InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Til Death Do Us Part ❯ The Homecoming ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plotline.

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but hey, better late than never eh? My great uncle died Friday and his funeral is in a couple of days so we're all preparing for that. At least he isn't suffering in the hospital anymore. As always big thanks to Kimmie for beta-ing this chapter for me. She's such a sweetheart. And also big thanks to all of my reviewers who take time out of their busy day to comment on my story, which has been nominated for best drama in the Protégé Awards. ::giggles:: I never thought this story would win anything, but miracles do happen ever so often. Enough with my babbling and on with the show.

The Homecoming

Hitomi ran ahead of her husband through the automatic doors of the hospital that their daughter and son-in-law had been transported to as of ten minutes ago. After Myouga called and informed her that Kagome and Inuyasha had been found stranded on an island and had been taken to Tokyo General Hospital for medical attention, she had grabbed Ryo, threw him into a car, and had violated over twenty driving regulations in order to get there.

"Excuse me," she said briskly to the nurse at the front desk, while her out of shape husband panted heavily behind her, "do you know where I can find Inuyasha and Kagome Takeda? They arrived here a couple of minutes ago."

"If you're talking about a loud, obnoxious hanyou with long, white hair that made a racket about the male paramedics touching his wench while they were assessing the extent of her condition, then they're on the third floor," the nurse replied, a glint of irritation flicking through her eyes at his name.

"What do you mean her condition?" Ryo questioned, finally done with recovering from the exhilarating romp through the hospital parking lot.

"The girl, Kagome, had suffered a severe case of hypothermia. But she is out of the red and receiving treatment now," she added hastily when the color drained from their faces.

"Thank you." Hitomi bowed respectively, then grabbed hold of her husband and rushed towards the elevator. She pressed the up button on the wall and tapped her foot impatiently as the numbers slowly decreased from six. "We don't have time for this. Come on Ryo, we're taking the stairs."

Ryo took her by the wrist before she had a chance to take his and run off again. "Wait sweetheart," the man pleaded, not ready to run another marathon, "let's not be too hasty. Look, the elevator is at three."

"Stop wasting time. You could use the exercise. You're getting a little pudgy around the midsection anyway."

"I am not!" he cried indignantly, taking a second to look down to reassure his bruised ego, consequently giving his wife the opportunity she was looking for.

Twisting out of his loose grasp, Hitomi sprinted to the stairwell, wretched the door open and bounded up the steps by twos, her male counterpart lagging slowly behind her. It took Hitomi no time at all to locate the nurse's station on the floor. "Where's Kagome Takeda?" she fired at the first nurse she saw.

Clearly unnerved by the frightening appearance and authoritative aura that surrounded the tiny woman, the girl pointed to the door next to a water fountain. "I-in 351."

Nodding curtly, Hitomi glanced at her husband, who had just came out of the stairwell, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath. "Would you hurry up Ryo?" Without waiting for a response, the determined woman pressed on and in six quick strides was at the door. Taking a calming breath to prepare herself for whatever awaited her on the other side, Hitomi gently opened the door to find a doctor and a couple of nurses hovering above the bed where her daughter lay, lying motionless with her eyes closed as the doctor injected her with a needle.

Threatening growls from the other side of the room made her attention shift to the hanyou sitting rigidly in a chair across from the bed where Kagome lay, his knuckles white as he clenched the armrests of the seat, his narrowed gaze fixed intently on the doctor working on her daughter, his throaty growls increasing in tempo every time the man's hands came into contact with her skin. Now what was wrong with this picture?

"Hello Hitomi-san," Inuyasha said gruffly, his eyes never straying from the bedside. "Long time no see."

Before she got a chance to reply, Ryo stumbled in, closely followed by Inutaisho and Megumi. "There they are," the taiyoukai smirked at his wife. "I told you they were fine."

"And we're all done here." The doctor signaled for the nurses to leave while he pulled out the needle from her skin once the fluid had emptied from the cylinder.

"About fucking time, Matsumoto," Inuyasha glared at him, pure hatred flashing within his golden orbs, solely directed to the one who had touched what was his.

"Inuyasha!" Megumi exclaimed incredulously, thoroughly appalled by her son's language and rudeness. "Watch your mouth before I wash it out with soap. Apologize at once."

"No, no, it's quite all right," the mirthful, brown-eyed man chuckled in amusement. "No apology necessary. I've dealt with enough possessive inuyoukai to know that their inherent instinct to protect their mates from other males comes with the territory." Smiling innocently, Matsumoto held up his hands to Inuyasha to concede he meant no harm and backed away to the doorway where baffled parents stood as the growling hanyou scooted closer to the bed with his chair. "It's obvious that he cares for her very much. Love is such a beautiful thing is it not?"

