Author's Note: Alright, here's a summary of the last chapter(s) to refresh your memory. After an incident where Sango and Hiei fight a demon together, Sango discovers something surprising about Hiei. After confronting him, she finds out that he is in fact human (or so he told her), just has enhanced abilities that others don't. She asks if he has anything else hidden and he replies no, but she doesn't believe him. He then gives a tug to his bandana and lets it fall to the ground, revealing…? The next morning, Kagome, accompanied by Kurama, searches for food for the group. Instead they stumble across some sort of passion fruit… And that's all I'm going to say. Go skim the last chapter for more details on that.
Disclaimer: I don't own either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Lost City
Chapter Ten
Sango was deeply troubled.
She couldn't believe it… could not believe what she had seen with her own eyes. But her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. No, what she saw was real.
Hiei was marked with the sign of the Goddess.
Not some painted on or cheap imitation in order to show his faithfulness to the Goddess—she could never imagine him doing anything like that. No, it was a real sign as in, marked by the Goddess herself. Which, okay, she could probably wrap her head around the fact if she wanted to. The sign on his forehead, not too hard to comprehend—in theory.
What she couldn't understand was why.
She had been worried about Hiei being a danger to them, about him hurting the others, mainly Kagome… but he had the sign of the Goddess, meaning he was a vessel of Hers. Yet, he was also an assassin. A murderer. Being marked… it meant everything he did was in the name of the Her, that She watched over him. Yet he killed others. It did not make sense! …Or perhaps it was Her will? No, that couldn't be right. It couldn't. Sango would not allow herself to believe it.
No wonder he had not thought the demon's crystal would work on him. He was marked and he thought he would be able to withstand whatever power the light had over the others. But he had been very wrong, which became obvious when he had become paralyzed. So his power was not absolute… Good to know. She tucked that bit of information in for later.
The speed… the strength… and fire. They were his birthright, powers given to him because he was more than just a normal human. His telepathy though, it was a gift from the Goddess. But seeing the way Hiei reacted to it and what he had said after he had revealed the mark to her, the scorn in his voice… he did not like his gift. In fact, he seemed to hate it more than anything else. Although it could be an advantage to him, it was only useful after he touched someone. After that he could never stop hearing their thoughts. For someone who liked to keep to himself so much, it had to be a nightmare for people's thoughts to be intruding on him.
That explained his lack of loyalty, lack of faith in anything… or anyone. Why serve a being that gave him what he thought to be a curse? Which could explain his actions as a killer. What could he do to defy the one who bestowed the "gift" upon him? Destroy that which She created.
And yet… anytime he touched someone, a skin to skin touch, he would be able to see inside their mind and their most intimate thoughts. He said he could shield against their minds, but what if he had touched too many people, all their thoughts trying to intrude him at once? Even he, no matter how he could argue, would not be able to hold against the pressure of too many minds. His shields would collapse and they would all pour into his mind at once and stay there. It would be a maddening experience. That was why he never allowed anyone near him, never let anyone close, physically or mentally. Since he was a child he probably never let anyone near. Kurama seemed to be the exception… but she could ponder that later.
She could not imagine what it would be like for her. To never let anyone near or touch her…
"What's that?"
Sango took herself out of her thoughts and turned toward the speaker, Kagome. Just as well, anyway. She was thinking too hard on the subject and was not paying enough attention to where she was going. She did not want to repeat what Kuwabara had done, tripping on some hidden root or stone and falling face first into the ground. However, she had a sinking feeling that it had nothing to do with the obstacles in the forest and everything to do with a certain assassin who had been close to her cousin when it happened…
Yusuke was the first to answer, indulging Kagome's question by asking, "what's what?" The quicker he knew what was wrong, the sooner they could move on.
Kagome's eyes searched the surrounding area, looking past the others that were around her and even seemed to look through them in her search, if it was possible. "I thought I heard…" she began somewhat uncertainly.
It sounded again, this time the others taking notice as well. It was a low mewling sound, though Kagome could not pinpoint the place of origin. Without thought she was down on one knee, looking at the bushes and trees in front of her where the sound seemed to come from. The third cry that reached her ears was more frantic, as though whatever creature it was knew that someone was in search of it.
A dark-furred paw swatting out from behind a tangle of roots caught Kagome's attention. She approached it slowly, kneeling beside the outstretched limb. The animal retracted the paw as Kagome settled down beside it. The roots and brush covered the creature and all she could see in the darkness were two small, golden eyes watching her from the inside. No sooner did their gazes meet that it reach out a paw once more, stretching it out as far as it could. This time it was toward Kagome and the creature was just able to tap the ends of her hair.
Gripping two of entwined roots, she pulled at them, but had little results. They were surprisingly strong, much stronger than she would have thought. She tugged once more, harder than before. Her arms shook and a small noise was forced out of her with the effort, but the roots did not budge.
