InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ Tug of War ( Chapter 83 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: saphira404 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.02.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.0K | Visits: 255 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.02.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.0K | Visits: 255 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 83: Tug of War
A/N: I am so sorry for the wait. I just have a lot going on right now… Not that you guys need to worry about that. Here’s your next chapter. I am so pleased to see a reader review; it feels great to know you guys are still reading, and liking the story.
Thanks to:
Snowfall (Asuka might surprise you, so don’t judge just yet. Sesshy is definitely not as strong as he would have been in the feudal era, which I am sure is something he must hate. No worries your review was funny. Because I wasn’t getting as many reviews as in the beginning of the story, I envisaged the idea of not posting the story on MediaMiner anymore, but after looking at the number of readers, I decided to keep posting on this site for now.)
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘Thinking& #8217;
“How dare you talk to Sesshoumaru-sama’s mother like this? She has been called here in order to save his life!” Jaken sputtered angrily. He brandished his little green fist angrily. Kagura was sure that the only reason he dared display his anger in such a way was that he was being protected by Asuka’s presence.
Kagura let out a sigh of pure relief. If anyone would be able to donate blood to Sesshoumaru, it would be his mother. Tears of pure relief and gratitude pooled inside her crimson eyes.
“You would do this?”
“Of course, I want my son to recover after all.” Asuka snapped as an answer to Kagura’s question.
“Then what are you waiting for?” The wind sorceress turned away from her future mother in-law to look at her fiancé’s personal physician. “You need to get her blood right now.”
“He will, the second you leave us.” Asuka grinned openly; she had just been handed the perfect opportunity to get her son rid of Kagura.
“What did you just say?!” The wind sorceress quickly turned back around to face the older dog demoness.
“Oh I think you have heard me perfectly well. I believe it is high time I have our family free of you.”
For a quick second Kagura could not help but wonder if she should laugh out loud; the words that had just come out of Asuka’s mouth were just too ludicrous to her. She decided against it however as the setting was not appropriate.
“So just to get rid of me, you would put your own son’s life in jeopardy? You’ve just officially reached a new low...” Kagura’s words caused Asuka’s golden eyes to briefly flash red. The older demoness however did her best to keep her anger in check.
“What kind of person do you take me for? I would never do such a thing. I have always had Sesshoumaru’s best interest at heart. I will save his life, but for this same reason I will have our family rid of you.” Even if she had been speaking to Kagura, her cold eyes went around the circle of men standing behind the wind sorceress, as if daring them to disprove her words; however, all of them, including Inuyasha, stayed silent.
On the other hand, Kagura was not one to sit back while she was being threatened, by Sesshoumaru’s mother of all people.
“Well it seems you might have some redeeming qualities after all… Anyway I think it is high time for you to accept the fact that I am with Sesshoumaru, and that I am not planning on going anywhere. Besides there’s nothing you can do about it…” Kagura briefly hesitated. This was not the perfect moment to tell her future mother in-law about her news, but she could not help herself.
“Especially now that Sesshoumaru and I are engaged.” Her little admission had the effect of a bomb on Asuka, which was not a surprise to Kagura. Ever since she had first met her lover’s mother, she had known that the other demoness hated her. Not that Kagura minded much, she returned the feeling whole heartedly.
To the wind sorceress’s dismay, instead of a scowl, Asuka displayed a bright smile.
‘Why the hell is she smiling at me like this?’ She could not help but wonder on the unusual behavior of the older inu youkai.
“Engaged you said? Really?” Asuka’s finely painted lips revealed her two pointy fangs as she let out a small chuckle which grated on Kagura’s nerves. “How come is it that I have not heard of this?” Her golden eyes rolled to the side to look at Jaken’s diminutive form. The small green kappa sputtered excuses, but was ignored by everyone.
“I am sure Sesshoumaru was going to tell you soon enough. Sorry to disappoint you, but it seems you will have to contend yourself with having me as a daughter in-law.”
“I will only believe this once I will see proof of it.”
As much as she knew she should not respond to Asuka’s baiting words, she could not help it.
“Sesshoumaru gave me Tenseiga as an engagement ring, unfortunately it’s getting resized right now, so until then you’ll have to wait for your proof.” The second Kagura spoke the words, she knew it had not been a good idea to tell Asuka about it. She could remember a comment Sesshoumaru had made when he had given her the precious heirloom pearl necklace the night of the gala almost a year ago.
‘He said that his mother would love to get her hands on the Takahashi family jewelry, but would never be able to…‘ This information coupled with the fact that his father had given Izayoi both the Tenseiga and the Tetsusaiga lead Kagura to believe that her fiancé giving her the precious ring would be the one thing Asuka would never be able to forgive her.
“I have never heard something so ridiculous. You lying slut. My son would never do something so stupid. I have taught him better. If you wished Sesshoumaru to be a living checkbook for you and your bastard child, you could have found better than your lies.”
Kagura was furious. She didn’t care that Asuka insulted her, but her daughter, her precious Kanna was off limits. She could feel her arms shaking in anger, but the fact that she was carrying Kanna prevented her from swinging a fist in Asuka’s direction. The wind sorceress however wanted to retort something to Asuka’s insinuations, but she did not have the chance.
“Kagura.” Suikotsu leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Let it go for now. I will look into it as soon as we are done with Sesshoumaru’s surgery. Time is of the essence.” Of course she knew he was right. Saving her lover’s life was the most important thing at the moment; more important than restoring her and her daughter’s honor.
Asuka being a dog demoness had easily picked up on Suikotsu’s words.
“Indeed. Take me to my son; I have wasted enough time here.”
Suikotsu nodded in assent to Asuka’s words, and after sending Kagura a long searching look, which she could not interpret, headed towards the elevators, Asuka and Jaken following closely behind him.
“Wow that was one tough bitc… woman.” Kouga amended. He had never met Asuka before, and even if he had been witness to the animosity between her and Kagura, he did not know how her relationship with Inuyasha was. The last thing he wanted was to rekindle his feud with the hanyou over a stupid comment.
The answer to his unasked question was soon to come. “Keh! ‘Bout time she left. I never could stand that bitch.” The hanyou turned his golden eyes towards Kagura, who he noticed was still fuming.
‘Kagome’s the one who has a way with words, but since she isn’t here, I guess I should try to make Kagura feel better...’ After taking a large calming breath, he started speaking.
“You don’t need to worry about her. The second Sessh is out of surgery, he’ll send her packing. It’s one thing for her to get money out of him, but another to insult you and Kanna like that.” He wanted to say more, but really could not figure out how else to cheer her up.
“Thanks Inuyasha. I know you’re right.” She smiled at him. She was surprised, yet touched that he had done his best to make her feel better.
“Feh! Don’t get all emotional on me now.” Obviously uncomfortable the silver haired hanyou scratched the back of his head with his sharp claws. “Anyways, we should move out of this corridor. Kagura you should head for the waiting room. I have to give Kagome a call, but I’ll meet up with you then.”
The prospect of resting during Sesshoumaru’s surgery was more than welcome. She was exhausted because she had not gotten a lot of sleep ever since her daughter had been taken away, and her arms were starting to ache as she had been carrying Kanna for a long period of time. Her daughter had grown a lot, and was becoming quite heavy for Kagura to hold.
“Isn’t it too early to call her?” Kagura asked giving the clock on the wall a quick glance.
“She has horrible nausea in the morning because of the baby, so she always wakes up early…” The hanyou informed her. He did not mention that he was sure his fiancée must also be very worried about their fates. As he spoke, even if he was ashamed of it, he could not help but look quickly at Kouga. The wolf demon had briefly dated Kagome, and as much as he hated it, Inuyasha was still a little jealous every time the wolf demon and his fiancée were mentioned in the same sentence.
