A/N: Hello everyone.

Welcome to Earthshake. Why not just call it earthquake? Because Earthshake is just a word I could see everyone in the past using, I dunno. And I wanted a unique title. No confusing this title with anything else! Believe me, I checked! Ha!

Anyway, originally this fanfiction was supposed to be composed of four chapters, but when I sent it out to my beta, she insisted that the last two were all I needed, and that, since I had written this story starting with the ending first, all the information was there, that the beginning was unnecessary.

So here I am, posting up a fanfiction that is only two chapters long, but one that will at least be finished in a timely matter (the second chapter is indeed completed)!

-SugarRos

.o0o0o0o0o.

Dedication: Earthshake as a whole is dedicated to Kaeru Shisho for being a wonderful beta for this story.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and the gang do not belong to me. But maybe one day, when I take over the world and all, I'll enslave Takahashi-sensei and demand she hand over their souls so that I might force them to do my bidding….

.o0o0o0o0o.

Earthshake: Reclamation

.o0o0o0o0o

…drip….

…drip….

…drip….

Kagome watched, wide-eyed, as the pipe that had broken in two and jammed between two large concrete slabs dripped water only inches from her ear, feeling the cool liquid splash onto her lobe.

…drip….

…drip….

The cold that had settled over her was gone. She wasn't shivering anymore. It was strange, she thought she would have died from the cold by now, but she'd grown warmer as time wore on. Her teeth weren't chattering anymore. Or were they? She honestly couldn't tell. She couldn't really feel her teeth. Or lips, for that matter. In fact, she felt as if her entire face was numb. It scared her that she couldn't feel much of anything, that her legs had stopped throbbing hours ago, and that she knew she was slowly losing the feeling in her right arm.

…drip….

She could feel the water dripping by her head, though, and that had to count for something. At least her ear wasn't numb.

She prayed that she had only just gone into shock.

…Had she? She couldn't for the life of her remember what her summer survival class had taught her. Had they covered earthquake survival? Why hadn't she paid more attention in that class?

…Oh yeah. Because she'd been an arrogant little fool, thinking that traveling with Inuyasha gave her all the survival training she'd ever need for anything.

In reality, she had no idea how to survive without him. She was just useless, relying on him to tell her how to get them all through the night when it wasn't clear if he would make it.

It killed Kagome more than anything to think that her mind was slowly breaking apart, and her will to live slipped away little by little.

Determination and a positive attitude, even in the midst of all the pain and blood and screaming around her was what had kept her going in the beginning. Of course, in the beginning, her classmates had still been alive. Severely injured, but alive. But as the voices dwindled and expired with time, so did Kagome's hopes.

And then there was the boy that lay next to her, his breath frozen within his own lungs.

She hadn't yet let go of Hojou's hand.

The blood that had been seeping slowly from his lower half had long since reached her, and it soaked into her clothes, pooled around her head and shoulders. She couldn't move away from it if she'd wanted to. She was trapped.

The voices of her other classmates were diminishing slowly, and Kagome couldn't help but imagine how they were all slowly slipping away, the way Hojou had slipped away right next to her.

A tear escaped from her eye and slid down her temple, mixing in with the blood in her hair.

Funny.

She hadn't thought she could cry anymore.

This could not be happening. After the years and years of battling some of the most evil, dangerous beings that ever graced the face of the earth, she was going to die by way of a natural disaster. Not eaten alive or clawed apart or possessed-- just a single shake of the earth, and she was down. How strange that she had always thought of herself as a strong person, able to hold her own in any situation.

This situation, however, was one she was not handling so well. Hojou was gone, his cold hand still clasped in her own, his blood soaking into her skin, and all she could think of was that she could not possibly make it out alive now that everyone else was gone.

Usually she was sure that Inuyasha would come crashing in and save her, as he always did, but she had soon realized that this was an instance that would leave him stuck, unable to do anything. She was, after all, buried deep underneath tons and tons of concrete and metal. Would Inuyasha even be able to sniff her out?

How long had it been since Hojou had left her here, alone?

She'd lost track of the time. She could tell it was daytime out; there were small pinpricks of sunlight filtering in through tiny gaps in the wreckage, but as for how long they'd been trapped under all the mass…

She was so thirsty.