"What are you…" Sango began. Kagome answered before she could even finish the question, replying with two simple words. "He's stuck."
The noble reached for her dagger and Sango tried again. "But, Kagome, look at how those roots are, it looks sort of like—"
"A cage," Hiei finished. Sango shot him an ungrateful look. She did not need to be interrupted twice.
Then get to the point quicker, was the sneered response in her mind. She kept her mouth shut and her mind as blank as possible, not dignifying him with the response she knew he wanted.
Kagome paid no heed to either of them, beginning to slice away the plant that kept the creature captive. "Don't be ridiculous, it's just a bunch of roots he got tangled in." Three of the roots were cut and she began working on a fourth. With the fourth done… "Ah, there we go. That should be enough."
She re-sheathed the blade before tilting her head to better look into the small prison. The creature huddled farther away from her on the other side, causing her to show her hands in an unthreatening way. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
"We'll see about that," Yusuke said from behind her. The noble did not bother glaring back at him, but instead elbowed him in the shin from her seat on the ground. To Kagome's delight, the creature poked its head out and slowly emerged. It began cower in front of the large group, but hardly had time before Botan scooped it up in her arms.
"Oh, look how adorable!" Botan proclaimed, cuddling the creature. Yusuke and Miroku exchanged withering looks as if to say, 'women' and shook their heads simultaneously. Yusuke might have exchanged the look with Kuwabara had the tall softy not been occupied with the adorable animal as well.
Sango, herself, could not deny the creature was on the cute side. It—actually, she was more than positive it was a he at this point—looked much like a brown bear cub and could not have been much older than a year. His torso was much longer than a bear's however, and his ears and muzzle were long, almost like a wolf's. His tail was also much longer and fluffier than it should have been were he truly a bear cub.
The cub squirmed in Botan's grasps, voicing his protests loud enough for it to make some of them worry if the sound would attract nearby demons. Botan loosened her grip and the cub escaped her by dropping from her arms, making his way shakily over Kagome. A smile lit her face as he nudged her knee with his head. She picked him up and pet the creature as he nuzzled her neck affectionately.
"Hiei," Kagome heard Kurama call, turning her attention to the smallest, but certainly not the least important member of their traveling group. He was a good distance apart from the rest and still moving farther away. Was he just going ahead or could he possibly be leaving for good?
Hiei did not turn back, but he did stop. "I don't have time for this."
Kagome's eyes met with Sango's for a moment and somehow knew what the fighter was thinking. None knew why it was the assassin joined the group, save for Kurama, though they were not even sure he knew the reason. Who was to know how long he would actually stay with them? He was a strong asset, if not their most powerful fighter. With his speed and strength… they needed him—even if he was nothing but spiteful toward Kagome and now Kuwabara.
Kagome sighed, knowing Hiei was right in his words. She got to her feet, though not before giving the creature one last scratch behind the ear. Not looking back, she began walking with the others, which caused her to be surprised and trip as the cub wound his way between her legs. She grabbed onto the nearest person—who happened to be Miroku—to keep her balance. The cub placed himself in front of her, looking up at her with big eyes and his tail wagging ever so slightly.
Her eyes went immediately to Miroku, a question in their brown depths. Although it was obvious what she was asking, all he told her was that it was her decision. Kurama, however, had a different opinion.
"I don't believe this is a good idea," the former thief informed Kagome as she picked up the whimpering cub. "Most creatures in this forest are demons, especially as you travel deeper…"
Kagome only looked at him for a moment as considered his words, then quickly averting her gaze. Even after they had cleared the air the night before, there was still an awkwardness between them… on her part at least. How could there not be after she…? It was embarrassing just to think about it!
Still, what Kurama said did make sense. The two of them were like her advisors since both were quite wise and willing to offer her their advice. One said yes, the other said no… well alright, Kurama said no and Miroku's answer was ambiguous, which was strange since it was usually the other way around. Kurama's answer was not even entirely a 'no' either, he was just cautious of the animal. Sure, it might or might not have been a demon, but not all demons were harmful. She knew that much from her own experience.
Biting her lip, Kagome set the creature down once more. "If the cub follows on his own, then I'm not going to stop him, but I won't take him along," she announced to no one in particular, but making good use out of her leadership role. She felt it was the best decision, while at the same time hoping that he would come. "And Miroku?" she added.
"Yes?"
"You can let go of me now," she told him as her eyebrow gave an involuntary twitch of annoyance.
Between the time she grabbed onto him to keep her balance and the present, his arm had wound its way around her, traveling dangerously low on her backside. As it began to slide even further down, she quickly spun around and gave him a sound slap on the cheek. He stumbled backward a few steps before a tree stopped his movement.
An unabashed smile graced his face as he rubbed his scolded cheek. "Old habits die hard."
