InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ashes and Dust ❯ Broken ( Chapter 10 )

I do not own Inuyasha and Co.

Chapter 10

Broken

(Caution: This chapter contains extreme violence)

Inuyasha came to after some time, and blinked to clear his vision. He looked around, and saw he was looking out at what looked to be some sort of a dungeon. He couldn't move his arms or legs. He turned to look at what he was tied to, which looked like a torture rack. He'd regained feeling back to most of his body, save for his toes. It was harder to breathe, and he felt cold. He was only in his underwear.

“Where am I?” He asked aloud.

He tried to pull his hands from the bonds, but they were too tight. He didn't let the tightness stop him. He twisted and turned his wrists, causing the skin to burn. He grit his teeth as his wrists bled out, hoping the blood would slick the rope enough to slip is hands out.

“Ah, you're awake, I see.”

Uisagi entered the room through a corner doorway, looked up and noticed him turning his wrists.

“Oh, no you don't.” Uisagi leapt up onto the rack and placed a blade at Inuyasha's neck.

“You're not getting away. If you keep trying to escape, then I'll have to poison you again, and I want you to feel what I'm about to do to you. I want to hear you scream in agony.”

“You know you'll get no such reaction from me. I'm not so easy to inflict pain onto. I can survive multiple impalements, and poison. You are trying to torture the wrong person.”

“After how you screamed when I hit you across the back with my whip, you groveled quite nicely. So, I think you're quite the shit talker, Inuyasha.”

He growled at Uisagi.

“Oh, I love it when you growl at me, my feisty specimen.”

“I'm not a specimen, I am a living, breathing man!”

“You're only a half-man.”

“Shut up!”

“Ooo, keep yelling at me. Talk dirty to me. It just turns me on, and gets me wet for you.”

“Whattaya mean, wet for me?”

“What, you can't tell? I'm a woman.”

His eyes shot open. “So, wait, you plan to torture me, seduce me, and then kill me?”

“That's the plan.” She walked up to him and licked his chest.

“See, I don't attract very many men because I was not graced like other women. So, I torture them for not noticing. They tend to beg me to fuck them after I've put them through excruciating pain. It's a release for them, and they thank me for it in the end. They tend to come back later, because fucking their own wives doesn't measure up to me.”

“What makes you think I'd want your kind of seduction? I'm not into pleasure through pain.”

“Who said I cared? Most guys aren't into it until they experience it. Then they call it their sinful guilty pleasure they can't help but go back for.”

She cracked her whip. He flinched at the loud sound. She pulled the whip through her fingers and draped it around her neck as she began to touch him. He grunted, as she wasn't all that gentle.

“Oh, I'm sorry, you just had sex this morning. I'll have to be a bit gentler.”

She softly rubbed him. He closed his eyes and began to pant. “Stop touching me.” He ground out through his gritted teeth.

“Oh, come now, Inuyasha. You've never known love until you've experienced mine. I promise I won't scar you too badly.”

He sighed and looked away. “That's not a concern as I never scar. I just don't want you touching me.”

“Well, you can't really do anything about it, now can you? Oh, and here he comes. I guess your body betrays you, just like every other man's member.”

She climbed up the rack again and wrapped her legs around his hips, his swollen member at her core.

“You may be more than a man, but you're no different in your response. Just enjoy what I have to offer, and you won't regret your last experience on this plane.”

“I refuse to enjoy this.”

She gripped his member tightly, squeezing a grunt out of him. His eyes clinched shut. “Once again, and for the last time, you don't have a choice.”

He panted as she tantalized him. Only one thought brought him comfort through her ministrations. Instead of her, he tricked his mind into thinking it was Kagome.

Before he knew it, she had taken him into her, and she was hitting him with the poison. He sealed off his emotions deep within himself. He couldn't give her the satisfaction. He just couldn't do it.

After a few minutes, and she came out of her own reverie, she noticed he wasn't reacting, and she hit him in the face. He looked her right in the eye.

“Pay attention to me!”

