Author's Note: ...look at all the reviews...Maybe I should stop updating so quickly. It seems to get memore reviews.:P
Anyways. THIS IS IMPORTANT! READ THIS! Starting tomorrow or the day after I will -not- be updating as quickly. Lots of things are going to be happening. I'll try to update as much as I can but I'm pretty sure that it's going to be nowhere near as frequent as my updates right now.
Okay, that ends the important stuff. On to the less important stuff!
My muse is mine! I shall not give her away:P But to the person that wanted her, I'd suggest taking obscenely long showers and bike rides. That's when I get all my ideas.
To the person, or people, I don't remember exactly, that asked whether you'd really go blind from looking through a telescope at daytime: Yes. You would. And it would be painful. Like having your eyes burned out. You know how you can start fires with magnifying glasses? A telescope is like a giant super-powerful magnifying glass, but instead of paper that's burning, it's your eye. Usually you wouldn't get your sight back if you looked through a telescope at the sun, but this is a happy ending story.
Anyways, thanks so much to all my reviewers! I love you!
Yay! On with the writing!
Chapter 8: Aftermath
It was 6:30, and Inuyasha and Kagome were standing in front of Miroku's car, awaiting his emergence from the restaurant. Kagome had recovered from her tears but held Inuyasha's hand tightly, still somewhat shaky on her feet. He knew that the accident wasn't something she talked about much, so when she did, it took a lot out of her.
Whenever the restaurant door opened, Kagome heard it and turned to Inuyasha and asked, "Is it them?" For the past five minutes he had been answering "no". He looked back out to the lake, the idea of his revenge on Kikyou turning over and over in his mind, bringing a smile to his face.
"Is it them?" Kagome asked again, and Inuyasha looked to the door.
"No," he said, when he saw a cute couple emerge, holding hands and smiling. But his jaw dropped in shock when he realized that the woman was wearing a blue dress and the man looked just like Miroku. "Wait...yes, it is," he corrected, his surprise evident in his voice.
"What? What's wrong?" Kagome asked, hearing his tone. "What is it?"
"They're...holding hands...and looking happy," Inuyasha said. Kagome beamed.
"Well then, I guess everything went perfectly," she said. "That's awesome!"
Miroku and Sango greeted them, both of them sounding happier than usual; Miroku opened the car door for Sango and Inuyasha for Kagome, then the two boys seated themselves in their proper places. Kagome yawned.
"Kagome, m'lady, I'll drop you off first," Miroku said. "You live closest."
"Okay," Kagome replied sleepily, resting her head on Inuyasha's shoulder for the duration of the ride. When they reached her house, Inuyasha helped her out of the car and led her up to the front door. He rang the doorbell for her and waited with her until he heard footsteps coming.
"See you later," he said, smiling warmly at Kagome. She smiled back at him, knowing he was grinning at her.
"Yeah," she said. "And thanks," she added, almost as an afterthought. The door opened and light spilled onto the doorstep, framing the image of Kagome's mother. Inyuasha was already halfway to the car.
Mrs. Higurashi smiled down at her daughter. "Kagome!" she exclaimed. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah," Kagome replied, a genuine smile on her face. "Yeah, it was great."
At 10:00 the next morning, Kagome was bouncing up and down happily on Sango's bed, smiling widely at her best friend. "Come on, come on, come on!" she said. "Tell me what happened!"
Sango sighed happily, looking up at the ceiling as she flopped down onto her back. "He was so -nice-," she said, almost wistfully. "A perfect gentleman."
Kagome laughed. "Wow, that -is- unusual," she agreed, then shrieked and held up her hands for protection as she heard a pillow whistling towards her. "Oh, come on! Tell me -exactly- what happed after me and Inuyasha left."
"Well," Sango began, "at first it was just the normal chatter. And then we were talking about the restaurant, and the candle, and how romantic everything seemed - and you know, Miroku really can be poetic sometimes," Sango said, and Kagome could imagine the happy gleam in her eyes. "And everything was just going so perfectly," she said.
