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Worth Waiting For
By : inumom
Category: InuYasha > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Disclaimer: Not mine, already! Damn.

14. One Sick Puppy

Things were going well for the cave dwellers. As spring passed into summer their reputations and material wealth grew rapidly. These were the good times--early fruits and vegetables were harvested and either placed in cold storage or dried for future use, fish and game were caught and either smoked or dried for storage, and herbs were harvested and dried, preparing them for later use. Rin�s education began to extend beyond basic gardening, cooking, and sewing to include healing and the fundamentals of carpentry. Sango and Miroku had begun to gain a reputation for the efficient extermination of troublesome youkai without causing undue property damage, and had been commissioned to take on several such tasks, providing them with a significant income of their own. Although they had wished to contribute this income to the household in which they lived, the gesture had been refused. It was entirely possible that they would one day be resurrecting the work that had been originated in Sango�s home village, and they would need the resources for that undertaking. Even though they had gained considerable wealth as a result of the hanyou�s natural ability at furniture-making, little of that wealth was in the form of money--they usually accepted things such as supplies and the assistance of village craftsmen in exchange for whatever kind of piece was needed. Even Kagome was amazed at how well things were going: in spite of what all the books said, she hadn�t experienced any of the debilitating nausea she had expected. Of course, when she had discussed the matter with her mother, it seemed to be a family trait--the older woman hadn�t been sick at all with either of her children.
By late summer, there was no longer any doubt that the strange extended family would be able to survive the winter in reasonable comfort. Their cave home was also becoming more like a regular home with the addition of more furnishings. Although the hanyou greatly enjoyed surprising his family with unusual pieces of furniture, Sango and Miroku always insisted on paying him for his labors. They had, it seemed, grown somewhat closer in recent months, and were beginning to think about getting married--or so it seemed, at least--and eventually building a home of their own not too far distant--after Naraku was finished, of course.
The packing-crate bookcases and storage units throughout the home had all been replaced by finely-crafted furniture in a variety of woods, each chosen to complement a specific part of the home. The storage for cooking utensils, for example, was made of the same cherry wood as the massive table. The shelves and cabinets that held their library and store of medicinal herbs were made of a fine-grained maple that had been destroyed in a battle with one of the rare youkai who had come to the area searching for shards of the Shikon no Tama. The new storage trunk for Rin�s belongings was made from flawless pine with gleaming brass hardware, and was painstakingly carved with garlands of flowers.
On one morning in late July, this idyllic existence was shattered by the sound of a horse galloping into the clearing. Stepping outside to investigate, the group was more than a little surprised to see the old miko from the village sliding down from the massive animal. Without wasting any time on the pleasantries, she said simply, �There�s a problem. I need your help.�
It was an unusual situation. A mysterious illness was plaguing a small village a few hours� ride to the south. Although none there had yet died, nearly all were stricken, burning with fever and often injuring themselves further in their delirium. So far, none of the healers who had gone to the village had themselves been affected, but many more hands were needed to care for the sick until they regained enough strength to care for themselves once again.
The hanyou glared at the old woman after a quick glance at the now visibly rounded stomach of his mate. �We�ll go,� he said, �But Kagome stays here.�
As he had expected, she was not happy about him taking the decision out of her hands. Finally, after silencing him with a look that promised the �sitting� of his life if he opened his mouth again, the human girl turned her attention to the old woman. �I have a couple of questions. What does the disease look like?�
The old miko shook her head. �I�ve never seen anything like it before. It seems to start with an itchy rash. It usually appears on the stomach first, but covers the whole body with tiny red dots. It seems to drive people half mad from the itching. There is a fever, and sometimes the people become delirious. There seems to be no pattern as to who gets the disease--it strikes men and women, young and old alike, but adults get much sicker from it than children do. The healers have been giving a tea made from willow bark for the discomfort, and other herbs for the fever. Poultices seem to help a little with the itching. After a while, the red marks form scabs and drop away.�
Kagome nodded slowly. �I know this disease. It�s called �chicken pox� in my world, and it almost never appears any more--nearly all children get a preventive treatment when they are very young, so they don�t catch the disease. They didn�t have that treatment when I was little, but I had the disease when I was four, so I won�t get it again. One thing you should do right away is stop giving the willow bark--the active ingredient in it can cause complications in some people that are much worse than the disease itself. I have some medicine from my world that will do the same job without the added risk.� Going into the cave�s storage room, she found two cases of an aspirin-free painkiller and fever reducer as well as some surgical masks.
Returning to the old woman, she opened the cases and explained how to administer the medicine. �All you have to do is give the patients two of these little pellets every four hours. They should swallow them whole, because they taste really horrible if you bite into them. These masks will help to prevent the healers from catching the disease themselves. So will washing their hands every time they touch someone who�s sick.� While she spoke, she started packing the small bottles of medicine into bags that could be hung from the old miko�s saddle.
Looking at the old woman again, she continued, �Go on ahead. I have to check my supplies, but I think I may have something that can help with the itching as well. I�ll check on it, and we�ll follow as soon as we can.�

