Edited: 7/10/2011
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Dashed Hopes
Chapter Ten: Breach
Kagome's squeal of excitement shook the window panes. She clapped her hands together in front of her as she circled the animal in the front hall, grinning madly. "Oh my god, Inuyasha, she's gorgeous," Kagome gasped.
Inuyasha looked worriedly between the young woman and his dog. Yes, all this commotion was over his dog.
Sesshoumaru stuck his head out of his office and watched the scene, too. Souta and Shippou stood off to the side, looking embarrassed at how excited Kagome was getting. Rin watched curiously as her new friend, who she had dubbed 'Aunty Kag,' stared in awe at the family dog. "Does Aunty Kag like Miko?"
"Yes, Rin. I really, really do," Kagome agreed. "I've always wanted an Akita." Then, to the younger boys' humiliation, she launched into a long detailed report on Akitas. "They were originally from Japan, but in the early 1900's, Helen Keller was given one to bring back with her to America. Before that, only emperors were allowed these gorgeous animals and used them to fight bears. I can't believe this one's a girl! She's huge, about the size of a male," Kagome finished, reaching out and brushing her fingers over the long, silky white fur. When Miko sat down on her haunches and tilted her head in the woman's direction, Kagome renewed her squealing. The dog was white head-to-toe, and had warm, golden eyes. The large tail curled upwards and rested on the dog's lower back. "Miko? Odd name for a dog that is owned by two men with the last name 'Youkai,' don't you think?" Kagome asked, glancing back and forth between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.
Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head and explained simply, "We let Rin pick out the name."
Turning to Rin with a delighted laugh, Kagome praised the girl. "Good! I love it!"
Sesshoumaru nodded Kagome and the boys forward. "Miko is protective, but kind. If she approves of you, then you are officially a part of the household," he said.
"Miko loves kids," Inuyasha told Souta and Shippou. "She'll protect any child no matter what."
To no one's surprise, the dog attached herself to Kagome's side, wagging her large tail and letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. Miko had a new best friend. Silently, Inuyasha thought that having the dog near Kagome was just another level of protection that would do everyone some good. Plus, having a dog around might make Kagome a little less stressed out and a little more friendly; in other words, he hoped it put Kagome in a better mood, one that meant she might be a little less volatile around him with that temper of hers. The longer Kagome stayed away from Naraku, the more cheerful she seemed. Inuyasha had the sneaking suspicion that this was her natural personality: happy, protective of her loved ones, stubborn, intelligent, but a little trusting and naive.
"Hey, why don't we play catch?" Kagome suggested to the boys and Rin. All the kids nodded and began to follow the woman outside, Miko trotting at their heels, but they were interrupted when Inuyasha's cell phone started ringing.
"Hang on, guys," Inuyasha said, stopping them. He was looking down at the screen of his phone, his eyebrows knitted together over his eyes in bemusement. "It's the hospital." The conversation with the person on the other end was relatively short, and when he hung up, he looked around at everyone. "Sango's in the hospital; she's asking for us," he told Kagome.
Covering up her gasp of surprise, Kagome put her fingers to her lips. Eyes wide, she asked, "Is Sango okay?"
"The nurse said she just fainted, but they're keeping her for observation for now in case she hit her head. We can go visit. Get your things," he ordered, snatching up his wallet and keys from the hall table himself. Kagome left and returned shortly, pulling the strap of her purse up over her shoulder.
"Boys, stay here," Kagome told Souta and Shippou. At Sesshoumaru's nod, which she took to mean he'd watch the children, Kagome followed Inuyasha out to his car.
The drive to the hospital was tense and silent, Kagome fiddling with her thumbs in her lap. At first, they left the radio blaring, but the noise was grating on their nerves. Inuyasha jabbed his thumb at the volume button until it was turned all the way down. Within thirty minutes, Inuyasha parked in the lot outside the hospital, and the two climbed from the car.
"Sango Taijai's room?" Kagome asked the nurse at the front desk.
"Tenth floor," she said, pointing towards the elevator bank. "Room one-thousand-twenty-four."
"Thanks," Inuyasha told her gruffly, grabbing Kagome by the elbow and steering her towards the elevator. It seemed to take the lift forever, but they finally got to the tenth floor. The two walked down the hallway slowly, peering at the numbers on each door until they found the one they were looking for. Inside, Sango was laying in the hospital bed, looking embarrassed and pale against the sheets.
