Authors' Notes - Okay, minna-san... this is where things start to get hairy...

Wufei - 'Hairy'...?

Is there really a cure out there for Inu Yasha? Who will go to retrieve it? Will they
be able to bring it back in time to save our dear, sweet, lovable...

Wufei - Would you just shut up and start the chapter?

Miss Chang Po - He's just jealous...

Nataku-chan - Oh yes, definitely. Don't worry, Wu-chan... you'll always be our
favorite!

Wufei - ::cringes, looking quite flustered::

Chapter 8

Kagome woke up later that night; all her attempts at sleep had proven to be
unsuccessful. Glancing around her, she could see the sleeping forms of Sango and
Miroku, and with the soft purring in her ears Kagome could tell that Shippo was not
far from her either.

'How is it they manage to sleep so peacefully even in the worst situations?' she
thought enviously. At that she turned on her side were Inu Yasha lay within arm's
reach of her. His breathing was somewhat labored and from what she could
observe, he looked as though he was about to have another pain attack.

Shifting over towards him slightly, she took his hand in hers, giving a reassuring
squeeze. To her surprise, his hand tightened over hers instinctively. Whether this
was because of the pain he was experiencing or for some other reason, Kagome
was not sure, but his hold loosened as soon as the pain subsided. She couldn't
help but feel a bit disappointed.

Her vision wavered, she was sure, with the threat of oncoming tears. She let go of
Inu Yasha's hand and brushed them away before they had the chance to fall. A
frown appeared on the hanyou's face as she did this, only to disappear once she
looked back at him.

Kagome sighed heavily, turning away from him. "Inu Yasha, gomen nasai."

"Kagome, you're still awake?" Kagome looked up to see Kaede sitting by the dimly
lit fire. Numerous bowls and tools lay assorted before her.

"Kaede-bachan…?" she called out curiously, rising out of her sleeping bag to walk
over to her.

"I was preparing some salves and various medicines that Inu Yasha will require - as
prescribed by Kaeruishi," the old miko replied, grinding some dried leaves into a
wooden bowl before her.

Kagome glanced down at her work. There was certainly quite a great deal of herbs
here; granted she was still learning the art of healing, but Kagome was quite sure
there was enough medicine here to last quite a while… 'Hold on…'

"We have to be sure that Inu Yasha's bandages are changed regularly," she was
saying. "And once discarded, they must be burned; we cannot risk contamination,
nor can we have another youkai picking up on the scent of a diseased hanyou."

Kagome nodded. She listened attentively as the old priestess indicated what each
herb was, what purpose it served, and how often it would have to be administered.
Only when she began placing each individual powder into individual pouches did she
decided to speak. "I should go." she replied softly.

Kaede blinking, staring at the girl next to her. "Go?" she repeated. "Heed not what
Inu Yasha says, child… he needs you now more than ever."

Kagome shook her head slowly. "That's not what I meant." She gave the old woman
a meaningful look. "I should be the one to do it."

"I don't know what you mean."

The young girl resisted the urge to laugh. "You plan on going to see the ancient
healer Kaeruishi was talking about." she replied. Kaede remained still. "That's why
you're showing me these things. I appreciate it, Kaede-bachan, but I think I should
be the one to go."

"But, Kagome…"

"I know Inu Yasha would be much better off if he was left in your care," Kagome
replied. "You know much more about the healing arts than I could ever learn in
such a short time. Plus, the people of the village need you here; they depend on
you."

"They can just as soon look to you for guidance," Kaede replied with a warm smile.
"Though you are still learning, I know you would not let them down."

"Maybe," Kagome let her gaze wander back to the hanyou's prone form. "But… I
don't want to let him down."

"Kagome…" Kaede frowned slightly.

"I have to do this, Kaede-bachan," she replied. "The people here need you. And I
need to do this, not just for Inu Yasha, but to prove that I can."

"No one expects anything less than what you already give," Kaede replied gently.
"Kagome, you need not prove anything to anyone."

