InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Possession ❯ ThirtyOne ( Chapter 31 )

Possession 31

 

 

 

Shippou watched carefully, making sure to keep Kagome within sight as much as possible. He was trying to be protective; he was trying to follow Kouga's order that Kagome be kept safe. He knew he looked like a jealous ass and his face burned with embarrassment whenever he saw Rin give him a disgusted glance.

 

Hell, it wasn't her problem anyway! Why did the girl keep glaring at him, she should be grateful he was doing what he could. Unappreciated, Shippou slunk to the side of the little clearing and sat in the shadows. He was tired from walking all day and from staying up all night. But he could take this and worse, he wasn't going to let down his guard.

 

Not while Inuyasha was around and not while he didn't entirely trust Kohaku…

 

He wanted to trust Kohaku, which was the problem. Too often he found himself thinking about the old days, when they were all like a little family. He remembered Sango and Kirara and he still missed them both so much it just hurt, just plain hurt to be reminded they weren't alive. It wasn't that Kohaku really resembled his sister, not with that covered eye and those scars. But the injuries, healed over like he'd thought his memories were, still told him over and over…

 

They were dead. They weren't ever coming back.

 

Sighing, he put his head down on his arms to rest. Hadn't Kouga taught him to be tough? He could go days without sleeping and still run leagues on his way home. But this was different. Every step they took, every tree they passed, he felt himself growing more and more exhausted. It was like his body was eating up energy ten times too fast and the hell he was going to make them wait or leave him behind.

 

He'd loved to ride on Kirara's back; the firecat's power sending them soaring over the treetops. He liked the way Sango had babied him when she thought no one was watching. Many times she'd snuck him little tidbits and treats, winked at him when he provoked Inuyasha, or smiled behind her hand at his silly jokes. At the time, he'd thought that she was kind, only shy, and took the extra affection as something that was his due as the youngest member of their group.

 

A green kid to have not noticed the sadness behind her smile and known that she was missing her little brother.

 

“Shippou?”

 

He jerked awake when she shook his arm and blinked rapidly at Rin. Had he really fallen asleep, he didn't know. Annoyed, he brushed her off and got to his feet, ignoring the concern in the girl's eyes. Damn, he was really getting soft if he'd fall asleep when they had only stopped to rest their feet.

 

“Are you all right?” Rin had noticed the circles under his eyes and they worried her. She knew enough about youkai to know when one was pushing his limits. Although they'd had a decent enough rest while at Kouga's camp, she thought Shippou looked more tired than he should. He wasn't sleeping well at night, wasn't eating enough for all they'd found plenty of game in this forest. Over the last few days of traveling with Kohaku, she'd seen the kitsune looking like he was losing his strength.

 

And that worried her even more.

 

“I'm fine,” he said irritably, brushing her aside once again when she tried to touch him. “Just leave me alone!”

 

Rin pressed her lips together and scowled. “You are not all right,” she retorted, folding her arms and glaring like Inuyasha. “You look too tired. What's the matter with you, Shippou? If you need to rest, say so!”

 

Aware that everyone was watching him now, he saw Kohaku standing near the trees, Kagome and Inuyasha only a few feet away. He suddenly realized they'd called out to him several times as he'd slept sitting up. His face flushed and he immediately turned on Rin as the cause of his embarrassment.

 

“I don't need any rest!” he shouted. “I said I was fine!”

 

Spots of red mottled Rin's face and hurt blazed in her eyes. Shippou felt bad about yelling like that, but she was only drawing attention to the fact that ever since they'd set off with Kohaku, he'd been the one holding them back. He didn't understand it, it was embarrassing, and he'd been living in mortal fear that they'd all realize he was getting weaker.

 

The hell he'd let them leave him behind, that's just what they probably wanted!

 

“You aren't making sense,” Kagome said softly. Crossing the distance between them in a few steps, she gently moved between him and Rin to lay her hand on his forehead. She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening with concern. “Shippou, you feel like you have a fever.”

 

“I do not,” he lied, having felt the flush since the day before. He'd shrugged it off, knowing that now was not the time to get sick. Youkai didn't get sick! He'd never seen Kouga or Inuyasha brought down by a fever. At least he had that to rely on, the fact that his youkai blood wouldn't allow him to catch cold or an illness like a human.

