A/N- Whee…okay, I'm not going to be able to write as much anymore because we're getting into more lengthy stuph…but I sure as heck will try. So here is chapter two…enjoy my little minions….I mean readers of course. :glances around:

Chapter 2-"I'm I that awful?"

Kagome refused to let go of his hand. The nurses told her to go home a million times, that she couldn't be in the room after visiting hours, but Kagome would no leave. Sesshomaru was also one to not be moved. He sat over in the corner next to the window and just stared back at his younger brother, some unknown hurt shinning in his eyes with anger flying all around the amber orbs. They were able to save Inuyasha's life once again, he hadn't been outside long enough to have anything terminal, but he did have a very bad fever and would be in the hospital another week at least.

It was past midnight, and Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes. Kagome gasped and gripped his hand tighter, new tears falling onto her cheeks. Sesshomaru shot up from his chair to come kneel at his brother's side. The hanyou looked at them both, his amber eyes darting back and forth, before closing them again and starting to cry. Kagome and Sesshomaru took one look at each other before tightly hugging the hanyou. Neither one of the Takahashi's were much for showing emotion, but Kagome wasn't too surprised. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had always had a strong, if not odd, relationship. The hanyou gripped them both and kept muttering.

"I should have listened. I really should have listened." Kagome didn't understand what he meant, but her sobs and tears continued to escalade.

The sun was peeking over the horizon and Kagome was just coming back from the cafeteria. She stopped in the doorway to see Sesshomaru sitting on Inuyasha's bed with Inuyasha leaning against him. Sesshomaru had one hand resting onto of his younger brother's head, right next to his white ears. They both had their eyes closed, but she had seen this scene enough to know that Sesshomaru was awake. She tiptoed over to the youkai and placed a cup of cocoa into the only had that was free.

"This is just like a flashback, do you remember Kagome? That night when Yasha-kun came home sobbing and our parents were not home?" Kagome nodded sadly. She remembered many of those types of days.

Flashback

It was two days before Halloween and Kagome was headed over to the Takahashi's house. She was so proud of herself, ten years old and she had finished all her homework in a snap. She had a little hop in her step as she walked up the long pathway to her best friend's house. She knew that Setsuki and Sei would be out tonight because that's what they did every Friday and that only Sesshomaru and Inuyasha would be home, meaning Sesshomaru would drive them to the pizza place in down town Tokyo. When they got there, he would order a large pepperoni pizza and a pitcher of lemonade. While waiting for their food, Inuyasha and Kagome would draw on paper while Sesshomaru would work on homework. They'd make hilarious comics that Sesshomaru would eventually have to edit due to the 'poor art work and petty humor' and he would always make it better. Once they ate their pizza they would take four slices back home (one for Setsuki and three for Sei) before picking out a movie and all three of them would sit on the couch and watch, with Kagome in the middle. That was when she felt the safest in the world. Sesshomaru on one side with his arm on the back of the couch and his other arm on the arm rest, his head cocked slightly to one side to lean on his arm as he watched the movie and muttered things under his breath, always criticizing. On the other side would be Inuyasha, he best friend and an amazing defender. He would always have his left leg under his body and his right leg hanging off the couch. His ears would twitch with every sound and if it was an action or horror movie, his amber eyes would get very wide and a lost look would come over his face. She would snuggle in between the two of them and by the end of the movie, would be fast asleep. Before Sesshomaru had gotten his license it had still been the same, only they would order pizza in because this was their 'ritual'. It had been happening since she could remember.

Reaching the large front door, Kagome sensed something was off. She never knocked, so pushing open the large door; she was met with the surprising sound of complete silence. Silence in the Takahashi manor was never good and Kagome worriedly bit her lip.

"Yash-kun? Maru-san? Where are you guys?" she called as she walked up the stairs. She noticed Sesshomaru's bedroom door slightly ajar and, though he hated people in his room, she took a risk by pushing it open just a little bit more. The site before her was not too uncommon, but it hadn't happened in a while. Sesshomaru was practically cradling his younger brother and she noted that Inuyasha seemed like he had been crying due to the tear streaks and the hiccupped breathing.

