InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silver-Haired Beauty ❯ Save Her ( Chapter 15 )

Week Two

Day Six

He didn't want to be here. He did not want to be here. He really did not want to be here. He didn't want to fucking be here!!!

After his brother delivered the stunning news, Inuyasha leveled part of the forest in an effort not to rip his pale throat out. Sesshomaru looked on in silence For a short while and then flew back home.

Kagome hadn't tried to stop her beloved because she knew there was no time. While he raged, she went back to the cottage and gathered the herbs Kaede had taught her to use as well as her first aid kit. By the time she returned, he'd been both spent and scared.

The trip to his father's house was the fastest Inuyasha had ever done. All the way, he vowed over and over that if his brother had done anything to Kuroi, he would kill him. Father or no, he wouldn't rest until Sesshomaru was dead.

Upon arriving at the imposing structure he hadn't bothered with the front gate, but went directly over the wall and straight to Kuroi's room. Kagome had raised a brow about that bit of knowledge but remained silent. Landing in the garden, Inuyasha strode to the door and opened it. When they entered the room, he stumbled and almost dropped his love as the tide of panic drove him to the ground.

Kagome, torn between the patient on the bed and her faltering lover paused. Inuyasha motioned for her to go to Kuroi's side. Sesshomaru simply watched him with open curiosity and mild amounts of scorn. Inuyasha didn't care how his brother was looking at him. As much as it irritated him, his older brother was the least of his problems. It was taking everything he had just to stay on his feet and not whimper aloud.

He knew what was wrong, just like he knew that Kagome might not be able to help. Now he just had to keep himself alive to tell them. Pulling himself against the wall, he arranged his body in a semblance of normalcy and dropped down into the waiting darkness.

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There was something seriously awry with the picture before him.

Kagome was glowing softly as she tried to ascertain the nature of Kuroi's illness but his brother hadn't moved from that ridiculous sitting position since his arrival.

Granted, the sight of his brother's near collapse had been amusing, but Sesshomaru had expected the hanyou to vault to the side of the girls and root himself there. Instead, he was lounging against the wall as though asleep. Slim nose wrinkling faintly, Sesshomaru resisted the urge to hiss. Something reeked of wrongness. Frowning as he moved over towards the bed, he resolved to see what the wrong actually was.

Time to test the theory.

Walking up behind the little miko, he laid a hand on her wrist. She nearly jumped out of her skin, but he only asked her quietly. "Do you think you can aid her miko?" Sesshomaru wasn't really listening for her answer, he was watching his brother.

Inuyasha hadn't moved.

'This is very strange.' He removed his hand and went to kneel by Kuroi's head. Once again, he laid his fingers lightly across her throat. Kagome glanced up and frowned but resumed her search.

Inuyasha didn't even twitch.

Now he knew something was wrong. Kuroi was ill and Inuyasha seemed catatonic. There was a mystery here the he vowed to solve before the night was over.

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The world around him was red and far too bright. Blinking rapidly to hurry and adjust his eyes to the burning light, Inuyasha looked around. He couldn't find the horizon since it was lost in the stark and barren landscape surrounding him. Shielding his eyes against the harsh glare, he tried to locate what he'd come for.

Most people assume that you can find your way more easily in a flat terrain, since there are no hills or mounds of earth to block landmarks. They're wrong. At least with hills you have a goal or a way to judge the distance traversed. In a flatland, distance instantly became optional.

Although he knew the light, the terrain, even the dark red dust covering his feet was all an illusion, Inuyasha still found himself starting to sweat heavily. 'I've got to hurry. I might not last too long in this.' Resolved, he closed his eyes and turned slowly in a circle. One direction in particular pulled at something inside of him. Squinting once more against the false sun, he leaned forward and ran.

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Kagome concentrated as hard as she could on Kuroi. Which was something that was hard to do considering how Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were acting. They weren't fighting, which was a first, but this was just as unnerving.

'One sleeps like he's dead and the other is watching him as if a will is involved.' the attempted joke didn't make her feel better in the least. Inuyasha's apparent indifference really was worrying her.