"Things became a lot more dangerous for us girls when he decided to rejoin our group," Shizuru commented to Botan. The healer was unsure if she was kidding or not from her blank face, but knew nonetheless she was right. With all Miroku's woman chasing and limited women around, it would be a hard journey for those of the female persuasion.
Sango, standing in front of the pervert with her arms crossed, was not amused. He might as well have yelled at Kagome the day before with how much he disapproved of her actions, even as she was under the influence of a spell. Here he was now, acting as bad, if not worse than Kurama since Miroku did have control over his actions. She could understand his disapproval because of Kagome's betrothal, but it did not make what he did alright.
She summed up everything she was thinking in one word. "Hypocrite."
The smile was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "There's a difference," he replied, his eyes harder than before, their usual charm twinkling out. What was it about this topic that brought such a serious side to him—a side most probably hardly seen—out? As far as she knew, Miroku and Kagome had first met only just before they had come across her. What did it matter to him what Kagome did?
Though the sudden change in him disturbed her as it did before, she did not drop her resolve. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, lecher," she said as she turned away. She did not want to hear his excuses.
Kagome stepped in front of Sango, causing her to stop. Facing both of them with her hands on her hips, she told them sternly, "no fighting. You're not here to fight."
Sango's eyes widened and before Kagome knew what was happening, she was being pushed down. They tumbled to the ground as a sharp thorn-looking object imbedded itself in a tree above them, barely missing the two as they fell.
Kagome tilted her head backward to see Kuwabara grunt as his sword clanged against a demon's side and Sango quickly got up to help her cousin. Kagome, however, did not bother getting up, instead her eyes stared up into the trees.
"Oh, come on, that's not what I meant."
The cub's eyes shone in the dark as he approached the young woman. Shizuru watched with suspicion as he nudged her knee expectantly, looking at her with innocent-appearing eyes. She shifted her position on the rock she was sitting on, her arms wrapping around her knees. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not picking you up," she told him flatly. It only made the creature whimpered and butt his head against her calf with urgency.
Shizuru was not affected by the display, but Botan was sympathetic toward the cub. "Aw, show some compassion toward the poor thing."
"I'm still sorry the thing followed us," Shizuru replied. While no one had encouraged him, the cub had followed them on its own accord. She was surprised it had not just up and run when that demon had attacked. Even with the show of bravery, it did not make her like him anymore. She just had a bad feeling about him. Besides… "I'm not a fan of animals. I had enough trouble with that one." She jerked her head toward her brother, sitting next to her.
Botan hid her smile as Kuwabara exclaimed, "hey! I have you know that I am…" His indignant response was interrupted by a loud sneeze, but he managed to finish, "…not an animal."
"That's right," Sango agreed. Just before Kuwabara could thank her for her support, she added, "he just eats like one."
She expected him to sputter, but he retaliated quickly. "Maybe if your cooking was better than I wouldn't have to scarf it down so I don't taste it as much."
"You are lacking in cooking skills," Shizuru concurred.
Sango's jaw locked. "If you don't like it, don't eat it." She looked toward Shizuru. "Your snoring doesn't—"
"Alright children, let's stop the sibling/cousin wars before you jump down each other's throat," Botan clucked at them. Tensions were running high in the group, escalating higher as more time went on. Although fighting demons did release some of their frustrations, it did not change certain aversions some of them had with others. "We don't want to wake up the others."
Sango glanced at her peacefully sleeping traveling companions enviously. Yusuke had passed out almost as soon as night had fallen and they had set up camp. He seemed to be the most irritated among them when he did not get his sleep and before he could snap at anyone he went off to bed. Miroku and Kurama too had retired early since their night watches would be coming later, while Kagome had been complaining about a sore throat. Even after Botan gave her a sip of a healing potion, her throat still felt scratchy. Figuring sleep would be a good release from the constant soreness, she went right off to bed even though it was unusually for her to do so. Hiei was nowhere in sight, but that was per usual for him. Somewhere close by in the darkness he was lurking. Sleeping? Perhaps. Sango never knew with him.
Hearing a loud noise coming from the group of sleeping travelers, Sango muttered, "at least her snoring not as bad as Yusuke's." It was mostly said to herself as she glanced at the sleeping pickpocket.
Botan's attention turned back to the cub, still waiting patiently in front of Shizuru. It was obvious he was still waiting to be petted. "You should give him some credit, he did take out that demon earlier."
It was true. Almost as soon as the demon had attacked them, the cub had launched himself at the youkai, clamping down on its throat. It was one of their quicker battles. After that, no one could deny the small creature's usefulness and did not protest as it followed them faithfully all the way until nightfall.
With an annoyed sigh, Shizuru reached out her right hand and pet the cub along his back. His tail waved with delight and she went to stroke him once more, but almost immediately jerked back her hand.
