Kita and Saramaru
Author's Note: Thanks to anyone whoread the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter more, or as much as the last chapter! If you want to read more, go to www.lioness. Don't forget tosign up for the forum! Right now it's being updated toversion 4, but that should be finished by tomorrow.
By the time they reached Kaede's house, Kita's neck was thick from swelling, and discolored from the poison. Niiro-ichi dropped down in front of Kaede's house, and kneeled down to let Saramaru off. Saramaru walked to the entrance, and called for Kaede.
But the person who came out of the hut was not Kaede. A young man with white hair, golden eyes, and dog ears looked at them. "If you're looking for Kaede she's not here." he told them. He was about to turn when he sniffed the air. "Why is the stench of my brother all over you?" the young man demanded. "Did Sesshoumaru attack you?"
A teenage girl with black hair and strange clothes, walking up behind the boy, "If this has to do with Sesshoumaru, maybe you'd better come in and wait."
Saramaru sighed. 'He doesn't remember me, oh well.' She brought Kita inside. "Where should I put her?"
Kagome motioned to futon in the side of the room. "She'd probably be most comfortable there." she replied.
Saramaru nodded and walked towards it. She laid Kita on it, and sat beside her. 'I'm so tired.' She thought. A sudden pang in her shoulder reminded her of her wound. Saramaru brought her arm up to look at it. 'Good, it's not too deep.' She looked around at everybody in the room.
"You don't just smell like Sesshoumaru because you've been fighting him." Inuyasha told Saramaru bluntly, "It's part of your smell too. Why? Who are you?"
Saramaru smiled a little, and stood up. "I am Saramaru. Don't you remember me, little cousin?"
"Cousin?" Inuyasha repeated, "You're my cousin? I didn't even know I had a cousin. How do I know you're not lying?"
"You just said yourself that she smells like Sesshoumaru." Sango pointed out, "You guys have to be related someway if it's true."
"And I also look like Sesshoumaru. And I know your name, even though it hasn't been mentioned, Inuyasha." Saramaru winced as her shoulder gave an unusually painful twitch.
"You have a cousin Inuyasha!" Kagome said happily, "That's so cool!" Noticing Samara's wince she glanced at Samara's shoulder. "You're bleeding!" she exclaimed, "I could bandage you up if you like."
"Alright. Just don't go out of your way for me." Saramaru smiled a little at the girl's antics.
As Kagome got her medical supplies from her bag, Sango decided to make small talk. "Who's that little girl you brought with you?" she asked, "Is she your daughter?"
"I think that question was a little silly. I am a youkai, and she a human... Now do you think that is possible?" Saramaru felt like laughing.
Sango blushed a bit. "I suppose that was a silly question." she admitted, "But how did you end up with the girl? What's her name? Where did she come from? It's unusual to see a youkai caring for such a human, not to mention such a young, dependant one."
"I ended up with the girl by finding her in a forest yesterday, her name is Kita, but I don't know anything more about her. Anything else?"
"No." Sango replied, "I'm sorry to ask so much, it's just as I've said, unusual to see demons and humans together.
"Agreed. I'm sorry for being so blunt. It's just disappointing that my cousin now has something to use against me." Saramaru managed a small smile. She gasped as Niiro-ichi stuck his head inside. "Niiro-ichi! What are you doing!" Saramaru demanded.
"Well, I got bored!" he whined as he looked into the hut. "I hope you can ignore him?" Saramaru half asked, half stated.
"A griffin!" Miroku exclaimed happily, "I've never seen one before! What's your name?"
Niiro-ichi growled. "My name is Niiro-ichi, and I am very annoyed to see you." He looked at Saramaru to see her glaring at him. "I mean... uhhh... I'm very PLEASED to see you and to answer your annoying, I mean, innocent questions."
"I wasn't going to ask any questions." Miroku said, "I was just stating a fact that I've never seen a griffin before."
Kagome finally had all her supplies. She walked over to Saramaru and started bandaging her shoulder.
"You asked my name. And Saramaru was glaring at me. It's not my fault, it's just my nature." Niiro-ichi replied.
Miroku shrugged. "It's alright." he said.
The sound of footsteps was heard outside the hut and a few seconds later Kaede walked in. She looked around at the people in her hut. Saramaru looked up at Kaede. "Hello Kaede. It has been a long time. fifty years, I believe."
"Ye look familiar." Kaede said nodding, "Yet I cannot place ye. What is ye's name? That might help an old woman like me."
Saramaru nodded. "It isn't surprising. It's been a long time. My name is Saramaru, and I came because one of my friends is in need of your experience in healing. If you wouldn't mind." Saramaru waved her free hand in Kita's direction.
"Ah." Kaede said, "Ye are Inuyasha's cousin, are ye not?" Kaede glanced over to the girl and frowned. "What happened to the girl?" she asked.
"It was Sesshoumaru." Kagome replied, finishing up her bandaging job, "But that's all we know. You'll have to ask Saramaru if you want to know more."
"It was Sesshoumaru's poison claws that did that. I would've healed her but I was too weak from the encounter." Saramaru said, standing up.
Kaede walked over to Kita and kneeled down before her. The swelling had stopped, though it hadn't gone down. And the skin around the punctures was a sick green. "This does not look good." Kaede said frowning, "Sesshoumaru's poison is very strong. I can give the child some herbs, but I cannot guarantee that they will help her. My healing herbs are nowhere as good as demon healing. I can tell ye that if she makes it through the night, she will live. But her living through the night is not to be assumed."
