"Well, what do we have here?"
Kagome felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She turned
her head slowly. A tall man wearing a dark kimono and a leather belt stood
behind her, watching her. He was smirking at her. She stopped picking the
vegetables out of the garden near the hut. No one had ever dared to come
close to Inu-Yasha's hut before. They knew who it belonged to. This man,
apprently, did not.
Nauki came out of the hut, watching the man approach Kagome. She
didn't know who the stranger was. "Ma..ma..?"
Kagome turned around to look at Nauki. "Go back inside, Nauki! Shut
the door!"
Nauki panicked at the urgency in her voice. She was unsure about
leaving Kagome alone with the strange man. However, she did as she was
told.
"Aw, what a pretty little girl you have, Miss," the man said, coming
a bit closer. "Why'd you make her go inside like that?"
Kagome stood her ground. Her other two children were asleep in the
hut, lying on the floor in one of the rooms. "Who are you? What do you
want," she demanded.
The man licked his lips at her. "You certainly are a pretty young
girl, aren't you?" He came at her as she ran from him. He grabbed Kagome by
the hair, forcing her back towards him. "Aw, afraid you might like me
better than your husband?" He laughed some.
"Let go of me!" Kagome whirled around, smacking the man in the face.
"How dare you strike me, you.." The man grabbed her by the arm,
hurling her to the ground. Kagome hit the ground hard. He was standing over
her. With enough pressure, he put both of his feet on her arms, holding her
down. "Now, what else do you have in that nice hut of yours?"
*The children!* Kagome's eyes widened. She tried to move, but
couldn't because of the man's weight. "Let go of me! You stay away from my
children!"
"So..how many do you have?" The man turned around eying the hut.
Nauki had the door open a little, watching them. He smiled at her
devilishly. "Children fetch a nice price," he said.
Kagome gasped. The man was thinking of abducting the children to sell
as slaves. "No," she screamed. "Inu-Yasha!"
The man bent down, putting his hand over her mouth. "It won't do you
any good, Miss. I already checked the area before I approached you. No one
is in miles of here," he smiled again, showing his missing teeth. "Which of
course, is in my favor."
Kagome mumbled with his hand over her mouth. She couldn't let him
take her children. Aya and Oda were just babies; Nauki was four years-old.
"Don't you dare touch them," the muffled scream came to his ears.
Nauki didn't know what to do. Her mama needed help. The man was
wanting to take them away from her mama and papa. "Mama," she said softly.
She glanced at her baby brother and sister sleeping on the floor.
"Either you let me take them, or I kill them and sell their skins to
the demons," the man said, his eyes narrowing. "Making bargins with demons
is my living, Miss. They have many uses for human skins."
"What? No!" Kagome shook her head at him. He wasn't letting her up.
"Stay away from them," she screamed as he took his hand away from her
mouth. He seemed to be enjoying listening to her panic.
"Papa," Nauki started to scream at the top of her lungs. The man
whirled around. He was coming towards the hut. Nauki closed the door,
putting all of her weight against it. "Papa! Papa! Papa!" She screamed over
and over.
"Why you little..." He had had enough of this. That little girl was
going to alarm someone as loud as she was screaming. He had to shut her up.
Kagome jumped on his back, hitting him with her hands. "Leave her
alone!" She gritted her teeth, hitting the man with all of her might.
"Nauki! Stay inside!"
The man grabbed a hold of Kagome's shoulder. "You are not as much
trouble as you think you are," he said gruffly. He threw Kagome down. She
landed on her face. Unsheathing his dagger, he raised it high over his
head. Kagome looked up, staring fearfully at the blade.
"No! My mama!" Nauki shot out of the door. She ran straight at the
man, grabbing him around his leg. Opening her mouth wide, her eyes narrowed
as she bit into his leg, growling with all of her might.
The man's eyes widened. "Ow!" He bent down, grabbing Nauki by the
front of her kimono. Kagome was up in no time. She jumped at the man, her
hand balled into a fist. "I've had enough of you," he told Kagome. With all
of his might, he held onto Nauki as she kicked. With his other hand, he
grabbed a hold of Kagome, putting her into a headlock, choking her.
"Papa! Papa!" Nauki kicked as best she could at the man's chest. Her
small hands were scratching at his arm that was holding her high into the
air.
