InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ The Ugly Truth ( Chapter 42 )

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

A/n: Ohs, it's so awesome to see such strong responses to the characters o.o<3! Yay! OMFGIWONTHE2011 MARCH TERM. Best Lemon! Thank you to those who voted for me ;3;... This took forevverrrrr sorry for the long update. I was trying to figure out what to say. I'm finally satisfied =v=.

KnittingKnots: Buyo just made that chapter for you, didn't he?

SplendentGoddess: Bwaaa, ily.

silverfeather: ohmigawsh, she is. Sadly, a lot of her is based off of me :x. But I tried to keep that pureness and goodness to her-as a miko it is kinda her job to save everyone. Lyk a superhero. Or something. Or so I'd think. At least, it makes her feel that way.

Sovergeinty: ...they totally are. But we love them. I had a cat that loved french fries. And yogurt. And pickles. Any anything else I happened to be eating.

Blackr0s3s: Aw, feel better sugar. You're right, but she's on a superhero drive cause she feels only she and Inuyasha are the ones who can do anything.

unistar: :)

Ananova: Thank you for reading my story :). It's always nice to see a new face.

nan_de_mo_chibi_otoko: Thanks dear!! <3

deipurple: thanks hun. I am glad you enjoyed it :).

river: LOl you're so funny. I'm happy you feel so strongly, I know I myself wouldn't be as forgiving. But don't forget, she still hates them. :).

Sorry for the long delay. I seriously could not think of how to begin this chapter, but a burst of inspiration hit me :x. Let's hope it doesn't go away too fast. <3.  

Thank Knitting Knots for betaing :).

Luna-


Inuyasha stalked back and forth across the hilltop cautiously like a predator waiting to ambush, frozen quiet having followed the words he had spoken  to her like a timeless eternity. He watched Kagome from the corner of his eye, the way she stared blankly at the snow, the small puffs of clouds that exited her mouth as her breath came faster and faster. The way she seemed far away in memories he wished he could lock up and steal away from her forever.

The pain of the knowledge of people you thought you knew not being who you expected them to be. He knew from experience they rarely were...

Like Kikyou...

Like Kagome's village. Those who had raised her to be the kind and loving person he knew her to be, then to be the same people who nearly destroyed the very spirit they gave her. He turned to face her slowly, and he felt the way his muscles moved beneath his flesh. They were so tense they felt like lead-heavy, solid, but ready to uncoil and strike out at anything that may be a threat to her.

He didn't know how to make this better.

He didn't know the right answer.

All he knew was he had to get the fuck out of there.

Right now.

He grabbed her into his arms and said sharply, "We're leaving."

He brooked no room for arguement.

And for a moment, he thought he wouldn't get any.

Then she had spoken so softly, so quietly, that for a moment he thought had misheard. He was desperately hoping he had misheard.

Unfortunately, he was mistaken.

"Inuyasha, wait."

He backed away from her, almost accusingly, and barked an angry "What?!" at her. She seemed unfazed. Something akin to determination laid in her eyes. It left him feeling shellshocked, exposed, vulnerable. And if there was one thing Inuyasha hated the most in the world, it was feeling vulnerable in a place he did not feel safe.

"Inuyasha, we can't leave."

Inuyasha threw one hand down in sheer disgust, clenching a handful of his bangs and pulling at it in distress, "How can we not?! Kagome, they tried to murder us! They tried to murder YOU. This is where I draw the line, enough of this savior bullshit! You aren't Kami-sama, you aren't here to save them, and they certainly didn't try to do anything to save you. They left you for dead and if it wasn't for me finding you, YOU WOULD BE DEAD!" He damn near screamed it at her, but he didn't care. He was too wound up, too pissed off, and he wished for once she would see the logic in her madness.

It must be that.

Being pregnant made her insane.

It was the only thing that made sense.

"Inuyasha, stop," it was a blunt request, but it served to set him off more.

