Childhood Remix

Floating.

It felt like he was... floating. In water. Tepid, soothing water. He could float here forever.

Kagome sobbed over Inuyasha's still form without looking to her traitorous sister. How could she? Kagome thought. She picked her eyes up to the horizon where Sesshomaru left, and she widened her eyes as she spotted the sword. She remembered Inuyasha saying something about the sword being too much for his brother, but Kagome didn't remember Sesshomaru honestly being in so much pain. He must have been, though, to leave that sword behind.

Kikyou quirked a brow at her sister's display, annoyed that Kagome had not thanked her endlessly for saving her pitiful life. She shook her head with disapproval as she stared down her traitorous sister. How could she? Kikyou thought. Wasn't she more to her flesh and blood than some wannabe demon? She thought her plan had worked perfectly to show Kagome what that demon would do to her heart if she let him... Didn't she know her elder sister was just looking out for her?

Kikyou raised her brow again as she watched Kagome peel away from Inuyasha and walk toward the now rusty blade. "You fool!" Kikyou called, "Do not touch such a demonic object!"

Kagome reached forward and grabbed the sword, effectively silencing her wretch of a sister. She carried the sword over to Inuyasha, questioning the lack of pain that it had clearly brought Sesshomaru. She placed the sword gently by Inuyasha's limp hand and continued to crouch by him, silent tears sliding down her face. The miko-in-training ignored her sister's disbelieving sputters as Kikyou turned and stormed away.

"Inuyasha... Please."

Inuyasha... Please.

Who was that? The voice sounded familiar, but, for the most part, was drowned out by the soothing water. He continued to float on in bliss, swaying his arms gently in time with the current. The throbbing bloodlust within him was fading suddenly. Like some switch had been flipped in his brain. Now he could fully recline into the water; nothing was pushing him to get out of it.

As Kagome knelt by the hanyou, the Tessaiga glowed with a faintly golden light. Surprised, Kagome turned to look at the rusty sword for a moment, before turning to face Inuyasha once again. The miko gasped as she saw the purple marks start to fade from his face and his claws and fangs return to a normal length.

Did the sword do that? Kagome thought as she recalled the unearthly glow moments before the transformation happened.

Sesshomaru walked further from the scene behind him. How dare that half-breed try and take this Sesshomaru on? Irritation flicked across that *Daiyoukai's face. That sword was his! And it rejected him. I will never be able to wield that sword so long as the barrier holds. My only comfort is that half-breed will be unabled to access the sword as well. Sesshomaru scented Inuyasha's blood on the air as he ignored Jaken's ramblings.

Sesshomaru's trek halted as he raised his gaze to a streak of purple light flying across the sky. He stared for a moment in thought before recognizing the aura. "That jewel the fool tried to use against me."

Jaken stopped his musings as he heard his master's voice. "Wah? The one that turned him into a youkai?"

Sesshomaru would've snorted if he was less elegant. "Inuyasha was nothing more than a half-breed in disguise. I have no second thoughts toward that childish ignoramus."

Jaken shook a bit at his Lord's tone before silently following again, this time at much slower pace.

"Ughn," Kagome grunted as she pulled at Inuyasha's feet, cradling the sword in the crook of her arm. Her sweat mixed with her tears as she tried to pull the hanyou toward her village to no avail.

Miyatsu ambled over to the miko and grabbed Inuyasha's hands off the ground. He was embarrassed that his stupor kept him frozen through their last encounter, but he refused to let his silliness stop him from helping these children any longer. The half-demon couldn't be more than a fresh adult, at the ripe age of thirteen, and the miko was even younger. Despite the oddities of the two and the misunderstandings of demon folk, Miyatsu knew these two needed his help.

Kagome looked up as she saw the man from earlier grab at Inuyasha's arms and help her carry the burden of his weight.

"You're that man... the one who knew about the jewel."

Miyatsu nodded. He was fairly sure that the shattering of such a jewel would come back to bite them, but he didn't want the young girl to worry about more than one problem at a time. As he felt Kagome drop the hanyou's feet, the monk looked up in confusion. He was about to open his mouth in question, but understood as she wrapped a clawed and bloody arm around her shoulder. Following her lead, Miyatsu wrapped the other arm around himself as the both supported Inuyasha's upper body, his feet dragging behind.

"This is bad." Kagome's proclamation and Miyatsu's sound of agreement were the last bits of conversation the two had as the silents trudged up the hill and toward the village.

Kikyou continued her tantrum with unbridled irritation. How dare she choose that half-breed over her own sister! Over her career! Her destiny! Such impure feelings for such an impure being will knock Kagome flat on her ass in the long run. Why can't she see th-

Kikyou stopped in her train of thought as she saw a purplish glow in a bush near her family's hut. She immediately recognized the glow as she hurried over, spreading the branches and leaves. The miko gasped and picked up a tiny piece of the jewel she had just shattered. It's so small, and yet it still holds so much power. It appears shattering the thing was not the solution we needed, Kikyou thought as she stared into the youki coming from the gem in her hand.

