Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Disease ❯ Chapter 9

I said I'd update last week…I lied. I meant it at the time, but without someone to hound me about it, I lost track of time, and then it's already next week. I do apologize, so I'll give two chapters today.

 

~*~

 

Over the next few weeks, Kagome seemed to visibly wilt. The homework piled up and, combined with caring for the shrine, was taking its toll on her. She almost always had bags under her eyes and was forced to take naps after school every day. Normally she never would've admitted that she needed them, but everyone bullied her so she gave up after the first two weeks. The only time she could see where she could recover somewhat was spring break, which was creeping up on them. But she didn't know how much rest she could get then because that's when Michael was going to do the interviews.

 

She was concentrating on the paper in front of her, trying to make sense of her math homework. Everything else was finished, but math was the hardest thing for her. It was just so hard to make the numbers make sense. She had her notes spread around her, but she wanted to figure out the problem without the notes. That would mean she was learning something. She sighed. I bet even Sota could do these, she thought mournfully.

 

“Math again?” Robin asked as she passed by.

 

“Yeah,” she sighed, looking at her friend. “Why can't math be more easy?”

 

The blonde laughed. “It is easy; you just have to work at it.”

 

“You're no help,” the miko grumbled.

 

Shaking her head in amusement, the fire witch poured herself a glass of water and went back out of the kitchen. “You should really go to bed and just do that later,” she called over her shoulder. “You need your sleep.”

 

“I know,” Kagome replied, shutting her book and putting it back in her backpack. Yawning and stretching, she made her way up the stairs and into her room. She fell onto her bed and was out like a light.

 

The next morning Michael and Robin had to drag a groggy Kagome to school and guide her to her locker. She was able to put in her locker combination and exchange books, but Robin had to drag her to their first period. She woke up a little in third period, but was still a little out of it. At lunch she only picked at her food. She smiled briefly when Yusuke and Kuwabara joined them, but otherwise didn't give any indication that she noticed her surroundings. That didn't stop the boys from talking to her, or rather, at her.

 

“Yeah, Koenma has us on another mission finding some escaped demon that takes over the minds of humans,” Yusuke was saying. “He's supposed to be somewhere in this city, so I'm surprised Hiei or Kurama haven't been able to sniff him out. Well, Kurama's been busy with his new family and all, but that doesn't excuse Hiei.”

 

“I bet the runt's just lazy,” Kuwabara declared. “He won't do anything unless it benefits him. A real man would get rid of the danger as soon as he felt it near.”

 

“That's the thing, baka,” Yusuke said, smacking his friend's head. “He hasn't been able to sense the thing at all. And I know he's been looking.”

 

“It must be one strong demon,” Robin commented. “If even other demons can't sense it, then we're in trouble. Do you know what he looks like?”

 

They shook their heads. “Not a clue,” Yusuke admitted. “We're doing this blind, and none of us like it.”

 

The bell warned everyone that lunch was over, so they all packed their remaining food back in their bags (if there was any left) and headed back inside. Kagome listlessly watched her teachers draw strange squiggles on the board that should've made sense but didn't. Then the school day was over and she went home with Robin and Michael.

 

“Why couldn't it be a weekend?” Kagome complained as they came up to the steps of the Sunset Shrine. “It's the middle of the week and I'm already tired of walking up and down these stairs. And why aren't Yusuke and Kuwabara with us?”

 

Michael shook his head. “You weren't listening to them at lunch, were you?” he asked. “They're searching for a demon that takes over the human mind.”

 

“How do they know it isn't here?” she asked.

 

“They don't, but they think it's in a more secluded place than this.” He gestured to the houses on either side of the shrine. “They said that demons like that tend to prefer seclusion so they aren't as easily caught.”

 

He and Robin started up the stairs, but Kagome stayed at the bottom for a few seconds, looking across the street where a cat was being chased by a dog. Steeling herself for the climb, she took ten steps before a wave of dizziness washed over her. What's this? She wondered as the world started to spin. This hasn't happened before. She felt her bag drop to the ground as darkness replaced light.

 

~*~

 

Robin heard a thump behind her, and when she turned around, she saw Kagome's bag had dropped from her shoulders and Kagome herself swaying like a sapling in a strong breeze. She started down the stairs to help her friend, but Kagome fell over. Luckily she didn't start rolling down the stairs, but that was all the luck they had. Moving quickly to her side, Robin checked her for injuries while she heard Michael call an ambulance. There was blood staining the ground under her head, so Robin didn't want to move her in case she made it worse.

Michael came down and knelt beside Robin. “The ambulance is on its way,” he said, looking down at Kagome.

 

“She's breathing,” Robin said, relief flowing through her, “and her pulse is steady.”

 

The wail of a siren was heard not too far away and it was coming closer. In a few minutes it was in front of the house, and a stretcher bearing the unconscious Kagome was heading back down the stairs and into the ambulance.

 

“I'll go with her,” Robin told Michael, who was starting to go after the stretcher. “You need to be here for the interviews.” It looked like he was going to protest, so she put up one had. “The interviewees need you more than Kagome does right now. If something happens, I'll call you. How's that?”

