InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Someone To Watch Over Me ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

~*~*~*~*Chapter 14*~*~*~*~

Kagome awoke slowly, breathing deeply as she floated closer to the waking world. The first thing she noticed was the feel of soft silken fur surrounding her, cushioning her in a cocoon of warmth. The second thing she noticed, as she blinked in the early morning glow sneaking in through the windows, was that she had not dreamt once the night before. Kagome's lips parted in a sense of wonder and she turned her face into the feel of bent fingers stroking down over her cheek. Mahogany eyes met gold and she smiled gently, reaching up to rub gently at the base of a white puppy ear.

“Hey,” Kagome's voice was hoarse, whisper quiet, and her hand came to her throat as her brows furrowed at the sound.

“Drink this,” Inuyasha said his voice just as soft while he lifted her up against his chest.

Kagome leaned heavily against his shoulder, her hand resting on his as he brought the cup to her lips. Turning her head at the foul smell of the medicinal tea, she looked up at his soft spoken command. Eyeing the warm liquid as though she thought it may take form and bite her; Kagome held her breath and allowed Inuyasha to tip the cup to her lips. One swallow and Kagome was pushing away from the hanyou, shaking her head and trying her best to choke down the urge to vomit.

“Oh Kami, that tastes worse than it smells,” she moaned, trying to wave away the cup he brought back to her lips.

“Come on, Wench,” Inuyasha encouraged, tipping the cup to her lips again and wincing at the sight of her sickened grimace when she forced down another swallow. “The healer said you need to drink all of it.”

Kagome groaned and shook her head, pushing away the cup slowly. “The healer can drink that. I think it's poisoned.”

“You're as bad as Rin,” Sesshoumaru's voice sounded from the doorway and both hanyou and miko looked to the taiyoukai. “She argued about the healer's potion as well until I intervened.” Moving to sit on Kagome's side, opposite his brother, Sesshoumaru leveled a look at his brother's miko.

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, her eyes widening and pulled back with a shake of her head. The cold as ice taiyoukai was looking at her the same way her mother did when ever Kagome argued about cough syrup. It was that `I'm the parent, do as I say' look. Blinking twice, but unable to look away, Kagome shrank back against Inuyasha and let him tip the cup to her lips again.

“That's not fair,” she croaked out. “When did you learn that look?”

“Suffice it to say, Rin is a rather rambunctious child. I had to learn this look early on after she began traveling with me.”

“Stop looking at me like that,” Kagome protested, much to both Sesshoumaru's as well as his brother's amusement.

“I will,” he said, his voice authoritative, the tone making it clear that she was not to argue. “Once all the tea is gone.”

Kagome groaned, turning her attention to Inuyasha and slapping his chest weakly when she felt him chuckle behind her. Unable to keep his lips from twitching as he tried not to smile, he fed her more of the tea. His encouragement that she only had a few more sips left fell on deaf ears when the she noticed that the last few swallows held the culmination of the herbs used to make the tea. Whimpering and looking up at Inuyasha, her eyes pleading with him not to have to drink the last bit, he tipped his head toward his brother and Kagome followed his gaze without thinking.

“Miko,” Sesshoumaru's voice held within it the same tone as the look in his eyes.

Groaning pitifully and sinking lower against Inuyasha as she choked down the last two swallows, putting a hand to her stomach when she forced down the powdered herbs in the last sip of the liquid. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Inuyasha took a bottle of water from her yellow pack and unscrewed the lid. Offering her the bottle, he watched as she drank small sips before pushing it away, groaning as she curled herself into a ball and folded her arms over her stomach.

Emitting a low soft rumble, Inuyasha nudged his hand under her folded arms and gently massaged her stomach, doing what he could to ease the painful cramps. Looking up at the sound of his brother's voice, Inuyasha took the small pieces of dried fruit from the youkai's hand and pressed one small piece to Kagome's lips. Getting her to eat was harder than getting her to drink the tea had been.

