The Faith Healer

Chapter Four

Later that day, everyone had gathered in one of the conference rooms at Stark Tower, curious about the faith healer and her friend. Fury had gotten Kagome's permission to monitor the surroundings, though she'd turned away any questions about monitoring her personally. He'd thought to press her on it, but Shippou's dark glare had been incentive enough to forget about gathering information on her directly. Knowing the slender man... male... turned into a several story-high fox could put a healthy amount of respect and fear into the most brash of questioners.

Kagome and Shippou sat together on the opposite side of the table from Tony, while the rest of the Avengers took seats or leaned against the walls; unconsciously assuming a defensive position to Shippou's delight.

Kagome looked at them all, quickly assessing whether or not she'd be threatened while she was vulnerable, then began with a warning. "Once I start, no one should touch either Mr. Stark or myself. Any questions will be answered by Shippou. Mr. Stark, do not break the contact until Shippou tells you it's okay." She reached across the table and took Tony's hand, looking deeply into his eyes while breathing evenly, power moving through their joined hands until she was immersed in his system.

After a few moments had passed, Tony couldn't help but light up with a slick grin. "Why Kagome, such an intense stare. I'm flattered, but you shouldn't make Pepper jealous. Unless you and she decided to share me..."

"Fool." Shippou came halfway over the table, careful of the woman at his side; his voice a dark and menacing rumble. "She's in trance, you idiot, finding out the extent of damage done to you. My Kagome is the beloved of the gods Inari-sama and Amaterasu-sama; not an object of lust for lesser beings. Be glad she didn't hear your crudity or I'd have to teach you the consequences of flirting with a youkai's woman."

Tony swallowed, a picture of the giant fox he knew this guy turned into in his head. "You mean, you and she..." Tony trailed off at the sight of Shippou's reddened eyes.

"What our relationship is doesn't matter. My father marked her as mine over five centuries ago, and I've kept her ever since. I'm not a human, Stark. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking of me as one. You don't want to enrage me... I can make dealing with your green friend look like a walk in the park."

"Five centuries?!"

Natasha interceded, though not purely for the idiot genius's sake. Bowing low to the kitsune, she offered to duct tape Tony's mouth shut. "For all the opportunities available to him, I'm afraid that he ignored all lessons in basic courtesy, Shippou-sama. If you wish to speak to a version of Tony with manners, I'm sure we could find you an ass raised in a barn."

The respect and humor worked, chivvying Shippou into a better mood. Once he had returned to his seat and the red had cleared from his eyes, Natasha relaxed a bit and bent down next to Tony, careful not to touch him. Her voice dangerously soft, she softly commented, "Really, Tony, even the Captain asked what Shippou-sama was... and we all researched Japanese fox spirits after the battle. You should know, offended kitsune destroy every aspect of their victim's life before they kill them."

"Listen to the shinobi, Stark." Shippou let a fang slip over his lip, making his smile all the more terrifying. "In 1929, a now forgotten U. S. Senator slighted Kagome during a diplomatic function she attended as the highly honored escort of one of my more distinguished allies. 'Tis a shame his ignorance took his country down with him, although he did keep his life that night. My ally was interested in seeing how fast his poison would eat through the officious bastard, but I convinced him cherry blossoms shouldn't bloom out of springtime."

"Cherry blossoms?" Nick asked, trying to understand the riddle.

"His signature poison smells like acid-edged cherry blossoms. A memorable scent to die screaming to, as the senator did the next time they bloomed."

While the Avengers were busy digesting that, and explaining to Thor the stock market crash that destroyed the country that year, Kagome came out of her trance. She was wavering in her seat though, and the kitsune cursed before demanding a cup of water and fishing out a small packet from his sleeve. The medicine he mixed helped to revive her and she leaned back against her chair as she let it work.

"We should have waited a day." Shippou worried, reaching over and cupping her face.

"I'm fine. The medicine will do until I can eat and sleep. But I'm sure Tony would like to hear my diagnosis." She took a moment to categorize the issues she'd have to deal with before speaking.

"It will be a massive undertaking. The chest will have to be opened, and the metal removed. One piece has lodged like a splinter in the peritoneum, so I would have to heal the hole and scar tissue on that first, followed by the old damage the shrapnel did going in, smoothing the scarring on the major blood vessels and the nicked lung. Then I would have to take care of the fresh injuries from the surgery, until we get into the area around the sternum.

"That is going to be the hardest part. There is extensive damage to the surrounding tissue, most likely due to the palladium poisoning, that will have to be thoroughly cleaned and checked for cell deformities if you wish to avoid cancer risks. An excess of discharge has flooded the area as well, probably the result of having to fight off multiple infections. Once I get all that cleared, there's the matter of regrowing the section of the sternum and ribs that were removed to make way for the arc reactor."

"You were able to heal the child that was shot immediately. Is healing an adult different?" Pepper was curious- and worried about the long list Kagome had reeled off.

"Hmm... I would say the main difference is that children are still growing, so I'm simply increasing the pace they do so for a short while, but directing it into repair instead of growth. There's more coaxing to do with adults. In fact, there is so much to care for, I don't believe I wish to try it without the aid of a surgeon. Healing will take most of my energy. If I have to draw the metal myself, it would take many sessions."

"Many doesn't sound like much fun," Tony pointed out, already wanting to chicken out.

She looked at him with tired eyes, the day rapidly catching up with her. "You will have to keep up your courage, Mr. Stark. Nothing can happen until you go on a special diet. I need to build up certain chemicals and elements if I'm to regrow flesh and bone without causing weaknesses elsewhere."

"And that's it for today," Shippou declared. She slipped into sleep even as he spoke, and he got up and took her in his arms. "I'll email you the diet. Follow it completely, or I won't let her even try. She'll be risking her health enough as it is."

And in a swirl of leaves, he and Kagome disappeared.

~oOo~

Bruce stared at his self-proclaimed science-brother, wondering how someone so smart could be such an idiot. "Let me get this straight. You've kicked the insomnia, are dealing with the PTSD, and the need to replicate Iron Man as many times as you can. You wound up doing a piss poor job of saving Pepper, but I think it amused her that she ended up saving you; though I doubt you've properly thanked her for that. You've even come up with an antidote to Extremis. But in all the months since she told you what to do, you've not followed Kagome's diet more than two weeks at a time? You could have had that arc reactor out of you months ago!"

"Ah. Well... Bruce, old buddy, old pal... it's just that being completely knocked out while a bunch of folks dig around inside of me is not my idea of a fun time."

"You're scared!" Bruce tried to hold in his reaction, but somehow Tony had the ability to regress him to childhood.

Not believing what he had just heard, Tony turned and looked at his friend. "You did not just-"

Another low cackle came from the normally stalwart physicist.

"I am not a chicken!"

Bruce kept up the irritating noise, and Tony became more and more incensed... until he broke out laughing. "Ok, fine, yes, I am a chicken. Would you mind being a spectator? I'd feel better if someone I knew was there to keep an eye on things."

"For a chance to watch a genuine healer at work? I'm there." Bruce moved to leave the lab, Tony following after him.

"You know, that was the most realistic cackle I've ever heard. You could get a job on the Discovery channel, doing voice overs for poultry documentaries-"

The door shut as JARVIS confirmed the last of the surgical arrangements. One more 'health shake' with Miss Kagome's herbs, and Tony would be set for surgery.

Like a child with brussel sprouts, indeed.

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Still working on the alternate chapter four, but wanted to at least give you guys this! Gotta love Tony and Bruce!