InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kagome: Enter the Hanyou ❯ Blood ( Chapter 2 )

Kagome: Enter the Hanyou

Chapter 2

The wind raged, whipping Kagome's hair back into her face. It made her eyes sting, but she carried on regardless. She was held by a strange desperation to reach Inuyasha, one that even startled herself, but she followed it anyway. The only light that guided her was the moon and the faint glow of the shini-dama-chuu that was a few yards ahead.

She wove through the trees, occasionally stumbling over roots and rocks. The night hid most things from her, and it was only a miracle that she didn't run into a demon that could have easily taken advantage of her helplessness.

After a few minutes of trekking through InuYasha's forest, she heard two voices. While Kagome thought they weren't angry, they didn't sound exactly happy.

“…told you, I don't know where Naraku is!” Inuyasha finished saying. Kikyo stood on the opposite end of the field from him, regarding him with the same indifference that she gave to everyone.

“And neither do I, InuYasha.” She replied. InuYasha looked back at her; she seemed much closer—physically—than their normal encounters. She took InuYasha's shock to move closer.  

“Naraku doesn't matter.” She said arm's length from him. “Have you thought of coming to hell with me yet?” She stopped and looked up at him. Kagome sucked in a breath. What if he said “Yes”?

“I-I-…” he stuttered, obviously flustered. In all honesty, he hadn't given it any thought. I had sworn… Before he could answer, a tremendous roar shook the ground and something—a panther demon—leaped out of the bushes on the opposite end of the clearing.

“Ah, the Son of Taisho, I have found you at last.” It growled out, glaring harshly at the hanyou. “Now I can finally get my vengeance for what your father had done to my tribe.”

InuYasha lifted his sword to hover in front of Kikyo, protecting her form anything the panther demon could do. But Kikyo had other plans.

 

She glared at the demon, summoning her shini-dama-chuu. The serpentine demons heeded her call, converging in front of her. They struck, binding the panther demon back into a tree. It roared out in pain, blood raining down on the ground.

The shini-dama-chuu released him, making him fall down in a heap.

“This…bitch…is too strong for me.” It panted. Another scent crossed his nose, and he growled happily. “But the other bitch isn't.” He bounded away, leaving a very confused and angry hanyou in his wake.

“What the hell did he mean?” but then it snapped, but then he heard a scream and ran after the demon. Kagome!

<<<>>>

The demon had come up on her in surprise. She had been too focused on InuYasha's safety that she didn't notice the giant cat demon above her. His claws raking down and split open the skin of her arm open, spraying blood everywhere.

Kagome screamed and fell back, landing on the ground with a hard `UMPH'. Her arms stung, but the worst of her problems was hovering over her, grinning like a deranged madman (Kinda like Jess when she stalks =_=).

His claws entered her stomach, tearing skin and sinew. Blood was everywhere, coating his hands and dripping down her sides. Kagome screamed in cried out in agony. Where was Inuyasha? Why wasn't he saving her? Had he abandoned her? Her thoughts were broken by a howl of pain coming directly above her.

 

Kagome opened her eyes to meet Inuyasha's dark golden gaze. His claws were buried deep inside the panther demon's neck, gore and blood seeping down onto Kagome's body. She was in shock—her blood was still pooling down her sides.

 

InuYasha pushed the body down. Blood stained his claws, but he ignored them for now. The scent of Kagome's blood filled his nostrils, making him weep in fear. Was she going to be okay?

 

“Kagome?” He shook her slightly, desperation filling his voice. “Kagome! Oh god, Kagome…” he howled out, tears dripping down to mix with the blood. He lifted his ears to her chest. Her chest rose and fell; she was still breathing.

 

He moved over to her heart, elation filling up inside of him when he heard her heartbeat. The happiness only lasted so long when he heard it slowing down.

 

“Kagome! Can you hear me?” He shook her harder. When she didn't answer, he sighed and pulled her down to nuzzle her blood-drenched neck. Her pulse was weakening, something that raised a red flag in his head.

 

“Kagome, I'm gonna take you to Kaede's. The hag should have something to help you…” he told her, not sure if she could understand anything he was saying. Her eyes looked lifeless, staring up at him. He sighed desperately and gathered her in his arms.

