InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Gray ❯ Once Upon a Midnight Dream ( Chapter 41 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

~<>~ Shades of Gray ~<>~
~<>~ Chapter 41 ~<>~ Once upon a midnight dream

Sitting listlessly in the wooden chair, InuYasha’s sullen eyes stared at the bundle on the hospital bed. The monitor’s beeping clicked away the minutes and his sanity. Scratching at the dark circles that encompassed his amethyst eyes, he stretched and moved to sit sideways in the tiny chair. He reached lethargically to grasp the cup of coffee that sat on the wooden stump of a dresser. The pale white walls were threatening to suffocate the hanyou and the smell of bleach had long since permeated his clothing and hair. He hated hospitals; they always reminded him of his mother. He had visited his mother, once, when she was in the hospital for liver failure. He didn’t really remember seeing her face or listening to her last words to him; the only thing that stood out from that memory was the disgusting smell of cleaning products and death. He hated it then but now it was completely intolerable. Tears threatened to spill over his cheeks, not for the first time that day, or for that matter, that week. The tears had already ripped red, raw paths down his face.

“InuYasah?”

InuYasha’s head snapped up, hopeful for only a wisp of a moment that it had been Kagome calling to him. Instead he found himself meeting the sad gaze of Angela, the ICU resident nurse. “Yeah?” He answered numbly.

“You have a visitor.” She smiled sympathetically. God, he hated her for it. It wasn’t anything personal but he could read what she, and the rest of the staff, wouldn’t say; ‘it’s not worth it. She won’t wake up. We’re so sorry you’re wasting your time’. He swallowed stones; he knew she didn’t’ really think that or else they would…. He paused, unable to finish that train of thought.


InuYasha found himself nodding and clambering to his feet. Walking to the bedside, he brushed some of Kagome’s stringy hair from her face and kissed her forehead lightly. “I’ll be right back, babe,” he explained to the comatose girl. He stared down at her face, as if waiting for a response before slowly turning to walk from the room. Angela patted his shoulder as he passed by, but he didn’t feel it.

Exiting the ICU, he entered the waiting room and scanned the area for a familiar face. He located his half brother waiting by the exit, a hand placed delicately over his nose. Sesshoumaru hated the stench more than InuYasha. Sesshoumaru only had to endure it for a few minutes at a time though, and therefore got no sympathy from any party. Then he got to leave and go home to Rin and their child and not have to worry about basking in the smell for twenty four hours a day. InuYasha was shocked to find himself bitter over that revelation.

Walking to Sesshoumaru’s side, he nodded to the exit. Silently, they left the hospital to stand in the spring air. Without a word, InuYasha reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Tapping it twice, he shook one loose and pulled it out with his teeth. He fumbled with the lighter in his pocket, only then noticing how he shook. When had he eaten last? He couldn’t remember. His blood sugar must be low. He mentally reminded himself to grab a soda and a candy bar on the way back in.

Sesshoumaru watched his brother intently. “When did you last eat,” Sesshoumaru asked after an eternity of silence.

InuYasha shrugged his response, choosing instead to inhale the nicotine as deep as he could. He coughed for a moment before clearing his sinuses. Mucus built up at the back of his throat but he ignored it. He had been a literal running faucet for the last week. It was either from all the crying of all of the cigarettes. He was burning through about two packs a day.

Sesshoumaru frowned. “InuYasha, you cannot…”

“Did you do it,” he asked abruptly. His voice was hard, calloused over with the hours of watching the love of his life lie unresponsive in a coma that no one was sure she would pull out of. The hatred behind his words was palpable. Were he not glued to Kagome’s bedside, he would have been present for Bankotsu’s dethroning, as he called it. Of course, then he would have ripped out the man’s spine. That was for another day, though. He couldn’t risk falling into another fit of rage over the situation. The first day after Kagome was delivered into the ICU, and they decided to induce a coma to help her heal, InuYasha had lost it. His inner demon had demanded retribution. While his concealment charm should have muted the power of his blood, it failed to balance the rage that built within his soul.

InuYasha went mad; he tore off the limiter outside of the hospital and had every intention on finding Bankotsu and inflicting tenfold of what he did to Kagome. It took both Sesshoumaru and Kagejiro to hold him down and force the ring back on his hand. Thankfully it was night and the meltdown occurred in an area without cameras. Sesshoumaru had awkwardly walked away while InuYasha melted down on the spot. Jiro had been the one to sit outside in the chilly mid April air and support his brother while he cried. It had taken all of InuYasha’s remaining strength to turn around and go back inside. With Jiro’s advice, he remained plastered to her side. InuYasha had to handle everything one day at a time so that he could be there for Kagome. If he let go of his self control for a moment, to even consider revenge, he would lose himself to the demon inside, he just knew it.

Sesshoumaru nodded and dug through the pocket of his blazer. Handing the youngest sibling a DVD in a sleeve, he added; “he was arrested in the lobby. I have that plus the footage from our…conversation in my office.” Sesshoumaru smirked for a moment, but seeing the lack of amusement on his brother’s face, he wiped his expression. “How is Kagome?”

“No change,” He replied shortly.

Sesshoumaru sighed and looked away from his sibling. Rin had been so distraught over Kagome’s situation that he had to give her a sedative to calm her down. She hadn’t had the real time to visit Kagome and Sesshoumaru knew it bothered her. Rin would have sat by InuYasha’s side if she didn’t have Kenren to take care of. “Do we know if they are going to try the surgery?”

InuYasha took a drag from the cigarette. He couldn’t meet Sesshoumaru’s eyes. “Not yet. They want the swelling in her brain to go down. We’re…” taking a deep breath, he rubbed the butt of the cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe and threw it in the receptacle. “We’re hoping there’s no—“he took a moment, looking up to the night sky, trying to control his emotions, “—t hat there’s no brain damage. The longer she is out, with the swelling, the less likely it is that she’ll walk away. “He made a strange noise in the back of his throat, trying to strangle down a random sob. Taking a moment to stare at the stars, waiting for the water in his eyes to recede, he spoke; “Not that she’d walk away, anyway,” he added after a few minutes. He appreciated Sesshoumaru not pushing him, demanding answers or, for that matter, laughing at his younger brother’s misery.

What InuYasha would never admit was that a part of him, probably his youkai, wished Sesshoumaru would mouth off. He wanted a target, he wanted to lash out. He needed an outlet for all of his anger, all of his pain. He wanted to hurt something as bad as he was hurting, as bad as Kagome was hurting. He wanted to rip Bankotsu apart; he wanted that son of a bitch to pay. Kagejiro had offered to do the deed, or have a friend help, but Sesshoumaru had advised against it. Sesshoumaru sided on reason; allow the law to decide his fate. Only if the jury found him innocent should they get involved. InuYasha had fought tooth and nail against that reasoning. Why should Bankotsu be allowed to live in a plush cell for years, having access to swimming pools, work out rooms, luxuries that he didn’t deserve, while Kagome withered away in a hospital bed, or worse, a wheelchair? Then their father got involved.

Toga made only one appearance, and had refused to even step foot into the hospital. InuYasha and Sesshoumaru had been beckoned to meet him at the window of his limo. Toga had only five words for his sons and they were words that burned through InuYasha like acid; “Koizumi’s not to be hurt”. After that, Sesshoumaru set “operation financial terrorism” into play. He completely wiped Bankotsu clean in three days. InuYasha knew he would relish watching the millionaires face when he realized Sesshoumaru had destroyed him.

Clutching the DVD like a lifeline, he lit up a second cigarette. That would give him minimal pleasure.

Sesshoumaru looked around once, and then took a step closer to InuYasha. “Have you seen…”

“No.”

Sesshoumaru grunted. Shaking his head slowly, he took in how InuYasha’s shoulders stiffened with unspoken rage. “I warned you.”

InuYasha didn’t look up from his shoes. “You don’t want to play that game with me right now, Sessh.”

