InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Blood ❯ Honesty ( Chapter 24 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: ji-an

A/N

Hey all. Sorry it’s been a while since the last update. I’ve been trying not to type as much because my right wrist has been hurting a lot lately, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the story! This update took a little longer because I had to go back and re-read most of my chapters to make sure everything made sense. So without further ado, here’s the next chapter! Enjoy.
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Also, once again, I apologize for any errors I missed. Please feel free to highlight them for me so that I can fix them. Also sorry for the messed up formatting that may appear, mediaminer still gives me a hard time about that.
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DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Inuyasha, nor do I take credit for Rumiko Takahashi’s genius. I don’t own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I take credit for Yoshihiro Togashi’s awesome characters.
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REVIEWERS:

@REVIEWER GODDESS: I do agree with you: real life does get in the way of this story. I’m really glad that you caught all those details in the last chapter because they’re really going to come into play here. I can’t wait for your next review! *looks around sneakily*
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@KIKI&PHO: I want pho now. Your name is pretty fantastic. I don’t know about my story being the best on this sight, but I like to think it’s pretty good. Hey, congrats on nabbing the 55th review! Also, I hope I granted your wish with this update.
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@RAIRAI: What is up with my reviewers having awesome names? You know, you’re the only one who commented on Yu Yu Hakusho so far. I was getting worried that no one liked the inclusion of the characters. Thanks for your support! I love how everyone loves the fact that Inuyasha has his ears back. Though I bet you’ll love more what comes next!
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Part Twenty Four: Honesty

