DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

The Sword Smith's Secret

By MissKatt

Chapter Twenty-Six: Worry

Kagome groaned as she began to come to. She forgot how uncomfortable lying on the forest floor was. She was definitely missing her plush cot at the Western palace. She opened her eyes and stretched out her sore limbs before gazing up at the gloomy, grey sky above her. When had the rainy season started?

She let her eyes look over at Sesshoumaru and immediately frowned at his appearance. She kicked off her blanket and moved closer to him. "Sesshoumaru?" She asked, gently shaking his shoulder.

His chest was visibly rising and falling at a rapid pace. His face looked ashen compared to his usual paleness and sweat created a glistening shine on his forehead and neck. She reached out to push the sweat-clad bangs away from his forehead and pressed the back of her hand again the skin there. Her brow furrowed at the hot temperature of his flesh.

"You have a fever," She murmured, panic beginning to course through her as she fumbled with the rag that was tied at the base of his arm. She sucked in a breath when she saw the bright red hue of the skin at the bottom. She gently pressed the tips of her fingers against it and felt the heat of the infection. "Sesshoumaru!" She tried again, shaking him, but received no answer. His body must have still been working hard to heal himself.

Cursing, she tied her makeshift bandage back in place and put her hands on his face, tugging the bottom of his eyelids down to see the color of his eyes. They were back to gold so that hopefully meant he wasn't in too much pain.

"Sesshoumaru," She began softly. "I have to leave to find herbs for your infection. I will be back as soon as I can, okay?" Even though she didn't get an answer, she patted his shoulder. "Hang in there until I get back." She added and then stood up sharply.

She grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder before looking right and then left. Which way should she start? She wasn't worried about finding her way back to him; she would just search for his youki. The hard part would be finding the plants she needed without the proper daylight to identify them. She'd have to carefully go through each plant she found. She only hoped she would find them quickly.

Deciding to head right, she cast a final glance at the fallen taiyoukai before taking off into the forest.

*~~~SSS~~~*

Rin stirred on her futon, the sweet smell of eggs and rice filling her nose. She sat up and stretched, a loud yawn escaping her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and blinked at Totosai as he prepared three bowls of breakfast near the fire pit in the living quarters of his home.

"Ohayo, Totosai-sama," She greeted.

His large eyes lifted from the bowl and to her face. "Ah, ohayo, little one. How are you feeling?" He asked, handing her food. He could hardly believe the two visitors that showed up at his house last night. He was even more surprised when they both nearly passed out upon their arrival.

"Rin in fine. Rin has no chest pain so Sesshoumaru-sama cannot be too far away." She said with a large smile as she accepted the food from him. "Itadakimasu!"

Totosai watched her for a moment before standing and taking two bowls into his fabrication room. He looked at the sulking hanyou on the floor and the broken Tessaiga in front of him. With a click of his tongue, he sat down next to him and handed him the bowl. "It is unfortunate we had to have our first meeting like this."

Inuyasha looked at the sword smith curiously. "You know who I am?"

He snorted, spitting out grains of rice as he did. "Of course! Your father spoke of you often."

His ears perked up, his amber eyes widening. "H-he did?"

"Are you kidding me? Your father could not stop talking of you when we met. He was very proud of you, Inuyasha."

His cheeked flushed and sadness gripped his heart as the sudden favorite memory of his father flashed behind his eyes.

"Otou-sama! Otou-sama!" Inuyasha cried happily, running towards his father as he entered the throne room. His father had been gone for several moon cycles doing negotiations with the North and he wanted to be the first one to greet him.

"Ho, how goes my youngest?" Touga asked with a grin as he scooped up his son with one arm.

"Good! I beat my old sensei so I started training with Sesshoumaru-niisama! But he's really mean and beats me a lot. Still, I won't give up, Otou-sama!" He replied hastily. There was so much he wanted to tell his father! So much time had passed! He felt he had to get it out all at once.

"That's my son," He replied and ruffled his ears. "I purchased you something from the Northern lands." He pulled out a red, folded haori from his armor. "It is too big for you now, but you will soon grow into it."

"It is a haori?" Little Inuyasha asked, taking it in his hands. He was kind of hoping for a sword like Tessaiga. Maybe then he could finally defeat his brother.

"Hai, but it is much more than that. This was made from the fur of a rare fire-rat. It is fire resistant and will protect you from Sesshoumaru's poison. Maybe it will assist you in your training with your brother in the future. You may even defeat him." He commented with an encouraging smile.

He shook his head. "Nii-sama is the best. I can never be as good as him."

The Lord of the West pressed his nose to his son's temple and gave it a gentle nuzzle. "You will become great, Inuyasha. Do not doubt yourself."

