Incomplete
- Chapter Thirty -
It took several hours of running through blinding snow and knee-deep drifts before the group arrived in the woods on the periphery of the old miko's village. A bitter wind whipped furiously around the trio, burning their bare legs and arms.
With a decisive nod in the direction of Kaede's hut, Kouga carefully handed Kagome over to them. Sharing a troubled look, Ginta and Hakkaku carried their sister into the village.
Without knocking or announcing their entrance, the pair barged through the old miko's door and stood panting and dripping with snow in the centre of her single room dwelling. The warm heavy air inside was a welcome break from the blizzard they'd just run though, but it offered them little comfort.
The old miko stared up at them from her seat next to the fire. She regarded them curiously but made no move to stand or speak. The slight tilt of her head silently urged them to explain (and quickly mind you) what they were doing in her home.
"Where is Inuyasha?" Ginta blurted out as his eyes scanned the hut.
"Inuyasha is not here. Why are ye searching for him?"
Her tone was soothing and it eased the wolf demons' nerves. They watched her bowed grey head and the way her withered hands picked apart herbs for drying. Sharing a glance between them, the pair silently argued over who would have the privilege of revealing what was hidden in the bundle of furs they carried between them.
Finally, they came to the consensus that the best method was to set Kagome down on the floor so the old woman could see for herself. As they began to unwrap the thick furs that covered her form, Kaede let out a gasp.
"Is that-?" she looked up at the two wolves who nodded solemnly.
"We-we found her in the woods like this," Ginta lied. He averted his gaze and stared hard at the floor. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to lie to the old woman. Swallowing hard, he opened his mouth to continue but closed it again when Hakkaku finished the lie for him.
"We've been trying to take care of her but she won't wake up. Can you help old woman?"
Kaede frowned and put a hand to Kagome's forehead. She clucked her tongue disapprovingly and motioned for the wolves to bring her next to the fire.
"What's wrong with her?" Ginta asked as he wrung his hands in front of him. "Is sister Kagome going to be okay? You can fix her right?
At the sound of Kagome's name, a tiny fox demon stirred in his sleep. Turning over, he rubbed his eyes blearily and blinked at the scene of two wolf demons and Kaede huddled around a pile of furs. Sniffing the air he sat up alert and sniffed again just to be sure.
"KAGOME!"
Shippo cheered and bounded out of bed, certain that his nose was never wrong. In two leaps he was hovering near her head with confusion written across his face.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked aloud when he saw everyone's serious expressions.
Kaede ignored his questions, too busy for the moment considering the best remedies to lower the girl's fever. Elder flowers and peppermint should do the trick…or maybe elderberries… Noticing the distraught expression on Shippo's face, she patted him on the head and did her best to offer a comforting smile.
"Kagome is very sick right now. Please go find Inuyasha and tell him to return. I am in need of his assistance."
The tiny fox demon nodded and disappeared out the door in a flash.
"Is there anything we can do?" Ginta asked, nervously eyeing the door.
"It was sensible of Kouga to stay away," the old miko commented casually.
The wolf demons exchanged looks of surprise.
"Tell me, did he find her in the woods?"
They nodded uneasily.
"Interesting. And she was alone? Ye are certain there were no other demons around?"
Again, they nodded in unison.
Kaede mulled this over while picking herbs from her collection to brew. After she'd ground the herbs into a fine powder, she returned to the fire and set a pot to boil.
"Thank ye for bringing her home. We have missed her greatly. Ye may go if ye wish. Advise Kouga we will take care of her from here."
The pair let out identical sighs of relief and turned for the door. Pushing aside the mat, Ginta motioned for his friend to go on ahead while he lingered behind. Lowering his voice, he asked why no one from their pack had gone to search for Kagome.
"Kagome left us many months ago to live with Inuyasha's half-brother, the demon Sesshomaru," Kaede explained pensively. Her tired eyes lingered on the dark purple bruise that stained the girl's cheek and she slowly shook her head in disbelief.
"I am surprised she has ended up in this way - so obviously mistreated, I mean. I would have thought such violence was beneath him. Then again, I am just an old crone and he has always been unpredictable."
With his face drawn, Ginta thanked her and exited the hut. He paused in the snow outside and thought over what Kaede had told him.
Should I tell Kouga?
The news that Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older (and much more dangerous) brother possibly hurt Kagome would send Kouga on a rampage. Now that winter had arrived in full force, it would be too dangerous for their pack to venture into the Western Lands. And knowing Kouga's stubborn determination, he wouldn't let anything stop him - even if it cost him his life.
Watching the snow swirl across the buried rice fields, Ginta decided to keep what he knew to himself, at least for the time being. Their pack needed its leader. They couldn't survive the long winter without one. Besides, Kagome would never forgive him if something bad happened to Kouga and he'd much rather face his leader's wrath than her tears any day.
oOo
Inuyasha stared wide-eyed at the pallet in front of him; the breath constricted in his throat, slowly suffocating him as he took in the sight of her torn robes and battered body. He'd always expected, rather, hoped that Kagome would come back to him but never like this.
The sight of her made him flinch as his heart constricted with guilt. His eyes travelled over the large bruise on her cheek, which stood out in a smattering of magenta and violet against the otherwise deathly pallor of her skin.
"Baka," he whispered as his thumbs grazed overtop the telling pair of scars on her wrists.
If you were so unhappy why didn't you just come home?
He drew up the blanket to cover her and shook his head in disgust. Kagome, his Kagome, had finally returned. It made him want to cry with relief, but instead an anger unlike anything he'd ever felt was brewing inside of him. He practically shook with rage as he fought the desire to go after his brother and tear him to pieces in a murderous rage.