Inutaisho let out a loud bark of laughter in response. "You're kidding me? There is as much love between these two as there is between a starving bear and a horde of incensed bees guarding their honey."

Megumi silenced her mate with a pinch that had him yelping in pain and pointed to the couple, her eyes transfixed on what was transpiring before their very eyes. "I'd never thought I'd live to see this day."

The concern for the well being of his mate overriding the impulse to greet the parents he hadn't seen for a week, Inuyasha abandoned the chair and gently leaned over the side of the bed to get closer to the one he loved. "Kagome?" he whispered gingerly caressing her cheek with one hand while the other intertwined with hers, the harsh lines of his face softening with affection, his eyes shining with tenderness.

"Is it over?" Kagome cracked one eye.

A small smile quirked the corners of his mouth in amusement. "I never knew you were such a baby when it comes to shots."

She pouted, blue eyes betraying mock hurt. "You'd be a baby too if you had to be injected with those jumbo size needles multiple times." Kagome glanced down to where an IV was imbedded in a vein in the right arm while the opposite had multiple indentures dotting along her forearm where Matsumoto-san had injected her with the various kinds of drugs.

"Are you sure it was absolutely necessary for him to inject you with those different types of medicine all at once?" he asked quietly tracing around the tiny pink marks on her skin. "What if you have an adverse reaction to them?" His grip on her hand unconsciously tightened at the thought of something happening to her because of the doctor's ignorance, red beginning to etch its way into his retinas. "Because if that idiot screws up and you suffer, I will personally rip out that moron's intestines, choke him with it, then hang him out to-" Inuyasha trailed off, the threat and his insecurity put out of mind as her cool fingers began to caress his ears, the simple gesture instantly quelling his arising youki.

"Nothing will happen Inuyasha," she smiled as he relaxed under her touch. "They have my medical record and know what I will and won't have a bad reaction to."

"I've never been to a hospital before," he admitted truthfully. Other than his annual check-up at a youkai run clinic, he had no need for excess medical care since youkai weren't as fragile as humans.

"That much is obvious." A yawn escaped her lips, her eyelids becoming heavier by the minute, in her drug induced condition. "I'm getting sleepy."

The hanyou made a noncommittal grunt as he burrowed his head softly beside her stomach, a purr of perfect contentment rumbling deeply within his chest. If only this moment could last forever. He inhaled the sweet smell of her scent, the aroma giving him a heady sort of rush, the continual soothing strokes she bestowed upon his ears lulling him into a hazy state of drowsiness. Bringing their entwined hands to his face, Inuyasha brushed his lips lovingly across her knuckles before allowing his eyelids to droop languidly under her ministrations, his half lidded gaze never straying from her spellbinding eyes.

Matsumoto frowned in noticeable confusion at the gaping expressions of the four adults. "Is something wrong?"

Shocked beyond words, neither couple was able to form legible sentences to express the utter bewilderment and disbelief they were experiencing, due to the sheer magnitude of the display transpiring before their very eyes.

Shrugging at their apparent bafflement, the doctor went ahead and proceeded with the findings of his examination of the newlyweds. "Well, as you probably all know by now my name is Dr. Matsumoto Saito. One of my nurses has already done a brief check up on Inuyasha a couple of minutes ago and with the exception of a few minor abrasions that will probably heal within the hour, he is fine. Kagome on the other hand has suffered a severe case of hypothermia and quite frankly I'm surprised that neither the muscle mass nor any bone in her body has atrophied in the least. It's a miracle that she didn't suffer from frostbite or any other serious aftereffect of hypothermia. The medicine I inoculated her with a few moments ago will help with stiffness and rigidity of her limbs and in a couple of days she should be back to full strength. You should be proud to have such a stubborn daughter with such a strong resolve to live."

"Hitomi," Ryo leaned over and breathed into her ear, the doctor's words having fallen on deaf ears, "is this another one of the illusions that accompany my usual hangovers?"

"If you're seeing what I'm seeing, then we both have probably have passed out after a long night of heavy drinking and are sharing the same disconcerting delusion that is making me seriously doubt my sanity," she remarked back to him in the same low voice.

Tearing her eyes away from her son and daughter-in-law, Megumi shot the good doctor a reassuring smile to ensure him that they all weren't total head cases. "Thank you for your help Matsumoto-san. When will they be able to go home?"

Pleased that someone had heard the results of his examinations, Matsumoto returned the smile, his attention focused exclusively on her since she was the only perceptible person that was paying the slightest bit of interest in what he had to say. "Inuyasha can be discharged today, but I would like Kagome to stay overnight for a couple of days to monitor her condition and make sure she doesn't take an unexpected turn for the worst. She will be able to leave by the end of the week."

