~Chapter 8~
The next morning Inuyasha woke to a loud knock at the door. He stretched out and practically rolled off the couch he had been sleeping on. It took him a moment to regain his bearings and recalled where he was and why he was there. He groaned, having hoped it was all a bad dream but sadly came back to the reality that Kagome was sick and nobody knew why. Inuyasha opened the door to find two young men in yellow jump suits at the door.
"We're with poison control. We were contacted by the hospital that the resident may have ingested some kind of poison. May we come in?" One of the men, clipboard in hand, spoke.
"Of course. Come in." Inuyasha stepped aside and allowed the two men into the apartment.
They had suitcases with them and when they came in, they placed the luggage on the floor and opened it and took out rubber gloves and put them on their hands and then started pulling out individually wrapped cotton swabs and different testing kits and started in the kitchen. They ran the swabs over the counter tops of the kitchen, swabbed every mug, glass, bowl, plate in her cupboard as well as the ones in her sink and dishwasher. They checked the fridge which Inuyasha was surpised to see didn't hold much. Block of cheese, some sandwich meat, milk, eggs and orange juice along with a few condiments. Inuyasha sat down on the couch in the living room and saw one of the men eyeing the mug that was left forgotten on the table in front of him. The man motioned to the mug and asked "did she drink from that cup last?" Inuyasha nodded and regarded the mug. The inspector came over and like everything else, swabbed the mug and it's remaining contents and dropped it into a little pouch of liquid that unlike the others Inuyasha had seen, turned blue instantly. "Uh-huh" was all the man said as he held up the pouch for the other inspector to see and announced "we have something here".
"That's the tea from last night that Kagome drank. Her boss had brought it over for her, it was suppose to help her feel better." Inuyasha said. His mind was reeling with what this information meant.
"Well sir, it's tested positive for Arsenic. Hmmm. You say her boss gave her the tea? Strange, nothing else tested positive for poison. I think it's safe to say it may have come from his home. Accidental poisonings like this are quite common." The inspector pulled out his phone and started tapping information in and then looked back up to Inuyasha and asked "do you have the information for Miss Higurashi's boss so that we may contact him?" Inuyasha nodded and gave them the information to the shop that was up the block. If Nuraku wasn't there, someone would know how to get a hold of him.
After the men left, Inuyasha cleaned up and put his clothes on and headed out of the intimate little apartment Kagome called 'home' and headed over to the hospital to see how she was doing. Thoughts flooding his head as he started thinking about his case involving Naraku's darker lifestyle and wondered what Kagome had to do with him and wondered if Naraku was aiming at killing the girl or trying to get her out of the way of his plans. He felt his chest tighten with worry at the thought of Naraku purposely trying to kill the woman Inuyasha was growing fond of. He sighed heavily as he turned up the radio in his car as he found himself stuck in the early morning traffic prolonged his travel to the hospital. He hoped Kagome was still sleeping and more so, he hoped she was feeling better and on the mend. He knew he had to protect Kagome without giving away his true identity which could put the woman and himself in very real danger. The last thing he needed was Naraku figuring out who he was and assuming Kagome was conspiring against him. He understood Kagome had all the motive to help destroy Naraku, but figured she was so deep into him that she must know that betraying the man would disrupt the lives of everyone around her. Inuyasha didn't blame Kagome for staying so loyal to her employer but resented the hold he had over Kagome. She was such a gentle soul and so loving and generous. She was obviously a caring woman and selfless as her giving nature was one of the reasons why she was so far in debt with her employer, Naraku.
Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot of the hospital after being in traffic for what seemed like hours. He headed into the hospital and up to Kagome's floor where he hoped for good news. When the elevator door opened, Inuyasha stepped out and bumped into a tall figure and stumbled backwards with a short "excuse me" and looked up to see the one face he wasn't expecting or wanting to see right then. Sesshomaru towered over him and glared down at him with a look of indifference. "What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked curtly.
