InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Therapy ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

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Author's Notes: Thanks to those reviewers, and I'm thrilled to see how many people have already visited this story. I hope you continue to enjoy!

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Title: Soul Therapy

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter: Five

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

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Kagome hadn't been kidding when she said that therapy would be harder as time progressed. Ever since that first moment when his legs had moved almost eight days ago, Inuyasha had been working himself so hard that he left every day with a sheen of sweat covering his body.

"Come on, push against me," Kagome said encouragingly. He grimaced and growled slightly at the effort.

"I'm trying, wench, what do you think I'm doing?"

"Well, you're not pushing as hard as you could, I know that much."

"What do you know? You're not in my fucking body!"

"No, but I do remember what you did yesterday." Inuyasha growled and shut his mouth, figuring it was pointless to argue any more, and pushed with all his might.

Kagome was currently supporting his left leg on her shoulder as she stretched his hamstring and then ordered him to push the leg down against her. He wasn't very flexible, his legs only managing to come about a foot off the table, but it was a start, and damn it nothing had ever been so hard to do in his life.

"There," Kagome finally said, and he relaxed, panting. "I think that's all we need to do for today."

"I'll say," he replied with a heavy breath, "I swear you're trying to kill me."

Kagome just laughed and moved him back on the table. "I'm going to get the ice packs, so just wait here."

She disappeared momentarily and then came back carrying several blue squares, which she folded over his legs. The usual shiver went up his body as she did so. This was his least favorite part of the whole therapy session, which, as of the day before, lasted two hours instead of one.

"Okay," she said, taking a timer and setting it for ten minutes, "We'll just leave you on ice for a while, and then I'll massage your legs, and then you're done," she said happily.

"Keh, you make me sound like a fish or something that needs to be kept cold." Kagome giggled.

"Whatever floats your boat Inuyasha," she replied. "I'm going to check on another patient, so I'll be back."

He nodded and leaned his head onto the soft pillow she had placed behind his head, feeling very comfortable, as his legs grew numb from the cold. Therapy, he had decided, wasn't so bad after all as he watched Kagome move next to an elderly man on one of the weight machines, smiling and helping him move his arm in the correct motion.

"Hey Inuyasha!" He growled. Okay, so maybe some moments it was that bad.

"Miroku, what do you want?"

"I just want to check and see how my new buddy is doing!"

"I'm not your new buddy, so leave me alone, I haven't slept for days."

"Alright, alright, no need to get all defensive." Miroku leaned against a nearby table with his usual smile in place. "So, how did therapy go today? I heard you and Kagome screaming at each other, so that must mean you got something done."

Inuyasha blushed. He and Kagome would fight with each other every day, and yet it was only then, when the adrenaline was pumping, that he actually got anything done, because he wanted to prove her wrong.

"Everyone was able to hear us fighting?" Miroku laughed.

"Yeah, we always know when you're here my friend, no question about it." He looked at Inuyasha again, this time more seriously. "To be honest, I've never seen Kagome this dedicated to a patient before. She obviously sees something in you that she likes."

"Keh, I don't know what you're talking about." But Inuyasha felt himself turning red again. Could that be true?

"Oh, don't read too much into it," Miroku continued as though Inuyasha hadn't even spoken. "She's always willing to go the extra mile for any patient who asks for it. But at the same time, you managed to pull her out of bed on a Sunday morning, and that's impressive."

Inuyasha felt his blood turn hot, recalling their intimate embrace that day. The feel of her body against him still seared his skin, and lately he couldn't get the memory of that moment out of his mind, which was a problem since Kikyou would frequently catch him daydreaming.

"She's, um, never done that before?" Miroku laughed at the comical expression on Inuyasha's face.

"No, not on a Sunday." His look turned serious again. "But seriously Inuyasha, don't read too much into it. After all, you've got a wife at home, and Kagome is young and naïve at times."

He bristled at the statement. "What are you suggesting, Miroku?"

"Nothing, I'm just telling you right now to be careful with her, and her heart. She's a dear friend, and I don't need her crying on my shoulder because of you."

Inuyasha growled. "I don't need your advice, because there is nothing going on between us. As you so casually pointed out, I am a happily married man." He smirked. "And you're sure one to talk, considering you grope every woman in sight."

"Hey, whatever man," Miroku put his hands up in defense, his expression relaxing. "I'm just telling you now, so that you can say you've been warned."

"Keh."

"What's going on over here?"

Both men turned to see Kagome smiling, and Inuyasha felt his heart melt. Since when did it do that? And what was he saying a minute ago about being happily married?

