Two Months to Live by Corisu Li, chapter 16, inu yasha fanfic

This is a sequel to One Month for Romance. It is complete in 27 chapters. It has a few plot twists that will shock you.I'm posting it here with the permission of the author. I found it at http://www.geocities.com/inuyashakarma . Enjoy. Tim Seltzer

Disclaimer: Corisu Li: They're not mine. Duh. I've said it 15 times now. Some people just don't get it.
Kunoichi: I get it! ^__________________^
Corisu Li: *raises eyebrow* Really? Ok, then, explain.
Kunoichi: You said that some people it said now 15 times, so duh, it's not butter! *satisfied grin*
Corisu Li: *anime fall* Ok, Kuno no baka, I'm going to let that one slide. Chapter, ahoy!

Chapter 16: Inuyasha Flees

As he pulled, Kirara let out a soft growl at his side. When the low rumbling didn't stop, Kohaku gave up his fruitless struggles and turned to her. "Nani?"

Kirara was facing a patch of trees, and as Kohaku watched, she suddenly disappeared into them. "Kirara, wait!" Kohaku yelped, not wanting to be left alone in the dark forest. He began to give chase, scratching his arms numerous times on branches and brambles as he pushed them aside. "Kirara!" he called again, skidding to a stop when he saw her standing quite a ways off, apparently looking at something that was approaching.

Kohaku pulled his katana from his side. His chain sickle was nowhere to be found, he noted, so he would have to make do. The branches nearest their location began to swish, and as he watched, a figure emerged from the trees. It was leaning heavily on what seemed to be a monk's staff, favoring its left leg. As it moved, Kohaku identified it for what it was...panther youkai.

The boy's eyes widened, and he called shakily, "St-stay back, you! I-I'm armed!"

The panther stopped in his tracks and looked up. The boy...hadn't he been working for Naraku? But no, that couldn't be the case, for that was Kirara at his side...what in the world was going on? "Who are you?"

Ninsei looked a little taken aback at the boy's manner, then realized that if a boy were to meet a strange youkai in a forest, this was pretty much the accepted reaction. "Watashi wa Ninsei desu. I am a friend of Inuyasha, Kagome and the rest. Do you know where they are?"

Ninsei gave a shrug. "You don't. However, I am in no position to lie. As you can see, I am injured." When Kohaku still eyed him warily, Ninsei sighed and turned to Kirara. "Kirara, can you take me to the others?" When the neko youkai began to step forward, Kohaku realized that this strange, placid youkai was sincere. Ninsei pulled himself onto Kirara's back, wincing as he shifted his broken leg.

Within minutes, the trio had arrived back at the tree that housed Inuyasha's sword. "Can you pull it out?" Kohaku asked, pointing to it.

"That is Inuyasha's sword. I would not be able to lay a finger on it. Although I can help you along a bit. Step back, boy."

Ninsei rose his staff and brandished it. The ground around the tree turned to sand. As Kohaku watched, the panther held the staff vertically in front of him and the newly formed sand began to pound at the sides of the tree, wearing away the wood on either side of Tetsusaiga. It was merely seconds before it tumbled free, leaving the remains of the tree to fall to the ground, its trunk nearly split in half.

Kohaku stared. "Wow..." he whispered quietly. It wasn't until Ninsei asked if they should be leaving that he dashed forward, grabbed the sword, and joined Ninsei on Kirara's back. Then, the two were off once more, heading back to Inuyasha and Sango's battle.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......!!!!" Rin squealed. And squealed. And squealed. Jaken covered his ears and frowned at her.

"Wench, be quiet! It is just a corpse! Nothing to fear!" Of course, this didn't quiet her one bit.

Rin immediately stopped and whirled to face the speaker. Sesshoumaru stood behind her, arms folded over his chest. "Hello, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer. He was deep in thought. 'I followed Inuyasha's scent to this very place. There was a barrier up, but it has now dissipated, allowing us to enter. And Inuyasha's scent has changed...it has a scent like my own...'

