Chapter 21
"I'm Running Purely on Spite and Bad Tea"
Kagome blinked her eyes open, squinting in the dimmed brightness of the room. She was staring at her wall, and she pushed herself up a little, shifting to see what time it was. It felt either really early or really late, and with the way that she'd been the past few of days, it was probably the latter.
She saw a red leg stretched out in front of her, and she shifted her eyes up to Inuyasha, who was already staring at her.
He was sitting back against her headboard, and she was laying on her pillow.
"Morning," she mumbled, shifting to push herself up to a sitting position.
"Morning." He moved her pillow as she sat back against her headboard beside him.
"Thanks," she mumbled, reaching up to rub her eyes.
"You want anything?" He asked.
She shook her head, stretching her arms out in front of her, feeling her shoulders crack.
"You should try to eat something," he said after a long minute.
She made a face, crinkling her nose at the notion. The idea of eating anything nauseated her even more than she already was, and she grimaced as her stomach flipped and rolled around in her gut. She let out a low groan, rubbing her face with her hands.
"Kaede is making you something that will help," he blurted out, and she looked up at him, staring at his face. His ears were twisted sideways, and he was glaring at her bedspread.
But that brought up a bigger question.
"When did you see Kaede?"
"Yesterday. You were asleep," he mumbled. She slumped against his shoulder.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
Inuyasha lightly patted her leg making her smile.
"What do you want to eat?" He asked again, and she sighed.
"Maybe a piece of toast?"
"Really?" The boy practically perked under her head, and she leaned up just a moment before he practically launched himself off her bed, heading for the door.
"Just a piece!" She called after him but sighed as he was already gone. Sinking down into her sheets, she slouched against her headboard.
Maybe asking for anything was a mistake. He was going to go overboard and bring her up a four course meal because she'd asked for toast.
She honestly just wished that she could feel better. It didn't make any sense why she wasn't progressing.
She'd thought that it was because the thing or whatever was still alive, but nothing—literally nothing—had happened in the week that she's been home. It had never been this quiet before, which made her think that it really was gone after all.
She'd accepted it.
The thing was destroyed.
It was over.
Which meant that there was something really, really wrong with her.
Inuyasha sat down next to her, holding out a cup of water and a plate of toast. Two pieces buttered, and she took one, nibbling on it. He was staring at the glass of water as though it were responsible for the world's problems.
"You feeling okay?" She asked him continuing to nibble. His eyes shifted to her, eyebrow raising.
"You're asking me that?"
"You seem upset," she said, still nibbling on her piece of toast. She took the glass of water out of his hand, sipping from it, before placing it back in his hand, but he didn't seem to mind being used as a hanyou cup holder.
A growl simmered out of him, grumbling out of his chest as he sat on her bed.
"Are you upset?" She asked.
"Of course, I'm upset!" She took the glass again. "Why wouldn't I be upset? Look at you!"
"Do I look bad?" She asked, handing him the glass back and moving to set her toast back down.
"Oh, no, you eat," he snarled, pulling the plate away from her reach.
She kept hold on her toast, nibbling at it as he seethed quietly on her bed.
"How do you feel?" He asked after a long moment.
"Meh," she answered, making a face as she took another bite. The toast had turned, and it no longer tasted good or appealing. She tried to set it on the plate as her stomach rolled.
"You ate half of it," he said, glaring at her partially eaten piece of toast on the plate.
"I know, it just tastes bad."
"It's bread with butter."
"I know," she said. "I ate half of it."
"You ate half a piece of bread. You need to eat more."
"I know," she whined. "But it literally feels like I'm going to throw up."
He sighed heavily, and she knew that she was going to have to eat more. But the idea of eating anything else literally made her nauseated.
She hadn't been hungry in what felt like forever, and she knew that she had to eat, but that didn't mean that her stomach was going to make any of that easier.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up the toast and tried to eat as much as she possibly could as quickly as she could before her body revolted.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her food shoveling.
"There," she said, swallowing the last bite of toast. "I ate a whole piece."
"I was waiting for you to choke," he commented, setting the plate on her nightstand.
She took the glass of water and sipped from it to soothe her throat from swallowing all the bread.
It didn't take long for her stomach to start its protesting, and she handed him the glass before collapsing back into her pillows with a moan.
"I take it you don't want any more?" He asked, and she shook her head, already feeling the incoming misery starting.
"Please?" Kagome asked, shifting onto her side.
"I'll take it back down," he said rising up from the bed with the plate. He set the glass on her nightstand. "Finish that," he ordered, pointing towards the glass before turning towards the door.
Kagome nodded into her pillow as he left the room, trying to quell the rebellion that her stomach felt the need to commit at the moment. She slipped her covers back over her shoulder, burying herself back down into her blankets and misery.
Inuyasha slipped into the kitchen, knocking the remaining food into the trash and setting the plate in the sink.
"How much did she eat?" Her mother asked, walking in.
"A piece of bread."
"And she kept it down?"
"So far," he said, with a short sigh. "But just looking at it made her sick." He looked out the window at the grounds, trying to figure out what he was missing, what he wasn't doing to make her better.