“You're not worth my reactions.”

“Fuck you!”

She slit his stomach with a sharp point on her whip. He cried out as she then began to gyrate her hips. The sounds of his cries helped her enjoy her rape. He clinched his eyes shut as he began to lose feeling from the cut down, the pins and needles spreading down inch by inch.

She licked the wound, and he cried out again as she continued at his hips.

“Stop doing this to me!”

“No, you feel too damn good!”

She punched him, and his eyes clinched shut tighter each time he felt her vibrate within.

“I was told by Naraku I could do as I pleased with you. This is something I've been wanting to do ever since I first saw you. You drive me insane, Inuyasha. Your beauty, your courage, your strength, your seed. Give it all to me!”

He groaned, and started twisting his wrists again, blood dripping from his wrists. As she continued to hit him, and slice him with her poison whip, his blood began to boil.

`That's it, you're allowed this time. C'mon, blood, boil!'

His nails and fangs began to elongate and stripes began to appear on his cheeks. He began to growl as she continued to rape him. The harder she took him, the louder he growled.

“Oh, I knew it, you were shit talking!” She moaned louder and louder.

He was about to cum, but his wrists slipped free and he jammed his claws into her torso. She looked up to see red eyes piercing right through her.

“I'm not your man. Get the fuck off me!”

She looked down at his clawed fingers, which had pierced her torso at the sides. She spit up blood. He removed his claws and slashed her across the chest, sending her to the floor, covered in blood.

He clinched his eyes shut and held onto the rope as his body betrayed him. `Kagome, forgive me…'

As his climax ended, his spirit blood subsided, and he was left panting and soiled. He cut the bonds on his legs and dropped to the floor, onto his hands and knees. He was losing feeling in his hips, and his legs were betraying him, just as his manhood had. He heard her cough, and looked her way.

“You… Jerk.”

“You Bitch.”

“You didn't appreciate me?”

“How can I when you're not giving me a reason to?” He sat back, resting his back against the rack stand. “Look, no one really cares about how others have hurt you. In other words, who cares about those who ignore you?”

Her eyes shifted to his, turning her head to look on him.

“Forget them, and fix yourself. You let them ignore you. You put yourself there, and then you punish the innocent for it. You did this to yourself.”

“How can you say such harsh words to me when I just satisfied you?”

“Uisagi, listen. You didn't satisfy me, and you never could. So, I came, big deal. You proved I have human functions and faculties. That I already knew. What you didn't know is there is a difference between love and what you call love. Your version of love is oppression. True love is encouraging, uplifting, and fulfilling. I gather you've never experienced those emotions.”

She shook her head.

“Then I'll tell you my version of love. If I had seen you on the street, my nodding my head is acknowledgement. My opening the door for you to make it easier for you to enter is acknowledgement. Do I have to do those things? No. But I do them anyway because you belong, you always have. The jerks you had your sights on never deserved you anyway. That's not your fault, that's theirs. Stop hurting yourself because you can.”

“Why are you saying all these things?”

“Because I can feel your pain every time you inflict pain upon me. You can't keep doing this to yourself, Uisagi. You can do better for yourself. Accept that you're not like every woman. Look at me. I'm not like every man, as you can see. Yet, you caused me to react like every other man. Know that you're the same as every other woman. You just look different. So what? Would you want a twin?”

“No.”

“Then there you go.” He looked down and coughed up a bit of blood from the wound in his torso.

“Do you hate me, Inuyasha?”

He looked at her. A tear fell from her left eye. “No. Just what you did to me. One thing you need to pay attention to is how others feel about what you do to them. That alone will help you feel more loved and understood. All you've been doing is corrupting innocent people with your madness. Let it go. Or I really will kill you.”

“Do it. Kill me.”

He sat there and looked her in the eye. His look was intense when he said, “No. I want you to think about what you've done, and what I've said. You should give yourself another chance to make it right. If I take that away from you, then I'm not better than you.”

“You're not easy to live up to, you know that?”

