Disclaimer: This applies to all chapters throughout 'Tears Don't Fall': InuYasha is definitely not mine

Disclaimer: This applies to all chapters throughout 'Tears Don't Fall': InuYasha is definitely not mine.

Her body was sprawled in a tangled mess on the ground, her arm thrown at an ungodly angle and her hair falling in limp, bloodied strands across her face. Dry blood clung to her clothes; she couldn't differentiate between what was hers and what was her attacker's. Did it matter? Sleep hovered over her, and she willed herself not to succumb. Sleep meant to die, and she still had some unfinished business to attend to…

In the end, she let her eyes drift closed, 'If only for a moment… just one moment's rest…'

"Is she… alive?"

"Yeah. Her vital signs are okay. It seems to me like she put up quite a fight trying to fend off whoever was attacking her."

"Or what was attacking her."

Xianghua could hear the voices talking about her, but she couldn't do anything more than listen. Her head was too heavy to lift, and her eyelids felt like someone had decided to use them as a weight bench. Darkness surrounded her, and she barely whimpered trying to get out of it. She could see the faintest shards of light, but she couldn't move. She felt herself being lifted onto something soft, a bed perhaps? A sharp object, perhaps a needle, pricked her arm and she felt the pain leave her. She guessed the substance was… morphine?

She found the energy to crack an eye open and saw two men- one was a heavier man with glasses and aged blue eyes. His hair was graying and there were distinguished laugh lines over his features. His back was slightly hunched and he was shuffling around almost nervously. The other seemed to be about mid-30s. His hair was the color of birch, his back straight and proud, and warm brown eyes peered directly into hers.

"You're awake." She nodded feebly, struggling to lift her head. The world was spinning ever so slightly and she felt an odd numbing sensation over her body. She noticed she could only move her head, or was she moving more? She couldn't tell from her vantage point.

"My name is Leo, and this," He pointed to the eccentric man and smiled, "is Igor." She almost laughed at the irony; the old man even looked remotely like a lab rat. Igor smiled warmly, skittering over to her and shook her hand, at least she thought he was. He was shaking something…

"It's high time you woke up! Me 'n Leo here was startin' to worry 'bout ya!" Xianghua gave him a faint smile, before it dawned on her- no wonder everything was so blurry… her demon senses weren't working! Whoever these people were though, they were being incredibly nice to her, and for that she was grateful. She could have easily died out there, she hadn't meant to actually fall asleep…

The two men bowed out of the room, and she felt some feeling seeping back in her body. She flexed her claws, giving a low growl since her surroundings were still blurred. She mustered the energy to stand and looked around the room. There was an oak dresser in the corner, with its edges slightly chipped and the coloring worn from old age. Adjacent to that was a bookshelf of the same quality, with odd trinkets placed between random books. To her left she saw an old vanity, the mirror freshly cleaned. She could feel an odd tingling coursing through her body, and grinned. Her strength was doubled, and she could see the fibers of the hairs on the brush sitting on the vanity. She could hear muffled voiced downstairs that she hadn't heard a few seconds ago, and could smell everything... and older smell, she guessed Igor. There was the scent of pine and lemon… Leo. And a different smell, a grandmother's smell perhaps? It smelled like almonds, and was distinctly feminine. She brushed her hair and dug some gunk out of her sapphire eyes, pausing to put on some clothes someone had left on the bed for her.

As she walked down the stairs, she observed the house she had been placed in. A quaint two-story cottage, it was very homey. Old pictures adorned the yellowed walls, and the paint was peeling in a few areas. The wood stairs creaked with each step she took and the railing was worn, but she couldn't see a mess anywhere. There were no bugs, she couldn't hear any rats, there wasn't a single spider web hiding in the corner… She smirked. Obviously someone took great care of the little cottage.

She entered the dining room, where Leo and Igor sat comfortably in high-backed chairs. A plump woman who looked to be about Igor's age kissed his cheek and smiled warmly at Xianghua.

"Pancakes?" She extended her arm, holding out a plate littered with a variety of the food. She grabbed a few and smiled graciously, sitting down and helping herself. She hadn't had a home-cooked meal in ages, it seemed, not since she had a family. She winced at the thought, and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such things…

"Does it taste alright?" The woman asked with a marked frown. Xianghua nodded, swallowing and smiling.

"It's delicious."

"Ah. You have already met Leo and Igor here, haven't you?"

Xianghua nodded, waving hello at the two men.

"Oh well I wouldn't want to go introduced! How rude of me! My name is Martha, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Xianghua laughed, shaking her outstretched hand. "I'm Xianghua, and the same for you."

"Now what's a demon like you doing in these parts?"

Xianghua shrugged. She at first had wondered how Martha had known, but guessed she had helped bring her in and had seen her claws or fangs. "Business as usual. Thank you so much for the food, but I think I need to go now. Sorry, I'm not usually this much of a grouch, I'm just a little tired."

Martha shrugged in return. "No worries, dear, we all get like that at times!" She brushed a stray gray hair from her bun and smiled warmly. "Now you make sure to come visit me, all right?"

Xianghua had already been about halfway out the door, but turned and smiled, promising she would.

!!

She climbed through the trees, her pointed ears picking up sounds that guided her to where she needed to be. She was distracted however, when two voices came on the wind.

"Osuwari!"

She cocked an eyebrow at the term, and smiled when she saw a boy under the tree get slammed into the ground. He had flowing white hair and two dog ears at the top of his head. He was wearing a red haori, and there was an old sword attached to his hip. The girl who had uttered the command stepped out of the shadows with her hands on her hips and a marked frown on her face.

The boy stood from the ground, looking just as frustrated as she did. "Kagome! What the hell was that for?"

Her scowl deepened. "Come on InuYasha. Can we try to find Miroku and Sango now?"

He scoffed. "Keh. Whatever." He opened his mouth to say something, but cut himself off, sniffing the air and landing in the tree Xianghua was in.

"Hey. Who the hell are you?"

A/N

www.rworks. - go there!

As you can see, I'm going through and reposting these chapters before I put any new ones up. I had written this story a while ago, and when I read it again, I just wasn't pleased. I'll try to get everything out and reposted as soon as I can, so bear with me. Ch.2 should be up (reposted) very, very soon.