All original characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi

Song lyrics by Sade Kayla is my character

"When you came my way

You brightened every day

With your sweet smile"-Sade
Chapter 2

To Save You

The girl felt herself moving in and out consciousness and the flow of time lost all meaning to her. There could have been minutes passing between when she woke up or hours. Each time she seemed to see of feel something different. The first time she came around she felt herself being held tightly against someone's chest, as if she were being carried. She snuggled into the warmness of it, wanting so badly to feel safe again. With her face pressed against something very soft she fell again into oblivion. The next time she came around she still felt warm but terribly weak. Her back and feet ached as though a thousand needles were being pushed into them. She curled her fingers against what was beneath her. It felt rough yet soft at the same time, like fur or animal hide. She tried to open her eyes but found them to be heavy and unyielding. The lids were like stone, as she forced them apart. When she did this they burned so badly she was forced to close them once again. She had just started to doze off again as the sound of far away voices reached her ears.
"She's badly injured Inuyasha, I don't know that I can save her." She realized they must mean her but could not focus much on the meaning of the words before she was fading away again. What she saw next seemed to be a scene right out of a nightmare, she wondered later if it was one. She awoke to see the monster from earlier leaning over her in the weak glow of the firelight. It reached a clawed hand out toward her face and she screamed as loud as her weakened body would allow. With a strength born of those in danger she scurried back away from it. She was no longer yelling words in Japanese but had reverted back to English. Out of nowhere, arms seemed to wrap around her and she struggled against an invisible assailant. This went on until she heard a comforting voice in her ear.
"Hush girl, there's nothing there." The voice was obviously a male one though he sounded no older than her. She ceased struggling out of exhaustion and allowed the invisible man to hold her. For the first time since the demons attack she allowed herself to feel the full reality of what had happened. She began to sob, she cried out everything that she had felt and was still feeling as the invisible arms rocked her back and forth. The softness from earlier was once again at her cheek as she clung to air. She could feel someone there, hear them, but to her eyes there was nothing. She glanced up after a while and the demon from earlier still seemed to be standing where it was before but had not moved. Closing her eyes against that terrifying image she drifted off to sleep. After that she remembered very little but did have the sensation of being very sick. She would have moments where she would feel as though her body was on fire and other times she would feel as though she were incased in ice. When she opened her eyes everything around her looked like it was covered in glowing gauze, like spider web that was on fire. Sometimes her wounds would hurt so badly she would cry out and that invisible male figure would be there again. Sometimes she saw him as a shadow looming over her, other times he was nothing more than an outline. On particularly bad moments he cradled her in his arms as if she were a baby. She clung to that warmth like a blanket, feeling as if it were the only safe place for her to be. There also felt like there was another person, a woman who kept cold water on her forehead and back. Someone who rubbed a burning ointment into her feet and bandaged them. In one lucid moment she thought she caught sight of the man who was always nearby. He had long black hair and eyes of a deep violet. He sat in the corner of the small hut and watched her with a sad expression. When he saw that she was looking at him he made his way to her side and spoke to her. In a voice that seemed to come from the end of a tunnel he asked her name. Even as he did this he was fading again and she tried to hold onto the image of his face for as long as she could. She answered him before sliding into the familiar darkness once again.
"Kayla"

Kayla woke up and was surprised to find that her eyes no longer felt heavy and weighed down. Her eyes focused first on the ceiling of the hut that she hadn't gotten a good look at until now. She turned her head to the side and saw the remains of a fire nearby and another roll of sleeping furs. In confusion she continued to glance left and right, not certain as to what she was seeing. She heard a noise somewhere behind her head and tried to turn over to see where it was. The pain that shot through her back was so intense that she let out a sharp gasp and lay still.
"Best not to move, those wounds haven't healed yet." The voice was that of an older female woman. Kayla turned her head to the left as the hem of a shrine outfit came into her line of vision. The woman crouched down beside her and Kayla found herself face to face with a very old woman.
"You're lucky to be alive girl," The woman told her with a serious look as she laid a withered hand on the girl's forehead.
'That fever seems to have broken finally, how do you feel?" Kaylas voice felt tight with misuse but she managed to push words between her lips.
'Weak," The old woman nodded at her as she reached for a small bowl at her side.
"Well, that's to be expected," She lifted the girls head up and pushed the brim of the bowl to her lips.
"Drink this; it should ease the pain though I dare say it will knock you out again." The taste of herbs and something much like cinnamon hit her tongue and slid down her throat. It was odd tasting but she welcomed the wetness in her otherwise dry mouth. When she had swallowed all of it the old woman lowered her head back to the firs and arranged her comfortably. When this was done she sat back in a manner that indicated she had questions.
"Where are you from?" She asked pointedly, staring into Kaylas eyes. Kayla blinked back at her for a moment as if the question confused her. She wasn't sure whether or not she should answer but decided in the end that her choices were limited.
"Australia." Now it was the old woman's turn to look confused.
"Is that the name of your village?" Kayla shook her head as she felt the drowsiness of the drink filling her senses.
"No, it's my country." The old woman didn't venture any more questions so Kayla decided to ask a few of her own.
"Who are you and where am I?" The old woman seemed taken by surprise for a moment before shaking herself out of it, after a moment she answered.
"My name is Kaede and this is the sengoku Jidai. Kayla just barely caught onto what was said before the medicine kicked in fully and she slept.