Chapter Four: Home

Kagome closed her eyes as she felt warm water pour over her head. Blinking the drops from her eyes she looked over at Sango as the girl smiled warmly at her. The older girl had helped her into the tub to get cleaned up once the indigo eyed male declared that she was thoroughly defrosted. His words, not hers. He had ordered her in a kind voice to the bathroom to wash up. Sango had offered her assistance and Kagome had protested to the idea that she needed help in the shower, but when she stood and almost fell over, Miroku if she remembered his name correctly, claimed he would give her another look once she was washed and changed with the help of Sango.

"Thank you for your help, but I can shower on my own. I'm not a child." Kagome said quietly as she pulled her knees closer to her chest to cover her body, making the water around her ripple with her movements. The burn on her hip stung as she folded herself up.

This was embarrassing. She really hated being naked around people. With he mr background one would think she wouldn't care. Countless men have seen her naked. But she hated how it made her feel. Like anyone could hurt her and they had. She had come to see her discarded black dress as shield that protected her from everything. Once she was in that little dress no one would be able to get to her. Now as she sat there bare to the other girl she felt self conscience of all the cuts and scars on her body.

"I know you aren't, but there are spots on your back you couldn't reach and the cuts needed to be cleaned carefully. We don't want you to get an infection. Besides I don't mind helping," Sango said with a shrug as she grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the side of the tub. Squeezing a good bit of it on Kagome's hair she put the bottle down and started to run her hands through the long dirty strands. Her goal was getting out all the blood and grime from it. She was also trying to get the tangles out and keep the suds off her back. It was not an easy feat. "It's nice to have someone take care of you."

The smaller girl wanted to counter back that she didn't need someone to take care of her but the scratching of Sango's nails over her scalp distracted her. Closing her eyes she let her head fall forward onto her knees. She wasn't used to this kind of attention but she wasn't going to truly complain when the massage her head was getting felt so soothing. For the first time someone had their hands in her hair and wasn't yanking on it.

"Your hair is so long," The older girl commented off handedly as she tugged playfully at the ends that floated on the water. "When was the last time you cut it?"

"Never," Kagome muttered from her knees. Her eyes squeezing shut as the shampoo got in cut on her back.

"I can cut it for you if you'd like? Get all those dead ends off." Sango said as she smiled at the girl's bent form. The bruises on her body stood out against her pale skin, earlier they could easily make out finger marks on the bruise on her neck. The cuts on her back and the burn on her hip worried Sango the most though. She would be sure to tell Miroku about it once they were done in here.

A knock on the bathroom door made Kagome jump and let slip a startled squeak, she looked at the door with wide blue eyes. Her gaze never left the door, it was almost as if she was afraid that something was going to burst through and drag her back to the hell she came from.

"It's okay. It's probably just one of the boys with clothes for you." Sango said in a soothing tone as she gently pulled her hands from the girl's hair and grabbed the bowl from the floor. Looking at the water in the tub she made a face at the pink color it had turned because of the blood on the girl's body. Pulling the plug again she waited for the water to drain. Watching the dirty water disappear down the drain, Sango wonder if this girl had ever been treated kindly in her life. It was easy to see that she had been abused. There was no doubt about it at this point. She was jumpy and so malnourished it was amazing that she was even able to function. Getting her to open up to them wasn't going to be easy.

Another impatient knock came from the door and it shook Sango out of her thoughts. "Come in!"

The door to the bathroom opened quietly letting Inuyasha into the room. The dog ears on his head twitched towards the sound of the draining water as he placed the items in his hands on the vanity counter. "Here is a towel and the clothes you asked for. I brought her some of mine. I wasn't about to go searching through yours and Miroku's room for the ones you said would fit her and Miroku is too busy daydreaming about you bathing her to be of much help. The pervert."

"Thank you Inuyasha." Sango said as she pushed the plug back into the drain and turned the water on to refill the tub. With a sigh she let her hands rake through Kagome's hair again trying to get any areas that she had missed. "We are almost done."

"Feh, whatever." Inuyasha said as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

Kagome watched him as he moved. Since they were now indoors away from the snow she noticed that he had changed clothes. The grey wifebeater that he had on showed off his muscular arms. Turning her head away from him she felt her face start to heat up. She's never been so affected by a male before in her life. It had to be from the warm water. Yeah, that's what it was. She squeaked in surprise as Sango dropped more water over her head. When had she turned the water off?

