The Other Side of Kazaana

A/N I know, I know…the last chapter was dark. I was planning to put this one up right after, and life interfered so you had to wait a bit! Sorry to leave ya with the creepy taste in your mouth! I just hope the last chapter helped ya’ll to hate the ronin as much as everyone else in the story does.

Thank you so much for the reviews! They were so detailed and helpful and just...I'll write as fast as I can to try and say thank you!

Don’t worry, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now…

Chapter 12- Healing Miroku

Kagome was alone in Sesshoumaru’s camp when Inuyasha returned. Looking up at the sound of something large crashing through the brush, she started as a bare chested Inuyasha sprinted into the camp, Miroku lying limply in his arms. The hanyou’s scarlet eyes stared at her as he laid his mate on the ground beside her.

“Fix him.” he growled fiercely.

She looked down at Miroku, uncertain what to do. The monk was naked and pale, his face covered in odd rusty streaks. Inuyasha’s white kimono was wadded up along his waist, parts of it almost as red as his red suikan tied over it.

“Inuyasha, what’s wrong with him...”

“He bleeds! Fix him!”

Biting her lip, Kagome reached out to undo the cloth around him just as Kouga and Sesshoumaru came into the camp. Inuyasha turned on them, snarling.

“Fucking hells, Inuyasha, we’re not going to hurt your mate, dammit!” Kouga snarled back as Sesshoumaru put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t go near him right now.” The taiyoukai said to him quietly. “I don’t think he’s rational at the moment.”

“I figured that out already, asshole! The fact that he wouldn’t even let us see what was wrong with Miroku before he started running back here like an idiot was kind of a clue! Crap, Inuyasha, what the fuck were you thinking?! It took us two hours to get back here! We should have dealt with Miroku where we found him!”

“Fuck off, wolf.” Inuyasha growled low, staying between the two males and Miroku as he watched them carefully.

“Kagome, get the hell away from him, right now. I don’t want you getting hurt if he completely loses it.” Kouga ordered.

“No.” Kagome said calmly, still working on carefully peeling the cloth from Miroku’s body, gasping softly at the wound she found along his side.

“Kagome! Do as I say!”

“No, he needs help, Kouga. I’m not leaving him just because Inuyasha can’t think straight.” She said, reaching into her first aid kit.

Kouga started to growl, his mate ignoring him completely as she continued to work on the monk. After a few minutes of tense silence, Sango finally caught up to them and dismounted from Kirara. She took everything in and finally faced Inuyasha.

“I’ve done my fair share of bandaging, Inuyasha. I can help Kagome.” She said quietly. When he nodded, she walked by him carefully to kneel down by Miroku.

“How come she gets to come near and I don’t!?” Kouga growled.

“Possibly because she’s not snarling at him like an idiot.” Sesshoumaru said calmly. “May I pass, Inuyasha?”

“No.” Inuyasha snarled. “Stay the fuck away from him.”

Kouga turned to Sesshoumaru. “There goes that theory.” He snorted.

“Inuyasha, we aren’t going to harm the little one.” Sesshoumaru said soothingly.

“You’re male.” Inuyasha snarled again. “He doesn’t like males. Keep away from him.”

The youkai stood staring at each other as the women worked quietly on Miroku’s still body. When Miroku groaned softly, Inuyasha’s head whipped around to stare back at him while he tried to keep Sesshoumaru and Kouga within sight.

“What’s wrong!”

“He’s fine, Inuyasha.” Sango said, and the youkai blinked to see her smiling. “Truly, he’s fine. He’s lost some blood, but…nothing vital was hit. I can’t really believe it.” She said softly, looking down at the still unconscious man. “He’s really, really lucky.”

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha both growled low in their throats. “Don’t leave him alone.” Sesshoumaru said shortly as Inuyasha’s claws flexed in agitation.

“I know.” Inuyasha snarled back as Kouga looked on in confusion.

“What the hell’s got you two so wired up? I thought you’d be happy the little guy’s gonna be okay.”

“He should be dead.” Inuyasha said shortly, the crimson bleeding from his eyes. “Why do you think I came running back here? I thought we were gonna need the Tenseiga and Sesshoumaru left it here with Kagome and Jaken. Miroku should be dead.”

“Huh?”

“You smelled him; the ronin was there. Miroku should be dead.” Inuyasha closed his eyes, fighting for control.

When Kouga didn’t looked any more enlightened, Sesshoumaru turned to him. “We have all seen the ronin fight. He knows hundreds of places on the body that would be fatal, and he most certainly has the ability to hit them, even in the midst of battle. If he didn’t fatally wound Miroku, he did it intentionally.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” Kouga asked, looking back and forth between his two friends.

