- CHAPTER FOUR – PROMISE -


Kagome rubbed her bare arms in the chill, exhaling in a cloud as she examined brittle herbs and jars of mashed salve laid out across the floor. Choosing a small bundle of dried bark, she shredded it with practiced fingers and looked to the sullen hanyou.

"Eat this."

He hadn't forgiven her for uncovering his interest in Shippo's remarks, and was annoyed he needed her help. "Why?"

She pushed it under his nose. "It'll slow the infection."

"What kind of poison did that youkai use?" Inu-Yasha pinched the bark in two fingers, pressing it to his tongue and making a face at the taste, swallowing quickly.

"One that eats skin," Kagome held up the string used to bind the medicine. "Tie back your hair. I'll need it out of the way."

Inu-Yasha took the cord and slung the white mess into an awkward ponytail, leaning back without being asked. Kagome rose to her knees and shuffled over. With gentle hands, she peeled off the makeshift bandage of dress, completely soaked now in browning blood.

They sat in his room, lavish tapestries once meant for display spread without order or design beneath them. They were there for Inu-Yasha's preference of going barefoot, serving as rugs rather than décor. The walls were bare rock, as every other chamber in the mountain, and save for an unlit fireplace and a large bed, the room was empty. High vaulted ceilings made their voices echo in the barren space.

Inu-Yasha winced. "Why haven't I begun to heal?"

Kagome held out a finger for quiet, staring at the gashes across his torso intently. Congealed blood mixed with the beginnings of foam, and the yellow she remembered from the field had reached his navel, deepening to an ugly purple at the wound's edge.

"Inu-Yasha," she dragged a basin of scalding water close. "You'd be dead right now if you were human."

"What?" He jerked his head up from the floor. "From a weak forest youkai?"

"It appears his claws secreted an aggressive toxin," water teetered near the brim as she stopped the basin by her hip. "I'm willing to bet your insides would've been eaten within an hour. It's amazing you've walked upright this long."

"Can you treat it?"

Kagome dipped a thick towel into the steaming bowl, careful not to burn her skin. "I think so. But it's going to hurt."

Inu-Yasha returned his neck to the tapestries. "I'm used to pain. Go ahead."

She dabbed the towel to his chest. "Sorry for this."

"Keh. You're not."

"Ready?" Her arm tensed.

He nodded and hissed as her dab turned to furious rub. Kagome scoured the wound, returning the towel again and again to water, making the basin go first cloudy, then brown. She forgot its heat, plunging the cloth wrist deep. Working in silence, she concentrated on where his muscles tensed most, easing her strokes at the worst areas, but mentally noting the state of each.

Eventually, Inu-Yasha's body became stone under her, and she couldn't tell where her scrub hurt more. He had forced his hands into fists, and his knuckles were white and shaking at his sides. Blood trickled from his palms as he held back all noise.

It wasn't helpful.

"Hey," she continued to clean, trying to distract him. "Did you mean what you said?"

Inu-Yasha pulled his gaze from the ceiling. "What?" The question came out clipped and restrained.

Kagome admired his willpower, but she knew reacting to pain was a powerful tool; it had always led her to internal damage quickly. With him holding back, she'd glean little. She cleared her throat. "About only taking what's given? Did you mean it?"

Her question had the desired effect; his lower torso spasmed as the cloth moved down to it, and she stared at the purple skin with a sharp eye.

Pain spotted Inu-Yasha's vision. "W-Why are you asking?" He shook his head, trying to rid it of its dizzy spin as the room started to blur and sway.

Kagome noticed immediately. Setting the towel beside the basin, she bent down and palmed the sides of his face. "Look at me, it'll make it better."

Her fingers were warm at his jaw and helped ground the surging vertigo. Inu-Yasha met her gaze.

"Just keep staring," she said gently. "I'm going to make a poultice that will pull the poison up and out. If you watch, it'll ease your dizziness."

Her eyes were kind and patient as they held his, stilling the last of the spin. She had never looked at him with such caring. Powerless, he fumbled for his voice. "How did you—?"

Kagome offered a small smile. "I've seen men bigger than you lose themselves to delirium. Vertigo is a symptom. The fever that beds with deep wounds is often more dangerous than the injury itself," her clutch was as reassuring as her stare. "Ready to keep going?"

