Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters or stories. Except any OC I might come up with.

Hearts Ease

Chapter 4

Rest Stop

For hours, the inu-tachi had headed northeast straight across country following the vague kehai tug of a shikon jewel shard. Finally, when the sun was more than an hour past noon Sango requested Kirara to swoop down to land in front of Inuyasha. "It's time for a break" the taijiya called. Inuyasha skidded to a stop and began shouting. "What do you mean; it's time for a break? We've still got hours before the sun goes down, and a shard and two kids to find!"

Kagome knocked him hard on his shoulder. "Baka! Look at them!"

"Aw shit! All right then, Kagome get down!"

"Gladly you twit!"

Once Inuyasha had taken a good look at his friends, he could see how exhausted they were. Neither Sango nor Miroku had totally recovered from the wounds they had received from their last battle. The dark circles under Miroku's eyes looked even darker in contrast to his chalk white face and from the smell of blood; at least one of Sango's cuts had reopened. Even Kirara trembled a little as she transformed back into her kitten form.

'Fuck!' He snarled to himself, 'we're never gonna get anywhere like this. Stupid weak ningen.' As he leapt away to find a tree to perch in, he could feel Kagome's hot gaze, boring into his back.

He found a tall tree with an open view to the northeast, and settled himself on the highest branch, his eyes turned in the direction of the receding shard.

"Stupid Inuyasha" Shippo griped. "I'm hungry!"

"I know Shippo," Kagome soothed him as she rummaged through her huge yellow pack. "Ah here we are!" And she pulled out plastic baggies of trail mix and jerky to pass around. "We've still got plenty of water, but I'll need you to get more at our next stop, Shippo."

Shippo nodded his mouth full of jerky.

The young miko smiled as she passed Miroku a plastic bottle of water and a vial of Jinenji's poison remedy. Miroku nodded in thanks even as he grimaced at the memory of the potion's bitter taste.

After the foursome had eaten their fill of the dry meal: Sango and Kagome went behind a screen of trees so that Kagome could inspect and replace Sango's stitches outside of the lust-full gaze of the hentai monk. Although when Kagome looked back, it looked as though Miroku was instead lying back to take a nap. 'Hmnp, it doesn't matter, we still can't trust the lecherous hentai!' Then she caught a look of the slashes on Sango's side. "Kami! Sango, why didn't you tell me how bad these are?"

Two of the formerly sutured claw slashes had been torn open allowing the taijiya's blood to pour down her side. Only the black color of her slayer's uniform had kept Kagome from previously seeing the stains.

"Just… Just let it go Kagome." Sango murmured her head hanging. "We all needed to eat, and if I waited till afterwards, I wouldn't have had any appetite from the pain."

"I'm sorry Sango; I just worry about you and Miroku not getting enough time to heal."

Thirty minutes later, with Kagome's supply of medical supplies severely depleted: Kagome tracked down the tree Inuyasha had claimed. "Inuyasha," she softly call, "Do you want to eat something?"

"Keh!" Was his only reply.

"Inuyasha, the kehai that I felt has changed direction. It's turned back this way at an angle, almost straight south. If you head east, you might be able to intercept it."

The Hanyou hit the ground only inches in front of her. "Wench!" He shouted into her face. "Why didn't ya tell me sooner?"

Kagome didn't even flinch as she shouted back into his face. "Because you baka I wasn't sure about it until now! The damned thing was just swerving around for awhile before it took off again!"

"Hah! Well you shoulda told me when it was 'swervin' I coulda caught up with it then!"

"Never mind that now! Just go, take Shippo, I'm staying here with Sango and Miroku!"

"The fuck you are! You're comin' with me!"

Kagome's face reddened when the hanyou grabbed her arm and shook her. "No!" She shouted back, "Let go of me! Just two hours Inuyasha, that's all that I ask. Sango and Miroku need the rest and they need me! Send Shippo back if you need us!"

"Damn it Kagome, what if it changes its course again?"

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but I've got to stay. I'll send Kirara if I sense a change."

"Keh, whatever, I don't know why I ever let you ningen hang around me in the first place? Kirara and the runt are the only ones worth anything around here! You three might as well be an anchor around my neck!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way Inuyasha, but… but that's just the way it has to be."

Back in the clearing the rest of the Inu-tachi listened to the argument that rang through the trees. Miroku and Sango met each other's eyes and shook their heads. Shippo sat on the ground, his arms crossed, pouting. "Stupid Inuyasha I don't want to go with him anyway." Then there was a flash of red and silver and Shippo was gone.

