Chapter Two:
A Future Sacrifice
******Modern Day Tokyo******
Momiji Fujimiya felt the air leave her lungs as she crashed to her knees, both hands clutching the Mitama that was buried in her chest. Pain engulfed her body, feeling as if her very blood had suddenly become molten lava as it coursed through her veins, unerringly making its way towards her heart. She desperately tried to drag air into her lungs as a high pitched ringing, accompanied by a bright light, pulsed around her, completely in tune with her heartbeat. She could dimly hear the worried cries of her coworkers and friends, but all her concentration was taken up by the strange sensation that something was trying to burn her very existence away.
Seconds ticked by, and finally, finally the pain began to ease off, and she sucked air into her starved lungs with a sound similar to a drowning fish. Cautiously she opened her emerald green eyes, realizing at that moment that she had squeezed them shut. She blinked, and managed to bring Matsudaira's worried countenance, and Koume's frightened one (which was odd, Koume was never frightened) into focus.
"Momiji-chan, are you all right?" the biologist of the TAC asked worriedly.
Momiji took a deep breath and was relieved to find that the debilitating pain didn't return. She let her breath out on a sigh, and said, "I'm all right."
"Momiji-chan, are you absolutely certain that you're all right?" Matsu asked again, staring at Momiji as if she were trying to coax a confession out of her.
"I'm fine now, really," Momiji answered, wiping some sweat off of her forehead. "It just caught me by surprise."
"It wasn't Aragami, was it," Matsu asked, making it sound more like a statement than a question.
"How did you know?" Momiji asked, feeling as if her brain were some how disconnected from her body.
"Momiji, you became transparent!" Koume burst out, her shock wearing off as her brain finally caught up with her mouth.
"I'm not surprised, I haven't felt pain like that before, ever," Momiji answered.
"No, no, you didn't go pale," Koume said, raking her hand through her hair impatiently. "I mean you went transparent, like a ghost. I could see right through you!"
Startled, Momiji swung her bottle green gaze to Matsu's contemplative countenance, and got a nod in response.
"One minute you were there, and then when you collapsed to your knees all we could see was a faint outline of you, until you solidified again. I feel like I've seen something like it somewhere . . ," Matsu trailed off, deep in thought.
"It was like that old American movie, the one with that guy . . . Michael J. Fox. You know, the one where he goes back in time and meets his parents when they were teenagers and nearly vanishes because he kept inadvertently interfering with the past," Koume said.
"Back to the Future?" Momiji asked, remembering the title of a trilogy her friends back home in Izumo had enjoyed.
"Yeah, that's it!" Koume cried triumphantly. "Remember how near the ending, before his parents kissed he started to fade out? You were just like that, only instead of it just being your hand it was your entire body."
"Oh yes, that's what I was thinking about," Matsu agreed, then frowned. "Momiji-chan, I'm afraid I'm gong to have to keep you a little longer. I want to run some more tests on you to make sure your Mitama and the Kushinada Pulse are still stable. I don't like what happened at all."
That sentiment was echoed thirty minutes later by Takeuchi when she came up to find out what was keeping Momiji so long. Kunikida had left earlier to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister, and it was up to Takeuchi to insure that Momiji arrived home safely. When she heard what had happened to Momiji earlier, she began her own barrage of questions, which led to Momiji reluctantly admitting that it had felt like someone was trying to strip her of everything from the inside out during her "fading out" incident. Finally, after yet *another* round of questions, being poked and prodded, hooked up to machines and having the data compared again and again, along with constant reassurances that she was just fine save the headache that was building up behind her eyes, Momiji was allowed to leave with Takeuchi. By that time Yaegashi had been called in, and he promised he'd analyze the video data from the security cameras, as well as checking over the computer equipment to make sure it was still in top working order.
