A/N: Ehh, I'm in a bit of a bad/complain-y mood right now (lol, last few days of school, it's expected.) So, umm, just read and enjoy I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or anything else mentioned in this story; duh. XD
Rated: Mature For crude language, sexual references, and mature situations.

CHATPER 24

I would be lying if I said waking up next to her was something I was expecting. Oh no; in fact, it was so far from what I was expecting that I hadn't even been expecting it; it was nowhere to be found in my mind at all. When I woke up with my arms wrapped around a warm body and the scent of clean, black hair near my nose, I was kind of disoriented. The head of a woman was tucked comfortably beneath my chin and our legs were tangled together. My bed had never felt so welcoming before, in my life. Would this be a fantastic dream I was dreaming?

Failing terribly, I tried to untangle the mass of limbs and find my legs without waking the sleeping woman. Unfortunately, she stirred and her head rolled towards me revealing…

Kagome?!

What the hell?! My heart started pounding in my chest harder than it should have. I felt hot all over and frantic. I took a couple of deep breaths; calming myself with the fact that we were both fully clothed and how peaceful she looked as she slept. I took the time to admire her and all of the traits she possessed that I adored. Her skin was pale and flawless, and her eyelashes were long and dark, contrasting greatly against the skin they laid against. Her lips were not too full, but were a comfortable shade of pink that was inviting in every way.

Her eyes slowly opened and my breath hitched in my throat as the most beautiful shade of sapphire was revealed to me. Kagome stared at me, silently, and I continued to examine her eyes, wondering how the different hints of blue were speckled throughout her irises. She began to blush and I realized my staring must've been unnerving her as she looked away.

"Hi," I said shyly, wondering why she was in my bed, still.

"Hi Sango," she continued to blush. "Sorry about… umm, well you know."

Untangling her legs from mine, she pulled away a good distance and I waited for her to explain herself.

"I'm sorry to impose," she apologized again. "I just couldn't wait to talk to you about what I needed to talk about…"

I nodded, ok with everything. I was curious about what she needed to tell me so desperately. Was that the reason she had looked so worried?

"Is it ok that you're here? Does your mom know?" I asked her as she tucked her knees up to her chest and leant back against my headboard. She looked so vulnerable and weak… What was wrong with her? Why was she so…?

"Yeah, she knows," she looked at me briefly with a fleeting glance and I caught that her eyes were wet once more. Why was she so emotional?

"Kagome," I mumbled, wanting to reach out to her, but keeping to myself. "Kagome, why are you… what's wrong?"

Suddenly, tears gathered at her eyelashes and fell swiftly down her cheeks. Her lips parted, as if she was going to speak, but then she never did and instead broke down in tears. I instantly forgot all the awkwardness between us and pulled her into an embrace, her cheek against my chest. She began to cry and I waited patiently for her to be ready to talk to me.

She eventually calmed down enough and I braved questioning her.

"Care to explain why you invaded my bed and began to cry?" I asked seriously, albeit my teasing tone.

"I…" she paused and sniffled and I held her a slight bit tighter. "I don't know where to start," she muttered.

"Is it something really bad?" I asked, though I already knew and feared the answer I expected her to give me.

"Yes," she choked. I frowned, but held her tightly.

"Sesshoumaru confronted me and said you were struggling in his class; is that it?"

She nodded, still sniffling and replied, "Partly."

"Well, are you going to tell me?"

When she didn't reply, I continued, "I know this is probably hard for you, but it's only going to get harder if you wait."

"I… I'm just overwhelmed by everything. I'm having trouble with school because I've been worried about other things and I've been having trouble managing my time. I stay up late doing homework all the time now and… and it's because I just won't say 'no' to Koga."

What? That last part threw me for a loop. What does Koga have anything to do with…. Oh. Oh, I understood now.

"Kagome, it's very easy. All you have to do is talk to Koga and tell him you need more time for homework and studying. I know it's hard juggling a relationship and school, but if Koga really understands, he'll back off a little and give you some room."

Oh, Koga. Don't you see what you're doing to Kagome? Don't ruin a good thing, kid.

