InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ For Him ❯ Inu Illnesses ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: This is my only disclaimer so please remember that I do not own any of the characters from Inu Yasha.

~*~1~*~

I walked down the hallway, my long hair up in an ornate style as I walked with Jaken and Rin flanking me. Our Lord was not at breakfast, but when Jaken went to talk to him he was not in the library, nor his office, nor the garden. Rin had searched all between his favorite three locations. It was I who feared checking his room his most. Lord Sesshoumaru had awoken at dawn everyday for the past seventy years, he had not been in bed till noon since he had been a growing pup.

"Woman! It is not your place to wake our Lord this way!" Jaken squawked and I whipped around, my hands moving faster than the sniffling toad youkai could follow. I lifted him up and allowed my mask to slip as I curled my lip and bared my fangs.

"Jaken, I am the Head of this House. Lord Sesshoumaru stated that until he chose a mate, I was to act as the Lady of the Western Lands, in all the responsibilities of running this fortress. You forget your place, Toad, I am a full blooded youkai, as yourself. Just because my father and mother were not of the same class does not make me any less of a threat. Do not forget who spars with our Lord on a daily basis," I growled and dropped him before replacing the stoic mask that Sesshoumaru and I had developed together since childhood. I turned my eyes on Rin and placed a hand gently on her head, careful of my claws. "Rin, go to the garden and collect some of those wildflowers you love so much, I believe they might be something to make our Lord happy when we find him."

Jaken and I watched the human child run along, a shadow moved to follow her, one of my underlings. They knew to watch Rin and guard her with their life, if anything happened to that human child both Sesshoumaru and I would show them the true meaning of the pain of failure before a slow and agonizing death by poison or claws.

"Do you truly think Lord Sesshoumaru is in there?" Jaken asked as I stepped up to the secret door to our Lord's bedchamber. The door was hidden from human eyes and only the eyes of true allies could even detect its presence. I nodded as I looked down at Jaken, my face now giving away nothing.

"Of course, I can smell him in there," I stated as I began to unlock the spells locking the door. Jaken stared at me for a moment.

"Why did you send Rin away?" he asked, Rin had seen me open secret doors countless times before. I stopped for a moment, my hand about to open the door and the secret I felt inside.

"For two reasons, I do not think our Lord wants Rin to know where his bedchamber is and because I do not think our Lord wants Rin to see him in pain," I said as I opened the door and gasped at what I saw!

~*~*~

Chibi Inu Yasha was walking around the outside of his mother's family's lands when he saw them, two tall youkai staring at the building, both inspecting one of the powerful seals that protected the humans inside.

"It is powerful magic, we cannot pass without giving their most powerful priests, monks, mikos, and warriors fair knowledge of our presence," one stated in a rather bored voice. The other growled in a familiar voice and Chibi Inu Yasha quickly hid in a nearby bush as they came closer

"I am aware of that, Kimendenshin," the youkai growled and Chibi Inu Yasha realized that there was a seal on the tree he was hiding beside.

"Sesshoumaru," Chibi Inu Yasha whispered as he stared at his older, half-brother whom he had only seen twice before.

"Why do you insist on this display? He is only a half-breed child, he is no challenge to you or your title, my Lord," the other youkai said and Chibi Inu Yasha stared at this Kimendenshin. There was something feminine about both youkai, their long flowing hair in contrasting white and black, their immortal eyes in gold and turquoise, and their skin, the same paleness that no human could achieve in life or death.

"I just wish to see how well he is protected," Sesshoumaru growled and there was a slight chuckle even though neither one looked agitated or amused.

"Please, my Lord, we have known each other our whole lives, you were nursed on my mother's teat like you were my own flesh and blood. I am not fooled by your lies nor confused for your reasons," Kimendenshin said, not looking a bit afraid that Sesshoumaru would attack. "You want the sword and you wish to see if your brother had been given the knowledge to retrieve it." Chibi Inu Yasha blinked and when his eyes opened a fraction of a second later Kimendenshin was being suspended by his neck by Sesshoumaru.

"Wench, do not press me at this time!" Sesshoumaru growled and Chibi Inu Yasha stared at Kimendenshin in shock, it was a female! He couldn't smell her because of the seals' power, but she was traveling with his brother, meaning she was probably strong.