Momiji was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the fuss, but she was used to it. Whether it was a low grade in math, her worst subject in school, or a sudden increase in the activity of the Kushinada pulse, everyone would become involved in the analysis and attempt to find a solution. Both Yaegashi and Matsudaira had offered to tutor Momiji in math, while Koume had informed her that math "was like blowing up a building. Once you secured the foundation correctly, the rest of it just fell into place." Momiji wasn't sure how much she liked that comparison, but it did make some sense.
Being the Kushinada had its ups and downs, though here lately it seemed to contain more downs than anything. Momiji would be lying if she said she never regretted her choice to accept her fate as the Kushinada, and she often found herself wishing for a normal life once again at home in Izumo during the darkest hours of the night, when her inner demons in the form of her twin sister would come out to taunt her. Whenever that happened, Momiji would find herself trying to look on the other, brighter, side, and reminding herself that if it hadn't been for the fact that she was the Kushinada, she never would have met the wonderful people of the TAC or Kusanagi.
Kusanagi . . . Now there was a thought that could cause her mood to plummet faster than a skydiver whose chute refuses to open. She had managed with the help of her friends at the TAC to pull herself out of the depression that had nearly strangled her when Kaede had revealed herself to not only still be alive, but to be working for the Aragami as well. In denial over what his own eyes were showing him, and what Kaede and that jerk Murakumo were telling him, Kusanagi had taken it upon himself to try and find out Kaede and Susano-oh's true objective, and had begun chasing after the shadow of the older Kushinada twin.
Momiji's hands clenched in her lap as she fought off a wave of despair . Once again she reaffirmed in her mind her vow to become stronger in regards to fighting the Aragami, and to try harder to find a way to harness the power of the Kushinada. She was so lost in her thoughts that it took her a few moments to realize that Takeuchi was calling her name.
"Hmm?" Momiji asked, bringing herself back to the present.
"We're here," Takeuchi said, and Momiji glanced out the window and flushed in embarrassment when she realized they were idling outside of Kunikida's house. She hadn't even realized that the car had stopped.
"Thank you, Takeuchi-san," Momiji said as she reached over to unlatch the door. A hand on her arm stopped her, and she turned to meet Takeuchi's concerned gaze.
"Momiji-chan," Takeuchi began, and then stopped as an unwanted thought entered her head. What could I possibly say to her about Kusanagi-san when I can't even get my own love life in order?
"What is it, Takeuchi-san?" Momiji asked, wondering at the slightly pained expression that had flitted over Takeuchi's features.
"Everything will be all right," Takeuchi finished lamely, backing out at the last second. She was about to get out and walk Momiji to the front door, but a slight movement in the trees caught her attention. She turned and spotted Kusanagi lounging in one of the trees, and she relaxed. He would keep an eye on Momiji until she went into the house.
Momiji nodded and smiled at the older woman cheerfully, before turning and getting out of the car. She waved as Takeuchi drove out of site, before turning to gaze at the house she had been living in for the past few months. Had she really been there that long? To Momiji, it felt like she had been living with Kunikida all her life, even though in reality she'd barely been there a year. It was amazing to think how much had changed in such a short amount of time. Not only had she found out that she had an older twin sister who was supposedly dead, but now that "supposedly dead" twin sister was helping the Aragami. If those two revelations hadn't been enough, Momiji had had the misfortune (in her mind at least) of falling in love with the man whose original job had been to watch over and protect the "supposedly dead but now helping the enemy" twin sister. It had been an even harder blow when it became painfully apparent that Kusanagi had been in love with Kaede, and had nearly run to his death when she revealed herself to still be alive. Momiji could still hear Kusanagi's anguished cries for Kaede to not leave while the cavern they had been standing in crumbled around them. She remembered grabbing him around the waist and pleading with him to stop, that they needed to get out of the chamber and back into the tunnel where it was safer. Even now she was amazed that she had managed to drag him backwards to the relative safety of the tunnel, especially since he had been straining against her grip around his waist every step of the way.
