InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Labyrinth ❯ To Touch ( Chapter 5 )

Chris-san: I'm REALLY sorry this took so long. To all my faithful fans, thanks for waiting, to all you newbies, hope you enjoy!!

*~*~*~*~*

Legend of the Labyrinth: Chapter 5

By: Chris-san

*~*~*~*~*

After the stoning, Kagome and Inuyasha headed outside to the great outdoors once again. The sky was still a perfect sapphire blue, broken only by the wheeling sea-birds over head. Judging by the sun, it was already mid-morning. From their more elevated view point, Kagome noted that the temple was located at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by jutting cliffs and wild flowers. Further down the coast, she could see the land stretching for miles to form bulging mountains, turned gray by the haze of day. Nestled in the small bay where the peninsula met the mainland was a small, quaint village.

And yes, Kagome decided it must be mainland. In fact, judging by the descriptions she had heard sailors tell, this was Sounion, where the main temple of Poseidon was situated. Well, at least they didn't have to worry about catching any more ships. They could walk to Delphi from here, along the coast. It would only take them...the rest of the season.

Squinting at the small village again, Kagome felt her stomach rumble. She was famished, yesterday's breakfast had ended up in a bucket on that ship, and now their money had joined it on the bottom of the Mediterranean. She suddenly felt like crying again.

"So wench, still think stealing is wrong?"

Inuyasha was staring at the little village with a kind of predatorial gleam in his eyes. Kagome bit her lower lip and quickly set her jaw.

"Yes."

Inuyasha looked at her, eyebrows raised. "What? You'd rather starve to death? Keh!"

"There are other ways than stealing." She said plainly.

"Don't tell me you're gonna go begging for food now. Ha! A great princess like you, a beggar!" His voice was mocking, but he quickly did a double take when Kagome nodded solemnly.

"Y...You're kidding. You'd actually beg?"

Kagome took a step forward before turning back to him. With a small smile and a little shrug she said, "Well, I can always repay them later, once I'm a princess again."

And leaving behind a shocked Inuyasha, she followed the path down to the village.

*~*~*~*~*

"Okay, now where do I start."

Being a princess, she wasn't exactly used to begging for food. After all, it used to come magically in by the plate full until she was bursting and then some, if she preferred it. What to do... what to do...

"Hup, urg, erp...." Weird straining noises brought Kagome back around to her senses. Looking ahead on the deserted street, she was greeted with an almost comical site. There was an old man, so tiny he barely seemed to make it up to her waist. As she watched, the elderly gentleman dragged a rather heavy looking stool out around the corner before positioning it in front of what Kagome could only guess what his home. He placed it by one of the front shutters, which was hanging crooked on its hinges, and proceeded to climb the ladder and attempt to reach up to the top of the shutter to replace the pin that had once held the top hinge together. He reached and he strained, and he stood on tip toe, but couldn't quite make it.

Finally, Kagome had enough of watching the poor old guy struggle, and stepping up beside him, easily slipped the pin out of his grasp and placed it in the hole it was made for. The old man stopped, surprised, before spinning around to look at her. Kagome smiled in return, and greeted the man with a polite "Good morning sir."

The old man blinked at her, once, twice, then gave his head a shake. "G-good morning young lady."

A moment passed.

Two.

The old guy was still staring at her, scrutinising. Kagome shifted her feet uncomfortably. Should she ask him? There didn't seem to be too many other people around.

"Umm, sir...erm..."

"Oh, I am sorry. Pardon my staring, it's just, I don't believe I've ever seen you around here before. Are you visiting from somewhere?"

Kagome blinked, "W-well, almost. I was on this ship, you see, and then there was this storm..."

The old man's eyes instantly went all wide and watery. "You were ship wreaked, here! Oh you poor thing. Please, come inside, come inside. My name is Myouga by the way. Come in, come in...."

*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha was beside himself with shock. "Whaaat! You told him THAT and he just gave you the food!"

"For the thousandth time, yes! I told him I was travelling, my supplies had been lost, and he said he had more than he needed. Not all people are greedy, suspicious meanies you know. Some of them can be nice."

"Keh! I'll believe that when I see it!"

