Naraku walked into the room and found Mauro leaning lazily against the western wall with Kanna's mirror lying flipped upward on the ground near him

Naraku walked into the room and found Mauro leaning lazily against the western wall with Kanna's mirror lying flipped upward on the ground near him. He took in a deep, annoyed breath and walked over to him. The moment Naraku took his first step, Mauro's eyes snapped open and looked up at him.

"Sleeping on the job are we?" Naraku asked sarcastically. Mauro just grunted and cracked the crick in his neck.

"I need rest Naraku, I've been using my powers constantly." He paused to stretch his arms before continuing with a sly grin. "Besides if you want my third faze to be any good, you're going to have to give me some time to build up my power in order for it to go the way you have planned."

Naraku just smirked and picked up Kanna's Mirror. Using his sleeve, he dusted the reflection off and glanced once at Mauro. He turned back to the mirror with a new smile forming on his lips, "Enjoy your time with him Kagome, for it won't last much longer." A small chuckle escaped his throat before he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Mauro to sit in silence.

--

As she opened her eyes, bright white lights blinded her vision, causing her to lift her left arm over her eyes for protection. As they adjusted, Kagome's eyes focused on something else. It was attached to her arm starting from her hand and leading somewhere Kagome couldn't see yet. It was thin and long and it looked kind of see-through…a cord maybe? But before she could figure out what it was, a large force had placed itself upon her, crushing her already painful chest. Kagome tried to speak as her eyes still tried to adjust to the blinding light. She turned her head toward the thing that was pushing down on her, intent on using whatever strength she had to get it off her. Taking her unattached arm, she tried to push the heavy weight. She was so weak and groggy that she didn't even make it budge; it did however immediately shift its weight so it could look up at her.

"Oh Kagome!" her mother cried, once again crushing herself against her daughter's sore body. Not quite knowing what to do Kagome just sat there staring with a look of complete confusion plastered on her face. A few seconds later Mrs. Higurashi sat back up and used her finger tips to wipe away the tears in her eyes. Kagome stared at the women as her mind raced around in circles. What was this place? What happened? How did she get here? So many unanswered questions filled her mind that she almost didn't notice that her mother was now gently shaking her shoulder.

"Kagome? Kagome, are you alright? It's me-Mom…" Kagome glanced at the woman's eyes, recognition sweeping over her.

"M-mom?" she said her voice sill coarse and breaking. Her throat was terribly dry and it hurt to talk.

"Yes it's me honey, I'm here." Mrs. Higurashi tried to use kind comforting words to soothe her daughter. It was quite obvious she hadn't realized what was going on.

"Where am I?" Kagome asked looking around the room. She followed the thin, see-through cord up to a couple a pouches hanging on a rod; some sort of clear liquid filled them. She then glanced at the large machine only a foot away from her head. It beeped every few seconds, a sound Kagome didn't notice before, while a small line bounced up and down.

"We're in the hospital…" her mother paused, a look of concern flashing her features. "Don't you remember?"

It was then that Kagome looked back at her mother. The two of them stared at each other for a good several minutes while Kagome racked her brain for some tiny clue to what was going on. Before she could make a conclusion, the doctor came in with a clip board in hand.

"Ah, Ms. Higurashi you're finally awake. You gave us a little scare there for a few hours." He came in and began to check over all the charts and machines in the room. Kagome just waited and watched until he was finished. He then moved to the foot of her bed and glanced quickly at the information on his clip board.

"My name is Dr. Yoku." He said leaning over to shake her hand. Kagome just stared and pulled her hand back. After all she was still adjusting to all this and frankly, she was quite scared. Of course the doctor understood and shook her mothers hand instead. "When you were brought in her three days ago, you…" the Doctor trailed off at the end, noticing Kagome's shocked expression. "I've been unconscious for three days?!" Yoku gave a wary glance at Mrs. Higurashi before continuing. Mrs. Higurashi gently grasped Kagome's hand, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Anyways, when you were brought in here, you had trauma to both your trachea and your lungs. Actually the damage was so severe that I'm surprised you were breathing when you came in…if that young man hadn't resuscitated you, then you might not be alive right now." Kagome's eyes went wide as something triggered in her mind…a memory of some kind.

She remembered being hot, the cool air around her was soothing. There was something wrapped around her, constricting her arms at her sides. Something else held her up, it was trembling and when she looked up, she could only make out an outline through her blurred eyes. She blinked once and as they focused she was staring up at man with golden eyes and silver hair. There were several other things she noticed like the cute doggy ears on the top of his head, but what really caught her attention was the intensity and fear in his eyes. "Kagome…" the sound of his voice was the last thing she heard.

