"…" Spoken words

Words in italics are a persons thoughts.

Chapter 2

Am I hallucinating?

Morning had begun to spread rosy colors across the world a long time ago and still the little miko did not stir from her warm resting place on the taiyoukais bare chest. Looking down at her, Sesshomaru caught sight of her stricken features. Her nose had turned a bright red, her eyes and begun to water, and her features were flushed from the raging fever that turned her body into an inferno. She needed medicinal herbs. Sighing the great lord remembered his promise to his still slumbering ward, the miko had to live or Rin would be upset. Unwrapping his kimonos, Sesshomaru removed the girl from him and placed her on the ground near her clothes. Kagome became restless as soon as she was away from the warmth and safety of the taiyoukai. A hand placed upon the clothes discovered they were still to damp for the sick miko to wear. Sighing yet again, Sesshomaru shrugged his outer kimono off of his shoulders. He gently wrapped the miko in the folds of the material. Kagome calmed her restlessness as soon as she was wrapped in the material. She had missed the unknown warmth but a piece of it was back and as well as that strange sense she had of being safe and protected.

Sesshomaru stood tying his obi around his thinner inner kimono and walked out of the cave to find the herbs the miko needed to calm her illness. The great taiyoukai barely felt the bite of the cold weather against his pale skin as he forged under the snow.

XXXXX

Inuyasha awoke the others as soon as the first rays of dawn began to light the sky. Instead of the usual sluggishness about leaving their warm blankets all were also as eager as the hanyou to find the missing miko. They set out to retrace their steps from the previous day and soon learned a very disheartening lesson. The snow could mask the sent and tracks of a person very well and could prove to be a problem even for Inuyasha's youkai senses. The group worked tirelessly until late afternoon when Inuyasha stumbled onto something quite accidentally. Hanging from a bush was a bit of the cloth of Kagome's winter coat. Inuyasha picked it up and gave it a sniff. He was at first relieved and then in a state of shock and anger.

Miroku happened upon the enraged and hanyou first. "Inuyasha? What is it?"

"A piece of Kagome's jacket. She was still alive when this was torn off of it." The monk could sense the hanyou's concern lacing his sentence.

"Where is she now, Inuyasha?" Sango was becoming more and more worried as Inuyasha became full of more self loathing.

"She was taken from here. Her scent smells slightly different. Like maybe she was getting sick."

Four set of eyes turned upon him, all were asking the same question. The fire cat mewed and the slayer worked up the courage to ask the question first.

"Who took her from here, Inuyasha?" Concern for her friend laced her every word. Inuyasha closed his eyes and bowed his head in complete misery and mumbled the one name none of them expected.

"Sesshomaru and I cannot track them because they must have left when it was still snowing. Their scent has been blown away." Three sets of eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief while a little kit cried for its mother.

Surprisingly the person to comfort the kit was not Sango, it was Inuyasha. He simply lifted the kit in his arms and began the journey back to the village.

XXXXXX

Kagome began to come up from her sickness induced sleep into a strange new world. Her head was fuzzy and sounds were muffled by the feeling of cotton in her ears. Her throat burned and her chest hurt. Coughs racked her body violently followed quickly by a set of sneezes that made her dizzy. She felt like her body should be being consumed by a fire as hot as she was. Wonderful! Inuyasha is going to be sooooo angry with me for getting sick. Through her watery eyes Kagome watched as a very tall very regal being entered the cave and began to walk towards her. Sesshomaru? I must be hallucinating.

A little voice soon confirmed she was not hallucinating. "Sesshomaru-samma! Rin is so happy you are back. Kagome-samma is very sick." The child's concern for the miko wafted off of her in waves to Sesshomaru's nose.

"You will make her better, won't you Sesshomaru-samma?" The child questioned her protector a hope and a belief in her protector clearing sparkling in her chocolate eyes.

The great youkai could only answer the child one way. "Yes, Rin. Now go to the other side of the fire with Jaken. You are not allowed near the miko while she is ill." Sesshomaru gave into Rin and still managed to keep his cool features blank.

Rin instantly complied and sat next to Jaken. Both of his companions watched as Sesshomaru began to break the leaves of the herb into a small pot of boiling water. As the plant broke down into the water, an herbal smell filled the air. Sesshomaru drained the liquid into a small cup coming to the miko's side. Sesshomaru sat next to her and placed the cup to his left. Kagome then got the shock of her life as she was lifted onto the taiyoukai's lap and leaned against his chest. His one arm then brought the liquid to her lips.

A cool voice spoke directly by her ear "You must drink all of this miko. The plant was near death from the cold and may not be as potent." Kagome recognized the smell of the liquid. She had given this to Shippou the last time he had been ill. Deciding Sesshomaru did not mean to kill her, yet, she drank the liquid.

It was as Kagome watched Sesshomaru place the cup onto the floor that she noticed his outer kimono was missing. Raising her hand to examine the plain white inner kimono, Kagome discovered where his outer kimono was exactly. She flushed with embarrassment and glanced to the fire only to be further embarrassed. She was not wearing her clothes under the kimono as she expected, they were lying by the fire.

Even though she knew she would regret asking the question she did it anyway. "Sesshomaru-samma, umm who removed my clothes?"

Sesshomaru glanced at the girl and wondered if her brain was being affected by the fever. Did she expect Rin was strong enough to remove her clothes? With his cool demeanor still in place Sesshomaru responded simply "I did."

If it was possible Kagome turned an even darker shade of red. Now she was really embarrassed the Sesshomaru had seen her naked!

"Do not worry about it human. You interest me not at all." The taiyoukai, in a rare show of kindness, sought to reassure her that her modesty was still intact. Instead of the gratitude he expected, he was rewarded with tears.

Sesshomaru merely gazed at her coldly and placed her back on the ground near the fire.

"You should sleep miko. Your body will heal faster that way." Kagome did not want to give in to the orders of the cold youkai but the herbs were beginning to have their affect.

She closed her hazy blue eyes and let sleep claim her. As soon as she was unconscious she once again felt safe and protected. How could this be she did not even feel this safe in Inuyasha's presence? Kagome decided to think about this when she did not feel like she was dying.

Authors Note

Not much happened in this chapter. This story may seem a bit slow at first but I have to make it that way for the story to work the way I have envisioned it.

To my reviewers:

Pyro the Dark Angel- Please forgive this humble person. I did not mean to offend anyone!

FluffyLover7- Thank you for marking this story on your favs list!

Your Crimson Death- Thank you for taking the time to read my story!

Sesshomaru20- Thank you for marking this story on your favs list!

SimpleDream- I hope my great start continues on into this chapter and all following chapters and everything goes as I have seen it. Thank you!

The first chapter of A Promise to Rin was hit on 200 times! I am so excited. Please

Review!

Lady Morganna