InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Echo of Destiny ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: I had some questions about the octopus in the last chapter. Yes, octopi are in the Phylum Mullusca along with crabs, snails, and chitons, but their closest relatives are squid and cuttlefish. Cephalopods are the Class that Octopi are found in. For more information please visit here: http://www.mote.org/OCTOPI.HTM

Echo of Destiny

Chapter 2

Inuyasha could feel himself waking up. The process was slow, like trying to find an unfamiliar path through thick fog. To make matters worse, his whole body hurt. He wanted nothing more than to slip back into blissful unconsciousness, but something would not let him. It was prodding at the edge of his mind, demanding to be acknowledged. He tried to push it aside and go back to sleep, but the attempt only made his head hurt worse.

A cool cloth came to rest on his forehead. "Shhh, easy, my Lord, you need to rest." The voice was rough but female, and unfamiliar. But it did make that unknown something fall into place.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha bolted upright, all traces of sleepiness vanishing. Unfortunately, it caused the pounding in his head to increase threefold and every muscle of his body to scream in protest. His vision swam and he brought his hands up to cradle his head, noticing only vaguely that one of his arms was badly bruised. As his vision came back into focus, a face formed in front of him.

He could only guess it was the woman who had spoken a moment before. Her face was wrinkled with age and she was dressed in a plain white robe. In one hand she held a small basin of water and in the other was the cloth that had been dislodged from his head when he sat up.

"My Lord, you need to rest. You are terribly wounded."

"Kagome? Where's Kagome?"

"Your Lady is over there." Following the direction the woman indicated, he was finally able to focus on the motionless body of his new wife. Ignoring the woman's warnings and the incredible pain in his legs and stomach, he forced himself to her side. He was so focused on his love that he took no notice of the world around him

"Kagome…" He touched her face. She was still unconscious and remained so, even as he ran his fingers through her hair. He noted that it was dry and she had been changed into a white robe similar to the old woman's. She seemed mostly uninjured, but her head was wrapped in strips of white cloth.

"My Lord." The woman touched his arm hesitantly, "She is in no danger and you do neither of you any favors by forcing yourself." Inuyasha wanted to argue, but the ground kept shifting underneath him, objects were swimming in and out of focus, and his abused body seemed ready to collapse beneath him. He did not even realized the woman had helped him back to bed until he lay down. Sleep came quickly, the cool cloth cover on his head never registering in his mind.

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Inuyasha was not sure how long he stayed asleep, but when he woke it was late in the day. Pink-orange light poured across the floor from the right, where one of the walls was nothing more than a row of columns connecting the floor and ceiling. The floor and walls were made of smooth white rock, as were the columns, and polished to a high shine. The ceiling was similarly made and seemed higher than he would have expected. The room itself was not very large, maybe only ten feet in each direction, with a heavy wooden door opposite the open side. The only furniture in the room was the bed he lay on and the one a few feet away where Kagome lay.

Sitting up, he found his body did not hurt nearly as bad. The room did not spin and the headache had dulled to an annoying throb. Taking a quick inventory, he found that most of his injuries were just deep bruises that would be gone in another day, if that. A soft whimper caught his attention and he turned towards Kagome.

She stirred and groaned. Inuyasha was at her side in an instant, helping her rise to a sitting position. Her hand came up and gently touched the back of her head. Wincing slightly, she groaned.

"What happened?" She looked around slowly, "And where are we?"

"I'm not sure. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a truck." She managed to sit up fully with his aid, and Inuyasha sat down next to her. Kagome leaned her head on his shoulder for support. It was then that the smell of blood reached his nose.

"Kagome, you're bleeding." He sat up and held her at arms length. It did not take long for him to pinpoint the source, a place on her ribs where he could see the outline of bandages. Looking around, he spotted a small table between their separate beds with clean strips of cloth, a bowl of clear water, and a wet cloth. Gingerly, he got back to his feet, careful not to jar Kagome as he did, and retrieved the supplies.