 

Her blood seeped down her arms to drench his haori and hakama. He winced at the strong smell of her blood on him, and took off; sticking to the ground to make sure he wouldn't make any of her injuries worse.

 

It was hard to sense anything around him. Kagome's scent was too strong and it blocked out anything else. Once or twice he had to rely on sight to get back to the edge of the forest. The demons, thankfully, seemed to be quiet for tonight, giving him clear passage to the village. He looked back down at Kagome.

 

Her lifeblood was flowing down her body, dripping down on the ground to splatter on his feet. Alarmed, he picked up his pace. It would be a miracle if he got her back without having her die of blood loss.

 

When the village came into view, he was caked in dry blood, most of it Kagome's. The moon was high above in the sky, sending flashes of moonlight to etch across the ground at InuYasha's feet.

 

Throughout the whole trip, he had muttering prayers to whatever gods would listen to a worthless hanyou like him to spare her life. She needed to live…for him. His eyes softened. He…liked her. Maybe even loved her. He didn't want her to die. It was his own fault that this happened.

 

Villagers gasped and screamed as InuYasha ran through the village. The sight must have been frightening, he was sure. His hair clung to his face, hard with blood. Kagome clung to his chest, her blood still dripping silently onto the ground, mingling with the earth.

 

Apparently someone had called Kaede, because she had appeared on the shrine stairs, limping down as fast as her old body would allow. One look at Kagome and she gasped, finally reaching the two. The red liquid still oozed from Kagome in copious amount, staining the old miko's feet.

 

“Inuyasha! What has happened here?” she exclaimed, reaching in to hold the tattered girl. Inuyasha didn't relinquish her; rather pull her back to his chest. The action caused more blood to seep out, making the hanyou wince.

 

“I…a demon attacked her while we were in the woods. I…I couldn't get to her in time.” The memory would be forever burned into his mind; the panther demon, standing over her with blood drenched claws…Kagome, the life leaving her eyes…it was enough to make him shake and cry. He had failed the only one he had loved…

 

Kaede sensed the underlying sadness in his voice. The shame and the guilt that coupled it in the brief explanation. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she eyed the claw marks raking down Kagome's body. `Did Inuyasha to this to the poor child?' She questioned to herself, not daring to voice her suspicion. If he had attacked the child, than he could be set off again easily.

 

Inuyasha seemed to sense the accusation in her eyes as she took in the sight of the miko in his arms. His claws were stained with the panther demon's blood, but humans couldn't tell the difference. He knew that she thought he had been the one to do it; he had seen that look before, many years ago when he was living with his mother. Every time something had gone wrong in his mother's court, the others were swift to blame the hanyou.

 

“Look, hag.” InuYasha growled out, his voice low and dangerous. It was slightly husky from the sadness that was still the dominant emotion, but as fierce and feral as he could muster. His demon seemed to come to his aide, speaking through him at the old crone. “I didn't do it. I wouldn't do it. She is mine to protect, and I would not damage what is mine.” Kaede flinched slightly. She knew better than to test Inuyasha right now when he was angry, so she turned to back to the miko I his arms.

 

“Inuyasha.” She had said, trailing a tear in the sleeve of her strange garment. Underneath it was a pretty big cut, one that would be infected soon if Kaede did nothing about it. “Now is not the time for fighting. Kagome is in mortal peril, and she must be attended to immediately.” Kaede visibly relaxed when she saw that InuYasha stopped glaring at her and turned back to the shrine steps.

 

His noise of indignation was just a sound in the wind when he jumped—Kagome still in his arms—completely over the shrine steps. He waited impatiently at the tops of the old woman to get up the stairs. Every second that they took was another second of Kagome's life that was slipping away. Kaede finally came up to meet him, guiding him into an empty hut where she conducted all of the town's medical procedures.

 

“Here, lay the child on the futon.” She commanded InuYasha gently. Even if he didn't attack Kagome, he was emotionally vulnerable. And Kaede knew from personally fro experience that that could set off a demon even more than rough words and threats at any other time. InuYasha finally parted from Kagome, and for the first time she saw the extent of the damage. The side he had been cradling had been the side she was injured most; deep red welts and cuts ran along her side and stomach. Kaede could not stop the harsh intake of breath from seeing the horrible sight. The once-beautiful miko was marred and ruined.

