InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ 72 Hours ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

72 Hours
By: DarkCrystalis

Disclaimer: I don't have one, you evil owners of Inuyasha people (which don't include me, I might add). However, if I create any original characters, they are all mine to do whatever I want with.

XxXx

Chapter Two

Day One-
Second Half

Stepping out of the brown building, Kagome waited for Inuyasha's lead. He'd insisted that the two of them go for coffee because in all technicality, she wasn't his patient; just someone she was chatting with.

At first, Kagome's reaction was to panic.

Going to a coffee shop means I'll have to get up; getting up meansI'll have to walk, and having to walk meansI'm going to be in pain. Being in pain means that Inuyasha will worry about me again, and not dropthe subject as easily this time. This, in turn, will then aggravate me, and remind me of my “illness”, which I do not want to remember.

Sighing, she came up with a solution.

Stay straight-faced, and ignore the pain. Take slow, measured steps, regardless of the looks he throws at you. Make up some stupid excuse about hurting your ankle earlier, and he'll believe it.

With that in mind, she now waited for him outside as he said a few words to his brainless secretary.

After a few more moments, he strolled out of the building, giving her a small smile.

“So, where did you plan on dragging me?” Kagome asked with obvious teasing in her voice.

“There's a coffee shop just over this way,” adding, “if you'd like,” as an afterthought.

Smiling in response, Kagome fanned her arm out in front of her, gesturing for him to lead the way.

The short walk took a lot longer than it should have, and he noticed.

“Is there something out of place with your foot?”

Faking an ankle injury, Kagome began to purposely limp.

“Oh, it's nothing, really. I just fell on the sidewalk, tripping over some stupid…err…bottle, yes, a bottle full of dirty rain water which someone must have left behind a long time ago. It's not all bad, honestly.”

In all honesty, you're lying and you know it.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief, once again having a hard time buying her weak story. However, not wanting to push the issue, he found himself nodding a second later.

Sighing silently in relief when they finally made it, Kagome thanked god that she hadn't collapsed on her way to the shop. Something told her that Inuyasha wouldn't react overly well if she'd suddenly passed out along the way to the café.

Stepping into the dimly lit atmosphere, her sense of smell was immediately assaulted with the strong, but pleasurable scents of different coffees and cappuccinos. Irish cream, espresso, and mocha were what stood out the most, which made her mouth unconsciously water with excitement. It'd been ages since the last time she'd gotten gourmet coffee, and now seemed like a perfect time to do so.

Halting her slow movements, Kagome's body swiveled around to face Inuyasha, his body almost knocking into hers at the abrupt movement.

“Is everything alright, Kagome?” Up until now she hadn't realized how much she liked the way he said her name. Inuyasha managed to say it with an air of deep, natural calmness which warmed her to her toes. This time, concern was laced in his voice, wiping away her doubts of his intentions.

“I should call home,” she muttered, not looking at him as she said this.

After a moments thought, Inuyasha understood. “To call your mother, correct?”

Staring up at him for a moment, Kagome smiled slightly following his previous question.

“I'll go use the payphone outside.” Walking towards the door, she stopped when he called her name.

“Here, you can use my cell phone. These things are quite convenient, don't you think?”

Holding the tiny phone in her hands, Kagome pressed the buttons which would allow her to reach home. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, but no one picked up.

That's odd…

Furrowing her eyebrows in slight disappointment, Kagome handed the phone back to Inuyasha, thanking him for allowing her to use it.

“No one's home?”

“It seems that way; but this is a little strange. Baba-chan rarely leaves the house, except for when she needs to shop for food, but she did that yesterday…”

Pausing in her speech, Kagome shrugged her shoulders with some slight discomfort ensuing the minor body movement.

“Maybe she went to have a nap, or something,” Inuyasha suggested.

“Maybe…” Kagome trailed off, not knowing what else to add.

A moment later, she managed to add “Let's get some coffee!” with enthusiasm clearly outlined in her voice.

Grabbing him by his hand, she pulled him towards the counter. Behind it lay all the different coffees, each of which made her want them more and more with every passing second.

“Hello, how can I help you today?” The employee seemed nice enough, looking more than ready to serve the two people in front of her.

“I want that one, and that one, and that one…”

To her absolute horror, Kagome had spoken aloud, and didn't notice until after Inuyasha gave her a strange look.

“I-I-uh…uhm…I didn't mean that,” she mumbled, avoiding the confused stare from the lady behind the cash register.

“Well, when you make up your mind, let me know! As for you, sir, what would you like?” Giving her attention to the attractive man, she batted her eyes at him with complete adoration.

For some odd reason, Kagome found herself wanting to hit the girl, and yell “he's mine, he's mine!”, but she didn't.

Whoa, now that's a little scary. I barely even know the guy! Get that thought out of your mind right now!

Inuyasha shook his head at the woman, gesturing for Kagome to order first.

However, in Kagome's head, she found herself having a hard time deciding. First and foremost, she ignored her original thought of bashing the unknown woman.

Now that that was over with, she looked at the list of different high class café beverages posted on the wall. There were so many that she found herself having a hard time choosing, and instead of picking, looked to Inuyasha for help.

“What would you recommend, Inuyasha?”

To his and her surprise, the woman behind the counter answered before Inuyasha could even open his mouth.

“It all depends on your tastes; there are a huge variety of cafes offered here. There are strong tasting coffees, regular strength coffees, low-caffeine coffees, flavoured coffees, ice cappuccinos, regular cappuccinos, lattes, French vanillas, hot chocolates, white hot chocolates, and pretty much anything under the sun…” The list would have probably gone on and on if it weren't for Inuyasha lifting his hand to shut her up.

“I believe Kagome is quite capable of reading the boards on her own, thank you.”

Surprise lit her features, and before she knew it, Kagome found herself grinning at the torn look on the woman's face.

“Inuyasha, what are you having?”

Pulling his face into a thoughtful pose, he turned to her and smiled briefly. “I think I'll settle with a regular sized Irish cream coffee.”

Smiling brightly at his choice, Kagome found herself ordering the same as him. However, when the coffees were totaled up and came to just under five dollars, the two of them found themselves arguing over who would pay for the coffee.

“I should pay because I'm the gentleman,” Inuyasha stated, pulling out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet.

Scowling at him, Kagome pushed his hand away, yanking out her own bill. “You spent the morning listening to me ramble free of charge, and I have a smaller bill. I doubt you'd like lots of loose change rolling around in your pocket; very unprofessional for a Psychologist.” Winking after her long-winded statement, Kagome grinned, knowing she'd beaten him.

Sighing at her stronger come back, Inuyasha reluctantly allowed her to buy their beverages.

“Allow me to carry them, at least,” he said in a defeated tone as he carried the cups to a dark green table (adorned with matching green and black chairs of course), near some windows.

Sitting down, he watched as she smelled her coffee delightfully. A small smile worked its way onto her lips as she couldn't wait to savour the enticing aromas that floated from her cup.

“What are you doing? I thought a coffee was to drink, not to smell.”

“A true coffee-lover will enjoy the scent of the coffee before allowing it to grace your lips and mouth,” she stated matter-of-factly, as if it were a well known thing.

Grinning at her strange statement, Inuyasha found himself staring at her once more as she finally sipped the drink, sighing in contentment.

This woman was an enigma; an interesting, random, and honest person whom he wanted to get to know some more.

However, before he could think of a question to ask her, she beat him to it.

“What about your family, Inuyasha?” It was the first time she'd said his name, and he didn't mind her tone one bit. In fact, he found himself quite liking the way she spoke.

“I have an older brother named Sesshoumaru, and my father whom lives not too far from here. My mother died a long time ago,” he stated, a hint of sadness entering his golden eyes.

“I know how it feels,” Kagome found herself whispering out to him, putting her free hand over his in comfort.

Pulling her hand away upon contact, Kagome did her best to ignore the sudden emotions that flooded her fingertips. A slightly warm and pleasant feeling spread on her hand, making her nose twitch in disbelief.

What the hell is up with that? This sounds like something out of a fairytale!

Ignoring the heat that still resided on her hand, Kagome played off an indifferent look on her face.

“Why did you choose to study Psychology?”

He was unprepared for the question, having found himself staring at his hand for a good moment or two before looking up at her.

