The miko had not returned.

And his condition had not improved.

Sesshoumaru's hand clenched, wrinkling the bandages around his still-raw fingers. Not only had his youki been unable to replenish itself, but his immune system had been reduced to that of a mere human, having to rely on painkillers and salves to heal.

And still, the miko stayed away.

He shouldn't be dwelling on it, considering it had been at his request, but there was a moment between slumber and waking when he felt himself reaching out for her as if she were some missing puzzle piece to his very existence.

The self-loathing had begun quickly after her disappearance, but he was not about to do something as demeaning as inquiring about her whereabouts. The doctor always hesitated during his check-ups as if she were waiting for that very question, leaving his room with a sigh whenever he remained quiet.

Even his brother had kept his mouth shut, not once voicing the discontent so readily evident in his crossed arms. Sesshoumaru had anticipated it and would have welcomed it, almost to the point of begging, but their conversations were shallow, not once mentioning the miko.

He'd requested his phone to contact the outside world, but the staff had been given strict orders to keep him secluded. He had yet to discern whom the orders had come from, their excuses of preventing him from burning other bridges regarding his memory loss flimsy at best.

Who were they to keep him from anything? They were there to help him heal—and were doing a terrible job at it. When he recovered, he would have all of their jobs. Well-equipped or not, he would not continue to fund an establishment that did nothing to help its patients.

He touched the stripes on his wrists, the marks still raw from the sutras. A strong sedative had been used to get them on him, Sesshoumaru groggy and disoriented when he'd woken, instantly incensed that they had not only been successful but that he'd been unconscious for almost two days.

"You need to control that temper of yours,' Dr. Sekimen had stated, clicking her penlight against her clipboard when she eventually resurfaced. "You'll end up hurting yourself and those who care about you." She hadn't named the miko, but her pointed look had been proof enough.

If it had been Rin, he would've listened. Perhaps. But the miko had no claim on him whatsoever—no matter how much she liked to think the contrary.

And yet.

And yet.

He found his mind wandering to her more often than not, much of his waking hours, though they were fewer than he would've liked, spent going over every word she'd uttered, hoping he'd find a clue as to the spell she'd placed on him.

It had to be a spell. There was no other explanation for it.

"Did someone piss in your miso again?" Inuyasha asked, not even bothering to knock before entering his room.

Sesshoumaru's jaw clenched, and he leaned back against his pillows, only sitting up because the doctor had adjusted the controls on his bed before she'd left. "What is the point of having private quarters if no one will adhere to the common courtesy of requesting an audience?" he murmured.

Inuyasha sat down between him and the window, cutting off his view as he rolled his eyes. "Those who insult my friends don't get common courtesy," he mocked.

"She brought it on herself," Sesshoumaru snapped, his frayed nerves once again getting the better of him.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you gotta tell yourself to help you sleep at night." Inuyasha crossed his arms. "You should be spendin' your time coming up with an apology instead of wastin' it on pointless arguments."

He said the same thing every time he was here, the little digs reminding Sesshoumaru of whom his brother sided with. "Why do you continue to bother me with your presence?" he asked.

"Someone has to. You scared your only other visitor away."

"She is the one who—"

"She is too good for you! Especially after that shit you threw at her the last time she was here." Inuyasha snapped, ears twitching in agitation. "The only reason you and I can talk without bitin' each other's heads off is 'cause of her!"

"And such a wonderful job she has done."

"Watch your mouth, asshole," he said, eyes narrowing. "Just 'cause she can't touch you doesn't mean I won't."

Sesshoumaru sat up so quickly his head spun. The half-breed knew. He knew of his connection to the miko, yet he'd remained quiet. "You will tell me what you know."

"I ain't tellin' you shit," Inuyasha snapped, shifting his chair just out of Sesshoumaru's reach. "You want answers? Apologize to K'gome." He gave him a considering look. "You do remember her name, right?"

"Only because you will not shut up about it."

"That's not what I mean. Have you—" Inuyasha's phone went off, the ringtone familiar enough that he didn't even bother greeting the person on the other end after his finger slid across the screen. "Yeah?"

"How is he?"

Sesshoumaru almost jerked at the sound of her voice. It was muffled against Inuyasha's cheek, golden eyes sliding to his own before his bother got to his feet. "One sec." He abandoned his chair, heading back towards the door. "Same as before," he said before slipping into the hallway.

