AN:

Thank you to my darling reviewers and readers.

Sorry this chapter is a bit short, I had a few things come up and it kind of threw off my updating schedule. I'll be updating the next chapter either tonight or in the morning.

Happy reading!

love Jiru.

The Sunlight on Her Skin

Silence commanded the partition, strangling out the violence unfurling in front of their eyes. Romanticizing the cautionary moments, begging for some sort of eased exit from the room, InuYasha shoved Kagome's frantic body into the hall.

She trembled, screaming at no one in particular. InuYasha gripped to her shoulders, looking at her sternly as she tried to absolve the quake of her nerves. He felt the thobbing of her heart through his fingers and closed his eyes, formulating the appropriate thing to say.

Kaede was held by a nurse, inside. She had refused to leave, but ripping Kagome from the scene thrust her into a foreign, white world; smelling of bleach and glimmering gray tiles.

The pressure in the hall sank on her, binding her feet to the floor as though she had been nailed in place. InuYasha was certain that she was about to break. Thing unseen had made him stay, and for once, he was thankful to put up with this barrage of emotion that consumed the both of them.

He resolved to holding it in, whereas the girl erupted with a fortuitous cleanse. She needed to release it and seeing anyone in this condition was heart breaking. Kaede was probably fairing about the same, only her comfort was lying in the hands of strangers and the professionals that were provided.

Every jarring cry of the difribrillator made Kagome's hair stand on end. She looked wounded, feral like a beaten animal. The man leaned her back against the wall, knocking a painting to the side. His forehead pressed against hers, allowing her to ease into him.

Tears dolloped his nose and made his heart ache for her. He didn't know why he gravitated to her the way he did, or in the manners. It was blind movement that, even in this dire situation, he couldn't escape from.

He wanted so badly to say something, anything, to her. Instead, he soothed her with a chaste kiss, swallowing her in his arms. InuYasha had fallen so far, and owed these people his life. What else was he supposed to do? He'd be damned if he left now.

Shippo sprang into his mind, as he often did. He wanted to see him, wanted him to have his life return to normal. What would he do when he found out if Old Totosai had passed? There would be another life that had been stolen from him.

A glower spilled across the canvas of his face, painting him with discontent. When the sound of the door opening jerked his attention away from his swarming thoughts, he immediately tightened his grip on the girl.

Kaede sobbed like a child, holding onto the very last shred of her being. As she appeared in the doorway, she held a Kleenex to her nose, cleaning up the crooks around her mouth. Kagome's breath hitched in her throat, peering over InuYasha's shoulder to see her grandmother placing a stern expression on her face.

The door shut behind her and she leaned against it, clutching her test, heaving a heavy breath. InuYasha's dark eyes inspected her, wishing for her to speak of something - the weather, the smell in the hall, or the fact that she knew something they didn't.

Respectably, InuYasha extended a hand for to take. When she didn't he furrowed his brows, allowing the silence to cease. "Kaede-baba, are you alright?"

Kagome gripped to InuYasha's sides, digging her nails into the fabric of his shirt, bracing for what may come. He rested his chin upon her head, watching Kaede shake her head softly. Her hands smoothed out her kimono and dabbed at her eyes.

"He's alright for now." She sniveled, "Please go get Shippo. If something happens to Papa, I won't be able to make it without someone to take care of." She stifled, trying to hold back the emotion eating at her very essence. "I need him to be here."

InuYasha went slack with relief. The girl attached to him, didn't. Instead, Kagome buried her face into his chest, smothering herself with his sturdiness. "I'll leave in the morning. I'll have to beat Sango's number out of Rin." He sighed.

Kagome felt a twinge of jealously shoot through her, but relented to keeping it to herself. Kaede shuffled towards them, placing a prickly hand on the girl's back. "I think it would be good for you to get some fresh air. I don't want you to remember home like this."

Kaede looked knowingly at InuYasha and reached into the breast of her kimono, pulling out a ring with a singular key attached to it. "This is something that no one can change. He's my husband and I don't want anyone else to see him like this. Take this and go to the house, and under our bed is everything you'll need." She said weakly.

Kagome pulled back for a moment, startled. "Bachan, why are you letting me go?" She asked, dewy eyed and obviously concerned. Her eyes questioned the absolution in the old woman's face, before succumbing to the calm that washed over her.

"You need to listen, my girl." The old woman said. "If you were in love, and you knew that the end of your journey together was ending, wouldn't you do everything to take every second as a gift?"

InuYasha looked away, recalling how he hadn't with Kikyo. He had appreciated her, and loved her with every shred of his being. When she passed, he'd been there, but not as he should have been. Kaede was stronger than he was and he acknowledged his own defeat in semblace to hers.

Kagome didn't understand what it was like to lose the other half of yourself. She understood death more than she should, but Bankotsu was not in love with her. She didn't love him like they had loved and lived like they lived.

Her world was designed in flaw and reconstruction, which would take a life time of recovery to sustain. InuYasha let his hand slide down the girl's arm, gripping her clammy hand for reassurance. He had tried to get away from her, but as it were, he would protect her from whatever may harm her.

"I'll take care of her like I took care of you and Old Totosai." InuYasha smiled sadly, brushing his fingers across Kagome's. The gesture confused her, but she accepted it kindly and ignored the powerful surge of emotion cutting at her heart.

"How long do you think you'll be gone, dear?" Kaede asked, letting her eyes roll over the pair in front of her. She knew that this would lead them somewhere they didn't know they need go. Everything ends, but it has to have a beginning.

InuYasha nodded as he rolled it over his head. "Just a couple of days, I think. I don't think it would be too long. I think I'm going to go get some coffee." He released Kagome, leaving her yearning for his warmth. "Anyone else want any?"

Kaede shook her head and pressed on the best smile she could. "I'm going to just drink my juice and try to get some rest. I need to be here as much as I can."

Kagome gave her grandmother a hug, closing her sore eyes as she relaxed. She was blank, almost overwhelmed by the events that had transpired when she had returned. Guilt ate at her for wanting to leave and to follow InuYasha, but her grandmother knew as soon as she saw the girl.

Kagome didn't need anymore sadness. Her love was never questioned, her heart never lied. It was evident in her eyes and the way she conditioned herself to remain quiet and collected. "I love you, Bachan. Tell Jiji I love him." She smiled crookedly, not letting it affect the rest of her face.

She was swollen and rusty in comparision to how fried her mind was. InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest waiting for her to follow behind. "We won't be gone long, I promise." He said, "I'll have everybody home as soon as I can."

"Well, you best be on your way girl. Destiny is calling." Kaede said to Kagome, placing a kiss upon her cheek. The young woman nodded and said her goodbyes and caught up to InuYasha as he bustled towards the elevator.

In Tokyo, Miroku slumped back against his swing. The cool air soothed the heat prickling at his skin and he sighed. Looking at his phone, he sighed and snuggled next to Sango. She was wrapped in a blanket, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Her hand hurt like hell and was swollen like a grapefruit.

"Why would she have come after me?" She asked sullenly. "I don't know why she was so frantic. I wonder if something happened to make her so upset."

Miroku shrugged, biting at his lip. "You know, Sango, Ayame has been involved in somethings that she shouldn't have ever been involved in. It's mostly my fault for having a questionable client, after all. I feel like most of my life, my problems have been from bad choices that I've made." He looked at her pensively, trying to read the curiousity on her face.

"Miroku, we all make mistakes that we aren't proud of. Our choices shouldn't make us bad people, or make us feel that way. They do, they do so much, though. I regret helping Kohaku, every single day." Sango rasped against the cold.

"I know, my dear, I know." An arm wrapped around the girl, pulling her closer. "I'm just glad that you've made your way back to me. I didn't think that our time together would be spent talking to the paramedics and the police." He smirked dejectedly.

"You know I like danger." She glowered, "But, I suppose you want to talk about InuYasha."

Miroku stiffened, pulling himself beneath Sango's fuzzy, pink blanket. "I guess we need to, don't we?" He grinned. "I'm just glad that he's alive. How did he end up in Akita?"

Sango shrugged slightly, "He told me that his house and burned down and that after his wife had passed, he stayed with his friend - you - and left. I guess he just wandered about the country until the old folks at the inn took him in. They're really bad about not letting people leave." She laughed slightly, "It was after my friend when missing that they started doing that."

"What was her name?" Miroku asked, holding the woman's good hand, swinging the bench slightly.

"Kagome." Sango said, "I just want to know if she's okay. Her father went all crazy after her mother died and someone kidnapped her. She's had so much happen to her. She never asked for any of it. It's not like she was a bad person, and deserved it."

Miroku furrowed his brows. "Kagome?" He asked, "Did she have pretty black hair and gray eyes? Those eyes are what stand out to me, when I hear that name. She always looked so afraid, but assured at the same time. It was really strange, but it could be a completely different person, I'm just rambling, I'm sorry." He said, turning to see the woman's face contort with an unpresendented emotion.

"You saw her? You know her?" Sango clenched her chest through the pain shooting through her hand. "How long ago?"

Her eyes were electric, searching with a profound sense of relief.

"I-I, god, it's been several months." Miroku said jogging his memory. "She was with one of my clients, Bankotsu. That's why you mentioned someone that fit his description, that I was looking through my phone. I normally hear from him but I havent heard from him in days."

