Treading the Abyss

'The more I discover, the more lost I become,' Naraku wrote down in his notebook. He decided he was going to take extensive notes and entries about everything he did with his research and he was mildly kicking himself in the ass for not starting earlier.

'Test Subject 1 had a severe adverse reaction to about a tenth milliliter of the original purple solution. TS1's symptoms began with fatigue, possibly an upset stomach, and upon being triggered by a stressful situation, gained a burst of energy, increased strength, and a sense of unforgiving, animalistic rage. This was short-lived; 10-15 minutes. I assume a greater amount would result in a longer duration of these symptoms. However, while losing the effect, TS1 began to possibly hallucinate and attempted to leap off the roof of a three-story building. TS1 required chloroform to be subdued. Additionally, TS1's body remained active despite being unconscious. Pupils did not dilate with light, but the eyelids tried to close. Yet, the eyes remained open when left alone. TS1's body began to tremor and twitch in a slow manner and spit up blood twice. Upon the second time, a crystallized material spilled out.' Naraku stopped to flex his hand. He was writing fast and hard and his hand didn't appreciate it. His eyes were drawn to the second glass tube where the crystal Jade spat up resided. The small amount of blood that accompanied it was sizzling on its surface. That didn't concern him as much as the color, though. Naraku looked back at his notebook.

'At first, the crystal held a dark purple color, just like the original solution, but after nearly eight hours, it has lightened to a pink color. There isn't enough blood for it to dissolve, so it remains solid.' He placed his pencil down and rubbed his face with both hands. His ears still rang with the sounds of her screams and cries.

"No." he said, standing from his chair and taking his shirt off. He felt disgusting. Nothing about the day turned out as he planned. He was exhausted, injured…

'Jade,' Naraku closed his eyes. Her plain brown hair, her plain face, her striking green eyes, her bloodied mouth, her bloodied nose, her enraged shrieking, her silence and thousand-yard stare...

"No." he repeated, striding into his bathroom. He turned the knobs to blast the water and finished undressing before stepping into the shower. Naraku scrubbed his body, feeling the physical grime of sweat and spilled chemicals being washed from his body, but the churning feeling in his stomach, the tingling sensation in his skin, and his elevated heart rate still made him feel unclean.

"I'm tired,"

'She's dying.'

"I'm tired,"

'I killed her.'

"I am...tired."

After drying his hair, Naraku crawled into his bed. It didn't take long for him to drift into a deep sleep. The next thing he knew, he was waking up to his phone buzzing loudly on his nightstand. His hand groped the surface until he felt the slick screen of his phone, sliding it towards himself on his mattress.

'We are meeting with Eric today at 1pm. We have no choice in the matter. Either you come or you're expelled.' Bruce's message read. Naraku planted his face into his pillow, exhaling a single curse. When he felt the burning sensation of the rage pass, he glanced back at his phone for the time. It was nine in the morning. He slept for twelve hours?

"I'm still tired."

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After closing his office door and walking around his desk to sit back down, Eric cleared his throat and clasped his hands together on his desk. The Head of the Chemistry Department was a man in his forties. He was tall, slender, with short, buzzed brown hair and was either silent or speaking softly. However, he didn't need to speak much because his intense hazel eyes spoke for him.

"Bruce, none of this looks good. At all." Eric said softly, glancing down at the three separate papers in front of him.

"I know." Bruce answered, staring down at his lap. On his left sat Sesshomaru, who was looking worse for the wear with a heavily bruised face and a scabbed-over cut on his lip. On Bruce's right sat Naraku, who was wearing the healing cut on his forehead and an unseen bruise on his chest.

"You have to have known about these two and their," Eric trailed off, trying to find the proper words as he pointed at both students.

"Angry gorilla fights? I knew of some things; I didn't know how bad and how often."

"Now you know." Eric cleared his throat again, picking up the far left paper on his desk. "I have offers for you two, and the girl when she returns,"

"Wait," Bruce interrupted, leaning forward. "Jade isn't...what happened wasn't her fault."

"She attacked all three of you and threw cement blocks off the roof of the building."

"She threw one." Naraku corrected, now crossing his arms. Eric's stern gaze darted towards him.

"My point still stands. As far as I'm concerned, she's the most dangerous of the three. When will she be back?"

"She's in a coma, Eric. Something was not right with her medically." Bruce explained, the strain in his voice indicating his desperate position.

"She hasn't woken up?" Naraku asked. Bruce, Sesshomaru, and Eric all stared back at him, all wearing the same expression; confusion.

"No, and her aunt is planning on suing us. She's claiming we attacked Jade and to be honest, Jade has the injuries to prove it despite it being false."

"Injuries? I was under the impression that none of you struck her." Eric's voice had gained a hardness to it now.

"We didn't. I put her in a choke hold after she attacked me." Sesshomaru insisted, glancing over at Naraku. Their eyes met and Naraku could tell that for once, Sesshomaru wasn't trying to throw him under.

"I dislocated her shoulder when I was trying to prevent her from jumping off the roof. I used chloroform to knock her out." Naraku added. Eric looked at both of them and back at Bruce, who was sitting with his eyes closed and he looked to be in severe pain.

"She has coughed up blood and has a torn pectoral muscle. She has several minor tears in her muscles along her arms, actually. Her blood pressure is lower than it was, but still high. She is also sporting a horrendous bruise around her neck. That is all reported from this morning." Bruce finally stated after taking a moment to breathe.

"Naraku, are you sure that's all you did to her on the roof?" Eric asked, the suspicion in his tone heavy.

"Yes." Naraku answered sharply.

"She did damage your car. If you got angry with her,"

"You think I did all of that to her?" Naraku asked back with annoyance, but that stinging pain in his chest appeared again.

"You have a history of harming other students."

"Harming and tormenting them, but I have never beaten one to near death. I've never even slapped one, not counting him." Naraku argued icily as he pointed at Sesshomaru.

"To be fair, the torn pectoral muscle was probably from the dislocated shoulder incident." Bruce interjected.

"Yes, that I caused because she was trying to jump off! Should I have just let her do it?" Naraku couldn't control his temper any longer.

"Calm down. No, it's good that you saved her and, to be honest, I'm surprised," Eric replied, holding his hand up to signal Naraku to calm down. But he didn't. He couldn't. He stood up swiftly, his hands balled into tight fists.

"I have teased her, I have made her miserable, I have made her uncomfortable, and I have made her cry," Naraku listed off, walking towards the office door and ripping it open. "But I would never beat her. What good is she to me dead?" He marched out and slammed the door behind him. He was gritting his teeth so hard that his jaw began to burn from the tension.

"Naraku! Wait!" Bruce shouted, running alongside him. "Stop, stop,"

"What does he want from me? I noticed he had three papers, each with our names on them, and a line to sign our names. What does he want?" Naraku questioned bitterly. Bruce held up both hands submissively.

"The university has a second-chance policy. It doesn't immediately expel unless you have committed a serious crime, and you haven't been charged."

"Yet."

"Listen to me!" Bruce hissed. "It's three of us against Jade's recollection, if she even remembers, and if she even wakes up,"

"I don't want to hear it."

"What is with you? You were completely calm until Jade was brought up. I still have a feeling you did something to her. Otherwise, why are you so defensive?"

"I'm not defensive; I refuse to be the fall-guy for something we all participated in."

"That's still being defensive, Naraku. What's bothering you?"

"Drop it. Quit bringing up Jade. What does Eric want me to do?"

"You have to see a psychologist for six weeks," Bruce said, holding up a finger.

"I'll be taking my thesis and lab funding elsewhere. I'm not doing that."

"Swallow your damn pride and just go. You also have to participate in volunteer work for the university." Bruce held up a second finger.

"Mandatory volunteer work; how quaint." Naraku grumbled sarcastically, now staring at the wall.

