InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Things Come Full Circle ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

Inuyasha made it to the lake he had smelled quicker then he thought he would. He attributed it to his rush to get Inukigo cleaned up and bandaged before her wounds got worse.

Inukigo’s breathing was now far from normal, and though he didn’t need to strain to hear it, her heartbeat was off as well.

Without much hesitation, Inuyasha set the first aid kit on the ground, then somehow managed to pull off his shirts without jarring her too much. Those were laid on the shore of the lake as well, his undershirt laid separately from his outer fire-rat kimono as to keep it clean. He figured that he’d need it for Inukigo afterwards.

He stepped into the water with Inukigo still in his arms and frowned.

‘Cold, but it’ll have to do. The acid needs to come out of this wound now. They’ll be cleaned out properly with hot water when Kagome and the others get here.’

It wasn’t until he was waist deep in the water that Inukigo reacted to the cold water against her deeper wounds. As soon as it came into contact with her stomach, she yelled out and began thrashing around in his arms. Inuyasha had no problems holding on to her because she was so weak at the moment, but she was going to hurt herself if he didn’t do something about it.

Shifting her around in his arms a little, Inuyasha was able to reach up and loosen the neck of her kimono enough for him to pull it down so he could latch his mouth onto the back of her neck. Inukigo stilled, but kept whimpering and crying out in pain. He slowly lowered her further so that the wound on her stomach was just below the surface of the water, and when he released her neck she was sobbing almost uncontrollably. Inuyasha nuzzled his cheek against her face and neck, trying to console her as much as he could. He had never seen her in so much pain before, and it worried him.

“Shh…I know it hurts. I’m sorry,” he almost whimpered in his attempt to calm her. It had no effect, because it seemed that Inukigo was beyond the point of hearing him now.

Knowing there was probably only one thing that she would register right now, Inuyasha forced himself to calm down enough to generate a soothing rumbling deep in his chest. It worked somewhat, Inukigo stopped her heavy sobbing, but she was still crying and whining. It also seemed as though she could no longer speak, since Inuyasha realized that she had begun communicating in inu youkai.

::Hurts! Hurts!::

Inuyasha looked at her sadly. He hated to see her in pain, but there was nothing he could do about it. The wound needed to be cleaned, and this was the quickest way to do it. The acid would not only keep the wound from healing, but it would also cause it to keep spreading. That needed to be stopped as quickly as possible. He grimaced as he looked down at the wound. Blood was still flowing steadily, and it was still far too dark. What was left of her kimono top obstructed his view of the wound so he couldn’t accurately tell how large it was. Silently making his apologies, he freed the top from the waist of her hakama, undid the clasps, and pulled it off her as gently as possible before throwing it towards the shore in the general direction of his own clothes.

The thick bindings that had been wrapped around her torso were the next to go. The acid had pretty much destroyed them, so they were useless now anyway. Now that there were no barriers in his way, Inuyasha got a good look at the wound. He inwardly cringed. The injury itself was rather large, stretching about five or six inches across her stomach. In addition to that, the area about one inch all the way around the wound was burned to various degrees.

Inuyasha lifted Inukigo up out of the water slightly to inspect the wound more closely. It had appeared to stop spreading which was a good sign. Using one hand, he gently brushed his fingers over one of the burned areas of her abdomen. Apparently, it wasn’t gentle enough. Inukigo howled. Flattening his ears against his head, he quickly grabbed onto the back of her neck again, effectively quieting her and stilling her before she could hurt herself further. He lowered her back down into the water again, listening to her whimper ‘it hurts’ over and over again.

::I know. Over soon.:: he barked back, hoping that she would be coherent enough to understand.

She was, and managed to nod her head slightly and settle down. Inuyasha sighed, now that she was quiet he listened again for any changes in her body. Her breath was coming in rasps, but her heartbeat seemed to be the same. Putting a hand to her forehead, he found that her temperature had stopped rising, probably due to the cold water. Inuyasha’s ears twitched as he heard the others getting closer. He checked over the whip marks on her back, and though they were raw and causing her pain they would heal rather quickly. Deciding that there wasn’t anything else to be done in the water, he walked back towards the shore. Laying Inukigo down on a soft patch of grass, Inuyasha went back for the first aid kit and his under shirt, then quickly returned and draped the shirt over Inukigo’s chest, leaving her wound exposed.

He sat down beside her, eyeing the injury critically. He wasn’t happy to find that it was still bleeding almost black blood, though it wasn’t flowing as rapidly as it had been earlier. He reached for the first aid kit, and pulled out a clean cloth to sop up the blood that was collecting in the wound. His hand hovered over Inukigo’s stomach uncertainly. He had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen when he put the cloth directly on the wound, judging from what her reaction had been earlier when he had just touched the edge. He wasn’t sure if he should attempt to do this on his own.

“Inukigo,” he said, looking up at his sister, “Can you hear me?”

It took a few moments, but Inukigo nodded slightly, showing that she had managed to calm down enough to understand him.

“Okay, I’m going to clean up the blood in your wound now. Try to stay as still as you can so you don’t hurt yourself, alright?”

Inukigo nodded again, and slowly lifted a hand to lay on his knee, trying to keep some contact with him. Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha prepared himself and carefully brought the cloth to Inukigo’s stomach. She cried out in pain, and Inuyasha flinched when he felt her claws bite into his leg, but she didn’t move.

“That’s a good girl, just hold on a little bit longer,” he said, trying to clean up the wound as quickly and gently as possible.

