InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inuyasha's Love and Kagome's pain ❯ Kagome’s Choice ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter 14- Kagome's Choice

I would like to dedicate this chapter to InuDemonGirl because she left the best review ever! I would also like to thank Inu Faceness because she also left a great review and because she is cool. You guys are the best. Oh and I am VERY happy to say that I got over 100 reviews on ff.net!! YAY! You have no idea how happy that makes me. It was Echo that left the 100th review, so thank you too! Well on with the story. I know you are all dying to see what happens next!

*Last time…

Kagome was running, trying desperately to find a hole in the barrier to get out. She didn't have enough energy to make one herself. Then out of nowhere, the barrier fell. She didn't know why and she didn't care. She ran faster than before, out into the forest trying to get away from Nakazo, who seemed to be gaining on her from the sound of it. She was so close to getting away and she wouldn't look back because if she did she might not make it.

Kagome was alone but she wouldn't let Nakazo win. With blood dripping from her body in several places she ran and did not stop.*

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Kagome ran as fast as she could despite the pain she was in. She seemed to have a only a small lead on Nakazo now. Kagome stopped abruptly when a knife flew past her head. 'Traps?' she wondered. 'Great - one more thing to worry about' she thought sadly.

Nakazo knew where all the traps were and was able to avoid them easily. He had lost time because he was injured and because her scent was covered well. Even though Kagome was making it hard on him, Nakazo was still not far behind her. He did not intend to stop until he killed her. 'If she will not help me then she will die' he thought darkly.

Kagome was having trouble avoiding the traps, but she was doing ok. Her wounds were slowing her slightly, but she was still moving far faster then a normal human would have been able to.

As Kagome got farther away from the hut and the broken barrier, she saw less and less traps. 'I can't give up now. I am so close to getting away!' she told herself, hoping to gain more strength.

Suddenly, Kagome slowed a bit. She heard something unusual. It sounded like humming, a little girl humming. Oddly, it sounded to Kagome like Sesshoumaru's charge, Rin. As she got closer, she saw that it was indeed Rin who was humming - humming and picking flowers happily. 'That must mean that Sesshoumaru is near by, but I don't see him,' Kagome thought worriedly. As she moved closer, she could see that Jaken was not far behind Rin. He appeared very bored while leaning on a tree. When he heard Kagome running toward them, Jaken looked up at her. He quickly jumped in front of Rin, as if to protect her.

'Sesshoumaru must not be nearby if Jaken is acting that way. Oh no, that means Rin could be in danger if Nakazo sees her.' Thinking quickly, before Jaken could even speak, Kagome changed directions and ran the other way. 'I will lead him away from them,' she thought worriedly. Though Sesshoumaru was still her enemy, Rin was not. Kagome and Inuyasha had not even fought with Sesshoumaru in a long while. He didn't seem to care about them either way, as if they were mere bugs - a minor annoyance.

Kagome continued to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction of Rin and Jaken, until she heard the girl scream from behind her. 'Oh no.' She stopped running and looked back to where she had left the two. Kagome could faintly hear Jaken crying, "Put her down! Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you for this!"

At his words, Kagome's stomach felt as if it had just taken a plunge off a tall building, leaving her behind. 'He has Rin, ' she thought worriedly. Kagome veered once again and ran back towards the young girl. What she saw when she got there upset her greatly. Nakazo was holding Rin by her neck. She seemed to be in pain and Kagome could already see bruises forming there. Jaken was trying to free her from Nakazo's grasp, screaming the whole time about how his lord would make Nakazo pay.

"Ah, Kagome. I see you have come to join in our fun." Nakazo had a wicked smile on his face, as if he knew he had just beaten her.

"Let her go, Nakazo! Do you even know who that is? That is Sesshoumaru's charge. When he finds out what you are doing he will kill you for sure!" Kagome yelled, without fear for herself.

"I know very well who she is, and it doesn't matter. Sesshoumaru cannot hurt me." He laughed as Jaken tried to attack him. He flicked Jaken away as if he were no more than an annoying insect.

"How dare you speak of my Lord that way?! You cannot hurt the great Sesshoumaru! He will kill you for sure," Jaken yelled. He was angered but the way Nakazo was talking about the great Sesshoumaru. And ever more upset by his treatment of Rin 'Lord Sesshoumaru will kill me for sure if I don't save her!'

"I do not care about your lord," Nakazo stated coldly, looking at the small demon. Then he turned back to Kagome and smiled. "Make a choice, Kagome." His smile once again became the wicked one he held earlier that stated clearly, 'I have already won'.

"Let her go, Nakazo. It's me you want."