Inu-Yasha realized she had to be like this with all her patients; it was part of her bedside manner. "Of course," he stiffened – embarrassed he'd thought it was just for him. "This is nothing."

Kagome felt him tense against her touch and withdrew. Reaching over, she grabbed a small, porcelain dish etched in blue markings of protection and healing. "Stole this from an old healer did you?" Her smile turned scolding as she scooped up powders and thick plant stalks.

Inu-Yasha grunted acknowledgment.

She had spoken earlier just to grab his attention, but found another comment slip out unbidden. "Guess permission doesn't always have to be given then."

He managed a scoff. "You know what I was referring to."

Kagome took the dish's matching pestle and began grinding the dried stalks. "But did you mean it?"

"Why do you care?"

Her eyes fell to the bowl. "I'm deciding whether or not you're a complete liar."

Inu-Yasha propped himself up on his elbows, ignoring the cry from his chest as his pain-muddled thoughts grew sharp and clear. Was this temperamental human actually offering out an olive branch? "I did," he said slowly.

"How can you?" Doubt loaded her question. "You steal everything else."

Inu-Yasha watched her deftly mash ingredients together. "Sex is different," he answered.

"No, it's not," Kagome added water. "It's just another commodity."

"Hardly," he tried catching her eye, but she stared resolutely at the dish. She was the one who had started this, and now didn't want to look at him? Unbelievable. "You just don't know what it's really like," he said.

"You do?" Kagome's hand faltered.

There was no boast in his answer. "Of course."

"Who was she?"

Normally, he would have waved away the nosiness, but the returning creep of fever made his mouth open before he could stop himself. "A priestess."

"Human?" She stopped grinding.

"Yes."

Kagome tested the poultice, rubbing some between her fingers. Satisfied, she dug a handful from the mortar and began spreading it generously.

Inu-Yasha winced. "It's cold."

"That's good," she smeared the gashes. "You can still feel temperature."

"Kagome?"

Her name drew her eyes up.

"What's the verdict?" His gaze grabbed hers. "Am I lying?"

"I don't know," she couldn't look away. "I've never heard someone make such a promise."

Inu-Yasha's heart started stampeding in his chest, and he tried to keep it calm. "I meant it," he said evenly.

Kagome forced herself back to the poultice, feeling his eyes linger. Emptying the bowl, she applied a thick layer to his midsection, patting and smearing with wide strokes. When she'd finished, she clasped her hands together. "All done," she murmured

Inu-Yasha nodded and started to rise, but she cupped his bicep in an instant.

"Not yet," she said. "It has to dry."

He frowned. "So, I'm just supposed to lay here?"

"For a bit," Kagome withdrew, wiping the remnants of ointment with the towel. "I'm going to build a fire."

"Why?"

She pushed off her knees and stood. "It's freezing in here."

"Oh," Inu-Yasha looked around the room. "Sorry," his glance fell to the meager pile of wood stacked in the rarely-lit fireplace. "I can get more delivered for us."

Kagome waved him away as she walked across the tapestries, toes sinking into weaves of gold, red, and blue. "Its fine," she bent down and started sorting through the supply, quietly organizing scraps of tinder and spindly limbs. "So," she spoke over her shoulder. "Is this where I'll be sleeping then?" Practiced hands grabbed a nearby log and began ripping off thin slivers to add to the pile.

The question came out casual, but Inu-Yasha heard its undercurrent of fear. "I really meant it," he repeated. "You're not here to sleep with me."

Kagome ripped at the log harder. "Then why did we have to put on such a display for your men?"

The hanyou sighed. "Because I...," he closed his eyes, feeling woozy from the burning sear in his middle. "I don't bring women back here. I've been their leader for fifty years, and my 'conquests' are only ever talked about. Passed around like gossip."

Kagome paused as she thought of the group gawking in the main hall. Still on her knees, she shuffled around to face him. "Why does that matter?"

"You know why," Inu-Yasha picked one of his elbows off the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew this conversation was heading in a bad direction; he could feel her righteousness starting to stir already. "Having their respect is vital," he said anyway.

Kagome fidgeted with one of the pried-off slivers in her hands. "There are more important—and lasting—ways of gaining loyalty."

"I know that," he snapped. "I'm not a fool."

"You sound like one," she countered flatly.

Inu-Yasha let his arm drop.

Kagome thought a moment. "What do you mean about 'bringing women back'?" A hard edge crept into her voice. "Are slave girls a common find for your clansmen?"

