"The End to the Feudal Fairy Tale"

Chapter 1

Summary: A continuation of the anime. Tensions run high as the end draws near. What will happen when the group finally confronts Naraku? Will the fairy tale have a happy ending? I/K, M/S

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, though I would like to. There's just something about those little dog ears. v All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The story is mine though, so please respect it.

"I told you, if I knew where he was I would've said so!"

"Don't yell at me, it's not like it's my fault."

"Yes it is! You're such an idiot!"

"Wench!"

"Osuwari!"

Slightly ahead, birds noisily fled their nests as a stubborn hanyou crashed into the dirt. "Looks like they're at it again." Sango sighed. Miroku nodded. After the incident with the stone oni, things had been pretty quiet between Kagome and Inuyasha. Well, they'd been quiet, at least for a week or so. Now it was back to business as usual, which meant Inuyasha was eating a lot of dirt.

"Mphhhmm ipch" came the muffled sound of the hanyou.

"Ohhhhh!" Kagome fumed. "OSUWARI, OSUWARI, OSUWARI!"

What had been a dirt path was now a small minefield. Looking up from his crater, Inuyasha found a smiling Miroku. "What're you looking at, monk?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just waiting for you." He replied.

"That damn smile of yours says that it ain't nothing." Inuyasha pried his body free from the ground and dusted off his hakama.

"Well, if you insist upon knowing," he began, "I was just going to give you some advice."

"I don't need your ad-" Inuyasha paused, looking around. "Where's Kagome?"

"The girls went ahead."

"Oh. So Sango made you stay and wait for me." He smirked, one fang hanging over the edge of his lip.

Miroku quivered as he remembered Sango's warning and how she had raised hiraikotsu over her head to make sure he would do as she'd asked. "Yes." He finally sighed, defeated. "Let's just go before they come back."

"Keh." Inuyasha started walking.

"You know Inuyasha, you wouldn't be eating as much dirt if you just told Kagome…"

"Shut the hell up!" Inuyasha raised his fist. "I don't need your advice on telling women anything you damn lecher. At least- at least I don't GROPE them!"

He could tell Inuyasha was angry. He could tell that he didn't want to talk about feelings; he never did anyway. He just couldn't keep himself from pushing that last button. "but Kagome-sama has such a soft, round rea-" The monk fell to the ground with a thud as a large bump formed on his head. Inuyasha's shadow loomed over Miroku's prone form.

"Stupid lecher, learn to keep your mouth shut."

A few minutes later, Inuyasha caught up to Kagome and Sango, dragging an unconscious monk behind him. "What have you done to Miroku?" Kagome looked at him accusingly.

"Nothing more than what he deserved for what he said!" Inuyasha shot back.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango ran over and pulled Miroku off of the ground, into her lap. "Are you alright?" She stiffened.

"Ah my dearest Sango, your buttocks are as lovely as the last time-" he was unconscious again. Another bump formed on his head as Sango returned her boomerang to its place on her back. Inuyasha grinned and Kagome dropped her glare.

"See." He said.

"Alright dog-boy. I'll forgive you this time."

"Inuyasha, will you please drag this baggage with us?" Sango stood and dusted her hands.

"Keh. Alright, I'll take the lecher," he grabbed Miroku and slung him over his shoulder, "but let's get a move on, it ain't gettin' any earlier."

The group started moving again and Shippo giggled from his spot on Kagome's shoulder. He had gotten quite a show today. He reminded himself never to make either girl mad.

Upon reaching the village, Miroku procured two rooms and a meal with a promise to exorcise the demonic presence that was haunting the home of a set of beautiful triplet girls. Sango sat quietly, but Kagome picked up on the way that she was clenching her fists and trying not to reach for hiraikotsu behind her. She was going to kill him later, no doubt.

Inuyasha sat silently, his ears twitching every once in a while and his gaze fixated on something outside, far away. Kagome focused on him, trying very hard not to stare, but she failed miserably. He seemed so sad... maybe it really did scare him to become a demon, even while holding onto the Tetsusaiga. She had felt it when she hugged him; he'd been afraid. Afraid of losing control, afraid of letting them down, afraid of... losing her... She smiled a little. He had been worried about her, maybe he really did care.