"What? What do you mean? Aren't I nice enough to you?"

"Keh!"

They were on the road again, heading north-west along the coast at a leisurely pace, so as not to overheat in the harsh sunlight. Inuyasha was munching on some type of turnip that Kagome wouldn't even think of eating raw, but he didn't seem to mind. It wasn't like they had anything to cook it with either, so she just let him have it. She also noticed he wasn't having as much trouble with the brightness of everything now, which was good. The landscape was pretty rugged, with very few trees growing anywhere. The few that they did pass were twisted and windswept which made them pretty useless for any sort of shade. Luckily, it was almost over. A few more hours and the sun would have set behind the higher mountains of the Spartan peninsula. Good, Kagome thought, because she was hot.

Sniff, sniff sniff....

Inuyasha stopped moving and lifted his head up just slightly to catch the breeze. Kagome watched him curious. "What is it?"

He stopped smelling and scowled, instantly suspicious. "I don't know." he said.

"What do you mean? Why are you smelling it then?"

Inuyasha spared her a sideways glare before taking up a slightly broader stance and focusing back on the smell. Not human, not animal, but it was coming closer, fast. Inuyasha began to growl.

"Well, well. I should have expected no better. Travelling with a human. Pathetic."

After nearly jumping out of their sandals, Inuyasha and Kagome both whirled around to see a man suspended in air about twenty feet above and behind them.

Well almost.

Kagome gasped. This man had white hair, dark streaks on both cheeks, and...was that fluffy thing a, a...tail?? Out of the corner of her eye she watched Inuyasha take up a definite fighting stance, claws and fangs bared and at the ready. He was growling now, fiercely, and continued to do so even as the mysterious being suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed soundlessly before them, without ever so much as twitching an eyebrow. Kagome couldn't help but be slightly impressed. She was about to introduce herself as was proper, but Mr.Zero-Gravity spoke first.

"So, Inuyasha, will you give it up willingly, or shall I have to put you in your place like the pathetic half-breed that you are?"

Kagome's high opinion of "Fluffy" was instantly thrown out the proverbial window. Inuyasha wasn't impressed either.

"Keh, what are you talking about, bastard. Who are you? I want to have your name for when I tell people how I ripped you to shreds."

Not a bad comeback. I mean, you have to consider the guy had spent most of his life in isolation. Tail-man remained unfazed.

"Ignorant, but then I expected no less from a useless half-freak, even if he is half my half-freak-brother."

Damn this guy was smooth, wait... "Brother!!?!"

Inuyasha hadn't stopped growling. Mystery man answered without even sparing a glance at Kagome.

"Yes, half-brother. My name is Sesshoumaru, first born son of Inushiro, and unlike you, wothless hanyou, I am a full God-beast."

Inuyasha's growl wavered, for just a split second. Kagome's jaw hit the dirt. "W-wait a minute! He had TWO sons! Inuyasha, why didn't you tell me you had a half brother? Why didn't anybody tell me..."

"SHUT UP, WENCH!" Kagome closed her mouth so quickly it made an audible clap like sound. Before her, the two half brothers continued to stare each other down.

"Keh, you're lying. There's no way I could be related to a stuck up prick like you. Now who are you really? Why are you here?"

The guy-who-Inuyasha-didn't-believe-was-his-brother shot him a cool glare, then his eyes turned mocking.

"Humph. I know your human blood makes you weak, Inuyasha, but I highly doubt that you cannot smell the similarities within our blood." A slight, indifferent shrug. "However, if you choose to ignore the relation between us, all the better for me. I will not become known as the half-brother of such a pathetic creature. As for my reasons for coming here, it is simple. You have the Tetsusaiga, I want it. Will you give it over peacefully, or shall I pry it from your cold, dead claws?"

While Inuyasha took a moment to digest this pansy's flowery speech, Kagome spoke up.

"Hold on! How are we supposed to give you a Tetsus-whatever thing if we don't even know what that is? And in case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have anything of value on us. Just some food and our clothes..." She looked contemplative for a moment," ...Oh, and that sword Inuyasha's father left him, but that's all rusty any ways. It's perfectly useless."