He hesitated.

"Don't lie," she warned.

A deep sigh slipped from him, deflating his chest in defeat. "They've been captured from time to time."

Kagome paled. "And you're worried about falling short in their eyes?"

"Look," Inu-Yasha grew cross. "I know it doesn't make me less of a man, but they don't!"

She rocked back in her seat, bending and twisting the sliver of wood beyond recognition. He watched her wreck havoc on it, breaking it into sharp, fraying bits, oblivious to his stare.

Her voice went quiet. "So, you allow them to do what Naraku did to me?"

Inu-Yasha blanched. "No! Not at all!" He sat up in a rush, biting fangs into his lower lip as the room swung wildly. "Most of the time the girls are just looking for a hot meal and a bit of kindness—."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "And they pay for such willingly?"

He fell silent, and her disgusted scoff punched him in the stomach. Admitting failings wasn't something he did, and old, swept-under-the-rug practices he continued to allow was a painful confession. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, shame coloring his cheeks.

Kagome stayed in her crouch, staring down at the stolen works of art beneath her feet. "This," she said coldly. "Is a horrible place," she looked over. "And you're a horrible person."

Inu-Yasha flinched.

"I was wrong," she said. "I'd have been better off in Kanaka."

Her words cut deeper than any forest youkai's claws. "It wasn't safe there," he started.

"Not any safer here," she spat, visibly trembling as she rested on her heels. Unspoken fury fought her desire to appear composed and detached, and Inu-Yasha watched the inner battle with flattened ears.

He shook his head. "I'll protect you."

"My hero."

The Ouja leader palmed the floor and stood with a soft moan. He wanted to tell her how right she was, how he had balanced on the edge of a knife in the beginning of his leadership, poised to topple into the forgotten shelves of history unless he made some concessions. Now it was a matter of convenience over necessity; a matter he rarely examined. Instead, he cleared his throat. "I stand by my choice," he kept his tone even. "You'll have a better life here with us than you could've ever had in that human city."

"With us?" Kagome asked incredulously. Dropping the remnants of sliver, she reached her arms behind her head and retrieved her hair, desperately needing its partition as she pulled it over each shoulder, letting it shield the sides of her face.

Barefoot steps crossed the room, and Kagome felt a clawed hand settle on her back. She flinched at its weight and looked up reluctantly, knowing her eyes were misty with emotion. "There is no 'better life' Inu-Yasha," the sting of frustrated tears threatened to overflow, and she struggled to rein them in. "There's nothing for me – or those girls wanting 'hot meals' – anywhere."

The building vulnerability in her face robbed the strength from his legs, and Inu-Yasha ignored his torso's scream, dropping to his knees in front of her. "You have this mountain," he cupped her cheek awkwardly as a sensation he rarely felt curled around his heart. What was it? Tenderness? "Ouja is the place for all outcasts," he said softly. "Remember how I said there were no families here?"

Kagome stiffened under his touch.

"All of the children are orphans. They have no one and nowhere to go. We're their family now."

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the sadness that spilled down her cheeks – she didn't want him to see her so weak. It ran trails over Inu-Yasha's hand anyway, seeping salty wet between his fingers. "A family who steals, and hurts, and kidnaps women?" She choked out.

He thumbed her tears. "None of my men will touch you, I swear it," he let his hand fall away, closing it into a fist. "If they do, I'll kill them where they stand."

Kagome registered the sentiment numbly. "What of the other Kanaka women? What will be their fate?"

Inu-Yasha thought for a moment, trying to remember when the last one had even been taken. "There are none here now," he finally said. "But if any more ever are, I'll make sure they're returned immediately."

"Why?"

"Why?" Inu-Yasha stared as if the answer were obvious. "Because their capture upsets you."

Kagome fought a familiar inner war – one which pitted self-interest with the well-being of others. What price would she have to pay for such a magnanimous decree? "I don't owe you anything for a decency most would consider a right," she muttered.

Inu-Yasha nodded. "I know," he agreed simply. "And I would have to possess such decency first, to be owed anything."

Kagome's mouth fell. "S-So," she sputtered. "You admit—?"

"That I've made mistakes in my reign?" He supplied, cutting her off and fixing her with serious stare. "Yes, of course I have," he fought the urge to retake her cheek. "I don't claim to be perfect Kagome, I only say that I won't let you come to any harm."

