An Unexpected Spring

Chapter Four

'Kagome?'

Smiling, I turned around and waved at the dark-haired woman walking towards me. 'Sango,' I greeted her.

Her eyes darted uncertainly to the well behind me before returning to my face. 'How are you?' she asked softly.

I smiled gently and sat on the edge of the well, smoothing my hands over the fabric of the yukata I wore. It was deep green today. 'I'm not sure,' I admitted. 'It doesn't seem quite real.'

Sango nodded. 'I know what you mean,' she agreed, sitting down on the grass. 'Do you think Kaede's right? About… you know.'

I bit my lip, my eyebrows creasing together as I frowned. 'I… I thought about trying to go home,' I said at last. 'I figured that… if I was actually changing as Kaede thought… then the well wouldn't let me through.'

Sango's mouth dropped open in surprise. 'Did you…?'

I shook my head. 'I couldn't jump. I couldn't try.'

Relief and anxiety clouded my friend's face and I felt bad for burdening her with my problem. 'It seems so… impossible,' Sango whispered. 'And to think that no one even knew what that woman was.'

I nodded silently in agreement.

It had now been a week since I'd been injured by the crazed woman. My wound had healed fully, though it had only been the day before last that my strength had begun to return. Even now, I felt exceptionally weak and I knew I'd probably be asleep before sundown. Nothing else felt different though. There was nothing to suggest that Kaede was right. My sight and hearing hadn't miraculously improved and I didn't have a sudden urge to kill anything.

It seemed more and more unlikely that Kaede had been correct - which made the way she stared at me even more disconcerting. Every so often, I would find her frowning in my direction, as though I were a waiting time bomb. Perhaps that's what she thought I was. That maybe one day I would suddenly transform into a gigantic true form and attack the village. It wasn't a happy thought.

'Inuyasha's worried about you,' Sango said quietly, pulling me from my thoughts.

I flinched unhappily. I hadn't seen Inuyasha since he'd left the hut following Kaede's words. He probably still thought just being around me would kill me. 'Is he okay?' I asked softly.

Sango nodded slowly. 'He'll be fine. He just doesn't know how to help.'

We sat in silence for another few minutes while I contemplated telling Sango about my encounter with Sesshomaru in the future. I felt like something was holding me back though, even if I couldn't work out what it was.

So it was Sango who broke the silence yet again. 'Why did you protect him?' Sango whispered eventually.

I lifted my eyes to her stricken face, knowing instantly who "he" was. 'Sango…'

'He's tried to kill you,' Sango continued and I dropped my gaze to the grass at my feet. 'And Inuyasha told us what happened before you were hurt. Kagome,' she begged, forcing me to lift my eyes back to her face. 'Is there something going on that we should know about?'

'I wanted to make sure Rin recovered,' I replied honestly, even if it wasn't the complete truth. 'I would have come back eventually,' I added.

'Eventually?' Sango echoed. She opened her mouth, hesitated and then just shook her head. 'You know what? I don't care,' she said gently. 'You're here and you're going to be okay. That's all the matters.'

I slipped off the edge of the well to kneel beside Sango, pulling her into a tight hug. 'You're such a good friend, Sango,' I told her.

She laughed, wrapping her arms around me too.

We spent the next few hours ignoring the reality that we knew we had to return to. Until the sky began to darken, we simply laid in the grass, laughing and gossiping like we had so many times before. It made the question of my endangered humanity seem so irrelevant and so far away. Which was exactly what I'd needed.

Eventually though, the impending darkness forced us to our feet and we began wandering back to Kaede's village. Sango nodded approvingly at the weapon slung over my shoulder. 'I'm glad you thought to bring your bow,' she said.

I touched the smooth wood of the bow in question; an action I'd come to find reassuring. 'It never hurts to be prepared,' I said a little wryly. For a moment, I wondered if my conflict with the wild woman would have gone differently if I'd had my bow and arrows with me. Shaking my head, I decided it wasn't worth thinking about the what-if's.

'Kagome,' Sango said sharply, her hand suddenly pulling me to a stop.

I glanced at her in alarm and quickly followed her tense gaze. At the very edge of the tree line, a demon (probably lizard, judging by his scaly appearance and clawed hands) stood with his eyes fixed on the pair of us.

'Now this is interesting,' he murmured, his voice raspy as he took a step closer.

I realised with a jolt that his eyes were fixed entirely on me. I shivered, unable to help it. I felt as though ice was slowly working its way out from my side. The side where I'd been stabbed. I knew in the moment that this encounter couldn't last for very long.

With practiced moments, I lifted the bow from my shoulder and nocked an arrow. 'There's nothing of interest here,' I told him firmly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sango's startled glance.

The lizard laughed. 'On the contrary, I still have not worked out what you are, little female.'

I pressed my lips together, trying to ignore the unease that threatened to overwhelm me. Still the strange feeling emanated from my side.

'You appear human,' he continued. 'Yet if I'm not mistaken, you fight like a miko.'

