Disclaimer: if wishes were fishes I'd have a lot of owning-InuYasha-sushi. But they aren't.
(AN: Before reading this, read SANGO'S CHOICE, it will make more sense that way, since this is a prequel.)
Sango, I love you...
There was no other way to interpret these words. There was no way to allow herself to believe they meant something other than what they intended to mean. InuYasha loved her. But... Why? How?
Well, answers were in order…
…
…
…
Two months. It had been too long. While InuYasha's usual stubbornness held him this long, he could go no longer. It was intolerable! Kagome's brash, quick to take offence nature had once again led them into a fight. It wasn't what he wanted, but then, when did she care what he wanted when there was something else she only idly fancied that contradicted him?
It hadn't even been a very impressive fight. It was just their usual fight continued. Somehow he'd apparently called her useless, and she'd taken an amazing amount of offence at something he didn't even realize was there, and then threatened to go home. Well, that wasn't so bad to begin with, but had he not tried to stop her, and begged her – or at least as close to begging as his pride would allow – to stay, then she wouldn't have screamed the evil word as forcefully as she could, as many times as she could, surely getting a severely sore throat the next day. 'Sit'. How many times had she screamed it? Seventeen!! She'd screamed it until he could no longer stay conscious! Miroku had regaled him with the details that passed after he was 'no longer with them'.
He stared angrily at the well, trying to re-convince himself that he didn't want to be the one to apologize. He was failing. This was the longest since he'd known her that they'd been apart, and he felt, for lack of a better word, homesick. He was no longer even denying it, even to Shippo, who's inquisitive nature would not allow him to stop until he got the answer he knew was right, but didn't expect. InuYasha had sat there, motionless, for at least an hour now, still fighting the inner monologue. Miroku and Sango were now no longer simply concerned; they were quite near the point of going through the well themselves to get Kagome back and end InuYasha's terrible episode. Watching his melancholy form from a ways off, then were holding a hushed conversation, hoping that InuYasha would not hear.
"Monk, Are you sure that he'll be okay still? I know I'm convinced that his disposition is no longer of a simply angry sort."
"I suppose I'm beginning to agree with you, Lady Sango. I will speak with him; it is my turn, I suppose." He said with a sigh. He stood up and walked to the young half demon.
"InuYasha?" He inquired first; to make sure he was not in a comatose state. InuYasha's ear flicked, which at this point was nearly a graceful and kind greeting, since Miroku wasn't actually sure if he'd spoken in the last couple of days. "InuYasha, you're in a very sorry state. You really must go apologize to Kagome. I've never seen you so low!" At this, InuYasha's ear twitched again, then his head turned slightly so that his amber eyes could glimpse Miroku. He said nothing.
"Truly, InuYasha! You mustn't stay this way! Your spirits are even affecting Shippo!" So what if it wasn't that true, reasoned Miroku. Out of surprise that it actually worked, Miroku jumped back when InuYasha stood.
"You're right," he said, taking a slow step forward. Miroku's expression could not be reproduced.
"I…Wha…?" He said stupidly, since he'd lost the eloquent speech he usually relied on.
"Even if I don't believe it, Kagome has to come back, I know you're gonna tell me that, and I also know you're right." Said InuYasha. Miroku's expression only became less realistic. He hadn't realized that under the angry persona InuYasha actually heard what Miroku had said all those times he'd counseled him to go fetch Kagome, nor did he realized that InuYasha could actually read him well enough to know what his exact words were going to be. Recomposing himself, Miroku nodded, though didn't dare try speaking again for fear of cognitive failure. He tried, and didn't know if he'd succeeded or not, in making it look like a 'thank you', or a wise, knowing nod. He was pretty sure he couldn't have managed the latter, though.
InuYasha walked on… Miroku was sure that any moment he would turn around and yell, "No, she was the one that was wrong! I refuse to give in!" Or something of the like, but he only hesitated once, then continued into the well. With a slightly purple flash, he was gone.
After a few moments, standing there with the dumb look on his face, he heard Sango burst out laughing. This startled him back into reality.
"What?" He demanded, still not remembering how to speak with way he normally did. Between giggles Sango managed to say,
"Your expression…" and then lapsed into even heavier laughter.
…
Kagome, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, but… No, that wasn't right.
He'd come here, knowing what to say, how to say it, how she'd react, and that he wanted her to come back, but now he didn't know even why he was here for sure. He was still at the bottom of the well, still immobile. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there. He was working himself up to getting out, and he was just about to, when…
"Yeah, I know. This is my place to just… Be. I just come here to collect myself." There was a pause. "No, I'm in the well house, silly," said the voice, with a girlish giggle. InuYasha had never heard her so… Happy. She was just chatting with someone else, whom he couldn't hear, but Kagome was happy. She didn't sound stressed, or worried at all. She was just herself. Her happy-self. The self she was before… before him.
"Yeah, okay. Okay, bye, love you lots!" Said Kagome to this other person. He heard a small 'beep', followed by a happy sigh. He heard the well door open, and jumped out.
Kagome was dressed as she always was; in her uniform. She smelled as good as she always did, and looked the same as she did when she left. The sight, smell and sound of her, the whole experience of her, was intoxicating after this long. He felt his stomach relax, and suddenly so many of his anxieties melted off him so easily.
"Kagome…" He said hoarsely. Kagome turned around faster than he'd ever seen her move. She looked at him, and her expression of alarm didn't change. She said nothing. "Kagome," he said again, a bit disappointed by her reaction. "I've come…" He gritted his teeth. "I've come to apologize. We need you, and we haven't been able to do anything without you. But most of all…" He trailed off. What he wanted to say was, 'but most of all, I need you, and miss you,' but her expression was not that of someone who even wanted to hear that a little. And he didn't really want to have to say it.
"How… How dare you!?" Kagome demanded. InuYasha took a very small step back, entirely confused, and he felt a strange twinge in his chest. "You come back, after two months without me, and then expect me to say, 'Hey, thanks! I'll come help you look for some stupid, demonic jewel in a place I hate with people I haven't needed in two months! Yeah, that's a great idea!'?"
InuYasha felt his ears lower on the back of his head, knowing his expression was heartbroken, and he found he couldn't do anything about it.
