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At this moment, Inuyasha was glad he couldn’t see.
Sounds echoed around him from near and far. There were murmurs, there were yells and there were screams. Voices crying in despair or wailing in pain would travel through the cold caverns of these caves.
Shadowed stone had been the last thing he saw before his sight went dark.
The cloth pressing tightly over his closed eyes, tied into a hard knot behind his head, would have been easy to remove - if he was his usual self.
But tonight was the night of the New Moon, the darkest night and a sleepless one for him.
His clawless fingers clumsily felt along the rough stone, the only form of guidance he had in his muffled state. Spending most of his life with demonic senses gave him little to no time to hone his human side to the same efficiency. And he had never had any incentive to do so.
Kagome and the others would have insisted he stay within their vicinity, if they were here. But they weren’t. He had left them behind during a battle in a bid to play the bait. By the time the sun had set, he was too far away and his sense of smell had faded enough that he couldn’t tell which direction led back.
A shrill scream - a woman’s, or perhaps that of a child - made him jump.
He involuntarily pressed himself against the wall, head turning about. A useless thing to do; he was blindfolded and wouldn’t have been able to see anyway.
Inuyasha waited before continuing on, further down towards the end of this tunnel. He hoped that it wouldn’t be a dead end or worse. In his current state, he wouldn’t survive a battle against any beasts that find him.
The screams didn’t stop, and he had managed to ignore most of them by now. He had to. If he didn’t, what chance did he have of getting out of here?
Something brushed his leg and he started, slamming his hand over his mouth before a yelp could pass his lips.
He waited in silence, hoping whatever had touched him would go away.
Warmth began to cover his cheek, trailing down towards his chin. It felt wet and there was a taste of salt. He distantly hated that he was tearing up from fear, hated that he was shivering like some helpless maiden, hated that he wasn’t trying hard enough to escape.
It brushed his leg again. He could have sworn he heard a tiny whimper from somewhere.
Inuyasha, weak and human and fearful, backed away from the thing. Having pulled away from the wall, he had little clue where he was now. His feet stumbled over stone and his own legs to try and lose whatever was pursuing him.
He cared not for how his toes and soles garnered cuts and scrapes. He cared not for the fact that he couldn’t see where he was going. He cared not for why he couldn’t think of anything else at the moment.
All he could do was run.
It took a single small rock to send him tumbling down.
Everything whirled round and round and round until the air was knocked out of him. His back ached from a rough collision with a stone wall.
He struggled to sit up, efforts becoming more desperate as the sound of his pursuer grew closer and closer.
Tears flowed unabated, small choked whimpers escaping lips that quivered.
It was within striking distance as he pressed himself against the wall, legs curling upwards towards his chest.
His fingers clutched at the Fire Rat robe he still wore, hoping foolishly that it would be enough to defend against a predator.
He was cornered, trapped. A hunter was above him and he was the prey.
It was going to kill him.
Mew.
Inuyasha froze, though his body continued to shudder and shake.
Again, another soft mew as something came closer to brush against his curled form - when had that happened?
Tentatively, he reached a hand out and found soft fur. The creature mewed again and purred as it rubbed its head against his palm.
He recognised that mew.
Tears continued to roll down his face as he frantically scooped Kirara up into his arms. She didn’t protest when he just held her against his chest, fur tickling the tip of his nose.
His breaths became more uneven and buried sobs made themselves known, fear no longer choking his chest.
Inuyasha couldn’t say anything but he didn’t have to, Kirara’s small tongue gently licking the tears from his face.
He didn’t look up as the distant sounds began to fade. He didn’t look up as familiar voices came. He didn’t look up as kind hands coaxed him towards warm bodies and the world outside stone walls.
But when he did, they welcomed him back with smiles as the sun rose behind them.