"-lp me…"

Kagome wasn't sure at first if she was imagining another voice or not. She'd stopped calling out for others hours ago. No one had answered her. She had thought them all dead. Fear crept up into her mind that maybe she herself was slowly slipping away. She involuntarily gave Hojou's lifeless hand a squeeze. Oh Gods, please let someone still be alive.

The voice spoke again, sounding choked and dry. "Hurts… help… Help me."

Oh, thank whatever heavens were out there that someone else was alive. Kagome opened her mouth to call out, only to let out a gargled, pained noise.

She was so thirsty.

Purposely creating saliva in her mouth to wet her throat, she coughed a few times before calling back, weakly at first, then a bit stronger. "H-hello…? Hello? Is someone there?" It was such a strange feeling, not being able to move at all, and it frustrated her that she couldn't turn her head to get a better idea of where the other girl was.

It was a few seconds before she got an answer. "….Who is that?" The voice called.

"Higurashi Kagome. I'm trapped, I can't move." She called back, getting used to her voice again.

"Kagome? It's Yumi! What happened?"

She barely registered the other girls' weeping as relief washed over her. Oh, Yumi. Thank God Yumi was alive. "Yumi, are you okay?"

She waited for a reply that didn't come. "…Yumi?"

"Kagome, I think I'm hurt."

Kagome took in a shuddering breath, determined to at least keep one other person alive with her, although she couldn't tell anymore if it was because she was worried for her friend, or simply worried for her own sanity. She couldn't stand being alone anymore, trapped down there with the dead littered around her. "Where are you hurt?"

The reply that came back was gurgled. "Ugh… um... my... my shoulder. I- I think there's something stuck through it."

Oh god. "Yumi, don't look at it, just concentrate on my voice, okay? Keep talking to me." She couldn't help the way her voice shook. She heard her friend sob as she bit back tears herself.

"Ka- …Kagome, I don't think… I mean…"

"Don't look at it Yumi. Let's talk about something else. Like what we're going to do once we're out of here." She smiled to herself, knowing what the answer would be.

"Once… we're out…" Yumi muttered, her voice barely audible.

"Yeah, once we're out." Kagome repeated. "You know what I'm going to do?"

"…..What?"

A sort of flashback overcame Kagome. A memory of when she first saw Inuyasha, pinned to the Goshinboku, as peaceful as she'd ever seen him, unconscious to the world. And then the last giant battle they'd been in, raging against Naraku from the acidic belly of a Youkai, and Inuyasha had leaned over, and spoke into her ear, his eyes glazing over with a look she'd only seen a select few times before. "Kagome… For just a bit longer… please support me."

Support him. She supported Inuyasha more than he could ever know. She took in as deep a breath she could to steady her voice. "When I get out of here, I'm going to tell Inuyasha that I care for him more than he'll ever know." Her heart ached even as she spoke the words. All the optimism in the world wouldn't help the current situation. Most of her classmates had died, Hojou right beside her, while his lips had still been pressed up against her own. Yumi sounded as if she were on the edge herself.

How long could she possibly survive, buried in this classroom graveyard? How could she possibly go on?

Now Kagome wasn't the bravest person in the whole world. In fact, she tended to be frightened a whole lot, especially during her long visits to the Feudal Era. But no one else in the class had been battling giant Youkai for years as she had.

And that counted for some sort of bravery, right?

Well, it counted for stamina, at least, because she was still alive.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She could still be strong for Yumi. Yumi wasn't dead; there was still hope. "It's your turn now, Yumi. What are you going to do?"

"…."

"Yumi?"

"…."

"Oh Gods…." Kagome could feel another sob rise in her throat, choking her.

Not again.

How many of her friends was she to see die slow, painful deaths? How many times was she to have hope yanked out from under her?

…How long could she possibly survive down here alone?

Panic built up in her mind. She was going to die down here, alone and in pain, surrounded by the empty bodies of her classmates and friends. Someone else had to be alive. Someone. Anyone. There had to be a person trapped under here with her that was breathing as she was.

"H-hello?" She called out, trying to twist her neck to see around her. "Anyone out there?"

She was again met with silence.

"Anyone…" She cried out, her breath hitching. "Anyone, please!"

Nothing.

