not disguising the hope in her voice.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli stayed several feet behind the others. They felt like they were intruding on the other's space just by being there. After all, they barely knew Inuyasha but the others had known and fought alongside him for a long time. And now he lay there, possibly dead. The healer in Aragorn wanted to go up and inspect the hanyou's wounds but for the sake of the Feudal Japan group he held back.

Sango placed a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder. She was practically holding her breath in anticipation of seeing Inuyasha's chest raise with breath or his eyes open with life.

Kagome ran her hand gently over Inuyasha's cheek. "Come on Inuyasha, don't do this to me. You can't leave me. You promised you would protect me, remember? How can you protect me if you're gone? Come on, open your eyes." She would give anything to have her hanyou answer her. She knew she loved him, had known it for months now, and she doubt she could live if he died.

She jumped when she saw slight movement under his lids. A second later one eye opened, squinting in pain. "Inuyasha!" squealed Kagome, not able to hold in her excitement at seeing him alive. "You're alive! You're really alive!"

Inuyasha groaned and opened his other eye. "Shit," he mumbled, grimacing in pain.

Sango grinned and turned her head to look at the others. "He's alive!"

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli all breathed a big sigh of relief when they heard that. They could see how much Inuyasha meant to Kagome and the others and although he had either been rude or completely ignored them, none of them wished him true harm.

Inuyasha struggled to sit up and when he refused to be pushed back down Kagome kneeled behind him and allowed him to lean back against her. He soon caught sight of the dead spider. "Who killed it?" he quietly asked.

"Kagome," answered Miroku.

"And everyone…?" asked Inuyasha, leaving the question open-ended.

"Everyone made it out alive," answered Sango. "The only thing that died was the spider."

"Good," breathed Inuyasha quietly. "How about that damn orc?"

"Legolas had it killed the moment you fell," answered Miroku. "I doubt the orc even knew what hit him."

Gazing wearily at the elf, Inuyasha couldn't help but say, "Too bad you didn't see him sooner."

Almost expecting that response, Legolas smiled good naturedly. "We can't all be perfect like you Inuyasha. But I'm glad you made it out all right. I won't forgive you for what you said to Aragorn, those words were too harsh to forgive, but I'm willing to move on."

"Fine. And now if you all don't mind, and even if you do, I'm tired of talking," said Inuyasha grumpily as he closed his eyes in rest.

Laughing softly, Kagome brushed the bangs out Inuyasha's face. He was alive. Inuyasha was still alive. She wouldn't trade this moment for anything.

"He's alive," stated Aragorn, "But he needs immediate help. That burn doesn't look good."

Before anyone could even think of helping to get Inuyasha up, Kagome suddenly shouted, "Oh!" At the looks she received from everyone she continued. "The shard! We didn't get it yet!"

Miroku looked over to the spider. "Where is it Kagome?"

"In the back of the neck."

Nodding Miroku started walking to the spider. However, when he got within ten feet of the body a giant bee flew out of the woods and snatched the shard. Before two words could be uttered by anyone the bee was gone.

"What in the name of Valar?" mumbled Aragorn. "Is everything unnaturally big here?" He almost jumped in shock when Inuyasha's eyes suddenly flew open.

"SHIT!" cursed Inuyasha with a surprisingly large amount of energy. "This was Naraku! I should have known!"

Kagome gently pushed down on Inuyasha's shoulders until the hanyou was resting once again. "Easy boy, you can't do anything in your condition."

As soon as Miroku and Sango saw the bee they readied their weapons. "Is he here?" asked Miroku quietly.

"You moron, is he ever here?" growled Inuyasha. "He's off somewhere safe in his castle."

"Naraku," said Aragorn. "Do you mean the Naraku? The one we're trying to kill?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "No, I mean the ten other evil hanyous that just so happened to be named Naraku."

Sango sighed and stared down at Inuyasha. "You know, you're pretty feisty for someone who just almost died."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Me? Almost died? Are you insane? You really think a spider could actually kill me?"