For once, Kagome forgot how much she hated hospitals.
"Hey, guys," Sango greeted, her cheeks pink with humiliation. Kokaku waved at them from where he was sitting in a chair at her side.
"Sango!" Kagome shouted, rushing forward. Inuyasha followed quickly behind her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I fainted," the brunette explained miserably. "I can't believe I did that! This is so embarrassing. This girl showed up at the shelter, and she introduced herself as Miroku's fiancée. I guess I was so surprised that a girl would actually be attracted to him that I fainted." Sango laughed weakly at her own joke. "Thankfully the girl called an ambulance. I bumped my head on my desk, but I feel fine."
"Can I get you anything?" Kagome asked, smoothing her hand down the sheets in a fussing manner.
"Some tea, please?"
"Of course," the younger girl told her with a crinkling smile. She glanced at Inuyasha, who looked worried, but he shook his head. He didn't want anything. "I'll be right back."
Kagome excused herself and left the room. Once she was in the crowded hallway, she decided that a few extra minutes out of her way wouldn't be noticed, and she made her way to the fourth floor. Finding a the room she was looking for, Kagome entered after a quick knock.
"Kouga?"
Looking like someone had just brought him the largest teddy bear in existence, Kouga's brightened up at the sight of her. "Kagome!"
Dragging a chair over to his bed, Kagome perched on the end of it with a relieved smile. "You look a lot better," she told him sincerely.
Kouga chuckled and smiled back at her. "Of course I do," he explained with a confident waggle of his eyebrows. "Nothing can keep me down for too long." A beat passed as the two friends looked at one another, but then Kouga's expression darkened significantly. "Have you seen him again?" he asked, very serious.
Mirroring his mood, Kagome shook her head in a few quick jerks. "No. Yesterday, the boys and I moved into a new friend's house. It has better security, and it's an unlisted home. Naraku can't know that much about my new life in Tokyo yet, so we think I'll be pretty safe there for awhile."
Kouga opened his mouth to respond when his door suddenly banged open. Inuyasha stalked into the room looking murderous. "Kagome! Where did you go? You scared the shit out of us when you didn't come back right away!" he growled.
Scowling at Inuyasha's interference, Kouga started to tell the other man off. He stopped, however, when he felt Kagome grab his hand and give it a squeeze.
"Tell Sango I'm sorry, please," Kagome said softly, looking a little guilty. "I wanted to check in on Kouga, and I didn't think you guys would notice if I took a little bit longer."
Inuyasha frowned, trying to get a handle on his anger. He'd been even more emotional after he realized how his heart skipped a beat when he left Sango's room and rounded the corner, only to find the vending machine area empty with Kagome nowhere in sight. The idea that he was really that concerned about her was irritating. The only reason he had been able to find Kagome was because a nurse had recognized Kagome from her earlier visit and had ridden the elevator down with her to the floor with Kouga's room.
Kagome went back to her conversation with Kouga, ignoring Inuyasha's presence in the room.
"We need to go, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered. To everyone's annoyance, he sent Kouga a distrustful look. He just didn't like the other man, especially since he was reportedly supposed to be in Kyoto covering up Kagome's tracks. Instead, he was in Tokyo, talking to Kagome in public. Couldn't Naraku track her down through him? In fact, he didn't even understand why Kouga was in the hospital and looking so beat up. Kagome hadn't said a word to him or anyone else.
"Look, can't you give us a few minutes?" Kouga snapped. "Me and Kagome need to catch up, and I need to make sure she's safe. Naraku did this to me," he muttered, gesturing at his scrapes and bruises with a disgusted look on his face. "I want to make sure he can't do the same to her."
Inuyasha growled low in his throat in frustration, sounding like a threatened dog. "Kagome needs to make sure our friend is okay; don't be so possessive!"
Kagome rolled her eyes at the ridiculous argument taking place right before her eyes. "Inuyasha," she started, giving him a determined glare and gesturing at the hospital room door. "Kouga's hurt, and I don't need you making it any worse. He's my friend, and I want to talk with him for a little bit longer. He went up against Naraku for me, to help keep me safe!"
Inuyasha blanched at Kagome's words. "You'd rather stay with him than Sango?"
"No," Kagome answered simply, shaking her head earnestly. "Kouga needs me more right now, I'll talk to Sango in a few minutes. You heard her; she said she was fine." With that, she turned back to the brown-haired man and picked up their conversation where they'd left off, completely blocking out the fuming man behind her.