Kagome felt herself blacking out. White lines were showing in her
vision. "Inu..Ya..sha..," she said softly, feeling her lungs burning for
air.
"Kagome," Inu-Yasha shouted. He could see some man holding her
tightly against him. His legs were running with all of their might towards
his hut. Inu-Yasha could make out something else the man was holding in his
other hand. It was Nauki who was still screaming for him. "Let go of her!"
The man narrowed his eyes. He looked up at the four-year-old who had
ruined his chances of selling slaves to the demons. "You brat," he snarled.
He brought Nauki down to look into his eyes. Her eyes widened as he smiled
harshly at her.
The man dropped Kagome to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye,
he could tell Inu-Yasha was not human. *That means..this little thing is
only..a half-demon. Damn, I can't sell these children, they would murder me
on sight.* With a heave of his strength, the man threw Nauki. He turned
around, running away from the scene as Nauki's shoulder came into contact
with the trunk of a tree.
Inu-Yasha stopped momentarily, checking on Kagome. He didn't have
time to get Nauki. He wanted to make the man pay for hurting Kagome. Inu-
Yasha took off in a flash, his arms out to the sides, his nails flexed and
ready. There was no way the man was going to be able to outrun him.
The man had no idea that Inu-Yasha could run so fast. He drew his
dagger, slashing at him as he came closer. Inu-Yasha hit the blade with his
claws, deflecting it back at the man. "You basterd! How dare you hurt my
wife!" Inu-Yasha snarled, showing his demonic fangs. "You are going to pay
for laying a hand on her!"
The man's eyes widened as he was trying to deflect the half-demon
back. There was no use. Inu-Yasha's leg came around the back of the man's
back. He kicked the man towards him, his fist catching the man in the
stomach. The man's eyes widened as air escaped his lungs.
Inu-Yasha flexed his nails, tormenting the stranger by showing him
how sharp his claws were. With one last gesture, Inu-Yasha slashed at the
man's throat. The man fell to the ground instantly, the life draining from
his body.
Kagome opened her eyes slowly. The stranger that had attacked her was no where to be found. She got up slowly. Dazily, she searched the area for Nauki. She found the four-year-old laying on her side near a tree. "Nauki?!" Kagome ran to her, almost falling to her knees out of weakness. Her lungs were still recovering from the suffication attempt by the unknown man. Nauki was laying on her side, clutching her arm, her eyes closed, teeth gritted, in a fetal position. "Bubbles? Bubbles, look at me," Kagome pleaded. She was unsure of what the man had done to Nauki. It was scaring her. Nauki could faintly hear Kagome calling her. The pain in her shoulder hurt so bad she couldn't move. She was afraid to breathe, to open her eyes. She opened her mouth, wanting to cry, but couldn't muster a sound. Kagome realized Nauki was in so much pain, she wasn't able to speak. Lightly, she lifted the four-year-old up, not touching her shoulder. "Bubbles, please look at me," Kagome pleaded again. Tears were streaming down Nauki's face, her mouth wide open. She was in shock. Inu-Yasha came back, wiping his claws on his kimono. He noticed that Kagome was alright, and that she was holding Nauki. He jogged towards her. "Kagome," he called, going immediatly to his knees. "I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know what he did! She tried to help me, Inu-Yasha," Kagome said. She moved her hand to touch Nauki's shoulder. Nauki erupted in loud, panicky, shrill screams. Kagome placed her hand on the girl's cheek, pressing her close to her chest. She rocked Nauki softly, her mind in shambles. "Nauki, what did he do to you," she asked in tears. Nauki kept screaming over and over the same shrill sound. She was hurting so bad, and afraid to be touched. The pain was unbearable. No one had ever hurt her like that before. She couldn't feel her hand, or her arm.