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Inuyasha stormed out of the Hiei’s castle, glaring at his reflection in the icy surfaces of the walls. He stopped just before the exit, looking into his own face, trying to see if there was something lurking in his eyes. The inner voice huffed at him. Inuyasha punched the ice, watching as his face shattered into million pieces. ‘Are you still in denial?’
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‘‘At least I know you’re not schizophrenia,’’ Inuyasha said.
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‘Me? A lowly human mental disease? You should be ashamed.’
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He wanted nothing more then to throw the voice down a well. The voice laughed at his thoughts, and Inuyasha imagined throwing a boulder over the well’s opening. The voice blew a raspberry at him. By the time he was out of the castle, the boulder had turned into a mountain.
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Kagome waited for him by the exit with Shippo tucked in her arms. The sight of the little runt made Inuyasha fume. Before Kagome could protest, he snatched Shippo from her arms. Fisting the front of Shippo’s shirt, Inuyasha spat in the boy’s face. ‘‘So, brat, what’s your angle eh? Having fun spying on us for Yoko?’’
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He saw Kagome open her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. ‘‘Don’t try to defend him. I saw you getting all chummy with Yoko. What did you tell him? That we’re really from the human world? Or how about the fact that we don’t understand this world at all? Did you talk about our domestic disputes? And don’t lie to me you little shit. I don’t do well with betrayal.’’
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Shippo pressed his lips together. He didn’t even blink. Inuyasha would have admired the balls on the boy if he weren’t so furious. ‘‘Fine, don’t talk, but you’re going to take us to the desert.’’
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If Shippo’s eyes became any wider, they would have popped out of his head. ‘‘You can’t be serious! You can’t go to the desert! That place if full of the nastiest of-’’
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‘‘Sounds like a fair punishment to me for lying to us. Besides, I bet Yoko told you to stick with us for a while longer.’’
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Shippo swallowed. ‘‘Yeah that’s what I thought.’’
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Regaining his composer, the little fox smiled coyly. ‘‘And what will you do after. Yoko told me to tag along until you find your friend. You can’t get rid of me that easily.’’
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‘‘When I don’t need you anymore, I’ll knock you senseless and leave you in the dirt.’’
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Kagome grabbed Inuyasha’s hand, prying Shippo away from his grip. ‘‘You cold, heartless bastard! He’s just a kid!’’
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The second he looked at her, her expression changed from outrage to something else. Was that nervousness in her frown, or was he imagining it? ‘‘He’s a brat who lied and is spying on us. He isn’t worth trusting.’’
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Inuyasha felt a strange pang in his chest as she shrank away from him, putting a five-foot gap between them. ‘‘Shippo. You will take us to the desert, and then you will leave us alone.’’
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‘‘You can’t be serious! Trust me, you really don’t want to go there.’’
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‘‘I don’t have a choice. Lilliana is headed there.’’
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‘‘Headed where now?’’ Kagome looked everywhere for the voice except for Inuyasha. It’s too bad she didn’t look at him, because Myoga was sitting on the tip of his nose. ‘‘And just where the fuck were you in the last two hours?’’ Inuyasha flicked the bug off his nose. As Myoga bounced on the ground, Inuyasha said, ‘‘we’re going to the desert to find Lilliana.’’
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The flea jumped six feet. ‘‘Are you out of your mind?’’ He flew onto Kagome’s ear.
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‘‘Please talk some sense into him! You can’t possibly find your friend there! The desert is so vast! It’s even harder to navigate then the Infinity Meadow! Not to mention sea worms, giant scorpions, cannibalistic nightwalkers, quick sand, I could go on and on! Please, my Lord, don’t go there! The worst thing that could happen is that you run into the Spider King. He would enjoy chewing on your bones only for the sport of it!’’
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‘‘All the more reason we start heading there now!’’ He grabbed the bug, but not without noticing that Kagome flinched when he came close to her. ‘‘Now lead the way.’’
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The journey to the edge of the desert was possibly the longest trek he’d ever taken. It was an uncomfortably silent jog down the mountains. No one spoke to each other, except for when Shippo relayed directions or when Myoga begged yet again for them not to go to the desert. The icy coldness from the mountains was slowly replaced with humid heat. Eventually, the wetness in the air faded, leaving a dryness that itched his throat every time he inhaled. It got so hot that his body went into sexual overdrive.
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The need for release made it even more difficult to concentrate on walking. After enduring what he assumed was hours of arousal, he noticed that Kagome felt it too. She couldn’t walk in a straight line, and, when they were resting, she couldn’t sit still, shifting from position to position. She would even run during their rest stops as a distraction. Inuyasha was thankful that she made it a point to completely ignore him. He tried to keep his thoughts off of sex by practicing his fighting techniques.
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‘‘What’s wrong with the two of you?’’ Shippo finally asked on their fourth break since they left the mountains. Inuyasha wanted to scream at him that the constant heat was making him so hot that he was sure he could fuck nonstop for a whole month. Truth be told, he was not sure how long it has been since they had left the mountains. Shippo calculated that it would be about three moon cycles, which Inuyasha guessed was three nights. How the hell was he going to search the whole desert for Lilliana in the state he was in? All he wanted was a bathtub full of ice for him to sink into. ‘‘How do the nightwalkers in the desert stand it?’’
