Chapter Six

Inuyasha POV

It was still night time in Kagome's era, the stars less visible in the sky than they had been back in Inuyasha's world. The half demon scouted his surroundings quickly, but knew he didn't need to rush. Everyone would be asleep, so there was no need to worry about being seen. The shrine over the well was gone, he noticed. But everything else was the same. Inuyasha had only been to Kagome's world a few times before, over three years ago, but his memory was fairly decent.

The wind shifted slightly, and Inuyasha caught a familiar scent: Kikyo's. He bounded across the courtyard, following the scent, until it ended at the base of a tree and started moving upwards. Why would Kikyo need to climb a tree? It would be a good lookout point, showing the whole length of the courtyard, and most of Kagome's home. The half demon's confused and curious expression froze when realisation hit him. A good vantage point... He remembered seeing her with her bow in hand, and a bag of arrows strung across her back. This tree would also prove to be a good hiding spot to shoot an arrow from. Kikyo would have been able to hit a target in any direction from one of the branches.

Inuyasha spun around when he heard a voice drawing closer. He hesitated only half a second before jumping onto the nearest branch of the tree. There he crouched down, listening to the growing voice. A figure came into view, leaving the path to cut across the courtyard, walking directly beneath where he was perched. It was a woman, but unfamiliar, and she was talking into whatever was held against her ear. The half demon listened closely.

'...gone ages ago. We'll defiantly need to get the detective squad down here. There's blood inside the house as well, though I think that's from when the girl's mother dragged her inside. It's the first case I've been placed on where the attacker has used an arrow. Kind of out dated for my taste.' There was a pause long enough for Inuyasha to think someone was telling her something on the other end. 'No, the brother isn't seriously injured. He actually pulled through alright. But the girl... Yeah, it's bad. Two shots, apparently. I'm heading back to the hospital now to get more statements from the parents. Okay. Yeah. Stay in touch.'

The stranger placed the item in her back pocket before continuing across the courtyard. She disappeared down the stairs that led to the main street. Inuyasha wasn't aware until she had left that his body reacted to her words. His claws had dug into the bark of the branch, to the point where thick pieces were falling to the ground. His back was tense, and he was baring his teeth in a feral snarl. There was no mistaken it. That woman just clarified Inuyasha's own suspicions. Kikyo had come into Kagome's world to kill her. And she might have succeeded as well, considering what that woman just said. Two arrows? The arrow that pierced Kagome's leg three years ago was enough to knock her unconscious and make her lose a lot of blood. Just thinking about what two arrows could do made his stomach tighten.

Inuyasha bounded across the courtyard and wasted no time climbing to the ledge of her window. It was locked. Kagome never used to lock her window, because she liked the cool air at night as she slept. Jumping back down, the half demon circled the house until he found an unlocked window. The room he entered was smaller than Kagome's, but had the same layout. It obviously didn't belong to a girl though. There were dirty smelling clothes thrown over the wide bed, and nothing seemed to have a proper place. Inuyasha quietly and quickly walked down the hall in case someone was still home.

Before he made it to Kagome's room, a creek alerted him to the presence of someone else in the house. It came from the stairs, so he listened closely until he was sure it was a set of footsteps slowly making their way to the second story floor. The half demon froze and waited for whoever it was to finish their ascent. Without thinking, his hand moved to rest on the hilt of his Tetsiga.

An old man suddenly rushed up the last few steps, shouting something about breaking and entering, and swinging what looked like a pole of wood. Familiarity struck Inuyasha, and his hand dropped from the hilt of his sword. It was Kagome's grandfather. But he was still running towards Inuyasha, flailing the wooden pole around in an attempt to seem threatening.

Inuyasha ducked and the pole hit a painting on the wall, causing a rip in the fabric. 'Old man, it's me. Calm down!' He jumped as the old man took a swing at his legs.

'Intruder!'

'It's me! Inuyasha!' Running out of hallway to back up in, the half demon's hand flashed out, catching the wooden pole mid strike. The old man struggled to free it from Inuyasha's grasp, but gave up after a few moments. 'Would you stop trying to kill me?'

The old man blinked, registering what was going on. 'Inuyasha...?'

'Yeah,' he nodded.

His grip on the pole loosened. 'Why are you here?'

'Because of Kagome. She's hurt, isn't she?'

'Yes.' The old man's hand fell from the pole. His face became grave as he folded his hands in front of him. 'I believe it was a person from your time, demon. But I don't see why anyone would want to hurt my grandchildren. Kagome hasn't been back to your era in over three years.'

'Kikyo,' was all Inuyasha muttered.

'Excuse me?'

'The woman who did this to Kagome is named Kikyo.'

The old man's eyes darkened for a moment before he lifted his head and said 'Come into the kitchen. I'll fetch something for you to eat. We have a lot to discuss, demon.'

Kagome POV

'Tell me when I hit a tender spot, dear,' the kindly faced nurse told Kagome. Her light brown hair spilled across her shoulders, framing her thin face. 'And don't try to be brave. I need to know exactly where the pain is.'

