Disclaimer I don't own much. Of course this means Inuyasha and his crew.

Of Fates Unknown

Chapter Twenty Five

A lone cloaked figure, ragged and haggard looking, walked quickly in from a darkened hallway into a room cast in shadows, lit only by the fire kept to warm the room. The figure walked over to a man sitting in an overly large chair facing the burning fire, bowing low and waited. The man continued to stare at the flames not once bothering to look at the newcomer. After taking a sip, from his jeweled cup he gave a casual wave of his hand to acknowledge the figures presence.

Rising from his bow he spoke. "Master, I have just come back with the information which ye sent me for. All went accordin' to your plannin'. Me men went an' burned the market, drawin' out the sorceress. And likin' ye said, she did somethin' with her hands. Drew in air, a type of symbol or what not. Whatever it was caused them vermin trapped to suddenly find there way out. I couldna' get closer without the guards getting' wind of me. After which she went around doing healin' and what not. Least, till that hanyou come get her. Funny thin' about that though…"

"Oh? Funny how?"

The cloaked man scratched his head. "Well, it seemed that the hanyou was pissed at her bein' there or somethin' like that. Didn't look to happy to see her there or somethin'. But when he got to her, and grabbed her, she just turned to look at him and fainted. Like he did somethin' to her to knock her out."

The man in the chair took another sip, then glanced over at the other person. "Or it would seem that the Ceadda have a limit to their power. Or at least this one does."

"Aye, I'd guessin' ye right. Well, when it happen' he just went and took off with her back to the keep from what I'd seen. I travel back as fast as I could to report, but I left me best men still back there. Ready for ye next job."

"And you're sure they will not be noticed."

The man nodded, "Aye, they be keepin' their heads low."

The other stood from his chair and smiled in a way that even made the cloaked figure shudder. "Good, I will inform you as soon as you and your men's… talents are required again."

At this he bowed again and left the room, while the other man refilled his glass then sat back down in his chair to resume staring at the flames.

)O(

Once again, Kagome awoke in bed with no knowledge of how she'd gotten there. But at least this time, she recognized her own room. Her throat still felt raw, and when she coughed, her chest ached badly. Then Inuyasha's face appeared again, and she remembered his anger. It was difficult for her to focus her eyes, so she couldn't see him clearly enough to know if he was still angry. And she didn't understand that angry.

"Why-?" she got no further because her voice was a mere croak, and a very painful one at that.

Inuyasha turned away from her and asked for some water, then slid an arm around her and lifted her so that he was cradling her in his arms.

Was he angry? She wondered. But the question was less important to her at the moment than her tiredness. She'd never felt so tired in her entire life. She could not have sat up without his help, and it seemed that every muscle in her body ached the way her hands sometimes pained her after long use.

Tessa, her maid, appeared at her bedside and handed Inuyasha a cup. Kagome was alarmed at her expression. The girl looked as though she expected Kagome to die at any moment. To disprove that, Kagome drank thirstily from the cup that Inuyasha held to her lips. She was just tired, not dying. Surely there was a difference!

She drank as much as she could. Inuyasha set aside the cup and stared at her. Her eyes were focusing better now, and she was still convinced that he was angry. In a way, that relieved her worries about herself. Surely he wouldn't be angry with her if she were near death? Or was he angry because her death would ruin his plans to use her? She was so tired that her brain was having difficulty sorting all this out.

"What-?" she started to ask what was wrong with her. Her voice sounded more normal, but her question was cut off by a coughing spasm that left her even weaker.

Inuyasha lowered her to the pillows again, then stood up and frowned at her. Or at least she thought he was frowning. Her vision was slipping out of focus again, but she could have sworn she heard him growling.

"What indeed! What the hell were you thinking?" he burst out in a harsh voice, which confirmed her beliefs at him growling. "I should string Tadiz from the wall of the keep for putting you through that."

Alarmed for Tadiz' sake, Kagome tried to speak again, but Inuyasha held up a hand to stop her. She saw two hands, even though he held up only one.

