A/N: Bad news, I had writer's block on this story. Again. Good news, it will be harder to get in the near future because I'm actually getting ideas from a family member. Bad news, this chapter is shorter then some because of said writer's block. Good news, I plan on making the next one closer to the dot. Bad news, there's no more good news. Good news, there's no more bad news, either.
Water Block: You know, you have a point. I may have to have Youko do something to make Kagome want to hurt him again. Just for old times sake.
FFchick: I actually started this story in April. I updated a little over a week ago. I try to update at least once a week, but that gets to be a little difficult when I'm always getting writer's block.
ShadeSpirit: I'm glad people actually like my writing. I think I said before that I'm a negative person. It makes me think positive thoughts when people like you read my story (even when it takes me a while to update...). Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to like it.
silver pup: Did you read Kagome no Kitsune? If not, you should read it. I think you'd like it, as it's a crossover with Kagome as, obviously, a kitsune. As for your questions, I haven't had anyone say no to a miko. So she's a miko now. I'm glad you tried, and you actually made me chuckle. It was a bad day, so that was a happy thing for me.
Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85: You'll have to wait and see.
Jjah-Jjah: I'm glad you're happy. It makes me happy to see others happy. I also needed Kagome to know about demons, so even if she hadn't found out earlier...
Kitsune Kagome: You know...I totally forgot about his apartment. o.O Just goes to show that I need more memory. Or a better one. However, now that you told me, I'm going to write it down so I don't forget again. Thanks!
Cascading Fates: I'm a good crossover writer? Well...okay, I won't say anything else on that, lest it be another negative thought. Thank you for the compliment, and if you haven't checked it out yet, Deadly Games is another good Kagome/Kurama story. I loved it, and I'm sure that you will if you read it.
Hoshiko Megami: I wouldn't even THINK about not updating for that long! I know that I get annoyed when my favorite stories don't get updated for a long time, and so I wouldn't dare do that myself.
Helkatz: I try to set a limit. My limit is 2000 words a chapter. If I get between 1800 and 2200, that's a good thing for me. I figure that's an okay number, not too much and not too little. I'm sorry if it's too short for you, but if I don't have a limit then I'll end up with one 9000 word chapter and the next one will be only about 200 words. I don't want that to happen, so this is my compromise.
susie202: Well, I'm glad you've been here since the beginning! It makes me feel nice.
vixenia: That'd be too easy, so I'm going to complicate things in a couple chapters. Can you guess what?
atamagaokashii Ookami: I don't reply if it's just something like 'Update soon' or something. I actually only reply to people who ask a question or jog my thoughts with a reply. Or I need to explain something. If I don't reply to someone, also, I put them at the bottom as a thank you. I'm sorry if I missed something, but I really think I've gotten you every other time.
BloodspillerInuluver: I try to update as fast as my clumsy fingers can type, but lately I've been having writer's block or have been away from a computer. If you have any suggestions, that might help me update sooner, but I still have a life to live. Sorry if it makes you upset, but there you go.
April-nee-chan: Well, they ran away from me before I could have a friendly little barbaque. Better luck next time, eh? I'm working on chapters as fast as I can, and I'm about as fast at typing as a cucumber. Just as limber, too. If that makes any sense. If you ever need help, I'll help! I will! n.n
AnimeMoonlightGoddess: If you had a limited vocabulary, you'd use 'gallop' too. I try to vary my words, but I never pay attention to thesarus' and when I read, good words go in one ear and out the other. I'd appreciate not having my word choice laughed at, as it makes me more nervous and takes me longer to update.
kitsune of the blade: It's hard for me to write characters in character, but I try my best. As for my villans...wait and see.
Ryukotsusei: Of course he will. He has to if it's going to be a Kagome/Kurama pairing.
Thanks to: Kokoro Mizu no Kaze, Black Hands, LuzdeVida, WhyWhatShutup, Tsuki-tora, pitbull123, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan and siren66.
Japanese words you may or may not need to know: Youki- basically demonic energy. Youkai- a demon. Shikon no Tama- Jewel of Four Souls. Miko- A priestess that uses spiritual energy. In my story, they can heal quickly and purify demons. There's also a little extra that you'll have to read about later. Seijou- Purity.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this chapter, except a handful of demons and a hospital.
