Beep

Beep

Beep

Kagome let out a groan of annoyance. Her head pounded viciously as she twisted. Voices reached her ears.

"She's waking up."

Her eyes squinted open and she sighed, slowly adjusting to the light before sitting up. Her head felt like Sesshomaru was in his dog form and was smashing her head in repeatedly.

"What happened?" She muttered, glancing around to see familiar faces. She was in a hospital room.

"Your father attacked you with a wine bottle and knocked you unconscious." Dante informed solemnly. "I had called the authorities and dealt with them accordingly."

"Oh." Kagome murmured, looking down at the blanket nervously.

"Kagome," Sophie's voice reached her ears. Kagome glanced up only to be enveloped in a large, warm embrace from her best friend. "I am... so sorry I wasn't there. If I was... I would have brought you with me. I'm so sorry." Sophie clutched onto her, crying silently. Kagome felt shocked at the fact that people did care if she was hurt at all.

"Sophie, it's not your fault." Kagome insisted, reaching up and hugging her.

The doctor glanced at Dante and beckoned him out of the room. Dante nodded silently and followed him outside, shutting the door.

"I'm afraid that Miss Higurashi doesn't have any family members to help look after her so I have decided to tell you since you seem to be close to her." The Doctor stated, sighing. He sent Dante a sympathetic look. "I want you to keep an eye on her. She is unstable in her mental state and, I apologise greatly but, as I was checking up on her, I happened to find something."

"May I see the damage?" Kagome questioned. Sophie nodded.

She handed her a mirror and then Kagome looked at herself. There was a large bandaid over a part of her forehead covering stitches and a bruise forming around it, along with another bruise on her left cheek. A few cuts littered her face, probably from the shards of glass from the broken bottle. She sighed before handing back the mirror, slightly disgusted by her reflection. Dante had re-entered the room, eyes scanning over Kagome. His stomach dropped at the sight of her lying there, scarred. Someone with her whole life ahead of her.

The doctor ran some tests as the day went along and in the end, she was free to go. He handed her a prescription for certain pills that she had been deprived of before they checked out of the hospital. Dante told the others to head back to the house while he helped Kagome get her pills. She protested at first but he made a good point when he said that she was just released from hospital and that she could suddenly pass out or have dizzy spells. Kagome sighed as they walked down the streets. She brushed her hair out of her face hesitantly and kept her eyes forward. Dante glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

No. He'll confront her about it later.

"While checking over her, I discovered many many bruises and scars over her body. No doubt from her father and her brother. But the most prominent ones were on her thighs and wrists."

"No. Don't tell me she's..." Dante's eyes widened in shock.

"I'm afraid so." The doctor nodded with a frown. "She's been inflicting these on herself."

"..te? Dante?"

Dante snapped out of his thoughts to see Kagome looking at him with a slightly worried expression.

"Are you okay?" She asked. He looked at her for a bit before nodding, smiling.

"Yeah. I'm just fine." He replied, ignoring the tightening of his chest. He wanted to yell, to say something right now. But it wouldn't be the best time to do it right now.