InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 35

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was. Don’t sue cause no money is being made, etc.

A/N - Nothing to say this time. So, without further preamble, I give you:

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Teaching Rin

Chapter 35

Leaving You With Me

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Kaida could hear the most minute of sounds that were permeating the air around her. The morning dew was heavy on the ground, and she could feel the cold droplets gather and roll off her bare feet. The forest was quiet around her, not even the music of the katydids and crickets were present to welcome the soon to be rays of the morning sun. Kaida pulled her concentration back to the present, sweeping the area for any sort of intruder. She found none, and began her morning kata, happy to be in a familiar area of woods again.

She had been trying for hours to calm herself down to begin her morning exercises…and had failed miserably. Her mind kept drifting back to the spar with Sesshomaru the few days before.

Once again, a smile crept onto her face, and she had to reign her minute happiness back in so she could concentrate on the task at hand.

Fighting with him had been….a release. A way for her to let out all those pent up feelings she’d been harboring for the past few weeks. She had been shamelessly hiding from him since she’d come back to the Western Lands in an attempt to figure out exactly why she suddenly felt such strong emotions for the demon Lord.

Well, if she was honest with herself…it wasn’t really all that sudden. Her respect and admiration of him had been building for some time, months even. But what had really been the final straw was when he had revived her from death, bringing her back to life.

He’d said he had his reasons for doing it. She still hadn’t figured out why, and she didn’t have the nerve to ask him anymore. Kaida realized that she was forever in his debt, something she didn’t exactly like thinking of.

But how could you pay back someone who restores your life? What could you give as an offering? There was nothing so valuable as life, nothing at all.

It was these feelings of inadequacy and confusion that had kept her away for so long. Of course, her time was swallowed up by the morning training with Rin, and the evening training with the elites. But if she had wanted to, she could have found time to spar with the stoic demon who had been haunting her daydreams lately.

She smiled in the waning darkness as her heightened senses alerted her to a poorly masked aura in an overhead tree. She knew he was there, and knew very well that had he actually wanted to stay hidden from her senses, he could have. In allowing her to find him perched in the bare boughs at such an ungodly hour was somewhat of a complement. Although right now he seemed reluctant to leave his perch, so she continued on with her meditation.

It was odd to feel his presence in the trees. They had not sparred together in the early mornings since before the attack; this was the first time he had sought her out since they returned. And though Kaida found she dearly missed the Western Lord’s pre-dawn spars, she had not been able to start their usual routine again. Being around him was bad enough. Just seeing him around the compound would cause her to flush or stammer like some ridiculous human teenager. It annoyed her to no end, losing control in his presence.

She reentered her focus and cleared her mind of all thoughts, willing it to concentrate on the task at hand. But no matter how much she tried, Sesshomaru’s undeniable presence kept her from reaching the calm state she was seeking. With a soft sigh, she picked up her cloak and tossed it over her shoulders in an attempt to ward off the sudden chill.

There was a rustle in the trees, and she heard the soft crunch of leaves as he landed on the ground behind her.

In all truth, she had no desire to speak with the dog lord at the moment. She chanced a glance at the surrounding shadows and grinned, deliberately hiding her own energy and slipping into the shadows. She had no doubt that to Sesshomaru’s keen eyes, she had literally just vanished into the darkness. She silently perched herself in a tree, looking down at him.

“Your skills are getting more impressive.” he said calmly, causing Kaida to smile. Garnering a compliment out of his was tough, and she appreciated each and every one of them.

“Practice makes perfect.” she quipped lightly, refusing to come out into the open, even though she knew he would find her the more she spoke.

“I trust you are refraining from teaching Rin your parlor tricks.”

“Why do you ask?”

“No matter. It is irrelevant.”

“What brings you out this early?” she asked finally, dropping down in front of him soundlessly.

“I should ask you the same.” he answered, holding out a sealed letter to her. “You were ordered to rest, were you not?”

“I don’t need Keisha’s babying.” she said hotly, taking the letter and breaking the seal. “I can handle myself.”

“I am sure you can.” he said. “However, you took on half of my elites yesterday, and left none standing for more than mere seconds.”

“Surprised I survived, are you?” she asked, her eyes scanning over the paper he had given her.

“Somewhat.” he answered, noticing a number of large bruises on her arms and shoulders. “It seems you are wearing the results of your training exercises.”

