Chapter 9: The Healing (edited 8-22-07)


Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha


You're all I wanted
All of my dreams are falling down
They're crawling around and around and around

--"Save Me" by Remy Zero


"I can't believe it," Sango murmured, ignored the rain that pounded against her as Kirara raced through the air. "She lied to us…"

"She probably didn't want us to worry," Miroku replied reluctantly.

Brown hair whipped around, and the monk carefully moved a strand that was plastered to her face. "She lied to us!"

"I know, Sango."

The slayer narrowed her eyes to shield them from the torrent, all the while searching for signs of her missing friend. "You don't suppose she went back down the well, do you? That's where Kirara seems to be taking us."

Sapphire eyes darkened as a chill ran up his spine. For reasons he couldn't explain, he seriously doubted that Kagome had left the hut in the middle of a storm to run to her time without telling them. "It is possible, I suppose."

"And where the hell is Inuyasha…?" She trailed off as they neared the well, the fire neko releasing a roar before plummeting towards the ground. "Kirara?"

Whatever she had been expecting to find, it wasn't this.

Kagome—her back against the well—was holding a half-naked Inuyasha against her chest, her face buried in a mop of soaked silver hair.

"Kagome!" Miroku touched earth before Kirara, gracefully steadying himself and sprinting to the well, Sango close behind.

The miko started, staring up at him with puffy red eyes. The moment she recognized him, she face tightened with panic. "Hurry, Miroku! We have to help him!" she screamed over the rising gale, her voice thick with tears. "Now!"

Miroku turned his probing eyes to the still hanyou in her arms. His expression darkened when he realized how pale his friend was. And the blood… Thin red lines ran over Kagome's fingers as she mashed the haori to his wounds—which ran from his left shoulder to his right hip. Puddles stained pink faded further still in the downfall, though his blood was still visible.

"Who did this?" Sango demanded, readying her weapon. She was surprised, however, by Kagome's furious sobs.

"That doesn't matter now—he's dying!" she cried desperately, indignantly. "Stop standing there and help him! Help him!"

"God…" the monk murmured, kneeling by his friend's side. Inuyasha's blood-stained hand was not lost on him, and he carefully placed his hand over Kagome's to hold the cloth in place. "I need you to pull your hand away, Kagome."

She shook her head frantically and whimpered.

"Kagome—"

"No!"

With a sigh, he relented. "Very well. You shall take him back on Kirara. Do you think you can keep him steady?"

"Yes…"

"Kagome…if he falls…"

She glared at him and more tears spilled over. "You think I don't know that? Help me get him to Kirara."

Draping one of the hanyou's limp arms over his shoulder, Miroku stood with Kagome, his face softening when she refused to loosen her hold on the boy.

"Did you see the youkai, Kagome? Is it still alive?"

The miko ignored Sango as she climbed onto the giant cat, and Miroku answered in her stead. "…There wasn't ever a youkai, was there?"

His voice, though soft, was as gentle to her as broken glass. She shook her head, tightened her grip, and closed her eyes as Kirara took to the skies.

"Kaede will fix you," she promised, her voice muffled by his shoulder blade. "She'll fix you, and then I'm going to kill you for making me worry like this, you ass."

An eternity passed before Kirara landed at Kaede's door, and the miko wasted no time in yelling for her as she slid off the youkai and tried to pull Inuyasha with her to drag him inside.

Kaede took a single second to digest the situation before she snapped into that authoritative healer role that Kagome was so relieved to see that she thought she'd start crying again.

"Lay him on the mat near the fire. Good, now I need ye to fetch some water to boil. Hurry, child."

Casting a quick glance at the pale hanyou, she rushed outside with the pot and was back inside within the minute. Kaede was already threading a bone needle.

Shippou, however, made her even more anxious—dancing from foot to foot with tears in his eyes. "He'll be okay, right? Right, Kagome?"

"Shippou, ye go and keep watch for Sango and Miroku. I don't approve of them running around in this weather. Kagome, I need ye to hold his shoulders in case he is awakened by the pain," the old woman murmured distractedly, reaching to dip a rag in the still cold water. There was no time to wait for it to boil, and the blood and mud needed to be washed away—there could be no mistakes.

The girl dug her nails into Inuyasha's shoulders, a knee on either side of his head, as she kneeled over him. The tip of the needle disappeared into his skin only to reappear on the other side of a gash. Again. Again. Again.

Suddenly her grip on his shoulders relaxed, and a sudden and complete calm washed over her. Without thinking, she reached out for Kaede's hand, and their eyes met.