"Come here, dear," her mother said, and he turned towards her after a moment. She reached up wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and he let himself be dragged into her hold. He'd forgotten what it was like to be hugged by a mother like this.
His own mother was a sharp but vague memory. He remembered her hugs when he'd run up upset for whatever reason. Her hands rubbed his shoulders as he slouched against her.
"She's going to be fine. This is just a little hiccup," she told him, and he nodded into her shoulder. She let go, and he stood upright. "Have you checked to see if Kaede had anything?
"She said to check with her this evening, and she'd know more."
Her mother nodded, moving to the sink to wash the dishes.
"Would you mind checking with her? Just to see if she's made any progress?"
He glanced upstairs.
"When she's asleep," he said, and her mother nodded.
"Of course," she said with a genuine smile. "Thank you so much for all that you're doing for us."
Inuyasha nodded again, heading towards the stairs and up to her room.
He stepped into the room, seeing Kagome stretched out in her bed, under the covers.
He sat in the side of her bed, staring at her pale skin and how her face contorted in discomfort.
She was uncomfortable from eating.
How the fuck was he supposed to fucking fix that?
His hand rested on her hip, and he talked to her. Quietly, he reassured her that she was going to be fine, and he would find a way to fix this.
He would find a way to make sure that she got better, because losing her like he lost his mother—
He gave himself a mental shake and rose to his feet. Sitting here talking about it wasn't going to make anything better; it wasn't going to make her better.
Striding out of the room, he headed towards the back door.
"Are you leaving?" Her mother asked, peeking her head into the doorway.
"She's asleep. I'm going to go check in with Kaede."
"Alright," she said, and Inuyasha gave her a short nod before opening the door and bounding out for the well.
Kagome became aware that she was in bed, under blankets, and she was still chilled. It seemed like there was nothing in this house that could make her warm. Blinking her eyes, she reached over for the glass of water, trying to rinse the taste of dryness out of her mouth.
The water wasn't cool, but it still felt nice going down. She finished it, setting it back on her nightstand.
Inuyasha would at least be happy about that.
Smacking her lips, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking for Inuyasha, who surprisingly wasn't there. He was always there.
He was probably downstairs.
Yeah, probably.
That was all.
There was no need to panic.
Her eyes landed on her vanity, where a familiar vase and familiar flowers sat, glaring back at her.
She backed herself against the wall, grabbing the blankets and tugging them out of the way. Her back pressed solidly against the wall.
Inuyasha had gotten rid of them a long time ago! He'd taken them out! She'd asked him to and he did! She'd watched him do it!
Why were they here?
Where was Inuyasha?
Did that mean—Did that mean that creature was back?
Her mouth opened to call for Inuyasha, but she snapped it closed quickly. She didn't want anything else to know that she was awake or that she knew it wasn't gone.
Maybe it was a dream.
Just a really bad dream.
That was it. This wasn't real. None of it was real.
And bad dreams happened to everyone. It didn't mean that anything was happening outside of the realm of normal.
She took a deep breath, exhaling shakily.
"Inuyasha?" She called in barely above a whisper, but there wasn't anyone answering, and she was too afraid of what might happen if she called any louder.
Grabbing her blankets in shaking hands, she very quietly slid her body underneath them, burrowing herself down in the bed, tugging the blankets over her head until they were covering her completely, drowning her in the dark. Because she didn't want to know. She didn't want to know if this was real or if it was a dream. She didn't think that she could take it.
If it was a dream, she'd wake up sooner or later, right?
Inuyasha landed at the bottom of the well, leaping out to see what Kaede had come up with. Maybe if he had some sort of help, then at least her mother would be a little more at ease and him too for that matter.
He leapt out, making it to the village with no detours.
Knocking the mat aside, he saw Kaede mixing or mashing something into a jar.
"Inuyasha," Kaede greeted.
"Hey," he said, stepping inside. "Sango and Miroku are out collecting herbs. Shippo is feeding the chickens."
Inuyasha snorted.
"You let a fox into a henhouse."
"He promised he would not eat any, but the young kit needs something to do. He is quite upset."
So was he. He just wasn't being a brat about it.
Inuyasha took a seat next to her, trying to figure out how to get the questions out.
"Has anything changed?"
"She ate a piece of bread this morning."
"And she kept it down?"
"So far. Fell asleep right after though."
"Sleep is good for healing and recovery," Kaede said, picking up a small spoonful of dried herbs and gently dumping them into the small jar.
"Yeah, but she's sleeping all the time, and she's still tired."
"So you said," she said with a slight frown. "The medicine should be ready this evening if you're curious."
"Her mother wanted to ask. She's—she's getting worried."
"Aye, I would imagine as much. I am worried as well. This sounds—" She hesitated for a moment as she poured clear liquid into the bowl. Smelled an awful lot like cheap alcohol too. "There. This all sounds quite suspicious. Though I am afraid I am unable to help much with a suspect list."
"Something about all this feels off," he grumbled.
"In what way?"
"Dunno. Just—" He fumbled for the right word. "Just off."
Kaede hummed with a small nod.
"Nothing is alerting your senses?" She asked, and Inuyasha shook his head.
