InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Cave ❯ Rescue Me ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I own nothing connected to the Inuyasha story or characters. I make no money from this.

I would like to thank the wonderful kojika00/malitiadixie for all her work finding the boo-boos in this. Without her help, this never would have been posted. She has a very steamy one-shot posted on media miner, by the way. If you like citrus–and who doesn’t?–check it out. It’s called “Passenger” and she uses the malitiadixie name on mm.


Rescue Me


Kagome slowly made her way back to where she’d left Inuyasha. This time she didn’t fear strange shadow shapes in the dark. This time she didn’t question the direction that she walked. She closed her eyes, and followed the path set down in her heart.


The ability to close off all the world’s distractions and have faith in herself had been awakened when she’d broken the bonds of the darkness. She could still feel the aura of unspeakable evil surrounding her, but it no longer touched her. She could feel it growing in intensity as she drew closer to Inuyasha’s position, and she could only hope that she would reach him in time to be of help.


When she was as close as she could comfortably come to where she thought the hole in the floor began, she called out to her friend, “Inuyasha, are you there? Can you hear me?”


She didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she let out in a rush as she hear his weak response, “Damn it, Kagome, I thought I told you to get out of here. There’s something here. I don’t know what the hell it is, but I don’t want you anywhere near it.”


“Don’t be a baka, I’m not going to try and get to the others again until I’m sure that you’re okay. Keep talking so that I can find you. It’s so dark that I can’t see anything.”

“It’s so dark that I can’t see anything, and my eyesight’s better’n yours. And what the hell do you mean by ‘try again’? What happened out there? Are you alright?”


“I’m fine, now. I had a little trouble for a while, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t take care of.” While she was talking, Kagome had been making her way closer to Inuyasha’s voice. She’d dropped to her hands and knees and was crawling toward where she knew the floor of the cave no longer occupied the space that it had before the lights had gone out. When her lead hand felt nothing but empty air beneath it, she knew she’d found the edge of the pit.


“Okay, Inuyasha, I’m gonna climb down to you. Keep talking so I can find my way, alright?”


“When you said that you had ‘a little trouble’, just what did you mean, wench?”


“I got lost in the darkness, but I found my way back. I wanted to make sure you were all right before I went to find the others.” Kagome was alarmed by the fading quality of Inuyasha’s voice. It seemed as if he had to struggle to get the words out.


She could feel the darkness bearing down on her as she climbed lower into the pit. She had to focus her concentration to keep the dark thoughts from breaking into her mind and soul, again. It had a hungry quality that had her on edge.


“Inuyasha, are you still there?”


“‘Course I’m still here. Where the hell would I go?”
“I just wanted to make sure. You got awfully quiet, there. How badly are you injured?” Kagome really didn’t like the way he sounded. His last few words had been little more than a whisper. At least she knew that she was getting close, to have been able to hear them at all.


“I’ve been through worse. At least I don’t have a hole in my gut.”


The attempt at levity was lost to both as the anger contained in the darkness once again railed at its inability to capture the two souls closest to it. The walls shook and stones were dislodged with the force of the frustrated wrath that was unleashed. Kagome had almost reached Inuyasha’s side as the furry had exploded around them. She found herself thrown to the floor of the pit, just as a hail of rocks fell around her. The world continued to shake for a few minutes, and the rocks beneath her seemed to twist in agony. As the cave slowly settled back to it’s natural state, she knew she had to find her bearings, once again. “Inuyasha, say something so that I know where you are.”


The groan of pain that was her return greeting was not what she had been hoping for, but it was enough to pinpoint the location of her friend. Reaching out fully, she was just able to brush the tips of her fingers through the locks of hair on her left.


Scrambling closer, she grabbed the man in a fierce embrace. “Inuyasha, are you okay? Where are you hurt?”


“Oy, wench, if you’d let me breathe, maybe I could answer.”


Kagome relaxed her embrace with a mumbled “Sorry” accompanied by a sever blush that spread across her cheeks. She was overcome with the simple joy of the moment. Having the most important person in her world in her arms again was the greatest gift she could hope for.


