Incense And Mirth, Taming The Wild Hanyou Heart

A/N

This is part two of chapt.4 but seeing as how the whole chapter in itself was too long for me to send in through one sitting, splitting it up was the only sensible solution. And I didn't want to make anyone wait too long for the next scenario. It did take me almost a whole month to complete it, so enjoy. It'll probably take me just as long for chapter 6. But don't despair. I promise to make it worth waiting for(I hope!).


Poisoned


Shinseiki had set up his camp in a part of the forest that Kagome had never been in before. She looked around her, taking a deep breath. It smelled of pine and fir trees, of sun-kissed dew and eary spring rains and had a musky odor of earth and wood. It had the same scent that Inuyasha did when he came back from making his rounds, which reminded her that he didn't know that she'd decided to go home.

"Umm, Shinseiki? Not that I don't appreciate this, but I really do have to be on my way. I made a promise and I'd like to be able to keep it. I still have a lot of things that I need to do before the sun sets. Could you bring me your items so that I can perform the necessary rituals on them. That way you and I can both finish what we have to do as soon as possible."

Shinseiki looked at Kagome and nodded. He might as well get this over with.

'And besides, blessed herbs and mushrooms will fetch a far better price at the market than just ordinary ones would.' he thought to himself.

"Just let me get the tea ready. That way it will steep while you are working." Shinseiki said as he got everything ready. Then, he got up and went towards the back of his campsite.

As he rummaged through his things over his small table, he mused over what he'd been told. In each and every village that he'd stopped to do business in, there would always be a villager telling him how a group of young people had destroyed this or that type of dangerous demon. Each person that spoke to him recounted an eye-witness event. He had heard so MUCH about the Taijiya, The Monk, Kagome....and especially about Inuyasha and his famous sword. They were living legends! But even legends had their flaws, of that he was sure. HE had NEVER met a hanyou capable of such deeds. Hell, the ones that he HAD MET couldn't even keep up a decent conversation! No, Shinseiki was definately having a hard time believing everything that he'd been told.

"Here we are. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Shinseiki said as he placed the basket he'd been holding next to Kagome.

She reached for it and pulled it closer towards her, looking inside. Then she stood, shut her eyes and bowed her head in prayer while hugging the basket.

As her lips started to move, Shinseiki noticed something strange happening. Kagome started glowing. A soft, pink aura was beginning to emanate from her, surrounding her body completely. He couldn't believe his eyes! The deeper she went into prayer, the darker her aura became!

Was it true, then? Everything that the villagers had said, could it be that this group that she belonged to really were that strong? Had Naraku lied to him all along? What was Naraku so afraid of anyways, that he deemed that this priestess should die, and yet could not do the dirty work himself? Shinseiki could feel the intensity of Kagome's power flowing from her. She was in no way anything like the other miko. And even though Naraku had been VERY explicit about what would happen to him should this plan fail, Shinseiki still did not want to tempt fate. If Naraku wanted her dead, then Naraku would have to kill her himself. Shinseiki was willing to chance it.

As soon as that thought occured to him, he felt a great weight lift off his shoulders. He instinctively knew that he'd made the right decision. He watched as Kagome came out of her trance.

"The basket's been purified. You should be able to heal twice as many people with just the same amount of ingredients that you already have for your remedies." Kagome told him.

"Thank you Priestess Kagome. Please, sit down and relax while I put these away." He replied.

"Oh, and please wait until I come back before serving the tea. I'm afraid that it's not good anymore. It's been steeping for too long." Shinseiki called over his shoulder. He didn't want her touching that stuff.

Unfortunately, Kagome didn't hear the last part, so lost in thought that she was.

'I think that I'll take Shinseiki to our village to meet Kaede. I'm pretty sure that those two will get along great together. Maybe, by combining their knowledge of herbs and tonics between them, we might be able to figure out something that we can use against Naraku. I think I'll get a head start and pour myself a cup of tea. I'm sure that Shinseiki won't mind. After all, I did just do him a favor.'

The tea was still piping hot and smelt wonderful. Kagome took a large sip.

"Oooh, just the way I like it, with a hint of mint." She said softly while emptying her cup. Then she reached for another and proceeded to empty that one, too.

Kagome had barely finished her second cup when she started to feel slightly light-headed. She started to get dizzy and her vision blurred.

'I must be even more exhausted than I thought. I'll just rest here for a while until I'm feeling better." Kagome said to herself....just before she fainted.

