Disclaimer: Some would say I am a person of many personalities—Rumiko Takahashi is not one of them.

Slay The Music

Scene Thirty-Nine: I Hate to be the Bearer of Bad News

It must have been a cold evening that day. There was frost threatening to strangle the windows, ice had swept over the streets of Tokyo, and snow was beginning to fall from the sky.

The temperature outside could have directly related to the temperature within Kagome's hope that evening... sitting at the hospital bedside of Inuyasha who had not waken up for weeks.

Not even this ultra-private hospital facility could keep Inuyasha's demise out of the papers though—news reporters threatened anyone who seemed as though they had a relationship with Inuyasha with questions and reports of his condition seemed to be leaking into the news every night. But Kagome would not move herself from Inuyasha's bedside though the others had long moved on—each of them with a different thought about his recovery.

But somehow, through the cold temperatures, the gray snow, and the lonely sheets of ice, which covered the roads and walls, there was a glimmer of optimism that told every one of Inuyasha's close comrades that he may wake up soon. That he might still be with them even though Naraku's miasma had engulfed his internal body and he had a slowly healing hole in his stomach.

"Kagome, is he awake yet?" Sango asked as she entered his hospital room.

"No, he's still the same," Kagome shook her head.

"I brought him some more flowers from his fan club," Sango said, placing yet another set of roses in one of the many vases, which littered the room.

"How's everyone?" Kagome asked as Sango sat down on the couch on the other side of the bed.

"Ah—you know, working... Ayame hired a new vocalist and they're recording their new album. Kôga is keeping himself and the others busy writing songs, giving interviews, promoting their most recent album and such... we all miss Inuyasha though."

"And you?"

"Therapy..." Sango sighed, "My agency doesn't want me doing anything stressful for awhile—Jinenji-sensei is almost always next to me these days."

Kagome sighed and then stared down into her palms, "I wonder what I'm going to do for work now... I've had to move out of my old house back into my family's shrine because I'm afraid of losing all my money."

"If you marry Inuyasha you'll have no problem with that," Sango gave a sly sort of smirk towards Kagome who was now blushing red.

"But I can't very well marry a sleeping man."

Sango dropped the subject.

"I'm going to go down to meet Miroku and Jinenji now, would you like to come? Only for a little while, Sesshômaru is coming to watch his brother—knowing him he's just trying to get away from his pup's screaming, you'd think the offspring of Kagura and Sesshômaru would be the quietest kid on earth, ne? Are you coming?"

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and stood, "I might as well, only a little while right?"

Sango nodded, "I'll be right outside waiting for you."

Kagome nodded and stepped closer to Inuyasha's bedside before sitting down. "I'll be right back, Inuyasha, I promise," She said, grasping his hand.

"...No... Don't go..." came a raspy voice from coarse lips.

Kagome gasped in surprise.

"Just a little... longer... wait for me..." Inuyasha's breathing quickened and he tightened hand around Kagome's.

Kagome kissed his hand and nodded, "I'll wait for you forever."

His grip loosened and his breathing fell back into normal breathing.

Sango walked back in, "Are you coming?"

Kagome glanced over to her and shook her head, wiping the stray tear from her face, "No, I think I'll stay a while more..."

Sango smiled and nodded knowingly, "Okay, I'll bring you back a frozen coffee thing—you like those, right?"

Kagome nodded, "Thanks, Sango."

"Any time you need me, Kame-chan," Sango smiled again, bowed, and then left.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered, lying down beside him and closing her eyes. "I'll wait for you forever."

"Kôga, you've been working on the same song for over three hours, it's going to keep coming out the same at this rate, take a break," Bankotsu said.

Kôga threw off his eyeglasses and rubbed his eyes. "There's nothing else for me to do."

"You could visit Inuyasha," Jakotsu suggested as he turned off some of the recording equipment.

"No—" Kôga glanced solemnly at the floor, "No, I can't visit him."

"Why not? You love him don't you?"

"Love?" Kôga glanced warily at his gay companion.

"You two are best friends right? Two of a kind? Not the sort of love like Bankotsu and me—if that's what you think I meant—but like brothers," Jakotsu clarified.

"I guess you're right... but I know he wouldn't want me to visit him now... I know him, he would want to be left alone," Kôga said.

"Then visit Ayame," Bankotsu said, "Girls are always a good way to get rid of your troubles... whether or not you believe that, Jakotsu, makes no difference."

Jakotsu sighed.

"I don't have any troubles."

"Do too," Jakotsu said, "look at you—you're a mess—every song you've written between here and there has sucked, and everything you will continue to write will suck until Inuyasha wakes up and criticizes you."