"She smells sick—like human sick, but I wasn't able to smell whatever the fuck it was to begin with. Not anything trackable at least."
"There are many things that can hide themselves."
He watched her work for a long period in silence, trying to figure out the best way to voice the question in his head.
Kaede worked the pestle into the pile of dried herbs, simple rolling motions and he watched her withered hands move with practiced ease.
"You don't think it's back, do you?"
"The creature possessing her vanished under our reiki. If it survived," she stopped grinding the herbs for a beat. "That would have some severe implications."
"Do you think it's possible?"
Kaede didn't answer right away, which made his nerves practically vibrate under his skin. He felt his ears twist sideways, and he stared at the wall. The silence was answer enough. Kaede thought it was possible at least.
"No," she said after a long beat. "No, I don't think that is the case here. There may be lingering effects from her possession." She continued grinding the herbs. "That is not an uncommon occurrence."
"What if that's the case? How do I fix it?"
"Possession can be quite taxing on the body. Kagome's possessor was quite strong and put her body through considerable punishment." Inuyasha winced at that. If he'd been better, that wouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened, or it shouldn't have gotten this bad. He should've realized that something was off long before he started taking it seriously. "Inuyasha," she said, drawing his gaze back to her one eye. "Ye did everything ye could."
"Don't know what you're talking about, hag."
"Aye, I'm sure." She continued working for a bit. "These will take some time to concoct. I am sure that ye would be of more help to Kagome in her time."
He scoffed, rising to his feet.
"Come back at twilight. This should be ready for ye to take back."
He gave a short nod before leaving the hut and leaping out towards the well.
Kaede wasn't worried.
He shouldn't be worried.
That was the simple reality.
He leapt into the well and leapt out a few moments later.
Shoving his hands into his sleeves, he walked across the grounds towards the house.
Pushing the back door open, he leaned in, seeing her mother still sitting at the table. She looked up at him, eyes searching him for something.
"Kaede's working on it," he said, unsure of what question she was seeking the answer for. "She's not worried," he added after a beat.
She gave him a small smile.
"Thank you for checking anyway. I'd go myself, but—" Her sentence drifted off into the quiet, and Inuyasha understood. She'd do it herself, but the well didn't work for her.
"'s okay." He shifted his weight to his other foot, eyes darting up the stairs. It was quiet, so she was probably still asleep.
That was good.
"Why don't you check on her? Save this old woman a trip up the stairs." She gave him another smile, and he nodded once, taking the stairs in a small leap before striding into her room.
Quietly, because Kagome wasn't exactly where he'd left her.
There was a massive lump in the middle of her bed, completely covered by her blankets.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked softly, just in case she was asleep, and the mass under the blanket shifted.
He walked over, easing himself down on the edge of her bed near her pillow so he could see her when she lifted the blanket. She whimpered under the blankets, and he frowned.
"Kagome?" He asked again, but she didn't answer, just curled herself up in an even smaller ball.
Concern fully presenting itself, he tugged at the blanket a little trying to pry it loose enough that he could raise it up.
She grabbed at the blanket, but he pulled it free.
Something was wrong. Something had happened, and he hadn't been here.
"Kagome, what is it?"
Finally, she relinquished her grip on the blanket, and he tugged it free, pushing it back so that he could see her face.
She'd curled around herself, as if waiting for some sort of blow.
Inuyasha cautiously reached forward, resting his hand on her hair.
She jolted under his touch, and his frown deepened.
"Kagome, what happened?"
Her head tilted up, eyes widening when she saw him.
He, however, was not expecting the sudden tackle. She slammed into him, arms around his neck with a low sob, knocking his head back against the wall. His own arms quickly wrapped around her back as she slumped against him awkwardly. He tightened his grip, as she clung to him, soft sobs buried into his shoulder.
"Kagome," he repeated softly. "What happened?"
A deep shuddering inhale, and she tightened her arms around his neck.
"It was—I looked—" Another deep ragged inhale. "I called for you!"
"I'm here. You're safe," he said, but that wasn't really true either. He hadn't been here for her, and she'd needed him.
"No, I—" She pushed away from him a little, trying to twist away, but he tried to keep her still. "No! There were—I saw—" She made a whining noise in the back of her throat.
"Kagome," he repeated, shifting to hold onto her arms as she fought him.
"Flowers!" She blurted out, sniffling.
"Flowers?" He asked. "What about flowers?"
"The flowers!" Her hands fisted in his haori nearly shaking him.
"What flowers?" He asked her, eyes skimming over her obviously distraught face.
"Those," she twisted, pointing towards her vanity, "flow—ers." Her voice broke in volume as she stared at it, whatever she'd thought was there was gone. "There were flowers!"
"Kagome, there haven't been any flowers in here."
She whipped towards him, obviously prepared to argue.
"I didn't smell any when I walked in, and I don't smell any now."
The way her face fell at that made him wish he'd kept his stupid mouth shut.
For an instant, she was willing to bicker with him, and that stretch towards 'normal' was just within his reach, and he just ruined it.
