Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, do not, own Inuyasha…

Author's Note: ::Sigh:: I only got 17 reviews so far…I feel so unloved… :( ::tear:: But since I already wrote this chapter, I decided to post it anyway, even though I didn't get as many reviews as I'd expected. I'll be going back to school tomorrow, so you probably won't be hearing/seeing no hide nor hair of me for awhile… Sorry if I posted this before chapter 27 of TCoTLNdRS…(Tell me you know what that stands for…) But anyway, here's chapter 5! I hope you enjoy it! Oh yes, and um…if you're a little queasy about blood and stuff like that…you might want to skim over the details of this chapter…

My Lady Miko

~ by Four-Eyed Bookworm

Chapter 5

Kagome woke up at around 1:30 in the morning, shivering, because the window had been left open last night. She couldn't see anything in the pitch-black darkness of her room, so, fumbling around for a match, she lit the small oil lamp by her bedside and padded sleepily over to her bedroom window to shut it. She was still so befuddled by sleep that it wasn't until she had turned away from the night sky and pulled the curtains that she noticed a dark shape in the far right corner of her bedroom. She almost shrieked in surprise, but luckily stopped herself from letting any sound from escaping except for a tiny "eep." Kagome tip-toed cautiously over to the corner, and gasped softly when the lamp shone upon the figure of a young man, not much older than she was, slumped against the wall. He was covered in so much blood, and didn't even stir when she knelt down next to him, that she was almost afraid he was already dead. But then she noticed the barely visible rising and falling of his chest, which indicated he was only sleeping.

"He-hello?" she whispered softly, unsure of whether or not to wake the stranger in her room. She set her oil lamp down on the floor and examined him carefully. It was obvious that the black-haired boy was hurt, badly, although she could come up with no reason for why or how he had appeared in her room. But, even if she didn't know who he was, and what his motives were, it was her duty, as a miko, to heal and take care of people, so why not start now? "And besides," she thought to herself, as she stared at his strikingly handsome face, "I don't know why, but I feel as if I'd never forgive myself if I let him die…"

So, Kagome gently extricated the arm that was wrapped in ragged strips of cloth, frowning slightly once it was unwrapped, at the dirty, tree branch that was tapered against the arm, a useless attempt at first aid. She had never actually had any medical experience before, other than blowing on Souta's finger when he had a paper-cut and kissing it to make it "all better." She smiled fondly at the memory, then turned her attention back to the young man's broken arm. It seemed to be in pretty bad shape…not only was it still bleeding profusely and covered in soil and grime, it also seemed to have been strained after it was injured, making it even harder for the bone to heal, if it ever did. The teenager recalled all the lessons in her book on treating injuries and sicknesses, given to her as a birthday present from her tutor, Kaede-sama. Hmmm…well, first, obviously, would be to clean the wounds and cuts, preferably using antiseptic, if she could find some. She didn't think it would be wise to wake the patient, since it would definitely hurt once she began to set the broken bone, and he'd be better off asleep, or even unconscious, than awake.

So Kagome quietly searched the bathroom cabinets for something that would be able to cleanse the wounds and prevent infection, but she couldn't find anything at all. She shrugged mentally. "Well, I guess I'll just have to make do with ordinary water. If they get infected, …well…We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She carried the softest clean white cloth she could find, a bottle of pure, distilled, drinking water, and some bandages over to the corner. Holding her breath, Kagome dabbed gently at the arm, wincing sympathetically when the boy tensed and a flash of pain flew across his face. She tried to alleviate his pain by blowing gently on his cuts, just as she used to do with her own little brother, years ago. He calmed down, and seemed to relax, so she continued to alternate between cleansing and soothing until the skin was as clean as she could make it. She didn't know why she was expending so much time and worry for a most likely dangerous stranger that had mysteriously appeared in her room in the middle of the night… It was as if she was acting on an instinct, like some deep, previously buried part of her heart had awakened and was now urging to take care of this vulnerable, pale and injured lad.

She stared helplessly at his arm, which lay limp in her lap. Now what? She really, really didn't want to hurt him, but she knew that without proper medical attention, there was a chance that the arm would never fully heal. But who was she to deal out medical help so casually? She, Kagome Higurashi, fifteen-year old former daughter of a merchant, had no skills whatsoever to boast of, beyond useless arts such as painting, calligraphy, archery, and spiritual powers. What use were her so-called "powers" when she'd never been taught anything regarding them, beyond how to…Wait! That was it! She could use her miko healing powers to re-set the broken bone without driving the potential risk of accidentally doing something wrong and unwittingly causing more damage. And that way, she could also avoid causing any unnecessary pain for the boy as well as extra heartache for herself, and, at the same time, save herself from becoming squeamish.

