InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Within ❯ To Protect ( Chapter 20 )

Something to Think About (courtesy of Orlandolover): Save the earth, it's the only planet with chocolate!!

 

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The Soul Within

Chapter Twenty

 

Kagome ran faster than she had ever run before. She had to make it! She had to get to Inuyasha! He was human, there was no way that he could defeat Naraku by himself! As Kagome ran, she could make out two sillouhettes in the distance, battling ferociously.

 

Kagome wanted to collapse in relief, but she kept running. “Inuyasha!” she yelled, as she got closer to the battle.

 

When she finally reached them, she put her hands on her knees and gasped for breath. Upon looking at Inuyasha, she realized that her worst fears were nearly confirmed. He looked ready to fall any second. He was bloody and exhausted. “Inuyasha, are you - ”

 

“Fine,” he answered. He gave her a little grin. “I'm still alive, ain't I?”

 

Naraku smiled, looking like he had just finished a refreshing nap. “You look tired, Kagome,” he remarked in a would-be casual voice. His eyes hadn't changed since Kagome had left. “But you are not half as tired as I am. Tired of this nonsense. You are coming back with me.”

 

Kagome's breath was beginning to come back. “And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?”

 

“By attacking that which makes you strong.”

 

My bow!

 

Kagome gripped her bow protectively and notched an arrow to it. “Just try.”

 

“You are foolish Kagome. If you don't even know your own strengths and weaknesses, how can you hope to discover mine? That pathetic bow doesn't interest me.” He shifted his eyes to Inuyasha. “He does.”

 

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Miroku gripped his staff in a crushing fist. He had never been so angry in his entire life. “You…will…pay,” he said between clenched teeth.

 

Goshinki laughed cruelly. “Oh, this is too great. You love her!” Goshinki kept laughing as if he had been told a hilarious joke. “You love her…and I killed her. Oops!” Goshinki cackled.

 

Flaming ice.

 

That would be the perfect way to describe what Miroku felt like. His insides were numb, cold, in shock, blank, empty. However, on the outside, Miroku was engulfed with a fiery intent that was so murderous, it required no conscious thought.

 

Without being aware of his actions, Miroku held out his staff and shot forward like an arrow. He sprinted with inhuman speed toward the ogre's heart…

 

…And Goshinki's horrible laughs finally ceased.

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It took a second for Kagome to comprehend what Naraku had said. Her intuition suddenly screamed that she should be very worried, and that scared her more than Naraku's words. “What…what does Inuyasha have to do with anything?” she asked suspiciously.

 

Before giving Kagome an answer, Naraku had already snapped back into battle mode. Faster than she could've hoped to expect it, Naraku whirled around and struck Inuyasha with his tentacle…right through his stomach.

 

“NO!!!” Kagome screamed as Inuyasha fell backward. She ran to him and managed to catch him before he hit the ground. “Inuyasha! Say something! Be alive, please!”

 

Inuyasha coughed. “Kill that bastard,” was all he said as he groaned in pain. “Do it right now,” he added for good measure.

 

Kagome nodded. “I will.” Her eyes hardened. “Believe me, I will. Just…promise to be alive when I'm finished.”

 

Inuyasha coughed again, but managed a weak grin. “Promise.”

 

Kagome stood up and looked at Naraku.

 

“Aww, are you sad Kagome?” he asked snidely.

 

That did it. Kagome snapped. “I'm going to send you to hell for hurting Inuyasha!” she yelled. The break of her control led to the destabilization of her powers. Pink energy leaked out of her in massive quantities with the force of a waterfall, giving no indication of stopping.

 

Naraku smirked casually. “Temper, Kagome. Throw away all of your energy like that and you'll die with no help from me.”

 

Kagome's body was enveloped in pink energy and her hair flew around as if blown by dozens of gale storms. If she heard Naraku, she gave no indication. In fact, it seemed as if she were no longer completely conscious. Her head was bowed, her body was slumped, arms hung loosely, and power continued to spill out of her.

 

She slowly straightened her posture and lifted her eyes. Naraku raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. In addition to the unadulterated murder in her orbs, the normal chocolate colour was a dark pink instead. Gradually, she attached an arrow to her bow and began to pull it back, powering it with as much spiritual influence as she could.

 

“Kagome, you know that you can't hit me with that,” Naraku said pityingly. “You must be running low on arrows,” he added as an afterthought.

 

Without retorting, Kagome shut her brown-turned-pink eyes, and let go of the arrow.

 

Naraku simply smirked and leapt into the air. “I told you that you would miss - what?” he yelled in shock.

 

The arrow had missed him, but instead of hitting something else, it turned around and aimed at Naraku again. The shocked youkai just barely managed to get out of the way. The arrow flew little ways, but as if it had a mind of its own, it turned around and came back at him at an even greater speed than before. It took everything that Naraku had to keep dodging it.

 

Kagome opened her eyes and withdrew her last arrow. “Someone like you deserves to die a dishonourable death,” she whispered. “You won't even know what hit you.” She let her arrow fly.

