Inuyasha was dozing for the first time in nearly a month. Even a hanyou
needs to sleep sometimes, and he hadn't even rested once during the whole
ordeal. He'd run miles and miles, then carried an unconscious girl all the
way back. Upon coming back, he had rushed that same girl straight to
Kaede's, then moved her to the sick house when the villagers began to fear
for the health of their one and only healer. And after that, he had sat,
barely moving at all, with that girl, watching her continuously, caring for
her broken body, trying desperately to hold on to the tiny flicker of life
that was still in there, somewhere. He'd been through all of it without so
much as a moment's rest, and when he finally did sleep a little, it was a
light, uncertain sleep. So light, in fact, that he woke even as the girl in
his arms took a breath that was slightly deeper than the others.
His eyes moved immediately to her face in panic as the thin shoulders began to shake so violently that he had to hold her still. Dry, racking coughs assailed the small form, and blood splattered across the red of Inuyasha's haori. She had coughed a few times the day before, bit it hadn't been nearly as bad. It was several minutes before the noise stopped, so suddenly that Inuyasha's own heart nearly stopped as he searched for signs of breathing. Yes, it was there. Uneven, shallow, but there nonetheless. A sigh of relief escaped the hanyou's lips as he shifted the deadweight, trying to fix her position into a more upright one that would, hopefully, make breathing a little bit easier. 'Calm down,' he told himself, swallowing. His heart was pounding as quickly as Kagome's. Why?
He was afraid of losing her. He had come to that revelation long before. In the days past, as he had held her all the more tightly, feeling death approaching and daring it to come any closer, he had sworn to himself that if she ever woke up, he would tell her at last. He would tell her how incredibly worried he'd been, how sorry he was for eing such an ass, how terrified he was at the thought of someone else leaving him...Yes, afraid. The great Inuyasha, son of the mighty Lord of the Western Lands, was afraid of this one human girl's dying.
A clawed hand rose, shaking, to rest on her pale forehead. Lightly, he ran his thumb the length of her face, worrying at the sudden heat. Where had such a fever come from so quickly? Just yesterday, even just before he'd gone to sleep, she had been freezing cold. He wondered whether to take it as a good sign or a bad sign. It might be a good idea to send for Miroku or Kaede—they knew much more about medicine than he did—but he didn't want to leave her alone, and he couldn't send Shippo, for the kit had woken up a while before and left for the first time in days. Inuyasha had had to tell him repeatedly that it was okay, that he would watch over her, before he finally left.
'Shippo really cares about you,' he thought forlornly. 'We all do. Please wake up.' He sighed, glancing at the ceiling rafters above. 'How long can this go on?' His hand continued its idle stroking, until abruptly, something warm and shaking touched against it, holding it still.
Safe to say, Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his skin. He jolted and looked down in complete bewilderment to see Kagome's sleepy face turned upwards, looking him right in the eyes. "I-Inuyasha," she shoked, and Inuyasha could see a thin line of blood running down her chin. A whole moment passed in silence, in which the hanyou stared at her with an unreadable expression and wide eyes, and Kagome smiled weakly, waiting, partly wondering if he had even heard her.
Suddenly, Kagome felt herself enveloped securely in the same arms that had held her for almost three weeks, and held against the firm chest of a certain hanyou. His sweeping curtain of silvery hair hung over both of them, and Kagome was aware of his chin on her head, and his hands trembling almost as badly as his were. "Y-you stupid idiot," he spat, holding her more tightly and (somehow) more gently than anyone ever had in her life. "You scared me to death!" Kagome blinked, then smiled, murmuring into his shoulder, "I missed you, Inuyasha."
"I missed you too, he whispered, and Kagome thought she could hear tears in his voice. "I'm so glad you're okay....I thought—I thought—"
"Shh," she soothed. "It's all right."
"It's NOT all right," he snapped, and Kagome was taken aback at the sudden change of tone. "You didn't tell me about this! You were going to leave us and die by yourself somewhere! Alone! How could you EVER think that would make things easier on us?!"