When he pulled away the blood-soaked cloth, he found that the blood flow had slowed even further, and sat back to give Inukigo a chance to recover.

“Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha looked over to see Kirara flying over the treetops, with everyone on her back. She landed, and Kagome was the first one off her back and running towards him.

“How is she?” she asked, coming to kneel beside him.

“Not too good,” he replied, “But for the moment she isn’t getting any worse,” he then looked over to Sango and Miroku, “Can someone go get some wood? We need a fire for boiling water.”

“I’ll go,” Miroku offered.

“Go with him Kirara,” Sango said, “It’ll be faster.”

Miroku nodded, and both he and Kirara went off into the forest again.

“Is she still awake?” Sango asked, coming over to join them as well.

“I’m…awake,” Inukigo replied hoarsely, though her eyes were still closed.

Inuyasha was surprised that she had been able to speak.

‘She must have adjusted to the pain.’

Kagome laid a hand on Inukigo’s forehead, then got up and took a cloth from the first aid kit over to the lake and dipped it in the water. When she came back she knelt down and laid the cloth over Inukigo’s forehead. Inukigo grunted and sighed.

“Thank you.”

Kagome smiled.

“Don’t mention it, Inukigo-chan.”

Inukigo winced and sniffed.

“Where’s Shippou?” she asked.

A sad look came across Kagome’s face.

“He’s really upset, I don’t think he would be able to handle seeing you right now. He’s behind that rock over there,” Kagome said, pointing to the rock she was talking about.

“Where?” Inukigo asked, turning her head in Kagome’s direction then opening her eyes to see where Kagome was indicating.

The moment they were open, Inukigo’s eyes widened and her breath cut off in her throat.

“Inukigo?” Inuyasha asked, hearing the distressed sound that she made.

“Inuyasha…” she answered, sounding slightly scared, “I, I can’t see.”

“What?” Inuyasha said in shock.

He leaned over Inukigo’s head and took her face in his hands, being careful of the cuts there. She seemed to stare right through him. Inuyasha stared hard into her eyes, and saw what looked like a cloudy film covering them. He waved one hand slowly back and forth in front of her face, but her eyes kept staring straight ahead.

“Damn it,” he swore, releasing her face, “Sesshoumaru’s poison.”

‘At least her hearing and sense of smell don’t seem to be affected.’

“Inuyasha…” she almost whined.

“It’s okay,” he replied, “Your eyes will heal once the poison is out of your system. Stay calm, okay?”

Inukigo nodded, though she still looked distraught from her current predicament. Kagome went to her bag and got her sleeping bag, as well as a spare blanket. By the time Inukigo had been situated on top of the sleeping bag, Miroku and Kirara had come back with firewood. They had the fire going and water over it to boil very quickly.

They were just about to tend to Inukigo’s injuries when Kagome brought Inuyasha’s head down so she could whisper in his ear.

“I’m worried about Shippou-chan. Why don’t you and Miroku-sama go talk to him? Sango-chan and I can take care of Inukigo-chan.”

Inuyasha looked like he was going to protest, but Kagome cut him off.

“I’ll call you if we need your help, okay?”

Inuyasha relented, and motioned for Miroku to follow him to where Shippou had been hiding since they arrived. As the two of them came upon the rock, they could hear the occasional sniffles, and the scent of Shippou’s tears became even stronger to Inuyasha. That’s when something hit him.

‘Inukigo had to ask where Shippou was when he wasn’t right next to her. I could smell him, but it didn’t seem like she could. I could also hear him crying. She didn’t show that she had heard him. Maybe her hearing and sense of smell have been affected by Sesshoumaru’s poison.’

Inuyasha looked down at the kit before him. Shippou was a mess. It was easy to tell that he was beyond upset.

‘Poor kid. He really does care about her a lot.’

Miroku made the first move when Shippou showed no signs of stirring. He knelt down so he would be closer to Shippou’s level before speaking.

“Shippou…”

The young youkai looked up at his companions that were standing before him, but when he spoke it was not to the one who had addressed him.

“Inuyasha…?”

Surprised that Shippou has chosen to speak to him, Inuyasha just grunted to signal that he was listening.

“Inuyasha…is Inukigo going to die?”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened, before he growled and fisted his hands. He dropped to a crouch in front of Shippou, looking the kit straight in the eye.

“Hell no! Not as long as I have something to say about it!”

His confidence seemed comforting, and Shippou nodded.

“Is she going to be okay?”

Inuyasha’s expression softened, and he sighed.

“Eventually. It’ll probably be a while though.”

Shippou lowered his head and nodded again. The information seemed to have calmed him, and he had stopped crying. Inwardly, Inuyasha was berating himself for lying.

‘It’s better that I don’t tell him, that I don’t know if Inukigo is going to be okay. He won’t be so upset if he believes that she’s going to be alright.’

Taking a breath, Inuyasha set a frown on his face.

“Okay runt, no crying in front of her, got it?”

Shippou looked up at him in confusion, and he answered the question in the child’s eyes.

“She’s already worried about you. If she senses that you’re upset over her, she’ll be even more worried. Her being upset right now is a bad thing, she needs to be as calm as possible. Understand?”

Shippou looked at him for a moment before nodding with determination.

“Wakata.”

Inuyasha gave a nod as well.

“Good.”

He then surprised both Miroku and Shippou by picking the kit up, and holding him against his chest with one arm. Shippou looked up at him, but Inuyasha didn’t look at the him directly, secretly embarrassed by his actions.

