Sunday, February 27, 2005

   Chapter 51: Into a corner...
Inuyasha knew he’d never been known as a patient hanyou.

Almost everyone he’d ever interacted with had at some point called him anything from temperamental and rude, to downright selfish and explosive. This was not a moment that would encourage an on-looker to make a different observation.

Inuyasha lunged in the direction of the voice, slashing blindly as his eyes blazed red and a truly blood-curdling snarl ripped from his throat, ‘Stay the FUCK away from Kagome, you goddamn sonofaBITCH!!’

For a split second Inuyasha was almost certain his had connected with… well, something solid, but his claws had barely touched against the elusive presences when he was slammed to the ground by the voice’s eerily disembodied hands. He was back on his feet in an instant, lashing out in all directions and snarling as the voice repeated itself over and over in his mind. The voice was silent, but he could feel it watching him, spurring him on to continue the futile attack.

Inuyasha finally dropped to his knees, panting heavily as he glared out into the darkness, ‘Coward! Come out and face me instead of hiding in the dark like this!’

A low sigh filled his ears, echoing around his to make the direction impossible to determine, ‘I am not going to fight with you, Inuyasha.’

‘You’re threatening Kagome,’ his eyes gleamed violently as his claws dug deeply into his palms. ‘If you thought I’d let you fucking do that unchallenged, you’ve been deluding yourself!’

‘I’m trying to help her, you stubborn idiot,’ the man’s voice had filled with irritation.

‘By breaking our connection?!’ Inuyasha’s lip curled back off his fangs. ‘That’s bullshit! You tied her to me and from what YOU’VE said, that connection is the only thing that’s saved her life more than once. What happens if you disconnect us and something goes wrong, hn? Would Kagome be able to balance without it? I need that spell to keep her from losing control of her youkai side.’

‘She shouldn’t need to balance if everything goes as planned,’ the voice explained in a growl. ‘The spell’s magic caused those troubles and if it is lifted, it will not be necessary to have that kind of link to her.’

Inuyasha felt a rise of bile in his throat, every ounce of his being rebelling at the way this youkai was so casually speaking of destroying his bond, ‘Is she mortal as she is now?’

‘You already know she isn’t,’ in snorted disdainfully. ‘The amount and strength of the youkai blood inside her is changing the human blood with every heartbeat. That is why this must be done quickly, before she falls too deeply into her instincts to allow them to be removed from her. Given time, Kagome will protect the youkai blood inside her just as jealously as you do.’

Inuyasha slowly pushed himself to his feet, his hands still tightly fisted as his ears flattened back and he demanded, ‘If…” He bit down hard on his lip to hold in the instinctive shout of denial in favor of wanting to know exactly what this voice intended to try on her. He had to be prepared to defend her, ‘Would she lose that?’

‘I believe she can be re-infused with human blood and restore her humanity, but simply removing the youkai blood would kill her. There is not enough of the human blood left in her body to support it alone after that mess with that disgusting creature, although gratefully, all the youkai blood is your own. Kagome-chan purified the magic and blood inside her while yours attacked it more directly.’ The voice chuckled slightly, ‘I had never seen a youkai, much less a hanyou, with blood as possessive as yours. It simply refuses to allow any other presence inside her body than your own.’

Inuyasha closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he fought to calm his fierce anger by sheer force of will, ‘Maybe you haven’t been listening, asshole. Kagome is mine, and no matter what you say, I won’t let anyone or anything take what’s mine. If you’re surprised by how strong our bond is, you can’t possibly know either of us very well.’

The derisive snort that answered him set his teeth on edge, ‘Kagome-chan could get along with any youkai, even ones I was certain she would despise being young, human, and a miko. Given your personality, Inuyasha, her devotion to you never ceases to astound me, and her tolerance… I had never known creatures like that existed. It is in her very nature to hold to those she cares for and protect them.

‘Your motives, in my experience, are rarely pure,’ it continued, unperturbed by the hanyou’s bristling and deep-throated growl. ‘I believe your presence is so dominant inside her because you wanted Kagome-chan from the start and that your feelings only built inside you the longer you were with her. When you felt the change to bind her to you, your soul took full advantage. After all, every time I came in contact with you, you were giving off signals that you had staked your claim even though you had yet to act on it. Or to fully choose between her and that undead miko, despite Kagome-chan’s loyalty to you.’

‘That’s none of your fucking business,’ Inuyasha bared his teeth to cover the sharp twinge of guilt that went through him.

‘If I choose to make it my business, then it will be, Inuyasha,’ there was a definite taunt in the voice this time. ‘Frankly I’m amazed you defended Kagome-chan to that bitch after how completely you seemed to lose your head around her before. Imagine…. Kissing a corpse while your mate was watching….’

‘If all you’re here to do now is run your mouth, then you can just go back to wherever the hell it was you came from,’ Inuyasha’s hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides, head bowing to hide blazing eyes behind his bangs.

‘I’m here to see to it that this mess gets straightened out before anything else happens,’ he responded. ‘Kagome-chan did not ask to be bound to you in such a way and it has caused numerous troubles. I cannot in good conscience allow her to be trapped by a spell like this.’

Inuyasha pressed a hand hard against his chest as his heart lurched painfully, ‘I won’t let you take her away from me.’

‘Is that really fair to her? She never asked you to become human, Inuyasha. Are you telling me that you will force her to become a youkai for you?’

His eyes went wide and he let out a shout of denial even as his own mind whispered agreements with the youkai voice. Was he really as selfish as it said? He shook his head fiercely, ‘I mated her when I thought she was human. I don’t care what she is, she’s just… just mine…!’

‘Reversing the spell will not remove the fact that she is your mate,’ the voice admitted after a long, tense silence. ‘The bond may not be as strong as it is now, but it will still be present. After all, mating is a physical thing as much as it is in the soul. I may be powerful, but even I have no way of restoring what she gave you in that respect.’

Inuyasha ducked his head to hide his relief from the voice, his eyes clenching shut as he gritted out, ‘What would it do? If I agreed….’

‘I am nearly positive that I will be able to make it as though the spell had never been cast in the first place,’ there was a shrug in his voice that made Inuyasha want to tear his eyes out for being so nonchalant over something that was driving a knife through his soul with every word. ‘Your blood will be returned to you and Kagome-chan will again be fully human. That ridiculous word spell you have on her would be gone as well as the branding mark. Most importantly, the path to her spell would be closed to prevent any further incidents like her meeting with the dead woman or with that vile creation, Naraku.’

‘Gone,’ he repeated in a hollow voice, unprepared for the emptiness that assailed him when he thought of looking at her and never seeing the tattoo again, the mark that, to him, had solidified his right to be so possessive of her.

‘I can work the spell back in stages, but to do so, you both have to release your hold in each other. I will need to be able to hold her soul with my own to see how much needs to be done, and every time I’ve tried, your soul pushes me out.’

His head snapped up, ‘You didn’t say anything about you moving into her if I let go.’

‘I have a mate, Inuyasha, I do not look at Kagome-chan in that way,’ it snorted as though disgusted at the mere suggestion. ‘If I do not, she would be wide open for Naraku without any protection and that is unacceptable. The spell is in its last stages of development and if it is not done within the next few days, it really will be permanent.’

Next few days….

Inuyasha went still when he heard that, sucking in a sharp breath as his mind reeled with the implications. In just a few days, the spell wouldn’t be able to be removed and he would be bound to Kagome forever. Maybe-

‘Inuyasha, I told you of the time limit in order to impress the importance of this action on you, not to give you the coward’s way out,’ the voice hardened. ‘I came to you first because you are her mate, and as such, it is your right as the dominant to see to her care. However, if I decide you are not a proper guardian over her soul I will take other measures. Even force.’

‘What the fuck do you mean by other measures, you bastard?’ his brows lowered in an enraged scowl at the suggestion that this youkai would threaten to take her away from him.

‘I can speak to you in this fashion. What makes you think it would be any more difficult for me to bring her to me and tell her exactly what I’ve told you?’ the voice was softer now, self assured. ‘She had a normal life, Inuyasha. Do you really think she wouldn’t want that back?’

‘She’ll die.’

‘It’s her right to decide if she wants to,’ it scolded. ‘She had no choice in becoming what she is now. How would you feel if one morning you woke up as a human with no way to transform yourself back into a hanyou? If you had not wanted to be a human, how would you feel towards the one who changed you?’

Inuyasha looked away again, his eyes obviously troubled as he turned over what this voice was saying. Kagome… Would she hate him if he didn’t give her the chance to break the spell? In the beginning she had wanted to find away, but did she still?

‘I am not giving you a choice, Inuyasha. If you do not tell this to Kagome-chan, I will take her myself and explain. Can you look her in the eyes and tell her that you would refuse to let her become as she was?’

‘I’ll fucking kill you for this,’ Inuyasha hissed through clenched teeth.

Nonplussed, the voice responded, ‘You have until tomorrow night.’

**

The first thing Inuyasha did when he jolted awake was reach for Kagome, coming bolt upright with a shout of denial that had Miroku and Sango on their feet, weapons ready. Inuyasha ignored them, his eyes darting around the grove with a hint of desperation as he tried to locate her scent, “Kagome?! Kagome!!”

“Fuck, not so loud!” Kagome dropped to the ground beside him, nearly making him jump out of his skin. “I heard you the first-!”

She broke off in concern when Inuyasha swept her up in a crushing embrace, hesitantly sliding her arms around him as she looked to Sango and Miroku for some clue to his unexplained behavior. When they looked back at her with the same baffled expressions, she lifted her hand to stroke his hair the same way she had done for Shippo when he’d had nightmares and turned her head to whisper softly, “Inuyasha, what happened? I’m right here; everything’s all right.”

He flinched, deepening her confusion even further when he spoke, “Don’t leave me, Kagome.”

She blinked, pulling back to look up at him and cup his face, eyes narrowing as she focused on his gleaming eyes, “What did you dream?”

Inuyasha bent down and kissed her, his hands tangling in her hair as he seemed to search the embrace for some sort of reassurance. Kagome responded blindly, beginning to worry at the completely uncharacteristic display of emotion, but she had barely leaned into him when he pulled away. He reached up and caught Kagome’s wrist, his eyes grim, “We need to talk.”

Kagome frowned, confusion returning as her eyes narrowing fractionally when she focused on the connection to give her a hint of his emotions. She wanted the help with him displaying so many, and he’d done it to gauge her own moods, so why not? Unexpectedly, she was bombarded with a harsh assortment of everything from rage and pain to downright misery and a sort of resigned hope. “What the hell is going on, Inuyasha?” Kagome rose to her feet warily, her mind screaming at her that this was going to be a conversation she wouldn’t enjoy.

He swallowed, setting his jaw as he looked at the curious faces of their other companions and tugged her lightly to follow, “Come with me.”

Sango caught Kagome’s eyes, mouthing the question as to whether they should sleep yet and nodding in understanding when Kagome shook her head no. She watched the pair vanish into the darkened woods, glancing at Miroku as she rolled her shoulders to relax her tensed muscles, “Houshi-sama?”

“Inuyasha is obviously terrified of something,” Miroku frowned, turning his gaze up to the sky and scanning it as though the answers they needed were there. “I wonder…. Sango, Kagome-sama said that the one who cast the spell would only speak to her when she slept, and Inuyasha was knocked unconscious when he had his own audience. Perhaps the found the need to speak with him again.”

She looked at him sharply, “Why would they do that if Kagome-chan is safe? Do you think Naraku’s magic did something to the spell?”

Miroku turned back to look in the direction the hanyou had gone, “For his sake, I truly hope not.”

Inuyasha stopped when they had left the range of human hearing, leaning back against one of the trees, releasing her wrist and taking a deep, bracing breath, ‘Just explain it all to her. This… This is for the best and you know it! Do you really want Naraku to be able to take control of her again? He said it has to be done to get Kagome back the way she was. She never asked for any of this….’

Warm hands gently stroking his ears snapped him out of his inner struggle, turning his gaze to Kagome’s concerned gaze, “Inuyasha, what happened? You can tell me and then we can fix it, right? Just like you’ve fixed everything else.”

He knew she was trying to calm him, but her words had him cringing all over again on a wave of renewed guilt. ‘You have to let go if you ever want to face yourself again. What if you don’t tell her and he DOES connect with her to tell her what I couldn’t? Or worse, if he really could take her forcefully…. he said can do it if her soul wanted to be freed from mine. What if she hated me for keeping it from her? Could I bear it?’

He ground the heels of his hands into his eyes as though he could banish this mess through force, but once again, soft hands caught his and pulled them away from his face, squeezing lightly to get him to look down. His ears drooped and he broke her light grip to trace a claw over the scar on her left cheek, “I’m sorry I was too late to stop him from doing this to you, Kagome.”

Kagome’s eyes widened and shook her head, “Baka, is that what you’re worried about? It was my fault, not yours, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty over.”

“Still-“

She pressed her hand to his mouth and gave him a frown, “If I can’t say it’s my fault then neither can you. Don’t make me beat the shit out you to prove a point, I’m not in the mood.”

He snorted in helpless amusement, “Your youkai blood must be sleeping if you aren’t feeling up to a fight.”

Kagome winked at him and reached up to tug on his ear, “Just not with you. It’s not so bad, you know, having a youkai side.” She flashed the smirk she copied from him and gave him her best arrogant look, “How do you think I got up that tree?”

Something in his eyes turned sad and he sighed in regret, averting his gaze again, “Kagome-?” His voice caught and he closed his eyes, dropping his head to his chest with a humorless smile of self-disgust, “Dammit, I’m such a fucking weakling.”

“Inuyasha!” she gaped at him in shock.

He slid her a sideways glance, his eyes shuttered and hard, “What if I told you there was a way to…. to fix this whole thing.”

Kagome’s look was uncomprehending and she grabbed his haori, brows drawn together in reaction to the distress echoing from the tattoo, “What the hell are you talking about? Fix what whole thing? What’s gotten into you, dammit?! This isn’t like you!”

“The spell can be fixed.”

Kagome went perfectly still, her mouth falling open for a moment before she dropped her hand from his clothing and took a step back, eyes filling with disbelief, “What-?”

Inuyasha folded his arms inside his sleeves so she wouldn’t see how tightly he gripped his hands together. He couldn’t prevent her from hearing the growl that rose from his throat, not when every last part of him was so violently rebelling against the very idea he was about to suggest. It took supreme will power to prevent himself from losing it completely and either being ill or grabbing onto her so tightly she wouldn’t be able to get away if she wanted.

His lip curled back as he forced himself to continue, “I…. I met the owner of the spell.” He peeked at her from the corner of his eye, biting down hard when he saw the glassy look in her pale eyes and the way the blood had drained completely from her face, “He said he knows how to reverse it.”

“Reverse?” she repeated, her voice quiet, as though she was in a daze.

Fists clenched even more tightly in their hiding place, “He said he was almost certain he could remove…. everything. You can be human again.”

Kagome turned away to prevent him from seeing her face, arms wrapping around her waist and absently palming the tattoo, ‘Human again?’ Her heart started to pound and she bit her lip, wincing when she felt her canines starting to sharpen and desperately holding back the blood before the more obvious signs could manifest. To Inuyasha, she demanded, “The voices told me it would kill me to remove the youkai blood.”

“He was a youkai,” Inuyasha’s heart dropped at the way she kept her back to him, the line of her shoulders clenched tightly as though every muscle was tensed. “He thinks that with a transfer of human blood to replace the youkai amounts you should be fine. He wants to work the spell backwards and…. and pull out all the changes that were made.”

“The tattoo would be gone?” Kagome tilted her head down to her chest, closing her eyes and fisting her hands. “My subduing spell?”

“Aa,” it was almost too quiet for her to hear, but beneath her palm, the tattoo took up a painful throbbing, spreading heat through her blood as though trying to hide too deep inside her to be removed.

“What about…. ?” Kagome swallowed, unable to stop the slight flush that crossed her cheeks. “Inuyasha, would we still be mates?” one of her fisted hands moved away from her side to splay across her stomach. Something like that couldn’t be removed, could it?

Inuyasha nodded, his spirits sinking so rapidly at every question he didn’t even think that she wouldn’t see the motion, “The bond may be weakened. He wasn’t certain.” His ears were flattened back so far they almost vanished into his hair, ‘He was right. Kagome does want everything to go back to the way it was before the spell was cast. She…. She wants it all gone,’ he felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest and pressed both fists hard to his stomach.

He wanted to scream at her, to demand to know how she could casually toss aside what had brought them together in the first place. Did she want even the mating revoked? His brows lowered at the thought and he cast a wavering, hurt glare at her still form, ‘She’s mine. She said she loved me…’

“How?” Kagome’s emotionless question cut through his darkening thoughts and made him bite down hard on his own lip as he fought a brutal battle with his conscience.

He could always make something up that he knew she’d never agree to; if he kept her awake until the time had passed, then the voice wouldn’t be able to tell her the truth…. Until the next time she fell asleep, and then she would find out he had lied to keep them connected by the spell. What would she think then?

Swearing as viciously and creatively as he could in his own head, he focused on the back of her head, willing her to turn around and tell him she liked things better this way too. If she went back to being human, she would lose the youkai immortality….

“We have to let him break our connection,” he growled out, the words barely distinguishable for the instinctive, animalistic sound.

Kagome’s scarlet eyes widened, a stunned gasp ripping from her throat as her posture went stiff and straight, “Break-?” She bit down on her lips hard, uncaring now of the fangs growing sharper against the skin, “If that happened… would I still absorb like I do now? Or would that stop too?”

“It would be like the spell was never cast in the first place,” Inuyasha repeated the words, his stomach turning at the way she still refused to turn. “He said it would close off your soul so that you wouldn’t have to worry about balancing. I’d still be a hanyou and you’d be back to normal,” he looked away. If she didn’t want to look at him again, what could he do? It was his blood, so it was his fault. “If we release the hold we have on each other’s soul, he can work the magic.”

“You’d do that?” Kagome snuck a glance over her shoulder, turning back when she noticed his distraction. “You’d let go?” against her will, she felt anger spark to life inside her. Was it so easy for him then? Look how long it had taken him to forget Kikyou, and here he was ready to cut her loose after they had mated and everything?!

Inuyasha almost lost his nerve, almost snapped back at her and refused, but then he’d have to live with the guilt of trapping her. The voice was right, he’d been selfish with Kagome from the start, never once stopping to think of anything but how HE would react to her absence. He had to offer her the chance.

His eyes closed and he managed to nod, “Aa.”

Kagome’s heart clenched, her hands fisting in front of her as she felt her claws grow and the familiar rush of the youkai blood waking up and moving in to take over. It was being threatened and she was making no effort to control it, wrapping it around herself to give her the strength for what she needed to do.

Inuyasha could hear his heart thunder in his ear, painfully aware of the silence from Kagome. He kept his eyes clenched shut, not wanting to see her expression when she responded to that. He wondered if it would kill him to hear her say she wanted to disconnect the spell, but she would still be his mate…. He tried to take some consolation from that, but it barely eased the ache around his heart.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome’s voice right in front him startled him enough that his eyes flew open-

Just in time to see her fist before it slammed into his face so hard he dropped to the ground, his head spinning as she shot away from in a black and white blur, using every bit of her youkai blood to run back the way they’d come.


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Saturday, February 26, 2005

   Chapter 50: Disconnected
Shippo was launching himself at Kagome before Kirara had even started her descent into the grove where Inuyasha and Kagome were gathering up their scattered possessions and repacking what hadn't been ruined. The delighted shriek warned Kagome to look up a split second before the ball of fur slammed into her chest, reflexes brining her arms up around the kit protectively as she slid backwards a full foot, but managed to stay standing.

"Okaa-san!!!" Shippo wailed, his hands tangling in her kimono as he pressed into her so tightly that Kagome had an amused, momentary thought that she'd never be able to detach him. "You're okay! You're... are you normal?" he leaned up and touched her scarred face with curious fingers.

"Oi!" Inuyasha's eyes blazed angrily at the motion, but a narrow look from Kagome stopped him from interrupting.

She turned her azure gaze back to Shippo, stroking a hand through his hair gently, "Hai, Shippo-chan... I'm as normal as I think I can get anymore."

"Oh," he reacted to the slight melancholy edge in her voice by wrapping his arms around her neck and hugging her as hard as he could. "I think you're still the prettiest human I've ever seen, Okaa-san," he assured her in his most serious voice.

"Okaa-san?" Kagome looked down at him, her lips quirking in an affectionate smile.

