"Go home."

Shock the likes she hadn't felt in a long time shot through Kagome's blood at the simple two word statement. Choking on the spit she had been in the process of swallowing before Dr. Hakushin opened his mouth, Kagome banged on her chest with the side of her fist a couple of times to dislodge the obstruction to her breathing, gasping when she spoke. "What?"

There was a small upturn to the corner of Hiten's lips as he continued to look at the chart in his hands. "Pretty sure it was your eyesight that was damaged, not your hearing." Smiling wider as he closed the binder in his hands, he held it to his chest as he crossed his arms. "Go home, Hot Stuff. You've been here for three months and, yeah you're cute and all, but I'm tired of lookin' at you. Go home." Grinning wider as she continued to trip over her tongue, he swallowed the chuckle before it could be heard. "There's nothing else we can do for you, Kagome, but more importantly," leaning forward and lowering his voice slightly, "there is nothing else we need to do."

Straightening his spine, there was an honest to god smile on his face. "You underwent thirteen grafting surgeries, three additional surgeries because you have some very, very angry organs for someone as young as you are, on top of contracting and overcoming four infections that, if we're being honest two of which should have killed you, and one almost did. You've been here almost a full month longer than originally anticipated. Your labs are finally completely clean. Your white count is back up in normal range. If you keep your eye covered to preserve the chance, and Kagome I swear to you there is still a chance, to restore your vision, there is no reason for you to stay here." Pulling the loose papers out of the binder, he set them on the tray table as he spoke. "These are your discharge papers, prescriptions, and care instructions. Follow them, mind your meds, and pay attention to your body. I've already called Bankotsu and he's on his way. When he gets here, for the Gods, go home."

It wasn't until Hiten was walking toward the door Kagome scrambled out of her bed, tangling herself up in the blanket, but catching herself before she fell. "Dr. Hakushin!"

Pausing and twisting around on the tips of his toes, Hiten smiled at the girl once again. "Yes, Mrs. Akasaki?"

Clearing her throat and biting into her bottom lip as the same butterflies that always surface when she was referred by her new last name fluttered in her stomach, Kagome did her best to push them down. Even though she kept them out of her throat, she didn't fully keep them out of her voice. "You really think there's still a chance you can fix my eye?"

Letting out a slow breath, Hiten clasped his hands behind his back, wrapping the fingers of both hands around the chart folder as he shook his head. "No, not your eye. There is a way to restore vision, but it's also not something that will happen tomorrow, or really anytime soon. The only way to restore the vision in your left eye is by doing something called a corneal transplant, in which the cornea of a cadaver is used to replace your damaged one. The only way that will be possible, however, is if you protect the orb itself. Use the eye patch when in direct sunlight. Use the drops to keep it free of dust and debris. It's up to you how much you want to see out of that eye again, and that will show by how well you take care of the orb. Right now, it's for show, but if you ever want that to change, you have to do your due diligence here, Kagome. It's nothing short of a miracle that you didn't lose it entirely over the last three months, and now it's completely up to you on how much you want your vision restored."

As she stood there and listened, Kagome nodded along with the instructions. It seemed easy enough, she supposed. It wasn't any different than what she had been doing for the last handful of weeks, so just continuing it didn't seem impossible.

Especially if it meant she might get her eyesight back.

Nodding to the instructions and smiling wide, Kagome loosely wrapped her arms around herself. "Thank you... for, everything."

Bowing his head, Hiten never lost his own grin. "It's been a pleasure. Your husband should be here soon, so I suggest you get ready to go. I'll see you in a couple of weeks." Pausing right before he was out the door, he glanced back over his shoulder one last time. "And, I think it safe for you to take off that mask now."

Watching her surgeon leave for what was the last time actually stole the breath from Kagome's lungs as she sank down onto her bed, her arms still wrapped around her stomach. Letting her eyes roam the room, she took in all the things she had accumulated since she was released from the burn unit and moved to a normal room. There were the balloons from Natalie. There was a stuffed wolf from Kouga, Ayame, and their baby, Kougamaru. There were more flowers than she cared to count from her swarm of brother in-laws. There were all kinds of art projects, ranging from macaroni masterpieces to scribble drawings, on the walls from the kids in Suikotsu's pediatric wing. There was a mostly empty goodie basket from Mama Shun and Hakkaku that had at one point been bursting at its seams with all of her favorite treats. There were miscellaneous other items from servers, cooks, and her regular customers from Kamano placed wherever there was room, including a tiger than held a well wishes balloon from Ren and Sesshoumaru.

