well. here I am with yet another idea.. I'm fairly certain that this has been done before, but I wanna give it a go anyways.. and before I get things thrown at me, let it be known that I -will!- work on Living a Nightmare.. and my Ranma 1/2 one-shot that I've neglected to work on all day.. fyi, the Ranma one-shot is Ran/Akane, and will likely be a lemon. this fic is Kag/Inu.. and nobody sue me!

Disclaimer: if I owned Inu-Yasha, you think I'd come up with a lazy story like this? or that I would bug one of my muses, Amy-chan, with ideas all the time??

Life Giver

Kagome sighed, rubbing her face against Inu-Yasha's silky silver hair. It looked like it should be rough, but it was as soft as silk, and made a wonderful pillow. She blinked tiredly, and yawned, tightening her grasp on Inu-Yasha. She looked down at her legs, where there were some odd bruises. Odd, because she didn't remember running into anything overly hard, and hadn't even bumped her legs with her backpack recently. Her back was sore, and she felt unusually tired, even though she knew she'd been getting enough sleep.

Inu-Yasha looked over his shoulder at Kagome, looking worried. She was overly pale, and didn't have nearly as much energy as she'd had only a month or two before. In fact, she'd collapsed in a dead faint earlier that day, and Inu-Yasha was really worried. Kagome didn't faint for no reason whatsoever, and he'd also noticed that she'd still seemed tired, even after sleeping for twelve hours straight. She had asked him to take her back to her own time, and while normally Inu-Yasha would have protested and argued, he couldn't say no when she looked so pale and tired, and besides, he wanted to know what was wrong with her.

"Oi, you alright?" He asked softly, bounding along the road, careful not to jar her too much.

"I don't know. I wonder what's wrong with me?" Kagome murmured tiredly.

"Ain't that why we're going back to your time, wench?" Inu-Yasha asked, ducking under a tree branch.

"Well, yes, but I can't help wondering."

"Keh."

Kagome giggled. She wanted to tweak his ears - she'd learned that he actually liked it when she did that, something she'd discovered a month or so before - but felt much too tired to move her arms even that much. She knew that Sango, Miroku and Shippo were worried as well, but she just couldn't bring her mind to focus on her friends. In fact, she could barely focus on holding on to Inu-Yasha, and since she felt his grasp tighten, figured he knew that. Kagome knew he was worried about her.

Oh, he tried to hide it, but she'd learned to read him really well over the year she'd been traveling with him, looking for Shikon no Tama no kakera. She felt his hand squeeze her leg gently, and while even two weeks before she would have taken advantage of that and kissed him.. Oh, it doesn't so any good to dwell on it, Kagome thought, slowly stroking a finger over Inu-Yasha's neck, taking comfort in the feel of his steady heartbeat. But still.. Why in Kami's name am I so tired? What on earth is wrong with me? Kagome felt her eyes tear up, and she quickly wiped the tears away on the back of Inu-Yasha's haori.

Inu-Yasha skidded to a stop in front of the Bone-Eaters Well, and adjusted his hold on Kagome, moving her around so he was holding her bridal style. He bit his lip worriedly, noticing the slightly sunken look around Kagome's eyes. Eyes that he would rather see glazed with passion than dull with exhaustion and pain. Kagome smiled at him weakly, and Inu-Yasha felt inexplicable tears come to his eyes, tears he quickly forced back. He leaped up onto the edge of the well, then jumped down into it.

!-!-!-!

Mrs. Higurashi was humming to herself as she chopped the vegetables for that nights dinner, wondering how Kagome was doing in the past. (o.O that sentence looks odd...) She tossed the now chopped vegetables into the wok, then picked up a pair of cooking chopsticks and stirred them around. Souta came into the kitchen, sniffing loudly and licking his lips.

"Smells good, Mama!" Souta rubbed his growling stomach.

"Arigatou, Souta."

"Douitashimashite, Mama. When'll it be done?" Souta tried to mooch a piece of steak, but only got his fingers burned for his efforts.

"Daijobu?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, smiling.

"Hai, hai.. Mama, when will Kagome come back?"

"I don't know, Souta. I think it all depends on when Inu-Yasha lets her come back." Mrs. Higurashi smiled at her son, and was inwardly hoping that Inu-Yasha wouldn't be overly stubborn when Kagome asked to come back. She chuckled. Those two were a good match, both stubborn and overly protective, but also both soft hearted, although Inu-Yasha tried to hide it more often than not.

"Hmph. I'm gonna go play some games." Souta walked out, still sucking on his burned fingers, and Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, not bothering to reply because he was already out of earshot. She heard the door to the kitchen open again, and didn't turn around, thinking it was Souta again.

