Shattered Dreams

Summary: Kagome's dream is to become a professional ballet dancer, but her dream to become a professional dancer shatters once she finds out that she has osteogenic sarcoma—bone cancer. Her boyfriend, Inu yasha, seems to support her through her treatments, but is it for real or out of pity? Inu/Kag (obviously)

Chapter 1: Life's unfair


"You dance like a limping duck," Inu yasha teased.

Kagome laughed and punched him playfully in the shoulders, "I do not!"

"Sure you don't." Inu yasha chuckled, "Nah, you dance just like a professional ballerina."

Kagome glanced at him and smirked, "You're just saying that so I'd pay for your coffee."

"No. I wouldn't do that." Inu yasha said innocently. Kagome laughed and smiled. She had always been dancing ballet for her whole life. Her dream was to become a professional ballet dancer some day.

"So what do you want to do today?" Kagome asked as she took a sip from her frappuccino.

"Well, I've wanted to buy this camera at this new store…" Inu yasha started.

Kagome laughed, "Sounds romantic." She quickly finished her drink and stood up from her seat. "Okay, let's go."

The two couple exited the café and strode into the parking lot.

"You have dance lessons tomorrow?" Inu yasha asked opening the passenger seat's door.

"Yes." Kagome answered simply.

Inu yasha turned to her in surprise, "Are you serious? But it's winter break!"

"Well, at least I don't have to dance on Saturday and Sunday. It's ten hours in all. Good thing is that I don't have to do P.E. You've got to love California." Kagome said smiling. Even though she had lessons for the whole week, she never complained. Dancing always distracted her when she was feeling stressed out.

"Physical ed. isn't that bad. It's fun actually." Inu yasha said starting up the car and pulled out the parking lot.

Kagome scoffed, "That's because you're a jock."

"You can't blame me for loving football." Inu yasha laughed.

Kagome looked out the window, "Where are we going? I thought you wanted to buy that lovely camera."

"Changed my mind, we're going to go to the park."

"Buying cameras aren't romantic enough, hmm?" Kagome teased.

Inu yasha chuckled and parked the car and stepped out. Kagome opened her door and looked at her surroundings. "I love this park…." Kagome said smiling.

"Why do you think I brought you here?" Inu yasha said. Kagome laughed and stepped out of the car. The two of them started to take a walk around the park's pond.

Kagome was walking toward the benches to sit down when she felt a sharp pain in her legs. She rubbed the area where the pain was occurring.

Inu yasha saw Kagome stumble a bit and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

Kagome decided to ignore the pain, but it soon passed. "Yeah. I'm okay." She sat on the bench and looked at Inu yasha who sat down next to her.

Inu yasha felt Kagome's stare and turned to her, "Do I have something on me?"

Kagome giggled, "Nope, just admiring my guy."

Inu yasha smiled gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead. He inhaled the jasmine scent of Kagome's. God, he loved her.

"So what are you planning to do on Christmas?" Kagome asked softly snuggling up to Inu yasha.

"I'm planning to cuddle up with you in front of the fire place on Christmas."

Kagome giggled, "I love winter break. I get to spend more time with you and no interruptions."

S2S2S2S2

"Kagome! Can you please come down here and help me with the laundry?!" Ms. Higurashi shouted from the laundry room.

"Be right there!" Kagome quickly blow dried her hair and picked out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to wear. She noticed a lump on one of her legs. "Okay……must be a mosquito bite."

She hastily ran down the stairs and went into the laundry room. "Help me take the clothes out of the dryer and fold them. Thanks." Ms. Higurashi said and quickly went into the kitchen to make lunch.

Kagome obediently did what she was told and sighed. A couple of minutes later she finished and decided to help her mom out with lunch.

"Thanks dear," Ms. Higurashi said. "So are you excited about your winter dance performance?"

"Of course, except I'm really nervous. Professional ballet dancers are going to be there to watch! I can' believe the teacher invited them." Kagome said while she chopped the tomatoes.

"Well, it's your chance to show them that you deserve to dance as a professional." Ms. Higurashi said.

Kagome sighed, "Yeah, but what if they don't like my dancing and what if I mess up?"