 

“You're sick.” Shippou ground his teeth as the two women made him sit back down. This was so embarrassing, he thought, miserable as Rin and Kagome started to discuss what needed to be done. Kagome was saying something about a virus, what was that? Rin was telling her it couldn't be illness, there had to be something more.

 

“We aren't in that much of a hurry,” Inuyasha muttered, not quite looking at Shippou. “If the brat is sick, he should stay here until he's better.”

 

Kohaku had kept quiet until now, finally shaking his head in disagreement. “No, we are not in a hurry, but we shouldn't waste time either.” His glance flicked over the ill kitsune. “Perhaps he should to return to the wolf youkai.”

 

His heart turned over with a sickening thump and Shippou instinctively showed his teeth in a grimace. “I'm not going home,” he said, tension radiating from his body. “I'm staying with you, I won't slow anyone down.”

 

Rin sighed in exasperation. “Don't be stubborn,” she chided him. “I know how you feel, but if you're really ill…”

 

“I'm not!”

 

“You are,” Kohaku said quietly. “And it's going to get worse if you don't go back now.” Noticing the startled expressions of Shippou's companions, he finally sighed and looked away. “This forest is protected by warding spells that make youkai sick so that they become weak and are easier to kill.”

 

There was a moment of stunned silence while tension thickened the air. Kagome found her voice first.

 

“What?”

 

“Spiritual wards,” Kohaku answered, his voice low but steady and unapologetic. “Shippou is feeling their effects sooner than I had thought he might. Lower youkai are affected more strongly, so I didn't think there would be a problem. But since Shippou is still young…”

 

Inuyasha growled softly and grabbed Kohaku's arm. “You shit,” he said, anger sparking in his eyes. “You didn't think to tell us that before?”

 

Kohaku pushed his hand away, unconcerned. “I didn't think it was necessary. You would have only been in danger if you'd tried to attack one of my people or myself. In that case, the wards would have disabled you both. Perhaps even…” Kohaku's expression grew dark. “Perhaps even fatally.”

 

As if to test the truth of Kohaku's words, Inuyasha cursed and swung his fist, aiming for the exterminator's face. Before it could connect with what could have been a killing blow, there was a sharp crack of energy in the air and Inuyasha shouted, suddenly waving his hand as if it had been burned. He glared daggers at Kohaku.

 

“So this was your plan?” Inuyasha demanded. “Make us helpless, weak and easy to kill?”

 

Shippou groaned and suddenly tipped forward, his face extremely pale. Kagome and Rin rushed to catch his arms, keeping him from falling hard to the ground. While Kohaku and Inuyasha continued to glare at each other, the women turned the semi-conscious kitsune on his back. He was sweating, but his skin now felt cold and he was trembling from head to foot.

 

“Is he okay?” Inuyasha asked, not looking them.

 

“No.” Kagome brushed Shippou's hair back from his forehead. In all her time with Kaede, she'd never known that spiritual energy could be used this way. Miroku had been able to make barriers, but he'd never mentioned wards like this.

 

“I think he's in shock,” she muttered. She was so angry that she wanted to scream, wanted to throw rocks at Kohaku's face. “We've got to get him out of here, Inuyasha. He could die.”

 

Inuyasha folded his arms and continued to stare at Kohaku. “Is that what you wanted?” he asked softly. “To murder Shippou…to exterminate him?”

 

“You shouldn't have tried to hit me,” Kohaku answered. “Isn't this your fault as well, Inuyasha?”

 

“Stop it!” Rin cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. She jumped up and launched herself at Kohaku, hitting him with her fists. “He trusted you! I remember you, Kohaku. You weren't always like this! You once trusted Sesshomaru-sama to protect you!”

 

Sudden anger crossed Kohaku's face, breaking his icy calm. He shoved Rin away. “What do you know about anything?” he hissed. “You're just a spoiled child, Rin. You've been treated like a pet by them and you don't even know it. I know what youkai are really like. I've seen innocent people die in this forest. So don't accuse me of something you know nothing about!”

 

“Shippou doesn't deserve to die like this!”

 

Kohaku's shoulders slumped and he flushed, leaning heavily against a tree. Kagome thought he looked like he was reliving every one of those deaths, but his mouth still twisted in pain when he looked at Shippou. Then he muttered something under his breath, rubbing the unscarred side of his face with his hand.

