Chapter four : Little brother
Sesshomaru's POV
The young demon hesitated before the blue door. Finally, he opened it and entered the room. The darkness wasn't a problem for him, he could see as well as if they had been in full daylight. He was a demon, after all.
Sesshomaru sat on a chair beside his brother's bed. Looking at him, he felt a familiar knot beginning to form in his throat.
It was still hurting. It would always hurt. Him, the whole powerful Sesshomaru, rich and respected, was hurting deeply for his little brother. People were saying that he was cold and emotionless, and with many things he was, but not when it was coming to Inu-Yasha. He had always kept it for himself, but his younger brother was his soft spot. Since they were kids, he had taken care of him. Especially after their parents had died...
They'd been murdered. His father and his step-mother. His dad was a very powerful demon and a powerful businessman. But he also had powerful ennemies who were sending him all sorts of threats, even assassins. One day, after an evening out at the theater, a particularly strong demon had attacked Mr.Takahashi and his wife in a deserted street. The assassin had killed Inu-Yasha's mother first. Their father had wanted to avenge his wife, but he had been wounded and was slowly losing his strength. He finally succeeded at killing the demon, but he also died in the process.
In one night, Sesshomaru and Inu-Yasha had become orphans. Sure there was Sesshomaru's own mother, but he had learned by his father that she had died a year ago. So now, he and his little brother were truly alone, with no other relatives. They had been sent to an orphanage. Inu-Yasha wasn't even 4 years old yet, and Sesshomaru had stayed with him all the way. He had protected him and taken care of him. They had always refused to be separated, and if someone wanted to adopt them, they had to take both brothers, not just one.
Finally, a man had adopted the two of them, and they had lived with him until he died. But luckily, Sesshomaru had reached his majority at the time and he had signed to become Inu-Yasha's tutor. Their adoptive father had allowed him to go to college, and soon after the old man's death Sesshomaru had obtained a very good job in a security firm, due to his excellent results at school. Now he was the vice-president of the firm, and the secretly soon-to-be president.
All that, he had done it for him and his little brother. He had worked hard and was proud of his achievements. Everything was going great for them. They were rich, they had a high social position, and most important of all they were still together and as close as before. But Sesshomaru should've known that it was too good to last...
Since that accident, he wasn't himself anymore. Oh sure he was still cold and stiff and bossing people around, but something was missing. He felt broken inside. And he felt guilty. One of his main purposes in life was to protect his little brother. To make sure nothing bad happened to him. But for the first time in his existence, Sesshomaru had failed miserably.
He should've pushed him out of the way. He sould've reacted faster. Maybe he could've saved him. But he had done nothing of the sort.
He could perfectly recall that day... The red car when it hit Inu-Yasha... All the blood under his head... And he wasn't moving. Was he even breathing ? Sesshomaru had been in such a state of shock that he couldn't think properly. Gone his bossy attitude. Gone his ever-present self-confidence. Just when he needed it the most, his assurance had vanished in thin air. And then he had heard the sirens, long before the others could, thanks to his keen senses. Help was coming. Good, because he couldn't do anything. He was totally paralyzed.
The ambulance had arrived. Two guys had brought Inu-Yasha in it. They had insisted to go with them. All the way to the hospital, Sesshomaru had said nothing, watching Kagome cry and the other two who were as white as snow. He couldn't look at his brother. He couldn't accept what had just happened. When the ambulance had finally arrived at the hospital, not even four minutes later, that's when he had suddenly snapped out...
o0 Flashback 0o
The vehicle stopped. One of the two men quickly opened the doors, while the other was already pushing the stretcher toward it. They exited the ambulance, Sesshomaru and the others on their heels.
They ran toward the main entrance of the hospital. There was a nurse waiting for them. She opened the doors and they passed her hurriedly. As soon as they were inside, one of the ambulance men yelled :
- Code Red ! We have an emergency here !
Three nurses and a doctor (it wasn't Kaede) rushed up toward them. The doctor, a tall man with glasses, quickly asked :
- That's the boy who got hit by a car ?
- Yes ! the guy answered.
And they all started to run again. Sesshomaru followed, never letting his brother out of his sight. Kagome, Miroku and Sango were right behind him. While running through the white corridors, people moving aside to let them pass, the nurses and the doctor were bustling around the stretcher, making all sorts of checkups on Inu-Yasha.
- His blood pressure ! I want his blood pressure ! the doctor yelled.
- Cardiovascular collapse ! His pressure is at 60mmHg ! a nurse answered.
- Give him oxigen !
Another nurse put a mask on Inu-Yasha's face. The doctor pursued :
- What's his pulse ?
- 37 per minute !
- Damn ! We're losing him...
Sesshomaru's heart stopped when he heard that. Kagome gasped behind him. The doctor shouted :
- To the reanimation room ! Presto !
They turned to the right, heading toward two large doors at the end of the corridor. The doctor then looked at Sesshomaru and asked hastily :
- Are you one of his relatives ?
- I'm his older brother... Sesshomaru answered.
- OK, but are you his legal tutor or something ?
- Yes...
- Well, we need to reanimate him and to make a cerebral scan. Then we'll transfer him in neurosurgery. We need your verbal and written agreement, is it alright ?
- Yes...
- Fine. You'll just have to go at the reception and they'll give you some papers to fill. By the way, what's his name ?
He was pointing at the inconscious hanyou.
- It's Inu-Yasha...
They had arrived in front of the doors. The doctor looked down at Sesshomaru's brother and said :
- Don't worry Inu-Yasha. We'll take care of you. Just hold on OK boy ?...
And they pushed the stretcher in the reanimation room. Sesshomaru and the others tried to follow but the doctor stopped them :
- You can't come in here. You have to wait outside.
- But... they all started at the same time.
- No ! the doctor interrupted them. It's only the medical staff. Sorry...
He entered the room and closed the doors behind him. Sesshomaru was fuming. How dare that human speaking to him like that ! Nobody would stop him from going in there at his brother's side ! If anyone tried...
He knew his eyes were turning red. He growled... But suddenly, he felt a light touch on his arm. He lowered his gaze and saw that Kagome had put her trembling hand on his sleeve. Her cheeks were soaked with tears and she was pale like a ghost. She whispered to him softly :
- Sesshomaru... please... I know you're worried... I am too, but please, you have to calm down and let them do their jobs... They're trying to save Inu-Yasha... don't get angry, please...
Maybe it was her soft tone, but Sesshomaru started to relax... He took a deep breath and calmed his demon blood. He recomposed himself and turned toward them. They looked very shaken... Sesshomaru went to the reception while his brother's friends were sitting in the waiting room. He rejoined them a couple of minutes later. Now, all they could do was wait. And pray...
o0 End flashback 0o
Sesshomaru blinked. He had been daydreaming again... He was often doing that when he would come see Inu-Yasha. He was visiting him almost every day, after his work. Those visits were painful, but there was no way he would stop.
He looked at his brother. Inu-Yasha had never come to an hospital before... Being a hanyou, he was never sick and rarely injured. But his body wasn't unbreakable. That car was going so fast... it had hit him so hard... Even Sesshomaru would've probably had something severely broken after such a collision. He observed the hanyou again. He seemed so... fragile. Sesshomaru gently took his hand. Ten months already. It was almost a year. And still no changes... He started to wonder if Inu-Yasha would ever wake up.
At that thought, he gripped Inu-Yasha's hand more tightly and pleaded :
- Please, just wake up... please little brother...
Sesshomaru had never pleaded to anyone before.