Sesshoumaru shrugged. “Be that as it may, InuYasha, I was correct. He came into our lives, caused more havoc and death and then vanished. I told you he was a curse.”

InuYasha bristled and took another drag of the cigarette. “He wasn’t… He didn’t….” In honesty, he didn’t know what to say. Thinking in context of everything that had happened since Kagejiro had entered their lives, he couldn’t exactly call bullshit. Life had gotten a lot more complicated and then turned to complete shit once the oldest brother got involved. “It wasn’t his fault,” InuYasha said after a moment. “It was mine; I should have finished off Bankotsu before he got to Kagome. I should have seen it coming. It’s all my fault. Jiro’s arrival was just at the worst time.” The awkward disappearance of their oldest brother weighed heavily on InuYasha. Jiro had seen him to the hospital and waited until they claimed they had Kagome stabilized. After the incident in the parking lot, he had asked InuYasha to get a beer with him and InuYasha refused. Jiro seemed a little put off by the response and had left suddenly without reason. He returned the next day and stood outside, watching InuYasha sulk next to Kagome’s bedside. He pulled InuYasha out after about an hour of staring and solemnly said, “This is the pain of immortality.”

After that, he left and hadn’t been seen since. InuYasha wanted to believe his brother was laying low while InuYasha took care of Kagome but something inside of him told him different. Something told him his brother was gone. Miroku confirmed InuYasha’s fears when he stopped by the day prior. Jiro hadn’t been back to the apartment since the second day. He had simply vanished back into the night.

He couldn’t worry about that now. His brother had survived centuries on his own; InuYasha had a girl who needed all of his attention. He couldn’t focus on why Jiro had chosen to abandon him now.

Shaking his head, he put the cigarette out on his wrist. The pain that shot through his nerves at the red hot touch was a welcome distraction. Pain was the only thing he felt recently. “I need to get back in there.”

Sesshoumaru wanted to point out the obvious in that statement, ‘she doesn’t know you’re gone’, but he refrained. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “All right.” Seeing InuYasha make no motion to leave, he leaned against the wall of the hospital. “How did the press conference go?”

InuYasha grunted noncommittally. “It went.” Of course there was a press conference; three huge corporations’ owners got into a fight in the sandbox. The Taisho family was determined to take out the Koizumi family and the Higurashi family got in the way. The papers had been filled with conspiracy theories; that Banktosu was being set up, or that Kagome was faking the injury to throw Bankotsu out of the game, and the one that hurt the most, that InuYasha had been the one to rape and brutalize Kagome and was blaming Bankotsu. InuYasha held a conference at the hospital to give his statement to the press, written by Sesshoumaru, and in the same breath, swore to see Bankotsu pay for all of his atrocities. He called the man out on the truth, the dom he was. Without implicating himself, InuYasha was able to peg Bankotsu was a disillusioned pervert who abused young girls. Kagome’s father held a similar press conference at his home, swearing to find out who did these appalling things to his “little girl” and vowed to seek justice. He hadn’t been by once to see Kagome. InuYasha had made note to mention that in his next conference.

Taking a deep breath, InuYasha nodded his goodbye to Sesshoumaru and walked back into the hospital room. As he turned the corner into the ICU, his breath caught in his chest. A black haired girl stood, talking to a nurse. For only a moment, InuYasha hoped against hope. He prayed that it was Kagome; prayed that some miracle had happened that had fixed her. The dream was shattered as his eyes adjusted to the light. He froze in his steps, unsure of how to proceed. How had she slipped by him at the entrance? Taking a deep breath, he pushed on.

Entering the tiny room, he leaned against the doorframe. Kikyo sat in the chair next to Kagome, her head resting on the pillow next to the unconscious girl. Tears spilled down Kikyo’s cheeks and tore into InuYasha. Biting his lip, he decided to give her space. Turning to leave, Kikyo opened her eyes to catch his gaze.

“Hey,” she called out meekly. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes trying to rid them of the tears. Nodding to the empty seat, she beckoned InuYasha to join her. “Please…”

InuYasha hesitated for only a moment. Slipping into the empty seat, he braced his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face. He hadn’t slept in nearly thirty hours and it was starting to wear on him.

Kikyo attempted to smile before giving up and glancing back at Kagome. “I can’t believe this,” she said after a moment. Her voice was raw, full of emotion InuYasha had never heard from her before. She sounded sad, honestly downtrodden. Kikyo had always been so fake and cheery that it made InuYasha sick. She actually sounded miserable to see Kagome in the state she was currently. “You must think me a monster,” she said after a moment. “I….my parents….” Swallowing thickly, she turned pleading eyes toward InuYasha. “I am so sorry, Yash. I am sorry for the way I treated you, treated her…for the way I treated everyone. I never, never, want to be like them. They…” shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around her body. On a second thought, she snaked out a hand and wrapped it around Kagome’s. “I can’t believe how blind I was. I…I was like them, wasn’t I?” That wasn’t a question. “I can’t believe that Kagome’s father knew. That he knew what she had been though,” Kikyo shut her mouth, unsure if InuYasha knew Kagome’ s secret. Swallowing thickly, she turned her eyes to her cousin. “I am so sorry Kags. You were….are, you are my best friend. And I have treated you like shit. I never meant…”

“Yes you did,” InuYasha found himself saying.

Kikyo eyed him for a moment before slowly nodding. “Maybe you’re right, maybe I did. I didn’t do it to hurt her, I never wanted that. But for so long, I was so nasty because I wanted to bring her down to my level. I didn’t want her to be so far above me. I…” shaking her head, she stopped talking for a moment. “I just want it to go back to how it was. I don’t care about you and her. I don’t care,” she repeated. “I just want to tell her I’m so sorry and that I never meant any of it. I want to apologize and I want…” tears began to stream down her face. Losing her voice, she dropped her head and sobbed.

After a moment, InuYasha stood and walked over to Kikyo. Sitting on the arm of her chair, he wrapped his arms around her and held her while she bawled. He closed his eyes to try to keep from crying as well.

“Is there any hope?” Kikyo asked in a choked voice.

InuYasha opened his mouth and then shut it. How long was he going to continue fighting the reality? Reality sucked but it was the bitter truth; “Every day she is unconscious is another day we lose a part of her.” Everything in his brain raged against that assertion but that was what he had been hiding from. Seven days had passed since they induced coma and she hadn’t improved. She wasn’t getting better and slowly, she was slipping away from him. No one could be sure, at the end of the day, if the swelling was causing brain damage, but some suspected it. If she pulled out of this, one thing was sure; she would never be the same.

Kikyo choked up again and sobbed for some time. InuYasha had lost track of time seven days prior. After calming down, she laid her head against InuYasha’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I owe you that just as much as I owe her.”

“Don’t be stupid,” InuYasha chided, “I cheated on you with your cousin. I think you have a right to hate me.”

“I could never hate you,” she replied quickly, almost too quickly. “I should have broken up with you when I realized we were never going to work.”

“How long after we started dating was that,” InuYasha asked, honestly curious at her response.

“Immediately. I knew I could love you but I never wanted…” she stopped and considered her words. “I wanted to love you, and I did for a long time. But since college, since we got here, we forced ourselves to stay together. We weren’t happy but we kept at it.” Hesitating for a moment, she turned watery eyes on her ex. “Did you stay with me because of your father?”

“As you stayed with me because of your parents.”

“I never hated either of you. I was just….angry?”

“You had all rights to be.”

Kikyo shrugged. “No, I didn’t. Yash, I have to admit something to you…”
InuYasha grunted, “You were sleeping with someone else.” He wasn’t sure how much of this he could take in his current state of mind. He didn’t mind her visiting but he just couldn’t focus on their discussion. He couldn’t go through this with her right now.