"Priestess Kagome, I'm back. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I really did want to put everything away properly. Priestess...? Are you all right? Say something...Priestess Kagome?"

"OHH NO!! SHE DIDN'T!! PLEASE KAMI!! PRIESTESS KAGOMEEE!!!

Shinseiki, falling to his knees, broke down and cried. He realised that he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life.


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Inuyasha was practically flying over the trees in his hurry to get to the field that was near a small lake that he'd seen not too long ago. The flowers that were growing there were Kagome's favorite, white roses. They weren't growing in the same way as the pink ones at the cave, though. No, these were more like bushes and the flower stems were a bit longer, although not quite as long as the red ones in that 'moo-vee'. He was positive that Kagome would love them.

Then, he felt it. It was as if his heart had jumped into his throat. Inuyasha started to sweat like crazy and his body started to shiver all over. Something was very, very wrong. His Youkai was screaming at him to high-tail it back to Kagome as fast as he could. Kagome's aura was calling out to him. He could feel it. She was sick, very sick and she desperately needed him now!

Inuyasha turned in mid-air and landed on the closest tree branch beside him, back-flipped, then took off like a bat outta hell towards Kaede's village.

When he arrived at Kaede's hut about twenty minutes later, he noticed that everyone was getting ready for the evening meal. Almost everyone, that is. Someone was missing.

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha shouted at the group. They all looked up at him, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Kagome told me to tell you that she was going home to get more supplies and that she'd be back sometime tomorrow morning. She also said that she'd bring you some extra ramen and hoped that you'd be nice to me for telling you." Shippo answered him.

"How long ago was this?" Inuyasha shot back, glaring at him.

"About two hours ago, give or take e few minutes." Shippo replied.

"She never made it to the well. Something's happened to her. My Youkai's going crazy. I've gotta find her." Inuyasha managed to croak out as he turned to leave.

"Inuyasha, wait! You may need back-up. I'll come with you." Miroku said as he grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve.

"We'll all go. If Kagome's in trouble, then she may need all of us to help her out, in one way or another." Sango piped up as she went to get her HIRAIKOTSU.

"Then what in the Seven Hells are we waiting for?" Inuyasha retorted as he made a bee-line for the door.

As soon as Inuyasha had crossed the threshold, he started to sniff the air, searching for Kagome's scent. Once found, he began to run towards the direction that it came from, the others following close behind. As they went deeper into Inuyasha's Forest, Miroku noticed that it took them to where he'd found the mushrooms earlier. He wondered what Kagome could have been doing here. It was so far off the beaten path that led towards the well. Then Inuyasha stiffened and slowed down.

"I smell Kagome and she's not alone. Someone's with her.....and he's crying?! What the hell...?" What they saw next came as a total shock.

They came into a small clearing that had been made into a campsite. Kagome was laying beside the fire-pit, with a blanket covering her. She was deathly pale and looked feverish. Kneeling along side of her was a young man whose shoulders were heaving. From the looks of things, he'd been crying for some time. His face carried tear stains, and his breathing was erratic. All in all, he looked like he'd been kicked in the gut.

When Inuyasha saw his Kagome on the ground, he jumped towards her and snarling, backhanded the young man beside her, sending him flying a good twenty feet away. As Inuyasha was about to go and grab the man, Miroku stepped in between them. He looked at Inuyasha and yelled;

"Wait! We don't know what's happened! If you kill him now....we never will! To be able to save Kagome, we'll have to talk to him!"

Inuyasha growled. He was having a hard time keeping his Youkai under control. All it wanted to do at that precise moment was rip the fucker's throat out for touching Kagome. By this time, Shinseiki had managed to acquire some self-control and he stood, facing the group. He checked himself over for any injuries and took a deep breath.

"I am Shinseiki. I am a Kinoka-Ya. I've been in this area for several days now. You see, I trade for herbs and mushrooms that I need to make my remedies and this is the only place that a certain Kuzu root will grow. I came upon Priestess Kagome walking on the path that leads to your village and asked her if she were to be so kind as to bless my ingredient basket for me. When she said that she would, I offered to make her some tea to drink before she left. Unfortunately, she didn't drink the right one. She's been poisoned." Shinseiki nervously said, never taking his eyes off of Inuyasha.

The whole time that Shinseiki had been speaking, Sango had stared at him. There was something that was just so familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Then, she gasped. It finally dawned on her.

"NARAKU!! YOU BASTARD!!" Sango cried out, reaching for her HIRAIKOTSU.