"No, he's safe enough. I wouldn't harm him. Besides, he probably couldn't control you any more than-" He stopped abruptly with another louder growl.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "He says that all you need is rest," he finished after a pause.

But Kagome was already drifting off again.

)O(

When she awoke again, Kagome was alone and grateful for that. She was both thirsty and terribly hungry, but she lay there for a few moments, reconstruction what had happened. When she recalled Inuyasha's statement about Tadiz' not being able to control her, she actually smiled. And she was still smiling when the door opened very slowly and both Souta and Shippou put their heads around the edge.

"You're better!" they shouted, bounding into the room and leaping onto her bed. They loved the big beds here and despite her admonitions continued to bounce on them every chance he got.

She groaned, "I won't be better if you two keep jumping up and down like that."

But she was better. Her throat was still slightly sore and her chest ached, as did the rest of her- but at least she was no longer entertaining thoughts of her own death.

Shippou proceeded to curl up in her lap and give off a content purr as she brushed her hand over his head and tail, while Souta just looked her over.

"But you slept a really long time," Souta said when he had stopped his inspection of her. "Inuyasha's really mad at you."

Shippou snorted none to quietly and she sighed and shook her head at the fox's antics. "Because I slept so long?" she asked, motioning for Souta to pour some water for her from the pitcher beside the bed.

He got up and did as requested. "No, he said you need to rest. He's mad because you used your powers too much. But Sango says that you saved a lot of people and Inuyasha should stop complaining. She said Inuyasha was just really worried, not mad. Something about he always gets like that when he doesn't want to admit his worried about someone."

"Hmmmpphh!" was Kagome's only comment as she drank the water.

"I know you don't like Inuyasha but I think he really likes you," Souta said with a sly grin that made him look far wiser than his years.

She was about to say that it wasn't her that Inuyasha "really liked" as much as it was her powers, but she kept quiet- partly because she knew Souta cared for Inuyasha, and partly because she wasn't really sure what Inuyasha thought. And at the moment, she didn't much care, either. Shippou muttered something that suspiciously mirrored what she had been thinking about the comment as well.

Souta slid off the bed. "I gotta go tell Inuyasha that you're awake. I promised I would."

"No!" she said, but too late. He was already out the door. But he must have stopped long enough to inform Tessa that she was awake, because the girl appeared a moment later. Kagome got out of bed carefully, groaning slightly as her muscles resisted even that movement.

"Tessa, I must have a bath and wash my hair. I still smell of smoke."

"But Lord Inuyasha said that you were to stay in bed until Master Tadiz checked you," the girl protested.

"You don't work for Lord Inuyasha- you work for me. And I want a bath." Then she softened her tone when she saw the girl's stricken expression and heard Shippou's smothered giggles.

"Don't worry, Tessa, Kagome can deal with Lord Inuyasha just fine," he snickered.

Kagome raised a brow at the comment from the fox giving him a sly look. Which lost Shippou's battle with keeping his giggles hidden.

The maid giggled as well, "Yes, ma'am." Giving a smile that suggested to Kagome some whispered conversations among the keep's servants regarding their lord and the Ceadda sorceress.

Kagome did in fact want a bath to rid her of the lingering stench of smoke, but she also saw it as a way of avoiding Inuyasha for as time. Her brain felt as raw and irritated as her body and it therefore seemed wisest to stay away from him. Shippou informed her that she had been asleep for 4 days now, which explained the hunger she felt.

As it turned out, she couldn't avoid him for very long. Refreshed from her bath, she was devouring the food that Tessa had brought her and Shippou as they sat before the fire, when Inuyasha walked in without knocking. A faint smell of smoke accompanied him and she wrinkled her nose as Shippou started to sneeze.

"I've just come back from the old market," he explained. "Before next winter, we'll have it rebuilt as housing."

"For Naraku's people?" she asked.

"By then, they'll be my people, so perhaps they won't need it. They could manage on their own if Naraku didn't tax them to death."

Glancing over at a suspiciously silent Shippou she blinked. "How can Naraku's people become your people? I thought you agreed to an alliance?"

"So I did- but that was only to keep him from causing trouble for a time. How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she said, looking back at him. Though not at all pleased to hear that he thought so little of his promises even if it was a promise made to the likes of Lord Naraku.

