Last time:

Despite her confusion, and the nauseating pain, Kagome's face lit up in a smile. She was home. She was loved. She was safe. "I'm good."

Inu Yasha stood outside the door, a wince settling on his features. He turned to Mrs. Higurashi. "Better not to tell her yet."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded and moved gently into the room.

Dishonor

Ch. 6

Hated and Deservedly So

Shippou sat huddled beneath the overhang of an outlying hut in Kaede's village. His small form was barely noticeable against the red dirt he sat upon. Indeed, the kit's fur was so matted and dirty that he felt like soggy papier mache to the touch. His green bow had long since disappeared into the tangled, brown mess. Even the boy's clothes were hard to distinguish. He sat shivering, his sopping tail wrapped around his body so that only his eyes remained uncovered- and staring. The rain ran off the roof in a continual sheet, splattering the abandoned kit with mud he did not feel. He had neither moved nor eaten in nine days… nor spoken, nor cried.

Inu Yasha had woken them all that night. Inu Yasha had sent his mother out alone, and nearly four days later he had woken feral. He offered them no harm after growling so viciously as to awaken even the old miko, merely disappeared. They had worried then, but not overly so, knowing that he held Tetsaiga within his grasp. When he returned on the dawn of the third day, alone, without the fang, and smelling of tears, the kit's heart had broke. His mother had been dying.

oooooooooooooo

Ms. Higurashi leaned over her daughter's upturned face and, chin quivering, smiled. She cupped her daughter's cheek in her hand and kissed her on the nose. Kagome bit her lip at the action, her face crumpling as she recalled the soothing gesture.

After her father's car accident, six year old Kagome had woken with nightmares for weeks on end, and each night the young girl had woken to her mother's touch, smile, and a kiss on the nose.

Ms. Higurashi sat beside her daughter in the little niche her son had just vacated. "We were worried about you." She stroked her daughter's cheek, purposefully training her mind on the simple task. It would do her daughter no good to see her cry.

Kagome stayed very still, brutally aware of her body. "How did I get here?"

Ms. Higurashi answered softly, her voice uncertain, "you brought yourself home. There was an awful sound, like lightning when it strikes nearby, and a blinding flash. You appeared beneath the Goshinboku, surrounded in your power. By the time I reached you the glow was gone. I hadn't yet kneeled at your side before Inu Yasha came up out of the well and was sprinting towards you. He had us both in the air before I could call out to Souta for help. The paramedics were taking you from us even as I realized Inu Yasha had brought us to the hospital. You stayed in a coma for two days, woke momentarily during the 46th hour of your treatment, and then slept in delirium for almost a week. This is the ninth day of your stay, marked from the end of your coma."

"The ninth day of my stay…?"

Ms. Higurashi looked at her daughter's face, unable to forget the sight of her daughter's broken body. "Yes, my dearest. This time you will not be able to return to hunt for shards."

Kagome's body reacted with a jerk, and she promptly cried out in angony. With tears standing in her eyes she pleaded, "it's not Yasha's fault Momma! He'll take care of me." Her voice rose in pitch, even as her mother shook her head, "I have to go back! I- I have to!"

And then she was sobbing.

Inu Yasha watched silently from the doorway, his face completely blank. Then, for the first time, he left Kagome without any intention of coming back.

This is an intro/part one type deal. It's to get me going again… hopefully. ;

Look for part two in a couple days. Thanks for staying with me!