Kagura could not help but smile slightly at Inuyasha’s revelations. She knew all too well the ailments that went along with pregnancy, and she could really sympathize with Kagome’s plight.
“If you think that’s bad, wait until your kid’s actually born. Nothing is worse than being kept up all night by a fussy baby. My girl’s a real wolf demoness, she can howl for hours on end. Don’t even get me started on four a.m. feedings…” Even if Kouga was complaining, after thinking about his beloved wife and their wondrous newborn daughter, there was nothing he wanted more than to go back home to them. However he knew there was something he needed to do prior to that.
“Yeah. Those were so much fun.” Kagura agreed sarcastically. “Not that you would remember those, right Kanna-chan.” Her daughter frowned in incomprehension, causing her mother to smile down at her before pressing a kiss to her downy forehead.
She then looked back to Inuyasha before addressing him. “If you plan on seeing Kagome, you might want to get checked out by a doctor. I’m sure she wouldn’t like to see how beat up you got by Naraku.” This was the closest she had come to asking about what had transpired when they had faced off earlier with her former employer. She had of course wondered about what had happened, but her fear for Sesshoumaru then argument with Asuka had taken all her attention.
It was however not Inuyasha who answered her question, but rather Kouga.
“Before you guys go off, I have something to tell you. Naraku is dead.” His bright blue eyes stayed stuck on Kagura, wondering how she would react.
“Good riddance. I’m glad he won’t be able to hurt us anymore.” She squeezed her daughter closer to her as if wanting to protect her. Kagura was surprised that she did not feel anything upon hearing of the death of the man who had raised her. No anger. No sadness. Nothing.
“Was it Sesshoumaru who…” She found herself unable to put her thoughts into words.
“Yes.” The police lieutenant answered even if he did refrain from telling her in what way exactly Sesshoumaru had killed Naraku.
“You’ll make sure nothing happens to Sesshoumaru, right?” Inuyasha asked. The last thing his brother needed was to have to deal with explaining himself to the police during his recovery.
“Of course Dogshit! What kind of demon do you take me for?” A truly offended Kouga retorted. Of course Inuyasha had no way of knowing that the wolf demon had been the one who allowed Sesshoumaru to kill Naraku.
‘It had to be done to make sure that monster would be out of everyone’s lives. If I was caught, I could always talk to the chief… He is Ayame’s dad, and he would understand if I told him Naraku really needed killing…’ Seeing the relief in Kagura’s face caused him to feel at peace about his decision. He had struggled with how he had allowed Sesshoumaru to do as he wished with Naraku, but now he was glad he had.
“Yeah, yeah whatever. Come on Kagura let’s get out of here.” Not even bothering to bid Kouga goodbye, he headed towards the waiting room of the surgical block. His plan was to make sure his brother’s fiancée and daughter were settled, then he would call Kagome and go back to Kagura, and wait until Suikotsu was done with Sesshoumaru’s surgery.
“Hey Inuyasha just wait for a sec’.” Kagura called after him. The hanyou paused, and sent her an annoyed look even if he did stop his progression. She then turned back towards Kouga, and with a genuine smile slightly bowed in his direction. The fact that she had Kanna at her hip made things a little awkward, but she managed. “I’d like to thank you for saving my daughter. I know we didn’t start on the right foot, but I’d like you to know I’ll always be grateful.”
“Geez you don’t need to do all that… I was just doing my job.” The flustered police lieutenant stammered. It was unusual for him to receive such gratitude from the victims he helped. “Anyways, I have to get going… I have a wife waiting at home. I’ll check back again to see how Sesshoumaru’s doing; although, I know that tough bastard isn’t going to let Naraku be the one who killed him.” With a final nod towards the wind sorceress, Kouga walked towards the exit.
For a long time Kagura’s crimson eyes followed his swinging dark ponytail. She then turned to join Inuyasha.
“Keh! How come I didn’t get a thanks?” The half dog demon slightly pouted. “I did get a busted cheek, and if you hadn’t noticed I’m still limping.”
“Stop whining. I’ll be sure to tell Kagome you were very heroic, she’ll be grateful and will nurse you back to health. Besides you’re a special case, we’re family.” She reached up to gently tug on one of his doggie ear, causing him to glare at her.
“Yeah yeah whatever.” Even if he tried hiding it, she did see his little pleased smile. He started walking towards the elevators, and Kagura holding on strongly to her daughter followed closely after him.
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“Why is it taking so long?!” Kagura shot to her feet. For the past seven hours she had been waiting for Sesshoumaru’s surgery to end, and to her dismay had not even received one word from anyone about how he was doing.
“You never have patience for anything, do you?” A mocking male voice asked. She turned around and was pleased to see Jakotsu smiling at her. She was relieved to see that he had not been badly hurt by the battle at the Magokoro warehouse, and had even taken the time to go home and change. The return of his trademark lipstick was a joy to see as well. Things were finally looking as they should to her.
“Bankotsu!” She then exclaimed when she saw the second member of the duo walk inside the waiting room. For the past two hours, Kagura had been alone, and having her dear bosses come keep her company would be nice.
Despite her protests, Sakura, Morio, Byakuya and even Hakudoushi had come to the hospital soon after she had been shown to the waiting room by Inuyasha. Rin and Shippou had stayed behind with Kagome who was looking after the two little ones.
Her newfound family members had kept Kagura company, and had done their best to cheer her up, promising to her that no demon as great as Sesshoumaru could be killed by a gunshot; she really wished she could have been as optimistic as them.
It was to Kagura’s insistence that four hours into Sesshoumaru’s surgery, her family left to go back home, taking a much exhausted Kanna with them. Now that Naraku was dead and gone, her mother had no need to fear for her safety.
‘Plus it would be unfair to keep Kanna stuck in this room. She needs her rest, and would be better off playing with Rin at the mansion then waiting here. Besides if Sesshoumaru was to…’ Even in her own head she could not put together the idea of her lover dying. ‘I have to keep thinking positively. I can’t doubt him in any way. Everyone’s right, Sesshoumaru is tough; he’ll be fine.’
Inuyasha had tried to resist when Kagura continuously asked him to go see a doctor and get some much deserved rest. He finally gave in when she mentioned how poor pregnant Kagome had to be scared for him. Reminding him of his fiancée and her delicate condition caused him to excuse himself one hour after the departure of the Fujibayashis. He planned to quickly check in with Kagome and Shippou, and promised to be back as soon as possible. Kagura was therefore left alone, waiting for some sort of news from the surgical operating room. She was therefore relieved when Jakotsu and Bankotsu came into the room; she really was in need of some sort of distraction.
“So we heard some lone demoness might be in need of a little company, and decided to volunteer.” Bankotsu’s words brought a smile to her lips. For the last hours she had spent alone in the waiting room, she had really started regretting asking everyone to leave. Waiting alone was not a fun thing.
“Not only have we come to offer you our bodies, and our minds, we’re also bearing a gift. Just be sure to keep an opened mind.” Kagura was wary of the mischievous grin Jakotsu displayed when he spoke; she could tell he was up to no good, her suspicions were confirmed when he turned his head to look at the door, an annoyed expression on his face.
“Come on out, what are you waiting for? You’ll mess up my introduction.”
“Jakotsu, I am really not in the mood for one of your…” Kagura never got the chance to finish her sentence. She was interrupted by the arrival of a newcomer. A young woman slowly made her way towards her. Her long pale hair ran down her hunched shoulders. It was only when she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that Kagura noticed her pointed appendage, and knew she was a demoness. The one thing other from how thin the woman was that struck Kagura was the slowly healing purple bruises marring her pale skin. She had had too many of those not to be able to sympathize with the unknown young woman.
