Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine.

Chapter 11

Kagome sobbed in the circle of Kouga's arms as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital while a white-faced Hiro had gone into Yuki's room. The accident had been very serious and Yuki was lucky not to have been killed outright. How he had survived after his vehicle had made such violent contact with the tree was nothing short of a miracle. He had received a nasty blow to the side of his head and both of his legs had been broken, but his vital organs were all intact.

An hour after rushing into his brother's room at the hospital, Hiro emerged, his brown eyes solemn and red-rimmed. The doctor followed him out, shook his hand and told him to go home to get some rest.

Kouga and Kagome rose and went over to Hiro, who rubbed his eyes tiredly. Exhaustion and worry poured off of him in waves.

"How is he?" Kagome asked hesitantly. She reached out to touch him, but quickly retracted her hand, for fear he would slap it away. This was her fault. It just had to be. If she hadn't upset Yuki... if she hadn't chosen Kouga, then perhaps none of this would have happened.

But Hiro did not slap her hand away. Indeed, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. "He's...alive, thank Kami. I... I have something to tell you, but I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing. Of course, the doctor says it's too early to tell--"

Kagome looked up at him worriedly. "What's happened?"

Hiro cocked his head and gave her a strange little smile. "It appears that Yuki... has no recollection of what happened before the accident."

"What?" Kouga was astounded.

Shaking his head, Hiro hugged Kagome to him again. "He's lost some of his memory, Kouga. Believe me, the first thing I asked him was why the hell was he driving on icy roads when he was completely drunk off his ass. He just looked at me as though I was crazy and completely denied it. I asked him what was the last thing he recalled and he told me that he was at home talking on the phone with me." Hiro paused and shook his head again. "He thinks that the accident happened on his way over to visit me."

"May I go visit him?" Kagome asked quietly. "I mean, if you don't want me to, I won't. I don't want to upset him."

"Um, sure, Kagome, but he might be asleep right now. They had to put him on some pretty heavy sedatives--"

But Kagome was gone before he could finish. She knocked politely on the door and went in, closing the door behind her. "Yuki-sama?"

There was no answer and she went to stand beside his bed, choking back a startled gasp. The sight of him was so unsettling, she had to turn away for a minute to regain her composure. Her stomach roiled briefly, but settled when she steeled herself to look upon him once more. Thankfully, no blood was visible.

Yuki did not look like Yuki. His once equisite face was a gruesome mess; black and blue and swollen, with the right side of his face bandaged up. His golden hair was hidden away under still more bandages. Any trace of his ethereal beauty had been decimated and it tore at Kagome to see him this way, so helpless and vulnerable. She wondered how he would react when discovered that his looks, of which he was so exceedingly proud, might have been destroyed forever.

Looking down, she took hold of his left hand, which amazingly was uninjured. His fingers were beautifully slender, long and delicately tapered at the tips and she vaguely wondered if he was a musician or an artist. His other hand, she noted with some horror, was also wrapped up in those disturbing white bandages.

The carefully manicured fingers twitched slightly in hers and weakly clutched at her hand. "Yuki-sama?" she whispered again, looking into his poor, battered face and moving her face closer to his.

His left eye, the one not covered by bandages, could barely open but she just caught a glint green beneath the swollen lids. Pale lips curved upwards into a tentative smile. "So pretty..." he mumbled softly. "Pretty... angel... thought I was going... to that other place..." His eyes closed as he sank into unconsciousness.

Kagome stood froze in place, not believing what he had said. There must be some mistake, though. He must be delirious. Yes, that must be it. Yuki was delirious. After all, hadn't he hurt his head in the crash? The injury must have caused him to see things... illusions. Poor, poor Yuki. She would come by tomorrow and bring him a lovely bouquet of flowers. Perhaps she would be able to help him while he was healing and in doing so, try to make up for all the devastation she'd caused.

On the way home, Kagome rode in the front with Kouga, who'd driven them all to the hospital. Hiro was in the back seat, fast asleep. Silence reigned supreme for several long minutes.

But Kagome felt as though Kouga had something he wanted to say, for she could feel the tension wash over her with every breath he took. At last, she could take it no more. "Kouga..."

When she spoke his name, the words came pouring out of him. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I... I never wanted to keep any secrets from you, but that's not something you can really go around telling people, you know? I mean, it's not as if I'm proud of what I've done." He shot her a worried, sideways glance and sighed. "You probably hate me now, huh? I won't blame you if you decide to break up with me, Kagome. I mean, you trusted me with some of your secrets, but I couldn't even tell you this one thing."

