InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing in the Dark ❯ Part Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kagome sat up in the hospital bed moaning. Everything had seemed fine here... the beds were nice, the food... passable, no roommates to bother her, everything was going great, except for the utter boredom. She threw herself back into her pillows flipping through the channels on her tv one more time. “I want out,” she hissed looking out her window, the only doorway she had to the outside world. Suddenly breathless she leaned back on the bed, taking a deep breath. The last few days she had been getting tired quicker. “My illness, I suppose,” she mumbled.

“You shouldn’t complain,” a small voice told her from the door. She turned her head slightly to see a very short, carrot head kid leaning in the door.

“Who’re you,” she asked somewhat happier.

“Shippo Kanaka.”

“Kagome Higurashi. So what are you in here for Shippo?” The small boy smiled, jumping up on her bed.

“Some disease.”

“You don’t know?” The boy looked at the folds on her bed sadly. Obviously he didn’t wanna talk about it, so she let it go. “So, what do you do around her for fun Shippo?”

Inuyasha growled as he slammed on the snooze button. His alarm protested, keeping up its shrill scream. His clawed hand came down on top of the alarm clock again, but the annoyance kept up causing Inuyasha to sit up. “What the hell,” he hissed, picking up the clock. “Huh?” He turned the small machine over looking for the glorious button that would allow five more minutes of sleep... but never found it. Annoyed, he got up remembering his appointment.

Kagome laughed, her rich voice reaching out over the entire room. Shippo looked up at her, trying to believe that she belonged in the hospital. He bit his bottom lip as he went back to concentrating on the video game they were playing in his room.

Kagome threw up her hands in victory as the opponent, AKA Shippo, KO-ed. “Kagome you win,” Shippo laughed. The older girl smiled down at the small boy.

“Again?”

“Yeah!” They restarted the game, and selected their characters. Kagome chose a muscular girl who wore the traditional clothing of a priestess, and carried an enchanted bow and arrow. Shippo chose a tall, muscular man whose character was an acclaimed demon.

“Game start,” the disembodied voice told them as the 3-2-1 countdown ended. Kagome sent her priestess to firing enchanted arrows at the demon who jumped around dodging them until he came close enough to attack her with a clawed hand.

“Dang,” she whispered trying a few more attacks her priestess had. Shippo pressed a complicated attack in, luckily, and the priestess girl instantly KO-ed. “You win!” Shippo did a small victory dance.

“Having fun,” a kind voice asked from behind them. They both turned, the small Shippo turning beat-red, as they met the candy-striper Sango Miyazaki. She smiled holding up a tray filled with medicine.

“Hey Sango,” Kagome laughed.

“Hi Sango,” Shippo chorused loudly, taking a dignified pose.

“Hey guys,” the girl laughed, coming into the room. “Time for medicine Shippo.” The boy’s face turned slightly green.

“Uh...”

“I’ll make Kagome take her’s too you know.” His face regained some color, but not much.

“Please Sango, I feel fine! Really!” Sango shook her head.

“No Shippo. If you take the medicine I’ll tell Kohaku to come over and bring you some more video games.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.̶ 1; Kagome smiled at the girl’s skill with small children. Sango handed Shippo the cup of bright red liquid, making him suck it dry. “Thanks Shippo, now no water.”

“I know,” he mumbled quickly concentrating on the video game. Kagome shrugged, standing up so she could stretch her legs out.

“Ah, Kagome...” Sango asked her quietly. Kagome looked at the other girl. Sango’s jet-black hair was pulled up into a ponytail so that it wouldn’t interfere with her duties, and her white uniform came to just above her knees. Kagome found herself suddenly jealous of the healthy, beautiful girl. Sango must have noticed Kagome’s appraisal because she coughed slightly. “Um... I was supposed to tell you that Dr. Kuyako wants to speak with you about some possible treatments... for your... uh...” she let it trail off in embarrassment. Kagome smiled slightly at her second friend in the hospital, in the whole city. After living in Tokyo for nearly three months, the only two friends she had made were Shippo and Sango.

“My leukemia,” Kagome asked in a light voice. Sango nodded confused. Most of her patients didn’t really... make light of their situation.

“Well... do you want me to walk you to him? Shippo should be fine for a while. If not I can come back and keep him company if you want.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shippo muttered distracted as his character tackled a giant, spider-like monster.

“Okay,” Kagome nodded. She followed Sango out of the room.

“Inuyasha,” his mother called down to him from the kitchen. He groaned, taking his hand off of the door knob.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you going?”

“Some school thing.”

“Are you lying?”

“No.”

“Are you telling the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Are you...”

“LET ME GO MA!” He threw the door open, stomping out to his car. “You’d think I never left home before,” he grumbled.

“Well Kagome,” her doctor told her without looking up from her file. “It seems that the treatment we have been giving you hasn’t been working. Can you tell any differences that you have not notified us of yet?” She resisted the urge to ask the woman if she thought that she wanted to die. According to Sango Dr. Kagura Kuyako was a good doctor... she was just... cold. Bright red eyes looked up at her from the brim of the folder. “Well?”

“No mam,” Kagome ground out.

“Interesting... well...” the woman sighed closing the file up and pulling out a pad of pink paper and a black pen. “I’m going to have to start you with Chemotherapy. Do you have any objections?”

“CHEMO,” Kagome stood up screaming. She brought up a hand to her head.

“Calm down,” Kagura snapped.

“Calm down? I’m going to lose my hair, doctor.”

“Sit down,” Kagura continued ordering in her cold voice. Kagome jerked her head negatively.