Kikyo gasped and pulled away from his embrace. “You knew?”
InuYasha nodded slowly. “I think I figured it out a long time ago. I just pretended like you weren’t.” The conversations with Naraku and the threat of Onigumo resurfaced in his head, but he pushed them away. He didn’t have time to even consider them. “Kik, I did some things also….I….”

Kikyo held up a hand. “Tell you what…you don’t tell me, I won’t tell you. We both messed up, let’s leave it there.”

InuYasha stared at her for a moment of hesitation then nodded. “That sounds great.”

Kikyo smiled despite her tears. “I just wish I could apologize to Kagome…” Turning her attention back to her cousin, she choked on a sob. “She’s my best friend and she thinks I hate her. If she…” Kikyo struggled for a moment, “If she dies, I will never forgive myself.”

InuYasha bristled. “She isn’t going to die,” he replied softly, trying to assure himself of the validity of the statement. “She’ll make it. She’s a trooper.”

“I can’t believe he did this to her.” Kikyo laid her head down next to Kagome again and ran her hand through her cousin’s hair. “He was so nice but….he did it, didn’t he? He….” Bile rose in her throat at the knowledge of what he had put her through. She had been spared the details by Kauai but she was a big girl and could put two and two together. The answer was pure horror that she couldn’t begin to fathom.

“Yes,” InuYasha hissed, trying not to travel down that dark path. If Kagome escaped without brain damage, she was going to need some serious psychological counseling. Maybe he would join up for that as well. “He did it. But he isn’t going to get away with it.” That he swore to God.

“Kauai said…that he….that he….” Kikyo’s stomach turned as she remembered the debilitating conversation with her aunt. Bankotsu had tortured Kagome brutally; they didn’t have any details but the medical exams reported back horrifying truths. The words simply wouldn’t form. How could she even begin to have this conversation with the man who was just as affected by this as Kagome was?

InuYasha tried to steel himself to the images that burned into his brain. Wordlessly, he nodded. He also did not want to discuss all of the compiled evidence that highlighted exactly what Bankotsu did to her.

“And walking? Will she be able to do it on her own again?”

InuYasha turned his gaze to Kagome and shrugged helplessly. “It depends on how soon the swelling goes down. If they can control that, then they can do the surgery to repair the nerves. After that, it would be years of rehabilitation if she even regains the use of her legs. It all depends on her.”

“Kagome’s strong,” Kikyo said after a moment, “she’ll pull through this and amaze us at how fast she’s back on her feet. She won’t let this keep her down.” Kikyo’s smile reflected the false belief. Both parties knew her words were simply dreams, but it was a welcome lie.

InuYasha nodded without speaking.

Sitting next to Kagome for another hour, the two spoke lightly about life and their regrets and the good memories they had of time with Kagome. They spoke of her as if rehearsing a eulogy.

As Kikyo began to gather her things to head out, she turned to question her ex. “You were hanging out with a demon recently, at the bar. Isn’t there some rumor that demon blood can cure any type of ailment? Could he help her?”

InuYasha glanced up at Kikyo. “This isn’t True Blood, Kik; demon blood doesn’t work like that. Besides, I already thought about that.” He was ashamed to admit that, but he was desperate.

Kikyo offered him a small frown of remorse. “I’m so sorry Yash, for what it’s worth. This isn’t fair. “

InuYasha nodded. “I’m real sorry as well, kiddo. I didn’t ever mean to hurt either of you.”

Turning, Kikyo walked from the room.

Lying his head down next to Kagome, InuYasha slipped into the bed with his girlfriend. Wrapping his arms around her, he cradled her broken body. Kikyo was right; after everything that Kagome had been through, she didn’t deserve this. He would give anything to see her better, to be able to go back in time and save her. He had been so stupid, so negligent. He knew what Bankotsu was capable of it and InuYasha had stupidly, and blindly, turned his sights. He had let his guard down and Kagome would be the one to pay. His hand drifted down to her stomach, gently laying his hand over her abdomen. There were so many issues that Kagome was going to have to deal with if…when…she pulled through. There were the psychological aspects, the inability to walk, and other medical problems that accompanied her spinal injuries and the list moved much deeper. She would have permanent scars on her back from where he had flayed her flesh. They had stapled most of the wounds closed, stitched nearly a hundred stitches into her flesh to try to heal her. All of it was a waste of effort, though; if they performed the surgery, they would need to reopen a lot of the wounds. Right now, they worried about the swelling and infection. There was also cause of concern about muscle death from the severity of the wounds.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, was the final prognosis. She had damage to her throat and windpipe, from being choked was the guess. Bruises were starting to emerge around her neck, from where he had wrapped his hands. Hands that InuYasha planned to sever and beat him to death with. There were other ancillary wounds where a whip missed its intended target. And then there were the internal issues. The rape kit had come back positive but there was no DNA evidence to incriminate Bankotsu. InuYasha didn’t even want to begin guessing what that meant. There were some raised questions to her ability to conceive, mostly asked frantically by her mother, but they couldn’t be sure. Even though they had never spoken of children, InuYasha knew that Kagome would be devastated if she lost the option.

Closing his eyes, InuYasha rested his head in his hands and prepared for another night of torture. A hand on his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his skin. Turning, he came face to face with Jiro. He moved his mouth twice before launching off of the bed to hug his estranged relative. He hadn’t realized how much he needed Jiro by his side until he was actually next to him.

Jiro caught his brother and winced under the embrace. After a moment, he pulled back awkwardly and nodded out of the room. InuYasha kissed Kagome’s temple and followed his sibling. Only after they shut the door did InuYasha begin his rant.

“Where the fuckin’ hell have you been? I thought…” With an exhausted sigh, InuYasha found he couldn’t even be angry, he just didn’t have the energy. “I thought you were gone.”

Jiro smiled wearily. “I’ve been around. Can you get a beer? We need to talk.”

InuYasha glanced back at the room then slowly turned to Jiro. “I’d rather stay in the hospital. I want to be here….just in case of…” he couldn’t find the right words so he just trailed off.

Jiro frowned. “Boyo, she’s not going to change in the next two hours. I don’t want to discuss what needs to be said here.”

InuYasha understood what Jiro was trying to say; Kagome wasn’t going to wake up any time soon. “I….”

“Right next store, that’s all I’m saying.”

Reluctantly, InuYasha agreed. Grabbing his coat, he walked out into the cold night air with his sibling. Walking across the large parking lot, they walked a few blocks to the nearest pub. Grabbing a seat at the bar was not a problem, it was a quiet weeknight.

After ordering two pints, Kagejiro turned to InuYasha. “I’m sorry that I vanished. There were a few things I had to see to.”

“Such as?”

Kagejiro scowled as he eyed up his brother. It was as if he was deciding how little, or how much, to say. “I had a few pit stops to make with some old friends. A few who were…less than happy….to see me, and a few who I drank with all night. There’s a saying, Yash; ‘the world is too much with us’, and that remains true. It never stops. You will always have things that need to be done, and things that you can never alleviate.”

InuYasha tried not to bristle. While Kagome had been lying on the brink of life and death, his brother was out celebrating?

“I did some research. Kagome’s family line goes far back with the temples and Mikos; did you know that? The miko blood in her family is strong. The Higruashi name still holds a lot of power with the temples in Japan. Any Miko worth their salt knows about the line. They say they can trace her line back to the legendary miko Midoriko. Do you know her story?” Kagejiro stared into his beer without saying anything until InuYasha acknowledged his comment.

InuYasha shook his head. He really didn’t want to speak religion at the current moment.

