Chapter 35

Sesshomaru gently pulled the lithe fingers to his mouth, kissing each one. It had been three days, and Kagome still had not woken. Sesshomaru was both furious with her, and terrified. According to Miroku, Kagome had shared too much of her reiki, and he wasn't sure it could heal itself this time. If that was the case, Kagome may never wake again. At best, she would remain in the comatose state that she was, at worst, she would die. Sesshomaru didn't like either option, and he refused to believe he had lost his soul bonded.

He was angry at everyone, Kagome, his father, Miroku, and even Izayoi. They had all played their part in Kagome's downfall. Miroku had been in the room with her, he could have stopped her, but he didn't, he let it happen. It was easy to see the guilt that was consuming Miroku, but when he walked around with Sango, Sesshomaru couldn't help but to be angry with him. Miroku let Kagome give her life to save Sango. Sesshomaru lost Kagome because Miroku was selfish.

Sesshomaru understood why Miroku did what he did, Sesshomaru would have done the same had the roles been reversed and it was Sango giving her life for Kagome, but that didn't change the anger inside of him. Izayoi could have done so much more than what she did. Just simply grabbing Kagome's shoulder and talking to her softly wasn't enough, and Izayoi had known it. She chose not to stop Kagome, not to interfere.

And then Touga. He fought as much as Sesshomaru to get to Kagome, but the moment Sesshomaru let his beast out to get through the barrier, Touga stopped him. Sesshomaru could have gotten through, could have stopped Kagome from going any farther, but Touga hadn't let him.

Kagome's screams still rang in Sesshomaru's ears, forever etched into his memory. She had been in so much pain, so much agony, and he couldn't do anything. As mad as he was at everyone else, he was furious with himself. He should have known what she would do. He should have been faster, gotten to her before she put up that barrier. He should have done more.

"Sesshomaru." Touga knocked on the door quietly, wincing as Sesshomaru growled in response. Sesshomaru hadn't wanted anyone near him or Kagome. "Son, InuYasha wants to see her."

Sesshomaru looked back at his father, seeing InuYasha peeking out from behind Touga's leg. InuYasha hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't even been there. Giving a curt nod, Sesshomaru turned back to Kagome, running his thumbs over her hand. Her skin was soft and warm. A good sign.

The door closed behind Touga as he stepped inside the room, going to sit in the corner to give Sesshomaru space. Sesshomaru didn't look at him but focused all of his senses on Kagome instead. She was in her bed, laying perfectly still on her back. Her breathing was slow and deep, her hair fanned out around her in a black mass of thick waves. She wore her night slip, the blankets pulled up to just beneath her breast. For anyone who didn't know, she was asleep. Sesshomaru wished he didn't know. He wished he could pretend that she was just asleep.

"She doesn't care about us." InuYasha whispered, and Sesshomaru looked at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. His little hands had balled into fist, his ears flat against his head. "She doesn't care about us, or she wouldn't try to leave us like this."

"She cares." Sesshomaru finally whispered, turning his gaze back to Kagome. "Too much."

"She would do this for any one of us, InuYasha." Touga stood, walking over to his youngest son and placing a hand on his shoulder. "She cares enough that her life doesn't matter."

"But her life matters to me!" InuYasha shouted, tears springing to his eyes. His little fangs were bared as he tried to fight the onslaught of emotion, but he couldn't. "If she cared about me at all, she wouldn't give her life up so freely. All she thought about was Sango and that baby." He spat out the mention of the baby, disdain in his voice.

"It's not the baby's fault." Sesshomaru kept his eyes on Kagome, hoping she heard everything InuYasha was saying. She had been so willing to give up her life for Sango and the baby that she had forgotten about how it would affect everyone else. "It's Kagome's fault."

"She didn't even think about you!" InuYasha yelled, pushing at Sesshomaru's arm. "She was going to leave you too! All you're doing is sitting there! You're not saving her!"