"Somebody!..." She yelled as loud as she could, her voice cracking from dehydration. "Anybody!"

Kagome was alone, buried under the tons and tons of rubble that was once her school. The last frail, little human to take in breath as the spirits of her schoolmates left one by one.

She was alone.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Inuyasha growled and paced back and forth in the small hut that he'd just finished re-building.

Something just wasn't right.

Why the hell was this feeling of pure, utter dread consuming his every thought? Why couldn't he calm his beating heart? Why did he feel like something terrible had happened?

The strange thing was, he'd been feeling like this for the past two days now, and he just could not figure out what it was that was bothering him so much. He'd taken a run through his forest to find out if there were any other youkai feeling uneasy, but they'd all been calm. Even Naraku was strangely inactive in his evil doings.

Feeling like he was going crazy, he'd even sought out Myouga to ask him if he'd heard of anything foreboding coming. The flea had been easy enough to find, which was a sign within itself that no danger was coming his way. Myouga had gone so far as to tell Inuyasha that he might want to consider just taking a rest and lounging around for a few days until Kagome came back.

But the feeling wouldn't let him rest. The feeling was all consuming and obsessive, and it had finally gotten to the point where Inuyasha could think of nothing else but the doomed wariness that kept rushing through him. Warning him.

Something was definitely wrong.

What the hell was going on?

And it had now been a full day since the deadline Kagome had promised to be back. Her test couldn't have taken this long. She was never at her class thing when it became dark, he knew that much.

Why was she so late?

Usually, Inuyasha would sulk a few days before finally deciding to drag Kagome back himself, but this was a different situation. The feeling that consumed Inuyasha grew worse with each passing second of Kagome's absence.

Something was completely, totally, absolutely wrong.

"Inuyasha, must you pace so? You're making us all on edge." Miroku sat in the far corner of the hut, his staff resting comfortably in his lap and arms, eyes following the hanyou's fluid back-and-forth movements.

"Yeah, well you fucking should be on edge. Somethin' ain't right." He stopped his pacing and pulled open the door flap, taking a good look outside before continuing on with his erratic walking pattern.

"Sounds like paranoia to me." Muttered Sango under her breath as she finished helping Shippou whittle a piece of wood.

"I ain't got fuckin' paranoia." He snapped back without hesitation.

Shippou blinked from Sango's side. "What's paranoia?"

"Don't worry about it, cause I ain't got it!"

"Sometimes people worry about things that don't exist." Sango tried to explain, grinding her teeth together to keep from smashing Inuyasha's head in with her boomerang. "When it becomes an obsession, it's called paranoia."

"Oooh," The kitsune nodded. "You mean like when Miroku worries about having a child? Cause we all know that's never going to happen."

Sango couldn't help but let out a snigger at that as Miroku cleared his throat loudly. "No, Shippou," he corrected, "What I worry about is a legitimate, real problem. Inuyasha, on the other hand, is imagining things that aren't there."

Inuyasha let out a warning growl. "Shut the fuck up, pervert, before I take a swipe at you!" He snarled, taking the few short steps to tower over the monk. "You're making it sound like I'm seeing things. I ain't seeing things, I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"What do you think that is?" Miroku asked back, his gaze never wavering. "You've checked out all the possibilities. Other than Kagome, you've-"

"She's really late." Shippou interrupted, ignoring Sango's attempts at keeping him quiet. "Do you think Kagome's in danger?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "She was fine when I checked on her a couple days ago. What the hell could happen in two days?" He didn't miss the meaningful glance between his companions.

Kaede finally spoke up for the first time. "Inuyasha, might it be a wise idea to check on the lass again? Find out if she's well? She ought to be, but it can't hurt to know for sure."

Inuyasha shook his head. It wasn't like he hadn't thought of doing that, but Kagome had warned him not to come after her while she was taking her tests or she'd sit him until he couldn't have pups. And as much as he wasn't too fond of the subject at this moment in his life, he sure as hell wanted pups in the future. He didn't much like the idea of her taking away his ability to have them. Besides, she had warned him that she might have to take even more tests, something about making stuff up? Make-up things? Make-up testing? Something like that. It was just all tests. And she didn't want him there.

