Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et. al.

Her Knight

Ch. 5

Mama sat in a chair set at the foot of both hospital beds. Machines beeped, monitoring the life signs of the two prone teens. She clasped her hands, sighing at the stillness of her two children. Inuyasha had become hers as much as Kagome was. The elder Higurashi woman was now fiercely protective of the young man and would take on anyone- demon or human- willingly to see that he was cared for. It hurt her to see how wary he was of a simple gesture or touch of affection.

Glancing up, she caught sight of a shadowy figure looking in at them from the hallway. The tall man turned away to leave but Mama raced out of the room. "Wait just one minute, young man."

Sesshoumaru paused, debating the wisdom of speaking to her. Knowing a protective mother when he saw one, the demon lord gave in. "Hn, you worry for nothing, Higurashi-san. They will live."

"Of course they will. That is not the issue."

"Like Kirara, I cannot interfere. My brother would ask questions about the past I am not allowed to answer. It is best he doesn't know I was ever here."

"Rubbish, he might be more willing to work with you in the past if he knows how you are now."

Turning, the taiyoukai studied the human woman. "Perhaps." He backtracked, going into the room. Inuyasha laid still, an oxygen tube stuck in his nose to facilitate breathing. An IV ran antibiotics and pain medicine into his blood stream.

"He hasn't awakened yet. Dr. Kintaro says he might not until morning."

"It is just as well. If he finds his mate-to-be as she is, he could re-open his incision just to get to her."

Mama glanced over at her daughter, who was stirring. "It is best you go now, Sesshoumaru. Kagome might faint at the present day you. She had a hard enough time accepting the fact that you didn't want to hurt them now."

"Hn, ridiculous." The dog demon moved to the door and opened it before looking back. "I have left some things with the nurse for Inuyasha. Their bills have been paid."

"By whom?"

"It was their wish." He left without explaining.


"Mama?" Kagome whispered her eyes still heavy. She felt her mother's hand and relaxed. "Inuyasha, is Inuyasha okay?"

"The doctor repaired the damage done to the artery. He'll be fine in a couple of days. He's still sleeping off the anesthesia."

"I was scared; I can't lose him, Mama."

"He's very precious to all of us, Kagome, dear. He's more than a friend, ne, Kagome?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "Sesshoumaru was here, wasn't he? I can still feel his youki."

"For a moment."

"Good. I would have loved to have seen him and the youkai that helped us the other night but I suppose it's best I don't." The young miko shifted restlessly and frowned when it hurt to turn on her side. "What happened to me?"

"A lacerated spleen. You'll be fine too, although you broke a rib when you collapsed and fractured your already sprained wrist. Get some rest; I'll be here when you wake."

"Night, Mama."


Golden rays washed the room in a warm bath, waking Mama. Her eyes blinked open slowly and she watched with intense interest as Inuyasha changed from human teenage boy to half demon warrior. Both were part of the whole and she was glad she got to see the transformation. Hurrying to his side, she wasn't surprised that his eyes flashed open. White furry ears moved in all directions before they laid down to block out the high pitched beep of the heart monitor. "Good morning, Inuyasha. You gave us all quite the scare last night."

"I feel like sh…crap." His nose made a motion like his was sniffing, and his eyes widened in panic as his head swung to Kagome's side of the room. "Kagome!"

"Shh, she's fine. She needed to have a cut stitched on one of her organs, just as you needed some on a major blood vessel."

His eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath to shift through the strange scents until he found Kagome's. Satisfied Mama was correct, Inuyasha settled back into the bed. The half demon looked around, noting the machines and the IV apparatus attached to him.

"Don't touch," Mama scolded gently when he would have removed the IV needle. "You still need the medicine it's giving you. Dr. Kintaro said he'd remove it when he comes in this afternoon. By then your body should be back to normal and can fight off any infections that may try to hurt the healing process."

"Keh, Sesshoumaru was here."

"Yes, he was concerned at little, I think."

"Not likely; he knows the outcome. Even if he didn't, I doubt he would have come."

"I'm not so sure. Even though I threatened him, I don't think he was afraid to go against my demand that he come. I was afraid that you might need a transfusion."

"A transfusion of what?"

"Blood, dear. You've lost quite a bit over the last couple of days. I didn't know if there was some rule or what not about giving demons human blood." He nodded his head, thankful she had been that farsighted. Taking off the oxygen, he slipped out of bed gingerly.

"This place got a bathroom?" Mama nodded and helped him steer the IV stand over to the door in the corner of the room. She was silent when he discovered the backless nature of the hospital gown and pretended not to see him blush to the roots of his hair and ears. When he returned, instead of getting back in bed, Inuyasha went to Kagome's side.

"I'm going to go see about breakfast, dear. Don't stay out of bed too long."

"Sure. What other injuries does she have now?"

"A broken rib and fractured wrist from where she collapsed."

"Clumsy wench," she heard him mutter as she went to seek out a nurse. The two young people needed some time alone.

Inuyasha sat on the edge of Kagome's bed despite his aching leg. His golden gaze scanned every inch of her face for signs of discomfort or pain. Finding none, he continued on until he'd done a visual inspection of the rest of her. Picking up one tiny hand, he held it gently, letting her touch reassure him of her vitality. Inuyasha stared out the window after that, his thoughts a jumble of confusion and emotion. "How am I going to protect you?"

"The same way you always do," she answered him. Only then realizing he'd spoken out loud, amber orbs looked instantly down at her. Grey-blue eyes smiled back softly, a smile also hovering around pink tinted lips. "Good morning, Inuyasha. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"I don't think I've slept all night when I was human since I was a pup." Kagome's hand tightened on his, feeling sad that he'd never known enough safety to get the rest he really needed on his most vulnerable night. "I got plenty of rest last night. With that vessel fixed, I should be fine in a day or so. You on the other hand, are a mess." Too tired at the moment to take umbrage at what he said, the young priestess yawned and raised her other arm to lightly punch his uninjured shoulder.

"Where's Mama?"

"Went to see about breakfast."

"Hey, now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry. We missed dinner last night." Kagome raised the head of her bed, surprising Inuyasha with the action. Becoming serious, she leaned into his side until he adjusted his position so that he could hold her. Tucking her head under his chin, she felt her eyes tear. "Hold me for a little while? I could have lost you."

"Same here, wench." Burying his nose in her hair, Inuyasha stroked the hand he still held.

Mama found them like that ten minutes later, fast asleep. The nurse, a youkai of unknown origin, sighed behind her and set down the tray she was carrying on a table set to one side. "Perhaps breakfast will have to wait after all," she said.

"It can wait," Mama replied. "They just needed to know the other was all right."