“Because they fucking want him for something, dammit!”

“I have to agree.” Sesshoumaru said quietly. “I assumed this was simply another ploy against Inuyasha, but if Miroku has been left alive… either something has been done to him, or they want him for some reason. He cannot be left alone until we discover why he wasn’t killed.”

Kouga looked at Miroku warily again. “If they did something to him, I don’t want Kagome anywhere near him.”

“He’s whole.” Inuyasha snarled. “I would know if something was added to him. He’s been…damaged, but not tampered with.” Golden eyes challenged Kouga and Sesshoumaru and they nodded carefully.

“I will take your word for it.” Sesshoumaru said carefully.

“But you better fucking be right, Inuyasha.” Kouga said, watching his mate intently. “Because friend or not, if Miroku makes one move against Kagome or anyone else, I will fucking end him.”

“Touch him and I’ll kill you.” Inuyasha snarled.

“If that’s the way it plays out.” Kouga said, and they stared at each other tensely as the women continued to work on Miroku.

Miroku woke up slowly. He could hear the low murmur of voices nearby and wanted to look, but his eyelids felt almost too heavy to move. He recalled the last thing he saw, the ronin sprinting away as Miroku started to bleed onto the ground, and wondered where he was. Had Inuyasha found him, or had the ronin come back for him?

Opening his eyes to slits, he glanced around and let out a relieved sigh as he saw two women kneeling on the floor next to him, facing a fire in the center of the hut. Thank the Gods, Inuyasha or one of the others had discovered him…he’d recognize those two backsides anywhere.

“Kagome.” He started to say, and stopped, surprised at how weak his voice sounded.

She and Sango turned quickly.

Kagome smiled broadly. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”

“I’m trying not to think about it.” He whispered. His stomach and chest felt like one solid, aching burn, his face felt swollen and bruised, and his wrists and ankles stung ferociously. “Inuyasha…found me?”

Kagome nodded as Sango patted him carefully on the shoulder before leaving what he now recognized as Kaede’s hut. “I’ll tell the others you’re awake.”

“My injuries…how bad are they?” he asked tentatively. He didn’t feel like moving yet, so he wasn’t entirely sure what the ronin had hit when he’d stabbed into him with the katana. He certainly didn’t feel as though he were dying, but...

“You bled like a stuck pig, but you’ll live.” Inuyasha’s voice preceded him into the small hut and he stood inside the doorway, hands twitching nervously as Miroku stared at him, wide-eyed.

They were both silent, eyes focused on each other, and Kagome finally interrupted.

“Uh, I think I’ll just go wait outside.” She mumbled, edging out of the hut.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and walked over slowly, crouching down next to Miroku and watching him carefully. “Are you all right?’ he asked.

“Eh…in what respect?” Miroku asked, his voice soft and uncomfortably timid. Was he asking about the ronin, or about…other things?

“Ronin Miroku, I don’t know what he…” Inuyasha paused, swore, and his fists started to clench against his thighs. “Fuck. I know he hurt you, all right? I just …. I just don’t know how badly. There was so much blood, and I couldn’t tell… I couldn’t tell where it all came from.” Inuyasha finished in a whisper.

He inched his hand forward to touch Miroku’s arm, and Miroku was certain that he would yank it away again if Miroku made any indication that the touch disturbed him. He sighed in relief when it didn’t. He had been just as nervous about how his body would react to the feel of another as Inuyasha had been. But it felt…soothing. Warm and tingling and comforting and nothing like the ronin’s rough, disturbing hands.

“Miroku,” Inuyasha looked at his eyes, testing him. “Did he rape you?”

Shaking his head, Miroku continued to look at the hand on his upper arm. It was like some warm balm against his skin…the only place on his body where he actually felt clean.

“Did he hurt you?” Inuyasha asked.

Miroku nodded briefly and Inuyasha flinched, noting his non-verbal answer and worrying.

His next question was barely a whisper. “Did he touch you?”

Miroku’s eyes swung up to meet Inuyasha’s and he bit his lip. He didn’t want to talk about this. It had been terrifying and humiliating and painful and his whole body still hurt and stupid Inuyasha was looking at him with his stupid, concerned, golden eyes as though that would be enough to make him bare his soul…

“Yes.” He said brokenly, his mouth trembling even as he tried to stop it. Inuyasha looked on, his face seeming as though he were even closer to crying than Miroku.

The hanyou crept closer to the futon Miroku rested on, laying himself down carefully next to Miroku as he worked on not jarring his injuries. He leaned on his elbow, still watching for the monk’s reaction as he brought one clawed hand across the monk’s body to gently run over the monk’s hair.