For once, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru both looked directly at her. Inuyasha glared at her for calling something of his useless. Sesshoumaru huffed and said, "Shows what you know, worthless mortal. The blade of my father could kill a hundred lesser beings one swing. Lesser beings just like yourself, or a pathetic half-breed."

His gaze shifted back over to Inuyasha, who hadn't moved an inch out of his fighting stance.

"What say you, Inuyasha. A bastard-half-thing like yourself will never learn the mastery of my fathers fang. Give it to me, and I might let you live."

Now how would you respond to a threat like that?

"Half-thing, huh? I'll show you! This half-thing is more than you'll ever be able to handle, fucking bastard! Now are you going to fight me, or are your flowery words all planted in bullshit?"

Kagome instantly felt the urge to back up or risk getting caught in the middle of a God-beast battle.

"So you choose to fight? Good. I was hoping for an excuse to put an end to your miserable existence."

They flew at each other. Literally. Sesshoumaru summoned some kind of whip thing from his right hand, flicking it to deflect a blow from Inuyasha's claws. Kagome couldn't believe the speed. Sure, she had known Inuyasha was fast, but this was incredible. Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru seemed to be faster. Block punch flick tap kick swipe block flip step dodge block step swipe... Kagome swallowed a lump of fear as the elder demon sent Inuyasha flying with a flick of his wrist. He flew through some shrubs, hit a few rocks, and was back on his feet in seconds.

"Humph, pathetic."

"BASTARD! DIE!!"

Kick dodge step swipe block swipe flick...

Another deep furrow in the ground as Inuyasha was sent plowing . Kagome grimaced, brows knit with worry. Sesshoumaru didn't look like he was fighting seriously yet, he was just toying with Inuyasha, and he was winning. What happened when he got tired of it? There had to be something Inuyasha could do...

"Inuyasha!!"

Huh?

What did that wench want now?

"Use the sword Inuyasha, the sword!"

"Huh??"

Had she lost her mind? The thing was useless!

"Inuyasha! Look out!!"

Too late.

He found himself pinned to the ground, his throat in Sesshoumaru's hand. Not good.

"Understand this, Inuyasha, a worthless half breed like you will never be able to master my father's fang."

Next to his head, Sesshoumaru's right hand was dripping some kind of green liquid, which melted the ground on contact. Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

"Get off of him!!"

And suddenly, Sesshoumaru was gone. A gray object went sailing over Inuyasha. He blinked, a rock? Kagome was throwing rocks at the demon?!!

"You big bully! You just can't accept the fact that Inuyasha's father chose him instead of you! You're like a jealous two year old!!"

"KAGOME!"

Inuyasha sat up, his gaze darting between the human wench and the full god beast, who was now standing just a few feet away. She really was insane! Hell, she was holding a glaring match with Sesshoumaru, and they were even! Suddenly, Inuyasha respected her that much more.

"Humph," Sesshoumaru voiced his amusement. "So, mortal, you would defend this half-thing. Interesting..." He trailed off as Inuyasha started to growl, then a smirk crossed his face.

"Do you desire him, mortal?"

"Wh-WHAT!!"

Now it was Kagome's turn to be struck speechless. Obviously he didn't mean it, so what game was he playing now? She didn't have a chance to consider...

"Asshole!! Take this...!!"

Sesshoumaru effortlessly dodged the attack and caught Inuyasha by his neck again. A turn, a smooth movement of his arm, and Inuyasha was sent flying through the air. He heard Kagome's cry, felt himself hit something, and then keep moving.

When he had finally stopped, that something was still underneath him. It didn't take three guesses to figure out what it was, the smell told him instantly, "Kagome!"

He was off her in an instant. Kagome curled up on her side and clutched her stomach, the wind completely knocked out of her. Inuyasha was about to say something, when a pale green light shone beside him, and he was thrown back by Sesshoumaru's whip. He rolled to a stop, before getting back up to his feet, slightly slower this time.

"You bastard, you did that on purpose!!" He made a gesture to Kagome, who was now directly between the two brothers.

"Humph," was Sesshoumaru's immediate response. "It was her choice to defend you, so she will die."

"W-WHAT!!"

Sesshoumaru, however, was already moving on his stunned prey.

