Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim any right or responsibilities for the characters used in this story. All rights are reserved for the respective creator of Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi.
Heartbeats
by Rikayu
Chapter Twenty-One: Temperature
"Nishida-sensei?"
The silver-haired doctor didn't seem to be paying attention, his golden eyes focused on only the rain cascading down the outside of the window. Both the coffee and plate of pancakes set on the table were untouched, and if Fujioka remembered correctly, he had placed those there a good two hours past.
He sighed and shook his head, stepping forward and giving the oblivious man a shake on the shoulder. "Nishida-sensei?"
Sesshoumaru broke out of his stupor and turned his head to look up at Fujioka. "Fujioka-san," he acknowledged, "Is there something the matter?"
The old man chuckled, "I could ask the same of you. You've been staring out the window since you got here."
"..."
Fujioka sigh again then gestured at the food in front of him. "Well, then… would you like me to get you a new plate?" he asked.
Sesshoumaru shook his head, "There's no need, Fujioka-san. I will be leaving now."
"I see. I'll be taking them now then," Fujioka said as he cleared the table before making his way to the kitchen.
Sesshoumaru stood from his table, placing his notepad and pen back into his dark, leather messenger bag. He slipped into his coat and retrieved his umbrella from the umbrella rack by the café's door. As he walked over to the counter to pay for his meal, Fujioka waved him off. "Don't worry about it," the old man insisted. "You go take it easy, and give my regards to Kagome-san if you see her. She hasn't come in here for the last few days."
The taiyoukai paused at the sound of the woman's name as he placed his hand on the handle of the door. He gave a curt nod to the barista before he pushed open the door and raised his opened umbrella over his head as he began walking down the street.
"Hey, this is Kagome! I can't come to the phone right now, so leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"
His mouth thinned into a straight line as a beep sounded after the short voice message. He flipped his phone closed and slid it back into his front pocket as he looked up at the brick building across the street.
The voice mail recording was as much as he heard from the woman in over three days. On the night of her birthday, right after he had kissed her, she had hastily excused herself left his apartment. Her reaction then, and now her avoidance of even the coffee shop had made him want to bang his head repeatedly against a wall and somehow take back his actions. 'It was a mistake.'
He took in a deep breath and tightened his grip on the handle of his umbrella. After promptly looking to see for any oncoming vehicle, Sesshoumaru made his way across the street and to the steps of the apartment building. He stopped right in front of the wooden doors and closed his umbrella, shaking off the water droplets before he entered.
The inside of the building was completely silent except for the sound of creaking wood as he made his way up the stairs. After ascending five flights, he finally stopped in front of a familiar door, his gaze staring at the golden letters hanging just a few inches above the eyehole. He raised his fist and knocked against the door three times.
No answer.
Sesshoumaru knocked again, this time louder, but after waiting for a few moments, the corners of his lips angled down into a frown. He knew she was there by the sweet scent that wafted up at him from the crack under the door. But it was clear that she didn't want to see him.
Almost hesitantly, he turned, making his way back to leave. But as he took a step down the first step, the faint sound of a woman coughing reached his ears and he turned his head to look back at the door. He paused, listening closely to the silence until the he heard the coughing start again. It didn't sound very good.
He quickly walked back up and reached his hand to the top of the door frame. He smoothed his hand over towards the top right corner of the frame and pulled out the spare key that was taped there. He unlocked the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him, his eyes scanning around the room. Then without even bothering to slip out of his shoes, Sesshoumaru cut through the living room and into a small hall before halting to a stop in front of a white door. Quietly, he turned the door knob and pressed forward.
There on the bed was Kagome, sleeping with her back face towards him. From his place at the threshold, he could clearly hear as the woman released several raspy coughs. And even with the multiple blankets piled on top of her, he could see her shivering.
He quickly stepped around the bed and sat on its edge, leaning forward and brushing away the dark bangs that hid Kagome's face before he pressed the palm of his hand against the skin of her forehead.
She had a fever.
The frown on Sesshoumaru's face deepened and cursed inwardly as he remembered how the rain began pouring hard when she'd run out of his apartment on the night he kissed her. The guilt started eating away at him even more.
He shook his head, frustrated with himself as he straightened and stood. He quickly exited the room and headed for the kitchen, retrieving a large plastic bowl from a cabinet and filling it halfway with cold tap water. He grabbed two small hand towels and a thick, white blanket from the linen closet in the hallway before walking back into Kagome's bedroom.
After he set the bowl and towels on the bedside table, he replaced the blankets covering Kagome's body with the one he brought with him, wrapping the blanket snuggly around the sick woman. He pulled the chair by the desk on the opposite side of the room and placed it next to the bed. After shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the back of the chair, Sesshoumaru sat down and dipped one of the towels into the water, letting it soak for a few seconds before wringing out the excess water. Then he turned to Kagome, swept her bangs away from her face, and was about to place the damp cloth on her forehead when he noticed a pair of blue-grey eyes drowsily staring up at him, and he froze.
He watched as her eyes widened and she slowly tried to sit up in her bed. "W-what…" she started but the pain in her throat didn't allow her continue her sentence and she coughed hard, her hand covering her mouth as she sank back down onto her pillow.
The taiyoukai shook his head and adjusted the blanket up to her shoulders. "Rest," he ordered her.
Kagome nodded as she let him wipe away the sweat from her face with a dry cloth. Then, he wrung the towel inside the bowl on her bedside table before he placed it on her forehead. The cool sensation against her skin was soothing and she suddenly felt very sleepy.
"I will be back," Sesshoumaru said as he stood, but Kagome's hand slid out from under the blanket and she tugged on his fingers, keeping him from moving away.
"Please stay…" she asked of him quietly, her fever-flushed face reddening slightly even as her eyes began to gradually droop closed.
After a brief pause, Sesshoumaru lowered back onto his chair. He took off his glasses and set them down next to the lampshade, the ends of his lips twitching up as his amber eyes lingered on Kagome's hand that still grasped his.
End Note: Done for the One-shot challenge on dokuga_contest. Originally posted on May 13, 2010. Prompt: Skin. Word Length: 1,317