Ch 48: Pity

Kagome didn´t bother to hide the sounds of crunching leaves under her feet as she approached the exterminator campsite once again. Better to have them know of her presence at all times, if she had any hope of convincing them to let her mate go. Kirara was dozing on her shoulder. Although she had waited for everyone else to fall asleep so that she could sneak back, she knew that Inuyasha would be upset with her if she went anywhere by herself. The least she could do was bring Kirara there with her and then send her back when she was at the campsite. Kagome knew she would not be going back again without Inuyasha at her side.

She put Kirara on her feet, the neko a little annoyed that she now had to make her own way back to the others. Still, she cast a dubious look at the group of exterminators just beyond the edge of the trees. "It´s alright. I´ll be fine," Kagome said, "Head back to the others. I can see them tomorrow."

The little youkai disappeared into the woods, and Kagome stepped out into the clearing. Odd, that while she wasn´t around her friends, she could still be safe with these enemies. If Kokuei were to attack now, these people were maybe best suited to fight him. A part of her was actually, shockingly, hoping that he would make an appearance, just so Inuyasha´s innocence could be proven. It frightened her too much, to think of him locked away. She wanted him out of there by whatever means. For two days, she and the others had ventured to the camp, but nothing could be done to persuade them. While Kyoko had promised she would keep him alive for a few more days, they still had zero proof, and as soon as reinforcements arrived, they would execute him. Two days away from Inuyasha were excruciating, and she was tired of retreating when night fell. She needed to be near him at every moment, as close as she could get. And when the day arrived that they planned to kill him, she would do whatever it took to protect him. She would shed no matter how much blood to spare him.

The entire group by the fire was staring at her, confused as to why she had returned at this hour, but she paid them no mind as she walked to a post in the middle of the campsite and sat down, leaning against it. She didn´t speak a word. Not like they could have a conversation from 30 feet away, but she could feel them burning holes in her back with their eyes.

The only thing she brought with her was a thin blanket. The summer night was relatively warm, but there was still a chill in the wind. Her heart ached as she remembered the night she and Inuyasha spent beneath the stars just a few days ago. She tried to remember the warmth of his body against hers to guard her against the night cold. She brought her knees up to her chin, wrapped the thin blanket around her, and became as still as stone. She was staring out at the forest without staring at anything at all. Her mind was solely focused on her mate, her purpose, her reason for being. She was incredibly tired, but she refused to fall asleep. The last two nights hadn´t favored her very well. It would be hard to stay awake sitting there doing absolutely nothing, but she would find a way to make it happen.

The sounds of the crackling fire were lulling her to sleep, but for 2 hours she stayed like that. She closed her eyes and listened to the little sounds, imagining she was sitting by a campfire with all her friends and her mate by her side. So she was shocked when four men suddenly appeared before her. She gasped as they leered down on her, "What´s the little miko doing here all alone? Don´t you know it´s dangerous for a woman to be off by herself in these woods?"

They laughed in sinister voices. Kagome shook like a frightened kitten. True enough, she had never been as terrified as she was whenever Inuyasha was away, especially when surrounded by Feudal Era men, known for their ruthlessness.

One of the men leaned in closer. "Better run away, little miko, or we´ll make you wish you had."

She stole herself against the underlying threat of his words. No matter what they said or did, she would never abandon Inuyasha. And so she set her jaw in place and glared back at them, not caring how obvious her fear was. At the very least she could prove that she wasn´t scared enough to run away.

Unfortunately, it wasn´t enough just to look tough, and they knew she didn´t have the muscle to fight them off if they wanted to have their way with her…

One of them grabbed her hair and she cried out, "Let go!"

"Women should pay attention when they are told to," said another one, hovering over her from the other sisde.

Suddenly, she found herself on her back, straddling by one of the men. She screamed. The three other men surrounded her, so all she could see was them. They didn´t even bother to cover her mouth. For a half a second, she wondered if it was so common amongst these men that the others didn´t bother to interfere. The one on top of her was already groping his way down her body. She pushed and shoved the man on top of her, but the other men were both holding her down and trying to cop a feel themselves.

Kagome screeched and squirmed like a child having a temper tantrum, so overwhelmed by fear that she didn´t have the chance to consider that what they really wanted to do was frighten her. The idea of forcing her into submission was just as pleasurable as sex itself.

"Please!" she cried, tears streaming down her face, "Let me go…. Please… Inuyasha!"

"Your hanyou ain´t here to help you now, miko, though I´m sure he´d enjoy the show."

