InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Grudging Loss ❯ Feels Like Tonight ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter 20: Feels Like Tonight…

 

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Wheeh! My betas made me work hard to get this chapter out. They had me expand some scenes and add in more angst. So thank you: Theleb K'aarna and blackdeathmessenger for all of your hard work!

 

You might want to play Daughtry: "Feels Like Tonight" while reading this chapter.

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The grey-blue skies of Los Angeles were overhead and it was just like any other day of the year. The December skies were clear and the weather was pleasant. In fact, the only difference in the season was that the gentle breezes actually managed to get most of the smog out of the air, so that the normal brown tint to the LA skyline was no longer visible.

 

`Ash' watched Kagome as she was jogging around the tracks at USC. He had long since decided that the `laps' were his favorite part of the workout. It allowed him to see her in her jogging bra, sweat lingering on flat tone abs and pooling between her breasts. She had taken to wearing tight lycra jogging shorts, leaving little to the imagination as he saw her firm backside enveloped in shiny blackness. He watched a tendril of black hair wisp about her face as the breeze hit the field. The way her hair brushed up against her red cheeks, the way her tan glistening skin reflected the evening's rays, the way her breath caught as she ran—it was too sensual—too familiar—too beautiful for him to take his eyes off of.

 

He wasn't supposed to be here he realized. Coach Myoga had forbidden him two weeks ago from `spying' on USC and their workouts. Now he was here simply for himself and to see Kagome. The feelings it evoked in his gut were strange, in one way he felt at peace because he no longer felt the need to report back on the USC team, though there was a nagging worry in the back of his mind that if word got back to Myoga that he was still at the USC practices that he would be kicked off the team.

 

`Ash' sighed as he leaned back on the cool metal bleacher. If he got kicked off the UCLA team his dream of going onto a national demonic team would never happen. He was literally playing with his future by being here and seeing Kagome like this. But somehow he felt like he really didn't have much choice in the matter. Not seeing Kagome, not being near her, not touching her, not catching a whiff of her lovely scent would make him unglued. Of course he was already unglued. One lithe raven haired college miko had already accomplished that.

 

“Inuyasha,” an elderly woman's voice called out quietly to his side.

 

`Ash' broke out of his reverie to stare at Coach Kaede who had walked up to him. `How the hell did I not notice her coming?' he thought. Then he glanced back at Kagome on the field. `Oh, yeah, right…,' he answered himself in his head.

 

“Yes, Coach Kaede?” he asked while his gaze still focused on the jogging miko.

 

“So, you don't even attempt to hide it from me dog demon,” countered the elderly coach.

 

“What?!” answered `Ash' in complete confusion.

 

Kaede motioned to the spot next to Inuyasha on the bleacher that was unoccupied. “Did you not notice? I called you Inuyasha and you responded `Ash',” replied Kaede with a knowing look on her face.

 

“What, no,” said `Ash' as his face drained of all color. “No you can't…,” he stammered.

 

Kaede looked deeply into his eyes and sighed as she leaned back. “So does Kagome even know?” asked Kaede as she motioned to the young miko who was jogging around the track.

 

“Please Kaede, I'm asking you, don't say anything,” pleaded `Ash'. Then he turned his gaze away from Kaede and back to Kagome whose back was turned as she rounded a curve.

 

Coach Kaede simply sighed. “I have seen the two of you together, Inuyasha. I have seen how you react to each other. There is love when you gaze at each other and yet you refuse to tell my player the real truth of who you are?”

 

“But Kaede, if she found out she'd…,” trailed off Inuyasha with fear evident in his voice.

 

“A relationship not based on trust is worthless. You owe it to her to tell her the truth and let her judge on her own. I can tell that she loves you.”

 

“I know,” responded Inuyasha mournfully as he turned his head away from her.

 

“You know and you still haven't told her?” questioned Kaede in surprise.

 

“I know that I need to tell her, but I'm just... I'm just afraid of how she'll react. I've been keeping the truth from her for so long. And she has such a huge temper. I don't want her angry at me.”

 

“The longer you keep this from her, the angrier she will get,” advised the elderly miko. “If you are serious about Kagome then why are you doing everything you possibly can to ruin your chances? If you care for her you'll tell her the truth, you'll do it immediately and beg forgiveness. You cannot build a strong relationship supported upon a foundation of lies.” Kaede paused. “Now Inuyasha, you need to tell her the truth or—I will.”