"M…Maru? What happened? Isn't Inuyasha supposed to be at his after school Martial arts club?" she asked softly, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Someone beat up on Inuyasha again after school. There were too many of them, you should see the busies. He started having an anxiety attack at school and the nurses wouldn't give him his meds because they said he was lying for attention so of course he had a bad attack and ran from school. He came straight home, crying because he couldn't breathe right and everyone was out to get him. So I gave him his pills and brought him up here with me, he's been like this for about an hour." Sesshomaru's voice was soft and light, but Kagome could almost feel the anger and hatred radiating from it.

"Is he going to be alright? Was his anxiety attack too bad?" Sesshomaru closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

"I don't know Kagome-chan. I think he should be fine physically but this has been happening too long. Those nurses know that Inuyasha has terrible anxiety, that with the slightest amount of stress he could have an attack and still they refused to medicate him. He would not lie to get attention like that and they know it. He was giving off all the signs of anxiety and it angers me that they would risk his life because of some stupid prejudice they have against 'what he is'." Kagome caught the angry tear that slide down her 'older brother's' pale face. She walked over to him and caught his large clawed hand in her small one.

"It's okay Maru-san; we'll make sure that Inuyasha will be okay. You could always just give him the pills to carry with him and if he starts having a really bad attack he can take them himself and then we won't have to worry about the mean old nurses. They aren't very good nurses anyway, they should get fired. I've been there before and they didn't help me much at all." Sesshomaru smiled slightly at the younger girls jabber.

"I'm going to go down stairs and set things up for tonight, we have to have our routine still and I know you want to anyways you obsessive compulsive youkai." She winked at him as she stood and he let another rare smile grace his features.

"Hai that I am. I'll send Inuyasha down as soon as he wakes up." Kagome nodded and left the room, anger seizing her as well.

End Flashback

"I don't know what happened to him but it must have been bad." Sesshomaru mused out loud as he continued to hold his brother in his arms. Kagome nodded and leaned forward, resting her head on Sesshomaru's lap. The youkai looked down at her and smiled a bittersweet smile.

"It's just like when we were younger, exactly the same." He looked back over to his brother, brushing his fingers against the white dog ears and causing them to flicker.

"He doesn't deserve any of this. Out of everybody in the world, he deserves it least of all. All he's done is tried to be good enough in his teacher's, peers, anyone's eyes and they harm him." Sesshomaru's voice was strained and Kagome could hear the emotional stress building.

"He doesn't deserve it, but Inuyasha is the strongest person I know for not giving up. I know he may have tried but, the doctors said that the reason he is alive is because he held on still. It was like he actually realized that he didn't want to die so he latched on to whatever little life he had left and refused to let go. Look at how far he's come, the people at the center adore him and he has helped so many young kids find their way back onto the right path. He's an amazing person and anyone who thinks otherwise, well it's their lose. We'll find out who did this to Inuyasha and this time, they're not getting away with it. You remember that Judge we met in Osaka? He said that if we can give him a good case, he'd send the next person to harass Inuyasha as bad as it had been happening to prison. We'll catch the people who did this, and then they'll regret ever messing with the Takahashi-Higurashi team." Sesshomaru smiled again and gently patted Kagome's head.

"You've helped our family so much, you know that don't you Kags? Father always used to call you our guardian angel. Mother always used to adore the time you were over. I'm sure they're both looking down right now and just as proud of you as if you were their own daughter. You've helped Inuyasha so much, it amazes me." Kagome grinned. It wasn't very often one got praise like that from Sesshomaru Takahashi. She lightly kissed his cheek in a sibling fashion.

"Arigoto, Maru-san. It means a lot, and I believe you whole heartedly. You're parents were amazing and I felt like a part of your family. I felt like I lost my own parents when they died. You've done an amazing job in raising him and I know that it means so much to him. When they thought you were dead as well, he was really worried but never gave up hope." She laughed a bit. "I even remember the time the police came and told him you were dead. He lifted his chin up and looked them in the eye saying 'My older brother Sesshomaru would never fall at the hands of someone below him. And in his eyes, that's everyone. You're idea's are stupid, why are you police?' If only you could have seen their faces." Sesshomaru let out a small bark of laughter and shook his head.