"You and Sesshomaru are to have no contact on campus grounds or during events where you represent the university for six weeks. And then you have to write an essay to the university apologizing for your actions." Bruce pressed on, holding up two more fingers. "Write it sarcastically if you have to."

"I'll think about it." Naraku turned back towards the doors.

"Well, think hard, because Eric is recanting the offer by the end of the week. If that happens, then the university will expel you for your actions and your refusal to comply."

"Hmph."

"If it makes you feel any better, Sesshomaru has to do the same things, except he has to go to anger management. He will agree to it." Bruce added quickly. "And Jade, if she comes back, has far more punishments to agree to than both of you. No other university will touch you with all of this baggage hanging on you. So, take a day to calm down and sign the agreement."

"Eric should reconsider Jade's punishment."

"I'll talk to him about it. He might want to ask you questions seeing as you two spent the weekend together in the lab."

"Hm."

Naraku walked out without saying another word. He sat in his rental car; a dark blue Grand Prix. He almost paid extra for a different car because Jade drove a dark green Grand Prix, but he bit the bullet since his insurance was only going to provide a certain price range.

The next six hours were sacrificed to the restricted notes sent by his sample providers. The notes were extensive and there were four different people's notes and they all usually came to different conclusions about different oddities found. Most of the notes he read were mundane, so Naraku finally cracked open the notes of the fourth scientist; the geologist named, "Sessue Asano." The first two days were general rock and outcrop findings, discussions of the lake's mild salt level, surrounding sediment and soil details, the nearby lagoon, and a couple of mentions of the small island in the middle of the lake.

'Sessue Asano - Day 3 - Northeast Quadrant

The weather is overcast; 16͒ C

My partner is Kiyomi Matsuda'

"Why aren't her notes here? Geologists usually work in pairs." Naraku murmured. Rarely did a scientist of any study investigate and explore an area without a partner in case of injuries and it was unheard of to have only one set of notes for a pair of scientists.

'8:00AM - As expected, the NE Quad of the lake is more brackish than the NW. This is most likely due to being nearly connected to a lagoon. The soil and sediment are the same, except grain size is a magnitude bigger (See Page 40 and on for all measurements and descriptions).'

'9:13AM - Found an interesting outcrop. About 700m thick. Many horizontal layers of sediment ranging from sand to silt, and various fossils found within (Measurements and detailed descriptions on Page 40). Also found a layer of tuff about 500m up. The multiple layers and deposits seem to indicate this area was once underwater as a shallow, mid-to high marine environment. A volcanic eruption occurred much later, possibly after sea level regressed. Would also explain the brackish nature of the lake and the existence of the lagoon.'

"Leave it to the geologist to bore me." Naraku sighed heavily. He took a drink of water and decided to press on. He had nothing else to do until he decided what to do about Eric's offer.

'10:47AM - Kiyomi lost water cannister somewhere, but had a filter bottle. We decided to take a food break near a stream (area marked as 33 on map). Nothing more. Just casual conversation.'

"I want to skin myself."

'12:04PM - Had to end journey here (marked as 34 on map). Kiyomi became violently ill. Called for help.'

"Hm." Naraku turned to the next page. It was the following day. Though, the biologist was the geologist's new partner this day. He continued reading, but something was off. Naraku turned back to the previous page, reading the Day 3 passages again. He also noticed a few spots of dirt and a smear at the bottom of the page; not unusual, especially from a geologist. Naraku flipped to Day 4.

'Why did he change his narration style? Before his sentences were incomplete or brief with detailed descriptions on a different page. But on the next page he has long, fully detailed sentences, descriptions, and exact measurements. Even his handwriting is different.' Naraku looked up and stared straight ahead when it hit him; it was a different geologist on Day 4. Something happened to Sessue on Day 3 and it wasn't just a sick partner. Naraku looked at Day 3 and closely studied the handwriting to be absolutely certain.

"It looks like something was erased," Naraku whispered, grabbing his magnifying glass to better observe the area around the phrase, "violently ill." There was definitely a smudge, but without the original copy, he couldn't make out what had been there previously. There was a second, longer smudge after the comment about calling for help, but again, he couldn't clearly make out any kanji.

'Violently ill, called for help,' Naraku repeated in his head, carefully running his thumb back and forth across his bottom lip. His eyes rested on his purple solution and the pink crystal Jade had spit up. 'Violently ill.' He pushed through reading about Day 4; another mundane day of usual geological findings. Day 5; more of the same. Day 6 was normal until the very end. The second geologist drank some of the water himself after slipping into the lake unexpectedly and accidentally inhaling out of shock. As Naraku expected, the Day 7 entry handwriting was slightly different, as if the author tried to imitate the handwriting of the previous author. This handwriting was also darker, meaning they were probably writing slower, which was an indication of trying to change their handwriting.

"So, they are actively covering something up; something in the water," Naraku turned the pages back to Sessue's entries. Naraku thought since he was the original author, he was less likely to cover anything up as opposed to the two geologists who posed as him. He still found nothing more from Sessue's entries.

'I have a single sediment core of this lake. The diatoms' cell walls are purple, the other algae had a purple color; almost every microbe had purple somewhere in or on their bodies.' Naraku reminded himself. 'If that purple color is an indication of the same type of substance as my solution, then ingesting the water, along with all of those contaminated lifeforms, might give someone the same symptoms Jade showed.' Naraku smirked.

"Violently ill or just violent?" he asked quietly. He looked back at the entry, but his eyes were drawn to the dark marks of dirt. He noticed they had tails. They were almost like tiny black comets raining down the page. The tails pointed to the top of the page, indicating that the dirt was brushed towards the bottom of the book.

"Why brush the dirt or mud towards yourself? Most would brush it away, meaning the tails would aim down." Naraku hated that all the notes were photocopied. Everything was black and white, but, he already had his guess; the spots were blood. If Kiyomi had ingested something similar to what Jade ingested, her symptoms could have been very similar. If she became violent, Sessue was the only person near her that she could attack.

"She came at him towards his front, probably bleeding from the nose and mouth, which explains why the spatter tails are aimed up instead of down." Naraku recited to himself as he pointed at his chest. He leaned back in his chair, massaging his temples softly. He didn't have hard evidence, but it was plausible and that was all he needed.

'That still doesn't explain why the crystal Jade spit up is pink.' Naraku let out an audible groan. He needed to take a break, so he left his office and grabbed some sliced oranges from his fridge. But, he was still racking his brain. Was the color due to contact with stomach acid? Was it because he mixed it with tea? Could it have been her blood? It was purple when she spit it out; it turned pink as the tiny amount of her blood sizzled on the surface. That had to be it.

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It was midnight. The watch on Naraku's left wrist had beeped to let him know, but he was more concerned with the other beeping noise in the room; Jade's heart monitor. He took a moment to write down her vitals and took a picture of the chart on the end of her bed with additional information about her condition and at what time each check up occurred. From a moment's glance, everything Bruce said the previous day was accurate, but Naraku needed details. He needed her heart rate from when the paramedics took her and all the fluctuations in between. Naraku's eyes were drawn to an area on her chart highlighted in yellow.

'Nurse: Joice

Time: 10:04am

Date: 9/18/16

Patient: Jade Morilo

Age: 21

Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latina

Jade opened her eyes, but she did not respond to any questions and did not recognize her aunt, her close friends or her professor/academic adviser. We checked vitals and brain activity; she is still comatose. She looked around carefully and she ate a cup of applesauce. She did talk. She chanted, "Drip," over and over starting at 10:19am until she closed her eyes again at 10:20am.'

"Hm, I suspected she wasn't caucasian." Naraku said quietly, glancing back at her face. "I suppose her surname was a clue." He hooked the chart back on the rail and walked over to her right side.