"Well, seeing how a patient was in need of skilled hands to perform his surgery, I was called in of course. Question should be why are you here? Assigned to room sitting a con?" Sesshomaru grinned knowing he had struck a nerve. In Inuyasha's line of work, being assigned to baby sitting a sick prisoner was humiliating.
"Actually, I'm here to visit a sick patient who is also a friend, not a convict." Inuyasha bit back sharply. He desperately wanted the pleasantries between him and his brother to wrap up already. He crossed his arms over his chest, signifying he was getting bored with the conversation. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to see how she's doing." Inuyasha pushed past his brother, cursing his presence.
"You'd better be careful with her, Inuyasha. I know who she's involved with and you'd do best to keep an emotional distance with this one. As you know, women who are snared in Naraku's web tend to find themselves in an early grave. It'd be such a shame to see such a pretty little thing destroyed like the others. Which reminds me little brother, how is the Kikyo case coming along? It's been what, two years now? I would imagine the case has gotten pretty cold. I do find it interesting how your new object of affection has similar features to the woman killed two years ago. Naraku definitely likes them pretty and naive." Sesshomaru's tone was low and he spoke the words slowly so that the reality of Inuyasha's situation sunk into his thick skull.
"Well thankfully fate has been kind and brought Kagome and I together in time to keep her safe. I will NOT let Naraku harm her and he will pay for what he did to Kikyo." Inuyasha said confidently as he turned and walked to the room he knew Kagome would be in. Sesshomaru just shook his head and walked away.
Kagome sat upright in the hospital bed of her room and poked at the green jello in a bowl on the tray that stretched over her bed. She had a liquid only diet and apparently that included Jello which was terrible. She heard a knock at the door and beckoned for who ever was on the other side to enter. She smiled when she saw Inuyasha enter her room. "Hey you!" Her voice was stronger than the previous day and her eyes were lit up and full of life which made Inuyasha breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey yourself. How are you feeling?" Inuyasha asked as he closed the door behind him and crossed the short distance to the chair next to her bed and sat down and grabbed Kagome's hand gently and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm feeling much better. I'm actually kinda hungry but they have me on this stupid liquid only diet. How do you make green jello taste terrible? I'm ready to go home." Kagome sighed heavily, missing her bed and plush pink blanket.
"Speaking of which," Inuyasha started, "poison control came by and inspected your apartment. Somehow arsenic was mixed with the tea your boss gave you." Inuyasha watched Kagome's face contort with confusion. He thought for a moment as he studied her features. "Your boss, Naraku, would harm you intentionally, would he?"
"I certainly hope not. Who'd he replace me with if I died? I'm his best race car mechanic...well I'm his best employee period." Kagome sounded so sure of herself. Inuyasha tried to think of why Naraku would poison the young lady on purpose. He had so much to lose by killing Kagome.
"So you trust he means you no harm?" Inuyasha inquired further.
"I don't see why he would. There must have been a mistake." Kagome regarded Inuyasha's troubled expression. She couldn't figure it out either. Why her employer would want to end her life when she pretty much owed it to him. She'd never be freed from her debt to him and in turn, he had a loyal employee that he barely had to pay to build the cars he used in his underground racing business. She knew she had to be careful with how much information she shared with Inuyasha. She knew if she got him too involved, Naraku would find some way to sink his claws into Inuyasha in much of the same way he had her, Sango and Miroku under his thumb.
"Well if you say so. But I'd watch him. He seems a little shifty to me from what I've heard about him. I just don't want to see you sick again...or worse." Inuyasha looked into Kagome's chocolate eyes as he spoke. They were filled with so much life and sparkled with a certain determination and lust for living he'd never seen before and doubted he'd ever see again. 'She should be broken with how much she endures, how much rides on her delicate shoulders' Inuyasha thought to himself.
