InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Therapy ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

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Author's Notes: Hello all, it's me again! So with three stories going at once, you all get to here from me practically every day, those of you who are reading all three of my stories! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I appreciate every last one of them, and wish I had the time to respond to them all.

I would like to make one general statement based on comments some of you have made. I have nothing against the profession of being a physical therapist, and do not believe it to be a bad job with horribly low wages. But my father is a doctor, and I have met several of his colleagues who sometimes think it is silly that someone smart enough to be a physical therapist would not choose to be a doctor instead. That is the approach I am taking with Inuyasha and his attitude. But it will change, I promise!

Also, I want everyone to understand that in this fic Naraku will make an appearance, however, unlike in all my other stories, he is not a bad guy per say. He will just be, well, you'll see. I can't go into detail because it will give everything away. And I must say, some of you readers are incredibly insightful, or maybe you're just really lucky, but either way several of you have hit the nail on the head as far as my intentions with this story. I won't say who exactly, because that would give too much away, but just know that several of you are right on.

For those of you who ask how I update so quickly, it is true that I pretty much plan out a story before I write it. Not down to the chapter necessarily, but I know where I want it to go and how I want it to end. Most of the time I try to avoid starting an idea that has trouble playing out in my mind.

Hopefully that answers some of your questions, and I hope that you all will continue to enjoy this story. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!

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Title: Soul Therapy

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter: Seven

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

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"Surprise!" Kagome was smiling and holding a pair of crutches out for him to see, and Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow in question.

"And what exactly are those for?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "You really are hopeless. They're to help you walk, obviously."

He widened his eyes in surprise. What did she mean by walk? He still hadn't been able to lift his legs completely off the table.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's time you get out of that chair and start moving. I think five weeks of therapy, suffice it to say, is enough prep time."

Had it really been five weeks? Inuyasha honestly couldn't remember a time in his life that had flown by so fast. When he had first started therapy, he expected it to feel like a lifetime, but now, five weeks into it, he was ready for more.

Over a week and a half had passed since they had their little conversation about Kagome's past, and her relationship with Kikyou. She amazed him. Every day she appeared with a smile, as though anything that was between them didn't exist, and only after spending the usual two hours in his presence did she seem to lower her guard. He loved and dreaded the idea of a three-hour session.

"I don't think I'm ready to do this," he finally said, accenting his point by rolling away slightly in his wheelchair. But Kagome smirked evilly and followed him slowly.

"You've been sitting in that chair for way too long, and the longer you do the weaker your legs will become, thus the harder it will be to start walking again."

"I'm already doing exercises for my legs, so they aren't weak."

"They are very weak Inuyasha. Almost to the point of no return already."

He grimaced and looked away. Why was he suddenly so afraid? "I'm just not ready."

"And what are you afraid of?" She asked, reading his mind. He looked up and met her gaze, which was full of the determination he should have been feeling at that moment. "Failure?"

"Keh," he grunted and looked away again. "Who's afraid of failure? Everyone fails."

"Then get up."

Inuyasha sighed dejectedly and looked at the crutches. On the one hand, the idea of being on his feet again was a seductively powerful thing. But on the other, he was terrified that he would fall, and prove that walking was impossible. What if Kagome gave up on him after watching the first attempt prove unsuccessful?

"Can't we just wait until later?"

Kagome softened her eyes as she looked at him, turning his head to face her. "There is nothing for you to be afraid of Inuyasha. And the longer you wait, the bigger this monster you've created will become." She smiled, and his heart flopped. "Trust me."

They stared at one another for several seconds, amber mixing with deep brown, and the rest of the world faded away. "I trust you."

"Higurashi!"

They jerked apart as Hojo appeared with a beaming smile. Kagome turned and smiled, a blush evident on her face, though Inuyasha was unsure if it was from their previously close proximity or because Hojo had walked in on a possibly compromising situation.

"Hojo! What are you doing here?" The young man smiled, his blue eyes dancing.

"I was on my way to a research seminar, and decided to stop by and see how you were doing."

"Oh," Kagome blushed again, "That's really sweet. What's your seminar about?"

"How to observe sharks underwater without alerting them to danger or making them territorial."

"Sounds really interesting."

"Yeah, I think it will be. Would you like me to take some notes for you to read later? I remember in high school you were really into science."

