InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Finding Kagome ❯ Finding Kagome - Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

 

 

 

 

FINDING KAGOME

 

 

 

Chapter Twelve

 

 

 

 

 

Michael peeled into the driveway, honking the horn repeatedly, to pull attention to their arrival that much faster. Kagome had him scared, and he was not afraid to admit it. He saw a small group appear on the porch of the main house, as he slammed on the brakes. Jumping out of the car he began shouting.

 

“Ouna-sama!! Kagome... Some thing's wrong!” He ran around to the passenger side door, opening it as her mother rushed worriedly down the steps, followed by her gardener and handyman.

 

“What happened Michael?” she began questioning before she reached the car. She could see Kagome curled into as close to a ball as one could get while sitting in a bucket seat. Taki and Bo at her heels, she motioned for Bo, the strongest of the pair, to pick Kagome up. “Into the massage room, hurry...” she ordered. “Tell me on the way in,” she said to Michael taking his arm.

 

“She's in pain, that's all I know...” he reported as they rushed into the house, “She nearly ran us off the road, and she said it was Demons that that were causing it!”

 

“You encountered Youkai?? Where??” she demanded.

 

“Back on the highway, there was a limousine, we barely missed it when she lost control of the wheel,” Michael looked at Ouna frantically. “What is causing her so much pain??”

 

They entered a room that Ouna Higurashi devoted to her massage therapy clientèle, and she rushed to the table where Bo had laid Kagome carefully down, shooing both he and Taki out the door. Michael grabbed a small pillow from an over sized chair in the corner of the room, and brought it to Ouna who then placed it under Kagome's head, gently kissing her forehead as she moaned.

 

“Momma... make it stop, please??” she pleaded. She turned on her side and curled into a fetal position.

 

“This is more than Youkai, Michael... go into the kitchen, make yourself something to eat... I need to examine her,” Ouna ordered. At his hesitation, she made a sweeping away motion, “Go! I will be there shortly...” and he acquiesced, reluctantly.

 

Returning to her daughter, she placed a palm on her forehead checking for fever.

 

“You didn't tell me it would hurt this much, Momma,” Kagome panted slightly.

 

“It shouldn't, something else is going on, little one... roll over... on your back,” urged her mother, in full healer mode. Kagome obeyed, wincing with the pain on her left side. It was much more distinct now, more specific in location. “Describe the pain, what does it feel like... really think now...” urged her mother. She thought back over the last two days.

 

“It burns and sometimes it just pulls at me, you know? And other times it just feels like a knot is there,” she described.

 

“I want you to show me exactly where it hurts, little one,” and Ouna watched, fearing it was appendicitis. She breathed a sigh of relief when Kagome put a cupped hand over an area of her lower left abdomen. “When was your last moon?” she asked. Kagome looked up at her incredulously.

 

“My period, Momma...” she corrected, rolling her eyes. “I had my period last week.” Her mother could be so silly with her archaic terms for things, sometimes.

 

“Ok, good... now I am going to have a look-see. Unzip those britches... that's it...Try not to move, I will try not to make it hurt any more...” and she closed her eyes, calling on her innate energies, rubbing her hands together to warm them. Placing three fingers onto the area that she had been directed to, she gently massaged it, going deeper very slowly, feeling temperature changes and envisioning in her minds eye the body's structure in that region.

 

Kagome gasped, as she felt her mother's fingers reach a knot deep under her skin. It was not painful, as she felt it seem to move around at the touch, which was uncomfortable, though not painful, really. The fact that it was there at all was the frightening part. It didn't belong there. She had never noticed it before, and thoughts of cancer entered her mind. She tilted up her head to look at her mother's hands prodding her abdomen, to see a familiar light pink aura emanating from them.

 

“Momma... what do you think it is??”