 

“No, you can't!”

 

“I will if you won't,” Kaede smiled at him regretfully. “But of course you can tell her yourself and keep me from getting involved with your little deception.”

 

“It's not a deception!”

 

“Oh then, pray tell what is it?” said Kaede her voice rising. “How long have you been here observing my team? How long have you been dating Kagome while she has been blissfully unaware of who you really are? And why are you here really? Was it to spy on my team or was it to see Kagome?”

 

Her words twisted painfully in his mind. His first reaction was to yell at her and return her accusation in kind, but he knew that if he started to yell at Kaede—Kagome would demand an explanation and an explanation was not what he wanted to give Kagome right now. Inuyasha breathed in deeply and let a cool, calming breath overtake the edginess of his soul.

 

“Kaede-baba. Things didn't start out right. I'll admit that at the beginning I wasn't here for Kagome,” he then turned to look at Kaede pleading with her with his eyes. “But you've got to believe me that it's only Kagome that keeps me here now. There's no other reason for me to be here. Coach Myoga doesn't even know that I am here.” He didn't feel the need to add that if Myoga found out where he was that he'd be kicked off the UCLA team. He didn't want to give Kaede a reason to call up Myoga and rid the UCLA team of one of its key members before their showdown match with the rival USC team.

 

“Then you admit to spying on my team,” added Coach Kaede as she looked at Inuyasha with a cold glint in her good eye.

 

Inuyasha swallowed and his Adam's apple momentarily bobbed. In front of him was a very powerful miko who could easily purify his ass. “But I didn't tell them anything important. Honestly, I didn't even really look at the rest of your team. I kept on being distracted by Kagome.”

 

“Oh, you call it distraction do you?” murmured Kaede. “I would call Kagome more than a distraction.”

 

`Ash' leaned forward and spoke with desperation in his voice. “That was the wrong word. I'm sorry. I love her Kaede. I really do. I'm just scared. Give me time.”

 

Kaede paused to bring up her hand in a placating gesture. “You will tell me what you have told Myoga about my team,” said Coach Kaede with a tone of voice that would leave no room for argument.

 

“I didn't say much. I told them some of your hand gestures that I saw.” Inuyasha proceeded to show her the few hand gestures he had caught and then related to his UCLA team. “I told them Miroku was a letch and that he was dating Sango. I never told them anything about Kagome.”

 

“I see,” said Kaede. “Then to be fair you must tell me about your team. I don't need to know about your team's signals, just tell me about your players: Sesshoumaru and Koga. What can you tell me that I do not already know?”

 

“I can't tell you…,” spoke Inuyasha as his anger started to rise.

 

“Quid pro quo, Inuyasha,” added Kaede. “It is only fair. They have been told about my team, now you will tell me about yours.” Coach Kaede made no threats but she turned her attention to the young miko running around the track.

 

“You wouldn't!” `Ash' almost yelled as he stood up and then he choked in an attempt to get his voice back down so that Kagome wouldn't suspect anything.

 

Kaede only turned to face him. “I said nothing. You only made assumptions. I don't have Myoga's dishonor. Now clear your conscience and tell me about your team,” she demanded.

 

`Ash' was visibly shaken as he tried to sit back down on the cold metal bench. “Koga's fast, but Sesshoumaru is even faster. I've never seen a demon as fast as Sesshomaru. Sesshoumaru's confidence can be his undoing. He doesn't see humans as worthy opponents. Koga's weakness is that he is easily tricked or fooled. He's not a very smart demon and he smells. They even had to bend a few rules to get him into college and on our team,” Inuyasha paused hoping that that was enough information to satisfy Coach Kaede.

 

“I see,” said Kaede softly as she stood up. “You have one week. No more, no less. You will tell her before the Rose Bowl tournament.” She turned to look at `Ash' once more. “If you do not…,” she left the words trailing behind her as Inuyasha tried to not bury his head in frustration.