Momiji felt a sharp pain in her chest, and instinctly she reached up and rubbed her hand over the slight bump that her Mitama created. Unlike the previous searing pain, this one had been short lived, but it still caused her brow to crease in thought. It hadn't felt like an Aragami, but here lately the growth of Susano-oh had caused her Mitama to give off strange signals, some of which she couldn't even begin to understand.
"Did Susano-oh somehow cause that pain that happened back at the office?" Momiji's frown deepened as she went over the entire thing from start to finish, trying to search out some small sign that the god of the Aragami had had a hand in her near disappearing act.
"Keep that up, and your face will freeze," a teasing voice said from the vicinity of her right ear. Momiji shrieked and leapt sidewise before whirling around to confront the source of the voice. Kusanagi stood with his arms folded across his chest, one set of eyebrows raised over teasing eyes. A smirk lurked at the corner of his mouth, giving hint to the dimple that indented his skin when he smiled.
"Kusanagi-san, don't DO that!" Momiji admonished, trying to catch her breath.
"Awwww, did I scare you, Princess?" Kusanagi asked, looking quite pleased with himself over that prospect.
"Why is it every time I see you you're always such a jerk?" Momiji exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and spinning on her heel, fully intent on stalking into the house. She really wasn't in the mood for Kusanagi's teasing, despite the fact that her heart had given that tiny leap that had nothing to do with fright.
"Hang on, Momiji, what happened today?" Kusanagi asked, reaching forward to take Momiji's elbow.
"Nothing that should concern you," Momiji replied hotly, her temper getting the better of her. "Besides, how do you know anything happened today?"
"What are you so angry about?" Kusanagi asked. "I stopped by the office to see if they had any idea why the pain I've been feeling every time Susano-oh grows has stopped. You know that the only way to find Susano-oh and Kaede is for me to track them through those particular 'growing pains'. When I got there everyone was in an uproar over something that had happened concerning you, but I couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone that didn't involve an old movie and a bunch scientific jargon."
Momiji felt her hopes rise at the sound of concern in Kusanagi's voice, but they were dashed upon the cold rocks of reality when Kusanagi asked, "Do you think it had anything to do with Susano-oh? Or Kaede?"
"No, Kusanagi-san," Momiji said dully, looking at him then turning away once again to walk towards the house. "It had nothing to do with Kaede-san."
Kusanagi stared after Momiji long after she had shut the front door behind her. The look she had given him had been so brief that he might have imagined it, but for an instance she had appeared to have been consumed with a very unMomiji like bitterness. He scratched the back of his head, bewildered by her response to his question. She knew how important it was to find out Kaede and Susano-oh'S true objective, and yet she acted like she didn't even want to discuss them.
Kusanagi shook his head and then bounded off once again towards the TAC office. He would never, ever understand females. First there had been Kaede's declaration that she had joined the Aragami because she wanted to be protected, which was ridiculous because Kusanagi himself had been protecting her all of her life, and now the bitterness he had seen in the young woman who had cheerfully declared that if it were her fate to die for Japan, then she wanted it to be her chosen fate.
With a snort of disgust, Kusanagi decided it would be best for him to find out what had happened this afternoon, and alert the TAC about the sudden cessation of the intense heat and pain that Susano-oh's visits to the iwattos caused. He wondered if both incidents were linked somehow, and was willing to bet one of his many red jackets that they were. Then there was the troubling fact that he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Murakumo over the past few days. Even when protecting Kaede and the child Susano-oh, Murakumo would occasionally make an appearance in order to check up on the Aragami that had already awoken in or near the city area.
Kusanagi may not have had Momiji's innate psychic ability, but even he could tell that something was going to happen, and happen soon. Tokyo had been too quiet lately, with no Aragami attacks to speak of, and nothing regarding Susano-oh and Kaede coming to light. The inactivity made Kusanagi edgy. It unnerved him to feel that danger was nearby, and his apprehension increased when the danger remained unidentifiable. What made it worse was that he KNEW Momiji was going to be at the center of whatever it was that was going to erupt. Of course, Momiji and trouble went hand in hand, especially with the Aragami trying to kill her all the time.