"That's a relief. Thank you again Matsumoto-san," she said with a courteous bow.

The doctor's smile broadened. "No need for formalities. You can call me Saito."

"Matsumoto is fine," Inutaisho growled, his sharp gaze snapped heatedly in the young man's direction, his keen hearing having alerted him that the conversation was becoming too friendly for his liking. "You may leave now."

Chuckling knowingly, Matsumoto bowed and with a friendly toss of the hand, exited the room.

Megumi glared at her mate. "You didn't have to be so rude."

"I don't appreciate stupid young whelps sniffing around what is mine," the taiyoukai snorted disdainfully.

"You're becoming senile in your old age Inutaisho," his mate remarked with a roll of the eyes before turning to the other couple. "Do you think we should impose?" Megumi asked in regard to the young couple.

"A bit late for that don't you think?" Inuyasha drawled dryly from his sprawled position in the chair by the hospital bed, having moved from his comfortable spot beside his wife's stomach when his parent's altercation became too loud to ignore any longer.

"Hi Mom, Dad," Kagome finally acknowledged their presence with a weak smile, though secretly disappointed that she wouldn't have more alone time with Inuyasha.

"Oh, my poor baby." Hitomi quickly made her way over to her daughter's bedside and enveloped the girl in a tight embrace. "I was so worried about you sweetie," she said fighting back the tears that had welled in her eyes at the pure happiness that wrapped around her heart at having her daughter back alive and well. It seemed as though an eternity had passed since she had last seen her little girl.

Fighting back tears of her own, Kagome held on to her mother, inhaling her unique scent of warmth and security that all mothers exuded. "I missed you Mom."

"I missed you too." Wiping away a stray tear that had escaped the pool of salty liquid in her eyes, Hitomi eased her hold on Kagome and moved back a bit so that her husband could greet their daughter.

"How are you holding up, hime?" Ryo said clinching her to his chest in a bear tight hug that spoke degrees on how much he missed her.

"I'm ok," Kagome managed to exhale as her father practically forced the air from her lungs with his bear tight hold, her glance sliding over his shoulder to lock gazes with Inuyasha, who was presently trapped in the arms of his imperious father while the taiyoukai thumped him on the back repeatedly, praising him for coming back in one piece, his mother on the other side pinching his cheek and saying how proud she was of him. A smile touched her lips at his exasperated expression while mouthed a plea for help to her.

Kagome stuck out her tongue and smothered a giggle when bared his fangs playfully at her, promises of repercussions and payback glimmering within his amber orbs for her laughing at his misfortune.

"Kagome?" She forced her attention from the amusing predicament her hanyou was entangled in at the moment to her mother's questioning gaze.

Ryo released her from the hug so she could speak, allowing oxygen to enter her lungs once more. "Yes?" she said upon recovering from the firm embrace.

A teasing smile curved on the older woman's lips, her brown eyes glinting with delight. "Why the sudden change of heart towards your husband?"

The room went silent all at once as five pairs of eyes settled on her. It felt as if a brushfire had just spread across her face. "I…uh…" Now how was she going to break down all that had happened while they had been secluded on the island in three sentences or less? Gods, there was so much to tell and such little time and she was getting awfully sleepy.

"We made amends and are happily married now," the hanyou put simply for them, his arms crossed and expression daring anybody to object to the idea.

"Why that's wonderful," Megumi exclaimed clapping, her eyes misting over with wetness, the prospect of her son and daughter-in-law finally together proving to be a bit much for her to handle.

"It's about damn time my boy," Inutaisho grinned and whacked his son on the back heartily. "It took you two long enough to realize that you two were made for each other."

"You know, for once Dad," Inuyasha began fixing his gaze on the beautiful maiden sitting up in the hospital bed, the corners of his lips curling into a smile, "I believe you're right."

Tears flowed openly down both mother's faces, elation overtaking their hearts. This was the moment they had been dreaming of, ever since even before the arrangement and now it was finally an actuality. It was like a dream come true. Now, they would be happy since the merger would succeed after all and their children were happy since they had reawakened the love they had had for each other from the time when they were younger.

"Why did this happen?" Kagome said in a soft voice, her blue eyes distant as she vividly recalled the events that took place the fateful day when the plane veered out of the sky, when she and Inuyasha were forced to jump out of the cockpit into the icy ocean.

Tension threaded through the small room, the jollity that had overtaken the occupants upon hearing the announcement of the newlywed's rekindled love forgotten with the utterance of the simple question. An unspoken conflict raged within the persons of older age as they weighed their options, between enlightening their children about the truth of the situation or telling them a mixture of fact and fiction for their safety. Ignorance was bliss after all.

