Disclaimer
I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha - they belong to their respective owners.
Chapter Five
STRESS
"What do you mean that's the only thing?!"
Totosai blinked, frowning at Sango's outburst, "I mean exactly what I said. The Tessaiga can only be bonded with one of Inuyasha's fangs. It's already been broken once - it can only be restored by what fixed it in the first place,"
"Great," Sango straightened her back, whilst rubbing her hand over her forehead, as she silently told herself to keep it together, "Just great. Well, thank you for your help! Really, you've been very helpful,"
"Calm down, Sango," Miroku placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, before sending her a comforting look, "It can't be helped. No one is to blame,"
"Excuse me, but I'm not sure if I completely understand what is going on," Totosai scratch the top of his balding head, "Is the Tessaiga broken again? Oh, that Inuyasha; what has he done this time?! I told him to take care of his sword and he still proceeds to wave it about without caution!"
Miroku shook his head, silently reasoning with the old man, "Forgive me, but Inuyasha has done no wrong. The Tessaiga was broken in a fight - it could not have been helped,"
"Oh, this is not good! How could this have happened?! I fear that Master Inuyasha has already been lost into his demon blood - but even if there was a chance of getting him back, retrieving one of his fangs would be suicidal!"
"Myoga, surely there must be a way to bring him back?" Shippo stared at the flea, who was currently standing in the fox's palm, "Without fixing the Tessaiga?"
"I'm afraid not. Only Totosai would know of such a way," Myoga glanced up towards the sword smith.
Kagome lingered at the edge of the conversation. Of course, there would be no other way to fix the Tessaiga. How predictable. But she refused to give up. There had to be something else that they could do. There had to be!
"Let me see the Tessaiga," Totosai demanded, gesturing at Kagome, "Bring me the pieces,"
Without a word, she picked up the rucksack and carried it towards him. Upon instruction, Kagome tipped the backpack upside down, carelessly. A couple of packets of potato chips and tins of tomato soup fell out, along with the shards of Inuyasha's blade.
"Hmmm," Totosai rooted through the mess, bringing out the hilt of the great sword, "I see. It is truly broken. It may require a couple of Inuyasha's teeth. Where is the hooligan, anyway?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Sango raged, clenching her fists as her shoulders shook.
Miroku winced, "Inuyasha's not here. He's become a full demon, because the Tessaiga broke and he became enraged,"
"Oh, well, that is a problem. Yes, I can see why you are unable to get one of his fangs. These half demons are tricky, especially when they've turned full-demon. No, no. We cannot fix the Tessaiga until he has been reversed..." Totosai paced across his home, for a moment, considering the options.
"Surely, there must be another way to turn him back to half-demon? Only until you've fixed the Tessaiga," Kagome spoke up, joining the others at the centre of the sword smith's room, "Please, you have to help Inuyasha!"
The old man stroked his chin, "Well, I suppose, if his demon needed to be quietened for a while - if someone could purify his demon blood, that might give us enough time,"
An uncomfortable silence roamed around the room. Sango, Miroku and Shippo didn't dare look at Kagome.
"Kagome, if my memory serves me correctly, couldn't you purify Inuyasha?" The flea looked up at the girl, unaware of the impact that his words would have.
She stormed outside, leaving Totosai and Myoga utterly confused.
Myoga frowned, "Was it something I said?"
Sango's pity resurfaced, as she caught sight of Kagome, sitting outside, with her head buried in her knees.
The demon slayer had never been very experienced when it came to girly talk. Kagome was the only real female friend that she had - Sango regarded her as a sister and would never fail to protect Kagome. She'd often found herself in the position of comforting Kagome, whenever Inuyasha foolishly left her and wandered after Kikyo (which happened numerous times, to Sango's annoyance). But things were different - Sango knew that she would now be comforting the girl over Inuyasha, but not because he'd done anything wrong.
"Kagome," Her voice was soft, as she sat down. Kagome didn't look up, but wiped a hand across her face. She'd been crying, "Don't be upset. We haven't yet asked if there is a way to turn him back without the-"
"There is a way, Sango. If I could purify him and bring him back, Inuyasha would be okay and this wouldn't be a problem. But I can't do it! I'm useless!"
Sango rubbed her hand across Kagome's back, "That's not true! Do not blame yourself!"
"What if this is the only way? I'm not powerful enough,"
"We can try again. We don't know that it didn't work the first time. He certainly didn't kill us and he didn't kill you," Sango sighed, "If Inuyasha wanted to kill us, he would have. He contained himself because of you,"
"I bet Kikyo could have stopped him,"
The slayer gripped Kagome's shoulder, forcing her to stare at Sango's determined expression, "No! Stop tormenting yourself. Kikyo isn't by his side - but you are. You're the one who's helping him through this. You need to help him, or no one else will,"
The message seemed to have gotten across to her. Kagome didn't answer back, just mulled it over in her head. Sango figured that she would need some time to think about it. It was obvious that Kagome loved Inuyasha with all of her heart - it was understandable that she felt guilty about being unable to prevent his transformation. If anything bad happened to Inuyasha, or if he caused anyone else any harm, Kagome would blame herself.
