It has been one day since their second fated encounter.
It is now midnight on a Monday, and Kagome just finishes her shift. Finding her way towards the employee's locker room, she opens her work closet, grabbing her jeans and a simple shirt before heading to an adjacent stall for privacy. Undressing her nurse uniform, she puts on her regular clothes; picking up the discarded clothes, she folds them nicely, proceeding to place them in the tiny storage area. Letting out a sigh, it signals her exhaustion, both physically and mentally.
At the physical level, working in the intensive-care unit at the hospital is quite tiring; the proportion between staffs and patients are ridiculously low. Not to bring up but her division has recently lost a doctor; she is invited to the burial, but she cannot make it as her work shift is scheduled for that day. Because of this further shortage of employees, she has been walking constantly for the former eight hours to make sure all the machinery, that support patients in staying alive, working properly.
But the amount of physical activity is nothing compared to the extent that her brain has to perform. Despite telling herself to forget about everything, which was also the last phrase she spoke to her one-night stand, she has been continually thinking about the incident took place over the weekend, specifically about the particular honey-brimmed eyes. It was the last thing she saw of him before taking off; she could even feel the rage showed through those golden windows to his mind.
The resentment she saw still consumes her to this very day, disturbing the root of her-being to no end; similar to the flame of lust, it burns brightly through his bizarre aurelian eyes, virtually leaving a phantom burn on her skin. But, unlike the fire of desire, this blaze engulfs her with a sense of remorse. She knows it is irrational to demand him to ignore what had happened; when she, herself, cannot even overlook them if she wants to.
Not that she has never sought to wipe out all of her recollections about their secret night; or not trying her best to ignore the subtle tingling sensation whenever she is in her bed, by herself at night. If there were an elixir that causes her forget everything, she would willingly accept it right here, right now. She swears, the devil may work hard, but she works harder in this situation. Never mind, she is mistaken to assert so when she has literally faced the devil a couple of days ago.
And god-damn, he did indeed work hard in enticing her with all he could offer.
She recognizes that she is a hypocrite by now; she truly thinks she can create a list of what makes her a crook. For instance, the first point on the file will be she hates cheaters, yet she turns into one. The second part, she is disturbed by her partner's affair when she too had a fair share in said sin. Number three, she dislikes people who cannot make up their minds, even though she still does not identify what to do with her ongoing relationship. And the note can honestly go on until the end of time.
She wonders when she has left behind all of her judgments; she ponders on when she has crisscrossed over the boundaries and into the territories of the qualities she hates without even knowing. She is a swindler and a phony, what else is she? She has turned into the epitome of the individual she detests; she wants to slap herself for those reasons alone. A stinging sensation spreads across her cheek.
Another subject on her never-ending list will be she hates people that go back on their remarks; yet, she devoted the entire previous day to think about him. The regret of committing the sin and the shame of experiencing complicate feelings battles within her mind, yanking her heart in half. She remembered wishing everything was just an awful dream or craving for a jewel that grants wish.
But reality always slapped her in the face whenever she blinked. She laid on her couch all day, watching the television but her mind was somewhere else; as if she could not function like a normal human being. The quick images of them meeting again a day ago kept replaying on her head; if she had a dime for every time those pictures came up to her mind, she would be rich by now.
She shoves the thoughts about him far away from her mind though knowing it will somehow make it back to her subconscious sooner or later. The devil has turned into the center of the storm raging in her mind, urging her to resolve any questions linked to him; but she does not even know what those questions mean in the first place. She hopes she can discover the answers soon enough, to let her mind be at peace.
A sigh unknowingly escapes her lips; she closes her locker shut, spinning the numerical knob to further secure the storage slot. Her sixth sense tickles as she feels a presence of someone approaching her; she is unquestionably not in the spirit for a little chit-chat as she just wants to home. Looking to her right, the edge of her lips lifts upwards; it is her colleague and a friend. The last part she is not sure even though they have worked with each other for a year.
"Hey Kouga, you going home?", she starts the conversation first, wanting to get it over with.
Kouga is a general surgeon at the hospital she is working at; he mostly does emergency cases, but he also has some pre-booked surgeries. When he is not busy with both of them, he can be located somewhere in the intensive-care unit. Kagome knows he is a proficient doctor as the evidence of having several surgeries booked months in advance. Who wouldn't prefer to be dissected by a young and handsome blue-eyed doctor? Quite a few, she speculates.