Inuyasha tried to blink away the strong emotions from the painfully sweet memory. "I always assumed he was in favor of Sesshoumaru." He whispered.

Totosai punched Inuyasha in the back of the head. "How can you be so dull? Your father loved the two of you equally!"

"Oi!" He yelped, grabbing the growing lump on his head. "What was that for?!"

"For being ignorant!" He scolded and then looked at him seriously. "Now, what happened?"

Inuyasha snorted as he took another bite of his breakfast. "You mean last night or what happened to Tessaiga?"

He tilted his head. "Eh? You mean they are two different occasions?!"

He nodded. "Yeah, Tessaiga broke a few days ago while in a battle with the South."

Totosai sighed. "Dare I ask if you know of the consequences of not having Tessaiga on you?"

"Found out the hard way," He replied quietly. "Why didn't my ol' man just tell me that would happen?"

He released a sigh before stuffing a large amount of his breakfast in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I think he was cautious of your reaction." He finally replied.

Inuyasha took another bite. "What do you mean?"

"If he told you that you would revert to your youkai-self without your Tessaiga, wouldn't you toss it aside immediately? Haven't you always wanted to be a full youkai like your brother and father?" He asked, looking at him with a knowing look.

His ears flickered before flattening against his head. "I don't know," He murmured. "But, it would have been nice to know so that I wouldn't hurt those I care about. It happened twice already."

"Who did you hurt?" Totosai asked curiously.

"The first time I almost hurt Kagome," He flinched at Totosai's dark glare. "And then I turned on her and Rin again last night. Sesshoumaru was there to save my ass both times."

"Then where are they now?" He questioned, setting down his bowl to pick up his broken masterpiece.

Inuyasha frowned. "Rin said that Sesshoumaru was wounded and from what I can gather of what she said, his beast started to come out. He fled and took Kagome with him."

The sword smith turned his eyes back to the hanyou. "You don't know where they are?" When he shook his, he frowned down at his hands. Surely this would not be the last time he saw his adopted granddaughter. Their last encounter had been bad and it was his entire fault. Still, he could not tell her why he reacted the way he did. He had to keep it a secret. But, ever since she met Sesshoumaru, she had been spending more and more time away from their cave which put her more at risk. Perhaps he should tell her.

The Western prince looked at the faraway look in his eyes. "They'll be alright, don't you think?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. "They are both stubborn and strong." He nodded and then picked up a pair of his tongs. "Now, Inuyasha, are you ready to fix your sword?"

"Eh? Of course!" He snapped. As if it was even a question!

"Then open and saw 'ahhh'…"

"Like this?"

"Wider."

"Ahhh….OW!" He wailed as Totosai pulled one of his fangs from his mouth. "That hurt!"

"Quit your yappin'. I need this to fix Tessaiga. I will begin refabricating it, but to complete it, I will need Kagome." He said with a sigh and carried the broken sword pieces and fang to the work bench. Hopefully she would come back safely.

*~~~SSS~~~*

Sara sighed dramatically on her balcony as she stared out over the Western lands as it poured. Her love had already been gone for three days and she was feeling anxious. She had asked him to send word to her when he arrived safely at Totosai's, but she hadn't heard from him. Was he there? Or was he simply ignoring her?

Her eyes narrowed at the thought. Surely he wouldn't do something so stupid when her father was a mere days away from his visit. There was only one way to find out. She moved back into her room and towards her short table. She kneeled down before it and pulled a blank scroll from the pile of them on her desk. She unrolled the beginning of it and dipped her brush in the ink.

To Totosai and those residing in his home,

I am very worried about my intended. I have asked for him write me upon his arrival and yet I still have not heard from him. It is to my knowledge that it is only a two day travel to your home at a human's pace so I am wondering why I have not heard from him.

If you can please respond to me and let me know of his location, it would be much appreciated and would ease my conscious.

Asano Sara

Hime of the Northern Lands

Impending Lady of the West

She rolled the scroll up and sealed it shut. She then walked to the entrance of her room and slid open her shoji door. "Ryura!" She called loudly.

Within a few seconds, he was in front of her door. "Hai, Asano-hime?"

She handed the scroll out to him, her grey eyes hard. "Have the fastest youkai we have deliver this to Totosai's dwelling."

He met her cold stare with one of his own. It was no secret she was furious that he was chosen to look over the west instead of her. But really, what did she expect? She was not Lady of the West yet. And even if she was, he highly doubted Sesshoumaru would ever let her be in charge of his lands. What could she possibly know about the Western politics? "Is that not Jura's job? He is your guard for a reason."

"Not that it is any of your business, but he is busy doing a different errand for me at the moment." She spat back, glaring at him now.