“I’m good, but not good enough to dodge the swings of six elites at one time. Your men are well trained as it is.” she said simply, looking out across the cliff to the slowly rising sun. “I’m just glad they got over their reservations with fighting me. Females are becoming a hot commodity, and not just for marriage purposes. There are more trained female assassins that you may realize. We’re flexible, and much more capable of fitting into social situations than most men.”

“You are more deadly.” he acknowledged, causing Kaida to glance up at him in surprise. He’d never agreed with her before on such things, and it was a miracle to find out he was thinking along the same lines as herself.

“When properly trained.” she acknowledged. She read the next couple of lines in the letter and scoffed. So Leiko and Kei had finally decided on settling down with a mate. ’Hope they don’t mind used goods.’ she thought evilly. Speaking of mates…“Rin leaves for her visit East today, correct?”

“Yes.” Sesshomaru said, glowering at her as though she had reminded him of something quite unpleasant.

“And you leave for patrols?”

“You will be accompanying me.”

“You never did tell me why.” Kaida said, regarding him with a suspicious air. There was nothing she could do to help him during patrols, so she really didn’t see any point in going. Besides, being stuck with his company for four days straight presented a challenge she did not feel like facing.

“You seem to be avoiding my presence in these last few weeks.”

“Have I? I didn’t notice.” she muttered, although she knew he had finally caught her. And it was the truth. She had been avoiding him, bar a few certain instances, since she’d come back there. She had hoped the time spent away from the brooding lord would allow her mixed emotions about him to settle. It hadn’t worked.

“You lie.” he said simply.

“Prove it.” she challenged, meeting his cool gaze with one of her own.

“Is there a reason?”

“There’s always a reason for the things I do.” she commented lightly. “And you want me to tell you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why would I do that?” she questioned.

“Because I ordered you to.”

“So you are going to take me with you and try to pry it out of me during the trip?” she hazarded a guess.

“Something like that.”

“Good luck.” she groused, folding the letter in her hands back together and slipping it into the folds of her training gi.

“Problems?” he asked.

“Hardly.” she answered. “Good news actually. My sisters have accepted to mainland demons to take as mates. Father thought I should know about it.”

“Is that all?”

“It’s my letter.” she said curtly. “If he wanted you to know what was in it, he’d have sent you a copy.”

“Indeed.” he said coldly, turning to leave. Kaida suddenly felt like an ass for being so rude to him. He had voluntarily left the fortress and brought the letter to her this morning when he could have just as easily waited until she was back within the confines of the fortress to hand it over. She felt her cheeks color at the thought of him purposely going out of his way to do something for her, but tamped it down as quickly as it came.

That was one thing she did want to find out from him, though. And now seemed like the best time to offer the question to him.

“Sesshomaru?” she called out.

“Yes?”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you since we got back.”

“And it is?”

“Does the Tenseiga cause any side affects in the person it revives?” she asked quickly. “Any…changes in their ways of rationalization or perception of other people?”

“No.” he said simply, wheeling around to leave her to her own devices.

“I was afraid of that.”

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By the time the Eastern entourage arrived in his domain, Rin was about to jump out of her skin in anticipation. When the Eastern family arrived, Rin had been so happy to see Kentaro that she completely neglected her manners and ignored Yuri and Lady Nami. She realized her grievous error when Yuri snickered, breaking the two young lovers out of their trance. Rin apologized profusely, but the Eastern Lady simply shrugged it off with a grin, telling her it was quite alright. Kaida tried to tamp down a grin, but all Sesshomaru could do was frown.

Lady Nami was perhaps one of the most kindhearted demoness anyone knew. She was a Lady in every aspect, from the way she held herself to the way she spoke with such fluid ease. She was also a very observant woman, if not very discreet.

“It’s okay, Sesshomaru.” the Eastern Lady said calmly after she had noticed the demon lord glaring at her youngest son‘s antics to make Rin laugh. She laughed and reached up to pat the Western Lord on the shoulder. “Soon their heated attraction will cool into the embers of a mature love. Let them be young while they can be. Some of us were forced to grow up too quickly and were never lucky enough to feel first love’s burning pull. Let those that do live in it while they can. The outside world will come calling soon enough.”

There was not anything he could say to refute her words, knowing they were more truth than fiction.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Rin’s belongings were secured, and they were off. Sesshomaru had no doubts that Keisha would keep Rin out of trouble since the head demoness had taken Kaida’s place as chaperone, for the two week trip. But the playful glint in her eyes proved unsettling to him, and had him thinking she would not watch Rin as much as she probably should have.