On her bed, in a place of importance, was an overstuffed purple teddy bear that was large enough to replace the jokes the hospital considered pillows that had been given to her by Bankotsu. When he first gave it to her, there was a chain around its neck, and from that hung her wedding bands, which had been given to Bankotsu for safe keeping the day she was admitted. It had been nearly two months to the day before she was able to put them back on, and when she was given permission by Dr. Hakushin to do so, Bankotsu got down on one knee as he slipped them back into place on her finger. There was a swoonish sigh from every other female that was present when he did it, but it just made Kagome giggle.

There was also a handful of personal items that had been brought to her from home, namely clothing so she didn't have to always wear a hospital gown and scrub pants, which she was allowed to have the day she came out of the burn unit as long as the shirt didn't have to pulled over her head, or at least had a wide enough collar so it don't rub on her face when she put it on. There were also some books, her laptop, and her own set of crayons and sketch pads. Bankotsu thought he was being funny when he presented her the box of crayons, but Kagome actually got very excited about them.

Unwrapping her arms from her middle, she slowly reached up, grabbing the surgical mask she was wearing, slowly pulling it from her face and holding it in her hands. Biting into her lip as she looked at it, she was overcome with emotion as her eyes actually itched. She hadn't been without a mask for almost two weeks, it being easier for her to wear one than to make everyone else. It was more that action, the removing of that damn stuffy piece of papered irritation, than Dr. Hakushin's words that told her this was finally over and she was really going home. She had been to that dance with him once before, but a last minute blood draw discovered an increase in her white count, and a rapid flu test that came back positive held her hostage for another two weeks.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry in that moment, so she did both. There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she dropped back onto the bed, covering her face with the mask in her hands as she ugly laughed, snorting like a pig as she gasped for her breaths. She had no idea how to express what she was feeling, and Dr. Wannabe would probably get his way and have her committed if he saw her in that moment.

She was so elated, she didn't get a single thing put up or packed away before her room was filled with her husband and his brothers, that came to help carry all her accumulated crap. She heard Bankotsu clear his throat, and she dropped her arms, a wide smile on her face, before she snorted again, belting out another laugh as she recovered her face.

Standing back with an amused smile of his own, Bankotsu actually nodded his agreement when Jakotsu whispered in his ear that someone had clearly broken his wife. Keeping his own voice down, he responded. "I'll certainly take this over the last time I got here after she was told she could go home."

Jakotsu's nose wrinkled at the reminder of the complete breakdown that followed the revealing of her blood work that said she wasn't going anywhere. He honestly didn't think she would ever stop crying, so hearing her laughter was certainly a far better experience.

Making his way across the room, Bankotsu positioned himself at his wife's head, placing a hand to either side, and smiling at her when she opened her eyes to look at him. She wasn't wearing the eye patch she would be putting on when they left, so he was able to see the milky white that covered the expressive brown, but it did nothing to distract from seeing just how happy she was. The left side of her face was a completely different color than the right, the bottom of her chin, across her nose, and her hairline blotchy with patches of different flesh tones. She had told him weeks ago she couldn't feel anything where there was no color, but where the blotches were she could.

She was still fucking gorgeous, though.

Head tilting to the side, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "What's so funny, Pretty Girl?"

Still laughing, she tried to force words to come out, but she kept changing her mind on what she wanted to say. "Noth... I mean... No..." Then, the widest smile she was capable of making spread across her lips as she dropped her arms to her sides and she giggled again. "I get to go home." Then, rolling over, she pushed herself to her hands and knees, that same smile in place as she locked her eyes on Bankotsu's. "And... I get to do this." Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his for the first time in what felt like forever.

Bankotsu, responding in kind, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and wasting no time deepening their kiss. The room melted away from around him as his eyes slid closed, forgetting for a moment there were others present as he devoured every one noise that slipped from Kagome's throat.

