-1Chapter 7: Sick day mystery.
The morning sun's lights seemed brighter than usual when Kagome woke. She groaned in pain at the unforgiving rays as they penetrated her pounding head. She tried to squeeze her eyes open, but found that the effort made her head hurt all the worse. She felt sick from the migraine as the sheer pain made her world seem to shift uneasily causing her already sensitive stomach to turn even harder. "Oh boy." Kagome groaned as she scurried to the bathroom by feeling around only in fear that opening her eyes would cause the bile to rise from her stomach before she could reach her toilet.
After she was done being sick, Kagome entered the living room and flopped miserably down on her couch. She looked up at the time and saw she had an hour to pull her act together before she had to leave for work. But as she laid back, she heard someone in her kitchen. Then the smell of freshly cooked food assaulted Kagome's nostrils which made her realize she was indeed hungry but also there was someone in her home.
She sat bolt upright and immediately regretted the sudden action. She sat still, letting the nausea settle back down and as she tried making sense of her surroundings, a cold bag of ice was placed against her forehead. She grasped it thankfully to her forehead and head as she laid back down and looked up at the man in her home, too sick to even care that it was indeed Naraku.
"You seemed so sick last night. I wound up sleeping on the couch in case you got sicker." He explained smoothly as he placed a plate of toast and bacon in front of her with a glass of orange juice on her coffee table.
Kagome licked her dry and sticky mouth and weakly said "thanks" and gingerly ate her food, ignoring the soreness of her throat and chest for the hunger that cried out for more attention than the pain. When she ate all she could, Naraku snatched up the plate and just placed it on the kitchen counter.
"I'm going to give you the day off. I want you to drink more tea around two this afternoon. I need you to get well. You're worthless if you're puking all over the customer's engine." Naraku stated dryly and he laid out more tea on Kagome's kitchen counter.
"Glad to see you're still all about the customer." Kagome said hoarsely, her throat on fire.
"Hmph. Nice to see that your sense of humor is still intact. Anyway, I'm going to have Miroku come by and sit with you this evening. I've got family business to attend to, otherwise I'd do it myself." Naraku commented as he slipped on his shoes at the front door, getting ready to leave.
"Yeah, I'm sure you would too." Kagome replied, too tired to try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She watched him leave and listened as she heard him close and lock the door. She was feeling sick and she tried to remember what she had done last night that would have made her feel this way. She had never had a hangover like this before and she didn't do THAT much drinking. She felt like she had ingested poison. Her muscles were cramped in her back and stomach and she felt all the energy drained as her mind was still foggy. She was a definite wreck. Unable to stand the feeling of her body so taxed, Kagome gave into the fogginess and fell into a deep and restless sleep.
She was woken up a few hours later by a familiar voice calling softly to her. She was so comfortable in her sleep and wasn't ready to give up her warm slumber. She mentally fought the voice as it threatened to drag her from her soft dark corner, but as the voice persisted, she gave up and broke through the surface of awareness.
"Kagome. There you are. I hate to wake you, but you should eat some lunch." Miroku said softly as he watched her miserably wake up.
Although Kagome was surprised to wake up feeling so much better. Her body still ached, but she didn't feel so drained or sick. The fuzziness that enveloped her mind and body was almost completely gone and she had more of an appetite. She looked up at Miroku with a little more sparkle in her eyes and a small smile on her face. "Hi Miroku".
"Hey you. I heard you got pretty sick last night. You didn't seem that bad off when we dropped you off last night, just a little tipsy. But how are you feeling now?" Miroku asked.
"Much better, actually. Thanks for coming by on your lunch break." Kagome said softly.
"Na, when Naraku told me you were ill, I stupidly called Sango and of course she demanded that I bring you lunch and see how you're doing." Miroku laughed and Kagome had joined in.
"I'm doing much better. Hey, I just remembered that tonight is the anniversary of when you and Sango met! Congratulations." Kagome said cheerfully. But her soaring heart plummeted when she saw the look of disappointment and sadness cross Miroku's face. "What's wrong?" Kagome asked.
"Well, Naraku wants Sango and I close by incase you need help. We don't mind of course, but to have to stay at home all night seems a little excessive. I'm sure if we got to go to a nice dinner near by, you could call me on my cell while we're eating just as easily as if we were at home." He stated sadly.
