Hanging by a Moment
The Fine Line

"All right, to your stations!" The old obese PE teacher yelled to her chatting students. It was one of those days where the treacherous basketball unit was finished, and they all got to enjoy a block of stations, playing whatever game awaited them. But of course the competition was still there. It was a nice day out, so a few scattered teams were sent outside—including Kagome.

"It's so beautiful—why can't we just have a free period?" Kagome said, breathing in the fresh air as the sun beat down on her back.

"I don't think that Ms. Bowels would approve of that too much." Her friend Ami laughed. "So what station are you at?"

"I think I'm at 4." She said, thinking about when their teacher yelled out random number and colours to the students.

"You're playing hockey over on the basketball court." She giggled when she saw Kagome's expression. "What colour are you?"

"I'm…blue." She said looking over at the court to see flocking students. As she looked at the mangle of students grabbing a stick and jersey, she saw the familiar white hair that froze her to the spot and make her eyes the size of saucepans.

"Looks like he's red—have fun." Ami chanted before skipping away, giggling like a little 5-year-old. Kagome watched her friend leave before her body became mobile again. Slowly she approached the black top, her face turning a slight shade of pink. As she picked up the blue jersey from the box, she heard a loud whistle from behind her. She turned around to see the only guy that made her roll her eyes till the point of rolling out of her head.

"Shut up Kouga!" Inuyasha growled out, irritation and hatred for the wolf demon quite evident. Kagome stared at the two who were glaring daggers at one another, and she felt her heart fluttering from every passing glance to the hanyou that had overtaken her heart.

"Hey, cool it! Let's get this game started!" A big guy yelled, taking place in Kagome's goal with a sloppy smile on his face. Derik was what he went by. Kagome picked up a stick from the trashcan that they were all stored in and stepped back onto their 'rink'.

"I'll deal with you later dog shit." Kouga growled before following suit and grabbing a blue jersey and a stick. Soon they all began to copy and slowly the boys and girls took their places on the court, and some off to the side. At the face off, both Inuyasha and Kouga were growling at each other, their sticks twitching to get the ball. It was dropped in an instant and the two slashed until Inuyasha became victorious.

This is going to be one long game. Kagome thought to herself as she prepared herself for the ball.


It was hard to say who was winning, since the game had been so intense that neither goalie had let a goal in. Kagome just subbed back on, a little flushed in the face from running around after the ball. Inuyasha and Kouga were the only two—apart from the goalies—that hadn't taken their time to rest, and were still playing at the top.

It was probably sheer luck that Kagome happened to get the ball, and even more unbelievable that she had a breakaway. She was so proud of herself that as she neared the net, she failed to see the figure running behind her with an evil glint in his eyes. She shot the ball best she could towards the net, and a shy two seconds later she was checked towards the goalie whose stick was being flailed in the air in attempt to block the shot.

From only a few feet Inuyasha saw it all in slow motion. He hadn't been so worried with Hinten following behind, but as the distance grew smaller and his speed only increased, a knot began forming at the pit of his stomach. He started forward, but a few steps short Hinten did the unthinkable. He stuck out his stick and checked her as hard as he could forward, right towards where Jaik—the goalie—was thrashing the stick around. As soon as her head hit the ground, the plastic stick came crashing down on her head.

It wasn't long after the stick was retracted that everyone stopped, and slowly the sticky blood began to leak from her head. As he saw her beautiful sapphire eyes disappear behind closed lids, his entire being froze. A sick feeling grew in his core and his blood began to pump ferociously in his veins. His gaze dimmed as he knew that he could've prevented it all from happening. A girl screamed somewhere in the background for someone to fetch the teacher, another told someone to call the ambulance—but they were all inaudible to him.

