・The Five-Hundred Year Difference・
| A Inuyasha FanFiction |
Full Summary:
Kagome Higurashi wakes in a hospital, only to find out she's been in a coma for two months. Questions naturally start buzzing around in her head. Why is she there? Why is she so confused? And who's the mysterious stranger that visits her in the middle of the night? But everything is forgotten when a strange new boy arrives at her school. Why does her seem so familiar? And how does he know her name?
Author: SmedTheVagabond
Beta: GoldenEyedRamenLover & YourGoldenEyes
AuthorsNote:
Well hi there. You came back for more, didja? Well in that case, ten Glory points and a virtual hug for you for being so brave my little dumplings.
Im actually very pleased with the handful of reviews I've received. Like I'd expected, some of you were a confused (more then others) but thats alright. The preview was supposed to pretty much make you say WTF and be all confused.
Well good! Im glad your confused. That means I did my job right.
Any-who, this chapter is pretty much self explanatory. It wont cure your confusion, but It will give you a feeling of whats happened. In fact, you can pretty much forget about the preview chapter. It really has no meaning in these upcoming chapters anyway.
Alright then. Ill stop stalling and let you read.
*Hides from rotten fruit and vegetables I know will be hurled and catapulted at my head.*
-Smed
・ ・ ・ ・
Review all you stingy, lazy folk. Review I say! I command you all!
Chapter 1. Dying is Peaceful. Its Coming Back That Hurts Like Hell
Her body, she realized suddenly as she was abruptly woken from a dream, was being jostled from side to side. Being pushed, prodded and poked uncomfortably. Unfamiliar hands were everywhere pinching her sensitive skin; grabbing at her arms, head and legs. Everywhere, sending streaks of torturous pain up and down her limbs.
Kagome's chest ached with a tender pain that filled her body to the brim. She took a deep inhale to relive some of the discomfort and winced as a sharp pain sliced through, what felt like, her lungs.
Her mouth opened in a silent, agonizing scream as she felt her body twist and convulse reflexively to the pain as it doubled. Her skin burned with an intense scalding heat that inched its way up her neck like a spreading wild fire.
Words and voices were spoken frantically all around her head, yelling words and phrases she didn't understand. All of them, muffled. She sensed the distinct feeling of people moving around frantically, speaking in loud frenzied voices, alerting her auditory senses on top of everything else.
Undefinable noises clicked and beeped. Sirens blared loudly, assaulting her ears. But despite all of this, she didn't dare open her eyes. If anything, she squeezed her eyelids even tighter together.
"Page Dr. Sutshi! Stat!" Someone yelled somewhere near by.
Rapid thoughts and questions bounced around in her head, rattling in her brain. She couldn't focus on one particular noise, feeling or sensation. Everything was too chaotic.
Abruptly, Kagome was lifted and shifted mid-air, as though she weighed as much as a mere dove's feather. Her body was gently placed back down on something soft.
Then, the distinct sensation of motion.
Her brow furrowed, her eyes still clamped shut. She was being…pushed? Wheeled somewhere? Whatever she was lying on was moving. And fast. The distinct swing and sway as she was rounded around corner's and or obstacles made her queasy. She gulped, swallowing down the strong urge to vomit.
Her eyelids fluttered heavily, an uncontrollable groan escaping past her numb lips. Everything was too bright and far to loud.
She cringed at the overwhelming sensations, pushing herself deeper into the the plush substance underneath her heavy limbs, trying to escape and flee the hellish nightmare she'd had somehow found herself in.
Riding on a high adrenaline rush, she risked a peek out underneath thick eyelashes and squinted automatically as fluorescent light's burned into her retinas. Vaguely, Kagome made out that she was riding on some type of mobile bed that had side guard rails on the sides.
How...weird, she mused mutely, letting her eyes slip shut again.
"Get her to the OR. Now!" Someone commanded loudly from somewhere close behind her. The shuffling sound of squeaky sneaker's on waxed flooring pierced the air. "OR Two!" The voice yelled again. A mans, Kagome realized idly.
Out of bizarre curiosity, she craned her neck and lifted her chin, prying her eyes open so she could peer at the figure running behind her. Kagome's vision was foggy and very unclear and all she could really make out was the dark shadowy outline of a person. A man.
Suddenly, when she thought it all couldn't get much worse then that, the excruciating pain was back. And with a vengeance. It filled her whole chest with a staggering flare that burned at her insides. Her eyes snapped shut and she let out a deafening scream that was ripped from her throat. Somewhere next to her, a monotone alarm sounded simultaneously with her screeching and everything came to a crashing halt - the motion and the loud footsteps behind her ceasing.
There was a deafening silence that stretched on far too long - save for the shrill sound of the alarm and her shrieking.
Then the man cussed loudly, breaking the pause in activity and sending everything into a chaotic frenzy once more. "Hurry! We're losing her!"
Loud foot steps and voices resumed.
Kagome's eyes opened and light filled her blurred vision. And weather it be from the confusing and hectic situation, she didn't care nor did she fight it off. She welcomed it graciously.
The loud noises and voices from before dulled, becoming more and more muffled as she began to black out. A calm washed over her like an ocean wave crashing against a rocky shore. Despite herself and the gut-wrenching pain, Kagome smiled.
Everything muddled to black nothingness.
-:-:-:-:-
・Two Months Later・
A sharp pinch followed by a rush of warmth in her right arm was what woke Kagome, forcibly rousing her from her dreams and the darkness that had surrounded her for some time.
Beep. Beep.
Head throbbing fiercely, Kagome moaned, then winced at how hoarsely raw her voice sounded. She turned her head to the side, tugging at stiff muscles in her neck.
She rubbed her eyes tiredly, but stopped when her hand brushed against something on her face. Something was resting against her upper lip and the bottom of her nose, filling her nostrils and lungs with filtered air. Keeping her eyes closed she rubbed at her temple, trying to relieve some of the continuing pain.
"Ouch," she grumbled. The simple word sounded very unlike her own voice. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. Why do I sound like that?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
There was a shift of the thick blankets that were covering her legs and stomach. "Oh my," someone whispered suddenly, shocked. It was a woman's voice, accompanied by the sound of movement and footsteps. "Page Doctor. Sutshi! Quickly! Tell him Higurashi Kagome is conscious."
Kagome's lips pursed as she frowned, her eyes still shut. Why would her being conscious be anything to get so excited over?
One of her eyelids was unexpectedly yanked open and a bright pen-light was shined back in forth in front of her pupil. "Kagome?" She could barley make out the woman's figure as she proceeded to force Kagome's other eye open. "Kagome can you hear me?"
Kagome swallowed and then licked at her dry lips. "Y-yes. I...I can hear you." Her voice sounded rough like she'd swallowed sandpaper and was thick like cotton balls had been stuffed down her throat.
"How do you feel, dear?" The woman asked, slowly removing her hand away from Kagome's eyes as she took a timid step backward.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Kagome swallowed and let her eyes flutter open. Her eyelids felt heavy like they'd been stuck together for sometime. She blinked once. Then twice, taking in the unfamiliar room she'd been situated in. Her vision blurred momentarily until her eyesight refocused and she could see clearly.
She was lying in a sterile looking bed that had side rails and a remote that was attached to the side by a long cord. Next to the head of the bed and behind the headboard Kagome noticed the machine that was beeping rhythmically, steadily in time with her heartbeat and another machine that was making a whirling, clicking noise.
The floor was tiled with white vinyl and the walls, all except one, were painted a mute beige. The only exception was an odd sliding glass door that made up a whole wall, sitting a few feet away from the foot of her bed. There were letters on the opposite side of the door so that anyone on the outside could read what they said. But it was backward for Kagome and it took her a few seconds to decipher that it read ICU.
