InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wake Me Up Inside ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Kagome slowly awoke to the feeling of a profoundly soothing warmth. She felt as though a strange energy was enveloping her. Coming to, she realized she was still cuddled up to Inuyasha. She then took note, it was also morning. But this feeling… what was it?

The miko looked down at the man she had spent the night holding in a peaceful slumber. He was the same as he had been before. Yet, as she lay there, she continued to sense a strange tingling feeling about her.

`Is this what Sherry feels?' Kagome pondered as she gazed down at the ebony haired man beneath her. She dropped her head, forehead to pillow, beside his. With her ear pressed to his, she hugged him around his neck, tightly as she softly spoke his name, "Inuyasha." For one still moment, Kagome almost thought she could hear his voice faintly calling her name. But in after thought, she figured it was probably just a wisp of an old memory.

With a sigh, Kagome turned to sit up, rubbing at her eyes. She spared a glance at the bedside clock and nearly freaked out of her skin. It was 9:47 am.

"Holy shit, I'm gonna be late for class!" she shrieked as she flew up off the bed. Quickly she gathered her things. She paused briefly to kiss Inuyasha's cheek, "I'll be back in a little while. Be good!"

With that, she raced out the door and down the hall. Catching Beth on her way she stopped only for a moment, "So sorry. If I don't run, I'll be late for class. I'll be back around one for the rest of the day."

Beth blinked as the Japanese girl then swiftly exited the building. "Well, okay then."

--------------------------------------------

Deep within Yue Taisho's mind, the world flashed brightly for the soul that was both Yue and the former Inuyasha. Irritably, the soul of the hanyou thrashed with a growl within his magical confines as Beth flashed a small intensely bright light into each of Romeo's eyes. Yet, as usual, no matter how much, the hanyou protested, none of his reactions would reach the nervous system feeding his physical body.

`Dammit! I'm sure this is great for regular coma patients, but, Beth, if ya haven't already noticed, I'm not yer regular coma patient, dammit!' Inuyasha screamed out in fury. He liked Beth. He really did, but sometimes she was just too much for his shallow batch of patience to handle.

Everyday, they would go through this ritual on almost an hourly basis. The doctors had tried every coma procedure they could think of on Yue. These days, the tricks Beth used were on the strong end of the spectrum in hopes of agitating the young oriental boy into responding. She would flash bright lights in his eyes. She would play sounds of varying pitch and volume in his ears. She would poke his fingers, toes, and other sensitive points with needles. Of course, none of the tactics were ever things that would truly harm her patient. They were merely done to stimulate his senses, both to keep them functioning as well as to try and revive him.

Romeo's soul was unnaturally bound by a barrier that allowed sensory input but no output other than basic functions essential to life. Due to this situation, the only thing Beth's hard work ever achieved was pissing off one trapped hanyou. Ignoring the fact that she couldn't hear him, Inuyasha never failed to give her his best as far as verbal assaults go. Today was no different.

"Romeo, you are so damn stubborn," Beth said with a sigh as she dropped back to the nearby chair after completing this hour's set of tasks.

`It takes one to know one, bitch,' the cranky dog demon halfling answered glaring through the blessed darkness that engulfed him now that Beth was finished playing peek-a-boo with her flashlight.

"I don't understand. This divine girlfriend of yours shows up out of the blue, completely surprising the hell out of us all. Yet, even when she's here helping me, nothing ever works! Why is that? There has got to be a way to get through to you," the nurse pondered aloud.

`Oh, you've gotten through to me plenty, bitch. You and your stupid torture toys,' Inuyasha mentally fussed back.

"If only… if only we knew what that answer is," Beth brooded with growing desperation.

`I've been trying to figure that one out for two years. If you ever think of something, please do let me know. I've had enough of this bullshit,' replied the captive soul.

"Maybe Kagome's story later today will help us come up with an answer. I mean, if you're so strongly involved in all of this magic stuff that I get a headache trying to understand, then maybe the answer lies somewhere in your past and who you supposedly were before Yue," Beth puzzled.

`Can we say.. "duh!" ?'

A minute later, a knock came to the door. Turning, Beth regarded the summoner who turned out to be one of the temp nurses. Beth smiled and stood.