He just stared at her, being unable to do anything else. Kouga was busy dealing with Jaik and Hinten, and he could practically hear poor Jaik crying. It was unintentional on his part, but dealing with Hinten it could only have been purposeful. Her face wasn't quite pale, but the way the sun shone on her, it looked like the life had been sucked out of her. Her curtain of ebony hair was strewn over the pavement and her face, some of it being stained with the blood.

Blood.

It made his stomach churn, but when it was hers, it made him feel even worse. There was no time to deal with Hinten at this exact moment, and the anger was smothered with sorrow. As the pool of blood began to grow, fear began to form in his head. He retracted himself from the daze and knew she had to stop bleeding. He looked around, and in the distance, he could see the gym teacher—Mrs. Bowles—running as fast as she could, though it looked more of a waddle if anything.

He approached Kagome and knelt down, locating the wound on her head. Thinking quickly, he ripped his own shirt with his claws to help stop the constant seeping of the blood. As carefully as he could without piercing her with his claws, he lifted up her head and applied the cloth to the bloody cut. He looked back, and saw the teacher getting closer. But he knew that it was helpless to expect help from the fat woman.

In the distance the wail of the ambulance sounded, and with his superior hearing, he estimated how far away they were. He took one more glance at her face before removing the cloth and scooping her up, hooking his arms under her legs and arms. He turned around and began running towards the direction of the ambulance, leaving everyone in his wake.

He wasn't about to let her die.

Unbeknown to the hanyou, Kagome was treading the fine line between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was hard to believe that through that, she couldn't still been awake, but it was for no one to ponder on.

It had been so fast that she hadn't felt the pain until a delayed moment later. She was getting cold, and a shallow pain began to form in her head. The feelings began to intensify as time wore on, seconds into minutes. But, the moment a figure approached, a warmness began to waver from their body to her own, fighting with the wretched temperature. But along with that came a blanket of security that was solely on the arms as she was carried away. And amongst all of it, a sense of relief and reassurance followed in a simple form.

A heartbeat.

But it was so much faster and up-beat than anything she'd ever heard. But as it pounded against the owner's ribcage, it reprieved her. And with that, there was no need to balance that fine line, and she just let herself fall into an unconscious state, feeling safe.

"Give her here." The woman said as she jumped out of the ambulance, startling Inuyasha. He complied and laid her down on the stretcher that had been quickly taken out of the vehicle.

"She's lost a lot of blood," he offered, running a free hand through his hair. The woman nodded in response, almost ignoring him.

"Will she be okay?" He asked as they began to pack her up. The woman sighed and then looked back at him.

"Do you want to ride in the ambulance sir?" Her words were sympathetic, but it was risky. He was about to decline, but one glance at her told his mind otherwise.

"Thank you." He said as he clambered into the back, resting beside the woman. As if on impulse—like most relatives did when in an ambulance—he grasped her hand lightly and unconsciously began stroking it as the two began working on keeping her alive till they reached the hospital.


The wall clocked ticked slowly, the simple noise echoing throughout the waiting room. He seemed to be the only one in the waiting room, the only one waiting for the results of Kagome. She had long gone into the ER when her heartbeat began to slow down from the blood loss. He knew that she'd pull through, or at least he hoped. He had been sitting in the same chair, in the same position, looking at the same place for a long time. But he would've done it for years, just for her.

"Excuse me sir, but are you with a Miss Kagome Higurashi?" A young woman asked, her bright auburn locks tied back into a tight bun. Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and looked at her and nodded quickly, springing to his feet.

"Is she all right?" He asked quickly, his eyes rather wide. She gave him a reassuring smile, waving him off gently.

"She'll be fine, she's just rendered unconscious." She glanced around before leaning in and lowering her voice. "You may see her if you'd like, room 1047, but not long."

"Thanks." He said before rushing to her room, which he quickly located. He slowed at the door and lightly walked in. Before he knew it, he was by her side, overlooking her small body. IV's were hooked up from her arms and a heart monitor was beeping steadily beside her. The colour in her face was slowly returning, but it was still none the less pale.

