InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Someone To Watch Over Me ❯ Searching ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

~*~*~*~*Searching*~*~*~*~

Graveyard soil, stale wind, and something underlying them both that he couldn't describe, but was so sickeningly sweet it left a rancid taste in the hanyou's mouth. Shiro's scent, it was dark, evil and infused with death. It wasn't the man's death - no, whoever Shiro was, he was a killer. There was blood on this dark sorcerer's hands and a lot of it. Inuyasha had been following Shiro's scent from the moment he had burst from the well house. The dark sorcerer's stench was all over Kagome's house; her family however was long gone. Mama Higurashi, Souta and jii-chan's scents were old; it had been at least a week or more since they'd been there and Inuyasha hoped that wherever they were, they were safe.

Muscles aching, lungs burning, head pounding, he pushed himself harder - faster. He stayed to the rooftops, high above the humans moving about the ground below. Nothing more than a flash of silver and red, the hanyou was moving too fast for anyone to see him. His hand grasped the hilt of Tetsusaiga, the pulsing fang just barely keeping his youkai blood in check. He had to find Shiro, he had to stop him from hurting Kagome.

Kagome. Inuyasha stopped and stood still as he lifted his nose to the wind, trying to find the scent he'd momentarily lost. Hold on, Kagome. I'll kill him and then you'll be free.

What if we hurt her? His youkai blood asked.

What? What do you mean `what if we hurt her'?

Think back, baka. When we fought in the dream world, he said that if we harm him, we harm her. What if hurting him - killing him - hurts Kagome?

Inuyasha didn't respond to that. He didn't have an answer. Sprinting off as he picked up Shiro's scent, it occurred to him that the scent was changing. It was mutating into something else.

He's trying to hide. He's trying to change his scent. Find him before he changes it completely!

Moving faster, changing the elusive sorcerer, Inuyasha growled low, the sound dangerous, deadly. He had tracked Shiro's scent to Kagome's school and from there to a house on the outskirts of town. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Inuyasha's frustration growing stronger. He'd left Kagome with his brother in that strange little village across the well just after morning intending to find and kill Shiro. Now, he stood on the roof of an old warehouse, the buildings around him dilapidated, abandoned, and smelling of rats, death and dust.

Shiro's scent was gone completely now. There was nothing left for the hanyou to track. Fucking bastard! Shaking his head as he turned around, Inuyasha cursed loudly, staring in disbelief at the shining black locks that fell over his shoulder. He had just turned human six nights ago in his own time! Inuyahsa hated that the moon cycles didn't match between his world and Kagome's. Lifting his hands to his face, he growled low, the sound a pale comparison coming from his human throat. He hated his human nights. He was weaker, his heightened senses gone, and the feeling of vulnerability was more than he could normally deal with.

He had no idea how to get back to the Shrine from where he was. He had been following the scent when he was running and hadn't paid enough attention to his surroundings. Looking around the roof for a suitable place to rest for the night, Inuyasha found a tight little alcove in the far corner. It wasn't very big, but it didn't need to be. Sitting with his back against the corner, his body fairly hidden by the two sides and small roof of the alcove, Inuyasha hugged his sword to his chest and stared out into the night.

Hold on for me, Kagome. Please, just hold on.

:::::

“Inu…yash..a,” Kagome groaned, calling out for the hanyou in her sleep.

Miroku looked down at the sleeping girl sadly. Sesshoumaru had left not long after Inuyasha had, stating that Akira-sama must be dealt with before nightfall. The taiyoukai had promised to return as soon as he could, but the monk had his doubts. It wasn't that he thought Sesshoumaru wouldn't return, but if this lion youkai truly wished for Kagome to be his mate, Miroku feared that Sesshoumaru may be fighting more than just the single youkai. It was quite possible that the inuyoukai may find himself up against an army.