Kagome chuckled lightly at his naïve attempt at a romantic gesture. "That's okay, I have enough on my mind getting ready to go back and get a masters degree so that I'll be an athletic trainer as well as a physical therapist."

Both Hojo and Inuyasha stared at her, but Hojo was the one to speak up first. "You're going back to school? When did you decide this?"

"Actually, just recently. Sango and I decided we would go back together, and are currently trying to convince Miroku and Kouga as well that it's a good idea."

Hojo nodded. "I was going to say, because you didn't mention anything about that at dinner."

Inuyasha stiffened at the reference to the pair's date last Saturday. To his knowledge they hadn't been out since, but it still irritated Inuyasha to think that Kagome was out with another man, especially the ever-annoyingly-sweet Hojo.

"You didn't say anything about that to me," he muttered, and Kagome gave him a look that said she had forgotten for a moment he was there. That only managed to irritate him further.

"Nothing's been decided yet," Kagome commented generally to both men, looking at her hands, which were currently twisted at her waist. "Sango and I were just discussing the possibility. The benefit would be our salaries could almost double, and we would have the freedom to do more with patients."

"Well it all makes sense to me," Hojo replied with a beaming smile, "And I have faith that you can do it. I'll help you if you need anything, remember that Higurashi."

"I know." Kagome was going red again, and Inuyasha, for once, found the normally cute gesture annoying. Did Hojo really have that big of an effect on her?

"Well, I'd better get going, but I'm glad I stopped by. Hopefully we can go out again soon?" He had a hopeful look on his face.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later!" Hojo waved and walked toward the main doors.

"By Hojo," Kagome called, waving back before turning to face Inuyasha once more, the crutches still in her hands. He was giving her a hard look that said he was angry about something, and she cocked an eyebrow in response. "What?"

"Do you have to be so sickeningly sweet around him? It's nauseating to watch."

Kagome bristled at the harsh statement, noting the venom that was practically dripping from Inuyasha's lips. "Excuse me, but I will treat my friends any way I want to, and you can just suck it up and swallow back down any bile you get from watching."

"Keh, he doesn't seem like just a friend to me." Kagome whirled around and faced him, fuming. Why was this making her so angry anyway? Normally she would just brush off those comments like swatting flies. But then, this was Inuyasha, and not just anyone else.

"What are you implying?"

"Just that you two certainly seem to be hitting it off," he stated as though it were a bad thing.

"And so what if we are? It's not like it matters to you or your life. I'll still help you all I can, and when you're done every day you have a wife to go home to."

At that point they both had anger pouring forth like waterfalls, and the tension between them was growing. It was unbelievable that only a few moments earlier, before Hojo arrived, they had been tenderly gazing into each other's eyes.

"Don't you dare insult my wife."

"Who's insulting her? I merely said you have a wife to go home to every night, so it shouldn't matter what I do in my spare time."

"I don't care, except when it affects me directly, wench!"

"Deal with it! I deserve some happiness in my life as much as anyone does. Besides, you and Kikyou certainly don't refrain from kissing each other in front of me, so next time you accuse me of anything think about your own actions first Inuyasha!"

He practically growled, for some reason becoming angrier at the thought that she noticed when he kissed his wife. "We don't kiss in public, we peck each other on the cheek, and it's different. We're married."

"So what? Love is love, no matter what the situation."

"So you are in love with Hobo?"

"His name is Hojo, you bastard, and no I am not in love with him!"

"Well you sure as hell could have fooled me!"

"Bastard!"

"Wench!"

Kagome threw her hands into the air and stormed off, crutches and all, leaving Inuyasha in the middle of the room looking stupid. But it gave him a chance to realize how cruel he had just been, and at that moment if he had ears they would have drooped low against his head in shame.

Damn it, why did he get so riled up around her? Why did he care so damn much about what she did or didn't do with Hojo? Why, for that matter, did he have to care so much about her at all?

"Don't worry, she'll come around," a male voice said from behind, and Inuyasha turned around to find Miroku leaning against a weight machine casually, the usual passive expression on his face.

"Who the hell asked for your opinion?" Miroku shrugged.

"No one, but then I figured by the hang-dog look on your face that you were feeling pretty bad. So I just wanted you to know that Kagome will be back out shortly, she just needs to cool off."

"Really?" Inuyasha couldn't help the hope in his voice. He really hadn't meant to hurt her feelings that way.

"Oh yeah, she's the kind of person who doesn't hold a grudge against anyone, not for more then about five minutes any way."

