Finding Kagome

FINDING
KAGOME

Chapter
Thirteen

The
driveway seemed to go on for miles, winding up the hillside just west
of the Golden gate Bridge. That had been one of the few points of
interest the jackass had pointed out that he could actually see in
the dark the night before, as they were driving through the city on
their way to find Kouga. That and a configuration of lights that
were up this very hill. He called it Point Diablo... The Devils
Point. This amused InuYasha. He flexed his injured arm, turning it
over to inspect the damage. Sesshoumaru was right, he really should
have a healer look it, it was starting to smell funny.

Finally the
car approached a set of gates that appeared to be iron, with a small
building attached. A man in the building came out to the car, and
spoke to the driver, then went back into the building and the gates
opened. This fascinated InuYasha. He looked at the demon sitting
across from him, noting that he looked about as tired the hanyou
felt. The car pulled around a wide circular driveway, and stopped.
The driver exited, and then opened both of the doors for them.

“Welcome
home, InuYasha,” announced his brother, as he limped up a set
of stairs, that ran half the length of the building, centered and
leading to an enormous doorway.

“This
place is huge!”
Observed the hanyou, slack jawed.. A rush of activity upon the two
entering the doors... gasps and salutations... someone took his
bag, and he tried to grab it back... his hat was removed for him,
again he tried to get it back... it was sensory overload at it's
best.

“Halfbreed...” called his brother, to a collective gasp
of disapproval from the staff nearby, which was quashed with a glare
from the demon lord. “This way.” InuYasha had a dazed
look about him. He signaled to one of the servants, motioning to his
brother.

A small human hand touched InuYasha on his arm, and he looked down
to see the gentle smile of a woman in her middle years. “Lord
InuYasha, please come this way... you must see the healer now,”
and he followed her in a stunned silence, to join Sesshoumaru.

The
healer was a great bear-youkai, with an amazingly gentle touch.
Sesshoumaru's leg was tended to first and the healer, after cleaning
it, instructed him to go bathe, and then it would be wrapped
properly. Someone actually ordered the jackass to do
something, and he does it,
InuYasha mused. Then it was his turn, and the bear frowned while
inspecting his arm. He didn't like that frown. It meant that
something was really bad if healer frowned like that.

“Disease is not uncommon in the wild,” he was saying
something, and InuYasha knew it should make sense to him, but it
didn't. The one that bit him had a disease? Was that it? He cast
about the room confused, the jackass was gone. Where did he go? He
looked up at the bear vacantly just before he swooned and everything
blurred and then went black.

And time passed, and the world was a dark place.

~o0o~

The bees
kept stinging him. They had to be Naraku's pets, stinging then gone
before he could react. And it was cold, so very cold... where was
Kagome? He had to find her... had she gone back through the well?
Had he angered her again? No... wait... Naraku had Kagome... that
bastard would pay, how dare he steal away his mate. Miroku, no!! The
tear in his hand... he watched him pull the protective rosary away
with a sadness in his eyes, to pull the insects off of Sango... then
the explosion. And Miroku was no more... No, Sango... Don't jump!
The broken slayer at the foot of the cliff... Damn the Jewel...
Damn it to the infinity of all the hells!! Must find Kagome... must
protect Kagome... where has she gone? Running... running through
the trees... wolves... the wolves had Kagome...

“YOU
CAN'T HAVE HER!! SHE IS MINE!!”

~o0o~

Sesshoumaru paced in the hallway, waiting for the healer to come out
of the room. For three days now he had waited listening to the
frantic sounds of his brother fighting off the poisons in his blood.
He would wait no more. Pushing his way through the door and into the
room, he found the hanyou surrounded by his people, faces etched with
concern.

“My Lord, you should not be here. Let us handle him. He is
delirious, he thinks he's in Feudal Japan,” the great bear was
beside himself.

“This Sesshoumaru will not stand idly by while his brother
goes through this torment! Is there nothing more you can do?”
he went up to the bedside, where three strong young men were holding
his brother down as he writhed on the bed.