“You have to stay near her,” Inuyasha explained, “Her senses are being affected by Sesshoumaru’s poison, so she can’t tell where you are. Being close will keep her from worrying.”

Shippou didn’t comment, and let Inuyasha carry him back to where Kagome and Sango were cleaning and bandaging Inukigo. Reaching the rest of the group Inuyasha knelt down and set Shippou down beside him, then was followed by Miroku. Kagome and Sango had finished patching Inukigo up as best they could, and Inuyasha wasn’t surprised to see that she was no longer conscious. She didn’t seem to be resting very comfortably, however, because her breathing was still heavily laboured and her eyes were scrunched up as if she were in pain.

“We did what we could,” Kagome said, drawing his attention, “But I don’t have anything to fight off Sesshoumaru’s poison. Will her body be able to get rid of it on its own?”

Inuyasha’s brows furrowed thoughtfully.

“I don’t know. Neither of us has ever been hit with so much poison before.”

“We should get her back to Kaede as quickly as possible,” Sango pointed out.

Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

“Do you think that she’ll have something strong enough to get rid of Sesshoumaru’s poison?”

Everyone stopped for a moment to consider this.

“It may be safe to say that she does not,” Miroku said, “I doubt she would have ever needed something that strong before.”

All were silent once again.

“Jinenji would have something,” Kagome said thoughtfully, “But that’s in the opposite direction, and we need to get her back to the village. It’s not a good idea to be moving around with her so much.”

“I could fly to Jinenji’s garden on Kirara,” Sango offered, “It won’t take as long that way, you can go ahead to the village and I’ll meet up with you there.”

“I’ll go with Sango,” Miroku said, “I would only slow Inuyasha down if he tries to get back to the village as quickly as possible. Is that alright with you, Sango?”

The taijya nodded, agreeing with him. Kagome looked to Inuyasha.

“Do you think you’ll be able to run all the way back to Kaede’s carrying the both of us? I can go with Sango and Miroku.”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“It won’t be a problem. I’ll have to go a little slower than I normally would anyway, so I’ll be able to manage it,” he looked down at Shippou, “Who do you want to go with runt?”

Shippou looked down at Inukigo, then up at Inuyasha.

“Is it okay if I go with you?”

Inuyasha shrugged.

“If you want.”

Shippou nodded and turned his attention back to the unconscious half demon lying in front of him.

Sango stood up and Miroku followed suit.

“We should get going now, and travel as far as we can before nightfall. We’ll meet up with you back at Kaede’s.”

Kagome nodded.

“Okay. Be careful, Sango-chan, Miroku-sama.”

Both nodded in acknowledgement, then climbed onto Kirara after she transformed and flew off in the direction of Jinenji’s garden. Kagome watched them until they were out of sight, then turned to Inuyasha again.

“Should we get moving and cover some ground before it gets dark?”

Inuyasha looked like he was considering it for a moment, but looked at his sister and shook his head.

“No, we’ll wait until morning. It would be better to let Inukigo recover as much as possible before we move her again.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Kagome agreed, “We should probably set up camp somewhere else though. It might not be safe staying right next to a lake while we’re trying to take care of Inukigo.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll stay here for a while longer though,” Inuyasha replied.

He also wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of a thirsty demon spotting Inukigo and deciding that she would make an easy meal.

To pass the time, Kagome went about washing the blood from Inuyasha and Inukigo’s clothes in the lake, with the help of Shippou, while Inuyasha himself remained on guard for any demons in the area that might have come looking for a drink, or were attracted by the scent of Inukigo’s blood. Luckily, none in the mood for a snack, or a fight, happened by.

Shortly before nightfall, Inuyasha decided it was time to move, and went about putting out the small fire that had been lit while Kagome got all their things together. When they were ready to leave, Inuyasha carefully wrapped the blanket around the still unconscious Inukigo and gently lifted her into his arms, leaving the sleeping bag for Kagome to carry. They then walked into the forest in search of a suitable area to rest for the night. It didn’t take long for Inuyasha to find what he was searching for, and after a quick check to make sure there were no demons nearby, he laid Inukigo down and went to collect some wood for a fire.

Kagome went about tending to Inukigo while Shippou watched, wiping the sweat away from the hanyou’s forehead. Checking her temperature, Kagome found that while Inukigo still had a very high fever that was causing a great deal of discomfort, it had levelled off for the time being. Kagome could only hope that it wouldn’t go any higher, it was already dangerous as it was.

Kagome turned as she heard Inuyasha drop the armload of wood on the ground then dug into her pack and offered him the package of matches to get the fire going. He accepted them with a nod of his head, and quickly had a modest fire started. Once that was finished he stood up and brushed his hands off in his pants, then walked over and crouched down beside Kagome, Inukigo and Shippou.

“Any change?”

“Not much,” Kagome answered, “She hasn’t woken up at all, but her temperature stopped rising. It’s really way too high though.”

Inuyasha nodded.

“There aren’t any demons around here, so I’m going to go find something to eat and get some water. I’ll be back shortly,” he said, kissing her lightly.

Kagome kissed him back then nodded when they broke apart.

“Okay, be careful.”

Inuyasha nodded and stood, then collected the large cooking pot from Kagome’s bag, as well as a few empty plastic bottles for water.

Kagome and Shippou sat quietly for some time, watching Inukigo as she slept, and occasionally Kagome would reach over and wipe away the sweat collecting on Inukigo’s brow.

