It's finally here: Chapter 8, which is really 9 thanks to my note. I have to say thank you and sorry to you all for having to wait so long for this chapter. It feels nice to have it up now too. I don't feel quite as guilty. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have I ever owned, the Inuyasha series. This also includes the various characters from said Anime/Manga.
Kagome had never missed a day of school before. Never, not once. At least, not since before she could remember. Yet, when one curls themselves up into a protective shell in a desperate attempt to forget, how could one ever be expected to remember anything ever again? Perhaps it was even better that way, for Kagome wasn't quite sure if she wanted to remember anything before this morning after what had happened last night. A distant alarm tolled across the room from the pitiful girl lying under the covers of her nighttime haven. It was too bad that she was already up, and not going anywhere. Glazy, bloodshot, puffy eyes turned their attention painfully towards the unsolicited noise, and weary feet somehow found their way to the floor; thus far carrying Kagome, or whatever she had become-a dull, lifeless corpse of a girl, perhaps- forward on legs made of rubber or some like material. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. She stumbled a bit as she reached the alarm, her fingers grasping for and finding the alarm switch. The machine made a small hissing noise, and then fell silent at her touch as to be expected. She made a small noise of half-hearted relief at this. After all, nothing mattered much to her anymore, not after last night. Not after…. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she tugged at her hair, shaking her head violently. Don't think about that. It was almost too bitter to be a command. But, then maybe her mind felt empty too. Hollow, like nothing would be the same. Her eyes opened and came to rest on a picture inside a handsome rosewood frame given to her by Sango as a birthday present in a time that seemed like decades ago, instead of just a year, in a time when she had been happy. The picture inside was of all her friends at the end of her first year as a freshmen. As usual, in the picture Sango was glaring at Miroku for trying to cop a feel on someone; Natsuki, Sango's friend and Kirara's – her nekomata's- personal groomer, was winking, her one orange cat slit eye glowing eerily; Koga was grinning like an idiot with his good friend Kisana at his side; Namine, a down and sullen friend of Miroku and Sango, was frowning as per usual, and Saki and Ashley, two of her close friends, were on either side of a younger version of herself. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of picture, taken only when the person to whom the camera belongs to remembers they have it. Of course, only she would have been so spontaneous. A smaller picture of Rin, Kohaku, his girlfriend Naveah, and the soft-spoken Adokenai had been cut up and added to the picture later, seeing as they hadn't been attending high school yet, and some still weren't. Slowly Kagome pressed a trembling finger to the glass. Yes, this would be the only day since before she could remember that she would be missing school, and the only day that she missed having the opportunity to talk to her friends, her only lights in her forever darkening world. A familiar grumbling noise reached her ears through her cracked open window, and her eyes narrowed as a certain silver-haired, amber-eyed hanyou, cussing characteristically, ran with his demonic speed towards the source of the ruckus—the yellow school bus parked at a bus stop in front of her house. The sight of him and his entire demonic splendor brought back a whole flood of warded off memories from the night before, and Kagome was forced to turn away from the sight until the street was once again distilled of the rumbling of the bus's reverberations. It was ironic, really. She had wanted to be on that bus in the morning, planning all the possible ways of escaping out from under her mother's watchful eyes the night before as she lay in bed, her tear ducts run dry as last night's memories played over and over cruelly in her mind. However, the moment she saw Inuyasha, she knew she wouldn't have been able to get on that bus with him. The wounds were too fresh, too deep, too painfully ground. Thank god my mother is overly concerned and won't let me go to school until I'm practically swoon free. Wouldn't her mother be surprised tomorrow. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, Kagome, she told herself firmly. She swayed her way back across the room maladroitly, plopping herself face first onto her bed. What did it matter if she laid there until her mom took her to the doctor's at eight? Her mother had already called the school and informed the staff of Kagome's illness to prevent an escape; the cat was out of the bag now. Sighing, she buried her head into her pillow, a new wave of acrimony overtaking her.