´Inuyasha…` Her mind whispered, `I´m so sorry… Please, forgive me. I love you.`

Every stroke of their hands made vomit rise up into her throat. Her body was for Inuyasha and Inuyasha only. These touches were nothing like the touches she had shared with Inuyahsa just a few nights ago. There was no warmth and tenderness in these hands. Their forced kisses tasted like venom. They squeezed her hard, they pinched, they forced their way past clothes. How anyone could feel any pleasure for this was beyond her.

She continued to scream, her voice already growing hoarse, when suddenly the man on top of her was thrown off. She expected that he was to be replaced by someone else, only to see that the other men were backing away as well.

She looked up to see the exterminator leader, Kyoko, glaring at the men. "Perhaps it´s the men who should pay attention to what they are told… I commanded you not to touch the women."

Her voice was fierce and commanding, and for a moment Kagome felt more than a sense of gratefulness. She felt a certain sense of respect for her. The men scampered to their feet and distanced themselves even more than before, apologizing profusely, "It won´t happen again, Kyoko-sama!"

"It better not, or I´ll see you all beheaded. As it is, you´ll be in charge of hunting for food for the next week."

Kagome heard them sigh and grumble, but soon the sounds of their footsteps carried them away and she could finally breathe in a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Kyoko asked.

It was odd to hear such a question from such a powerful voice, but Kagome was happy for it all the same. Tears continued to cascade down her face, but she recovered herself quickly, "Yes… Yes, I´m fine."

"Regardless of our quarrel with your hanyou, I will never condone such behavior as this."

"Thank you," she whispered, just loud enough for her to here.

Thinking this was all, she grabbed her blanket again and nestled up against the post, resuming her former position. Kyoko´s eyes went wide, "You are staying here? After what just happened?"

Kagome clenched her fists and bit back more tears, "I don´t leave him," she whispered, "No matter what."

There was a long silence that followed. Kyoko looked to her husband close by, to the other men by the fire, to the guards at her side, and then she rolled her eyes, "You really are hopeless, child, waiting around for him. We are not just going to set him free."

"I don´t care," she answered truthfully, "as long as I can be near him. I can´t let you hurt him."

Kyoko shut her eyes, hiding her shock at this situation. Seldom did a nearly raped woman stick around near the perpetrators. She was either very brave or very stupid. Either way, there was only one way to settle this… and her conscience.

Kagome made a small yelping sound when Kyoko pulled her to her feet. She looked at the two guards by her side, "Bring her."

Kagome´s heart stopped when they grabbed her by the arms. The worst possibilities came to mind. Because of her stubbornness, was she going to let the men continue off where they started? Was she going to be placed in a holding cell too? But with that, there was new hope… Maybe she would be even closer to Inuyasha… Close enough to see him, perhaps.

They made their way past a grouping of buildings, houses for the soldiers, all packed tightly together. They were made not very well, since their stay was only temporary. But there was one structure that they always had to have the strongest, a holding cell for youkai. They had used an already established, but abandoned house. It was made of stone and metal, and it reminded Kagome of pictures of medieval Europe during the Inquisition days. Fear ran through her heart again. Had they been torturing Inuyasha?

They stopped in front of the doorway. Kyoko looked back at her with stern eyes, "This isn't something I normally do, but if you promise to leave this campsite afterwards, I will allow you to see him."

New tears welled up in Kagome´s eyes, but this time it was from joy.

"You cannot stay with him forever. I want you gone by the hour. We will send in a guard and retrieve you when your time is up. Is that clear?"

Kagome nodded her head quickly, trying to hold her composure and failing miserably. She had promised herself she wouldn´t be far anyway, even after all this. If they made any move to hurt her mate, she would fight tooth and nail to stop them.

Without another word, she opened the door and walked inside, letting Kagome step in beside her.

Kagome gasped softly.

She saw him changed to the wall, like some kind of animal. Her senses immediately noted the presence of a force around the chains, keeping him from breaking them with his youkai strength. His arms were held up. He sat on his knees and his head was hunched forward, like he was sleeping. She realized he was sleeping. He didn´t react to the opening of the door.

She ran to him, but the bars kept her from him. She knocked into them with enough force to fracture a bone or two, were it not for her arms getting in the way.

She saw blood on him in thin red lines, brown on his red yukata. She looked back at Kyoko, begging with her gaze. The exterminator understood. She pulled a key from her dress and opened the door, just enough for Kagome to slide in.

