InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Til Death Do Us Part ❯ The Battle ( Chapter 21 )

Disclaimer: I own didley squat…except for the plot.

AN: ::dodges random objects thrown and smiles sheepishly:: Hey ppl. Long time no see. I know it has been a while, four months to be precise, but what can I say? Life's a bitch, and so is writer's block. I just want to thank all of those who were patient enough to stick with the story, particularly due to my erratic updates. You know I love you guys too much just to leave you hanging without an ending. I've finally got the rest of the story outlined out and there will be approximately four more chapters after this, including the epilogue. Sadly there will be no sequel since I don't think I'll continue writing fanfiction after finishing all of my stories due to unexpected twists in my life.

On a lighter note, hope you guys enjoy this unrevised chapter. Since I'm giving Kimmie a break and Dawn Sweetie is busy right now, the edited chapter will be posted at a later date. Well, since that's all for now, I'm going to stop rambling. Enjoy.

The Battle

"You are, in all honesty, the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on in my life," Miroku said looking earnestly into her eyes, his smooth, baritone voice sliding over Sango's skin like a lover's caress.

A warm flush fanned out across her cheeks at his words. "Miroku-"

"No, no, let me finish," he pressed cutting her off, his hand coming up to stroke the side of her face tenderly, the corners of his lips uplifting into a serene smile. "I know we've had a lot of history between us, the majority of it being under hectic circumstances in which I ended up being rendered unconscious. But I deserved it. I was young and stupid and thought I could get everything that I set sight to, until I met you. You were my enigma. A puzzle I wanted to figure out and have all to myself. I was selfish and only thought about my needs and wants without regard to yours. But that's all going to change starting now."

Her eyebrows raised in inquisition as he nervously began rummaging around in his pockets for something, relief spreading over his features when he came across the unknown object. "My dearest Sango, as a token of my misdeeds and all of the trouble I've caused you during the former part of our lives, I would like to present you with this gift."

The taijiya's breath hitched in her throat as he pulled out a long, black box from the pocket of his slacks. "I am glad that that you gave this unworthy monk a chance to bask in your magnificence and offer you my love."

Butterflies erupted in a horde of scurrying wings against the insides of her stomach as he opened the velvet box. She gasped as she saw what lay amongst soft pillow gleaming up at her. "Miroku," she said breathily and reached for diamond cut tennis bracelet glinting in the light of the room, "it's beautiful."

The monk could only grin at her astonished expression on her face, his ego inflating to dangerous heights at his ability to please his woman. "Put your wrist out." Smothering a small laugh as she mechanically complied with his wishes without hesitation, her eyes transfixed on the expensive trinket before her, Miroku took the bracelet out of the box and carefully placed it on her delicate wrist before snapping it shut.

Sango could do no more than stare at the ornament that adorned her wrist, her heart soaring at the fact that he showed enough interest in her to buy her a token of his affection. None of her previous boyfriends had ever given her something so beautiful, so considerate, so….expensive. "Miroku, I can't take this," she admitted softly, her smile wilting.

His eyebrows tugged together in obvious confusion. "Why not?" While on the outside he looked like the epitome of calmness, inwardly he was panicking, his ego deflating as fast as it went up as he sorted through of all the possible reasons she would have a change of heart about his gift. Was it not expensive enough? Was it ugly? Did she expect more carats? Better craftsmanship? He made a mental note to pull some strings so that the jeweler who recommended this piece would be fired, never to be employed again in all of Japan.

Sango gave a wistful smile as she unsnapped the link. "It's too much. I can't take this knowing that it probably cost you an arm and a leg." She held out the bracelet for him to take.

A relieved smile spread across his face. He leaned over and took her hand with both of his. "Sango, take it. Worry not of the cost," he said sincerely, running a finger across the very same knuckles that used to be plunged on numerous occasions into the flesh of his stomach, "for it is only an object that symbolizes the beauty and worth of my love for you."

Shining tears of joy glazed over Sango's eyes, a hesitant yet appreciative smile slowly but surely lighting up her face. "Oh, Miroku, you've changed so much, I can hardly believe what's right before my eyes."

He flashed her one of his gorgeous smiles before taking the bracelet out of her hand. "And I've done it all for you. You were always the apple of my eye, even when I was but a boy." He re-snapped the diamond encrusted band around her wrist, his hands lingering along the soft expanse of her skin when she didn't protest. "I lost my gangly facade and sharpened my charm to the teeth so that when I saw you again, you would fall for me the way I did you."