If he'd had enough acid, Sesshoumaru would've sliced his bed in half. She refused to show her face but sent his brother as a messenger?

Uncaring of the medical equipment he was still hooked up to, Sesshoumaru yanked the cords away from his body. The alarms immediately sounded, but he made it to the door before anyone was the wiser, thankful some of his senses were still working as he followed Inuyasha's scent down the hall.

The private rooms were in a separate wing from emergency care, with long spaces between each door to keep conversations and treatments confidential. The silence was deafening, most of the patients unlikely to have as many machines in their rooms as he did.

Digging his blunted claws into the wall, he continued down the hall, his brother's voice a beacon in a maze of pale wallpaper and tinted windows.

"There's been no change, K'gome," Inuyasha said, clicking his tongue. "No, I ain't telling ya to come back. He's gotta do some grovelling first—" He groaned, and Sesshoumaru hurried his steps, trying to put as much distance between him and the flurry of people entering his room as possible.

"How are you holdin' up?" Inuyasha asked, changing tactics as Sesshoumaru rounded the last corner. "Liar. Shunran said you'd gone through the next step—that's bullshit, and you know it, K'gome!" Her name was more of a growl, and his brother punched the elevator door. "Ain't no cure for it other than—no, of course not. You made me promise not to."

More promises. More secrets.

Sesshoumaru had had enough.

"That's not the point, K'gome! It's only going to get worse if you don't—"

Sesshoumaru plucked the phone out of Inuyasha's hand. "Enough deceit, miko. You will divulge what you know of my condition so that I may once and for all be rid of you." He ignored his bother's sputters of protest, straining to hear her response.

"I can't do that."

"And yet you still claim it is in my best interest to remain here," he countered, sidling away from his brother as Inuyasha tried to retrieve his phone. "Without giving me any details as to why."

"Because you wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Her tone was sharp, but his hearing was fuzzy, the hallway tilting as he leaned against the wall.

"More of your delusions, I presume?" His question was met with a coughing fit that bordered on choking, concern sparking within his chest, the side of his neck burning. "Is your ailment the reason you have not returned?"

"I'm fine," she said, voice hoarse. "And you're the one who told me not to come back."

"Because you continue to lie."

"And why does that matter to you, Sesshoumaru? You claim not to care, but I know for a fact that Inuyasha left your room to take my call." He growled in response but had already slumped to the floor, giving Inuyasha ample time to snatch the phone away.

"Stupid, stubborn bastard," he said, grabbing his arm to keep him off the floor. "You could've just asked to talk to her." The rest of his medical team rounded the corner, Sesshoumaru's ears buzzing as they latched onto him, dragging him back to his room.

His prison.

He tried to pull away, but they were nothing more than shadows, his strength non-existent as Inuyasha cursed under his breath. The miko was still on the other end of the phone, a series of hacking coughs interrupting her hysterical questions. As he descended into darkness, the last thing he heard was the miko calling his name.

"Proud of yourself?"

Sesshoumaru winced, unable to sit up, his eyes feeling like sandpaper. "Is it not customary to wait until patients fully regain consciousness before berating their decisions?"

"Not when your decisions involve putting everyone on red alert because you'd suddenly disappeared from your room."

"It would not have happened if your mate had thought to keep me in the loop with his conversation with the miko." He slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times before he could focus.

It was like the first time all over again.

His wrists were once again strapped to the bed, and he was surprised to find he was still in his room and not back in the ICU. His eyes landed on the redhead standing next to him, her fingers twisting around the stem of a flower before tucking it behind her ear.

"It's weird to hear you call her that," Shunran said, shifting her weight to one side. "Though I supposed I should be grateful that you actually remember who your brother is mated to."

"How could I not?" he replied with a sigh. "It is not as if it was a recent affair. Plus, you never let me forget the fact that I missed the ceremony."

She crossed her arms. "I'd take great pleasure in getting you to make up to me all over again, but that's not why I'm here."

He raised an eyebrow. "I had assumed you were my brother's replacement. Until the miko returns to chastise my recent behaviour."

"She won't be coming back," she said, hands clenching.

"Why?" The question slipped out before he could stop it. He tried to take it back, to deny its validity, but the words wouldn't form.

"Because she's just as stubborn as you are." Shunran began to pace the side of his bed, chewing on her thumb. "Inuyasha is trying to convince her that nothing will get better until she faces this head-on, but she's put it off too long and now—"

"You make it sound like her circumstances are just as dire as my own."