She jerked away as though slapped. He had turned a blind eye to years of abduction, but would end it to please her? The thought of him thinking her so important was repulsive. "Get away from me," she spat.

Inu-Yasha frowned, losing patience. "What more do you want from me? This is who my clan is."

Kagome tucked her hair behind her ears, meeting his stare. "I want you to let me go and leave me alone."

"I won't do that."

She wiped her eyes hastily, banishing back further tears. "Then you're as much of a monster as your men."

Inu-Yasha sank back on his heels, looking troubled and tired. "Fine," he raked a hand down his face. "You've got me."

Kagome glanced lower and noticed the beginnings of new blood starting to mingle with his poultice. Straightening from her crouch, she sniffled and rose, grateful to slip back into a role far from this exchange. "You need to lie down," she cleared her throat and gestured to the bed. "My medicine won't help until it's dry."

Inu-Yasha stared. She looked so fragile—far from the calm coldness of Kanaka—and he joined her, getting to his feet and sniffing the air to see if she hated him. He had done a lot to deserve it – capture, coercion, a steady barrage of insults.

This latest revelation could be the final straw.

Her scent filled his nose, and its allure made him think of her collar. He tried resisting, but the pull was hypnotic.

An animal noise, akin to a rumble, started in the back of his throat; Inu-Yasha didn't realize he was even making it.

Kagome led him the few paces to the room's only piece of furniture. "Lie down," she instructed.

The rumble grew.

He did as he was told, but kept himself up on his elbows, continuing to stare.

Kagome heard the noise, now loud enough to be a low growl, and watched his nose sniff over and over. "Hey Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah?" His voice sounded like it had in the tunnel.

"What are you doing?"

He inhaled deeply in answer.

Kagome studied him for a long moment. "I don't smell like maggots, do I?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head vehemently. "No."

She leaned forward and gently pressed down on his shoulders. He allowed himself to be eased back into the pillows, his rumble filling the space between them.

Kagome watched in growing curiosity, getting the distinct impression that nobody was home, or at least the door was unlocked, and decided to test. "You shouldn't let your men steal from the city."

"It keeps up appearances," he replied without qualm. "If we're seen as brigands, people will be afraid of us and stay away."

"But women?"

Inu-Yasha's eyes drifted to a small, unseen point on the wall. "I'll make them stop," he turned to face her, his gaze unfocused. "I'm sorry."

"Good," she nodded. "Now, I want you to let me go."

His growl increased, hiking to a continuous drone. "No. You stay."

"Why?"

His nose twitched in answer, inhaling more of whatever was affecting him. "I want to keep you."

Kagome cheeks flushed. "You can't."

"I will."

She straightened from her lean over the bed. "Would you hurt me if I tried to leave?"

His faraway eyes considered. "I think I would hurt anyone for you," the noise in his throat eddied. "But not you."

Kagome felt a flare of her easily-called temper alight. "I don't need someone championing on my behalf."

"You do."

"Fine," she rephrased. "I don't want it."

Inu-Yasha rose from the bed and extended an arm to her collar, reaching for the patch of skin he'd made rough. "You have it anyway."

She staggered away, avoiding his hand, and her departure gave his senses a bit of reprieve. Inu-Yasha shook his head, regaining enough faculties to look around. Ears swiveled in her direction, picking out the spike of anger in her heavily-beating heart.

He eyed her warily. "What it is?"

Kagome swallowed. "Nothing."

Inu-Yasha's gaze narrowed as he misinterpreted her pulse. "Did you try to make a move on me?" He accused. "I'm practically an invalid here. Where's your code of ethics?"

Her eyes bugged. "I would never—!"

She saw him start to smirk and rushed back to the mattress, making to punch him in the arm. "You're such a jerk!"

Inu-Yasha caught her fist, closing his palm over it. "And you're a nosy, little pot-stirrer," he countered. "What did you have me say?"

Kagome's face, completely out of control, began to redden. "What?"

"You're a terrible liar," he said. "My mind is clouded by fever, and all you can do is pry?"

"I'm wish I hadn't," she murmured. Who was he to call her a liar? To him, 'protection' meant 'imprisoned'. His hypocrisy was as deluded as it was self-serving.

Inu-Yasha grimaced. "Out with it woman. I've obviously been forthcoming," he released her. "What were we talking about?

