Chapter 27
"All I Want is Snuggles But All I Get are Struggles"

"I'm not sleeping," Kagome insisted as Inuyasha tucked the blanket in around her.

"I already told you that you just have to lay there. You don't have to sleep if you don't want to." He looked up at her. "Even though you should."

"I'll sleep when this is over!" She seethed back.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Hiss hiss right back at ya."

Kagome glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, now stop squirming and untucking yourself. You always do this."

"I do not!"

"Kagome, go to sleep," Sango groaned.

"No sleep!" Kagome practically snarled.

"Thanks a lot, Sango," Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'm not sleeping!"

"Sango's an idiot," Inuyasha told her, patting her leg.

A low growl came from behind him, and he shot her a look over his shoulder.

"Just lay down so you're not sore tomorrow."

A hand gripped his sleeve as he turned to move the bag.

"You'll stay?" She whispered, and he looked up at her as she stared at him in the dark. Her eyes reflected her fear and her concern.

"Like I'm going to sleep next to the monk?" He snorted, and her trembling grip softened just a bit, but she didn't let go.

She'd been like this all afternoon. She'd clung to him all evening and during the questions that Munetoki had for them. He hadn't offered any suggestions or ideas about what this thing was. He'd only nodded and just hummed under his breath.

Which was fucking useless.

She tugged his sleeve again, and he moved beside her, flopping down onto his back as she immediately curled up against him. She wrapped her arm around his middle, and she practically pressed her face into his chest.

Well, he hadn't expected that enthusiastic of a response. But he also wasn't that surprised either. She'd forced her way onto him and trapped his arm under her, so he merely reached up and let his hand rest on her head in what he could only hope was reassurance.

"Thank you," she murmured into his clothes, and he turned his head towards her a little.

"Idiot," he mumbled. "You untucked all my hard work."

"I am very tired," Miroku said loudly. "Can you please flirt quietly?"

"Fuck you, Miroku!"

The room feel into silence, but he could feel the smugness radiating off the monk.

Fucker.

He fixed Kagome's blanket as much as he could from where she'd pinned him to the ground, making sure that she stayed warm.

Kagome took a deep a breath, and his hand returned to her head, gently running his fingers through her hair. His claws drifted along her scalp, and she let out a soft sigh.

"I'm okay," she whispered, fingers tightening on his shirt as she reassured herself.

"You're okay," he whispered back to her.

Kagome nodded into his chest, letting out a shuddering breath.

Munetoki had come to them early that morning and invited them to breakfast.

Kagome, for her part, spent all night trying to keep herself awake, and she was sure she'd managed to bruise herself several times over based on how she twisted and pinched her skin.

Every single noise had sent a sharp shock of fear through her.

Every one made her expect the long dark tendrils creeping out, the long sharp teeth that would glint in the dark, even when nothing else did.

She couldn't fall asleep; she couldn't risk it. She wouldn't hurt anyone because that thing took over her again.

But when the sun began to rise, she breathed a sigh of relief at making it through another night. She wasn't safe, but there would be noises that would distract and drown out everything else.

Inuyasha had dozed off for a small bit of time. His hand had stopped moving across her hair or her shoulders. But he'd stilled, and if anything, it had put Kagome more on edge because she knew no one else was awake.

She had to stay awake—stay vigilant. She had to guard everyone from the the creature that she'd brought upon them.

But the sun began to rise, and she trembled with relief that the sight of sunlight drifting through the hallway.

Miroku and Sango had woken a little after, stretching out their limbs from sleep that Kagome was sorely envious of.

Kagome shifted a little as she rose up as well, watching them both.

"How did you rest, Kagome?" Miroku asked her as he rose to his feet.

"Fine," Kagome answered.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed as he pushed himself up "Did you even sleep at all?"

"I'll sleep when this is over." Her statement came with a pointed glare at him.

"You're going to sleep for a fucking month at this rate," he muttered.

She caught the shared look between Miroku and Sango—one that made her bristle a bit.

"Ah, I will go see if our host will require any assistance for breakfast." He pulled Sango to her feet and then they both nearly fled the room.

Inuyasha grumbled something under his breath before he moved to stand as well.

"You wanna go after them or stay in here?"

Kagome looked around the room before her eyes landed on him again.

"I think that I would like to sit with them," she said softly, and he scooped her up without question and carried her back into the room where they'd eaten the night before.

He set her on a cushion and moved to step away, but she snagged his sleeve to stop him.

