Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha
A.N.: Sorry it took so long for some reason my MS Office stopped working and I had to go through several packed boxes to find the disc to reload it. But I'm back and I hope you like this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews and your patience.
Danny10: She was able to heal him through her miko powers which she had concentrated all her stored up power to give it back to him which is another reason her asthma came back b/c she is now considerably weakened by using so much of her energy for healing something she would normally purify. Which is maybe why she can't sense any demons or maybe they really were all wiped out...im not telling yet ;-P
It's just tea not weight lifting...
Kagome woke up early the next day to the sound of a knock on her door. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked a mess. She quickly got dressed and looked through a peep hole. It was someone she didn't recognize. She opened the door. "Hello...Ms. Higurashi?" She nodded. "I'm here to take you to your new residence." Then she remembered everything that happened, she closed her eyes for a second to regain her composure. She opened them nodding. "Yes. Here is everything." There wasn't much to gather and they were off before anyone in her building had even awoke. When she arrived at her new place, she was amazed at how big it was. It was an apartment complex hooked onto the main building. Some were used permanently like hers. Others were used for those pulling all niters and what not. She sighed as she unpacked everything and frowned at how the apartment still looked so empty. Maybe with her first paycheck she could splurge on a few things to make the apartment look more cozy. She was also disappointed that Sesshoumaru didn't stop by. She felt the need to thank him again. Knowing him from the past he will probably avoid her. He hadn't really changed much from his past incarnation. Oh well.
She was about to make tea when she heard a knock on her door. Maybe she was wrong? She rushed to the door wincing at turning the knob to let the person in. In came an older woman she instantly recognized.
"Greetings Ms. Higurashi. I am Kaede and I have come to see if everything is to your liking and to take a look at your injuries" the older woman said.
She let her in. "Everything is fine. You don't have to look at anything. I don't want to trouble you."
Kaede just narrowed her eyes. "Come child it's no trouble. It's my job. Now sit down on the couch and let me have a look at your arms."
She left no room for argument and so Kagome sat on the couch. She lifted up one sleeve and look away as Kaede inspected the bruises. She didn't want to see the look in her old mentors eyes. She bent her wrist and Kagome hissed in pain. She also looked at a few of the bruises before looking at the other arm. She had Kagome in two wrist braces before she was done. "Wear those until Monday and you should be fine. Any other injuries?"
Kagome thought about it. Well there were a few, but none serious enough to bother Kaede. She shook her head and watched as Kaede stared at her as if weighing her answer, but in the end she left.
She sighed and went to try to make tea, but the braces made it too awkward to move. She gave up and decided to call her mother. After a short phone call she hopped into the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her arms were a mess. Her legs weren't as bad. Just a few bruises from Hojo's 'accidents.' She sighed the rest of her looked okay. She got dressed, in long sleeves and a long skirt, and took her medicine. She put her braces back on noticing they were somewhat visible. "I can't go out looking like this!" She groaned and her stomach echoed. Her stomach won over her pride. She was soon out the door and headed for the Divine Coral. She was greeted with a friendly hug by Mirouku, which was quickly followed by another from Sango. They sat her at her usual spot. She didn't even have to order anymore. Everything was going fine until she grabbed for her tea cup, nearly knocking it over due to the braces.
Sango looked at her concerned. "What happened to your hands Kagome?"
She tried to think of something believable. "I fell off my bike and landed hard. It's no big deal." She managed a smile and sipped her tea.
"Oh. Well be more careful next time. Riding your bike on the busy streets of Tokyo can be dangerous." Sango said as she moved on to another customer.
She ate and after promising to be more careful for the hundredth time they let her leave. She smiled seeing them had made her feel so much better. She made it back to her apartment a couple of hours later, tired and thirsty. The sun was just starting to go down. She opened the door and took off her braces to make tea. She had just changed into her pajama's and was waiting for the tea to finish when she heard something outside. She grabbed her robe and wrapped it around her. She went to her door and took a quick peek outside. She saw Sesshoumaru opening the apartment door next to her. "Mr. Nobunaga?"
He looked her way and perked an eyebrow.
She bowed. "Thank you very much. For everything."
He nodded. "You are welcome Ms. Higurashi."
She smiled. "Please call me Kagome. I was just finishing making some tea. Would you like some?"
