I whispered, "That cowardly bastard…" as I slowly came to a stop. Inuyasha knelt down, asking in a curious tone. "Would you mind me asking; Just what did you think you were doing!"
"What do you think! Saving your life because that's what friends do!" He turned his head away, "I told you not to get involved. Sesshomaru is out for my head and I'll be the one to have his. It's not your fight."
"He talked about me like he knew me, but he didn't know anything about my parents! Who's he to act like he knows what I'm really like? I sure as hell don't know." I flipped over on my right side, eyes narrowed and my body shaking. "Sesshomaru must pay…"
"What the hell were you doing out here anyway!"
"You didn't come back for hours so I was worried, okay! Is that so hard to comprehend?" I growled as the pain rushed through my veins.
I shrieked in pain; I reached for the shard in my heart for some level of comfort. "Go right on ahead and don't thank me, you ungrateful jerk!"
"Shut up! Did I ever say that I wasn't grateful! Besides, it's not like I needed your help."
"I saw it in your eyes; he was a few seconds away from completely cutting off your air! You know that you were near it! Don't lie!" My eyes teared with the pain that seared through me. I still wanted to fight, but the pain paralyzed me.
"It's not that I'm not impressed or nothin', but you could have gotten yourself killed! Sesshomaru is too dangerous for someone like you to handle."
"Someone like me? Like what? A princess? A half-demon?"
"No, someone who's still recovering from a previous injury! You know, though, I was once in a condition like yours. Koga broke the bone in my arm with a kick from one of his legs that had a jewel shard. I had to handle Tetsusaiga with one hand, but couldn't use the Wind Scar. Even when I was mortal, I kept fighting until either I just can't fight anymore or the sun comes up and I'm half-demon again."
I hissed again as the pain continued to paralyze me. I whispered, "Inu… yasha…" I shut my eyes, unable to move. I gasped as breathing got more difficult. I whispered, "Help… get me help… help me…"
"Hey, are you okay?" I narrowed my eyes, "What you think, idiot?" I let that last wave of pain knock me out.
Inuyasha shook me again. "C'mon, don't faint, you stupid girl." He shook me, but got nothing. "Damn…" he felt my forehead and the fever was back. "Damn it to hell… Sesshomaru, next time we meet, I'll kill you myself!" He shouted to the sky as he got me on his back. As he saw me get worse, he thought to himself, 'just hang on until I get to camp.'
He arrived back at camp where everyone had been sitting around for the fire. Kagome asked, "Inuyasha, what happened?"
"Sesshomaru happened… princess here nearly got herself killed when she arrived to save my life."
"Save your life?" Everyone shouted at once.
"Well, I won't admit it, but that's the way she put it. She saw the position I was in and the only thing she knew to do was go right after Sesshomaru. She just barreled in there without even thinking."
"But isn't that what you usually do, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked. He smacked him on the head. "That's not the point." He folded his arms as he sat down next to my body. "I think that if she had reacted faster, she could have actually killed him then. She was on top of him and had her claws digging into his throat. I hadn't ever gotten that close to killing him. She was so furious and had so much rage over his view of half-demons. You know what that bastard did?"
"What?" They all asked at once.
"He laughed right in her face, like he wasn't even afraid. But it's like full-demons are able to remain calm in the face of danger. Still, I'm not sure what the case with the princess is… Sesshomaru said that she might be more demon than she told us. He said her father was half-demon…"
"Well, she seems to be an unusual half-demon." Miroku said.
"In so many way ways, though, she's like me. She was willing to fight until the bitter end and it was all to protect me. Not that I've known any princesses, but I don't think I've ever seen so much fight in one before. It's not that I like having some girl fight my battles for me, but I gotta admit that I'm getting concerned." He patted my forehead, "her fever's getting worse…"
I opened my eyes as I felt a hot hand on my forehead. "What the… what happened…" I tried getting up, but the pain returned.
"Don't move, you're gonna knock yourself out again!" I shook under the pain, "Damn that Sesshomaru, I'll hunt him down if it's the last thing I do." I growled, but nothing was gonna help.
"See what I mean? I've never seen as much rage in anyone before. Sure, I've been furious, but not so much that I'm still in it after I get knocked out. She's willing to go all the way to finish what she started."
"Must kill…" I couldn't speak; I shook all over while Inuyasha massaged my forehead with a wet rag. "Try not to move if you want to make it through the night."
