Chapter 12: Month 3, part 1: Queen of Potions

Sesshomaru attempted to rest for a moment on his campground. Rin was laying close to Ah-Un for warmth, and despite Jaken's objections, he also found himself laying next to the two other bundles.

It was quite unlike himself however, Sesshomaru admitted he had felt strange the past few days. Some bouts of lightheadedness made themselves present during his flights (at the worst possible time).

This particular night, however, he was feeling a bit queasy. As he was a Taiyokai, the last time he had any recollection of feeling this way was a couple of hundred years ago, after a pandemic had swept his lands. He had not been able to separate himself from the illness as he was the lord of the western lands and needed to meet with multiple demons every day for the good of his people. He held much responsibility, and the illness was an unfortunate consequence of a job well done.

But he had not been aware of any serious illnesses sweeping the lands he was surveying. His antibodies were stronger than ever and no lowly cold would be able to get to him to show such symptoms.

He closed his eyes and breathed the cold night air, trying to forget nausea that permeated through his whole body. When had this started exactly? What had diverted him from his usual routine? The cold night air swept his silver tresses across his face, adding to his discomfort.

A cricket began chirping in the background. The annoying sound reminded him of something very vexing.

He thought back to the past few weeks, remembering the raven-haired priestess who would not stop talking. He could not contradict that she was acting unusual, having the valor (or was it ignorance?) to confront someone like himself, despite serious warnings. Could this be caused by a serious disease? and if so, could a human-made disease affect him in any way?

He groaned and rubbed his temple with his only hand. Of course not. This malady was affecting his thought process. Something as simple as catching a bug from the multitude of demons he saw every week, could not be caused by a simple Miko.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" a small voice caused him to break away from his thoughts and open his eyes to look at the small child looking up at him worriedly, "Are you not feeling well? You look much more pale than usual..."

Rin had woken up after hearing her lord's groan and walked up to him to figure out what was going on. She steadied her small body on the ground next to Sesshomaru and rested her head on his side, attempting to comfort him.

"Hn. " He closed his eyes once more, the nauseousness was beginning to pass... Surely the miko was not the cause of his sickness.

During our journey chasing the elusive Naraku, I managed to obtain the majority of the ingredients needed for operation Sesshoumaru. Sango had seen me retrieving one of the items and rose an eyebrow.

"What do you need that for, kagome?"

"It's a very rare herb and I need it to practice making medicine… and stuff." I giggled nervously, blood draining from my face. Sango only nodded softly, thinking about the possibility of that being true.

I put the yellow herb into my backpack and returned to my advancing group.

"Hurry up, Kagome." Inuyasha said, "We're almost in the next village."

"We'll be able to stay there the night, ladies." Miroku said, grinning.

"Thank kami. I feel that my back will break if I sleep on the ground again."

I knew I had been very silent on our journey, but I couldn't help it! I was constantly thinking about the medicine and if I would actually be able to make it correctly… what about later? How would I be able to give it to Sesshoumaru?

Alrighty, just one step at a time.

I was also trying to avoid talking to Inuyasha ever since that trip he made to see Kikyou. I just wasn't ready to place all my energy in a heated debate about who was more important to him. This was good for me, as I had been able to dedicate myself to working on my powers and potions. The other day, Shippo had had an upset stomach and I was able to make him a pretty good tea. Super impressive, right? Well anyways, he was up and running in a half hour. I was also able to come up with a tea for myself- and the nauseousness I sometimes felt.

Once everyone was finally asleep, I stood up and looked around the room. It's a good thing that Sango was the only one permitted in the room. Miroku was off in another, though I guessed Inuyasha would take sleep on a tree outside.

I glanced over at the three sleeping bundles on my side. Sango, Kirara and Shippou seemed to be getting some much-needed sleep after our long trek. The Naraku trail seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It had been a couple of weeks since we had begun our journey from Kaede's village. Inuyasha and the others no longer had a cold, so we could infer that the scent we were picking up was correct. However, the moment we picked it up and thought we were on the right trail, we would lose the scent again. It was getting frustrating, but I had taken the time to practice my powers and read up on the books I had borrowed from gramps.

I need to study for upcoming tests, but here I am- having fun with plants. Priorities.