And as if on cue, Kagome reappeared seeming much calmer, still carrying the crutches. When she met Inuyasha's gaze, she smiled warmly, all traces of anger gone, and he was taken aback. Usually when Kikyou was mad at him it lasted for several hours, if not the entire day. But this girl had forgiven him and was smiling again within a matter of minutes.

"I'm sorry about getting angry," she said quickly, still smiling, "And no, I'm not admitting that it was all my fault, but then I could have controlled my temper a little more. So can we call it a truce?" She extended her hand, and after a few seconds he took it and shook it firmly with a slight grin.

"Truce," he replied with a nod.

"Great, then lets get you started with your session." She held up the crutches once more, and he groaned.

"Are we going back to this again?"

"Yes, you didn't think I would forget about it, did you? You're going to get out of that chair today Inuyasha, mark my words, and nothing is going to stop you."

"Keh, you make it sound so easy."

"No, I didn't say that, I just said you would get out of the chair, with my help and the help of the crutches."

"Whatever, lets just get it over with then."

Kagome nodded and motioned for him to follow her over to the parallel bars he had been eyeing since his first day of therapy. He knew what they were for, and it scared him to death.

"Now," Kagome began, stopping and leaning the crutches against one of the bars, which came to her waist, "I'm going to help you out of your wheelchair, and then you are going to brace yourself against these bars with your arms, like this," she demonstrated by placing her body between the bars and supporting herself with one hand on each. "Got it?"

"Sure," Inuyasha shrugged, trying to look casual, though inwardly his mouth had gone dry. What if he couldn't do it?

"Okay then, here we go." She wheeled the chair in between the two bars and then wrapped her arms under his shoulders and across his chest in a very intimate embrace. He grew hot at the contact, but forced himself to stay focused. "On the count of three," she whispered. "One, two, three!"

And with one giant heave-ho Inuyasha felt himself rise out of the wheelchair and onto his legs for the first time in nearly five months. But his legs were, as Kagome said, unbelievably weak, and he began to pitch forward.

Moving quickly, Kagome shoved the wheelchair out of the way and caught him around the waist, pulling him back so that most of his body was leaning against her much smaller frame. He sucked in a deep, nervous breath and tried to chuckle; though it sounded tight.

"That was close," he muttered. "I told you I couldn't do it yet."

"You're standing aren't you?" Kagome replied in a hiss, obviously a little more concerned with holding him then in having a conversation. "Now put your hands on the bars like I showed you."

He obeyed, albeit hesitantly, so that finally he was managing to brace himself, somewhat, with his arm strength. He felt Kagome nod into his back, and slowly release him so that he was, in a matter of seconds, standing on his own. Sort of.

"Now what do I do?" he asked, feeling incredibly stupid. How the hell was he supposed to move?

Kagome moved around so that she was in front of him. "While supporting yourself with your arms, I want you to take small steps forward."

"How can I do that when I can still only move my legs halfway off the table?" It was true, he had made great progress so that he could lift his legs up off the table, but it wasn't much. And now she wanted to walk?

"You don't have to take giant steps, just little ones, like a shuffle. Anything to get your legs moving again and remembering what they're supposed to do."

He grunted and chose not to reply, instead focusing on moving his leg forward by trying to lift it like he did when sitting down on the table. Slowly, his left leg managed to move forward about an inch, followed by his right, until he had taken about six steps. But the small amount of movement had drained his energy, and before Inuyasha knew what was happening he started tumbling to the ground.

"Watch it," Kagome said quickly, once more saving him from eating carpet. He felt silly, his masculine side telling him that as the man he should be the one catching the woman, not the other way around. But his other side, the side that felt the pain coursing through his body at that moment didn't care. All that mattered was that she was the barrier between him and the floor.

"This is pointless," he panted. "I can't do it. So put me back in the damn chair."

"No."

"Kagome! Please, you don't understand!"

"I do get it!" She retorted, her temper, as usual, matching his own. She would not stand for his self-pity, nor would she allow him to create such a monster within himself as fear and doubt. "And you are still going to finish!"

Inuyasha felt like crying at that moment, literally. Why was she doing this to him? Why wouldn't she just let him back into his wheelchair, and go back to stretching his legs and giving him massages? Why was she making him do this when he wasn't ready?

"I can't!" he yelled back, resorting to the one thing that always made him at least feel more in control: anger.