Moments later Kagome appeared through the trees with a cheerful smile plastered on her face. But the smile was belied by the slight redness around her eyes. "Well guys, we've got a couple of hours to kill, you better get some rest while you can." She trudged over and flopped herself down next to Sango. Then she perked up and began rummaging through her pack, "Ah ha," she cried out in triumph, "I thought I had packed these things!" And she presented them both with a shiny silver space blanket.

"Thank you Lady Kagome, but what is it?" Miroku asked, turning the small square around in his hands.

"Yes, it is beautiful." Sango said wistfully admiring the shiny mirror-like surface.

"Oh, sorry!" Kagome exclaimed. She took back the silver square from Miroku and demonstrated how to unfold it. Fascinated they watched as the tiny square unfolded to become a large enough blanket to cover a person from head to toe. "I found this great camping supply store last time I was home. I don't know why I never thought of these things before. Lay the shiny side towards you and it will keep you warm."

"But what is it made of?" Asked Sango, as she laid out her own silver blanket.

"Um, actually, I'm not sure. I think its plastic and aluminum."

"Kagome-chan, you do know that, that doesn't explain anything?"

"Yeah, sorry Sango."

Kagome watched over her sleeping friends, as her hands fidgeted nervously. She felt so torn. She should be with Inuyasha helping to track down both the jewel shard and the missing children. As Inuyasha constantly reminded her, it was her fault the jewel had been shattered in the first place and again he also blamed her for the second shattering when Naraku died. "But that time, that time it wasn't my fault," she muttered softly. 'I should build a fire," she thought shivering in a sudden cold gust of wind. As she rolled to her feet a silver locket slid out from under her blouse. Unconsciously her hand went to cup the golf ball sized locket she now wore around her neck in place of the tiny glass vial she had once used to carry the shards in. A locket that had been a gift from the least likely person she could ever imagine. 'It was cold that day too,' she thought remembering that late winter day more than seven months ago. Just a few months after Inuyasha and his brother had escaped out of the meidou.

--+--

'This is just typical' thought the teen, from her precarious perch on the back of the hard-headed Hanyou, as she tried to keep her hands over her painfully cold ears. 'I think I've got frost bite, in fact I'm sure I've got frost bite and this baka won't stop. They were running through a forest of huge trees that would have been some protection against the wind, if only Inuyasha would just stop! "Inuyasha" she whined as sweetly as she could, "can we please stop my ears are going to fall off?"

She could see his ears flicking back towards her, but he made no reply. 'Why that skunk, he's ignoring me.'

"Inuyasha." He still didn't reply. "Inuyasha, if you don't stop this instant I'm going to start screaming as loud and as high as I can. And it's going to be right into your ears!"

The hanyou's ears went down as he slid to a stop and dumped her unceremoniously to the ground. "Alright alright, don't be such a bitch."

"Hey!" shrilled the Miko, from her position half buried in a half-melted snow-bank. "If anyone around here is being a bitch it's you!"

"Keh! Stupid wench, boys can't be bitches!"

"No? Really? But someone here sure can act like one."

"Huh?"

At that intelligent reply, Kagome burst out in her usual cheerful laughter. "If you hadn't dumped me into a soft pile of snow I would so be 'itting' you to the other side of the earth, but now you've made me wet and we're really going to have to stop!"

"Hey! No way."

"Do you want me to die Inuyasha? Because you know humans do, when they get cold and wet."

"Tch! Well don't threaten my ears next time!"

Inuyasha stepped forward reached out his hand and tugged the girl to her feet. His ears went down in apology when he finally noticed her convulsive shivering. Shyly he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her to share his body heat.

Kagome relaxed into his shared warmth, huddling as close as she could into his chest. 'Ah,' she thought dreamily, leaning even closer smelling his wonderful scent of forests and greenery, with just a hint of wet dog. 'This is almost worth the snow-bank.' Then she was brusquely dumped back on her ass, as Kirara, loaded with the rest of the Inu-tachi landed close by.

"Damn it, dog-boy that hurt!"

He just folded his arms and turned away, nose in the air. But his ears were still down in an embarrassed apology.

"Are we finally stopping?" Miroku called out cheerfully. His eyebrows seemed to bounce suggestively as his eyes leapt from one blushing face to another.

"Bouzo, if you don't get that look offa yer face right now!" Inuyasha yelled. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna make you eat those eyebrows!"

"Why Inuyasha-san no need to be so hasty." Miroku smarmed, backing away, his hands rose waving defensively. "No harm done, no harm done at all."

"Keh!"

As Sango passed by him, she nonchalantly put her elbow into his solar plexus, folding him over and bringing him to his knees, and Shippo remarked. "Kami, Miroku, I can't leave you alone for a second!"

