Sorry for the wait. I was out of the country. I was in the Philippines. Now I'm back and ready for action!

But I do have some things I want to say…

Suno: How can you hate Suno? He's a big brother with responsibilities. You can't expect him to still open his arms to Kagome and pretend like nothing ever happened. Come one people. That would be very out of character.

Love Tragedy: I trashed Romeo and Juliet, the biggest love tragedies of all time. No way will this be a love tragedy. Besides, if this was a love tragedy, then it would turn out to be too much fiction. Even though this is a fanfic, I would like to think that there's a possibility that this could happen. A love tragedy would just rip away the vibe I have going on.

TO ALL MY FANS: Hey, I know you guys like to guess what's going to happen, and sometimes a lot of things anger you. I know. I anger you on purpose. I'm just a horrible person, so I like to make other people freak out. I just want you all to remember that at the end of every chapter, it always says "To be continued…" Okay? The story won't end until it says "The End!" Okay? I'm not going to tragically ruin everything and kill off Kagome. I'm not going to make this story have no purpose. A lot of things are going to change between Kagome and Inuyasha and a lot of things will change for Ikuto. The story won't end until Kagome is either with Inuyasha or with Ikuto. You're just going to have to wait until the very end (which will be a while) until you find out who she'll be with. Sorry, but that's the truth. I would ask you guys to vote, but I would interfere and vote until my choice won anyway. I've already decided, so you'll have to wait until "The End!" If something upsets you, don't get discouraged. Nothing is final until "The End!" Some of you Inuyasha fans are upset, but don't be. Inuyasha isn't out of the game yet! You have to wait!

Chapter 26

I don't own Inuyasha

"Suno?" asked Sarah, shaking him over and over again, very lightly. "Have you been in here the whole night?"

Suno opened his eyes and looked up into the eyes of his wife. He felt exhausted. He had fallen asleep in Ikuto's hospital room and had been in there all night. It was against the hospital's policy to let someone stay in the hospital with a patient all night, but no one was going to tell Suno that he couldn't stay with his brother. No one really stands up to a business man as wealthy as Suno. "Why didn't you wake me?"

She smiled. "You were just so peaceful. I couldn't help myself. I decided to leave you be. Besides, the doctors say that Ikuto will be waking up very soon. Isn't that great?"

Suno felt his face. He needed to shave it. It was beginning to get a little rough. "I guess I'll be going then."

Sarah's mouth slightly dropped. "But, you want to go now that Ikuto is finally starting to wake up? What sense does that make?" Suno stood up and stretched. He didn't even answer her, but he didn't have to. She was smart enough to figure it out. "That's insane, Suno! You don't want him to know that you've been watching over him?"

He chose to respond at that moment. "Yes, you're right, and you or anyone else better not tell him either."

"This is all because of your stupid pride!"

"Maybe it is Sarah, but whatever the case, I don't want to yield first. He made the mistake of leaving the house and not coming home. If this is anyone's fault, it's his. When he wakes up tell me, because he will probably be on so much medication that he won't lie about what he and Kagome were doing, but I won't be here so he'll think that I apologized first." Suno took the suite case that was in Sarah's hands and stepped into the hospital bathroom. Sarah only shook her head.

Kagome sighed as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She said that she wanted to go to school, since there was nothing else to do. She did miss her friends, but she didn't want anyone to talk about what had happened to Ikuto. She didn't want anything to be different then how they were before. It was probably all over the news. "What am I supposed to do?"

When Kagome got to school, she couldn't help but feel a sick feeling in her stomach. When she walked into her classroom, she put her head down on her desk. She waited for some of her friends to come in and just start asking her random questions about what had occurred with her and Ikuto. She could even see Hojo's happy expression fading into a look of sudden confusion and disappointment. That was the worse thing to her. She wished that she could have such a positive attitude, the one like Hojo. To break his constant happy composure would really push reality into focus. 'Here it comes.'

Just then, Eri, Arimi, and Yuka walked into the classroom and took their seats near Kagome. Kagome closed her eyes and waited for the ambush, but nothing surprisingly came, at least not what she expected. "Nice to know you're feeling well" Yuka said.

