Disclaimer: You know who's mine, you know who's not. Thank you, have a nice day.
Wow, guys, you're lucky I got my muse back, or I might have left you with that mini-cliffy for a week or two. There is a bit of a song in here, its Spirit Never Dies by Masterplan, and it's a frickin' awesome song, so go listen to it! Today we learn what's going on at The Academy, and a bit more backstory on some characters. Enjoy!
Cold Kikyo: Yes...what does it all mean...hmmm... Well, you're gonna find out. :)
darkpriestressofhell: Kagome's having another 'episode', and her whole body has shut down. Will she live? Who knows!...actually, I know. She has to live, or my fic kinda goes down the drain. Lets see what happens!
Raithya: ...wow. I am completely in awe of your prediction skills. :) Don't worry, Kagome and Inuyasha can't die, the story's about them! I'm so proud of Cali, she's getting to be such a fan-hog. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Silver Rain Drops: Hehe, yup. Little spies...but who are they after? Hmmm...I suppose we'll see when Kagome wakes up! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! ;)
fullmetal-inugrl8484: Thankies, babe! I'm keeping up as best I can. Thanks for the review!
Kagome113287: Heh, thanks! Here's the fastest I've gotten a chapter out, and I'll try and get another going ASAP. Keep reading!
Chapter Twelve – For Those We've Loved
Kagome came back in stages. The first stage was the pain. The second was the incessant beeping from the heart monitor. The third was the realization that she was strapped down.
The fourth was that someone was singing, oh so softly.
"So never give up - never give in
Rise from the fire if you're gonna win
Sing with your soul - soon you'll be old
Fight the demons inside you
There is no limit to what can be done
Climb every mountain with power so strong
Dusty roads on the way, leaving the past behind you…"
Kagome forced her eyes open and blearily glanced around. She was in a completely white room, though the atmosphere and smell told her it wasn't a hospital. Her trek continued until she found the singer. A young, black haired man sat next to her bed, skillfully polishing a rifle. He had stopped singing and was looking at her with his vibrant green eyes, the left one with a faint scar across it.
"Ah, so sleeping beauty rejoins the world." He gave her a slight smile and ducked out of sight for a moment. He sat up again rifle-less and reached over to take her hand.
She wanted to speak to him, but found she couldn't. It took a moment of crossing her eyes and moving her lips around to figure out she had a feeding tube down her throat. She frowned as best she could and turned her gaze back to the boy, who was smiling slightly.
"You've been out for five days, Kagome." Her eyes went wide at this information, and wanted even more desperately to speak. He just chuckled and shook his head.
"Cali and Kallos found you outside the door after you collapsed. I'll let you know now that Kallos is very upset that you were spying on them, but I think Cali made him realize that he has to be even more careful next time, if a 'mere human' could sneak up on them." He sighed and shook his head. When he looked back to her, Kagome was pointing at him with a look of confusion on her face. He chuckled again.
"Ezekial Damo, that's me. Sorry we haven't spoken much, but I've had to keep a low profile." Kagome's confusion continued for a moment more before a look of understanding crossed her face. He nodded slightly. "Yeah, I've been in on it the whole time, almost more than Cali has been. But I suppose that story can wait until you're better."
Kagome sighed and shook her head, lifting her hands to her head and mimicking pointed ears with her fingers. Ezekial frowned slightly, then grinned. "Ah, you want to see the hanyou." Kagome nodded, letting her hands drop back to the bed. "He's outside arguing with Lady Kaede and the others. He's been in here almost non-stop since you blacked out, but I took over so he could go speak to Kaede." He shrugged and stood. "I'll go get him for you, sleeping beauty." He left the room, pulling his briefcase behind him.
Kagome took the chance to glance around her little room again, noting without relish the amount of tubes and monitors she was hooked up to. Five days, huh? I wonder who saved me this time… She reached a hand up to rub at her eyes and was shocked to find a simple silver band around her right thumb. She was still studying it when the door flew open again and a very excited hanyou bounded into the room.
"Kagome! You really are up!" He had reached the bed and seriously seemed ready to pounce on her, but at a wide-eyed look from Kagome, he toned it down to a swift hug before pulling up the chair Ezekial had recently vacated.