"Tracy, hi. What can I do for you?"

"Hello," the bouncy young intern greeted in return. "You have a phone call on line three. The person said her name was Kagome. I think she's an international," Tracy told her.

"Oh! Okay, thank you. I'll be right there," Beth grinned cheerfully. She turned to give one last glance at her patient. "Romeo, oh Romeo… There shalt be no dancing on the bed behind my back whilst I be gone. Else, to the dog house with Marmaduke, ye shall go," she teased with a wicked grin before leaving the room.

`Cute. You're a laugh and a half, Beth,' came the typically snotty retort. `Damn bitch,' he muttered before resigning himself to dozing while he had the chance.

Beth whistled the melody of a song who's name she'd presently forgotten as she strode through the hallways of the hospice. She nodded to a few co-workers then swung into the break room. Gravitating to the phone in the back, she picked up the receiver then punched the button for line three.

"Yo, Kag. What's up?" Beth greeted with a smirk.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering when you plan on having lunch," the girl on the other end replied.

"Oh, no problem. I was just hanging with our favorite troublemaker," the nurse giggled, earning a similar spout of laughter from her friend. "Actually, I was about to break for some chow as it is. How about you?"

"Same. Does meeting up at the Grill work for you?"

"It sure does. I haven't been there since they remodeled. I'm kind of interested to see what all they did."

"Great! I'll see you soon, then," Kagome bubbled with an audible grin.

"Sure thing. Tootles," Beth said, earning another giggle as she hung up the phone. Heaving a deep wonderful breath of contentment, the nurse smiled and retrieved her purse from her locker. Then, she bopped around to the front desk to put in a word before departing.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Wow, they really did a number on this place," Beth commented as she looked around upon meeting up with Kagome in the grill fifteen minutes later.

"Hai," Kagome nodded. "Any idea what you want?"

"Hmm, I dunno. You?"

"I think I'll go the safe route and pick the sub shop over there. That way, I'll have plenty of room to indulge in junk food over the weekend," the miko plotted with a sly smirk.

"You have a point. I'll do the same," Beth concluded, mirroring her new friend's expression. So it was that the two ordered subs, then found a booth by the windows to sit down and eat at.

"So what did `Romeo' have to say?" Kagome said as she unwrapped her sandwich.

"The usual. Though I made sure to tell him before I left that there would be no dancing on the bed while I'm gone. Told him he'd be visiting Marmaduke if he did," Beth snickered as she did likewise then took a greedy bite. Across from her, Kagome burst into giggles with a hand over her mouth.

"I can just imagine what he would say to that!" the oriental girl laughed. Beth lifted a brow in curiosity. Kagome looked at her squarely and continued, "It'd probably be something along the lines of `I'm not a dog, dammit!' Which is quite funny when you add to the equation the fact that the hanyou I knew tended to sit, scratch, and growl like a common dog. The scratching part, don't ask me how he did it because I haven't the slightest clue. Inuyasha certainly had his fair assortment of strange habits."

"Oh my!" the older girl responded as it became her turn to let loose a fit of laughter. "That would be something to see."

"Yes, it was. Except when he did it while being in places he shouldn't like outside the windows of my classroom. I got in so much trouble in times like that when I had to make use of his rosary so people wouldn't see him," Kagome frowned with a sweatdrop.

"Wow. Troublesome pup," Beth said with a blink.

"You have no idea."

"Ahhh, Kagome. So lovely to see you again. And who is this fine friend you brought with you?" came a familiar masculine voice. The two girls looked up to find the suave janitor Kagome recognized as Mark.

"Eh-heh-heh… Hello Mark. This is my friend Beth. She's the nurse in charge of taking care of the guy I told you about the other day," Kagome responded politely. "Sango, this is Mark," the miko introduced whilst a matchmaking plot based on her old friends from the Fuedal Era formed in her mind.

"Sango?" Beth blinked, knowing she'd heard the name.

"Sango? I thought you said her name is Beth," Mark said with a look of confusion. Kagome blushed a deep rose as she realized what she'd done. Quickly she waved a hand.

"Oops. My bad. Beth, I mean. Sorry," the miko apologized, hoping it would save her neck from the embarrassing flub.