 

“We'll get him to my village,” he said quietly. “He won't die, we just need to keep him away from the wards. Kohaku glanced over at Inuyasha. “You're going to have to carry him. The less contact he has with the ground, the better. He's weak now, but will recover.

 

Inuyasha said nothing, only fixed Kohaku with a cold stare. Then he lifted Shippou and slung him over his shoulder. The kitsune moaned, his arms swinging limp and heavy over Inuyasha's back.

 

“If you're lying,” the inuyoukai said suddenly, glaring at Kohaku. “If you're lying, you're going to regret it. He dies, you die. Understand?”

 

“It's you that he wants dead,” Kohaku answered, ignoring the soft gasps that came from Rin and Kagome. “You think I don't know that?”

 

“Doesn't fucking matter,” Inuyasha said grimly. “He's got his reasons.”

 

oOo

 

They reached Kohaku's village in the late afternoon, all of them too tired to speak and too tense to even try. Kagome was worried about Shippou; he kept going in and out of consciousness, sometimes struggling feverishly. She sincerely hoped that Kohaku was telling the truth and that once they reached his village, Shippou's fever would pass. As much as she wanted to trust Sango's little brother, she knew that they were gambling with their lives right now.

 

Inuyasha hadn't said much to her or anyone else, a grim expression on his face as he kept his thoughts to himself. Carrying Shippou on his back, she'd noticed that he'd been considerably gentler with the sickened kitsune than she would have thought. Smiling sadly, she was reminded of when Shippou had been a child and Inuyasha, for all his bluster, had had been protective of him.

 

Right now the fox was draped over his back, arms hanging limp over Inuyasha's shoulders, snoring as his face was pillowed in the larger youkai's white hair. She brushed Shippou's face with her hand and noted that the fever did seem to be dropping.

 

“He seems to be resting easier now,” she murmured.

 

“Keh, figured that from the snoring in my ear,” Inuyasha responded. He shifted his unconscious burden a bit and Shippou snorted, turning his face away from Kagome. “Brat's tougher than he looks, don't worry about him.”

 

She smiled and touched Inuyasha's arm. “Thanks for carrying him, Inuyasha.”

 

“Not like I had a choice.” She was relieved when he didn't pull away from her touch and kept her hand on his arm. Over the past few days, he'd kept his distance from her like she was the one who posed a danger, like he couldn't trust himself if he had any contact. That had hurt and while she understood the reasons why, it didn't make her any happier.

 

“I know,” Kagome said softly, watching as Kohaku and Rin continued ahead of them. “But thanks just the same. I know he's been difficult and angry, a lot of that is my fault.”

 

“Could you not do that?” Inuyasha said, his voice abrupt as he turned to look at her.

 

Kagome was confused. “Not do what?”

 

“Try to blame yourself for what Shippou does,” he muttered. “He's not a kid, Kagome. He doesn't need you to make excuses for him, not any more than I do.”

 

She thought she'd like to argue with that, but she was actually relieved that he was talking to her. Since that night in the forest, he'd been very distant, communicating with monosyllables and grunts, making it obvious that he really didn't want to speak to her at all. That wasn't fair; she needed to talk to him now. She needed to get things straight between them.

 

“I'm not blaming myself,” she said softly. “And I'm not making excuses for anyone.”

 

“Bullshit,” Inuyasha said, sounding annoyed. “You do it all the time.” He shot her a sideways glance. “You think you're the only one that can take responsibility for what happens and it pisses me off.”

 

Something was eating at him, she could tell that much. Kagome's mouth thinned as she pressed her lips together and stared at him. “That's not fair, Inuyasha.”

 

He stopped and turned to look at her, Shippou's arms still dangling comically over his chest. “Oh yeah?” he sneered. “Shippou acts like a brat, it's your fault. Kouga gets his ass beat for being a prick, your fault again. Sesshomaru thinks I'm dying and you want to save me, like I even deserve it.”

 

She heard the bitterness in his voice and kept herself still with a monumental effort. It was obvious he'd been stewing over this, trying to work it out in his own mind. Ever since he'd heard the truth of what he'd done, he must have been trying to find some way to come to terms with it, to understand the past. She knew all about guilt and all about shame. But she'd forgiven him, hadn't she? Not for his sake, but for her own so that she wouldn't have to go back down that well and live with the way it had all turned out.