“Please don’t be mad at them. They only did what I asked them to.” Noticing the incomprehension on the face of the wind sorceress, the woman quickly started speaking. “My name is Mayumi… I am the one who took Kanna from the daycare… I used to work for Naraku, but I…”
Averting her furious crimson gaze from Mayumi, Kagura turned her attention to her friends. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“I told you to keep an opened mind…” Jakotsu shrugged, clearly not impressed by Kagura’s anger.
“And I told you it was a bad idea.” Bankotsu pointed out to his lover.
“Oh shut up!” The young human snapped back. He then went towards Mayumi, and placed his arms on her frail shoulders. “Kagura, she only came here looking for your forgiveness, which you should give her, she did protect Kanna. She may have initially help Naraku, but in the end she turned on him. She’s the one who took your dear baby out of the warehouse, and brought her to safety.”
Kagura stayed silent for a long time, her crimson eyes taking in Mayumi. The younger demoness squirmed under her intimidating gaze, but did her best not to crumble.
‘I could have been in her shoes… I know all too well how Naraku can make someone do something they might not want to do.’ Even if Kagura tried blocking it, she could not help but think back to all the men she had sex with when she was working for Naraku.
“You came here to apologize, didn’t you?” She knew Mayumi probably did not deserve such a snappy tone of voice, but the wind sorceress could not help herself. After all the other woman had taken her daughter…
“Kagura-san I am so sorry. If I did not help him, Naraku would have killed my mother… I did not want to hurt your daughter, but I had no choice.” Mayumi felt tears of pain, shame and frustration burn her eyes, and did not try to hold them back
“Yeah, he has a tendency to threaten people like that…” Once again Kagura thought back to all the things she had done because of her so called father, and that she was so ashamed of. Even if she wanted to, she could not find it in her heart to hate the waif-like Mayumi. After all if Sesshoumaru had been able to look past the blemishes on her past, she could do the same for the other demoness.
“Sooo see Mayumi-chan, I did tell you Kagura would understand. She’s like a lioness, so if she hears you protected her precious cub, she’ll forgive you.” Jakotsu declared in a nerve grating sing-song voice. The wind sorceress rolled her eyes in annoyance, but Mayumi let out a small chuckle. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, and displayed a bright smile. It was only then that Kagura got the chance to see that the other demoness was actually quite pretty.
“I have to go see my mother. She was just admitted at Suikotsu-sama’s clinic thanks to Bankotsu and Jakotsu, and I do not want her to stay there alone.” Just thinking about what the two young humans had done for her sick mom made her eyes shine with tears once again, but this time of gratitude. “Thank you again for forgiving me, I know it must not have been easy.” With a final bow the frail and bruised demoness left the waiting room.
“Ugh you two… I don’t know if I should thank you, or throttle you!” Kagura tiredly rubbed her forehead.
“Hum if you were a hot guy, I would go with throttle…” Jakotsu chuckled at the glare she sent her direction. “Don’t be mad. We came to keep you company after all.” He settled in one of the seats provided by the hospital to allow friends and family members to wait comfortably while their loved ones were undergoing a surgery. Bankotsu followed his lead, and Kagura sat back in the seat she had vacated when Mayumi had come in.
“I know how to make the time go by faster, let’s tell each other jokes. I’ll start with some sexy jokes.”
“Jakotsu…” His boyfriend warned him.
“Oh come on lighten up honey, we’re among friends here. Besides Kagura doesn’t mind…” The young human turned his makeup adorned eyes from his boyfriend to his closest female friend.
“Well I…”
“See Banks, she’s just fine. Okay have you ever heard the one about the two guys in a bar?”
Kagura had no choice, but shake her head in bemusement. She simply did not know what else to do. ‘At least Jakotsu will be able to help take my mind off things… I just hope they finish the surgery soon, and that Sesshoumaru is alright.’
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“Kagura!” The wind sorceress felt someone shaking her shoulder, and her eyes popped opened. She blinked and it took her a second to remember where she was, and what had happened.
‘I must have fallen asleep…’ She was surprised to realize she was not in the seat she had been sitting on when she had been talking with Bankotsu and Jakotsu. She was in fact now lying on the only couch in the room, her arms folded under her head as in a makeshift pillow. ‘Jakotsu or Bankotsu must have moved me.’ The idea that they had been so concerned with her comfort warned her heart.
“I am sorry to wake you up, but it is necessary.” She bolted in a seated position when she realized who the voice belonged to: Suikotsu.
“How is Sesshoumaru? How was the surgery?” She noticed that he flinched, and her heart dropped; this did not look good.
‘Oh no no no. He had to be alright. I can’t imagine life without him.’ She felt a familiar prickling sensation in her eyes, but decided not to give into tears just now.
“I managed to remove the bullet entirely. It took longer than first expected because it exploded, and there were fragments all over the place. My team and I managed to get everything out though.” He reached one of his big hands up to rub his red rimmed tired eyes.
“But…” A male voice said. Kagura’s head whipped to the side, and she just realized that Inuyasha had come back.
“The reason I decided to wait before telling you about the results of the surgery is that I wanted to monitor Sesshoumaru a little bit longer…” The young doctor paused, thinking about the best way to let Kagura know about the situation.
“Why? Something happened. Tell me!” Kagura jumped to her feet, and stared up in Suikotsu’s dark eyes. She had to crane her head u to look at him because he was much taller, but she didn’t care nor was she intimidated.
“It might just be nothing, so I do not want you to worry.” The impatient groan Kagura let out pushed him to accelerate his explanation. “The anesthesia should have worn off a long time ago, but Sesshoumaru is not showing any signs of waking up any time soon… I have done surgeries on youkai before, but never has that happened before.”
“Might it be because of his strong demonic blood?” Miroku’s simple question caused the doctor’s face to go completely pale.
“It might be. From what I have learned from my father, different breeds of youkai respond differently to poisons and drugs. Sesshoumaru being a full-fledged poisonous youkai must have affected whatever drug you used for the anesthesia.” Sango volunteered. She was a descendant of generations and generations of demon slayers, and she had learned a lot about youkai from the knowledge her father had passed down to her.
“It is a possibility…” Suikotsu managed to choke out. ‘Surgeries on youkai are a rare thing, so I am not too sure how the anesthesia works the different breeds of them… If toxic blood has some sort of reaction to the sleeping drugs, then pumping Sesshoumaru full of more poison during the surgery might not have been the best idea… Not that I had a choice, he had lost too much blood, and his mother was the only one we could use for a transfusion. I just hope it didn’t make things worse.’ He ran a shaking hand though his short brown hair, a clear sign of nervousness.
‘Although I should have thought about that… We were running out of time, but I should have still consulted with one of my colleagues who are more versed in youkai… This is exactly why I told Sesshoumaru to find another doctor…’ Suikotsu suddenly felt very guilty. For a long time he had been worried about how he was caring for Sesshoumaru. The dog demon had refused to be seen by another doctor, one that would know more about youkai morphology. Despite how much Suikotsu had pointed out his shortcomings, Sesshoumaru had stuck with him. He claimed that he had helped finance the young human’s clinic only so as to have a private physician, and no one except Suikotsu would fulfill that role.
While the young doctor thought back about his many arguments with Sesshoumaru, something occurred to him.
‘If I take for granted the fact that it is the mix of toxic inu youkai blood and the anesthesia that has caused Sesshoumaru to slip into a coma, then maybe making him ingest some of the herbal tea might be able to help; after all it’s supposed to minimize the effects of his demonic blood. But then again, I am not sure it would be strong enough to do that.’
A few years ago when Sesshoumaru’s migraines increased in intensity, Suikotsu had done his best to recreate Izayoi’s herbal tea recipe, but had had a hard time with it. No matter how many times he had begged Sesshoumaru to ask his step mother for the actual recipe, he had adamantly refused, which the young human doctor had a hard time understanding. ‘Let’s just hope that this time around his pride won’t cost him his life.’
