Autumn Rain
Part One
Sesshomaru growled softly as he walked along. It had started raining while he'd been hunting, and now he was cold and wet. Slung carelessly over his shoulder, the unconscious form of Kagome Higurashi was slumped (he would have carried her differently, had he still had his own left arm, but that didn't matter now). In the midst of his late evening hunt, he'd had to rescue the wench from Naraku's minions, resulting in a fantastic battle, broken armor, and a deep gash in his abdomen.
"Curse her………….curse that Kagura of the Wind………." Sesshomaru thought, hissing as he sank to one knee, knowing that if he didn't stop the constant loss of blood, he would be too weak to fight when the time came. As gently as he cared to, he laid Kagome down on the damp grass beside him, and tried to do what he could for the deep wound. The moment he touched the wound, however, he instantly regretted it. No sooner had his fingertips brushed the very edge of the tear in his flesh did pain of the most searing quality race through him. He clenched his jaw to keep from screaming, and dug the fingers of his right hand into the wet earth. His mind told him that the wound had been poisoned, but he didn't know of any poison that could do that to someone like him!
"Venom of some kind……………..hurts so much…………..where did that cursed hanyou…………………get something like this?" Sesshomaru wondered, not even realizing that Kagome had woken up until he felt a hand tentatively touching his brow.
"Great………….now the wench knows……………damn that Naraku!" Sesshomaru's mind snarled, his top lip curling a little in response to the thought, revealing his sharp fangs.
Kagome had been somewhat confused when she'd found herself lying on a forest path, instead of in the glen where she had been held. She was even more confused when she saw Sesshomaru right next to her………but she could immediately tell that something wasn't right. He was hunched over; head down and right hand digging into the earth as though he were in a terrible amount of pain. His eyes, though averted, Kagome could tell were not their usual amber color; they were on the verge of looking like what they had when he and Inu-Yasha had been fighting in the black pearl all those months ago. When he'd been in his true form. Concern taking over reason, Kagome sat up, then slowly approached the youkai. He didn't notice her move, causing even more concern to arise within the misplaced schoolgirl.
"He doesn't normally let things sneak up on him like this………….What is wrong with him?" Kagome wondered, as she carefully approached and placed a hand to the youkai's brow. She almost recoiled when she felt the high fever there, but stayed put long enough for the youkai to turn his head and look at her. The now ruby red eyes were glazed with pain, and his body shook in agony with each breath he took. She backed off a little when he bared his fangs, but Kagome knew that he needed help; moreso now than ever.
"Can you stand? We're going to have to get out of this rain, so we both don't end up sick." Kagome said, gently, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't hurt his ears.
"Can't stand…….." Sesshomaru snapped, grimacing when even speaking caused a shudder of pain to travel through him.
"Then let me help you. I think there's something close by we can take shelter in till the rain stops." Kagome suggested, as she moved to help the youkai to his feet. He audibly snarled when she touched his arm, his eyes becoming more feral now than they were before. Instead of being afraid, Kagome's eyes took on a challenging light.
"Listen! I'm only trying to help you! You saved my life, so now I need to do something to help you in return! Chill out!" Kagome shouted, angrily. Stunned by her utter lack of respect, the ire faded from Sesshomaru's eyes and he allowed her to take stock of his injuries.
"This looks like Kagura's doing, all right. But the wound itself is infected……..almost like it's been poisoned." Kagome murmured, intelligently, surprising Sesshomaru a little bit by this.
"Correct on both counts. But I do not know what poison Naraku had used on me." Sesshomaru said, wincing when the girl gently probed the gash in his side.
"I think I may…………but I don't like the thought of it." Kagome stated, as she straightened back up and showed the youkai something she'd found in the center of the wound. He gave it a questioning look.
"It looks like one of the poison powder spheres Inu-Yasha, Miroku-sama, and I found in the Taijiya Village. When Sango-chan used one of these on Inu-Yasha, it almost choked him. I don't know what it would do on open wounds like this." Kagome mused.
