Chapter Six: Feverish Kiss

Perhaps one amongst the many quoted lies of love is true. That to look past, but never completely recover, from one love one must be able to find another. Is it not the nature of those that have lost love and found themselves with a void that cannot be filled to search for a way to relieve the emptiness?

Yet, not all can react in a responsible way and the casualties of Cupid's arrows are often far reaching beyond those that he originally strikes.

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Kagome loved Friday's.

Sure she'd have a little extra homework, but not only was the weekend coming up she got to attend her chorus club at the high school. It was a little nerve wracking to leave Lezard but as he was absorbed in dozens of books in the library she didn't feel that it would be too bad for her to wander off for a while.

It was good to spend a few hours with her friends talking about things until he was brought up again. It was a fight to convince the trio she wasn't dating the cute young 'exchange student' but worse once they'd decided she should date him now that her relationship with the 'abusive Inuyasha' was over.

Once she'd been reminded of Inuyasha she decided to excuse herself. The only good part of her years of faked sickness was it was easy to say she was feeling a little off to get out of being somewhere. Though she was still nervous about going to the school gathering with the violet haired boy she was sharing her home with. If he had another episode on the beach it would be impossible to hide what she was from the people there.

A smile pulled at her lips though when she rounded into the library and saw him glancing between four books at once with dozens of others piled nearby. Though given the dirty looks the librarian was offering they apparently didn't like him having rearranged the furnature so he could access two desks at the same time.

He was intent on his studies though, when he had told Kagome he meant to find as much out as he could he definitely hadn't been joking with her. His soft face had more drawn lines whenever he was settled that way, making him appear a little older and much more serious.

"The library closes in ten minutes you know." Kagome pointed out softly as she reached the corner where he'd more or less secluded himself for the majority of the afternoon.

"Hmm?" He glanced up as if he hadn't heard a word of what she said and then frowned when she repeated herself. "Already?"

"It closes early on friday's cause of the weekend." She explained. "Wanna check out. I'd like to catch the next train if we can. Mom has to leave for the weekend and let Souta keep staying at his friends house. So I'd like to stop at the grocery shop for food as we'll be on our own over the weekend."

"Oh." He nodded and stood up, picking up two volumes he hoped to pursue in some of the time they apparently had. Walking over to check them out, the library had always been his favorite escape at the academy and this was looking like it was going to be a repeat experience.

The librarian still seemed pretty unhappy at the way they were leaving things but Kagome could only offer an apologetic look as they headed out of the room and toward the train stop. "Lezard, you really shouldn't just leave things like that in the library."

"They're paid to put things back in order correct? They shouldn't complain about it." He shrugged like that was all there was to it. "If everyone was required to put things back then they wouldn't have a job."

Kagome sighed a bit, that wasn't quite the point she was going for but felt like arguing would be sort of like talking to a wall. "Well, anything you want sense we're shopping for just us?"

"Pizza?"

"Men." She shook her head negatively. "We're going tomorrow for Pizza remember. I like to have other stuff sometimes."

"Right." He nodded a little, seeming vaguely disappointed but not pressing the issue. "Whatever you think I might like. Your cuisine is all rather different from what I'm used to."

"Okay." She seemed to be considering and so he returned to reading for the extent of the ride. He was coming across a few things that were possibly promising but not too much, he had more limited options in this world. Kagome and her own portal to another time might be his best chance at finding a way back to his dimension.

They made a stop at the store and after she picked out a bunch of packages and had them bagged before paying for them. Right on back to her home at the shrine and he had headed to his room to continue his research while she cooked.

He raised a brow when she popped her head into his room.

"Hey, I'm gonna go our real quick cause were out of one of the sauces I need." She smiled just a little sheepishly. "I wanted to let you know. I'll try to be back quick."

He nodded some, it was good to know more or less that she'd be delayed, returning to his reading after she left. Though he was only a few pages in when his vision blurred slightly. He knew his glasses were intact, they had perhaps more magic in them than most of his array of items...but then he realized it wasn't the glasses.