 

Being occupied with her previous arrow, Naraku never saw the new arrival. It entered his heart through his back and flew out the other side. Naraku was dead before he hit the grassy earth.

 

The insistent arrow finally fell to the ground.

 

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Miroku stared blankly at the ogre corpse for a moment before remembering Sango. He hurried over and knelt beside her. “Sango! Sango, wake up!” he said urgently. “Come on Sango, you're stronger than this!”

 

Sango groaned a little but didn't wake up. Miroku sighed in relief nonetheless. She was alive.

 

He tried shaking her, yelling her name, and banging on the floor…but she would not wake up. However, Miroku had one last idea.

 

If this doesn't wake her, nothing will.

 

Miroku leaned over so that his face was directly over hers. Smirking, he said quietly, “I guess mouth-to-mouth is my only option.” He hovered his lips above hers and felt a stinging slap on his cheek.

 

He fell over. “What was that for?” he asked the now-awake-and-very-pissed-off Sango.

 

She narrowed her eyes while leaning her head on her hand. “For trying to take advantage of me in my sleep.”

 

Miroku pouted.

 

“But…earlier you were very sweet,” Sango said with a light blush.

 

“You heard what I said to Goshinki?”

 

More like what he said to you… “A bit. I was drifting in and out of consciousness,” she told him. Sango got to her knees and kissed Miroku on the cheek that she had just slapped. “Thank you,” she said blushing harder.

 

Miroku dazedly put a hand on his cheek and grinned like an idiot. “You kissed me…”

 

Sango cuffed the back of his head with her hand. “Come on, Kagome probably could use our help by now.” She and Miroku hurried out the castle doors and could faintly make out two figures in the far distance. One was on the ground, and one was glowing with pink energy.

 

Miroku stiffened.

 

“What's wrong?” Sango asked warily.

 

Miroku looked at her. “I don't sense Naraku's evil aura anymore…but that is definitely Kagome's energy I see and feel.”

 

“And…why is that a bad thing?” Sango asked warily.

 

“Because…that's Kagome's healing energy. And since Naraku is dead, there could only be one other person that she is attempting to heal.”

 

Sango's eyes widened. “Inuyasha!”

 

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Kagome's eyes returned to normal. She didn't watch Naraku's body hit the ground, nor did she pay any attention to the powerful arrow. She rushed over to Inuyasha and immediately lit up her hands with pink energy…different from that which she had just used. She crossed her hand and placed them lightly over Inuyasha's abdomen.

 

“Are you alive?” Kagome asked, trying to stay calm.

 

“Definitely, best I've ever felt,” Inuyasha replied wincing.

 

Kagome chose not to comment and instead focused on healing his stomach, praying she wasn't too late. Stomach acid had already leaked out of the organ and had burned some other areas of his middle. But if she couldn't stop the source, healing the other areas first would be a waste. Even as she desperately tied to cure him, she knew that he was in a lot of pain and would be unlikely to survive…unless he had a very strong will to live. That was an asset Kagome wasn't sure that Inuyasha owned.

 

“You did amazing…” Inuyasha said with a slight cough.

 

“Don't talk,” Kagome instructed.

 

“Shut up, I can talk if I feel like it,” he retorted weakly. Even inches from death, he was still Inuyasha.

 

After a few moments of silence, Inuyasha spoke again. He seemed to be unusually chatty. “Someone like you…doesn't belong with someone like me,” he said suddenly.

 

Kagome raised an eyebrow, but decided not to humour him with a response.

 

“You need someone to protect you and keep you from danger…not someone that causes danger.”

 

“Stop talking!” Kagome exclaimed in frustration. “Save your energy!” Kami knows that I just used an inhuman amount of energy against Naraku…I can't hold on forever. “I'm here with you because I want to be by your side! I want to be with you!”

 

Inuyasha looked at the woman doing everything in her power to heal him. Sunset was hours away…he wasn't sure if he could make it that long. He felt like his insides were on fire. Yeah…I do want you by my side…

 

Despite his thoughts, Inuyasha said, “Kagome…go home, move on, and forget about me…”

 

Tears pricked the young miko's eyes and she fought to keep her energy flowing. His stomach wall seem to be healed enough to keep the acidic liquid away from his other organs. She needed to heal everything else before they stopped functioning! Even if it killed her, Kagome would not let Inuyasha die. She would not! She fought to keep her energy flow constant. She did not have Miroku's expertise, but she would save him. She had to.

 

“You're such an idiot,” Kagome said with the tears burning her eyes and pain in her heart. “I am home.”

 

And as her tears dripped onto the hands that were desperately trying to heal him, Inuyasha smiled his first true smile before drifting into unconsciousness.

 

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A/N: If you guys know me well, you'll know that I can't end a story like this, so don't worry! 3-4 chapters more!

 

And…ding-dong, the battle scene's gone, the battle scene's gone, the battle scene's gone, ding-dong the battle scene is dead! Kami…battle scenes are hard to write!