"Oh! I remember now. You had told me Sango was one of your friends back in Japan right? The one you said I remind you of?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, that's her. Sorry about that," Kagome nodded while laughing nervously.

"You know what they say, college ruins the best of people," Mark joked.

"Damn straight," Beth agreed as Kagome nodded along with her. "Nice to meet you Mark," the nurse smiled as she held out her hand to shake.

"Please, the pleasure is all mine," Mark cooed, flashing a charming smile as he took her hand and proceeded to kiss the back of it. Beth blushed and Kagome twitched knowingly as Mark's lips lingered just a tad bit too long. Beth forcefully drew back her hand, leaving Mark looking as though he wanted to pout.

"A thousand pardons. Beauty such as yours is mesmerizing," the young man replied in a seductive voice.

"I'm sure," Beth said flatly. Kagome watched them exchange expressions that killed any remaining doubt as to who they had been in their last life. She couldn't help the slight smile that escaped. Surely, playing matchmaker with these two would provide a delicious escape from the stresses that sickeningly surrounded her.

"Well, if you're going to stay and chat, pull up a chair. Don't just stand there, else you'll turn to stone. And then who will they get to clean their floors. Certainly none is so talented at whooing customers as you, dear Mark," Kagome teased.

"Quite right. I see your point, young Asian blossom," Mark agreed as he drug a chair up to the table and turned it around backwards before sitting down. Beth eyed him warily. Mark smiled at her and surprised her by popping a rather intelligent statement out of the blue, "I'm glad that Ms. Kagome has found a friend in you.

"I could see over the past few months that I've watched her come and go here that she seems to not have very many friends here. Having come from Japan to go to University here, I can totally understand how one can get lost in such an overwhelming sea of unfamiliarity. But, everyone needs at least a few people they can truly count on and call real friends. Especially Kagome, given the situation she's currently in. Well, judging from as far as she was kind enough to elaborate for me, of course," the dark-haired man explained in complete sincerity. Kagome blushed while Beth contemplated how such words of wisdom could come out of the mouth of a womanizing geezer like Mark.

"No problem, and I whole-heartedly agree," Beth nodded before downing a good portion of her sandwich to try and stop her head from spinning so fast.

"Speaking of Rip-van-winkle junior, how goes the effort to light his fire?" the janitor wittily inquired. Neither of the girls could hold back a chuckle a the guy's choice of words.

"Same as always. Though, you're welcome to visit young Romeo over at Helping Hands Hospice sometime. I'll warn you though, I'm not above enslaving visitors to help with my frequent routine tasks," Beth told him slyly. Her attempt to intimidate backfired.

"I shall do that at some point when I find the time," Mark nodded. "And I wouldn't mind helping a bit. Tis my civic duty to assist Fair Lady in such honorable and heroic endeavors."

Beth blushed yet again. She then made a look of shock as she found Kagome shamelessly laughing at her predicament.

"Who said chivalry is dead?" Kagome mischievously grinned.

"So wise is our young Kagome. I'm sure, with your presence, it shall only be a matter of time before the problem with your slumbering Romeo is resolved. Any man would be a fool who ought be neutered should he ignore such a fine lady," Mark praised. Then he blinked seeing as Kagome was some how managing to blanche and blush at the same time. "Okay, I said something wrong. Apologies," he recoiled with a worried look.

"No," Kagome denied, shaking her head. "No, there was nothing wrong with your words. You just reminded me of another close friend I once knew who would have said that very same thing."

"Oh. Well, then believe me when I say I am truly flattered to have reminded you of such a person," Mark replied sweetly.

"Are you always this dramatic? Or is it just because of all the testosterone you seem to be endowed with?" Beth ask with a raised brow.

"Well, no. Not all the time. I can, on occasion, do better, Buttercup," came his answer as he stole one of her hands to gently massage with the both of his. His deep blue eyes sparkled as he did so. Beth blushed and swiftly drew her hand back to the music of Kagome's chuckles.

"Charming.. Playboy," Beth shot back.

"Anything for Fair Lady. Besides, it seems to be a doing a world of wonder for Ms. Kagome's mood," Mark slyly countered. What a lovely pickle it was that Beth found herself irreversibly ensnared in.

