Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I was actually stuck, and had no idea how to continue it. But don't worry, everything's solved now. And from now on, updates will be every two weeks.

Chapter 2:

No Voice

Kaede pulled her wrinkly fingers away from Inuyasha's neck, and let out a deep sigh.

"It seems you truly have lost the ability to speak," she stated, and watched as Inuyasha's eyes go widened. "Do not worry, Inuyasha. It is only temporary. If ye were in a better condition, it would've healed by now. Unfortunately, ye are suffering from the illness, and it is slowing yer healing abilities. Though, I'm afraid ye won't be able to talk for a while."

Inuyasha nodded, before whipping his head to the side when he caught the scent of salt. His golden eyes widened when he spotted Kagome attempting to wipe the tears that had flowed down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha! I-I didn't mean for it to really happen! I wasn't serious when I said I wanted your voice to be taken away," Kagome blurted out, as her sobs increased. "This is all my fault, I–"

Since Inuyasha couldn't do his usual talking to cheer her up, he decided to use action. He grabbed both of her shoulders – earning her attention – and stared until her eyes met his. After successfully earning her gaze, he shook his head as an indication that she was not at fault. Unfortunately, this only earned him a new wave of tears, and now, Kagome was crying even more.

He scratched his head and let out a sigh. How he was going to cheer her up, he had no idea. Thankfully, Sango offered to comfort the young miko, and Inuyasha sent a grateful nod her way. He then stood up to head outside of the hut, but all of a sudden, the place started spinning. He quickly placed his hand on the wall for support. Damn, he had totally forgotten about his illness for a moment.

"Inuyasha?" he heard Kagome call, before feeling a pair of arms holding him. Her face made its way to his line of vision, and he was glad that she was no longer crying. Though, now, she looked worried. "Inuyasha, where are you going? You should rest."

He shook his head and continued heading towards the flap of the hut. Sitting in here was making him sick, and he could already feel the vomit rising at the back of his throat.

"Inuyasha, before ye leave, ye should drink this."

He paused in his steps. He glanced towards Kaede's direction, before motioning to Kaede. He sat down, cross-legged, against the old miko. Kaede held out a glass of water, and he could tell that it was one of her medicinal tea. However, instead of taking the offered glass, he simply stared at it. The thing smelled bad, and he wondered whether it was really worth it to drink it. It wasn't as if his illness was going to go away after drinking it.

Kaede sighed. "I know what ye are thinking, Inuyasha, but trust me. If ye drink it, it will make ye feel slightly better."

The word slightly with better was making him hesitate. He didn't want to drink it, but right now, his head felt dizzy, and he hated it. He could only hope that after drinking it, it would help relieve some of his pain. Swallowing thickly, he brought the glass to his lips, and started drinking the tea. As expected, the thing was awful, and he felt like throwing up as it entered his mouth.

Kaede must've noticed his reaction, because he heard her say, "Ye musn't spit it out."

After he managed to force the tea down his throat, he placed the glass down, and covered his mouth as vomit threatened to escape from his lips. When the acidic taste left his mouth, only then he removed his hand. He waited for a few seconds, before he felt the effect of the tea to take over. The tea wasn't helping much, but at least the dizziness he felt wasn't as bad as before.

He stood up and walked towards the exit of the hut. He heard Kagome call his name for him to stay, but he ignored it. He really wanted to stay inside and curl up into a ball, but he just couldn't stand being inside that hut. He needed some fresh air. Suddenly, the image of the Goshinboku appeared, and he couldn't help but find the tree appealing at the moment. Even if he had been recently attacked there, it was the only place he could think of that would make him feel comfortable. This time, however, he would sit up on the branches, and not on the ground. That way, he wouldn't be an easy target.

He was less than halfway to the forest, before he heard a voice. "Inuyasha, wait up!"

He stopped and turned around. Kagome was running towards him, and he furrowed his brow. What was she doing here?

"I just... I can't leave you alone. Let me come with you, okay?"