Inu-Yasha could feel the anger building up again. The man had not only hurt his wife, but also his four-year-old adopted daughter. He didn't understand how this could have happened. He wrapped his arms around Nauki very gently, being careful of her shoulder. There was a reason why she didn't want anyone to touch it. He looked down at her. Nauki was slowly just starting to cry instead of scream. Kagome stopped rocking her, her eyes pleading with his. "Nauki, look at me..look at me," he moved his hand to grab a hold of her chin, forcing her to stay focused on him. "I'm not going to..shhh..I'm not going to touch it," he said. Nauki wanted the pain to stop. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment. If she hadn't of disobeyed Kagome, the man would have hurt her mama. She wanted her mama to stay with her and her papa. "M.....mm.....Ma......mmmm...a....h," she said, her voice coming out slowly. "Little One...," Inu-Yasha called her. Her purple eyes slowly opened, focusing on him before they closed again. "Nauki,...Nauki...tell me what...the man did.." He watched her hiccup, breathing softly out, then in quick. "Nauki,...tell papa...what the man did to you." Tears were still coming out of her eyes, but not as much. Her papa was with her now. Inu-Yasha had chased the bad man away. "Nauki, tell papa..what the man did to you," Inu-Yasha pleaded. He was afraid the man had twisted her arm, attacked her, and worse. His eyes widened as Nauki said "twee..". The man had thrown her up against a tree when he had seen Inu-Yasha coming. He had to see how bad off she was. Inu-Yasha brought his claw up slowly towards her. Nauki started to scream when she saw it coming. Kagome pressed the girl's head to her chest, tightly. As Nauki screamed, Inu-Yasha gently moved the sleeve down, and off of her shoulder. "Oh, no..." Nauki's shoulder was completely bruised. It was black as night. Inu- Yasha knew instantly why Nauki was screaming. Her shoulder had been broken by the impact of her body being thrown against the tree. Inu-Yasha looked down at the small girl. She was still crying. Nauki had interferred, in order, to save Kagome. Kagome was crying along with Nauki. She had no idea what had happened. "He hurt her..." She gasped, breathing in sharply. "She got hurt to help me.." Inu-Yasha put his arms around both of them. "He wanted to steal the children, Inu-Yasha. He said he was going to sell them into slavery. I had no way of stopping him.." Kagome blamed herself for what had happened. She should have had some sort of defense, but she had none. He rubbed his cheek against Kagome's to help calm her down. "It's not your fault, Kagome. You had no way of knowing who he was, or what he was capable of doing...It's no one's fault." Nauki stopped screaming when she realized no one was touching her shoulder. "Mah...ma..," she cried, the pain evident in her voice. She gritted her teeth, wanting it to stop. Inu-Yasha bent down, licking Nauki's face. He knew she was in pain. Very gently, he touched her arm, holding her still. Inu-Yasha rubbed his nose against hers. "I've got to bandage her arm. Alright, Kagome, get up very slowly, and I'll hold her still. Ready?" Kagome nodded. She got up gently, making sure she didn't sway or jerk. Inu-Yasha kept Nauki's arm held firmly to her side. They went into the hut, slowly. Kagome walked to one of the rooms by herself, carrying Nauki as if she were a rare Chinese vase. The four-year-old was still crying. "'Urt...Mah..ma...It..'urt..." Kagome kissed her on the forehead. "I know, Bubbles. We're going to try and make it better." She was slightly crying over the pain Nauki was in. Inu-Yasha went to the room where the twins were sleeping on the floor. He kneeled down, not knowing how they could have slept through the ordeal. As he ran his nail along Aya's face, she started to wake up. She rubbed her eyes, smacking her mouth some. Aya let her father pick her up. Inu-Yasha set her on his knee. He glanced down at Oda who was sleeping hard. "I don't know how your brother sleeps through everything." "Wazie," Aya said. Inu-Yasha needed to keep Aya and Oda seperated from Nauki. He was afraid they would hurt her shoulder, or Nauki wouldn't remember that it was broken. *I need to make some sort of barrier...* He walked outside holding Aya. When Inu-Yasha came back, he was carrying several long pieces of branches. He put Aya down and told her to stay in the room with Oda. Aya watched her father make a fence out of the brances and twine. Inu-Yasha made sure it was secure to where the twins wouldn't be able to crawl over it, or push it down. "There. That's perfect. Stay in here with your brother. I've got to fix your sister up." "What were you doing," Kagome asked as she held Nauki's head to her chest. "I had to make a fence so Oda and Aya wouldn't be in here interrupting. She's still hurting," he said watching the girl. Nauki had her eyes closed. She was afraid to move. "Inu-Yasha, go look in our room for a wooden box underneath the blankets. Kaede gave me a bunch of ointments just in case I needed them." Inu-Yasha went to their sleeping quarters. He moved the blankets aside. Lifting up the box, he walked back to the other room where Kagome