 

“Inuyasha,” she whispered, reached for his arm again.

 

He jerked away, causing Shippou to slide dangerously to the side before Inuyasha grunted and boosted him back into place. “Haven't you figured it out yet?” he asked, unable to meet her eyes. “I don't want you to save me! I don't deserve to be forgiven!”

 

A light breeze ruffled her hair and she stood quite still. Ahead of them, Kohaku and Rin had stopped and were watching. She didn't know how much of the conversation they'd overheard, but there could be no doubt they were listening now.

 

I don't want you to save me!

 

“What's the matter?” Kagome asked abruptly, sensing something more in his words than he was willing to say. “You're acting strangely, like there's something you want to tell me and you're afraid…”

 

“Afraid?” Inuyasha snorted and shook his head, getting a sleepy mumble out of Shippou. “Why would I be afraid of anything, bitch? If that asshole over there tries anything when we get to his village, I can handle whatever they want to throw at me.”

“That's not it,” she murmured. Putting the pieces together, the things he'd been saying…it was like a giant puzzle. As soon as she thought she knew whom she was dealing with, Inuyasha changed the rules. They'd made love in the forest, grinding against each other's bodies with desperation and need. But then there was more and she knew it wasn't about sex for Inuyasha.

 

She must have been a blind fool to have not noticed.

 

Moving quickly, she seized his hand and turned it over in hers. Scorch marks still marred his palm, darkened spots where the flesh had been burned. Without a word, she moved his sleeve back and saw the marks like angry fire upon his skin. He didn't say a word as she gently touched the burns, but she heard him hiss when her fingers pressed against the injuries.

 

“Tessaiga did this?” she asked, surprised. He healed quickly, she thought, he had always healed so quickly. But these marks hadn't faded over the past few days and instead they still looked as raw and angry as if they'd been made only moments ago. She recalled that he'd looked like he was in pain when they'd left the wolf youkai pack, but since then she hadn't thought much about it since.

 

“Yeah,” he muttered, looking anywhere but at her. “So what, the damn thing was pissed off.”

 

“You're not healing,” she said slowly. “Inuyasha…why?”

 

Stiffly, he pulled his hand away. “Doesn't…doesn't matter, Kagome. There's nothing you can do, so don't worry about it.”

 

I don't deserve to be forgiven!

 

It hit her like a brick, a huge wall of stone that came tumbling down on her head. Inuyasha had used Tessaiga, the sword of his father, to save her. No other full demon had ever been able to even handle it; even Sesshomaru couldn't, not without suffering injuries from trying. And thinking on his brother, Kagome remembered what Rin had told her and shuddered, closing her eyes.

 

“You're not healing,” she repeated, the pain like a knife in her belly. “Tessaiga hurt you and you're not healing. That's why you didn't want to come with Kohaku, that's why you've been shoving me away. Are…are you…”

 

“Dying?” Inuyasha glared at her for a long moment before dropping his eyes. “Most likely, yeah. Sesshomaru said he could never fully heal the damage done by the jewel. Tessaiga must have broken through Tenseiga's power.”

 

At her shocked expression, Inuyasha's lips twisted in a bitter smile. “Don't look so worried,” he said, trying to sound light and unconcerned. “I'll still do whatever I have to and get you back to where you belong. It's better this way, Kagome. You don't have to be confused about leaving. You can just go home and forget about me.”

 

As if she could! Kagome grit her teeth, her hands clenched in helpless fists. “There has to be something we can do. I can't accept that you're just going to let yourself die!”

 

Grinning and suddenly easier, he reached out and touched her hair. She looked into his eyes and saw the shadows there, echoes of past sins and things he couldn't forgive. Finally, he dropped his hand and turned away with a heavy sigh.

 

“There's nothing that can be done,” he said simply. “Nothing you or even Sesshomaru has the power to change. I didn't want to believe it, I didn't…” He paused and then shook his head. “I didn't want it to end like this, Kagome. I didn't want you to know because I want you to go back your life and be happy.”

 

“And if I can't do that?” she whispered. “There's no way to tell if she can help me, or even if she's willing. Were you just going to fade away if that was the case? Leave and never even give me the chance to say goodbye?”

 

I still love you…

 

“Kagome? Is everything all right?”