He tossed a bookmark in and closed it in annoyance. He had only cast a single small cantrip that day to get the librarian to stop bothering him about having so many books at once. "What the hell did that vile creature do to me?"

He remembered the battle well enough, how it enraged him that the little weakling had absorbed his lady love to attack him. With her own strength of course it never would have been enough so instead she'd stolen Lenneth from him. It had been a deep cut, pierced one of his lungs and severed part of his spine as well as major damage to several areas. A normal human wouldn't have survived the blow.

It was several days later though and he'd received several powerful healing spells, he shouldn't continue to relapse. Though the effect had changed sense the day prior, he could tell he was feverish given even after he'd taken off his jacket and tie he was still extremely warm. The battle kept playing through his head in a detail that was irritating. He doubted they realized he let them win so he wouldn't have to kill the creature housing his Valkyrie's soul.

Then other memories filtered through his mind. His parents, years at the acadamy, the many times he'd run into and failed to earn Lenneth's love, those in particular were things that were haunting him.

By the time Kagome had returned and headed up to let him know she was going to get everything done for dinner soon his fever had left him hallucinating. When Kagome opened his door she had to blink at the disheveled look that had replaced the perfectly groomed look she normally saw him with. His hair was a little messed and the white shirt worn beneath the jacket with the school uniforms was half unbuttoned. Showing a part of the thin scar that ran across his pale chest, hard to make out.

"Lenneth." Kagome blinked in confusion when he said it. "Why do you continue to deny what you know you feel."

"Uh Lezard." She was staring at him still perplexed by his reaction and appearance. "Are you okay?"

"How couldn't I be okay with you here now my beloved." When he slid himself up next to her she found herself blushing and unable to even sputter. "I feared I may have lost you after you allowed that weak girl to absorb you."

"What the hell is he talking about? Kagome backed away some but found herself against a wall within a couple short steps. "Lezard, are you okay...who are you talking about?"

The way he looked at her made her belly attempt to do jumping jacks. It was like he wanted to possess her in a way she could never fully understand. His violet eyes seemed to burn with hunger she wasn't sure she wanted to fully understand. She wasn't prepared for it when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

It was such a instant embrace she didn't know how to react. His lips were soft but his kiss was insistent and demanding, pressing her body to him all before she was even able to finally pull back to take a breath and push him away in protest. "Lezard! I'm not whoever you think I am!"

He paused and seemed to start to realize, backing away and letting her get her footing. She stared at him in shock, her lips still burned and she could still feel the warmth on her skin from his short but electric embrace. It was far more aggressive than she would have expected of him, not really fitting his usual well behaved demeanor.

"Kagome?" He seemed puzzled, as if he was asking her her name.

"Yes. I'm Kagome." She repeated in hopes he wouldn't attack her again...that was already odd enough. She reached out to touch his head and frowned. "Now you have a fever. Just what is wrong with you?"

He pulled away from her hand but didn't react aggressively otherwise. "Where did Lenneth go?"

"I thought I had it bad." She thought to herself with sigh. Was she going to have to heal him again? He seemed on the edge of sanity so it was probably better than letting him forget who she was again.

She blushed a little as she reached out to take his hand, trying to ignore the second confused look he gave her and closing her eyes. It seemed like she was getting better at the whole healing magic thing, it didn't take her nearly as long to summon the golden glow and feel his hand take a more normal temperature by the time she finished.

He wasn't looking at her when she opened her eyes and he'd already taken his hand back. He was buttoning his shirt turned away from her and then putting on his jacket. She wavered a little but steadied herself on the doorframe. It was somehow getting easier. "Lezard...are you all right now."

"Yes." He didn't sound all right, he sounded angry. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." She didn't want to mention that her lips still stung a little. "I just...was surprised...dinner is almost ready. I should check on it."

"Do you need me to help you?" He still hadn't turned her way.

"I should be all right, it wasn't as hard to cast this time..." She commented, leaving him to steady himself and happy to have an excuse to get away for a minute.

She touched her lips as she moved toward the stove to move the boiling pot...the noodles may have been a bit overcooked but she doubted he'd say much after that. "Did he just steal my first real kiss? Does it even count if he really thought I was someone else?"

