Modern Medicines.
"Damn that bastard!!" InuYasha cursed as Naraku's golem attacked, and he stuck out his right arm to guard Kagome, using his left arm to weild Tetsusaiga. He pulled back as far as he could, and slashed down with all the strength in his arm, unleashing the Wind Scar. As he swung, he winced when he felt something in his left shoulder tear, and he could almost hear the sound it made. The Wind Scar destroyed the Golem, and broke the wooden puppet at the centre of the Golem, rendering it impossible for Naraku to regain control of it. InuYasha gritted his teeth, and tried to ignore the slight pulsing pain in his arm, as he turned to see if Kagome was okay.
"You alright, Kagome?" He asked, the customary growl in his voice sending shivers down her spine. She nodded, and smiled at him. "Thanks InuYasha!"
InuYasha nodded, unaware that he was still growling, deep in his chest. It was a slight growl, but Kagome noticed it right away. As they started walking, Kagome placed her hand on his right arm, worried about him. "Hey, you okay?" She asked.
InuYasha nodded, the growling fading from his chest. I"m fine." He said. She continued to watch him, and it did appear that he was fine, his growl went away, his eyes weren't as fierce, and he wasn't frowning like he was before. She continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye for a while, until she was sure he was alright.
They returned to Kaede's village, and crammed themselves into her hut, looking forward to the meal she had prepared while they were absent. Sango sighed, and sat down against the wall. Miroku got two bowls of rice and fish, and sat down next to her. It had been a long day, and neither were in any sort of mood for antics; Miroku kept his hands to himself, and Sango was spared the waste of energy it took to slap him.
InuYasha eyed the food with an obvious distaste, anger and pain clear on his features, before turning down the food Kagome offered. As she set the bowl down, InuYasha retreated to the corner of the room, sitting down and curling his left arm around his waist, holding it there with his right arm. Kagome took a second to cram a piece of fish into her mouth, hastily chewing and swallowing it, before she went to InuYasha's side.
"Are you alright?" She asked, placing her hand on his right shoulder. InuYasha didn't look up at her, but she could see on his face that he was experiencing some moderate level of pain, enough to make him uneasy and refuse supper.
"My arm is just a bit sore, but it'll be fine tomorrow." He said, gritting his teeth against the mild pain. "I'm just not hungry right now." Kagome said nothing, worrying that he might be hurt worse than he let on.
"Are you sure you're fine?" She asked softly. "I didn't think there was anything that could make you give up food."
InuYasha shook his head. "I'm fine." He said again, before turning back to the corner, still cradling his arm.
Kagome said nothing for the rest of the night. She silently ate her food, her mind wandering over InuYasha and his wound.
Much later that night...
InuYasha rolled over once more, and winced as his left arm was put in an awkward position. It was hurting even worse now, and he hadn't gotten any sleep the whole night, his damn arm kept hurting every time he moved. To make matters worse, whenever he found a position comfortable for it to be in, it wouldn't be long before the aching pain returned, throbbing deep down inside the muscle of his arm. It wasn't like any pain he had felt before, it was stronger, yet there was no sign of any damage. He had checked his arm out numerous times, but there were no visible cuts, bruises, or lumps. He hadn't really expected anyway, because the pain was 'deeper' somehow, more toward the inside of his shoulder. It didn't feel like other cuts he had gotten on his arm, they weren't flesh wounds. It was a deep, agonizing pain near the joint of his arm, and the pain ate away at him, slowly breaking down the defensive walls he had built up against former pains.
He rolled over onto his other side, his right side, and tried to drape his arm over his hip, but there was too much pull; pain was immediately spreading, and it annoyed him to no end.
He sighed, and got up, unable to lay there any longer, with nothing to keep his mind from the pain. It was still dark outside, probably getting close to early morning, and everyone else was still asleep. He walked silently out the door, and kept his left arm dangling loosely at his side, unwilling to move it. He slowly walked to a path that lead outside the village, to a small hot spring. It should be unused at this time of night, or morning, or whatever, so he decided to head there, and see if soaking in the hot water helped any.
He reached the bank of the hot spring, and could feel the radiated heat from the water. He slowly stripped off his kimono, revealing his lightly muscled, well toned body that until now seemed to hone itself into a fighting machine that seemed to heal at will.
Except now, he thought, looking at his left arm. When it was just hanging straight down like this, there wasn't too much pain, just a slight tingle to remind him of what kind of pain he had already endured.
InuYasha stepped into the hot water, and exhaled sharply as the heated water splashed against his stomach. He sunk down in the water, and sat down, letting the water come up around his neck. He closed his eyes, and let his arm half float, half linger in the water, the heat seeping into his shoulder and whisking some of the pain away.
He sighed in relief as the nagging pain that had been haunting him slowly left, or was slowly muted by the hot water. He didn't know, or care, as long as he could get some relief from the pain. He sat there a few minutes, feeling his tired mind and body start to drift to sleep. To keep himself awake, he decided to try moving his arm. He found that he could easily raise and lower his arm if it was extended straight out from the shoulder, but if he turned his arm in as if he were crossing his hands over his chest, then tried to lift it in that position, then there was intense pain in his shoulder, and he had to use all of his strength, and a great deal of will-power to force his arm up through the pain. By the time he had gotten his arm above chest level, he was gasping for breath, and fighting off tears. He let his arm drop back into the water, and decided that it was best if he didn't move it.
