InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One Can Only Wander For So Long ❯ Rescuing the Rescuer ( Chapter 4 )

Revisions! Wording changed, plot smoothed, descriptions tweaked. Mm, carnage. ;)

 

Disclaimer - Of course, I don't own the Inuyasha characters.

 

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One Can Only Wander for So Long

By Alesyira

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Chapter Four - Rescuing the Rescuer

 

...Warm fingertips graced her shoulder in a feather-light touch, tracing across her clavicle to wrap around her left shoulder. A second arm hooked slowly over her front, teasing the flesh under her breasts with curled knuckles, sliding along her chest to curl around her ribcage. Kagome was slowly being wrapped in a warm, teasing embrace, finding herself pulled close against a solid chest... Her eyes slipped shut as he nudged her curtain of hair away from the right side of her neck and nuzzled the flesh where shoulder met neck. She shivered as she felt whispering words against her skin.

 

"You..." he whispered so softly that Kagome could barely hear the word. The person holding her hesitated for the slightest moment, then began speaking once again. She could feel the movement of the warm lips speaking against her skin, teasing her, but heard no other sounds in the warm darkness. She tilted her head to the left, allowing easier access to whoever held her so tenderly; the smallest of sighs escaping from her slightly parted lips as she felt his moist breath puff against her skin...

 

Darkness fell. A deep, blanketing dullness of the senses, destroying any traces of happiness the short dream had brought. She struggled against the void, trying to make sense of her surroundings, twisting about in the empty dreamscape in an attempt to locate anything. Light suddenly burst from an unknown source, and she clenched her eyes shut against the blinding brightness... it faded as quickly as it had appeared, leaving everything shrouded in a thick, hazy gray.

 

A throbbing ache in her head slowly registered as Kagome came to. `Ugh...' she thought as she cracked open her eyes, blinking a few times to clear the blur. She was lying in the shade; the sun had traveled far enough to dip behind the tree line. A few hours must have passed since she came to the riverbed to clean the rabbit. She raised a hand to her head, gingerly touching a sore spot. She would probably sport several nasty bruises tomorrow, and she had no doubt suffered a concussion with how long she had laid there unconscious.

 

`What happened?' she thought with a panic. Her third arrow had never fired, and the first two had barely seemed to hurt the damned creature. She had watched the monstrous paw descend towards her, knowing that surely her life was at its end. The blur of white right before the blow must have been... `Someone else?' she blinked in confusion, trying to clear the fog that clung to her thoughts. The sudden apprehension that she wasn't alone in the clearing jarred her from her moment of muddled reflection, whipping her senses back into focus.

 

Much to her dismay, as soon as she'd taken a steadying breath of air, she found herself choking on the thick odor of drying blood and burnt flesh. She sat up quickly, wrinkling her nose and trying to control a gag with the back of her hand. Her gaze fell on the bloody carcass lying in a heap a short distance from her, and she couldn't hold back the shudder that racked her body.

 

It had, as far as she could tell, been torn up rather badly, its flesh violently ripped in numerous places, the youkai's throat - or lack of, now - visible with its head twisted oddly in her direction. She looked around in morbid curiosity, noting an arm that seemed to have melted off after the creature had fallen. A curl of strange smoke still wafted up from the corpse, and she could vaguely hear the sound of its flesh sizzling. She felt nauseous sitting so close to the carnage, but her shock overrode her common sense, and she continued to sit there, dumbfounded at the strange turn of events.

 

Small movement from her left finally caught her attention, and she looked down to see a beautiful white dog lying with its head in her palm. `What? When did...' she thought in confusion, feeling strange that she hadn't noticed him right away, especially with her hand pillowing his head.

 

Cleaner patches of his fur ruffled in the breeze, but for the most part, the poor creature was coated in blood and gore. She frowned immediately, knowing that this must have been what had saved her. A quick sweep of her gaze over his body showed her that the broken flesh coating the canine didn't seem to be his own, and she sighed in slight relief, shifting towards him warily. She could see several gashes across his body, however, most of which had stopped bleeding to seal over with dried blood.

 

He had collapsed next to her, and where their bodies touched she felt strangely warm and tingly. She frowned at the odd feeling in her arm and attempted to remove her hand, but the sudden motion of her arm brought a sharp gasp with the pain lancing through her shoulder.

 

She grumbled under her breath - It seemed the blow had done more than just knock her unconscious; it had also dislocated her arm. Again. It had happened a few times before during training exercises with Sango... not just because her friend was a deadly opponent even in mock fights, but also because when Kagome lost her focus - which happened more frequently if she was around people - she found herself to be extremely accident-prone.

 

Her ability to sense intentions could be rather distracting, and she wished every other day that she had someone to tell her how to control herself. She let out a sigh, rolling her neck and uninjured shoulder in a measure to relax. A warm, tingling sensation crept up her arm from her hand, taking the edge off her pain as she sat there considering her options. She looked down at the canine in curiosity, wondering what exactly was going on.