'Last week he tries to strap Kuroi to the bed over a few scratches and a bump. Now he's asleep and she's near death.' Her last thought was grim. Whatever else he had done, Sesshomaru hadn't lied. The girl was dying.

Placing her hand on a limp wrist, she felt for the bright surge of sky blue and cobalt energy she'd come to associate with Kuroi. Only a dim flicker remained. The girl's aura was dwindling, seemingly sucked away through an invisible void. Flicking away the perspiration beading her brow, Kagome dove in and bolstered the waning essence with her own energy while attempting to find the hole and somehow plug it.

The first thing she'd noticed were the traces of Inuyasha's aura buried throughout the girl's field. Some spots were old and solidly fused with Kuroi's own, while the newer traces still shone brightly but blended at the edge as they merged.

'It's so beautiful.' she thought sadly as she observed the mosaic created by the melding. 'No wonder they're so close. They have parts of each other with them all the time.'

Moving her hand over Kuroi's heart, she felt a familiar twinge. Curious, she opened her miko senses wider to identify it and went cold as the two forces touched. Over the same spot that Kikyo had shot Inuyasha, Kuroi bore a jagged black scar across her aura.

Kagome stiffened at the sight of that dark smudge in the field of blues and gold. 'How is that possible?!' Looking down at the shivering girl, she sent a tendril of power out to touch the scar, hoping to smooth it and ascertain if it was the cause of Kuroi's malady.

It flared red and purple, wildly fluctuating like lightning across water. Before she could pull away, it pulsed once more and became still. The reaction from the sleeping girl wasn't as sedate.

Nails ripped the blanket apart as Kuroi arched up until only her feet and top of her head contacted the floor. Tendons popped out in her neck as she let loose a horrible scream of utter torment. The ragged shreds of the cover clutched in the fist were dyed crimson as the scars on Kuroi's palms opened and bled anew, swamping the room in the thick scent of heated copper. Even when Kagome was sure there was no way any breath could have remained in her lungs, Kuroi continued to scream and bleed.

Fearful for both the girl and of Sesshomaru's reaction, Kagome threw herself across the ramrod stiff body and flooded it with wave after wave of calming energy until it settled back to the bed. When the death grip relaxed, Kagome saw that the wounds on her palms had resealed again.

'Mental note, don't go near that scar again!' Breathing a small sigh of relief, Ka gone needn't have worried about Sesshomaru. He had his own problem.

As soon as the scream ripped out of Kuroi, he was on his feet to remove the startled miko from this level of existence. He never made it.

Inuyasha was on him in a blur of red and white before he could so much as blink. Sesshomaru's head snapped back from the fist connecting with his chin, but he rolled his body away to lessen the impact of the heel that grazed his chest.

Flinging his brother aside contemptuously as he started to openly question the hanyou's sanity, Sesshomaru stopped when he looked at his brother's eyes. They were empty.

Sending out a quick flash of his youki, he encountered the same nothingness. Wherever Inuyasha was, he was not in his body. Sesshomaru drew his sword to defend himself, but the body only swayed drunkenly. It made no other move towards him.

'Interesting.' taking a step towards the girls, he encountered a lightning fast backhand that sent him reeling across the floor. Wiping his bloodied mouth, the elder sibling narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Despite himself, he was impressed with the speed behind the blow.

'The spirit is gone, but the body still acts as a protector? This is beyond curious.' Wondering what would happen next, he sheathed his sword and sat down as far from the pair as possible to consider what he'd seen and if more was to be learned.

He was rewarded immediately. Lurching like a broken marionette, Inuyasha's body refolded itself back in the position it had originally occupied.

Yellow eyes tracked every movement. 'How could he move that fast with no soul to guide him? Could it be that all this time my brother's lack of fighting prowess was his own limitation? This is a theory that begs testing.' Noting that the screaming had stopped, he marked the matter for later study.

