Chapter 7:

Heroes

"I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference."

-Ellen Goodman

Eventually Miroku released Inuyasha from his paralyzed state, and the group readied themselves to rest for the night. Inuyasha perched himself in a tree, a custom of his. It gave him higher ground to watch over his pack, regardless if they had not one, but three Daiyoukai apparently spending the night at their camp. He was still in a sour mood because of that, but he had been sat enough today, thank you very much. Miroku had taken his spot against the base of a tree opposite of Inuyasha, with Kirara transforming at his side. Sango rested against her fire nekomata companion comfortably, Hirakotsu, Sango's overly large boomerang, close by. Just in case. Sesshoumaru had tried to deposit Rin gently near Ah-Un, but he was stopped by Kagome.

"Sesshoumaru, if you don't mind, Rin can sleep next to me and Shippou? My sleeping bag is more than big enough, and it might help from keeping us all spread out randomly if something happens," she said carefully, not wanting to offend the Inu Daiyoukai and make him think she was implying he couldn't protect Rin.

Sesshoumaru considered her offer for a moment, then nodded. He waited quietly to the side as Kagome and Shippou climbed into the "sleeping bag" and made themselves comfortable. With Kagome's help, he carefully laid Rin down next to the Shikon Miko. The girl instantly rolled over and clung to Kagome's shirt. Shippou was soon to follow, sleep overwhelming him, and he too rolled into Kagome's side, opposite of Rin. Kagome smiled happily at the two, then looked up to Sesshoumaru. She gave him a bright grin, resembling the Cheshire Cat – not that Sesshoumaru knew what that was yet – and then bid the rest of the camp goodnight.

Once everyone was asleep and with Sesshoumaru resting against a different tree altogether, Ryura scooted over until he was closer to Tsuyoshi. He knew Sesshoumaru was going to hear everything he said, because there was no way the Daiyoukai was asleep. His eyes might have been closed, but that didn't mean anything.

"Would you have any idea why my swords did that to Lady Kagome?" he asked as softly as he could.

The blue eyes of Tsuyoshi opened, as he too had been resting with his back againt a tree – what was it with men and trees, anyway? - and he peered over Ryura's shoulder for a long moment, looking directly at the hilts of the swords on his back. He rolled the question over in his mind, his head tilting to the left and causing his white-blue hair to spill over his shoulder.

"I am honestly not for sure, my Lord," Tsuyoshi replied back in the same sort of whisper. "Perhaps they were attracted to her power? They had witnessed her on the island, did they not?

Ryura nodded once, and Tsuyoshi followed suit. Speaking again he offered in a playful tone, "By her actions earlier, presenting you with your swords in such a manner, perhaps your swords can predict the future and have seen her as your mate?"

Across the way, Sesshoumaru let out an undignified snort. It was one of the few times he couldn't stop his body from doing what it wanted, and hearing the water Dragon speak of the Miko mating with Ryura had tickled him to the point it was laugh really loud or snort. Even Ryura's swords were chiming in. They rattled yet again in their scabbards, but Ryura wasn't exactly for sure what to make of the movements, or the way they were releasing a small amount of energy. The rhythm of the movements wasn't one he had ever experienced before. Kami damnit, if only they could actually talk, this would be so much easier.

Tsuyoshi, on the other hand, watched as the swords tried to move around and silently wondered if his jest held a bit of truth. He shook his head softly and looked over to Sesshoumaru, still leaning against the same tree with his eyes shut. His eyes then drifted up to the hanyou. Tsuyoshi had to admit, he was a bit shocked Inuyasha had fallen asleep. He didn't seem the type to sleep in peace around this many people he didn't know. Maybe his elder half-brother's presence was lulling him into a comfortable state? If he had been on the verge of falling asleep but was refusing to allow his body to do so, it was more than likely possible.

Inuyasha might hate Sesshoumaru, but Inuyasha's instincts knew better. The Alpha of his pack, Inuyasha's true pack, was close by and guarding over him and the rest sleeping within the campsite. There was no way Inuyasha would be able to not fall asleep. Sesshoumaru seemed to notice the same thing, if him suddenly opening his eyes and peering over at Tsuyoshi and Ryura had anything to do with it. He rose gracefully to his feet and moved over closer to the other Daiyoukai, then lowered himself into a sitting position. With Inuyasha out like a snuffed candle, Sesshoumaru would be free to talk without the hanyou interrupting.

