A/N: I apologize for the amount of time this has taken to post as well as the short chapter LAST update...but that's only because this chapter is so long! By the way, I get the feeling no one ever reads these silly things I put up here, so the first person to review with the word potato in it gets a cookie...or at least an honorable mention in the next chapter. haha
Yes, Ms. Rumiko Takahashi still owns the rights to Inuyasha and yes, I am still jealous.
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The proud wolf youkai continued forward with his heavy parsel--the burden of the now human inu-hanyou--with a toothy grin glued to his features. How could he not smile when the sight of the fragile form of his woman was before him. Of course, he had noted that the warmth of her flesh had seemed to dissipate in her paling complexion and her hair had seemed to dull until the light that streamed to it seemed swallowed in its strands, but he could not help but feel pride and ecstasy in her presence. OF course, his illuminated visage quickly fell into oblivion as Kagome slumped against the taijya next to her.
"No! Kagome!" roared Kouga nearly dropping the half demon, battling to remain conscious, from sheer anxiety in the process. He struggled momentarily with Inuyasha's shifting weight as he continued forward, growling.
No. My woman. How could dog-breath have let this happen to you!?
Small wisps of dust began to explode from beneath Kouga's feet as they pounded into the earth. His speed gradually increased until he was traveling at a steady trot with the homestretch, straight to Kagome's side, in plain sight.
"Sango? Is...is that shouting I hear?" inquired the Miroku with the soft sound of his sandals muffling his words slightly.
Miroku had remained silent during most of this horrible nightmare, choosing instead to pray for Inuyasha and Kagome in the hopes that he could bring them good fortune and secure a blessing that would ensure a successful recovery for both the half demon, no doubt suffering as much if not more than his love, and the miko. Of course, that didn't mean that his prayers weren't often steered off course with the occasional selfish prayer asking for the strength to woo his demon slayer. He knew he would need all the help he could get in that affair.
It had been quite a while that he had looked upon the woman with more than just a friendly gaze. He admired her beauty, of course, but there was something about the strength of her spirit and will that was so enticing. Of course, he loved the fire in her eyes that would burn brightly with her feelings of rage, which was why Miroku so often found himself with a swollen, red cheek. He couldn't help but coax the embers into full bursts of flame with his groping. It was too sweet an opportunity to touch as well as to invoke her rage.
Miroku, however, was snapped from his thoughts with with the soft voice of the woman plaguing his thoughts.
"Hai, Miroku," began Sango as she crouched to the ground to lower Kagome, "Kouga's nearly here and I...I think he...he's brought I-Inuyasha with him."
Words seemed to catch in Sango's throat as she spoke and Miroku couldn't help but see a note of pain and worry hanging in her chocolate orbs.
If she's this worried mentioning Inuyasha's return, then something must be wrong. I can't show my concern, if only for her sake.
Miroku crouched next to Sango, placing a hand on her shoulder innocently as he spoke, "I see, Sango, but tell me, please. What happened to Kagome?"
"She's fainted, Miroku," replied Sango, gulping back the quaver in her voice, "and it was only after...she whispered his name..."
Miroku nodded and carefully tucked one hand beneath Kagome's knees while he gingerly slid his other hand--his cursed hand--under Kagome's shoulder blades and began to lift her. He knew that she needed protection with her weakened state, especially if Kouga was soon to enter the picture. However, any plans Miroku had concocted to protect the weakened miko were soon thwarted as Kouga stepped almost heroically before the houshi.
"Monk!" howled the wolf in rage, finally dropping Inuyasha in his upset, "What do you think you're doing with my woman?!"
Sango and Miroku were paralyzed as they watched Inuyasha tumble through the air and hit the ground with a defeaning thud. Almost immediately, the houshi noted the awkward angle that the hanyou's shin seemed to contort as he lay on the ground completely absorbed in pain. However, it was only Sango that noticeably flinched as the inu-hanyou moaned pitifully from the sudden impact.
"Oh, Inuyasha," whispered Sango as she cautiously approached his prostrate form on the rocky ground, "What happened to you?"
The demon exterminator was stopped in her tracks, however, by a menacing growl elicited from the youkai standing before her. She watched as his eyes glinted dangerously as they trailed from Inuyasha's form, back to her own, finally resting on the unconscious form of Kagome still within the monk's grasp. His anger softened slightly as he stepped forward, callously nudging the hanyou with his feet in the process, until he was inches away from the miko within the houshi's arms.
Adrenaline rushed through Miroku's system as Kouga stared hungrily at the young woman within his arms. He watched as Kouga slowly reached a clawed hand out to Kagome in the hopes of touching her silky smooth skin; instinctively, Miroku pulled away, taking Kagome with him, and earning a growl from the wolf youkai before him.