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He spotted Kagome doing sit-ups and let out a frustrated yell. Inuyasha brought up his left hand. Myoga was tied to his forefinger with a string. ‘‘Don’t tell me the nightwalkers in the desert are always in heat.’’
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Myoga glared at him as he swayed back and forth on his string. ‘‘The demons in the desert habituate to the temperature. They can control their urges. You’ll eventually learn to ignore the pain of repressing your needs. Too bad, you’ll never find a more sexually active group of nightwalkers. Mate or no mate, ugly or beautiful, male or female, they will make advances, often unwanted ones, on you. I did warn you, my lord. But no, you won’t listen to me. Oh, your father. I hope he can forgive me.’’
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Inuyasha flicked him. ‘‘Oh,’’ Myoga moaned, ‘‘such is a flea’s life.’’ It became harder and harder to ignore Myoga’s words as they got to the edge of the desert. Inuyasha was so frustrated he could no longer tell the difference between a second and an hour. Finally, the rocky mountain terrain turned into dunes. Shippo and Myoga whimpered at the sight of the ocean of sand in front of them. Dry wind blew through Inuyasha’s hair. He looked out into the endless stretch of desert, dreading going through it. As if reading his mind, Kagome said, ‘‘how are we even going to walk, let alone search for her out there?’’
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Without warning, she put Shippo down, and darted into the sand. Inuyasha set Myoga free and ran after her without looking back. The closer he got to her, the farther she ran away. Eventually, they were so far in that they could no longer see the Shippo, Myoga, or even mountains they had come from. ‘‘Will you stop?’’ Inuyasha yelled at Kagome.
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She didn’t miss a step, running farther, calling out Lilliana’s name. He increased his pace. Hearing his footsteps approaching, Kagome looked over her shoulder and began sprinting as hard as she could. Inuyasha launched himself forward just close enough to grab her hand. Yet Kagome didn’t stop running even when he got a hold of her, and her forward momentum made him trip. She would have dragged him through the sand had he not fallen toward her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and planted his feet in the ground as hard as he could. Kagome gasped in his hold.
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‘‘Will you let me go now?’’ she said when her labored breathing calmed down.
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‘‘Are you going to bolt again?’’ Inuyasha spoke against the back of her neck. The air was so dry that he could only smell her spicy, sweet fragrance. Kagome let out a tiny moan. It was so low that he could barely hear it.
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‘Hmm, now that feels nice.’
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He should have let her go, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, especially when she leaned her head back against his shoulder. The feeling of her back against his chest made him burn even hotter. A tiny voice in his brain told him to release her, but his inner demon spoke over it. ‘Just think how wonderful it would be to sink into her, to share the burning with her. I want to run my tongue over her mating mark like she ran her fingers over ours.’
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The thought sounded even nicer when Kagome traced her fingertips over his biceps, interlocked her fingers with his, and kissed his knuckles. Unable to stand, he sat down with Kagome in his lap. He pulled her sweater down to reveal her shoulder, running his tongue along the curve, tasting the salty flavor of her skin. ‘Let me just take over for a second. I’ve waited too long to have her and now-’
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Logic snapped into place, breaking the spell. Letting out a breath, Inuyasha let her go and jumped away from her. As he fought to regain his breath, Kagome turned around and looked up at him, tilting her head to the side. As the trance faded from her eyes, her bemused expression morphed into one of horror. ‘‘Oh my god!’’ She took off.
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‘‘Wait! Kagome! I’m sorry!’’ He chased her.
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‘‘No! Don’t come near me! I can’t trust myself around you right now!’’
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‘‘I didn’t mean to-whoa!’’
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His foot sunk deep into the ground. Soon, he was up to his waist in sand. The desert must not have been as deep as he thought, since the sand seemed hard under the soles of his shoes. Then the sand under his feet moved. The grains around him rumbled, and he was thrown into the air, looking down at the thick, leathery monster right below him. A mouth opened wide, and sharp red teeth clamped down on his ankle, slicing through the muscle.   His bones were crunched, but the sea worm slurped him into its dark mouth and down its throat before he could even scream.
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‘That’s it! I’ve had enough! Now, we are going to play-
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‘‘-By my rules!’’
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Kagome tried her hardest not to cry as her feet slowed down. Her lungs burned from exhaustion. She didn’t want Inuyasha to catch her! She couldn’t do this now! She did not want give into the temptation when so many things didn’t make any sense! But she couldn’t run much farther, and soon he would catch her just like before! She could hear him approaching, though it was an odd sound. He didn’t make such a loud sound before. She took a chance and looked over her shoulder. Inuyasha was gone. Instead, a long, rope-like thing was swimming through the sand dunes.
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The creature sunk deep into sand, disappearing. Kagome stopped. ‘‘Inuyasha?’’ She yelled. ‘‘No way.’’ She took a deep breath. His scent was gone. Kagome moved to go back but suddenly noticed that the sand beneath her was wet. She began to sink. Yelping, she clawed and kicked her way out, collapsing on the dry sand. The sand puddle exploded, and a giant, leathery worm stretched up from the ground. Scalding hot water rushed out of the worm’s mouth, spraying the air around her. A glob of salty smelling water hit her shoulder, melting the skin right off. Kagome screamed as the salty water burned her muscles and the worm bent over her with its jaw wide. She was too afraid to even close her eyes. Red teeth reached toward her, and Kagome knew she wasn’t going to be saved this time.
