A/n: Well how about that I kept my promise!
One Thing
4) My Healer
"Hey you guys I'm getting tired." Shippo huffed as he leaned against a tree.
Sango and Miroku nodded their heads in agreement. They had been running and searching for Kagome and Kirara with little success. Along the way they narrowly escaped encounters with demons and from all the running they had done they were becoming quite fatigued.
"I hope we can find those two soon." Miroku said as he wiped his brow.
"You and me both. The sun is going to rise soon and we've lost Kagome and Kirara." Sango said looking up at the sky.
It was becoming even darker than before signaling the impending sunrise.
"And what would really be bad is if InuYasha finds us and finds out Kagome's missing." Shippo threw into the conversation.
"That's not even covering the reason why she left camp and how we got separated." Miroku added on.
Everyone just sighed.
The thought of InuYasha finding out everyone left camp and then going searching for them in a blazing rage came to their minds. Plus on top of all of that they thought of his anger that was sure to come when he discovered Kagome was missing and why.
That would be one demon hybrid they didn't want to be around when that happened. Sango shook her head while Miroku sighed and Shippo cringed.
"We have to find them fast you guys." Sango said as Miroku and Shippo nodded their heads in agreement.
Then suddenly a roar could be heard overhead followed by the appearance of a flying fire cat.
"Kirara!" Sango cried.
Kirara looked down as she caught the sound of her name and saw Sango and the others below with her. She roared again before she turned around and landed before the group.
"Boy is it great to see you Kirara." Shippo said as he came up to her while she transformed back into her kitten form. Kirara was extremely tired and needed a break.
"Kirara are you okay?" Sango asked worriedly as she scooped Kirara into her arms.
The fire cat nodded weakly at her in response.
"Kirara I'm glad to see you're well, but where is Kagome?" Miroku asked as he knelt down next to Sango his gazed fixed on the roughed up looking cat.
Kirara meowed a response and Shippo translated.
"What!" Shippo cried.
"What did she say Shippo, what's wrong?" Sango asked as she watched horror spread across Shippo face.
"Kirara said that while she and Kagome were escaping they bumped into a flock of bird demons. They had fought all of them off except for one that managed to wound her. She and Kagome fell to the ground, but Kagome was separated from her when she landed." Shippo finished.
"Oh no Kagome! We have to find her! We have to go look for her!" Sango said on the brink of hysterics. But she felt Kirara shake her head 'no' against her chest and Sango looked down at Kirara confused.
"What do you mean no Kirara? We have to find Kagome and make sure she's alright!" Sango said to her.
"Maybe there's more to the story." Miroku suggested and Kirara nodded her head.
She started to meow again and Shippo once again interpreted what she had said.
"Okay you guys she said that a little while later when she woke up she had went searching for Kagome and found her." "Then why isn't she with her?" Miroku interrupted.
"Well, one of Kouga's wolves was with Kagome. She was too weak to try and take Kagome away so she laid down and had the wolf bring Kagome over to her since Kagome was unconscious. Later after that Kouga showed up and took Kagome back to his den. But before he left he sent her to get us and go there to help."
"Quick we have to get to Kouga's Den." Miroku said when Shippo was done.
"But how? Kirara's too weak to carry us all." Sango replied defensively.
"And I can't hold that much weight either." Shippo informed before they suggested he shape shift. "And besides what about InuYasha? We all just can't leave without him knowing." Shippo added.
"You know he does have a point." Miroku said as he placed a finger to his chin.
"Then what do we do?" Sango asked confused and frustrated at the same time. "I know!" Miroku said as he snapped his fingers together.
"Okay listen to this you guys. Shippo you go back to camp. Me and Sango will take you back to camp with Kirara and you two will stay there while me and Sango go to Kouga's Den and check on Kagome. After we're sure on Kagome's conditions Sango will stay behind and I'll come to camp." Miroku said.
"But what if InuYasha comes back to camp before you can get back? And how are you two going to get there so fast and back?" Shippo inquired. "Now that I think about it, it is a long journey if you're traveling on foot at a mortals pace." Sango stated aloud.