"I think that you sharpened it a bit too much," she laughed. "I always thought of you as a perverted weirdo that kept stalking me."

"Now that you've gotten to know me, do you still think I'm a depraved stalker?" he queried, his smile flirtatious though his mauve colored irises held a trace of solemnity to their depths as he awaited the answer he had been dying to hear since he was younger.

Flushing for what seemed like the millionth time that day, Sango looked down in a sudden stint of coyness and nervously twirled the bracelet around her wrist. "I suppose I was wrong about you. After going beyond your lechery and learning your true intentions behind the way you act around me, I have discovered that I find your company rather enjoyable and would not mind taking our platonic friendship to another level. But that does not in any form or fashion mean that I'm going to jump straight into bed with you. If we're going to have a relationship, we're going to take this slow," she expressed resolutely looking into his eyes, feeling a nonplussing twinge at the revelation of adoration and tenderness looking back at her.

"That's what I love about you," he spoke softly, scooting closer to her on the sofa, his hand moving to rest on her thigh, "Your high standards and morals were some of the qualities that drew me to you in the first place. And knowing that I was the only one to meet your extremely high values is something that I will take with me to the grave. And as for our pace," he gently grasped her hand in his and laid a kiss on her palm, "I am willing to as slow or as fast as you want me to."

Heart fluttering in expectation as he leaned over to supply her with a highly anticipated kiss, she closed her eyes and waited for him to grant her something she had been looking forward to for some time now. She could virtually feel the sensuous curve of his mouth against hers, that piece of knowledge causing her to become impatient when after a full five seconds later she felt him place an innocent kiss on her cheek, the last of places she wanted his lips, much to mortification. Eyelids shooting up in confusion, she stared at him expectantly when he moved back. "That's it?"

The sensuous mouth she wanted to feel against hers curved into an eloquent smile. "Why Sango, I'm just honoring your wishes to take things slow. There really is no need to rush into-" His eyes widened in disbelief when she practically threw herself on top of his body, her arms binding around his neck, her lips crushing against his in a primal kiss that had his toes curling, something that never happened to him of all people. Perhaps taking things slowly was the way to go, especially if he could get his woman to become this excited for him in such a short span of time.

Need replaced his amusement as he felt the heat from her legs clutch his torso on either side of him. One hand reaching up to release her hair from bondage, the other sliding up her under her shirt, the monk suckled on her lips before slipping into her moist cavern. A groan escaped the both of them as a burst of flavor and sensation overtook their mind and body, the synchronization of tongues swiveling around one another in a dance as old as time itself almost more than they could take.

"Get your hand out of her fucking shirt lech, we got a problem!"

The couple jumped apart in surprise and embarrassment at the sudden appearance of the hanyou and his wife, their faces beet red as they hurried to disentangled their limbs from one another's and hastened to adjust their rumpled façade.

"Inuyasha, what seems to be the problem?" Miroku asked calmly smoothing out his frazzled hair, effectively concealing the utter aggravation he was feeling at being interrupted a heated moment with his love.

"And it better be good," Sango muttered under her breath.

"Hundreds of oni are going to be arriving at our place within the next five minutes." Inuyasha watched in satisfaction as both of their faces paled in response. If he and Kagome couldn't have any time get any, neither could anybody else, friend or not. "Sango, do you have your taijiya stuff here?"

"Yes," she responded slipping into combat mode, the color fading from her cheeks as her face hardened with purpose and steadfastness, acquired from the extensive training that all taijiyas endured. "I'll go suit up, get Kirara, and meet you guys back here."

Miroku watched longingly as Sango stood up and retreated to her room without so much as good-bye, his heart sinking a little. Why now? Why did these things have to happen at the most inconvenient time? "I suppose I'll go change into my monk attire," he sighed getting up and trudged to his room half-heartedly, not in any shape or form in the mood for a battle, even if they were asinine creatures.

"I'll go change out of these clothes into some sweats," Kagome said glancing down at her expensive Baby Phat outfit and Gucci boots and turned to go when a firm hand took hold of her upper arm. Frowning, she turned back to face her husband. "What?"

"You're not going anywhere," he stated decisively, his voice holding no room for question.

"I'm coming with you," Kagome asserted, determination swirling viciously in her blue eyes.

"The hell you are," Inuyasha snorted removing his hand from her arm and folded his own across his chest in an act of finality.