 

Ouna Higurashi had been trained in both ancient and modern techniques, and had earned a reputation for being a good diagnostician. She had kept her practice to alternative therapies and stress reduction techniques, because to further her education to become a licensed physician would have taken too much time away from her daughter. Still, she was very adept at preliminary diagnosis, always cautious to refer her clients to a doctor for more in depth testing. This was going to be one of those cases.

 

“It's moving freely... feel that??” And she again pressed lightly. Kagome's quick intake of breath told her that she had felt it, as she waggled her fingers. “I can practically spin it around... It's not a tumor, and it's not an ovary... your appendix is on the other side... So” and she pulled her hand away, to look into the wide eyes of her daughter. “Your guess is as good as mine, little one.” She motioned for Kagome to redo her pants. “Does it still hurt as badly?”

 

Kagome finished buttoning, then took a deep breath and started to sit up. Wincing she pushed herself all the way up to a sitting position with her feet dangling off of the table.

 

“Weird, it's just tender now... not nearly as bad.” She tugged at the band of her jeans. “These aren't helping, I brought a skirt... I think I will put that on instead.”

 

“Good thinking... meanwhile I am going to call Feldman and see if we can get a scan done today. From there we can decide what to do,” and her mother raised an eyebrow at her. “Whatever it is, it will most likely have to come out,” and she frowned.

 

“Kami, momma!! I don't have time to mess around with some operation!” Kagome gasped. She had never had any serious injury, no medical procedure more serious than splinter removal , she didn't like the idea of someone cutting her. Even if it was for her own good.

 

“Go change, I will tell Michael that you are OK, and call the good doctor,” she smiled. “It's going to be OK, Kagome. You are strong like your namesake, everything is going to be fine.” She left the room to go seek Michael and get him calmed down, she never realized how excitable he was.

 

He was right where she had directed him, in the kitchen leaning back against the counter with a bottle of herbal tea in one hand and a sandwich in the other. He didn't appear to be as overwrought as she had expected. Inwardly she sighed in relief as she entered the kitchen.

 

“Higurashi-Sama,” he greeted her, mouth full, bending slightly at the waist.

 

“Good grief,” Ouna rolled her eyes at the formality with a mouthful of food. ”She's fine, I'm calling Feldman for a consultation.”

 

“Wait...” Michael nearly choked on his food. “Isn't he the oncologist???”

 

“Relax, Mikey-chan,” she put her hand on his shoulder and led him to a seat at the kitchen table.”You should sit when you eat... I'm just wanting him to confirm what I suspect is all.”

 

“You suspect Kagome has cancer??” Ouna began to rethink her assumption about him not being too excitable.

 

“No...no, no, no. It's something else. He has access to the equipment I need... for a more accurate diagnosis,” she smiled, though there was still a hint of worry on her face. “She's changing to something more comfortable, I'll be right back.” And she left the room, as Michael set down the sandwich, not really feeling hungry anymore.

 

He thought over the events of the morning. How cranky Kagome had been, and how he had teased her about her sexy dream, now he wished he could take it back. Perhaps he should introduce her to that buddy of his from the engineering department at Berkley. The guy was from a good family, and close to Kagome's age. It would do her good to have someone, to make their team a foursome. Granted, Houjo was a little stiff at times, but Michael was certain that he could get him to loosen up with a little effort. Anything to make Kagome happy. She was the sweetest girl he had ever known, and instead of shunning him for his wicked tendencies, she had shown acceptance, laughing off all of his advances without actually rejecting him. That took talent, and an amazing amount of class.

 

It was Kagome that had introduced him to Sally, and oh, what a gift that had been. His beautiful Selene Rodriguez, elder sister to a former student of Kagome's class, who had needed counseling due to a traumatic experience.

 

The two women had quickly become the best of friends, and one day Kagome had invited Michael along, for an excursion to Pier 49. He remembered the day fondly, touching his cheek where the young peace officer had slapped him several times. A year later he had proposed to her and miraculously, she had accepted, making him the happiest man on the planet. If only he could help Kagome find that kind of happiness...