“So what, we’re supposed to just seat here and wait for Sesshoumaru to wake up?!” Kagura’s exclamation brought Suikotsu’s attention back to her.
“I am afraid this is our only option.” He agreed. “I would advise you all to go home, and get some rest. Especially you Kagura, you’ve been here since early this morning. If Sesshoumaru wakes up, we will contact you.”
“That will not be necessary.” Kagura instantly recognized the female voice that entered the room, and let out a groan of annoyance when she realized it was none other than Asuka… again.
The older demoness had taken the time to change. This time she was wearing a white tailored suit with a fitted silver colored skirt. It oddly reminded Kagura of Sesshoumaru’s favorite gray suit, the one he always wore before attending an important meeting. Just thinking about him caused her heart to pinch, so she focused her attention back on Asuka. Feeling anger was so much better than sadness and despair.
In Kagura’s opinion Asuka’s best fashion choice was to appear without Jaken yapping behind her and holding on to her robes. One thing that caught her crimson eyes was that the left sleeve of Asuka’s expensive suit was rolled up to reveal the pale skin of her arm, which was surrounded in gauze.
‘Who is she trying to impress? Just because she did her duty and gave her son some blood, she thinks she deserves a medal? She probably didn’t even feel the tiny prick of the needle, and the wound resulting from it certainly must have healed hours ago.’
Asuka noticed the direction of Kagura’s gaze and smiled. She reveled in the fact that she had been the one to help save Sesshoumaru’s life.
“I am sorry to have been late Suikotsu. I would like you to fill me in with all the information about my son’s surgery, but before I need to deal with something quite unpleasant.” The sound of several shuffling feet could be heard outside of the room, and Asuka’s smile widened. “Perfect timing, here they are.”
The older inu youkai stepped aside from the door to reveal a group of five big and burly hospital security guards.
“These are the people I want escorted out of here immediately.”
“What are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind?!” An enraged Kagura said. She had about had it with Asuka. She could take her insulting words, but the idea of separating her from Sesshoumaru was going too far.
“I was merciful, and allowed you to stay until the end of Sesshoumaru’s surgery. However it is now time for you to leave.”
“I am sorry to sound rude, but what exactly makes you think you may dispose of us?” Miroku asked. He was shocked to see that his boss’s mother was a woman of such beauty. As much as he wanted to comment her on her good looks, he dared not. The first reason was that if she was anything like her son she would melt his eyes with her poison claws. The second, and most important reason, was his girlfriend who was standing next to him.
“You all seem to forget something. Sesshoumaru is my son, and while he is incapacitated, I will be making decisions about his well being, and this includes who gets to see him, and how he is treated. I do have power of attorney over him, and am only acting in his best interest. Now either you exit quietly, or these gentlemen will help you.” The older inu youkai turned to look at the five men standing behind her.
“You can’t do this I am…” Kagura started and Asuka finished for her on a weary tone. “Sesshoumaru’s fiancée? Yes yes, you have said so several times, but have yet to provide any proof of this claim.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Inuyasha interrupted Asuka before she resorted to insulting Kagura once more. “I am Sesshoumaru’s emergency contact, and if something happens to him, he gave me the power of attorney thingy. He made me sign a bunch of papers about that a while back. He wanted to make sure I would be the one calling the shots if something like this happened. Guess the old bastard knows you a little too well.” The hanyou grinned in the direction of his half brother’s mother, knowing it would infuriate her beyond words.
Asuka did not bother answering. She snapped her fingers, and Jaken’s small form appeared from behind the tall security guards.
“Explain.” She simply told the small green demon.
He cleared his throat then opened his beak. “Sesshoumaru-sama has revoked this agreement a few weeks ago. My dear master must have finally realized how unfit you are.” Jaken’s bulging yellow eyes thinned as he glared at Inuyasha. He had never liked the hanyou, who he considered to be a stain on the perfect family tree of the Takahashi.
“What? That’s bullshit! He’d never do that…” Jaken interrupted Inuyasha’s statement by walking towards the half demon and thrusting a stack of papers under his nose. Knowing how much his best friend hated legal documents, Miroku stepped in. He took the papers away from Jaken, and swiftly scanned them.
“The papers state that Sesshoumaru indeed changed his wishes… It seems that without your previous agreement, his closest of kin is the person who gets to make decisions regarding him.” The purpled eyes human said through gritted teeth. He was convinced Sesshoumaru had not intended for things to turn out this way. ‘It is not like Sesshoumaru to change his mind like this. He must have had a plan. I’m sure he meant for Kagura to be the one to call the shots, but how to prove it?’
“Closest of kin. That would be me, and not Sesshoumaru’s half brother. Now do vacate the premises. This whole thing has become quite tedious.” Asuka raised her hand, and pointed towards the group, indicating the security men to get into action.
“We will do as you wish.” Miroku, ever the diplomat spoke for everyone.
“Miroku!” Sango could not help but gasp. She was not sure what her boyfriend was giving in so easily to a situation that was so obviously unfair.
“We have no choice…” He turned towards his lover, and she nodded in assent.
“The hell we do. Keh! What are they going to do? Beat us out of the place?” Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. If Asuka wanted a fight, he was more than willing to comply.
“I agree with cutie, if these men want to put their hands all over me, I don’t mind.” Jakotsu gently licked his lower lip, a deadly intent clear in his dark eyes. “I’m sure my dear Bankotsu wouldn’t mind.”
“Not in the least.” He agreed anger flashing in his cold blue gaze.
As touched as Kagura was at seeing how everyone was willing to fight for her, she did not want things to escalate.
‘They’ve all been hurt enough last night trying to get Kanna back for me. I can’t ask them to fight another battle in my place. There’s got to be some legal way to break Asuka’s hold over Sesshoumaru, and I intend to find it.’ The wind sorceress swore to herself.
“No. Miroku is right, we should leave.” Inuyasha, Sango, Bankotsu and Jakotsu turned around to glare at Kagura as if she had lost her mind, Miroku was the only one who sadly smiled in understanding.
“You are finally coming to your senses.” Asuka seemed pleased with Kagura’s answer. “Now Suikotsu why don’t you take me to my son while these people leave?”
He hesitated for a second. He deep down knew Sesshoumaru well enough to know that the latest developments would enrage him, but there was nothing Suikotsu could legally do. ‘If only we were in my clinic, and not in this hospital I might have had a chance to sneak Kagura in to see Sesshoumaru, but I am only a guest in this hospital… They were gracious enough to lend me an operating room to perform the surgery, so I doubt I will be able to bend the rules here… Not to mention that this Asuka woman seems to know the hospital regulations pretty well and would not be easy to fool. Maybe once we move Sesshoumaru back to my clinic I’ll be able to work something out…’
It was with heavy reluctance that the young doctor sent Kagura a saddened look before leaving, Asuka and a grinning Jaken trailing behind him.
“I can’t believe you’re letting that bitch win?! She won’t let you near her precious Sesshoumaru you know!” Inuyasha exclaimed. He hoped that his words would manage to get through Kagura this time around; it was not too late to catch up with Asuka.
“Contrary to what you may believe, Inuyasha, I haven’t given up. I am planning to fight, but instead of using your fists, I’ll be using my brain.” Her crimson eyes noticed how the security guards suddenly relaxed; they were not keen on the idea of fighting the group of strong people in front of them. “As soon as we get home, get Sesshoumaru’s lawyer on the phone, we’ll need him.”
To be continued…
A/N: Some complications with Sesshy’s surgery… hum wonder if he’ll make it. Asuka found a way to keep them apart, but Kagura has a trick up her sleeve. Will it work? We shall see next time in A Desperate Plea.
