Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Temptation ❯ Blood ( Chapter 8 )

Sweet Temptation

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho… Unfortunately

 

Chapter 8: Blood

 

Kagome followed at the tail end of the group as they made their way back to Kaede's village. The miko wasn't happy to be returning so soon. She had been working so hard with her powers so she could test them out on the bat demon only to find out that it was already destroyed. They had gotten all that sleep to prepare for the upcoming battle and it turned out to be for nothing.

 

Pouting at the back of the group, Kagome gathered a small amount of her purification into the palm of her hand and stared down at it in boredom. Throwing it up into the air, she caught it and repeated the action. Tossing it back and forth from hand to hand, Kagome stared up at the front of the group. Youko was only a few steps ahead of her, entertaining the kits. Shippo seemed so fascinated with the older kitsune and was always asking him questions. From what Shippo had told her, silver kitsune's were apparently very rare.

 

Inuyasha was of course at the front of the group while Sango and Miroku walked behind him. Her slayer friend, though, kept turning to glance back at Kagome every once and a while and the miko was wondering why. She sent the taijiya a questioning look and was satisfied when she slowed her pace so she could walk beside her.

 

“Are you alright Kagome?” she asked softly.

 

“Never better, why?”

 

“You just seem…different. You have a lot more energy than usual, you're quieter, and since when have you ever been excited for a battle?” the slayer questioned, pointing out what she saw was weird behavior for the miko.

 

“I think it's the meditation. After I'm done, I feel so full of energy but at night I become really tired, like all my energy just comes crashing down on me.” She explained.

 

“Maybe Miroku can explain this. He's the expert; Miroku?” Said monk turned to them as he stopped so they could catch up with him.

 

“Yes? Is there a problem?” he asked, becoming worried.

 

“Not really. I'm just worried about Kagome. What does meditation do?”

 

“While in meditation, it's like a form a sleep. As if you're training in your dreams. Your mind creates its own world that you train in. There are no interruptions so the individual can successfully increase their powers with concentration. Once out of the meditation, there is a temporary burst of energy because of the boost your powers have received.” He explained, understanding what the worry was about.

 

“So is that why Kagome is so hyper throughout the day?” Shippo interrupted. He didn't mind that the miko was more active than usual but it was just out of character.

 

“Most likely, yes. Since she meditates at least three times a day, before the burst of energy she received from her previous meditation can wear out, she meditates again and gains another bout of energy.”

 

“So that's why I'm so exhausted by the time I need to sleep. All the energy builds up and doesn't give my body a chance to rest so I crash when the energy finally wears out.” Kagome concluded.

 

“So that explains the energy, but what about the excitement for battle? Or the quiet?” Alexis chided in.

 

“Since my powers are increasing, I just want to test out my powers.” Kagome explained, looking down at the ball of purification that was still in her hand. “I mean, I can do this… what else can I do?”

 

Shippo suddenly smirked and leapt from Youko's shoulder to Kagome's, carefully avoiding the purification. He leaned up and whispered in her ear. Kagome laughed softly as she turned her gaze to Inuyasha, who was still walking at the front and didn't seem to be paying any attention to their conversation. Concentrating on the ball in her hand, she pulled majority of the power from it until the sphere looked to be the size of a golf ball. Holding back her giggles, she aimed and threw the ball straight at the hanyou.

 

Kagome knew the small amount of power wouldn't hurt Inuyasha, it would just shock him. Everyone watched as the ball hit him in the back and he yelped in surprise. He turned to glare at Kagome. “WHAT THE HELL!!!”

 

“Sorry, I couldn't help it.” She giggled.

 

“Damn wench.” He growled turning back toward the path he was following but in a much more irritated manner. Kagome rolled her eyes and skipped up near him.

 

“Oh calm down, it didn't hurt that bad.” Kagome said as she hugged the hanyou briefly. “I'm sorry ok?”

 

Inuyasha huffed. “Yea yea, fine.” He mumbled.