Kirara lifted up her tired form and leapt out of Sango's arms and transformed into her big fire cat form.
"Kirara no! You're too tired!" Sango protested. But Kirara wouldn't hear it as she shook her head 'no' at Sango a second time and growled out loud.
"Sango she wants to take you and Miroku there. I can stay behind and cover for you all if InuYasha comes back and after Miroku checks on Kagome really fast she'll bring him back here." Shippo spoke.
"I don't know you guys this all sounds too messy." "Trust us Sango nothing will go wrong." Miroku reassured as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sango looked down at the ground still unsure, but still nodded her head in approval.
With InuYasha...
'It's almost sunrise…I'd better hurry.' InuYasha thought as he quickly jumped out of the stream he was standing in and started off towards the camp.
"Kagome's going to be so surprised with what I have to tell and show her." He said aloud as he jumped up in a tree and leapt tree branch to tree branch finding it faster than running bare foot.
'Soon Kagome…Soon the truth about us will come forth.' InuYasha thought as he continued his journey. A smirk dared to grace his face as his mind raced on with vivid imaginative images of Kagome's shock.
For the past few weeks there was something he was planning, something he had been scheming his head and was soon about to expose to Kagome that he was sure was going to change her life forever.
'Soon Kagome.' InuYasha thought again.
With Kouga...
Kouga rushed into the den with his wolf comrades howling and barking to alert the other wolf clan members to come forth.
Kouga went to his designated corner and laid Kagome gently down on his pallet of soft furs. As he straightened his back and turned around to see just about all of the pack standing behind him.
He looked around at all the worried faces and little ones trying to poke their heads through the adults' legs to see what the problem was. Comments of shock and wonder attacked Kouga's ears and once everyone noticed he was waiting on them to hush they silenced down and waited for Kouga to explain.
"Everyone listen up! I know tonight a lot of you are really tired and/or are hungry and would wish to sleep or find something to eat. But now is not the time to rest or eat at the moment. Kagome has been injured and needs immediate attention to her wounds." He began.
"As I watched and heard you I'm sure the majority of you want to know what happened to her. In due time I will explain, but right now I need all of your help to nurse Kagome back to health. Her life is dangling right now and we can't waste anymore time, got that?" Kouga finished.
Everyone nodded their head and a few barks and low howls sounded.
"Good! I need a few of you to stand guard at the front of the den. Two humans should come here to help Kagome, but at all cost DO NOT let InuYasha anywhere near her. I also need a group of you to go down to the river and get water. The rest of you should either be hunting for food for all of us or making the herbal medicine we make for our cuts." Kouga ordered.
After issuing his orders the den was then buzzing with wolves running to and fro, trying to accomplish the tasks their leader had given them.
"So what happen Kouga? How did Sister Kagome get in such a bad state?" Ginta, a short gray haired wolf demon, asked as he stood to the left of Kouga helping him move the fur pleats more comfortably around Kagome.
Kouga growled as he looked at Ginta.
"Please Kouga don't hurt him! He didn't' mean anything by it honest!" Hakaku shouted as he came in the middle of them.
"Right!" Ginta reassured as he threw his hands up defensively.
"I said I would explain later!" Kouga replied while trying not to hurt his best friend.
With Sango and others...
"There it is! Kouga's den is just below!" Sango shouted behind her to Miroku, pointing at the location.
"I see!" Was all Miroku said as Kirara moved to land down at the mouth of the entrance.
Once they landed Miroku and Sango both climbed off of Kirara and headed up to the den, but were soon stopped by two wolves growling fiercely.
"Wo! Now wait a minute…:gulp: We didn't come here to start any trouble." Miroku said with a smile on his face trying to claim down the growling wolves.
"Miroku!" Sango whispered harshly to him. "What?" He replied. "Look!" Sango answered as she pointed at the other wolves that now joined their friends and had circled them completely with her fingers.
Miroku sighed.