"Nonsense, you'll do fine. Now stop thinking negative thoughts and hurry and change. You're going to be late for dance if you don't hurry." Ms. Higurashi said. Kagome looked at the kitchen clock. Sure enough, if she didn't hurry, she'd be late and her teacher hated when her students were late.

Kagome went back up into her room and changed into her tights and leotard. She slipped back on her t-shirt, sweater and jeans over her tights and leotard. She heard the doorbell ring as her mom opened the door. Kagome quickly brushed her hair and tied it into a ponytail, then twisted her hair into a tight bun. She grabbed some bobby pins from her dresser and stuck them into her bun to hold it up.

"Let's go, mom!" Kagome shouted and ran down the stairs. She stopped when she saw Inu yasha standing at the doorway. Kagome squealed and gave him a hug.

"I missed you," Inu yasha said returning Kagome's hug.

Kagome laughed, "You just saw me yesterday night!"

"Ms. Higurashi, do you mind if I take Kagome to dance?" Inu yasha asked her mom who was standing next to the doorway smiling.

"Of course not, now hurry up, Mrs. Gianni hates it when you're late." Ms. Higurashi said scooting them out of the doorway.

Kagome looked up at Inu yasha, "So what made you come?"

"Because I missed you, remember?"

Kagome laughed and opened car door. On the passenger seat she saw a bundle of jasmine flowers. "They're gorgeous!" She exclaimed.

"For you," Inu yasha said. He plucked a jasmine out of the bundle and tucked it behind Kagome's ears. Kagome smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheeks.

A couple of minutes later, Inu yasha's BMW pulled into the Shikon Dance parking lot. Kagome quickly got out of the car and went into the dance studio. Inu yasha followed Kagome and sat down on the couch that was placed inside of the studio near the door.

"You're staying?" Kagome asked taking off her jeans and t-shirt. She took out her toe shoes from her bag and started putting them on.

"Of course," Inu yasha said watching Kagome tie the ribbons of her toe shoe. "Hey, let's go somewhere after your dance lessons."

Kagome stood up and went on her toes, "Well, only if you promise to buy me lunch. I haven't eaten yet."

Inu yasha laughed, "Deal."

"Alright class, let's get started. Now, I know we only have a week left before the big winter performance, but there are going to be a few changes in your group dance." Mrs. Gianni said to the class. "And also, we need to work on your solo more, Kagome."

Kagome nodded and sighed. She couldn't believe the big performance was coming in only a week.

Inu yasha watched Kagome admiringly from his seat. The teacher put on music as the whole class went to their position to rehearse their dance routine. He watched as Kagome did a triple pirouette on toe perfectly followed by a glissade then a jeté.

Right when she was about to do a passé Kagome stumbled and fell. Inu yasha quickly stood up from his seat and ran to her, "You all right?"

"Kagome, what happened there?" Mrs. Gianni asked worriedly, as she stopped the music.

"It's nothing, just felt a little pain there and lost my balance. Nothing to worry about, it happens all the time." Kagome said flexing her foot. She was about to stand up but slipped back down onto the floor again. "Sorry, lost my balance again."

Inu yasha looked at Kagome, "You want to rest?"

"No, I'm fine. See, I'm up." Kagome said finally finding her balance. Inu yasha sighed in relief and went back to the couch.

Kagome continued to dance perfectly fine until she tried to do the passé again. Pain shot through her tibia. She winced and bit her lip but continued to ignore it. When she did an arabesque, the pain returned.

Inu yasha noticed Kagome wincing but didn't say anything.

"Mrs. Gianni, can I take a rest for a while. I don't know what's wrong with me today, my legs keeps having these pains." Kagome said after they had finished the dance routine.

"Of course, perhaps rest would help heal it faster. You know what; I think you should go home early and ice your foot. You already know the steps and everything; I think you should take a rest. Too much stress isn't good for you." Mrs. Gianni said.

Kagome gave her teacher a smile, "Thanks." She quickly took off her toe shoes and put back on her clothes. Inu yasha helped Kagome put her toe shoe into her bag and slung the back over his shoulder.

"Let's go get your lunch now," Inu yasha said as they walked into the parking lot.

"Mhm," Kagome said, "I am hungry….."

Inu yasha watched Kagome for a while. "Kagome, is your leg fine?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"You're limping. Are you sure you're fine?" Inu yasha asked worried.