But Kaede saying out loud what his worst fear was shook him to his core, and it was as if he suddenly knew that it truly was Kagome who was in danger.

Without warning, he turned and threw aside the door flap, glancing over his shoulder at his friends. "I'll be back with Kagome soon. No one do anything stupid, you hear me? Don't leave the village until I get back, I don't want to have to come back and realize I was right and then have to save you lot from some stupid demon, alright?" And without waiting for an answer, he was out of the hut and running along the path as if his life depended on it.

Sango let out a visible sigh of relief once he was gone from sight. "Well, those were a tense few days, hm?" She tilted her head down at Shippou and tried her best to give him a calming smile.

"Indeed." The monk agreed, standing and brushing the bottom hem of his robe, his staff jingling. "Something strange has overcome him. Hopefully seeing that Kagome is safe and well will calm him a bit and get him to relax. Heavens knows we all need it."

Kaede grunted from her position on the floor. She hadn't moved an inch. "I'm not so sure he's entirely wrong in worrying." She muttered, more to herself than the others.

Sango and Miroku shared a quizzical glance before Sango addressed the old woman. "What do you mean, Kaede-sama? Do you feel something also?"

"Not entirely, no." She shook her head, her eyebrows drawing together in deep thought. "But it is not like Inuyasha to make a fuss over nothing…"

"Well, the earthshake is still fresh in everyone's mind." Sango added, biting her lower lip in a nervous manor. "It could just be him over-reacting to it…"

Kaede sighed, and moved to get up and fetch more firewood. "Ah, well. I guess we'll just have to wait and see when Inuyasha is back."

Sango and Miroku shared another glance. Somehow, Kaede's words hadn't comforted them in the least.

.o0o0o0o0o.

"Edelweiss…"

'Breathe in… Breathe out…'

"Edelweiss…"

'Breathe in… Breathe out…'

"Every morning… you… greet me..."

'Just BREATHE.'

"Small… and white… clean… and bright…" Kagome's voice was hoarse, her mouth dry, her throat sore. She could only whisper the lullaby her mother used to sing her to sleep as a child.

"You… look happy… to… meet me…" Memories of her mother bending over her bed and tucking her in flooded her head, and she choked out a dry sob as she willed herself to stay conscious. "Blossom… of snow may… you bloom… and grow…"

'Please keep breathing.'

"Bloom… and grow… forever…" Memories of her brother being born, of his first words, memories of her Grandfather, her father that she'd barely known. Memories of her friends, of her teachers. …Of Hojou…

"Edelweiss…" Her voice seemed distant now. She wasn't sure if it was her still singing or if someone else had taken over for her. "Edelweiss…" Memories of Inuyasha hit her, regrets of never telling him just how much he meant to her.

"…Bless… …my…"

That's when Kagome Higurashi passed out, dead to the world.

.o0o0o0o0o.

Inuyasha felt the cool passing of time shift as he landed softly at the bottom of the well.

Instantly, he knew something was wrong.

"What the-?" He yelped, the shock of the freezing cold water that rose up to mid-calf making him jump out to the edge of the well as fast as he was able. He stared down into the well that should have been dried up. "What the hell?" He muttered, and leaned his head into the mouth of the well, getting a good sniff of the dark liquid that pooled around the bottom.

The water just being there was strange, to say the least, but it smelled strange, also. Not normal. Like it had an extremely high iron base. Iron. That's what he smelled. But that wasn't common in most water, was it? It was so strong… And the well itself shouldn't have had water in it at all. It didn't sit right in his mind.

The shock had worn off now, and Inuyasha lifted his chin up, his nose sniffing the air. It wasn't just the water that was strange. It was the air, too. Something about it… wasn't right. It was something other than the horrible pollution smell. Something about it made his uneasiness grow even worse. He had to see if Kagome was okay.

He took the well steps two at a time, and paused in front of the small wooden door, bending down to peer through a small crack. His eyes gazed out into the grounds of the shine, his ears twitching as he scanned the landscape. He couldn't see anything out of place, no one was around the yard, and he couldn't hear anything wrong. It was a bit more quiet than usual, but other than that, everything seemed to be in order.

Still, something inside screamed at him to be careful. Something was definitely wrong.