“Tsch, life sucks, why should you be the exception?”

“You're right, why should I?”

“I should really kick your ass for what you did to me.”

She coughed. Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth. “Thought you already did.”

“Naw, I just got you off me. If you die from that, then you really are weak. I missed all your organs.”

“But the soul hurts more, and my soul wants to be free.”

“Then free yourself. It's not up to me to stop you.” He struggled to stand and fell over.

“The poison will last for hours. There's no cure aside from time.”

“Bitch. While I'm sitting here, waiting for my ass to feel again, Kagome could be dying.”

“Is she that important to you?” She coughed again.

“She is my life. I love her, and only her.”

“How can she have your heart, and I cannot?”

“Because she shows me love, not hate. She would never hurt me as you have. You took something from me I could never get back. You caused me to betray her. For that, I could never forgive you. Only her forgiveness will help me forgive myself for my body's betrayal.”

“I ruined you, didn't I?”

“Yes, you did. You happy now? You hurt the one you wanted acceptance from. Now you won't even receive that. Your actions presently can poison your future whenever you're doing something to harm others, just because you feel like shit. Misery loves company, but who the fuck wants your misery? And what makes you think it's something that should be shared or forced upon others? Who died and gave you precedence?”

She turned her head to look up at the ceiling and sighed.

Inuyasha started to drag his body along the floor. “You're only going to cause the poison to spread to other parts of your body by doing that.”

“So what. I don't want to be in the same room as you anymore.”

“Men are so stubborn.”

“Tsch, women like you are no different.” He grunted as he began to feel light-headed. He reached the pile of his clothes, and laid his head on it. He couldn't move anymore. His body was giving out.

“I told you, and you didn't listen.”

“Shut…up.”

She angled her head to look on him. She saw the pads on the bottom of his feet. “You are something else, Inuyasha.”

“Tsch, you're… not… worth my praise.” He struggled to breathe. His body began slipping away. Before he knew it, he passed out on the dirty, hardwood floor.

~*~

Kagome was laid out naked on the operating table while surgeon Suikotsu extracted the jewel's dust from her body. He first used a large magnet to pull the dust of the jewel to the first layer of skin. Then he used a solution that melted the first layer of her skin allowing him to scrape it free from her body. The procedure was hush-hush at Tokai University Hospital. Naraku decided to spare her life to take her for his own.

Dr. Suikotsu was a surgeon who was well known in the underground as the doctor who would take on any procedure, as he wasn't afraid of malpractice, or charges from the government on questionable procedures. He was the perfect surgeon for the job, and he was performing quite nicely.

What mattered most to Naraku was getting the jewel dust, and restoring the jewel, and then taking over Japan with her at his side. She may not be Kikyo, but she was her reincarnation, and therefore was a contender since she was not developed in her abilities.

At first, he was hoping to use the jewel to kill Inuyasha, but it was no question that Uisagi would have broken his spirit, and killed his heart by now. He knew Uisagi from way back when she was looking for a strong man to torture, and came upon him. He stopped her in her tracks, and she became his underling. He let her in his bedchamber a number of times, but never told her he loved her. He used those times to train her to break his enemy, Inuyasha.

“Now, Inuyasha, what will you do after Uisagi has broken your spirit, raped you, and stolen you from Kagome? You'll be nothing more than her pet when she's through with you.” He chuckled and Igongoro joined him at the thought.

~*~

Hours later, Inuyasha came to, and lifted his head from his clothing. He was able to move again, and his vision was sharp. The poison finally wore off. He rolled over onto his side and looked to see Uisagi where he left her. He made his way to her. Her eyes were closed. He knelt down and checked her pulse. It was faint, but she was alive. The blood surrounding her body had dried. Her hands rested over the wounds he inflicted on her. It seemed she was so out of it, she wouldn't even know he was there looking at her.

He stood and went back to his clothes. He pulled them on, and was about to walk through the door when he heard, “Inuyasha, where do you think you're going?”

“To find Kagome. You're still in no condition to fight with me. Just give up and move on.”

