After a nice long run and a quick shower, Kagome began settling for the night. The sun had long since set and clouds were forming in the sky, blocking out the moon's light. Kagome opened her bedroom's window, letting the cool air filter in. Soon, rain would begin falling, despite the earlier forecast making no mention of showers tonight. Fall was setting in and with it the change in weather. In the distance, she heard the Goshinboku's branches croak and its leaves sing.

Kagome picked up her water bottle and a bottle of pills. She hadn't been sleeping well thanks to nightmares and a general restlessness from being unable to travel back to the past anymore, so she'd resorted to using over-the-counter sleeping pills to help her settle. They were weak, its effects taking a while to kick in, but it was at least something.

As much as she willed it, sleep no longer came easily to her.

Maybe I should do some meditating tonight, she thought.

It wouldn't hurt to work on her spiritual energy for once. She had nothing else to do for the night anyway and it would take a while before she would even be ready for sleep. Taking the cap off the bottle, Kagome popped a pill out.

Something tickled her senses.

She paused, brows furrowed. It didn't feel human. A demon, then? Kagome couldn't be sure. It wasn't like anything she's ever felt before, as far as she knew. She looked out the window, yet saw nothing. The night was dark, giving little away. For a moment, she wondered if she should just ignore it. Getting both her hopes and her nerves up wasn't a good idea. Leaving it alone though, wasn't either. It could spell trouble for her family.

Kagome set the pills and her water bottle down and stood at the window, assessing the fall down. Her brother and grandfather were already in bed, but her mother was still up and about. Best not to go out the front door and needlessly alert her.

Jump and roll, Kagome told herself just before she climbed out the window. There was a sting when her body touched down, which she expertly ignored.

The shed wasn't too far from the house and Kagome slipped inside. It was too dark to see but thankfully her Azusa bow and quiver of arrows were still where she had last set them. The first drops of rain hit her as she ran back outside and into the woods behind the shrine grounds. The tickling of foreign energy quickly evolved into pokes and then stabs at her skin. She readied an arrow and slowed her pace as the presence grew nearer.

There, a good distance away, Kagome caught sight of a dark figure sprawled out on the ground. She saw no movement – not even a sound. It was eerily quiet, even the wildlife refusing to break the silence.

Kagome stopped behind a tree and waited with baited breath. The moment the creature attacked, she would fire.

It never did, though.

Puzzled, Kagome inched closer to the mysterious creature. It did not stir, laying lifeless. Black wings stretched from its back and Kagome noticed a long tail as well. Upon closer inspection, she realized the creature was mostly humanoid in appearance, aside from the wings and tail – and white horn, actually.

No, two white horns.

The second one was broken halfway off.

A bat? She wondered.

Kagome allowed herself to relax just a little and knelt down beside the creature. The man. His hair covered most of his face, but she could make out that he definitely wasn't female, at least. He wore no clothes, but his black fur did lots to cover him from his hips down to his feet, as well as his arms from biceps to his fingers. She brushed her fingers through his hair, pushing the strands out of his face.

Tears…–

No, tear-like markings. Black and thick, running from his eyes to his chin. She saw no blood, not even a single cut or bruise on his body. So why was he passed out on the ground?

"What are you?" she muttered.

The energy oozing from his body felt demonic and yet, something completely different. Nothing like any demon she'd encountered in the past. In fact, she dared to say it felt… dead. Like a ghost? Except it wasn't like Mayu's, either.

A screech pierced the air, jolting her from her thoughts.

Kagome turned just in time to see a bear-like monster with a skull-like mask charge at her, mouth wide open for a bite. She gasped, momentarily shocked. Her instincts kicked in and she fired a shot, the arrow blitzing through the creature in a brilliant flash of pink. It screeched once more as its body disintegrated and Kagome winced, covering her ears against the vocal assault.

"What the–?!"

She gasped, noticing the bat man's feet and wings beginning to disintegrate. Did she accidentally purify a part of him too? Panic bubbled up, she shot back to him, placing her hands on his back. Would healing work? He wasn't human. Not a demon either, she didn't think. She had no idea what to do. This was all new to her. Healing was still new to her. Could she risk it?

What to do, what to do, what to do–?

His legs were mostly gone now, so were his wings. She could see his hands were going next. Kagome choked on another gasp, she had no more time to think. He would die either way, so trying wouldn't hurt. All doubts thrown out the window, Kagome concentrated her energy from her palms into his body. Slowly, she told herself, waiting with bated breath for a reaction.

Nothing.

Kagome poured more in, letting her energy encompass him like a cocoon. Don't purify him, don't purify him, don't purify him– she repeated like a mantra in her head. Instead, encouraging his body to heal. The progress of disintegration stopped, his body weakly glowing pink from her energy. She sighed in relief. Yes, this was something. There was hope.

Yet there was no further response.