Naraku waited outside of Kagome's house. Oh, he knew she was there. Her and that chump fox of hers. That rotten little peice of filth was the reason he never wanted a pet. Or children, for that matter. Well, only to carry out his line if he had to. But children were the one true plagues of earth, and one plague he wanted rid of for good.
Oh, it was a farfetched idea, but Naraku could wish.
He settled into his hiding place a little better, rough jeans creaking as they bent with his form.
Waiting was one thing that Naraku had always been good at. He was very patient, and it showed. After all, look at how long he had been going after the same woman. The same woman that refused to acknowledge him; the same woman that held his mind in her icy claws and never let him have a moments peice.
Oh yes, he had been after Kagome for years. Not that she knew it, of course. Naraku could still remember setting eyes on that raven-haired beauty. It haunted him like nothing else, and the more he found out about her, the more it drove him mad.
It had happened five years ago, back when Naraku was still living in a small apartment downtown. He had been out on a stroll just after a job. Back then, he had been a special agent for special customers. That is to say, a sort of assassin. After finishing off a particular challenge, Naraku had been riding high on adrenaline and riches. It was a profitable night, and he wanted to celebrate more. He had immediately thought of a club he used to haunt, a shady place in the ghetto part of town.
It was cold, so naturally he was all bundled up against the cold. He had always hated the cold, and that was another plague upon the world. His entire body was covered, save his eyes, and it helped him to blend into the shadows. Another useful thing, when you live in an unsafe part of town. But that was something different entirely, and Naraku turned his mind back to the memory.
Right, so he had been walking to that club and, low and behold, who should run into him but Kagome. Beautiful Kagome, with her sweet lips turning blue from the cold, her cheeks afire at the biting wind. Of course, she only knew she bumped into someone. She wouldn't remember him, for he had been covered from the cold. And here she was, wearing naught but a jacket over her clothes to protect herself from the harsh winter night.
What she had been doing then, Naraku still didn't know. But something lured her from her cozy home that night, and from then on Naraku had been watching.
Watching and waiting for four years. Then his calling had come, when a demon counterpart of his informed him of her job. A physical therapist fit her. And after more information was gathered, a plan began to form in Naraku's pretty head.
According to demon spies and other resources, Kagome protected the Shikon no Tama. The jewel every demon to ever exist lusted over and craved.
That had cinched it. Pulling a few strings, Naraku had gotten himself hired to the same hospital where Kagome worked. He had begun to woo her then, using every trick possible.
Naraku's hands clenched and his nails bit into his leg. It made his blood boil to think that any woman could withstand his charms, even one so independent as Kagome. No one had ever refused him before, and by all forces in the world, no one ever would. He would get his way eventually, he only need wait.
As the blood soaked into his designer pants, Naraku began to laugh.
Oh, he would have his prize. Make no mistake, Kagome would be his.
Sango sighed and sat down at her desk. Her crisp, white lab coat attempted to reach the ground as it swayed with a non-existant breeze. The air played with strands of her hair that refused to listen to the laws of hairstyling and would not stay in the neat knot at the base of the brunette's neck. Rubbing her sore eyes with a weary hand, she overlooked her latest complaints.
Some people would think that being the head of the largest hospital in town would be a good thing. Lots of money, no need to practice if you didn't feel like it, and you could take sick days whenever you wanted to. That, and give yourself as much vacation time as you pleased.
Sango wished that was the case. No, she didn't make a ton of money for a doctor, because she was in charge of repairing everything that went wrong in her hospitatl. That happened often, so she brought home only slightly more then the average Ph.D. She still practiced, but only on special patients who needed a doctor like her. And she couldn't just take a sick day or be on vacation if she had one of her patients come in unexpectedly.
Right, did she mention she ran the only youkai hospital within some five hundred miles, any direction?
That explained all of the problems and repairs that needed to be done. Getting a bear demon to calm down long enough to put under anesthesia when he had been stabbed in the back was the least of Sango's worries. Never mind that bear demons were violent by nature, but they were cuddly things compared to an injured feline. And canine's were worse. Sango was still sore from when a fox demon had back-handed her about three years before. And he had been half asleep from surgery!