 

Rin was calling to them and Kagome shivered, covering her face with a trembling hand. She was startled when Inuyasha grabbed her wrist, pulling her close for just a moment.

 

“Don't say a word about this to anyone,” he said, low and urgent. “I don't want Rin to know, bad enough that she overheard Sesshomaru in the first place. It will just be harder if she knows it's going to be soon.”

 

Resolutely, she pushed her hair out her eyes and forced herself to smile. It was a pretty weak attempt and he knew it. Under the smile, her heart was grieving and she felt sick.

 

She was going to lose him…all over again.

 

oOo

 

“They're staring at us,” Rin whispered. The younger girl slipped her hand into the crook of Kagome's elbow, her fingers clutching at her sleeve. Kagome took that for a sign of how nervous Rin was, suddenly faced with the hostile stares of human beings. Of course she'd be scared, Kagome thought, trying to comfort her by placing her own hand over Rin's. After what had happened before, Rin might never be easy among her own kind again.

 

“Don't worry,” she murmured, trying not to look at anyone's face as Kohaku led the way into the village. “No one is going to get hurt, Rin. I promise.”

 

“Don't count on it,” Inuyasha muttered, standing just behind them. He glowered around at the curious faces, some looked frightened, but many looked angry. Angry that youkai had come to this place where youkai shouldn't be.

 

“Then I promise as well,” Kohaku said in a voice loud enough to be overheard. “You were invited here and I guarantee your safety.” He cast a long look around, his gaze resting on a small group of men that were standing just ahead of them. “They understand that.”

 

Kagome took a deep breath and squeezed Rin's hand again. “I trust you, Kohaku,” she said quietly. She knew what they had to look like; herself dressed in the ragged garb of a priestess, in the company of two youkai and one young girl. She hoped that Kohaku knew what he was doing, the last thing they needed was to get involved in yet another confrontation.

 

It seemed that Kohaku was telling the truth, as they passed through the village, the people silently moved out of their way. She wondered about the respect they seemed to have for him, their young leader. But it wasn't just respect, she could tell that much. They looked to Kohaku with a desperation that was thinly veiled, as if his presence was the only thing keeping an unseen evil at bay.

 

“Kohaku!”

 

A young woman pushed her way towards them, her face glowing with a happy smile. She ran to Kohaku and threw herself into his arms, catching him off guard and nearly knocking him to the ground. Her laugh rang out, clearing the air of all the tension and worry. Kagome thought she could actually see the villagers relax as Kohaku embraced the woman, his hands going to bury themselves in her dark hair even as he kissed her deeply.

 

“That must be his wife,” Rin murmured, her eyes twinkling as she watched the happy reunion. Kagome found she was grinning herself at the happiness Sango's tormented brother had found. Instinctively, she turned to look at Inuyasha, wondering if this display of affection might lighten even his grim expression. It would be so good to see him smile again, or to hear him laugh.

 

But he wasn't smiling; instead his brow was creased in a perplexed frown. Meeting her confused gaze, his expression hardened once again.

 

“What's the matter?” she asked, soft and urgent.

 

He shook his head. “That girl,” he muttered. “She's…her scent…”

 

“I'd like to introduce you to my wife,” Kohaku said, his voice making her turn as he approached them, his arm still around the shoulders of his very pregnant wife. Her heart-shaped face was flushed and her large eyes, an unusual shade of pale violet, were shining as she looked up at her husband. Kagome couldn't help but think she'd seen her somewhere before when the girl suddenly gave a startled cry.

 

“Inuyasha?” she asked, surprised. She left Kohaku's side to stare up at Inuyasha's face, her eyes wide and wondering. Then she laughed again, delighted. “It is you! You look just the same, but don't you remember me?”

 

“No,” he said, staring at the ground. “I don't know you at all.”

 

His denial didn't seem to bother her; she still seemed just as pleased. Kohaku's wife hadn't stopped smiling. “Of course not,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder at her husband. “I was just a little girl the last time he saw me,” she explained. “But I've never forgotten that he saved my life.”

 

A little girl? From years ago, but now grown? If Inuyasha had saved her life, that would mean that…

 

Kagome sucked in her breath with a hiss. “I know you,” she whispered, shock making her voice weak. “You…your name is Shiori.”

 

The girl beamed at her. “Kagome? You remember me?”

