Love Beyond Life
Book Two: Life in the Modern Era
Chapter Two
Sango-sama
Disclaimer: I don't Inuyasha, Miroku, or any of the other perfectly handsome boys who wander the Inuyasha-universe. It's quite the tragedy really.
*****
"...like she's coming around." The words flowed in a soft baritone, echoing slightly off the walls of the tiny waiting room.
There was a soft shuffle of footsteps across the tile as everyone came to hover above her slumbering form.
"Sango?"
As consciousness returned to her, she felt warmth welling around her back and chest. It seeped down, engulfing her skin all the way to her fingers and toes. Sango had been having a very difficult time for the last few days, what with finding out that both Kohaku and Miroku had died (for her sake, no less) and then promptly being haunted by the latter. Suffice it to say that she just hadn't been sleeping well, and so, the prospect of waking up was nowhere nearly as appealing as the throes of sleep...and the very interesting dream that she had been having about Houshi-sama...and those wandering hands of his. Amazingly, she seemed to feel far warmer than she had just a minute before...a warmth that seemed to calm her and shake her entire being all at once.
She wasn't really sure where she was, but she couldn't sense anything dangerous in vicinity. Sango paused in that thought, a slight frown marring her features. 'Why was I asleep anyways? I don't remember falling asleep.' Her mind raced, searching for some sort of answer. 'We brought Kagome home...and then she went to the healer's. I...I don't think I left.'
Although she was still a little bewildered, she shrugged mentally and allowed herself to again fall back into sleep's seductive grasp. 'So warm,' she thought as she snuggled back into the comforting warmth of her blanket, sinking back into the peaceful abyss. Sango could almost hear the hushed voices talking above her, but she didn't have the energy to translate the sleep-muddled noise into words. She could hear the steadying ticking of the clock on the wall, as it countered the strong heartbeat that echoed in her ear.
'Wait a minute. A heartbeat?'
Her hands shuffled about in confusion, trying to find an explanation for the rather unexpected noise without the trouble of opening her eyes. Her fingers came upon a shock of hair gathered tightly by a small band. The frown returned.
Sango's eyes fluttered open to meet deep Prussian blue eyes head on. With a shocked gasp, she turned away from his face to keep from revealing her rapidly blushing cheeks-only to find that she was lying rather solidly in his arms, her head settled against the broad expanse of his chest. A small smile was on his lips as his eyes twinkled. "I was lucky enough to catch you before you hit the floor."
'Houshi-sama!' her mind screamed, as she quickly paled. 'But that's impossible! How could he possibly be alive in Kagome's country? Especially after he himself said that he'd never see me again....'
"Are you alright, miss?" Concern quickly filled the doctor's eyes. He carefully brushed her bangs away from her forehead to gauge her temperature. The heat of a blush returned to her face with a vengeance. She could feel all four sets of eyes in the room watching her now crimson face. "You do feel a bit warm..."
Sango was panicking, desperately searching for some excuse to remove herself from those terribly comforting, warm arms...of this man who looked disarmingly like Houshi-sama. The resemblance was striking, aside from his thin-framed glasses that drew more focus to his eyes and the light spray of freckles on his cheek bones. He even had many of the lecherous monk's mannerisms, right down to that charming smile and the odd quirk of an eyebrow. But his eyes were somehow strange: they seemed a bit narrower and his gaze did not hold the intense sadness that had always troubled Miroku in his more contemplative moments. She still half-expected him to begin groping her. Under the clinical scrutiny of those intensely blue eyes, she found herself idly wondering if she would mind if he did start to grope her.
She didn't have much time to ponder that thought, before the doctor's hand slid dangerously close to the curve of her backside. Her eyes flew wide open and she quickly scurried to her feet. In a matter of seconds she stood stuttering with her back to the door, the hand behind her and fumbling to somehow open the door. "I..." Her hand fumbled blindly behind her back, trying to somehow force open the door. "I..."
The doctor looked a bit confused, and perhaps a bit more hurt, about her rather sudden flight.
Her face fell slightly when she met his eyes; sharp pangs of guilt were nibbling away at her conscience. 'Maybe he wasn't trying to grope me after all...maybe it was just my imagination. He didn't actually touch me, after all.' She bit her lip nervously dropping her gaze to the floor, and then gave him a half smile. "Thank you for catching me."