"Yes you can!"

"No I can't!"

"Get over yourself and just do it!" She was really getting on his nerves now, and Inuyasha felt his temper flare once more.

"I can't, don't you get that? So stop making me do this and put me back in the chair!"

Suddenly Kagome stepped back and Inuyasha felt himself falling forward until he hit the ground, hard. He glared up at her, but she didn't seem to care. She leaned down and looked straight into his eyes.

"Listen, this is the way I see it. You have the potential to be just as healthy and normal as you used to be, but only if you push yourself a little further each day. You've fallen into a routine that has you lazy and accepting of your life in a wheelchair, and I won't stand for that, not when you can get better. I'll be damned if I let self-pity and fear rule your life, Inuyasha, so here's how it's gonna be: you either do it my way, or I'll just leave you there on the floor."

The certainty in her voice told him she was dead serious, and the look in her eyes was almost dangerous. Inuyasha glared back, but at the same time found himself looking away and mumbling a `whatever', allowing her to pull him back onto his feet.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Her voice was light again, and Inuyasha marveled at how quickly she could go from being intimidating to sweet and kind. It was a dangerously seductive combination in a woman, he decided, because he had not felt a stronger attraction then at that moment.

"No, I guess it wasn't" he replied, staring into her eyes, and the entire world seemed to halt. All that mattered was that she was young and beautiful and he was, for the first time, standing above her, like he should. In that position, he no longer felt like a patient with a therapist, but a man with a woman.

"Well," Kagome finally managed to say, breaking the haze, "You've done enough walking for today I suppose. There's no need to kill you your first time out."

The moment gone, Inuyasha sighed and relaxed at the idea of being put back into his wheelchair, but was shocked when Kagome wheeled it away and brought forth the crutches while he still supported himself on the bars. "What are you doing?"

"From this day forward, you are never going to be in that wheelchair again."

"What?" The tender feelings vaporized into thin air, replaced by complete and utter shock. What did she mean, never again?

"You heard what I said, you're never getting back into that chair."

"What the hell is this? How do you expect me to get anywhere?"

"With these," she replied innocently, holding forth the crutches.

"This is asinine," he muttered, but took the crutches anyway, allowing her to help move them under his shoulders. She just ignored him and finally stepped back.

"Now, walk toward me," she commanded, moving over beside one of the therapy tables. He groaned, but obeyed, and after nearly six minutes he managed to cover the few feet in her direction.

"I can't believe this," he said when he finally was being propped up on the table, his heart rate slowing down. "I'm never going to get anywhere."

"Yes you will," Kagome replied seriously, "Just not very fast."

"Oh shut up," Inuyasha replied, very annoyed at that moment. He honestly felt like scrunching up and literally pouting for the first time in years.

Kagome just laughed, and her laughter managed to calm his raging temper, somewhat. He couldn't figure it out. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stay angry with her once she smiled or laughed. And then, when his temper died down, he just felt stupid.

"Don't worry about it Inuyasha," Kagome soothed gently as she took out the familiar bottle of Vaseline. "Before long you'll be walking just fine, without crutches or my help, and then you'll wonder why we fought so much in the beginning."

Her touch, her scent, her very essence was intoxicating, and Inuyasha didn't respond as he leaned back into the pillow and let relaxation surround him like a warm blanket. Once he was better, he wouldn't need to go to physical therapy any more, hence he wouldn't need a physical therapist. Once he was better, he realized with a slight pang, he wouldn't need Kagome.

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"Kagome are you alright?"

"What?" The girl looked up from where she was sitting in the small café near the mall, sipping a hot cup of tea. Sango was staring at her intently with a knowing gaze.

"You were thinking about someone special," she said simply, and Kagome blushed, not denying it. "So who is it?"

"No one worth worrying about," Kagome replied with a dejected sigh. But her friend didn't buy it for a minute.

"Please, if he was so unworthy of your time then you wouldn't be zoning out in the middle of a Saturday afternoon."

"I said he wasn't worth worrying about, and I meant it." Kagome's voice was harsh, almost snappish, and Sango instantly realized she was touching on an extremely sensitive subject. She had an idea of who was on her friend's mind, but decided her life was more important then knowing the truth for sure.

"Remind me why we're here again?" Kagome finally asked after several minutes of silence, sipping her tea. The mood lightened instantly, and Sango smiled.

