Title: Gift for Ren

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Inuyasha

Rating: G

Pairings: none, really, though small hints towards Miroku/Sango, Kagome/Inuyasha, Kouga/Kagome

Spoilers: Um... mentions something that happens in episode 13 and something in episode 89. But there's nothing really in the way of spoilers. If you can understand the pairings above, you've seen enough of the show not to worry one bit.

Disclaimer: These characters and their world are as not mine as they could possibly get.

Summary: Inuyasha comes down with a little sniffle and the others all look after him, much to his displeasure. But as he actually has a pretty bad cold, he doesn't really mind the care quite as much as he pretends to.

Notes: Written for Ren for the winter holidays, 2004

 

 

Gift for Ren

 

     The snowfall was light but the wind was freezing once the sun had begun to set. Miroku had used his usual method to procure suitable, safe shelter and all in their party were glad for it as they would not have survived out in the cold otherwise. The weather only grew worse as the full moon rose over Japan during that night in the Feudal Era.

 

     Despite their somewhat warm accommodations and the several blankets layered on top of him, Inuyasha shivered as he woke from a restless, late evening sleep. Blinking, he lifted his head, which somehow still felt heavy. "Is it done yet?" he asked of Sango, who was slowly stirring a pot over a fire.

 

     Before she had a chance to answer, Miroku did it for her. "Not quite yet. We still need a bit of alamon root. Kagome went out to get some."

 

     Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Alone? At this time of night?" he asked concernedly.

 

     "Shippo went with her. It's not that late yet. And don't worry. She can take care of herself," Miroku said, his eyes straying from Inuyasha to Sango's behind which was difficult not to notice as she bent over the pot.

 

     Inuyasha had not exactly been put at ease by Miroku, but Kagome had definitely proved she could take care of herself. He simply did not trust her not to worry about him and get distracted. "EkkkkkShhh!" He sneezed openly, then rubbed the side of his hand beneath his nose with a wet sniffle. And he glared silently at Miroku and Sango, daring them to say something.

 

     Miroku sat back and stretched his legs out, taking that bet. "How's your cold coming along there?"

 

     Inuyasha's glare intensified. "Fine," he snapped. "It's just a little sniffle." And a sore throat. And coughs. And an ache in his ears. And chills. "ehh-IHHHKchhh!" And sneezes.

 

     "Right," said Miroku, trying not to grin quite so much. "And that's why you're having us make your mother's cold remedy for you?"

 

     That did not require an answer. Inuyasha shivered and lay back down, tugging the blankets to his chin. Sango abandoned her spot by the pot to get her blanket. As she draped it over Inuyasha's bedroll, he shivered again but did not refuse it. "Can I get you anything to drink before this is ready?" she asked. He looked like he was considering the idea of asking for something. But Sango went to feel his forehead just then and, even a little sick, Inuyasha wasn't going to stand for that. Still faster than her, he reached out and stopped her hand. She sighed, a bit frustrated with him, and went back to stirring.

 

     "We found some!" Shippo announced as he entered the room. His hands were cupped and filled with the small root.

 

     Kagome came in behind him, immediately looking at Inuyasha. And Inuyasha immediately sat up, trying not to look quite so ill as he felt. She told everyone, "Took a little while to dig up since the ground was frozen, but we finally got it with Kilala's help. So..." Inuyasha tensed, knowing that she wanted to ask about how he felt. "So, is that all the ingredients you need?"

 

     Inuyasha nodded, coughed, then nodded again. "Yes, that's all. You just need to grind a cup full of the root and... and..." He shook his head and cupped his hand to his face. He wouldn't have, and hadn't, bothered doing so before. But Kagome was there now, watching, and would probably make him sit if he kept sneezing freely when any of them could catch his cold. Besides, he didn't want her catching his cold. Didn't want any of them really, but especially Kagome. "Ehkkkchhhh! HehhKkkfshhhh!" He rubbed at his nose, sniffling.

 

     "And?" Sango asked as Miroku took up the task of grinding most of the root up in a small bowl. The monk used it as an excuse to get closer to Sango, and stayed beside her after he had handed the bowl over.

 

     Inuyasha sniffed hard and tried to recover quickly. "Oh, ah, and then just stir until it turns a really ugly brown and is boiling. Then it's done." He looked up and smiled weakly at Kagome. She had been out a few times during the preparation process because he'd told her she wouldn't want to know half the ingredients in the concoction. Inuyasha had made it for her when she was sick and her brother had strongly suggested she not find out what she was drinking. Inuyasha only hoped it would work as well on him as it had on her.

