Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own the Inuyasha characters; Rumiko has that honor.

Hey readers, this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, please be gentle. - Please read & review; constructive criticism greatly appreciated!


Unspoken Words

by: lady-rouge


Chapter 10

Only one word echoed through her brain as she stared at the figure before her. 

Naraku.

He was dressed in a black suit with his dark hair tied to the back as usual.  As he stared into her eyes with his cold look, Kagome shivered.  How did he get into her house? She thought frantically.  And why is he here in the first place?  She had not seen him for the longest time –six to be exact, ever since that night . . .

"Naraku," her voice sounded dry and full of fear even though she tried to control it.  "Can I ask you why you are in apartment?"

He coolly assessed her with his eyes before taking a step forward towards her.  Like a choreographed dance, every time he moved forward, she moved backwards until her back bumped into the solid white walls of the hallway. 

"I asked you why you're here, Naraku," Kagome said in an angry tone as anger took over fear. 

"What do you think, Kagome," he said in a calm emotionless tone.  "For you, of course."

Kagome shook her head.  "I don't understand.  I want to know why you're looking for me after six years, why you are in my apartment in the first place."

He looked amused.  "Then come in and we will talk."

Kagome gave him a hard look.  Someone who broke into her home did not merit trust at all.  Kagome looked carefully into his face to see if there were any other emotions or motives, but found none.  She took a hesitant step towards him and slowly made her way inside.  She stood to the wall nearest the door and leaned slightly against it.  "Alright Naraku, talk, you have my attention."

"Won't you sit down?" He asked with an innocent look.  Kagome did not trust it one bit.  He looked too smooth. 

"I prefer to stand, thank you," Kagome said curtly. 

"If that is your wish," he said before sitting down.  He finally spoke.  "It's been awhile, Kagome and I have missed you a great deal." He looked to see what Kagome would say.  She did not say anything.  "After that day that you told me no, I've come to a realization that I will not take no for an answer."

Kagome's eyes widened.  "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I won't take no for an answer and that you will marry me."

"I don't get what you mean, Naraku.  I still haven't changed my feelings about you.  That answer I gave you was final."

He slowly smiled.  "That is where you are wrong, my dear because you will have to change your answer."

Not affected by his command, Kagome glared at him.  "I'm sorry, Naraku, but I won't change my mind no matter what you say.  I thought I told you this six years ago."

"No?" Naraku asked, looking disappointed.

"No, I'm really sorry," Kagome said, relieved that it was going to be over soon.

Then his smiled curved even more.  "Not even if it involves Inuyasha?"

Kagome stood ramrod straight as she looked at him suspiciously.  "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," Naraku smirked. 

"You can't do anything to Inuyasha," Kagome said confidently as she looked at Naraku.

"I don't think so," Naraku wiggled a finger in the air.  "You are still too naïve, Kagome."

Kagome clenched her fists.  "What do you mean?  Now that you have told me, I will go tell him.  This will destroy your plan." 

"Tsk tsk, Kagome."  He smiled.  "You forget the option that I have already done something to him."

Kagome shook her head vehemently.  "I don't believe you.  I just saw him twenty minutes ago."

"Hmm," Naraku scratched his chin in a bored manner.  "Let me ask you this.  Inuyasha has gone to the hospital in the past week, ne?"

Kagome gasped and her eyes widened.  "You were behind the car accident!" She accused as her eyes watered.  "Why did you hit him?!" She demanded to him.  "If you did it because of me, then you should have come after me instead," she said softly. 

"He was a threat," Naraku justified.

"He was never a threat, Naraku. He hates me."

Naraku's eyebrows arched.  "He is still a possible threat and I don't like that standing over my head . . . that is why I poisoned him.  He will die soon."

Kagome stopped breathing for a while as his words registered into her mind.  Her head shook in denial.  "W-What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that the night of the accident, he met someone who was a generous man indeed.  He listened to all of Inuyasha's worries and even gave him a free beer . . . with our added specialties, of course."

"No," Kagome took deep breaths in denial. 

"It was very interesting when the man came back and told me that the reason why Inuyasha was there was only because of you, Kagome."

"No," Kagome breathed again as her hand went to protect her heart and tears came into her eyes. 