His violet eyes drifted to Sango. She was sleeping peacefully by his side. The fever that had begun yesterday had disappeared just a short while ago and for that he was relieved. He wasn't sure what he would do if Sango became ill. Kagome moaned in her sleep, she looked so very tiny lying there under the fur blanket. Removing an ofuda from within the folds of his robes, Miroku wrapped it carefully around the young miko's wrist. It was meant for protection, comfort, and his prayed that it would grant her the strength she needed to make it through this torment.

“Kagome,” Miroku spoke softly, “fight. Fight hard, Kagome. Don't give up this battle. There are so many here who need you.”

Gently smoothing away the tears that leaked from the corners of her tightly closed eyes, Miroku brushed Kagome's bangs to the side. Her skin was damp, fevered. The helplessness of not knowing how to help his friend through this spiritual battle made him both fearful and angry. What was he to do? He had tried to use an ofuda to exorcise a demonic aura on Kagome earlier only to have her cry out in pain and watch horrified as blood bubbled underneath the strip of enchanted paper. There was still an angry red outline from where the paper had burned the skin of her right arm.

Kagome cried out for Inuyasha again, her voice choked and raspy. His brows furrowed in concern as he watched her hands come up to her neck, scratching at the air by her throat as though she were trying to fight off some unseen force. Slowly she grew still, her hands falling away and it was then Miroku found that she was no longer breathing. Cursing under his breath, the monk was by her side, leaning over her, his ear pressed against her chest. No sound. There was no heartbeat, no breath.

Please, Kami, let this work. Miroku pleaded silently as he used the technique Kagome had taught him almost a year ago. She had called it CPR and said that it could bring someone back to life, but only if they had very recently died and he hoped to all that was holy that this worked. Pressing his hands against her chest three times, he tilted her head back and pinched her nose before forcing his breath into her mouth. She didn't breathe. He repeated his movements, his own heart beating wildly with fright. One breath from Miroku, than two and still nothing from the girl.

“Come on, Kagome. Breathe, please just breathe!” Miroku spoke forcefully to the girl, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Sango.

Pinching the girl's nose again and forcing his breath into her lungs he was rewarded with her gasping harsh breaths and violent coughs as she searched for air to fill her lungs. Wrapping Kagome up in his arms and dragging her tight against his chest, Miroku rocked them both back and forth, tears falling down his cheeks as he held her. She was dead, for just a moment she had been dead. Her voice was soft, frightened when she spoke his name and the monk looked down into her bleary eyes.

“Kami, Kagome,” Miroku said, his own voice harsh, raspy with his upset. “What the hell happened?”

“He was…he was choking me,” the girl sobbed, shaking from cold or fright he wasn't sure. “Inu-” Kagome's voice broke off as a coughing fit overpowered her. “Inuyasha's dead,” she cried. “He showed me, Miroku, he showed me him killing Inuyasha.”

“He's not dead, Kagome. Inuyasha's not here right now, he went to hunt down Shiro, but he's not dead. I promise you he's not,” Miroku said as he held her close, taking the purple cloth of his robe off and wrapping it around the emaciated girl. “He's not dead,” he repeated.

“Don't let me fall asleep, Miroku,” Kagome begged, her face a wash with tears, her eyes wide and terrified. “Please, please don't let me fall asleep.”

The girl in his arms was too frightened, too weak for him to let go of. Taking back his position sitting against the wall, Miroku held Kagome in his lap. She was so frail, her body thin - too thin. Kagome curled into a tight ball, clutching the violet cloth closer around her shoulders and tucking her head under the monk's chin. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest, a rhythm so fast it was almost violent. She had to stay awake. She just had to.

::::

It was still at least two hours until sunrise. Though the darkness of the night was receding, giving way to lighter blues, he was still trapped within the confines of his human form. Inuyahsa didn't doubt for a moment that when he was restored to his hanyou state Shiro's scent would be gone. The sorcerer was doing his best to erase it, or at the very least to change it, and that more than anything pissed him off. If Inuyasha couldn't track Shiro's scent then he wouldn't be able to find him. And if I can't find the bastard, I can't kill him.