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A/N: I am so sorry for the wait. I just have a lot going on right now… Not that you guys need to worry about that. Here’s your next chapter. I am so pleased to see a reader review; it feels great to know you guys are still reading, and liking the story.
Thanks to:
Snowfall (Asuka might surprise you, so don’t judge just yet. Sesshy is definitely not as strong as he would have been in the feudal era, which I am sure is something he must hate. No worries your review was funny. Because I wasn’t getting as many reviews as in the beginning of the story, I envisaged the idea of not posting the story on MediaMiner anymore, but after looking at the number of readers, I decided to keep posting on this site for now.)
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…
“Talking”
‘Thinking& #8217;
“How dare you talk to Sesshoumaru-sama’s mother like this? She has been called here in order to save his life!” Jaken sputtered angrily. He brandished his little green fist angrily. Kagura was sure that the only reason he dared display his anger in such a way was that he was being protected by Asuka’s presence.
Kagura let out a sigh of pure relief. If anyone would be able to donate blood to Sesshoumaru, it would be his mother. Tears of pure relief and gratitude pooled inside her crimson eyes.
“You would do this?”
“Of course, I want my son to recover after all.” Asuka snapped as an answer to Kagura’s question.
“Then what are you waiting for?” The wind sorceress turned away from her future mother in-law to look at her fiancé’s personal physician. “You need to get her blood right now.”
“He will, the second you leave us.” Asuka grinned openly; she had just been handed the perfect opportunity to get her son rid of Kagura.
“What did you just say?!” The wind sorceress quickly turned back around to face the older dog demoness.
“Oh I think you have heard me perfectly well. I believe it is high time I have our family free of you.”
For a quick second Kagura could not help but wonder if she should laugh out loud; the words that had just come out of Asuka’s mouth were just too ludicrous to her. She decided against it however as the setting was not appropriate.
“So just to get rid of me, you would put your own son’s life in jeopardy? You’ve just officially reached a new low...” Kagura’s words caused Asuka’s golden eyes to briefly flash red. The older demoness however did her best to keep her anger in check.
“What kind of person do you take me for? I would never do such a thing. I have always had Sesshoumaru’s best interest at heart. I will save his life, but for this same reason I will have our family rid of you.” Even if she had been speaking to Kagura, her cold eyes went around the circle of men standing behind the wind sorceress, as if daring them to disprove her words; however, all of them, including Inuyasha, stayed silent.
On the other hand, Kagura was not one to sit back while she was being threatened, by Sesshoumaru’s mother of all people.
“Well it seems you might have some redeeming qualities after all… Anyway I think it is high time for you to accept the fact that I am with Sesshoumaru, and that I am not planning on going anywhere. Besides there’s nothing you can do about it…” Kagura briefly hesitated. This was not the perfect moment to tell her future mother in-law about her news, but she could not help herself.
“Especially now that Sesshoumaru and I are engaged.” Her little admission had the effect of a bomb on Asuka, which was not a surprise to Kagura. Ever since she had first met her lover’s mother, she had known that the other demoness hated her. Not that Kagura minded much, she returned the feeling whole heartedly.
To the wind sorceress’s dismay, instead of a scowl, Asuka displayed a bright smile.
‘Why the hell is she smiling at me like this?’ She could not help but wonder on the unusual behavior of the older inu youkai.
“Engaged you said? Really?” Asuka’s finely painted lips revealed her two pointy fangs as she let out a small chuckle which grated on Kagura’s nerves. “How come is it that I have not heard of this?” Her golden eyes rolled to the side to look at Jaken’s diminutive form. The small green kappa sputtered excuses, but was ignored by everyone.
“I am sure Sesshoumaru was going to tell you soon enough. Sorry to disappoint you, but it seems you will have to contend yourself with having me as a daughter in-law.”
“I will only believe this once I will see proof of it.”
As much as she knew she should not respond to Asuka’s baiting words, she could not help it.
“Sesshoumaru gave me Tenseiga as an engagement ring, unfortunately it’s getting resized right now, so until then you’ll have to wait for your proof.” The second Kagura spoke the words, she knew it had not been a good idea to tell Asuka about it. She could remember a comment Sesshoumaru had made when he had given her the precious heirloom pearl necklace the night of the gala almost a year ago.
‘He said that his mother would love to get her hands on the Takahashi family jewelry, but would never be able to…‘ This information coupled with the fact that his father had given Izayoi both the Tenseiga and the Tetsusaiga lead Kagura to believe that her fiancé giving her the precious ring would be the one thing Asuka would never be able to forgive her.
“I have never heard something so ridiculous. You lying slut. My son would never do something so stupid. I have taught him better. If you wished Sesshoumaru to be a living checkbook for you and your bastard child, you could have found better than your lies.”
Kagura was furious. She didn’t care that Asuka insulted her, but her daughter, her precious Kanna was off limits. She could feel her arms shaking in anger, but the fact that she was carrying Kanna prevented her from swinging a fist in Asuka’s direction. The wind sorceress however wanted to retort something to Asuka’s insinuations, but she did not have the chance.
“Kagura.” Suikotsu leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Let it go for now. I will look into it as soon as we are done with Sesshoumaru’s surgery. Time is of the essence.” Of course she knew he was right. Saving her lover’s life was the most important thing at the moment; more important than restoring her and her daughter’s honor.
Asuka being a dog demoness had easily picked up on Suikotsu’s words.
“Indeed. Take me to my son; I have wasted enough time here.”
Suikotsu nodded in assent to Asuka’s words, and after sending Kagura a long searching look, which she could not interpret, headed towards the elevators, Asuka and Jaken following closely behind him.
“Wow that was one tough bitc… woman.” Kouga amended. He had never met Asuka before, and even if he had been witness to the animosity between her and Kagura, he did not know how her relationship with Inuyasha was. The last thing he wanted was to rekindle his feud with the hanyou over a stupid comment.
The answer to his unasked question was soon to come. “Keh! ‘Bout time she left. I never could stand that bitch.” The hanyou turned his golden eyes towards Kagura, who he noticed was still fuming.
‘Kagome’s the one who has a way with words, but since she isn’t here, I guess I should try to make Kagura feel better...’ After taking a large calming breath, he started speaking.
“You don’t need to worry about her. The second Sessh is out of surgery, he’ll send her packing. It’s one thing for her to get money out of him, but another to insult you and Kanna like that.” He wanted to say more, but really could not figure out how else to cheer her up.
“Thanks Inuyasha. I know you’re right.” She smiled at him. She was surprised, yet touched that he had done his best to make her feel better.
“Feh! Don’t get all emotional on me now.” Obviously uncomfortable the silver haired hanyou scratched the back of his head with his sharp claws. “Anyways, we should move out of this corridor. Kagura you should head for the waiting room. I have to give Kagome a call, but I’ll meet up with you then.”
The prospect of resting during Sesshoumaru’s surgery was more than welcome. She was exhausted because she had not gotten a lot of sleep ever since her daughter had been taken away, and her arms were starting to ache as she had been carrying Kanna for a long period of time. Her daughter had grown a lot, and was becoming quite heavy for Kagura to hold.
“Isn’t it too early to call her?” Kagura asked giving the clock on the wall a quick glance.
“She has horrible nausea in the morning because of the baby, so she always wakes up early…” The hanyou informed her. He did not mention that he was sure his fiancée must also be very worried about their fates. As he spoke, even if he was ashamed of it, he could not help but look quickly at Kouga. The wolf demon had briefly dated Kagome, and as much as he hated it, Inuyasha was still a little jealous every time the wolf demon and his fiancée were mentioned in the same sentence.