"The hell I'm not," she countered stepping into his face, daring him to challenge her. "I happen to come from a very powerful line of miko."

"None of such power I have neither seen nor sensed within that little body of yours," he pointed out with a wry twist of the lips.

Kagome grinded her teeth together to restrain herself from using the subduing spell to knock some sense into his overgrown head. "Their numbers far exceed ours. We need all the help we can get."

"You don't think I'm capable of protected what's mine," he growled, amber eyes flashing with rising anger, his nostrils flaring like a bull ready to charge.

"I don't doubt your abilities at all. In fact, I'm counting on them to give us the winning advantage. But I think it would be wise for us to use extra help since you might have your hands full. And," she contested with a glint in her eyes and folded her arms in a pose very much like the hanyou's, "I was number one in the archery club in high school."

Inuyasha expression revealed his lack of amusement. "I don't care if you were the number one sharpshooter in the military. Your ass is going to stay inside this house where it is safe.""

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" she yelled indignantly.

"I'm your fucking mate and you will do as I say," he snapped.

"Being married to you does not entitle me to obey your every damn command like some trained puppy."

He clenched his fists at his sides and tried to steady his voice so that it wouldn't betray the depth of frustration and fury that was setting his blood afire. "Kagome, I'm only going to say this one more time, stay in the house where you will be out of harm's way." She opened her moth to say more on the subject but was silenced by his hand upon her lips. "Please, stay inside. If you go out there, I'm going to spend the entire time thinking about whether or not you're hurt or in need of my help. So please, do me this one favor and do as I say so that I can have some peace of mind."

Every shred of impatience and anger immediately melted from her body at the underlying desperation in his tone, the pleading in his eyes. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, I'll stay here," she mumbled, looking away from him so he wouldn't see the hurt she felt at the lack of trust he had in her abilities to fight. She stiffened when strong arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her forward into a hard chest.

"It's not like I think you're useless," he reassured in a soft voice rubbing small circles on her lower back with one hand, the other tugging her hair down so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. "I need you here, Kagome. If you go out there and get hurt or…die, I don't know what I would do with myself. I can't… I won't let that happen. Not after the hell we went through to get back to each other. I'm not taking any chances when it comes to your life, even if that includes you being mad at me form making you stay here."

Kagome's heart overflowed with tenderness and affection at his words and the volumes of undiluted love that his amber eyes spoke of. Smiling, she brought her hands up and entrenched them within his silky white locks, reveling both in the perfection of the strands wrapped around her fingers and the calming heat radiating from his body that warmed her own in response. "Inuyasha," she started only to pause, her next words fading away from mind when his fingers slipped beneath her shirt and began to stroke her stomach, the grazing of his claws eliciting tiny tremors skimming along the length of her entire body.

She drew in a shaky breath and attempted to finish her sentence while trying to ignore the sensations he was rousing within her with his innocent touches. "Ahh, Inuyasha, I can't think with you touching me like that."

He blinked a couple of times in confusion before realizing just what he had been doing. Grinning devilishly, he withdrew his hands from her shirt and contented himself with holding her close to him. "Sorry. I'll save my bedside manners for you at a more appropriate time."

Blushing, Kagome tried hard not to concentrate on what more he had to offer and focused on the oncoming flock of hideous beasts flying in their direction. "Alright, I promise I'll wait inside for the sake of your sanity and my so-called safety. But I can't assure that I'll stay here if things start to get out of hand."

Relief blossomed in Inuyasha's chest as he bent down and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Good. Now I want you to go to the basement with the runt and don't come out until I come get you. Got that wench?"

"And we're back to wench," Kagome muttered whilst extracting herself from his embrace, more so disappointed by the lack of affection than his referring to her with the depreciative term. "I'll go get Shippou and Kaede." It came as no surprise to her when he spun her around back into his arms once again and dipped his head to capture her lips with his, but it was no less breath-taking.

The familiar falling sensation instantly took hold of her the instant his lips touched found hers, the soft, velvety feel of his mouth nipping and caressing her lips drawing a moan of pleasure from her throat. Hands wrapped around various body parts in an effort to bring them even closer than they already were, the growing need for one another consuming thought and action alike. His grip tightened on her as he felt her body trembling unsteadily against his in response to the magnitude of the overwhelming emotions engulfing their souls and held her firmly to him as if she was about to slip away.