 

Kagome stared at her. She could see it now, the pretty little girl that had become a striking young woman. Only her hair was different, dark instead of bright silver. Blinking, Kagome shook her head and let out a weak laugh. Talk about the last person from her past that she'd ever expected to see. And here in a village of youkai exterminators…

 

And she was Kohaku's wife? Kagome's eyes were drawn to Shiori's round belly and her mouth became a dry desert. Here in a village of youkai exterminators, murderers according to Kouga and Inuyasha, they slaughtered demons with no cause or mercy. Brutal killers…

 

“But you're a half-demon,” she whispered, the words falling from her lips like tears.

 

Kohaku stiffened and glanced around, making sure that no one had overheard her. “I think,” he said slowly, “we should go inside. We need to talk.”

 

oOo

 

She was starting to feel a bit queasy and tried not to let it show. Her nerves twitched like ants were running over her skin and Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees as she faced Kohaku and Shiori.

 

“The other people here, they don't know about you?”

 

Kohaku's hand tightened on his wife's arm until Shiori looked at him anxiously. “I'd like to keep it that way.”

 

“I don't understand,” Rin said, looking from Kohaku, to Inuyasha, and back to Kagome as if answers would have to come from her. “What is so terrible?”

 

“She's a hanyou,” Inuyasha murmured, his eyes not moving from Shiori's face. “If these bastards find out, they'll kill her.”

 

“That's not true,” Shiori burst out, squeezing Kohaku's hand. “It's just that they wouldn't understand. This is my home; these people are like my family. Kohaku, tell them!”

 

He didn't answer for a long moment, and then Kohaku's head drooped forward. “I used to think that, Shiori,” he said in the hollow tone of a man who had forgotten how to hope. “Now I'm not so sure. They were ready to murder Shippou and Inuyasha, even Kaede couldn't have stopped them.”

 

Shiori looked troubled, putting her hand over her belly as she contemplated his words. Then she raised her face and looked defiantly at the visitors in her home. “Then they won't find out. I'll just keep dying my hair like I always have…”

 

“The baby,” Kagome murmured.

 

Silence fell again, an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air and clung to the skin like the smell of fresh tar. If Shiori's baby, three quarters human but nonetheless of demon heritage, were born with that heritage in evidence…there was no telling what would happen.

 

“What were you thinking, trying to hide it?” Kagome said softly. Inuyasha snorted and shifted where he stood against the wall. His expression was grim as the grave, solemn, but he kept silent and waited for Kohaku's answer. Rin kept biting her lips, glancing over at Shippou as if by watching over him, she could prevent anything terrible from being said or done.

 

“Maybe if you told them now,” Rin said, her light voice breaking into the tension like a delicate thread of hope. “Maybe then they wouldn't feel like they had been betrayed.”

 

“I can't do that,” Kohaku said, lacing his fingers with Shiori's. “We'd have to leave the village. Some of these people have been so badly hurt…you saw the way they looked at you and Kagome. Even if they didn't want to kill Shiori outright, they'd want her to leave.”

 

“So leave,” Rin whispered. “What's…what's so important that you have to stay? If they can't accept what Shiori is, then why would you…”

 

“Because I still have to lead my men,” Kohaku said sharply, glaring at Rin as if she'd defied his order. “They can't do it on their own, they weren't raised as exterminators. They're farmers and…”

 

“You stupid son of a bitch,” Inuyasha said, his voice a bitter lash. Kagome was startled to see the anger glowing in his eyes like coals in a fire. “You'd risk the lives of your wife and child by staying here?”

 

Kohaku's face was like stone, cold and hard. “It's none of your business.”

 

“The hell it's not!” Inuyasha stalked over to glare down at the young exterminator. He knelt until his face was only inches from Kohaku's. “You know what they'll do if they find out she's a hanyou. Is that what you want for her? For your child?”

 

Jaw clenched belligerently, Kohaku stared up at him without a trace of fear. “Stay out of this, demon,” he said, the scars on his face darkening. “You haven't got the right to decide what I do with my own family!”

 

“Yeah?” Inuyasha's expression had become a grim threat. “Suppose I say I do. I was born a hanyou, you little punk. I know exactly how humans deal with half-breed children. Even if they don't kill her outright, they'll make her life a living hell. No way in hell I'm going to stand by and let that happen.”

 

Glowering, Kohaku met his fury head on. “Is that a threat?”