“We have given him as much of the antivenin as we can, any
more could kill him...” at this Sesshoumaru growled at the
healer. Seating himself on the edge of the bed, he motioned to the
men holding InuYasha, and they adjusted giving him room to reach up
and run his hand along the hanyou's face and shoulder. He smoothed
his hair, and freshened the cloth on his brow. The response was
immediate, and he calmed.

“Get out,” he quietly ordered the four of them. The
healer was reluctant to go and hesitated by the door.

“My Lord,” he started.

“I
know,” he answered without hearing the rest. “I didn't
wait all this time, and bring him this far to have a
fucking wolf-bite kill him,”
and the great Demon Lord's eyes brimmed with tears, though his face
appeared unmoved. “Now just GO!” And he heard the door
shut quietly, before he broke down completely.

He paid no heed to the time that passed as he stayed by the hanyou's
side. Nothing mattered except Inuyasha right now. He laid a cool
damp towel on his brothers brow. The fever was not so high today. His
mind flashed on Rin, and how he had stayed by her side when she
suffered from the human childhood illnesses.

He
felt shame that he didn't even know
if InuYasha had experienced any of those illnesses. He had kept
Tenssaiga by his side for days now, just in case. Alternately his
younger brother's breathing was increasingly rapid, and then almost
not there, almost as if he were holding his breath. At those times,
Sesshoumaru would run his claws gently over InuYasha's cheek and the
breath would return, first a deep sighing one, then normal for a
while.

Then, late in the afternoon of the fourth day, the demon lord was
sitting back in a chair by the bed resting his eyes, when Inuyasha
began thrashing wildly, muttering the little miko's name, and
suddenly shouting in a great roar, “YOU CAN'T HAVE HER, SHE' IS
MINE!!”

And then he went still.

The
door flew open, as the healer came running into the room along with a
handful of attendants. There was a rush of activity, and Sesshoumaru
stepped back a pace.

“My Lord, did you speak with him? Was he speaking to you?”
Came a concerned inquiry.

“No... it was another dream,” he replied.

The Bear-Youkai leaned over the hanyou, and then rose to look at his
Lord. His face was beaming as he said, “the fever has finally
broken... My Lord, he is out-of-the-woods, so to speak.”

“Then leave us, you have done well,” and again his eyes
became moist. “Have some food sent, when he wakes he will be
hungry.”

“Of course My Lord,” and the healer bowed, then herded
his attendants out of the room.

Sesshoumaru sat on the edge of the bed, watching his brother's rapid
eye movement for a few moments, then reached up with his clawed hand
to brush the errant tresses from his face. A tear slid down his
cheek, and all he could feel was gratitude. He had no deity other
than himself to pay this thanks to, so he settled on the fates.

“Oi jackass,” the words were weak, and low... nearly
inaudible. “Who died? You look like you are on your way to a
burial...”

“Not today, little brother...” and he laughed and wiped
the tear from his cheek. “You gave us all a scare.”

“That's
a new one ... me scare you,” he
tried to raise himself, but was unsuccessful, “Uhng.”

“Food is on the way, you need to eat.”

“I'm really getting sick and tired of this blacking out shit,”
he looked around the room, as Sesshoumaru reached to help him sit up,
and as InuYasha hung onto his neck for balance, he adjusted the
pillows so that his brother could sit up on the bed. “How long
was I out?”

“Four days.”

“Did I turn? Kami, I didn't hurt anyone did I??”

“No... and no.”

“You were really worried about me...” the statement
contained a hint of disbelief.

“Yes,” and another tear made it's way past the demon's
stoic eyes.

“Oi, jackass... your face is wet,” and InuYasha reached
over to hand him a cloth from the stack by the bed. “Maybe you
should see the healer about that, it's gotta be a symptom of
something...”

“Don't concern yourself with the emotional state of this
Sesshoumaru, halfbreed,” and he wiped at his eyes, just as a
soft knock came from the door and a staff member pushed in a cart
full of assorted edibles.

“My Lords, if I may recommend the soup this evening. I have
heard it is just what the doctor ordered,” and he smiled with a
bow before leaving.

~oo00O00oo~