*

The village leader, though still weak from his illness, listened to the angry young miko carefully. �This is not a normal sickness,� she said, her voice trembling with something like rage. �This is a curse sent down upon this village as a warning. People in this region are disregarding the laws of the gods, consorting with youkai and oni, and corrupting the purity of both the body and the spirit with their evil. This village,� she said, shaking her head slowly, �Has not yet committed these most serious offenses. That is why you are being sent a warning, instead of your entire village being destroyed, down to the last scrap of wood and grain of rice.�
He nodded slowly. He had heard of a village to the north that interacted regularly with youkai, and was even said to have a hanyou hanging around. He shivered in disgust at the thought of a human woman allowing herself to be touched by some filthy youkai. �You can be assured that we�ll never allow such perversion in this village.� Even though he was still weak and slightly disoriented from his illness, he could still tell the difference between right and wrong.
The young miko smiled, and the man shivered a bit at the coldness in her expression. �Then all will be well with your village in time.� She stood up from where she had been seated before him. �I have done all that I can here--only time is needed now to heal your people completely. I must leave now, as there are others that have need of my help.�
The middle-aged man held out a hand as though to stop her in her progress. �One thing, miko-sama--I never knew your name.�
The woman turned back to him, a sad expression crossing her features. �I am called Kikyou,� she said, then left the village, never to return.

