InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As the Band Plays ❯ Deceptive Injuries ( Chapter 16 )

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

Ayame stood in the hospital room staring at Kagome's unmoving form. The doctor had told them that she had fractured her sternum. Nazuna was sitting in the same position in the chair on the opposite side of the room that she had been in since Kagome woke up, and the hospital staff had to pump her full of painkillers to knock her out and keep her from trying to leave. Sango and Inu Yasha were the only one's not there and Miroku was in the room next to Kagome's.
 
Kouga looked around with tired eyes. "Where the hell did Sango and Inu go?" he asked, a bit irritated.
 
Sesshoumaru shook his head as he sat next to Kagome. "I don't know where they are." Golden eyes scanned the bruised skin of Kagome's perfect face and the muscles tensed in his jaw causing his teeth to grind together.
 
Nazuna stared at Sesshoumaru and closed her eyes. Finally she reopened them. "I'm going to go cancel the concerts for the next week or two." Standing, she put a gentle hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, gave a squeeze, and then walked away.
 
Sesshoumaru hung his head as his hands clenched into fists trying to keep control on his temper. Kouga walked over to Kagome and brushed some of her hair out of her face. Bending over he placed a kiss on her forehead "Its going to be ok Kagome .We are gonna nail that bastard for you and Miroku I promise."
 
Kouga walked past Sesshoumaru and patted him on the back and then exited the room so he could be alone with her.
 
Ayame followed Kouga out, leaving the room in silence, save for the wheezing and clicking of the machines in the hospital. All of her vitals were stable, and Kagome was breathing normally, if not a little on the shallow side. Her hair was fanned out around her head like an ebony halo, due to Nazuna's nervous brushing while Sesshoumaru was out of the room filling out the paperwork.
 
 
Sesshoumaru sat there a few minutes after he finally regained his composure and just stared at the girl in front of him. "Kouga's right, Naraku will pay for what he has done to you and Miroku."
 
He ran a hand across his eyes as he felt a headache coming on from stress. Just then, he heard the door click and open. Sesshoumaru turned to see his little brother and Sango. "Where have you two been?" he asked as he eyed Inu Yasha. "And what is that horrible smell? It almost smells like gasoline..."
 
Inu Yasha ignored his brother and walked over to Kagome's bed. He didn't feel like arguing with Fluffy; he had a headache from Sango knocking him out earlier.
 
Sango glared at the back of Inu Yasha's head. "Naraku's local hideout went up in flames just now. Who knows if they escaped or not." She glanced at the girl in the bed. "What's the sentence?" she joked, half-heartedly, staring at Kagome's marred skin that was drained and pale that was usually glowing with life and love.
 
Sesshoumaru sighed. "Lets just say she is going to be out for a while. She's the equivalent of a car accident victim right now." He rubbed his aching temples. "Broken ribs, deep bruising of her lungs and a few lesser injuries that will heal with time."
 
Inu Yasha hung his head as his hands wrapped around the girl's bed railings. "It's my fault I let her get to close to me," the young man mumbled.
 
Sango snarled at Inu Yasha, venom dripping from her voice. "Knock it off. Or I'll hit you again and you'll be in a bed next to her." She whipped around, sick of listening to Inu Yasha's self-blame and stormed into Miroku's room, sitting by his bed.
 
Inu Yasha kept his head lowered so no one could see the tears in his eyes. "Well, I am sorry." He muttered and rushed past his brother and left the room.
 
Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome and touched her hand gently. "That's the first time I have seen Inu this upset since his mother died.
 
 
The girl in the over sterile bed finally opened her eyes and looked up. The pain killers were still in effect, but it still hurt to breathe and they had worn off enough for her to return to consciousness. "Inu Yasha?" she mumbled, thinking she'd heard his voice. Her eyes fell on Sesshoumaru and she smiled, beating down a strange rush of disappointment. "Oh, Sesshoumaru... I thought...." she shook her head slightly, carefully. “Is everyone ok?
 
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Everyone is fine. Miroku is in the room next to you and Sango is with him now." He sat down in the chair next to her bed. "Kouga and Ayame went to cafeteria to get something to eat. Inu Yasha is some where roaming around."
 
Kagome stared at him a few moments and nodded, trying to refocus everything in her mind. "And Nazuna?"
 
"Nazuna has gone to cancel the concerts for the bands for the next few weeks." he said as he offered her some of his soda. "Would you like some?" Sesshoumaru asked trying to change the topic before she got upset.
 
"What?!" The girl shot straight up in bed, before stabbing pains shot through her abdomen and chest, causing her to double over and clutch her sides, struggling to regulate her breathing again.
 
Sesshoumaru set the soda down on the counter next to her and pushed her back on to the bed gently. "It is for the best right now. Neither you nor Miroku are capable of performing."
 
Inu Yasha stood at the door listening to the conversation going on inside the room. He knew Kagome was going to be upset but it was for her own safety.
 
Kagome looked up at him. "Inu Yasha's ok, though?" She asked him anxiously, examining him as well. "You're sure?"
 
He nodded. “A little emotionally unstable, but that is Inu Yasha on a normal day," Sesshoumaru said with a slight smile. "You know how he is."
 
Inu Yasha snorted and then muttered to himself. "Unstable, my ass. I am perfectly fine."
 
Kagome heard him mumbling outside the door. She looked up at Sesshoumaru and then looked away. 'Does he hate me that much that he won't even come and see me?' she thought to herself, tightening her grip on the sheets. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself back down without alerting anyone to her riled state.
 
Sesshoumaru silently moved to the door and with one quick movement pulled it open. Inu Yasha caught off guard fell flat on the cold sterile tile of the hospital floor. His older brother narrowed his eyes at him. "Enjoying yourself Inu Yasha?" Sesshoumaru asked in a bitter tone.
 
Inu Yasha got up and dusted off his clothes though there wasn't anything visible on them. "If you're asking if I enjoyed my trip, then my answer is: yes very much so." Inu Yasha said as his voice dripped with sarcasms.
Kagome opened her eyes again at the sound of their arguing, but she rolled over, trying her best not to hurt herself and stared at the wall. If he didn't want to see her, she'd grant his request.
 
An orderly came up to the room and eyed the girl who appeared to be sleeping in the room and reached past the brothers pulling the door shut. "Mr. Takahashi? I have some inquiries on Ms. Higurashi's previous residence before she moved in with you, if you could follow me?"
 
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Right away .Inu Yasha, keep Kagome company until I get back." Before Inu Yasha could protest his brother was already gone with the orderly. Inu Yasha looked around nervously. "Do you need anything Kagome?" he asked quietly.
 
The girl didn't answer and bit her lip as hard as she could, trying to keep the tears pushed back. She closed her eyes and finally replied with a simple, strangled, "No."
 
Inu Yasha eyed her for a minute and then moved closer. "Hey are you ok?" he asked as he reached out for her, Inu Yasha pulled his hand back once he noticed it was still dirty from the gasoline and fire.
 
"I'm fine," she said, her control slipping and tears flooding her eyes, so she closed them, and they leaked through her lashes to stain her cheeks, and soak the sheets of her bed. Her indrawn breaths were shaky and her exhales sounded forced but she couldn't feel the pain in her chest over the pain she still felt from his words and actions.
 
Inu shoved his hands into his jean pockets "I have good news for you. I don't think Naraku will bother you anymore," he said as he scuffed his boot against the tile. "Neither will Kikyou and I am sorry to drag you into all this mess."
 
The girl stayed silent and opened her eyes again to stare at the wall, talking herself into calming down before she saw how stupid she was being.
 
Inu Yasha sighed. "I need to go and check on Miroku, I was going to before, but I came to see you first." He slowly turned and moved to the door. "I can't take away the pain or the scars, but I will protect you from it as much as I can." With that Inu Yasha swung the door open and walked out into the hall.
 