"Inuyasha…this is all your fault…" Maybe it was just the pillow, but her voice sounded muffled and choked to her own ears. The feeling of something wet and warm sliding down her face proved her wrong; it had nothing to do with the pillow, and she swiped at her cheeks and sniffed. So maybe it wasn't Inuyasha's fault after all. Still, it was nothing to cry over. It had been her problem for getting her hopes up too high yesterday. Inuyasha's harangue was only Kami's way of showing her it was time to move on. Kami's way… Kagome shifted so that she was sitting up, a smile touching her lips and a wonderful idea working its way into her mind. The doctor's office in which she would be attending thanks to her mother was two blocks down from Adokenai's Shinto Shrine where she lived wither her father's sister, Taka Hiroshi. As far as Kagome knew, she had lived there most of her life; ever since her parents died in a house fired when she was only eight years old. Yet, Kagome felt kinda bad for the girl, having to live with such a young, biased, and cruel woman who didn't really know or car how to watch over a child. If anything, it was a reason to go see the freshmen at the Shrine even more. It wasn't like she wouldn't be there, after all. Her Aunt had her come home around school lunchtime so she could be at the shrine during the afternoon to help with shrine functions and whatnot since she was the only miko at her small shrine. Kagome smiled dourly. She was somewhat of a miko herself, so perhaps Taka would allow her to pay the polite girl a visit. Most likely, and Kagome didn't doubt it in the least, it would do both herself and Adokenai some good. If Taka refused, she'd argue that she had been a miko and could therefore help out, which wasn't entirely not an option at this point. Personally, if Taka was there, Adokenai could probably use all the help she could get. Kagome nodded satisfactorily at her plan. It wouldn't quite be like seeing most of her friends as she would have at school, but at least it was something. A knock sounded at the door, causing Kagome to jump. Who could that be?
"Kagome, may I come in?" Her mother's voice asked as it wafted through the closed door.
A sigh of relief escaped Kagome's lips and she felt herself relax despite her hammering nerves. She hated the doctor's. Well, at least she'd be able to talk to her mom about her plans. "Yes, Mom, you can." She prepared herself for the creak of the door that she was so used to hearing, but to her bitter amazement, the door swung open without so much as a sound. Stupid, new house…Her mother stood in the doorway, smiling in a way that almost made her heart thaw from its current icy state. It was the kind of smile that one would give someone they were ultimately and irrevocably proud of. Truth be told, every time her mother smiled like that in the past year, she had to turn away. She had messed up so many times- with Inuyasha, with everyone- that she couldn't possibly imagine how anyone could possibly be proud of her. Twelve months ago, she would have beamed right back, but now she was reduced to looking down as if she was ashamed; like she was pretending to be something she wasn't.
"How are you feeling, dear?" Her mother's voice was velvety soft near the doorway; cautious perhaps.
Kagome concentrated as hard as she could on the hands in her lap, turning the fingers to examine the deep violet nail polish on their tips over and over. Finally, she looked up at the older woman, a forced smile gracing her expression. "Yea, I guess it was just fatigue, 'cause of the move and all."
"Oh honey," Arisa simpered, walking up to Kagome's bed and sitting down. She placed her hands on top of Kagome's clasped ones in a comforting gesture. "I know it's hard; it's been hard on all of us. But, it will get better, just wait and see."
Kagome had to choke back a laugh. Oh, mom, you have no idea…
"Um…" Souta peeked his head sheepishly around Kagome's door, trying to keep as much of himself invisible as possible.
From experience, Kagome automatically knew what was happening. He locked eyes with her for a moment, trying to communicate something vital to her own chocolate brown orbs. She rolled her eyes in irritation, beckoning him to come in with her hand.
"Mom, Souta missed the bus," She eyed her younger brother coolly as he shuffled inside, putting pressure on the last word, "again."
"Oh, again?" It really was amazing how calm and loving her mother could be. Kagome had to give her props for that.
Souta's head drooped at the disappointed expression on their mother's face. Well, it was his fault. If there was one thing Kagome had learned from Junior high and her first year of high school it was that if you let your alarm snooze, you lose… big time. She watched bemusedly as her mother walked over to Souta and wrapped him up into a hug.
"It's okay, dear."
"Mom," Souta whined, looking up at her in desperation, "Can you take me to school?" I don't wanna miss a day, and all. There's this really big math test and if I don't go, I'll hafta make it up! And I studied for hours…"
Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. Make-up work, another thing she'd have to worry about; really, as if she didn't have enough to worry about. Just thinking about it put her in a horrible mood.
