I do not own InuYasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
The Lost Chapters: True Feelings Revealed Part 4
Sango and Miroku pursued a lowly demon that resembled an over-sized goat. Normally, it wouldn't pose much of a threat but the tainted power of the jewel shard made it aggressive. The two of them caught up to the youkai on foot and Sango threw hiraikotsu to block its path. The goat demon pivoted to face them and Miroku seized the opportunity to throw a charged ofuda* at the demon's head. This rendered him motionless and the demon slayer ran to retrieve her weapon. She delivered the final blow with hiraikotsu and caught it on the return. Demon guts were scattered about the forest floor, which only made it more difficult to locate the jewel shard.
"Finding the jewel shard without Kagome is a grim task. Next time Inuyasha can chase after the shard and we'll wait for Kagome," Miroku announced.
"I agree, it's going to take us longer to find the shard than it did to slay the demon," Sango pointed out.
They continued to sift through the guts when Miroku located it in the foulest piece of demon flesh splattered atop some berry bushes. He removed it with his staff and pushed it into a cloth to avoid touching the defiled shard. He walked over to Sango who was bending over to examine a piece of flesh more closely. He couldn't help himself and reached out to stroke her rear. Sango whirled on the spot and slapped him.
"Even with demon guts everywhere you are lecherous!" Sango scolded.
"Eh, heh…this hand is cursed." Miroku said. "I did find the shard though," he added, holding out the cloth.
Sango's mouth fell open, "And you waited to tell me so you could…Ugh! Unbelievable!" she stomped off towards the village.
"Sango, wait," Miroku called after her. He sighed and followed several feet behind her.
When they returned to the village they found Shippou and Kirara taking refuge in an abandoned hut. They decided it was best to stay out of sight because the villagers were frightened that demons in the village would bring bad luck.
"Shippou, where is Kagome and Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned him.
"I don't know they never showed up and the village has been peaceful. If Inuyasha were here it wouldn't be so quiet. When it got late Kirara and I searched around, but we never found them," he explained and Kirara purred in agreement.
"They never arrived? Hmmm, I wonder if something happened," Sango pondered.
"Yes, it's odd, but maybe Kagome was late or they wanted to be alone somewhere," Miroku suggested, while leaning into her personal space.
Sango looked at him cautiously and turned back to Shippou. "We should go back to the village, there's nothing keeping us here since we got the jewel shard," she said. "Miroku, do you think…" She didn't finish, for the monk had already disappeared.
She looked around outside the hut and found him in the process of asking a young girl to bear him a child. Sango stalked over to him and knocked him on the head with hiraikotsu.
"We don't have time for this!" Sango said irritated and dragged him away by the collar.
"No please, at least let her reply," the monk pleaded.
"It's no! Let's go Shippou, Kirara," Sango ordered. Shippou and Kirara followed obediently. Shippou always feared her when she was cross.
The group opted to walk back to Kaede's village, hoping they would run into their friends along the way. They traveled about halfway when they came upon the after effect of Inuyasha's wind scar attack. A few trees were down, the ground was disheveled and there were deep cuts in the earth from tetsusaiga's power.
"Look, they were here!" Shippou announced, from up ahead. "But their tracks don't continue."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Miroku said. "Let's ride back on Kirara, it's getting dark."
Sango observed the fading sunset and complied. Kirara transformed and Sango slid on first. Then Miroku hopped on with Shippou clinging onto his shoulder. They took off and rushed back.
The sun was setting by the time Inuyasha and Kagome reached the village. During their return he couldn't stop thinking that if hadn't been with Kikyo, none of this would've happened. He hurried to Kaede's door and moved around the door flap. Kaede was tending to a pot of stew over the fire and looked up. Her eyes widened and she immediately laid out a blanket for Inuyasha to lay Kagome on. The old miko surveyed the pair quickly and noticed Inuyasha's injury along with Kagome's blackened arm. The rest of her skin was discolored with black and blue marks from earlier.
"Inuyasha tell me what happened," Kaede prompted him. She didn't look at him, but sensed his distress.
The half demon took a deep breath to steady his voice, "On the way to meet Miroku and Sango we ran into Rydou again and he attacked Kagome. He…he tricked us: she was too close, and got pierced by his fangs," he confessed. "I should've gone after him before. It's my fault she got hurt!" he barked. He punched the wall in anger and cursed.
"Inuyasha, you're going to have to leave," Kaede said while looking over Kagome's arm.
"Sorry, I'll calm down. Will she be okay?" he worried.
"Yes, but I will need to bare her body to ensure I stop any poison from reaching her heart. After that I'll take a look at your arm," Kaede declared.
"Keh, it's nothing," Inuyasha lifted up the door mat and took one last fleeting look at Kagome. The only indication of life was her slow heartbeat and ragged breathing. He didn't go far and perched quietly on top of Kaede's hut keeping an ear out for any sign of improvement. He'd never forgive himself if she didn't make it. First Kikyo, and now Kagome.
The old miko steadily worked on Kagome's arm. First she rinsed the area with water and garlic to remove any poison that hadn't entered her bloodstream. Next she tied some fabric tightly at the top of her arm to restrict her blood flow. She began massaging in a salve to numb her arm and soothe her skin. Kaede then got up and began searching for a tincture she had made a week ago with a bezoar stone. It was a well-known antidote for poisons and worked quickly. She also wanted to add some astragalus roots to help Kagome recover faster, but didn't seem to have any. Kaede could sense Inuyasha's youki close by. As she concentrated on it she realized he was perched on the roof. She shook her head and thought about how he acted more like a bird than dog demon.
"Inuyasha, I know you're up there. I need you to go find an herb called astragalus for Kagome," Kaede began. She heard him shift around on the roof. "I have none and you'll find it much quicker in the dark than I. It grows down by the river in sunny areas, and smells strongly of cut grass and licorice. It'll have purple and white flowers growing on it."
"I'm on it," Inuyasha replied.
He leaped down from the roof with ease and sprinted off towards the river. He didn't have to look long for his nose found it before his eyes. The aroma was so strong it was nauseating, but he'd endure it for Kagome. He gathered a handful and sprinted back to the hut. He peered into the window and saw that she was still exposed and averted his eyes quickly.
"Hey, do you need anything else?" he asked.
"No, just leave them by the door, I'll come get it." Kaede instructed.
Inuyasha placed it on the ground and returned to his spot on the roof. For the brief moment that he saw her it seemed that Kagome's breathing had steadied, but her heartbeat had not returned to normal. Kaede prepared the roots of the plant and boiled them over the fire. She added these to the tincture and made sure she got the young girl to swallow the antidote, before bandaging up her arm. She worked quickly because soon her body would begin to perspire as the antidote worked and it would be best for her to be under blankets. After she finished she covered Kagome in two extra blankets before allowing Inuyasha to reenter the hut. Before sitting down he took off his fire rat robe and bunched it up to provide a pillow for Kagome. As he watched her sleep and combat the poison his desire to protect her grew. He could never quite figure out all his feelings for her, except that she was important to him and he didn't want to lose her.
*ofuda - Pieces of paper on which blessings or spells are written for use in Shinto rituals