"Kouga, what are you doing here?" calmly asked Miroku, still keeping his distance from the distraught wolf.
"Huh," began Kouga as he shifted his weight and placed his clawed hand heavily on his hip while a smug smile graced his lips, "Mutt face said he screwed up and he needed my assistance to heal Kagome."
Sango regarded the wolf with wary eyes as a gruff voice rang through the silence.
"Did...not...m-m-mangy...wolf," hissed Inuyasha with every word that passed through his lips as well as from the sheer amount of effort it took to pull himself up into a sitting position.
"Inuyasha!" gasped Sango as she sprang to his side, "You shouldn't be moving!"
The sound of grating teeth rang in Sango's ears as Inuyasha struggled to sit up. She pressed her hands against his back, using her strength and body weight to lift and support him as he continued to fight to catch his breath. She watched as he forced one brown eye open to regard the scene unfolding before him; it was obvious that he was desperate to have some say in Kagome's fate as he deserved. Sango noted how heavy Inuyasha's body had seem to become with the abuse to which it had been subjected.
By the way he's breathing, I'd say he's broken a few ribs. And that leg of his doesn't look any better.
A gasp sneaked its way from between her lips before Sango could do anything to stifle it. While surveying her friend's body for damage, she had inadvertently stumbled upon a tangled mass of damp hair behind his head.
He...he's split his head as well?!
"Inuyasha, you shouldn't be sitting up like this," began Sango in a desperate attempt to reason with the hanyou.
A faint trace of a laugh tumbled from Inuyasha as his hoarse voice began to cut through the silence, "N-no. I need...to protect...K-Kagome."
"Inuyasha," interrupted Miroku for the first time since Kouga had arrived at Kaede's door, "Can you explain to me why you are, in fact, human with out the moonless night?"
Inuyasha blinked slowly as he worked hard to process the question Miroku had sent in his direction. Of course, he recognized the feeble senses of his human body, but some part of him had forgotten that he had changed. Maybe it was the pain or the rapid loss of blood as it continued to drip from the contusion on the back of his head, but some part of his body had seemed to accept his human transformation and was beginning to accept the idea of defeat as well.
"Keh. I ain't...got no clue, monk." retorted Inuyasha, as he gazed up at the blurring image of Miroku.
Wait. What does he have in his hands? Is...Is that...?
"Kagome," muttered Inuyasha as a spark flashed in his eyes, willing strength into his soul.
Brought back to the woman that he so desperately wanted, Kouga grunted out a chuckle and turned to face Miroku with the young priestess beginning to stir in his arms. Immediately, the youkai's features began to soften as not to disturb the young woman whose eyes were beginning to flutter open.
"Miroku?" asked her soft voice filled with confusion.
The houshi only nodded in response before Kouga intervened.
"Oh, Kagome. What's happened to you? What has happened to my woman?? I promise you. I will undo whatever this mutt has done," said Kouga with a solemn expression as he pointed an accusing finger in Inuyasha's direction, "I won't ever let his negligence harm my woman ever again."
Following the clawed digit extended by the wolf, Kagome's eyes slowly made its way to the one man she thought she would never see again.
"Inuyasha," she whispered breathlessly as she fidgeted slightly in the monk's grasp.
Sango bit her lip and slowly began to rise to her feet as she noted the determined gleam in Inuyasha's eyes sparked by Kagome's waking state. She rose to her feet and began to tug his battered body upwards are subtly as possible in order to keep the hanyou's pride intact in the face of his rival. However, her kind efforts were quickly shrugged off as Inuyasha removed the Tetsusaiga from his hip and leaned upon it heavily as he had deep in the basin the first time had faced Kouga that day.
Although his head swam and the earth spun dangerously before his eyes, Inuyasha cemented his determination into place and allowed a mask of indifference to lay upon his features. With slow, deliberate steps--careful to place as much weight upon his blade as opposed to his useless leg--the young man approached Kagome who had placed on her own two feet and was making her way towards her love.
Inuyasha drew in a heavy breath as he began to speak, "Kagome, is...is it really you? Or are my eyes playing tricks on me again?"
He haulted his walk as Kouga began to growl, suddenly intimidated by the wounded hanyou before him.
How can this be? He was in agony only moments ago, but now he's walking towards he like he's made of rock!
"Of course its her, mutt face. Can't you tell your supposed woman from an illusion?" Kouga turned on his heel to face Inuyasha. His arrogant smirk had reappeared in the hopes of dashing whatever sudden confidence that had seemed to overcome the inu-hanyou's disposition. However, his overconfident display was dashed as the object of his desire strode past him with her eyes focused on Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, you came back for me," she murmured as a graceful smile began to paint itself upon her lips, "You came back for me...to save me."