"Then let us return home and search the library first. We need to protect your inheritance, Lord Sesshoumaru, the Western Lands need you protecting them, not following some pup who not even able to attack you," Kimendenshin said, her eyes suddenly on Chibi Inu Yasha. The child froze as he realized that she had spotted him. She moved her eyes to the house. "Those humans know nothing, even with the seals, they do it only to protect themselves, not the child. I doubt they even want him there." Her eyes moved to him and then Sesshoumaru.

"You tempt my patience, Kimendenshin, I do not know why you insist on trying to protect my wretched bastard of a brother," Sesshoumaru growled and Chibi Inu Yasha was shocked when his brother was thrown back into a tree.

"Because, my Lord, you have more important things to do than harass a half-breed who can cause you no harm," the youkai stated and Chibi Inu Yasha watched as she bowed to his brother and Sesshoumaru actually looked like he regretted attacking her.

"You are right of course," he said as he stepped back from his servant, Chibi Inu Yasha guessed from all the `my Lord's, down and looked at the house. "This house will fall on itself and I need only wait to get the information I need then."

"Yes my Lord, but I feel the need to warn you, your hateful aunt is on the move again, we need to move quickly before she gathers allies," Kimendenshin stated and Chibi Inu Yasha watched as Sesshoumaru nodded and began to lead the way. Kimendenshin started after him and Chibi Inu Yasha watched as she looked over her shoulder at him and then at the house. The hanyou child ran to his mother, not telling her what was wrong, only holding onto her tight.

Inu Yasha woke up after only a few minutes of REM sleep, not that Inu Yasha knew what REM sleep was, but he knew one thing. Whenever his catnaps took too long he would dream of his past.

He shook his head and looked up at the full moon above him, the pale white light making him think of Sesshoumaru and Kimendenshin's skin. Inu Yasha remembered the wolf and kitsune mixed youkai who had been replaced with Jaken while he had been pinned to the God tree by Kikyo.

He had run into the two on several occasions after his mother's death, but had only seen them three or four times before her death. The two were terrifying to a Chibi Inu Yasha, but thinking back on it now, Inu Yasha wasn't as scared by either.

Sesshoumaru had come to Chibi Inu Yasha soon after his mother's death, wanting to know something about a sword, Inu Yasha could now rightly guess he had been looking for Tetsusaiga back then. When the orphaned pup had been confronted and not known what his brother was talking about it had been Kimendenshin who had turned Sesshoumaru back onto task searching for Sesshoumaru's aunt, the sister of his mother, who seemed to be plaguing the two younger youkai. It had also been Kimendenshin who had told him how to perform the Iron Reaver Soul Stealer and Blades of Blood attacks. Of course when he asked why she had bothered to help him she stated, "You are a whiney, weak, and pathetic half breed pup, at this time you are a succulent feast for some low level youkai. I rather not have to listen to your brother complain about how you could not uphold the family honor against something as pathetic as a grub youkai than tell you a few tricks to allow you to survive to adulthood where your brother will have the right to kill you if you are unable to defend yourself against him."

Inu Yasha sometimes wondered what happened to the people he knew before Kikyo's arrow and Kagome. Kimendenshin, his mother's family, the few villagers who had accepted him….but it hurt, the villagers had died of old age or other reasons, the same to be said of his mother's kin who had always treated him poorly, and then there was Kimendenshin.

His ears twitched as he listened to his friends sleep as he considered the youkai his brother had tormented him with only a few years before he had been sealed to that damn tree. He had come across his brother and the bitch fighting what looked like a group of dogs, until he realized they were weak inu youkai. The two were poetry in motion, killing quickly and efficiently, no stroke or strike missed a vital point. Inu Yasha had been envious of the two. That is until they had started insulting him. Even then he had noticed the Kimendenshin was more concerned with dealing with Sesshoumaru's aunt than dealing with Inu Yasha. The black hair, inhuman eyes, and immortal grace could easily be mistaken for male or female in origin.

Inu Yasha shook his head and began to really think about it. Sesshoumaru had to fight his aunt and Kimendenshin was obviously his right hand servant back then, perhaps Kimendenshin had been slain in the battle with the offending relative, but somehow Inu Yasha doubted it, both of them made it seem like this aunt hadn't been much of a threat without allies.

From what Inu Yasha had gathered in the few encounters he had with his brother back then, he and Kimendenshin were born on the same day and her mother had been Sesshoumaru's wet-nurse. Inu Yasha highly doubted Sesshoumaru would replace such an important person in his life for a toad youkai of nearly no use in battle. Perhaps Sesshoumaru had offended her and she chose the toad to be his retainer in her place.

