InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ If only in my Dreams ❯ A Cave Long Forgotten ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

I still do not own Inuyasha or its characters. Sorry about that nasty cliffy, I hope this chapter makes up for it....Let me know what you all think...I want to say THANK YOU ALL for reviewing, it really helps to keep me motivated when I know that there are so many of you that are enjoying it...and when the response is like it has been it keeps me writing so that I can post more often as thanks for your reviews..anyway, enough of my rambling....on with the story....Neisha






If Only in my Dreams......chapter 6



Inuyasha jerked upright, the front of his body screaming in pain. He stood quietly, his gaze shifting around him, taking in the gore that surrounded him as he struggled to find some clue as to what the hell had just happened.
He remembered being attacked by a snake demon, remembered Kagome's scream....Kagome!!His body jerked forward in his haste to find her. She lay in a crumbled heap upon her sleeping bag, her breathing labored as she struggled with the pain that each breath of air brought. She was surrounded in a pale pink glow,the snake demon who had held her only moments before lying a few feet away, his body only a smoldering pile of ash. She had purified both the demons, her body seeking to defend itself in the only way it could, which had resulted in the snake demons' deaths, and was also the reason behind the pain that had seared through him. Had it not been for the snake demon encircling his body, her power may have purified him as well, though he knew she'd never knowingly hurt him. Her body had only sought to protect her, much the same as his would when his life was in danger and his demon blood had taken over. The instinct for survival ran through all life forms, and apparently hers was no different than his in its instinct to protect her life. He knelt before her, his hand outstretched as he attempted to pick her up, only to be met with a sharp snap of her power. He called to her softly, her name falling in a choked whisper as he continued to call her name...”Kagome....Kagome, I'm here....I'll protect you....Please Kagome......please trust me..” He watched as her eyes fluttered open, intense pain radiating through them as she gazed up at him. “Inu....Yasha?” she whispered, her voice cracking as fresh tears began to fall from her eyes. “ It ....hurts... Inuyasha....oh god, it ...hurts..” she cried, the pink glow that had surrounded her disappearing as her eyes closed again. Inuyasha leaned forward, his hand brushing her hair from her face..”I know Kagome...I need to get you out of here though...there should be a cave not far from here, but I need to pick you up....it's gonna hurt, but I have to get you somewhere safe....” he murmured, his voice hushed as he tried to control his raging emotions...He'd let her down, hadn't protected her as he'd sworn he would, and now she lay broken and bleeding before him...
“ It's okay.....Inuy...asha, it's....not....your...fa..ult. I shouldn't .....have ....left....I should...have....waited..”....

“SHHH, don't talk Kagome.....we'll get you safe and dry....and I need to check your wounds...” Inuyasha muttered as he bent forward, wrapping Kagome gently into the sleeping bag she lay upon, pausing at her sharp hiss of pain. His red eyes scanned the distance, his memory trying to place the nearest cave, or hut, and once he was certain of the best location he moved forward, his steps light as he moved slowly so he didn't jar her wounded body any more than necessary....He moved into the rain, his hand moving to pull the sleeping bag over her face. The storm raged on around him, and for that he thanked any god who was listening, for it covered the tears that fell from his eyes....He'd failed her...and now she lay in his arms struggling to breath, lucky to be alive.....and it was his fault....he shouldn't have been so stupid....
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Inuyasha made his way into the cave. He'd gone back to retrieve Kagome's backpack. Her medicine pack should have something in it to help her with her pain, plus it had food and hopefully a dry set of clothes for her. He set the bag beside her resting form before turning to bring in the few pieces of dry wood he'd managed to find, and once he'd gotten the fire going, he turned to Kagome.

She'd need to get out of those wet clothes, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out how she'd manage that as movement alone caused her severe pain. But now that she had finally managed to sleep, though fitfully, he was hesitant to wake her....Her face was still drawn in pain, her hands both resting softly upon her stomach. He'd removed his yukata to lay beneath her so that he would still be able to use the heavier blanket to keep her warm, his outer kimono now hanging close to the fire to dry out, leaving him bare chested, though now was certainly no time to be concerned with such trivial things..