Jaken was prodding the dead girl on the ground with the end of his wooden staff. Rin cringed, but didn't start screaming again. "Milord, I wonder what happened to this girl. She looks as if she was slain by a sword. The Tetsusaiga, perhaps?"

'The scent of the Tetsusaiga saturates her wound,' Sesshoumaru thought, ignoring Jaken as usual. 'Why would Inuyasha slay a human? Well, there is one way to find out...'

Rin's eyes widened. "Is Sesshoumaru-sama going to wake the girl up like he did for Yuri-oops...Misa-chan? Is she going to be a playmate for Rin?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment, then at the idiot toad that was still prodding the dead girl. "Jaken, take Rin away from here."

"Let her live again, okay? Rin thinks that she has a family and friends who love her very much! Almost as much as Rin loves Sesshoumaru-sama!" The girl followed Jaken from the area, grinning over her shoulder.

Sesshoumaru stared after them. 'Did she just say...? Hmmph, I mean, no matter. I will revive this girl to get an account of what happened and slay her when I have all of the information that I need.' Unsheathing Tenseiga, he quickly extinguished the underworld youkai that crawled over her body.

Sango barely managed to raise her katana in time to deflect Inuyasha's claws from her face. 'He's still toying with me!' she thought, half angry and half relieved. 'At least it will give Kohaku more time to retrieve the Tetsusaiga.'

Meanwhile, Shippou was trying to get through to Kagome. "Kagome?" he queried, cautiously stepping closer to her. "Daijoubu, ka?"

"I'm fine, Shippou-chan," she finally answered. When she looked up, the kitsune gasped and took a step back.

"Oh..." Kagome blinked a few times. "Nothing to worry about." And then she smiled. 'She's smiling?!?' Shippou thought frantically. 'What's going on here?'

Just as he made up his mind to ask Kagome just that, the girl lowered her voice and said, barely audibly, "I can't oppose him. If I do, he'll use my mark against me... I can't let him hear that I don't approve of what he's doing."

"Why can't you sit him, then?" Shippou's tone had dropped, too. Kagome's hand clenched instinctively over her mark and she sighed.

"It...it hurts. I guess, when he's like this, the mark won't allow me to have any sort of control over him. It makes sense, really..." Kagome lowered her head. "There's nothing I can do."

"Pup!" Inuyasha snarled, making Shippou jump and instinctively hide inside Kagome's hair. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Shippou just trembled. Inuyasha looked as if he was seriously considering dashing over there and ripping him apart until Sango leapt forward in an attack, distracting him. "Your fight is with me!" she yelled.

Inuyasha scoffed and caught the katana with one hand. A thin line of blood snaked down his arm but he looked utterly unconcerned. "Wench. I'll silence you once and for all." He wrenched the katana from her grasp and pushed her violently backward, digging into the flesh of her arms with his claws as he made contact. Sango flew for a few feet, landing on her back with a choked gasp.

Inuyasha tossed the katana to the ground behind him and flexed his hands. "This is where you die!" he snarled, running forward to end the battle with one swipe of his powerful claws.

Being utterly defenseless, Sango could do nothing but raise her hands in front of her in a feeble attempt to block what would surely be the finishing blow. Time seemed to slow down for her...he got close...closer. Sango closed her eyes and tensed her body. She was vaguely aware of Shippou shouting, but everything seemed to be distorted around her. Mentally cursing herself for allowing it to end this way, she prepared for the final blow.

It didn't come. It was a few seconds until Sango could summon the courage to open her eyes and see why she was still alive. It took her a second to process what she was witnessing, but she realized what must have happened when she saw Inuyasha's situation. Where he was standing, wind surrounded him, whirling about him and producing sparks of white and blue light. Each time Inuyasha tried to pass through the barrier, Sango could see the wind cut into him like blades, not enough to injure him severely, but enough to seal him inside. "Miroku-san," she whispered in comprehension.

Miroku stood, holding himself up on his staff, one arm stretched toward Inuyasha. 'How is he controlling such a level of wind power without using his staff?' Sango wondered, then figured that it must have been the desperation of the moment.