“I'm almost healed. You know I'll be coming after you again.”

“So, come after me, but you won't get the jump on me next time.”

He exited the room, and made his way up the stairs. When he got a glimpse of the outside world, he had no clue where he was. He wasn't anywhere in town, it was somewhere remote. All he saw was bamboo trees, all around. He grit his teeth and started running. He was not going to lose Kagome. No matter what, he was going to find her.

~*~

Hours later, Kagome was wheeled out of the operation room. The top layer of her skin had been completely harvested, and the large vial of scrapings was handed to Naraku. He examined the vial, and smiled as he saw the jewel dust sparkling amongst the skin.

He handed the vial back to Suikotsu and said, “Synthesize this dust from the skin. Dry it out, and hand it back to me when you're done.”

“Yes, Sir.” Dr. Suikotsu bowed deep, took the vial and went back to his lab.

“What shall we do now, master?”

“We will wait in the ICU until she awakes.”

“Yes, master.”

~*~

Inuyasha finally made his way out of the forest to find he was lost somewhere in the bamboo forest of Arashiyama, which was quite a ways on the other side of the island from Tokyo. He leapt and ran all the way across the island. He dodged through the trees, over buildings, and ran through tall grasses to get back to Tokyo, where he last saw her. He arrived at the building, and tried to pick up her scent. No luck. He got frustrated and fell to his knees once again.

“Kagome, where have they taken you? Please be alive.”

~*~

Meanwhile, in the ICU, Kagome's eyes groggily opened. She noticed she was in a hospital room with a heart monitor beeping, an IV attached, and her body was covered in a thin, white hospital blanket.

“You're awake.”

She looked to her right side and saw Naraku smiling at her just a foot away. She tried to move away, but felt a jolt of pain all over her body. She cried out. She pulled her left arm out from under the blanket and saw her raw, red skin. She gasped and screamed in horror. She had no hair on her arms, and her hands were also raw.

“What did you do to me?”

“We were forced to harvest the top layer of your skin for the jewel's dust. It was quite the lengthy process. You nearly woke up on the table twice.”

“You are such a greedy being for doing this to me without my consent!”

“You wouldn't have consented even if I told you what we were going to do. However, you will remain on morphine drip until your outer layer of skin grows back. It shouldn't be long.”

“What?”

“It shouldn't take longer than a week, I assure you.”

“What are you hoping to accomplish? Why didn't you just kill me?”

“Because each time we've tried to extract the dust, the reincarnation dissipated into thin air, and disappeared until the soul was reincarnated again, and each time, the jewel and the woman was weaker.”

“How many times has this happened?”

“At least ten times.”

A look of shock arose in her eyes. “Inuyasha didn't say anything to you about that?”

“No.”

“Well, I wouldn't expect he would, as each time he watched his reincarnated love disappear, it hurt him to no end. However, with the technology of your time, it was a lot safer this time around, and you lived.”

She grimaced in anger.

“You're angry with me? Don't be. I spared your life, and helped to end your need for reincarnation once more. There is no more dust within your body. The connection has been fully severed.”

“There's a reason you saved me, isn't there?”

“You are a sharp woman. I plan to make you my wife, and rule Japan with you at my side.”

“I would rather be beheaded than marry you!”

“Well, that can be arranged, but then you'd never get the chance to fully live out your life as you would desire. You see, with me, you could live any life you wish.”

“Nothing is worth being with you, or accepting any gifts you could offer. After what you did to me, Inuyasha will crush you!”

“Oh, I doubt we'll have any problems with him. He not only doesn't know where we are, but he also has been broken and killed by my torture specialist, Uisagi. Right about now, she's not only broken his spirit and corrupted his body, but she's pumped him with so much poison that she's got him dismembered by now.”

Kagome clinched her eyes shut in pain. Her heart hurt at the thought of hearing him scream, seeing images of him being tortured in her mind. Naraku smiled and chuckled as he sent the images of his torture to her. She yelled his name as she saw his torso slit, him being touched, and his eyes going red. She squirmed, only to realize her weakened state wouldn't allow her much freedom of movement. She opened her eyes and saw Naraku looming over her. She tried to sink further into her pillow.