"That's the thing, Sango," she suddenly pulled away, as if furious with me. "He's been giving me space, and I don't like it! He always uses the excuse of track practice or track meets! It's like he's suddenly lost interest in me and I think it's because… because I… I slept with him, and he didn't like… he didn't like what he saw... he didn't like it."

The numbness that shot through my body couldn't be helped as I merely stared at Kagome. The disappointment that settled in my bones was enough to bring tears to my eyes, but I worked hard on keeping them in because I was no hypocrite and Kagome had a right to… sleep with anyone she wanted. Just the mere thought of it sickened me, however. My chest hurt, constricting painfully like a tight cage around my heart. This was all too much, and I wanted to run away, I wanted to go hide somewhere, but I couldn't because Kagome needed me and I wanted to prove to her that I could just be a good friend. I wanted to prove to her that she meant a lot to me and that I would endure emotional pain to be with her and to support her.

I couldn't help but loosen my arms, because they suddenly felt weak and numb.

"You slept with him?" I asked after swallowing hard, with shallow breathing.

"Yes, and more than once," she pressed her face into my neck. "And after that… he stopped wanting to be around me a lot. Track practice became more important than spending time with me."

I didn't reply and she continued, with a voice full of tears.

"It's like I'm repulsive or something."

"You're not repulsive, Kagome," I cooed, feeling overheated and needing to step out for a little while. Whatever the case, my reassurance wasn't reassuring in any way because Kagome sobbed harder, shaking in my arms. I frowned, feeling slightly useless.

"And what's worse," she continued, by now flat out bawling, "is that my period is late like two weeks and I think I'm pregnant."

What?

What did she just say?

What the hell did she just say?

What the fucking hell did she just fucking say?!

"What?" I breathed, trying my hardest to calm myself.

"I think I'm pregnant," she cried, and cried hard. "And I felt like I had no one to turn to and I couldn't focus on anything. I'm so scared, Sango. I'm so scared."

I wanted to throw her away from me. I suddenly felt repulsed by her mere presence in my bed. Pregnant?! And it's Koga's of all people?! Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Didn't she know about protection, or other forms of contraception? What the hell was she thinking?! I was so mad and I knew I couldn't hide the anger in my eyes when I looked down at her. But…

But the moment my gaze connected with her big blue watery eyes, rimmed in red, my anger was forgotten and I felt absolutely pathetic. My heart hurt, but I didn't hate her. I couldn't hate her. She needed me and… despite how angry I was moments before, I knew she needed me, and I knew that I loved her. I'd be there for her, not matter how much it hurt. I felt a big fat tear fall from my eye and I looked away, ashamed for her. I wouldn't embarrass her; she came to me with this problem, looking for support and not judgment. I'd be there for her, no doubt.

"And I feel so bad about everything. I wish I had never slept with him," she cried and cried, and I held her close and tight. How long had she been feeling this way? Empty and alone? This kind of worry was enough to make anyone fail a class or two. I lay there, with Kagome in my arms, for nearly an hour. She eventually fell asleep.

I had often dreamt of holding Kagome in my arms protectively the way I had been doing, but I'd never thought it'd be under these circumstances. I'd never thought that she'd tell me she would be having a baby with a guy that I had absolutely despised for the past few years. I sighed, tired and emotionally drained. I wanted to cry and I wanted to cry hard. How did I let this happen? How did I let Kagome get so far from me? How did I not protect her from this?

I got out of bed, hoping that I hadn't woken her with my movements, and retrieved my camera—it was dark but perhaps some photography would calm me. I went out back onto the porch with a pillow. Lying backwards I stared out into the night sky. It was dark and cloudless, but the stars seemed dimmer to me. They weren't as brilliant and breathtaking as they usually were. A shuffling in the woods hit my alert ears and I sat up, gazing out into the darkness as I struggled to see the source of the noise. I soft mewling hit my ears and I soon saw Kilala sauntering towards me out from the darkness.

I sighed and crossed my legs as she bounded up the stairs deftly and brushed against my thigh.