"You fucking BASTARD! Cut it out! I'll rip you in HALF!" Inuyasha was livid, alternating between attacking the barrier (to no avail) and screaming curses and threats.

It was this moment that Kirara landed in their midsts, bearing two forms on her back. The first jumped off and ran to Sango's side. "Onee-san, are you okay?"

"Hai, Kohaku. I'm fine...did you get the sword?" The boy proudly handed her the Tetsusaiga and she grasped it, rising to her feet. "We have to get him to take hold of the sword," she said.

"How?" The boy's eyes were trained warily on the cursing, raging Inuyasha. "He doesn't look like he really wants a weapon..."

"I know. But maybe if he had to pull it out of something..." Sango's eyes widened as she formulated a plan. "I've got it! Tell Miroku-" she pointed- "to let down that barrier when I say so. Ninsei-san!" she called, seeing him slide from Kirara's back. While she addressed the panther youkai, Kohaku scurried off to notify Miroku of Sango's words.

"Hai, Sango-san?" He was eyeing Inuyasha, remembering how he had sustained his injuries.

"Uh...hai..." Ninsei leaned against a tree to prop up his body while he took up the proper position with his staff.

An angry roar from Inuyasha told him that his endeavor had succeeded. "It is done!"

"Now, Miroku!" Sango yelled. She was vaguely aware of him slumping back to the ground once he had lowered the wind shield, but she wasn't paying attention. She had to concentrate.

Inuyasha was buried almost to his waist in the quicksand, but it wouldn't hold for long. With a cry, Sango dashed forward, holding Tetsusaiga at her side, pointing right at the hanyou turned youkai. She evaded his attacks, slowed substantially by his lack of leg movement, and drove the sword into his shoulder, leaping back before he could do anything.

A growl of rage, not pain, erupted from Inuyasha's throat. He blew upward, out of the quicksand, and (arigatou, Kami-sama!) grasped Tetsusaiga by the hilt with his right hand and drew it from his shoulder. "You BITCH! You-" Inuyasha paused in the act of taking a step closer to Sango. Tetsusaiga pulsed in his hand. There was a startled yelp from the female hanyou as her eyes shone white again, clearing to show their natural color and vibrance once more. The wounds that Inuyasha had diverted to her faded, reappearing on his body. She stood, freed from the overbearing power of youkai Inuyasha's mind, and stared at her mate, one hand still clasping her ruined shirt.

As they all watched, the angry red receded from Inuyasha's eyes and his pupils reverted, returning them to their normal soft gold color. The streaks receded from his cheeks and his fangs and claws returned to their normal length. He blinked. "Wh...what the...?" Straightening up and absentmindedly sheating Tetsusaiga, he took a good look at himself.

'Why do I have so much blood on me? Both of my arms are soaked up to the elbow with it... Most is Naraku's, but...there's Ninsei, too...Ayako...Sango...Ka-Kagome's?' He raised confused and terrified eyes to the group around him. A mass of gore that reeked of Naraku lay somewhere to his right. Miroku was unconcious on the ground. 'What happened to him?' Ninsei was holding himself up with his leg broken. 'Did I do that?' Sango was standing beside Kirara, one arm around Kohaku. 'How long was I...' And Kagome...Kagome was standing with her back against a tree, clutching a shredded shirt to her body. 'What did I DO?'

Almost as if in response, he caught a rush of Kagome's thoughts and emotions. He had killed Naraku and Ayako...acceptable, no doubt. But he'd tried to kill Sango and.... His heart gave a terrible lurch as he was reminded of what he'd done to Kagome. This rush of memories pushed him to remember what he'd done that she hadn't seen, and he remembered attacking Ninsei... and, with a pang, he remembered the innocent Kunoichi. He'd been under a spell but still, she was another victim.

Inuyasha looked at her. Her face was full of concern...and love. No fear, no anger, no betrayal... It was overwhelming. 'She still doesn't hate me... I've done so much and yet... she doesn't hate me...'

"Inuyasha, talk to me." Kagome was almost within reach. Her eyes were imploring, begging for him to say something. He did.

