Author's Notes: This chapter was revised on January 24, 2006.

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-June 8th-

Entry at 5:59AM

The once formidable leader looked so heartbroken; it was hard to tell he was the same man we'd faced off against just the week before. Pulling the blankets up, he held them along with the tattered purple shirt against his chest, a tear sliding down his face.

Suikotsu sat down in the bedside chair, placing a gentle hand on the man's arm. "Hang in there, Bankotsu. He wouldn't want to see you like this. Yeah, so just suck it up and stop being such a cry-bab…"

Before his less-than tactful other side could finish, Kikyou had ever so politely, smacked him the back of the head, "Don't go there, Suikotsu. I've had a long night."

Gently rubbing the location of impact, Suikotsu gave the somewhat cold nurse a hesitant smile, "Sorry Miss Kikyou, I guess the whole situation's just getting to me a bit as well."

"It would be expected," She replied simply, and then looked to us, "Anything you needed to ask Bankotsu? If not, he really needs some sleep."

I walked forward, slowly, nodding my head, "Just a few things, then he can sleep."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I began to explain, "Bankotsu, listen. I know this is all very hard for you and that you're very worried about Jakotsu, but we'll keep working on this until we find him. I promise you that. The police are interrogating Naraku, so perhaps we might get the information that way. If not, we'll just search every last inch of that warehouse until we're able to return Jakotsu to you."

He forced a smile at that, "Thanks. Once I've gotten my arm fixed up, I'll help all I can."

"We'll be around the hospital for awhile too, Bankotsu; so if you need us for anything, just have someone come get us." I said before heading back out the door.

I turned, only to run into Inuyasha's back.

"You should probably come with me, Inuyasha. I know you aren't close, but he's still your brother," I could hear Kagura's voice and peered around my partner to see the situation.

"Yeah. I'm coming. So there's no other choice?" He questioned, voice soft and…worried?

"No. There isn't…" She replied shakily.

"What happened?" I asked, quietly.

Inuyasha looked back over his shoulder, his face serious, "Sesshoumaru's arm. They can't save it."

I blinked a few times, the comment registering in my mind, "You mean…"

"They're going to have to amputate it. The nerve endings were damaged too severely by where those two bullets hit," Kagura spoke up, her voice wavering.

"I'm gonna go. They're… uh, having to give him stuff to put him out while they operate, and well there's always a risk, that he won't…." Inuyasha paused, hanging his head and I wondered if he was trying to hold back tears by his behavior. Then, his fist shot out and impacted into the nearby wall, "Just like mom did. She just never woke up…" He very softly added.

Knowing not what else to do, I put my arms around him, and gently embraced him. "I'll come with you." I whispered into the ear atop his head that was near my face.

He looked over to me, our faces inches apart, and reached over cupping my face in his hands. "Kagome…"

"Yes?" I waited, wondering why he was looking at me like that.

"You still have ashes from the fire all over your face. Maybe you should go wash up before coming down to the emergency room with me," He noted, still serious.

I frowned, "Kagura's injuries are worse than mine and she's going for Sesshoumaru so it's only right that I'm there for you. A few smudges on my face aren't going to stop me from being supportive."

He bit his lip as if he was about to argue against it some more, when Kagura stepped forward.

"Inuyasha, it might be the best for the both of us to have a friend along," She offered.

"Keh. Okay, let's go," He retorted, crossing his arms and trying to act tough. I could see it in his eyes that he was still immensely worried, but as per usual, was trying to hide it under a tough façade.

Silently, we made our way towards the Emergency Room wing of the hospital. Once through the doors, Kaede came over to us.

"Oh good, you found him. They're about to administer the drug soon, so if you want to talk to him, you still have some time."

Inuyasha nodded mutely.

"I can let you talk to him first, if you want," Kagura offered quietly, "I mean, he is your brother."

Another silent nod in reply and Inuyasha allowed himself to be ushered into the room. I followed behind, and was about to wait outside when I felt a light grip about my hand.

I looked up, to see that Inuyasha was slightly tugging me towards him, indicating that he wanted me to stay with him.

"Okay Inuyasha," I replied to his unspoken request.

Once in the room various monitors and machines buzzed around us, all watching Sesshoumaru's status on one thing or another. He looked up as the door shut behind us.