The reason she is skeptical that whether he is her friend is the fact that Kouga has a distinct affection for her. This is no mystery in any aspects; he basically professes his interest to her every time they see each other ever since the first time they greeted. And friends are not supposed to proclaim any feelings to each other besides platonic relationship, right? Or at least that is what she understands.
This is the only part that annoys her about him, his perseverance; she wonders when it will get through his impenetrable skull that she will presumably never have a special interest in him. This fellow might be smart, but he is not smart-smart. Besides from that, Kouga is absolutely a great gentleman. The black-haired surgeon obviously cares about his patients; he has subordinates underneath him, and he always makes sure they are all well-treated. Kagome thinks that he is a decent conversationalist though occasionally he loves to boast about himself.
She likes him, as a friend.
"No, actually, I have to stay back a bit. Kohaku just texts me, saying he will not be able to make it here in time for his shift because of the heavy snowfall,", the newcomer leans his back against the locker next to her; he acts so casually about it she almost thought the closet belongs to him. "So he asked me to report this to his manager and cover the first few minutes of his shift, just until he gets here."
Kohaku is the new general nurse at the hospital, though he is being handed over quiet few shifts in the intensive-care unit lately; he graduated from a college recently. That is why he is assigned the midnight shifts, and because the hospital really needs extra staffs there. She feels a little bad for the young guy to be handed over to the odd-hour shift; she is glad she is never got assigned to the graveyard shift. That not she is apprehensive of the hospital at that time; she just does not like moving her sleep schedule.
Kagome puts on her parka, straighten it out. "I hope the snow is not that awful; 'cause if it becomes worse, you might not be able to go home after Kohaku gets here." She opens her handbag, taking her headphone out. Why is it always entangled, especially when it is in her purse? She now has to spend the next five minutes straighten it out, and that does not make her day any better.
"I know, I hope so too,", Kouga lets out a groan as he stares up at the ceiling. "Man, it is always a bummer knowing one of your co-workers passes away; even though I don't know that person at all, it is still depressing to think about it,", he runs his hand through his head, messing up the perfect ponytail.
"Yeah, I know. I sent some condolences towards the family because I cannot make it to the funeral", she perfectly understands what her fellow worker is speaking about. Focusing back on her task, she unravels a knot, but further knotting the slim strings. She becomes frustrated; she always hates this part.
"Me neither", Kouga lets out a sigh, putting his hands in the pockets. Kagome always admires this side of him; the part of always caring about other people despite not knowing them. She finally untangles her headphones, with some miracles. "Why don't you stay back with me? I can always use some company", he gives her a flirty wink.
"I'd love to, but unlike you, I am exhausted after my eight-hour shift. Plus, I need to catch the last bus of the day", she smiles back at his flirt, struggling not to damage his feelings too much; "... in ten minutes", she takes her phone out, launching the transit app. "You know, Ayame is working in the next shift, right?", Kagome tries to re-direct his view, implicitly referring to something.
Ayame is a natural red-haired woman, who happens to be the head nurse of the graveyard shift. Kagome can tell that Ayame has a crush on Kouga, but she never shows it, at least not to the surgeon directly. Kagome sometimes can get some hostile feelings directing from Ayame straight to her, which she totally understands why. Hence, they never really talk despite working in the same branch; but Kagome does not have any negative opinions towards the crimson-headed woman.
"Yeah, I know. She is my second choice of the companion, hopefully for the next few minutes and not hours", he lets out a dry laugh; "but, I always I want to try the odds with you first", he scratches his head, further ruffling his hair a little bit. Despite all of the baby hair standing out, he nevertheless manages to look like he just walks out of a fashion magazine.
She sighs with a little satisfaction, content that at least Kouga is attempting to talk to other women besides her. She does not need him to always follow her around like a pup as there are enough women out there want his companion; she is just not one of them. "Well then, off you go. She might still be her station if you're lucky", she encourages him as she walks by, giving a light pat on his shoulder.
"How are you and him?", Kagome stops dead in her path as she hears this question. Ah, that subject again; he just has to request hearing about her business every time they meet, doesn't he? She doubts he will ever get tired of asking the same old question like this. She lets out another sigh; she has lost count of how many she has breathed out heavily today.
In the past, Inuyasha sometimes drove her to work; and that was how Kouga discovered that she was already taken, though that certainly did not faze the young surgeon. She recalled that time when Kouga actually came up to her boyfriend, declaring that he would take her away; it was amusing to see different emotions playing around in Inuyasha's face after hearing that statement.
