Ok, I'm finally back and updating. Gomen, gomen, sorry I haven't updated!!!! bows frantically High school is so busy.... so much work, and varsity tennis.... well, anyway, here's Chapter 9.
On the Edge of Life and Death
Kirara landed lightly on the ground, paws hitting the dirt with a slight thud. Inuyasha leapt off her back, bursting inside the hut to a surprised Lady Kaede. She regarded Inuyasha and his charge carefully, then rose, bringing a woven straw sleeping mat and pillow over next to the fire. "Quickly, lay her down." She said, not liking the frightfully pale and slightly ashen shade of Kagome's face.
"What happened?" She asked Inuyasha, setting to boil a pot of water, slicing up a few ginger roots with the speed that comes of age and experience, dropping them with a small splash in the pot.
Inuyasha quickly related to her what had happened, sitting down cross-legged by Kagome's side, his brow creased in undisguised worry at her off complexion and the shallowness of her breaths. Her black bangs lay limply over her forehead. He brushed them away, running his fingers softly through them.
He looked down to Kagome, a look full of worry and concern appeared upon his face. "Will she be ok, Kaede?" He questioned softly.
Kirara appeared at the doorway, in her large form again, a wooden bucket held by a side within her massive jaws. She laid it down on the threshold of the doorway, filled with water. Shrinking, she mewled softly, nudging the bucket carefully towards them on the floor.
He turned to look at Kirara. "Kirara, can you go find Miroku and the others? They're taking too long." He asked. She mewled in affirmation, stepping outside, preparing to transform again. Inuyasha wondered broodingly what had happened to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.
"Help her sit up, I need to feed this to her." Lady Kaede said abruptly.
InuYasha's thought was interrupted by Kaede's request to help Kagome sit up. He nodded; gently pushing Kagome up, letting her head lay in his lap.
Lady Kaede opened Kagome's mouth then dribbled a small trickle of the ginger boiled water into her mouth, a shadow passing over her face when she didn't swallow it. "She's too weak to swallow on her own..." She gently pressed down on Kagome's throat, helping the girl to swallow, painstakingly feeding her the entire bowl that way.
Luckily, Kirara never even had to transform, for as she stepped outside, Miroku and the others appeared on the bridge leading into the village. Sprinting the last few yards, the trio stood in the entrance way, bent over, panting.
"Took you long enough." Inuyasha snapped, his words sounding harsh even to his own ears, causing him to wince slightly. Turning back to Lady Kaede, he demanded, "Well? Is she going to be ok?"
Lady Kaede rubbed her temples and sighed deeply. "I cannot say without lying to ye, Inuyasha. Her condition is unsure as of this time. There is nothing I can do without knowing what bonds my sister used on her, and even then, I could not be sure I have anything in my power to help her. Only time will tell."
"Only time will tell?" He repeated her words as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So you want us to sit around and do nothing while Kagome suffers and gets colder by the minute?!" He growled angrily, clenching his hand, pounding his fist into the hard wooden floor.
"Inuyasha, there is nothing I can do! All traces of the bonds will have vanished! If it is as ye said, and Kagome was being drained of her strength and health, that means there was a connection between her and Kikyo. If it was a spell conjured up by her, not with the help of some other magic, then Kagome can break this curse like affliction herself. However, if other magic was used, then we harbor little chance of rescuing her until it's too late. Even the first way, it is like that time Kagome was ensnared by the dark priestess' curse, she is... lost... in a sense, and needs to find her way back to us... though no one but herself knows what can guide her spirit back on the path..."
Shippo came to Kagome's side, resting his paws gently on one of her arms, peering anxiously at her face. When she did not make any reaction, he sat back, tail drooping in dejection.
Miroku and Sango settled wearily on the far side of the fire, close enough to be fairly close to Kagome and able to watch over her, yet far enough away from Inuyasha that they would have some warning if he suddenly went berserk at them.
His ears perked, hearing the dark preistess, Tsubaki being mentioned. The name made his blood boil even more remembering the time when Kagome was bit by Tsubaki's shikigami, putting a curse on her which almost got him killed by Kagome's arrow. Luckily, the arrow only pierced his shoulder. All those memories flooded his mind. He even remembered when Tsubaki sent another one of her shikigami to attack him. And he couldn't have used the Tetsusaiga other wise she would kill Kagome with the curse.
He wondered if Kikyo had similar plans to turn Kagome against him.
Thinking of that made him growl, clutching his hands into fists again. "I swear I'm going to..." He mumbled the rest under his breath.
"... So, there is nothing we can do? All we can do is wait for Kagome to free herself from this... curse?" Asked Sango haltingly, keeping her eyes trained on Inuyahsa's to make sure she would see if he was going to have a fit with her.