"What's wrong?" Sango asked.
Shizuru shook her head, pushing her hair back from her face with the same hand. "Nothing. Just got a small shock." Whether it was unconscious or not, she moved away from the creature and wiped the hand against her pants. The cub did not seem to notice though as he scampered back to Botan.
He jumped onto her shoulder and she fell onto her back with a surprised cry. "Oomph, you're too heavy for that," the healer said with a laugh. He paid no heed as he fell over and nudged his head against her ear while his tail hit against her other one as it wagged.
Kuwabara, sitting next to Botan, ruined the moment as he let out a earth-moving, bellow of a sneeze, followed by another, and then another. Botan frowned, asking, "are you sick?"
He brushed the comment aside. "The Great Kuwabara doesn't get sick!"
"The sneezing says otherwise," Botan chided him. "Either you're ill or some scent around here is making you sneeze."
Botan picked up the cub and dropped him in Sango's lap (who commenting how lovely it was when his tail repeatedly whacked her right in the face), while ushering Kuwabara over to where her bag was. He certainly did not mind the attention and gladly waited as she fished out the rest of the potion she had made early.
Not needing to see her cousin flirt, Sango ushered the cub off her and got up then to scout out the area a bit. There was little sign of anything unusual in the area and no sign of Hiei—not that she was looking for him she assured herself—so she made a quick visit to the latrine before going back to the others. By that time the rest had settled down and she stayed awake to keep lookout, snacking on the last piece of bread from her dinner.
Not too long after did she wake up Kuwabara to take the watch. It was before her turn should have been over, but her eyes were itchy and watery, making it hard to see. It was the cub's fault, no doubt. He had probably gotten some fur into her eyes when he had been waving his tail about. She did not think Kuwabara believed her, but being the gentleman he was, he took over anyway. Giving her thanks, she lay where he had been sleeping since the ground was warmed by his body heat. She threw one last glare at the cub, who was still wide awake and seemed to meet her eyes. Then a moment later she closed her eyes so she would have to see no more.
"I don't see why I have to learn how to ride," the six-year-old protested. Her riding teacher picked her up anyway and placed her on top of a pony that in her opinion was much too big for her.
"Because all nobles should learn how to ride properly," he retorted. His face was not clear to her, yet everything else about him was in perfect clarity. His hands as they picked her up, his dirtied clothes, his tone of voice. Even the field around them was crystal clear, yet something felt wrong about the setting.
"If I'm learning 'properly' then why am I sitting sideways?" she replied haughtily, crossing her arms. This turned out to be a bad idea, however, as she almost fell off the pony. Only the teacher steadying her kept her from such a fate.
"This is how a proper lady sits."
"But this isn't how daddy rides," the young girl informed him. She began to move one leg on the other side of the saddle, but he stopped her. He shook his head, sending his long hair in front of his eyes—black hair, that he pushed aside. "The lords and ladies ride differently."
"Then maybe I won't ride like a lady," she announced, her stubborn streak showing. She instinctively crossed her arms once more and began to lose her balance on the edge of the animal. Her small arms wobbled, looking for something to hold onto, but her teacher merely stepped back and she instead fell to the ground with a loud thud.
With all the dignity she could muster, the six-year-old stood back up, not even bothering to wipe the dirt from her.
"I will not ride like a lady."
"I'm sorry Lady Kagome, but the prince gave specific orders to have you only ride sidesaddle," the hostler informed her. He looked uncomfortable standing in the small stall with the matured young lady, more so since she refused to move to let him out.
"I'm sure he did," she muttered to herself. Then louder, "but I've never ridden like that and I won't start now. I don't even know how. So if you please—"
"Sorry m'lady but I can't go against an order." His voice held a plea in it, hoping she would not force him to. The prince was not a pleasant person when he was angry, she had heard. Luckily she had not experienced it yet. Then again, she had hardly seen him at all.
A long sigh escaped her. "Fine, I'll do it myself," she said, though it was more to herself than the stableman. She took a normal saddle off the wall and settled it on the strange horse, doing her best to strap it on well. Never before had she actually had to do it herself. It was always done for her by the time she planned on going riding.
When it seemed secure enough, she led the stallion outside where the gloomy daylight awaited them.
"I'd be back soon, m'lady. It looks like rain."
She hated dreaming of the past. More times than not, it was not pleasant. Lucky for her, she was awoken before anymore of her memories could play out. However, when she figured out why she had woken up, she would have preferred the dream. Her companions were already awake, talking all at once. No not talking. Arguing and yelling was more like it.
"…suppose to know how…"
"Let's just focus at the problem at hand," Miroku's voice cut in.
"Focusing on anything would be nice right about now." That most definitely had to be Sango with that small hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Kagome stood quickly, letting her cloak pool at her feet. The voices began to blend into each other as everyone was trying to be heard at once.