"There is nothing I can do." Sesshomaru growled. When InuYasha opened his mouth to retort, Sesshomaru's hand snapped out, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at Sesshomaru. "I am in love with her, InuYasha. If there was anything I could do to wake her up this instant, I would do it. I would give my life. But there is nothing. She gave up her reiki, and I cannot replace it."

InuYasha yanked his chin from Sesshomaru's hand, his bottom lip trembling. "She's so stupid."

Sesshomaru was inclined to agree, but as he looked at Kagome and her sleeping form, Sesshomaru shook his head. "Not stupid. Caring. Her heart is large, InuYasha. She felt guilty for what Sango was going through and decided to fix it. Her generosity knows no bounds."

Another knock at the door had them turning, seeing Izayoi peeking her head into the door. "Touga, Dear. You are needed." She gave a sad smile towards Sesshomaru but didn't say anything to him. She knew he was angry with everyone.

"Okay. I will be there in a moment." Touga opened his mouth to call InuYasha to him, but his youngest son had moved to sit next to Sesshomaru. Both of them holding Kagome's hand. Sesshomaru met his gaze and nodded that it was fine for InuYasha to stay. Together they would keep watch over Kagome.

…

It had been three weeks. Three weeks since Kagome saved Sango. Three weeks since she had opened her eyes. Sesshomaru was growing desperate. He had no idea what else he could do. He had even lost his temper at one point and began to yell at her. Aside from shedding tears, he had done everything he could think of.

InuYasha was always by his side. Together they watched over her, taking care of her. Alastar had come to see her several times. When she refused to wake for him, he would huff and leave before he came back a few days later.

Sango had come by, thanked her for what she did, and then begged her to open her eyes. That hadn't worked either. Touga and Izayoi visited every day, talking to her as if she was going to talk back. It infuriated Sesshomaru. So many people were trying, and not one thing worked to wake her.

The only person who hadn't come by was Miroku. Sango had said it was because he felt as if all of this was his fault. He had chosen to let Kagome do what she wanted, had chosen Sango. He felt he didn't deserve to see her. Sesshomaru decided to let him do as he wanted. A part of him blamed Miroku while another part completely understood. This entire situation had put a strain on everyone.

"When you wake up, Dear, us women should spend a day together. The three of us could go to a spa or go shopping. I haven't had a girl's day since before I met Touga." Izayoi was holding Kagome's hand smiling as she spoke. "As soon as you're better, we will have to plan it."

Sesshomaru just watched, wondering if Kagome was ever going to wake up. A part of him was starting to doubt it. It had been too long. Her reiki wasn't healing. It wasn't getting any better. It was likely that she would remain as she was for the rest of their lives. He didn't want to think that way, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't even feel the bond between them anymore. It had vanished as soon as she fell unconscious three weeks ago. "A shrine."

"What?" Touga cocked his head to the side, not sure what Sesshoamru was talking about.

"The home we were building for Kagome." Sesshomaru didn't look at anyone, instead keeping his gaze on Kagome. "Make it into a shrine. She will rest there."

"Sesshomaru." Touga swallowed, looking down at his daughter. He didn't want to agree, but he knew as well as Sesshomaru did. If she hadn't woken up yet, it wasn't likely she would wake up at all. Touga gave a nod, agreeing, and Sesshomaru turned from them all.

For the first time in three weeks, he was going to leave. He needed to escape, to come to terms with what had happened. He had lost his soul bonded. The life he had planned for them was gone before it even had a chance to begin.

When he opened the door, he was forced to stop. Miroku was standing there, hand raised as if he was about to knock. Sango was behind him, a hand on his back. For a moment, Miroku couldn't meet Sesshomaru's eyes, but then he looked up. "I have an idea. I don't know if it will work, but it's the only thing left to try."