Reaching out, Kagome gently touched Kouga's forearm and lightly clutched at his leather jacket. "Well, it was a pretty big one thing, wasn't it?"

That answer stunned Kouga and when they turned into her driveway, he put the car in park and turned to look at her, his heart pounding. "Yes. Yes, it was."

She turned in her seat to face him and stared back at him in the semi-darkness, the light over the garage doors shining in through the windshield, leaving half of her face in shadow. "I don't like the fact that you took human lives, Kouga." Her hand slid up from his arm to tenderly touch his face. "But that was many years ago, right? Because the Kouga I know wouldn't hurt anyone, no matter how much he was provoked." She smiled at him as a large tear slid down his face and after removing her glove, positioned her thumb to catch the drop, wiping it away. "Aww, don't cry. I couldn't hate you for what you've done in the past, because that's not who you are now."

Scooping her up into his arms, Kouga buried his face into her softly scented hair and squeezed his eyes shut. "I couldn't tell you something like that because I thought you'd hate me," he rasped out. "I wanted to protect you from that..."

Smiling against his shoulder, she returned his hug. "I know, Kouga and I appreciate the gesture. That means you truly care about me... and that's such a nice feeling."

Neither of them noticed, as Kouga moved to claim Kagome's lips, that the lump in the back seat was no longer asleep. In fact, he'd been awake for some time, ever since Kagome first spoke to Kouga. Hiro had watched and listened with a growing smile. Kouga certainly was a very lucky man to have a woman like Kagome. Very few women would want to continue a relationship with a man who had once murdered people for money.

But when they started kissing, he knew it was time to bail. "Ahem," he cleared his throat, causing the front seat passengers to jump. "No, no, you two keep doing what you're doing. I'll be going inside now. Kouga, try not to keep my girl up too late, okay?" Swiftly extricating himself from the car, he walked to the front door and let himself in.

He knew, even before he threw a last glance at them over his shoulder, that they had indeed continued doing what they were doing.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, Kagome returned to the hospital with flowers. She sat and watched him sleep for a long, long time, all the while curled up on the chair beside his bed. When the nurses came in to check on him, she always asked if she could help them. The nurses were very nice and allowed Kagome to give them a hand with simple tasks.

The whole time, the patient remained asleep. In fact, he stayed more or less unconscious for an entire week.

When he finally fully awoke, he found Kagome curled up in the comfortable arm chair, where she had nodded off.

He frowned. What was she doing here?

Almost as if she could hear his thoughts, Kagome's eyes opened and she looked up. "Yuki-sama, you're awake. I wanted to see if I could be of any help to you, if that's alright with you."

"What, did Hiro send you?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I came on my own. He's busy taking care of business, he said."

Yuki grunted and looked away from her. "Hmph. I'm sure he is."

"Oh, but he is!" She jumped up from her chair and came to stand beside his bed. "He had errands to run for the house and groceries to buy, not to mention that he was having dinner tonight with a girl he met in college." A pleased giggle escaped her lips. "I had the hardest time convincing Hiro to go out with her, but he finally decided to go through with it."

"I see. And I suppose he hasn't thought twice about me, huh," grumbled the invalid.

"You're wrong, Yuki-sama! Hiro's been here everyday to see you. Look! He even brought you this lovely bouquet of daffodils and bluebells. An odd combination, I must say, but don't they look wonderfully cheerful?" She brought the bouquet over to him so he could reach out and touch the delicate petals with his uninjured hand.

Tears gathered in Yuki's eye as he stared at the strange mixture of flowers. When Kagome saw this, she panicked and asked if he needed a nurse. He shook his head, his gaze never leaving the bouquet in Kagome's hands.

"Hiro is sending me a message with these flowers. The daffodils say that he sends his regards. With the bluebells... he says that... his love for me is constant." He tried to keep the smile off his face, but he wasn't successful. "He always knows how to make me feel better... damn him."

Setting the flowers back on the bedside table, Kagome said, "Wow. I didn't know you could send a message with flowers. Maybe Hiro could teach me one day."

He looked up into Kagome's face and something in the back of his mind struck him. Somewhere in the haze of the past week, he recalled seeing a lovely, ethereal creature standing over him. An angel, he believed it to be. But now, he knew that it hadn't been an angel at all. That incredible being had been none other than Kagome bending over him...

