Inuyasha was fuming. Kagome was supposed to be back hours ago. Now it was already dark and he was at the well but she wasn't there. "Feh!" he jumped down.
He walked into the house where only Kagome's grandfather was "Where's Kagome?" He looked up "At the hospital. She should be on her way home now." Inuyasha's mind was racing 'What happened? Kagome told me the hospital was where you went when you were really sick or badly injured! What is she doing there?' before he had a chance to freak out, he heard voices through the open door.
In a flash he was at the bottom of the steps where Kagome and her mother were. Kagome had a big white thing on her leg, and she had these odd stick things under her arms "Uhh hi Inuyasha..." she greeted nervously. "Kagome? What happened? What is that?" he pointed to her leg. "I umm…." She looked down "I fell down the stairs at school and broke the bone in my leg. I had to go to the hospital and get this cast to fix it." Shock and then pain crossed his face, followed quickly by anger "I told you school was bad!"
She rolled her eyes and sighed, going forwards to begin the long climb up the stairs. "Stop" he muttered, getting in front of her "Let me carry you". She smiled, handing her crutches to her mother, and Inuyasha picked her up bridal style, quickly carrying her inside, helping her into a chair. He went back down and took the crutches from Kagome's mother, walking next to her all the rest of the way up. "She'll be fine dear" Her mother smiled "She just needs some time here" he nodded as they went inside.
Silently he sat next to Kagome on the floor. "Inuyasha can you carry me to bed?" she asked sleepily. He nodded and picked her up "Don't spoil her too much Inuyasha" her mother warned "she needs to learn to use her crutches." He smirked at Kagome's pout "sure" he replied, carrying her to her room. When he turned to leave she grabbed his wrist. "What?" "I need to change. There are long shirts in the second drawer from the top. Can you get one?" He opened the drawer and took out a black one with peaceful looking dandelions. He tossed it at her, hitting her in the chest. "Thanks" she said sourly and he snickered.
"Turn around" she ordered, and he obediently faced the wall. He heard her shuffling around and standing her weight on her right leg to tug the night dress over her. She threw her clothes over Inuyasha's head, directly into her hamper, giggling at his flinch. "I'm dressed" she informed him. He turned around and watched her tug the sheets down to get in bed. When she lost her balance, he used his demon speed to jump up and steady her gently. "Thank you" she smiled and hugged him a little before climbing into bed. "Where are you going?" she asked Inuyasha sleepily as he opened her door. "Getting your kratchets" she giggled softly. By the time he came back up, she'd already fallen asleep, courtesy of the medications she was given at the hospital.
The next morning, Inuyasha watched Kagome as she struggled to make her bed with her crutches. What usually took her two minutes had officially taken her ten. When she was finally finished she sighed and sat in her desk chair. "You okay?" he mumbled, receiving a small nod in reply.
Kagome's mother came in. "Do you need any help showering dear?" "No thanks mom" "okay well breakfast is started so hurry up" she left and Inuyasha watched as Kagome got out a large clear garbage bag and a belt, tying it securely over her cast. She picked out her clothes and went into the bathroom. She showered, dried off, took off the bag, got dressed, dried and combed and straightened her hair, put it in a ponytail and spiked it with gel, but when her hand landed on her favorite perfume, she paused. "Inuyasha" she opened the door and he stared at her.
She had a soft grey skirt on, longer than her usual ones, and puffier, along with a baby pink t-shirt, a low cut one that hugged her body. Her hair was wild and beautiful, and Inuyasha was in heaven. "Tell me if you like how this smells." She held out the bottle. He took it and sniffed. "It's okay. What is it?" "Perfume" she replied "you put it on your skin to make yourself smell good." She was about to put it on when Inuyasha stopped her "Don't" he growled "why? It won't bother you right?" He suddenly looked uncomfortable "It'll mask your own scent. That's how I know if you're in danger or not. I'll be even more annoying to be around if I can't smell you."
His eyes were sad "Inuyasha, you're only annoying when I'm studying." She assured him awkwardly as she put the perfume back. "I need to concentrate so I don't fail. I'm almost done school, so I'm sure you don't want me to take longer than I already will" His eyes went wide as he looked up at her. He sat on her bed and she sat next to him. "Kagome, be honest. Is school dangerous?" She proceeded to assure him that any danger at her school could be handled by the humans who were trained to deal with it. She explained police, paramedics, and principals to him.