"That's alright," he said, the light glinting off two rows of perfectly straight teeth. "I was just glad you weren't hurt in any way. It wouldn't do to let such a pretty girl be injured."
Her face was immediately crimson and her fingers deftly fell upon the silver door handle. "I-Inuyasha. I have to find him." 'Now!' Her mind added.
"Oh!" Mrs. Higurashi's hand lifted up to her face. "We were just about to go and look for him when you fell..."
"I know where he is." The handle turned and the door opened with a click, and she tossed the door open. "He's probably stalking around on the roof now...waiting to hear that Kagome's alright."
"Miss?"
Only after taking the deepest breath possible to try and slow her racing heartbeat, did she dare to glance over her shoulder at the young doctor.
"Are you..." His eyes were serious; and then they calmed as he shook his head. " Never mind."
Sango nodded silently and then darted down the hallway to find her way to the roof.
Souta and Jii-chan, who had been sitting quietly through the exchange, had returned to their game and magazine until Kagome would awaken. But Mrs. Higurashi was still watching the doctor with the shadow of a playful smile on her lips. The young doctor's eyes were still fixed on the now closed door. "Are you alright, Dr. Muraki?"
"Ah." He said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "She just looked like someone I know..."
******
Inuyasha stared out across the Tokyo skyline, as the descending sun had nearly fallen completely below the horizon and the building tops were quickly being consumed by the shadows of dusk. For hours, it seemed, he had watched the busy streets below, looking for any signs of a demon or even for a suspicious looking human who had arrived to do Kagome harm. But oddly enough, for all the time he spent watching the busy streets below, he could not find even the slightest traces of a demon presence, with the obvious exception of his own.
That seemed odd; Kagome had assured him that her country was in fact the space that encompassed Musashi's domain but that it was a far different time. Which explained why Kikyou's soul, with all its power, may have lost its hatred over time and been born anew in Kagome. But for this place to be the future of his home and for him to be unable to find any other demons...that meant either the entire span of the demon races were subdued by the humans or that only the strongest demons survived, the ones who possessed the ability to mask their power. And that would only give him more reason for concern.
His legs were beginning to cramp up from sitting down on cooling cement for so long, and, grimacing, he moved up onto his still shaking legs. The roof of the adjacent building loomed appealingly in front of him. The freedom it offered was tempting. Just a little bit of a run and a short jump, and he would be over there. It would only take the slightest bit more of effort to continue on to the next building and the next. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes before he could be well out of the ward and into the next. The stone building caps were far easier to read than the tree- tops of the feudal age; they didn't shake and give under his weight.
But for now he couldn't move away from this roof, not without knowing that Kagome was going to be alright. Someone could come up here with news while he was gone. She could wake up and he wouldn't be there...and he had to be at her side the moment when she woke up. Only then could his heart feel at ease.
A siren screamed out from the ground below. Inuyasha peered over the ledge to see the street below to see a bright red light flashing at the top of the ambulance as it screeched to a halt in front of the hospital's doors below. The front door shot open and a human in dark blue coveralls jumped out to open the back door. One of those strange, wheeled beds was hauled out of the back, carrying a rather frail old man, who rather resembled Kagome's Jii-jii from this height. A young boy about Souta's age jumped out of the van and ran behind the gurney as it was wheeled to the door.
It had not even been a full day's time since Kagome had been brought to this healing station, much in the same way. He kept tormenting himself, envisioning her face in the place of every person who had been wheeled in since he came up to the roof. His heart nearly stopped earlier when one of the patients hadn't survived the trip to the hospital; he couldn't hear the woman's heartbeat and he could smell the metallic scent of blood that stained her outer clothes. The blood scent lingered even after being masked by the plastic bag as it was zipped up over her face. Although the image shook him, he took comfort in the knowledge that the girl's blood scent was far different than Kagome's scent.
His dark visions were interrupted by the creaking sound of the door behind him.
Sango stood in the doorway, red-faced and winded, apparently from racing up the multiple flights of stairs that lead up to the roof. "I'm here..." she panted, "finally!"