'Alright,' Sango spoke up as I froze, drawing her own weapon. 'We've heard enough, demon. Leave.'

His eyes swept over Sango just briefly. 'I am not concerned with you, slayer.'

For the brief moment, I wondered if I was wrong. At first I'd thought him to be a low-level demon; something that we could deal with easily. But this one appeared quite intelligent and quite aware of what we were. I decided there was really only one thing to do.

Taking a gentle breath, I called on my miko powers. A second later, I was still searching in what felt like a pitch black void for them. Anxiety made a shiver run down my spine.

The demon's eyes returned to me. 'What's wrong, little female?' he questioned. 'Are you scared?'

If only he knew. Gritting my teeth, I let the arrow fly without my powers. It took him by surprise and although he sprung sideways, it still embedded in his shoulder.

'Ah,' he hissed, his eyes narrowing manically. 'There was no bite in that one.'

I watched, horrified, as he gripped the arrow in one clawed hand, removing it like the stick it was. Without my powers, it would be fairly trivial to a demon no matter their strength. Bluffing was my only option. I nocked another arrow and aimed for his heart again. 'That was my warning,' I told him. 'Leave us alone.'

For a moment, he narrowed his eyes on me. Even Sango stood still and I realised with a jolt that they both believed me. I desperately wished for a way I could let Sango know I was bluffing but there was nothing I could do that wouldn't tip the demon off as well. My eyes never wavered.

His eyes finally dropped to the arrow still in his hand. He lifted it to his eyes and rolled it in his fingers before meeting my gaze again. He threw it to one side and took a step forward. 'Let's dance, then.'

'Sango,' I whispered.

'Got it,' she said, stepping in front of me.

Whether it was because I was so shocked by my latest discovery or for whatever reason, I hardly heard Sango's next words. I did see her attack though; the giant boomerang-like bone destroying the lizard quite easily.

I realised distantly that I'd been correct in my first assumption. He had been a low-level demon. Which meant that I was now in serious trouble.

Carefully, Sango replaced Hiraikotsu over her shoulder before turning to look at me. 'Kagome?' she whispered.

'We should go back,' I replied just as quietly.

Sango just nodded. We turned together and headed for the village. After our earlier laughter, our walk was solemn and awkward. Several times I considered saying something to stop Sango from worrying but several times I could think of nothing to ease her mind. Because we both knew the truth.

My miko powers were gone.

…

I saw Inuyasha that night for the first time in a week.

We were all gathered in Kaede's hut for dinner; Kaede, Sango, Miroko, Shippo, Kirara and myself. Then Inuyasha was standing just inside the room, his arrival remarkably quiet for once.

Shippo sat up straight. 'You're back!'

My eyes swung towards Shippo as everyone groaned. 'What?' I said, my eyes returning to Inuyasha who looked like he was mentally cursing Shippo to a very nasty death. 'You were gone?'

I'd just thought Inuyasha was avoiding me on Kaede's advice.

'Feh,' was all he said, taking a seat on the other side of the group to where I sat. 'Is there more food?'

'Here you go, Inuyasha,' Kaede said, holding out a bowl she'd been filling since his arrival.

He took it silently and began eating. I noticed that everyone else fixed their attention on their bowls as well.

I stared at him, not at all dissuaded. 'Inuyasha… where were you?'

He stuffed his mouth once more, chewed and swallowed before looking up at me. 'It doesn't matter,' he said, irritation evident in his tone. 'It didn't work out so just drop it.'

From the way everyone's shoulders slumped, I knew that they knew. This was one big secret and I was the only one who didn't know what it was.

I slammed my bowl onto the mats, unable to help the anger I felt. 'Well, guess what? I have news too and I'm not going to hide it from anyone.'

Sango's head shot towards me, her eyes wide. In fact, the entire group's eyes were wide.

I crossed my arms in a very Inuyasha-like gesture. 'Sango and I were confronted by a lizard demon today,' I told the group. 'I tried to kill him and…'

Silence stretched out as my determination wavered. Acting in the face of anger was never a good idea…

'Did you call on your miko powers?' Kaede asked gently.

I stared fixedly at the mat, my anger deserting me. 'I tried,' I said quietly. 'But I… I couldn't… find them.'

Silence greeted my words. I could tell that no one knew what to say but I knew it was the right thing to tell them. After all, if I couldn't fight I would be a burden to them. They needed to know this.

'I think you should try going through the well,' Sango said suddenly, surprising everyone.

'What?' Inuyasha demanded.

'She should trying going through the well,' Sango persisted. 'Maybe the dagger is just destroying her miko abilities but not her humanity.'

'And what if she gets trapped in her time while she's changing?' Inuyasha shot back.

'If she gets through she can just come straight back,' Sango argued. 'Then at least we'd know more.'

'No,' Inuyasha said firmly.

'It does… make some sense,' Miroko said slowly.

'You can't be serious,' Inuyasha snarled.

'It might help us find out what is happening,' Kaede conceded.

'And what if it makes things worse?' Inuyasha nearly shouted. 'What if the well reacts to how she's changed already? You don't know what could happen.'