His long clawed fingers covered hers as she gripped the fabric of his sleeve so tightly that her fingers turned white

"Kagome," he chided without any heat or venom, "I'm just getting you some water."

"Don't leave," she whispered.

"I won't," he sighed after a long moment, and her hands released him slowly and regretfully.

He squeezed her fingers as he stood and went to the pitcher of water.

"Ah, Inuyasha," Miroku said as he leaned into the doorway. "Perhaps you would be open to hunting us some meat for today?"

Her chest tightened as she looked at Inuyasha, who set the small cup in front of her.

He hands shook as she fought the urge to grab and hold onto him.

"Perhaps it would be best if I retrieved Sango?" Miroku's eyes shifted between each of them. "I'll go get her." And then he disappeared beyond the doorway.

Sango reappeared a moment later.

"Good morning," she cheered, moving to sit beside Kagome at the table.

Inuyasha rose to his feet.

"I'll be back soon."

"Of course," Miroku said with a nod. "I will go help our host then."

Sango's hand lightly rubbed her back as Kirara trotted inside with a sleepy looking Shippo in tow.

"Good morning, Kirara, Shippo," Sango greeted and the fire cat crawled into Kagome's lap with a soft and satisfied chirp.

Kagome let her fingers drag through the soft fur as Kirara stretched and purred and kneaded her expression of happiness.

"How are you feeling?" Sango asked softly.

"Fine," Kagome answered. It was almost automatic at this point.

"So you're miserable?" Sango gave her a grin.

Kagome let out a soft laugh.

She wasn't wrong—Kagome felt more and more miserable and exhausted with each passing day, but she couldn't let herself sleep. Not with the risk of the nightmares and possession and hurting those whom she held dearest.

She just wanted to sleep and stop being afraid of—just everything.

She knew that Inuyasha would eventually grow tired of being the constant, tired of fighting and enemy he couldn't defeat, tired of having to coddle her.

He would grow tired of her being useless and unreliable.

"Hey," Sango spoke softly, drawing Kagome out of her spiral of thoughts. "You went somewhere for a moment.

"Sorry," she gave a sheepish smile as her fingers continued to drag through the soft fur.

"Don't apologize." Sango's hand drifted along her back again, and Kagome reached forward to take a small sip of water.

The glazed pottery clinked against the table as she set it back down. Kirara purred, rolling onto her back in Kagome's lap. Shippo had opted to drape himself across Sango's knee, and Sango tapped his head lightly as he began to snore.

"Wha?" Shippo mumbled, looking up at Sango.

"You were snoring," she stated.

"No, I wasn't! Kids don't snore!"

"Well, you do," Sango insisted, tapping his head again.

"Kagome!" Shippo whined dramatically. "Sango is being mean!"

"Is she though?"

Kagome felt the vestiges of a smile breaking out on her face, like someone had taken the broken pieces of hers and glued them back together into something that resembled what she used to be able to do.

It was fractured and broken, but it gave the idea of what it used to look like.

"Maybe you do snore, Shippo," Kagome suggested with a raised brow.

"Sango!" Shippo whined, reaching up to clutch her yukata, "Kagome is being mean!"

"Shippo, you're going to have to face facts, you snore."

He let out a soft gasp, grabbing his shirt like he'd been shot, and then fell back into Sango's lap.

Kagome looked down at the firecat sprawled across her lap and just smiled as she lightly scratched her belly.

Miroku appeared in the doorway holding a tea pot.

"I have come bearing tea," he announced, walking in and setting it on the table. "And the cups to drink it from." He set two cups in front of them and then proceeded to pour them each a hearty cup of tea.

"Has Inuyasha come back yet?" Kagome asked, watching the water swirl into a tiny whirlpool in her cup.

"Not yet, I'm afraid, but I'm sure that he'll be back sooner than later."

Kagome inhaled quickly, nodding at Miroku's statement. He'd be back soon. It wasn't like it was overly dangerous or anything. He'd done it for them for months. She shouldn't be freaking out about it. She shouldn't be worried about it.

Even though she was. She was very worried about it.

But Sango nudged her hand as Miroku set the kettle back on the table and walked away.

Kagome took a small sip of tea.

It had a lovely flavor—very floral, and Kagome took another small sip to taste it again.

"Is it good?" Sango asked, and Kagome nodded.

"It's really good. I like it."

Sango took a sip and hummed in satisfaction.