A rusting sound, almost too low for his human ears to catch, sounded from somewhere off to his left. His dark eyes scanned the roof, Inuyasha knowing better than to leave the safety of the alcove he was tucked into. Whoever or whatever was moving around wouldn't be able to see him unless they were directly in front of him; that was why he had chosen to take refuge in this spot. A strange sound - a metallic scrape and a click - was followed by a sharp snapping sound. He had never heard the sound before and didn't know what it meant or what to expect from it.

Just hold out, be still for a little while longer. Sunrise is just around the corner. Then you'll be hanyou again, Inuyasha told himself.

“I know you're up here, you beast. Show yourself.”

Brown eyes widened and Inuyasha held still, willing his heart to stop beating so damn loud. He knew that voice, recognized it from Kagome's dream battle. Shiro was on the roof! He couldn't be reckless enough to show himself in human form to the sorcerer, but he wasn't willing to let this opportunity to kill the man pass by either. He studied the ground of the rooftop, watching the shadows change and move as the sky grew lighter, watching for any sign of the shadow that would be cast by the man he still had yet to see.

Looking inside the small alcove, he found a collection of small rocks against the wall to his right. Perhaps he could distract the human, lead him in the wrong direction just long enough for the sun to rise. Gathering the stones in his hands, Inuyasha threw them one at a time in the direction of the far right corner of the rooftop ledge. If he could get Shiro to step out into the open, lead him the wrong direction just long enough…

Inuyasha listened, watched the moving the shadows and waited for Shiro to show himself. He had one stone left when the toes of the man's black shoes became visible. Just a little bit longer and the sun will be up. Shiro's laugh was wicked, dripping with the venom of his rage and perceived triumph when he stepped fully into view. Inuyasha knew that he had to stay out of sight until he was hanyou again, he couldn't risk his life - Kagome's life - by trying to do battle in this weakened state.

Black brows furrowed as he scooted deeper into the shadows. Shiro was holding some kind of weapon. It was black, had a grip and - was that a barrel? Inuyasha's eyes widened. Shiro had a gun and a small gun at that. He knew Kagome's world had advanced weapons, advanced technologies, but he hadn't been prepared for this. In his world the only guns that the humans had were long, overly large rifles. The one Shiro held was small, easily hidden and looked as though it would be manageable enough for a child to wield. The wind picked up as the sun began its crest over the horizon. Inuyasha could feel the pulse of his youkai, the thrum of his blood as his senses grew stronger.

“There you are, hanyou,” Shiro said before Inuyasha had realized the man had turned around. His dark cackle sent shivers up Inuyasha's spine seconds before he heard a loud bang. “Let that damned bitch try to fight now with her champion dead.”

Inuyasha's left shoulder was blazing with a fiery pain. Shiro hadn't waited to see if he had truly killed Inuyasha or not, opting instead to fire another round into the hanyou's thigh before running away. The pain was excruciating. Silver dog ears were flat against his head, his lips pulled back in an angry pained grimace, white fangs glinting in the morning sun as a deadly snarl sounded from deep in his throat. Inuyasha stood quickly, intent on giving chase, but only made it two steps before falling flat on his face. The fire lancing through his shoulder and leg refused to be ignored, the pain only matched by the memory of his brother's poison claws.

Furious that his hunt had been waylaid and even more so that Shiro had been able to harm him so easily, Inuyasha carefully dug the bullets out of his body with his claws. Standing up slowly, the hanyou sniffed at the air, turning this way and that only for his suspicions to be confirmed: Shiro had managed to completely mask his scent. There was nothing for him to track. This man - no, this monster, had threatened Kagome. He had harmed Kagome, more than once and each attack grew more vicious, and now Inuyasha didn't even have a scent to track him with.

