Bone Eater
"Kagome..." The faint, broken voice called from deep within the earth.
"Kagome..." Praying that someone would hear him, hoping that a stroke of luck on his part would bring his savior into the dingy shrine.
"Kagome..." He couldn't move. He could barely breathe. But at least he was dry now.
A sudden, blast of cool air filled the small shelter, and he realized that the large doors must have been pushed open.
A voice travelled down to the boy in the well. "This backpack just gets heavier and heavier every time I come back here..."
"Kagome..." Unfortunately for the wounded boy, the girl thence named was unable to hear him.
The muffled sound of soft footsteps travelled towards him, and soon there came a thud quite near his head.
"InuYasha!" The person gasped, crouching down to take a closer look.
"K-Kagome..." He managed to whisper, before falling into unconsciousness.
The girl named Kagome grappled with her overstuffed yellow backpack, before removing a miniature first aid kid. It, undoubtedly did not have the required supplies, but would do until she could transport him to a safer area; where she could administer the much needed first aid.
She removed InuYasha's outer wear, known as the robe of the fire rat, and immediately felt queasy. His normally white undershirt was torn and bloodied, and had also gathered quite a bit of mud.
Kagome, though she tried to be as gentle and quick as possible, found herself close to vomiting several times during the ordeal. She couldn't help it. Kagome had always had a fairly weak stomach, and this procedure was even harder, due to the fact that the wounds had been inflicted on her long time companion.
The girl did as much as she could, then tried to pull herself out of the well, but before she had even grabbed the first rung of the rope ladder hanging on the wall, she felt a hand on her ankle.
A hoarse whisper came from behind her. "K-Kagome... No... Don't..."
She turned around and looked down at her friend. "It's okay InuYasha, I'm going to get help. I'll be right back." She said quietly, trying to calm him down a bit.
With no further interruptions, Kagome climbed up the well and, running back to her house, updated her mother.
"Mom! InuYasha is in the well! He's badly injured, and I don't think he can move. Can you please come and help me bring him to the house?"
Wasting no time, Kagome's mother ran with her daughter to the well-house, neither woman caring that they were getting completely soaked.
Kagome did not wait for her mother to catch up, instead jumping down the well once again. She did not stop to wonder why the well was not transporting the two of them to the feudal era, but got straight to it, working to tie the makeshift rope carefully around InuYasha's body. He yelped in pain, making Kagome wince.
"I'm just about finished. Mama is going to help me get you out of here." She whispered softly.
The girl tied the final knot with shaking fingers.
"Mom, here's the other end! Pull as hard as you can, but be careful!" She called up, her voice wavering.
With the assistance of the cloth, Kagome lifted InuYasha up gingerly, making sure to keep him away from the walls of the well.
As soon as the two women had dragged him out onto the floor, the boy started to act somewhat in his usual way. InuYasha, who was now trying to stand up, refused any help from the girl and her mother, waving them off lethargically.
"You need support! Even if you manage to get on your feet again, where do you suppose you'll go? Please InuYasha, accept our help!" Kagome whispered frantically in his ear.
"I... Won't accept... H-Help... From..." He gasped, the boy's voice growing fainter with every word.
"I... I'm going back to the house to get everything ready." Said Kagome's mother, giving the other two a small, but reassuring smile.
She jogged back towards the house, blurry in the distance, on account of the heavy rainfall.
"There. Mama is gone now InuYasha... Will you lean on me? No good will come from turning down my offer. Do you want to have to crawl in the rain?"
The half demon, who obviously had no energy left to argue, nodded his agreement.
Blush crept across the young girl's cheeks when the wounded boy put his arm around her shoulders. Trying to cover up how very flustered she was, Kagome quickly put her own arm carefully around his torso.
As they walked to the house, through pouring rain, the two said nothing. It worried Kagome how lethargic InuYasha was.
"We're almost there InuYasha..." She whispered, more to herself than to the boy that she was supporting.
The only acknowledgment she got was a slight nod.
They travelled up the steps to her house, Kagome's mother running out to help, and quickly sat InuYasha down on the spare bedroom's bed.
"Kagome, can you go get me a cloth?" The older woman asked quietly.
InuYasha shook his head frantically, trying to get up again.
"InuYasha, you aren't well enough to be moving around right now!" Kagome exclaimed.
"K-Kagome...!" He said, still trying to stop the girl from leaving.
"Oh." Said Kagome's mother, looking first down at the injured boy, then to her daughter. "He doesn't want you to leave. I'll go get you the supplies then."
After Kagome and InuYasha were alone, Kagome sat down beside the half demon.
"Huge... Demon... Really strong... Miroku, Sango, Shippo... Fine..." He panted.
"It's okay InuYasha, don't over-exert yourself. We can talk after you have been taken care of." She said soothingly, though she was close to crying.
Kagome's mother soon came back in, carrying a bowl of water. She sat it down on the side table, then left, saying that it was probably best if Kagome was the one to bandage InuYasha up.
Kagome helped InuYasha sit up, supporting his back with one arm, while the other held his hand.
Kagome silently worked on the large wound in his abdomen, which was the worst out of all. She cleaned and bound the gash, staunching the bleeding and, in the process, making InuYasha squirm with discomfort.
After the many injuries were cleaned and dressed, Kagome sat down in the chair by the bed. It had been nearly two hours since he had shown up in the well, and it was very dark out now. She silently turned her gaze to her friend. He lay with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. A pained look on his face, he was gripping the bedsheets so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Seeking to comfort him, Kagome slid from the chair onto the ground beside the bed.
She brushed the dark hair from his eyes, gently caressing his cheek.
His breathing steadied a little, and InuYasha opened his eyes slightly. Weak as he was, a tiny smile crossed his lips.