Kagome opened her eyes and lifted her head up in shock. "You mean you guys don't know?"

"Know what?" Eri asked. "Did something happen?"

Kagome slowly nodded. When she looked around, she realized that no one was actually paying any attention to her, not any students or the teachers. Usually when there's big news, everyone is gawking at you. At least a few kids in there read newspapers and watched the news. No one was paying any attention to Kagome but her friends that were surprised she was in school. 'No one knows?'

"What happened?" Eri, Arimi, and Yuka asked at the same time.

Kagome wondered what she should tell them now. She didn't want to have to keep quiet. That had gotten her into enough trouble. She certainly didn't want to lie about it. She had lied enough too. "Ikuto Kazasami's in the hospital."

"That's too bad." Arimi said.

"Oh" Yuka was curious now, but about something completely different. "Why is it that you care about so much about this other guy, Ikuto Kazasami? What about your jealous boyfriend? Did he confess his love to you too, Kagome?"

"You're two timing your boyfriend?" Eri asked.

"No" Kagome said. "I'm not two timing anyone." Kagome was realized that no one knew about her little incident, but she was getting sad, thinking about Ikuto and Inuyasha. She couldn't juggle two men. "Ikuto's a really dear friend of mine..." she only became more depressed. 'I don't know if it should be anything more than that. I honestly don't. I'm still in love with Inuyasha. Is it even possible to love two people at the same time?'

"You know" Yuka said "I heard some bad things about your friend Ikuto. I heard he's not a very pleasant person."

"I heard that too" Eri said. "I heard some really negative things about him. Has he done anything bad, Kagome?"

Kagome suddenly got angry. "Ikuto's a saint! He's kind and gentle, he's smart and strong. He'd do anything for me and anyone who says anything else is racist!"

Eri, Arimi, and Yuka's mouth dropped when they heard Kagome start yelling at them. Kagome never had really sounded that angry, not in front of them, or her classmates. Eri was the first to recover from her shock. "Kagome…we don't really know him. We're just curious."

"We were just asking" replied Yuka.

"I'm sure he's a really nice guy." Arimi turned her head and started reading one of her books. No one was quite in the mood to talk to Kagome anymore. Her outburst was frightening to them.

Kagome sighed. "Guys, I'm sorry for yelling, but I really care about Ikuto. He's my friend. Please don't be mad at me." None of them answered. "Guys, it's just that Ikuto is a nice person and a lot of people judge him because he's half black. I know you guys wouldn't but I know a lot of people would judge him. If you only knew him, you would know and understand how he really is."

Arimi started to understand and looked back at Kagome. "I understand, Kagome."

"Yeah" Eri said. "I understand too Kagome."

"It sort of sounds like you love this guy too, Kagome." Yuka sat down in her desk as the bell rang. "I think you should get your story straight."

Kagome didn't blush. She didn't let herself.

After school, Kagome wanted to go to the hospital, but she figured there was no point since Suno wouldn't let her go see him. Besides, her mother wanted her to go get some groceries for her. When she went inside the market, she couldn't believe who she saw inside the store. She practically ran to him once she spotted him. "Mr. Jamon!" She ran to him, he was getting in the line with his few items, and when he spotted her, he tried to ignore her. "I have to talk to you."

"I don't wish to speak to a hooligan like you."

"Please listen to me! I want to know how Ikuto is doing."

Jamon finished paying for his groceries and tried to walk away, but Kagome grabbed his arm. "Please, tell me."

Jamon pulled his arm away from her roughly. He honestly didn't want to speak to her, but if it would keep her away, then he would talk. "Ikuto Kazasami has not awakened up yet. He is recovering, so he might wake up at any moment. You on the other hand are not allowed to actually see Ikuto, so I suggest you keep your concerns to yourself." He was about to walk away, but he decided to say something more. He took Kagome's arm and led her outside to a quiet spot on the street. He looked around and made sure no one was around, like paparazzi. He also started speaking quietly. "Listen Kagome, I just want you to know that as soon as Ikuto wakes up, we will get his comments on what happened. If there is any foul play, we do plan on informing the police."

"But there is no foul play! I promise you there's not. It's just that…"

He started to shush her until she was quiet. "Mr. Kazasami doesn't need any bad publicity. We are trying to get this settled without police involvement."