"What's going on?" she tried to say, but nothing happened.
She froze in her movements. Her mouth had moved, but no sound emerged from it. Her eyes widened and she tried to say something, anything. Not a word, not a single syllable or even a fraction of a sound came. A scream built in her throat and she sucked in a large breath, but as she tried to make a sound nothing came out. Her lips moved frantically and finally she had to let out the air in order to breathe.
Why could she not speak? Sure, her throat had hurt before, but that should not have stopped her from making even the smallest sound. She was completely stripped of all speech. She took in a few breaths to try to calm herself as she felt panic continue to rise in her, anxiety clutching at her chest.
She hurried to the closest person, Yusuke, and began tugging urgently on his sleeve. He jerked his clothes out of her grip unconsciously without even looking at her, too consumed with the conversation. "How the hell did this happen?" he questioned.
"Well, if we knew that it'd be a lot easier to fix, now wouldn't it?" Sango replied dryly. She was looking at Yusuke, but there was an oddness to her gaze. "I had enough 'fun' with this the first time, I don't need to experience this all over again."
Kagome was tugging on Yusuke's arm once more while Miroku reasoned, "we're all still able to move, at least that's better than the last incident."
"That makes me feel much better."
"What?" Botan asked, her voice much louder than it needed to be. She was nearly screaming as she looked from one person to another. "What I want to know is—" Kuwabara clamped his hand over her mouth, muffling the rest of her words.
"Whoever did that, thank you," Sango said, gazing in the general direction of the stifled healer.
Kagome moved from tugging his sleeve to tapping Yusuke, but was continually ignored. Finally, she stomped on his foot, violently grabbing his attention. A small yell came from him and he spun around to face her. "What the hell was that for?"
She began to try an explain, but of course nothing happened as her lips moved uselessly. She shut her mouth and tapped her throat repeatedly, trying desperately to explain with gestures.
"What? I can't hear you." She rolled her eyes at him and slammed her heel into his toes once again, annoyed. "Ow, damnit woman! What do you want from me? I can't hear a damn word you're saying!"
Miroku took her by the shoulders and moved her back, knowing that she very well might have tried to crush his foot for a third time. "She's trying to tell you she can't speak," Miroku told him.
Kagome tilted her head backward to look up at him, attempting to say "thank you" but only ended up mouthing it instead. He got her meaning anyway and smiled in return as he let her go.
While mouthing the words she wanted to speak could work, she doubted that many of them were any good in lip reading. Neither was there any paper she could write on, let alone something to write with. Then how could she communicate? Gestures would not get her far and she could not just keep silent; how would she know what was going on without asking?
In an attempt to communicate while at the same time trying to figure out what was going on, the noble grabbed Yusuke's hand and began spelling frantically into it. However, she was doing so too swiftly for Yusuke to catch anything of what she said.
"Woah, slow down," he told her. She let out an annoyed sigh and spelt one word painfully slow into his hand, as though communicating with a small child. His reaction made it worth it. "What! Useless? I'm not useless!"
Silent laughter escaped her as a smile lit her face, though worry hid behind her eyes. It was obvious she could not use Yusuke as a translating tool, but who would be able to understand swiftly? She was about to turn to look for someone else to 'talk' to, when suddenly a hand was placed in front of her, palm facing upward. Her eyes followed the hand to the person's arm and up their body until they reached the person's face. Kurama.
She daintily clasped his wrist with one hand while the other etched two words lightly into his palm using her index finger. "What happened?" she asked. She kept her eyes fixated on his hand as she wrote.
"Sango has somehow been blinded," Kurama reported to her. Turning her attention to Sango, Kagome saw her looking toward them, but her gaze was odd as it was before. Kagome had sensed something was wrong before, but could not pinpoint what. Although her eyes were open there was no focus to them, none of their usual spark. They were dull and lifeless as she turned to follow just the sound of the person talking. "Botan woke up this morning deaf." That would explain the overly loud talking. She had no idea what the volume of her voice was. "Now you are mute as well. We're not sure what caused any of this yet."
"It's obvious this was done unnaturally. Did you three eat or drink something strange?" Miroku inquired of them. Along those lines, Kuwabara decided to chip in by adding, "yeah, like that passion fruit Kagome ate. Only this stole your senses… or something."
The comment was not appreciated by Kagome. Could we please stop bringing that up? Kagome thought as a light blush crept up her face. Realizing that she was still holding onto Kurama's hand, she dropped it quickly and kept her gaze away from his. Even being so close to him made her nervous.
Since Sango had the easier time talking and could actually hear the conversation going on, she was the one to answer Miroku. "Nothing that the rest of you didn't have as well. At least, I didn't." Kagome nodded in agreement even though Sango could not see it. Only Botan did not answer since she was rightfully clueless and was incapable of talking with Kuwabara's hand still muting her.