Kagome looked thoughtful, frustrated at how confused she was. ICU...What does that mean?
The strange woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably as Kagome continued to sweep her eyes over the room.
The woman was wearing a uniformly generic blue shirt that matched her deep blue pants and white tennis shoes. A pink stethoscope was wrapped loosely around her neck and a matching pager wresting on her hip. Black hair with soft waves barley brushed against her shoulders and her mocha-brown eyes were bright but hesitant.
"Im…Im….where am I?" Kagome whispered, ignoring the woman's question. "Am I…?"
Unease spread through the woman's features and she audibly gulped. "You're in Mooreina Hospital. Specifically the Intensive Care Unit floor. You…you've been in a comatose state for the past seven weeks."
Kagome's world slowed until it stopped completely and she blinked in confusion, wondering if she had heard the woman right. "Im sorry, what?"
Maybe she had hit her head or fallen down and was now having a dream. A dream that was terribly real and terribly frightening. Kagome nodded, convincing herself that there was a logical explanation for the situation she had somehow found herself in.
But as the woman continued to give her the same knowing and sympathetic look, she suddenly knew she had heard her perfectly. Heated tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes as her bottom lip began to tremble. The woman instantly moved over to her side in a comforting gesture, placing a mild hand on her shoulder.
"Im so sorry." The woman whispered softly.
Finally Kagome's tears streaked down her pale cheeks and a lone hiccup sob escaped her dry and chapped lips. No wonder she'd felt like someone had hit her in the head with a brick. She had been in a coma…. a coma for crying out loud!
"Why?" Kagome croaked, her voice wavering as tears continued to dribble down her cheeks.
Before the woman could answer her, however, a man wearing a crisp white lab coat suddenly swept his way into the room. A doctor.
The woman, a nurse Kagome suspected, shifted uncomfortably. Yet at the same time she looked relived that there had been an interruption in their tense chat.
The man was young for a physician, possibly twenty-three or twenty-four. He had short brown hair that was scraped back into small ponytail at the crown of his head. His warm hazel eyes connected with Kagome's through blurry tears and he gave her a small smile despite the fact that she probably looked like a wreck. She hastily wiped at her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed.
"Hello Kagome. How are you feeling?" He watched her with a narrowed gaze, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. His voice was deep and rich. Knowing. Moving over to the machines, he studied them closely before writing something down on a clipboard that was attached to the foot of the bed.
"I..I've been in a coma for roughly two months. How do you think Im doing?" She sneered, rolling her eyes. What a stupid question to ask a person that's been unconscious for so long.
Kagome expected him to get upset with her for snapping at him so suddenly but the doctor merely grinned and stepped over to her bedside. "Touché."
He turned his head to the side and started murmuring quietly to the nurse and Kagome took the opportunity to take a look at his hospital ID that was pinned to the front of his supremely white coat. It read: MD Sutshi. Neurologist/ Neurosurgeon; his hospital ID photo and hospital ID number.
Kagome silently mouthed 'Neurologist' and 'Neurosurgeon,' pushing the words around on her tongue. Behind the foggy haze that was her mind, she could vaguely remember that those words had something to do with the brain.
Kagome stilled. "Is there something wrong... with...my brain?" She blurted, the words slurring their way out of her mouth.
Dr. Sutshi paused his conversation with the woman. He looked at her for a few seconds, looking like he didn't know weather to answer that question or not. But, finally he made his way over to her bed and gently eased himself down onto the foot of her bedding and fixed her a sympathetic gaze. Kagome shifted, slightly uncomfortable at having the occupants of her room staring at her like that.
"Not exactly, no." He sighed. "Our hospitals paramedic's were called to your family's shrine and they found you collapsed and unconscious outside your home. Upon being rushed into our hospitals ER, I was the first doctor paged to examine you. You suffered a stroke which lead to loss of blood and oxygen in your brain, sending you into a prolonged coma."
Kagome frowned and blinked away the tears that were threatening again. That didn't make any sense. She was a healthy seventeen-year old girl as far as she knew. The worst medical illness she had ever suffered was the occasional bad case of the sniffles.
She shook her head. "But...but why would I suffer a stroke?"
"Somewhere in your body you had a blood clot that interrupted your blood flow causing the stroke which led to the coma." He tilted his head to the side and studied her closely, making sure she was keeping up. Kagome nodded once, her foggy brain processing the information. Dr. Suikotsu offered a charming smile. "You're kind of a miracle you know though."
Kagome stared down at the small tube that was inserted directly into a pulsating vein in her right arm. "Oh?"
He inclined his head. "Usually comatose patients aren't as lucid as you are now when they wake up, if they wake up at all. Most patients lose the ability to speak and understand whats going around them. From the severity of your coma I would truly say you are a small miracle, Kagome."
Scoffing quietly, she rolled her eyes again. "Yeah."
Kagome knew there was more she wanted to ask him, something that had to do with her, but she still couldn't remember what it was. She chalked it up to the lingering effects of coma brain.
Sutshi suddenly stood and moved over to the nurse and whispered something in her ear. Kagome watched them murmur among themselves with a scowl, her hands clenching into fists tighter the longer she watched them. "Don't do that."
Dr. Sutshi turned slightly and peered at her over his shoulder. "Pardon?"
Kagome cleared her throat and attempted to straighten her spine, trying to give herself some height. But that only resulted in her unused muscles groaning defiantly, painfully, and she winced. "I said don't do that. Don't whisper. I hate when people whisper about me like that. Especially when they do it right in front of my face like Im not even there."
He nodded slowly and flashed a mild grin. "Sure thing." He turned back toward the nurse and said, without whispering, "Schedule an MRI, an EEG and a CAT scan. I want to know how her brain is responding. Though" he glanced over at Kagome, "I don't think I should worry to much." He winked and Kagome shrunk back into the bedding, trying to make herself as small as possible.
The nurse nodded obediently. "Yes doctor."
Dr. Sutshi opened the door but stopped short in the doorway to glance back at Kagome. "Ill come check on you soon. If you need anything don't hesitate to call the nurse help desk. Alright?"
She stared at him for a lingering second and then nodded once before glancing out the only window in the room. At hearing the door shut after he'd left, she sighed heavily and pushed her body deeper into the clean bedding.
The nurse began to flutter about the room like she didn't know how to stand still, fluffing the blankets, checking the noisy machine's, asking if Kagome was comfortable and then checking the machines again. Kagome watched her do all of this amusedly while simultaneously trying to think on what might have caused her coma.
The further she went back into her memory the more things got foggy and unclear. The very last thing she could remember was her mother telling her to have a good day at school before she'd headed off. She'd had a difficult math test to pass that morning and she was nervous about it. She remembered saying thank you to her before hugging her goodbye and leaving.
Everything after that was... empty space. Nothingness. Just broken fragments of suspended never ending darkness which Kagome figured must have been the time she was in her coma.
The nurse was replacing her IV fluids when the thought that had been teasing her in the shadows at the edge of her mind suddenly became crystal clear.
Her family.
"Wait!" she squawked suddenly, startling the already jumpy woman. The nurse squeaked and stumbled with the bag. Kagome tried pushing herself into a full sitting position again, but her arms were weak and only flopped uselessly against the crinkly hospital pillows. "My mom! Gramps! Souta!" She croaked. "Ha-have you called them?"
The now frazzled woman regained her footing and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, yes. Someone was paged to call them as soon as you woke. They are on their way as we speak."
Kagome brushed messy bangs out of her face and sighed heavily. Good. Her family was coming. Maybe that would clear up some of the unresolved internal turmoil that she'd been feeling since she woke up.
"Their coming, their coming, their coming," she whispered as a kind of reassuring mantra.