Quickly, her care taking nature came to the fore. “Seriously, Inuyasha, where are you injured? It has to be pretty bad for you to still be down here.”


“I was trapped under this rock until the whole damn world moved a few seconds ago. I think I might be able to pull myself out now, though. When everything shifted, I think it gave me just enough room to escape.”


Kagome started to help pull the boy from under the pile of rocks that still covered his lower half, but stopped as the hiss of pain broke forth from his mouth. Not being able to see the problem, she was hesitant to cause more harm to her friend.


In the complete darkness she couldn’t see the paleness of her friend’s skin. She couldn’t see the faint blue tinge around Inuyasha’s mouth. She couldn’t see the growing darkness under his golden eyes. If she could see, she might have recognized the signs of severe blood loss. She could feel the tremors that wracked his body as coldness filled the void left by his blood. She knew that she had to do something to help, and do it fast.


Reaching to her core to find the strength buried there, she grasped the boy around his shoulders and pulled with all her might. She gave a small sigh of relief as the limp form slid out from under the rocks. ‘Now, at least, I can find out where he’s hurt. The baka never did answer me.’


Inuyasha fought to hold onto consciousness. There was no way he wanted Kagome down here, but since she was he refused to leave her without his support. Besides that, she would need the sword hilt that he still held. It would help her make it out of this hell hole.


As the miko worked to ascertain the extent of his injuries, Inuyasha took the opportunity to tell her what he knew. “Kagome, I think this hilt may be some kind of seal to keep whatever the hell is in here from attacking.”


At that point, Kagome touched his injured leg in her search for injuries. “Damn it, Kagome. Don’t break it anymore than it already is.”


“I thought you said it wasn’t bad. But it feels like it’s bleeding a lot. Why didn’t you tell me you were losing so much blood?”


“There wasn’t much point to it. There wasn’t a whole hell of a lot you could do about it, was there?”


“Inuyasha, this is too much blood to lose, even for you. I’m gonna have to find a way to stop it, or at least slow it down, if I’m ever going to get you out of here.”


“Even if it stopped, I don’t think you can get me out by yourself. This leg isn’t going to be a big help when it comes to walking, let alone climbing out. And I haven’t even tried to get my shoulder back where it belongs.”


Blushing furiously, Kagome pulled the leg of Inuyasha’s hakama up as high as it would go. While she cringed at the blood that she could feel dripping off the bunched material, she was glad that the legs of the pants were wide enough to give access to work on the hanyou’s torn flesh.


Working in the dark, feeling for the source of the bleeding, she’d worked her way up from Inuyasha’s ankle, past his calf, over his knee, until she finally found the gash on his inner thigh. The wound extended high enough that Kagome was sure they would both suffer from burst capillaries caused by terminal blushing.


The length and depth of the wound made her cringe, which Inuyasha misinterpreted as a sign of revulsion. “You don’t have to do anything. If you can get to the others, I’ll wait here. Maybe between the monk and Kirara, they can pull me out. But before you go take this. It’ll help make sure you make it out.”
With that he thrust the hilt into her unprepared hands. The instant he did, the darkness around them pushed its way into the very center of his being. All hope of making it out of the cave alive was lost to him. The keening wail that he offered to the air around him brought Kagome to tears. She had felt an instant redoubling of her strength in fighting the dark forces as soon as the object had touched her fingers.


Without thinking, the miko had thrown her arms around the hanyou in an effort to comfort him. When she did, the darkness left his mind, once again. The pain from his injured leg lessened, too. Whatever power the hilt contained seemed to be magnified when it was combined with the miko’s own power.


Not wanting to chance a repeat of the resent events, Kagome forced the hilt into Inuyasha’s good hand. “Just hold this while I take care of your leg, okay? If you let go of it again, I’m gonna be really mad, and you don’t want to see me mad right now. Not that we can see anything, anyway.”


Catching his breath after the emotional episode, Inuyasha informed her, “I could see just a minute ago. When you were holding this.” He held the hilt up for Kagome to see.


“You’re right. There was light, wasn’t there. I was too concerned about what was happening to you to really pay much attention, though.”


