Chapter 9 - Death

As the bright, unforgiving sunrays pierced through his eyelids, Inu-Yasha felt a groan escape him. Gods, he hurt all over. . . And from the puddle he was laying in on the ground, he could tell he was still bleeding.


Damn that dog Kikyo.


He slowly opened his blurry eyes-


To see Kagome leaning over him, shaking. In fact, now that he took the time to notice, he realized his head was in her lap.


"Inu-Yasha. . ."


shoot.


Siting up so fast that it sent a sharp pain through his back, the werewolf gazed, eye to eye, into the orbs of the trembling girl. Double shoot.


"Inu-Yasha. . . you- you were- you are-" she forced out, tears welling up in the corners of her eye as she shivered.


Inu only looked away, towards the blood covered ground. He should have known this would happen. She would never want to be with him now that she knew.


"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling a few tears trickle down his own face. With that, he slowly got to his feet, wobbling from the searing pain shooting through his body.


But as he turned around to walk out of the ally, he felt a warm hand suddenly grab his wrist. Looking down in mild surprise, he found Kagome gazing up at him, twin rivers of liquid crystal falling down her face.


"I get it now, Inu-Yasha. . ." she whispered. "How you knew so much, why no one could know about us, why we weren't supposed to fall in love. . . It's against the rules, isn't it? There's a rule against it, isn't there?"


Inu-Yasha found himself nodding dumbly. Well, he had been right. She had put it all together herself.


He was about to turn away again when her grip on his wrist tightened. She swallowed and looked up at Inu-Yasha with eyes full of serious determination as he arched a questioning eyebrow at her.


"Make me a wolf."


*


The werewolf stared down at the girl in utter shock. She gazed back, her eyes never wavering, and her face set.


"I want to be with you. I want to be a werewolf. Make me one. Bite me- however it works!" Kagome pleaded, tugging on his wrist until he sat down next to her.


"Haven't we already had this conversation?" he growled softly, running a hand over his face. "It's not that simple. I can't just bite you for you to become a wolf!"


"Well, you said that there were two ways. One was being born of two werewolves, and the other was. . ."


"The Trial."


"Yes, that, I'll do that!"


"No fracking way!" Inu-Yasha roared, making Kagome jump slightly. Sure, it was great to imagine that she'd want to- but allowing her to was a whole different story.


"Why not?" Kag glared, taken aback.


"Kagome, you don't seem to understand what's on the line here!" the werewolf whispered, his tone gentling.


"Then tell me. Tell me everything."


Inu-Yasha sighed and looked up at the slowly rising sun. After a moment or two of contemplation, he found his voice and tried to explain. "Remember when I said that to be a werewolf you could be born of two werewolves?"


"Yes. . .?"


"I lied. Though it is forbidden, you could also be born of a human and a werewolf. Like me. . . Only you get added curses," the wolf chuckled darkly, indicating his now uncapped ears and thinking of the new moon.


"What does that have to do with-?"


"I'm getting to it. So I was born of a forbidden affair. Well, my mother `loved' my father. So much, she decided to take the Trial so she could become a werewolf as well."


"And?"


"She failed."


"Oh. . ."


Inu-Yasha's gaze hardened. "And so, after the Moon Goddess inflicted her punishment, the pack killed her mercilessly. Soon after that, my father was banished and killed by a pack of hunters."


Silence enveloped the pair, only being broken by the occasionally drip, drip, drip of Inu's falling blood.


"And that," the werewolf whispered, "is why you shouldn't take the Trial. You'd die."


"No I wouldn't. What are the chances of survival?"


"One out of one billion."


"Are you exaggerating?"


"No."


The look in Inu-Yasha's serious eyes told her this was the truth. And that sucked. But all the same- - - "Then I'll be the first in a billion," she shrugged.


"Kagome, listen to yourself!" the werewolf cried. "You're talking like this is a game! It's not! I don't want to lose you!"


"And I don't want to lose you!" Kagome replied heatedly, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks again as she slammed her fist on the ground to emphasize her words. "I love you too much! I WILL take the Trial, and you can't stop me!"


Inu-Yasha gazed into her determined eyes. There was nothing he could do. . .


He bit his lip as a single tear ran down his cheek.


"I love you too. . ."


Kagome smiled a watery smile before pressing her lips to his, ignoring the blood that stained her clothes as they kissed.


She wouldn't fail.


She would become a werewolf.


She loved him.


*


In the lobby of the werewolf's apartment complex, Kouga and a few of the other high-ranking wolves in the clan were discussing the next full moon, when they were interrupted by a disturbance outside. Glancing up while getting a cup of water from the cooler, Sessho-Maru was fortunate enough to see a heavily wounded Kikyo wobbling up to the apartment door, but collapse on the ground before she could make it inside.


"God gods," he breathed, making the other wolves jump as he strode quickly for the door, opening it and carrying Kikyo inside, water forgotten.


"Wha- - -By the goddess!" Kouga exclaimed as he ran up to Kikyo. "Kikyo! Are you all right?! What happened?!"


Sessho-Maru gently placed Kikyo on a couch in the lobby, ignoring the blood that was already seeping into the upholstery as worthless flaps of her skin revealed damaged organs.


"Inu. . . Yas. . . Sha. . ." Kikyo panted out, wincing in pain as her naked body convulsed.


Kouga growled, pushing a few of her stray, silky tresses behind her ears. "Inu-Yasha?! Did he attack you?! Why tha-"


Sessho-Maru put up a hand. "Let her speak."


Kikyo nodded weakly in thanks and continued as her breathing became more difficult. "Him. . . Him and. . . a human. . . He. . . attacked me. . . because he. . . "


The pack gazed in shock as Kikyo slowly closed her eyes. "Because. . . he loves. . . a human."


With that, her slow, raspy breaths stopped coming all together; her pale skin all but completely bloodless.


"Kikyo? Kikyo!" Kouga screamed in her ear, shaking her body. But. . .


"It's no use," Kaede whispered softly, placing her hand over the leader's.


She was dead.


*


Breaking the kiss, Inu-Yasha slowly stood.


"Don't leave. . ." Kagome whimpered softly, dying inside as she noted how much pain he was in.


"I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "But. . . I'll need to talk to the clan. If you are to take the Trial. . ." his voice trailed off.


Understanding, the girl nodded and stood herself, silently watching her love limp away, towards the apartments.


*


Sessho-Maru silently took a blanket from the closet and placed it over the girl, tucking the cloth neatly around her form.


"We can cremate her before the rising of the new moon," Jaken, who always followed Sessho-Maru, put in helpfully.


"She would appreciate that," Kaede nodded mournfully, biting her lip. "Don't you think so, Kouga?"


But Kouga wasn't listening.


Instead, hands clenched, he was glaring out the window, as if daring Inu-Yasha to come home.


"First he kills five humans, then a pack member, and finally. . . He falls in love with a human."


The rest of the members gathered growled in response.


"For this," Kouga continued softly, "for this. . . INU-YASHA WILL DIE."


~*~

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