Kagome bit her bottom lip, willing herself not to stop. If she started doubting, her healing would weaken. Just keep at it, she told herself. She carefully slid her left hand up his back, to where his heart would. So long as he had a pulse, she'd keep going. Except, there wasn't one. There wasn't anything. Just a gaping hole in the middle of his chest, hidden behind his hair and wings' fur.

The panic returned, her energy wavering.

There was no heart– no pulse. He was dead. There was no way to heal him. She couldn't bring back a heart. He was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead–

He heaved in a faint, shaky breath.

He was alive.

How?

No time to think. Kagome concentrated her efforts on his chest. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way. It defied logic, but if he was breathing then he had a chance. He could be some kind of demon with great regeneration ability. Maybe a demon who could live without a heart. He could be anything. He was breathing. He was alive. Keep going, she told herself. Don't stop. The hole didn't heal. There was no hint at it closing. She had to do something. Think of something. What could she do? Think!

Then it hit her.

The Goshinboku.

It wasn't a healing tree by any means. In fact, there was no reason to think it could help. No guarantee anything would work. But it was always there for her, connecting to the past. Maybe this time, it could lend a hand again. Time was not on her side, yet time was its domain.

Kagome carefully snaked an arm under his wing and armpit, careful not to jostle him, the other arm winding around his back. She lifted him up, tucking what remained of his one wing under him as she turned him to more easily get him in her arms. The hold was awkward, but the trek back to the tree wasn't too far, thankfully. Her time in the feudal era had made her strong, though it helped that she only had to carry half of what his full weight would've been if he was whole.

Once there, she set him down at the base, using her thighs to cushion his head. The hole ran completely through his chest and she leaned over his head, hands back over his chest and concentrating once more on closing it.

"Please, please, please work. Please help me, Goshinboku…!"

A moment passed, then another. There was nothing but the showers of the clouds to be felt, lightly beating down on them. No change to the hole. Should she just give up? That was when she caught sight of his legs, the bone and muscle slowly reconstructing to become whole once more. Kagome looked to his hands and wings, now also restored. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in, relieved. It worked.

Kagome looked back to his chest.

Except maybe not quite.

The hole was still there, as big as when she'd first seen it, taunting her futile efforts. She wanted to cry out in frustration. Why wasn't it healing too?!

There was no time to think. Kagome felt the groan against her chest before she could hear it, muffled against her body and the pitter-patter of the rain. She squeaked, straightening. The man's body glowed a dark green at that moment, startling her and forcing her to cover her eyes. Once it dissipated, she found his appearance had changed. The wings and tail were gone, so were his horns. Instead, a helmet-like mask made of what looked to be bone covered the left side of his head, the heavy black tear-like markings thinned to small lines now colored teal. He was no longer clothless, instead now donning a long white jacket and white hakama pants, kept fashioned in place by a black sash.

Kept secured at his side was now also a sword.

Kagome blinked, astonished.

If he was a demon, she would assume the other form was his true form and this one his more humanoid one. Funny that both were pretty human looking, one just with bat-features. Most demons just got bigger and turned fully into the animal they represented.

His eyes slowly opened and she was met with striking emerald. Pretty, was her first thought. She'd never seen such a rich emerald color before. His thick brows furrowed, his gaze lost. She opened her mouth to speak– to ask his name or something, but then he was passed out once more. So much for finding out more about him.

Whatever, they could talk later.

Kagome still had a task to complete.

The area around the jacket's zipper was torn, so she pushed aside the cloth to check once more on his chest. Kagome glared at that damn hole, still as perfectly round and evident. It was smaller now, though. She rested her hand over it and took a breath, channeling her energy to her palm. His own energy was starting to stabilize, his breathing growing more steady and even. Whatever the hole was, she didn't know. But apparently it wasn't enough to kill him. She'd worry about it later.

Kagome cupped his head and carefully lifted it, slipping her legs from under it before setting his head on the ground. She clicked her tongue as feeling returned to them and waited a moment for the numbness to pass, then the prickling. Once gone, she got up and headed back into the woods. Her bow was still there, after all.

The rain was light at this point, the position of the moon telling her the sun wasn't far from awakening. She'd been at it for a few hours, it seemed. Fatigued creeped up on her, the anxiety slowly calming. She was quick to get her bow and go back to the bat-man, though now she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Kagome wasn't stupid enough to think he would be all happy and friendly upon awakening. That's just not how her luck worked.

Was it even a good idea to heal him?

For all she knew, he was some kind of bad guy with a mission to antagonize humanity. Who was to say he wouldn't try killing her once awake?

Then again, Inuyasha tried to kill me too when we first met, she reminded herself.

The only thing that saved her from the deadly strike of his claws was her clumsiness, where she tripped under his attack. Then it was Kaede who came to her rescue by putting the subjugation beads on him, thus giving her a way to stop his attacks and keep him tame.

Her other friends weren't exactly much better. Miroku and Shippo stole from her, and then there was Kouga who straight up kidnapped her for her abilities to fight in a battle against his enemies. Sango didn't attack her directly, but being on Inuyasha's side meant she was an enemy for a brief moment before the slayer realized Naraku was the true villain.