 

The deep gashes along the dog's body already seemed to be healing at a faster-than-usual rate, but Kagome could tell the poor thing needed some medical attention. She used her right hand to free her left then worked carefully on standing, trying not to jar her already tender shoulder. Her legs were shaky and unstable, and she hoped she'd be able to at least get back to the woods. She took a moment to steady herself before she walked over to the closest trunk and smashed her left shoulder into the wood, crying out in pain as she relocated the limb. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she carefully moved her arm in a circle, making sure it was reset correctly.

 

She took a deep breath to compose herself, bidding the pain to fade before she crept back over to the injured dog. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to lift him, but she snuck her hands under his neck and hindquarters, mildly surprised when he lifted easily in her grasp. She carefully carried the unconscious dog over to the stream, pulling open her first-aid kit to rifle through the supplies. She stripped off her shirt and rinsed it thoroughly in the cool water, then used it to clear away the excess blood that had caked around the rapidly healing cuts.

 

After running some water over the extra bloody patches, she could easily see that most of the slashes on the dog had completely closed, with only the largest two still slightly open. Once the two larger cuts had been sprayed with a disinfectant and carefully bandaged, she collected the small amount of gear that had been strewn across the clearing.

 

She slung her weapon over her shoulder before hefting the still-unconscious dog into her arms. She felt obligated to see to the dog's health, as well as try and find his owner. `He must be a trained guard dog, or one with definite human companionship to have protected me, a complete stranger, from certain death,' she rationalized. It was the least she could do for the creature that had saved her life. A warm tingle rose up her arm again as she trekked the short distance back to her campsite and truck, blanketing her wounded shoulder and dulling the still-throbbing pain.

 

A strange, unnatural chill swept over her neck as she pushed the dog into the passenger side of her truck, and she had to suppress the urge to shudder as she ran back to the small campsite she'd chosen to pick up her backpack. She cast a wary glance around the woods while she collected her possessions, fear creeping through her the longer she remained.

 

`Bad, something bad is coming,' she thought as another chill passed over her body, jerking her into action. She could feel the malice seeping through the area, and for all she knew, maybe an entire horde of youkai was on the warpath in her direction. She raced back to the truck and threw everything haphazardly into the truck bed. She hopped into the front seat and took off with a blaze of spinning tires, dust and rocks kicked up in her wake.

 

The farther she got from the wooded area, the calmer she became, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched until long after she'd reached the highway. Kagome glanced down at the beautiful white dog that had saved her life. She looked over his features in curiosity, noting the soft, slightly curly fur resembled a golden retriever, but the pure white fur and pointed ears looked more like a husky's defining attributes. `Whatever kind of dog you are, I owe you,' she thought with an affectionate smile.

 

Kagome winced slightly as she hit a particularly nasty bump on the road, hearing a small whine from the dog as the truck bounced. She slowed her speed, watching the road more carefully to keep her injured passenger as comfortable as she could. `Poor thing, I hope he's okay...'

 

~~~

 

Inuyasha jerked into consciousness; a jar to his wounds tearing a pitiful whine from his throat. From the way every twitch of his body brought fresh waves of pain, he felt safe to assume that he'd sustained some pretty nasty wounds from that youkai. The memory of the battle was not there, only the knowledge the youkai was dead and the girl was safe from its attacks. And then there was that dream... so out of place, but definitely welcome in his lonely life. When had he become so desperate for physical attention that even a dreamed tryst would be welcome? He felt his lips twitch in what would have been a lecherous grin, for he knew where dreams of that nature could lead. `Mmm, plenty of interesting future naptimes...'

 

He forced himself to relax, trying to will the aches of his injuries away, focusing on his natural hanyou healing to speed his recovery. `Perhaps I've been asleep a lot longer than I think...' he mused, shifting slightly to ease the strain on one of his hind legs. Mere minutes passed before he found his thoughts drifting back to the female in the woods, and he couldn't help but muse over her features, filing them away with his few pleasant memories. His eyes still refused to open, but after a short while he registered the fact that he was warm and his body didn't ache all over anymore. A soft scent in the air made him want to take a deeper breath, and as the aroma washed over his senses, he felt almost deliriously happy. `What the hell is that? I've smelled it before... earlier... in the forest? That girl...'

 

He struggled to open his eyes when he realized what it was. He wanted to see where she was, if she was all right. He couldn't smell any blood aside from his own, but the strange mixture of other unidentified smells bothered him. He could feel his body twitch with his efforts, but his muscles were exhausted and he could barely move. He froze suddenly as he felt a warm hand gently scratch one of his ears and pet down his face in soft, soothing strokes. His ear flicked in annoyance when the amazingly soothing sensation stopped.

 

Inuyasha had never been petted before. It was degrading almost as it was calming. It reminded him so much of his damned curse, but, he felt that even his curse wasn't so bad if he could feel this content at the same time. `The curse, what the hell am I doing here? I need to get away from her...' he struggled again to escape her, to get distance from her before another terrible event could occur.

 

The hand had gone back to petting his face and neck with feather soft touches, and, being unable to move, all he could do was relax and try to enjoy the feeling while it lasted. `I must be dead... why else would I feel this good?' he thought with a sigh, resigning himself to the pleasurable torment being wrought upon his sensitive ears.

 

He became aware of a soft voice speaking barely above a whisper. "...be all right. You'll feel better soon..." His awareness started to fade as his mind caught up with his body's exhaustion. "...I'll make sure you're ok..."

 

It was the last thing he heard before he fell back into a deep sleep.

 