He leaned his head back, and sighed, wondering what was wrong. His demon body should have taken care of such a petty wound, never mind taking so long about it that it kept him awake at night.
These thoughts troubled InuYasha, and he lifted himself up out of the water, unable to relax any longer. He quickly got dressed as best he could while not moving his left arm, and hurried back to the cabin, knowing how vulnerable he was to attack whilst only having the mobility of one arm.
As the sun rose, InuYasha was shaking his head. Kagome was offering him some strange medicine that had a distinctive bitter smell to it, and there was no way in hell that he was going to take it. He shook his head again at her offering, and she sighed.
"It'll help a lot with the pain." She said. "And it'll help you heal faster."
InuYasha remained adamant. "No, the pain is nothing, and my demon body can heal it's own damn self." He said. "I have no use for your strange medicines."
Kagome insisted. "Please, just swallow this pill and in half an hour you'll be fine."
InuYasha shook his head once more. "No way, I can handle this." He said. "My body was born with all the tools it needed to protect itself, and there hasn't been a wound that I haven't healed from completely within a week." He said. "There's no cuts, bruises, or scrapes, this should be gone by tonight."
This time it was Kagome's turn to shake her head. "Fine, do what you want." She said. "Hope you feel better soon."
InuYasha said nothing, and turned away. As he did, he jostled his arm against Sango, and it felt like his arm had been ripped out of it's socket, then shoved violently back in. InuYasha doubled over, clutching his arm, and clenching his jaw together, lest he scream aloud from the pain. The pain ripped it's way through his joint, spread through his muscle, and extended toward the lower area of his neck. He waited for the pain to subside, holding his arm in the least painful position he could manage. The pain didn't lessen though, it got steadily more painful, until InuYasha felt tears forming in his eyes. Right before he felt them slide down his cheek, the pain slowly faded away, into something less, something he could handle. Then suddenly, he was in Sango's arms, the tears still in the corners of his eyes.
Sango, aware of his distress, but having been silent since yesterday, apologized, and knelt down beside him. What she did next surprised everyone, even herself, as she took InuYasha into her arms, slipping her arms around his neck, and letting him rest his forehead on her shoulder. She could feel his jaw clenching as he tried to avoid screaming, and she felt his body trembling with the pain that was wracking his body. She felt a few of his tears leak through her shirt, and he was grateful that she held him until they dried on his face, so they wouldn't be obvious to anyone else.
A few minutes later, Sango let go of him, and apologized once more for bumping his injured arm. InuYasha's face flushed deep red, and he shook his head.
"What's wrong?" She asked. InuYasha shrugged. "Just the way you said it, makes me sound like I'm too weak to even handle a wound you guys can't even see." He said.
Sango smiled. "That's fine by us." She said. "We've seen you handle wounds greater than this with barely a second thought, so we know you're tough, and sometimes, the greatest wounds might not always be the most visible." She said. "Indeed, this one may be more painful because it isn't visible for us to treat." She said.
InuYasha was silent, acknowledging her words. He stared at the floor in front of him, and wondered how she was so easily able to comfort him whilst still saying that he didn't have to appear strong in front of everyone, and say it in a way that didn't make him want to rip her apart for insulting his manhood.
Suddenly, Sango's cool hand slipped inside his haori, and she rested her hand on his shoulder, gently massaging the muscle, the cold from her hands sinking into his warm skin and cooling him off.
InuYasha closed his eyes, and tried not to let his embarrassment show. Sango kept her hand there for a few more minutes, before removing it when her hand had absorbed heat from his arm, and no longer cooled him down.
"You'll want to get something cold on that every night, InuYasha." She said. "It'll help enormously with the pain."
InuYasha nodded, thanking her quietly. He was still pretty embarrassed, but didn't want to show it. "Why cold?" He asked, eager to divert his mind from his embarrassment. Sango shrugged.
"It seems like an internal injury that I've had before, I didn't know how to heal it, but cold and heat seemed to lessen the pain, cold moreso than heat." She said. "Get a wet rag, or something cold, and place it on your shoulder when you go to sleep." She said. "Unfortunately for you, my wound occurred in winter, so there was no shortage of cold materials, but now that it's summer, I've no idea what you're going to use." She said.
InuYasha nodded. "Damn..."
Kagome then spoke up. "I could go to my time and get you a cold pack." She said. InuYasha slowly turned his golden gaze to her, thinking about her offer. "It's not some time of weird smelling medicine, is it?" He asked.
Kagome shook her head. "Nope, it's just a pack that can stay cold in warm temperatures for a few hours." She said. "It'll work wonders on that arm of yours."
InuYasha thought about it. It didn't seem that she was trying to shove medicine down his throat, so he decided to go with it. "Sure, I guess." He said, and Kagome smiled happily, jumping up.
"I'll be back in ten minutes!" She said, walking toward the door. "Don't worry InuYasha, everything will be fine!"
InuYasha ignored her, and wondered why his wound wasn't healing. It was troubling him so much; he couldn't figure out what type of wound would put him in such pain, and get worse, not better after a night of what should have been peaceful healing.
A few hours later, and InuYasha was leaning against the wall of the hut, cradling his arm and cursing his own weakness. Kagome had come back a while ago, carrying a cooler full of ice with two ice packs in it. InuYasha hadn't seen them, Kagome said they had to stay inside the container to stay cold. She would apply them later tonight, when he got ready to go to sleep.