"Screw that!" Kagome cried, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I've had it with you! I don't want to be there anymore!" She was shaking in rage now. She continued, nearly breathless. "You treated me like a pebble in your shoe, and now you want me back? No!" She said just before storming off.
InuYasha reached out a hand for her, but didn't dare move from this spot. Somehow it felt like if he didn't move, then this couldn't have been real. If he just stayed perfectly still, then maybe he could still wake up to find out it was just a dream…
The twinge was now much worse than anything he'd felt before. It felt like he was being stabbed – And he knew how much that hurt – but it felt worse. Kagome didn't want to be with him? How… Why? When did it happen? And why? How could she… Why would she want to hurt him this much…? He felt his eyes watering, and he even felt tears come out of his eyes. He realized now that he'd collapsed, and was sitting against the well, crying. He couldn't move, and he felt the pain in his chest sent a vague stinging sensation to his stomach. He looked up at the well house ceiling, his vision blurred severely, and howled quietly, since his throat had closed up far beyond allowing him to speak any louder.
He cried there for who knows how long. It had felt like days before he could stand, but he was sure in the front of his mind that it was no more than an hour. He lurched into the well again, tripping rather than hopping, and cried a bit more once he got to the bottom.
…
Miroku was pacing. He was almost a frantic as InuYasha had been in the first few days of Kagome's absence. He was biting his finger, so deep in thought that he didn't notice Shippo sitting on the well, watching him.
"Miroku," said Shippo suddenly, startling the monk. "Would you stop that? You're making me dizzy…" He finished. Miroku did so. After a moment he bent down so he was eye level with the little fox.
"Are you worried about them?" He inquired. Shippo nodded slightly.
"Yeah, but I don't think they'll get hurt, or anythin', I mean, she's got InuYasha with her, so what could happen?"
"Well," said Miroku in response. "I was more worried about their emotions. I'm not too terribly frightened of them being attacked." Shippo looked confused.
"Whadda'ya mean? They're in love, what could happen?" He said. Miroku covered his eyes.
"If this fight was terrible enough to both of them to cause a two month absence on Kagome's part, perhaps it is too deep a wound to be bandaged this way?" Said Miroku. Shippo seemed to think this over, and when about to respond he paused, and then sniffed.
"'NuYasha?" He asked, looking over the edge of the well. The Hanyou had been there a little while now, his hair thrown askew, leaning, head back, against the corner of the well, sobbing softly. Miroku and Shippo exchanged glances, and Shippo dashed off to get Sango. Miroku took another long look at InuYasha. He was surprised, but he was nearly positive he knew what happened. InuYasha made a choking noise or two, then said, "Don't… Don't tell any… Anyone…" between more of these noises. Miroku truly felt pity for the boy. He didn't really know what to tell him. He climbed gingerly down into the well and sat down next to InuYasha for a moment.
"InuYasha, what happened?" he asked, as if that would console InuYasha. InuYasha simply turned his head to see him, jolting with tears, and attempted an expression that could have been a 'fuck off,' or a, 'fuck off, you idiot,' but the effect was ruined by the tears, the reddened eyes, and of course, the quick, indrawn breaths that caused him to not hold still as he would have normally. He let out a howl of pain, then folded up into his own lap, sobbing yet further. Miroku wasn't sure how to calm him. Had it been Kagome he would have goaded her into some form of anger, then she would have felt a good deal better after hitting him, but not only did Miroku not want to touch the boy's butt, he also didn't want to be hit by him. Miroku, instead, started in on the subject of food in a vain attempt to quiet him. However, he'd mentioned potato chips on accident, which triggered InuYasha to lapse into hopelessness again.
…
Miroku had convinced Sango that things were fine, and they'd send word as soon as Kagome got back, but until then she should find clues of the whereabouts of the jewel shards. This had kept her away from the crying InuYasha for now at least. A week passed. He didn't know what to do at all. For the time being he was keeping Shippo away from InuYasha, and trying to convince the little demon that he didn't see InuYasha crying, only injured, and it was fine. Another week passed before InuYasha got back his former hot-tempered nature. He was recovering, but he had a twinge every time Kagome was remembered. Miroku was painfully, patently trying to keep him in good spirits, though he wasn't sure he really wanted the old, disagreeable InuYasha back.
Another week passed, InuYasha was entirely fine as near as Miroku could tell. Granted, he would take long walks on his own, and he nearly ignored Shippo, rather than getting in a fearsomely distasteful state. Miroku did all in his power to shield InuYasha, proving that, indeed, he was a friend.
"Miroku," Said Shippo one day. "InuYasha keeps ignoring me." There was a slightly disappointed expression on Shippo's face. Miroku allowed to his own surprise at this.
"You actually like it when InuYasha gets frustrated and hurts you without good cause?" asked Miroku. Shippo shrugged.
"Well, I like it better than he is now. And I want Kagome to come back, too. I miss her…" said the little fox sadly. Miroku tried an encouraging smile.
"She will come back, Shippo, fear not."
…
Meanwhile, not all that far off, InuYasha was taking a walk. He was allowing himself a small smile. Even with this pain, this grief Kagome caused him he found, strangely, that he was better for it. He was no longer as angry – or so he thought – And he could admit that he, himself, needed time to step back and put things together. He took walks for this very reason, and allowing to himself that it was good for him. He'd be back in his normal swing – with or without Kagome – eventually.
We was feeling dreadful, and he could have sworn he felt his heart bleeding, but he could feel himself healing. There would be a scar left behind, but that's bound to happen when you let someone in, and they want to claw their way out.
His walk had carried him to a place it carried him often; to the well. He stared at for a moment, then smiled. He had memories. He wouldn't allow this to get in the way of the Jewel hunt. No matter how much it hurt. He recovered fast, even from this.
He sat down by the base of a tree, and simply stared at it. The little bit of constriction, so simple, so boring, and yet it had been something he looked to when he was waiting for Kagome to come and be with him. It had been like a little dispenser of joy, at times, and at other times it had been a barrier between him and Kagome, something that was there, as if it was always giving her a way out, in case… In case she didn't want to see him.