"You would think we wouldn't have to fight to see our friend if her rescuer invited us." Miroku commented as he slowly eased his way so that he and Sango where back to back.
"You could say that again." Sango said as she eyed one wolf.
"Hey! Cut that out! I told all of you that they would come!"
Sango and Miroku turned their heads and looked at Kouga who had just saved them from having to fight off his wolves.
Kouga stood at the head of the cave. He was holding a wooden basket of steaming hot water and he was glaring down at his four legged friends.
"You two follow me." Kouga ordered as he turned his back and entered his cave.
Slowly and carefully Sango and Miroku took tentative steps passed the wolves and hurried into the cave. Along the way other wolf members of Kouga's den stopped whatever task they were doing to watch as the two of them made their way to see Kagome.
By the time they caught up with Kouga, Kagome's pale and bruised body was the first thing to capture their eyes before Kouga's gaze.
"Oh my! Kagome!" Sango shouted as she made her way over to her ill looking friend.
"She was far worse when I found her. She's actually come a long way, though I think it's because of her strong spiritual powers." Kouga said as he took a seat on the opposite side of Kagome from where Sango was.
"Dear Kami." Miroku muttered as he watched Sango delicately stroke Kagome's wet hair off of her sickly pale white face.
Kagome's uniform shirt sleeve was cut all the way up her arm to reveal her bruised arms and you could see faint scars. Then as his eyes trailed down her body he noted the bruises on her legs.
Sango tried to move Kagome onto her lap, but Kouga's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
"What's the problem?" Sango asked hotly while she was fighting back tears.
Kouga narrowed his eyes but said nothing about her lashing.
"She has a broken bone…It would be unwise to move her." Kouga informed. Hearing Kouga say broken bone made Sango immediately distance herself from Kagome and stand beside Miroku.
"Miroku this wasn't suppose to happen!" She wailed as she willingly allowed herself to hug him and cry into his chest. For a moment Miroku was in shock, but soon slowly wrapped his arms around her, patting her head gently.
"Do you or her know of anyway to help heal Kagome?" Kouga asked quietly as he stood and walked near Miroku and Sango.
Miroku looked up at him, Sango still crying on his chest.
"To be honest Kagome was the one who knew medicine. She had some from her time, but she's the only one who can read the labels on the bottles." "So there is no one else that can help her with some medicine? I had already put some on her cuts and a majority of them just went away thanks to it." Kouga replied while stealing a quick glance at Kagome..
"There is someone else, but it would take us a day and a half to get to them." Miroku said.
Sango suddenly stopped crying as she realized who Miroku was talking about. She sniffled a few times before she turned in his embrace to look Kouga in the eye.
"Kaede, a village priestess, in a town not too far from here can help us. She would need time to collect the medicine she needs, but I can bring her here as fast as I can." She replied as she rubbed her nose that was red from her intense crying.
"Very well then. I will need you to get this priestess you speak of… Kagome needs all the help she can get." Kouga spoke as he turned around completely to look at Kagome.
"Miroku…She didn't deserve this. She just wanted to go home." Sango cried softly.
"Shush. Sango crying about this isn't going to help Kagome right now. We need to be strong…for Kagome's sake we need to be strong." Miroku reassured. "But this shouldn't have happened!" Sango shouted her eyes widening with anger.
"We were suppose to protect her! That's one of the main reasons I sent her away with Kirara so that she would be out of harms way! Besides if InuYasha would've just stopped being so damn stubborn with Kagome wanting to go home in the day; she wouldn't have tried and seek out in the middle of the night to go home!" Sango exploded.
Kouga was doing his best to try and not eavesdrop, but when he heard Sango mention InuYasha's name and then what went along with it he lost it.
"You mean to tell me he wouldn't let her go where it was safe for her to be during the daylight when the travel and commute was easier ! Let alone safer?" Kouga shouted in rage.
"Yes." Sango answered hesitantly as she nodded her head wiping away her tears. "He was so determined to find any sign of Naraku or a shikon shard that he wouldn't let Kagome go home." Sango finished.
