Hi-Minna-chan! Wow, we were soooo surprised that so many of you liked it! Thank you all for reviewing...we loved reading all of your wonderful reviews. Anyways, on with chapter 2, enjoy!
Written by: Breezbox and Usagipegusus
Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha :(
*~*~*~*~*
Kagome stared with shocked eyes as Inuyasha descended to the ground. "Inuyasha!" She cried for the second time, dropping down beside Inuyasha's inert form.
She then turned to her momentarily stunned companions beseechingly. "Sango, Miroku, will you please go get Kaede-bachan! Hurry!" She finished in a rush, snapping them out of their shocked state as she gently placing Inuyasha's head on her lap.
The highly worried Kitsune settled near Kagome. Sure he had always joked about Inuyasha being weak, but never had he seen him this way. Then an idea popped into his head.
"Kagome, maybe Inuyasha's pregnant." Shippo reasoned readily, remembering when Kaede had said one of the village women had fainted because of this malady; even though he wasn't exactly sure what "pregnant" was anyways.
A high flush rose to Kagome's cheeks. "Um...Shippo.... I don't think that's it." She stuttered slightly.
"What is "pregnant" anyway?" Shippo inquired innocently, making Kagome blush even more.
"It's happens when a man and woman-" Miroku's voice sounded from
behind them, but was abruptly cut off by a smack upside the head and a disapproving look from both Sango and Kaede.
"What?" Miroku questioned innocently, rubbing the back of his head, slightly offended. He turned his gaze toward to form lying on Kagome's lap.
Kaede looked over at Inuyasha's still form. "We must get him into the hut." She said, motioning for Miroku to pick Inuyasha up and into the hut.
*~*~*~*~*
Inuyasha awoke to the all to familiar yet pleasant scent of Kagome. It was awhile before he could focus his eyes. He blinked several times before he was able to make out Kagome's familiar face. He had also noticed the relieved look that crept into her once distressed eyes.
"Inuyasha, how do you feel?" Sango asked curiously, leaning in to give him a once over.
Inuyasha fixed her with a weak glare. "Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine." He answered with a grunt, as he attempted to lift himself up from his current position on Kagome's lap, for which he was mightily sorry for in the next instant.
He felt as if someone had just bashed him over the head repeatedly with a larger version of one of Shippo's many devices; and he felt feverish to boot. What was weirder still, was that he got the distinct feeling that he was losing a battle to some kind of unknown force within himself. These feelings caused him to flop back down onto Kagome's inviting lap. He loathe feeling this weak.
"I think Inuyasha might be sick." Miroku replied matter-of-factly, to which four pairs of eyes gave him a 'you think?' look.
"Hmm…I'm not exactly sure what Inuyasha has, but I think my friend might now. She lives in a nearby village not far from here. I'll go and give her the symptoms to see what she thinks." Kaede said finally speaking up.
"We'll go with you Kaede-bachan." Sango said readily, rising from her position on the dirt floor, Miroku following close behind her.
"Hey! I want to go to!!" Shippo whined, a hurt look crossing his face.
Inuyasha tried to rise once more to no avail. "You idiots! I'm the one with the problem, don't you think I should go?" He asked sarcastically.
"Inuyasha, there's no way we would be able to carry you all the way there." Kagome replied, running a hand over the Hanyou's forehead. "And besides, you're burning up!" She exclaimed. She then looked up at the departing group. "You guys go, I'll stay here with Inuyasha…and please hurry back." She pleaded, quickly looking at the ailing patient within her lap.
Four 'Yes's' in unison were heard before the group finally left on their mission.
*~*~*~*~*
After finally convincing the Hanyou that sleep was the best thing for him, Kagome sat silently watching the sleeping figure.
He looked so innocent sleeping, she thought with amazement. Most likely because he didn't have his usual scowl on his face, she thought grudgingly, reaching over to touch one of his irresistibly cute puppy dog-ears, which twitched slightly at her light touch. Undaunted, she gently petted one of his ears, causing him to emit a small but audible purr. Kagome let out a small giggle at the sound.
"Oi, what are you laughing about?" Inuyasha's said groggily, rising his head from his folded hands to stare at Kagome curiously.