When Kagome's nurse, who she'd found out was named Koume, was finished with her other rounds that she had on the ICU floor a half an hour later, she poked her head into the room and asked Kagome if she needed to use the restroom. Considering that she had been asleep for weeks, had been constantly hydrated thanks to her IV and had been peeing into a tube, the sound of using the restroom on her own sounded like heaven.
Kagome moaned painfully as Koume lifted her sore and stiff left arm, wrapping it around her shoulder for leverage. "There we go."
She suddenly reached forward and took ahold of the plastic oxygen tube that was in Kagome's nose, removing it. She murmured a soft thank you as Koume continued to do the same with the little monitor that was attached to one of her pointer fingers. Immediately a machine began to beep wildly behind them, going haywire as Kagome's heartbeat was lost. Koume clucked her tongue and pressed a button on the noisy alarm, turning the machine off. She then proceeded to remove the tube from Kagome's arm, leaving the IV in for later use.
Koume waited patiently as Kagome swung her sluggish legs over the side of the bed and let them dangle uselessly a few inches above the floor. "Alright now I need you to try and press both feet into the floor and steady yourself before standing up. Can you do that for me?"
Kagome nodded mutely before pressing a bare foot onto the ice cold floor. Nerves that had been neglected, tingled, surging to life and she shivered unintentionally at the contact.
"Take your time," Koume crooned reassuringly. "There's no need to rush things. You're muscles have been unused for such a long time. Don't push yourself."
Kagome blinked, taking in the kind woman's words. Don't rush. Got it.
With as much strength as she could muster (which wasn't much), Kagome straightened herself out before pressing both feet to the chilly floor and pushing down gently, easing herself upward. The whole of her body groaned and ached as she stood to her full height, using Koume as a base for her weight. Kagome's head whirled and she had to take a deep breath and close her eyes as she stood upright for the first time in two months.
Koume beamed. "There you go. Great job Kagome. Your doing wonderful."
Giving her a withering smile, Kagome pushed away the sick feeling that had suddenly overthrown her. Both of her legs were heavy, clunky, and felt like useless wet noodles. They didn't feel like her own. Her arms were stiff and ached dully while her head felt like it weighed a few hundred pounds. She swallowed down the repulsive taste of bile that suddenly lurked its way into the back of her throat and attempted to lift one foot from the ground, moving herself forward. Koume had a firm grip on her arm as she suddenly lurched toward the restroom, eager to move on her own without assistance.
"Take it easy Kagome. No need to rush."
Kagome shot her an aggravated look, wanting to tell her that she was perfectly fine and that she didn't need to worry about her so much. But the words died on the tip of her tongue as Kagome's left leg buckled out from underneath herself and she tripped, her limp body tumbling forward toward the linoleum flooring.
"Kagome!" Someone gasped, catching one free arm that Koume wasn't holding onto, steadying Kagome's swaying body. "Are you alright?"
Kagome was gripped underneath her armpits and pushed back to the bed with gentle ease. Her vision dimmed momentarily by the sudden movement and she shook her head back and forth trying to clear it.
"Kagome?"
Kagome froze when she recognized the soft voice, her head jerking up so quickly that Koume had to steady her again even though she was sitting.
Her mother smiled softly as their eyes locked. She was the one that had caught her from falling. She brought up a soft hand and cupped Kagome's surprised face gently, her brown eyes getting misty the longer she stared at daughter.
"My baby," she whimpered, rubbing her thumb across Kagome's cheekbone. "How are you feeling?"
Kagome swallowed and placed her hand on top of her mother's, searching her expression for any signs or explanations as to what happened to her and why she couldn't remember.
She found none.
"Im fine. But...Mom I...what happened?" She wondered slowly, her eyes flickering across every dip and curve in her mother's familiar face.
Mrs. Higurashi's short brown hair had grown out a little since the last time Kagome had seem her; a slight change that somehow made a huge difference. Her hair, once a short boy-cut style, was now a slight pixie-cute. But her warm and caring smile hadn't changed. Her smirk reached her eyes and Kagome whimpered at the wonderful familiarity of her presence.
Her mothers lips pursed in sadness and her eyes dimmed as if recalling a painful memory. "I don't know honey. You were perfectly fine one minuet and then the next..." Her eyes slid over to the open window as her sentence trailed.
Kagome stared at her profile as she continued to pointedly look anywhere that wasn't her daughter's face, frowning as she realized her mother had been terribly worried about her. Kagome hated making her feel that way. She must have felt so...so...helpless.
Kind of like how I feel right now, Kagome mused.
Kagome reached forward and captured one of her mother's hands in her own, trying to ease her face into a reassuring smile. But as soon as she caught sight of her own hand, she was scowling.
Her hand looked ridiculously skinny next to her mother's. While Mrs. Higurashi's hand was supple, pink and...alive, Kagome thought her hand looked like something out of a grim, macabre fairy-tail. Her fingers skinny and pointed, looked like a very old woman's, and were horribly pale, like she was on deaths doorstep. Clearly she had been sicker then she'd first thought.
Kagome stared, fixated on the frailness of her hand. For some reason she couldn't shake the complete opposite in contrast their hands were. It made her...sad.
"But...Im alright now mom." Kagome croaked, forcing out the lie and a disgustingly sweet smile.
Her mothers eyes finally turned back to her and a smile danced at the corners of her mouth. She scooted closer to Kagome on the bedding and tugged Kagome forward into a gentle hug.
But Kagome could feel her mom shaking slightly, her arms loose around her waist, as if she was afraid she would snap her own daughter into two if she squeezed too tightly. Kagome sniffed, closing her eyes and burying her nose into the crook of her neck, ignoring the sudden dulled pain in her lower back from sitting up for so long.
Her hand ran down the length of Kagomes hair from tip to root in a insanely soothing motion. "That you are Kagome. Everything's going to be alright now."
They sat there for some time, the only sound was the loud wall clock hanging above the doorway. Kagome pressed herself closer to her body, enjoying the pure warmth of her mother.
Ever so slowly though, a growing heaviness began its assault on Kagomes heart. She began to feel empty. Hallow. Like the situation wasn't complete somehow. A piece of the puzzle in her life was missing and she didn't know which piece it was exactly.
And then she realized.
Someone else was supposed to be comforting her.
It wasn't like she didn't need or want her mother to take care of her, she did. Desperately. Kagome found so much solace and comfort in her mothers embrace she couldn't imagine waking up in the hospital to find that she wasn't comingto her side.
But there was somebody else that was supposed to be in her mothers place, Kagome just knew it. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. It was a feeling. A sensation. Someone else was supposed to be comforting her, holding her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and telling her everything was going to be alright. Someone else was supposed to be there, with her. Always.
Kagome blinked dazedly as her mom snuggled closer. Who? She questioned her subconscious, pleading with her brain for her memory to return. What is this feeling I have? I have my mom. She's my family...who else could there be? Who else could I possibly need?
Someone suddenly cleared their throat.
Mrs. Higurashi glanced up and Kagome looked out from underneath her eyelashes and saw Koume standing by the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her like she was an obedient servant waiting for an order from her master.
She spoke to Mrs. Higurashi this time."Im so sorry for interrupting, but I was hoping that I could get Kagome to the bathroom sooner rather than later. She has had a pretty tiering day and I think it be best if we try again while she's still got some energy left."
Mrs. Higurashi nodded in agreement and then glanced down at her daughter, her eyes questioning, clearly asking: Are you up for it?
Kagome glanced down at her ugly skinny hands, wondering if it was a good idea. She was pretty tired...But the sound of using the restroom on her own, doing something on her own, sounded like just what she needed.
Kagome nodded and then pushed away from her mom gently, readying herself at the edge of the bed. Koume was at her side instantly, wrapping Kagome's arm around her neck again and waiting patently. Kagomes mother took to her other side, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her.