was holding Nauki. He opened up the box. "What are you going to put on her?" "There's some leaves in a little box near the back. Open it. Those are it. Kaede said if they are mixed in bowl, their juices contain an antiseptic for numbness." Inu-Yasha did as she said. He crunched the leaves in the mixing bowl. As Kagome held Nauki, he lightly, ever so cautiously started to put the ointment on Nauki's shoulder. Kagome had to turn the girl's face away so she wouldn't scream when she saw Inu-Yasha's claw coming. Within a few minutes, Nauki stopped crying. "Alright, Little One, now all we have to do is bandage you up." He got out the cloth, slowly wrapping it around her shoulder. Then he wrapped the bandage around her arm and her stomach, in order to keep her from moving her arm, and possibly rebreaking her shoulder as it healed. Nauki wanted to forget everything. She didn't want to hurt anymore, nor her arm be broken. Nauki swallowed, her eyes closing some. The medicine was taking effect. "Oh, no." Kagome heard a loud bang. Nauki jerked. Oda was up. He was bouncing down the hallway towards the room. "Mommy," Oda called. He ran into the room at full force, his arms outstretched. Inu-Yasha caught him by the seat of his pants, pulling him backwards before the tike came into contact with Nauki. "No, Raven," he said. Oda looked up at his father. "Poppy, Mommy," Oda pointed. He wanted to go to his mother. He mainly stuck by Kagome unless he was harassing Nauki or Aya. Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No....Oda, Nia's hurt." "Nia hurt?" Oda leaned forward, looking as hard as he could at the bandage around his sister. "Nia have a bwuise?" "Yes, Nia has a big, painful bruise," Inu-Yasha said, pulling him back farther. "She's asleep," Kagome said, looking down at her. "If it wasn't for her, that man could have hurt me and the children." "Man, Mommy?" Oda was watching her, his little golden eyes focused on her. "It's nothing, Sweetheart," Kagome told her son. "Mommy's alright. Nauki's alright, sort of.." Kagome gently put Nauki on the floor to sleep. She helped Inu-Yasha get a hold of the twins, taking them outside. They didn't need to be in the hut at all. A few hours passed as they stayed outside. Kagome went back to her gardening, Inu-Yasha played with the twins. Both of their minds were uneasy, concerned about the four-year-old asleep on the wooden floor. A scream shot through the air. Inu-Yasha's ears perked up immediatly. He ran towards the hut and inside. Nauki was laying on her back, her mouth open as she grabbed her arm, her legs kicking hard, hitting the floor. Inu-Yasha bent down quickly, lifting her up. "Nauki? Nauki?" She kept kicking her legs, then she started to cry loudly. He picked her up gently, setting her in his lap. The medicine had worn off. *Something tells me she rolled over on her broken shoulder.* "Ehhhh..ehhhh....Ehhh...eh..eh...Ehhhhh," Nauki cried. She leaned into her papa, wanting him to make the hurting stop. "Ppppppaaaaa...pppppaaaaaa." Inu-Yasha reached for Kagome's medicine box. He took out the ointment he had put on Nauki hours before. He held her to him with his one hand, tightly, and with the other, snipped the bandage off of her with his nail. Lightly as possible, Inu-Yasha put the ointment on her shoulder. "Shhhhh," he said, rocking her. Nauki sniffled, closing her eyes tightly. He hated to see her in so much pain. Inu-Yasha decided to stay with her. He knew the medicine was going to make her drowsy. Very quietly, he scooted over to the side of the wall. As he leaned against it, he laid Nauki on his chest. She rested her head on him, her small eyes closing some, opening again, then closing for good. Kagome came in pulling Aya and Oda. "What happened?" "She rolled over on it," Inu-Yasha told her. "Aw," she said sadly. "Are you going to stay in here with her?" "Yeah. I don't want her to roll over on it again. I don't know how long that medicine will keep her out." Nauki stuck her thumb in her mouth, sucking on it. Aya and Oda were watching her. Oda tilted his head like Nauki did when she didn't understand something. "Mama, kiss to make better," Aya said softly. She was the quietest of the three. "I can't Sweetheart. Kissing won't make Nia's shoulder better. Only time will," she told her daughter. Aya looked up at her mother with her pink eyes, her long silver hair in her face, her tiny white ears listening. "Mama, make Nia better?" She blinked her eyes. "I'll try to, baby," she told her. Kagome watched as Aya went back to watching Nauki sleep on their father. Kagome looked up also, glancing at Inu-Yasha. The expression on his face was of agony. He didn't know what to do about Nauki's shoulder. She guessed he might be thinking about the ordeal because he had been away. Inu-Yasha put his hand on the back of Nauki's head. His mind was thinking greatly about how she had saved Kagome from the stranger. She was only four-years-old and had ran in to attack the man, in some way. "Kagome,.." "Yes?" Kagome watched him blink his eyes, swallowing as he paused. "I think we're very lucky to have a little girl like her," he said softly. They both watched Nauki sleep, their minds in agony at her broken shoulder.