He refused to fight with the hopeless human. He did not have the energy to focus on her. His mind was too busy thinking about his intended's welfare. "I will send out your letter."

Sara blinked and cleared her throat at the sudden change of his attitude. "Well, good then," She retorted and then went to close her door, but paused as a thought crossed her mind. "Ryura, may I ask you a question?"

It really irritated him that she did not address him with a respectful title. "I suppose."

"Are you and the miko really a couple?" She asked seriously. Even though she had seen what she did, she still could not help but feel insecure that Sesshoumaru was off traveling with another human female.

His face softened at the mention of his treasure. "Yes, she is my intended."

She visibly relaxed. "Do you think they are safe?"

The dragon let a soft sigh escape his lips before they tilted into a small smile. "I was worrying about them as well. But, we need to remember that Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome are very strong."

She nodded once. "I suppose you are right," She rubbed her arm. "I just get worried when he's not by my side. I miss him."

"And I miss my miko, but they will return soon enough. It is important that they fix Inuyasha's sword." He stated firmly.

"True," She murmured. "Well, I bid you goodnight, Ryura. I shall see you in the morning."

He dipped his head in a nod and turned away from her room when she closed the door. He made his way down the hall and glanced at the scroll in his hand. He almost pitied her; almost, if she wasn't such a despicable woman. Anyone with eyes could see Sesshoumaru wanted nothing to do with her yet she still tried to reach out to him.

Then another thought crossed his mind. What could she possibly have Jura doing so late in such weather conditions?

*~~~SSS~~~*

Kagome was soaking wet by the time she made her way back to their small clearing. The rain had started two hours into her journey to find the herbs she needed. Her calves and her shortened hakama were caked with the mud, the substance seeping in between her toes and in between the sandals and her feet as well.

She pushed her bangs from her face and gasped slightly when she saw that Sesshoumaru and slipped from his sitting position, his body now laying on the ground, the side of his face pressed to the wet grass. She hurried over to him and tossed her pack to the floor. She tried to lift his upper torso to place him back against the tree, but found it difficult due to his weight and armor. She gave up and took her blanket out to fold it under his head instead.

She took out the herbs she had found from her pack along with her bamboo canteen. She removed the top of it to use it as a small bowl and tossed some of the herbs as well as some water in it. She pulled a small knife from her pack and used the hilt to grind the leaves and water together. She put the cap down and moved closer to Sesshoumaru. She untied the cloth around the stub of his arm and winced at how the bright red coloring had spread. She gingerly pressed the tip of her pointer finger on his skin and bit down on her lip at how hot it was.

She stood up from him with the used rag in hand and let the wound breathe for a moment. She walked over to a small puddle of rain and soaked the rag in the water. She then wrung it out and repeated the process before hanging it on a low branch so that it would gather more pure rain and then dry out when the rain stopped, hopefully removing any harmful particles.

The miko hurried back to his side and kneeled down next to him. She removed her outer haori and, though it was thoroughly soaked from the rain, wet it with a little of her water to clear the mud from it. She then gently dabbed the open part of his wound, trying to be as gentle as possible. She paused when his body flinched and then continued once it ceased.

Once she deemed it clean enough, she grabbed her makeshift bowl and put her hand on his chest, giving it a soft shake. "Sesshoumaru," She said gently, trying to rouse him. "I need you to wake up. You need to take this medicine." When she received no response, she frowned and tried shaking him a little harder. "Sesshoumaru, please."

His eyelids parted slightly, glazed over crimson red and turquoise eyes peering up at her. "Miko." He rumbled weakly.

She gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you're conscious. Do you think you can manage to swallow something?" When his eyes shut again, she frowned and tried shaking him again. "Sesshoumaru?" She began to hesitate when he didn't respond. If this part of him was back, did that mean he was in a great deal of pain? She had to get him to drink the herb mixture in order to fight the infection spreading in his arm.

Deciding that the best thing to do was give him the mixture forefully, she lifted the back of his head a bit and took a mouthful of the mixture. She then lowered her face to his and pressed her lips against his partly opened ones and let the mixture pour in as while she ran her thumb over his throat to help him swallow. Once she felt him swallow, she went to pull away but froze when she felt his lips move and lock against hers, trapping her in a kiss.

For a moment, she was lost. Not a single coherent thought could be formed in her mind nor could she make her body pull away from him. She was simply still, unable to do anything.

But as quickly as it started, it ended. And once it was done, the cloud that formed in her mind cleared, and the chains that held her body disappeared, allowing her to move once again. She looked down at him with a confused and shocked expression, but he was unconscious once again.

She would ask him about it later.

Maybe.

Frowning, she decided to push what happened to the back of her mind and illuminated her hands with her reiki to begin healing his arm once again.