"Oh, Kilala," I sighed tiredly. She gazed at me for a long while, locked onto my eyes, until she hopped into my lap. I instinctively ran my hand down her back repeatedly, relinquishing her warmth in the chilly temperature of the night and the softness of her cream coat.

"I don't know how to react to this," I mumbled and Kilala merely pressed herself against me more, as if trying to comfort me. Sometimes, I felt like she understood what I said to her and I'd imagine her response in my mind. I always envisioned Kilala as a wise maiden in my head. I didn't know why; perhaps it was because of her huge auburn eyes; taking in everything the way they did.

Picking her up, I cradled her in my arms as I headed back into the house. I set her down as I stopped in the kitchen to prepare some tea; just regular old tea, with lots of sugar. I wasn't an avid tea drinker, but I definitely needed something to calm down. While the water was warming, I realized I had left my camera outside and left to retrieve it. When I returned, Kagome was sitting at the kitchen table looking wan and dead. I frowned slightly and approached her. Kilala was at her feet, purring and rubbing against her leg, begging to be picked up. Kagome didn't respond, but merely gazed out with her wet blue eyes across the kitchen.

I finished making my tea and sat down across from Kagome watching her silently. She'd eventually open up to me again, right? I took a sip, waiting for her to—

"Fuck!" I spat. I had burned my tongue and Kagome looked up at me exasperated before a grin split out onto her lips. She chuckled a little while, and then that slowly died down. (1)

"So, are you ready to hear what I think about all of… this?" I asked her and she looked at me for a few moments, before nodding silently.

"Well, I think the best thing would be to talk to Koga about this," I said, despite myself. Kilala purred, as if in agreement, in a supporting way.

"He needs to know about... your condition," I finished with a blush, looking away.

"I'm afraid to," Kagome muttered while wringing her hands.

"Why?" I asked, suddenly irritated. "If you're so in love with him you shouldn't be afraid to tell him you're going to have a baby."

The words burned, acid in my mouth.

"I just! I don't know, ok?! I don't know. I'm afraid of everything. I don't want a kid! Kids hate me; I'm not ready… I just… I don't know."

She was crying again and I realized that I had been a bit too frank, but now wasn't the time for gentle words and a euphemistic state of mind. Now was the time to face reality.

"Look, Kagome, crying isn't going to reverse this. You're going to have to accept this and learn to enjoy it."

I stopped talking after that, watching her cry with a blank look on her face. Kagome seemed like someone who would enjoy kids… I could imagine her being absolutely stoked about it in a month or two. Next thing I'd know, she'd be bugging me to help her think up baby names.

And she'd… Kagome would still be brilliant in her pregnancy. She'd still be absolutely breathtaking and irresistible. (2)

And her baby would be beautiful too, just like her. It'd have her striking blue eyes and pitch black hair… both traits that she and Koga shared. What would the baby inherit from only her, however? Maybe the baby would grow up to have a brilliant mind, just like its mother?

"I've ruined my life," she said, finally. "I won't be able to go to school soon…"

"Kagome, chill, alright," I sighed moving over to her. She obviously needed comforting. I could see her shaking all over.

"Everything is going to be ok. Let's talk in the morning, when you're settled," I suggested, while pulling her up. I led her into my bedroom repeating the words I said, like a mantra.

Everything is going to be ok.

Everything is going to be ok—or so I hoped.

1- It's a bitter sweet feeling to be having an absolutely crappy day, or to just be upset, and having one of your friends make you laugh. I never know how to react to that... (also, I hate buring my tongue on tea! It's on my "top 20 petty things to dislike" list. lol)
2- Studies show that women become more radiant and attractive during pregnancy.

Ok, well, Kagome's going to have Koga's baby! haha, sucks for her, but hey, that's life. Once again, Sango suffers, but she's alright- it may not seem like that because she didn't speak much with Kagome, but that's expected, because I knew if I were in her situation I knew I'd have a trillion thoughts zipping around in my head but nothing to really say. And what's this?! Optimistic thoughts from her, no less?! What a great friend, right? Right.

Thanks for reading and please review,
Enigmatic Ethereality