"This is so good. I'm going to have to find out what this is so I can make it." Sango took another sip of the tea delighting in the taste of it.

Kagome tried to enjoy the taste of it, but everything just felt off. It was too good and too safe, and nothing good came of her relaxing. Not when she was never safe from whatever was hunting her and everyone else. She knew it was here. It was just waiting for a way in. It was just waiting for her to relax just enough and then it would attack again. It would reach her where she thought it couldn't. Where she thought she was safe.

Everyone kept telling her to relax here, that she was safe that she was safe and okay. But she wasn't. She wasn't safe; she'd never be safe as long as that thing was alive and out there.

Kagome took another small sip, watching the cup rattle against the low table as she set it back down.

Sango's hand lightly rubbed her back as Kagome stared at the tea cup.

Inuyasha snagged the nearest doe he saw. It wasn't large, but it was more than enough to feed them for a few days, even with his appetite.

Munetoki had asked him to bring it back whole because he needed parts to use in some of his spells or whatever, and it saved Inuyasha some time before he prepared it.

He'd been let out so quickly that the wards had only been down for a moment, barely any time at all. Nothing could've gotten in.

All the same, he didn't like being gone.

Everything felt like it was reaching a pinnacle, and it didn't help that he'd seen how close they were to the new moon last night. They had one night to get this shit in order and then he'd be human and fucking useless if anything happened.

Which made being sent out for food all the more annoying because he knew that it was now or not.

Munetoki had assured him that he could exorcise the demon out of Kagome or break whatever hold it had on her by tonight.

Inuyasha had insisted that this thing—whatever it was—it wasn't like anything he'd seen before.

He'd never seen a youkai be able to use someone like it did—or figure out how to become immune to reiki.

That part was the most concerning, because if Naraku ever got wind of it, then they'd all be royally fucked over sideways.

His primary concern was Kagome. She'd relaxed a little, but fuck—she was so high strung it felt like she was going snap at any second if something went wrong.

He carried the deer over his back as he ran back to their current warded shelter, landing by the door where someone was supposed to be waiting for him to return.

"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted, banging on the door even though it zapped his hand just a bit. Munetoki's head appeared in the window.

"Oh, you found a deer, most excellent."

"Where do you want it?" Inuyasha asked.

"Let me get my tools and I will take—"

"Don't bother," Inuyasha cut him off, and flashing his claws at him as proof. "I can clean it, just tell me what you want and I'll make sure to make the cuts clean."

"Oh," Munetoki stood there for a moment. "Let me get some bowls, and I'll meet you by that shed there," and the man disappeared from the doorway.

Inuyasha huffed a bit, staring at the window before marching over to the little space, and hanging the deer from the rope already suspended from the rafters.

To his credit, the little man appeared a couple minutes later, large bowls in his grasp.

"What do you want, old man?"

"The organs, but not the intestines. Those you can throw out for the birds. And the pelt."

"You want the brain and shit too?"

"Oh yes, the eyeballs are a delicacy!"

Inuyasha started, looking at the man who merely let loose a hard, cacophonous laugh.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and his sleeves as he started digging into the flesh of the deer, attempting to keep the intestines all together and not in a spilling mess.

"This is always my least favorite part."

"Ain't like it's fun for me either."

"But I thank you for doing it nonetheless."

Inuyasha grunted digging his hands into the cavernous opening as he severed and separated all the different organs in this beast.

He pulled the pelt off, hanging it where Munetoki instructed and then started carving at the muscle, pulling off large chunks of meat to cook for breakfast.

"You do this quite frequently, huh?" Munetoki asked, after setting the innards aside.

"Kagome cried the first time I gave her a rabbit to clean, so I always do it for her."

"And the others?"

"Shippo's learning how to gut fish, but he can't clean a deer yet."

"Makes sense," Munetoki agreed.

"Sango's helped me clean animals before."

"And Miroku?"

"He'll make a great wife someday."

Munetoki snorted.

"I must admit, your relationships fascinate me. You all move so seamlessly among each other."

"We've been around each other long enough." He tore off the last piece and set it in the bowl. "How do you want the rest of it?"

"Can you do it in strips for smoking and drying?"

Inuyasha nodded, and then started cutting long thick strips of meat.

He placed the strips out and Munetoki set them aside to cure later.

It wasn't the best work that he's done, but it was good enough to work. He stood, dragging out the remaining pieces of the carcass and flung it out into the trees.

"Eat shit, asshole," he muttered, washing his hands in the water pail before grabbing a bowl and following Munetoki back inside, where Miroku let them inside the barrier.

