InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Another Time, Another Life ❯ Chapter 14

All Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter Fourteen:

Last Time:

Please don't cry. You know I always hated it when you cried.'

She nodded.

He smiled.

And suddenly she was no longer in the black void.

She could hear voices slowly filtering through to her ears.

It was still dark but she could clearly see light.

She slowly opened her eyes, careful of the light and the first thing she saw...

...

...

...was her mother flirting shamelessly with someone she could only assume was one of the hospital's doctors...a cute one at that.

This Time:

Kagome chose to stay quiet and observe the doctor and her mother. The doctor was a very handsome man and couldn't be more than 45. He seemed to be very attentive to her mother.

She couldn't help but smile a little as her mother giggled at some joke that the doctor had made.

Big mistake.

Her ever-attentive mother picked up the slight movement and she was busted.

"Kagome!" She shrieked and collapsed on her daughter's bed. "You're awake!"

The tears of the older woman were streaming down her face and soaking the horrible hospital blankets that covered Kagome.

The doctor walked up to the other side and started doing his doctor stuff. Kagome peered at the man curiously while he took her vitals and checked on her wounds.

Kagome's head was throbbing and she shrieked when his cold fingers touched bare skin on the back of her head.

Her eyes widened.

"My hair?" She said and immediately began searching for the place he had just touched.

"Kagome, it's okay. They had to shave off a small part of your hair so that they could stitch up the wound. It'll grow back." Her mother reassured her, trying to get her to put her hands back down.

Kagome look horrified at the doctor.

"My hair." She whimpered.

Mrs. Higurashi laughed and drew her daughter into a hug.

"Welcome back sweetie, I've been so worried."

Kagome just rolled her eyes and took in the rest of the room. There were flowers in extremely elaborate arrangements everywhere with random stuff animals, mostly wolves, speckled in between. Balloons, in various states of deflation, were hanging about as well and Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the pathetic state some of them were in.

"How long have I been out?" She asked the doctor.

He smiled at her. "Two weeks young lady and I do say that you've scared your mother silly."

Kagome ignored how he had scolded her like a father would his daughter.

"He's been gone for two weeks." Kagome mumbled.

Inuyasha had promised that Miroku would be there when she woke up but he was obviously not.

"Stupid baka, last time I believe anything a dead dog-eared hanyou ever says." She continued to mumble.

Mrs. Higurashi laughed nervously. The doctor just stared at her amused and yet slightly concerned.

"Must be some side-effect from being asleep so long, she's delirious." Her mother said trying to get her daughter to quiet down.

The doctor just nodded. "Quite possibly."

The door opened and an arguing Seiichi and Sota walked in. The two stopped dead in their tracks at an awake Kagome.

Sota let out a very girly squeal and ran to his sister. Seiichi started laughing but soon joined the boy in giving the girl a hug.

"Very manly Sota." He teased.

The boy turned beat red but chose to focus entirely on his sister.

"I'm so glad you're awake sis. I've missed you so much."

He was squeezing Kagome so hard she was having trouble breathing. He loosened up his grip in compliance with the doctor's request but didn't let go of her totally. Kagome smiled down at her brother and began running her fingers through his hair.

"Glad to see you awake." Seiichi said softly.

He didn't quite meet her eyes and there was a definite glimmer of guilt in them. She gave him a reassuring smile.

Her grandfather was the next to enter the room. Seeing his granddaughter awake again, he broke down in tears and had to be helped to a chair near Kagome's bed by Seiichi.

He gave her a hug through his tears and then sat back to regain his composure.

The next to enter were Ayumi, Yuki and Eri followed by Koga, Hakkaku and Ginta. They all looked rather surprised to see Kagome awake and after a moment of shock all circled the bed in excitement.

Kagome smiled at her friends and answered their questions politely but she was anxious to see the one person that was promised to be they're waiting for her.

She kept her eyes on the door. Everyone seemed to be aware of her stare and whom she was waiting for and a heavy silence fell on the group.

Finally Koga spoke up. "Um, Kagome. M-Miroku...well..." He began, trying to find the nicest way of saying they had no clue where he was.

Suddenly Kagome grabbed her pillow and flew it at the door. It was caught before it hit the face of whoever had just entered.

"Geez, is that any way to greet me?" Miroku chuckled as he brought down the pillow.