Sesshomaru pushed open the door wider, letting Miroku and Sango in. He still contemplated on leaving, not expecting Kagome to wake, but something in him made him stay. Shutting the door once more, he moved back to the bed, sitting across from where Miroku had sat on the bed with Kagome.

"You're so stupid, Kagome. Forcing me into that position. You promised, little sister, that you wouldn't leave me. We were supposed to be together forever, but you lied." Miroku reached out with a trembling hand, cupping Kagome's face tenderly. "Do you remember when we were children? Our energy had just started making itself known. There was this little girl in the village, she was homeless and scared. You sang her a lullaby. She fell asleep, but so did the rest of the village. Even I had trouble staying awake. You cried, thinking you had killed everyone. We learned then that our voice held our power, and we had to be careful how we used it." Miroku paused, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly. "You can't… You can't leave us. We all need you. I need you."

Miroku kissed her hand, then gently placed it back over her stomach. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and then closed his eyes. The energy around him began to stir, slowly moving around him as he called on his power. Then he opened his mouth and began to sing.

The first note had everyone gasping. Miroku could sing. He was amazing, his voice deep and sure, but that wasn't what had surprised everyone. It was the power they felt within his voice. It was a surge of healing warmth that flowed through them that had their eyes widening, staring at Miroku as if they had been seeing him for the first time.

Again, they were learning something more about the siblings, something new. There was so much they kept guarded when it came to being the shikon miko and her protector that Sesshomaru wasn't sure they would ever know everything there was to know about them.

Miroku continued to sing, his voice soft and melodical. He had a talent, one that he had kept hidden. At first, that talent did nothing. They felt his power, but Kagome didn't react to it. She continued to lay in her slumber, unmoving.

And then Miroku grabbed her hand, and the reaction was instantaneous. Both of the siblings exploded in power, their reiki swirling around them almost violently. Miroku's was a deep purple, swirling around him in a dangerous vortex of demand while Kagome's was pink and subdued. Miroku's eyes were glowing from within, the entire thing purple and dangerous.

It was clear that out of the two, Miroku was the proctor. They had all already known that, but now, as they watched Miroku's reiki, they could see how it was ingrained in him and his energy to keep Kagome safe.

Suddenly, his reiki bombarded Kagome's, swirling around it until they couldn't see her pink energy any longer. The entire time, Miroku continued to sing, his voice growing louder until it almost seemed unnatural, godly.

...

A horrible ending to this chapter. lol. And another cliff hanger. So in the last authors note, I admitted that I was a bit worried about this chapter being cheesy. Now that you have read the chapter I can explain further. It is the singing that I was worried about. I didn't want this chapter to come off as stupid or anything like that. I just wanted to show another aspect to their power. It will be the only time he uses his power like this though. So hopefully It wasn't too cringe worthy.

Now, moving on, I feel like there are a lot of fanfictions were Kagome puts her life at risk for someone else. That's just how Kagome is, and everyone knows it. However, not many stories talk about the consequences of her choices. She chooses to give her life for another, but doesn't think about those she leaves behind. In this story, Kagome put Miroku in a position where he had to chose his wife and baby or his sister. She left Sesshomaru miserable and thinking the worst. Touga and Izayoi, who think of her like a daughter are also left grieving. InuYasha is young and doesn't understand anything that is happening, but he knows he is upset, and Alastar, who has been her company for years, is also left behind. This is why I said Kagome is both selfless and selfish. She gave her life to save one, but she only cared that it was her life to give. She didn't think about the others who would rather her be alive. All of this will be discussed more in length later as well.

For the challenge, I am once again a few hours late with posting. Sorry, I started reading a book and lost track of time. Anyway, this week I will only ask for twenty reviews. That's twenty different people by Wednesday for you to get the next chapter. Here's the Teaser: Does Miroku attempt to wake Kagome work? How does Sesshomaru handle everything that has happened when it finally comes to a head? Why is everyone angry? What is this ultimatum and what choices are made?

I hope everyone enjoys.