Sliding the door open as slowly as he could, he took a few tentative steps out into the grass, making his way stealthily towards Kagome's house. His ears twitched in the direction of the building, listening intently for any sounds coming from inside.

Again, warning signs went off in his head as he realized there wasn't a single bit of light shining from those electric-type-fire things Kagome called light bulbs. Usually this meant everyone was asleep, but it was still pretty early in the evening. They should be having dinner about now or something, not sleeping.

He repressed a growl deep in his throat as he debated in his head whether to go in through Kagome's window or take the front door. He stood for a few good moments weighing his options before he walked tentatively towards the door, crouching down as far as he could while moving steadily towards it.

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks as he realized the front door was open. Kagome had explained to him once how humans locked their doors to keep predators at bay, at which he'd scoffed at the idea that a mere wooden plank could possibly stop any predator from intruding into the giant hut. Kagome had merely shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "It keeps human predators out well enough. More so than if they could just walk on in, right?"

Frowning at the memory, Inuyasha slowly reached a clawed hand out and pushed a little at the door, peeking in as it slowly creaked open. Again, the feeling of immediate danger filled his mind, and he backed away from the opening. He still couldn't smell or sense anyone inside, but he at least wanted to go in from an entrance he was used to. With that thought, he hopped up into the tree next to the roof and leaped over to Kagome's window, which was closed except for the small crack she usually kept open when she was in her time.

He slid his fingers through the opening and lifted the glass panel up, using caution not to shatter it, and ducked through the tight space, standing on the ledge inside her room. He stood stock-still, listening, breathing in anything that might have been out of place, anyone that shouldn't have been there.

Again, nothing.

He stepped down onto the carpet and made his way towards the bedroom door, grabbing hold of the handle and opening it not unlike he had the front, peeking out cautiously, peering with his eyes. Moonlight flooded down the dark hallway, but again, nothing was amiss. Stepping out into the hallway, he made a beeline for the upstairs bathroom, which was already open, and took a quick peek inside, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Quickly he checked her family member's bedrooms to find those empty as well. Satisfied with his scan of the upper level, he made his way down the steps, glancing into the kitchen. A bowl of ramen had been left, half-eaten, on the table, and the large box Kagome explained kept food cold was open. He took the two steps to the fridge and shut it closed before moving to the ramen and taking a sniff.

It was old. One or two days old. Maybe three.

That was strange. Kagome's mom never left anything like that out. Annoyed that he couldn't figure out if any of this meant something horrible had happened or not, he turned on his heel and stomped into the living room, throwing himself onto the couch the way he'd seen Kagome do the few times she'd been frustrated.

A loud, warning bark ripped from his throat as he jumped off the couch and grabbed the hilt of Teissaiga. The large box across from him had sprung to life, scaring the ever-loving-crap out of him.

Seconds later he realized what had happened. The small rectangular-shaped box had been on the couch and he'd sat on it, accidentally pressing the button to turn the bigger, square box on. Now, two people spoke from the glass screen, using words he didn't understand, while writing scrolled across the bottom that he couldn't read. He was about to shut the damned thing off, when they used a word he did understand.

"-Eri Yataki, Seto Ito, Kagome Higurashi, as well as hundreds of other students are still buried under hundreds of pounds of rubble." The female on the screen whom Kagome's name had tumbled out of was shaking her head as the male picked up where she left off.

"It's been three days already, and rescue workers are already losing hope as the families of these students can only stand by and wait, hoping their child is the one to come out alive and breathing next."

The female nodded. "That's right, if you're just joining us now, it was three days ago that an earthquake, 7.0 on the richter scale ripped through Mid-Tokyo, destroying most of the city. Luckily it passed by the suburbs, but it left most of Tokyo buried. Including Sukikyo Academy, a local high school. The school caved in on itself, burying hundreds of students underground. With no way of knowing who is dead or alive, families rushed down to the site hoping that their child is not one of the unlucky ones."

Inuyasha couldn't understand most of it. But he could understand enough. Kagome Higurashi. Earthquake. Buried.

"Fuck!!" He cursed out, throwing the remote to let out his frustration. He knew it. He fucking knew something was wrong, and it had taken him three fucking days to realize that it just might be Kagome in her time that was in danger, and not Kagome in his time. Everyone thought he'd been panicked before, but now, as the horror of what had happened sank in, the panic rose up into his chest and sent his mind racing.

