Title: Catatonic Guardian

Summary: A/U: There was a fatal car accident that resulted in a coma. Will Sesshoumaru find his purpose in life or will he be comatose forever? Can his spirit protect Kagome when she is at the mercy of her step-brother, Naraku, where none of her friends can reach her?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi created these wonderful characers!

Catatonic Guardian

It was the night of the Homecoming Dance. It was the last time she would be attending Shikon High School. After being crowned Homecoming Queen, one would think that her night couldn't be any better. The one crowned King had been a friend of her's since grade school. Who better to represent the school than Kagome and Miroku?

The night was magical. At least, it was before her boyfriend got behind the wheel to drive to a friend's house for some more celebration. Her friends had decided that since she was moving to live with her new stepfather and his son that weekend she needed to have a going-away party.

Hojo was a very cautious driver, especially when borrowing his father's Porsche. However, that didn't seem to matter that rainy night. That night another young man was very upset and very drunk. That night would change many lives.

Sesshoumaru's face didn't reflect any of the emotions that he might be feeling. It was possible that he could care less. Calmly, he watched as the wine glass slipped from his ex-girlfriend's hand. It shattered upon the marbled floor, staining it with the blood red liquid.

"You can't be serious?" Kagura demanded in shock, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Sesshoumaru didn't even wince at the desperate edge to her voice. "I did not stutter. I see no future in this relationship therefore I deem it necessary to terminate it."

"But, but we have been dating for three years!" Kagura shouted in rage, shoulders shaking in her elevated temper.

Lifting his glass to his lips, Sesshoumaru calmly finished up his third glass of wine. Normally, he didn't drink this much, but the woman was grating on his nerves. "I'll be leaving now. I just wanted to end this relationship in person." Turning on his heals, he began to walk out of the room, intending to drive home.

Two finely manicured hands grasped his shoulders. "But you can't do this! I thought you loved me. I thought you were coming over to propose!" Kagura cried out to the man she thought that she loved.

Slowly, Sesshoumaru turned to regard her. His golden eyes showing nothing but boredom. "I have never made any such claims. Never once did I say that I loved you. Never once did I have any intentions on making you my bride. You will be better off moving on with your life. I know I already have."

He walked out of the mansion in dignified grace. He realized he had just ripped out his ex-girlfriend's heart and trampled on it. But he never had any intention of marrying her. He felt that it was the righteous thing to do, ending it now before her hopes rose too high.

Sighing imperceptibly, Sesshoumaru started the engine of his silver Mercedes-Benz. He felt a little light-headed from all the wine he had consumed, but he was confident that he could drive home. It wasn't that far after all.

The ambulance raced onto the scene. There was a fatal accident on the slick roadways. Two vehicles, a silver Mercedes-Benz and a black Porsche were involved in a head on collision.

The jaws of life were used on the Porsche, but it was too late for the driver. He died on impact. The passenger's left leg was crushed under the weight of the smashed in front of the car. It was shattered and broken.

The driver of the Mercedes-Benz was alive, but unconscious. He was in a catatonic state. The emergency medical staff had no problem pinpointing the cause of the accident though. The alcohol was evidence enough on the white haired man's breath.

The ambulance rushed both the girl and the comatose man to the hospital. The whole while the girl stared blankly in front of her, not even noticing her companion in the ambulance ride.

Sango and Miroku rushed to the hospital as soon as they heard about the accident. The pictures on the news station showed the black Porsche that could only have been that of Hojo's father.

They were relieved to discover that Kagome was going to recover, at least physically. When they arrived at the hospital, her mother and stepfather were at her bedside.

"I just can't believe this is happening," Megumi Higarashi looked up at the two seniors with saddened eyes. "Tonight was supposed to be fun and tomorrow she was supposed to join us at the plantation."

Sango walked to the other side of Kagome's bed and took the girl's hand into her own. She looked over at her friend's mother. "We never plan for these things to happen. The night was a lot of fun. Even when Miroku was named Homecoming King instead of Hojo she was having fun."

Kagome's blue-grey eyes opened. She smiled weakly at her family and friends. "I'm not deaf you know. Don't worry. I know about Hojo. I just hate the fact that he died while that drunk driver lived. That's not fair, he should be dead, not Hojo."

Onigumo shook his head at his step-daughter. "Don't say such things Kagome. Life is not fair. I'm sure that the drunk driver would love to take back what happened this night."

Megumi Higarashi looked over at her new husband and gave him a sympathetic smile. She was aware that he had been involved in a drunk driving incident when he was younger. In it he had killed a small child, an instant that he constantly regretted.

Refusing to meet his eyes, Kagome locked her gaze with Sango's dark eyes. "It still isn't fair."

Reaching down, Miroku rested his hand upon the heavily casted leg of Kagome. He tried to smile at her, but it came off weak. "Well at least you didn't have this cast on earlier. It would have been embarrassing for me to dance with you for the King and Queen's Dance with this hideous white casing."

Looking at Miroku with her saddened eyes, the young man's weak grin immediately faded. "If you need any help moving tomorrow, Sango and I will be happy to help in anyway we can."

