Author's Notes: Eh, sorry for the delays. Writer's block has hit me hard, so I've been struggling to get things done as of late. So anyways, pardon the delay, hopefully my muses will stick by me for awhile since I'm in a segment where I know very clearly what's going on.

Also- I've noticed several people saying they think that Kagura curses too much in this. Well, I have based Kagura's language patterns off the original Japanese anime/manga- in which, when upset or angry, Kagura cusses about as much as Kouga and InuYasha combined (yes, it's no joke that she does indeed cuss like a guy). So of course, given that she spends a lot of this story pissed off at one thing or another, her language is of course, colorful due to that.

And yes, as noted in this chapter- it has only been a little over one day since she got hit with the champagne bottle, therefore explaining why her wounds aren't healed that well (this is also allowing for the fact she keeps pulling them open). Since a lot of these earlier chapters cover an almost hour-by-hour account of the events, it doesn't seem like it's only a day later, but it is. She got injured on Friday afternoon and this chapter begins on Saturday night.

Anyways, with that all out of the way- please read, review and enjoy :)

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It's truly amazing how much can change between people in so little time. One minute, you're trying to kill each other, the next you're sitting down to read a book together. Sometimes, it's baffling how things like that can happen.

I know they say people change, but I was beginning to wonder. Is it really that we change or is it just because we begin to see things from their perspective better the more we're around them? I hadn't felt like I'd changed much, and Sesshoumaru sure as hell hadn't changed a bit.

We were just as stubborn and irritated with each other as we'd been from the start. So- how did we- end up like this?

If we didn't change, maybe we just adapted. Molded ourselves to deal with the little quirks of the other person to the point that- next thing you know- we could find ourselves sitting together, remotely peacefully, enjoying a book together.

But life has a strange way of giving you everything one moment, then throwing you a curve ball the next. And that was one thing I was about to find out…

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Chapter 24: Dial Tone

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Kagura could make out a voice- seemingly distant at first, but becoming clearer by the second as she woke up. Squinting her eyes open, she noticed Sesshoumaru talking on the phone.

"Yes. Both indoor and outdoor high security alarms. Tomorrow afternoon will be fine. Yes. Goodbye."

Quickly, Kagura closed her eyes again and feigned sleep as he looked in her direction.

"He's protecting me? Going out of his way to get alarms on the house? I guess…" Her mind drifted back to the note, "And he looked…well…very worried for him, when he saw me on the floor bleeding…"

Finally registering her own predicament, her thoughts berated her, "That's right. My side it's…"

Eyebrows furrowed as she tried to discern all that had transpired while she was out.

"It's bandaged…but I was…"

Eyes snapping open, she leveled a glare on Sesshoumaru.

"That bastard. He stripped me while I was out…"

"I see we're awake," Sesshoumaru noted casually from where he stood at the dresser straightening things.

"Look here you… It's bad enough to have you see me naked while I'm conscious- but when I'm unconscious that's just…"

"Would you rather have bled to death?" He countered.

"No," She muttered, "But that's not the point. The point is you—"

"You've lost a lot of blood these last two days. Your body is weak. Don't strain it."

"Are you saying I'm a weak wo…" Kagura cut herself off as she noticed Sesshoumaru unbuttoning his shirt.

Sure, he had his back to her, but just was he up to?

Slowly, he pulled his shirt off, nonchalantly tossing it aside into the nearby wastebasket. Kagura's eyes followed it and she immediately saw why he was so firm in reprimanding her about the injury.

"There's blood all over it. I was…bleeding that much?" She thought to herself noticing the red stains.

"Um… I…." Kagura bit her lip, feeling like she needed to say something- anything – to him.

"You can't go to a hospital. Your father is attempting to find you. So try to not do anything else unnecessary that will cause the wounds to reopen."

Looking down, Kagura studied the creases of the blanket over her.

"This must be hard for you…"

The words escaped her lips before she knew it.

He quirked an eyebrow and she quickly stumbled over her words to explain.

"I'm just bringing back bad memories of when you lost your Mother, aren't I?"

Raising his head, Sesshoumaru caught her eyes with his- studying them and their depths for the unanswered questions that arose. Her piercing red eyes were softer now- her bitterness and anger giving way to something Sesshoumaru wasn't accustomed to from just anyone. But, he was certain her eyes didn't lie.

To him, it was as easy as reading a book, but the perplexing answer came back the same.

Kagura was worried- very worried – about him.

"My problems are…"

"Not of my concern. I know," She cut him off with a tentative smile.

 Sesshoumaru just stared at her, thrown by having his own retort said for him.

"Look- all I'm trying to say is…well… I didn't mean to make you think of that. If I'd known, I would have found someone else's car to walk in front of Thursday night," Kagura murmured, her hand balling into a fist around the corner of the blanket she held.

"Some things cannot be foreseen," He replied, turning back towards the dresser.

Kagura lightly placed her hand to her side, "You can say that again…"

The room fell silent- the soft rustling of silk as Kagura shifted where she laid and the slight noise of various odds and ends being sat upright on the dresser where the only hollow echoes in the entire household.

Finding the stifling quiet unsettling, Kagura frowned as she tried to think up some topic for conversation that might last more than two seconds.

It was then that she noted a small, flat object lying down by her feet on the edge of the bed.

"What's that?" She asked, not realizing at first she'd spoken it aloud.

"Rin's birthday gift," Sesshoumaru explained, walking over to pick it up.

"You got her a book?"

"No. It was written for her."

"For…her?"

He handed the book over to Kagura.

"Look at the author and illustrator."

Blinking, the black-haired woman did so, her eyes catching sight of two familiar names printed on the lower corner of the cover.

"Bankotsu and…Jakotsu?"

"They head the juvenile literature department of the company," Sesshoumaru remarked.

Kagura studied the book in her hands, "So they…wrote her a book?"

"If you could call it that."

Red eyes skimming over the cover, she soon realized why Sesshoumaru wasn't exactly thrilled about the gift, "The Prince Without a Heart. Hmm, now why does that title make me think of a certain someone in this room…" She smirked as she looked over to him, "Hey, Sesshoumaru- can you…read it to me?"

Blinking incredulously, the white-haired man for one of the few times in his life, almost lost his composure and laughed at the audacity of that request.

"I didn't know you were illiterate," He calmly remarked.

"What? You're telling me you've never told Rin a bedtime story?" Kagura countered, her cool, confident air beginning to return in full force.

"You are not a child."

At that she knew she'd won, "Well funny- you keep treating me like one. Telling me not to play rough and get anymore boo-boos."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and Kagura sighed.

"Sesshoumaru," Her voice was quieter now, not laced with the mocking tone from before, "It might seem silly, or…well, even childish to you but… but … er… never mind…"

His face softened slightly as he pieced together the mystery she'd left the clues for him to solve.

Voice as quiet as hers, he replied, "You've never had someone read to you. Have you?"

She fell silent at that, the pains of her childhood rising like bitter bile in the back of her mind. Her fist tightened its grip on the blanket, and some would say perhaps she was holding back tears.

That is until another hand laid over her own, "Just don't destroy my sheets."

Before Kagura could even fully register what was occurring, Sesshoumaru made his way around to the other side of the bed and sat down beside her.

"Sesshoumaru?"

He quirked an eyebrow up.

"What are you…"

Leaning back against the headboard, he continued to look at her with his usual unreadable gaze.

"I mean- why are you…"

"Have you changed you mind?" He asked, avoiding her prying questions behind his reasoning.

"No but…"

"Then stay silent."

Kagura turned her head, not sure if it was just her embarrassment over the situation or the fact that Sesshoumaru was offering to read to her that was causing the heat rising to her cheeks.

Starting for a moment as she felt his arm brush against her side, she turned to look at him, her voice catching in her throat at the close proximity he sat to her.

But before she could cover her flustered state with a cynical comment about him being a pervert or something of that sort, he spoke first.

"It is a children's book. You're supposed to look at the pictures."

She blinked, her eyes searching him for so many answers she knew she wouldn't find.

"Oh."

Feeling she had to make some move to regain her usual attitude, she crossed her arms and laughingly asked, "So are you going to do different voices for the characters?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, not even remotely wanting to consider playing the female roles of the story.

"There are no voices," He remarked coolly.

Opening the cover, he turned to the first page,

"Once upon a time far far away, there was a noble Prince. Everyone looked up to the mighty Prince, but the Prince was not happy because he was missing one very important thing- his heart."