Saramaru sighed. "You know what?"
"What?" Kaede asked, pulling her attention from Kita back to Saramaru.
"I feel like I'm falling down." Saramaru replied in a sleepy voice before she fell to the floor.
"Wow," Niiro-ichi said, "She really was tired."
"I've never seen a demon faint before." Kagome admitted.
"You've seen Inuyasha faint." Miroku pointed out.
"Well he doesn't count." she replied receiving a glare from the hanyou in question, "Do you think Saramaru is okay?"
"She'll be fine... she's just tired. I think the only thing that kept her awake was Kita." Niiro-ichi said.
Nodding, Kagome pulled a blanket out of her back and laid it over Saramaru. Then she pulled a pillow out and put it behind her head.
"Could Kita die?" Shippo asked Kaede.
"There is a chance." the old woman replied sadly, "The poison that is going through her body is very powerful. Let me get some herbs. Will ye help me?"
"Sure!" Shippo said, eager to help.
"Want a ride?" Niiro-ichi asked casually.
"No, but thank ye." Kaede replied walking out the door with Shippo trailing behind, "My herbs are just outside the door."
Niiro-ichi sighed. "I'm gonna go find that deer I left in camp. See ya later!" He stepped outside the hut, spread out his wings, and lifted off into the air.
Kaede gathered her herbs and with the help of Shippo, she crushed them into a powder. "The child's a miko." she commented, mixing an unknown liquid with the powder, "And a strong one at that."
Saramaru woke up. It was quiet. She sat up. She looked towards Kita. "How is she?" She asked no one in particular.
Kaede, being the only one in the hut awake, answered her. "The child is doing only a little better than before. She is still not out of the danger that threatens to claim her life. I have done all that I can. Now we just have to wait and see what fate brings us."
"I may be able to do a little, but only that." Saramaru got up slowly, and walked over to Kita. She laid her hand gently on her neck for a moment then took it away. "There, that should help. If I try anything else, I could go into a coma." She looked over Kita with sad eyes, "It's my fault this happened to her. If I had just kept moving, and let her sleep on Niiro-ichi's back. But... I let her think over everything instead. How could I have been so stupid! I knew he was close but still, I stayed put."
"Don't blame ye's self." Kaede said calmly, "I'm sure what ye did for Kita will bring her through the night. Ye did what you thought was best. Remember, ye are not the only one who has made mistakes that have left such an impact." She laughed a bit, "It was my fault when I lost the sight in my eye. I have learned to forgive myself and ye will learn to forgive yourself for what happened to the child soon."
Saramaru looked at Kaede. "Maybe. But only if she lives. If she doesn't, I will kill my own cousin, and in cold blood." For a moment, there was a murderous look in her eyes. She shook her head. "Excuse me, I must get some fresh air." Saramaru said as she hurriedly left the hut.
Kaede smiled a bit. "Kami help Sesshoumaru if Kita dies." she said to herself.
Niiro-ichi ducked into the hut. Stepping over the sleeping people, he went over and sat next to Kaede. "She's acting as if Kita was her own pup, don't you agree?"
"Completely." she replied, "And in a way she is. Saramaru did save her from Sesshoumaru, endangering her own life to save a human. If she did not think of Kita as her pup she would have never done such a thing."
Niiro-ichi nodded. "True. She saved me too. My mother was so hungry that she was ready to eat me when Saramaru found me."
"That would not have been a very good fate." Kaede said, "It was good that Saramaru found ye in time."
Niiro-ichi nodded. "Yes it was. Unfortunately, my mother, who was a very good mother until the drought, had to die for me to be saved. I miss her. And I suppose I will treat Kita like a sister now." Niiro-ichi smiled. "That will give me something to concentrate on, instead of going through my memories."
"Do ye know much about Kita?" Kaede asked, absently mopping the girl's head with a wet rag.
"Not me." The griffin replied, "She hasn't said a word since we found her. Saramaru figured out her name only with her powers."
Kaede nodded and pulled the cloth off Kita's forehead as the girl sighed in her sleep. "That was a good sign." Kaede said, "Kita will most likely make it through the night. Saramaru will be pleased to hear that."
Saramaru raced into the hut. "She'll be okay! YES! I mean, um, that's good news. I'm going to get some more, ahhh, fresh air. Yeah that's it, air." She started fanning her red face as she walked back out of the hut.
"Something tells me Saramaru will be in a good mood for a while." the old woman said grinning, "I can tell ye, she's currently sitting outside the door and acting exactly like Inuyasha does when Kagome is hurt."
"I AM NOT!" Saramaru's voice yelled into the hut.
"See?" Kaede asked the griffin, "It must run in the family."
"Are you talking about me?" Inuyasha demanded from outside.
"Go back to ye's tree." she called to him, "My discussion has nothing to do with ye."
Niiro-ichi spread out one of his wings and flapped it a little bit. The air swirled around and it got a little bit cooler. "I'm gonna go outside and taunt Saramaru a bit. Mourn for me if I never come back." Niiro-ichi said jokingly as he left the hut.
"Alright." Kaede said nodding, she returned to watching over Kita.
The flapping of wings was heard and Saramaru was growling out something that sounded threatening. Then a thump was heard, along with Inuyasha saying, "Stupid griffin! You don't have to crash into my tree!"
Saramaru came walking inside. "I'm gonna kill him one of these days."