"Kagome," he started, but he could already tell that it wasn't going to work. Her eyes were watering, fat tears building up as she stared at the empty vanity and then turning back to him.
"There were flowers," she whispered, and he let go of her arms to draw her into a hug, which she easily fell into. "I called for you."
He winced.
"I went to see how Kaede was coming with your medicine."
She clutched at his sides, another soft sob escaping her. He shifted one arm higher, sliding it over her shoulders, leaning his cheek against hers.
Kagome shifted her head so that her cheek rested on his collarbone.
She sniffled, having cried herself out already. Inuyasha had shifted them, so that he was sitting more fully on her bed instead of being perched on the edge like before.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to him.
His arms shifted slightly, and she sniffled again.
"For what?"
"All of it."
He scoffed.
"Keh, don't be." He started to say something, hesitating for a minute. "We'll—We've been through some shit. And we'll—we'll figure this out too."
She hugged him tighter.
He was trying, and the fact that he was trying to make her feel better was more comforting than anything else.
"Thanks," she murmured, attempting to find some sort of solace in the fact that she was very clearly on the verge of losing her mind. "What were you seeing Kaede about?"
"She's making you some medicine," he said. "Said it would be ready this evening."
"Oh," was all she could think to say. She wasn't upset or anything like that, but it just felt strange. She hadn't seen everyone in so long, but she didn't have the energy to go back. She wasn't miserable right now, and that felt like a first in a very long time.
"Is that okay?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Kaede's medicines always made us feel better, so maybe they'll work. Especially since nothing else seems to help." She shifted a little as her leg cramped slightly.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing," she said, shifting her leg again.
He huffed through his nose before lifting her up and letting her shift her leg to the side before settling her back down in his lap. She'd thought that he'd set her off to the side, but he kept her in his lap—not that she minded, the opposite in fact.
"Better?" He asked her, and she flexed her toes, slumping against him.
"Yeah. It's not so bad right now."
"Does that mean you'd be willing to eat something?"
She crinkled her nose at the thought. She really didn't want anything to eat, and absolutely nothing sounded good.
"It's almost lunch time," he added, but that didn't do anything for her sense of hunger.
"Maybe in a little while?" She offered, and that statement seemed to settle him somewhat.
She leaned against him, relying on him to support her and keep her afloat.
Kagome regretted her offer of food, because Inuyasha was insistent on it, carrying her downstairs to the table where her mother had some crackers with peanut butter sandwiched between them.
"Thought we'd try something simple," she said, as Kagome turned the plate slightly.
She liked peanut butter.
But right now the salty and slight sweetness of it made the bile rise in her throat. Even though she hadn't taken a single bite of it yet.
"Sounds good, thanks," she said, lifting a piece up to her mouth. Taking a small bite, she forced herself to chew through it, setting the piece down in the plate.
How peanut butter and crackers could somehow taste sour didn't seem possible, but she could actively taste it changing in her mouth as she chewed.
The distaste must've shown on her face, because her mother pulled the plate away.
"Not good?" She asked, and Kagome shook her head, taking a large drink of water and forcibly swallowing her bite down. "Okay, next plan," her mother said, sliding a small cup in front of her.
"What is it?" Kagome asked, swirling it around with the straw.
"I blended up some fruit and spinach. It tastes fine, I promise."
Kagome pulled the cup closer, taking a careful sip. It didn't taste bad. She could tell there was bananas, probably strawberries, and some sort of juice. Taking a bigger swallow, the coolness felt good on her throat.
"Is it tasting okay?" Her mother asked.
"Yeah, I'm just really not hungry."
"I know, sweetheart, but we have to get some calories in you."
Kagome nodded.
"Inuyasha, you'll make sure she finishes it?" She asked him, and he nodded, shifting towards her slightly.
Kagome sighed, leaning forward to take another sip. There was really going to be no escaping this, even though she knew her mother was right, but even sipping her food was starting to make her feel miserable.
It wasn't like she was trying to make things worse, but food just really wasn't appealing at the moment.
She leaned forward on her elbows, and a warm hand lightly rubbed her back. She looked over at him, giving him a soft smile, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to lift a bit.
"Everything okay?" Her mother asked, drying a small cup, and Kagome nodded.
"Yeah, thanks, Mama."
Her mother smiled, stepping towards her to place a kiss on her hair.
"Anything for my baby girl."
Kagome gave her a small smile before taking another small sip.
Inuyasha had set her up in bed with her homework, some of which Souta had brought home for her along with copies of Ayumi's notes from class. He'd stretched out beside her, eagerly getting up to retrieve another workbook or textbook for her.
"You don't have to get every little thing for me. I can probably just put my weight on my heel and—"
She stopped talking when she looked up and caught the glaring look on his face, like she'd just insulted him by saying something completely stupid in front of a group of people.
"You say some stupid shit, you know?" He asked, holding out a workbook for her, and then stretching out beside her legs again.
His head rested on his arms, and she reached out slowly, gently rubbing his ear between her fingers. He huffed but didn't move away from her.
"You're not walking on that foot," he reminded her.
"I'll never know until I try," she mused, and he growled a little under his breath, shifting his head to glare at her. She let go of his ear and turned back towards her homework. She had plenty to do as it was.
