InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Incomplete ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

At Kaede's Hut...

The aging miko crouched down to add a few small logs to the fire that was steadily cooking her dinner. Cursing the arthritis that made her old joints ache, she wiped her hands clean and shakily stood tall. A calculating glance at the fire told her a couple more pieces of wood were in order. With a tired sigh she shuffled towards the small wood pile in the corner but stopped short at the sight of a dark shadow looming across her path from the door. With a start she lifted her eyes to the imposing figure of Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West, standing in her doorway.

Without waiting for an invitation he stepped into the light and proffered the body nestled in the crook of his arm to her. It took a few seconds of staring at the bloodied figure before her tired eyes recognized it as Kagome. The girl's skin had gone deathly pale and her limbs hung limply at her sides. If she wasn't already dead, she wasn't far from being so.

Her arthritis and thoughts of dinner forgotten, Kaede shuffled to the side of the reincarnated priestess who eerily resembled her long dead sister. The moment she touched the girl's waxen skin her mind flooded with ancient memories of a day many decades ago - the day her sister had bled to death in her arms. The wounds Naraku had inflicted upon her body had been great. Blood was everywhere; it seeped into her clothes, pooled on the dry earth at their feet and poured out of her until there was none left to sustain her life. As a child she'd been helpless on that day, but now she had the skills and the knowledge to save the life fading before her eyes.

Jerking herself out of the past with a shake of her head, Kaede immediately set to work inspecting the unconscious girl's wounds.

"What has happened to her Sesshomaru? Where is Inuyasha?"

She intentionally left off the honorific. She would not address a demon as her superior regardless of how powerful he might be. If he noticed the intentional slip he didn't acknowledge it. He set Kagome's body down atop a nearby cot and stepped back.

"She threw herself into the path of Naraku's weapon," he explained curtly. "Foolish."

Though he kept his distance, Kaede could feel his cold eyes critically scrutinizing her ministrations. His words lacked any hint of compassion or empathy for the girl's situation but he was interested nonetheless. He made a sound of disgust and averted his gaze from the broken body splayed out before him.

Kaede watched him closely out of the corner of her eye and wisely kept her mouth shut.

So, she thought, the dog demon is shamed that he was saved by a human.

After years of living alongside Inuyasha, she'd learned that when it came to Kagome what the hanyou chose to say was just as important as what he did not. In this case, Sesshomaru was no different.

Realizing she would need to unbutton the girl's blouse to tend to the deep lacerations across her chest, she turned to the regal demon lord who was busy feigning impassivity.

"Perhaps it would be best if ye waited outside," she suggested in a tone that permitted no argument.

Soundlessly, he departed from the hut's single door. Kaede smiled to herself as she sensed his presence lingering close by, no doubt standing guard.

In many ways he and Inuyasha are different, yet they are alike as well. Somehow ye have managed to capture both of their interests young Kagome.

oOo

Hours later Kagome awoke; stirred from the pleasant lull of sleep by the feeling that she was being watched. Her eyes tentatively cracked open and she blinked away the haze of sleep to bring the room slowly into focus. In the soft glow cast off by the dying fire she recognized the familiar attributes of Kaede's hut and felt immediately at peace. Even though she couldn't remember how or why she was there, the sight of the room comforted her. This was the one place she would always be safe.

With a groan she flexed her limbs, gingerly testing out their mobility. Her muscles felt stiff and fought against her every movement. Still disoriented she made a move to sit up but abruptly stopped short when the first sharp pain ripped across her chest. Gasping, she fisted the sheets in her hands and rode out the wave. A deep voice emerged from the shadows next to her, drawing her gaze towards the sound.

"Your wounds have not yet healed, Miko."

Kagome blinked in surprise at the demon sitting casually on the floor next to her cot. Without waiting for a response, he diverted his attention back to the dying fire and stared endlessly into its glowing depths. She only watched him a moment before closing her eyes. It didn't occur to her to be concerned by his presence or wonder why Inuyasha wasn't at her side instead.

After so many centuries, what does he think about all the time? was her last conscious thought before she drifted back into the welcoming embrace of sleep.

Sesshomaru stayed late into the night and watched over the girl as she slept. In the hours before dawn her breaths became slow and even - she would survive. Relief was too strong a word to describe the feeling that came over him. It was more satisfaction, or rather a fulfilled expectation. It was an interesting situation he found himself in, torn somewhere between disgust and admiration.