"Inuyasha, why are you wearing a dress?" Inuyasha froze mid-stride and looked down. Ok, so it was not a dress, more like a bathrobe made out of very thin material… and if he guessed right, it was all he had on. The elderly woman he had seen earlier flashed through his mind and he shuddered. Deciding not to entertain that thought any longer than absolutely necessary, he grabbed the things from the table and returned to his bride.

Kagome untied her own robe, but held the edges so she could close it quickly if necessary. Carefully, Inuyasha unwrapped the wound, dropping the bandage on the floor next to the bed. When the strips of cloth had all been removed, he got a clear view of the wound.

Four shallow cuts ran from under one breast, all the way across her ribs, and tapered off as they wrapped around her side. The bleeding had stopped not too long ago and there did not seem to be any permanent damage, but the cuts still looked nasty. His ears drooping, Inuyasha spread his fingers and let his hand glide just above the cuts. There was no doubt what had left them.

"Kagome… I…"

"It was an accident." Her hand came up to grasp his, "I remember you trying to hold onto me so we wouldn't get separated. I know you'd never hurt me on purpose." He nodded, but did not look convinced.

Taking the wet cloth, he gently cleaned the cuts with the fresh water. He muttered small apologies each time she winced and she could see the war between guilt and self-hate playing in his eyes. When the wounds were cleaned to his satisfaction, Inuyasha wrapped them with the clean strips of cloth. He really wanted to take her to a doctor, but he did not even know where they were, much less where to find a doctor.

Kagome tied her robe closed just as the door swung open. Inuyasha was between Kagome and the door in a flash, his claws ready and a deep growl coming from his throat. The older woman from earlier stopped in the doorway. She surveyed them with a surprised expression.

"My Lord, you should be resting. Your body has not yet healed."

"Screw that! Where are we and who the hell are you?" Inuyasha growled. Kagome placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. He relaxed, but only a little.

"My name is Kaede, Lord." She answered with a low bow, "I am the local healer and you are in my home. I simply came to change the Lady's bandages."

"I changed them." Inuyasha huffed. He flexed his claws, daring her to come closer. "And what's with that 'my Lord' crap?! I ain't no fucking king." The old woman looked perplexed, but did not reply.

"Inuyasha," Kagome squeezed his arm gently, "I don't think she means us any harm." He gave her a look that conveyed his doubt, "If she was going to do something, she had plenty of opportunities while we were unconscious." Inuyasha grunted and gave the woman a final glare, before dropping his claws but not his guard. Kaede walked over to the bed and set down a small bowl filled with a bittersweet smelling, green mash.

She shuffled around the bed and retrieved the bowl of water from where Inuyasha had left it. Inuyasha watched carefully as Kaede removed the wrapping from around Kagome's head and parted her hair, revealing a large lump. It was high on her head and had a small cut on it. The old woman dabbed some water on it to clean it, then rubbed some of the mash on as well.

Inuyasha expected her to wrap it up again, but instead she lifted her wrinkled hand to cover the lump. Her lips moved slightly in words Inuyasha could not hear, and then the palm of her hand began to glow. Before his eyes, the bump began to shrink. He could only watch speechlessly as she moved her hand down to let the glow shine over the newly-wrapped cuts on Kagome's ribs.

Suddenly his brain clicked back on. The two bowls hit the stone floor with a loud clatter, water and mash spilling across the white stone as Inuyasha grabbed the woman by the wrists and spun her to face him. Kaede's eyes widened as he let out a deep rolling growl.

"What did you just do to her!?" His voice echoed in the stone room. Kagome turned around to see what was going on and gasped.

"Inuyasha, please! Don't hurt her! I'm fine, she didn't do anything!"

"Bullshit! What was that light!?" He shook the woman in his grasp a little to drive the threat home.