This whole train of thought wouldn't matter in the long run because at that moment Miroku attempted to grope a sleeping Sango, only to end up groping a Sango who was not quite asleep yet. Needless to say there was much screaming and eventually Inu Yasha's train of thought was broken, the poor hanyou was unable to find where he had been going before the fight and gave it up for lost. Inu Yasha really didn't want to remember the past and so the night continued on.

~*~*~

"What is wrong with him?" Jaken screamed and I felt my sensitive ears threaten to bleed if I did not kick the toad down the hall before using my youki to move to my Lord's side. Lord Sesshoumaru was half in, half out of his futon, the silk mosquito nets that hung around his bed had caught his remaining arm and caused him to hang in a horrible way to behold.

His lush, pallid hair was snarled and obviously tangled by a restless sleep, his tail's fur was no better and I fought the urge to howl out my distress before I quickly pulled my Lord's head into my lap, untangling his arm from the netting before placing him on the bed in time for Jaken to appear.

Lord Sesshoumaru groaned and then growled, his eyes opening to allow me to gaze at his golden eyes only to see the whites were now bloodshot and nearly as red as when he was about to transform into his true form.

"Find the half-breed for me, I want to know where Father has hidden him!" he growled, his good hand catching me around the neck and pulling me so I was only separated from him by the layer of hair I used to cover the marred right side of my face.

"I will, my Lord!" Jaken cried and I grabbed the toad before Lord Sesshoumaru flung us both across the room. I pulled the vile creature so we were face to face.

"You will do no such thing, Jaken, you will go to the west most boundary and find a shack on the tallest cliff by the sea. In that shack will be an ancient inu youkai of the higher order, you will tell him Lord Sesshoumaru is suffering from the Inu Fever. Take Ah Un and go now, every moment you wait is every moment closer to Lord Sesshoumaru's death and the possible take over of Inu Yasha," I growled and the toad's eyes widened. Jaken was very loyal to Sesshoumaru, but he would not mourn the young Lord's passing, however, Jaken was also contracted to work his whole life for the Lord of the Western Lands, and he hated Inu Yasha more than his poor treatment by Sesshoumaru. I watched as he nodded.

"You know for sure it is the Inu Fever?" he asked hesitantly and I nodded slowly.

"It is either Inu Fever or it is some poison, however, I am not suffering from any poison and I check all of Lord Sesshoumaru's meals myself," I said and Jaken nodded, we may hate each other, but one fact was certain, we knew the other took our jobs as more important than our lives.

"I will return at once!" he cried and scurried down the hall quickly. I clapped and one of my underlings appeared at the door, which I blocked with my body.

"Bring me a basin of cold water every twenty minutes and a cup of chilled blood of a healthy buck," I ordered, the rat youkai nodded before hurrying away and I rushed to my Lord's side. I pulled his brush from his window and began to brush the long, tangled strands of white that put snow to shame.

"Kimen! Kimen!" his voice chilled me to the bone, I had not heard that tone in his voice since before his voice became deeper and more like a man's. I grasped his remaining hand and stroked his cheek gently.

"I am here, Sesshou," I said, my heart beating widely as I felt the heat of his cheek and cursed the servant to bring the water faster. "What plagues you, my Lord?" His hand tightened painfully.

"Mother…Mother is ill!" he cried, his gold eyes on me and I managed to keep my mask in place as I saw the tears in his eyes. "Father says she is going to die!" I felt the years move backwards and suddenly we were eighty years younger, neither one of us mature yet, both still innocent.

"Is there nothing we can do?" I asked, even though I knew the former Lady of the Western Lands had been poisoned by one of the Lord's enemies and would not let her husband give up his lands for the antidote. Sesshoumaru's eyes leaked with tears, something I had not seen in nearly a century.

"Father must give up everything to save her!" he cried and suddenly I felt his face cushioned on my breasts as his head curled up under my head. I felt an old part of me I had long since buried beneath the practiced indifference and years of training start moving towards the surface as he sobbed into my neck as he had back when this memory had actually been made.

"Hush, my Lord, I will not leave you," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him in a move that had not be performed in decades…I had missed the feeling, now if only he were not in such danger.