"Inuyasha…" I started to drift out of consciousness again. "Inuyasha…" I mumbled, deliriously.
"What? What is it, Chihiro?"
"You… you said my name… Inuyasha… don't… leave me."
"I won't leave you tonight… or unless you release me from your will. I'll see you through this and make you as strong as me. Then we'll go after that bastard Sesshomaru together…"
As weak as I was, I was still fuming with rage and I felt like it was driving my fever up. He massaged my forehead as I muttered, "It won't stop… rage fuming inside… of me…" Kagome grabbed my wrist, "Her blood is racing like crazy."
I felt my eyes glowing with the rage. "My demon blood… it wants me to finish the job… now… it's controlling me. Can't… let it." I felt something tie around my leg. I looked down and saw Miroku putting on the finishing touches. "All right, all bandaged up again, you just can't move it for a few more days."
"But…"
"No
buts! You're gonna lay down and relax until your leg heals!"
Inuyasha barked. I sighed, "Fine…" He then looked at me in a
weird way, "you know, you're really starting to creep me out.
You're sounded like me just now…"
I shut my eyes, "I've been hanging out with you for three days… I've seen nearly nothing but you for three days… I think it would make sense."
I groaned as I turned on my back. "Hey, are you all right?"
"Inuyasha… are you gonna keep asking stupid questions or are you going to help me?" I moaned, "I gotta find a way to calm down, otherwise, there's no way I'll be able to sleep."
Inuyasha grabbed my wrist and put it to my heart. "Feel the jewel shard inside of you and draw your calmness from it. It always worked for you before."
"Yeah," I held onto it. "Before today, I never thought I could be so… I guess I didn't know I had that kind of strength and courage to take on Sesshomaru, one of the most powerful demons known. I was always rational before, but now… I think I'm bordering on insanity."
"Humph, not if I can help it." He smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was more relaxed and kind of happy. He dragged me with him until his back was against a tree. "What are you doing?"
"Just chill, will ya!" He helped me up until my ear was resting on his chest. I placed my other hand next to it, his left arm embraced me and I slowly drifted off to sleep. The last thing I heard him say, "Don't worry, I'll protect you… just like you were only out to protect me. It's the least I could do to repay you…"
Inuyasha held me, as I grew more feverish, he tightened his grip. Miroku cleared his throat, "Inuyasha, do you really think you'll be able to kill Sesshomaru?"
"Well, I sure as hell will try. Humph, first he uses my mother against me and then he continues to try stealing my sword. There's no excuse for this…" He sighed, looking down at me. "It's weird. At times, she gets on my nerves, but at times like this, I feel like I have to protect her. There are even times that I worry… and I'm not the worrying type either."
"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" Kagome wondered.
"She might be heading down the same path I did, where I was always seeking power and to kill others when I was in my full-demon form. I think she's getting closer to that dark place that I was almost in… if she gets there, who knows what could happen?" He looked up, "Despite what she says when she won't betray me, there's always that possibility that her demon blood could convince her otherwise. More importantly," he looked at everyone around him, "she might come after you guys because you're human."
Kagome gasped, "She might even come after you when you're mortal… then what?"
"Well, I'll have to make sure that everything gets sorted out by then. I'm not going to take any chances. If my life's at stake or anyone else's is, I'm not so liable to hold myself back from doing everything I can to protect everyone." He looked at the sky, "the new lunar cycle is still a long time away, but I can't take any chances if it comes to that."
Miroku stretched his arms, "Well, I think its best to turn in for the night."
"You go ahead, I'll be up a while longer." Inuyasha said. Shippo was waiting by Kagome's sleeping bag, "You coming Kagome?"
Inuyasha eyed her and straightened up, "Wait Kagome…" He inched over, "there's always a little room over here if you don't mind being out in the cold."
She nodded. She brought over a blanket to cover the three of them up. She settled herself just around Inuyasha's right arm. "I wouldn't want you to feel left out," he muttered.
"It's all right, Inuyasha. I know you're only trying to help her. It's really sweet of you."
"Phh, yeah whatever, just don't get used to it." As Kagome drifted off to sleep, he looked around, seeing he was the last one up. He sighed as he looked at me. "If things get too out of hand, you could come after any of us. I'll do whatever I can to keep that from happening. Especially you, Kagome. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. I already lost Kikyo; I'm not going to lose you too." He whispered, "I love you, Kagome," just before drifting off to sleep.