"I don't think that is wise, child. Ye are too emotional at the moment."

The miko shook her head and looked down at the hanyou's face, set in a grimace. "Let me do this. I know I can."

The moment the needle passed to her fingers, something inside her cracked, and she felt herself wishing that Inuyasha could share the calm that she felt.

He was just so upset.

And then everything seemed a little brighter, a little sharper, and she heard Kaede's shocked gasp.

"Child…"

Opening her eyes, Kagome stared at the needle; it was glowing with this eerie, translucent white light.

This…had come from inside her?

Suddenly everything was clear, and she knew what she had to do. Dropping the needle, she searched inside her again and tapped into that strange white light, which rose to her palm faithfully. This was different from her purification powers. It looked different; it felt different, and she had no doubt that it would not harm Inuyasha's youki.

She touched him.

Her hand trailed gently over his open wounds, and she felt them searing together under her touch.

"Ye possess the power of healing… Extraordinary…"

Kagome stared in mild shock at his now flawless skin, her hand still resting on his hip, the last of his injuries vanished. The moment the divine glow disappeared, she felt drained, overwhelmingly weary.

She shook her head to clear it of its fuzziness, which was so strange after her sharpened senses. "What?"

Kaede laid a gnarled old hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Kagome, ye now not only possess the power of purification, but also that of healing. It is rare indeed."

"Rare…" She stared down at Inuyasha's blank face until a yawn forced her eyes closed.

"Ye heal people by bathing them in your spirit. I am only aware of three others having ever achieved this."

"I'm…so tired."

The matronly chuckle made her smile. "I'd imagine so. It's different, isn't it?"

Kagome shook her head again. "What?"

There was that kind laughter again, and she'd wanted nothing more than to lie down. "Ye need to rest, child."

"I can't move," she murmured, aware enough to know that her arms had locked under her, one still resting on Inuyasha's hip, the other on the wooden floor.

"What in the name of—"

Miroku and Sango were back, she supposed.

"How did this happen?" Kagome couldn't bring herself to smile at the soft wonder in Sango's voice.

"I'll explain later. Miroku, will ye please help Kagome lie down. She's had a long day," she murmured, her eyes dancing with amusement.

A second later, the monk was kneeling at her side, his own blue eyes staring into her gray ones.

"Watch…hands, monk," she yawned, trying to glare at him.

"You did this." He was grinning at her, and then he was falling away as she was placed carefully on the floor beside the hanyou.

"Mm," she hummed noncommittally. Inuyasha was breathing normally now, though he remained asleep. She frowned; he was still upset though. She could feel it.

'What happened to you?'

The thought was lost as she drifted off to sleep.

"How did this happen?" Sango burst out again.

Kaede dipped the rag back into the water and began to bathe away the last of the blood and dirt that covered Inuyasha. "We all knew Kagome was extraordinary, but apparently we underestimated her."

"Kagome did this? How?"

"It would appear that our young miko has obtained the power to heal. Remarkable, really."

"Come again?" Sango asked incredulously.

Miroku's eyes widened, and his grip on the holy staff tightened. "Kaede…are you sure?"

She stared at him pointedly. "I am assuming you saw Inuyasha before he was brought here?"

"Yes, of course, but… That's almost unheard of!"

"Kagome is one of four to ever possess it. And she is merely a child."

"She is more mature than you might think," Miroku reminded her. "And I believe she couldn't have chosen a better moment to discover this new power of hers."

Shippou chose this moment to ask his questions. "What happened to him? Was he attacked?"

Miroku smiled kindly, if not indulgently, at him. "Yes, Shippou. But Kagome found him in time. He'll be fine, so why don't you take a nap now?"

They were silent for some time, and waited until the kitsune, who'd snuggled up to Kagome's soaked body, drifted off to sleep as well.

Kaede gave Miroku a searching look. "What sort of youkai did this?"

Sango flinched, and Miroku wrapped an arm around her. "Uh…he did."

She looked surprised. "Inuyasha did this?"

The monk nodded.

"I see. Turn your back for a moment, Miroku. Sango, I need you to help get Kagome out of those clothes before she catches a fever. Inuyasha's hakama will be fine, as it is waterproof, I believe. It will dry in no time."

There was a nod, and he turned to face the door ignoring the rustle of dry fabric as his fiancé shook the wrinkles out of clean miko garb. "I wonder how long Inuyasha will sleep," he mused.

"I know not. His body is healed, yes, but something greater ails him if he felt he had to harm himself like this."

