Playing Their Game

Chapter 10: An Accident To Ruins

How fast her heart was beating as she put the phone down, her eyes wide and her breath coming in short gasps. Her hands were trembling and she felt in such shock that nothing seemed to be running through her brain. It was as if time had stopped. A sob tried to work its way up to her chest but she closed her eyes and willed it to stay away.

A taxi. She needed a taxi now.

Raven hair billowed past her as Kagome ran out of the house, tearing her way down the streets, running as fast as her small legs could carry her. The taxi stand was only a few minutes walk so if she ran hard enough, she may just get there before anyone else did. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" her mind chanted as she whizzed passed, the air making tears spring to her eyes.

The wind whipped passed her on this cold, nearly winter day. She hadn't even brought a jacket with her and was clad in only a long sleeved red t-shirt and a pair of jeans and sneakers. She then remembered her mobile in her pocket. Pulling it out quickly and searching for his name, she began to call, forgetting to look as she ran across the street.

The taxi stand was empty and there was one coming her way which she hailed at madly. "General Hospital, please hurry!" she said loudly as she sat down and the car began to move.

"Oh please let her be alright."

Dark, damp hair fell like spider webs around the girl's shoulders. Her elbows were on her knees and her face covered in her hands. She was so tired after having sat in the waiting room for more than three hours, watching the doctors rush in and out of the operating room every now and then. Every time the doors opened, her brown eyes to snap up, searching for any sign that her guardian would be alright.

Kaede had apparently been hit by a car as she was driving home and being as old and frail as she was, Kagome feared for her safety. Her chest seemed to tighten and a sob almost made its way out of her throat until she hugged herself tightly and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Oh gods, it hurts," she thought to herself, hugging her body. Her head was pounding and her eyes stung. And she was cold. Despite being inside, it was so cold. She was freezing and wet from the rain that had suddenly started as she jumped out of the taxi earlier and ran into the hospital.

She shivered and let out a deep sigh. Kagome vaguely realised that someone had just sat next to her, and had put their arm around her. The heat that was emitted from that arm was so warm and put her at ease. Opening her eyes and looking up, the dam that had built up in her chest finally broke free and the tears flowed freely now, her body wracking with sobs and cries. The girl flung herself at Inuyasha and hugged him tightly, his own arms going around her and holding her safely yet gently.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier," he said, his voice deep and grave. Amber eyes looked down with pity at the girl in his arms and he sighed and squeezed her tightly.

She cried even harder and her fingers gripped and tangled with his silvery hair, her tears soaking through his shirt and leaving wet marks all over his chest. "I don't want her to go."

The hanyou kissed the top of her head and whispered comfortingly, "Shh. Whatever happens, we'll all be here for you. Don't worry."

She sniffed and nodded, holding onto him tighter. "I'm so cold…" she whispered weakly, her voice thick with crying. The dog eared boy chuckled softly and pulled off his leather jacket, wrapping it around her and holding her close. Her raven head fell onto his shoulder and she closed her eyes, exhausted and weary.

"Thank you for coming Inuyasha."

Clawed fingers ran themselves gently through dark hair. "Don't mention it. I called Bankotsu too; he should be coming around soon."

She sniffed again and nodded. "I feel so stupid right now."

"Why?"

"Because…I hate crying in front of people."

They both sat there in warm silence for a while, Kagome wrapped up in her worry of Kaede and Inuyasha trying his best to comfort her and make her feel at ease. The dark haired girl was already sleeping by the time Bankotsu arrived, Kikyo walking behind him, worry and concern on her face.

Bankotsu saw the two and walked up to them, his face hardening slightly when he saw the way his friend had his arm around the girl. But he cleared his throat quickly, catching the silver haired boy's attention.

"Is she…alright?"

The boy sighed and shrugged. "She didn't say anything about it," he whispered, gently removing his arm and setting her right, before standing up and stretching.

Dark eyes turned sympathetically towards the sleeping girl. "She seems so sad," Kikyo whispered, taking in a shuddering breath. The hanyou placed an arm around her and gave her a hug before saying,

"Of all people, she doesn't need this."

The girl nodded. "No one does." But she didn't understand. She turned to her friend then, "Are you ok?"

Bitterness ran behind his eyes, bitterness that the girl could clearly see but he wouldn't admit to it. "I'm fine, c'mon let's get something down at the cafeteria."

The boy nodded to his friend, unconsciously taking hold of Kikyo's hand as they walked down the corridor and into the lift. Blue eyes looked towards the sleeping girl and Bankotsu sat down beside her, running a hand through his hair and sighing deeply.

"I didn't know you'd come," came her soft, tired voice.

He looked towards her sleepy, open brown eyes and smiled slightly. If this was what he would look at everyday for the rest of his life…how beautiful. "You ok?"

"Fantastic," she mumbled wryly, sitting up right and stretching her hands over her head. "I've been here for hours…"

"And you look just as pretty as ever," he joked, messing up her hair and earning himself a little giggle from her. Her features though soon melted into more sombre ones and the boy sighed, placing an arm around her and letting her lean against him.

"I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do anything."

"I know…but I can still be sorry."

She smiled and sighed, "I guess you can."

He took in the scent of her damp hair, it smelled like the rain you woke up to on a rainy Sunday morning, and she was so small he was afraid of breaking her. He could. But he wouldn't. The number of people he'd broken in his life haunted him and he hoped that she wouldn't be one of them. If he could do one thing right, it would be to never hurt her.