"Shit! Sesshoumaru!!" Inuyasha ran, but there was no way he could be faster than that whip. Leaping, he made a desperate swipe...

...and something happened. Suddenly, the tips of his claws shone bright, leaving horizontal arcs of energy as they passed through the air. Strangely enough, they looked to be made of lightning, and deflected the whip like nothing at all. Sesshoumaru was forced to jump, gracefully, out of their path, as Inuyasha landed lightly beside Kagome and stared at his hand.

"Wh...what the..." was all he breathed. That had NEVER happened before, this power, where had it come from??

"Inu...Inuya, sha." Kagome was looking up at him, weakly. Apparently, she had managed to get back some of her ability to breathe, and she was moving again. Inuyasha let out a breathe he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Stupid Wench! What did you think you were doing, attacking that demon. Do you WANT to die?!"

Kagome smile instantly turned into a scowl, but she couldn't afford to waste any breath on yelling at him. Instead, she turned her gaze back to the already mentioned demon.

He was standing off to the side, looking just the tiniest bit shocked. "Lighning...the bastard can summon lightning, a power only the highest of gods posses..."

Inuyasha was yelling, "Oi, Asshole. Don't tell me you've had enough already! What are you, scared?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "...he must die."

Quicker than the eye could see, the full demon was upon him, and Inuyasha suddenly had the impression he'd pulled the wrong string. The bastards style was completely different from before, and instead of calm and emotionless, his eyes were bright with fury. Inuyasha found himself constantly on the defense, doing slightly less than running for his life. The demon was fast, monstrously fast. Within a matter of seconds, the hanyou was wounded and bleeding from several places on his arms and shoulder. They stung like fire, but he ignored them and focused on the enemy. One slip up, and he was dead.

His hip felt warm too. At first, Inuyasha just passed it off as another slight wound, but as time went on, it didn't start to burn like the others. Instead, it began to pulse and move against him.

The two fighters broke apart, Inuyasha gasping for breath. Behind the sound of blood rushing though his ears, he could make out Kagome yelling encouragement at him. His hip still felt strangely warm, and then his hand brushed up against the hilt of the sword.

It was alive! Well, at least that was Inuyasha's first thought, for the weapon pulsed of its own mysterious heartbeat. Below the hilt, the sheath of the sword was almost hot with the effort of containing the power of the demon blade. Inuyasha found himself drawn to it, as if the blade were calling to him.

Sesshoumaru was eyeing Inuyasha's hip with a glare that could melt steel. The power, it was there, just barely contained below the surface. If Inuyasha drew that sword...

The half demon's hand moved to grasp the hilt one more time...

Sesshoumaru was already upon him, hand raised to strike...

It hit flesh, lots of it. Claws dripping with poison, tearing through blood veins and delicate internal organs. Kagome's scream was drowned out only by Inuyasha's own pained howl as the force of the blow spun him in the air before bringing him down on his side, hard. Inuyasha had never known such pain. It was agony raking up and down his body, shooting through muscles, seeping into bones. It hurt so much, he couldn't scream, couldn't think, couldn't even breathe.

"You monster!... Inuyasha!"

Someone was there, trying to touch him, hurt him more. Monster, that was his name. Gasping brutally, he brought his arm about in a wide arc to push whoever it was away. It hurt, but it also brought him to his senses. He wasn't dead yet, and he was still in danger. The sword was practically burning into his side, the sheath slick with his own blood.

He grabbed it by the hilt and pulled.

Kagome's new glaring contest with Sesshoumaru was cut short as a blast of light erupted behind her. She had been standing in front of Inuyasha ever since he'd pushed her away, trying to think of someway to run from the full demon without getting both of them killed. She wasn't having much luck, but for the moment, her presence alone seemed enough to stun him into inertia. Then, the light had appeared, and both she and Sesshoumaru instantly spun around to stare at Inuyasha.

She hadn't seen it, but for a moment, the god beast was showing an emotion, and it was almost fear.

Inuyasha was standing, shakily, his hands tightly clasped around the hilt of a giant blade forged in the shape of a fang. It gleamed crimson in the setting sun, thirsting for blood.

Sesshoumaru's face again became serious as he focused on the power within.

