InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of All the Things ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Of All the Things

By: RedHerring

Chapter 2

Inuyasha grunted and furrowed his forehead as he drifted back into consciousness. Every inch on him hurt, inside and out. It felt like he had been smushed between two boulders, ground between them a bit, and then had his tattered remains set on fire for a while before the flames were beaten off of him with a mallet. Parts of him hurt that he wasn't even aware existed.

Inuyasha regained his senses in layers. First to come was his sense of smell, and the stench of medicinal herbs, mixed in with blood and burned flesh assaulted his nose. When he could hear, he heard Kaede talking to someone and instructing them on doing… something. It hurt his head to think too much right now. He didn't even want to open his eyes and see if he could even stay conscious when the light his them.

Inuyasha gave a groan, alerting the occupants of the hut to his conscious state. Kaede shuffled tiredly over to him and sat down by his head. Inuyasha felt her hands on his face removing bandages.

"What happened, old hag?" he said quietly. Even then, the sound hurt almost too much to handle.

"Ye had a battle with Naraku and ye were hurt near to death," she replied just as softly. Inuyasha gave a grunt and remained quiet, not trusting whatever was in his stomach at the moment to stay there if given the opportunity to escape.

"From the looks of it, ye won too, although the Jewel was shattered again," Kaede continued as she finished gently removing the bandages. A wave of intense relief washed over Inuyasha. Naraku was dead; one huge burden had just been lifted from his shoulders. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Where-" Inuyasha started, but choked back the question as he gagged. The intense pain was making him nauseous. "Where is everyone else?" he tried again.

"Everyone is fine. They are injured, but alive and recovering. Ye are the first one to awaken since the battle, ten days ago," she replied

"That's… good," he sighed. Then he dropped back off to sleep, welcoming the relief from the pain as his tired mind shut down.

Kaede sighed. This was a good sign, since the others should begin to awaken soon. Kaede had been worried when it was taking so long for the others to wake up, although that could have been an effect of the explosion. When the villagers had found the motionless bodies sprawled on the ground, Kaede had feared the worst. It was a great relief to find that everyone was alive, although the presence of another person was still a mystery. Even with everyone safe, Kaede still worried. Inuyasha had come close to dying on three occasions when his fever spiked to a dangerous level. He still had a fever, but it had died down to a safer level.

The others weren't that bad. Everyone had a fever while unconscious, in varying degrees of severity. Shippou emerged from the battle with only a few scrapes, but he was still held unconscious. Kagome had a sprained ankle and some bruised ribs. She was stirring and Kaede expected her to wake up in a few hours. Miroku's arm was bound in a splint and were healing nicely; his ribs were bound and his fever had broken two nights ago. Sango's wounds weren't apparent when the villagers had shown up because she was buried under Kirara, who only had a broken tail and a couple of gashes. Sango needed treatment for burns on her legs and arms, bandaged ribs, and Kaede had to sear a very horrible stab wound shut.

Everyone was badly burned, but none so badly as the strange red haired girl. When she was found, she had a dried casing of mud on her, that must have protected her from the worst of the heat, and served to sooth the burns immediately after, but she was still charred badly. She would have some scars, on her hands and legs, where she was burnt the worst, but otherwise she would be unscathed. Other than that, bruised ribs and a sprained shoulder weren't too horrible to take care of.

The only thing that could not be fixed was the well. Kaede was shocked when she had seen the splintered remains of the time portal. She had sensed no magic left in or around it. Kaede knew that Kagome would be devastated, but she decided to wait on revealing that piece of news until Kagome was well enough to walk. Until then, she didn't want to risk her condition worsening.

Kaede sighed as she gathered up her supplies, finished with the hanyou's bandages. She was getting too old for this, and the nights of little sleep weren't good for her health, but the villagers couldn't spare any more people to help out. So she shuffled over to her futon, leaving the mess for her helpers to clean up, and tried to catch as much sleep as she could before someone else needed to be tended.