And Ayumi's notes only meant that she'd have even more work ahead of her.
She let out a soft sigh, not missing the not-so-subtle twitch of a pair of dog ears in her direction.
"You tired?" He asked, raising his head to look at her.
"I'm always tired," she answered, rubbing her eyes. "But I've got to finish this chapter at least."
"You need to rest if you're tired," he continued, sitting upright.
"I've been resting. I'm tired, and I'm tired of resting!" She groaned, leaning her head back against the wall. "I hate feeling like this."
A dull throb started across her temples.
Great, now she had a headache building. She rubbed her forehead, groaning, feeling the bed shift next to her. She felt Inuyasha grabbing her books, shifting them off her lap, and she didn't stop him.
"I don't want to sleep anymore!" She cracked an eye open as Inuyasha sat back down beside her. "Why am I not getting better?"
Her eyes watered, and she quickly wiped her face.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"S'okay," he said with a shrug.
But it wasn't.
She shifted her legs so she could lean forward, wrapping her arms around his middle, and pressing her face into his chest.
Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.
"Why isn't anything working?"
His grip tightened around her.
"I don't know," he mumbled, "but I'll get Kaede's medicine. Maybe that'll fix everything."
Kagome nodded, but she was starting to feel as though this was all but a lost cause.
She was seeing things.
She couldn't eat.
She couldn't focus.
The constant headaches.
She was so tired all the time.
It felt an awful lot like everything was hinging on Kaede's medicine, because if that didn't work—
Her eyes watered, and she hiccuped down a sob, trying to muffle it into his chest. Even though she knew that there would be no hiding it from him.
But he didn't say a word or push her away and flee. Instead, he held her close and let her weep.
Inuyasha tucked her back under her blankets after she'd cried herself to sleep.
It was nearing evening, and he thought that he might slip over and see if Kaede had something—anything at this point—for him.
He smoothed her hair, a deep heaviness settling in his chest, and slowly rose to head downstairs.
He'd let her mother know that he was going to slip onto the other side of the well and check in with Kaede.
He stepped off the stairs, moving into the kitchen where he heard her working.
She glanced up when she saw him enter, giving him a soft smile.
"I'm gonna go see Kaede," he said.
She smiled.
"Thank you, but I do have to take Kasuo to an appointment shortly, and Souta has an assembly at school this evening." She gave a soft sigh. "He's very excited, and I feel like I've been neglecting him this past week."
There was a question in there, and he had a large hunch he knew what it was.
"I won't be long," he said. "I'll watch her."
"Thank you." A smile graced her face. It was tired and small, but she at least seemed relieved. "I'll have something prepared for dinner for you two by the time you get back."
He nodded, leaving out the back door and leaping out towards the well house.
He slid through the time slip and leapt back out into the forest, darting for Kaede's hut.
He pushed the mat aside and stepped in. Kaede was spooning something into a small pouch.
"This is almost done, Inuyasha." She worked methodically to fill the small satchel.
"Inuyasha!" Sango called out behind him, and he saw her riding up on Kirara with Miroku walking alongside her.
"We were hoping to see you," Miroku said as they came up behind him.
"How's Kagome?" Sango asked eagerly.
He gave a small shake of his head. "Not good."
"What's wrong?" Sango asked as Miroku helped her slide off Kirara's back, keeping her weight off her injured leg. She limped heavily still, leaning hard on Miroku's shoulders.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Miroku asked as he ushered Sango inside to sit.
"No—I don't know anymore," Inuyasha said, rubbing his face. "Her mother is waiting on me to get back."
"How bad has it gotten?" Sango asked. "Kaede said that she was ill."
"What little she eats, she pukes right back up half the time. She's tired as fuck attempting to do anything. And nothing is fucking helping any of it."
"We can only hope that this will help ease her symptoms," Kaede said, tying off the small satchel, and pushing herself to her feet to hand it to him. "Ye will need to steep a half-spoonful of this in hot water until it turns a deep red color. Have her drink it three times a day." She gave him a small spoon to measure it. "Ye better return this," she motioned to the spoon. "It is one of my favorites."
"You never offered me one of your favorite spoons," Miroku commented from where he sat next to Sango.
"I seem to remember a very particular incident with ye and one of my favorite bowls."
Miroku's eyes widened.
"That was an accident!"
"It was still one of my favorites."
Sango snickered beside him.
"Ye said ye needed to return soon. Take it. Keep me apprised of any issues."
"Should there be issues?" He looked at the small—but full—packet of something that smelled like she'd shoved every herb in the area into it.
He didn't know if her body could handle anything else.
"It may cause some drowsiness, and she should try to eat something. It's strong medicine," she continued.
"If I could get her to eat, I wouldn't be here," he mumbled.
"Of course, but perhaps if we alleviated some of the other issues, her hunger would return."
He gave a short nod at that.
Anything would be a relief at this point.
"I'm going to head back," he said.
"Ye will keep us informed?" Kaede asked, and Inuyasha nodded again, clutching the small satchel that hopefully held her—and by proxy his own—salvation.