In his arms, she felt a security that had no comparison. She had waited all of her life to be with him, and yet sometimes, even when they were together, it still seemed surreal, as if one day she were going to wake up and realize that it all had been some kind of cruel dream; that all of the ups and downs, trials and tribulations they had endured over the past couple of months, had all taken place within the recesses of her own subconscious. It took all of her willpower not to pinch her arm just to assure herself that this was real, that the hanyou ravaging her lips unmercifully was real, that the love that they had once thought of as dead was indeed alive and throbbing with life and an intensity that sometimes scared her.

She gasped as his fangs emerged from their resting place and tugged at her lower lip while his tongue swept sensually over the inner part of the sensitive flesh before taking the plunge into her mouth, the action making her legs almost give out on her and provoking the spark that had been set off by the kiss initially into a full-blown combustion of flames within her. An explosion of taste and sensations hit her taste buds like having some new, exquisite food for the first time. Gods did he know how to kiss a girl.

Inuyasha suppressed a groan at the powerful feelings run rampant in both his heart and throughout the rest of his body. He was on fire for the woman in his arms and there wasn't a damn thing he wanted more than to throw her over his shoulder and finish what they had never been able to finish in his bedroom. It was hell that his body, mind, and soul went through always having to hold back because of unwelcome interruptions, especially since he had an insatiable taste for her. It was something he could never really rid himself of and was constantly thinking about.

It took every ounce of resolve he had stored away before initiating the kiss to break away from her mouth. He leaned his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch the breath that had escaped them as a result of their passionate kiss. "I should go now," he breathed still holding tightly onto her and for some reason was unable to let her go.

"I guess you should." She gave him a weak smile and tweaked his left ear affectionately. "I'll be rooting for you."

"You'd better. And I expect my woman to cook me a feast when this is all over because I'll be hungry," he grinned tugging at her ponytail.

Kagome snorted softly, completely dismissing the notion without a second thought. Being raised in a household where she had household personnel to take care of her needs had made her inept at a lot of things, including cooking meals that weren't microwavable or already came pre-prepared. "In your dreams."

"Don't even get me started about my dreams," he smirked, the suggestive glint in his eyes making color seep into her cheeks, "because let me assure you that they have nothing to do with you cooking."

"I'm sure they don't, hentai," Kagome teased.

Inuyasha donned an expression of feigned offense with a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt that you think my intentions would be anything but pure when it comes to you."

"You've been spending too much time around Miroku," she laughed and grudgingly found the strength of mind to part from the warmth and protection of his arms, her jovial mood waning as she mulled upon the idea that he was about to go to battle and this might be the last time she would see him alive. Forcing down the wedged lump in her throat, she stroked his cheek and almost smiled when his eyelashes fluttered close as he basked in her nearness, a content sigh passing through his lips. "Come back to me."

His eyes opened in surprised when he felt her lips make contact with his in a tender indication of her affection for him, his heart skipping at least a couple of beats in response. "Kagome," he murmured against her mouth, the sweetness of the gesture touching him to the very core of his being, his love for the petit woman in his embrace deepening to such an extent that it actually pained him to think of what his life would be like without her in it. "I love you," he whispered nipping one last time at her lips.

Kagome smiled, her heart inwardly soaring to heights unheard of. "I love you too."

"You ready Inuyasha?"

The couple blinked, gradually coming out of their own world and back to reality to see their friends gathered around them, all set and ready for battle, all having the same knowing glint in their eyes... except for one pair, the pain glittering within their icy blue depths making Kagome feel a guilt that surpassed all else. She had broken his heart in the worse kind of way and yet he had forgiven her and chose to remain friends. Seeing him now, with his face contorted with masked disloyalty and grief, made her realize what a wretched girlfriend and friend to him, who had stood by her side through everything.

Knowing exactly the reason behind his mate's switch in moods, Inuyasha grasped her hand indiscreetly with a scowl aimed at Kouga before averting his piercing gaze to the rest of the group. "Is everyone ready?"

"Sir, yes sir," Miroku exclaimed clad in monk attire from head to toe, his staff jingling as he raised it in a mock salute. "Awaiting your next orders sir."

Rolling her eyes, Sango grabbed the hem of his sleeve and started for the front doors. "We'll be waiting for you outside."

"Remember what I told you," Inuyasha said looking down at her, amber eyes all seriousness. "If I see your ass outside, I'm going to lock you inside of your room for the next month."

"Yes father," she childishly stuck out her tongue and let go of his hand. "Good luck."

