InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Siren Sisters ❯ The Art of Healing ( Chapter 8 )

CHAPTER 8: THE ART OF HEALING

 

He was going to do it. He had it in the bag. Inuyasha stalked through the forest confidently, hands in his pockets. Where he fingered the small faded white piece of cloth a girl gave to him twelve years ago. This was so going to work, he knew it. All he had to do was explain and show her. It might be confusing at first, but she'd get through it. She was tough, and he liked that about her.

 

Snap!

 

Inuyasha froze in mid stride, one ear swiveling around behind him. What was that? He tensed and narrowed his eyes. You would think it was Kagome, but it come from behind him. And he knew they knew they were caught, cause no other noise came. He turned his head slowly from side to side. Hearing nothing else, he shrugged and continued on his way, blaming it on a deer or something. But he decided to keep an ear out. Walking on through the dark, his eyes flashed. Okay, something was definitely out there, he could feel it. And he wasn't being paranoid. Would paranoia have the hair on your arms rising? He cracked his knuckles silently, minute pops never head over his footsteps. Something was out there, he was sure now. He could smell it. he couldn't describe it, but if pitch black had a scent, that would be it. Nostrils flaring, Inuyasha kept walking, not wanting to give away his awareness.

 

And he never saw it coming.

 

A sudden pain pierced his chest, shooting hot needles from the right of his chest. Inuyasha looked down and saw an arrow poking out form his chest. He growled and whirled around, but was only greeted by darkness. The presence he had felt was gone. Eyes scanning, Inuyasha put a hand to the arrow in his chest. Now normally, he would have just pulled it out and healed in half a day.

 

But something was wrong, he could feel it. He was pretty sure it shouldn't be hurting this bad, or send hot pain through his veins. Inuyasha paused, and coughed, and tasted the metallic taste of blood.

 

“What the fuck?” his breathed, and wrapped his hands around the arrow. He jerked it out, gasping in pain, and sniffed the tip of the arrow head. His eyes went wide. Poison.

 

He threw the arrow aside, and covered the wound, which was bleeding abnormally large amounts of blood and stumbled forward. The pain spread to his head, and his vision blurred. He reached out and braced against the nearest tree, taking deep breaths. He hissed when the wound suddenly started pussing yellow and slide to the ground. The only thing he remembered was the scent of water.

 

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Kagome tapped her foot impatiently, making a steady beat on the rock she sat on. It was close to the water's edge, and she could easily reach down to feel the cool depths of the pond. But she wasn't in the mood to cool off. No she wanted to explode, on a certain half breed. Who did he think he was? Asking her to meet him out here and then standing her up! Oh yeah Kagome, real slick. Fall for the old `I need to talk to you' routine. He was probably in his richly furnished room, drinking something foreign, and laughing at her expense. Damn! This just made her out to be what he called her. A stupid wench. By the gods she hated that name. But she sighed. Alright, five more minutes, and then she left his ass dry.

 

So she sat there, bored out of her mind, resorting to throwing pebbles into the water for some excitement. She despised waiting. All you did was sit there and do nothing while the person you're waiting for is probably never going to come. She huffed a breath. Oh sure, he made it seem all important, but was it really?

 

“I swear, if this is what I think it is, I will get you Inuyasha,” she mumbled to herself, biting her lip annoyed.

 

Her head whirled around when she heard something fall. Her heart skipped its pace, and she stood up hurriedly.

 

“H-hello? Inuyasha?”

 

Nothing. She shook her head, what was she getting worked up about, it was probably some stupid squirrel that fell cause it couldn't reach a branch or something. But squirrels weren't big, and they didn't make a thump sound when they landed. And they usually ran off, making noise, there was no other noise. Despite her panic, she started edging towards the source. Raising a slightly trembling hand, Kagome pushed back the boundary bushes, and slowly made her way through them. Just when she thought herself silly for getting too worried about nothing, her foot came in contact with something warm. She froze, and slowly looked down.

 

“Oh my goodness! Inuyasha! Inuyasha can you hear me?!” Kagome yelled and crouched down to the unconscious form. She shook him roughly and he rolled over, exposing the wound that was now bubbling. She gasped, and placed a tentative finger on it, but yelped and snatched it back as the poison burned the tip of her finger.

 

She panicked and whirled her head around, looking for what she didn't know. What happened? How did he get here? She covered her nose as a putrid smell came to her. That wound was pretty bad, and the smell was never a good sign. She had to get him out of here and take care of it. By the looks of it, the poison was fast acting, and that didn't give her much time.