"My Lady, I have brought what you requested," a voice whispered and I pulled myself gently out of my Lord's arm. I approached the door, opening it and beheading the youkai before inspecting the blood and water. Neither had been tampered with, but the rat had been listening too quietly. I quickly took in the water, the rat's arm, and locked the door, making the room soundproof, the water would be there every twenty minutes and when I went to retrieve it the rat would no longer be there.

"Kimen!" his voice was angry now and I looked at him as I approached the bed.

"Yes, my Lord?" I asked, unsure if he was in memory or with me in the present. He glared at me and growled low in his chest, the masculine sound making my entire body tense in fear.

"Why are you in my bed chambers?" he was in the now, but not for long. I bowed to him before shoving the blood into his hand while quickly attaching the rat's arm to his stump.

"It is mid afternoon, Lord Sesshoumaru, when you did not appear for breakfast or give word to leaving, we searched for you. I came here when I began to smell the pain you are in. It is Inu Fever and Jaken is retrieving the Ancient to treat you," I said as I pushed the cup of blood to his lips. "Drink that." I pulled the wet cloth in the basin out, wrung it dry and then placed it on his forehead. His eyes were studying me, trying to see through the hair covering my face so he could see both my eyes and not just my left eye.

"Rin…" he started but I pushed the cup to his lips.

"Will never know," I finished as I looked at him. "You will overcome the fever and never need fear it again." He looked at me.

"If the worst occurs…" he started and I pushed the cup to his lips again.

"I will do what I must and I will keep Rin alive until she dies of old age," I stated and he looked at me before handing me the empty cup. I would request another when I heard the body being removed from outside the door.

"You killed a rat youkai," he stated, his eyes beginning to cloud and I nodded.

"He was too close to the door," I replied and his face remained a mask.

"Father will be displeased that you killed while he was out," he stated and I nodded.

"I guess he'll have to punish me then," I replied as I reached out and pressed his body down on the bed, replacing the cloth with a cooler one. My Lord smiled at me.

"Do not worry, when I am Lord of the Western Lands, you can kill whoever you want, I know you will only kill with good reason," he said, that beautiful face like a fallen angel.

"I am glad you trust me, Sesshou, you are my best friend," I said, my eyes memorizing his face with that smile on it. Oh, if only he would smile more, no one would be able to deny him anything.

~*~*~

Inu Yasha felt the eyes on him long before the attack ever came. He was a predator, over half of him was a natural predator, and all predators know when they are being hunted.

"Inu Yasha, you're being abnormally quiet, is something wrong?" Miroku asked and Inu Yasha's ears twitched.

"Shut up, monk," he growled and scented the air, there was a strangely familiar scent in the air.

"Kagome, do you sense any jewel shards?" Sango asked and Kagome squinted before turning around.

"No, I don't feel anything," she said and Inu Yasha growled low. Something was out there and he was going to make it stop fucking around and come out.

"Wind Scar!" he cried as he forced his attack to go towards a particularly good hiding spot.

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome screamed in fear and Inu Yasha looked back to see what was wrong with her, instead he found himself looking at a cloaked figure only a breath behind him.

"Sloppy," a dead-pan voice stated and Inu Yasha went flying into Miroku and the two rolled into a tree. "Well, try again half-breed." Inu Yasha growled as he launched himself at the figure and began to use Tetsusaiga to chop and slice, but no contact was made. The figure even jumped up on the sword and stood on the blade as Inu Yasha roared in anger.

"You're dead!" Inu Yasha cried and the figure was suddenly right in front of him again. No one saw this strike either and Inu Yasha flew through the air into a tree…and then the tree behind it.

"Slayer, if you value your life keep out of this. Miko shoot your bow and you will pierce the fox child's chest, not mine. Monk, I have a hive of poison insects in my hand, dare you try me with your cursed hand?" the figure asked and a clawed hand, paler than any human could ever be emerged with a familiar round shape.

"Who are you?" Miroku asked, his staff in his hand if he were to fight. The figure turned to them and suddenly was gone. Kagome cried out as the figure studied her from the unbreakable darkness of the cloak.

"Who I am is unimportant? I was testing Inu Yasha, I am afraid he may not be as strong as I previously thought," there was a stress in the voice. Suddenly the cloaked figure was struck and vanished before it hit the tree it was heading for.

"I'm stronger than you're giving me credit for! You caught me off guard, you won't be so lucky again!" Inu Yasha cried as he turned to face the cloaked figure that seemed to be quivering. The three humans wondered if it was possibly one of Naraku's puppets. In stead of the standard tentacle golem, two hands emerged and began to applaud.