 

     "HehhhKTchhhh! ehhkkkkshhh!" He quickly cupped his hand to his face and tried to ignore the others staring at him. But the sneezes were strong and made him fall forward uncontrollably with each, so it was rather difficult for him to hide

 

     Looking as worried as Inuyasha had feared she would, Kagome sat down beside Inuyasha and looked him over. Inuyasha blushed slightly. "It's just a little sniffle," he reiterated, trying to sound convincing. He shivered and wished he could lie back down and snuggle into the blankets again. "I'll be fi... fine..." He cupped his hand to his nose and mouth again and turned his head. "hekkkSHHhhhh!" He sniffed hard and rubbed his nose miserably.

 

     Kagome cocked her head, looking at him sympathetically. She raised her hand to feel his forehead for fever, and he quickly pushed her hand away, just as he had done with Sango. Kagome did not take it so well, however. She sighed angrily. "Inuyasha, SIT!"

 

     Inuyasha hit the hard wooden floor with a resounding THUNK. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to look at her as she was now able to reach down and press the back of her hand to his forehead. It was warm, Inuyasha knew. Warmer than it should have been. Warmer than he could ever remember it being before. And her hand was delightfully cool. Nonetheless, he wanted to bat her away and tell her she did not need to worry. But he couldn't seem to make his arms move, and he couldn't manage to say much more than, "Don't worry... I'll be fine. Just a little sniffle."

 

     Though Kagome continued to look worried, Miroku smirked. "I thought demons weren't supposed to get sick, little sniffles included."

 

     The effects of the charm were starting to wear off, but Inuyasha did not have the energy to get up quite yet. He still lay face-down on the ground, his arms out to his sides, his eyes barely able to stay open long enough to glare at Miroku. "Demons don't get sick," he clarified. "Which is why this cold-- ah, I mean sniffle-- hit me this afternoon."

 

     Inuyasha glanced up at Kagome to see her frowning. She did not seem to believe him completely, and he couldn't blame her. It had seemed to them all that the cold had set in this morning, rather than this afternoon. And, in truth, it started so strong that it was hard to believe it hadn't been with him even earlier. But tonight there was a full moon, which meant he was mortal and it was reasonable to expect he would be venerable to colds as much as anything else.

 

     This, even more than Inuyasha's little sniffle, was the reason they had sought refuge somewhere safe for the night. Because when Inuyasha was mortal, they were without his skills and strength as a half-demon and, therefore, slightly more vulnerable than normal. He didn't want anyone else to know about his conditions, so he had relented and allowed them to find somewhere to stay early in the day. But he had not wasted any time in curling up beneath a blanket to try to get warm and rest.

 

     "ekkkkkkShhhh! ehhTChhhh! ekkSHIHHHH!" He sneezed some more. Not only were they growing stronger, but wetter as well. Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out a small, thin handkerchief. Inuyasha eyed it, not sure it would do him much good even if he were to take it. But his arms still felt too heavy to reach for the handkerchief so it wasn't really a choice.

 

     Kagome gave him an annoyed look when he did not take it from her, and then shoved it back in her backpack. "Fine, then," she snapped, turning away from him.

 

     Inuyasha felt badly and closed his eyes as he sniffled quite a bit. "At least by the end of the night, I'll be perfectly fine," he said. "Once the demon in me resurfaces, this sniffle will be gone as well. Because demons don't get sick." He sniffed a few more times and, again, wished they'd all stop looking at him.

 

     Shippo, however, did worse and kept the discussion alive. "So if your cold is going to go away on its own, why are we making this drink for you? And why would your mother have made it?"

 

     Though the dog demon part of him was gone, narrowed eyes and growling was still Inuyasha's instinctual way of answering the little fox. Shippo squeaked, jumped, and scampered closer to Miroku, taking cover behind the man. The question, once asked, could not be denied. "Because without it, I'm going to be sneezing and miserable all night long," he explained. There were nearly twelve hours to go before dawn.

 

     Everyone seemed reasonably satisfied with Inuyasha's answer, though Kagome still looked annoyed at him. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see that. He felt bad enough already without her being mad at him yet again. But then he heard her reply, "That's right. If we can do something to make you feel a little better, we should." And a bit of warmth overtook him in the form of a blanket. He pulled his heavy eyelids open to see her draping her blanket over him. He gave her a soft, appreciative smile.

 

     "I think it might be ready now," Sango said, ladling out some of the bubbling brew into another bowl. She handed it to Miroku, who would have handed it to Inuyasha had Inuyasha been in any condition to take it.

 

     They all watched, waiting for him to sit up. He tried to gather the strength to do so, but couldn't. He lay motionless beneath the blanket. "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked curiously. "She said it's ready."

 

     He grunted, trying to collect himself, to move his arms and prop himself up enough to swallow the drink without choking. "I know," he said. "But someone made me sit, re... remember? Hehh-EHKShhh!"