"What happened miko?" He didn't attempt to move towards the bed. Shaking almost as badly as her patient, Kagome looked pale and drawn. "I don't know. I tried to touch something and it reacted badly." Pushing back her damp hair, she glanced at him. "Could you please tell me where the extra blankets are?" A hand indicated the bloody tatters festooned across the floor.

Midori popped her head in and practically flew going to a closet, grabbing a blanket, draping it over her mistress, somehow cleaning away the shredded fabric and departing in one seamless move.

Kagome blinked.

Sesshomaru shrugged, "She is a good servant."

Wanting to giggle insanely, but fearing she'd never stop, Kagome turned her attention back to Kuroi. The scar stayed dull, but the flare from it had helped her locate the hole. It was directly over Kuroi's forehead between the closed eyes. Once more, she sent out tendrils of power to trace the fissure and seek a means of sealing it.

A bright yellow fragment nearby caught her attention. 'More of Inuyasha? Good grief.' she tapped the spot affectionately with her energy but focused on it in surprise upon contact.

'That's not Inuyasha.' While still yellow in color, Kagome could now see a paleness to the piece. It wasn't the deep gold she had seen before, this one was much lighter. 'Sesshomaru?'

She turned back and stared at the youkai with her gift. Yep, it was his. 'Now isn't that a curious thing?' For some reason, Kagome wanted to smile. She stopped herself and concentrated on the hole instead. It seemed simple now that she could actually see it. 'Time to do my thing.' Closing her eyes, she cupped her palms over the 'wound' and went to work.

{}

Hot? Hot was paradise. He was in hell. Inuyasha's skin burned and peeled only to be rapidly replaced as his natural abilities healed him. The once satiny mass of silver hair now hung as limp and dry as straw against his back, forming an uncomfortably hot, clinging mass. He'd long ago discarded his coat and shirt. They weren't real, so why keep them?

The sensation guiding him pulled more strongly, but he didn't think he'd make it. Already bleeding, his feet were shooting needles of pain up his legs. He ignored it and pushed on. Swallowing convulsively, he blinked in an attempt to moisten his dust coated eyes only to have an oven-heated wind kick more into them.

Shit, she was not making this easy at all. Looking down at the dirty smudges covering him from head to toe, he shrugged and stumbled on.

Suddenly the sky overhead split and blackened, shaking the very earth beneath his feet. If he thought the light had been bad, the dark was so much worse. At least before, it had been painful clarity. Now there was only ice cold, oily blackness. Shivering at the dramatic change in climates, he flexed stiffened fingers as if he could rend the very air around him by will alone.

Lightning raced overhead, throwing the world into sharp relief and dazzling his eyes before everything was submerged back into darkness. With a pained gasp, the battered traveler grabbed his chest, staring wide eyed as his hand came away covered in something hot and sticky.

Inuyasha identified it as his own blood. "What the hell is going on out there?"

Picking himself back up, he pressed on. The sky continued to flash and from nowhere a howling wind started to blow, nearly knocking him flat. 'Fuck Cuckoo, could you make it any harder?' Now forced to a shuffling pace, he tripped and fell. Cursing everyone and everything he could think of, he saw a glimmer out the corner of his eye from the same direction as the tug.

He corrected his path immediately and crawled towards it. Above the wind threatening to deafen and freeze him, he heard someone moaning and crying incoherently. Inuyasha recognized the sound and headed for it. When he found what he was looking for, he knelt to gather the wizened and glowing blue flower in his hands. Lifting it to his mouth, he whispered into the frost-dusted bud, "It's alright. Let it go."

The world went white.

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Sesshomaru had felt the miko look at him to identify the portion of energy he'd left with Kuroi before leaving to retrieve his brother. He knew she would be surprised, but it had been a logical choice at the time. If he hadn't left a supplemental source of energy, Kuroi would not have lasted until their arrival, tardy as it was.

However, it still begged the question of why he was trying to save the girl at all.

