CHAPTER 4

ADMINISTRATION

When Rin and Jaken reached the spot where they'd last seen Sesshoumaru they started their search but didn't find anything.

"Where could he be?" Jaken asked, feeling discouraged. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know," Rin said. She began to examine some trees and the ground around them (they were farther in the woods now). "Do you think he abandond us?"

Jaken gave her a surprised look. "Lord Sesshoumaru would never do that!" he protested.

Rin said nothing. She just kept on examining the trees and ground. "Hey!" she exclaimed after a moment.

"What?" he asked.

"Come look at this!"

The bug eyed imp joined her. He looked where she pointed. "Blood?" he said.

She nodded. "It looks like it," was her reply. She looked up at him, her eyes watery. "Do you think it's..."

"If it is, it looks like something attacked him."

"But where is he now?"

"Whoever or whatever attacked him could have drug him off somewhere."

"Where?" she wanted to know.

He helped the little girl up. "That's what we're going to find out."

"Inuyasha."

A familiar voice roused the half demon. Slowly he opened his eyes. Through the rain that fell that half blinded his vision he saw someone he knew and loved staring down at him. "Kikyou?" he said, sitting up.

The woman scowled. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Inuyasha rubbed his head. "Trying to get away from Kagome."

Kikyou's scowl deepend. "Why?"

"Because she's a brat!"

"Oh."
He stood up and looked around. The woman watched him without saying much. Finally she asked. "What are you looking for?"

He shook his head. "My brother and the giant cat."

"What?"

"I ran into a giant demon cat earlier," he explained. "It had my brother on its back. I think it was going to eat him."

"I thought you didn't like your brother and now you're worried about him?"

"I don't like my brother, but I still don't want a giant cat eating him. What kind of fate is that?"

"Not a very pleasent one."

"That's right."

"What happened when you ran into it?"

"I fought it," he sounded proud.

"And you lost."

Inuyasha fell over. "Don't rub it in okay?" he said, getting in her face.

Kikyou chuckled. "Same attitude as always."

Inuyasha calmed down. "Can we talk about this after we get out of this rain?"

Kikyou seemed to be having a hard time with that question. Finally she agreed. "All right. Come with me."

The sound of thunder woke Sesshoumaru. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. This time he could see the house a little better because it was lit by a lamp.

The place looked like a small two-roomed shack. The furniture consisted of two cushions on the floor and small low to the ground Japanese table, a mat on the floor, where he slept, and something else he hadn't noticed before. A place to put weapons.

He saw Tensaiga and what looked like a bow and arrow quiver resting in it.

He tried to sit up but his body was numb. What did that cat do to me? Why can't I move? What did she put in my water?

Just that moment the cat girl came out of the other room. In her hands she held a bowl of ground herbs mixed with water and had bandages slung over her other arm.

She walked over to where he lay and sat down beside him on her knees. "Hello," she said smiling faintly. "Can you move? No, I don't think you can. I had to do that, sorry. I didn't want you waking up and feeling pain. It won't last long so don't worry. I think I'll bandage your shoulder while you still can't feel it."

She began to remove his ruined armer. "I need to take off your coat and whatever's under it," she explained. "Don't be alarmed. I'm not going to take off your pants. I just need to get everything off your upper body so I can see your wound better."

She threw the ruined armor aside then removed his coat and undershirt. She didn't even notice his left arm was missing from below the elbow. She was too focused on his right shoulder.

"You should see this! No, wait you don't want to. What did you do to yourself? Your arm looks like raw meat!"

Feeling was starting to return. He started to turn his head slightly.

"No, don't look at it!" she exclaimed, grabbing his head and pushing it the other way. "If you do you'll get sick! I know you will because I am and I usually have a strong stomach!"

Curiosity always wins.

Ignoring the kitten's warnings the dog demon looked toward his shoulder again and felt he would vomit. His shoulder looked terrible. It looked as if it had been mangled up by more than just Tetsusaiga. He was sure he could even see bone. His closed his eyes and ground his teeth. He had to look away and did.

"I told you not to look," the cat said, applying the herbs to the wound. "Looks like it could be infected. I shouldn't have waited so long to clean it. I hope you won't have to have your arm amputated."

Infection? Amputation? Oh gods, I hope not!

By then not only feeling was returning but pain as well.

He felt fire in his shoulder and gasped. He winced as she tried to make it better.

"I know it stings," she said softly. "But it will help."

It didn't. It made it worse!