 

InuYasha's ears swiveled at the sound of Kaede's gasp. He followed her surprised and hurt gaze and nearly gasped himself. She hadn't been that bad when he had first seen her, or was it because he was concentrating on the demon that had gotten its slimy claws on her to actually look at her. `Kagome…' his welled up with tears at the sight at her bruises that ran from her thigh to her face. Did the demon have this much time to damage her in this way? He really had failed her, and now she would never be the same again.

 

“Is there anything you can do to help her?” Inuyasha asked Kaede, his voice only an octave above a whisper. It held the weight of his heavy heart, the guilt that was literally pooling out of his aura. Kaede was taken aback by the immense sadness that she felt from Inuyasha. This was not the same hanyou who had once tried to kill the girl that he was so visibly mourning for right now.

 

“I am trying. It seems that the demo that attacked her had poison in its system. See the way those bruises are green and puffy? The demon held a high potent poison, one of the strength that I have not seen before. It is spreading through her body, and will eventually kill her.” Kaede's voice was low and grim, voicing just how serious this situation was. InuYasha was taken aback; the anguish in his aura only seemed to increase. Kaede held her to Kagome's chest and sighed happily. “At least one thing has gone right; Kagome appears to be breathing right and her heartbeat is still strong. Two signs that the poison has not affected any of her major organs.”

 

InuYasha didn't relax, but the sadness around him disapparated a little. But the change was so slight that Kaede barely noticed it. She looked up at InuYasha, whose eyes were trained on Kagome's body, the blood that Kaede was still trying to stop. She stopped what she was doing—mixing a bowl of herbs—when InuYasha bent down and licked some of Kagome's blood off of her cheek.

 

“Well…there's a way. One that I'm not sure of. I think that flea Myouga told me about it once. Something to do with me transferring my blood into someone else to heal them, used only for the worst. I think this counts though. If we don't…if we don't save Kagome, she's…” His voice trailed away into nothingness, and he looked away. Kaede understood this. She did not want to think of Kagome as deceased just yet. And she knew that she wouldn't believe it even if it as true. She had opened her mouth to comment on this apparently mysterious act of blood transfer when two forms entered the hut.

 

Sango and Miroku stood, panting slightly, at the doorway. Apparently they had run from across the village. Sango looked down at Kagome's tattered form and broke down in tears. Miroku rushed over to comfort her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I…” Sango chocked on her tears, the sobs of despair wracking her body. “We heard from the villagers that…Kagome…was killed….by a demon…I didn't want to believe it. Oh, kami, Kagome!” she slumped down next to her best friend, her sister. Miroku, who was still struggling with his apparently distressing sadness, cleared his throat.

 

“InuYasha…what exactly happened?” The sadness had gripped his voice as well, but he would hold back the tears until he got his answers. Inuyasha didn't answer him yet, turning instead to Sango who was still sobbing over Kagome's bloody body, repeating `oh kami' over and over again like a mantra. He felt his gaze on her and turned her swollen eyes to him.

 

“Sango…did your dad ever tell you about the youkai blood transfer?” he asked quietly, his voice still not much than a strangled whisper. Miroku swallowed his protest at InuYasha's refusal to answer him, now curious as to what Sango's answer would be. The tajiya blinked, apparently taken back by such a question. She turned back to Kagome, whose cuts were still emitting thick blood.

 

“I…I think so; I was taught many things about youkai nature when I was younger. I think that was one of the topics. Why?” she asked at him, her puffy eyes still holding tears from the miko. InuYasha looked down at Kagome.

 

“Do you still remember how to perform one?” his golden gaze was now trained on her with an intensity that Sango had never seen them hold before. It almost made Inuyasha seem like a different person.

 

“Y-yes…” she whispered. InuYasha's grimace relaxed a little bit. She looked at him confusedly, as did Miroku and Kaede.

 

InuYasha's voice was low and dangerous, one that Miroku remember from the poison cocoon-trap. The demon's voice. But nonetheless, his ears caught his reply.

 

“Good. Because we're doing one. I'm gonna save Kagome.”

 

To Be Continued

 

I didn't want to end this quickly, but I wanted to end on a dramatic note. I'm happy to say that this was what I think is the perfect length. Sorry for the dramatic angst, folks, I just love it.