Kagura could not help but smile slightly at Inuyasha’s revelations. She knew all too well the ailments that went along with pregnancy, and she could really sympathize with Kagome’s plight.
“If you think that’s bad, wait until your kid’s actually born. Nothing is worse than being kept up all night by a fussy baby. My girl’s a real wolf demoness, she can howl for hours on end. Don’t even get me started on four a.m. feedings…” Even if Kouga was complaining, after thinking about his beloved wife and their wondrous newborn daughter, there was nothing he wanted more than to go back home to them. However he knew there was something he needed to do prior to that.
“Yeah. Those were so much fun.” Kagura agreed sarcastically. “Not that you would remember those, right Kanna-chan.” Her daughter frowned in incomprehension, causing her mother to smile down at her before pressing a kiss to her downy forehead.
She then looked back to Inuyasha before addressing him. “If you plan on seeing Kagome, you might want to get checked out by a doctor. I’m sure she wouldn’t like to see how beat up you got by Naraku.” This was the closest she had come to asking about what had transpired when they had faced off earlier with her former employer. She had of course wondered about what had happened, but her fear for Sesshoumaru then argument with Asuka had taken all her attention.
It was however not Inuyasha who answered her question, but rather Kouga.
“Before you guys go off, I have something to tell you. Naraku is dead.” His bright blue eyes stayed stuck on Kagura, wondering how she would react.
“Good riddance. I’m glad he won’t be able to hurt us anymore.” She squeezed her daughter closer to her as if wanting to protect her. Kagura was surprised that she did not feel anything upon hearing of the death of the man who had raised her. No anger. No sadness. Nothing.
“Was it Sesshoumaru who…” She found herself unable to put her thoughts into words.
“Yes.” The police lieutenant answered even if he did refrain from telling her in what way exactly Sesshoumaru had killed Naraku.
“You’ll make sure nothing happens to Sesshoumaru, right?” Inuyasha asked. The last thing his brother needed was to have to deal with explaining himself to the police during his recovery.
“Of course Dogshit! What kind of demon do you take me for?” A truly offended Kouga retorted. Of course Inuyasha had no way of knowing that the wolf demon had been the one who allowed Sesshoumaru to kill Naraku.
‘It had to be done to make sure that monster would be out of everyone’s lives. If I was caught, I could always talk to the chief… He is Ayame’s dad, and he would understand if I told him Naraku really needed killing…’ Seeing the relief in Kagura’s face caused him to feel at peace about his decision. He had struggled with how he had allowed Sesshoumaru to do as he wished with Naraku, but now he was glad he had.
“Yeah, yeah whatever. Come on Kagura let’s get out of here.” Not even bothering to bid Kouga goodbye, he headed towards the waiting room of the surgical block. His plan was to make sure his brother’s fiancée and daughter were settled, then he would call Kagome and go back to Kagura, and wait until Suikotsu was done with Sesshoumaru’s surgery.
“Hey Inuyasha just wait for a sec’.” Kagura called after him. The hanyou paused, and sent her an annoyed look even if he did stop his progression. She then turned back towards Kouga, and with a genuine smile slightly bowed in his direction. The fact that she had Kanna at her hip made things a little awkward, but she managed. “I’d like to thank you for saving my daughter. I know we didn’t start on the right foot, but I’d like you to know I’ll always be grateful.”
“Geez you don’t need to do all that… I was just doing my job.” The flustered police lieutenant stammered. It was unusual for him to receive such gratitude from the victims he helped. “Anyways, I have to get going… I have a wife waiting at home. I’ll check back again to see how Sesshoumaru’s doing; although, I know that tough bastard isn’t going to let Naraku be the one who killed him.” With a final nod towards the wind sorceress, Kouga walked towards the exit.
For a long time Kagura’s crimson eyes followed his swinging dark ponytail. She then turned to join Inuyasha.
“Keh! How come I didn’t get a thanks?” The half dog demon slightly pouted. “I did get a busted cheek, and if you hadn’t noticed I’m still limping.”
“Stop whining. I’ll be sure to tell Kagome you were very heroic, she’ll be grateful and will nurse you back to health. Besides you’re a special case, we’re family.” She reached up to gently tug on one of his doggie ear, causing him to glare at her.
“Yeah yeah whatever.” Even if he tried hiding it, she did see his little pleased smile. He started walking towards the elevators, and Kagura holding on strongly to her daughter followed closely after him.
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“Why is it taking so long?!” Kagura shot to her feet. For the past seven hours she had been waiting for Sesshoumaru’s surgery to end, and to her dismay had not even received one word from anyone about how he was doing.
“You never have patience for anything, do you?” A mocking male voice asked. She turned around and was pleased to see Jakotsu smiling at her. She was relieved to see that he had not been badly hurt by the battle at the Magokoro warehouse, and had even taken the time to go home and change. The return of his trademark lipstick was a joy to see as well. Things were finally looking as they should to her.
“Bankotsu!” She then exclaimed when she saw the second member of the duo walk inside the waiting room. For the past two hours, Kagura had been alone, and having her dear bosses come keep her company would be nice.
Despite her protests, Sakura, Morio, Byakuya and even Hakudoushi had come to the hospital soon after she had been shown to the waiting room by Inuyasha. Rin and Shippou had stayed behind with Kagome who was looking after the two little ones.
Her newfound family members had kept Kagura company, and had done their best to cheer her up, promising to her that no demon as great as Sesshoumaru could be killed by a gunshot; she really wished she could have been as optimistic as them.
It was to Kagura’s insistence that four hours into Sesshoumaru’s surgery, her family left to go back home, taking a much exhausted Kanna with them. Now that Naraku was dead and gone, her mother had no need to fear for her safety.
‘Plus it would be unfair to keep Kanna stuck in this room. She needs her rest, and would be better off playing with Rin at the mansion then waiting here. Besides if Sesshoumaru was to…’ Even in her own head she could not put together the idea of her lover dying. ‘I have to keep thinking positively. I can’t doubt him in any way. Everyone’s right, Sesshoumaru is tough; he’ll be fine.’
Inuyasha had tried to resist when Kagura continuously asked him to go see a doctor and get some much deserved rest. He finally gave in when she mentioned how poor pregnant Kagome had to be scared for him. Reminding him of his fiancée and her delicate condition caused him to excuse himself one hour after the departure of the Fujibayashis. He planned to quickly check in with Kagome and Shippou, and promised to be back as soon as possible. Kagura was therefore left alone, waiting for some sort of news from the surgical operating room. She was therefore relieved when Jakotsu and Bankotsu came into the room; she really was in need of some sort of distraction.
“So we heard some lone demoness might be in need of a little company, and decided to volunteer.” Bankotsu’s words brought a smile to her lips. For the last hours she had spent alone in the waiting room, she had really started regretting asking everyone to leave. Waiting alone was not a fun thing.
“Not only have we come to offer you our bodies, and our minds, we’re also bearing a gift. Just be sure to keep an opened mind.” Kagura was wary of the mischievous grin Jakotsu displayed when he spoke; she could tell he was up to no good, her suspicions were confirmed when he turned his head to look at the door, an annoyed expression on his face.
“Come on out, what are you waiting for? You’ll mess up my introduction.”
“Jakotsu, I am really not in the mood for one of your…” Kagura never got the chance to finish her sentence. She was interrupted by the arrival of a newcomer. A young woman slowly made her way towards her. Her long pale hair ran down her hunched shoulders. It was only when she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that Kagura noticed her pointed appendage, and knew she was a demoness. The one thing other from how thin the woman was that struck Kagura was the slowly healing purple bruises marring her pale skin. She had had too many of those not to be able to sympathize with the unknown young woman.