"Keh, you know damn well I don't need it," he responded with his usual cocky smirk and watched as she laughed and headed off toward the stairs. His smirk waned until it disappeared completely, his heart aching for her presence already. When did she worm her way into his heart and get to be such a huge part of his life? Sighing, he unenthusiastically trudged outside to defend his territory. He used to remember a time when he jumped at the chance to prove his fighting skills. Why did it feel like such a chore now, especially since he could think of things he would much rather be doing at the moment, none of which including fending off oni from his property.

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Kouga had his jaw locked so hard he knew the aftereffects would be hell, the fists clenched so tight by his sides that he felt his claws digging into the palm of his hands, drawing blood that seeped out of the corners and dripped to the ground. His blood roared inside his veins with a vengeance and heated even more when the brash hanyou that stole his woman emerge from the front doors, his lips tinged with a red that came from the shade of lipstick he used to buy Kagome since she loved it. A low, dangerous growl sounded within his chest.

"Alright," Inuyasha started assuming the commanding position immediately, his eyes focused on the approaching oni that would probably be arriving in less than a minute, "Miroku and Sango, you two will take up the rear part of the estate. Ayame, you take Kouga will defend the left side of the property and I'll take up the right. I've already told Kaede and the other bodyguards to assemble in the front though some will accompany the lech and you Sango since there's way too much area to cover for only two people to handle. Any questions before we spread out?"

"You sure you can handle all that territory by yourself?" Ayame questioned cracking her knuckles in preparation for the oncoming fight ahead, her lips turned up in a half grin.

Inuyasha shot her a look that plainly conveyed his indignation at her question. "Does anyone have any intelligent questions before we split up?"

"Why are we taking orders from dog-shit?" growled a dark voice in a guttural tone so baleful that it had tiny prickles of unease snaking down the humans' spines.

Narrowed amber eyes connected with the Kouga's, the surfacing of his fangs coming into view at the challenge the other male was presenting in his territory. "Well I didn't hear anybody protesting against it and I am the strongest fighter out of everyone here. If you have a problem with that then you can fucking take a hike."

"I have a problem with your inability to discern your head from your ass," Kouga strode up to Inuyasha until he was barely an inch away from his face, eyes flashing with silent fury. "I don't know what Kagome sees in your stupid fleabag of a hide."

"Apparently more than she saw in yours," Inuyasha retorted flexing his claws, his irritation rising to levels for the wolf that far exceeded his hate for the oni.

"Boys, boys," Ayame jumped between the two to intercede before things got out of hand and pushed them away from each other enough so that they wouldn't tear out one another's throat, "this is not the time to arguing. There is a horde of man eating oni on their way to kill us all. Now if you don't mind, can we save this spat for a later time and focus on defeating our real enemy?" She glanced pleadingly from Inuyasha to Kouga in an attempt to win them over with her persuasion and sighed in relief when the wolf prince put his hands in the air and backed away, though the frightening flash in his eyes directed toward the hanyou remained.

"We'll finish this afterwards," Kouga spite filled glare charged with so much hatred that it made Inuyasha's hackles rise in defense of both his pride and his woman.

"I'll be looking forward to ripping out your intestines from your ass," Inuyasha growled, his expression darkening, unhidden revulsion and rage twisting his facial features in resentment.

With a snarl, Kouga raced off en route for the oni at breakneck speed, leaving the others in his dust, his mind a torrent of confusion, rage, and pain. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to get over Kagome and move on, like how he had envisioned it when she first told him that she and the mutt face were getting back together. But seeing them in action not ten minutes ago, the way she held him, the love shining in her eyes solely for him, the whispered words of adoration, it made him inwardly wild with fury at how she had used him and at the same time regretful that he had ever agreed to let her walk out of his life. Should he have fought harder for her affection? Did he give up to dog shit too easily?

Howling, he sprung off of the ground, launching himself directly into the line of fire of the oni. Seizing hold of a centipede like creature by the head, Kouga power slammed his foot down the middle of his back, and watched in sick satisfaction as the beast screamed in agony while his foot came out through its stomach. He jumped off of its falling corpse just as it hit the ground and onto the back of another oni, whose grotesque form made the job simpler as his extended claws reached out and sliced its head cleanly off. Not waiting around to see if it was completely dead, he pressed on in the midst of chaos, his mind a conglomeration of muddled emotions and barely tangible thoughts, his body covered in bits of flesh and blood of the lifeless oni he left in his wake. Nothing else mattered except for what was in front of him, every single one of the beasts bearing the face of the bastard who stole his woman from him, making it all the more gratifying when he saw their lifeless carcasses plummet to the ground.