Kagome was slower to his side than she wanted to be. Seeing him like this was a dagger to her heart. Her suspicions had not been too far off the mark when she imagined him in a Inquisition-like dungeon. The way his head sagged forward made him look like he was on the brink of death. A bit of moonlight shined down on him from a tiny skylight, making his white hair glow. She stepped in front of the shadow, and he stirred, his white ears flickering.

She let out another throaty gasp. He slowly raised his head and looked at her, his eyes blank, as though he couldn´t see a foot in front of him. Dark circles lay under his eyelids. Of course he couldn´t have slept well.

"Am I dreaming?" He whispered.

The sound of his voice, the voice she had missed so desperately for the past few days, brought new and familiar tears to her eyes. In a sob, she rushed to him, fell to her knees and threw her arms around him.

Inuyasha felt her collide with his body and barely held back a groan of pain. Her hands were pressed hard against the flesh wounds of his whipping. Still, the pain confirmed for him that this was no dream. No dream of Kagome could ever hurt this badly, not even a nightmare. But he welcomed the burn. Tears rushed to his eyes, but he refused to let himself shed tears in front of her, especially not when she was so distraught.

"Kagome…" He murmured against her neck, pressing warm kisses on her skin.

She responded by holding him tighter.

His arms immediately tightened in his chains, dying to hold her for just a moment. His arms wouldn´t budge. Ryu had tightening them so that they were suspended above his head in a humiliating position of submission. He couldn´t move them an inch. He nuzzled Kagome´s hair with his nose and let out a saddened whimper. It was cruel to not be able to hold her. How else was he supposed to comfort her?

"Inuyasha…" She cried.

He could have to do his best with words, "You shouldn´t be here… You should be safe with the others. I told you to never be alone at a time like this."

He tried to be stern with her, but his voice was too soft to accomplish such a feat. He didn´t have the will power to be cross with her now. He continued burying his nose in her hair, inhaling her calming scent. Every day it seemed to grow more and more intoxicating. Why was that?

"I had to see you. I had to at least be close to you."

Inuyasha tried to move his arms again. The chains rattled, catching her attention. She looked up at his suspended arms and fingered the locks. A movement in the room nearly caused her to scream. A guard had entered the room and lurked in the corner, just in case they were to make any plans of escape. He now eyed her with a look of warning. It was clear what he wanted to tell her. If she tried to set him free, he would drag her out of here. She looked back at Inuyasha and touched his cheeks with her palms. His face was spotted with dirt and grime, but his eyes glowed with love, same as always.

He leaned into her hands, "Please keep yourself out of danger, Kagome."

"I´m okay," she said, cringing as she remembered what happened just before she came in. She hoped never to tell him that. An idea struck her. "Move back against the wall… The chains will get looser."

He did as he was told, scooting backwards along with his mate in his lap, until his back touched the wall. Surprisingly, the pressure of the chains had loosened, just enough for him to bring them down to touch her. With a smile, he put his arms lightly around her shoulders. It wasn´t much, but it was enough to ease her pain. She buried her face into his chest and sighed deeply. With the movement, all the fear and tension rushed out of him. All the pain he was in was nothing when faced with the pain of losing the woman in his arms. He would rather die a thousand deaths than be parted from her side. He tucked her under his chin and held her as close as he could. If only he could make a cocoon for her out of his arms and body, to shield her from the dangers of the world. If only he had the power to take away her tears.

"They say they are waiting to kill you… What are we going to do?"

In all honesty, he had no idea, and he feared the worst. Of course, he would never let Kagome know that. "It´ll be fine."

"How?"

"I don´t know… but it will be. We´ll figure something out."

"What can I do?" She asked, shifting so she could look up at him.

In her eyes there was that memorable determination, the need to protect him just as he had always protected her. He grimaced. He couldn´t bare it for her to try to protect him, not when she could get hurt in the process. She never understood that her strength was nothing against most youkai out there, and even her spiritual powers couldn´t keep her safe forever. He lightly fingered the back of her hair and looked into her eyes, his expression suddenly unyielding, "You have to go back."

"What?" She asked, her heart skipping a beat.

"Please, Kagome… As long as I´m here, I´m positive that Kokuei will strike. You need to get back to the well and back to your time, so you´ll be safe."

Her body shook, "How can you say that?"

"Please, Kagome! If something happens to me, I need to know that you´re safe."

She burst into tears again and he was immediately sorry for his words. He held her to his chest again. "Wench… Stop crying."

"How can you tell me to go home while they are planning to kill you? I don't care if Kokuei comes after me, I´d rather he kill me than let you die!"

