One Month for Romance

Chapter Thirteen: Dilemma: Stop Her, Inuyasha!

A Fanfiction by: Corisu Li, Mystellia@aol.com , home page http://www.freewebs.com/chasms/


This work is complete. It's one of the greatest fanfics I've found on the Web. I'm posting it here with the permission of the author. I found it at http://www.geocities.com/inuyashakarma .  Enjoy.  Tim Seltzer


Disclaimer: Everyone except Corisu Li: *frozen in place, eyes wide*
Corisu Li: Any second now, the sugar is gonna kick in.
Shippou: *suddenly stands and starts running around the room* Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
Kagome: CanIhavanothercandybarcanIcanIcanIcanI?????????????
Miroku: *feverishly tries to grope every female present at the same time*
Sango: *has a huge grin on her face* Miroku is a hentai, Miroku is a hentai!!! *chases him around the room, taunting him*
Inuyasha: *starts quoting Shakespeare*
Corisu Li: O.O Oh, my god.
Inuyasha: *runs up to Kagome and grabs her hand* What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Kagome is the sun.
Kagome: *blushes*
Shippou: *frantically pours sugar all over everyone* SUGAR FIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!
Miroku, Sango, & Shippou: *start to throw sugar at everyone and try to catch it in their mouths at the same time*
Corisu Li: What have I done??? *runs from the room, only to return seconds later, taking pictures*
Kagome and Inuyasha: *jump around on the couch*
Inuyasha: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Kagome: *shuts him up by shoving candy in his mouth*
Corisu Li: *mutters* Oh, well, at least they're not after my pocky.
Everyone: *pauses in their craziness*
Corisu Li: Uh oh. uh, I don't own anybody in my fic except Ayako so don't sue me and now I gotta go before I get jumped for pocky!
Everyone: Pockyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! *rushes at her*
Corisu Li: Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! *runs away*


Summary: Inuyasha has lost a bet. Now he has to spend one full month in Kagome's time. Will the appearance of a strange youkai change things for the worse?...or the better?


Chapter 13: Dilemma: Stop Her, Inuyasha!

Kagome's attack missed Inuyasha by just millimeters. He resisted the urge to put her out of commission and leapt away from her instead. He was reminded strongly of the sparring match that they'd had, and it seemed like very long ago. With another snarl, she jumped at him once more and grazed his chest as he dodged.

"Kagome! Cut it out! You don't know who you are right now!" He stopped to evade another attack and tripped her. She face planted, and he tried again to reach her. "Kagome! Please remember! It's me, Inuyasha!"

For a second, recognition shone in her face. Just as quick as it appeared, however, it was gone. "Names mean nothing to me!" she snarled. "You are a male, and you are in my way!" She smelled him. "You are of no concern to me, hanyou!" she spat, launching another attack, but halting just as soon as she began.

She sniffed the air. Puzzled, Inuyasha followed suit. He placed the air's scent as familiar, almost like.a village. They must have been transported by the green brick to a place close to a village that was not far from the border of the Northern Lands. Kagome smiled, but there was no warmth in it. Then, she said something that made Inuyasha's blood seem to halt in his veins and freeze. "I smell ningen blood. I will kill the vermin!" Before he could open his mouth, there was a flash of silver and she had vanished.

"Oh, shit!" Inuyasha muttered. He began to track her scent as well as the scent of the nearby villagers. If Kagome reached that village before him, he knew that she probably wouldn't waste time killing all of the inhabitants. If she was to succeed in doing that, she would destroy all of their lives, not to mention her own. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she murdered innocent people.

Finally arriving at the village, she saw that the girl had indeed reached it before him, and she was apparently causing much trouble already. "Kagome, STOP!"

The girl spun and dropped the man that she was holding by the throat, who fell to the ground and scampered away. Several immobile bodies lay on the ground around her as she answered, "Why do you insist on following me, slug?"

Inuyasha chose to let that comment slide. "Kagome, you can't hurt these people. You're not yourself!"

"I am more alive than I've ever been before! However, if you wish, I can kill you before I dispose of these pests, just in case you don't want to watch." Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously and she flexed her claws. While Inuyasha pondered a response, Kagome dashed away in a flash and returned with a small girl clenched in her arms. She looked to be about 7, and she was bawling.

An anguished cry came from a hut very near their location. "No!! Zuie! Please, let her go!" The woman began to cry and struggle against the two men that were holding her back. Both men looked very subdued and angry, and they appeared to be fighting tears themselves.

Inuyasha glared. "Let her go, Kagome!"

