Fighting For Forever

Sixteen

A violently bright light surrounded them both, and Kilala and Shippo closed their eyes as it enfolded their friends. Kagome whimpered, and she felt something change about Inuyasha's kiss suddenly, and she felt him pull her closer against him. Their embrace seemed to hold longer than it was meant to, Kagome felt Inuyasha's hand brush against hers, and then she realised, it had no claws. Kagome reluctantly, slowly pulled away, opening her eyes as she did so, finding herself lost in the deep brown eyes of the human Inuyasha. Kagome looked at him contently, completely lost for a moment, until he ran his fingers softly over her injured bottom lip, making her recoil slightly.

'Sorry,' he muttered huskily, 'that was me as well wasn't it?'

'As well as what?' she asked quietly, not fully able to speak properly without her voice shaking, her throat still hurt.

'This,' said Inuyasha, stroking the bruised flesh of her throat. 'I'm - I know it doesn't mean anything, but I didn't mean to do it.

'I know I was me when I started it but…I would never have let it go that far if I had control; I was just trying to get it out of you.' Kagome did not reply, she was too wrapped up in her own guilt.

'But I…' she whispered, this being the highest volume she could manage at the moment. 'I bit you…and shot at you…and this,' she added, running her fingers over the punctures in his wrists where her nails had dug in.

'But that wasn't you, it was a demon,' he argued hastily.

'Hey…' she muttered, 'if you don't accept my apology, I won't accept yours.' He watched her a moment, and then smiled slightly.

'Fine, but I-' he broke off as he winced, clutching his bleeding shoulder, and fell forward into Kagome's arms.

'Inuyasha!' she whispered in terror, collapsing with him into the grass. She was relieved to see his eyes flutter open.

'I'm fine, the wounds got a chance to heal before I changed back, but it still-' he flinched again as he sat up beside her, and Kilala looked apologetically up at him with wide red eyes. 'It's not your fault; you did good,' he told the cat demon, 'thanks for having the courage to do that. Otherwise Kagome might…' he trailed off, not wanting to admit that he could've killed Kagome.

Kagome bandaged his shoulder and arm, while Shippo and Kilala sat beside them, and she knew Inuyasha was not taking his eyes off the bruising around her neck. Suddenly Shippo let out a great shriek, making the others jump.

'Inuyasha what's happened to your face?'

'My face?' asked Inuyasha, running hands all over his face. Kagome pulled his arms down, examining his skin, and Inuyasha watched her eyes widen. 'What? What's wrong with me?' he asked warily. He flinched as Kagome ran her fingers over the gash in his cheek that she had created with the arrow. The half-demon ran his fingers over it, and he realised there was some disgusting scaly skin forming over the top of it, not natural healing, but something else. 'What the hell is happening? Why is my face scaly?'

'The arrow,' Kagome replied quietly, 'I shot you with one of those deadening arrows.'

'What? What the hell does that mean?' he asked hastily, not at all liking the sound of what was happening.

'Your body is trying to heal that wound, but it…it's been struck with one of those arrows, and that mean that dead skin is growing over it.

'Ewww, that's disgusting! Dead skin can't grow!'

'Well dead priestesses are supposed to not breathe, and demons aren't supposed to exist either,' she whispered, a little impatiently. Inuyasha realised that was a silly thing to say, with all the things they'd seen, this seemed pretty normal.

Just then, a breathless Miroku and Sango skidded into camp, their weapons out, seeming a little shocked not to find a violent battle.

'Wha-where's the danger?' asked Miroku, gasping slightly, as Sango collapsed at Kagome's side, drinking from one of the skins.

'Danger?' asked Inuyasha teasingly, 'what danger?'

'The - the thing? We heard screaming,' he whimpered.

'Oh, well then the danger is right over there,' muttered Shippo, pointing to Kagome and Inuyasha. This caused Miroku to look very confused. 'Kagome attacked Inuyasha, Inuyasha attacked Kagome, Kagome attacked us, Inuyasha attacked her again, and then they…' he trailed off, making teasing kissing expressions behind Inuyasha's back so that he and Kagome couldn't see. Inuyasha seemed to realise though and got to his feet rather uncomfortably.

'Yeah whatever, anyway,' he stopped to throw a threatening glare at Miroku as he showed signs of giggling. 'I'm human; it's the night with no moon, so let's go.'

'What? But you're wounded, I'm tired, can't we go home and let Sesshomaru do it?' whined Miroku as he and the others got to their feet.