"Oh? So then you will come with me to kill Naraku?" Nakazo asked with a smirk.

"Never!" she yelled hotly.

"Either you give your Shikon shards to me and agree to help me, or she dies. Choose now." Nakazo knew he had her now. 'She will not let the girl suffer for her. She is mine now'

Kagome didn't know what to do. She was hurt and tired. She was alone, and she knew that she couldn't stop Nakazo on her own. 'I can't let him hurt her.'

"Do you think I am stupid?" Kagome decided to keep Nakazo talking, while she tried to think of what to do. Nakazo's evil grin faded slightly. "I know that once I kill Naraku, you won't just let me leave. What is it you plan to do once he is dead?" Kagome asked with bravado.

Nakazo laughed grotesquely. "You are right. I won't let you go once he is dead. I will kill you. Then I will use the jewel to increase my power so that no one will be able to stop me again. I will be the strongest demon to ever live!" He grinned, increasing his grip on Rin's neck. "But. if you do not help me." he then lifted Rin off the ground by her throat, "she will die. Can you live knowing she died for you?" Nakazo watched Kagome closely.

"You make me sick! I will never give you the jewel!" Kagome shouted.

"Very well then, she dies." He drew a sword from the belt on his hip with his right hand, while still holding Rin with his left.

"NO!!" Kagome screamed loudly.

"Then make your choice. Give me the 2 shards you have, and agree to help me, or she dies horribly and I will still take your shards. Either way I win. CHOOSE!" Nakazo yelled, sure he already knew her answer.

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Inuyasha and company had finally made it to the hut, only to find that Kagome was not there. "SHIT!" Inuyasha yelled, since he smelled her blood everywhere.

Kouga looked around sadly at all the blood and knew most of it was Kagome's. "She must be hurt badly, but it looks like she tried to get away," Kouga stated, then put an arm around Ayame who appeared very upset.

Sango held a hand over her mouth at the sight of blood all over the outside of the hut and some inside as well. Miroku held her tight. "We have to find her now!" Sango yelled, sounding heartbroken and fearing the worst. 'All this blood' she thought. Can Kagome still live?'

They heard a noise not far from the hut entrance and saw a woman attempting to stand up next to a large rock. She seemed hurt, but not badly. Miroku looked at her with hatred. He knew who she was.

"You are the one that bound Kagome's powers! You are with Nakazo. Where is he and what happened to Kagome?" Miroku asked in a demanding voice. Sango was somewhat surprised by the strength he seemed to possess.

Yuma looked up at them unhappily. She knew what had occurred, but did not know whether she should tell them or make a break for it. She decided that it couldn't hurt to tell them. "Kagome would not help Nakazo. I was unable to keep her tainted for long. Nakazo was not happy with this and tried to kill her. He gouged her back with his claws and hurt her pretty badly. Kagome was able to remove the binding spell somehow, though she hurt herself in the process. After she removed the spell, she hit us with her powers and ran off - that way." She pointed out the direction Kagome and Nakazo had gone. "They did not leave here long ago; if you hurry, you should be able to catch up with them." Yuma's tone of voice was so flat that she might have been telling them how to cook fish. She no longer seemed to care what happened one way or the other.

Inuyasha didn't know if he should stay there and take the time to kill the one who took Kagome away in the first place, or go after Kagome and Nakazo. He decided he would do both, but killing Yuma could wait. "You will die for hurting Kagome," he said darkly.

"That may be so, but it won't be by your hands. Or at least not today." She smiled slightly, and then crossed her arms over her chest and began chanting something. Inuyasha ran toward her to attack, but was thrown back by a blast of power and when he looked up, she was gone. "Damn, she got away."

Sango looked worried. "Do we trust what she said and go that way?" she asked, while holding her bleeding side.

"We don't have to trust her. Inuyasha and I can follow her scent. I can smell her blood coming from the direction she pointed," Kouga said, sounding stern and worried. He no longer seemed to want to fight with Inuyasha. He only wanted to help Kagome and kill Nakazo.

"Let's go!" Inuyasha yelled, and they all ran toward Kagome's scent. 'We are coming, Kagome, just hang on.'

Yuma watched the group from high in a tree at a safe distance away. She had covered her scent and was watching with interest. 'I wonder if she was able to get away from Nakazo. If not, then she may already be dead. Nakazo will not be happy with me for letting her get away. Maybe I should hide out for a bit until he has calmed down.' She jumped down from the tree and fled.

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Kagome wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she couldn't let Rin be killed. "Fine," she said coldly. "But you let her go first. You have my word I will help you."

"Give me your shards, and I will let her go," Nakazo said, confident that she had no other choice in the end.