*

Not too surprisingly, Kaede�s horse reached the village at about the same time as the others traveling with Kirara. After a brief consultation with the healers already attending the villagers, the old miko distributed the masks and the medicine as well as bottles of a pink liquid that was intended to reduce the itching from the rash.
She turned her attention to the sound of voices raised in what she liked to call a �lively discussion.� Smiling behind her mask, she watched as Kagome tried to force the hanyou into one of the protective devices. Since he was both quicker and significantly stronger than the human girl, she was spectacularly unsuccessful. �Look,� she said, �I don�t need you getting sick too.�
�Baka,� he snarled. �Youkai don�t get sick.�
�You�re probably right,� she said, walking over to him. Once she was within arms� reach of the indignant hanyou, she smiled at him with her eyes and said, �Sit.� As the strand of beads around his neck glowed momentarily before pulling him face-first into the ground, she dropped the surgical mask on top of his head and walked away, saying, �Have it your own way, then.�
He cursed fluently, spitting out the mouthful of dirt he�d accidentally ingested in his not-so-elegant nosedive. He had been reading about something called �mood swings� in one of the books his mate�s mother had given them, and had been wondering exactly what they were. He was pretty sure that he had just found out.
They moved among the healers and villagers, giving advice and helping out any way they could. As always, the hanyou was never very far from his mate. He was helping her to carry a large bundle of freshly-washed bedding to lines that had been strung up to allow it to dry, when a voice called out, �Stop!�
Inuyasha looked up in surprise to see three of the healthiest-looking (and largest) villagers coming toward them. He set down the basket of clean laundry carefully, knowing that if he got it dirty he�d only have to wash it again. �What the hell do you want?�
The oldest of the three, the apparent leader, gestured at Kagome, who simply stood and watched in silence. �Does this woman have a husband?�
It took the hanyou a few seconds to understand exactly what the man was asking. �Yeah,� he snarled. �Why the hell do you care?�
At a slight shift in the expression of the group�s leader, the other two men grabbed Kagome by the arms and brought her before him. With a cold expression, he pulled down the shoulder of her yukata to expose the scar on her shoulder blade. Glaring at the girl, he asked, �You belong to a youkai, slut?�
In true Kagome style, she returned the glare with an utterly venomous expression. �I don�t belong to anybody, baka! And my mate,� she said, intentionally choosing the word most likely to annoy him, �Isn�t youkai--he�s hanyou.�
With a look of absolute revulsion, the man backed away from her as though she was somehow unclean. �You have obviously bedded the monster,� he said, gesturing at the rounded stomach that was only now beginning to become apparent while trying to decide how best to handle the very thing he had been warned would bring destruction down on his village. He gestured to one of the small group of villagers that had started to gather. �Assemble the healers. There may be some way to cleanse the filth from this whore. If there is, we can allow her to live. Granted that no man will ever want her after this, but she may have some use as a servant. If not, she will be destroyed to prevent any further defiance to the will of the gods. I wish that miko hadn�t left--she would know what to do.�
He never saw the fist that landed right between his eyes, knocking him flat on his back. In a move almost too fast for human eyes to follow, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome from the two men and leaped into a nearby tree. Glaring around at the humans below, he snarled, �Kaede-babaa, we tried to help because you asked us to. If you need more medicine or supplies, you can call on us any time. But we�re going home now--we didn�t come here expecting gratitude, but I won�t stand by and let my mate be insulted by some bastard without the brains to see what�s in front of his face.� Turning to the white-faced, shaking figure next to him, he gestured for her to climb aboard his back. �Come, love. Let�s go home.�
Trying to keep from embarrassing him by crying, she nodded slowly, clinging to his back as he leaped through the trees.
The old woman watched them leave, then turned to the leader of the villagers. �What miko are you talking about? I know every miko in the area, and they�re all here.�

*

Contrary to what he had said, they didn�t go directly home. At the last moment, he decided to stop at the place slightly upstream from the cave where they had met Sesshoumaru months before. He placed her carefully on the grassy bank, now dotted with wildflowers. Looking at the eyes overflowing with tears, he cut the elastic strands holding her surgical mask in place. She lowered her eyes so that he wouldn�t see her crying--he had always hated that.
�Look at me.� She shook her head slowly, her eyes focused on the hands twisting in her lap.
A clawed finger under her chin raised her face so that he could see it. �Kagome�.�
At his touch she broke down completely, leaning into him and clutching at his haori as she sobbed bitterly into his chest. He encircled her with an arm, using the other to stroke her hair and back, simply waiting for her to stop and her breathing to return to normal. More than anything else, he wished that there was a way he could take her pain into himself--he was used to it, or had been. It had been so long since anyone (aside from enemy youkai, of course) had seen him as anything other than simply himself that it had taken him by surprise.
His arm tightened around her reflexively, and he realized that she had finally stopped crying. He looked down at her, surprised to see her staring back with an expression of compassion. �I�m sorry,� she said. �I didn�t understand.�
�What the hell are you talking about?�
�That�s what your life was like, wasn�t it?�
�No,� he said, pulling her closer so that he could rest his chin on top of her head. �Mine was a lot easier. Think about it--I was just a monster that couldn�t be trusted. My mother--and now you--are traitors to your kind, evil people who lay with beasts and create things like me.� He dropped his head to rest it on her shoulder. �That�s why I didn�t want to love you--I didn�t want you to be hurt this way.�
Finally understanding why he had tried so hard to push her away, she looked up at him and flashed that smile that always made him think about making her scream with pleasure at his touch once again. �It doesn�t matter. There will always be people like that--they have them in my time, too. Generally, their lives are so pointless that they have to make somebody else seem insignificant so that they can feel better about themselves. I�m still glad we sent help for the people in the village, though: it�s not likely that they�re all like that.�
He pulled back from her, staring. �How the hell do you do that?�
�Nani?�
�How can you find any kind of compassion for the people who would have killed the pup and maybe even you as well?�
She shook her head. �It�s not really anything as noble as compassion--more like pity, really. I think I�m mostly sorry for them, for their lives wasted on hating other people for no good reason. I mean, I can hate--it�s not impossible, although it�s not easy for me to do. I think I hate Naraku for all he�s done to the people I care about. It just takes a lot of work for me to hate somebody.�
He nodded slowly, trying to understand how something so unbelievably pure could have fallen into his life. �Are you ready to go home now?�
She blushed a little. �Not really. I made quite a scene back there, and I don�t want to have to answer everybody�s questions right now if they�re home. Couldn�t we stay here for a little while? It�s so beautiful, especially after what happened back there.�
There was no way he could refuse her after the horrible day she had had, so he simply nodded and watched as she stretched out on the grass, warming herself in the sun coming at an angle from behind the tops of the trees on the other side of the stream. He lay down beside her, encircling her expanding waist with an arm as he watched the smile slowly spread across her features. Moving slowly so that he wouldn�t disturb her, he leaned over and placed a light, chaste kiss on her lips. Her breathing quickened as she met his lips with her own, deepening the kiss almost desperately.
Trying to focus all of his tenderness and passion into the kiss, he slowly slid his hand up her side until it rested just below her breasts. He found their recent enlargement and extreme sensitivity a pleasant side effect of her condition. Spreading his hand as wide as he could, he slowly pulled his fingers back together, lightly dragging his claws across the firm mound of flesh until they converged around the almost painfully erect nipple. He repeated the caress as she moaned against his lips, arching her back in a silent plea for stronger sensations from him.
With a final lick at her trembling lips, he abandoned them, pushing open the front of her yukata to allow him complete access to the breast that was begging for his attentions. He smirked at the gasp she made at the feeling of the light fabric being pulled across the sensitive nipple, then bent his head to run his velvety tongue around the hardened peak, carefully avoiding actually touching the nipple itself. She moaned louder, arching her back to push the aching nipple closer so that he could end the torment of his tongue being so near to where it was needed. Taking the hint, he lapped slowly at the hardened nipple, carefully squeezing her breast as his tongue swirled around the peak, gently easing the ache that had been growing in her ever since they had come there.
Pulling away from her slightly, he turned her body a bit so that he could reach the other breast more easily. He spent a leisurely few moments giving the second breast equal treatment, listening to her deepening moans as he brought her nearer to her release with his lips. He moved along her body, leaving a trail of damp kisses on her skin, pausing to leave lazy caresses and feather-light kisses on her rounded stomach as she stiffened slightly under his touch. Continuing his journey, he carefully parted the lower part of her yukata to expose the source of the scent that threatened to turn him into exactly the kind of mindless animal those damned villagers had assumed him to be.
Inhaling deeply, he found himself becoming intoxicated by the scent of his mate wanting him so badly. Using his claws, he carefully spread her outer lips, drinking in her scent as though it was the source of his very life. Very slowly, he extended his tongue to taste the juices that nearly made him dizzy with pleasure. Barely moving, he licked her entire entrance, smiling as her hips began to move, pushing her body tighter against his face. He repeated the caress again and again, feeling his arousal becoming even harder as he tasted the slightly changed flavor of his mate.
He pulled away from her, turning her so that she was lying on her side, facing away from him. He moved in behind her and guided his arousal into her slowly and carefully. Although he wanted nothing more than to plunge wildly into her, he moved his hips gently, letting the slow friction bring her to her final release. Holding her carefully with one arm around her thighs and the other placed between her breasts and the evidence of their passion, he continued to move slowly, shallow thrusts that rubbed tantalizingly along his length while driving her nearly insane with pleasure. She was moaning continuously now, random words mixing in with the sounds as she begged him to give her the release she wanted--no, needed.
Still he moved gently, listening to her moans rising in pitch as she drew nearer and nearer to her climax. As her moans became almost too high for even his ears to hear, he leaned forward, licking firmly at the mark on her shoulder. With a loud, wailing scream of pure pleasure, she thrust her hips back against him, hard, inner muscles tightened around his member, milking his seed from him as he howled in his own release.
Neither of them were aware of the expressionless eyes that watched from the trees.

