Kagome wished she could read lips like her younger brother Souta. She desperately wanted to know what Sesshoumaru had said to her friends as she saw their shocked expressions.
Kneeling on the ground, she released Shippo and asked, "What are they talking about?"
The small kit looked up at her nervously. Even if Shippo knew how to interpret the adults' conversation, there was no way he would tell Kagome what Sesshoumaru had revealed. Biting his lips and fidgeting for a moment, the kit looked up at her adoptive mother and froze in horror.
Another massive centipede demon burst out of the forest behind Kagome. It must have sensed the jewel shards in her possession because it was slithering towards her. It was too late when she felt its presence through the vibrations in the ground or its sura.
Sesshoumaru tore his glare away from his brother just in time to witness the attack. Even as he began to move, he would never reach her side in time as the creature used its tail to slam into the back of Kagome's head. White hot terror ran up his spine at the sound of the priestess's blood-curdling scream.
Before Kagome's body could fall face-first onto the forest floor, Sesshoumaru had unsheathed Bakusaiga and slayed the centipede in one mighty downward swing before spinning around to catch her by the waist.
Blood was everywhere, flowing freely from a wound beneath her raven hair. What concerned the demon lord most was the fact Kagome was clenching the sides of her head while sobbing uncontrollably. As he was on the verge of panicking, the monk approached and offered his help.
"You need to take her to the well, Lord Sesshoumaru." Miroku knelt before the demon holding Kagome, still brandishing a blade in his other hand. The demon lord had a wild look in his eyes. "Kagome needs to get back to her time so she can be healed. She may not survive if she stays here and continues to lose blood."
"There is no way the bastard can get through. He'd end up just leaving her in her own time, bleeding death at the bottom of the well!" Inuyasha stepped forward, still rubbing his aching stomach. "Give her to me, and I'll take her."
Sesshoumaru snapped his fangs at the half-demon, causing his younger brother to step back. There was no way in hell he would allow the mutt anywhere near the priestess again. He had to devise a way to get her home without abandoning her.
Miroku was struggling to maintain his composure as he watched Kagome endure the excruciating pain. There wasn't any time for fighting. She needed to leave now.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, it may be possible for you to travel through the well with Kagome if you possess a jewel fragment. If I place a shard Kagome has purified within you, then there is a chance you can go with her." Very slowly, the monk reached out and removed a piece of the jewel from Kagome's necklace. "There is a chance this won't work, so I suggest letting Inuyasha follow in case Kagome gets trapped on the other side alone. Then he can make sure she gets help."
The demon lord vehemently objected to the latter half of the monk's plan, but there was no room for negotiation. Peering down at the tiny woman in his arm, he could feel her beginning to grow cold.
Shifting just enough to sheath Bakusaiga, Sesshoumaru used a claw to carve into the forearm secured around Kagome. Miroku placed the shard into the open cut as it began sealing shut.
Without wasting another second, Sesshoumaru took off towards Edo with the priestess held tightly in his grasp. Miroku and Shippo mounted Kiara and took off, leaving Sango to climb onto Inuyasha's back as they trailed from behind.