They bicker whenever they meet and call each other names even though Inuyasha hardly ever shows up here. They will never admit it, but Kagome notices an underlying funny relationship between them; she presumes they became friends, maybe; heck, they even know each other's contact number. Still, that does not stop Kouga from announcing his affections to her.
Slightly turns her head around, just enough so he is in her line of perception. "We're fine, Kouga. Still together though", the answer comes out of her mouth automatically; they flow out naturally because she has literally repeated the same phrase at least a million times for the past year, or more than that if she really cares to make a note.
"Yeah, I know. You give me the same answer every time", she can hear he laughs lightly. The laughter this time is dry; there is no humorous vibe coming out of it at all. Kagome feels bad for causing him suffer like this, but there is nothing she can do. "You seem to be a little… off for the last week. So I am wondering if anything happens to you", Kagome hears his voice as she tries to take another step away.
"I'm... fine, Kouga. Thanks for asking", she offers him another smile, pretending she is actually fine; she is used to putting on an act of being okay lately anyway. In reality, she wants to scream her off, needing to get rid of the frustration on everything happened to her recently; maybe she will try doing that when she gets home.
"I'm always here for you, you know", his tone sounds a bit serious this time. Without turning back, she can still perfectly imagine his expression in her mind right now; his face is devoid of any emotions, harden with determination, even though his eyes will give off a hint of melancholy in the beautiful blue shade.
"I know", she mumbles the phrase ever so softly before withdrawing from the room for good, leaving the lovesick doctor behind in the empty area.
Stuffing the headphones into her ears; she needs something to divert her mind from the unending chaos when she is alone. And the conversation with Kouga definitely makes it not getting any better; in fact, her head starts to ache because of the volume of elements it has to deal with. Her affair, her partner's cheating, her boyfriend's half-brother, and now her secret-yet-not-so-secret admirer; everything is incorporated into a bowl, poisoning her mind with anarchy.
Exiting the hospital, a surge of bitter air greets her face, making her shudder. Despite the coldness, she finds it fairly relaxed; it refreshes her mind, leaving behind a sense of emptiness within the tumultuous internal battle. But the effect only lasts for a whole second before the chillness seeps into her body, causing her limbs to shake uncontrollably.
The white flakes already appear to form a thin layer of snow on her coat; she can feel the snow start to spill into her shoes for every stride she takes. Some snowflakes even settle on her lashes, forcing her to blink a few times to get rid of them. She curses herself for not taking her scarf to work today, since in a couple of minutes, she is positive she will not be able to feel her face.
As she begins to take a few more steps, she ponders if it is possible to be changed into a frozen sculpture in this weather; since the notion of not being to deal with her current issues seems very appealing. She pushes the idea aside, ordering herself to cease being so ridiculous. The snow seems to fall more heavily now as it is harder to move forward.
She wonders if she is walking in the center of a blizzard; or if she is wandering in the storm within her heart.
Trying to tug some strands of hair behind her ears to see things better in this snowstorm, but the strong wind just has to mess it up. For some miracles, she eventually makes it to the bus stop on the opposite side of the street; pulling her phone out, she can see that the bus is coming in three minutes.
Or at least that is when the bus supposed to show up. Ten minutes have gone by, and she still receives no sign of any buses coming to her direction. Her feet are freezing and indeed starting to hurt a bit. Her teeth are chattering uncontrollably, and she is certain that her fingers are paralyzed. She hopes her bus, or anything, will show up to her direction quickly.
Sesshoumaru is slowly turning left, and he means really slowly. The god-damn snow causes the road to be extremely troublesome to drive in and makes his day a bit worse. He wished he has taken off from his office two hours earlier to avoid this terrible weather, but an international business call demands him to work the issue out right there. Even though he is really not in the mood, he still has his professional appearance to keep up; so he has to deal with it, despite it only leads his mood to travel further south.
Up to this minute, he still loathes himself for letting the raven-haired woman slip past his fingers again; he is very ready to call his private investigator up once he gets back to his flat. He demands another chance to meet the enchantress again, knowing his desire will never be gratified unless it is her; he has come to an understanding with his body wanting her since yesterday.
