Author's note: Inuyasha! (is not mine).

Chapter 4: What's in a name?

It had been very early in the morning when Inuyasha roused his group. Kagome mumbled complaints as she stretched out her stiff body. She was exhausted. For some reason, Inuyasha was very alert. He insisted they leave as soon as possible. Miroku and Sango thanked the kind old man for his hospitality and allowing them to stay the night. Kagome gave her bag to Sango and Miroku to carry on Kiara and hopped on Inuyasha's back.

Inuyasha's long strides spoke for him, in spite of his unwillingness to give a verbal response. He was in a hurry to get somewhere. "What's the rush, Inuyasha?" Kagome whined at Inuyasha as the road got bumpy.

"The demon aura in the air is thick. It's most likely that the demon is nearby." He answered deliberately. Inuyasha cleared the forest canopy in a leap and for a moment they were suspended in the atmosphere. Kagome observed the scenery and then focused on the town in the vicinity. She recognized it. This was the village she had first come to experience feudal Japan in. The bone-eater's well was in it's woods, Inuyasha's Forest, and of course there was also the sacred tree.

The trees encompassed them again as gravity took hold. Inuyasha seemed to be hastening his pace. Kagome wondered what on earth was troubling him. She exchanged puzzled looks with Sango from over her shoulder.

Suddenly they had stopped. Kagome barely had time to gauge her location when Inuyasha was evicting her off his back. She was in the middle of the village. Everything seemed normal. The sun had just broke the dawn and people were beginning work for the day. Inuyasha rushed up to Kaede's hut and then abruptly halted. He paused for only a second, while his nose twitched, and then threw back the mat. Kagome followed him and peeked over his shoulder.

"Kaede!" Kagome shouted as she discovered the old woman peeking back at her with her only eye. She was sitting upright and grasping her bandaged chest and trying to look strong. A hand maiden was at her side offering her water.

Kagome plunged into the dusky room and kneeled next to Kaede. "What happened?" Inuyasha finally decided to step inside the room, but resigned himself close to the exit. Miroku and Sango appeared in the doorway and quickly joined in Kagome's concern.

"Tis nothing. I'm fine." Kaede forced a smile. Kagome's unconvinced look dragged out Kaede's last reserves of pride for appearance. She sighed. "A demon attacked me last night and I wasn't careful." Shippo, who had been invisible before then materialized as a perched animal on Miroku's shoulder.

"You were attacked?" squeaked the young fox.

Kaede's observed the weary travelers whose faces were now exhausted with worry as well as sleep deprivation. "Yes, but I'll be just fine. Do not trouble ye selves. Tis nothing serious."

"What attacked you?" rang a cold voice from the back, who Kaede recognized to be Inuyasha.

"A demon." Kaede stated simply.

"What kind of demon?" Inuyasha probed.

"He had blue hair, evil orange eyes, and a powerful aura." Inuyasha was silent.

Kagome tried to comfort Kaede and offered to apply more herbs and bandage her wounds. Kaede smiled at the child. She declined the offer, saying that she had already been served enough of late.

"Tell me Lady Kaede, what did the demon want of you?" Miroku's voice was clear and mature.

"It did not take my life, for ye see me here, but I fear it wished to strip me of my priestess powers." The group's eyes lit up.

"It attempted to steal you're spiritual powers and stab you through the chest?" Miroku was shocked.

"And what of Kikyo?" blurted Inuyasha, "Is she alright?"

Kaede's eye widened and focused on the half demon. So he had picked up her scent. No wonder he had shone a sudden subdued level of interest upon entering her hut. He must have expected to find her here too.

"She's fine" Kaede reassured Inuyasha, and rested her eye upon Kagome. She looked a bit alarmed. Kaede watched as Kagome rolled her sister's name off her tongue, voicelessly, while Kagome stared vaguely at Inuyasha. Then her eyes dropped to the floor, defeated. Kaede pitied the child. Her heart was so easily passed out, and so easily broken. Cracked was a better word here, Kagome's heart was cracked for now. She looked solemn in contrast to her perky and consuming happiness.

"Was she attacked too?" Inuyasha's voice shattered the brief moment of reflection.

"I don't know" replied Kaede almost apathetically. She inconspicuously slipped her necklace into a pocket in her pants.

Inuyasha stood up and strode to the doorway and glanced back at the humans. "I'll be right back" he muttered as he swept out of the door.

