InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Transformations ❯ Survive ( Chapter 38 )

"We protected Kagome," Sango was panting. "Isn't that worth it?"

"Yes," Miroku replied, smiling at the demon exterminator. "Yes, it was worth it. All of it."

Sango was nodding now, and after a few moments she was on her stomach, unable to keep herself awake any longer.

Unwillingly following her lead, Miroku was down shortly after. Just before his eyes closed he reached for her, stretching his arm across her back and trying not to wince away from his hurt ribs. Then his eyes shut, and he willingly invited the awaiting darkness.

Thirty Eight

Pacing, Inuyasha growled again. He could just feel Kagome, but he had no idea where she was. He followed her scent outside, and then it lifted into the sky. He tried to track it, but got nowhere. The wind thinned it too much. He'd end up going in circles.

That morning, when he woke up and Kagome wasn't there, he just about tore anything he could get his hands on. He didn't know where she was, when she left, what she was doing or in what state. She could very well be helpless, bleeding and bruised, and needing him! But his logic had thrown that away. She was a regenerative demon; she'd be fine. Or, at the very least, she'd be alive.

He sensed her anger at one point, and then fear. His on emotions had gone spinning - she needed him there, damn it! And he was still no closer to finding her!

And then he felt that was fighting. Fighting for her very life, and at that moment he'd have traded everything he had if only someone would tell him where she was! It shouldn't have been too hard to find her; the fight she was in was shaking the very forest, must be for miles. But it was because of that which made him even more confused.

Koga felt it, too. The fight, Kagome, her fear and hatred, how desperate she was to win. And the other entity could never be mistaken - Inuyasha especially knew that scent. He'd smelled it on several occasions and it never ceased to sicken him. It was the type of smell to scare smaller demons into having nightmares.

"Can't anybody find her?!" he snapped now, looking at what remained of the blue pack. The children were crying, scared. Shippo was as much in a panic as Inuyasha was, but he was trying his best to calm the kids and not cry himself.

Everyone in Koga's pack looked away or at the ground, even Koga himself. No one could find her, then. Then I'm on my own again.

Eyes narrowed and senses alert, he left the cave, getting soaked instantly from the waterfall but not caring. He concentrated on Kagome, and felt her bite tingle with her power. His eyes shot open in surprise. He could tap into her power! Concentrating again, he focused on where she was, but dismayed at the distance - she was in her territory again, the south, and Inuyasha was still far in the north. Nonetheless he gritted his teeth and steeled himself. If he had to run that far to get to her, then he'd do it.

He told them where she was just briefly before he ran, heading for where Kagome was. The closer he got, the more he noticed just how far south she was. He, himself had just once traveled around this area, and knew that it was an island. Kagome was nearly at he edge of the surrounding waters.

It took longer than he thought to get there, even leaping every chance he got did little to help. By the time he was within the range of her scent - which, he noticed, was just about everywhere in a full mile radius - he felt the forest calm, becoming quiet again. The fight was already over.

The only thing that relaxed him was the knowledge that she wasn't dead - though, it seemed, she'd been badly hurt. But she was alive, and that's what counted.

~*~ Kagome, moments before ~*~

Tired, aching and drained, she faced Naraku, right hand holding her arm and on one knee. Her left eye was shut and throbbing, but she watched him steadily.

He was standing still, but against a tree for support. There was fury in his eyes so dark and menacing she wanted to cringe away. He was in just as bad shape as she, as she hadn't been able to heal herself since the fight began. It seemed, then, that Naraku had that ability, to keep things around him from regenerating.

But he could still, and she didn't like those rules. In retaliation she used her powers on him, making it so if she couldn't heal, neither could he. But that would make their fight one of immortals, and neither would win. So in the end he submitted to the new rules instead of trying to fight her and her power.

They were just about evenly matched. Kagome was fast, faster than most, but Naraku seemed much better at reading her moves. For every hit he took, he gave. Always in that instant when she managed to hit him, he'd strike back, when she wasn't very well guarded. It continued like that, and eventually Kagome could hear the forest, how it screamed. Their power they were emitting was scaring demons and animals alike, and in each of their minds she could feel conflict.

