Chapter Seven: InuYasha's Pain and Sesshomaru's Instruction

InuYasha made it back to Kaede's cottage in half the time it took for him to get to Tonkijii.

"I'm back..." He stepped through the door and kneeled beside Kaede, who was delicately cleaning Kagome's wound with some strange, pungent powder. It made InuYasha want to vomit, but he bit his tongue.

"I got em..." He handed the brown-papered package to her. "Fairu said to boil them, and then put them in Kagome's chest."

The elderly priestess inspected them a moment. "Aye. InuYasha, would ye fetch me a pail of water?"

Sango cast a glance at InuYasha, and stood. "I'll get it." Kaede nodded.

"Make haste, my child."

"I will."

The slayer left the cottage, and Kaede then looked to InuYasha.

"Do not worry, InuYasha, Kagome will survive. She is a strong child...and the two of ye are tied at the heart, I can sense it. I doubt she will perish as long as she knows that ye wait for her."

The hanyou was silent for a while before he spoke. "I told her how much I love her..."

Kaede smiled. "She knows ye do...she knew before ye told her. She knew before the two of ye made love. I spoke with her before she left to meet thee in the forest. She was so worried that ye had left to meet the dead Kikyo. She did not rest any after ye departed..."

InuYasha bowed his head. "I can't believe...Kaede, please take good care of her. I don't know what I would do if she died."

The old woman looked into his eyes. "I shall do the best I can...and ye shall take the rest of the rein to her fate. Keep it in thy mind how much that ye love her. Hold her to thy heart, InuYasha, and do not let her go."

"I wont. I really don't want to leave...Fairu said Sesshomaru knew how to purify her blood."

Kaede laid a hand on Kagome's forehead. "Then go. She will still be here when ye return."

Sango walked in as InuYasha rose.

"Start the water to boil, Sango." Kaede busied herself with cleaning the punctures on Kagome's chest once more. "InuYasha, be careful...and make sure ye remember all that thy brother tells ye."

"I will."

He turned, and walked from the hut.

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"I wonder where the bastard is..." InuYasha had stopped by a river for a drink of water and a breath. He had been going all night, and the sun was starting to rise. Before his cupped hands reached his lips he caught the scent of what seemed to be his brother. He dropped the water back from whence it came and stood to get a better idea of what he smelled. His first instincts were correct. It was Sesshomaru. He walked forward a few steps and perked his ears to catch any noise that seemed unusual.

"I can't believe InuYasha was idiot enough to mix blood with a human... a pure human at that... He should have tainted her first! He shouldn't have even left her living if he saw it necessary to drink from her!" He heard Jaken's high-pitched voice...it made his blood boil. "Ignorant half-breed...soiling your family name, my lord Sesshoma-RU!" He squealed the last syllable of the Youkai's name as InuYasha's fist came down, smashing him to the earth. The imp began to wail and Rin busted out laughing.

"I see you've finally arrived, little brother." Sesshomaru cast an icy gaze over InuYasha.

"Yeah. So, you already know about Kagome, am I right or am I right?" The hanyou sighed as he said this, but yelped in surprise as his elder brother struck him in the head.

"You are more ignorant than I thought, InuYasha."

The dog-eared sibling growled softly, his teeth pressed together to contain his rage.

"First you drink from a maiden...then you mix your filthy blood with hers, and you leave her breathing?"

InuYasha scowled. "Why wouldn't I leave her alive?"

Sesshomaru squinted as he surveyed his brother. "You have grown stronger little brother, but, apparently no wiser. Do you know naught what will happen to her on the new moon? She will change, InuYasha... into what I transform myself into of my own accord. And you, powerless to stop her?"

The scowl that contorted InuYasha's face dropped into a puzzled expression. "Why?"

"She wasn't born with demon blood, and that which now flows through her veins is yours...so she shall go into the form of a canine similar to mine every new moon, and as a matter of fact she shall be more powerful than even I. There is only one way to cure it,

and it would be absurd for you to even think about attempting in that useless human self that you become on the night of the beginning of a new lunar month."

"Tell me...why would you care if I die trying?"

"I don't. Actually, it would please me to hear the news."

InuYasha gave a sarcastic smile. "Then tell me."

Sesshomaru eyed him for a careful moment. "To re-purify the priestess' blood, you must allow your human blood to amalgamate with the demon blood that will course through her veins on the night of the new moon. Only that will call out her human soul, and recall your blood in her veins back to you."