He spun and shot out of the house at full speed, ignoring the fact that his youkai features were clearly visible to the human eyes, and sniffed the air as he reached the top of the shrine steps.

Of course, he couldn't smell Kagome at all. Sulfur and blood and fumes and fire burned at his senses. He didn't really need to smell her, however, because he knew how to find her school; he'd been there before. Without wasting another second, he dashed through the deserted streets and ran full-speed toward the giant building he had come to despise over the years. The humid air whipped through his hair, sending the mass tumbling behind him, pushing against his haori. Had he ever ran so fast in his life? Had he ever been so scared? He couldn't remember. The only thing he could think of was Kagome.

Kagome.

See if he'd ever let Kagome go to her stupid school again.

It took less than a minute to reach Kagome's school, but the slow rise of nightfall had already claimed the sky and a haze of dust hovered over the broken building. Inuyasha froze a few feet behind the massive crowd that had gathered around the destruction. It really had collapsed in on itself. Families of those buried beneath the rubble screamed and cried openly in their grief.

He flattened his ears against his head, not because of the human keening, but because of the cacophony of noise from giant machines Inuyasha had never seen before working unstintingly around the wreckage. They made extremely loud, annoying sounds that grated his nerves more than he thought possible.

"Dammit!" He growled out, rage tearing out of his throat. "How the hell are those things going to save Kagome? They'll crush her before they save her!" He ignored those standing closest to him who gave him strange looks at his outburst and as slowly as he possibly could stand to, made his way through the crowd.

He felt invisible, his strange features ignored by the throngs too consumed by despair to really him. He sniffed the air, trying to pinpoint Kagome's family, who, he was pretty sure, would be in the crowd, worrying like the rest. When he located their scent, he breathed out in relief, and growled out under his breath. "They should be able to explain the situation better than anyone on that fucking box!"

Eager to get to them, he had to force himself not to throw people out of his way. He exerted a great deal of restraint and made his way carefully through the throngs of huddling people. Close to the front of the crowd, he spotted Kagome's mother with her head on the old grandpa and holding the small boy close to her stomach as he wrapped his arms around her tight. Inuyasha was close enough to smell their individual tears, and for a split second, he didn't want to head over to them. Obviously, the news wasn't good…

"Kagome is still alive. She's still alive," he muttered repeatedly, but how could he possibly think otherwise? Without being able to separate her scent from everything else around him, he couldn't be sure of anything. Repeating to himself that she was, indeed, still alive, was the only thing that reassured him until he could rescue her.

Kagome's family was up by the barricades that blocked off the crowd from the debris in the very front. With renewed motivation, Inuyasha shoved through the crowd, keeping as low as possible and avoiding ripping tender skin with his claws. He was desperate to get to Kagome as soon as he could, but she wouldn't be happy if he tore up a few humans along the way.

'Damn her for caring about others when she's the one in immediate danger,' he thought, cursing her name before he cursed himself for knowing her so well that he knew she would think such things. Finally, he reached the front and stretched out to tap Kagome's mom on the shoulder. Her head turned and her tearful face looked back at him in surprise.

"Inuyasha!" She cried and dislodged herself from the others before she swung her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. Her body was shaking. Souta had fallen to the ground, but immediately bounced back up when he realized who had just shown up.

Inuyasha was immediately uncomfortable and merely patted her awkwardly on the back a few times before pulling her away at arms length and looking into her eyes. "Where is she? Is Kagome under all that?!!" He pointed a clawed finger over the barricade and to the giant heap of concrete and metal, smoke and dust still rising up into the sky. Kagome's mom nodded, fresh tears falling over her face.

Inuyasha felt a tug on his pants and looked down to see Souta staring up at him with wide, worried eyes. "Are you going to save Kagome?" he asked.

"Fuckin' right I am," he muttered. "Wait here, runt, I'll get her out of there fast." He bent low to the ground, preparing to jump, like a dog sitting on it's haunches, and sprang up as far into the air as he could, flying over the barricades and the dozens of workers and their loud machines. He heard the loud gasps and shouts of the people from below, pointing and crying out, wondering what the heck he could possibly be, before he landed smack-dab in the middle of the giant heap.