“He won’t ever get to do that again.” Inuyasha said with complete conviction. Miroku laughed shortly, crying out at the pain it caused his wound and his stomach, and a small sob escaped before he could stop it.

“My poor, poor Miroku.” Inuyasha said softly, never stopping his hand’s movement along Miroku’s dark hair. “Shhhhh. I promise, I won’t ever let him hurt you again. I promise you. Never.”

Miroku choked back another sob, and as Inuyasha leaned forward to simply rest his forehead against Miroku’s, the monk’s control broke and he wept in Inuyasha’s arms.


When Kagome returned to the hut an hour later, Miroku had fallen back asleep. She politely ignored Inuyasha as he covertly wiped his own eyes before nodding to her in gratitude as he went outside for a moment.

Kouga and Sesshoumaru were waiting to talk with him, although he insisted on staying within sight of Kaede’s as they discussed the situation.

“Kagome said he’s clean. His aura hasn’t been polluted.” Kouga said quietly, “Just so you know.”

“I already told you that.”

“I’m just passing the information along, okay??” he looked at Inuyasha a moment, uncertain. “That fucker rape him?”

“No.” Inuyasha’s voice was short and angry.

“Sorry,” Kouga held up his hands in front of him, “With all the bawling you two were doing in there, I just assumed…”

“Just because he wasn’t raped doesn’t mean it wasn’t a traumatic experience.” Sesshoumaru said quietly, and the ookami looked at him irritably.

“I know that! It’s just…” he kicked at the dirt. “Dammit, what the hell am I supposed to say? I just…I hope you’re mate’ll be all right, okay!”

Inuyasha sighed deeply and nodded. “Yeah. Me, too. I…don’t know what the ronin did to him. Miroku really hasn’t done anything but cry so far.” Inuyasha ran a shaky hand over his face. “Something happened, though. Something bad, I think.” He snarled silently to himself. “I should have killed that fucking bastard years ago.”

“We cannot change the past.” Sesshoumaru put his hand on his shoulder. “We will all help to ensure the little one’s safety, though, Otouto. The ronin will not be able to take him from you again.” Kouga nodded firmly.

“Yeah, the pack can cover the entire perimeter of the village, so there’s fucking nothing getting in that they won’t know about.”

“What about the tanuki that he used the first time? We didn’t see any sign of it.”

“They know to keep their eyes up as well as down, now.” Kouga reassured him.

Inuyasha sighed again. “I just wish I could make it all go away for him.” he said softly. “He seems so fragile right now…”

“Then you should go back in so that he doesn’t break.” Sesshoumaru pushed him in the direction of the hut.

“I don’t know if he’ll really want me around, not after how things ended before the ronin took him.” Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek, remembering Miroku’s face just before he’d walked away.

“Don’t be a dumbass.” Kouga said curtly, smacking him in the back. “You’re mates, aren’t ya? It means something! Hell, just having you next to him should make him feel good. If nothin’ else, he’ll heal better with you around.”

“He will?” Inuyasha looked over to his brother for confirmation, receiving a nod in reply.

“Your presence will benefit him due to your bond, yes. As his mate, you should be able to soothe him physically. The connection between you two should aid his mental and emotional healing as well.”

Inuyasha swallowed and smiled, thanking him silently, and headed back inside the hut to stay with Miroku.

After he left, Kouga leaned closer to Sesshoumaru.

“So, did you just make that shit up, or what?” Kouga asked quietly.

“I may have exaggerated. Slightly.” Sesshoumaru whispered back. “It was necessary. Inuyasha needs to believe that his presence is needed or his guilt will likely cause him to withdraw from his mate. That would be…unacceptable.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“You did the same, did you not?”

“Oh hell yeah. Pulled an Inuyasha and took that right out of my ass.”

Sesshoumaru chuckled. “I’m surprised Inuyasha didn’t recognize its origin, then.”

“Nah, poor bastard’s too worried about the little monk, I think.” Kouga looked over his shoulder to see Kagome quietly backing out of Kaede’s again and he shivered a moment. “Gods, if something like that had happened to Kagome…”

“Yes, the thought is not one I care to think on too deeply.”

“I think I’m gonna go make love ‘til I pass out.” Kouga said abruptly.

“Celebrating?” Sesshoumaru asked lightly.

“Just making sure I enjoy what I got.” He sprinted over and scooped up Kagome, surprising a laugh out of her, and headed out of the village as Sesshoumaru sat down outside of Kaede’s to keep guard. He smiled to himself as he heard a rustling from inside as Inuyasha laid himself down next to his mate.

Sleep well, little brother.