While the married couple continued to completely ignore the fact they weren't alone and make out like teenagers, the remaining Akasakis went about packing the few things that weren't and gathered up the trinkets, cards, and artwork from the walls, leaving their brother and his wife to their own devices as they did so. It wasn't like the two were going to stop if asked, so really, making any attempt to pry them apart would have just ended in something no one wanted to happen. They had both been deprived of the proper affection of the other for a few days over three months, so giving them the five minutes it took them to gather Kagome's belongings to get reacquainted wasn't exactly the end of the world.

Everything went perfectly fine as far as getting everything but Kagome out of her room. The issue came when she herself went to exit, and she was unable to judge how close she was to the edge of the bed, and her left foot caught on the wheel because she couldn't see it. It was actually Kyokotsu, of all of them, that caught her before she hit the ground, at the sacrifice of the glass vases in his arms.

Every ounce of elation of being discharged leached from her pores as she got her feet back under her, and nodded her thanks to Kyokotsu when he asked if she was good. Wrapping her arms tighter around the teddy bear in her arms, the only thing she was asked to carry, she cleared her throat as she looked down. "I didn't see it."

Humming in his throat, Bankotsu set the bag of her clothes on the foot of her, unzipped it and stuffed the wolf from Kouga into it before zipping it back up and, after slinging it over his shoulder, he went over to his wife and presented her his elbow with a grin. "My Lady."

No less embarrassed than she was a moment ago, Kagome still smiled slightly at the gesture as she threaded her arm through his presented one. She had to turn her head all the way to the side to look up at him, and when she did, she frowned. "It's like... nothing over here exists. There's nothing past my nose."

Filing that information away to be pondered on later, he just smiled back. "We'll figure it out. For now, let's just go home."

*X*

In the half hour it took to drive from the hospital to their home, the list of linguistics to be 'figured out' just continued to grow, but most of them, there was nothing that could be done. When half the world is stolen from you, far too many things seem to come from nowhere, which makes being a car a slightly terrifying experience; at least that was the case for Kagome. She was tense and jumpy for most of the drive, and it didn't lessen until Bankotsu set his hand on her knee. She wasn't sure if it was necessarily a reminder the world did still exist past her nose, but it helped to make cars coming from that direction slightly less of a shock.

Other things just had to do with her new perception of the world around her. Since it was her left side that went in first, when she got in the car, she hadn't gotten herself far enough over the seat, and once again had to be caught before she hit the ground. Not only was it embarrassing, it was border line degrading because really? She was twenty-three fucking years old, and had to be caught like a toddler learning to walk for just about everything she was doing for the first time since the incident. Even knowing it was kind gesture, Bankotsu walking on her left side to make sure she didn't trip over, or run into something else she couldn't see, and that was what was degrading. But, it wasn't like she could fault him for it.

It's not like having someone between her and a potentially painful encounter with something that doesn't move was the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Getting out of the car was much less dramatic, as was walking to the door where she waiting for Bankotsu to get her bag and teddy bear out of the trunk. The walkway didn't involve steps and wasn't lined with any safety hazards. Her brother in-laws pulled in one by one as Bankotsu was unlocking the door, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of her life when she stepped inside, made it about halfway down the entry, looking at the floor to ensure she didn't hit anything, when there was a thunderous 'SURPRISE' by the mass of people that were waiting around the island in the kitchen.

It scared Kagome so bad, she actually let out a shriek, dropping the bear in her arms, and covering her mouth as her wide eyes cut up to take in the faces looking back at her with varying looking of amusement. Bankotsu barely had time to get the bear on the floor out of her way before she bolted forward, her sights set on her 'little' brother, who was a full seven inches taller than her.

Braced for impact, Sota leaned forward slightly and scooped his sister up in his arms as she threw hers around his neck and her legs circled his waist, Kouga placing his hands against Sota's back to keep him on his feet. Her face buried in his neck, Sota could feel her body shake against him, and he tucked his down and closed his eyes as he tightened his arms around her. He hadn't been able to go see her as much as he wanted to while she was in the hospital because he had been gearing up for graduation, but he did go see her as much as he could, or was allowed rather. The way it had worked out was when he had the ability, she was either on a massively restricted visitor allowance, or it was cut off completely, as what happened at the time of his graduation when she caught a viral infection that very nearly killed her.