“Kagome,” Shippou asked after a long period of silence, “Is Inukigo…really going to be okay? Inuyasha said that she would be, but what if Sango and Miroku don’t find an herb strong enough to get rid of Sesshoumaru’s poison, or what if they don’t get back with it in time? Will she really be okay then?”

Kagome smiled at Shippou reassuringly.

“It’s better not to think about things like that Shippou-chan. We have to believe in Sango-chan and Miroku-sama, and believe that Inukigo will be alright in the end. It’s the only thing we can do right now, along with helping Inukigo ourselves, okay?”

Shippou nodded to show that he understood, and the two drifted back into silence. A short time later, Inuyasha returned with the pot full of water, as well as two rabbits and a ground bird, already prepared for cooking. He laid everything down near the fire, then produced a handful of water bottles from the inside of his haori.

“Any problems while I was gone?”

“No, not a thing,” Kagome replied, shaking her head. She moved over to where Inuyasha was getting ready to cook their meal, “You go ahead and take a turn watching Inukigo-chan. I’ll take care of this, okay?”

Inuyasha smiled at her gratefully and nodded before taking up Kagome’s previous position. He looked down at his restlessly sleeping sister, taking in her irregular breathing and heartbeat as well as the grimace of pain that still marred her face. Inuyasha sighed. It was shaping up to be one long night.

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Inukigo stood unmoving just outside of a small, slightly rundown hut. Staring at the small structure, she couldn’t help but contemplate how it looked both welcoming and foreboding at the same time.

She knew this place, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why or from where.

The very air around her was thick with something dangerous, that Inukigo couldn’t quite place, but behind her she could feel an intense heat, as though there was a raging fire at her back, and she could hear the fading screams of dieing villagers.

She then heard the distinct beat of horses’ hooves pounding against the hard packed earth of the path leading to the hut, as well as the laughs of men, drawing ever closer.

Then suddenly, her perspective changed, and she was now inside the hut, standing beside the door and watching the events that played out within. A beautiful woman dressed in a plain kimono, with long, straight hair as black as pitch, was huddled over her two children; a boy and a girl, both of which had fair hair and small canine ears perched upon their heads.

‘I know this…’ Inukigo thought as she stood there, unable to move.

“Hahaue,” she heard the little girl whimper, “What’s happening?”

“Do not worry,” she heard the woman say softly, a false smile on her face meant to comfort her children, “Everything will be fine.”

“But Hahaue,” the little boy spoke up, while trying to hide the waver in his voice, “I can smell smoke, and I hear the villagers screaming,” he paused for a moment, his ears twitching, “And there are horses coming this way, they’re almost here.”

The woman’s eyes widened slightly.

“They’re coming here?” she said, mostly to herself.

She sat there for a few moments, then a fierce look of determination that one would only see on a mother defending her children came to her face and she stood, moving quickly to the back of the hut. As her children and Inukigo watched, she moved about a few large jars, then pulled up the floorboards, revealing a hidden cellar beneath the hut. As she called her children to her side, Inukigo’s eyes widened as she finally recognized the scene.

‘No! Not this! I don’t want to see this again!’

“Now listen carefully,” she heard the woman whisper, “I need the both of you to hide here. Be silent, and do not come out until the danger has passed, no matter what. Do you understand?”

The children looked like they were about to protest, but the look on the woman’s face stopped them.

“No arguing now. Do as I say, quickly!”

Both children reluctantly crawled down into the cellar, which was just big enough for the two of them, and cast frightened glances up at their mother, who smiled down at them warmly, but sadly.

“Hahaue?” the little boy questioned, the fear now very evident in his voice.

“Now remember,” she admonished, “Make not a sound, and do not come out until it is safe,” her eyes then grew watery with unshed tears, “Never forget, Inuyasha, Inukigo, that I love you both with all my heart. Please, be safe, and take care of each other,” a few tears slipped down her cheeks as she whispered her final words to them, “Goodbye, my little ones, I’m so sorry.”

Without hesitation, she replaced the floorboards, despite her children’s stricken faces, and placed the large clay pots back over the hidden cellar, knowing that her children would be strong enough to escape afterwards. Just as she was finishing, and she reached up to wipe the tears from her face, the horses stopped outside, and the voices of men could be heard just before they broke into the small hut.

Inukigo remained standing in her spot, unable to move, and unable to close her eyes. The scene before her split into two, and she could now see the young forms of both herself and Inuyasha, huddled together in the cellar as they heard what she saw; her mother being beaten, raped, then slaughtered by the handful of leering bandits who had happened to discover their hut.

She remembered it all. She’d seen it too many times to count. The images were the most horrible and terrifying that her mind could have possibly come up with, and now they tortured her.

‘No! No! No!’ she chanted over and over again in her mind, still unable to do anything.

‘Stop it! Stop it! Stop hurting my mother!’

She felt tears trailing down her face, but she could still do nothing but stare at the scene before her, desperately wanting to wake up from her nightmare.

‘NO!’

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“Kuso!” Inuyasha swore as he grasped Inukigo’s shoulders, trying to keep the sleeping hanyou from thrashing around and hurting herself.

It was well into the night, and he had stayed awake, keeping watch over Inukigo, Kagome and Shippou. He had begun to think that it would be an uneventful night, but it proved too good to be true, when a few minutes before, Inukigo had started whimpering in her sleep.

