Inuyasha sat outside of the home he shared with Kikyo. The home Sango and Miroku meticulously prepared for Kagome's return two years ago. He sat with his head in his hands, his hair gracing the compacted dirt at their doorstep. He felt terrible.
"Stop moping Inuyasha. She's not going to die and she'll go back home and we'll forget about this." Kikyo snaked her bare arms over Inuyasha's shoulders and around his neck. She pressed her cold body against his, making him shiver. All he ever wanted was Kikyo, his first love. The woman he was going to give everything up for. He hated how he loved them both because he couldn't have them both. He needed to move on from Kagome for Kikyo was who he loved first.
"Your brother has emerged."
Inuyasha looked up to see Sesshomaru exit Kaede's hut down below the hill. He was cradling Kagome in his arms as he walked slowly towards the forest. Kagome's stale blood wafted up and entered his nose, making him recoil. He did that to her. He's why she's hurt. Kikyo pushed herself up from her mate and scoffed at him. "You're nothing but a lost puppy Inuyasha. I should have known you were going to be like this upon her return to our world." She turned swiftly on her heel and returned inside, slamming the sliding door of the shrine house.
The hanyou watched as his brother slipped into the trees with the injured priestess and decided to follow them.
Kagome gripped the pauldron attached to Sesshomaru's shoulder, trying to breathe through the nausea of being picked up. He was being as gentle as possible but there was only so much he could do for her at this time. His mokumoku was pulled tight around her, protecting her from the cool fall wind and also shielding her from sight.
"Thank you… Lord Sesshomaru."
He squeezed her shoulder and pressed her closer to his chest. He allowed their auras to mix, his demonic and her spiritual, hoping to give her any strength he could lend. She felt strange to him, she felt welcoming.
"No thanks are needed, priestess. You did me a service in the past so it is only natural I help you in your time of need."
She squinted at him. "What service?"
He covered her face as he crossed the tree line, keeping leaves and branches from hitting her. "You've protected Rin more times than I can count. And she loves you, so in turn, you are someone I have to protect."
He was quiet the rest of the walk to the Bone Eater's Well. Sesshomaru kept his mokumoku tight around her as they traveled the alternate route through the bushes to the well. He mentioned he didn't want anyone to see them on the main trail because her blood would attract other demons.
The clearing belonging to the well was overflowing with spiritual power which sent goosebumps surging over her skin. They stopped just in front of the well as a violent wind ripped through the area.
"The well is upset that you're leaving."
She frowned. That was a possibility, and because of that, she was afraid it wouldn't let her go home. "Take us down inside… please My Lord."
He did as he was asked and jumped down inside the well. The space was cramped and she was forced to bring herself closer to him. Sesshomaru eased her down, helping her stand on her own. They were face to chest in the tight confines of the musty well. His overwhelming scent washed a calm over her body. Kagome grabbed his hand and slowly let herself down to her knees. He was backed flush against the wall with her slender hand in his, lending her his body for support.
"For what it's worth… My Lord, thank you."
He nodded to her as she erupted in violent light, fading down and out of sight as the well swallowed her up. Her hand slipped from his, leaving a tingling feeling in his palm. Within a few seconds, he was by himself in the well and he stood there for nearly an hour until the darkness swallowed him up.
That night he sat with his back to the well. It was the first night in two years he had spent away from his adoptive daughter and her human family in the village. The dog demon leaned his head back, feeling his hair slip down into the dark abyss of the Centipedes' well. It was calm tonight and he enjoyed being where humans wouldn't bother him. The smells of Kagome's foreign world wafted up out of the well every few hours and kept him entertained. His thoughts kept floating back to Kagome. Something about her drew him in and he was worried about her. He was always told that fatherhood changes a man, makes him soft and more susceptible to new feelings. He sighed at that thought and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
In the early hours of the morning, just before dawn, a rustle in the trees brought him back to reality. Of course, it was his little brother.
"Come out, Inuyasha." He called into the trees.
"I assure you, I did not eat her."
The hanyou slipped from the trees just as the sun peaked over the mountains. He hair was illuminated in the sun's rays, making him look very much like their father. The boy was baggy-eyed and he looked exhausted from lack of sleep.
"Why are you still here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha growled at his brother. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow at his brother. "You took her home, she isn't 'gonna come back. Why wait? What good does it do you? You have no connection to her." Inuyasha rambled on, his nervousness always made him talk too much. "Why did you even bring her here? One of the women could have done it." Sesshomaru stood and dusted off his nu-bakama and cleared his throat. It was his turn to speak.
"You don't even care about that woman Inuyasha, you never did. Why are you fussing over someone else caring for her?" Inuyasha lowered his ears and took a step back.
"I've always cared about her…" His voice was nearly lost on the morning wind.
"No, little brother. You always cared about Kikyo, Kagome was just a holdover until you could be with her again." Inuyasha crouched down on the forest floor.
"You don't know anything about me Sesshomaru. I have my reasons for doing what I did." Sesshomaru walked forward, stopping just in front of the shaking hanyou. He brought a clawed finger up and placed it on Inuyasha's forehead, pushing him back so he was looking in his eyes.
"You always proved to be a disloyal dog when it came to that girl Inuyasha. I watched her heart blossom for you and you neglected to water it for the everlasting beauty of a faux silk lily." Sesshomaru ran his fingers through his brother's bangs. "I can see what a great deal of pain you have caused her. Her injury did not phase you, where in past days you would have lost all control at the sight of her blood. If your relationship was so important to you, why did you stand there with that woman instead of running to her side?"
His heart twisted at the sight of her limp body from the day before. And the blood, so much blood. Before the war, before Rin, it didn't bother him. But after seeing his daughter in a pool of blood with Kagome keeping her alive three years ago he saw it differently.
Inuyasha swatted away his hand. "I don't need you to patronize me." The hanyou stood and walked back into the forest, leaving Sesshomaru alone in the morning sun.
Kagome landed softly on the other side of the well a few moments later. The light faded and she was alone in the darkness of the well house. With a huff, she pulled herself to her feet with the aid of the ladder her grandfather had placed in the well last year after she had broken her ankle for the third time jumping into the inactive well. The more she climbed, the weaker she felt. It was obvious that Sesshomaru's aura was fading because the strength she gained from being close to him was fading as she pulled herself over the side of the well. Once out in the yard, it was clear just how tired she was for she collapsed halfway to the house. Her mother just happened to be taking out the trash when she spotted Kagome falling face first in the dirt.
Through ringing ears, she could hear her mother panicking and Sota telling her to calm down. She could even make out her grandfather praying nearby and sometime later she ended up in a car. Presumably to the hospital.
She opened her eyes a few hours later to see an exhausted doctor taking her pulse. He was very tall, broad-shouldered. His eyes were sky blue and his hair was jet black and tied up in a high ponytail. He wore a surgical mask but it was pulled down to his chin. He looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't wrap her throbbing head around any faces.
"Miss Higurashi, you took quite a hit to your head. It's a wonder you didn't die the few hours it took you to get here." He eyed her and for a split second his pupils looked slit but she shrugged it off as a trick of the light. "You hit your head pretty hard, luckily there isn't any bleeding to the brain and no cracks either. What happened to you kid?"
She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I slipped on the steps of my family's shrine early this morning. I wasn't able to drive myself to the hospital and my family was in the city shopping." He smiled at her and gave her a pat on the arm. His smile was fake, obviously trying to hide his exhaustion and hours of work and hardly any sleep.
"I'll go give your mother the go-ahead to take you home. Please get plenty of rest. And don't do any strenuous work, you don't want to get your blood going too fast."
He left her alone in the bleach white room. Alone with the sound of machines and weeping patients all around her. She hated hospitals and being there only made her nervous. After a few minutes that felt more like an eternity, her mother came a got her and they left the hospital.
Traveling back home gave her time to think about her current situation. She knew she had to go back but staying near Inuyasha and Kikyo was out of the question. She had to find out why the well opened back up, who needed her help this time.
The mysterious Lord of the West kept creeping back into her mind. A fearsome man she had fought with as well as alongside. He was a key player in their victory against Naraku. The bother of the man she loved. Sesshomaru was someone who had tried to kill her on more than one occasion but he had changed. These thoughts plagued her mind until they got home and she took over the bathroom.
To her dismay, her hair was not how she remembered it. The right side of her head was shaved and underneath the bandage was a stitched up cut about 2 inches long. She sighed into the mirror, leaving a fog in her wake. She did not like this but it would have to do.
She was careful while washing her hair, praying she wouldn't get soap in the cut. Her movements were so shaky and uncoordinated as she dressed and dried her hair. Kagome frowned in the mirror again, the remaining hair was well past her shoulders and looked dumb missing the whole side. She took her scissors and cut the remaining hair to just below her chin. Hair littered her feet and tangled in her toes. But the strange thing was, she felt like a weight was lifted the second she cut her hair. Like she was freed from something.
After picking up her mess she scurried to her room and dove into the covers. She needed to sleep if she was going to think straight and figure out what she needed to do about the feudal era. But sleep never came. Long into the night, she cried into her pillows, only falling asleep just before daylight. She slept soundly after that, if only for a few hours.
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