 

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`Ash' felt an almost palatable unease wafting through the air tonight. His own shoulders were tense, his own words were shorter and more clipped than normal. Even Kagome seemed to echo his feelings. Tonight she was more distant, lost in her own thoughts and all he could make out of her was a worry that seemed to knit her brows in discomfort.

 

His motorcycle soon pulled up to the `House of Blues' on the Sunset strip. He knew that it was a high-class establishment, but he couldn't help but note the irony that it looked like a club from a backstreet bayou. Rickety fencing grew from either side of the walkway out front and the club appeared to have been built with driftwood. However, he had seen the inside of the club: it had hardwood floors, expensive wood paneling and a top of the line sound system with the promise of fame for almost any band that played there.

 

Kagome was hugging his back. She seemed to almost cling to him, as if he was a lifeline that kept her alive—a lifeline that she just couldn't seem to let go. As he took off his helmet he felt her arms slowly unwinding from his back and then he felt her familiar warmth receding to be replaced by the cool evening air. It almost hurt to have her pull away. To have the closeness of her touch fade away to coolness. He heard her sigh as she took off her helmet and he had to look at her with bittersweet longing as he saw her raven tresses cascade down her back, pooling right above the buttery brown leather on her hips.

 

“Kagome. Is there something wrong?” he asked as he placed a hand under her chin and pulled her forward. He wanted—no, he needed to get close to her again. There was something about her entire demeanor that begged him to fix it and make it right. If only he knew what it was that he was supposed to fix.

 

The young woman clad in brown leather pants and a silver corset only blinked her brown eyes in confusion as if she had been brought out of a daze. “Oh, I'm sorry Ash. I've been lost in thought. There's something I need to do tonight and it's had me…well, nervous.”

 

He kissed her tenderly on her lips, brushing his lips against her, breathing gently against her skin and begging her to open up to him. “What has made you nervous?” he felt her entire body relaxing in his arms as he continued to placate her with scattered kisses.

 

“I need to end things tonight. This will be the last time that you take me to a show or a band practice. I can't do this anymore,” she answered with heartfelt sorrow.

 

His own heart lurched as her words danced across his mind. “End things? What'd you mean?” `How? Why?' he thought desperately.

 

She grasped his two large hands in her smaller ones and brought them up to her lips so that she could kiss them. “It's better this way Ash. Things can't continue the way they were with this band. Trust me. I'm doing this for you,” she added as she stepped off of the bike and walked away from him.

 

He stood there on his motorbike confused, trembling and downright fearful as he watched her backside slip into the front door. “No,” he murmured as he gunned his bike and found a location in a nearby alleyway. `There's no way she's going to leave me,' he thought. `There's no way she can give up on me.' With barely contained anger he rifled through his backpack to find the clothes he was going to wear this evening. Black leather pants and a black wife beater. He changed quickly in the alleyway, cussing every other second as he tried to pull on the fucking leather jeans. `Damn it,' he screamed to himself!

 

His anger seethed inside of him as he walked in through the backdoor of the House of Blues. He could sense the skittishness of his band mates when he walked in. His sudden anger and fear were subtly diminished by the warm evocative scent of Kagome wafting past his senses. He clenched his fists and breathed in deeply, letting the cooling sensation of her scent cascade over his body. His hands started to relax and the stiffness of his neck faded away.

 

Each band member eyed him unsteadily from Koga to Ginta to Hakkaku. But it was Kagome that had his heart in a lurch. She wouldn't even look at him. That was not going to happen! He marched on over to her and put his hand under her chin again, daring her to look up and meet his eyes. “Why aren't you looking at me, Kagome? What's going on?”

 

Her beautiful brown eyes stared back at him reflecting the twin images of himself in her eyes. He was bewildered by the sorrow, sadness and longing that he saw in her eyes. It pained him so much to look at her that he dropped her chin as he continued to stare at her with a questioning gaze.

 

“It's nothing,” she said as her eyes screamed that she was lying. She took a deep breath. “OK. Guys, it's time to get ready for the show,” She clapped nervously and the rest of his band mates took this as a cue to assemble on stage. Suddenly the air of tension dropped as the practiced manner of a professional stage presence overcame each and every one of them. They moved only on instinct and practiced ease as they tuned their instruments and made sure that everything was wired correctly before the show started.