"I appreciate your concern. I know Naraku can come off as a bit...queer...with his rough exterior and cold expression but he really is a good man down deep. Without his financial help, we would all be a lot worse off. Sure we're indebted to him for a good long while, but we all have shelter, paying jobs and a means to live comfortably even if we can't afford much, we all make a living." Kagome reflected on her years under Naraku and her friends and how they had all come to be in such a dire situation, owing a man so much that they'd never live long enough to buy their freedom.
"You know if you need anything at all, you can call me. I've grown quite fond of you in such a short time and I'd give anything to see you smile. You have such a beautiful smile, Kagome, and you should wear it more often." Kagome blushed at Inuyasha's words and cast her eyes down to his hand and how he held her own with such tenderness. He sure knew how to compliment a girl.
"Thank you Inuyasha. I'm happy I've met you, you're so sweet. It's been barely a week since we've met and already I feel like we've known each other for a lifetime. You're such a breath of fresh air in my stifled and stale life." Kagome squeezed his hand and her smile brightened when her eyes met his intense, smoldering gaze.
Before she knew it, Inuyasha leaned in and softly pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. She returned it gently at first and allowed him to deepen it further. They sat quiet for a moment as their lips locked and they relished in the feeling of the mutual interaction. Inuyasha squeezed Kagome's hand again as he carefully broke the kiss, his eyes still closed as he rested his forehead against Kagome's and caught his breath and Kagome did the same. It took a moment for Kagome's mind to register that they had really kissed and she smiled as she felt the heat of Inuyasha's breath against her face. She leaned in again and gave Inuyasha another chaste kiss on the lips. "I really am happy you came into my life, Inuyasha." Kagome breathed out.
"Yeah, I am too." Inuyasha smiled and sat back down in the bedside chair, his hand never leaving hers.
A knock at the door sounded as a doctor opened it slightly and announced his presence. Kagome told him to come in and he entered with a clipboard in his hand as he seemed to study the information it held. "I'm doctor Jinenji and I'll be monitoring you while you stay her. , I wanted to talk to you about what brought you in here." the doctor began as he stood by Inuyasha at her bedside. "You were pretty sick when you came in last night. Thankfully you hadn't ingested a lethal amount of arsenic but it was arsenic nonetheless that landed you here. I have the results from the preliminary investigation from Poison Control. They were able to contact your employer, Naraku, and inquired about the tea that had tested positive for the poison. They went to his home and tested and investigated his home and found he had laid out rat poison in his cupboards which had contaminated some items in his pantry, including the tea he had supplied you with. Unless you have reason to believe he'd do this on purpose, we don't suspect we need to get law enforcement involved as he has hired a clean up crew to come in to test and dispose of anything that has been contaminated by the poison. He's lucky nobody in his home fell ill and even luckier you survived. So now I need to ask you a very serious question. Do you have any reason to believe he'd intentionally poison you?" The doctor's voice was serious and he bent over Kagome as to get a good look at her as she rolled the question around in her head.
"I honestly don't think he'd make me sick on purpose. He probably originally gave me the tea to cure my hangover from the night before. I don't think he even knew the tea was contaminated." Kagome said with resolve.
The doctor nodded, wrote some notes down and proceeded to take Kagome's temp, record her blood pressure and check her vital signs. He wrote down more information and went to the computer in the room to enter the information he had recorded. He sighed and turned to Kagome with a smile and said "well, we're going to watch you for another twenty-four hours and as long as you remain stable, you'll be out of here by tomorrow. I'm going to order another blood draw to check your levels to make sure nothing has spiked and the results will determine your discharge tomorrow but I don't foresee any problems." The doctor winked at her and smiled. Before he left the room, he turned around and added "I think we can change your diet restriction as well. If you're hungry, you're safe to order solid food if you think you can handle it."
"Thank you doctor. I'd appreciate a real meal." Kagome was feeling hungry and the liquid breakfast just wasn't filling enough.
