A/N Hey guys. This chapter will be fast forward to after the last battle with Naraku. Naraku is finally dead and the battle was somewhat similar to the original one accept that Kagome did not return to her time after that but instead was injured very badly. (The girl always got pretty wounded.) I am not keen in writing the battle scenes so I would just wrote what happened after that. (sorry ) By the way, Sesshoumaru had also gotten back his arm and his own sword. So here we go…
Crisis
"Kagome!" called the young lord worriedly as he looked with much concern at the girl now slumped in his arms.
"It hurts," mumbled the girl as she frowned. Sweats formed on her forehead quickly. Her body hurts a lot like thousands of needles poking her. There seems to be also a hot plate burning inside her.
"Hold on. Stay conscious," said Sesshoumaru as he tightened his hold on the girl. He felt unease about the condition of the girl. Her body temperature was rising rapidly. It's no good.
"Conscious? ….k… Three fives... gives ..fifteen." she whispered and whimpered in pain.
What is she doing? Then he realized she was doing multiplications in her mind to keep her from sleeping. Clever girl. Unknown to the Inuyoukai, Kagome had learnt this trick from television programme.
"Two eights… sixteen. Two nines…. Eighteen." The girl continued muttering.
He quickened his pace back to the village as the girl continued mumbling multiplications on their way. All was well, she could say out the answer correctly but her response was getting slower as she began slipping in and out of conscious. Her body was burning now, if nothing was done quickly, she would soon pass out.
Finally, they reached Kaede's Village and without any hesitation, Sesshoumaru opened the door of the village miko's and went inside the room. Kaede was kneeling in front of a statue of a Shrine god and praying. She had heard the door opened with a slam and was shocked to find Sesshoumaru standing there with a very ill Kagome in his arms.
"What happened to Kagome?" Kaede asked worriedly as she went forward to examine Kagome.
"Posioned. She can't purify it. Can you heal her?" explained the young lord.
"I see." Kaede nodded quickly and she turned away walking towards the back room. "Follow me. Quick." She urged the lord but there was no need as Sesshoumaru had already gone inside the back room before her. "Put Kagome down here." She instructed, pointing to a futon that was already laid there.
"Let me see." Kaede quickly kneeled down at the side of the miko and started to feel her pulse.
After a while, Kaede requested the young lord to wait outside for a little while so that she could change Kagome's clothes as well as tend to her other injuries if any. The lord stood outside but not for long when he saw Kaade came out of the room to take a pail of water with a cloth in it. Then she glanced at Sesshoumaru slightly to tell him that he could come in to the room already.
"I have never seen this before, not even my spiritual powers can heal Kagome," said Kaede as she rinsed the cloth dry and wipe the miko's forehead. "I will brew some medical herbs to lessen the effects of the poision but I doubt it will be of help. This poison is something that human could not heal."
The lord did not say anything and Kaede went out of the room to boil some water and select some medical herbs after she cooled down Kagome a little.
"Sesshoumaru. Are you there?" asked Kagome softly. Her head felt dizzy and she was had not even the strength to open her eyes.
"I'm here, Kagome." Assured the lord as he moved on to place his hands in her.
"Where am I?" whispered Kagome as she felt alleviated that Sesshoumaru was by her side and grasped his hands loosely. She was afraid, all she could feel was the soft futon on her back and the immerse pain in her body. The coolness of a cloth on her forehead she felt early had lessened some of the pain.
"Kaede's willage. It will be all right." Replied Sesshoumaru softly as he tightened his hold.
"I see," came her soft respond as her lips twitched up slightly forming a smile. She will be all right ."Will you stay?" whispered Kagome again, afraid to be left alone in the room.
"I will stay, Kagome. Rest now." Sesshoumaru promised as he positioned himself more comfortably at the side of the futon.
It was already past midnight. The rest of the group had arrived back to Kaede village as well. Upon hearing about Kagome's condition, they were all very worried. Inuyasha had yelled at Sesshoumaru saying it was his fault that Kagome was in this state.
"Bastard! If anything happen to Kagome, I will never forgive you!" shouted Inuyasha with fury after taking a look at injured miko.
"Inuyasha, it's not Sesshoumaru's fault," said Sango softly, trying to sooth Inuyasha.
"Not his fault!" yelled Inuyasha hotly, "He practically pushed her into danger!"
"Inuyasha, you are being unreasonable, it's chaotic during the battle," said Miroku, bandaging his injured arm.
"You know how the battle is like," added Sango tiredly as she moved on to take care of her injuries too. "It's nobody's fault." She had also breathed in some miasma and had barely recovered on the way to the village. She still felt a bit dizzy and was not in the mood not did she have the energy to argue with Inuyasha.
"Keh!" Inuyasha spat as he turned away from his friends and leaped into the forest. Since then, he had not come near the hut but instead lay on a nearby tree, refusing to talk to anyone.
The group had decided to stay up to take turns to look after Kagome, however, due to the battle, their exhausted body soon fell into deep somber.
Kaede had come into the room to check upon the poisoned girl. Feeding her the medicine she had brew and wiping her forehead with the towel. The girl was feeling slightly better now but her fever still had not gone down. Now, Kaede had changed the water and brought it in again to relieve the girl's fever.
"You should rest too. Let me do it," said Sesshoumaru to the old miko. He could see that she was exhausted.
"Ay," Kaede hesitated but dare not disagree with the young lord and placed the bucket at the side of the bed before leaving the back room. She had known about the truth and trusted that the Taiyoukai would take care of Kagome.