Moving as quickly as his injuries allowed, Inuyasha sped to the edge of the roof, vaulting to the next building and grunting in pain as he landed. He scanned the rooftops and the road below, his ears turning every direction possible as he searched for any sign of the human. Shiro was gone. No scent, no sight, no sound. The sound that exploded from the hanyou was born of a rage so powerful that it dared the heavens to fight against him. He had to get back to Kagome. Without the ability to hunt Shiro, Inuyasha knew that he was no use in this time. He needed to be with Kagome.

::::

Sesshoumaru stood silently in the open field, his eyes closed. The wind rustled through the trees and grasses, carrying the scent of two hawk youkai to his sensitive nose. The taiyoukai knew that Akira-sama would not fight honorably, but to send these hawks after him was insulting. He could tell by their scents that they were young, no more than fifty years if that. Waiting patiently for them to come closer, his golden eyes opened, Tokijin drawn and ready. Of course, Sesshoumaru knew better than anyone that a youkai like Akira-sama would not face him personally on the first strike. The golden lion had not risen to his place of power by being a fool, but rather by being a coward who ruled with bloodshed. Sesshoumaru was the Inu no Taisho, Akira-sama was a taiyoukai, yes, but only by might those who followed him did so only out of fear.

The inu youkai stood tall and proud, motionless as he waited for the attack. He didn't have to wait long. He knew exactly where the hawk youkai were before they came into view. Still he didn't move. Sesshoumaru had learned his lessons well. Thinking they had the upper hand, the hawk youkai vaulted off the ground, springing toward Sesshoumaru with their claws outstretched. Resisting the urge to arch a single eyebrow at their arrogance, he waited still. Seconds before they would've touched him, the taiyoukai spun lifting his sword in a graceful arch, completing an elliptical motion and breathing out in silent satisfaction as both youkai burst into blackish-violent light, their bodies disappearing in a sickening dust.

“This Sesshoumaru will not be stopped,” he promised with a low growl as he dropped Tokijin back into its sheath.

His first priority was to deal with the disgraceful lion youkai, his second and the one that was most important, was to find Rin. It had been nearly a fortnight since he had left his castle, left Rin, in the middle of the night. He wanted to see her, needed to see her. She had been quiet since the day that Hana had been harmed, withdrawing into herself as though the child believed the attack to be her fault. Moving quickly toward the lands held by the golden lion, Sesshoumaru promised himself to gather Rin and take her back with him to the strange village. Jakken, of course, would insist on coming as well, but not this time.

Taking to his energy form, he moved faster than eyes - human or youkai - could see. His fury that one would dare threaten someone he protected drove him; his need to see Rin sped him faster. Her soft smiles, the way she would watch him when she was certain he wasn't looking, call him `Papa' when she was too tired to know she was doing such a thing played through his mind. She was human. How had that little human orphan crawled so deeply under his skin and burrowed into his heart without his knowledge?

Materializing just outside the gates of the ravaged village - the once human village that Akira-sama had claimed for himself, Sesshoumaru stood motionless and thrust out his youki. He was surprised that that the youkai did not have more guards around him. Did the youkai truly believe himself to be so untouchable? If he did, it would prove to be a grievous mistake. Walking through the village as though he belonged there, Sesshoumaru searched for the one he would kill.

::::

Tears leaked from the girl's eyes continuously, no matter her state of unconsciousness. Rin had been given a potion for reducing whatever pain she was in before Rei had taken her from the castle, but the potion seemed to have no effect at all. The kitsune youkai looked down upon the human child cradled in her arms and wondered once more just what it was that was wrong. She could tell by the girl's scent that Rin wasn't ill; however the tart flavor coloring her scent didn't bring her more knowledge than that.

Shaking her head, her red hair fanning against her shoulder and cheek, Rei reprimanded herself once again for leaving Ah-Un at the castle. She had planned to take the two headed dragon with her, feeling that it would be safer to ride upon the beast with Rin rather than to carry the small child over such a vast distance in her arms - youkai speed or not. It had been Suki, the proud black inu-youkai who had been assigned to teach Rin the basics of reading, writing and math that had dissuaded her from doing so. Rei had learned a long time ago not to question Suki, the inu being the only other poison bearing youkai at the palace aside from Sesshoumaru himself. Her temper was swift, legendary and not to be trifled with.