Kusanagi scowled as he leapt across several buildings, coming to a halt in front of the rather diminutive building that housed the TAC. Damnit, he was going to get his answers, and this was the only place that could help him find them. He just hoped he got a straight answer this time instead of a bunch of scientific lingo interspersed with comments about old American Science Fiction movies. Who knew that Matsudaira was a closet Sci-Fi fan?
******Sengoku Jidai******
Shippou didn't know what to do. He was deeply worried about Kagome, she had yet to wake up and even his little kitsune ears were now able to pick up on the watery sounds her lungs made as she breathed; and surely it wasn't a good idea to keep her in those wet clothes. She was sick already, she didn't need to be in clothing that had been soaked in river water and most likely colder than the air around them. Yet Shippou wasn't about to bring up such concerns to Sesshoumaru. The tall youkai's face was impassive, giving no indication of his thoughts or emotions. He even seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his kimono had been completely soaked by Kagome's uniform.
Sesshoumaru was quite aware of the fact that his kimono was now very wet. The material was starting to cling to his skin in a rather uncomfortable way. Still, it would now be pointless to drop the girl since his kimono was already ruined, and Rin was now gazing up at the soggy bundle in his arms along with that kitsune brat, worry evident in both their eyes. Truth be told, he thought it was rather odd that the wench had yet to wake up, and the liquid sounds in her lungs were getting progressively worse. He had also detected a steady rise in her body heat, which, for humans, wasn't a good thing. Thankfully, he could see the area where he was going to land, and then it would only be a short walk before he could dump this bothersome girl and change out of his wet kimono.
Shippou kept his eyes on Kagome, silently willing for her to wake up. The longer she stayed still and silent, the higher his anxiety got. He knew that Rin was thinking the same thing, because she was pressing against him slightly, her eyes on Kagome's still form. Shippou figured it was probably a blessing that the little girl couldn't hear the disturbing noises that were coming from Kagome's lungs; after all, she certainly didn't need anything else to worry about. For his part, Shippou's mind was in turmoil, trying to sort through all his past experiences with the youkai lord and this new, more gentler side that Sesshoumaru unconsciously displayed by caring for Rin and being so careful with Kagome. He found himself wondering what Inu Yasha would have to say about this new side to his older brother.
"Probably attack first and think later," he thought to himself.
He glanced around at Rin when the little girl grabbed his arm and pointed to a small clearing in the forest ahead of them. "That's where we're going," she said.
Sure enough, Shippou could feel the change in altitude as Sesshoumaru guided his cloud of youki towards the ground. It wasn't long before the small motley group was standing in the middle of a small clearing. Around them the forest pressed in. Dark storm clouds continued to race across the sky and contributed to the suddenly oppressive feeling of the general area.
Without a word, Sesshoumaru turned and headed towards the edge of the clearing where a small tent was set up. Shippou blinked a few times. Sesshoumaru and a . . .tent? And not just any tent, but an old, rickety looking thing that looked like it had more holes than that Swiss Cheese Kagome had brought from her world once. That made sense about as much as Sesshoumaru and gentle did, especially since the tent the youkai lord was heading towards looked perfectly ordinary. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to have some kind of elaborate tent, or even a house or palace? What about a fortress? So far there had been so many contradictions between Sesshoumaru's current actions and the past ones that Shippou had witnessed first hand, that the kitsune cub could feel a headache coming on from trying to figure it all out.
Sesshoumaru carried Kagome through the opening in the tent, and Shippou quickly followed, hauling the oversized hiking bag with him, gently waving off Rin's offer of help. As he approached the opening of the tent, he noticed Jaken taking Aun, the two headed horse-dragon, off to the right. Shippou figured the youkai beast of burden probably kept watch while his master and traveling companions were resting. With a quick adjustment to the bag, Shippou turned and followed Rin to the tent, walking through the opening that she held for him. He then promptly dropped the large bag, which hit the floor the same time his jaw did.
