Ch 4: Kagome the fighter- "You can't protect me all the time Inu Yasha."
Okay, just a quick note- everyone knows by now that if the point of view changes to first person (I did this, etc. ) then it's Kagome right? If you don't then it's from Kagome's point of view. Anyway, thank you for your encouraging reviews- please keep them coming if you have the time. I also welcome emails if there is a point of confusion, and will be happy to chat via IM. :::Leans against the sign that states in big letters 'IUN YASHA AND CO. DO NOT BELONG TO ME!':::If you find this part lags a bit, please be patient- this is laying a lot of foundation for part 3 and you have to wade through this first.
Back at the Shrine.
Inu Yasha had retuned to Kagome's shrine to wait for her. The sunlight was almost gone and Kagome hadn't shown up yet. The hanyou played with the dogs, noting that they also noticed Kagome's absence. Duchess whined at Inu Yasha and Socrates barked to be let out. The hanyou felt uneasy, unsettled, that Kagome wasn't here yet. He had checked her room and the entire grounds when he had found nothing. The only scent he detected was the fresh scent of Kagome's mother; another brief visit before leaving, hours earlier.
About to go hunt her down, Inu Yasha took a running jump into the air. He heard the dogs get out behind him and nearly fell out of the sky. Shit. Inu Yasha landed by the top of the steps just as the dogs bounded down the incline. "No! Come back!" The hanyou ran down a few steps before he saw that the dogs had stopped and were enthusiastically greeting a familiar dark haired figure. He ran down the rest of the steps, stopping by the trio. Both dogs were whining and licking Kagome, the girl on one knee on the ground. She was almost completely hidden by the big bundles of white fur; only her dark hair marked her position from above.
"Kagome?" Inu Yasha asked when she didn't acknowledge his presence. He heard her sigh and she stood, the dogs rubbing against her. The hanyou gasped, looking at Kagome's torn up state. She was bruised and her uniform torn up. Several gashes on her knees were bleeding, a cut above her eye doing the same. Her lower lip was swollen, a dark circle surrounding her left eye. She moved stiffly but she smiled at Inu Yasha as if nothing had happened.
"What… What happened to you?" he asked, voice soft as his eyes took in the damage. His ears were twitching madly, searching for any sign of an attack. The dogs were doing the same; both were alert, growling slightly, hackles raised to make them look bigger. In guard dog mode, the pair was pretty intimidating. No threat was present, no sign of an enemy anywhere.
"Sorry I'm late, Inu Yasha." Kagome said, and she smiled again. "Would you believe I slipped?" In fact, no; Inu Yasha didn't believe it. He was about to say so when Kagome started up the steps, the dogs at her side. The hanyou ran after her, easily catching up to her. He was all set to interrogate her but saw the effort she was using to get up the steps. Inu Yasha lifted her easily, carrying her up the remaining steps and across the courtyard. Kagome unlocked her front door while Inu Yasha held her. The dogs barked and followed them up the flight of stairs that led to the second floor of the house.
He took her to her room, set her on the bed and tore through her traveling bag until he found her first aid kit. Inu Yasha returned to the bed, sitting on the edge and laying out bandages. The dogs had joined the couple, laying down by Kagome's side and watching Inu Yasha intently. Socrates woofed softly, sniffing at the med kit and assorted items. Inu Yasha stood, eyeing the grit surrounding the gashes on Kagome's knees. He lifted Kagome again, startling the beaten girl in surprise.
"What are you doing?" Kagome demanded as Inu Yasha carried her out of the room. The dogs barked and followed, Socrates growling. The hanyou pushed open the door to the bath room with his foot, walking into the room with a purpose. He held Kagome one handed and began running a bath for her. "What the hell are you doing Inu Yasha?" She tugged his ears to get an answer. The dogs, responding to the anger coming from the two, began barking. The sound echoed off the tiled walls to a deafening pitch.
Inu Yasha turned on them with a snarl, dropping Kagome fully clothed into the warm bath water. Kagome screeched in surprise and both dogs started growling and snapping at the hanyou, trying to get past him and help Kagome. Behind him, the wet girl was swearing, trying to get up and slipping on the sides of the tub. The barking got worse and Inu Yasha had had it.
