"Oi! Watch the rocks!" Inuyasha barked as his head nearly came into contact with a boulder. Kagome panted heavily. She had dragged Inuyasha over a hillside and down a worn rock path, the river bank a tantalizing finish line she desperately wanted to get to. Inuyasha's body may have been battered, but his mouth worked just fine. "Geez, Kagome. I carry you around all the time and I don't make you feel like a two ton cow."
She pulled him up next to the river bank and dropped the branch. When his body hit the ground he let out a hiss of pain.
"Inuyasha..." she warned, her voice deadly. It was taking everything in her soul not to sit him. "You better be so glad you're hurt right now or I would-"
He threw her a defiant glare, "Oh, I'm fine, woman! Give me ten minutes and I'll throw you in the river for nearly splitting my head against the rock!"
She spat back, "Do it! I dare you! Get up right now Inuyasha and prove it." Kagome's patience had long been forgotten, her anger rising with each word he shot at her.
Inuyasha attempted to sit up, hissing and cursing as he fumbled like a turtle on its back. Kagome let her head fall back, looking up at the passing clouds. She needed to get him cleaned up and rested. This was no time to be arguing. She knew the only reason they were bickering was because Inuyasha's pride was taking a hit from his useless state.
She closed her eyes, taking in a slow breath. Keep it together Kagome, ignore him...
Taking off her mud soaked shoes and socks she went over to the river's edge, washing off as much dirt as she could. She scrubbed her hands and face in the cold water, deciding she would have to use her socks as rags. There wasn't much choice. Kagome turned to Inuyasha and started to pull off his haori.
Inuyasha screeched, "The fuck are you doing Kagome?!"
Kagome let out an incoherent wail, "Shut up! Just shut up and let me take care of you!"
His lips pressed tight together, golden eyes wide, taken aback by her outcry.
Kagome continued, still yelling, "I know you're hurt, Inuyasha. Just grow up enough to not make this more difficult than what it already is!"
Inuyasha's response was a small nod. She continued to pull off his robe and undershirt. His chest was marked with lines of mud and sweat from his neck. The purple puncture mark oozed with brown puss. She could see faint blue lines extending out like lightning across his shoulder. Kagome wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him awkwardly into the shallow bank. She heard him take a sharp intake of breath as she lowered him into the water.
Kagome winched, "Sorry."
"It's okay," was his soft reply
Letting him float in the river bank, she set to work cleaning the wound, the water around them becoming a foggy brown. The top of her fingers came into contact with something hard. Oh man...
Gripping his shoulder from beneath his back she steadied him and said, "Just relax okay? I need to pull the rest of the stinger out."
Closing his eyes and with a shaky breath he nodded. He hissed as she gripped the piece with her fingers muttering a string of apologies. Inuyasha cried out as the tip was expelled from the wound, his head falling back into the water with a splash.
He gazed blearily up at her, "Thanks…" Inuyasha's breathing had become steadier and his shoulders sagged from released tension.
"I'm sorry I didn't pull it sooner," Kagome apologized, feeling disappointed with herself for not checking the wound sooner.
The skin near the wound started to knit itself slowly back together. Looking down, she noticed his toes starting to wiggle in the water. A wave of relief washed over her. Inuyasha's healing ability never ceased to amaze her.
Kagome ran her hands over his chest, wiping off any leftover mud. She moved to his neck, her nails scratching lightly along his hairline. Inuyasha was easy to move as he floated next to her. Propping his head on her legs, she ran her hands through his hair pulling out knots and clumps of dirt. Taking careful and slow work of wiping his face. Her fingers massaged small circles on his scalp. A deep rumble vibrated through him. Kagome took satisfaction in rubbing his ears and the twitching it elicited from him.
Wiggling his head in her lap he chuckled sleepily, "Hey stop it woman, leave my ears alone."
Kagome giggled. "No way, I earned this."