Chapter Thirty-five: A Touch of Madness

Inuyasha grounded his fangs as he thought about leaving Kagome behind. He was running through the dark town, looking for him… thinking about it made him wonder how far what could've happened to him if things didn't go this way.

"Still up you little runt?" same a foul voice from behind and he spun around. It was without a doubt Naraku's voice once Inuyasha turned around and saw him there approach him. "Not out with your little human friend?"

"What do you want Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, his tone furious and filled with venom.

"Guess you haven't heard yet…" he laughed as he gently strolled forward, as if he hadn't a fear in the world… as if he already knew the outcome. "To think that you all want to die that eagerly."

"Heh, well if that is true," Inuyasha began softly as he exposed his claws. "I better make sure that I take you out first!"

"You know that I'm going to have no choice but to kill your little human friend…" Naraku began to taunt, halting Inuyasha stop.

"Lay one finger on her and I'll be the one to kill you…" Inuyasha replied, clutching his hand into a fist.

"Why must you be so blind, Inuyasha?" he asked softly. "She's a human, you know that no matter what you try to do, you won't be together. Your affection for her is just an illusion, something that was never real."

"And what would you know about what is real or not?" Inuyasha shouted, tuning around and looked him in the eyes. "How would you know the difference between life and death? Well? You don't know because you don't care about anything but having us as slaves! You took everything from us!
You took…"

"Ah yes," Naraku smirked. "I'm the one who took Kikyo away from you aren't I?"

Inuyasha started to growl—an unearthly, beastly growl. "How dare you? You shouldn't even be allowed to say her name for what you did?"

"HA!" he called back. "You should be thanking me for putting her out of her misery! She was a human, Inuyasha! Much like your beloved here. Those two women were and are different from you and I. No matter how many times you'd try, she could never understand. Vampires and humans live two different lives, live in two different worlds, whatever we are, they are the opposite!"

"No! They aren't! We aren't… we're not that different…"

"Let loose and give in to your vampirism, boy. It is the best gift of all," he whispered, an evil grin on his face. "It is… your truest nature."

"What the hell are you…?" but he stopped. His anger on Naraku had distracted him from what he had really planned for…

Inuyasha held up his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose as the scent of miasma filled his systems. "W-what are y-you doing?" he asked hazily, his mind becoming fuzzy.

Naraku only smiled. "I am merely helping to awaken your truth self, Inuyasha. The monster inside… let's see what you can do shall we?"

*Sango and Miroku*

"So do you think we have what it takes to finish Naraku once and for all?" Sango asked, standing outside the house with Miroku as the others were all getting ready.

"We have enough for a small army. Should be plenty against the vampires," Miroku replied, though Sango could see the worry in his eyes. "Tonight… we finish it… for good."

She looked at him. "We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?" she asked him quietly.

He blinked at her soft tones and nodded. "Almost five hundred years… and what a both wonderful and miserable five centuries it has been."

They stared up at the blue light of the moon slowly lighted the night as dark came. The air was crisp and clear. A perfect warm night…

This was the night when predators stalked, the perfect night for them. Becoming part of the shadows. To lurk and stalk they're pray, without being caught. The night was their cloak, their ally, and their home.

"The eclipse is almost here," Miroku said, worry in his tone. "We have to hurry."

Shippo and Rin suddenly appeared at their side, looking frustrated.

"For the millionth time," Sango sighed to them both as she put her hair up in a ponytail. "You two must stay behind. This is different… it will be an all out war, and you two must stay out of harm's way."

"But haven't we fought with you guys all this time?" Shippo demanded as Rin looked down. "It's not fair."

"We don't think any less of you for staying out of the fight, Shippo," Miroku said soothingly. "And we are sorry for putting you through this, but you need to understand that this is just something that you have to do? Ok? Hopefully, this will be the final battle… and we will all fight much harder if we know that you both are out of harm's way."

"But…" Shippo began, but Rin put her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Shippo. This is for the best right…"

Miroku beamed at her as they watched the two go back into the house. "Alright!" he then called loudly. "Now's the chance to change our damned fate! Tonight, we're gonna finish it all! Kill Naraku and ALL his servants, leave none alive!"

Everyone but Sesshomaru—who was leaning up against the house looking bored—gave a loud cheer that seemed to echo across the darkness.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Sango began as she stepped forward, "Now that we're all here, let's begin. As you know, each and every one of us here tonight are part of an important mission—to end the vampires that plagues us with suffering, fear, pain and death. Tonight we put an end to that fear, pain and death! Let the great hunt begin!"

Another cheer erupted.

"Then let's go!" she called, and soon they were all running. But as they ran, she couldn't help but feel uneasy… like she wasn't exactly sure that they were doing the right thing. But then again, what else could they do?

