InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Difference a Little Time Can Make ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. I am not making any money from this story.

 

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Please continue to review and let me know what you think. The changes from canon will continue to ripple out, though some things will remain the same.

 

I would like to thank everyone who responded to my question in the previous chapter. I have created a poll on my profile page on fanfiction.net with the most suggested ideas. Please vote and let me know which one you think would fit the story best. I might or might not choose the idea with the most votes. But I would like to know what everyone thinks. A number of you also posted ideas for later in the story. I was shocked to see several things that I had already planned suggested. It makes me wonder if you guys are psychic or if I'm just that predictable. And no, I won't tell you who suggested them or what they are as that would spoil the story. You'll just have to wait to find out.

 

But I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting it.

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Previously

 

The now apparent youkai laughed again. “These mountains make excellent feeding grounds. And who would ever suspect the old monk in the temple of being behind the youkai attacks. It has led many a meal to me. But who would have thought it would bring me a miko and a hanyou, and at your time of weakness. Hehehe. My children and I will feast well this night.”

 

Kagome looked around frantically. 'How are we going to get out of the mess we're in this time?' she wondered. Things didn't look good for them. 'Inuyasha, please hang on. We'll get out of this somehow. I just wish I knew how.'

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Inuyasha struggled against the hand pinning him to the wall. Not for the first time he cursed the night of the new moon and his weak human body. Hearing the youkai in front of him boast about eating him and Kagome just pissed him off. The asshole was boasting about how it was so easy when Inuyasha didn't have his youkai powers. “KEH! I don't think so asshole!” He shouted down at him. “Even without my powers I shouldn't have a problem squashing a bug like YOU!” As he spoke he pried the hand holding him loose from his haori while simultaneously swinging his legs up against the wall in order to launch himself forward. He swung down toward the youkai, prepared to attack him any way he could only to be surprised when it launched a spray of webbing out of it's mouth at him. “What?!”

 

“Fool” the creature laughed as the webbing engulfed Inuyasha. It lunged forward at the trapped transformed hanyou. “Do you think your weak HUMAN body can survive my venom?” The creature dove forward and sank it's venomous fangs into Inuyasha's neck and chest, injecting the poison into his body.

 

“ARGH!” Inuyasha screamed as he felt the poison enter his body. He could feel it burning through his veins, it felt like his whole body was on fire. He was distantly aware of Kagome screaming.

“NOOO! Inuyasha! INUYASHA!!” Kagome screamed as she saw the youkai bite him. Tears were streaming down her face but she didn't care. All she could see was Inuyasha's pain-filled face. His eyes had glazed over and blood was trickling out of his mouth. Her heart pounded in her chest and she heard a rushing sound in her ears. 'No, he can't be dead. No...'

 

“Hmm?” the youkai turned to face Kagome and Nazuna, leaving Inuyasha hanging in it's web. “Don't worry about him, it's far too late for him. I have filled his body with my venom. It will devour him inside out, inch by inch. Hehehe. Don't worry, you'll be joining him soon enough.” With that he shot a spray of webbing at her but she dodged it, running straight at his web and the trapped Inuyasha. She began to climb, mind focused only on reaching her friend. “Foolish girl, you make it far too easy.”

 

More webbing moved to trap her and she instinctively swung the sheathed Tessaiga. There was a hissing sound and then the webbing disintegrated. “What?” she asked, feeling the Tessaiga thrum in her hands.

 

“The Tessaiga's aura has come to life” Myouga told her as he bounced on her shoulder. “It's barrier will protect you.”

She stared at him, wondering where he had come from. “Wait, you never come within a mile of danger. That means I must have a chance!” She renewed her climb as she ignored the flea's outraged protest. Spotting several spider-heads moving towards her, she swung the Tessaiga and knocked them away.

 

“K-Kagome” a weak voice reached her ears. She looked up and spotted Inuyasha staring at her. 'He's alive!' she thought as she struggled to reach him. “B-baka...Run...away...”

She glared at him. “No! I won't leave you here!” She had nearly reached him. She saw his eyes widen.

 

“Be...hind...you...”

 

She lunged forward into his body, tackling him and knocking them both free of the webbing. Glancing behind her as they fell, she saw that she had narrowly avoided being bitten by the large spider-head that had pretended to be the monk. They landed roughly on the ground and Kagome winced as Inuyasha took the brunt of the fall. She pulled him up and slung his arm around her shoulder, supporting his weight as she looked around for a way out. But they were surrounded.