Sesshoumaru had never taken care of a sick person before but he learnt fast. After seeing how the old miko had wiped the sweat from the girl's repeatly. He carefully took the towel from the bucket and rinsed it dry. Then he began pressing it gently on the girl's forehead and down her face and make sure he did not wake the girl up. Her face was pale and her eyebrow was brought together slightly due to the pain. Upon feeling the cool towel on her forehead, the girl whimpered as her eyebrows relaxed, feeling much more comfortable.
Sesshoumaru was worried, the poison was constantly attacking her body and her body was too weak to fight it off. He took out the light blue omamori she gave him. It had not worked. Though it did protect him and kept him safe from the battle, the miko was still in danger. Sesshoumaru felt an urge to burn it instantly. Stupid human's stuff. However, he did not have the courage to do so. The miko had prayed for his safety with this thing and not hers. It was the miko's gift to him and he had promised to keep it. With little thought, he placed the small cloth between his hand and hers. He prayed silently again for the miko's safety and hoped that it would work this time. For her.
Looking at the girl's pale face, his mind started thinking. The old miko had said that she did not know the poison and that no human could heal the young miko. If that's the case, he knew a place that could save the girl.
There's only one place where Kagome could be healed. His mother's.
"Mother," the young lord greeted his mother. Sesshoumaru had traveled immediately to his mother's castle the next day after knowing that his mother may be able to save the miko. He had not waited for the group's reactions, for he had told the old miko where was he heading. Then, there he was standing in front of his mother with the injured miko resting in his arms.
"So Sesshoumaru do you actually not hate humans? You brought a bigger one this time," the lady said. As usual, she was sitting down, with a hand placed on the chair to support her head.
"Save her," Sesshoumaru said. He had no time to play with his mother; he needed to get this matter done quick and fast.
The Lady looked at him. "You are more like your father. Asking for help to save someone you can't protect. Why this girl?" she paused a while before continuing," Last time I remember wasn't her. Who is she?"
"Kagome. Save her," came her son's brief and fast reply. His voice was hinting slight impatience and anxiety.
"Hmm… You are the one who need help, son. This is not the way to ask for help." Said the Lady smiling unpleasantly. She was always fond of seeing her son's multiple emotions rather than his usual pokerfaced.
Sesshoumaru glared at his mother. But upon sensing the girl's aura weakening and whimpering in pain, he said again this time with sincerity, "Please save her."
"You really learn fast, Sesshoumaru. Why sudden the change? Why for this girl?"
Then Sesshoumaru's mother felt it, a faint youki mixing with the girl's aura, not her son's but another youkai's.
"You…" This the first time the Lady's short of words. She almost jumped up from her seat. Now, both her hands are resting on the handles of the chair. She looked at her son who was looking back at her with much the same expression but she could see his worried and felt his heart blacken with guilt due to his failure to protect her, she guessed. Now she realized how much the girl meant to her son. She was overwhelmed by the truth though she did not show it out. Still, she was shocked by his son's actions. Choosing and protecting a miko, the ultimate enemy of their kind.
"All right. I will treat her but on one condition." The Lady told her son finally.
"What?" asked Sesshoumaru with resentment. He knew his mother would not do him a favour with nothing.
"That I cannot answer you yet. Follow me." The Lady said and without another word, she left her seat and headed inside the castle.
Sesshoumaru nodded and he followed his mother. She led them to a room not faraway from the main hall, with nothing but a futon.
"You could lay her down there," said Sesshoumaru's mother as she light a few candles to brighten the room. He followed his mother's instruction and laid the girl down softly on the futon. She was still asleep but whimpered softly involuntarily due to the pain in her body.
"Hmm…this is not a usual case, say, Sesshoumaru, would you mind entertaining your mother how the girl came to this state?" said the Lady as she finished checking on Kagome.
"Naraku, a detestable hanyou" came her son's reply. Sesshoumaru's mother had never heard of the evil hanyou's name but upon hearing her son said the name full of hatred and acid, she knew that this hanyou must be revolting to him. In fact, Sesshoumaru felt an impulsive urge to retrieve the disgusting hanyou's life and tore him up into pieces again and again.
"You should stay outside, son," instructed the Lady as she prepared herself to treat the girl.
"That would be unnecessary," Sesshoumaru said as he stood up and moved to the corner of the room.
"It's not appropriate," said his mother to him.
However, her son continued standing in the room and glared at her.
"Suits yourself," his mother muttered and moved on to treat the girl.
How long had it been, he did not know. However, it was worth it when he saw her face turned back to its normal radiant colour, her cheeks were rosy and her body temperature dropped back to normal. She looked as healthy as she was the last time.
"You should really thank me, my son," said the Lady as she sat on the tatami mat with her hand resting on one of the handle of the Tatami chair. Sesshomaru and his mother were in the room beside where the girl was resting. There was only a shoji door separating the room.
Sesshoumaru looked back at his mother with disinterest but thanked her courteously as he bowed his head slightly. All the while, he was sensing the miko's aura silently.
"I heard that humans of samurai's parentage had a habit of placing the child under another higher ranking lord's care. And you do know we Inuyoukai do have similar practices," said Sesshoumaru's mother with a slight smile and was quite pleased with her son's attitude.
"This one is aware of that," said Sesshoumaru, unsure of what his mother was trying to say.
"The child in her womb, it will develop into a full demon," said the Lady and she saw his face filled with shock but she continued.
"Though I do not know why but I think it may be due to the treatment. Still, this one would not allow her grandchild to be a halfbreed, can she?" she asked rhetorically.
"What is your purpose of telling me all this." Sesshoumaru inquired with slight irritation.
"You are a clever one, son. The exchange."
"You want the child," guessed the lord with astonishment. She can't do that.
"Yes, in exchange of the girl's life, I would like to raise this grandchild of mine," said the Lady conclusiveness.
Please review! Thanks.