He was sorely tempted to tell Kaida to go with Rin after all.

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After seeing the entourage off, Kaida retrieved her blades from her quarters and met Sesshomaru in the courtyard again.

“Ready.” she said, tossing some supplies onto Ishika’s back. “Where are we headed first?”

“The Southern borderlands.” he said. “We will start there and work northward.”

“And what exactly am I supposed to do.”

“What you are best at doing?”

“I don’t see how giving you a headache will help your patrols.” she deadpanned.

“Your stealth is what I am referring to.” he said. “Especially since you have taken to disappearing whenever you can from my sight in the past few weeks.” Kaida grunted, but said nothing else. “You will infiltrate each checkpoint if you can, and I will asses the weaknesses in order to fortify them to a satisfactory level.”

“Great.” she grumbled, mounting Ishika while a servant brought Ah-Uh to Sesshomaru. “I’ve been demoted from supervising elites to breaking and entering.”

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Sesshomaru’s plans for her to infiltrate the checkpoints didn’t go as smoothly as she would have thought. Despite the fact that his elites had gone soft for a while, the soldiers at each of the checkpoints along the borderlands had not.

She had made it into the first checkpoint easily enough on the first day, but for all her skill, had been caught on her way out by one of the lower ranking soldiers. Sesshomaru had ordered her not to fight the soldiers, and to give them no reason to harm her. If it hadn’t have been for his request, she could have easily knocked the raccoon demon in the head and escaped without notice.

Her capture had marched her out of the building and into the courtyard, questioning her the entire time about who she was and where she had come from, who she was spying for, and other questions. Finally, when Sesshomaru had come up and ordered her release, they had apologized profusely.

While Sesshomaru talked with the commanding officer in each point, Kaida chatted with the other soldiers, who were more than just a little surprised to see her tagging along with the white headed dog demon. She found that there were at least two elites stationed at each checkpoint, along with the four or more regular rank soldiers. And each group stayed at their posts for one month before rotating out with another group that came to relieve them from the fortress.

The second and third checkpoint had her barely getting past the protective barrier wall before she was either caught, shackled and interrogated…or caught, chained and interrogated. Once again, Sesshomaru’s presence was the only thing that had allowed her to be released from her bonds.

The fourth checkpoint was by far the weakest of the ones they had visited in the four days since they had left. In fact, she managed to get in, get out, go back in, and come back out before anyone noticed anything was amiss.

Sesshomaru had not liked that, and wound up reprimanding the commanding officer harshly, along with every single one of the soldiers stationed there.

They had left the checkpoint, each one in a different frame of mind than when they had entered it. Kaida prayed the next checkpoint would not be so easily infiltrated, so Sesshomaru’s sake as well as whomever was manning it.

About halfway through their journey, they met up with a messenger and some soldiers wearing the red and yellow tags of the Northern territories. Kaida was quickly on edge, and Sesshomaru was not pleased at all to see the intruders on his homeland. But the visitors were anything but hostile, and greeted Kaida and himself with a bright smile and deep bows.

“Greetings, Lord Sesshomaru, Lady Kaida.”

“What are you doing so far inland, soldier?” Sesshomaru demanded, Toukijin in plain sight should any of them try something funny.

“We come bearing news from our homelands.” the messenger said, bowing once again.

“And what news is that?”

“There has been a change of powers. Haruto is dead, the victim of a poisoning. Lord Saburo is now heading the Northern territories.” he said. Well, that had been unexpected to say the least. Sesshomaru had wondered why things in the north had seemed quiet as of late.

“What of Koto?” Kaida demanded. He looked over at his traveling companion and found that she was stone faced and dead serious. Sesshomaru knew she had no love for the Northern family, and thought the news would be welcome after her heated battles with Haruto about her engagement to the now dead Kiyoshi.

“Fled, my Lady.” the messenger said, almost happily. “Back to her family on the mainland when she refused to abide by Lord Saburo‘s orders.”

“Have messages been sent to the other Lords, telling of this change in status?” Sesshomaru asked.

“Yes, my Lord.” one of the soldiers said. “They were dispatched at the same time we were, and given the same orders as ourselves.”

“And those were?”