"How ironic," the girl said softly, and he almost couldn't hear it.

"What is?"

She froze and said quickly, "Nothing."

Dark brows knitted together and he tilted her head up to look at him. "Tell me."

Uncomfortable guilt washed over her features and her eyes shifted from side to side, looking anywhere except at him. "Maybe some other time."

He decided to drop the matter though questions still circled in his mind. He was beginning to get frustrated with what she hid from him. He wanted to know…but it wasn't out of curiosity. It was because…she's more than just a friend now.

He crashed and burned…hard.

Kagome walked down to the canteen, Bankotsu by her side, his wallet out. They'd just come out of an argument about who would pay for what. They were both tired and in desperate need of a caffeine fix. Kagome had lost obviously.

All of a sudden, the girl froze her eyes wide as she looked at the scene in front of her. Bankotsu kept walking but almost stumbled and fell when she grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back. Glaring and looking down at her, he hissed,

"What was that for?"

She didn't answer and pointed to a far corner. Upon looking up, his eyes widened with realisation. "Oh…" It was Inuyasha and Kikyo…kissing…very passionately indeed.

A small excited smile was on the girl's lips as she beamed at him. "I knew it!"

The braided boy smiled lopsidedly and said, "Well, it's about time. I was seriously thinking of telling them to get it on already."

"But isn't that so sweet?" she said wistfully, smiling and cocking her head to the side.

Blue eyes rolled, "Just sugary. C'mon, let's get something to drink."

She laughed and slapped his arm but followed him to the counter anyway. It was at times like these when she felt like she was part of some big family, whether her parents were there or not. But her eyes dulled and her smile faded when she remembered Kaede in that operating theatre, the woman who had looked after her with such care and tenderness as if she was her own child. Her own daughter had died many years ago and she had taken to Kagome so well ever since she saw her.

Everyone loves Kaede, her mother, her father, her brother, even Momo. She couldn't lose Kaede too. She'd lost enough in her lifetime. If she was gone…who would she have left? No one. She'd be alone again. "Pain is an alarm clock Kagome…" Her mother's words served as a constant reminder of the pain she went through and came out from. She was strong and she had her mother to thank for that. But how much longer could she be strong for…before she broke and melted and got torn apart?

"No more…I don't want this anymore."

"Kagome?"

Looking up, she was greeted with the goofy smile of Bankotsu's as he held out a cup of hot coffee for her. Smiling warmly and earnestly, she took the cup. "Thanks." As long as she still had her friends to help her through this, she could stay strong. She had to be strong for them and herself.

Brown eyes lingered on her two friends a while longer, a sweet smile on her face before she turned to Bankotsu and said softly, "Come on, let's leave those two lovebirds alone for a while." She took his hand and they walked out, the girl oblivious to the slight blush on the boy's cheeks.

"Well, aren't we demanding today?" he commented teasingly, trying to get over the fact that she willingly took his hand.

She stopped suddenly and rounded on him, a calculative glint in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. "Thanks for noticing."

Taken aback by her suddenly sultry approach, his blue eyes widened and he stared at her amused face. "Uh…"

"Lost for words? I would never have taken you as the sort to not have anything smart to say." Winking, she turned around again, sipping her coffee, a small giggle escaping her lips.

The boy stood there dumbly for a good three seconds before running after and saying loudly, "Well for your information I wasn't lost for words," he stated indignantly, "I was just…formulating my next choice of words…"

She snorted and nudged him in the ribs. "Of course you were."

"I was!" he protested poutily, looking much like a little boy. She laughed and pinched his cheek. "You're such a child."

He smiled wickedly then. "Well someone has to be or all this attention you're giving me would go to waste."

She looked startled. "Attention?"

He sighed and said lazily, "You know you can't stop talking to me, you like me too much."

The girl frowned disapprovingly and scoffed. "Much more than you deserve obviously."

He turned to her dramatically, "Oh you wound me fair lady!"

"And I'll do a lot more than that if you keep that overly large ego of yours," she said snootily, walking past him and finishing off her coffee.

"But without this ego, I wouldn't be me would I?" he said, trying to sound smart.

Blue eyes caught the sparkle in dark brown ones and the girl smiled sweetly, looking at him with a mixture of adoration and guilt, "No you wouldn't."

They both stopped walking then and the boy took a step towards her, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly. "You know…" he began uneasily, "no matter what happens, you'll…still have us."

She looked as if she was about to cry and Bankotsu mentally smacked himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sa-"

He was cut off when she flung herself at him, hugging him tightly, her arms around his neck as she stood on her toes to reach him. "Thank you so much for everything you've done so far! You don't know how much I already owe you!" she cried, trying her best not to cry.

His stunned silence melted away and he smiled, hugging her back. Whatever was going to happen from now on, he was going to be there for her and witness it first hand with her. They would learn more about each other in their own time and hopefully soon he would be able to show her how much he really did care.

A/N: Ok this is done finally! I'll have you know that I've been swamped with work and tests and I've only been at school for like…six weeks so far. So anyways, yep I'm going to try to update every two weeks for all of my stories so for now…REVIEW and I will see you in two weeks. And thank you to all who have reviewed so far!! They made me really pleased and I'm glad to say that in a few more chapters…this story will finally be done:D I estimate about…fifteen or sixteen chapters. And I'm sorry this was short…but yeah next one will be much longer!!

Peace out!
Rex