InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kazoku ❯ The Dead ( Chapter 7 )

Kazoku

Chapter 7: The Dead

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it. Never have, never will, and if I did, Kikyo would already be dead by now, and Sango and Miroku would have…never mind.

Author's Note: I'm baaaack! You'll probably want to kill me for this chapter, though. *cringes*

ON WITH THE SHOW!

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Inuyasha sped through the trees with Kagome clinging to his neck. He landed on a branch, sniffed the air around him, and then leapt in another direction.

"Where do you think she's taken him?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha growled in response. Kagome could feel the vibrations through her chest, and adrenaline surged through her. He was ready for this fight. He was willing to fight Kikyo.

She tightened her arms around his neck as he leaped off a rock. Her thoughts turned back to their son. She prayed he would be okay. No woman could hurt a child, could she?

"Kikyo wouldn't hurt him, would she?" she asked. "She's using him as bait. There is no reason to harm him."

"She won't kill him," he answered after a while. The whole point of her plot is to drag me to hell, not to get me angry enough to kill her."

"But…she wouldn't hurt him. No person alive could be that cruel. He's only a child!"

"Kikyo isn't alive," he reminded her. "She can hurt him, and probably will, but she won't kill him. She won't even be a pile of dust if she lays a finger on Inuroku," he growled.

Despite the topic, Kagome smiled. He had just confirmed to her that Inuyasha no longer had any feeling but resentment toward Kikyo. She knew he hadn't; she trusted him with her life. But there had always been that lingering doubt…

"She's in the clearing…"

Inuyasha's muttering drew Kagome out of her musings.

"What? Which clearing?"

He hesitated.

"Tell me," she insisted.

"We always met in a special clearing whenever we wanted to be alone. It was a fairly big clearing deep in the forest, so no one would disturb us…I can't believe she's making me go back there, that bitch!"

Kagome was silent for a moment. "Is Inuroku there?"

"Yeah, he's there. He's okay, too. I can smell him."

He dropped from the tree into a large clearing. The first thing the couple saw was their son. Inuroku was pinned to a tree by a large number of Kikyo's Shinimidachuu.

"Inuroku!" Kagome tried to run to the boy, but there was a spirit barrier around the tree.

"Mama?" he yelled. "Mama! Tasukete!"

"Hold on, Inuroku!" Inuyasha yelled. He was beyond furious. How dare that bitch hold his son captive! "Don't be scared!"

Inuroku's lip trembled and he looked like he was going to cry, but he nodded. "I-I'm n-n-not s-sc-scared…"

"How pathetically cute."

Kagome and Inuyasha whirled around to find Kikyo standing at the edge of the clearing. Inuyasha growled low in his throat. Kagome saw his fingers twitch and she knew he was fighting the urge to draw Tetsusaiga.

"Kikyo," he began, "you're making a huge mistake."

"Am I?" she sighed. "I was hoping that you'd come quietly, but that doesn't seem like the case."

"Kikyo, let Inuroku go!" Kagome yelled. "He did nothing to you!"

"No, I think I'll keep him a little while longer," she said, staring at her reincarnation coolly. "I rather like the way he tries to be brave, like his father. It's quite amusing."

"Kikyo, do whatever you want with your afterlife. Just don't come near my family, my friends, or me. I'm willing to let you live if you leave and never return," Inuyasha threatened. Kikyo laughed coldly.

"You call this living?" she asked quietly, staring at him with steely eyes. "I am a walking corpse, Inuyasha. I have no companions. I have nothing. I have to steal souls to keep myself alive. I don't want to live, I want to rest in peace…and I want you to come with me."

Inuyasha snorted.

"Does that mean you won't come with me?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes. She raised her bow and fitted it with an arrow, aiming at him. "It seems I must persuade you then!"

The arrow flew towards him. Before he had a chance to dodge, the weapon whizzed past his arm.

"Nice shot, Kikyo," he said, smirking. "Except for the fact that you missed.

The undead miko tossed back her head and laughed. It was a high, cold laugh, and it terrified Inuyasha. A coppery smell filled his nose, and he nearly gagged on the smell of blood. Kikyo smiled.

"I never miss."

Slowly, Inuyasha turned and ran to his fallen mate. Kikyo's arrow had lodged in Kagome's shoulder, and the wound was bleeding heavily.

"Kagome!" he whispered. He lifted her head onto his lap, his hands shaking. "Hold on, Kagome!"

His hands were covered in his mate's blood, and it infuriated both the demon and human sides of him. He looked up at Kikyo, shaking with rage.

"You!" he snarled. He drew Tetsusaiga and it transformed immediately. He pointed the giant sword at Kikyo.

"Kikyo, I was willing to let you go. Now I realize that you are willing to do everything to drag me to hell. I don't love you, Kikyo…and I know you never loved me. You were just using me…and in a way, I was using you. You would have gotten close to anyone to have a chance to be an ordinary woman. You aren't even the Kikyo I once knew! You're a shadow of your former self. Kagome's not the copy of Kikyo; you are."

He stepped closer, noticing that even though his voice was shaky, his hands were not. Kikyo took a step back, startled at the emotion in his voice.

"And now you dared to attack her! At one point in time, Kikyo, I would have done anything for you…but now I'll do everything for her."