Kagome could feel her throat threaten to clasp shut as a stirring pain rummaged through her heart. It always made her head spin with emotions when Inuyasha broke off on his own for any reason, but especially to 'secretly' track down his dead ex-girlfriend. One of these emotions was definitely hurt. It pained her to see him throw himself at a mere shell of a woman who selfishly desired his death. It also infuriated her. Her head nearly boiled over sometimes for his stupidity and irrational impulsive behavior. Worst of all, she felt betrayed. She was in love with Inuyasha. She couldn't deny it. Kagome also understood she could never ask Inuyasha to leave his memories in the past, where they belonged. Which meant she could never seriously engage in a relationship with him. But she couldn't help herself. Call it human hubris. Kagome saw it as a kind of punishment because she, herself, couldn't accept Inuyasha's refusal of her love. On some level she did acknowledge that it was partially self-inflicted. However, when he left her, she felt so betrayed and alone. She felt jealous. Such emotions scared her, made her feel evil; and that frightened her most of all.

Kagome picked her eyes up off the floor. Kaede had gone back to sleep. Kagome felt someone embrace her and she turned her head to see Sango pulling her into her arms.

"Are you ok, Kagome?" Shippo peeped.

Kagome let her head rest on Songo's chest and felt that if she didn't think about something else her eye's would rupture like dams. She closed them.

"Yes," Kagome whispered.

"Kagome," Sango's voice was soothing, "why don't you go back to your home and rest since we'll probably be here for awhile watching Kaede?"

"No," Kagome responded quickly, "we'll probably set off to find that demon soon."

"Are you sure you're ok, Kagome? You look so sad." Shippo gazed deeply into Kagome's eyes. Kagome's throat glued shut. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't. Then another set of arms curled around her waist from behind Sango.

"Miroku..." Sango's voice threatened.

"What Sango?" Miroku's voice was innocent, "I'm helping to comfort our friend with a group hug." At that, Shippo hopped up onto Sango's shoulder and squeezed one arm around Sango and Kagome's necks. Even Kiara came and snuggled Kagome.

Sango had been about to introduce Miroku's face to her fist, but she was overwhelmed. Shippo, Kiara, and she were earnestly hugging Kagome. She couldn't break the moment. Kagome needed support. A few seconds ticked by. Kagome's nose sniffled.

"Now, will you just look at what Inuyasha is missing?" Somehow, Miroku always knew exactly how to set up and demolish a touching moment.

SMACK

Miroku was temporarily ostracized from the group. He retired in a corner of the hut by Kaede and rested his head on the wall, a contented smile played upon lips. A red hand print rested on one cheek.

Sango rubbed Kagome's back and wiped her silent tears away from her young face. Her friend was in pain and it caused Sango to hurt too. Inuyasha could be a real doofus sometimes.

For Sango, it was unthinkable that she would ever share her man, whoever he turned out to be, with another woman. It was amoral and unforgivable to her. But that's just how Sango was. She was very pro feminist and respected strong women.

Sango admired Kagome's patience and undying devotion to the half demon, but couldn't totally fathom it. It boggled her. She saw similarities to that relationship and her and Kohaku's, but Kohaku was her brother. He didn't help Naraku by choice and was really good at heart. She justified her own situation much easier. Still, she loved her friend like a sister and wasn't about to let her suffer alone.

Kagome let out one last sniffle and then looked up into Sango's eyes. They were warm. Kagome smiled a little. "Thanks, Sango. I'm just tired and stressed."

"What are friends for?" Sango smiled back at her.

"Indeed," Miroku agreed slyly from his corner. Sango shot him an icy look. Miroku sat unperturbed, wearing a playful countenance.

Kagome decided to sleep a few hours and hope that Inuyasha came back soon. For once, she had no desire to chase after him. She decided it was because all the running they had done lately, and her current lack of sleep.

When Kagome awoke, the sun was spilling though the doorway of Kaede's hut. Someone was coughing, and she decided to wake up. It was Kaede. Miroku was kneeling beside her, holding her steady while she sat and coughed. Inuyasha still wasn't there and Sango was absent too.

Kagome blinked and looked around. Miroku noticed her and said "Good morning."

"Good morning" Kagome replied. "Is Kaede alright?"

"I think she's ill from being attacked. She has a fever and a cough."

"Where's Sango?"

"She went to get more water."