 

“And what happens if the STN is at the hospital?” he demanded angrily. “You'll be in danger.”

 

“Michael,” she sighed, “I'm in danger every time I take a step outside. This may be a little more risky than my usual day, but not by much. I'll take care of Kagome; you take care of our home.”

 

Defeated, his shoulders slumped and he started back up the steps with Kagome's and his bags. Robin joined Kagome in the back of the ambulance and they rode to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, the nurses took Kagome into the emergency room, but Robin was ushered into the waiting room. It was torture, pure and simple. She tried to do some of her homework, but she couldn't stay focused and spent most of her time pacing. Eventually one of the nurses came out and told her that Kagome was stable, but she would need to stay in the hospital. Looking at the clock, Robin realized that she had been there for nearly nine hours, and it was approaching eleven o'clock. She thanked the nurse and, grabbing her pack, headed out the door. Since she didn't have a ride back, she called Michael to pick her up.

 

“How is she?” Sota demanded when they came in the door.

 

“The nurse said she's stable, but I don't know how she is other than that,” Robin replied, sliding into one of the chairs. “I wish I could've stayed there.”

 

“You couldn't, though,” Michael reminded her. “With the school you've missed, you can't afford to miss another day.”

 

“Will she be okay?” Sota asked in a small voice. He looked like he was going to break down any second.

 

Poor kid, she thought sympathetically. He only has his sister left of his original family since his mom and grandpa left. “I think she'll be fine since the nurse didn't say anything negative, and people in the medical profession tend to have a pessimistic view of things.”

 

He didn't look like he believed her, but then again, she didn't really believe herself, so she couldn't blame him. “Sota, it's past midnight. Why don't you go to bed?” He looked like he was going to argue, but right when he was about to respond, a yawn stopped him. Looking downhearted, he trudged up the stairs. Turning to Michael, Robin said, “You have school tomorrow also. It's time we went to bed. Do you know if Hiei is coming back tonight?”

 

Michael was unfazed by her sudden change of subject. “I don't think so. He hasn't been back so far, so there's no reason to assume that things'll change unless that demon he's tracking is caught.”

 

“Let's hope that he doesn't come back tonight. He's closer to Kagome than he is to the rest of us and I don't want him distracted from his job because of this.” Robin got up and started for the stairs. “I know that we probably won't be able to sleep much, but there's no sense in not trying. Tomorrow's going to be hard enough as it is.”

 

That morning Michael called Sota's school and told them that he wouldn't be going that day due to the hospitalization of his sister. He and Robin left for school after Sota assured them that he was able to get on the train and get to the hospital by himself. Robin wanted to stay at the hospital also, but since she missed so many days already, she couldn't justify spending time there when it would do no good. After informing the attendance why Kagome wouldn't be coming to school anytime soon, they went their separate ways. Robin tried her best to concentrate and while she absorbed most of what the teachers droned on about, her thoughts kept drifting back to the hospital. Then, at lunch, she had to face Yusuke and Kuwabara.

 

“She WHAT?” they shouted in unison.

 

“Not so loud,” she scolded them, covering her ears with her hands. “You just about blew my hearing.”

 

“She was pushing herself too hard,” Yusuke fumed. “She knew better than that. Why didn't she say anything?”

 

“Kagome probably didn't think anything about it,” Michael said. “Or maybe she just didn't think that we could do anything about it, so didn't mention it.”

 

“Hiei's not going to be very happy about this,” Yusuke muttered. “He's pretty close to her.”

 

“The shrimp's never happy,” Kuwabara said. “Still, I guess it wouldn't be good for him to know anyway; he'd probably go on a killing spree.”

 

“He doesn't go and kill things whenever he's unhappy,” Yusuke retorted, smacking the back of his friend's head.

 

“I beg your pardon?” Robin said.

 

They looked surprised. “You didn't know that he was a killer?” they asked. She shook her head. “He was a big time killer before we met him,” Yusuke explained. “He doesn't do it quite so much now, though.”

 

“You need to get to class,” one of the school's administrators shouted at them. They looked around and noticed that there were only a few people left outside. Apparently none of them had heard the bell ring.

 

“I'll see you guys later, okay?” Robin said as she packed her things.

 

“We're working after school, so we'll see you tomorrow,” Kuwabara said. They parted ways for their classes.

 

After the final bell, Michael and Robin went straight to the hospital. In Kagome's room they found Sota talking to one of the nurses. Neither of them looked very distressed so they assumed that nothing untoward had happened.

 

“Has she woken up?” Michael asked the nurse that was watching the heart monitor. The nurse shook his head.

 

“She's in good condition except she hasn't come to,” the man said. “Her injuries are healing nicely. We asked her friend yesterday what happened. Has she had a history of dizzy spells?”

 

Michael answered the questions the best he could, but he didn't remember her ever falling over, and neither did anyone else. This puzzled the nurses, but they accepted it. Michael walked over to where Robin and Sota sat watching the comatose Kagome and joined them in their vigil.

 

~*~