"How is she?" Inuyasha asked as he passed the bowl off to Miroku.

"Sango is sitting with her. I believe that Shippo and Kirara have joined in an attempt to lift her spirits. I will work on the exorcism today. It should be ready tonight."

"The sooner, the better," Inuyasha said, walking back towards the sitting room.

He could already tell by the quiet and Sango's tone that Kagome wasn't doing great.

Rounding the corner, he paused at the doorway, watching Kagome practically slumped over the table as Sango was clearly trying to cheer her up and failing miserably.

The look of relief on Sango's face was nearly palpable.

"Miroku needs help," Inuyasha said stepping over beside Kagome, who's head snapped up so fast he was sure she'd give herself a neck injury.

"You're sure?" Sango asked.

"If he doesn't now, then he will. Idiot will probably set something on fire."

Sango pushed herself to her feet, taking her tea cup with her.

"You should go help too, Shippo," Inuyasha suggested, wanting the kit out, so Kagome would relax.

Shippo glared up at him.

"You just want no one to see you snuggle with Kagome," the brat muttered under his breath.

"I know where you sleep," Inuyasha growled out just as lowly, and Shippo squeaked and darted out after Sango.

Huffing to himself, he turned back to Kagome.

"How're you doing?" He asked moving to sit and face her directly.

"Fine," she mumbled, shifting towards him and avoiding making eye contact with him.

"Liar," she looked up at his sharp tone, "we both know that you're not fine."

Grimacing, she looked away from him, and he glanced over at her tea cup.

"You didn't finish your tea," he pointed out.

"It's really good," Kagome mumbled.

"So why didn't you drink it?"

She gave a half hearted shrug.

"Didn't feel like it."

Well, this wasn't going well.

"Drink your tea, Kagome," he ordered, reaching over to slide the lukewarm cup towards her.

She sighed, staring at the cup before picking it up and taking barely what he would call a sip.

But it was something at least.

Kagome finished her tea at a nauseatingly slow pace, and then edged a little closer to him, like he didn't notice her inchworming her way towards him.

Sighing at her obviousness, he quietly pulled her into his lap where she curled up against his chest without protest.

They sat there in the quiet as he lightly rubbed her arms, waiting until breakfast was ready.

Kagome knew that it was wrong and that Inuyasha was just appeasing her and her nervousness, but she needed the comfort he offered.

Everything felt like it was falling apart, and while she wanted to hope that Munetoki would be able to help, there was a sinking feeling that it wouldn't.

That she would put them right back into square one, except with no other options.

Mushin didn't know what to do, and neither had Kaede.

They'd effectively put all their eggs into this one basket, and she could only hope that he'd have something.

And it was starting to feel like he didn't.

"Breakfast is ready," Miroku said, walking in with a large tray and set it down on the table as he placed the dishes on the table with everyone else following. Sango held onto a stack of bowls as she limped in, and set them gently on the table.

Munetoki and Shippo came in carrying the last of the dishes and food.

Inuyasha shifted them so that they were sitting facing the table, but he didn't ask her to move or to climb off of him, which she was thankful for.

Inuyasha spooned food into a bowl, and he held it out to her with a pair of chopsticks.

"I'm really not hungry," she answered, and the bowl stayed where it was.

"Well, you're eating. Don't argue."

There was rice and meat almost to the top.

"I didn't even make it full, so don't give me your bullshit," he argued, and he held the bowl out. Kagome reached out and took it from him, and he made his own bowl, setting it on the table as he pushed their cups towards Sango, who poured them each a cup of tea.

He put her cup on the table in front of her, and she picked up the chopsticks and took a small bite of the meat. Inuyasha took up his own bowl and ate.

"Kagome," Munetoki said, and she looked over at him. "Your companions have explained what they know about this creature, and what they've seen, but I was wondering if you could tell me what you've seen?"

Kagome's grip on her chopsticks tightened, and they trembled in her grip.

She stared at the rice and the meat in her bowl, trying to keep the food in her gut.

Inuyasha's hand steadied her bowl as it shook and his other hand gently ran up and down her back.

She let go and he set it on the table for her.

"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," Munetoki said, and Kagome knew that he was right, but she'd spent so much time and effort trying to not think about it. "Can you tell me what it felt like when you were possessed?"

"I don't know—there was just nothing, and then I woke up."

"So you saw and felt nothing? The entire time."