"Stay back!" he snapped, a bit more roughly than he intended. He lowered his head, his bangs obscuring his eyes. "You shouldn't even look at me."

"I did it AGAIN, Kagome! I...I failed to control myself AGAIN!" Inuyasha's fists clenched at his sides. Everyone else was silent, watching the scene in front of them with a mixture of emotions on their faces.

"It's not your fault! You defeated Naraku! It's over..." She had reached him now, and reached for his face with one hand.

"DON'T!" he spat, moving away from her touch. "You...you should have much better than me..."

"NO! D-don't say it. It'll be harder... I could've really hurt you, Kagome." She looked like she was about to speak, so Inuyasha continued quickly. "I love you so much, Kagome, and I couldn't stand to see you hurt. I've done things...unsavory things...and I can't guarantee I can protect you anymore."

Sango gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Kirara's head dipped in a melancholy way, and Ninsei's mouth dropped open in horror. Even though he had only known the hanyou for a short while, he had grown accustomed to the fact that he would always be there.

"Gomen, koishii." Kagome felt the pull of her mark as Inuyasha stilled her, preventing her from halting his escape. And escape he did. With one final look around the disconsolate group, he darted into the forest and disappeared into the trees within seconds.

No one spoke or moved for the longest time. Finally, Sango released Kohaku and stepped forward. "Kagome-chan?"

It was as if the sound of her name was some sort of command. Kagome suddenly dropped to her knees, slumping forward so that her hair completely obscured her face. Her ears pressed flat against her head, and her shoulders began to shake slightly. "Oh, Kagome-chan..." Sango whispered, kneeling beside the girl and putting a hand on her back.

Kagome tensed, then threw herself into Sango's arms, sobbing wildly into her shoulder. Tears began to flow down the taijiya's cheeks as well. Tears for Inuyasha...tears for Kagome...tears for their poor, destroyed group. Why couldn't anything turn out right, just once?

Kunoichi looked up at the Taiyoukai, fear evident in every feature of her face. "Na...nani?" she squeaked, scrambling backward and groping for a weapon.

"I, Sesshoumaru, Taiyoukai of the Western Lands, do not find it necessary to repeat myself. Answer the question or die once more." His hand settled on the hilt of Tokijin. (a/n: Okay, I just saw the episode with Tokijin in it for the first time, so that's why I'm just now talking about the sword. I knew that Inu had a youkai form by reading chapter summaries, and I figure, what's Fluffy without the evil sword? Yeesh. I'm really screwing this up, ne?)

The girl gasped, then finally managed to respond. "I...I was slain by Inuyasha."

"Hmm...interesting...Why did he slay you?" Sesshoumaru began to suspect that he wouldn't get any useful information from the girl.

"I d...don't know. It was foggy....an evil miko did it...and maybe he was confused..."

"Na-" She stopped herself just in time. "I mean...I think so. He was acting normally..."

Kunoichi blinked. 'So I really DID die, then! I thought it was a clever trick or something... It's strange to be discussing your death with a perfect stranger...' "Um...hai."

Sesshoumaru eyed her, all traces of interest lost. "You have been of no real help, wench. I will now return you to the state in which I found you." Almost lazily, he raised his hand and brandished his claws. As if in a dream, Rin's voice came to him...

*Let her live again, okay? Rin thinks that she has a family and friends who love her very much! Almost as much as Rin loves Sesshoumaru-sama!*

'Almost as much as she.....' Sesshoumaru lowered his hand and the cowering girl scrambled out of his reach. "You are fortunate. One has begged for your life... But I advise against crossing me again." He turned away. Inuyasha's scent was moving, and moving rather quickly. Damn. He would have to give chase. Moving into the trees, he called to Rin and Jaken and pursued the trail of his half-brother. 'I must discover why his scent changed...and why he slayed an innocent ningen...' Looking to the sky, where a moonless night had almost completely fallen, he thought, 'Perhaps there is hope for you yet, Inuyasha...'

