Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 12:

Return

Eyes under her hood, Himitsu watched as Sesshoumaru transformed into a ball of energy, before taking off into the sky. She then flicked her gaze towards the scene in front of her. There, lied Mouretsu whose head had been detached. If this had happened hundreds of years ago, she would've been mad. But now, she felt satisfied that he was finally dead. It served him right for not giving her the slightest of gratitude for breaking his seal and transferring her magic into him.

Her eyes then roam to the blood splattered on the ground. Just by seeing the blood, she could tell that almost most of them were Sesshoumaru's. It was hard to believe that all of those were the demon lord's blood, but it was possible with Mouretsu's special ability. She extended both of her arms, and all of the inu-daiyoukai's blood disappeared without a trace. It was done. They finally had enough to complete their goal.

"I'm surprised how easily you let him go."

Himitsu whipped her head to where the voice came from, and relaxed her tensed shoulders when it was only Jikiko. The puppeteer was giving her a look of curiousity, and at the same time, glancing around her surroundings.

Jikiko's voice wasn't the usual soft whisper. This time, it was cold, deeper than normal, and had a sharp tone. Himitsu knew that if it wasn't the soft voice she was using, then this must be her other personality.

"What do you mean?" Himitsu asked, referring to Jikiko's statement.

While staring at Mouretsu's deceased body, Jikiko answered, "I thought you wanted that hanyou as your victim for trying out your spells. Why did you let him go?"

"Oh," Himitsu said, and sighed. "I did want him at first, but after Naraku had broken him, I lost my interest in having him."

"Hm," Jikiko said and shifted her gaze from Mouretsu, to the scenery ahead of her. "Did we have enough?"

"The blood?" Himitsu questioned, and Jikiko gave a barely noticable nod. "Yes, it's enough."

"Good," Jikiko said and turned around, her long blonde hair swaying in the process. "Let's return."

Kagome bit her lip as she subconsciously tapped her fingers on the wooden flooring. Shippou was standing right in front of her, pacing left and right; his patience long gone.

The night of the new moon was tonight, and her friends still hadn't returned. Sango and Miroku had instructed her to stay here, in case Inuyasha returns with Sesshoumaru. They knew that it was a slim chance that Sesshoumaru would bring his hanyou brother back, but still, it wasn't impossible. What made her more anxious is that in an hour, the sun would set and Inuyasha would turn human. If Inuyasha hasn't return, then... then she could only hope that Inuyasha isn't dead on his human night with his kidnappers.

"Kagome-sama, Rin is sure Sesshoumaru-sama would save his brother," Rin said, trying to sound hopeful. "So... don't worry, okay?"

"Thank you, Rin-chan," Kagome said and turned her head to Jaken, who snorted.

"Foolish human," Jaken said and sat straight up from his leaning position. "There's no way Sesshoumaru-sama would—"

"Sesshoumaru-sama has returned," Kaede informed, after sensing a powerful demonic aura.

Just as Kaede's words had left her mouth, the flap of the house had been pushed aside, and in came the said demon lord. In his hands lied Inuyasha, who was unconscious to the cries of his companions.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed and felt like she wanted to just hug him, but knew better than to do that while he was in Sesshoumaru's arms. Instead of doing what she wanted, she quickly laid out a mat with a pillow, allowing the demon lord to place the hanyou down. Once settled, tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she took in the hanyou's current state. "Inuyasha..."

He looked so frail, as if he could snap in half with one powerful grip. She knew that under that gaudy outfit, it was barely more flesh than bones is what's left of her hanyou. His now pale face was also covered in bruises. They must've starved him and beat him. Instantly, she placed her forehead on top of his chest, allowing the tears to flow freely down her cheeks.

Shippou was also crying, and Kaede had been given the task to comfort him since Kagome was currently occupied with the hanyou. Shippou clenched at the fabric of her hakama, sobbing silently at the sight of his adoptive father. Meanwhile, Rin was close to tears, but didn't shed them. Jaken only frowned, with his head bowed, knowing better than to make a comment about the hanyou.

Sesshoumaru was the only one who seemed unaffected by the emotional display. Irritated that none of them were aware that his brother was actually facing illness, he interrupted, "Miko, he will die if you do not tend him."

At that moment was when Kagome felt the heat coming from Inuyasha's body. She immediately flinched when she felt as if her forehead was burnt. Her eyes blinked at the hanyou, before it widened. Inuyasha has a fever, and here she was crying and doing nothing to treat him. She wanted to slap herself for not paying attention to Inuyasha's health first. She mentally shook her head, wiping the tears with the sleeve of her school uniform, and was set with a new feeling of determination.