"Watashi wa ushiro, Mama." Kagome said quietly, and Mrs. Higurashi turned around.

"Okaeri, Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi looked closer, and gasped. "Kagome, what on earth happened to your legs?!"

"I don't know.."

"What do you mean?"

"I.. I haven't really bumped into anything this last week. Or really done anything too stressful, but I seem to be tired all the time. I don't know what's wrong with me!" Kagome felt tears well up in her eyes again, and instead of trying to wipe them away, she just let them flow down her face. Inu-Yasha hooked his foot around the leg of one of the chairs at the kitchen table, and then sat down with Kagome on his lap. He held her close, running his fingers through Kagome's hair and letting her cry on his shoulder.

"Oh my." Mrs. Higurashi wasn't used to seeing Inu-Yasha be so gentle with her daughter, but all in all, she didn't mind. She turned around and turned off the stove, then walked around the table to the phone. "I'll call Gensai-sensei, and set up an appointment for you, Kagome." (A/N: guess what anime I stole that name from!!)

Kagome just nodded against Inu-Yasha's shoulder, and sniffled. Inu-Yasha rubbed her back, and felt his heart clench. I hate it when she cries. I hate when I don't know why she's hurting, too. I hope it's nothing really bad.. I don't want to try and live without her.

"..Hai.. Ten A.M.? Hai, that's fine. Um. Maybe, let me ask." Mrs. Higurashi moved the phone away from her ear, and then turned to Inu-Yasha and Kagome. "Inu-Yasha? Are you going to come with us when I take Kagome to see the doctor?"

"Keh, of course."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled, and turned back to the phone. "Hai, I'll be bringing her boyfriend, too. Alright, hai, arigatou." She hung up. "Well, it's all set up. We'll be going to see Gensai-sensei in the morning. Kagome, do you want any food?"

"Iie, I just want to sleep." Kagome answered, her reply muffled by Inu-Yasha's haori.

"Inu-Yasha?"

"Iie."

"Alright then. Off to bed with you, Kagome." He must be really worried if he turns down food of any sort.. Mrs. Higurashi thought, biting her lip as she watched Inu-Yasha carry Kagome out of the kitchen. I wonder exactly how far they've gone?

Inu-Yasha carried Kagome up to her room, and set her down on her bed. She slowly peeled off her clothes, the simple ties and closures baffling her worn out brain. Inu-Yasha sighed, and carefully helped her undress, and laid her down when she was fully unclothed. He pulled the blankets up and tucked them around her, and then sat down on the floor. Or tried to. Kagome grabbed his wrist, then looked up at him with pleading blue eyes.

"Sleep with me, Inu.."

Inu-Yasha smiled, then took off his clothes too. He didn't particularly care if this was thought improper in Kagome's time, and Kagome was too out of it to protest. Inu-Yasha slid under then blankets, his chest to Kagome's back, and wrapped an arm around her, his calloused hand cupping one of her small breasts gently. He nibbled on her ear, then licked it, and felt a thrill of happiness rush through him when she shivered at his ministrations.

"I love you, Kagome." He whispered, rubbing his thumb over her nipple slowly.

"I love you too, Inu-Yasha." Kagome whispered back, pressing her back against his chest. She yawned, and twined her fingers with his, then closed her eyes, soon falling asleep. Inu-Yasha propped himself up on one arm and gazed down at Kagome's face, the soft moonlight from her window illuminating the face of the woman he loved more than life itself. He gently brushed her bangs off of the side of her face, smiling in a heartbreakingly gentle manner. Then he settled back down, snuggled close, and closed his eyes.

Soon the only sound in the room was their even breathing, in perfect time with each other. And all through the night, Inu-Yasha's thumb flicked gently over Kagome's nipple, an unconscious action on his part that he wouldn't remember doing when he woke up.

---------

we-ell... this is certainly going interestingly, isn't it? I already know how I want it to end, but how it will get there remains to be seen. I hope this first chapter isn't overly angsty, but as this is going to be a deep story - with some humor mixed in, of course - don't flame me for anyone being OOC.. and also, for all you gutter minded peeps out there, yes Kagome and Inu-Yasha -have- had sex. I just didn't want to type that right now.. however, there may be lemon scenes later in the story.. depends:D as always, R&R, and if you or any loved one has ever suffered from leukemia, please let me know. I want to make this as realistic as possible.

arigatou = thank you

sensei = teacher; doctor

douitashimashite = you're welcome (that's a mouthful of a word, btw)

oi = hey

daijobu? = are you alright?

hai = yes

watashi wa ushiro = I'm back (I think.. feel free to correct me!)

okaeri = welcome back/home

that's all.. I think.. now I'ma gonna upload this and go to bed!

--Myuu