"So have Botan work some of her healing powers. Problem solved," Yusuke announced.
"It's not that simple," Sango responded at the same time that Kagome captured Kurama's wrist. "No work, at night, sore," she wrote swiftly. Kurama made sense out of the hastily written, seemingly illogical words with the help of his memories from the night before. Speaking for Kagome, he said, "I'm afraid it won't work. Last night Botan attempted to cure Kagome's sore throat with no results. This will not be so easily cured."
"Besides, if she could cure it, she would have cured herself by now," Sango reasoned.
"I wouldn't put it past her."
Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, Sango would have known it was him if only because of the insult the words implied. She smiled to herself. "So Hiei is still around. I was beginning to wonder."
Kurama felt himself smiled also. "Surprisingly, yes." Kagome gave a tug on his arm to grab his attention before communicating through her fingertips. Relaying the message to the others, Kurama asked as he looked around at the others, "was anyone else affected?"
There was a short silence before Shizuru spoke. "…I can't feel anything." Yusuke joked by saying, "that seems normal to me," but his comment did not faze her at all. She continued, "I wasn't sure before. I can't feel anything." She looked down at her hand as her nails bit into her skin. "There's no… sensation. I don't feel hot or cold. There's no sense of touch." Her nails dug in harder, yet there was nothing still. No tiny shocks of pain, nothing at all.
Miroku put a hand on her upper arm as a signal for her to stop before she accidentally hurt herself. However, she did not sense the touch and only when he placed his hand over hers did she realize what she was doing and stop.
"Sight, hearing, speaking, touch…" Kurama spoke aloud as he thought.
"Has anyone, by chance, lost their sense of smell?" Miroku asked, catching Kurama's drift.
"Kuwabara," Sango said suddenly a questioning lilt to her voice. Out of habit alone Sango turned her head to try and pinpoint where he was. When he said, "here" she turned in his way and stated more than asked, "you're not sneezing anymore."
Yusuke added to it, "Hey, Kuwabara, can you smell anything?" when he did not catch on right away.
He seemed to think about it for awhile. Twice he opened his mouth to talk and twice he closed it again. Finally he took in a deep breath and… "…I don't know."
"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" Yusuke exclaimed. "You either can or can't."
"There's nothing here to smell, so how do I know if I can smell anything or not? Answer me that!" Kuwabara yelled triumphantly, seeing no flaw in his logic.
"Idiot," Hiei said.
Yusuke threw up his arms and walked away. "I give up, someone else deal with him."
Miroku walked a bit away from the group to Botan's bag. He grabbed from it a smaller bag of some odd-looking plant and took a small whiff of the contents. His face contorted with displeasure as he closed the bag and handed Kuwabara the plant. Unfortunately, he had the mistake of letting go of Botan as he took it.
"Someone tell me what's going on!" Botan shouted, though unintentionally. "And why do you have my herbs?"
"How does the idiot expect us to tell her when she can't hear a word," Hiei retorted.
Using her hand to guide her, Sango sat down on the ground and glanced at where she heard Hiei's voice. "Oh, I could think of a way for you, Hiei."
I'll slice your throat before you say any more, woman, was the threatening response in her mind. It was not his choice to open the telepathic link between the two, but—even though he did like to frustrate her with snide remarks—he was the one to initiate communicate with her telepathically, otherwise she never would have known about it, even if he heard her thoughts. He had done it to save their lives, granted, but it was still his choice. On top of that, he had explained things to her, not thoroughly, but it was a lot considering it was Hiei.
I have a name, was all she responded.
Meanwhile, Kuwabara tried to regain control of the healer once more, but she fought him off. Finally Shizuru made Botan look at her by clasping her chin and mouthed the word "later" to her. Kuwabara then smelt some of Botan's herbs, or at least tried to. He could not smell anything, just as Sango had predicted. That left Botan deaf, Sango blind, Kagome speechless, Shizuru numb to any touch, and Kuwabara unable to smell anything. Out of nine people, five were now handicapped.
"That's all five senses… but why?" Miroku asked.
Before anyone could answer—though Shizuru was sure no one knew the answer to the open-ended question—she interrupted to announce, "is it just me, or am I the only one that noticed the cub is gone?"
There was a long silence where no one spoke or moved. "But that doesn't mean…" Kuwabara began, but his voice trailed off.
"He was overly attached to the group until now," Kurama countered, "which is unusually for a demon. For him to mysteriously disappear at the same time this problem developed…."
While it had not been stated that the cub was a demon before, no one doubted Kurama's words. However, Sango was curious and suspicious enough to ask. "I thought you didn't know if he was or not."
"I wasn't sure before. I am now."
"But how do you know now?" she began to ask, but when she was interrupted in her mind, her words abruptly stopped mid-sentence. Enough questions, Hiei snapped.