Her eyes jerked to him angrily.  "You tricked him when he was vulnerable.  What kind of man are you?" She said angrily.

He smiled.  "The kind of man that always gets what he wants.  And what I want is you, Kagome."

"No." She stated determinedly, her eyes burning anger.

He shook his head.  "Don't you want Inuyasha to be better?"

Her eyes perked up despite her anger. 

"Didn't the doctor tell you that he couldn't find the cure or figure out what it was?  That's because I developed it, which means that I am the only one with the cure right now.  And if Inuyasha doesn't get it soon, he will die.  He will continue to be in pain and will fall into comas that will take him longer to come out of until eventually . . . one day, he will never wake again.

"No!" Kagome shouted as tears dripped down her face.  "I don't believe that you are the reason behind his sickness.  You can't be!  I wouldn't have thought you were like this at all, Naraku."  Her voice lowered a bit.  "I saw him today and he was just fine," she lied. 

"Oh really?" Naraku said and sneered.  "I bet you that he will fall into a coma by tomorrow night.  If he does, then you have two choices: either you watch Inuyasha die or you can come with me and in return, I will give you the cure for Inuyasha.  But if he doesn't fall into a coma, then you can forget that I ever came to your house."  Before Kagome could say anything, walked around her, slipped a piece of paper in her hands and disappeared out the door. 

Once he was gone, Kagome sank to the floor and wept.  

-

The bright light shined on her face and Kagome groaned as she blinked her eyes and sat up.  She couldn't remember what happened after Naraku left.  She looked at her surroundings and saw that she was lying on the floor of her living room.  I must have fallen asleep, she thought.  No wonder she couldn't remember anything that happened afterwards.  Kagome stretched her stiff limbs and got up.  One glance at her window showed her that it was late in the morning.  This set Kagome into a panic.  She ran to her room and took one glance at the watch before collapsing on the bed and covering her face.  It was now 11:51.  Kagome rose in a flurry of motion and ran to the bathroom and got ready rapidly for work.  She couldn't afford to have anything else in her life go wrong. 

Kagome hastily donned on a dark navy dress, ran a comb through her tangled hair and slipped on her dress shoes before running outside.  Hopefully Sesshoumaru was not mad, she prayed as she ran as fast as she could.  The big gleaming building loomed in the distance and she sighed with relief as her footsteps began to slow a bit.  As she waited in the elevator, she nervously played with the silky sleeve of her dress while her eyes watched the floor number grow bigger and bigger.  The ting of the elevator struck loudly in the enclosed space and the fear within her burst into a flurry of butterflies. 

Kagome hurriedly pushed herself of the elevator wall and rubbed her eyes before stepping through the opened metallic doors.  She couldn't be fired from this job, she thought fervently.  There were too many people depending on her.  She couldn't let them down.  Stepping through the elevator doors, the first thing that Kagome noticed was the eerie silence that reverberated throughout the floor.  Kagome turned to the front desk, expecting to see a stern Sango, but to her surprise, Sango was not occupying the spot behind the front desk.  Instead, an older woman sat in it today.  Shocked, Kagome took tentative steps towards her.  Where was Sango?  She panicked.  Did something happen to her?  This caused Kagome to walk faster to the front desk. 

"Excuse me," Kagome said uncertainly to the woman whose name tag indicated that her name was Suki. 

The woman looked up and her smile widened.  "Hello.  How can I help you?" 

Kagome smiled nervously.  "Can I ask why you are working here?  I'm one of the workers here and my friend, Sango usually works here."

The woman looked startled, but recovered.  "I'm not really sure.  This morning, I was told by the assistant director Jaken that I would be working here today.  He said something about a lot of people gone today."  She gave Kagome an apologetic smile.  "I'm sorry.  I don't know much." 

Kagome thanked her and left to their office.  She opened the door and was hit by the loneliness of the room.  Without Inuyasha sitting there, the room seemed so much bigger and colder than usual.  Kagome sighed and settled down in her desk.  As soon as she set her stuff down and had opened her work portfolio, Kagome reached into her purse and pulled out the phone number to Sango's house.  Giving it a quick double check, Kagome picked up the phone and dialed her number.  The phone rang once, twice, three times, but no one answered.  This worried Kagome and she tried another time.  Still no answer.  Kagome tried to distill her growing panic for her friend.  Kagome pondered for a while and decided that the next best person to ask would be Mirouku.  Kagome reached into the lower drawer of her cabinet and pulled out a thick blue binder that held all the extensions of the workers in their company. 