------------------------------------------------

Penguine: Finally, I finished it! I trucked along through the first half of this chapter before unceremoniously slamming into a brick wall that I found in the scene shift department. T_T* How irritating.

This chapter didn't quite turn out the way I expected it to, but that's okay. It still turned out well despite the issues experienced during its making. One of those being the fact that my mother had a gall bladder attack and was forced to undergo surgery to have it removed. Since my dad is a ditz when it comes to crisis situations, I became captain of the household brigade. T_T* Fun. Loads of fun. -sarcasm- Anyway, she's back to her usual self now and working again. Thank gods. I finally have some time to think deep enough to write. @_@ Now if only I could land a job, I'd be a happy camper. Life's fun, ain't it?

Oh, umm.. I've been thinking about Yue's last name. I keep… wondering if I should change it. It's an awful big coincidence for an ordinary human to have the name of a demon that lived centuries ago. Plus there's the fact that Inu no Taisho is actually the father's title (meaning "Leader of Dogs") rather than his name. But if I change it, what should I change it to? I'm beside myself on that one.

Okay.. fellow fic authors, as a hungry fan of a particularly rare form of Inuyasha fan fiction, I feel it is my duty as a fan as well as an author to inspire some ideas in yall. I'm not sure how well it will work but, it can't hurt to try. I'm throw'n out a challenge. The challenge is.. to write a romance story featuring demon form Inuyasha and one or more of the following things: chocolate, cheese (think the power of cheese commercials), one abandoned cabin or bear den, and a storm (can be snow or thunder).

Sorry, I just love youkai Yash stories and there isn't anywhere near enough of them. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Hrmm.. Someone should start a Youkai Inuyasha C2. Ne?

Okay, okay. I'll quit babbling now and get to the review replies since there's a mountain of them this time.

Fanfiction.net Review Replies

WackyWisher18: I love it too. There's so much left to tell yet. It just keeps growing and growing each time I sit down to work on it. -lol- Oh gods, yes! I absolutely LOVE writing the parts where Inuyasha gets to add his two cents. His attitude cracks me up. XD // I will do my best to update soon. But with life going haywire here these days, I can't promise anything other than my refusal to abandon this story. It's got too much spark and far too many fans. So, I may not always update as often as people like, but I won't desert it. :)

Suki1: Ehh.. yeah. Updating has gotten hard. But I will keep doing what I can to bring new chapters to you as often as possible.

Jojodacrow: -lol- Yeah, I miss O'Charleys too. They don't have any where I live in Wisconsin. I also miss Shoney's. -pout- // There are a lot of people perplexed on the question of who Sherry is. A few people have guessed it though. I'm starting to feel anxious to tell, so you might be getting an answering somewhere in the next few chapters. Depends on how the story plays out.

KittySand Katie: I wish I could be there too. I wanna play in the sandbox with Sherry. XD

Blackrosebunny451: -whimper- Me trying

Dxpassions: Wow. I'm flattered. Thank you. :)

Yoyo person: Sadly, not for a while yet. Something special has to happen for him to be able to. But not to worry. He'll have plenty of input between now and then. And it'll only make that moment all the sweeter. :)

SailorChibi: Yes, Sessy will be in this. Though not till later. // I plan on leaving the second half of the story in the same story entry. That way I won't lose readers. Learnt that lesson the hard way. :P

WovenBambooPattern: Hoeeeeeee!! Taskete kure!! -runs and hides-

Natsuko J. T: -lol- Thank you. :) I'm glad you like it.

Eleature: I thank you for your gracious comments. :) I really do try to write stuff in a way that can let the reader keep up with my vivid imagination. I'm not always sure I do it well enough, but I do try. Plus, I want to try and set an example for newer writers as to how a story should go. I'm saddened to see so many authors out there ignoring grammar rules to the point of disgrace. They don't seem to care about how they present their stories in writing, and it really truly bugs me. Then there are so many that fly through the story without describing things, or doing a poor job at describing things, so you're left grappling for mental imagery of your own to make up for what the author left out or messed up on. It's frustrating. // As for the flow and description of my own story, the scenes evolve on their own for the most part. Most of them are fleshed out as I type with only a few being pre-planned in any kind of detail. I have a plot and a few points of interest I want to make sure and touch on along the way. The rest of the story tells itself. However, for the purpose of accuracy, I have been researching the treatment of coma patients throughout the writing of the story. It's helped me ground things a bit more and make it more realistic. Call me Spock, but I just feel that stories have to have some degree of logical feasibility for me to enjoy them at all.

