InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kagome's Blood ❯ Kagome's Blood ( Chapter 1 )

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Chapter One

 

Kagome's Blood

 

 

Introductions

(Please remember that this fic was originally posted on AFF in 2004 and I had very little knowledge of the Inuyasha series. Things that now seem redundant or very non-canon were not at the time. Also, I had a previous reviewer complain about copying from the original series. Sorry people. I hadn't read the manga and had only seen the first 18 episodes of the anime. So, any similarities beyond those were a matter of logical progression of internet research on characters. Despite all of that and this having been the first fic that I had ever written, I do hope that you enjoy it. And please thank my wonderful beta, Hellfyrre, for sticking with me in this monumental task of restructuring, editing, beta'ing.)

 

 

 

Inuyasha, his long, silver silken hair brushing the ground, squatted like the dog demon he was. From the shadows of the tree line, triangular ears strained to hear any sounds that would give away an approaching predator. Sharp golden eyes intensely scanned the small beach. There was nothing in the smooth, tan sand to indicate that anything out of the ordinary was present. Ripples, caused by the high, thin waterfall, were undisturbed in their sparkling cycle across the crystal blue lake. Still, the adrenalin rush from the recent battle pounded through his veins, refusing to release him from his wary, protective state.

 

'This forest is too dense for my liking.'

 

His sensitive nose could detect no signs of demons nearby. Though there was one scent that permeated the surroundings. It made his head burn and his stomach painfully twist into knots...Kagome's blood. And, too much of it.

 

'I've got to hurry...' Inuyasha thought with the grim awareness of Kagome's condition.

 

Kagome studied the hanyou while he prowled the beach, his red flared hakama cuffed at the ankles and wide full sleeves concealing the lean figure. Even with his robe off, no one could guess the strength his lithe figure possessed. How she longed for him to hold her in his protective embrace. But, for now, she had to concentrate on getting these wounds clean. Blood was still seeping through her clothing and the wounds could not be tended to until she could inspect them.

 

Inuyasha could feel her gaze burning through the fire rat robe. Barely turning his head so that he could glance at the miko without arousing her suspicions, he could see her loving gaze. His heart clenched as he lowered his chin to his chest. Confused, he bent down and scooped up a handful of the sweet water, tasting it.

 

"Safe," murmured the conflicted hanyou. `How can she trust me when I let her get injured so badly?'

 

He raced toward the glistening waterfall, slicing through the water as though it were air, his thoughts turning to his growing love for Kagome.

 

'Why do I love her so much? How can I return Kagome's love and still honor Kikyou's loyalty? But…Kagome is loyal too.'

 

"I don't have time to think about this right now!" His hands tested the cold rock wall behind the falling water. 'No caves...'

 

'I have never seen Inuyasha be so careful. Still, he needs to hurry. I'm getting too weak. I have to be strong until I can climb onto his back and head for Kaede's. He would never forgive me if I scared him.'

 

`Hurry, Inuyasha!' thought a distressed, fading Kagome.

 

Inuyasha streaked across the beach back to Kagome. Familiar with her typical responses to his offers of help, he asked her with some hesitation,

 

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to Kaede?"

 

The depth of concern showing through his beautiful golden hanyou eyes made her heart flutter. She hated being stern with him, but she couldn't let him know how bad her wounds really were.

 

'I must try to behave as I always have.'

 

"No Inuyasha! What I need is to get this demon filth off of me!" Kagome shouted, putting as much of her usual stubbornness into the declaration as she could muster.

 

'Why is she being so stubborn?! Those wounds are deep. We need Kaede's help!'

 

She could see the worry and frustration in his eyes, but he obediently turned and walked away, giving her his usual huff, knowing that she would "sit" him mercilessly into the ground if he dared watch her bathe.

 

'Thank the gods for Kaede's subjugation beads latched around Inuyasha's neck. He would do whatever he wanted if I couldn't pound him into the ground with one "sit" command,' thought a very relieved Kagome.