'I need to do this quickly and leave.' he reminded himself, using a strip of rubber as a tourniquet and tying it around her arm above the elbow. Gently, he rubbed the bend of her arm, hoping the vein would react. He couldn't use her left arm because of the IVs already inserted in it and he didn't want to resort to her hands because they were easier to bruise.

It took a few more moments, but he finally saw the faint blue of a vein. Cleaning her skin with an alcohol wipe, he looked at her face once more. Jade looked like herself again, with the exception of paler skin. The images of her enraged, bloody face still flashed in his mind. Naraku steadied the tip of the needle, aligned it at a forty-five degree angle while straightening her arm, and poked through her skin. He sighed with relief when the tube began filling with her blood and loosened the tourniquet from her arm.

'It has been a while since I've done this.' Naraku shook his head slightly, readying a cotton ball to stop the bleeding. He gently removed the needle and pressed the cotton ball down, but he missed a small dribble, which was pooling at the fold in her arm. Naraku placed the needle on the table beside him and grabbed the used alcohol pad. He turned back and felt his heart nearly explode.

"Shit!" he hissed. Jade was awake! She had reached over with her left arm and pressed her index finger into the blood on her arm. Jade's breathing was slow, steady, and her heart rate hadn't changed at all.

'Mine just spiked through the roof. Fuck me.' Naraku's breathing was labored, his heart was pounding, and he had broken out into a sweat. Jade removed her finger from the blood and leaned back onto her pillow. She began smearing the blood with her thumb onto the tips of her other fingers, as if it felt interesting to her.

"Jade," Naraku said in a low voice. Jade didn't react. She just continued rubbing the blood around her fingers, The blood was already sticky and beginning to dry. "She's still under." Naraku slightly lifted the cotton ball to see if the puncture had stopped bleeding. A single trail of blood trickled down her arm again.

"Drip." Jade said. Naraku stared at her, feeling his heart contemplating life again. The bleeding had stopped, though, and Naraku took the opportunity to clean her arm and fingers. When he wiped off the last bit of red smear from her hand, Jade's eyes widened and she stared at her hand intensely. She seemed shocked that the blood was now gone.

After turning out the lights and bagging up the utensils he used, Naraku sat next to Jade. He left the dim light above her bed on so he could see her. Jade seemed intrigued about why everything was darker now, her eyes shifting around slowly.

"I know you can't hear me, but I," Naraku stopped. He thought he saw Jade nod, but she had just reclined back on her pillow instead. Her eyelids were blinking slower and staying closed longer. Naraku looked at the wall behind her instead. "Perhaps I can show you what I've found someday. You would find it interesting."

"Drip." Jade whispered, her eyes staying closed. Naraku wondered what she was dreaming about. He stayed a few minutes longer, making sure she wouldn't wake up again before shutting the last light off and quietly exiting her room. He tossed the bloody alcohol pad and cotton ball into the nearest bio-hazard waste can he could find and made his way down to the main floor.

Naraku emptied Jade's blood into the tube with her crystal. He figured since it changed color with her blood, it should remain in contact with her blood. Just like the crystal with his blood, this one began to sizzle and bubble. Naraku wrote the last portion of his entry in his notebook before leaving the office and retiring to his bed for the night.

'I will sign that malignant agreement in the morning.' Was his last thought before drifting away.

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"Why?" Jade whimpered. She had fallen asleep in her new house and found herself back in that cold, dark place. She had no sense of up or down. The echoes of her voice were swallowed up by the nothingness. The sound of her labored breathing was her only comfort of familiarity. Jade's teeth began to chatter; her body from her neck down was colder than her head by magnitudes. She lifted her right hand to touch her face for warmth and gasped when she heard the splashing and dripping of water. She was floating in water?

"Why," she breathed, now twisting around and feeling the resistance of the water around her. "No, no, why is it deeper? It was barely a puddle last time!"

When something grabbed her left wrist, a soft, surprised, "Oh," was all Jade could mutter before being dragged under. Jade tried to pull herself free, but from her shoulder down to her fingers, she had gone so numb it was beginning to burn. She yanked, pulled, kicked, and even wished she had something to saw her doomed arm off with, but she continued being pulled down.

'What is that?' Jade's attention had been drawn to something visible, bright...pink? It was almost soothing to look at simply because it wasn't black. Though, she wasn't sure if she liked that she was being pulled towards it. She had to close her eyes as she was dragged closer; it was too bright and Jade wasn't sure she could witness her end.

When she opened her eyes, she had a split second to realize she was standing high up on a building.

"Jade! Stop!" a voice shouted loudly. Jade's head snapped to the direction of the voice. It wasn't hers! She saw a tall man with long black hair running at her! Why? What did he want? Jade looked back down the side of the building and then back at the man. He reached out and grabbed her left wrist, pulling her away from the ledge.

Air filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. Her eyes shot open, but she instantly winced and bent her head down towards her lap. While shading her eyes, Jade saw the needle taped to the bend of her left arm and felt her heart start pounding against her chest.

'What is going on? What did it do to me?' Jade ripped the tape from her arm and yanked the needle out; the warmth of her blood now dripping down her arm. She peeled the monitor patches from her chest and swung her legs to the side of the bed, sliding onto her feet.

"This isn't where I was! I was...I had a house!" Jade's voice was raspy and it pained her to speak loudly. However, she was more concerned with her life. She had moved on with her life! Whenever she was dragged into the dark place, she always woke back up in her house she bought after graduating and finding a job! Always! A door swung open and two women and a man spilled into the room with her.

"Jade, you need to stay calm," the first woman urged, holding both hands up to show she meant no harm. Jade's eyes darted from her, to the second, younger woman, and to the man. Tucked in his right hand was a capped needle.

"Get that away," Jade told him.

"If you stay calm, it won't come near you." the second woman explained. Jade looked around the room; a closet, a TV, a bed, curtains on either side of the bed and the loud blaring screech of a detached heart monitor.

"Hospital," Jade murmured when the word popped into her head. Her thinking process was panicked, but it felt like swimming through sand at the same time.

"Yes, you're in a hospital. You've been here a couple of days. We need you to get back in bed, though." the first nurse, a brunette with matching brown eyes said. She pointed to the bed.

"My phone?"

"Check the closet for her phone." the first nurse said to the second woman, a lighter-haired brunette with blue eyes. "Come on, back to bed, please."

"Okay." Jade gave up. Her body felt heavy now that the adrenaline had worn off. She crawled back in while the first nurse held her bloody arm outward.

"Here," the second nurse said, handing Jade her phone. "It's turned off."

"We have spare chargers if it's low." the first nurse added.

"We'll go tell Lauren she woke up." the man announced, walking out with the second nurse.

"My name is Joice. I've been your daytime nurse for the past two days."

"Hi." Jade said uncertainly.

"I know, you probably don't recognize me." Joice began wiping the blood from Jade's arm.

"What happened?"

"Well, that's what your visitors have been, uh, loudly discussing since you got here."

"Can I go home? I feel okay. I'm just tired." Jade said, waiting for her phone to turn on.

"That's up to the doctor." Joice taped a cotton ball over Jade's former IV puncture. She walked around to the cabinets near the door, grabbing a few packets and walking back to Jade.

"You said I've been here how long?" Jade asked when she saw the date on her phone. She recognized the numbers; she knew what they meant, but they weren't registering.

"You were admitted Monday, so the seventeenth. Today is Wednesday."

"Yeah, Monday was the last day for the first three steps of extractions," Jade said. That was the freshest memory in her mind.

"Extractions? Of what?" Joice quizzed, prepping Jade's left hand for the new IV needle.

"Phosphorus." Her eyes closed as she kept repeating the word in her head, hoping it would kick-start the rest of her memories.

"I thought I heard one of them say you worked in the university's chemistry lab." Joice said, finally inserting the needle and taping it down. "Do you want me to call anyone for you?"

