InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Dreams ❯ Look Who's Walking ( Chapter 11 )

Broken Dreams

 

Chapter 11

 

Look Who's Walking

 

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned as the slightly numbing pain came to her. Youkai must have known what he was doing with his bandages, because the pain had gotten a lot better then Kagome would have expected. Of course, she still hurt when she moved too much, but other then that, she wasn't in too bad shape.

 

“How are you feeling?” Youkai asked. Kagome struggled and turned over at Youkai's words. The cloaked youkai was carrying a pile of firewood into the cave and piling it in the back.

 

“Like I fell off a cliff a few days ago,” Kagome replied. Youkai chuckled. “You should try it sometimes, its great fun,” Kagome snorted, looking away. Youkai sighed and left to search for more firewood. Kagome looked over the edge of the bed. A small cup of broth sat by the leg of the bed. Kagome slowly pulled herself back so her head was tilted up. Then she reached down and brought the cup to her lips. It wasn't boiling hot, but was a little better than lukewarm. Kagome sipped and swallowed the familiar brew.

 

Youkai's words from last night came back to her, and made her feel a little uneasy. When she had said she trusted him, she had meant it. Then his little comment about her smiling…Kagome didn't smile a lot lately. A life like hers would do that to you. Come to think of it, she only really ever smiled around Shippo, and she didn't get a lot of time with him anymore.

 

Kagome did find it a little odd that it was only after she assured him she trusted him that he told her she was pretty. Youkai hadn't even shown the slightest bit of attraction to her. Whenever he had cleaned and changed her bandages, he had done that and only that. He could have easily overpowered her at any time and done with her what he would. But he hadn't. His entire opinion of her was a mystery to Kagome. Of course, wearing a hood and mask will do that. Unless he said what was on his mind, Kagome had no way of knowing what Youkai was thinking.

 

Not for the first time, she wondered just what Youkai looked like to hide his face from people. She remembered how he claimed that the missing fingers were minor compared to his face. Kagome had seen her fair share of disgusting youkai over five years, but none of them cared what they looked like. Youkai was the first youkai she had met that was ashamed of himself, besides Jinenji that is. And even then Jinenji hid himself from villagers, but otherwise was fine. Youkai, as far as she could tell, hid himself twenty-four seven. Was it possible he was ashamed of what he looked like?

 

“Hey,” Youkai called, walking back in with more firewood. “I was thinking, how is your leg feeling?” Kagome looked down. One leg had more or less been fairly fine in the fall, but the other had been broken and was splinted from the knee to the ankle. The ankle had also been sprained, and was wrapped in bandages.

 

“It's been better, but it's alright I suppose. Why?” Kagome replied. Youkai dropped the firewood in the pile and sat down beside her.

 

“But your arm around me,” Youkai instructed. Kagome blinked, and Youkai did it himself, grabbing her arm and flinging it over his shoulders.

 

“What are you doing?” Kagome asked. Youkai turned his head to her, and once again, Kagome cursed that damn hood.

 

“If you stay down the entire time the leg is healing, it will get weak. You need to keep it in shape. Now, I'm going to count to three, and when I hit three, I'm going to stand up with you, ok?” Youkai explained. Kagome bit her lip and nodded. Youkai counted, and heaved them up to the ground. Kagome hopped a bit on her foot before she leaned and rested her weight on Youkai's shoulder. Her injured foot was between them, gingerly resting a few inches above the ground. Youkai shook his head and looked down at her bandaged foot.

 

“If you don't put any pressure on it, the muscles will get weak,” he warned her. Kagome nodded and gently tried to push her foot down onto the cave floor. She winced and pulled it back up. Youkai gently elbowed her, and Kagome tried again. By the fourth try, she managed to get the sole of her foot solid on the ground. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Don't relax yet,” Youkai warned her. Before Kagome could ask him why, he took a step forward. Kagome's eyes widened as she realized what he meant. Her good foot snapped forward beside him. “Ok, get ready.” Youkai coaxed her. He took another step, and Kagome carefully put her injured foot next to his. She gasped softly as the subtle pain flared to life and her ankle throbbed.

 

“It still hurts,” she moaned. Youkai nodded and took another step forward. Kagome stepped with him, and gently put her other foot forward. This time, Youkai didn't move. Kagome took a few more shaky steps. Her good foot didn't really lift off the ground, but more shuffled forward so she didn't have to put her entire weight on her other foot. But it was working. She was walking. Kagome chuckled slightly and looked back at Youkai after she took a few more steps.

 

“H, hey. Look at me,” hhe said nervously. Youkai nodded, and Kagome figured he must have been smiling out of her sight. Kagome tried to walk again, and accidentally lifted her good foot clear off the ground. Her foot gave out and she teetered a bit before falling backwards. Youkai ran forward and caught her, her momentum pushing him back as the two of them fell against Kagome's bed. Kagome's head hit Youkai's chest, and Youkai's head hit the cave wall.

 

“Ow,” Youkai hissed. Kagome gasped and looked up at him over her shoulder.

 

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. Youkai rubbed the back of his head and nodded.

 

“Yeah. I've had a lot worse,” he muttered. “Your leg okay?” he asked. Kagome looked down nodded, rubbing the bandages.

 

“Yeah. Stupid leg,” she growled, fixing a death glare on her ankle. Youkai pulled himself from under her, Kagome sitting on the bed under both of them. He knelt down and ripped the hakama along the seem, looking at the splint underneath.

 

“The splint is fine, it must have been the ankle that couldn't take the pressure,” he murmured to himself. “I'll go out and look for a tree branch that you can use as a crutch, so you'll be able to move around a lot more then you can now.” He told Kagome, standing up. Youkai jogged out of the cave to begin his search. Kagome sighed and leaned back. She reached down and found the forgotten cup of brew, sipping and grimacing at the lukewarm taste. She looked down at her ankle and furrowed her brow in thought.

 

She had tripped when her foot had failed her, and Youkai had caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist to cushion the blow. Youkai himself had been hurt a small bit when he had hit the wall, but he waved off her concern. What Kagome found odd and surprising was what had happened when Youkai had caught her in his arms. He had saved her and taken a hit himself when she had fallen. Something about that feeling struck Kagome as strange, because it was a feeling she hadn't had in years.

 

She had felt safe.