“You see, two hundred and something years ago, there was a priestess who fought hard to defeat the demon population. She was one of the largest threats ever presented by religion, if you would. But it wasn’t an innate hatred that led her to that life; it was all because of a fool.” He hesitated, as if reflecting for a moment before continuing; “She was raised in a temple that was attacked by the Dynamo when she was a child. She was the sole survivor, only found by chance by a wandering…traveler. He saved her; he spirited her away from the destruction of her temple across the motherland to Nagasaki. Not knowing her power, he left her with a group of reputable priests. They took her in and found that she had incredible power; she could harness the power of purification. It is theorized that the attack on the temple by the Dynamo was a direct assault to destroy her for fear of her power. It’s said that she could purify any demons within ten miles of her with a single thought. It took years for her to cultivate her power. She was relocated again and again by priests to try to hide her.

“When she was older, it is rumored that she fell in love with a demon.” Kagejiro stared into his beer for a very long time, without saying another word. InuYasha swallowed his shot of Jack and ordered two more. His brother seemed very different, and InuYasha could not put his finger on what it was. He was brooding, more like his stoic middle brother than the fun loving beer drinking man he had grown to know.

Sipping his beer, Kagejiro randomly began speaking again. “He….toyed with her. He knew what she was, who she was, and he made it his sole purpose to fuck with her, to try to discredit everything she was. You see, Miko’s are supposed to be pure, saintly if you would. He corrupted that; he gained her trust, made her reconsider everything she had ever known about demons. She thought him different from those she had slaughtered, and that led her to do the one thing you never do in battle; she doubted herself. And in that minute, he took her. She welcomed it, believing that they would be together forever and prove that demons were not the monsters painted by her ancestors. But she learned the hard way to never trust a demon. “

Sitting for a few minutes, Kagejiro eyed the mirror on the wall. It was one of those few minutes that InuYasha could see through the cracks of his brother’s outer defenses. Taking a good look at his brother, he didn’t like what he saw beneath. He was battered and beaten, hiding behind an immortal shell.

“Her vengeance was unlike anything ever seen by the demon community. She wiped out throngs of demons; her hatred fueled her power. Where the demon that took her virginity thought that she would lose her power, she supplemented it with hatred and dark magic. It is rumored that the one who finally ended her war path was the one who caused it. His soul was what she thirsted for and yet again, he tricked her. He promised to die with her, promised to end it with her, but only when she was at death’s door did he turn around. He left her to die alone.

“Her soul never found rest though; it was said that when called upon by her fellow priestesses, she could take on a corporeal form and walk again. Her story fueled the priestess’ for centuries to hunt demons. It led to so many blood baths that they are too numerous to count. Only after father demanded that demon’s wear limiters did the senseless killings stop. Demons and mikos silently buried the hatchets and avoided each other.”

InuYasha finished his glass. “Sucks to be her.”

Kagejiro nodded. “That it must have. The point being, the Higurashi line is said to be descendants of Midiriko’s.”

InuYasha ordered another pint of beer. “Bullshit.”

Kagejiro raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“She was a priestess, she never had kids.”

Kagejiro smirked for a moment. “Having been…defiled….she was expelled from the title of Miko for a number of years. She lived amongst normal humans. During that time, she had a family, but it was never enough. She never was able to forgive the demon for what he took from her. Over time, she built up her rage and anger and eventually turned to the dark arts. She left the family when the children were small.”

“You said legendary. You know a lot about this chick for it to be a ‘legend’. Just saying.”

KageJiro nodded. “You should take some interest in the history of demons, InuYasha. It’s your family history; it’s important that you know your lineage. Ignorance is a choice, one that I don’t suggest.”

InuYasha rubbed his eyes. “Is there a point to all of this? Why is it important that Kagome is related to this woman?”

Kagejiro sighed heavily, as if this was the question that he didn’t want to answer. “It’s two fold; one is that this power could reside in Kagome. The power of a priestess is temperamental and dangerous. It’s like playing with propane and a lighter. It’s also that a priestess can use their powers to heal. Where it might look bleak, InuYasha, she might be healing herself. Descending from one of the most powerful Miko’s in history is an added bonus. If she recovers, and I am sure she will, you need to know where her power stems from. You also need to be aware of what she is capable of. InuYasha, you two will probably not be able to have children; her body might purify them. You need to investigate further, and you really need to have her question her roots and learn about her powers. Both of your ignorance could be your undoing. Promise me,” Kagejiro turned to InuYasha, his eyes searching for the unspoken acknowledgement of his words. “Promise me that you two will play it safe.”

InuYasha nodded slowly, confused. “I…of course. I will do whatever I can to figure it out with her, when she…” he cut off his words and stared at the bar for a few moments. “You sound like you’re leaving.”

A shadow passed over Kagejiro’s eyes. “You love her, right?”

“With all of my heart.”

“She’s a good catch, Yash. I like her. You two fit each other well.” For a moment, he remained quiet while finishing his beer. “It’s rare, you know. To find a love like what you two could have. Both of you are so stubborn….so stubborn, but you would be great together if you learn to listen to one another, to trust and communicate. It’s not perfect now, it’s far from it. Both of you need healing, but I think….if you try, you can make it.”

The two sat in silence while InuYasha pondered the conversation he was having with his brother. Every bone in his body was yelling that Kagejiro was leaving for good this time. This was his goodbye.

“Where are you going this time?”

Kagejiro lips twisted into a smile without reaching his eyes. “I don’t know. Somewhere warm, undoubtedly. Boyo, tell you what, before I head out, why don’t I keep watch over Kagome. You look like shit, and could do with a good night’s rest.”

InuYasha shook his head. “I want to be by her side.” Inside, he was screaming ‘don’t leave me, I can’t do this on my own.’

Kagejiro reached over and patted InuYasha’s shoulder. “It won’t be tonight, boyo. She will wake up at the right time. Isn’t that how Disney plays it? The princess will only awaken for her prince at the right moment?” There was no humor in his voice.

InuYasha rubbed his eyes. He could go for a night in his bed but he just didn’t want to leave Kagome’s side. Something just felt so wrong with that. Not to mention, he didn’t want to let Jiro out of his sight. If Jiro left….InuYasha just knew that he would never see him again.

“It’s okay Boyo, I will keep watch and if anything happens, I will call you. Promise.”

InuYasha stiffened for a moment, weighing his options. He could go home, get a few hours of rest, handle any bills, and make some phone calls. He had to get the academic leave of absence for the both of them approved and make sure that Kagome’s bills had been paid. He needed to touch base with his father and Kagome’s mother. The last he had seen Kauai, two days prior during her lunch, the woman was worried sick. She was taking this as hard, if not worse, than InuYasha. Keeping her updated and focused on Souta was the best InuYasha could do for Kagome. Sango and Rin could take an update as well.

Jiro’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Tell me why you’re leaving.”

Jiro blinked twice. “I never said…”

“Yes, you did.”

“I…” sighing, Jiro ran a hand over his face. “I don’t belong here, boyo. I never did. I only muck things up. It’s time for me to move on, time for me to do something with my life. I’ve lived for over two hundred plus years kiddo, without ever once living. Sure, I’ve done plenty but it only amounts to a hill beans. Maybe for once I can finally do something right.”

“Why now?”

Jiro stared at InuYasha for a while. “Because sometimes it takes something special to make someone wake up, to make someone realize their greater meaning.”

“Such as? You’re being so vague, Jiro. I feel like you’re running away.”

“One day, Boyo, you’ll understand.”

InuYasha slumped forward, trying not to let his exhaustion win him over. “I guess…I just feel….”

“Don’t feel, just do,” Jiro quipped before paying their tab. Walking out of the bar, Jiro tossed InuYasha his car keys. “There’s a folder in the glove compartment for you. You’re way too exhausted to look at it now, but maybe tomorrow you should take a peek at it. It will help you understand when your brain is willing to listen.”

InuYasha walked with him back to the hospital and stood with him at the doorway. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he frowned. He could read that there was so much more going on then he was picking up on, but his exhaustion was blocking his perception. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

Kagejiro glanced at his brother as if he was crazy. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Something in your tone sounds…final. Like this is it.”

“Final?”