He winced at the last thought. Not wanting to see him. That was what had caused this pain, he thought. That was why he was here now, brooding all alone, nursing pain that he would never admit to being a broken heart. He came here often to try and find the missing pieces to his heart, but he knew where most of it was… And he knew it wasn't going to be so easy as just getting them back – No, he had to re-grow the biggest pieces. The pieces he's left with her.
There was a wisp of purple smoke from the well, followed by coughing. InuYasha's ears perked, and he desperately hoped that it wasn't what he though it was. Perhaps he didn't heal as fast as he thought he did…
He saw her hands… They pulled her up, as the always did, in the same nearly graceful manner that she always did.
He was strangled by fear, unable to breath. His heartbeat quickened. He undoubtedly did not want to be seen. Not at all. His keen eyes searched for some exit strategy while he tried to dislodge his mind from its previous track to help his eyes with a plan.
There was another cough, and Kagome's hair appeared in his view. Her silky, raven hair, that many times he'd smelled, the scent playing with him, and grappling him deeply into a state of thrall.
His mind refused to help beyond one suggestion: Hide. He leapt into a tree, scurrying into a spot that would provide more cover, hoping that she wouldn't expect him to have done that.
Kagome was entirely out of the well now, dusting herself off, as she always did. The clouds of dust carrying the scent of her perfume to him, making his senses go crazy. Even when he was human, when she wore those scents it was like drowning in her… And she just had to wear that now, did she?
She looked around. Riffling through her bag, she pulled out a bag of potato chips, then stared at them mournfully. Though he was in no position to tell, InuYasha might have said afterwards that he saw a tear slide promptly down her cheek before she smeared it, and put the chips back away. She stood up calmly, and slowly, as if debating with herself, and daring herself to go back. She began toward the village. She'd only gotten a few steps when she was right under him. She turned, and looked back at the well.
InuYasha quieted his breathing as much as he could. He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake from some kind of nightmare. Begging it to be a hallucination. pleading this to be some kind of mental condition, rather than the real Kagome. He heard his own heartbeat, and felt it in his throat, obstructing any breathing he was trying to do anyway. He felt like his rapid pulse was going to make him explode. Her entertained the idea, which at the moment seemed less painful than facing Kagome. The girl stood there for quite some time before she looked up.
"InuYasha, please come down…" she said quietly, but she knew he could hear her. Biting back a howl of pain, or a death threat that was threatening to be blurted out, he did so, not at all enthusiastic of the prospect of having to say even one word. Her scent, now that he was closer, was off… There was something wrong about it, and InuYasha couldn't quite pinpoint it. Kagome looked at him miserably for a while before she spoke again.
"InuYasha…" she began, her voice choked by tears. "You came to me to apologize… And I totally didn't hear you out. I totally didn't think you were worth it. I… I want to apologize back, and make it up to you, though I know that won't be easy." She said, holding her hands tightly together in front of her. Her chin was against her neck, as if she couldn't work up to looking at him. InuYasha stared at her, her scent still somehow… Wrong.
"I…" he began. I love you, Kagome, even if you hurt me, I want you back, I want to start over, I want to make you happy. That's what I want to say, but I don't know if I mean it anymore, He thought. "I need to think," he said instead, shaking his head and walking away hastily. He could feel his temper rising, but he was doing his best to keep it in check.
"InuYasha!" He heard from behind him, though he walked on, ignoring it. He didn't want to answer. He didn't want to say anything to her. She'd hurt him, worse than anything he'd known. He'd known what it felt like to die, and be suspended in death for fifty goddamn years, and still this had hurt more. She couldn't just expect him to be over it, could she? He was going to walk, then he would give his answer, which he was pretty sure would be the one he'd wanted to say before, but he wanted to be sure.
"InuYasha!" She said again, walking after him. He quickened his pace to a run. Handling her right now would be more than impossible. It wouldn't happen. He wanted more than anything else, no matter what he felt for her, and no matter how much he wanted to give into his love for her, he wanted to cause her the same kind of pain she'd caused him. He wanted to claw her, to maim her, and to hurt her. But instead, he would settle for sorting out his own feelings and attempting to want to like her first, because he'd forgotten how.
"InuYasha!" She was running after him now, at a speed quicker than he knew she could run. He closed his eyes and tightened his fists - which were already quite tight - fighting the instincts he'd trained himself for to save her from any ill, and broke into a sprint. She'd become something he associated with pain, now, and he didn't know how to fix that yet. He wanted to, but he needed to think first. He needed to let her apology sink through. He needed to let himself remember why he loved her, then it would be simple, but first, he needed to like her. Then he would love her, and he could actually let her know.
"InuYasha!" She said from quite far back now. "SIT!"
…
When InuYasha woke up he was underground, and there was water dripping onto his forehead. It was a steady drip, the kind that one might often associate with the passage of time, or perhaps the rhythm of a band before the instruments of overlaid. He opened his eyes to the dank lighting, and saw nothing but a white light overhead.
"InuYasha!" was called from overhead, though the sound had decayed to the point of it being just a wondering echo finding its way into his ear. He opened his mouth to respond, but ended up coughing instead. He turned onto his side until the coughing subsided.
"InuYasha!?" the voice called again, this time louder, and more hopeful. "InuYasha, are you down there?"
"Kagome?" he said, after his fit had ceased.
"Oh, god, InuYasha! I thought I'd lost you!" answered the voice. He was certain it was Kagome now. There was a faint jab as she'd said those words. 'I thought I'd lost you'… They weren't what had happened. 'I thought I'd killed you' was better of the given circumstances.
"Don't think something so stupid. As if a fall like this could kill me!" he snapped back, ignoring the pain of his body, and mind alike. As he sat up fire shot through his arm, sending him right back to the ground. Damn, it was definitely broken. Must've been some fall, he mused. As he looked back up, this time from a standing position, he could see that the opening was about a hundred feet up, and scarcely larger than he was. He also saw Kagome's face peering over it.
The cavern he was in was hardly larger than a closet, and it got narrower as it neared the top. It looked safe enough to be at the edge of it, as Kagome was; there was little risk of the ground giving way if there were more ground under it. He'd have to climb, but that wasn't going to be easy with a broken arm. Grimacing at it, he toyed with the though of staying down there for two days to let it heal, and let him have time to think about Kagome, but he really didn't like it down there. It was so small that if he had then it would be already filled to the gills with his own defecation. No, that idea was right out, no matter how tempting it may have otherwise been.