Kagome opened it and scanned through the names until her eyes caught onto a name: Yamoshi Mirouku.  Kagome quickly placed her finger to his name and traced it to the extension number.  1660.  She dialed it and only had to wait one ring before it was answered by a feminine voice.  "Office of International Negotiations, this is Yumi."  Yumi?  Kagome's mind spun.  Mirouku was not at his office as well.  Her panic set in. 

"Excuse me, but do you know where Mirouku is?" She asked desperately. 

Yumi's voice came back on the line.  "No, I was approached by Jaken this morning to cover for Mirouku.  I don't know anything else, I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Kagome told her before placing the receiver down and placing her elbows on the desk in despair.  If both of them weren't there . . . could it be that they had gotten hurt last night after dropping her off?  Kagome's mind was in a hurl.  But then, that would mean that Kouga wouldn't be here either.  The idea sparked Kagome to search for Kouga's name and after a long search, Kagome finally spotted it.  She dialed it with anticipation and soon a low voice answered the phone. 

"Kouga!"  Kagome shouted happily.

"Excuse me," the voice interrupted her.  "But I am not Kouga.  I'm Ginta."

Disappointment flooded Kagome and she blushed at her mistake.  "I'm sorry. But do you know where Kouga is?"

His answer was the same as everyone else's and Kagome felt like crying.  So . . . her assumptions were true.  In that case, she would have to find out.  She looked at the watch that sat silently in the corner of her desk and saw that it read 12:41.  She only had four hours to work before she could leave.  Then, she assured herself, would she be able to look for them.  She told herself that they would be safe and that she would laugh about it later when she saw them again.  

-

Time seemed to drag and did not want to move for Kagome as she waited for work to end. Every now and then, Kagome would gaze at the hands on the clock and would agonize over its slowness.  For lunch, she tried to eat a chicken sandwich that she had bought for herself, but only ended up nibbling on it.  By the time 5:00 came around, Kagome's nerves were frayed and on edge.  As soon as the clock ticked 5:00, Kagome grabbed her purse and ran to the bus station instead of the limo that Myouga drove in.  She had called him earlier to inform him of her absence. 

Kagome didn't know where to start, so she went to Sango's house.  Even before she entered the house, she already knew it was empty by the dark silence that filled her house.  The shutters were closed and the lights were all off.  Kagome defied her intuition and ran to the house and pounded on it.  Silence.  Kagome did the same for Mirouku's house as well, but she obtained the same results.  Kagome was near tears.  She would have to call the one place that she disliked: the hospital. 

She stopped at a phone booth and dialed the phone to Hanyou Hospital, the biggest hospital in the city. 

A woman picked it up.  "Hi, how can I help you?"

"Can you . . ." Kagome paused.  "Can you tell me if there are any patients there by the name of Tajiya Sango, Yamoshi Mirouku or Shoji Kouga?"

There was a silence.  "I'm sorry m'am, but I have to know what your relationship is to them before I can give out that kind of confidential information."  

A panic swept over Kagome.  "But I'm their friend."

Her voice came back, this time with an apologetic tone.  "I can only give it out if you are the immediate family or a relative."

"Please," Kagome protested.  "I need to know.  I'm very worried."

Kagome could hear the regret in the nurse's voice as she answered.  "I'm sorry, but if you want to know, you'll probably have to contact their family to find out."

Kagome listened in silence to the buzzing dial tone that took the place of the nurse's voice after she hung up.  She stood up firmly after she came to a decision.  She would just have to pay a visit to the Hanyou Hospital to see for herself.  Kagome stepped out of the booth and hailed for the taxi that was headed her way.  There was no time to lose.

-

Kagome bit back tears of frustration as she stared back at the nurse.  "Please, can you just tell me if they were brought here or not.  That's all I ask of you."