“It hurts,” she moaned, turning her face away from the proffered fruit.

“It hurts, miko, because you haven't eaten in so long. Eat now. Slowly. Let your body readjust to the food.”

Kagome kept her eyes closed, nodding at Sesshoumaru's soft spoken words. Chewing slowly on the dried persimmon, she swallowed hard, her throat dry. Gratefully accepting the water from Inuyasha she drank a small amount and pushed his hand away, turning and tucking her face into his chest. She had slept peacefully last night for the first time in weeks, but was still so exhausted. She felt Inuyasha's arms tighten around her; the sensation of floating making her open her eyes to see that he was carrying her out of the room.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“To the bathing chambers,” he answered without looking down at her. “Someone once told me that a hot bath makes her feel refreshed.”

“Too tired,” Kagome's words slurred as she turned her face into his shoulder and yawned. “Go sleep.”

Inuyasha shook the arm wrapped around her shoulders, jostling her and watching until her eyes opened. Her brown orbs settled on his face with an unfocused groggy glare and he half wondered if she would try subduing him while he carried her. He hoped not, if she did, he would end up crushing her beneath his body and more than likely injuring her. Tipping his head down, he kissed her brow and told her to stay awake for a little while longer.

“Just don't `sit' me, ok?” Inuyasha said as he set her on her feet inside the bathing chamber and undid the obi of the kimono she wore. “What?” he asked when he smelled her fear and saw her face pale to a ghostly palor.

“I-I won't…” Kagome's hands shook as she reached out for his kodotama rosary and began lifting it.

“Hey!” he fairly growled, tugging the bead and fang necklace out of her hands and placing it back down around his neck. “What the fuck? This is mine, bitch!”

“B-but-”

“No buts. Kagome,” his voice became rough with worry and sadness and he pulled her tight against his chest, hugging her close. “You didn't hurt me. You didn't kill me. They were just dreams, Kagome. The kodotama is mine, you can't take it away.”

Kagome sniffled against his haori, her shaking hand dashing over her face and scrubbing at tears that wouldn't stop falling. “But they hurt you. I hurt you.”

Inuyasha leaned back to see her face and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Smoothing the pads of his thumbs over her heated skin he wiped away her tears. Her eyes were red, damp and slightly swollen with her tears. Leaning close, he pressed his lips to hers, the soft flesh trembling and tinged with the salt of her sorrow. He kissed her slowly, gently, asking for nothing but this moment. Breaking the kiss he wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head beneath his chin and holding her close.

“You've never hurt me. Don't be afraid to say `it'.” He told her as he petted her hair and ran his claws through the thick locks. “I mean it, Kagome. You're going to say `it' again.”

“No!” Kagome shouted as much as her weakened voice would allow and shoved the hanyou away. “I won't! I won't say `it' again.”

“Say it, Kagome. Say the word,” Inuyasha commanded, his youkai voice railing at him for bringing Kagome this emotional pain.

“No.” She shook her head, tears cascading down her cheeks as she stepped back from him.

“Say it!” he growled and stepped toward her popping his knuckles one by one menacingly.

“No!” She stepped back away from the approaching hanyou, shaking her head miserably. She knew he would never hurt her, knew that he had no intention of using his claws as he threatened to and that it was little more than a scare tactic, but that didn't make him any less intimidating.

“Say it, bitch!” he growled and reached out mentally for his youkai, calling it to the fore. “Say it!”

He could feel his claws lengthen, could see the tint of his red eyes reflected in hers. Kagome stepped back only to be stopped by the stone wall behind her and shook her head frantically. How could he ask this of her? How could he think that she would willingly use that command after what had happened in her dreams? Why would he make her do this? His growl grew more menacing as he approached and even as he took a deep breath of the air he could tell that her fear was directed at herself and not at him.

“Say it,” he snarled and reached out, snagging the end of her kimono sleeve in his claw and slicing the fabric.

