Chapter 6

"Mother she keeps getting worse." Inuyasha complained to Takimi in the corridor one morning. He had just come from his childhood friend's room and was worried for her. Although they didn't always get along she was like a sister to him and he felt the need to care for her when she was in need. He worried that she was dying. "This morning I couldn't even get her to eat, and she always eats for me. But I couldn't even force her. She's wasting away, mother! At this rate she will surely die!" he exclaimed, his fear for her obvious in his voice.

"I do not know what to do my son. We cannot help her now." Takimi replied. Then both of them stiffened at the voice of Sesshoumaru not realizing that he had come up behind them.

"Good morning. Mother, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru greeted.

Takimi spun around, startled. "Good morning, Sesshoumaru, dear." she greeted him, trying to act nonchalant.

He looked at her then at Inuyasha's worried expression. That made him curious. "What troubles you, little brother?" he asked mockingly.

Inuyasha stiffened. Was he not allowed to talk about Kagome with Sesshoumaru? He wasn't sure, so he looked to his mother for help.

Takimi read the plea in her youngest son's eyes. "Inuyasha is worried about a friend of his." she answered quickly, taking Sesshoumaru's focus off of his brother and onto her.

"Is that so?" he asked quirking an eyebrow.

Takimi sighed internally, she hadn't lied after all, but she hadn't told the whole truth either. "Yes. He's worried because she has lost her love and she is so distraught that she has stopped eating. We fear that she will waist away and eventually die." she summed up Kagome's situation for him.

"I see." he said as he turned on his heel to leave, "I must go meet Shizune in the gardens" he said while leaving.

But as Takimi watched him turn to leave she glanced down the corridor behind him and her eyes went wide.

Inuyasha watched as his mother seemingly went into shock. "What is wrong mother?" he questioned.

Before Takimi could answer he heard Kagome call out to his mother and saw Sesshoumaru halt his movements and just stand there, staring.

* * * *

Kagome was like a shadow of herself. She was wondering without cause or thought, she just wanted out of that damn room. It had become too small and she was suffocating, and she was suffering.

Servants gasped as she passed them in the halls. She wore a robe over her sleeping kimono, and her clothes were hanging off of her because of all the weight she had lost. Her hair was unkempt, her face looked tortured and her eyes were dull. All the servants were scared that she had indeed died and this was her ghost haunting the palace in search of her lost lover.

As she turned a blind corner she saw Takimi and called out to her. She didn't notice Inuyasha and only saw Sesshoumaru as he turned to leave. Her eyes went wide, and her body stilled its movements.

* * * *

The first thing Inuyasha did after hearing Kagome was look at his brother. Sesshoumaru looked like he was in shock as he turned toward that sad little voice. Before Inuyasha or Takimi could stop him he was right in front of her.

She was so startled when the very person she'd been trying to stay away from suddenly materialized in front of her that she instinctively took a step back, but she tripped on the hem of her robes and fell to the floor and stared wide eyed at him crying.

Sesshoumaru knelt down to get a closer look at this wraith of a woman that seemed so familiar yet he couldn't remember having ever met her. He was so confused he didn't know what to think of her, but there was this screaming in the depths of his being telling him that he had to help her.

Unsure of why he felt this way he turned toward his mother. "Mother, who is this?"

Takimi sighed. Knowing she couldn't just get him to dismiss this she had to think of something quickly to avoid any serious damage to her son while he was still under the influence of that vile woman that he had brought home. So she laid a hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "My son, this is Kagome." she said, her voice lilting in a sad way.

"Kagome." he said, looking up at his mother, taking note of the somewhat sad look upon her face. He then turned his attention back to the sobbing mess of a woman on the floor in front of him. "What is wrong with her? Is she dying?" She has to be, he thought, no healthy woman would look like this.

Takimi looked toward Kagome as she spoke. "I fear she will die. She suffers so."

Sesshoumaru just stared at her, it did seem like she has suffered a great deal. He watched as his mother moved toward the young woman and lifted her.

"I'll just take her back to her room." she said as she turned back toward Kagome's room. But she turned back briefly to address her youngest. "Inuyasha, go and fetch your father."

Inuyasha nodded, then took off to find the Great Lord not exactly knowing what he should tell him when he found him.

"Mother, you shouldn't be carrying her." Sesshoumaru said as he stepped toward her and lifted the crying girl from her arms.

As soon as he took her, Kagome quieted and buried her face into the hallow of his throat. Takimi and Sesshoumaru gave a questioning look at each other.

"Her room is this way." Takimi said as she turned down the way Kagome had come from.

Takimi led him to Kagome's room and told Sesshoumaru to put her to bed. All the time Takimi watched her eldest son carefully.

When they were back in the corridor, Sesshoumaru turned to his mother.

"What ails her, mother?"

Takimi looked into his eyes and saw that they were full of compassion and worry for the girl and hope bloomed inside her.

"The man she was betrothed to has forsaken her. And now I fear she will grieve herself to death." Takimi sighed. "She still loves him a great deal and yet he has taken another. Very tragic."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Where is her family?" he asked curiously. "Shouldn't they be taking care of her or at least be here? She looks as though she only has days left."

Takimi looked down at her hands. "Sadly, she has no kin. We have taken her in."

Just then the Great Lord came down the hallway. "My dearest, what happened? Inuyasha seemed rather upset." he said as he joined them outside of Kagome's door.

Takimi turned to her son. "Sesshoumaru, dear, would you mind keeping an eye on Kagome while I talk to your father?"

He nodded and went into the room.

***************

"What happened?" Toga said as he watched Sesshoumaru disappear into Kagome's room. "What's wrong with her and why is Sesshoumaru here?"

Takimi gently smiled. "She was wondering the halls and he was on his way to the gardens. My love you should have seen it! When she saw him she stumbled and fell, and he went to her!" she told him excitedly. "She called out to me, and when he heard her voice it was like he couldn't move. It was like he was having some sort of internal struggle. But even though he did not recognize her he was still drawn to her."

The Great Lord thought on this for a moment. "Maybe we could get around this spell if he seemed to be fighting it as you say."

She nodded. "Yes, it seemed as though he was fighting his instincts, but they won out and he went to her as she sobbed on the floor."

Her mate nodded. "This is good news indeed; maybe we should observe Sesshoumaru whenever he meets her. It seems we are onto something my love." he said as he kissed the back of her hand.

"Yes it does." she agreed. "Shall we check on him now?"

He nodded and opened the door to Kagome's room and ushered his mate in ahead of him.

When they entered the room they saw that Kagome had fallen into a fitful sleep. But it was Sesshoumaru that gave them hope.

He sat in a chair at the edge of the bed with his fists clenched into the blankets as if he were in pain. Upon a closer look though it seemed as though he was lost in thought.

'At least there is hope for him.' Toga thought as he saw how the girl's pain was affecting his son. He walked up behind Sesshoumaru and put a hand on his shoulder. "Tragic, is it not?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru was startled out of his thoughts at his father's words but only nodded in response.