"I believe it too. Inuyasha is…..something else." Kagome could see the affection in Sesshomaru's eyes as he said that and it tugged at her heart strings. Kagome knew Sesshomaru almost as well as she knew Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was reserved and liked to keep himself void of any unnecessary emotion. He liked to be seen as distant, cold, stoic, but he was never that way when it came to his family. She remembered him climbing up on his fathers lap so they could read together or Sesshomaru proudly puffing his chest and letting all the other children know how great his father was. That his father was the great Sei-sama, Inu Youkai lord of the western lands. She could still see him scrambling up onto the stool to help Setsuki make some sort of food and him always laughing and singing with his step mother. She remembered being awake one night late at their house and Sesshomaru coming into Inuyasha's room to kiss them each goodnight and whisper 'I'm always here to protect you both.' Yes, Kagome really was seen as one of the Takahashi's, and she liked it that way. Sesshomaru was a secretive youkai, and to see him so upset over his younger brother, to see the way he held Inuyasha, to hear the affection and care in his voice, made Kagome want to huggle him to little pieces. She saw the Takahashi's as more of her family than she did her own and that was probably due to her father passing away when she hardly knew him. Her parents fought a lot of the time and her mother was always very depressed. Setsuki tried hard to cheer up the woman, but nothing much worked. The only time Kagome really saw her father was the year she turned five. He had lost his old job and now spent time at home. Sota was born the following year and it almost seemed as if life was getting to be good. Until her father's company took him on again and he left them. He died in a plane accident only a few weeks later. Setsuki was over taking care of not only Sota, but Kagome's mother and grandfather as well. The Takahashi's help provide for them and Inuyasha and Sesshomaru never minded helping outside with yard work or with the shrine. The Higurashi's and Takahashi's acted as one family, with Sei and Setsuki leading them most of the way. That was probably what made their deaths so impacting. They left behind more than just their two young sons; they left an entire broken family.

Inuyasha's eyes moved quickly beneath their lids and Sesshomaru silently wondered what it was he was dreaming about. 'Hopefully not that no good woman, Kikyou.' He thought bitterly. He had never been too fond of her and was determined to make his brother see that Kagome was really the one for him. Still, what was troubling his young brother and what had he meant by 'I should have listened'?

The taunts, the jeers, the pain. It was all swirling in his head and clouding his vision. Where was Kagome? Where was Sesshomaru? Where was anybody? Why hadn't he listened? He felt a sharp pain in his side and turned. Kikyou stood there with an evil smirk on her face.

"Silly little half breed, why in the world would I dirty myself with you by choice? It was so much easier than I would have thought too. Thanks for the little fun, HALFBREED!" No, this could not be happening! Kikyou, he loved Kikyou. She was with him and he with her. She had stopped him from accidentally over dosing on his anxiety medication. She wouldn't intentionally hurt him would she? Her laugh, her face, it would just not go away.

"Stop it! Stop hurting me! Shut up shut up shut up!" he screamed. Why wouldn't it just go away? Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

Inuyasha was screaming in his sleep. Telling someone to shut up and it was scarring Sesshomaru. In a matter of minutes, Inuyasha shot awake and darted his eyes around the room. When they fell on Sesshomaru's, he complexly broke down in tears. Sesshomaru held him as closely as he could; silently hoping Kagome would be back soon.

"Maru, why hadn't I listened? Why'd she have to hurt me? Why did they have to hurt me? Am I really so awful?" His brother's words killed him inside and Sesshomaru himself succumbed to the rare show of emotion. Burying his face in his younger brother's hair and rubbing his now wet cheek against the fuzzy ear, he whispered.

"You're not awful, you're not. Don't say that because you're not. You're perfect, I promise. We'll catch who did this….oh, Yasha-kun, I was so scared." And the two brothers embraced long into the hours.

A/N-yay, chapter two is up! I'm trying really hard to get this up as quickly as possible but it's a little hard you know:nods: but here you go….