 

Bracing herself against the tree she had been sitting under, she struggled to pull herself up into a standing position. Inuyasha had earlier offered to carry her, but she had to make him believe, at least for the moment, that she was not too badly injured. Managing the short distance to the lake was exhausting. Fortunately, Inuyasha had already carried her backpack to the edge of the water. She wasn't certain that she could have borne the weight.

 

'I'm too weak to swim,' she thought while she waded knee deep into the lake. 'This will have to do. Kami! I can't lift my arm enough to get this blouse off. Oh well, the clothes need washing too.'

 

The white blouse of her school uniform had been ripped to shreds on the left side, and now, even the green pleated skirt was so soaked with blood that it dripped from the hemline.

 

With his doglike ears cocked back in Kagome's direction, Inuyasha could hear the unsteady footsteps.

 

'Why does she have to be so freakin' brave and stubborn?! She's always taking care of everyone else and…damn it all to hell!' he inwardly snarled, frustrated with the consequences of Kagome's stubborn nature. That stubbornness would get her killed…and he knew that this might test that theory. It was that knowledge that was driving him to near panic.

 

While examining the lakeshore earlier, he had picked out the perfect tree to use as a hidden observation platform.

 

'She might be able to see these bright red clothes.'

 

Trotting up to the tree and hiding behind the brush, he began removing his robe. He took the robe off and examined it. He grimaced at the scent of her blood. It wasn't that of a rank demon. No, it was the scent of human blood, sickeningly sweet. His shirt was drenched too. As he took it off, he noticed that even his abdomen was wet with smears of her blood. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought that she could…

 

"I don't have time for this!" growled Inuyasha while the bundle of knots in his stomach tightened.

 

He yanked off the pants, his muscular body quickly jumping to the highest branch that would conceal him. Squatting in the crook of the tree and branch, he trained his eyes on Kagome, waiting.

 

Kagome allowed herself to lay back into the water. It was cool, crisp, and refreshing. But the most important side-effect was that it eased the pain. She relaxed, gazing up at the sky, bright with the sun on one side and deep blue on the other.

 

'How could such terrible things exist in a world as beautiful as this?'

 

Her thoughts were drawn to what had happened earlier. Although she knew that Inuyasha would not remember what had transpired, there was no guarantee that their traveling companions, Sango and Miroku, would honor her wishes.

 

'Inuyasha cannot find out! I won't allow it. It would break his heart and the pain might drive him into Kikyou's arms exactly for the express purpose of being dragged into hell.'

 

The water around Kagome had begun to warm with her body heat. The exhaustion she felt seemed to have lessened. She winced as she tried to sit up and gasped at what she saw. The surrounding water had become a red bloody pool.

 

'This won't do. I've got to move to a clear spot and get a good look at these wounds.'

 

She half crawled and half floated out of the area of water muddied with her blood. Ever so slowly, she pulled up her sleeve, wincing as pain shot through her body. The gash in her arm was so deep that the muscle tissue was clearly visible. Twisting to examine her side was even more excruciating.

 

"Oh gods!" she cried in shock.

 

She, herself, had not an inkling of how bad the wounds were. They were clear to the bone and even between the ribs! At least the slashes were clean cut and weren't deep enough to puncture a lung.

 

'Damn!' Multi-colored specks were forming in her vision. 'No! Kami! Not now...' her mind cried out as darkness encroached upon her vision. As she slowly began to slip beneath the water's surface, she attempted to call out to Inuyasha, but couldn't be certain that she had managed to make a sound. Even if she had, would he have been close enough to hear her? And then…she was too tired to think about it anymore.

 

Inuyasha had been watching from his perch in the tree, his gaze so intense that his black pupils threatened to overtake the golden irises.

 

'What is the matter? Why isn't she sitting up?' His fear was about to drive him to her when he saw her rise up out of the water.