He felt the urge to roll his eyes at the way she was treating him, but fought against it. He nodded instead, and continued walking to where he was planning. The Goshinboku was getting close, and he couldn't wait to leap onto the branches and sleep like the dead.

As they reached the forest and getting nearer to the tree, Inuyasha froze. He sniffed the air, and his face paled at the scent that hit his nose. He couldn't believe it. Of all days that person could choose to visit, he decided to choose now? Why was fate being so cruel to him?

Kagome must've noticed him tense. "Inuyasha, is something wrong?"

His ears swiveled to every direction for a sound. He looked at Kagome, and gave her a sign to step back. She nodded in understanding, and did what she was told. He rested his hand on Tessaiga's hilt. There was no way he could win against that guy – especially in his current condition. But there was no way he would allow Kagome to get hurt either.

"Inuyasha."

He almost jumped at the cold voice. Luckily, he had caught the sound of footsteps heading towards his direction at the very last second. Exhaling deeply, he slowly turned around to the last person he wanted to see today. There, stood Sesshomaru – who was staring at him with the same impassive mask he usually wore.

"Sesshomaru? What is he doing here?!" Kagome exclaimed, and gasped. She turned her head to look at him, "Inuyasha, you can't fight!"

As if I don't know that, he thought. Slowly, he unsheathed Tessaiga, and pointed the sword towards his brother's direction.

Sesshomaru glowered at him from head to toe – as if examining his current state. Then, his eyes narrowed. "Pathetic."

He wanted to open his mouth and tell him to shut up but then he remembered that he couldn't talk. So, having to let go of the first option – which was to reply to the daiyoukai with an insult – he continued to stare at his brother. No, more like glaring daggers at him. He had no idea how effective his stare would be, but it was the only thing he had right now. Well, he did have Tessaiga, but if he started a fight now, he probably wouldn't make it out alive.

Sesshomaru raised a brow. "It surprises this Sesshomaru that you lack your verbal speech, Inuyasha."

He assumed that his brother wasn't aware that he had been poisoned earlier. It did happen a while ago anyway, so the scent of poison must've been faint. Besides, the scent of his illness must be overpowering the scent of the poison, because Sesshomaru doesn't seem to be aware that he couldn't talk. Again – since he couldn't respond to his brother by talking – he continued to stare at him.

His silence eventually annoyed his brother, because now, Sesshomaru's eyes were narrowed into slits. Without warning, a grin whip had formed from Sesshomaru's hand, and now, the whip was swung to his direction. He barely had the time to push Kagome out of the way before she gets hit. Luckily for him, he managed to dodge the whip too, but his breathing had become laboured just by the mere action. He slowly came to a realisation that he didn't have the strength for a battle.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, before propping herself with her elbow. She lifted herself up from the ground, and looked at Sesshomaru. "What's your problem?! Can't you tell that he's sick? He can't fight!"

"Whether he can fight or not – it is not this Sesshomaru's concern."

For some weird reason, Sesshomaru was irritated that Inuyasha wasn't talking. The hanyou was confused. Sesshomaru had always hated him when he talks, so why was he mad that he wasn't talking? Is it because his brother thought that it was a sign of defiance? If so, then he was in really big trouble.

"Inuyasha, look out!"

Before he even had the time to defend himself, Sesshomaru was already right in front of him, and had landed a kick right at his stomach. The pain that shot through his abdomen made him drop Tessaiga. He bent over in pain, and his hands wrapped around his stomach. As he staggered backwards, he didn't notice the fist that was flying to his face. The fist connected with his head, and he found himself collapsing to the ground. His head pounded, and the pain at his midsection was still there. His vision was blurry all of a sudden, but he could see his brother's feet stepping closer to him.

"Sesshomaru, stop! Please, stop!" he could hear Kagome cry out. She was suddenly standing in front of him, blocking Sesshomaru's way. "Please! Inuyasha's sick, and lost his voice because a youkai poisoned him. He has suffered enough!"

Everything was replaced with a silence, and Inuyasha wondered what his brother's expression looked like right now.

"Inuyasha lost his voice?" came the response that was devoid of emotion.

"Yes..."