He had to cover his eyes for a few seconds against the intense floodlights that had been set up so the humans could see in the rapidly diminishing light. Ignoring the outraged shouts of the workers, he pressed an ear to the rubble and concentrated on listening to the noises below the pile.

It was, of course, impossible, as the loud machinery didn't allow him to hear anything else-- like the worker who had come up behind him and grabbed onto his arm. Lucky for him, Inuyasha remembered that he wasn't back in his own time.

"Hey!" The man bellowed. "What the hell are you doing?! It's dangerous here, get to where it's safe!"

Inuyasha pulled him arm away easily and grabbed onto the man's shoulders. "Turn those fucking contraptions off so I can hear!"

"What?!" The man shouted.

"Turn. Off. Those. Fucking. Machines!!"

The man shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what your dysfunction is, but you're crazy if you think we're going to stop working!!" He cried back.

"You're digging in the wrong spot!" Inuyasha pointed to the machines. "I can tell you where the people are that are still alive!" He pointed to his ears.

"You're fucking crazy!"

"You're fucking stupid!" He growled in frustration and stepped away from the man, crouching down as he did before and launched himself into the air again. This time, his target was the loud machines.

After a few good hits with his sword, the machines fell silent, and the crowd speechless, all but Souta, who cheered him on from the front of the barricade. Finally able to hear, Inuyasha ran back up to the middle of the rubble, ignoring the shocked silence of the workers and the bystanders, and pressed his head again to the rubble.

Nothing.

Okay, he couldn't panic yet. It didn't mean she was dead, it just meant she wasn't in that spot. He sniffed at the pile, and moved a few feet to the left, before he pressed his ear down again.

Sobbing.

Someone was buried under there, sobbing. He sniffed at the spot again, and then shot up to his feet, pulling up giant pieces of concrete and metal. "Here!!" He shouted to the worker. "She's alive! She's breathing, right here!!!" Peaces of debris flew over his head as he dug and dug.

The worker tentatively walked over to Inuyasha. "How can you tell?" He asked slowly.

"I can hear her crying. And I can smell her. Are you going to help, or not, dammit?!"

The man stood and watched Inuyasha for a few seconds, obviously trying to decide whether he was insane or not. He shook his head. "Well, it's not like we've gotten anywhere with the way we've been doing it so far," he mumbled, before waving over the rest of his crew. "Over here, men! We've got a live one! Bring your shovels, we're digging her out!!"

Inuyasha sighed in relief that the man hadn't taken his strange looks into consideration. He wouldn't have been able to stand it if Kagome didn't get help because the stupid humans were overcome by their fear of demons. Turning back to the rubble, he let loose a growl deep in his throat. "We're coming Kagome."

.o0o0o0o0o.

Minutes after Inuyasha arrived on the scene, Kagome regained consciousness, still trapped in her living grave.

At first, she thought she'd gone to heaven. But no, she hurt too much for it to be a world after death, and not nearly enough to be hell. After a few seconds of regaining her bearings, she realized that she was still stuck. And she had not died.

Why?

Why was she still alive? How long had she been trapped under here without food or water? How was it-

"-ome!!!"

-that she, out of everyone else buried here survived so long? She should have been dead by now. She couldn't even feel her tongue anymore, it had dried and cracked a while ago, and it now felt like sandpaper in her mouth

"-gome!!"

Ugh, and now she was imagining someone calling out her name from the sky. It hadn't been the first time since she'd been trapped that she had conjured up a rescue. She'd thought up a hundred different ways that she could be rescued, even going so far as to imagine Inuyasha had somehow dug her out all on his own, and then confessed his undying love for her.

"-agome!!"

But she knew now to ignore the imaginary shouts that were coming from above. It just hurt all the worse when it turned out to be all in her mind, and she didn't think she could take anymore pain. Physically or mentally.

"-od dammit, wench! Answer me!"

Oh. Great. Now it was back to the Inuyasha fantasy. Of course, before, in her last scenario, he'd been kind and sweet and worried. Not at all like him of course, and she couldn't help but wonder why he was so rudely realistic this time around.

"Fuck!! Kagome! Can you hear me?!"

"Chill out boy, I don't think she's alive!"