“Please don’t be mad at them. They only did what I asked them to.” Noticing the incomprehension on the face of the wind sorceress, the woman quickly started speaking. “My name is Mayumi… I am the one who took Kanna from the daycare… I used to work for Naraku, but I…”
Averting her furious crimson gaze from Mayumi, Kagura turned her attention to her friends. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“I told you to keep an opened mind…” Jakotsu shrugged, clearly not impressed by Kagura’s anger.
“And I told you it was a bad idea.” Bankotsu pointed out to his lover.
“Oh shut up!” The young human snapped back. He then went towards Mayumi, and placed his arms on her frail shoulders. “Kagura, she only came here looking for your forgiveness, which you should give her, she did protect Kanna. She may have initially help Naraku, but in the end she turned on him. She’s the one who took your dear baby out of the warehouse, and brought her to safety.”
Kagura stayed silent for a long time, her crimson eyes taking in Mayumi. The younger demoness squirmed under her intimidating gaze, but did her best not to crumble.
‘I could have been in her shoes… I know all too well how Naraku can make someone do something they might not want to do.’ Even if Kagura tried blocking it, she could not help but think back to all the men she had sex with when she was working for Naraku.
“You came here to apologize, didn’t you?” She knew Mayumi probably did not deserve such a snappy tone of voice, but the wind sorceress could not help herself. After all the other woman had taken her daughter…
“Kagura-san I am so sorry. If I did not help him, Naraku would have killed my mother… I did not want to hurt your daughter, but I had no choice.” Mayumi felt tears of pain, shame and frustration burn her eyes, and did not try to hold them back
“Yeah, he has a tendency to threaten people like that…” Once again Kagura thought back to all the things she had done because of her so called father, and that she was so ashamed of. Even if she wanted to, she could not find it in her heart to hate the waif-like Mayumi. After all if Sesshoumaru had been able to look past the blemishes on her past, she could do the same for the other demoness.
“Sooo see Mayumi-chan, I did tell you Kagura would understand. She’s like a lioness, so if she hears you protected her precious cub, she’ll forgive you.” Jakotsu declared in a nerve grating sing-song voice. The wind sorceress rolled her eyes in annoyance, but Mayumi let out a small chuckle. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, and displayed a bright smile. It was only then that Kagura got the chance to see that the other demoness was actually quite pretty.
“I have to go see my mother. She was just admitted at Suikotsu-sama’s clinic thanks to Bankotsu and Jakotsu, and I do not want her to stay there alone.” Just thinking about what the two young humans had done for her sick mom made her eyes shine with tears once again, but this time of gratitude. “Thank you again for forgiving me, I know it must not have been easy.” With a final bow the frail and bruised demoness left the waiting room.
“Ugh you two… I don’t know if I should thank you, or throttle you!” Kagura tiredly rubbed her forehead.
“Hum if you were a hot guy, I would go with throttle…” Jakotsu chuckled at the glare she sent her direction. “Don’t be mad. We came to keep you company after all.” He settled in one of the seats provided by the hospital to allow friends and family members to wait comfortably while their loved ones were undergoing a surgery. Bankotsu followed his lead, and Kagura sat back in the seat she had vacated when Mayumi had come in.
“I know how to make the time go by faster, let’s tell each other jokes. I’ll start with some sexy jokes.”
“Jakotsu…” His boyfriend warned him.
“Oh come on lighten up honey, we’re among friends here. Besides Kagura doesn’t mind…” The young human turned his makeup adorned eyes from his boyfriend to his closest female friend.
“Well I…”
“See Banks, she’s just fine. Okay have you ever heard the one about the two guys in a bar?”
Kagura had no choice, but shake her head in bemusement. She simply did not know what else to do. ‘At least Jakotsu will be able to help take my mind off things… I just hope they finish the surgery soon, and that Sesshoumaru is alright.’
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“Kagura!” The wind sorceress felt someone shaking her shoulder, and her eyes popped opened. She blinked and it took her a second to remember where she was, and what had happened.
‘I must have fallen asleep…’ She was surprised to realize she was not in the seat she had been sitting on when she had been talking with Bankotsu and Jakotsu. She was in fact now lying on the only couch in the room, her arms folded under her head as in a makeshift pillow. ‘Jakotsu or Bankotsu must have moved me.’ The idea that they had been so concerned with her comfort warned her heart.
“I am sorry to wake you up, but it is necessary.” She bolted in a seated position when she realized who the voice belonged to: Suikotsu.
“How is Sesshoumaru? How was the surgery?” She noticed that he flinched, and her heart dropped; this did not look good.
‘Oh no no no. He had to be alright. I can’t imagine life without him.’ She felt a familiar prickling sensation in her eyes, but decided not to give into tears just now.
“I managed to remove the bullet entirely. It took longer than first expected because it exploded, and there were fragments all over the place. My team and I managed to get everything out though.” He reached one of his big hands up to rub his red rimmed tired eyes.
“But…” A male voice said. Kagura’s head whipped to the side, and she just realized that Inuyasha had come back.
“The reason I decided to wait before telling you about the results of the surgery is that I wanted to monitor Sesshoumaru a little bit longer…” The young doctor paused, thinking about the best way to let Kagura know about the situation.
“Why? Something happened. Tell me!” Kagura jumped to her feet, and stared up in Suikotsu’s dark eyes. She had to crane her head u to look at him because he was much taller, but she didn’t care nor was she intimidated.
“It might just be nothing, so I do not want you to worry.” The impatient groan Kagura let out pushed him to accelerate his explanation. “The anesthesia should have worn off a long time ago, but Sesshoumaru is not showing any signs of waking up any time soon… I have done surgeries on youkai before, but never has that happened before.”
“Might it be because of his strong demonic blood?” Miroku’s simple question caused the doctor’s face to go completely pale.
“It might be. From what I have learned from my father, different breeds of youkai respond differently to poisons and drugs. Sesshoumaru being a full-fledged poisonous youkai must have affected whatever drug you used for the anesthesia.” Sango volunteered. She was a descendant of generations and generations of demon slayers, and she had learned a lot about youkai from the knowledge her father had passed down to her.
“It is a possibility…” Suikotsu managed to choke out. ‘Surgeries on youkai are a rare thing, so I am not too sure how the anesthesia works the different breeds of them… If toxic blood has some sort of reaction to the sleeping drugs, then pumping Sesshoumaru full of more poison during the surgery might not have been the best idea… Not that I had a choice, he had lost too much blood, and his mother was the only one we could use for a transfusion. I just hope it didn’t make things worse.’ He ran a shaking hand though his short brown hair, a clear sign of nervousness.
‘Although I should have thought about that… We were running out of time, but I should have still consulted with one of my colleagues who are more versed in youkai… This is exactly why I told Sesshoumaru to find another doctor…’ Suikotsu suddenly felt very guilty. For a long time he had been worried about how he was caring for Sesshoumaru. The dog demon had refused to be seen by another doctor, one that would know more about youkai morphology. Despite how much Suikotsu had pointed out his shortcomings, Sesshoumaru had stuck with him. He claimed that he had helped finance the young human’s clinic only so as to have a private physician, and no one except Suikotsu would fulfill that role.
While the young doctor thought back about his many arguments with Sesshoumaru, something occurred to him.
‘If I take for granted the fact that it is the mix of toxic inu youkai blood and the anesthesia that has caused Sesshoumaru to slip into a coma, then maybe making him ingest some of the herbal tea might be able to help; after all it’s supposed to minimize the effects of his demonic blood. But then again, I am not sure it would be strong enough to do that.’
A few years ago when Sesshoumaru’s migraines increased in intensity, Suikotsu had done his best to recreate Izayoi’s herbal tea recipe, but had had a hard time with it. No matter how many times he had begged Sesshoumaru to ask his step mother for the actual recipe, he had adamantly refused, which the young human doctor had a hard time understanding. ‘Let’s just hope that this time around his pride won’t cost him his life.’