Rin cried out, her eyes opening though she was blind to the world around her. Rei stopped, kneeling down beside a stream and scooping a bit of the water into her hand to smooth onto Rin's face and into her hair. Her brow was still horribly fevered, her skin flushed and dry. Closing her eyes, Rei concentrated on listening to the sound of Rin's unsteady heartbeat and labored breathing. Tears welled in the kitsune's eyes as a feeling of helplessness invaded her heart and mind. She had been traveling with Rin for two days, following the directions that Suki had given her, but she felt no closer to finding the village or Inuyasha's forest than when she had first left the castle.

Looking up at the sound of footsteps running in her direction, Rei stood and held the child close as she ran. She couldn't let Rin go, couldn't take any chances with the girl's life. She as well as Hana and Jakken all knew that Rin was Sesshoumaru-sama's adopted pup - human or not. To willfully bring harm to the girl would be suicide. Stopping for the briefest of moments when she caught her lord's scent in the wind, Rei cried out when an arrow pierced her right leg just below her knee. Falling heavily to the ground, the youkai knew that even if she were to pull the arrow from her leg, there would be no way for her to run, let alone carry the girl.

Try as she might, Rei found herself unable to change into her youkai form. She was weakening by the second and as the realization hit her that the arrow had been poisoned, the only thing she could feel was fear for the girl in care. Laying her body down on top of Rin in a vain effort of protection, Rei lost consciousness hearing the sound of an angry snarl in the back ground. A second arrow hit the kitsune square in the back, her form exploding into a black-violet dust, revealing the girl underneath. Rin lay motionless on the ground, sweat beaded upon her brow as tears continued to dampen her temples before rolling into her hair.

The hunter who had been after Rei, crept slowly upon Rin believing the child to be youkai disguised as human. Readying his arrow to fire, he never got the chance as claws slashed through his back, cutting him down. Inuyasha stood over Rin, looking over the field and extending his senses for any other signs of danger. When the hanyou was satisfied that they were safe, he moved and knelt down next to Rin, touching his hand to her face.

“Damn!” he cursed, pulling his hand back before lifting the child into his arms. “Hang on, pup, I'm taking you to Sesshoumaru.”

Rin didn't respond. Her brown eyes closed once more as her head fell against Inuyasha's chest, the hanyou limping as he sped toward the hidden village. He didn't know what had done this to her, but knew from the scent that the girl wasn't sick. This wasn't illness, but he didn't know what it was. The only thing he knew for certain was that stoic or not - his brother was going to have a fit when he saw the condition the child was in.

::::

Golden eyes looked up at the moon, angry at the time it had taken to complete the task at hand. He was restless, angry, and above all worried. He knew that there was something wrong with Rin, knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she wouldn't be at the castle when he went in search of her, but still he had run to his lands after killing Akira-sama. He had found the palace healer gone, her aid requested to help one of the villages under his protection. Hana, he found, had been under lock and key by order of the palace guards stating that they were following his orders passed down through the generals. The problem was, none of the generals knew about the rabbit youkai's imprisonment and none of his soldiers knew where the orders had originated.

Freeing Hana from the bonds that held her, Sesshoumaru had taken her to Kanaye's brother, instructing the kitsune to watch over her until either he or Kanaye came to collect her. Hana's words had troubled him the most. As he had been laying her down in the futon Mitsuomaru had directed him to, Hana had grabbed his wrist, her grip weak but determined. Find Rin. She had begged him before passing out.

As if that would ever be a question. Sesshoumaru breathed in deeply, following the scents of Rei - his chief healer's apprentice and Rin. Jakken had told him that he had sent them to Musashi, the village beyond Inuyasha's forest, sputtering in indignant rage when the taiyoukai had asked why the toad hadn't accompanied them. Though he had wanted to kill his retainer, Sesshoumaru had settled for simply kicking the toad across the palace, demanding that he find out where the mysterious orders for Hana's imprisonment had come from.