"What, are you so crazy you're willing to put our child at risk?! I'M NOT TAKING YOU AROUND THOSE IDIOTS!" His tirade started to make her loose her cool, and she was near having enough.

"Inuyasha, maybe if you tried LISTENING to me before going off like that you'd know I had NO INTENTION of going near them!" she stamped her foot and grabbed his forelock, pulling down hard enough to grab his attention. "Now stop fucking yelling at me and hear me out!"

Inuyasha took a deep breath to try and calm himself, giving her hard eyes but calming enough to give her a chance to speak.

She released his hair and crossed her arms, closing her eyes and breathing in to calm herself as well. Or, so he thought. Really, she was taking a deep breath to give him the ear lashing of his life.

"First of all, I'D NEVER HURT YOUR CHILD AND IF YOU EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN I'M GOING TO KICK YOU SO HARD IN YOUR MAN PARTS YOU WILL NEVER EVER BE ABLE TO SIRE ANOTHER ONE OF OUR CHILDREN EVER AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Suddenly, she seemed ten feet tall. Covered in fire. Towering over Inuyasha, ready to come down on him with all the wrath of the Netherworld. He cowered beneath her anger, gulping audibly as she breathed great heaving breaths of rage and hellfury.

Aren't mikos supposed to be filled with the love and light of Kami-sama, full of grace and mercy? I think he missed the memo on this one...

The seconds spanned into minutes full of tense anger and fear. Fear, mostly on Inuyasha's end, that she would really live up to her threats.

Then, as quickly as she was all rage and fury, it fwooshed out of her like a great wind, deflating her and leaving her sodden and almost fragile looking. Then, there was the crying.

He sputtered in disbelief, faceplanting into the snow as she wailed.

"YOU THINK I'M A BAD MOTHER DON'T YOOOOOUU...." she covered her face with her hands, sobbing mercilessly into her palms.

"N-no Kagome, no! I never said that!!" Inuyasha was scrambling, backtracking to fix the damage he had done and was doing a poor job of it.

"Y-yes y-you d-d-d~~~~iddddddd...." she hiccuped between words, harsh and panting breaths coming out in rapid succession. Inuyasha waved his hands frantically, trying his best to quiet her crying.

It was the last thing she needed to do while she may have a cold.

"No Kagome, no! I didn't!" He patted her back awkwardly, unsure if she wanted him touching her. But she vaulted herself into her arms, drenching his inner haori with giant globs of shame and regret.

Great, what did I say?

He gave himself a mental slap for loosing his temper the way he did. Sighing deeply, but quietly so as not to alert Kagome to his aggravation, he rocked her gently for a while.

When she quieted down, he smoothed her hair down over her shoulders. "Kagome, I know you'll be a great mother. I'm sorry. That was my anger talking..." he began softly, whispering just above her ear as he nipped the appendage affectionately with his teeth. Her hiccuping lessened, as she leaned into his obvious try to comfort her.

"You're such a baka though," she sniffed dejectedly, rubbing the arm of his hi-nezumi haori across her nose to rid herself of the snot that had gathered there.

My clothes have been used as a hankerchief more than  I can count...

"I am a baka. A terrible, horrible baka you just so happen to be mated to. Gomen?" Inuyasha nuzzled her consolingly, hoping to placate her via cuteness. Not that he was cute. He was manly, in all ways.

Just something she deemed cute.

He figured he could handle that.

Since it was Kagome, and all.

He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, looking into her face seriously and tried to figure out the source of her original thoughts.

Why would she want to stay?

"Kagome, what is it you wanted to do?" he asked her softly, watching her continue to sniffle ever so slightly. She dabbed at her nose and hiccupped, looking at him in a sideways manner that made him curious.

"I j-just. I wanted to kill the youkai... then we could go. W-we didn't have to see anyone, you know? I may have not fogiven them but I'm not heartless..."