Igongoro held her arms down as Naraku stole a kiss from her. She tried to turn her head, but he placed his hands on her cheeks, causing blinding pain and took her mouth with his. She couldn't do a thing, she was oppressed.

~*~

Inuyasha had searched everywhere, but there was no sign of her. He stood atop of the tallest building in the area and looked around, gathering his thoughts.

`If I were Naraku, and I needed to extract the dust, where would I do it?' He looked at all the buildings, and one caught his attention. `Of course! A hospital!'

He leapt off toward the nearest hospital and went into the front entrance. He approached the receptionist at the front counter.

“Hello, sir, how may I help you?”

“I was wondering. Do you have a Kagome Higurashi in your care at this hospital?”

“Kagome… Higurashi? Hmm… Not that I can see.”

“OK. Do you see any OR procedures scheduled that were last minute?”

“Unfortunately, I am unable to give out that information. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you.” He slapped the counter and turned to leave. He walked back through the door.

“You have her in an OR, don't you? The perfect place to do it without interference from me. Damn it! At this point she could be at any of these hospitals, and I wouldn't know it!”

He looked around and saw a news van across the street. There was a woman reporting on a story unfolding. He casually walked up to the van. One of the crew saw him and approached.

“Hey, we're reporting, you can't get too close to the scene.”

“Don't worry, I'm not going to get any closer, but I have a story you'd like to hear.”

“Well, you're just gonna have to wait a few minutes till she's finished.”

Inuyasha nodded and waited patiently. The woman had been talking about the politics of the hospitals and theories of corruption amongst the surgeons. Inuyasha was intrigued, as Kagome's story could crack the lid on that story if she is indeed in one of those hospitals.

“And that's the story. Hundreds of patients have suffered questionable, experimental surgeries and procedures they did not need, or request, and now are left with scars from that group of rogue surgeons in the area hospitals. These patients are looking for answers, and hope for justice to be served. This is Mori Hideki reporting for HKN News.”

“And that's a wrap!” The director exclaimed.

Inuyasha made his way on the other side of the camera. “Excuse me, Mori, I think we can help each other on this case.”

“Who are you? Some undercover detective? Bad disguise, if you are.” She asked, looking him up and down subjectively.

“My name is Inuyasha, and a girl I know has been kidnapped. I believe she may be the next victim of a questionable procedure.”

“How do you know this?”

“It's complicated, but I was wondering if you have a list of hospitals where these procedures were performed?”

“Yes, hold on, follow me into the van.”

She led him into the small, white van and shut the door. He sat down on the nearest stool and she flipped a switch and grabbed a folder with paperwork. She flipped through the pages for a moment and then handed him a sheet.

“These hospitals have malpractice suits open for un-needed, and un-scheduled surgeries that have occurred. We don't know who the surgeons performing the procedures are, but they are rather bazaar.”

“How so?”

“Needless harvesting.”

“Harvesting what?”

“Organs, limbs, skin, hair, things of that sort. All from live, healthy people.”

“You're kidding. Anything else suspicious?”

“That's all we have so far. So, what's your story?” She sat down on the stool across from him.

“It's complicated, but this girl I know, she's been tortured, and I saved her once in the past 24 hours, and then I lost her. I was held up by someone who did me in badly, just to buy time. I don't know what hospital she is in, but what's being harvested is not the average body parts.”

“What is it?”

“A dust, a rare dust.”

“A rare dust? I don't follow.”

“It's a long story, ranging back hundreds of years, so it would take forever to explain. Look, she's being operated on against her will, and I need to find out which hospital she's in.”

“Well, with the security surrounding the hospital systems, not even we can get dirty information aside from what we've gathered so far. I assure you, though, this list will narrow down the hospitals where that procedure would more than likely take place.”

“And why's that?”

“Because they are owned by one entity.”