The inside of the tent was VASTLY different from what the outside suggested. For one thing, there was a lot more room; the entire interior resembled something one might find in a noble's house. Large, spacious rooms with shoji doors distinguished the bedrooms, wide paths of hardwood floors, smooth and clean, supported a low table sitting in the middle of what must have been the dining area. Another, smaller room contained a desk sporting all manners of writing materials and abundant shelving that held various scrolls. Shippou counted no less than four rooms, and he figured there were probably more further on past the dining space.
He didn't wonder about the difference in appearances for long, though, because he saw Sesshoumaru carrying Kagome into one of the rooms off to the right, and he scurried to catch up with Rin, who was following on the youkai lord's heels. He really wished Kagome would wake up, the longer she stayed silent meant he had to fight harder to keep from giving into a full blown panic. He certainly didn't want to alarm Rin, who seemed to have every faith that her Sesshoumaru-sama would be able to cure Kagome.
Sesshoumaru carefully began to kneel in order to deposit his soggy bundle onto the futon, when he saw Rin turn to tell the kitsune cub something out of the corner of his eye. With her distracted, he gave into the impulse that had been plaguing him for the entire trip and abruptly released his hold on his brother's wench, smiling slightly at the soft thud her body made as it dropped onto the softness of the futon. It certainly did wonders for his waning good humor to have been able to drop Kagome like the baggage she was, and he silently thanked anyone who was listening for allowing him the opportunity to do so without the result of the headache Rin's protesting would have brought.
Sesshoumaru straightened and turned as the sound of Jaken's muttering signaled that the small retainer had entered the dwelling. As he walked up to them, the small toad youkai gave both Rin and Shippou a glare, before turning his attention to Sesshoumaru.
"Jaken."
"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"I want you to get the girl out of her wet clothing and into something dry, then cover her with a blanket. A mild broth is to be prepared for her, and I want Yurika to prepare a cold compress," Sesshoumaru ordered.
Jaken's eyes bugged out even further. "But Sesshoumaru-sama!"
"Do it," Sesshoumaru said, his voice softer but no less menacing, and he strode out of the room with barely a glance in Shippou and Rin's direction.
Jaken began to mutter, and didn't stop even as he ordered for drying cloths from a silent servant who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. While he waited for the servant to return, he began to remove the top of Kagome's uniform, making faces as he tugged on the cold, wet cloth. He really couldn't understand this girl's strange clothing. A normal kimono would have been much easier to remove, but the wench just had to wear this awkward kimono, and she was proving to be as difficult unconscious as she was when she was awake. Jaken continued to tug, and he finally got the strange garment slipped up and over the girl's head. He never noticed Kagome's slight stirring, and the slow lifting of dark lashes.
Sesshoumaru slipped silently through his house, neither looking to the left nor the right. Every room was familiar to him, every piece of furniture memorized. This was necessary not only for quick and silent maneuverability in his home, but also useful in the even that this rest house was ever invaded while he and his traveling companions were in residence. A highly unlikely event, but knowing where every table and shelf were located was a tactical maneuver that would give him the advantage over his enemies, and he always liked to have the upper hand.
Within a short amount of time he reached the very back of the house, and smiled slightly at the thought of what was behind the door. Reaching out, he gently slid the door open and watched as several tendrils of steam wafted into the house. The natural hot spring that he had had walled in was one of the many reasons he had chosen this place for the location of his "safe house." The added defense of the dense forest that surrounded his home also provided an easy backdrop for the illusion spell that he had placed on the house and the immediate area. Trees and a small tent amongst a real forest was a much easier illusion to maintain over, say, trees and a small tent in an area that was originally cleared of all vegetation.