Kagome laughed, "You're so cute when you're worried. Of course I'm fine. This always happens to me when I dance. Well, not always, just sometimes. Now stop worrying about me, let's go get food!"


"Kagome! Try to get it right this time!" Mrs. Gianni said shaking her head. "Remember, your hands are in second position."

"Sorry," Kagome muttered.

She did a relevé on toe but the pain was still there. This time it was even worse.

"Kagome, are you sure you're okay?" Mrs. Gianni said. "Perhaps you should go see the doctors, these pains have been occurring quite a lot lately."

"Yeah……maybe I should."

She heard the door of the studio open and turned to see who it was, "Inu yasha!"

"Class is dismissed. Go see the doctors, Kagome. It's best, if you want to dance in the winter performance." Mrs. Gianni smiled at Kagome and walked into her office.

Inu yasha looked at Kagome, "Don't I get a hug?"

Kagome laughed and went up to him to give him a big hug.

"I told you, you're like a limping duck." Inu yasha teased.

"Oh be quiet." She stepped back and asked, "Can you drive me home today? I need to see mom for a quick sec."

"Sure."


"Mom, can you help me make an appointment with Dr. Brighton?" Kagome asked sitting next to her mom who was in the living room reading a book.

Ms. Higurashi looked up from her book and looked at Kagome, "What's wrong? You're not feeling sick or anything are you?"

"No. Well, I've been having these pains on my lower leg and it's stopping me from dancing. Mrs. Gianni said it would be better to go to the doctors and see if there's anything wrong with it."

"How come you never told me? How long have you had these pains?" Ms. Higurashi asked looking at Kagome's legs.

"Uh, well it's been on and off for quite a while." Kagome said.

"We better go make an appointment quick if you still want to dance for the performance." Ms. Higurashi said picking up the cordless phone. She dialed the hospital number and waited for someone to pick up, "Hello? Oh yes, I would like to make an appointment for Kagome Higurashi with Dr. Brighton. Yes, yes, thank you. 4:30, of course. You too."

Kagome watched her mom hang up the phone and looked at her waiting for her mother to say something.

"Well, your appointment is on Thursday at 4:00." Ms. Higurashi said.

"This coming Thursday?" Kagome asked. She picked up the remote that was on the coffee table and started flipping through the channels.

"Yes, so tell me, where does it hurt?"

Kagome propped her leg onto the couch and pointed to her tibia. "Here, it just suddenly starts hurting. Sure, it happens all the time, but not this often."

"That's strange…."

"Tell me about it."


Kagome sat on a chair next to her mom waiting for one of the nurses to call out her name. She looked around, little kids were running around. One was bald and others looked as if they had fevers.

"Kagome Higurashi?" A nurse called out. Kagome stood up as her mom did the same. They both walked up to the nurse, "How are you doing today Kagome?"

"Fine."

"Come this way." Kagome followed the nurse as she entered a small room with flower wallpapers.

The nurse turned to Kagome, "Please have a seat as Dr. Brighton arrives."

Kagome hopped onto the bed like seat and waited patiently with Ms. Higurashi for Dr. Brighton to come.

A couple of minutes later, Dr. Brighton appeared. He was a tall man with dark brown hair and eyes. "Why, hello, Kagome. What brings you here today?"

Kagome started explaining all the pain she was having in her legs to the doctor. He told her to show her where it hurt.

"Right here," Kagome said pointing.

"What's this?" Dr. Brighton said looking at the bump that was on Kagome's leg.

"Maybe mosquitoes bite?"

"I don't know…..I'm going to see what's going on with this bump and your pain problems with the x-rays."

After taking the x-ray pictures, Kagome and Ms. Higurashi were to wait again until the doctor finished studying them.

Dr. Brighton came in the little room with an emotionless face. Kagome looked at her mother who gave her a little smile.

The doctor sat down on a chair and cleared his throat, "Well, I studied your x-ray scans."

Kagome looked at the doctor, "And?"

"Well," He started. "This is hard to explain."

Ms. Higurashi sighed, "Doctor, please tell us what we need to know."

"Of course, I'll make this quick, Kagome, you have osteogenic sarcoma." Dr. Brighton said directly.

Kagome stared at him. "Osto genic coma? What?"