Kaede, who somewhat felt the determination radiating off from Kagome, immediately stood up to grab the right herbs she had previously gathered, for Inuyasha's fever. While she was on her way to brew the tea, she ordered, "Kagome, get a cloth and a bucket of water. Also, remove his suikan and kosode. It's possible that there are injuries that needed to be treated."

Kagome nodded and took the bucket, before dashing outside to retrieve some water from the river. Once she was back, she wasted no time in setting the bucket down, and taking off Inuyasha's suikan. While moving Inuyasha into a sitting position, she noticed that Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken were gone. She didn't have time to think where they have went, and resumed with her task. A feeling of worry appeared at how easy she was able to position Inuyasha; due to his light weight, and she gently removed his suikan and kosode. When the top of his kosode was lowered, Kagome gasped at the thick red lines on Inuyasha's back and chest. There were also thin lines, which she hoped that it wasn't a knife they had used.

Noticing that blood wasn't coming out from those injuries, but still felt the need to patch it up anyway, she grabbed the ointment from her first aid kit. By now, Shippou had calmed down and was now helping her to tend Inuyasha. The kitsune brought her some bandages, and she muttered a hasty thanks. She started wrapping Inuyasha's torso with the bandages, careful not to make it too tight. The sight of Inuyasha's ribs protruding kept reminding her to be extra gentle.

After everything had been done, Kagome slowly set Inuyasha's head down onto the pillow. She could tell that in a few more minutes, Inuyasha was going to turn human, and she could only pray that his human side would survive the fever he was having.

She flinched when Kaede's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Here, give this to him," the old miko said and handed her a cup of water. "It might help reduce his fever."

Kagome nodded, and once again, moved Inuyasha into a sitting position by supporting the back of his head with her arm. She moved the cup to his lips and allowed the liquid inside to slowly enter his mouth. She immediately pulled back the cup when Inuyasha started coughing. When the coughing was over, only then she continued to give him the rest of the tea. Unfortunately, he was still unconscious after the coughing, and she laid his head back onto the pillow to allow him to rest.

When Shippou moved to her side, she saw that the kitsune was staring at Inuyasha with a deep frown. Uncomfortable with the silence, she decided to give him encouraging words. "Don't worry, Shippou-chan. Inuyasha will make it."

"It's my fault."

Kagome blinked, then her brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"If I had told Miroku and Sango that Inuyasha's scent was off, we would've been able to still track him down," Shippou said and clenched his fists. "Yet, I... I didn't even make a comment about it, thinking that everything was okay. I'm such an idiot."

"Shippou-chan, it's not your fault," Kagome said and started stroking his orange hair. "There are a lot of times when things are off, and we assumed that it's okay. That means you were confident that Inuyasha had won."

"Yeah, but look what happened because of that."

Kagome didn't know what else to say. Luckily for her, Miroku and Sango had returned, the two of them panting due to the exhaustion of their search. When both of their eyes landed on the hanyou in front of them, their eyes turned into large saucers.

Sango gasped. "Oh my god..."

Miroku swallowed the thick saliva that had gathered inside his throat. "Oh Buddha."

Kagome gave a half-hearted smile. "Sango-chan, Miroku-sama. Sesshoumaru found Inuyasha..."

"So he really did bring Inuyasha back," Sango said, her voice in between of sounding grateful and sad.

"Does he have a fever?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Kagome said, surprised that the monk knew even without touching the hanyou.

"I could practically feel the heat from here," Miroku said, and sat with his legs crossed. "I am grateful that he has returned, but I wished that he had returned in a... much better state," he said and sighed. "But now, I wish that he would survive his human night, because I believe it is not long before he transforms."

As if the whole world heard Miroku, Inuyasha's silver tresses shifted into the colour of obsidian. His face turned a lot paler, and by the whimpers he was giving, they could tell that he was in a lot more pain; now that he was human. Kagome dipped the cloth she had taken a while ago into the bucket of water, rinsed it, and pressed it on top of his forehead. His eyes were shut tighter than normal, and his hands were clenched. They could only stay by his side, watch him as he fought an internal battle.

His body felt painfully hot. It was the only thing he could think of in the dark abyss. He found himself in a very uncomfortable position, and he was desperate to search for that one comfortable spot. But no matter how many times he shifted, his body was still on fire.