Kagome nodded. The nurse rolled Kagome over on the bed so she could gently push against the area where the arrow had pierced her skin. It had been almost a week since the incident with Kikyo. And while her wounds were healing properly, there had been some issues with her blood transfusion not working correctly, and her heart was struggling to beat at a quick enough rate to get her blood flow back to normal. The doctors didn't know why her body reacted so badly to two arrows that didn't even hit anything vital. But Kagome knew all too well the strain on her body was because they were sacred arrows. Kikyo may be dead, but she still possessed the power of a priestess.

The nurse poked a spot to the left of her stitches and Kagome gasped.

'Is that the only place that hurts?'

'I think so. Yes.'

'Okay.' The nurse allowed her to roll onto her back once more as she removed her gloves. 'Bad news, I don't think we'll be able to remove the stitches in your back for at least another month. However, your arm will be fine within two weeks. The skin there is thicker.' She turned to put her gloves in the trash.

Kagome eyed her warily. 'And the good news?'

The kindly faced nurse gave her a smile, flashing perfectly white, straight teeth. 'You can leave as soon as you sign the discharge papers.'

'Really?' A week in this hospital felt like a month, especially when she couldn't walk anywhere besides around the ward.

'Yes. But no school, or straining your body too much,' she told her sternly. 'And I'll give you a prescription for some pain medication, as well.'

'Thank you,' Kagome smiled.

'You're a brave girl, I'll give you that.' The nurse sauntered over to the door. 'Get dressed at your own pace. I'll go tell your mother the good news.' And then she was gone.

Kagome's feet hit the cold ground. She wobbled at first, but soon gained enough balance to walk over to the body length mirror in the small bathroom. Her back throbbed dully whenever she straightened her spine, and her arm hurt when she flexed it. In the mirror, she assessed the stitched in her arm, and then twisted around to see even more stitches in a line on her back. She instantly thought about the pink scar already on her right leg, and how she would have two more scars exactly the same to complete the look. Perfect. Kagome signed in annoyance at having such noticeable scars carved into her body for the rest of her life.

A knock at the door almost sent Kagome jumping out of her skin. She called out that she was getting dressed before actually pulling her spare clothes out from under the sink. Kagome was thankful her mother's fashion sense wasn't too bad, since she had been the one to bring spare clothes. The outfit consisted of a pair of short shorts and a pale blue shirt. No shoes, though, but that didn't bother her.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she was surprised to see Sota sitting at the end of the bed.

'Everything alright?' He asked casually.

'Yeah. I was just getting dressed. Did you hear?'

He nodded. 'The nurse is down the hall with mum. I was released two hours ago, but the nurse said she wanted to surprise you with the good news. I really like her.'

'Me, too. But I'm glad to be going home,' she added cheerfully.

'Hay, Kagome...' Sota's voice changed from absent chit chat, to something darker, more worrying. His eyes narrowed a fraction. 'What actually happened? Like, I know what... I guess I just need it explained, so I'm not so confused.'

Kagome hung her head. He tried asking her this several times over the past week, but she always avoided it, saying the nurse wanted to see her or she was too tired. She knew it wasn't fair on him. Sota had been injured as well, and he had felt the pain of a priestess's sacred arrow. He was no doubt more frightened than her.

Sighing, she slowly sat down in the chair opposite her brother. 'You were hit with an arrow and collapsed.'

'You know more than that,' he told her.

She nodded. 'I do. But I don't know what you want to hear.'

'The truth, Kagome. I want to know why we were attacked, and who did it. It could have easily been mum or grandad, but it wasn't.' Sota's eyes caught Kagome's gaze. 'Someone wanted to hurt you specifically, right?'

'Okay.' She figured it was time to tell him. Sota was so much more mature now, and scary. His ability to see through her vague answers and small lies meant that she eventually had to tell him the truth. 'Yes, the person that did this was after me. But she didn't need to bring you into this. It's my mess, and Kikyo didn't-.' Her breath caught in her throat as anger began to slowly boil in her chest.

'Your mess?'

'It's been so long, and I didn't expect anything like this to happen. I thought Kikyo would leave me alone since she no longer needed to compete with me for Inuyasha. Clearly, I was wrong.'

'Inuyasha?' Sota's voice darkened at the name of the half demon.

Kagome nodded, continuing. 'Kikyo told me I was still in her way. Inuyasha rejected her after I left, and she blamed me for it. She said it was for revenge.' The anger slowly building up in her became a hard determination. This whole thing wasn't going too slid with her. It was one thing to try and kill her, but Kikyo had brought her brother into this. 'But she failed.'

It was silent for a long time. At first Kagome thought Sota would be at least angry or upset, but when she studied his face, it looked like he was focusing really hard on something. Then his expression changed to something different. His whole image shifted from that of a fourteen year old, to someone more mature and understanding.

'You want revenge on Kikyo?' He guessed.

'No.' She stood and headed for the door. Their conversation was drawing to an end, but there was one more thing to say. Kagome didn't know what this feeling in her chest was, nor did she fully understand the reasoning behind her next words. Nevertheless, it felt right. 'I want revenge on both of them for causing you-us-this pain.'

Out in the hall, Kagome's mother had just finished speaking with the nurse. She smiled at the lovely nurse and thanked her before walking over to her two children. Sota escaped a hug by ducking under her arm, but Kagome wasn't able to move fast enough with her injuries.

'Common,' their mother said softly, 'let's go home.'