"Hey," His voice called out again in the quiet bathroom. His face was turned towards the door. "I was wondering.."

Sango looked over her shoulder at him expectantly for a moment before she turned around and continued to wash the shampoo out of the girls hair. "What's up Yash?"

"You think I could get some photos of her injuries?" Scratching the back of his neck he glanced over at the two girls. "I wanna send them to Sesshomaru."

"You think this is something bad enough for Sesshomaru to look into?" As they talked, she grabbed the conditioner bottle from the floor and dropped a glob of that one onto Kagome's hair before she ran her hands through it to spread the conditioner. There were still some tangles but with a good brushing it would most likely come out. If not, she would talk to her about letting her cut it again.

"That bastard's a cop. Even if it's nothing serious, at least we could get the guy who did this to her on assault and battery or domestic abuse."

"That's up to her Inuyasha. It's her body. Hand me that comb will you?" She said as she held her hand out behind her for the item that sat on the counter.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at the comb and picked it up with a clawed hand before he put it in Sango's waiting grip. He watched as she brought it forward and started to comb the dark hair of the girl in the tub trying to get all the knots and tangles out carefully. Bringing his amber gaze up to the new girl he watched her carefully. "Well?"

Glancing over at him, she saw the expectant look on his face. Were they actually asking her for permission? Her eyes widened again as she looked between him and Sango. She blinked in shock. She could say no? Shaking her head at him she looked away towards the shower wall. "I would like it if you didn't."

"Bu-"

"She said no," Sango said stopping the comb mid brush through Kagome's hair and looked her shoulder over at him. "Accept it Inuyasha. Why don't you go wait in the living room with Miroku. We'll be done soon."

"Fine," Inuyasha growled as he pushed himself away from the counter and out the door slamming it closed behind him with such force it made the wall shake.

Kagome flinched at the sound and looked at her knees that were still against her chest. "I didn't mean to make him angry."

"You didn't. Inuyasha is a bit rough around the edges. He only asked because he wants to help, though he will never admit it." Sango said with a wink as she lifted Kagome's chin up to tip her head back. "Just gotta wash the conditioner out, get you dressed, and then Miroku can look your injuries."

"Why are you helping me?" Kagome asked quietly. This question has been eating at her since the car ride over here. She wasn't used to anyone being nice to her, with the exception of Bankotsu, no even seemed to care if she lived. This entire situation was almost too much for her.

Sango looked at Kagome with her head cocked to the side as she poured water over the girl's hair. "Because you're hurt and it's the right thing to do. If we had left you out there you would never have lasted the night. I can't see someone in pain and not help them it's not how my father raised me."

Kagome gave a short nod as she closed her eyes as another bowl full of water moved through her hair into the tub and the scent of flowers filled the air as she thought about what had been said. She was grateful for this small group in all honestly. They were willing to help a complete stranger. When most people would have just left her on the street the trio had welcomed her into their home. Kagome sighed as the older girl dropped more warm water over her head and did her best to get all the conditioner out and she turned to blink at Sango when she made a contented sound.

"And we are done." Sango announced with glee as she put the bowl down on the tiled floor and leaned forward to pull the plug. Getting up she pushed the stool she was sitting on to the side and grabbed the towel off the counter where Inuyasha had placed it.

Gripping the sides of the tub Kagome grunted as she stood on shaky legs. She took the offered towel as Sango helped her from the tub. The warmth of the water had soothed her aching body. Kagome sighed as she wrapped the fluffy yellow towel around her and started to dry herself off and grunted in annoyance as her hair fell into her face. With a huff she pushed the long bangs out of her way and blinked as she caught movement to her left. Looking up she stopped moving as she saw her reflection in the mirror that sat above the sink. For the first time Kagome got a look at herself. Her hand dropped from her hair to her side as she glared at her copy in the glass. This couldn't be her. The girl that stared back at her looked almost alien, her eyes were too wide for her face and had sunken into her skull, the dark circles from lack of sleep didn't help this at all. In fact it made it worse and she was sure she looked like death itself. Her cheekbones looked too prominent and the small cut on her face had started to bruise from the slap she had received. She looked… sick.