"No, I," Kagome hesitated, "I heard some things, but I don't know if they were real. They didn't feel," she squinted as she tried to come up with something that made sense. "It didn't feel like I was supposed to hear it."

Munetoki didn't say a word in response.

"How did you break the possession?"

"I don't know. I just woke up."

Munetoki tapped a finger against the table in thought.

"Is—is that bad?" Kagome asked, hands reaching out for Inuyasha, whose arm wrapped around her, tucking her body against him.

"No, but it is strange." He hummed a little under his breath. "These dreams. What are they about?"

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"What is the subject matter of these dreams?"

"Torture," Kagome snorted, "mostly."

"How does it torture you specifically?"

"I—I can't tell if they're real at first," she felt her eyes burn a little, and she tugged Inuyasha's arm closer to her. "They always feel real until they aren't. I—I can't sleep anymore, and I'm tired."

"I can only imagine."

"I'm tired even when I do sleep! And I'm tired when I'm awake, and I'm tired of being scared! I'm just so tired, and I want it to stop!" Her hands shook as Inuyasha wrapped his arms fully around her as she cried into his shoulder.

"We're fucking done," he snarled, pushing away from the table slightly.

If there was one thing that he'd had enough of, it was these fuckers making her cry. She'd been through enough shit with this asshole of a youkai, and he didn't need anyone else making it worse.

Mushin was at least moderately helpful.

He rose to his feet.

"Oi, runt, bring Kagome's bowl," he snapped out and carried her out of the room and back to their bedding. Her bedding. His bedding. Whatever. It wasn't like she was letting go of him anytime soon anyway. He settled into the blankets, dragging the blanket over her lap as Shippo teetered in carrying both bowls of food.

Inuyasha took both of them before they were spilled over all the bedding.

Kagome clung to him, sniffling into his shoulder, and he nudged her a little bit with his nose.

"Thanks, Shippo," he said, and the runt took a short look at Kagome before looking at him and letting his tail flick. He turned and ran back towards the others.

"Hey," he whispered, trying to gently draw her back out.

She sniffled once, leaning back a little.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Nah, don't be sorry. He was a dick. He knew that you didn't want to talk."

"Yeah, but he probably needs to know so he can fix—this," she said making a wide sweeping gesture of herself.

He grunted before handing off her bowl of food.

"He can ask you some questions after you eat."

"I'm really not hungry."

"Yeah, well, eat your breakfast and suffer then."

"You're being mean," she pouted up at him, and dammit, it almost worked. It was so damn close that he almost gave in. If it hadn't been that she was pale and trembling already, he wouldn't let her off the hook.

But now he was determined to keep her eating and resting as much as he could until they got rid of this thing.

It wanted her, and she wasn't available for anyone to have except for him.

She was his first and his only.

Kagome took a bite and chewed quietly as his thumb gently rubbed a line along her back.

"Thank you for helping me," she mumbled into her next bite.

"What else would I do?" He said with a slight shrug as he picked up his own bowl and took a bite of rice and meat.

"Leave me," she mumbled under her breath as she pushed around her food.

Inuyasha grabbed her chin—probably rougher than he should have—and forced her to look at him.

Her eyes widened as his narrowed at her little slip of the tongue.

"I told you I would protect you, didn't I?" He said, and she gave a shallow nod. "Then don't think such dumb shit." He let go of her chin, and nudged her bowl gently. "Eat your breakfast."

Her eyes watered, and he set his bowl off to the side, taking hers out of her hands as she raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He sighed and curled his arms around her as she buried her face into his neck and shoulder.

She babbled out apology after apology even though he told her time and time again that she had nothing to be sorry for and to stop apologizing already. It made no difference what he said, and he continued to rub his hands up and down her back in a pathetic attempt to soothe her.

This was all getting so much worse, and it felt like Kagome was becoming more and more unhinged at every little instance.

He knew that it was the stress of the entire mess getting to her, and he wished that there was something more substantial to give, but all he had was himself.

And that had proven on multiple occasions to be not enough.

Inuyasha didn't say anything else opting to just hold her and offer her what little reassurance he had, namely himself.

Kagome sniffled lightly as she pulled away from him, and Inuyasha continued to let his arm wrap around her back as she leaned away just enough to pull her face back.

"Sorry," she said, wiping her face.

"Stop apologizing," he told her, as she sniffled.

Miroku appeared in the doorway with a wince as Kagome wiped her eyes as she sniffled.