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Ayame balanced watching her love recklessly tear into the charging mass of oni with disturbing violence and aggression while fending off the blood thirsty fiends trying to bypass her en route for the manor. She knew precisely why Kouga was acting with such vehemence and the reason for his explosion of hostility concerning Inuyasha.

`Kagome is on his mind again,' she mused forlornly to herself while incapacitating a cluster of oni with one well aimed swipe of the claws, powerless to stop the surge of insecurities and doubts she had tucked away in the back of her mind. `I thought that when Kouga agreed to take me out to dinner he was trying to move on.'

It was apparent that he was still hung up on Kagome, no matter what his actions declared. She had seen his expression when they had walked in on the couple's private interlude, the look of anguish and resentment coalescing into an amalgamation of utter turmoil upon his face. It had pulled on her heart strings so forcefully that she could have started crying because there was nothing she could do to alleviate his pain, nothing that he wanted her to do for him.

Taking a creature with huge, gaping jaws by the face, she bashed her skull precisely into the center of its forehead, grabbing the thing by its tail when it lurched forward with a screech of pain and swung its bulky body into a cluster of oni that had assembled around her in an attempt to bring her down collectively, efficiently knocking them all away with a fluidity that could only be derived from years of training for combat with her clan.

Ayame let go of the appendage and managed a small grin of approval as the beast's unconscious or dead form collided into a tight throng of snarling oni with an impact that made even her wince. Not letting the small victory distract her from her overall purpose, she moved on and made quick work of other insignificant creatures that didn't stand a chance against the power of her lethal talons and stealth of her movements. Her mind strayed to the date that she and Kouga had agreed to go on in an hour the other day. Did he still want to go? And if he did go, would he end up spending the majority their time together thinking of Kagome or plotting how he was going to kill Inuyasha?

Blinking back tears of defeat and anger, she put all of the gratuitous emotions swimming around in her head and all the frustration submerging her deeper into the pit of despair into the blows, the swiping, the strikes that she had seen her wolf prince perform a minute ago. Putting her disheartening thoughts on the back burner for the time being, she focused on working her way through the multitude of vile creatures, allowing herself to forget for a short time the mayhem that ruled in both her mind and her heart.

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"SANKON TESSOU!"

Inuyasha smirked as portions of diagonally sliced flesh fell piece by piece onto the ground in loud plops, his eyes roving to the left of the mansion where he could vaguely make out Sango on top of Kirara, Hiraikotsu tearing through the bodies of a great deal of oni as it circled the air and Miroku on the ground, hurling ofudas and using his staff to disembody attacking oni like a professional taijiya.

`Humans aren't as weak or stupid as I thought they were,' he pondered, jumping just in time to avoid a fatal strike of the tail of a scorpion youkai, the poison from its stinger dissolving grass and soil into a puddle of boiling, liquefied matter.

"Oi shithead, you know how much if fucking cost to pay the gardeners to look after this place?" Enraged by the lack of respect concerning the beauty of his domain, Inuyasha ducked his head to evade another swift strike by the stinger only to grab it when the scorpion went to retract it. Hissing in displeasure, the scaled fiend snapped at him with its gargantuan pincers albeit unable reach the hanyou, who still had a vice grip on its stinger.

Inuyasha laughed at the dilemma he was posing for his opponent, gradually tightening his clutch until he had it squealing in pain. Thoroughly aggravated now, nearly breaching the brink of desperation, the scorpion struggled to turn around with its tail still in the hold of the hanyou and flung its pincers aimlessly behind himself. Inuyasha effortlessly dodged the sloppily aimed swipes, jumping and sidestepping the enlarged appendages as they blindly hacked their way through the air without direction. Finally tiring of playing, he squeezed the stinger until it popped completely off the scorpion's tail, leaving a bloody stub standing where it used to reside and a shrieking scorpion spinning in alarm and pain.

"Sankon Tessou!" The scorpion didn't stand a chance.

"I see that you're fairing quite well, for a pup anyway."

Inuyasha's hackles rose for the second time that day at the condescending tone of his bodyguard as he turned to face the origin of the voice. "Koji, what the hell are you doing over here? Your ass is supposed to be in the front with the others."

"Well you'll have to forgive me for thinking about your well being, Inuyasha-san," Koji replied dryly.