Kagome bit her lip. "Just... more about your clan."

"My past is my business," he snapped. "Don't go meddling in me."

"We didn't talk about you."

Inu-Yasha gauged her, knowing the conflict stirring her scent was because of him. "Go start your fire," he grumbled, rolling to the far wall in an unmistakable pout.

Kagome jumped towards the fireplace; she had completely forgotten the cold. Crossing to it with escaping steps, she bent to her abandoned pile of slivers. A few rolls of curled bark lay nearby, sitting against a pair of almost-new firestones. Of the duo, she picked the pyrite up and turned it in her hands, shocked to see one so pristine. They were usually passed down through families, or picked up in luck after months of searching. Often struck and re-struck until they crumbled, this one only had a dozen nicks where it had met its flint brother.

Kagome looked over her shoulder, wanting to ask where he'd gotten it.

Inu-Yasha's eyes were closed, but his ears were alert; he was listening. She frowned. It could wait.

Pivoting back to the pile of wood before her, she tore a few larger pieces from her earlier log, arranging the tinder and kindling with swift, sure fingers. Focusing on the familiar task, she let her mind go blank. Routine had always brought soothing calm in Kanaka – it offered escape when every physical door remained barred.

Taking the stones, Kagome held them close to the bark and struck them together. A spark jumped from the pyrite and landed precisely, sending a tendril of smoke up into the air. Leaning down, she fed the young flame, blowing gently until the flicker caught, blackening her tinder. She moved larger legs of wood over the infant heat, nursing it until a robust fire burned in the hearth. Kagome watched the dancing light and sat back on her heels, savoring its smell. As she breathed deeply, her thoughts wandered back to Inu-Yasha.

He was dangerous, duplicitous and… confusing. He'd make his men stop kidnapping from Kanaka because she told him to, hurt anyone to keep her safe, but not let her leave? He claimed his mountain was a haven, when it wasn't, and spoke of orphans and belonging as if he were offering sanctuary. It didn't make sense.

Why was Inu-Yasha so candid in the first place? He mentioned fever, but had behaved strangely before. Did his nose put him in a trance? He had sniffed her twice since they'd arrived at the range, both times after arguments. Could he smell emotion in her scent? Was he checking how upset she'd been?

Kagome sniffed her arm, scrunching her face as she picked out forest dirt, sweat, and the remnants of blood. "I need a bath," she muttered aloud. Inspecting the fire a final time, she stood and returned to the side of the bed.

Inu-Yasha still faced the wall, but his ears were no longer vigilant, now drooping down into his white hair. Sweat had begun to bead on his brow, and a flush had crept across his features.

Kagome frowned and leaned over, palming his forehead. It was hot to the touch, and she recoiled.

"Are you awake?" She whispered.

He didn't stir.

Kagome crossed around the base of the bed and retrieved the basin of dirty water from the floor, knowing she needed it fresh for a compact. Cradling the bowl against her hip, she walked to the door, small and unassuming for the entrance to a leader's quarters. Her fingers hovered, hesitating over the metal ring, before she clasped it and lifted experimentally.

She had expected it to be locked. Despite Inu-Yasha's declaration of a better life, she was still his captive in this lair of stone.

It wasn't. The door began to creak open. Glancing over her shoulder, Kagome saw Inu-Yasha in the same position; there was no tenseness in his frame, as if he was only pretending to see what she'd do. He was fast asleep.

She could escape right now. Make a break for it. Her mind raced; she couldn't retrace her steps back to the main hall – not with so many hanyou there. But she could go farther into the mountain. Maybe he wouldn't find her….

Kagome stood in indecision, flicking from the bowl in her hands to the sleeping man, watching an angry red grow down his back as his fever spread.

He had saved her twice, carried her far from a city of nightmares, and pledged to protect her.

Her conscience rioted with her sense of self-preservation. "It doesn't matter," she hissed under her breath. "He's a liar who won't let me leave."

She pulled on the door and slipped out into the torch-lit passage. Inu-Yasha had come from the south, so she turned north, roaming the area for Ouja. Her search found only the burbling mountain spring Inu-Yasha had used to fill their basin. The clear water trickled from the ceiling, pooling in a long, rough-hewn shallow fashioned for washing. Instead of darting into the hall's shadows and running along its walls, Kagome found her feet heading for it.