Kagura coughed under her breath, Sesshoumaru just frowned and begrudgingly continued.

"Upon hearing of this, a small girl decided that she would do all she could to find the Prince's heart and return it to him."

"How nice of them to even make it look like you and Rin," She noted casually, leaning towards him to point to the illustrations.

Paying no heed to Kagura resting up against his side, Sesshoumaru kept reading,

"So off the girl went, searching high and low throughout the kingdom for the Prince's heart. But nowhere could she find the Prince's heart."

"Let me guess, it's frozen in an iceberg right?"

Sesshoumaru turned to level yet another glare at the black-haired woman and suddenly found himself face to face with her.  The two paused, an awkward moment passing before he cleared his throat and turned back to the book.

"Saddened by this, the girl went before the Prince, and told of her plight. The Prince was so moved by the fact that someone wanted to help him that his chest swelled with a glowing light. And before the girl's eyes, the heart was restored to the Prince."

He could feel Kagura's head growing heavier against his shoulder, and he noted from the corner of his eye that she was stifling a yawn. Allowing himself a slight smirk, he quietly finished the story.

"Now, in the kingdom far far away, the Prince rules with the pure-hearted girl by his side. And it is said, that because he found his heart, the Prince was able to find his Princess…"

Pausing, Sesshoumaru felt a slight tug at his pajama top as Kagura clutched the fabric.

"And they all lived happily ever after. The End," He murmured more to himself than anyone.

Reaching over to the nightstand, he sat the book down and turned off the light.

"Figures she'd fall asleep before it was over," His thoughts remarked, then shaking his head of the thought he closed his eyes and went to sleep as well.

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Kagura wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep the night before; she just knew that she'd had a good nights rest. Opening her eyes, she looked about- taking in the surroundings that were slowly becoming more and more familiar to her.

Sesshoumaru wasn't there, but given the time it was, Kagura shrugged it off that he was downstairs writing or fixing breakfast. Pulling herself out from underneath the warm covers, she slowly made her way into the bathroom to take a morning shower.

She could feel the warm current of water cascading down her body, and with a smile, she noted that her cuts seemed to be healing a bit.

But her pleasant mood wasn't going to be left at that, as she heard the rattling of someone's hand on the doorknob.

Sighing inwardly, she tugged the curtain further closed figuring it was just Sesshoumaru bringing in towels.

"And if he tries anything else, I'll just let him have it with the shampoo bottle again…"

Clearing her throat in annoyance, Kagura narrowed her eyes and spoke up.

"Sesshoumaru, you really should know by now that I do not like you coming in like this…" She ground out through her teeth.

She could see a shadow of his hand reaching out and grabbing for the shower curtain.

"What is he…"

"So is that what he does, eh Kagura?" The deep, ominous voice said.

Red eyes went wide and her heart stopped.

"No…"

The faint whisper escaped her lips before the curtain was yanked back.

Deep blood red eyes bore into her, but her eyes were too focused on the knife clutched in his hand.

"Naraku…"

He awarded her a maniacal grin, "Good girl, you remember your own Father."

She tore past him, the knife barely grazing into her right shoulder as she pushed past him. Snatching up a towel, she wrapped it around herself and hastily made plans to quickly find Sesshoumaru.

But as she stepped outside the bathroom door, she halted dead in her tracks as her eyes took in the sight before her.

Laid out on the ground, his white hair splayed out around him, was none other than the man she sought for safety.

"What's the matter, Princess? Did your Prince fail you?" Naraku mocked from behind her as his icy grasp clutched her wrist.

"Sesshoumaru…"

She yanked herself away from the intrusive touch and knelt beside the fallen figure.

"Sesshoumaru…" She shook him gently, rolling him over unto his side, "Sesshoumaru- please…wake up… please…."

Her pleas stopped as she finally turned him over, his head resting in her lap as her eyes shakily took in the injury Sesshoumaru had.

"It's funny isn't it, a Prince without a heart?" Naraku's malicious voice questioned.

And at that, Kagura just screamed.

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Preview for Chapter 25:

Kagura is faced with a situation beyond her control, and all she can do, is hope that someone can help her stop it.