Petals of a Rose
Running through the castle, dumbfounded that Kagome was nowhere to be found, InuYasha finally stopped to catch his breath when he reached the front doors for the third time. 'Where the hell could she be? I've searched everywhere inside the castle,' he yanked the castle doors open and sniffed the chilly air of the night, finally finding a lead on her, 'Why can't she stay inside the castle? And. . .why couldn't I smell her before?' he wondered as he sprinted into the forest.
After two minutes of running blindly into the trees, InuYasha finally slowed as he came upon a cave, a cave that had Kagome's scent wafting out of it. He grimaced when he sensed Kagome's fear. He cautiously walked into the cave towards Kagome's scent. With every step he took, the cave became darker, danker.
He could no longer see, and a wave of panic rushed over him. He started to run, faster and faster with every drip of cold sweat that ran down his face, dampening his forehead and cheeks. Kagome's scent was just a little further up, and he started to sprint. Only a few feet, and. . .
He ran straight into a wall. Or, what he though was a wall. He cursed as he sat up and rubbed his forehead, the edges of unconsciousness threatening to pull him under. He reached out with clawed hand and felt the surface. It had no texture, no gritty, cold feeling, so it wasn't stone or dirt, and no wooden feeling, so it wasn't a door. There was only one choice left; a barrier, Kagome's barrier. But, it was a weak one, weak enough that he could push his way through if he tried hard enough and had enough time, but he didn't have time, he had to get to Kagome. Unsheathing Tetsusaiga, he turned his stance towards the barrier as the Tetsusaiga turned red. He lifted the sword in the air and came down on the barrier, easily breaking it.
He sheathed the sword and shielded his eyes as light shone through where the barrier used to be, just enough light for him to make out a figure lying on the ground, on their side, unconscious, breaths raged. He darted towards the figure, and when he came close to it he could finally make out the green miniskirt and raven tresses resting on her shoulders.
"Kagome?" he knelt down on his hands and knees to look her in the face and, seeing her closed eyes, he nudged her shoulder with his forehead, rolling her onto her back. He whimpered as he leaned over her and put a hand to her forehead. She was burning up. "Kagome?" he asked in a louder tone. He yelled her name again, and, giving no response, he gently pulled her up to his chest and stood. He scanned the cave and, seeing no danger, he ran out towards the entrance carefully.
InuYasha dipped the damp cloth into a bucket of warming water and wrung it out before lying it on the young miko's forehead for the umpteenth time. Kurishuna got up from her perch on the windowsill and grabbed the bucket of water to get colder water. InuYasha paid no attention to her, for he was too busy staring at the girl he was tending to. He marveled at the fact that even feverish and sweating, face contorted in a pained expression, she could still be so beautiful. She reminded him of a rose; the day she met him, three years ago, she was the bud of the rose; small but still pretty, and now. . . She had bloomed into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with hair that shined in the sunlight and skin that glowed in the moonlight, no longer the thin stick figure that she used to be, she had filled out in all the right places and, at eighteen years old, Kagome had turned into a rose.
A loud clank shook him out of his thoughts as Kurishuna plopped the fresh bucket of water next to him, making Kagome stir on the bed she lay on. Groaning, she shakily sat up and grasped her head in pain, letting the damp cloth hit the sun faded sheets. The hanyou hesitantly reached out to still her shaky movements with a grasp of her shoulder. She turned to him, vision becoming clearer.
"I. . .InuYasha?" He nodded and quickly leaned backwards to avoid the vomit that she spewed out of her mouth as she leaned over the side of the bed. Wrinkling his nose, InuYasha pulled her hair back behind her neck and waited until she was finished. She wiped her mouth and spit into the pile on the floor.
"You okay?" he questioned as she collapsed back onto the pillow and looked into his eyes, her vision clear. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to say something, but closed it right after each time.
"It was him. . ." she finally stated.
He frowned in confusion but asked, "Who is 'him' ?"
"G. . . Gonkuro, I think that was his name. Do you remember him?" she asked him and sat up and folded her hands in her lap. His eyebrows shot up when he recalled their previous assailant. He pulled his lips back and bared his teeth. "So, he cam back did he? About time, I still have a bone to pick with him," he spat towards her, more to himself than anyone else. Kagome shook her head as pulled her sleeve over the back of her hand and wiped a patch of dirt off the hanyou's cheek.
"Don't snarl at me, InuYasha. I didn't do anything," she stated, meaning it as a joke. She watched InuYasha's ears droop a bit, and she realized that he didn't take it as a joke. She could have wept when she saw the hurt expression on his face. She opened her mouth to elucidate that she was only joking, but he cut her off.
"I. . . wasn't snarling at you, I wouldn't ever do that, Kagome. . ." she smiled sadly and reached out to embrace him behind the neck. She held him for a moment before speaking.
"I was joking, baka, I know you wouldn't," she beamed when she saw his ears perk up out of the corner of her eye. She pulled away when she felt his back straighten. She sat up straight and readied herself to arise when she saw the serious expression on his face. She winced when he rose and leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead before turning and heading towards the door.
"Stay here, Kagome. don't leave the castle, don't leave Kurishuna's sight, and I will be fucking pissed if you even think of following me," he turned to look her in the eye, " Got that, wench? No leaving, understand?" he turned back around when she nodded and motioned for Kurishuna to follow him out of the room.
When they got to the end of the hallway, InuYasha turned around to look his sister in the eye.
"Look, I'm trusting you with the most precious thing that I have. Please, keep her safe," he turned and started down the stairs when he started to blush. Kurishuna smirked and watched him descend the staircase slow enough for her to hear his last sentences, "I'll be back, hopefully, soon. I don't know how far the bastards gone by now, but hopefully he kept his ass close. Keep her safe," his last sentence bounced off the walls as he started to run down the next corridor and out the door.
So, so sorry for not updating to so so so so long, I've been fixing the chapters. Check out ch. 1 and 2, theyre new and improved, baby.
I can still wish. . .