A light suddenly went on in her head. "That's…that's why no one knows about anything. The press, the police, no one accect who was at the hospital."

"And you would be wise to confess to Mr. Kazasami so he can deal with you accordingly."

As he was walking away, Kagome decided to ask what was really on her mind. "Why is it that no one was informed about what happened. If you really think I'm that bad, then why? Why haven't you talked to the police?"

Jamon sighed and turned back around to face her. "Ms. Kagome, you must know that the second worst thing in the world is a broken family. Mr. Kazasami never had the perfect home. His mother died when he was very young and he never adjusted well to his step mother, or his step brother. He tried, but he was too different from his step mother. He attempted to get along with his brother, but the role of guardian was more important to Mr. Kazasami than being a brother after Ikuto and Mr. Kazasami became orphans. They drifted apart. A broken home is one of the worst things you could have."

Right before he left, Kagome asked "And what's the first?"

He hesitated, thinking that the answer was obvious. "Everyone knowing about it." He sighed. "You are a very naïve child, Miss Kagome. I don't understand what you're involved in and I certainly don't understand how you could go down whatever path you're on. I suggest you get yourself straightened out."

"Yes sir" she replied. He wouldn't stop for anymore questions after that, nor did she want to ask anymore. She didn't understand how people like Suno thought. She could understand his decisions, but she couldn't understand his mind. If she was in Suno's shoes, she would have told the police. 'I guess it's a good thing we're not alike then. I wouldn't want the police involved.' She sighed. 'I just want to see Ikuto.'

Inuyasha was waiting on the rooftop of the building. He kept peeking in to make sure that no one was in there, but there was always this woman in there. After a few hours, she finally left. The window was slightly opened, so decided he'd go in and see Ikuto. When he got inside, he just hovered above Ikuto's body and frowned. Ikuto did look so much like him. It was almost like seeing himself beat up. It depressed him on some level. "You stupid, weak, fool. How could you be so stupid?"

Inuyasha's sensitive ears picked up a noise to the side of Ikuto. He looked on the other side of Ikuto's bed and saw a little girl cuddled up with a blanket and pillow, on the floor. "Hey, I know that kid." He walked to the other side of the bed and bent down towards her so he could make sure he was looking at the right person. "Yep, that's her."

She started to moan and opened her eyes. "Ikuto, are you awake?" Inuyasha looked around and was about to make a run for it, when she spoke again. "Who are you?" She sat up and yawned. "Do you know where my mommy went?" She stood up and looked closer at Inuyasha. "Hey, you like Ikuto, and that boy that went to my play with Kagome and Ikuto. Are you him?"

Inuyasha slowly nodded. There was no point in avoiding the truth now. Inuyasha had forgotten that he didn't have his red cap on. When he got through the well with Ikuto and Kagome, he was in such a rush to get Ikuto to a hospital that he didn't even bring one. He hadn't been back to Kagome's house since she asked him to look after Ikuto. Rina had something gold in one of her hands, but she used the other hand to reach up towards Inuyasha's ear and began to pull. "Hey, stop it! Don't touch those!" He forced her hand off of him and stood up straight so she couldn't reach him.

"Why do you have dog ears? Why is your hair different, and your eye color? It was different before when you came to see my play." Before Inuyasha could answer, she went on to a few more questions. She often talked a lot. "So how did you meet Ikuto? Are you hungry? My mom's probably getting coffee."

"Look" Inuyasha interrupted "I didn't understand half of that, but I do know that you can understand me, so do what I say and don't tell anyone about me coming in here to see Ikuto."

"But why?"

"Because I said so" he said it kind of frustrated and threateningly. He didn't feel like explaining himself to a child that he didn't even know. "Now remember kid, this is our little secret." Inuyasha went back out the window and up to the roof where he once had been.

As soon as he left though, Ikuto started to moan and shake. "Ikuto?" Rina smiled and climbed up on his bed where there was a small space she could get on and she waited bright eyed with excitement. "Wake up Ikuto."