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The worm stopped just a foot away from her head. It shivered, and then began thrashing. Kagome crawled away, holding her injured shoulder, transfixed on the worm as it was convulsing. Its middle section bulged, inflating like a brown, rubbery balloon. The balloon burst. There was a howl so loud that Kagome forget about her the pain in her wound and covered her ears.
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A giant paw came out of the worm’s belly, the claws going right through the skin. Then there was the long snout of some kind of animal. It was a dog, a giant white and bloody dog. Without hesitation, the dog clamped its powerful jaw around the worm’s neck. The worm thrashed harder, but the dog simply put its paw on the worm’s trunk and then pulled the head right off with its teeth.
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The dog dropped the gory piece into sand and then turned to look at Kagome. Remembering her injured arm, Kagome wobbled to a standing position, but stumbled back down onto her back as the dog stomped over to her. She looked up at its blood covered white fur. It bent its head down at her. Kagome shrieked as the dog’s tongue came down and licked her shoulder. She wondered if being eaten by a dog was less painful then being eaten by a worm. But something strange happened.
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The dog whined. It sniffed her wound, cried, and then licked her again. The sting of the wound faded as the dog cleaned out the salt and sand from the cuts. The bleeding stopped. As her pain decreased, Kagome crawled out from under the dog. Standing on wobbly legs, she took a good look at the canine. It looked like an enormous, white husky. It was as big as a house. The dog crouched down in front of her and then cocked its head toward its back.
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‘‘This is nuts. You’re not going to eat me?’’
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It began panting. ‘‘Um. Thanks for saving me from the sea-worm.’’
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The dog’s ears went flat against its head. Kagome gasped. ‘‘Those ears, Inuyasha?’’
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She timidly put a hand on the dog’s shout. Big, glassy, golden eyes looked back at her. ‘‘Holy shit! Bark if that’s you!’’
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It barked. The sound was so strong that Kagome was pushed back a step. If her arm weren’t hurting so much, she would have fainted. ‘‘But, you can understand me right?’’ He barked again. ‘‘Oh my god, I almost had sex with a dog.’’
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Inuyasha growled, cocking his head toward his back again. ‘‘You want me to get on your back?’’ He stretched out a paw toward her. Mindful of her injured arm, Kagome grabbed a handful of his fur and pulled herself up. When she was sitting cross-legged in his fur, she patted him. ‘‘Take me as far away from this thing as you can, but go slow. I don’t want to fall off.’’
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It was a bumpy ride. Although they covered a lot of ground, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha hobbled a bit. She turned around and crawled toward his back end. He wasn’t putting much weight on one of his back legs. Suddenly he stopped and collapsed.
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Kagome jumped down and went around so that she was in front of his snout. His eyes slowly closed. Steam came out of his fur, blurring his body out of her vision. When the steam faded, Inuyasha lying face down in the sand. At least, he was back to normal.
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Something wet dripped on his cheeks. He opened his eyes to see Kagome looking down at him. ‘‘Why are you crying?’’ And why did his throat feel so dry?
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‘‘You’re awake! Thank goodness!’’
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The smell of blood made him twitch. ‘‘What happened to your arm?’’ He pulled his head up but then fell back onto Kagome’s lap. A wave of dizziness whirled in his head and he moaned.
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Kagome whipped her nose with her sleeve, giving him a quizzical look. ‘‘You don’t remember? Nothing?’’ She let out a laugh, which quickly became a sob. Then she was bawling furiously.
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Inuyasha wanted to comfort her but his body felt as though it were covered by a mountain of bricks. Everywhere hurt and his ankle felt really stiff. It was like his insides had outgrown his skin. Every part of his flesh felt like it had stretched farther then it should have, yet he managed to lift his hand to wipe away a couple of her tears. ‘‘What happened? The last thing I remember was chasing after you.’’
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‘‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run away from you. B-but I was scared about everything. That fight we had, and not knowing who we are to each other, and this horrible place, and Lilliana, and all this talk about inner demons, and you turning into a giant animal.’’
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‘‘I turned into a what?’’ Inuyasha replayed her words in his mind. An animal? Like an uncontrollable beast? ‘‘I gave in, didn’t I?’’
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‘‘Gave in to what?’’
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‘‘I gave all the control to my inner demon. Shit, Kagome, I didn’t hurt you did I?’’ She shook her head. ‘‘Please, tell me the truth. Did I attack you? D-did I assault you? Oh shit! Is that why you’re crying? Is that what happened to your shoulder? Oh fuck!’’ He covered his eyes with his arm. ‘‘I scared you off because I couldn’t control myself and then I go and give into it! Fuck! Who knows what I might do next time! God, I wouldn’t blame if you hated me forever!’’
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Now it was his turn to cry. All this time he’d tried so hard to clamp down on his inner beast, but it came spiraling out of control, just like Yoko said it would. How the hell was he supposed to keep a sex-crazed, destruction seeker in its place? How would he even function in the human world with such a beast? What if he lost control again and ended up hurting not only Kagome, but also Lilliana or someone else in his family.