"I'm sorry for getting hurt. I should be able to start collecting shards again as soon as I get used to these crutches" she mumbled and he growled "And how are you supposed to run if something comes after you? You aren't coming back until you're completely healed." She looked upset "but Inuyasha that's at least two months!" she started to cry. "Whoa hey no tears!" he hugged her close to try and comfort her. "Y-Your just going to l-leave me here alone, not let me see S-Sango or Miroku or S-Shippo." She cried harder and his heart broke.
"Okay, okay you can come back but you have to stay right next to me the whole time. You have to listen to me when I say something for your safety and you can't fucking sit me - that gives any enemy an opening to you" He gritted his teeth at the thought. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And I promise to do whatever you say." She hugged him happily, catching him off guard. She'd actually listen to him for once?
She was just secretly relieved it wasn't worse, and he wasn't still mad at her for getting hurt. She decided she owed him to listen, especially since he was only trying to protect her. She had to admit, to herself at least, that she was in no position to take care of herself.
"Kagome! Breakfast!" They got up and Kagome took her crutches, going to the stairs. "Let me go first" Inuyasha muttered. He started going backwards down the stairs, making sure he was ready to catch her if she fell. She made it all the way down the stairs without incident, and she grinned at the bottom. They went into the kitchen and ate the chocolate chip pancakes, and then they decided to go back to the feudal era.
Inuyasha set her down in the grass and handed her the crutches. "Thanks Inuyasha" she smiled. "Kagome!" Shippo's happy and relieved voice rang out, and he ran towards Kagome "Stop!" Inuyasha snapped with an unusual tone of authority and patience, and the boy skidded to a halt right in front of Kagome. "She was hurt so be careful with her okay?" he explained, and Shippo nodded "What happened Kagome?" She smiled wishing she could hug him. "I broke my leg. I just had a little accident, I'll be fine." He nodded and hugged her good leg. "Let's go see Sango and Miroku, okay?" Shippo led them back to where the monk and demon slayer were lying in a flowery clearing, Kilala curled up on Sango's stomach.
"Hey Kagome" Sango smiled then asked "What's that on your leg?" "I fell and broke my leg. This is what they do to fix it in my time. It's called a cast." Sango gasped, exchanging a horrified look with Miroku. "What?" Kagome asked, puzzled. "Kagome, I'm so sorry..." Sango murmured. Kagome was even more confused. "I'm fine, really." Miroku now looked confused "But...you won't be able to keep travelling with us." She sighed "I know, its only for a couple of months though...and I can still visit, if you guys don't mind waiting for me, that is..." She bit her lip. "Kagome..." Sango said slowly "A broken leg...you'll have a limp now... I don't think..."
Suddendly it clicked with Kagome. "Oh! No, you don't understand. I will fully recover, I just need time. This cast is like stone. It holds the bone in the right place so it can heal properly. I won't have a limp afterwards at all." She explained, understanding and curiosity slowly dawning on her fellow human's faces. "But how do they know the bone is in the right place?" Miroku asked.
She frowned. This might get complicated to explain. "Umm...There is a machine..." She shifted her weight slightly, getting uncomfortable standing up. "It's called an x-ray...it scans- er, looks at, my leg...and it makes a picture of the bone inside." She sighed, giving up "Basically there's a thing that lets our healer see inside my leg. I don't know how else to explain."
"I thought your time didn't have magic" Sango pondered. "We...we don't. We have science, which is basically the same except it works on a physical level instead of a spiritual level." Miroku nodded firmly "Its beyond our understanding." "Yes" Kagome agreed "Even I don't really understand it." "But you'll be fine?" Sango asked, and Kagome nodded her confirmation. She tried to sit down, sighing when she couldn't. Inuyasha snickered and helped her sit down. She gave him a fake hurt look "are you laughing at me?" He stuttered "n-no, I'm laughing at…at….Shippo! He had a leaf in his hair."
Kagome pulled him down next to her and giggled, pulling a twig out of his hair "how can you criticize Shippo?" She pulled a leaf out, giggling more. He grumbled sourly but let her fuss over his hair. She combed it gently, and Inuyasha found he was enjoying it. It was relaxing to have her soft fingers playing in his hair. Having her scent so close calmed him, allowing him to have inner peace. They were a peaceful group that afternoon.
Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were all cloud-gazing, commenting on the clouds. Kilala was enjoying the fish Kagome brought her and chasing butterflies, while Kagome was braiding Inuyasha's hair. She was worried what he'd say afterwards, but when he caught his reflection he just rolled his eyes. It seemed like today was going to be a good day.
THE END