"I thought—well, we thought—" Miroku swallowed as he tried to figure out how to best address the situation. "Uh, Munetoki wanted to talk about the ceremony."

Inuyasha let out a huff, glaring at the monk, and Kagome turned to look up at Miroku before turning to look at him.

"Okay," she said softly, and Inuyasha exhaled as he moved to pick her up and take her back into the dining room.

"Grab the bowls, monk," Inuyasha told him, and Miroku stepped forward to grab their not-empty dishes. Miroku shot him a look, and Inuyasha ignored it as he walked back down the hallway towards where he could hear Sango and Munetoki talking. He stepped in and they both immediately stopped whatever conversation they were having.

Kagome took a deep breath as he moved to set Kagome down next to Sango. Her hand snapped out and grabbed onto his sleeve, dragging him to sit down next to her.

He shifted the cushion closer to her and sat down, letting Kagome hold onto his hand, even though her fingers dug into the soft part of his wrist.

Miroku set the bowls in front of them, and Inuyasha quietly held Kagome's bowl out to her. She looked down at it.

"I'm not hungry."

"Tough," he said, and he propped the bowl up on his fingertips.

"You're going to spill it."

"Then I'd hurry up and grab it then."

Kagome let go of his hand and reached up to grab the bowl and held it in her lap. Inuyasha placed a hand on her back to hopefully reassure her and keep her eating as Munetoki talked.

He knew this fucker was going to upset her again, and he was going to have to pull double-duty to keep her from being upset.

Kagome took a small bite of her food as Munetoki cleared his throat.

"I felt as though I should explain the exorcism before it begins. Just so we're all clear on what will happen."

Inuyasha lightly rubbed Kagome's back as she chewed her small bite of food.

"Alright, well, there will be a shape on the floor, most likely a triangle, given the three humans here."

"Why can't I help?" Shippo asked, lightly patting Kagome's foot.

"Because the barrier is designed to trap youkai. I don't want you to get hurt."

He looked back up at Kagome, before his eyes shifted to look at Inuyasha.

"It would probably be best if you stayed away too," he said and Inuyasha snorted. Like fuck was he staying away from her, and like fuck could anyone keep him away from her.

Especially if Kagome's panicked reaction was any indication of how well she'd handle that.

Kagome had gone completely stiff and Inuyasha only just managed to grab the bowl from her lap before she'd latched onto his neck, nearly upending the thing over the both of them.

Her breath was rapid and quick, and her heart beat loudly in his ears.

"You can't go!" She shouted.

"Did I say that I was leaving?" He asked, and she tightened her grip around his neck, and he sighed, leaning forward a bit to set her bowl on the table. "Kagome, calm down."

"You can't go," she whined quietly into his shoulder, and he exhaled his frustration as he let a hand lightly rub her back, the bumps of her spine protruding more than they should.

"I'm not going anywhere. You think I'm gonna leave after everything?" He scoffed. "And I thought you were smart."

Kagome sniffled into his shoulder, gripping his fire rat tighter between her fingers.

"I am smart," she said softly, so much so that he doubted that anyone else could hear her.

"Well, you aren't acting like it," he said, urging her to actually sit down instead of some weird half sit-half kneel that she was currently doing.

She lowered slowly back to where she was sitting in his lap, and he rubbed her lower back gently to soothe her. Her death grip on his clothes continued and getting her to eat anything else was probably a lost cause at this point.

Munetoki looked taken aback by her reaction to his suggestion of forcing her to do this alone.

Honestly, the man was dense.

"Inuyasha is only half-youkai. Is there any reason that he couldn't be in the room with Kagome?"

"It may purify him."

"I've been purified before," Inuyasha stated, but there was a little hesitation behind his words. If he was human and the creature—if something happened, he'd be utterly useless to everyone, including Kagome. Best he could do is take a blow for her, which he would—in a heartbeat, but that wasn't much in the grand scheme of things.

"I don't want you to be purified," she said.

"Well, I'm not leaving you, so deal with it."

She whimpered into his chest at that, but she didn't say anything else.

"It'll be fine, Kagome," Inuyasha looked up at the priest or whatever and waited for him to continue.

"Uh, yes, so the three humans will be sitting at each point. The goal is to trap the spirit possessing Kagome, which we will attempt to draw out of her. I will take the wards down in that portion only to lure it into a false sense of security. We will trap it inside the seal."

"You're going to leave that thing alone with Kagome?"