She was roused from her thoughts as Inuyasha stood and walked outside. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. There was something nearby. Kagome looked to Sango and Miroku who had already turned to her. "There's something outside," she confirmed. Rising quickly, Kagome raced to the door.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called.

"Over here. It's coming."

"What is it? A demon?" Miroku asked, grabbing some ofuda from his robes.

"Worse."

It was then that Kagome felt the familiar presence of a being she'd met before. Not Naraku and yet, equally frightening. It was Mouryoumaru. The mass of flesh-like matter that followed Hakudoushi around had caused them problems before. Even Inuyasha had never managed to injure the creature as it would just make itself wole again. Suddenly she turned skyward.

"Up!" she yelled, Inuyasha turned his attention to the sky and jumped back in time to see Mouryoumaru strike the ground where he had been.

"I didn't expect he would attack so soon." Miroku said.

"Bastard Naraku never waits for us to recover." Inuyasha replied, dodging a blow. He looked around and saw that Kagome was too close to his position. He'd have to direct the monster away. There were a few trees that lined the edge of his vision to the left. Perhaps if he could push Mouryoumaru into the trees he could make the use them to his advantage. Glancing a blow off of Tesusaiga, Inuyasha reeled back. His feet created small paths in the dirt where he'd been driven back.

Mouryoumaru stilled for a moment, his empty gaze shifting elsewhere. "Damn." Inuyasha muttered, as the monster lifted off of the ground towards Kagome.

"Kagome! Get back!"

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango launched her boomerang from the back of her faithful fire cat, Kirara. It caught the monster in the shoulder, sticking into the creature as though he were made of a thick glue. Still, the boomerang had hit its mark, she had given Inuyasha time to get ahead of him. With a grim stare, Mouryoumaru reached around in the air and his scythe-like claws connected with Kirara, sending them both towards the ground. Sango tried to yell, but the wind had been knocked out of her. She fell swiftly towards the ground.

Shippo had been watching from a safe distance behind a large boulder. No one would be there to catch Sango! Bolstering his courage, Shippo charged towards where she and the now small cat youkai fell helplessly. "Transform!" he yelled as he became a giant pink cushion. Sango landed softly, a fair distance from both Inuyasha and Miroku. She held her arm, but smiled. It wasn't broken, but she'd be unable to manage a sword properly for a while. A pair of bright, wide eyes stared up at her, awaiting approval.

"Thank you Shippo."

He grinned. In the next moment he heard Inuyasha's voice and ducked back into the safety that the boulder provided. Sango stole a glance towards Miroku, who seemed to be waiting to open the wind tunnel. His left hand rested against the beads on his right, while his eyes were focused on Mouryoumaru's position. He seemed so strong in moments like these. Sango started to move towards him.

"Damn it Kagome! You can't hurt him! Run!"

Kagome stood still, notching an arrow. Unflinching at Inuyasha's command, she let it fly. The glowing pink arrow hit it's mark and created a large hole in Mouryoumaru's stomach. The monster looked down at the hole and then back towards Kagome as it closed. Kagome gasped. "Dammit!" Inuyasha yelled. "Kagome, run!"

Mouryoumaru dived down from his aerial position, on a collision course with Kagome. Inuyasha ran to the right, hoping that he could catch the creature before he got too close to her. He stopped and turned, "Kongoushoha!" he yelled. The diamond spears launched themselves upward catching the attacking Mouryoumaru square on. Bits of flesh dripped to the ground and writhed, moving towards each other. "Monk!"

Miroku snapped to attention. "Kazaana!" he yelled. The violent winds of his curse roared, filling the air with noise. The trees a few hundred yards away tilted slighty, while nearby grass and rocks lifted off of the ground and into the abyss of the kazanna. Just as the first few pieces had been sucked in, Sango heard a buzzing noise coming from the trees. She turned.

"Houshi-sama! Saimyoushou!" She yelled, "Close the kazaana!"

"But if we even have a chance of destroying Mouryoumaru, it has to be with my kazaana!" He stood still, absorbing the first insect with a cringe.

"No!" That idiot! He'd rather do something stupid and die than have to own up to weaknesses? No way in hell she was going to let him become a martyr today. He was NOT leaving her now. Sango ran forward into the winds. With a scowl directed at Miroku, she let herself be pulled towards him.