"I didn't want you to worry," Kagome murmured. "I knew there was nothing you could do, so I didn't think—"
"That's right, you DIDN'T think." She fell silent at the harshness of his tone and allowd herself to be still in his embrace. Inuyasha fumed silently for a while before muttering, exasperated, "Why do you always have to be such an idiot? Can't you think about yourself for once?" She started to apologize, but Inuyasha cut her off again. "Look, wench...Kagome...even if there wasn't anything I could do...you still should've told me. You should never feel alone like that." His tone was meek now. "I know what being alone's like...I'd never want you to feel like that...."
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I thougt I was doing the right thing for everyone...I guess I just didn't want you to be mad at me."
"You WHAT?" His tone was incredulous.
"I...I didn't want you to be mad at me for giving up." She laughed weakly. "I'm not like you, Inuyasha. Every now and then, I lose heart. I can't be brave all the time like you are."
"You're braver than I've ever been," he muttered. Kagome was so still and silent that Inuyasha almost suspected she'd gone to sleep. "I've only been really scared twice in my life. Once, for mother...and once, when Sango and Miroku told me were sick, and you'd run away. Do you have any idea what it's like to feel so helpless? So guilty?"
"It wasn't your fault," Kagome whispered, and Inuyasha fell silent. It was a considerable amount of time before her spoke again, but when he did, his voice was soft, and filled with a sort of surrender she had never heard from him before.
"Kagome...I've wanted to tell you this for the longest time..." She nodded, and felt him swallow. "From the very moment you freed me from Kikyou's arrow, I wanted nothing more than to get rid of you. Remember?" Kagome winced. She did remember. "I yelled at you, I blamed you, I hated you because you reminded me of Kikyou, and I blamed everything on her. I treated you like dirt for the longest time. You were just like everyone else, I told myself.
But you WERE different. You confused me. Why were you so kind to me when I was so terrible to you? Why weren't you scared of me? Why didn't you find me repulsive like everyone else did? You smiled at me, and tried to look after me as if I was a friend of yours. You helped me, and you didn't want anything in return. You...you treated me like a person, and I realized after a while...I just couldn't hate you, no matter how much I wanted to." Kagome smiled. It was sort of sweet to hear it from him.
"The day we battled the Thunder Brothers, do you remember?"
"How could I forget? That was when we first met Shippo-chan." Kagome laughed. "If I remember right, he said he was going to eat us...What about it?"
"When you and Shippo were surrounded by flames, and Myouga-jiji made some comment about your spirits bidding their farewell, and you walked towards me...I thought...I couldn't bear to lose you. You were the only person in the longest time that had been kind...I wasn't ready to give up the only thing close to a friend that I had. Do you understand?"
Kagome blinked at him. "Inuyasha..."
"Kagome, I can't stand the thought of you being hurt. I kept thinking after you ran away that something was going to happen to you, that I'd be too late...If anything ever happened to you, I'd never forgive myself." His arms tightened, and he buried his face in her hair. "So just...don't ever do that again."
"I don't plan to." She smiled, and then dissolved into a coughing fit again.
"Hey, are you all right?" He reached up and swept away the blood that was trickling from her lips.
"F-fine," she gasped, laying her head back on his shoulder. "S-so...you're n- not mad at me?"
"Of course not, baka." He smirked. "Just try to not be so stupid in the future."
"Mm-hmm."
"And tell me next time you have a problem."
"Okay." She nestled closer and lay her head in the hollow of Inuyasha's throat. She could hear his heartbeat, strong and steady, keeping an even rhythm. Sleep began eating at the corners of her vision. Just before she succumbed to it, mollified by the warmth and security that came with being in Inuyasha's arms, she felt his hand slip up and rest on the side of her face. "What is it, Inuyasha?"
"You feel warm."
"Yeah...there's a fire right over there," she mumbled drowsily.
"No, I mean feverish." Kagome frowned.
"I dunno...it is sorta cold..." The thought stuck her as odd. It was humid to the point of discomfort in the sick house; she was wrapped in Inuyasha's haori, and a whole ton of blankets, and was being held close, against the warm body of someone else. Not to mention the fire. Tsuki had said it would be a struggle to recover. Kagome shivered unconsciously, and Inuyasha looked at her, concerned.
"Do you want me to ask Kaede for another blanket?"