She continued forward, struggling against the fatigue that floated through her muscles since the day the youkai had attacked her. She had prayed everyday that the sensation would leave her, but she knew that it wouldn't be possible until Inuyasha came back to revoke whatever afflicted her or until she succumbed to the curse and perished.
Sango took her place by Miroku's side and watched the situation before her with nervous anxiety. Of course, Miroku had disclosed the information about the spiritual demon to the taijya who had nodded in complete understanding. Many times had she been forewarned about such foes, but never had she imagined the warnings to be anything more than old wives tales told to make demon slayers work with caution and precision. She stiffened slightly as a familiar weight came to rest behind her back and upon her hip, but she noted that it was an innocent, possesive grasp from Miroku. He dared not behave as the lecher he was in a time of emotional turmoil such as this and Sango knew it to be true.
Inuyasha, in the meantime, took one more shaky step forward and blinked the hazy fog from before his eyes. It was clear to him that he had indeed lost too much blood to be standing on his own feet and he knew he needed to speak before he sank into darkness, possibly to never return from it. However, his thoughts skittered away carelessly as he felt a cool hand trace his cheek and immediately, his brown eyes were locked into her hazel orbs.
"Inuyasha, I was so scared you wouldn't return to me," she began as she pulled herself closer to him and wrapped her free hand around his neck, "I...I thought for sure that I wouldn't..."
Her sentence was cut short, however, as Inuyasha slowly and cautiously pressed his lips against hers. He poured every drop of his true feelings into the kiss as his eyes slowly drooped closed and he wrapped his free arm around Kagome's waist. He could feel all of his self doubt, guilt and concern ebbing away as slowly--and quite shyly--Kagome began to respond to his tender display of affection. He slowly pulled away and suddenly hugged her tightly against him with all of the strength his arm would allow as he felt her hug his neck tightly.
Kouga huffed in annoyance as he watched the his half breed rival steal his one love away from him.He couldn't comprehend exactly what he was seeing. How could it be that he had been defeated in this competition by a mere half breed? The wolf prince shrugged off his confusion with a gruff grunt and noted immediately that Inuyasha was watching him with a protective glare from over Kagome's shoulder. Admitting defeat, more so to himself than anything, Kouga nodded briefly in Inuyasha's direction and took off in a whirlwind with no mention of a farewell.
Feeling safe, Inuyasha gently pried Kagome's arm from around his neck and pushed her far enough from him that he could see her soft features and drink in the warmth in her eyes without actually completely separating her body heat from his own. He could feel the tickle of a smile gracing his lips as he allowed his gaze to trace her flawless skin and ethreal beauty.
But she's not only beautiful. No. She's smart and brave. Hell, she's even more stubborn than I am sometimes. She's...too perfect for words.
"Kagome," he whispered and took her hand within his own. He gulped a bit struggling to keep his voice even now when he needed it most.
C'mon. You can say it.
He searched her eyes one more time, desperate to pull strength from within her gaze. However, he was rewarded as he discovered the one feeling within her gorgeous hazel orbs that he was so desperately trying to share with her in words and not just in a physical display.
"I love you, Kagome," he said, hiding his gaze beneath his bangs while a flush rose to his cheeks.
I did it. I did it!!
"I love you too, Inuyasha," replied Kagome without hesitation.
Suddenly, the claw dangling from Kagome's neck pulsed sharply and she gasped with the power searing through her body and she could feel energy draining from her once again.
"Inu...yasha..." she squeaked as her full weight slumped against him.
Inuyasha cried out in pain as the fang that he had procured from the same demon thrummed sharply against his bare flesh beneath his haori. Almost immediately, fire seemed to spread through his system beginning where the fang had touched his body. His vision blurred severely and the ache within his wounds intensified tremendously. He staggered a bit as his weight as well as Kagome's began to throw him off balance.
Wh-what? What's going...AH!
Electricity buzzed through his head and he could feel a sting as his nails exaggerated and grew to fine points. He could feel nothing but agony as his canine teeth elongated and sharpened to points meant for tearing and destroying far past that of a normal human.
"N-no. Its not supposed...to be like this," he mumbled as the top of his head burned like scalding water as two pointed, fur covered appendages appeared after a long hibernation. However, every sensation soon faded as did Inuyasha's vision. The last thing he clearly remembered was the sensation of falling backwards with Kagome tightly grasped in his embrace and the muffled cries of Miroku and Sango ringing in his ears.
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A/N: WOOO! The long awaited update! I know, another cliffy, but it was worth the wait, wasn't it?? Please let me know what you think!!
:0D