Part 12

"Hojo? Hojo, can you hear me?" Kagome stroked a hand over his forehead again, softly caressing his scalp and carefully avoiding the bump left when InuYasha had tossed him. Sango still slept peacefully in a corner of the room and Kaede was preparing clean dressings for Hojo's wounds. She came over and knelt on his other side handing Kagome a clean cloth and a small jar of salve. She laid them carefully on the floor before going back to awakening Hojo.

Though she knew she'd heard him groaning earlier this morning, Kagome was not sure she would be able to wake him now. His sleep was like the dead except that he was breathing and warm to the touch. She was not worried about fever, his wounds were not serious enough, but she was concerned about shock. Hojo'd been uncharacteristically lethargic after he'd come to Kaede's hut yesterday. He had reacted to the pain and discomfort caused by his arm, but had seemed to take it all in stride as though he were caught in some altered reality. He'd not spoken much and actually had lain down to sleep without complaint or even a goodnight.

"Come on, Hojo. It's Kagome... open your eyes, please," she said in an almost whine.

The man in her arms scrunched his face a little before yawning and awakening. He seemed dazed and unfocused, searching his surrounding for something familiar, something that would tell him he wasn't still dreaming. Kagome's face was the only recognizable thing.

"Where..?" he whispered, his voice scratchy and dry.

She sighed with relief and had to catch herself before hugging him fiercely. "You found me, remember. Through the well."

"That was a dream, Kagome," he stated. She shook her head negative. "It's real?" Hojo's eyes widened in wonder as Kagome slowly affirmed his questions. She gazed up across him and Hojo realized for the first time that they were not alone.

An old woman, the one he remembered tending his wounds the previous night, sat silently, watching him and Kagome interact with a sort of sad joy in her eyes. Hojo studied the face, and could remember the sound of her voice before she even spoke.

"Do you think you can walk, young man?" Her aged voice was soft and anything but condescending.

Hojo nodded and the two women helped him to sit up. His head swam with dizziness and his shoulder throbbed so bad that for a moment he believed he'd be sick all over them. With a weak gulp, he swallowed his nausea. Kagome left him for a moment to get some water then helped him to sip the cool, clear liquid. It did wonders to calm his stomach.

"Kaede and I need to change the wrappings and put some more salve on you arm, then we'll go home. Okay?" Kagome began preparing the cloth wrappings and didn't see his weak nod of approval.

As the two carefully unwrapped, cleaned, and redressed his shoulder, Hojo was able to take in a bit more of his surroundings. He studied the walls, the random patch of sky through the window, the miscellaneous evidence of living in the room, the fire pit... anything really to keep his mind off the tingles and pricks of pain in his arm.

Kagome was sitting behind him and the old woman on his left, finishing the wrapping, when Hojo noticed shadowed forms moving in the next room. He tensed and tried to get to his feet as the bamboo curtain that divided the rooms was putted back slightly and a young fox came in.

Alerted to the presence of another, Kagome looked over Hojo's shoulder, while trying to hold him down, and saw Shippou. "Hey there," she said in a cheery voice and felt Hojo react to it and calm beneath her hand.

"Hello," the junior fox demon said, a curious tilt to his head as he studied Hojo. "I'm Shippou," his sweet child's voice danced with excitement as the kitsune slowly approached the trio in the middle of the room.

The little being was getting closer and closer, and with every miniature step, Hojo became more and more tense. He needed a savior...

As if one cue, the curtain was pulled back again, and Miroku came into the room. He scooped-up Shippou and sat down, positioning the cub on his lap. Shippou squirmed for a moment then settled when the priest whispered something in his ear. Hojo starred at the man, asking with his eyes what had been said. His answer was a wink.

Aware that Miroku had joined them but not really paying attention, Kaede and Kagome finished with Hojo's arm and began putting away the supplies. Kagome finished in a hurry and sat next to Hojo on his uninjured side. She leaned into him slightly to get his attention and smiled when he turned to her.

"You should be okay in a few days." He nodded and hummed in response. "I, um... I'm really sorry about this. I didn't know you could follow me here, or that InuYasha would come after you, or that..."

"Hey, hey," he said, calming her to mumbles. "I didn't know what to expect either, but your family asked me to come."

"Her family?" Shippou asked.

Hojo nodded to the little cub and turned back to Kagome. "They are afraid one of these times you won't come back. I'd be willing to bet the well should and will be destroyed once we get back."

Shippou gasped, Miroku grumbled, and Kaede gave a somewhat understanding sound of approval. Kagome looked a her three friends, almost losing it when she saw Shippou's bottom lip quiver, then back to Hojo quickly.

"Then I can't leave yet. I need to finish what I started here before I go entirely." She voice was firm and her statement final.

"Then I stay too."

"You can't," came a strong reply from the other side of the bamboo curtain. Hojo looked up just as a man with long white hair, dog-ears, and wearing a red kimono came into the room. He stood just inside the door, his amber eyes drilling holes right into Hojo, and crossed his arms over his chest.

InuYasha..., he thought.

"You will go back through the well and never use it again, if you know what's good for you." The man's commanding presence and the fact that none of the others were opposing him, sent a chill down Hojo's spine.

No longer one to be outdone in front of Kagome, Hojo struggled to his feet, swaying dangerously until Kagome also stood and helped him, and faced off with the second demon he'd ever met.

"Who are you to be giving orders, especially to me? I'm here for Kagome, not to be pushed around by the likes of you..."

Anger clouded InuYasha's eyes and he took a threatening step forward. "Listen you, I should have killed you last night, so don't think I won't try again every chance I get, especially when you're not hiding behind a girl."

Hojo fisted his hand and was about to step up to InuYasha when Kagome swung around him to stand between the two, giving the demon an evil glare before speaking.

"He's right, Hojo. You can't stay." Hojo looked down at her, his expression bordering on betrayal. "You could get hurt again...," she said in a weak voice. Behind her she heard InuYasha snort in triumph. Without warning she said 'SIT' and was satisfied that she'd evened the score when a loud thump and many obscene curses railed at her back. Hojo too was trying to suppress a smile.

"Okay," he consented, then lowered his voice, thinking only Kagome would be able to hear him, "but you can't spend as much time here. I want to see you more." He swept a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand come to rest on her shoulder. She blushed and behind her on the floor, InuYasha fumed.

"I'm going to show Hojo how to get to the well," Kagome said, her comment directed towards Kaede but meant for the room in general.

As they left the house InuYasha finally found his footing. "Leave them be," Kaede warned. "Might want to stay here until she comes back," Miroku advised. "Don't drive her away," Shippou whispered, almost to himself and low enough that InuYasha doubted anyone but him had heard. Don't worry, kitsune, I'm not going to lose her...