"No. I'll do it."

"Alright. It might be a while before the doctor can see you, but buzz for me if you need anything in the meantime." Joice left the room quickly. Jade found Sango's number and called it.

"Who is this and why are you using Jade's phone?" Sango demanded.

"Uh, Jade from State Farm," Jade responded. That response was almost a muscle reflex, so she figured she said that a lot in the past.

"WHAT? WHAT?" Sango screeched. A large clunking noise followed and then a chorus of screaming began.

"Hello?"

"WE'RE COMING!" Sango yelled before hanging up.

"O-Okay." Jade blinked. She checked her notifications and found an email from Bruce sent early in the day on Monday. He was requesting permission for Jade to drive university vehicles for field trips, conventions, official work with other businesses, and other, less-exciting uses. The request had gone through and Bruce emailed her about scheduling a brief driving test. Hitting reply, Jade asked him if next week would be okay.

'I'll be fine by next week. I don't feel sick.' Jade told herself. It was a strange sensation, but her memories were slowly filling in the voids of her mind; almost like pouring water into a cup. She was hungry for steak, or chicken, and she wanted a few beers. She also wanted to play Killer Instinct. A regional tournament was coming up and she needed to practice for it. She needed her book for class so she could catch up. She needed to get back to Naraku so they could finish Fraction III and continue with…

"Oh," Jade's eyes squeezed shut. The headache was instantaneous and sharp. It was almost like her head was splitting in half! "No, no! They're ruined!" she whimpered. The slow pouring of memories turned into a bursting dam. All weekend. Pouring, mixing, injecting, shaking; over and over. She slept, she woke, she slept, she woke. Her hand slowly drew a circle, and then added clumps inside the circle, and around the clumps, she added two chubby, eight-legged creatures. Echoes of breaths; heavy, tired exhales, quiet curses, and pleads to her eyes to stay open just a bit longer. Naraku laughing at her jokes, explaining her homework to her as he drew perfect diagrams on the board, his shouts as he ran towards her and pulled her back from the ledge...Jade's stomach was turning and boiling now. Her arms and shoulders trembled and Jade wished she had never woken up.

Jade had no idea how long she had been holding her head, but she was treading the flood of her thoughts when the door to the room flew open for the second time. "Jade! Jaaaaade!" a woman called excitedly. Jade saw three people approaching her and cringed, pulling her legs and arms as close to herself as she could.

"Don't! Don't touch me!" Jade begged, keeping her head tucked into her lap and under her arms.

"Jade? Don't you recognize me?"

"I'm...I don't," Jade knew her and her voice, but her mind was so overloaded that it felt like she was about to stop operating entirely. She knew, but she couldn't bring the name from her mind to her mouth!

"Is she going to be sick?" one of the other women said. Jade knew her, too! But why couldn't she think of her name? It was there along with the other two names, but again, the traffic flow in her brain had jammed.

"Back, back, back, please!" a fourth voice urged. "Jade, I need you to take a deep breath now,"

"Is something wrong? Is she brain damaged?" the first woman asked abruptly. Her accent was soothing, and it reminded Jade of home, but that was all her brain would allow her.

"That isn't my call," the calmer woman replied. "Sedative, please."

"No," Jade cried. She didn't want to go back to that dark, cold place. She wanted her quiet, safe house.

"She just woke from a coma! Don't do that to her!"

"Ma'am, I can't let her do this! It's too much stress on her heart!"

Jade's body went limp before her eyes closed. All she heard was the bickering between the two women and the younger two trying to calm them down. Then, nothing. No sounds. No sights. Just the heaviness of her body and the gravity weighing her down. Even her fingers felt like blocks of cement.

First, she recognized sounds. Now there was a man bickering with the woman.

'Aunt Rosa,' Jade finally remembered her name. Her mind released the man's name; Bruce. Her aunt was threatening him, calling him a liar, insisting Jade would never do that. Bruce was calm, but the distress in his voice was audible even to Jade's half-conscious mind. He swore he wasn't a liar, that he had two witnesses to back him up, and that he knew Jade would never do those things unless something was very wrong.

"One of those witnesses has put his hands on her at least once and, if I remember correctly, the other smashed glass on her face." a younger voice answered. It was Sango.

"The glass incident was an accident." Bruce insisted. "As for Naraku, I won't defend him, but even he was frightened by her. Jade is the student I am most proud of. I wouldn't say these things about her to defend those two assholes."

"But you let her work with them!" Rosa shot. Jade knew that tone all too well. She was probably furiously pointing at Bruce, too.

"Jade chose that, not me. I offered several times to recommend her to other labs, I have offered for her to have her own hours where those two were not allowed in the lab; she turned these offers down. She willingly agreed to work under Naraku. I can't do anything about that."

"Even if he does this to her? Look at those bruises around her neck!"

"That wasn't Naraku."

"Oh, he's the one who allegedly saved her life by dislocating her shoulder! I forgot! Where does he live? I should send him a thank-you card!"

"I'm done arguing with you. I came here because she sent me an email." Bruce sighed heavily.

"About what?" Sango asked.

"She asked if next week was fine for her to finish the university license test." he answered.

"Sounds like her." Sango said.

"She's a workaholic. It's in her blood." Rosa stated proudly. Jade's eyes had opened, but she was slowly blinking them to adjust them to the light. She saw her aunt first. Rosa looked exactly the way Jade had last seen her; brown hair so dark it was nearly black, brown eyes, lips and nails painted red, smokey eye shadow, and lightly browned skin. She was wearing a flowing black sundress with red, yellow, and orange flower prints nearly covering the entire dress. Rosa hadn't aged or changed her style since Jade could first remember seeing her when she was a toddler.

"Is it still Wednesday?" Jade asked aloud, hoping that another two days hadn't passed.

"Jade!" Rosa called out excitedly. Jade held her hand up to prevent any overzealous hugs.

"Oh, thank goodness. When you sent me that email, I nearly shit myself," Bruce announced, walking closer to Jade's bed.

"It's Wednesday, Jade." Sango insisted. Jade glanced over at her and saw Kagome, who was so shocked, she had her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Okay. Can I be released yet?" Jade whined.

000000

"I'll get your bath ready," Kagome said as she walked to the second bathroom that was mainly used by Jade.

"Can you close the door? I can't deal with the noise." Jade called out as she relaxed in a halfway sitting position and a halfway laying on her side position on the couch. Kagome agreed and did just that.

"Do you want me to help you?" Rosa asked Jade, stroking Jade's hair softly.

"No, I'll be fine." Jade replied.

"Are you foolin'? We had to carry you up the steps!"

"You held me up. I walked."

"You think you can drop the pride for five minutes?"

"Auntie, I'm tired, I'm in pain...I don't want to be messed with."

"I told you not to talk to that man. Now you think you did something wrong."

"Bruce wouldn't make that up."

"His loyalty is to his job; not you." Rosa insisted strongly as she waved her hand back and forth.

"He wouldn't make it up." Jade repeated, closing her eyes.

"He would." Rosa walked away, mumbling something in Spanish. All Jade heard was, "Professor Puta."

It had been an hour and Jade was laying still in the water. She moved slowly because her muscles had finally regained contact with her brain, telling it that they had hurt this entire time and Jade now needed to be aware of it. They were stiff, rigid, and sharp pains rang throughout her body, but mostly in her left arm and chest. The other reason she was slow was because of the sound of the water. Over and over, she told herself, "It's warm." It wasn't the same water in her dream...coma...whatever that was. It didn't help much, though. It still made splashing and dripping noises and despite being warm, the sounds alone sent chills through her body. So, she tried to make the least amount of noise possible.

"Are you alright?" Sango asked, lightly knocking on the door.

"Y-Yeah," Jade called out. "I'm just...the water is warm."