"Nay child, this is not a curse. There is not curse ever learnt in the good priestess' craft. Yes, at the same time, nay, nothing. As I said, she needs an incentive, to know which path in the darkness she should take to return to us... and without it she will not return, and her body will eventually die. Hopefully our presence here will be enough. We cannot return her home, for without a Jewel Shard, she will never be able to come back."
"Die?" InuYasha's voice was laced with worry and fear. "So we have to wait and do nothing while her body is on the edge of dying?!" He growled angrily pounded his fist on the floor boards once more.
He pushed himself off the floor, rising to his feet. Hastily, he paced back and forth, mind trying to think of a solution. But so far he couldn't come up with anything. He let out a soft yawn before rubbing his eyes and continuing his pacing.
The silence after this outburst was broken by a stifled yawn by Shippo, who was nearly falling asleep sitting up. Miroku and Sango looked haggard and in desperate need of sleep as well.
Lady Kaede examined the three closely, and then gestured to a pile of straw sleeping mats and pillows. "I suggest ye especially get some rest, ye have returned from searching for Kohaku, and have had nary a minute to rest."
They took her advice and turned in, Sango and Miroku with dark circles under their eyes. Even Shippo, with his boundless energy had faint hints of circles under his eyes too, and his steps no longer had their usual spring, though that could be attributed to Kagome's sudden illness.
Kagome stirred, rolling over on the floor, shivering, drawing Inuyasha's red hoari around her more tightly, whispering, "No... NO!! Come back... don't leave!!! Come back... please, come back...." before falling silent once more.
InuYasha's ears perked, hearing Kagome speak. "Kagome?!" He said in a quiet tone, being careful not to wake the others. He hurriedly rushed to her side, kneeling next to her. "I'm here Kagome.. I'm not going anywhere without you."
In her nightmarish fantasy, Kagome remained oblivious to anything that was going on in the outside world. She was back in the mountains of Riyokotsusei, with the others, Kikyo not in sight. Riyokotsusei was asleep, and everything seemed fine. Then, of course, Kikyo came. Inuyasha went off with her, as she started to bring them to hell, not giving a backwards glance at Kagome and the others. When Kagome protested, Riyokotsusei awoke, smashing his tail down, crushing Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Tears started to run down her face in the dream, and she ran towards Inuyasha and Kikyo,though it was too late, they were gone, and she was left behind with the demonic creature, already aiming to smite her down with the tip of his tail. Then the scene changed again, the floor crumbling from beneath her, and she reached out with her hand as if to grab something as she fell into the darkness.
In the real world, Kagome shivered again, curling up into a small ball, unknowingly facing Inuyasha. She reached out in her hand as in the dream, her hand ending up curling around his wrist. She lay still again, breathing slightly stronger, her face not quite so pale and the touch of her skin not quite so cold. Lady Kaede was right; the ginger did appear to be warming her body.
Seeing Kagome shiver made him feel guilty for doing as the others suggested, which was to wait and see what happens. His breath was caught in his lungs as he felt her hand around his wrist.
Bringing himself closer to her, he put his free hand on top of hers, holding her hand tightly. He let of a sigh of relief, feeling her skin warming up.
Kagome smiled, her subconscious mind that remained with her soothed by his presence. She allowed her hand to remain around his wrist and lay still once more.
Her conscious state of mind, the one in the nightmare, however, did not receive any of this comfort. She landed on the banks near the lake of the place between Hell and the Earthly world, where Inuyasha had been reunited with his 'mother'.
Lady Kaede had watched this exchange silently. 'It would appear Kagome knows in her sub-conscious that she must return, and knows whom can help her to do so. Inuyasha... if only thou knew what role ye play in this... Yet I cannot tell thee, lest it ruins what little progress we have made so far. Inuyasha, you fool. You're blind to the obvious.' she thought. "Inuyasha, I shall turn in now, and sleep on how to aid Kagome. This old woman needs her rest. We shall give her more of the ginger broth in the morning, too much will unsettle her stomach. You should rest too, Inuyasha." She brought over another pallet and a second pile of blankets and pillows. "You need not use these if you wish. Good night, Inuyasha." Her eyes lingered on Kagome's face for a moment, and her hand on his wrist, encased in his other hand. She then left to her room.
Hearing Kaede's advice to get some rest,InuYasha declined wanting to stay awake and near Kagome. He would stay up the whole night if he had to. He wanted to watch over Kagome, and remain in his position near her.
"Night..." He said quietly to Kaede, knowing that she had already left. He let out a small yawn, though he forced himself to stay awake, knowing that he'll eventually fall asleep.