Dismissing it as unimportant, he continued to study his brother. Since he wasn't intently focused on the pair at the bed, he noted Inuyasha's resurfacing before the miko did. He sensed the return in the hanyou by the subtle rigidity of his limbs. 'His body is capable of more than he knows. I shall most definitely have to see its true limits.'

He didn't bother to hid the smirk on his face as he called mockingly, "Rise and shine little brother."

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Kagome didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until it whooshed out of her. The rupture had healed and Kuroi's aura, though weak, was stable. A wave of dizziness stole the strength from her limbs. Collapsing back, she fell against a familiar set of arms.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, it's me." He glanced at the drawn form on the bed sleeping peacefully before looking back down at her. "How is she?"

"Fine now, but for a moment I thought we'd lose her." Gathering her sodden hair together, she twisted it to keep it away from her face. "She'll probably sleep a lot over the next few days, but other than that she's out of the woods."

Yellow eyes watched the pair coldly before Sesshomaru asked her, "What happened to her little miko?" Shaking her head, Kagome whispered honestly, "I don't know. There was a hole in her aura and all her energy was being sucked away. I managed to seal it, but I don't have a clue what caused it."

"I do."

Suddenly the focus of interest, Inuyasha faced away from his brother. This was going to suck. Muttering through a tightly clenched jaw, he asked sullenly, "Sesshomaru, what did you ask her to do tonight?"

The placid face never changed, but the eyes brightened with rage. "I know the two of you discuss me freely during your nights together, but that is beyond rude." He gained a sense of perverse pleasure at seeing Inuyasha pale and Kagome flush when the hanyou's night 'habit' was revealed. However, his name was being slandered and he wouldn't stand for it. "If you are implying that I tried to force myself on her little brother, I will kill you."

"No you fucking moron!" Snarling at the very thought, the hanyou spat out, "I meant did you ask her to do anything with you today?"

A slender hand gestured to the door leading into the mansion. "I asked her to join father and I in a formal meeting with some of the delegates and land holders in the territory. Since I knew she could appear the part of a proper hime once, I asked her to do so again."

"Feh, so that's it." Standing up and pulling Kagome with him, Inuyasha turned to leave. Sesshomaru frowned. He wanted to know what his brother's words had meant, but not at the price of actually asking so he waited in silence.

Inuyasha paused just before the garden door and swore loudly and violently. Spinning around quickly he got right up in his brother's face. "Look you obnoxious prick, the only reason I'm saying this is so Kuroi will be fine. Do not try to put her in the spotlight." He gritted his teeth and pushed the next admission out. "She has stage fright"

It was so ridiculous Sesshomaru almost let himself laugh. He settled a scowl on his face instead. "Do you mean to tell me little brother, that she caused all this disruption for a simple case of nerves?"

The right caught him unprepared, again. Inuyasha glared down at him, "Did that LOOK like a case of nerves to you asshole?! It's fucking serious!" disgusted, he squatted next to Kuroi and looked back and forth between his mate and brother. "She panics, badly. Some situations she handles better than others, but what you were asking must have been the other."

Kagome listened in fascination, even as her still transient sight watched fragments of Inuyasha feed into Kuroi's depleted aura. 'He doesn't even realize he's doing it, does he?' Rapid blinking returned her sight to normal. "But she was fine with Sango, Miroku and the others. Why today?"

His gaze shifted as he answered. "There were only a few of us to meet her. Besides, it's more the formal aspect than the size." he reached out and touched the back of a cool, flaccid hand. "In a way, she already knew you guys through me."

That brought Sesshomaru's accusations back to the forefront of her mind, making Kagome's heart suddenly ache. "Midnight rendezvous?" irritation seeped into her voice even as she felt the tears welling behind her eyes.

"No damn it! The same way I pulled her back from this attack!" He stood and walked to Kagome, pulling her stiff body against him. "She needed help, and I didn't know if you could save her alone."

Sesshomaru towered over them all. He'd been insulted and struck more than once by his brother without retaliation. Enough was enough. "Spit it out hanyou because I am rapidly losing my patience with the two of you and your cursed secrets!" He didn't bother to restrain the exasperation he knew was seeping out in his energy. He was pissed and they had a right to know it.