As for that young lady, she felt her face grow warm under Yuki's gaze. "Are you tired? I guess I should go and let you rest," she murmured and turned to gather her belongings.

Yuki did not want that to happen. Her presence was a soothing balm to him. She didn't have to be here, had no reason to stay with him, but she was here... and it made him happy to know that she cared enough to do so. "No, please don't go," he said, stretching his hand out to her.

She turned to look at him, doubt darkening her eyes. "Are you certain? I have no wish to upset you in any way, Yuki-sama." Her gaze fell to his outstretched hand.

"Please," he said again, his tone pleading. "I don't... want to be alone."

Kagome knew she probably shouldn't trust him, but she couldn't help it. His upset was genuine, she felt. There was no way she could turn him down.

With a smile she hoped was comforting, Kagome took his hand and his long fingers closed around hers. "Thank you," he whispered, his eye closing with exhaustion.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

That was the beginning of their friendship. She came to see him almost everyday and on the days following her absence, she would bring him a treat, knowing that he would be fussing at everybody because she hadn't been there to see him.

He was also upset that he would be spending his birthday in a hospital. March 3rd was only a couple of days away and he wanted out, but of course, that wasn't going to happen. To get his mind off of his predicament, she asked him what he would like for his birthday, to which he instantly snapped out of his funk and happily rattled off a list of things he wanted. Unfortunately, his mood swings had zapped what little strength he had and he was soon fast asleep.

Kagome watched him for awhile before finally falling asleep herself. After an hour, a soft knock came at the door and the two occupants within, stirred. Faintly, she could hear the door to Yuki's room open.

"So, the demon spawn has finally arisen from his thousand year sleep to once more wreak havoc on the unsuspecting populace."

Kagome came wide awake at these words. "Nani?"

A dark-haired man in a doctor's lab coat and carrying a clipboard was standing at the foot of Yuki's bed, staring dispassionately down at the prostrate man. Yuki was staring up at him with one narrowed green eye.

"Aw, shit. I'm stuck with you?" came Yuki's muffled voice.

"Yes, unfortunately for you. I, on the other hand, could care less, but since you're Hiro's brother--"

"Feh. Thought you were still out of the country."

"Nope. Got back yesterday. I could've taken the rest of the week off, but I just couldn't wait to be verbally abused by you so I came back to work early."

Kagome didn't know if she should interupt the two men. "Ano..." she began timidly.

The man turned cool emerald eyes on her and Kagome started. He had Yuki's eyes! Were they related?

"Ah, yes. Higurashi Kagome. It's a pleasure to meet you at last." The man came forward to take her hand in a friendly shake and offered her a handsome smile. "My name is Yamadera Akira. I'm a doctor here at this hospital." He turned his attention back on Yuki. "I'm also Yuki's cousin and just so you know, Yuki and I have never gotten along so please don't be alarmed at the words that will no doubt fly between us. I only agreed to keep an eye on him because Hiro asked me to."

Yamadera, huh, thought Kagome, watching the two men verbally spar with each other. That's Yuki's and Hiro's last name.

Kagome resumed her seat and stared up Akira, who'd turned to check Yuki's monitors on the other side of the bed. The profile that was presented to her reminded her of Hiro's own good-looking features. Even their hair was similar; both had the same softly tinted brown hair, but Hiro's had a bit of a curl, whereas Akira's was straight. And the fact that they shared the same last name meant that their fathers must be brothers, then. But with Akira's features, he could easily pass for their brother.

"So, you would have let me die?" Yuki asked, a hint of amusement coming through the pain in his voice.

"Probably not," Akira replied, "but it would have been awfully tempting."

Yuki chuckled as best he could. "Why not? Losing your touch, Akira?"

"No." Moving around the bed to stand between Kagome and the patient, Akira took a look at his clipboard and made a few notes. "I would have never forgiven myself if I'd neglected to save my loving aunt and uncle's eldest child... whom they still love very much."

Kagome look around Akira over at Yuki, who was no longer amused. "Get... out, Akira."

"Why? Can't bear to hear the truth?"

"Leave!"

Akira lowered his papers and glared hatefully at his cousin. "They miss you, Yuki, although for the life of me, I can't understand why. You were nothing but a little punk who made their lives miserable while you lived at home and I was glad when you left. You made your mother cry countless times, you bastard."