"I do not believe Inuyasha has taught the Miko anything of youkai. She is a very expressive person. Both her facial expressions and her aura make it near impossible for her to hide what she is truly feeling," he said softly to not wake anyone, but loud enough for the Dragons to hear him. "Her earlier actions may have meant something in our eyes, but to her, the meaning behind the action was lost. I honestly do not think that she realized she was offering herself as a potential suitor to you, Ryura."

Tsuyoshi hummed. "But why would he teach her anything at all, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru gave the man a dry, withering look. "Because she is the adoptive mother of a Kitsune child, if you have not realized it yet. And at one point in time, it looked as if Inuyasha himself would mate the Miko."

Ryura blinked quickly at that, "Looked as if? What happened?"

"That is not my story to tell, Ryura. If you truly wish to know, I suggest you ask the Miko in private," Sesshoumaru retorted.

Sesshoumaru left then, back to his tree and his former position. Tsuyoshi nudged Ryura with an elbow and nodded towards the sleeping bag with the Miko and children in it. His brows were drawn together out of worry. When Ryura looked over, he noticed what Tsuyoshi was so worried over. Even Sesshoumaru's eyes had reopened to look at those resting in the sleeping bag.

The Miko's head was thrashing back and forth, and the grip she held on to the children with would almost be hurtful if the Miko decided to put anymore pressure behind it. Her face was screwed up, a look of fear etched onto her face. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she let out a soft whimper. Ryura was on his feet before his brain really registered what he was doing. He quietly moved over to kneel and place his the back of his hand on Kagome's forehead, only to quickly pull it back as if he'd been burned. She was sick? How could none of them notice it before now? Her fever was high enough it felt like Ryura could cook meat on her forehead.

He looked back to Sesshoumaru and jerked his head towars the Miko. Sesshoumaru was next to them in no time flat and carefully prying Rin and Shippou's fingers from the Miko's shirt. While he was worried for the Miko, it wouldn't help anything if the children caught whatever disease she had. Tsuyoshi had also made his way over, but walked past them to wake up the youkai slayer.

Sango woke with a jolt and a sharp yip, but was quietly silence by Tsuyoshi placing a clawed finger on her lips. She looked angrily up at him, wondering just what in the hell he was doing, but all her questions were answered when he stepped to the side, allowing her to see the scene playing out in front of her. She didn't pay any mind to Sesshoumaru placing Rin and Shippou against a now awake Kirara, who was also watching on with her red eyes in worried slits. Kagome was thrashing about, her face a bright red in color, and sweating profusly. Ryura was attempting to wake her, but it proved to be far from effective. When she began panting, Ryura waved Tsuyoshi over to them and when the Daiyoukai arrived he spoke quietly to him. Tsuyoshi placed his hand on Kagome's forehead and when it began to glow, Sango could see the fog drifting from his hand.

Of course! He was a water Dragon! He could control the temperature of the water in the air; he was trying to cool Kagome down.

Sango moved one of Kirara's tails off her she had been using as a blanket, and quickly made her way to Kagome's monstrosity of a back pack. She rifled through it until she pulled out a bottle with red liquid inside. Kagome called the material of the bottle plastic, and said it was medicine meant for fevers and helped reduced pain that usually came along with being sick. The Miko had marked the small cup that was on its lid it with instructions that should she not be around, that line was where the liquid was to be filled to, the medicine was to be taken orally.

Shuffling around, Sango filled the cup with the red liquid to the line, and moved as fast as she could without spillig any medicine over to Ryura. "Make her take this," she said quietly.

Ryura looked up at her with confusion, but nodded his head and took the small cup from her. At the same time he put a hand under Kagome's head and lifted it slightly until it was angled. He used his pinky finger to open her mouth, still holding onto the cup with the rest of his fingers, and quickly poured the liquid into her mouth. Once the cup was back in Sango's hands, he closed Kagome's mouth and rubbed at her throat until she swallowed.