Ryo took it upon himself to address the question that the other adults were hesitant to tackle since he was the more levelheaded out of their company. "As you both know, Higurashi Takeda Corporations is the leading manufacturer or supplier if you will of the most state-of-the-art technological innovations in the world. Unfortunately, there are those out there who think they can destroy what we have created by threatening the safety of those close to us as well as the merger."

"What do you mean destroy the merger?" Inuyasha interjected, his face stone set in seriousness, and his facial muscles twitching as he tried to keep his temper in check. There was something they weren't telling them and he wanted to know. If anything happened to Kagome because of their actions, he would personally see to it that the company was obliterated off the face of the planet, even if it meant giving up his lavish lifestyle.

"What Ryo means," Inutaisho spoke up, the rich timbre of his voice reverberating off the walls of the enclosed room, "is that in the contract that you two signed right before the wedding ceremony, there is a section that states if either one of you happens to…pass away during the first two months of establishment, in the event of your death the merged corporation would be forced to separate back into their respective companies before the joining."

"So you're saying that there is some nut out there trying to kill us because they want your stupid corporation to go back to the way it was?" the hanyou gritted through clenched teeth, angered by the fact their supposed family was putting their lives on the line for the sole benefit of the damn company.

Hitomi sighed. "That's not the case. The guys who rigged your plane to stop functioning-"

"They weren't actually on the plane were they?" Kagome stared dumbfounded at her mother, fighting off the wave of drowsiness that was steadily witling down on her senses.

She shook her head bitterly. "No. The detective working on the case caught the two guys that sabotaged the plane and has them in custody now. Apparently, they programmed the plane to stop performing after reaching a certain distance. Before the take off, they impaired the controls and radio so that you wouldn't be able to pilot the plane to safety."

"Even though, the culprits behind this have been caught, there might be more where they came from so for the next month security will be tightened around your manor and you all will be limited to the places you want to go for precautions," Megumi stated matter-of-factly.

"Why did you make us sign the contract when you knew full well that this might happen?" Inuyasha growled heatedly at his father.

"It's customary that all merging companies sign a contract similar to the one you two signed," Megumi defended their actions, her brown eyes pleading with his to see that their exploits weren't intended to harm either one of them. "You have to understand that we never deliberately planned for this to happen. We arranged this with best possible intentions in mind."

"Is it possible that it will happen again?" Kagome asked to no particular person, her heart sinking into the pit of her stomach at this new information that was failed to be brought to their attention earlier.

"Oh honey." Hitomi sat down on the bed next to her daughter and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "There is absolutely nothing you have to worry about. I just want you to enjoy your time with Inuyasha. In a couple of weeks, I'll arrange a little get away trip, or honeymoon, for you two in Paris and then some time in Venice. How does that sound?" She gave her daughter a suggestive wink. "It could give you two some necessary time alone so you can catch up on lost time. And I will personally make sure that you have the best sound barriers put up in your room so that any excessive noise won't be heard."

"Mom," Kagome groaned, red beginning to stain her face at the blatant innuendo and by her own mother no less. How mortifying.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at her deliberate maneuver to change the subject, but he didn't say anything. He knew they were hiding something, but he wouldn't press the issue any further because of Kagome. They knew exactly what was going on and it obviously had something to do with them or else they wouldn't be so tight lipped with the subject matter. His hands tightened into fists as he fought off the urge to decimate.

His ears flicked towards the door where the barely audible pitter patters of small feet could be heard scurrying across the hospital halls, nearing their room at an alarming rate. Inuyasha growled lowly, his eyes flashing with brief annoyance. Guess he would get the chance to maim after all.

"Kagome!" a little voice squealed zipping through the cracked door and rushing to the bedside in a flurry of movement. The tiny creature jumped up, intent on burrowing itself into the arms of the awaiting girl, only to be stopped mid air by an outstretched hand.

The hanyou smirked. "Where the hell do you think you're going runt?"

The teary eyed kitsune turned around as much as could in Inuyasha's vice grip and burst into a fresh set of tears. "Inuyasha!" Twisting skillfully out of his grasp, Shippou raced up his arm and wrapped his tiny arms around his neck. "I thought I'd never see you guys again."

Inuyasha could only stand there in mild shock and awkwardness at the child's antics, uncertain of how to deal with his palpable show of affection. "Stop your bawling kid. We're fine, now get off of me." He tried to pry the kitsune's diminutive child's hands from his neckline, but Shippou had firmly attached himself onto the hanyou and showed no sign of letting up any time soon. Inuyasha groaned in exasperation.