Anxious amber eyes met Sango's; he practically bounded from where he stood to Sango's side, as if just by standing closer to her, he would somehow hear the news faster. "Well?"
She smiled as her breathing was beginning to return to normal. "She'll be fine."
******
The bed sheets and blankets were white, starched until crisp, but not nearly so uncomfortable. The walls were white. The white tile floors glowed from a recent coat of wax. Even Kagome's hospital gown was white, which did little to improve the already ashen color of her face. In fact, it seemed that the entirety of the patient's ward was a sterile mix of the brightest white, riddled with shining, yet equally sterile silver instruments, in an endless sea of sparkling, shining white.
Well, it would have were it not for the slumbering figure in the room, and his bright red cloak. Inuyasha's chin pressed lightly into the thin mattress beside Kagome's shoulder, his white hair fanned out across her white blanket, shining with light of the mid-morning sun. He wore a navy blue baseball cap to conceal his ears. A bronzed hand rested gently atop her frail fingers, his often lethal claws placed just so, so that they wouldn't even scratch the surface of Kagome's skin. He seemed to be on the verge of falling out of the small wooden chair that was seated beside Kagome's bed; although the position looked quite uncomfortable, he seemed to be content.
Through the thin pane of glass in the doorway, two figures were watching the slumbering pair.
"He really is in love with her, isn't he?" Mrs. Higurashi observed with a slim, matronly smile.
Sango smiled at the sight, reveling in the sad sort of poetic irony. "And he's the last one to figure that out." She tore her eyes away long enough to shake her head. "Of course, he still won't admit it that to her...but at least he's not denying it anymore."
"Every time I have seen him, he has always been so adamant about protecting her. Or he does sweet little things like carrying her pack or watching over Souta. I would never have let Kagome go to fulfill her duties in your age, if I wasn't so sure that he would keep her safe." Though she sounded slightly terse, her smile had yet to fade. "I know my daughter is in love with him, though sometimes I fear it may be against her better judgment."
Sango nodded silently, all too aware now that Kagome's mother had most certainly heard about Kagome's prior incarnation...and of her relationship with Inuyasha.
"I told the hospital staff that he was her fiancée. Whether he can admit to his feelings for my daughter or not, the hospital only allows family to stay overnight." She continued on, answering to the shocked look on Sango's face. "I don't think anyone here has enough strength to have pulled him away from her side last night."
The two women returned to their silent vigil at the tiny window.
"Inuyasha is quite the attractive young man...." Mrs. Higurashi whispered. "Kagome is a very lucky girl."
Sango was a bit surprised to hear such a thing from her friend's mother; she found herself unable to do much more than gape and blush at the older woman.
"I'll have you know that I was young once, too." She chided, giving Sango a facetious smile. "With as kind and protective as he is, I doubt that Kagome could ever find a better match for herself. Although, you seem to be doing fairly well yourself."
Sango blushed, turning her eyes with sudden interest into the speckled pattern on the tile beneath her feet. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean..."
"Really?" The older woman's grin widened as she looked over Sango's shoulder. "You've only been here a day and it seems you've already captured the eye of that young doctor who saved Kagome."
"I'm sure it was nothing." She squeaked, running her fingers in nervously over the silky, smooth hem of the sundress Mrs. Higurashi had lent to her the evening before. Her blush deepened. "I...was just blushing, because he looked like a friend of mine..."
'Only a friend?' The older woman mused, not bothering to voice the question. "Well, the doctor certainly asked quite a bit about you after you left."
Sango's eyes popped open. "He did?"
It was, apparently, the day for surprises. As Sango stood semi-speechless about that revelation, she felt a hand clamp onto her rear end.
Although it hardly seemed possible, her eyes widened even more.
*****
Author's Note: The doctor in this chapter goes by the name of Muraki Ryo...not to be confused with the doctor, Muraki, in Yami no Matsuei, who is one nasty character. There will be at least a few more characters whose names I will create on my own. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely unintentional.
Thank you again to Mynuet and Queen. You two are wonderful sounding boards and beta readers; it is certainly with your help that my writing style is gradually improving. ^_^
For Elf, I added that little bit about the glint, because all the hot anime guys glint. ::Insert Angelic Choirs here:: ^_-
Book Two: Life in the Modern Era
Chapter Two
Sango-sama
Disclaimer: I don't Inuyasha, Miroku, or any of the other perfectly handsome boys who wander the Inuyasha-universe. It's quite the tragedy really.
