"Hey Sango!" yelled Inuyasha from down the school steps. His twin stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at him.
"Yeah? This better be important. I'm going miss warm-ups for Archery and Mission: Impossible!" Sango said with her hands on her hips. Sango was a short sixteen-year-old who had brown hair that was pulled back into a braid. She took part in the schools archery and paintball teams. She and her friends traveled to different places around the state to play other teams and such. She was the typical tomboy and loved the outdoors. She wasn't afraid to get down and dirty.
Inuyasha smiled. "Don't fret over such petty things. It is important."
Before Sango knew what hit her, her look-a-like raced down the stairs and engulfed her into an embrace. After all the commotion, Inuyasha looked into her eyes seriously.
"Do well on today's meets, okay?" said Inuyasha.
She hit him playfully. "Stop worrying about it. I've got it all under control. Kagura said that the teams don't stand a chance against us!" She expressed her enthusiasm by doing a little jig. This made Inuyasha, and a few classmates, look at her oddly.
"Good luck, Sis." With a pat on the back, he left to go outside to join the art club. Sango smiled as she watched her younger sibling leave the building. She glanced at her watched. "What? I'm late!" With that, she made her way to the fields.
Outside, it was beautifully sunny. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Inuyasha was sitting under the sky and was painting a figure sitting against a shady tree. The figure was none other than his lady friend, Kagome. Kagome was a short teen who was just south of 5'5". She had long dark black hair that reached the small of her back. She was also in his art class. They had met the first day of class over three years ago and became friends quickly. He was sketching her neatly from beside the tree.
"Kagome, can you please move a little to the right? Thanks. Can you move your book down so I can see your face? Perfect, thanks." Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. This made him laugh. "It's only for a little longer. Just be patient." Said the blacked haired teen. He moved his hand quickly across the paper. "Just a few more lines." He paused. "Done." Inuyasha put down his pencil and turned the portrait around.
Kagome squinted, but then decided to get a better look. She lifted herself up off the cool grass and jogged over to her friend. Raising her hand to remove the glare from the paper, she squealed. The portrait was sketched perfectly. It captured the finest details of the area she had placed herself upon.
"Inuyasha! That's awesome! It's so pretty." She smiled and sighed in awe. "You're such a great artist." Thinking of a way to how to say her words, she spoke again. "You know what?"
Inuyasha's brows came together. "What's that?"
"I think you should enter this into the Art Show!" she glowed.
Did he hear her right? Be in the Art Show? Never he thought his art was good enough. Mostly he doodled and just sketched. He chuckled, "Never. I'm not that good. It would never win any places."
Kagome became flustered. "Why not? I think it's awesome. With a few touch ups it could definitely win a place." She smiled reassuringly.
He looked at her thinking and looking her straight in the eyes. Her eyes were a crystal blue and danced like the evening moon. At this moment they danced pleadingly. She gave him a face no one could resist. I might as well. He thought. I can't stand her looking like that. Heck, I might be able to win something with this sketch. Making up his mind he nodded his head. He sighed, "Fine. I'll do it. But if I don't win anything, you owe me." His eyes danced with mischief.
Sadly, Kagome didn't catch the look in his eyes. "Owe you? What would that be?"
He thought. "I don't know, haven't made up my mind yet. Give me time and I'll tell you later." With that, he took his artwork to the building, leaving Kagome behind.
Kagome knitted her brows together thinking. "I wonder what's on his mind." She ran to catch up with her friend.
Sango sighed as she looked out the car window. She had been sitting in the same spot for the last hour or so. She had just finished her battles on the field. First was archery and then paintball. She had failed. She was unfocused on her work, and lost. Paintball was the worst. She had gotten barrel tagged immediately as soon as she walked onto the playing field. Most people would have said she had to many things on her mind. Problem was, she didn't. She was fine. But there was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was bothering her brother. Her twin's vibe was in pain.
Just then, there was a bang on her window. She looked up sadly only to realize an older teen. Surprised, she opened the door and climbed out of the car. "Miroku? How are you?" She tilted her head. "Something's wrong. What's wrong?" She emphasized the last word by letting tears fall.
Miroku, Kagome's older sibling, was a little taller than his sister was. He also had black hair that dangled into his eyes, shaggily. He grabbed Sango into a fierce hug. Tears ran from his eyes.
