Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful InuYasha characters created by Rumiko Takahashi, nor do I own any of the Greek gods listed within this story.

Revival

InuYasha and Sango battled the foul snake-vulture demon, trying to keep it distracted while Kagome and Miroku went after the shard. He used Tetsaiga against the beast, but his attacks had little effect on the scaly hide. He and Sango dodged the mouth full of teeth and fangs repeatedly. He was distracted from the battle when he caught a blue flash out of the corner of his eye as Kagome's arrow sliced the last foot of the creature's tail off cleanly. "Good job Kagome! Oh Crap!" he thought as the creature whipped its head past him and directly towards Kagome, fangs in attack mode. "Look out Kagome!" he cried, but she was so intent on retrieving the shard she didn't hear him. "Damn! I can't get there in time!" he thought as he sped towards Kagome just in time to see her body spin around by the force of the beast's poison fangs sinking into her left shoulder. InuYasha and Miroku attacked the creature simultaneously. The creature jerked, snapping off both fangs inside Kagome's body. She dropped to the ground like a limp rag as InuYasha and Miroku finished off the demon. InuYasha sheathed Tetsaiga and dropped to her side. He removed his haori and white shirt, then removed the four inch fangs from her shoulder and used his shirt as a makeshift bandage. He slipped his haori back on, then gently cradled her head on his lap. "She's gonna die before I can tell her how I feel" he thought as he watched Kagome slip into unconsciousness as the creature's foul poison rapidly dispersed into her bloodstream.

Miroku retrieved the tainted jewel shard using a handkerchief he grabbed from Kagome's pack. He carefully wrapped the tainted sliver in the cloth to store it until someone-hopefully Kagome- would be able to purify it. "Got it!" he called as he rejoined the group. InuYasha picked Kagome up bridal style as the rest of the group mounted Kirara. "There's no way we can transport Kagome back to Kaede's. The movement will only make the poison travel through her system faster" Sango she said. She continued "I saw a cave by a lake a short ways back, InuYasha" Sango called as they took off. "We should go there and set up camp." InuYasha grunted his agreement since his throat was constricted with grief. They took off for the cave. "Hang in there, Kagome" he begged silently as he ran.

Though it was only minutes, the trip to the cave by the lake seemed to take forever to InuYasha. Though his face didn't show it, he was extremely worried about Kagome. Snake demon venom could kill other demons, and Kagome was only a human. Kagome's breathing was shallow, and her heartbeat was weakening. Sango jumped off Kirara and grabbed a blanket, quickly spreading it out in the center of the cave so InuYasha could lay Kagome down on it. "We've got to get as much of the poison out as fast as possible, InuYasha" Sango pulled out the tools they would need. "Miroku and Shippo, go set up camp. We're going to be here for a while." Sango directed. The two nodded and hurried off. "InuYasha" she saw fear, guilt and flashes of red in his eyes when he looked at her. "It's not your fault. Now I need your help or she's going to die". "So much blood" Sango thought as she removed InuYasha's blood soaked shirt, then what was left o Kagome's shirt. She found the two fang puncture wounds and cut a small "X" over each one. "I can't suck the poison out, InuYasha. It's demon poison and will kill me. Only you can help Kagome now." He nodded, not trusting his voice. He leaned down to the cuts and sucked out the poison, spitting mouthful after mouthful into a bowl Sango provided. When he couldn't detect any more poison, he sat up and moved out of the way. "Now I need you to get me some water so I can clean the wounds and wash away the blood." He grabbed another bowl and ran out to the lake to get water while Sango removed the rest of Kagome's clothing since it was soaked in blood. InuYasha set the water down next to Sango, avoiding looking at Kagome's damaged and naked form. "InuYasha" he looked at Sango. "If Kagome is to survive, she needs you here. Stop beating yourself up and let your feelings show. I won't tell anyone." She promised when he started at her words. "How?" his voice was ragged with unexpressed emotions. "You'll know" was all she said. He sat down near Kagome's head and gently moved it into his lap. He gently caressed her cheek and stroked her hair while Sango cleaned the blood away from her body and bandaged her wounds. Sango retrieved a yukata from her own pack and returned to Kagome's side. "InuYasha, I need your help getting this on Kagome". He gently picked Kagome up and held her so Sango could dress her. He held her in his lap while Sango got rid of the bloodied clothes, blanket, and the bowl of contaminated blood. She returned with Kagome's sleeping bag and laid it out so InuYasha could lay Kagome down. Her breathing was still shallow, but her heartbeat had steadied. "Shippo!" Sango called the kitsune into the cave. "Watch Kagome for us. InuYasha and I need to go get some herbs to help Kagome" Sango requested. Shippo nodded and sat down on the sleeping bag next to Kagome, quiet tears running down his face because his adopted mother was hurt. "Come on, InuYasha" Sango tugged his sleeve. He growled at her, not wanting to leave Kagome. "She'll be okay with Shippo for a few minutes" she promised, pulling the Hanyou out of the cave.