"Let us know. Dinner's almost ready. Rosa said she was making your favorite."

'I shouldn't be annoyed,' Jade scolded herself. Her aunt and her two friends had every right to check on her. Koga, Ginta, and the rest of The Pack had every right to blow up her social media with hopes, prayers, and compassion, and Bruce had every right to express his concern, but also inform her of the situation she left at the school. But, Jade wanted to be left alone. She didn't want to be fussed over. She didn't want to be constantly checked on. She didn't want someone to help her get dressed. She had grown so accustomed to the loneliness in her coma dreams that she preferred it now.

'I need to sign that agreement so I can stay in school.' Jade remembered. But, she needed her phone to email people, which was charging in her bedroom. It was time to dry off and start working.

Jade sat at the table after drying off and dressing in her pajamas. She tried to feel normal, act normal, but she lost her energy and ended up resting her upper body on the table like a drunk who finally hit their alcohol threshold. Sango sat beside her and gently rubbed her back, opting to stay silent as Rosa instructed Kagome on how to cook the perfect tamales. Jade glanced up and saw that Kagome was actually taking notes, which she had no issue with. If Kagome could nail her aunt's recipe, that was more often Jade could eat tamales.

"Any meat should work and I have tried it with tofu, too. A lot of patrons are vegans and vegetarians, so I have plenty of recipes for that, too. Jade will eat just about anything if you slap green chile on it." Rosa explained as she removed the oven mitts from her hands.

"What I want to know is how did Jade turn out to be a lousy cook with you around?" Sango asked jokingly. Jade remained silent, but she had a point.

"She is good at prep, so she's not hopeless. Jade can mix some great drinks, though. Her lemonade is always a big hit with the patrons." Rosa countered. "She even perfected Mama's chili pepper tea."

"That sounds dangerous." Kagome said in a small voice.

"Jade, have you not made stuff for your roommates?" Rosa asked.

"She made chicken and dumplings," Kagome said.

"She seasoned and marinated our steaks. That was really good." Sango added.

"That's it? No tea or lemonade?" Rosa looked up at the ceiling, praying for forgiveness for Jade in Spanish. "Jade, Mama and I raised you better than that."

"I'm tired. Quit telling Quetzalcoatl to forgive me." Jade grumbled without lifting her head from the table.

"God forgives you for that slight and so do I."

"Okay, Auntie. Can you tell the Feathery One to give me my health back?"

"Ai, is she like this with you two?" Rosa asked exasperatingly, pointing at Kagome and Sango. They both glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"No, she's quiet, but she's fun, too." Kagome answered.

"Occasionally sarcastic, but we do it to her, too. Jade is a good friend and roommate." Sango said, patting Jade's back gently.

"She has always been gentle, and sweet, and forgiving." Rosa cooed, her tough exterior immediately melted when she said it. "I love you, Jade. I don't mean to embarrass you."

"It's okay. Love you, too, Auntie."

The green tamale was teasing Jade with its aroma and perfection. She wanted to eat it nicely, but she was also starving and couldn't hold a fork and a knife at the same time. Jade pulled the plate closer to herself, held the tamale still with her fork, and bit into it.

"We can cut it for you," Kagome said, but Jade shook her head as the juice of the meat and peppers ran down her chin.

"I'm good." Jade replied, her mouth still full. She was just happy that it didn't hurt to chew.

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk, but what do you do, Rosa? Do you run a restaurant?" Sango asked curiously. Rosa laughed and shook her head.

"Technically, no, but a big part of my job is cooking." Rosa took a small bite and swallowed quickly. "My mama and I own a piece of land in northern New Mexico. It was a ranch, but we've turned it into a mountain resort. There are plenty of trails to hike and explore, a lot of beautiful places to take pictures, and sightseeing tours in areas around our little town. Each are within reasonable distance. So people stay with us."

"Oh, like a bed and breakfast?" Kagome asked.

"Mhm. My mama started it, and now I run it with her help, and," Rosa sighed heavily. "It would go to Jade after me since she's the oldest of Mama's grandbabies, but she doesn't seem interested."

"I suck at cooking." Jade complained, her teeth biting down on the pepper again.

"If you can learn to play games, you can learn to cook better."

"Apples and oranges, Auntie."

"If you can go three days with little sleep and learn all of that science, you can learn to cook." Rosa corrected. Jade stopped chewing for a moment, then she shrugged and nodded.

"Fair enough." Jade agreed.

"You wear me out." Rosa groaned.

"Imagine how I feel." Jade said back with a small smirk.

"Jade, what about your parents?" Kagome asked, glancing at Sango, who waved her hand furiously at Kagome to hush up.

"Um, no idea. I only know Mama and Auntie." Jade replied, ignoring Sango's gesture.

"Her mom was my little sister. She got in with the wrong crowd. She had Jade when she was seventeen and she left the hospital and Jade without a trace or note. She didn't even name Jade; Mama did, for her green eyes. We filed a report, but because her stuff was gone, they assumed she ran away. We don't know much else." Rosa explained, watching Jade carefully as she told the story. Jade seemed unbothered by the discussion. That or she was desperately hungry. But, Jade never voiced any sadness or disappointment about her birth parents' absence in the past, either.

"I'm sorry, Jade." Kagome said softly.

"I'm not. I can't be upset if I never knew her." Jade wiped her mouth with a napkin and shrugged. "Mama and Auntie took care of me."

After eating, Jade collapsed on the larger couch and began typing away on her phone. It was getting late and Jade wanted to contact the department head as soon as possible. Kagome and Sango had brought Jade's car back to the apartment parking lot earlier, which was a plus for Jade. If she could reach her car, she was as good as gold. Jade turned her head when her aunt opened the sliding glass door, entering the apartment with a loud, dramatic sigh.

"Mama, Jade refuses to come home. You need to talk to her and tell her it's okay to take a semester off." Rosa said as she approached Jade from the hallway.

"I will do no such thing. She can make her own decisions." Mama's voice echoed from Rosa's phone. Rosa rolled her eyes and Jade watched her quietly.

"She isn't thinking right. Her brain is damaged."

"It is not." Jade griped. The doctor told her and Jade that at this point, Jade showed no signs of brain damage except some memory loss, and that was predicted to be temporary. The only thing the doctor wanted to monitor was her heart. Even her torn muscles, as much as they hurt, were expected to heal fine without surgery.

"Is Jade happy? Is she having fun in school? Is she playing games? Making money?" Mama listed off. Her calm voice dripped through the phone like honey; sweet and soothing. "If so, leave her there. She'll call us if she needs us."

"Fine, Mama. I'll leave early tomorrow and be home by Friday to help you with our next group. Do you want to talk to Jade and give her love?"

"I'm sure she got plenty from you. I'll call her Monday when she's feeling better."

"You gave Jade her first smile." Rosa said as Jade giggled at her.

"Good. Have a safe drive. Bring some milk." And with that, Mama ended the phone call. Rosa shook her head.

"I'm not so sure you're not her daughter, sometimes."

"Why is that?" Jade asked, motioning for a pillow. Rosa handed her one and sat on the smaller couch.

"You both have those cold veins. Me and your mom? We'd snap at the drop of a hat and scream someone into next week before the hat touched the ground. You and Mama? The world could be on fire and you both would act like the Post Office just closed early."

"I get mouthy."

"But you don't go crazy about it."

"I apparently did a few days ago." Jade quipped, closing her eyes to prepare herself for the, "I don't believe that," speech.

"I don't believe that!" Rosa stated venomously. "They lie! You would never! I'm so sad that you believe them and doubt yourself. God knows the truth and he will reveal it to us."

"I do have that fiery Latina blood," Jade continued, unable to hold back her smirk.

"You have Mama's - oh you little - stop instigating me!" Rosa hissed, lightly slapping the side of the cushion where Jade's feet lay. Jade snickered, but found herself unable to open her eyes. Her body demanded sleep, so she gave in.

After helping Jade to bed, Sango walked back into the living room where Rosa was sharing various pictures and videos of Jade with Kagome, who was giggling and cooing over the ones she found the cutest.

"You both are welcome to our home for free for all you've done for Jade." Rosa stated once Sango sat on the couch Jade had been sleeping on.

"Oh, I haven't done that much," Kagome said.

"She would have starved to death without you." Rosa replied sarcastically. Then she looked at Sango. "Now that she isn't here to deflect the conversation, who is this Naraku guy?"

"I don't know him, but he's...I don't know where to start," Sango exhaled.

"He's very manipulative and his satisfaction relies on how much misery he can cause others. He's working on his Master's degree and Jade is...helping him." Kagome explained slowly.

"Oh." Rosa said. Then she looked up. "Is he cute?" Both Sango and Kagome leaned back, staring wide-eyed at each other.

"Does it matter?" Sango asked carefully.

"No. I'm just curious."

"Hold on, I have a picture," Kagome said, quickly unlocking her phone. Rosa leaned over while softly singing, "Oooooh."

"Kagome, what are you doing taking pictures of him?" Sango asked exasperatedly. She felt like the only person in the world not secretly hypnotized by his good looks.

"It was part of a joke. I drew pictures on it and sent it to Jade." Kagome answered. "Here he is,"

"Dios mío," Rosa fanned herself with her hand. "No wonder she puts up with him."

"He's horrible to her. I don't care how hot he is." Sango said bitterly.

"Oh, I'll slit his throat if I see him." Rosa stated sweetly as she smiled. "And I won't ever repent."

"Do you have any idea why she tolerates him? She tells me that he isn't bad all the time, but it's still abuse if it's continuous." Sango asked.

"I mean, the few times I've seen them together in class, they go back and forth at each other constantly. She says things to instigate him, too." Kagome added.

"I've known Jade all her life, and I couldn't tell you what she's thinking. I can tell you what she'll do, but not what she's thinking." Rosa said as she leaned back. "Growing up, she always talked to the kids no one wanted to talk to. She came home one day, upset in her own little Jade way, and told me that one kid at school didn't have money to eat. So she shared her lunch. I told her she did the right thing. The next day, I sent extras with her. Mama and I had a barbeque that weekend and invited everyone, including the kid and his parents, so they could all eat and take whatever leftovers they could without being embarrassed. Later down the road, that kid became a bully and picked on everyone but her. She did this with several people in her classes."

"Do you think her mom rejecting her had something to do with it? Maybe it hurts her and she doesn't like seeing other people being cast out." Kagome suggested as she shifted her position.

"It might, but she never mentions it. All I know is she gives her kindness to those she thinks need it before those she thinks deserve it." Rosa said. "I just wish she would realize they won't always return it."

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When the apartment door clicked shut, Jade threw her blankets from her body. She had already dressed for the day, but had to hide it from her aunt and roommates. If they knew she planned on going out, Sango and Kagome would both guilt her into staying home and Aunt Rosa would yell until Jade went deaf. She agreed with all of them; she did need to stay home. She did need to rest more.

'But I also can't sleep easy until I settle this.' Jade stood from her bed and shuffled to her door. Once she stepped out into the hallway, her body stiffened with pain and Jade fell to her knees.

"Oooookay, this is going to be an ordeal," she panted.

It took her ten minutes to reach her car. The older couple who lived in the apartment below Sango, Kagome, and Jade were sitting on their patio with their breakfast. The man stood up and called out to Jade, asking if she needed help. Jade told him she was fine. She waved to them as she drove off, hoping that would quell any urges to tell Sango and Kagome that their weird roommate was nearly crawling to her car that morning.

"Well, at least driving isn't an issue." Jade sighed. When her left arm began to stiffen, she added, "For the most part." So, she relied on her right hand and arm to control the car. The soreness in her dominant arm was nothing to the screech-worthy jolts of pain in her left arm.

Jade reached her first destination without much issue. Getting out of the car and walking to the door was the real issue. She took a minute to rest while staring at the door of Sesshomaru's house. She had weaseled his address out of Bruce so she could properly apologize to Sesshomaru. Jade glanced back at the house. It was small, but since he lived alone, it was probably what he preferred. The brick was painted a light gray, the roof panels and shingles were a dark gray, and the front door was white. Jade finally pulled herself from her car and waddled and limped to the door. Despite there being only three steps leading to the brick and concrete porch, they felt like six, which additionally felt like sixty. She tapped the doorbell with her right fist because her fingers didn't feel like uncurling from their clenched position.

Moments later, the door opened and Sesshomaru stared back at her, blinking a few times, almost as if the sight of her stung his eyes. Jade gave one swift wave and a soft, awkward, "Hey," but she found herself unable to speak anything else. The left side of his face was heavily bruised; a painted mess of purple, blue, brown, and yellow. The cut on his lip had scabbed over. Jade felt her pulse quicken.

'Did I really do that to him?'

"Jade," Sesshomaru began, tilting his head. "Are you...alright?" He remembered the last time she had a silent breakdown all too well.

"I'm just really sick with myself. I'm so sorry."

"About this?" he asked, pointing to his face. "Don't be."

"What?" Jade's mouth dropped open. Sesshomaru stepped back and motioned for her to come in. When he noticed she was having trouble, he held her right arm to steady her and guide her towards his couch.

"You look like a corpse."

"Thanks." Jade said with a huff.

"I suppose I don't look much better." Sesshomaru quipped, but his tone was calm, as if discussing the weather. Jade absentmindedly rubbed her left arm and her chest, watching Sesshomaru walk into his open kitchen and pour a glass of water. "Are you hungry?"

"No." Jade insisted.

"You're lying."

"I'm not going to eat your food after I beat the shit out of you."

"I don't know why you think I'm angry about that. If anything, I'm impressed and I deserved it."

"No one deserves that."

"No one? Not even Hitler? Stalin?" Sesshomaru asked, rinsing off a bundle of green grapes.

"No one deserves it from me. What other people do isn't my business. I don't like that stuff. I play games with that stuff in them, but I," Jade cut off when Sesshomaru handed her the glass of water and placed the bowl of grapes on the cushion beside her. He sat down in the chair across from her and pet the blue tie he was wearing to keep it from wrinkling.

"I know. I'm still not angry."

"I guess I don't understand."

"I hit you in the face with a beaker, I destroyed the slides you made, and I purposely ruined the samples you helped extract." Sesshomaru recited, holding up three fingers.

"But you didn't mean to do those things to me."

"But I did them nonetheless. I was due for a fair retaliation."

"That isn't fair!" Jade whined with frustration as she pointed at his bruised face. Sesshomaru looked away for a moment, almost as if he was fighting away a smirk, and then locked gazes with her.

"Then we fundamentally disagree. You don't hit people, yet you did, and I wasn't intentionally coming after you, but I did. In my mind, it's fair." Sesshomaru crossed his right leg over his left, planted his elbow on the arm of his chair, and rested his unbruised cheek on his fist. "Though, I doubt apologizing was the only reason you came here."

"Bruce won't divulge details to me, Naraku is ghosting me; all I know to be true is from the camera footage of me running away with Naraku chasing me. I need to know the truth before I meet with the dude in charge later and I figured you wouldn't hide it from me." Jade explained, finally plopping a few grapes into her mouth. He was right. She was very hungry...and stressed.

"When you came back from class, you looked ill, much like you do now, minus the neck bruises, which were caused by me. You said you were going home, realized how suspicious we all looked, and then you found the bottles." Sesshomaru paused, glancing at his watch.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"I have a meeting to leave for in about an hour."