'There is that too,' Kaede agreed, deep furrows between her brows.

'It could be suicide,' Inuyasha told the group fiercely. 'You can't just play with her life like that.'

Everyone fell abruptly silent and I stared at Inuyasha open mouthed. 'Inuyasha…'

He shot to his feet. 'Whatever,' he snarled, disappearing outside. I stared after him, stunned for a few moments. Then I got to my feet too.

'Kagome,' Kaede cautioned.

'I'll be fine,' I said hurriedly, rushing outside after the hanyou.

The sky had now darkened but I caught sight of Inuyasha's silver hair and red clothes at the tree line. 'Inuyasha,' I called, hurrying towards him. I considered running but decided I didn't want to risk getting too tired, especially given today's events.

His back was to me when I finally got there. 'What do you want?' he demanded, though there was no fire in his words.

'Where were you?' I asked, my breathing slightly laboured. I was so weak.

Inuyasha sighed and looked up at the trees. 'I didn't tell you where I was going,' he said after a long moment, 'because I didn't want to give you false hope.'

'And now that it didn't work out?' I persisted, moving to stand beside him.

His eyes dropped to my face. 'And now I'm still not going to tell you because I don't want you to dwell on something that didn't work out.'

For a long moment, I had nothing to say. It was the kindest thing he'd ever done for me. Then I just smiled. 'Thank you, Inuyasha.'

He snorted and turned his head away. 'Only you could thank me when I've just failed you.'

I continued to smile. 'You didn't fail me, Inuyasha,' I disagreed lightly. 'You did everything you could.'

He was silent for a long pause. Then he turned back to the village. 'Come on,' he said.

Satisfied that he was going back to Kaede's and not remaining out in the night, I turned and matched my step with his. 'You didn't finish your dinner,' I commented.

'Neither did you.'

'Ah, but I…'

Inuyasha turned when I stopped walking, his eyes narrowed on my face. 'Kagome?'

I frowned at him, wondering why I suddenly felt nauseous. 'I…' Suddenly I bent over, coughing. My knees buckled and hit the group, my hands meeting the group as well.

'Kagome,' Inuyasha called in alarm, dropping to his knees beside me.

The coughing passed just as quickly as it had begun and after taking a few deep breaths, I was able to sink back to sit on my heels and look up at Inuyasha.

His eyes went wide. 'Kagome…'

I froze, even as I realised what had shocked him. Lifting a shaky hand, I wiped at my mouth. When I took my hand away, I stared at the bright red blood on my fingers. I raised horrified eyes to Inuyasha's. 'Inuyasha…' I whispered, frightened.

'Here,' he said, gently pulling me into his arms.

Standing, Inuyasha doubled his earlier pace back towards Kaede's hut. He was gentle though, and soon he was stepping back inside.

'Kagome,' Sango called out, alarmed at seeing me being carried.

'No, Shippo,' I heard Miroko say and from the following howl, I knew Miroko had detained the young kit from coming to me.

'Over here,' Kaede spoke briskly. 'Then you should leave, Inuyasha.'

He lowered me onto the futon Kaede stood beside and then he vanished from my sight. I opened my mouth to call him back, but then Kaede was leaning over me and wiping the remaining blood away gently with a cloth.

'What happened?' she asked.

'I felt fine,' I told her, my body shaking with stress. 'We'd just started walking back when I started coughing.'

Kaede nodded and moved away. Rolling onto my side, I watched her fill a new kettle with water and place it over the heat. I realised that everyone else had left and felt a pang of guilt. Kaede shuffled to the side of the hut and collected a few leaves. I knew what she was making and found I didn't mind.

We waited in silence for a few minutes until the water was hot and the leaves had been boiled. Kaede poured some of the remedy into a cup and handed it to me.

'Thank you,' I said, sitting up before blowing on the liquid to cool it.

Kaede just nodded heavily. 'You must be careful, Kagome,' she warned me.

I hesitated and then took my time drinking the tea. By the time I was done, I could already feel my limbs getting heavy and my eyelids wanting to close. Kaede took the cup from my hands and I lay down, thanking her again as she drew a blanket over me.

I sighed and closed my eyes. 'I thought I was being careful, Kaede,' I told her quietly.

'Shh,' she said gently. 'Rest now. I will watch over you.'

'Thank you,' I whispered just as I let go and allowed a deep sleep to claim me.

…

A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Thanks so much for your reviews on the previous chapter. I've loved hearing your thoughts on my writing.

Also, I've received some comments regarding the quotation marks I use (' and '). Thanks so much for the gentle feedback. I really do appreciate it. However, I'm an Australian and that's the sort of quotation marks that we use. Honestly, I do prefer the double quotation marks (" and ") but it's incorrect for me to use that sort of punctuation with my university papers and any other sort of writing I might do. So I apologise for the confusion, but it's just not possible for me to use the American style of punctuation because it would be a bad habit for me to develop. Thanks for your understanding!

Now that the festive season is over, I'm hoping to update regularly again. Just letting you know =)