Inuyasha´s whole body tightened, "Don´t say that!"

"Then stop it! Don´t tell me to just leave you," She yelled, "I won´t do it!"

His resolve weakened. This wasn´t the time to make her fearful, and certainly not to argue. They could very well kill him tomorrow… Who knew if this was the last moment he could have with her?

´No,´ he thought, ´No, I won´t let it end this way.´

"I´ll be fine," He told her calmly, "You´ll see. I´ll get out of this just like I always do, and we´ll be on our way and kicking youkai butt in no time."

She smiled a little, and he felt like at least he was worth something, so long as he could make her a little bit happy in times like these. He wasn´t all too sure of his words themselves, but he´d be damned if he saw Kagome cry again. He wanted to make her smile again, even if just a little. Then, if tomorrow was his end, he could remember how her face could light up with happiness. He could die peacefully as long as he remembered her like that.

But no… He wasn´t ready to die yet. He had finally found a place to belong. He had friends, a mate… And they had agreed just a few days ago that they would someday have pups. How could fate possibly take his life now? Of course, Inuyasha knew that fate showed mercy on no one, but he would fight it tooth and nail to stay by Kagome´s side.

He kissed her neck, her cheeks, her nose, and then her lips. She sighed against his kiss, whimpered, as though the gesture had robbed her of what little strength she had. But she held him close to her as he soothed her. It was worth anything she had had to go through just to be with him for a moment. A tender embrace, a stolen kiss, the sound of his voice… In spite of the pain in her heart, she was whole again.

Her sobs reduced to little hiccups and she settled against him, growing tired. She wanted to stay awake, but she had spent two days without rest, needing to be by his side. Now that she was, sleep was coming easy to her. She fought to stay awake, not wanting to waste any of this precious time.

Inuyasha looked at the dark circles under her eyes. "You´re tired," He said.

"I couldn´t sleep. I didn´t dare."

He shook his head. "Wench…"

There was nothing more to be said. They just looked at each other for a long while. Everything they were feeling, everything that needed to say, it was all there in their eyes. It was strange to think that Inuyasha had such a hard time expressing how he felt, but even stranger that Kagome hadn´t been able to tell just by looking at his eyes all the time. Right now, they looked just as desperate as hers. The future was frightening and unknown. Who knew when they would be torn apart again? Who knew if the separation would last?

She ran her hands lazily along his jaw line. He shut his eyes, focusing on the softness of her fingers. When he opened them again, his eyes were determined, truthful, and the words spilled out from him like air, "I love you, wench."

Kagome´s breath caught in her throat. It was so rarely that Inuyasha told her that he loved her, so whenever he did it was just like being kissed by him for the first time. Her heart seemed to explode in her chest, but only in the most pleasant way. The sensation of it ran to her fingertips and into his cheeks. He would never come to understand just how much the words meant to her, even if they were only just words, even if she had known it in her heart for so long now. Even that he called her a wench at the same time meant nothing. She was his wench… His beloved wench. If she had anything to say about it, she always would be.

She leaned forward to press her lips sweetly against his again. It was gentle and innocent, but underneath it was more passion than she knew how to express. She only had words for this feeling, words far too simple to express it in its entirety. "I love you, too."

A grin touched the corner of his lips. Maybe he did understand… Maybe he felt it too whenever she said it to him.

He pressed her against his heart and kissed her temper. "Go to sleep."

His voice was so soothing, so velvety, that already she felt her body obeying him. "No, I don't want to miss this."

"It´s enough that you´re here. Go to sleep, Kagome. I´ll watch over you."

Inuyasha would always protect her, she knew that. And she never felt safer in all her life than when she was in his arms. Forgetting about the pain and uncertainties of tomorrow, she let her eyelids droop shut. Soon after, the soft rumbling from Inuyasha´s chest filled her ears, and with a contented sigh, she succumbed.

To be continued…

Caramba, it´s been forever! I don´t really have a truthfully valid excuse. I moved back to Spain to go to grad school and it´s definitely been the most stressful time of my life, but I never wanted to abandon this story. Hopefully I can get back on track with this story. I´ve tried so many times to write this chapter, but I never felt I could get it right. It´s shorter than I would have liked but there is a bit more fluff in the next chapter, so it isn´t over yet.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope the fans out there are still looking out for this story. It´s been so long I wonder if anyone´s paying attention anymore. Assuming you are, please leave me a review. I will post the next chapter as soon as possible. Please forgive me for the massive delay.

Btw, massive plot twist coming your way soon, so stay tuned! 

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo Toodles!