"You came," The usual calm voice stated.

"Yeah, I did." Came the quiet retort.

Things went silent again, until Sesshoumaru spoke again, "This is reminding you of your mother, isn't it?"

First a glare, then his face dropped before Inuyasha replied, "So what if it is?"

"Since you can't handle Rin, I'll just have to make sure I don't die then," Sesshoumaru stated simply.

Inuyasha looked up, eyes locking with those of his brother's.

The room yet again fell quiet as not another word was exchanged for several moments.

"She's waiting outside, isn't she?" The elder brother asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. She is," He replied, still soft-spoken.

"Let her in."

I raised a hand and indicated to Inuyasha that I would go get Kagura. I walked to the door, and looked out. Kagura was leaning against the wall head down.

"Kagura?"

She looked up, expectantly.

"He asked for us to get you," I informed her.

Seeming a bit surprised that he'd asked, she slowly walked over and into the still quiet room.

The door swung closed behind us and Kagura stood barely inside the door, head still down.

The small room was completely quiet for about a minute, the only sound was the soft whirring of the machines.

"Stop it, Kagura," Sesshoumaru finally spoke up again, a curt order that made all of us jump a bit.

"Sesshoumaru?" She questioned, looking up.

"A detective should know better than to assign blame where it doesn't belong," He stated.

"But Sesshoumaru…" Kagura began, clearly thinking this was due to her mistake.

"Naraku is in jail. You and I are alive. There is nothing to blame," He explained in his strange cryptic way of speaking that I never could quite figure out.

"But- I still feel bad about what happened. I mean," She was clenching her fist, "Damnit if things had gone as planned this wouldn't have happened."

"Our plan was to capture Naraku. In that, we succeeded as expected."

Kagura walked over closer to him, punching softly in the edge of the bed, "At what price though?"

"Less than my Father paid," Sesshoumaru replied.

Kagura hung head again, realizing how touchy a subject this was becoming. Then she jerked her head back up, a shocked expression on her face as she looked down at him.

At first, I couldn't figure out what had triggered such a reaction, but then, I saw the slight gesture that was the cause of it.

Sesshoumaru had reached over and placed his hand over hers.

"You're too good a detective to incorrectly assign blame, Kagura."

"Sesshoumaru… I…I… Thank you," She managed to reply.

The door opened and Kaede looked in, "They're ready for him. Are we all going to be okay?"

Inuyasha nodded, and I glanced over to Kagura. She had reached up and gently brushed her fingers over the bandages on Sesshoumaru's cheek.

"I'll repay you for those somehow, someday. I promise that, Sesshoumaru, so just wait for that day," Forcing herself to move, she turned away and slowly made her way to the door, I began to follow, then waited for Inuyasha.

"If you die, I swear I'll kill you, Sesshoumaru," He muttered, too upset to realize what a silly threat it was.

"As if you could," The brother retorted, still laid-back as he always was.

Inuyasha made his way out the door and I followed, the three of us all headed for the nearby waiting room to find a place to rest while Sesshoumaru was undergoing the operation. It was going to be a long ordeal, and I had a feeling I was going to have to keep both Inuyasha and Kagura in high spirits throughout it all.

Sitting down on a couch next to Inuyasha, we began the hardest part- waiting. Only about fifteen minutes had passed and Inuyasha's fidgeting, although expected given the situation, was driving me nuts. Not wanting to upset him further, I decided to take this opportunity to see if Bankotsu had been able to fall asleep yet. I still felt really bad we hadn't found anything on Jakotsu yet, and I was hoping he wasn't continuing to make himself suffer over it.

"Inuyasha, if you'll be okay, I'm going to go see if Bankotsu calmed down any."

He glared for a moment, and then looked away, "Whatever."

Tentatively, I reached down and took his hand, "If you need me here, I'll understand. You don't have to pretend that everything's okay."

He looked up, slightly gripping my hand in return. "Just…" He stopped himself and looked down.

"I'll hurry," I replied to his unsaid words.

I was just about to exit the room when I heard him speak up again, "Kagome?"

"Yes?" I turned back to face him.

"No comforting him. Got that?" He muttered with a glare.

Leave it to him to still be a bit jealous even at a time like this.