What are you hiding? She meant to think it to herself, but he of course heard it. What secrets are you protecting?
You'll live longer if you don't ask so many questions. Even if his words were menacing, she still felt that pleasant tingle as his words brushed against her mind. It kept her less annoyed than she might normally have been. Is that another threat from you? Sango inquired. No answer came.
Kagome was more focused on what she just learned. That cub had disappeared at the same time she and the others had been handicapped. He couldn't possibly have… but why? There was no reason for the demon cub to steal such things from them.
Shizuru tucked her hair behind her ear. "I had a bad feeling about him."
"Oh, you had a bad feeling. That's solid evidence right there," came Yusuke's sarcastic remark.
"Her bad feeling are usually right," Sango commented while Kuwabara nodded, adding, "she seems to always know when something's about to go wrong."
"So we think it's the demon's fault. What do we do, go after him?" Shizuru questioned. "We don't even know which direction he went."
As the conversation went on Kagome became more and more panicked that she could not talk. So many times did she want to join in, add a comment here or there, explain something, but before she could even begin to communicate someone else was speaking. Kagome did not even have time to begin spelling and she felt more and more closed in upon herself. Not for the first time during this journey, she began to feel very, very alone and isolated.
She had no voice, no say. She was ignored as the conversation proceeded, much as Botan was. Without a voice… she might as well not have been there. What did she have to contribute? She could not fight and now she could not lead them. Had she become the useless one?
Kagome did not even realize she was clutching Kurama's arm so tightly to her until he gazed down at her, saying her name tenderly to try and gain her attention. She hastily let go of him, but Kurama took hold of her wrist before she could get too far. He tilted her chin upward so her eyes met his, his soothing emerald eyes filled with comfort. "Kagome, what is it that you want to do?"
Kurama felt a mental brush against his mind and let down a small portion of his shield to let Hiei's words through. Why do you leave the decisions to her? the assassin snapped. She'll just bring us to disaster.
I think you should place more faith in her, Kurama reasoned.
She's shown no worth in her meaningless life. Kurama hardly heard the words as he concentrated instead on Kagome as she communicated.
"Go after cub," Kagome decided. They would not get far with half of them disabled, some more than others. If the demon cub was the key, they needed to find him.
With the decision made, the group grabbed their belongings and got ready to start on their daily trek. While Miroku took the noble's bag since it was his turn to carry it, Kagome took the liberty of explaining the situation to Botan via her new form of communication. Besides Kurama or Miroku, she was the only one with the patience to do so anyway. It was a long explanation, but she managed to finish just as they began to take off.
Her attention immediately turned to Sango, who was stumbling even as she stood and walked a few steps. That was Sango, an independent woman and fighter. She would not dream of asking for help, even though it was more than obvious that she needed it and was necessary that she have it.
Kagome quickly caught up with her, catching her left hand with her right and guiding her way. Sango's hair spun around her as she turned the noble's way. "Who's that?" Unable to say, she squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Kagome?" Bringing the fighter's hand up to her head, Kagome gave a sharp nod.
She guided her blinded friend as they walked, making sure she did not stumble into any bushes or trees and watched out for declining slopes. Sango did manage to trip a few times understandably, but Kagome was always able to steady her. She only had to make Sango come to a complete stop once when Kuwabara had tackled Yusuke to the ground in front of them. Yusuke had said something along the lines of, "all the girls lost one of their senses, and there's you you. Now what does that say about you?" which Kuwabara did not find as funny as the pickpocket did.
Some more time passed as Kagome felt more and more guilty. Needing to relieve herself of some of it, she took Sango's hand and spelt letters slowly onto it. "Sorry."
"Sorry?" Sango inquired, puzzled. "Sorry about what?"
"Cub. My fault."
"Don't worry about it. If it hadn't been you, I'm sure Botan or Kuwabara would have freed him too." It was a small comfort and she was sure that it was only for her benefit, but it was enough to make Kagome drop the subject.
There was a short silence before Sango spoke softly. "Kagome?" Another silence followed until Sango continued.
"Thanks... for the help."
Night came all too quickly for Kagome, especially because of the late start they had. They went about their normal routine with minimal conversation that Kagome and Botan, usually the most talkative, remained quiet for. Kurama caught a strange animal for dinner that he assured them was edible. He and Shizuru cooked it for the nine of them after Yusuke and Miroku gathered firewood that Hiei sparked the fire on.
Kagome ate her small portion of food and moved off to the side, away from her companions. She settled on the ground with her back facing them, attempting to sleep, much earlier than she ever had before. For her own reasons, she felt apart from the group more than ever and more than that, she did not want to join them that night. She heard Kuwabara call her name, but she did not turn around.
"She's probably asleep," Yusuke replied with a shrug.