Blood.

Sesshoumaru stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing on the bloodstained grass to his left. Rei was dead, that much was certain. The slain human carried the vague scent of his brother. Turning his nose to the wind he caught the scent of Inuyasha and Rin. The hanyou had found her, and what he saw told him that the human had been the one to kill Rei.

The village, Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha would've taken Rin back to the village. He did leave you there with Kagome after all.

Agreeing silently with his youkai, the taiyoukai shrank down to his energy form - the fist-sized ball of greenish silver light - speeding toward the village.

::::

Kagome jerked awake violently, crying out for Inuyasha. The sight of his lifeless body being pulled further down on the stone spikes by the glowing kotodama necklace by her command, his life ended because of her spell, it was more than Kagome could bear. Her eyes searched the room that they were staying in, only to find herself alone. Why was she alone? It took all of her effort just to make it to her feet, the blanket falling away from her body. One shaking, trembling step after another, seven steps, then ten only to cry out as her foot slipped in a thick slippery liquid and she fell hard to the floor.

Her hip jarred painfully when she landed on her side, her palms covered in the mess on the floor when she tried to stand back up. Light from the window shone through briefly, just long enough for Kagome to see what she had slipped in - blood. Her scream had no sound, her mouth open and her eyes wide and terrified. Looking down the length of her body, Kagome choked on her breath. There was so much blood. It was a wide path leading toward the shut doors of the room. The floor was too slick for her to walk on, her hands and feet covered in blood, hindering her movements as she settled for crawling on all four toward the door.

Kagome didn't know what she would find and was terrified beyond any sense of conscious thought as she reached out one trembling hand to push the door open. The door felt heavy, weighted, and as she pushed it to the side she could hear something moving against it. She saw his robes before she saw him, screaming when Miroku's lifeless - headless body fell back toward her.

Lady Kagome, I'm right here! Just open your eyes, Kagome.

That was Miroku's voice! How could he possibly be talking to her? He was dead! Ignoring the voice of her friend, Kagome moved out of the room, bracing herself against the door as she pulled herself to her feet. Something bumped and tickled against her toes and she looked down. She shouldn't have looked down. Miroku's severed head lay resting against her foot, his open lifeless eyes staring up at her.

Kagome! I'm not dead! Wake up!

“I'm sorry, I'm so s-s-sorry,” the girl whimpered, looking down into the eyes of her friend.

“You did this.” Her eyes widened at the accusing tone of her friend, the moving mouth of his decapitated head. “What did you think, Kagome? That everything would be all right, that Inuyasha would let you sleep a bit more if you used that command of yours on him? Did you even know that he had his sword drawn? Did you care?”

Kagome shook her head, her eyes bulging as she stared at the talking head. “Inu-Inuyasha? You're…how?!”

Miroku's severed head rolled to the side, Kagome's eyes following the direction of his gaze. Tetsusaiga lay on the floor near Miroku's fallen body, blood covering the rusted blade. Inuyasha lay next to it, his body run through with Miroku's holy staff, smoke rising from the hanyou's lifeless body as his remains were slowly being purified.

Kagome, please! Wake up!

She screamed, falling to her knees as she stared at them both. No, she shook her head, how could this be? She couldn't - she didn't -no! Inuyahsa's hand twitched, moved just slightly and she stumbled, fell as she tried to run to him. Landing hard on her knees by his side, Kagome thought - hoped - prayed that he had survived, that he was only injured. She touched his silver hair, his dog ears and then slowly with great care, she turned his head to see his face.

Dammit, Wench! Wake the hell up!

She screamed her terror, her grief as she looked upon the burned out eyes of the only person she would ever love. His jaw moved his scratchy voice was angry and accusing.

