InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ You Wouldn't Understand ❯ Waking Nightmare ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Something tells me that my throat would be slit by Kagome before an hour was up if I owned Inuyasha. Thus, I have (quite wisely) decided to make no move to own him.

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"Kagome!" Souta cried as his sister's eyes opened slowly. The young woman immediately clapped her hands over her ears.

"Ow! Not so loud, Souta!" she protested.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he murmured. "But now that you're awake, what's with all the presents?"

Kagome blinked, taken aback. "Huh?" She looked around the room, and sure enough, there were piles upon piles of expensive-looking gifts. Her mouth dropped open. "What the…"

Souta lifted the tag on a huge box of Belgian chocolates, holding it close to his face. "It says, `Get well soon, Miss Higurashi.'"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I don't care what it says. Who's it from?"

Her little brother looked at the scrap of paper again. "Uh…the Takahashi family. Who's that?"

The young teacher shrugged. "Takahashi…" she said thoughtfully, tapping her lips. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers, an invisible light bulb going off in her head. "Sesshoumaru Takahashi! The Chief of the Youkai Council. I spoke to him before the presentation last night. But why would he send me all of this?" she mused. "Could it have been another Takahashi, perhaps?"

Souta clapped a hand over his mouth. "That guy! The one who called last night!" he exclaimed.

Kagome looked at him oddly. "Who called?"

"Inuyasha! The one who hit you," he explained impatiently. "He said his name was Inuyasha Takahashi. He must be trying to bribe you!"

Kagome giggled. She hadn't been planning to sue, but who was she to say no to all these free gifts? Especially when so many of them were huge gift certificates to trendy shops she'd normally have no access to.

With that particular mystery taken care of, Kagome pulled herself into a sitting position gently. "So has anyone told you how long it'll be until I can go home yet?" she asked, popping a piece of British toffee in her mouth from the bag on her bedside table.

"Miss Higurashi! You're up," a cheery, yet professional, voice called from the hallway. Kagome looked over to the door to see a young man in a white coat entering. A huge grin graced his lips and she secretly wondered how his face didn't just split in half. "I'm Doctor Takeda," he introduced. "We met last night, but you were pretty out of it, so I won't be offended if you don't remember." His grin brightened. Kagome was beginning to wish she had sunglasses. "Now, could I speak with you in private, Miss Higurashi? Your brother can go wait outside for a moment." The doctor nodded to Souta, who excused himself and trotted off down the hall to find the vending machine.

"Takeda-san…" Kagome began, but was cut off when he held up a hand.

"Please, just call me Hojou. Takeda-san makes me sound so old," he insisted. His smile never faltered a notch.

"Hojou, then. When will I be released? I have work to attend to and the hospital is hardly a place for a little boy like Souta," she said, trying to sound professional.

"Oh, yes. About that. You escaped from the accident with little more than a slight concussion and a few bruises, thanks to the other driver's quick reflexes. You'll be out of here by the end of visiting hours," Hojou promised.

Kagome sighed with relief. She had a lot of work to do at the Centre, seeing as how the next group would begin classes on Monday. Three days was not a lot of time to fix up the classroom for the next batch of students.

"Well, that's the end of that. We're just going to keep you on surveillance for complications, just for a few hours. Just rest for now, all right?"

She nodded, smiling tentatively, and the young doctor exited the room with a bow. Shortly after he had left, Souta was by her bed again, a can of grape soda in hand.

"What'd he hafta say?" he asked.

"I can leave at around 8 tonight," his older sister answered cheerfully.

"Oh, ok," Souta said absently. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels. Lucky for him, Kagome either hadn't realized that he had school today or just plain didn't care. Not like it mattered much to him, anyway. He settled into the chair for a day of relaxation with his older sister.

* * *

Kagome zipped up her jeans, glad to be out of the uncomfortable hospital gowns. She stepped out of her room, holding the bag Souta had brought for the two of them. Her little brother waited just outside the door, Dr. Takeda beside him with a clipboard and pen.

"Miss Higurashi, I need you to sign this release form before you leave," he explained, offering the items to her. She accepted them with a smile and signed where he indicated. It was 8 and she was out!

She handed the papers back to Hojou and all but skipped to her waiting sibling. "C'mon, Souta, let's go home!" she said cheerfully, and they walked out of the hospital together.