“Entity?”

“Yes, Nara Care Medical Group.”

“Sun of a bitch. So that's how he's doing it.”

“Doing what?”

He shook his head. “The head of Nara Care, he's quite notorious for causing harm to innocent people. You can quote me as an anonymous source. He's a socio path who likes torturing innocent people, just to see how far he can push them. I am not surprised he would do something like this.”

“How do you know all this?”

He looked her in the eye. “Because he's been emotionally torturing me for years. I've been trying to take him down, but he's sneaky, manipulative, and knows how to hurt others psychologically. He's a very dangerous individual and must be dealt with accordingly.”

“I see. Thank you for the information and the testimony. I will secure you as an anonymous source and we'll do what we can to smear his organization with that information.”

He held up the paper. “Can I keep this list?”

“Yes, we have copies at the station. Good luck, Inuyasha.”

“Thank you. You too, Mori.”

He stood from the stool and was about to slide the door open when she said, “Inuyasha?”

He turned to look her way. “Yeah?”

“Who are you really? You seem… I don't know… Like you know too much. Why haven't you spoken until now about this?”

“Because this time, it's personal. He's gone too far, and I've had enough.” He slid the door aside and leapt out onto the sidewalk.

She stood from her stool and looked out the door to watch him walk toward the building and just as a van passed, obstructing her view for just a moment, he was gone. She slid the door shut and sat back on the stool. She turned toward the computer screen and signed into the computer. She stopped the video that recorded the interview. She watched the interview to make sure it took. A minute into the video, she asked, “What's that?”

It seemed that every time he looked upward, toward the camera, light reflected from his eyes. She made a separate recording copy onto a CD and then went on editing his image on the original video. She blurred out his face, masked his voice and cut out his name. Once she was done, and the clip was ready to air on her next report, she ejected the CD and wrote “Nara Care Anonymous Interview” on the top side with a black sharpie. She re-watched the interview and saw that even though she'd pixelated his image, each time his eyes reflected the light, it showed bright as day during the interview. She tried to see if that could also be edited out, but the image was too bright at those moments. “I guess this will have to do.”

Inuyasha leapt off to the next hospital on the list, and just walked into the ER. He walked the halls, acting like he was just visiting. However, he couldn't find Kagome's, or Naraku's scents. So, onto the next hospital on the list. He continued looking until he noticed one was peculiar. One was a research hospital, and that struck him as suspicious. He raced off toward Tokai University Hospital, hoping he'd find her there.

~*~

Naraku ordered Suikotsu to keep her morphine higher, in order to keep her out of it, and to continue her on IV fluids to keep her alive while in the hospital. Suikotsu succeeded in extracting the dust. It was sparkly, pink, and filled nearly the entire vial. The energy was intense, and there was no doubt, it was the rest of the dust from the jewel.

“Good job, Suikotsu.” He handed him a wad of Yen.

“Thank you, Naraku. Did you need me to do anything else for you?”

“Not right now. I must head to my lab and form the jewel from the dust now. Keep watch on her, and make sure no one else enters this room.” Naraku exited.

He slipped the vial into his pocket and walked down the hall. Suikotsu eyed Kagome as she slept. He checked her skin and determined that it was healing nicely. He updated her chart, and then left the room. He closed the door, and set the sign to “Quarantine Zone” to throw anyone off the scent of who was inside the room. He then went about his business and made his rounds with his official patients.

Inuyasha reached the hospital grounds and caught Naraku's scent. “She's here!”

He casually walked through the entrance and past the receptionist. He took a look at the map toward the back of the lobby and made note of the floors of the patient rooms. He took the next elevator up to the third floor. Once there, he followed the signs off to the right leading him into the inpatient rooms. He searched for her scent as he just casually walked down the halls, with his hands at his side. So far, no familiar scents. He went up to the fourth floor. That was when he caught Naraku's scent. He walked around a corner, and saw a room that said, “Quarantine Zone.” He leaned up against the door and checked the scent. Kagome's scent was not on the door, neither was Naraku's.