That was when she thought of something.

"What did you mean by wonderful?" she asked Miroku as they ran side-by-side. "How could anything wonderful have come from all these years of suffering?"

He smiled at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because my dear Sango…" he said, and for the first time, Sango could hear the sincerity in his tone. "I got to spend it all with you…"

She stared at him, her eyes wide… she wasn't sure what to say.

But then… that's when everything went wrong.

All of a sudden Sango, who was at the front of the small group, sensed it. Slowly and nearly she could hear steps coming towards them. Showing her fangs she called out, "It's an ambush! Everyone spread out!"

*Kagome*

The sun had risen high in the sky by the time that Kagome finally came too. She felt sick and weak… quickly telling her mother that she just had a case of the flu and she wasn't able to go to school. Thankfully, her mother believed that from seeing her pale face… and just assuming that she must've caught something from Sota.

Sota, who was standing there, was looking over their mother's shoulder at her, concern in his eyes. Once mom left to get some juice, Sota looked over at her sadly. "He did this didn't he?" he asked, anger in his tone.

Kagome smiled at sadly. "I wanted to go with them last night," she whispered. "But he stopped me…"

"That's no excuse for doing this to you!" he demanded.

"I know," she muttered, shifting slightly. "But once I'm better, I'm going to go and see them."

He looked at her sadly as mom came back, and shooed her brother out. Kagome took the juice and soup her mother offered, before she went back to sleep. She had to get better as soon as possible… so that she could kill Inuyasha when she next saw him.

*That night*

Now that hadn't been easy.

Kagome had slept through most of the day and she felt almost back to normal by the time that the sun set that evening. She waited until she heard her mother go to bed before she dragged herself out of bed and pulled on her clothes.

She snuck down the stairs and outside before she started up her mom's car. She gritted her teeth, hoping that she'd be back before her mother noticed that she was gone.

Kagome drove on through the night, one hand on her neck where Inuyasha had bitten her—though it didn't hurt, it was a dull ache. 'I'm going to kill him for this,' she thought furiously as she continued to the house. To think she let her guard down with him even for a second! She had spent that whole day lying in bed, feeling sick… but now she was hurrying towards the manor. She had to find them… she had to know what happened…

"So are we going to where they live?" asked a voice in the back seat.

The voice almost made her crash the car as she stopped on the side of the road and spun in her seat. No… this couldn't be happening.

Sota was there, obviously hiding underneath a blanket. She mustn't have seen him in the dark and in her hurry to find Inuyasha.

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded as he sat up.

"Well, you were sick all morning and I know that it had something to do with the vampires," he said firmly. "And I saw you sneak the keys from mom's coat earlier. I knew that you were leaving and I'm going with you!"

"Sota no!" Kagome groaned, putting the car in reverse. "I have to take you back!"

"Too late for that!" Sota said firmly. "You take me or I'm telling mom the truth!"

She glared at him. "Alright fine!" she snapped. "But promise me that you'll hide if any fighting comes ok?"

When he agreed, she turned the car and continued on her way to Inuyasha. "There's a house up ahead where Inuyasha and the others have been living. He came and told me last night that there was going to be a hug war last night… I need to know if they are all ok.

She drove up the familiar patch of dirt and pulled into the driveway. As soon as she did, she gasped… she knew right away that there was something wrong. The windows of the house had all been smashed and the front door had been ripped off.

Sota gasped as well and was shaking. She could tell that he was now regretting his decision to come along. She looked to him and said, "Come on… I can't leave you out here…"

He took her hand as they ran up the steps. "Hello?" she called in, staring around her. "Miroku? Sango? Shippo? Rin? INUYASHA? ANYBODY?!"

For a few moments, nothing happened, but then they heard a small voice whisper, "Kagome?"

They spun around to see Rin and Shippo hiding there from behind the curtains. Kagome sighed in relief as she ran to them both and hugged them. "Are you ok?" she whispered as Sota came up to them, looking nervous about being in a room with these two vampires.

"They all came… all at once," Rin whispered, tears in her eyes. "They told us to hide…"

"And they all took off!" Shippo shouted! "They attacked the house! But when they saw the others, they forgot about us."

"And what happened then?" Kagome asked quickly, feeling terrified for her friends.

"We don't know," Rin said. "They took off. But I do know that the battle will be decided at Half-Moon Cove."

She stared. "Half-Moon Cove?" she repeated. "Are you sure?"

"That's what I overheard Miroku say to Sango before the fighting will begin at Half-Moon Cove," Shippo said. "It has to be."

Kagome nodded in understanding and stood up. "You both stay here," she said. "In case anyone comes back."

She then turned to her little brother and shouted as she ran from the house, "Sota! Stay here!"