A single puppy ear flicked in consternation, wishing he had just listened to her sooner. At the very least, he could of avoided her flipping her lid at him... But bygones be bygones, he figured what she proposed was a very good compromise.

Though I hate doing work and not getting my pay for it.

The thought had him rubbing his fangs along his lower lip in annoyance, having made the weeks-long travel to do what they came to do, only to leave with nothing to show for it.

Except a wife's clean conscience.

He sighed heavily and stood, then offered her his hand, which she gladly took in order to stand herself. "Ok, Kagome. If that's really what you want, we can do that... I guess," he mumbled the last bit to himself, offering his back to her which she took without much to say.

Except a reprimanding tweak to his ear, causing him to yelp and grip her thighs tighter to his body.

"What?!" he barked at her, casting her a withering glare over his shoulder.

"No complaining!" she scolded back, wagging one finger in his face.

"I didn't say anything!"

"'I guess' means you'd rather let them all rot!"

He snorted, answering without thinking about what he was saying first, "Keh, of course!"

And again came another tug to his ear, causing him to yelp aloud once more.

"Itai... Would you cut that out, woman!? Unless you'd rather the youkai hear us!"

She huffed loudly behind him, clasping herself around his shoulders as he leapt off gently from the top of the hillside, continuing at a walking pace way around the outskirts of the village's forest.

"We don't even know what kind of youkai it is, besides-- the sooner it finds us, the sooner we can leave."

He couldn't say he disagreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly.

"I'd prefer the element of surprise."

A slight snicker in his ear rung mischief, but she said nothing.

Curiousity peaked, and he turned both ears toward her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing!" she stated, all too innocently.

He frowned, "No, what?"

Another chuckle exited her lips and she whispered to him, "Anyone who saw you would be surprised!"

He stopped midstride and fumed, "ALL RIGHT, THAT'S IT. PREGNANCY HAS MADE YOU INSANE! Now you're making fun of me?!"

"No, no, of course not. Don't be so sore."

His ears flattened against his head, and he continued on moping all the while.


A frightened shout  of warning echoed in his ears, making his blood boil.

"INUYASHA, LOOK OUT!" she was pointing to a copse of trees, leaning farther over his shoulder than he found comfortable, and if he had not been hanyou it would have thrown him off balance. As it was, he threw his shoulder back to forcibly move her into a better position and dashed off as far from the trees as he could, leaning low to the ground. He could tell he was leaning farther down and moving faster than Kagome had anticipated, what with the way her breath hitched and her fingers scrabbled at his inner haori to gain purchase. She had flattened herself against him, melding to him and moving with him like they were one. He ducked beneath low laying branches and raced through the trees of the forest, his legs pumping faster and faster beneath him.

But the sound of an enraged screech, bellowing through the darkening skies, felling the trees around it and crashing them down reached them closer and closer. He hadn't had a chance to get a good look at it, but he wasn't about to be caught out in the open either. Not with Kagome.

From the small glimpse he had seen, it looked vaguely insect. He knew he had to take a serious look to see what it was, to understand what he was up against, and he bit his lip in thought as he dug his heels into the ground to stop abruptly. Raven hair spilled over his shoulder and tickled his face, her hot breath coming fast against the back of his neck, but he didn't have time to appreciate these things.

Instead, he concentrated on crouching low to the ground, and he heard Kagome's stammer barely above the pounding of blood in his ears, "Inu, what are you doii---KYA!"

He uncoiled himself like a spring, leaping high straight up in the air and turning around to gaze at the surrounding area.

The sun was setting, casting a dying orange glow across the top of the canopy. Not far off to the east laid the village, smoke rising from the chimneys and people bustling about at the sound of the furious youkai. The commotion could be heard for miles, he was sure, and it was apparent by the way the villagers gathered together on the edge of the town talking frantically that such was the case. They all resembled ants to him at the moment, and he was praying to the Kamis they weren't planning on coming to investigate and remained cowards like humans tended to be.

