Waking Up

Pain radiated through Kagome's frame in several long waves. She was cold, but she had no body. She could hear Inuyasha screaming her name. What was happening? She wanted to answer him, but she had no voice.

The pain was receding, but so was the voice of her lover. She couldn't feel anything; not the ground underneath her body, not the blood pouring out of her wound, not the hands of her mate as he desperately tried to keep her in this life.

This life.

Oh shit I'm dead….

Inuyasha waited, breathless, for Shippo to return with the sword. He kept his eyes on the woman he loved, the silence of her heart tearing through him like a knife. He had never been so afraid. He knew that if tenseiga did not want to revive Kagome, it wouldn't. The sword had a mind of its own and couldn't be counted upon. But it was their only hope.

Kagome's face was pale, gray, and ashen. She'd died full of fear and pain, blasting the area with enough purification energy to destroy even Naraku's human side. Sesshomaru must only have survived being at the epicenter of the explosion because he hadn't really been alive before it hit. Someone had taken the limp form of Kazuto away. Inuyasha shook with grief, terrified that even if Kagome survived, she would never forgive herself if Kazuto didn't make it. He'd been alive when Inuyasha had reached them, but Inuyasha wasn't sure such a small half-demon could survive such a raw display of power. He had been hundreds of yards away and the power had hit him like a freight train. He'd been knocked straight off of his feet. Kazuto had been right next to her, having abandoned his efforts to free Inuyasha from Naraku's tentacles and rushing to Kagome's side once he realized that Naraku was going to attack her. Inuyasha had managed to free himself, but not in time to get to them.

The hanyou stretched out a bloody hand and wiped Kagome's bangs from her face. He hadn't even managed to mark her yet. They'd talked about it, but they had decided to wait a few days so that Inuyasha could ask Sesshomaru more about it. Then Sesshomaru had never returned, and neither one of them had brought it up again.

Grief choked the silver-haired half-demon. Tears made tracks down his dirty face, and he bent his head to Kagome's neck to try to smell her scent. It was fading. She was gone.

"Move aside, Inuyasha."

The voice was calm, but raspy, as though it had not been used in a long time. Inuyasha glanced up at his newly returned brother, squinting at him through teary eyes. Sesshomaru nodded encouragingly at him. Inuyasha slowly lay his woman down and backed away from her, still on hands and knees. Sesshomaru drew tenseiga, the blade's vibrations ringing in the air. A hush fell among the demons gathered there. The taiyoukai swept his blade, now humming with power, three times over the prone form of Kagome. He sheathed the blade then, and waited. Inuyasha crept forward again and lay his hand against Kagome's cheek. Her eyelashes fluttered. His heart jolted and he cried out in joy, making a sound between and sob and a bark. He looked down at her body, which was still bloody but completely healed.

"''Yasha?" Kagome mumbled, before opened her eyes experimentally.

"I'm here," The hanyou said, his voice rough with emotion. He held her face in his hands. She smiled up at him.

"I was just thinking about you," She said, a little blearily. "I was hoping you would be here when I woke up."

"I'll always be here for you baby," Inuyasha said, smiling.

"Am I still dead?" Kagome asked.

"No, Sesshomaru brought you back."

"Tenseiga brought you back," Sesshomaru corrected.

Kagome's eyes grew wide suddenly.

"Kazuto!" She gasped, and struggled to get up. "Is Kazuto alright? Where is he? He came to save me, and oh my god what if I killed him?"

"Kagome, it's okay," Inuyasha reasoned. "He was alive when I got here. Jinenji took him inside."

"I have to see him," Kagome sputtered, getting to her feet with Inuyasha's help. "Right now. Take me to him."

Inuyasha glanced up at Shippo. "Where is he?"

"He's in the infirmary with Rin." Shippo said. "I saw them when I went to get the sword."

"Good, Sesshomaru, you'll probably...what the fuck?" Inuyasha looked around but his brother was nowhere to be seen.

The infirmary was not the most welcoming room Rin had ever been in. She was beside herself with worry, but the usually affable horse-hanyou Jinenji was being unusually reticent with his information. He'd kept her there for what Rin assumed was the battle with Naraku, checking her vitals and listening to make sure the baby was okay. He'd been singed slightly when a blast of Kagome's power pulsed through the room, and he'd disappeared soon after to check on everything outside. Rin would have followed him out but the infirmary was also beginning to fill with sick and scared children brought up by other sick and scared demons, all of them feeling the effects of the purification. She'd stayed to help console the kids and bandage the worst of their burns, which weren't particularly bad. Some adults trickled in with nasty abrasions, and Rin had been working with some of these when Jinenji returned with the limp form of Kazuto.

Rin was no doctor...hell, she was a botanist, but it didn't take a doctor to tell that Kazuto was badly hurt. He was burned on one side of his body and one ear was singed off completely (Rin had never known Kazuto to have puppy ears similar to Inuyasha's, but she supposed she could ask questions later). He was unconscious and barely breathing.

Rin stood by and held Kazuto's good hand while Jinenji worked on him, bandaging the burns and using a strong-smelling concoction to try to wake him up. Some color returned to his face but he didn't wake. Jinenji seemed pleased in spite of it. He smiled at Rin cautiously.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked.

"I think he'll survive. His demonic energy was badly wounded, but he's got unusually tough youki for a hanyou. He reminds me of Inuyasha that way." Jinenji said softly.

Shippo ran by but didn't stop to talk. Rin got up and made as though to leave. Jinenji stopped her with a gentle hand on her wrist, suddenly looking worried.

"Better stay in here with me," He said.

"Why? No, I want to see what happened." Rin said. Jinenji shook his head.

"There will be plenty of time for that. Don't...don't rush down there. Give yourself some time."

Rin stared back at him, astonished. What did he mean? Had someone died? Why would she need time?

Before she could decide what to do, a tall figure in the doorway caught her eye, and she nearly dropped to her knees in shock.