"Okay, and -then- what?" Kagome pressed.
"He paid for the meal and we left the restaurant," Sango said. "We were going to go to the lake but Miroku figured that's where you and Inuyasha would be, so instead he led me to this awesome place; I really don't know how he knew about it, it was so...secluded." She smiled widely. "There was this big tree in the middle and flowers all through the grass and we sat down underneath the tree and talked some more," she said. "We talked a bit about you and Inuyasha, actually."
Kagome gasped. "What'd you say?"
"Oh, the normal stuff," Sango replied, a mischievous tone to her voice. "How you and him were obviously crushing on each other, the likelihood of you two kissing..."
Kagome gasped again and threw a pillow in Sango's direction. It grazed her shoulder; Kagome's aim was getting better. "You did not!" she exclaimed. "I don't have a crush on him!"
"Oh, right, and I don't have a crush on Miroku either," Sango said sarcastically. "Come on."
Kagome gasped for the third time in a row. "You admitted you have a crush on Miroku!" she almost shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Sango. "I win!"
"Yeah, well, he kissed me."
A fourth gasp, but no followed exclamation. There were a few moments of silence before Kagome said, "Seriously?"
Sango grinned wryly. "Yeah. It wasn't so bad, really. Did Inuyasha kiss you?"
"No!"
"Well then, what'd you do?"
"We...talked," Kagome said, the smile falling from her lips as she remembered the topic of discussion. Sango heardthe saddened tone of her voice,and waited for Kagome to explain further. "He...asked me why I was blind. What had happened. He made me stand in the way of the freezing cold waves!" she said, smiling as she remembered the feeling of the icy water washing over her ankles.
Sango smiled. Kagome had obviously enjoyed it. "Well, what'd you tell him?"
"How it happened," Kagome answered.
"Are you going to tell -me-?" Sango asked. "Come on, if you told Inuyasha, telling me shouldn't be that hard."
Kagome smiled again and re-told the whole story; the school, Marianne, the telescope. When she had finished, Sango looked up at her with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Kagome, they couldn't have done that!" she exclaimed. Feeling full of pity for her best friend, she wrapped Kagome up in an arm-breaking hug. Kagome grinned.
"It's okay, it's okay," she said. "There's still a chance that I could see again. Apparently my eyes are just taking their own sweet time to heal."
Sango pulled away, looking back at Kagome. How could she even -come- to school after being put through such pain and torture as that? Being forced to be escorted by a popular person must have been so difficult for her...
"Jeez, Kagome, I'm sorry," she said. Kagome looked confused.
"For what?"
"...I dunno. It just sounds really bad." Sango grinned as Kagome laughed.
"Come on, don't feel bad for me. It was a long time ago."
"Yeah..."
At that moment, the phone rang. Sango ran to get it, and pressed the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"
"Sango?" a female voice said on the other end. "Kagome's best friend?"
"Yes," Sango answered.
"It's Kagome's mother; can I speak to her for a moment?"
"Sure," Sango replied dubiously, uncertain as to why Kagome's mother was calling. "Kagome, it's your mum." She brought the wireless handset over to Kagome and handed it to her.
"Hello?" Kagome said.
"Hey Kags! I'm so so sorry for this, but I completely forgot that you have a doctor's appointment today!"
"Awww...but I'm with Sango!" Kagome complained. "Can't it wait? It's not like they're going to tell me anything new. 'Oh, Kagome, you're still blind.' Yeah, I know that."
"You never know, dear, don't give up hope too early," her mother said. "Sango can come, if you just want to spend time with her."
Kagome looked up at her best friend. "I have an appointment," she explainedto Sangosadly. "But apparently you can come with. Want to?"
"Sure, why not?" Sango asked. "Who knows? Maybe I'll get candy." Kagome laughed.
"Sure, she's coming," she said into the telephone. "Are you going to pick us up?"
"I'll be there in five minutes," her mother said. "See you soon!" Then she hung up. Kagome handed the phone back to Sango.