"So your chest doesn't hurt at all?" questioned Kagome, a small smile on her face. Yes, Inuyasha would definitely be fine.

"Not at all," said Inuyasha.

Kagome reached over his shoulder and poked his chest. Inuyasha's reaction was instantaneous.

"OW!!! Damn wench! What the hell was that for?" he screeched.

"Not at all, eh?" asked Kagome humorously.

Ignoring the two Sango turned to Aragorn. "Yes, it's Naraku. Now you can possibly see why we're having such a tough time fighting him."

"He never actually fights you himself," said Legolas.

"Correct," said Miroku. "He sends demons like that spider with one of his shikon shards. If the demon dies one of his bees removes the shard before we can get to it. Sometimes he makes puppets of himself. We kill those, doesn't matter. Naraku is still alive and elsewhere. The worse though are his children. They aren't actually his kids but they were created from him."

"They smell like that bastard," grumbled Inuyasha from his spot against Kagome.

"This isn't good," said Aragorn softly.

"No shit," said Inuyasha. "We couldn't get the shard. That coward. For once I'd like to fight the real Naraku."

Aragorn shook his head. "No, that wasn't what I was talking about. I meant, if that demon was one of Naraku's underlings, why where there orcs fighting as well? Orcs are from Middle Earth, they shouldn't be fighting with Naraku's demons."

"And how did so many orcs get here?" added Legolas. "We fought around 50. And you and Kagome had around 40?"

"Yeah, around that," replied Kagome.

"We need to get back to Kaede's now," said Miroku urgently.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Now, huh? Guess I should just sprout wings and fly away?"

Ignoring him Sango asked, "What are you thinking?"

Miroku shook his head. "I'm not sure. But I'd like to see the area where these three were found."

"Perhaps there is a clue to what's happening," said Kagome.

"Precisely."

"But," continued Kagome, looking down at the injured hanyou, "We can't go back right now. Inuyasha is in no condition to return. He needs to rest tonight."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and pushed away from Kagome. Ignoring her cry of protest he slowly struggled to his feet, pushing away the hand Miroku offered him in anger. "I don't need your damn help!"

Wisely everyone else stepped back and let the hanyou struggle on his own. They realized to help him now would be a blow to his pride, one he wouldn't be too thrilled to take especially with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli watching. Heaving slightly Inuyasha made it to his feet and stood unsteadily. His chest throbbed painfully and he really didn't want to look at it. It felt painful enough without having to see what was causing the pain. "All right," he gasped, "Let's stay here for tonight."

Kagome smiled behind her hand. It was amazing to actually hear Inuyasha admit he couldn't go back tonight. She was very proud of him at that moment even if she would never tell him. And she was thrilled that he was ok. Well, besides for the really nasty looking burn mark on his chest he was ok. But that could be taken care of at the village.

"Do you want Kirara to carry you back Inuyasha?" asked Sango.

Aragorn appeared confused at that question. "Kirara?" he whispered to Legolas. "Isn't she a little…I don't know…small…to be carrying Inuyasha?"

Legolas snickered under his breath. He had almost forgotten that Aragorn had yet to catch a glimpse of the transformed feline.

Inuyasha sneered. "Do I look like I can't make it back by myself? I'm not a weakling Sango. Have Kirara carry the human back. He needs it more than I do."

Aragorn raised an eyebrow in question. He wasn't able to tell if Inuyasha meant that as an insult or to actually help him. And he was also surprised to hear that Inuyasha had actually noticed his injury and the fact that he still had placed most of weight on Legolas. Perhaps they had just arrived in Japan on a bad day and Inuyasha was nicer than they had originally thought.