“Sit,” she whispered on a whimper and watched as the kodotama necklace glowed before he dropped to the stone floor.

Kagome fell to her knees beside him, folding herself over and sobbed brokenly into his back. She hated that he had pushed her to it, hating even more that she had said it. Her eyes were shut tight, the crystalline droplets squeezing out between her lashes as he rolled over beneath her and gathered her in his arms against his chest. She had spoken the command so softly and without any force at all behind it that he had simply fallen forward as though he had lost his balance. He hadn't even been tied to the ground, he could've risen immediately, but he hadn't. He needed her to see that speaking the command wouldn't kill him.

Folding his legs together as he sat up, he dragged Kagome into his lap and folded his body over hers as she cried in his arms. He whispered to her, shushed her gently and rocked her like a child. Her voice was clogged with her upset, shaky and uneven when she begged him, pleading over and over, that he never make her do that again. He would've promised her the moon in that moment, leapt into the heavens and pulled down the stars for her, but he couldn't promise her that. He couldn't let the memory of the dreams and her fear of the subduing spell rule her actions. He would give her anything else she would ever want, but he couldn't give her that.

::::

Golden eyes looked over the ancient parchment reading the words with growing disbelief and anger. Looking up at those sitting before him in the sparsely decorated office, Sesshoumaru slowly reached up and removed the wire rim glasses from his face. Dropping the spectacles onto his rosewood desk, he leveled a look at the singular human woman sitting in the padded chair in front of him.

“Where did the boy get this?” he asked, his emotionless tone demanding an answer.

“I don't know,” Kina said softly. “Most likely he got it from my father. The shrine has been in our family for generations and my father takes care of the documents that have been handed down through the years.”

“This - ritual,” Sesshoumaru said the word with an air of disgust “is dangerous at best and suicidal at worst. I am quite familiar with many different rituals and methods that humans have used for magic and this,” he held up the parchment, “is nothing but falsehood.”

“So what Souta did…”

“Was for naught. How is your son?” the Inu no Taisho asked as he sat down in the padded, high backed black leather office chair.

“The doctor said that he's lost a lot of blood but should pull through just fine. I can't help but think that if we hadn't found him when we did…” her voice trailed off and she looked down at her hands twisting in her lap.

“Do not trouble yourself with things that did not happen, Higurashi-san. Take comfort in the knowledge that your son is receiving the treatment he needs and will recover.” Turning his attention to Ginta, Sesshoumaru nodded only once and watched as the wolf youkai moved to the woman's side. “Take your mate home, wolf.”

“Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama,” Ginta said as he helped Kina to her feet and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Kina's brow furrowed as she let Ginta lead her from the room. “Sesshoumaru,” she spoke the name slowly. “Why do I know that name?”

:::::

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, the girl asleep next to him in the warm soothing waters of the hot spring. She was laid back against a flat boulder jutting up from within the water at an angle that offered children or those of smaller stature an easier way to get out of the spring, for Kagome though, the stone offered a temporary bed. Golden eyes studied the miko's body, narrowing at the sight of the harsh prominent lines and angles of her hips and ribs. She was still so very thin.

He smelled Sesshoumaru moments before he heard the shoji door of the enclosed spring open and close. Inuyasha didn't bother to look up at his brother, but did turn at the sound of his voice. Nodding once and watching as the taiyoukai laid out a thick, long white towel taken from Kagome's bag on the floor of the stone floor of the hot spring. Gathering Kagome in his arms, Inuyasha carried the sleeping girl through the water and handed her up carefully to his brother before climbing out of the water.

“She slept without dreams,” the hanyou spoke softly to his brother, accepting the second towel and drying off quickly before donning his fire rat robes.

“Her body will not be able to sustain her much longer as she is. The miko needs to eat.”

Sesshoumaru watched his brother dress the girl and looked closely at the end of her kimono sleeve, the fabric cut cleanly. “Inuyasha, what happened to her kimono?”