It looked as if he might decline the offer, but in the end he nodded. "Tea would be good. Thank you Kagome."
She opened the door wider to let him in. She closed the door and was going to the kitchen when she heard. "Where are the braces my personal physician said that you are supposed to be wearing?"
She cringed. She knew she had forgotten something. "They are on the kitchen counter. It was too hard to make the tea with them on. After the tea is finished I will put them back on."
He passed her going into the kitchen himself and grabbing the braces. "You are to wear these for a reason. Don't be an idiot and risk further injury."
Her eyes narrowed. "I am not an idiot. I was making tea not lifting weights!"
He took her hand and put one of the braces on. "Wear them and I will finish the tea. Shall I get Kaede to spend the night to make sure you don't do anything else stupid?"
Kagome saw red. "I don't need a babysitter and I don't need you to tell me what to do!"
He grabbed for her other arm but she moved out of the way.
"I can do it myself!" She said.
"Stop acting childish." He took her arm as she was sputtering for a comeback. Once he was done he let her go. How he loved to make her angry. She seemed to glow with it. He poured her some tea and they sat down in the living room. Now if she would just obey him.
They finally had a little polite conversation talking about family and what not, when he noticed her robe started to slip as she shifted her legs. He could soon see one of her legs to the knee. What he saw angered him. "You lied to my physician." He watched her look confused. He pointed to her leg and she blushed covering it.
"It's nothing." She said looking embarrassed.
He snorted at her usual comment. "You keep saying that. I'm starting to wonder what it would take to get you to say that it was something. Loss of limb maybe? Now let me see the other one." He watched her blush even further.
"No you hentai!" She said clutching her robe.
He growled speaking slowly through clenched teeth. "Let me see your other leg."
She shook her head and he could see her tremble as he walked towards her. She stood up to get away and he had her in his arms. "Let me go!"
He sat down on the couch with her in his lap. He shrugged her out of her robe. "Stop squirming woman. I'm not going to hurt you." He looked at both her legs. They weren't as bad as her arms. Her thighs were smooth and unblemished. He started to lift up her shirt and that's when she started to fight him again. He was a foot and a half taller and doubled her weight. He subdued her easily and gently as he could to where she couldn't move. He inspected her ribs. There was an almost healed bruise on her right side. Her stomach was flat and untouched. He maneuvered her onto her back and it was also unmarked. With that he let her go, which was a big mistake on his part.
She came up in a rage pounding on his chest. "You jerk! How dare you!"
Without the braces on her wrists he would have been fine, but they hurt a little bit. He didn't want to grab her arms and hurt her further. He did the only thing that came to mind he hugged her tightly to his chest. She finally stopped trying to hit him and he loosened his grip. She did not get up. He felt her shudder in his arms and realized she was crying. He hadn't meant to make her cry. He just wanted to make sure she was alright and to teach her a lesson. Perhaps, he had gone too far, but Sesshoumaru had never apologized for anything and he wasn't about to start. He just put his arms around her and stroked her long hair. "Shh. Don't cry. He won't hurt you here. I won't let him." He waited as her crying slowed to a few sniffles.
"I just don't understand. How could I let this happen to me? I know I am stronger than that! Yet, look at me! I am pathetic." She sobbed.
He felt his arms tighten around her. He stopped questioning his feelings and just allowed himself to hold and comfort her. Looking into her tear stained face, and searching her blue eyes. He had to know. "Did he..." How was he supposed to ask? "Did he force himself on you?"
She hid her face into his chest and he felt the need to find and kill that boy, then he heard her.
"He tried. I-I got away..." She muffled into his shirt.
He let a breath out he didn't know he was holding. They stayed on the couch like that in each others arms lost in their own thoughts for a while. When he snapped out of his murderous thoughts, he realized she was asleep. He sighed picking her up and tucking her in her own bed. He felt awkward as he looked down at her. She looked so innocent, so fragile, he looked away.
This can't be happening. I do not care for this girl. I do not care for any girl. Keeping her safe is what any respectable man would do. After all she is my assistant, so she is partly my responsibility now. He assured himself as he let himself out locking her door on the way. He went to his own room to sleep only to be greeted by the same dream as last night.
A.N.: Thank you for reading this chapter, and again thank you for being so patient. I will do my best to finish the next one by next Wednesday. I'm really enjoying writing this story. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think so far!