He could feel the darkness going away, and was relief that at least one of his wishes were granted. Soon, he heard a muffled voice, but couldn't make out a thing he or she was saying. As he felt himself slowly gaining conciousness, he started to wonder what he had missed. He was sure that something bad had happened today, and remembered that he wasn't suppose to sleep in the first place. He tried his hardest to think of the events that happened earlier, but his mind showed nothing. Maybe he was thinking too hard about this. He slowed down his thoughts and soon, some of his memories returned one by one. He was tortured, he was brought to a battlefield, and...

His eyes shot open and his voice cracked as he shouted, "Sesshoumaru—!"

But two things happened when he shot himself into a sitting position. One, he realised that he was no longer viewing a battle, and was now inside a hut. Two, a wave of nausea hit him and this time, he couldn't hold in the vomit that threatened to get out.

Fortunately for him, Kagome was fast enough to grab a pail, and with no hesitation, the contents of his stomach were discarded. Shakily, his hands moved upwards to hold the pail himself, and the throwing up lasted a while. Once he felt like everything inside himself was gone, Kagome brought the pail away, putting it aside.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, as she pushed some of his hair out of his face. "You alright?"

No, he wasn't alright, but he'd be damned by the time he admitted it. Throat felt like he had caught it on fire, he struggled to speak, but only managed to croak out, "Need... water..."

In one quick motion, Kagome returned with a glass of water, and he drank all of it in quick gulps. His throat was still burning, but it felt less painful than before. At least the pain was bearable this time.

"Do you want some more?"

Inuyasha shook his head. His voice wavered when he asked, "What happened?" And now only he realised that his hair had already turned black. He let out a humourless chuckle. "Great, just... great."

Kagome offered him a sympathetic smile, knowing too well that he hated being human. "Sesshoumaru brought you here. He—"

Kagome was interrupted when Inuyasha coughed and made a choking sound. "W-What?"

"You heard me," Kagome said, and sighed. "We were really worried about you Inuyasha. When I returned, I found out that you had already been captured for five days. Ever since then, we've been searching for you. Do you have any idea how desperate we became, knowing that... that anything could've happened to you?"

"Keh, you don't have to worry about me," Inuyasha said, and his violet eyes went downcast. "It's just... been a few weeks..."

"Yeah, and look at what they did to you!" Kagome almost shouted, grateful that she remembered at the very last second to lower her voice; because everyone else was sleeping. Tears were threatening to spill again as she said, "We were lucky they only managed to do this! What if they cut off a limb? Or... Or... What if you never returned at all?!"

"I would've never let that happened," Inuyasha muttered, though there was doubt in his voice. He placed a hand over his head when he felt dizzy. He noticed Kagome's water-filled eyes, and instantly decided to change the topic to not upset her further. "Where... Where's Sesshoumaru?"

"While you were unconscious, he's been sitting outside. Don't know if he's still there," Kagome answered, her low voice.

"How long... have I been out?"

"It's almost sunrise."

Honestly, even though he was relieved that he was going to turn back into his hanyou form, he still felt weak as ever. The barrier that suppressed his demonic energy, plus his human form, did nothing to help him regain his strength. It was a miracle that he even managed to survive this long. He noticed that he didn't feel as bad as he thought he would feel; not that he wasn't feeling worse enough. He guessed that Kaede must've given one of her medical tea to help him.

Eyelids drooping, Inuyasha felt drowsiness taking over. His head lolled forward multiple times, and he tried his best to stay awake, at least until sunrise. He turned his head when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder, and found Kagome giving him a concerned look.

"You should rest more, Inuyasha," Kagome said, and when Inuyasha was about to argue, she raised her index finger. "No excuses. Don't make me force you."

Eyes already half-lidded, Inuyasha nodded before laying his head down on top of his pillow. He hated wasting time like this; sitting around and doing nothing, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He closed his eyes and fell back into a deep slumber.

It had been three days since he had returned with his brother to the village. He had been informed that Inuyasha had stayed up longer when he first regained consciousness, talking with the miko, before falling back to his unconscious state. Since then, the half-breed's consciousness had been in and out. The old miko, Kaede, had explained to him that even if Inuyasha had turned back into his hanyou form, his brother still needed rest. She said it had something to do with Inuyasha's demonic energy being suppressed for too long, and that his youki was now returning very slowly.