"No...it's already hot in here. You've got to be burning up." Inuyasha shrugged, but the truth was obvious. A fine sheen of sweat made his bangs stick to his forehead. Kagome sat up, her mind set, grimacing at the dizziness that immediately attacked.
"What are you doing?" Kagome ignored him for a moment, focusing on pushing the blankets off one by one, until the only thing left was Inuyasha's haori. She pulled it close and lay back down. Inuyasha's arms came to steady her, as firmly as always. "I thought you said you were cold."
"This is better for both of us," Kagome said, ignoring his question again. "This way, you won't sweat to death and I won't get over heated. Just..."
"Just what?"
"Promise you won't leave me..."
His expression softened. "I promise," he murmured softly, resting his chin on her head again. The position was comfortable, and it DID feel a lot better without all the blankets piled on...not to mention the fact that he could sleep easy knowing Kagome was safe. Inuyasha yawned in time with his friend, and smiled faintly, settling back against the wall. Telling the others could wait until tomorrow morning. They were both tired, and Shippo would proably be so happy to see Kagome awake that he would tackle her. Yes, for the moment, he was content to sit with the girl he secretly loved....
"Inuyasha?"
"Hm?"
"Your mom said to tell you hi." Inuyasha blinked, then smiled at the ceiling above.
"Goodnight, Kagome."
----------------------------------
Tailz: ::Cries into her hanky::
Sanji: Feh. Girls.
Tailz: Isn't it adorably fluffy? AWW! Anyway, I'm sad to say that the next chapter, the epilogue, will be the last. No alternate ending (I'm super sorry!) but maybe... a sequel! That sounds like fun, right? It would cover Kagome's recovery, (and a certain plot twist idea I've got!) and when Kagome goes home and shocks her mother to death. "Mommy! I'm still alive, mommy!" - Lemme know what you think!
Inuyasha: ::Pops up, smacks authoress in the head:: YOU!
Tailz: X.X Urk.... ::Floats down to the floor like Myouga::
Sanji: Dad!! ::Helps Tailz up::
Inuyasha: Why are you calling me dad?! Who the heck are you?!
Sanji: Never mind.... ::Sweat::
Tailz: X.x Meep...whaddid I do, Inu-chan?
Inuyasha: What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!
Tailz: ....?
Inuyasha: I'll tell you what you did! You TORTURED me for 21 chapters!!!
Tailz: 23, actually...
Inuyasha: ::BONK!::
Tailz: X.x
His eyes moved immediately to her face in panic as the thin shoulders began to shake so violently that he had to hold her still. Dry, racking coughs assailed the small form, and blood splattered across the red of Inuyasha's haori. She had coughed a few times the day before, bit it hadn't been nearly as bad. It was several minutes before the noise stopped, so suddenly that Inuyasha's own heart nearly stopped as he searched for signs of breathing. Yes, it was there. Uneven, shallow, but there nonetheless. A sigh of relief escaped the hanyou's lips as he shifted the deadweight, trying to fix her position into a more upright one that would, hopefully, make breathing a little bit easier. 'Calm down,' he told himself, swallowing. His heart was pounding as quickly as Kagome's. Why?
He was afraid of losing her. He had come to that revelation long before. In the days past, as he had held her all the more tightly, feeling death approaching and daring it to come any closer, he had sworn to himself that if she ever woke up, he would tell her at last. He would tell her how incredibly worried he'd been, how sorry he was for eing such an ass, how terrified he was at the thought of someone else leaving him...Yes, afraid. The great Inuyasha, son of the mighty Lord of the Western Lands, was afraid of this one human girl's dying.
A clawed hand rose, shaking, to rest on her pale forehead. Lightly, he ran his thumb the length of her face, worrying at the sudden heat. Where had such a fever come from so quickly? Just yesterday, even just before he'd gone to sleep, she had been freezing cold. He wondered whether to take it as a good sign or a bad sign. It might be a good idea to send for Miroku or Kaede—they knew much more about medicine than he did—but he didn't want to leave her alone, and he couldn't send Shippo, for the kit had woken up a while before and left for the first time in days. Inuyasha had had to tell him repeatedly that it was okay, that he would watch over her, before he finally left.