Once again, Kagome put a bare foot to the floor, wincing at the chill that ran up her spine from the contact. Slowly, she pushed off from the bed and stood up straight, teetering only slightly.
"Wonderful Kagome," Koume chirped.
Mrs. Higurashi's hand on her waist tightened reassruingly. "There you go honey. You can do it."
Kagome bit her lower lip and started shuffling forward, switching her weight from her left foot to the right.
It all felt so odd; like learning how to walk all over again. She was getting reacquainted with muscles she never knew she ever had or ever needed. And Kagome felt herself becoming frustrated at having to be led across the room as though she was some little old lady.
But she stuffed down her emotions and kept going. This continued, left foot after right and so on until she had managed to walk her way across the room to the bathroom door.
Her mother was beaming and Kagome could tell Koume was just as giddy as she giggled right along with her. "You did it!" She laughed.
Despite the slightly somber situation, a slow smile found its way to Kagome lips. "Yeah. I guess...I guess I did."
They stood there smiling idiotically, waiting for Kagome to open the bathroom door, and she frowned when she realized what they thinking they were going to do.
Kagome tried to shrug them away. "Look, I can handle this part on my own. I don't need anymore help."
"Kagome-" Koume began but Kagome cut across her.
"I know you guys are only trying to help, but I have been stuck in bed for two months - two months - without me knowing. I've been needing help for so long I can't even stand on my own two feet without someone by my side. Let me do this. Let me sink or swim on my own."
Koume slowly let go of Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi was even more reluctant. Kagome gave them one last glance before purposely moving forward into the bathroom. Her legs grew a bit shakier as she no longer had someone to hold onto anymore. But she merely held onto the door handle and then the bathroom counter, closing the door after her with her foot.
Kagome sighed tiredly as she was finally left alone in some privacy, before flicking on the fluorescent bathroom light. She was making my way over to the toilet when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and she froze, motionless, like a frightened deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming Semi.
The girl in the mirror blinked back at Kagome with wide, curious dark hazel brown eyes that were seemingly to big for her face. Ebony hair was tangled and matted against her head, like it was in dire need for a good brushing, and was falling limply down her shoulder blades. Ghastly pale skin hung onto her bones like a thin layer of damp paper.
She was wearing a wispy blue hospital gown that fell to her knobby knee's and her skinny legs. She appeared a little to thin, like she hadn't eaten a good meal in... well...two months. Her eyes were sunken into her skull, causing her eyelashes to appear bigger. Dark, purplish bags sat that underneath, highlighting her already sickly and sunk-in looking face. Her lips were an unnatural pinkish purple color that had Kagome wincing.
In short: The girl looked like Hell. She looked like Hell.
Kagome took a step closer to the mirror, slowly reaching out a trembling hand to the girl in the reflection like she was afraid the stranger would disappear into thin air. She mimicked Kagome's actions, reaching out her own boney hand toward her own. When their finger's collided, fingertips grazing fingertips gainst the cool reflection of the glass, Kagome gasped and took an uneasy step back.
No. No, no, no, no, no...NO! She chanted mentally, shaking her head, willing the morbid image of the girl to go away. That cain't be me! She...she cain't be me!
Taking a steadying breath, Kagome forced herself to calm down and get a grip on herself and the situation. Panicking wasn't going to get her anywhere and her current state sure as hell wasn't going to last. That...girl wasn't her. And if she had any say in it, there was no way that she'd remain that way. She knew that she had to get better.
Kagome glanced up, the foreign girl in the reflecting imitating her. She stared at the depressing reflection for a long time, silently willing her to remember, urging her to know what it was that she'd lost.
A piece of herself she understood suddenly, was gone. Something wasn't...right. Everything felt off. She didn't feel like the Kagome she should have been. There was more to this coma then the doctors and she knew, or could have ever imagined. The fact was so hidden in the deepest depths of her subconscious that even Kagome was scared to go in search for whatever it was she needed to find.
Her eyes clashed with the girl in the mirror and she watched brown tears form in the reflection.
-:-:-:-:-
A trip to the bathroom and a few hours later, Kagome was transported back to her room after getting a full workup.
When she was finished using the restroom, Koume informed her that it was time to get her scheduled MRI, EEG and CAT scan. Apparently when she'd first arrived at the hospital, Kagome had been tested and it was then that a semi-vegitative state had been diagnosed.
Now, after being wheeled into her room, Kagome was situated back into bed with the generous help from Koume. She sighed as Koume slid the blankets up her body, glad that the doctors were all done with their poking and prodding of her body. They all wanted to find something wrong with her and her brain.
All of the doctors on the ICU floor seemed stumped as to why Kagome was so lucid and competent. It was very uncommon for a person to be in a coma for as long as she was and be able to come out of it with a clear head. Well...kind of a clear head. Kagome's brain was fogged and cloudy and she still couldn't properly remember what it was she desperately wanted to know. It was maddening. But Kagome kept it to herself.
"Kagome?"
Said girl's head jerked up at her mother's voice, jarring her from her thoughts. "Yeah?"
"Do you think you're up for any visitors? Or do you want some rest?"
At the mention of visitors, Kagome eased herself onto her thin elbows and eagerly looked out the door. Kagome's grandfather and little brother stood on the other side of the sliding glass wall, holding a bouquet of flowers and two balloons in their hands; a yellow smiley face balloon and another colorful one that read a cheery Get Well Soon!
Kagome smiled and nodded her head approvingly to her mother who had situated herself in the spare recliner on the opposite side of the room.
She stood and moved to open the door. "Come in," she beckoned quietly to the two looming in the hallway, sliding the door shut after they stepped inside the small room.
"Kagome," gramps hummed after he'd made it to her bedside, reaching out and rubbing a gentle hand across her cheek. Kagome leaned into the touch.
Kagomes little brother smiled at her. "Hey sis. Feeling any better?" Souta chirped, jumping up and practically catapulting himself onto the edge of the bed.
He handed her the bouquet and she thanked them for such a wonderfully unexpected gift before she brought it to her nose, inhaling greedily. Lilies. Her favorite. The scent invaded her nose and she moaned softly at the wonderful smell; something other then the stale hospital air.
"Im...fine," Kagome murmured, choosing the word carefully. "I feel better now that you guys are here. I missed you."
Gramps smiled and pat her leg before doing his very annoying grandfather thing; pinching her cheek. "We missed you too my little Kaggie pie. You had us all worried. But I knew you'd be just fine. Those charms I used on you while you were in your coma worked wonderfully." His chest puffed out in pride and Kagome rubbed her now sore cheek.
"You used your charms on me? Gramps..." Kagome laughed uncomfortably.
Her grandfather owned their home, a shinto shrine that had been in their family for many generations, and was somewhat a spiritual priest himself. Kagome would say somewhat because usually...his charms and sutras don't work. She nervously glanced down at herself skeptically, wondering what the effects of his charms could have done to her.
"Yep. You should be healthy again in no time!" He boasted smugly.
"Gramps you know those things don't work," drawled Souta dryly, eyeing the weird looking machines his sister was hooked up to.
Mr. Higurashi blanched. "They do too!"
Kagome's mother suddenly stepped in-between them, sending them into respective corners before an argument could develop. "Alright boys thats enough. We don't need to be putting anymore stress on Kagome." She sent a wink in Kagomes direction.
Gramps, Souta, and her mother stayed for four more hours, chatting happily and cheering Kagome up. They were all glad that she was alright and conscious once again and they enjoyed each-others company until the hospitals visiting hours were over and they were forced to leave.
Kagome watched sullenly as her family slipped into their coats and headed for the door. She wanted to leave with them badly, to have everything return to normal. She didn't want to be the one left behind. But because her tests hadn't come back, Kagome knew that was impossible.