There was a gasp and one and a half sets of identical, blazing green eyes turned to look at Kagome. Akira turned his back on Yuki, effectively shielding Kagome when he saw that Yuki was opening his mouth, no doubt to say something hurtful to the young woman.

The handsome doctor grinned at her. "As I said, you shouldn't be alarmed at what we say. It's always been like this between us." He offered Kagome his arm. "Shall we leave for a bit? I was informed that you've been here all day, so I figured you must be hungry. I was about to go the cafeteria, but we could go somewhere else, if you prefer."

She got to her feet. "Um, sure. Thank you, Doctor Yamadera." Kagome blushed under his intense green gaze and for a moment, she thought it was Yuki staring at her.

"Oi!" wailed the patient unhappily.

Akira blatantly ignored Yuki's cries. "Please, call me Akira," said the doctor graciously to Kagome. He reached down and grabbed Kagome's coat and purse from the chair before leading her out of the room.

Left alone, Yuki felt like bursting into tears of frustration. Damn Akira! The bastard hadn't even been in the room ten minutes and he'd already managed to snag a date with Kagome. Well, perhaps not a date per se, but he'd gotten her to have a meal with him. Akira had always been a smooth talker, not unlike Yuki himself. But for his cousin to move in on his territory... Life was so unfair!

When Kagome was returned an hour later, Yuki was feverish with worry. Akira brought her into the room and led her straight back to her chair, where he made sure she was situated comfortably before kissing the back of her hand.

"You are the most delightful companion," he murmured appreciatively to her. "I wish to have lunch with you again sometime. Or perhaps dinner? I'm free tomorrow night."

"WHAT??" cried Yuki in a panicked voice. "Oi, Akira, you bastard! You can't do that! You hear me? I demand that you leave her alone!" Yuki was flailing his arms and trying to sit up in his bed.

Tossing a dark look over his shoulder at his relative, Akira heaved a sigh. "Would you be quiet, Yuki? You'll disturb the other patients. And you really should lay still, baka, or you'll injure yourself more."

"Oh, Yuki-sama! Please lay still!" Kagome jumped up and rushed to Yuki's side, gently pressing her hands to his chest. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

The second her hands touched him, he stilled, his one eye staring up at her with wonder. She smiled down at him and lightly pushed him back down to the mattress. His body relaxed and sank back onto the bed.

"That's better. I want you to take care of yourself, Yuki-sama, and I know Hiro would want you to do the same." Leaning forward, she plumped up the pillows under his head. When she moved back, she saw a dazed, starry-eyed look on his face and instantly became alarmed. "Yuki-sama! Are you okay?"

Still gaping up at her open-mouthed and with a brightly flushed face, Yuki nodded slowly. Her chest had been right in his face! He would have given much to have been able to put his face against her and breathe in her scent which was warm and delicate... gardenias, perhaps?

Akira sighed again. "I guess that's a no, Kagome?"

Kagome whirled around, guilt-stricken. "No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to let you think I was ignoring you!"

The physician laughed heartily. "It's okay! Don't worry about it, my dear." He reached into the inner breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a business card. "Here, take my card. Call me sometime so we can talk about Yuki without him overhearing us." He winked at her and left the room.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" Kagome would have dashed off after him but a hand gripped her wrist tightly. Turning, she saw Yuki looking at her with sadness.

"Don't leave me again," he whispered and pulled her closer to him until she lay half-way on top of him, her face close to his.

Needless to say, Kagome was shocked. "Yuki-sama? What are you--"

"My name is Yuki," he told her as he brought his hand up to cradle the back of her neck. "Just... Yuki."

His head came up and he kissed her startled mouth gently. For a moment, he thought that his heart had stopped beating... but then every nerve ending he possessed stood straight up and yelled for joy, which was immediately followed by a wave of heat that surged through him. Several times.

On the other end, Kagome thought her heart was going to stop. Yuki? Kissing her? She never would have believed that he would want to do something like that to her. He'd hated her for so long...but now that they were friends...

His lips grew insistent, and she couldn't resist anymore. There was something about this man that made her want him...

She kissed him back. She couldn't help it. Despite having been on the receiving end of his intense hatred, she had capitulated when he had begged for her to stay with him and not to leave him alone. His utter helplessness had touched her and his need for her made her happy.