Deprived of sleep from last night, InuYasha managed to sleep lightly as Sango prepared supper. He would just manage to fall asleep, then a noise, or slight pain, or even his own distrusting self would manage to wake him up. It was annoying, but he was glad that he was getting at least some sleep.
A few minutes later, Sango was at his side again. His eyes were closed, but he could hear her move to his side. He opened his eyes, and she smiled at him.
Sango smiling was a rare sight, and he blushed lightly.
"How're you feeling?" She asked.
InuYasha shook his head. "If I keep my arm folded across my chest then theres no pain, but other than that, just tired and annoyed." He said.
Sango produced a bowl of fish and rice from behind her back, and held it up to him.
"Would you like to try eating, or are you not hungry?" She asked.
InuYasha eyed the food, and shifted his arm into a better position. Sango and InuYasha then both heard his stomach growl, and InuYasha's light blush returned. "S-sure." He said.
Sango shook her head. "Hmm, how're you supposed to hold a bowl, and eat at the same time?" She asked. "No matter." She said, without waiting for an answer. "I'll hold your bowl until you're done eating." She said.
InuYasha blinked. "You don't gotta-"
"Hush." She commanded gently, moving around to his right side. She sat against the wall, and leaned against his uninjured right side. She held the food bowl up in front of him, and InuYasha silently started eating. It was awkward, he thought, having Sango be so nice to him.
He tried to hurry, not wanting to inconvenience Sango for very long, but she caught on.
"Don't eat so fast or else you'll get a stomach ache." She warned. "I don't mind doing this for you InuYasha, so you don't have to hurry."
InuYasha was silent, but he slowed, taking time to chew his food before swallowing.
As he ate, he felt Sango slowly sidling closer to him. He didn't know why she was doing it, but he didn't mind. She was willing to help him like this, she could do whatever she wanted. He continued eating, and a few seconds later, had the feeling that he was being stared at. He stopped eating, and looked at Sango.
She was indeed staring at him, smiling again. When she saw InuYasha looking, she blushed, and looked away.
InuYasha wondered what that was about, and continued eating. He quickly finished his food, silencing his rumbling stomach. Sango put his bowl down, and after a few seconds, InuYasha got up the courage to quietly thank her.
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She said. "Although if you want to return the favor...?"
InuYasha waited for her to continue, but then realized she was asking a question.
"Yes?" He responded, not quite sure what she wanted.
Sango smiled. "Then just let me lean on you for a bit." She said, closing her eyes. InuYasha said nothing, and figured he owed it to her. Besides, it didn't bother him any.
Sango leaned against him, and closed her eyes. InuYasha felt the warmth from her body spreading to him, and he closed his eyes also. His arm had finally calmed down for a few minutes, and he figured he should sleep while he could, before it got moved again.
A little while later, and he was awakened by Sango moving.
"Hnn, Sango?" He asked, opening his eyes. It was dark out now, and the only thing he could see were shapes and shadows. The shadow he was guessing was Sango was standing in front of him, rummaging through some stuff.
He blinked tiredly, his mind still half asleep.
"Whaddya doin'?" He asked. Still there was no answer, then a few seconds later, the figure in front of him turned to him. They reached for his right shoulder, and gently pulled him down, away from the wall and into a laying down position.
Something cold was then shoved underneath his haori. Slowly, a numbing cold began to spread through his arm, and he closed his eyes again. The pain slowly faded away, and he started to relax.
"Thanks Sango." He mumbled. He felt more movement beside him, and he opened his eyes in time to see someone bend down close to him. As the person came closer, he could see that it was indeed Sango. She put her face close to InuYasha's, and quickly kissed him on the cheek, before laying down next to him.
His mind still slowed from sleep, he knew that he had been kissed, but he probably wouldn't remember it when he woke up.
Then, he felt someones hands on his stomach, as someone cuddled up close to his side. He knew it was Sango, from her scent, and he relaxed. Sango continued rubbing his stomach, and he faded again into sleep.
The next morning, InuYasha was feeling a bit better. He didn't notice the pain right away, and this surprised him. He tried moving his arm, and found he had slightly increased mobility, before encountering slightly lessened pain. He sat up, and noticed that Sango was gone. He remembered that she had fallen asleep next to him last night, and he knew there was something else he should be remembering, but he couldn't.
He decided to cast it aside, and forget it. His arm was feeling much better, and he guessed that he owed it to Sango and Kagome. Now, he had to try to figure out a way to thank them without things getting awkward...
He looked around once more, and spotted some food in a wooden bowl near him. He picked it up, unconsciously sniffing it before he decided to taste.
Sango sighed, sinking further down into the hot water that bubbled around her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, relaxing. If she concentrated hard enough, she thought, she was sure she'd be able to feel the tension flowing out of her, only to be replaced by confusion.
"It's not at all like those books of Kagome's that I read." She said. "They all talk about finally getting up the courage to kiss someone, or make a decision to do something crazy that gets you closer to someone, but they never talk about the day after, when you have to face that person!" She said. She felt her face heating up, and she knew it wasn't from the water.
"Damn..."
"What's wrong, Sango?" Kagome asked, stepping into the hot spring. Sango opened her eyes to look at her, before shaking her head. "Ahh, nothing. I was just talking to myself." She said.
Kagome laughed. "Oookay." She said. "Fine by me." Then she smiled. "I went back to the hut because I forgot something, and guess what?" She asked. She continued without waiting for a response. "InuYasha's awake. He even went so far as to thank me for the ice pack." She said happily, sinking down into the water. "He's coming along. Slowly, but I'm making progress on him."
