A/N : Well, it's all written already. I suppose I've committed to posting it now, so here we go.
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Bolting into the house, Inuyasha ran to hug the old woman who lilted and sobbed into his chest, and he hushed her for about two minutes, his urgency not forestalling at least that much.
"I'm sorry, Kaede, I'll be back as soon as I can but right now, he has Sesshoumaru sealed in this rope somehow and Shippou is all beat up and I can't...I have to, to at least Send him to the Nether, and try to figure out something while he's there," Inuyasha huffed, soothing her just enough to settle her from thinking perhaps they had been killed by the youkai who took them outside and left her crying there.
"Inuyasha, I am sorry, ye had to endure, what I could only-"
"Shhh, that's not your fault, you did good, you were right not to get yourself killed. I'd never forgive you for it, so don't you dare."
She sobbed again and he gave her one last tight squeeze before swiftly standing to face the barricaded closet, then started shoving things off to the side with fervent speed, and finally got the door open, and reached in...
He hovered, looking for a long time at Sou'unga, before, agonized, he whispered words of great regret.
"I'm sorry, but I can't risk it," Inuyasha tore himself away, not even waiting to see if Sou'unga or Saya would respond to him.
Running up the hill, he returned to the group and slowed as he drew near, ears flat, eyes low, anxiety wafting from him like strong perfume.
"Draw very slowly, hanyou," Zusaku said, poised with Shippou still firmly in one set of claws, now held before him like a meat shield.
Inuyasha drew very, very slowly, and paused, willing Tetsusaiga not to transform Too Fast, not to startle this crazy, unpredictable youkai who was dangerously able to disarm all three of them in one fell swoop...
Shaken by all of this, his fear rattled the blade a bit, and Tetsusaiga slowly grew in size and presented the Pure Meidou, Inuyasha's fear for his friends and family overriding his usual bravery in the face of such terrible odds and such shockingly swift turns of events.
"Okay, don't panic, this is the Meidou Zangetsuha," Inuyasha said slowly, "and if I focus I can make it a sphere, and it can take you into the Nether. Here, I'll point the sword over there, away from you, and the village, and everything, so you can see it."
Zusaku lifted his chin and smiled, pleased at the dog's compliance.
"Do carry on, then," he insisted.
Inuyasha took a deep, shaky breath, and held Tetsusaiga in both hands, and whispered, softly, what could almost be called a prayer.
"I know you usually turn into blade Meidou for me, but don't screw up on me now. This guy is really crazy, he'll kill Shippou if we don't let him enter the Nether, Tetsusaiga. So don't screw with me, please," and he swung the sword.
A perfect sphere Meidou appeared and hovered in midair, and Zusaku's eyes lit with delight, and he gestured with one wing, and eight more previously unseen Ninja Guards revealed themselves from the shadows of the nearby trees, making a total of twelve Ninjas, all surrounding Sesshoumaru, and the Battlemage stood near them but just outside the circle they made.
Zusaku carelessly dropped the injured kitsune into this same circle, and unable to help it any longer, Sesshoumaru felt tears start to fall, and he knelt to sit next to Shippou...powers bound or not, at least Sesshoumaru could stay by his side.
"Mage! You know how to navigate the flux of the tether to the Nether through the ether of the aether on the other side from another's side?"
"Yes, Lord Zusaku. When you signal me for your return, the portal will appear near you, there is no doubt. I will be sure of it."
"Good, good," Zusaku chortled, "Now, erect the sustain-drain barrier, lest this mutt gets too cocky. You'll be interested to know, mutt, that a sustain-drain barrier, is quite a brainstorm, oh yes. It saps the power of those within it, so if you are to attack it with your sword, it will keep sustaining itself until it has fully drained their life essence. You can't get through it until they are dead, you see?" he chuckled as the Mage's barrier enclosed about a ten foot dome around Sesshoumaru and Shippou, "It steals all their power, it robs their very souls. Of course you could pretend you don't believe me, but we know you know better than that."
Inuyasha Did know better than that. This Mage's spells were indeed very powerful; powerful enough to contain even his brother Sesshoumaru, who had not been purified by the sacred barrier of Mount Hakurei, who could catch a sacred arrow in his bare hands, who could resist the seireiki of Ungai the near-legendary monk that had tried to separate Rin from him so long ago...
"I'm not stupid," Inuyasha mumbled, not knowing why doing the things that didn't risk his friends lives, still felt like some kind of awful betrayal as he gestured, "I don't know where you'll land, but here's your doorway."
"One last thing, mutt," Zusaku said casually, "you won't be needing that sword until I need you to need it. Mage!"
Inuyasha's ears went flat as he allowed the Mage to take the sword and cast a barrier around it, making it unable to be drawn until the magic was released. Tetsusaiga rattled in protest, but was unable to break itself free after several minutes, and grew quiet again. Zusaku laughed and leapt into the Meidou, which closed behind him rapidly.
Satisfied with that last shredded hope, the Mage cast a reinforced barrier of illusion about all of them, so that they wouldn't be just some wide open suspicious group of youkai hanging out by the side of the road in the middle of next to nowhere...
"You who are not prisoners are free to leave the outer barrier as you please," the Mage intoned in a voice devoid of emotion, "but if you try to dispel the containment spells for your friends, you will be killed."
Kagura reverted to her familiar womanly form, and in a meek voice, she decided to ask the Mage a question, hoping to be able to come up with some way to help.
"Could we at least fetch food and water and bandages for Shippou? After what your Master did to him..."
"Lord Zusaku did not specify," the Mage paused, but with a glance at the kitsune, who was now still unconscious, "however, he would be cross if a hostage merely bled to death without his permission. I will allow you to bring these things, but I will inspect it all. You will not pass the items through the barrier nor enter yourself. I will put these things through the barrier and Sesshoumaru will tend the fox."
"Okay," Kagura nodded, "but you know, if our friends grow suspicious-"
"Lord Zusaku does not care if your friends are suspicious or aware. These are not things he concerns himself with. What he does not want is to be bothered with Interference. Your whole village may stand about in a ring to watch his triumphant return, so long as none interfere."
"Then why this concealment barrier?" Jaken asked.
"Your friends are known for interference," the Mage replied simply.
"So what you're telling me," Kagura began slowly, carefully, "is that you don't mind if we bring food, water, or even our friends here, as long as nobody makes any suspicious moves to try anything to stop you?"
"Those things do not concern Lord Zusaku or myself," the Mage agreed, his voice still flat, "but neither will I be concerned if I have to kill all others except the hostages because of Interference."
"I understand," Kagura said, then with a swift nod of her head, playing him up like she used to with Naraku, as if she were Grateful, "and thank you, for those allowances. I'm going to fetch food and water and bandages now. I'll be back very soon," she said, plucking the feather from her hair and zooming to the village swiftly.
Sesshoumaru had pretended to be too busy examining Shippou to have paid attention, but he heard every word. His wife was very clever, to be sure, and so also was Jaken. But Inuyasha...surely he felt helpless now. And Shippou...
Sesshoumaru didn't realize how many tears he was shedding until he shifted himself to turn slightly more around to face the kitsune directly, and when he did, he felt the cloth of his pants brushing his skin, and it was wet; he looked at it for a moment and blinked, then felt the tears streaming from his face. He'd soaked his knee, part of his calf, and part of the long trailing flare of his sleeve.
Looking back at Shippou, he felt his heart skip a beat, and a swell of guilt caught him up in awful thoughts, and he felt more tears falling.
Now the little pieces of rope that bound Sesshoumaru were almost laughable at first glance; Kagome would have identified both as about the length and size of bootlaces. The Mage had not actually tied his wrists together but rather wrapped each wrist with the ends of the string, giving him a little over two feet of distance between his hands, and this was where the one round his throat came down and joined it with the seal folded over that knot that tied them together, also a rather long thin rope, perhaps three feet. Clearly, he hadn't been worried about Sesshoumaru's hands being somewhat lazily bound, for it sealed even his innate poison from rising to his claws, so strong was this binding magic. It wasn't really to restrict his movement nearly as much as to seal his powers; but, at least it would be enough range of motion for him to bandage his friend, Sesshoumaru figured.
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"Kaede told us," Miroku said, his expression and Sango's dark as Kagura entered, "and told us about how Inuyasha had to come back to get Tetsusaiga to open the Meidou for him. But I can tell from the look on your face..."
Sango was of course in her taijiya outfit with Hiraikotsu at her side, but clearly they had known better than to try and storm upon any kind of youkai that could subdue Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Shippou all at the same time-even if it was with dirty tricks.
"Zusaku has entered the Nether," Kagura whispered, her face falling, "and I, I asked the Mage if I could bring food and water and bandages for Ship...for Shippou," and here, something she'd held back earlier hit her like it hadn't before, and her heart felt as if it were all of a sudden about to burst, and she fell to her knees and sobbed for a few minutes.
Sango glanced at Miroku, who nodded and took over being at Kaede's side whilst Sango went to Kagura.
"Let it out now, Kagura, but don't let it get too far. Use that pain, like you have before, to fuel your energy. You know patience unlike anything I have ever experienced. You had to guard your intentions from a monster who held your heart while you planned your way to get your freedom. You are Strong, Kagura. You are Powerful. Now you even know your true form, the Great Eagle, Owashi, mightiest creature of wind. It will all work out, you'll see. We always figure it out, Kagura. That's it, Kagura. Breathe deep. It's okay. It's okay," she soothed.
Another few minutes and Kagura had composed herself again, and with feelings so mixed up they couldn't be described, but what one would of course naturally expect one to feel, she gathered up some food and skeins of water and rolls of clean bandaging and washing cloth, along with a small pot to boil water in and a tough needle and thick thread, not sure she'd need them, but sure she shouldn't forego them when offered.
"The Mage said, what they desire most is that there's no interference. He said he didn't care if you were to put the whole village around them to view Zusaku's return-arrogant bastard that he is," Kagura sniffed back at the lingering emotions she had, "there was something about the way he said that, I got a tug in my mind. I don't know if it will turn into an idea, but...for now, if you walk out the village along the main road, and want to come see...it's so strange," she finally mumbled, "that I'm, I'm inviting you to...forgive me, these emotions are so much different when my own heart is in my own chest...I don't know how to..."
"No, it makes sense. It's hard to explain, but we understand," Sango assured her, then looking at Miroku and Kaede, "shall we...?"
"In a little while," Miroku shook his head slightly, and Sango understood, and so did Kagura, that they didn't want the old woman to suffer seeing Shippou until he was a little more healed up...
So before her regained composure and resolve could dissolve, Kagura nodded and took her leave, and used her feather to fly back to the place.
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"Here, it's food, water, bandages, and there's also a needle and thread, in case he needs stitching, and a little pot to boil water, in case he needs to, to do that," she finished a bit lamely, honestly not sure why that would be necessary but sure sometimes it was anyways.
The Mage inspected everything carefully, casting a spell at it that would dispel any illusions, and finding that there were none, he took a deep whiff of the food, the water, the bandages and even the thread and the cookpot. Tapping the pot, stretching out the thread off the spool a little bit, pricking his finger with the needle, taking a small sip of the water, a small bite of the food, he finally nodded at her.
"No tricks, no spells, no potions. Admirable that you are not stupid," he said as he waved his hand at the barrier that was around Shippou and Sesshoumaru, and a small part of it, which was faintly reddish, took on a different hue, and his hand began to glow with a mist forming around it of the same color, which was distinctly darker, like the color of lifeblood. He took the objects and passed them through the barrier to Sesshoumaru wordlessly, then the glow resumed it's former look as he finished, and the mist and the glow vanished from his hand.
