Kagome's 'little meltdown' as Inuyasha chose to call it, had caused some very uncomfortable feelings to stir within him. While he knew logically, after the whole debacle with Kikyo, that Kagome wasn't his in a romantic way he still felt the overwhelming need to protect her and help guard her heart. She was still his best friend, even if their feelings didn't progress past those of close family and he definitely did not want to see her get hurt. Seeing her subconscious reaction to the revelation of his half-brother's heavy absence left little doubt in his mind that something was going on below the surface. The two had been agreeable when they traveled together but were never friends. They were allies, nothing more, working together to find the means to an end. He strongly doubted she was aware of how powerful her outburst had been if she was even cognizant of it at all. He hoped against hope that it was wrought out of the deep compassion she held for her companions, and not because she had somehow developed feelings for the prince of frostbite. Sesshoumaru didn't just dislike humans, he loathed them and he feared what it would do to her when she was inevitably rejected, provided of course that they could even find him in the first place. If Kagome's suspicions were true, and the great dog had also been transfigured into a mortal being, they were going to be dealing with one enraged ex-pooch and the unwelcome romantic overtures of a human female were likely to push him over the edge. He decided that no matter what happened, he would continue to protect Kagome, even if it was from herself and the mistakes she had yet to make.
"So, do we have any idea where we should start looking?" She pulled him from his musings and addressed the group before her. They were all seated in one of the conference rooms at the sanctuary discussing battle-plans as it were. "I mean, we all ended up in pretty much the same general area. That means he should be close-by, right?"
"Your logic is sound. Ordinarily, I'd ask why we haven't heard any rumors of strange happenings in the area where he is concerned, but given the circumstances, I do wonder how much he truly has changed. It could be that he is avoiding trouble." Miroku mused out loud. "As you mentioned before, it's possible that given his strictly held views he has had quite some difficulty in adapting to his new station. Maybe his prejudices have pushed him to limit contact with the world around him. We may be better off seeking him out in a more remote and less inhabited area."
Many around the table nodded in agreement. Kagome deflated. She really hoped this could be simple, but her life rarely ever was. Glancing down at the map they had put together, she had an idea. Maybe if they plotted out the sites of the first places they remembered, it would lead them to new clues. Each individual received a push pin to place on the map. When they were finished, she tied the pins together with string to find a pattern, but nothing obvious caught her attention. She sighed in frustration, sitting with her head in her hands.
"Don't give up, Kagome! We've only just found everyone else in the last week! Try to be patient. There's no reason to get too upset right now." Ayame reassured her, patting her on the back. She accepted her comfort gratefully.
"Maybe there's something obvious that we're missing. If I were a great demon lord who suddenly found myself turned into a human and thrust into a busy city, where would I go to think about my situation?" prompted Kouga.
Inuyasha scoffed, "As far from civilization as humanly possible! That icicle ass probably booked it for the nearest desert, tundra, or volcano he could! The more hostile the environment, the better!" He received a handful of answering glares from Kagome and Sango as they covered the children's' ears, protecting them from his colorful language.
"When traveling with the lord, we took our rest in forest clearings. He preferred to have a view of the sky. I believe that's how he was able to navigate so well." Supplied Jaken.
Nodding, Kagome assessed the map and found that the entire city was surrounded by forests and parks. Narrowing it down would be difficult.
"I guess our best option is to divide and conquer. Let's start with the lesser-known parks. There are a few that don't get as much traffic. If we strike out there, we can come back here to regroup."
The arrangements were made and they all split up. With no wandering demons inhabiting the land, it wasn't necessary for them to go in groups and they could cover more ground one-on-one so they were each assigned an area and a time to meet back at the sanctuary.
It was nearly nightfall and Sesshoumaru retired to the shade of the large tree near the edge of the clearing. He was thankful that he did not have to concern himself with the weather because, in his current predicament, he would not be able to clear the treeline to take the necessary shelter. Clearly an oversight on the part of his invisible captors. He had once again lost track of time since he'd been stuck in this forest and he was beginning to give into the weakness that was human depression. Neither the questions he pondered nor the peace he seemed to make with his past, had fulfilled the conditions necessary to release himself from his cage. He was the strongest demon of his age and yet, even a powerful being such as himself had limits to their determination.
He wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to the others and why he was here alone. He thought it must be due to his desire for solitude in the past. The Killing Perfection had no need of distractions or the nuisances known as friends, but here and now he was learning to be lonely. It made him uncomfortable and he hated being uncomfortable. Physically, his human muscles were tired, his body was beginning to wear down from his constant pacing and the odd clothing in which he was attired was now dusty and holes were forming in the bottoms of the strange footwear. Emotionally too, he was spent, having fought desperately to hold on to what remained of his rationality. He had even let his control slip and began to ponder the previously forbidden thoughts of the miko. The deity had hinted that this punishment was because of her wish. If this was the torment inflicted upon her once-enemies, what torment could she have brought upon the ones she called friends?
Aside from his ill-attempt to liquefy her at their first encounter, he had never paid much attention to the strange woman that traveled with his half-brother, but once he joined their odd pack, he did find himself appraising her with more regularity. She was courageous, determined, and marginally intelligent. She had managed to keep his erratic brother in line and under control which was a feat deserving of praise. How did one merely pretty human woman have so much power over all she encountered? Even as a miko, her powers would not have been enough to glue the rag-tag bunch to her side. There was something about her that made everyone she chanced upon a victim to her witchery.
He shook himself from his thoughts as he realized what his treacherous mind had tried to pull. Why was he even debating with himself whether or not the girl was attractive? It was against everything he stood for to even give the raven-haired beauty a second glance. She belonged to the half-breed and as such, her gorgeous cobalt eyes were off limits to him. He was not his father. He would not lust after a taken woman. Now he knew his sanity was leaving him. How many times had his perfidious ponderings just focused on the girl's physical attributes? No. This needed to end, now. Forcing himself into a reclining position against the behemoth timber, he closed his eyes and attempted to clear his mind to sleep.
His respite was short-lived as there was a blinding flash and rumble of thunder echoed loudly in the bower. The clouds burst and icy cold drops of water fell rapidly and heavily to the ground soaking all in their path. Desperately, he curled closer to the tree to protect as much of his body as he could from the frigid moisture. The storm raged on and he began to shiver, cursing the weakness of mortality. He knew without a doubt that if he did not find a way to get warm and dry, he would fall ill and most likely die in this hellhole. He would never see the ones he could now grudgingly admit he loved ever again. His body grew even colder and he slipped into a dreamless sleep.
"Over here!" came the loud cry as a beam of light fell upon something large and wet at the base of the tree. The rain had been pouring for hours and it was nearly midnight. When the storm had hit, the others had retreated for the safety of Dogtown, but Kagome and Jaken refused to give up their search. Something was tugging at her subconscious and she just knew that if she gave up now, something terrible would happen. Armed with flashlights, a radio transmitter, and rain gear, they soldiered on until they reached the last forest on the map. It was the furthest away and the least traveled of all of the other parks. Jaken had been the one to locate the hidden grove and his flashlight was pointed into the darkness toward a humongous redwood.
Kagome surged ahead and dropped to her knees by a large root. There indeed was a large wet body lying on its side as close to the bark as humanly possible. She choked back a sob and prayed to the Kami that they weren't too late. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch the exposed arm of the creature before her. The skin was dangerously cold, and the pulse was faint, but they were definitely still alive. She pulled a large waterproof blanket from the bedroll on her back and began layering it around the being before her. She didn't know how she knew, but this was definitely Sesshoumaru. His platinum hair was darkened with rain, but she'd know that bone structure anywhere. She shook him carefully to wake him, not wanting him to go into shock. If he stayed asleep he might never wake up. They had to somehow get him out of the rain.
"Jaken! Radio the others! Tell them we need backup right now!" She called frantically across the clearing before turning back to the man in front of her. "Sesshoumaru? It's Kagome. You have to wake up. If you stay asleep you might die. Please, please open your eyes!"
He was floating somewhere in the darkness. It was warm and comfortable here. For the first time in forever, he felt truly rested. In the peaceful darkness, he began to hear a muffled murmur. He tried to ignore it but it was incessant and he was pulled brutally from his slumbering to crash back down to earth. His first sensation was that he was freezing. His skin prickled with pins and needles, the first sign of frostbite. There was the feeling of warmth on his upper arm and he struggled to open his heavy eyelids. He knew that he was in hell the minute his blurred vision fell upon the heart-shaped face in front of him.
"I knew I would die here. What better way to torment me than to hear your voice and see your face again at the end?"
His eyes fluttered shut and his breathing grew shallow.