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo yelled out in unison as they all turned towards Shinseiki. Not only had Kagome been poisoned, but it was by Naraku, himself?

Shinseiki fell to his knees, awaiting the death blow that he knew Inuyasha would serve him with the Tessaiga. He deserved it, too. How could he have believed that bastard, Naraku. He really should have known better. He hoped that the Kami would be merciful and let him die quickly, without much suffering. But before he would let Inuyasha touch him, he wanted to at least explain everything.

"Please, before you kill me, let me explain. I truly am Shinseiki. And, yes, I do look like Naraku. But I definately AM NOT HIM!"

Shinseiki went on quickly, keeping his head reverently bowed, knowing that he didn't have much time to say everything that needed to be said. As he finished his story, he cautiosly lifted his head to see what was going on in front of him. While Miroku and Sango stared incredulously at him, Shippo was bawling beside Inuyasha who was sitting next to Kagome, holding her tightly against him, tears streaming down his cheeks from closed eyes.

When Inuyasha reopened them, Shinseiki couldn't help but notice that they were now more red than amber. A shiver crawled up his spine when Inuyasha spoke.

"You said that you poisoned her, but that in the end, that's not what you wanted to do. Well....how about making one of your so-called potions to cure her." Inuyasha quietly growled out, staring intently at Shinseiki.

"I'm very sorry, but I don't have the right kind of mushrooms to make this particular cure. Don't you think that I wouldn't have already done so if I had? Believe me, I wish that I had never listened to Naraku. Do with me as you see fit. I don't deserve to live, anyways." Shinseiki nervously replied.

As soon as Miroku heard this, he looked up towards Shinseiki and said;

"Do you mean that there's a chance that we could cure Kagome? What do you need? I'll go and see Kaede about getting it. If she doesn't have it, she'll know where to find it."

"Who's Kaede?" Shinseiki asked, doubting that even she would be able to help.

"She's our village miko. She's also the one that's been training Kagome. She is very powerful and knows everything that there is to know about herbal remedies." Sango answered him.

Shinseiki stood up and with hopeful eyes, started to name all of the ingredients that were needed.

"Well, for one, I'll need to use some of my powdered Dong Quai along with my Kuzu root, mixed with a few pieces of the Sheitake mushroom. This all must be boiled in wine along with the last ingredient. Unfortunately, that's almost impossible to find. It's called a Reishi or Ling Zhi mushroom."

Miroku reached into his left sleeve, touching the bandana that he'd forgotten about leaving at Kaede's. He ran his fingers over it, trying to find the knot, and pulled it out.

"The Kami are truly looking out for you, little sister." Miroku whispered as he stole a glance at Kagome. He cleared his throat and handed the small bundle to Shinseiki.

"If you have all of the other ingredients on hand, I think that we should waste no more time by talking about it. Shinseiki, let's get started."

Shinseiki just stared at him. Had Miroku just given him what he thought he did?

"Well? What the hell are you waiting for? DO IT!!" Inuyasha yelled, startling the young man into movement.

An hour later, everything was ready. Inuyasha propped Kagome up onto his shoulder. By this time she was barely breathing and was deathly cold. He hoped that they weren't already too late. Slowly, Inuyasha poured a tiny bit of the red liquid into her mouth, trying not to choke her. He was relieved when she swallowed. He repeated these steps until the cup was empty. Now came the tricky part. After much coaxing and prodding, he managed to get Kagome's mouth open just wide enough for her to take in two small pieces of the steeped mushrooms. She didn't have to swallow them, but they did have to come into contact with her tongue long enough for the medicinal herbs to seep in so that they could help with the healing process.

Inuyasha looked at Shinseiki and Miroku and asked;

"What now?"

"Now, Inuyasha, we wait." Miroku replied.

Sango came up to him, holding Shippo. He had cried himself to sleep. She sat down next to Miroku and rested her head against his shoulder. She was having a hard time holding back her own tears. Heaving a sigh, she closed her eyes.

'That's all we can do. Wait....and pray. Miroku thought to himself as he bowed his head. They were in for a long night.




I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger ending on this chapter (I'm fairly sure that I'm not the only one that hates them), but it was a necessary evil. I know that I promised everyone a lemon, and eventually there will be one, but this chapter's been turning over in my mind for so long now, that I just had to include it. And...to get to a good lemon, you need to have a (pretty) good story. I'm hoping that this one falls into that category. Please R & R everyone and tell me what you think, but no flames. I don't give them, so I don't wanna recieve any either. Thank You. JA NE