 

Nazuna ran towards them then, swinging her torch. “Kagome! This way! There's an alcove behind the main altar!” She grabbed Inuyasha's other arm and helped Kagome drag him into the indicated room, then slammed the door shut before the spider-heads could enter. “There. But I don't know how long the door will hold” she said worriedly, staring at it as it rattled.

 

Myouga spoke up from Kagome's shoulder then, startling Nazuna who hadn't been aware of his presence. “Kagome-sama, the Tessaiga! It's aura should gain us some time!” Kagome quickly unsheathed the sword and drove it into the door. The rattling immediately stopped.

 

Kagome then turned her attention to Inuyasha. He appeared to be in a bad state. “Inuyasha” she cried. “What are we going to do? He needs help.”

 

“Not to worry Kagome-sama. He need only make it to sunrise and then everything will be fine” Myouga spoke up.

 

“What do you mean?” she asked. 'How can he be so confident?' she wondered. “And what happened? Why is he human?”

 

“In the life of every hanyou, there is a time when their youkai blood and powers ebb away, leaving them human and mortal. Since they are most vulnerable at this time, they try to never let anyone discover that such times must come or when they occur. Inuyasha-sama's time of weakness must be the first night that the moon does not appear, or the night of the new moon. He has worked very hard to keep this secret, not even sharing it with me, his most loyal servant.” The flea sobbed at this point.

 

'His time of weakness?' Kagome thought. 'And I forced him to come here. He knew he would be weak, that's why he's been so irritable today. Inuyasha, didn't you trust me?' She felt tears sting her eyes but forced them away, refusing to cry.

 

The flea youkai calmed. “Anyway, Inuyasha-sama's powers should return at dawn with the sun. We just need to hold out until then.”

“But Myouga, Inuyasha was poisoned! He might not have that long!” Kagome felt so helpless. She knelt beside him and clutched at his hand. He felt so cold. “Inuyasha, please...”

 

“Not to worry Kagome-sama. I'll suck out the poison. I suggest that you not look.” With that the flea launched himself onto Inuyasha's neck and began to suck. As he did his body grew until he was twenty times as big as he had been. The girls gasped in shock.

 

“What is he?!” Nazuna asked as she stared.

 

“That's Myouga, he's a flea youkai and Inuyasha's servant” Kagome replied weakly as she watched the engorged flea roll around on the floor complaining about how full he was. Suddenly, Inuyasha groaned and she rushed back to his side, shoving Myouga out of the way. “Inuyasha?” She felt tears stream down her face but this time she didn't care.

 

His eyes fluttered open. “K-Kagome.” He stared at her and weakly reached one hand up to her face, wiping at her tears. “Why are you crying?” This wasn't the first time she had cried for him, he remembered. Before her no one had cried for him, not since his mother.

 

“Baka! I was so worried about you. I was afraid you would die!”

 

“Keh. Don't be ridiculous. It takes more than that to beat me.” 'Don't cry for me. I'm not worth your tears' he thought.

 

The door rattled again and they turned to look but it held. “Don't worry” Myouga spoke up. “As long as the Tessaiga's aura holds, this is the safest place to be. We need only wait for Inuyasha-sama's powers to return. We shouldn't make any hasty moves.”

 

The others all settled down. Kagome stayed by Inuyasha's side. He had fallen unconscious again. She dabbed at his forehead with the sleeve of her kosode. “Inuyasha, you've just got to recover, please.” She stared down at him. He didn't look very comfortable. Looking around she noticed that both Nazuna and Myouga were asleep. The flea was still engorged but noticeably smaller. A groan drew her attention back to Inuyasha. With a sigh she lifted his head and shoulders and slid underneath so that his head was pillowed on her lap. He seemed to relax instantly and she blushed a bit but remained there.

 

Kagome stared down at his face. A little bit of color had returned and he seemed to be peacefully sleeping now as opposed to unconscious. She wondered what time it was. How long until sunrise? He moved his head in her lap, closer to her stomach. She reached down and brushed his hair from his face, then blushed when she saw his eyes open to stare at her. She had thought he was still sleeping. “How do you feel?” she asked.

 

He stared up at her, some unknown emotion showing in his eyes. “Better” he rasped out and took a deep breath. He looked so relaxed, so at peace. Then he glared at her. “Don't think I didn't notice that you disobeyed me again when I told you to run. Didn't we just have a discussion about that?”

She glared back. “And I promised I would listen and obey, as circumstances allowed, which they didn't. I wasn't going to just abandon you to be killed.” She stopped and tears filled her eyes. “Why didn't you tell me?” she asked him suddenly. “Didn't you trust me?”