*****
"...like she's coming around." The words flowed in a soft baritone, echoing slightly off the walls of the tiny waiting room.
There was a soft shuffle of footsteps across the tile as everyone came to hover above her slumbering form.
"Sango?"
As consciousness returned to her, she felt warmth welling around her back and chest. It seeped down, engulfing her skin all the way to her fingers and toes. Sango had been having a very difficult time for the last few days, what with finding out that both Kohaku and Miroku had died (for her sake, no less) and then promptly being haunted by the latter. Suffice it to say that she just hadn't been sleeping well, and so, the prospect of waking up was nowhere nearly as appealing as the throes of sleep...and the very interesting dream that she had been having about Houshi-sama...and those wandering hands of his. Amazingly, she seemed to feel far warmer than she had just a minute before...a warmth that seemed to calm her and shake her entire being all at once.
She wasn't really sure where she was, but she couldn't sense anything dangerous in vicinity. Sango paused in that thought, a slight frown marring her features. 'Why was I asleep anyways? I don't remember falling asleep.' Her mind raced, searching for some sort of answer. 'We brought Kagome home...and then she went to the healer's. I...I don't think I left.'
Although she was still a little bewildered, she shrugged mentally and allowed herself to again fall back into sleep's seductive grasp. 'So warm,' she thought as she snuggled back into the comforting warmth of her blanket, sinking back into the peaceful abyss. Sango could almost hear the hushed voices talking above her, but she didn't have the energy to translate the sleep-muddled noise into words. She could hear the steadying ticking of the clock on the wall, as it countered the strong heartbeat that echoed in her ear.
'Wait a minute. A heartbeat?'
Her hands shuffled about in confusion, trying to find an explanation for the rather unexpected noise without the trouble of opening her eyes. Her fingers came upon a shock of hair gathered tightly by a small band. The frown returned.
Sango's eyes fluttered open to meet deep Prussian blue eyes head on. With a shocked gasp, she turned away from his face to keep from revealing her rapidly blushing cheeks-only to find that she was lying rather solidly in his arms, her head settled against the broad expanse of his chest. A small smile was on his lips as his eyes twinkled. "I was lucky enough to catch you before you hit the floor."
'Houshi-sama!' her mind screamed, as she quickly paled. 'But that's impossible! How could he possibly be alive in Kagome's country? Especially after he himself said that he'd never see me again....'
"Are you alright, miss?" Concern quickly filled the doctor's eyes. He carefully brushed her bangs away from her forehead to gauge her temperature. The heat of a blush returned to her face with a vengeance. She could feel all four sets of eyes in the room watching her now crimson face. "You do feel a bit warm..."
Sango was panicking, desperately searching for some excuse to remove herself from those terribly comforting, warm arms...of this man who looked disarmingly like Houshi-sama. The resemblance was striking, aside from his thin-framed glasses that drew more focus to his eyes and the light spray of freckles on his cheek bones. He even had many of the lecherous monk's mannerisms, right down to that charming smile and the odd quirk of an eyebrow. But his eyes were somehow strange: they seemed a bit narrower and his gaze did not hold the intense sadness that had always troubled Miroku in his more contemplative moments. She still half-expected him to begin groping her. Under the clinical scrutiny of those intensely blue eyes, she found herself idly wondering if she would mind if he did start to grope her.
She didn't have much time to ponder that thought, before the doctor's hand slid dangerously close to the curve of her backside. Her eyes flew wide open and she quickly scurried to her feet. In a matter of seconds she stood stuttering with her back to the door, the hand behind her and fumbling to somehow open the door. "I..." Her hand fumbled blindly behind her back, trying to somehow force open the door. "I..."
The doctor looked a bit confused, and perhaps a bit more hurt, about her rather sudden flight.
Her face fell slightly when she met his eyes; sharp pangs of guilt were nibbling away at her conscience. 'Maybe he wasn't trying to grope me after all...maybe it was just my imagination. He didn't actually touch me, after all.' She bit her lip nervously dropping her gaze to the floor, and then gave him a half smile. "Thank you for catching me."