"InuYasha, I'll go get help!" called Kagome. InuYasha growled at her.
"How long have I been down here?" he snapped. Perhaps it wasn't as long as he thought. There was a painful amount of lag time between his call and her answer, and for a moment he thought she'd left.
"About two hours!" she called back.
"Two hours, and you haven't gotten help yet?!" He yelled back, outrage filling his words. The lag once again ensued, as often these things do, when echoes are concerned. It shouldn't have been lagging, or echoing this much at this distance, should it?
"Well, no!" no, no, no. InuYasha growled again, but decided to let her go get the help she should have gotten immediately. Why did she feel it necessary to stay there, yelling at him for two hours? It probably would have taken about two hours for her to get to town, bring enough people back, come up with a reasonable plan and execute it. She'd just robbed him of two hours of his life! Idiocy.
"Okay, I'm gonna go now!" yelled Kagome after another minute. InuYasha glared back up at her.
"Why the hell aren't you gone yet!? You should have left when I didn't answer!" he yelled. He heard the intermingled echoes, causing his words to be unintelligible. He watched as Kagome turned her head to listen, rather than leaving, as she should have done many times now.
"What?" she asked after a long lag. InuYasha yanked at some of his hair in frustration.
"GO!" he roared at her. He watched as her face didn't leave until she'd received the order. After her face was gone, he sat back down, and glanced at his arm. Yep, definitely broken. With the angle it was hanging at it made it look like he had two elbows.
"That, my friends, is a broken arm," he said, preparing to set the bone.
The blood chilling snap echoed evermore inside the enclosed space, followed by the wounded howl, and with every single repetition of the sounds he relived the pain.
…
Miroku sighed, and put down the rules. Kagome had brought the game home from her time about three months ago, and he still couldn't understand the mysterious 'Chi-su'.
"Miroku! Miroku-Sama! Sango-Chan!" screamed a girl off in the crowd. Miroku scarcely would have taken notice in his otherwise occupied state had this person not called his name. He looked up for a moment.
"Somebody!" her voice was raised to penetrate the din.
"Lady Kagome!" he called back, finally realizing who was talking. "Lady Kagome, what's wrong?" he asked. Kagome paused in front of him and bent over double, gasping for air.
"Inu…" she breathed. "Fell down… Inna hole!" she said.
"Inu… InuYasha?" he asked. Kagome nodded vigorously. "InuYasha fell… into a hole?" She nodded again. "I'll get help and send them to the outskirts. You must lead them back, Lady Kagome!" he told her, quickly turning to find anyone able bodied enough, and a good length of rope. It baffled him, however, to think of InuYasha just falling down a hole. Had something attacked? Unlikely, for if it had, would it let Kagome get away?
His thoughts halted as he remembered something. Kagome was back! She hadn't been here for almost three months, and for that period InuYasha had been distressed enough that perhaps her return would distract him enough to be clumsy? Well, he didn't know, as yet, what had passed between the two, nor did that matter for the task at hand.
After the men were gathered he headed for the very outskirts that he had send them all to with a length of rope. He saw the tail end of the party, and joined it, rushing up ahead to get there faster, since he carried a very necessary piece in the rescue.
…
InuYasha opened his eyes.
Drip.
He looked around, to find that he was still in the same place. The light outside had grown faint, and he couldn't see anything in the cavern. However now he was beginning to realize something; there was blood all around him. His blood! In the excitement he hadn't known that he was injured, and now he was so numb from the cold that he couldn't figure it out without light; a commodity he was fresh out of at that moment.
Drip.
If he had to hazard a guess, he'd say about two more hours had passed. He didn't remember going to sleep, so he assumed that perhaps it was a head wound. Oh, of all the things that he had to deal with at that moment, why a broken arm and a head wound on top of them? He took only minor consolation in the thought that maybe it wasn't his head. He was too numb to know the difference, and even if he wasn't, he didn't remember any concussion. So he didn't have one, right? He assumed you'd remember a concussion if you got one; they were very memorable, after all.
Drip.
He was now assured that it was a head wound, and a severe one at that, to trigger such a line of thought. Remember a concussion? That had to be one of the stupidest things he'd ever heard of.
Drip.
Perhaps it wasn't so bad being down here, he thought. After all, it gave him the time he'd wanted away from 'My Lady Defensive' up there, and there wasn't anything more pressing than this he needed to do anyway. It wasn't hot down here, as it would have been everywhere else. In fact, it was pleasantly refreshing, and surprisingly dry, rather than humid, even with the incessant drip.
Drip.
His head swam as he tried to stand up. He let out a groan, and decided that sitting, leaning against a wall was a much better employment than standing, especially if standing was likely to make him faint. How much blood had he lost, to make him so weakened?
Drip.
This was going to be a long wait.
Drip.
Definitely a long wait.
Drip.
Still waiting.
Drip.
"InuYasha!" InuYasha's ears homed in on the sound.
"Miroku, izzat you?" he yelled back, his mouth painfully dry.
"Yes! Lady Kagome sent for us!" yelled the Monk after the lag. "How did you manage to fall down a hole?!" InuYasha growled.
"Some idiot girl happened to say the magic word right over a weak spot, and drove me down here!" he said, in short bursts so that the echoes wouldn't drive all intelligibility out of his words.
The ground smacked him. After a moment he heard,
"Sit!" Damn that lag time…
Drip.
"Hey!" he screamed back. "You got me in here, don't cheat!"
"We're sending down a rope!" said Miroku, after the obligatory lag, which is no longer going to be mentioned. "Can you climb up?"
"No, but I could tie off and be hauled!" InuYasha answered. He really didn't think he could climb one-armed…
Drip.
He saw Miroku's head turn to share council with some of the men there – Or, the men he assumed were there, since he could only see Miroku and Kagome's faces.
Drip.
After a moment he turned back, and answered InuYasha's prayers.
"We can haul you up! Hold on!" yelled the Monk. InuYasha collapsed with relief.
"Thank god!" he said, more to himself than the others, even though he yelled it.
Drip.
Silence was broken only by the drip that was as accurate as clockwork.