'I have no doubt that Sesshomaru will leave the rest up us; he must have gone through a lot of trouble to get a new moon again for tonight.' Miroku whined again.

'Do we have to?'

'YES!' shouted Sango, dragging him onwards, Kilala and Shippo close behind them, Inuyasha followed, but Kagome stopped him for a moment, placing her hand on his uninjured shoulder.

'What is it Kagome?' he asked, turning to face her. Kagome looked up awkwardly at him.

'Well I just…I think that…' she did not say anything more, just stood up on tiptoes once more, and planted a soft kiss on his wounded cheek. Inuyasha flushed violently.

'What - what was that for?' he stammered in embarrassment. Kagome flushed also, sinking back onto her heels, and to her normal level.

'Thank you.'

'For what?' he asked nervously.

'For…the kiss,' she replied, running after the others to avoid more embarrassment. Inuyasha flushed a dark crimson as she sped off, and hastily followed, trying to forget about what Kagome had just said and done, to get rid of his blush, unaware that Kagome's kiss, had healed the scales beginning to form on the gash on his cheek, and the wound was gone.

The sky seemed to darken as they approached the temple, as if there were a mass of dark storm clouds above it, and Inuyasha was sure that even if there had been a moon, it still would not have made much difference, that no amount of natural light could penetrate this darkness. They all bunched together, Shippo on his shoulder, Kilala in Sango's arms, and he, Sango, Miroku and Kagome walking close together; Inuyasha even felt Kagome slip her hand into his once or twice, and after the kisses he had received off her today, he found himself wondering if it was because of fear or something else, though he quickly put any of these thoughts out of his mind as soon as they began to make him blush. As they reached the steps leading up to the temple, they stood and watched the entrance hesitantly, remembering this as the first place they had seen Kazuya.

Inuyasha thought, as he looked around at the faces of his companions, that it must have looked as though they were not going to enter, but merely run back the way they had came, and in fact even he felt like doing this right now, as the gloomy, ominous shape of the temple loomed ahead of them. Just as he thought this, a cold, miserable feeling loomed around them, and Inuyasha turned, facing mounds of the same, misty, eerie vapour tumbling from the sky, and slithering through the air behind them. The others turned too, eyes widening as they saw the mist. Inuyasha side glanced to Kagome, who hated the mist more than any of them, and she had gone deadly white, looking rather like she was going to vomit. Inuyasha squeezed her hand reassuringly, and turned back to face the steps.

'I think…I think that the mist is just there, to make sure we won't go back, not to hurt us. I think…that it is just there to make us go onwards.' He tried to make this sound encouraging, though all it managed to do was make them all realise it was definitely a trap.

The others faced the stairs too, a breath not seeming to pass through them for that moment; they stood still and silent, waiting for someone to make the first move.

'I'll go first,' muttered Sango, taking a deep breath.

'What?' asked Miroku.

'I…want to go first,' the others didn't know what to do, but they didn't argue. She stepped forward, suddenly turning to face them as she touched the first step. 'But I don't want Miroku behind me, the temptation to grab my butt, mixed with the overwhelming fear might turn him against me,' Miroku made a little nervous laugh, and Inuyasha gestured Kagome onto the stairs behind Sango, not wanting Miroku near her behind anymore than Sango's, and stepping on behind her (fairly confident Miroku wouldn't grab his butt, unless truly desperate), Shippo shaking from fear on his shoulder. Miroku followed Inuyasha, not liking being last either, as the fog billowed threateningly behind him any time he looked back.

As Sango reached the platform before the doorway at the top of the stairs, waiting for the others to catch up, Kagome stopped so suddenly that Inuyasha and Miroku nearly bumped into her. She stood as far from the entrance as she could. Yet Inuyasha nudged her forwards as the fog closed in behind them, stopping inches from them, and looming in the air where the stairs began just at Kagome's heels, making sure they could not go back. Kagome huddled close to Inuyasha, who pulled his arm round her slightly; Miroku edged round them to Sango's side, and stared into the darkness that was the entrance.

'There are no torches in there, it's completely dark,' he told the others, though they could see very well for themselves.

'Right then,' said Inuyasha, drawing Tetsusaiga from its sheath, and holding it before him, still holding Kagome close to him, 'me first with Kagome and Shippo, and Miroku, Sango and Kilala next.' Kagome and Shippo whimpered slightly at going first, though showed no other complaint. Miroku, Sango and Kilala nodded in agreement, and Inuyasha and Kagome walked in first, Shippo still clinging to Inuyasha's shoulder. Kagome trembled slightly as they neared the threshold of the darkness, and Inuyasha whispered in her ear. 'Don't worry; I won't let you go this time.' Kagome nodded slightly, and they stepped into the darkness.