~~~

 

Kagome had noticed the dog's increased movements and turned a wary gaze upon him. She suddenly realized that even though it had strangely laid its life down for her - literally leaving its life in the palm of her hand - ...after the wounds he had sustained, there was no guarantee that the poor thing wouldn't flip out and try to maul her for being near once he woke. `Instincts...'

 

She licked her suddenly dry lips in nervousness. It was extremely stupid of her to have brought a wounded animal into the cab of her truck like this. She would have been safer transporting him in the back of the truck, but she just couldn't picture it being a threat to her. The strange beaded collar around his neck showed her that someone seemed to own him, and after he'd saved her like that from the youkai, she really couldn't see why she should be worried.

 

She sighed. Granted, she could feel ill intent from people, as well as sense each of those two youkai - the centipede so long ago and the bear earlier that day - as they approached to attack, but she wouldn't be able to sense when animal instincts would be a danger to her. She knew normal animals weren't really good or evil, they were just... animals... right? Well, she had never picked up any bad signals from any pet she had ever come across. She felt a strange essence about this canine, but it was muted and gentle, as though it was right and belonged where it was.

 

The two times she'd sensed youkai creatures, they had been malicious demons, intent on spilling blood for... well, whatever reason a youkai would spill blood. Maybe humans were tastier than deer... Easily identifiable energy traces, even with her untrained abilities, she could sense their approach with little effort. Like the sharp urge to cover your ears when fingernails scraped down a chalkboard, or the stinging pain of an accidental rug burn, the youki she'd felt before made her want to avoid contact, flee before something terrible happened, run from certain pain and agony. The energy emitted from the evil creatures of the forest had the feel of abrasive sandpaper, completely unwelcome to her sensing abilities.

 

She stopped mulling over the characteristics she'd come to identify from youkai when she felt a comforting brush of ...something... come from her white-furred companion. Maybe he was a distant relative of some old youkai... just more canine than evil-bloodthirsty-creature. Of course, everyone knew that most youkai were rarely seen creatures, wild and crazy with no mercy for weak humans trespassing on their territories. Few humans survived a youkai attack, but those who did usually related their tales of gore and destruction through many grievous wounds.

 

On the other side of the youkai spectrum, there were a few humanoid youkai. Rumored to be unearthly beautiful and legendary in their actions in human history. They were known to play as strange guardians of the weak, but were always feared and respected by those who knew of them. Unflinching justice with an iron fist - they were as deadly as they were beautiful. Kagome herself had only ever met one of those youkai before, and knew that their numbers were fading over time. In her childhood, she had once thought that beings so beautiful and mysterious would last forever, but as time passed, their kind faded - with no known reason - from sight and memory.

 

She supposed that it was highly possible for this canine to house some youkai blood, which would account for his accelerated healing, but she wouldn't know for sure until he was fully active again just how strong the youkai energy was. She felt more than safe near this dog, and although she was worried what might happen when he woke, she knew being afraid of him could provoke him into attacking her. She sighed softly and focused on setting her thoughts at ease, thinking of nothing but helping the animal in his recovery from that gruesome fight.

 

She gingerly scratched the dog's ear, following with soothing soft strokes along his face. He stopped moving, and the ear that had been scratched twitched slightly once her fingers had moved away from it. She had the distinct impression he wanted her to continue.

 

"It's gonna be all right," she said in a soft voice. "You'll feel better soon. We're going back to my house, and I'll make sure you're fed and kept safe until you're better. We'll find out who you belong to, and I'll make sure you're ok. You saved my life, and it's the least I can do for you..."

 

She continued murmuring soothing words to the dog as she drove along the highway, her fingers softly petting his silky white fur.

 

 

AN - If you're reading chapters ahead that haven't been marked as `revised' recently, then there may be discrepancies in the storyline and plot, as I'm reorganizing thoughts and actions to fit the fic better. Much love, and thanks for reading. :D