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Kagome groaned tiredly as she reached over to slap her shrieking alarm clock. Sitting up, she gasped and immediately clapped a hand over her eyes, the bright cheerful sunlight streaming through her windows making her head pound painfully.

"Crap. You've gotta be kidding me," Kagome growled, wincing at the scratchy quality of her throat and stumbling out of her bed to the bathroom. Rummaging around produced a thermometer and she quickly took her temperature while staring at her flushed appearance in the mirror. Her eyes looked bloodshot and her nose was red too.

"Come on. Come on..." The little stick beeped and she glanced at it before throwing it disgustedly back in the medicine cabinet.

She had a fever. A nice one of 101.4.

"How the hell did I get sick?! I wasn't even in the rain that long!" But she had been in her wet clothes for a while during her walk to the train station from school, and she hadn't been able to take her hot bath. "Damn it. I can't miss school for this stupid cold! I'm still going!"

With that proclamation out of the way, she took a swaying step towards her closet and let out a sneeze that sent her to her knees and clutching her head and throat as she whimpered.

"I won't be defeated by this!"

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Despite her will to fight, her body was giving up the ghost on her; so she decided to stop at that coffee shop she had once gotten her overly priced bagel from. Kagome had actually shared a good laugh with the girl behind the counter at that. Now, as the miko tiredly pushed open the door, she knew she wanted nothing more than a good shot of caffeine to get her through the day.

"Well if it isn't my little bagel girl," the university student behind the counter, whose name was Saki, called out jovially before concern replaced her smile. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so hot."

"Fine. Just tired. Need espresso and I'll be good," Kagome grumbled, apologizing to the man she accidentally ran into. A few moments later, her drink was set in front of her. The miko didn't register that fact until Saki cleared her throat.

"Kagome-chan? You need to pay for it."

"Oh! Yeah, sure! How much?" The school girl blinked rapidly, smiling tiredly at the worried barista.

"500 yen ($4.05)."

"K. Let me just..." Kagome trailed off, digging in her school bag to find her wallet as she swayed. A hand steadied her as she vaguely noted someone handing Saki the correct amount.

"Umm, sir?" Saki asked, holding the money in her hand. Kagome turned to face the unknown benefactor to inform him that she was perfectly capable of paying for her own coffee. But when she met sharp hazel eyes scrutinizing her, the caustic words died in her sore throat as her vision flickered and shifted.

"Do not argue, as I can see you will attempt it, and sit down before you fall over," the black-haired man quipped in a tone that the miko recognized immediately.

She could feel her vision narrowing and going dark around the edges as sun gold replaced hazel and short black became long silver. "Sessho... maru..."

The man's brows rose in disbelief before he reached out to catch the girl as she passed out, dropping her coffee all over his expensive Italian shoes. 'How does this human girl know my other name?'

"Kagome-chan!" And that name... why did it sound so familiar? The barista had abandoned her position behind the counter to try and assist the disguised inu youkai.

"Leave it, girl! You have a job to attend to," he snapped, inwardly pleased at the way Saki recoiled with the sharp reprimand. "She will be cared for."

Straightening up, he carefully cradled the small woman close, reminding himself that humans were fragile.

"Of course, Takahashi-san. But, if I may? Kagome-chan goes to Ouran Private Academy," Saki interjected, "If she doesn't show up for school, she will be missed." Sesshomaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious suggestion and merely nodded as he carried Kagome out the door. She was shockingly warm; more so than what he knew a human should be.

"As if I do not recognize the uniform. Pitiful wench," the lord growled under his breath, disliking the overwhelming smell of coffee as his shoes squelched wetly. He knew this 'Kagome' would need to be taken care of. But he was more curious about how she knew his true name. He'd been going by the Takahashi Seiya for nearly thirty years now. Only his youkai associates knew his birth name.

Safely cocooning the girl in his car, he wondered when he would be able to get his answers from her.

'But first...' Pulling out a sleek phone, he dialed a specific number and let it ring a few times.

"Hello, Suoh. I wish to inform you that one of your students will be absent today due to illness." He waited a moment before replying. "A girl named Kagome. I do not know her last name. She passed out before I could retrieve it." Waiting patiently, he continued down the street and made a left turn. "No, a fever. Likely a cold or some other nonsense." With a hum, the inu took another turn. "She will be properly cared for. When she wakes, I will arrange for her transportation home." Clicking the annoying device off, Sesshomaru slipped it back in his jacket pocket and pulled into the driveway of his city home.

'No. You will remain with me until I have my answers, girl.'

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