Hitomi, standing next to her children, smiled behind her fingertips that were pressed to her lips. There had been so many emotional highs and lows over the last three months, including facing the very real possibility she would never see both of them in the same place again. Tears clouding her vision, she jumped slightly when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Turning her head, she smiled up at her son in-law before leaning her head against his chest, returning her eyes to Kagome and Sota as the former of the two finally pulled her head back.

Unwrapping her legs from Sota's waist, she held onto his neck until she had her feet under her, but didn't pull completely away as she looked up at him, her own eyes slightly watery. Her hands still on her brother's chest, she cleared her throat slightly. "I'm so sorry I missed your graduation."

Making a face at the ceiling as he rolled his head on his shoulders, Sota hummed quietly as he then looked down at her. "Pretty sure near death experiences supersede the need for apologies, Sis. I'm just glad you're okay."

There was a grunt from her as she stepped back, scratching her forehead with a wrinkled nose. "Yeah... yeah that wasn't fun." Then, she flicked her eyes back up to his. "Did Bankotsu give you your present?"

"Nope."

Both Kagome and Sota looked to Bankotsu as he released Hitomi and went over to the back counter, opening a drawer and pulling out a thin box that was wrapped in shiny blue paper.

Leaning on the island, he held it out to his wife with a smile. "It's not from me, it's from you; so you should be the one to give it to him."

Narrowing her eyes as she took the present from Bankotsu, she scoffed. "You went to his graduation party empty handed?"

Bankotsu shook his head. "No, just without that." When he saw her raise a brow at him, he shrugged. "I gave him what every graduate wants... money in exchange for his graduating GPA that he can spend on whatever the fuck he wants."

Even less unimpressed with her husband in that moment, Kagome shook her head as she handed off the present to her brother, who chuckled when he took it. "He's not wrong, Sis."

Sighing, Kagome just shook her head again. She knew she wasn't going to win the argument if the two boys were on the same page, so she just let it go and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder when Hitomi wrapped her up in her arms. Besides, what could she really say when inside that box was a flight voucher for a round trip to Greece she got him for graduation?

After a moment, something else popped into her head as she looked at her little brother. "Oh, and uh... before you leave, remind me to give you my car keys. It uh, it might need washed and detailed on the inside, but there's only like, five hundred or something like that left on it to pay off."

Tapping the small box in his hand against his other palm, Sota frowned. "Are you sure?"

With a tight lipped smile, Kagome nodded. "Not like I can drive it anymore. I have to surrender my licence, so, not sure what good it'll do sitting in the driveway since I highly doubt Bankotsu is going to drive it."

Bankotsu choked on the beer he had been drinking at the statement, waving his hand back and forth with the most disgusted look on his face Kagome had seen to date. "Not even under threat of death."

Glaring as best she could, Kagome gave him the finger. "Spoiled little bastard."

Bankotsu just winked at her.

*X*

Sitting on the patio with a giggling Maru bouncing in her lap, Kagome smiled at the baby as he kept reaching for her eye patch. "No... that's Me-me's not Maru's... no-no." Leaning back out of his reach, she gasped at him, "No." Picking him up and turning him to face his parents, she sat him down and bounced him on her knees as she looked at Ayame. "So, how are you?"

Brushing her bangs out of her face, the overly tired mama shook her head. "I'm just.. tired." Setting her hand on her belly, she shook her head. "It's not like there was a plan for number two so soon, but..." with a sigh, she shook her head again. "I guess the closer together the better, right?"

Cringing at the thought of dealing with the start of a second baby before the one she just gave birth to was even fully crawling, Kagome made a long, drawn out noise in the back of her throat. "I suppose. I know a pair of sisters that aren't a full year apart, and they were raised a lot like twins, which seemed to be what kept their mom sane."

That simple statement seemed to perk Ayame right up, for whatever reason. "Oh, ya know, that's not a bad idea. And if this one is boy, won't have to buy anything for him, so there's that, too."

Nodding as she continued to bounce Maru on her knees, Kagome smiled. "Always a silver lining somewhere. And, ya know, I can help if you need me to. I'm not sure what all I can do, but not like I have a lot of other things going on right at the moment."

Kouga, who had one arm over the back Ayame's chair and a beer in the hand of the other, cocked his head to the side. "What are you gonna do?"