Sango turned to watch the girl as she viewed herself in the mirror. Slowly she moved towards her and placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder gently. "Hey, I know it looks bad right now but with time, a few good meals, and some sleep you'll be good as new."

Kagome nodded her head as she looked away from the mirror. She didn't like the creature that looked back at her.

Sango grabbed the light grey shirt Inuyasha had given from the pile and shook it out before she pulled it over Kagome's head quickly. "We should hurry the boys are waiting."

"Yeah," Kagome whispered as she pushed her arms through the arms of the shirt. Dropping the towel to the floor she used her now free hands to pull the shirt down as Sango turned to grab the sweatpants from the counter. Taking offered pants from the other girl, Kagome leaned down and started to lift her right leg and gasped a bit as the burn on her hip pinched in pain when she bent to put the pants on and almost lost her footing.

Sango quickly to grab the girl's shoulders to help steady her. "Easy. Are you okay?"

Kagome nodded slightly as she put her right foot into the pants and then the other. Taking in a deep breath she pulled the pants up to her hips where they sat loosely. She looked up at Sango with a small smile. "Thank you."

"You should roll the top down a few times. That should help with the length so you aren't tripping." Sango informed with a smile before she moved around Kagome to grab the towel from the floor. Carefully she used the towel to dry the girl's hair as best she could and turned to grab a brush from a drawer in the vanity. Sliding it closed with her hip she pulled Kagome's hair back with the bristles happy that all the tangles had come out. She made quick work of braiding the girl's hair out of the way and wrapped a hair tie from her wrist around the tail. "Looks like your back isn't bleeding anymore!"

The smaller girl smiled again as she finished rolling the pants to fit her better. She glanced over her shoulder at Sango. "That's good."

"Come on, Miroku wants to look at you one more time. Now don't be scared of him, I know he's a lecher but he works in an Emergency room. He know's what he's doing." Sango said with a small smile as she put her hands on the girl's shoulders again before she moved around her to the bathroom door and looked back over at the girl with a smile. "Plus Inuyasha and I will be there, anything funny happens and we will take care of it!"

"O-okay." Kagome nodded again as she followed the taller girl out of the bathroom. She looked around the hallway at the photos that decorated the white walls as she moved through slowly the halls towards the living area. She could hear the two boys talking as they got closer to the living room. She was surprised to see so many lights on in this house it was almost like none of them liked the dark but she wasn't about to complain about it.

"I just don't see why she wouldn't let me take those photos." Inuyasha's gruff voice sounded from the room just off the living room.

"I've seen stuff like this before. You just have to give her some time, usually people who have been abused don't trust easily. Most don't want photos cause their scared the photos might get back to their abusers." Miroku answered as he moved around the coffee table. He held all kinds of medical objects in his hands. Placing the items on the table he looked up at the other man who stood in the kitchen leaning back on his arms that sat on the counter. "For now I am more concerned that she could get an infection if the injuries aren't treated properly. From the looks of what we saw before, they weren't."

Sango cleared her throat and watched as both boys turned their heads to look at her and Kagome. "Are you ready Miroku?"

"Always my dear Sango." Miroku said with a smile as he straightened up and gestured towards the couch. "Come sit down and we will get you fixed up."

"Miroku, may I speak to you for a moment?" Sango said as she indicated towards the kitchen as she watched Kagome move to sit on the couch with a slight wince.

Miroku nodded and started to follow Sango from the room but the voice of the small girl on the couch stopped them.

"If it's about my hip there no point in being quiet about it." Kagome huffed as she looked at the couple and then down at the rug on the wooden floor.

"What happened to your hip?" Inuyasha questioned as he moved his arms across his chest and moved towards the dining room table but he didn't make any moves to sit down.

But seeing that Kagome wasn't going to say anything about it, Sango looked over at Miroku with a sigh as she fiddled with the ring on her left hand. "There's a burn on her hip. It's in the shape of a spider."

"A spider?" Both boys asked in confusion. Inuyasha's brows knitted together as he stared at Sango.

Miroku looked at the girl on the couch with a curious gaze but nodded his head slowly and moved towards Kagome. "Now, let's take a look at your injuries shall we?"