"I have to prove it to myself." Kagome replied. "I can do more than spot shards if
given the chance…"

"Kagome, you know what you propose is very dangerous," Kaede replied in a
serious tone. "Not only will you be traveling alone, but in an area you are unfamiliar
with."

"What better opportunity to test my miko abilities?" The younger girl would not be
deterred.

Kaede sighed. The young girl before her was not her child; she could not deny her
request. Knowing her, she would probably just sneak out before anyone knew she
was missing. She was a stubborn girl indeed - very brave - but very, very stubborn.

Kagome held her breath, waiting for what seemed hours for the priestess to speak
again. She filled the last pouch, and turned to reach for something behind her.
Pulling it into the light, Kagome could see that it was a rolled up piece of parchment -
a map to be precise. Kaede handed it over to her.

Kagome felt her spirits lift to dizzying heights. "Arigato gozaimas, Kaede-bachan!"
she gushed. "Domo arigato!" She leaned over towards her, latching her into a tight
embrace.

"There, there, child," Kaede replied, trying to loosen the girl's hold so that oxygen
could continue to flow regularly into her lungs. "Careful now, or ye might wake the
others! There is still much to be done before you leave."

"Hai!"

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, one of the room's other occupants was in fact
awake and had heard the entire conversation. Though his eyes remained shut, his
brows furrowed in agitation. He hadn't liked what he had heard one bit. Illness or
no illness, he'd be damned before he let that plan be set into motion.

~~~

Despite the tension in the group, Shippo, as always, had managed to sleep
exceptionally well. Granted, he was just as worried about the situation as everyone
else, but he remained optimistic. After all, instead of overlooking him as they usually
did, the adults in the group had not only acknowledged his abilities, but they actually
needed his help on a mission! He couldn't help but be pleased.

He woke up, yawned and stretched his arms over his head, pausing only to rub the
sleep from his eyes with a fisted paw. He'd dreamt about beating a large and vicious
looking youkai all by himself, retrieving the Shikon no Kakeru and personally returning
it to a proud Kagome. Fully alert now, he turned to recount the dream to her, only to
see air. Her pack, her sleeping bag, all of it was gone - and so was their owner.

"Kiyaaaaa!! Kagomeeeeee!" the little kitsune wailed, searching the room frantically.
"Kagome's gone! She's disappeared-oomph!" Shippo bumped into something hard,
tumbling backwards in the dirt.

"Shippo-chan, are you all right?" Shippo looked up to see Kagome staring down at
him worriedly.

"Kagome!" Relief suddenly left him as he realized all the items he had seen missing
were now packed up on Kagome's bicycle. "Wh… what's going on?"

"While we go to look for Shikon no Kakeru, Kagome will head off to search for the
ancient healer Kaeruishi spoke of," Miroku replied calmly, though his expression
revealed he was none too fond of the idea.

"What?!" Shippo cried out. "But that's too dangerous!"

"It's my decision," Kagome replied calmly, as if she had rehearsed this moment
over and over in her head - which she had. "You guys have nothing to worry about.
I'll be perfectly fine on my own."

"Bullshit!" All heads whipped back towards the hut entrance to find Inu Yasha
standing at the door, a fully transformed Tetsusaiga in his hand, with a furious
expression on his face. The others would have been slightly afraid had it not been
for the fact that he was relying on the fang to steady his balance.

"Inu Yasha," Kaede called out. "You should be resting!"

Inu Yasha snorted, casting her a surly glare. "I'll decide when I want to sleep, hag,"
he told her. "I don't need you or anybody else trying to slip me shit just to keep me
under."

Miroku tried to placate the hanyou lest he try to put that sword to use. "Inu Yasha,
I know you aren't too happy, but bare in mind that it was in your best interest--"

"Shut it, bouzu." Inu Yasha turned his glare back to Kagome. "And just where do
you think you're going?"

"You told me to go home," she shot back. "Why should you care where I'm going?"
If anything, his glare only deepened.