The younger of the brothers blinked. "How do I do it?"

"Wait for her to fully change, make her bleed, injure yourself severely enough to bring blood, and bring the two wounds together. Of course, if you die, she will live out the rest of her life turning into a ruthless murderer each time the lunar month begins again."

Sesshomaru broke an unnatural, eerie smile at the look of grief on his brother's face, and then continued. "Of course, if you succeed, the immense strain on her body could kill her. She will be extremely weak when she returns to her former self. And, might I add, it will be extremely painful to the both of you."

InuYasha sighed. "I don't care how much it hurts me." He stood. "Is that all I got to do?"

The elder brother nodded. "Yes."

At this, InuYasha turned and began to walk away, and heard Jaken call after him.

"Have you no thanks to offer your brother the wise and powerful Lord Sesshomaru?!"

He ignored it, and bounded into the treetops.

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When InuYasha arrived at the cottage, night had again fallen and the snores of his comrades drifted out the door and into his sensitive canine ears. In it, the sounds of Kaede's humming also lied. He quietly pushed the curtain aside and stepped in.

"Hello InuYasha." The old woman smiled at him, and pointed to a mat on the opposite side of Kagome's resting body. "Thou are weary, child. Ye have traveled much without rest this day. Sit and relax for a while, ye have no errands left to run."

Silently the hanyou obeyed, his eyes mournfully staring at Kagome as he sat, cross-legged.

"I'm tired but I don't want to sleep... Will Kagome be here in the morning? Can you guarantee it?"

Kaede's brow wrinkled. "InuYasha...she is very ill...and her fever is high..." She started as Kagome's formerly motionless body started to stir. The girl stretched and smiled gently at InuYasha.

"I will live as long as you love me. Sleep now, my InuYasha."

"Kagome – I – Kagome?"

She did not respond. Quietly he nodded and lay beside her, and snuggled close. Kaede nodded.

"I shall now take my rest. Goodnight, InuYasha. Wake me if ye have any problems with Kagome's health."

InuYasha nodded, grateful.

"Thank you, Kaede."

The old priestess smiled.

"You are welcome, InuYasha."

InuYasha woke with a gasp, and found himself in a cold sweat. He had been dreaming of the monstrous demon-turned Kagome that Sesshomaru had promised. Rain hammered on the roof as he looked around the cottage to his still-sleeping companions, and then to Kagome. She still was unconscious. He puzzled over her speaking to him, telling him she would live as long as he still loved her.

"I will always love you, Kagome."

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He rose with a yawn, and walked to the entrance. It was morning, he could tell, but the sun was invisible behind a blanket of gray. His stomach growled, but he refused to answer. Instead he walked into the rain, heading for the sacred tree.

"I don't care if I die...I only wish for Kagome to live..."

He sighed and walked on, ignoring the icy water that fell on his forlorn figure. After what seemed like forever, he finally meandered to the base of the sacred tree.

"I...killed Kikyo...and she pinned me here..."

He leapt and landed gracefully on the limb that he and Kagome had shared three nights ago. His mind returned to the actions they had both taken, his promise never to hurt her, and then he moved on the way she had fearlessly put herself in his hands, the way she had returned eagerly the pleasure he had given her. His mind shifted to the look of her perfectly made body, her lovely breasts, the way she moaned for him. The feel of his stiff manhood pressing against his leg brought him back to reality, and he bit his lip, ashamed.

"Damn it..." He whispered softly. He clenched his fists until his claws dug into his palms, and then further.

"DAMN IT! Look at me! I PROMISED not to hurt her! I PROMISED! And now look, she's... she could die! Whose fault is it? MINE! I broke my promise! I swore I wouldn't hurt her even if it...killed me..."

For the first time since he was a child, a tear rolled down InuYasha's face.

"Gods..."

He gazed into the dreary morning sky.

"Kagome...I'm so sorry."

The distraught hanyou sat silently for a while, staring into the rain as thoughts danced across his mind. For a moment he considered turning his sword on himself, but thought better of it. If he died, Kagome would never be the same. She would change each new moon...and she would lose some of her human heart each time.

"I have to help her. I have to save her from herself...from...my blood. I can't die without even trying to purify her blood again."

With that he stood, and leapt from the tree, a determined vow firmly rooted in his brain.

"I wont let her die."