"Well, I've never had a creature that was separate from the host, so this will be interesting. I have already planned on creating a separating barrier between the two that should be able to be activated later."

"Should be?" Inuyasha asked, looking up at the priest.

"I've never had to do this before," he said. "This instance is quite unusual, and I'm very keen to see how it will play out."

Inuyasha felt something white hot rush through him, like a pulse of power and rage that he wanted to feed off of as his arms dragged her closer, because he wasn't about to let some fucking priest treat her like bait and then trap her in with that creature.

"You're not treating her like bait!" He snarled, and Munetoki's eyes widened as he glanced at the others in the room. "You don't get to treat her like some object!"

Inuyasha clutched Kagome tighter against him, one arm moving to wrap around her shoulders. Kagome's fingers clutched at him, and he could feel her pulse racing under her skin.

"I assure you, I do not view her as a mere object or bait, but she is what the creature wants and right now—"

"No!" Inuyasha shouted, looking over at the others for their opinions, but they weren't nearly upset enough. The fucking fuckers.

"Right now," Munetoki kept talking, and Inuyasha shifted his glare to the priest, a low growl rumbling through his chest in warning, "she is the only thing we have that can lure it in."

"No!" He shot a furious glare at Sango and Miroku. "Isn't this shit pissing you off?"

"If I had another solution, I'd offer it," Miroku stated with a long sigh.

Inuyasha squeezed Kagome against him, head ducking down a little and preparing to bolt at any moment.

"Inuyasha," Sango said firmly, and he turned his glower onto her. They were supposed to look out for her, and they wanted to use her as bait?

Some fucking friends.

"We have to do this."

"We don't have to do fucking shit!" He snarled out, feeling Kagome whimper against him, and that made his hackles rise up even more.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly, and he shifted his arms around her as his face ducked down beside Kagome's in a warning snarl. "I think we should try," she said softly.

"No!"

Kagome pushed back against him a little, and after a moment, he let her push herself away, just a little. Just enough so she could say whatever she wanted, but not enough that he couldn't escape without her. He wasn't going to let some asshole sit there and act like she was nothing more than bait.

"I want to try," she said again, her voice quiet.

"No! We're not that desperate!" She shook her head, ducking against his chest. They were desperate, but not so desperate that he'd be willing to risk her safety or her life. Time was running out, but there was still some time left. They could find another way! There was still time, and—

"I want to do it," she said quietly. "Nothing else has worked."

"Doesn't mean that something else won't!"

"We're here," she sighed.

"So?! That doesn't mean we have to risk your life!"

"I want to do it," she insisted. "I want to."

He stared down at the girl, who looked so tired and done, and he couldn't fault her for that. He was done watching her suffer, but he wasn't about to let her suffer even more.

He didn't want her suffer at all, but there was nothing he could do about what had already been done.

"Inuyasha, please," she asked him, and he looked away, staring at the other people in the room, who watched them almost expectantly.

"Fine," Inuyasha growled out, shifting his glower to Munetoki, "but this shit goes sideways, and it's your ass."

The monk seemed surprised at the veracity in his words, but slowly nodded.

"I promise, I will do everything in—"

"Words mean shit, just do it."

Munetoki said nothing else to him, which was fine, and Kagome let him press her close against him in an attempt to reassure himself.

Kagome looked around the small space she'd been allowed in the circle of sigils. Well, triangle.

There were designs that she hadn't seen before, and it had taken almost all day to get them all drawn and ready, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, even though sleeping wasn't allowed.

She was so tired. All of this—all of it felt so heavy now. She was tired—weary all the way down to her bones.

And for once, Kagome didn't know if she had it in her to leave to find somewhere else.

This place felt like a last stand—a swan song almost—either she'd leave free or she wouldn't leave at all.

Sango had taken Shippo and Kirara into the room where they'd been sleeping the past couple of nights.

Miroku was helping Munetoki finish up the last of the steps or ingredients for the ceremony.

Inuyasha watched her and them, hovering just outside the barrier lines. At least he'd stopped pacing like he was the one being caged.

"Alright," Munetoki said a moment after Sango walked in. "I think that we're all set." He motioned for Miroku and Sango to take their places, but Inuyasha didn't move.

"Anything that steps across this thing is trapped, right?"

"Any youkai, yes."

Inuyasha nodded at that, crossing his arms and settling down just outside of the barrier—and her reach.

She looked up at him, briefly, taking a breath to settle her nerves.

There was a part of her that thought this was honestly a terrible idea. Something bad was going to happen. But she had to have faith.

