Inuyasha: The Story Continues

Chapter 24: Inuyasha?

Izayoi's POV 

I tossed and turned in my sleep. I was having a horrible nightmare. 

Izayoi's Dream 

I was running for my life. From what, I didn't know. I just kept running. Then I came to a stop. Standing in front of me was Papa. He looked at me with his kind loving eyes. I ran to him and he held me tightly. "I've got you Izayoi," he whispered in my ear. "You don't have to be scared." 

I nodded.

That's when I felt something wet sinking into my clothes. I looked up at Papa and saw his eyes were empty. He slowly fell into my arms and made me hit the ground. I turned him over to see that a large wound was on his back and blood was seeping through it and onto my clothes. "Papa wake-up," I sobbed. "Please Papa, don't leave me!" 

He didn't respond. "Papa!" 

End of Dream

I shot up from my sleep and was covered in sweat. I held my head in my hands and tried my best not to cry. 'That was horrible,' I thought. 'I feel like I can still feel his blood on my hands.' 

As I laid myself back down, I stared into the fire, trying to forget the horrible nightmare I had. The flames crackled and helped soothe my aching mind. 

When morning came, I was sluggish. I felt like curling up in a ball and crying. The nigtmare was so realistic and the blood's smell was still active in my senses. 

'It was just a dream,' I told myself. 'It was just-' I froze. Blood was in the air. It wasn't in my head, I knew it wasn't. 

"Izzy, what's wrong?" Shippo asked. 

"I smell blood," I answered. "Follow me." 

The others were right on my tail as I ran through the woods. The blood was getting stronger and stronger. It made me want to throw-up but I held back the bile in my mouth as I continued to run. Finally, I came to a sudden stop. The others soon caught up to me. 

"Izayoi?" Mochigo asked. 

All I could do was stare at what was in front of me- or rather who was in front of me. On the ground was Papa, blood running down the side of his head. 

"Papa!" I said as I ran towards him. I got on my hands and knees and began cleaning his wound with a cloth in hand. He was unconscious as I helped with the wound but he groaned in pain, meaning he was still alive. 

"Inuyasha, can you hear me?" Ayuma asked. 

Kayuma placed a hand to his head. "He's out pretty cold," she said. "We need to get him to a village and fast." 

Shippo quickly transformed himself into a horse and allowed us to place Papa carefully onto his back. We ran as fast as possible to the nearest village where someone began treating him.

I paced back and forth outside, waiting for any news on Papa that I could get. Finally, a young woman came out of Papa's room. "How is he?" I asked. 

The woman smiled. "He should be fine now," she said. "He just needs rest now is all." 

I sighed with relief. "Can I see him?" I asked. 

The woman nodded and allowed me into his room. Papa was snoring on the ground, the same snore I was use to hearing at home. When I sat down near him, Papa stirred in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened to reveal their golden color that I loved so much. He turned to look at me and smiled slightly. "Izayoi." he managed to say. 

"It's okay Papa," I told him as I held his hand. "You're save now." 

He leaned up slowly and gave me a small kiss on the cheek before lying back down. I couldn't help but cry with joy. The others came in later and smiled as they looked at Papa. 

"It's great to see you again Inuyasha." Shippo told him. 

"You too...pipsqueak." Papa muttered. 

Shippo growled, making us laugh. 

"Inuyasha, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Mochigo asked. 

"Naraku," Papa began in a weak voice. "We were fighting him.......then there was mist......The last thing I remember, was Kagome reaching for me.....before I blacked out." 

"Do you remember anything after that?" Ayuma asked. 

Papa shook his head painfully. 

"You should rest Papa," I told him. "You've been through a lot." 

"All right," Papa said. "I'll rest......But....I'm still...... going after Naraku."

I nodded. "Yes Papa," I said. "Just don't push yourself too hard. It won't do anyone any good if you get hurt before the actual fight begins."

*************************

We all fell asleep soundly that night. I was with  my Papa again. He was actually holding me in his arms, helping me sleep more comfortably. Every time I inhaled air, Papa's scent entered my body, allowing me to relax. 

After what seemed like forever, I was sure I was alseep; that is, until Papa had let go of me. Once he did that, I woke-up immediately. I slowly sat up and saw Papa walking out of the hut. "Papa?" I asked sleepily. 

As I got myself up, the others rose as well from their slumber. "What's going on?" Ayuma asked. 

"Why are you up Izayoi?" Kayuma asked. 

"And where is Inuyasha?" Mochigo asked. 

"He just left," I told them. "It's like he's sleep walking or something." 

We all got ourselves outside and saw Papa walking slowly away from the village and heading towards the woods. "Papa." I called. 

He didn't reply. 

"He must really be out of it," Shippo said. "He didn't even turn back to look at us."

3rd Person's POV 

Inuyasha just kept walking and walking, his eyes were glazed over as if he were under some form of spell. He did not hear his daughter's voice calling for him at all. There was something in his mind telling him to keep walking and walking until being told otherwise. 

"Papa, snap out of it!" Izayoi yelled. She started to run towards her Father, leaving the others in the dust. 

"Wait Izayoi!" Ayuma shouted. 

Right when they were about to run after their friend, a barrier appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path. "Where did this barrier come from?" Mochigo asked. 

When they looked in the direction Iziyaoi and Inuyasha were suppose to be at, they saw that both half-demons were gone. "Where did they go?" Shippo asked. 

"They must've disappeared inside the barrier," Kayuma pointed out. "That's why we can't see them." 

Meanwhile, inside, Izayoi kept following her Father. "Papa, wake-up!" Izayoi told him. 

Still, there was no reply from Inuyasha. 

Finally, Inuyasha came to a stop right in the middle of the woods, allowing Izayoi to catch up to him. "Papa, what's going?" Izayoi asked as she went in front of Inuyasha. "Why did you leave the village?" That's when Izayoi noticed Inuyasha's glazed eyes. 

'What's wrong with Papa's eyes?' Izayoi thought. 

That's when Naraku's laughter was heard through the woods. Izayoi went for Inuyasha's side and held his hand tightly. The young half-demon then saw that Naraku was standing near a tree. "Good work, Inuyasha." Naraku whispered. 

"What?!" Izayoi asked with confusion.