Shippo looked slightly nervously, turning his gaze down to his lap, fidgeting with a fold of her kimono, "I...Is that okay? I called you that when...ah, when we were fighting...um, and-"

She giggled softly, lifting him up to rub her cheek on his and then press a light kiss to his forehead, "If you want to, Shippo-chan, it's okay."

Inuyasha's ears flattened back as he watched Shippo's eyes brighten before he flung himself into her chest again, nuzzling against Kagome and giving off every sound of happy contentment a nearly baby youkai could make. 'Youkai instincts... Kagome was already bonded to Shippo before this, but she never really understood what it meant to him. And now...'

Sango stared at Kagome in concern as Kirara made her way down, nudging Miroku to murmur, "Houshi-sama... Do you feel it too?"

Miroku nodded somberly, his own gaze on the girl's altered appearance, "Kagome-sama's aura has changed. She still feels human in a way, but it feels youkai underneath that. It's like two separate auras in one body."

"How is that possible?" Sango shook her head in confusion. "If Kagome-chan's human blood was mixed like that, shouldn't it feel hanyou instead of both? Like Inuyasha?"

He sighed deeply as they landed in the grove, keeping his voice quiet in light of the trio with enhanced hearing, "Sango, this has been confusing from the start. We can only hope that either Inuyasha or Kagome will be able to offer us some reason for what has happened to her. Be grateful that they seem to be back to normal."

Kagome's gaze lifted when Kirara landed, her eyes losing the bright glow and taking on a wary sadness as she watched her friends come closer. Inuyasha caught the distress in her mind, the uncertainty and he shot both humans a warning glare. Shippo was one thing, he was a child and certain excuses could be made for his behavior, but Sango and Miroku... He kept his senses carefully attuned to Kagome's emotions when the exterminator started forward, her own eyes full of concern.

"Kagome-chan, are you all right?" she reached out and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders, embracing her tightly for a moment before pulling back and studying her face.

Kagome looked at her in surprise, her mouth opening and then closing for a moment as she tilted her head and studied the older girl’s face. When Sango repeated her question, Kagome shook her head, dispelling whatever had held her silent and flung her arms tightly around the exterminator.

Sango grunted with mild surprise and discomfort at the strength in the girl’s arms, but didn’t pull away, instead looking to Inuyasha for some clue as to why Kagome had reacted that way. When the hanyou shrugged and shook his head, his gaze concerned as it moved over Kagome’s shaking form, Sango turned her own attention down and lightly rubbed her hands over Kagome’s back.

“Kagome-chan…” she murmured softly, trying to bring the younger girl some measure of comfort.

“Gomen ne, Sango-chan,” Kagome whispered against her shoulder, her fingers clenching as she fought to control the sudden rise of bile in her throat over the guilt filling her. “I… I just-“

“You have no reason to apologize, Kagome-sama,” Miroku calmly intervened when Inuyasha started forward, setting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. When she looked up at him in surprise, he smiled affectionately and nodded, “Not even Naraku could stop you from protecting your friends, ne?”

Kagome blinked up at him in disbelief, pulling back slightly from Sango and looking back and forth between her two human friends, “You… you aren’t angry? How can you not be angry with what I did?! I-“

Inuyasha’s arms slid around her from behind and he silenced her with a soft murmur, squeezing her gently to stop her confused tumble of words, “Kagome. Just stop,” he pressed his cheek to hers, completely uncaring that he had an audience at the moment.

“But-!” she craned her neck to look at him, but paused when he shook his head and leaned forward to lightly kiss her forehead.

“Kagome-sama, we are all well aware of Naraku’s tricks,” Miroku drew her attention again, slightly uncomfortable with interrupting Inuyasha, but willing to do so for her welfare. “Our concern is only for your condition,” he reached out and set a hand on her shoulder.

Shippo tugged on her kimono to draw her eyes down to him, “We were so worried, Okaa-san.”

Kagome snuggled back deeper into Inuyasha’s comforting embrace, her eyes shining brightly as she blinked back tears. For a long moment, she could only stare at them in turn, her gaze uncertain and almost fearful before she lowered her head and let her eyes close. She had to swallow several times before she finally managed to whisper softly, “A-arigatou…”

Miroku looked up at Inuyasha inquiringly, patting Kagome’s shoulder as he spoke to the hanyou, “I assume we will be heading back to Kaede’s to discuss this latest development with her?”

Kagome went still when she felt a very definite squeeze at her backside, her head jerking up in surprise while Inuyasha’s lips pulled back in a frustrated snarl, “Bouzu…!”

Sango was faster, bringing Hiraikotsu down over Miroku’s head as her eyebrow twitched in irritation, “Hentai... You think he’d have some respect for what Kagome-chan has gone through.”

Kagome very gently pried Inuyasha’s arms from around her and to the surprise of her companions, knelt down and offered the fallen monk a hand. She smiled warmly at him, her lips twitching suspiciously as she helped him stand and then engulfed him in an embrace that almost knocked to wind out of him.

“Arigatou, Miroku-sama,” she let out a heavy breath, the sound slightly choked with soft laughter. She hid her face to keep him from seeing the smile on her face or the fresh tears in her pale eyes, “Arigatou.”

Miroku smiled affectionately, patting her head and loosely hugging her with his other arm, conscious of the suspicious gazes from Inuyasha and Sango, “Of course, Kagome-sama. Anything to help a friend…”

**

Inuyasha snorted at Kagome as they traveled the familiar roads back towards home, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes before he muttered, “You’re going to have to tell me what that was about back there with Miroku, Kagome. I don’t want him thinking he can grope you like that.”

Kagome smiled, absently stroking Shippo’s hair as the kitsune napped contentedly in the crook of her arm, “He won’t, Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha growled in annoyance, glaring back at where the monk and exterminator kept pace behind them, “What the fuck was he thinking?”

She sighed and reached out with her free hand, giving his hair a yank to get his attention, “Inuyasha… Do you remember how when this all started, you were trying to get me to actually subdue you?”

The hanyou blustered for a moment, scowling to cover his embarrassment even as a faint blush spread over his cheeks, “What does that have to do with Miroku grabbing your ass like that?”

Kagome gave him a dry look for being crude, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, “Sometimes… sometimes you just need one little thing to make everything feel… normal.”

He blinked in confusion, “Getting groped makes you feel normal?”

She smacked him lightly on the arm, “Don’t be dense, Inuyasha. I know you’re smarter than that.” Her hand slipped into his and squeezed when his fingers tightened on hers, “Did getting subdued make you feel normal?”

Inuyasha shrugged, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand and debating on whether or not he should be carrying her. ‘She was seriously hurt just yesterday… Should she be walking so soon?’ She didn’t “feel” like she was overdoing it, but he was still worried about her. His thoughts were distracted enough that he only grumbled out, “If you had told me what was going on it wouldn’t have been so strange.”

Kagome giggled softly, momentarily wondering how it would have been different if she’d told Inuyasha when she first came through the well. “Miroku made me feel… well, like nothing had changed.”

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in distaste, “Next time just tell me if you’re feeling like that. It’s easier on my mind to call you ‘bitch’ a few times rather than see someone touch you like that.”

She looked up at his averted profile and smiled, slipping her hand out of his to trail her fingers gently over his cheek, “Gomen, Inuyasha, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Keh,” his amber gaze slid sideways to briefly catch the warmth of her gaze and let it soothe him before he turned his attention back to the road. His arm moved up around her shoulders, pulling her close, “I still want to break his damn nose.”

Kagome leaned her head against his shoulder as she walked, her own arm sliding around his waist, “What the hell did I do to get tied to a stubborn, violent jerk like you, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha snorted again, rubbing his cheek on the top of her head before he smiled tenderly, “You just got lucky, koi.”

**

Inuyasha looked around the hazy landscape and growled, his anger spiking as he ground the heels of his palms against his eyes, ‘Fuck, I knew I should have stayed awake tonight. All right, where the hell are you this time, you obnoxious sonofabitch?’

To his alarm, the presence that intruded on his senses this time was a tangible thing, rather than the indistinct impressions that he’d had previously. Whatever had brought him to this little in-between consciousness was powerful, and it wasn’t trying to hide that from him.

‘I would have thought you’d be more respectful when you’re unaware of what exactly is waiting for you here, Inuyasha,’ this voice was not as unidentifiable as the last either. This one was obviously a man, arrogant and smooth, but still unfamiliar to him as he cast his gaze about for the owner of that voice.

‘Another one?’ he set his jaw fiercely, turning in a circle as his ears twitched this way and that. ‘How many of you assholes have been running around in Kagome’s head?’

There was a long, weary sigh before the man answered, ‘I have not been “running around” in Kagome-chan’s head as you so eloquently put it. It was much more important for me to come to you.’

‘Me?’ Inuyasha frowned, turning in the direction of the voice and squinting into the darkness.

‘Is that so unbelievable?’ the man laughed softly, but there was a hint of disdainful mockery to it. ‘You are her mate, are you not?’

‘Damn right I am,’ the frown turned instantly into a scowl and he straightened as his temper flared yet again to cover his confusion. ‘Why are you asking that kind of question? Did Naraku send you to get into my head this time after he failed to take her from me? I’ll-!’

‘I did not come to fight with you, Inuyasha,’ now there was definitely an irritated edge to the voice. ‘While I myself prefer to deal with Kagome-chan instead of you, I do not believe she is in the condition to speak with me. Especially not with the way she has begun to manipulate the distortion on her own.’

Inuyasha’s brows rose sharply, ‘Manipulate…on her own? What the-?!’

‘You felt it once, I believe,’ the voice continued, ignoring the shocked hanyou. ‘That disgusting creature truly does understand spells of this nature, and unfortunately, he encouraged Kagome to use the spell to absorb energy when her own has been depleted. Has she tried this yet?’

‘I…I don’t… I’m not sure,’ Inuyasha shook his head fiercely, his heart pounding in his ears as his gaze lowered, eyes unfocused.

There was a slightly exasperated noise, and then a hand closed around his throat, lifting him high and slamming him into the ground before he’d even registered a threat, ‘Has she felt tired in your mind and then suddenly she feels fine? Dammit, Inuyasha, think! This is important.’

Inuyasha growled, not at all surprised when his claws failed to locate the source of the pressure on his throat. However, he obediently searching his memory for something like what this voice was suggesting. His eyes narrowed when he recalled the way her heartbeat had skipped this morning, that moment when he’d been concerned that she might not be balancing the way she should have.

‘What does it mean if she has?’ he demanded in a low voice, his muscles tensing in reaction to the less than encouraging memory.

‘Yes or no, Inuyasha,’ the hand tightened.

‘I haven’t got a fucking clue what you’re talking about, so I can’t say for sure!’ Inuyasha snarled out, mentally plotting all sorts of things to do to these “voices” when he finally found their bodies. ‘Maybe… This morning, she…she got angry and the youkai blood almost took over, but she managed to push it back. She felt tired, but then I felt her… almost skip a beat in my head, but she recovered. She was still balancing.’

The hold vanished and Inuyasha shot to his feet, massaging his throat with one hand and scowling at the voice, ‘Damn… I hadn’t thought she used it so quickly.’

‘What does it mean!?’ Inuyasha demanded angrily, his hands fisting at his sides in helpless frustration. ‘And just who the fuck ARE you?!!’ he threw out his hands in an expansive gesture.

Another sigh, ‘So impatient, Inuyasha. It makes no difference, but if it calms your mind, I am the owner of the spell that was cast on Kagome-chan.’

Inuyasha went perfectly still, his eyes widening for a moment before narrowing as a dangerous growl worked its way from deep in his chest, ‘Y-you?! You worthless bastard! If I ever-!’

‘Calm yourself,’ the voice snorted in disapproval. ‘I am the owner, but I was not the caster. Those two damn idiots stole the spell and cast it on her without fully understanding exactly what they were doing. I was unaware of what had occurred until a short time ago. That is why I am here now instead of them.’

Inuyasha calmed himself with effort, taking several deep breaths to control his urge to blindly attack the admitted source of Kagome’s troubles and pain. This man said he owned the spell, but he also said it had been stolen and cast… So couldn’t this “voice” answer his questions about it? There was only one way to find out.

‘I want some answers,’ he folded his arms across his chest and set his jaw to bite back the curses and threats dying to break free.

‘Make it quick,’ there was an obvious shrug in the sound of the voice, its owner almost apathetic in his responses. ‘We do have something of a time frame in which I can connect to you in this fashion, and we have important matters to discuss.’

‘What was the spell supposed to do?’ Inuyasha’s ear flattened back defensively, half afraid of the answer, but wanting to know all the same.

‘The spell was crafted as a…sort of gift to me,’ he responded casually. ‘The current guardian of the Shikon-no-Tama was aware that I wished to keep a mortal beside me. She used her magic with mine to create a spell that would tie that mortal’s body and soul to my own, so that they would live unchanged through their connection to my soul.’

‘Then you’re a youkai,’ Inuyasha reasoned.

‘That should have been obvious,’ again that disdainful snort that set his teeth on edge. ‘Only a youkai would be strong enough to fashion such a spell.’

Inuyasha ignored that in favor of the question he wanted the answer to the most, ‘What went wrong?’

‘You wish to know how the spell distorted when it was cast on Kagome-chan,’ the voice sighed deeply, giving the impression he felt the question was a waste of time even as he responded. ‘The spell was meant to be cast on a human without magic. Not only that, but the Shikon-no-Tama was used to strengthen the force of the spell, and as Kagome-chan’s aura is disturbingly similar to that jewel, the spell recognized it as its origin. It was never meant to be used on a human with her kind of powers or so ancient a soul.

‘Also, the blood they used is the blood of your future self, and not only that, but they somehow managed to separate your youkai and human blood. Only your youkai blood was used for the mark and added to her association with the jewel, it caused an unexpected reaction. The spell opened up a path to her soul and in doing so turned her into a sort of conduit for not only her own magic, but for youkai magic as well.

‘I can tell you that the spell started out relatively harmless,’ he continued, the sound of his voice much closer than it had been a moment ago. ‘However, it had a ready supply of very powerful magic at its disposal inside of her and it used that magic to make itself stronger and… mature, for lack of a better word. Kagome being… a miko, the youkai blood responded as though it had been threatened, and it was possible she would have killed the spell before it solidified had not one of those idiots used the path to her soul to possess her and fight.’

‘The first fight with those youkai…’ Inuyasha murmured quietly. ‘When she killed them both and Miroku said he felt three magic auras.’

‘One was yours,’ the man agreed, unperturbed by the shock in Inuyasha’s voice. ‘You were unaware of it, but due to your connection through the spell, the other presence in her woke your blood from its dormant state. It sensed the other presence inside her and reacted somewhat violently in its effort to force another male out of her. Although, if Kagome-chan hadn’t trusted you or loved you as she does, though the gods only know “why” she does, it may have killed her. Luckily for you, her soul knows yours and instead of fighting against it, she twisted her aura around it and let it gain strength in her body to make its claim.

‘It was not a normal human reaction to youkai blood and definitely not the reaction of a miko. That was when the spell truly began to change, and to change her along with it. You noticed her behavior began to change? She lost some of her human restraints and inhibitions? She even began to feel and senses things like a youkai when your soul gained dominance.’

Inuyasha sat down, dropping his head into his hands as his mind raced with everything this voice was telling him. These were the explanations that he wanted, but did he really want to hear this? ‘I only noticed when she started hearing things a human shouldn’t,’ he spoke absently.

‘You’re aware of what occurred when that undead miko nearly killed her, ne?’ he could sense the owner of the voice standing above him before a hand came down on his shoulder. ‘That creature manipulated her instinct to survive and somehow teased your blood into almost completely taking over her human side. That miko would have killed her if that hadn’t happened, but that started the dominance in the youkai blood. YOUR soul was terrified of losing Kagome-chan and it took control of her soul through the blood to tie her to you on its own.

‘It was even worse then your human night came. Somehow the blood in you completely transferred to her and her own did the same to you. It was your soul’s decision and it used every moment inside her to prepare her body for when your youkai blood was mixed with her own completely,’ the hand tapped a finger against his shoulder in irritation.

‘What?’ Inuyasha’s head lifted in confusion. ‘I… I didn’t do this! I didn’t do any of this!’

‘In the future, Inuyasha, when they took the blood from you, all of this had already happened,’ he explained, but the sound of his voice turned almost hesitant, as though he didn’t really want to tell him that. ‘When your youkai blood felt that Kagome was not connected to it, it…it was enraged for lack of a better term. You could even say that it overdid it in its effort to connect with the Kagome of your present. And as the blood is still yours, and mixed with your own of now, it made it that much stronger.’

‘Then…everything that’s happened to her is permanent?’ Inuyasha set his jaw, willing to accept that Kagome had been turned into…whatever the hell it was she had turned into because of his blood’s reaction. He was just glad he had forever to figure out how to make it up to her.

‘That is why I have come in place of those two,’ the arrogance was back full force, and the hand lifted off his shoulder. ‘I’ve wasted enough time with your questions when I’ve yet to address the real reason I’m here.’

‘What the fuck are you here for then? To tell me what a mistake this has all been? Are you trying to blame this on me?’ Inuyasha reared up, his eyes blazing angrily as he searched the darkness despite knowing just how futile the action was.

‘Of course not,’ came the dry response, along with a strike from behind than sent him to the ground. ‘Don’t force me to break my promise that I wouldn’t fight with you. I am here to help you, you brainless idiot.’

‘Help? From any of you?’ he snorted, picking himself up and reminding himself over and over that there wasn’t any way to kill this “voice” just yet. ‘I’d rather cut out my own heart.’

The voice was silent a moment and Inuyasha felt a chill rush down his spine when quiet laughter shattered the stillness, ‘Your own heart? You certainly never do anything in halves, do you, Inuyasha?’

‘Shut up,’ he bared his teeth in the direction of the voice, his ears once again flicking in an effort to locate the man so he could pound some of his frustration with the entire mess out on something that could bleed for a change.

There was a deep sigh and then the voice had reverted to his seemingly favored bored disdain, ‘Inuyasha, I can correct most, if not all the damage that has been done to Kagome-chan.’

‘Wha-?! What the fuck?!’ Inuyasha’s spine straightened in shock and he spun in a circle. ‘You can fix the spell? Dammit, why the hell didn’t you say so in the first place?! And why haven’t you done it yet?’

‘Because I need your cooperation for it to work.’

Inuyasha scowled darkly, ‘You did it without my cooperation, why do you need it to fix it?’

‘We’ve tried to correct the spell, but each time we get close to her, your soul attacks us and settles even deeper in her,’ the voice growled out. ‘If we keep trying the effects really will be permanent.’

‘My soul attacks…? Wait, why would my soul attack you for trying to correct the spell?’ his eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Just what the fuck do I have to agree to let you do for it to work?’

‘I have to sever your connection with Kagome-chan.’

Inuyasha froze, his eyes going wide and his heart lurching in his chest as he swallowed a painful lump in his throat. He had to have misheard him… The weren’t actually suggesting… His voice was nearly silent when he gritted out, ‘What…what did you say?’

‘I have to disconnect you.’


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Monday, February 14, 2005

   Chapter 49: A Little Late To Be Shy...
Inuyasha blinked at her in confusion, attempting to connect that it really was Kagome speaking in that heartbroken voice. His ears flattened back as he knelt behind her, ignoring her soft sound of protest as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his lap. He growled to warn her that he wasn’t putting her down anytime soon and rubbed his chin over the top of her head. He nipped her ear, frowning when he saw just the slightest hint of a point to the tips, but pushed that aside to question, “What would you need forgiveness for, Kagome?”

Her eyes teared and she dropped her chin to her chest rather than chance meeting his eyes, “I’m no better than Kikyou.”

Inuyasha sucked in a breath sharply, his hands tensing as he yanked her around in his lap to face him, “What the fuck are you talking about?!”

Kagome cringed, still looking down at her hands fisted together between them, “I… I betrayed you… I went to Naraku and-“

Inuyasha grabbed her chin and forced her face up, his mouth closing over hers to stop the guilty stream of words tumbling from her lips. He was barely aware of the growl that filled Kagome’s senses, the contact rougher then normal, but his frustration and anger made him much less restrained.

For a moment, Kagome fought against him, the tears that had been burning behind her eyes sliding down her cheeks. Her hands came up to circle his wrists as she let out a choked sob against his lips, but finally slumped helplessly under the unyielding pressure. She didn’t want to fight against Inuyasha, and that kiss… she always wanted to melt into his kiss.