“In all reality, I don't know. It was one of the random courses I'd taken in university, and it appealed to me. I did well in my Introduction to Psychology class, and found myself interested. Dropping all the courses for second semester, I completely changed my plan, and decided to follow Psychology. I guess this is where it brought me,” Inuyasha finished, shrugging his shoulders. “And yourself?”

Now this was where she would have to lie, just a teeny bit. Kagome really didn't want to, but she knew she'd have to.

“Oh, I'm in university right now, studying English. My original plan was to take Early Childhood Education and become an elementary school teacher, but I dropped out of it. It wasn't for me, I guess. I like the English stream much better, anyway.” Stopping there, Kagome found that she hadn't lied yet. Perhaps she wouldn't have to, after all.

“Really? I'd never really held an interest for English; it bored me. Do you know what you plan on doing after this?”

Inside, Kagome's mind screamed, There is no “after this”! You're going to be dead soon, woman!, but she did her best to ignore it.

“I like to teach…maybe I'll become an English teacher. I'm not going to worry about it yet, though. I still have two or three more years ahead of me here in university to accomplish.”

And two or three more days until you're dead, the voice ground out in disapproval.

Ignoring the thought once again, Kagome found herself grinning darkly.

“If you're a Psychologist…you must be old.” Staring at him long and hard, Kagome assessed his physique. He had long black hair, and golden eyes. His face was eerily pale, with natural soft pink-red lips to accent his eyes. His body overall was tall and lean, at least from what she could see.

All in all, he wasn't a bad looking man—not in the least.

In fact, he was quite hot.

Feeling herself blush, Kagome looked down into her coffee cup, avoiding looking at his face again.

Creasing his brows at her light blush on her high cheekbones, Inuyasha cleared his throat to gain her attention.

“Twenty three, actually.”

The young number made her instantly suspicious.

“That's not possible! Psychologists are supposed to be old, and odd looking…”

Listening to him laugh over her ludicrous statement, she found that his laugh was quite infectious. Soon enough, Kagome found herself laughing along with him.

After the laughter had died down, Inuyasha continued.

“I finished high school at seventeen, and started college following the summer. I was been in school for five years, even taking courses over the summer and during the night to lower the number of classes. I finished in under half the time because I'd spent twice as long in school than any of the other students did. I kept away from partying and clubbing, choosing to focus on my studies. I was determined to finish early…” Trailing off once more, he grinned. “Although, my friends in high school would never believe it—they knew me as the class clown, and lazy ass.”

Smiling, Kagome found herself finding a liking to this man named Inuyasha Taisho.

No, you idiot! Don't start liking him—you'll screw yourselves over. Dying, remember?

Chewing her lip at the reminder, Kagome did her best to smile a little brighter.

No matter what would happen in her near future, she was determined to have a good time while she was alive—even if it killed her.

XxXx

After their conversation, the two strolled out of the coffee shop, their cravings for caffeine finally quenched.

Kagome was silent as they walked back to the building where Inuyasha worked. She glanced at him once in a while, unknowing of what to tell him.

You know what you should tell him—tell him now, before something happens…

Scowling once again, Kagome waved her arm in front of her in annoyance. She ignored the insistent thought, hating it even more each time it entered her mind.

However, before she had the chance to think of something else, her entire body tightened with pain.

Stopping in her tracks, she leant over, panting. Coughing followed, making her breaths even more shallow than before.

“Kagome?”

Is…i s this it? Am I going to die now, right in front of him?

Not hearing his voice, Kagome weakly dropped onto her knees. The sudden pain was overwhelming, throwing her off balance. It shot throughout her entire system, announcing its unwelcome presence.

Staring into his eyes for a quick second, she managed the tiniest of smiles before passing out on the hardness of the sidewalk.

XxXx

Sitting on the bed beside her mother, the four year old little girl gripped the motionless hand, holding on for dear life.

Her breathing was short and labored, a sheen of sweat gathering over her brow.

“Mommy?”

At first, she thought her mother would ignore her.

However, she responded, although weakly, “Yes sweetie?”

Holding her hand even tighter now, she voiced her thoughts.

“Mommy, tell me you won't leave me; I don't want you to.”

Smiling a tiny smile, her mother managed to run a weary hand through her daughter's hair.

“I'll never leave you, baby. I might not be there with you, but I promise I'll never leave you.”