InuYasha couldn’t explain it. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning. I really appreciate this, Jiro. Just don’t make it goodbye. We’ll talk more tomorrow. I want to know specifics. Like where you’re going.”

Kagejiro shrugged. “Letting you get some rest is the least I can do for you.” He seemed as if there was a lot more that he wanted to say. After a moment, he shrugged. “Sleep well, InuYasha.”

InuYasha held up a hand in a half wave and turned his back to the hospital.

It was only after he had parked Kagejiro’s Veryon in his parking lot and had shambled into his bed that he realized that it was that threw him off about his brother that night. He was sober.


X*X*X*XX*X*X*X**X*X*XX*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X

There was a warm light; a bright, brilliant incandescent shining throughout the pit of darkness. And it was calling her name with a voice so soft and sweet. It reminded her of her mother’s beckoning in the early mornings during elementary school. She would sit by her bedside and rub her back, calling gently to her slumbering daughter. The voice felt like a happy memory wrapped in cotton candy; the fluffy pink kind right off the spool that melted in your mouth. She felt arms of velvet wrap around her and the pain was gone; so long had she wallowed in the pain. She had drowned again and again in the deep recesses of the anguish of her trauma. Long ago she had forgotten what way was up and what orange tasted like. No, that wasn’t right…. The drugs clouded her mind and dulled the pain. Not as much as she had hoped though; she still felt every pin prick, she felt every needle stab through her soul. He had destroyed her; he had accomplished his goal. What little remained of her was torn to pieces. She felt as if she would never exist whole again; that the beast would always have a part of her. But her beast…that was a different all together. Eyes flashed through her consciousness; one set of aqua, one set of amber. Her captor, her savior; her tormentor, her hero; but which was which? A strong feeling of loathing and hatred reared its ugly head at the thought of both. Both had done something…both had existed for the purpose to destroy her and what she stood for. But what ….why was she here? She remembered him; he had taken her from the safety of her home, her friends. He had walked her to the door of death, promised her sweet nothings, and promised her an eternal life together. But that….that wasn’t right. He had taken her, he had tried to kill her….he had….

The voice was calling to her again, but this time she hesitated. She was confused, drowning again in uncertainty. Why was she angry at the amber eyes? He had saved her, hadn’t he? Her last memory was an unfathomable sadness welled deep within amber eyes. And the rage that was pent up within his soul; it made her shiver within her consciousness. He had saved her, hadn’t he? A dark rage that was so unlike her bellowed throughout her mind. No, he had ruined her, he had destroyed her. Amber and turquoise…amber that shined hot as the sun; those eyes, those damned eyes were the boon of her sordid existence. But they were malicious, they were hateful, vengeful…weren’t they? Why was she so confused? It was as if they were…someone…else’s memories. They weren’t hers, were they? She had been mad at the Amber once but that was it, wasn’t it? Why did they entice such a deep loathing?

Eyes closed as the memories washed over her; memories that weren’t hers of days in the past and days from the future. Memories of hers of times she hadn’t lived, and times she had not really lived, times she had hid from life. Had she ever lived? Had she ever experienced life? Had she loved? Those amber eyes stole her breath away and whispered answers to her.

Slowly the darkness receded. The world was blurry, hazy. Every bone in her body ached, as if awakening from Rip Van Winkle’s slumber. She wanted to stretch but her limbs would not respond. For only a brief moment did she panic, but the thought was lost to her like a leaf on the wind. As her vision slowly came into focus, she found herself staring at a carbon copy of herself standing at the foot of her bed. Was that her? But she was in the bed…so who was that?

The copy seemed as confused as she was. But only for a moment. Kagome had hoped she was the one standing, that she was the one with legs that worked and a perfect face: that those ugly scars that existed over her body now belonged to another: That it was someone else paralyzed in the bed.

Kagome blinked slowly, lethargically. It was all she could do. The words she could not say tasted heavy on her tongue.

“Do you know who I am?”

Kagome would have loved to shake her head. Instead she simply stared.

“I am you. I am a part of you, of your family. I am a part of everything you do and everything you should be.”

A name slipped across her lips that she had never heard before nor could remember after it left.

The copy smiled softly. As light very slowly crept into the room, Kagome could notice some subtle differences between the copy and herself. She was not a copy but someone who might have been an ancestor, someone who held such a startling resemblance to her. She was older and had sad eye that burned with a vengeance that Kagome could taste. “That’s right. I bet you don’t know how you knew. That matters little. You, my dear, are living a dubious life. You are in love with what you were created to destroy.”

Kagome blinked. “I destroy…nothing.”

“Dreams, hopes, aspirations; you’ve destroyed all of those for yourself. Not by mistakes or error, but because you didn’t care enough to push through. You relinquished your control and in return, you let death and decay into your life. And it was ushered in on the wings of a betrayer, an angel of darkness and deceit. He will destroy you if you allow him, trust me in this.”

Amber and turquoise flashed through her line of sight. “I didn’t…”

“You need to make a choice, young one. You are a priestess of the light. A priestess whose lineage has been spent destroying those you now coddle.”

Amber.

“You must destroy him if you want to live.”

Turquoise.

“You are strong enough, regardless of what you believe.”

The pain shot red hot through her back and her mouth dipped open in a silent scream. She had forgotten the pain.

“You must destroy both to be free.”

Tears welled in her eyes. The Amber that she loved, the Amber that was her life; she would not destroy him, could not destroy him.

“You cannot give yourself to the demon. He will betray you.”

The bitterness seeped from her tongue like acid. Kagome squinted at the palpable hatred. Why did she hate him?

“I know. I know what they do…what they are capable of. They are not people, my dear one. They do not have souls; they do not have morals or emotions. They will kill you.”

The Amber cried over her pain, the Amber laid next to her, the Amber stayed with her. He would not do these things.

“He is not different. “

Ration swept over Kagome in a warm fuzzy blanket that nullified the pain. This woman had her own Amber. That was what destroyed this Not-A-Copy. A name swept through her name once more, a scene from the past: A girl, an image of someone who was no more, and a familiar face that she knew. They had loved, but he had tricked her. He betrayed her. He led her to death. He left her. He didn’t care. She felt the Not-A-Copy’s pain, for pain was all she felt these days. She had hoped for a future and he stole it, as he did her life.

“I loved him,” the Not-A-Copy said in a voice hardly above a whisper. “From the first day, I loved him. He was my hero, my golden-eyed-God. But he was determined to ruin me, to torture me. Yours will as well. The Turquoise and the Amber, they are more alike than you think. They are both dark of heart and intent. They mean to conquer, control. They lust for that. One already nearly killed you, will you allow the other? It is in his blood. Not just the filthy demon blood that must be purified but that…family.”

Not her Amber. The other, he sought her demise. He sought to end her. He did the same, had he not? Promises and promises made on an empty grave; one that he eventually meant for her to fill. The Turquoise, he wanted to bury her. He still lusted to do so.

“Your demon will do the same. You think what Bankotsu did to you was awful. Just wait to the demon within takes over. He won’t care that you’re mortal; he won’t care about your dashed dreams and shattered hopes. He’ll take what he wants. You need to live up to your birth right; you must become a priestess of the light. Join me, Kagome…join me and my daughters and the birth rite that is yours!”

Kagome closed her eyes. She’d rather the pain.

The voice softened. She approached her from the side. “I thought he would save me. When he left after he took what I would never get back, I vowed revenge. For a century, I have sought it, I have tasted it. I longed for it I now have it. You are but a pawn, my dearest daughter, but one that has suffered for my gain. For that, I will be your savior. Remember my words well, my dearest.”