“Have you talked to my parents yet? I don’t want to lose my hair! I don’t want to have Chemo!!!”

“You’ll have it or die, you’re choice but I don’t lose patients, so I really don’t want you to die... just yet.”

“Have you ever lost a patient Ms. Kuyako,” Kagome demanded suddenly.

“Of course. Not everyone lives Miss Higurashi, certainly you know that, surely you aren’t as dumb as you look.” Kagome glared up at her doctor.

“Now. You’ll take the treatment, as I have recommended. You’re parents agree with me on this, so you have absolutely no choice. When you are eighteen, we can have this lovely conversation once more. Now, on Monday you’ll have a meeting with the doctor who will be giving you the treatment, Mr. Naraku Hoshiguru. You can leave now.” Kagome stood up abruptly, causing her chair to screech across the room.

Inuyasha burst through the doors to the Hospital, reeling when the pungent smell of sick, death, and hospital filled his nose. His unusually keen nose twitched in agitation as many of the people who sat idly in the waiting room gave him bored looks. “And who are you,” the receptionist asked in a slightly nasal voice. Inuyasha cringed slightly when the man looked up at him.

“Inuyasha Yoshiaki.”

“Ah... the new... whatever they’re calling you guys eh? Glad I don’t have your job... no money and you still have to be here. Depressing really.”

“Huh?” The man suddenly grinned evilly.

“So you don’t know eh? Hm...”

“Know what?”

“Never mind that! You’re to report to this room, here is your file of patients; you only get two of them, but everything in there is what’s wrong with them, their backgrounds, stuff like that. You’ll be working alongside Sango Miyazaki another senior and Tokyo High School. I don’t suppose you know her eh?” Inuyasha nodded absentmindedly as he leafed through the first couple of pages.

“Shippo Kanaka, illness: Lung Cancer, Terminal: yes,” he read silently. “WAIT,” he yelled suddenly. The receptionist looked up him mildly surprised. “You mean I have to talk to some kid who’s gonna die?”

“What you barely found out,” the nasal man asked. “Its your job dude.” Inuyasha was about to open his mouth, when he heard someone call out his name.

“Inuyasha?” He looked around to see Sango waving at him from an opened door. He crossed the room towards his friend.

“Sango did you know about this,” he demanded. Glaring at him, she dragged him into some sort of an office.

“Yes. I thought that you would at least pay attention to what Kaede told you...” she held the bridge of her noise as she felt a headache come on from Inuyasha’s ignorance.

“These people are dying!”

“I know,” she hissed in the most deadliest voice Inuyasha had ever heard Sango use.

“How can you expect me to deal with this,” he demanded. “I can’t handle comforting someone until they... they...” Sango looked up at him, her eyes shining with determination.

“Inuyasha, I deal with this daily... I’ve made friends with these people... you’ll deal with it the way you deal with everything. Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn compassion?” She snorted her opinion of that.

Kagome sighed. Then she rolled over, and sighed again. The third time she sighed, she sat up in her bed. “THIS SUCKS,” she hissed into the mirror. Her matted, black hair looked more like an aureole than anything else, her eyes had black bags under them, creating a very ‘deadly’ look.

“Well is sure likes like it does,” she heard a condescending voice. She whipped her head to the door where a fuming Sango and some other guy stood in the doorway. She witnessed Sango cuffing the boy on the back of his head murmuring an angry “shut up.”

“Kagome,” she added brightly. “How are you today? You look lovely!” Kagome stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes, using a brush to quickly tame her black locks. “So who’s this lovely person?”

“Kagome meet Inuyasha Yoshiaki. Inuyasha meet Kagome Higurashi,” Sango introduced them. Kagome smiled at the white-headed, amber-eyed teenager, expecting a pleasant hello back. Right.

“Sure,” he replied indifferently. “So what are you dying of today?” Kagome’s mouth dropped open as Sango rounded on him her face the very picture of Satan.

“INUYASHA YOU STUPID BASTARD!”

“WHAT?!”

“What is going on in there,” a voice familiar to Kagome’s ears demanded harshly. Dr. Kuyako stuck her head in the door glaring at everyone.

“Uh,” Sango mumbled trying to think up of a quick lie.

“Well,” Kagura asked in a tight voice. “Has our newest helper been harassing the patients?”

“No Dr. Kuyako,” Kagome quickly intervened. She saw Sango visibly relax as Inuyasha just looked out the window.

“Right,” Kagura answered her, leaving down the hall. “Don’t forget your appointment! Two more days!” Kagome sighed. How could she forget?

“What appointment,” Inuyasha asked, butting in. Sango and Kagome both shot him deadly glares over their shoulders. “Well?”

“Kagome here has Leukemia Inuyasha, do you know what that is,” Sango asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm for causing Dr. Kuyako to check up on them.

“You do? You don’t look like your dying,” he told Kagome staring at her intently. Kagome fidgeted under his scrutiny.

“Uh...”

“She can’t have Leukemia, that’s cancer and people who have cancer are old, bald, and ugly.”

“So you’re saying she’s pretty,” a squeaky voice asked. They all looked down to see Shippo standing in the middle of the group, sucking on a grape lollipop. Kagome found herself blushing at the remark, when she heard Inuyasha snort.

“Why the hell would I say that?” Her blush turned into anger marks at light speed.

“Shut up Inuyasha,” Sango intervened.

“Are you blind,” Shippo asked, antagonizing the boy further.

“Why is some small brat harassing us?”

“That small kid is a patient,” Sango hissed. “Meaning if you piss him off, WE could get fired.”

“And we need to be here... why?” Sango’s left eye twitched.