The girl's eyebrows drew together in confusion, not understanding what her mother was saying.

“Mommy…where 's daddy? Why don't I have a daddy?”

She wasn't met with a response for a good few minutes as she watched her mother do her best to breathe deeper.

“Baby, I'm so tired—let me sleep, just for a little while…”

Now-a-days, that's all her mother ever did; sleep. She was always tired, never moving from her place in her bed, except to relieve herself. The illness was taking a toll on her, and it wouldn't be long until she faded away.

Ignoring her mother's request from naive ignorance, the little girl continued asking questions.

“Mommy, can we go shopping for pretty dresses today like we did before?”

Sighing at her daughter, she shook her head.

“Not today, baby. Maybe another time…”

Chewing her bottom lip, Kagome lay beside her mother on the bed, hugging her side.

“Mommy, you said you won't leave me, right?”

After a moment's pause, she was met with another reply. “That's right, baby girl.”

Smiling naively, Kagome caressed her mother's face with her tiny hands.

Soon, she fell asleep beside her mother, whom also fell asleep for eternity.

An hour later, Kagome woke up beside her mother, smiling.

“Hi mommy!”

However, this time, there was no response.

“Mom?”

S ilence.

“Oh, you must be sleeping still,” she stated, feeling smart.

Cuddling beside her, the little girl stayed ignorant at her mother's state, falling into yet another light sleep.

A little while later, Kagome tried talking again.

“Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we eat some food? I think you're hungry, too.”

Kagome's eyebrows drew together in confusion, not understanding why her mother wasn't answering her.

“Mommmmm?”

Un derstanding finally dawned in the girl's precious blue eyes, which left her shaking her head in denial.

Placing her head over her mother's heart, Kagome felt the innocent tears begin to fall down her cheeks.

“No…no, no, no! Mommy! Please, mommy! Youpromised me you wouldn't leave me! Youpromised, mommy!”

Sobbing into her mother's blanket, Kagome was left alone in the silence of her mother's bedroom to weep.

XxXx

Opening her eyes minutes later, the dim lighting of Inuyasha's office flooded her sight.

The nightmare had haunted her for years, and even today, it still managed to rock her senseless.

Composing herself in the way she knew how, Kagome took in her surroundings.

At first, she was confused.

I don't remember coming into his office…

Then, reality hit her like a ton of bricks.

We were walking out of the coffee shop, and then I felt a surge of pain. Doing my best to ignore it, it persisted, managing to knock me to my knees. After that…everything else is unclear.

Bringing her fingers to her face, Kagome sighed as she rubbed her temples.

Inuyasha walked into the office seconds later, looking rather shocked that she was awake.

“You-you're awake,” he mumbled obviously, making his way to the couch where he'd lay her down.

Kagome nodded, knowing that questions would follow.

“Wh-what happened, back there?”

At first, Kagome contemplated telling him the truth. However, she knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

If I told him, maybe he'd abandon me, and leave me alone to die. I don't want to risk that…

Shaking her head clear of those thoughts, Kagome sat up with some difficulty, prepared to spew out another lie.

When her eyes matched his stare, she felt a shiver run through her body. He looked frightened, but mostly worried, and it was all for her.

“It's nothing, really. I…” Stopping mid sentence, Kagome found herself at a lack of words.

Crouching down beside her, Inuyasha brought her face to his own. He studied it, watching her with intense emotions playing off his face.

“That just happens sometimes, so don't worry about it.” It wasn't a complete lie; blacking out did happen sometimes…but she was skipping out on the reason why, which is what he'd want to know.

“Things like that don't “just happen”, Kagome. Why is this happening?”

Seeing no way out of it, Kagome's face contracted with pain.

“I don't need to tell you anything,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered closed.

Inuyasha was at a loss for words, but quickly regained his composure.

“Do you not trust me, Kagome?”

Kagome hesitated, and he noticed.

“I see,” was his only reply.

“I trust you, I really do. It's just…there are some things I can't tell you—at least, not yet.”

Nodding his head, Inuyasha seated himself beside her.

Looking at her watch, Kagome winced when she saw it was past ten.

“I really should try calling home again,” she muttered, standing up.

Silence presumed the two for a minute, but Inuyasha spoke.

“Does…does “that” happen often?”

