Chapter One
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Sango felt herself drifting through a seemingly endless void. No matter which direction she turned, everything was swirling darkness. Her mind seemed blank, she could not think of anything other than her name. Her body was oddly relaxed, everything was at peace.
Liquid slowly dripped through the fluid packet of the I.V. Sango's eyes were closed and relaxed, her expression was calm, a sharp contrast to the ones waiting for any news of her condition. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Koga, Ayame, her best friend, Shinjuko, and...Miroku, all waited. The doctors had not said a word for hours, their expressions remained grim. The circle of friends looked at their sweaty hands, whispered words of comfort to each other occasionally, and struggled with their strong emotions. Miroku, the one who had caused all of this, battled with himself.
His guilt was immeasurable, and his pain was unbearable. Sango could be dead, her last thoughts and memories of his lie and broken promise, her last thoughts of tear and hate for him, and the images in her mind of his guilty expression. He wished that their position could have switched, he wished that he had dove in front of her when they had run head-long into the tree, he wished his mind could be at peace. He wished that he was the one in a coma, recovering too slowly to survive. He knew it was futile to think of these thoughts, but his stress was so intense there was nothing he could do but blame himself.
Inu-Yasha suddenly stood up, a fire in his eyes ablaze. His expression startled them all. He walked slowly over to Miroku, who was holding his breath. Inu-Yasha's clawed fingers curled around the collar of his shirt. He thrust him upwards.
"Why did you not take my advice? Why didn't you listen to me, or trust me?" he hissed in a low voice, his eyes burrowing into the monk's. Miroku remained silent. "Sango could be dead. It will be your entire fault. You murdered her, Miroku; the stain of her innocent blood is on your head."
"Inu-Yasha..." Kagome warned hesitantly, pulling on his arm. The tension was growing. He shook her off harshly.
"I offered to take you two home. Your lives would've been spared, we wouldn't be here, Kagome wouldn't be crying, Shinjuko wouldn't be mentally breaking down, and Ayame would be able to calm down. You hurt us all, Miroku. You killed her. Your stupid pride killed her! I know you didn't want to admit you'd lied to her and broken your promise, but if you would've just let her forgive you, she'd be alive!!!" he yelled, spit flying.
"Sango is not dead." Shinjuko whispered. It was the first time she's spoken in hours. They turned to her.
"Her chances of survival are slim." Inu-Yasha corrected himself reluctantly.
"Stop it, Inu! Stop it!" Kagome wailed. She hated it when he acted like this.
"If Sango doesn't survive, then I swear, I'll-"
"Sango has regained consciousness." They all tuned to the soft-spoken doctor in the hallway. He was wearing a white lab coat and carrying a well-used clip-board. "You will be able to visit her." They all arose from their seats eagerly, their minds flooding with relief. He held up his hand calmly.
"There are some conditions. One, only one person may visit her at a time. Please speak softly, and don't ask her questions about the accident. She is in a very delicate state, especially emotionally. Keep calm when you see her condition, I warn you, she doesn't look very good. If you gasp when you see her, her stress levels will rise unnecessarily. She thinks she will be okay, and I want her to stay that way." They all nodded slowly.
"So who's first?" They all turned to Shinjuko. Her blond hair had fallen limp, her cheeks were smudged with dried tears, and she was in the worst emotional condition out of them all. It seemed the nicest to let her go first. They ushered her forward, towards the doctor. He led her away silently down the white halls.
They all filed in after her. Miroku was the last to visit her, a punishment unbearably cruel. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to see her after what he'd done to her. The guilt was too strong. But he needed to be with her, to apologize, to forgive himself. He had lied to her, and broken his promise, as much as in love they were. He acted like her trust was worth nothing, and in the process, his honor had become worthless. He didn't deserve to live or be in her presence.
A/N: Shinjuko is a borrowed O.C. from Kinneko. She is the beat friend of Sango, and little sister of Inu-Yasha. Updating to begin soon.