This night, I felt ready to finally test my powers out. I carefully slipped out of the bed covers and grabbed my yellow backpack. All the ingredients I needed were there. Slowly, I opened the sliding doors from my room and stepped off to where we had made dinner before. The cool breeze tickled my skin, raising goosebumbs and making me shiver involuntarily. I stepped off the wooden planks and touched the grass floor. A dirt trail led me off to a low fire where we had eaten a couple of hours earlier.

I sighed and sat down on one of the lone rocks set as seats around the dying fire and remembered to look around. Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen and neither was anyone else. I could finally get down to business.

I opened my pack and got out my ingredients, including a small pot (It had been used to make ramen for Inuyasha earlier) and the ripped page from grandpa's books:

Regenerating Lost Limbs

It is known that even though demons cure in a very rapid way in comparison to humans or even half-demons, the loss of a limb is a very serious exception. When a loss of limb occurs, there is a very slim possibility that the demon will be able to regenerate at all. Only demons with greater power or social statuses have a greater possibility of regenerating. The creation or replacement of a limb can take from a few minutes in the best of cases or up to hundreds of years depending on the strength of the demon.

Medicine has evolved to aid in this process, created by various humans all coexisting with demons.

Ingredients (To be mixed well and given orally to demon)

Herb of Oshitouba

Herb of Rosemary

Herb of Campborset

Flowers of Elvitora

Ground (earthed from stream)

Stream of river

Blood of demon

*Mix ingredients with fang.

*In very common occasions this mixture will not be successful if the demon is spiritually impaired.

I had already collected all the ingredients needed for the remedy and began putting them over the fire. I had unknowingly saved Sesshoumaru's blood on a leaf, from the day he was recovering from the flying demon attack.

"So that's the last of it," I quietly said, placing the leaf over the steam on the pot, making the blood liquid and no longer just a stain. The three drops fell nicely to the river water and I threw the leaf aside.

Clapping my hands, I began to chant the long prayer mentioned on the page. I felt a surge of power emerge from the palms of my hands and head towards my fingertips.

Just a little bit more...

"What are you doing, Kagome?"

I felt my eyes snap open and my pressure drop. It was Inuyasha. I instantly grabbed the loose page and hid it underneath my thighs.

"Just practicing my powers…"

"Out here in the night?" He sat down next to me and I turned to face him.

"I couldn't sleep," I answered sheepishly.

He placed his arm around me and looked away, blushing many different shades of red.

"It's important you get your beauty sleep… I'll be here until you finish, Kagome."

I blushed involuntarily. "Thanks, Inuyasha…" This is the effect he had on me, I was unable to control myself, even if I was still a bit angry. We stayed there together for a while, as I breathed him in. He was so different from his icy brother, even in scent. Inuyasha smelled a little bit like the trees and damp earth whereas his brother had a soft flowery fragrance... I giggled a bit, his majesty would have given me a disgusted face if he ever knew I was thinking of him in that way.

I patted Inuyasha's arm, letting him know I would continue with my studies and he removed his arm to sit farther away, to the base of a tree. I watched him close his eyes. I glanced back over at the pot and slowly began to chant once more. The power began to swell in me again, making sparks at my fingertips.

I chanted for a good amount of time. Once I finished and opened my eyes, nothing had happened. The liquid in the pot was the same clear liquid I had seen since I started. I reached for the paper once more and re-read everything.

Mixture will be turned into a liquid red once the chant is finished.

My mixture looked nothing like that.

I put everything! The herbs, water, dirt, blood…

My eyes scanned over the ingredients once more.

… Mix with fang?

So that was what was wrong. I groaned internally.

What fang? God damn it.

I laid my head back and opened my eyes. I could see Inuyasha was calmly meditating, Tetsusaiga taking place beside him under the tree. That's when it occurred to me!

Fang!

Would that work?

I got up quickly and tip-toed over to Inuyasha's side. He never flinched or gave any indication I was there, which was better for me. I grabbed the sword quickly and walked swiftly back to the pot, Introducing the tip of the sword and beginning to mix while I continued to chant (now memorized). I could feel the power surge through my hands, to my fingertips and into Tetsusaiga. It glowed a warm purple as the mixture became a sparkling red. I removed the sword, beaming. It was done.

Now, how the heck do I force feed the great icy Lord Sesshomaru?