"Sango!" What on earth was she thinking? Miroku quickly closed his hand and wrapped it with the prayer beads. Momentum pulled Sango forward into his arms; she was still wearing a scowl. Miroku gazed at her with amazement and she blushed.

Inuyasha followed the rain of Mouryoumaru's pieces groundward. He spotted Kagome just in time to see her slump to the ground holding her left shoulder. "Kagome!" He closed the distance between them in an instant.

The sound broke the silence of their hug and the moment was lost. Miroku scanned the battleground, still holding Sango to him. The Saimyoushou had left as quickly as they had come and there was no sign of Mouryoumaru either. So what had made Inuyasha yell?

"Sango." He whispered, spotting Kagome's limp form.

"We need to help them!" Sango freed herself from his grasp, the blush still apparent on her face. They both ran to help their friend.

She had passed out. Inuyasha held her to him. What happened to her? She just suddenly- it hit him. Kagome had been too close to the monster. "Shit!" How could he have let this happen? Her shoulder was still oozing blood and there was a large burn mark accompanying a deep cut. It was obvious. Much as he'd tried to avoid it, one of the diamond spears had hit Kagome.

"Hang in there. This is just a scratch right? You've got to be okay." he hissed.

"Inuyasha?" Sango came up behind him followed closely by Miroku.

"She's hurt." The sadness in the his voice tugged at Sango's heart.

"We must get her back to the village, surely they will have someone to help her." Miroku calmly answered. "Inuyasha, please carry her."

Nodding approval, Inuyasha carefully picked up his precious unconscious bundle, holding one hand over her wound to try and prevent it from bleeding much more, and he raced towards the village.

It wasn't far, but it seemed like an eternity to Inuyasha. "Help her!" he bellowed as he entered the first hut he spotted. It was small, but contained a family of five. All eyes turned towards the hanyou, widening in surprise. "Help HER!" he yelled. The room came alive with movement. Two women ran to get water, a young girl went to find the village doctor, and the remaing men, much to Inuyasha's dislike, helped lay Kagome down on a futon.

An older woman with thinning gray hair was practically dragged into the hut and was shuffled towards Kagome. "What happened to this girl?" she asked.

"She was injured fighting a monster." Inuyasha replied softly. It wasn't a lie, not really.

"I said, be this the only wound she has?" the old woman was almost yelling now.

"Sorry. Yeah, that's it." Inuyasha flattened his ears against his head.

"If this be it, then she will be fine in the morning." She smiled a little. "I will just clean and stitch the wound. She has lost quite a bit of blood, so she will probably not wake until the morning."

Inuyasha sighed with relief. She was going to be okay. But would she forgive him? "Excuse me." The old woman interrupted again. Damn old hags, they always seemed to interrupt the most important thoughts. Kaede did it all of the time. He scowled.

"Did ye say something"

"No." he replied.

"Good, then help me to raise her up, these old bones can't hold her and work at the same time."

Very cautiously, Inuyasha sat behind Kagome and supported her back as the old woman worked. Maybe she would stay asleep until morning. Then he could avoid her. Who would want to be held by a hanyou? She's probably going to run home again. He warred with his own mind. What if Kagome wanted him to hold her? Inuyasha shook his head, there was no way that was possible, not after what he'd done.

Sango and Miroku arrived to find Inuyasha arguing with himself mentally, still holding Kagome. He just kept shaking his head and mumbling. The old woman had recently left, and had given Miroku a warning and an offer. The latter had made Sango laugh unstoppably. She was still giggling.

"Would you stop it."

"I'm sorry, haha, very sorry, hahaha, but, hah, it was so funny. You know, the way she offered you a room for the night." Sango stifled another laugh and wiped a tear from her eye.

"At least the warning was good." Miroku sighed. "Inuyasha really would kill us if he found out we saw this."

"Well, she said that we shouldn't disturb them."

"I know, but they're just so fun to watch." Miroku stole one last glance at the confused hanyou and the sleeping girl.

"I just wish they'd tell each other how they feel. It's so obvious."

"Obvious to everyone but them, my dear Sango." A playful smile accompanied the smooth motion of his hand as it darted to a familiar resting place.

"Houshi-sama! Pervert!"

She left Miroku laying in a crumpled heap on the grass outside of the hut, a wide smile still upon his face, along with a fresh red handprint.

