Stitches
Sesshoumaru placed the exhausted child over his shoulder with a careful swing, listening to the timed in and out of Katsurou's breathing.
"He is fine."
Kagome rubbed her eyes. They were suddenly heavy with exhaustion. "I shouldn't have pushed him."
"You did what you must. He must be pushed if he is to learn." He placed a reassuring hand on Kagome's shoulder. Without thinking, she ran her fingertips across his, letting their energies mingle for a moment before he pulled his hand away.
Sesshoumaru moved toward the door to leave, pausing as he slid the door open. "This one will see to it that Katsurou rests in his room."
Kagome sighed and nodded. She wanted to tend to him, but she needed to see to Kohaku first.
As soon as the door snapped shut, Rin let out a groan as she held her kimono to her bare chest in attempt to sit upright.
"Rin! You know you shouldn't move after a healing. It will still take several days before your ribs are healed completely," Kagome scolded gently as she returned to her friend's side. As soon as she was in reach, Rin reached out and grabbed Kagome's wrist tightly.
Rin's dark brown eyes bored into her. "Something happened between you and Sesshoumaru-sama. Since when can you do that...whatever you just did..."
Kagome's lips tightened as a rosy blush appeared on her cheeks.
Rin's pulled her closer with surprising strength. "Something did happen! Your face is all red!"
Kagome yanked her wrist away. "It's none of your business."
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is that how it is now? Well, I will just ask Gobodo-sama. I'm sure she will tell me all about it."
Kagome frowned at her friend. "Alright, fine. I suppose it'll be better that I that tell you what really happened instead of the gossip she's bound to tell you." Kagome leaned in and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "But in exchange you must tell me what's going on between you and Kohaku."
Rin smiled. "Of course."
Kagome removed the excess bandages around her waist. "We're not courting."
Her friend's eyes searched her face for a moment. "But…?"
"We have taken a step in that direction."
Rin grinned. "Yeah?"
Kagome scowled, "Try not to sound so smug."
Rin laid her head back and closed her eyes. "You know I mean well."
Kagome carefully rearranged Rin's clothing to cover her. "I noticed that you and Kohaku are on much more friendly terms."
Rin opened one eye to look at her. "You could say that we came to an understanding."
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh..."
The door opened a crack, revealing her maid, Maiko. "Kagome-sama, may we come in?"
"It's fine." Rin said loudly.
Maiko entered the room, bowing as she ushered Kohaku in and closed the door behind her. She smiled brightly, her red hair pulled in a updo on top of her head. Her fox ears twitched.
"Welcome home. I see you have been getting into trouble Lady Rin." She said jovially as she took a seat beside Kagome.
Kohaku's eyes widened when his eyes finally fell on Rin.
"Wow, you look so much better! Er...not to say that you don't always look...ug, nevermind."
"Thank you, Kohaku. I understand what you were trying to say." Rin teased.
He grumbled and knelt down on her side opposite Kagome and Maiko. The bruises and swelling had disappeared from Rin's face, leaving her simply looking tired. Kohaku took her hand, holding it, marveling at the disappearance of her abrasions.
Kagome eyed their interaction with interest. "Be careful with that arm. Her shoulder isn't fully healed yet."
"You healed her? Is she going to be alright?" Kohaku knew that some mikos had the ability to heal others, but this was on a whole different level. He had never seen someone with injuries as bad as Rin's return to such a normal state before. He put away a mental note to never mess with Kagome's miko power.
"Yes. She needs to rest for a few days, but she will be just fine after that."
Rin's eyes slowly closed.
"Rin!" Kohaku cried out in alarm.
"I'm fine, Kohaku...Just kinda sleepy."
Kagome stood up and walked around to Kohaku. He looked at her startled, as she peeled back the bloody bandages on his shoulder to assess his wounds. It looked as though someone had done their best to heal him, but it was quite a sloppy job. The stitches were uneven and loose.
"They didn't do a very good job stitching you up. You're still bleeding, but I'll take care of that."
Kagome closed her eyes as she pressed her fingertips gently into Kohaku's wounded skin. A warm sensation started at his shoulder and crept its way down his body, like sinking into a hot spring. The pain ebbed away to nothing. Maiko said nothing as she handed the miko a small knife pulled from her kimono sleeve.
She carefully cut his stitches open, pulling the thread from his skin gently. Kagome pressed her fingers down harder, willing Kohaku's body to begin repairing itself. Beneath her blood-stained fingers, his mangled flesh melded back together, leaving behind a large red scar. Kagome exhaled a large breath, and opened her eyes.
"There. No more risk of infection. You'll be sore for a few days while your body heals, but otherwise you'll be fine."
"That was amazing..." Kohaku breathed, the tingling of her reiki still buzzing in his body.
"Maiko-san, would you mind bringing in another futon for him to sleep on?" Kagome asked.
"Of course, my lady." She vanished from the room, only to appear a moment later carrying a large folded futon.
Kohaku never felt so inclined to sleep. Maiko rolled out the futon next to Rin's, and Kohaku wasted no time laying down it.
"Your body is working over time to heal itself, so you'll be tired. Get some rest." Kagome advised, as she washed his blood from her hands in a small basin. The responding answer was only a snore. She chuckled. Kohaku's head had barely hit the pillow before he was fast asleep.
"Thank you, Maiko-san. I believe I'll go check on my son now."
"Alright, Kagome-sama." Maiko said softly as she pulled a thick blanket over Kohaku's sleeping form. "I'll keep my eyes on them."
Kagome left the room feeling equally as tired as her patients. Where did Sesshoumaru take Katsurou?
She opened the door to Katsurou's room, only to find it empty. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. Maybe he took him to her room? She opened the door to her room, only to find that empty as well. Turning on her heel, she walked back down the hallway and into the large open den. The room remained dark and empty.
Where did they go? The only place to she could think of was at the end of the hallway, behind the powerful imposing barrier. Sesshoumaru's room. Determined, she marched her way back down the hallway and prepared herself to feel the brash overwhelming youki pushing against her as she approached his door. To her surprise, his power remained, but it offered her no resistance as she opened the door.
The last time she had been in here was when Sessshoumaru had been trashing the place. Now all the furniture had been replaced and recently cleaned. Her gaze wandered to the large fur covered bed sitting on a dais in the middle of the room. Stepping closer, she eyed a small lump in the blankets. Katsurou lay on his back with his arms sprayed out, his mouth hung open snoring, a small bead of drool making its way down his chin.
Kagome quietly laughed to herself. She couldn't blame him for sleeping so soundly. The huge fur pile did look rather inviting. She looked around the room to see if there was a lurking maid or Sesshoumaru, but found that she and her son were alone. Too tired to care, she crawled on to the bed. As soon as she lay down next to her son, Katsurou reached out and pulled himself into her arms. Kagome embraced him in a hug as a sense of peace settled over her. She could smell Sesshoumaru's scent all around them, and the feel of her son in her arms. Her eyes drooped shut a few times before she succumbed to sleep.
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Author's note: Thanks everyone for the reviews! I will post another chapter tomorrow!
(Happy Thanksgiving!)