“To tell all we see that Lord Haruto was dead, and his eldest son Saburo was now leader of the Northern Lands.”

“What of his sister Atsuko?” Kaida asked. “Where is she?”

“Our lady is at her brother’s side.” the messenger said. “She remained in her homelands to assist in any way she could.”

“Was there anything else?” Sesshomaru asked.

“No, my Lord.” he said. “We were in fact on our way to bring you the news. You’ve inadvertently saved a great number of steps. We thank you.”

“Send word back to Saburo and Atsuko that they has my…….condolences.” Kaida said, somewhat stiffly.

“There is no need to send back false information, my dear Lady Kaida.” the messenger chuckled. She actually smiled and nodded.

“Very well, since you refuse to be a bearer of lies, I will send another message to him.” Kaida said. “Tell Saburo that should he need anything, my assistance is at his disposal.”

“A gracious offer, my Lady.” the messenger said. “I will inform him as soon as we arrive back. Lord Sesshomaru, I will inform Lord Saburo that you have been informed of the change.”

“Very well. You’re message has been delivered, you are dismissed.” Sesshomaru said. The small group of Northerner demons nodded and quickly disappeared into the surrounding forest back the way they had come.

“Somebody finally did him in. Can’t say I’m sorry to see him go. Although if Koto went back to the mainland, that’ll put her too near my sisters once they are joined with their mates for my comfort of mind.” Kaida muttered sourly.

“I would anticipate that Saburo has his hands full with the council members of the north.” Sesshomaru said. “Was that why you offered assistance?”

“Saburo and I see eye to eye much better than Kiyoshi or Haruto and myself.” she said. “He’ll make a good Lord for the north.”

“Once the rest of us instate him at the next meeting.” Sesshomaru said.

“It’s not like you have much of a choice. I won’t say he’s the only male heir left to the throne, but he’s the only legitimate one. And Atsuko isn’t mated off yet, so there goes your only other option of finding a male ruler.” Kaida pointed out.

“Very true.” he said smoothly. “We shall see where this leads. Now let us get back on the way. I want to be past the next checkpoint before nightfall.”

“Lead the way.” she said, following up behind him.

The fifth checkpoint was where the trouble had started. Sesshomaru had warned her that General Katsuji was a very precise soldier who kept his subordinates on sharp lookout at all hours of the night and day, so she needed to be extra careful. He still forbade her from pulling her blades in defense if she was caught, saying that it would incite them to fight her.

She had made it over the gates and into the courtyard without problem. Sesshomaru had told her to bring him back the map of the surrounding area that was housed within the checkpoint base as proof that she had been there.

It had taken a while, but she finally managed to sneak her way into the small council room and secure the map. Halfway down the stairs, she was spotted by a soldier who she had thought was half asleep. He had sounded the alarm, and the next thing she knew, she was flying down the steps and out into the courtyard. She caught a fleeting glimpse of the renowned General Katsuji when he came running out of a nearby building, shouting orders to get the intruder.

Kaida didn’t like the murderous look on the lizard’s face, and decided it was time to high tail it out of there. She was sprinting towards the defensive wall when she felt an immense pain pierce her shoulder. She staggered and landed on her knees as the arrow seemed to embed itself deeper into her skin, burning like the fires of hell.

Iron.’ she realized grimly ‘The arrowhead was made of iron.’ It was the only weakness a dragon demon like herself had. Iron reacted violently when it came into contact with their skins, blistering them. The only way for the reaction to not occur was to coat their iron tools or weapons with a mixture of herbs and clay that formed a barrier along the surface of the metal. She reached back and tugged at the shaft of the arrow. It came out easily enough, but she noticed that the arrowhead was nowhere to be found. ‘It’s still in me, damn it!’

She immediately started trying to get the piece of metal out of her shoulder before it done anymore damage, completely ignoring the fact she was soon surrounded by Sesshomaru’s soldiers. Katsuji was the first to make it to her, and she flinched at the rage on his face.

“Who are you and what are you doing here, wench!” he demanded, his sword at the ready to strike her.

“Katsuji! Stand down.” came the cool order from Sesshomaru, who had just landed in the courtyard right beyond them. The soldiers turned as one and kneeled to Sesshomaru, who walked up and motioned for Kaida to get to her feet. “She is no spy. Lady Kaida is assisting me in assessing each of the checkpoints along the borders.”