"I think I rather like her." Kagome lowered a claw and brushed it across the girl's cheek, drawing blood. "Young blood is the sweetest." She lifted her hand and smeared Zuie's blood on her lips. Licking her mouth, she tasted the blood on it and smiled maliciously. The girl began to cry louder than ever. "Shut up, ningen wench!" Kagome roared, smacking the girl on her temple. Inuyasha locked eyes with Zuie, and could tell the exact moment when her eyes slid out of focus and she blacked out.

Inuyasha clenched his fists. He didn't want to hurt Kagome, of course not! However, he couldn't allow her to hurt innocent people, either. He came to a quick conclusion. He had to lure her away from the village until her miko half could rise to subdue the youkai half. Forcing his face into a sneer, he said, "Drop the girl, Kagome. I challenge you to a fight. If I win, you leave these villagers alone.that is, if you live." His heart felt as if it would burst when he spoke those last words, but he had to make it sound as if he'd put up a worthy fight.

Kagome seemed to consider this. "Okay, hanyou." She dropped the limp girl to the ground and walked toward Inuyasha. Zuie's grieving mother screamed and ran to her child. "Don't get all snot-nosed, bitch," Kagome sneered to her. "She's still alive." She turned cold eyes to Inuyasha before saying, "But she won't be for long after I dispose of our little hanyou friend, here."

Inuyasha beckoned to Kagome. "Come on, we won't fight here. There are too many innocents."

Kagome scowled. "Fuck the innocents." She followed Inuyasha anyway, despite her words..

Inuyasha's jaw had dropped. Since when did Kagome talk like this?!?!? Regaining his composure, he set off through the woods, headed for a place devoid of trees that he'd seen while following Kagome to the village. Reaching it, he turned to face her. He had a moment of shock when he didn't see her and wondered if she'd returned to the village in spite of her agreement. Just as he'd started to head back, a hand tapped his shoulder.

"Silly hanyou. Did I move too fast for you?" Kagome sneered in his ear. Inuyasha growled and spun, slashing at the air where she- wasn't!

Kagome had leapt into the air and planted her feet on his shoulders. For a second, she remained in this slightly humorous position before leaping from his body with a strong bound, forcing him to slam into the ground even harder than he would've if she had said 'osuwari'. Inuyasha grunted in pain as Kagome launched into the air. Airborne, she tilted her body and flexed one of her arms to deliver a particularly powerful elbow drop when she returned to earth. Fortunately, Inuyasha raised his eyes just in time and rolled away, letting her crash to the ground beside him as he regained his feet.

"So, you're a little faster than I initially thought." Kagome murmured, brushing earth from her arm. The fall didn't seem to hurt her at all! One part of Inuyasha wished that the battle had ended there, but the other part screamed in joy that she wasn't hurt.

Kagome, meanwhile, had drawn her sword. It wasn't dripping with green light, however. Since her miko powers were dormant, she couldn't produce the crescent that destroyed youkai souls. Inuyasha didn't allow his guard to drop regardless of the circumstances. He knew that even without her miko powers, she was still a full youkai at the moment and could destroy him easily. Reluctantly, Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga. "Come on, wench!" he taunted. "Just try me!" Kagome snarled and leapt at him, holding her sword high. Inuyasha charged as well, and the swordfight commenced as the last remnants of light began to vanish from the sky.

------------------------------------------

Miroku was once more flying across the sky on Kirara, holding Sango firmly with Shippou on his shoulder. Sango had been getting steadily worse, and as he watched her, she began to murmur in her sleep.

"Sango?" he whispered, concerned.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open and Miroku gasped. They had faded and were completely white. She opened her mouth and uttered a very clear message:

"Houshi, heir of the Curse of the Kazaana, hear me. You have three months. Just three months before your curse sucks you in...as well as all of your acquaintances. Enjoy what you have now, monk!"

Miroku looked at her in horror. Then, he heard her laugh, a laugh that sounded suspiciously like 'Kukukukuku...'

"Naraku!" he hissed. Sure enough, the form of Sango seemed to shift, and in her place sat the baboon-skin clad villain. Yelling in rage, Miroku shoved him sideways and off of Kirara.

As Naraku began to fall, he shifted once more into Sango, who looked up at Miroku, shocked, and screamed, "Houshi-sama!!!"

Miroku looked down in shock. "Sango!" he yelled, reaching his staff down as far as he could. Sango grabbed on to the other end with some effort, and Miroku drew her up, clasping her left hand firmly with his right. As Miroku sighed in relief, Sango voiced a shriek of mortal terror.

Looking down at the scene below him, Miroku too cried out in horror. The prayer beads that held his kazaana closed were vibrating wildly, and as he watched, they exploded, the pieces flying in all directions. There was no time for Sango to scream a second time before she was sucked in.

Whirling frantically, Miroku tried to redirect his hand away from Kirara and Shippou, but to no avail. They, too, were sucked into the kazaana and gone. With nothing holding him in the air anymore, Miroku began to fall, screaming loudly. As he watched the ground come nearer and nearer, he realized with a sickening jolt that he would probably never even reach the earth. He'd be pulled into the hole in his hand long before then...

