A/N: I think a lot of people were kind of disappointed with the last chapter, and I can definitely understand why. I've decided to change the title of the last chapter to Interlude I. There will most likely be more of them, but they'll be slightly separate from the regular chapters. The interludes will contain segments of their (Kouga/Kagome's) past, with maybe a segment of the present at the top/bottom. Sorry if you were disappointed with so much InuKag, but there's a lot of Kouga in this chapter, so I hope that makes up for it. (:
And, uh, sorry for not updating in... well, a... long time. Woah. Me being completed stumped as to how I want this to go, is to blame. Thank you, though, for all the people who like this story!
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July 11, 2002
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"You know, I never imagined a coma being like it was. I always imagined black. Just empty space and echos of memories—with the occasional voice of a loved one, if they came to visit you. But it wasn't like that at all. Or maybe it was. There was a lot of darkness, but... it wasn't cold or blank or painful. It was the kind of dark you fall asleep in. Or the kind of dark late evenings take. Memories floated in and out, but only when I called on them... does that even make sense?"
Kagome's eyes flickered over to stare into Kouga's. He merely nodded, lips parted slightly. Well, he never expected that. He wonders, for a moment, if she's one of those poetry girls. The way she described it sounded kind of... beautiful. Then again, he's never been very good with putting words together, himself.
"I remember a lot of things said to me while I was... comatose." She says the word with a bit of amusement.
"I actually thought it was just my imagination at first. Well... no. At first, I... I thought I was dead. I could feel pain, but... but I don't know. I thought maybe—because it hurt so freakin' much—I had gone to... to hell, or something. I've never been religious, but... I just... I don't know."
Her eyes closed, as she leaned her head back. Suddenly, she smiled.
"Sorry," She muttered. "I've just been wanting to tell someone that since I woke up from... it." She opened her eyes; smile widening at his amused look. "Kinda silly, huh?" He shook his head, brown locks flailing.
"Nah. I'd probably wanna tell someone too."
He rested his elbows on his knees. "Then again, I've never really been very talkative." He grinned. "You get to see the chatty Kouga. How's it feel?" Kagome smiled. "I'm glad," She says, before hesitating a moment.
"I'm glad you still talk to me. And... I'm glad that you even started talking to me in the first place. You didn't have to, but you did. If it wasn't for you, maybe I wouldn't even be awake right now."
She grins. "And if you hadn't, I probably would have been bored to tears without someone to listen to—without you to listen to."
"Well... it... uh," He cleared his throat. "it was my pleasure, Kagome." Kouga grinned, leaning forward. "Besides, I would have been pretty bored too." He lets out a laugh. "Shit, you're practically my entire social life right now."
He expected her to laugh; to smile along with him. Instead, he's greeted with a conflicted look.
After a few moments of silence, she opened her mouth. "I didn't know I took up that much of your time." Her tone wasn't bitter or accusing—merely... he wasn't really sure what to call it, exactly.
His eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing several times. Finally, "No! God, no, not at all." He shook his head, breathing out. "I mean... you've... you've actually been keeping me company, too, you know? Before I volunteered here, I... well, shit, I wasn't doing much of anything. Just looking for a job and trying to stay out of trouble. Barely making it by; barely seeing much of anyone but my landlady and the neighbors that come and go at all hours of the night. My life was crap, Kagome."
Kouga's eyes flickered to hers. She stared back, biting her bottom lip.
His gaze slowly traveled to his lap. "But you uh... you kind of... made it better, you know? It sort of gave me hope to... to help someone else, I guess. To finally do something with my life." He smirks gently.
"You're one of the only people I consider a friend now. I know we haven't known each other very long, but... I've told you things I've never told anyone in my life. To be fair, I didn't actually think you'd remember them—but I still told you. I don't regret it. I don't regret volunteering here, and I definitely don't regret getting to meet you, Kagome. You're..." He met her eyes once again.
"You're a really cool person."
She smiled slowly.
"You're a really cool person too, Kouga."
And then she laughed, and he followed along—because damn, was that cheesy. But it was Kouga, and Kagome found even the cheesiest things he said, charming.
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July 14, 2002
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It's French Fry Friday.
At least, that's what Kouga said as he plopped down into the seat next to her bed—his seat—and pulled out a paper bag from the inside of his leather jacket. Kagome stared. He's brought food before, but normally he tells her beforehand, so she'll know not to eat anything.
Kouga smirked, reaching into the bag to pop a fry into his mouth.
"French fry Friday," He muttered, as Kagome takes the offered food.
"I've always liked Fridays." They grinned.
They spent the rest of the afternoon together, filling the silence with a book read out loud. He surprised her yet again with that—he brought her favorite one. His voice was gruff, almost like sandpaper, but she couldn't help but find herself hypnotized by it. She closed her eyes, the words washing over her.
He paused for a moment, causing her to crack open an eye.
"Well?" She asked, not quite impatiently.
He smiled—a mere twitch of the lips, practically. Not the usual, bright smiles he shows her; the ones that contrast perfectly with his tanned skin. But it's his smile and it's... really nice, actually.