"Oh my God. They're going to wonder what the hell happened to you." Jade groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"If they ask, I'll tell them I fell down some stairs." Sesshomaru retorted dryly. A snort escaped Jade's nose, so she clamped her hands and nose around her mouth.

"I shouldn't laugh." she said, her voice heavily muffled.

"You can laugh. It's amusing." Sesshomaru said back. "During another one of our bickering sessions, you were very upset; inconsolable. You were hyperventilating, sobbing, and you were crouched down. When I turned back to you to own up to my part, your mood, your health, and your personality had done a one-eighty."

"Oh."

"The very strange part was the blood dripping from your nose and mouth. Instead of being doubled over with fatigue, your entire body was rigid and ready for a fight. You looked absolutely furious. You almost didn't look like you. I don't know how else to explain it. Bruce called your name and that's when you screamed and attacked me."

"Wait," Jade held her hand up. "I was bleeding before anything happened?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Jade exhaled heavily. She assumed the bloody nose and mouth she was told about came from the fight. Why was she bleeding before anything physical? Why was she bleeding while having a meltdown? Jade's eyes widened slightly when she heard a drip. Her entire body was hit with a wave of coldness that froze her to the bone. Every muscle in her body locked up. Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Jade?" Sesshomaru called out, noticing her terror-stricken expression.

"Did I," Jade's voice trembled, so she stopped and swallowed. "Did I say anything? During the attack?"

"As a matter of fact, you did. Why? Do you remember something?"

"N-No." she lied quickly. She remembered something; darkness, coldness...and that damn dripping noise! "I hear your sink dripping. I don't know why, but ever since I woke up, I've hated dripping noises."

"Hm." Sesshomaru stood from the chair and walked back into his kitchen. He tweaked the sink's handle slightly until the dripping ceased. "That is a strange symptom to wake up with."

"I don't understand it either." Jade exhaled as her body released its fearful tension.

"I mean, I've read cases where people have woken from comas with the ability to speak a different language, play an instrument, a high increase in sexual appetite, completely different personalities, and many others; but a hatred for the sound of dripping water? Very strange."

"Yep. It's a thing that I hope will go away."

"I know Naraku and I are being forced to go to different therapy sessions, but maybe you should think about going, too?" Sesshomaru suggested.

"Coming from a guy who has to be forced into it, thanks. I'll give it some thought." she replied sweetly, but the sarcasm was heavy and Sesshomaru actually smirked about it.

"Fair enough." he replied, sitting back down in his chair. "You asked about what you said. I remember some details, but this is also the point where you gave me a concussion."

"I'm so sorry."

"I will be fine. After you tackled me, you screamed, "My samples, my slides, my face," and gave me three well-delivered punches. Then you started slamming my head into the floor while screaming, "Mine." I don't remember how many times you did or if you said anything after that."

It took everything and more from Jade to keep from screaming and crying at that point. It really was her voice she heard in her dream! Was it a dream at all?

'Was I hearing it while it was happening? Is that even possible?'

"Naraku pulled you from me, but because he's weak, you broke free, flipped the table, and tried to go after Bruce. I pulled you down and put you in a choke hold, but you never lost consciousness. It was almost as if you didn't need to breathe. You were actually able to push yourself, with me on top, from the floor and you elbowed me in the ribs twice. I let go. That's when you ran out of the lab and Naraku chased after you with the chloroform. You will have to get the rest of the story from Naraku. He was the only one on the roof with you."

"I doubt I'll hear it from him." Jade replied bitterly. She didn't expect her cold mentor to say, "I'm so glad you're okay," but a message saying, "Alright," or, "We're discussing more papers on Tuesday, bitch," would have been enough.

"He saved you from jumping off the roof." Sesshomaru broke the moment of silence. "Or so he said."

"It feels like he saved me from not getting an ass-whoopin'."

"I don't know what you've been told, but I highly doubt Naraku did those things to you, though he owned up to dislocating your shoulder because he saved you. He's rather fond of you in his own twisted way. I've never known him to admit to helping anyone, let alone actually doing it. He seemed sincere."

"I didn't think he knew how." Jade remarked.

"Neither did I." Sesshomaru admitted, scratching an itch on his ear. "I cannot make you forgive yourself. It doesn't matter how many times you apologize to me or how many times I tell you I don't care that you did it. There's a first time for everything."

"I know." Jade murmured, staring at her lap. "I just hate that I wasn't able to consciously make that choice."

000000

Jade found one of the tables circling the giant fountain area on campus and sat down. She hated the water, but she physically couldn't go much farther without a rest. She grit her teeth and had to slowly lower herself because even sitting was painful for her stiff muscles. Her entire body felt like it was chained to itself and she had to fight the resistance of her own weight and strength. It was exhausting. It was painful. Yet, she insisted on it. This was her chance, her only chance, to stay in school.

"Damn." she panted, putting her head down on her right arm, which rested on the table. Her left arm remained in her lap. Folding it too much hurt, letting it hang stung, and resting it in her lap burned, but it was less painful than the other two options.

'Why did I agree to this meeting?' Jade lamented. She gave it some thought and realized she did that quite often; agreeing to painful situations instead of just avoiding them entirely. Jade didn't want to ask Sango or Kagome for help because they had done so much for her and her aunt already. She didn't want to ask Bruce because when she last spoke to him, he sounded reluctant about speaking to her because of her aunt's fury. Sesshomaru had left for his meeting out of town. Otherwise, he was her first choice because he was the only person involved in the situation who wasn't apprehensive with her. Naraku wasn't answering her texts or calls and even if he was on speaking terms with her, she still wouldn't ask him because he was Naraku.

'I just have to do it by myself. It's my problem. Besides, I'm almost to the Science Building and I still have twenty minutes.' Jade resigned to her decision. It made her feel the most comfortable, despite the physical pain she was in. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drift away. She heard the dripping noise again and when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, Jade's body shook itself awake, dragging her back into the reality.

"Jade," Naraku said, pulling his hand from her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"A meeting with...the head of the department." she answered slowly. What were the odds of him finding her there? He must have spotted her when going to lunch.

"In your current condition? Well, I suppose it will gain you sympathy points."

"That isn't why I did this. I just wanted to get it done with so I can move on." Jade couldn't bring herself to look at him, but she also didn't like talking to his crotch, so she looked down at her phone instead. She unlocked it and gasped. Five minutes!

"What?" Naraku asked.

"I have five minutes and I'm not fast! I have to go!" Jade tried to stand quickly, but again, her body absolutely refused. Whenever she tried to move quickly, it felt like the stiffness became worse, almost as if her body had a mind of its own. Naraku swung around in front of her and knelt down with his back to her.

"Climb on." he ordered.

"Uh," Jade hesitated. His head turned and his eyes locked on hers over his shoulder.

"I'm not going to interfere with your education. If you want to remain a student here, you have to agree to the terms. I had to do the same. Eric will be insulted if you're late, so swallow whatever pride or hateful thoughts you have about me and climb on."

"Okay." Jade replied, actually taking his advice literally and swallowing to moisten her dry mouth. She hadn't noticed it dropped open when he offered a piggy-back ride. She wrapped her right arm around his neck, but rested her left hand on the back of his left shoulder. Naraku hooked his hands under her thighs and stood up effortlessly. It nearly made Jade sick with envy. She wanted to move normally so badly that it seemed to make her hurt more on top of the current hurt she was feeling.

Naraku didn't walk quickly, but he walked with a purpose. He would make it in time. He turned down the center hallway, past the aquarium and terrarium. Jade hid most of her face behind his left shoulder; her green eyes peering over it. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting. She had never met this Eric guy, but if he was able to force Sesshomaru and Naraku to comply, he certainly couldn't be friendly.

"Don't be a smart-ass and don't argue unless you are absolutely sure you have a leg to stand on. Otherwise, you will be fine." Naraku told her, walking into the department office. Jade caught Susan watching them with her mouth hanging open.