One by one, the noble heard and saw each of her traveling companions lay down for sleep. She stayed awake all throughout the first watch and even as Miroku doused the fire and woke Yusuke up for his turn. It grew even darker then, making her increasing nervous as her wide eyes stared into the brush in front of her.
She almost drifted off once, but when Kagome heard a rustling in the trees around her, she immediately shot up. Her heart pounded in her chest as her eyes darted around, glancing at the trees in the dark.
"Are you alright?"
She expected to see Yusuke as she turned around, but instead Kurama was there, leaning back against a tree. She must have slept longer than she had thought.
Realizing that she was staring, she gave a small nod as her heart steadied its pace. He did not take his eyes off her, however, knowing her words were not sincere. He did not say anymore nor did he gesture to her, but even so she found herself moving to kneel in front of Kurama.
Kagome clutched her cloak around her tightly as she stared down at the ground. She hated this. She felt secluded from the others, all alone in her bubble of silence. What if something attacked them, especially if it was during the night? She could not alert the others or yell if she got in trouble. That thought alone made it hard for her to sleep and kept her frightened. But at the same time it was her fault if it was really the cub that had done this to them. She had no right to complain since she had brought it upon herself.
Without a word, he offered her his hand just as he did before. She tried to convey her feelings to him, but all it was was a jumble of words that she was not sure if he understood any of or not.
He caught her hand to stop the incoherent writing. "Kagome, it's alright. Just try and get some sleep." She must have looked skeptical because Kurama added, "Kagome, look at me." She glanced up to meet his eyes. For the first time Kagome noticed that he was in an unusual position for him. His knees were drawn up to his chest, one arm wrapped tightly around his legs. His whole body was tense and was he… shaking? She thought she had seen his hands trembling before as they stopped for the night, but she had disregarded that almost immediately since he had stopped a few moments later. The thoughts were gone once again when he continued. "I'll keep you safe."
She felt her face warm considerably at his words, but still felt unnerved with the idea of sleeping. When she did not make any sort of movement, his arm suddenly wrapped around her and brought her to him. She squirmed and would have made noises of protest if she could as he positioned her between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her torso, forcing her to lie back against his chest and stopping her wriggling. Her blush worsened, but at least now he could not see it.
"Rest." His voice was so very close to her ear as she felt herself release some of her stiffness. "I'll look after you. I promise."
She should not have for so many reasons. What would Miroku or any of them say if they woke up and saw her like this? For once, she didn't care. She felt more secure in that moment than she had since she had woken up mute.
He took hold of her cloak and settled it on top of her as Kagome released all of her tension, melting against the thief holding her. She felt safe, not to mention warm in his embrace. Kagome was sure he was doing it just to get her to calm down… but part of her wanted to believe he did it just as much for himself. Yet his body was absolutely taut, which made her doubt it.
She was just drifting off to sleep when she felt something tremble against her side. Kagome frowned and reached for his hand. "" she asked.
He clasped her hand in his to stop her from saying anymore. "It's nothing you need to worry about," he murmured to her. He meant to let go of her then, but as his hand continued to shake, she held on tighter, refusing to let go.
More time passed and a sleeping Kagome snuggled in closer to Kurama, while he remained painfully awake. He tried to keep his body strict in order to keep it from quivering, but the pressure became too much. He felt his gut wrench and his back arched against the trunk behind him as pain washed over him.
A blur of black entered his vision as Hiei dropped to the ground in front of him, drawing his attention away for a relieving moment. The assassin glanced down at Kagome with disdain, but said nothing as he looked at Kurama, completely ignoring Kagome's existence.
"You can't deny what you are," Hiei told him.
Kurama's eyes hardened considerably. "That's amusing coming from you," he retorted, his voice harsh.
He didn't sound like himself, in his words or his tone, causing Hiei to smirk and reply, "hn, it's already started. You're strong, but you can't hold out all night."
Kurama glanced up as pain ran through him again, his gaze trained on the full moon above them, just escaping the concealment of the trees. Denying what he was…? No, he had never bothered with that, but he had hoped that he could hold out just a little longer…
With careful attention, Kurama moved Kagome off him and placed her gently on the floor where she shivered at the loss of body heat. Even as he stood, Kagome's hand was still clutching his, not relinquishing its hold even in her sleep. But as he moved away, her hand slipped from his, falling gently onto the ground.
AN: Well, that was my (edit: second)longest chapter yet. Mostly just interactions/talking to set up for next chapter.
Edit II: Ah, in all my hastiness to get this chapter out since it's been forever since I posted, I forgot the most important thing! Thank you so much to all the lovely reviewers who inspire me to continue to write! If you haven't figured it out already, I am not at all confident in my writing so to have such wonderful and helpful reviewers is truly amazing, and I thank you all! Thank you also to anyone out there reading this story! I hope you are enjoying it!