"If we're stopping, there's a clearing just a little ways ahead." Sango said smirking over her shoulder. "Maybe ten, fifteen minutes on foot."

Then she noticed the shivering girl still sitting on the wet ground arms wrapped around her self. "Inuyasha! Did you do this?"

"Huh? Do what?"

"You great baka! Did you dump Kagome into wet snow?" She shouted grabbing hold of one of his madly flicking ears.

"Yeah, so what if I did! And hey watch the ears!"

"Oh Kagome, can you make it just a little longer?" She unzipped Kagome's back-pack still on her back and rummaged for a blanket. "Here!" She helped Kagome to her feet and wrapped the blanket around her. Scowling at the baka hanyou the entire time.

"Well, Inuyasha, if you want a sick jewel-shard detector, maybe even a dead jewel-shard detector, you just found the best way of accomplishing that task!"

"Huh?"

"She's going to get sick Inuyasha." Miroku explained pushing him aside and coming forward with his arms open. "Here, I'll warm her up. Uh, Heh heh." He backed off from Sango's glare. "Now Sango, totally innocent I assure you."

"Kagome's sick? You made Kagome sick Inuyasha!" Shippo screamed, leaping for the hanyou's head. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Inuyasha caught the little kitsune mid trajectory, and dangled the kit in front of his face by the boy's tail. "So you're gonna kill me huh?" he taunted, "you and what army?"

"Put him down!" Kagome hissed through clenched teeth.

"Why should I?" The hanyou laughed. And then at the tense silence behind him, he apprehensively turned his head and then cowered at the sight of one magnificently pissed off miko. He only had time for one small whimper before...

"Sit, sit, sit!"

"Ow!"

"Let's go Kagome-chan; we'll just leave these poor fools here." Sango pulled Kagome's blanket closer around her and led her off, Kirara sauntered after them.

Shippo started to scurry after them, but turned back around to stand at the top of the stricken Hanyou's head. The moment Inuyasha was released from the spell and raised his head from the wet forest mast, he was met by a sloppy wet snowball and Shippo sped off laughing.

"Shippo, just wait till I catch you!"

He ran at half speed, he didn't want to seem too anxious, and then he saw the rest of his group, stopped at the tree-line, staring. 'What the hell?' and then he saw a glorious sight.

"Oh great it's my asshole half-brother!"

There perched on a huge flat rock in the middle of a flower-filled clearing, basking in the late afternoon sun was his half-brother's tachi. Rin complete with a lap full of snow drops and crocuses was quietly decorating a snoring Jaken who was sprawled out next to her, his staff lying discarded to the side. Kohaku it seemed, had just risen to his feet, to confront the intruders, his blade was gleaming gold. And Sesshomaru? He was reclining against the side of the great boulder, his head thrown back, eyes closed, exposing his long white column of throat to the warm golden rays of the sun. His hair was pulled over his shoulder, glittering. It was magnificent. The scene couldn't have been more beautiful if it had been deliberately posed.

Inuyasha wanted to puke. "Wha?" The Hanyou's eyes bounced back and forth between his companions as matching moans came unconsciously from their throats. Even Miroku seemed to give out a little groan. They all seemed so mesmerized he wanted to wave his hand in front of their eyes. 'Fuck! Sango hasn't even noticed Kohaku's there.' He grabbed Kagome's shoulder and shook her. "Snap out of it wench, what's wrong with you guys? It's just my bastard of a half-brother!"

Kagome started, "Oh hi Inuyasha, are you here too?" She said dreamily.

"Kagome!" He shook her harder.

"Oh, oh! Hi Rin, Kohaku, greetings Lord Sesshomaru. Um, may we join you please?" She called softly.

It almost seemed as if the Tai youkai gave a slight nod of greeting. "Kohaku, you may stand down" he said without opening his eyes or raising his voice above a whisper.

"Kohaku!" Sango gladly exclaimed and ran to greet him, she leapt up onto the boulder without stopping and grabbed him.

"Ani-ue!" He blushed when Sango wrapped her arms around him.

"You look well," she whispered in his ear.

He nodded his head in reply. "And you sister? You are well?"

"Yes Kohaku, even better now that I can see you again."

He smiled. And she buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him hard.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Ani-ue!"

Then she sat back on her heels and grinned. "Come on, tell me everything that's happened since I saw you last."

Shippo bounced his way up onto the rock as Rin jumped up to meet him, scattering blooms everywhere. "Shippo!" She squealed and grabbed him in a huge hug.