Sango smiled. "That you are, Kagome-Chan." She said. "And it's good for him too." As Kagome nodded her agreement Sango wondered what would have happened if she had gone back, forgetting something, instead.
"Say Sango...you didn't happen to say anything or do anything to him last night, did you?"
Sango's head shot up, and she swiftly suppressed her memory of last night.
"N-no, why?" She asked.
Kagome stared up at the sky, apparently having missed her stutter. "No reason. Just wondering if you gave him a talking to or something, his attitude was nice when I went back there." She said.
Sango was silent for a second, processing this information, before shaking her head.
"Nope, nothing. Must just be because the pain in his arm has diminished, making him less angry and irritated." She said.
Kagome nodded. "Yeah..."
Back at the hut, InuYasha was getting restless. His arm was feeling pretty good, and he was eager to go try it out. The cold pack had long ago lost its cold, so he had tossed it to the side. He paced restlessly back and forth in front of the cabin door, wondering if it was possible to wear out the floor by walking in the same place over and over. The monk was out, so that left only the girls to play with.
That thought made him stop. He had never thought of it like that before...He shrugged, and walked out the door, kneeling slightly before kicking off the ground. Once airborne, he swiftly detected the girls' scents, and dropped out of the sky, intent on finding them. His nose took him in the direction of the hot spring, and he grinned, happy to have his arm back.
He tore through the forest, clearing the hotspring in a single jump.
"Get your clothes on!" He yelled. "I'm coming through!" Through the foilage, he could faintly see Kagome and Sango scrabbling for their clothes. He jumped again, but this time Kagome was ready.
"InuYasha, SIT you perv!"
The enchanted necklace activated, and InuYasha felt the tug on his neck, warning him about what was going to happen.
"Ahh dammit--" InuYasha didn't even have time to finish before he dived head first into the hot spring. He was carried under the surface of the water, but the waters resistance really slowed the effect of the magic. He hit the bottom of the hotspring as gently as if he had dived down on purpose. A second later, and the necklace had stopped pulling on his neck. He kicked toward the surface, taking a deep breath when he came up.
"What was that for!?" He asked indigniantly. Kagome quickly whipped her shirt over her chest, then sank down low in the hot water. Sango had already wrapped a towel around her chest and hips, so she merely sat on a rock on the edge of the spring, staring at him with a slight interest.
InuYasha began to remove his haori as Kagome started talking.
"You came to peep on us!" She said.
InuYasha scoffed. "Please, there's nothing here that I'd want to see, and besides, if there was, you really think I'd announce my presence?" He asked. "I'm entitled to use this spring too you know." He reached down, and slipped off his hakama, now totally naked, despite his chest and everything below being completely underwater.
"Try not to stare." He said softly, turning around and tossing his clothes onto the far shore. He flicked out his hair, his back to the girls, and he smiled. Their gazes were all over his back, he could tell.
Wait, wasn't he supposed to be testing his arm? That thought brought him back to reality, and reality brought pain. He had whipped his arm around a whole bunch while tearing through the forest, and his arm was acting up. He gritted his teeth and cursed to himself. It would obviously take longer than this to heal...
InuYasha splashed water over his chest and arms, leaning down to splash and scrub at his face. As he washed up, his thoughts turned to last night. Sango had definitely been the one who had placed the cold pack on his arm, laying him out when she woke up and found them both laying against the wall. He continued scrubbing, and thinking, then suddenly his eyes widened.
He turned around, and slowly made his way toward the girls, who stopped their low chatter to turn and watch him. He walked straight up to Sango, and stared up at her.
"You did something weird last night, didn't you?" He asked softly. Sango blushed lightly, and shook her head. Even sitting up on the rocks, with InuYasha a good foot below her, staring up at her, she knew she couldn't help but be intimidated by him.
InuYasha leaned forward, placing his palms on either side of the rock she was sitting on.
"What happened, hmm?" He asked.
Kagome watched, wondering what he was talking about.
"What did she do?" She asked.
InuYasha shrugged. "Well I remember being awakened by someone, and made to lay on the floor instead of against the wall. A few seconds later I realized it was Sango. Then she gave me the ice pack. Then something, and all I remember is laying down and trying to go to sleep with someone's hand on my stomach." He said.
Kagome stared at Sango.
"Wooww...It's obvious it was you, you know." Kagome said smugly, laughing.
Sango shook her head. "What? No..." Kagome nodded. "Yeah! If I didn't do it, and Miroku wasn't around, and InuYasha didn't do it to himself, it had to be you." She said.
Sango blushed heavily. "N-no..."
Kagome looked at InuYasha. "Whats that thing you can't seem to remember?" She asked.
InuYasha shrugged. "No idea."
Kagome shook her head. "Weird..."
InuYasha turned away from Sango, thinking everything over. Did Sango like him or something? He wondered.
Sango, watching InuYasha carefully to make sure he stayed turned around, quickly dried off and slipped into her clothes.
"See you two back at the hut." She said, before leaving.
InuYasha continued splashing hot water around his body, revelling in the feel. His arm was paining him slightly, and he knew that when it healed again tonight, that he couldn't use it immediately like he had today. Damn! He cursed. He shook his head, and suddenly there was a splash behind him. He turned his head swiftly, sniffing the air as he did.
Kagome's scent tickled his nose, and he quickly looked away, lest he catch a glimpse of something he shouldn't.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked. InuYasha was silent, but he could hear her splashing her way toward him through the spring.