And there the ugly bastard was. It was a scorpion. Some sort of youkai that was supposed to reside on the mainland mostly. He had heard tales of them crossing the great oceans to find territory, but he didn't actually take the stories to be true.

Eh, guess I'm wrong sometimes.

He snorted audibly, as he began to fall from the peak of his crescendo. He was grinning at the way Kagome held tight to him when he suddenly noticed it. "Tell someone when you plan on doing that, will you?!" was all she managed to shout before gravity started to pull them back towards the Earth, plummeting at high speeds and all he could manage to think was, But then your kimono won't open that much when you move to wrap your legs around me.

Ah, but who couldn't enjoy a hentai moment or two from their wife's terror.

He figured he did have a right to it, after all.

Shrugging to himself mentally, he bolted off again, trying to find a suitable place for Kagome to hide...

There.

"Kagome, here, get inside this tree," he ushered her off his back, and she only showed a token of resistence when she began to stutter. "Wh-what are..."

Inuyasha shook his head in the negative, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I need you safe. I need you to stay here, and stay hidden. I'll come back for you." He could tell she was about to yell, and instead he kissed her passionately to quell any arguements she may have thought of. He felt her melt against him instinctively, her small hands fisting his shirt.

He quickly promised himself that after this was over, he was going to have to have his way with her, snowing or not. He tilted his head further, allowing himself more passage into her mouth, dominating the kiss. She pressed more fully into him, suggestively, he knew. His eyebrow ticked, annoyed by the timing of it all.

Why couldn't we have found time for this before the stampeding youkai showed up?

He only moved away when Kirara's head popped up forcibly between them, and he looked down at her somewhat drugged and awkwardly after being distracted. She mewled at him to go, and he nodded, looking down at Kagome and pushing her back gently into the hallow of the tree.

"Please, stay," he said it more as a command than a request, and didn't bother to listen to anything she had to say as he leaped up through the branches of the tree. He could hear her calling his name in protest though, but he merely snickered.

And the kisses work everytime.

He somewhat adjusted himself though, scowling that perhaps they worked a bit too well.

He leapt from tree to tree, trying to work his way closer to the scorpion, which wasn't hard. Well, not entirely.

The only thing that maybe-kind-of-not-really was a pain in the ass was the fact it was spraying its poison all over, everywhere. Melting the trees, the snow, the rocks, anything in its path trying to find its prey.

More specifically, himself.

"Hey you stupid bastard, I'm right here!" he called out, trying to lead him and that fucking venom away from the fitches and his pregnant wife. And as with almost all mostly animalistic youkai, it worked like a charm. Rawr, rawr, angry sounds, smash smash.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes from the predictability of it all.

These idiots nearly killed me and can't take care of  this? I should commit seppuku I'm so fucking embarrassed.

He rubbed his eyes in consternation, heated agitation painting his cheeks red, and he was glad Kagome wasn't there to comment on the fact he was blushing.

Not that he was blushing anyway.

Men didn't blush.

Getting right to it, he withdrew Testusaiga and took off again across the treetops, leaping effortlessly from the top of one to another. The scorpion had been charging him all the while, and was fast approaching. Inuyasha predicted his opponent's move beforehand and dodged off to the right before it had a chance to react fast enough, venom spraying the area he had been just mere seconds ago.

Still.

"Too slow, fucker!" he jibed at the insect and it screeched, aiming at him yet again, and missing.

Yet again.

Inuyasha clung to the side of a particularly tall tree, jeering at the scorpion, "What's a matter, a brainless insect like you angry you can't beat even a fucking half-breed? Cry more you little bitch!" Expectably, more poison. He gave the scorpion a short bark-laugh and pointed Tessaiga at him.

"You're so pathetic! Why don't you go back to picking on little ningen children, then maybe at least you'd have a chance at something that might be challenging!"

Come on fucker, follow me.