"You ain't getting paid to think. So get lost and stop distracting me before I slice both you and that thing behind you to pieces."

The older inuyoukai whipped out a black gun and rapidly emptied a round into the misshapen creature behind him as well as several other that had begun to circle them. Inuyasha tried hard not to show his impressiveness with the bodyguard's display of skill and precision with his weapon as the dead corpses of the youkai dropped to the ground around them both. "Not bad for an old guy. Too bad your youkai strength isn't enough to handle a few, brainless oni," Inuyasha sneered, springing into the air just in time to amputate the head of a flying bird-like creature with one swipe.

Koji looked unmoved by the hanyou's show of power as he gracefully landed back on the ground with an arrogant smirk he always found irritating. "I don't believe in sullying my claws in the blood of these lesser youkai. You are far more qualified for exterminating this…pest problem of yours." He glanced down at the empty barrel of the gun especially made for youkai. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back inside for more bullets. Think you can manage without me for a few minutes?"

"Go fuck yourself," Inuyasha growled bounding off to slay the remaining oni that were starting to appear slightly hesitant about their assailment of the manor.

"I'll take that as a yes," he heard Koji yell right before leaving.

"Bastard," he mumbled to himself and leapt through the air yet again to take down the next idiot that thought they could get past him. `I will be so fucking glad when all this shit is over with so that asshole can leave us the hell alone.'

"Sankon Tessou!" Not bothering to watch the body disintegrate into nothing, he kept moving. `And I can't wait until these shitheads die off so I can get back to Kagome.' Just thinking of the woman who held his heart in the palm of her hand made a small smile upturn the corners of his mouth amidst the pandemonium surrounding him on the battlefield, the thought of having her back in his arms and finally marking her providing more than enough motivation to hurry and get the undertaking at hand over and done with. With hope for the future shining brightly for both him and his mate, Inuyasha sprinted across ground, claws outstretched and ready for action and a deadly grin on his face that held promises of death and demise for those in his way.

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"I think we should go up and check to see if everybody's is doing ok," Kagome suggested slinging the pack of arrows she had kept for safe keeping in her room onto her back.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Kagome?" Shippou questioned worriedly, his tail twitching nervously up and down.

"Of course it is. Our friends could be up there dying while we're hiding down here like cowards," she affirmed nodding her head in agreement with herself and choice of action.

"But they're only a bunch of simple-minded oni," the fox cub pointed out wisely as he watched the woman he thought of as his surrogate mother ready her bow. "Its not like up we're against a force to be reckoned with or anything."

"But how do we know that if we don't even know what is going on?" she countered with a question of her own while pulling back her hair into a low ponytail.

Shippou held up a finger in objection. "I still think we should wait down here until Inuyasha or one of the others comes to get us," he said mostly out of fear of her getting hurt rather than his lack of curiosity for what was happening outside. He had already lost one set of parents and didn't know if he could take another set leaving him alone. His lower lip quivered as he tried to repress the tears that tickled his eyes.

"Oh Shippou-chan." Setting the bow against a dresser, she walked over to the kit and knelt down beside him, using her hands to cup his small face in her palms. "I know you're still grieving over the passing of your parents and it must be hard sometimes to find the strength the go on when all of your family is gone, but you don't have to worry about me or Inuyasha or any of the others leaving you again. We're going to be your new family and though will never be able to replace your old family, we're going to stick together and love you like you were our own."

The kitsune wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape from the invisible blockade he had created. "I know, but I just don't want you to die or get hurt or anything."

Blue eyes softened at the child's innocence and obvious distress as to her welfare. "Don't worry about me. Inuyasha will protect me from danger no matter what."

Twiddling his thumbs uncertainly, he gazed up into her angelic face, assuming an entreating disposition. "Please Kagome, can you stay here? For me?"

Kagome was finding it extremely difficult to say no, her heart tearing in two directions, one declaring her to assure the kit of her safety one more time before leaving, the other demanding she stay and take care of the child like his mother would do in this situation. Releasing a breathy sigh, she offered him a smile, picking him up in her arms and giving the child a heartening embrace that had him giggling with giddiness. "Happy now?" she smiled letting him go and ruffling his puff ball of a tail.