How could he have let this happen to her?!
"I promise I'll kill that bastard for this!" he swore aloud.
On some level, Inuyasha wondered whether his brother had been the one to do it. He dismissed the thought just as quickly as it came. He may be a prick, but even Sesshomaru had some asinine code of honour that he adhered to. Hitting a woman was beneath him, much in the same way that fighting an unarmed opponent or killing a child was. So if it wasn't Sesshomaru, what had happened to her? And where the hell was his brother?
Even if he hadn't been the one to do this to her, he still deserved to be strung up for not being man enough to protect her. Unfortunately, the only person who could answer any of those questions had yet to regain consciousness.
Kneeling at her side, Inuyasha gently took Kagome's hand between his. Kaede had given her every remedy she could think of but her fever continued to rage. He'd placed her body mere inches from the roaring fire and piled layers of blankets on top of her but nothing seemed to stop her violent shivering.
Knowing how stubborn she could be gave him some shred of hope to hold on to. Somehow, she would find the strength to pull through and come back to him.
Somehow...
The faint squeeze of her hand around his was so fleeting he thought he'd imagined it at first.
"Kagome?" He tried to coax her awake while his free hand gently brushed the hair back from her face. A wave of hope crashed through his chest as he felt her squeeze his hand once more. Turning her head to the side she groaned softly and her eyelids began to flutter.
He waited with bated breath, hardly able to keep still from the anticipation. He rubbed her cheek gently with his thumb to encourage her to open her eyes. Kaede shuffled over to stand behind him and placed a warm, reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Kagome? It's me. Wake up," Inuyasha urged softly. He somehow managed to keep his voice calm, but he was ready to beg if he needed to.
She turned her head towards the sound of his voice and furrowed her brow. Her eyes opened a sliver and flickered unsteadily around the room until they finally came to rest on his face. After a tense few seconds, she visibly relaxed and he let out an audible sigh of relief.
Kaede brought a ladle full of water to the girl's parched lips and she sipped at it greedily. After watching her drink two more ladles full, Inuyasha couldn't hold himself back any longer. He pulled her up into a crushing hug.
"I was so scared you were never gonna wake up…" he whispered next to her ear.
She smiled gently and managed to meekly pat his back with one hand while she held onto him with the other. His kindness towards her brought tears to her eyes.
Inuyasha… How can you still care for me after I abandoned you?
When he pulled away, Inuyasha looked at her tears in surprise.
"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked in a panic. She stayed him with her hand and shook her head.
"Why am I here?"
"Ginta and Hakkaku claim they found you unconscious in the forest," Kaede explained calmly.
Kagome's mouth gaped open and her eyes darted back and forth as she searched for the memories that eluded her. Her head felt as if it was stuffed with cotton, forcing all of her memories into hiding.
"In the forest? But... How did I end up there?"
"We were hoping you could tell us," Inuyasha interjected, looking at her expectantly. "What did that bastard do to you? You can tell me. I swear, Kagome, I'll kick his ass for treating you like this!"
Kagome stared at him blankly, utterly confused. She tried to play it all back in her mind but she could only pull up bits and pieces and none of them made any sense whatsoever. But ever so slowly the memories returned in snippets, playing back like a stop-motion film - the guards, the fire, Sesshomaru's blood, Mitsushi, the cold that seeped into her bones...
As she put the pieces together her chest tightened with fear. Releasing a panicked cry she struggled to push herself to her feet. Her fever-glazed eyes desperately searched the room for a way out, looking straight past Inuyasha and Kaede.
Inuyasha grabbed hold of her and told her to calm down. In the back of her mind she knew it was him, but that didn't stop her from trying to fight against him.
"No! Let me go!" she screamed, and struggled against him with what little energy she had left. "Let me go! I have to go to him!"
"Who? Who do you have to go to Kagome? Not Sesshomaru…"
At the sound of Sesshomaru's name Kagome stopped struggling and looked into his eyes imploringly. "Where is he? Do you know? Is he okay? If you know you have to tell me!" Torrents of tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. She was quickly becoming inconsolable.
Inuyasha gaped at her, unsure what to say to fix this. Finally he shook his head in disbelief, "Kagome, isn't he the bastard who did all of this to you?"
His eyes turned meaningfully to the scars that ran up the length of her forearms. She self consciously held them against her chest and shook her head. In between sobs she tried to explain about the guards but by the time she got to Sesshomaru she was crying too hard to continue.
"I-I have to go to him. He might be dying and it's my fault-all of it is my fault. Please let me go!" she pleaded and tried to struggle once more but Inuyasha held her fast. He looked at Kaede imploringly but she wore the same stunned expression he did.
In her struggles the shoulder of her robe slipped away and he saw his brother's mark gleaming up at him, a faint white scar cut into her pale skin. He assumed they'd most likely been together but he never would've expected Sesshomaru would make her his mate. Utterly confused and more than a little jealous, Inuyasha tried to keep his emotions under control as he worked to calm her down.
It took time, but eventually she let him lay her back against the pallet. Still sniffling, she absentmindedly fingered several strands of his hair that'd fallen near her face.
"So it's the night of the new moon?"
Kaede looked at her strangely and Inuyasha visibly gulped.
"Why no child, it is the middle of the lunar cycle. Though ye can't tell for all the cloud cover outside."
At her words Kagome gasped and pushed herself upright. Stunned, she weakly ran her fingers through Inuyasha's ebony hair.
"Inuyasha...what have you done?"