Kagome reached out and touched the object again, and there was indeed a faint light emanating from the point of contact. “I’m gonna look at that wound in your leg. See if you can keep that thing in contact with me while I do, okay?”


With the slight glow generated from the combination of powers guiding her, Kagome had a good idea about the location and extent of the wound. It was as bad as she’d thought it might be. The femoral artery was damaged, and was the cause of the excessive blood loss. She couldn’t understand how Inuyasha had kept from passing out, even with his demon enhanced body. It would need pressure applied immediately to slow the blood loss, but unfortunately, she hadn’t brought her backpack into the cave with her.


Considering what other resources might be available, she said, “Take off your shirt.” Noticing the blush that suddenly dusted his cheeks, she explained, “I need your hadagi for bandages.”


“That’s not going to be easy with this shoulder, ya know? It’s not exactly cooperating with the finer points of dressing or undressing.”


Seeing the problem Inuyasha faced in removing both shirts so that she could use the undershirt to make bandages, Kagome loosened the tie holding the boy’s hakama in place, so that she could pull the bottom of the shirts free. She then set about tearing strips from the white material. It was not as easy as she’d hoped it would be. Why did every article of clothing the hanyou wore have to be made of material that was unnaturally strong?


When she had enough bandaging material at the ready, she set about to bind the wound. The movement that had been necessary to prepare for this had caused even more blood to be lost. Inuyasha seemed to be having difficulty in simply holding on to the hilt in order to keep the dark force at bay. The contact with her body was intermittent, at best, and caused the small light to flicker. By this time she had a solid knowledge of where the wound was, and started wrapping the bandages around the wound.


The white material was instantly stained red, though. The flow of the blood leaving his body was slowing, due to the pressure the bandages provided, but it was still far more than she cared to see. The number of times she had to cover the wound with the bandages in order to reach the point of not having the top layer saturated with the red drops made for an awkward lump that would make walking even more difficult for the hanyou.


When the bandaging was completed Kagome took a minute to study Inuyasha with the aid of the small light. The shallow panting that he had exhibited while she was working on wrapping the wound seemed to be evening out into more natural breaths. He’d kept his eyes tightly closed while she worked on the binding, but now he slowly opened them to look at the girl that had just saved his life.


He knew that healing these injuries would take days, possibly even weeks, but he could no longer feel his very life slipping away. With supreme sincerity, he said, “Thank you, Kagome,” and it was enough. It vindicated all the frustrations of their relationship. It gave proof to the fact that her yearnings for the man beside her were reciprocated. It told her of the feelings that were in his heart.


As the moment of unusual closeness passed Kagome set to work on Inuyasha’s injured leg, once more. “I need you sword, Inuyasha.”


“What the hell for? Now that you spent all that time wrapping the damn thing up, don’t tell me you’re planning on hacking it off.”


“Don’t be such a baka. I need the sheath to use as a splint. I just thought the sword would be safer if it was still in the sheath. If you tuck it in you obi uncovered you’re likely to cut yourself again. I don’t think that there’s enough material left in your hadagi to bandage another wound.”


“You can have the sheath, wench, but I’m keepin’ the sword right in my hands where it belongs.”


Kagome was heartened to hear some of the fire and bluster return to Inuyasha’s voice, so she let him have his way without argument. Using the last of the strips of torn cloth, she secured the sheath to Inuyasha’s leg, immobilizing it.


It was time for the monumental task of helping the hanyou to stand. Trying to decide the best way to accomplish this, Kagome paused to think. When all was still and quiet, she noticed that the power of the darkness seemed somehow stronger. While it couldn’t invade either of their minds, it was continually butting up against their auras with increasing power.


Kagome was reminded of the horrifying vision that she’d had concerning her friends. She felt the sudden need to find their location. “Let’s get you up and moving. I think there’s an easier place to climb up over to the right.”


And indeed there was. The shifting of the rocks had formed an almost smooth ramp for their use. Kagome stood to the left of Inuyasha as she helped him painfully regain his footing. His good arm was thrown over her shoulders to give him support. His right hand still carried the Tessaiga, and the strange object of power was tucked securely in the waist of his hakama.