Kôga shot an irritated glare at him.

"Ayame-chan is here," Bankotsu announced.

"Kôga," Ayame said, making her presence even more known, "can we talk?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Kôga nodded taking his jacket off the back of his chair and leaving the recording booth.

"Kôga, I haven't seen you in such a long time," she smiled as they walked into the cold November air.

"I've been busy."

"Busy?" Ayame questioned his word choice, "Or distracting yourself?"

"From what?"

"Ever since we returned from defeating Naraku, you've been a little off," she replied as they continued to walk together.

"How so?"

"You're always in the recording studio, you've been doing all the work Inuyasha normally does, you haven't taken a proper bath in weeks, and it seems you haven't slept either," Ayame frowned.

"I have a lot to think about lately," Kôga replied.

"And what about us?"

"Us?"

"There isn't really officially an 'us' yet either," Ayame said.

"Well, then," Kôga said, "May I have the pleasure of courting you?"

"Not until you say it correctly," Ayame frowned again.

"Correctly? You want me to conduct the pre-mating ceremony or something!"

"Yes," Ayame nodded.

"Whoa—slow down—Ayame, do you realize what you're asking of me?"

"I do," Ayame nodded again.

Kôga stood there at the corner of the street for a second. "Well then... let's go to my place."

"Sango, there you are, I was wondering if you were coming," Miroku said, greeting her within a fancy restaurant.

"I was visiting Inuyasha and Kagome."

"Any progress?"

"By the look on Kagome's face—yes," Sango nodded, taking a seat. "Hi Jinenji-sensei."

"H—hi, Sango-san," he replied.

"Don't be so nervous, Jinenji-sensei, I'm fine. I'm not depressed and I'm actually feeling good about today."

"That's good," he smiled a little, "because Miroku has got permission from me to ask you a very important question."

"Yes, and it took me forever to get permission from him so you better give me a good answer," Miroku nodded.

"And what's that?"

"Sango, since Naraku is dead, and all that we've got left to endure is the public's ever watching eye—will you marry me?"

Sango's heart jumped into her throat—"What!"

"Will you marry me?"

Sango blinked a few times and then blushed, "I—I...Houshi-sama! We're in public," she hissed.

"It's a yes or no question, Sango-chan," he replied.

"..." Sango remained quiet for awhile, a bright crimson staining her cheeks, "...I guess the only thing I have to say to that is... yes."

Slay The Music

"Môshi, môshi?" Kôga answered.

"Did you hear about the schedule change?"

"...For the tour? No."

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news around you, Wolf-Breath, but the schedule has been changed, so we'll be taking off next week."

Kôga growled, "Inuyasha, you know I don't like that kind of news after waking up."

"Did you have fun last night? You and Ayame left kind of early."

"I don't like your tone of voice."

"I know, I know, got to take care of the pups, right? I understand Daddy. Poor Ayame will have to raise those brats all by herself while we're gone."

"And what about yours, eh, Daddy?"

"I ain't got no brats—I've got a son and that's it," Inuyasha replied.

"You're lucky humans only get one at a time—three is more than my ears can handle."

"Oh, poor Wolf-Breath. Have you heard from Miroku and Sango?"

"Not for awhile, Miroku hasn't said anything since they got back and all I get from Sango is blushing."

"She's turned into a married school girl."

"Odd."

"Yeah."

"How's Kagome doing, by the way?"

"Well, she stays up all night with our son and lets me sleep and then cooks in the morning. It's kind of different than how she used to be, and it's a little scary. But I figure, she'll snap back to her usual self once she gets used to not working anymore."

"True, she ever going to rejoin the music business?"

"No, she's worn out of that now—she doesn't want to work anymore since I make more than enough money for the both of us."

"Oh, good for your son then, he won't be raised by you," Kôga held the phone away from his ear as Inuyasha protested, "What are we doing later today?"

"Shooting promos and that's it. We start in an hour."

"Okay," Kôga nodded, "I'll get dressed and head down there."

"See you in a minute."

"Yeah, see you."

Click.

The End.

Wow. It's over...

I'm done! I'm bloody done! And until a good plot bunny comes along, I'm going to focus solely on my original fiction, which you can find at Fiction Press under the same screen name "ever free." If any of you have a fiction piece you want me to write, than please tell me and I'll be willing to look over your idea. I'm thinking my next fic will be a Miroku/Sango fic if I decide to continue fan fiction. Please tell me what you thought; I'm dying to hear. I suck at this fan fiction thing.

Thank you so much for reading this far. I hope you were entertained.

X-X-X-O

エバーフリー
ever free