Kagome opened her eyes slowly. The stranger that had attacked her was no where to be found. She got up slowly. Dazily, she searched the area for Nauki. She found the four-year-old laying on her side near a tree. "Nauki?!" Kagome ran to her, almost falling to her knees out of weakness. Her lungs were still recovering from the suffication attempt by the unknown man. Nauki was laying on her side, clutching her arm, her eyes closed, teeth gritted, in a fetal position. "Bubbles? Bubbles, look at me," Kagome pleaded. She was unsure of what the man had done to Nauki. It was scaring her. Nauki could faintly hear Kagome calling her. The pain in her shoulder hurt so bad she couldn't move. She was afraid to breathe, to open her eyes. She opened her mouth, wanting to cry, but couldn't muster a sound. Kagome realized Nauki was in so much pain, she wasn't able to speak. Lightly, she lifted the four-year-old up, not touching her shoulder. "Bubbles, please look at me," Kagome pleaded again. Tears were streaming down Nauki's face, her mouth wide open. She was in shock. Inu-Yasha came back, wiping his claws on his kimono. He noticed that Kagome was alright, and that she was holding Nauki. He jogged towards her. "Kagome," he called, going immediatly to his knees. "I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know what he did! She tried to help me, Inu-Yasha," Kagome said. She moved her hand to touch Nauki's shoulder. Nauki erupted in loud, panicky, shrill screams. Kagome placed her hand on the girl's cheek, pressing her close to her chest. She rocked Nauki softly, her mind in shambles. "Nauki, what did he do to you," she asked in tears. Nauki kept screaming over and over the same shrill sound. She was hurting so bad, and afraid to be touched. The pain was unbearable. No one had ever hurt her like that before. She couldn't feel her hand, or her arm.
Inu-Yasha could feel the anger building up again. The man had not only hurt his wife, but also his four-year-old adopted daughter. He didn't understand how this could have happened. He wrapped his arms around Nauki very gently, being careful of her shoulder. There was a reason why she didn't want anyone to touch it. He looked down at her. Nauki was slowly just starting to cry instead of scream. Kagome stopped rocking her, her eyes pleading with his. "Nauki, look at me..look at me," he moved his hand to grab a hold of her chin, forcing her to stay focused on him. "I'm not going to..shhh..I'm not going to touch it," he said. Nauki wanted the pain to stop. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment. If she hadn't of disobeyed Kagome, the man would have hurt her mama. She wanted her mama to stay with her and her papa. "M.....mm.....Ma......mmmm...a....h," she said, her voice coming out slowly. "Little One...," Inu-Yasha called her. Her purple eyes slowly opened, focusing on him before they closed again. "Nauki,...Nauki...tell me what...the man did.." He watched her hiccup, breathing softly out, then in quick. "Nauki,...tell papa...what the man did to you." Tears were still coming out of her eyes, but not as much. Her papa was with her now. Inu-Yasha had chased the bad man away. "Nauki, tell papa..what the man did to you," Inu-Yasha pleaded. He was afraid the man had twisted her arm, attacked her, and worse. His eyes widened as Nauki said "twee..". The man had thrown her up against a tree when he had seen Inu-Yasha coming. He had to see how bad off she was. Inu-Yasha brought his claw up slowly towards her. Nauki started to scream when she saw it coming. Kagome pressed the girl's head to her chest, tightly. As Nauki screamed, Inu-Yasha gently moved the sleeve down, and off of her shoulder. "Oh, no..." Nauki's shoulder was completely bruised. It was black as night. Inu- Yasha knew instantly why Nauki was screaming. Her shoulder had been broken by the impact of her body being thrown against the tree. Inu-Yasha looked down at the small girl. She was still crying. Nauki had interferred, in order, to save Kagome. Kagome was crying along with Nauki. She had no idea what had happened. "He hurt her..." She