 

Youko glared at Inuyasha's back. Why did the hanyou get random hugs and he couldn't even get the miko to voluntarily sit next to him. Maybe he should act angry or irritated and she would come to comfort him. Actually… now that he about it, Kagome did respond to him when he wasn't in a good mood. That time he went to the forest to calm down after Kouga's visit, Kagome had come looking for him.

 

Youko smirked. That night had turned out quite nicely, besides the interruption of course. That was the night he had actually told her to her face while she was conscious that he loved her. Speaking of interruptions, they were interrupted during their last conversation as well. She had asked him what he loved about her and Youko was ready to pour his entire heart out. Too bad that damn villager had to come across their camp.

 

His gaze wondered ahead of him toward the miko who was now walking beside Inuyasha, Shippo still in her arms. Youko couldn't stop himself as his eyes drifted downward, traveling down her perfect body. His mouth began to water at he watched those wonderful hips swing as she walked, her well toned legs flexing with each step she took. Gods how he wished he could run his hands over those thighs and…

 

“Youko!!!” the kitsune's lustful eyes quickly cleared up as they shot up to drink in the angry expression on Kagome's face.

 

Kagome glared at Youko while doing her best to conceal her blush. “What are you thinking?! That should be kept to yourself! Not said aloud, there are children among us!” she yelled, stomping over to him.

 

“What are you talking about? I didn't say anything.” Youko said, confused.

 

“I may be human but I'm not that deaf! Keep those thoughts in your mind!” the miko fumed.

 

“Kagome? Youko didn't say a word.” Sango said, beginning to worry about her friend once more.

 

“Are you sure?” the miko asked.

 

“Absolutely…” Miroku answered. `Is she alright? Maybe there is something wrong with Kagome.' Miroku mused to himself.

 

“No, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me Miroku.” Kagome said, turning to the monk.

 

Sango stared at the miko in confusion, as did everyone else except Miroku who began laughing. Now everyone was staring at him in question. “What's so funny monk.” Inuyasha demanded.

 

“Kagome's powers really are increasing. She is telepathic.” The monk chuckled.

 

Everyone was silent for a moment before Sango began laughing. “So she can hear our thoughts.” She giggled, “Hope no one has dirty thoughts here!”

 

Youko huffed to himself and crossed his arms over his chest when everyone turned a glance in his direction. “I'm a kitsune, it's in my nature.” He growled.

 

“Kagome, can you read my mind?” Shippo asked in excitement.

 

The miko shook her head. “I don't know, I don't know hoe to control it.”

 

“Her telepathy is only just developing. With more meditation and training, she will be able to speak to us only using her mind as well as block out and hear whoever's mind she wishes.” Miroku explained.

 

Kagome grinned. “This could be helpful.”

 

“No shit. If we run into Naraku again, you can find out where the bastard is hiding if you can read his mind.” Inuyasha said.

 

“Well let's get back to Kaede's so Kagome can continue meditating!” Alexis said; irritated with how long it was taking just to get back to the village. She was tired and wanted to sleep in the older miko's warm hut.

 

The group agreed and continued on their way, no one ever noticing the pair of yellow eyes glaring at their group, a certain kitsune thief's in particular.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

They had finally made it back to the village and Kagome, along with the tired kits, went to sleep that night without any dinner. The miko had been working with her newly developed power the entire way back to the village. She was not only mentally, but also physically tired and Sango was glad her friend would get a good night's sleep to restore her energy.

 

Speaking of her miko friend, Sango turned her gaze to Youko who was sitting quite close to her while she slept. It was clear that the kitsune had feelings for Kagome and visa versa but what was also obvious was that he didn't understand her completely. From traveling with him and seeing first hand how he acted toward Kagome, Sango decided he was decent enough for her friend.

 

Standing from where she sat next to Kirara, she cleared her throat and nodded her head in the direction of the door when Youko looked toward her. Turning on her heel, she walked out of the hut, knowing the curious kitsune would follow her. Walking over to a nearby apple tree, she leaned her back against it while she waited for Youko to reach her. Once he was within several feet of her, he was about to speak but she interrupted him.