"Ecstatic," he grinned, which faltered when his delicate nose picked up the scent of someone approaching from outside the closed door though unable to distinguish who exactly it was. "Somebody is coming to get us. See, you didn't have to go out anyway." He hopped out of her arms before she could protest and scurried across the floor to open the door. "I hope its Miroku or Sango-"

The door flung open without warning, smacking the kitsune across the room and into a wall, collision causing Kagome's to gasp in fear for his physical condition. "Shippou!" Overlooking the person standing silently in the doorway, she ran for the unconscious kit, hands outreached to gather him off of the floor, when a single, explosive gunshot rang out, the earsplitting reverberation bouncing off the walls of the tiny room.

Kagome froze, the loudness of the gunshot not the only thing stopping her in her tracks. She looked down at the blood seeping through her white shirt, the reality of the situation sinking in fast. Suddenly, white hot pain seared her flesh from where the bullet had pierced her in the back, the upsurge of pain so great that her knees buckled from under her, the air from her lungs escaping so quickly she hardly had time and energy to recuperate the loss. Flames engulfed her abdomen around the wound, an all-consuming, unforgiving fire ripping through her system, sending waves of agonizing pain rippling from the injury to opposing ends of her body.

Incapable of holding herself upright any longer, Kagome lurched forward onto the carpeted floor, the white haze beginning to tinge her vision and brain causing some of the pain she had been experiencing to lessen altogether. Thankful that the liquid inferno shooting through her body was starting to recede, she loosely observed a blurred figure in the doorway, his face indiscernible as the whiteness permeating her sight wholly, until all that was left was a solitary name drifting absently in the furthest recesses of her subconscious. `Inuyasha.'

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Inuyasha yelped in surprise and pain when a pinch like ache stabbed his heart, the slip in his guard allowing the oni he had been on the verge of killing to strike back with its two foot claws obliquely upon his chest. Snarling in anger at the strange pain in his chest and that he had just been injured by one of the weakest youkai on earth, Inuyasha let his hand soak the blood that had been induced by the creature.

"Blades of Blood." Frowning as the arches of blood sliced the oni to ribbons, he shifted his attention to the mansion, where an insistent, almost urgent tug pulled him in the direction of. Something definitely was wrong. Immediately his thoughts turned to Kagome. He had felt a similar pain when she had almost died on the island, only it hadn't been as prominent as now.

"Kagome." Forgetting about the straggling oni that the others could no doubt handle, he raced off toward his home at breakneck speed, apprehension and fear building within his gut by the second. She wasn't outside; she couldn't be, not after she promised to stay inside, which meant that she had to be in the basement. Bursting through the front doors of the mansion, he sped down the stairwell that led the basement. If something had happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself.

His fears were confirmed when the sickeningly, sweet smell of her blood drifted up from the stairwell. Striving to curb his panic but failing, Inuyasha jumped down the stairs in one bound and down the hall to where Koji and two of the other bodyguards stood, their bulky bodies blocking his view. He knew something was wrong before he even stepped foot in the room.

"What the hell is going on?" he insisted skidding to a halt, his heart in his throat as he stepped past the threshold.

Koji's blank façade revealed nothing. "Inuyasha-san, go back and wait upstairs."

The hanyou paled, his bodyguard never having referred to him with the honorific title since he had known him. "Where's Kagome."

For the first time, the inuyoukai seemed unsure of himself, a flicker of disinclination and something else passing over his face and confirming the fear Inuyasha had kept in check up until now. Growling, he shoved his bodyguard aside and looked down to where the two youkai were busy taking her vital signs and compressing a cloth to her injury to stop the bleeding. The rest of the blood drained from his face. He dropped to his knees beside his fallen love, the blood on her shirt that was gradually fanning out making him sick to his stomach.

"Her vitals are falling at a rapid pace," Koji said softly, "she's holding on by a thread as of now. We don't know how much longer she'll hold out at this rate. The paramedics have already been alerted and are on their…"

The inuyoukai's word's faded from Inuyasha's hearing, his attention solely trained on the immobile form of his wife. "Kagome," he whispered brokenly, amber eyes filling with moisture. "You have to hang on wench. You have to hang on for me, for us. You left me once, on the island, you can't do this to me a second time." He reached out with a shaky hand to take her hand and flinched at the coldness that already begun to take over. She was dying, and it was entirely his fault, just like last time.

End.

AN: More drama, more suspense. Hope you liked. As for the next chapter, I've already started it and will probably have it up in a week. And in regards to the next chapter of Escape, I have no idea when I'll be updating on it. A year has passed but my writer's block hasn't. Hopefully I'll have time to update on it this month. God bless ppl!

Jade