Sesshoumaru left off his musing as he stepped through the door, nodding when he saw that his bathing instruments had been set out by his servants. Not that he expected any less, but he knew the value of a good, loyal servant in the house, and even though he hardly spoke to those who worked in his home, he did reward promptness and exactness.
He carefully removed his armor and the fur pelt he wore on his shoulder, setting them aside where they wouldn't get wet, and began to remove his kimono. He had just gotten the upper portion slid over his chest and off his arm when an ear splitting scream rent the air. His first thought was that an enemy, namely Naraku, had somehow broken through his defenses and gotten to Rin. Without taking the time to replace his upper kimono or armor, he sped through the house and was at the doorway that lead into Kagome's room in an instant. He slid the door open in time to see Jaken, face horrified and eyes bulging, flying straight for his face. With barely a change in expression, Sesshoumaru tilted his head slightly to the left, the only hint that Jaken had flown by his head by a mere hair's breadth was the ruffling of his long, silvery white hair.
He barely spared a thought of his retainer as he heard him crash through the wall behind him; the entire focus of his cold golden eyes was on Inu Yasha's wench, who was sitting up on the futon clutching the blanket to her chest. The young woman was obviously confused, her brown eyes were bright and her cheeks blazed red with fever. She looked around her with dazed eyes, blinked a few times, then glanced down at Rin and Shippou, who had remained near her but silent for the past few seconds.
"Kagome?" Shippou asked, his eyes wide.
"Wow, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin exclaimed, bouncing on her toes a bit. "You should have seen Kagome-neechan grab Jaken-sama!"
"Rin," Sesshoumaru said quietly, trying to quell the child's excited, and distracting, chatter.
"It was so funny! Kagome-neechan woke up, screamed, and grabbed Jaken-sama by the neck and threw him at the door!" Rin continued, giving Sesshoumaru the details he wanted, but not quite at the time he wanted them.
"Rin, be still," Sesshoumaru ordered as he replaced his upper kimono, and the little girl stopped bouncing and quieted down; the only sign of her continued excitement was the twisting of her hands.
Kagome desperately tried to clear some of the befuddlement from her mind, the last thing she remembered was pulling the little girl out of the river, but it was almost as if someone had stuffed cotton into her head. Her mouth was dry, and her entire body ached. Her chest especially felt heavy and tight, and every breath she took in gave her a nearly overwhelming urge to cough. She continued to clutch the blanket to her chest, instinct telling her that putting her wet top back on would not be a Good Idea, but she didn't relish the idea of anyone seeing her in her bra, especially Sesshoumaru. Wait a minute, SESSHOUMARU?!
Kagome sucked in a quick breath to demand some answers, or scream, she wasn't sure which, but all that came out was a deep, liquid sounding cough that caused the ache in her body to intensify. She bent into the blanket, her small body shuddering with the deep, tearing coughs, before they finally subsided and she was able to draw in a small breath without trying to remove her lungs through her mouth.
"Kagome," she heard Shippou whisper next to her, and she looked towards the kitsune cub, surprise registering over the fact that he and the human girl were in the same vicinity as the Lord of the Western Lands with their heads intact. She spared a glance for the youkai in question, and shivered as she felt the full weight of his golden stare.
"Shippou-chan," she managed to get out with only a small amount of coughing. "What . . . ?"
"You saved Rin!" the little girl piped up.
"It's all right, Kagome," Shippou said, wanting to ease some of the fear that was making itself known in the young woman's eyes. "When I got to you, you had fainted after you had saved Rin from the river. Rin then . . ," here Shippou paused and glanced uneasily at the youkai lord, "Asked Sesshoumaru to bring you with him because we were worried when you didn't wake up. He allowed me to come with him and bring your bag with me."
"It's Sesshoumaru-SAMA!" Rin corrected Shippou.
Sesshoumaru had yet to say anything, and though she didn't have much trouble following Shippou's explanation, that still didn't tell her why she was here, on a futon, in what was obviously Sesshoumaru's house, and she was still alive. That, along with the undeniable fact of the little girl standing next to Shippou, was almost more than enough for her cottony brain to take.