"Tell Kagome we said hi," Sango called as he stepped back out the door.
"Everything will be fine, Inuyasha," Kaede reminded him, patting his arm.
"Yeah," he mumbled, and she stepped back inside the door as he leapt off towards the well.
He fell through the time slip landing cleanly and leaping out into the shadows of the well house.
Sliding the door open, he glanced out into the yard, and upon seeing no one, he leapt out landing at the back door within a couple bounds.
"Inuyasha?" Her mother asked as he opened the door.
"Yeah," he answered, stepping into the kitchen.
"Was the medicine ready?" She asked, and he held up the satchel. "Oh good, were there any instructions?"
"She said a half a spoonful and let it steep until it turns dark red." He held up the spoon. "This is her favorite spoon." It was a pointless fact, and he didn't know why he felt compelled to share it, but it made her mother smile.
"I'll take extra good care of it, I promise," she said and he nodded. "Dinner is almost ready. I'll prepare this, and if you'll bring Kagome down in a few minutes?"
Another short nod and he headed up the stairs.
"Big Brother?" Souta asked, peeking out of his door just as Inuyasha was about to enter Kagome's room. He looked over at the kid, watching the normally bright-eyed boy stare at his sister's door for just a beat. "Mom said that you were going to get some medicine for Sis."
"Yeah, Kaede made some for her."
There was a look of relief that flittered across his face, and Inuyasha could sympathize. It was starting to feel like everything was hinging on Kaede's ability to solve the issue.
"So she's going to get better? Soon?"
"She's gonna be fine, kid," he said, only half-believing his own words.
"Is Mom going to go with me to school tonight? Or is she staying home?"
There was another question here, one said but not said.
Fuck, he was getting better at this.
"I told her I'd stay with Kagome, so she's gonna go to your school thing."
A smile broke out over the kid's face, and Inuyasha felt somewhat guilty about it. He liked the kid, even if it was weird that he was so accepting of hanyou just right off the bat. He knew that Kagome would feel bad about missing out on whatever the shit was, and maybe he was feeling sympathy guilt or some shit.
"Do you think that the medicine will make her feel better to come tonight?"
Inuyasha internally winced.
"I don't think so, kid."
"Oh, okay. But you're gonna keep her company though, right?"
"Yeah, 'course."
Another beaming smile lit up his face.
"Thanks, Big Brother! You're the best!" He ran forward, wrapping his arms around Inuyasha's waist for a moment before releasing him and running down the stairs shouting for his mother.
Inuyasha grimaced.
He felt like he'd misled the kid some. Made promises that he wouldn't be able to keep.
He pushed the door open to Kagome's room.
She was still asleep, curled up on her pillows, and he stood in the doorway, staring at her for just a moment. The evening sun seemed to highlight her cheekbones, making them protrude out more than normal.
It was a trick of the light, and he shook his head to clear himself of it. He wasn't going to start down that path again. Kagome needed him.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she stirred, and there was a moment of regret where he realized that he was going to have to wake her up. She was sleeping well, and he needed to wake her up to take medicine.
Maybe if they got lucky, the tea would make her sleepy again.
"Hey," he said softly, letting his hand rest of her shoulder. He gave her a gently shake, and she groaned lowly, eyes opening slowly. His hand retreated back towards her hip.
She gave him a small smile, and he tried to return it.
"Everything okay?" She asked, starting to sit up, and he gave her a small nod. "Did you go see Kaede?" She glanced over at the clock, reaching up to rub her eyes.
"Yeah, she had the medicine ready. Even let you borrow one of her favorite spoons."
"How was everyone?"
"Miroku's a shit, but Sango said hi."
"How's her leg?" She asked.
"She's fine. Miroku's more than happy to help her limp along." His ears flicked. "They asked about you too." The smile broadened on her face, and it gave him some relief.
"Thanks."
He nodded, unsure how to proceed.
"Everything okay?" She asked him, and he tried to think of the best way to explain.
"Yeah, your mother said that she had to take your grandfather somewhere, and then the kid has something at school."
"Oh, right, the play," she groaned.
"You're not going," he snapped out, just to be sure.
"But—"
"You're staying here, and your mother's going."
She sighed, picking at the edge of her blankets.
"How disappointed is he?"
Inuyasha shrugged.
"He seemed alright that your mother and grandfather were going." The smell of something drifted up to the room, and he stood to his feet. "Dinner's ready."
Kagome groaned again.
"She's preparing Kaede's medicine," he said, leaning over her and pushing the blankets back. She reached up as he leaned down, wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up. He carried her down the stairs carefully, settling her into a seat at the table.
Her mother sat the cup of medicine in front of her.
"Drink that," her mother said before setting two bowls of soup in front of them. His was obviously stuffed with more bits of meat and noodles in comparison to hers. He felt the need to flip them, give her the bowl with more food, but she'd probably be unable to finish what her mother had given her already. She picked up the mug taking a long sip from it, before wincing at the taste.
"Bitter?" Her mother asked.
"Just a very strong medicine taste. It's not awful, but it's not great either." She took a deep breath and continued drinking the tea from the mug. "Inuyasha said you're going to go see Souta's play."