After a few minutes of the comfortable silence, Kagome lifted her hand again and pointed to the ring on her thumb. Inuyasha blushed brightly. "Umm…yeah. My mom gave me that before she died. I though it might help bring you back." Kagome smiled and reached over to take his hand.
They remained this way for a good half hour before the door opened to reveal Caligo, Kallos, and Ezekial. Kaede bustled in behind them and went over to check on Kagome.
"Alright, child. Ye are looking much better. Would ye like the tube out?" Kagome nodded slightly, and Kaede smiled. "As ye wish. Inuyasha, please hold her down. This will hurt." Kagome nodded again and closed her eyes as Inuyasha leaned over her to keep her still.
Once the tube was out of her throat, Inuyasha lifted her and slid into bed behind her, settling her into his lap as Kaede gave her a mug of broth. She smiled her thanks and sipped at the warm liquid as Kaede bustled out and closed the door behind her. A soft click told them they were locked in.
"Alright you three, what the hell is going on?" Inuyasha's gruff voice came from behind her, and Kagome snuggled in closer and smiled as his arms tightened around her. She glanced up and caught Cali's shimmering red eyes.
"Cali?" she whispered, her voice raspy and pained, "Cali, who did this person kill?"
Caligo froze and shot a frightened glance to Kallos, then sighed and stared at the floor. "He killed…everyone. Everyone that was important to me. My parents, my baby sister, my best friend, my whole family. Everyone but Kallos." Kallos reached over and took her hand, giving her a slight smile, which she returned through her tears.
"He took my parents as well." Kallos murmured, eyes on Caligo. "He's tried to kill me a few times, because I apparently wasn't good enough for his plans. Something about me just doesn't click well with him, or perhaps it's my choice of mates that has him annoyed." He shook his head and glanced over to Ezekial, whose head was down.
"My parents died trying to kill him," came his soft voice. "Luckily, he hasn't found my little sister. I requested to come here to keep an eye on him and stop him if I could. He accepted me because he believes me to be an idiot." Here he glanced up at Kagome with a wry smile. "I have all the records of his kills right here. Shall I read a few?" Kagome and Inuyasha nodded, dumbfounded. Ezekial just shook his head and pulled a rather large file from his briefcase. "Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart, which are Tifa's parents. Mr. Elric, Ed and Al's father. Their mother died later from 'natural causes', but we can't confirm that." He sighed and flipped forward a few pages. "He was responsible for sending Winry's parents to war. He had Shippo's father killed, then killed the mercenaries." He paused again and glanced up to Inuyasha, forcing a tightlipped smile. "He headed the attack that killed your father, then turned the people of your village against your mother, Inuyasha."
Kagome froze and glanced up as Inuyasha's grip on her tightened painfully. His head was lowered and he was shaking in fury. "So…it was him, wasn't it? I knew I smelled him when I arrived here…" he growled, his eyes flashing red for a moment before relaxing his grip and resting his head against Kagome's shoulder. She glanced back to Ezekial, frightened now that his gaze was lingering on her as well.
Ezekial set down the file and cleared his throat. "Kagome…I honestly don't want to tell you this while you're in this condition. Please don't black out on us again." Kagome nodded slightly, feeling Inuyasha's head raise from her shoulder to eye the boy. "He killed your father, Kagome. He tried to kill your mother while she was pregnant, but something about you and your twin prevented it. So he's left you alone, let her nurture the both of you until he could get his hands on you and Kikyo at the same time." He stopped and spread his hands. "You're both here, under his thumb, as are the rest of us. Now all we can do is wait until we know what he's planning and put a stop to it."
Kagome glanced between the three faces in front of her, her hands clenching Inuyasha's. "B-but, I'm so weak! Why would anyone need me? Heck, I've nearly died twice…"
"Yes, and something has always brought you back." Cali's voice sounded harsh and tired, which scared Kagome even more. "Something powerful and unafraid to deal with death." Then it hit her.
"…we're all under his thumb?" she whispered, her gaze flying back to Ezekial, who sighed and nodded.
"Yes, Kagome. We are all under Headmaster Naraku's thumb."