"…and what about my girlfriend? We were planning on doing something right after school! What's she gonna do if I don't show up? And Kohaku, and Nave-"
"Enough!" Kagome snapped, standing up. Souta jumped a bit, and Kagome's mother held a hand to her chest in surprise, but Kagome's eyes held Souta in a venomous glare. Who cared really? She couldn't talk the whimpering anymore. "Quit whining, Souta! If you need someone to take you, go ask Grandpa! Mom needs to stay here and take me to see Doctor Totosai. She doesn't have the time to run you to school."
"Gah….oh…okay…" Souta fumbled, shaking a bit. "I…d-didn't know Grandpa was up. I'll, um, go ask."
Trying to scurry out of the room as quickly as possible, he tripped over a box with an 'eep', and nearly tumbled down the stairs as he vanished out of sight. 'Fraidy cat,' Kagome mouthed at his back.
"Kagome!"
Kagome turned to her mother, recoiling from the shocked look on her face. "Sorry, Mom."
"Well," Her mother breathed, looking around the new room distractedly, "Shall we go then?"
Kagome nodded and walked towards her until her plan threw itself back into her mind, and she paused to reconsider it. Eventually she turned to her mother with a smile. "Mom, after we go to the doctor's can we please go to Adokenai's shrine?"
She bit her lip as her Mother, too, contemplated it. Though her mother was kind and generous to everyone, Kagome wasn't sure exactly what her tolerance was for Taka. After all, she really was a biased and arrogant woman.
"Well…" Kagome snapped out of her reverie. Her mother was holding two fingers to her cheek, her left elbow balanced on top of the arm wrapped around her chest. It was somewhat of an intelligent pose, representing wisdom and thoughtfulness. In a lot of ways, it made Kagome proud that Arisa was her mother. She certainly didn't go rushing into things without giving it as least a little bit of thought. "Adokenai… isn't she that sweet, quiet girl who works at Taka's shrine?" So she already knew Taka. Kagome swallowed, and then nodded, wondering if she should have lied. Her mother went quiet again, thinking once more.
It was a moment or two before she spoke, causing Kagome to jump. "I… suppose. I haven't seen Taka in awhile. It would be nice to see her again."
Kagome gawked at her mother, choking on her words. Nice? To see Taka?! She wasn't sure how anyone could stand the desolate woman. Yet, here was her mother, smiling pleasantly as if she was actually enjoying the idea. Tch, parents.
"Ready to go?" Kagome shook off the shock as her mother extended her arm to her daughter, seeking to loop her arm through Kagome's.
"Yea," Kagome smiled, complying. Together, they walked out of the room; arm in arm.
It was a quiet, twenty minute trip to the doctors; both teenager and mother not feeling the need to talk. Who needed talking anyway? They were content enough to bask merely in each other's company. Or at least Kagome was content. Just as she had begun to really enjoy the silence -her CD player turned up loud as she closed her eyes to listen to the Rhythm of "Gravity of Love" by Enigma and chewed on a piece of gum graciously offered to her when she first entered the car- the car jerked to a stop. Through her headphones she heard the sound of her mother opening her car door and getting out. At first she had thought her mother had gone insane (who would get out of a car in the middle of the road?), but when she looked out the window she groaned. It was the hospital. The car had come to a stop in the parking lot of three large buildings, all of which were connected at strange odds and ends, making it look like when the first building had run out of room, a construction worker was called in to spasmodically and hastily build another addition. It was obvious from the different styles of the buildings that they were all from different time periods. The first, the one they were parked in front of, was by far the oldest. It was made of brick, with medieval looking windows and a flat roof. The second was smaller, with a bit more security than the first, and also made of brick, though brighter in color than the first. From what Kagome knew, it was all offices on the inside. The last was without a doubt the most appealing. Made of cream colored material that was plastic textured to the touch but hard and firm as cement, this building had a hooded entrance that reminded Kagome of a blanket. Modern windows adorned the front, back, and sides, and a helicopter pad and emergency area lay behind. Altogether, much more sterile and up kept looking. Unfortunately, Kagome's mother led her into the first building, the grungiest of the three, go figure. Her doctor didn't have a practice of his own, so, like most in the area, he had one in the hospital. Since he was old and went into the medical field so long ago that it made Kagome wonder if he was immortal, it was only natural that his office was in the crummy, old, first hospital building. Really, someone needed to clean this place up; it couldn't be healthy. She shuddered at a rusty, reddish stain running down one of the walls as she was dragged past it and the musty hospital check-in desk towards the ancient elevators. Surprisingly, they were made of metal. No matter how many times she visited the doctor, she still half expected a rope and pulley. Her mother hummed to herself as she pressed the elevator's "up" button; having to press it two times before it lit up and decided to pend her request.