Inuyasha threw up his hands and stomped out the door. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'll wait for you out here."
Outside Kouga's room, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms stubbornly. He waited for Kagome, and to pass the time, he watched the people walking by him. The building was busy; nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors swarmed the hallway, causing a hushed clatter of voices. Finally, several minutes later, Kagome left the room and joined him outside.
"Let's go get that tea I promised Sango," she said, smiling up at Inuyasha as nicely as she could. She wanted a truce with him.
"Sounds good," he said, starting for the elevators. "The machines are right down the hall from her room."
They grabbed several cups of tea and balanced them carefully as they walked back into Sango's room. Barely after handing the drinks out, Miroku rushed into the room looking frantic. "Sango!" he shouted, running her hands down her arms and legs as if checking for injuries. Following closely at his heels was a woman that Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kohaku had never seen before, but Sango sure had. It was the pretty young brunette who had surprised her back at the shelter.
She wrapped her arms around Miroku's torso and clung to him, looking up with big, brown eyes. "Miroku! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Irritated, the man tried to pry her arms from around him, but the girl wouldn't budge. "When's the wedding?" she asked him, smiling.
Miroku stiffened, stunned, and the other occupants looked on, all amused except for Sango (who just looked sick to her stomach). "What wedding?" he asked nervously, maybe even terrified.
"The wedding I was promised," the girl answered, oblivious to his surprise. "Oh, Miroku! Don't tell me you were silly enough to forget our wedding? It's been set up since I was eleven, and you were fifteen!"
Understanding brightened his dark eyes. "Koharu Furuto?"
"Of course!" Koharu answered, finally starting to get that maybe not everyone understood the situation as well as she had expected them to.
If possible, Sango became even paler. A large part of her hadn't really believed Miroku was engaged, but now that she knew he recognized the young woman, her stomach leaped to her throat. "Out!" she roared to Miroku and his fiancée. "I can't believe you would never tell me, us, that you were engaged to someone. Your own best friends!" she shouted before she could help herself, tears brimming in her eyes.
Miroku opened his mouth to explain, ask forgiveness, say anything to make Sango feel better, but she jabbed her finger at the door and clamped her jaw shut. With one last glance at the glare of hatred Sango was giving him, Miroku weakly walked out the door, Koharu still hanging off his arm. Nervously, Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and Kohaku, who were both stunned into silence. To their collected horror, Sango's lip began trembling, as though she would begin sobbing at any time.
"Why don't you give me and Sango some girl time?" Kagome suggested to Inuyasha, tilting her head in Kohaku's direction. With the threat of tears hanging over him, Inuyasha scrambled to usher Kohaku from the room. Women crying was one of his biggest fears.
"See you back at my house?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway, glancing back at Kagome with an almost respectful expression. "I mean, our house?"
"Sure," she promised warmly, waving her hand in a shooing motion. "Shut the door behind you on your way out." Once the guys were gone, Kagome walked slowly to Sango's bed. Without saying anything, she perched on Kohaku's vacated chair and looked thoughtful for several minutes. When Sango sifted to a sitting position, Kagome reached over and began to draw soft, soothing circles on the older girl's back. "Hey, Sango. Let's get out of here; I know exactly what we can do."
Sango looked at her with hurt filled eyes, and Kagome immediately winced. For once, she wasn't happy to be right. Her earlier suspicion that Sango had feelings beyond friendship for Miroku had been confirmed, and that was exactly what was hurting the brunette so much at the moment. Kagome forced the most cheerful smile she could muster onto her face and helped Sango get to her feet. With Kagome's help, Sango got out of the hospital gown and back into her street clothes. Some gentle prodding finally got Sango out the door.
Half an hour later, Sango looked downright cheerful, all her sadness forgotten.
"Oh, Kagome! Thank you! How'd you know?" Sango gasped, staring down at a small ball of fur nestled in her arms.
"Woman's intuition?" Kagome suggested with a laugh, paying the cashier at the pet shop.
Sango examined the small cat, which was mostly white but with black markings around her face and on her tail. The feline mewled happily and snuggled against her new owner's chest, purring like a small car with happiness. "I don't know what to name her!" Sango exclaimed.
The two women left the pet store and started in the direction of an ice cream parlor just down the street. Kagome started to list off random names, but Sango shook her head at each one. They paid for three cones of ice cream, including a small vanilla one for the cat to lick. They sat down on a bench along the street, continuing to discuss name options.
