"Sango," she called, "is it working yet?"

"Not yet," came the slayer's response. "Could you keep fanning it for a little bit?"

Kagome nodded, putting her mask back in place and fanning the smoke from the strange herbs toward the porch. Their new companion, Sango, had claimed that a demon was hiding underneath it. According to her, burning these herbs would draw it out into the open. Having heard rumors of famous demon slayers, the people of this village were more than happy to let her remove the demon for them.

But not everyone was cheerful about it. As soon as Sango set fire to the herbs, Inuyasha had begun to cough and gag. By now, the poor hanyou was curled up on the ground, eyes shut tight and nose pressed firmly into his sleeve. Kagome hadn't realized that it would be hard on him, but in hindsight it made perfect sense– after all, hadn't she seen this same reaction during the battle with the demonic ink painter?

"Here it comes!" Sango warned. And in the next moment, a roar sounded, only to dissolve into a squeak as the woman slammed her boomerang into the emerging demon.

Just like that, it was over. Sango went to clean up the area, and Kagome helped a very dizzy Inuyasha reach the guest room that had been prepared for them. As soon as he was in the room, he resumed his position on the floor, curled into a ball of misery.

Kagome sat down beside him, rubbing his back soothingly. "Is the scent still too strong?"

A tiny whining sound was his only response.

"Inuyasha?"

"It's everywhere," he mumbled. "Hurts…"

"I'm sorry," Kagome said sadly. "I didn't even think twice. I should have known. I could have asked Sango to do it when we weren't around. I could have—"

"Shut up." He didn't sound angry, just worn out. "It wasn't you. Stupid demon slayer."

They both fell silent. Kagome continued to rub his back gently, hoping that he wouldn't make her stop. After a few moments, she thought she could feel him slowly shifting positions to lean towards her.

"Where does it hurt, Inuyasha? Do you have a headache?"

"Yes," he said miserably. "And it burns in my nose and my throat, and my eyes."

She had never heard him be so open about pain before. This was a different sort of pain, she figured—the kind where there was no immediate danger, no demon there to rip him apart if he showed weakness. Not even Miroku, Sango, or Shippo were here now.

"I wonder if some medicine from my time could help," she suggested. "I have some medicine that relieves headache pain."

There was a pause; he seemed to consider it.

"No," he said at last. "Don't need any other weird stuff in my system."

"Alright…" Kagome sighed in resignation. She felt so helpless sometimes. "Is it better if I leave you alone?"

Inuyasha didn't answer, but he began to shift positions again. Slowly, he picked his torso up off the floor and turned toward her, leaning forward to lie on her lap. His arms came to rest on the floor on either side of her, his nose burrowed in her shirt, his torso draped face-down over her legs.

Kagome gasped. This was more than a little awkward. He had only been in her lap once before, and even then it hadn't been like this. "Inuyasha…?"

"Mmf?" His voice was muffled. He was inhaling deeply, his breath tickling her abdomen. Kagome shivered involuntarily.

"Inuyasha—what—" she squirmed a bit, and he whined again. "Why are you—"

"Different scent." He had pulled his face away from her shirt enough to speak. "Just hold still." At her wide-eyed look, he added, "Please?"

Kagome's heart melted. How could she deny him after that? She nodded mutely and felt his nose press against her again. As her hands idly ran through his silver hair, she wondered how often she would be able to see this Inuyasha—the open, honest, needy Inuyasha that allowed her to take care of him.

.

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