It Is What It Is

By Danyealle

(MF/angst/fanfiction)

Chapter 12:
Changing

When Sesshomaru felt the pack at the barrier he lowered it then raised it again after they had passed trough it.  Easing himself out of the bed, he scooped Kagome up into his arms gently then made his way to the main chamber.  Easing himself down on a cushion he usually used when he was there he made himself comfortable then put Kagome on his crossed legs.  Within a couple minutes he could hear the dulcet tones of Inuyasha and Kouga as they approached the mouth of the cave.  As usual, they were sniping at each other and tossing insults around.  Giving an internal chuckle, he waited.  The two most certainly would prove to be entertaining.  It was only a minute or so more when the hanyou’s pack plus Kouga, his two underlings and a few wolves were at the entrance.

As everyone entered they began bustling around, putting things down.  Sesshomaru directed Sango to a small chamber next to the one he occupied where she, Shippo and Kirara would sleep.  The males would be staying in the main chamber.

Once everyone was there and the basics set up both Kouga and Inuyasha went to collect firewood.  After the two left he directed one of the others to collect water.  There was a hot springs as well as a small fresh water stream in the chamber on the other side of his were they could get it.

By the time that was finished and most everything set up the other two returned with enough wood to make a bonfire of epic proportions.  It seemed Inuyasha and Kouga were trying to prove who was the most useful and could do things best, something that gave everyone a chuckle and made them roll their eyes.

Once the fire was going good and all the normal things that they did to set up a new camp were taken care of Sango went to take a quick bath.  When she was done the males followed suit.  By the time dark fell all were done and relaxing in the main chamber.

After listening to a bit of sniping back and forth between Inuyasha and Kouga and one small tussle over who was sleeping where Sango pulled out a deck of Uno cards and talked everyone into a game.  Sesshomaru hadn’t planned on joining the rest but the slayer managed to talk him into it.  She explained how to play then sat out a few hands to help him until he was confident that he understood the game before she joined in.

Much to his surprise he found the game to be enjoyable.  It wasn’t a complex game and had been easy to learn.  Plus the friendly banter and conversation that went on while they played was amusing.  Though the demon lord didn’t join in he found listening to it most amusing.  It made the time slip by quickly.  In fact before anyone realized it had happened it was quite late and everyone was tired.

Because the cave was so protected a guard wasn’t going to be needed so everyone could sleep without worry.  Once everyone was settled in and bedded down the demon lord carried Kagome back to his chambers.  After putting her on the bed he removed his boots and some of his clothing then slid into the bed beside her.  After pulling her to his chest and enfolding her in his arms he rested his chin atop her head and shut his eyes.  Listening to her soft even breathing he relaxed then slowly drifted of to sleep.

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Several hours later he was jarred awake by Kagome squirming around in her sleep.  Sitting up, he looked at her.  Though she was still sleeping she was squirming and twisting all over the place, obviously uncomfortable.  Both her hair and clothes were soaked with sweat as well.  Quickly, he ran through everything he knew, had heard or read about humans changing to figure out what was going on.  Finally, it clicked; she was in pain.  No, she wasn’t awake to feel it but her body was reacting to the change.  Now he had to find a way to help alleviate it and make her more comfortable.  There was no way he could sit there and do nothing, watching her suffer, he couldn’t handle that.

First thing he needed to do was try to cool her down.  Sliding out of bed he grabbed her pack then scooped her into his arms.  She was hot to the touch making him wince.  Quietly, so as not to wake anyone sleeping in the main room, he slipped into the chamber next to his.  Sango, holding a cup of water, was about to exit as he entered.

“Is everything ok?”  She asked, watching Kagome twitching in his arms.

“She’s in pain.  I was going to cool her down then see what I can do to alleviate it.”  He told the slayer gruffly.

“She has some pills for pain in her pack.”  She told him.  Sliding the ugly yellow thing off his shoulder, she put it down then began to rummage through it.  “Put her in the stream and cool her off a bit and I’ll find them.”  She said distractedly.

Nodding, he let her find what was needed and stepped over to the stream.  Knowing the two women bathed together a lot and his miko wouldn’t be embarrassed by the slayer seeing her nude, he quickly stripped off her clothes then stepped into the cool water, still holding her.  Sitting down, he held her on his lap, submerging her with only her face above the slowly moving water.  Though she stiffened up and groaned at first as her overheated flesh touched the cool water she soon let out a soft sigh and relaxed as it flowed slowly over her overheated flesh.