"Then he had told us not to try and help Kagome should she decide to go home on her own." Miroku added thoughtfully to himself, not meaning to say it aloud.
"That bastard!", Kouga growled, "Doesn't he know that sending her home could've prevented this. She needed to be home where it's safe especially during this time of year!" Kouga said completely despising the dog hybrid more than normal.
"Okay look it's like Miroku said before. Us ranting on isn't going to help Kagome." Sango said trying to calm down the Wolf Prince.
Kouga growled fiercely and turned around. Then he just as swiftly turned around again to face them. His eyes blazing with hatred and anger.
"Look…Me and Miroku will go get Kaede and in the meantime you do your best to help keep her alive." Sango continued.
"You don't have to worry. Kagome is in great care with me. She's safer with me right now than she is with Dog-" "I think we get it." Miroku interrupted.
"Look it's almost day break so we had better get a move on." He added to Kouga as he grabbed Sango's arm and half dragged her away from Kagome.
"Miroku!" Sango said harshly to him when they were out of the cave and near Kirara, who had just woken up from a short cat nap.
"What?" He replied. "Why did you do that? Why did you drag me away?" Sango asked heatedly and confused.
"Look I wasn't talking about Kaede back there, but we can use her help too. Remember the half demon we helped along time ago who specialized in medicine herbs?" Miroku questioned.
"You mean the one who was ashamed to come out of his house and stayed with his old mother?" "Yes him! That was who I was talking about." Miroku said.
"But he really is a half a day's journey away." Sango calculated in her head. "Witch is why I want you to take me back to camp and you and Kirara go get his help." Miroku said.
"But how will you going back to InuYasha make things easier?" Sango asked. "I'll buy you and Kagome sometime okay?" Miroku replied.
Sango looked at Miroku perplexed.
"Look if Kagome ever wants to regain conscious and not find either Kouga or InuYasha dead then we must keep the two rivals apart for the moment." Miroku informed.
"Well I guess that makes sense." Sango said as she climbed onto Kirara's back.
"Good then lets hurry and drop me off back at the campsite." Miroku replied taking Sango's offered hand to help him up Kirara.
With Kouga…
As Sango and Miroku left Kouga got fed up again.
'How could he? How could InuYasha be so stupid? Surely he knew Kagome was stubborn and was going to try and go on her own to get home, yet he was so greedy in his quest for the shards that he overlooked her safety out in the woods with roaming demons about.' Kouga thought angrily.
'But what about you? You claim to love her yet you left her in the care of your rival! So doesn't part of the blame fall on you too?' A little voice nagged him in the inside of his head.
Kouga knelt down next to Kagome's wounded form. He took his hand and gently stroked her hair the same way Sango had done earlier, very delicately.
'Please Kagome open yours eyes, speak a word, do SOMETHING!' Kouga shouted in his mind. Begging her unconscious body with his beautiful forest green/navy blue eyes to show more signs of life than just the steady moving of her chest going up and down.
"Please Kagome." Kouga whispered to her. "You're my life, a part of my soul, an irreplaceable treasure that if I lose I lose it forever." He whispered to her again.
Kouga made sure he was talking low so that no one would over hear him. He was about to open his mouth again to speak, but the sounds of footsteps coming toward him stopped him and he stood in time to be greeted by Hakaku.
"What is it?" Kouga asked demandingly.
Hakaku jumped at his leader's forwardness, but soon recovered.
"I've got news for you Kouga." He stated. "And what news would that be?" Kouga questioned as he narrowed his eyes.
"The wolves from the hunting party are back with some food. Would you like something and what should we prepare for Sister Kagome when she wakes?" "I can't even eat right now. And it seems it will be a while before Kagome will wake up, so don't worry about her. I'll go hunting for her." Kouga spoke.
"Okay, the next thing is the monk and demon slayer shall be returning a little later than planned. They say that they've forgotten a friend of theirs that a half breed like InuYasha-" Hakaku stopped as he watched Kouga's face pinch with anger at the mention of InuYasha's name.