Kagome stared at the woman beside her. She wished that she knew the truth, could understand their pain. All of the Ambers suffered. All knew they had done wrong and sought redemption. She could see the lust for blood in the Not-A-Copy’s eyes. She prayed she wouldn’t do what she was going to. Kagome could see her thoughts and could see the future but was a hapless bystander to being able to stop it from coming; an ant in the path of a tsunami. There was no escape for anyone. But when had there ever been? Couldn’t she see though? Couldn’t she see the good that existed beside the darkness? Couldn’t she see that it wasn’t just black and white? What he had done to her was awful. There was no question. The memories that were hers were now Kagome’s as well. She could see the temples, the fire. She could taste the flames, the hatred, and the darkness. She could feel the love that had been and the emptiness that it created once stolen away. She could feel the last moments of the Not-A-Copy’s life and how death hadn’t mattered. She swore she was dying with her love. Then he left her. She died cold and alone on a frozen stone slab.

Kagome opened her eyes. The Not-A-Copy was shining like a thousand diamonds in the sun. “I warned you. When you are ready, when you have felt the pain of demons, come to your sisters and they will teach you how to destroy.” It was so bright, it hurt her eyes. For a moment, she thought herself blind. The pain was a thousand times worse than before; it enveloped all of her sense and left her in agony. A voice whispered through the pain.

“A life….for a life.”

*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X*

The ringing was obnoxious, it wasn’t ceasing. Hadn’t he just closed his eyes? He had spent too much time awake and worrying over nothing. He had squandered his time. But why was his alarm ringing?

Sitting up in bed, InuYasha’s hand shot out and grabbed his phone. In a panic, he dropped it. Cursing, he threw himself off his bed to grab it, barely noticing that it was only six in the morning. He had gone to bed only two hours ago. His first thought went to Kagome; he knew he never should have left. He nearly threw himself out of bed to grab the device. What happened? Had she woken up? Had she…. He couldn’t finish that though. He knew that if she had…left….when he was home asleep in his bed, he would never forgive himself. It was so hard to believe that four months ago, life had been so different. It would have been Kikyo in his bed. It would have been an awkward exchange of words and faked hatred between him and Kagome. Now, only four months later, things were so….

“Hello,” he ground out, his voice tight with barely bottled emotions. He was shaking slightly, he noticed as he waited for the word.

“Mr. Taisho?”

It was Angela. Why was she still there? Her shift ended at four. Why would she still be there unless….unless….

“We…need you to come down here. There’s been….” She seemed unable to finish the words.

Tears sprung to InuYasha’s eyes. “Is she….”

“This is very difficult to discuss on the phone. There has been….changes. There has been….” She seemed to hesitate and InuYasha couldn’t take another word.

InuYasha dropped the phone. He never heard the rest of her words. Luckily he had slept in his clothes. Not bothering to freshen up, he rushed out the door. He couldn’t imagine what had happened. He prayed against all hope that the situation was that Kagome had woken up. Why couldn’t she just say what happened? Why was she being secretive?

Miroku was sitting at the table, slowly flipped through something from a large envelop. His head jerked up as InuYasha blew through the living room. “Yash!” He had some stubble growing for the first that InuYasha could remember. He looked as if he too had been consumed in something else for the last few days. He stood and scratched at the new hair on his face. “We need to talk.” There was a desperate look in his eyes.

“Not now,” InuYasha hollered as he slipped into his flip flops. There was no time for socks and sneakers; he had to get to Kagome! Something pulled at the back of his mind, something demanding his attention though he fought it tooth and nail. Something wasn’t right, something was…off….in the universe. It was as if all the hair on his body was standing on end. Something….had happened. He hated to speculate. He didn’t want to know the answer. If she had….died….he didn’t want to exist anymore.

“Yash…” Miroku rushed to keep up with his friend. Following him from the apartment bare foot, he grabbed InuYasha’s shoulder. “I need to talk to you.”

“Something happened. I need to get to the hospital.”

Miroku’s mouth dropped open and for a moment, he resembled a fish. A flash of panic danced through the man’s blue eyes before he ran a hand across his face. “Give me a minute, I’ll come with you.” Without a word, Miroku raced back to the house and grabbed some papers from the table, a thermos, his shoes and the keys. Locking the door, he spun around to find InuYasha and Jiro’s beautiful car gone.

“Son of a bitch,” Miroku muttered before trekking down to his Camero. He had to talk to his friend, and soon.

*X*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X**X

Pushing through the ICU doors, InuYasha blindly walked to the room he had become to accustom to. He caught sight of two of the nurses’ stares and that was all it took. The look of pity that lurked in the depths of their eyes told him a story he couldn’t handle. Tears sprung into his eyes, blurred his vision and ripped apart his frail heart. There was only one reason they would pity him. He focused on placing one foot in front of the other, ignored the urge to fall to his knees and weep. He wanted to collapse, to pound the ground and scream. How did this happen? How had they come to this? His hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. His throat constricted to where he couldn’t breathe. His mouth was drier than the Sahara as he trudged forward, as if walking through tar. Each step slowed as he reached the vacant room. The bed was made, empty of the girl that had rested in it for seven days. The flowers left by friends and family sat in glass vases, dying from the stagnant air. Dying. Dead. Gone. The bed was empty.

InuYasha fell to one knee. He felt his face contort as a sob escaped his lips. They had already taken her away? How was he not here? He had gone home the night she… He would never get a chance to say goodbye. She was gone. Tears slowly dripped down his cheeks as memories washed over him like high tide. He let himself be consumed by them. It was all over.

“InuYasha?”

His eyes opened slowly. That voice…it…couldn’t be.

Turning, InuYasha found himself staring into those deep chocolate orbs he adored so much. Kagome was sitting in a wheel chair, a panel of doctors standing behind her, awkwardly staring at the scene before them.

InuYasha swallowed once, twice. He couldn’t trust his senses. Maybe he had gone crazy. Maybe he hadn’t been able to handle the truth and simply cracked. Kagome had been paralyzed, lying on the brink of death in bed. There was no way that she was awake, functional and able to sit in a wheel chair. That was impossible.

Then she lunged from the chair and wrapped her arms around him. Throwing herself into his embrace, Kagome wrapped her arms around InuYasha’s neck and hugged him with what little strength she had.

InuYasha embraced her immediately, still completely confounded by shock. Licking his lips, he suddenly found himself crying once more, but how the tears had changed. After only a moment, he shook himself out of his revelry. She was here. She was in his arms. She was moving, and walking, and talking, and alive! Wrapping his arms around her, he clung onto her as if she would vanish if he let go.

They held one another for a few minutes before the doctors and nurses began clucking that she needed to get back into her chair, into her bed. They hesitantly approached the duo who sat on the hospital floor. For a moment, InuYasha felt his inner demon swell up, growling menacingly at the white coats that tried to take what was his.

Kagome placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him lightly. Her eyes shined with unshed tears. She seemed so happy but quickly that was replaced by an expression that ripped at InuYasha’s heart. “We have to talk…”

The doctors helped Kagome back into her chair as InuYasha reluctantly released her. InuYasha had a million questions that flew through his brain but the foremost one was… “How? How are you…”

“Healed?” One of the doctors pushed his glasses up over his beak and regarded InuYasha shrewdly. “We are wondering the same thing.”

Kagome accepted help back into her bed from two of the nurses. She made a face as she slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. I remember a warm light, and a voice. But I don’t remember much else. Then I was awake and there were…” she hesitated and her voice changed. A sadness so fierce over swept her as she glanced up at InuYasha. “Oh, Yash….”

InuYasha couldn’t understand why she looked so sad. She was alive! She was awake and she wasn’t paralyzed!

The doctors motioned to InuYasha to move out into the hallway. One doctor wore a scowl that InuYasha could swear was painted on his face. His dark eyes pierced InuYasha’s as if searching for an answer, or some hidden secret.

InuYasha eyed Kagome, who seemed to want to say something, for a moment before allowing himself to be ushered from the room.

“All right, what gives?”

The doctors seemed to silently draw straws for who got to speak first. Scowl-y won. “Mr. Taisho, as you can see, there have been some…very strange…developments.”