"Sango," he pulled away but still held her in his arms. "Listen to me. It's Inuyasha. Kagome was walking with him back into the building and he just collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital. Kagome's with him. I was sent to take you home." More tears slipped from his eyes.
Sango was devastated. She let out a small chuckle. "Inuyasha. You were always a troublesome child. What has happened to you this time?" The light from the sun suddenly became black as night. Sango had fainted.
Running. She was running away from something. Or, was it someone? She just couldn't tell. When she thought things couldn't get worse, they did. She suddenly moved in a jerking motion. "Stop it! Please!" she cried franticly. Adding a saddening emotion with it, she pleaded again, "Stop! Please!" She fell.
Sango awoke with a jerk. She was on the floor sweating and breathing quite fast. She shook her head. "I must have fallen out of bed." Then it hit her. "Inuyasha!" She scrambled to get up, but it only resulted in more dizziness. Stumbling, she worked her way into her clothes. Thoughts ran through Sango's head wildly. 'What happened to Inuyasha?' 'Is he all right?' and 'How did I get in my room?'
There was a sudden knock on the door. It was Miroku. He slipped his head in the room. "Sango, are you all right? I heard a thud and was concerned." He smiled warmly.
Sango blinked blankly at her older friend. Then it dawned on her. Miroku must have been the one who brought her home. He did have a key to the house. Maybe he knew what happened and what's wrong with Inuyasha.
She shook her head once more. "Miroku, do you know what happened to Inuyasha? Do you know what's wrong with him?" Her voice shook with worrisome trembles.
Miroku stepped into the cooled room. Sighing, he spoke, "Yes, about Inuyasha. He was heading back to the school building from the field. Suddenly, he fainted. We're not sure why he fainted but the doctors are running some tests. Kagome is with him at the hospital since your parents are still away at work." Unexpectedly, he walked over to Sango, hugged her, and began crying.
In response to his hug, she hugged back. Soon enough she was crying herself. They stood in her room for quite some time. Just standing in the room, hugging each other for comfort.
Kagome sat in the waiting room quietly, fiddling with her sweater zipper. She had been waiting for over an hour and a half. She let out a long, exhausted sigh. This earned her a look from the other people in the room. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was talk with the doctors about Inuyasha's condition. Leaning her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes. As soon as she began to nod off, a doctor tapped her shoulder.
"Miss? Are you a friend of Inuyasha? He is in the other room waiting for you. Please follow me." He's voice reeked of seriousness and sorrow.
Kagome furrowed her brows. She got up, following the doctor. Walking down white deserted halls, she began to think back on all the memories Inuyasha and she had shared. All the summer bon fires, winter skiing trips, nights full of laughter, sleepovers, etc., etc. They might have only known each other for a little over three years, but that didn't matter. The four teens stuck to each other like glue and no one could tear them apart.
"Here we are Miss. You may see your friend." Relieved, she rushed towards her friend.
"Inuyasha! Are you all right? Are you hurt? What did the doc—" Kagome stopped in mid sentence when she saw the look on her friends face. His face was red and hot. Tears were also streaming down his face. "Inuyasha, what did the doctors do to you?" Her voice shook.
"I'm fine. I think you might want to sit down. I already know what's wrong with me, but I would like you to hear it from the doctor." He laid his head back on the hospital bed, closing his eyes and letting more tears flow down his cheeks. As if on queue, the doctor came into the room.
"Hello. My name is Dr. Akika Tahnashi. Nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand. Cautiously, Kagome reached out and shook it. Dr. Tahnashi smiled. "Well now, I'm taking you would like to know what is wrong with your friend here. Hmm?" Kagome nodded in reply. "Yes. This might be a shocker, but we are thinking that Inuyasha, here, might have cancer. Now we aren't one hundred percent sure on this fact but we are almost positive."
Did she hear her right? Inuyasha diagnosed with cancer? No. That can't be right. "What type of cancer?" Kagome stared at the floor.
"We're thinking leukemia."
No. This can't be true. Kagome just sat in the hospital chair, stunned. Not true at all.
"How can this be? No one in our family has ever had this problem!" Yelled Sango. The doctor had separated the twins into different rooms. Inuyasha was in a hospital room, while Sango was stuck in the waiting room. Sango was furious. Why couldn't it be her instead of her dear brother? He had so much to live for. He was only sixteen for God's sake! He was way to young! Sighing, she spoke. "Do our parents know yet?"