 

“Mikey,” Ouna called, interrupting his reverie, as she walked into the room. “Can you drive us to the hospital?”

 

“Hospital??” He jumped, bumping the table, knocking over the bottle of herbal tea, which he recovered so quickly only a small drop was spilled.

 

“Nice catch,” she complemented him, with a hint of wonder in her voice. “The imaging equipment we need is there, Feldman has called in an order for Kagome, but we have to go right now.” and she nodded toward the door as Kagome came into the room in a gauzy calf length skirt.

 

Michael smiled at her, and resisted saying anything suggestive, though it was difficult for him. The skirt was very thin, and he could see the outline of her legs through it, which he admired for just a fraction of a second longer than he should have.

 

“NOT a word, Mikey-kun,” warned Kagome, as a blush brushed high on her cheeks. She looked at her mother and smiled sweetly as she took her arm, giving the lecherous psychologist a warning glare.

 

He raised his hands defensively. “My dear Kagome, did I say anything??”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The MRI took about 45 minutes, and Kagome tried to sleep through most of it, which proved difficult with the whirring and knocking of the device as it scanned her body. The good part was the chills had finally stopped completely, and the looser clothing had remedied the worst part of the pain. Now she was just feeling warn out, truly feeling her lack of good sleep the night before.

 

The three of them waited afterward in the hospital cafeteria, sipping on bad tea while the good doctor evaluated the findings as a favor to Ouna, who had been instrumental in some of his most successful cases.

 

“Well, I for one am glad we came when we did, Kagome-chan. The timing was just right. It would have been horrible if you had been alone when all this happened.” Michael reached for the small pitcher of hot water, and added another tea bag to it, hoping that would improve the flavor.

 

“We still have time, and neither of you have school this next week... am I right?” Ouna asked, glancing at Michael, who nodded, as he poured more into his cup.

 

“I was supposed to put in some time at the crisis center, but that's not imperative,” he responded.

 

“Well, good then! It's settled. You will both stay beyond the weekend. Perhaps Selene could drive up later?” she inquired.

 

“I'll call her in a bit, and see... with the promotion it's a little harder for her to get away. There's been a lot more activity for her department recently.”

 

“You must be so proud of her, Mikey.”

 

He nodded, beaming.

 

“Kagome...” he paused, formulating his approach to this delicate topic. “I have a friend, that I would really like for you to meet sometime...”

 

“Oh! No you don't!” She waved her hand, warding off the coming proposition, “No matchmaking, Mikey-kun.” She shook her head vehemently, as her mother watched on with amusement.

 

“But Kagome... He's a very nice guy! An engineer...” then turning to her mother for help, ”He's completing his masters at Berkley, and comes from a great family who also have roots in the Tokyo area...”

 

“You're barking up the wrong tree, Mikey.” She countered him, “If Kagome doesn't want to meet him, then there isn't anything that I can do.” And she raised her hands up.

 

“Someday, my prince will come... and he won't be an engineer!” announced Kagome.

 

“Maybe I shouldn't have let her see all those old Disney films when she was little,” Ouna commented winking at Michael, then glancing across the table at her daughter who sat with arms folded in stubborn refusal. “There aren't too many princes left out there, little one...”

 

“Sally thinks she's waiting for the Dog-Boy to show up,” Michael laughed as Kagome glared at him menacingly.

 

“Now THAT would be something... The way the legend goes...” Ouna looked up from the group as she heard her name.

 

“Ouna! It's good to see you!” Dr. Feldman approached the table where the three sat, weaving around the other deserted tables. “Kagome! How is school?”

 

“Ah, there you are Horace,” and Ouna rose up to hug the doctor, which Michael found fascinating, for some reason.

 

“We need to talk...” he whispered in her ear. “Now.” And he pulled her by the hand away from the others, “excuse us a moment, we will be right back.” Then as an afterthought as they were nearly out of the room, “That tea is terrible, you kids find something else, and put it on my tab.”