Souta shuffled toward the doorway, waving a goodbye in her general direction. "Bye sis! See ya' tomorrow."
Kagome lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers as her farewell.
"See you in the morning," Gramps smiled, kissing the top of her head before moving over to join Souta.
She forced herself to smile. "Kay."
Her mother stepped in her line of vision, leaning down to her level. "Call us if you need anything. I mean it. Even if its three in the morning I want you to call. If you ever need-"
"Mom," Kagome groaned playfully, cutting her off. "Ill be alright. The hospital nurses station is just right outside my door. Ill be just fine."
Her expression softened but her eyes remained worried. "Alright. Good-bye Kagome. I love you."
"I love you too."
When they finally left, Kagome sighed dejectedly and huffed back against the pillows, glaring dagger's at the ceiling. It wasn't fair...it just wasn't fair! Here she was, lying in a stuffy hospital room in a stupid hospital bed with tubes and needles poking and pinching her skin, while everyone else got to leave and go about their business and daily lives.
She started picking at the clear hospital bracelet that sat on her wrist with her name and brith-date scrawled on it, trying to shed any light on the whole stroke and coma situation. None of it made sense and none of it seemed right. She still felt empty, like a space in her heart was void where it should have been filled. Filled with what? She had no idea.
Squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep forceful breath, she tried stimulating her memory. She started forcing herself to remember everything she'd forgotten.
And suddenly the colors were back.
Flashing with a brilliant flare, scarlet and silver blurred her vision. She blinked, helpless to their mysterious power. The all too familiar shades enveloped her in a strange feeling that she couldn't properly place or remember.
"Gold...," a soft voice somewhere deep in her brain whispered and Kagome froze, captured in an odd trance she didn't dare interupt. "...Remember him."
"What!?" She whispered back furiously. "Who?"
"Remember the forest. Remember the sleeping boy."
Kagome licked her lips and frowned. Sleeping boy...? What boy?
"Forgive his mistakes," the voice commanded, almost forcefully. "Trust him!"
"WHO!?" Kagome shouted as she lost her patience, slamming her hands against her blankets in frustration. She growled and ran a hand through her hair. Oh, thats just great. Im starting to hear voices in my head now on top of everything else.
"Kagome? Are you alright?" A timid voice suddenly spoke.
The colors scattered from Kagome's sight and the voice inside of her head faded, leaving her vision to focus solely on Koume as she stood in the doorway.
"Is something the matter? I heard yelling." She asked, stepping into to the room almost cautiously. She approached her bedside slowly, gazing at her with a look that Kagome couldn't quite place.
Kagome cleared her throat and tried schooling her wild expression into one that wasn't as crazy. "I um..." she cleared her throat again, nervous by the way Koume was eyeing her.
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you feeling okay?"
Kagome shrugged, feigning casualty. "I just cain't sleep. Thats all."
"Trust him," the mysterious voice muttered, reappearing.
Forgetting Koume stadning mere feet away from her, Kagome placed both her palm's on each temple, speaking roughly to the voice inside her head. "Either tell me exactly what you mean about this 'sleeping forest boy' or shut the hell up!"
This was it, she decided suddenly. She was going crazy. That had to be it. No sane person, in their right mind, would ever hear strange voices in their head. It just wasn't right, nor was it normal. The thought frightened her.
Kagome waited, listening as the voice grew faint and finally disappeared. When she was sure that the voice was definitely gone and wasn't coming back, her hands drifted back down to her sides and she sighed at the peace and quiet that had resumed in her head.
Koume stared at her a few lingering seconds, that look on her face Kagome couldn't properly place growing more defined. "Ill be right back."
She slowly backed out of the room and into the hallway with hasty retreating steps.
Something abruptly clicked in Kagome's head and she realized what that look had been on Koume's face. Apprehension. She thought Kagome was going nutty and had started talking to herself like a deranged, mentally ill lunatic.
Kagome swallowed hard as Koume re-entered the room, holding a needle in her hand. Kagome stilled as she saw Koume stick the long needle into the tube that was connected into her arm, depositing whatever clear liquid that was inside into the IV line.
Kagome blinked rapidly. "Wh-what was that?"
Koume purposefully didn't look at her. "This'll help you sleep better. "
Kagome felt the drug enter her bloodstream like heavy chunks of ice navigating through a narrow river. Her vision blurred and she watched through the mist that suddenly invaded her vision as Koume backed out of the room, slipping through the sliding door quietly.
Kagome's eyelids were suddenly heavy. They drooped and she felt her body become as heavy as a lead anvil as it sunk into the sheets. She groaned loudly, hating that Koume could control her so easily. One little sleeping drug and BAM! It was lights out.
The whole situation made her feel weak like she was back in the deep darkness of her coma, unconscious and terribly helpless. And as the room continued to become fuzzy, Kagome fought the losing battle to stay conscious.
Just as she was about to give in and surrender to sleep, a shadow fell over the room. Glancing up, Kagome saw that there were two darkened shapes looming in the doorway, shielding any outside light from spilling into her room.
They were figures, Kagome realized hazily, one fairly taller than the other. They lingered in the doorway, watching her behind a veil of darkness that shrouded and concealed their faces. Kagome shifted, not sure what to do or say to the two stranger's.
Then, the taller one spoke to the smaller figure. His voice was rich, deep and bit on the cold side. "This was a mistake. We shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be here."
The smaller silhouette scoffed and something on top of his head twitched, though Kagome couldn't properly make out what it was the darkness. "Keh. Are you insane? Why the hell would we just back out now? Besides, we have every fucking right to be here. I have every right. You know that better then anyone. Its been too long and Im tiered of waitin' for her."
Kagome listened to the second voice, entranced by the deep beautifulness of it. Even though it was slightly distorted by whatever drugs were pumping through her veins, it still sounded wonderful and oddly familiar. She wanted more of it.
The smaller shape suddenly moved for her bedside in one swift motion. "Can you hear me?" The voice was quiet, purposefully hushed. "Hey. Open your eyes."
Something touched her hand and heat instantly flooded her body from head to toe, like a wild fire spreading across a parched, barren forest. But it was a good kind of heat. It was a burn that sought to heal her. The sensation was vaguely familiar.
Kagome forced her heavy eyes open, unable to say no to the beautiful voice. She hadn't even realized her eyes had closed in the first place. Blinking blearily, she lifted her chin so she could look onto the face that was hovering inches above her own.
Illuminated in pale moonlight, the only light flooding into the room, outlined the face of a young man on the verge of manhood. A boy. He blurred in and out of her focus briefly.
A rare crooked smiled danced at his lips when she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Its 'bout time you woke up."
Kagome opened her mouth to reply, but all words escaped her as their eyes clashed. Her world shifted.
Bewitching amber eyes peered down at her in the darkness, highlighted by slitted pupils. Thick, pitch black eyelashes that would make any honest girl jealous of, fanned over the golden pools. They were intoxicating, inhuman, hypnotic and the most breathtaking eyes Kagome had ever seen. They oddly reminded her of a kaleidoscope.
The young mans face was defined by a strong jaw, smooth cheekbones and a set of pale pink lips that sat right above an obvious dimple in his chin. Moon-kissed hair cascaded down his shoulder's, the tips of it brushing the lower middle of his back, and layered silvery bangs hung down in front of his face, shielding his forehead.
But what really had Kagome staring were the two downey ears that were perched on top of his silvery mop. The two appendages were furry and white, resembling those of the canine world, but where pink on the inside. They looked like velvet and she fantasized about reaching out and rubbing them.
For some reason, without thinking, Kagome felt herself smiling back him. She opened her mouth to speak but the words came out garbled and half formed. "Do I know you?"
His hold on her hand tightened, his smirk faltering slightly. "Yeah. Its me. You remember don't you?"
The answer came before Kagome could even attempt to respond. The voice from earlier echoed in a deep corner in the back of her mind, a faraway flicker of a flame that was no longer alight. It was the same voice from earlier. A voice that was not her own.
"Yes. Ill remember always."
"This wasn't supposed to happen." His gruff voice was soft as he spoke, mumbling frantically to himself. He ran a hand through his brightly colored hair before sliding his gaze over to her face again. "Im so sorry for what I've put you through. Forgive me, please?"
Kagome had no answer for him. She was still struggling to make sense of what was happening and clinging onto the unexpected surge of adrenaline and hope that had suddenly surfaced the second the boy had appeared. Whatever reason she'd been feeling so empty since she had woken up from her coma, this boy...he was the answer. She just knew it. Whatever that answer was.
Kagome smiled at him again but he was no longer looking at her. He was moving around in fluid motions that Kagome couldn't keep up with in her loopy state.
However she could still feel the tube in her nose being removed and the IV in her arm being pulled from the vein that pulsated tightly, the drugs in her system threatening to overthrow her blood. The heart monitor on her finger was removed and just like before when Koume had removed the monitor, a shrill beeping sound filled the room.
At this, she heard the beautiful voice curse in a rough tone that Kagome didn't particularly care for. She liked it when his voice was softer, unguarded.
The other figure, the one still looming in the doorway, muttered something sarcastic to the boy. A noise, that sounded awfully close to a growl was ripped from the golden eyed boy's throat before he barked something back at the other figure heatedly, agitatedly.
Kagome reached out toward the boy to comfort him, seeking his warmth. She mumbled something incoherent and he was at her side once more, lacing his finger's through her's, squeezing gently.
Kagome glanced down at his hands and giggled softly. He had claws in place of where his fingernails should have been. Kagome blinked, trying to clear her head. Clearly the drugs had started making her see things. But the talon like claws didn't disappear and she found the fact that the drug had made her start hallucinating a funny idea and she giggled again.
"Don't worry," he whispered, his voice ringing deep inside Kagome's very soul. "Im going to get you out of here. I wont leave you ever again."
Suddenly, Kagome heard footsteps outside the door, coming from the direction of the nurses station. Probably coming to shut off the noisy alarm.
"...Lets get out of here. We need to depart before anyone sees us." The taller figure spoke, not inching from the doorway.
Kagome suddenly shivered. A chill had rolled over every inch of her body, slowly replacing the heated spark that had been lingering under her skin. Kagome whimpered. And thats when she realized that the touch of the boys hand had vanished.
With all her strength she reached out, searching for it. For him. Grasping at cold, empty air, Kagome fought to keep her eyes open, fighting the unavoidable certainty of sleep.
"Don't go," she slurred helplessly through lips that had gone numb long ago, watching as the shorter figure joined the taller by the doorway reluctantly.
She had so much to ask him. Who was he? Did he know her? Where did he come from? He'd asked her if she'd remembered him. Did that mean they'd met before? He'd spoken to her with so much familiarity that there was no way he didn't know her. Where was he going? And most importantly, would he come back?
The boy glanced at her over his shoulder, his amber eyes standing out like a bright flame in the dark room. "Ill come back for you, Kagome." He nodded in determination. "Count on it."
A pleasing shrill ran up and down her spine as her name was curresed by his tongue before it slipped past his lips. He knew her name.
Kagome reached out toward him again and frowned when all her finger's captured was air. Her vision pulsed with her heartbeat, beginning to dim with each measured thud. She watched as the boy and the taller figure slipped from her room like ghostly shadows.
Come back, was her last thought as her eyes slipped shut, the all too familiar darkness welcoming her into the world of dreams.
The boy was gone.
-:-:-:-:-
The sun had just eased itself over the morning horizon when Kagome woke up the next morning. She blinked sowly, resurfacing from slumber sluggishly.
She groaned as the drowsiness and disorientation hit her like an anvil to the face - the lingering effects of the drugs that had been in her system. Her arms and legs were heavy, her throat was dry and her tongue stuck defiantly to the roof of her mouth. Her vision blurred and it took a few moments for it to refocus.
Kagome turned over in bed, wincing. Her muscles were tight and ached dully from sleeping in an odd position all night. She rested her head against the flimsy hospital pillow and gazed outside at the morning sun, watching as two blue birds chased after one another in a flirtatious airborne dance outside her window.
Koume suddenly entered the room, holding a green tray. She smiled fully when she saw that Kagome was awake.
"Well, well. Look who's up."
Kagome rolled over and faced her, pushing a red button on the remote connected to the bed and it rose until she was sitting upright.
"I brought you some breakfast." She offered, holding the trey out for Kagome's examination. "Do you want to try eating some real, solid food today?"
Kagome glanced at all the food items - two toast slices, eggs and two bacon strips- and shook her head slowly, the thought of eating repulsing her. She wasn't hungry at all. "No."
Koume laughed lightly. "I cain't blame you. Thats hospital food for you."
She set the trey down on the nightstand table and moved to the end of the bed, grabbing Kagome's clipboard and checking the machines before writing something down.
"Vitals are good," she said with a wink before scrawling something down on the clipboard. "Like always."
The machines...the oxygen tube. Kagome gasped quietly, the events of the night before rushing back to me like a sudden tidal-wave. There had been a boy in her room.
Remebering what the stranger had done before he'd left, Kagome reached up and gently touched her face. The tube in her nose was back in its place. Kagome glanced down at her arm and noticed that the IV had been reinserted into her vein. Kagome cautiously peered around the room. But it was empty - save for Koume.
Kagome slumped back against her sheets in disappointment. But he had been in her room. She had heard him. She had seen him. She had felt the scorching heat that passed between their skin when their hands had touched. They were all too familiar sensations.
"Koume?" Kagome asked, her voice inexplicably uneven.
"Yes Kagome?" She responded distractedly, still starring at the machines.
Kagome swallowed dry air. "Has anyone..." Her bottom lip started to quiver and she bit it quickly before trying to speak again. "Did anyone come in my room last night? Like a visitor?"
She decided to conveniently leave out the fact that this 'visitor' seemed to be very oddly dressed, had dog ears, claws and that he knew her name. There was no need to worry the already jumpy nurse...was there? What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Kagomes question had broke the woman from her intense concentration and she glanced up from her scribbling. Her face was pinched and her brow furrowed. "No. Just the night nurse that was on duty when you knocked out your IV and oxygen tube in your sleep."
"What?" Kagome felt her throat constrict but she pushed past it. "I did that?"
Koume nodded solemnly. "I don't think you took to well to the drugs. Its effects on everyone are different. And I apologize that I had to do that to you in the first place. But if I hadn't, you might have hurt yourself. Or worse."
Kagome felt her face fall. "Oh."
Maybe she had imagined it all. Maybe the drugs had caused her mind to hallucinate the odd boy, filling her thoughts with a strange type of hope. He had almost seemed...too perfect to Kagome that he didn't seem real. Kagome scoffed silently, remembering the twitching dog ears on his head and the talon like claws that sat where fingernails should have been. Of course she had imagined him!
She grinned at the odd effects drugs had on people...which faded slowly the more her mind lingered on the subject. The image of the boy was so clear in her memory she could practically reach out and touch him. She could still see his charming amber eyes and the way his unusual hair fell into them as he leaned over her, whispering her name like she was his salvation. The image was permanently engrained into her brain. She gently rubbed at the same spot he had held her hand, as if she could still feel him there.
Had it all been a crazy hallucination caused by the effects of the drugs? Had she made it all up? Was it all in her head? A mere figment of her imagination?
"But I do have some good news." Koume smiled, snapping Kagome from her thoughts.
Kagome slouched back into the bedding, uninterested. "Yeah?"
"Dr. Sutshi has your updated lab results. He says he has some good news for you," she finished in a sing-songy voice.
She was really in no mood to hear about the lab results concerning her coma, seeing as how she'd heard enough about her stroke. But Koume looked so happy about sharing the 'good news' that it made Kagome smile despite herself. Koume then asked if she needed anything more and when Kagome told her that she didn't, she left for her other duties.
Kagome brought the blankets up around her neck and closed her eyes for just a moment, taking a deep breath.
However, when she opened her eyes again, the sun had lowered noticeably in the sky, casting an orange glow on the wall opposite of her. Kagome glanced over at the wall clock curiously. Two hours had passed and it was almost noon. Kagome frowned when she realized she had let herself fall asleep. And just like the hallucination of the boy she'd seen yesterday, Kagome blamed that too on the lingering effects of the drugs.
Rubbing a fist across her eyes, Kagome sat up in bed and stretched, yawning shamelessly.
"Watch where your pointing that, dragon breath," Souta muttered as he appeared out of nowhere, wrinkling his nose at her fowl morning breath.
Kagome's eyes narrowed and she glared at her brother weakly, simultaneously wondering when he'd shown up. If he was here, that meant Gramps and her mother wouldn't be far off. "You try sleeping for two months and waking up with breath that smells like a bed of roses."
Souta stuck his tongue out at her childishly and she replied in a very mature fashion: by tugging on her ears, puffing out her cheeks and crossing her eyes. There. Now she looked like a deranged monkey. Very mature. Souta threw his head back and let out a howling laugh at Kagome's unexpected silly face, nearly losing his balance and flinging himself off the edge of the bed.
"Well its good to see you two getting along so well," my mother chuckled, stepping into the room. She was sipping leisurely on something that was in the styrofoam cup she clutched to her chest.
"Your hilarious sis!" Souta laughed, his smile making his eyes crinkle around the edges.
Kagome placed her non IV hand behind her head and reclined back, winking at him. "Glad I can be your cheap entertainment for the night."
"How are you feeling today, honey?" Kagome's mother asked as she sat back in a spare chair across the room.
Kagome sighed, blowing at her bangs as they hung down in front of her eyes. What a broad question. Well Im STILL stuck in this stupid, stuffy hospital with tubes and needles stuck in me everywhere. So Im feeling annoyed at that. My friends haven't come and visited me and Im feeling pretty put out. Oh, also, I think Im going mentally insane because Ive started hallucinating a beautiful boy that want's to take me away from the hospital and probably you. So theres that issue that needs to be dealt with. Despite the dog ears and pretty scary claws the guy has, he seems harmless. Wanna meet my imaginary friend?
She grinned at her sarcastic thoughts before turning her full attention back to her mother.
"My appetite is still nonexistent and I cain't walk for more then a few feet without the help of a nurse. But my head doesn't ache and I don't feel like throwing up anymore, so I've gone from completely unhopeful to slightly optimistic."
"Thats good to hear." Mrs. Higurashi smirked, tipping back her cup and taking a swig.
"Thats very good to hear." A deep voice echoed from the doorway. Dr. Sutshi's smirk broadened as Kagome glanced his way. He stepped into the room, clutching a plastic binder against his white lab coat. "Being anything more than unhopeful in your situation is good news."
Mrs Higurashi practically leapt up from her her spot in the chair. "Good-afternoon Dr. Sutshi. Do you have any new news concerning Kagome?" She greeted over-zealously.
The physician smiled and nodded his head. "I do. In fact thats why I came here as soon as my lunch break was finished. I received Kagomes labs earlier today and I couldn't wait to share them with you all."
Kagome was instantly alert and thirsty for more knowledge about her condition. "...And?"
Sutshi grinned appreciatively of her over-zealousness. "And their perfectly normal."
Kagome stared at the man, blinking. There was an uncomfortable silence filling the room. No one knew what to say back to that.
Mrs. Higurashi blinked.
Souta and Gramps blinked.
Kagome felt herself blinking again. "...Normal." It was more of a question then a statement.
He nodded affirmatively. "Normal." Unfolding the binder that had been clutched to his chest up until that point, the good doctor held it out for Kagome who took it and stared at it confusedly.
Inside were her labs and scans, all placed neatly side by side. The first scan was a black and white picture of Kagome's brain. She was definitely no doctor (heck she was having a hard time passing her mid-terms) but even she could tell that the second picture was of her chest cavity. Like the first scan, this picture was in black and white. It depicted her ribs and ribcage. The third was another picture of her brain. But unlike the first one, this picture of her cranium was colored brightly. Reds, blues, greens and yellows dotted the picture.
Kagome cocked her head to the side and studied them all closely, wondering what they all meant.
Souta, who had been starring at the scans of his sister like all the other occupants of the room, spoke up first. "So my sister is just...fine?"
Sutshi nodded and puffed up smugly. "That she is."
At that, Mrs. Higurashi was pulled from her thoughts and she walked over to the man and hugged him tightly, catching Sutshi by surprise.
"Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." She squeezed her arms tightly around his middle an he chuckled.
"Really its no problem. Im just glad that Kagome is recovering much more quickly then we'd predicted."
She stepped back from the embrace. "When do you think we might be able to take Kagome home?"
He mulled this over for a few seconds, glancing over to Kagome who had gone unusually quiet. "I think she will be able to go home in a day or two, depending on her eating patterns, heart rate and physical stamina."
Mrs. Higurashi beamed and stepped over to her daughter as she placed the labs down and stared out the window. "Did you hear that darling? You'll be able to go home soon! Isn't that wonderful news?"
Kagome continued to stare out the window. "Mhmm."
Her mother didn't seem to notice the melancholy attitude her daughter had suddenly fallen into and she sat down on her bedside, hugging her tightly. "Im so happy Kagome. Im so glad your alright."
Kagome swallowed and welcomed the hug graciously as she rested her cheek on her moms shoulder. If Mrs. Higurashi had taken a closer look at her daughter she would have noticed that Kagome was bitting her lip so she wouldn't cry.
While Kagome had been reading her labs, she suddenly realized something she'd forgotten to ask the strange boy who'd mysteriously materialized in her room last night. Real or hallucinated she'd still forgotten to ask him.
A rouge tear rolled down Kagome's cheek.
She'd never gotten a chance to ask the golden-eyed boy his name.
-:-:-:-:-
Three days later, passing all of her newest scans and tests with flying colors, Kagome was discharged from the hospital. Now that she was feeling much better, having eaten better and worked with a few physical therapists to help her start walking properly again, Kagome was just itching to leave the confines of the hospital walls.
Inevitably, all the skeptical doctors on the ICU floor came to the same conclusion that Kagome had reached a while ago; she was fine. She may not have been completely physically strong or had all of her memories back since she woke up, but Kagome knew she was fine. She just needed time.
"Kagome?"
Said teenager had been starring out the window in the room pensively while she waited for her mother, watching the world fly by below her out the windowpane. At the use of her name she glanced over her shoulder. "Yes?"
Dr. Sutshi grinned soflty as he lingered in the hallway outside of the room. He had foregone his usual lab coat and was wearing a plain baby blue shirt and black slacks which highlighted the color in his eyes. Kagome noted that the look suited him. However, she also noted that he was holding onto the handlebars of a wheelchair.
"Its time to go. Your moms finished all of your paperwork and she's just pulling the car around. Is it okay If I wheel you down?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and faced him fully, trying to give him her best intimidating scowl. It was a look that did everything but audibly hiss. "I can walk down there just fine."
His face faltered. "I never said that you couldn't, Kagome. But its a hospital requirement that all patients depart in a wheelchair."