Inuyasha watched the doctor leave the room with a new set of questions bubbling to the surface of his brain. He could tell the doctor was worried there had been some malice behind Kagome's "accidental" poisoning. He sure hoped for Kagome's sake that she was right and that Naraku didn't have it out for her. Just the thought of Naraku harming her made his blood boil. She didn't deserve this. She had done nothing wrong and her only crime was caring too much. "If you're hungry, I can go down to the cafeteria and grab us something to eat. I haven't eaten myself. What ya say? Make it a weird hospital date? We can even watch tv together. I took the day off work so you've got me until you get sick of me and boot me out." Inuyasha said with a wink.
"Well then, I hope you intend to stay all day cause I don't see myself getting sick of you any time soon. And yeah, cafeteria food sounds wonderful..." Kagome mulled over that statement and laughed. "Never would I have ever thought I'd utter the words 'cafeteria food sounds wonderful' but I guess there's a first for everything." Inuyasha chuckled at that as he was thinking the same thing.
"I'll be back in a bit then." Inuyasha said as he got up and headed for the door. He looked back and studied Kagome for a moment. "Don't go running off on me or I'll have to drag you back here." Kagome laughed and waved him off. He headed down to the cafeteria, taking advantage of a few moments alone to gather his thoughts. He knew he had some paperwork to dig up when he got back to the office but for now his main concern was seeing Kagome get better so she could return home.
That day Kagome and Inuyasha spent together in her little hotel room getting to know each other even better. They swapped stories, talked about cars and found they had a very similar taste in classic American import cars. Inuyasha talked about the car shows he saw while visiting America. Kagome practically drooled at how Inuyasha described when talking about the rows and rows of classic muscle cars, luxury cars and all the hot rods one could find at a Back to the 50's celebration that could be found anywhere you go in the western land. She'd give anything to travel to America and get a chance to see custom hot rods and muscle cars only found in that strange land. Inuyasha had told her that once she's better and can take vacation time off, he'd love to bring her on one of his trips there. She told him she'd love that very much but wanted to cry as she knew Naraku wouldn't afford her any real time off to have fun. As Miroku had stated before, Nuraku was allergic to 'fun'. But like car Kagome longed to call her own, she dreamed it would come true. She would give anything to break free from the chains she had bound herself in with her mounting debt to Naraku. 'One day I'll be free' she thought bitterly to herself as she listened to Inuyasha talk about a future she knew she could never be apart of. As long as Naraku held a debt over her head, she knew she'd never free herself from him.
All the while, Inuyasha was trying to formulate some sort of plan that would bring Naraku demise about and keep his beautiful woman safe. His heart ached to see her completely free from him. He wished he could just cut the strings that Naraku used to control his employees like puppets. He knew Naraku had trapped Kagome and her friends under his fat purse and controlled her every aspect of their lives through money. Inuyasha was definitely a fan of Naraku. He thought back to the case that had turned two years cold. His boss had told him to not get involved in a case where he was close to the victim. His boss warned him that he'd lose his mind over the case that he had seen good, seasoned detectives crumble when the case involved a loved one. Inuyasha refused to budge and took the case on even though every lead either led him to a dead end or a dead informant. With any luck he'd be able to save Kagome and take Naraku down before he destroyed any more lives.
That day, Inuyasha made a silent promise to always protect Kagome no matter what the cost. He would free her and he would put Naraku away forever and free the woman he was hopelessly falling in love with.
~End of Chapter~
(Author's note) You guys must hate me for not adding on to this story years ago. As it goes, life got in the way. But I've had a renewed inspiration to finish this story and I hope to pump it out soon. I have been going through and re-reading my previous chapters and making some much needed repairs. I hope you like where this story is going. I've got so many damn ideas I don't even know where this story is going. So it will be fun to watch it unravel. ;) Reviews are appreciated. Thanks all. There's more action to come, don't worry about that.