He had been taunting it on purpose, knowing if the fight got too close to Kagome it would undoubtedly sense the shikon jewel. And he knew once it started, though it probably wouldn't  last long, he would get so caught up in what he was doing he wouldn't pay attention.

All it takes is one mistake and I've already made too many with her.

Of course, he had the right mindset. Of course, he was being smart and tactful. Of course, he was being mindful.

For once.

For the only one time he had ever thought to do it.

Everything was going smoothly.

...Of course it wasn't bound to last.

Inuyasha barely registered as the wind shifted upwind. Pieces of his hair floated in the icy breeze, shimmering slightly in the faint light of the waxing moon that was climbing its way into the sky. The youkai stopped its charge, as if something had caught its attention. He felt his eyes dilate, widening as the youkai spun around to face its back toward him. "Shiiikoonnn...."

It charged toward Kagome's direction.

"SHIT!"

He was naturally fast enough to catch up. That wasn't the problem. The problem was his anger, his blinding rage that the thing dared go after his mate. He straight on jumped onto the thing's tail, stabbing Tetsusaiga deep into its armored hide and ignoring the way the flesh of his left hand sizzled from his grip. Residual venom had been leaking from its tail, and  was making his skin boil. He barely winced, too angry to care, pulling back on the tail while Testusaiga was buried within it and causing the scorpion to howl in pain. "FUCKER, I'M RIGHT HERE! DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!" He continued to pulling with all his strength, causing the thing to flip on its side. It haphazardly sprayed poison anywhere, trying to get Inuyasha off it, and bits of it rained on him, causing his flesh to bubble where it landed.

He growled, supressing the pain of it, and twisted his body around, dragging Testusaiga forcibly with his weight and severing the youkai's tail off completely. That did nothing for the pinchers that immediately followed his assault, though.

"THAT'S RIGHT, DON'T FUCKING IGNORE ME YOU BASTARD!"

Its eyes glowed red with rage and lust for power, hissing out its desires. "Shikon..."

Inuyasha parried a pincher, a slow attempt to grab him at that, and lobbed it off with little to no effort. Really, it wasn't much of an opponent, but he had preferred to make this as non messy as possible. And here he was, injured, of all things. By this scummy waste of space.

Tch, pathetic.

He scowled, bringing back his sword and didn't watch as bits of gems covered the surface, more than ready to end the encounter that had given him far to much grief considering what it was he was facing.

"KONGO SOUHA!" bits of diamonds flew like daggers, a death sentence for the creature as it pierced the hide and made the scorpion bleed out. Inuyasha snorted, allowing Tetsusaiga to revert to its original form and sheathed his blade. Bits of blood had splattered across his face and he wiped them clean away, or at least tried to. He also tried to wipe the bits of venom that bothered his left hand onto his hi-nezumi pants, with little forthcoming and he winced at the way it smoked and burned its way down to his muscle.

"...waste of time," he commented quietly to no one, allowing himself one more kick to the dying beast for good measure, for all the trouble it had put him through.

"I...will not be the last hanyou," it spoke to him, and he regarded it quietly.

"So you have enough brain to actually speak, huh? Guess you're not as stupid as I gave you credit for," he continued to try and wipe the venom off on his pants, but it wasn't working. The way it was beginning to eat at the muscles beneath his flesh was beginning to get really painful. He wouldn't show it though. Not even though the youkai was dying.

He wouldn't let it know it had caused him any sort of pain. He knew better than to do that.

Never show weakness.

It moved against the shards that pinned it to the forest floor, the whole of the area sizzling and steaming from the damage it had caused.

"I will not be the last," it repeated, as the light when out in its eyes. He stared quietly at the youkai, for how long... he wasn't sure. It seemed an eternity as he stood there in the quiet of the night, the last words of the dead youkai ringing in his ears. He was reflecting on on how true that actually was.

And that truth behind those words was that it would last him a lifetime. Kagome's lifetime.

No, the fucking stupid thing is... you're right. It won't end....

Ever.