 

Inuyasha was amazed to see how professional the House of Blues was. He normally had to scramble last minute before a show to plug in a piece of equipment or to make sure the sound was perfect. For the first time in his life when playing on stage he noted that the club had actually done everything correctly. His unease receded to the back of his mind as his game face took over. He was going to give them a show tonight and he was going to make Kagome see why she should never leave him or the band. Somehow now that she was a part of his band, he couldn't see her leaving--ever. They worked too well together and honestly, without her life wouldn't be the same. Somehow, when he didn't notice, she had become an integral part of his life. She was his light, a lifeline, his muse, his love—his Kagome.

 

Inuyasha strummed his guitar to get the audiences attention. This crowd wasn't as rowdy or as young as he was used to. The people in the audience seemed trendy, if not older—but they were more subdued. It would take a lot of work to win over this tough crowd. He only smirked. Inuyasha loved a challenge.

 

He stepped forward into the red and blue lights that washed over him and the stage. Then a solitary red light played over his features making him look more demonic than he already was. Inuyasha drew up to the stage microphone and introduced his band in a blustery manner and after nodding to his band mates, he started to strum his guitar to their opening piece, an angst ridden song by Daughtry, `Feels Like Tonight'.

 

Soon his strumming was joined by a steady drumbeat by Hakkaku. Then Koga and Ginta joined in adding their guitar rhythm to the growing crescendo of music. It almost caught him as a surprise to hear Kagome's voice stream over the speakers. Her voice seemed both heartbroken and sad as her words drifted with the loneliness of the tune.

 

You, you got me
Thinking it'll be alright.
You, you told me,
"Come and take a look inside.”

 

Inuyasha quickly took over with his verse. He tried to sing without any deep emotions, but the guilt of never telling her the truth crept into his voice. Why in the hell did they pick a song tonight about lying and a relationship that was failing?

 

You believed me,
In every single lie.
But I, I failed you this time.

 

As he sang, the words leapt out of his throat by their own violation. Sadness and desperation tinged his words as he sang. Then Inuyasha and Kagome sang the main chorus together. Their words seemed more like cries that wore an aching rhythm of blues, sadness and longing. He drew out each word slowly and painfully with each line.

 

And it feels like tonight.
I can't believe I'm broken inside.
Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you?
And it feels like tonight,
Tonight...

 

After a deep breath Kagome was ready to sing her next verse. Her entire demeanor changed from sadness to acceptance. It was as if she had resigned herself to something. What had made her change? And why did she seem so sad?

 

I was waiting
For the day you'd come around.
I was chasing,
And nothing was all I found.

 

His verse quickly followed from the tail end of hers. He couldn't help but to think about how much his life had changed since Kagome had entered into it. Before she came, he thought he was happy. He thought that proving himself to Sesshoumaru, proving himself to his team, even his school was enough. His one driving ambition had been to play on a national demonic team and he realized how blind he had been. He had been so intent on proving himself that he had lost sense of something deeper in his life. Truthfully he had just been pushing on with an empty soul, an emptiness that was devoid of meaning and love. Then there was Kagome and she turned everything upside down. Now he loved her and nothing would ever be the same again, no matter what happened.

 

He sang with soul and yearning. Inuyasha hoped deep inside that she could tell that he meant the very words that he was singing.

 

From the moment you came into my life,
You showed me what's right.

 

He made his way up to her place on the stage, playing his guitar and moving up next to her to sing into her microphone. He wanted to see her reaction to his voice and her lyrics. Did he affect her? Did she know what she did to him? His eyes gazed deeply into hers, capturing them in his dark honeyed orbs. Her doe-like brown eyes seemed caught like a deer in a car's headlights. She tried to look away, but couldn't seem to resist his gaze as he finished singing his lines.

 

I never felt like this before.
Just when I leave, I'm back for more.
Nothing else here seems to matter.
In these ever-changing days,
You're the one thing that remains.
I could stay like this forever.

 

He wouldn't let her go, he continued to sing into the same microphone as they finished their song. Soon both of their voices peeled into the music and the thumping beat. Hakkaku hit the drums harshly to build up the rhythm and to finish up the song on a deep and needy crescendo.