Inuyasha’s growl changed to a more soothing sound when her hands stopped pushing him away and instead tried to pull him closer. His arm wrapped tightly around her as he released her lips, staring down into her eyes as he ground out in a low, dangerous voice, “Don’t… ever fucking say that again, Kagome.”

Kagome’s eyes were wide as she stared up at him and her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally choked out, “But-!”

He lifted a hand to press a finger over her lips, “Your voices came to me too.”

Her eyes went wide, that casual sentence shocking her into silence as he very carefully fitted her body against his, rubbing his cheek over hers as he kept up the calming rumble and stroked the bare skin of her back. “What did Kagura say to you? What did you feel that made you… that made you go?” his voice broke slightly on the last and he buried his face in the curve of her throat.

Kagome swallowed convulsively, her hand shaking as it rose to stroke through his hair, “She… At first she said she only wanted to talk. She said that Naraku had been watching me, and he knew that I’d been bound to you by the spell.

“Kagura said Naraku was obsessed with me and he cold break the spell,” she admitted in a small voice, tucking in on herself in his lap. “She told me I wasn’t human anymore…that I was more like a youkai now. I’m not mortal.”

Inuyasha made a soothing noise deep in his throat, stroking her hair encouragingly, “It’s all right, koi. I’ll take care of you no matter what happens, you know I will.”

“I waited for you,” Kagome whispered, her eyes squeezing closed as her hands clenched into fists against his shoulders. “But then Kagura said you wouldn’t come because you’d gone to Kikyou. Then something… I thought it was me, but it wasn’t, was it? I fell for his trap again, just because I listened when I heard you were with Kikyou.”

“I told her to leave and she attacked me, Kagome,” he explained, setting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back to look into her eyes. “Your voices told me that something was waiting, it wasn’t your fault that it happened. If anything it’s mine because I wasn’t there when Naraku came.”

Kagome lifted her hands to her cheeks, her gaze turning inwards as she murmured, “I should have known… I knew the bow cut me. I broke it in half when I saw you kissing her, but I barely felt it. I only knew because I smelled blood. Then I just felt like I had to get away, like I always did. That’s what he put in my head, wasn’t it?”

He nodded slowly, wondering if Kagome was even really seeing him. Something about the way her eyes had glazed over warned him that she was speaking to herself and if he spoke, he ran the risk of breaking her from her self inflicted trance and missing out on this insight.

“I went to Naraku’s palace and I was in so much pain,” she murmured, her fingers splaying wide over her heart as her brows lowered in remembrance. “But then he told me that the voice in my head was Onigumo. He told me… that he admired my strength, and he wanted to understand the spell. I couldn’t think. All I could hear was a woman’s voice, Kikyou’s voice, and he told me he could block it out. It hurt so badly, and his voice was making it go away. He kept telling me to ask for help and I… I took his hand…” she looked down at her palm, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Inuyasha’s hands tightened sharply on her, baring his teeth in violent rejection of the thought of Naraku twisting such a confusing plot into Kagome’s already jumbled emotions. She had been in absolutely no condition to fight against that kind of mess on her own, especially not when she was surrounded by so much corrupted magic. Her soul would have been weakened trying purify the mass amounts it was absorbing, and with Naraku sliding his magic through the Shikon-no-Tama, he’d even tricked her into thinking some of that magic was pure.

“I couldn’t hear when I woke up and I was bleeding,” she put a hand to her head again. “My entire side was soaking and Naraku…he cleaned it and bandaged it, but when I tried to sense you, all the pain came back. I closed myself off, but then we sensed you coming, and Onigumo kept talking to me about Kikyou. I was so angry.”

Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to respond when Kagome’s brows lowered, her eyes clearing when they snapped up to his. She brought her hands up sharply, slapping the flat of her hands against his chest and knocking him back as she flipped to her feet in a motion that was definitely more hanyou than human.

“You were kissing Kikyou,” she hissed at him, backing away when he rose to his feet, her emotions redirecting abruptly into anger. She immediately began to look for her clothes, the tears in her eyes now frustrated and hurt instead of that lost sadness she’d been trapped in a moment ago. “I only went with Kagura when I saw that,” she found her kimono and began yanking it on with jerky, frustrated motions.

“Kagome, it really wasn’t what it looked like,” Inuyasha grabbed at his own kimono and hakama, not wanting to get drawn into this argument naked. “I didn’t know it was Kikyou when I went looking, I just smelled something. And she attacked me, dammit, why didn’t Kagura show you that!” he snarled out defensively.

Kagome gave him a dry look as she pulled on the black hakama, tying it around her absently as she turned to face him, “What I saw certainly didn’t look like fighting. You were just standing there and kissing her, Inuyasha. Why did you-!?” her voice broke, betraying her emotions as she clenched her hand into a fist over her heart.

“Kagome-!” Inuyasha took a step forward, only to go crashing backwards when Kagome lashed out, catching him in the jaw with her elbow. “Dammit, bitch, what did you do that for!?” he pushed himself up, lightly touching his jaw to make sure she hadn’t broken it with her increased strength.

“Don’t touch me, Inuyasha, I’m pissed off and I really don’t want to rip out your ears until I’m calm enough to fucking appreciate it!” she fisted her hands at her hips, glaring down at him.

Inuyasha set his jaw and pushed himself up to his feet to scowl down at her, ‘At least she looks…well, as human as she can anymore.’ He reached out, catching her wrists when she swung at him again and pressed her back against the tree behind her, “You’re my mate, Kagome, I can touch you whenever I damn well want. Now calm down before your youkai blood gets out of control and changes you!”

Kagome’s irises flashed scarlet for a moment and her body went stiff against his, but he pulled her up against him and growled out, “Listen to me, you know I’m right. I can feel what it’s doing probably better than you can, and you have to calm it down.”

Her brows twitched as she very obviously debated in her head whether to listen to him or not, but finally her hands stopped pushing him away and instead fisted in his kimono. She took several deep breaths and slumped against him, her already exhausted body protesting the energy she expended to control her youkai side, “Why?”

Inuyasha’s ears flattened back and he let out a defeated sigh, sinking down to his knees so he could pull Kagome up into his lap and wrap his arms around her. He didn't even pretend to misunderstand, “I thought it would make her go away.”

Kagome let out a bitter laugh, pressing her forehead to his chest, “So if I didn’t kill her when I threw her, you’ll kiss her when she comes back to make her go away?”

He growled in frustration, “Dammit, Kagome, you wanted to fight her and I didn’t get in your way. What the hell better way could I prove that I wasn’t kissing her on purpose!?”

She pushed herself up, taking in a deep breath as she focused on the strength she could feel in Inuyasha. ‘Who would have thought Naraku would teach me something useful,’ she thought in disgust even as she shuddered with the sudden rush of energy. ‘Without him I wouldn’t know I could do this…’

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed when he felt a twinge, Kagome’s heart skipping a beat in his mind. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, ignoring her irritated look when he leaned closed and took a careful sniff, ‘Oh, Kagome, you’d better still be balancing.’ There was a note of relief in her voice as he sighed, “You almost smell human still.”

“What do you mean ‘almost?’ Why wouldn’t I smell human?” she shook her head in confusion. ‘What Kagura said… that was just a lie, right?’

He reached up and touched the slight point to her ear with a look of regret, “When… when Naraku had you, you were still bleeding. Your human blood, not mine."

Kagome's eyes widening, the scarlet fading back to azure as she gaped at him in disbelief, "My human blood? What does that mean?"

Inuyasha brought his fingers down to her lips, curiously pressing to feel her canines when Kagome's look changed to irritation at the prodding and she bit him. He smiled affectionately down at her even as his heart sank, "Your teeth are sharper."

She released him abruptly, scrambling backwards too fast for him to catch as her hands flew up to her mouth in alarm. She prodded at her canines tentatively, wincing when she pressed her fingertip into one and came away with a slight puncture, "Dammit."

Kagome was on her feet and searching the camp before Inuyasha could grab at her, his ears flattening back in cautious worry as he stood and folded his arms across his chest, "What is it?"

She knelt beside the slightly scattered contents of her pack, tossing things aside until she came up with a thin square case, "I need a mirror."

"Wait, don't-!" his eyes went wide in panic and he leapt across the grove, but she had already flipped the compact open. Inuyasha stopped behind her, his body tense and carefully attuned to hers as he watched her stare into the little mirror.

Kagome sat for a long moment, staring at the reflection with wide, unblinking eyes before she lifted her free hand to trail over the pale lines on her cheeks. Her eyes clenched shut in pain when a jolt of images tumbled through her mind, echoing voices and a horrible burning smell of- "Miasma... Naraku put it in the cuts to make them scar?"

Inuyasha growled, dropping down to his knees and wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her back against his chest, "He'll pay for it, Kagome. I swear I'll take him apart a piece at a time for what he did to you."

She let out a reflexive purring growl, leaning back into him for the comfort she could sense he was offering even as she moved her compact to study the rest of her face. Pale eyes, the barest hint of a point to her ears, and sharper canines... "I kinda look like a youkai," Kagome whispered in shock, turning her head to search for an answer in Inuyasha's familiar amber gaze.

Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh, lifting one hand to take the compact away from her and toss it away. His arms tightened around her as he wordlessly eased the spasmodic tensing in her muscles before he actually spoke, "You're still you, Kagome. You're still beautiful."

Kagome's eyes closed and she leaned into him, her arms lifting to slide around his neck, "Then it's true, isn't it? Kagura said I wasn't mortal, that I would live as long as a youkai."

He rubbed his chin over her head, finally smiling when her hands moved up to absently stroke his ears, "The voices said they thought you would, something about the distortion of my blood and your soul."

She leaned back to look into his face, "They talked to you?"

Inuyasha let her see a chagrined wince cross his features, "They bitched me out for letting Kikyou trick me and upsetting you among other things."

Her brow furrowed in confusion, even as she felt some of her upset pull away at the honest emotions she was pulling from the hanyou, "They? There was more than one?"

He nodded carefully, "One of them was a real bastard, but the other was... well, as helpful as it could be given the situation. Why are you surprised? They said they talked to you first."

She nodded, but her lips were turning down thoughtfully, "I only had one talk to me. The other was Onigumo, and he only talked to me when I was awake..."

"That won't happen again," Inuyasha's eyes darkened with promise when he saw the shadows start to creep back into her eyes. "Don't think about it, Kagome, it's more important that we get you healed," he trailed his claws lightly along her cheek, tilting her face up to give her a soft kiss. When he leaned back, he cupped her face in his hands and waited until her eyes had opened before he murmured, "I'm sorry for what happened with Kikyou."

Kagome stared searchingly into his glowing eyes for a moment before she offered him a tiny smile, blushing and dropping her gaze as she responded, "It... did feel good when you stepped aside and let me fight her."

"I would have done it myself," when her disbelieving gaze shot up to his, he gave her a laugh filled with self-disgust. "Don't believe me? Kagome, I took YOU to mate, and because of her I could feel you in so much pain in my head. I had to see you fighting beside Naraku, and I had to smell how much you were bleeding when I couldn't help you. You know what it feels like to feel anger as a youkai... What do you think I wanted to do?"

Her eyes dropped and she fidgeted nervously, still blushing at how easily he tossed out mating, but nodding in understanding, "I could have killed you."

Inuyasha snorted arrogantly, "Not a chance."

Kagome's eyes blazed when she speared him with a fierce scowl, but when he started laughing and gave her a bone-popping hug that had her breath rushing out in a surprised "oomph," she relaxed. Smacking him lightly on the head, she stuck out her tongue at him, "Baka. I'm going to have to figure out something to bring that ego of yours down a notch or two."

He rubbed his cheek against the curve of her neck, just letting her scent relax him as he growled lightly, "You could always tell me you love me again."

Kagome's face flamed at the memory, and she shoved him away, "Sit!"

It was probably the first time he'd been laughing that hard when he expected that response, and even still when he looked up from his subdued position with a smug grin, "Stay."

Her eyebrow was twitching with suppressed irritation, "This is so damn pointless."

"You started it," Inuyasha propped his chin up his hands and smiled as he reached out and tugged at her hair. "What's wrong, koi? That happens to be one of my favorite memories!"

Her cheeks got even darker and she stubbornly set her jaw and refused to look at him, "If you don't wipe that grin off your face, Inuyasha, I'm going to bite you."

He tilted his head to one side, making himself look much younger than he really was, "I bite back, and my instincts are better."

"Where the hell is everyone else?" Kagome growled, lifting her nose and pointedly ignoring him now as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Close," Inuyasha tested the remaining strength of the spell as he sniffed at the air. "They'll be here soon, Kagome, and we can take you home to sort this mess out," he shifted until he was lying beside her, rolling onto his back so he could rest his head in her lap. "You still smell nice," he closed his eyes and smiled, ears twitching when he felt her fingers lightly stroke through his hair.

"Home," Kagome repeated quietly, looking down at the peaceful lines of his face as she toyed with his hair and then moved her fingers to scratch his ears. 'Do I even have a home anymore? I can't go through the well looking like this!'

She sighed deeply and moved her hand down to touch Inuyasha's lips, 'I wonder... even if it's just a little. Do you love me back?'


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Thursday, February 10, 2005

Chapter 48: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid...
Inuyasha stared down at his hand where he pressed it flat to Kagome's stomach, a warm smile on his face. She was still sleeping peacefully where he’d pulled her up into his lap, her head tucked into the curve of his neck and his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Kagome had passed out almost immediately after he’d taken her, her body and spirit completely drained, but healthy and balancing with him again. The voice had said physical contact and well, he couldn’t think of a better, or faster way to make sure she had enough contact and to get her aura calmed. It had even been fluctuating while they mated, finally smoothing out shortly before he’d exhausted them both. He dozed lightly from time to time, leaning back against a tree to make himself comfortable and stroking Kagome’s hair with slow, absent-minded motions.

Inuyasha was awake now, jolted out of a doze when Kagome had made a distressed sound and burrowed deeper against his chest. He brought a hand up to her forehead, frowning as he closed his eyes and instinctively reached for the connection between them to find the source of her unease.

‘A nightmare again,’ his ears flattened back as he caught bits and pieces of disturbing images and emotions racing through her mind. Her mind replaying the complete events she’d experienced with Naraku for her in her dreams. Now that she was free of his influence and it was obviously not something she wanted to see.

“I’m right here, Kagome,” he leaned down so she could feel his words against her ear, only mildly surprised that she was still in his hanyou form. He could feel his youkai blood steadily healing them both from the inside out, faster than it would have worked were he still a hanyou, “It’s just a dream, you know I’ll keep you safe from him. Just relax, koishii.”

To his delight, she leaned into him, turning her head towards his voice as the nightmare dulled in her senses. She was so deeply asleep that all of his impressions from her were sluggish and hazy, but she clearly displayed how safe she felt when she sensed his aura close to her own.

Inuyasha smiled warmly, tucking her closer to him with a sigh as his thoughts wandered. Unbidden, a heated replay flashed through his mind, pausing as he heard his own voice echo in his head as he growled at Kagome, ‘Tell me you love me…’

Then the quiet, almost shy reply from the girl he was rather mercilessly tormenting when she finally responded, ‘I… I love you, Inuyasha…”

His eyes closed again and his arms tightened with almost bruising force around the girl when the new wave of heat flooded through him just remembering that moment. The bond had been strong at that moment and he had shamelessly used it to feel her mental response on top of her words. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Kagome had been telling him the truth.

She loved him.

Inuyasha let his eyes drift open as he looked up at the vivid sunset pinks and oranges coloring the sky, but his gaze was distant and thoughtful. He hadn’t been lying either when he told her he’d dreamed of hearing those words from her for so long… but he’d been unable to stop the nagging concern that Kagome wouldn’t have been able to care for a hanyou. Now he could openly admit to himself that he should be ashamed of himself for thinking she would be like that, but old fears had always risen up to choke his mind with doubts.

His lips twisted in self-mockery; Kagome had said it to him in his youkai form, but what really made his heart pound was that her mind hadn’t made a distinction between any of his forms. In her head, he had seen clearly that he was simply Inuyasha, no matter what shape he was stuck in. It was exactly the way he’d always wistfully daydreamed it would be, but then waved off in disgusted annoyance as an impossibility.

“What made you so different, Kagome?” Inuyasha stroked a claw down her cheek gently, leaning down to nuzzle one of her twitching ears.

Unconsciously, his hand trailed down her chest again and began to stroke lightly over her stomach. She let out a little grunt, curling to try and move his hand, but he simply tucked her head under his chin and voiced a calming rumble. Kagome relaxed against him, and he let out a sound of approval that was almost like a low bark.

‘That’s strange,’ he turned his gaze down enough to stare at his hand on her stomach, pressing lightly to feel the muscles tense just below the surface. On one hand, in all the time he’d known Kagome, she’d never had the kind of definition or strength he was feeling in her. She’d always been slender, and she HAD gained some muscle spending so much time in the past, but nothing like what he could feel now.

On the other hand, Kagome had never been nervous when he touched her stomach. Granted it could have been any number of things, most likely she was a bit tender from mating a full blood youkai even though she was in hanyou form herself. But what if…?

Inuyasha pressed again, his eyes narrowing as his ears flicked towards her and back when the muscles contracted and she let out a soft growl, ‘It hasn’t even been a week…’ his brow furrowed as he mentally back-tracked, his gaze turning skyward as though it held the answers he wanted.

‘There was that first night,’ his expression filled with concentration as he sorted through his memories, lightly stroking her stomach as he did. ‘Then the morning before…’ he cut that thought short when his pulse jumped in anger, and he forced himself to calm before his agitation could pass to Kagome. ‘And last night,’ Inuyasha looked down at his hands, lifting a finger to count off in conjunction to his memories.

By the time he stopped counting, his shoulders were shaking with rueful laughter and he flashed Kagome a sympathetic smile, “Keh, no wonder you’re so fucking tired.”

Especially considering he’d counted over two dozen “encounters” when HE had reached completion, and he always made a point to get two or three from her just so he could watch her reactions to him.

Inuyasha couldn’t prevent the sudden bubbling of arrogant, highly amused laughter that escaped him as he bent down to press a kiss to her temple, “At least you’re balancing, koi. You…probably wouldn’t be… walking if you…were still human!” he managed to get out between his rising laughter, hugging her close as he rubbed his chin over the top of her head.

He shook his head, getting his amusement under control with effort as he thanked Kagome’s exhaustion for keeping her asleep through it. No telling how many times she’d smack him or sit him if she knew just how much enjoyment he was getting out of this train of thought.

When it finally died down to an occasional chuckle, Inuyasha turned his gleaming eyes down to his hand on her stomach again. Okay, so there was a better than average chance that she was antsy about him pressing on her stomach because she was tender. But at the same time, he sobered immediately and took a deep breath to inhale her scent, what if… what if they’d made a pup?

Inuyasha trailed his claws lightly along the line of muscle on either side of her navel as completely unbidden, the image of Shippo snuggled in a round ball under Kagome’s shirt popped into his head. He growled protectively, his blood warming when he imagined the rounded image without help of the little kit burrowing under her clothes.

The voices had said that Kagome wasn’t mortal anymore, and the way she fought when she was pushed over the edge of her temper… Kagome was even stronger than ever, and somehow, he was getting stronger the same way. It had been subtle at first and he hadn’t noticed, but more and more lately he’d been noticing things in his blood changing… Was this how Kagome had felt?

‘Like now,’ he looked at his hands, eyes moving over the stripes on his flesh. He was a youkai, a full youkai, but he felt like he was in complete control of himself, and he’d still been able to use the Tetsusaiga. Kagome balancing against him had made them both that much more powerful.

‘I can protect her like this,’ he smiled warmly at the dawning revelation, stroking a hand over her stomach again. ‘She’s mine forever… not just for a human lifetime. I don’t have to be afraid that she’ll grow old and die while I stay the same.’

He snorted, half in disgust as another thought occurred to him, “Maybe those idiots who did this finally managed to do something right.”

But he couldn’t be certain, not since his blood acting so over-protective inside her was playing havoc with his ability to read her scent clearly. He’d have to wait until they smoothed out completely before her scent would open up to him again. The voices said she wasn’t youkai, hanyou, or human anymore, so how would she breed? Would it be a yearly fertility or her monthly one that she’d had as a human? And how would she handle it if she had to experience a youkai “heat” the way she’d been experiencing all the other youkai emotions?

Inuyasha started to chuckle again, admitting he wasn’t all THAT concerned with the thought of Kagome having a youkai heat. She was already his mate, so it would only work out in his favor if that happened. Although Kagome would probably be hopelessly embarrassed knowing what female youkai acted like to their mates when they went into heat.