"Oh." Kagome paused. "Do you want some medicine, Kaede?" Kagome offered. The old maid was caught in coughing fit, but shook her head 'no'. "You sure?" Kagome looked anxious. However, she did not look to see Kaede answer. She crawled out of her sleeping bag over to her big yellow bag and started to dig. She extracted her first aid kit. Unfortunately it was virtually empty. She had no Tylenol, no cough syrup, no ice pack, no cough drops, no pills, nothing. "Oh," she exclaimed, "I need to restock my supply."

Kagome leapt up and lurched out of the hut with her big bag. She promised she'd be back as quick as she could with medicine for Kaede and Miroku's favorite bag of chips, plus goodies for Shippo. She reached the well and dropped through. On the otherside, no one was home. So she helped herself to everything she needed. It was remarkably easy. At least one thing was going right today...

She pulled herself back through the well. Kaede would be alright now. She had brought everything she could get her hands on. Kagome smiled to herself, "With all this medical treatment I give, I'll become as good as a certified nurse except without any formal training."

Kagome was broken from her daydreaming as a scream ripped across the clear summer day. She froze. It was as woman's voice. Kagome ordered her muscles to obey and rushed to the source of the cry. She didn't have to get in very close range of the village to see it was from the area near Kaede's hut. Villagers were pouring out of the area. Kagome had to fight her way upstream to get to Kaede's hut.

There they were. Right in front of Kaede's hut, in fact. A tall, well-built, blue haired man, in a black kimono was standing with one arm held out in front of him, with which, he was strangling Sango. The ground was glowing silvery white as though mercury had been poured on it. Kagome could even see their reflections in it. Miroku was laying on the ground, looking paralyzed. His eyes were vacant and staring. One of his arms was lacerated. Sango was struggling, prying her fingers at his bulldog grip and kicking at the dusty earth that she could barely reach. She was failing. Her Hiraikotsu was lodged in a building near by.

Kagome dropped her bag. She searched for a weapon. Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... A rock? She picked it up and hit the man broad side of the head. The demon, as Kagome surmised, barely reacted. He slowly shifted his gaze to her and then an awful grin widened across his features. She ran over to Miroku, who wasn't far off. She shook him. He didn't move. She shook him again, crying, "Please get up Miroku, help me, help Sango!" The monk blinked.

"Kagome..." he gasped.

"We have to do something, he's going to kill San—" Kagome was cut off.

"Leave, Kagome! Run away!" Miroku commanded.

"No, I have to help! I won't give up on you!" she cried.

"Get out of here Kagome, now. The demon wants..." Miroku's voice slowly died and he fell over.

Kagome heard another plunk. Sango was laying on the ground, motionless.

"No" Kagome's voice quivered. The demon patted down his kimono from where Sango had dirtied it with dust. Then he looked at Kagome and winked. The wretched grin snaked across his mouth again.

"Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha..." she pleaded. The demon approached very slowly. As though he wanted her to run away. She was frozen in terror. Her legs knocked together beneath her. She lost herself. He stopped. He stood a good five feet away and he examined her. She felt completely helpless and cursed herself.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome's voice was failing her.

The demon took another step. Each step made Kagome sink farther and farther inside herself. She looked down at her feet as an icy feeling assaulted her skin. The shiny ground was climbing her body. She swatted at it with her hand, but recoiled in pain. It was freezing her alive. It was so cold it was searing hot.

The demon now looked down his nose at her. He was extremely close to her. By now, the liquid had crawled up to her waist. He leaned in and grabbed her by the arms. He hooked his claws into her muscles. She screamed out, but found she could only manage a hoarse whisper. He laughed at her. Her eyes were spewing tears.

"Inuyasha" Kagome cried in her mind. The demon's orange eyes dug into her and seemed to know everything about her. He was staring into her eyes. "What do you want?" she hardly managed.

"Isn't it obvious?" he cackled. Her eyes were brimming with tears. He displayed a toothy grin. She shivered. Then he lunged forward and bit her deep on the jaw. It was a scorching pain that felt like it traveled all the way down to her feet. She was being burned alive. However, no blood, nothing, fell from her face.

The icy grip held most of her body paralyzed, everything from her neck down. It didn't conflict with the burning sensation either, in fact, it amplified it. Kagome felt herself losing consciousness. The pain was unbearable. Then the icy grip closed off the top of her head. She was stuck for good.

Just then a streak of light crossed her vision. The burning lessened and the man let go. She could still feel his teeth and just let go of everything. She was falling. A red haze enveloped her. Something or someone was holding her. "Inuyasha?"