 

'Cause there's nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you.
And it feels like tonight.
Tonight…

 

Kagome's voice trailed off as they sang “tonight”. Her eyes still gazed up at his and then she backed up away from him, as if seeking to separate herself from him. Her hands struggled to find something behind her and once they landed on her keyboard she turned around with a jerk keeping her head squarely ahead of her and toward the audience.

 

They continued to sing the songs of their set, finishing off another five songs. Soon the entire hall was enthralled and moving to the beat of the guitars and drum. They played Nickelback, the Police, Seether, Korn and Metallica. Inuyasha felt himself lost in the music and the electricity of the crowd reacting to their music. The vibrations moved through him, into other band members, into the crowd and back again to energize him. Through every song he kept an eye on Kagome and when he could he would sing words in her microphone if he felt the lyrics pertained to her and how he felt about her. He wanted his voice, his body and his energy to let her know how he felt about her. If he couldn't tell her directly he would try every other way possible to let her know that he loved her and that he didn't want her to ever leave his life.

 

All too soon it was over and the final song was played. He let out a deep breath as both himself and the rest of the band bowed to cheers and clapping. There was something about the synergy of Kagome and him playing together. Their voices, rhythms, music, bodies just seemed in tune with each other. Somehow this energy could coalesce into a stream of music that was something more than any music his band had ever produced before. He had been sailing before, but with Kagome he was soaring.

 

He turned to look at her, his eyes soft as he reached down to bring her hand up to his lips to kiss it. Then with her hand in his he brought it up in the air as if in praise.

 

“Let's hear it for Kagome, a lovely and talented musician!” he yelled over the din of the audience. They screamed, cheered and somehow the calls urged him on to do something that he could only do on stage. He placed a hand around her waist and another hand around her head as he dipped her on the center stage and gently brought her body parallel to the floor as he kissed her gently on the lips.

 

She quaked in his arms and he even heard her heartbeat pounding above the roar of the crowd as his lips pressed against hers. Her body was flush and warm, her lips wet and moist, her breath was shaky and hesitant. He kissed her again as her eyes widened. His lips left hers with blue and red lights streaming over both of them, the crowd still hooting. She looked up at him in confusion as she flushed even deeper and stilled in his arms. He brought her up next to him and pulled her close as he smirked at her.

 

Suddenly her expression changed as she shrugged his arms away and walked off the stage. “Kagome!” he yelled as he made his way after her.

 

Slowly, tear filled brown orbs met his golden ones and a solitary tear streaked down the side of her face. “I can't go on like this Inuyasha. I can't let that continue.” She pulled away from him to address the entire band. “This was all supposed to be temporary. I never promised any of you that I'd stay in your band. You were supposed to find yourself another singer. The only reason why I stayed here was because Ash asked me to.”

 

Inuyasha started to growl. “You can't leave the band Kagome.”

 

The teary eyed miko only cocked her head to the side as if in weariness. “I have to, for Ash. What you did wasn't right Inuyasha and it can't continue.”

 

“What do you mean, `wasn't right'?” snapped Inuyasha and he almost immediately regretted his words and his tone. He watched Kagome visibly wince in front of him.

 

“You know what I mean, Inuyasha,” added Kagome.

 

“It's not right that I want you or it's not right that you want me?” asked Inuyasha.

 

“What?” murmured Kagome in astonishment.

 

“Your lips say one thing and your body tells me something else,” murmured Inuyasha huskily. “Do you know that when you get close to me your scent changes?” Inuyasha sniffed the air tentatively. “It becomes more spicy…”

 

Kagome's eyes widened. “No…”

 

He continued, “and your pulse quickens, just as it is doing now. Your heart starts to beat erratically if I get too close …” Inuyasha moved his body up next to hers, the gentle softness of her warm bosom pressed sweetly against his hard chest. He could hear the quick thumping of her heart start to pound as he moved next to her.

 

A single tear started to drop from Kagome's eye. “No…”

 

“Tell me the truth Kagome. Is it me you fear or yourself?”

 

She looked at him dumbfounded and then her lips parted on their own violation. “Myself…,” she answered. “It's not right...” She looked away from him and stared at the ground as she licked her own lips.

 

Her red wet lips called to him. He licked his own lips in response and ghosted his lips over hers. “Kagome. If it's not right, then why do you react the way you do?”