When he was gone, Kunoichi breathed for the first time in a long while. She then inspected the tatters of her upper-body clothing and the intact skin underneath. 'What exactly happened?' she thought, 'And where is everyone?' Climbing to her feet, she spotted Kagome's backpack a little ways off. (a/n: Hahaha...gomen, minna-san, but I forgot about Kag's backpack....uh...she brought it, and took it off before all the fighting started...*pokes self in head* Darn plot holes...) Darting over to it, she pulled on one of the 't-shirts' that Kagome always wore, not bothering to remove the tattered clothing that she was already wearing. She had to find the others first...

Looking around frantically, she spotted her bow and arrows lying on the ground...perfect! Praying that it would work, she notched an arrow and sent a bright streak soaring into the sky.

Ninsei couldn't possibly know how Kagome was feeling, but he could sympathize with losing a loved one. Kunoichi was the only one to ever open his heart. Sure, he cared for his family members...his brother Okuo was his best friend. By nature, panthers were gentler youkai than most...but there was something about her that intrigued him and made him love in a different way, one that didn't involve family ties or beneficial relationships.

He missed her so badly. His heart ached for Kagome, but mainly, it ached for Kunoichi. She hadn't deserved such a fate. Ninsei was also beating himself up inside for waiting too long to tell her how he felt... everything was his fault... he could've stopped Inuyasha...

And then he saw it. In the corner of his eye, a pinkish line streaked upward and out of sight. His head snapped in that direction, but he saw nothing. 'Am I delusional? It couldn't have been...' But, there it was again! Now he was sure that he hadn't imagined it! "Did any of you see that?"

He pointed over the treetops. Sango's gaze followed his finges and she gasped. "That looks like a miko's arrow!"

'Could it be...' Ninsei thought, then quenched the idea. 'No use getting my hopes up... But...' He pulled himself back onto Kirara, too intrigued to feel pain in his broken leg. "I'm going to see!"

"Kagome-chan, do you want to investigate?" Sango asked, looking down at the hanyou miko.

Kagome's sobbing had ceased, but the tears were much better than the look on her face. She looked utterly crushed, so sorrowful that nothing betrayed her emotion. "Take Kohaku and Shippou with you. I'll stay here with Miroku." Shippou clung tighter to Kagome's arm at this (where he had attatched himself after Inuyasha's departure), but Kagome easily pried him off and handed him to Sango.

Sango stared for a moment, as if weighing her options, then nodded and joined the others on Kirara. Right before they left, Sango whispered, "It can only get better...", just loud enough for Kagome to hear.

Kagome watched the others fade from sight, then buried her face in her hands. 'It can only get better... Kami-sama, I hope so...I wouldn't be able to stand it if it got worse...' This brough on a fresh onslaught of tears, and her body heaved from their force.

Inuyasha bolted, leaping along tree branches, with no idea of where he was going or how long he was planning to run. It wasn't until his wounds began to ache more than was normal and his vision became even worse than it normally was at night that he stopped. He noticed, too, that he was winded, an unfamiliar feeling. Then, realization:

As his transformation took place, he became aware of the immense number of wounds that he had obtained. Some of his ribs felt either broken or bruised, he had four deep scratches along his chest, and his right shoulder ached where Sango had driven Tetsusaiga. Blood poured from the injuries and soaked his clothing. Seemingly at once, his head swam from the effort of merely standing and he passed out, falling facedown into a pool of his own crimson blood.

Corisu Li: Whew. Hard chapter. It's late, so no funniness this time... I don't think that's a word, but oh, well...

Kunoichi: Next disclaimer, we make Inu revisit his worst disclaimer experience! Can you guess it? Chocolate pocky if you do!

Kunoichi: *grins and hands him pocky for guessing it* Ja ne! And please review... or I get angry! *growls extra-cute*

Corisu Li: *scratches head* Yeah. I'm not getting many reviews lately... maybe you guys should click the button just to make sure it works? *winks*

Two Months to Live by Corisu Li
This is a sequel to One Month of Romance. It is complete in 27 chapters. It has a few plot twists that will shock you.

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Two Months to Live

Chapter Sixteen: Inuyasha Flees

Chapter 16: Inuyasha Flees