"That is so unfair! I'm fine. I don't need anyone babysitting me." Kagome stated. She looked up at her friend with pained eyes. "I am so sorry, Miroku. I had no idea he was going to pull this."
"It's not your fault, Kagome. Don't think for a second we're mad at you. What's more important is that you get better now. Naraku said he left you some herbal tea that you should drink to help your stomach settle so you can eat." Miroku said as he started grabbing things in the kitchen. "Never mind, this must be it on the counter."
Kagome sat back and fumed. She hated the way Naraku used and manipulated people. She started thinking of ways she could get around this, be babysat and make sure her friends have a nice night out on the anniversary of one of their momentous occasions. She suddenly thought of something that might just insure that everyone was happy. "Miroku, what if I called Inuyasha and told him what was going on and see if he'll 'baby-sit' me. That way you and Sango can go out with a peace of mind that I'm being watched over." Kagome offered.
"I don't know Kagome. It's one thing spending time alone with him in public, but all alone inside your apartment may not be such a good idea. I mean, what if he's a murderer?" Miroku asked.
"Yes DAD. I forgot I can't take care of myself yet." Kagome laughed sarcastically at Miroku who blushed at her, realizing that he did sound a bit like an old man.
He placed her lunch on her lap and smiled. "Ok, if you think you can trust him, I don't mind. I'll swing by after work to check in on you and see what he says."
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you in a few hours?" Kagome smiled as she sipped on the horrible tasting tea Naraku left for her.
"Yup. I'll see you later, Kagome. Get better, alright?" Miroku said as he got on his shoes and left her apartment.
Kagome pulled out her phone and dialed Inuyasha's number. Surprisingly, it wrung instead of sending her right to voice mail. She figured it was a Monday afternoon and so he had to have been working. Maybe she caught him on break. She slightly held her breath, hoping he'd answer and not chew her out for catching him at a bad time, even though she knew that he probably wouldn't.
"Hello?" Came Inuyasha's voice.
"Hi Inuyasha. It's me, Kagome." Kagome said, her voice already weakening and tiring from Miroku's visit.
"Kagome? You sound different. Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?" Inuyasha asked, alarmed.
"No, I'm ok. I just caught a bug or something, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you, if you wouldn't mind that is." Kagome said unsurely.
"Yeah, anything. What is it, Kagome?" He replied.
"Well, because I'm pretty sick, Naraku doesn't want me left unattended, but the problem is Sango and Miroku have one of their anniversary nights tonight. It's the anniversary of the day they met and to them it's just as important as the day they married. Anyway, Naraku told Miroku that they had to stay in and wait by the phone in case I need help and I want them to go out to dinner, so I was wondering if you could…maybe?" Kagome's words started tripping over themselves as she tried asking for him to accompany her.
"I have no problem at all coming to sit with you for a while. I'm glad it's nothing serious. What say I rent a movie? Do you want me to pick up dinner? Maybe some soup?" Inuyasha asked.
"Thank you, Inuyasha. Yeah, some soup and a movie sounds great..
"Ok, then I'll come over as soon as I get off work and go home to shower and change. Ok?" Inuyasha asked.
"That's fine. I'll see you later then." Kagome said happily.
They hung up and Kagome yawned loudly. She drank down some more of her tea and just couldn't bring herself to finishing it. As it cooled, it seemed like the taste became more bitter. She was once again feeling tired, the food seemed to sit heavily on her stomach and making it turn in agonizing discomfort. Kagome hunkered down on the couch and fell back asleep.
It must have been late afternoon when Kagome woke again. The colors outside took on a purple shade as the sun made one last attempt to spread it's warmth over that part of the world before relinquishing to the night. The crickets and song birds sang the lament of the evening that Kagome had grown up with as a little girl and grown to love because those evenings were the one thing that remained truly constant throughout her life. She looked around her dimly lit apartment and saw Miroku in the kitchen with a whistling pot of water on the stove behind him.
"Miroku, what time is it?" She asked as she sat up slightly, realizing that she had another onset of the hangover feeling. Her head hurt, but thankfully the lighting was low and comfortable and she wasn't feeling as sick as she had when she woke that morning.
"It's time for me to get going for my hot date with Sango. You got a call from Inuyasha while I was here and I took it for you. He told me that you had talked to him and he'd be more than happy to sit with you so Sango and I can have a nice night out together. Kagome, thank you." Miroku said happily. "Oh, I took the liberty of grabbing your blanket for you, in case you were wondering."