“Fucking A there has been,” InuYasha clipped, angered that they had taken him away from Kagome only after he just got her back to speak the obvious. He wanted to be with Kagome, to soak up every second with her that he could.

The doctor cleared his throat. “Well yes…you see, Miss. Higurashi’s wounds seemed to have….healed…themselves.”

InuYasha blinked. He had wondered how she was moving but he hadn’t considered the wounds. “What do you mean….” He could barely get past the fact that she was up and moving and…moving…she was moving! ‘Not paralyzed, not crippled!’ he could have danced.

“They are…gone. It is as if they never existed! Simply vanished!”

The doctor seemed excited by the revelation, as if he had stumbled onto the fountain of youth. Or life. And in some ways, he truly had. It was a case like this that could make a doctor’s career. Mystery cure for a girl who was comatose and paralyzed. What had happened? How had she…? Jiro’s words slipped through his head from the night before. ‘Where it might look bleak, InuYasha, she might be healing herself,’ something about miko mojo. Thinking of Jiro, he glanced around. Where the hell was his brother? If Kagome woke up to an empty room, he was going to hunt the fucker down and shove his fist down his throat!

“How can that be,” InuYasha asked, slightly afraid to hear the doctor’s answer. The man seemed to be eyeing InuYasha like a Thanksgiving Turkey.

“We would love to know that answer.” The man hesitated, then turned to one of his companions. They clucked for a moment before a short, squat man with beady eyes stepped forward. He gestured to the side and slowly led InuYasha from the other doctors.

“I am sorry for their questions, and for taking your time away from Miss. Higurashi, but we need to discuss…” he pushed his glasses up his nose and stared for a moment. “Mr. Taisho, the man that was here last night with Miss. Higurashi, he was signed in as your brother. Is this correct?”

Jiro had slipped on his limiter when he walked through the doors of the hospital, InuYasha vaguely recalled as he had hurried to the million-dollar car. This was a dangerous line of discussion, with Jiro excommunicated and no news ever heard of a third Taisho son. He hesitated, trying to read the man’s face. “He is…” he paused then decided to let it stand. Why make more lies at this point?

The man nodded slowly then looked down at his shoes. After taking a deep breath, he met InuYasha’s gaze. “Mr. Taisho, please have a seat.” Motioning to the chairs, he sequestered InuYasha away from the crowd that was gathering by Kagome’s room. “Miss. Higurashi’s monitors began beeping at about four thirty this morning. When we entered the room, you can understand how surprised we were to find her moving, awake, and quite confused as to where she was. She has…little…memory of what happened to her. After reading her charts, that is quite the blessing. I don’t know if the memories will come back, but…” he paused, obviously skirting around something else all together. InuYasha felt the nagging again in the back of his brain, a thought that was begging to get out. Something began twisting in his gut, a feeling that set off his warning bells; a klaxon that had been suppressed. He had felt it when he awoke, hadn’t he?

“Regardless, we immediately began questioning her and completed a full physical examination. To find those horrid wounds completely healed was amazing. Your brother was asleep in the corner of the room when we found her awake. At least, that was our thought.”

InuYasha was annoyed for half a second before his words sunk in. ‘that was our thought’. InuYasha sat up straighter in his seat, a ball of dread and nerves building in his stomach. It was as if his intestines were whirling around, everything tensing for news he already felt, already knew.

“We removed Miss. Higurashi from the room for further tests. When one of the nurses approached your brother to inform him of the change of her status….” He was searching for words. “I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Mr. Taisho. Your brother was unresponsive. We moved him to a gurney and began CPR. He was in complete cardiac arrest. We tried to resuscitate him but all of our efforts failed.”

The doctor’s words became garbled as he continued to speak. InuYasha blinked, unsure of exactly what he was hearing. ‘Jiro…cardiac arrest. Unresponsive. Flat lined. Apologies. His brother…his long lost brother. InuYasha found himself numb. Was this true? What kind of sick joke was his brother playing? He held a very small amount of hope in his hands that his brother would burst down from the ceiling, or from a towel cart, or hell, magically appear from thin air and shout surprise. There was no way that his badass beer-chugging hellion brother was dead. There was no plausible way.

“What?” It was the only word he could manage to wrap his head around.

The doctor hesitated, unsure how to proceed. “I am very sorry Mr. Taisho. We tried everything we could. His heart simply gave out. An autopsy should be more conclusive?”

“Did you take off his ring?” InuYasha asked the question before it registered in his brain. Honestly, even after he said it, he didn’t care. How could this happen? Why now? He got back Kagome in exchange for his brother?

The doctor slid closer, obviously knowledgeable of what InuYasha mentioned. “I did,” he said lowly, as if afraid the world might hear. “He…remained the same.” He flashed InuYasha a secretive glance, nodding to a ring on his own finger. InuYasha didn’t care. How had this happened?

He was gone. InuYasha felt his chest constrict but he couldn’t will the tears to come. Kagejiro was dead. Now he understood. Jiro wasn’t leaving. He had planned this. But how? Through the sorrow, a horrible thought crept through InuYasha’s mind. “He died for her.”

The doctor glanced up. “Excuse me?”

InuYasha shook his head: Of that one thing he was sure; Jiro gave his life for Kagome. InuYasha had been correct; last night was his final goodbye. He somehow had healed Kagome with his life force. He didn’t even know that was possible. If anyone knew though… InuYasha cursed. ‘Jiro had tried to tell him, in a very roundabout way. It had to do with that priestess, InuYasha knew it. “Does she know?” Kagome would be devastated if she knew that Kagejiro gave his life for hers.

“She knows of his passing. We questioned her about his next of kin. She wouldn’t say anything.”

His girl to the end. InuYasha’s mouth was set in a grim frown as he stood from his meeting with the man. So much had happened and he really wasn’t processing it. Everything was blurred as he slowly walked away from the doctor. He thought the doctor might still have been clambering on about details and arrangements for his brother’s body, but he couldn’t focus. He trudged into Kagome’s room and sat down next to her on the bed. Meeting her gaze, he nearly broke down once more. She was alive, and his brother wasn’t. How was life fair?

“Yash, I am so sorry,” Kagome whispered as her hand sought his. She had known. After everything she had been through, after the horror she faced, she still felt bad for him. How was any of this fair?

With a gentleness that surprised even him, he kissed the top of her head and leaned against hers. “Shush,” he quieted her, “don’t worry about that now. I will deal with everything. Right now, I want to focus on you.” His words were sincere but his voice, his voice left out any emotion. He had to steel himself right now. This wasn’t a time to cry, he had to be strong for her.

“Don’t worry?” she repeated, astounded by his disregard of his brother’s death, “Inu….he….”

“Kagome, for whatever reason, my brother made a choice. What matters to me right now, is that you are okay and that is all I can focus on. I will speak with my family later. Right now, I just want this time with you. I thought…” he closed his eyes, “I thought I lost you.”

Kagome tucked in deeper to his chest and nodded slowly. “I…was scared. I don’t remember much, honestly. And I hope I don’t. But I remember being at work,” she swallowed, her voice still very hoarse from a week of not speaking. “I remember Bankotsu being there, and knocking in my window. I remember…” she fell quiet for a moment while she fought her tears. “He meant to kill me, I know that much. But beyond that, I don’t really remember anything.” She frowned as tears stung at her eyes. “What do you mean he made a choice? How did he choose his heart to fail?”

InuYasha rubbed the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb while nuzzling his face into her hair. “That’s all you need to remember, Love. Regardless of what happened, you need to know that that bastard will pay for what he tried to do. I hope you never remember, Kagome. I really hope that. But if you do, I want you to talk to me. Please, for the love of God, don’t bottle that up.” She held in so much for so long about her brother, and about being raped when she was young. Holding back these memories would drown her.

She nodded silently.