 

     Kagome took his arm and eased him up. He leaned weakly against her and took the bowl with one hand while he rubbed his nose with his other. He drank down as much of the drink as he could at one time. He paused, practically panting. Then he gulped down the rest and set the bowl aside. It did not taste as bad as he'd remembered, but it wasn't exactly good either. Kagome elbowed him in the side, and he coughed. "Thank you," he admitted, looking down at the floor. "ehh-ehhhKkkshhh!"

 

     Looking concerned, not by the sneezes but by the fact that Inuyasha actually apologized so willingly, Miroku suggested, "Why don't you get some sleep?"

 

     Inuyasha agreed far too easily, closing his eyes and lying back down. Kagome tucked the blankets- he had accumulated three by now- around Inuyasha. "Are you warm enough?" she asked softly, reaching down to pet his head and the silky dark black hair that was so normal yet so unnatural at the same time.

 

     He was not, but nodded anyway. He liked the way she was touching him and he would have agreed to anything if it meant she would keep petting him like that. He sighed deeply and relaxed. He drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

 

     It was not, however, a particularly restful sleep. Inuyasha's mortal mind was filled with a terrible dream from which it seemed he might never wake. It started off like any normal dream of his might, with Kagome standing over him, looking down at where he lay on the floor. But unlike normal, she was fussing over him. She pitched things at him that might help him feel better, like oranges and handkerchiefs, and when he failed to catch them she yelled at him. Then every time he tried to explain that he was too weak and tired to catch anything, Miroku appeared and Inuyasha lost his nerve to explain just how sick he felt. Shippo appeared with a whole basket of oranges, and both Kagome and now Sango took turns throwing the fruit at Inuyasha.

 

     But when Miroku whisked away Sango and Shippo disappeared, Inuyasha feared he would receive more yelling from Kagome now that they were alone. Except that they were not alone for long. Second later, Kouga showed up with a few others from his wolf tribe tagging along behind him. "Well, well," he said, hands on his hips. "The dog's sick. And not only that, but he's human. You're weak," he sneered. Then he wrapped an arm around Kagome's waist and she leaned into him, giggling. "So it only makes sense for me to protect Kagome." Inuyasha watched as Kagome instantly agreed to the logic and left, hanging off Kouga's side. Inuyasha yelled but they kept going as though they could not hear him, leaving him alone.

 

     A dozen emotions rushing through him from the dream, Inuyasha woke with a gasp and in a cold sweat. He pushed all the blankets off and sat up, panting heavily. He looked around the room to find them all, minus Kouga of course, right there with him and sleeping soundly. He still felt a bit alone as he was the only one awake but also glad that none of them had seen him waking up from his nightmare.

 

     Shippo was curled up against Kagome's chest beneath the blanket they were sharing. Similarly, Kilala was curled up beside Sango. As Sango had given Inuyasha her blanket, Miroku had apparently been a gentleman for once and given his to her. He now lay close to her, his front pressed to her blanket-covered back, looking a bit less gentlemanly. Inuyasha did not know whether he had used the situation to his advantage in order to get close to Sango or whether he had snuggled up to her while sleeping because he'd been cold. Either way, Inuyasha could not blame him much as it was terribly cold in the room.

 

     Inuyasha sat up, gauging how he felt. His nose was running, his throat burning, his body aching, his head throbbing, and he was still shivering from the dream, or the dampness on the inside of his thick clothes, or the cold room, or the cold he had. He rubbed his hands together vigorously to generate heat.

 

     With his attention focused on his hands, he did not need to go outside or even look out a window to know that, finally, dawn was breaking. His fingernails lengthened and narrowed into claws. Pointed ears sprung out of the top of his head, twitching as they suddenly caught the sound of far away birds singing the morning into being. He could see the ends of his long black hair resting on his shoulder turn back into a startling white. His tongue ran over the bottom of his upper set of teeth, feeling his canines grow large and sharp and realizing that the taste of his mother's cold remedy was still in his mouth.

 

     It hadn't done much good, he decided. But, then, he hated to imagine how bad he would be feeling now if he hadn't had it. Because, as he turned back into a half-demon, his nose started tickling again. He rubbed the back of his hand against his nose, his whole face scrunching up as he sniffed hard. Though he certainly would not admit it to anyone, he had never really believed his transformation would make his cold go away.  "ehhh..." He tensed up, trying to hold back the sneeze tickling its way through his nose. "ehhh-EKKKShhhhhhhh! EkkkkChhhh!"

 

     The noise woke the other four and made all eyes turn upon him. "Sorry," he apologized, sniffling. "Just a few left over."

 

     Kagome rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking him over again. "You mean your cold is gone? You're feeling better?" she asked concernedly.

 

     He was sure he must not have looked better, and he definitely did not feel better. But he smiled and nodded. "Like I said, demons don't get sick." It wasn't precisely a lie... well, yes it was. But he didn't have a choice. And the look of relief on Kagome's face when he told her he was all right was well worth it.