Shrugging her shoulders Sango said, "Suit yourself." She really wasn't in the mood to argue with Inuyasha. Her back and shoulders were sore from fighting orcs and the spider. What she wanted at that moment was to relax in a comfortable hut next to a fire for the rest of the night. With perhaps some good tasting food. Yes, she could go for that right now. Signaling Kirara the small cat transformed once again into her bigger form. The two walked over to Aragorn. "Kirara will carry you back."

Aragorn stared in shock at the fire cat. "That's…Kirara? I thought she was small…"

Sango laughed. "Sure is. Now get on. You're injured."

"Get on?" asked Aragorn. "But…" Horses he could handle. Hell, he loved horses. In fact, he could handle anything from Middle Earth. But a small innocent looking cat who suddenly transformed into this giant thing on fire? That was a completely different story.

Legolas laughed at his friend's hesitancy. "She doesn't bite Aragorn. I rode on her to help save you."

Content with that Aragorn tentatively threw one leg over Kirara's back. He settled comfortably on her. "Hmm, surprisingly soft," he commented. He was surprised to hear Kirara let out a deep grumble which he assumed, and hoped, was a purr.

"Well, shall we go get Shippo and tell the villagers it's safe?" asked Kagome, staying within a couple feet of Inuyasha. She was sure he'd be all right; after all, he was too stubborn for his own good. But you could never be too sure.

"Feh," said Inuyasha. "Or we could conveniently forget about him."

Kagome bit her lip to refrain from telling Inuyasha to sit. She doubt that would have been good for his injury. "You know what? I'll ignore that comment. Just don't make another one like it. Now walk," she demanded.

As everyone started walking to the center of the village Legolas sidled up to Kirara's head. Looking mischievously at Aragorn he bent and whispered something into the feline's ear.

"What's on your mind Legolas?" asked Aragorn suspiciously. He so hated that smile Legolas had on his face.

"Oh you'll see," chirped Legolas innocently. "But you may want to hold on," he said with a laugh.

Before Aragorn could even mutter a 'what' Kirara flew off. Aragorn yelped in shock and bent down, wrapping his arms around the cat's neck. She flew! At the sound of Legolas laughing below him Aragorn chanced a look at his friend. "You're dead Legolas!" he shouted before Kirara flew even higher.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Aragorn breathed a soft sigh of relief when Kirara landed gently on the ground in the center of the village. He slid off the cat and gave her a friendly scratch behind the ears. "Thank you Kirara," he said, smiling softly when the fire cat purred loudly. He paused in the scratching when the villagers suddenly swarmed in around him.

"Lord Aragorn! How went the battle?" asked one of the men whom Aragorn remembered bandaging up. When the man reached Aragorn he gasped. "You're injured!"

Aragorn shook it off and leaned subtly on Kirara. "I am fine. And the demons that were terrorizing your village were killed. Your village is safe now."

Aragorn could see the gratitude swimming in the man's eyes. Before he could say anything else the others joined him.

"Aragorn!" called out Kagome while rushing to his side. "Are you all right? I can't believe Legolas did that to you! You could have fallen off!"

Legolas couldn't help but snort. "You see Aragorn? Even Kagome knows of your clumsiness!"

"Hey!" complained Kagome. "I didn't mean it like that!"

Gimli patted Kagome's arm complacently. "It's ok Kagome, now you are seeing the true Legolas. You know, it might not be a bad thing to leave him here to defend this village against possible future attacks," he suggested with a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, it's better for him to come with us. It will be too hard to enact my revenge if he were here," said Aragorn casually, looking at Legolas from the corner of his eye, one corner of his mouth upturned in a smirk.

"Oh Valar," sighed Legolas, "Not the petty human idea of revenge again. You remember the last time this happened?"

Aragorn grinned widely. "How could I forget? Three weeks worth of pranks and revenge."

"Which culminated with everyone evacuating Elrond's home," continued Legolas.

"Because there was too much smoke," added Aragorn.

"And your father banned us from Rivendell for a month!" finished Legolas. Both friends laughed fondly at the memory, completely ignoring the baffled looks they received from everyone else.