Before he could let himself get a little too absorbed in the mental fantasies that was giving him, he took a deep breath and laid them both out again on her sleeping bag. He propped his chin up on his fist to look down at her face, running his hand through her hair and teasing her ear with his fingertips to watch it twitch.

Finally he yawned and snuggled down at her back, curling his body protectively around her and covering as much of her body as he could. His hand moved down yet again to press against her stomach, and Kagome again shifted restlessly, growling a warning to whatever kept doing that to her.

Inuyasha nuzzled his face into the curve of her shoulder, nipping at the nape of her neck and smiling when that calmed her. Kagome pressed closer to him, the sound that came from her throat definitely more youkai than human and asking for reassurance from him. He answered the same way she’d asked, just a soft growl from deep in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her more tightly.

He couldn’t help but fold his hands possessively over her stomach, his last thought before he yawned and drifted off as well was that he hoped he was right about why she was so instinctively nervous about something pressing against her like that.

Inuyasha fell asleep, imagining what it would be like to hold Kagome close, his hands rubbing a stomach rounded with his child.

**

Kagome came awake with a bit of a jolt, her muscles tensing as her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her. Where was she? The last thing she remembered, she was talking to Naraku… Kikyou had been trying to kill her, and… and Inuyasha? That didn’t feel right…. Inuyasha wouldn’t kill her when he’d been protecting her.

She groaned and pressed the heels of her hands hard against her eyes. What in the world had given her that idea? And had she really been listening to Onigumo and Naraku? And why was everything buzzing?

When she lifted her hands to her ears, her fingers came in contact with something smooth that immediately hissed under her touch and crumbled away. She frowned in surprise when the buzzing vanished, and she could clearly hear low, even breathing at her back. Distracted from what could have been on her ears, she twisted around and found herself staring at Inuyasha’s peacefully slumbering face.

Kagome froze momentarily, but then she smiled warmly and reached out to stroke her hand over his cheek, ‘That’s right. I heard Shippo and then… then something was going to hurt him. Rather abruptly, she’d felt her blood run hot, the feeling she knew was the youkai blood taking dominance inside her. The strange thing was that it had been stronger than she ever remembered it being, but with the thought of the little kitsune being in danger she had welcomed it taking total control.

She’d felt herself falling deep into the youkai instincts. The more that had happened, the clearer her head had become, but the less she could remember. Even better, while before her body had been sluggish, almost numb, that heat was making it easier for her to move the way she wanted. Delighted, she had wrapped herself in that potent blood and those instincts, but that rather effectively traded being able to think clearly for its strength and protection.

Her memory from the moment it took over completely was vague, but she remembered fighting…

Then her thoughts had cleared again with a jolt, and she was in Inuyasha’s arms. Her head had been aching abominably, and for the first time she was feeling pain nagging at the edge of her consciousness.

Kagome hadn’t wanted that pain, and she had been instinctively pulling back when she felt the twang of energy and snapped her hand out to catch the arrow meant for him.

When the pain started to return with a vengeance, joined by a wave of weariness, she’d been more determined than ever to get away. Then her memory came rushing back and she had been so angry with him for trying to stop her again when it was so obvious Kikyou was trying to kill HIM.

But then he’d stepped aside.

To fight Kikyou, she’d needed more energy and she’d pulled off Inuyasha carefully, not wanting to catch his attention that she was in worse shape than she’d let on. She finally had her chance to take on the undead miko and she was taking it. It would have worked better if Inuyasha hadn’t figured it out anyway.

Kagome’s eyes closed in disgust as she recalled her inability to kill the miko, pulling her hands away from Inuyasha to clench them in frustration. She slowly eased away from his hold, but moved only far enough away that she could sit without touching him and draw her knees up to her chest.

Why hadn’t she been able to kill her?

Her next thought though had attention abruptly leaving the miko far behind and her shoulders slumping. She lifted her hand when a wave of nausea went rushing through her, her eyes widening in horror, ‘I…I listened to Naraku?! Oh…Oh god…’

Inuyasha felt the wave of sorrow sweep through him and frowned, reaching out towards Kagome when he realized it was her emotions he was feeling. When his hand met with nothing, his eyes snapped open and he started to shove himself up in alarm. The panic slowly eased when he saw her sitting close to his knees with her back to him, and his brows lifted when he noted she no longer had his ears.

“Kagome?” Inuyasha’s voice was slightly gruff as he shook off the last remnants of sleep and sat up. Concerned, he moved closer and reached out to her, “Kagome, are you all right?”

Kagome’s shoulders stiffened when his hand came down on her shoulder, but she didn’t turn when she asked in a quiet voice, “Can you ever forgive me, Inuyasha?”


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Tuesday, February 8, 2005

   South Beach Diet
Need help finding information on the south beach diet for school. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
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Thursday, February 3, 2005

   Chapter 47: I Think You Do...
Inuyasha dropped lightly into the small grove that had been so hastily vacated not two days ago, his ears twitching to search out any threats as he looked at the slight mess some curious wildlife had made with their supplies. For the most part it seemed to be intact, but he gave that only a passing thought, much more concerned with his precious cargo than the replaceable goods.

He made his way to her rumpled bedding, nudging it into some semblance of order with one foot before he knelt down and eased her off him to lay her on her back. His brows drew together when his left hand came away from her hip slick with blood. 'Human blood,' his nose twitched as he lifted his hand to his face and tested it with his tongue.

Kagome was still losing only her human blood.

Inuyasha's hands worked the ties of Kagome's hakama and kimono easily, the fastenings so similar to his own clothing that he could have removed them blindfolded. The muscle in his cheek jumped from how hard his jaw clenched as he slid her out of the hakama and got a good look at the red soaking through the white kimono and the bandage beneath it. Although the growl that tore from his throat when he saw the large hand-shaped burn visible on her side above and below the bandage would have likely made her heart stop had she been awake to hear it.

He yanked open the kimono carelessly, slicing through the bandage and throwing it aside carelessly as he tilted her hip towards him to get a clear look at the tattoo. His fingers tightened reflexively when he saw the way the lines of the tattoo had change to a violet dark enough to nearly be black, blood oozing sluggishly from the darkened lettering.

Had his blood still failed to recognize him?

He frowned sharply at that thought, stroking a hand lightly over her stomach as he tried to think of the fastest way to snap her back to normal without hurting her. Over and over again his eyes were drawn up to her face, lingering on her lips before they traveled down over her exposed breasts and even farther down to the juncture of her legs.

There was nothing like nearly losing someone to make the most primal urge to reaffirm their health impossible to ignore. He could feel his heart beginning to race, the heat in his blood having nothing to do with anger and everything to do with the desire to lean down and loose himself in her heat.

He was berating himself for what had to have been the ninth time for leaning over her and "innocently" rubbing against her when he went still. Physical contact, the voice had said. Kagome would need physical contact to soothe his instincts in her and restore their balance. He nearly smacked himself in the head for his stupidity; mating her would be about as physical as it could get after all.

Inuyasha's gaze heated significantly as he let it travel back over her face, reaching up to untie his haori and toss it aside. His breathing started coming in light pants as he fought against the urge to rip off what was left of his clothes and bury himself in her right there, but he wanted her awake so he could see the way she responded to his touch.

First things first though, he reminded himself sharply, eyes glowing as they moved over the blood staining her pale skin from the tattoo down the outside of her leg. He slid down her body slowly, bracing his forearms on either side of her hips as he dipped his head and dragged his tongue over the tattoo.

His chest vibrated with an approving growl when Kagome sucked in a deep breath, her body shuddering in a gentle ripple from head to toe. The confusion and pain he could feel echoing mildly in her mind eased and her body relaxed under his leisurely attentions. The strain of alternately absorbing and shielding washed away as with every beat of his heart against her core, the youkai blood inside her calmed, recognizing its mate and wrapping itself around his aura.

Inuyasha felt the odd shift in his blood, Kagome’s heart finally settling into an identical pace as her aura readjusted to balance against him. He smiled arrogantly when Kagome sighed his name, shifting restlessly as her exhausted lethargy began to fade. Even unconscious though, she reached around awkwardly until her fingers found his ears and began to stroke gently from base to tip while he lapped the blood off her skin.

Rising arousal slowly and steadily filtered into the feel and scent of her, and Inuyasha deliberately ground his chest against her, making her squirm beneath him in frustration. He continued that careful lapping at her hip, down her thigh, and even around her ribs until the sight and taste of her blood was completely gone. Only then did he pull back to watch the tattoo leech from that lurid purple to the healthier crimson.

He let out a heavy sigh, willing the tension to leave his body in the same way, however… His gaze went up to her face, noting the way the strain that he had felt in her and the pain was long gone, replaced by much more acceptable emotions. She was still disoriented, hopelessly confused and trying to wake, but most important of all, she wanted him.

Not just what was stimulating her body, Kagome’s mind very clearly reached out for his, the soft keening plea, whisper-quiet in the back of his mind, but unmistakably crying out for him.

Growling, he slid himself down lower, his hands closing over her hips to hold her still as he nuzzled the inside of her thigh. He felt her heartbeat accelerate, a quiet, frustrated grunt rising from her throat as she struggled upwards through the layers of weary fog. Inuyasha turned his head, and in the same slow motions he’d used on her hip, ran his tongue lightly up her already slick folds.

In reaction to the contact, Kagome’s hips twisted almost violently, but Inuyasha’s hands simply tightened, holding her in place with ease. He couldn’t prevent the smug smile that tugged at his lips even as he shifted himself closer to tease the little hidden nub with his teeth. A moan worked its way from deep her throat as she instinctively moved against him, her fingers alternately rubbing his ears and clenching in his thick hair.

He dipped his tongue into her small passage for a deeper taste, reveling in her responses and the unique flavor that was not only Kagome, but traces of himself as well. ‘Only mine,’ Inuyasha growled possessively, eyes sliding closed as he was nearly overwhelmed by his feelings in his altered form. The instinct to dominate, to consume her urging him to press his mouth harder against her, bringing her almost to the point of climax as she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes.

“I-Inuy…asha…” Kagome’s breathy whisper was part shocked question and part hopeful plea as she arched into him, blinking rapidly to focus her blurred vision on his face.

Inuyasha opened his eyes, pausing to let glowing youkai scarlet and blue to capture her own gleaming azure gaze. He waited for her response with a calm expression that was far removed from the chaos in his mind. He may have bragged to Naraku that she knew her mate, but would she really reject him as a youkai?

He felt a shiver go through her again, her eyes turning liquid and warm as her scent intensified, but there was no hint of rejection. The only feel and smell coming from her was that intoxicating excitement. All for him, he thought as a wave of heat tightened low in his stomach, bringing his own desire almost to the point of pain.

He continued to hold her transfixed with his gaze, his eyes intent and fierce as he dipped his head and purposefully raked one elongated fang directly across the bud he’d exposed with his probing fingers.

Kagome’s body snapped taut, arching hard against his restraining hands as she gave voice to an incoherent shriek. The knot of desire inside her had tightened and splintered apart so abruptly at the sensation that she hadn’t had time to do more than register and identify its presence inside her before she was spiraling out of control with the powerful orgasm.

With her body shaking and spots dancing behind her closed eyelids, she panted and struggled to bring herself back under control. Her mind numbly tripped backwards over itself in an odd replay as she recalled the first impression she’d been aware of.

She remembered being trapped somewhere dark and silent, oppressive as it seemed to pull her in so many directions that she thought she’d go mad. Then a familiar warmth had flooded into her, dulling the screaming voices in her head and carefully collecting the scattered pieces of her thoughts. It had been so soothing and strong, so “right” in her mind that she’d reached for it immediately and wrapped herself in its presence as tightly as possible.

The feeling of strong arms coming around her soul and pulling her close had started to push the exhausted pain away, bringing her a return of her energy as a low voice murmured nonsense in her ear. The sound had relaxed her instantly even as it violently forced the other voices out of her head and she turned to bury her face against the man’s chest and inhale deeply. The scent was immediately distinguishable even with her jumbled mind.

Inuyasha.

Recognizing him had only urged her to press herself closer, lifting to rub against him in a silent plea for him to hold her and make the nightmare images chasing around in her head go away. When she rubbed her breasts against his chest, she was completely taken by surprise by the jolt of desire that went through her. It had lasted a moment before she rubbed against him again, leaning close to try and bring herself as close as possible. She was aching for him to kiss her, wanting so badly to feel them come together in that frenzied head and blinding pleasure he’d shown her so many times before.

Kagome had closed her eyes, feeling the now familiar pressure building in her center, letting herself drift with the heated, velvet rasp of sensation pulling strongly over and over at the juncture of her legs. Her entire body felt heavy, sluggish as she fought to respond to the coaxing motions from her dreamed Inuyasha. She wanted to show him how she felt, HAD to show him.

She’d become aware of little things in slow degrees. First, she could feel the cool, silky texture of Inuyasha’s hair against her legs and the soft warmth of his ears beneath her searching fingers. Then the contrasting feel of his kimono against the inside of her bare legs and the faint breeze trailing over her over-heated flesh and making her nipples tighten.

Her eyes opened on a particularly strong pulse, ‘Is…is it real?’

Kagome had looked down her body, her eyes finding Inuyasha lying between her legs with his mouth moving against her in time with that delicious throbbing in her blood. She’d called his name and found herself staring into the face of his youkai form, but the waves of his aura held no discernable threats. And behind those burning eyes was the same Inuyasha she had come to care so very deeply for.

The sight had only served to push her body that much closer to the edge, and then he’d just HAD to run his fang over her while keeping her captivated with his gaze.

She hadn’t stood a chance.

Kagome had been so caught up in the aftershocks of her climax and her mental replay that she hadn’t realized Inuyasha had even moved until she felt the clawed hands catch her beneath her breasts from behind. Kneeling behind her, Inuyasha dragged her up to pin her forcefully against the wall of his chest, rubbing his cheek against her temple.

She gasped in surprise, fighting to shake off her thoughts and clutching at his arms when one wrapped tightly around her torso to hold her still while he hooked the other beneath her knee and lifted it over his. She could feel his erection resting along the slick folds of her core as he slowly spread his knees apart to pull her own legs wide open.

Kagome’s breath hitched in her throat when he pulled her other leg over his as well, leaving her straddling his hips, completely exposed and feeling unbelievably vulnerable. She leaned back against his chest, her brows drawing together and up as she waited for him to enter her, but Inuyasha seemed perfectly content to sit just like that. He was teasing her aching flesh with a slow, continuous glide back and forth between her legs, but never deeper.

She shifted impatiently, trying to free her arms and slip his shaft inside her body herself, but the arm holding her against him tightened to keep her still. He dipped down, nipping her shoulder in a scolding warning that he wouldn’t be budged. His other hand trailed a clawed path up the inside of her thigh, over her stomach and down into the nest of curls as he used his index and middle fingers to toy with the little nub again.

Kagome whimpered, her neck arching to press her head hard against his shoulder as she tried again press herself down onto him, but he still held her still against him, refusing to give her the joining as he continued to wind her nerves tighter with teasing fingers and teeth. “Inuyasha, please!” she whispered in a near sob, wondering irrationally if it would kill her on the spot if denied her.

He ran his tongue over the edge of her ear, grinning hugely when it flattened back and she let out a loud gasp, “No.”

Kagome began to squirm in earnest, trying to escape his tormenting ministrations as his claws began to draw circles in her flesh, never right where she wanted it, but close enough to make her desperate for more. “Inuyasha!! I… I need you… Onegai?”

Inuyasha smiled against her hair at the admission, but still slowly shook his head, this time nipping at her ear just to hear her gasp again, “Not yet, Kagome. You’re going to have to promise me something first.”

Kagome was shaking with her frustration, the intensity of the feelings making it nearly impossible for her to keep her eyes open, “Inu-“

“First, you’re going to promise me that from now one, no matter what happens, you won’t leave me,” his voice was a harsh growl by the end of his demand, his youkai blood violently rejecting the idea of her being away from him. His blood would accept nothing less than her submission, and although his voice was strained with the force of his own restraint it easily conveyed that he would wait all night if he had too, “Promise me, Kagome!”

“I promise,” she twisted her head, pressing her mouth to his throat and catching the tendon with her own fangs.

Inuyasha sucked in a sharp breath, setting his jaw and pulling away before he could lose control. His eyes bored deep into hers, “Say it.”

“I won’t leave you,” she closed her hand around the arm holding her still and tugged, but Inuyasha would not be moved.

“No matter what.”

“No matter what,” she repeated obediently, her voice pitching higher on the last word when his claw drew close enough to send a fresh jolt through her already feverish blood. “Please, Inuyasha!!”

He let out a low rumble of approval, his arm lifting her slightly to fit the tip of his shaft into her tight opening. Kagome let out a low moan, arching her back as Inuyasha’s voice joined hers and he shuddered beneath her. Rather than thrusting into her, however, he paused again and held her immobile, “One more thing…”

“Damn you, Inuyasha, don’t fucking do this to me!” Kagome snarled, her eyes sparking red as she attempted to wrench free of his hold and take him inside herself.

Inuyasha simply held her tightly, a low chuckle of pure male arrogance escaping him at her unsuccessful attempts to take control. Kagome made a strong youkai, but he was far stronger, and he wasn’t letting go any time soon. She was panting with arousal, sweat rolling down her gleaming flesh and her eyes flashing fire when she managed to crane her neck to look at him.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“This is the last one, koibito, I swear it,” his slid his claws away from their joined flesh and up to cup her left breast, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her swollen nipple. “After you do this for me, I’ll do whatever you want,” he promised thickly, aware that he was panting just as badly as Kagome, his own blood screaming at him to take his mate.

Kagome was still trying to have some control, attempting to arch into his hand, but he retained the careful, yet unbreakable hold around her with his other arm. Her chest heaving and the unfulfilled ache throbbing fiercely through her, she whined in defeat and nodded in agreement.

Inuyasha’s hands tightened, all but crushing her to him as he dropped a searing open-mouthed kiss to the side of her mouth, his teeth sinking into flesh and making her melt back into him. She closed her eyes, those quiet, keening noises he love so much rising from her throat when the hand toying with her breast moved back over her belly and down between her legs.

Kagome had just voiced a deep-throated growl, clamping her inner muscles tightly around the head of his shaft in an effort to pull him deeper inside her when he gritted out the hard command in her ear.

“Tell me you love me.”

Kagome hadn’t thought the heat churning low in her body couldn’t burn any hotter, but the sound of his voice and the demand sent a shock through her system that would have likely doubled her up had he not been holding her still. She turned passion- glazed eyes up to him, but when her mouth fell open, it took her two attempts before she could manage her question, “Why?”

Inuyasha let out one of the most violent growls she’d ever heard. His hand caught her chin to force her to hold his gaze as he stared down at her through heavy-lidded eyes, “The truth, Kagome. I want to hear you say the words.”

Kagome gaped up at him, her entire body quivering and demanding she stop being idiot and tell him so he would give her what she needed so badly. Her own mind was insisting she do whatever it took to bring an end to her own painful desire, “Inuyasha-“

Inuyasha’s mouth closed over hers, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say with almost bruising force. He still held her motionless as he tormented her, making her even more sharply aware of what was missing as he slid his tongue deep into her mouth, rubbing it against hers in a heated imitation of the mating they both craved.

He broke the kiss just as quickly as he’d starting it, never releasing her chin as he lifted his lips to her ear and nibbled lightly as he whispered, “I think you already do, and I want the words. I can tell if you lie to me.”

Inuyasha moved back enough to catch her gaze again, his expression as mild as he could manage with his body wound tight with hopeful anticipation and the feeling of her heat pulsing around him. Knowing that one hard thrust could sink him deep into her body wasn’t making it any easier to hold back, but he was determined to hear her confession, “Tell me you love me, Kagome.”

Kagome let out a shaking breath, opening pale eyes that had almost totally glazed with the strength of the feelings throbbing through her. She had known for a long while, denying it even to herself, but she had hoped she wouldn’t have to admit it to herself or Inuyasha… At least not until she knew for certain what his own feelings were.

His eyes were burning with silent demand when she met his tense stare, biting on her lip nervously as she lifted one hand to cup his cheek in a feather-light touch. Her voice, when it came, was quiet, shy and uncertain as she admitted, “I…I love you, Inuyasha…”

They both sat perfectly still for a moment after the soft confession, but then Inuyasha’s thighs tensed as both hands dropped to clench at her hips and he slammed into Kagome with a single, hard thrust. The force behind that added to the feel of his shaft stretching her tormented flesh to the limit send Kagome plummeting over the edge a second time. Her body free to arch against him this time as she cried out, clamping down hard around him as his mouth closed over hers to swallow the remaining sounds hungrily.