"Kagome," he whispered as he brushed her bangs from her face. "I'm so sorry I let you get hurt, I should've never let it happen. I promise that I'll never let it happen again." He stared at her face, being drawn in by her natural beauty. He just wished that he could tell her how he felt about her.

"Get better; it won't be the same without you there to light my life." He nearly breathed as he leaned in closer, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. His lips lingered a second longer than planned, but he quickly gathered back his wits and with one last squeeze oh her hand, he left.


It was unbelievably dark, with crimson stripes running wildly around her. With every step she took, the world shook violently. Fear griped at her soul, and loneliness echoed all around her. She was in a world filled with nightmare and sorrow, and she couldn't find the exit. She could hear a woman screaming, but it echoed in her ears that she had reason to believe that it was herself. Cries and pleads bounced back to her, and she shuddered as red hot tears gathered in her eyes. They burned as they began to fall down her face, and she gasped at the pain that tore through her skin. She fell to her knees, gaping for air. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and her throat closed. She was in excruciating pain, and there was nothing that could save her but death. She practically wished it upon herself.

But then a voice broke out, lighting up wherever it traveled.

"Get better…" It sounded breathy and masculine, but it was the savior that opened her eyes to the light. The pain stopped, and for a second she had reason to believe that she was going to heaven. But she was far from death, and her strength and sanity were returning to her. She sucked in cool air that came from an unknown source.

"…it won't be the same without you there to light my life." The voice finished off in a breathy whisper before her cold body began to warm up. She began to call out to the voice, asking it who it was, where it was, but nothing happened. The more she called, the more she came back into consciousness until finally her dream vanished.

She sprung up from the bed, like she had just been brought to life. She gasped for air, seeming as if she had been holding her breath the whole while. It took her a moment to take in the monotone white room, only to be filled with the memories of previous visits. A small depression formed at the pit of her stomach, reminding her of the 2 prior visits she had ever been to the hospital. She had been her when her father died; she had also watched her grandfather hanging by a thread of hope. But they were both carried away, eyes closed and heart still. She knew that the next member of her family to visit the hospital was going to be carried out in a body bag.

She settled back into the rather stiff bed, trying to block out the constant noise that rang through the hallway attached to her room. She turned to her side, her eyes brimming with tears. But when she was on her side, she came face to face with a bouquet of white roses, at least a dozen. She raised her head a bit, a look of pure shock evident across her face. She looked them over, wondering who on Earth would buy her such beautiful plants. But then she noticed the small card with a white rose carefully painted on the front standing a few inches from her nose.

She picked it up; almost afraid of what it was going to say inside. She opened it slowly, her eyes looking down to the rather masculine print. It was a little misshapen and messy, but it also looked forced to be as neat as it could. On certain letters she could see ink blotches from being held too long in the same position. She smiled before she began to read it over.

Kagome, it was horrible what happened to you, and there isn't a soul who doesn't wish they could've stopped it. Although I wish I had been the one hurt, rather than you. I hope you like white roses; I spent two months paycheck on that. Ha ha. I hope to see you soon, and please get better. I already miss you.
-
Anonymous

She smiled at the card, almost surprised that anyone would write her such a card. She caught the hint of something sweet and lifted the card to her nose and took a whiff, catching the obvious hint of vanilla. Her head fell back onto the pillow, and she had a large smile across her face. Whoever this was really knew her. She placed the card back where she found it, wondering who on Earth was so sweet to do such a thing. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wished that it was Inuyasha who had given her the flowers and card, but he knew she existed about as much as the loch ness monster.

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to dream up the perfect scenario of how her night in shinning armor would come and save her from this cursed place. And that night in shinning armor just happened to have white hair and amber eyes.

Her hanyou prince.




A/U: Okay I updated! Tell me what you think, and yeah. It's Spring Break so I may update faster, but then again I have friends that need tending too! Ha ha ha! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

By My Escape – Relient K

pheonix inferno