Quickly, Sango sat down on the edge of the stream by him with pills in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.  “Here, these will help with the pain and fever.”

Nodding, the demon lord shifted her around until she was sitting up a bit.  He managed to get her to swallow them with a drink without waking her too much.  The slayer then said she would be right back then he watched her vanish from the chamber.  Submerging the little priestess again he felt her relax a bit and didn’t seem to be twitching as much as she was before.

Quickly, Sango returned with one of the containers they used to store water in then she began to rummage through the pack again, tossing a large shirt, underclothing and towels on the ground.  Grabbing the miko’s first aid kit, she began to dig though it until she produced some kind of flat package.  Sitting down cross-legged on the back she looked at her friend.  “Is it helping?”

Nodding, the taiyoukai said, “It seems to be.”

“Good.  The pills will take about an hour to kick in.  Until then we can use some water and one of the disposable ice things she had to keep her cool.  How much of this is bothering her?  She’s asleep but it still has to be affecting her in some way?”

“I don’t know.  I assume because she’s asleep not too much.  But I can’t stand to do nothing and watch her suffer.”  He replied gruffly.

“I understand.”  She replied softly.

Sitting there, she talked quietly with him for about a half an hour, until the worst of the twitching seemed to end.  Gracefully, he stepped out of the water and stood there with her gently cradled in his arms, water streaming from them.

Grabbing the bath towel, Sango quickly and gently dried her off.  Because he was holding her the slayer could touch her without fear of attack.  As she carefully dried her back, Sango felt a strange lump.  As she touched it Kagome whimpered in pain.  Grabbing his hand, she led it down to it.  “What’s that?”

Touching the area gently, he sighed, “That’s what will become her tail.”  He made a mental note to lay her on her stomach when they went back to bed to minimize touching that tender area as much as he could.

Nodding, Sango finished quickly then eased the shirt and her panties on.  When that was done she gently brushed out her hair and braided it.  “She’s getting silver in her hair, especially framing her face.”  She observed quietly.

Glancing down at the little priestess’ sleeping face, he noticed the slayer was right.  All around her face there was almost as much silver as there was ebony in her hair.  There were silver strands mixed in with the rest of it as well but not nearly as much as was around her face.  With the changes she was showing and the speed they were progressing he guessed that within the maximum of 36 hours she would finally be finished.

When Kagome was dressed he moved back into his sleeping chambers with Sango following, carrying her pack.  Laying her on the bed on her stomach, he seated himself beside her.  Sango cracked the flat pack she was holding then shook it and wrapped a towel around it.  “Lay that across the back of her neck.  It’ll help keep her cool.”  She told him as she handed it to him.  Pulling a tube out of the pack she handed it to him as well.  “If she starts hurting again rub some of that on her.  It helps with sore muscles but it really stinks.”  She told him as she stood.  “I’ll make up some sandwiches before I go to bed and leave them on a plate by the fire.  If you need anything else just wake me.”

Nodding, he replied, “I will.”

Exiting the room, she made her way to the fire.  Being quiet, so she didn’t wake anyone, she put together a plate of sandwiches of all different kinds then covered them and sat them by the flickering fire.  Just as she was about to bead back to her chambers a voice stopped her. 

“Is Kagome OK?”  Kouga asked quietly.

“She’s fine, still asleep.”  Then she quickly told him what seemed to be happening.

Nodding, Kouga appeared to be relieved.  “Good.  He knows what he’s doing.”  Looking at her, he asked, “Is there anything she’s going to need?”

“Food when she wakes.  I’ve made some sandwiches but someone is going to need to hunt for fresh meat.”

Nodding, he replied firmly, “I’ll take care of that.”

“The spit is set up, just clean and skewer it then it will be ready to cook.”  She told him, standing.  “I’m going to head back to bed.  Goodnight Kouga.”

“’Night Sango.”  He replied quietly.

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Sliding over next to the sleeping miko, he gently eased his arm under her head and pulled her to him.  Putting a hand on her back, he rubbed it softly.  As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her close he didn’t, knowing that it would cause her pain.  Nor did he want to do anything that may wake her.  While she was sleeping she would hurt, yes, but if she woke up she would be in agony.  Not something he wanted her to experience.