Ms. Higurashi looked at the doctor worriedly, "What is this sarcoma?"

"As a doctor, I will have to be honest to you. Osteogenic sarcoma is a type of cancer-- bone cancer." Dr. Brighton said.

Kagome laughed, "Cancer? You've got to be kidding me. How could I have cancer? If I had cancer, wouldn't I have these bruises and headaches or whatever?"

"Well, those are different types of cancer. Bone cancer isn't like that. Let me ask you, have you been limping at all?"

"Yeah, but I sometimes limp after ballet." Kagome said.

"So, you also do ballet. You're on toe shoe?"

"Yes. But what does that have anything to do with bone cancer?" Kagome asked confused.

"Doctor," Ms. Higurashi said, "Can you clearly tell us what this osteogenic sarcoma is?"

"Osteogenic sarcoma, as I said, is a type of bone cancer, also known as osteosarcoma. That little bump on your leg is a tumor growing in there. Osteosarcoma often occurs between the ages of 10 and 25 and is more common among males than females." Dr. Brighton explained.

"Right…." Kagome said, "And how does limping go with this?"

"Limping is one of the symptoms of osteosarcoma. And you do ballet, right? You said you've been having all these attacks in your tibia. Sharp or dull pain is also one of the symptoms. Since you're on toe, you're adding weight on your legs, which isn't good."

Kagome licked her lips, "So, I have cancer. Am I…….am I going to die?"

"Well, the majority of patients can be cured."

"Which means I might die?" Kagome said looking down.

"No, I'm just saying, we've saved millions of people with bone cancer. 90 percent of the patients get well." Dr. Brighton said.

"I might be one of the 10 percent." Kagome said glumly.

Ms. Higurashi went to her daughter, "Now, Kagome, don't think about that way. Doctor, how are you supposed to cure her?"

"First, we'll have to see if the tumor is spreading. We'll have to scan her with a CT scan. It's harmless. A CT scan helps us see if the tumor is spreading or not. We need to start with chemotherapy so it could kill the cancer cells."

"Oh great, I'm going to be bald." Kagome muttered.

"It's just hair," Ms. Higurashi said. "And plus, the tumor might not have spread yet."

"What if chemotherapy doesn't work?" Kagome asked.

Dr. Brighton hesitated, "We'll have to do surgery on you."

"WHAT! You're going to do surgery on me. You don't mean amputation do you?"

"Amputation is rarely used nowadays." Dr. Brighton said.

"Doctor, what are we supposed to do?" Ms. Higurashi asked worried.

The doctor turned to them, "Well, we're going to keep Kagome in the hospital until we know what we're going to be fighting against. So, Ms. Higurashi, I hope you wouldn't mind going back home and getting some of Kagome's things here. We're going to take Kagome and do the CT scans on her and you'll just have to wait before we give you any news. She'll have her own private room on the third floor."

"Oh no, you can't be serious, Dr. Brighton. I have a winter performance next week and I need to be there. Professional dancers are going to be there to watch! That's my big chance to show them that I can be one too!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Kagome, there is no way you can keep on dancing with osteosarcoma. You'll have more pains. And like I said, adding weight causes more trouble. I'm sorry. Until we cure this bone cancer, you'll have to be here in the hospital."

Kagome sighed. "Do you know what you're saying? I'm giving up my whole dream! Professionals are coming to judge our school and now I can never become a professional because of this stupid cancer!"

"Now, Kagome, I'm sure you'll have that chance again," Ms. Higurashi said. "You're health is our first priorities right now."

"Your mother's right Kagome. If you want to continue to dance, you'll have to be cured first." Dr. Brighton added.

Kagome sighed in frustration. "I want to dance next week! I don't want to wait another year to have another professional to come! What if they don't like our performance this time? They won't come back again!"

"Kagome…." Ms. Higurashi pulled her daughter towards her and hugged her.

"This isn't fair, mom! It's not fair!"

"I know, honey, life's unfair."


A/N: Okay, I'm new with this osteogenic sarcoma thing. So if I gave some wrong fact or something about the cancer, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I don't want to be making up something that's not true. Anyways, since ff won't let us write author note chaps i'm going to say it here. For Hidden Tears, I'm having trouble writing the end of the chapter. So I'm very sorry if I'm not updating soon enough. Well, hope you liked this