"You have a fever, too," Shippou added, then leaned in and whispered, "And your cough sounds horrible. Are you all right?"
A cough and a fever? Kagome tried to make sense of it, and then something clicked in her sluggish brain. Oh shit.
"Shippou-chan, you need to take Rin-chan out of here. Now. And keep her out," Kagome suddenly ordered, sparing a nervous look towards the disappointed looking child, who opened her mouth to argue.
"You would insult Rin by banning her from your room? Need I remind you who's house you are currently laying in, human?" he asked, his voice so chilly that Kagome swore she saw icicles form in the air.
"You don't understand," she said urgently before succumbing to a coughing spell. Her anxiety increased when she looked at the blanket and saw a small spot of yellow gunk that she had managed to cough up, confirming her suspicions. She'd had bronchitis before, but the LAST place she wanted to get it was in the Sengoku Jidai. She had Asprin in her backpack, but she knew what she needed was antibiotics. But there was no way she was in any condition to get back to the well, and she was NOT going to ask Sesshoumaru to take her there.
"I'm waiting to understand, human," Sesshoumaru said, glaring at her.
"My name is Kagome," she snapped back, a headache beginning to form and making her irritable, while the coughing caused her body to tire even more. She still had yet to release her grip on the blanket. "And both Rin-chan and Shippou-chan need to stay away from me until the fever has broken. I don't want them to get sick, I'm highly contagious right now and this is not something children need to deal with," she finished, quoting from what she remembered her doctor telling her the first time she'd had bronchitis.
Sesshoumaru continued to gaze at her, almost as if he were trying to see into her very soul to determine the truth of her statement. She fought the urge to both squirm and cough, knowing that if she squirmed he'd know how nervous she was, and if she coughed she ran the risk of giving both Rin and Shippou the disease. He finally nodded ever so slightly, and looked down at the two children who were swiveling their heads between the two older room occupants.
"Go," he ordered quietly. Shippou looked like he wanted to balk, while Rin spared a worried glance in Kagome's direction before she left the room and headed in the direction that Jaken had flown in. Shippou stood uncertainly by Kagome's futon, and looked at her once again.
"I won't get sick, I can't get human illnesses," Shippou finally said in protest. "I want to make sure you'll be all right."
"I'll be all right, Shippou-chan," Kagome said softly, knowing how the kitsune cub worried. "Please, I need you to keep Rin-chan away."
Shippou shifted from one foot to the other, then he nodded and slipped out of the room, promising to be back to check up on Kagome himself. With a weary sigh, Kagome allowed herself lay on her back and pulled the blanket up to her chin. She was just starting to drift off when Sesshoumaru's voice startled her awake again. She'd thought he'd left with the kids.
"I'll send someone to attend to you," he said, before exiting the room and sliding the door shut behind him.
"Hope they bring some clothing as well," she thought to herself, too tired now to try and contemplate the enigma that surrounded her continued existence here in Sesshoumaru's house. Not to mention the youkai lord's caring for Rin, for it was obvious that the little girl listened to and obeyed him. With a tired half coughing yawn, Kagome regulated her questions to the back burner. "I really should take something for this fever," she thought, but trying to move was becoming harder and harder as her body continued to weaken in the wake of the fever, and she just didn't want to reach over and have to hunt up the small bottle amongst all the other junk her bag contained. "I'll ask whomever comes in if they can find the bottle."
With a small sigh, Kagome closed her eyes and gave into the fever's demand that she sleep. She just knew she'd feel better after a short nap. She just knew it.
To Be Continued . . .
Glossary:
Same same, youkai, youki, ect.
Iwatto: The translation I got from the Blue Seed anime is Cave of the Sun God. In Blue Seed it was a place where psychic energy was stored and that's what is causing Susanoh-oh to grow.