* * *

"Fucking bitch of a world! Goddamn it all to hell!" Kagome screamed as she stepped in her fifth puddle of the hour.

Souta stared at her admiringly. "Damn, sis, I didn't know you swore!" he exclaimed appreciatively.

The young woman glared at him. "Maybe I do, but that doesn't mean you can!" she snapped.

In her rush to get out of the hospital, Kagome had forgotten entirely about her moped being crushed and had no money for a cab, so they had begun to walk. It wasn't too bad at first, but what had started out as a grand adventure quickly turned into a misery as the skies had opened up and began to pour. It was almost too much for Kagome to bear.

Sighing, she took Souta's hand in her own, holding it in a cold, clammy grip. "Sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"'S okay," he replied reassuringly. "Let's keep walking. It's not so much farther, is it?"

Kagome smiled slightly. "No, it isn't." That was a lie and they both knew it, but it was enough to get them started again.

After ten or so minutes, a passing car slowed down to their rate, creeping alongside them. Kagome's breath caught in her throat and her grip on her brother's hand; who knows what kind of psychos were looking for someone as helpless as she? She was about to quicken her pace when the window rolled down, revealing familiar blue eyes.

"Hey, babe, you need a ride somewhere?" Kouga asked, sounding concerned.

Kagome nearly melted with relief. "Kouga!" she exclaimed. "Would you mind taking us home?" Her eyes pleaded with him and the youkai grinned.

"No prob. Hop in, `Gome. I'll take you wherever you need to go."

She sent him a grin and helped Souta in before sprinting around to the other side of the car. She was soon inside, her seatbelt fastened.

"All right then. All strapped in?" Kouga asked. Seeing that they were, he joined the main stream of traffic once again, windshield wipers swishing furiously.

"So what were you two doing out so late at night?" There was no answer. Confused, the demon looked at his two companions and grinned. They were both fast asleep. He shook his head and took the exit to their home. Poor kids, he thought, amused. Must be exhausted.

He pulled up in front of the hundreds of steps, just as Sango had the night before, and considered his situation. No way was he going to wake the two siblings up, but it would be difficult to juggle both of them and their luggage.

Deciding to just leave the duffel in the car, he arranged the boy on his back. Souta automatically clamped his arms around Kouga's neck, leaving the wolf's arms free to cradle Kagome. He held her carefully, gazing at her soft face intently.

"You're my woman now," he muttered as he began the trek up the stairs. "You just don't know it yet."

As Kouga reached the outer courtyard of the shrine, Kagome's eyes fluttered open. "Kouga?" she inquired through a heavy yawn. "Where are we?"

"At the shrine. I'm gonna take you guys inside. Just go back to sleep, babe. I'll take care of you." He smiled down at her and she returned it sleepily.

"Okay. Thanks," she managed to mumble before she drifted back into slumber.

Her former student kissed her forehead before opening the back door to the small house located at the back of the grounds, tucked away from the visitors. He took them both upstairs. First, he came to Souta's room. He disentangled the boy from his neck and set him into bed as quickly as he could. His clothes were relatively dry, no doubt thanks to the heavy coat that was obviously Kagome's, so he left the boy in them. Next, he came to said woman's room. This is what he'd been waiting for.

He inhaled deeply, a deep calm overcoming him. He loved her scent. With a tender smile, he pulled off her sweatshirt, long-sleeved top, and jeans to reveal a slightly damp tank top and underwear, deciding that she'd probably rather be bare to his eyes than catch pneumonia, and placed her in bed. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he stripped down to his boxers and climbed in beside her. She rolled over in her sleep to rest her head on his chest and snuggled as close to his warmth as she could, sighing contentedly.

Yes, he thought to himself as his eyes began to close. This is heaven.

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Wow. Enough fluff to make your teeth rot, no? *rolls eyes* Oh well.

Just as a note, I'm not generally a Kag/Kouga fan, but I simply couldn't resist! Don't worry, it's still an Inu/Kag story. I'm not changing that! ^_~ I just figured that, considering Kouga's feeling for Kagome and his apparent shamelessness when it comes to advances regarding her, he'd pull something like this.

Review, please! It only takes a second, I swear!