A few minutes went by as the ancient machine clanked to life, urged on by some force that Kagome couldn't begin to comprehend; well, it was that old. As soon as the clanking and grinding stopped, it was immediately followed up by the ping of the door sliding open. With a smile of great patience, Arisa walked in first motioning for her daughter to do the same. Making sure that her face showed exactly how much she was going to detest using the safety hazard of a contraption, she squared her shoulders and prepared to launch herself-as slowly as possible- into the small space. The door attempted to close itself right as she was halfway through walking into it, and nearly pressed her up against the elevator and hospital wall as she forced herself to pick up the pace. So much for trying to make a slow entrance, Kagome thought as she sighed morbidly while dusting herself off and glaring at the door; for once she found herself cursing some existence that wasn't her own, the dinner's, or the hospital's.
"Or Inuyasha's…" She sucked in a breath, shivering. Wrong. Don't think like that, it's wrong, and so entirely not his fault. Don't you remember? It was your own, and now, great. You sound just like what he's become. Then again, perhaps there's a monster in us all. This small reminder from the back of her mind sent an even greater amount of shivers up her spine. She pushed the memory it accompanied to the back of her mind, along with the warning. It didn't matter any more what Inuyasha could become, anyways.
The quiet voice that belonged to her thoughts had fallen silent, which was good. She was in no mood for anymore mental torture-not here, not now. Yesterday, and last year were terrible, but they were through, over, and they weren't going to happen again, not if she could afford it. The elevator pinged again, and the door opened to reveal a corridor lighted only by windows on either side of its narrow hall. There were no nurses' stations here, nor rooms for patients. Instead, this long stretch of long tiled floor with blank, smooth walls and windows on both sides led to another building; the Ketterman building, home of the offices. So, maybe the doctor had moved after all.
"Mom," Kagome tilted her head to the side, and halted their progress. "Since when did Doctor Totosai move his office?"
The older woman shrugged, beckoning to Kagome that they should keep moving, and for good reason; after having to stop for gas at a local station and running into a few old, concerned friends, they were running a little late according to Kagome's watch.
"Doctor Totosai was having some…. problems… with some former customers." Arisa answered, distractedly looking around for a sign explaining their best route to wherever the office was.
Kagome snorted. That sounded like the doctor to her. By nature, Totosai was a grungy old man; almost as grungy as his abnormal, shabby dark green scrubs. His eyes were large, though he himself short and thin, with small black pupils and no visible iris coloring, and his short, receding hair would be pulled back into the same grey ponytail she was so used to. Kojiro had once told her that he had taught students special techniques with the sword at one period of time long ago, such as a much younger Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and Kojiro himself. However, Totosai was never a very brave soul, and he had soon retired to the quiet life of a doctor where he could be protected by the hospital and malpractice insurance. Inuyasha, however, had been taught later than Sesshomaru with his sword after Totosai has become a doctor, but he was a special case. Kagome didn't wince at this, as she had before when blaming him, realizing that today, at least, there was no way around thinking about him. Wincing was a futile reaction, like running when you are trapped and there is nowhere to go.
"So," Her mother continued. She had found a map and had looked at it carefully for a moment before continuing on their way. "He moved his office. Only his best and favorite former customers/students know where his new office is."
"You mean you and Mr. Inutaisho," Kagome breathed coolly, "And what category do you fall under, I wonder?"
"Among others," Her mother shrugged, smiling and avoiding her daughter's question.