 

He turned his head, unable to stand seeing her pain. “I was going to. I just didn't know how.” He swallowed. This was hard for him to say. “I've never let anyone see me like this. Not since Mother.” He glanced back at her and saw the soft look return to her face. “And I was afraid.”

 

“Afraid?” she asked him.

 

“I didn't want you to see me like this. I didn't want you to see how weak I become when I'm like this. Look at what happened. I couldn't even protect you.”

 

“You're not weak!” They were both taken aback by her outburst before she continued. “You are the strongest and bravest person I know. Even without your powers you threw yourself into the fight, trying to protect us. It's not your physical strength that makes you strong, it's the strength of your heart and yours is the strongest I know.” She blushed as she finished and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

 

Inuyasha took another deep breath. He felt warm and comfortable lying in her lap. He idly wondered what it would be like with his hanyou senses, when he could really smell her. He shifted again. “Thank you” he told her.

 

“For what?” she asked, honestly confused.

 

“For letting me rest in your lap.” He took another deep breath. “You smell nice” he said causing her to blush again. He reached up and traced the track left by her earlier tears. “Why?” he asked. She looked at him in confusion. “Why did you cry for me? No-one has cried for me since mother.”

She couldn't take her eyes off of his face. “I thought you were going to die.” Her hands clenched in his haori. “I was so worried. I care about you and the thought of something happening to you...” She broke off as she choked back more tears.

 

“Shh” His hand stroked her cheek and she reached up to hold it there as she stared down at him. That unknown emotion was back in his eyes. She was drawn to him and felt herself leaning down, closer to his face. “K'gome” he murmured.

 

“Inuyasha” she breathed as their lips met and her eyes fluttered closed. The kiss was gentle and chaste. As they broke apart she felt her heart pounding in her chest as a blush rose on her cheeks. She stared down at him as he smiled at her and stroked her cheek again before closing his eyes. She continued to stare at him with a smile as her hand rose to touch her lips.

 

“You should get some sleep too” a voice intruded on her thoughts, causing her to jump. She turned and saw Nazuna watching her with a thoughtful expression on her face.

 

“H-how long have you been awake?” Kagome asked with a blush. 'At least Inuyasha didn't hear her.'

 

“Long enough. Don't worry, I tried to ignore it and give you some privacy.” That didn't make Kagome feel any better. “But you really should get some rest.”

 

Kagome nodded and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. She didn't think she would be able to sleep not with everything that was running through her mind. Inuyasha, the kiss, the spider-heads, the new moon, Inuyasha. But surprisingly she did fall asleep quickly, her dreams filled with Inuyasha. Her last thought before she completely surrendered to sleep was 'I wonder what it would be like to kiss him in his regular body?'

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They awoke to a crash. From the light filtering into the room, sunrise was not long off. But they might not have that long. They stared at the doorway, the door was gone and the spider-heads filled the gap. Looking around for the Tessaiga, they spotted it in Nazuna's hand. “I-I'm sorry” she said. “But it sounded so much like him. Master said that he had been possessed by the youkai. He said he had managed to drive them out. I'm sorry” she said again as she collapsed to her knees.

 

The large spider-head laughed. “She is such a trusting soul, the fool. I find that trait so endearing, don't you? Hehehe.”

 

Inuyasha cursed and struggled to his feet, shoving Kagome behind him. 'Just a few more seconds' he thought. He could feel his body tingling and knew that the change was almost upon him.

 

The youkai laughed again. “I think it is time we finish this.” He extended his arm, catching Inuyasha and pinning him to the wall. He struggled but couldn't get free. The youkai began to move forward, intending to sink his fangs into Inuyasha's flesh once more. But a pulse from Inuyasha's body stopped him. “No...” the spider-head said. “His powers and youki are returning.”

It was Inuyasha's turn to laugh now. He could feel his strength returning. His fingernails hardened and grew into claws and his teeth sharpened into fangs. His hair bled from black to silver, dark eyes turning golden, and he felt his ears shift to reform on the top of his head. He gripped the hand pinning him loose and growled. “You're right. It is time to finish this, once and for all.” He launched himself forward, easily avoiding a stream of webbing. With a cry of “Sankon Tessou” he destroyed the spider web as well as some of the youkai's limbs.

 

“No!” the creature howled. “I will not be defeated like this, not by a hanyou!” He sent his children to attack.

 

Inuyasha easily dispatched any spider-heads that came near him when Kagome's scream caught his attention. Turning, he felt his heart lurch in his chest when he saw her surrounded by several spider-heads, caught in their web. He lunged in her direction only to be caught by a stream of webbing shot from the spider-head leader. He cursed and struggled to free himself.