"That's alright," he said, the light glinting off two rows of perfectly straight teeth. "I was just glad you weren't hurt in any way. It wouldn't do to let such a pretty girl be injured."
Her face was immediately crimson and her fingers deftly fell upon the silver door handle. "I-Inuyasha. I have to find him." 'Now!' Her mind added.
"Oh!" Mrs. Higurashi's hand lifted up to her face. "We were just about to go and look for him when you fell..."
"I know where he is." The handle turned and the door opened with a click, and she tossed the door open. "He's probably stalking around on the roof now...waiting to hear that Kagome's alright."
"Miss?"
Only after taking the deepest breath possible to try and slow her racing heartbeat, did she dare to glance over her shoulder at the young doctor.
"Are you..." His eyes were serious; and then they calmed as he shook his head. " Never mind."
Sango nodded silently and then darted down the hallway to find her way to the roof.
Souta and Jii-chan, who had been sitting quietly through the exchange, had returned to their game and magazine until Kagome would awaken. But Mrs. Higurashi was still watching the doctor with the shadow of a playful smile on her lips. The young doctor's eyes were still fixed on the now closed door. "Are you alright, Dr. Muraki?"
"Ah." He said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "She just looked like someone I know..."
******
Inuyasha stared out across the Tokyo skyline, as the descending sun had nearly fallen completely below the horizon and the building tops were quickly being consumed by the shadows of dusk. For hours, it seemed, he had watched the busy streets below, looking for any signs of a demon or even for a suspicious looking human who had arrived to do Kagome harm. But oddly enough, for all the time he spent watching the busy streets below, he could not find even the slightest traces of a demon presence, with the obvious exception of his own.
That seemed odd; Kagome had assured him that her country was in fact the space that encompassed Musashi's domain but that it was a far different time. Which explained why Kikyou's soul, with all its power, may have lost its hatred over time and been born anew in Kagome. But for this place to be the future of his home and for him to be unable to find any other demons...that meant either the entire span of the demon races were subdued by the humans or that only the strongest demons survived, the ones who possessed the ability to mask their power. And that would only give him more reason for concern.
His legs were beginning to cramp up from sitting down on cooling cement for so long, and, grimacing, he moved up onto his still shaking legs. The roof of the adjacent building loomed appealingly in front of him. The freedom it offered was tempting. Just a little bit of a run and a short jump, and he would be over there. It would only take the slightest bit more of effort to continue on to the next building and the next. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes before he could be well out of the ward and into the next. The stone building caps were far easier to read than the tree- tops of the feudal age; they didn't shake and give under his weight.
But for now he couldn't move away from this roof, not without knowing that Kagome was going to be alright. Someone could come up here with news while he was gone. She could wake up and he wouldn't be there...and he had to be at her side the moment when she woke up. Only then could his heart feel at ease.
A siren screamed out from the ground below. Inuyasha peered over the ledge to see the street below to see a bright red light flashing at the top of the ambulance as it screeched to a halt in front of the hospital's doors below. The front door shot open and a human in dark blue coveralls jumped out to open the back door. One of those strange, wheeled beds was hauled out of the back, carrying a rather frail old man, who rather resembled Kagome's Jii-jii from this height. A young boy about Souta's age jumped out of the van and ran behind the gurney as it was wheeled to the door.
It had not even been a full day's time since Kagome had been brought to this healing station, much in the same way. He kept tormenting himself, envisioning her face in the place of every person who had been wheeled in since he came up to the roof. His heart nearly stopped earlier when one of the patients hadn't survived the trip to the hospital; he couldn't hear the woman's heartbeat and he could smell the metallic scent of blood that stained her outer clothes. The blood scent lingered even after being masked by the plastic bag as it was zipped up over her face. Although the image shook him, he took comfort in the knowledge that the girl's blood scent was far different than Kagome's scent.
His dark visions were interrupted by the creaking sound of the door behind him.
Sango stood in the doorway, red-faced and winded, apparently from racing up the multiple flights of stairs that lead up to the roof. "I'm here..." she panted, "finally!"
