Chapter Six – Healer

Inutaisho took the sheathed sword from his son's hands, strapping it to his waist and not even bothering to replace his kimono or haori. There were bandages wrapped securely around the wounds that covered his thickly muscled upper body.

They were surprised that he didn't exactly look smaller without all of the bone armor that he normally wore. He stood a head taller than the tallest of them, at the very least. There was a reason that he was their lord. Inu youkai had gathered around the entrance to his tent, looking at him with curious eyes. He already had a sword, so why did he need another one? The one that he had was extremely powerful, so he had no use for another one.

The crowd of dog demons parted like water as the lord walked through their midst. Sesshoumaru followed his father almost like it was automatic, and Izayoi followed them, however hesitantly as she looked around at the inu youkai that were staring at her and the two lords. She continued moving on though, hoping that the low light of the campfires hid the flaming red of her face.

The bitch that had lost her husband so close to the birth of their first pup looked up when Inutaisho stopped in front of the tent that had been set up for her by other males of the clan. The body of her mate was inside, awaiting the cremation that was to take place that night. She closed her surprised eyes and bowed slightly before struggling to her feet. Her eyes were red from tears and she was ashamed that her lord had found her in such a state. She looked down at her feet, not wanting to meet those piercing gold eyes.

Izayoi looked closely at the woman. Her eyes were the color of the full moon, her skin nearly as pale. Her hair was a dark red that matched the over-large kimono that she was wearing over a white one. Her hands were shaking visibly.

"I'm sorry my lord, I wasn't expecting for you to come over here." Shaking slightly, she wiped her hand across her eyes. "If I had known that you were coming, I would've prepared a meal, or something –"

Inutaisho stopped her, gesturing towards the tent. "I didn't expect you to Kilun." He used her name, being that the males only referred to the women as bitches when they were away from them, or when they were sure that they wouldn't get hurt. "I came to see your husband. Please, show me into the tent."

She flinched and tears formed in the corners of her silvery eyes. "He is dead, my lord . . ."

He sighed, lightly touching the hilt of Tensaiga with his hand and leaning forward. "I know that he didn't survive the fight, but there is a reason that I have come here."

She swallowed thickly and bowed again to her clan leader. She slowly moved the tent flap aside, moving to the side so that Inutaisho could go inside. Sesshoumaru followed his father, being closely followed by Izayoi.

In the middle of the tent lay the cold, pale body of the male that had been her mate. His long dark hair was tucked over his shoulder and all of his armor had been removed, yet it remained nearby, so that it could be burned with the body. A dagger lay across the chest of the white robe that he had been shrouded in.

Izayoi looked from Inutaisho to the body and back. She was probably the only other person in the room that knew what was going on. She watched as the wife of the deceased dog demon knelt besides his body, her thinned shoulders shaking with silent sobs as she looked pleadingly up at her lord, her hand running lightly over her large belly. The young female wanted nothing more than to have hope for the future of her unborn pup.

Inutaisho looked down at the shaking woman and his expression softened visibly. She noticed this and thought it strange that he was doing this. Izayoi walked forward and knelt besides the woman, placing her hand on her shoulders in a comforting gesture. The demoness looked at her in surprised, but at one looked from her lord, didn't refuse the comfort that she so desperately needed.

The lord took a deep breath as he took up a readied stance, taking the newly forged sword from its sheath with a soft ring of grating metal. The blade gleamed in the soft torchlight filling the small tent. Sighing, he brought the blade through the air that was just above the prepared corpse. The inu demon's wife only sobbed harder when she saw what had happened, but her eyes widened as she saw what happened next.

Color slowly found its way into the skin and face of the previously dead male and his eyes fluttered, then opened. He looked blearily around the tent, wondering where he was. Slowly, looking over himself, he sat up, the dagger that had been resting on his chest falling to the ground with an echoing ring. His mate threw herself into his arms, sobbing with joy and seeing her husband alive and well.

The male demon locked his arms tightly around her, golden eyes still wide in surprise as he took in the site of his Lord, only half dressed, with sword in hand. Inutaisho's regularly hardened eyes were as gentle as he had ever seen them.

"My lord," he whispered, bowing his head in respect, and moving that he was kneeling in front of his tearful wife. "Is there a reason for this? The last thing that I remember is lying on the battle field and being so helpless as the dark consumed me. What happened?"

The Lord of the Western Lands sighed, looking down at one of his most loyal generals. "You were killed in the battle that took place the night before last. You were also the only one killed in battle, but not the most badly wounded. Your body was brought back here and I thought that you would remain dead, but my newly forged sword was brought to me." He turned ever- so-slightly so that he was facing the other inu youkai in the tent. He held up the shining blade. "This is the Tensaiga. It is a healing sword that also has the power to raise the dead. It is powerful enough to heal one hundred in a single stroke."

The inu youkai kneeling on the floor bowed to his lord once again. "Thank you, milord, for bringing me back to my mate and coming family. I will be forever grateful to you."

He gave a small nod before once again sheathing the Tensaiga and walking out of the tent, Sesshoumaru and Izayoi following him out of the tent. He had never felt such a wonderful feeling running through his heart as he had moments ago after watching Kilun embracing her husband after having thought him dead to the world.

Izayoi noticed the soft light in his eyes and made a note to ask him about it later. Sesshoumaru noticed that look that the ninque healer had given his father and let it go. Even though his mother and father had been close, they had never loved each other. He had only been born to become the heir that his father needed.

A few minutes later, Inutaisho walked into the tent that had been erected for him the day previous. Izayoi followed him after watching the lord's son walk away to get into his own tent. The look that had passed across his face was odd for the stoic adolescent. She had wondered what he had been thinking, but hadn't pushed it.

"That was a good thing that you did for the woman." Izayoi said quietly as she continued her work on claw rivets that had reopened while he had used the sword. "And for her mate. I'm sure that it'll be much easier for her to give birth now that her mate is returned to her, safely."

The youkai lord remained quiet as he listened to her. He had had a long day from everything that had happened and he just wanted to go to sleep. It seemed like it had been a long time since he had last been asleep. After a while, he fell asleep sitting up. How he managed it while she was treating him, Izayoi never knew.

[A/N]
There you go people. Another chapter! Well, I hope you enjoyed this! Please review! Chapters will come up faster if you do!