Right now, Sesshoumaru was sitting under a tree near the hut, watching Rin chase his retainer. He was starting to grow impatient at the fact that he had to delay his talk with the half-breed. If Himitsu and Mouretsu hadn't gotten his brother involved, he wouldn't have bothered waiting for his brother to wake up. But since they did, it seemed he had to do the one thing he hated; waiting.

"S-Sesshoumaru-sama..." Jaken said as he panted, beads of sweat rolling down his green forehead due to the chasing. "M-May I ask you a question, my lord?"

"What is it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru said, making it clear that he was irritated.

"Um... why are we waiting for that half-breed to wake up? We have nothing more to do here..."

Sesshoumaru considered knocking out the toad; not wanting to explain to Jaken his intentions, but decided that the action might be a little too harsh for a mere question. Thankfully, before he could tell the toad to cease his talking, the monk had saved him the effort by approaching them. The monk gave him a slight bow, and when he raised his eyes again, the daiyoukai could tell that there was something he was hesitating to say.

"You will tell this Sesshoumaru your purpose here, monk," Sesshoumaru said, his eyes narrowed.

Miroku bit his lip, before finally answering, "Inuyasha is awake."

Without having to say anything else, Sesshoumaru stood up from his position, and started heading towards the hut.

"Inuyasha, how are you feeling?"

Inuyasha glared at Kagome. Every time he wakes up, all of his group members would ask the same thing. He had been answering that he was fine, but none of them seemed to believe it, and kept repeating the question. Still, knowing that they were only concerned about him, he nodded.

This time, he woke up not feeling like he would pass out any second. Even if his injuries are almost healed, only half of his youki had returned during his three days of rest. While he was in and out of his consciousness, his friends tried to feed him each time he was awake. Unfortunately for them, they only had time to make him drink something before he became unconscious again. He also noticed that they kept throwing quick glances at his body, and he wished he had his suikan. He felt embarassed that his body had gotten so... thin during his capture.

Everyone in the hut whipped their heads to the direction of the entryway when Sesshoumaru entered. The demon lord had an unreadable facial expression, and none of them knew whether to move out of the way, or remain where they were.

Inuyasha looked at his older brother and his brows furrowed. His first instinct was to become mad, but if what Kagome had said was true; that his brother did brought him back here, then it would be wise not to piss Sesshoumaru. It must've taken his brother a whole lot of willpower not to kill him, and who knew how much longer his brother could take before he ended up going on a killing spree.

"Whaddaya' want, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha asked, trying his best not to sound annoyed.

Sesshoumaru stared at him for a while, before he raised his head to look at the others inside. "Leave us."

"No," Kagome and Sango said in sync, before Kagome continued, "Who knows what you're planning to do to him."

"Foolish ningen," Sesshoumaru said, and a shiver ran down Kagome's spine at his intensive gaze. "If this Sesshoumaru wanted to kill the hanyou, he would've done so the moment he defeated Mouretsu."

Kagome didn't know who the heck was Mouretsu, but she did know that Sesshoumaru was right. But the problem was that, what Sesshoumaru intends to do with Inuyasha often changes. Sometimes, Sesshoumaru walked away even if he had encountered Inuyasha. Other times, he was about to rip off the hanyou's throat. His behaviour towards Inuyasha changes faster than her mood swings. Could he blame her for not trusting him?

"Don't worry Kagome, I'll be fine," Inuyasha reassured, and shrugged. "Besides, if he does plan on killing me, he could just do it right now."

Knowing what Inuyasha said was true, Kagome took a deep breath, and nodded towards the hanyou. She gathered everyone else in the hut, and they all exited to wait outside. Once Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were left alone, Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at his younger brother.

Face emotionless as ever, Sesshoumaru narrowed his amber eyes. "We have something we need to discuss, half-breed."

A/N: So I imagined Jikiko's voice here sounding like Hakudoshi's voice. I know that Hakudoshi is a boy, but I'm pretty sure his voice actor is a girl. And yes, thank goodness Inuyasha survived the night. I can't wait to write the next chapter, because we're going to have some "brotherly" talk. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

- Replies -

veetree03: No problem! And thank you for continuing to read it.

Skighler: I'm glad that you were able to imagine the fighting scenes. I learned not to add too much detail, because some stories do that, and I wasn't able to imagine what was happening. And yes, I have to agree, Inuyasha being in danger is the best. In fact, Inuyasha in danger is what I live to write. Can't believe we have the same interest. xD

roseeyes: I've seen a few times in the anime that Sesshoumaru helps Inuyasha. It soothes my soul that Sesshoumaru shows that he does care, but it sucks that he'll never admit it lol.