“Are you happy now, Kagome?” Inuyasha's corpse asked her. “You used that fucking command enough, you must be happy. There was a demon, bitch. I was coming to save you and you fucking sat me for waking you up!”

Kagome backed away, her head shaking showing her disbelief. No, she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't `sit' Inuyasha for waking her up, she wouldn't! Her blood turned to ice in her veins, coldness so deep it burned spreading through her body. She had used the command on him before when she was tired, when he tried to wake her. Crying out when his hand moved, his claws piercing through her feet and pinning her to the wooden floor below, Kagome sobbed.

“M-my f-f-fault,” she stammered, falling to her knees when her legs refused to hold her any longer. The claws in her feet tore deeper as she fell, tearing skin and muscle, breaking bone though she was numb to the pain. “I killed you. Oh Kami, I killed you both.”

You haven't killed anyone, Lady Kagome! Please, wake up!

Wake up! Damn you, you stubborn girl. Fucking wake up!

She deserved to die, didn't she? Looking at the lifeless bodies of her friends, friends she had killed, Kagome's tears flowed faster. How could she have done this? How could she be selfish enough to trade their lives for a bit of sleep?

Miko! Kagome, open your eyes. Do not let the visions fool you, you are asleep. You must wake up.

Sesshoumaru? Her head turned around looking down the hall. She didn't see the taiyoukai, but she could clearly hear his voice. Where was he? Why was he calling for her?

Say my name, Kagome. Call out for me.

Call out for him? Call out for whom? For Sesshoumaru? Would he be the one to kill her, to avenge the death of his brother?

No one is dead, Kagome. Call out my name and you will awaken.

Awaken? But she wasn't asleep; this place was too real to be a fallacy. The pain in her heart, the pain in her body, the feel of the blood on her hands and the claws in her feet - this was all too real to be a dream. Wasn't it?

I am not asking you, Miko. I am ordering you. Do as you are told: Say. My. Name.

“Se - ”

Her voice was cut off by a stinging slap to her cheek, her head snapping to the side. Sango stood over her, damning her for killing Miroku, for killing Inuyasha. The demon slayer was angry, furious, holding her katana pointed at Kagome.

Ignore what surrounds you. Pay no heed to the visions, no matter whose form they take. Say my name!

“Sesshou-”

Kagome's voice was cut off by another vicious slap, her lip bleeding, her head aching. Sango was gone, Kikyou in her place. How had they changed, what had happened?

Do not give up, Miko. Say my name and you will be free.

“Sesshou - ” Another slap followed by a hit with Kikyou's bow. “Sesshoumaru!”

Kagome's eyes flew open wide, screaming Sesshoumaru's name as she jerked awake only to find herself held securely in arms covered in red cloth - Inuyasha's arms. Kagome looked up, hoping to see the hanyou, praying for him to be alive. Sobbing brokenly, the girl tried to raise her arms only to find them trapped under Inuyasha's. His hold tightened when she spoke his name. Looking down into her tear clouded eyes, Inuyasha loosed his hold just enough for her to slip her arms out and wrap them around his neck.

“Inu-Inyasha,” she sobbed when he buried his face in the side of her neck. “I didn't - I-I'm so sorry.”

Gasping when he nipped her neck, reprimanding her apology with his fangs, he soothed her skin with long slow strokes of his tongue. Growling at her, the sound little more than a rumble to let her know that she was safe in his arms, he rocked her. Kagome clung to him, crying as she tried to burrow deeper into his hold.

“Hush,” Inuyasha whispered in her ear. “I've got you, Kagome. You're safe.”

“M-Miroku,” her friend's name a broken whimper as it fell from her lips.

Lifting his head, Inuyasha looked behind Kagome to where the monk sat beside his brother. Curling the first to fingers of his right hand beneath her chin, Inuyasha tilted Kagome's face up to his.

“Look behind you, Kagome. He's right there.”