"I also have a doctor's appointment for your grandfather. We're going to be leaving shortly. We'll be home late. Are you sure that you're going to be alright by yourselves?"
Kagome nodded taking another long draw of her tea.
"We'll be fine. Souta's been looking forward to the play for a while, and I don't want you to miss it."
Her mother nodded, running her hand through Kagome's hair.
"Oh, and Inuyasha I measured out the medicine, so you can return Kaede's spoon to her."
Kagome finished the tea, pushing the mug away as Inuyasha reached over to drag the bowl of soup a bit closer to her.
Picking up her spoon, she slowly began eating small bites of soup.
Inuyasha glanced up at her mother, who met his gaze as a small smile broke out over her face.
It was a relief to see her eating something and not watching nausea creep up on her.
Kagome ate slowly but steadily.
"Are we ready?" Souta asked, leaping off the bottom step and onto the floor.
"Close. Go get your grandfather."
Souta darted off down the hallway, shouting for his grandfather to hurry up.
"You okay?" Her mother asked, and Kagome nodded.
"He's coming!" Souta shouted, running back down the hallway.
"No running in the house," her mother reminded him.
"Sorry!" Souta said, moving to stand next to Kagome. "I'll come home and tell you all about the play!" He said.
"I look forward to it."
"Did the medicine help? Big Brother said it would. I bet it tasted awful."
"It wasn't too bad."
"Feel better, okay?" He said, before darting off to help his mother with a bag filled with something.
"Alright, set your bowls in the sink when you're done and I'll take care of them, alright?" She kissed Kagome's head. "We should be home around 9 or 10. I promised Souta dessert after the play."
"Have fun Mama," Kagome said, and her mother patted her hand before turning towards the door as the old man grabbed a hat from the rack.
"Call if you need anything," she said and Kagome nodded.
She gave them both a soft smile before she walked behind Inuyasha, lightly patting his shoulder before she followed them right out the door.
Kagome didn't want to be too hopeful, but it really felt like Kaede's medicine was doing some good. Maybe this was her turning point after all. She continued sipping at her broth, feeling Inuyasha watching her intently.
In eating slowly, she hoped that she wouldn't be seeing this meal again later.
Inuyasha stood, taking her mug to the sink and setting it inside. He stared out the window for a beat.
"Are you okay?" She asked, setting the spoon down.
He turned to look at her.
"Fine," he answered, leaning back against the counter.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, and his ears flattened back to his head, and she immediately regretted saying it.
"For what?" He was scowling, and she broke away from the intensity of his gaze as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
She swirled the broth around with her spoon watching some of the noodles move around.
"Kagome?" He asked again.
"I don't—I'm—" She groaned in frustration. "I feel bad making you do all this."
"You're making me do jack shit."
Kagome gave him a look from where she sat at the table, and he returned the same tilt of her head and mimicked the look right back at her.
"I know you don't like to be here for long. You said it smells."
He scoffed.
"I can deal."
"But that's just it!" She shouted. "You shouldn't have to deal! You should be able to enjoy life, and you don't enjoy it here." She pushed her bowl away from herself. She didn't want to eat anything else now; the notion of eating any more of the soup was making her stomach churn again.
He sighed, pushing off from the counter and moving back to the table to pick up the bowl from the table.
"I don't hate it here. It's just different."
"Which means that you don't like it."
He scowled at her over his shoulder as he rinsed out the both of their bowls with the faucet.
"If I didn't want to be here, then I wouldn't be." She knew that to be true, but she also knew that Inuyasha was a creature ruled by guilt and honor.
She never wanted him to feel guilty when it came to her.
"You okay?" He asked, wiping his hands on a towel and tossing it on the counter.
"Yeah," she breathed, "yeah, fine."
He obviously didn't believe her. She could tell just from the way that he was standing.
"You mad?" He asked, crouching down next to her.
"About what?"
He shrugged.
"I'm not mad at you." He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "I'm not." Letting out a sigh, she ran her fingers over her nails. "I'm tired of not feeling well. I just want all of this to be over and move on with my life."
Inuyasha grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers reassuringly.
"Kaede knows her shit. This'll work."
Kagome smiled.
"Thanks."
He gave her a nod and rose to his feet.
"You wanna bath now, right?" He asked, and she held her arms up to him as he leaned down to pick her up.
Night fell quickly for the fall, and Kagome sat in the kitchen watching Inuyasha attempt to boil water in the kettle.
"It's electric," she mumbled, resting her chin on her arms.
"I know!" He grumbled, looking at the contraption on the counter. Well, glaring was more accurate. He'd said that he'd wanted to do it, and she just needed to sit there and let him handle it.
"Do you want a hint?" Kagome asked.
"No, I don't want a fucking hint!" He snapped. "I put the water in it." She watched his eyes rake over the device. "You people and your fucking little switches and pansy-ass buttons."
He glanced back at her as he took a deep breath to look back at the electric kettle.
He put his thumb over the button, quickly glancing at her. She gave a short nod, smiling as he pushed the button and stepped away.
"Putting it on some fucking fire would've been just as easy," he muttered.
"This works faster than Kaede's kettle."