Sango lowered her head, "There was a man shooting at InuYasha when he told me to leave. I took Shippo and ran and we ended up here." She shrugged. "So, this Bankotsu must have kidnapped her?" She asked, finding her head throbbing with a sheering ache.

Miroku shook his head, ruffling his hair. "I assume so. Bankotsu was upset with InuYasha for exposing the illegal activities that his father's company had set up. I mean, I would have questioned them, too. It's a morality issue more than anything. How do you think I feel representing people I know are guilty?"

Sango listened intently, finding the missing pieces to the puzzle.

"Eventually, Kikyo, his wife, passed away in the accident and shortly after his house burned down. They said it wasn't arson, but you never can tell around here. I mean, it's a shanty, you can't expect there to be much security." Miroku said as a matter of factly. "Besides, he'd always been a good man. An asshole, but a good man. He never seemed like he'd do anything to bother anyone."

"Why did Bankotsu want to hurt him?"

"Because of the money, I suppose." The man grimaced. "He was entitled to a lot of money from the company, but the man that owned his father's assests, a man named Naraku, is holding the funds because of some infringement in the clause."

"Why does involve InuYasha?" Sango furrowed her brows.

"Like I said, Sango, I have no real idea." Miroku looked at her with an earnest expression, wishing he knew what to tell her. "Ayame got involved with the finance department and things for Naraku and that caused Bankotsu to hire me and through a series of unfortunate events, I'm living alone here."

The woman let her eyes fall on her slippers and she brushed them against the porch. "I'd live with you if you'd have me." She said softly, raising her eyes to meet his. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he laid his head in the crook of her neck. "You know I'd have you in a heart beat. You were all I ever wanted."

Sango placed a kiss upon his forehead and sighed. "Maybe one day I can come back, when all of this is finished." She said, content that he still wanted her. Her thoughts tumbled like the waves in the distance and she relished in the static. "Why would Bankotsu have wanted Kagome?"

Miroku thought for a moment, trying to jar his memories. He shuddered at the sight of Bankotsu creeping into his head. "He seemed like he cared about her, not in love, but like he had wanted her for his own reasons. When he spoke to her, it was like he was a charming businessman. She was pale, very small, and didn't look like she as all there." He said, narrowing his eyes at the slats on the porch. "Ayame didn't like her, which later I found out that the man she was seeing was also the man that my wife had been having an affair with."

"Koga?" Sango blinked, finding the entire world crashing down on her. "Really? That's who she's with? This world has become so small, I could fit in it my hand."

"It really is. You'd think that all of these people could find people they didn't know to bother, right?" Miroku chided sarcastically. "But, I work indirectly for Naraku and all of his staff is terrified of him. I shouldn't even tell you about any of this, just for the sheer fear of being paranoid." He gestured with his hands, as if trying to grasp the thought. "He had a daughter, which, I assume would be why Bankotsu thought that Kagome would be leverage. Ayame told me about it, but he never said her name or anything."

Sango heaved a sigh into the blanket and rubbed her face. "I just want this day to be over and go to sleep. I can't understand all of this. It's like being caught in the middle of a crime drama. I never thought my life would be so hostile."

Miroku rubbed her shoulder with his thumb, "Well," He said smoothly, "Why don't you go back inside and I'll call Bankotsu and see if I can find out anything. I really hate having to do this, but I'm curious now." He smiled warmly at the woman, rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

"Alright. Will you be in soon?" She inspected his cherubic face and found the answer in the form of a gentle kiss.

When she returned, Miroku slid his finger across his phone, illuminating the screen. He skimmed through the numbers until he found the one he was looking for and held his breath as he pressed the call button.

As it rang, an illness climbed inside of him, making his stomach churn more violently than the sea. His hand cupped his forehead, pressing out the stress at the corners. Sango was probably eavesdropping, but it couldn't be helped.

The entire night wasn't getting much better for anyone. InuYasha was sitting on the edge of the balcony, letting his legs hang in between the slats as he smoked a cigarette. The steam from the coffee was wafting in the cold air, which nipped at his nose and frazzled his hair.

Kagome was wrapped in a hospital blanket, staring out at the sea. She looked lost until the sound of that phone, his phone rang from InuYasha's pocket. Biting her lip, she snapped her eyes to him, watching his curious face as he fingered through his pocket.

Squinting at the number, he looked back towards Kagome. "Should I answer it?" He rasped, not wanting to look her in the eye. He was embarassed for kissing her again, and it was adding fuel to the proverbial fire.

Kagome shook her head and plastered it against her knees. "What else can happen tonight?" She seethed, "Just answer the damn thing, I don't want to hear that sound anymore."

InuYasha flicked his cigarette and sucked in a tight breath. When he hit the button, he wasn't expecting to hear a long forgotten voice.