"How about one that goes with your name? You know, a sea one, for 'coral'?" Kagome asked, referencing the meaning of the name Sango.
Sango shook her head. "I don't know. I think I want a name for her that doesn't mean anything specific." The two girls sat quietly as they thought, the cat curling up in Sango's lap and kneading her thighs with her little paws. "Kasumi?" Sango suggested out loud, but then shook her head, dismissing the choice immediately. Finally, she said, "Kirara?"
Kagome smiled widely. "Perfect."
Sango nodded her head resolutely. "I can't believe I have a cat."
With a chuckle, Kagome turned back to her ice cream.
After Kagome refused to cook another meal, the group decided to go out for dinner. Inuyasha and Kagome spent half an hour corralling the three kids and getting them settled in Sesshoumaru's SUV, and the elder Youkai brother appeared right after they were done, having done none of the work himself. Once at the restaurant, the group took over several tables and had a very loud, boisterous dinner. Except, of course, Sesshoumaru, who said very few words over the course of the meal.
"I'm going to go to the little girls' room," Kagome excused herself politely, standing up. Everyone nodded, his or her mouth too full of expensive food to answer. Winding her way around the other tables, waiters, and customers, she finally found a long, dark hallway in the back of the restaurant that had a sign directing people to the bathrooms. She made her way towards a thick oak door marked 'ladies.'
The hallway was completely deserted and shadowed almost foreboding, but in her content mood, she failed to find the atmosphere threatening. After scrubbing her hands clean, Kagome stepped back to study herself in the mirror. She was wearing an expensive blue dress, one that Inuyasha insisted she change into when she tried to leave the house in jeans and a t-shirt. Now, she smoothed the wrinkles out of the sleeves of the cardigan she had thrown over it. Kagome actually smiled at her appearance, reapplying her lip gloss and brushing her hair with a small comb she produced from her purse.
Walking out of the restroom, Kagome closed the door silently behind her and started to walk back to her table.
Stepping smoothly from the shadows, a young man came up behind the startled woman and wrapped his arms tightly around her slim waist. "Hello, Kagome," Naraku breathed into her ear.
On the other side of the restaurant, Inuyasha frowned as the waitress took away their empty bowls, except for Kagome's still full one. "What's taking her so long?" he demanded of Sesshoumaru, who stared passively back at him as though it was completely obvious how stupid it was for his half-brother to ask him that. "I'll go find her," Inuyasha muttered, standing up.
Walking towards the hallway that led to the bathrooms, Inuyasha rounded a corner and into the alcove right before it; he paused in shock at the sight in front of him.
Kagome stiffened at the man's touch, closing her eyes fearfully. "Naraku?" she asked breathlessly.
"Yes, Kagome, it's me."
"What are you d-doing here?" Kagome tried, and failed, to keep her voice steady. Her stutter made her flinch, ashamed.
"To get back what's mine," he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her side before it came to a rest at her hip.
Kagome suddenly had the unbearable urge to whip around and slap him for assuming he owned her like a possession, which surprised her. It even scared her. She had never before wanted to hurt the young male standing behind her. Not once had she felt like hitting him, no matter how many times Naraku had risen his hand against her. I deserve it, he doesn't! she had to remind herself fervently, the smallest doubt niggling at her brain.
Finally, Kagome was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, she didn't deserve to be hurt by the man she loved. Almost immediately, she discarded that idea. Naraku's abuse had become so ingrained in her mind, that it was difficult to remember any other reality.
While Kagome struggled with her reaction to his presence, Naraku stroked her arm with his finger, gently kissing her cheek and nuzzling her neck. "Come on, Kagome, let's go home," he pleaded, nibbling her ear.
These signs of affection, she realized, no longer pleased her. They were actually freaking her out, now. It was disgusting her. His touch on her skin sickened her, making her stomach turn over with nausea. Still, Kagome couldn't move; she couldn't step away and run to someone who would help her. She couldn't run to Inuyasha.
"Kagome?" Naraku asked, pulling her against his chest.
But Kagome said nothing, lost in her thoughts of running to Inuyasha, to safety. He was so close, she thought; right there in that very building. As if summoned by her thoughts, Kagome saw him turn into the hallway and stumble to a stop, staring at her and Naraku. She watched his mouth turn down in a fierce scowl, his hands closing into tight fists at his sides. Kagome watched him look at her, register her fear, and become very angry.
Next Chapter: Perfect