"So, useless halfling, you have managed to reveal the true shape of the Fang...how futile..."

Kagome watched in amazement as the demon's eyes flashed red. Then, he vanished into a bright ball of light, which flew up into the sky. It stopped, hovering, before crashing back to earth with enough force to leave a small crater. Kagome blocked her eyes from the intense light that followed. When she looked up again, there was no ball, and no white hared
man. Instead, there was an enormous white dog, staring down at her from towering heights. Kagome held her breath.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!"

It took Kagome a moment to realize that this growl was actually coming from behind her. Inuyasha was still standing. It seemed he had forced all his remaining strength into his limbs, forcing them to move. Kagome gulped. "Inuyasha..."

It was like a signal. Sesshoumaru pounced, Inuyasha leapt, Kagome closed her eyes, to afraid to see the outcome. It seemed like ages. A growl, a clash, another growl, and then the sound of something being cut...

"Inuyasha..."

The roar that filled the air was deafening, reaching up to the heavens, Kagome was sure it even shook the moon. Which meant it couldn't have belonged to him, it couldn't have belonged to...

Kagome opened her eyes just in time to see Inuyasha bring his sword across to slash at the full demon's chest. The god beast had reared up on it's hind legs, bleeding heavily from the place his right forelimb no longer was. The force of the attack pushed him backwards and he toppled over the edge the high coastal cliffs.

There was no splash. Kagome ran to the edge to see why, only to discover he was gone, vanished into thin air.

Behind her, someone gasped. Inuyasha stood, covered in his own blood, panting as he held his stomach in one hand, sword in another. Kagome watched as the blade seemed to vaporize, shrinking quietly back into an old rusted sword once again.

Just as quietly, Inuyasha stopped moving, went limp, and fell.

"INUYASHA!!"

*~*~*~*~*

"Brover, wanna come play wif me?"

"No"

"Come on, pleeeeese?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because Prince's can't play with monsters."

"Monster?"

"Yes. Father told me, your dad was a monster. That makes you a monster too. I can't play with you."

"...But...but...Mommy's not a monster."

"Father said that the monster came and tricked Mother into loving him. That's why she had you."

"But she's still not a monster."

"So you're half monster then, I still can't play with you. Father says one day you're going to turn evil and start killing people. Then we'll have to kill you, so I can't like you, and I can't play with you."

"But...but...I-I don't wanna kill people!!"

"You will. You're half monster remember?"

"Stop it!"

"See, you're getting violent already!"

"....."

"Maybe we should kill you now, before you turn evil, and hurt Mother or Father."

"No, wait, Brover!!"

"Don't call me brother, monster."

"Look there he is, there's the monster!"

"W...wait!"

"Let's get him! Attack!"

"STOP IT!!"

"Look out! He'll kill you! Run!!'

"Don't get close, I'll attack him with the arrows."

"NO!!"

"Everyone else attack him once he's wounded."

"STOP!!"

"Oh my god! You killed him!"

"MONSTER!!"

"Get him!"

"AHHHH!!!"

"Monster"

*~*~*~*~*

"Inuyasha"

"Monsser...ungh..."

"Inuyasha..." He was having a nightmare, she realized. Eyebrows furrowed in concern, Kagome brought her hand up to stroke his cheek.

He flinched and instantly tried to twist away. "...I?...n...evl...why?" He whimpered and Kagome decided she'd heard enough. Setting the water skin and rag down, she reached up with both hands and trapped his thrashing head between her palms. He began to protest, arching his back slightly, his arms flailing weakly out from his sides. Kagome grimaced and set to work, lightly tapping his cheeks to wake him up.

When he did, his golden eyes shot up and his mouth opened wide, breath stuck somewhere between a huge gasp and a silent scream of terror. His eyes darted around frantically, looking for his pursuers, his tormentors, the humans from his dreams. Kagome felt the skin under her hands become slick with new sweat as he saw her. So close...

"Inuyasha?"

She was so close...too close, she wanted to hurt him, kill him, hunt him. He could still hear their voices. He tried to push her away but his arms..."

"Inuyasha."