I'd be the same if it was Miroku.
Sango had no idea where Inuyasha was, nor did she know how to change him back - the only thing she could do now was comfort Kagome and hope, with all of her heart, that the hanyo still had some control.
"Naturally, Kagome is worried about Inuyasha. You know what his demon is like. We need to transform him as soon as possible - before he truly harms anyone," Miroku grit his teeth. He had no idea why Totosai and Myoga were so unwilling to find another solution. Inuyasha's demon was on a rampage. Everyone would be in danger unless they acted quickly.
"I'm afraid purification seems like the only answer. If Kagome can keep his human blood on the surface, long enough for someone to grab a couple of teeth, Tessaiga can be fixed. Have you tried this?" Myoga leapt about on the monk's shoulder, clearly pleased with his plausible idea.
"Sango and I were unconscious but it seems that Inuyasha's demon has become sentient. It's found it's place in the world - it wishes to become a god. Kagome tried to reason with him but he was beyond persuasion. The only thing I can say is that he didn't kill her, which was surprising. He seemed to listen to her,"
"He must have an underlying connection with her that surpasses even his demon blood. If we can amplify that bond, it may just work. Kagome is in possession of sacred arrows, is she not?"
Miroku's eyes widened at the flea, "You're not suggesting that we kill Inuyasha, are you?"
"No, of course not. I'm not even sure if a sacred arrow would kill him, in this state. But if Inuyasha was pierced with an arrow and Kagome connected with him...well, he'd be safe enough for a while. Just for enough time to extract a few fangs,"
"Hmm," Miroku bowed his head towards Totosai and Myoga, "Thank you, gentlemen. This has been very helpful. Perhaps we shouldn't let the girls know of our plan until we have more information? I don't want to place unnecessary stress and pressure onto Kagome,"
Totosai nodded, as the two of them stood and headed outside the forge, "If that is what you wish, monk,"
Miroku smiled, gratefully, before laying eyes on the rest of his group. Sango and Kagome were sitting together, a little distance away that was conveniently out of ear-shot. Shippo and Kirara had also decided to give them some space, as they were waiting patiently with Totosai's Ox, Mo-Mo.
"I shall accompany you, Miroku," Myoga declared, gripping onto the monk's robe, "It is my duty to help Master Inuyasha. His father would be deeply upset if Inuyasha remained as a bloody-thirsty demon. Transformed half-demons cannot contain their demon blood. They are lost without the human side. If Inuyasha stays like this for too long...oh, I wouldn't even like to think about it,"
Miroku's face hardened, "We won't let that happen. Rest assured,"
"Once you have obtained a fang, return to my forge and I shall fix the Tessaiga within three days, like before. I will do my bit to help that reckless half-demon, as well," Totosai ventured back into his home, before calling out, "Good luck! I wouldn't want to deal with that demon..."
"Thanks," Miroku grimaced. The others were vaguely looking in his direction, so he caught their attention, "Come! We should start searching for Inuyasha,"
"Do you have a plan, Miroku?" Shippo blinked, gripping onto Kirara's fur as he clambered onto her back.
"I believe so. But I think we should try and locate Inuyasha's whereabouts before we begin to test it. Finding him will be the hard part,"
Sango and Kagome joined them, side by side. The demon slayer looked puzzled, "I thought you said we should wait for him to make an appearance? He won't remain hidden for long,"
"You're right, but I fear that he may do regrettable things before that happens. We want to reduce the number of casualties before we find him,"
"C-casualties?!" Kagome's lip quivered at Miroku's use of words. He'd forgotten about her fragile state. Sango shot him a glare, as she placed an arm around the girl's shoulders.
She was clearly not dealing with the emotional side of Inuyasha's transformation. How was she going to hit him with an arrow AND bring his human side back? Perhaps, upon the demon's presence, she would strengthen. Kagome always did gain bravery whenever her friends were in danger.
"Apologies, that wasn't the right word," Miroku sighed, "Listen, Kagome, I'm sure he's okay. And, as long as he isn't threatened, he may remain civil. We can't give up hope. Not now,"
Determinedly, Kagome shook her head. Small tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them away with surprising speed, "I know. I'm not giving up hope. I'm not going to let him down - over my dead body,"
A/N Shout out to: ihavetoriblenews, Jo-Writer, maryanna.pink and nane-chan! Thank you ever so much for leaving lovely feedback! Next update should be coming soon! :) ~B.O.I