By now feeling and pain were back and he could move again.

Sesshoumaru wrenched away from her. "Leave me alone!" he yelled.

The girl pulled him back. "Come on," she said.

He broke her grasp. "Don't touch me!"

Now she started to show signs of annoyance. "Don't-"

He sat up by himself. His eyes were red. He growled at her. "I'm fine!"

"You are not!" she argued. "You are injured by gods knows what! You probably have an infection! You could lose your arm as well as your life! Don't tell me you're fine!"

"I am!" He started to stand. "I've got to go. I won't be your house pet."

She grabbed the first thing her hand rested on. His pale hair. She yanked him back. "How far do you think you'll get with an infection!" she demanded.

He swatted at her, his arm seemed to catch fire when he did. "I don't need your help!"

"Yes, you do!"

"No..."

She scratched his arm with her long finger nails. He winced as blood came out of the wound. Now he was mad.

He slapped her. She hissed and yanked hard on his hair. He fell over and almost flattened her with his body when he did.

"Now you've done it!"

A tussle broke out but it didn't last very long. If Sesshoumaru hadn't lost so much blood from his wound he would have beat her but because of that fact he didn't. He was just too weak.

After a few minutes the cat girl was able to pin him down on the bed and keep him there. "Now," she said, panting. "Are you going to hold still for me or do I have to knock you out?"

He was panting harder than she was. He didn't have the energy to move anymore. He said nothing.

Since she received no reply she took it as he was going to let her help him. The cat girl got off of him and started working on his wound again.

He let her. His fight had opened it again. He didn't want to lose anymore blood.

I should have just let her work on it from the beginning. She's right. I don't have enough strength to go anywhere. I wouldn't have gotten very far if I had tried.

He lay there, silent, and listened to the rain. How could I have been such a fool!

"Your little fight with me made it bleed again," she said more to herself than to him.

He still said nothing. The girl finished taking care of his shoulder. Though she was gentle it still hurt.

By the time she was done it hurt worse.

"Sorry," she said, tying the bandage. "I didn't want to do that to you. You gave me no choice. I hope you understand..."
The cat girl got up and walked into the other room.

She said she was sorry? What should I have to learn to understand? Why should I care anyway?

He turned on his side and closed his eyes and ground his teeth.. I hope one of these days I learn to understand...

The pain in his shoulder was getting worse. A deep cut... it reached all the nerves... that's why... it hurts so much... I wish it would stop... I wish I were dead...

He clawed at the wound with his right hand. I'll kill myself with my own poison!

One claw went in. He gasped in agony and removed it.

He lay on his back again. The world started to swim in front of his eyes. His body went limp. Everything went black.

His last concious thought was. That worked rather quickly...

The cat girl entered the room a moment later and immediatly sensed something was wrong. She looked where she'd left Sesshoumarua. He was lying completely still with his mouth and eyes open. Even though he looked awake he didn't seem to be breathing.

Don't tell me he did what I think he did!

She ran up to him and knelt down. She was right. He wasn't breathing. What did he do to himself?

That's when she noticed something green running down his chest from his right shoulder. He did! He poisoned himself!
She dug her claws into his arm. How could you have been so stupid!

She quickly cleaned off the poison but knew there was no way to get it out of his system. Unless... she thought, glancing down at the thing hanging on a chain around her neck.

She's heard stories about these things. Maybe it would work for her too? Quickly the cat girl took it off and placed the small object on his chest. "Please, return him. Remove the poison. Bring him back! Please..."

The thing lit up with a soft gently pink glow. The poison seemed to be coming out of his body and seeping into the stone. She was surprised. She hadn't expected it to work.

By the time the glow faded and all the poison was in the stone Sesshoumaru took a deep breath of air. As he let it out his eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

The cat girl sighed in relief. Why did he try to kill himself? she thought. He can't be in that much pain. Can he? Then again; lots of people can't stand a lot of pain. They want it to go away. Any way possible.

She glanced down at the tiny pick object in her hand. I wish this could do more than remove poison. I wish it could remove pain as well...

She put the necklase back on. She leaned over and pulled the blankets back over the dog demonAs she did her sensative ears picked up a slight wheeze in his breathing.

Probably from losing so much blood, she figured, pulling the blanket over his still exposed chest. Hopefully it won't last much longer.

A/N

Sorry for any offensive material in this chapter. Don't get mad. I have a weird imagination. Let me just explain one thing though. Sesshy wasn't thinking clearly that's why he tried to kill himself that's all.