Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha - they belong to their respective owners.

Chapter Three

LOVE

She loved him.

She wanted nothing more than for him to return to her, with his beautiful golden eyes and insistently-long hair, and for him to moan because they were resting for too long. Or for him to eat more than his share of ramen. Anything would be preferable to this insufferable waiting period.

Upon Inuyasha's departure, Kagome had been reunited with Shippo and the villagers had helped to carry Sango, Miroku and Kirara to safety. According to the wise woman, their injuries were severe, but with constant rest and remedies, they would pull through.

Three days later, Sango and Miroku were still unconscious. Kirara, to her credit, was on her feet and practically back to normal. Demons always healed faster than humans, so it was to be expected. Inuyasha was just the same.

Kagome had decided that they should wait for Sango and Miroku to be restored, before anyone even mentioned any kind of action-plan. Much as she wanted to run out and search for Inuyasha, that would not be a clever move.

Instead, she sat with Shippo, mostly in silence, until today. They had started to discuss Inuyasha's predicament, resulting in an overload of emotions.

"He'd be shocked if he knew that we were crying over him," Kagome wore a grim smile, as she brushed away any evidence that she'd been crying.

"Right," Shippo nodded, blinking furiously, "He told me that men never show their tears,"

Kagome glanced back at the hut behind them. She could see the figures of Miroku and Sango, lying on the floor, taking in the recently-applied medicine.

"I hope Miroku and Sango wake up soon," She sighed, "I'm worried about Inuyasha. Who knows where he is or what he's doing?"

"I feel sorry for the villages that he's gonna trash,"

There was a persistent frown on Shippo's face and Kagome felt bound to come to Inuyasha's defence, "He can't help it, Shippo. He's been taken over by his demon blood. It's part of him. He can't just snap his fingers and wait for it to go,"

"I know," The fox held his head in his hands, shamefully, "But I was scared that he was gonna kill us. He looked like he wanted to. And what's even scarier is that...he didn't,"

Kagome didn't reply, but she was thinking exactly same thing. Inuyasha's indecision was scarier than his rage. And, yet, this current side of her half-demon was almost sensible, in a perverted way. His aim - to become a god and change the world for his own pleasures - was hardly an insane wish. Given the chance, many people would also want the same thing.

But, if Inuyasha's demon had become rational, why did he still have this crazed desire to kill? And to try and kill his friends, of all people?

Why hadn't he killed her?

It occurred to Kagome, after her thoughts had connected, that maybe he wasn't trying to kill them. Inuyasha, whatever he may be, would never leave a job unfinished - if he wanted someone dead, they'd be cut down in a heartbeat.

So, he was in control of his demon?

But, if he was able to dictate the actions of his demon blood, why couldn't he turn back to half-demon? Kagome knew that Inuyasha had originally wanted to be a full demon - but he had been questioning his wish, as of late, because his old demon was so out of control.

Did that mean that Inuyasha was now happy with this demon form? Did HE want to become a god, and not his demon?

What if he didn't want to be changed back?

No, no. These were all theories and worries that buzzed around in Kagome's head. None of them had been proven. All they knew at this point was that Inuyasha had turned demon, he had escaped into god knows where - and they needed to help him. Whatever the cost.

"Are you alright, Kagome?" Shippo stared up at her with widened green eyes, "You kinda zoned out,"

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, Shippo!" Kagome smiled, weakly, "Listen, don't worry about Inuyasha, yet. Let's wait for Miroku and Sango to wake up and then we ca-"

"HANDS OFF, MONK!"

SLAP

"H-hey! Sango!"

Shippo sighed, "They're definitely both awake now,"

The two of them dashed into the medicine hut. Sango was on her feet, looking rather fired up, despite resting for three days. Miroku was lying on the floor, tending to the red hand-shaped mark on his face. Kirara looked on in amusement from the corner; their silent witness.

"You're okay! I'm so glad!" Kagome beamed at the two of them, feeling her spirits lift, slightly.

"Oh yeah. Miroku is back to normal," Sango noticeably turned her back to the monk.

Miroku sighed and shook his head, not bothering to try and grovel to Sango, "Never mind that. What's happened to Inuyasha? Is he alright? Did he turn back?"

Sango jumped, staring at Kagome, "Right! Where is he?"

Shippo's lip wobbled, as he looked up at the girls. When Kagome didn't answer, with her head hanging low, he muttered, "He's gone. You guys were knocked out by him and then he started towards Kagome. She protected me - so I could get back to the village and get help. They threatened Inuyasha - but he just grinned and ran off. I...I don't know where he went!"

"It's okay, Shippo," Sango soothed, picking him up and cradling him in her arms. It was usually Kagome who took care of him and, whilst he was grateful for Sango's kindness, he felt even worse at the prospect of Kagome becoming withdrawn.

"You couldn't turn him?" Miroku neared Kagome. Her silence unnerved him, "What happened?"

Her hands curled into fists, as they began to shake, "I tried, Miroku! I thought that you guys were dead! You were barely breathing - he hurt you that badly! I tried to turn him back; he wouldn't listen to reason. B-but..."