Miroku awoke, clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle the cry that was about to escape him. When he was sure that he wouldn't scream, he removed his hand and used it to wipe the sweat from his face. 'That dream felt so real...' he thought. 'Especially the part about Naraku. What if it was a warning? What if I really do have only three more months left?' Gazing with loathing at the hand that housed the kazaana, he sat deep in thought for several minutes before getting to his feet and pushing apart the partition that led to the room where Sango lay.

He entered and leaned over Sango's futon. He wanted to see if she would wake, but he thought better of it when he considered her condition. Instead, he took her hand in his. "Everything will work out in the end, Sango. Trust me." Leaning against the wall, still clutching her hand tightly, he slipped into slumber once more.

--------------------------------

Sango looked around her. The land surrounding her was littered with the bodies of youkai exterminators from her village. In the middle of it all stood Kohaku, his sickle raised, and a dead look in his eyes.

'I know what will happen," Sango thought. 'I know the cause!' Looking at the lord of the house, she recognized him as the youkai that had possessed her brother to commit all these murders, who had possessed him to try to kill her as well. 'Maybe this time, I can stop it!'

Kohaku's blade came at the girl, and she did what she had done when this situation had occurred almost a year before. She drew her katana, coiled the sickle around it, then threw both to the side. When the weapon was jerked free from Kohaku, she turned and sprinted towards the lord, not bothering to snatch up her Hiraikotsu, which is what she had done before. She barreled forward, and when she reached the spot where Kohaku had struck her down, she veered to the right, watching as the sickle flew harmlessly past. Smiling in relief, Sango leapt up to where the lord sat and snatched a sword from one of the guards. Effortlessly, she slit his throat, letting his body fall to the ground with a dull thud. There was silence as she looked around at the guards.

"He was a youkai!" she began, needing them to understand. "He wa-"

Her speech was halted as a guard drove a spear into her back, in the exact same spot where she would have been struck by Kohaku's sickle. She vaguely heard: "The siblings have taken leave of their senses! Kill them!" She heard the twang of arrows and knew that Kohaku had been struck down. She felt the guards lift her and throw her off of the deck.

Sango landed within a few feet of her brother and crept over his body as she had done that fateful day. "Kohaku..." she whispered. "I tried harder this time, my brother, I promise I did..." She heard another round of bows creak and she felt white-hot pain erupt along her already injured back. Collapsing, she fell forward onto Kohaku's body.

A little later, she opened her eyes, then shut them again quickly. Dirt had flooded into her eyes...why was there dirt over her? Had she been buried? Instead of maintaining her peace of mind as she had before, she panicked and didn't even try to fight her way out. She opened her mouth to scream, but dirt poured in, muffling the sound completely. She was starting to black out from sheer horror when she felt a hand on hers. She felt a patch of cloth on the palm, so it had to be...Miroku?

"Everything will work out in the end, Sango. Trust me," he whispered.

Sango felt strength flood her. She began to resolutely claw at the earth around her, making a hole large enough for her to finally draw herself out of the soil...

Sango opened her eyes and gazed around, disoriented. The room wasn't completely dark yet, being dusk, but everyone that she saw was fast asleep. It was only a few seconds later that she realized she held something in her hand. Turning her head slowly to look, she realized that Miroku's hand was indeed clasping her own. She made a move as if to snatch away, but something told her not to. Relaxing once more, she mumbled, "I trust you, Houshi-sama," before letting sleep claim her once more.

----------------------------------

The last glints of light vanished as Kagome's and Inuyasha's swords locked together and sparks flew. Inuyasha was holding his ground, but Kagome knew that it would take practically no time for him to crumple. With a yell, she threw more weight behind the blade, forcing the hanyou to step sideways and try to use her momentum against her to throw her to the ground. Kagome saw this move coming, however, and changed position in the blink of an eye, bringing her elbow up into his face as she moved away, regaining her composure.

Inuyasha growled as he brushed blood from the corner of his mouth. He would have to think of some way to restrain her without wounding her badly. The problem was, she was a very worthy adversary. She seemed to be able to predict his movements before he even carried them out! There was no way that he could think of to bring her down without killing her.

"Kagome!" he tried again, desperate to reach her. "Kagome, please remember! You don't want to fight me!"

There was no flicker of recognition this time. Inuyasha swallowed hard. He could feel energy rushing through the forest to swirl around her. The next attack would decide the battle. Holding Tetsusaiga ready, he prepared himself for the inevitable. Any second now, she would strike, and he still had no way of defense that didn't involve hurting her! Before he could contemplate it further, she had thrown herself forward, charging him. Inuyasha closed his eyes, in anticipation of the impact from her sword...