'Shippo really cares about you,' he thought forlornly. 'We all do. Please wake up.' He sighed, glancing at the ceiling rafters above. 'How long can this go on?' His hand continued its idle stroking, until abruptly, something warm and shaking touched against it, holding it still.
Safe to say, Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his skin. He jolted and looked down in complete bewilderment to see Kagome's sleepy face turned upwards, looking him right in the eyes. "I-Inuyasha," she shoked, and Inuyasha could see a thin line of blood running down her chin. A whole moment passed in silence, in which the hanyou stared at her with an unreadable expression and wide eyes, and Kagome smiled weakly, waiting, partly wondering if he had even heard her.
Suddenly, Kagome felt herself enveloped securely in the same arms that had held her for almost three weeks, and held against the firm chest of a certain hanyou. His sweeping curtain of silvery hair hung over both of them, and Kagome was aware of his chin on her head, and his hands trembling almost as badly as his were. "Y-you stupid idiot," he spat, holding her more tightly and (somehow) more gently than anyone ever had in her life. "You scared me to death!" Kagome blinked, then smiled, murmuring into his shoulder, "I missed you, Inuyasha."
"I missed you too, he whispered, and Kagome thought she could hear tears in his voice. "I'm so glad you're okay....I thought—I thought—"
"Shh," she soothed. "It's all right."
"It's NOT all right," he snapped, and Kagome was taken aback at the sudden change of tone. "You didn't tell me about this! You were going to leave us and die by yourself somewhere! Alone! How could you EVER think that would make things easier on us?!"
"I didn't want you to worry," Kagome murmured. "I knew there was nothing you could do, so I didn't think—"
"That's right, you DIDN'T think." She fell silent at the harshness of his tone and allowd herself to be still in his embrace. Inuyasha fumed silently for a while before muttering, exasperated, "Why do you always have to be such an idiot? Can't you think about yourself for once?" She started to apologize, but Inuyasha cut her off again. "Look, wench...Kagome...even if there wasn't anything I could do...you still should've told me. You should never feel alone like that." His tone was meek now. "I know what being alone's like...I'd never want you to feel like that...."
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I thougt I was doing the right thing for everyone...I guess I just didn't want you to be mad at me."
"You WHAT?" His tone was incredulous.
"I...I didn't want you to be mad at me for giving up." She laughed weakly. "I'm not like you, Inuyasha. Every now and then, I lose heart. I can't be brave all the time like you are."
"You're braver than I've ever been," he muttered. Kagome was so still and silent that Inuyasha almost suspected she'd gone to sleep. "I've only been really scared twice in my life. Once, for mother...and once, when Sango and Miroku told me were sick, and you'd run away. Do you have any idea what it's like to feel so helpless? So guilty?"
"It wasn't your fault," Kagome whispered, and Inuyasha fell silent. It was a considerable amount of time before her spoke again, but when he did, his voice was soft, and filled with a sort of surrender she had never heard from him before.
"Kagome...I've wanted to tell you this for the longest time..." She nodded, and felt him swallow. "From the very moment you freed me from Kikyou's arrow, I wanted nothing more than to get rid of you. Remember?" Kagome winced. She did remember. "I yelled at you, I blamed you, I hated you because you reminded me of Kikyou, and I blamed everything on her. I treated you like dirt for the longest time. You were just like everyone else, I told myself.
But you WERE different. You confused me. Why were you so kind to me when I was so terrible to you? Why weren't you scared of me? Why didn't you find me repulsive like everyone else did? You smiled at me, and tried to look after me as if I was a friend of yours. You helped me, and you didn't want anything in return. You...you treated me like a person, and I realized after a while...I just couldn't hate you, no matter how much I wanted to." Kagome smiled. It was sort of sweet to hear it from him.
"The day we battled the Thunder Brothers, do you remember?"
"How could I forget? That was when we first met Shippo-chan." Kagome laughed. "If I remember right, he said he was going to eat us...What about it?"
"When you and Shippo were surrounded by flames, and Myouga-jiji made some comment about your spirits bidding their farewell, and you walked towards me...I thought...I couldn't bear to lose you. You were the only person in the longest time that had been kind...I wasn't ready to give up the only thing close to a friend that I had. Do you understand?"