"I know, I know," I responded, making my way out the doors and the hallways.

As I was just about to reach the room, I overheard Suikotsu talking and paused before turning the corner.

"And what are we going to do if we can't find him? Or if it's too late?"

"Suikotsu…" The voice of who I believed to be Kikyou said softly.

"I mean, not only will I lose a best friend, but Bankotsu- he'll never be the same."

I peered around, confirming my deduction that it was Kikyou with him.

Suikotsu looked distraught, a hand covering his face, "I want to stay strong for Bankotsu's sake but I'm just as worried myself. For both of them."

Reaching out and pulling the tall-man loosely into her arms, their foreheads touching lightly as Kikyou soothingly ran her fingers through his hair.

"I know. This is hard on all of you. To be missing someone close to you and having another member be the one behind it. It just shatters the trust. Betrayal by someone you held as a friend is worse than any physical injury."

"Kikyou…" He said quietly, looking up at her and a tear about to fall from his eye.

She gently brushed it away, "Just keep strong, Suikotsu. Ganbatte yo? Is that right?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I'll keep at it. Thanks Kikyou." Leaning down, he kissed her lightly, before turning back towards the room's door.

"Suikotsu, wait a moment."

"Hmm?" He paused.

"We have a visitor." Kikyou indicated my location, and I wondered how long she knew I was there.

"Ah, Miss Kagome. I didn't see you there."

"Sorry to…uh… intrude…" I muttered.

Suikotsu nervously scratched the back of his head, "Oh, yeah, I never did mention my girlfriend to you before, did I? I met her about a year ago when I snapped so badly the guys had to bring me here to get some stronger medicine."

"Oh, I see."

"I don't suppose Inuyasha's dumped any food on you yet, given that you seem so partial to him," Kikyou said coolly.

"Eheh, nope, he just sits on top of my desk, gets annoyed by strange things and is always fighting with his brother over something stupid," I answered, knowing that I most likely was blushing.

"Oh, that's right. How is his brother?" Suikotsu inquired, "I know he was going to have to get his arm amputated, so how'd it go?"

"He's still in surgery now. I just came down to see if Bankotsu was able to rest any really quick," I replied.

"Ah, I see," The brown-haired man nodded, "He fell right asleep once we all got out of the room for awhile. He's completely exhausted." He pushed open the door slightly and looked in. "Poor guy, even in his sleep it seems to be bothering him."

I walked over and looked in as well, noting as he did that Bankotsu was tossing about in his sleep.

"Go on," Kikyou said quietly, pushing Suikotsu forward.

"Kik…Kikyou?" He questioned.

She gestured slightly, and Suikotsu got the idea. He sat down in the beside chair and reached over, taking the young leader's hand. "Hang in there Bankotsu; we'll get your Jakotsu back to you, just hold on."

Clutching the purple shirt closely, but calming somewhat, Bankotsu finally stopped tossing in his sleep.

Following Suikotsu in, Kikyou stood behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I better get back to Inuyasha. Let me know if anything happens over here." I whispered, and both Suikotsu and Kikyou nodded in reply.

I made my way back to the other wing, only to find that InuYasha and Kagura were both standing and talking with Kaede.

"What's wrong?" I asked, walking over.

"There are some minor complications. Sesshoumaru's system seems to be reacting negatively with one of the drugs we gave to him," Kaede explained.

Kagura looked like she was holding back tears and Inuyasha's face held an expression I couldn't quite read, but nonetheless, I knew this was bringing back memories of when he'd lost his mother.

Gently, I wrapped my arms around Inuyasha, telling him quietly, "It's all right. I'm here now."

I felt him shift slightly, his arms going around me and his face resting on my shoulder. "Kagome… Sesshoumaru, he's…"

"Shh, he's tough, he'll be okay. Just be strong, Inuyasha. Your father and your mother would tell you the same thing, stay strong."

Silently I prayed that I would have the strength to get everyone through this and that Sesshoumaru and Jakotsu would both be okay.

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Preview for Chapter 18:

Sesshoumaru's condition isn't stable, and anything serious that happens to him will cause both Inuyasha and Kagura problems. Kagome's trying her best, but with Sesshoumaru in surgery and Jakotsu still missing, what's a poor detective to do?