InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ You Are Not Alone ❯ Kagome's Sick!? ( Chapter 18 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Hello! Here's the next chapter, a sweetie I must say! A sweetie, but a shortie. Enjoy!

________________

Inuyasha waited patiently for Kagome to emerge from the front school doors. He waited for about seven minutes. Beginning to lose patience, he began to leave his seat on the bench until he saw a tired figure come out.

It was Kagome. She looked quite weary. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were squinted hard, despite the fact that it was a cloudy day and there wasn't much exposed sunlight. Her breathing was shallow as she approached the boy, and she tried to stand up straight.

"Hi, Inuyasha..." her voice was like a mix of a whisper and a sorrowless sob, full of fatigue. "Sorry I took so long..." her eyes then began to drift.

"Kagome, are you feeling alright?" Inuyasha asked, worried. He placed his hands on his shoulders as he looked intensely at her. He even shook her a little to try and rid her sleepiness.

"Earthquake...!?" she yelled in whisper form, as she tried to still herself. Inuyasha frowned as he placed his hand over her forehead.

"Kagome, you're burning up!" he said, taking his hand away and waving it to cool it. "Are you sick?"

"N-no..." she stuttered, beginning to wobble. Inuyasha attempted to keep her steady.

Her feet were sore and her legs felt weightless. She was lightheaded and her body burned with heat and shivered with cold. Her arms and hands were trembling as she panted heavily.

"Kagome." Inuyasha called.

Suddenly, Kagome's hearing failed. Her eyesight also began to falter as everything blurred into a mixed mess of many colors.

"Kagome!?" he called again.

She was beginning to lose track of her surroundings as she crept into unconciousness. A close but distant voice brushed her deadening ears before all went black.

"Kagome!!!"

---

Her head pounding like war drums, Kagome opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom. Moving a tad, she realized she was laying in her bed. Turning her head, she saw Miroku, Sango, Shippo, her mother, and Inuyasha all gazing upon her with worry. Her eyes blinked confusedly as she tried to comprehend the situation. Questions crowding her foggled mind, she tried to sit up.

"Whoa whoa, you're too sick to be getting up," Miroku told her, urging her to lay back down. With a short, weak moan, she slumped back onto her pillow. Her mother came over and placed a cool wet cloth on her brow.

"You just stay there and rest, sweetie," Kutako told her softly, and left to fetch her some medicine.

"Get well soon, kay Kag?" Sango asked her, patting her hand gently. Smiling weakly, she nodded at her as she and her big brother left the room. She then noticed the little ball of red hair staring at her worriedly.

"Kaggie, you're not dying, are you?" he asked quickly, tears brimming in his eyes. She laughed weakly, then coughed, before answering, "No, Shippo; I'm fine. I promise, I'll get better in no time." She gently patted the child's head, reassuring him.

"Really?" he pressed, pouting. She nodded.

"Can you get me some water, please?" she asked. Nodding confidently, Shippo sprung off the bed and out of the room.

Then she turned to Inuyasha. Despite her blurred vision, she could see the concern in those bright amber eyes she had come to love so much. They held their gaze for a minute until he got down on his knees at the bedside, facing her at fair level.

"You scared the hell outta me," he spoke quietly. She smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You know," she said. "Whenever I got sick, my dad would make me list all of the fun things we would do together as soon as I got better. Like I would say, 'We'll go down to the beach and eat tons of ice cream!' Or I would say, 'We'll make all kinds of food and have a food fight!' And then he would say, 'Wow! Can you imagine the look on Mom's face if she saw such a mess?" She coughed a little and continued.

"And to help me fall asleep, he'd hold me in his lap and stroke my hair slowly, humming nice songs to me until I dozed off. Sometimes I didn't even need medicine to get better. All I needed was someone near me telling me that they wouldn't leave me until I was up and great again. It's nice to have such attention from someone you care most about, isn't it..."

With that, her eyelids began sinking lower and lower until they totally eclipsed her tired chestnut eyes, falling into a peaceful slumber.

Inuyasha smirked when he saw she had fallen asleep.

He couldn't help but feel good inside to know that she shared a sweet memory of hers with him. Especially concerning her father. Miroku had told Inuyasha how their father had died of cancer when Kagome was only eight. She was devastated at his death, and even fell into a small state of depression. Even so, with the support of himself and their mother, she had managed to return to her old self. She tried to keep his memory alive by talking about all kinds of things they did together, whether they were happy or sad.