Kagome stopped herself. She didn't want to let Miroku and Sango in on her suspicions. If she told them that Inuyasha might be in control, they'd start to think that Inuyasha was doing this - and not his demon. She couldn't allow him to be tarnished like that. Inuyasha was obsessed with his pride and what others thought of him.

"Kagome..." Miroku bowed his head, clutching his staff. He pitied all of them - he cursed himself for being powerless against the yokai that threatened the hanyo that he had come to respect and admire.

Sango stepped forward, "Did he say anything? Anything that might give us a clue as to where he's gone?"

"...he's planning to become a god,"

The monk and the demon slayer blinked, before sharing a glance, "What?"

"He said he wanted to carve the world into a place for HIM. He said that humans were made to be ruled. I think he's planning on conquering the world and then ruling it,"

"That's one hell of a god complex," Miroku murmured to himself, before raising his head, "He's clearly going to get opposition - from just about everyone,"

Sango nodded, "You're right. I doubt that Naraku's just going to let that happen,"

"Naraku?" Kagome raised her head, blinking slowly as the name triggered a memory, "Naraku...right. Inuyasha said he was going to destroy Naraku,"

"He said that?" Miroku frowned as Kagome confirmed it, "He's ambitious, I'll give him that. We can't locate Naraku at all - he just believes he's going to find him in an instant?"

The demon slayer stepped into the doorway, vaguely relieved when she saw her weapon lying against the wall, "Well, he must have a plan. He's never falsely confident,"

"Right. We have to assume that he's going to drive Naraku out of hiding, and I have no doubt that Inuyasha will give him a fair fight, in this state. But we don't know what Naraku has grown into. He could seriously hurt Inuyasha," The monk pulled a hand across his face in thought, "We have to go after them, whenever either one of them makes an appearance,"

"We have no idea where either of them are. And what will we do when Inuyasha wins? He'll turn on us and I don't think we can risk fighting against him,"

"You seem certain that he will win against Naraku, Kagome..."

"You didn't see him, Miroku. He's not the blundering demon that we've controlled before. He's still got the raw power and animal instinct - but he now knows how to use it,"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Sango placed Shippo back on the ground, now that he had stopped shaking, before swinging Hiraikotsu back into its holder. Her bones were still aching from the fight but she knew that they had to stay on their toes. With the situation unclear, death could tip in anyone's direction.

Miroku straightened his back, as if a thought had just occurred to him, "Do you still have the Tessaiga pieces?"

"Yes," Kagome nodded, hurriedly, as she knelt to the yellow rucksack in the corner. After sorting through it, she pulled out the hilt of Inuyasha's sword, before exclaiming, "They're all in here!"

"Good. I think that's how we can change him back. By fixing the Tessaiga,"

"Tessaiga was broken before," Kagome reminded him, throwing the bag onto her back as the group stepped out of the hut and into the village, which was bathed in glorious sunlight, "He went to Totosai, remember? The sword was repaired using one of Inuyasha's fangs - something that would bond the sword together,"

"So the only thing that can turn Inuyasha back..." Sango sighed, kicking her foot in the dust, "Well, we can't be expected to get one of his fangs! That would be an impossible task!"

"We should speak to Totosai before we make any conclusions," With a single nod, Miroku flattened the bandage that was thickly wrapped around his shoulder, "Are we all agreed? We must speak to Totosai and fix Tessaiga?"

"Agreed," Sango ruffled Kirara's head, who purred and nodded, "For Inuyasha,"

Shippo smiled, hopping up onto Kagome's back, "Right!"

"Kagome?"

She had a horrible feeling about this. Inuyasha wasn't just going to lie around as they fixed his sword. He would be back. He wouldn't just let them go - the only reason that they were still alive was because he had better things to do. His demon enjoyed toying with it's prey.

But what other hope did they have? Even if she could turn him back for a day, it didn't matter. Without the Tessaiga, he wouldn't remain half-demon for long. But she couldn't even keep his human side on the surface for a moment - her love wasn't strong enough.

It hurt. It really, really hurt.

But she couldn't feel sorry for herself. Not now. Instead, she needed to help him. The Inuyasha that she'd freed; the Inuyasha who stayed pierced to a tree for 50 years; the Inuyasha that she fell in love with, he wouldn't want to be like this. He wanted to be a fully-fledged demon - but he wanted to be in control. He didn't want to be a power-hungry killing machine.

Inuyasha was anything but perfect. In truth, he was rude, insensitive, reckless, over-bearing, impatient...he was flawed. Like any other human being. He wasn't some faultless hero; far from it.

Somehow, though she couldn't explain it, it made him more attractive. Kagome's school friends had referred to him as some 'bad boy'. That wasn't quite how she'd describe him (what bad boy would constantly risk his life for others?) but she might describe him as a 'Rebel Prince Charming'.

That title would probably be wasted on him; he'd sneer and question it. Kagome could just imagine his tone increasing, as he glowered and asked, "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

A hint of a smile pulled at her lips, "Agreed. I'll do whatever it takes to get Inuyasha back,"

She loved his half-demon form.

But she hated his demon form.

She hated him.

A/N Thank you to Drops of Azure, Fanficqueen306, DarkKnightShiva, nane-chan and Lollimint! I love reading your reviews guys, so please keep 'em coming ;) Let me know what you think so far! ~B.O.I