"I was just telling Inuyasha here to keep up the good work," Miroku said playfully, giving Kagome a hug before walking away, muttering something about finding Sango. Kagome just shook her head.

"I wonder what's gotten into him," she said softly, removing the ice and pulling out the familiar bottle of Vaseline. "Just ignore him Inuyasha, he's harmless."

"Yeah, whatever," Inuyasha recalled the seriousness of the man's words. Everyone in this place was obviously very protective of Kagome, though she had no idea. And, for some reason, he wanted to be that way too.

Her hands were familiar to him by now, and as she rubbed up and down his legs Inuyasha felt himself sinking into the table, completely relaxed. This was his favorite part of therapy.

"Kikyou's here, so I'd better make this quick," Kagome said as she worked, and Inuyasha felt himself tense at the mention of his wife. What would she think of seeing another woman rubbing down his legs?

He kicked himself mentally. Kagome was his physical therapist; of course she was going to touch him. Why did it seem like everyone else, including Kagome, understood that, but he insisted on reading too much into it?

"There, all done," Kagome said finally. He felt slightly disappointed.

"That was quick."

"Like I said, your wife is here, and we're running a little late. It's not fair to keep her waiting for too long since she is so diligent about dropping you off and picking you up every day."

Inuyasha nodded, and Kagome helped lower him back into the wheelchair. She started to walk away and let him find his way out, but he put a hand on hers, and she stopped with a blush. He could have sworn he felt a spark at the contact.

"Um, so how much longer do you think this is going to take?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much longer will I be in this dumb wheelchair?"

Kagome sighed. "I honestly don't know how long it's going to take you to get better, Inuyasha. All I can say is to keep working hard, and each day we'll try and push a little further through the pain."

He nodded. It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but at the same time it was something. He released her hand, and she started moving again as he followed.

Inuyasha was surprised to find Kikyou staring at them, and immediately feared she was making the wrong assumptions after seeing what he had done with Kagome. But when he looked closer, he noticed that her eyes had a sad, dark, regretful look, which was something he didn't understand, and she seemed, for a moment, to be looking past him. Maybe she hadn't seen anything after all.

"Hey you two, how did it go today?" she asked, and as though someone had waved a magic wand, Inuyasha was once more staring at the usual woman he knew to be his wife. Kagome smiled.

"It went great, I think he's making wonderful progress."

"That's good."

The two women chatted above him, and while Kagome seemed oblivious, Inuyasha could hear the difference in Kikyou's voice. It sounded, like her eyes, like she was sad about something. What could it be?

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Kagome said cheerfully, and Inuyasha nodded. She turned and walked back into the main gym, picking up a chart and disappearing into an exam room.

"Let's go," Kikyou said, and Inuyasha nodded, but not before he turned one last time to see if Kagome was going to reappear. Suddenly, her presence was like a light summer's day in contrast to Kikyou's strange, somber mood.

But she didn't reappear until after he was gone, and when she did Sango was giving her an appraising stare. "What?"

"Come on, spill it."

"Spill what?"

The woman rolled her eyes and laughed. "What's going on between you and Inuyasha? You've known him for over two weeks now, and anyone can see you two are attracted to each other."

Kagome blushed. "As if that mattered. He's married, remember? And his wife happens to be my cousin and an old friend. There's no way in hell this could go anywhere."

Sango sighed and seemed to relax. "Okay, I was just making sure you understood exactly what the situation was."

"What are you insinuating Sango?"

"Just that, well, you can be kind of naïve about these things sometimes, that's all."

"And I'm not in this case. I'm well aware of what's going on."

"Whatever," Sango stood up and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We're going out to that new club tonight, you interested?"

"Who's we?" Sango shrugged.

"The usual."

Kagome grinned stupidly. "We have got to get ourselves some new friends, you know that?"

"I hear ya," Sango laughed. "So are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

But in all honesty the club wasn't anything special, just the usual bar and dance floor, with the typical American menu of burgers and appetizers. But it was a change from the norm, and Kagome was always up for that.

"I'd say this place should go on our list," Miroku said casually as he leaned back in his chair after polishing off a bacon burger. Everyone looked at him.

"We have a list?" they all said together.

"Sure, the list of places we like to go eat after work." They all smiled and looked at each other.

"Or maybe we should start cooking for food, rather then wasting our fortunes on dinners?" Sango offered, to which everyone laughed. Kagome looked at Kouga, who had his arm around Ayame's shoulders.

"Nah, I think we should just have Kouga pick up the tab from now on." He blinked and smiled.

"And somehow, considering how much food Miroku eats, I think my fortune would be gone within a week."

"Hey now!" Miroku blushed as the others broke into laughter again. Sango patted him fondly on the shoulder.

"It's okay Miroku, we still love you."

"You do?" Their eyes met, and for a moment Kagome could tell they were lost in each other. But then, as always, Miroku's wandering hands ruined the moment.

"Hentai!" The other three just shook their heads and exhaled in frustration.

"Kagome, Sango, Miroku, oh my gosh! What's up?"

All three turned to see a grinning young man with brown hair and clear blue eyes smiling in their direction. Kagome blinked in shock, but then smiled. "Hojo! Wow, I never expected to see you after we graduated from college!"

The two embraced before the young man backed away to say hi to everyone else, and introduce himself to Kouga and Ayame.

"Have a seat," Miroku invited, pulling up a chair next to Kagome. Hojo smiled and nodded.

"Do you want some food?" She asked, blushing, but he shook his head. They had been friends since high school, but lost contact after college. Who would have thought they would meet up at a place like this?

"So what have you been up to, Higurashi? Are you still working at the shrine?" She blushed at the fact that he still addressed her that way.

"You can just call me Kagome, you know."

"Old habits are hard to break, I guess." He smiled, and she smiled back.

"I'm working as a physical therapist actually," she said finally, and glanced around the table. "We all are."

"That's great!"

"It is?" They all asked, having been expecting another comment about choosing a low-wage job.

"Yeah, I can't believe it. You're all living your dream!" They blushed, but Hojo seemed oblivious.

"And what are you up to now Hojo?"

"I'm actually studying marine biology in graduate school."

"Really?" Now that surprised her. He had always struck Kagome as someone who would turn out to be a novelist or something, not a scientist. "That's cool. What kind of marine biology? Whales?"

"Sharks, actually. I'll even get to go on some dives later this year in the Caribbean!"

"Wow," Kagome whistled, and Sango nodded. "That's impressive. You should take us with you. We could use a little vacation time, don't you all agree?"

"Definitely," Miroku chimed in. "Besides, what could be better then seeing you three lovely ladies in bikini's?"

Three lumps appeared on his head, and Miroku blushed as Sango shook her head. "Just once," she muttered, "Could you get your head out of the gutter?"

"Sango dear, it was just a harmless comment," he whined.

"Innocent in some other universe," Sango retorted. "And I'm not your `dear'!"

"Chill out, Sango, he didn't mean any harm," Kagome piped up, seeing that they were on the verge of world war III if no one stepped in. She then turned back to Hojo. "You should stop by the clinic some time, we should really keep in touch."

"Yeah, I'd like that. You just work in the main clinic in downtown?"

"The one and only," Sango replied for them all, taking a sip from her lemonade, still glaring at Miroku when she had the opportunity.

"Great, I'd like that. But for now, I have to get going, I'm here with some friends who probably think I am drowning in the toilet or something. I'll see you all later!" he rose to his feet.

"Bye Hojo," Kagome called as he disappeared into the crowd before muttering, "That was random."

She turned around and found that everyone was staring at her with curious expressions. She jumped back. "What?"

"You still like him, don't you?" Sango said playfully. Kagome blushed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Kagome likes Hojo?" Kouga had a puzzled expression, but everyone just rolled their eyes.

"In college Hojo would follow her around and give her presents all the time, like flowers and stuff. But they never got around to going out, because both were too shy to make the first move," Miroku explained. Ayame and Kouga nodded in understanding, and joined the interrogation.

"So you still like him then?" Ayame pressed.

"No!" Kagome replied, a little too quickly. Her friends just nodded their heads knowingly.

"And what about, `you should stop by the clinic some time'?" Miroku imitated her voice. Kagome blushed even more.

"That was just friendly conversation," she defended herself, "And you sounded nothing like me."

"Please Kagome, what would be so bad about liking him?" Sango continued. "A marine biologist and a physical therapist? That's certainly an interesting combination. Besides, you haven't been on a date in years."

By now Kagome was sure her face would be permanently red for the rest of her life. "I'm not interested in him that way, and my love life is none of your business."

"Well we'll just have to wait and see, wont we?" Miroku said casually as he eyed a waitress, who winked at him. He turned back with a smile, only to be clobbered by Sango once more.

"And you think I'm the one in denial?" Kagome coughed into her drink, causing Sango to turn her glare on her. Some things would never change.