Kagome blinked at him. "Inuyasha..."
"Kagome, I can't stand the thought of you being hurt. I kept thinking after you ran away that something was going to happen to you, that I'd be too late...If anything ever happened to you, I'd never forgive myself." His arms tightened, and he buried his face in her hair. "So just...don't ever do that again."
"I don't plan to." She smiled, and then dissolved into a coughing fit again.
"Hey, are you all right?" He reached up and swept away the blood that was trickling from her lips.
"F-fine," she gasped, laying her head back on his shoulder. "S-so...you're n- not mad at me?"
"Of course not, baka." He smirked. "Just try to not be so stupid in the future."
"Mm-hmm."
"And tell me next time you have a problem."
"Okay." She nestled closer and lay her head in the hollow of Inuyasha's throat. She could hear his heartbeat, strong and steady, keeping an even rhythm. Sleep began eating at the corners of her vision. Just before she succumbed to it, mollified by the warmth and security that came with being in Inuyasha's arms, she felt his hand slip up and rest on the side of her face. "What is it, Inuyasha?"
"You feel warm."
"Yeah...there's a fire right over there," she mumbled drowsily.
"No, I mean feverish." Kagome frowned.
"I dunno...it is sorta cold..." The thought stuck her as odd. It was humid to the point of discomfort in the sick house; she was wrapped in Inuyasha's haori, and a whole ton of blankets, and was being held close, against the warm body of someone else. Not to mention the fire. Tsuki had said it would be a struggle to recover. Kagome shivered unconsciously, and Inuyasha looked at her, concerned.
"Do you want me to ask Kaede for another blanket?"
"No...it's already hot in here. You've got to be burning up." Inuyasha shrugged, but the truth was obvious. A fine sheen of sweat made his bangs stick to his forehead. Kagome sat up, her mind set, grimacing at the dizziness that immediately attacked.
"What are you doing?" Kagome ignored him for a moment, focusing on pushing the blankets off one by one, until the only thing left was Inuyasha's haori. She pulled it close and lay back down. Inuyasha's arms came to steady her, as firmly as always. "I thought you said you were cold."
"This is better for both of us," Kagome said, ignoring his question again. "This way, you won't sweat to death and I won't get over heated. Just..."
"Just what?"
"Promise you won't leave me..."
His expression softened. "I promise," he murmured softly, resting his chin on her head again. The position was comfortable, and it DID feel a lot better without all the blankets piled on...not to mention the fact that he could sleep easy knowing Kagome was safe. Inuyasha yawned in time with his friend, and smiled faintly, settling back against the wall. Telling the others could wait until tomorrow morning. They were both tired, and Shippo would proably be so happy to see Kagome awake that he would tackle her. Yes, for the moment, he was content to sit with the girl he secretly loved....
"Inuyasha?"
"Hm?"
"Your mom said to tell you hi." Inuyasha blinked, then smiled at the ceiling above.
"Goodnight, Kagome."
----------------------------------
Tailz: ::Cries into her hanky::
Sanji: Feh. Girls.
Tailz: Isn't it adorably fluffy? AWW! Anyway, I'm sad to say that the next chapter, the epilogue, will be the last. No alternate ending (I'm super sorry!) but maybe... a sequel! That sounds like fun, right? It would cover Kagome's recovery, (and a certain plot twist idea I've got!) and when Kagome goes home and shocks her mother to death. "Mommy! I'm still alive, mommy!" - Lemme know what you think!
Inuyasha: ::Pops up, smacks authoress in the head:: YOU!
Tailz: X.X Urk.... ::Floats down to the floor like Myouga::
Sanji: Dad!! ::Helps Tailz up::
Inuyasha: Why are you calling me dad?! Who the heck are you?!
Sanji: Never mind.... ::Sweat::
Tailz: X.x Meep...whaddid I do, Inu-chan?
Inuyasha: What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!
Tailz: ....?
Inuyasha: I'll tell you what you did! You TORTURED me for 21 chapters!!!
Tailz: 23, actually...
Inuyasha: ::BONK!::
Tailz: X.x