He turned, and digging through her bag, pulled some ramen from its depths, as well as the box she had referred to as a medicine kit. He sorted through its contents reading the markings that lay on the back of each of the little packages. He picked up one of the packages labeled TYLENOL...and finding it useful for the treatment of pain he decided that it was better than nothing and placed it next to the ramen. It was a good thing that she had tried teaching him to read, and though he'd always made a scene about it in front of the others, he had secretly enjoyed it. He'd progressed quite further than he'd even shown her as he enjoyed sitting close to her as she explained what each word meant and so on, but he had liked the time they spent together and so he'd allowed her to continue teaching him, and now he was glad that he had. At least now he could find the medicines she had that could help her until she was well enough to tell him what herbs to collect that could help her better.

He stood and moved to place a cup outside to collect some of the rain water for the ramen and turned again toward Kagome.....she still needed to get those wet clothes off of her, and since she was currently unable to do it herself, he'd have to help her. It was probably better to do it while she slept, at least then it would minimize the pain she'd experience. He moved to her side, a blush staining his cheeks as he eased the blanket from her body...She'd probably sit him straight into hell for this, but it couldn't be helped. He extended a claw bringing its edge to the collar of her shirt slicing it from the shoulders to the arms so that he could simply pull the front of her shirt from her body without having to move her again. He did the same along the sides of her skirt, and turning his head away from her to preserve her modesty he plucked the material from her body, then reached to pull the blanket over her lower half. He couldn't cover the top as he needed to check her wounds, but he hadn't removed the lacy underthings that she seemed to always have on beneath her clothes....something about it being a common practice in her time to wear such skimpy pieces of cloth, but he found himself thankful for it at least kept her more intimate areas covered.

He looked over her ribs, her skin had already turned the deep blue/purple, its smooth texture swollen. He touched her softly, his fingers probing gently as he checked each of her ribs. She had two on her left side that were broken, as well as one on her right. He pulled a piece of her shirt to use as a rag and made his way to the opening of the cave dipping the rag into a puddle of fresh rain water that had collected in one of the many crevices on the outer rock wall of the cave, and once he'd returned he moved to clean the many cuts and bruises that marred her perfect skin.. He cleaned away the blood and the mud before moving to place her head in his lap, his claws combing through her hair in an attempt to sooth her pain. He sat like that for hours, only moving to give her medicine and water, then returning to combing his claws through her silky hair. When she woke up crying from the pain it caused her to breath, he would lay beside her, a soothing growl humming through his chest. She seemed to respond best to it, her body relaxing against the pain as he lulled her back to sleep.

Inuyasha lay silent as he watched the dying embers of the fire. Each piece glowed in the darkness of the cave, brightening periodically with each gust of wind that seemed to find its way in. He'd used this cave many times during his youth. It was located halfway up the side of a rock wall, both sides of the opening jutting outward away from the rock, effectively creating the illusion of a solid sheet of rock. It seemed that he was the only one who knew about this place as it hadn't seen any use since his last visit. He hadn't used it since he'd met up with Kagome as they usually stayed with Keade, and the need was just never there. This place had been his sanctuary as a child, a place where the mere slip of a hanyou could hide from those who sought to cause him harm....or to put it more to the point...the bastards who had sought to destroy a half demon abomination who was to young to know how to defend himself.
But it wasn't only demons who hunted him, humans were the same. And it had been humans who had chased him from their field the day he'd found this cave. He wondered into the field on accident, his nose detecting the scent of vegetables, and his hunger had driven him to follow it. He'd only taken enough to get him through the night,but he'd been caught before he'd really even had a chance to escape unnoticed. He ran from the farmers field, the humans not far behind him. He remembered his panic, the way his heart raced, the way his body shook uncontrollably, threatening to topple him before he'd even had the chance to get very far. He ran through the field, his small body moving this way and that in an effort to throw them from his trail but he'd soon found himself facing this towering rock wall with no way around it.....and in his panic he climbed...higher and higher until his tiny fingers bled and his lungs felt like they'd been lit on fire, and yet he pushed himself further. He remembered reaching out for the ledge, remembered the way his heart fell into his stomach when his body fell forward through the hidden opening to this cave, and he still remembered how sick it had made him that these humans had such little regard for a child, regardless of his heritage. He listened as the humans on the forest floor below him searched through the foliage and trees. They checked every bush, every tree top, and once they were certain that they had indeed lost him they finally left him alone....and that's how he'd spent his youth....alone.