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‘‘Damn it! I should have told you I felt something was off! But I didn’t want to admit it was real!’’ His teeth hurt; he was clenching them so tightly. His throat ached like he had swallowed an apple whole, and, for once, that damned voice inside of him was completely silent. ‘‘Fuck! All the shit it put me through, and now it won’t talk to me at all? Why did it wake up in me? Why?’’

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A warm, soft hand covered his shaking, cold one. Kagome pulled his hand away from his face. ‘‘Please stop. You didn’t hurt me. You saved me, so please stop it.’’

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‘‘Don’t lie to me!’’ He tried to get away from her lap, but he could barely move his head without red spots appearing in his vision. Unable to get up, he thrashed his head from side to side, instead. ‘‘You haven’t lived with this thing in you. I almost attacked you back at the Infinity Meadow when we first came here because of it! It was hard enough controlling my bloodlust around you, I can’t be sure you’ll be safe around me, or anyone for that matter. Of fuck, I really am a monster. And here I am, coming up with new ways to fuck up your life.’’
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‘‘You didn’t hurt me Inuyasha.’’ She took his hand between both hers and put his palm against her chest. ‘‘Does it feel like I’m lying?’’

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Her even and calm pulse vibrated in his hand. Her soothing face blurred in his vision and closed his eyes. ‘‘Now I know how you feel, keeping something to yourself for so long and then watching it blow up in your face. The only difference is that you wanted to hold onto your freedom and I wanted to hold onto my self-control.’’

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‘‘I’ ;d already noticed that something was off about you. When you flew at Narek, I thought you were acting strange. I’d never seen that blind rage in you before. You’ve been extra grumpy since we got here, even after we declared a truce. At first, I thought it was because of that fight we had, but then, when you were delirious, and you told me you were afraid of yourself, I began to wonder. Then Yoko told us about your inner monster and I was scared of what would happen to you if you did lose control.’’

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‘‘I’m so sorry.’’

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She squeezed his fingers. ‘‘Don’t be. At least not about this.’’

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‘‘But, aren’t you afraid of me? What if I lose control again?’’