Kagome then realized that she was wrapped in the comfort of her favorite pink, down blanket. She smiled and snuggled into it some more and sighed happily. She loved nothing more than to cuddle with her blanket when she was sick. "Thank you Miroku." She called happily.
A soft knock came at the door a few moments later and Miroku went to answer it. Kagome didn't even need to turn around. She just smiled happily when she heard Inuyasha's timid and slightly worried voice ring out when Miroku opened the door for the man. "Is Kagome awake? How is she feeling?"
"Well, why don't you come in and ask her yourself?" Miroku exclaimed.
Inuyasha came in and rounded the corner to see Kagome snuggled under her pink, fluffy blanket. He smiled gently at her. "How are you feeling? Better than when I last talked to you, I hope." He said softly.
"Kinda. Just need to shake this." She smiled.
"Well, I hate to run, but it's not often Sango and I get a real night alone. I've saved for a month so I could take her somewhere nice. Thank you Inuyasha for helping. I'll see you guys later." Miroku explained and gave Kagome a kiss on the forehead as he bid them farewell.
"Oh, about that. Miroku, congrats man. Here, I picked this up for you on my way over." Inuyasha said as he fished in his pants pocket and pulled out what looked to be a credit card. "It's a prepaid gift certificate to any restaurant you want to take Sango out to. Don't worry about prices, you'll have enough left over to take her out for desert another night."
"Inuyasha, you didn't have to." Miroku said with surprise and gratefulness filling his voice.
"I know. I wanted to. I'm already feeling like I've known you guys for a long time. And it sounded so important to Kagome to see you guys happy and I just couldn't resist." Inuyasha laughed when he watched Kagome blush.
"Thanks again. Ok, I'll be calling later to check up on you two, so be good." Miroku stated and took off, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha alone.
"Mind if I sit with you?" Inuyasha asked timidly.
"Not at all." Kagome said with a smile.
Inuyasha pulled two paper bags out of his jacket. Kagome quickly found out that one of the bags contained a mug of home made soup and in the other bag was a movie he had picked up on his way over to her home.
He sat next to her on her couch and they started watching the movie he had brought. She ate the soup delicately as her stomach felt it might reject every bite. He watched her for moments at a time, in silence, wondering what could have made her so sick. Her skin seemed not only paler, but with a bit of a yellowish tone to it. He sighed as he watched her eat. When she was done, she put the thermos down on the ground and unconsciously found herself leaning against her male companion. But as soon as she leaned into him, she realized too late what she was doing and stiffened up at the boldness of her actions.
"Ha, it's ok if you want to lay down. I'm not about to be perverted with a sick woman. I promise." Inuyasha flashed Kagome one of his rare, genuine smiles and she smiled back and took the invitation.
She looked at the cup of tea Miroku had made for her before he left and swallowed hard at the memory of the metallic taste of the stuff. But she knew that Miroku would funnel the stuff down her throat if she didn't drink it, so she swallowed a good portion of it down.
"Gah, this stuff is terrible." Kagome said as she choked down the liquid.
"What is it?" Inuyasha asked.
"It's a medicinal tea. Helps release stress and boost your immune system. Everyone's insisting I drink the stuff, but I'm telling you I think it's the taste that's making me sicker." Kagome shuddered and made a disgusted face at the cup of tea.
"Well, if it helps you get better. Did you put honey in it?" Inuyasha asked.
"No. I don't have honey. Not exactly in my budget." Kagome laughed. She hated facing her financial situation, being that there was none.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Inuyasha's face flushed with guilt. He could tell he hit a bit of a sore spot.
"Eh, it's ok. I couldn't really complain. Things could be so much worse, you know?" Kagome put on one of her brave smiles for Inuyasha and to prove her point, she chugged down the last of her tea. "I could have to live on this stuff forever." She shuddered as the bitterness of the tea could be tasted even after it was swallowed. It hit her stomach like a ton of bricks and made her tummy groan in protest as it unwillingly excepted and started processing the stuff.
"That's a good girl." Inuyasha said almost mockingly.
Kagome's world was starting to feel fuzzy again and she felt the need to just lie down. She looked at Inuyasha who went back to watching TV and without a word, pushed his arm out of her way and laid down on his lap in absolute misery. She hated feeling this sick and she could have cared less who it was sitting on her couch, all she wanted to do was snuggle up and sleep until she felt better.