Left with no option but to shrug, Kagome frowned. "I don't know. It's not like I have my job anymore, or could even do it if I did. Besides, with the lawsuit and the legal repercussions of what happened, I doubt I'm even welcome there anymore."

The most detestable noise that had ever come out of Kouga in Kagome's direction slipped past his lips as they curled in the corners. "Oh, bullshit. Everything aside, Toga legitimately cares about you. There hasn't been a shift I've been there when he was he hasn't asked how you were doing. He knows he fucked up, and in a big way. He's not even fighting the lawsuit your husband filed against him."

Genuinely shocked, Kagome jolted and blinked. "He's not?"

Kouga shook his head. "No. I overheard him talking with Sesshoumaru about it. He told Sesshomaru to tell Bankotsu to tell Ginkotsu to write it up and he would settle for whatever is asked for."

No more able to understand the words coming out of Kouga's mouth, Kagome licked her lips. "Really?"

"Yup." Wrenching her head around, she saw Ginkotsu leaning on the wall behind her, a glass of something in his hand, and a grin on his face. "It already would have been considered closed if you would have gotten out of the hospital a month ago like you were supposed to, or even two weeks ago before you got sick that last time. He didn't want to drag it out with the court case pending, so he settled. At this point, all that's left is a meeting in my office where he and Bank sign the dotted lines, Toga cuts a check, and it's over."

Shifting in her seat so she could look at him more comfortable position, Ginkotsu taking pity on her and moving as well, and after biting her lip, Kagome then bit the bullet and asked. "So... what's the settlement?"

Before Ginkotsu could answer that, Kouga shot out of his seat, his arms out. "Give me my son."

No sooner had Kouga plucked Maru out of Kagome's lap did Ginkotsu answer her question. "Six million."

She had been wrong before, about the two words having the power to make her heart stop longer than anything else before it being 'go home' that she had been told by Dr. Hakushin. Those two words stole her breath and she actually had a difficult time catching it again. Hand over her mouth, the only word that slipped past her lips was, "what?"

Grinning wider, Ginkotsu chuckled. "Two of which are alicuted directly to you, and the rest is to be put into a secondary account for medical expenses. Once all of those are paid, whatever is left goes to you, too." Finishing his drink as Kagome digested that, he set his glass on the table and crouched down in front of her. "How we came to the alicution was, we sat down and figured out how much you actually make a month, used that average for your yearly, and used that to project what you would have made there over the next forty-five years, which would be retirement age. It's actually slightly less than that, but Toga said to round it up, so we did. Since you can't work anymore, this ensures you can always support yourself, whatever happens."

Though Kagome was able to catch her breath, she couldn't, however, regain control of her tongue. "I... I do... I um..." Scrubbing at her face, she looked completely helpless when she looked back at Ginkotsu. "I don't know what to say."

Shrugging as he stood up, Ginkotsu crossed his arms. "Other than telling Kyokotsu 'no' when he inevitably attempts to take advantage of your good nature, you don't have to say anything. It's like Jakotsu told you right after you and Bank got married; we look out for each other in this family. And, unlike Bankotsu, I don't have a soft spot for any of the Tanakas, so it was no skin off my ass to sit across a litigation table from Toga, or his army of lawyers, armed with a phone book sized file of pictures and medical reports from your hospital stay." When he saw Kagome frown, he hummed. She was a good person... without all the information. Tapping a finger on his arm, he clicked his tongue. "Look, Kagome, if you want to know the truth, chances are, the lawsuit saved him from being forced to pay a hell of a lot more in court ordered restitution. They don't give a shit about relationships or anything of the kind. They don't care if they ruin someone. They only care about two things; your injuries and how those injuries will affect the rest of your life, then base their decision of what they consider fair compensation on that." Giving her a much more serious look, "don't feel bad about this, and don't worry about it. There are plenty of other things coming up for you to worry about... like Kagura."

A very cold feeling settled into Kagome's bones at the name. "What about her?"

Sighing, Ginkotsu rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over to Bankotsu, who was half listening to their conversation up to that point. Licking his lips, he returned his sights to Kagome as Bankotsu came over. "She is exercising her right to face her accuser by pleading not guilty, and wants to have her day in court."