Pressing to her as tightly as he dared he kissed her on the head.  She shifted around a bit then rolled onto her side, facing him.  Wrapping an arm around him, she clung tightly to him.  “Don’t let me go.”  She mumbled in a sleep-fuzzy voice, shaking a bit.

Holding her as tightly as he dared, he said, “Alright Kagome.  I’ll be right here.”  He could feel her shake a bit and understood that she was probably a bit frightened by what was happening to her so he soothed her the best he knew how by thrumming a deep rumble in his chest.

“Love you.”  She said in a slurred voice giving him a light squeeze.

“And I you Kagome.”  He said softly, muzzling her gently with his head.

After she gave him another gentle squeeze her breathing evened out and she slipped deeper into sleep.

Resting his cheek against her head again, he shut his eyes and let himself drift away.

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It was well after dawn, closer to mid-morning, when the demon lord finally roused himself from the deep slumber he had been in.  Gently, he extracted himself from her grip and made his way to the other chamber to take care of his usual morning absolutions.

When he was done and back in the chamber, dressing, Sango’s soft voice asked for entry.  After making sure he was presentable he told her, “Come.”

Quietly, the slayer entered carrying a plate and a cup.  “Here.”  She said handing him the plate.  “I made that up for you.”  Holding up the cup she told him, “Kouga mixed this up for Kagome.”  Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I don’t know what’s in it or want to know but he says it will help her.”

Taking both, he smelled what was in the cup and nodded.  He knew what it was and it was something that would help her a bit.  “He’s right, it will.  Did he make more of it?”  Usually it was made in big batches out of a few organic things and blood of an animal.

“Yeah.  We have it and a few other perishables in the stream.  Kouga brought back a deer and we have it cooking but it will take hours so lunch is going to be something from the rest of the boar meat.”

Sitting back on the mattress he gently woke Kagome and slid her between his legs.  Handing her the cup he told her to drink up.

After a quick sniff of it, Kagome downed it then handed him the cup back.

Taking it, he handed it back to Sango then began to eat the food she had brought him.  Kagome curled up to his chest and dozed back off.  Looking at the exterminator, he asked, “Where did you learn to prepare this?  It’s better than anything I’ve tried before.”

“Thanks!”  She said with a smile.  Ayame taught me how to make it when she was traveling with us one time.  She fixed it up for Inuyasha when he had been hurt.  I thought it would be something that could come in handy so I had her teach me then added a few things to the recipe.”

“It’s delicious.  I will have to have you teach my cooks your recipe when I take you to the fortress.”  He told her.  Seeing her confused look at that statement he explained the plans he had when Kagome was finished changing.

While they were talking Kagome yawned then shifted around and got into a more comfortable position.  Sango’s eyes caught and was riveted to the big, fluffy sliver and black tail that was draped over his hip, swishing back and forth lazily.  “You were right, she had a tail!”  She told him with a soft laugh.

Looking down, he smirked, “Indeed.”  Stroking her head, he noticed her hair was streaked with more silver than it had been the night before and was a bit longer.  Normally it hung down to the small of her back.  Now it was below her firm little backside.

“If you can get her awake so I can touch her without be attacked I’ll take a couple measurements and will start altering her pants to accommodate her tail.”  Sango offered.

That was another thing he hadn’t thought about.  Nodding to her, he gently moved the little priestess and woke her. 

Curling up to his chest, she rubbed her eyes and looked up at him.  “Maru?”  She asked in a sleep slurred voice.

Nuzzling her gently, he rubbed her back.  “Sango is here.  She would like permission to touch you so she can take some measurements.  A few of your clothes need a bit of altering and she would like to work on them.  Is that alright with you?”

Looking around for the woman she saw as her sister, Kagome smiled when she spotted her.  “That’s OK.”  She said.

Sango lifted the tail of her shirt and took the measurements she needed as gently as she could, knowing she was probably still sore and tender.

“Would you like something to eat or drink?”  Sesshomaru asked the miko.

“Some water please.  And can I get a bath?  I feel all sticky and nasty.”  She told him quietly.

“Of course.  When she’s done we’ll take care of that.”

When Sango finished, she took his empty plate then went back into the other room with an armful of the mikos pants.

After gathering her bathing supplies, Sesshomaru picked her up and carried her into the other chamber.