Inuyasha berated himself for not reacting sooner. He should have realized what was about to happen when he heard her first sounds of distress, but he hadn’t, and now it was turning out to be worse than any nightmare she had ever had in the past. She usually woke up before this point, but this time it seemed as though she was unable to escape the nightmare.

“No…Stop…Don’t hurt…mother…” he heard her mumble out in her sleep. She had never talked during one of her nightmares before, and although he knew what she dreamt of, it tore at him to hear her crying out.

He was surprised when he saw the tears streaming steadily down her face. She had never cried during or after one of her nightmares in the past. He was now growing very worried, and though he didn’t want to, it seemed as though the only option was to wake her up.

“NO!!”

Inuyasha cursed inwardly as her struggles renewed at the scream, and tried for all he was worth to hold her down without hurting her.

“Inuyasha?” he heard Kagome’s worried voice growing closer, “What’s wrong?”

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see Kagome and Shippou, who had both been undoubtedly awaken by Inukigo’s scream, coming towards him with concerned looks on their faces.

“Inukigo’s having one of her nightmares,” Inuyasha explained quickly before turning his attention back to his sister.

Kagome thought about it for a moment, then a cry of ‘mother’ from Inukigo made it clear.

“She’s having one of her nightmares of when your mother died?” she asked, worry clear in her voice.

Shippou sat there, slightly confused because this was the first he had heard of these nightmares. He didn’t ask about them though, thinking that it definitely wasn’t the time to bring it up.

“I have to try to wake her up,” Inuyasha explained, “It’s never been this bad before, and she’s going to hurt herself if this keeps up.”

Kagome nodded, but inwardly she was curious. She didn’t know how Inuyasha’s mother had died, but from Inukigo’s unconscious ramblings, she could guess that her death had been anything but natural. She put her curiosity aside, intent on helping her future mate and sister-in-law.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Inuyasha looked over his sister and thought for a moment.

“Can you get me some water and a cloth for her face? If it comes to it, I’ll dump the water over her head to wake her up.”

Kagome nodded and went to get what he asked for, and while she was gone Inuyasha managed to manoeuvre the slightly struggling Inukigo so that she was reclined against his chest. He made the soothing growl deep in his chest, and was surprised when for the first time ever, it had no effect on her. Giving up on that idea, he resorted to shaking her gently and calling her name.

“Inukigo, wake up. C’mon, wake up, Inukigo.”

Either he wasn’t shaking her hard enough, or she was really too deep into sleep that she wasn’t registering it. Inuyasha tried shaking her a little harder, but kept from jarring her too forcefully for fear of hurting her.

Kagome returned with the cloth and a blow of water, then went about wiping the sweat and tears from the female hanyou’s face. That too seemed to have little or no effect on her condition.

Inuyasha’s worry finally got the better of him, and he had had enough. Momentarily forgetting about hurting Inukigo slightly, he shook her roughly, yelling her name.

“Inukigo!”

Inukigo came awake with a start…or at least she thought she was awake. She felt as though she were in a vacuum, or a void. She could see nothing but darkness, and wasn’t sure whether or not her eyes were open. She knew she was no longer dreaming, because the scenes before her had abruptly stopped, but now where was she? Not only could she not see, but there was also no sound or smell to this place. However, she could feel that she was partially sitting up, and there was a warm, breathing body behind her, so that must mean that she was awake. She then remembered that she had been rendered blind by Sesshoumaru’s poison, so that explained the darkness, but then what was wrong with her hearing and sense of smell?

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou all remained motionless when Inukigo jerked in Inuyasha’s arms. They were not sure that she was awake, but both Inuyasha and Shippou confirmed that her breathing and heartbeat had picked up slightly, signalling her to be very much awake. But there was something very wrong going on. Inukigo’s eyes came open, still unseeing, and after a few moments of being perfectly still, Inuyasha could smell the distinct smell of fear and anxiety flowing from her. A look to Shippou confirmed that he smelled it as well and was just as confused as he was.

“Ooi, Inukigo, what are you afraid of?”

The three became even more confused when Inukigo gave no reply, just sat there very quietly.

“Inukigo?” Inuyasha asked again. Again, he received no response.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at Kagome.

“I-I don’t know,” Kagome said, watching Inukigo worriedly. Then a look of conviction crossed her face and she reached over and snapped her fingers very close to Inukigo’s ear. Inuyasha’s ears twitched towards the sound, but Inukigo’s remained motionless. Kagome lowered her hand again.

“Earlier, you said that her hearing and sense of smell were dulled, right?” she asked, looking up at Inuyasha.

“Yeah,” he answered with a nod, “Why?”

“I think that maybe they’re gone completely now, like her eyesight,” Kagome explained with a frown.

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. No wonder Inukigo was frightened. To a dog demon, hearing and smell where the most important of the senses. To have just one or the other would have been fine, but to have neither while her eyesight was impaired as well would be far worse then what either of them dealt with while they were human. Inukigo was probably completely cut off and had no idea where she was or who she was with.

Being careful to not open any of her wounds, Inuyasha lifted her up more fully against his chest and began to emit a deep, soothing rumbling once again. He sighed with relief when this time she responded immediately and leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. All the tenseness that had in her body previously left as though it had never been there in the first place, and a contented noise from the back of her throat told him that she had gotten the message and was now as relaxed as she could be, given that the majority of her senses were impaired.

Kagome and Shippou each sighed with relief as well.

“Well, she seems as though she’s more comfortable now,” Kagome commented, then rested her hand against Inukigo’s forehead. Inukigo started from the unexpected touch, but relaxed again after a moment, “Her fever is still very high though. It probably won’t break until she’s given something for the poison.”

Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

“There haven’t been any other changes in her body since you fell asleep, but she’s still in pain. I can smell it from her. The smell of the poison is still very strong on her as well, but it seems like her body is fighting it. There’s not much difference, but the scent is a little weaker then it was earlier.”

“So…she’s really going to be okay then?” Shippou asked quietly.

Inuyasha sent him a tolerating look.

“I told you that she’d be alright from the start, didn’t I? It’ll be better if she has the herbs to help her along, but she’ll be fine eventually anyway.”

“That’s right, Shippou-chan,” Kagome added with a smile, “Inukigo-chan will be fine on her own, we just have to help her out and keep her comfortable while her body fights off the poison.”

Shippou accepted their reasoning, and was calmed greatly. Seeing the change in body language, Kagome smiled at him warmly once again.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep Shippou-chan? It’ll be morning soon, and we’ll be heading to Kaede-bachan’s village early.”

Shippou looked hesitant for a moment, but complied and yawned widely as he made his way back to where he and Kagome had been sleeping. He had barely touched the blanket before he was once again fast asleep, showing just how tired the young kit had been.

Kagome remained by Inuyasha’s side, and dipped the cloth she was holding in the small bowl of water before wringing it out and carefully wiping Inukigo’s face. The hanyou grunted as the cool cloth passed over her heated skin, then sighed and smiled gratefully to her caretaker. Exhausted from her nightmare, and the shock of her waking, Inukigo slowly drifted off into a much more restful sleep.

“She’s sleeping again,” Inuyasha relayed when he sensed that she was fully unconscious.

Kagome nodded, putting down the bowl and cloth. She fidgeted with her pajama top for a moment, before speaking hesitantly.

“Inuyasha, I’m not sure if this is really a good time to be asking this, but, what happened to your mother?”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened as he looked at her, then dropped down to look at his sister in his arms.

“She…she was killed, by bandits that attacked our hut.”

Kagome gasped, and remembering the words that Inukigo had spoken during her nightmare her next question left her in a whisper.

“D-did you see it happen?”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No, we didn’t see it. But we heard it. Inukigo explained to me that in her nightmares, her mind has created pictures to go with the sounds we heard,” he paused for a moment, then seemed to have trouble speaking, “Kagome, can we not talk about this right now?”

Kagome realized that he wasn’t comfortable talking about his mother’s death and let the subject drop right there.

“Are you going to keep her in your arms like that?” she asked.

Inuyasha sighed, grateful that she had let him be.

“Yeah,” Inuyasha replied, “She’ll probably rest easier if she can sense me so near, and I’ll be able to tell if she’s upset or anything. You should go back to sleep too, we’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Kagome confirmed, then leaned up and kissed him lightly. Inuyasha returned it, and she pulled back, smiling, “You make sure to get some rest too. Don’t forget, you’ll be the one doing all the work tomorrow.”

“Keh!” he huffed, though there was no heat behind it, “I’ll be fine. I don’t need as much sleep as a human.”

“Inuyasha…” Kagome said in a warning tone, though the half smile on her face showed that she had caught on to his bantering.

Inuyasha grinned back at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get some rest. Promise.”

Kagome smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek. He seemed a little disappointed, but Kagome just giggled at him.

“Goodnight, Inuyasha,” she said as she leaned back, then quickly pecked him on the lips before he could respond, “Aishiteru.”

Inuyasha smiled as she made her way back to bed.

“Goodnight, Kagome.”

Shortly thereafter, all members of the small group were fast asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~

Early the next morning, the small group was well on their way towards the village.

They made good time, stopping only when it was absolutely necessary, and made it to the village just before the sun set. It was perfect timing too it seemed, because no sooner had they reached the village and entered Kaede’s hut had Inuyasha’s demon blood waned and he became human. Apparently, in all the commotion, they had all forgotten that it was the night of the new moon. Needless to say, Inuyasha was not a happy camper.

Kaede had immediately tended to Inukigo, but unfortunately there was little she could do outside of what had already been done.

While she did have some herbs that were useful against poisons, she had none strong enough to fight off Sesshoumaru’s poison. She did use the strongest that she had however, making it into a poultice and applying it to Inukigo’s wound. While it wouldn’t be able to draw out the poison completely, it would help her body along while they waited for Miroku and Sango, and the herbs from Jinenji’s garden.

There was, however, nothing to be done for the pain Inukigo suffered from her injury and the poison coursing through her body. The wound was healing very slowly, and as a result her stomach couldn’t handle anything they gave her. They discovered this when they had her drink a pain-killer tea that Keade had made for her. They attempted it twice, and both times were met with the same result - Inukigo emptying her stomach contents wherever they happened to aim her. So, despite the uneasiness caused by seeing her in pain, there was nothing they could do but make her as comfortable as possible as she dealt with it.

Around noon the next day, Miroku and Sango arrived, along with a week’s supply of very potent herbs that Jinenji guaranteed would be able to stand up to the poison of a youkai of Sesshoumaru’s calibre. Kaede quickly readied the new herbs and applied them, and within a few hours, they had begun to take effect.

It was the next morning when things really started to look up. Much to everyone’s relief, especially Inukigo’s, her senses began to return. They were still very muddled at first, causing her to be extremely disoriented, but they improved bit by bit and when evening came her eyesight had cleared considerably, and her senses of smell and hearing were only slightly dulled. By the next morning, they were completely back to normal.