"Kagome, I'm sorry you're feeling so sick." Inuyasha said sadly and stroked her hair.
Kagome murmured and raised her hand to emphasize her gratitude and fell limply back on his knee. She tried to watch the movie, but her eyes kept slipping close and she knew she couldn't fight the sleepiness that was weighing heavily on her and clouding her mind. She sighed happily through her misery and slipped off to sleep in the comfort and safety of Inuyasha's lap.
Kagome dreamt lightly. It was nothing coherent, but she remembered sensations. Her insides felt like they were sizzling up and melting while inside her body she dreamt that cold fire flew through her veins, freezing at first touch but then melting away into a heated pool. She dreamt she heard the sounds of engines revving up as if they were at the starting line of a race. She started imagining her Daytona all spruced up and roaring all 450 horse power, drowning the sounds of a supercharged tuner car.
The next thing Kagome knew was her dream was faded into a buzzing sound as the sound of people started reaching her through the fog clouding her mind. She slowly opened her eyes and at first was aware of her physical state. Her stomach was twisted in pain and every muscle was cramped and knotted. She then realized there was a foreign object pressed firmly to her face. A hand instinctively rose to grab the object that covering her mouth and was confused when she saw another man standing over her as she attempted to inspect what was attacking her face. He grabbed her hand and gently held it back. "She's come to." He said with alarm.
"Ma'am, you're in an ambulance. We're going to help you." Another voice said to Kagome's left. She glanced over and saw an older man, looking to be in his thirties, sitting next to her plugging new iv bags into the iv they stuck in her hand at some point in time.
"What happened?" Kagome asked, then the sudden urge to be sick hit her in a crashing wave. The small spots of light that flashed across her and the jostling around by the ambulance made her head spin and the worsen the queasiness.
"We don't know. Your boyfriend called us and said that you were throwing up in your sleep. When we got to you, you were foaming at the mouth with a sudden high fever. We suspect you might have ingested some poison. Do you lay rat traps around your apartment?" The paramedic asked.
Kagome shook her head. "No, I would only use live traps if I had a rodent problem." Kagome said as another wave of nausea crashed into her. She groaned and just relaxed. She wanted to just go back to sleep. Her body felt like it had been through a meet grinder and then pounded back into place. After listening to the paramedics relay new information to what ever hospital they were taking her to, Kagome passed back out.
Inuyasha sat impatiently in the waiting room of the hospital's ER watching the clock as the seconds passed by like minutes. He shifted his weight in his chair and then went to picking up a lifestyle magazine and glanced at the contents. He looked back up at the clock and decided to watch the night time drama that was currently playing on the TV. A few minutes later Inuyasha saw Sango and Miroku come through the sliding glass doors at the front of the ER. They met eyes and immediately rushed to each other. Sango grabbed Inuyasha up in a worried hug and Inuyasha accepted it without any hesitation.
"Inuyasha, what happened?" Sango asked.
"I don't know. She fell asleep on the couch and next thing I knew, she looked like she was choking and was foaming a little from the mouth. The E.M.T couldn't be sure, but said it sounded like some poison, probably pest control, got into her food somehow. The doctors are taking care of her now, they'll let me know once they have answers."
The three friends sat in the waiting room together and talked about how Kagome could have gotten sick. They recalled the places they had been to eat and drink within the last fourty-eight hours and knew that if any of the places had made her sick, then they'd all probably be sick. It had to be something she ate or drank that they hadn't. They were stumped.
"Higurashi, Kagome." A doctor called out. When he saw the three of them stand, he motioned and said "follow me please".
They followed the doctor back to a single windowed room beyond the doors that led into the E.R and motioned for them to sit in the chairs that sat coldly in the back of the room. They sat together and watched the doctor intensely as he closed the door behind him and scanned over the clipboard in his hand leaving them in a moment of terrifying silence.
"Well, doctor? Is she alright?" Sango asked with concern unbridled in her voice and features.
"For now." The doctor sighed as he sat in a chair across from them. "She's pretty sick and her blood sample has some pretty high numbers. Everything points to possible poisoning. Can you guys think of anything she's eaten or drank that might be stored with pesticide or household cleaners?"