Great! Then it was settled. She easily recalled the old, cracked voice of Kaede-sama, who had taught her everything she knew about using her miko powers to their full potential. Running through her instructions inside her head, Kagome made sure that she could do everything. Of course, she wasn't too overly nervous. Although broken bones were not trivial matters, they were not too serious, and easily healed. And as Kaede-sama had intoned, again and again, healing with magic was all about will. With a strong will, you could put enough force behind your powers to do practically anything…and Kaede-sama had said that Kagome possessed one of the strongest, purest hearts that she had ever seen…

Kagome took a deep breath and, kneeling down, laid her cool hands lightly on the arm, careful not to apply any pressure or hurt him. She closed her eyes, and felt her other senses extend outward as she did so. It enabled her to suddenly hear the slow breathing of the boy sitting across from her, smell the spicy scent of the falling leaves outside her room, and feel the small light hairs that covered the arm that she was supporting. Concentrating, she searched deep inside herself for that ever-present fountain of magic that was at her command. Allowing the liquid power to flow through her veins, she exhaled and inhaled with a slow, calm rhythm. She trusted in her inborn miko instincts to guide the powerful spiritual residue through her body, and directed it, with nudges and pushes, towards her extended fingertips, which were resting lightly on the person's arm. If there had been an onlooker present, he or she would have observed a light pink glow suffusing her body, and seen an almost solidified blue light pass through the young miko-in-training's fingers before disappearing under the skin of her patient.

Kagome's eyebrows furrowed as she gently probed the broken arm with her extended spiritual senses. Then, she wrapped strands of blue light around the broken bone, and, carefully, tugged the two ends toward each other, commanding them to fuse back together. Slowly, hesitantly, the bone began to re-grow, as if her healing power had sped up the process of regeneration by tenfold. She reached inside for more power, and fed it steadily into the other person. The bone continued to heal, rejuvenating itself with incredible speed. Kagome was starting to feel a trifle dizzy, because of the huge amounts of energy that were being drained out of her, but she gritted her teeth determinedly, and thought, "No, I can't stop yet! I'm not finished! I have to heal his arm, then the rest of his body, too."

Using the blue stream of magic that continued to course through her fingers and into the boy, Kagome finished healing the broken bone, and began a new task. The sapphire threads of light wove themselves in between the torn tendons and muscles, coaxing them to grow back together just as easily as it had done with the bones. The tender flesh inside his arm slowly also began to reform, moving together and coalescing into new skin tissue. Blue fibers of her spiritual power flooded through the whole arm, working and healing until the entire arm was as good as new. If the young man had been awake, all he would have felt was a soothing, cool touch linger on his skin, then spread, tingling, all throughout his body. But as it was, even as Kagome poured her magic through his veins and allowed it to spread to the rest of the inner bruises on his body, all he felt in his sleep was a lightly, tickling sensation that cooled his blood. And the healing touch of her magic lulled him into a dreamless, peaceful sleep, even deeper than before, if that was possible, and he did not wake, nor stir.

Kagome reopened her eyes with a soft sigh as she returned to the physical world. Her senses dulled, and she could no longer feel anything except a dull emptiness in the place where her magic had resided. She had drained herself of her miko powers for the night, by unconsciously using more than she could afford to lose all at once, and on her first try, too. Nothing that a couple nights of good rest wouldn't be able to replace, but she probably wouldn't be able to do a simple spell for at least the next twenty-four hours, now that she was utterly drained. All she wanted to do at the moment was sleep, so she rose up from her knees, which were numb from the length of time they had spent in the same position. The young woman swayed precariously, clutching her head, as she stood, for the dizziness was now stronger than ever, making the room appear to spin. Placing a shaky hand on the wall to steady herself, Kagome looked at the silently slumbering young man by the corner. Fighting to stay awake, and leaning against the wall to prevent herself from falling, she was able to fetch a spare blanket from the closet and drape it gently over him before she stumbled into her soft bed, sighing as her head met the pillow. With one last glance at the boy, Kagome, completely exhausted, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

So…didya like it? I know that healing using her powers isn't exactly one of the typical "Kagome-like" things to do…shooting purifying arrows and stuff seems to be a lot more common skill among Inuyasha fanfics. But it can't hurt to be original, right? And in this AU fic, Kagome has the power to heal…So deal with it, okay? Review and let me know what you think! REVIEW! (No flames, please! ^_^)

Review Responses for Chapter 4:

Cashmere ~ Merry Christmas to you too! Or should I say, Happy New Year! It's so nice of you to review for every chapter… Thank you so much for your encouragement!

Spike the Magic Monky ~ Thank you for reviewing! Yep, I feel so sorry for poor Inu-chan. Always gotta make him suffer…But don't worry! ^_^ He'll be alright!

Ann ~ Hee-hee. ^-^ Not only is Inu-Yasha one of my favorite anime characters, he is my favorite anime character! :) But anyway, I'm glad you like my story! Keep reading n' reviewing!

Sketch ~ Hope I made it long enough for you! I tried, honestly I did…Unfortunately, there really isn't any Inuyasha-Kagome dialogue in this chapter, but I promise you, next chapter is where the fun really starts! ^_~