InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Fulfill a Duty ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

To Fulfill a Duty

Chapter Ten

By: DeadBHunter

"talking" `thinking'

Chapter Ten

She watched the herbs being ground up and added to a cup of boiling water. The water sizzled for a few seconds before it calmed and turned a pale yellow color. She tried to stifle a yawn, to hide her tiredness from the elderly miko, but she wasn't good enough.

"Kagome, sleep. You need to get some rest. Your return to the real world will have exhausted must of your powers.

`I guess I have had a long day,' thought Kagome, `after all, it's not everyday you find out that you're stuck in the same house as Sesshomaru.'

~Flashback~

Kagome just stood there. That was all she could do. Her brain was too busy thinking about what Junsui had just said.

"No, child, it is not time yet. You are not yet fully healed. Until then, you will remain with me." What could Junsui mean by that? She was healed, if not a bit tired. But that was it? What more did she want?

"Kagome?" asked Junsui after a few minutes of stunned silence.

"Wha-? Oh! Junsui, what do you mean by `It's not time yet.' I think I might have heard you wrong."

"Oh child, I'm sorry. But you are not fully healed yet. I will only proclaim you fully healed when you have mastered your powers, ALL of your powers. Until then, you must stay here. You may return to your friends when you are healed."

"But-"

Junsui held up a hand to silence Kagome. "That is the way it must be. I am truly sorry."

~End Flashback~

She still couldn't believe it. No matter how many times she told herself that she was wrong and that it was true, she just couldn't accept it.

"Kagome, there is nothing you can do about it. Rest, it will do you good. Think about healing and your miko powers. Concentrating your powers on a goal will help you reach it."

"Hai, Junsui. I'll go to sleep now." Kagome quickly gulped down the yellow fluid that Junsui had just handed to her that was supposed to restore energy. `Think about healing, think about who I'm doing this for, my friends.'

~Keade's Hut~

`Damnit! It's all the fucking ookami's fault! If it weren't for him, Shippo wouldn't be hurt! Damn him, damn him!'

Keade watched the hanyou from across the room clench and unclench his hands, blood trickling from his freshly punctured hands to the floor of her home. She dreaded what she would have to tell the hanyou and his friends, but there was no other option. It just had to be done.

"Everyone, I am sorry to tell ye this, but most likely Shippo will not make it through the night. At most, he will live to morning." Keade watched as her words sunk in and the faces of those she had come to think of as family were frozen by shock.

`No, this can't happen, not again. Everybody I care about is leaving me! First Kagome-chan and now Shippo. I truly am meant to live alone. Everyone I come into contact with has left me. Father, Kohaku, Kagome-chan, and now Shippo! Soon it'll be Inuyasha, then Miroku. NO! I can't let it happen! I have to save Shippo!'

`Fucking ookami…'

`Kagome-sama will not be pleased.'

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted when Keade added more. "Only a miracle can save him now."

The shard hunters watched as the kitsune's breathing shortened as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

~Later~

Keade watched as Sango paced across the room. She had been like this for over an hour, mumbling about medicine. She would pause every now and then, stare at an unmoving form on the floor, and resume pacing. Sitting on opposite sides of the room was Miroku and Inuyasha, both against the wall. Miroku's lips were moving in silent prayer and Inuyasha had his arms folded in the sleeves of his haori with Testusaiga moved from its place on his waist to his lap.

Finally, Keade glanced at the resting kitsune on the floor. It had been hours and he hadn't moved on his own. His face was pale and even his youkai blood could not heal him fast enough. Soon he would die. He would die, forever losing the feeling of a mother's embrace. Inuyasha's claws had done their job.

~Kagome's POV~

She glanced toward the Goshinboku, expecting to see a red dot somewhere around it, indicating that Inuyasha was there. Sure enough, there was a red splotch at the base of the Goshinboku where Inuyasha sometimes sat.

She rushed toward Inuyasha, hoping to receive his gruff welcome. She dashed on the path through Inuyasha's forest to said hanyou. As she got closer and closer to the Goshinboku, she grew more and more worried. Kagome was making enough noise for Inuyasha to hear her. If not enough, his customary habit of sniffing the air should have alerted him to her presence.