 

“How much do you like Kagome.” She demanded more than asked.

 

“I do not see how this is any or your concern.” Youko commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“It is my concern because she is my closes friend and very dear to me. And depending on your answer, I may explain to you why you haven't won her over yet.”

 

Youko raised an eyebrow before answering the slayer. “I love her and I have told her so.”

 

Sango nodded and pounded her foot against the tree that stood behind her. It shook slightly and the slayer caught an apple in her hand before it could fall to the ground. Staring at the apple intently, she twirled it in her hand as if she were examining it.

 

“Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the very top. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along; the one who is smart and brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.”

 

“Kagome is, of course, an apple at the top of the tree.” Youko said without hesitation.

 

“Yes and she also thinks there are many things wrong with her. She's very insecure and doesn't believe or understand how someone like you could possibly love her.” Sango explained.

 

“That is why she doesn't seem to believe me when I tell her how I feel.” Youko mused.

 

“You need to explain to her what you love about her, why you love her. She doesn't see how special she really is because all she sees in herself is the flaws. If you can make her understand how amazing she is to you, then she'll believe you.”

 

Youko rolled his eyes. “She just has to be stubborn and insecure doesn't she.”

 

“And we love her just the way she is.” Sango smiled as she tossed the apple to him and walked back toward the hut. Youko stared at the apple in his hand and smiled. The taijiya was right, Kagome was perfect just the way she was and he wouldn't want her any other way. Jumping up into the apple tree, he sat on the highest branch and decided to think over how he would approach Kagome in the morning.

 

Miroku and Inuyasha waited for Sango to fall asleep before leaving the hut. Following Youko's scent, Inuyasha found him in the apple tree and called him down.

 

“Is there a problem?” Youko asked, his ears searching for any sound that might be out of place.

 

“The bat is still alive.” Inuyasha answered simply.

 

“Inuyasha couldn't find the demon when he went to kill it but he lied said it was already dead anyway, like we had planned. But now we have to go back and destroy the demon.” Miroku elaborated.

 

“We need to take care of this tonight and get it over with. Kagome and Sango should be sleeping for a while tonight so it should give us lots of time.” Inuyasha said.

 

Youko groaned. “Alright, at least their safely back in the village.”

 

“They will be fine here, but I cannot say the same for the women back at the other village. Let us be on our way.” Miroku said, whistling sharply. Kirara came running, transforming mid leap and Miroku climbed on. Growling softly, she set off at a quick pace toward the village. If they traveled at demon speed, they could easily reach the village within two hours.

 

Kagome woke with a start. Her miko powers her pulsing wildly and eventually woke her. Looking around, she only saw Sango, Kaede and the kits were in the hut. Not only that but the kits were awake and sitting in the corning coloring in one of the books Kagome had given Shippo for him to entertain himself with. Kagome slipped out of her sleeping bag and made her way over to Sango. Shaking her awake, she waited for the slayer to sit up completely before questioning her.

 

“Where are the boys?”

 

Sango looked around the hut in confusion. “I haven't the slightest clue…”

 

Both women looked toward the two kits coloring before standing and making their way over to sit near them. “Shippo, Alexis, where are Youko, Miroku, and Inuyasha?” Kagome asked.

 

“And Kirara…she's not here either.” Sango added.

 

“They all went to kill the bat demon in that village.” Shippo said.

 

“What are you talking about? The bat demon is dead.” Kagome said uncertainly.

 

Alexis sighed and looked up at Sango and Kagome from her coloring. “Uncle told us not to tell you but Inuyasha lied about the bat being dead. They were all just worried about you because the demon only targets women so they wanted you two and us far from the demon and in a safe place. So now uncle, Miroku, and Inuyasha went to go kill the bat.” She explained in one breath.