 

“You bet your ass,” Inuyasha hissed. “I'll take her out of this village myself if I have to. Gonna stop me, brat?”

 

Kohaku surged forward; ready to attack the furious inuyoukai with his bare hands. Inuyasha tensed, but Shiori caught her husband's arm, holding him back. Kagome was already on her feet, trying to drag Inuyasha away to put some space between him and Kohaku. She couldn't believe how angry he was, or how no one else could hear the pain under that anger.

 

“If you touch my wife,” Kohaku snarled, gripping Shiori like he was afraid that Inuyasha might tear her away right then. “If you touch my wife, I'll make you pay!”

 

“Then protect her yourself!” Inuyasha shouted, his voice loud enough that it echoed off the wooden walls. “Killing every demon in the world isn't going to save her. Is your revenge worth her life?”

 

“It's not about revenge!”

 

Inuyasha's lip curled with contempt. “So you just love killing that much? Or you're too damn scared to do anything else? I know what a man looks like when he's afraid of the dark, Kohaku. And I've seen you staring at every shadow like you've already seen your own death!”

 

Kohaku's face suddenly went deathly pale and Kagome felt as though a chill had entered the room. It replaced the fury and pain, stealing around their legs like a winter wind charged with ice. Inuyasha was still breathing hard from his unexpected and emotional outburst, but right now she was thinking hard on his words.

 

Kohaku was afraid. The men of the village were also afraid. She'd seen it in their eyes, the wary way they moved. Something was riding these people, something so awful and so huge that Kohaku would even risk the lives of his wife and unborn child to stay and fight it. Dread moved through her body and she shook herself, keeping one hand tight on Inuyasha's red sleeve.

 

“I think we should all calm down,” she said, the strain making her voice quiver.

 

“Fuck.” Inuyasha shook off her hand and stalked to the door. “I can't stand here and watch him piss away what's he's got,” he muttered, his tone dark with memory. “If he wants to be a fool, let him.”

 

She was aching with Inuyasha's pain, feeling his torn emotions as keenly as her own. For a long moment, Kagome remembered how it had once been, before the jewel had changed him. Like now, she'd been able to feel his hurts like a saw against her nerves and been driven to comfort him.

 

Once upon a time, a girl fell in love…

 

Kagome closed her eyes, aware that the fear inside her heart was still growing. Rin sat silent as mouse, tears standing in her eyes. In the corner of the small room, Shippou stirred in his sleep, mumbling while his limbs twitched in time to the fearful jerks of her heart. She blinked, caught her breath.

 

Oh no…

 

“I won't go,” Shiori said suddenly, pressing her face against Kohaku's shoulder. “Even if Inuyasha tried to make me leave, I wouldn't go. We're…we're together in this Kohaku. Just like we agreed.”

 

“He's right,” Kohaku answered in a dull, leaden voice. “I should send you away, somewhere safer. The more we fight, the more we kill, the worse it gets. I can't run away from it, Shiori. But I should make you safe if I can.”

 

“Kohaku,” Kagome whispered. The ache in her heart wouldn't face, it was tightening around her and pain had lodged like a spike in her chest. “Kohaku, what are you afraid of?”

 

She saw him flinch before he turned his face away, staring at Shiori's fingers where they held his own. “Nothing. Inuyasha doesn't know what he's talking about, the bastard.”

 

Kagome ground her teeth together. “That's not good enough,” she spat. “You brought us here, so tell me the truth.”

 

What are you afraid of!

 

Suddenly the mat that covered the doorway was swept aside as a young man rushed into the room without even knocking. Kohaku scowled at him. “Goru, I told you to stay outside and…”

 

“I'm sorry, Kohaku,” the boy gasped out, sweat beading his forehead. “It's come back again, and it's really strong this time!”

 

“Shit!” Kohaku didn't waste time, grabbing the boy by the arm and running for the door. “Get Natsu, tell him to wake the men off-duty! I want everyone armed and on their feet. Tell the women to stay inside, we'll fight them off but it could get messy if they're this close.”

 

Kagome ran after him, Shiori and Rin at her heels. “Kagome, no!” Shiori cried out, trying to catch her sleeve. “We have to stay inside, it's dangerous!”