 

Nazuna had been watching the fight from the side. But upon seeing both Kagome and Inuyasha captured, she felt her anger grow. “You tricked me!” she said as she rose to her feet clutching the Tessaiga. “You're responsible for all of the deaths, for my father's death. I'm going to make you PAY!” She ran forward, and stabbed the large spider-head with the Tessaiga.

 

The youkai roared with pain and then grabbed her with one of it's limbs. Glaring at her, he spoke. “I was going to give you a quick death in thanks, but for that I will make you suffer.”

 

She merely glared at him. “You're the one who is going to die today. Inuyasha!” With that shout she threw the Tessaiga.

 

Inuyasha was tearing through the webbing holding him, his claws easily shredding it. The only problem was that there was so much and the spider-heads just kept making more. At Nazuna's shout he turned his head and spotted the Tessaiga heading for him. He easily caught it and it transformed in his hand. “Keh. Time to end this.” He swung, dispatching with both the webbing and the spider-heads surrounding him. Another swing, and Kagome was free as well. Then he turned and charged at the leader of the spider-heads. “Nazuna, don't move!” He leaped and swung the Tessaiga, cutting through webbing and limb alike that the youkai tried to block with before cutting the youkai in half.

 

“NOOO!” it cried as it's body fell apart before disintegrating. Nazuna felt herself falling to the ground before Inuyasha caught her and landed beside Kagome. Looking around they saw that all of the webs and spider-heads had vanished.

 

“I guess when you killed him, all of the smaller youkai vanished as well” Kagome said as she looked around. Turning to the others she asked “Are you alright?”

 

Inuyasha merely said “Keh, as if a weakling like that could harm me” and crossed his arms.

 

Nazuna shook her head. Turning to Inuyasha she bowed. “Thank you. You killed the youkai responsible for the attacks and avenged my father. I am in your debt.”

“Keh. I didn't do it for you.” He glanced at her. “But you're welcome. Anyway, part of the victory goes to you for getting me my sword.” He sniffed suddenly and turned to face Kagome. He hurried over to her and began examining her for injuries.

 

Kagome was taken aback by his behavior. “Inuyasha, what-?”

 

“Where are you hurt? I can smell the blood but I can't tell where it's coming from?” He was getting frantic. “Why didn't you tell me that you were injured?!”

 

“What are you talking about? I'm not hurt. Would you stop that, I'm fine!” She tried to still his actions, as she wondered what had gotten into him.

 

He glared at her. “Don't tell me that! I can smell your blood! Now tell me where you're hurt!”

 

'But I'm not hurt' she thought. She shifted as she tried to figure out a way to calm him down, when she became aware of a wet, sticky feeling between her legs. 'Oh no.' Her face flushed as she realized exactly what Inuyasha was smelling. It was a little late which is why she hadn't thought about it but then she remembered that stress could affect the cycle. And the past few weeks had definitely been stressful. The stress of the last few days also explained why she hadn't noticed the warning signs. 'Maybe that rosary would have been a good idea' she thought with a furious blush as she tried to figure out what to tell the frantic hanyou who stood in front of her, demanding answers.

 

After a few minutes of arguing she finally managed to calm him down and convince him that she was unharmed, with a promise to fully explain where the blood was coming from later. She wondered what she was going to do as there was no such things as tampons or maxi pads in this time. Spotting Nazuna, who had been watching the proceedings with confused amusement, Kagome told Inuyasha to stay put and hurried to the other girl. She quickly explained her problem and asked if she had any supplies she could use. Nazuna brought her to her room and proceeded to give her the needed items as well as tell her what to do. Though she was surprised that Kagome didn't already know how to handle it. Kagome managed to put her curiosity off by explaining that she was from a distant land where they had a different type of item to take care of it, an item that she didn't have access to at the moment. Nazuna easily accepted her explanations and then they rejoined an impatient Inuyasha.

 

Nazuna carried a bag with her few belongings, and Kagome had retrieved her own pack and changed into her blue outfit. Nazuna bowed to them again. “Thank you again. You have shown me that not all youkai are bad. I will try to remember this lesson and try to judge them by their actions.” They said their farewells and Nazuna headed for a nearby village while Kagome and Inuyasha restarted their journey.

 

Kagome became aware of Inuyasha's curious glances and she flushed as she tried to figure a way out of the coming conversation.

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So please tell me what you think. Anybody realize where I was going when I started giving hints about Kagome's smell? I know at least a couple of you did as you mentioned it in your previous reviews. I don't plan to write the actual conversation that Kagome has with Inuyasha but I will show the aftermath. And we still need to show the aftermath of that kiss. Did I make anyone happy? And look, it wasn't really a cliffhanger this time.