"One hit," the figure stated and the whole group looked confused. "One hit would be enough to make me believe you were not a pathetic half-breed."

"What are you talking about?" Inu Yasha growled and the hood, actually the whole cloak vanished into think air. Inu Yasha's breath caught in his throat as he stared at a vision from his past. Sango and Kagome were surprised to see her and Shippo looked at her in awe. Miroku was the one to make the first mistake.

"A youkai geisha?" he sputtered and suddenly the youkai was standing before him, her hand on his throat in warning. One eyebrow, that he had mistaken for a perfectly drawn on eyebrow, raised as her claws gently pricked his skin. Her eyes were a captivating blue and slowly Miroku realized that her skin was not painted at all it was naturally white. Her black eyebrows were perfect and her hair completely hid the right side of her face, but on her left there was a vertical stripe of a lighter shade of blue that went down over her eye, appearing back below it and coming to a point and ending before her chin.

"A geisha I may be, but do not forget human, being a geisha does not make me a whore," she stated and then appeared in front of Inu Yasha. She began to circle him, in precise movements, her large eyes took in everything about him. "Yes, you are as my Lord said you were. Had I not been struck myself I would have thought him to lie, but my Lord had never lied to me." Inu Yasha stared at the woman, she…she looked familiar.

"Do I know you?" he growled and she tilted her head to one side.

"Yes and no," she replied mysteriously. Her kimono was purple, white dogs were embroidered along the sleeves and back. Inu Yasha stared at her for a moment, he couldn't be certain but he had an idea. "I am the woman in charge of the Fortress of the Western Lands until Lord Sesshoumaru finally marries." There was a collective dropping of jaws.

"You…you mean you work for Sesshoumaru?" Kagome whispered. "I thought she was going to be one of Naraku's puppets." The youkai was suddenly in front of Kagome.

"Never mention that foul beast in my presence. I may not be a Lady over other demons, but I have spent my life as Lord Sesshoumaru's sparing partner," the youkai growled, her pearly white fangs bared. "No other youkai has survived as long as I have with him, never underestimate the former Retainer and the current substitute Lady of the Western Lands." Inu Yasha's eyes widened as he stared at the woman.

"Kimendenshin!" he cried and the youkai looked at him, raising that eyebrow again.

"So the young Lord has finally remembered me," she said and the humans of the group could almost swear there was humor in her voice. "About time, perhaps your brother had been right about you all this time." It was then that she turned to face him and Inu Yasha got a looked at the two swords on her belt. She was a warrior and with the moves she had, she was a good one.

"You spared me a couple times," he huffed and crossed his arms. He was in debt to this woman and they both knew it. "What do you want?" She approached him and looked at him before gently stroking some hair out of his face.

"The life debt you owe me," she stated and Inu Yasha looked confused.

"I don't owe you a life debt!" he cried. "You kept Sesshoumaru from pounding on me a few times, you never saved my life!" She raise and eyebrow before pulling out a scroll.

"Let me tell you a short story, Inu Yasha," she stated and there was electricity in the air, she was pissed. "There was once a widowed inu youkai lord who fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy nobleman. Before the youkai lord could secure the nobleman's daughter as his bride, she was married off to a cruel human lord. This would have been the end of the story if the youkai lord had not bedded the nobleman's daughter on her journey to her new husband. The two were in love and the daughter hoped to avoid marrying the cruel human lord if she was not innocent and virtuous.

"The ploy did not work and instead the cruel human lord married her but did not consummate the marriage, planning on taking the bastard child of his wife, slaying it and then `punishing' his new wife. However the youkai lord was not going to allow this and sought out to kill the human lord. He requested his only son and all his followers to help him save his lady love and unborn child. The youkai lord's son refused and the youkai lord went ahead and went to war with the human lord.

"While the youkai lord was fighting his way to his lady love, she was giving birth and when the human lord saw that his wife had born the second son of his newest rival he realized the truth and killed them both just as the youkai lord stormed the human lord's fortress.

"For most people that would be the end of the story, but the youkai lord had just had a miraculous sword forged for each of his sons. He took the sword for his elder son and killed the ferrymen of the underworld, bringing to life his lady love and infant son.