"Hey." She said softly, touching his arm as she moved in front of him. InuYasha brought his gaze up to her eyes, for her shirt was white, and it was damp.
"Thanks." He said. Kagome said nothing; she studied his face.
"It's still hurting isn't it?" She asked. InuYasha nodded. "Yeah, when I woke up this morning, it was fine, and I was pretty excited. I guess I over-used it." He said. "Anyway, the pain is still way less than what it was, that's why I said thanks."
Kagome smiled, and touched his arm. "That's fine." She said. "Now you know the pain would be gone even faster and with less effort on your part if you'd just take my weird medicine." She said.
InuYasha smirked. "So you admit it's weird!"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "I was using your words to describe it." She said. "And you're not always right, you know."
InuYasha suddenly became very conscious of her fingertips on his left shoulder, tracing circles and random patterns on his wet skin.
Thoughts temporarily frozen, a simple "Oh." was all he could manage.
"Yeah..." Kagome whispered, her eyes lowering from his face to his chest. Slowly, her fingers slid from his shoulder, to his chest, then his stomach. Involuntarily, InuYasha's stomach tightened as she touched him there, forcing his abs to tighten. Kagome slowly became entranced by his body, and her fingers played around with the alternating curves and hardnesses of his stomach and chest. InuYasha stared at her face as she did, although her head was tilted downward.
After a few minutes, Kagome accidentally found a ticklish spot near his side, and he coughed, twisting his hip away from her prying fingers. Kagome laughed softly, then looked up at him.
InuYasha stared into her eyes, and she blushed as she realized that she had been feeling him up. InuYasha smirked, even as his hands made their way toward her hips.
"You going to return the favor?" He whispered, leaning forward to whisper into her ear. Kagome pressed herself closer to him, as his fingers playfully lifted the hem of her soaked shirt. His warm hands gently slid up her back, caressing the curve of her back. He slid his hands slowly back down, coming as close as he dared to her backside, before slowly coming back up. As he did, he slid a fingertip up the centre of her back, along her spine. Kagome shivered, and arched her back, pressing her chest against InuYasha. InuYasha slipped his hands from her back to her waist, and hugged her tight, trying to keep his thoughts from wandering. He himself was completely naked, while Kagome wore nothing but a shirt that was already soaked. Surely she wouldn't object if he removed it...
He shook his head slightly, then bit her gently on the neck. She jumped slightly, and pulled back to stare at him, a smile playing at her lips.
"Hmm, so you like to bite, huh?" She asked.
InuYasha grinned. "Mayyyybe..."
She giggled. "Yeah right, 'Maybe'..." She said, leaning up and kissing him on the lips. The move was completely unexpected, in both their opinions. Kagome hadn't planned on kissing him; hell, she hadn't even planned on doing what she did.
InuYasha's golden puppy eyes widened, as her lips touched his. The moment of surprise passed quickly, and he returned the kiss, closing his eyes as her soft lips pressed against his. He felt her hands on the back of his neck, and he took a second to remind himself to exercise control, before allowing his hands to seek out her hips. He pulled her close, pressing her body against his, kissing her hard.
Kagome moaned, and it set off InuYasha, making him purr. It was a deep, thrumming sound in the back of his throat, something nearly uncontrollable even to InuYasha himself.
InuYasha's thoughts of control died, and his hands fell from her waist, sliding further down. As he groped her, she jumped, pressing her hips against his. She broke the kiss and blushed. "That's the first time I've ever been groped like that." She whispered. InuYasha smirked. "Sorry..." Kagome smiled slightly, then returned the favor, InuYasha's turn to jump.
"Ha." She said, kissing his chest.
InuYasha, despite his resistance, felt his face heating up. "That's not as easy to take as it looks." He said. "I see why Sango freaks out every time Miroku does that."
Kagome laughed softly. "Yeah, mostly that, and partially another reason too." She said. InuYasha was silent, staring at her. She stared back for a few minutes, before making up her mind.
"Are you done washing up?" She asked. InuYasha nodded. "I was as clean as I was gonna get." He said. Kagome smirked, then shook her head. "Alright, let's get out of here."
InuYasha nodded, and slowly waded his way over to his clothes. He was about to climb out, when he looked behind him, catching Kagome staring at him.
"What?" He asked.
She smiled. "What indeed." She said. "There was a...certain thing I felt when you hugged me close, and now I'm curious." She said.
InuYasha frowned. "Well, stay curious." He said, staying under the water and grabbing his clothes. Kagome laughed. "Aww you're no fun!" She said. She turned around and stepped out of the water. InuYasha quickly looked over his shoulder when he heard her step out, and caught a glimpse of her rear, for her shirt barely covered it. It was perfectly smooth, tight and round. He couldn't believe he had gotten his hands on that without getting slapped. He grinned to himself, before stepping out, pulling his hakama on quickly before she looked.
And look she did, tossing a glance over her shoulder as she pulled her skirt up around her waist. Unfortunately for her, InuYasha already had his pants around his hips, and was pulling on his haori. She sighed at her luck, and kept her back to InuYasha as she took off her shirt, ringing it out. As she squeezed the water out of it, a slight breeze blew by her back, making her shiver. A second later, and InuYasha's hands encircled her waist from behind, his head on her right shoulder.
"Hey." He whispered in her ear. Kagome swiftly brought her hands up to cover her chest, and InuYasha smirked.
"Sure, use your hands to cover your chest." He said. "That's fine by me." His hands slowly fell from her stomach, tracing a path down her navel, toward the hem of her skirt.