 

“No!” she cried as he moved on past him, running toward the front door.

 

Inuyasha sighed. He'd have to go after her and this time it would probably only be `Ash' who could talk some sense into her. He didn't even bother to change anything but his shirt as he put on his silver ring and made his way quickly to the front door that Kagome had passed through only a minute ago.

 

He was fuming with both frustration and madness when he found her teary-eyed face waiting near the front entrance of the club. Suddenly his breath stilled as she fell into his arms crying as if her heart had just been broken.

 

“Ash,” she sobbed as she gripped his shirt tightly in her hands. She twisted the fabric and her tears made the front of his red shirt wet.

 

His hands tentatively found their way around her waist to cradle her. “Kagome, what's wrong?” he asked knowing all along exactly why she was so upset.

 

“It's nothing,” she lied as she continued to cry.

 

“No, it's not nothing,” he said as he put one hand under her chin to bring her face up to his. “This has gone on too long Kagome. I need to tell you the truth.”

 

Her lovely face was puffy with tears as she leaned to the side and questioned, “The truth? What are you talking about Ash?” She buried her face into his shirt again to sob and hiccup.

 

“Kagome,” he paused as he looked around to notice there was a large crowd around them. “Let's go somewhere else so that I can talk to you alone.”

 

“Alright,” she agreed as she tried to wipe her tears away with the palms of her hand. He held her slim shoulders within his as he led her past the crowd to the back of the club. When he felt like there was enough privacy he pulled Kagome close to him again.

 

“Kagome, I want to say I'm sorry.”

 

“Sorry for what Ash?”

 

“I…I should have told you earlier…I…,” murmured `Ash' as he tried to wipe another tear from her face.

 

“Ah, there you are whore!” yelled the familiar voice of a demoness.

 

`Ash' turned to face a red-eyed demoness who was seething in anger. “Yura!” he called out. “Get away from her!”

 

Yura stood with a snarl on her face wearing a black mini-skirt and black boots. Next to her were two male demons: one had short blonde spiky hair and the other had shaggy shoulder length black hair. Both male demons had glowing red eyes and had their arms crossed.

 

“What?” asked Kagome. “How do you know Yura?” Then she turned to look at Yura in confusion.

 

“I'm here to teach the little bitch a lesson. There's too much of Inuyasha's scent on her.” Then Yura started to sniff the air and `Ash' stiffened. Yura's eyes narrowed. “Why do you also smell like Inuyasha? Is it a ménage a trois or are you…? You!” she seethed in recognition. “Boys, I'm going to need some help teaching this bitch a lesson.”

 

`Ash' immediately pulled Kagome behind him as he faced Yura and the two demons that flanked either side of her.

 

“Ash, you can't fight them!” yelled Kagome. “Let me fight! I've been trained.”

 

“I'm protecting you Kagome,” said `Ash' as he grinded his teeth together.

 

“Yura baby, they're just humans. What's the sport in attacking them?” said a demon with short spiky bright yellow hair.

 

“Just hurt the girl. I want to teach her to not mess with what was mine!” yelled Yura. “I'm going to settle things with him!” she screamed as she pointed at `Ash'.

 

“What's going on Ash? What's she talking about?” asked Kagome plaintively.

 

`Ash' chanced a glance behind him to give her a sad smile. “Please forgive me Kagome,” he asked as he took the silver ring off of his finger. He could only hear her gasp in surprise as his ears shifted from the sides of his head and inched up to the top of his head. His black hair became gray and then shifted into a shiny silver color. He flexed his hands to see that blunt and ineffective fingernails had become razor sharp claws. He turned to face Yura and the two panther demons. “Back down!” he yelled. “Do you know who you are up against?”

 

Yura only growled as she ran against him trying to slice her long claws across his stomach. Inuyasha knew that he could dodge the blow, but that would have left Kagome to face Yura's claws. So, Inuyasha willingly took the blow as his fist met with her face and shattered her nose as it made contact. Her body flew back away from him and skidded on the wooden floor, blood oozing from her nose.

 

Inuyasha sniffed the air. The two male demons were panthers. `Shit, I hate feline demons,' he thought as he flexed his claws.

