Chapter Eight: Awakening
Voices... They were speaking, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. It was just mumbled words, slurred together. Occasionally, a short phrase could be made out, but they didn't make sense.
"...going to be okay?"
"When... wake...?"
"Feh!"
That voice! So familiar... But from where?
"Kaede... she... okay?"
That voice as well! That was... that was... that was Shippo's voice! That must mean she was in the past. How did she get here?
"She moved!"
That triumphant voice could only belong to one person... Sango! She struggled to open her eyes and finally succeeded. At once, four people rushed over and started bombarding her with questions - none of which she had answers to. Instead of answering, she asked "What happened?" The room was instantly silent, and she couldn't help but wonder why... Finally, Miroku spoke. "You really don't remember?" When she shook her head, he looked to Sango, as if trying to communicate silently. Apparently understanding, she nodded and Miroku turned back to Kagome. "You almost died."
"What?! How?" was Kagome's immediate reaction. Miroku fidgeted. "Well, you see... um..." Sango stepped in. "You... ah... erm... well, you know what I'm trying to say!" Actually, she had no clue. When she only looked confused, Kaede sighed and decided to explain. "Child, you made an attempt on your own life." Kagome looked shocked for a moment, then smiled calmly. "Yes, I did, didn't I?" When she gave no further reaction, Sango exploded. "How can you take this so lightly?! You could have died! You're lucky InuYasha got there in time, or you would be dead right now!" Kagome started. This was weird... And speaking of InuYasha...
"Where's InuYasha?" she asked innocently. Miroku's turn to answer... "Well, you see, he's... um... out..." "That's so very thorough!" Kagome replied sarcastically. Miroku flinched slightly, though he didn't show it. "InuYasha is having emotional problems right now..." "And?" Kagome questioned, becoming impatient. "Well, he hates himself for doing this to you... He thinks it was his fault." "Well, it was!" Kagome suddenly burst out. "He did this to me! And you know what? I don't care anymore! He can go to hell with Kikyo! In fact, I hope he goes to hell! I hate him! Why couldn't he have just let me die?! Everything else was taken away from me, is my right to make my own decisions also gone?! Huh? Answer that!"
Outside, InuYasha fled after hearing Kagome's rant, tears streaming down his face.