Caving In
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the characters. That privilege is reserved to the most honorable Rumiko Takehashi. I bow down to her awesomeness!
A/N- thoughts are in italics… hint hint. I will update as soon as I am able. Please review either at the end of chapters or when you are finished completely, either is fine w/ me. Thank you for choosing to read this fanfic! It is the first I've ever posted. I appreciate all types of feedback!
Chapter 3: Atonement
It was graduation week and today was the day of the hands-on final in Professor Okinu's lab class. The test was on how to administer the appropriate surgery, the post-surgery therapies, and the medications to a cancer patient. This was the moment Kagome had been waiting on for four years. This was her atonement for feeling like she failed in saving her father. She walked up to the bed she had been assigned to and grabbed the chart at the end of the bed.
~Atonashi, Rin
9 years old (minor)
Parent/Guardian- Okinu, Sesshoumaru
Patient No. 7295
Diagnosis:
Patient 7295 has gone in for multiple MRI and CAT scans. After multiple blood tests, patient's ailment is diagnosed as Leukemia.
Sesshoumaru Okinu
Supervising Doctor~
Kagome looked up in shock to actually see her professor's charge smiling weakly at her.
She thought to herself, 'Why me? Why is she my final? If I don't help her then…' Kagome looked over at her professor. 'I'm gonna fail…' Her hopes heavy, Kagome's head slumped to her chest, the chart hid her defeated face.
"Nurse?" Rin asked.
Kagome's head snapped back up to look at the sickly girl. "Yes?" She said, while she thought, 'I'm not a nurse yet…'
"Am I gonna get better soon?"
These words froze the young student's body and mind. They froze her right down to her soul. Kagome had no idea if what she was going to suggest to Rin was going to work quickly. But she had a very, strong knowledge that it would heal the child over time.
To reassure the girl, Kagome just smiled. "Don't you worry. With what I'm going to prescribe for you, you'll be healthy as a horse in no time at all!"
Rin' smile transformed from a dim light to a beaming beacon after Kagome's words of encouragement. The warmth Kagome felt from the little girl's heart was all encompassing and bewildering at the same time. And in one moment it was all over.
The prescribed meds, surgery, and therapies were exchanged between her and Rin. Afterwards, Rin walked up to Kagome and gave her a grateful hug. Kagome smiled warmly at her, as Rin walked out the door to go home with Professor Okinu, hand in hand.
"Man… I hope she's gonna be okay." Kagome thought aloud, still clutching Rin's chart to her chest.
A hand fell to rest on her shoulder and she turned to see Hojo smiling down at her.
"Need me to walk you home?" He asked.
Flustered, Kagome replied, "Yeah…"
As they walked out the lab door Kagome gave him a look that apologized for her rudeness before class. Hojo just smiled.
Out in the city
The city grew colder later that morning around six o'clock. Kagome had spent almost two whole hours at medical school taking final after final until she was done for the entire week. The next four days were to be spent getting ready for graduation day and the parties that were to ensue after the ceremony. Kagome breathed hot air into her mittened hands and drew her black, wool jacket and her black scarf closer to her to keep from freezing. Her blue knee-length skirt was whipping in the wind, along with her long raven hair. A large wind gusted her hair into her eyes so that she couldn't see in front of her. When she finally tamed her hair back into place, Kagome noticed the first white flurries of the day floating down in front of her. She sighed as she walked down the steps towards the underground where her friends were waiting for her.
"Kagome! Over here!" A voice called through the crowds.
Kagome looked over to the concrete alcove where the voice called from. Ayumi was standing there waving her over. Kagome waved back at her and pushed her way through the crowds. She and Hojo had parted at the university doors because he remembered that he had interviews at local hospitals that afternoon. Kagome sure wished that he was there now to help her through this mess of people.
In the midst of the crowd, something small ran between Kagome's already stumbling feet tripping her. She gave a small noise of surprise, then felt the cold floor rushing up to her as she fell. Her eyes tightly closed and her body braced for the rough impact of hitting the floor. It never came. Slowly, she opened her dark russet eyes to see a pair of stormy gray eyes staring back at her.
