A/N: Wow! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially in this past chapter! I hope you continue to enjoy this:0D
Oh yeah, I still don't own Inuyasha.
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Dust scattered about the cave with each heaving breath that was hurled from his lungs. His back ached with the sensation of torn flesh and every breath, every pulse of life, burned and threatened to add fuel to the fire. He strained as his hands slid beneath his chest and he pushed as he willed his body to leave the damp earth beneath him. He groaned as he slowly found himself gaining space. He smiled a bit until his stomach betrayed him and the echo of dry heaves ricocheted around the cave long after the convulsions had ceased.
He forced himself to his feet, his breathing still ragged, as the ache of his heaves wracked through his stomach. He scanned the earth beneath his feet for the single fang that had freed itself earlier. He knew it was the key. It was the only thing that stood between Kagome's life and her pitiful demise.
He let his eyes skim the floor, vaguely aware that the cave seemed darker than it had before. He was only vaguely aware that everything around him seemed to be somewhat fuzzy compared to his normal standards. He dismissed it as a side effect from the amount of blood that he must have lost as he lay unconscious on the cold dirt floor. It couldn't possibly be anything more serious than that.
Kagome.
His breath hitched with the thought of her alone near Kaede's hut and he could feel his heart beginning to break.
What was it she wanted from me before I left?
He closed his eyes and allowed the scene to play before him. He blushed at their proximity and could feel the heat rising from his cheeks as she peered up at him with the one emotion that scared him the most in the world. He could almost feel her frail body within his arms as her voice lilted into his ears.
"Don't leave me, Inuyasha."
His eyes snapped open and he felt his body run cold with fear. Kagome had asked him not to leave and the one thing he did for her when she needed him most was run away.
I-I left her. I let her go...and I didn't mean it!
"Kagome. What have I done?"
He curled his hands in anger and squeezed his grip tightly into the warm flesh of his palm. Inuyasha immediately winced, but it was not from the biting pain that should have signaled small cuts from his claws. Instead, it was a deep bitter pain that was pressed deep into his palm as if a boiling ember had been left there.
That's weird. Shouldn't my claws be hurting me?
He took in a shallow breath and held it there and he dared to look down at his palm.
Crimson blood pooled around the entrance point of what had been the fang that flew from the demon still pinned to the wall before him. He couldn't help but feel drawn to the lines that were made by the small rivulets that ran freely down his forearm as he tilted his hand to get a better look at the injury. With one final glance, he sighed and knew it would need to come out.
A grunt escaped his lips as his soft fingers began to pull at the pearly canine jutting from his hand. His efforts were rewarded, though, as it slid from the torn fliesh with relative ease and it was only then that he realized something was wrong.
My...my hands...
He carefully placed the fang into a fold of fabric within the security of his haori and began to study his hands. Everything seemed in place. Everything seemed right, yet something was very much wrong with the entire picture.
Where are my claws?
He ran out of the cave, noticing for one of the first times that everything around him seemed so much less lively. The air felt less biting and less alive. He noticed that his eyes actually stung as the breeze created from his speed came at him in waves. He also noticed that his muscles screamed with the strain of his excercise.
NO! This...This is impossible!
Twigs snapped beneath his feet as he surged forward through the underbrush, back tracking along the path that he had chosen to arrive at his current destination in the first place. It wasn't long until he was greeted with the familiar gurgling of a flowing stream and he felt his heart strings tugging with the memories of what had led to this place to begin with.
She was so feverish then...and so weak.
He tripped, skidding along the wet bank as he finally stopped and fell to his knees along the river's edge.
"Please. Please, please, please," he begged with an audience that wasn't tangibly there.
He closed his eyes and bowed his head over the running water. He needed to see his reflection. He needed to know the truth and the weight of the situation.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and could only watch as an expression of terror and exasperation crossed his features. He watched as his eyes widened and he reached up a bloodied hand to the top of his head only to come up empty.
"How?! How am I human?!"
He splashed away the image of the water in sheer frustration and confusion before he picked himself up off the ground and his body stiffened with anger. He felt his resolve weakening quickly, however, as one clear thought overwhelmed him.
Get to Kagome. GET TO HER NOW, YOU FOOL!
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A/N: And another chapter is done! I know these chapters have been flying at you slowly and I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can! As always, please let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks:0D