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‘‘You won’t. After what I saw, I don’t think you need to be afraid of it anymore. I think, you need to accept it and let it guide you sometimes.’’
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‘‘How can you be so sure?’’
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‘‘Because your inner beast is one big puppy.’’
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She began explaining everything that happened. The more she added details to her story, the wider his mouth became. ‘‘A dog? I turned into a giant dog?’’
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‘‘You’re quite cute too. You were walking kind of funny though. Is your leg ok?’’
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Inuyasha looked down at his ankle, rotating it. ‘‘Give it a few hours and I’ll be good as new. So what now? Every time I listen to my inner beast, I turn into a dog?’’
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‘‘I don’t know. Maybe you turned into one so that you could kill that sea worm. Maybe you have other forms. You should experiment, until you’ve got it completely under control.’’
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Inuyasha gave her a joyless smile. ‘‘I guess that’s everything, isn’t it? Now there are no more secrets between us.’’
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Kagome pressed her lips together. She let go of his hand and pressed her palms against her cheeks. ‘‘Actually, there is one more secret I have.’’
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Inuyasha moved off her lap. Slowly, like an old man suffering from his aching bones, he sat across from her and waited. She blew out air from her puffy cheeks. ‘‘Don’t get mad at me.’’
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He crossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. ‘‘Remember when I told you how Lucy had been visiting me over the years? There was something I didn’t tell you.’’
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‘‘Completely slipped your mind huh? So why didn’t you tell me? Was it because-’’
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‘‘I didn’t tell you because it would mean admitting it to myself.’’ Kagome said quickly.
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Inuyasha leaned toward her. ‘‘What do you mean?’’
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Kagome looked down at her feet. ‘‘For the longest time, I tried really hard not to think about the fact that I’m only a nightwalker because Narek made me into one. I don’t want anything to do with that bastard, but it doesn’t change the fact that he took my humanity away from me. Because it was Narek who changed me, because I am fourth generation, I have all of his powers. That’s what I didn’t tell you.’’
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Kagome didn’t look at him. After everything they’d been through, this didn’t seem like that big of a revelation. He waited, sensing she had more to say. ‘‘I didn’t tell you because I know you hate him. I don’t want to tie myself to him anymore then I already have. And you were angry, and I was angry and I was s-scared.’’
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‘‘That fight we had, looking back on it now, was stupid. Lilliana was right. There’s no time for us to be fighting now. And I don’t care if you have all or Narek’s powers or none of them. You are you. Nothing else matters.’’ He opened and closed his hands in front of him, as though trying to catch words from the air. ‘‘Can I ask you one thing though?’’
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She nodded. ‘‘Can you ever forgive me for keeping you prisoner all those years ago? For all those things that I and the family put you through, for all the things you had to give up?’’
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Kagome let out a joyless laugh. ‘‘Stop painting me as a victim. It’s getting annoying. That part of my life is over, plus that was ten years ago. You never did let me explain. Not counting the shit-storm that has been our lives since I came back, you were good to me those ten years after I went back to try and live out my days as a human. You didn’t bother me or pressure me and you let me be free. Even when you visited me from time to time, you never did anything I didn’t want to do. Plus, that first time we were together, I could have stopped you, but I didn’t.’’
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‘‘But, I-’’ She put her finger to his lips.
----
‘‘Stop right there!’’ She glared hard at him. ‘‘Now don’t talk! Listen. Was it the best way to meet? No. Did I feel forced? No. Let’s not deny that we both go into a sort of trance when we’re in the mood. Don’t you think I would have been more in your face about what happened that night if it actually bothered me? Even earlier, the only reason I freaked out was not because we came to close to mating again, it was because I’m frustrated with everything between us not making any sense. No, what really bothered me was being prisoner, and losing my humanity, but I didn’t hesitate to become your mate when I became a nightwalker, despite everything that happened to me. I don’t think you need my forgiveness. I think you need to forgive yourself.’’ She paused. ‘‘There is one thing I wish I could change.’’ She looked down, hiding her face under her bangs.
----
‘‘For ten years I believed that the commitment I made couldn’t be broken, and I was convinced I could somehow make it work. But, the idea that we may never really love each other, that we won’t be anything more then friends is scary. I can’t stand waiting, never knowing if we’d ever fall in love or not. That’s not good enough for me. If I’m going to be with someone, I want to be loved. Maybe it’s a selfish thing to say after all this time, after the sacrifices we both made, but it’s still how I feel.’’