"InuYasha..." She said, trying to sound like she was warning him, but instead it came out as a slight moan. InuYasha snickered, and continued going. Kagome finally decided he was serious, and dropped her hands from her chest, grabbing his wandering hands.
InuYasha laughed, and kissed her on the neck, closing his eyes so he wouldn't glimpse her chest. Kagome tilted her head a bit, closing her eyes as he licked, sucked and nibbled on her neck.
"InuYasha..." Once more she tried to warn him, but again it came out as a wanting moan. InuYasha's hands slipped up her body, toward her chest, but she still had control, and grabbed his hands inches from her chest.
"Limits, boy." She said softly. "Learn them."
InuYasha made a whining sound in his throat, and Kagome laughed, pulling reluctantly away from him.
"As much as I want to continue this--and I do, believe me..." She said softly, blushing. "We can't. Sango's expecting us at the hut soon, and it wouldn't do to be an hour or so late, sweaty, and casting cute glances at each other." She said. InuYasha laughed at that. "Turn around." He ordered. Kagome shook her head. "Nuh uh, I know what you want." She said.
InuYasha shook his head. "No you don't."
Kagome nodded. "Yeah I do." She said. "And you're not getting it."
InuYasha shrugged, slipping his hands up to her shoulders. "I'm getting it, even if it what you think I want or not." He said, spinning her around and kissing her on the lips. Kagome gasped and covered her chest as she was spun, and was surprised when he immediately kissed her. The kiss lasted a half minute or so, and when InuYasha pulled away, he adverted his eyes. Kagome slowly pulled on her shirt, staring at him.
"You're cute." She said finally, turning around and starting back toward the hut.
InuYasha followed, eyes on her swaying hips. "Yeah, I bet I am." He said softly, to no one in particular.
Sango could see that there was something different the moment the pair arrived back inside Kaede's hut. Kagome seemed very happy, occasionally casting glances at InuYasha when she thought no one was looking, and InuYasha looked like he was thinking over something very hard. Which, for InuYasha, was enough of an occasion to warrant it's own holiday.
Sango shook her head, and kept her eye on InuYasha, wondering how his arm was doing.
Hours passed, and as the sun fell behind the orange tinted clouds in the west, so too did InuYasha's eyelids. He slumped against the wall, cradling a slightly sore arm, and Sango watched him, concerned. After a half hour of watching him curse, mumble, and move around, trying to get comfortable, she was about to intervene when Kagome beat her to it.
"InuYasha." She whispered, kneeling in front of him. "Take these, come on." She said.
InuYasha opened his eyes, and eyed the pills she was holding. His nose, and his puppy-like ears twitched in annoyance. "I already told you to keep your strange medicines to yourself." He said.
Kagome sighed. "Come on babe." She said, slipping in a pet name to see if she could coax him to take them. His golden eyes widened in surprise, but then narrowed quickly as she slipped the hand with the pills slightly closer.
"No."
"Please?" She asked.
"No. They smell funny."
"Come on, I'll make it worth your while." She whispered suggestively, hoping that Sango couldn't hear.
InuYasha glared at her. "You should be ashamed of yourself, trying to get me to take pills by whoring yourself out." He said.
Kagome returned his glare, just as fierce. "Who said I was going to whore myself out to you!?" She asked, her voice barely considered a whisper now.
InuYasha's eyes widened. "Well then what did you mean?" He asked.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't know, anything that you would like me to do, short of sexual exploitation!" She said. "That's what I meant when I said I would make it worth your while!"
InuYasha leaned forward, and stared at her, his nose almost touching hers. "If I take this, you'd better make it worth it..." He said.
Kagome nodded. "Sure." She said. InuYasha took the pill out of her hand and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it before he had a chance to taste too much of its bitter, hard outer casing.
"Now go to sleep." She said firmly. InuYasha glared at her. "You'd better not forget." He said. Kagome smiled sweetly. "Don't worry." She said. "I won't. You had just better hope you don't." She said smugly.
InuYasha was about to ask her what she meant, but suddenly, a wave of exhaustion hit him like a brick. He merely looked away, laying down on the floor.
"Wench..." He muttered, closing his eyes. In ten minutes, he was out, sleeping heavily, the pain in his arm numbed and forgotten.
Kagome retreated back to where Sango was against the wall, and sat beside her, staring at InuYasha, much like what Sango was doing.
"He's so stubborn..." Kagome said softly.
Sango hummed her agreement.
"Goes toward his difficult childhood." Sango said. "He finds it hard to accept help from anyone."
Kagome nodded. "I felt sorry for him a while after he told me about it, but after a bit, I realized he wasn't after pity, and I thought I was insulting him and doing him an injustice by pitying him."
Sango smirked. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She said. "When you see him fighting, as strong as he is, it's hard to pity him, and you realize that he was never after pity; he only wanted to become strong."
"But when you see him like this, it's almost indescribable." Kagome said. InuYasha was passed out on the floor, stretched out on his stomach. His face was turned toward the girls, and all traces of insolence, disobedience, anger and lonliness was gone from his face. Both girls smiled at the attractive boy sleeping on the floor in front of them.
"I just can't get over how cute he is." Kagome said. "I mean, sure, he's not what I should be thinking about as we try to find all these jewel shards, but every once in a while I can't help but stare at him, and wonder what it would be like to be with him."
Sango laughed. "You are with him." She said.