The climb out of the pit was a slow trek. Within moments, Inuyasha’s was covered with a fine sheen of sweat that gave voice to the effort involved. Kagome heard the quick hissing intake of breath whenever the pain became too great for her companion, but never once did he cry out or complain. Kagome did not complain, either, even though the effort of supporting Inuyasha was draining. She was determined to get him out of this hell alive.


Once the pair reached the summit of the pit’s wall, they stopped to rest before starting the long walk to find their friends. Kagome gladly supported Inuyasha while they both caught their breath. “You can go find the others, now. As long as I’m out of that hole, I’ll be okay. I’ll only slow you down, anyway,” Inuyasha panted.


“There’s no way I’m going to leave you behind again. We’ll find them together, or not at all.”


Seeing that there was little use in arguing with a determined miko, Inuyasha said, “If we’re going to go we’d better do it now. That thing in the pit is getting madder and stronger by the second.”

“You noticed that too, huh? I wonder what it’s feeding on to gain strength like that.”


“Maybe Miroku can figure it out when we find him. He thinks he knows all about that spiritual shit, anyway.”


So with renewed determination, the two set off retracing the path that they took into the cave. The small glow of the hilt that was tucked into Inuyasha’s waistband helped them make better time than they would have realized in the total darkness of before. They soon found that as long as Kagome kept in contact with Inuyasha, and he was in contact with the object, the glow remained steady.


It seemed as if it took an eternity to retreat from the pit, but the progress was steady, if slow. Talk was kept to a minimum, so that both could conserve their strength. After traveling for an undetermined amount of time, Inuyasha turned to Kagome and said, “You have to be exhausted. I appreciate you lugging me out, but you can’t keep this up. I’ll be fine here until you can bring help back.”


“I told you before that I’m not leaving you again. Besides, I can feel something up ahead. I don’t think we’re far from the others.”


Within minutes the illumination cast by the hilt brought the sight of huddled forms to their eyes. The pitiful display caused the two to quicken their pace, and they reached their friends in a moment. The climb and the walk had totally exhausted both of them, but Kagome steadfastly refused to turn loose of her companion. Together they made their way to the suffering monk.


As soon as the miko’s free hand made contact with the man, his fevered thrashing ceased. Slowly his violet eyes came into focus, and the haunted look left them. Looking at the two people before him, he gave a weak smile and a word of thanks.

Not wanting to lose contact with the monk they waited until he regained enough strength to stand so that the group could move to where Sango lay. When Kagome saw her friend’s face twisted with grief, she couldn’t hold her own tears back. “Oh, Sango. What have you had to live through to cause this?”


Miroku wasted no time in gathering the slayer into his arms. The embrace served to break the dark ties that had caused such grief. Sango awoke from her vision, and buried her head in Miroku’s chest. “Oh, Hoshi, I thought all was lost to me, even you.”


“And I thought you had been lost to me, also. It was the end of my world, because you are the whole world to me, Sango.”


Not wanting to interrupt the tender moment between the two, but also realizing the need for speed, Kagome said, “We still have to wake Shippou and Kirara. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”


“Yeah. That bastard back there is getting madder by the minute. Even with this thing I can feel it.” Inuyasha motioned toward the hilt that was still secured in his clothing.


Glancing around the immediate area, they all noticed that even in her pain, Kirara had curled around the small kitsune, trying to provide whatever comfort she could. The group made their way over to the pair, and woke them from their individual nightmares. Shippou immediately threw himself into Kagome’s arms, nearly upsetting her hold on Inuyasha. Luckily the group stood in such close proximity to each other that contact was kept between them.


They waited a few minutes for the last two to clear the fog and darkness from their minds before they requested the neko to transform . Kirara was happy to comply with the request, and by nuzzling Inuyasha, once she had achieved her larger size, she demonstrated that she saw the reason for the request.


When they had the hanyou situated on the fire cat, they set out on the final leg of their journey. Before they had covered much ground, they felt the cave shake in anger once again. The entity that was still trapped in the pit was showing its displeasure at their pending escape.