"He's horrible," Sango murmured thickly, peeling off Kagome's blouse, "Stupid, stupid…how could he do this?"

"If we hadn't found them when we did—"

"Hush, Miroku."

"We were lucky, Sango. You already know that."

"I know that Kagome didn't deserve to find him like that. You know how she feels about him!"

With a sigh, Miroku relented. "So tell us more about this healing technique, Kaede."

"I don't know much about it," she admitted. "No one does. This is the first time I've seen it with my own eyes."

Sango tied the girl's hakama, and pulled away, letting Shippou snuggle back into the sleeping girl before draping a blanket over the three of them. "You can turn around now, Miroku," she muttered distractedly. "What do you think brought it on? I mean, it's like she suddenly just has all of this new power. But where did it come from?"

"Every miko has a reservoir of power, but very few actually manage to tap into it. Those that do, do so by years of training and experience. Others are triggered by extraordinary events."

Miroku sat down beside Sango, and stared into the fire. "So Kagome's was triggered. But by what? This was happening even before she found Inuyasha."

"The first time we heard anything about her new powers was when Nazakaki invaded her mind for the first time. I suspect that whilst she was trespassing in the sacred territory of Kagome's mind she, without realizing it, tapped into something. Kagome is just realizing how to control them now."

Sango looked grim. "Nazakaki is responsible for this?"

"Ay, sometimes your enemy can hand you the greatest weapon. Miroku is proof of this—"

"The wind tunnel isn't a blessing, Kaede. Please don't forget that."

Sango's hand was suddenly in his own, and she smiled at him. "You won't have it for forever, so don't get used to it," she told him stubbornly.

The old miko ignored them. "I believe Naraku has handed ye the key to his defeat without realizing it."

The slayer leaned forward curiously to study Kagome's face. She looked the same as she ever did. "Exactly how powerful is she?"

"I know not."

They fell silent for a moment, before Sango asked, "Will she be all right?"

Kaede knew that was a loaded question. "I'm sure she'll be fine eventually. It may take a little while for her to forgive him for what he's done, but I'm sure she will, and once she does, she will be fine."

"It may not be that simply, Kaede. Her eyes—I've never seen Kagome look like that. And we've yet to find out why Inuyasha felt he had to maim himself. It must have been bad if he went to such extreme lengths…"

"Stupid, stupid idiot," Sango repeated angrily, dashing a hand across her eyes.

888888888

When Kagome finally woke up, it was already nightfall. She was aware of the voices around her but couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. She was just so exhausted... She listened to the voices droning on about her, lulling her back to sleep, but then she felt a familiar presence. The agitated youki of Inuyasha was flickering around her. She could feel its restless presence whipping against her face. She willed her eyes to open and looked upon the still body of Inuyasha as everything came into focus. She noticed that his eyes were moving behind veiled lids.

'He's having a nightmare,' she realized.

"It hurts." That one hopeless plea had left her as desperate as seeing the gaping wounds had. Inuyasha never admitted when he was in pain—never, in all the years that she knew him.

With a pained grunt, she sat up, suddenly and acutely aware of every single straining muscle in her body.

Four heads simultaneously swiveled toward her. "Kagome's awake!" one of them—Shippou—cried.

And so the questions began.

'Oh God…'

"Um…" she began quietly, her eyes falling on Inuyasha's prone body, "can this wait? I have a headache…"

"Of course, child. I imagine you are quite sore, right?"

"Yes. I'm a bit stiff."

"Very well. I'll be back in a moment with some herbs."

Sango's eyes flickered from Inuyasha to Kagome, who was frowning thoughtfully at the boy. "Miroku—come get some wood with me?"

"There's another log right there, dear Sango," the monk replied absently.

With an irritated sigh, Sango tugged on the monk's arm. "Come on, Miroku. Wood. Now."

"Oh. Right…wood."

Now that she and the hanyou were the only ones left in the room, besides a sleeping Shippou, she began concerning herself with his damaged youki.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she murmured softly while brushing a lock of silver hair away from his face. "Why are you so upset? No, actually, I want to know what was so bad that you felt you had to...hurt yourself?" She laid her hand over his heart and felt the slow thud of it. "You scared me."

Although still perturbed, he calmed down a little at her touch.

Drawing her knees protectively up to her chest, she let her hand idle over his chest. It was going to be hell, waiting for him to wake up. But she'd contend herself to feeling the slow beat of his heart under her palm.

He was still alive.

Still alive…

The tiniest smile twisted her lips.

Still alive, indeed.


I. Hate. This. Chapter.

Anyways...I've finally fixed it up a bit.