----
‘‘I,’’ he took a deep breath, ‘‘agree.’’ Kagome looked up at him in surprise. ‘‘I-I don’t want to be with you only for sex,’’ he said. ‘‘Never thought I’d say this, but I’m envious of Sesshoumaru. He and Kagura really get each other, even if they’re both massive blowhards. I wish it was like that between us.’’
----
‘‘No offense, but I don’t want to be a massive blowhard.’’ She gave him a weak smile. He would have laughed, but the next thing he was going to say didn’t bring him any joy.
----
‘‘There’s no guarantee we’ll ever love each other, but can we at least promise to always be friends.’’
----
‘‘Of course.’’
----
‘‘Let’s break it then.’’
----
‘‘Break what?’’
----
‘‘The mating bond. Once this is over, we can find Kikyo and she can sever us.’’
----
Kagome stood, crossing her arms over her heart. She looked down incredulously at him. ‘‘Are you sure? You would do that for me?’’
----
Inuyasha expected his inner beast to scream, but it was completely silent. Now would be the best time to take the chance. ‘‘It goes against everything I believe in, but I would do it if it makes you happy. I owe you that much, especially now. My inner beast rages whenever you are nearby. If that’s really all that my inner side sees you as, as someone to possess, then I don’t want us to be together if that’s all we are. Besides, I not addicted to your blood anymore. You don’t have any obligation to me anymore.’’
----
Kagome knocked him over and the sand burst upward when he fell onto his back with Kagome on his chest. She hugged him so tight he felt like he was going to pop. Inuyasha ran his finger over her injured shoulder. The bleeding had long since stopped, but her skin was still raw and patches of muscles poked out underneath the burns. ‘‘You should probably drink from me though. You’re shoulder looks pretty nasty.’’
----
‘‘It may be one of the last times I drink from you.’’ Kagome suddenly pushed herself off him. ‘‘Wait. You’re inner beast talks about me? You mean to say an inner beast can talk?’’
----
‘‘Kind of. It’s more like a strange kind of understanding, of knowing things, of feeling things. I can’t explain it, but way, in a way, it does talk.’’
----
‘‘What does it sound like? Does it hiss like a snake? Does it whisper from the dark?’’
----
‘‘What? No! It sounds like a more irritating version of myself. Like thoughts in your head that won’t shut up.’’ Kagome rubbed her fingers over her lips and chin, as though trying to figure out a complex math problem. ‘‘What are you thinking, Kagome?’’
----
‘‘Before we came here, back in the mountains when I fainted, I had a strange dream.’’
----
She got off of him and began walking in circles, explaining everything she saw in her dream and laying out all that she knew about their current predicament. ‘‘So that’s why you checked my mating mark back there. Is that the reason you got nervous about my inner beast back at the castle? Because of that weird copy of me?’’
----
Kagome rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. ‘‘But don’t you see what this means? Inner beast, inner monster, they mean the same thing don’t they?’’
----
‘‘I guess?’’ Inuyasha stood and grabbed her shoulder before she could walk around in circles again. ‘‘What’s wrong?’’
----
She looked at him with a strange mixed expression. Her eyes looked afraid but her mouth was set in a determined frown. ‘‘Narek wrote about the inner monster in one of his books!’’
----
‘‘Huh?’’
----
‘‘When I was helping Lilliana research back at Lucy’s place, I found a note in one of Narek’s books saying that the voice you hear when you fight the slaves is similar to the inner monster. He was referring to an inner beast!’’
----
‘‘Shit. So Narek had one too.’’
----
‘‘That’s not important. Well, actually it’s rather creepy, but the point is that the voice we’ve been hearing this whole time is an inner beast. I bet it belongs to a demon in this world! It makes sense! Remember how Totosai and Myoga told us that we’re in danger? Lucy would rather have us dead then in this world. Why? What’s here that is so terrible?’’
----
‘‘You mean, who is here. She was trying to protect us from a specific nightwalker?’’
----
‘‘I bet that’s the voice Kouga and I heard in the darkness. I bet it’s the inner beast of another nightwalker.’’
----
‘‘Is that possible? You’ve been around me since my inner beast has woken up and, thankfully, I don’t think you’ve heard anything it’s, uh, or I’ve, said.’’
----
‘‘We can’t rule out the possibility. We didn’t believe a place like this could exist. There’s no guarantee that I’m wrong. Someone here wants us. Me, because I’m fourth generation, and you, for some reason. I’m sure of it now.’’
----
The more he thought about it, the more the puzzle pieces fit, but there was one piece that Kagome was missing. ‘‘Lilliana. She could feel whenever danger was coming. I could too. My inner beast warned me. I kept feeling like I was in the most danger. So did she.’’
----
‘He’s here.’
----
The degusting stench he recognized all too well floated into his nose. Inuyasha moved to protect Kagome, but a hand closed around her neck, and pulled her up. Her body froze solid.
----
‘‘Out of the way.’’ Kagome was flung to the side. She landed in the sand, still unable to move, but Inuyasha knew she could still see, as her eyes locked onto her attacker. Inuyasha wanted to run to her, but Narek had already advanced on him.
----
‘‘You bloody bastard. I take my eyes off you three fools and this is what you do?’’
----
Too weak from the transformation, Inuyasha couldn’t stop Narek from plunging a knife into his stomach.
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