Kagome's head quirked to the side, not understanding what he meant to say.

Realization dawned on her quickly though, and she made an unhappy face.

“Not too often, but I've been feeling really tired lately.”

Images of her mother floated into her mind, while she lay in her bed unmoving. Shivering at the memory, Kagome ran her hands down her arms, pushing the thought away.

“Are you cold?”

Shaking her head, Kagome forced a smile.

“No, I just remembered something. Anyway, I'd better call Kaede.”

Handing her his phone once again, Kagome was extremely displeased when there was no response.

“This is not right—I have a bad feeling about this, Inuyasha.”

Biting her lip, Kagome walked towards the door.

“I'd better get home and check on her; I'm worried.”

Before she could leave, Inuyasha gently grabbed her arm, not wanting her to walk back incase something happened.

“Let me drive you.”

XxXx

When she walked into her home, accompanied by Inuyasha, Kagome immediately began to call her mother's name.

“Kaede?”

Staring at the stairs with hatred, Kagome knew she was going to be forced to climb them.

The stairs laugh at you, just like I do, for being so weak. You're dying, and you won't admit it! If your life isn't ending in three days, prove it by running up those stairs like you used to!

Taking a deep breath, Kagome growled fiercely, and began to run up them. About halfway, she was sure she would die.

It…it hurts…so much…to breathe…

Coughing from her lack of oxygen, Kagome did her best to continue, determined to prove her inner voice wrong.

It felt like it took ages, but she finally managed to reach the top. Smiling brightly when she did, Kagome snapped back to reality, remembering what she was here for.

Knocking on her mother's bedroom door, Kagome waited.

And waited, and waited, and waited…

…But there was no response.

Turning the knob, she pushed the door open with little effort. Stepping quietly inside, she called Kaede's name once again, finding the older woman lying in her bed.

“Baba-chan,” Kagome murmured, thinking she was sleeping.

When no response was given, she stared long and hard at her mother's face. It was calm and peaceful, just like it would normally be.

However, something was out of place—

She wasn't moving. Her chest stayed still, no longer rocking upwards and down in a steady rhythm with the force of contracting muscles.

Kagome's head was slowly shaken back and fourth in disbelief, not wanting to accept the sight before her.

“This…this is impossible…”

Inuyasha came behind her quietly, taking a look at what she saw. Pulling on her arm gently, Inuyasha was determined to pull her away from the lifeless woman on the bed.

“No…no, she's not dead—she's alive, just like me.”

Not responding, Inuyasha tugged her arm more forcefully, but Kagome didn't move.

“Let me go, I want to hold her. Let me hold her,” she screeched, flinging her body away from his grasp.

“Baba-chan,” Kagome cried, pressing her head against the older woman's neck, inhaling her calming scent that she'd always loved.

Tears seeped out from her tightly closed eyes, unconsciously tuning out the world around her.

“Don't leave me like mommy did,” Kagome whispered, holding the woman in her arms with conviction.

The tears fell faster and harder, and before she knew it, Kagome was sobbing into her mother's clothes.

Whispering “No, no, no…” over and over, she cried like she did fifteen years ago. All of the past came flooding back with a vengeance, haunting her shaking form.

They'd rather be dead than be with you, the mean voice in her head chirped darkly.

Shaking her head, Kagome denied it, and began to scream things out loud.

“She loved me! She didn't want to leave me; she loved me, just like mom did!”

The voice in her head laughed, voicing the question she didn't want to hear.

Then why would they leave you?

Not knowing the answer, Kagome screamed louder, grief flowing over her shaking body.

“They didn't leave me—mom promised not to leave me! Baba-chan promised not to leave me—everyone promised!”

Then why aren't they here right now?

Crying harder, she yelled, “I don't know!”

Inuyasha watched the emotionally broken woman degrade herself into nothing with her tears, deciding that now wasn't a good time to step in. Kagome needed to grieve; she'd lost a lot.

Walking out of the room, Inuyasha gave Kagome her privacy. The last thing she wanted was to be seen like this, and he respected her wishes.

Going downstairs, Inuyasha waited patiently as he listened to her broken sobs from downstairs.

She was broken once again—but he'd make sure to never leave her. He would fix her, and do whatever it took to make her whole once more.

XxXx