That one statement changed the entire demeanor of the soldiers. They had attacked without first identifying the individual, a basic lesson that was taught to all soldiers. After all, it did no good to accidentally kill someone you were supposed to be protecting.

“Who shot the arrow that struck her?” Sesshomaru demanded. “Before they had sense enough to verify her identity.”

“Whoever it was has damned good aim.” Kaida muttered, coming to her feet, her hand holding the wound that was slowly starting to fester and blister. She didn’t really care who it was, as long as she got the arrowhead out soon.

“I did, Lord Sesshomaru.” one of the soldiers said, coming forward to kneel at Kaida’s feet. “I apologize, Lady Kaida, but I thought you were a bandit. Forgive me, please.”

“Don’t worry about it.” she said, waving it off. “Just help me get the damned thing outta my shoulder.”

“Take her to the infirmary and get her looked at.” Katsuji ordered the guilty soldier, who jumped to attention and led her away. Sesshomaru watched as she walked away, then turned to the other gathered soldiers.

“I trust you will take care of their impetuous attacking of an unknown individual.” Sesshomaru asked, turning his glare to Katsuji, who nodded in understanding. “She was ordered not to draw her weapon, only to stop once she surrounded.”

“Forgive us, my Lord.” Katsuji said. “I will personally see that it does not happen again.”

“For your sake, I should hope so.” he said coldly. “As for the rest of you….

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They wound up leaving the checkpoint before the sun was due to set on the fifth day of their journey along the borders. Sesshomaru had thoroughly chewed his soldiers into a pulp for attacking her, but she found it odd that he would do so. After all, he knew she was likely to be attacked considering the circumstances. It just didn’t make any sense to her.

What did make sense was the throbbing in her shoulder that had continued to develop as they had marched northward towards the final checkpoint. The sun was starting to sink below the horizon, and Kaida knew something was wrong. Her vision had started blurring, and the sweat was pouring off of her forehead like a waterfall.

“We’ve got to stop.” she said, leaning against Ishika for some support when she pulled her hand back and saw it was streaked with blood. Yep, she was in trouble.

“What is the problem?” he asked, looking back where Kaida was standing and his nose picked up the metallic scent of blood.

“Something’s wrong.” she said, blinking her eyes rapidly at the swaying picture in front of her. “I’m sick. They must have missed some slivers of iron in the wound. It’s the only thing that will cause this kind of reaction in me.”

“Let me assist you.” he said, coming to her side almost immediately. Kaida flinched at the contact, but Sesshomaru simply glared at her. “You cannot reach it to clean it properly, and there are possibly some slivers left in the wound..”

“Be careful, I might think you’re starting to actually care if you keep talking like that.” she teased. Everything was spinning around her and she mopped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her sleeve.

Something wasn’t right. The majority of the metal had been removed from her wound, why was her body still reacting this way? A few slivers of shouldn’t be this bad…

“Sit down.” he ordered, surprised when she complied without a word of objection. “Turn around.” Kaida presented her back to him, settling down onto her knees in a comfortable position. “Untie your haoiri.”

“What?” she demanded hotly, looking back over her shoulder at him like he was crazy.

“I can not clean the wound with your clothing still on.” he said simply. “Untie it.” After a few minutes in a silent stare down, she untied the knot on the gi and let the thick cloth fall off her shoulders and onto the leaved ground, but still managed to keep the front half of her body covered.

“There is some water in the pack on Ishika.” she said groggily. The Western Lord retrieved the liquid and a clean cloth, then came up behind her, kneeling down to take a look at the wound.

It had spread quickly, and her entire left shoulder was flaming hot to the touch. The wound were the arrow had went in was crusty yellow and festering with blisters. He poured some of the chilly water onto her shoulder and listened as she hissed in audible pain.

He could see a number of small slivers of iron scattered around the infected area. He cursed the infirmary soldier for not doing a better job at treating her, and mentally noted to discipline the demon quite thoroughly on his next trip there.

Using the clean piece of cloth, he wiped at the wound. He wasn’t gentle, and Kaida’s grunt of pain was proof of that, but he had to get the slivers off, and the easiest way to do that was in one swipe….even if it was the most painful.

“They left some in there, didn’t they?” she asked.

“You are correct.”

“I told him to check again, but he kept saying it was all clear.” she muttered. “Damned bastard wouldn’t listen….”

“What needs to be done?” he asked, noticing that she was losing color the longer she knelt there, clutching her top to her chest for some modesty.