"What is it; she just forgot you had a doctor's appointment?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded in reply. "Aw, that sucks. Do they still give you free candy at the doctor's?"
"Maybe if you ask for it," Kagome replied, grinning. "Come on, she'll be here in five minutes."
The doctor's office was a very plain-looking affair; the floor was cold white tile and the walls were painted white. There were a few fakey-looking plants hanging from the ceiling or set on the floor, and the walls were decorated with posters describing various medical procedures, or "fun facts", obviously designed to entertain smaller children while educating them. "Edu-tainment" was a favourite with doctors and teachers, but it mostly got on Sango's and Kagome's nerves.
Sango sat with Kagome's mother on the chairs next to the bed that Kagome was sitting on. The doctor herself, Dr. Murphy, was a tall, slim woman with green eyes, pale skin, and red hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a kind face and smiling eyes, and she grinned at Sango.
"A new arrival?" she asked. Sango smiled at her.
"Just a friend with nothing else to do," she replied. Kagomegrinned at that.
"Ah, well, it's always nice to meet new faces," the doctor said, taking out her light-shine-thingy and pointing it in Kagome's eye. "Well, this is new," she said, turning the light off and on again, then switching to the other eye. "Yes, this is very new."
"What's happening?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Her pupils are responding to the light," Dr. Murphy answered. "This is a very good development!" She put the light thingy away and pulled out some other apparatus to shine in Kagome's eye. "Yes, I can see that her eyes look to be almost fully healed! Took them long enough."
Sango and Kagome both beamed. "Does this mean I'll be able to see?" Kagome asked, her voice full of hope that neither Sango nor Kagome's mother had heard before.
"Yes!" Dr. Murphy answered, and Kagome hugged her. "Okay, okay, let me explain what's going on," the doctor replied happily. Kagome pulled away, still beaming. Kagome's mother and Sango both shared Kagome's enthusiasm.
"Well, I can't see any reason why you're not already able to see, save for the possibility that the nerve paths from your eye to your brain are unused to connecting and firing," the doctor said. "Basically, your eyes need to re-learn how to see. I wouldn't be surprised if, during the next few weeks or so, you "saw" at random intervals, flashes of the scenery around you. At first they may be indistinguishable; your brain needs to re-learn everything, that means recognizing colour, shape, form. The first flash you get might just be white light. The next one might contain some blotches of colour, and they'll progress like that until they become more and more frequent."
"And when do you think she'll get her sight completely back?" Kagome's mother asked, sounding ecstatic.
"I'd say five months maximum," the doctor answered, "but it could just as easily return after just two. I think that the flashes should start within the next few weeks, and possibly even as early as today or tomorrow."
She pulled out a few more randommechanisms and did some more work around Kagome's eyes, but the smile never left her face. "This is so great!" Sango said. "Oh, I'm so glad that I came!" Kagome laughed.
"Okay, you can go," the doctor said. "Now, with the flashes of light may come some pain, because the sudden exposure may hurt your eyes, but it should be bearable. If they're really bad, come back and see me right away."
"Sounds great!" Kagome exclaimed. She hopped off the bed and practically bounded over to Sango and her mother. They both hugged her, Sango harder than Kagome's mother, out of sheer strength. Kagome grinned.
"This is so awesome!" her mother exclaimed.
"Oooh, we -have- to tell Inuyasha and Miroku," Sango said. "They'll be so surprised!"
Kagome laughed. "Well, it's already Sunday. We can tell them tomorrow at lunch, or maybe before school, if we have time."
"We could tell them to come early..." Sango mused. "In fact, that would be the best thing to do, because Inuyasha needs to tell Arik his plan."
"Right," Kagome said. "Oh, this is soooo cool," she said.
The three of them were beaming as they made their way back to the car.
Author's Note: I'm sorry! That was an obscenely short chapter, I know, but it all needed to be said and continuing it would just have been pointless and boring. I'm sure you're all happy now! Yay for Kagome!
Okay, I'll update as soon as I can. In the meantime, feed me reviews:P