It was a good thing too, for later they had an unexpected - though he should have been expected - visitor.

It was midmorning, and the only people currently occupying Kaede’s hut was the miko herself, and the hanyou siblings. Kagome was currently in her own time, and while Inuyasha had spent the night with her (which had taken some coaxing on Inukigo’s part, because he seemed reluctant to leave while she was still injured), he had returned a few hours earlier after she had left for school. Miroku and Sango were out milling about the village, and Shippou had left the hut at sometime as well. Inuyasha found this surprising, because the kit had been stuck to Inukigo like glue as soon as she had been declared recovered enough for him to do so.

With most of the group members absent, the hut was peacefully quiet.

Kaede was in the far corner of the hut, grinding herbs that would be made into a poultice to apply to Inukigo’s wounds when they would change her bandages in a few hours. Inuyasha was sitting beside the door with his back to the wall, his eyes closed and his ears trained to all sounds both inside and outside the hut. Inukigo was blissfully unaware of all the going-ons around her, as she was currently sleeping peacefully near the wall farthest from the door.

Inuyasha was close to dozing off when an unmistakable smell found it’s way to his nose. In an instant he was fully awake and standing.

“Dammit,” he cursed to himself.

“Inuyasha?” Kaede asked from the corner of the hut.

“That damn wolf is coming,” he replied without turning around. He lifted the covering of the door and prepared to step out, “I’m gonna go stop him before he comes barging in here.”

Inuyasha was barely outside the hut when Kouga’s whirlwind came into view. It was only seconds later that it reached him and dissipated, revealing a frantic looking wolf demon.

“Where is she?”

Inuyasha raised one eyebrow in confusion.

“Where’s who?”

Kouga growled in frustration.

“Your sister, Inukuro! Where is she?”

“She’s in the hut. Wha-whoa, wait a second!” he called out, stopping Kouga as he made to pass him and go straight into the hut, “What’s your problem?”

Kouga growled again, clearly not happy at being kept from where he wanted to be.

“I’ll tell you what my problem is! My problem, is that I went to check on my pack a few days ago, and when I caught up with your trail again yesterday, I found a field that was covered with Inukigo’s blood. Now you won’t let me see if she’s alright!”

“Stop being so loud, dumbass,” Inuyasha said, a frown marring his face, “Inukigo’s fine. She’s sleeping right now, that’s why I didn’t want you barging in there and waking her up.”

Kouga calmed down slightly at Inuyasha’s words, and decided that it would be wise to stay outside for now.

“What happened?”

Inuyasha’s ears flattened against his head, and he looked away slightly.

“We…ran into our brother, Sesshoumaru,” Kouga nodded, remembering who the youkai was, “We don’t get along, and he hates Inukigo more then he does me. She got in a fight with him…he beat her up pretty badly, and poisoned her too. She’s doing okay now though.”

Kouga’s eyes widened as he heard what had happened to the woman he was courting. They quickly narrowed in a glare and his mouth twisted into a snarl.

“Why weren’t you there?”

Inuyasha flinched, which didn’t go unnoticed by Kouga.

“Why the hell weren’t you there to keep her from getting hurt so badly?!”

Inuyasha didn’t look Kouga in the eye.

“I was there,” he replied in monotone.

Kouga began to growl deeply and threateningly.

“What! You were there, and you let her get hurt?! What the hell were you thinking?!”

Inuyasha still didn’t look up and replied in the same tone of voice.

“I had my reasons.”

Enraged, Kouga grabbed Inuyasha by the front of his robes and pulled him close to his face. Inuyasha barely reacted.

“What reasons could you possibly have that would justify ignoring your sister’s safety?!”

“That is enough.”

Both Kouga and Inuyasha turned their heads to regard Kaede, who was standing in the doorway of her hut, looking very unimpressed.

“Young man,” she spoke evenly, addressing Kouga, “While I am aware that you are concerned for the well-being of the young woman in my home, I remind you that she is recovering from grave injuries and requires rest. I am the healer of this village, and I warn you that I shall not allow you to disturb my patient. As it is, you have already woken her from her sleep. She wishes to see you, but be forewarned - if I have to speak to you once more about your inappropriate behaviour, you shall be asked, if not forced, to leave immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

Kouga nodded, keeping his eyes on the commanding old woman standing in the doorway.

“Very well,” Kaede replied, “Now release Inuyasha, and I shall allow you to enter.”

Kouga did as he was told, promptly releasing the hold he had on Inuyasha’s robes, and walked towards the doorway of the hut. Kaede moved aside to allow him to pass, and he lifted the door covering out of his way before entering. Inuyasha had followed behind him and stopped beside Kaede, who was smiling at him knowingly.

“You have grown much, Inuyasha.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Kaede-baba?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

“I had been expecting you to fight back. I was surprised to see that you held your temper.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha snorted, lifting his nose to the air, “I got more brains then that scrawny wolf. I didn’t want to wake Inukigo up, not that it matters since he did anyway.”

Inuyasha neglected to mention that the main reason had been that Kouga had struck a nerve with his accusations.

Inside the hut, Kouga had quickly made his way over to a smiling Inukigo, who was sitting with her back to the wall. He wasted no time in kneeling on the floor beside her and grasping her hands in his. Inukigo was surprised by his actions, but didn’t get the chance to question him about it.

“Inukigo, are you okay?”

Inukigo’s eyes widened slightly at his frantic tone.