"We were told that there might be a cure for your illness," Kaede told him. "Kagome
is going to search for it."

Disbelief entered the hanyou's eyes, soon to be squashed down by anger. "Are you
frickin' insane?" he exclaimed. "No way in hell are you going out into the wilderness
by yourself!"

"Says who?" Kagome shot back. "You are in no position to stop me, Inu Yasha!"

Miroku blinked. "Kagome," he whispered to her. "Even though he is sick, I don't
think it's a good idea to be pushing him like that."

"Damn right it's not," Inu Yasha snapped, his ears twitching irritably. "You're not
going."

"You can't order me around!" Kagome exclaimed. "I have every right to make my
own decisions - and I decide that I am going to look for this healer so that you can
get well again!"

"Stupid wench, you can't even go to the well and back without getting into some
sort of trouble! How do you expect to get anywhere without proper protection?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there." she replied evenly. "I can handle myself
without having somebody holding my hand! I'm not weak!"

Inu Yasha snorted. "Don't be ridiculous," he replied with a short bark of laughter.
"Of course you're weak; you'll come crawling back before the week is done."

All eyes went to Kagome. Her head was bent low, her bangs hiding her eyes from
view. Her hands, white-knuckled, were clenched tightly over the handlebars of her
bicycle. Everyone expected her to make some sort of comeback, any sort of
response. However, what she did was totally unexpected.

"Inu Yasha…" Head still lowered, Kagome climbed onto her bike, pushing the
kickstand up from the ground. Turning her head from the group, she whispered
one word so softly that it could barely be heard…

"Osuwari."

The hanyou's ears flicked back in surprise as the rosary around his neck pulsed,
coming to life. With a short cry, he dropped to one knee, the Tetsuiga the only
thing preventing him from falling completely flat on his face.

"Shit…" Inu Yasha clamped a free hand to his side. "What the…"

"Kagome…" Shippo called out.

"Kagome-sama… surely that wasn't necessary," Miroku began.

"Like hell it wasn't!" Inu Yasha snarled out, though he was just as startled as the
others were. What had gotten into her? "Have you lost your mind?"

The young miko did not turn to face him. "Maybe I have." she replied softly. "Maybe
I am crazy. I mean, why would I want to go out of my way to help someone who
doesn't give a rat's ass about me anyway?"

Inu Yasha blinked, as did the others. Kagome - kind, gentle, Kagome - never spoke
like this, even to him. Had he finally managed to push her over the edge? "Oi,
wench…"

"NO!" she cried out, cutting him off. She calmed herself once again. "I don't want
to hear it. I won't listen anymore." She lifted one foot to rest on the pedal.

"Hoi, I'm not finished with you yet--!"

"Osuwari."

The word was again spoken so softly that only Inu Yasha and the rosary could hear
it. Whump! He was down on one knee again; the pain was even worse than before.
'But this time it's not just the injury…' Inu Yasha bit down on the pain, feeling a slight
coppery taste on his lips. "Kagome, you can't expect to get very far without me-"

"Don't you get it, Inu Yasha?" Kagome turned to face him, her eyes filled with more
anger than he had ever thought her capable of possessing. "I don't need you!" There
was also another emotion lingering there beneath the surface; one he did not want to
acknowledge. He opened his mouth to make some sort of protest. "OSUWARI!"

His body was slammed to the ground, all the air rushing out of his lungs. White
spots splayed before his eyes.

"Inu Yasha!" Shippo's voice cried out frantically. "K-Kagome - she didn't even say
goodbye!"

"Let her go, Shippo, I'm sure she'll be all right."

Inu Yasha fought harshly against the darkness swimming before his eyes. Kagome's
voice echoed in his head screaming 'I don't need you' over and over, making his head
hurt. The last thing he remembered seeing was Kagome's bicycle as it pedaled
away. After that, there was only darkness.

~End of Chapter 8

Authors' Notes -

Poor Inu Yasha! How could Kagome do that to him? Is she that determined to do
things on her own? Will she even manage to find the cure in time? And how will
Inu Yasha react to this latest turn of events once he regains consciousness? Read
on to find out!