~*~

A few days later, almost everyone was awake. They had slept so long due to the massive amounts of miasma that washed over them in the explosion. Kagome was propped against a wall, sitting next to Inuyasha, who still could not sit up, holding Shippou in her lap. Miroku was across the room using his good arm to help Kaede remove the last bandage on Sango's arms. Sango let him, grudgingly, but kept an eye on both of his hands, no matter that one was out of commission the monk had managed to surprise her before.

The only one not awake was the topic of discussion. Everyone felt well enough now to stay awake for nearly the entire day, as long as they moved as little as possible.

"Her name is Takara. She's from my time and goes to my school, but I don't know her very well," Kagome was telling everyone.

"How did she follow you here?" asked Miroku.

"I don't know for sure. She had a Shikon shard with her, but I thought only Inuyasha and I could pass through the well. It was a surprise when I saw her coming out of the woods," Kagome explained.

"What the hell did she think she was doing, running into the battle like that, she almost got killed," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Inuyasha, she was the one who distracted Naraku enough so that we could attack him," Kagome reminded him.

"Where did she learn to fight like that?" asked Sango curiously.

"Her father owns the dojo that some kids in the school go to. She's been fighting since she was really young and she's really good too. She's even won several championships for the school," Kagome explained.

"I still don't understand what she was doing following you in the first place," Inuyasha grumbled.

"I don't know either. I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up," Kagome said tiredly. Kaede entered just then, carrying a few bundles of vegetables and some meats that the villagers had provided. Inuyasha groaned when the smell of meat got stronger as Kaede entered the hut. His stomach was *still* tumbling even after all this time. He tossed his head to the side, only he didn't really do it like he normally would have. He still hurt so he had to turn his head gently. He found himself looking at Kagome's knee, and you know when your mind tends to latch onto comforting thoughts when you're in pain? Well, that's what Inuyasha's mind did then. Thoughts of a smiling Kagome entered his mind. He thought of her smell, her soft skin, and her rosy lips. How he wanted to touch those lips with his own. Normally his thoughts would be forced from this dangerous subject by then, due to the fact that if he went any further he would get a goofy smile on his face; but he really didn't want to stop his train of thought. It was taking away some of the pain and he was really liking it. So he let the smile spread across his face. The others would probably think he was smiling about finally killing Naraku, and only the monk would think otherwise.

Kaede proceeded to cut up the meat and vegetables to make a stew that eventually convinced the hanyou's stomach to accept a small portion of it. Since he really couldn't move, Kagome had to feed it to him, since she was closest. Miroku tried to hold back his amused laughter when Inuyasha grumbled, but did nothing much to stop her as she fed him pieces of meat. Sango looked at the pair and blushed, looking down quickly at her own bowl of the steaming convection to study it with feigned interest. Shippou just lounged against Kagome and scarfed down his food, then promptly curled up to take a nap. Usually, he would spend some time trying to bait Inuyasha into a reaction, but even he wasn't so heartless as to tease Inuyasha when he was feeling so badly.

The day passed slowly. Takara still slept on, her only motion was the slight rise and fall of her chest. No one really had anything to do but sit there and think. And everyone had a lot of things to think about. Now that Naraku was gone, now what?

Miroku had yet to see if his wind tunnel was gone. He didn't want to open it in the hut and accidentally suck something into the void, so he would have to wait until he could go outside; but even if it was gone, then what? Could he actually settle down and start a real life? A life where he wasn't in constant worry for his safety and that of his friends? Inuyasha still had to find the Jewel shards again. Would he go with them, or try to settle down in the village? And what about Sango? Now that there was a chance that he wasn't going to die, he could have her. He was always afraid of getting too close to Sango, least he hurt her when he died; but now he didn't have to worry about that. As soon as he was better he would see what Sango planned to do. If she wanted to continue the shard hunt, then he would follow her. But he would definitely clean up his act and really try to start winning her affections.