"Um, yes," said Miroku skeptically. "Well anyways, should we go find somewhere to rest now?"

Kagome heard Inuyasha groan in pain from behind her. She quickly turned to see him swaying slightly on his feet. Paying no heed to his look of frustration she went up to him and pulled one of his arms around her shoulders. "Would you rather fall down?" she whispered softly to him when he tried to pull away from her. That stopped him rather quickly and he accepted Kagome's help without further complaint.

"Aragorn!" came a voice from the back of the group of villagers. The group parted and out rushed Naoya, Shippo sitting on his shoulder.

As soon as Shippo saw Kagome he took a flying leap to her. And was caught in mid-air by Sango. He pouted up at Sango. "What was that for?"

"Kagome is kind of busy right now Shippo," responded Sango.

Shippo looked to Kagome and saw Inuyasha slumped against her. And Kagome struggling to stay on her feet from the weight of the hanyou. "Well…it looks like she's about to be crushed," he replied worriedly.

Sango's eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of her friend. Inuyasha was entirely too heavy for her. And it looked like he was putting most of weight on the poor girl. "Oh! Kagome!"

Hearing the frantic cry from Sango Legolas looked over his shoulder and saw the girl, her face red and sweat dripping down her face. He predicted that in about ten seconds she would lose the battle and fall to the ground. So before that could happen and another member of the group get injured he moved and took Inuyasha from Kagome's grasp. He was startled to see Inuyasha's eyes barely open in slits and gasping for breath. From before he would have guessed that the hanyou would have been all right. It appeared he was wrong.

Mirroring how he had helped Aragorn earlier he wrapped one arm around the hanyou's waist and used the other arm to pull one of Inuyasha's arms around his shoulders.

"Thanks Legolas," gasped Kagome. She never realized just how heavy Inuyasha actually was.

"Anytime Kagome," he replied before almost completely lifting Inuyasha off the ground and going to where Aragorn, Miroku, and Naoya were conversing.

As soon as Kagome was freed from her burden Shippo wiggled out of Sango's grasp and took a flying leap into Kagome's arms.

"Kagome!" he squealed. "Are you ok? Did you get the shard?"

Kagome smiled and hugged the kitsune to her chest. She loved how light he was. So unlike the big hanyou. "I'm fine Shippo. And it was one of Naraku's demons. A bee grabbed the shard before we could get it."

Overhearing her Naoya said, "So it was a shard?"

"Yes it was," answered Miroku. "We failed to get the shard but we killed the demon. Your village should be safe now."

Naoya bowed down in gratitude. "We thank you for helping use. You will always be welcome back at our village." Straightening back up he continue. "And I can't help but see that a few of you are injured. Please, stay in my hut for the night and tend to your injuries. We will get you whatever you require."

Aragorn glanced over at his friend who was now holding up Inuyasha. He saw the hanyou barely hanging onto consciousness. And then he felt his leg which was still in immense pain.

"Your help and hospitality are greatly appreciated," replied Miroku. "We will take you up on your offer to stay here for the night."

Naoya smiled in happiness. "Good, then please, follow me."

Miroku looked to the elf. "You have him Legolas? We would always put him on Kirara."

Legolas shook his head. "No, this is fine. He really isn't that heavy."

"You lie," grumbled Kagome, successfully earning several amused glances in her direction. "What?" she huffed. "He is!"

"And how about you Aragorn? Are you going to go back on Kirara?" asked Miroku.

Aragorn thought about it for a split second before shaking his head. If everyone else was walking he would too. Plus he'd never hear the end of it from Legolas if he took a ride while Legolas was walking and carrying Inuyasha. "No, as long as Kirara stays by my side so I can lean on her I'll be fine."

Nodding Miroku said, "Ok, so if everyone is intent on being stubborn let's go."