“Stay with me, koi,” Inuyasha growled low against her lips, panting from the effort of holding back his own climax as he slid his hands down her arms and took her wrists.

He leaned her forward slowly, taking great care to keep himself buried deep inside her as he brought her to her knees. When she had braced herself, albeit a bit unsteadily on her hands, he dragged his claws back up her arms and across her shoulders to move her hair to one side of her neck.

Inuyasha kept his knees spread wide in between her own as he took hold of her hips again and very slowly slid himself almost completely out of her, “Do you have any idea, Kagome, of how fucking long I’ve wanted to hear you say that to me?”

Kagome took a shuddering breath, her body over-sensitized from the sheer dominance radiating from him and the exquisite pull and drag of him deep inside of her. She made an effort to speak, her body still quivering from her last climax, but she’d barely formed the beginnings of a response when his hands tightened on her hips again and he was buried inside her somehow even deeper than before.

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his hand flat to her stomach to feel her quivering muscles as he pushed her back into another climax. Her internal muscles were clamping fiercely around his throbbing erection and he groaned, gritting his teeth against the urge to slam into her and find his own. Instead, he leaned forward and fit his chest to her back as he lightly rubbed her stomach.

His other hand moved down to cover one of her fisted hands, coaxing her hand open enough for him to lace his fingers through hers before she fisted it again. Sweat rolled down his face as he alternately kissed, licked, and nibbled at the curve of her neck, murmuring encouragement as he waited for her to ride out the crest.

“Like this, Kagome,” he urged once her heartbeat had slowed to his satisfaction. He pulled her back into him with the hand on her stomach, thrusting hard with his hips at the same moment. A low groan escaped him when he heard the mewling sounds and soft growling start in her throat again as she pressed back against him.

Abruptly, he felt the echo of an intense pulse send a shiver racing down his spine and his lips pulled back in a smile. She was balancing again, “This is what you needed, wasn’t it, koi?”

Kagome was experimentally grinding her pelvis back against him, turning her head to lightly nip at his neck as her hand squeezed his with the force of the shared sensation. How could she have forgotten it was like this with him?

In answer to her motions, Inuyasha bit down on her shoulder, shuddering before he lifted his head to slowly lick over the spot as he groaned out, “Aa, that’s it. Move with me.”

Kagome followed the directions of his hands, nearly mindless to everything but the need to reach that peak again. Her eyes slid closed as her heart began to pound and she concentrated on the myriad of sensations tingling through her and echoing to her from him. Inuyasha’s claws were digging into the flesh over her hip as he thrust into her hard and fast, his mouth teasing her neck and moving up to her ear as he moaned and whispered to her all at once.

How did he do this to her? She barely managed to wonder as she let out a keening moan, arching her neck to press her face to his throat. She was getting closer, her breathing choppy as she urged him on with her response. Each time it seemed to get more intense, each one better than the last… This time, she was feeling his emotions so clearly rushing through her that it was almost as though he was consciously giving them to her.

“Say it again, Kagome,” he whispered harshly, moving his fingers back down to massage the slick nub, adding that sensation to the primal thrusts.

Kagome cried out sharply, her hand nearly breaking his fingers when she clenched, but she still managed to answer, “I…love you… Inuyasha…. I love…”

That was as far as she got before she was thrown almost violently over her peak, her body snapping taut as she let out a wordless, high pitched scream that set her own ears ringing and light seemed to explode behind her closed eyes. She felt Inuyasha let out a feral growl, the sound vibrating through her chest as he clamped her down hard, grinding himself into her as deep as he could.

Kagome felt the rising blackness as a flood of warmth filled her, but no sooner had the weakness gone through her, then Inuyasha yanked her up. Ignoring the urge to slump to the ground, he rocked back on his haunches and wrapped his arms around her tightly while they both shook, panting hard as their hearts thundered in the same rhythm.

He could feel Kagome slumping back into him, her hand lifting, to touch his face beside hers briefly, tenderly before falling lax at her side. She took a deep breath in, and when she let it out again, she went completely limp in his arms.

Inuyasha smiled slightly, craning his head around to look at her slumbering face. He carefully lifted his hand to stroke over the curve of her cheek, trailing a claw over the scar. A pang of guilt when through him and he eased out of her, turning to flop down on his back, cushioning her fall against his chest. Although, he glanced at her in amusement, it would probably take a lot more than just that to rouse her this time.

He rolled to his side, easing her down on her back next to him as he propped his chin on his fist and stared at her face. He lifted his other hand, stroking it over her hair and then down her throat to press his palm to her heart. The heart that she’d just given to him.

Kagome loved him.

Inuyasha leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, reaching out lift her on top of him, her face hidden against his throat as he kept an arm wrapped around her back. He smiled down at her, full of possessive arrogance and warmth as he reached up to rub her ear, the smile widening when she mumbled sleepily and snuggled closer to him, “I love you too, Kagome.”


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Sunday, January 30, 2005

   Chapter 46: One On One...
Kagome stared at the arrow in her hand blankly; even more shocked at her actions than Inuyasha. One minute she was struggling with the inu youkai, fighting against the warmth that was seeping into her mind and making her aware of the exhaustion and pain humming through her blood. And she didn't want to feel that, she wanted the strength and rage making it easy for her fight against all these youkai threatening her and Shippo.

But then the next minute she'd felt the rush of hate and magic slicing through the air towards him.

It had been purely instinct. Her mind screaming with violent denial at the thought of this youkai coming to any harm. Especially from the source of the aura that had touched her awareness. She had been lifting her hand even as she felt him tense, turning too late to dodge the attack himself when all of his energies were focused on herself. She caught the weapon barely a breath away from its target, the magic that surrounded the arrow instantly soaking into her at the contact.

There had been a jolt of recognition at the feel of that magic, and she turned to see a woman in scarlet and white miko robes glaring at her with cold, but slightly wary eyes. Something about that miko was seriously wrong, and her hackles rose when she caught the scent of death and decay in the air. Whatever this woman was, she wasn't human and the feel of her was rekindling the anger she thought was lost in the youkai’s embrace.

Inuyasha's arms tightened protectively around her and surprised, she looked up at the fierce expression on his profile. She felt the sudden rise of his own anger, underlying with sadness and pain, but even stronger inside him was... concern? For her?

He turned his attention back to her, making her start in chagrin at getting caught staring at him, but then her eyes locked onto his. She went still the moment she saw the intensity in his glowing gaze, the barrier in her thoughts shifting and then cracking as it flooded her with the return of her own memory.

Kagome hissed, grabbing her head with her empty hand as her knees buckled and she stumbled against Inuyasha. He caught her easily, pressing her hard against him while an encouraging rumble vibrated from his chest. He stroked a clawed hand over her hair, rubbing his chin over her head as he kept a cautious eye trained on Kikyou.

"That's it, Kagome," he murmured in response to what he could feel in her mind. "I know it hurts, but you have to calm down. I'll get us out of this," he promised fervently.

Blinking rapidly at the sudden wash of emotion and horribly confused at the unfamiliar surroundings. Her eyes opened slightly and she moved back enough to look up first at him, then at the arrow in her hand and finally beyond to the undead miko. She seemed completely unfazed that he was in youkai form, much more interested in Kikyou's presence and the evidence of her attack.

Inuyasha felt the sweep of rage that filled her, this time the emotion purely her own as she focused on Kikyou. He could see the moment her thoughts reconnected; her eyes changing again to the lucid scarlet they had been when she had fought with Kouga.

Her own clawed hand lifted to lightly touch his cheek, and involuntarily his eyes closed as he heard her whisper, "Inuyasha… are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine," he assured her, his voice a thick growl as he pressed a hard kiss to her temple. The rush of his relief almost making him light-headed to hear the warm familiarity in her tone again, "You're the one we need to worry about, Kagome. You've been bleeding, and I have to-"

"Later," she cut off the flood of words, moving her fingers to press to his lips. "I'm fine, Inuyasha, really I am," she turned his earlier words back on him and tried to push out of his embrace.

Inuyasha stubbornly refused to release her; his ears flattening back as he bared his fangs at Kikyou when she started to reach for another arrow. Satisfied when the miko froze and continued to simply stand and watch them with nervous suspicion, he squeezed Kagome closer and spoke insistently, "Kagome, let me get you out of here. I don't... I don't want you to-"

Kagome’s spirits sank in an abrupt spiral of depression, recalling how she had found Inuyasha when she’d given into the urge to believe Kagura and go to Naraku. But if Kikyou was here, why was he even holding her like this? Shouldn’t he be running to the undead miko’s side like he always did? Forgetting she even existed until Kikyou was long gone. And why did her head ache so much when she was this angry?

If she could feel his torn emotions, surely he could feel how badly she wanted to tear into Kikyou for attacking him. The position of the arrow suggested she had been aiming for Inuyasha, and had she not caught it, it would have killed him. Knowing that, she wanted nothing more than to use the strength pounding through her to challenge Kikyou and he was stopping her. Again…

She managed to get her hands around to Inuyasha's wrists and removed herself from his hold with one hard push. Her eyes were flat as she regarded him, "I don't want to have to fight with you over this, Inuyasha. If you want to be with Kikyou instead.... just go. Don't...." her voice faltered and she bit down hard on her lower lip to hold back a flow of tears.

Inuyasha caught her hands, his eyes blazing angrily when he felt the wave of miserable uncertainty and pained sorrow run through Kagome. It was clear to him from her thoughts that she was still suffering from traces of Naraku’s lies. How could she think that little of him?

He yanked her forward, taking her mouth in a bruising kiss that was over almost before it had begun. He pulled away to catch her shocked gaze with his own narrowed eyes, "Do you trust me, Kagome?"

Kagome frowned in confusion, well aware of their proximity to the miko as she glared her hatred at them both, and wondering what Inuyasha could possibly be playing at. For his part, Inuyasha was watching her intensely, setting his jaw when he saw the thoughts chasing through her head. He pulled her back into his embrace, one arm wrapping around her back and holding her against while he sank his other into the hair and her nape and held her gaze locked onto his.

“Don’t think, just answer,” Inuyasha instructed in a sharp command. “I want to know how you feel, not what you think.”

Kagome clamped her mouth shut, instinctively obeying the tone of his voice as she ignored her confusing thoughts and focused instead on what her instincts told her in response to his question. Her eyes slid closed, shoulders slumping in defeat as her head fell forward against his chest, ‘My God. I really am a fool…’

“Hai,” she answered, nearly too low for even his hearing to pick up, but he could smell the salty twinge of tears hinting her scent. “I… I could never… I trust you, Inuyasha,” she finished, her hands fisted tightly in the bloodstained fabric of his haori.

He leaned down, pressing his mouth to her temple and rubbing his chin over the top of her head, “Then trust me.”

Kagome looked up, nodding slowly when he very gently pushed her back a step and turned to face Kikyou. She could feel her heart pounding as she watched him walk closer to the once-more expressionless miko, fisting her hands at her sides even as her brows lowered, and her lips pulled back in a snarl. Her instincts were screaming at her to protect him from what she very clearly saw as a threat, and she nudged Shippo from his place in her kimono.

“What is it?” Shippo poked his head up, looking at her in concern and trying to soothe her taut muscles by lightly stroking his little clawed hand down her chest.

“Shippo-chan,” she answered tightly, thighs bunching as her body readied itself to leap forward at the first sign of aggression even as she took a deep breath and searched out the feel of him in her head. If she was going to have to fight, she was going to be ready, and she pulled the youkai strength back into her, “Go to Sango and Miroku-sama.”

Shippo was about to protest when he realized Kagome’s attention was focused elsewhere and he curiously followed the line of her gaze. His jaw dropped when he saw Inuyasha slowly take Kikyou’s bow away from her, holding it in one hand as he pulled the resurrected miko into a gentle embrace.

Shippo immediately slipped out of Kagome’s kimono to perch on her shoulder as he hissed out angrily, “What the hell is that jerk doing with her?!”

“I don’t know,” Kagome shook her head, her voice tight with suppressed emotions. “But I don’t want you to get hurt. Please don’t argue. Go to them.”

The little kitsune looked at her face carefully for a moment, lingering on the overly shiny appearance to her eyes and the scars on her cheeks, made that much more apparent by the muscle flexing in her jaw. He reached up to rub her flattened ear gently and nodded, “You’re going to kill her this time, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think I can stop myself,” she answered honestly, a bitter smile playing at her lips.

“But what if Inuyasha tries to stop-?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Kagome interrupted quietly, closing her eyes as she welcomed the way her blood began to heat with fierce anger, the youkai instincts slowly taking deeper hold. “I’ve never thought I’d have to learn to control youkai blood, Shippo-chan, but the voices, and then Kagura and Naraku… They said some things that I just can’t disbelieve.”

Shippo puffed up his chest in what he hoped was a brave motion, leaning forward to give her a peck on the cheek and hug her neck, “I’ll snap you out of it again if I have to, Kagome… Okaa-san.”

Kagome’s rage wavered for a moment, replaced by a sudden wave of protectiveness and loving affection as she reached up to enfold Shippo in an awkward, one-handed embrace before nudging him towards safety, “Arigato, Shippo-chan…”

*

Inuyasha’s ears flicked back towards Kagome nervously when he felt her heartbeat accelerate, the purely animal growl echoing quietly in his mind as he plucked the bow out of Kikyou’s hands. Kikyou’s eyes watched him, curious and suspicious all at once as she waited to see what he was planning to do.

He heard her let out a quiet sigh when he reached out and wrapped an arm around her, her hands coming up to his chest lightly as she turned her face and pressed her face to the curve of his neck.

“I knew you would realize your mistake, Inuyasha,” Kikyou murmured softly against his shoulder, her eyes barely opening to focus a triumphant smile into Kagome’s narrowed scarlet gaze across the grove. “Look at her. I told you she wasn’t strong enough to control herself, and now she barely even looks human anymore. She should never have been the guardian of the Shikon jewel.”

Inuyasha was silent, his eyes sliding closed as he stood motionless with her.

Encouraged, Kikyou straightened and stared at Kagome with a bland frown, “You should have helped me to kill her before she seduced you, Inuyasha. You could have saved us from these ridiculous complications.”

A loud cracking sound cut through the quite censor of Kikyou’s voice, making her start in surprise as her gaze fell to the second bow ruined within the past three days. This one though had been crushed in Inuyasha’s fist, the wood shattered from top to bottom from the force in his grip as he opened his hand to drop the remains carelessly to the ground.

Kikyou brought a hand up to her heart in alarm when his embrace went slack and he took a step away from her. Her eyes searched his face, narrowing when she noticed his eyes were almost completely hidden beneath his hair, his lips pulled back off his elongated fangs in a snarl.

“Inuyasha? What… what are you doing?!” Kikyou moved forward and reached for him.

Inuyasha caught her wrist before she touched him, his expression devoid of emotion when he lifted his head to meet her eyes, sending a nervous chill through her. He leaned forward just enough to convey the subtle threat in his voice, “You gave Kagome to Naraku.”

Kikyou frowned, tugging at her captive hand lightly to test his grip, “She betrayed you, just like I told you she would.”

Inuyasha shook his head, releasing her and taking another step back before he glanced over his shoulder at Kagome. His heart sank to see her eyes glowing again, her face filled with a mixture of hurt, anger, and confusion as her ears, HIS ears, alternately flattened back and flicked forwards in an effort to hear what was being said.

“I’m sorry, Kikyou,” he let out a heavy sigh, turning his back on her. “You should not have tried to take her away from me. You shouldn’t have hurt her like that,” his voice was low and hard with angry disapproval.

Kagome frowned as she stared at the play of emotions not only chasing over Kikyou’s normally blank face, but the ones pulsing through the tattoo into her as well. Both of them were experiencing a slow rise of anger, but while Kikyou’s was cold and eradicating her other feelings, Inuyasha’s anger was tempered with a dim sense of sorrow and betrayal.

Strangely, on top of those feelings, Kagome could feel a clear desire from him to calm her and protect her. The conflicting senses only made her head ache that much more, and she lifted her hand to her forehead in a helpless gesture.

Inuyasha turned and walked with measured steps out from in-between the two mikos, coming to a stop only when he had nearly reached Sango and Miroku’s positions. Feeling the two pairs of bemused eyes boring into his back; he folded his arms over his chest and dropped into a cross-legged position in the grass.

Kagome blinked several times, attempting to process what exactly Inuyasha was doing by just sitting there and refusing to look at either of them. What had he said to Kikyou? She cocked her head to one side and glanced over to Sango and Miroku, hoping for a hint, but they were looking at him in much the same state of confusion as she was herself.

“Oi, Kagome,” Inuyasha’s low growl brought her attention back in a flash.

She frowned, eyes narrowing as she responded, unable to keep the cautious, disbelieving edge out of her voice, “Inuyasha?”

He turned just enough to catch sight of her out of the corner of his eye, his expression solemn, “I won’t interrupt.”

Kagome stumbled back a step, her eyes widening as her mouth fell open for all of two seconds as the words and his emotions clicked into place inside her. Inuyasha was actually giving her his permission to fight Kikyou, and promising not to stop her? The ache in her head rather abruptly died down as the narrow path she’d been using to rejuvenate her lost strength opened wide. The scarlet of her irises bled into the surrounding whites as her attention redirected with predatory precision to the miko who’d caused not only her, but Inuyasha so much pain and trouble.

Kikyou’s own eyes widened slightly when Kagome’s lips pulled back in a humorless, wicked smile, glowing eyes narrowing sharply on the new object of her attention. Inuyasha had broken her only weapon, and grimly she gathered her energy as Kagome sank down into a crouch, a growl rising in her throat. The human feel of her wavered, sputtering for a moment like a candle flame in a breeze, and then vanished.

Inuyasha tilted his chin down to his chest, wincing when he heard the first slam of body against body. His fists clenched in the sleeves of his haori as his ears flicked back towards the fighting, staunchly ignoring everything around him as he focused on the feel of Kagome in his head.

It had been a gamble.

Inuyasha knew that he was all but inviting her to get herself worked up all over again, but after that first bone-jarring thud that echoed through him, his muscles relaxed all at once and nearly sent him crashing forward. Kagome’s heartbeat thundered in his ears as he got the crystal clear impression of her senses coursing through him and felt her aura consciously reach for his and draw off it.

He took long, deep breaths, focusing on keeping himself calm in an effort to balance out the anger in her. It should be easy to pull the excess off her with the path between them open, and the smoother her emotions became, the more elation he felt flowing from her. She was distracted from the fight, instinctively blocking and absorbing from Kikyou as her gaze continuously strayed to him.

Inuyasha couldn’t keep the smile off his face at the thought of that, feeling strangely light-headed even as he found himself turning his head to catch a glimpse of Kagome. His eyes gleamed warmly as he watched her, ‘Hell, she really does move just like me when she’s like this!’

“Inuyasha!” Shippo took a flying leap onto the youkai’s shoulder, momentarily blocking his view of Kagome and making him frown in annoyance. “What did you do to Kagome?!”

Inuyasha snorted, reaching out to pluck the kitsune off his shoulder and set him on the ground beside him so he could keep an eye on Kagome, “She wanted to fight Kikyou.”

Miroku and Sango had made their way close to their transformed companion as well, more than a little disturbed that he hadn’t changed back and that he was acting so nonchalant about the fact that Kagome and Kikyou were violently attacking each other.

“Inuyasha, you have to stop them!” Sango skidded to a halt; her eyes locked on the younger girl as she caught Kikyou by the front of her robes and threw her hard into the trunk of a tree. “Kagome, can’t-!”

“Kagome needs to do this,” he returned sharply, the warning in his voice that he wouldn’t tolerate any accusations that he was ignoring her health. “She’s starting to balance again, and I can feel if she starts to overdo it.”

Miroku blinked in surprise, “But…Kikyou-?”

“She gave Kagome to Naraku,” Inuyasha’s eyes blazed and his hands curled into fists against his thighs. “She would have killed her. The last time, I stopped Kagome from fighting back,” his face softened and his eyes turned a little sad as he looked at the scars on her cheeks. “Kagome’s… earned this,” he shook his head. “This time I won’t interfere.”

*

Kagome caught Kikyou’s wrist, slamming her forearm across the older miko’s throat as she pinned her to the tree at her back in an almost crushing grip. She flashed her fangs in a cold smile at the strain on Kikyou’s face, leaning close as she whispered, “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who helped Naraku get in my head. That’s why I heard a woman instead of Onigumo.”