Just as his fingers slid up into her hair, her cellphone went off. She froze. Hearing that particular tune being played, Kagome jerked away from Yuki and turned her back on him, her hand clutching her chest.

It was Kouga's ringtone.

"Excuse me," she said, grabbing her phone and dashing out of the room. "Moshi-moshi." Her voice trembled slightly and she prayed that he wouldn't detect it.

"Hiya, beautiful! Are you still at the hospital? I was hoping to take you out somewhere today. Wanna see a movie?"

Kagome smiled and dabbed at her eyes. She couldn't break down here, of all places. "Yes, I would love to see a movie with you, Kouga."

"Great! Just give me a few minutes and I'll come pick you up where you're at--"

"No, that's okay. I don't want you to have to drop me off to pick up my car later on. It'd be a hassle for you."

She didn't have to look at him to know he was frowning. "But it wouldn't be a hassle for me, baby, because you know I'd do anything for you." There was a pause and then he asked, "Hey, are you okay? If you're not feeling well, I can come get you. You shouldn't be around all those depressing sick people anyway. Its not good for you."

Unable to help herself, Kagome smiled. "And you shouldn't be worrying about me all the time. That's Sesshoumaru's job."

Kouga chuckled. "Don't forget Hiro. He's just as bad. But seriously, love, do you want me to come get you?"

"Iie. I'll go home in a few minutes. I want to shower and change before we go out."

He purred in her ear. "Let me join you?"

She laughed. "Iie! Don't be silly, Kouga."

A heavy sigh. "Well, it was worth a try. But you'd better get home before I make it there because you'll find me in the shower waiting for you."

When Kagome returned to Yuki's room, she found him struggling to sit up in bed, his eyes dark with worry. "Where did you go? What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Agh! Don't sit up!" Kagome cried and hurried over to his side. "Please, lay down. Yes, everything's fine. I just stepped outside to take a phone call."

"Are you going to leave me?" he asked abruptly.

She stood quite still, her hands still resting against his torso. "Yuki--"

His solitary eye watched her intently. "You are, aren't you?" He waited for her to respond, but she said nothing. "I see. Then you should go. I don't want to keep you."

"Yuki--"

Shaking his head, he looked away from her. Saddened, she turned to gather her things. When she was about walk away, she felt something tugging at the back of her shirt. It was Yuki, who had grabbed hold of her clothing. With her right hand, she grabbed hold of his wrist and he instantly let go of her shirt. He slid his hand down until he was holding her hand, letting his fingers interlace with hers.

"I'll let go you for today, but promise me you'll be here tomorrow. You'll be here tomorrow, right? Promise me or I won't release you."

The pouting frown on his face was adorable. 'He's just like a child,' she thought to herself, feeling a little flutter of joy in her chest. Beneath under all his thorny, crusty layers was a little boy who didn't want to be alone, who desperately wished to be loved and cared for.

"I promise to come back tomorrow, Yuki."

"You're not just saying that, are you? So I'd let you go? I want proof that you mean what you say, Kagome."

Kagome looked puzzled. "How shall I prove to you that I'm telling you the truth?"

There was a mischievious glint in his eye that sent a shiver down her spine. What would he ask of her?

"If you're telling me the truth, then kiss me again." The look on her face amused him. "But if you don't, I won't allow you to leave. Then you'll have to stay with me for the rest of the night."

"Without letting go?" she asked, amazed.

"Nope. Once I grab onto something, I don't like letting go." The look he gave her left her no doubt what he was talking about.

Nodding, Kagome bent down and as she was aiming for his cheek, Yuki moved his face slightly so that her lips landed on his. When she moved away, cheeks scarlet, Yuki chuckled. "You naughty girl. You were trying to get away with a peck on the cheek. But that's okay, I got what I required. Just remember that you promised me you'd return." He released her hand and let his rest across his abdomen. "Don't forget me."

Slipping into her coat, she smiled at him. "I don't think that would be possible," she told him. "You're a rather interesting person, Yuki." Giving him a wink, she departed, leaving behind a pleased, but already lonely, young man.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N: Hey guys! Um...I couldn't help but have Akira in this story too. I'm crazy about the boy, what can I say? Originally, he wasn't supposed to appear in this fic, but I couldn't keep him out of it. I like the rocky relationship between him and Yuki. Just like in For The Better, Akira gets along very well with Hiro in this story, too.