"We're here to buy dresses for that upcoming gala our boss is throwing to raise money for the clinic." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"As if he needs to raise money. Sesshoumaru has enough money to practically run the entire city on his own. But heaven forbid if he ever gave any of that up for a good cause."

Sango laughed. "I hear you on that one. But we shouldn't be too quick to judge, considering he is our employer, and the reason we can go shopping for dresses and food at all."

"And again I ask, why do we have to go to this gala?" The idea of spending an entire evening with stuffy rich people who she was trying to impress enough to donate money was not at all appealing, and Kagome felt like gagging at the very thought.

"Because he needs his best employees there to talk about how wonderful the clinic is, and what a great job we do for people. He will also be bringing in some of your best recovery stories."

"Yeah well, I still feel like I'm just being used as a pawn in this never-ending game of his to get money."

Sango grinned and winked. "Of course you are, as are we all. But that's not the point. The point is to be the best pawn imaginable so that you can move up the rung a little and become a bishop or something instead."

The chess analysis was too much, and Kagome started laughing without restraint, picturing herself, Sango, Miroku, Kouga, and Ayame as chess pieces with heads. It was certainly a unique way to look at life.

A flash of black and white caught her attention, and Kagome glanced to the left, out the café window. She noticed a man with long, flowing dark hair, dressed handsomely in a white business suit. She grimaced and leaned in to talk to Sango.

"I wonder where he gets his hair done."

Sango looked over at the man in question and giggled. "Indeed, I wish my hair was as flawless as that."

"It's a sad day when a man has better hair care then a woman," Kagome announced with a laugh, and the two girls both continued giggling into their drinks.

But suddenly Kagome stopped, and Sango noticed the instantaneous silence. "Kagome, what is it?"

She was staring out the window, a shocked expression on her face. Following her gaze, Sango realized the problem and gasped, nearly dropping the unopened package of sugar in her hand into the cup.

The man in the white suit had stopped just outside the doors to a large business building in downtown Tokyo, visible from across the street where the girls sat in the café. Low and behold, Kikyou had appeared with a smile and pecked the man on the cheek before embracing him in an obviously more-then-friends way.

"Kikyou," Kagome whispered, sounding both surprised and disgusted at the same time. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. What was the meaning of this?

As though her voice had carried through the glass and across the street, the older woman turned and glanced toward the café, her eyes meeting Kagome's. Shock was quick to register, followed by horror. Obviously, she hadn't wanted anyone seeing what was going on between her and the man currently at her side.

Kagome threw back her chair, feeling the beginnings of fury, for Inuyasha's sake, welling up within her like a hot spring that had been let loose. She barely heard Sango calling for her to wait, to let it go, as she stomped across the tiled floor and out the revolving door, into the street.

Kikyou just stood on the other side, obviously accepting the fact that a confrontation was unavoidable, and might as well be taken care of now. She stood, poised as always, as though she was a prisoner waiting for her sentence.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kagome finally shouted as she crossed the street. "And who the hell is he?" She pointed an accusatory finger at the man in the white suit.

"Kagome, please let me explain," Kikyou spoke softly, her voice as deep and monotone as always. The younger woman crossed her arms, waiting.

"Fine, you've got two seconds."

"This is Naraku, who I met while observing a case at the firm where I have an internship. He graduated from law school two years ago, and has been helping me since we met two months ago."

"Does Naraku know you have a husband? For that matter, does Inuyasha know about Naraku?" Kagome shot up a suspicious eyebrow. Kikyou lowered her eyes.

"Yes, he does, and he knows that we are just friends."

"Keh," Kagome grunted, ignoring the fact that she had just sounded exactly like Inuyasha, "You certainly didn't look like people who are just friends. Or do you practice the European custom of kissing your friends on the cheek?"

Kikyou blushed and looked at the ground, and when she looked up once more her eyes were full of a pleading sorrow. "Please Kagome, don't make a big deal out of this. I swear there is nothing between us, we are just very good friends."

Her older cousin had always been honest before, and yet a part of Kagome screamed that something wasn't right. Still, she finally nodded and looked away. "I didn't see anything today."

"Thank you Kagome." The younger woman shot a glare in her cousin's direction.

"But I swear Kikyou, if you do anything to hurt Inuyasha you will not be so lucky with me a second time." And with that she turned around and walked away, leaving her cousin and the man called Naraku staring after her with surprised expressions.