“So what, we’re supposed to just seat here and wait for Sesshoumaru to wake up?!” Kagura’s exclamation brought Suikotsu’s attention back to her.
“I am afraid this is our only option.” He agreed. “I would advise you all to go home, and get some rest. Especially you Kagura, you’ve been here since early this morning. If Sesshoumaru wakes up, we will contact you.”
“That will not be necessary.” Kagura instantly recognized the female voice that entered the room, and let out a groan of annoyance when she realized it was none other than Asuka… again.
The older demoness had taken the time to change. This time she was wearing a white tailored suit with a fitted silver colored skirt. It oddly reminded Kagura of Sesshoumaru’s favorite gray suit, the one he always wore before attending an important meeting. Just thinking about him caused her heart to pinch, so she focused her attention back on Asuka. Feeling anger was so much better than sadness and despair.
In Kagura’s opinion Asuka’s best fashion choice was to appear without Jaken yapping behind her and holding on to her robes. One thing that caught her crimson eyes was that the left sleeve of Asuka’s expensive suit was rolled up to reveal the pale skin of her arm, which was surrounded in gauze.
‘Who is she trying to impress? Just because she did her duty and gave her son some blood, she thinks she deserves a medal? She probably didn’t even feel the tiny prick of the needle, and the wound resulting from it certainly must have healed hours ago.’
Asuka noticed the direction of Kagura’s gaze and smiled. She reveled in the fact that she had been the one to help save Sesshoumaru’s life.
“I am sorry to have been late Suikotsu. I would like you to fill me in with all the information about my son’s surgery, but before I need to deal with something quite unpleasant.” The sound of several shuffling feet could be heard outside of the room, and Asuka’s smile widened. “Perfect timing, here they are.”
The older inu youkai stepped aside from the door to reveal a group of five big and burly hospital security guards.
“These are the people I want escorted out of here immediately.”
“What are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind?!” An enraged Kagura said. She had about had it with Asuka. She could take her insulting words, but the idea of separating her from Sesshoumaru was going too far.
“I was merciful, and allowed you to stay until the end of Sesshoumaru’s surgery. However it is now time for you to leave.”
“I am sorry to sound rude, but what exactly makes you think you may dispose of us?” Miroku asked. He was shocked to see that his boss’s mother was a woman of such beauty. As much as he wanted to comment her on her good looks, he dared not. The first reason was that if she was anything like her son she would melt his eyes with her poison claws. The second, and most important reason, was his girlfriend who was standing next to him.
“You all seem to forget something. Sesshoumaru is my son, and while he is incapacitated, I will be making decisions about his well being, and this includes who gets to see him, and how he is treated. I do have power of attorney over him, and am only acting in his best interest. Now either you exit quietly, or these gentlemen will help you.” The older inu youkai turned to look at the five men standing behind her.
“You can’t do this I am…” Kagura started and Asuka finished for her on a weary tone. “Sesshoumaru’s fiancée? Yes yes, you have said so several times, but have yet to provide any proof of this claim.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Inuyasha interrupted Asuka before she resorted to insulting Kagura once more. “I am Sesshoumaru’s emergency contact, and if something happens to him, he gave me the power of attorney thingy. He made me sign a bunch of papers about that a while back. He wanted to make sure I would be the one calling the shots if something like this happened. Guess the old bastard knows you a little too well.” The hanyou grinned in the direction of his half brother’s mother, knowing it would infuriate her beyond words.
Asuka did not bother answering. She snapped her fingers, and Jaken’s small form appeared from behind the tall security guards.
“Explain.” She simply told the small green demon.
He cleared his throat then opened his beak. “Sesshoumaru-sama has revoked this agreement a few weeks ago. My dear master must have finally realized how unfit you are.” Jaken’s bulging yellow eyes thinned as he glared at Inuyasha. He had never liked the hanyou, who he considered to be a stain on the perfect family tree of the Takahashi.
“What? That’s bullshit! He’d never do that…” Jaken interrupted Inuyasha’s statement by walking towards the half demon and thrusting a stack of papers under his nose. Knowing how much his best friend hated legal documents, Miroku stepped in. He took the papers away from Jaken, and swiftly scanned them.
“The papers state that Sesshoumaru indeed changed his wishes… It seems that without your previous agreement, his closest of kin is the person who gets to make decisions regarding him.” The purpled eyes human said through gritted teeth. He was convinced Sesshoumaru had not intended for things to turn out this way. ‘It is not like Sesshoumaru to change his mind like this. He must have had a plan. I’m sure he meant for Kagura to be the one to call the shots, but how to prove it?’
“Closest of kin. That would be me, and not Sesshoumaru’s half brother. Now do vacate the premises. This whole thing has become quite tedious.” Asuka raised her hand, and pointed towards the group, indicating the security men to get into action.
“We will do as you wish.” Miroku, ever the diplomat spoke for everyone.
“Miroku!” Sango could not help but gasp. She was not sure what her boyfriend was giving in so easily to a situation that was so obviously unfair.
“We have no choice…” He turned towards his lover, and she nodded in assent.
“The hell we do. Keh! What are they going to do? Beat us out of the place?” Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. If Asuka wanted a fight, he was more than willing to comply.
“I agree with cutie, if these men want to put their hands all over me, I don’t mind.” Jakotsu gently licked his lower lip, a deadly intent clear in his dark eyes. “I’m sure my dear Bankotsu wouldn’t mind.”
“Not in the least.” He agreed anger flashing in his cold blue gaze.
As touched as Kagura was at seeing how everyone was willing to fight for her, she did not want things to escalate.
‘They’ve all been hurt enough last night trying to get Kanna back for me. I can’t ask them to fight another battle in my place. There’s got to be some legal way to break Asuka’s hold over Sesshoumaru, and I intend to find it.’ The wind sorceress swore to herself.
“No. Miroku is right, we should leave.” Inuyasha, Sango, Bankotsu and Jakotsu turned around to glare at Kagura as if she had lost her mind, Miroku was the only one who sadly smiled in understanding.
“You are finally coming to your senses.” Asuka seemed pleased with Kagura’s answer. “Now Suikotsu why don’t you take me to my son while these people leave?”
He hesitated for a second. He deep down knew Sesshoumaru well enough to know that the latest developments would enrage him, but there was nothing Suikotsu could legally do. ‘If only we were in my clinic, and not in this hospital I might have had a chance to sneak Kagura in to see Sesshoumaru, but I am only a guest in this hospital… They were gracious enough to lend me an operating room to perform the surgery, so I doubt I will be able to bend the rules here… Not to mention that this Asuka woman seems to know the hospital regulations pretty well and would not be easy to fool. Maybe once we move Sesshoumaru back to my clinic I’ll be able to work something out…’
It was with heavy reluctance that the young doctor sent Kagura a saddened look before leaving, Asuka and a grinning Jaken trailing behind him.
“I can’t believe you’re letting that bitch win?! She won’t let you near her precious Sesshoumaru you know!” Inuyasha exclaimed. He hoped that his words would manage to get through Kagura this time around; it was not too late to catch up with Asuka.
“Contrary to what you may believe, Inuyasha, I haven’t given up. I am planning to fight, but instead of using your fists, I’ll be using my brain.” Her crimson eyes noticed how the security guards suddenly relaxed; they were not keen on the idea of fighting the group of strong people in front of them. “As soon as we get home, get Sesshoumaru’s lawyer on the phone, we’ll need him.”
To be continued…
A/N: Some complications with Sesshy’s surgery… hum wonder if he’ll make it. Asuka found a way to keep them apart, but Kagura has a trick up her sleeve. Will it work? We shall see next time in A Desperate Plea.
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