“Just get the metal out.” she said growled. “Douse it with the water, it should loosen up what’s left in there and wash it out.” Sesshomaru complied and poured the contents of the container out onto her shoulder, hopefully getting rid of the nuisance in the process.

“Can you tell if there is any left?” he asked. Kaida shook her head, honestly not able to tell him anything other than her shoulder was in flames.

“I don’t know.” she grumbled. “There is some antiseptic wash in the other container in my pack. Pour it on there. That’ll at least keep the infection out of it.”

Sesshomaru once again complied and retrieved the liquid, pouring it onto her shoulder. She didn’t hiss this time, and he noticed that her breathing had evened out. He looked around and found that she had apparently passed out while still hunched over in that kneeling position.

“Impossible.” he muttered, his aggravation high with her. He recapped the bottle and reached to pull her up, but thought better of it and instead retrieved a clean haoiri from her supplies. He covered her back with it, and then reaching under it, pulled the blood stained one out from underneath. She fell to her side when he tugged the thick material, and the Western Lord reached over to tie the gi in place to afford her some modesty. The top was big enough that it wrapped around her body and arms, keeping them securely covered, if a bit restrained.

It was time to make camp for the night anyway. And this place was as good as any. It’s not like Kaida could travel in her feverish condition anyways. He leaned back against a tree and watched as Ishika sidled over to her mistress and laid beside her, just like she had done every night since they had left. The dragon huffed and lay next to the sleeping demoness, wrapping her long tail around Kaida and set one of her wings around the demoness in an attempt to ward off the chill that had settled in the night air of spring and shield her from the light wind that had blown up.

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Kaida knew she was dreaming simply because she knew the bastard standing in front of her was dead. But still, he tormented her, tortured her thoughts. She kept seeing him that day in the clearing when he had attacked. And the dream was always the same.

She’d relived it a hundred times, and it still was not any easier.

She saw herself being shackled to the trees, bleeding all over the ground, saw Kiyoshi’s sadistic face as he left marks all over her barely covered and bruised body. Felt his painful grip on her hips…

‘He won’t want you now, Kaida. No one will.’

‘Not putting up much of a fight, are you, my little spitfire?’

‘You’re nothing more than a common whore!’

‘You’re mine!”

‘What about that bastard dog, huh? Sesshomaru? I figured he would break you down for me.’

She tossed and turned, restlessly trying to get away from that haughty, taunting voice that was threatening her. In her half awake/half asleep state, she realized that she couldn’t move her arms, and panicked. She could feel an approaching aura, and blindly swung out at whomever it was.

“Go away! Leave me alone!” she yelled feverishly.

“Hey, hey, calm down, love. It’s just me.” came a very familiar voice that quickly lulled her into complacency. “What have you done to her?” demanded another angry voice, this one different but still familiar.

“I have done nothing. She passed out when I tried to clean the wound.” That was Sesshomaru, she knew his voice. But why was he arguing with her brother? And what was Keiji doing here anyway? Even yet, what was Kaze doing here?

Was she still dreaming?

That had to be it. She was dreaming, and the fever was making her hallucinate. She felt someone pick her up and hold her tightly, then whistle lowly as they apparently got a good look at her shoulder.

“You’re beat up, love, bad. And burning up with a fever to boot.” His voice sounded distant and groggy, and Kaida tried to speak, but couldn’t.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t a hallucination. That was even better. Kaze would know what to do to heal her shoulder, so would her brother.

In the background, she could still faintly hear Keiji interrogating Sesshomaru as to why she was presently in the state she was in. And even in her groggy state she realized her twin would be useless for the time being, at least until he calmed down enough to realize he wasn’t going to get any answers out of Sesshomaru.

The only thing that came out was a guttural sound that she barely recognized as her own voice. The fever was burning her up, and she was so disoriented she couldn’t tell where her friend’s voice was coming from. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you cleaned up and have that shoulder looked at. Rest. I’ll take over until you wake up. And then I‘m going to beat some answers out of someone.”

“Kaze…” she mumbled incoherently, finally allowing herself to fall back into the deep sleep she needed that would give her body the time it needed to recover from the ordeal….and still her soul for what was to come.

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A/N - Hello to everyone. How ya’ll doing? Okay I hope. Nothing much to say this time other than please review. And I will have the next chapter out soon for your reading pleasure.