PisxiePam: Ehh… yer envoking Murphy's Law by do'n that. Murphy loves picking on me, too. As you could see in my author's note. T_T

DrewsAngel: I got a large chunk of story to tell before he wakes yet. But, I've got plenty of good stuff coming in the meantime. Especially with the reincarnations of Sango and Miroku having met each other. -wicked laugh-

Articuno: Ehh.. yeah the part with Sherry and Kagome's demonstration is coming in chapter 10. I wound up finding too much other stuff to fill this chapter with as you could see. -lol- But, that means that the writing of chapter 10 should go easy since I know where all I want it to go and stuff. AND chapters 10 and 11 have parts that I've been dying to tell since about a week after I first started posting this story. So, much fun and excitement to come. :)

Vanillapop: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As for Sherry, I guess I can give you one more clue. Her grandfather was a majorly cruel taiyoukai. The answer will be given out sometime within the next three chapters, by my reckoning.

Karulu: That name sounds Hawaiian. -scratches me head- Anywho, I will update as often as I can. Yes, things have kept me INSANELY busy the past couple of months. Between Mom's medical issues, issues with my asshole big brother, the endless quest to find a job, a new comic project I'm slowly spawning, and discovery of Card Captor Sakura which I totally adore… eh.. yeah. I've been feel'n a bit like a chicken on Squirt with its head cut off. -lol-

Gittelbug: I must confess, inspiration for this story came from a movie I had seen years ago on Lifetime about a wife taking care of her husband who had fallen into a coma after an accident while either hiking or biking in the mountains. I can't remember which. I usually don't watch movies on that channel cause they're usually creepy with domestic abuse crap and such. But that one, I found really good. I had to research more about coma patient therapy in order to write this and found myself learning a lot in the process. :) It's amazing the things they're doing with those people. What I found even more amazing was where I read about them putting a guy with symptoms similar to Yue through a CT scan. They found that, just like Yue, the dude's brain was processing sounds and other stimulations just as any normal brain would. So, apparently the problem laid in the guy's brain having trouble sending information back to the body. // Err.. I dunno how my version of the story came out any different. The words I use just seem to flow on their own once I get the ball rolling. // No, Sherry isn't Shippo. Sorry. But, yeah she does look like him, doesn't she? You'll be finding out who she is soon.

Pyro6: -lol- I'll do my best. :)

Mukyuu Tenshi: Inuyasha won't be physically waking for quite a few chapters yet. I've got a lot of events planned to happen before then. Plenty of fun in store. :)

Rezol: -lol- I'm glad I struck your fancy. :) I'll do my best to update as often as possible.

Sakura8907: -lol- Here's your update! I'll try to crank out another one in the next week or so. // :) Yep, this chapter confirmed who Beth is. -wicked giggles while looking back at Mark- I shall be having some good fun with those two. -cackles- // Yes, Sherry is a reincarnation as well. You'll be finding out who sometime in the next few chapters.

Obsessivekawaiigurl: Yes, I'll let Kagome try sitting him a little bit later. :) With Kagome, that's kind of a given. -lol- // Yes, Yash-kun is an absolute riot. I agree. -lmao- // O.o wow, yeah that is a random question. Nope, the gift shop clerk is just an extra.

Raining Fire: Okay, okay. -lol- Here's your update. And I'll try to get another one out in the next week or so. :)

Kibo: -blinks then cracks up laughing- You deserve a cookie! XD -passes an oreo-

Crystaldragon22: Ah-ha! I knew I'd get at least one complaint about her hair. But, I'm gonna leave it since it stands for Kagome's will to grow and become something more than just a modern shadow of Kikyou. It expresses her desire to be her own person, not just to Inuyasha, but to herself as well. It's a philosophical thing.

