"You bastard...What have you done to her?!" he growlled.
Kauri threw back her head and laughed wickedly. Glancing back at him she smiled widely, revealing her unusually pearly whites.
"I have done what no demon could do before! I have sentenced that reched girl to death!!" she shrieked, continuing with her crazy laughter.
"Prepare to die, bitch! No one hurts Kagome! NO ONE!!" he bellowed, charging at her with his Tetsusaiga held high.
"If you kill me, the girl will also perish!!" she yelled, making Inuyasha stop dead in his tracks.
"W-what?"
"I said; if i die, so does she. I am the only one who can free her from her fate. Without me, she will die." she stated, holding her head up in pride. "Only she's going to die even with me alive! No one can save her now!!"
"Your lying! It's not true!! Your lying!!" he yelled, shaking with anger.
Slowly floating into the air, Kauri smiled.
"Why don't you test it? If i lie, she will not perish like i said. Will you risk it, Hanyou?" she asked, with a deep evil in her words.
Inuyasha growled and regained his fighting stance. Raising his Tetsusaiga high above his head. The mighty fang's surroundings swirled with demonic winds. Glaring daggers at Kauri he then shot a quick look at Kagome. Her body was limp against the tree and her hair was spread arcoss her face. Closing his eyes and cursing under his breath, Inuyasha then lowered the Tetsusaiga, returning it to its old rusty form.
"I...I can't do it." he admitted, his heart aching with the image of Kagome in his mind.
"HA! So the mighty Inuyasha has chose to leave the girl suffering. It is just as Master Naraku has said...You can never protect the ones you love!!" she hollered as she dissapeared into the sky.
Inuyasha sheathed his sword and walked over to Kagome. Using the tip of his claw, he pushed aside her hair to see her face properly. She had paled and had a trickle of blood in the corner of her mouth, which he saw to be from her lip. with his hand under her neck he gently lifted her to see if she would wake. She moaned in pain but that was as far as his response came. Picking her up he whispered his apologies for not getting there in time. His heart clenched as he looked at her small form.
"What am i gonna do with you?" he said, smiling weakly.
Back at the hut, Miroku, Sango and Shippo were talking quietly as they sat around a newly lit fire. The conversation went silent when Inuyasha walked in with Kagome in his arms.
"Why do i get the feeling she's not just sleeping?" asked Miroku, trying the keep the tension light.
"Inuyasha, what happened to her?" asked Sango quietly as not to wake Kagome up, though her voice held a hidden worry.
"Kauri got to her." he replied, an uneasy calmness to his voice "She was unconscience when i got there." he contined as he placed Kagome on the bed.
Sango exchanged worried glances with Miroku. After a couple of seconds, she walked to Kaede's collection of herbs and medicines. Once she found what she was looking for she walked back over to Kagome.
"Where's the old hag?" asked Inuyasha.
"She's gone to a near village to help with some of the sick and old. She said she would return in a couple of days." chirped Miroku.
"Keh! Figure she wouldn't be around when we need her most. Damn hag..." he said, to himself more than anyone else. "Maybe i should get her, bring her sorry ass back here. She'd know more about what's goin' on with Kagome. Right...I'm gonna get her."
With out saying a word, he stood and left the hut to begin his search for the old Miko woman. As not to waste any time, he raced into the forest at top speed. Leaping from tree top to tree top, not bothering to stop when there were no longer trees to jump from. Instead he bounded along the ground, becoming nothing more than a blur of red in the long green grass.
"How far could she have got? Geez for an old hag, she causes so much trouble!!"
A couple of miles away from the village, the old Miko, Kaede, was walking slowly towards her destination. Sh was lightly humming to herself when a familiar aura washed over her.
"I see ye are in need of help, Inuyasha." she said, not bothering to turn to face him.
"Well...You got...That right...Now...Come on...Kagome needs your...Help.." he said, whilst gasping for air.
"What has young Kagome got herself into now then?" she asked, humour tinging her voice.
Watching the Hanyou's ears lower, Kaede realised it was obviously something serious. Touching his upper arm with her old weathered hands she smiled sympathetically.
"Forgive this old woman, Inuyasha. I did not intend to cause ye affence."
"Just get on my back so we can get back to Kagome, yeah?" he replied, ignoring her.
Crouching down, Inuyasha waited for Kaede to climb on his back. Ever so thankfull for him super human strength, Inuyasha then began his journey back to the village. The whole way back, images of Kagome suffering and in pain flashed in his mind. The more the images came, the more adrenaline rushed through his veins, pushing him to go faster and to get back to her. He skidded to a stop outside the hut. Practically dropping Kaede, he shoved the bamboo net that was the door to the side and rushed to Kagome.
"How's she doin'?" he asked over his shoulder towards Sango and Miroku.
Silence was his only reply. Turning to face them, he saw that both had their heads down. He could smell Sango's tears before he could see them drop to the floor. Miroku clenched his fist in his robe.
"What ain't you tellin' me?" he barked.
"Inuyasha, yelling will get ye no where." warned the old Miko, making her way to her herbal collection.
He snorted and asked again, this time not so loud. Again neither replied. Getting frustrated, he growlled loudly. Sango was the first to break. Tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Inuyasha...She stopped breathing! She died and we couldn't do anything!!" she cried, her body shaking with her sobs "Her body keeps flashing between this form and her older form...What happened to her, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. She was dead? She was really dead? Falling back, having his arms keep him up, he closed his eyes tightly as he willed his eyes to stop that annoying stinging sensation. Glancing at Kagome, he saw that her chest was now slowly rising and falling. She was alive. Now.
"Inuyasha, she was returning to normal but then she was a child again...What could this mean?" asked Miroku.
As if on cue Kagome's body was engulfed in a bright light. When it subdued the group stared in shock to see what was left. Kagome was back. she was normal again, and she showed no signs of returning to infantry.
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