Inuyasha was thinking along the same lines. Naraku was dead! He could finally relax a little and not worry that someone he loved could be used against him! Kagome could be his! She would be his, no matter what. Everyone who stood in his way could go to hell. Speaking of hell... Kikyo had to be taken care of. Inuyasha really wasn't looking forward to it, either. Not that he still loved her, no. His love for the miko had vanished a long time ago. It had taken a while, though; the fifty years pinned to the tree seemed like no time at all. One minute Inuyasha was staring at the only person who accepted him, shooting him with an arrow. The next, he finds out that she'd been dead for fifty years. Love like they shared does not disappear in a day. He still felt some sort of love for her. He always would. The kind of fond feelings you feel towards your first love; but that wouldn't be a problem. He had to return Kagome's soul back to her and he had to make her understand that he loved her.

Planning went on throughout the day, no one really having anything better to do than sit there. Some plans even started to take effect that very day. Miroku didn't even attempt to grope Sango, although he had to make a conscious effort to subdue the habit. And Inuyasha didn't pull his head away when Kagome's hand absently trailed to his ear to rub it gently. On the contrary, the rubbing sent him to sleep with that smile still plastered to his face.

~*~

Hours later, Inuyasha was jolted out of his pleasant sleep by a loud, terrifying, blood-curdling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" he jumped up and looked around, ignoring the pain that shot through his body as he did so.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT EVER AGAIN!!" the person went on screaming. For a minute Inuyasha thought that Miroku was groping Sango, but he was looking around bewilderedly in the corner of the room that he was last in. Soft morning light spilt through the window falling on Kaede and Kagome, leaning over a figure on the floor. It appeared that the mysterious red-haired girl had woken up, rather violently too.

"Be quiet, Takara. I thought you would be used to pain," Kagome said nonchalantly.

"I'm used to bruises and broken bones," Takara whined, "not BURNED FLESH!"

"Hold still and stop squirming, or it'll hurt worse," Kagome said, her patience running low.

"It'll hurt even less if you just stop!" moaned the pitiful pile of burns and bandages, wincing as Kagome poked at a tender spot. She was on her stomach with Kagome sitting on her right side with a jar of burn medicine and a mountain of bandages. Takara's hands were into her blankets and her bottom lip was almost bloody from the effort of trying to hold in the screams. Her flaming red hair was filthy and tied in a long braid that rested next to her head, over her shoulder.

"But I can't stop, otherwise they'll get infected," Kagome explained, none too patiently.

"Then let me sit here and rot!" Takara whined petulantly.

"No! Besides, it'll hurt worse if it gets infected."

"But it'll hurt less until-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She gave another piercing scream as Kagome peeled off another bandage on her back. The exposed skin was red and bloody, giving her good reason to be making the racket she was.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TOUCHING THAT?!" Takara shouted.

"Quit being a baby,"

"I'd like to see how you would handle this position!"

"I wouldn't whine as much as you!"

"You don't know that-owowowowowowwwwwwww"

"Jeez, you're just as bad as Inuyasha," Kagome groaned.

"Hah! That insult doesn't work on me, since I have no idea what you're talking about," Takara said in mock triumph.

"Can't you bitches keep it down? You're giving me a headache with all your yelling," whined Inuyasha.

"Don't call me a bitch; and why don't you just go outside?" asked Kagome. "In fact, take Miroku with you. I'll need to do her front after I finish her back."

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted, but he slowly inched his way onto his hands and knees to crawl at a painful pace towards the door. Inuyasha felt pathetic. It was really bothering him that it was taking him so long to heal. The most he could manage was to crawl out the door and lean against the wall of the hut.

Miroku joined him a few seconds later, panting and huffing.

"You look pathetic, Miroku,"

"You don't look all that spiffy, yourself,"

"Spiffy?" Inuyasha asked dubiously.

"I think I have to agree with the monk on that one," said a mysterious voice that didn't remain mysterious for long, seeing as the dust settled and the figure was now visible. Kouga was standing there in all his smugness, his mere presence infuriating to the seated hanyou.

"So you're saying that you would use the word spiffy?" Miroku asked, but he was ignored.

"What the do you want here, wimpy wolf?" Inuyasha growled dangerously.

"I came to see my woman, dog breath," stated Kouga simply.