“Yeah, mostly,” she replied carefully, “All of the wounds have healed except for the worst one, and there’s still a little poison in my body, but other than that I’m fine.”

“Thank the gods,” Kouga breathed, stress evident in his voice.

Before Inukigo could react Kouga had carefully crushed her against his chest in a strong hug. He hands pressed against his chest between them, and her chin rested against her shoulder. A light flush spread across her face, which then deepened considerably when she saw that Inuyasha and Kaede were once again standing inside the hut and watching them. Kaede was smiling at her knowingly, but Inuyasha didn’t look very happy, though he didn’t say anything.

“I was so worried,” she heard Kouga whisper.

“Eh?” Inukigo questioned, turning her head slightly towards him.

Kouga didn’t move or release her as he explained.

“When I found that field yesterday, there was so much blood all over the place…and all of it was yours. I didn’t know if you were dead or alive, I was so worried.”

“Kouga…” Inukigo whispered, then snuggled up against him more fully, “I’m sorry that you worried about me so much…It’s okay now, I’m alright.”

Kouga nodded against her head and kept his arms around her.

“Kouga,” Inukigo spoke up, “I heard you outside. Please, don’t blame Inuyasha for this.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Kouga growled, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Inuyasha, who was leaning against the wall beside the door impassively, “He was there and he just let you get hurt. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“You don’t understand,” Inukigo sighed, pulling back from him slightly, “The reason that Inuyasha didn’t stop the fight between me and Sesshoumaru, was because I told him not to.”

“What?” Kouga gasped, grabbing her shoulders, “You wanted to fight Sesshoumaru on your own? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I had my reasons,” Inukigo replied, looking away from him.

“They had better be fucking good reasons,” Kouga growled.

Inukigo looked up and glared at him.

“Don’t be so overbearing,” she almost growled, “I am not your intended, nor am I your mate, so you have no right.”

That knocked Kouga down a few pegs, and he released Inukigo completely as he moved away from her. Inukigo felt slightly guilty for being so harsh with him, but he was really going too far.

“Kouga, I’m sorry, but you have to understand. My reasons are personal, and I’m not ready to share them with you. Someday, perhaps, but not now.”

Kouga nodded in understanding, but was still put out.

Inukigo smiled warmly.

“Arigatou, Kouga, for being concerned about me.”

Kouga looked up and smiled as well when he saw the reassuring look on her face. Inukigo tried to hide a yawn behind her hand, but Kouga saw it immediately. Ignoring Inukigo’s slight protests he managed to get her to lie down again and pulled the blanket up to cover her.

“Get some rest. I’m sorry I disturbed you earlier.”

Inukigo smiled at him again, and despite her attempts to stay awake she was asleep again within moments. Kouga remained by her side, watching her as he slept.

Inuyasha remained at his post by the door of the hut, keeping a close eye on Kouga and Inukigo. He hadn’t liked how familiar Kouga was acting with his sister, but she handled him well enough on her own, and though he wasn’t very comfortable being in such close quarters with the wolf demon, he allowed him to stay. Inuyasha knew that Inukigo was happy to see Kouga, and he could understand the other male’s concern. If he had come across the field the way Kouga had, he would have been alarmed as well. So he left the two alone, and went about dwelling on other things to occupy his mind.

The first and foremost thought was of Sesshoumaru. He had said that he would be returning in one week, but hadn’t given a reason as to why. This had Inuyasha nervous. That gave them about four days before the inu-youkai appeared, and he had no idea what would happen then. He could only hope that Inukigo would be fully recovered by that time, so she would be able to defend herself if Sesshoumaru decided to attack her again.

Though this time it would be different, Inuyasha vowed to himself as he glanced at Inukigo and Kouga from the corner of his eye. Never again, would he allow Sesshoumaru to hurt Inukigo they way that he had in the past. The next time, he would protect her, no matter what.

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

Ah, I managed to put this one out pretty quickly (for me anyway). The next chapter is about half finished, I’ll have it out as soon as possible. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, and here are the responses!

-- MM . ORG --

A Joy Faery - Thanks so much, I really appreciate that. It’s great to know that I’m developing the characters well. Sometimes I worry that people will think I’m going too far out of character, so it’s good to hear.

SilverShadowKitsune - Well, as you can see, she didn’t die! Yea!

Sesshoumarus_girl - Thanks! Hope that you didn’t go too crazy while waiting for this one, lol.

ninja-of-the-night - haha, funnnnny…..well, as you can see, Kouga-kun’s back in the plot line! (He’ll be here for the next chapter too, lol).

-- FF . NET --

Patriot1776 - Did I really make you hate Sesshoumaru that much? Uh, well, just so there’s no confusion, I really like Sesshy, so he won’t be a real bad guy. And yeah, Inukigo acted really stupid (very impulsive, ne?). I wouldn’t say that she’s accident prone, per say…more like injury prone, lol. Neat idea about the end of Naraku, I’ll keep it in mind.

Skitzo - Yeah, I know I need to give Inukigo a break with the injuries. I’ll lay off her for awhile. About Kikyou…well…for those who don’t know, I don’t really like her. So basically, I’ll have her involved as little as possible. She’ll come in and make an impact sometime near the end (I just don’t want to write much involving her).

Pyrinsomniac - Aww…thank you! You had so many nice things to say! XD Well, as you can see, I had Kouga find out rather quickly (I just couldn’t resist having him show up, lol). I’m sorry it was such a mean cliffhanger, did I get this one out soon enough for those cookies? lol