He looked fatigued and about ready to collapse but he was there standing in the room smiling brightly.

"Jerk, you were supposed to be here when I woke up!" She accused and then chunked another pillow at him.

"And why on earth did you skip town. You stupid baka."

"Kagome? How did you know he left town?" Seiichi asked curiously.

Kagome ignored him and continued to glare at the boy in front of her. He was just smiling like he knew something she didn't.

"Stop being a jerk Miroku." A deep, silky voice said from the hallway.

Miroku's smile got even bigger as he stepped out of the way and allowed the owner of the beautiful voice step in.

He was tall and elegant with deep red hair that was freshly cut. He had green eyes that were deceptively serious and he allowed just a small amount of playfulness to come through.

Koga, Ginta and Hakkaku recognized him at once.

"You went to go get Shippo?" Ginta asked confused.

Kagome gasped and allowed her hand to come to her mouth.

"S-Shippo?" She asked uncertainly.

He simply nodded and came up to the woman he used to consider his mother figure. He sat on the edge of the bed and collected her in his arms.

"I was in one of my estates where I don't keep a phone, the only way to reach me is through email which I had forgotten to give to Koga or Miroku so he had to come all the way out to get me. Poor guy too, it wasn't an easy task. I planned and built out that estate myself so it was impossible to reach by normal people." Shippo explained.

"So you were supposed to be my pleasant surprise?" Kagome asked smiling.

Again, everyone looked at her curiously. She shrugged them off and turned her attention back to Miroku.

"Thank you." She said, tears coming to her eyes.

Shippo stood and motioned for everyone to leave the room. Mr. Higurashi, who was now seated comfortably in the chair, fussed about leaving his granddaughter.

"Just for a moment, sir. I think they need a moment." Shippo said politely and helped the man up.

He guided everyone out and shut the door but not before giving them a mischievous wink.

Miroku walked up to the bed and stood beside it. His hands were shaking and he didn't seem to know what to say.

Kagome shifted over and pulled back the covers.

"Come one, you look like you need more rest than me."

Miroku hesitated for a moment but eventually took off his shoes and climbed in next to her.

"Thank you, for everything. Inuyasha told me you were the one who rescued me." She said softly once he was comfortable.

"Inu...yasha?" He asked thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, I got to talk to him. He was the one who told me you had left town but he promised you would be here when I woke up and that you would have a surprise for me. He also told me about the promise you made, the one to protect and watch over me."

"You talked to Inuyasha?" Miroku said finally allowing the concept to sink in. "How is the old bastard?"

Kagome laughed and settled against Miroku's shoulder.

"Surprisingly calm and extremely intelligent. I didn't think it was him at first."

"Yeah sounds like an imposter. Our Inuyasha could never stay calm and lets not even get into his inability to grasp basic concepts."

The lights flickered and a growl pierced the room. The two people paused briefly before beginning to laugh.

Miroku stopped first. He moved his arm to encircle Kagome's shoulders and she made herself comfortable in the crook of his arm.

"I failed though." He mumbled trying not to look at her.

Kagome stiffened as she remembered the pain. She shook her head and squeezed his waist.

"That...was an accident...he could have done worse and you didn't let him. Thank you." She struggled to get out.

She was holding back tears and Miroku seemed to notice that this was the end of the conversation.

Turning slightly so he could wrap himself up completely against her, he kissed her temple gently.

"I'm tired." He said bringing a giggle from the sobbing girl next to him.

"Then let's go to sleep." She said snuggling up against him.

Shippo and Koga smiled next to the door. They had been listening to the whole conversation. The two nodded at each other and then began to guide the whole group down to the cafeteria, leaving the two teenagers inside to sleep.

* * * * *

Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I know I seem bitchy about reviews and I understand that sometimes you simply don't have all that much to say other than 'good job'. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful for the responses I've gotten to my fics. At least I'm not one of those people who demand a certain amount of reviews before I update (to me that is just wrong).

Well one chapter remaining and I'll try to make it as long as possible and I'll try to put a lemon or two in there. I'm still trying to plan out this last chapter so I'm not sure how much in the future it's going to be (it could be anywhere from a day or two to several months or even longer). I guess we'll both be surprised.

please don't forget to review. thank you.

Until Next Time...

Sfae