Kagome gave him an evil glare, that would have scared even the strongest men, but it didn't faze Nakazo. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. Kagome took off her necklace and threw it at his feet.

Nakazo dropped Rin hard on the ground. She clutched her throat and coughed loudly. Jaken ran to her side, turned looking back at Kagome, who had just offered her life for Rin's, then turned toward Nakazo. "Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you f…" Jaken never got to finish his sentence. Nakazo raised his sword and stabbed him through the heart. As Jaken fell to the ground, Rin cried out with so much pain in her voice that Kagome's heart ached.

"How could you?! I told you I would help you!" Kagome yelled at Nakazo. Though she hadn't liked Jaken much, she didn't want him to be killed. Rin appeared to care for him a great deal.

"I told you I would not hurt the girl if you helped me. I said nothing about HIM." Nakazo pointed to the now dead servant of Sesshoumaru. Nakazo laughed nastily, then picked up the jar with the shards in it and moved toward Kagome, ignoring the crying girl at his feet. Kagome looked sick.

Kagome lifted her hand toward Nakazo. 'I will kill him if it's the last thing I do,' Kagome thought. She was ready to release more of her miko powers on him. Though she hadn't been able to stop him previously, it seemed as if she had done some damage. He did look hurt and he was bleeding.

Kagome sent out her powers toward him hoping that he would be killed or at least hurt badly. This time he seemed to know what she was doing. He moved so fast that Kagome only saw a blur and then felt him holding her tightly from behind. "Now, now little miko. You wouldn't want me to kill the girl, now would you?" He looked toward Rin, who couldn't seem to breathe because of her choked sobs.

Kagome shook her head. "No. Leave her alone. I said I would come with you and I will," Her cold voice sounded more like Kikyo's than her own. That thought scared her somewhat, but she let it pass.

Nakazo smiled. He was in pain from her earlier attack, but he recover quickly. 'I must attack Naraku soon or she may not survive until the battle with all of her injuries. All she has to do is hit him with her arrows, and I'll be able to take care of the rest' He grinned evilly, then threw back his head. Roaring his laughter to the skies.

Rin looked up at them threw her tears. "Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you for this!!" Rin shouted, finishing Jaken's last sentence for him. Kagome was surprised by this, but only looked on sadly as Nakazo held her in place.

Suddenly Nakazo turned back in the direction of the hut. "Damn," he growled, looking unhappy.

Kagome smiled. She could smell it also. It was Inuyasha and all her friends. They were coming for her and they were close too. "INUYASHA!!!!" She shouted as loudly as she could. Rin turned to look, but said nothing.

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Inuyasha could smell Kagome and Nakazo. They were close, so close. He was almost there and then he heard her. "INUYASHA!!!!" Everyone seemed to move faster hearing this. Inuyasha called back, worried for her. "KAGOME!!"

Kouga moved faster than the rest now, trying to get to her as quickly as he could. For once Inuyasha didn't seem to mind his eagerness to help Kagome. Inuyasha didn't care how she was saved at this point, as long as she was ok. Kouga no longer wanted to win Kagome's heart, but the thought of her being hurt was too much for him. He ran, knowing Inuyasha didn't mind it this time. He just hoped that they were in time. Kagome sounded scared and the smell of blood was overpowering.

Sango held her side in pain while running, though she was past caring about the pain. They were so close; they couldn't lose Kagome now. She looked ahead. In the distance, she was now able to see Kagome, and was shocked to see Rin there as well. As she got closer, Sango could see that Rin was covered in blood, as were Kagome and Nakazo. The scene in front of her was something out of one of her worst nightmares. She cried out for Kagome as Inuyasha had, and moved as rapidly as she could. Miroku was right beside her and his strength helped keep her going.

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Kagome heard Inuyasha call out her name, with Sango shortly thereafter. As they got closer, Kagome could see Kouga was in the lead by a short distance. He ran toward them, trying to free Kagome from Nakazo's grasp.

Kouga charged at Nakazo, who merely jumped away, taking Kagome with him. He threw a blast of dark energy at Kouga and sent him flying back. Inuyasha, directly behind Kouga, caught him and stood him up "You alright?" he asked quickly. Kouga nodded, and they both turned to Nakazo.

Kagome might have thought that Kouga and Inuyasha working together without fighting was odd, had it not been for the fact that she was in too much pain to think. The wounds on her back were still bleeding and the more Nakazo jumped with her in his arms the worse they became. She would not last much longer if she didn't stop the bleeding. Everything was starting to fade in and out.