His arms wouldn't move. They were weighted down, as if made of lead. His whole body was made of lead, yet it burned like fire too. Pain, pain was everywhere. He had to get away, she was so close. So close. She was shaking him.

"Inuyasha!"

The back of his head hit something. He knew it wasn't hard, and yet oddly enough he saw stars for a moment. Closing his eyes he waited for it to pass, going limp. When he opened them again, it was just Kagome, there, holding his head in her hands...wait a minute.

"Get off me, wench! Don't touch me."

He tried to swipe her away, but his body still felt like metal and fire. Kagome gave a small, relieved sigh before leaning back and releasing her hold on him. "You're okay..."

She said it like a statement, instead of another one of her annoying questions. "Keh! Sorrry to disappoint you, bitch."

Her relieved face turned into a stern frown and she shot him a pointed glare. Then she let out another sigh, this one of fatigue, before reaching down to pick up her cloth and water skin and returning to her task.

Inuyasha almost jolted out of his skin when he felt something cold brush against the searing flesh of his stomach. Wait a minute, hadn't he been wearing a shirt before...

"Don't move Inuyasha, I don't want to hurt you any more than you already are. There's something in your wounds that's keeping them open. I think it's poison. I'm trying to get it out."

Inuyasha remembered the green stuff dripping from the bastard's claws.

"Don't touch me!"

Kagome paused, then looked up at him, surprised and maybe even a little hurt. "Inuyasha, I don't know what this stuff is, but we have to get it out..."

"Stupid, I said I'm fine. I don't need your help!"

Kagome stared at him in disbelieve for a few more seconds. Then suddenly, she moved, placing the wet cloth against his wound.

Inuyasha jumped, yet again, the muscles under the cloth contracting violently despite their injury. Inuyasha let out a loud shout-hiss in pain and Kagome froze. "Inuyasha?"

"Fucking bitch...grrrrrrrrrrr!"

Kagome scowled at him and grit her teeth. What was his problem? Yes, he hated her. Yes he thought she was an annoying wench, and a bitch. But she was trying to help HIM and the sooner he quit playing his childish games and let her, the sooner it would be over. She tried again, and again he pulled away, hissing and snarling like some wild animal.

"Fuck, damn, stupid..." he froze, held his breath, then let it out in a rush. "What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"Oh stop being a baby, it's only water."

"I don't care what it is, I don't need you poking around my wounds bitch I can take care of myself!"

"Fine then."

He flinched again as she dropped the rag down on his stomach and stood up. At first, he thought she was going to leave him, alone, wounded, and walk away. Then, however, she picked up a pile of dry sticks and tossed them on the dying fire, stoking it until it returned to a bright and merry blaze. She sat down and turned her back to him, unmoving, and stared out at the sea as it twinkled in the moonlight. Inuyasha realized that should have been his cue to pick up the rag and begin cleaning his wounds, however, he remained still.

Because the truth was, he couldn't move. His limbs still felt heavy, as if they'd been tied down, but he knew they hadn't. It was the poison, he realized. Coursing through his veins, it paralyzed him, leaving him weaker than a new born baby. Pathetic. He also realized he should probably get the rest of the poison out before any more of it got into his blood stream, but how? It took almost all his strength to bring his lethargic hand up level with the top of his stomach. It was shaking with exertion. Dammit he was sweating and his throat was desert dry. His hand gave up the venture and dropped back to the ground. It stayed there no matter how he cursed at it or commanded it to move. Fuck this! Fuck that asshole Sesshoumaru. This was all his fault. Fuck him to Hades.

Kagome turned around when she noticed Inuyasha growling. To her surprise, he hadn't moved yet, but then, if he could move, he probably would have forcefully removed her from him, instead of simply yelling at her. Heaving another frustrated sigh, she moved back over to him, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her ribs. Wordlessly she picked the bloody rag back up and poured some more clean water over it, rinsing it out. She was about to place it on the wound when his voiced stopped her.

"Kagome..."

She paused and looked at him. His eyes were closed, cheeks slightly flushed in the firelight.

"Can I... can I have some water?"