Kagome shot up from the stiff hospital bed, making both her mother and the Doctor jump. She grabbed the blankets and swung her feet over the side and began tearing at all the cords and tubes attached to her.

"Kagome what's wrong? What are you doing?" her mother yelled, frantically trying to stop her. The doctor stepped in next trying to get hold of her hands that swung wildly around searching for anything to yank off her constricted body.

"Inuyasha! I must see Inuyasha!" she screamed, struggling against the doctor's firm grip.

"Kagome you can't leave right now! Inuyasha is fine, you'll get to see him sooner if you stop and calm down!" her mother said, trying to reason with her. Kagome slowly stopped her arms and as she took a reassuring glance at her mother, began to climb back into bed. The doctor let go and put two fingers to the bridge of his nose, sighing. As Kagome adjusted herself, she began to take in long desperate breaths. It felt like her lungs were closing. Fear swept over her as she lifted her hand to her throat.

"That's from the trauma to your lungs. Though they have gotten better, they still aren't completely healed. Don't worry it will pass in a few minutes. For the next few weeks you should try to take it easy though." He said giving her a small cup of water. Kagome downed it as soon as it reached her hands. He looked back at Mrs. Higurashi and nodded. "I can see you guys need some time, just press the service button when you're ready."

Once Kagome finished the last drop a few small coughs escaped her mouth burning her throat even more than it already was. Her mother got her another glass of water and she drank that one a bit more slowly. Once she was done she set the cup down and leaned against the back of her bed, waiting for her mother to explain.

--

She was in the hospital for a total of five days; three of the days she was unconscious and the other two she spent anxiously waiting to get out of there. She spent most of her time staring out at the large window thinking or doodling little flowers and hearts on bits of paper. Other than that she slept or talked with her mother. Every time her mother would come, Kagome would ask how Inuyasha was doing and how he was dealing with being stuck inside her house all day. Kagome knew that he couldn't come to the hospital because he looked too suspicious and would attract unnecessary attention. But instead of answering her questions her mother would casually change the subject telling her daughter things like "you should be resting", "don't worry about it too much, focus on healing" and other stuff like that. After a while Kagome grew suspicious, she was sure that knowing Inuyasha he would at least have had her mother ask her questions about how she was doing, and truth be told, she was surprised that he hadn't tried to break into the hospital yet. Though she felt as if something was up, Kagome just brushed it off, thinking that the sooner she got better the sooner she would be able to talk to Inuyasha herself.

Though she was only cooped up in that small room for two days, at least conscious anyway, Kagome felt that her head would explode if she didn't get out of there soon, so naturally, she was exited as ever to learn that she would be going home. Just as she was getting ready to leave the room, the doctor insisted on getting Kagome a wheel chair and though she protested, she was wheeled out of the hospital, blushing bright red and feeling like an idiot.

The cab pulled right up to the curb in front of the shrine stairs. Kagome fidgeted with her thumbs while her mother went around to help her out. With Kagome's duffle bag draped on one shoulder, Mrs. Higurashi helped her daughter out of the car. While leaning on her mother, Kagome began to make her way up the shrine stairs. She only got about a quarter of the way when she had to stop and rest. It wasn't until that moment that Kagome realized how many stairs there were. Kagome inwardly cursed her damaged lungs, angry that they wouldn't let her go any faster up the long steps. The sooner she got this over with the sooner she saw Inuyasha. With that new determination Kagome and her mother walked the rest of the way up the stairs, only stopping one more time before reaching the top.

If Kagome thought she was out of breath before, that was nothing compared to what she felt now. Her lungs heaved in long desperate breathes as she grasped her chest. She had to put almost all her weight on her mother just to stay standing. It was then that her little brother came running up. The look on his face was happy at first, but once he took in her figure he sped up his pace, his smile fading away.

"Kagome, are you ok? Is there anything I can do?" he asked desperately. Kagome just kept heaving.

"Here Souta take this so I can help your sister to her room." Mrs. Higurashi handed the young boy the duffle bag and shifted her body so that she was practically carrying Kagome. After several more minutes they both made there way into the house. Kagome was relieved that this obstacle was over, but just as she thought it was done she looked up at the remaining flight of stairs that led to her room. "It's official, I freaking hate stairs!" she thought as they once again began to climb. Of course these weren't as hard and Kagome was happy when they reached the top. She had her mother stop just before opening her door. She wanted to enter on her own, with out any help, "Inuyasha will be less worried this way." She thought as her hand lingered over the door knob. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves, why was she so nervous anyways? Deciding that two breathes were better than one, she filled her sore lungs with oxygen once more as she opened the door, anxious to see her silver-haired hanyou.