"Because they are, you jackass!" She whirled on him, flowers flying from her hair. "She's closer to death than you'll ever be, and all because you chased her off!"

"She is the one who attacked me," he argued automatically.

"No, she defended herself after you grabbed her. You, of all people, should understand how volatile power is when emotions are involved," she said with a glare. "Especially with her."

Sesshoumaru pursed his lips, knowing the panther was correct but not wishing to admit it out loud. The miko had always worn her heart on her sleeve, though it caused her more harm to do so. But admitting he was at fault meant admitting he felt guilt—that he felt anything—and that was all the more dangerous.

"Didja talk some sense into him yet?"

Shunran let out an agitated sigh as Inuyasha entered the room. "I don't know. He doesn't talk much."

"Might be better that way. K'gome wouldn't shut up. Didn't even want me coming back here." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, swiping at the screen a few times before holding it up to his mate. Sesshoumaru watched the colour drain from Shunran's face before she grabbed the device.

"This isn't good. At this point, there'll be no going back!"

"Don'tcha think I know that? I kept trying to tell her that at least being around him would help—" His brother met his gaze, eyes tinged with crimson. "—but she's too worried she'll hurt him again."

"But at this rate—" Shunran gasped as Sesshoumaru snatched the phone out of her hands, turning it around to catch a glimpse of the miko sitting at the base of a tree. Petals littered the ground around her, vines poking through her simple yukata and winding tightly around her limbs.

From what little skin could make out, she looked pale, the tie of her obi much larger than it should be. She'd lost weight since he last saw her.

"When was this taken?" he whispered. Inuyasha and Shunran shared a pained look, the latter shaking her head at her mate.

"This morning," his brother said.

"Impossible." This change would've been plausible over months of insomnia and malnutrition, but it had barely been a week since he'd last crossed paths with the miko. He enlarged the photo, trying to discern the cause of the vines.

They crept up her body like she was rooted to the ground.

He'd initially thought the spots on her chest were part of the yukata's design, but upon closer inspection, he realized she was completely covered in petals. The position of her body, the way she'd slumped against the tree trunk, had pressure mounting in his chest.

"Do you see what I mean now?" Shunran hissed, tapping the screen. "She's punishing herself by staying away from you. It's only going to get worse if you leave her there."

"She has told me nothing—"

"And whose fault is that asshole?" she snapped. "You end up in the hospital and suddenly forget everything you've been through together, how much you've changed for her, because of her, and think she'd start spouting off all her deepest secrets? You're a stranger to her!"

Inuyasha pulled her close as she dissolved into hysterics, pounding at his chest, glaring as he dragged his mate away, whispering softly as he tried to comfort her.

Sesshoumaru would've collapsed against his pillows if he weren't already lying down. His mind spun with questions—questions only the miko could answer, yet everyone was determined to keep them from being answered.

And it seemed he wasn't helping.

He ran a hand through his hair, nails getting caught on the bandages around his neck, and he tore them off in a fit of frustration, frowning at the slightly raised skin. Clicking the camera function of Inuyasha's phone, he tried to get a good angle. Even those with mixed blood never had to worry about scars—he'd put his entire hand through his brother's chest, and Inuyasha didn't have a mark to show for it.

The wound wasn't fresh, Dr. Sekimen wasn't stupid enough to use stitches on him, so why was—

His eyes widened, and he quickly returned to the miko's photograph, zooming in on her face. Her head was turned away from the camera, a mating mark evident on her shoulder. One that matched his own.

This left only one cause for her diagnosis, though it stemmed so many more questions that his ears were left ringing. "Where is she now?"

Shunran stilled in her mate's arms, but Inuyasha was the one to answer. "Even if you convince the docs to let you out, they'll monitor you to make sure you go straight home," he said with a meaningful look.

Sesshoumaru pulled the covers off his legs, body already shifting. "I will leave the details to you, then."

"Hey! Wait a second—" Inuyasha sputtered, but his protests fell on deaf ears, the ball of light faltering as it shot through the window before shifting again, Sesshoumaru's true form rising above the clouds.

Inuyasha let out a string of curses, the alarms already screeching in his ears. Shunran gave him a tight squeeze, resting her head against his shoulder. "Dr. Sekimen knew this would happen. They've got eyes on the house just in case something goes wrong."

"He ain't gonna like that."

"Tough shit," she said. "He can deal with it after he fixes things with Kagome. Permanently."