Kagome sighed in scorn. "It's also a wonder the hospital puts up with Doctor Totosai, bringing in as little customers as he does. It can't be beneficial to the hospital, and I know we aren't paying him a whole lot nowadays."
"Mmm, that's true," Her mother answered softly, steering Kagome around a corner. "Inutaisho's paying for it, actually."
"Oh…wait, why?"
"He feels like it's somewhat his family's fault that you fainted for some reason. He and Izayoi wanted to make it up to you." Her mother explained this slowly, thoughtfully. Kagome could tell she was running each word over carefully in her mind so as to try and completely understand herself. "I don't see how they think so…"
Kagome looked away at this, ashamed but agreeing halfheartedly with Inuyasha's parents. If she hadn't been forced so close to their son, after so many months of avoidance, after a year, maybe she wouldn't have fainted. Yet, it hadn't been quite their fault, exactly. How could they have known? It wasn't her place to say that her mother didn't have the right to visit her friends. Kagome grimaced as she was lead into another bright hallway with dark blue carpet and tawny, professional looking doors with gold and black nameplates bolted to the smooth wooden surfaces of the doors. Great, now she felt guilty. Quickly she looked around, trying to distract herself from the guilt. Secretary desks built into walls lay behind the doors, along with perhaps a few off-color waiting chairs, a low square table with magazines, and maybe even a fake potted plant or two with a cooler filled with water just beside. She couldn't be quite sure with most; she was drug past them too quickly to get a clear view through the glass opposite each side of the doors. The offices seemed to go on ad finite, a ceaseless corridor of sterilized rooms, scrubbed floors, and the sickly sweet smell of Pepto-Bismol or some other medicine. It was awhile until her mother stopped a very dazed Kagome, dizzy off the smell of lye and sweet bitterness, at the very last door where the hallway got narrower, and things were cleaner than ever. There was a door there, in that place of sluiced hallway that seemed to defy the building before it. The door to this office was a lot fancier than the rest also, with nice, handsome, dark wood and maintained potted rose bushes on either side of the door. A young, bright, and very pretty nurse with marvelously good autumn designed scrubs sat behind a desk as opposed to the regular, older nurses that usually occupied them, glum from the doom of knowing there were too late to get out of working in the medical field, but desperately hoping they could. Somewhere in the back of her mind Kagome wondered suspiciously why the hospital was going through all this extensive work just to keep Doctor Totosai happy. What was he, part of a hospital scam cover-up being paid to keep his mouth shut? Well, that wouldn't surprise her either. The water in the place had always tasted kinda weird. Hospital drugs in the water, maybe. She was brought back to earth as her mother hurried her up to the desk and the overly euphoric nurse sitting behind it. The nurse- "Yuffie" as her name tag read- folded her hands in front of her and smiled cheekily at the both of them as they approached, and Kagome did a once over of the girl before groaning. It was definitely true; the woman couldn't be any older than 24 years old, with a lithe, thin body, and short, straight, black hair and brown eyes. Two pointed ears were unmistakably hidden behind her headset, and her smile revealed two sharp and pointed canines. So, Yuffie was an "Aristocrat;" a demon; yet another thing that didn't surprise her. Go figure.
"The Doctor's waiting for you, Miss." The raven beauty giggle, winking at Kagome as she blew a very large blue bubble and let it pop obnoxiously; she was chewing gum, too. Kagome smiled despite herself. So what if the girl was a little obnoxious? At least she was attempting to make this agonizing trip as fast and easy as possible; which, by all means, made her one hundred percent okay in Kagome's book. "Only thing is, Hun, you'll need this cup." Oops, never mind. Kagome raised an eyebrow as the nurse gracefully set a small, plastic cup down on the desk with her delicate hands; so much for "fast and easy." Lucky thing she hadn't had time to go to the bathroom that morning.
"What for?" Kagome asked, trying to make her expression as blank and puzzle as possible. Play dumb, Kagome. Good girl. After all, playing dumb is like playing fetch. No matter how much you pretend you don't notice the idea/ball, you're going to have to pick it up on it eventually.