Drip.
Something touched his face, causing him to jump. He nearly attacked it before he remembered that he was expecting a rope. He grinned with delight and relief, and snagged the rope, pulling once on it so the others would know he now had it. It stopped lowering. After a moment of struggling he managed to tie himself with one hand.
Drip.
He pulled the rope again, and it began to rise.
Drip.
Drip.
InuYasha sighed. He wished that there was some way to skip time, but he would just have to live with the speed of 3 inches per minute.
…
Miroku sighed. They'd turned this into shifts, and it currently wasn't his. He'd never seen one hundred feet be this long before.
He looked back to Kagome, who was franticly looking into the hole. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and took a swig of water, preparing for his turn to heave the rope some more.
"Lady Kagome, I'm sure he'll be all right," said Miroku, reassuringly. Kagome looked up at him worriedly, then she smiled.
"I know," she told him. "But it's just… He was running away from me when this happened…" she said quietly. Miroku was surprised at this, though he refused to let it show on his face.
"Why do you think he did that, Lady Kagome?" he asked. Kagome shrugged.
"I don't know," she said, more sure of herself in this sentence. Miroku frowned. InuYasha was as emotionally numb as a log in a warren. Certainly she'd done something to hurt him, and it couldn't be the sort of thing that could be overlooked so easily. After all, this was InuYasha; he of the thick skin! There was something more, something that Miroku wasn't being told.
A hand grabbed the ledge of the hole, and Miroku quickly dropped the subject he'd been interested in to help the young Hanyou out of his predicament. He grabbed the clawed hand, pulling InuYasha back up.
InuYasha coughed heavily. Miroku looked at him critically. The boy before him was covered in blood; his hair was matted, and was the red color that could only be blood. How much had InuYasha bled?
After the spasm subsided he collapsed on the ground, very purposefully landing on his back with his right arm draped over his chest. Miroku looked at InuYasha's head.
"InuYasha, can you walk? We need to get you to Kaede's for treatment," he told the younger boy. InuYasha nodded weakly, and dragged himself to his feet. He wasn't walking very well; swaying terribly, in fact, so Miroku offered his shoulder out for InuYasha to be carried by, but he didn't seem to notice. Miroku frowned, and grabbed his arm. At this, InuYasha let out a strangled cry and collapsed back on the ground.
"InuYasha!" Kagome screamed from behind them, rushing up to InuYasha's aid. Miroku had never seen so ungrateful a reception of Kagome on InuYasha's part. The boy looked at her briefly, then stood back up, shrugging her off every time she touched him even a little.
"It's broken," InuYasha told Miroku flatly. Miroku tried his best not to look too sympathetic, lest InuYasha take that as an insult, but he was aware that it showed on his face. Miroku had never in all the time they traveled together, seen InuYasha so crippled as this. By the end of the walk Miroku had InuYasha's arm over his shoulder and was supporting him on their way back. What had happened? Surely a hundred foot fall wasn't enough to do this kind of damage. There was something more than what had been told…
Miroku looked at the sky. The stars were remarkably bright tonight, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. The sun had just set, leaving a pink and orange mark where it had exited from in brilliant color. The other side of the sky was already dark, and past twilight. InuYasha groaned.
Miroku looked back to his companion, who had suddenly given up all pretences of walking, was quite instantly got a lot heavier, nearly causing Miroku to loose balance. There was a soft glow around InuYasha, and a faint – very faint – humming sound as each strand of InuYasha's hair seemed to fill with black, and his ears disappeared. His claws turned into nothing but dull, ill taken care of nails. He was human, and weak.
Miroku – had he been anyone else – would have panicked, but that wasn't in his nature. Instead, he quickened his pace to get to Kaede's. InuYasha the Hanyou could survive worse than a head wound, concussion, and a broken arm, but a human InuYasha, and suddenly the prospect of an infection became much more frightening, and sadly, much more likely. Had there only been someone among them who knew something about medicine they could have delayed any ill-effects for the trip, but no, all these men were farmers or carpenters, not doctors. None of them knew how to make a poultice, or a bandage out of a plant, and Miroku didn't know enough to be of use either.
"Kagome, do you have any bandages with you?" he asked. Kagome shook her head hurriedly.
"I… I'm out of gauze, and even if I had it, I dropped it to follow InuYasha, and I don't know where it is now!"
"…By the… well, m'ron…" murmured InuYasha quietly. It was lucky for him that Kagome didn't hear it.
"InuYasha says they're by the well," Miroku translated. Kagome's brow wrinkled.
"That doesn't matter… My first aid kit is out of anything that could help us for this!" she wailed. Miroku quickened his pace yet again. It didn't matter if he was tired right now; it mattered if InuYasha survived the night. That was the all-important factor, and right now it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
…
Miroku was thankful that the other men were there, and had been able to fabricate a stretcher with which to carry InuYasha faster. Nevertheless, the journey to the village was brutal. If only it was an hour earlier, and maybe then he could have gotten himself home and in pretty good shape before his human transformation. But as it was, there had been no way of preventing this that Miroku knew of, and he felt sure that if there had been any way to shield InuYasha from danger, Kagome would have chosen that course of action.
Miroku remembered his tension, and the feeling of sheer helplessness as IunYasha was transmitted to the village. The hours seemed to change like seasons would, and it was a two hour walk at the present pace. Increasing the pace would only risk InuYasha's heath further than necessary, and Miroku would not have that. Already they were jarring InuYasha's previously wounded head, and that was doing him no good at all, they were tousling his previously broken arm, and that certainly wasn't good for it. There was no way to get there fast enough and safe enough to preserve all his heath.
Miroku sighed. On a two hour walk, with only his own anxiety as a companion, he was going to be a mess after this.
…
Miroku was overjoyed at the sight of the village at last. He quickly instructed the men to take him directly to Kaede's home, and wake her, if necessary. As soon as he was no longer needed to be the brains of the party – which they had otherwise lacked – he relaxed. There was nothing more Miroku could do for his friend.
A villager came running up to him swiftly.
"Lord Monk! Taijia Sama is this night returned! She waits for you at the tavern," said the man. Miroku grimaced. It would be a painful office to regale Sango with the effects of the evening, and he didn't want to do it, but she would be better informed. He started toward the hostelry to enlighten her.