"Inuyasha! Please! I feel better, I really do!" Kagome gripped his arm, doing her best to pry his grip off the older woman. Inuyasha released the healer, but he placed himself between her and Kagome. For her part, Kaede looked like she might have a heart attack. "Inuyasha, how could you? She was only trying to help!"

"No, my Lady, the fault was mine. I did not ask his permission to use magic on you." She turned her aged eyes on them, and then shocked both to the core with her next action. The healer carefully got down on her hands and knees, touching her forehead to the cold floor. "Forgive me, my Lord and Lady, I meant only to aid you. Please do not be angry with this humble servant."

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other. Inuyasha's eyebrows were raised so high they disappeared into his bangs. Kagome's mouth was opening and shutting without any words coming out. Despite their stunned silence, Kaede remained in her bowed position on the floor.

"Ummm…" Kagome managed after what seemed like too long, "You're forgiven?"

"Thank you, my Lady. I am forever grateful for your gentle heart." As Kaede climbed to her feet, Inuyasha turned to Kagome and mouthed 'what the fuck?' Kagome could only shrug in response. "If there is anything I can get for you, my Lord and Lady, please only ask it of me."

"How about some clothes?" Inuyasha ventured, too flustered and confused to stay angry. Kaede bowed low again before retreating. "That… was really weird." He turned to face his lover. The sun was set low in the horizon by now and the room was cast in deep red light. He smiled softly, watching the play of light on her hair, skin, and robe. Her blue eyes looked purple in the almost magical light, but he frowned when he saw the look on her face.

"Inuyasha," Her eyes came up to meet his. "This is all so strange. I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Kag. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He gently kissed her forehead. She nodded, and then looked around. "This is such a strange room. A door at one end and the other end opens to the sea." Her brow furrowed. "I wonder where we are."

Before Inuyasha could answer, the door swung open and Kaede returned. She bowed again, awkwardly because her arms were full of cloth. As quickly as she could, the elderly woman crossed the room to them and presented Inuyasha with the cloth. He accepted them with a confused look. Both were creamy in color with intricate patterns of rich gold along the hems.

"These aren't our clothes."

"The clothes you were found in, my Lord?" Kaede asked, "They are little more than rags. But if these are not satisfactory…"

"No, they're fine." Kagome cut her off, "Please don't trouble yourself for our sake." The old woman gave her the strangest look, but did not say anything. Inuyasha lifted the clothing for a better look. They did not even have to ask before she bowed her way out of the room and gave them privacy for changing.

Inuyasha laid one of the pieces of cloth down and held the other up. It looked like a dress. The outfit was really only one piece of cloth, bunched and stitched together to give it form. He guessed it would probably come down to his knees, and be a little longer on Kagome.

"This one must be for you." He handed her the dress and picked up the other garment. A frown crossed his face when he realized it was just a longer dress. This one was long enough to reach the floor and much more simply made. "What the fuck? What am I supposed to wear?"

"Inuyasha, these look Greek. Like those clothes the gods and goddess wore in the Greek mythology books." She handed the first outfit back to him. "I'm pretty sure this one's yours." Inuyasha looked at the 'dress' for a long moment, before a slow smile spread across his face.

"Toga, toga, toga…" Kagome rolled her eyes. After looking around to make sure they were the only ones in the room, she untied her robe and stripped it off. She ignored her husband's cat call and slipped the longer dress over her head. After some adjusting, and pulling her long hair out of the back, she turned to him.

"So, how do I look?"

"Like a goddess, my goddess."

"I'm too sore to try and win bonus points from. Now, get into your dress." It was Inuyasha's turn to roll his eyes, but he did as he was told. Kagome could not help watching as he stripped out of his 'robe' and began to pull the 'dress' over his head. "So, what do we do now?"

"Maybe we can get that weird old lady to bring us some food?" Inuyasha suggested, his stomach grumbling. "Then sleep. Tomorrow we can try and sort out where the hell we are." Kagome could only nod in agreement.