Chapter 34
Kagome winced, rubbing Sango's back as her sister vomited once again. Sango had gotten her first symptom of pregnancy, and it just so happened to be horrific morning sickness. She couldn't keep anything down at all. Her body had rejected any kind of food, even tea, that they had given her.
"Perhaps this?" Miroku held up the leaves of a vine, his brows pinched in worry. He had literally carried Sango to her that morning after Sango had been unable to stand. Both Kagome and Miroku could admit that they had never met someone who had suffered so severely due to pregnancy.
"We tried that." Kagome snapped, then sighed and gave Miroku an apologetic glance. "We tried every herb for nausea that we can think of. There has to be something else we are missing." When Sango finished heaving once more, Kagome helped her to lay on the bed so she could sleep. The slayer passed out as soon as she laid down, no longer having the energy to even stay awake.
"We have tried everything that we can for her, Kagome. At this rate…" Miroku trailed off, worry in his eyes. As a healer, he knew the best course of action. Sango couldn't keep going like this. It was likely that she would get dehydrated and her body would not last long like that. They had a few days at most before Sango would take a critical turn.
"Don't say it." Kagome felt tears spring to her eyes, knowing the dark turn Miroku's thoughts had taken. If they couldn't figure this out, Miroku was going to have to make a choice. He was either going to have to take a chance and potentially lose his child and soul bonded, or he would have to end the pregnancy. Neither option ended happily.
"What am I supposed to do, Kagome? I can't lose Sango." His voice broke, his eyes going to look at his wife. Sango was pale, no color to her skin. She was sleeping roughly, her fingers twitching ever so slightly. Her breathing was harsh and erratic. She wasn't doing good at all.
"Give me until tomorrow morning before you make any decisions. Let me go to the library and research. I'm not going to give up yet, Miroku." She grabbed his hand, begging him to wait.
"I don't want to give up either, Kagome." Miroku squeezed her hand, and she could see his heartbreaking at the choice that was coming. She couldn't fathom it, having to decide what course to take when each option ended in the loss of someone you loved.
"Then don't. I'll do research. I'll see if I can find anything." Kagome quickly hugged Miroku, holding him as tightly as she could. When she let him go, she fled the room, running as fast as she could. The tears were streaming down her face, heart clenching in her chest. She felt as if she was going to be sick.
Sango was a healthy human. She had no problems and hadn't been sick since Kagome had elongated her life so long ago. That was why this devastated Kagome so fiercely. Knowing that they may lose the baby was mortifying as it was, but there was a high possibility that this was all Kagome's fault.
Sango should have died a long time ago. However, Kagome had shared her reiki to keep that from happening. That was the only difference between Sango and any other normal human woman. It was the only reason that came to mind when Kagome tried to think what was happening. A side effect of sorts.
She needed to go to the library, to see what information Touga had on the shikon miko. There had to be something that she missed, something that even she and Miroku didn't know that could fix this mess. Anything that would help her to save her sister in law and their defenseless baby.
Rushing into the library, she went to the section on legends, looking for anything that would pertain to her research. She skimmed over titles, then did it again when she came up with nothing. Not one single book on the shikon miko. Closing her eyes, Kagome hunched over, leaning against a shelf as she breathed as deeply as she could, trying to calm her mind, to think clearly.
Touga knew she was the shikon miko. He knew she wanted to keep her identity a secret. If he had any books on the shikon miko, he wouldn't keep it in the library for just anyone to read. He would keep it close to him, protected. His study, or his bedroom. Right now, she knew Touga was in his study, so that was the first place she went.
She didn't even knock, choosing instead to barge in. Sesshomaru and Izayoi were there, the three of them standing with concern. She didn't have time to explain. "Books. I need books on the shikon miko."
"What, Kagome-"
"Now, Touga!" She snapped, running over to his bookshelf, and skimming over those titles too. Letting out a frustrated groan when she found nothing, she began to pull her hair hard, growing more and more desperate. "Where are they?"
"Enough." Sesshomaru grabbed her hands, releasing her hair. Gently, he pulled her into his embrace, brushing away the tears that were cascading down her face. "Breathe, Kagome, then tell us what has happened."
"Sango." Kagome gripped his haori, fisting it into her hands. "She's sick, and I think it's my fault." She couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her body then, so she hid her face, holding onto Sesshomaru as if he was a lifeline. "I think my reiki has done something to her. She's so sick, can't keep her food down, not even tea. Nothing is working. Miroku is… he is thinking of ending the pregnancy because if we can't help her, she may die."
"I don't understand." Touga walked around his desk, worried for several reasons. If Sango was being affected by Kagome's reiki, Izayoi would too. "Why now? After all of these years, why would your reiki have an adverse effect?"
"Perhaps Miroku's reiki is fighting with the reiki Kagome gave to Sango?" Sesshomaru suggested, rocking Kagome as he thought of what he just learned. "Miroku is strong, not as strong as Kagome, but enough that he would breed that strength into any child he sired. Kagome did not give much of her reiki to either Sango or Izayoi when she elongated their lives, but she gave enough. Perhaps the reiki in the child is fighting with the reiki Kagome sacrificed. Miroku's energy would be overpowering Kagome's. It is the same with hanyous. InuYasha suffered the same before Kagome tamed it."