 

Kagome and Sango continued to stare at the two kits with blank expression. Slowly, the calm disappeared as their rage began to build. Sango stood and closed her hands into fists as she stomped around the hut. Kagome glared at the wall angrily, muttering to herself about stupid demons that didn't believe they could take care of themselves. Speaking of taking care of themselves, Kagome decided that she would test her telepathy. She had been meditating earlier that day and wanted to see if her new power had grown any since then.

 

Closing her eyes hard in concentration, Kagome searched for Youko's aura. She almost cheered when she successfully located it. Through his aura, she gained access to his mind and sent him a little message. `You are in trouble. Enormous trouble. Angry demon bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you when you return.'

 

Kagome smirked when she felt Youko's mind panic for a moment but was pulled from her musings when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

 

`Now to just find that juicy miko and the taijiya… their blood should taste divine.'

 

Kagome's heart dropped into her stomach as her eyes widened. She felt as if she couldn't breath. Whose voice had she heard? Was it the bat demon? If it was… why was he looking for them? It had to be the bat demon; he had said that their blood would taste good. Did the bat maybe feel their power when they were near the village he was attacking and came to investigate? A strong woman must possess better tasting blood than a normal woman so that must mean that the bat demon followed them back here… to Kaede's village.

 

“Kagome, are you alright?” Alexis asked when she noticed how pale the miko was.

 

Kagome merely shook her head, repeatedly muttering `no' as she stood quickly. “Sango, we have a problem.” The miko stuttered.

 

“What's the matter?”

 

“The bat demon is here… he followed us.” Kagome said slowly, her heart pounded in her chest.

 

Sango's eyes widened and she quickly moved to grab Hiraikotsu. “How do you know?”

 

“I heard his thoughts… He's coming after us.” Kagome said, her fearful silver eyes staring at the door as if the demon was going to walk in any second.

 

“Why is he coming after us!? What did we do?” Shippo cried, becoming scared.

 

“He wants our blood… we're more powerful than normal human women so our blood must taste better.”

 

“We have to hide, what are we going to do if he finds us?!” Alexis panicked.

 

“We're going to fight. We need to protect the village.” Sango said in a determined voice.

 

“I agree, who is going to protect the women here if he destroys us? The guys are miles away, we have to stop him.” Kagome piped up, pulling herself from her stupor and thinking of the people that needed them.

 

“Kagome, do you think you can put a barrier around the village to keep everyone safe?” Shippo asked.

 

“It's probably too late, the bat is most likely already in the village.” Sango said.

 

“I could put a barrier around him though…” Kagome murmured.

 

Shippo, Alexis and Sango stared at her in confusion. “How would that help us any?”

 

“No one can enter my barriers, so if I place a barrier around the demon then he can't get to anyone. They will be pushed away.”

 

“Like he's stuck in a big bubble.” Shippo grinned.

 

“Exactly.” Kagome smiled, “I just need to find him so I can place the barrier.”

 

Closing her eyes, she spread her aura throughout the village in search of any unfamiliar demons. Once she found it, the miko took a deep breath and used her powers to form a barrier around him. Several seconds after the barrier was placed, they heard a loud scream. Kagome ordered the kits to stay in the hut as both she and Sango ran to the source of the screams.

 

They weren't surprised to see a woman running from a demon in a large pink bubble. The demon was exactly as they had thought he would look. Long pointed ears, large black wings, dark skinned, black hair. To Kagome; he looked like a vampire… just with bat wings.

 

Once his yellow colored eyes landed on Kagome and Sango, a sadistic smirk broke out across his face and Kagome shivered. He was creepy looking. She was sure that if she hadn't seen uglier demons that she would have nightmares about this one. Sango gagged in disgust when he licked his lips and slowly began stalking in their direction.

 

“So you're Youko Kurama's bitch huh? Oh I'm going to enjoy killing that bastard's potential mate.” He growled in excitement.

 

“Who is this Youko Kurama you speak of? We have no acquaintance with such a person.” Sango said calmly.