The nurse snorted, gritting her teeth. So, she'd played this game before; probably at least once in her really small amount of an experience level if her age was anything to go by. "Urine sample, Hun. All patients are required to give one. In case of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or an illness we have yet to detect."
Kagome gritted her teeth, also. Sexually transmitted diseases? Oh, Kami, spare me.
"I don't have to go." Immediate reaction; nice one.Maybe she'd actually win this fight. It was funny, before she said that one little sentence, she had been fine. Now, she almost had to cross her legs.
The nurse sighed. "Then, afterwards… as long as it's done."
Kagome beamed, inwardly snickering. Oh, it would get done… the instant hell froze over. The nurse blew another bubble and walked towards a door on her right. She cursed quietly as she pulled out a ring of keys from her pocket, looking at each bemusedly. Kagome's mother raised an eyebrow and was about to ask the nurse if she needed help, but Kagome shook her head. It was the nurse's own fault if she couldn't find the right key, not theirs; and, despite earlier pretenses, she now felt a slight dislike of this pretty young demon, and her now even more than ever obnoxious bubblegum as she repeatedly made bubbles and popped each of them with a loud crack. There was a slight rattle of keys as the desired one was found, and a similar rattle as it was inserted into the door. Sure enough, as the nurse finally turned the key, the door swung open and the nurse moved away. Kagome blinked cautiously, half expecting hell to open up and rush out from the other side to engulf her. She slowly took a step forward toward the door and then another, examining the white-washed, new-looking hallway and its candy, not Pepto-Bismol, sweet smell. Well, it wasn't hell, but it was the doctor's, which pretty much excused it as the closest thing to it. Just as she wasn't about to take the step through the doorway into this excuse for "hell," ready to argue with her mother as softly as possible that this all wasn't necessary, that she, Kagome, would rather not give a urine sample if she could help it, and that she would give her regards to Inuyasha's mother and father, something came into her line of vision that nearly knocked her off her feet.
"It-it's a…" Kagome stared at the thing in shock and confusion. "…a cow…. with three eyes…."
The nurse shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, about that," she giggled nervously, "Totosai's pet, you see. It usually stays in his regular office, so it's no surprise you haven't seen it before."
Kagome twitched, about to open her mouth to say something, but failing miserably, she shut it and shook her head in disbelief. What was there really to say? A few "Aristocrats" was one thing, a three-eyed cow another. The cow moved across the opposite side of the hall, all dark brown against the white wall. It was a bull with horns, and, sure enough, three eyes, but seemed to be only the size of a small female; a runt calf, if it was possible, or one still growing, maybe. It got up and trotted over to her, attempting to sniff at her as she flinched away from it uncertainly.
The nurse tapped her foot impatiently, and glared sternly at Kagome. "Go on, you're running late. It won't hurt you. Actually, it seems to like you."
Kagome's nose wrinkled in distaste as it dug its nose into her stomach, grabbing a hold of her shirt and pulling her forward along with it. About to turn back and argue with her mother, she saw the door close with a click, and could only stare at it helplessly as the bull pulled her forward and around a corner, until they finally stopped at an open door. As it released her, uttering a small 'moo,' Kagome patted its head with relief.
"It's about time." Kagome straightened up, startled, as an old man hobbled out of the room they were standing in front of, scratching his balding scalp. So the bull at led her to its master; also not a surprise.
"Doctor Totosai." She replied in cold greeting, eyeing the old doctor in his odd dark green and black striped scrubs. It was like he had an unlimited supply of those things.
"Well, come in then," He snorted in return, crossing his arms and staring at her sternly. "We've got a lot of things to cover, and not a lot of time."
She scowled at him and slowly stepped in, him closing the door behind her with a "clack." She heard the bull give another soft 'moo' before padding off toward Totosai's office as she was ushered into a cushioned, blue chair that felt comfortable enough, despite where it was. Grudgingly, she took a look around. As much as she hated admitting it, she had to give Totosai points for knowing how to make his patients feel at home. The walls weren't white like usual, uniform hospital offices' walls were supposed to be, but a light cream colored yellow, like butter. A window lay at one end of the room, its windowpane carved out in soothing wave patterns and toned down white and blue striped curtains were held back to allow enough of the morning light to give the room character. The cabinets were white-washed and sterile looking; all instruments neatly organized and put in their proper places on top of the deep blue counter. The deep blue of the counter matched that of the chairs, and the cushioned examination table as well. Pictures of modern art- also in only blue and yellow colors- hung by posters with inspiring message scrawled across them in exactly the same colors as well. They weren't exactly in the same languages throughout, and one of the posters- in Latin- caught her attention. "Dum Spiro Spero," it read. From one year of Latin class that she had taken so far, this meant: "While I breathe, I hope." She kinda liked that one.