Kikyou’s own lips twisted in a sneer, “You should be…dead, Kagome. A… weakling like you…”

Kagome cut her off simply by putting more weight into the arm, “Weakling? Not anymore Kikyou. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I ever was; it just took all this shit happening for me to finally see it.”

“You’re disgraceful,” she hissed out. “The guardian of the Shikon-no-Tama turning into a youkai. The very thing you are supposed to defend the jewel against. You were too weak to fight it.”

Kagome shrugged, “I am still capable of purifying the jewel, that must mean I haven’t made that much of a mistake. I’m still me. Maybe fighting the youkai never was the answer, miko. After all, how much harder is it to kill me when I’m like this?”

Kikyou’s brows drew down angrily and she gripped Kagome’s forearm, trying to pry it away from her, “Inuyasha won’t let you kill me.”

Kagome twisted, flinging the miko over her head effortlessly and then pausing to lazily stretch her arms over her head. Her stance was casual, one hand resting lightly on the curve of her hip and a distracted smile on her lips as she waited for Kikyou to push herself to her feet.

Kikyou let out a shuddering breath, her hand gingerly feeling ribs that Kagome had just broken a second time. She looked nervously at Kagome’s glowing eyes, the girl flexing clawed hands in an eerie facsimile of Inuyasha. Her gaze turned quickly to the youkai form and the two humans, easily reading that there would be no help from either of them. But Inuyasha’s ears were trained back on the fight.

“Inuyasha!” Kikyou yelled out to him, one arm wrapped around her chest as she managed to stand. “Inuyasha, you promised me!”

Kagome shot forward, bringing her fist hard into the miko’s stomach, “Leave him out of this, you fucking bitch! You’ve been aching to kill me for years, so here’s your chance,” a taunting edge seeped into her voice. “Don’t you dare try to hide behind him.”

Kikyou fell heavily to her knees, glaring her hatred up at the girl, “I can still kill you. I was the guardian of the Shikon jewel long before you.”

“Then why try to get Naraku to do it for you? Face it, Kikyou, you’ve known all along you didn’t have a chance and that’s why you’ve tried to get someone else to do it for you,” Kagome’s lip curled in disgust. “You knew I’d kill you.”

Kikyou brought her hand hard against Kagome’s chest, blasting her backwards with a jolt of energy, “It would have worked if Naraku hadn’t tried to keep you. He wouldn’t kill you when he thought he could control you.”

Kagome growled as she pushed herself to her feet, tossing her head once as she shook off the pain in her chest as easily as the others. Another growl echoed in her head, stopping her next attack, and surprised, she looked at Inuyasha. He was giving her an arrogant, disapproving frown as he looked pointedly at her chest.

“I’ll be angry with you if you get hurt, Kagome,” he arched one brow, his voice low and scolding.

Kagome blushed, her ears flattening even as she watched Kikyou’s face fill with rage, “Don’t worry about me.”

Inuyasha frowned, rolling to his feet when Kagome leapt forward, slamming her shoulder into Kikyou’s stomach and sending them both crashing backwards into the trees, “That little idiot’s ignoring her own blood again.”

Sango set her jaw when they heard an outraged snarl followed by Kikyou crashing back along the same path Kagome had knocked them down a moment ago, “What do you mean?”

He shook his head, eyes gleaming dangerously when Kagome reappeared, wiping blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, “Her body’s exhausted, but she’s ignoring it. She’s hurt, feeling pain in my head, but… She’s not really balancing with me yet, she’s just drawing off me,” Inuyasha growled as he made the connection with how well he could feel her compared to what she displayed. “Dammit, she had enough contact to wake up but not to snap out of the youkai instincts!”

Kagome was using him to block out the exhaustion and the pain, and worse, she seemed to know she was doing it. He’d felt the twinge of guilt when he’d scolded her, and she’d refused to look at him, instead throwing herself into Kikyou for all she was worth. His sneaky little youkai bitch had tricked him into thinking she was trying to balance and all the while she’d just recognized his aura and absorbed it so she could keep fighting!

Kagome had just backhanded Kikyou across the face, sending the miko to the ground when she felt the tattoo at her hip pulse and heat. A thick curl of energy wrapped around her on the heels of that sensation, and she bit down on her lip hard as she sneaked a glance at Inuyasha. ‘Oh hell,’ she felt her stomach knot and the darkening look on his face.

“You promised you wouldn’t stop me!” she barked out at him defensively.

“You tricked me, Kagome! Who’s in your head? Who are you fucking listening to?!” he demanded when she turned her back on him.

Kagome made a face at him, “How stupid do you think I am, Inuyasha? After what just happened to me, I don’t intend to let anyone in my head again. The only person I’m hearing is me.”

“Fuck, they weren’t kidding about how my blood’s shutting her off from everything,” he muttered angrily. Kagome’s body was exhausted enough that if he could catch her and hold her without any interruptions, he was sure she’d pass out like she had the other times he’d had to force her to get control. But she was lucid enough to subdue him back if he used his spell, and that would just be ridiculously unproductive given how stubborn she could be with his blood dominant inside her. There was no telling how long they’d be stuck in a back and forth subduing fight.

‘C’mon, koi, I just need you distracted for a second!,’ his muscles coiled, preparing to spring the moment he felt her guard drop.

Kagome’s head snapped down to Kikyou when the miko grunted and tried to rise to her feet again. She leaned down, catching her by the back of the neck and lifting her off her feet in front of her. Her claws dug into the flesh of Kikyou’s throat and her eyes narrowed sharply, “You lose, miko.”

She pulled her other arm back, fully intending to punch through Kikyou’s stomach and rip the resurrected woman in half. Her hand stopped before it reached its target, her expression changing to frustration as her brow twitched with suppressed emotions.

‘I… Why can’t I kill her?!’ tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and she bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. “Fuck!” she snarled out, her arm dropping as she shook Kikyou with the other. “I can’t do it…” Kagome shook her head fiercely, her voice whisper soft and painfully enraged.

Kikyou’s eyes opened slightly and she smiled coldly, her chest rising and falling in a labored pattern as she lifted her hand to close around Kagome’s wrist, “I won’t have… the same trouble…”

Kagome’s hand tightened, “You won’t get the chance. I might not be able to kill you, Kikyou, but I don’t give a damn how you land.”

Kagome twisted, slamming the miko into the ground and sinking her hands into the fabric of her kimono. Inuyasha felt the energy inside her coil tight and finally snap as she let out a scream of pain and rage, flinging the miko up into the air as hard as she could.

He was behind her before her body had finished twisting from the momentum of her action, locking one arm around her waist and using the other to pin her arms to her sides. His mouth closed on the tendon in her neck, biting down when she arched away from him, crying out in outrage at the sudden rush of pain and fatigue that went through her.

Inuyasha snarled when she kicked out at him, wrapping one of his legs around her thighs and taking her to the ground. He growled, his hold tightening when he felt her shudder, a distressed sound rising in her throat as her strength began to slowly drain away under his touch.

“Let go of it, koi,” he released her neck, curling to his side to tuck her against him and press her face to his throat. “Relax.”

“Hurts!” Kagome gave her head a single shake against him. “Don’t-! Don’t make me, Inuyasha! Onegai!”

Inuyasha lifted the arm away from her waist and stroked her hair, pausing to rub her ears gently, “You have to rest, Kagome. I can feel how much it hurts. Just close your eyes and let me take care of it before you really hurt yourself.”

The soothing growl vibrating through his chest, added to his hands stroking over her ears, and the low timbre of his voice worked their way into her mind until the tautness seeped out of her little by little. Kagome’s fingers curled tightly in his haori as her eyes drifted closed, burrowing her face against him when she felt a rush of dizzying nausea go through her.

“No…” Kagome fought against it, hating the weakness coming over her as she tensed in an effort to push him away.

“Aa,” he returned, slightly alarmed at the way her body was losing heat, her words slurring as she went limp. “I’ll keep you safe,” he assured her, letting out a sigh of relief when she finally lost consciousness.

Inuyasha lay like that for a moment, panting just slightly as he focused on slowing his heartbeat to a less frantic pace before he raised himself up to his knees. He tucked Kagome around him carefully, ignoring his companions as they hovered nearby, uncertain as to how they should respond to this new development.

He rose to his feet slowly, holding her legs wrapped around his waist with one arm and using the other to drape her arms over his shoulders, “Shippo, can you find your way back to where we made camp before this shit started?”

Shippo jolted in surprise, nervous at being the center of the youkai’s attention, “Ah…h-hai…”

“Good,” he nodded stiffly, his arms wrapping tightly around Kagome. “You can show Sango and Miroku. I’ll be waiting for you there with Kagome.”


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Friday, January 28, 2005

   Chapter 45: A Sense Of Madness...
Everything was buzzing.

Kagome clenched her fists over her ears, a small whimper escaping her as she tried to curl in on herself and block out the sudden return of sound, much louder than everything she could recall ever experiencing. Underneath the nearly deafening pounding of her heartbeat in her own ears, she could make out unidentifiable crashes, roars and metallic clangs. More disturbing was the echo of a man screaming angrily deep beneath all of that, the sound inside her head rather than reaching her ears like all the others. She cringed when each new throb of noise sent pain shuddering through her already battered body.

She couldn't make out the words the man was screaming, but her brows slowly drew together when she tried to focus on the feelings radiating from it instead. When all she could distinguish was frustrated anger and a sort of disjointed hatred, her confusion grew. Why was that man angry? And where was she? She could vaguely remember a strange feeling of power moving through her, making her entire body tingle and making it impossible for her to access her own memory. Like her thoughts were being blocked. Something was wrong with her mind, she knew it.

She just didn't know what it was.

Kagome could feel herself being pulled in two directions, and with every pull her thoughts losing their clarity. The more she lost her hold on her own mind, the stronger her instincts rose to take over. She let her eyes open a bare slit, looking down at Shippo's pale face and teary eyes when a wave of menace swept from the screaming voice towards the little kitsune and took her by surprise.

Kagome's lips pulled back in a snarl and she swept him protectively to her chest, instinctively throwing up violent barriers against the source of the threat towards her little kit. 'I...I should know him... Why don't I know who this is? I know I should!' her hands tightened on him, instincts growing even stronger with her confusion and pushing violently against the cause of her distress.

Both Inuyasha and Naraku let out a grunt of surprise, Naraku staggering back away from the source of the intense magic even as Inuyasha straightened his stance, his gaze drawn to Kagome in alarm. His eyes narrowed when he found the white fuzzy ears near the top of her head in stark contrast with her black hair, flattened to her skull as though the noises reaching them were painful to her. She had Shippo clutched tightly in her arms, her fangs bared in unspoken threat to something that he couldn't see.

She looked like a hanyou again... but she still felt like a youkai and he didn't feel human, so how had she changed?

He glanced down at himself in mild surprise even as his senses made him aware of his own unexpected transformation. He was in his youkai form, a full youkai, but unlike the last time, he was still in control of himself. There was no unreasonable urge to tear anything and everything to bits, no mindless rage threatening to split his head apart, just a steady confident pulse of power. He was disturbingly calm. Although...

Inuyasha looked at the transformed Tetsusaiga pulsing strongly in his fist, up to Naraku's strained expression, and then to Kagome's taut form. He could feel the barriers, intense magic sweeping through him, unconsciously latching onto his familiar blood even as it drove Naraku back several steps. Kagome was suddenly blocking out everything around her, and the more she blocked, the stronger her heartbeat became in his ears. Naraku's own barriers around her were dissolving and he could feel himself relax slightly when the smell of her blood stopped increasing. She might not be balancing yet, but their link was starting to recover.

He shot Naraku a triumphant grin and growled out, "She’s got my ears now, Naraku. Whatever you were using to block her out is worthless. So now how do you intend to keep me out of her head?"

Naraku pulled back in a long sweeping motion as he pressed his hand over the Shikon-no-Tama, gritting his teeth in alarm, 'She's…started purifying the energy inside herself, and it… turned Inuyasha into a youkai?!'

"Damn that fox brat," he shot the kitsune a fierce scowl even as he rose to his feet again and faced Inuyasha. "It makes no difference, Inuyasha. She is still unbalanced, and Kagome would come for the jewel before she came for you like this. She knows the hanyou, not the youkai."

Inuyasha's smile altered slightly into smug arrogance and he made a sound very much like a growling bark. Naraku's lips tightened when Kagome's head snapped up and focused on Inuyasha, her ears twisted towards him as the glassy look in her eyes cleared slightly. Shippo twisted slightly to glance at him from the corner of his eye when he heard the unmistakable command, his hands tightening in Kagome's kimono and urging her to hold him closer even as he let out a little yip in answer.

"She knows her mate, Naraku, hanyou or youkai," Inuyasha's voice lowered to a deadly hiss. "And you'll know it too before I kill you."

Miroku stumbled back in alarm when Inuyasha shot forward, slicing through the tentacles that had previously held him captive and slamming into Naraku with every bit of strength he was capable of producing. His dark eyes, however, were locked onto Inuyasha's face, moving over the double stripes angled up his cheeks and the glowing scarlet and blue eyes, "Oh hell…"

Sango turned to see what had captured the monk's attention and sucked in a sharp breath, "B-but the sword! Inuyasha shouldn't turn to his youkai form with the Tetsusaiga!"

Miroku turned to watch Kagome as she took one arm from around Shippo and shakily rose to her feet, but it was the fuzzy ears twitching this way and that through her hair that had his eyes light with understanding. "Look at Kagome-sama, like when he fought before and it spilled over to her… He's in control of the blood this time?" his hand tightened on his staff as he watched the youkai around them stir.

"Something about that spell?" Sango looked warily around them as well as the youkai shook off the daze caused by Inuyasha's explosion of energy.

Miroku's lips quirked in a dry smile as he took a defensive position, "Sango, your guess is as good as my own at this point."

Kagome heard the demand clearly, this one cutting through all the other sounds to reach her ears and run through her blood in a command for attention and obedience. This one was different from the screaming in her head, the painful ache and throb dulling at the feel of it, soothing her chaotic senses. It was impossible to ignore, commanding obedience even as she shook her head in an effort to clear her hazy thoughts.

The sound faded and she snapped her head up, clutching Shippo protectively as her eyes found the youkai standing in profile to her. The sight of him brought a frown to her face and she tilted her head to one side to watch as he spoke with another creature wrapped in white pelt of some sort. She should recognize them, shouldn't she? Especially that inu youkai… something about him drew her closer, made her feel calm, but why?

"Okaa-san?" Shippo tugged at her nervously, drawing her gaze down to him in surprise.

'Okaa-san?' Kagome's brows drew together in confusion and she lifted a hand to Shippo's cheek to brush off the fresh tears. 'I'm his mother? What happened that I don't remember being a mother?!'

A glimmer of recognition went through her the longer she stared down at the kit, oblivious to the sounds of battle crashing in the background. Shippo, this was Shippo. She protected him for years, and he said she was his mother. Kagome latched onto that thought, determined to have at least one portion of clarity through her disorientation. Until her head cleared of that hideous screaming and the pain and haze, she would settle for what her real instincts were telling her, and they were telling her to protect the kitsune no matter what.

That man, the one screaming in her head and making it pound was threatening the kitsune child, and she forcefully pushed against the presence in her mind. The more she pushed, the more she felt the other one trying to seep into her, but she stubbornly resisted that call as well. Her mind was trying to clear in slow degrees as she became aware of the pain humming through her body, and if the first had fogged her thoughts to this extent, no telling what that second presence would do. Better to keep them both at bay until she could think straight and protect Shippo.

"Shh, its okay, Shippo-chan," she soothed, stroking a hand over his head.

Shippo blinked rapidly, his eyes widening as they searched her scarlet gaze, "You're… you're okay? You're you?"

She frowned, not understanding what he was asking, but she still sought to comfort him, "I'll be fine. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Inuyasha felt a jolt run through him, Kagome's emotions starting to untangle as he blasted through another wave of Naraku's youkai. His narrowed gaze slid to where Kagome had risen to her feet, her face set with determination as she watched them fight, but her eyes were glassy again, glowing scarlet without a hint of recognition. Inuyasha swore beneath his breath, 'So that's why I'm not fighting my own instincts like that. They all fucking went into Kagome!'

He was wary, confused at the way Naraku kept retreating while Kagura sat by and watched expressionlessly. He could see the lines of strain on Naraku's face every time he got close, and it seemed to become more severe with each pulse and shift of the aura surrounding Kagome.

Naraku sent Kagura a sharp glare, "Get her out of here!"

Inuyasha's rage sparked all over again and he let out an enraged roar as he released another blast of the Cutting Wind, "Stay the fuck away from Kagome, you bastard!!"

Kagura leapt out of the way as the long furrows tore through the ground under the force of his swing, landing close to Kagome and sending her a nervous glance as Naraku lashed out at the hanyou-gone-youkai again. She was starting to highly regret getting involved with this. A human and a hanyou turning youkai and vibrating with unreal powers; the Shikon miko not more than a few feet away with her own miko skills mature and well and quite possibly about to purify the jewel using only her connection through Naraku's energy.

"Kagome, we must leave," Kagura reached out for her, a chill going through her when Inuyasha's narrowed gaze found her beside his mate. "Come before he attacks us!"

Kagome's hand snapped out and caught the wind youkai's wrist, the touch nearly crushing and sending Kagura to her knees as her own energy was almost violently drained away. Her lips pulled back in a snarl as she yanked Kagura forward and demanded, "You are with that man in my head?"

Kagura caught herself awkwardly with her free hand, the blood draining from her face as she cast Naraku a desperate look, but Naraku had his hands full defending against Inuyasha's enraged assault, "Hai, Kagome. I am with the man in your head. We must go!"

Kagome let out a soft growl that Shippo instantly obeyed, vanishing down the front of her kimono to leave her hands free as she turned to fully face the youkai, "That is unfortunate for you. He makes my head hurt and threatened my son."

Inuyasha heard the high-pitched scream of pain and spun, expecting to see Kagura attacking Kagome. He fell back a step in involuntary surprise to see Kagome holding the wind youkai aloft with one hand, the other covered in blood. Kagome snarled, slamming Kagura into the ground forcefully enough that it cracked beneath her. The air around them sparked madly as the purifying energy inside her revived and attacked Naraku's aura.

Inuyasha set his jaw; glaring as he fought to take back some of his rage and prevent Kagome from hurting herself. Her eyes locked onto his when she felt him trying to pull his emotions away from her and with a growl, she released Kagura and leapt back to avoid his attempts. Her eyes darkened as she swept her aura out in a wide arch to wrap it tightly with the rage feeding her strength, and he swore at the dark look in her eyes. Kagome didn’t want to balance… She felt threatened and she could sense her best defense was in his blood, so she refused to let it return to its real owner.

"Dammit," he shot out of the way as Naraku shattered the ground he'd been presently occupying. 'Physical contact… That fucking voice said it would take contact to snap her out of it this time. I have to get to her before she kills herself.'

Frustrated and even more enraged that he couldn't take the time to rip into Naraku the way he wanted to, he spun around, bringing the Tetsusaiga up even as he focused the attack, "Kaze no Kizu!"

Miasma exploded from where Naraku had been waiting even as he dodged to the side, sliding around to put himself behind Kagome. "This isn't finished, Inuyasha," he slid his arm tightly around Kagome's waist and brought her up against him.

Inuyasha had barely taken the breath to scream again when Naraku was flung away from her, barely righting himself as he stared at the girl turned in profile between Inuyasha and himself. Her clawed hand came up to protectively pat the kitsune peeking out the top of her robes as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't fucking touch me or my son!" Kagome growled out, holding out her hands as she gathered her powers. “You goddamn sonofabitch!”

'Fuck, just how confused is she?!' Inuyasha gaped at Shippo's delighted face to the rage on Kagome's. "Kagome! Come here!" he barked out when he saw Naraku tensing in reaction to her aura flaring.

"Stay out of this, youkai," she snapped back, abruptly tensing as she flung her hands out towards Naraku. "And you! Get out of my head, dammit!"

Inuyasha took full advantage of Naraku's attempt to dodge Kagome's purifying energy, leaping into the path he tried to take and brought the Tetsusaiga around to catch him deeply from shoulder to hip. Naraku let out a bellow of outrage and twisted to the side, right in the path of Kagome's claws.

Encouraged by her attack, Inuyasha reached out to try and catch her around the waist, but Kagome twisted with remarkable agility and back-kicked him in the gut hard enough to stagger him. They both ducked as Naraku lashed out with his tentacles, Inuyasha coming back up with his sword as Kagome's rolled forward and caught hold of Naraku's side. Steam hissed from where she touched and Naraku jerked away violently, his hand hovering over the melted pelt and scorched flesh beneath.