They all wanted to see what was happening, but were frightened of getting too close. And then she felt something else, a new aura heading her way without fear. It was Inuyasha.

Just now she stood, forcing herself to not collapse in lethargy. Her body felt slow just now, and Naraku looked weak as well. Half his left arm was missing, but not from the elbow down or any such thing. She'd shot him, just skinning his arm with her arrow, and the outside of his arm had half melted, half torn off. She could see the bone.

As well, neither of them were very well clothed. Most of Kagome's robe beneath the waist was missing. Her pants had shredded in several areas, leaving little for cover. Her head ribbon was gone, having taken a hit and dissolved some time ago.

And then Naraku smirked, nearly naked himself, and then he was gone, leaving a cloud of mist behind him. Kagome yelled at him, a wordless protest of his cowardice. But inside she was crowing; she needed the break and her body needed to heal. Her power let go of him, and she focused it more so on herself. Legs aching and shaking, she allowed herself to fall, waiting for Inuyasha to reach her.

Her left arm was broken; she was sure of that. It was funny, in a way. A month ago she would've been crying in pain by now, but instead she just held it, letting the pain get at intense as it wanted. It hardly bothered her.

She felt so much stronger, though. If she wasn't mistaken, then every fight she'd gotten in, big or small, had overall helped her. She could feel her muscles were stronger already, and she'd been moving faster throughout the fight. Her miko powers have grown as well; she could feel it surging in her veins, slowly but surely reviving her energy.

She was also much more resilient. Half the time she didn't even wince from the blows she took. It might just be her taking on Inuyasha's traits, but either way she was grateful for it. Inuyasha was nearly here; he must be smelling her by now. But that wasn't surprising - she and Naraku had taken the fight nearly everywhere, and several trees were knocked down, torn up or disintegrated by now as proof. The dirt and grass all around her were disturbed, shifted about in their desperate fight.

She could smell Inuyasha now. And as soon as he was in sight he was running towards her. He looked so concerned about her, and naturally. One look down at herself and she could plainly see what he saw - she was battered. She had so many bruises, and more than a few of them were bleeding.

"Can we go now?" she asked him, looking up. He looked tired himself; he must have pushed himself really hard to make it here. Just where was she, anyway? She still didn't recognize anything, although by now it would be impossible for natives of the area to recognize it.

If was surprised by her comment, he didn't let on. He turned, in a squat, and let her climb on his back, nodding. "Yeah, we'll go back."

"Thank you," she mumbled, relaxing completely in his grip. She hardly felt the wind against her; by now she only wanted to sleep. Inuyasha always did have a calming feel about him, if only while she was on his back. And, now that she thought about it, this was the first time she'd ridden on him since she became a hanyou. Or, rather, since her father unlocked her demon blood.

She was asleep before she could even finish the thought.

~*~ Sango ~*~

She didn't want to wake up. As long as she was asleep, she didn't feel pain. But she didn't have a choice; her eyes were open and she could see people she'd never met as they tended to her bandages. Bandages?

She tried to sit up, but was told not to. Without realizing she could speak, or her will to, she asked a question. "Where is Miroku?"

A woman to her right spoke. "The man we found you with? The monk?"

She nodded.

"In another hut, tended by the men. What happened to the two of you to cause such wounds?"

She couldn't remember at first. Her mind, blank except for the need to know that Miroku was alright, couldn't focus on why they were hurt. But she narrowed her eyes when she remembered. "Torture," she said, the word feeling sick in her mouth. "We were tortured."

The women around her stilled, seeming shocked. "Why?" a second voice asked.

"He was looking for. . .for information." Her left shoulder spasmed in pain suddenly, and she winced, her hand lifting to feel where it came from. More bandages, and then a dip that wasn't supposed to be there. She had a broken collar bone? She didn't remember Naraku striking her there.

"Information? Concerning whom?" That was a third voice.

Not wanting to delve into those thoughts or tell these strangers too much, Sango shook her head. "Do you have a demon here, a cat with two tails?"