 
The orderly stared at the papers in front of him, "Now, before Ms. Kagome came to live with you, she lived alone, in the house her ex-husband left her in his will, correct?"
 
Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide. "Ex-husband? I had no knowledge of her having an ex what so ever...."Golden eyes focused on the papers before him a bit stunned.
 
The orderly blinked and raised his brows. "Well, I have all of her records here. She moved here three years ago with him and bought this house. He died a year ago, and she miscarried their child, and this current year, she started going back to school to support herself and get out of debt with the funeral and the doctor bills. Mr. Hojou Wantanabe's fortune took care of a lot of it, but she was fast running out, and was in and out of trouble with tax collectors, until she agreed to go back to school, continue her education, and find a decent job so she could clear up the rest of her debt."
 
Golden eyes blinked. "Are you sure you have the right woman? She never told any of us of any of this..." Sesshoumaru looked through the documents finding them authentic. The color drained from his face. "Well, it seems to be true. What do I need to sign?" he asked as he slipped his typical emotionless mask on.
 
The orderly glanced at him, scowling slightly. "Mr. Takahashi, there's nothing to sign. I asked you about her life at that residence, because from the examinations we've done, she seems to have obtained extreme bruising on her ribs and collar bone, but they're old injuries and already far into the healing processes, so we were wondering, since you didn't already know about her life before, if you could ask her about it. We can't figure out what could have caused that much damage to her body, and it certainly wasn't from some brawl between a bunch of teens."
 
Sesshoumaru rubbed his temple. "I'm sorry, it's just been a long day and everything is starting to get to me. But I will ask her about it." He let out a breath that he was holding. "I'm not saying she will answer, but I will ask." Tired eyes looked at the orderly. "Would it be a problem if I asked for something for a headache? I really need something before it gets worse.''
 
"Yes, of course," the orderly replied and led him back out of the room and down the hall.
 
 
Ayame walked back to Kagome's room to give her some of the ice cream she'd gotten, and had just opened the door, when she noticed that the bed was vacant. She didn't see the girl anywhere in the room. She dropped the ice cream and raced into Miroku's room to find Sango and Inu Yasha.
 
"Kagome's gone!"
 
Dark eyes widened as his heart jumped into his chest. "What do you mean she is gone?! I just came over here a few minutes ago!" Inu Yasha shouted as he burst from Miroku's room and ran down the hall to Kagome's.
 
As Ayame had said, the room was empty, and the IV and painkiller stand was still there, the needles ripped out and dangling from their respective bags. The window was closed tight and the curtains were drawn.
 
Inu Yasha spun around and frantically began to search for the girl. "Kagome!!" he yelled as he yanked open a supply closet and found nothing of any use to him. "Kagome this is stupid! It's not a time for damn jokes!" He screamed as he fought back tears that we building in his eyes.
 
Sango stood in the doorway where she had followed him and scowled as her cell phone rang. She didn't recognize the number on the phone, and picked it up. The color drained from her face as she stood there listening. Finally she shut the phone. "Inu Yasha, We have a problem. A big problem. Actually. Two big problems."
 
A frightened look spread across his features "What now?" he asked in a frantic tone.
 
"Naraku and Kikyou are still alive."
 
 
One of the nurses came rushing up to Sesshoumaru and the orderly. "Sir," she addressed the orderly. One of the patients just up and left. No sign of her. The one that came in with the boy in room b12."
 
"Kagome ..."Sesshoumaru muttered and rushed over to her room. He opened the door to find no one there. A grim look came across Sesshoumaru's face. "Where is that damn Inu Yasha?! I told him to stay with her!"
 
Inu Yasha flinched at the sound of his name being yelled. "How do you know they are still alive Sango?" he asked as he grabbed her by the elbow and led her down the hall.
 
Sango lifted her phone in the air and pointed. "I just got a call from Naraku saying that he knows where Kagome's going, and if he finds her before we do...." she stopped herself and looked at him. "We have to find her, Inu Yasha."