"Enough!" Inu Yasha roared, a bass growl underlining the word. Kagome shut up as the pitch vibrated against her bones. The hanyou grabbed each dog by its muzzle, stopping the snarls and barking. As big and powerful as each dog was, neither could get away from Inu Yasha's strong grip. He growled threateningly again at the dogs, continuing until they whined. When they submitted, the hanyou pulled them out of the bathroom, walking backwards and leading them by their muzzles. Kagome watched as all three left the room, listening to the dogs whining pitifully. She heard a door slam nearby and then Inu Yasha walked back inside the bathroom again, closing the door behind him.
"You!" And he stabbed his finger at Kagome. "You take a bath and clean up those cuts! When you're done, I'll bandage them." Kagome opened her mouth to protest and Inu Yasha jabbed his finger at her again. "Wash yourself or I will." His tone broached no argument; Kagome knew he was serious.
Damn him! There was no way I could get him to leave, even after sitting him multiple times. The hanyou simply pealed himself off the floor, dumped me back into the tub (I had tried to leave the room) and then sat on the floor again, his back to me as he waited for me to finish. I sighed and his ears twitched toward me. "You peak you die, Inu Yasha." I grumbled and began stripping off my soaked uniform. I winced as I shed the ripped garments, a few times making small whimpering noises when cuts were reopened or bad bruises were pinched. I threw the ruined outfit into a corner and sank into the tub. At long last I was naked in warm water, the heat soaking into my battered body. I ran more water, pouring bubble bath in for extra cover. Now that I was hidden completely I could relax and wash the grime away.
"This isn't a pleasure bath, wench." Inu Yasha snorted.
"The hell it isn't!" I replied, letting my head slip under the water. I tossed my hair, letting the liquid thoroughly coat the strands. I came back up for air, reaching for the shampoo as I checked the position of my guard; the hanyou was right where he should be, ears in my direction, head turned to the side. "Turn your head!" I ordered and watched him snap his head away. I began washing my hair, shampooing and rinsing it out then using the conditioner. I grabbed the soap and scrubbed my skin, sucking air through my teeth when I cleaned the assorted cuts, scrapes, and bruises that now colored my skin.
"What happened to you?" Inu Yasha asked.
"Fell." I answered dispassionately. Now, why had I used such a lame excuse? The simple answer was that I didn't want to explain to Inu Yasha I had been in a fight. If I told him what had really happened, he would want to know the reason behind the fight and I didn't want to tell him that it was over dating rights to a boy I wasn't interested in. Now that I thought about it, the whole thing was pretty idiotic; I had fought for no real reason except that the girls had 1) pushed me into it and 2) because some part of me still held Hojo as a kind of back up in case Inu Yasha never accepted me as a girlfriend.
"If you fell then I'm human." He snorted.
I winced as I inspected my knee. "Once a month you are human and the rest of the time you're half." I answered absently and heard him growl. "Ow!" I muttered as I brushed the grit away from the lips of the wound. "Owowowowowow!" I was close to tears by the time all the cuts were looked over and scrubbed clean. I pulled the chain for the stopper and the water began to drain away. I ran fresh warm water, cramming myself under it to make sure all the soap was gone. Normally I took a shower after a bath to get rid of all the suds but with Inu Yasha sitting nearby and unwilling to leave, there was no way I was getting out of this tub.
"I need a towel." I said and heard my voice drag. Now that I was clean and warm and safe, all I wanted to do was sleep. The adrenaline that had fueled me during my endeavors and had given me the strength to walk home was ebbing away. I had no more reserves to fall back on- I was too tired to go make myself dinner. Hell, I didn't even have the energy to go to my bed; I was ready to just refill the tub again and sleep here. Soft cloth brushed my face and I blinked, taking the towel from Inu Yasha while making sure that his body was turned away. I turned off the water and stood, wrapping the fabric around my body. I stepped out, favoring the leg with the most damage. Inu Yasha paced me as I moved, no doubt ready to catch me if I fell over.
"I can walk Inu Yasha- I'm not hurt that badly!" I snapped and he backed off. I left the bathroom, hitting the light on the way out, and opened the door to my room. I was promptly sent sprawling on my butt as Socrates and Duchess rushed out and jumped on me. I was being licked and sniffed and pushed against in a matter of seconds. One of the dogs hit a bad bruise on my ribcage and I cried out. I petted them in thanks for their greeting and, nearly doubled over, went into my room. The dogs followed me, Duchess laying down on the bed and Socrates lying down on the floor. Their tails were wagging, furry white flags moving in their own wind.