 

     They packed up, thanked their hosts, and were back on the road within a half hour. Their pace was normal. Their spirits were high, thanks mostly to the fact that Inuyasha seemed to be recovered and in a much more agreeable mood. Kagome had pointed out the direction in which she had sensed a jewel shard and Inuyasha lied and said he smelled a demon in that direction. He sensed something, sure, but he couldn't smell anything at the moment.

 

     He kept to the back of the group, where no one could see him rub at his nose when it tickled. And it did tickle quite a lot. Several times he hung back quite a ways and ducked behind trees in order to cough or sneeze where the others could not see or hear. Then he would have to quicken his pace to catch up again before anyone could notice he was missing. It worked just fine for a while, but after making it through a rather large sneezing fit that afternoon, he emerged from behind two trees to see Kagome standing just feet away. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes fixed upon him. Inuyasha groaned inwardly, sniffled softly, and then braced himself for Kagome's scolding.

 

     However, she did not scold him. She simply sighed and gave him a sympathetic look. She walked over to him, and he flinched. But she touched his forehead and nodded. Then she took one of his hands and squeezed it, then turned and pulled him along with her so they could catch up with the others. Without a word, she had made it perfectly clear to Inuyasha that she understood and was available to help should he need it. And the next time his breath caught and nose tickled, she covered for him while he ducked behind a bush and sneezed.

 

     By late morning, Inuyasha was having trouble keeping up with the rest of them. Even when Kagome suggested things to slow them down, Inuyasha seemed winded and exhausted. Finally, rubbing at his nose when the others looked away, he pulled her aside and waited for the others to go on ahead. "Kagome," he whispered, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Cad I borrow that... that hadkerchief of yours dow?"

 

     Her look of concern fell to one of deep sympathy. "Of course, Inuyasha." She swung her backpack off and pulled the handkerchief out. She handed it over and he took it at once to rub at his nose. "ehhh... Ehkkkshffffff!" He sneezed, the sound muffled into the handkerchief. It was definitely a woman's handkerchief, thin and smallish, but it was better than nothing. He blew his nose and sighed with relief. "Thag you," he said stuffily and wearily. He looked completely tired out.

 

     She nodded back. "Inuyasha... if I could arrange for you to take it easy- without the others knowing, of course-" she added quickly when he started to object, "would you take the opportunity?" He wasn't so sure about this. He couldn't imagine how she would arrange this. But he felt chilly and achy and so very miserable that he found himself nodding in affirmation back to her before he knew what he was doing. She smiled brightly, and his heart soared to see it. "All right, then," she nodded decisively.

 

     They caught up with the others, after Inuyasha had tucked the handkerchief into his pocket. The others looked back at them but no one seemed to think anything out of the ordinary was going on. After a few minutes of walking, Kagome banged her foot against a rock and crumpled to the ground with a small shriek.

 

     "Kagome!" Miroku exclaimed, having seen her fall.

 

     Inuyasha immediately fell to the ground, putting an arm around her. "Are you all right?" he asked, somehow sounding much more worried than she had sounded when addressing him in the last day.

 

     "I think I twisted my leg!" Kagome moaned, holding her leg gingerly. It was stretched out on the ground but turned a bit.

 

     "I'll carry you," Inuyasha said at once, kneeling so she could climb up on his back as she had done countless times before. But her eyes met his and widened pleadingly, and he suddenly understood what she was trying to do.

 

     "You're just getting over a sniffle," she told him. "Maybe I can just ride Kilala?" The others agreed immediately and in a flash of fire, Kilala grew large. Sango petted Kilala's face affectionately as she and Miroku helped Kagome up onto the demon cat's back. Kigome swayed uncertainly. "I can't hold on so well, with my leg hurting," she told them. "Inuyasha, will you ride with me and make sure I don't fall off? Please?"

 

     He sighed, pretending to look frustrated, but agreed. As a normally perfectly capable half-demon, he did not usually ride on Kilala. But the others encouraged him to do so in order to help Kagome, and seconds later he found himself behind Kagome with his arms around her.

 

     With Sango, Miroku, and Shippo walking ahead of them, Kagome and Inuyasha could relax and enjoy the ride. Kilala gave a glance back at them and seemed to understand Inuyasha needed help. "Thags," Inuyasha whispered, both to Kilala and to Kagome. "I abbreciate it." He sniffled softly a few times and rubbed at his nose some more.

 

     "Close your eyes and try to get some rest," Kagome whispered over her shoulder at him. She folded her arms over his, which were wrapped around her waist. "I'll keep you steady." Inuyasha smiled and sighed deeply both at the relief of being able to rest a while longer and at the fact that she understood him so well. She didn't have to fuss in order to take care of him. And while he was sure he would hear it from her later about lying and trying to hide things from her, right now he was confident her first priority was his health and wellbeing. Leaning forward into her warmth, he rested his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes in order to get some rest.