"InuYasha's blood fought against each other because one side was stronger than the other. If Kagome had given more of her reiki, then perhaps this wouldn't be happening." Touga whispered, a hand on his chin as he thought of what Sesshomaru had said.
"What of me?" Izayoi had a hand on her belly, shaking from her worry and fear. "What about my baby?"
"I don't think it will affect you like that." Kagome whispered, starting to calm down. "My reiki won't hurt the demon in your child, and because you have no reiki, you should be okay. With Sango, Miroku's reiki is attacking mine. I can save her, and the baby."
Kagome knew they were going to argue against her, knew they wouldn't allow it, so she didn't tell them what she planned. She just teleported away, reappearing in the room with Sango and Miroku. Rushing to her brother, she stole one of his charged sutra's, and slammed it on the door frame. The moment she did, Sesshomaru ran into the invisible barrier, unable to get through.
"Kagome. Do not." His fangs were bared, warning her not to do what she had planned. He could read her like an open book, knew that she would be willing to sacrifice her life to save someone else. He was desperate to stop her. Touga and Izayoi were behind him.
Turning from Sesshomaru, Kagome focused on Miroku instead. "I think I can save her. We have a theory. The reiki you passed down to your child is fighting the reiki I gave Sango. I didn't give her enough. If I give her more-"
"You will die!" Miroku shouted, standing to his feet. "Look at what happened when you gave your reiki to Izayoi. You can't take that chance, Kagome. You can't ask me to choose between your life, Sango's, and my baby's."
"I'm not asking you to choose. I'm making a decision." Kagome held her head high, determined. She would save Sango and that baby, even if it was the last thing she did.
"Kagome. Please." Sesshomaru placed his hand on the barrier, his voice a soft whisper. She could feel his desperation, his terror at the possibility of losing her. Closing her eyes, Kagome pushed as much love as she could through their bond, ignoring the snarl he let out in response.
"Miroku, stop her." Touga ordered, slamming his fist on the barrier. "We can find another way. There has to be another option."
"What the fuck do you expect me to do?" Miroku was pacing, forced with a decision that he couldn't possibly make. His sister, or his wife.
"Izayoi." Touga turned to Izayoi, who nodded quickly and ran through the barrier. She was going to be the only problem left, and Kagome knew she had to move quickly, or this wasn't going to happen at all.
Kneeling by Sango, Kagome let her power loose, felt her eyes turn white as she made the connection she needed to. She faintly heard Izayoi, felt as Izayoi grabbed her shoulder, but she ignored it, ignored the yells, and the snarls. She was going to do this.
It took no time at all to find the reiki she had given Sango so long ago. It was as if it was tucked away in a corner, hiding from the reiki that was the baby's. It was no match for the power that Miroku had bred onto his daughter.
Wasting no time, Kagome pushed more of her reiki into Sango. She felt the agonizing pain, felt the fire go through her body. She couldn't even scream, stuck in a frozen state of torment. Her head went back, her skin wetting from the blood leaking from her eyes, nose and mouth. The more she gave Sango, the worse it was. The pain finally broke through her body, a scream forcing its way out of her lungs as she began to convulse, but she kept a hold of Sango, kept pushing her reiki into her.
It wasn't until she was almost done that, she realized a problem. Miroku's energy wasn't settling down. If anything, it was getting worse, more aggressive. Sango was thrashing just as much as Kagome, the energy inside of her fighting more intensely than it had been before.
Kagome was giving everything she had, and it wasn't going to be enough. Opening her eyes, Kagome looked down at Sango, seeing the frail jerking body of her sister. She should have known. She should have seen it beforehand. Miroku's reiki was bred into the little girl tucked inside Sango's womb. It was supposed to be there.
Kagome's reiki wasn't. It was a foreign energy, an invader. The baby was protecting itself from the unknown. Pushing more reiki into Sango wasn't the answer. It was the worst thing Kagome could do. Seeing it now, Kagome pulled her reiki back in, feeling the pain beginning to subside. Instead of forcing her reiki on the child, she tentatively made contact, soothed her niece and the child's fear. She made sure the baby knew that while Kagome's reiki was an invader, it wouldn't hurt her.
That was what the baby had needed, and once it knew the threat was gone, the energy inside the baby calmed, lulled back into the sleep it had been in before. Sango would be okay, and the baby would as well.
Gasping, Kagome broke the connection between Sango and herself, awareness snapping back to her. Izayoi and Miroku were holding her, both of them frantically trying to get her attention. Her body went weak, falling over limp as the edges of her vision darkened. She could see their faces, could see their worry and fear.
Tilting her head up, she looked up to the door frame, trying to see Sesshomaru one last time. He was there, feral. Touga was struggling to hold him back, to keep him calm enough that he didn't tear down the shiro. His beast was free once more, claws tearing at the wall as he tried to dig his way through the barrier. "Sesshomaru."
It was the only thing her weak body could manage. It was enough. He went rigid at the sound of his name, snapping his head to face her. Using the last of her energy, she gave him a smile, one last push of her love through their bond, and then she let go. She let her world end around her.
...
Here goes Kagome, throwing her life away from others. She did that a lot in the anime too. She is so selfless and selfish all at the same time. Sorry to leave you on a cliffy, that's just how it played out. I would offer another challenge, but what happens isn't wrapped up in the next chapter either. lol. I'm kind of anxious about the new chapter, because I'm worried that something Miroku does is too cheesy, but I guess we will see Monday. I hope you all enjoyed.