"Yeah." Kagome said as she tried not to flinched back when Miroku turned her head gently to the side to take a look at the cut and bruise on her cheek.

"That looks like it will heal just fine." Miroku said as he grabbed a small tube off the table along with a Q-Tip. "This is just basic antibiotic ointment that will help with healing."

Kagome nodded her head as she listen to the man explain what he was doing. It was slightly calming for her cause she knew exactly what was happening and she had to option to stop it.

"I realized," Miroku said after he dabbed the ointment on her cut and placed the dirty Q-tip on a paper towel on the table. Grabbing a small package he ripped it open and took a bandage from it. Carefully, he placed a small butterfly stitch bandage on the cut on her cheek and started to get more of the items on the table prepared for the other injuries. "In all the excitement of tonight we never got your name."

The small girl blinked at him for a moment before she knitted her brows together, had she really failed to mention that? But at the same time they didn't ask. She looked up at them all again with wide blue eyes.

"Well? You going to tell us or what wench?" Inuyasha snapped as he narrowed his eyes at her. He still wasn't sure about this girl and the situation she was running from. He made a mental note to call Sesshomaru in the morning, as much as he didn't like his half brother he might be useful at this point.

"Inuyasha!" Sango scolded as she smacked his shoulder. "Be nice to her!"

"Ignore him," Miroku said with a smile at her. "Can you lay down on your stomach and pull your shirt up so I can look at your back?"

Moving so she was laying comfortably on the couch she winced as the burn scraped against the borrowed shirt as she lifted it to rest below her breasts to expose as much of the cuts she could without taking off the shirt then moved her arms to pillow her head like a cushion. "Kagome."

Miroku turned his face towards her after a moment pausing in his examination of the whip marks on her back. "I'm sorry?"

"You asked my name," She muttered as she looked at the coffee table. "It's Kagome."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kagome." Miroku said with a smile as he started tending to her cuts again. "I'm Miroku. The one that helped you shower was the lovely Sango, and the gruff disagreeable one is Inuyasha."

"Disagreeable!?" Inuyasha shouted at the man with a twitch of his dark eyebrow as he raised his fist at the other man. "I'll show you disagreeable you lecher!"

Sango rolled her eyes and pushed Inuyasha towards the stove and followed him to grab some mugs from the cabinet. "Shut up. Go make some tea or something!"

"Now Kagome," Miroku said completely ignoring the other two in the room as they bickered. "Do you have any place to go? Where do you live?"

Kagome just shook her head and buried her face in her arms. "No. But I'm sure I can find one.."

"Do you have any money for a room?" Inuyasha's annoyed voice called from the kitchen. He had started up a pot of water in the kettle after Sango threatened to yank on his ears.

"No…But I'll be fine on my own. I'll get out of your way once this is finished."

"Nonsense!" Miroku said as he worked making sure all the cuts were cleaned. "I don't want you out in the elements until you are healed up. Until then you can stay with us."

"No, I couldn't!" Kagome said in shock as she turned to look at the man.

"What?!" Inuyasha yelled at the same time as Kagome did as he whipped around from the stove towards the living room area. "Where are we going to put her!?"

"Your room." Miroku smiled at him with a gleam in his indigo eyes as he leaned back to grab the gauze from the table. "You get the couch Inuyasha!"

"No wa-" Inuyasha protested as he moved towards the living, his bare feet padding on the wooden floor.

"So it's settled," Sango said with a smile as she walked from the kitchen to lean over the back of the couch interrupting Inuyasha's yelling. She watched as the younger girl leaned up on her arms to get a look at Miroku in shock. "Welcome home Kagome!"

Kagome's eyes widened again before she laid flat on her stomach again and buried her face deeper into her arms. A smile spread across her lips as she listened to the three of them bicker with each other, Miroku's laugh drowning out the other voices. 'Home.' She liked the sound of that.

A/N: I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter, I have been stupid busy with work and other things my life has decided to throw at me. But here is chapter four, I know it's not much and honestly probably not that interesting but there it is and I am hoping to get chapter five out to you this weekend and be back on track for every weekend updates. Just letting you all know that I am still alive and still invested in this story. Thanks for reading and being patient!