He turned around to leave, hoping to find a stream or a pond or something. Anything to help him get cleaned up so Kagome wouldn't have to see the way the bone of his palm was beginning to shine through. He grimaced, jogging along and trying to hold at bay the growing sensation of burning. It began to shoot up his arm, making him sweat and breathe heavily.

It would be just his luck if the poison was more than an acid.

Like maybe it could be actually poisonous. But who heard of poison be poisonous, nope, couldn't be that.

He sarcastically berated himself for being so stupid. It was what he wanted to avoid, why he wanted Kagome away from him. So he could avoid exactly this.

He happened upon a small creek, and fell promptly to his knees. It was frozen, but there was rushing water beneath the surface. He punched through the thin ice, and without thought, he simply thrust his entire torso and head underneath the water.

Anything to stop the agony that was beginning to race through his skin.

I'm so hot...

He knew he couldn't hold his breath much longer. He knew he needed to get back to Kagome. But the freezing waters felt so good on his bone, his muscles, washing away the venom that stuck to him like glue and swam through his veins like wildfire.

But somewhere in the back of his mind there was a knowing, something that made his ears twitch and open his eyes, something that made him rise from the water that soothed his pain. That same knowing that always let him know there was something wrong.

And this time, he wasn't willing to ignore it. He stood, and began to race toward Kagome, even before he heard her screaming for him into the dead of the night.



She had been so foolish. She had originally paid attention to what he told her, she even listened. Even though she hadn't liked it...

She had stayed, even after the surrounding forest had gone silent, even after she knew the fight was over. But Inuyasha hadn't returned.

She had begun to be worried.

It should have been so simple for him, they had fought worse and he had come out barely scratched before.

But the minutes spanned out, and she had been waiting for him to cockily strut back to her, Tetsusaiga thrown over his shoulder like a prize and to scoff at the scorpion for being weak.

When more than twenty minutes had passed, she had left the hallow, regardless of Kirara's mewls of protest. She merely snuggled the lump of Buyo closer to her for warmth and began to trek through the forest with their pack, looking for her husband. She was calling his name softly, trying to alert him to her presence without being too obvious about it.

But being slightly obvious about it was still too obvious, and not good enough.

She shouldn't have called out for him at all.

Otherwise she wouldn't have been surrounded by male villagers, many of whom she recognized, with pitchforks and katanas and bows pointed directly at her hostily. She managed to scream out for Inuyasha once before one of them threatened her to shut up.

Kirara stood before her, growling in threat, though what her beautiful neko-hanyou thought she could do, she wasn't sure.

"Drop your pack, woman, now!" a man who was only somewhat familiar commanded and she did as she was told. She was trying to keep her eyes averted, clutching the lump of cat beneath her kimono tightly to her chest in fear, allowing the curtain of hair to sweep before her face, to aid in hiding her identity from them.

Please, Inuyasha, hurry...

"What's a pregnant woman like you travelling alone at night away from the villages!? Only a youkai could have survived what has been attacking this area! Now speak! Are you a mononoke?!"

She recalled their name-calling, their jeers. Their accusations.

Hanyou-loving whore.

She didn't bother to answer.

"She's youkai, there's nothing else she could be, kill her!"

She closed her eyes, prepared to take the strike, ready to loose her life to these people again. Maybe it was only just they finished the job. Maybe it was her punishment for loving something deemed evil.

The only evil I see stands in front of me.

It was her last thought before a burst of flame glazed the insides of her eyelids a bright orange. There was a snarl, a hissing, the sound of breaking wood.

Her deathblow never came.

She opened her eyes and before her stood a giant feline, with markings similiar to Kirara. Giant fangs came from her mouth, flames coming from the bottoms of her feet.

She gasped reaching out for her baby, her Kirara in shock as someone shot an arrow at her.

"NO!"

She tried to go to her Kirara, her poor Kirara, who had an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. But still, her brave nekomata would not back down.