"Let her go now!!" Inuyasha yelled while holding Tetsusaiga tightly. "I will kill you for hurting Kagome!" He saw that she was not just bleeding, but that she was covered with blood. Nakazo also looked to be hurt, most likely from Kagome's attack, but looking at the ground quickly Inuyasha saw that some of the blood on Nakazo and all of the blood that seemed to be on Rin was Jaken's. He first noticed Rin then, as well. He could tell Jaken was dead, and he knew his brother would not take this lightly.

"I will do no such thing." Nakazo snickered at them, then moved back slightly. Inuyasha quickly moved forward to stop him from getting away. "Kagome is mine, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Inuyasha ran at Nakazo as Kouga had done, except that when Nakazo tried to attack Inuyasha with his dark energy, Inuyasha used Tetsusaiga's sheath to block the attack.

Inuyasha smiled as he managed to avoid the attack and then moved in to attack Nakazo with his sword and free Kagome. But as he approached, Inuyasha was knocked away hard by a barrier. "INUYAHSA!" Kagome yelled as he was thrown away.

Nakazo laughed. "It won't be that easy to kill me, hanyou." Nakazo started to rise off the ground with Kagome in his arms. "You can't stop me." He smiled nastily, and prepared to send a much bigger blast of power at Inuyasha. Kagome saw this and even though she was in a great deal of pain, she knew she could not let Inuyasha be hurt.

Kagome had previously noticed that Nakazo had both his long sword and a short sword at his side at all times. Without giving it moment's thought, since Nakazo was already distracted, Kagome grabbed the short sword from its sheath and stabbed him in the shoulder, sending purifying power through it as well. Nakazo dropped Kagome and held his shoulder in pain. "YOU BITCH!" he yelled at her angrily.

Kagome winced in pain as she fell, but she never hit the ground. Inuyasha caught her and looked into her eyes for a moment. He wanted to hold her and never let go, but he had to fight now. He placed Kagome on the ground softly and turned to Nakazo, who was ready to fight to the death, regardless of his wounds. Everyone prepared to fight with everything they had.

Isane looked at Nakazo with hate in his eyes, but he said nothing. He stood near Miroku ready to protect Kagome.

"You will pay for this! If I cannot kill you little miko, then I will take the lives of all those that you love! I will make you pay! I don't care how long it takes, you will pay!" Nakazo was glowing with dark power. "You don't have any idea what I am capable of!" Inuyasha hit Nakazo's barrier with his sword as he yelled, but it didn't break the barrier.

Miroku watched the battle at hand. Sango ran to Kagome's side to help her. "His power seems to increase the angrier he gets. Watch out Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, looking serious.

"Are you ok?" Sango asked Kagome as she helped her stand.

"I will be now that all of you are here." Kagome smiled despite the pain, holding onto Sango, who hugged her back, nearly forgetting the battle going on close by. Sango was so relieved to see Kagome that she seemed to forget her own pain. They both turned to look at Inuyasha, Kouga by his side. Ayame was with Miroku and Isane nearby ready to fight with them.

"You can not beat me!" Nakazo spat at them darkly.

Miroku now stood in front of the others. "I will not let you get away with what you have done to Kagome! You will not get away!" Miroku held up his hand and was about to use his Kazaana when Nakazo laughed and held up the jar with the jewel shards.

"Suck me into that hole in your hand monk, and you will never complete the jewel!" Nakazo smiled craftily.

"Damn, I can't use my Kazaana if he has the shards." Miroku put his hand down and looked up at Nakazo.

"You can never kill me. You do not know what you are dealing with. You will all die!" Nakazo proclaimed, then threw a blast of dark power at them.

Everyone ran to hide from the blast, and fortunately, no one was hit by it. Nakazo then laughed loudly, opened his arms wide, and, from within his body, hundreds of demons emerged.

"Shit!" Inuyasha was not happy about this.

Inuyasha and Kouga immediately moved toward the demons, in hopes of keeping the others safe. Miroku and Isane were not far behind them. They stood in front of all three women, who were clustered together. Ayame positioned herself in front of Kagome and Sango, because she knew they were too hurt to fight.

Rin had grabbed Jaken and dragged him to the side during Nakazo's earlier attack. She wanted to keep him safe, even if he was dead. She watched them, while holding on to Jaken tightly. They seemed to have forgotten about her completely.

Inuyasha began to attack as the demons came closer to him. "Kaze no Kizu!!!" he shouted, and commenced killing the demons, but the supply seemed never ending.