Needing something to entertain him from the growing boring silence, he turns on the radio. "The following bus routes will be canceled temporarily due to the snowstorm…", he shuts the transmission off as soon as he hears the announcement. There goes his entertainment; the only radio station he tunes in keeps playing the same message for the past hour or so. His day cannot become any better than this.
As he is steering, he discovers a figure at a distance. Who is willing to stand in the middle of the snowstorm is out of his knowledge; he is about to brush it aside, but something catches his attention. Even though there is still a distance between him and that person, he can nevertheless make out the luminous blue eyes. Now that certainly stirs curiosity within him, since the only pair of blue-sky eyes he has seen recently is tormenting him, night and day.
Kagome breathes out in relief as she notices something moving towards her direction; maybe it's her fifteen-minute-late bus. But her hope is crushed as it is just someone private's vehicle; she is now considering she should walk home or not. She seriously thinks of that possibility, despite it takes around thirty minutes by bus to arrive at her apartment; and it is well past midnight. But, maybe it will be better to walk rather than waiting for the bus that will probably never come anytime soon.
She chooses to stick around for another five minutes before get going; she already waits nearly twenty minutes, another five will not kill her. She is envy whoever driving the black vehicle right now; but is it her imagination or is that car is slowing down? Nope, it is absolutely not her hallucination because the vehicle slowly comes to a halt in front of her.
As the distance grows smaller and shorter, Sesshoumaru can virtually hear the echo of his heartbeat resonating through the narrow space within his car; there is no uncertainty in his mind as he registers who he is looking at. His left foot slams hard on the brake, forcing the car to come to a stop now. It is simpler than he expects since the mountain of snow basically generates a persistent barrier around the wheels. He pushes the button to lower the side-window down, and it cannot go any slower.
Kagome contemplates whether she should run or not; she tries her best to settle down, maybe whoever in the vehicle just needs direction. She tells herself to quit being so paranoid; that not everybody is a dangerous person on the road, past midnight. As the window rolls down, breathes are trapped in her throat; if the chilly snow has not frozen her already, seeing the person in the car will doubtlessly perform the trick. Because this individual is the last person she wishes to deal with right now.
"Get in", she does not need to look at the whole appearance to recognize who this person is; with just the sensual voice, there is no mistake for someone else. The low tone of his speech barely enters her hearing range, but that can partially because of the raging wind. He sounds… normal, as in stoic and indifferent; she cannot pick up any indication of anger like she expected he would be, based on the last time she saw him.
"Um… No, thank you. I'm waiting for my bus to come", she struggles to pronounce each word precisely as her teeth keep clattering; she speaks as much as her frozen mouth allows her to.
He leans towards the passenger seat, letting her see his handsome features. "The radio just states that several bus routes will be closed because of the snowstorm. Get in", he reaches out, opening the door to the passenger's seat for her. He does not care that snow begins to fill in the car-carpet.
"I… can just… call a taxi instead of causing you any further inconveniences", she pats herself on the back for thinking up of an excuse this quick; she does not even consider this option in the first place because her budget might not be capable to cover it. But now, she is willing to eat a bit less rather than being in the same place with this devil. She pulls her phone out, protecting it with the other hand so the touchscreen won't be buried in layers of snow.
"It is futile. The radio also mentions the taxi services will be suspended until at least the snowstorm is over, for the safety purpose that is", he does not know which part of the statement is the truth, or if any at all; but he is prepared to lie because there will be no way in hell he will be let her get away.
She bites her lips, being split between being in the same space with this Adonis and walking home in the middle of the snowstorm. The physical exhaustion wins over; she just wants to curl up on her cold hard bed. Maybe he is being nice and just chooses to offer her a ride home in this awful weather, she tells herself. She swallows her uneasiness, getting into his car.
She locks the door as soon as she can, in order to avoid more snow getting into his car. Despite the sudden warm air greets her face, it barely does anything to thaw her frozen muscles. Right after she buckles up her seatbelt, she can feel the vehicle start to move. Though it is slow, it is still way faster than walking.
She wonders he being here a miracle or a debacle. Maybe a bit of both.
She does not dare to glance to her left, frightened of seeing him. It is not like she is petrified of him, but she is terrified of finding out her heart will fasten its rhythm. She is scared of feeling her cheeks turning hot, reluctant to acknowledge an unmistakable sensation stirring within her as she looks into his shining eyes. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, occasionally peering down to her feet.
Just as the snowstorm keeps getting heavier outside, she thinks the blizzard within her heart just begins its course.