Miroku and Sango seemed confident enough, even though Inuyasha didn't.

To be fair though, he was a worrywart.

"Hey," Inuyasha said, drawing her focus as she sat up. "Nothing is going to hurt you." His hand came to rest on Tetsusaiga, and she found herself smiling at that.

Everything could go wrong, but Inuyasha wouldn't let anything happen to her.

The room had no windows. It was dark and damp and musty and there were stains in the wood floor that Kagome didn't want to question and didn't want the answers to.

Nothing about this space gave her any inclination that what was about to happen would be in any way enjoyable.

She looked over at Inuyasha, wishing that he could be in here with her, but he couldn't. Kagome would have to do this alone. Utterly and completely alone. She'd even given him back his haori.

Munetoki had said that the less that she was wearing the better, and Inuyasha's response had been terrifying.

Kagome swore that she could've seen stripes along his cheeks, and his claws and fangs felt and looked far too long to be normal, but it was only for a moment, and then the claws and fangs were gone, and the stripes seemed no more than a hallucination on her part.

But Munetoki didn't suggest her taking off any more clothing other than his haori. Inuyasha seemed to settle a bit at that, though it still felt like he was being extra tense after everything.

He'd been right beside her the entire day, so now that he was completely out of reach, it felt weird.

Kagome dragged in a breath, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You okay?" Inuyasha asked, and she glanced over at him and nodded.

"Alright," Munetoki said, drawing their attention to him. "We're ready to start." He looked at everyone. "I still think that it would be better if you stayed in the other room."

"Yeah, well, you can go fuck that thought in the other room."

"Uh," Munetoki gave a concerned glance to the rest of them. "Alright," he gave a nod. "If you'll take your positions." He gestured to the points with Sango and Miroku taking their individual points.

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, who was staring at her intently.

It would just take one dissonant word, and this whole thing could be over.

But this was their one chance to get rid of this creature, whatever youkai it was. It was a chance, and Kagome had to take it.

She took a breath, looking back at the carefully drawn sigils on the ground.

There was a long pause between all of them.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Allow me to adjust the barrier for this room."

He walked to the doorway, raising a small rope of sutras and other pieces of paper and attaching it to the other wall.

Kagome felt the barrier go up, and Munetoki walked slowly over to the other wall opposite and stood in front of it.

"Ready?" He asked, settling into his position at the third point with Sango and Miroku. Sango was an anchor for them, basically a conduit for their power to meet and hold into a singular point. Once the barrier was secure, it would hold its own, but they needed someone to help complete the path, and it wasn't like Kagome could do it herself.

Inuyasha rose to his feet and stood behind her, just on the outside of her little chalked off area on the floor.

The barrier around the room fell, and for a long time, it was quiet.

Kagome looked around at her friends, at Munetoki, who appeared to be calmly waiting for something to happen. Kagome dragged in a breath and let it out slowly. It would come for her.

It had always come after her, but maybe it knew that it was a trap. Maybe it knew and now it was going to stay away. Munetoki said that they needed this thing in order to make it stop possessing her.

She just wanted this to be over! She wanted to stop being afraid of anything and everything! She just wanted to sleep without be afraid of nightmares!

The barrier flickered, drawing her eyes to it as Munetoki motioned for them with a single hand to wait. Why wasn't it coming for them?

What was it waiting on?

Kagome wrung her fingers together.

There had never been a prickle across her senses before, and she didn't expect one now, but she still tried to see if she could sense anything outside the walls.

Inuyasha's youki shown like a beacon to her senses, and she glanced behind her to see his shifting around the room, hand on the hilt of his sword.

His gaze shifted to her, steady and calm—everything that Kagome was definitely not feeling at the moment.

If Inuyasha was here, he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He'd protect her.

It seemed that was the only truth that she could hold onto these days.

Her trust in Inuyasha never wavered.

Kagome took another breath, trying to control the way her chest tightened and tried to stifle the urge to go crawl into a hole and hide.

Kagome wanted to ask if they thought it was coming, if maybe it had figured out their trap.

But she only opened her mouth as the wall in front of her splintered and exploded.

The barrier flickered to life at the thing on spindly legs and too many teeth that were too long and too sharp to be natural lunged at her.

Kagome remembered those teeth. She remembered how they sinking into her flesh, how it felt to have her skin ripped and torn asunder, and all she could do was scream as the mouth opened wide to consume her until nothing remained.