Sango rubbed her temples slowly. A migrane was forming, and she wasn't even halfway done with work. After the complaints, she still had three patients to see and bills to go over.
She could really use a miko to help in a hospital like this. They were not only fast healers themselves, but any youkai to be in contact with them for long periods of time had their healing accelerated immensly. Add that to the fact that you could threaten any uncooperative youkai with having said miko purify their arse off...
Fortunately, Sango new a miko. Her friend Kikyo was a very powerful priestess whose name had demons quivering in their skin. Unfortunately for Sango, Kikyo didn't like using her abilities. The only reason she had gotten training was because she had enough power to level Tokyo if she wanted. Hence the only reason she even knew about her powers; they were too much to conceal in the first place!
"What I wouldn't give for another miko like her. One that actually liked their powers."
Sango jumped as the phone rang. Her heart pounded in her chest and it took her a moment to calm down her frazzled nerves. Delicately picking up the telephone, Sango greeted the other caller in her usual manner. "Fraer Hospital, Dr. Seijou speaking."
"Hey, Sango. It's Koga." The sweet tenor voice wafted into Sango's ear. She had always loved his voice, and would've gone out with him if he hadn't been so possessive. Nevertheless, he was a good match for Kikyo.
"Speak of the devil."
"Haha, very funny," Koga said sarcastically. "I'm not here to be insulted, you know."
Sango barked out a laugh. "Could've fooled me, the way you hang around with Inuyasha even though you're adament that the both of you are mortal enemies. But enough of that, what's up?"
Koga sighed, which wasn't a very good thing in Sango's book. "There's a problem. A large blast of youki was released earlier last night near Kagome's house."
Sango sat up straighter. "And? What else?"
"And there was an echo about ten minutes later, but about twice as powerful." Koga's voice sounded strained, and Sango couldn't blame him. Both he and Kikyo monitered the youkai activity in town, and this wasn't supposed to happen. Especially so near Kagome, and they both knew it. "I think someone, or something, is onto Kagome. I think we should tell her."
Sango groaned. "This just isn't my day. We both know that she has miko potential, but that's all it is. Potential."
"A hell of a lot of potential. Sango, you and I both know that if anything startles Kagome, her abilities could just as well pop into existence. If that happened..." He left the sentence hanging.
"I know, I know. But I just can't believe that a couple groups of youkai would go after her just because she has the possibility of being a very powerful priestess. It doesn't make sense to me." Sango leaned her elbow on her desk and perched her chin on her palm.
"It does to me. Think about how strong most of your patients are. Not very, right?"
Sango nodded, then realized that Koga wasn't there. "Right. Okay, so they may be power hungry. You do know that she's going to get mad we kept this from her? Not only about her having miko potential, but that half of her friend's are demons and the other half human," she added wearily.
"Oh, I know. And that's why I'm going without Kikyo." Koga sounded a little too smug about all this for Sango's taste, but she shrugged it off. "I know that they may be friends, but they argue like two crotchety old rivals."
"It's called 'friendly bantering'. And you think it's going to be easier for her to have an ex-boyfriend turned friend there?" Sango asked doubtfully.
"A lot easier then argueing. And you're going to be there, too."
Sango's eyes widened. "Oh no, you're not dragging me into this!" The last thing Sango wanted to do was have her best friend get mad at her.
"You have to. I need proof that humans know about demons, too, and that she's not just having some freak-ish dream." Koga's voice took on a pleading tone. "Come on, I need you to back me up on this."
"Ain't too proud to beg, huh?"
"Never."
Sango sighed. "Alright, I'll go with you tomorrow. But after she gets out from work, alright?"
"Right. See you tomorrow, then." The phone clicked, and the line died.
Sango put the phone back onto the reciever and glanced at the clock. The flashing red numbers read four thirty in the morning, and Sango stood slowly. "This day is just shaping up to be peachy," she told the open air as she jammed the complaints folder into a file cabinet. "And what do I have to look forward to?" she asked herself. Opening the door and pulling a clipboard from the bin outside her office, she answered "More patients and a dangerous confrontation!"
End Chapter
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