DarkMoon1: E-gads, yeah, those hurricanes were scary. I have a friend that lives in Orlando so they had me a bit worried. I hope everything went okay for you. // Yeah, I can't help but let him weasel into the story along with the other characters at this point. He adds the bit of flavor that scenes involving him need with all the melancholy about his predicament. His moody attitude provides some much needed comic relief as well as keeping this author happy to write such scenes. -lol- // Yes, new people. And there are more to come in the future. Some of them will be familiar, and some of them will be completely new.

Strawberrie Bunny: Yeah, I loved the teddy bear idea. For such a spur of the moment inclusion it was great for the story. :) Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. -is a major fluff fan-

Miroku-has-darkness: You're most welcome to keep bugging me. Sometimes, I admit to needing a good kick in the ass to get things done. -lol- I'll try to update again within the next week or so.

Rai-en-chan: Geez, I'm glad you're okay. That was certainly a nightmare scenario. Especially with that one hitting you guys twice. @_@ // Whoa… O.o I'm honored that you think so highly of me. I really am. :) Yes, I love Sherry too. Then again, maybe it's because her personality is so close to mine. Aside from the tragedy of losing her parents, I find myself able to relate to her quite easily. Plus, she's just so cute. Ya just can't help but love her. -grin- Oh, and yes.. I wanna tweak Yash-kun's ears too. -giggles- Though, if I did, I wouldn't be able to stop. I have a passion for tweaking the ears of my own two doggies. -lol-

Anoray0019: Yes, I changed the first chapter but I had already done so by the time you read it so don't worry about it. And the story will get less confusing the further into you get. Kagome's just as confused as you are. Everything will be answered in due time. :)

Jade: Heehee. Smart cookie. -wink-

MichiruAOZ: I got your meaning. :) I'm do'n my best. I'll try to get another chapter out within the next week or so.

Sarah the original: You're quite welcome to email me if you wish. :) Like I said to someone else, sometimes I do need a good kick in the rear to get things done. -lol- However, as expressed in my end author's note, I've had reasons for being silent for so long. Apologies on that. Sometimes life can just be so damn cruel. -groan- // As for Inuyasha's physical waking, like I said it'll be a while before that happens. I want some other things to happen first. Plus, things like what Inuyasha is going through tend to take time. If I rushed his waking then it would feel a little too unrealistic. One of my goals in this story is to keep it as real as possible without sacrificing the magic of Inuyasha's story. That's why it's taking so long. And too, the story isn't just about Inuyasha. It's also about the re-converging of the friends he'd surrounded himself with in the past. That's the part that I'm letting take center stage for most of the first half of the story. Great things often come at a price.

StarshineWeirdo: Read the reply above this one for my answer to why I'm delaying Inuyasha's waking. :) // School, unfortunately is not a factor this semester. Financial issues have kept me out for a semester as my family experienced the possibility of moving due to Dad losing his well paying job. We're trying our best to stay put though and work things out here. That's one of the reasons why my activity as a writer is currently unpredictable. I will try my best to keep updating as often as I can, though. I'm hoping to get another installment out within the next week or so.

Mediaminer Review Replies

Caliko: This one proved to be just as difficult in the change from Yash's room to the Grill. :S But, it seems to have likewise turned out all right anyway. The next chapter should flow easier for me. Hopefully.

Kim: I love reading stories too. Especially long romances with lots of fluff included somewhere.-giggles- // Wow, you've read far more Saddle Club than I have. I think I only got up into the twenties before I moved on to something else. I think it was Dean Koontz that I got interested in after that. I read a lot of his books in junior high and high school. His newer stuff tends to freak me out.

Angela: Thanks. I try hard to choose words that let the story flow gracefully. Otherwise, it bothers me to no end. -lol- // As I've said to many others, it will be a while yet before Yash-kun gets to physically wake. If you scroll up to my reply to Sarah, I gave a long explanation on why. I'll probably post it in a preamble author's note soon due to my getting that question so frequently. :S // As for updates, I will try to churn out another chapter in the next week or so.

Miss: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I will do my best to update again within the next week or so.

GreenEyedFloozy: Hoeeeeeee!! O.o!! -Pen hides under desk then points a stick at the reply above this one.-

OMG! I finished them all, finally. Of course it took me 5 hours to answer them all. Oh well. I love hear'n from you guys. :) Till next time, ja matta ne!