"Better room than last time, eh?" Totosai drawled, smiling at her in a way that only the wise and old can.
She snorted and looked away from the poster. "I suppose I can manage this time around."
Totosai chuckled, sitting down at a handsome white desk beside her chair and staring down at a packet of papers distractedly. "Let's hope no one comes along and ruins it."
Kagome was looking at another poster, a Christian one this time, in Latin that read: "Anno Domini" or "In the year of (Our) Lord," and had to ask Totosai to repeat himself before she could answer. As the statement was repeated to her, she couldn't help but feel a small bit of curiosity bubble up from inside of her, and it surprised her a little. This was the first time she had gotten along so well with Doctor Totosai, much less any doctor at all; usually she was ranting and raving about one thing or another by now.
"Who would ruin it for you?" She inquired, more concerned about the room than whom the culprit would be. Anyone who would destroy such a nice little place had a problem they seriously needed to fix.
Totosai seemed to mull over her question for a few moments, flipping an occasional page of two as he reviewed her report. "Those two dog demons I see sometimes, of course." Kagome twitched as she realized who he was talking about, but let it go. It wasn't like he knew talking about that particular family of dog demons affected her. "Puppy demons if you ask me. They fight with each other whenever they get too near, but that's besides the point…" He paused to look up thoughtfully, before continuing. "It was on a particular day in which I was seeing Inuyasha, the younger of the two, but of course you know that."
Kagome gulped, and nodded. She did know that. Inuyasha never got tired of complaining about it. At least, he hadn't when she had actually been talking to him a year ago. "What happened?"
Totosai scratched his head apprehensively, frowning as though something were bothering him. "Well, it was a simple case of refusing to eat anything, is all; only just a few months ago by the by. Everything was going fine, when we got to the physical part of the examination…."
Kagome bit her lip. It wasn't like Inuyasha to have something wrong with him physically. He was half demon for Kami's sake! Most of the time when he got hurt, things healed up right away. Totosai cleared his throat and she immediately focused on him, eager to hear more despite herself.
"Now, Inuyasha is no lightweight," Totosai told her sternly, as though she were arguing otherwise. "And he knows how to take care of himself. He may not be worthy of that sword I crafted for his father, but he does know enough to at least check his wounds after training, and so on if not treat them. But this was different." He leaned back, sighing and staring out the window, lost in memory. "Normally, a half-demon will heal up right away, with nothing left behind thanks to their demon blood as you know from Kojiro, who as my pupil no doubtedly taught you such things. So, it goes without saying that I was surprised to find a scar on his arm."
Kagome sat up straight at this, her eyes widening. It wasn't possible. "A scar?"
This time, it was he who nodded. "Yes, a scar. It was no wonder it wasn't visibly seen, since it ran along the vital vein of his arm where his haori would usually cover. Most peculiar thing I've ever seen and worrying to boot. I suppose he hadn't meant to show it to me, must have been too consumed in his own thoughts to notice. But, when I mentioned it to him, he jerked his arm from me as though he'd been burned."
Kagome sucked in a breath. Did that mean…? "What happened next?" She demanded, loosing her polite tone just a tad. Totosai shrugged, now jotting something down on the packet. Any other day, she would have been suspicious and would have tried to read it, but not today, not now after what she was hearing.