Cold, brown eyes raised as Kikyou heard her younger sister and that other man that had been with them coming up the hill. "Fool," she muttered, "How could she bring back someone who almost just killed her?"

While noticing her sister's gaze, Kagome kept her eyes forward as she and Miyatsu carried Inuyasha into her mother's hut. Kikyou heard their mother's gasp from inside and rose to join the group in the hut.

"What on Earth happened to him!?" Kagome's mother shouted as she rushed to Inuyasha's side with a first aide kit in hand.

"Do not bother, mother. That demon almost killed Kagome," Kikyou stated coolly from in front of the reed mat. "You should not save him; you should leave him as he is in the forest."

Mother Higurashi looked up to the younger of her two daughter, "Is this true?"

Kagome fidgeted underneath her mother's gaze but nodded solemnly. "He wasn't himself. Something happened to him, but it wasn't his fault!"

"Nonsense! This is what happened to him, and he took part in its evil willingly!" Kikyou shouted as she threw the jewel piece at Kagome.

Flinching, the younger miko picked up the stone from the floor. "He didn't know... it was evil," she muttered as she stared into the purple depth.

Kikyou and their mother gasped, the first in horror, the second in shock, as Kagome's touch instantly turned the jewel's power from youki into reiki. Kikyou grabbed the shard from her, and while it remained pure, Kikyou's malice toward her sister and the hanyou dimmed it's light ever so slightly.

"He saw another demon use it!

"He was fighting for his life! That demon was trying to kill him!"

"Yeah, his brother. Even his brother wants him dead! And he wanted that sword!" Kikyou pointed accusingly. "You brought that thing back here and it's a danger to us all! Where does your loyalty lie!?"

"Why do I have to choose!? I took the sword because I thought Mama could diminish its threat!"

"You brought it back so that thing would take Mother's life!"

"Enough!" Mama Higurashi shouted above the bickering girls. "We will talk about this later. Kagome, I do not question your loyalty, but Kikyou is right: take that sword and seal it. In the meantime I will tend the Inuyasha's wounds. They are very serious."

Both girls quieted and listened to their mother, working together to put several seals on Tessaiga.

Inuyasha was bandaged head to toe, and Kagome sat by his side the second her mother was done with him.

That was three days ago.

The miko worried her bottom lip as she felt the still hanyou's pulse again. It was all she could do to keep from panicking. Why won't he wake up? she thought as she held his hand tightly with hers. Of course she knew that she and Kikyou would have to do something about the jewel, and Kagome had been hearing her sister's stinging words for the past several nights, as Kagome "ignored her duties in lieu of a man." Kagome couldn't ignore the expected dangers of the Shikon no Tama forever, but as it was, no one had any leads, no one knew how many shards there were, and Kagome and Kikyou were both out of sensing range of the closest one. The miko was going to use those things to her advantage as she waited patient and helpless for her hanyou to wake up.

Week Two

Kagome poured water into Inuyasha's mouth and tilted his head to make sure it went down smoothly. Besides soups, the hanyou wasn't eating.

He was looking thin.

Week Three

Time was starting to run together. How long had he been floating in that water? Of course he thought he would have hit land by now, but the water was too comforting to care. Every now and again his throat would hurt mildly, but then, more soothing, cool water would slither down and sooth its burning.

Is this what bliss was? Whatever it was called, he didn't want it to end, no matter how many times that distressed voice called out to him

Week Four

Kagome lifted Inuyasha into a sitting position and removed his clothes to wash. She tried to wait as long as she could, not wanting to embarrass the boy, but soon they were soiled beyond what a washcloth could handle. A stray tear ran down Kagome's puffed face, but her eyes showed no emotion.

Kikyou was finally quiet.

Week Five

That voice no longer called out to him. Did it stop caring? He waded with his sloshing arms as his eyes drifted opened slowly. The sky was white, beautiful, and soothing. All those times he had been cursed at, spat at, and attacked.

He felt those wounds begin to heal.

Week Six

Unseeing eyes stared at Inuyasha's face. Her mother and sister were worried about her. They thought the hanyou was a lost cause.

"He's not alive anymore," one would say. "He's breathing, but he's not there," another would add. "Just put him out of his misery," someone would plea. The two older priestesses forced Kagome to eat, bathe, and practice her training. All the while she was screaming on the inside.

Didn't they care!? Her beloved was in the hut, asleep or worse, and there was nothing she could do about it. And what did they want from her? To kill him! To train! They simply could not find anything less important to Kagome than her miko training. She would eat without complaint, though: she was the only one who cared.

The miko slept.

Week Seven

Drowning.

He was burning.

There was no more softness to his water. He was fatigued. In pain. Blinding, hot pain.

He was... drowning.

*In a previous chapter, I wrote Taiyoukai, which was a mistake, so if any of you were confused, it was just a typo.

Sorry it took so long to get this up (understatement of the year), but I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and leave me your thoughts