Kagome gasped as she felt the tide of power flowing out of Sesshomaru. 'He's never reacted like that before! He's always been so reserved.' Summoning her courage, she locked her eyes on the youkai. "Inuyasha and I are here because you came to us Sesshomaru."

"I am fully aware of my actions little miko." Setting a neutral expression on his face, he cut his energy abruptly and looked down at the still sleeping figure. He felt his rage evaporate when she sighed peacefully.

'She is fine now.' the corner of his mouth quirked up. 'Have I become so used to her then?' He glanced over his shoulder still wondering.

"The fact is that I wish to know how to prevent this from occurring in the future." Glancing at his still scowling sibling, he took a seat by his intended's dark head and watched the two before him. "I wish to understand this."

Only twice in his life had Sesshomaru been civil to him, and they were happening on the same day. Inuyasha wondered briefly if the world was going to end soon. Taking a seat, but making sure he was near the exit, Inuyasha tilted his head slightly. "Fine. I'm only going to tell you once and don't interrupt or go stupid on me."

Biting back an obvious response, Sesshomaru dipped his head a fraction to indicate his understanding.

"This bites." Folding his hands into his sleeves, Inuyasha waited for Kagome to take a seat before he began. Even so, his tone was tense, "Kuroi has panic attacks in some situations. I've never been a hundred percent sure what sets her off, but from what I gathered over the years, she gets hit with them the most in formal situations. Inns, bars, brawls and mayhem in general doesn't faze her. Throw a dress and propriety in the mix and she freaks." his lips quirked, "The flower wilts."

Despite the warning, Sesshomaru felt the need to point out what seemed an inconsistency, "What about the dinner with the…recently deceased family?"

Ignoring the interruption, Inuyasha drawled sarcastically, "Was that the dinner party on the third day she was here?" When his brother nodded, Inuyasha smirked, "She'd been by to see me that night. It probably calmed her enough to go." Thinking about what she'd said happened, the smirk grew, "It really helped that they pissed her off! Nothing snaps her back from an attack like getting seriously ticked."

'Since the truce, we haven't argued once. Could that have staved this off?' Flicking his gaze downwards to verify that she still slept, Sesshomaru mulled over the idea silently. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as if he knew what his brother was thinking, but he didn't comment.

Instead, he looked at Kuroi as well. "I haven't been back here for days and the last time she came by, she seemed fine." He closed his eyes briefly, "Shit. I wish I'd known you and that old fart were gonna do this today. I might have been able to help." Tawny orbs softened, "She wouldn't have gotten so bad."

"That promotes the question of how you brought her back, doesn't it Inuyasha?" Shadowed by his bangs, Sesshomaru's eyes were hidden. His tone still irked. Inuyasha growled under his breath. He really did not want to be here. "She and I can sort of travel around in the other's souls."

Sesshomaru didn't blink. "You project into the other's astral field? That would explain your earlier behavior."

"Yeah. I found her and convinced her it was okay to return to her body, but not before going through four kinds of hell." Reminded of the phantom pain in his chest, Inuyasha leaned forward aggressively, "Fuck Sesshomaru! What the hell happened out here to her anyway? Somebody hit something that hurt like hell while I was under!"

A slender finger pointed in silent accusation. Inuyasha whirled to look at Kagome. "You did it?" disbelief shadowed his voice, "What happened?"

"I tapped a scar in her aura over her heart. It felt familiar, but reacted badly." Did she sound as numb to him as she felt? Kagome wasn't sure she could speak further without real effort.

"Jagged and dark?" He didn't seem to notice her reluctant nod even as she got up and left because his gaze was refocused on his brother. "Kikyo's fucking arrow." Sharp claws drew blood as they bit into the meat of his palms. Damn that undead bitch! Her holy arrow had imprisoned him, but even gone it was still wreaking havoc and misery. When he spoke, the hanyou's words were tight, "I felt it when I was here before but I thought I was just imagining it."