What if he was hurt? She would never forgive herself if Inuyasha had been hurt while she was gone. It was her duty to knock some sense into that thick skull of his and prevent him from making a complete ass of him self. Maybe that was why he was on the ground; he was too injured to bring himself up into the branches of the Goshinboku.

Kagome's uneasiness grew and she ran faster and faster toward Inuyasha. She expected to find blood, but not much of it. The red dot she had seen from a distance had not indicated excessive blood loss. Kagome hoped she was wrong. She hoped she was worrying over nothing. Maybe he was just sleeping and he had gotten used to her presence and would not awaken. Maybe he trusted her. She hoped he did.

The image that reached her eyes would be engraved into her eyes forever. It wouldn't be a picture of Inuyasha lying in his own blood. It wouldn't even be a picture of Inuyasha. It would be a picture of her baby kitsune with blood slowly oozing from the four claw marks across his small body.

Kagome raced toward her adoptive kit and quickly dropped to her knees. She hugged him gently to her body as she silently beat herself up on the inside. She didn't want to cause him any more pain. He was close to death. She could already tell with her weak senses. A youkai, even hanyou, would have been able to smell the death that unnaturally clung to his frail body. He had stopped breathing; making the rosy tint usually on his face, disappear, only to be covered by a sheet of white.

Kagome buried her face into his body and cried. She didn't know how long she just sat there, rocking back and forth, sobs wrenching her body, never ceasing. She remembered all the times she had with him.

There was the first time when she and Inuyasha had stumbled upon Shippo. The Thunder brothers had just killed his father and he stole the shards from Kagome to revenge him. There was also the time before the shard hunters had met Sango, and they were fighting against a shard-enhanced demon called Rouyakan. Kagome had dropped the shards, and Shippo had grabbed them and run away.

By now, she was stained in Shippo's blood; and it made her realize how much he had suffered before she came. Kagome sat on the ground, back turned toward the Goshinboku. She closed her eyes and cried into his soft fur, wishing she had been here to save him from the pain. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Shippo," she repeatedly whispered into deaf ears.

A bright purple glow surrounded Kagome and Shippo. Unknown to Kagome, the blood vanished and the four slashes on Shippo melted into his body and his skin healed. The only evidence of Shippo's injury left was a small scar that would remain forever where the deepest one was, above his heart.

~End Dream~

Kagome woke up covered in sweat and more tired than she was when she went to sleep. She clutched her heart and swiftly sat up. Her head spun and her vision was blurry for a few seconds before it finally cleared and she focused on Junsui who was sleeping in the futon across the room.

`That was just a dream. Shippo's fine. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream.' No matter how many times she told herself, Kagome didn't believe a word of it. She had this feeling that it really was real. Shippo really had been hurt. What else would explain the sudden loss of power, unless the trip back to the real world had taken more out of her than she originally thought?

~Keade's Hut~

His hand began moving when a strong magical presence left the hut and awakened him. `Closer, just a little bit closer. Almost. Ah…bliss.'

A loud noise filled the air and the group of shard hunters and one perverted monk sharply sat up.

"My dear Sango, I was merely-"

"Houshi-sama…"

`It was worth it,' Miroku thought as he soothed his stinging cheek from Sango's slap.

"If you do that again, houshi-sama, more than just your face will hurt," Sango threatened, swiftly averting her eyes from Miroku's face to certain parts of his body.

Miroku brought his hands down to shield his body from Sango's glare and protested. "But my dear Sango, I was merely complimenting the condition your body is in from all the youkai exterminating. I was simply admiring your hard work."

Sango scoffed in disbelief and glanced toward Shippo. She gave a gasp of astonishment as her jaw dropped.

By now, all eyes were turned toward Shippo, staring in disbelief at the condition he was in. He was sitting up and looked completely healed. Nothing remained to remind the shard hunters of the injuries Inuyasha had inflicted upon him after losing Testusaiga.

"What?" Shippo asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" He turned behind only to find a blank wall. "What? Inuyashaaaaa," Shippo whined. "Tell me!"

"Feh. Like I should tell you," Inuyasha sneered.

Shippo let out a small growl and began chewing on Inuyasha's ears. He had expected Inuyasha to thump him on the head, but instead Inuyasha just sat there stunned.