"I need you to go to Kaede's as fast as you can and tell her what happened, InuYasha" Sango started "she'll know what we need to help Kagome fight the poison." He nodded not trusting himself to speak. "Take Kirara. She'll get you there faster" Sango offered. Kirara transformed and InuYasha hopped on her back. "Hurry back, InuYasha" she called as Kirara took off. Sano went back into the cave. Miroku had built a small fire to one side of the cave to try and disperse the damp chill. He was leaning against the cave wall with his eyes closed, apparently asleep. Shippo was still protecting Kagome, trying not to cry as he gently held her hand. Sango checked Kagome's wounds. The bandages were turning red. "There must have been something in the poison that prevents the blood from clotting" she thought. Sango changed the bandages and checked Kagome's pulse. It was faint but steady, and her breathing though shallow was even. Sango stood up and went over to sit down next to Miroku against the cave wall. Drawing her knees to her chest, she rested her forehead on her knees. "How is she, Sango?" Sango started at Miroku's words. She turned to look at him, a frown creasing her brow. "I'm worried, Miroku" she sighed heavily. Shippo sat up so he could hear Sango better, still keeping hold of Kagome's cool hand. "InuYasha got as much of the poison out as he could, but a lot of it was absorbed into Kagome's bloodstream." She paused to take a shaky breath. "Even worse, it looks like the poison is preventing her blood from clotting, so she keeps bleeding." She shifted to rest her head on Miroku's shoulder, needing his strength to continue. He placed his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "What else?" he asked. "I'm worried about InuYasha, too. His eyes keep bleeding red. He blames himself for Kagome's injuries and his demon keeps trying to come out." She sighed again. "If anyone can pull through this, Kagome can." He hugged her gently. "I know. But if she doesn't we're going to lose both of them. If she dies, InuYasha will lose all hope and his demon will take over. If that happens, we'll have to take him out before he goes into a blood rage." "Blood rage?" Sango tried to explain. "Even though he won't admit it and they haven't mated, InuYasha and his beast consider Kagome their soul mate. When the female soul mate dies, it sends the male into a blood rage. The inner demon takes over and kills anything and everything in it's' path until someone is able to stop it. If that happens, we have to take him out before he can hurt anyone." Miroku tightened his hold on the demon slayer, trying to provide whatever comfort he could. Shippo laid down next to Kagome, letting silent tears slip down his cheeks. He held onto Kagome's hand even tighter. "Hang in there, Kagome. I won't be able to go on if my new mom dies." He whispered to her. "Kami, please bring her back to us." He sent up a silent prayer.

InuYasha and Kirara returned as the sun was starting to set. He ran into the cave and gave Sango the huge pack Kaede sent. "Here's the stuff." He grunted as he set the heavy pack down. Sango got to work preparing the poultice and medicines as Kaede's note instructed. InuYasha ran out of the cave and returned shortly with several rabbits ready for cooking. Miroku took them to the cook fire outside the cave and set them up on spits to cook. InuYasha settled down near Kagome and gently moved her head into his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair and tenderly caressed her scalp. "Don't leave me, Kagome. I should've stopped that thing before it could hurt you. I'm so sorry I failed to protect you! Come back to me and I'll never fail again." He pleaded mentally as bits of red continued to flicker in his golden eyes.

Sango completed the poultice and medicine and brought it over. InuYasha helped her remove the second set of blood soaked bandages and apply the poultice. He held Kagome upright while Shippo and Sango poured the medicine down her throat, then laid her back down on the sleeping bag with her head in his lap. Miroku brought the cooked food in and they ate in silence. After cleaning up, Miroku extinguished the cooking fire and used his sutras to create a barrier over the cave opening. They were all emotionally and physically drained from the events of the day and everyone quickly fell asleep. Everyone that is except a certain dog eared hanyou who continued to run his fingers through his Miko's hair, silently willing her to come back to him.