Miroku blinked in surprise when there were no new attacks, turning until he found the three "youkai" fighting almost where Kagome had been originally standing. Kagura lay motionless, pale, and bloody in a portion of crushed ground. He could feel Sango at his side, watching tensely as Inuyasha made another grab for Kagome only to have the girl dodge and attack him before refocusing her efforts on the weakening Naraku.

"It's…almost like that fight with Kouga," Sango shook her head as she watched Kagome dodge a blast of miasma while Inuyasha nearly severed Naraku's outstretched arm.

Miroku frowned, "No… Kagome-sama is fighting wild, trying to keep them both away from her. She’s even attacking Inuyasha."

Feeling a bit dizzy watching the three-way fight, Sango glanced up at the monk's face to gauge his reaction to what they were seeing, "This can't continue, Houshi-sama."

"I don't believe there's anything we can do to help," he set his jaw and tried to follow the confusing match, with Inuyasha and Naraku alternately attacking each other and trying to catch hold of Kagome while she in turn fought to keep them both away from her. None of them were in the same place long enough for them to effectively join the fight without risking injury to their friends.

Inuyasha snarled when Kagome slid around behind him, sweeping his legs out from under him and sending him to the ground, "Fuck this! Kagome, stay!"

Kagome shrieked in outrage when she dropped to the ground, while Inuyasha flipped back to his feet, "You youkai bastard!"

Naraku's mouth tightened when he felt a new flash of weakness chase through him, reaching beneath his pelt to touch the Shikon jewel in an effort to draw out more power. His hand froze when his flesh met the warm surface, the tainted feel of the jewel diminishing with every echoed beat of Kagome's heart.

'Damn, she's purifying the jewel without touching it?! She’s using the link I made to reach it!' he looked down at Kagome and then to Inuyasha as he drew back, his own aura humming in preparation for his attack. 'If I don't get away from her, her soul's going to rip me apart!'

"This is your fucking end, Naraku!" Inuyasha's eyes blazed as he brought the Tetsusaiga around, the air thickening with the gathering strength of the sword.

Naraku took one look at Kagome struggling against the immobility of the subduing spell and shot a blast of miasma towards the girl. Inuyasha let out a shout of denial, the maneuver only half completed as he reversed his forward motion to shield Kagome’s vulnerable position.

Kagome's gaze snapped up to the youkai who'd just jumped in front of her, her brows furrowing in confusion until she sensed the miasma coming from the other one. Her eyes widened in surprise when she caught the determined look on his face, 'He's saving me?! That idiot youkai! That stuff will kill him!'

Inuyasha gritted his teeth when the first of the miasma hit him, the force pushing him backwards as a sickening hiss filled the air. Kagome felt the pain roil through her when it hit him and reflexively, she rocked forward to bring her to her knees and grabbed the back of his haori.

Kagome closed her eyes, sending a rush of her miko powers through him to neutralize Naraku's poison before it could fully engulf them both. Inuyasha's eyes went huge when he felt the dizzying surge of magic, the blade of the Tetsusaiga turning deep blue a split second before the air around them exploded in a whirlwind of their combined energy.

"Kagura's power?!" Miroku's eyes widened when the ribbons of energy swept out, ripping up the ground as it spiraled towards the startled Naraku.

Kagome paid no attention to the effects of the magic, her arms moving to his waist when he stumbled, "Don't faint on me, youkai. You still have to tell me why you jumped in between us like that."

Inuyasha looked back at her in surprise, one hand releasing the Tetsusaiga to reach back and loop it around her waist, "Kagome-!"

She went stiff under his touch, her claws tensing against him, "That wasn’t a damn invitation, youkai."

"Dammit, bitch, will you snap out of it!?" he snarled, yanking her off her feet to bring her crashing up against him. "Ignore whatever the fuck that voice is saying to you and start listening to me!"

Kagome hissed, bringing her elbow into his stomach and throwing him off her. At the abrupt break of contact, the spiraling magic sparked and slowly faded, but Naraku and Kagura were nowhere to be seen amongst the melted landscape. Inuyasha swore violently, twisting about in an effort to sense where he'd gone, but everything was smothered under that heavy smell of miasma.

His ears snapped back when he heard Kagome move, slamming the Tetsusaiga back into its sheath as he faced her, “Freeze.”

"How do you know about the voice?" Kagome demanded sharply, her body taut and ready to fight or flee to get away long enough to clear her head. She could still hear that screaming voice and it was keeping her from remembering anything with any clarity while the painful haze was starting to really piss her off. And now this inu youkai knew about it? Was it him?

It was more annoying that just looking at him made her feel more relaxed. Something about him that was familiar and soothing, making her want to trust him. She shook her head, scowling at him as her ears flattened back, trying to figure out why she felt that way.

Inuyasha held out a hand to her, "You told me about him last time, Kagome, but we have to get him out of your head so we can heal you. You've been bleeding too much again."

Kagome automatically started to reach for him, stopping herself abruptly and backing away with a growl, "Who are you, youkai? Why did you help me?"

Inuyasha was getting impatient, sliding down into a crouch as he watched her, waiting for a distraction so he could catch hold of her, "You're my mate, Kagome, and you’ll do as I say. Now come here."

Kagome's eyes narrowed sharply, his frustration and temper sparking her own again as she wrapped her arm protectively around Shippo, "You're lying."

"We don't have fucking time for you to remember the hard way!" Inuyasha snarled and leapt at her, barely missing as she dove out of the way and rolled to face him.

Shippo poked his head out of her kimono and looked from Inuyasha's annoyed expression to Kagome's determined one. Worried, he reached up and tugged on her hair to get her attention before he turned to the bristling hanyou/youkai, "Inuyasha? Are…are you okay?"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome frowned when a jolt went through her hearing the name, and she lifted her hand to her head. This was all so ridiculously confusing that she just wanted to get away from all of them, "What the hell is wrong with my head?"

Inuyasha grunted, shaking his head at her behavior, 'Anyone but me. Couldn't that damn spell make her act like anyone else but me?'

"Kagome-sama!" Miroku had positioned himself behind the changed girl, reaching out in an effort to either shake her out of what Naraku had done or give Inuyasha a chance to get hold of her.

Kagome let out a shout of surprise and shot away from the newcomer, ducking past Inuyasha as she tensed in preparation to run. Inuyasha set his jaw and barked out again, "Stay!"

He let out a heavy sigh, looking down at her as she struggled against the spell. It was sign enough of how confused she was that she didn't shout back at him, but so long as it worked to his advantage he wasn't going to complain. This would at least keep her still so he could make contact.

Inuyasha crouched down in front of her and reached for her chin. When she jerked out of the way, he flashed his teeth at her with a sharp growl that had her instinctively freezing long enough for him to cup his hand beneath her chin, "C'mon, you stubborn little bitch. Don't make me fight with you until you're normal again. It's only fun when you fight back."

She went still the moment his skin touched hers, her mouth falling open and her eyes glazing over when a rush of heat shot through her heart. Inuyasha's brows drew together in response, lifting his other hand to cup her cheeks as he felt the twinge of the spell come to life in the back of his mind. He was alarmed the emotions running through her head, and the strength of his blood as it insistently pushed against him in an effort to keep him out. The voices had been right; she was seeing everything as a threat with her mind like this, even him.

No wonder Kagome was so confused, he thought grimly, reaching out to wrap his arms around her and drag her up into his lap, nearly flattening Shippo in between them. Her blood was all but beaten into dormancy inside her, surrounded so completely by his own in what he could only guess was an effort to protect it from the threats it felt to her soul. Unfortunately, with his blood so strong in her, she was wrapped almost completely in his echoed emotions, her thoughts overwhelmed and subdued by his instincts.

Turning youkai himself couldn't have helped her balance either, only making his blood that much stronger inside her. Although, he couldn't feel any traces of Naraku, so perhaps it had been a good thing after all? As long as he could calm her down and soothe the youkai emotions to bring her own mind back into dominance, he'd be more than satisfied. He just hoped she hadn’t suffered anything permanent.

"Calm down, koi," Inuyasha reached up, rubbing her ears and smiling when she leaned into him apparently against her own will if her annoyed growl was any indication. "That's it. Just relax and let me take all this mess back to me. Let me handle it so you can rest," he urged gently, shooting Sango and Miroku a speaking glare to search for any hints of Naraku's presence.

Kagome shuddered, arching in an effort to get away when she felt her strength draining away from her, but as it faded, more of the haze fell away. Blinking rapidly as the scarlet glow began to fade, she looked at the tense expression on the youkai holding her. She knew him, didn’t she? This was- "Inu…yasha?"

Inuyasha had barely opened his mouth to respond when a faint twang reached his ears, his attention snapping around just as he felt Kagome tense and move in his lap. His brows rose sharply when he found himself staring at the tip of an arrow not more than an inch from his face.

His eyes numbly found the clawed hand wrapped around the middle of the shaft, moving down to Kagome’s own startled expression, her eyes on the arrow before they turned in the direction of the attack. Inuyasha’s ears flattened back as his own gaze narrowed and raised, but he already knew who he’d be looking for.

His arms tightened protectively around Kagome as he rose to his feet, the growl starting low and menacing in his chest, “Kikyou.”


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Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Chapter 44: Some Instincts Can't Be Changed...
"KAGOME!!" Inuyasha screamed out to her the moment he recognized the altered girl aiming at them from over twenty feet away. His heart clenched violently at the sight of her, her face set grimly as her eyes gleaming with unspoken threat. The voice said she couldn't be called any of the three races fighting in her blood, but the look of her and the FEEL....

Naraku had turned his miko into a youkai.

Laughing with dark pleasure at the myriad of emotions racing over the hanyou's face, Naraku jumping from his perch in the tree to stand in the midst of the destroyed ground. This was what he'd been longing to see in the hanyou's eyes, the pain and disbelieving shock as he looked at the miko he'd mated not two days earlier, "Save your breath, Inuyasha. There is absolutely nothing you can say to reach her now. Kagome is mine."

Inuyasha's growl was feral as he clenched the Tetsusaiga so hard it wouldn't be surprising if the hilt had molded to the shape of his palm, "What the fuck did you do to her? You turned her into a youkai!"

Naraku lifted a hand, and Kagura appeared at his side to make a flicking motion with her hand and bring the wind from behind Kagome to Inuyasha's senses. When the hanyou's eyes widened, then narrowed sharply as the growl gained dangerous volume, he smirked at them, "Do you smell blood perhaps, Inuyasha? Human blood?"

"Your death can't possibly be painful enough to suit me," Inuyasha's eyes blazed, his teeth grinding together as he looked at Kagome again.

"I had nothing to do with this," he shrugged casually. "Your blood inside her is what's forcing her human blood out of her, taking her over just a piece at a time. It just needed a little... encouragement."

"It needed to feel like she was being killed," Inuyasha's lip curled.

"Nothing so serious. All it needed was for me to touch her and it took over," Naraku gave him a mocking nod. "Such volatile blood, and so strong... But then this guardian of the Shikon jewel is the most powerful yet; she may even last another day or two before all traces of her humanity are destroyed."

“You had this all planned out, didn’t you? You knew Kikyou would be there with me! That Kagome would see and think-!” Inuyasha bit down on his lower lip hard, struggling against the intense rage rocking through him, urging his to lose control and take apart the man responsible for Kagome’s pain.

“Think you were toying with her for her body? Her resemblance to the dead? The thought had crossed my mind,” he turned his face to regard the woman standing perfectly still, only the breeze playing with her clothing and hair to prove she was indeed alive and not some cold statue. “Humans are complicated creatures, Inuyasha, especially this one. Her mind is so used to the thought of you leaving her for the corpse that it was no small matter to revert her to those feelings when she is all ready so off balance adjusting to youkai emotion. As a matter of fact, it was easier because of how soon it was after you mated her.”

Another notch of Inuyasha’s control slipped, and on the hill a faint shudder rolled through Kagome, bringing a frown to her face, ‘What are they saying, Onigumo?’

*Inuyasha has not recognized you. He believes you are a new offspring of Naraku, and Naraku is taunting him for his stupidity. I think Inuyasha is buying time for Kikyou to try something new.*

‘I don’t feel her yet,’ she closed her eyes briefly, inhaling to search with the youkai senses even as she felt for the aura with her miko powers.

*Be alert, Kagome. We can kill the hanyou and his bitch, and then you will be able to purify Naraku and restore me. Then I will protect you and Shikon-no-Tama as you were meant to be protected. I will teach you to love me.*

Naraku smiled at the way the hanyou began to pant, well aware of the struggle going on in his head. If he could push him over the edge, that would spark the same kind of reaction in Kagome and make it that much more difficult for the hanyou to get close, “I must thank you for being so closely connected to her though. If not for the way she guarded your blood inside her I might never have been able to move myself into her so completely. Although I will be a better lover... You leave so many bruises it’s a wonder she can stomach your touch at all.”

Inuyasha’s control snapped.

“You fucking BASTARD!!” Inuyasha shot forward even as Naraku leapt away and lifted a hand to summon a swarm of his youkai to meet the attack. Inuyasha didn’t even break stride tearing through one after another, using his claws if they came too close as he pressed towards Naraku’s position. He didn’t even acknowledge Sango and Miroku fighting behind him, doing their best to keep the youkai from surrounding Inuyasha as they defended themselves.

Miroku looked grimly at the horde, concerned that they seemed content to dash in and out rather than trying to overwhelm them with their numbers. Naraku still had something planned and Inuyasha was too enraged to see it. His hand closed over the sealing rosary even as he hoped the plan didn’t include any of the Saimyoushou. He could at least try to clear the youkai coming from the side without risking Inuyasha or Sango, “Air Rip!”

Amazingly enough, for a long moment there was no sign of the wasps and Miroku let out a sigh of relief as he continued to pull in all the youkai he could manage. The Saimyoushou appeared so abruptly that he let out a shout even as he rushed to seal his hand, but they were close enough that he knew he wouldn’t be able to prevent absorbing at least a few of them.

A blast of purifying energy dissolved the youkai in front of his hand just before Miroku sealed it, preventing the wasps from reaching their goal even as the fighting momentarily paused in shock. Miroku closed his gaping mouth; his eyes wide as he looked at the arrow embedded in the ground in front of him up to where Kagome stood notching another arrow.

“K-Kagome-sama?!” Miroku gasped out, his eyes lighting up with a mix of confusion and excitement. “She protected me?”

‘Remind Naraku that my friends are NOT to be hurt, Onigumo,’ Kagome turned his disapproving frown to Naraku, waiting until he gave her a slight bow of apologetic acknowledgment. ‘They had nothing to do with the spell or with Kikyou and I will not make them suffer for it.’

*I told you that Naraku could not be trusted, Kagome,* Onigumo said softly. *It is a lucky thing that you have become such a proficient archer.*

Inuyasha’s brows narrowed in speculation as he calmed enough to defend against the renewed onslaught, trying to figure out what had just happened. ‘Kagome,’ he cast her a quick glance, watching her stand poised with her glowing eyes sweeping over the fight. ‘It’s still her? It has to be like the last times that she was overwhelmed! She’s still herself, aware of all this then, but he’s in her head and she... she doesn’t realize it isn’t her own thoughts!’

“Kagome! Don’t listen to the voice in your head! It’s a trick, you have to fight it!” he roared at her, abruptly reversing the direction of his attack to move towards her.

Naraku slid around to place himself between the hanyou and the miko, the bizarre tentacles ripping out from beneath the baboon pelt and forcing him to leap away or get impaled, “I told you, Inuyasha. It’s pointless for you to try and call for her. Her pain, your rage, my hatred... She doesn’t even realize how strongly she pulls off you and I, fighting our battle in her head, letting our emotions dictate her responses.”

Sango set her jaw as she watched Inuyasha defend against Naraku, catching her boomerang on its return trip, “He’s trying to get Inuyasha to attack him instead of attempt to reach Kagome-chan.”

“Inuyasha is likely the only one with the ability to restore her,” he nodded grimly, looking from her still form to Inuyasha. “Sango, I am going to test something... be prepared in case I am mistaken.”

Sango barely had time to turn when Miroku made as though to swing the staff, but twisted at the last moment with a determined expression to put himself directly in the swing on the youkai he was fighting. “HOUSHI-SAMA!?” she whirled already bringing the Hiraikotsu around to slice the youkai in half when it promptly exploded, taking a wide circle of the surrounding force with it.

Sango grabbed his arm in a bruising grip and yanked him backwards, her heart pounding madly as she hissed out, “What the hell are you doing!?”

Miroku’s gaze, however, was on Kagome as she reached over her shoulder and strung another arrow in a smooth motion, “Kagome-sama IS protecting us. Sango, the youkai are just a distraction for us, that‘s why they aren‘t attacking seriously! They are only after Inuyasha!”

Naraku barely gave them a glance as he clashed with the hanyou, pulling Kagome’s own energy back into him to weaken the force of the attacks. Inuyasha knew he was fighting against Naraku, but his soul would sense Kagome’s power and hold back...

“Face it, Inuyasha,” Naraku smiled as he connected a strike, gouging a deep gash along the hanyou’s shoulder. “This time I have won. Soon I will be connected with Kagome deeper than you could possibly imagine and you will have nothing but a corpse in hell. I have the stronger miko now, and I will make her love me as she would never love a half-breed like you.”

He grinned in triumph when the aura around Inuyasha flared wildly and in response the smell of blood from Kagome grew stronger. Just a little more and it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to purge the last of human blood from her system. The shards of the Shikon-no-Tama pulsed against his skin, bringing him the echo of Kagome’s tangled emotions, and he casually lifted a hand to stroke over the jewel.

Inuyasha leapt forward only to have Naraku lash out with more of the tentacles, wrapping them around his arms and legs as he turned and slammed his body into the trees with crushing force. Inuyasha gritted his teeth hard against the pain the shot through him when he came to a stop, pinned against the massive trunk of a tree. Forcing his eyes to open and focus on Naraku’s gloating smile, he snarled out, “How the fuck did you get in her head?!”

Naraku’s grin had a feral edge as he tightened his hold, watching the strain on the hanyou’s face, “It really was disgustingly simple, Inuyasha.” He slid the large chunk of the Shikon jewel from his pelt and held it up admiringly, “Did you know the kind of connection that girl has with this jewel? If I had known how she came to have it in the first place, I would have taken her from you long ago.”

“Why you-!” Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed, but he was cut off by yet another tightening of the tentacles.

“The Shikon-no-Tama searches for her aura,” he continued as if Inuyasha had never spoken. “Being so close to each other relaxes them, soothes their auras for lack of a better way to say it. Kagome feels the Shikon’s power and pulls it to her, and the jewel gives its power to her easily. They recognize the feel, so that if someone was to slide their own power into the jewel...”

Inuyasha’s mouth slowly fell open, his gaze going from the jewel to Naraku and then to where he could barely see Kagome watching over them with a hard expression, “You fucking tricked her into thinking it’s the damn jewel inside her?!”

“The jewel’s magic at least,” Naraku turned a warm gaze to the girl as well, bringing a new wash of anger through the hanyou. “She is so accustomed to the feel of the jewel’s magic she barely fought it at all. I doubt she would have stayed close at all had I not had this calming her soul as I sent my powers inside her,” he held the jewel between his thumb and forefinger with a narrow smile.

Kagome felt something pull at the leg of her hakama and frowned, stoically ignoring it as she watched the dark stains spread along Inuyasha’s kimono. Her hands tightened on her bow as she fought the urge to send an arrow into Naraku. Was she some kind of twisted masochist that she kept wanting to go back to Inuyasha for more of the same pain? The same rejection she’d had day after day since they met? Even the mating had been a lie, him taking advantage of how she felt to satisfy his desire for Kikyou.

She shook her head in confusion, ‘That didn’t feel like me...’

There was an odd pressure against her leg, like a pinch and she dimly wondered what exactly could have caused that sensation, glancing down briefly and going still when her glowing eyes met with huge, watery blue.

Unnoticed to the combatants, Shippo had taken one look at Kagome on the rise and gone running after her. He’d waited until everyone down below seemed distracted and crept up to her, uncertain with the waves of tangled energy pouring off her, and called her name.

When there was no response, not even a flicker of showing she’d heard him at all, he snuck closer and tried again...and again. His sneaking carried him directly to her feet and he’d gazed up in alarmed horror than Kagome showed not even one sign of noticing. What could Naraku have done to her to she wouldn’t look at even him? She’d protected Miroku twice and didn’t he mean more to her than the lecherous monk?