 

The panther demon with the short spiky hair immediately surged forward to attack the half demon. Inuyasha would have normally outmaneuvered him, but he was cornered and had Kagome to protect. The panther demon took one swipe against Inuyasha's form and while he was distracted with one attack, the other hand jammed his claws into his stomach and then wrenched itself free. Blood and chunks of his flesh splattered across the hardwood floor.

 

“Ash!? Inuyasha?” cried out Kagome in confusion behind him.

 

“Fight!” someone screamed. “Call the cops!” came another voice.

 

Inuyasha wretched and blood spewed out of his mouth. It dripped down the sides of his face, his neck and even onto his silver hair. His side throbbed and ached in pain. “Blades of Blood” he cried as he reached into his own wound and tore his own blood from his body to create multiple red knives that erupted from his flinging claws. The panther demon in front of him fell backwards, lacerated, unmoving and in a pool of his own blood.

 

“Run away Kagome!” Inuyasha yelled as he leapt towards the other panther demon with the shaggy black hair. His next opponent was more wary and less cocky. This demon was able to grasp Inuyasha's hands in his as they battled for superiority. Inuyasha kicked him in the stomach and the panther demon spun away.

 

Somewhere on the edge of his vision he made out Yura getting up and pinching her nose before she glared with venom behind him. “Little whore!” she cried as her blood red eyes seethed in anger and her entire body propelled itself forward.

 

Inuyasha could only hear a loud thump as Yura undoubtedly made contact with Kagome. He turned to look behind him and was happy to see that Kagome's Taekwondo training had actually paid off. Even though the human miko was facing a far quicker, stronger and more agile opponent—she had somehow managed to side step Yura's furious attack. Inuyasha could only surmise that Yura's anger and inexperience at fighting had given Kagome an advantage. `Damn, at least her miko training paid off tonight,' he thought wryly.

 

A hard blow fell across the back of his head. “You should always keep your eyes on your opponent, half-breed!” yelled the panther who was grinning cruelly through his blood red claws. Inuyasha quickly recovered to land a flying kick into the man's gut and the demon doubled over in pain. With a swipe of his claws Inuyasha rendered long gash marks across the demons belly, causing the panther to groan. Then he saw the panther demon's eyes flash into a ruby red and he knew that the fight was going to turn ugly. With a snarl, the panther demon leapt up and slammed into his body. Before Inuyasha could respond the demon bit down hard onto his shoulder blade, opening up a large artery. Inuyasha felt his lifeblood spilling onto the floor. The two demons had trouble staying upright for the floor had become slippery with red-black blood. The thick scent of blood filled Inuyasha's nostrils, calling to his demon side. Inuyasha tried to take a deep calming breath, but more of the coppery smell drifted into his senses—calling his own beast to the surface. It was only with years of practiced self-control that Inuyasha was able to keep his own demon at bay. He knew his amber eyes were now tinged with red.

 

“Get away from here!” Inuyasha shrieked as he dove his claws into the torso of the panther demon in front of him and then pulled his claws back—splattering the demons blood against a wooden wall.

 

The panther in front of him wavered, his face twisted in a grimace and his arm clutching his side.

 

Suddenly there was a loud shriek behind him. “Kagome!” Inuyasha screamed as he ran towards the miko who was trying to defend herself.

 

Kagome had tried to keep her distance from the demoness, but Yura had gotten too close and now she had Kagome. Inuyasha noted the wire-like threads of hair that Yura had around Kagome's neck and how her hands only needed to pull the string taut and her head would be sliced off. Kagome made a horrible choking noise.

 

“Yura! Get away from her!” Inuyasha yelled as he ran forward.

 

“No, I want to hurt her,” grinned Yura malevolently as she ran her tongue down Kagome's throat. “Don't worry I won't kill her. I'm just going to maim her pretty face with my claws.”

 

Kagome choked again as Inuyasha got closer. When he was inches away from the smirking Yura, he felt his body being snapped backward. “Shit!” Inuyasha screamed as he realized the panther demon had decided to fight again. Get felt a hard kick in his gut and felt his side being lanced with claws. Despite being engaged in a fight Inuyasha chanced a glance behind to see how Kagome was faring. Hers eyes widened in terror and Yura's eyes glinted with malice.