Kagome smiled. "No, to be with him. In all respects. In a relationship with him, stuff like that." She said. Sango nodded slowly. "Ahh, I see." She said.
There was silence for a few minutes, before Sango spoke up.
"No I think it became obvious the last couple of days that my interest in him has peaked, and I was wondering how to bring it up and talk comfortably with you about it." She said. "Because what InuYasha said back in the hot spring was true." She said. "I did lay down beside him, and sleep with him last night, I did rub his stomach, and what he was trying to remember was that I also kissed him." She said.
Kagome's eyes widened. "You kissed him?" She asked.
Sango held up her hands. "Hey, you would've too if you'd seen him at that moment." She said. "Anyway, what I was trying to explain is that my interest in him is only as a caregiver." She said. "It's like my feelings for him are based around his injuries. Maternal feelings, almost." She said. "When he gets injured, I feel the overwhelming urge to heal him, try to fix him up and let him know it'll be okay." She said. "I can never say that though, because every day he takes wounds that would kill any normal human. How am I supposed to know if it'll be okay or not?" She asked.
"I worry about him. When he gets hurt I want to be the first to heal his wounds, treat him and let him know we care." Sango said. "That's how I feel about him. I care about him deeply, yes, and yes it is a love I feel for him, but I doubt it'll ever be relationship love." She said. "I'm content just knowing that when he gets hurt, I can be there to heal him and fix him up."
Kagome smiled. "That's good." She said. "Because honestly, I'm thinking of telling him that I love him, and seeing if I can't get him to start a little something."
Sango grinned. "Hmm, sounds naughty!"
Kagome shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, feigning innocence.
Sango playfully pushed her shoulder. "Suuuuure you don't." She said.
Kagome rolled with the push. "Anyway, I think we'd better get to sleep." She said. "If those pills work like I think they're gonna work, and if today in the hot spring was any indication, I think we're gonna have a rowdy InuYasha on our hands tomorrow." She said.
Sango nodded. "Alright." Then she smiled. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to go over and cuddle with InuYasha." She said. "In a caring, concerned kind of way." She said slyly.
Kagome laughed. "Yeah, whatever Sango." She said. Kagome chased Sango over, and settled on one side of InuYasha, allowing Sango to take the other side.
"No, but in all seriousness, I hope his wound heals." Sango said quietly. "I was quite worried when he got it, and he was depressed the whole time he had to keep his arm immobile." She said. She patted InuYasha's back gently, rubbing it. "I hope it works out for him."
Kagome nodded her agreement, silent.
InuYasha awoke the next morning, free from the pain that had returned after his romp in the hot spring the night before. Wisely, he kept his arm mostly still. He didn't want to over-use it and return it to it's former state.
He blinked as sunlight filtered through the cabin, alternately lighting and darkening the room as clouds passed over the sun. As his consciousness was awakened from the drug-induced state, he became aware of two others near him.
"You must be cozy." Someone commented, and InuYasha recognized the voice as Miroku's. He tilted his head up, and saw Miroku leaning against the wall, in a sitting position with his staff across his lap.
"You would think that." InuYasha said wryly, realizing that Sango was on his left, and Kagome on his right.
"Wonder how that happened?" Miroku asked, his tone suggestive.
"Keep wondering, 'cause I don't know either." He replied.
Miroku laughed, making InuYasha smile despite himself.
"Nng, what're you guys talking so loudly about this early in the morning!?" Sango asked, pushing herself up and rubbing her face. She had been laying on her stomach, and now supported herself with her elbows.
"Good morning to you too,cutie." Miroku said. Sango glared at him for a minute, contemplating a smart-ass retort.
"Where were you the last few days?" She asked, ignoring the temptation to insult him. Miroku merely grinned, answering her question.
"Well, Lady Sango, 'tis a tale unfit for thy virgin ears, but if you must know, I wa-" He was promptly silenced as Sango tossed an instant ramen cup at him, one of the many objects covering the floor from Kagome's tipped over backpack. Shippou had dug into it to amuse himself. He always woke up early, and sometimes he got bored by himself, waiting for the others to awaken.
"Don't even bother telling me." She said, sitting up properly, and leaning against the wall. She yawned, and raised her arms above her head, stretching.
"How's your arm, InuYasha?" She asked, as he sat up also.
InuYasha shrugged. "No pain, and it moves fine, but I'm not about to go crazy with it like I did yesterday." He said. "I do feel good now though, having taken those weird medicines."
Sango smirked, and reached forward, taking his haori in her hands.
"Lemme take a look." She said, opening his haori. She bared his shoulder, taking a minute to look it over for any visible wounds. She knew she would find none, but it was good to check, just in case his romp yesterday had damaged something else.
"Seems fine, I don't think you did any more damage to it yesterday." She said. "Probably just aggravated it."
InuYasha nodded. "Yeah."
Sango smiled, and rubbed his shoulder and chest gently. Neither said anything for a few minutes, but InuYasha's eyes closed and he leaned into her touch slightly, ears twitching.
"Take it easy for a few more days, and you'll heal with no problems." She said softly, slowly removing her hands and doing up his haori. InuYasha stared at her, letting her know he was saddened by the loss of contact.
She laughed, and slapped his right shoulder. "Don't even try it." She said.
InuYasha flicked his ears back, and his eyes widened, a slight whine emanating from his throat.
"Give it up..." Sango said, leaning back against the wall and staring at him.
InuYasha leaned forward and nuzzled her, rubbing his cheek against hers. Sango finally gave in, laughing and putting her hand on the top of his head.