Days passed, Kagome's condition showing no sign of improving. Though at first, her body appeared healthy, and normal, as the days went by, she grew thinner, and weaker, no matter at Lady Kaede's efforts to get nourishment into her body. The last time she had spoken was to Inuyasha in her whispered voice, when she had called for him to come back due to saying it in her nightmare. The last time she had moved was to with draw her hand from his wrist and grasp, curling it back to her side that night, days ago, after he had fallen asleep. There had been a calling for a demon exorcism where one was terrorizing a village in the nearby mountains. They had called for Sango, and, regretfully, she and Miroku left, reluctant to leave Kagome behind. However, Lady Kaede ushered them on, assuring them there was no benefit in them staying while leaving the village to its doom. Shippo had stayed, spending all of his time helping Lady Kaede, his tail drooping and fur without its usual healthy sheen in his worry over Kagome.
At the moment, Inuyasha and Shippo had been shooed out of the hut by Lady Kaede so she could take care of some of Kagome's more personal needs.
InuYasha sat on to of the roof of the hut waiting for Kaede to finish.
He let out a low growl getting impatient as he always does. "Who does that old hag thinks she is? I need to be there with Kagome!" He said, twitching his ears in annoyance.
He sighed realizing his complaining wasn't helping him at all. He glanced down to Shippo feeling a bit relaxed from his company. "Stop your moping. Kagome will be fine." He soothed softly. Everyone had been saying that for a couple of days but it seemed that Kagome's condition grew worse within each passing day. He dropped his gaze to the ground feeling desperate for Kagome to get better. "Wait and do nothing... Feh... Some idea."
Shippo nodded slightly in reflex, tail just drooping lower. He didn't say anything, knowing if he voiced any of the thoughts in his mind at the moment, Inuyasha would pound him into the ground. Still, he wouldn't mind getting pounded into the ground if Kagome would get better... but that wouldn't help at all...
"This old hag is finished, Inuyasha. You may come back in now. Shippo, why don't you come with me? We'll get some more herbs from the forest which don't grow in my garden."
She took his hand gently, a basket swinging lightly from her other arm.
"Finally." InuYasha said in bitterness as he jumped off the roof of the hut. He took one more look at Kaede and Shippo before entering the hut.
There, he saw Kagome laying upon the ground. He let out a sigh as he made his way towards her. He sat close to her, watching over her for any signs indicating that she would wake up.
Kagome's dreams had stopped sticking to the Kikyo and Inuyasha theme a few days back, and instead had been going through every day, every adventure of her life, making scenarios that had never before happened, though... they had never shown Inuyasha... dying... Kagome was looking upon the day where Naraku had set his evil plot of Kikyo and Inuyasha's betrayal to one another. She saw in slow motion the arrow hit him, though this time, it wasn't a regular arrow, it was a Sacred Arrow. Instead of the spell that was cast over him... he... died... Kikyo disappeared and Kagome screamed, running with feet on the wind until she reached the tree and stood on the gnarled roots in front of his body, devoid of life. Putting out a hand, she touched his cheek, only to find it cold. She began to cry, winding her arms around his neck, tears dripping onto his hoari, and ignored the arrow sticking into her side. "Inuyasha, you can't die. If you die now, I'll never meet you... Come back to me Inuyasha... please... come back to me!!!! I need you to stay..." She was aware that this wasn't the real world in the subconscious of her spirit, but this felt so real... and she couldn't help it... her dream self was the one guiding her through all these scenes, making each scenario feel fresh and new, the danger real, everything happening real, even as her real world conscious protested it's existence. That proved itself now more than ever.
Kagome stirred again, the first time in days. "Inu... come back to me... Inu.... Need... stay...." She whispered, repeating her words in the dream, leaving some out but still projecting a clear message.
InuYasha's ears perked, hearing Kagome talk. He fell silent, as he listened to her words. He felt the beat of his heart rate speed up. She needed him?
He reached out his hand to gently brush her hair out of her delicate face. He then trailed his hand to her check, relishing the soft feel of her skin on the tips of his fingers. "I'm right here, by your side Kagome... Like I always have." He replied softly, hoping she had heard his words. He could feel his emotions building up inside of him, as he grew
desperate for Kagome's return.
In her nightmare fantasy, she kissed him gently, his mouth cold and unyielding under her own trembling lips. Inuyasha's voice came through to her and she managed to catch his last word, 'forever'. A bright light dissolved everything around her, causing Kagome to throw her arms over her eyes to prevent herself from being blinded. When the light faded and she could see again, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times to clear her blurry vision, to see Inuyasha bending intently over her, looking straight into her eyes.
There it is. Hope you liked it, please review!