 

With every passing moment Inuyasha found it growing more difficult to fight off the growling demon inside of him as it pulled ever closer to the surface. He felt another clawed rip across his back as he stared at Kagome's chocolate brown eyes when something inside of him snapped. The blood flowing from his body was calling to his demonic self. He felt his body pulse and his demon started to take over. Without his Tessaiga at his side, there was no way that his demon blood could be kept in check.

 

His golden eyes refocused and started to bleed red, purple strips appeared on his cheeks and his own fangs and claws lengthened. This time Inuyasha growled with a feral rage. Someone was trying to hurt his bitch and he would protect her. His eyes only saw red as he attacked the panther demon. He didn't truly remember everything that happened next. He let his instincts take over as he sliced his opponent and impaled him with his claws. Blood was flying everywhere and it made him smile. There was nothing like warm flesh pumping up precious coppery fluid. It made him feel alive. He listened to the heartbeat of his opponent—which was starting to slow. He could only grin and smirk. That was what they got for trying to attack his bitch.

 

He then turned forward to look at Yura who was gasping in horror. She had just threatened his bitch and she was going to pay. Kagome was HIS! Yura's claws were poised menacingly above Kagome's face. He saw Kagome's eyes cross as she tried to focus on the razor sharp nails perched above her face. “This is your last warning Yura, get away or you will really get hurt!” yelled Kagome.

 

“Human bitch! You can't hurt me!” laughed Yura as she prepared to swipe her claws against Kagome's face.

 

Inuyasha lunged forward in an attempt to stop her claws when he saw Kagome's body explode with a pink light. Yura was the first to shriek and have her burning body flung away by the sudden pulse of sacred energy. Then the outer edge of the purifying energy coursed through him--electrifying every nerve, making him scream in pain. His body convulsed in agony as the red haze left his eyes and soon it was only darkness that overtook him. The last memory he had was his body hitting the blood drenched floor. He took one final breath that contained both the gentle sweet scent of Kagome and the coppery salty scent of fresh blood. Then nothing…

 

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Next Chapter: Spiraling Downward: If you thought this chapter was angsty, wait until the next one…Ah, I can't stand it!!!

 

Please read and review. It inspires me to write more chapters!

See you in two weeks!

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Private messages were sent to all reviewers.

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Author's Notes:

#1: Daughtry: "Feels Like Tonight" played repeatedly on iTunes while I wrote this chapter's band scene.

#2: Boy, it was hard to write this chapter. It's longer than any of my previous chapters and I find it hard to write angst.

#3: Thank you everyone for your recommendations for a love song for Inuyasha to sing to Kagome. Here are the recommendations: "Promise You" by the Backstreet Boys, All or Nothing by Theory Of A Deadman, Crush by David Archuleta, Tongue Tied by Faber Drive, When I'm With You by Faber Drive, `Take Another Little Piece of My Heart' by Janis Joplin, and Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls.
Out of these suggestions I have already chosen one of these songs for Chapter 25 or 26. But you'll have to wait until then to see who won.

#4: If you couldn't figure it out from this chapter Kagome is really confused. She's in love with `Ash' yet she is sexually attracted to `Inuyasha'. And underneath it all her heart seems to know they are both the same person though her head is telling her something else… But now she knows…what's going to happen next?

#5: A couple of reading recommendations: Heart's Landfill by Simonkal of Inuy which is a modern day AU Inu/Kag romance. You won't be disappointed. All I can tell you is that it's great and that I'm on the edge of my seat. The author is fantastic and the romance/angst is palatable. I oftentimes find myself re-reading entire sections of her story. And after years of people telling me to read `Tales from the House of the Moon' by Resmiranda (a Sess/Kag romance) I finally broke down and read it. Just so you know I loathe Sess/Kag romances and I enjoyed this one. It was funny, serious and sexy—and probably one of the best written Inuyasha fanficts out there. Too bad that it wasn't Inu/Kag—but you can't win them all…

#6: My beta asked me what songs were sung by `Immortal Sin' during their gig in this chapter. The songs are all on my angst playlist on iTunes: Daughtry-Feels Like Tonight, Nickelback-Faraway, Police-Don't Stand So Close to Me (1986), Seether-Broken, Korn-Freak on a Leash and Metallica-Nothing Else Matters.