When he got to his destination he didn't have to look hard for Sango. She was sitting at the bar, sipping some sake, and looking generally happy. Her hair was down, falling lazily, and artfully over her shoulders, and she seemed to glow with an air of satisfaction.
"Houshi Sama!" she greeted him cheerfully, motioning for the publican to hand him some sake too. Miroku couldn't refuse that offer; he needed to loosen up a bit. He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. When he opened his eyes he saw Sango looking at him, no longer with an air of contented fulfillment, but with worry evident in her features, and slight puzzlement.
"Lady Sango," he began in a low tone. "InuYasha has, this night, been injured severely."
"How badly?" she asked, putting down her cup.
"A deep gash on the head, and a broken arm, so far as we know at the current time. It could be worse than we know," he said. Upon seeing her unimpressed expression he added, "tonight he is no more than a human, and we fear his chances." At this Sango was impressed, and certainly vexed. She opened her mouth, but Miroku continued to stop her. "We have just given Kaede Sama his charge, and await her findings," he said to her. Sango nodded.
"Did anything else happen in my absence?" she asked shakily.
"Nothing of note. Oh, actually, Lady Kagome is this night returned. I had forgotten in all the excitement."
"She has?" asked Sango, cheering up only slightly. "InuYasha will be very pleased of it when he is recovered," said Sango, putting extra emphasis on the when, as if to assure herself that it wasn't a case of 'if'.
"He knows already, I believe," said Miroku. "She was with him when he fell," he said. Sango looked into her cup for a moment before looking back up.
"How did he acquire these injuries?" she asked eventually.
"I did not have the opportunity for a full investigation, thus, all I know of the incident is that InuYasha fell down a chasm."
"How far down?" she asked, taking a sip. Miroku knew her concerns were not simply for him; a cavern of the sort that could harm InuYasha generally were not solitary instances.
"One hundred feet, nearly," he assured her. There was a clang as Sango rammed her cup back onto the bar, and it startled the other patrons slightly, but was ignored afterwards.
"A hundred foot chasm couldn't InuYasha – even near his transformation – with wounds so severe!" she hissed. "There is something I haven't been told," she said darkly.
"Aye," said Miroku, nodding sagely. "I am afraid I've been told that, and that is all I know. We will find out the true nature of the event from Lady Kagome as soon as she is recovered from her scare," he promised. Sango smiled at him as warmly as she could manage.
"I will hold you to that, Houshi Sama," she said, drinking her sake again. Miroku took a sip of his as she watched her countenance. She was distressed, he gathered, but she was satisfied by other things. Well, one clearly had to be his presence, and another was Kagome's return.
"Lady Sango, what learnt you on your travels?" he asked. Sango's eyes widened, and she put her cup down.
"Oh! I had forgotten," she said, a blush of embarrassment spread over her cheeks. "I have received intelligence of Naraku's whereabouts!" she told him.
…
Somehow, those words didn't have the same effect on Kagome. While Miroku had set off into a fit of triumphant giggles, and started to drink sake to an extent that worried the bartender, Kagome had just sat there. She'd sighed, then looked back at Kaede's hut. Clearly her thoughts were on InuYasha, and could be nowhere else.
"Lady Kagome," said Miroku, calmly. "There must be more than InuYasha's well being bothering you," he said. Kagome smiled up at him.
"Well, yeah, there is. See, I have this math test…" she began, sheepishly. Miroku froze, and could listen no longer. He prayed in his mind that she was actually just genuinely worried about InuYasha to the extent he didn't deem likely. If this was depressing her over InuYasha, he didn't know what to do.
"Lady Kagome," he said after a moment, interrupting her in whatever rant she may have been on at that moment. "What happened to injure InuYasha?" he asked. He was simply too curious now. Kagome shrugged.
"I got out of the well, he was there, we talked, then…" she wrinkled her face. "Then he ran away from me, and I chased him, and he fell down a hole," she said. Miroku sighed.
"No, Lady Kagome, you really must be quite specific," he said quietly.
"Um, but that's all that happened," she said. Miroku nodded to her. He believed her. Why shouldn't he? She believed her, too. He just knew that couldn't have been the whole story.
"Please, everything," he urged, not as gently as he would have liked to. Kagome looked indignant for a moment, then seemed to consider it quietly.
"All right," she sighed. "I came out of the well, I grabbed a bag of potato chips, I sighed at them… I thought about InuYasha for a moment…" she said, adding the last part hesitantly. "Then I started to walk to the village, but InuYasha was up in a tree nearby, and I told him to come down. He did," she said.
"So, did the tree fall on him, or something?" asked Sango, standing in the doorway. She'd just gotten back from checking on InuYasha's wounds, and she appeared more convinced than ever that he couldn't have simply fallen. Kagome shook her head.
"No, no, nothing like that," said Kagome quickly. She looked embarrassed for a moment, before saying, "Then we talked for a moment, An---"
"—What did you talk about?" asked Sango sharply. Rely on Sango and Miroku to make a nicely balanced good cop bad cop pair. Miroku smiled. Normally he and Sango used the tactic on InuYasha, and Miroku was the bad cop. It was nice to have the tables… Well, turned wasn't enough. It was more like flipped over, chopped up, fed to poodles, burned, then had new tables bought, and turned those. It was the same basic theory, though.
"That doesn't matter," said Kagome eventually.
"Lady Kagome," said Miroku, soothingly. "Everything that happened could hold valuable information. What you talked about, did it distress him to the point of being self destructive? Everything is relevant," he said, looking encouragingly at her. It wasn't true, however. There was no way that what they were talking about could have broken InuYasha's arm and given his a head wound that serious, unless Kagome had learned to really glare daggers.… but Sango and Miroku were nosy, and after all the practice of their techniques they were very, very good at getting gossip and information. Kagome took a deep breath.
"I was apologizing," she blurted out. Miroku nodded sagely. He hadn't fully expected that. After glancing to Sango, he couldn't be sure if she had been expecting it either, since she was generally good at covering her surprise. A warrior woman would have to be.
"Go on," he said sweetly. Kagome sighed again, as if daring herself to remember something unpleasant.