He was back to his usual demeanor when he entered the room as she finished dishing up two plates, setting them at the table and then getting cold coke's today to drink.

"Thank you." He managed, though he still wasn't looking at her. "I'm sorry that I..."

"It's okay." Kagome interrupted him, she didn't want to hear it out loud, just thinking about it had her blushing again. "You were sick again...you didn't do it on purpose. Do you know what's wrong?"

Concentrate on the problem, keep it from happening again.

He glanced at her when she said it was okay, scanning her for signs that she'd lied about it. He was certain he'd somehow screwed up the good fortune he'd had til then. That she would out him or kick him out but she hadn't only fixed him again she was trying to make sure he would be okay in the future.

"I don't know." He answered honestly, still sounding a little angry. The damn sickness had shown him Lenneth, had given him hope for a short moment that she would be concerned for him...that she would taste as heavenly as her hollowed wings were soft.

"Who's Lenneth?" Kagome asked as she watched him, her own eyes held pity. He hated it, hated that any mere mortal would offer him pity, but he was wiser than to react on that emotion. That mere mortal was the only thing keeping him sane and somewhat healthy.

"Lenneth..." he wasn't even certain where to begin.

"You really care about her? But she doesn't return those feelings?" Kagome guessed.

"How much did I say? I don't even remember speaking." He eyed her unsure of what course to take, he was starting to hate the woman that was helping him. His body was still not convinced of what his mind now knew, he still had a man's needs and he was doing his best to push away thoughts of attempting to lay with the girl.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry...we'll figure it out though. I'll look through Grandpa's collection of old remedies...there might be some sort of story about something like this." Kagome changed the subject back to fixing the problem. Obviously if she didn't want to think about Inuyasha he probably didn't want to think about this Lenneth.

"He has old books we could use?" He appreciated her gift of changing the subject and while he knew what she was doing he jumped at the chance. He needed to get back on task before this sickness got to be too much for him to control.

"Most of them are stuff on the shrine itself but he keeps a lot of books on home remedies." Kagome explained. "Usually they aren't helpful at all but some of them are good. A few of them have been in the family for generations and I guess it's a long shot but we have to find something. I don't want to think about how things would be if I wasn't around and you became ill again."

"She has no idea I was about to ravage her ten minutes ago." Lezard pondered, his eyes scanning along her body with an appreciation only a man could possess for the female form. She was a lovely young thing, probably still a virgin, she tasted a bit like the rare apple candies his mother would buy him when he was young. "Focus Lezard. You aren't a lecher." If you don't stop gaping like a boy just into the academy you are going to lose your only real ally.

She had apparently noticed his long gaze and was now blushing horribly as she tried to look at her noodles and the table, and the wall, and just about anything that wasn't him.

"I'm sorry Kagome." He hadn't finished much of the meal but he needed to take a break. His control wasn't something he trusted after the nights events so he left her and moved back to the room he was using.

She glanced up after she heard him on the steps. "God...that was horrible. Did he have to look at me like that right after he...god." She shivered a little, touching her lips again. The sensation was just starting to fade and she doubted the memory would leave her for some time. "Mom won't be home until Monday. What have I gotten myself into this time? He's definitely not what he seems at all."

She was running herself in circles thinking about the way he'd approached her and...

"Beloved?" She buried her head in her hands. "Who says that anymore? Should I just be glad he's obsessed with someone that isn't me? What can I really trust sense he obviously wasn't sane right then?"

Lezard meanwhile was trying to burn away his illness in an extremely hot water bath, even if it burned a little it gave him something to pull his mind away from the less than honorable thoughts he was having about his hostess. The only person he was suppose to consider such things about was Lenneth.

End Chapter

I snicker at the idea of Lezard 'punishing' himself over having 'less than honorable' thoughts about someone other than Lenneth...but I can so see him doing it. So, first kiss wasn't quite the norm but yeah...not so much anything is in a pairing like this.

-Nera

Reviewers:

I updated pretty quick and therefore I has none for the last chapter to reply to.