Gasping and moving quickly, Kagome searched the room, her frantic eyes finding Miroku as he moved closer to her. Leaning away from Inuyasha and reaching out for her friend, Kagome couldn't stop the string of frantic apologies that sprang forth as she begged the monk to believe that she had never wanted to kill him. Violet eyes shifted quickly to Inuyasha and then back to the girl, before Miroku took Kagome into his arms.

She clung to him, sobbing into his robes and begging for him not to hate her. Miroku closed his eyes, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth together so hard he thought they might break. Clutching his friend tightly to his chest, he rocked her, soothed her. Promising Kagome that he could never and would never hate her, assuring her that she hadn't harmed him, he rested his chin on her head. Looking between the inu brothers, Miroku's anger was mirrored in both sets of golden eyes. All three sets of eyes turned to the girl when she began begging them not to let her fall asleep as the darkness beckoned to her again.

“Kagome, you're exhausted. If any of my blessings or ofuda could save you from these demons, these nightmares, believe me I would use them. You need sleep - restful and preferably dreamless sleep.”

The girl sniffled in Miroku's arms, shaking her head. “Ever time I close my eyes…I can't…please, please don't let me fall asleep.”

“Give her to me,” Sesshoumaru's voice sounded from next to the monk, his voice too low for Kagome to hear.

Whimpering at the change in movement, Kagome found herself settled into Sesshoumaru's arms. Her sleep deprived brain was too sluggish to comprehend what the taiyoukai was doing. Her eyes followed the movements of his hand as he removed his Mokomoko-sama from his shoulder and wrapped her in the plush fur. Laying her back on the futon, he was surprised at the strength with which she grasped the sleeve of his kimono. Shushing her and smoothing her hair off her damp brow.

Sesshoumaru kept his voice low and quiet as he instructed Inuyasha to lay down on one side of Kagome as he sat beside her. Growling low, the soothing sound rumbling from his chest, the tiayoukai looked down upon the human girl whose hands were wrapped around his own. She shook her head in abject misery, knowing that Sesshoumaru was trying to bring her was measure of comfort he could as he soothed her to sleep. Inuyasha's growls sounded from beside her, the hanyou wrapping her securely in his arms as he too soothed her to sleep.

“Kami, she's terrified,” Miroku sighed long moments after Kagome had returned to sleep.

“Wouldn't you be?” Sango asked as she stepped into the room, Rin held unconscious in her arms. “I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama,” she said as she brought the child to him. “Rin has been with the healers here since Inuyasha brought her to us, but no one knows what is wrong with her, what keeps her so ill.”

Sesshoumaru took Rin's fevered body into his arms, his golden eyes fixed on the child. He had arrived back to the village only to find Miroku and Inuyasha desperately trying to reach Kagome while she lay in the violent throes of a nightmare. He was ashamed to admit even to himself that his worry for his brother's miko had blinded him to the worry of Rin. A low dangerous growl sounded from the taiyoukai as the scent he knew all too well assailed his senses. Sesshoumaru began searching the child's skin, her arms and legs before carefully undoing her kimono in search of a wound he knew he would find..

“What the hell are you doing?” Inuyasha growled at his brother.

“Rin has been poisoned,” he bit out, carefully moving the child to lean against his unarmored chest as he searched her back, finding the silver line - the scar made by a single claw - under the curve of her left shoulder blade.

“Poisoned?” Miroku asked, watching as Sesshoumaru traced the pad of his finger over the barely visible scar. “By what?”

“`By whom?' Is the correct question, Monk.”

“Who the fuck would poison her?” Inuyasha growled, from where he lay wrapped around Kagome. “Everyone knows she's your pup, don't they?”

“There are those, hanyou, who see her as a stain upon the lands and wish nothing more than to see her removed by any means necessary.”

“You know who did this,” Inuyasha stated, his gaze hard.

“Yes. I know precisely who did this. Unfortunately, what I do not know is how to cure her of the poison. She is fighting it, but she won't last much longer.”

“Does that mean…will Rin die?” Sango asked quietly, worry and grief coloring her voice.