 

The demon snorted as he lifted his nose toward the air and took a long whiff. “I can smell Youko's disgusting scent all over the miko.”

 

Kagome glared at the demon. Youko's scent was amazing, how dare this demon accuse him of smelling horrible. If he smelt horrible, then she did as well but Kagome knew for a fact that Youko smelt wonderful. Pushing aside her irritation, the miko turned to Sango. “What are we going to do with him?” she whispered.

 

Before either could think any further, the bat attacked them. He leapt toward Sango and growled in frustration when the slayer was thrown away from him. Turning his angry yellow eyes toward the miko who trapped him in the barrier, he leapt toward her next. Not wanting to be thrown into a hut like Sango had, Kagome did her best to dodge the attacking demon. He was too fast though, and the barrier hit her shoulder…at least it was supposed to hit her shoulder. Instead, Kagome's shoulder went right through the barrier.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

They had been searching for the damn demon for hours now. The village said there hadn't been an attack for some time but he was bound to attack that night. In the distance, there was a large cave that was emitting a demonic aura. It must be the bat demon they were searching for. Suddenly, Kirara stopped in her tracks and turned a snarl toward the south, in the direction of Kaede's village.

 

The fire neko turn so quickly that Miroku nearly fell off her back. Grabbing a handful of her fur, he centered himself just in time as Kirara dashed off into a sprint faster than she had ever run before. Youko and Inuyasha quickly caught up with the neko and asked the monk what was wrong with her.

 

“Something must be wrong; Kirara is heading straight back to Kaede's village. The girls must be in trouble.”

 

Kirara roared loudly, as if confirming the monk's suspicions. With that said, Everyone pushed themselves to get back to the village as fast as they possibly could.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Kagome stared at the bat demon with silver eyes. The bat was currently smirking at her menacingly because he had just found out Kagome could go through her barrier. Kagome could breathe as she mentally cursed her stupidity. She didn't even think of the fact that she was the only one that could enter her barrier. Now she was the only one that was in any real trouble.

 

“Kagome! Run!” Sango yelled as she threw her Hiraikotsu at the demon that was preparing to charge toward the miko once more. Panicking, Kagome ran for her life. She hoped Sango would be able to hold the demon off long enough for her to get somewhere she could concentrate and send the boys an s.o.s

 

Knowing that Kaede could help, Kagome ran back to the hut. Dashing threw the door, she ordered the kits to hide somewhere. They immediately ran to the only room that connected to the main room of the hut and hid as they were told. Kagome woke up Kaede and explained what was happening. The older miko assured her she would be able to hold off the demon as long as she could if the need arose.

 

Nodding, Kagome sat and took a deep breath. She needed to calm down or she wouldn't be able to call for help. Taking another long, deep breath, Kagome searched for any of the guys' auras. She found Miroku's first and was relieved to feel Youko's and Inuyasha's right beside the monk's. Kagome heard a loud crash outside her concentration and did her best to keep calm, but failed miserably. Feeling she was loosing her concentration, Kagome yelled a desperate cry for help at her three friend's auras, hoping it would reach them.

 

`HELP!! The bat demon! He's here!!'

 

Kagome was completely pulled from her concentration when she felt someone grab her wrist. Opening her eyes, she was frozen in fear as she stared up into the yellow eyes of the bat that was standing over her. Just as he was going to pull her completely into the barrier, Sango came running and pounded her shoulder into the barrier, effectively throwing the demon into the side wall. The slayer helped Kagome to her feet and shook her lightly.

 

“Kagome, why haven't you removed the barrier yet?!”

 

“I can't! If I do then you and everyone else will be in trouble! This way he is only after me, I just have to stay away from him.” Kagome argued, refusing to put everyone else in danger. Before either of them could think of what to do while they waited for help to arrive, Sango was suddenly thrown into the opposite wall and rendered unconscious from the force of her impact. Kagome found herself yanked against a hard chest and heart dropped into her stomach as she turned her silver eyes to stare up at the smirking bat.