Oh, there was also Sesshomaru. He wasn't quite a friend, but they weren't enemies by the end of the final battle. He'd definitely tried on more than one occasion to kill her either by sword or by acid.

Who knows, maybe after the initial attack on her, she could make friends with the bat-man, too. What a funny thought that was.

Kagome checked on him once more, placing a hand on his chest. Breathing still, which was a good sign. Now that she really looked into it though, she realized there was something strange about the hole in his sternum. She couldn't describe it, but the feeling from it gave her a chill. It was hollow, yet almost felt… cursed? She really didn't know. Maybe that was why he wasn't dead despite it. Perhaps it was something similar to Miroku's wind tunnel.

A yawn escaped the girl's mouth without consent, breaking her concentration.

Right, it was late and she was tired.

What to do now?

She couldn't exactly leave him out here. Her family would be up soon and see him. Kagome still didn't know whether he was friendly or not, so there was no way she would risk leaving him unsupervised. The only choice really was to bring him inside the house, which would be a bit tricky. Climbing back in through the window was out. She wouldn't even be able to get herself up, let alone the man. That meant the front door.

Kagome heaved a sigh.

It should be fine. Even her mother wouldn't be up this early. She'd just have to be… extra quiet. Kagome holstered her bow and arrows over her shoulder facing the front, and then heaved him onto her back. He was heavier now that he had his arms and legs back, that was for sure. At least she could use his legs to keep him secured, though. Thank god for her time in the feudal era.

The trip to the house was agonizingly slow and painful, opening the front door a struggle. She slipped inside, biting her lip to keep herself from groaning from the pain that came with the stupidity of walking barefoot outside on the rough ground, and headed up the stairs to her room. It was amazing how she didn't trip and fall the whole way up. More than once did she nearly slip on her wet feet, and even more times she contemplated just dropping everything – weird bat man included – and simply passing out on the stairs in exhaustion.

Kagome unceremoniously dropped him onto her bed. He wouldn't remember that anyway. She set her bow and arrow down against her nightstand, then slipped his sword from his sash and set it beside her weapon. Kagome pulled her desk chair to the bed and plopped down on it, her feet no longer wishing to support her. Another check on him confirmed he was still alive and breathing. Good. Against her feet's protests, she got back up and fetched a few towels from the bathroom's closet. As much as she wanted to just flop to the ground and let sleep take her, they were soaked and cold. She barely managed to heal him, she would not deal with sickness on top of it.

With the towels, as well as a first aid kit for just in case, acquired, Kagome set to drying him off. She started with his head, annoyed to find that his weird bone-mask wouldn't come off, and did what best she could for his hair. There was no getting the section under his mask, unfortunately. So she moved on to his torso. Getting his jacket off was a pain, especially as much of the area around his zipper was torn. She had half a mind to just rip it off or get scissors to help cut it, but that would require more energy than she currently had.

Kagome blinked, noticing the large number four on the left side of his chest. How funny, she thought. The number for "death".

Once done drying that section, she moved to his legs. Kagome undid his black sash and tugged down his pants–

Only to hastily pull them back up.

Nope. No, no, no, no. No. I saw absolutely nothing. Nada, she thought.

Why was he not wearing anything underneath?!

Kagome's face burned and she burrowed it in her hands. That sight, she feared, would not be easily forgotten any time soon. Screw his soaked pants, he'd just have to sleep in them. She was not about to try again. Even at the expense of her bed. Most of him was dry now anyway. The room was warm, too. Yes, that's right. He'd be fine. It was fine.

Getting up, she fetched an extra blanket from her closet and draped it over him, before settling back down on the chair. Another yawn escaped her, reminding her of just how much energy she had expended. She propped her elbow at the edge of the mattress and rested her chin on her palm, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. He looked a lot better now than when she'd first found him, though admittedly very pale. Maybe it was just his natural pigmentation and not something to worry about, she told herself.

She reached out to his head, brushing his bangs out of his face. His upper lip was also black, she noted. She brushed her thumb over it and found no smudging. It wasn't lipstick. Then ran her fingers over the tear-like marking, which gave him an air of melancholy, just to be sure they were a permanent feature.

He's not that bad looking, she thought.

Demons were usually either one or the other though and rarely in between, if she really thought about it. As much as she hated to think it, even Naraku was fairly attractive, even if his horrid personality made him ugly. At least that thought could be excused with the fact he'd taken on some human lord's appearance, so it wasn't his own. Hopefully, this one wouldn't have a horrid personality to contest the spider's.

Her eyes drooped, her mind going fuzzy. Sleeping was a terrible idea, yet she found it difficult to resist. Kagome rested her head on his stomach, his body too close to the edge to find a more suitable spot. Before she could let the fatigue completely take her, she trailed her hand back to his now-covered chest, taking a final look with her energy that he was still alive and stabilizing.

Just five minutes, was her last thought before she finally succumbed.

Edited: 11/22/24