But the blow never came. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw that Kagome had frozen in her tracks. Her hands twitched and she dropped her blade. It clattered to the ground at her feet and dropped its transformation. "Kagome?" he said, worried.

Her eyes were open, locked on his own, and as he watched, they faded from red to silver. Then, unexpectedly, they darkened to brown. Her claws retracted and became normal human fingernails, and her hair grew black from the roots to the ends. Then, much to his surprise, her dog-ears vanished, and human ears appeared in the appropriate place for them on her head. Kagome blinked. "Inuyasha?" she whispered faintly. Then, without warning, she slumped to the ground and lay motionless.

Inuyasha stood there for a while, Tetsusaiga still held up in the air. When what he'd seen finally registered in his mind, however, he quickly sheathed it and ran to Kagome's side. Lifting her into his lap, he peered closely at her face.

Her human face.

'What's going on?' he asked himself. 'Why is she ningen all of a sudden?' Then, he raised his eyes to the sky. Newly risen, the crescent moon winked at him. Inuyasha smiled in relief. Even though she was in full youkai mode at the moment, her blood was still hanyou, and it still forced her to turn human at a certain moon cycle...the crescent.

Inuyasha looked at her for a moment more. 'She must be exhausted,' he thought. 'First, her miko powers are used up in battle, and now, her youkai blood has recessed. She's completely vulnerable.' Gently, Inuyasha lifted her body and began to race to the south, toward Kaede's village. He knew that there was no way that they could reach it before morning, but he was still determined to make some headway. When she woke in the morning, if she was fully rested and back to normal, they could probably cover the rest of the distance before nightfall the following day.

Inuyasha gave a sharp laugh as he ran. 'Did I just think of her hanyou form as normal? Keh. Yeah, right. She's going to be happy to be fully ningen again. But damn, I'll miss the way she is now. When she's ningen, I know that she'll no longer want to be with me. Even if she does, it'd never work because she'd die centuries before I'd even get old.' He sighed as he looked down at the girl in his arms. 'Oh, well. Whatever it takes for her happiness.'

Increasing his pace a little, he tried to stop the saddening thoughts from entering his brain, but hopelessly, he resigned to the fact that he was doomed to be alone forever.

--------------------------------

Corisu Li: *is cringing by the door, looking around at the mounds of pocky boxes* Where is everybody?

Everyone else: *groans pathetically*

Corisu Li: *gets up and walks into the adjoining room, then bursts out laughing*

Sango: Oh, shut up, my head hurts as it is...

Inuyasha and Shippou: *are snoring on the floor*

Miroku: Why does everyone look so fuzzy? *drops head onto table and begins to snore too*

Kagome: Ugh...Souta, turn the TV down... *looks up at Corisu Li* You wouldn't happen to have any coffee, would you?

Corisu Li: *bites her lip to hold back giggles as she shakes her head*

Sango: I wonder what the heck just happened?

Corisu Li: You mean you don't remember?

Kagome and Sango: *shake heads*

Corisu Li: Oh, priceless!! *runs to get pictures from the other room, returns* This one is of Inuyasha reciting poetry to you, Kagome!

Kagome: *gasps* WHAT?

Corisu Li: Sango, this one is of...well...

Sango: Let me see! *snatches the picture* OH MY GOD!!!!!!

Kagome: What? *peers at the photo, gasps, and claps her hand over her mouth*

Corisu Li: Sango and Miroku, sitting in a tree...

Shippou: *wakes up* K-I-S-S-I-N-G! *falls asleep again*

Sango: *blushes* I can't believe that!

Corisu Li: Believe it, sister! Now, what about this one, Kagome? *hands her a pic*

Kagome: Eep! O.O

Sango: Whoa....

Corisu Li: Maybe I should wake the boys up and tell them what you all have been doing...?

Kagome and Sango: NO! *they drop photos. One is of Sango and Miroku, smooching in a dark corner. The other is of Kagome and Inuyasha, actually 'sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G'. Inu-chan is topless...* (a/n: TOPLESS BISHIE!!!!!! *Beats away insane fangirls with bat*)

Corisu Li: Oh Inuyashaaa....Mirokuuu.....

Kagome and Sango: Don't do it!

Corisu Li: *sighs* Fine. But you owe me!

Kagome: Anything!

Corisu Li: Anything...?

Sango: Dammit, girl, why'd you say that?!?!?

Kagome: I dunno, it sounded like a good idea at the time...

Corisu Li: Ok, next time, Kagome and Sango are bent to my will, the guys wake up, and all out mayhem ensues! Glompies to all my readers and reviewers...umm, well, huggles to the females (hee)!! See ya soon!


One Month for Romance by Corisu Li

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