Kagome hid a smile behind her hand. She had a tough time imagining him as a father figure. Inuyasha as a father. The smile froze on her face as a million possibilities raced through her mind. Gods, would he want children? Did she want children? No, not yet. They were still too young. But more importantly, would she be ready when the time came to consummate with him and express her feelings for him sexually? Kagome felt her face heat up at the thought, as not so pure thoughts came to mind, which were thankfully, more or less, interrupted when a giant fur ball nestled into her stomach.

"I missed you Kagome," came Shippou's muffled response, his head rubbing affectionately in the warmth of her stomach.

"I missed you too," Kagome smiled, and tousled his bushy tail, her heart warming with fondness towards the small child in her lap.

"I guess we'll be going now." Ryo kissed the top of his daughter's head. "We'll be back later on with some of your things."

"Good-bye sweetie." Hitomi playfully pinched her cheek. "Be a good girl and remember to be courteous to the staff here."

After the farewells were distributed and the newlyweds were showered with even more hugs and kisses, the adults left, but no sooner had they walked out the door when two more people entered, leaving Inuyasha to wonder if he would ever get Kagome alone.

"Kagome." Tears of happiness and relief trickled down the taijiya's face as she ran over to the bedside and encircled her long lost friend in her arms. "I was beginning to think I would never see you again."

"Oh Sango. You're going to make me start crying again." Kagome laughed, water beginning to gather in her eyes again.

Inuyasha eyed the grinning monk warily as he came up to greet him. "If you even think about cuddling me, I'll kick your ass."

Miroku's grin widened. It seemed as though being stuck on a deserted island hadn't done anything to improve the hanyou's callous demeanor. "The thought had never crossed my mind. Besides," his gaze settled on Sango, who was in the midst of chatting amiably with the friend she hadn't seen in a week, "I already have someone to cuddle."

A brow arched in response to his best friend's statement. "So, you two are official?"

Miroku gave a careless shrug. "More or less."

"Is it more or less?" Inuyasha questioned rolling his eyes at the man's evasiveness.

The monk sighed. "I suppose we're more unofficial than official as of now."

"What did you do?" Inuyasha smirked.

"I don't understand my Sango at times. When we're alone at home, she giggles and finds pleasure in my…wandering hands. But when we're in public and I try to give her backside some attention, she hits and yells at me for being a lecher. I just don't understand the woman." He hung is head in defeat.

"Sango giggles?" For some unfathomable reason Inuyasha was unable to conjure a mental image of the tough, kicker of asses that the taijiya was giggling like some inane schoolgirl.

Miroku picked up his head and glared at him for missing the entire point of his proclamation. "Would you please try and stay focused for a minute."

"Oi, don't blame me because you have problems controlling your perverted ways in public!" Inuyasha snapped, his irritation getting the best of him and in turn earned him everyone's attention.

"Inuyasha, be nice," Kagome chided evenly though a half smile played at her lips.

The hanyou found himself ensnared in her mesmerizing pools of endless blue that reminded him of the beauty of the ocean, sparkling with a depth and calmness that always put him at ease. "Keh," he mumbled reluctantly tearing his eyes away from hers, desperately wishing these people would just leave them the hell alone so he could have her all to himself.

The not so subtle silent exchange between the two had not gone unnoticed by their friends.

"Since when did you start liking Inuyasha?" Shippou asked earnestly looking up at Kagome from her lap, voicing the unspoken thoughts of the unofficial couple.

"Since we got stranded on the island idiot," the hanyou scowled at the kitsune.

"Is this true Kagome?" Sango inquired to her friend, the glint in her brown eyes clearing indicating that they needed to talk.

Kagome laughed nervously. "Yes, it's true. We put the past behind us and are focusing on the future."

"Do you mind explaining how that occurred? The last time we saw you two, you both were practically at each other's throat," the taijiya grinned, eager to hear what adventurous and romantic tales her friend had to share from their near death escape from the island.

"It's kind of a long story."

"That's ok Kagome, we have all day," Miroku said with a grin pulling up the nearest chair and sitting down next to the bed earnestly.

Inuyasha felt like bashing his head on the nearest wall. This was taking cruel and unusual punishment to a whole new level. Gods, now they would be there forever. He briefly wondered if she would be really pissed if he picked them all up and threw them out… gently. His ears twitched and rotated in the direction of the door as a familiar scent drifted into his nose. The hanyou inwardly groaned. `Not more fucking company.'

"I don't think I can stay awake long enough to tell the whole story," Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes, the effects of the drugs slowly dulling her senses. From the time the words left her mouth to the time she removed her hands from massaging her eyes, the tension in the room had thickened considerably.

Kagome scowled and looked around to what everyone was looking at near the doorway. Her eyes lit up instantly upon seeing who stood in the threshold of the room. "Ayame! I thought you would never show up. Come over here."