Anxious amber eyes met Sango's; he practically bounded from where he stood to Sango's side, as if just by standing closer to her, he would somehow hear the news faster. "Well?"
She smiled as her breathing was beginning to return to normal. "She'll be fine."
******
The bed sheets and blankets were white, starched until crisp, but not nearly so uncomfortable. The walls were white. The white tile floors glowed from a recent coat of wax. Even Kagome's hospital gown was white, which did little to improve the already ashen color of her face. In fact, it seemed that the entirety of the patient's ward was a sterile mix of the brightest white, riddled with shining, yet equally sterile silver instruments, in an endless sea of sparkling, shining white.
Well, it would have were it not for the slumbering figure in the room, and his bright red cloak. Inuyasha's chin pressed lightly into the thin mattress beside Kagome's shoulder, his white hair fanned out across her white blanket, shining with light of the mid-morning sun. He wore a navy blue baseball cap to conceal his ears. A bronzed hand rested gently atop her frail fingers, his often lethal claws placed just so, so that they wouldn't even scratch the surface of Kagome's skin. He seemed to be on the verge of falling out of the small wooden chair that was seated beside Kagome's bed; although the position looked quite uncomfortable, he seemed to be content.
Through the thin pane of glass in the doorway, two figures were watching the slumbering pair.
"He really is in love with her, isn't he?" Mrs. Higurashi observed with a slim, matronly smile.
Sango smiled at the sight, reveling in the sad sort of poetic irony. "And he's the last one to figure that out." She tore her eyes away long enough to shake her head. "Of course, he still won't admit it that to her...but at least he's not denying it anymore."
"Every time I have seen him, he has always been so adamant about protecting her. Or he does sweet little things like carrying her pack or watching over Souta. I would never have let Kagome go to fulfill her duties in your age, if I wasn't so sure that he would keep her safe." Though she sounded slightly terse, her smile had yet to fade. "I know my daughter is in love with him, though sometimes I fear it may be against her better judgment."
Sango nodded silently, all too aware now that Kagome's mother had most certainly heard about Kagome's prior incarnation...and of her relationship with Inuyasha.
"I told the hospital staff that he was her fiancée. Whether he can admit to his feelings for my daughter or not, the hospital only allows family to stay overnight." She continued on, answering to the shocked look on Sango's face. "I don't think anyone here has enough strength to have pulled him away from her side last night."
The two women returned to their silent vigil at the tiny window.
"Inuyasha is quite the attractive young man...." Mrs. Higurashi whispered. "Kagome is a very lucky girl."
Sango was a bit surprised to hear such a thing from her friend's mother; she found herself unable to do much more than gape and blush at the older woman.
"I'll have you know that I was young once, too." She chided, giving Sango a facetious smile. "With as kind and protective as he is, I doubt that Kagome could ever find a better match for herself. Although, you seem to be doing fairly well yourself."
Sango blushed, turning her eyes with sudden interest into the speckled pattern on the tile beneath her feet. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean..."
"Really?" The older woman's grin widened as she looked over Sango's shoulder. "You've only been here a day and it seems you've already captured the eye of that young doctor who saved Kagome."
"I'm sure it was nothing." She squeaked, running her fingers in nervously over the silky, smooth hem of the sundress Mrs. Higurashi had lent to her the evening before. Her blush deepened. "I...was just blushing, because he looked like a friend of mine..."
'Only a friend?' The older woman mused, not bothering to voice the question. "Well, the doctor certainly asked quite a bit about you after you left."
Sango's eyes popped open. "He did?"
It was, apparently, the day for surprises. As Sango stood semi-speechless about that revelation, she felt a hand clamp onto her rear end.
Although it hardly seemed possible, her eyes widened even more.
*****
Author's Note: The doctor in this chapter goes by the name of Muraki Ryo...not to be confused with the doctor, Muraki, in Yami no Matsuei, who is one nasty character. There will be at least a few more characters whose names I will create on my own. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely unintentional.
Thank you again to Mynuet and Queen. You two are wonderful sounding boards and beta readers; it is certainly with your help that my writing style is gradually improving. ^_^
For Elf, I added that little bit about the glint, because all the hot anime guys glint. ::Insert Angelic Choirs here:: ^_-