"It was obvious to me by then that this…. scar of sorts… was intentional, seeing as he was already making such a fuss over it. Also, it had to be. The only way her a demon to be scarred in such a manner would be if they somehow worked acid or poison into the wound, and Sesshomaru never would have written words into Inuyasha's skin- and oh yes, the scar was in the form of words," Totosai added, noticing Kagome's alarmed expression. "Therefore, it couldn't have been Sesshomaru's doing. Naturally, I prescribed anti-depression pills -something to help him- only he wouldn't have any of that; pitched a fit that would have made his father proud. When I insisted, he began wrecking my room until it became so bad, I agreed not to give them to him. After all, he was a hanyou, and too stubborn at that to die by his own hand. So… that was that. The room was in such a horrible state that it was beyond repair; the furniture in shambles, five inch deep, and three foot long claw marks streaking the walls… it was a horrible sight. When his parents came to collect him, they offered their apologies and told me they would repay me, but I declined. In spite of everything, they were two of my favorite pupils. Instead, I used my money to fix up this small office and moved to here. I have to say, I'm glad the other room got wrecked. I like it here."
Kagome gaped at him for a moment, trying to collect her dizzying thoughts. Inuyasha? Intentionally hurting himself? No, that was not the Inuyasha she knew. Yet, Totosai was Inuyasha's doctor and he would know better than anyone, she assumed. His doctor… an instant surge of anger flared within her.
"So you left him go? Just like that, without telling anyone?" She couldn't believe Totosai would do something so cruel.
The doctor looked up at her for a moment, searching her face before smiling softly. "Don't worry, Kagome. I have notified Kojiro, and I am certain that Sango, Miroku, and Rin are also well aware of the situation; as is Sesshomaru, I am sure, thought most likely only by what he can gather by instinct alone."
Pain, hurt, and confusion sunk into Kagome at the mention of her three closest friends. Why was it they barely told her anything anymore? And Kojiro… Kojiro thought of all his students as family. Why hadn't he at least said something? She and Inuyasha were practically brother and sister to him in his eyes, and he pushed them hard, though wouldn't dream of keeping anything from the both of them, especially if it were dire, like Inuyasha's situation. A chill ran down Kagome's spine as recognition dawned on her.
"Totosai…" She began, looking out the window, not sure if she could stand the doctor's answer. "Inuyasha… does he know that all of you know this?"
An intake of breath came from the old man, and he stopped what he was doing to step over to the deep blue counter, leaning with his back to her unto his fists; two structures like cities once built up with intricate highways of muscles and bridges of hard knuckle that was now wasted away with age to show their backbones and lanes of tendons and veins. "He doesn't." he answered, gravely and his fists tightened so that the bridges of knuckles convulsed slightly. "And I'd appreciate it very much if you wouldn't tell him."
Kagome's frown deepened. So they both had been kept in the dark. How comforting that was. A sigh from Totosai caused her to turn to look at the old man cautiously. "How bitter," he murmured, his expression far off and grim, and despite the current situation they were in, not directed towards her. "have they become? Perhaps all this really has only complicated matters, and instilled the young with nothing but remorse, and a curse."
Kagome wondered what he meant by that last bit. Who was they, and what curse did they have? And what bitterness had they gained because of such a thing? Suddenly, Totosai stood up straight, his eyes regaining their usual blank light.
"Totosai…" Kagome muttered uncertainly, moving to get up from her seat on the comfortable deep blue chair. "Bitterness?"
The old man turned to her at the sound of her voice, obviously startled by the question even though he had been the one to cause it. Totosai blinked once and cocked his head to the side, once more scratching at his bare scalp. "Bitterness…" He smiled warmly, "What were we talking about?"
Kagome stared at him blankly herself for a moment, her expression uncomprehending as to quite what he had just meant as she flopped back down into her seat; much as though a stone had been dropped into the pit of her stomach. "What do you mean, 'What were we talking about'!" The agitation Kagome felt that had been building up gradually over the last twenty minutes was now a merciless monster, coiling and uncoiling in her heart like something vicious and ready to pounce. She couldn't believe this! How could he be so serious and then just…? It made absolutely no sense to her.
But then again, what does make sense anymore? The small voice in the back of her mind had woken again, ready to voice its opinions in the way it always seemed obligated to. Yet, Kagome had to agree with it; she didn't have an answer to that.
There we are. I'm going to be working on chapter ten while I'm on vacation. I'm devoid of writer's block this time around, so no worries on it be too late. Thanks again guys, for your patience. I know it's been a very long time. I'm just doing the best I can.