Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, or any characters of the show.
Chapter twenty-five: Cold.
Sesshomaru opened his eyes and instantly regretted doing so. Since when did the morning light become so unbearably bright? The taiyoukai tried to lift his head but only succeeded in dropping the damp cloth off his forehead. Slowly Sesshomaru came to a realization that he was lying in Kagome's bed and Kagome herself was sitting on the floor next to him. The girl's head was resting on the surface of the bed in what could hardly be considered a comfortable position.
Kagome's eyes fluttered open.
"Note to self: never ever, ever fall asleep like that again." Kagome rubbed her neck as she sat upright.
"You ought to have known that before you tried." Came Sesshomaru's remark.
"Oh, I see you're back to being a jerk. Well, maybe I would have picked a better place to sleep, if somebody had let go of my hand." Sesshomaru quickly pulled his hand away from Kagome's.
"Drink this." The girl handed the taiyoukai a jar of pickle juice.
"What happened?" Sesshomaru asked once he emptied the glass container.
"Wha'd'ya mean?"
"Yesterday. What happened yesterday? I do not remember anything."
For a couple of seconds Kagome just stared at the demon lord before bursting out in to laughter.
"This is rich."
"Answer me, girl."
"You got drunk and proclaimed your undying love for me." Kagome sniggered at the poorly concealed expression of utter shock that showed on Sesshomaru's face. "I'm just kidding, you know. However, you did give me this trinket." The girl pulled out a silver pendant that was hidden under her blouse. "I understand that you couldn't really answer for your actions so you can take it back."
Kagome reached behind her neck and started to fidgeting with the lock. Sesshomaru snatched the girl's wrists and pulled her hands away from the silver chain.
"Do not take the gifts of a taiyoukai so lightly." Sesshomaru spoke in a low voice staring intensely at Kagome.
What is he so worked up about? The girl thought. Wait, he's not angry. He's… scared? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Kagome shook her head.
"Alright, I'll wear it."
Sesshomaru's face softened a bit. Suddenly Kagome sneezed loudly.
"What was that?" the taiyoukai asked.
"Huh? I sneezed, what did it look like?"
"Why did you sneeze?"
"I think I caught a cold yesterday. What kind of question is this anyway? Didn't you ever get sick?" Kagome looked at Sesshomaru's blank face. "Right," she sniffed. "But you might want to stay away from me – it's contagious."
"Is there a cure for that?"
"No. At least nothing that would be known to science. Why?" the girl asked looking back up, but Sesshomaru had already disappeared without a trace. Guess he took my advice to heart after all.
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In the middle of a forest clearing, an ancient tree spirit was lost in his musings about the fates of the world.
"Bokusenou, wake up," came a harsh voice.
"What is it, Sesshomaru?" The spirit asked as he reluctantly cracked one eye open.
"Tell me what you know about the human illness called 'cold'."
Bokusenou instantly became wide awake.
"Why would you need to know that?"
"Just answer."
"Manners, my boy, have never done anybody any harm."
"This is an urgent matter, I have no time for courtesy."
"Very well. A cold is an incurable disease that will undoubtedly entail the sick person's death."
Bokusenou was surprised to see for a split-second the usual mask of the proud demon lord drop to show a look of pure horror. The taiyoukai suddenly bolted into the sky and was out of site in a blink.
Sesshomaru… who would have guessed? Maybe the foolish boy will learn something after all, the tree spirit thought closing his eyes.
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Kagome pressed several pressure points on her face, two at a time.
"What are you doing?" Sesshomaru asked entering from the balcony.
"Getting rid of a runny nose. If I have a cold, I might as well try to ease my sufferings."
For some time both were silent.
"What's on your mind?" Kagome finally spoke, glancing at the taiyoukai.
"Nothing."
"I'm not buying that."
"Are you going to die?"
"Eventually," the girl answered after a brief pause. "Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'? How can you stay calm when you know your life is going to end?"
"Save tomorrow for tomorrow…" Kagome shrugged. "I wonder what's for lunch." She went downstairs humming carelessly.
'Tomorrow' – this single word echoed through Sesshomaru's head. Is she going to die tomorrow?
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"Are you going to stare at me all day? You haven't even opened the textbooks yet." Kagome noticed.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Kagome fell off her bed with a loud thud.
"Oh my god! You've caught it too. Only when it comes to youkai, cold really messing around with your heads."
"My mind is clear."
"Then what's the catch?"
"I want to do something nice for you."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes."
"So, you'll do whatever I want? Alright, first of all, I want you to turn back into Sesshomaru I know – the one with that adowable widdle attitude." Kagome grinned watching the demon's eyebrow twitch, she really didn't like seeing her friend so meek. "Secondly, explain what happened to cause umm… your current behavior."
"Bokusenou…"
"The tree spirit, right?" Kagome asked remembering one of their first conversations.
"Yes. He told me that the cold will unavoidably kill a human."
"I've got news for you – it won't."
"And if it would, would you have told me?"
"Uh… sure!"
"You do not seem convincing."
"What, you really think I'm going to die? Okay then." Kagome stomped out of her room and was back in a minute with a weighty axe on her shoulder, "We'll just have to have a little talk with your wooden friend."
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For the second time that day Bokusenou was rudely awaken, only this time by a kick in his trunk.
"Alright Tree, talk. What lies did you feed to this gullible idiot over here?"
The tree spirit opened his eyes to see a young human girl brandishing a lumber axe.
"I can see why Sesshomaru likes you," Bokusenou chuckled.
"He does not."
"I do not."
Both visitors had spoken in union.
"Tell this guy what cold really is or suffer the consequences." Kagome swung the axe.
"Acute-viral-nasopharyngitis-often-known-as-the-common-cold-is-a-mild-viral-infectious-disease-of-the-upper-respiratory-system. Colds-typically-last-three-to five-days," the tree spirit quickly informed Sesshomaru, eyeing the lumber tool with dread.
The taiyoukai cracked his knuckles.
"I would like to have a few minutes alone with my 'old friend'."
"Sure, but there's one thing I need to specify," Kagome looked at the tree spirit. "Are you a boy or a girl?"
"What?!"
"Oh come on, you and I both know that magnolias are monoecious plants so technically you reproduce by doing it with yourself."
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By the evening Kagome's cold has gotten worse. The girl's temperature jumped up and her head spun wildly.
"You should rest." Sesshomaru stated in a voice that would not tolerate any objections.
"I'm not dying, okay? So quit worrying."
"Without sleep you will not be able to heal properly."
"Feh, I'll be fine by morning."
Sesshomaru sighed, stood up and exited the room.
Then again, sleep does sound nice, Kagome thought. It won't hurt if I just close my eyes for… a couple of… seconds…
It was late at night when the girl woke up. The only thing she could make out was two softly glowing amber eyes.
Kagome sat up and Sesshomaru put a cup with some strange dark liquid into her hands.
"Drink."
"Wussat?" the girl asked cautiously.
"A brew from a Chinese herbalist."
"Chinese herbalist here, in Japan, right?" A long pause followed. "Hell, don't tell me you went all the way to China just to get me this!"
"If I will not tell you this, will you take the medicine?"
"Are you sure it won't finish me off?" Kagome asked, not trusting the tart smell of the liquid. "Well, only one way to find out. Bottoms up," the girl swallowed the tincture in one massive gulp. "It'd better work or else I'll find something equally vile to pour down your throat," Kagome murmured falling asleep. Somewhere in the middle of the night she started to toss and turn. "Sess… Sess…"
Is she having a dream about me? Sesshomaru thought moving to Kagome's bedside.
"Sess… Sessile drop method. Why is physics so friggin' hard?"