 

“Tab?” echoed Michael.

 

“That was weird,” observed Kagome.

 

“Have they got a thing... you know...” suggested Michael.

 

“I don't think so... Momma never said anything,” she looked thoughtful.

 

“Your mother is a beautiful woman, Kagome... It wouldn't be surprising for her to be involved with someone.” Michael rose to go see what other choices they had, beyond the bad tea.

 

“But she's my mom! I never really thought of her as having a... love life. She never seemed to care much about men, other than as clients at the retreat.” She sat back in her chair, pondering as Michael went the counter.

 

“Hey, they have some bottled herb teas!” He shouted. “Want one?”

 

“Yeah, OK... sure...” and she wondered how long they would have to wait, and why.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Ouna, you have to see this, I have seen some pretty strange stuff in my day, but this takes the cake...” the doctor was pulling her quickly through the hallways of the small hospital, toward an image viewing room. “ It's not an immediate danger, at least it doesn't seem to be, but I think we should take care of it right away. There is a strange iridescent quality to it.”

 

“Slow down Horace! Wait!!” She stopped just short of the doorway to his destination. “What are you saying??”

 

“Just come in here...” and he pulled her through the doorway into the room, where a series of films were hanging on screens. There were 10 in all, and he pointed to the first on the left side. “Look, here... and here...” pointing to a second one.

 

Ouna drew close to inspect the images. They showed at varying degrees a spherical object, positioned exactly between the skin and muscle, within the fatty tissue.

 

“Well no wonder she hurt so badly... she said it burned, look at the tissue damage here,” and she pointed out bruising on the muscle, and separation of the fatty tissue. “When is the soonest that you could operate? She has vacation right now...”

 

“Then let's do it, no time like the present,” he agreed. “I have the afternoon free, we could do it today, if she's agreeable.”

 

“I will go talk to her, do you have an anesthesiologist on duty?” Ouna thought for a moment, “It's too deep for a local, don't you think?

 

“Depends on the patient, you know your daughter and how she responds to trauma,” he responded. “This is not going to be that invasive, but some people don't handle it well.”

 

“Give me a few minutes to talk to her,” she nodded, as he pulled down the films, and headed out the door back to the cafeteria.

* * *

 

Ouna returned to the cafeteria to find Michael and Kagome looking very bored, still at the table, but with a couple of bottled teas instead of the bagged variety, and several origami swans and frogs, folded from napkins. This made her smile, as she joined them.

 

“I have good news,” she reported. This got their full attention as they both sat forward. “It is not a tumor, and it is easily removed. Horace says we can do it right now, if you are agreeable to it, little one.”

 

“An... operation?” a hint of panic crossed Kagome's features.

 

“Yes, but one that can be done outpatient, so you come home with me right afterwards. There are a couple of options, actually. You can go to sleep, and when you wake up it will be gone. Or you can stay awake, but the feeling from your waste down will be gone for a time. That's the kind of anesthesia that is used for C-sections.” Ouna watched her daughter's reaction. “Either way you will heal quickly, because... and this is the best part... it's just below the skin, so no muscle tissue will be involved.”

 

“Momma...” Kagome's eyes were wide, “What if I don't like either one of those options?”

 

“Certainly you don't want to just leave things as they are?” asked her mother.

 

“If it is so close to the skin, why can't I just get a local? Just numb the skin...”she considered the options. “I really don't want to be drugged up, Momma. And I hate the idea of losing the feeling in my legs.”

 

Ouna smiled inwardly. That's the Kagome I know. Tough it out.

 

“If that is what you really want to do, I am sure Horace will agree to it. We need to go to admissions and sign some forms.” Kagome nodded and they rose to go.

 

“Hey, what about me?” Asked Michael.

 

“Well, you can wait here and make us some more swans, or you can wait with me... ” Ouna grinned at him and then she winked, as he opted for the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *