Yes, indeed! I have returned! I wanna thank all the people who waited patiently (and not) for my next update. Sincerely, I really appreciate it. I'm so very sorry for the long wait. As I'm sure you all know, I used to write a thank you and respond to each of your reviews, but FF doesn't allow that anymore, which kind of sucks. Thanks to all of you that reviewed though; you're reviews helped push me to update. For some reason, laziness or whatever it was, (and it had to be more than that) I just couldn't get around to update. It's kind of painful for me to sit at a computer for a long time, though, because I've got a tailbone injury. (Not trying to make excuses or anything.) I'll try to answer your questions and comments, though. To LightStar101: No offense taken; I know a lot of people prefer that story compared to my other ones. It's just the readers' preference. AFLM is the most difficult of my stories to write for some reason, and I have no idea why. I did, however, begin another chapter awhile ago, and I hope to work on it and have it up soon. To SilverDrop: Yes, I intend to use all of the main characters from the show/manga. Kikyou has yet to be introduced. I think she's the only one I need to add in. That might happen next chapter. To invisiblecows: Sesshomaru went to the bar his father owned. Here's a tiny spoiler for you: we're going to make Fluffy drink a lot. He's probably going to be an alcoholic; it makes things a little more angsty. To Nightfall2525: Come on, Nightfall, I would NEVER write any other pairing besides Ses/San. It is the POO! Glad you liked the first chapter. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Toodles and ja ne!
Liebe immer,
Sesshomaru Is Mine/Abbey
Love,
LadyRedEyes/Marisa
PS: Marisa helped me out with this chapter a lot. She also gave me that extra kick in the ass to get writing. Thanks so much, Kags; I owe you bunches!
Disclaimer: Ah, InuYasha. He's such a sweetie, but sadly, I don't own him, or any other character from the anime/manga. Sadly, I also don't own Paul Konerko from the Chicago White Sox, either. PAULIE, PAULIE, PAULIE! (Sorry, it's a Chicago-area thing, ignore me ;) Oh, and I don't own anything about Chicago that I mention either.
Quick authors' note: Every character in this story is a normal human being. There are no powers or techniques or anything like that for them. They just beat up people and shoot them. Silly gangsters ;)
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Dreams of Our Fathers
Chapter II:
The Nurse
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Last time…
InuYasha and his siblings: Sesshomaru, Battousi, and Mina, along with his friends, Sango and Miroku, attended the funeral of Inutaisho, InuYasha's father. Naraku reveled in the mob king's death, and his son, Hakudoushi, even made an appearance to Mina after the wake. Sango tried to convince her brother, Kohaku, to stop hanging around with Hakudoushi, Naraku, and the rest of the Miasma gang. Little does she know, Naraku told Kohaku that InuYasha's family killed his parents. Sango remembers when she and her brother first came to live with "the family," as Inutashio had asked her. Inutashio's will was read, and it left everything in charge to Battousi, the oldest son. Sesshomaru became angry, and left in a huff. InuYasha tried to follow after him, going to Inutashio's grave in his search. There, Naraku was paying his last respects to his great rival, and shot InuYasha from a distance. At the end of chapter one, InuYasha had just fallen unconscious…
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The bright lights of the hospital shined down upon all its inhabitants. It would have been quiet, however one individual took it upon himself to create a horrendous ruckus.
"Damnit!" someone yelled out.
InuYasha woke to the harsh, flouresant lights, which burned his eyes and caused him to sit up. The effort of the action reopened his wounds. With a grumble, he turned his attention to a woman on the other side of the room. She sighed wearily at his behavior. The nurse wore a tight skirt that was about an inch or so above the knees and it seemed to show off a bit more curves than were normal for such a uniform.
The woman turned around, a frown upon her lovely face. "So you finally decided to wake up, Mr. Kenji…or should I say Mr. Kakkera?" She walked to his bedside. Rolled up in her hand was a newspaper, which she tossed onto his lap.
InuYasha looked confused, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, woman." This response was an honest one.
She became frustrated and placed her hands on her hips. "You mean to tell me that you don't remember anything? Anything at all?" she asked him skeptically.
He thought for a second, trying hard to recollect something. Then he remembered. With a playful smirk and a voice to match, he replied, "Oh, yeah…now I remember."
Flashback…
The young, ebony-haired nurse rushed into the emergency room. She had been summoned (quite reluctantly, I might add) there during her break. She hustled through the swinging doors to meet a boy, red-haired and shaking like a leaf, along with a handsome man around her age, who was lying on a gurney. The injured man was dressed well, a suit and tie. Both were stained by the blood seeping from a bullet wound just below his left collarbone. "What happened here?" the nurse calmly asked the worried boy. He looked no older than 16 or 17.
"Well…" the boy started, his voice shaking slightly, "All I know is that he was shot. As soon as the attacker left, I went to help him."
The nurse gasped in shock and held but tried to keep her composure. "My name is Kagome," she stated, holding out her hand. He took it and she lead him to the door. "If you want, you can come in tomorrow morning before visiting hours to check on him. All you have to do is give my name at the desk and they'll let you in, alright?"
He nodded his head and replied, "Thank you, Miss Kagome. My name is Shippo Kitsune. And…um…"
"What's the matter, Shippo?" Kagome asked kindly.
"Well, you see, I have no home to really go back to," he answered sheepishly.
Kagome tried to choose her words carefully, sympathetically. "You mean…you're homeless," she said quietly. Shippo nodded. She gave him a small smile, "After I'm done taking care of him, I know where I can let you sleep for tonight." This young boy reminded Kagome so much of her brother, Sota.
"OK!" he answered enthusiastically, then ran off to the waiting room.
With that, Kagome immediately rushed to her patient. He groaned painfully. She applied some pressure to the wound to stem the blood flow. Then she grabbed a special tool.
"Sir?" If you're coherent," she spoke clearly, "please brace yourself; I'm taking out the bullet now." As gingerly as humanly possible, Kagome coaxed the bullet free from the man's body. He groaned in pain and latched his nails into her arms, but only for a second, and then he let go. The young, beautiful nurse couldn't help but be touched by this man in some way. Even unconscious, he had a sort of smug flirtiness that caused her to blush. He seemed almost invincible. "Oh shit," InuYasha muttered, then fell silent.
Kagome laid him back down and went to work at bandaging his wound securely. Shortly after doing so, she placed IV's in him for medication and nourishment.
In time, InuYasha opened his eyes, his vision blurry at first, but soon he could make out the nurse. "What the hell happened?" She turned in his direction. "You were shot and it seems like you have a concussion from the fall as well."
He looked about the room, observing his surroundings and trying to remember what happened. He just couldn't.
Kagome seemed to be reading his mind, "Give yourself a chance to catch up before trying to think too much. You should rest, Mr.?"
He couldn't give her his real name. That would look bad, a Kakkera in the hospital with a bullet in his chest. InuYasha paused for a second, then spewed out, "Kenji, I'm InuYasha Kenji."
She smiled. "Mr. Kenji, I'll be back later to check on you. The doctor will be in shortly. Feel better, alright?"
Maybe it was the shot he took, but for some odd reason, a light blush creeped up in his cheeks. "Feh, whatever, thanks," he grumbled. She turned to leave the room. Just as she was about to turn out the door, she heard him chuckle and say, "Hey, nice skirt." Kagome paused for only a moment before flinging herself out the door, a ferocious blush rising up on her face.
End Flashback…
"Well you know," InuYasha began, "That is a pretty short skirt you're wearing there."
Her face turned beat crimson. "That wasn't the point!" Kagome motioned to the newspaper. "The real point is that you lied and I want to hear the truth from you!"
The newspaper featured a picture of the Kakkera family. That's right, his father was dead. InuYasha forgot that for a second. "Hey, I remember a kid," he began, dancing around the question, "Where is he?"
She sighed and took the newspaper from him and rested it on a nearby table. "He's at my home right now; you can talk to him later. He was worried about you too. You owe him a lot. Not too many people wander around graveyards in the middle of the night and come across injured…er…young men. You were very lucky, Mr. Kenji."
"It's Kakkera, InuYasha Kakkera," he muttered, glaring out the window, "You said so yourself."
"Thank you." Kagome put a hand on his shoulder, "My name is Kagome Higurashi."
A couple of hours passed, and Kagome and InuYasha were getting to know each other. Kagome even talked clear through her lunch break, but InuYasha gave her the green Jell-O from his meal, along with everything else. ("Hospital food sucks!") There was one problem besides Kagome leaving every now and then to check on other patients, however.
"Hey! You better keep your filthy hands off my nurse, if you know what's good for you!"
"She's not YOUR nurse, so lay off of her!"
Kagome groaned, "Why do I always have to put up with things like this! Both of you cut it out!"
The room fell silent but both men were still glaring daggers at each other. "Thank you," she said with a sigh. "Doctor Kouga, I know you're only looking out for me bu-"
"-Of course I am. I can't trust this guy as far as I can throw him."
InuYasha huffed, his arms crossed, "Well, you're not exactly the first person I'd trust either."
Kouga smirked, "Yet you trusted me with a wound that could've killed you?" Kouga won the argument.
"OK! We get the picture!" Kagome yelled exasperatedly. She felt like hitting the both of them, but kept her cool. "Kouga, please, I know other patients are waiting to see you so it wouldn't be very good to keep them waiting."
"What about you, Kagome?" Kouga asked.
InuYasha answered for her, "She's been requested to pay special attention to the needs of a certain patient, if you know what I mean."
"YOU FOUL DOG!"
"KOUGA!" Kagome warned.
The doctor sighed and pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket, putting them on. "Yeah, I guess you're right. The crime rate is going up so more people come in each day."
InuYasha shifted slightly on the bed, feeling somewhat guilty about the crime rate, and the contributions his family made to it. "Well then, you should hurry up and get outta here." His voice dimmed with each word, "Before more people come in."
Kouga nodded sadly, his face suddenly harder, more weary. He left the same way he came.
"I apologize about Kouga; he's extremely protective of me…"
"Yeah, I couldn't tell," he replied sarcastically, and then added, "Sorry I upset your boyfriend, or whatever he is."
"What! He is not my! Urg! InuYasha I knew you were going to be trouble from the moment I first saw you!" She smacked him in the back of the head and took a seat in the chair next to his bed.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again, "InuYasha?"
"Yeah? What do you want?"
Kagome sounded troubled. Weren't gangsters notorious for taking care of their own? "Why haven't any of your family members come to see you yet? Do you know when they're coming?"
"Ah, right on cue!" said a voice.
"Miroku!" InuYasha uttered, surprised.
"Not just me either," Miroku said darkly, "The gang's all here."
Sango came in, standing next to Miroku. "And how!" she exclaimed.
Kagome leaned over InuYasha slightly, "So this is your family?"
InuYasha rolled his eyes, "Better than."
"Thanks, buddy," Miroku said humbly.
"Are you OK?" Sango asked.
"Yeah, as good as can be expected," then he added, "Can you hand me my water, nurse slave? You're a doll."
Kagome's face turned red in anger, "I am NOT your slave and you sure can't treat me like one!"
"Can you hand me my water nonetheless, babe? I'm parched."
She went and grabbed his water just as he asked but mumbled a few choice words that were quite demeaning.
Sango came over to InuYasha and thwacked him upside the head. "InuYasha, don't be such a jerk!"
"Sango," Miroku pouted, "I thought that tough love act was reserved just for me!"
"Oh, please, don't make me sick!" InuYasha's face was twisted in a disgusted manner.
Mina entered the room, took one look at her older brother, and sighed heavily. "You know, InuYasha, our father had to take a lot of bullets in his time. I would like to think that he wouldn't want any of us to have to."
He smirked at the worried expression on her face. "Hey, Mina."
She smiled at him with ease. "How are you holdin' up, Pup?"
InuYasha grumbled a little. "I'm just fine," he answered.
"Don't be silly, InuYasha; you're just shy," Miroku said, know how embarrassed he gets when his nickname is used.
"Whatever, I'm not just some weak little pansy like you all think I am." InuYasha glared for the sake of glaring.
"InuYasha, you difficult thing, you," Sango uttered, shaking her head. Miroku and Mina nodded in agreement.
"Stop being so sour, InuYasha," Battousi said, having just entered the room, "It could have been much worse." He was carrying with him a copy of InuYasha's medical records. Sesshomaru was following ever so silently and coldly behind him. The middle brother looked a mess, at least, compared to usual.
"Well, the doctor's in the house now!" InuYasha barked bitterly. Battousi ignored the comment.
Sango immediately glared at Sesshomaru, "So you're here, Sesshomaru? I thought Battousi would have had to pull you out of a bar to make you come see your brother in the hospital." There was a crisp, cold bite to her voice. Miroku came up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She continued, "Considering it was your fault."
Sesshomaru gazed at her coldly, still fully composed. "It was not my fault that InuYasha was overcome to follow me after my leave. He brought this upon himself. Besides, I do not have to explain my actions to the likes of you."
"You're right, the person you do have to explain yourself to is laying right here in this hospital bed," Sango shot back.
"You are not a member of this family so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself," he returned.
"Can you guys cut it out already!" InuYasha cut in, "I've got a headache the size of Michigan Avenue." Kagome smiled at him.
"An abrasion in the form of a bullet wound," Battousi read aloud from InuYasha's record, "just below the left clavicle. Shallow, and missing any organs." He turned to Kagome, "What has been done for treatment?"
Kagome blushed a little, because InuYasha's oldest brother was very handsome and she was surprised at being addressed by him directly. "It's on the…er…other page on there," she stumbled, "The…eh…bullet was removed; it came out cleanly. The wound was bandaged to prevent infection and an IV was administered. He had one transfusion of blood, A positive."
"And how's his progress going, Miss?" Mina asked, "When can we take our brother home?" She put a hand on InuYasha's head, and he grumbled crabbily.
"Well, the doctor hasn't set a time for him to be released yet, but InuYasha is healing up very well. In fact, Doctor Kouga said he was progressing faster than anyone he's ever seen with the same type of injury."
"Kouga said that, huh?" InuYasha said with a smirk.
"I suppose that must be the toughness and pig-headedness that runs in our family," Mina stated with a sigh.
"That and the fact that you all have to be used to it," Kagome uttered. They all stared at her. Kagome cleared her throat uncomfortably.
InuYasha broke the silence to help Kagome out, "Hey, I don't wanna be rude, but can you all leave so I can get some sleep?"
"Sure thing, Pup," Mina said. The room began to clear out slowly, each one of them mumbling "see you later" or "goodbye" to InuYasha as they left.
"I have some other patients to look in on, but I'll be back," Kagome told him. She left, but was stopped by the eldest brother, Battousi, just outside of InuYasha's room. "Could I have a word with you?" he asked.
"Certainly," Kagome answered, "What do you need to know?"
Battousi raised a hand dismissively, "I don't have any questions. I do believe, however, that thanks are in order."
Kagome twitched a little. 'Is he going to give me mobster money or something! That wouldn't be good!' she thought.
Battousi lowered his voice slightly, "I'm sure by now you know our family's surname isn't Kenji, as our drivers' licenses and identification cards state."
"Uh, yeah, I know," Kagome confirmed quietly.
The oldest brother nodded, "I wanted to thank you for taking care of my brother as if he were any other patient. He's a good man, really, and it wouldn't be fair to prejudice him just because he's the son of a criminal."
"It was no problem, really!"
"Good. I can tell InuYasha thinks very highly of you. It would do him good to make new friends." He tipped his hat to her, "Once again, Miss?"
"Kagome Higurashi," she finished for him.
"Miss Higurashi," Battousi said, "thank you."
"You're welcome," Kagome uttered quietly, blushing deeply.
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InuYasha kept turning in his bed. He was trying to get some shut-eye, but his mind kept wandering. Visions of his dad during his illness kept playing in his mind. "You're a good boy, InuYasha; you're a good man," Inutashio had said during those last, fatal days. "You're a good man too, Dad," InuYasha returned, "Don't you believe that?" All Inutashio could do was repeat, "You're a good man, InuYasha." That broke both their hearts.
This was the hospital, the hospital Inutashio went to for treatments, the hospital where he spent his final few days. InuYasha had just realized that. 'I won't cry for Dad again,' he told himself stubbornly. But why couldn't he get his mind off the man!
"Terribly unreliable thing it is, hospital security. One can find such easy ways to get around it. Or through it." InuYasha turned in his bed once more to see who was speaking. "Naraku," he growled.
Naraku made an impatient clicking noise with his tongue, "The son of my most treasured rival, critically hospitalized so soon after his dear father's own passing? It's a shame."
InuYasha chuckled coldly, "Yeah, what a waste of a hospital bed, right?"
"Don't fret, young Kakkera. Why would I want you dead?"
"I'll tell you why, Naraku Miasma, because I'm a threat to you, just like my dad was!" InuYasha tried to hold back a grimace of pain as he sat up in bed, drawing himself up to a greater height.
"I respected your father, 'Pup' Kakkera," he began mockingly, "You have yet to accomplish a fraction of Inutashio's credibility."
"I know you shot me," InuYasha stated, "And we all know you set up the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 29'." (A/N: The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven gangsters in one single day. It took place on the North Side of Chicago in 1929. Al Capone was trying to get rid of "Bugs" Moran and his men. Capone's supporters dressed up as policemen and staged a bust, as prohibition was going on in those days. Then, they opened fire. Moran wasn't there, so he didn't die. In this story, Naraku staged the whole thing, then used Kagura, who writes for the Chicago Tribune newspaper, to blame Inutashio and his supporters. Therefore, the public believes Inutashio was responsible.)
"When you say 'all of us,'" Naraku sneered, "do you mean 'all of Chicago,' 'all of America,' or just 'all of the Kakkeras?'"
"Dirty bastard," mumbled the son of Inutashio.
Another voice that InuYasha hadn't noticed before spoke, "Think before you speak, InuYasha," Hakudoushi said, "If I'm correct, a bastard would be someone like your sister, Mina, wouldn't it?"
InuYasha tried to get out of bed, intent on squashing Hakudoushi like the slimy worm he was. Naraku's son, however, backhanded him hard in the face, sending him smacking back into the bed. His lip was bleeding.
"Where did I leave off?" Hackudoushi continued, as if savoring each word, "Oh yes, Mina. Oh, Mina. What an…innocent creature she is, innocent and lovely."
"That's enough, Hakudoushi," Naraku interjected, "the purpose of us coming here was not to talk trash, oh no. We simply came to check up on the child of my dear friend."
"My father was NEVER your friend!" InuYasha spat, disgusted.
"I can't tell you how much it pains me to hear that," Naraku sneered. Hakudoushi walked to the door, letting his hand rest on its handle. "Please do give my regards to your sister," he said, "Keep a close watch out for her; there have been so many scoundrels roaming the streets recently." Naraku added, "Not just her, either. Your friend, Sango Taijya, is a very independent sort of woman. Some wise men say that's a dangerous quality in a lady." With that, Naraku and his evil spawn left.
InuYasha tried hard to get up. It was so difficult. Inutashio was shot at least a dozen times; how the hell could he stand it!
He ripped out his IVs, pulled off his sheet, and shakily stood up. InuYasha shuffled to the door and opened it. After a few moments, he was getting used to it, and began to walk faster. Then he started to run.
Kagome looked up from a file and saw him running. "InuYasha, what's wrong!" she yelled, and began to chase after him.
InuYasha burst into the meeting room, "Mina, Sango, are you alright?" he heaved, out of breath.
"InuYasha! What's wrong, kid?" Mina asked, jumping to her feet.
InuYasha latched onto his sister, hugging her tightly. Miroku went to help, but Sango stopped him, "Leave him," she said, resting a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. Miroku nodded.
"What happened, InuYasha?" Sesshomaru asked.
Still holding onto Mina, InuYasha lifted his head and spoke, "I had visitors."
Battousi stiffened and glanced at Sesshomaru. He nodded back darkly and put his hands in his pockets. The two of them turned towards the exit.
"No you don't," Mina said harshly, "Stay here. Stay." Sesshomaru huffed a little angrily, but he and Battousi showed no further signs of protest.
"You're OK," InuYasha whispered, so quietly only his sister could hear him. "Of course I am, Pup," Mina answered, her voice shaky, "We're all fine."
Kagome stood at the door, "Uh…InuYasha?" She cleared her throat loudly, uncomfortable, "Don't you…um…feel a draft?"
He was wearing one of those hospital gowns with the open back. Kagome was getting an eye-full. 'He does have a cute butt,' the nurse thought, then shook herself back to being alert.
"You need to go back to bed, buddy," Miroku said, concerned.
"I can get there myself," InuYasha stated, stubborn and flushing in the face because of Kagome, and what she just saw. He let go of his sister, and started to walk. He let out a soft moan and fell to the ground.
"Oh, InuYasha," Kagome said, rushing to his side, "it was too much at once for you to do!"
Sesshomaru was deeply angered at the sight. Without a word to anyone, he swept out of the hospital, hell-bent on revenge.
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"You know what, Hakudoushi?" Kohaku asked.
"What?" Hakudoushi returned, taking another swig of his dad's stash of whiskey. He wasn't of age to drink yet, only eighteen. It didn't matter, though, he could hold his liquor very well. Hakudoushi didn't mind hanging out with Kohaku, who was three years younger than him. In fact, it made him feel like he had contact with the outside world. It was something outside the gang, something his father couldn't touch.
"My sister gave me another load today," Kohaku answered quietly.
"Um, that doesn't surprise me all that much. What a drag, though."
"A real drag," Kohaku agreed. He sank back farther into his chair.
"So I guess you had a bad day, then."
"Yeah…" Kohaku stared intently at the whiskey bottle, "But there's still time to make it better."
"You want a drink?" Hakudoushi offered.
Kohaku battled with his conscience. What would Sango say? "Yeah, I think I do," he finally decided.
Hakudoushi handed him the bottle, "Took you awhile there to answer. There's still hope for you yet," he chuckled.
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Sango left the hospital hours ago, to check up on Kohaku and make sure he wasn't getting into any trouble. Well, Kohaku hadn't come home yet, and the dinner on the stove was growing cold. She sighed, "Kohaku, where are you?" She just couldn't wait anymore. Sango took Mirkou's car and went out to look for him.
She caught up with him only a few blocks away. She almost didn't recognize him at first, because he was stumbling around everywhere. He was yelling at someone, someone Sango couldn't see, and his words were slurring horribly. She was about to call out to him, but he yelled again, "COME OUT, YOU STINKING COWARD! I DON'T BLAME YOU; I'D BE SCARED OF THE MIASMA GANG TOO, IF I WERE YOU!"
It was horrible. Bullets flew in their direction. They were all over the place. A sober Kohaku could have gotten out of the way, but not a drunk one. A bullet hit him, and he fell to the ground instantly. It didn't look fatal, but Sango wasn't thinking about that. That didn't stop her from screaming, "KOHAKU!"
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Well, that's chapter two…finally! Wow, someone got shot again.(sweat drops) I enjoyed writing this chapter very much, and I especially enjoyed the help I got from Marisa (LadyRedEyes)! You know, I kind of like how emotional it is; it's not soap opera angst, but it's a believable kind of emotional. Now, if you enjoyed the chapter too, please click on that little button marked "review" at the bottom of the screen! If you have questions, you can ask those too! Danke und auf wiedersehen!
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Next Chapter:
Chicago Is My Kind of Town!
TTFN!
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