"Stop, that is enough!" an older female voice rang out through the throngs of people. Immediately, the fight stilled. Kirara went back to her mistress's side, standing before her and hissing in warning. Kagome laid a single hand on Kirara's back, tears welling in her eyes as she watch blood drip down the front of her paws.

"Do not harm this child," Kaede pushed through the crowd on a horse, and Kagome noticed she looked very different than how she was 4 years ago.

Kagome gasped at her missing eye, revealed by the eyepatch she wore. The wrinkles that marred her once smooth flesh. The hardness that laid in her once kind face, a stoic demeaner that didn't match her memories.

Traitorous memories of flowers and herbs and hearthfires and good stew and love and trust and hugs and reassurance and safety and comfort all washed away by red and red and blood and anxiety that threatened to consume her alive.

"Detain her. The only way she lived is if that hanyou rescued her, and by the look of it never left her side," Kaede observed, always the perceptive miko Kagome remembered her to be. Kirara lunged at Kaede when she gave the order Kagome be held hostage, but was immediately stilled by a sutra that paralyzed her.

Kaede was still a force to be reckoned with, just as Kagome remembered her to be. All she could do right then was remember.

"No, Kirara!" Kagome tried to race to her, but a man grabbed her by her arms and held a knife to her throat.

"You mean this is the hanyou-loving bitch we killed all those years ago, Kaede-sama?" another man slapped his knee, as if it was the most hilarious joke ever, howling with laughter. "Why wait, why not kill her now and be done with it? Especially that monstrosity she carries inside her womb!"

Kaede levelled him with a solid leer that sent him into silence even as Kagome felt her blood run cold at the mention. She thought her heart might stop.

No!

"You will not harm her. He comes, and if you kill her there is nothing to stop the hanyou from killing us all. Your wives, your children, all in revenge. I doubt you would want that," she stated factually. The other villagers looked at her seriously, considering the weight of her words and what it was worth.

Apparently they valued their lives over taking hers.

Right on cue, Inuyasha barreled through the trees like a tempest, snarling and glaring. He let out an outraged howl when he saw the steel pressed into his mate's throat and hollared his threats at them, "TOUCH HER AND I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!"

Though Kagome knew, they were as good as dead already.

Kaede sent him a perplexed look, observing him from head to toe, taking in the injuries that had tears pouring down Kagome's face before she even realized it.

Bits of muscle and bone were obvious in his face, especially his left hand. She found herself gasping, though in doing so caused the blade to knick her skin just the barest bit, sending a small trickle of blood down her throat to her collar bone.

It was enough to cause Inuyasha's nostrils to flare and his eyes to begin to bleed red, even though he had one hand on Tetsusaiga. She whispered to him, knowing he'd hear her while the others wouldn't, "I'm ok." She was near hyperventilating, not wanting to see them all massacred, not wanting to go against the whole reason she had come, not wanting more bloodshed, more violence, more mindless hate.

No more. Please Inuyasha... You're better than this. You're better than them.

The red in his eyes began to recede, though the look of disgust and hatred never left his features.

Kaede then spoke. "You killed the youkai that has been plaguing our land."

It was a statement more than a question.

"What do you think, Baba," he threw his insult at her venomously, spitting at the ground at her feet. Her face remained impassive as she considered his words.

"Take them to the village. Watch him, he'll be looking for opportunities. Bring the neko. Hanyou, if you so much as touch a villager we will kill her, understand?"

He nodded, and Kagome knew he was wishing she would drop dead right then, literally. She watch his eyes calculate how serious she was, but he knew from the past not to put it beyond them to do such a thing to his pregnant mate.

She was a child when they tried to kill her. She was with child now.

The irony didn't get past Kagome.

The world was cruel and Kagome began to wonder if Inuyasha was right all along.

The Kamis really did hate them.

There was nothing they could do as they were lead to the village.

Please, keep my baby safe.

All she could do was pray it'd be ok.


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