(From the last chapter…)

He noticed that it was Hatori's handwritings on the instruction part of the cough tablets' bottle. Not only that, the inscriptions on the new line of medications were all too familiar to him – they were all from Hatori. But how could that be?

Kagura buys medicine from the drugstore near the supermarket. And she only gets medicines from Hatori if something is wrong with her. These medicines are especially made for Sohma family members to immediately have an effect in their bodies but… She's a perfectly healthy woman.

And then he bent down and picked up the pillow. He smelled the scent of Kagura's hair and turned it over and his eyes narrowed at the sight of… blood.

"I mean, with powerful fists like those? Man, she's more than normal. She's hyper!" Kyo thought as he eyed the bloodstain, "I haven't even touched her! It's impossible for her to get pregnant! How could she be sick?"

(Chapter 3 – Kagura's in Danger)

Kyo got out of the bathroom quietly and walked near his wife. He squatted in front of her and tried to look for evidences that the blood on the pillow was from her.

"It's impossible for her to have a menstrual period right now. She just had it two weeks ago…" Kyo thought.

Then, there it was… the very evidence that it really was from her – fresh bloodstains on her dress. Kyo touched the bloodstain on the pillow and knew it was still fresh. And so is that distinct smell of blood on her sweet-scented dress.

"Damn, does she have tuberculosis? Man, if she did, I'd get one because I touched this blood!" Kyo thought as he hid the pillow under his side of the bed, "I'll ask her if she's ill afterwards… I'll let her explain this to me."

Then, he went back to bed.

After a couple of hours…

Kagura woke up and sat up. She stretched her arms and sat there for a while. Then, Kyo woke up and knew that Kagura was up. Without turning, keeping his back faced at her, he asked, "Kagura, are you sick?"

Now that question struck Kagura and realized, "How stupid of me! He noticed my medicines in the cupboard! Why do I have to be so practical, placing them there?"

"Now what makes you say that, Kyo-kun? I'm perfectly healthy!" Kagura placed her hands on her hips, "Good morning, honey!"

"Then how would you explain this?" Kyo picked up the pillow he hid.

Kagura's eyes widened, "I forgot my pillow in the bathroom! He picked it up! What am I going to say? He knew I had my monthly period two weeks ago, what now?"

"Uhm… I got that pillow stuck under my butt while I was sleeping-"

"You had your monthly period two weeks ago, it's impossible for you to have a period after two weeks." Kyo interrupted.

Damn, he's wise.

"What makes you say that? Have you ever heard of post-menstrual period? It's when there's a secretion just a few days after the regular period."

Now, she's wiser.

"And how about that stain on your dress?" Kyo spoke up.

"You know little oh silly me… I accidentally dropped the disinfectant while I was reaching out for a painkiller bottle earlier this morning. I didn't know the disinfectant bottle was open! So, there, I got all the red on my dress!"

"And the new line of medicines in the cupboard from Hatori?"

I think he's the wisest.

"Kyo, the cold season is near! I asked him to give those medicines to us just in case!"

Did I say she's wise?

Kyo, without anything more to say, bought her lies. He threw the pillow at her and said, "Never leave things in the bathroom."

"Sorry Kyo." She sweatdropped, "But I'm glad you worried about me-"

"I did not. I worried for my own sake. I thought you had tuberculosis. And if you had that, I'll have it, too." Kyo bitterly said and stood up, heading to the bathroom.

Kagura sighed in relief and thought, "Goodness, I just saved myself…"

A little later…

"I'm leaving." Kyo said and left after finishing his breakfast.

"Bye, Kyo-kun!" Kagura chirped but then again, the shoji shut to her face as her husband left.

She frowned and thought, "I know… There will be that time wherein he'll know what's wrong with me… I can't keep lying to him like this… I was careless and I have to pay for what happened a while ago. Good thing I made enough excuses for that silly carelessness. But… for sure, he'll know. I just wish it won't be too soon."

After washing the dishes, she went up to her bathroom and grabbed her vitamins. She filled her glass with water and drank the vitamins. Then, she went downstairs and got a damp cloth and started wiping the floor.

Around 3 hours later…

"Kagura! Kagura!" Shigure called as he knocked on the front shoji of Kyo and Kagura's residence, "Hey Kagura!"

Sighing, he just shove open the shoji and removed his sandals and entered the premises.

"Kagura, it's me, Shigure! I just dropped by to have a chat with you!" Shigure yelled, his voice echoing in the household.

No response.

Now, he was sure she was home. She's a housewife and if ever she did leave the house, why would she keep the shoji unlocked?

He went upstairs and looked in the bedrooms, but she wasn't there. He looked in the bathrooms but since they were unlocked, he was positively sure she wasn't there. He went downstairs and peeped in the kitchen.

"Kagura!" his eyes narrowed as he quickly rushed to her side. She was lying on the floor lifelessly and she was very pale. He tapped her cheeks a little bit and spoke, "Kagura, wake up! Wake up!"

He checked her pulse and noticed it was irregular and faint. He placed his cheek over her mouth and slightly bent her head a little more backward… she's only taking in small amounts of air and her exhales were very faint.

"So Yuki was right… Kagura is sick." Shigure thought.

He felt something wet on his black pants… He looked down to see what it was, and saw a pool of blood. Shigure looked at Kagura and saw blood trickling down from her mouth.

Shigure ran to the phone and called the hospital, "Please dispatch an ambulance immediately!"

After sunset…

Shigure sat beside Kagura who was now lying on a hospital bed in a private hospital room in the Intensive Care Unit. There was an oxygen mask on her face, dextrose on her left arm, and her eyes were shut tight. Only her irregular breaths and the continuous beeping of the vital signs monitor were the sounds in the room.

"Poor kid." Shigure whispered practically to no one, "She's terribly ill… She's going to die too soon…"

TBC…