"Then… He ran away from me," she said simply, and unaffectedly. She opened her mouth the continue, but Sango cut her off harshly.
"Just 'ran away'? Did you say anything specific to make him run away…? Did he say anything?" said Sango darkly. Kagome winced at Sango's demeanor. That was the point, of course, but it was still hard for the good cop to watch the bad cop victimize poor Kagome. However, that was how he was suppose to feel about it, otherwise how was he to convincingly portray that feeling to the victim?
"He said… 'I need to think'," whined Kagome.
"What, you need to think so you can make up an answer?" said Sango severely. Kagome looked helpless.
"No!" she said, desperately. "No! I wouldn't lie to you guys!" she said.
"It's all right, Lady Kagome," cooed Miroku. He did his best to make honey seem bitter. "Calm down a bit before answering."
"But I did answer! That's what he said! He said he needed to think!" Kagome wailed incoherently. Miroku and Sango exchanged glances uneasily. He, at least, had forgotten that they shouldn't put that much pressure on. After all, this wasn't InuYasha, who needed to be emotionally grenaded before he would notice, this was Kagome, who wasn't fragile in comparison, it was simply that InuYasha and Kagome couldn't be compared. From Sango's countenance, it was clear that she had made the same mistake. They finished their guilty exchange, and Sango plunged on.
"What happened Next, Kagome-chan?" asked Sango, with no detectable venom at all.
"He ran away, and I don't know why!" burbled Kagome. She was breathing heavy, and looked like she was on the verge of tears. Time for the good cop.
"Are you sure you do not know, Lady Kagome?" asked Miroku kindly. Kagome nodded slightly, sniffling some.
"That was all he said, then he walked away. I… I chased after him, to try and find out why, but he just ran away faster…" she moaned.
"Please go on," said Miroku, as sweetly as he could manage. He had never truly appreciated how difficult being the good cop was.
"Well, then I went faster, y'know, to try and catch him… But he started running. So I started running… That's when he fell down the cavern," said Kagome, no longer shaking, or exclaiming quite as violently. Miroku was unconvinced. The only way InuYasha could have gotten his injuries the way described would be if he bounced off the walls of the cavern a few times. That seemed unlikely.
"I don't think you're telling us everything," said Sango. She had eased up on the rancor in her tone, but she could easily be picked for the bad cop.
"I am!" Kagome said defensively. "We were running, and he fell! Then I ran up to the hole and called him, but got no answer, so I was worried!" she snapped.
"Shh, Lady Kagome," cooed Miroku quietly. He waited until she calmed again before asking her his next question. "Lady Kagome, you must give me every detail of every moment you can possibly remember. How many steps you took, how many he took, did you call out to him? Everything's relevant. Everything is an important factor for solving this problem," he said, seriously. Kagome faltered. She sighed, then looked back into her memory.
"Okay, I don't know how many steps we took, but I'll give as many details as I can," she assured them quietly. It was almost as if something clicked into place. "He started running, and I didn't know what to do, so I called out to him. All that did was make him speed up, so I called out to him again, and he started running. So I called out to him again, and he still didn't stop, so I sat him, and he--"
"You what!?" exclaimed Sango, loosing her unconcerned malice all in one go by bursting into what may have been a fighting stance. "You kept telling us he fell, and if he fell because you 'sat' him, then that changes it!" she yelled. Kagome shied back.
"H-how does that ch-change anything?" Kagome cried. Sango opened her mouth, but Miroku stopped her with a sharp glance.
"Lady Kagome," he began quietly. "We know only a little about how the necklace works, but what we do know is that if he's falling when you use it, it will speed up his fall, and continue to do so until he lands on something hard enough to stop his descent. You understand, don't you, Lady Kagome?" he finished. Miroku waited patiently as the girl's brain cells came into affect. A dubious, yet horrified expression spread over Kagome's face..
"Then you mean… It was… my fault?" she asked, her voice was shaky, and it was almost as if she refused to believe it, but know it to be the truth. Sango and Miroku nodded in unison.
"And now we can do the math to add up why his wounds are so fierce. Night of the new moon, plus fall, plus sit, multiplied by one hundred feet equals very damaged InuYasha. One who might not survive the night, since he's asleep with a head wound…" said Miroku gravely. It was worse than he thought.
"I'll tell Kaede, so she can treat him properly," said Sango, getting up.
Glass shattered from the other hut.
"Perhaps I should come with you, if InuYasha's already awake," said Miroku quickly, withdrawing his hand from Kagome's rear and placing it on his now quite tender cheek.
…
Miroku stood in the doorway, calmly talking to Kaede, who had taken cover outside the hut.
"So, he's still asleep, and can't get up?" Miroku asked again, still not sure he could believe that from the state the hut was in right now. All the carefully laid out herbs were strewn about, all the pots and caldrons were tossed into each other, and all around, and the various vials, that had always held strange looking liquids that he had always been quite convinced were bad for drinking, were broken. Kaede nodded from her spot behind the protection of the wall.
"I don't know how 'e got the first pot in his hand, but 'e sure did some damage with it…" said Kaede. Miroku could say nothing so appropriate as simply nodding in vigorous agreement, which he then did.
InuYasha remained still, and just where he had been when Miroku had last left him, the only difference was that he appeared… Fretful. Even though he remained motionless. Something in his expression prompted this sense. When Miroku drew slightly closer for a better look he realized that the young man before him wasn't as still as he appeared. In fact, he was twitching slightly every now and then, and sweating. When Miroku was within range of InuYasha's arm it shot up to grab him, but he managed to dodge the clumsy attack by stepping backwards into a pot and slamming into the floor due to his loss of footing.
It would have been less embarrassing to have just been grabbed, he thought slightly irritably. He stood up again, and looked over at InuYasha, who appeared to be muttering something.
"I… I don't know yet, okay…? Lemme think…" he said. Miroku frowned. Clearly it was gibberish. Miroku listened closer yet. "I need… I need to think… You – ow!… You hurt me… Lemme think…" he mumbled. Yes, it was for sure now. This wasn't any language he was familiar with.