Kagome blinked, "Oh...of course." Stupid, why hadn't she thought of that sooner? Of course he would be thirsty. But then, come to think of it, why did it take him so long to ask? and why did he sound so...ashamed? Pushing the thought aside, she wondered how she was going to lift his head up enough for him to drink without breaking his rule of "no touching." Finally, she just leaned down and slipped her hand under both his head and the ruined shirt it was thinly pillowed on. Holding him up, she awkwardly brought the skein to his lips and let him drink his fill.

Slumping down onto his tiny "pillow" again, Kagome listened to him breath a slight sigh of relief. It seemed a very strange sound to be coming out of Inuyasha, peaceful, soft. The moment was ruined the second Kagome snatched the cloth and absentmindedly wiped the sweat from his forehead. The brief contact make him tense and angry again. On a completely different note, Kagome realized that his fever was back up.

"It must be the poison again," she thought. Aloud she said, "Like it or not, Inuyasha, I'm going to have to clean out that wound of yours. Just sit still and I'll be done as soon as I can." He grunted in response, and Kagome, once again, rinsed the cloth out.

The second it touched his skin, he did that muscle jerk thing again. His jaw and throat muscles constricted to bite back his vocal reaction of curses and shouts. Kagome ignored it and gently dabbed at the wound, sweating herself. She hated hurting him like this, but it was his own fault, and the wound had to be cleaned. He hadn't stopped straining against her hand, in fact, he was holding his breath, letting it out in ragged gasps whenever he dared.

Breathing a sigh of her own relief, she finished cleaning one deep scratch and removed the cloth. Instantly, Inuyasha went slack, panting as though he'd just run all the way to Marathon and back. Kagome cleaned off the rag, squeezed it out, and wet it again. She was just about to move on to the next scratch when she saw Inuyasha tense, a hair's breath below her hand the muscle gave as spasm, then began quivering uncontrollably.

Kagome stopped, and stared. She hadn't even touched him yet, how could it be painful already? Besides, it was just water, it shouldn't sting or anything.

He was still trembling, eyes closed, fists clenched. She waited, and after a moment, he opened one eye to see what was taking so long. The shimmering gold orb took one look at the proximity of her hand and slammed itself shut again. The tremors doubled, and suddenly, it dawned on her. In the labyrinth when she'd tripped and hit him, on the street when he'd been unexpectedly bumped or pushed, his violent reactions weren't merely because he was temperamental.

The truth was, he was absolutely terrified of being touched, by anyone. Kagome bit her lower lip in sympathy. He had been alone all his life, the only people physically close to him were terrified prisoners, who had been fighting against him for their lives. Human contact was something completely unnatural and foreign to him, of course he would fear it, especially when he was wounded like this, vulnerable. She pulled her hand away.

"Inuyasha."

At the movement, his eyes snapped open and he suddenly seemed almost relived, but then stopped.

"Oi, wench! I thought you were going to do it as fast as you could. What are you, a slug?"

She didn't respond, just sat there, staring at her lap. Inuyasha hated being ignored.

"Hey, bitch..."

How could she do this. She had to clean the wound, but she didn't want to hurt him. Maybe she could let him do it by himself...no wait, they'd tried that...Aha!!

"Kagome?"

Her head suddenly snapped back up and her eyes met his. She smiled, her hand going down to grasp at his and lift it up onto her lap. He furrowed his brows, unsure of what she was doing, when she suddenly pulled his fist open and placed the piece of cloth in his palm. The fingers of her smaller hand slid along behind his, tips brushing deadly claws without so much as a stutter of hesitation. Her other hand grasped his wrist gently but firmly, then lifted it up and brought it out over Inuyasha's stomach. Her fingers manipulated his, moving his hand, bringing it down.

Inuyasha didn't flinch. It felt weird, true, Kagome moving his hand in hers so he could clean his wound, but it was a different type of weird. The shock of cool water on his hot skin wasn't nearly as unexpected now that he knew exactly where and when it was going to be, even if he wasn't controlling it. He actually thought it felt good...a little. The burning sensation was lessened, and the pressure of Kagome's hands was gentle, soft.

"There! I think that's done!"

Inuyasha blinked as she set his hand back down at his side and released it from her grasp. He felt a tingle where her hands had been, and was almost able to imagine that they were still there.

*~*~*~*~*