A few minutes later they arrived at Naoya's hut. Walking inside Legolas gently slid Inuyasha to the ground and straightened back up. He looked worriedly at the hanyou. Inuyasha hadn't moved or made a sound the whole time he was carrying him. Perhaps the venom did more damage than just to the surface area of his chest. Now that he thought about it, how did the venom not eat completely through Inuyasha? Inuyasha was a living creature; the venom should have almost split him half. But here he was with a burn, a rather wicked looking burn, but a burn nonetheless.

Kagome walked up to the elf and still hanyou. She caught Legolas staring intently at Inuyasha's chest. "Um, Legolas? Is everything all right?"

Clearing his head Legolas nodded. "Yes Kagome. I was just wondering how the venom did not eat completely through Inuyasha."

Kneeling down by the hanyou Kagome brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Perhaps it's because of his fire rat kimono."

"His what?" asked Gimli, joining in on the conversation.

"His outer clothing, the red one. It's made out of fire rat fur. It is some of the strongest material around. Perhaps it was able to absorb most of the venom's potency so when it finally reached his skin it was weakened. At least that's the only thing I can think of."

"Then perhaps it's even stronger than mithril," said Gimli softly to himself.

"Mithril?" questioned Kagome.

"The strongest material from our world," answered Gimli. "Light as a feather yet strong as dragon scales. It is a rare treasure to have."

"Ah, well I don't know if his kimono was quite that strong," said Kagome. "But it looks like the top is completely destroyed. Inuyasha won't like that too much. It's all he ever wears. And I'm sure it has saved his life a countless number of times. Heck, it's saved my life in the past. He won't be happy to have to part with it."

"Well, better parting with it than his life," responded Legolas.

"Very true," mused Kagome. "But he'll still be annoyed. And now I really should be looking at his wound. It looks ugly." Kagome looked around the hut and immediately sighed.

"Something wrong Kagome?" asked Gimli.

"Yes," she sighed. "My backpack is still out there. I forgot to bring it back with me. And of course everything I need is still in it." She looked hopefully up the elf and dwarf. "Could one of you possibly go get it for me? I really don't want to leave Inuyasha right now."

"Certainly," said Legolas. "I'll be back in a minute." Before Gimli could even utter a word he was gone.

"Blasted elves," grumbled Gimli. "I could have gone to get it."

Kagome laughed. "Do you guys really compete that much?"

Gimli nodded. "You see, from our world dwarves and elves are not what you'd exactly call the best of friends. In fact, they tend to hate each other. When we first formed the fellowship Legolas and myself hated each other. Over time and fighting on the same side we grew to become friends. But our competitive streaks will never leave us."

"Well there's nothing wrong with competition among friends," commented Kagome.

"But the dwarf hates it because he always loses," remarked Legolas, dropping the backpack by Kagome's feet.

"What did you do elf? Run as fast as you could to see how fast you could make it back here?" mumbled Gimli.

"You're just annoyed because if you tried running that fast you'd trip over your own feet," replied Legolas.

"Hey, have you and Aragorn ever thought of teaming up against Legolas?" asked Kagome.

"Ah Kagome, you don't understand," stated Legolas. "That would hurt the dwarf's little ego. He has to best me on his own. Which means he's automatically fighting a losing battle."

"You just wait princeling," said Gimli. "I'll beat you yet. And it will be a miserable day for you. Mark my words."

"Then I wish you the best of luck. You'll need it," laughed Legolas. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to go and make sure that reckless human actually tends to his injuries. Lord knows how many times he's tried to sneak his injuries past everyone."

"And I really need to help Inuyasha now," said Kagome, opening her back and pulling out some herbs and bandages.

Gimli was about to say something when he caught a scent in the air. His eyes widened and a wide smile landed on his face. "Food!" he exclaimed. Then he calmed. "Kagome, do you need my help, or can I go eat?" he asked hopefully.

Laughing at the hungry dwarf Kagome said, "No, go right on ahead Gimli. I'll be fine on my own."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed before rushing to where food was currently being served to the others.

Last revised: December 6, 2006