Four days went by with little change in Kagome's condition. They continued to apply poultices and give her the medicine as directed in Kaede's note. Sango made a broth and InuYasha helped her feed it to Kagome so she wouldn't starve while she was unconscious. InuYasha and Shippo only left Kagome when Sango threatened them that she would ban them from the cave if they didn't go with Miroku and take a bath while she bathed Kagome in private. On the fifth day, Sango stepped out of the cave to grab a cup of tea from the cooking fire area. InuYasha and Miroku had gone hunting for their evening meal. Shippo was searching for mushrooms and berries to go with the meal. When Sango turned back towards the cave, she noticed a purple glow. "InuYasha! Miroku! Shippo!" She hollered. "Get back to the cave now! Something's happening to Kagome!" She rushed into the cave towards Kagome, but was stopped short by a barrier. The others ran in and were also stopped by the barrier. "What the hell?" InuYasha growled, trying to break through the barrier to reach Kagome. A surge of power stopped him in his tracks. They all watched in amazement as Kagome's body levitated in the center of the sphere shaped barrier. Her hair flew about her head as her body rotated within the purple light. A dark purple patch appeared over her wounds, dissolving parts of the yukata, then the bandages and poultice to expose the raw, bright red wounds on her shoulder. The wounds slowly closed until there were no marks of any kind left, not even a scar. Once all of the wounds on Kagome's body were healed, the purple light faded away as Kagome's body landed softly back on the sleeping bag. As soon as the barrier disappeared, the group rushed over to the prone form on the cave floor. InuYasha gathered her up into his arms as her eyelids started to flutter open. Soft brown eyes met emotion filled golden ones for the first time in days. "Hey" she said weakly. "Hey yourself" he replied without his usual gruffness. He hugged her tightly to him. "InuYasha, what's wrong?" she asked as she felt her shoulder become wet. She pulled away slightly. "You almost died from the demon snake poison, Kagome. Don't ever do that again!" he begged, not caring that the others heard. She hugged him gently, then reached up to wipe the tears from his face. "I'll do my best, InuYasha" she promised with a gentle smile. "Now do you think you could share me with everyone else for a minute? I'm sure they were just as worried as you were." She caressed his cheek. "Feh! Whatever, wench!" he slipped back into his old manners. He helped her up as the rest of the gang pressed in for hugs.

"Come on Kagome! I know you're dying for a real bath" Sango tugged her out of the cave. "I found a small hot spring that feeds into the lake. Kaede sent your extra clothes and bathing gear for when you got better". "You're so right, Sango." Kagome sighed wistfully. "I can't wait to wash properly and soak my stiff muscles in some hot water. She wobbled a bit, easily tired out after being out cold for five days. "I'll carry you to the spring" InuYasha didn't wait for her response, he picked her up bridal style and took off, Sang following close behind. They reached the hot spring and InuYasha set her down. "Thanks InuYasha" Kagome gave his claw a soft squeeze before letting go. "Feh!" he replied as pink tinged his cheeks. "You girls take as long as you want to. I'll keep watch, and if that perverted monk shows up I'll give him a swift kick in the…"he trailed off when he saw their expressions. "Anyway, go clean up and relax." He turned around and started to patrol the area. Sango and Kagome stripped and slid into the warm water. "Oh, Zeus! That feels so good!" Kagome moaned as the heat penetrated her sore muscles. "Who?" Sango asked. Kagome blushed. "Zeus. He's a Greek god I'm learning about in school" she covered her slip with a tiny white lie. "Oh. I should've known" Sango sighed as the warm water started to release the tension in her body. They took their time washing and shampooing their hair. Once thoroughly cleaned and relaxed, they exited the pool and started to dry off. "What's that on your arm, Kagome?" Sango asked when she noticed the sparkling silver cuff on Kagome's left bicep. "It's my new weapon" she replied, remembering what Hephaestus had told her. "My Miko powers caused my body to reject the snake venom. It couldn't expel the venom, so it transformed it into a weapon." Sango nodded, believing the story just as Hephaestus promised. Sango moved in for a closer look. "It's beautiful!" she said in admiration. "What an intricate pattern! Damn, I wish some of my injuries would transform into a gorgeous piece of jewelry with a hidden weapon." She smiled at Kagome as they finished dressing. "What type of weapon?" "Whenever I need a bow and arrow I think of my need and the power of the cuff will create a bow of blue energy and as many sacred arrows as needed. When the battle is over, the bow will retreat into the cuff until needed again." "Show me" Sango asked. "Can we wait until we get back? I'd rather only do it once." Kagome responded. "Sure, I understand" Sango was a touch disappointed, but she got over it. "InuYasha, we're done" Kagome called. He showed up instantly. "Ready?" he started to pick her up bridal style again. "Can I ride on your back instead?" she asked. "Hop on" he bent down so she could jump on, then held on to her thighs so she wouldn't slip off. The trip back to the cave was peaceful as they were all lost in their own thoughts. As she promised Sango, Kagome showed everyone her new weapon and agreed to a quick demonstration. Kagome thought "bow!" A blue energy bow with an arrow appeared in her hands. She shot it at a tree 200 yards away and they watched in awe as the arrow split the tree in half and continued on its' path through 5 more trees before dissipating. When done, the bow disappeared as fast as it had materialized. All of them, even InuYasha believed her story about the bracelet being made by the rejected poison, and none of them asked how she knew how to use it, which she was silently thankful for. After her demonstration, they packed up the camp and headed back to Kaede's village so they could rest and so Kagome could go home to her era to restock the food and get some more clothes.