Determined to get her attention, he tugged at the black hakama and called her name louder. That time she’d frowned, but still her gaze had stayed riveted on the scene below. Desperate for a reaction, he’d whispered an apology even as he leaned down and sank his little teeth into her exposed ankle. He sprang back when he felt the skin break, tears spilling down his cheeks at the thought that he’d made her bleed, but his eyes went huge when she didn’t even flinch.

After a moment, though, she turned her gaze down and met his, melting from annoyance into shock before she spoke, “Shippo-chan?!”

His lip quivered and he flung himself at her stomach, making her gasp in surprise as she dropped her bow, the arrow snapping awkwardly at the sudden gesture and gouging a cut along her forearm.

Shippo felt her arm close around him and hold him close and he opened his eyes to look at the deep wound on her other arm, “Kagome!! You’re arm!”

When she said nothing, he looked up at her again, his brows scrunched together, as he studied her face. Kagome was looking at him, but he saw something flash behind her eyes and her lips compressed.

*Fuck, Kagome, don’t let that brat distract you now! We must be ready to purify Inuyasha and Naraku!*

‘Shippo needs to be protected, Onigumo,’ she responded, her brows lowering as she instinctively pressed the kit close and turned her head to glare down at where Naraku had yanked Inuyasha away from the tree.

One of the tentacles punched through Inuyasha’s stomach and she flinched, her eyes going suspiciously glassy for a moment before the power around her fluctuated again and her expression hardened. This was what Inuyasha deserved after all...

Shippo was calling her name again, confused that she didn’t even pat him on the head like she usually did if she was distracted. He was about to tug on her robes again when her head turned to the side and he tensed, giving out a shriek of surprise.

There was a little black disk over Kagome’s ear, not large enough to draw much attention, but covering enough that he could reason out her unresponsiveness with their presence. Certain he could help, he twisted in her arms and screamed out across the distance, “Inuyashaaa!!!! Kagome CAN’T hear us!! She has things over her ears!!!”

*Damn it all to hell, Kagome, can’t you shut that kit up before he ruins everything?!* Onigumo screamed in her mind when the combatants again froze and turned to look in their direction.

Inuyasha froze when he heard Shippo’s yell, his eyes lighting with comprehension as he watched Naraku’s lips turn down sharply, his gaze turned to focus on the kitsune in her arms. Gathering his returning anger, he growled out low and dangerous, “So that’s how you’re fucking keeping me out!”

Naraku turned back to him, his voice colored with irritation, “It does not matter that you know, Inuyasha. In another moment you’ll be dead and I will take control of her completely.”

Two more of the pointed tentacles shot out, one spearing the hanyou’s shoulder and the other ramming through the other side of his stomach. When Inuyasha let out a violent scream of pain, he yanked the hanyou close enough to see his own scarlet eyes burning in the depths of shadows beneath the head of his pelt, “Kagome will be in my bed before sunset.”

Naraku flung the tentacles upwards before bringing them down to slam the hanyou into the ground so hard a tremble rocked through the area. Sango and Miroku stumbled to their knees as a new cloud of dust and debris filled the air, their eyes wide with mutual horror.

Shippo let out a gasp when Kagome dropped to one knee, pressing a hand hard over her heart as her head bowed and her lips pulled back in a snarl. “N...No way! Inuyasha can’t...?”

Naraku stepped back to where Kagura stood in the trees, a silent observer to the carefully orchestrated battle. His eyes slid to where Kagome was shuddering violently, her arm falling away from the kit as her hands rose to clench against the sides of her head.

“Have you finally succeeded then?” Kagura asked with a bland calmness she was far from feeling, lifting her hand to clear away the dust obstructing their view of the hanyou.

Naraku closed his hand on the Shikon shard, his answer cut off abruptly when he felt a shift in the power flowing through it. His own lips pulling back in an uncharacteristic snarl, he looked at the crumbled earth with the rusty katana embedded deeply in the upset dirt.

The ground shifted as a clawed hand broke free to close around the hilt, yanking it free and transforming it in the staggering wave of energy that rocked the air around them. Inuyasha rolled to his feet in a fluid motion, almost as though he felt nothing from numerous wounds he’d gained moments ago.

Shippo clung to Kagome’s leg, begging and pleading for reassurance as her shoulders slumped and she pulled her hands away from her head to catch herself before she fell face-first to the ground.

His eyes widened and he backed away slowly when he saw her hands, ‘Claws?!”

Inuyasha lifted his head as he raised the Tetsusaiga, startling Naraku with the murderous chill in the glowing crimson and blue eyes. His lips twisted back off elongated fangs in an arrogant smirk filled with dark promise, “You’ll fucking regret letting those words ever cross your lips, Naraku...”

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Monday, January 24, 2005

   Chapter 43: Hear No Evil...
*Kagome?*

‘Go away....’

*Ahh, then you are awake, you’re just ignoring us.*

‘No,’ her brow furrowed in confusion as her mind fought its way upwards through layers of fog and confusion. Something had happened... Something important, but for the life of her, she just couldn’t remember what it was. ‘No, I... I didn’t hear you before,’ her entire body felt heavy, like something was pressing down on her chest and keeping her from taking a proper breath.

*You accepted our help just in time. We barely managed to block out the hanyou and Kikyou before they killed you.*

It was so quiet...

Kagome tried to force her protesting eyelids to open and figure out how Naraku’s castle could be so still, so silent. It just didn’t seem natural, not when the more lucid she became, the more she could feel things she was certain she should be hearing. A breeze passed along her body, making her shiver faintly as she sensed a variety of auras passing by, far enough away that she could only guess they were passing outside whatever room she had been placed in.

*Your aura is restoring your strength now that we have removed their ability to influence you. Give it a moment, Kagome, you are powerful enough to restore yourself as fast as any youkai.*

Kagome's eyes squeezed tightly shut, gritting her teeth as she forced her resisting body to obey the commands she was giving it. Her eyes opened a bare slit, solid crimson and glowing with the banked rage pulsing just beneath the surface of her conscious emotions. The light dancing across the dark ceiling was streaked with the faint pink and orange of sunlight, bringing a confused frown to her face. Was it evening? Or had she been unconscious all night? Worse, had she been unconscious for longer...?

A foreboding shudder rippled along Kagome's body as she braced her arms on the ground and awkwardly lifted her upper body off the futon. Taking several deep, bracing breaths, she turned her narrowed gaze left and right in a search for Naraku. She had questions she wanted answered, the least of which as to why she heard Onigumo's voice in her head instead of them speaking to her aloud. Her brows lowered sharply when her eyes found him seated calmly beside the closed shoji, looking as coldly elegant as ever as he watched her with a strangely heated gaze.

"Why are-?" she broke off abruptly, her eyes widening as she let out a startled gasp, lifting her hand to her throat. She could feel her voice vibrate in her throat, the words clearly formed in her mind...

But she couldn't hear a sound.

Naraku watched the shock and dawning horror on the miko's face, a tiny smile tugging at his lips as he spoke, his lips moving in time to the voice in her mind, *I must offer my deepest apologies, Kagome, but the only way I could close you off from their powers was to block your body's ability to accept sound. Onigumo's link to you will permit us to speak in this way while we protect you from the hanyou and his undead whore.*

That had the desired reaction.

At the mention of Kikyou and Inuyasha, he sent the slightest push against her jumbled emotions, nudging a tiny flicker of the youkai rage and pain sweeping through her past the barriers he'd constructed inside her. The shock washed from Kagome's scarred face, replaced instantly with a solemn chill that sent a spark of appreciation through his own dark eyes.

*They are coming after you, you know,* he slowly rose to his feet, drawing her startled gaze up to him as he came closer and held out a hand. *Come...your hip is bleeding. Let me tend to it and I will give you clothing more befitting someone of your power. Those...things may be pleasing, but I find I would rather you leave that beautiful body to the imagination when they arrive.*

"Why is my hip bleeding?" Kagome grimaced at the silence pounding heavily in her mind, forcing herself to speak in what she hoped was a whisper as she accepted his assistance and rose to her feet.

Naraku steadied her gently, guiding her through a door that branched off from the bedroom, *The hanyou's blood is inside you and it is fighting with the human blood. He believes if he can force the blood out of you, he will be able to take his own back and force your death since Kikyou failed in her efforts. It is pushing it out of you around the mark.*

Kagome's gaze dropped down to her hip, jolting when she saw the volume of blood soaking the side of her clothes. Her entire right side was soaked through, a trail of smeared footprints following her progress across the room, and drew her eyes to the once-white futon. "There's....there's so much! How could there be so much when I can't feel it!?" she took an unconscious step back as her face paled dramatically, clamping her hand over her hip in a futile effort to staunch the steady flow.

Naraku steadied her with a palm pressed to the small of her back, *The hanyou is blocking your ability to feel the pain. He wants you to do yourself more damage without realizing it even as he weakens your blood. It is very fortunate that you are able to fortify yourself with the energy here and fight against him. However, that brings up a slight problem I fear I must discuss with you.*

Kagome followed the direction of pressure against her back absently, peeling up the hem of her shirt to stare down at the tattoo. Her fists clenched in the bloodied fabric as she fought the sound of disgust and fright rising in her throat. The skin around the tattoo in a radius greater than both her hands was so darkly bruised it looked nearly black, but around that in a thin line it almost looked burned... That couldn't be right though, what would have burned her?

The tattoo itself still looked the most disturbing. Instead of the vivid crimson it had seemed content to stay at previously, it had turned and anrgy mix of violet and black. Visibly throbbing with each pulse in time to her own heart, and each one making new blood raise along the lines of the tattoo and join the rest coating her skin.

*Kagome.*

"Inuyasha is doing...this?" she whispered in disbelief, her hand hovering hesitantly over the mark. How could he? Even if he really wanted her dead, how was he causing this to happen to her?

*Kikyou has the magic, Kagome. Inuyasha has the connection.*

Kikyou.

Naraku shivered under a sudden wave of menace and looked down at the girl in surprise in time to see Kagome's eyes darken and change. The whites had still bled to that glowing crimson, but as Naraku watched, her irises returned solid black instead of her natural blue.

Turning his face aside to hide his pleased smile, he continued to guide her to a low table set with a steaming bowl and several folded white cloths. At the rate she was going, he thought smugly, by the time Inuyasha made it to the castle, he wouldn't recognize Kagome for the changes the youkai blood was making to her appearance.

Gently placing both hands on her shoulders, he pressed her into a seated position beside the table, *Undress so I can see to the blood. I have clothing for you to change into.*

Kagome mechanically obeyed the direction, pulling her shirt up over her head and dropping it carelessly aside. As she eased out of her soaked jeans, her thoughts turned deeply inward and she lifted a hand to her heart, closing her eyes as she sought out link to Inuyasha. Could this all be a mistake? A trick dreamed up by Kikyou to make her think the worst of him? If it was, hadn't involving Naraku ruined that already?

'Wait,' she shook her head a single time and scowled. Where had that thought come from? She didn't trust Naraku even a fraction of how she trusted Inu-

"Ite!" Kagome hissed, falling forward at the sudden squeeze around her heart, tears springing to her eyes as her teeth sank into her lower lip. "Fuck, what was that?!" she reared up and demanded, her attention on Naraku as he sat across from her, a folded bundle in his hands.

*You opened yourself to him, didn't you? Don't you believe us, Kagome? Naraku may not be trust-worthy, but I, Onigumo, have never betrayed you. Let me prove to you that I can love you more than that bastard hanyou ever could, miko. I would give my soul to protect you from Naraku and the hanyou.*

Kagome blinked in surprise, looking up at Naraku's expressionless face as he set aside the clothes and dipped one of the clothes in the greenish water, 'Onigumo? But Naraku-'

*Naraku is a pompous fool, Kagome. The only reason he knew I spoke to you was because I let him. I was afraid for your safety... with good reason, obviously.*

'I'm...confused....' she lifted a hand to her head, slightly dizzy as Naraku began to brush the cloth over her skin, washing away the blood.

*I know it seems confusing, but part of that is because of the fight the hanyou is forcing in your soul. There is an easy way to make things clear again, but it will require a great deal of help from you. You want an end to this pain, don't you? You want to find someone who will treat you as you deserve.*

Kagome flinched when Naraku's hand passed over the tattoo, a strangled sound escaping as she fought a wave of nausea. After a moment, it passed as he moved his hand away and shifted closer, dipping the cloth back in the bowl, 'What exactly do you want my help with, Onigumo?'

She felt him smile in her mind, *We'll just have to kill them both.*

**

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open, disoriented and confused for the two seconds it took for his consciousness to catch up with everything that had happened.

His blinked several times, alarmed at his blurred vision, when they cleared rather abruptly and left him staring up at three concerned faces. He shot out from underneath them, his eyes wide as he gaped at them, finally shaking his head and swearing blackly, clutching his hand over his eyes, "Fucking goddamn sonsofbitches!"

Sango and Miroku glanced at each other before Miroku cleared his throat and inquired in concern, "Inuyasha, are you all right?"

"I know what Kagome meant when she said she was hearing voices," he growled out, his lip curling angrily.

"You heard them?" Sango's brows rose in excited inquiry. "What did they say? Is Kagome-chan all right?"

Inuyasha shook his head, turning north with his ears flicking forward and back as he answered, "They fucking cast the spell on her to 'help' me, except they didn't figure Kagome's miko powers into the spell, or that they somehow got hold of MY blood to make the damn tattoo!"

"They?" Miroku frowned. "There is more than one?"

"Your...blood?" Sango tilted her head to one side, frowning slightly in confusion as she asked before Inuyasha could answer the monk. "But how would someone from Kagome-chan's time get that?"

"Look, I don't fucking know, okay?" he rounded on them, baring his fangs with a grunt of impatience. "Thanks to them, Kagome's in danger and I didn't have the time to get all the answers that I needed. Kagome's feeling things the way a youkai would and not a human and she's absorbing the energy around her. Naraku's going to kill her by being that close unless we get to her and I can make her balance with me instead."

"What do we do?" Shippo had clambered close to the hanyou, tugging on the leg of his hakama and looking up with uncertain fear. "You can save her, right?"

Inuyasha frowned grimly as he looked down at the baby youkai, "I have to get her away from him."

"You can use the spell!" Shippo looked hopeful. "She's like you when she's subdued and she wouldn't be able to run!"

Inuyasha leaned down a patted Shippo on the head, "Whatever it takes."

"Which way, Inuyasha?" Sango was already pulling Miroku astride Kirara, not wanting a repeat of the hanyou's mode of travel.

"North," he caught the kit by the tail and tossed him on his back. "If I'm right, he'll be waiting for us."

"Right about what?" Miroku looked at the hanyou's solemn expression, his brows drawing together.

"The voices said someone was watching, waiting for her to get out of range to put thoughts in her head," Inuyasha answered, glancing at them as he tensed to run. "This is just how he fucking planned it."

**

"Inuyasha must be the one to kill her, Naraku," Kikyou spoke in a flat voice, her eyes rivetted to the image of the hanyou on the surface of Kanna's mirror. "I saw how you behaved with her when she arrived."

Naraku smiled at the image before he dismissed the nearly colorless youkai absently and turned a disapproving scowl on the resurrected miko, "You are free to do whatever you'd like with the hanyou, Kikyou. I will do whatever I wish with this miko who can turn youkai."

"That wasn't the plan," she frowned, her eyes narrowing. "She has to die."

One finely sculpted brow arched in mocking understanding, "You're afraid of her."

"I am not afraid of myself," Kikyou responded with stiff disdain. "She tried to steal Inuyasha, mated with him..."

"You would never have known without me," he reminded, turning his face away from her to look in the direction of his rooms. "I did you a favor, miko, but my payment for assisting you is my choice. I will keep the girl."

Kikyou's stoic mask was back in place as she shrugged and looked away, "She will purify you and then I will still kill her. Either way you will lose, Naraku."

"Maybe you weren't paying attention," Naraku frowned in annoyance at her persistance. "Her human blood is being forced out of her. It will take time, but with the way she is adapting, I'm positive I can mute those powers and prevent myself from being purified. This miko will be corrupted once that blood is gone and I will have a powerful youkai to command."

"You will not-"

"You'd be wise to leave now, Kikyou," Naraku cut her off with a sideways look, rising to his feet and turning his back to her. "Kagome is volatile at best at the moment and if she catches sight of you, YOU will be the one purified today, not me. She will only trust me more for bringing you to her. Are you prepared to fight that fight, miko?"

Kikyou's eyes narrowed, but after a moment, she turned on her heel and stalked out, "You will regret this, Naraku."

Naraku ignored her, closing his eyes as he focused on the chaotic, but intense powers he was coming to associate with the younger miko. He waited patiently, moving to the shoji and sliding it to one side to look out over the desolate landscape surrounding his castle. Even when he heard her enter the room, he kept his gaze trained outside and waited for her to come to him.

*Inuyasha and Kikyou are coming,* his eyes slid appreciately over how her form filled out miko robes he'd given her even as he brought up a hand to slide along the ties of the black hakama contrasting with the stark white of the kimono.

"I know," Kagome's eyes narrowed sharply as she reached up to toy with a loose strand of hair, the rest had been tied back in a high ponytail. "I can feel him moving closer."

Naraku nodded, gesturing to his left where a bow and quiver of arrows had been left against the wall, *He will not be able to get close to you this time, Kagome. Are you ready?*

Kagome's hand brushed her bandaged, throbbing hip and she nodded, "I do not intend to die."

**

Inuyasha came to a stop so quickly, Shippo went flying over her shoulder, barely saved from a painful trip to the ground by the hanyou's reflexes. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed sharply as Sango landed Kirara slightly behind him, sliding of the youkai and gripping Hiraikotsu's handle.

"What is it?" she frowned, searching the forest ahead of them for what had made Inuyasha stop.

Miroku gripped the sealing rosary, "Naraku is close... It's a trap."

"He's not even fucking trying to hide himself," Inuyasha snarled, dropping Shippo to the ground to draw the Tetsusaiga.

"There is no need," the low voice filtered through the trees moments before the familiar figure disguised in the baboon pelt came into view, perched casually on a high branch. "Not when this encounter promises to be so much fun on it's own," his lips curved in a cruel smile beneath the mask.

"What the fuck have you done with Kagome?!" Inuyasha roared out, just barely restraining himself from rushing in and destroying anything that got in his way.

Naraku smirked, laughing out loud as he shook his head at him, "So impatient. Even that beautiful miko you tried to spoil has better control than you."

Inuyasha's eyes turned red so fast even Sango and Miroku backed away a step in reflex, but Naraku simply continued to smirk down him as Inuyasha hissed out, "You bastard. If you've touched her..."

"I never thought once that she would develop so well over the past years," Naraku interrupted, lifting a hand to stroke it over his chin. "Not even your corpse can compare with her now, can she? The youkai blood left inside her is maturing, you know."

Inuyasha let out a scream of sheer rage and shot forward, drawing his arm back to swing when the ground between him and Naraku suddenly exploded with such force it slammed not only the hanyou to the ground, but Sango and Miroku as well.

He shot up quickly, shaking his head to clear the tingling vibration coursing through him from the amount of magic he'd run into even as he watched tensely for the others to right themselves as well.

Miroku peered warily through the heavy dust cloud choking the air and removing any visibilty to the woods around them. It would have been a perfect time to attack, except... except there was nothing, "I do not like this, Inuyasha. That magic... that wasn't evil like Naraku's magic."

Naraku's chilling laughter filled the air around them again as the dust began to settle, giving them only outlines of the surroundings, "Today, Inuyasha... Today is the day that you finally die."

Inuyasha squinted slightly in the direction of the attack, a deep growl rising in his throat when he saw the miko robes billowing in the faint breeze and the poised bow, "Kikyou."

As she readied another arrow, the sound froze in his throat and his eyes slowly went wide. Kikyou's hakama was red... this archer's was black...

The dust cleared away, leaving them the unobstructed view to the youkai aiming at them and wearing a miko's robes. Glowing scarlet eyes with black irises were narrowed on them with cold rage, and a pale stripe curving down at an angle from the center of each cheek down to the jawline Dark, thick hair whipped about in the breeze from it's up-swept style as she notched another arrow at them.

"Once, hanyou, you stole a woman from me," Naraku taunted softly from his place in the trees.

An archer that looked like a miko and felt like a youkai.

"Now I have returned the favor," his lips curved in a deadly smile as he followed their stunned gazes to the figure radiating with deadly anger.

Inuyasha's eyes filled with disbelieving pain as he whispered, "Kagome..."


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