A small mew sounded to her left, and she looked that way, seeing Kirara in her own bandages and lying in a bit of hay like a nest. All of the blood was cleaned from her fur, but she was missing patches of fur, with bandages only covering her worst wounds.

She smiled. Naraku didn't win, after all. She was sure, when he finally knocked her out from frustration, that he was going to kill all three of them, and then he was going to kill Kagome and Inuyasha. She was so sure that he was going to win, though her mind prayed against it. But they'd escaped.

And with the aid of Kagura, no less. Kagura, who seemed to hate everyone.

They were going to make it.

~*~ Naraku ~*~

His wounds healed fast enough, though slower than he would have liked. In little time he was back at his castle, and felt the need for some sport. His spirits needed lifting, and he knew just what to do.

After changing his clothes, throwing away the tattered shreds that remained from Kagome's claws and arrows, he began towards the dungeon, where he'd left two of his three new toys. He didn't care much what happened to that cat; she couldn't tell him what he wanted to know even if she wanted to.

He chuckled, relighting the fire outside the door, and opened the door with, "I pray you're awake and feeling better." His eyes met with nothing. The two humans who were here when he left weren't here anymore. Someone had taken his toys! And it was just an hour or so after dusk; they couldn't have gone far. But who took them?

He already knew the answer, and with renewed fury he stalked the house until he found who he was looking for. Kagura was looking out a window far from her rooms, sitting with Kanna at her side, left arm around the soulless child. Without warning he came forward and grabbed her hair, jerking her backwards.

She gave a yell, one more of annoyance than pain, and righted herself. Kanna turned slowly to see what had happened.

Kagura stood up as Naraku questioned her.

"What happened to the humans?" he demanded.

"They left," Kagura replied evenly. She was as unfazed by his anger as he was of hers.

"You let them escape?!" he snapped at her, his cold, emotionless mask dissolving under his utter fury.

"I helped them escape," she corrected, still unafraid.

Fists clenched in his anger he reached for her, grasping her throat and shoving her hard against the wall. It shook under the impact and Kagura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Have you forgotten who you are?" he hissed at her, his eyes locked with hers. "Did you forget who created you?"

"No," she replied, lip curled as though she'd smelled something foul. "I hate who created me," she told him.

"You will hate me more by the time I am finished with you," he told her.

Still she didn't look afraid. "I doubt I could ever hate you more than I already do."

"We will see about that." Still holding her neck he began towards the dungeon again. If he didn't have two humans to play with, then he'd just as easily have a disrespectful, rebellious demon. She'd learn, in time, to obey him.

"There's more," she told him, once he'd thrown her into the room.

He paused, hand on the door. That smirk, it was exactly his, the smirk of someone who just won. "What did you do?" he hissed at her with barely leashed wrath.

She laughed, mocking him. "I sent the jewel with Kirara," she told him, eyes glittering at how she'd managed to thwart him.

His eyes widened in shock and narrowed again, for the first time thinking that he just might not be able to make her submissive to his will. In that case, he thought, shutting the door behind him, I shall just have to try harder. She will regret disobeying me.

Kagura was laughing at him as he unleashed his vehemence.

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Phew, that was tough to write. Not the whole fighting/living/thwarting part, but the whole thing. I nearly ran out of ideas.

Note: I'm nearly done! In my mind it's almost done, but that could mean another dozen chapters, so don't stop reading or start preaching the end anytime soon.

I hurt you!! I hurt you so you will review!! *Looks at arsenal of gifts* Now, which one to use. . ? Gee, this is tough. Bar of soap? Used. Desert Eagle? Used. Jet, jet, jet, tank, tank. . .Used. Bazooka - gee, I love these things, but used. Katana, used. Mind-controlling device, used. Sparky, used. Flame thrower - FLAME THROWER!!

*Puts it on and lights it* DO NOT REVIEW AND I SHALL BURN YOU TO A CRISP!!! *Flames everything in sight* Ooooh. . . .Green flames. . . .*Hypnotized* It dances. . . . .

*Good reviewers roll their eyes, bad reviewers sneak away*

Ooh. . . It dances. . .See ya.