"During this great battle, the son of the youkai lord was being a spoiled brat and his retainer, a young she-youkai decided her first duty was to her lord and second to his son. After a bought of non-stop complaining from the son who was acting like a spoiled brat, the retainer joined the battle on the human lord's fortress and arrived by her lord to see him fighting the human lord. She was about to help when her lord ordered her to take his human lover and their child to the safety of the lady love's home and make the family swear on pain of death to protect the two.

"With that the retainer of the first son, took the mother and newborn son to the mother's home and then…convinced her father and family to protect her and her child until the youkai lord summoned for them. That part was my favorite part of the story because the retainer got to terrify several humans who thought she would be impressed by their pathetic abilities.

"In the end the human nobleman set up the strongest barrier ever created, strong enough so that when the youkai lord died of his injuries after his battle, his heir, the elder son, was unable to break the barrier to go after his younger brother, much to the amusement of his retainer," the youkai looked at Inu Yasha and the group stared at her. "This is a signed contract between myself, Lord Inu Taisho, your human grandfather, and your human mother, stating that I, Kimendenshin of the Western Lands, brought your mother and yourself to safety after your father rescued you, putting you and your mother into a life debt of me. Now I'm here to collect."

Inu Yasha ripped the scroll from the youkai's hands and Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were shocked to see him actually reading. His eyes widened and then he glared at the youkai.

"So I don't have much of a choice then do I?" he growled. "What do you want?" Kimendenshin looked down at this moment and then turned away.

"On the day I was born, the son of a great youkai lord was born as well. The youkai lady who bore the child of the youkai lord was weak and unable to take care of the newborn, since my mother was a laborer and was taking care of me, she was elevated to wet nurse for the young heir of the lord.

"We grew up together, learned to fight, suffered the death of his parents and my mother, we traveled the lands, fought his enemies, and have always been together," she whispered.

"What about Sesshoumaru?" Inu Yasha growled and the youkai turned to them, tears in her eyes.

"I need you to save my Lord and my best friend," she stated, her mask still in place but the tears in her eyes and the cracking of her voice gave her away. "You see, Inu Yasha, Lord Sesshoumaru is dying."

~*~*~

"What?!" I roared at the Inu Ancient who was standing by my Lord.

"Kimen…" my Lord moaned and I quickly knelt beside him, stroking his fevered brow before replacing the cold compress.

"Lord Sesshoumaru is dying, Lady Kimendenshin, and he will die unless he can receive blood from a family member who is immune to the disease," the Ancient stated and I stared at my Lord's fever clouded eyes.

"Is there any other way?" I asked and the Ancient patted my shoulder.

"He has at least a month, at most two, but it is certain, he cannot defeat this fever on his own," the Ancient said and I fought the urge to threaten his life until he stated he would save my Lord.

"Will a half-breed's blood save him?" I asked, Lord Sesshoumaru crushing my hand in his grip as he relieved whatever childhood memory plagued him.

"Most definitely, humans have a natural immunity to the Inu Fever," the Ancient said.

"Stay here, I will find where my Lord's half-breed brother is and bring him here," I begged, my hand stroking my Lord's face. "I will have a guest room prepared for you."

"As you wish, Lady Kimendenshin," he said and I watched the Ancient leave.

"Kimen!" Lord Sesshoumaru cried and I quickly tightened my hold on his hand.

"What is it, my Lord?" I asked and he whimpered and pulled me close, embracing me for the twentieth time.

"The wolves are coming!" he hissed and I felt my heart leap into my throat. This was a common nightmare of my Lord when he was a child.

"I'm here, Sesshou, I'm here. Hush, the wolves will not hurt you," I said as I stroked his fevered brow. He grabbed me and hugged me so tightly I heard my ribs creak under the pressure.

"No," he moaned and I quickly cupped his face in my hands.

"What is wrong? Sesshou, please tell me!" I pleaded and then my head was shoved under his chin in what could have been an intimate embrace.

"They're here for you, Kimen! But they won't have you! You are mine!" he snarled and I felt like I was being crushed in his arms.

"Sesshou, I am yours and serve only you, no wolf would ever be able to make me leave your side!" I cried out as my ribs groaned under the pressure of my Lord's embrace. "Please….my Lord!" I closed my eyes and kept my face a mask.

"Good…Kimen…" his hold relaxed instantly and I let out a breath of relief as I pulled free of my unconscious Lord's embrace.

"He nearly crushed you," the Ancient chuckled and I nodded as I straightened up my appearance.