"Hey Rin!" He squealed back. "Ya wanna see my new toys?"

Kagome walked into the sunny clearing smiling at all the happy reunions. She still shivered under the cover of her blanket but the warm sun was helping.

Miroku noticed the shiver and slipped off. "I'm going to find some dry wood Inuyasha."

"Keh, fine, whatever!" Inuyasha crossed his arms and casually sauntered into the clearing, no matter that he and his brother (half-brother! His mind corrected) hadn't fought for a while, he was still wary of being near him and in fact it seemed that just being near the seemingly perfect youkai just put his temper even more on edge than usual. 'Huh, I just hate the bastard that's all!' "Oi, Sesshomaru I gotta bone to pick with you!" It didn't help his temper that all Sesshomaru did was open one eye halfway, eye him with a slightly pained look and then languidly slide it back shut again. 'Hey! No one ignores me!' Was his first thought, 'but then again,' he thought 'that was probably the friendliest look that bastard has ever given me.'

He plopped himself down against the rock several arm lengths from his brother. (Half-brother! He mentally slapped him self.) With more patience than he ever thought he could possess, he waited for his brother to acknowledge him. (Half-brother!) 'shut-up!' he mentally shouted at him self and banged the back of his head against the rock in frustration.

And then he noticed, Sesshomaru had opened his eyes and was looking at him. 'He's laughing at me, the bastards laughing at me, I know he is.' "Uh, well, Sesshomaru, what I wanna know is, when we were coming out of the meidou, did you actually kick me?"

"Indeed, little brother, well as usual, you were too slow."

"Keh! Well I was slightly wounded, you know."

"Sometimes we all need a bit of amusement, Inuyasha."

"Asshole!"

"Inuyasha, if you use such language in front of the children again I will personally tear out that filthy organ that you call a tongue, drag it through the middens and privies of a hundred villages and stuff it back in your mouth!"

Shocked, Inuyasha found that his hands had defensively found themselves cupped around his mouth. He had just begun to bristle when Sesshomaru's head suddenly slid around towards the forest in a serpentine motion that made Inuyasha shudder.

"Jaken!" The Tai youkai shouted, startling everyone. But Jaken snored on. "Jaken!"

Jaken started up with a loud snort. "Yes! Yes milord?"

"It is time. You know what to do."

"Yes milord."

And then Sesshomaru stood up with his usual grace and stalked off.

"Oi Sesshomaru! Where are you going?" Inuyasha shouted after him and then frustrated as the Tai youkai as usual ignored him leapt to his feet and began to storm after him. Only to find a very small kappa youkai wrapped around his legs.

"No Lord Inuyasha, you cannot! Where he goes, no one can follow, not even me!"

Stunned by the kappa's sincerity, the hanyou allowed the small demon to stop him.

"What do you mean I can't follow him? I can go anywhere that asshole can!"

"No, not this time. My lord has already traveled beyond our reach."

Inuyasha grabbed Jaken by the back of his robes and held him up to his face. "What do ya mean?" He glared.

Jaken cringed. "I cannot explain, because I do not understand it my self Lord Inuyasha."

"It's true Lord Inuyasha," came Kohaku's voice. It was only then that the hanyou realized that all of the others were grouped around him. "He's done this several times and Jaken has always had to stay behind."

"Huh, well I don't like it."

What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know, something's off and I don't know what." 'There was,' he thought, 'there was something off, did he move more slowly or more stiffly, what?' he just couldn't put his finger on it. Then he suddenly realized "He was concealing his scent. Why? Hey toad, is there something wrong with my brother?"

Jaken's eyes slid from one side to another. "Why no, there is nothing wrong with my master, my master is perfect!"

"Tell me!"

Jaken looked down. "I don't know, he won't tell me. But he won't sleep and he hardly ever eats any more."

"How long, Jaken?"

"Months."

"Months," Inuyasha said slowly and dropped the Kappa to the ground.

He sniffed as best as he could along his brother's trail, 'man he's good, 'there's nothing to follow. Wait what's that?" The slightest scent of decay slid in and out of his nostrils. "That can't be right?" He said out loud, straightening from his crouch.

"What is it?" Asked Kagome kneeling by his side.

He shook his head at her, "nothing."

"He'll be all right Inuyasha, he's very strong."

"Keh! Like I care?"

"I know Inuyasha. Miroku's got a fire going, come on, I'll make ramen."

"All right, all right already, don't nag wench!"

"Come on." And she dragged him to the fire, all the others following.

"Oh and don't call me Lord anymore! That's my half-brother not me!"

--+--

Flash-back continues in next chapter

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