*

It was past dark when they returned home to a concerned family. Since Kagome clearly didn�t want to discuss what had happened in the village, the others simply exchanged glances as the young woman silently retired to her bedchamber. At the questioning looks he received, the hanyou only said, �She�s okay. That jerk took us a little by surprise, and it hurt her. She�s a little more sensitive than usual right now--because of the pup, I guess. I think she just needs to sleep a little.�
He turned to go, but was halted by Sango�s hand on his arm. �At least take her some tea and a little fruit. She probably hasn�t had anything to eat all day, and that�s not good for her.�
As he disappeared behind the reed curtain, Miroku looked at the youkai taijiya and asked, �Are you sure we shouldn�t have told them about what Kaede said? It could be important.�
The woman shook her head. �It might be, but getting her settled down is even more important. Besides, if Kikyou tries to cause any trouble before that, there�s not all that much we can do anyway.�
He set the tray down on the trunk next to his side of the futon. �They�re worried about you, you know.� Undressing quickly, he slipped in between the silky sheets to stroke the soft skin of her shoulder as she lay on the futon. �I brought you some tea and a little fruit. Sango�s right--you need to eat something.�
She turned to him, and he could see that something was bothering her again. She accepted the tea in silence, then lowered her eyes. �I�m sorry.�
That was a surprise. �What do you have to be sorry about?�
�All of this,� she said. �I�m causing you nothing but trouble. Look at me: I can�t even stand up to one angry human. You deserve better--somebody who can protect you like you always protect all of us, somebody who�s strong, and smart, and not scared of anything.�
He shook his head. �You�ve got it all wrong, baka. You really don�t know what you�ve done to me, do you? You didn�t just break the seal holding me to that tree, you also thawed out my frozen heart and taught me how to live--and love--again. You healed me from all that had happened to me before, and showed me that it didn�t matter whether I was human, hanyou, or youkai. Do you know what it was like to finally have somebody willing to accept me the way I am instead of wishing that I was something else? You gave me a life and a family, and now you�re giving me a pup of our own. How could I possibly want anything more?�
Surprised that he was willing to admit to such strong feelings, she smiled and said, �You�re not going to let me lie here and wallow in self-pity, are you?�
�Hell, no,� he said, pulling her closer for a brief kiss before grabbing the tray of fruit and gently feeding her a piece at a time. She returned the gesture, feeding him as well. As they ate, he realized that this was probably one of the single most intimate acts they had ever engaged in. He blushed slightly at the feeling of her skin pressed against his as they ate. Despite the aching in his loins, he set the tray aside, pulled her tightly against him, and buried his face in her hair waiting for her to fall asleep.