"N-nothing." Kagome said, turning away from Inuyasha's probing gaze. "Anyway, how are you feeling?" Kagome inquired, eager to turn the subject and truly wanting to know how he was feeling.
"Wench, I told you I'm fine…quit worrying about me." He huffed stubbornly, rising slowly, his back against the wall.
Kagome silently assessed this enigma of a person. She suddenly felt a rush of pity for the half-youkai. He had always having to be tough ever since he was little, only relying on himself for support.
"Inuyasha, sometimes it's okay to depend on others. You don't always have to be the strong one." She said truthfully, giving him a small half smile as encouragement.
Inuyasha stared intently at Kagome. Even though his face remained impassive, a myriad of emotions shown through his expressive eyes, Surprise, acceptance, and distrust.
With a very characteristic 'Feh', he turned his head away from Kagome's prying stare, abruptly ruining the moment.
Kagome moved closer to Inuyasha. "Well, let me feel your forehead just to make sure." Kagome said reaching over to feel his forehead. "You still feel a little feverish." She worriedly, going over to the kettle to make some of the herbal tea that Kaede had left her. Not really paying attention to where she was stepping, she tripped over a small rock in the dirt floor, giving out a small shriek as she slowly declined toward the floor.
"Kagome!" Yelled Inuyasha as he moved fast to catch Kagome, his hands instantly moving toward her waist, as he unconsciously held her close.
"Are you okay?" He asked dazedly, his hands still wrapped gently around her waist.
Kagome nervously licked her lips. "Yeah, but I should be asking you the same." She said truthfully, suddenly noticing how close they were.
"Aa…" He trailed off, her scent making him dizzy. Suddenly, as if she had burned him, he set her away from him quickly. "L-leave me alone." He stuttered indignantly, flopping back on the ground of the hut.
The trance finally broken, Kagome moved to the other end of the hut to finish making the tea.
*~*~*~*~*
After walking for a couple of miles, they finally reached their destination. Kaede walked to the front of the hut and knocked on the door, and was greeted by a woman wearing a black hooded robe. She gave Kaede a quick nod of acknowledgement, as she led her and the small group into the hut.
Once inside she pulled back her hood to reveal a surprisingly young and beautiful face, which almost immediately caught the delinquent monk's attention, to Sango's annoyance.
Kaede quickly went over Inuyasha's symptoms with the young healer, who every later learned was named Ajinako. Several moments later, Ajinako was able to figure out what was wrong with the ailing half youkai.
"Hmm…he seems to have something called Ekibyou." She reasoned.
"Ekibyou?" They asked in unison.
"Yes, it's a blood disease. If you catch it early the most he'll suffer is mild weakness. However, if you catch it late, it permanently distorts the memory allowing them to think things happened that didn't actually happen. Which would be a bad result considering he could think you're his enemies and kill you." She said unhelpfully.
'Thanks for reassuring us.' Sango thought sarcastically, glaring at both the beautiful healer and the wayward monk.
"Is their anything we can do about this ailment?" Miroku inquired beseechingly, his hand moving to her back."
Removing his hand from her back, she continued to explain. "Yes, there is an herb that can help this ailment. It's located far east from here. Here are the directions." She replied giving them the needed instructions. A funny look crossed her features. "Houshi, if you don't remove your hand from my butt, I'll put a spell on you that will ensure you can never have anyone 'bear your child.'" She said calmly, watching as Miroku quickly removed his hand, once ageing blaming the curse.
"Well, if we want to save Inuyasha's sanity, we should get going." Shippo put maturely, as if he could face anything.
"Yeah, Shippo's right." Sango said, as she followed him out of the hut with a chastened monk following close behind.
*~*~*~*~*
Mutely, Kaede watched the group depart. She turned back to Ajinako. "Thanks for your help. I'm going back the hut where Kagome and Inuyasha are staying." She supplied, to Ajinako's turned back, suddenly feeling a little strange.
Ajinako slowly turned her now cold red eyes toward Kaede. "You're not going anywhere." She growled menacingly.
*~*~*~*~*
Aahhh! Cliffe! What's going to happen to Kaede? Did she give them the right information? Well, to find out you must review! Also if you would like to be our mailing list, leave it in a review or e-mail us breezbox6@aol.com. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you next chapter!