Kagome stirred, her movement bringing Inuyasha out of the memory that he hadn't thought about in years...her breath caught as she tried to roll to her side, only to cry out at the pain that surged through her body. Inuyasha picked her up as gently as he could wrapping her blanket around her as he moved to the opening of the cave. The sun would be up soon, and she needed medicine. He sat upon a low rock that pushed out from the inner wall cradling Kagome's body close to his chest. “You need medicine Kagome....here, take these.” Inuyasha said as he raised the pills to her mouth. He waited patiently for her to open her mouth, but once she had he moved to pick up the cup he'd placed outside to collect rain water earlier, and brought it to her lips so that she could swallow the medicine easier. She lay her head upon his chest, the beating of his heart relaxing her. She blushed once she realized that he held her to him....his bare chest soft beneath her cheek. He must not have realized it though for he seemed more focused on gazing out over the landscape. She could see his yukata lying on the floor of the hut along with...was that ....half....her clothes? She blushed again as her eyes took in his red kimono that hung close to where he'd had a fire burning, though it had long since burned out..She turned her attention to Inuyasha. He looked worried, his furry ears drawn flat against the top of his head, his face anxious. He knew she'd be angry once she realized that he'd shredded her school uniform, but waiting for her reaction was far worse that an actual sitting, and judging from the apprehension upon his face he certainly expected her anger at her current state of undress. But Kagome was far from angry....a bit embarrassed...yep.....but far from angry...he'd only done what was necessary to clean her wounds, which she had gotten during her lack of a functioning brain those few hours ago...and had she just stayed put, neither she nor Inuyasha would be in this predicament at all. She nearly laughed when she felt the tension drain from his body, his ears popping up from their place against the top of his head. Oh how she wanted to reach out and pet those fuzzy triangles, but judging from the pain that still radiated through her she decided that that was something best saved for another time. “ Look Kagome....” Inuyasha whispered as he nudged her head higher. The view from this cave was breath taking. They sat above the forest, trees spreading for miles in front of them. The sun was rising, its golden rays moving toward them. The darkness seemed to retreat steadily backwards as it was replaced by the warmth of the early morning sun. The light shimmered off the leaves in the trees, its glow shining bright around them. It looked for all the world that they were sitting above a shimmering field of diamonds, each puddle of water reflecting the sunlight, each drop of rain that held fast to the tree leaves and flowers glistening beneath the light of a new dawn....it was absolutely breathtaking...but what she treasured the most from this moment was being held within the warmth of Inuyasha's embrace, and together they sat watching the sunrise, both happy to have been given another day together....

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Okay all, how was it...I know that there was no smut in this chappy, and for that I sincerely apologize, but I just can't imagine Kagome fantasizing when she is seriously injured..though i could be wrong....but I did try to make up for it with some fluff....I didn't want to leave you all with another cliffy, so I hope that this ending was suitable....but the story IS NOT over yet....I still want to write more smut so I hope you'll all bear with me as I continue this rambling session of my mind...Anyhow...let me know what you think of this chapter and I sincerely hope that it didn't bore you all to tears.....let me know if you all want more.....Neisha