gasped, breathing in sharply. "She got hurt to help me.." Inu-Yasha put his arms around both of them. "He wanted to steal the children, Inu-Yasha. He said he was going to sell them into slavery. I had no way of stopping him.." Kagome blamed herself for what had happened. She should have had some sort of defense, but she had none. He rubbed his cheek against Kagome's to help calm her down. "It's not your fault, Kagome. You had no way of knowing who he was, or what he was capable of doing...It's no one's fault." Nauki stopped screaming when she realized no one was touching her shoulder. "Mah...ma..," she cried, the pain evident in her voice. She gritted her teeth, wanting it to stop. Inu-Yasha bent down, licking Nauki's face. He knew she was in pain. Very gently, he touched her arm, holding her still. Inu-Yasha rubbed his nose against hers. "I've got to bandage her arm. Alright, Kagome, get up very slowly, and I'll hold her still. Ready?" Kagome nodded. She got up gently, making sure she didn't sway or jerk. Inu-Yasha kept Nauki's arm held firmly to her side. They went into the hut, slowly. Kagome walked to one of the rooms by herself, carrying Nauki as if she were a rare Chinese vase. The four-year-old was still crying. "'Urt...Mah..ma...It..'urt..." Kagome kissed her on the forehead. "I know, Bubbles. We're going to try and make it better." She was slightly crying over the pain Nauki was in. Inu-Yasha went to the room where the twins were sleeping on the floor. He kneeled down, not knowing how they could have slept through the ordeal. As he ran his nail along Aya's face, she started to wake up. She rubbed her eyes, smacking her mouth some. Aya let her father pick her up. Inu-Yasha set her on his knee. He glanced down at Oda who was sleeping hard. "I don't know how your brother sleeps through everything." "Wazie," Aya said. Inu-Yasha needed to keep Aya and Oda seperated from Nauki. He was afraid they would hurt her shoulder, or Nauki wouldn't remember that it was broken. *I need to make some sort of barrier...* He walked outside holding Aya. When Inu-Yasha came back, he was carrying several long pieces of branches. He put Aya down and told her to stay in the room with Oda. Aya watched her father make a fence out of the brances and twine. Inu-Yasha made sure it was secure to where the twins wouldn't be able to crawl over it, or push it down. "There. That's perfect. Stay in here with your brother. I've got to fix your sister up." "What were you doing," Kagome asked as she held Nauki's head to her chest. "I had to make a fence so Oda and Aya wouldn't be in here interrupting. She's still hurting," he said watching the girl. Nauki had her eyes closed. She was afraid to move. "Inu-Yasha, go look in our room for a wooden box underneath the blankets. Kaede gave me a bunch of ointments just in case I needed them." Inu-Yasha went to their sleeping quarters. He moved the blankets aside. Lifting up the box, he walked back to the other room where Kagome was holding Nauki. He opened up the box. "What are you going to put on her?" "There's some leaves in a little box near the back. Open it. Those are it. Kaede said if they are mixed in bowl, their juices contain an antiseptic for numbness." Inu-Yasha did as she said. He crunched the leaves in the mixing bowl. As Kagome held Nauki, he lightly, ever so cautiously started to put the ointment on Nauki's shoulder. Kagome had to turn the girl's face away so she wouldn't scream when she saw Inu-Yasha's claw coming. Within a few minutes, Nauki stopped crying. "Alright, Little One, now all we have to do is bandage you up." He got out the cloth, slowly wrapping it around her shoulder. Then he wrapped the bandage around her arm and her stomach, in order to keep her from moving her arm, and possibly rebreaking her shoulder as it healed. Nauki wanted to forget everything. She didn't want to hurt anymore, nor her arm be broken. Nauki swallowed, her eyes closing some. The medicine was taking effect. "Oh, no." Kagome heard a loud bang. Nauki jerked. Oda was up. He was bouncing down the hallway towards the room. "Mommy," Oda called. He ran into the room at full force, his arms outstretched. Inu-Yasha caught him by the seat of his pants, pulling him backwards before the tike came into contact with Nauki. "No, Raven," he said. Oda looked up at his father. "Poppy, Mommy," Oda pointed. He wanted to go to his mother. He mainly stuck by Kagome unless he was harassing Nauki or Aya. Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No....Oda, Nia's hurt." "Nia hurt?" Oda leaned forward, looking as hard as he could at the bandage around his sister. "Nia have a bwuise?" "Yes, Nia has a big, painful bruise," Inu-Yasha said, pulling him back farther. "She's asleep," Kagome said, looking down at her. "If it wasn't for her, that man could have hurt me and the children." "Man, Mommy?" Oda was watching her, his little golden eyes focused on her. "It's nothing, Sweetheart," Kagome told her son. "Mommy's alright. Nauki's alright, sort of.." Kagome gently put Nauki on the floor to sleep. She helped Inu-Yasha get a hold of the twins, taking them outside. They didn't need to be in the hut at all. A few hours passed as they stayed outside. Kagome went back to her gardening, Inu-Yasha played with the twins. Both of their minds were uneasy, concerned about the four-year-old asleep on the wooden floor. A scream shot through the air. Inu-Yasha's ears perked up immediatly. He ran towards the hut and inside. Nauki was laying on her back, her mouth open as she grabbed her arm, her legs kicking hard, hitting the floor. Inu-Yasha bent down quickly, lifting her up. "Nauki? Nauki?" She kept kicking her legs, then she started to cry loudly. He picked her up gently, setting her in his lap. The medicine had worn off. *Something tells me she rolled over on her broken shoulder.* "Ehhhh..ehhhh....Ehhh...eh..eh...Ehhhhh," Nauki cried. She leaned into her papa, wanting him to make the hurting stop. "Ppppppaaaaa...pppppaaaaaa." Inu-Yasha reached for Kagome's medicine box. He took out the ointment he had put on Nauki hours before. He held her to him with his one hand, tightly, and with the other, snipped the bandage off of her with his nail. Lightly as possible, Inu-Yasha put the ointment on her shoulder. "Shhhhh," he said, rocking her. Nauki sniffled, closing her eyes tightly. He hated to see her in so much pain. Inu-Yasha decided to stay with her. He knew the medicine was going to make her drowsy. Very quietly, he scooted over to the side of the wall. As he leaned against it, he laid Nauki on his chest. She rested her head on him, her small eyes closing some, opening again, then closing for good. Kagome came in pulling Aya and Oda. "What happened?" "She rolled over on it," Inu-Yasha told her. "Aw," she said sadly. "Are you going to stay in here with her?" "Yeah. I don't want her to roll over on it again. I don't know how long that medicine will keep her out." Nauki stuck her thumb in her mouth, sucking on it. Aya and Oda were watching her. Oda tilted his head like Nauki did when she didn't understand something. "Mama, kiss to make better," Aya said softly. She was the quietest of the three. "I can't Sweetheart. Kissing won't make Nia's shoulder better. Only time will," she told her daughter. Aya looked up at her mother with her pink eyes, her long silver hair in her face, her tiny white ears listening. "Mama, make Nia better?" She blinked her eyes. "I'll try to, baby," she told her. Kagome watched as Aya went back to watching Nauki sleep on their father. Kagome looked up also, glancing at Inu-Yasha. The expression on his face was of agony. He didn't know what to do about Nauki's shoulder. She guessed he might be thinking about the ordeal because he had been away. Inu-Yasha put his hand on the back of Nauki's head. His mind was thinking greatly about how she had saved Kagome from the stranger. She was only four-years-old and had ran in to attack the man, in some way. "Kagome,.." "Yes?" Kagome watched him blink his eyes, swallowing as he paused. "I think we're very lucky to have a little girl like her," he said softly. They both watched Nauki sleep, their minds in agony at her broken shoulder.