 

“I can see why the kitsune chose you; you truly are quite beautiful for a human. Too bad you I have to kill you.” he chuckled darkly.

 

Kagome pushed as much purification as she could into her hands. With her mind in such a panic, she could only pull enough energy give him a strong shock. It was enough to form burn holes in his black clothing and also gave her enough time to escape his grasp. Jumping out of her barrier, she was about to run through the door and lead the bat into Inuyasha's forest, seeing as she knew it like the back of her hand and could possibly lose him, but was stopped in her tracks when she heard a very familiar voice call to her weakly.

 

“Mama…”

 

“Shippo, no!”

 

Kagome turned to see the little orange kit pinned beneath the bottom layer of her barrier, his head barely free and almost covered so he couldn't breath. The bat demon stood over him, crushing him into the ground. Alexis was pounding against the side of the invisible wall, trying to help her new friend.

 

“Let him go!” Kagome yelled, tears springing to her eyes at the sight of Shippo being hurt by her own barrier.

 

“I will once you walk your pretty little ass back over here miko.” The bat smirked.

 

One more glance at Shippo and Kagome made up her mind. She made her way back over to the demon until she was standing in front of the barrier.

 

“Kagome, don't…” Shippo ground out, trying to breathe as best he could. Kagome ignored him and glared at the demon bravely. “Let him go.”

 

“First you step in.”

 

Without a word, Kagome stepped into her barrier, now standing directly in front of the demon and staring death in the eyes. Just as he had said, he released Shippo but before Kagome could escape once more, the bat grabbed her, holding her arms tightly, and sunk his fangs into the jugular vein in her neck.

 

Youko was the first to spot Kaede's hut, the whole front wall was broken down, leaving an open view of what was happening within. “NO!!” Running as fast as he could, he was about to sever the bat demon's head when he collided with a barrier. Inuyasha and Miroku were at his side in seconds and were now pounding on the barrier, trying to reach Kagome. Youko stared on in horror. The barrier was a pink color… this was Kagome's barrier.

 

“Kagome!”

 

Her skin was pale from the loss of blood and she was now limp in the demon's arms. She was slowly dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

 

“The barrier's getting weaker! Keep pounding!” Miroku yelled.

 

“The barrier is getting weaker because Kagome is. This is her barrier.” Youko said softly. He knew there was nothing he could do until the barrier fell. So he intended on waiting until that moment… then he would tear that bastard to pieces.

 

“Youko, we have to get Kagome help once the barrier drops. We can't waste anytime with this demon.” Sango said, suddenly at his side. Youko snarled in her direction. The damn taijiya was right. He would have to kill the bat fast instead of slow and painfully like he would have preferred. Kagome needed help and she was his first priority.

 

Youko was of course the first to see the barrier fade and in that exact moment, the kitsune's rose whip was already wrapped around the bat's neck. Within the next few seconds and a sharp snap of his wrist, the demon's head was rolling to the floor and he had Kagome in his arms. Kaede, who seemed to just awake from her unconsciousness, made her way to the demon and purified it to dust before rushing to Kagome's aid.

 

Youko had already torn off his shirt to use as a rag and was pressing it against the miko's neck to stop the bleeding. Her heart was pounding in her chest, strong but slowing, as it tried to pump blood into her veins to keep her alive. Youko knew in his heart there was no way to save her, but he refused to believe that. To his surprise, everyone was in a panicked hurry, gathering random objects and digging through Kagome's pack.

 

Kaede explained to the confused kitsune that in this time there would be no way to save her with all the blood she lost, but fortunately in Kagome's time, they knew how to rescue an individual in this situation. And apparently Kagome had explained everything to Kaede about what and how to do it. She even had everything she needed for this in her first aid kit.

 

“This has happened once before with Sango. She was attacked by a bear demon and had lost a lot of blood, but not as much as Kagome though…” Miroku said.

 

“This may be more difficult than last time… we don't have enough blood. Miroku can't give enough to save Kagome.” Kaede said softly, seeming to give up hope.