The uncomfortable silence that had pervaded the room intensified with every hesitant step that the downtrodden wolf girl took, much to the confusion of Inuyasha and Kagome.

The hanyou frowned and stared between the now silent Miroku and Sango. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

Choosing to ignore the question, Sango got up and gave her friend another quick hug. "Since you're tired and all, we'll be leaving. But as soon as come home, you and I will have a tête-à-tête. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Kagome replied with a smile and watched somewhat sadly as the taijiya exited the room without some much as a glance toward Miroku or Ayame.

"Bye Kagome!" Shippou gave her stomach one last heartfelt nuzzle before hopping off the bed and trailing after the other girl.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the pathetic expression on the monk's face. "Would you just go apologize to her?"

Miroku sighed and stood. "I suppose, though I doubt that it will be any good. See you around Inuyasha, Kagome."

Ayame waited until everyone left the room before speaking. "Do you think I could speak to Kagome alone for a minute, Inuyasha?"

"Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of me," the hanyou responded firmly, golden eyes studying the female wolf youkai guardedly. Something peculiar was up with her, something he couldn't put his finger on and it was giving him an edgy feeling. The fiery glint in her eyes that was usually dancing vividly were absent in her dull, emerald colored orbs, leaving in its place a sort of vapid sullenness that gave her the appearance of lifelessness, only a shell of what she once used to be.

Kagome's heart clenched at the morose disposition of one of her best friends. Clearly there was something bothering her to the extent where she was even uneasy in the presence of her. "Inuyasha, could you just step out for five minutes? I need to talk to Ayame alone," she said without taking her eyes off of the other female.

"No," he replied decisively taking his dominant position by her bedside, eyes narrowed and arms crossed at the youkai in their presence, but faltered slightly when her fingers encompassed his own. The pleading gaze in her soulful blue eyes crumbled bits and pieces of his resolve to the point where he felt himself agreeing to whatever she asked of him.

"Fine," Inuyasha finally grumbled, his ears lowering in defeat and bent down to place a chaste kiss along her cheek, his lips barely brushing across her skin. "Five minutes and that is it," he breathed, his warm breath sending tiny tremors through her system.

"Thanks Inuyasha," she smiled lovingly at him.

"Keh." He turned and left, shooting the wolf a wary glance before departing the room.

"Now what's wrong Ayame," Kagome inquired after hearing the click of the door as it closed behind the hanyou.

Ayame took an uncertain seat in the chair that had been previously vacated at the foot of the bed, her eyes still cast toward the floor. "I see that you and Inuyasha have made amends."

Kagome allowed a grin the spread across her face. "Yeah, pretty unbelievable, huh?"

The wolf youkai just shrugged. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. The love that you two share is one of a kind. I only wish I had the chance to share that with someone."

"I thought you felt that way towards Kouga?" she asked in mild confusion.

Ayame's head picked up at once at the mention of his name, the anger that distorted her features making her friend visibly flinch in response. "That's when I thought I had a damn chance with him until you went and screwed it up for me with your lies and manipulation!" she snapped and jumped out of the chair, sending the innocent object flying across the polished hospital floor.

Kagome winced when the chair collided against the wall with a loud clatter. "Ayame, what are you talking about? I talked to Kouga about the situation before I left. I told him I didn't love him-"

"Evidently, it only fueled his desires for you and put me in a position where I am seen as some kind of over obsessive fanatic." Ayame glared in the other girl's direction, anger and hurt and betrayal swirling within her jade depths.

"What the fuck is going on in here!" Inuyasha demanded throwing the door open, his eyes swiftly scanning the room to make sure nothing was wrong.

"Everything's fine Inuyasha," Kagome said somewhat distractedly, her eyes imploring his desperately. "Please, leave us for a couple more minutes."

The hanyou bared his fangs at the seething wolf youkai in front of Kagome's bed, unwilling to leave her side a second time when the threat of her getting hurt loomed dangerously overhead. Pushing down his inherent urge to protect what was his and defend her against any danger whatsoever, Inuyasha gradually left back out once more, though this time keeping extra close to the door just in case her so called friend decided to hurt his mate.

The wheels in Kagome's mind turned as fast as they could in her drug induced state in an attempt to fathom why she and Kouga weren't together. She was sure she had told the wolf youkai that she didn't love him in the way he wanted her to. Then suddenly, it clicked; Ayame's frustration with herself and why she got an almost overwhelming feeling of incompleteness and guilt every time her thoughts drifted back to the day when she confronted Kouga. She had forgotten to tell him before she left that it wasn't Ayame's influence of who had affected her love for him, but her choice and what she felt.