Kagome just stood there, her hand still on the knob of the door. She scanned her room numerous times thinking that Inuyasha was hiding under her bed or something. A few moments went by before it began to sink in. "He isn't here…" she thought for sure that he would be waiting her arrival just as anxious as she was. "He's not here!" she repeated to herself. Kagome then turned her head so she could give her mother a confused glance.

Her mother just gently shook her head back and forth giving her a sympathetic smile. This confirmed it. Inuyasha wasn't here. At first she had asked her mother if Inuyasha had merely gone out to collect his thoughts but when she told her that the last time she saw him was when he brought Kagome through the well, all Kagome's hopes of seeing him vanished. He hadn't even tried to find out if she was ok or not. This just couldn't be. Kagome just turned away from her mother and closed the door softly behind her. She walked to her bed and laid down on her stomach, her face buried in her pillows with her arms limp at her sides. "Why? Why aren't you here Inuyasha?" she asked quietly to herself as her emotions began to take over. Her heart felt like it had dropped into the pit of her stomach, she was disappointed and more than that, she was surprised. No matter how angry Inuyasha was at her that she left with Kouga, this was just not like him. A soft knock came from her door, stopping her thoughts.

"Come in." she said, her voice still muffled in her pillows. Slowly, Souta entered the room and immediately knew that this was not the time to talk to his sister.

"Here's your stuff from the hospital." He said laying her bag beside her bed. "Feel better, 'kay Kags?" with that he left and closed the door behind him.

Kagome stared at the blue bag for along time before gently sitting herself up and going through it. She sat, leaning against her back board, trying to use as little energy as possible as she opened the zipper. First she took out her yellow back pack, which had taken up most of the room. Deciding she would go through that last, she delicately pushed it off to the side, trying not to mess up the bandages that were wrapped around her cut up hands, and continued to rummage through her belongings. Next she pulled out several pieces of paper with random words and doodles on it. She looked at one of them that she remembered giggling about after she drew it. It was picture of two ice cubes, chilling on the beach, cheesy smiles and sunglasses on their cartoon faces as they sat in a small pool of water, melting. Underneath them the phrase "We're so cool, ice cubes are jealous" was written in funky lettering. "Wow was I bored." Kagome thought sticking her drawings back in the bag.

The next thing Kagome drew out was a plastic bag, labeled HIGURASHI, KAGOME in big, black, bold lettering. She undid the zip lock and pulled out her burnt up school uniform, her charred socks and a smaller bag of "personal" items. Kagome placed them on her lap, the scent of smoke slightly filling her nose, and pulled out the last artifact that was in the bag. It was the bottle of her sacred jewel shards. They still sparkled just like always, but Kagome didn't concentrate on the tiny pink fragments, what she focused on was the small folded piece of paper that was still crumpled up against the glass. She gently pulled it out but hesitated before opening it. She knew that once she read it, all her disappointment, fear and confusion that had been lingering over her for the past two and half days would come spilling out. Closing her eyes, and taking in a pained breath, she unfolded the paper. She opened her eyes and read it.

You looked so serene there in your sleep that I couldn't bare to wake you. This flower is called the moon lily. My mother told me about it. The moon lily is supposed to only bloom on the night of a full moon when there is love in the air. The moon lily signifies kindness and trust. When I first saw you smile, this flower came into my head. It is exactly like you. Beautiful yet impressive, kind yet firm and of course loving. I want you to know that I love you and in a way this flower represents that. Remember that.

Always, Inuyasha

Kagome re-read past of it out loud. "I want you to know that I love you…remember that…" she stopped and stared out through her window at the sacred tree. "If you love me Inuyasha, then why aren't you here? Do you still care for me?"

So heres chapter 38! i hope that you liked it and dont worry the next chapter will explain why inuyasha isnt there and stuff. anyways once again for the long wait, fixing my computer took much longer than expected. if you have any questions dont be afraid to ask

Wolfhowler245

PS hey you see that little button in the corner, it wants you to press it. something about reviewing stories or something like that, i dunno but to me it seems like a good idea to check it out. come on you know your tempted to find out what happens XP