"You did too much, Kagome," he stated, standing there and glaring at her. "You put yourself at risk because you don't yet know the limits of your powers."

"Would you rather that I had let those people burn to death?" she challenged.

Again a growling entered his voice, "If it meant risking your life to save them- yes."

Narrowing her eyes in anger she answered, "You may think that way, Inuyasha- but I don't. And I never believed myself to be at risk."

He abruptly turned his back on her to stare into the fire. "I spoke with the sergeant who was there with you. He said he tried to stop you, but you insisted on going in there. Then you made the fire stop and the beams that had been blocking the door just crumbled to dust."

"Yes. That's what happened," she confirmed.

He spun around to face her, his ears laying flat against his skull and a hint of fangs showing with a snarl. "And you just accept that you can do such a thing?"

"I don't have a choice," she replied nonplussed. "I didn't ask for these powers, Inuyasha- but since I have them, it seemed to me that I should put them to good use."

Instead of responding to that, he turned abruptly and left the room. Kagome and Shippou stared after him, wondering about his behavior. To Kagome, it seemed that he was having more difficulties dealing with her talents than she herself was at this point. Could he be jealous of her, worried that she would usurp his authority here?

Perhaps he has reason to worry, she thought angrily. Domna belonged to my people for centuries before his father stole it. And if I were the ruler, there would be no more wars.

)O(

Review responses:

hana no tenshi – Have fun on your trip. My IM crashed and I am having trouble reinstalling the darn program. But I think it has less to do with the program and more to do with my Windows ME that I have installed in my computer. (sigh) This Windows sucks the big one. Hopefully I will have fixed the problem by the time you come back.

s-jane - Yes, but well, the surgery was needed to explain both how her powers work, in a way, and also her view about the harming of a living being. She is a soft-hearted person, and it was just a reinforcement of that. I myself couldn't even be a nurse if I had to. I don't deal well with blood or needles. (shudder) I couldn't even give my horse his yearly shots, and would rather pay the vet to come to the farm and do it instead. Thanks for the review!

Josie'n the P.cats – No problem. Didn't mean to do that though. LOL! Personally I love the fact that her strength shows through in the Manga and wanted to show that too. LOL, especially when she gives both Sesshy and Naraku a run for their money. :P I prefer strong Kagome then weak.

Abovefaith – I am thrilled that "White Dog" has been updated. If I could I would leap out of my screen and hug the author! Yes, the chapter is a bit sad, but it just ads to the story on the whole.

Mrsjenthornton- LOL, you sound like me. After I get the kids on the bus, I check out the e-mail to see if any stories have been updated.

Ramzgurl – Nah, you don't. I love a repeat review. That way I know if the regulars are still enjoying the story just as much as the new reviews. Oh, and don't worry, the fluff will abound!

shadowreader – Thank you. I personally love stories with more then just the basic plot, and tried to do so with this one. Normal day-to-day life involves more then just one thing, and I tried to do so with this story. Glad you enjoy it!

Aitu – LOL! Ok, so I guess I can mentally let them out of my corner now too, huh? Yeah, Kagome tends to get a bit single minded when she is doing something… but then again, it just proves how dedicated she can be about a cause. Don't know about the (ahem) blue box, but she will definitely help Inuyasha find a very interesting discovery indeed.

NIKI – Don't worry, the relationship will get along soon now. I just didn't want to do a type of story where they meet and two days later they jump in the sack. As it is, I am worried about the timing I have planed for this story. My sick, twisted mind of mine wants to drawl it out more then it is written originally. (evil grin)

Sorry this one is a bit late in the day. My computer wouldn't play nice, and I couldn't load this for anything. (sigh) I have saved all my info to disk because I think I will have to wipe out my hard-drive again and reinstall windows. That is just such a drag.

For some unknown reason the Reviews were not getting sent to my e-mail. (groan) So I had to reload this chapter after adding my responses to the reviews that I missed. Sorry about that!

Anyways, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!

Brightest of Blessings,

Lady Banshee 999