He scoffed, reaching in the cabinet for a mug and setting it on the counter. He opened the satchel and took the small measuring spoon and carefully took some of the mixture out and let it drop into the cup.
The kettle beeped, and he jumped.
"I didn't even do anything to you!" He shouted at the kettle.
"That's the signal that it's done."
He blinked and looked down at the kettle.
"Already?"
"I told you," she sang, and he just glared at her before lifting the kettle and pouring the steaming water into the cup.
He set the cup on the table, and Kagome looked at the mixture that was slowly starting to swirl into a pinky liquid.
"Don't drink it until it turns dark red."
"What happens if I drink it now?"
Inuyasha snapped a glare at her, and she just smiled.
"You seem to be feeling better," he commented as she watched the liquid swirl and darken.
"I know, but I'm almost afraid that its going to go away." She glanced up at his face. "I know—it's stupid, but—"
"It's not stupid," he interjected. "You've been through shit all in the past few weeks."
"I really do want to get better," she told him, because it seemed necessary. She wanted him to know that she was trying, even if it didn't seem like it.
"I know. Drink your tea." He nodded towards her mug, and she looked at it. It had turned a deep red color, almost blood red.
She picked it up and took a long sip.
It wasn't any better than last time. Still strong and still tasting very much of medicine.
Inuyasha dumped out the rest of the hot water in the sink as she sipped her tea slowly.
She'd get better.
He picked up the spoon on the counter, rolling it around in his fingers for a beat.
"You should go put it in my bag so it doesn't get lost," she commented, taking another long draw of her tea.
He gave her a snide look like she thought he was inept, which wasn't the case, but she knew it was one of Kaede's favorites. One of the ones that she hoarded in her little pile of measuring spoons.
He should probably take it back soon anyway.
It was really sweet of Kaede to send it as it was.
He fiddled with the spoon for a moment longer.
"I'll put this up," he held the spoon up for clarification. "Drink—"
"Yes, I'll drink my tea," she said, and he tapped the spoon against his finger.
Giving a slight nod, he headed towards the stairs.
"I'll be okay for a couple minutes. Put it in the side pockets okay?"
Another slight nod and he turned away from her, heading up the stairs. She glanced out the window, seeing something shift in the shadows. She glanced up at where Inuyasha had disappeared up the steps.
There was nothing out there.
It was gone for good now.
He'd told her over and over again that the thing was gone, and she was safe.
She was safe.
It was just the shadows playing tricks on her. She pushed herself up from the chair, limping on her heel over to the sink to set her mug inside.
She heard the bathroom door slide shut upstairs, and she looked back out the window.
A man looked around, holding onto a sheet of paper. He took a couple steps before pausing, frowning at the paper in his hands, and then looking around again.
Mama was usually better about putting up the closed sign, but every once in a while, a random tourist would show up or somehow miss them.
Kagome sighed, glancing up at the stairs.
She should wait for Inuyasha.
But this wasn't anything bad. Just a tourist who was lost.
This was her normal. She could handle this. She'd handled this all the time before. She always went out for Mama and explained the situation.
There was no reason to be afraid.
She gimped her way to the door, glancing up at the stairs.
She didn't need Inuyasha. This was just a lost tourist.
Nothing supernatural there.
Opening it slowly, the man turned away from her slightly as he looked for something that he wasn't finding. Stepping out, she closed the door behind her slightly to muffle her voice, and maybe keep Inuyasha from hearing her before she could do this.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves and her pounding heart.
"The shrine is closed," she called out, hating that her voice fractured partway through the statement.
The man turned towards the sound of her voice, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat.
Why was she nervous? There was no reason to be scared of him.
Just a tourist who was lost.
He'd literally done nothing to her. Just wandered onto the shrine property after hours.
"The shrine is closed," she repeated, feeling slightly more confident.
This was nothing out of the ordinary, well, her old ordinary.
The man smiled, and she gave a short wave in recognition.
But he kept standing there, smiling.
Maybe he didn't speak the language?
He took a step towards her, and she staggered a step backwards, gimping on her injured foot, right into the door that clicked shut behind her.
Why was she scared?
Why was she so afraid of everything?
This wouldn't have rattled her a bit before.
But the words caught in her mouth like flies in a spider's web, and she found herself struggling to break the webbing and get them out and free and into the air.
As it was, she couldn't even think about calling for Inuyasha.
The smile spread, too big and too wide for his face.
There were too many teeth, and those were too long and narrow to be human.
And suddenly she knew why the man had set off every alarm bell in her head.
The man standing before her was her father. He looked exactly like his photos did on the walls.
And stepping out from behind him was Hina Sato.
As the blood began dribbling down his face in his approach towards her, Kagome's voice broke free of her fear and she screamed.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm hoping to get back on track with my updates, but I'm definitely hoping to have another chapter ready for Halloween weekend! I have started it! it's just the finishing that's the problem!
Thanks for all your well wishes! I'm doing much better, though there's still some really weird lingering problems from the antibiotics and the stomach problems. I'm working through them slowly but surely.
I hope you guys enjoyed the update, and as always, let me know what you think!