Inuyasha marveled at her. She could go through such hardships, and still come out smiling. Nothing could ever leave a scar on this girl. She was just too optimistic, oblivious, even, to even try to be distracted by all the bad things that happen in the world.

Inuyasha wished he could be as comfortable talking with her about his mother. He probably wasn't as emotionally destraught as Kagome was when she lost her dad. Yes, Inuyasha loved his mother very much, but nothing had urged him to cry a single tear when he heard of her death. He kept telling himself that he had to be strong about these kinds of things, that crying would only make you look weak. But looking at Kagome now, who weeped at the loss of her father, found ways to still be happy, it had made him begin to feel differently.

What was it with this girl that made him feel different? Nothing seemed right to him anymore since he met her. It all became so jumbled up, so confusing, that he wasn't sure how to deal with it. She was showing him such things so alien to him, but not as much as they were welcoming. He realized that he was never going to be able to fully understand this young girl, this Kagome Higurashi. The girl who always found her own "silver lining." He chuckled quietly. God, she was corny sometimes. But it was a type of strangeness that he had come to really like about her.

After staring at her beautiful sleeping face for a few more minutes, an idea popped into his head. He quietly exited her bedroom and asked her family if he could borrow their kitchen, but leave him be.

--

Kagome slowly woke up to a delicious scent tickling her nose. She turned her head to the side, her eyes fluttering open as she saw Inuyasha holding a bowl of piping hot stew.

"You awake?" he asked softly. She smiled, nodding slowly. "What's that?"

"Chicken dumplings," he answered. "This is what my mother would make for me whenever I was sick. I'd be feeling better in no time." He looked thoughtfully at her. Kagome could feel her heartbeat quicken as she listened to him and saw that look in his eyes.

"You made this," she stammered weakly, "...for me?"

Inuyasha dipped the spoon into the stew. He lifted it, blowing it cool, and moved it to her mouth. "Here, eat up." he urged. Not bothering to protest, she opened her mouth and captured the spoon in her mouth. The food was pleasantly good, and she shivered in delight as it warmed her throat going down.

"Mmm. Delicious." she whispered happily. Inuyasha grinned at her, obviously satisfied with her answer.

During the next hour, he continued to feed her until the bowl was completely empty. They sat together on her bed, watching her TV. Kagome subconciously leaned her head into his neck, finding his warmth pleasingly comfortable. Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him, leaning his head against hers. They stayed like that for another half hour until he heard her breathing even out, meaning she had fallen asleep. Inuyasha smiled to himself as he attempted to get up and tuck her in.

Suddenly, she gripped his t-shirt tightly, pleading in her sleep, "Please don't leave me, Inuyasha."

He was surprised to see such a reaction from her. He didn't seem to have much idea of how much she really needed him. Did she really need him? Did she want him near her to comfort her? He couldn't help but feel happy at these questions, judging by the answer she had just given him.

Carefully, as to not wake her, he picked her up bridal style and layed her down on the bed, bringing her covers up to her chin. She smiled a little as she snuggled her head into the pillow.

Inuyasha smirked as he picked up the empty bowl and made his way out the door. Before opening, he murmured to her, "Get better soon for me, Kagome."

--

Inuyasha trodded down the sidewalk to school almost completely absentmindedly.

"Inuyasha!" he heard someone call him. He turned around to see Kagome, waving at him and running towards him.

"Kagome!" he said in surprise. "You feeling better?"

"I don't think I've ever felt better!" she replied happily, raising her arms high in the air. "And it's thanks to you Inuyasha. Thank you." she said.

Inuyasha's cheeks flared. He began to stutter nervously, recalling the events of the other day.

"Yeah, well, uh--as long as your well, umm, then we can get back on with my tutoring!" he stammered, the hair on the back of his neck beginning to prick. She smiled.

"Of course." Then Kagome did something Inuyasha would never even believe would happen. She walked closer to him, and standing on her tiptoes, gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"You're always looking out for me. Thank you." was all she said, before walking down the sidewalk towards school.

Inuyasha was in absolute shock as he felt his cheek where her soft lips had touched. Also, to his surprise, it was somewhat of a good shock. Not saying anything, he shook himself before he caught up with her, both of them walking to school together.

'I think I'm gonna have a good day today...' he thought.