A moment passed between them before Kagome spoke again. “I remember…a woman. She….was here, but she wasn’t. I don’t know how to explain it. She was so angry with your family, with demons, and she told me….” Kagome was silent for a moment. “I think she was a ghost.”

InuYasha opened his eyes and stared at the wall just over Kagome’s head. His gut wretched as he thought about his and Jiro’s last conversation; the talk about the woman who had been wrong that he claimed was one of Kagome’s relatives. And then he understood. He had been a fool not to put it together last night. That was why Jiro known so much of that miko; he had been the demon from the story. Jiro had found her, Jiro had fucked her, Jiro had killed her, or at least, lead her to death. Jiro was the one who caused her all the pain. But when? Slowly InuYasha pieced it together; the first battalion he lead, when he walked away from dad. He said that there was one survivor from the temple, one he escorted away from the mess. Toga had targeted the temple because of the girl, because he knew how powerful a miko she would be? Jiro had said it was a boy but…it made sense. He found the girl, got her to safety, and she fell in love with him. Of course. Then he ruined her, as InuYasha and Bankotsu had nearly ruined Kagome. InuYasha cringed, wondering how many other awful stories his brother bore like lead weight. Had he sought death? Was this to help Kagome or because it fit his desire to die? ‘The world is too much with us,’ he thought solemnly. His brother had said those words and he was spot on.

“She wanted revenge, she wanted me to live so that….” Kagome couldn’t finish that thought. “I hope I was imagining the whole thing. It’s just so strange…” She didn’t believe it was fake for a moment. She knew it happened. It terrified the hell out of her. That woman claimed she was a relative of Kagome’s. Why would they demand Kagejiro’s life? Had Kagejiro died for her? Kagome couldn’t handle the truth to that idea. Too many lives had already been ruined for her to even begin to consider the gravity of the situation.

“He…” InuYasha closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to her head. Where could he even begin? Could he explain to Kagome that Kagejiro gave his life for hers? Did he even know if that was true? How did some century old ghost really claim his brother’s life in some vengeful plot?. He just couldn’t put all the pieces together. Something hi s brother said the night before stood out to him, beyond for being their last conversation. He mentioned something in the glove box. Pushing the brooding aside, he kissed Kagome’s head. “I…I think he knew. I think he somehow planned this. He told me that there was something for me in the glove box of his car. I should…”

Kagome pushed InuYasha’s shoulder. She seemed to want to know as bad as he did. “Go, go find out what it is.”

InuYasha nodded and slid out of bed. Pausing beside her, a part of him just didn’t want to walk out the door, afraid that if he stepped away from her, she would vanish, or he would wake up.

“I’ll be fine, Yash. I promise I will be here when you get back.” She looked exhausted, and he was keeping her awake with all of this. He didn’t even know how to begin to describe this week. The worst of his life was only a starting point. She needed rest and he needed answers. Staring at her for a moment, he feared that if he walked away, she would slip away as well.

InuYasha rubbed his head. He had phone calls to make, plans to begin. His father wasn’t going to spear head a funeral for Jiro. A funeral…just a few days ago, he feared that he was going to be forced to attend one for Kagome. He never, in a thousand years, would have thought it would be for his brother instead. A part of him was refusing to acknowledge this whole debacle. It honestly hadn’t hit him yet, but he had to keep it that way. He couldn’t lose it now, not in front of Kagome. She was his most important goal; after all, isn’t that why Kagejiro gave his life? So that InuYasha could live with Kagome? So that he could be happy?

Walking out to the car, he hesitated at the door. This car was Jiro’s, so much was Jiro’s. This man had come into his life, and like Sesshoumaru said, wreaked havoc; he was a god damned hurricane, if InuYasha was honest. However, after only a few weeks of being around, he had managed to make such an impact on InuYasha’s life that he had to wonder how he had lived without his older, wiser, funnier brother only six weeks earlier.

Swallowing thickly, he choked own his tears. He could not cry, not now. Balling his fist a few times, he dragged his hand down his face in an attempt to pull it together. Jiro was dead and there were things he had to do. Opening the car and going into the glove box, he pulled out a small collection of papers and a USB drive. Shifting through the paperwork , InuYasha’s eyes widened. He quickly progressed through the pile, dumbfounded and numb. It was a collection of his brother’s will and documents that he had notarized throughout the week. Kagejiro knew damn well that was…that…. He was going to…that he knew what he was doing. It didn’t make it any easier. InuYasha began reading some of the material until he hit one line of the fourth page in; over and over he read the line. InuYasha was his beneficiary. He left everything to InuYasha. Hundreds of years of wealth, property, and assets were now InuYasha. Along with that was a list of names of people that could ‘assist’ InuYasha around the world. People that were close with Kagejiro, people he trusted. Did they know?

The sound of a car pulling up next to him only briefly registered. It wasn’t until Miroku was standing next to him and shaking him that InuYasha responded.

“Man, you all right?”

Turning slowly to Miroku, InuYasha fought down tears. “He’s dead.”

Miroku shook his head, obviously confused. “Who is?”

“Jiro. He gave his life to Kagome.”

Miroku hesitated, obviously shocked as he tried to wrap his head around what InuYasha was saying. “Wait….what?”

“Somehow he figured out how to transfer his life force, or something, to Kagome. She’s awake and healed. She’s….perfect. And he’s…” He couldn’t finish. Tears stung at his eyes and he wanted to hit something. This was really happening.

Miroku gawked for a few moments, obviously as shocked as InuYasha. “How…I mean…is that even an option?”

“Apparently he got in touch with some priestess he used to know and she did it.” That was the easiest explanation. He would get the dead priestess and ghost story out later, once the dust settled. His father was going to love this.

“And nobody stopped him?”

Oh well, he tried to keep the pragmatics to himself. He decided to answer shortly. “She was a ghost.”

Miroku blinked once, then again. “Well, shit.”

That about summed up his feelings as well. InuYasha had so many phone calls to make he didn’t even know where to start.

“Can she testify?”

InuYasha blinked. “Come again?”

Miroku nodded at the hospital. “Can she testify against Bankotsu for what he did to her? She could put him away for years now.”

“My brother is dead.” InuYasha wasn’t sure Miroku was fully following.

Miroku glowered at InuYasha. “And someone needs to pay. I vote Bankotsu. Any objections?” InuYasha’s silence answered his questions. “I suggest we nail that bastard to the fucking wall. If Jiro did give his life for Kagome, make sure it’s damn well worth it. We put away the guy who wants her dead, and then you get to take her away and live out your gift.”

He hated thinking of his brother’s life as a gift but that was the simple side of it, wasn’t it?

Miroku draped his arm of InuYasha’s shoulders. “You all right?”

“I’m numb.”

Miroku nodded. “Have you called your father?”

InuYasha shook his head. “Not yet.”

Miroku nodded towards the hospital. “You go sit with Kagome. I will take care of this.”

InuYasha blinked and looked at Miroku. “But…”

“Go, I got this. I’ll call the family and I will call Kagome’s family. You go be with her. I am sure she’s as messed up about this as you are.”

InuYasha nodded and took the folder of paperwork. “There’s stuff I have to look over in here.”

Miroku repeated himself in a very patient manner. “You go, I will handle this.”

Wordlessly, InuYasha patted Miroku’s shoulder and walked back toward the hospital. How had it gotten to this point?

Miroku watched InuYasha trek away before he flipped open his phone. Clicking through his list of contacts, he found Sesshoumaru’s name and hit send. “I got to talk to you,” he said after a moment, “shits gotten really heavy.”

*X*X*X*X*X**X*X*X**XX*X**X*XX**X*X

I am cutting this chapter off here because I have had pieces of this written for nearly a year and just can’t keep dragging it out. I am just as torn up about Jiro as I am sure the rest of you are, he was my favorite character and he will be missed. But there are points for all of this. There should be about one more chapter. Sorry that it’s taken forever. <3