"Kouga…" she started, fixing her stare on the black marble countertops instead of looking him in the eyes. "We have to end things between us. Indefinitely.I can't be with you anymore. Things are different now. I`m married and I have to uphold my position as a wife to Inuyasha."

A low growl rumbled within the wolf's chest, denial flashing in his cobalt orbs. "That stupid mutt doesn't give a damn about you. He has a hundred other women running around all over the city. I'm the only one that can give you what you want, what you deserve." He attempted to recapture her arms, but she jumped away from his reach.

"That`s not necessarily true Kouga," she said softly, reluctantly dragging her gaze to meet his fierce one. "You deserve someone who will treat you with equal love and commitment. I can't do that. I…I don't love you." There she had said it.

The muscle in Kouga's jaw twitched, his ears refusing to believe the words that had just flowed from her mouth. "Kagome…you don't mean that."

"I'm so sorry Kouga, but I do." It tore her up inside to see the pain she was inflicting on him in his beautiful cobalt orbs, but he needed to know the truth. "I don't feel anything for you on that kind of level. I've always thought of you as a friend and you always will be one to me. But we can never be anything more than that."

Kouga backed away from her. His heart constricted painfully in his chest. "You mean all the time that we've been together, all four years, you've never felt anything even close to love for me?" he asked quietly, hoping the pain and betrayal he felt didn't show in his voice.

Kagome bowed her head in an attempt to hide the tears brimmingher eyes. She hated hurting people, especially those close to her. She had deceived him after all these years, after all thathe had done for her;after all of the love he had showered on her. "It's always been love as a friend, but never as a lover. I'm sorry Kouga. You should be with someone that can return your love like I can't."

He didn't say anything. And with his back facing her, Kagome didn't know what kind of affect her news was having on him. "If it helps any, Ayame is head over heels in love with you," she hinted softly, a hopeful lilt in her voice. "She has been ever since the first time she laid eyes on you."

Kouga's head immediately snapped up at the proclamation and for a second, Kagome believed that he felt the same way about her friend, but that was before he turned around, his cobalt eyes ablaze with anger and resentment. "She put you up to this didn't she?"

"No, that`s not what I me-"

A calloused finger silenced her flow of words. A small smile upturned the corners of his lips as he placed a gentle kiss onherforehead. "You are so considerate and sweet, my Kagome. You're always thinking of the well being of others before yourself. That's one of the things I love about you. You don't have to lie to me because Ayame is in love with me. I love you and only you." After kissing her nose, Kouga left a very frustrated Kagome in the kitchen.

"Leave it to Kouga to be so dense," Kagome sighed. She had a feeling she had just made things worst rather than better. Now Ayame had even less of a chance of getting Kouga to fall in love with her than before. "I'd better go talk to him," she mumbled and ventured out of the kitchen to find him.

Her eyes widened in realization. That's why Ayame felt as though she betrayed her. Her gaze landed guiltily on her ranting and pacing friend before her head. She had failed to straighten things out with Kouga before Ayame professed her love to him. Kagome felt like slapping herself against the head for her negligence and stupidity. Crap, now she had only made things worse. She only hoped that it wasn't too late to save the already deteriorating relationship between the wolves.

Ayame dragged a clawed hand through her tangled and disheveled mass of red hair in aggravation and took a calming breath in an attempt to negate the negativity and anger that was thrumming throughout her youki. "Hell, I know you're just getting back from that godforsaken island and still recovering from hypothermia and all, but I simply wanted to let you know that I didn't appreciate you going to Kouga and informing him that I was some kind of jealous, neurotic freak that pines over him continually or saying that I was the reason you broke up with him in the first place."

All of the resentment and understandable vexation in her best friend's voice made Kagome's heart sink further and further into the pit of her stomach. Struggling to keep her tears at bay and her eyelids from drooping sleepily, Kagome swallowed the enlarged lump in her throat and focused on keeping her voice steady. "I'm sorry I put you through so much humiliation and pain Ayame. You have to believe that I didn't deliberately plan for that to happen."

"Well if it wasn't on purpose, then why did you say those mean things about me?" she asked, her voice beginning to crack from the warring emotions that raged frantically within her.

"Ayame, I didn't tell Kouga anything other than the fact that our love wasn't mutual and that my duty was to be the mate of Inuyasha and Inuyasha only. After I told him I didn't love him the way he did to me and that you were the one that was in love with him, he got some crazy notion into his head that you somehow influenced my decision to break things off with him."

"Then why didn't you correct him?" she asked in a quiet voice, not fully trusting her voice in her normal tone in the state she was in at the moment.