"Hmph. Pathetic."

Yeah, you said that twice now, Inuyasha thought bitterly, but made no move to get up. His vision was getting clearer, and the pain in his stomach was slowly becoming toleratable. Though, his head was still pounding.

He heard the sound of shuffling, and guessed that Sesshomaru was leaving. Before his brother left, he heard him say, "This Sesshomaru will fight when the hanyou is worth fighting."

Kagome let out a sigh, and she turned around to look at him. She crouched at his lying form, and pushed some of his bangs that had covered his face. "You okay?"

He mouthed the word, "No."

She only nodded, and helped him to sit upright. She then looked around, and returned Tessaiga to him. He nodded as a thanks, and kept the sword back into its sheath.

"Inuyasha."

He glanced at her, and she looked like she was contemplating whether to tell him something or not.

"Um... do you want to head back to the Modern Era? It's much safer there, and you can heal peacefully. If we stay here, you might get attacked again. Do you... do you want to go there? I mean, we are running low on supplies anyway, and–"

Knowing that she wanted him to go there with her, he nodded. It earned him a sigh of relief, and a huge smile. She helped him to stand up, and they both started walking back to Kaede's hut. They entered the hut, and everyone turned their heads to face them.

Miroku frowned. "Is everything all right?" he then noticed that Inuyasha had his hand over his midsection. His eyes widened. "Were you attacked?"

"It was Sesshomaru," Kagome answered, and everyone in the hut gasped. Inuyasha could see through the corner of his eye that she was looking at him. "He got a little beaten up, but at least there are no serious injuries."

"Oh my god, are you two okay?" Sango asked, and stood up to look at the hanyou's injuries.

Kagome answered that she was fine, and that Inuyasha was the only one that got attacked. Said hanyou waved his hand nonchantly at the taijiya as she started to examine where he got hit. She sighed in relief at his gesture, and took a step back.

"Um, I'm going to bring Inuyasha back to the Modern Era," Kagome announced, and started keeping her things into her giant, yellow backpack. "We'll be coming back once he's healed. Is that fine with you guys?"

"I think it's a good idea," Sango said with a bob of her head. "It's safer at your time, so he'll be able to rest without getting worried that he'll be attacked."

"I agree. Besides, it's not like there are any rumours about jewel shards," Miroku added. "We'll wait for you to come back in a few days."

Kagome nodded, and slid her hands into her yellow backpack. She turned around to face everyone, and waved goodbye. "Goodbye everyone!"

Inuyasha and Kagome headed out of the hut. The two of them walked slowly. Well, Inuyasha was the one that was walking slowly. He could tell that Kagome was walking slowly only to match his pace. He felt so weak all of a sudden, and wanted to yell in frustration. Because of this stupid illness, he became weak, lost his voice, and had his butt kicked by his older brother – and it became worse when Sesshomaru showed him mercy. It took all he could to try and calm the building rage. Just a few more days, he thought to himself. After he passed his critical state, he would get better. He probably had to suffer one more day before he starts feeling better. And when he starts healing, he'll soon be back to normal. Thinking that he was going to feel better, he was able to calm himself down.

They both finally reached the well. Kagome stared at it for a while, before turning her head to face him. "Can you jump inside?"

He rolled his eyes – as if to say that it wasn't going to be a problem.

She nodded, and started climbing at the lip of the well. "I'll jump first and give you a minute. If you're not at the other side after sixty seconds, I'm coming back for you, okay?"

He scowled at her, and she sighed.

"I'm just worried about you, Inuyasha."

His eyes went downcast, and he nodded in understanding. She smiled, before jumping into the well. The well momentarily glowed with a pink light, before Kagome disappeared. He stared down into the empty bottom, and hoped that travelling to the other side wasn't going to be painful.

Going to the other side wasn't actually painful, but he had no idea what this illness might do to him.

With a deep breath, he climbed over the well, and used a few seconds to stare at it.

Then, he jumped.

A/N: Not much of a cliffhanger, but the next few chapters are going to be fun to write. Inuyasha staying at the Modern Era had always been my favourite.