Kagome faded in and out of consciousness. There was something pulling at her left shoulder, it hurt. She knew that something had hit her, but she couldn't remember just what it was. She was jolted firmly into consciousness though, when she realized that something warm was behind her, making a soft rumbling noise. It also felt like someone had their arms around her. A quiver of fear traced through her body. Who was it? Looking down at the arms, she spotted the red of Inuyasha's haori. It had to be Inuyasha holding her. Blinking back a smile, Kagome wondered what she'd done to deserve this show of affection. She decided to sleep a little while longer.

Inuyasha woke a short time later. With a curse, he realized he was still holding Kagome. He slowly and with great precision, pried himself loose from Kagome. Laying her down and covering her with a nearby blanket, he soundlessly crept out of the hut.

Kagome woke a few minutes after he left feeling an odd absence. She opened her eyes, aware that she was now laying flat. "He's gone." She mouthed. Sitting up slowly and gingerly moving her arm to see the wound she has incurred, she winced. It hurt a lot. "What happened to me?" She noticed the stitches and sighed, another scar. Briefly she thought about all of the scars and bruises she'd accquired in the feudal era. No one was going to want a woman with such a battle-scarred body she thought sadly. Well, Inuyasha probably wouldn't care about scars. Somehow that thought made her feel better and worse at the same time.

It was as if she wasn't allowed to win. They just couldn't be together. For all of the things that Kagome thought he might feel towards her, he said enough and did enough to make her forget them. Memories of Kikyou's visits haunted her. She started to cry. Attempting to hold back her tears, she couldn't keep the thoughts from flowing.

Every time she'd thought to tell Inuyasha her feelings, he had run off to be with Kikyou. Inuyasha was a man of his word. He wouldn't break a promise; he'd promised her first. Kagome blinked hard. He had to love her. That's why Kagome always had to help her. "Why can't I stop myself?" she whispered. The last time Kikyou had nearly been gone forever, Kagome had healed her. In fact, it was her fault that the dead priestess had returned to the world in the first place.

Now the tears flowed freely. She couldn't help herself. Maybe it was because she had felt so useless lately, or maybe it was because she was expecting something, anything, from Inuyasha after their last encounter. But he had left her before she could say anything. What if that was where he'd gone this time?

Sniffing the air and recognizing the smell of Kagome's tears, Inuyasha walked back into the hut. Sure enough, she was crying. "Oy, Kagome?" His ears flattened. She didn't stop.

"Inuyasha?" she almost seemed like she didn't expect him to be real.

"What's wrong? You're crying." He walked towards Kagome.

Small sobs wracked her body as she tried to stop. She wiped the tears from her face and attempted to put on a bright smile. "N-n-nothing"

"Quit crying will you? And don't tell me that there's nothing wrong. You don't cry over 'nothing,'" Inuyasha replied, a little harsher than he'd intended. She had to have been upset because he'd hurt her. "I'm sorry," he began, "I didn't mean to…I didn't want to hurt you." He turned away from Kagome, unable to face her directly.

"Were you with…her?" she asked.

"With her who?" Inuyasha turned around.

"Kikyou."

"No! Where in the hell did you get that idea?"

"I don't know, you were here a while ago then you weren't. What was I supposed to think!" Kagome started crying again.

"Keh! I don't know, maybe that you wouldn't want to be seen with a monster who hurt you?" With that, he dashed out of the hut, trying to get away. He hadn't meant to let those words out. Somehow, his mouth seemed to move of its own volition most of the time. "Damn it all." He bounded towards the forest to the south.

Kagome managed to stand and move to the door. Holding her arm, she leaned around the doorframe, looking for any sign of her hanyou. Had he really thought that she'd be disgusted with him. After all this time? How many times had he protected her? How many times had he saved her life? How many times had he held her and Kagome had never complained. She didn't care that Inuyasha had given her a little scratch while protecting her life. A sigh escaped her. He would never do it on purpose. "I must have hurt him plenty of times." she winced, "More often, it's me who hurts him-"

She smiled. An idea dawned on her. Kagome looked out towards the woods and took a deep breath.

Author's notes: Well, this is my first Inuyasha fan fic, and my first ever post to I hope you liked it! Special thanks to my beta-editor, Vee. You're wonderful! Also, the rating may change, depending on what I feel like doing later. I look forward to reviews, please no flames.