Ikuto's eyes opened slowly and he couldn't speak at first. His voice was slightly raspy and his body was either numb or sore. He struggled to get up, but he couldn't. When he got his eyes opened all of the way to see who he was talking to, he decided not to say what he was really thinking. 'I can't feel my legs.' He didn't want to scare Rina. He had to calm himself down. No matter how strong a person is mentally, to feel completely helpless is always a hard reality to face. After his struggle, he got out a smile and patted Rina on her head with the onlyarm he could pick up. "How have you been doing? Are you alright?"

"The doctors said you wouldn't be up this fast."

He chuckled. "They never know what they're talking about." He spotted what she had in her hand and took it with his good hand. "What is this?" He knew good and well what it was. He was just afraid that she had taken it from his room.

She opened her hand and looked down at her golden necklace that was in the palm of her hand. "My father gave this to me." It was just a simple gold cross necklace.

Ikuto wanted to be in a more comfortable position, but he could deal with it. He wished he could move up, but he couldn't. "I have one like that, except a little smaller. My mother gave me one." He moved his head over to the side in an attempt to move his pillow into a more comfortable position. He only moved it into a more uncomfortable position, but tried to remain as calm as possible. "Your father was in the army, the American army, right?"

"Navy." She outlined the cross with her fingers. "I don't remember him. My mommy says he only saw me one time and then had to leave. He promised to come back but then got into an accident." She put the necklace around her neck and tucked the cross under her shirt. "I'm really glad you're awake." She smiled. "I've missed you so much. Where were you?"

"With the dog…" He mumbled. He was so tired and started to get drowsy. He started to close his eyes and struggle with keeping them open. "Hey, where is everyone else?"

"Mommy's getting some coffee. I thought I told you that already."

"You did?" Ikuto tried to think about all of their conversation and he was drawing a blank for some of it. He finally shook his head and said "No you didn't."

"Oh yeah" she giggled to herself "It must have been that man who looks like you."

Ikuto's eyes opened up to that. "Inuyasha was here? He came to see me?" He looked around his room as much as he could. "Has Kagome come to see me?"

Rina shook her head. "No, she hasn't been by to see you."

"Oh, is that so." He rested his head back down and closed his eyes. 'Kagome, are you alright?' Ikuto managed to find some peace and fell asleep rather quickly. When he opened his eyes, he was staring into the face of his brother. "S…suno?" This time he was even drowsier. "What's the matter with me?"

"The doctors gave you some medicine to calm the pain. How do you feel?"

"Sleepy…and peaceful."

Suno smirked. "Good, now where have you been in the last few days?"

"I've been with Kagome and the mutt."

'The mutt?' Suno didn't understand the last comment, but decided to press on with the questioning. "Alright, where were you and Kagome at?"

"We were in the Feudal Era."

Suno looked around to make sure that no one had entered the room. He didn't want anyone to hear what his brother was saying, especially if it was nonsense. "What do you mean the Feudal Era?" He grunted, remembering that Ikuto might not understand too many complex questions. "Ikuto…who was it that hurt you?"

"Who hurt me?" he asked himself. His memory was clear, but why he was telling Suno everything was a mystery to him. He couldn't stop talking. "Naraku."

"Naraku?"

"Yes, the one who wears the baboon skin."

Suno rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "A man with baboon skin? Great, because that really makes a lot of sense, little brother." He stood up straight and fixed his tie that had gone out of place. "You might be too drugged for this. I think I'll ask Kagome again." Suno stepped out of the room and Sarah was standing there patiently.

"So, what did he say?"

"Nonsense. He started talking about men in baboon costumes and the Feudal Era. He's not making any sense."

"Maybe there's truth in the riddle" she encouraged. "Even when these people are drugged, they still know what they're talking about. Ikuto's being completely honest with you, so I wouldn't give up on his information so quickly. There could be some truth in this mystery."

"Maybe…" 'But it doesn't make any sense at all.' "I'll talk to Kagome once again. She might change her mind about talking once she knows Ikuto said something."

"I agree. Talk to her again, Suno. This is important."

"I know Sarah, I know."

To Be Continued…

A/N: Find out next time to see if Kagome really does tell Suno everything! I was going to write more, but I'm kind of sleepy and I've got a lot of science due, so review!