Kagome sighed sadly. "I tried to tell him but he was so adamant in his beliefs and you know how stubborn he gets when he really believes something as true. He ran off before I could and Inuyasha came and got me in one of his pissy moods and ended up pissing me off and I completely forgot about tracking down Kouga. I was going to tell him before we left for Hawaii, but then he upped and disappeared right as we were leaving." Gods, it was getting harder and harder for her to stay awake. She could feel the thick fog of lethargy seeping into her brain.

Kagome was jolted back to reality when heart wrenching sobs and tears poured forth from the wolf youkai as she came over and roughly encircled her friend in her arms. "Oh Kagome, I'm so sorry," she wailed dismally, "I'm probably the worst friend you could ever have."

Stifling a yawn, Kagome smiled, awkwardly trying to hug her back within her bear tight grasp. "Forget about it. It was my fault that you embarrassed yourself in front of Kouga when he had all of those disturbing misconceptions about you."

"I feel like such an idiot," Ayame sniffled, pulling away from Kagome long enough to wipe away the stray tears that streamed down her face. "I can't believe I was actually beginning to feel hate towards you for what I thought you did."

"Didn't I say forget about it." Kagome smeared her own tears with her palms.

"Yeah, but-"

"Ayame," she put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, "if there's one thing I learned from being on a secluded island with Inuyasha, it's that sometimes it is best for us to put things behind us and focus on the future, otherwise, we might miss out on something good that's right in front of our face."

The red head returned the smile and for the first time in a long time, the emotions that rampaged relentless within her soul were put at rest. "Thanks Kagome."

"No problem." She paused to yawn and settled more comfortably in the sheets, the medicine that was inoculated into her system earlier taking full effect. "As soon as…Kouga gets back…I'll…I'll…fix…stuff." She began to nod off, allowing the darkness that accompanied sleep to saturate her mind, providing an outlet to all of the stress and hassle she had underwent that day.

Ayame watched as the girl drifted into slumber and opted that it was time for her to leave. "Thank you Kagome. And I am truly sorry for believing that you would ever betray our friendship. I know you're better than that. This just shows what a crappy friend I am. Hopefully someday, I'll become half the friend that you've been to me." Pulling the covers over the girl, Ayame smiled at her sleeping form and using a stealth that only a skilled wolf youkai could accomplish, quietly retreated to the door.

Turning the handle and giving it a slight tug, she bit back a yelp of surprise when Inuyasha fell forward and almost toppled on top of her. Ayame chuckled in amusement as he hurriedly came to his feet, acting as though he just hadn't been caught eavesdropping.

"Are you done yet?" he questioned harshly.

"Calm down puppy." Smirking, she stepped aside so that he could enter. "I'm done talking with her. You may go in now."

"Keh, I don't need any permission from some fucking wolf," he growled shooting her a glare as he went in.

"Oh, and Inuyasha," she beseeched before he shut the door, her emerald eyes having returned to their usual passionate self, "hurt her again, I'll castrate your ass and auction off your bits and pieces on EBay to the highest bidder." Her face was all seriousness.

"I'd do it myself before I would her," he replied, his golden gaze speaking the truth of his words, then closed the door once the wolf youkai nodded and returned to his woman.

Inuyasha inwardly groaned when he saw that she had already fallen asleep. `Wonderful. I finally get her all to myself and she's knocked out.' The hanyou strode over to the bed, dragging his chair with him in the process. With a heavy hearted sigh, he plopped down in the plush seat and laid his head down beside her stomach, taking a moment to marvel in her beauty.

`She looks like an angel,' he mused, his honey coated orbs softening with love and veneration. Her silken tresses lay fanned out around her still form, her sun kissed complexion giving off a healthy glow beneath the white, paper thin sheets that covered her body. Her face was the epitome of relaxation and contentment, her pink, pouty lips that curved in a half smile acted as a beacon to his own as he placed a tender kiss on her luscious lips.

"I love you Kagome," he murmured softly against her unmoving lips. Abandoning the chair, Inuyasha took off his shoes and furtively climbed under the sheets with her. He shifted her immobile body so that her back spooned against his stomach and wrapped his arms securely around her tiny frame. The scent of jasmine and lilacs suffused all of his senses as he buried his head into the warmth of her neck.

"My angel," he whispered bringing her closer to his body before joining her in the land of the subconscious.

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AN: Hope you like. Twenty three friggin pages for you all, now I'm pooped. This chapter was kind of slow but took care of the necessary things that needed to be covered. For those looking for more Sango/Miroku interaction, future chapters will be more involved with their drama, but Inu/Kag always come first. Next chapter, next chapter is kind of like a turning point and is going to have a very interesting, yet sickening twist, so stay tuned.

Review and tell me what you think.