 

“Then I will give her blood as well.” Youko growled, angry that everyone seemed to give in already.

 

“Her miko blood will battle with your demon blood and may just purify it or injure her further.” Kaede stated.

 

“Not if Kagome's body recognizes Youko's demonic energy. If Youko were to place a claim on her, then she would be fine, not to mention the demon blood will heal her faster.” Sango piped up in excitement.

 

“But she may turn into a hanyou; will Kagome be alright with that?” Inuyasha asked quickly, a frown on his face.

 

“As long as she gets a pair of ears like your's or Youko's, she'll be happy as can be.” Shippo said, Alexis nodding along side him.

 

“We don't have time for this! It doesn't matter if she would want to be a hanyou or not! She'll be happy she's alive, now let's get moving here!!” Sango yelled, irritated with how much time they were wasting.

 

Youko nodded and leaned down toward Kagome. He sighed and placed his fangs against the other side of her neck, the side that hadn't been punctured by the bat demon. `I'm sorry Kagome… this isn't how I wanted it… I wanted to place a claim on you while you were aware…' with that thought, he pushed his fangs into the skin of her neck, at the junction of her neck and shoulder. Not only did he want to place his claim on the miko with her knowledge, but he also didn't want an audience watching them.

 

Releasing her, Youko pulled away and looked toward Kaede, who had a large needle in her hand. The needle was connected to a tube looking object which was connected to some kind of bag that Sango was holding. Miroku was rolling up the sleeve of his robes and moved to sit next to Kaede. Everyone watched as Kaede pushed the needle into the vein in the monk's arm and they all watched as blood slowly began to fill the bag.

 

Once it was a little over half full, Kaede carefully removed the needle and placed a clean rag against Miroku's arm. The monk lifted his arm over his head and moved away so Kaede could clean all of her supplies. Youko moved to sit next the old miko and wrinkled his nose when he smelt what she was washing the needle with. It was strong and smelt of like a foreign alcoholic drink called Vodka that he had tasted in the east. Youko was pulled from his thoughts when Kaede pushed the needle into his arm.

 

Within seconds, the bag was completely full and Kaede was cleaning the needle once more. With skillfully steady hands, the woman pushed the needle into the vein in Kagome's arm. Bending the tube so that whatever blood she had left wouldn't push out, Sango squeezed the bag that held Miroku and Youko's blood. The red liquid shot into the tube and pushed into Kagome's body. This wasn't a short process but at least they knew it was working.

 

The miko's color was slowly returning to its normal shade and her heart was beating more evenly, pumping the blood she was receiving through her veins and vital organs. Once all the blood was drained from the bag, Kaede removed the needle and bandaged Kagome's arm before Inuyasha held her limp arm over her head. The old miko cleaned her supplies and returned everything to Kagome's bag before correctly bandaging Youko, Miroku, and Kagome's arms.

 

“She'll be fine now, she just needs to rest.” Kaede announced before leaving the hut.

 

Youko stood from where he sat and made his way over to Kagome. No one argued with him when he lifted her off the ground and into his arms. He was thankful because he was too exhausted to fight with anyone at the moment, especially Inuyasha. Without a word, Youko left the small hut and walked straight over to the apple tree where he and Sango had spoke. Leaping up into the tree, he sat with his back against the trunk and placed Kagome comfortably in his lap. Wrapping his arms around her small frame, he buried his nose in her hair.

 

“I will never leave you again… I'll always protect you, I promise.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

A/N:

 

There's chapter 8 hope you all enjoyed it. R&R

 

~*Icyfire*~

 

Here are the eye colors that are for each of Kagome's emotion:

Golden - Happy, joy, excitement

Orange - Sadness, depression, guilt

Blue - Playful

Red - Anger, disappointment, irritation, frustration

Green - Curiosity

Brown - Confusion

Silver - Fear

Pink - Embarrassment

Purple - Love, passion, pleasure

 

Next Chapter - Chapter Nine: Control