"Th-Thanks Kagome." He whispered, his voice barely audible.
She nodded, though her brow creased with worry. How would he make it through the night? Giving her mind a mental shake, Kagome immediately dismissed the thought. There was no need to be negative. She quickly pushed the train of thought to the back of her mind, and busied herself with taking his temperature. Kagome felt his forehead, gently laying the back of her hand on his brow. He felt very warm, almost hot to the touch.
"I think you have a fever..." She muttered. "I'll go get some medication." She reluctantly left the room, quickly running to the medicine cabinet. Upon her return, she found InuYasha had propped himself up with a couple of pillows, and was now attempting to sit upright. He grimaced when a particularly tender spot was rubbed on the blanket, letting out an involuntary yelp of pain shortly after. Kagome ran to him, scolding the boy for trying to move so soon.
"I-I'm okay... I just..." He protested weakly.
After Kagome had convinced him to stay put for a little while, she gave him the aspirin tablets and told him to take them. "They'll help with the pain, as well as the fever." She had said. Since InuYasha trusted Kagome with these kinds of things, he had quickly swallowed the pills.
With unspoken agreement, the two had decided to get some sleep before the night was over.
"Kagome..." InuYasha said softly, "You aren't going to sleep in that chair are you?"
"N-No... I guess not..." Kagome stuttered.
"Why don't you... Lie with me...?" He asked quietly, feeling his cheeks go red.
"Wh-What...?!" Kagome exclaimed quietly, also quite flustered.
"I-I mean..." He looked down, embarrassed.
Kagome looked back up at him. "Well... Move over then..."
Struggling even to reposition his body, Kagome had to help her poor friend move over to one side of the guest bed.
While Kagome lay down on the warm bed, she sincerely hoped that her mother had gone to bed already.
Turning to look at the dark-haired boy beside her, Kagome suddenly realized how tired she had been. So, swaddled in the warm blanket, she closed her eyes, and snuggled up to the boy laying next to her.
"I'm glad you're okay..." She quietly murmured into his ear.
She received no words, only a small squeeze in return.
The two fell asleep quickly, finding comfort in each other's arms.
• • •
Kagome woke up suddenly. She groggily rolled over onto her side, and nearly fell out of bed, before remembering that InuYasha was the one beside her. She studied his face. It was the first time that she had seen him sleeping as a human.
Violet eyes slowly opened, meeting Kagome's brown ones at close quarters. InuYasha jumped back, sitting up quickly. He gave a cry of pain, and clutched his stomach, growling quietly.
"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, getting up.
He nodded quickly.
Kagome sat down beside him again, their backs against the wall.
He removed his arms from the bandage around his torso, and took a shuddering breath.
"I was just surprised..." He muttered, the colour returning to his face.
Kagome lay her head on InuYasha's shoulder. "I'm sorry for startling you." She whispered. "How do you feel? Any better?"
"Yeah." He said quietly.
Kagome felt his forehead again. "You're still warm. Your fever hasn't gone down." She went to remove her hand, but was stopped by InuYasha's own.
He grasped it tightly, not letting her pull away. "I... Kagome, you've helped me so much. I don't know how I could thank you. I'd be dead by now if it wasn't for you." His eyes were sincere. "Kagome... I'm sorry for all of this. For everything that I've put you through."
He let go of Kagome's hand, and she was surprised by the loss of warmth. They sat in silence for a minute, contemplating all that had happened in the past few hours, until Kagome broke the silence. "W-Well that's different..." She gave a nervous laugh. "I mean, usually it's you saving me, but I guess this time..." She blushed and looked down at her lap.
The only sound that could be heard was their own heartbeats. The steady beats rhythmical, soothing.
All at once, it stopped. Kagome felt his grip loosen, and his hand fell out of hers. "I-InuYasha?!" She whispered frantically. When she recieved no response, she panicked. Swivelling around so that she was facing the boy, Kagome grasped his hand and, with shaking fingers, tried to find his pulse. When she couldn't feel it, she took hold of his shoulders, shaking him, praying he would wake up.
"InuYasha! InuYasha wake up! Don't leave me!" She sobbed, tears falling fast.
His eyes opened slowly.
"Oh thank god!" Kagome whispered.
"Wh-Wha.. Happened...?" InuYasha said groggily.
"I-I thought I lost you!" She cried. "D-Don't ever s-scare me like that again!"
"What'd I do..?" He asked.
She did not answer his question, only hugging him tighter. Soon he returned the gesture, and found himself stroking the girl's hair, comforting her while she cried into his chest.
Kagome looked up at him, tears still lining her eyes. "I couldn't bear losing you InuYasha... I... I don't-" She was cut off as InuYasha hugged her closer into his chest.
"Kagome..." He said softly. "I wouldn't leave you alone. I would be lost without you. Don't you know that by now?"
"I-I was scared... You stopped breathing... I thought I had lost you..."
"Well I'm here now Kagome. I won't die on you, you can count on that. Now stop worrying, it's almost morning now."
The two sat in this position for a couple of hours, simply enjoying the warmth of the comforting embrace.
Soon, InuYasha felt Kagome become heavy in his arms, and he assumed she was asleep. Without a second thought, he leaned in and lay a tender kiss upon her forehead.
As his transformation from human to half demon took place, he smiled, thinking, 'Maybe it isn't that bad being human after all.'
A/N: Apparently I am an insane hopeless romantic... Will someone put me out of my misery? I think I might need to go puke now. Well, anyways, what did you guys think? If you're all for this kind of sappy, corny, fluffy crap, then Check out my other stuff! Just do it. More crappy stories to come! Currently working on three small oneshots and a major story.