Something rustled above her. She glanced up and spotted a pair of yellow-green eyes staring back through the darkness, disappearing for a moment in a blink.

"Where are you going, Kanaka girl?" Their owner called from the ceiling.

"Who wants to know?" Her words wavered, and a dark shape dropped down, landing with grace before her. It was a stooped man with large, bat-like ears, and thin, vein-covered wings – a koumori hanyou.

He straightened, standing only to her waist. "I do," small fangs flashed in the torch light as he appraised her. His gaze was unlike Miroku's – he checked to see only what she carried.

Kagome tried quieting her beating heart. "I'm getting new water for Inu-Yasha."

The bat demon's ears quivered; he heard her nervousness. "Unaccompanied?"

She lifted her chin. "I think your answer is obvious," she looked around the empty passage.

His gaze turned shrewd. "You're a bit defensive for someone with nothing to hide."

Kagome looked down at herself. "And what, exactly, am I hiding?"

He ignored the flip response. "Where's Inu-Yasha?"

"Asleep."

His ears moved again; she was telling the truth.

The koumori gave a slight bow. "Proceed," he gestured towards the spring.

Kagome gripped her bowl tighter and stepped up to the wet wall, setting it in the shallow and watching it fill quickly. Dipping a finger in, she snatched it back to her chest. "It's cold."

The hanyou stepped up beside her. "Do you need it warm?" Yellow-green eyes flicked to her dirty hair. "One of my clansmen is skilled in spell scrolls. There's an incantation we use."

Embarrassed, Kagome shook her head. "No. It's good like this," she retrieved the overflowing bowl. Icy water splashed at the brim, and she stepped back as some spilled to the floor. "Where does the rest of the water go?" She stared as the spring disappeared into the ground.

"It flows down to the next level of the mountain," he said. "We have many underground springs such as this."

Kagome marveled at the convenience. "It seems like you have everything you need here. Why do you leave and go to Kanaka at all?"

You wouldn't need a reputation if you just stayed away, she mused.

The man answered her question by reaching up and taking her elbow. "Now that your task is complete, I'll escort you back."

"I can manage."

His fingers circled tighter. "I insist."

Someone coughed from down the hall. "It's alright, Ren."

The pair turned. Through the shadows, they saw Inu-Yasha, leaning heavily against his open chamber door. Even in the poor light, Kagome could see he had worsened in the minute she'd been away; he was drenched to the waist in sweat.

The hanyou at her side saw it too. "You're not well, sir."

Inu-Yasha waved him away. "She's a healer. I'll be fine."

Kagome felt the bat demon turn and look up at her.

"Do you need any other supplies?" His mistrust wavered, offset by concern. "I can go to our stores if you tell me what to look for. They're by the main hall."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. We stopped there," she thought of the argument she and Inu-Yasha had had, when he'd refused to put her down to gather the medicines herself. "If you have willow or meadowsweet, both can help break his fever."

"I'll go right away," Ren released her elbow, opening his papery-thin wings.

Inu-Yasha beckoned to her. "Come here, Kagome."

She complied and rushed to the door as the koumori leapt into the air, flying past.

Inu-Yasha waited until the beat of wings began to fade; once he was sure they were alone, he let pain show in his face. "I feel terrible," he managed.

Kagome moved the wet bowl to one hand and slid the other around his waist. It was damp and clammy to the touch. "Put your arm over my shoulder. We need to get you back into bed."

He gave no argument and lifted a tired limb behind her head, letting go of the metal ring he'd been gripping.

Kagome bore up under sudden weight, supporting his entire frame. "Can you stand on your own?" She tried to keep the worry from her voice.

Inu-Yasha hung his head low. "No. It's getting hard to feel my legs."

"Ok," she took a staggered step into the room. "Come on."

"Keh," he tried for a smirk, but it slipped from his face. "This'll take us a year with those weak legs of—," his eyes fluttered closed.

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome shook him. "Inu-Yasha?!"

His head bobbed up and down, unresponsive; he had lost consciousness.

She dropped the bowl and grabbed him with her other hand, splattering water everywhere as it landed on the tapestries with a loud thud.

"HELP!" She screamed, bracing Inu-Yasha's body with her own. "I need help here!"

Kagome listened for the flutter of wings; the koumori couldn't have gone far. She waited, the thundering pound of her heart filling her ears.

It was the only sound. The hall stayed empty.