'Is that because I'm back or is that because he's carrying me?' Jade wondered.

"Bruce said that he considers me to be the worst of all of us." Jade said in a quiet voice.

"Set him straight, then." Naraku replied, stopping at the door at the end of the hallway. "Text me when you're done. I'll be around." And with that, he placed Jade down on her feet and walked away before Jade could say, "Thank you," or, "Who are you and where is Naraku?"

"Okaaaaay," Jade said under her breath. She knocked on the door and heard an immediate response of, "Come in." She opened the door, letting out a stream of mental curses when she realized the door was heavier than she thought and heavier than her arms could deal with.

"Is it stuck?" Eric asked, quickly standing up and walking towards his door.

"No, I'm just," Jade breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled the door open for her. "I'm still getting my strength back."

"Oh," Eric replied, gesturing for her to pick a chair. Even though he had a longer distance to walk and a desk to walk around, Eric made it to his chair faster than Jade made it to one of the others.

'Fuuuuuck! It feels worse!' she panicked.

"Are you sure you should be walking around at this point? Had I known it was this bad, I would have agreed to schedule this for later. I assumed you would have someone helping you."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm better than I was." Jade insisted, finally reaching the middle chair. She slowly sat down and took a moment to breathe. She felt the beads of sweat forming on her forehead and her smile felt more like a grimace.

"You're still not well, it seems."

"I'm fine." Jade exhaled.

"Riiiiiiight." Eric said softly, cupping his hands together on his desk. "Well, I think you know why you're here,"

"I was told, but I don't remember anything."

"I believe that. I have two different forms, terms of agreements, from the university. The first one was based off the story told by three different people, some witnesses, and bits of camera footage. However, Bruce informed me that there was a lot of missing context and I figured that for myself when I found out you were comatose. No one has a violent fit of rage only to fall into a coma afterwards without something being wrong." Eric held the paper across the desk and Jade took it. "So, I contacted Human Resources, the Admissions Office, and the Campus Police, and explained the situation to them. They agreed with us and conjured up a less serious agreement."

"Yeaaaaah, this one is...I don't think I can afford some of this." Jade looked up at him. There were a few mundane things listed; going to therapy sessions and writing an apology letter, but her biggest concerns were listed last; losing her paid positions, a strict campus curfew, and she was to no longer have contact with Naraku and Sesshomaru on campus or while representing the university at any event.

"Well, it would be provided for you by the university. We have a second-chance policy, but your situation is different and you have two options; sign the first form now or bring in a doctor's note explaining your health issues, and then we will let you sign the second form."

"What is on that one?"

"You are not allowed in the department, its labs, or its classrooms after four in the afternoon, which is when the department closes. You're not allowed to be here before eight in the morning, which is when it opens. No weekends. This lasts for six weeks. After that - yes?" he paused, seeing Jade open her mouth to speak, but stop.

"I assist with the Chemistry Lab on Wednesdays and it lasts until five." Jade pointed out. "Unless that form also says that I'm no longer employed by the department like this one."

"No, this one says you can keep your positions. You're proving that this fit of violence of was an uncontrollable health issue triggered by a stressful environment." Eric scratched his cheek quickly. "I'm willing to extend your Wednesday curfew to five for that reason."

"Okay. Well, I have several papers in my car explaining each condition of mine, including the blackout. Will those work?"

"Yes, though you'll have to sign another form saying you're willingly releasing those medical records to us."

"That's fine. Can I just bring them back to you right now?" Jade asked, jerking her thumb in the direction of her parked car.

"If that's what you want to do, then yes." Eric agreed. "But, I do need to ask you a few things,"

"Yeah?"

"I know you already said you don't remember what happened, but are you absolutely sure? What happened on the roof was only between you and Naraku and he claims he only hurt you because you were going to jump."

The memory of Naraku reaching for her flashed in her head. She believed it, especially after Sesshomaru, of all people, said he did. "I don't remember what happened on the roof with him." Jade answered. She had to keep that stance, otherwise, it could be claimed that she really did remember and did consciously attack them. Eric sighed and looked down for a moment. Then, his gaze darted back up at her.

"If you can remember what he did, you will have grounds to have him expelled and sued."

"Not if I attacked him first, which is apparently what I did. Three against one and, to be honest, I don't think they're all lying."

"You're sure?" Eric pressed. Jade blinked and realized what he was trying to do.

'He wants me to lie.' Jade felt offended. 'I'm not a liar and I'm not going to do Naraku dirty like that. If he really saved me, I owe him that much at least.'

"Yeah, it's all a black void to me." Jade responded.

"Also, I understand that your aunt plans on suing us. If she has contacted a lawyer, then I can't speak to you about this anymore."

"Oh, ahaha, it's fine. I talked her out of it. She gets upset and then says a bunch of stuff. She went back home this morning."

"Alright. I really get the feeling you're not trying to start trouble and I appreciate that. Thank you for talking to your aunt."

"No problem."

"I'll help you with the door." Eric stood and walked around his desk again. Jade's body felt a little better after resting it. She looked up when she heard Eric's soft, surprised, "Oh!"

"Naraku? Is there something you need?" Eric asked, brushing a wrinkle off his light blue sleeve.

"I just need the cripple. I'm her horse." Naraku responded. "There she is."

"I'm not a cripple." Jade grumbled.

"Yes, yes, and I'm not Japanese," Naraku bent down and let her climb on his back. When he rose, he saw Eric's wide-eyed stare. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No." Eric stammered, his tone still as calm as ever.

"Hm," Naraku sounded unconvinced, but he turned and walked off without another word.

"Were you just waiting there the whole time?" Jade asked.

"Not the whole time. I figured I would have to come back to get you soon, so I grabbed a drink and walked back."

"Oh,"

"It was a better way to utilize my time." Naraku corrected quickly. Jade had the urge to bite him since that was all she was capable of at that point, but she reminded herself that he was still Naraku. He was always going to be Naraku.

"Hey, I parked in the athletic parking lot," Jade said.

"Ironic." he shot playfully.

"The other lots were full, asshole."

"Why not park behind the building?"

"I don't want a ticket." Jade griped. Naraku exhaled loudly, but he left the conversation at that. Jade closed her eyes. It was going to take a few minutes for him get there and she was beyond exhausted. She kept seeing that image of him reaching out for her. She remembered nothing else and it made her feel incredibly guilty. Of all the things; her assaulting Sesshomaru, her flipping the table, her running to the roof, but she only remembered that moment where Naraku seemed so...human.

"Did you agree to the better deal?" Naraku asked, raising his voice above the sound of the spraying water from the fountain as he strode by it. Jade tried her best to ignore it, but her body had a mind of its own and tensed up, almost as if it was being angry for her.

"How did you know there was a better deal?" Jade asked slowly.

"I helped convince him with Bruce that you were sick."

"Eric didn't mention you; only Bruce."

"Color me surprised." Naraku bit sarcastically.

"Well, thanks for doing that. You didn't have to. I'm taking that deal, but I need the medical papers from my car."

"Speaking of cars, you totaled mine." Naraku shot. Jade rolled her eyes. He truly couldn't have a positive moment in his life.

"I'm sorry." she said. A part of her wanted to tell him about Eric trying to get her to lie, but the other part of her said to leave it unsaid. He saved her and she returned the favor. It didn't need to be discussed, especially since Naraku was the type to turn that around on her.

Jade drove herself and Naraku back to the Science Building. He took her back to Eric's office before taking off to his own office to work on more articles. She gave Eric her papers, signed the medical release agreement and the curfew agreement before shuffling back to her car. She sat down in her seat...then pressed her hands to her face as a cry and breath of relief erupted from her mouth.

'It's done. I can stay in school.'