He put his ear to the door to listen inside when a nurse stepped up and said, “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Uh, I'm looking for someone who's recovering from surgery. I was told she was on this floor.”

“What's the name?”

“Higurashi. Higurashi Kagome.”

The nurse looked through the computer lists. After a moment of searching, she said, “No, I don't recognize that name.”

“She's here, I know it. She had some sort of skin surgery, real bad disfigurement.”

“We do surgeries like that here periodically, but we haven't had any on the schedule for a while.”

“Who's the lead surgeon on those surgeries?”

“I cannot disclose that information.”

“Why's that?”

“Patient confidentiality, and anything leading to further information with the media.”

“I see. Thanks, anyway.” He left the floor and the hospital.

He walked across the street to the building facing the area of the hospital with the windows leading into the patient suites. He climbed the brick columns between the windows until he reached four floors up, and settled against the building on the ledge to look into the windows. He checked each window, and one caught his eye. There he saw the back of that minion, Igongoro. He couldn't see the bed, but knew it was him. He dropped to the ground and ran across the street. He scaled the outside walls to that window and sliced through the glass. Igongoro fell to the ground from the ledge he was sitting on and fell onto the shards of glass on the floor.

“Kagome!” He ran to her side and looked at her face. Her skin was raw, her eyebrows gone. All her hair was gone. He dropped to his knees and tears fell from his eyes. “No…”

She did not stir, it was as if she was in a coma. He couldn't take his eyes off her marred face. He looked at her arms and hands. Her fair, soft skin was gone. He had removed all her outer layer, and exposed her to the elements. If Inuyasha so much as touched her, she'd be infected, and could possibly die.

“Kagome,” He said aloud, repeatedly to try and wake her up.

Soon, her eyes opened slightly. “Inu-yasha?”

“Yes, it's me. My God, Kagome. You're still alive.”

“I'm in so much pain.”

“Yes, I can see why.”

“Can you help me?”

“I can't. I can't touch you.”

Her eyes opened wider to look upon his teary eyes. “Why are you crying?”

“You… Your skin, it's gone, and so is your beautiful black hair. Oh, Kagome…” He reached toward her, and stopped himself from touching her.

She did the same with her right hand, coming within an inch, but not touching.

“What's going to happen?”

“I'm going to get Naraku, that's what. Your story will not go unnoticed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I've gone to the media, that's how I found you. A reporter gave me a list. Looks like I will have to get back into contact with her again. What happened to you will not be swept under the rug. Oh, Kagome…I promise, I'll come back for you. But first, I will help you once more, just sit tight.”

He leapt through the window and made his way to the emergency entrance and entered. He walked down the halls and followed the signs toward Phlebotomy. He entered the small office to bump into a man in green scrubs.

“Inu?”

“Akitoki?”

They hugged for a moment, patting each other on the back. “What are you doing here, Inu?”

He put his arm around Akitoki's shoulders and walked him out into the hallway. “You're working in Phlebotomy?”

“Yes, why?”

“I need a favor, it's for a girl who's quarantined in this hospital, on the fourth floor.”

“What favor is that?”

“I need to donate blood to her.”

“Ooo…That can be risky if you do that without doctor's orders.”

“Oh, it's not a problem. See, she's blood type B+ and I'm O+.”

“What's the patient's name? I'll have to verify it.”

“She's not listed under her name, she's probably not listed at all.”

“Now, why would that be?”

“You busy?” Inuyasha looked down both sides of the hall.

“No, I was about to go on lunch.”

“Come with me.” He pulled his arm toward the entrance and outside.

“Where are we going?”

Inuyasha just leapt up to the fourth floor with Akitoki's arm in his hand. He landed effortlessly on the floor in the room. He saw the woman lying in the bed with no skin. He gasped at the sight.

“She's the patient. Kagome Higurashi. She's a victim of an un-scheduled skin extraction.”

“What?” He lifted the blanket and saw she had no outer layer of skin. “This is horrific!”