"Fuck she isn't! I can smell her, you bastard! I know she's still alive!"

…Well, in her near-death experience her imagination sure had become much more real. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Inuyasha really was standing above her, throwing masses of concrete off to the sides.

"I think maybe using the crane would be a better idea rather than-"

"Keh! I don't need the help of that ridiculous contraption! Just let me dig her out, dammit! Kagome! Can you hear me?!"

Oh, what the hell. She was going to die anyway. Might as well die with her mind conjuring up a rescue rather than feeling the loneliness that had obviously been settled around her during the past few days.

"I-Inuya-" She croaked out, her tongue nearly blocking her air passage. "Inuyasha."

"She's down there, I can smell her!! Come on, faster! Faster!!"

Hope sprang up in Kagome's chest, Inuyasha's voice becoming clearer in her head each second. "Inuyasha…." She willed her voice to become stronger. It hurt speaking louder than a whisper. "I-Inuyasha!"

"Kagome, I can hear you, I'm almost there, hang on!"

He had to be close; she could hear him and what sounded like dozens of others digging, metal scraping concrete, and shouts and grunts of men working together to get her out. And in the middle of it all was Inuyasha, flinging out threats and curses as if they were basic words, coming to her rescue.

He always came to her rescue.

The sudden flood of pure feeling washed through her, and she wanted nothing but to touch him. But to have him hold her again. She'd been alone in a grave, buried as if she were dead, for far to long. She needed his warmth. She needed him to tell her that she was still alive.

The tiny pinpricks of light that had shone through in the day were now glowing in the artificial flashlights of rescue workers. She could see them waving about erratically as the tiny gaps became larger and larger. She closed her eyes as dust and dirt fell every so often from the efforts of her rescuers. She wanted out. She wanted out NOW.

And then, in all his glory, she could see his face; looking down at her from the large hole he'd created in the rubble, finally wide enough for Kagome's body to be squeezed through.

She cried, tears of great relief as Inuyasha's rough hand reached down through the small opening, stretching as far as it would go, reaching out to her.

"Kagome." He growled out, his face twisted in pure determination as his clawed fingertips shook with the effort.

Her eyes had blurred with her tears, and for a moment it seemed like a wonderfully beautiful dream, the fuzzy outline of the boy who was coming to save her with the bright, intense spotlight sending radiant-like light down around him.

Kagome slowly moved her arm up. Up through the hole that would barely squeeze her body through. Up towards her very source of life. The tips of her fingers brushed against his, and suddenly his hand was wrapped securely around her own, and he was lifting her, up though the rubble and the dirt and the grime.

She broke free.

The warm, humid air brushed across her body, and she relished in the feeling before being hugged up against a body so familiar it overwhelmed her.

Fresh tears leaked down as she wailed and wrapped her arms weekly around Inuyasha's neck.

The cheering that thundered around them didn't register in her mind. All she knew was that she was safe, because she was with Inuyasha, and he wouldn't let anything happen to her again. She was never, ever leaving his side.

Only seconds later she was being pulled away. Away from his warmth. People were grabbing at her, holding her down onto something. She started to panic, weakly struggling as she was strapped down to some sort of board. She tried to speak his name, tried to call out to him, but her throat was dry and swollen from dehydration still, and the panic closed up her throat completely. All she could do was cough.

"Kagome! Kagome, I'll be there, just go with them! I'll be there!" His voice was distant, muffled; yet she could still hear the roughness in his tone, and it made her struggle more.

Suddenly her mother's worried face was looking down at her, smiling through her own tears, and a new sense of relief washed through her. Her mom stayed by her side as she was rushed into the back of an ambulance. She was with her as she faded in and out on the ride to the emergency hospital. She was with her as she was rushed into the Emergency Room.

And then the doctors knocked her out.

She dreamed of Inuyasha's hand.

.o0o0o0o0o.

She's allliiiiveee!!! Oh, aren't you all so happy?

Not much else to stay tuned for, except some awesome Inuyasha/Kagome action. It is labeled as a romance, right? Lol.

I hope you've enjoyed chapter one, and be sure to expect a great ending in chapter two.

Thanks for reading. Reviews and crits are more than welcome, they're wanted.

SugarRos