"Kagome…?" Rin began.

"SIS!" Sota shouted, sounding terrified.

But she ignored him. She had to go… she had to see him for herself. She jumped into the car and headed straight to the cove. Now she knew that what she was doing was both stupid and dangerous. But she had to do something! She had to see him…

Driving as fast as she could without having to worry about getting arrested, she drove the car all the way to Half Moon Cove. Looking up at the darkening sky, scattered with dark clouds, she stared around her. This was the place where she once stayed with Inuyasha…

Turning back around, she jumped when she was faced with Inuyasha. She let out a soft scream, which he put his hand over her mouth. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Kagome was so relieved to see that he was alive… but that was until she realized that something was wrong. He wasn't the happy or even the sarcastic Inuyasha she once knew. Instead… he looked angry. His eyes were a dark red, his vampire eyes that look piercingly dangerous…

"Inuyasha… I'm so glad that you're okay…" she said, ignoring her senses telling her that there was danger, and running up, gripping his forearms, "Please… please don't do this…"

Sighing in a frustrated tone, he looked at her with red eyes. "Kagome, I won't just stand around and not to anything." He clenched his hands into fists. "Stay out of it."

"You know I can't!" She exclaimed.

"Stay OUT OF IT!" he yelled, making her take a step back away from him, frightened. "Inuyasha you're not acting like yourself…"

"No, Kagome! You're just not listening to me!" He approached her, coming upon her as her back hit a tree. "And you will listen to me, okay? Just this once! You don't belong here in this battle. There is nothing you can do to change things without making sacrifices. So stay out of it."

"No…" she whispered, shaking her head hard as her hands pressing to the tree behind her.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he demanded.

"Because I can't just stand around and watch you do this!" she yelled. "I love you! And I want to be with you!"

He then grabbed her neck and pressed his lips hard on her mouth, releasing his anger and frustration into the kiss. The intoxication, the sweetness… it all flowed through him now. Stubbornly, Kagome refused to heed the vampire's warning as she wined in displeasure. She didn't want this. Not like this. What was overcoming Inuyasha? Why was he suddenly acting like this? As his lips jerked sharply, forcing himself deeper into her mouth, his agonized cry, strangely muffled, reached her ears as he parted his lips from hers.

His hands were gripping her upper arms, his mouth moving over to her neck, his claws digging into her skin.

"Stop…" she begged, crying out at the pain.

But he didn't respond, instead he continued kissing her neck passionately.

"Inuyasha…" she whined, "Stop…" she tried to push him away, but he was too strong.

But what she didn't know was that Inuyasha' mind was clouded with anger and rage. He wanted Kagome safe. But the vampire inside him was taking over… it was dying… for more blood…

"No…" she gasped out, tears streamed down her smooth cheeks, wet eyes clamping shut.

His eyes glowed a dark, feral red, his ears listening to the blood pump in her veins. It was right there… her neck. He dug his nails deeper into her arms, inhaling the scent of the red liquid, peaking his thirst even more.

"Enough… Inuyasha…" she gasped out, "You're… you're hurting me…"

A tight strung piece of thread stopped him from biting. The vampire could no longer be held back. Inuyasha drew back for a split second, fangs growing long. Kagome could only gasp before the teeth sunk into her neck and drained blood.

She coughed. "N-No… s… s-to…p" She tried to force her words out at best. But the draining was wavering her speech and breathing became harder to inhale.

Swiftly, Inuyasha reeled back and turned away only to be smacked down by a large tree branch that was swung at him. Kagome fell to her knees, placing her hand on the bite to prevent the blood from continuing to bleed out.

"Uh…" Inuyasha' mind then unexpectedly snapped out of the blood lust as he fell to the hard ground and remained there as thoughts flooded through his mind.

He closed his eyes in pain. What was happening? "Ugh…" He forced himself back up, only making it to his knees. "Kagome?" He looked over to see Sango pick up and held Kagome in her arms as she just lay there, eyes barely opened, too weak to even move as well as blood continuing to drip down her neck. "Kagome…"

Inuyasha remained on his knees in pain. "What have I done…? Kagome…"

*Miroku*

The battle continued on with no end in sight.

"Move out! We've got to get to that cave!" Miroku instructed the surrounding his friends and allies around him.

Looking out in front of him, he was only seconds away from the entrance of the cave. Looking up, he noticed the red-eyed vampire with his arms crossed over his chest staring at him.

Naraku then jumped down and began to charge after Miroku as he turned and faced him. The last thing that he saw in his mind's eye was Sango's face… and that was when Naraku stuck him…

(I know! I've been taking a long time! I'm sorry. But here's the next chapter, and I really hope that it had been worth the wait.)