 

Kagome reached down and grabbed Inuyasha by the arm and slinging it over her shoulder, gritting her teeth. “I just hope all that foaling paid off, cause he doesn't seem like a lightweight.”

 

She was right. The moment she lifted him, she knew it wasn't going to be easy getting him back to her healing room in the pub. But she bit down and took one step. Then another. And she kept going, and felt the first signs of weariness as her lungs started to burn and her legs grew tired. The forest wasn't helping either, putting roots and branches in her way. She now had a nice new scratch on her cheek, but that didn't mattered. All that mattered was getting this boy back and healing that wound. How on the green earth had he got that anyways?

 

She grunted as her foot went into a ditch, and she felt a sharp pain shot up her legs. She pushed on. Best not to think of that now. But she sighed as the first signs of the road came into view. Just a few more minutes, and she'd get on the bed and tending to that nasty holes. Which by the way, she could see getting worse by the minute. If she didn't act quickly enough, he may not have the strength to recover.

 

But her first obstacle made it self known with the door. A heavy, pine door. She groaned and slowly let Inuyasha fall to the door step. She worried when she heard no noises of pain. That worry triggered her adrenaline rush. Even if he was out, his body would still let her know if it hurt. But it hadn't. She swung open the door and hurried picked him back up, slinging him over her shoulder. It was dark, but she knew her way around by heart. She had built the damn place. She got over to the stairs fairly quickly, but cursed when they seemed higher than normal.

 

“By the fearies and St. Patrick, when had my life changed so dramatically?” she grumbled to herself, and hefted up the first few stairs. She stopped for a breather, but panic rushed her when she felt his body was colder than before. Actually taking the stairs by two now, she quickly made it to the room at the end of the short hall. She shouldered the door and let it slam when it opened. Inside, shelves lined one wall holding all her herbs, and a bed was at the other, in between a small pot and grinding bowl for herbs. She quickly but gently laid him on the bed, and went about finding flint for lighting a lantern. She did, and a couple shaky strikes got the small flame going. She used that to light the small iron pit under the pot, and went about finding the herbs she needed. Her hands frantic, she read knots on pouches and symbols on jars.

 

“Comfrey, pot marigold…and chamomile,” she whispered to herself, and grabbed the said herbs, setting them down and pouring water from a jug she had into the pot. She'd make tea for calming him, and made the others into a salve to help heal his wound.

 

As the water boiled, she got down a big jar, and uncovered the wet cloth lid to see pre boiled fat. Getting spoon and small bowl, she took one scoop of fat and ground a palmful of comfrey root and dried pot marigold flowers in the grinding bowl and hurried put them into the fat, mixing it in and seeping it a little. Leaving the salve to set, she quickly went to the shelves again and this time pulled down cloth, and sat on the floor, ripping strips form them. Figuring she had enough, she went to Inuyasha's side.

 

He was shivering now, and his skin was clammy and cold to the touch. She bit back on the cry of panic, and went to removing his haroi. She got frustrated when there another beneath the red, carefully removing that away from the wound, but she deemed the garment unnecessary, and simply ripped it open. She pulled back coughing. The smell had gotten worse, and it brought tears to her eyes. But she took a breath and went back to it, wincing just by looking at it. It still pussed yellow, but redness had spread all over his front, and she saw a few blisters. She has never seen anything like this, and it frightened her. What if she couldn't heal him? What if he died, right here at her hands? No, she wouldn't let that happen! He couldn't die…he just couldn't. She started to clean the wound tentatively, mindful that she needed to get the back too.

 

So engrossed was she, Kagome didn't notice the steps heading towards her. A sleepy Sango appeared in the door and yawned hugely. “Kagome? What are you doing? I saw and light and thought I'd…by the sea god! What happened?!”

 

Sango was instantly by her side, and got a nasty look at Inuyasha. She cringed, but noticed her sister's hands were frantic, and she was very pale. “I don't know, he said he wanted to talk to me, and we were going to meet, but eh didn't show, and I heard something, and there he was, bleeding and out cold. Oh god what happened to him!? Please somebody tell me, what if he doesn't make it—“

 

“Kago-kagome!” Sango shook her shoulders, and Kagome looked frightened at her, “Kagome calm down, he's going to make it, just calm down. You and I both know you're the best healer around. Now just tell me what to do.”

 

Kagome nodded and took a few breaths, “fl-flip him over, I have to clean the back. Then get me the salve on the table and help me bandage him. Oh Sango, I don't know how this happened.”