Sango and the others stepped in almost immediately afterwards, not wanting to leave a large gap between them, just in case. The dark was icy cold; the only thing that could be seen was the thick vapour that came from their mouths as they breathed out, the air was so cold.

'I can't see a thing,' muttered Kagome.'

'Me neither,' whispered Inuyasha, but we'd better keep quiet, just-'

'MIROKU YOU PERVERT! YOU CALL YOURSELF A MONK! DOES THE VOW OF CELIBACY MEAN NOTHING TO YOU, YOU PHILANDERING-' a mix of curses came out of the youkai exterminator's mouth, all very loud, echoing round the cave, followed by: 'HOW CAN YOU THINK OF THAT AT A TIME LIKE THIS?' Inuyasha turned, pulling his hand over Sango's mouth after a wild attempt at finding it, which earned him a slap, and her voice drowned out.

'Will you please keep fucking quiet!' whispered Inuyasha angrily. Taking hold of Kagome's hand, going to walk on, but stopping suddenly, the others too, they had heard something. The silence echoed round them as they listened hard, trying desperately to hear it again, although not really wanting to, that sound meant they weren't hearing things, that sound meant that they had company.

A soft drip, drip, drip of water hit the ground of the tunnel, but that wasn't the sound. What they had all heard came in between the drips in a rhythmic pattern, a slight whisper of a noise that they had to strain to hear, though was becoming steadily louder. The crunch, crunch, crunch sound of the stones underfoot was growing louder, and frequently there was a random screech of some terrible creatures they knew not the like of, only to be silence after by a rough, rasping voice, in a harsh, ancient tongue. Inuyasha pushed Shippo into Kagome's arms, and with a fiery crackling behind him he guessed Kilala had transformed, ready for battle. Though the cave was not all that big, and it seemed barely to admit the fully sized Kilala's entrance, she'd have to be careful not to hurt her friends in the process of helping them.

Inuyasha turned, walking to the others' side, and placing Kagome's hand on Kilala's back. 'Kilala, take care of Kagome and Shippo, don't fight unless they come near you, we don't want you getting one of us by mistake,' Kilala nodded, though he could not see her very well, except for her wide, red eyes glowing in the darkness like a typical cat's eyes, making her look especially creepy.

'But Inuyasha,' Kagome started, 'I can-'

'This darkness kinda puts archery out of it, don't ya agree?' he asked her, cutting her off. She seemed to agree deep down, as she silenced. Inuyasha found his way beside Miroku and Sango, and they carefully formed a line before Kilala and the others. 'Sango, I think Hirakoitsu is out of the question, can you-'

'No need to ask, it's obvious we have to have hand to hand here, Hirakoitsu is too dangerous in the dark.' Inuyasha watched the darkness, the sound growing louder and louder, the sudden shriek almost deafening him as it echoed round the tunnel, when all of a sudden it fell silent…they were here.

A long, foreboding silence fell over the passage, the creatures had found them, were probably, (whatever they were), readying themselves for battle, or maybe, and most likely leaving their prey to stew a while, building up the tension in the air as the fear grew. Suddenly without warning, an army of terrifying screeches filled the air, and the creatures, leapt towards them. Inuyasha and Miroku were immediately buried under hordes of demons, but Sango, who was at the side, was merely knocked to the ground, and a demon tripped over her body, pushing her back down again as she scrambled to her feet, and she smashed her head into a particularly sharp rock on the ground, and moved no more.

Kagome clung to Kilala tightly as the screams filled the air, holding Shippo tight, as Inuyasha and Miroku held up the line, not realising that Sango was not fighting alongside them. Miroku swiped through the air blindly as he got to his feet, nearly smacking Inuyasha as he did so. The two worked back to back so they couldn't hit each other, though merely assumed Sango had headed further into the masses as she sometimes did, so was nowhere near them. Inuyasha yelped as a creature sliced him across the cheek, and Kagome panicked as she heard it.

'Inuyasha!' she yelled, leaping up and staring wildly around at the darkness.