The girl was troublesome, always meddling in the most inconvenient of ways, but her spiritual power was unlike anything he'd encountered before. Even from where he was sitting its purifying energy licked at his skin. That power was the one thing Naraku feared and in their final battle it would become their greatest weapon.

For that reason alone she was worth saving but beyond that he had little interest in what became of her. Pride would not permit him to forgive her for such an egregious insult. A demon of his calibre did not need the protection of a human, especially not a miko. The very thought that he could have been defeated by a pieced together hanyou such as Naraku was asinine. It shouldn't have surprised him. Foolishness of every measure was to be expected when it came to Inuyasha and his group.

Keen to avoid another tiresome run in with his ill-tempered half brother, he decided it was best not to linger. The sun was just cresting over the mountains when he departed leaving the bamboo mat swaying in the doorway as the only indication he'd ever been there at all.

oOo

It was days before Kagome felt well enough to be out of bed and dressing herself was no easy task. Wincing at the stiffness in her back and shoulders, she carefully pulled on a fresh uniform, brought back by Inuyasha from the modern era no doubt, and did a few light stretches to get her blood moving. It felt good to be moving again!

Moving slowly so as not to re-open her wounds, she stepped outside for the first time in nearly a week and turned her face towards the sun. It was hot against her skin and the breeze was warm. If there was any sort of day to feel happy about being alive, this was it. Eager to find Inuyasha, she made her way towards the forest. Knowing him, she imagined he was perched high amongst the Goshinboku's branches thinking about how best to defeat Naraku. True to form, that was where she found him with his eyes glued to the horizon and his thoughts a hundred miles away.

Standing at the tree's base she called up to him, "Hey! Inuyasha!"

Startled out of his daze, the half demon looked down at her wide-eyed. In two jumps he was out of the tree and pulling her roughly into his arms.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered softly so that only she could hear.

Kagome smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist.

If only he could be this affectionate all the time, she thought with a hint of disappointment.

But it wasn't his way. Scared of being hurt again, he hid his deepest emotions behind verbal barbs and feigned indifference. It was only when he was worried about her that he let the walls collapse and showed her how he truly felt.

"I'm sorry I made you worry. I'm fine now, really," she reassured him with a smile. Inuyasha frowned down at her and she was momentarily taken aback.

"Well then, do you mind telling me just what the hell you were doing? You could've gotten yourself killed!" he yelled into her stunned face.

"I was trying to save Sesshomaru!" she shouted back, not the least bit afraid of his bark. Inuyasha glared at her and angrily stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his haori.

"Why the heck would you risk your life for Sesshomaru?"

When he spoke his brother's name the word dripped with disdain. It was no secret that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were mortal enemies. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the silver haired half demon pouting in front of her and blew out a loud sigh of frustration.

"Because he saved my life okay? The only reason Naraku went after him at all was because he saved me! You should be thanking Sesshomaru for rescuing me. If he hadn't shown up when he did, Kagura would've cut me to pieces!"

Inuyasha stared at her open mouthed a moment before stubbornly turned his back and muttering a loud "Feh!"

Kagome studied the uncompromising rigidity of his back and her hands balled reflexively into angry fists at her sides. Trying to reason with him was completely impossible! She was tempted to use the "S" word, but once she caught sight of the way his ears flicked with irritation and the small whirlwinds of dirt he was kicking up with his feet, she relented.

He'd obviously been worried about her. After all the time they'd been together, she knew that Inuyasha only yelled at her because he cared and got scared whenever she was in trouble. It was his subtle (very subtle) way of saying 'I care about you.'

Reaching out her hand to him she swallowed her pride and tried an apology, "Inuyasha...I..."

"Don't apologize."

Cutting her off, the half demon turned to look at her, a serious expression darkening his features. After a moment he averted his gaze and squatted down, motioning for her to get on his back.

"Come on! Let's go find the others," he insisted, sounding gruff.

She hesitated only a moment before relenting and settling onto the comfortable groove of his back. He took off at lightning speed the moment her arms wrapped around his neck. She clung to him as tight as she could and wasn't surprised to find that, despite being annoyed, she couldn't keep a smile from her face.