 

“I know, I know,” Sango said comfortingly, getting u to the get the salve, and back to help prop him up. She set the bowl down, and rolled Inuyasha onto his side. His skin was now fiery, and feverish to the touch. Kagome cleaned the yellow liquid, and took a square cloth, coating it in the salve, and then placed it on the wound. She nodded, and Sango laid him down. They proceeded to bandage Inuyasha, and when they were down, his upper chest and right shoulder was covered in white.

 

Sango saw as Kagome tapped her foot nervously and bit her finger. She rubbed her back warmly, “don't worry, he'll make it. And besides, he has demon if I'm not mistaken, that'll help.”

 

Kagome stared down at the white haired man, and couldn't stop the raging feelings of concern flood her. “I just don't know Sango. He was so bad when I found him.”

 

“Stop it, he has the best healer in the land treating him. He'll make it, you wont let him die.” When Sango got no response, and lowered her head and walked out, closing the door behind her. She worried about Kagome, she was a lot more scared than she normally would be. He must mean something to her.

 

She heard Sango leave, and went over to her table to make the tea, letting the young dried flowers steep for a minute before draining them from the warm water, and kneeled down beside Inuyasha. He was hot, and she hoped the chamomile would help fight the poison. She tipped his head, and let the warm liquid pour down his throat, biting her lip when she got no automatic swallow from his body. She grabbed his hand tightly.

 

An hour went by, and still the fever didn't break. It worried her greatly. With both his demon blood and her herbs, the fever should have went down by now. And he was sweating a lot too. When she checked, she saw little spots of blood leaking through the bandages. No, this wasn't supposed to happen! He still can't be bleeding. Kagome panted lightly, the panic returning. She felt his forehead double checking, and snatched it back as his skin seared hers. Something was wrong, he should have cooled down by now.

 

She checked his vitals, and felt his heart was pacing rapidly. God this was so unknown to her. She has never come across something like this. And she's seen many poisons. Food poisoning, poison oak, spider bites, jellyfish, but nothing like this. If his fever didn't break soon, he'll be beyond her reach. She body went rigid. No, she couldn't do that, she's only done it once. But that one time was successful, it even amazed her mother. She licked her dry lips and thought frantically.

 

Could she really do it? It's been so long since there was a case so severe she'd have to. The first time was when a boy fell down some boulders, breaking his neck. That had been such a close call. Her mother had been weakened at the time and couldn't do it, so she ordered Kagome to. And it had worked. The boy had been walking within a couple days. She gasped when a rough shudder ran through Inuyasha. She'd have to, there was no other choice.

 

Placing a shaking hand on his wound, and the other on his heart, Kagome closed her eyes. She calmed her breathing, ad quieted her heart.

 

“I call upon the power of healer's past,

 

To lend me the strength to give for this man,”

 

She felt the tingle of her skin and a sudden bubbly feeling in her gut.

 

“I call upon mind, body, and spirit,

 

To lend me health to give to this man,”

 

She felt her skin grow warm, and didn't see the dim light spread form beneath her hands. She felt him quiver, and jerk.

 

“And I call upon myself,

 

To give that is needed to this man.

 

Prince Inuyasha, heir and son to that of a demon lord,

 

I call you from the darkness,

 

To take the strength, health and what's needed form me.

 

As I will so mot it be.”

 

Kagome cried out as light exploded in her head, filling it with confused and blurry images. There so much color and light, she felt herself spinning form it all. Under her hands, Inuyasha tossed and turned, groaning in protest to the intrusion of his body. She could feel him sit up and resist her power. She gritted her teeth and pushed him back down.

 

“Take from me! Take what you need, take what is mine! Take from me damn you!” she shouted at him and bore down when the images came back.

 

She was swimming in memories, thoughts, and fantasies of his, all of them invading her system to draw on what she offered. She saw his mother laughing, his father smiling proudly at him. A tear slipped form her closed eyes. So much love. He was so loved. She gasped and jerked as more flooded her, and she saw a young man with silver hair, handsome in his fine robs. She heard children laughing, and yelling and crying, and squeals of joys. Things flashed by her, but everything came to a sudden stop, right in the middle of the clearing. She saw a dark haired little girl singing on a rock, looking into the water. She was singing a lullaby, one that she knew. It was the one her father had taught her. And next to her, was a dark haired little boy, watching her fascinated. But his image blurred and suddenly, he had silver hair and curious gold eyes.

 

Kagome's eyes snapped open, and she gasped. Understanding ran through her before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the bed side, a calm Inuyasha still beneath her hands.