"I'm sorry miss, but we have the confidentiality rule that I can not break."

Kagome looked at the nurse determinedly for a while before nodding in acceptance and turning away.  She had tried most of the areas of the hospital, but no one would tell her anything.  She was getting frantic.  Her shoulders slumped in defeat and Kagome turned and walked down the long hallway as she pondered what her next actions would be.  A bright sign flashed at the corner of her eyes and she looked up to see that it was the Emergency Room sign.  Kagome's mind flashed her back to that Saturday that seemed so long ago when Inuyasha was hospitalized.  Her heart clenched at that thought and she shoved it away.  She had to think of Sango, Mirouku and Kouga right now.  She turned her eyes away from the sign and continued her walk down the long hallway when suddenly, a voice halted her steps. 

"Kagome-san?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Kagome turned around quickly to see Sesshoumaru.

Kagome hurried to him and stopped inches away.  "Thank goodness you're here, Sesshoumaru-san.  They wouldn't tell me if they were here or not.  Are they injured severely?"  Kagome's eyes watered.  "Tell me, how are they?"

His eyes turned to confusion.  "They?"

Kagome nodded her head.  "Sango, Mirouku and Kouga.  Are they alright?"

"Sango, Kouga and Mirouku?"

Kagome nodded vigorously.  "Are they fine?" She pressed.

He nodded.  "They're alright, I would say.  Except for being weary, they seem fine to me."

Kagome gave a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall.  "That's really good to hear," she sighed happily.  "I thought they were injured badly."

Sesshoumaru gave her a confused look. 

"From what?"

Kagome gave him a startled look. "From their car accident.  At work today, I didn't see them so I assumed-"

"Kagome!"

A voice shouted her name from close by and she gasped as she turned around. 

"Sango!"  Kagome ran to her and hugged her tightly.  "I'm glad you're alright, I was so worried."

Sango gave her a playful smile.  "Of course I'm fine.  Why wouldn't I be?"

Kagome gave a happy smile before she grew stern.  "Why didn't you guys call me about this?"

Sango's voice became serious.  "I-I really wanted to and I did, but you didn't answer at home, so I gave up for a while, but things were so hectic here, that we completely forgot.  I'm really sorry, Kagome.  When we remembered, it was around 5:15 and by then, you were already gone.  We tried calling your house, but no one was home." 

Kagome gave her a big hug.  "It's okay, Sango.  Since things aren't that serious, I don't have to worry anymore."

Sango gave a worried nod.  "Yes, you're right, we have to remember to look on the optimistic side always," Sango's eyes misted. 

Kagome gave a worried look to Sango and looked at Sesshoumaru.  "Where are Mirouku and Kouga?  Are they still in the patient rooms?"

Sango and Sesshoumaru nodded simultaneously.  "Yeah, they're with Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru supplied.

Kagome's heart raced and she looked up at them.  "Inuyasha's here?"  Her face took on a nervous look, before her face turned into a tremulous smile.  So Naraku was wrong, she thought happily.  Inuyasha was better.  Her heart sang for joy and she wanted to laugh and cry.  Things were turning out so good.  "I take it that he's feeling much better if he was able to come here?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a look before turning away.  "He had no choice if he wanted to come or not.  He had to."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked with a defensive tone for Inuyasha.  "Are you saying that Inuyasha didn't want to come visit his cousin and friends?"

Sesshoumaru jerked his head to her in surprise and just stared at her in wonderment.  "You don't know, do you?" He finally asked.

"Know what?"  Kagome asked, a little taken back by his behavior.  Kagome looked over at Sango and she was giving her the same look.  "What does he mean, Sango?" Kagome asked softly as fear entered her."

Sesshoumaru finally turned back to her.  "That Inuyasha is in a coma again.  And this time, it's serious."

His words hit her like a block of frozen ice and she stumbled backwards, away from them.  Disbelief crossed her features and she turned her eyes to them.  "You-You're lying," she said, with a smile.  "Aren't you?"  When Sesshoumaru didn't answer, Kagome turned to Sango desperately.  "Tell me at least this: why are you guys here in the first place?"  Her eyes pleaded for Sango to confirm something, but didn't know what. 