Kagome stood her ground. "Then make an exception."
He sighed heavily, like the weight of the world sat on his shoulder's. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Please don't be difficult."
"Im not being difficult!" Irritation flared hotly inside of Kagome's chest.
"But you are," he insisted. "I've watched you, Kagome, while you've been recovering. Whenever I come to check up on you, you act difficulty with me. You don't like taking help from others and you certainly don't like depending on anyone but yourself. And I can understand that. It must be a very difficult time for you right now, what with waking up from a two month coma and all. You must feel so confused and angry for whats happened."
Kagome's ire melted almost instantly and her arms drifted back down to her sides.
"But while I can appreciate your feelings of anger about your memory loss, I cain't understand why you wont let others help you." His eyes softened. "Sometimes people need help. Its human nature and you are no exception. So please, "He wheeled the chair closer to her and gestured for her to sit, "let me help you."
Kagome stared at him for a few lingering seconds, shaken by how dead on he was. Her expression was hard and curious at how oddly candid he was being with her. Had he really been paying that much attention to her?
When Sutshi didn't budge from his spot or look like he was going to give up, Kagome swallowed her pride and shuffled forward before plopping herself into the wheelchair.
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kagome could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Harder then you might think," she muttered and he chuckled lightly as he turned the chair around and led her down the hallway.
The continued in silence, neither one really knowing what to say. They passed the maternity ward of the hospital and Kagome's face softened as she saw all the pink, squishy newborns inside the nursery.
Sutshi wheeled her into an empty elevator and pressed the main floor button and the metal doors of the elevator closed with a clank.
Kagome fiddled with her hands in her lap.
They descended past the fifth floor.
"Thank you," Kagome blurted unexpectedly in a whisper that was almost inaudible.
They passed the fourth floor.
Sutshi nodded though Kagome wasn't looking his way. "Your welcome.
Another silence fell over the two as they slid past the third floor. An understanding ran deeply between them. Words beyond what had already been said were inadequate and unnecessary.
When they finally reached the bottom floor, Sutshi pushed Kagome through the main lobby toward a set of double doors that opened automatically when the walked in front of it. As they passed through the doors and stpeped out into the blinding sunlight - something Kagome hadn't truly seen in two month - she squinted and raised her hand up to shield the brightness away from her eyes.
The outside air was supremely fresh and Kagome smiled softly as the wind tickled at the nape of her neck. Everything around her seemed so bright and alive. Cars whizzed by, people walked down sidewalks chatting with one another, bicyclists sped onward.
And Kagomee felt...like an outsider compared to the lot of them. She had only been in her coma for two months but it seemed like an eternity now. She watched as they went on with their daily lives, wondering if she could truly start over and get back to normal.
Mrs. Higurashi pulled the car around to the passenger loading zone and stopped right in front of where Kagome and Sutshi were waiting.
Sutshi suddenly knelt beside Kagome so he could look into her eyes. He smiled softly. "Take care of yourself, Kagome. If you need anything, don't be afraid to call me. Your mother has my number."
Kagome grinned genuinely and nodded. "Alright. I will."
With all of that said and done, Kagome stood up from the chair without any help, grabbed the overnight bag her mother had brought for her while she was staying at Mooreina and slipped into the passenger side of her mothers car before slamming the door shut.
Dr. Sutshi waved one final time before turning and walking back into the busy hospital. Kagome watched him go.
"Ready to leave?" Mrs. Higurashi chirped happily as she pulled the car away from the curb and merged onto the road. She turned up the radio to a catchy song. Kagome started subconsciously bobbing her head to the beat.
Kagome smirked as she watched the scenery whizz by out the open car window, feeling freer then she had even been. "You have no idea."
From now on, things are going to get better, I just know it. Kagome assured herself, grinning like a maniac. She would go back to school, see her friends, study hard and get back to her regular life. She nodded her head subconsciously. She liked the sound of that.
When Mrs. Higurashi slowed the car at a stop sign, something caught Kagome's attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head fully to see whatever it was. Thats when she saw his face and she stilled, her fingernails digging into the plush stuffing of the padded carseat as she held her breath.
Perched on a high branch in a tall tree near the stop sign, hanging onto the tree's trunk with one hand and the other hand hanging limply at his side, stood the boy who had snuck his way into her hospital room that one night. The same boy Kagome hadn't been able to get out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.
While Kagome was still in the hospital, she had waited up every night after that night boy had visited, waiting to see if he'd come back for her - just like he'd promised. And when he didn't, Kagome had forced herself to realize that the dog-eared boy must have been a hallucination. The mere idea sounded crazy. Even still, she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that he was real.
And now here he was; dog ears and all. She hadn't been going crazy. He was real.
Kagome really hadn't gotten a real good chance to look at the guys features but now that she could, she couldn't help herself from starring at him shamelessly. He was a modern day adonis.
His silver hair, which looked almost white in the sunlight, was billowing out behind him at the mercy of the breeze. His head was lowered and a single silky tendril of hair swelled out in front of his eyes, shielding the upper half of his face. He wore a plain red tee-shirt that hugged his obviously well defined chest, a pair of dark washed jeans that accentuated his taught thigh muscles and lean hips, as well as a worn pair of black biker boots. Even from her spot in the car Kagome could tell this guy was in shape. There was no doubt about that.
Her mouth had audibly popped open at the sight of him and she discreetly glanced over to her mother, who was completely oblivious to the boy sitting in the tree like a monkey. Kagome debated on calling out to him as her eyes found his figure once again. Who are you? she thought mutely, capturing her bottom lip in between her teeth nervously.
As if he had read her thoughts, the young man's head snapped upward, a single amber eye peeking out from behind thick silver bangs and untamed hair. She gasped and pushed herself deep into the car seat as his smoldering gaze made her heart jump in her ribcage. She brought up a hand to rub at her chest absently.
He was watching her.
All of this happened within a fleeting moment and before Kagome could object, the car was moving again, merging into traffic.
She forced herself to turn away from the window and she slumped back into the carseat. Kagome's heart thrummed inside of her chest like a hollow drum and her breathing was erratic like she'd just run a marathon. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder and peered out the back window toward the spot he'd been in. What she saw made her eyes go wide.
He was gone. Again.
She faced forward and kicked her feat up onto the dashboard. This was insane! A guy with silver hair, dog ears and claws, was what? Stalking her? She'd never really thought of the idea of him being a stalker. But currently, he was acting very mysterious and stalker-ish.
"Thats just perfect," Kagome muttered sarcastically.
Her mother cocked a curious eyebrow at her. "Hmmm? Did you say something?"
Kagome shook her head, glancing out the window. "Nope."
But there was still the ever pressing fact that he knew her name. That could either mean one of two things. One was that he was some kind of major whack-job stalker guy, (something she prayed he wasn't...). And the second was that maybe he'd known her before she'd had her coma and she'd forgotten all about him.
For the sake of her own sanity, and not liking the first option very much, Kagome went with the latter.
A/N:
Gah. That was a really bad place to end this chapter, I know. But It really couldn't be helped. I had to stop here.
Honestly speaking, this chapter was a challenge for me. I felt frustrated writing it because I want to explain everything thats going on and I feel like Im not doing a very good job. I hope you guys are keeping up and not getting too confused.
As I said before in the preview chapter, I want you to be confused. Kagome's confused and feels helpless and I want you all to feel that way as well. That way, when everything is explained in later chapters, you'll feel like you know why certin things did or did not happen in the earlier chapters. But don't fret my pets, things will definitely be more clear in the next chappie, I pinky promise.
Next up:
Chapter 2. The Boy Who Knew Her Name.
"TTFN, Ta Ta for now!"
-Smed
・・・・