Chapter Six

"Ow! Damnit woman!"

"Stop your complaining or you can take care of this yourself." She said flatly before yanking another arrow out of his torso. "You know it's your own damn fault, I could have handled myself just fine."

"Whatever." He said then hissed as she poured peroxide on the wounds.

"Don't start with me." She said as the thunder echoed in the distance.

He shut his trap at that, after the curious event of the other day the other's came to realize that if Kagome got really mad or upset the thunder would roll. It was the only sign they had to tell them when her emotions were in turmoil since she was practically deadpan any other time.

And the reason she was plucking arrows out of him was because they'd run into a human contingent of Naraku's forces. She'd been set to deal with it, but the idiot hanyou decided to jump in her way to 'protect' her; she'd nearly beheaded him herself when he jumped into his old ways.

"Maybe this time you'll learn your lesson." She said absently as she started winding the bandages around his torso. He winced again, usually she was much more careful but not this time, now she worked quickly and efficiently.

"Fat chance of that happening, you know how my brain works." He said through clenched teeth.

"I won't argue that." She said as she tied the bandages off.

"Kagome, thanks."

She stopped for a moment before nodding and rising to her feet to check on the youkai lord, he too jumped in the way and now had several arrows sticking out of his upper chest, shoulders and back. "Really turning yourself into a youkai pincushion, I've come to expect stuff like that from your brother but seeing you act just as foolishly is just plain crazy."

"I do not need your help Miko." He said half heartedly.

"Oh please, how are you going to get the arrows out of your back? You can't reach them." She said as she knelt next to him. "You're haori is ruined."

"It will heal with me."

"Now that's just weird." She said with a shake of her head before gently probing around the first arrow. "Yup, it's turned."

He sighed and braced himself as she rested a hand on his chest before carefully turning the arrow with the other. He really didn't need her help since his skin would expel the arrows on it's own, but at the moment she was more like her old self than she'd been since she got back and he found he liked her caring nature just as much as he admired her self reliant attitude.

"Okay, arrow number one here we go." She said before holding him down with more strength than he thought possible and yanking the arrow out. "Boo ya."

He smirked at that as she moved onto the next one. Twenty minutes later the arrows were out and she was helping him remove his armor, haori, and under kimono so she could clean the wounds and bind them.

"That was very stupid of both of you." She said conversationally as she took in his hole-ridden chest that bore two magenta streaks along his sides to wind down and around before disappearing below his hakima.

"And if we had not stopped them from firing at you?" He asked. "You would be dead."

"Please, I'm not a stupid 16 year old anymore." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Then what would you have done?"

"I would have made a barrier duh." She said as if it should have been obvious.

"Barriers don't bar against projectile weapons."

"Mine do." She said matter of factly as she bound his wounds. "As a matter of fact they're so good their bullet proof to so an arrow or even a hundred arrows would have just bounced off."

He blinked in surprise at that. "And when has someone ever fired a bullet at you?"

"The beginning of last year." She said with a shrug. "And it wasn't just one."

He arched an eyebrow at that.

She sighed as she finished binding the wounds then sat back on her heels, scratching absently at a scar he hadn't noticed before on the side of her neck. "The club I work at is in a seedier part of town, one night there was this crazy shoot out between two gangs-um their groups of people who like to do bad things to people for fun- anyway a mother and her son got caught in the crossfire with only a trash can to hide behind so I created a barrier and got them out of there, a couple of the idiots shot at me and that's when I learned that my barriers are bullet proof."

"That was very foolish of you."

"Yeah well you know me, Kagome to the rescue no matter the situation." She said cynically before looking around the clearing they'd chosen to patch themselves up in. "I guess it is a good thing you guys were there, I could have wounded those men but even then a wounded man is just as dangerous as an unwounded man."

"Very true." He said. "You're bleeding."

When he reached out to touch the wound on her arm a very unexpected thing happened, she flinched then recoiled from him.

"Don't touch me." She hissed, her eyes blazing with several emotions he couldn't quite fathom.

"Apologies." He said as he slowly pulled his hand away.

She blinked and shook her head slightly before her cheeks turned red and she looked away. "Sorry it's just… I don't like people touching me without my permission."

"Understood."

"I need to go home for a day or two." She said as she stared off into space.

"Why for?"

"Because if today is any indication on how things are going to go then we're going to need more supplies." She said. "Plus I have some things there that need to be tended to if I'm going to be here for awhile."

"I will take-"

"No, you just stay here and heal up." She said, stalling him from struggling to rise. "I can get back on my own and no it won't take me forever."

"And now do you plan to do such a thing?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Bullet proof barriers aren't the only thing I've figured out how to do." She said slyly as she rose to her feet and grabbed the rest of her first aid kit before taking it over to Sango. "Their bandages may need to be changed so hang onto this."

"Where are you going?" Sang asked, alarm clearly showing in her eyes.

"I have to run home to take care of some stuff and get some more supplies." She said before going over to her pack. "If I'm not back by tonight I'll be back sometime tomorrow so don't go and get killed or anything."

"Keh as if." Inuyasha snorted then winced as he clutched his chest.

Kagome merely arched an eyebrow at him before vanishing.

~*~

The first thing she did when she landed in the well in her time was change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before checking the wound on her arm to find it was just a scratch that didn't bear wasting her healing capabilities on so she cleaned it and wrapped it with a spare bandage before grabbing her gear and leaping out of the well.

A quick glance told her that the shrine grounds were empty, giving her a chance to get away without having to deal with her family. Her first order of business was to stop at the bank and take money out of her college fund so she could pay her rent up for awhile, having no idea how long it was going to take her in the feudal era, and as soon as she had enough she headed for her apartment.

Once the rent was paid up for the next 6 months she retreated to her apartment and got her laundry going before taking a quick shower and changing clothes, as soon as the laundry was switched she headed for the club to talk to her boss.

"Well look who it is!" One of the bartenders shouted out when she walked through the door, he was the odd one out considering he was American with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hey Brandon." She said, smirking crookedly. "Did ya miss me?"

"You know it babe." He winked at her. "So you coming to work?'

"Nah I'm afraid I'm gonna be MIA for awhile longer yet, got some family shit going on." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Family, ya can't kill em and ya can't get away from em."

He laughed at that. "Well I hope everything works out."

"Thanks." She said as she headed for the back, promising to stop and talk to the patrons that called out to her before she left.

"Well there you are, I've been trying to get a hold of you." Her boss said as she entered his office.

"Sorry I've been… dealing with some family issues." She sighed. "It sucks ass but it's something I have to do."

"Do you know how long you're going to be gone?"

"I'm afraid not." She sighed afain as she ran her fingers through her hair, she'd opted to leave it down for a change. "So if you want to hire someone else I understand."

"If I do it'll only be temporary, you know your always welcome here Kat."

"Thanks a lot Lee." She said. "I'll try and keep in touch to let you know how things are going."

"Alright well take care and good luck!" He smiled.

"Thanks." She said before leaving. I'm going to need it more than you know boss man. She thought as she headed back out to talk to a few of the patrons she knew before saying her goodbyes and leaving.

Deciding it wouldn't kill her to stay the night in her own place she headed home and finished her laundry before eating then falling into bed.

~*~