“Yeah, she needs my blood.”

“And why is that?” He lowered the blanket and looked over at Inuyasha.

“Please do not disclose what you're about to see, but this should be enough verification as to why.” He took off the bandana and revealed his ears.

Akitoki gasped. “What are you?”

“I am half human, half dog spirit. My spirit blood will give her the means to heal quickly, and completely, but this needs to be done right.” He tied the bandana back onto his head.

“I see. Okay, I'll help you out.”

They leapt out the window together, and landed on the ground outside. “Let me go in and get some supplies, and we'll do this. I'll be right back.”

Inuyasha looked up and saw Igongoro had woken up. He leapt up back into the room, grabbed Igongoro, and leapt out the window. Once on the ground, he leapt out of sight and slammed the minion against the wall. He shook his head awake. Inuyasha stood over him as he looked up from his position on the ground.

“Inuyasha, you're still alive! How?”

“You think that measly dominatrix could kill me? What a laugh.”

“So, how did you escape? Did you kill her?”

“No, but she was wounded in body and spirit. Now, you, on the other hand, you won't be so lucky.”

He grabbed the demon by the neck, cracked his knuckles, and readied his claws to strike.

“No! Don't do it!”

“Why not?”

“Y-you want Naraku killed, right?”

“What's it to ya?”

“I know where he is. You can't save your Kagome from her fate, but you can stop Naraku before he ingests the fully restored jewel. After he ingests it, it's all over.”

“All right, tell me.”

“He's back at the old factory.”

“The one on Hashima? I already figured that much.”

“No, there's something you need to know. He's not in the building, there's a secret passageway, and I'm your only hope of getting to him through that secret passageway. Only he and I know where it is, and there's a code needed to open the doors. If you kill me, you won't stand a chance.”

Inuyasha thought about what he said a moment, and then lowered his clawed hand. “All right, but you're not leaving my side. If you run, you're dead, you understand?” He cracked his knuckles.

“Yes, I understand.”

Inuyasha knocked his head against the wall to knock him out again. At that moment, Akitoki arrived with the equipment needed to procure his blood. He set up the bag with the tubing and then opened a sterilization packet. Inuyasha sat down and tied a tourniquet on his left arm above the elbow. He flexed his muscles to raise the main vein. Akitoki sterilized the area and inserted the needle. Within a millisecond, the tube filled with his blood and it flowed into the packet.

“How many do you think you'll need to give?”

“One packet should do.”

“Your pressure is amazing. The bag is already almost full.”

Once the bag was filled completely, they removed the tourniquet and the needle. He was about to hand him a band aid, but just after he opened the packet, the site was healed already.

“I don't need that.”

“I see that. That's pretty amazing!”

“Yeah, whatever. Anyways, let's get this into her bloodstream so she can heal.”

They leapt up back into the room and inserted the new needle into her port, and hung the bag up on the stand. They patiently watched as the blood bag slowly emptied. Akitoki raised his cell phone and took a picture of Kagome before the blood started to take effect.

He looked to Inuyasha. “For your story. You can give it to the reporter.”

“Thank you.”

“I don't like that this research hospital was in on those conspiracies. I'll stand with you.”

“Better think about finding a new job, though. Here's a list of the hospitals involved in that.”

Within minutes, her color began to return. Akitoki was amazed at the healing properties the blood was giving her. After about twenty minutes, she was mostly healed.

“It looks like she'll be ready to move within an hour or two!” Akitoki said excitedly.

“Yeah, thank goodness.” He smiled. His love was saved.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling outside the window. He turned to Akitoki and said, “Watch over her and then head back to your office. Don't mention a word of this to anyone, and don't draw attention to yourself.”

“You have my word.”

Inuyasha leapt out the window, and sure enough, Igongoro woke from his stupor. “What on earth have you done to me?”

“You ready to go now?”

“Huh?” He looked Inuyasha in the eye, but before he knew it, Inuyasha had grabbed his arm and leapt off with him toward Hashima Island.