…
Kagome was pacing. As Miroku had gathered, she hadn't realized that InuYasha's injuries were so severe. She had told him that she had previously believed InuYasha to have a minor injury, but was exhausted by the day, and his transformation. When faced with the reality of the situation, Kagome became more and more agitated, her reserves of ease gradually wearing away. Miroku could practically see her emotions changing into a deeper state of unease. Her restlessness was not unjustified, and not so localized as to just be with her. Sango was in no state of relaxation herself, and Miroku had to admit to his own worries as well. He had decided already that he had to play the voice of reason, though, and he knew his agitation was to be silenced as much as he could make it, if this was to come to pass. In the past months InuYasha's state had been gradually increasing Miroku's stress levels, but this topped everything prior quite easily. He needed a drink, then he'd be the voice of reason. He needed something soothing to happen.
He stood up to head over to the tavern, trying to collect himself as much as his anxiety would allow along the way.
Before he got there, however, his eyes had been drawn to the same place his thoughts had been. Kaede's hut. Miroku's pressing concern overwhelmed him this time, and the thought of InuYasha not surviving the night while he was drinking Sake was too guilt inducing to bear. Thinking on that even a moment told Miroku what his next action couldn't be, so he steered his path away from the bar, and toward InuYasha's sickroom again.
When he got there InuYasha was quieted from how he'd been on Miroku's last visit. He was holding still, with a blanket and a fire near him to keep warm. Miroku sat down next to his companion quietly. He'd once heard that even when asleep, a person could hear you, and sometime it would help them wake up if you talk to them. Or was that if they were in a coma? Oh well, unimportant. He would talk to InuYasha, if only for the sake of calming himself.
"Lady Kagome feels the deepest regrets over what happened, you know," said Miroku. He watched as InuYasha didn't react at all when told this.
"She's really quite worried about you. We all are, but she has the worst of it. That's not surprising, really," said Miroku. Once again, InuYasha didn't react in any way that Miroku could discern.
"She's really something. She came back to apologize, you know," Miroku told his unconscious friend, who once again didn't do anything to acknowledge. Miroku sighed.
"We've found out where Naraku is."
InuYasha's eyes snapped open.
"Good morning," said Miroku. He looked outside. "Well, good… Midnight," he amended. InuYasha looked around, severely dazed, by his appearance. His eyes set onto Miroku.
"'oo're'ya?" he asked groggily. Miroku, confused only for a moment, answered with,
"It's me, Miroku. You've taken a nasty blow to the head," he informed, handing InuYasha some water. "How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Miroku.
"Three," answered InuYasha promptly, taking a hearty swig of water.
"No, I'm holding up… Oh," said Miroku, dropping his hand back down. "You're in Kaede's hut. Do you know what happened?" asked Miroku. InuYasha looked up at the ceiling, flexing his left arm.
"I have a broken arm," he said calmly. "And I'm dizzy," he added. "But I don't remember… I… I remember going for a walk, then… Nothing," answered InuYasha. Miroku was impressed by how helpful InuYasha was being.
"Stay here, I'll fetch Kaede to see what can be done about it. Try not to move," said Miroku, standing up.
He left the room to seek out the healer.
InuYasha stared up at the ceiling for all the entertainment that it would offer.
He certainly remembered going for a walk, and he certainly remembered a dark, dry place that had a drip… But he didn't remember anything else. At all.
Who was that guy?
…
The crowd, while it was thinning, was still quite hard to navigate through, especially for midnight. Well, he supposed that was because it was summer, and so much easier to work when it wasn't hot. Or it could have been that watching InuYasha injured was sort of like revenge for being terrified of him all the time. It worked either way, really.
Mulling by a tankard, that was where Miroku felt it was most likely to find the priestess. Precisely the thing he had been unwilling to do, but now seemed to be an even better idea than before.
"Lady Kaede!" he called, pushing his way through the crowd. "Lady Kaede!!" He shouted.
"Yes, Lord monk, what do ye need?" she asked calmly from behind him. He looked bewildered only for a moment, then collected himself again.
"InuYasha's awake," he said. "And he didn't destroy anything yet, so you should be safe to go in there, fear not," he assured her hastily. Kaede shot him a short glare, as if saying, 'I wasn't afraid!' She then turned, and headed swiftly to the hut.
For a day that had been so rotten, Miroku was pleased to discover that the night wasn't following the same lines. In fact, InuYasha had woken up, they'd gotten word of Naraku, Kagome had returned… All these things were good things.
When they arrived at the hut, Miroku followed Kaede inside, just to assure himself that InuYasha had, in fact, woken up.
"How are ye feelin'?" asked Kaede, pressing a wrinkled hand onto InuYasha's forehead.
"My head's throbbing, would you not put your hand on it?" he asked. Miroku felt his face wrinkle into confusion. InuYasha was admitting that he was in pain? And not only admitting it, but not being a complete ass to prevent more pain? Miroku would have expected InuYasha to snap at Kaede, at the very least, but this was simply a cool, statement of fact, then a request. What happened? Did the head wound do more damage than they had originally thought?
"And my arm is really broken," finished InuYasha, motioning to his right arm. Kaede nodded.
"Aye, we know that," she said. "Anything else?" InuYasha's face twisted with concentration, as if he was inspecting his body with mental feelers.
"Not that I know of," he said finally.
'Not that I know of'? That wasn't the kind of response that InuYasha normally gave. Normally it would be a smug, rude response to the effect of, 'No, as if there'd be anything else wrong with me. Ha! A fall like that? Not a chance!'
While Miroku was thankful for InuYasha being so helpful, he still found it concerning.
"I shall fetch Kagome. I'm sure you wish to see her," said Miroku.
"No!" said InuYasha, sitting bolt upright. Before he felt back down in pain, Miroku could have sworn there was a look of total panic in his eyes. Was there really? Was Miroku just imagining that InuYasha was sick? Was this some new form of hypochondria, or was InuYasha really just acting strangely?
"Why not?" he asked calmly. InuYasha looked at him briefly, opening his mouth to respond. He stopped, and shut his mouth again, seeming to be in deep thought.
"I… I don't know," he said eventually, hesitating as he did so.
"Lady Kagome will be worried, though. I'm sure she'd like to see ye well," assured Kaede. InuYasha looked from Kaede to Miroku, a look of growing confusion on his face.
"Who's Lady Kagome?" he asked.
…