"He has always been strong, had he been at his full health I have no doubt I would have been crushed," I stated as I looked at the Ancient and then got up and opened the door, exposing the upset Jaken, furious at me for locking him out of our Lord's chamber.

"Wench! Why did you insist on locking me out like come common riffraff?" Jaken croaked and I glared at him before looking at our Lord.

"Our Lord will die if you do not locate Inu Yasha. You have four days to find him, if you do not succeed I will send you to Hades to prepare the way for our Lord," I stated and Jaken looked at me. I let my hand glow with the power of my poison and he yelped before running down the hall. I closed the door and looked at my Lord, he was sitting up and his eyes looked clear and alert. His sleeping robe was opened to his waist as he stared at me with a mix of anger and confusion. I bowed to him an approached him in a submissive posture.

"Kimendenshin?" he asked in an all too familiar tone. I was glad he was thinking clearly at the moment.

"My Lord Sesshoumaru, you are with Inu Fever," I explained and dared to look up, the shock in his face was priceless. "It was not inflicted on you as it was your mother." He looked a bit relieved.

"Has the Ancient come?" he asked and I nodded slowly. "Well?" We stared at each other for a moment.

"You will not be able to overcome the fever alone," I stated and he growled.

"You are not suggesting what I think you are suggesting," he growled low and I looked at him, he was weak at this moment, it would be the only chance I could impose my will on him.

"I am, Jaken is already looking for your miserable brother so that I may go and convince him to help you," I stated, keeping my fear from being released. Sesshoumaru snarled and his hand whipped out to catch my neck, instead I caught his wrist. "Lord Sesshoumaru, look at yourself! I was able to catch your strike, when was the last time I was able to do that?" He glared at me before pulling his arm from my grasp.

"How have my delusions been?" he asked and I looked out the window.

"Bad, you have been at the worst times repeatedly," I whispered. "I fear leaving you, but Jaken would be useless in attempting to retrieve your brother. We both know the toad would insult your brother and end up being thrown into the distance." I kept my eyes on his hands. It had taken a lot of the Ancient's energy and magic to regenerate that arm and I hoped all that energy would not have been wasted.

"Who have I been crying out for?" he asked and I gave him a look.

"In eighty-three years who have you ever called out for?" I asked, keeping the jest out of my voice. He gave me a look.

"Go, you have my leave, have Beru watch me, she is deaf," he stated as if I didn't know my own underlings.

"Yes, my Lord," I stated before I placed a hand on his head to replace the cold compress. "I will see it done." He stopped my hand and traced the markings on my wrist with his claw.

"Kimen…" it was very tender and my heart leapt into my throat. "Watch over Rin carefully if…" I covered his mouth with my other hand, keeping my face down.

"No! I will save you!" I growled and I felt my eyes glow blue before I looked up at him. "I will not fail you, my Lord."

~*~*~

"I will not fail him," Kimendenshin said as she looked at Inu Yasha. "Now I claim the life debt you owe me, come with me and save my Lord and I will give you the contract and you will never hear from me again." The group stared at the youkai geisha as she stood there, her hand curled around the contract and Miroku bet his life that she would make it disappear before Inu Yasha so much as twitched.

Inu Yasha glared at Kimendenshin, part of him wanting to attack blindly in an attempt to get that damn scroll. Still there was another part of him, the part his mother raised, that demanded he pay what he owe, even if it meant saving his brother and one of his greatest enemies.

"How can Inu Yasha help Sesshoumaru and why can't you help him?" Kagome asked in complete innocence and for a moment Kimendenshin stared at her.

"Inu Yasha is kin, he also carries human blood which is resistant to the Inu Fever," she turned from them as if ashamed. "I cannot help him because my blood is unpure. My mother was a simple laborer kitsune while my father was a brash young youkai prince. He denied my lineage and my Lord's father took me in when most would kill such as me."

"Why would they kill you, you're a full youkai," Kagome wondered out loud.

"Kagome, to youkai courts pedigree is important, most youkai we've met are full youkai and of only one species, crossbreeding is considered below civilized youkai society," Sango explained. "She's a cat-dog youkai, when foxes and wolves or dogs breed they create a creature called a cat-dog, with almost feline speed and canine savagery, most humans and youkai will kill a cat-dog because they are clever and cruel be it a youkai or a normal one." The youkai nodded at this and turned from them.

"We must go and quickly, my Lord does not have long," she whispered before marching off at a quick pace.