"Continue." Kouga grounded out. Hesitantly, because of Kouga's response, did Hakaku finish.
"Well anyway the demon is excellent in medicine herbs and so they will stop by him along the way to the village of the priestess to see if they can get him to help." Hakaku said slowly.
"Anything else?" Kouga asked annoyed. "Well…" Hakaku trailed off.
"Look whatever it is I'm sure I can handle it. Just get out with it already before I pound you into the ground now!" Kouga said coldly, knowing why Hakaku was so reluctant on releasing the last bit of info.
"Yourparentsarecoming!" Hakaku rushed afraid.
"My what?" "Your….parents…are coming back?" Hakaku tried again.
Just then Kouga felt like he had just been shot with an arrow through his heart.
'Kami why don't you just kill me! Save me the trouble of having to go through all this drama and kill me!' Kouga thought as he heard Hakaku say the worse news he could have ever brought to him.
Hakaku watched as a plethora of emotions began to go run wildly around Kouga's eyes, face and aura. First he was angry more than anything, then he was sad, then again annoyed and so much more.
"Look where is Ginta?" Kouga asked trying to calm down. He rushed a hand up to his head and began to rub his temples.
"He's outside the den preparing food." Hakaku answered.
"Tell him to grab some food, and you do the same, then I want you two to go out as messengers and tell my parents not to come. Remind them they said they would be back by the week of the full moon and it's no where near that time yet." Kouga instructed.
"But are you sure that's wise? I mean Kouga they're-" "Just do as I say! My parents well only further complicate everything than help anyone. And besides most, if not, all my attention must be focused on Kagome right now." Kouga reasoned.
Knowing arguing about the issue with his parents wouldn't do any good, Hakaku gave up and sighed in defeat.
"Yes Kouga." Hakaku said still unsure of Kouga's decision.
"On your way out I need you to tell everyone to stay out the den for a while too." Kouga said as he watched Hakaku's back retreat outside.
"Sure thing Kouga!" Hakaku yelled over his shoulders.
When Kouga was sure Hakaku was gone he repositioned himself next to Kagome they way he was before Hakaku came in.
He took her unharmed hand into both of his hands and gave them a slight squeeze before he let one hand roam to her cheek and begin to stroke it gently.
"Kagome everything's going to be alright. I swear to you. Just hang in there. Help is on its way." He whispered to her.
He continued to coax her awake until finally after about half an hour Kouga got a response out of her.
Kagome shook slightly before she opened her eyes. She felt the gentle pats of a cool rag against her forehead. She moaned a little before she tried to open her eyes. When she did manage to open them it was at first very bright to her and she squinted her eyes.
Then as her eyes began to adjust some she noticed the dark male figure above her. She then smiled up at them. Then she turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, but not before uttering out a name.
"InuYasha." She said breathlessly.
A/n- Hey everyone I kept my promise! I did update sooner! Yay! Now all I have to do is update my other stories. :sighs: My work is never done. Oh well, thank you everyone who reviewed. I love you bunches!
And from now on if you reply in your emails stuff like I love your fic or something just now I'll give your thanks in the author's note at the beginning of every new update so that way for the people who have questions they wanted answered don't have to read an extra page or so trying to find their response.
Answered Resposes List
Nicole Hibiki- I don't abandon works unless I give warnings first. So if I take too long to update that just mean's something has come up or I forgot.
DakBug- Yeah I've heard about it and I've seen it updated, but I haven't found the time to check it out. But I really wish to in the future. Thanks you for caring so much about my fic! Me and my story feel loved.
Pointy Objects- Thank you so much. It's harder to write a Kouga and Kagome fanfic without following the same plot theme or same story build as someone else. You know like (just for example :P) Kagome finds out InuYasha is cheating on her with Kikyou, Kagome runs off and something happens where she ends up in Kouga's care…. I could go on for days. So I'm trying not to follow that scheme.