Kagome recoiled as the bitter words fell from his lips purpled with cold. Inuyasha was right. What did she expect? Still, she couldn't leave him to die out here in the cold. She had to think of Rin. She couldn't see her daddy like this. She was saved from having to think about how badly his words had hurt her when the bright lights of the jeep breached the clearing. Kouga and Inuyasha jumped out of the vehicle and ran for Kagome.
He knew something dire had happened when his eyes fell on her downtrodden face.
"Kags, what's wrong? Everything alright?" he questioned with a worried look in his eyes.
She shook her head and lead him over to Sesshoumaru.
"We have to get him to safety. He's freezing to death. I'm not sure how much longer he can last. Please hurry!" She tried desperately to keep the hurt from her voice, but she knew he wouldn't miss it. Her eyes bored into his begging him not to ask her about it.
"Alright," he agreed, "but you know we're gonna talk later. Let's just get the icicle into the car." She glared at his choice of words. "Sorry. I guess that wasn't funny."
The ride back to Dogtown was silent and the atmosphere was heavy. Kagome sat in the back of the jeep, Sesshoumaru on her lap as she tried to gradually warm him up with the use of blankets and careful massaging of his hands and feet. It wouldn't do any good for them to have rescued him, only for him to die of shock from heating up too quickly. They pulled up to the building and moved quickly to get him inside to one of the rehab rooms. Kouga had a feeling the great dog prince wouldn't be too appreciative of the fact that they'd basically taken him to the vet's office, but they didn't have much choice. The human hospital was too far away and would ask way too many questions.
Kouga assembled his team and they worked quickly to get the taiyoukai turned human out of his wet clothing. They would not be able to salvage the tattered t-shirt, holey sneakers or the frayed jeans, he decided, and sent the garments off to be disposed of. Judging by the decimated outfit, the dog lord had been in that forest for a long time. He knew that Sesshoumaru was a proud creature, so he was greatly troubled by the state they'd found him in. Surely he hadn't fallen so far as to stop taking care of himself. The poor condition of the man before him lead to the suggestion that maybe there was a greater power at play here.
When he was satisfied that they'd removed the main source of the cold from the inu, he began to pile him with warm, dry blankets and adjusted the thermostat. They would have to bring his temperature up slowly or they could end up doing further harm. His skin was already returning to a less pallid shade of gray and his teeth were no longer chattering, but he was not out of the woods yet. He would have to have around the clock care until he was out of the danger zone. Fluids would be necessary to aid in his recovery, but that would have to wait until his body was warm enough not to reject them.
He didn't even hear the door behind him, being focused intently on his task, but he didn't have to look to know who was standing at his back.
"Is he going to be okay?" the raven-haired woman asked timidly, worry lacing her voice.
"I think if you hadn't found him when you did, he'd be in a lot worse shape, but he's not in the clear yet. He's going to need to be under surveillance for at least the next 48 hours before we can decide how much damage was actually done. Don't worry, Kagome, we're going to do everything we can to make sure he gets better."
She nodded despondently and volunteered to take the first watch. She wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway and it just wouldn't feel right to be relaxing and comfortable while he was recovering from a near-death experience in an unfamiliar world. Kouga hesitantly agreed, knowing how stubborn she was. There was no way he was going to be able to convince her to leave him in someone else's care. She worried too much for everyone's well-being except her own.
"Maybe if you try talking to him, it will help speed his recovery. If it's too quiet, he may not put up enough of a fight to come back to us. You take care of yourself little missy, and if you get tired, come and get one of us and we'll take over so you can get some rest." He made her promise and left the two to their privacy.
She approached the makeshift hospital bed and pulled a stool over to sit next to the demon lord's face. She gently placed her own head down next to his sleeping visage and settled her small hand over his large and slightly chilled fingers.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "if only we'd gotten to you sooner, you wouldn't have to suffer like this. I know you already don't like me much, but you have to fight. If not for yourself, then for Rin. She misses you so much. She sees you as a father and that little girl needs her daddy back." Her warm breath ghosted over his face as she spoke to his sleeping form about everything and nothing until gradually she talked herself to sleep beside him.
Dozing as she was, she was unaware when two glowing tawny eyes slowly opened to gaze at her slumbering face. With great difficulty and tingling pain, Sesshoumaru maneuvered his opposite hand to brush the hair from her eyes before resting his hand on her head and going back to sleep.