"We're contacting them right now. If they can make it off work, they will be here within the next hour. We're finding a location for your brother at the moment. We're also giving him medicine to catch the bad cells. He's very lucky. We've caught it at an early state. We're thinking that he'll need to stay in the hospital for a few years at the least." Said an assisting nurse.
A few years? Who knew how long a 'few years' would be. Sango plumped herself into a chair between Miroku and Kagome. She placed her head in her hands.
Miroku felt bad for Sango. He knew she was already was having a horrible day. This just added more stress to her shoulders. He reached his hand over to Sango and rubbed her back. At this, Sango looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She mumbled thanks and placed her head back into her hands, sobbing harder. Miroku looked over at his sister. Her head was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed. He reached out his hand once more, but shook his sister awake.
She opened her eyes lazily. "What do you want, Miroku Lee?" When she used the use of his full name, meant that she wasn't in a pleasant mood.
"Sorry for waking you, Sis. I think you need to tell Inuyasha how you feel about him before it's to late."
Too late? Kagome didn't want to even think about that. Sighing she spoke. "You're right. It would be for the best. Is he in his room?" Miroku nodded. Getting up, she followed the dimly lit white walls towards her friend's room.
She found his room. "Inuyasha," Kagome said with a quivering voice, "you decent?"
"Yeah. Just a minute." A minute passed. "You can come in now."
"Hey. How are you? Did they find a hospital for you to stay at yet?"
"They did find me a hospital." He spread out his arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here." He smiled a bit, then dropped his head after a moment of silence. "I knew there was something wrong with me. It's just I never thought it would turn out this bad. I was just too scared to tell anyone about my pain. I was just too scared…"
Kagome stepped farther into the room, getting closer to her friend. "Why didn't you go to Sango, Miroku, or even me? We would have helped you."
Inuyasha shrugged. "Like I said, I was just too scared. I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone with so much pain. So I kept it a secret."
Poor Inuyasha. God only knows how long he kept it a secret. Kagome guessed about a month. He did act strange at school during lunch and when they went to movies. His eating habits did change and he ate less. How could she not have noticed? She had to tell him how she felt before death came to Inuyasha's side.
"Inuyasha, I need to tell you something. Promise not to laugh?" Kagome said nervously.
"I promise." Said Inuyasha. "Just tell me."
Gulping, Kagome spoke. "Inuyasha," her voice shook, "I love—"
A sudden gust of air filled the room. Inuyasha and Kagome turned their heads toward the door. A middle aged man and woman came through the door. The woman ran to Inuyasha's bedside, while the man sat in a chair off to the side. He seemed to be out of breath from chasing the woman.
"Mister and Misses Takashi, you're here." Said Kagome.
"Yes. We're here now." Said Mrs. Takashi. She turned to her son. "Are you all right, honey?"
Inuyasha just smiled. "Of course Mom. I just got diagnosed with Leukemia. Life is good." His words dripped with sarcasm. He began to laugh, trying to lighten the mood. His mother on the other hand, just glared at him. "Sorry. I just couldn't help myself."
"Mom and Dad? I see you guys found the room." Sango and Miroku walked into the room.
"You're mother was the one to find it. She ran around to all the nurses asking where you were." Mr. Takashi sighed.
Inuyasha laughed and said, "Sounds like something Mom would do." Soon enough everyone joined in laughing.
After the laughter settled down, Miroku spoke up. "So what are you going to do now, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess I'm going to stay here. I have to if I want to live. I'm going to take it step by step, day by day. That's all there is to it." He shrugged again, but this time with a smile.
Inuyasha's father got up and patted his back. "I'm proud of you, son." He turned to his wife. "Come on, honey. We've got to talk to the doctors" Mrs. Takashi replied by nodding.
"Mind if I join you?" said Miroku and Sango at the same time. They smiled at each other.
"Sure, more the merrier." With that, the two teens and two adults let the room. This left Kagome and Inuyasha alone.
"Well, I better be going with them. I want to hear what the doctors have to say. I'll stop by later." She then pointed to her eye, crossed her hands over her heart, and then pointed to her friend. She smiled and left.
When Kagome was sure she was gone, he spoke up in a whisper. "I love you too, Kagome." He rolled over and slumber took over.