"Inuyasha, your shortcomings aside, how can these attacks be prevented from happening again?" Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose. Souls melding or flaming, he didn't care, he just did not want it to happen to her again.

The hanyou froze, barely breathing. He did NOT want to be there! "Sesshomaru, promise me something." barely audible, his brother still heard the whispered words clearly.

"A promise to you?" Enjoying the sudden discomfort of the other, he raised a brow mockingly. "What could I possibly do for you, little brother?"

"First, stop fucking patronizing me! Just promise me you'll do this right." Lowering his voice, he looked away after his brother nodded. 'I hate this shit.'

"You have to sleep with her."

There was that special silence again.

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Kagome had been sitting silently through the whole exchange, barely listening and only answering by rote. She was too busy trying to rationalize the hurt she felt inside. Inuyasha had been sleeping here? In Kuroi's bed no less!

She seethed inwardly, remembering all the times since the other girl had arrived that she and Inuyasha had made love. Her stomach turned. He'd been sleeping with another woman the whole time, even bringing her around to meet Kagome and the group? Tears sprang unbidden and she used a sneeze to excuse their presence.

Why hadn't Inuyasha told her? A moan was stifled as she realized that she'd sent him to Kuroi the day the letter came. Had he gone that night? Slipped from the bed they shared into hers? Suddenly feeling hollow, Kagome peered through her bangs at the prone figure in the side of the room.

A probe of that scar, just a harder nudge than before. Grim satisfaction bloomed when she remembered how the girl had screamed from just a flicker of power across that vulnerability. Something harder could kill her. That's all it would take too. Just a push. Then she'd be gone.

"Oh my god…" Pressing her hand to her abdomen, Kagome jumped to her feet and raced outside, followed by only Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's voices. Taking large gulping breaths to fight down the double bouts of nausea swimming through her, she tried so hard not to be ill.

'I can't believe I even considered doing that!' Images of Kuroi smiling, blue eyes filled with sadness and so much love flittered across her mind. 'I'm horrible.' sitting down weakly and horrified with herself and her thoughts, Kagome hung her head.

She didn't even try to stop her tears this time. How different than Kikyo could she truly be if the first instinct she had was to kill someone her lover cared for?

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Time to start on the left hand.

Utterly surprised, Sesshomaru could only ask, "You want me to what?"

"You heard me asshole!" Fighting the urge to smack his brother, Inuyasha kept repeating to himself that this was to help Kuroi. Patting the area next to her while his face flamed, Inuyasha pressed his lips into a line. "Sleep here by her. As much as you hate being close to anybody, you need to stay by her long enough for her to get used to your aura."

Sesshomaru stared at the spot his brother had indicated. "What makes you think she is not accustomed to me?" The subtle implication coupled with the memory of the kiss he'd seen them share, garnered a low throaty growl from the half-breed.

Inuyasha slammed a fist into the floor, making the boards quiver. "Look dickhead, just lay next to her. Don't touch her, don't look at her too long and don't try anything funny." Heat practically leapt from his gaze, "Understand?"

"The last time I looked little brother, Kuroi was to be my mate." Cool yellow eyes slid to the open door and the girl beyond them, "Has something changed?"

As the retort dried to ash in his throat, Inuyasha hated him. He hated Sesshomaru from the top of his silver head to the soles of his feet. 'Either answer and I'm fucked. Press the no touching thing about Kuroi and it looks more like we're lovers than it already does. Deny it, and I fully admit that this shithead has the right to do whatever he wants because she's going to be his mate. I do not want to fucking be here!!'

"Don't bother her or she'll wake up." he responded lamely. Rising, he passed a palm down Kuroi's arm, briefly clasping the warmed hand before releasing it and going. Once outside, he gathered Kagome in his arms, attributing her lassitude to the healing. His heart softened and his kissed her cool brow.

Jumping to the roof and heading home, he whispered, "Thank you koishii." Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, but she didn't trust herself to answer.