"It'll take a bit for it to work, but don't worry, the fever will break soon," Sango said when Ryura looked at her expectantly. "But she'll need to go home for a bit to recover. It'll be best for the rest of us, too. Her immune system is a lot stronger, she'll survive."

Kagome had explained to Sango quite some time ago that disease was not as rampant in her era, at least not the kinds of diseases people of this era could and fairly often did catch. She called these diseases colds and the flu, and said they were relatively minor in her era. Medicine had just advanced that much, which honestly blew Sango's mind away at first. Kagome had been able to build up a resistance to a few diseases, thanks to the medicine of her era.

Without waiting for a response, Sango padded silently until she was under the tree Inuyasha was perched in. She almost lost it and started laughing when she saw his mouth hanging open with a line of drool making its way down his face. She squished the desire to laugh and instead called out to him.

"Inuyasha! Psst!"

Inuyasha jerked away and rubbed at his eyes, then scrubbed the sleeve of his haori over his mouth when he felt the drool. When had he fallen asleep? Looking down, he saw Sango's worried gaze looking up at him. "Whatisit?" he asked groggily in one slammed together sentence.

"Kagome's sick, she needs to go home. Ryura helped me give her that medicine she carries around, but she'll need time to recover," Sango answered.

Hearing Kagome was sick had Inuyasha leaping from the tree and landing with a soft thud next to her sleeping bag. At seeing her, though, Inuyasha wondered if she was just sick. He had seen her sick before, when he made her the remedy his own mother used to make for him such a long time ago. This didn't look like "sick Kagome", this looked like "borderlining death Kagome."

"Shit!" Inuyasha exclaimed. Thankfully it wasn't loud enough to wake anyone else up, though it had Sango moving over to stand beside him and asking what was wrong.

"This isn't sick. I've seen her sick. She looks like she's about to die." He said as he bent down and tried to pick her up, but was oddly enough stopped by Ryura suddenly leaning over her and blocking her from Inuyasha's path. His face was distorted into one of pure rage, the look fierce enough to make Inuyasha stumble back a few steps. "Wha..."

"I will take her to her home. I can move faster than anyone here, just point me in the right direction," his voice was hard. Aiding her when she was ill was the least he could do for her, considering how well she had taken care of his swords.

"Sorry, buddy, but there ain't no way I'm letting you run off with Kagome! Besides, you couldn't get to her home even if you tried," Inuyasha snapped, feeling his rage bubbling inside his chest. How dare he. "She's from the future and the well doesn't let just anyone through! I'm the only one that can pass besides her!"

"Inuyasha!" Sango scolded.

Inuyasha brushed her look off. He'd worry later about spilling Kagome's secret to people who were at once upon a time their enemies. Well, at one point, they had all been Kagome's enemies, even Inuyasha, but that wasn't something he wanted to think on right now.

Ryura was shocked into silence and he slowly removed himself from hovering over Kagome like a mother hen and sat back on his rear, exhaling loudly. The future? Tsuyoshi looked just as shocked as Ryura felt. His blue eyes were wide enough Ryura almost wondered if his eyeballs would fall out of their sockets.

Kagome whimpered and snapped Ryura from his thoughts. "Fine, whatever, but I'm coming with you. You can't fight and hold her at the same time."

Inuyasha bristled but reluctantly agreed. He didn't have time to sit and argue with the bastard. With one swift motion he held Kagome in his arms, watching quietly as Sango pulled out a small blanket from Kagome's bag and moved to wrap the Miko in it.

"Keep her safe, you two. You're her heroes. Don't disappoint her." Sango said with a seriousness that surprised both Inuyasha and Ryura. It held a silent warning. "If she dies because you two were idiots, you'll be following after her."

Sesshoumaru nodded to his half-brother when Inuyasha looked back at him with a firm gaze. "I will remain and watch over your pack, Inuyasha. Go."

With Sesshoumaru's word, Inuyasha took to the skies with a powerful thrust from his legs, Ryura following close behind him. As they left Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder exactly how many more enemies were going to suddenly become their allies thanks to Kagome.