Inu Yasha came in and I told him to get out so I could dress. He only went over to the bed and sat on it, folding his arms and daring me silently to make him leave. "It'll save time if there's less clothing in the way." He said sensibly, a blush coloring his cheeks. I couldn't argue with his logic but I still wanted some clothes on before we treated the damage from my 'fall.' I took a step toward the bed, one hand pointing at the door. I opened my mouth to tell Inu Yasha to go to hell and my knee gave out on me.
I didn't know which one of us was more surprised in all honesty. I managed to keep my towel in place and tried to stand again with the same result. The only thing I got for my efforts was a lot of blood leaving my knee. I heard Inu Yasha leave the bed and stoop over to pick me up. I let him and sighed in defeat as he dropped me on the bed; no way was I getting up now. Duchess licked my face as Inu Yasha picked up the bandages. I felt like Humpty Dumpty, and all the kings' horses and all the kings men had to put me back together again. I pet Duchess to take my mind off the pain- Inu Yasha was using antiseptic and it really didn't feel good.
At some point during the process I began to relax enough to doze. Every time I caught myself napping I'd jerk awake and startle everyone on the bed. Steadily, Inu Yasha was moving cut by cut up my leg, being thorough and professional. I suppose that with all the fights Inu Yasha must have fought in his life time, he had to pick up some medical know how. He wasn't doing that bad, so engrossed in his work that he wasn't saying anything and that was great because I wasn't up for heavy conversation…. Did I mention I was tired? I guess using my powers was a bit more involving than I thought; a pay off for using it in the first place. I guess it really can't count as cheating since we were both using what we had at our disposal and for me that meant both magically and physically.
"Why are the dogs here?" Inu Yasha asked, voice distant.
I yawned. "We're dog sitting them for a friend of Sota's." I yawned again, blinking in the dim illumination. I realized the light wasn't on, that no lights were on anywhere. The moon was coming out but it didn't provide a lot of illumination. I blinked in the darkness, surprised that I could see so well. I shrugged to myself and winced immediately.
"Then where's Sota?" Inu Yasha took hold of my arm and began mending it.
"Hospital." I answered absently and felt Inu Yasha stop. "He came down with tonsillitis after the dogs showed up and mom and Gramps have been with him since. I have to take care of the dogs by myself." Inu Yasha resumed and I realized that he probably didn't know what tonsillitis was. "Sota's having an operation to have his tonsils removed."
"What's a tonsil?"
I scratched at Duchess' ear with my free hand and gave the dog a sleepy smile. "Tonsils are glands in your throat. When they get infected they have to be removed." Socrates put his head by mine and I scratched his ears with my bandaged hand while Inu Yasha saw to the other one.
"What kind of dogs are these, anyway?"
I blinked, catching myself napping again. Each time I fell asleep it was harder to wake up. "Duchess is a Kuvasz, a dog breed from Hungary. Socrates is a Great Pyrenees, a breed from France. Both breeds are used for guarding, herding, and hunting large game- that's why they're so big. It's colder in their native regions so they have a lot of fur. They are rescue dogs in training here." That was all I could remember at the moment. Inu Yasha touched my face and I looked at him, smiling as I felt my eye lids close.
I tried to open them, couldn't and decided to give up. I let myself float in that place between true sleep and being awake. Floating was the appropriate term; to do more I had to choose where I wanted to be- asleep or awake. I realized that someone was talking to me, asking me questions about my day. Actually, there were two voices, both of which I recognized. They were both asking the same questions, blending into each other until they became one voice.
"What happened?" and the voice was filled with concern.
I answered truthfully; I was tired and just wanted some peace. "Got into a fight." Maybe if I answered them they'd go away.
"Must have been a hell of a fight!" and the voice was filled with laughter and surprise. I felt myself smile. "Stupid girls- jumped me after school. I was so late already. Inu Yasha was gonna kill me…"
"What was it about?" Curiosity.
"Personal." I muttered, my tone making it clear I would say no more.
"Did you win?" Mild interest.
"Yah," I answered softly. "I won. It hurt."
And here the voices separated, one simply disappearing, the other staying to ask a new question. "Where was Inu Yasha? He protects you, where was he?"
"Dunno." I replied, feeling myself sinking into slumber land. "Looking for me at the Shrine. He had to be so angry…I was late again…." I babbled and picked up the last part of the question. "Inu Yasha can't protect me all the time… He'd have to be with me all the time and he can't…too… dangerous…" I fell into a dreamless sleep, far away from the questions.