Chapter 3 - chap 3

Inuyasha returned to the room once every hour and glanced into the room. The second time he peeked through the door, Kagome didn’t look up. He listened for her breathing for a moment. It was slow and even and deep, as it could only be in rest. He crept into the room with a washcloth in hand and knelt by the bedside. Kagome was sleeping, surely enough, but she was mumbling and tossing. Normally, her sleep was peaceful and restful (Inuyasha watched her slumber enough to be an expect on her habits.) Her face was distressed and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Leaning forward, he dried her face with his sleeve, trying to catch the murmurings.

“Mmh.........don’t..........stop it..........”

Inuyasha laid his ear by her face.

“Please...........run..........”

The hanyou’s ears perked.

“Before...........it..........”

She wasn’t making any sense. What was all this about? A nightmare? Kagome hardly ever had nightmares.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” The sudden yelp scared Inuyasha senseless, not to mention made his ears pound. Kagome at bolt upright in bed, clutching the bed sheets desperately with white-knuckled palms. Inuyasha rubbed his head painfully, watching her expression. Her eyes were bleary and blank as she looked into his. After a moment they sparkled with a certain relief. “Oh.........it’s you, Inuyasha..........”

“Yeah........what was all that about?” He looked down in surprise as Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck. “Kagome?”

“You’re not mad at me anymore, are you?” She asked in a small voice. There was a moment of silence as Kagome clung to a certain hanyou and that hanyou wondered if his wife had gone crazy.

“What in the world are you talking about?”

The girl shifted uncomfortably for a moment or two, looking closely at the fabric of his shirt. The haori was missing, though. She missed its deep red already. But he couldn’t wear that and expect to blend in with normal people, she rationalized. Why did she feel so cold? She shivered, and felt a hand come up to her back, reminding her that Inuyasha still expected her to answer.

“L-last time I l-left...........I s-sat you..........I th-though you’d be m-mad.” Why were her teeth chattering so badly? Her temperature had only been a hundred!

Inuyasha watched the top of her head for a while, and noticed the shivering. He put the small body back onto the bed and pulled the warm covers up again. “You’re not thinking straight,” he said firmly. “It was just a dream. Go back to sleep, Kagome. Call me if—” He stopped, feeling a sweaty pal on his wrist.

“Don’t leave,” she pleaded weakly. “Please.”

Inuyasha hesitated. Her face was so tired and so sad..........why? He couldn’t understand it, other than it might’ve been a dream. She was delusional, and undoubtedly more feverish than before. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes cloudy; the small hand that still held his was clammy and trembling hard. He felt a rush of pity and worry, but said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. His expression softened and he crawled onto the bed, lying down beside her. Kagome felt an arm slip slowly around her waist and smiled vaguely, laying her head back on the pillow and nestling deep into the nest of blankets.

“Thank you,” came the small and sleepy voice.

“You’re welcome,” Inuyasha replied into her ear. She relaxed and was soon asleep, her breathing slow and even again. The hanyou leaned forward slowly as not to rock the bed and nuzzled his face against hers. There was too much warmth there to be normal, and that worried him. But she was sleeping, and that would help. With a nearly silent sigh, he allowed his eyes to close as sleep came mercifully to him.

Kagome woke a few hours later in a sort of daze. The digital clock on the bed table read 2:10 in its flashing impatient numerals, demanding that she get up. When was the last time she had lain in bed so late? Probably as a little kid. What with shard hunting and schoolwork, she hadn’t had a chance to really relax in a long, long, time. It felt of nice to be in bed during the day, but also not. She wanted to get up.

But there was Inuyasha to reckon with. Of he woke up, he would force her back into bed. So carefully and painfully slow, she eased over and draped her arms over the side of the bed. With their support, she managed to pull one leg over, and then the other, until she was crouched steadily by the bed. She began the crab-walk feeling slightly foolish and slipped through the crack in the door, not daring to sigh in relief until she was safely downstairs! ‘Maybe Inuyasha’s senses aren’t what the used to be,’ she thought mischievously, walking to the open window and climbing out.

The sun warmed her face with a friendly caress, and a gentle breeze wafted through her hair, almost like an apology. She smiled and walked about the familiar place, liking the familiar feel of stone beneath her feet. The shrine was a few feet away, still looking regal and important. A few feet away, crouched as if put to shame, was the well house, which indeed still looked run-down and forgotten. An unconscious smile graced Kagome’s lips as she thought about what would always lay beyond that well.

What had become of all her friends? Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara had so far not been mentioned. She thought, with a stab of panic, that maybe they had died? No, no, that wasn’t right. They were probably still in the Feudal Era.

‘Wonder if the well still works,’ came the curious thought. Kagome smiled and made her way to the well house, thinking that she might make the trip for once without her oversized backpack. ‘Only one way to find out................’

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