'I'm fine! Stay put!' he yelled back, smacking the demon back for his injury. However, a demon, being able to see in the dark saw Kagome leap out from behind Kilala, and with an evil grimace, took out his bow as he watched her carefully. Kagome listened hard in the darkness, and somehow, whether it was her priestess abilities inherited from Kikyo or something else, she heard the familiar sound of a bowstring being pulled, and she had an idea. She pulled her bow from her shoulder, and put an arrow to it as fast as she could. 'Let there be light,' she yelled, and the arrow shot from the bow. The arrow shot like lightening through the passage, striking the stone wall, a bright fuchsia filling the passage, allowing her companions to see, and allowing Kagome to see Sango crumpled on the ground. Inuyasha turned just in time to see the archer demon setting Kagome in his sights, and even as two demons pushed him to the ground, he swivelled round with his hand on the ground, kicking the demon in the legs. As the demon fell, Inuyasha caught its neck between his feet, and snapped his neck nastily, before being overpowered with the demons on top of him.

Kagome left Shippo on Kilala's back, and ran to Sango's side, just as a demon made to decapitate her with a large scythe. Kagome pulled back the bowstring, letting another arrow fly into the demon's path, striking it in its throat, so it fell to the floor, dead. Kagome dropped at Sango's' side, tears pouring as fast as the blood pouring from Sango's temple. Kagome pulled the girl, almost a sister to her into her arms, and hugged her lifeless body tight. 'Sango no!' she whimpered, her voice scratching at her throat like a razor from where Inuyasha had attempted to strangle her earlier, but the grief was so overwhelming, she didn't care. Inuyasha was buried under a horde of demons, and Miroku leapt at them trying to pull them off him, but more grabbed him, pulling his arms behind his back, and then he saw Kagome and Sango, and tears fell from his eyes.

'Sango? SANGO!' he screamed, only to be smothered with demons and beaten to the ground, lost amongst them just as Inuyasha was.

Kilala leapt in to help her friends despite her orders, only to have the demons throw ropes over her back, flattening her to the ground, as they yanked Shippo off her back. Kagome looked up from Sango's body, to the battle scene. Miroku and Inuyasha were lost amongst demons, Kilala was small once more, and she and Shippo were being chained up by snarling creatues. She cried even harder as she realised, they were defeated, and they had no hope left. She would have given anything for help, even Kikyo would have made her feel better by being here, though she had no idea where the woman she loathed was, she realised at last, that Kikyo was better than her at everything, and that if it were her here instead of Kagome, she would be stronger than her, and they would not have failed.

Suddenly, just as they fuchsia light faded from Kagome's arrow at last, the torches burst into life, burning bright sapphire flames, and lighting the tunnel up once more. Kagome buried her face in Sango's hair, crying harder than ever, as the demons pulled the defeated Inuyasha and Miroku to their feet, clasping them viciously while Shippo and Kilala were moved beside them. Kagome struggled as they tried to pull her to her feet, but she clung to Sango's body, she wasn't going to let them touch her, it was enough that she was dead, without them dragging her corpse through the passage, no one deserved that. Kagome turned, pulling an arrow from her quiver and stabbing it in the demon's belly that grabbed her, making the others angrier. They grabbed her wrists and tried to pull them away from Sango, though she wouldn't let go, and then yanked her up, twisting her wrists painfully. She thought they were going to break.

'STOP!' shouted a foreign, voice, so that only the creatures understood it. They halted instantly, letting Kagome drop. Kagome held Sango close to her, eyeing what appeared to be the most important demon, (certainly less ugly than the rest) with up most hatred. 'She is not to be harmed understand? Kazuya will have your heads and mine if she is spoiled!!' the disgusting, snarling of the speech made Kagome shudder especially when the demon took hold of her chin and tilted her face to the light, nearing her face revoltingly. Inuyasha watched the demon grin evilly, and he roared with anger, trying to wrench himself from his captor's grip. The demon watched the trickle of blood that dripped from the scratch on her cheek where the demon's had attacked her carefully, still holding her face to the light. Kagome stared him down, not allowing him to see how very scared she was, even if she was shaking with fear, and she still held Sango close to her. 'She has sweet blood, it smells delicious,' he growled, making the other demons shriek with laughter, and Kagome shivered. 'Fear smells good on you, Priestess,' he said to Kagome, though she had no idea what she said.