 

“What's dangerous?” Kagome demanded, coming to a stop and nearly toppling over as Rin ran into her. She turned and steadied the girl, gripping Shiori with her other hand. “Tell me what's going on!”

 

Then she felt it like a blow. The presence was overwhelming, coming down from the darkened sky and nearly crushing her. Pain, so much grief…she staggered and Rin caught her, supporting her weight as Shiori urged them both back to the hut. This time the aura of grief felt like she could touch it; mold it in her hands like clay. Kagome's head swam and she fought the sudden nausea with everything she had.

 

“Damn it, they've broken through the barriers!”

 

“Get the women inside! You men, follow Kohaku! We can't let them in the village!”

 

She could hear the desperation in the men's voices, the panic as they seized weapons and armor. Shouting orders to each other, swords and spears clattering, it was chaotic, but all Kagome could feel was the bone-deep terror and heart-wrenching grief. Above their heads darkness was gathering that blotted out the stars. Heavy and poisonous as a miasma, it shrouded the sky and she could hear the terrified livestock baying like the cries of fallen souls.

 

Souls…

 

Kagome gasped, wrenching her arms away from Shiori and Rin. That was it, the sadness she'd been sensing since the first time she'd encountered the presence. She and Shippou had been driven to their knees by it then, and again later. It only made sense now that she thought about it. She'd tried to tell Inuyasha before, but she'd let herself be distracted by her own emotions and needs.

 

“It's a human soul trapped among the souls of demons,” she whispered.

 

Shiori drew a soft, surprised breath. “You've felt it before?” she asked wonderingly. “Kohaku told me too, but I didn't know…”

 

“It's been following him,” Kagome murmured. Damned right it had, just like it had been reaching out to her…to Inuyasha…to anyone who'd been connected to the vanished Shikon no Tama.

 

“That soul,” she said, pointing at the sky. “That soul is Midoriko, the priestess who created the jewel by trapping the souls of demons within her own.”

 

“Who?” Shiori looked baffled. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

 

She stared. “Kohaku never told you?”

 

The young woman shook her head and Kagome groaned, covering her face. Of course not, why would Kohaku burden his wife with what had been the most horrible experience of his life? Or maybe he just didn't want to remember, she'd seen his face clench in pain whenever they spoke of the past. He'd made a different life for himself and tried to leave the old one behind.

 

She knew all too well that the past wouldn't lie quietly. It had a way of sneaking up behind you to put icy hands around your throat. Kagome thought she'd buried her past, her feelings, and her grief. But Kohaku hadn't even had that option, everything he was and everything he'd been kept sliding back into the present. No matter how many he killed, or what he'd protected, he couldn't escape.

 

No more than she could.

 

“I have to go find Inuyasha,” Kagome said, grim and determined. She searched the ground frantically, knowing she'd better not go out there bare handed. The village was almost deserted now, the women and children in hiding, their men out battling a horde of god only knew how many hungry demons. Just as before, they'd been drawn by the power of the jewel. That the jewel no longer existed in physical terms, but only in the damage it had done, was irrelevant.

 

Spying a discarded bow, her lips curved in what could have been a smile.

 

“Kagome, what are you doing?”

 

“What I can,” she murmured, gathering arrows from where they'd spilled on the ground. It was pity she had nothing to carry them with and bundled a few together with the frayed ribbon from her hair.

 

Like it or not, she had the power of priestess…if not the heart of one. For all she'd shoved that part of her behind her, tried to strangle it in the darkness of power and self-loathing…she still owned it. Kohaku needed someone on his side who could purify a host of demons. And she needed, yes, needed! to fight beside Inuyasha. Only she could keep him safe. Only she could keep him from letting himself be sacrificed. She knew what she'd seen in his face earlier.

 

It was the face of man who no longer fears death, but does not long for it. A man who would be ready to die if meant sacrificing himself to protect something he cared about. Something he could protect.

 

Kagome bared her teeth, not realizing that she'd adopted Inuyasha's fighting smile. The hell she'd let him get himself killed! Not tonight and not ever.

 

She still had things to say to him. Needed to say to him. Before it was too late and she'd never have the chance again. She needed to tell him about the baby, she couldn't bear it if he died without knowing. If she'd had any reason for surviving, for enduring the pain of loss and the grief of a love betrayed…this was it. She wanted him to know that she would have kept his baby.

 

She wanted him to know that she'd never stopped loving him!