'If she dies, I'll never forgive myself.'
InuYasha leapt silently across the open fields, but his mind was in a turmoil.
'A little farther west, oh my god I tell her I love her and then it turns out I could be the cause of her death. Kagome...I never meant to harm you, I never would want to hurt you!'
For the first time in many years, he stumbled and fell forward on the ground. He uttered a short cry as a sharp rock pierced his bare chest, and instantly cursed his self for it.
'I'm so weak...I don't deserve to live...especially for what I did to Kagome...I never meant to...I hate myself...'
He rose and continued, pressing himself to extend the length his bounding strides covered.
'Hurry damn you...hurry...'
He was only able to silence his mind long enough to calculate distance.
"I've been about...seven miles. I should be able to get the stuff back to Kaede before nightfall..."
He lapsed again in thought and, as he reached the edge of a cliff, tried to stop himself. He skidded halfway over the edge and fell. He growled fiercely as he toppled halfway down, then grabbed a root that defiantly jutted out of the barren dirt.
"FUCK!"
He leaned halfway over and pushed himself off with his feet, and dropped quickly through the air until he reached the bottom. He stood, shaking for a moment, and looked at the sun.
"I need to hurry..."
Again he bounded off. After another thirty minutes of endless motion, InuYasha's eyes finally caught sight of a long, purple banner dancing atop a pole.
"This must be the place."
InuYasha approached the gated entrance to the wealthy-looking village, his hand resting on the Tetsusaiga, for he expected an ignorant warrior to attack him at any time. He looked to the two armor-clad men standing guard in front of the heavy wooden door, and made to walk past. Crossed spears stopped him.
"We do not allow random beggars such as ye into this fine village!"
The heavier of the men met his eye. InuYasha glared.
"I'm not here to kill or steal from you, stupid. But if you don't get your ass out of my way, I'll knock you off before I leave here."
Suddenly a woman's voice rang out. "Let him in." The tall redheaded speaker walked loftily from the office of the tower that supported the gate on the left.
"You are InuYasha, am I correct?"
"Yeah...what of it?" He eyed her warily. Something was odd about the scent of her, familiar, but unknown.
She smiled and nodded. "I have foreseen your arrival. I am Fairu, the high priestess of this settlement. Welcome to Tonkijii. Your mate, does she still breathe?"
"When I left, she was alive. But unconscious."
"I supposed she would be. Take these." She held out a small package. "Tell her caretaker to leave these wrapped, but boil them before she puts them in the chest. By the way, you wouldn't happen to be the brother of Sesshomaru, would you now?"
"Yeah, I am. In Kagome's chest?"
"Yes, in her chest, under where your fangs entered. I will now send you on your way to deliver these medicines to your love, and the one who helps you to collect the shards of the Shikon No Tama to be preserved and used for good. But, after her caretaker receives them, you must out to find Sesshomaru. See if he already knows what plagues the girl, for I have sent word to him, but, if he does not, tell him. He knows the proper procedure to re-purify the priestess' blood."
InuYasha nodded slowly. "How do you know all this?"
She smiled mysteriously. "I come from your kind, my dear cousin. Can you not smell the kin blood? It is nice to see you freed from the dead priestess' spell, and this time about to help instead of plunder. I've watched you carefully since the strangely clad girl released you from the tree. You have become a skilled warrior... I have noticed that when you are protecting her you refuse to let yourself be beaten. You love her, don't you, InuYasha?"
He bowed his head, and then met his cousins' eye. "I do. I never meant to harm her. I was just...caught up in the moment..."
Fairu touched his shoulder. "Put your mind at ease. She shall make it to the new moon; I just dread what will happen then. You must talk to Sesshomaru before then."
"Yeah, that's what I don't understand... that's the night I change to a human...what's the big deal with it?"
"Talk to Sesshomaru." And she was gone. InuYasha looked at the herbs in his hand.
"Well, hell...guess I'll have to find the bastard after I get this to Kagome." He turned and bounded off.