"Uh, th-thank you," Kagura put on her charm, something she now recalled swiftly from the days she'd had to endure Naraku, "for being kind enough to let me do this for him. I know you didn't really Have To."
"You think far too much. It's my feathers he'll pluck if the kitsune dies unnecessarily," the Mage snorted, narrowing his eyes at her as he sized her up, "don't try to seduce me, temptress. I know you're Sesshoumaru's wife. You would do anything to free him, out of love, I'm sure. Be not a jester, for I am no fool."
Kagura huffed at him, crossing her arms.
"If that's what you call Seduction, the women around your territory must be made of stone. I was actually just grateful that you were alright with my fetching them some basic things. Did I really try to seduce you?"
"Seduction begins with subtlety. And caution has kept me alive for a long time. You would do well to leave it as it is, woman. I have no need of this conversation. Press no further."
Wisely, Kagura read his seriousness and dropped the subject. Apparently, he wasn't the kind of guy you could butter up and get cozy with. At least not in the way she had hoped. She wasn't done thinking yet, but for now she wouldn't bother talking to him anymore.
Sesshoumaru silently began to tend the fox's wounds, biting his lip at how long it was taking to heal. He wasn't used to that...
What he hadn't known was that the taijiya poison Shippou had gotten from Sango, which she had premade ages ago, had included ingredients that were known to combine and cause a reaction that did in fact slow the healing process for youkai. Inuyasha's flood of returning jyaki when he returned to his hanyou state almost always healed any kind of injury he could sustain and survive as a human; but Shippou, his body having taken a terrible beating from Zusaku in a very short time, was still in shock. His energy retreated to sustain his most vital functions, and now hampered by the heavy dose of poison he'd inhaled deep into his lungs, and unconscious...he couldn't heal himself at all like normal.
Sesshoumaru paused as he looked at the pot, not sure how exactly he was supposed to start a fire in this barrier...
"Kagura," Sesshoumaru said in as loud a voice he could muster, but it was still quiet, and the Mage narrowed his eyes sharply, "when you had thought to bring a pot to boil water, did you consider that I have no means or fuel for a fire inside this barrier?"
"Well, now I feel silly," Kagura murmured, blushing despite herself.
"Hah, a simple solution," the Mage surprised them, and all those who were not the trained Ninja Guards looked at him, blinking, "I am, after all, a Phoenix mage. I was born playing with fire. Set the pot upon that little flat stone there," he said, and Sesshoumaru quietly set it down, and the stone was engulfed in a small hot flame.
"Thank you," Kagura said again, and the Mage snorted at her.
"Your politeness is a waste of time."
"Not to me," she said, but he made no further remark. She took that hint that he did not want to be spoken to again, so fell silent again.
Sesshoumaru started to gently reposition the fox, trying very hard to move him in ways that wouldn't aggravate his injuries, but they were indeed serious. Zusaku had known as soon as he'd entered the hut which of the three would actually have a chance to hurt him, and so had fallen upon Shippou with viciousness and speed rivalling that of Sesshoumaru himself, and brute strength, perhaps even a little stronger.
Brute he had been. Besides the broken wrist, elbow, and shoulder he had snapped to make his point after the fact, Zusaku had inflicted some pretty serious wounds on the kitsune earlier. The other arm had suffered a break between the elbow and the wrist. Sesshoumaru could see the signs of crushed ribs; it looked like most of them had been broken. A cracked cheekbone and slightly fractured jaw were evident; many teeth were missing from that side, and his face was covered in blood from the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears...his paws on both feet had crushed toes, one ankle was broken and bent at a horrible angle, and the leg above it had been broken also. Gashes and bruises from punches and talons were everywhere, his clothing ripped to shreds, possibly beyond repair-unlike Inuyasha's Fire-Rat Kimono, it would not fix itself without Shippou using his own magic on it-and many of the open wounds went down to the bones. Blood was still seeping out of some of these wounds, and though it had slowed, it was still enough to soak his tails until they were more the color of blood than fur.