"That isn't necessary, everything is already moved with the exception of a few personal items. I believe that this move is actually well-timed. If anything, Kagome needs to get away from all this." Onigumo smiled reassuringly at his new step-daughter in a way that sent shivers down her spine.

"Souta and Naraku are already at the plantation dear, I'm sure they are both very worried about you." Megumi Higarashi added to her new husband's comment.

The thought of her step-brother Naraku, sent other unwanted images to Kagome's mind. She knew he was attracted to her, but to be virtually alone with him at the plantation, home in the middle of no-where was a scary thought. At least Souta would be there.

Sesshoumaru scanned his odd surroundings. Where could he be? There was an odd white misty fog in all directions. There seemed to be nothing substantial for him to notice. The only thing he could see was white nothingness.

A young child appeared before him. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the unexpected sight. A snaggle-toothed girl that couldn't be more than eight years old was the only other person in this void with him.

Blunt as always, Sesshoumaru asked what was on his mind, "Am I dead?"

The childish laughter of the young girl dispelled that concept. "No, Sesshoumaru-sama, you are not dead. Not yet, at least." The girl with the crooked ponytail answered.

"I was in a car accident." Sesshoumaru recalled aloud. His last vivid memory was his vision becoming fuzzy and slamming into a black car.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama, you were in a car accident. A very bad car accident. The driver of the other car died." The young girl clarified for him.

"Who are you?" The young man demanded of the spirit before him.

"I am no spirit, Sesshoumaru-sama. My name is Rin and I am your guardian angel. You are in a coma." Rin explained with a carefree smile lighting her face.

Sesshoumaru could only stare. This time his expressionless face was a result of shock instead of a lack of emotions. "I am in a coma?"

Nodding her head vigorously in answer Rin elaborated, "You are in a coma. But don't worry! You should wake up, eventually. But! The good news is you can still do stuff while your body sleeps."

"Explain," Sesshoumaru's famous one-word responses were in full swing.

Rin shifted her feet slightly as she tapped her chin gently in thought. "Well, you can kind of be like a guardian angel. Only, it's your spirit that you can move about. When you body is all fixed you can wake up and such."

"So you are saying that I can project my spirit to protect others?" Sesshoumaru asked skeptically.

Shaking her head at the assumption, Rin smiled at him. "Silly Sesshoumaru- sama, you can't just protect anyone! You have to protect that girl that you hurt."

Sesshoumaru's white eyebrows knitted together at the reply. "The girl that I hurt? Do you mean Kagura?"

Childish laughter was his answer for a few moments. "No, Sesshoumaru-sama, you are supposed to protect Kagome-chan. You hurt her real bad but it is nothing compared to what could happen to her where she is going." Rin's voice became serious.

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms at the answer. "I see. So I am to watch some girl named Kagome because something bad will happen where she is going?"

"Right, you have to protect Kagome, the girl you hurt earlier. I have to go now. Be careful!" Rin began to fade into the white mist, leaving a confused Sesshoumaru in her wake.

"Wait!" Sesshoumaru lunged for the area her little corporal body was disintegrating at. "I don't understand. How am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Silly Sesshoumaru-sama." The childish voice chided before leaving the young man completely alone in the white void.

A lesser man would have been panicked by now. Sesshoumaru was starting to feel his chest constrict. But then found that the white mists were evolving into something more concrete. He soon found himself standing in a hospital room.

There were several people crowded around a young woman with her leg in a cast. As Sesshoumaru examined the woman he noticed that she looked faintly familiar, but he couldn't place her face exactly. He was obviously in a hospital, perhaps his body was nearby as well.

He walked past the visitors and they seemed to not notice his presence. He stopped at the end of the injured woman's bed. Her blue-grey eyes opened and she seemed to look right into his very soul with her stare.

"This is all your fault," she accused before shutting her eyes once more and falling back into the oblivion of sleep.

Looking around, the dark haired man scratched his head nervously. "She must have been hallucinating there."

"Miroku, you would know. You live in a fantasy world," Sango answered in an attempt to make a joke.

Sesshoumaru merely watched the interactions of the small gathering. It would seem that only the injured girl could see him.

"Kids, we appreciate you wanting to stay by Kagome's side but the visiting hours are over. We'll be leaving as soon as she wakes up. You don't have to stay." Megumi told her daughter's best friends.

"It's no problem. We won't get to see her for several months afterall, we'd like to make sure she'll be alright." Sango smiled at her friend's mother and step-father. The man gave her the creeps, but he seemed to make Mrs. Higarashi happy so he couldn't be too bad.

Sesshoumaru felt himself fading from the scene in the hospital room as exhaustion seemed to envelop his person. Soon he was back in the white misty void with Rin.

"Her name is Kagome," Rin greeted him after he arrived.

"I know. Why am I back here?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

"You are still weak, you must rest your mind." Rin answered before waving her small fingers before his face causing him to slump to the ground. She moved back from the one she was to watch over now. He would be a tough assignment, hopefully she'd be able to handle him on her own though.

"Don't worry Sesshoumaru-sama, I'm sure you'll be able to protect Kagome- chan and find your reason for living at the same time." Rin told the sleeping white haired man before her.

A/N: So I'm dallying in the supernatural here, should be fun! Hope you enjoyed this opening chapter! ~Belle