"No Doctor. She's pretty strict on where her food and cleaners are kept. And that's far from each other." Sango said.
"If I were to send poison control out to her residence, do you think one of you could meet them there and let them in?" The doctor asked.
"Yeah, I'll stay there. When do you think they'll be out there?" Inuyasha asked.
"I'll call them first thing in the morning and let you know from there." The doctor informed as he looked over his clipboard again.
"I can definitely take the day off work. That's not a problem. But, how's she doing?" Inuyasha inquired.
"Yeah, can we see her?" Sango asked.
"Well, I don't see why not. Just so you know, we did pump her stomach and she's got a few different iv's running to her. We have her on a detoxi drip along with some pain medications to help her through the effects of the poisoning along with regular fluids, so she's going to be either still sleeping or very weak. I'll show you where she is." The doctor got up as well did the friends.
They got to her room and the doctor showed them in. He drew the curtain and smiled kindly at the group. "I'll leave you guys alone."
"Thank you." Miroku said with a soft bow.
"No problem. You're welcome." The doctor said as he mimicked Miroku's bow and closed the door behind him.
Kagome was awake, barely, but she was still coherent. She smiled up at her friends and in a tired voice greeted them. "Hey guys. I guess I'm pretty sick after all."
Sango sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her arm. "Yeah. The doctor's going to send poison control over to your home to see if there was anything there that could have made you sick. So don't even worry about going home and getting sick again." She said softly.
"What about my cat? What if she get's into the same thing that made me sick?" Kagome asked, concerned about her only roommate.
"Well, if you'd like I've offered to stay at your home. I'll take care of your cat and make sure she's ok." Inuyasha offered.
"I'd like that. Thanks." Kagome smiled at her male companion who stood nervously by the window on the other side of her room.
"Kagome, don't you ever worry us like that again. I just about had a stroke when Inuyasha called and said you were on your way to the hospital." Miroku scolded lightly. "You know how we worry."
"I know. I'm sorry." She said, tiredness creeping up in her voice.
"It's ok. Just get better soon, all right?" Miroku offered.
"Of course I will." Kagome smiled, her eyes drooping.
"Looks like your pain medication is working. You need your sleep, we'll come see you tomorrow. Ok, Kagome?" Sango asked.
"Yeah…" Kagome let out a long yawn. "…that sounds fine. Thanks Inuyasha."
"Miroku, let's go. Inuyasha, we'll see you tomorrow?" Sango asked as she tugged her husband out of the room.
"Yeah, you bet. Thanks guys." Inuyasha said and waved them off. When he saw that they had left he turned back to Kagome who was looking up at him through glazed eyes. "Man you scared me. But I'm glad you're ok." Inuyasha leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks again." Kagome said in a voice just above a whisper.
"Yeah, it's not a problem. You get some sleep so you can feel better, ok? I'll come by tomorrow, I promise." Inuyasha tucked her in and turned out the light above her headboard. He smiled as he watched her fall peacefully asleep, then he turned and left the room and returned to Kagome's home.
He laid on her couch with her blanket wrapped around his barely dressed body and thought about what could have possibly made her so sick. But as he tried wrapping his mind around the events of the last couple of days he found himself tiring. He decided it'd be best if he slept on it and approached the issue in the morning with a fresh point of view. He watched TV for a while and idly enjoyed the scent of Kagome that permeated the blanket. It smelled like her flowery shampoo and he found himself relishing the comfort it brought him, it reminded him of his earlier years when he was a kid and life was a little easier. He found himself missing his mom for the first time in years. He figured it had to have been at least eighteen years since she passed and had grown up so much and so fast that he found himself forgetting what it was like having her around and so found himself missing her less and less in such a short period of time.
He fell asleep in a peaceful bliss, but couldn't help wonder what the morning might bring. He was worried about what and if anything the tests would show tomorrow about what made Kagome so sick. He wondered if poison control would find anything in her home and on what. He left himself with the resolve that if Kagome had to replace anything in her home, he would gladly do it for her before she got out of the hospital. He didn't want her coming home and feeling displaced. So with that finalized in his mind, he let himself drift fully off into dreamland.
End of Chappy: (a/n: I am soooo tired. We have a big move coming up soon and I'll try to keep up with the writing, but some chapters might be sporadic with some time between them. I'll try my hardest to not let this happen, but I can't promise that our move nor writer's block might interfere with the story.)