Sesshoumaru didn't let the sounds of grief escape him, but no longer did he even bother trying to stop the tears from falling from his eyes as he slowly tore off a piece of the roll of cloth and began to wash off the blood. The hot water and his tears mingled in the fox's wounds, and he sat there for hours quietly tending his patient. At some point he had picked up a smaller stone and set it near the one that was on fire to get one side of it hot, and used this to carefully cauterize a few of the wounds that had open veins and arteries still. He stitched shut with the needle and thread a few of the wider gashes, doing the best he could to make the lines clean so the scars would heal fast. He worked every wound as best he could, and bandaged all the things that could be bandaged...
At some point, the hours unmarked by any who were there, he finally had to grimace and bear the task of setting the bones, having done every other thing he could to clean and wrap the rest of the wounds. Not sure if the kitsune would finally wake up once he started, he paused and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and exhaling slowly, a slight shudder in his spine.
And then, willing himself to be swift, and clean, and have it over with all at once, he went as fast as his fettered jyaki could allow him to, and twisted the wrist back into place, and the elbow, and the shoulder, and the other arm, and the ankle, and the leg-
Shippou had woken with a scream of pain as soon as Sesshoumaru set the wrist, but without the strength to move, he barely even thrashed about, and with the elbow he screamed louder, and at the shoulder he screamed for his Father, and at the other arm he screamed for Kagome, and at the leg he screamed for Inuyasha, and at the horribly twisted ankle, which took extra effort to set properly-
"SEEESSHOOOUUUMMAARRRUUUUUUUUUU!"
For he was still delirious and didn't know what was going on, and at that, a seam tore in Sesshoumaru's heart, and a low whine came from his chest, a Dog Noise, and Sesshoumaru put his hand ever so gently on the unbroken side of the fox's face, on his cheek, and spoke very softly.
"Shhh, shhh, Shippou. I'm setting your bones. Hush, keep your eyes shut and fall back asleep."
"Sesshou...maru..."
"Don't try to open your eyes. They're swollen," Sesshoumaru informed him, voice hoarse as a lump formed in his throat. "Shhh, Shippou, shhh. Go back to sleep. There's no reason for you to be awake right now."
"It...hurts," the kitsune moaned.
"I know. Be brave," Sesshoumaru whispered, and in a gesture of affection that might have been surprising any other time, he leaned down to kiss Shippou's forehead gently, his heart aching for this pain Shippou suffered, clawing at his chest so much so that it hurt from inside and out.
Something about that gesture seemed to settle the fox just enough to let him slip back into unconsciousness; perhaps it was the comfort it brought, or the will of the taiyoukai washing over him, or something else mysterious. But he did fall back asleep, and Sesshoumaru sniffed back the thing that choked him until it would stop trying to make him burst into a fit of crying. It wasn't his friends seeing him that he worried about, but he dared not break in front of Zusaku's Mage.
Royoukan, Inuyasha, Jaken, Ah-Un, and Kagura now finally, finally noticed that Kirara had gone, but dared not speak of it; at least, not in any Obvious way.
"Catnip," Inuyasha mumbled, "might help him."
"Catnip?" Kagura blinked, and Inuyasha blinked back at her twice.
"Yeah, catnip. Catnip tea. An old taijiya remedy."
"Taijiya remedy? Remedy for what?"
"Pain, I think. Fever too maybe?"
"I don't think the taijiya have any catnip right now."
"No?"
"No, I think we ran out of it recently."
"Well, if we can get some, it might help."
"If we can get some, surely."
They fell silent again, feeling awkward, and unsure what else to say now.
Sesshoumaru shifted his Mokomoko-sama to curl around Shippou and cradle him as he slipped deeper into unconsciousness, and sat there, just watching the kitsune breathe raggedly...
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If you're one of the...two or three people out there reading this, here you go, hope you enjoy. :)