Finally finished the second last chapter of The Strange Half Demon! Sorry that it's taken so long... I've kinda fallen into a writer's block... and I'm lazy... which doesn't help :P
But, I finally decided to finish this story, and my others! The next chapter is already written and will be up in the next few days! :D
The Strange Half Demon is almost over! :C

Anyways... enjoy this chapter and please review :)

Chapter 17:
Death or Life:

Inuyasha dodged the falling debris of the castle, trying to sniff out Nozomi's scent. It had completely vanished amongst the falling castle.

"Nozomi?" called out Inuyasha, trying to find her. "Where are you? Nozomi!"

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he suddenly heard a very faint moan, coming from underneath some rubble nearby. He ran to the spot and threw the debris to one side, revealing a very broken Nozomi. She was unconscious, but a strange smile was plastered on her face.

"Nozomi, wake up," growled Inuyasha as he tugged the girl up. "Don't make me carry you."

There was no response from the young half-demon. Inuyasha growled and picked her up before jumping out of the way of more falling debris. He ran out of the destroyed castle and back down to the others.

oOo

"Nozomi? Nozomi please wake up! Nozomi!" Tears were falling down the little fox-demons cheeks as he knelt over Nozomi. "Please wake up!" he exclaimed again, watching her face for any signs of consciousness.

Kagome knelt beside Shippo and put a hand on the little demon's head. "Don't worry, Shippo," she said softly. "Nozomi is still alive, and she'll wake up soon. Her body just needs to recover first."

"What happened to her?" whined the boy, his eyes still not leaving Nozomi.

"We'll ask her when she wakes up," said Sango, also kneeling beside Nozomi's unconscious body. "She'll tell us as soon as she can."

Nozomi's body suddenly shuddered and her eyes slowly opened. She didn't say anything, or move again. She just stared up at the sky, barely blinking. "I'm… sorry," she finally said, barely finding enough breath to speak. "I… didn't mean… for this… to happen."

"Don't speak too much," murmured Kagome. "Just rest and recover."

Nozomi frowned as a lone tear slipped down her cheek. "I'm… sorry," she replied. "My body… can't… recover."

"What are you talking about? You're a half-demon; you're going to recover fast."

"No… I'm not," argued Nozomi. "By… destroying… my time-travel… ability… I destroyed… my self-healing… and demon… abilities… for a… short time. Enough time… to destroy me."

"NO!" yelled Shippo. "You're not gonna get destroyed! You can't!"

Nozomi weakly smiled at Shippo. "I… knew this… might happen. But I… had to… get rid of… the ability. And I… only could… in the presence… of Naraku."

Kagome frowned and gently placed a hand on Nozomi's shoulder. "Just because your demon abilities have disappeared for now doesn't mean that you're going to die."

"I… can't… heal," replied Nozomi, "and… my injuries… are… severe. I can… feel… myself… slipping… away."

"What happened in there?" asked Sango, kneeling beside the broken girl.

"I managed… to get rid… of my ability," stammered Nozomi. "It's… gone. Naraku… has been… foiled."

Kagome smiled. "You did well, Nozomi," she said softly. "You succeeded. And you will heal, in time. I promise you that we won't let you die."

Nozomi grinned at Kagome. "Thank… you," she said as her eyes slowly closed and her breathing slowed.

"NozomI!" shrieked Shippo, watching the young girl with horrified eyes.

"We need to get her to Kaede!" exclaimed Sango, bolting to her feet. "As quickly as possible!"

Shippo tenderly grabbed Nozomi's hand as he whispered, "Don't worry, Nozomi. We'll make sure you recover. I promise that as well."

oOo

Weeks passed before the group even heard a whimper out of the weak Nozomi. She lay in Kaede's hut, as still as death, for days and days. Shippo never left her side, and she was constantly watched by him, and whoever decided to keep him company. Nozomi was slowly regaining her strength. Her demon powers were still missing, but she was still alive and recovering.

"Ye need rest, child," murmured Kaede, as she watched Shippo's eyes droop. "I shall watch young Nozomi while ye sleep."

Shippo stubbornly shook his head. "No. I need to be here for her."

"She knows that ye are here. She will not give up as long as ye live."

Shippo frowned and slowly clambered to his feet. "I'm sleeping in here," he said softly. "I just need to get some air first."

Kaede nodded. "I will watch over her."

"Thank you, Kaede," muttered Shippo as he slowly moved to leave the small hut.

"Shi… ppo…"

Shippo's head snapped towards Nozomi and his face lit up as he saw her eyes drearily open. "Nozomi!" shrieked Shippo in excitement, bounding towards the young girl. "You're awake! You're awake!"

Nozomi smiled and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah… I am… How long has it been? Where am I?"

"At Kaede's," replied Shippo, attaching himself to the half-demon. "Inuyasha carried you here. We thought you were gonna die! I thought… I thought you'd never wake up."

Nozomi smiled weakly and brushed the tears away from Shippo's eyes. "Don't worry now, Shippo. I'm gonna be fine."

Shippo nodded, his arms still gripping her tightly.

"Shippo, what's going on?" asked Kagome as she entered the small hut, her eyes quickly focusing on Nozomi and her open eyes. "Nozomi! You're awake!"

Nozomi grinned at Kagome. "Yeah… hard to believe, though. Thought I was dead for sure."

Kagome smiled back at Nozomi. "You're back to your half-demon self, as well."

Shippo looked up from where he was and laughed as he noticed Nozomi's ears twitching. "You're gonna be fine now!"

Nozomi hugged Shippo and nodded as she slowly fell back to sleep as her demon blood coursed through her body, healing her injuries.

Hiraikotsu