"I had heard of the taijiya through many different groups of youkai. They had stated that the 'poison powder' usually did just choke or cause minor irritation………but this feels like a more potent mixture." Sesshomaru said, as he gave the burst open sphere a look of disdain.
"In any case, we've got to get that antidote for you, before you get any worse. C'mon." Kagome said, as she stubbornly helped him to his feet. She stopped when he uttered a choked cry of pain, but he gave her a look and nodded.
"Lead the way, wench. As it is, I won't have the strength to move very far without help for awhile." Sesshomaru admitted, hissing when Kagome slowly moved forward.
"All right. But one thing; my name is Kagome." Kagome replied, with surprising patience, since she had long since gotten used to having someone call her a 'wench' from time to time.
"Whatever." Sesshomaru muttered. Before long, they came to an old hut. Kagome could tell that it had been abandoned not too long before, and hoped that she could find enough herbs to make a poultice for Sesshomaru's wounds. After entering the hut and helping the taiyoukai lie down on the dusty floor, Kagome went about searching for the things she needed. She found a surprising amount of the supplies just outside in a small garden to the side of the old building.
"Thank goodness! It's just enough to help ease the pain and dilute some of the poison. It won't cure him, but it'll buy him some time." Kagome thought, then added, "I hope." When she got back inside, she could tell that she had a lot of work on her hands; she had to remove what was left of Sesshomaru's armor and kimono, clean the wound, dress it, then find something for both of them to eat.
"He probably won't be able to handle a solid meal. I don't know what poison would do to a full-blooded youkai, but I know it makes hanyou sick. I should know………I've seen it happen to Inu-Yasha before." Kagome mused, as she quietly got right to work.
Sesshomaru grimaced when Kagome's hands met the torn flesh of his side. He was a little surprised when she gave him a look of concern, yet managed to keep his expression neutral long enough to give her the go-ahead to remove his broken armor.
"It seems I will have to return to the Western Lands in order to get it repaired." Sesshomaru murmured, answering Kagome's unspoken question.
"Seems that way." Kagome said, thoughtfully, as she lifted the shattered breastplate from his chest. Against his will, he breathed a sigh of relief when the weight was removed from his upper body. After an equal struggle of getting the torn and bloodied kimono off, and getting his wound treated and bandaged, Sesshomaru lay back and watched as the girl from the future started preparing a frugal meal.
"Quite an unusual woman. She isn't afraid of me, but she does respect me…………… To some extent, at any rate. Just as easily as she had chosen to help me, she could have left me to go find her friends and the hanyou. But she chose to stay, despite what I had done to her and to Inu-Yasha. Why?" Sesshomaru wondered, before glaring at his stomach when it growled in response to the rather savory aroma that was starting to rise from another of the cooking pots.
"Hungry?" Kagome asked, with a slight laugh. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow.
"The understatement of the hour, miko……I was hunting for my dinner when I came across your situation." Sesshomaru muttered, moodily. Kagome nodded silently in response.
"I see. You haven't had dinner yet either." Kagome said, a little shamefacedly, when her stomach growled even louder than Sesshomaru's had.
"Indeed, I have not." Sesshomaru affirmed.
"Well, if you're hungry, then it must mean that the poultice I put in your wound must be working. Otherwise, I don't think you'd have much of an appetite right now." Kagome said, with a little relief showing up on her face.
"It remains to be seen how well it will work, since, as we had discussed before, this version of the poison is far more potent than that your taijiya friend uses." Sesshomaru reminded, then added, "It is too early in the night to be optimistic."
"That's true. Just let me know if you start feeling worse, okay?" Kagome asked. A little taken aback by this, Sesshomaru only nodded.
"I will." Sesshomaru promised. As they waited in uncomfortable silence for the stew to finish cooking, one thought crossed both of their minds at the exact same time.
"This is going to be a long night."