"I am afraid that Kagome is temporarily unavailable, Kouga," Miroku interjected before Inuyasha could get even more riled up.

"And why is-"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,"

"I believe that is why," Miroku winced.

"What did you do to my woman, dog turd?" barked Kouga. Before anyone could stop him Kouga dashed into the hut. What he expected to see, and no one knows what he expected to see (I don't even think he knows), was not what he found. Kaede had moved over to the fire pit and was stirring something that smelled heavily of mint, Kagome was trying to keep Takara on the floor and stop her from getting up and running away.

"I didn't do anything, you freak," was heard outside as Inuyasha tried to crane his head for a better look inside. Kagome looked up at the figure blocking the light from the doorway.

"Oh, hi Kouga-kun," Kagome said as she viciously poked Takara in the back, getting another agonizing scream from her patient.

"Stay there, or I won't hesitate to rub sand on your back," scolded Kagome who sat back with a satisfied smirk when Takara blanched.

"What's going on Kagome?" asked Kouga who was looking in between Takara, her back, and Kagome.

"She's murdering me horribly! She gets some sick twisted pleasure from tearing the skin off of me!" Takara wailed.

"Oh, be quiet you. It's just a little burn," Kagome said as she tore another scrap of cloth off of Takara's back. Takara gave up yelling at Kagome, seeing as it was useless and she would undoubtedly scrape her back again if she tried to escape the torture. She settled for grumbling under her breath and whimpering piteously when Kagome hit a particularly sore spot.

"Kagome, what happened?" Kouga asked again, considering the fact that Kagome was distracted with tending this very burnt person. Kagome looked up at Kouga and smiled.

"We beat Naraku!" she shouted for Joy.

"What?" Kouga asked, stunned. The dog crap beat Naraku?

"I know. I still can't really believe he's gone, though. It feels too easy," Kagome pondered.

"Speak for yourself!" came several shouts in various degrees of anger and disbelief.

"No, what I mean is, is that every time we thought we beat him; it was just another one of his tricks. How do we know that this isn't still one of them?"

"I believe that ye have defeated him for good this time," said Kaede.

"What makes you say that?" asked Kouga as he sat down across from Kagome. Takara was in between them, still grumbling and trying to focus on the conversation.

"Kagome, nothing could have faked that explosion," reasoned Takara. "Even Inuyasha was knocked out for over a week because of it. You were the farthest away and Kaede said that you were out for two."

"So Naraku is really dead?" Kouga asked disbelievingly.

"It looks that way," Kagome said. She was still in shock. The most dangerous thing in her life had just been violently ripped away. She didn't have to worry anymore about Naraku tricking one of her friends. She didn't have to worry if she'd live through the adventure. Naraku was the most evil and powerful villain they faced, and he no longer posed a threat.

"Kagome, I think I really need to get home," Takara interrupted her musing. Kaede looked up worried; she didn't want to have to tell her now. It was too soon.

"Oh! I forgot! I can go home and get some cream to help the burns. I don't think you should move though; it might make them worse," Kagome happily rambled on, exited about going home and sharing the good news with her family.

"Kagome, child," Kaede interrupted. Kagome looked up at Kaede's solemn face curiously. "I think ye should sit down and listen for a bit," Kagome nodded and everyone looked it, interested in what Kaede would have to be grave about.

Kagome got a very nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach; her bubbly mood disappearing in a flash in the wake of her anxiety.

"What is it Kaede? What happened?"

"Child, ye know that ye were very near the well when Naraku detonated," Kaede began. Kagome's stomach dropped another notch and she started to shake. Kouga shot her a nervous glance and Inuyasha started to get up and prepare to chase her when she bolted.

"When we went to retrieve ye, there was no well," dead silence greeted her words. "I am afraid the well has been destroyed."

AN: I hope you liked it! Hopefully I will be getting a pic of Takara up soon. That is if I can have patience enough to draw her. I suck at drawing, but at least it will give you an idea of what I want her to look like. Anyways, a cliffy. Yes I am evil. Please read and review! More reviews means a happier and more motivated me, which means more chapters coming out faster!! ^~^