Kouga leapt into the air, kicking and punching as many demons as he could get to without interfering with Inuyasha's attacks. Kouga turned toward Inuyasha and saw a rather large demon closing in on Inuyasha fast from the side. Inuyasha turned toward the demon, but couldn't move quickly enough. Kouga could see that Inuyasha was going to be hit by it. Kouga jumped into the air, and pushed Inuyasha to the ground, just before the snakelike demon hit him. Inuyasha looked at Kouga for a second, and then said quickly, "there are too many of them." They turned to see still more demons coming at them. Miroku and Ayame were fighting behind them to protect Kagome and Sango. Both Kagome and Sango were in too much pain to give much help in the fight against the demons. Sango was using her Hiraikotsu whenever absolutely necessary, but the use of her weapon left her drastically enervated. Isane was now in his panther form attacking demons beside Kirara in the air.

Kagome wanted to help, but she had neither bow nor arrows. Kagome wasn't sure she could use them anyway, with her hand the way it was. She noticed now that Sango was in great pain. "Sango, are you ok?" Kagome asked, worriedly.

"I will be fine, Kagome. Don't worry," Sango said, hoping that it was the truth. Miroku, listening, didn't seem to believe her, and he decided that he had to kill the demons more quickly, so he could help Sango.

"Stand back! I am going to use my Kazaana on them. Nakazo may have the jewel shards, but they don't!" Miroku yelled, pushing Ayame behind him. Inuyasha and Kouga moved out of the way, so Miroku could take care of the demons.

"KAZAANA!!" he yelled, sucking in as many demons as he could, before Nakazo jumped in the way, holding up the small jar with the jewel shards in it. Miroku closed his Kazaana right away, so that he wouldn't suck in the jewel shards. "Damn, Inuyasha, you will have to take care of the rest," Miroku stated, looking unhappy.

"Not a problem!" Inuyasha said. He was grinning for the first time since Kagome had been taken from him, though it was an evil looking grin. Kouga was by his side, helping to kill the remaining demons.

As they fought, Nakazo sent out more demons to kill them, but there seemed to be less this time. A very ugly demon managed to get behind Kagome and Sango and was about to kill them both when Ayame turned around and whipped razor sharp leaves at the demon. It fell to the ground dead, and she turned to Kagome and asked, "Are you ok?"

Kagome nodded, and continued to watch the fight that she could not join. Now Sango was openly showing how hurt she was. She could barely stand anymore, so Kagome and Sango were using each other as props. Holding each other up and hoping they would not fall to the ground, they watched as Inuyasha used Tetsusaiga on the last of the demons.

Isane and Kirara landed near Sango and Kagome and Isane turned back into his human form. "Are you both all right?"

They nodded and turned to watch Nakazo.

Inuyasha looked up at Nakazo, who was still floating above them, with a barrier around himself. He looked so much like Naraku at that moment. Nakazo looked unhappy, but unfortunately, he did not look scared in the least.

"This fight is far from over, but it will have to wait for another day." Nakazo said in a dark tone. Then he threw another blast of black energy at them. They all ran as they had before, but this time when they looked up, he was gone.

Isane looked on sadly. "He got away," he stated unhappily. "But we now have Kagome back with us, we will find him again soon. He can't have gotten far." He turned to Kagome and Sango, and watched as Inuyasha ran to them.

Inuyasha had only been hurt a bit from the demons, but he did seem tired. "Kagome, are you alright??" He sounded scared and she could tell that he was. She hugged him as tightly as she could, without hurting herself farther.

"My back…it's bleeding badly and my hand…" She looked at her hand sadly. It hurt and she was afraid that it would scar; she might not be able to use her bow and arrows right away either. "But I am alright, now that you are with me." She smiled weakly and held him tightly.

"Thank god," he said, then gave her a kiss on the lips, not caring who saw them. He didn't ever want to let go of her again.

Rin watched them from a distance, still holding onto Jaken's dead body. 'At least Kagome will be all right,' she thought distantly. She was now carrying his body, although he was too heavy for her, she did not care. She had to find Sesshoumaru.

The group all surrounded Inuyasha and Kagome. They were all so happy that Kagome was all right. None of them wanted to even think about the fact that the jewel shards were now gone. Miroku held Sango and smiled as he watched Inuyasha and Kagome happily.

"Come on, we need to stop the bleeding," Kouga said, with no sign of wanting to start a fight over the scene before him. This made Ayame happy, and her smile brightened. Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha let her go for the moment.

Inuyasha looked back to where Nakazo had stood a short while ago, and said in a venomous voice, "Nakazo was right, this fight is far from over."

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Well that chapter 14 and it was a hard one for me to write for some reason so tell me if you liked it because I am not sure about the ending of this chapter. Well this story is not over yet and there is still a big fight to look forward to! See ya soon!

Thanks to Bonnie 217 as always.