"We came because of Inuyasha."  Sango's eyes cleared and she turned to hug Kagome.  "Oh, you thought it was us, didn't you?  No wonder this was a surprise to you."  Sango tightened her arms around her.  "I thought you already knew." 

Kagome's eyes watered and she broke free of Sango to run to the room that Inuyasha had occupied last time.  Sure enough, his name was on the board outside the room entrance.  Kagome burst through the door and came upon Mirouku and Kouga sleeping on the chairs while a pale Inuyasha slept calmly on a bed that sat by a window that overlooked a calm sunset.  Kagome ran to his side and slowly, with trembling fingers, her fingers went to smooth the hair that had fallen to overshadow his closed eyes.  A tear dropped down from her eye as she looked at his form.  The blanket that covered him was hardly moving and Kagome bent down to hear his heart beat.  As she strained to listen, she heard a faint rhythm and she sighed with relief. 

"I bet you that he will fall into a coma by tomorrow night." 

Naraku's words came to her like a haunted whisper and swept up her spine with a cold chill that made her shiver.

"The reason why Inuyasha came was only because of you, Kagome."

Kagome snatched her hands away from Inuyasha's face like she had been burned and covered her face as tears cascaded down her cheeks.  It was her fault that this was happening to him in the first place.  The last person she wanted harm to fall upon. 

"If he does, then you have two choices: either you watch Inuyasha die or you can come with me and in return, I will give you the cure for Inuyasha.  But if he doesn't fall into a coma, then you can forget that I ever came to your house." 

Her tears came harder as she stared down at his passive face.  Her body shook silently as she stood quietly in the room and Kagome bit her lips to hold back the anguished sobs that overcame her.  After a couple of minutes had passed, Kagome walked slowly towards the deathly black phone that sat by the window.  Reaching mechanically into her purse, Kagome pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from within.  She opened it slowly and stared at it for a long time, casting frequent glances at the motionless figure on the hospital bed and back to the paper before she finally turned her attention to the phone.  It was hard to read the numbers through her blurred eyes, but with a little squinting, Kagome made it out.  With her fingers cold and numb, she slowly dialed in the numbers and waited anxiously for the receiver to pick up.  When it did, a chilly voice came on.  Kagome took a deep breath and glanced one more time at Inuyasha before speaking.

"Naraku, I have made my decision."

"Oh?" His voice held a light and amusing tone.

"I will agree to marry you." 

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COMMENTS:

Bella Lamounier: Thank you for that really sweet comment!  You don't know how happy that you said that.  It really made me happy! ::dances wildly::  On the otherhand, your assumption was correct! Good job!

Mini Nicka: Sorry to disappoint you, but it was Naraku. '-'

Quiet Escapist: Thanks for your comments! I hope this chapter answered your question about Inuyasha's condition. What do you think of it? For the spelling of Mirouku's name, is it Miroku? I swear that I saw Mirouku somewhere, but I don't remmeber where. But doesn't it seem right that it is Mirouku? Or not. What do you think?

Nauriell: LOL. Now that you now, I hope you have come back down to the world of sane people. '-' Or was my chapter too late to save you? --

 New Fan: I hope that the story hasn't disappointed you yet! Right on with your guess!

cyberdemon: Thanks for reviewing my story!

readingfreak742: Is it really? I'm sorry for doing that to you. Really, I am. ::evil grin::

Rinelwin: Thanks for saying that!

animemistress419: Thank you for your uplifting comments!

charnay ): Here's another chapter for you. Thank you for your wonderful comments! And yes, of course I will email you when I update another chapter if you want me to!

Shizuka Kaze: Thank you!

Kurokumo: Thanks for reviewing!

InuLvr7: Oh you! You know just exactly to say to make people feel good don't you? LOL. You're too sweet! '-'

humble-bumble: I don't know, should I make it an Inuyasha and Kagome fic, or not? LOL. Of course it's going to be an I/K story. Nothing else! '-'

Kurai Okami: Sorry about that, I couldn't help it.  luckily, this isn't one, so I hope you're happy!

Everyone: Thank you for all your comments! They made me deleriously happy! '-'

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TO BE CONTINUED

Readers, tell me your thoughts and feelings! Review!  '-'