"Sango, Miroku, tell me what you guys are talking about," complained Shippo.

"Well, Shippo, yesterday, Kouga came and Inuyasha transformed after Testusaiga got knocked away from him," explained Miroku. Shippo just nodded his head and indicated for Miroku to continue. "When Kouga scented Inuyasha's blood change, he ran away just like when he scented the Kaze no Kizu. We attempted to get Testusaiga into Inuyasha's hands, but we couldn't. Finally, you ran toward Testusaiga, but before you could reach it, Inuyasha got in the way and he slashed at you. We took you to Keade's hut last night. But now, you are completely healed."

"So that's what happened after I saw Inuyasha. So why am I healed now?" Shippo questioned.

"That's what confuses us. We did not expect for you to make it through the night, you were not even breathing. But look at you now, you are fine, " answered Miroku.

"I believe I know the answer to that," Keade interjected. "I sensed a magical presence in my home while we were sleeping. I did not wake because it felt helpful and caring, like how Kagome feels."

"I felt the same thing this morning," commented Miroku. "I woke up when I felt the aura leaving."

"Maybe it was Kagome-chan. If you say the aura felt like her, then why can't it be her?" asked Sango.

"Sango," Keade began, "we all know that Kagome has amazing powers, but she does not have control of them. It is also unlikely that she has healed enough to exit her trance. If she did, then she would be back here with us. Even if that did happen, she would still not have the knowledge to do so. The skill to heal someone from so far away is very difficult to learn and master. Even someone with Kagome's power would not be able to perform the healing without much training."

"But I know it was Kagome," cried Shippo. "I can tell! She feels different from everyone else. She feels like home."

A/N:

Translations:

Goshinboku - the God tree where Inuyasha was pinned

Ookami - wolf

Kaze no Kizu - Inuyasha's wind scar attack

Haori - kind of like a jacket or overcoat

Review Responses:

Sesshoumarugrl: Your review made me feel sooooo good!!! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!! We'll see about them getting together…maybe sometime…it'll happen *wink*

Daughter of the Void: Well there's your answer about Shippo!!! He's one of my favorite characters too! We can't have him dying can we?

BGC: Hahahahahaha, that was kind of weird, but it's okay!!! I hope this update came soon enough for you!

Immortal-Rising: I hope this chapter answers your questions about Shippo healing!

Mystic Hanyou: Hmm…I was considering making Inuyasha be alone…but I do feel sorry for him. He DOES lose Kagome after all. I think I'll just make him happy somehow…happy endings are fun!! I never thought of Inuyasha having someone…we'll see…

Annie: I try to make it realistic and stuff for you guys! I like to know that you guys like my story so much!

Kirara Grey: Heh heh…I'll read your story soon…*sigh* homework sucks. I added your e-mail address so now I'll e-mail you whenever I update! Thanks for the review!!

animefan: *faints from happiness* *sits up* hang on…can't faint yet. I gotta write more chapters for you guys!!! Its reviews like the one that you sent me that makes me want to write! Thanks!

twilight aura: hmmm…I dunno if Inuyasha can transform into a dog just like Sess…hmmmmm I've never seen him transform, but you never know! ^_~ If you can't see that, it's a winking face, because I know on some sites that won't show up.

InuyashaJunky: HAHAHA! Your review was so funny! I guess all the thinking about healing paid off for poor Shippo!

kagome: I'm soooooooo sorry the last chapter was so late!!! I had to write this story for school, and I worked really REALLY hard on it! I think it turned out pretty good…even if it was worth only 20 points *sigh*. I should have been typing my chapter then…*sigh* I'm so disappointed with myself. I hope this chapter came out soon enough for you!!

latin-gurl: Glad you enjoyed my chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as much! I added your e-mail to my mailing list, so you should have gotten an e-mail that told you that I updated.

Lady of Chaos 2005: Thanks for the nice words!! I hope this update came soon enough for you.

Nova Alexandria: Yep, poor Shippo. That's why I couldn't let him die! What would we do without him?

The Dragon Sorceress: But I am still sorry though. I told you guys that I would try to update every week or so…*sigh* I think this chapter came out a bit faster than the other ones though!