Without warning, and to Kagome's uttermost revulsion, the demon turned her face slightly, so that her bleeding cheek was in the light, and licked her blood. Inuyasha tried to pull himself forward to help her, and the others turned away, feeling rather sick. Kagome pulled out of his grip, and slapped him round the face, pulling another arrow from her quiver and stabbing him in the stomach with it, all in the same moment. The demon grinned evilly at her, pulling the arrow from his stomach, his flesh healing instantly, and watching her carefully. Kagome felt sick, and she rubbed her sleeve over her cheek hard, her stomach churning unpleasantly. Kagome waited, expecting a punishment for her violence, but none came; they all just watched her carefully.

'Don't ever touch me again, you worthless filth. Even I'm too good for your disgusting hands,' her tone was confident, and threatening and it made the demons nervous to hear her speaking to their leader with it. The leader leapt done, holding her chin again, his face inches from her own.

'You may be too good for me Priestess,' he growled, surprising her in speaking her language, though so quiet only she could hear, 'but after Kazuya has had you in his power for a few centuries, you'll be so worn that you'll be the lowest filth ever to walk this earth…then we'll see who's too good, little demon's whore!' he dragged her to her feet, shoving her roughly against a demon beside Inuyasha, who held beside him. 'You take her,' the leader told one demon, referring to Sango, and the demon obeyed, picking her up. 'Move out!' the demon ordered, and the prisoners were moved out in twos, each being pushed by a nasty demon through the passageway.

Inuyasha looked to Kagome, who was held beside him, she was very pale, and was shaking violently.

'Are you okay?' he asked her, thankful that only the leader seemed to know anything but that vile language, and he was at the back of the troops. Kagome shook her head.

'I feel really…he made me feel so sick…and the things he said…Inuyasha I don't want Kazuya to go through with what you stopped him from-' she stopped suddenly, finding her stomach churning even more violently. 'If he gets me he's going to…' Inuyasha smiled weakly at her, and nudged her gently with his shoulder in affection this being all he could manage with his arms held behind his back by his captor.

'I promise, he won't touch you, understand? I'd never let him - do that to you.' Kagome tried to believe Inuyasha could protect her, but it just seemed very unlikely, that he could protect her from him. She found herself trying to not think about what would happen to her if Kazuya got her, and then her stomach gave a sickening lurch.

Suddenly Kagome turned paper white, and Inuyasha watched her in worry. 'Are you okay?' She shook her head once more.

'I'm going to puke!' Inuyasha stopped, and the whole patrol stopped.

'Get going you filthy hanyou scum!' growled his captor, though he wouldn't move.

'But Kagome, she needs-' he broke off a she received a kick in his back, and he dropped to his knees. Kagome then shook violently, and the creature holding her was so shocked that he let her fall. Inuyasha, still on the ground took advantage of the fact that the demons were too stupid to see an ill person when they saw one, pulled Kagome's hair softly our of her face, and rubbed her back as she knelt shaking on the ground. The leader came just as Kagome's throat wretched, and she vomited.

'What's wrong with her?' he asked Inuyasha.

'You,' the hanyou replied, not looking at him, just watching Kagome softly, and patting her back. 'Haven't you goddamn things ever seen a person puke before?' The demon shook his head, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes, guessing their type of demon only lived long enough to kill things or be killed, not get sick.

Inuyasha didn't know how Kagome could be sick so much, she hadn't eaten enough. Kagome stopped finally, and flung herself into Inuyasha's arms, crying, not caring if the demons and her friends were watching, she just didn't care anymore. Inuyasha hugged her, trying to stop her from shaking.

'Is she finished yet?' asked the demon.

'I should be more worried if your master will be angry that you made his prize sick if I were you,' he retaliated. Inuyasha drew to his feet, pulling Kagome up beside him.

'Keep moving!' ordered the leader, and they resumed positions, though walking a little faster than before. Inuyasha looked at Kagome warily, afraid she might need to be sick again, though she did not.

'You okay now?' she nodded in replied.

'I think it was fear more than anything else, and when that demon touched me, and the things he said I suppose.' Inuyasha nodded, though felt that maybe it definitely had more to do with what would happen to her should they fail.

TBC

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A/N: Liked it? The confrontation is aproaching, which means the end is nigh. But cheer up (if you're sad that is...you're probably relieved though lol), cause remember my reward? If you read all the chapters of all five parts to the Within The Shadow series, you can ask me to write you any fic you want, it can be Yaoi or Yuri or het couples, or even a different anime, it doesn't have to be an Inuyasha one. Oh, and you don't have to review every chapter, that's askin a bit much, but lets say a reasonable amount of reviews, ne? KK, Read and review wonderful readers.

Luv Shigure

x chuu x