A/N: I still don't own Inuyasha.

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Warm air brushed strands of silver away from his face as he ran, retracing the steps that he had walked only a week or so ago. He watched as the brush blew past in shades of green as well as yellow, tainted by the summer sun. It wouldn't be long until all of the bushes nearby would be stained this color as water became scarce. It seemed to be a habit.

A strong pulse worked through his system as he slowed to catch a whiff of the trail he had traveled earlier. It was faint as the previous rain storm had worked to rinse away any evidence of his passing, but he refused to give up if it meant saving Kagome.

Kagome.

Her name echoed through his mind and he could feel the familiar tingle of excitement and anxiety as adrenaline was released into his system at just the thought of her name. He wanted nothing more than to free her from the pale shadow that clung to her skin like a bird clings to its nest. The sight of her eyes losing their vigor and desire to live life fully made his chest ache. He needed to save her and he needed to do it soon.

He watched as the tall stature of the surrounding trees began to diminish and a small clearing came into view. His head began swimming with the stench of blood and decaying flesh and he found the sleeve of his haori covering his nose in an attempt to quell the nausea threatening to over take his stomach. With a few moments of hazy contemplation, he realized that he must be very close to the same cave that had caused all of this grief in the first place.

He walked forward, refusing to submit to the acid burning its way up his throat at the scent of the metallic liquid soaked into the ground beneath his feet. He surveyed the area and finally realized for the first time how fierce the battle had truly been. Claw marks covered every surrounding tree. He allowed his eyes to linger on the sap that was dripping from each orifice imagining the sap to be the blood that had spilled from Kagome's body as she began to struggle.

His mind began to whirl as the battle raged in his head between human and demon. He could see Kagome's fragile frame pitted against the bulk of something large outlined in background. Eyes of red glittered, full of malice and lust for blood and flesh. He visibly shuddered as the daydream continued on. He felt his mouth go dry at the images flashing before his eyes, yet something strangely familiar dragged him forward and into the mouth of the cave.

What the hell happened while I was human?

His amber eyes fought back the sight of the dried blood spilled upon the dirt floor of the cave. He could see claw marks, undoubtedly Kirara's, that tore into the soft earth. With his senses trained from his long exposure to hunting, the hanyou knew that it was the mark of a beast that was trying to find the traction to pounce on its prey. He gulped as he tore his eyes away from the gouges and felt numbness slowly enterring his limbs as he glanced the large form against the farthest wall.

The muscles of his stomach rippled and tightened, threatening to spill the contents of his gut upon the floor, but her refused to tear his gaze away from the large object across from him. He could feel his mind screaming to just run away and keep away from the impending danger surrounding it, but something in the back of his mind also realized that it was an empty threat. There was nothing there that would physically harm him.

Inuyasha blinked when he realized that he was mere inches away from the massive black figure that he had seen from the mouth of the cave. He hadn't even realized that his legs were carrying him towards its foreboding presence until he stood where he was now. He stared it down, looking deep into the sockets of its skull that had once contained its eyes and shuddered. The stench of death and decay was dripping from its now cracking bones and he wasn't sure he could keep his stomach strong for much longer.

He reached out to the fragile white of the bones, watching as his hands trembled. He had never felt this unnerved before in the presence of demon remains; then again, he had never known a human to be strong enough to bring it down themselves.

A noticeable flinch rushed through his hand and a gasp echoed through the cave as his hand came into contact with the bone remains of the tiger demon that had poisoned the woman he loved. He could feel something wrapping tighter around his mind and the more he tried to struggle, the tighter its hold seemed to become.

Visions of rain and lightning assaulted his vision and before he knew what was happening, the showdown between Kagome and this beast that called itself a demon was reliving itself before his very eyes. He felt his skin crawling as the demon spoke and its eyes flashed dangerously with a glint of lightning that threatened to strike down anything in its way. His breath caught in his throat, however, as this very demon leaped high into the air with a menacing look in its eyes. It was one the young man was all to familiar with. It was the look of...

...Victory.

"KAGOME!"

His voice rang through the cave as he felt the red hot sting of claws upon his back, marking his back very much like Kagome's had been the day she had given all but her life to protect those that she held close to her. He felt himself staggering, but he never once removed his hand from the skeletal remains that stood before his currently blind eyes.

Rivulets of smoke twisted before his vision as the battle scene before him changed. He noted at once the pain in his back becoming unbearable as he stood facing the tiger demon that was poised above a life size rag doll of a human. A chill settled in his soul as he realized that the useless human laying on the ground was none other than himself. His hopes were only dwindled as he came to the realization that he was witnessing a terrible event through the eyes of the one that had lived through it with the most agony.

Rose light enveloped his vision, quickly searing his chest and he cried out in anguish before it was released from his system and its brilliance took away any words that he struggled to find to describe it. He watched as the light hurled its way into the beast whose bone's he still held within his grasp. He fell to the floor, gasping for air like a fish on land, as a sickening crack was heard and a single fang from the beast fell loose to the floor.

Kagome. I really let you down. How can I make this up to you?

A flicker of white light glinted off of the broken tooth at his feet as the hanyou struggled to heave his body weight towards it to hold it firmly within his grasp. He could feel his strength rapidly leaving his body before he finally realized there was warm liquid oozing beneath his haori.

Blood. My blood. I'm bleeding. But it was only a vision...

The soft drops much deeper inside the cave became silent as Inuyasha's hand came to rest on the fang that belonged to the demon that had caused his woman so much grief. He clenched it tightly in his palm as he forced himself to his knees at once noticing the difficulty he was having forcing his vision to focus. The loud, lyrical songs from birds that were calling to him once before were now nothing more than whispers and his keen nose barely registered the blood that had threatened to suffocate him upon first entering the cave.

But it was only a vision. Kagome...

A soft cloud of dust rose from the ground as Inuyasha collapsed to the cold dirt floor of the cave that had once saved his life. A small pool of blood began to seep from the fabric of his untorn haori and vivid nightmares beckoned him into the depths of unconsciousness.

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A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting everyone! School's officially kicking my butt, but you all don't really care. You just want the story! I'll do my best! Anyways, please let me know what you think. Thanks in advance:0D