Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, VIZ and not me. I do not make any money from writing this.


Warning: CHARACTER OOC-NESS!!! Kagome, sadly, is terribly out of character for a large portion of this story. We are so accustomed to her being a spit-fire, sassy, and an all-around "modern" girl. In this story, I am unfortunately making her out to seem very subdued. At least around Sesshoumaru. I'm sorry if this bothers anyone. I'm trying to keep Sesshoumaru as in character as possible.

Chapter 2: Enough is Enough

"What did he do?"

It was such an easy question. The answer was easy as well. What didn't the hanyou do this time to make her leave? She didn't run home this time. He'd get her there. At least with her scent not headed toward the well he wouldn't go there. That's what Kagome hoped. Her scent would be washed away from the rain. He might still go and look for her. What will happen he doesn't find her?

What will he do...?

"Miko."

Kagome was brought out of her thoughts by Sesshoumaru's surprisingly gentle voice. She slowly pulled away from him and, keeping her face turned away, apologized softly.

"Forgive me, Lord Sesshoumaru," she whispered, almost brokenly. "Thank you for pulling me out of my head. I seemed to have lost it for a while."

Kagome turned to walk away but was stopped by the clawed hand on her wrist. She looked at the long fingers and closed her eyes.

"Look at me, miko," the hard voice instructed. At the slight shaking of the dark-haired woman's head, he stepped closer and grasped her chin. Turning her face to look upon it, he held back a growl at her appearance. She had a large bruise on the left side of her face, extending from her brow down to her jaw. A gash, which only recently stopped bleeding, accompanied the discoloration of her face.

The golden-hued eyes of the youkai bore down into the evening sky-blue eyes of the miko. Kagome tried to turn away from the sympathy in those orbs, but Sesshoumaru would not have it.

"I will ask you one more time, miko," he pushed. "What did he do?"

"It's not what you're thinking," she quickly assured him. "He didn't give me these. We went after a demon with a jewel shard and the demon got a lucky hit on me. I was thrown back and while sliding across the ground, my face scraped against a large rock." Chancing a look up at his face, she saw that he knew there was more to her story.

Sighing softly, Kagome continued, "He compared me to Kikyou yet again. He took it too far this time."

As Sesshoumaru listened to her, he noticed that her mind was retreating into itself again. Before the memory could fully take her away, he squeezed her wrist. Kagome blinked a couple of times, clearing the tears from her eyes, and nodded her head.

"He went on about how Kikyou wouldn't have gotten hurt. She wouldn't have gotten in the way. Kikyou would have been able to purify the monster before it could get close enough to smell her. I'll never be as good as Kikyou. I'll only ever be her reincarnation...." Kagome slammed her eyes shut, tearing herself away from the harsh words flowing through her mind.

Sesshoumaru released the miko's wrist and turned. "Come," he instructed her. "We will return to your companions, gather your things and the young fox that follows you." Without waiting for a reply, he walked forward.

Kagome finished wiping at her eyes and immediately ran to catch up to the swift-paced youkai. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said to him with her head bowed down. "If there is anything I can do for you, I will do it. I am in your debt."

Sesshoumaru gave the girl a side-long glance, but remained silent. Why was he taking more into his pack? Rin and Jaken were more than enough, but now to add the miko and the kitsune child?

The two walked together, Kagome a few paces behind the Lord of the West.

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Back at Inuyasha's camp, Sango sat and glared into the steadily glowing fire. How she wanted to give the hanyou jerk a piece of her mind. What was stopping her? The fact that said hanyou had thrown himself into a tirade after Kagome was gone for more than an hour. She was terrified for the safety of her sister. Not only was she hurt from the battle for the jewel shard earlier that day, but she was emotionally distraught and it had been raining. The logical thought, from her standpoint, was that she had gone home, and Sango would be unable to follow. The illogical thought, the one that terrified her, was that Kagome didn't go down the well and was, in fact, wandering the woods cold, wet, and hurt. Kirara wouldn't be able to pick up on the miko's scent, and her tracks would be covered by mud.

Sango dropped her head into her hands and sighed loudly. "Why didn't I follow her to make sure she was okay?" she asked allowed.

Inuyasha stopped his rant and growled. "It's her own fault if something happens to her," he bit out. "She shouldn't have run off. She's always doing stupid shit like that."

Sango turned her glare from the flames to the 'alpha' of the pack. "YOU shouldn't have said such things to her! YOU should be out there looking for her. It's YOUR fault she ran off." Sango, becoming angrier with each passing word, stood and grabbed her Hiraikotsu. "She's hurt, Inuyasha. You promised to protect her, and you can't even tell us where she is."

Miroku, having sat back to let Sango have her words, finally rose and stood next to the dark haired demon slayer. "While I share Sango's sentiments," he began diplomatically, "I believe we should not be arguing and we should be looking for Kagome." He placed his staff between his two fighting companions to stave off any further outbursts. "Sango is right, Inuyasha. Kagome's head was hurt badly, and if anything else were to happen to her, she could be lost to us."

Inuyasha, who continued to glare at Sango, growled before turning on his heal. "You do what you want," he stated stubbornly. "I ain't goin' after her."

"You don't have to."

Sango quickly turned and let out a large sigh of relief. "Kagome!" she exclaimed as she ran at her friend. Being careful of the younger girl's injuries, she embraced her with tears in her eyes. "Thank the Kami you're okay."

Kagome returned the hug and patted the taijiya on the back. "I am thanks to Sesshoumaru," she replied.

Inuyasha took from glaring at Sango to his dearly hated half-brother. "What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?" he muttered out his favorite and over-used line for his sibling.

Sesshoumaru hardly spared the hanyou a glance. "Taking care of what you cannot, half-breed," he replied coolly. He turned his gaze to Kagome, who nodded her head in understanding.

Releasing Sango, Kagome ran to her back. She picked it up and was not surprised to see Shippo clinging to it. Smiling down at the young kit, she patted his head. "Are you ready to go Shippo?" she asked the saddened child.

Shippo, who had been too lost in his grief over his missing adopted mother to hear the others, was suddenly elated to see her return. Jumping from Kagome's backpack into her arms, he hugged her as tight as his little arms could. "I was so scared you weren't coming back," he whispered to her.

Kagome hugged him back and petted his tail. "I'll always come back for you," she promised. After reassuring Shippo that she was truly there, she walked back beside Sesshoumaru and nodded her head. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama. We are ready..."

"Just where the Hell do you think you're going, wench?" Inuyasha bellowed. "You ain't goin' nowhere!"

Kagome closed her eyes in annoyance and shouted out her favorite phrase. "SIT BOY!" When the refreshing sound of Inuyasha's mug kissing Mother Earth reached her ears, she opened her eyes and turned on him. "Lord Sesshoumaru has offered me his protection for a time. I will be going with him for as long as he deems me worthy of his protection. Don't worry about the jewel shards. They are MY responsibility and I will be the one to find them."

During Kagome's show of defiance, Sesshoumaru moved away from the group. He watch the scene unfold with hidden enjoyment at seeing his little brother being put in his place. The miko returned to his side, and they both made to leave. Unfortunately, things were never done easily.

End Chapter