He lunged forward, thrusting Tetsusaiga toward her chest. She dodged and drew an arrow quickly. She didn't aim well in her haste and the arrow missed by several inches.

Inuroku watched with fearful eyes. He could smell his mother's blood. He didn't know who this `Kikyo' lady was, but he guessed that his father had once known her and they had a fight. His father was fighting the lady and winning.

He had woken up tied to a tree with several things-youkai, he now knew-that looked like flying eels. It was an absurd thought, but his groggy mind had wondered how they could survive out of water. Then his parents had shown up, and he had cried out for help. His mother had been shot, but watching his father fight gave the boy a kind of grim fascination.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, was dodging another of Kikyo's arrows. He jumped over the miko fighting him and she whirled around. It wasn't quick enough to save her. Inuyasha backed her against the tree.

"You're going to kill me, Inuyasha?" she asked, looking up at him with a passive expression.

He nodded slowly and held Tetsusaiga to her neck.

"Yes, I am. Goodbye, Kikyo."

With a quick downward stroke, Kikyo's body crumbled into dust at the hanyou's feet. The spirit barrier died and the Shinimidachuu faded before disappearing completely.

"Mama!"

As soon as he was released Inuroku ran to his mother's prone form. Inuyasha crouched by her neck, vaguely seeing the pool of blood around her. Her pulse was weak, but it was there.

Picking up Kagome carefully, he ordered Inuroku to get on his back. As soon as the boy had his short arms around his neck tightly, Inuyasha took off toward the village, running faster than he ever had before.

He didn't even stop as his legs began to burn and his muscles ached. Inuroku's grip was choking him, but he didn't care. The village was finally in view and he pushed himself to go faster.

The curious villagers watched as a red blur sped past them, but shrugged it off and went back to rebuilding the houses that were destroyed in the youkai fight. Inuyasha ran to the old priestess' hut.

"Kaede!" he yelled. "Kaede!"

Sango, Miroku, and Kaede rushed out of the hut as he approached. He skidded to a halt as Sango screamed and ran toward him with Miroku at her heels.

"What happened? Inuyasha! What happened to Kagome?"

"Put her in the hut," Kaede ordered. "Ye are lucky, Inuyasha, ye could have been hurt as well."

"Don't worry about me, you old hag, just take care of Kagome!" the enraged demon yelled. He laid her lifeless form down on a mat. He vaguely noticed Sango and Miroku peek in. Sango was holding Inuroku, who was sniffling quietly. Inuyasha leaned down and kissed Kagome's forehead, smoothing her hair back with a bloody hand.

"Stay with me, Kagome," he whispered. "You can't die on me, girl…"

"Out with ye, Inuyasha!" Kaede ordered, shooing him away. "She is in a bad condition. Go with Sango-chan and Miroku-sama."

Numbly he walked out of the room. Sango and Miroku met him outside the hut and stood silently. Inuroku whimpered and slid out of Sango's grasp. He walked to his father.

"Mama's gonna be okay, won't she?" he asked fearfully. Inuyasha sighed and looked into his son's eyes. `Those are my eyes,' he thought. `My eyes with Kagome's emotion.'

He knelt down to hold his son.

"I don't know, Inuroku. She's strong, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Sango let out a dry sob as she covered her face. Miroku pulled her close to him and she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"How's Takara?" Inuyasha asked suddenly.

"She'll be fine. Kikyo rendered her unconscious, but she woke," Miroku answered, recognizing his friend's need to think about anything other than his wounded mate.

Sango lifted her head. "Did you defeat Kikyo?" he asked quietly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Inuyasha nodded.

"Good!" she burst out. Miroku looked at his angered wife with surprise. She stood with some difficulty due to her ever-growing stomach.

"She deserves to burn in hell for all eternity for all she's done!" she cried vehemently. Miroku stood and tried to grab her hand.

"Sango…"

"No!" She threw his hand off. "She attacked our family, Miroku! Our daughter was hurt and Kagome may be…she may be…"

Sango broke down again and sank to her knees. The words had never been spoken aloud, but the implication hung in the air.

Kagome may be dying.

Inuyasha stared straight ahead. He had smelled her blood; he had felt it stream through his fingers like a crimson river. He knew that she could be dying. He knew that she may already be dead.

`Kagome, what would I do without you?' he wondered. `I was miserable before. Now that I had you, how can I bear to lose you again?'

Soft footsteps broke the silence and the four people looked up to see Kaede approaching them. Her face was somber and there were tears behind her eyes. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Inuroku stood.

"Inuroku, go to Sango's hut," Inuyasha whispered.

"But…"

"Now."

The tone of his voice was quiet but firm. The boy hesitated before obeying. Inuyasha watched him run to the hut and turned back to Kaede with pleading eyes.

"Please," he whispered, "please say she's okay…please…"

Kaede looked straight into his amber eyes. A tear fell down her cheek.

"Inuyasha…there was nothing I could do. She was already slipping away when ye brought her back…I'm sorry. Kagome is dead."

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*cringes* Y'all are gonna kill me! But remember-if you kill me, no one will finish the story. So review and tell me how much you love it, hate it, and how much you want to kill me. Okay? Okay. *runs*