"Fiiiiiine, lay down." She said. InuYasha lowered his head to hide his smirk as he laid down on his stomach on the floor in front of her. A few seconds later, and Sango's hands found their way underneath his haori, rubbing his shoulder gently.
InuYasha placed his forehead on his hands, stretching out comfortably. He smiled again, knowing she couldn't see it.
Sango's ministrations continued for another half hour, both of them enjoying it. Kagome woke up halfway through, and shook her head.
"How the mighty have fallen." She mocked. "InuYasha, the great half-demon, feared by everyone, reduced to the pet of a demon slayer." She joked.
InuYasha shrugged lazily. "When it feels this good, I'll take being petted by Sango over being feared any day." He purred. Miroku laughed, along with Kagome. Sango giggled, and continued rubbing his shoulder.
"Nah, I don't mind." She said quietly.
"How's your arm feeling anyway?" Kagome asked.
InuYasha turned his head to look at her. "It felt great when I woke up, and still feels good." He said. "I'm not gonna go crazy with it like I did yesterday, I need it to fully heal." He said. "But right now, it feels perfect."
"Heh, and you thought those pills were 'weird'."
InuYasha nodded. "If you could smell them like I can, you'd think so too."
Kagome shrugged. "Did they work?" She asked.
InuYasha was silent, providing her with the answer.
"You know," He said softly after a few minutes. "I figured that my body was born with everything it needed to heal itself from almost every type of non-life-threatening wound, but seeing this just makes me realize it isn't." He said. "Also, on top of that belief, being half demon really made me think I was invincible. But I'm not."
Kagome and Sango said nothing; the latter continuing the rubbing as if he hadn't spoken.
"It's hard, but I'm trying to force myself to see it not as a sign of weakness, that I can't heal myself in a single night without the help of your weird medicine." He said. Sango smiled down at him, but he didn't see; his head was turned. Her fingers slipped across his skin, gently pressing and massaging his muscles.
"It's hard though. Weakness is the first thing I think of when I feel the pain that reminds me I can barely move my left arm."
"Well, you got to accept that, while your body is an amazing thing, and has amazing healing capabilities, it can't do everything." She said. "And true, it would heal this wound on it's own, but it would take a long time, and be very painful." She said. "This helps with the pain, and speeds the process up. The rest is up to your demon body, and you." She said.
InuYasha nodded thoughtfully. "That was the hardest, convincing myself that my body can't do everything." He said. "It reveals a lot of limitations, and thats never good." He said. Then he sighed. "It's fine though, I've come to accept it, and now that I know my limits, I'm determined to train to improve them." He said. Kagome laughed. "And it also looks like you don't remember." She said.
InuYasha stared at her blankly. "Remember what?"
Kagome shook her head. "Oh, nothing..." She said softly. InuYasha figured it must have been something mentioned last night. He thought back, before realizing he couldn't remember anything about the last hour or so before he fell asleep. He glared at her, getting a sweet smile in return.
"I don't even know why I took those damn pills in the first place." He grumbled. Kagome laughed, and he knew he was on the right track. He thought a bit more, and remembered saying that he didn't want to take them. Then Kagome had said something about making it worth it...
Suddenly, InuYasha grinned.
"Hey, Kagome." He called. She looked at him, unknowing of what he was about to say.
"Yeah?" She asked.
InuYasha grinned, baring his fangs. "I've remembered." He said. "And you're gonna make it worth my while taking those pills." He said. Kagome swore, and InuYasha laughed.
"Now, what should I make you do...?"
A/N: This had such a simple idea for the storyline, but surprisingly took me almost two months to write. The basic storyline was a reflection of my own wound. I had torn my rotator cuff and also put a small tear in my shoulder muscle, and at first I wasn't aware of the injury. This happened sometime around January, and so I continued doing my winter Parkour workout, not knowing that I had seriously injured my arm. Eventually my shoulder got so aggravated that, like InuYasha, I couldn't move my arm. At all. This was the worst of it, and lasted from January to March. I refused to go to the hospital to get it checked out, and refused pills to deal with the pain. I was eventually forced to the hospital, but I wouldn't allow them to do anything more than confirm that it was a torn rotator cuff and shoulder muscle. Around late March, after not using the arm, (not by choice, I couldn't move the damn thing!) it finally started to heal, albeit very slowly. It wasn't until the end of May that my arm recovered completely, and halfway through June when I stopped favouring the arm that had been injured. My left arm/shoulder was the one that had been injured, like InuYasha in the fic. For two or three weeks in June, even though my left arm was healed and fine, I continued to use my right arm for everything, and it's only been recently that I've began placing heavy loads on my left arm. I lost a lot of strength in my left arm, and even now, my right bicep is a bit bigger than my left. Not because I worked out my right arm or anything, but we were also in the process of moving, and I was lifting a lot with just my right arm. Anyway, that's how this fic came about, developing the idea that InuYasha might recieve a wound that he doesn't heal completely in one night, resulting in him thinking less of his body's healing capabilities. Kagome then steps in with the medicine, and InuYasha naturally doesn't want anything to do with it, thinking that if his body can't heal itself, what the hell is a tiny, bad tasting pill going to do?
Anyway, thoughts, comments and criticizm is appreciated. This was just a reflection on a personal situation, and has no real storyline so there won't be any sequel or next chapter describing InuYasha as he copes with both Sango and Kagome's affection. Thanks for reading.