 

'Why is she crawling around like that? She's acting awfully weird.'

 

Then, he saw them, the wounds. As she examined them, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kagome was in trouble.

 

'I've never seen her wounded this badly. I've got to do something!'

 

"Damn it all to hell, you stupid wench! I'm going to drag you to Kaede's whether you like it or not! Huh? Kagome..."

 

Just as he turned to jump down from the top of the tree, his highly sensitive ears caught Kagome's weak call. He barely had his hakama on before racing toward Kagome as fast as his hanyou legs could carry him, all the while, his heart beating faster than his footfalls. A tingling lump began to form in his throat as fear had its way with him.

 

“You better not die on me, my little bitch. I'd never forgive you,” muttered Inuyasha, struggling to breathe through the crushing grip of fear that was quickly squeezing his heart as it pounded to break free of his chest.

 

A whirlwind suddenly came screaming out of the forest and before he could think to move to Kagome's side, Kouga had her in his arms, clutching her face to his chest.

 

"Damn him!" muttered Inuyasha under his breath as he approached.

 

"I could smell her blood ten miles away! What have you done to my woman?!" demanded Kouga, anger and hatred clearly evident in his voice.

 

"We don't have time for this Kouga!" Inuyasha growled at the muscular, bronze-skinned, blue-eyed wolf demon.

 

They both looked down at Kagome, her skin pale and cold, barely breathing. Even the color of the Shikon jewel shards, hanging in a clear vial around her neck, was beginning to fade. She looked so…cold, as though she weren't there, only this shell. With a shiver, Inuyasha gently wrapped Kagome's nearly lifeless body in his robe of the fire rat as though it could keep her soul from slipping away.

 

"We have to get her to Kaede fast, this robe will protect her frail human skin,” muttered Inuyasha, his golden eyes worrying over Kagome's body.

 

Kouga just stared at Inuyasha. He had never seen the mutt like this before. Always, they had been rivals for Kagome. He now knew that Inuyasha, despite all of his declarations to the contrary, didn't see Kagome as merely a jewel detector; her being only one of two who were able to actually see the glowing shards of the Shikon jewel, a magical bauble that she had accidentally shattered. Of course, that was all she had been to Inuyasha before he had come to really know her. Now, she was deep within Inuyasha's heart, just as she was within his own.

 

`That ignorant mutt thinks he will get the jewel from her after it is completed and become a full-fledged demon instead of a weak half-breed. Stupid baka! He will never be able to take it from her.'

 

Kouga looked back down at Kagome, her raven black hair contrasting with her marble white skin. If only she would wake up and allow him to look into those deep violet eyes he loved so much. He had meant it when he declared his love for her. Witnessing her loyalty to her kit had made his decision for him. She was his.

 

'Who could do anything other than love her?' Kouga lamented. 'You will pay for this, dog turd.'

 

Inuyasha could not express himself so easily. All he could do was feel the fear and heartache at the prospect of losing Kagome. He didn't understand why he felt this way about her, especially with his thoughts on Kikyou the majority of the time.

 

"With these jewel shards in my legs, I'm faster than you," Kouga glared at him, daring Inuyasha to try to take Kagome from his arms.

 

"Do you know the village where Kaede lives?"

 

"I'll have her there before you can blink!" Kouga yelled back as his signature whirlwind flew up into the sky, still dusty from his entrance.

 

"I'm right behind you!" Inuyasha called.

 

Trees and brush flew into the air as though a tornado were ripping through the forest. Close behind, a red blur could be seen streaking above the tree tops.

 

 

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THANK YOU TO ALL OF MYREADERS ANDREVIEWERS, PAST AND PRESENT

 

 

 

*Disclaimer*

 

Inuyasha and all associated characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I make no profit from this story, nor do I intend to. My only goal is to occupy my demented mind with delusions of actually owning a life-sized, anatomically correct Sesshoumaru. The characters Kaiaela and Mr. Sesshou belong to me!

 

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