*

Apparently, several hours of deep sleep was exactly what she needed, because Kagome woke the next morning feeling much more like her normal self. When she stirred, the hanyou opened one bleary eye and instantly wished that he hadn�t. Everything seemed painfully bright. His mate�s absent humming seemed so loud that he could hardly stand it, and the slightest touch on his skin felt like sandpaper. He clutched at his pounding head in an attempt to keep his brain from leaking out of his ears.
�Inuyasha? Is something wrong?� Her voice seemed to explode in his skull, and he kept one hand firmly planted over the right side of his head while he rubbed absently at his chest with the other. Then she saw it--a tiny pink spot on the side of his neck. At first it could have been mistaken for an insect bite, but she found many others, now that she knew what she was looking for. �Stay here,� she said, climbing out of the futon and slipping into her robe. �I�ll be right back.�
Since it was more than an hour past daybreak, she found Miroku and Sango in their home�s common room drinking tea and making their plans for the day. �Miroku-sama, Sango-chan, I�m really sorry about all of this, but I need you to take Rin-chan and stay at the village for a few days.�
The Buddhist monk fixed her with an expression that was not quite a suggestive leer and asked, �Are you sure you won�t need my--I mean, our help with anything?�
Understanding his implications, she shook her head, blushing faintly. �No, it�s not like that at all. Inuyasha�s sick--I think he has the disease we were treating at the village yesterday. Maybe,� she said, thinking about the implications for the first time, �You should take Shippou-chan too--I know that youkai don�t get sick from human diseases, but he did, and it seems to have hit him really fast. I don�t know if that�s because he�s hanyou, or if this might be a disease that youkai can get from humans. Anyway,� she said, preparing a tray with tea and slices of the melon they had been chilling by hanging it in the waterfall, �Since I know that none of you have ever had the disease, I think that it�s best that you leave right away. I can probably handle one problem patient--I don�t think I could manage six of them.�
Once they had gone, Kagome returned to their bedchamber after making a short detour to the storeroom to pick up some of the painkillers and the skin lotion she had been using the previous day. After this was over, she decided, she would have to go back through the well to restock her medical supplies. As she had expected, the hanyou was still there, looking even more sad and bedraggled than he had when she�d left. She looked at him closely once again, confirming her suspicions, then said, �Well, youkai might not get sick, but you sure did. Congratulations, you�ve got a spectacular case of the chicken pox.� She handed him two of the little pills and the cup of tea. �Take these, and I�ll start working on the rash.�
He did as she asked, then looked at her with wide eyes. �Am I dying?�
She laughed briefly before realizing that he was serious. �No, love--you won�t get away from me that easily. If anything happened to you, where would the rest of our pups come from? You�ll probably wish you were before too long, though--this is going to get really uncomfortable.�
Pulling the sheets away from his body, she saw that he had grown a prize-winning rash. She tipped the bottle of lotion onto the cloth she held, dabbing it on the spots, feeling him tense every time she touched one of the itchy places. �Dammit, woman!�
She flared a little despite her sympathy. He had, after all, brought this on himself. �This is all your fault, you know. I warned you about using the mask at the village yesterday, but you had to get all high-and-mighty and start whining about how youkai don�t get sick! Well guess what--you�re sick! Now, maybe you�ll pay attention when I�m trying to tell you something! There is,� she said, her tone softening a little, �Some good news. Usually it takes several days--or even more--for somebody to get sick after being exposed to the disease. In your case, it took less than a day. If we�re lucky, the thing will run its course in only a couple of days instead of the week or two it usually takes for humans.� She gave him an appraising look. �Do you think you could eat something?�
Just looking at the sliced fruit was enough to make his stomach roll over. �I don�t think so,� he admitted, ears drooping in his misery.
�Well,� she said, �At least drink your tea--just a bit at a time, though. Don�t want you to get dehydrated--that can happen really fast if your stomach is feeling bad.�
As she watched him carefully sipping at the tea, she realized that this was a whole new experience for both of them. Usually, she was treating him for cuts, punctures, and poisoning. This was the first time she had ever actually seen him sick. It seemed to her that the hanyou was actually worried about this--it was unlike any of the wounds from which he healed so rapidly. Maybe, she thought, that was why he was cooperating rather than threatening to kill anybody who tried to make him rest. She caught a slight movement from the corner of her eye. Grabbing his hand as it was raised absently toward his neck, she warned, �Don�t scratch, no matter how much it itches. Scratching at this kind of rash can leave really nasty scars.�
His eyes widened at that. Despite all of the injuries he�d had since she�d known him (and the gods alone knew how many from before that) his skin was perfectly flawless, absolutely unblemished by the faintest hint of scarring except for the small scar from the arrow Kikyou had used to seal him. This, he realized, was an entirely different situation, and he didn�t like it at all. He frowned at her. �How the hell can I not scratch? It itches!�
Looking down at the hand trapped by hers, he found a new reason to complain. �What�s this stuff you put all over me?�
�You�ve seen it before--we used it on the villagers yesterday to help with the itching. It�s not perfect, but it�s the best I can do.�
�But it�s pink!�
�Relax. I sent everybody else to the village until this is all over--I don�t need them getting sick too. Nobody will see it, so don�t worry about it. Besides,� she added, deciding that it was time to twist the knife a little, �I think it�s cute.� Before he could start sputtering with indignation, she rose and walked toward the curtain in the doorway, carrying the tray. �I�ll be right back. Don�t even think about getting up--I�m just going to get some water.�
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Worth Waiting For	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > General Views: 6484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Worth Waiting For