"Nothing," He said finally, shaking his head. His brown locks moved slightly and she followed them with her eye. Finally, she allowed it to close again.
"Keep going," She told him. "I love this part."
"Yes mistress,"
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July 17, 2002
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"Does it ever hurt?"
Inuyasha looks at her with a raised eyebrow—finely plucked and perfectly groomed. She couldn't help but compare his immaculate appearance to Kouga's wild one.
"Does it ever hurt to lie so much?"
He sighed, eyes closing in either impatience or pain, or maybe both. Sometimes, she must admit, it was hard to read him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kagome."
She smiled bitterly, clenching the sheets in her fists.
"I guess that's a no,"
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Kouga came later. He said nothing as she started to cry; he merely held her hand. As the sniffles died down, he brought out a book and began to read to her.
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July 18, 2002
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"When I was younger, I really wanted to be an astronaut." She smiled brightly at him. He returned it after a single beat.
"I mean, you told me about your childhood... I guess it's only fair I tell you about mine, right?" She leaned back against her pillow, closing her eyes and then opening them back up.
"I told you about my mom, but... that's... there are happy things too. Like, when I was six... my brother was born. He was the cutest little thing." She smirked. "He's still cute of course, but he's gotten even taller than me-"
Not that it would be very hard. She's only 5'3". Really, practically a midget compared to Kouga's 6'1".
"And he always wears this nasty cologne. I've told him I don't like it, but his girlfriend does, so, there's no need to listen to big sister Kagome anymore." She shook her head, slowly sitting upright.
"He used to come to me for everything... advice about girls, school..." She smiled cheekily. "I kind of followed him on his first date. I-Inuyasha went with me because I didn't want to go alone,"
Kouga noticed the stumble over the other man's name, but doesn't mention it. He wondered, silently, if Inuyasha had anything to do with Kagome's tears yesterday. A flash of silent anger fills his chest, but he attempts to ignore it.
"She was a nice girl, I guess... I mean, they were only ten, so it didn't exactly last... but ya know. A sister has to make sure her brother's dating a good person." She nodded resolutely.
Kouga chuckled. "I've never had any siblings, but I guess I can relate a little. My friends Ginta and Hakkaku have always attracted the wrong kind of girls. The gold-digging kind, even though neither of them have much money." He shook his head; her eyes follow the locks once again.
Before he could finish his story, Kagome found herself asking, "And what kind of girls do you attract, Kouga?"
He blinked. And then blinked again.
Finally, he shrugged.
"The easy kind," He said finally. "The kind you fuck—I mean, uh... have relations with," She snickered. "once, and then never see again."
His gaze traveled to the foot of the bed and stayed there for a few moments. "I'm not really much of a relationship guy. I guess women don't like to stick around with someone like me—but then again, I never really make any sort of effort to let them know I'm looking for something serious... Then again, I'm not. Looking for something serious, I mean."
Kagome blinked.
"So you've only had one girlfriend? Ayame?"
Kouga nodded, shrugging.
"I guess she just turned me off of dating forever," He grinned. Kagome took pity on him, allowing a chuckle to spill.
He hesitated a moment. Finally, "How many people have you dated? I mean, you don't have to tell me! It's just—" She giggled; his ears perked up at the sound.
"I've..." She licked her lips. "I've dated two people."
He figured there was more to the story, but all he could ask was,
"Who's the other person?"
She shrugged.
"The guy who got me into riding. His name was, ah... Bankotsu."
"How'd you meet him?"
She hesitated. He furrowed his brow. "Sorry if I'm being nosy—"
"No, no, it's fine... I met him during my freshman year of high school. He was a senior and..." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "He always got under Inuyasha's skin. He would flirt with me in the hallway and he somehow got my number... we would talk a lot. A few months into the year, Inuyasha and I... broke up. It didn't last for very long, but it was enough for Bankotsu to ask me out. And... well, I said yes. He was always so nice and—and I liked him."
Kouga wanted to ask why she and Inuyasha broke up, but he figured he had already asked enough questions today.
"He drove me home on his motorcycle... my mom didn't like him much. My brother and grandpa absolutely hated him, but I guess that just attracted me to him more." She fingered a loose thread of her hospital gown.
"He taught me how to ride,"
Kouga knows that she could mean two things by that, but doesn't have it in him to dwell on it. For some reason, though, he doubted she meant what he thought she meant. She meant riding. Just riding.
"We... ah... we would skip last period together. We'd sneak off to... to his house, and uh... he had six brothers. Four of them were still in school too, but two were older. I never really knew any of them that well... but, uh... one day, when we were driving back to my house, we..."
She licked her lips. Only then did he notice the way her knuckles were white from clenching the sheets.
"We got into an accident."
His eyes snapped to her. She met him halfway, blue meeting blue.
"This isn't the first time I've been in a hospital for a motorcycle accident—I mean, I guess I should have learned my lesson the first time, right?" Tears sprouted to her eyes, but once again, she doesn't allow them to fall.
After a few moments of controlled breathing, she says, "Bankotsu died," Kouga flinches back.
"I w-watched the light leave his eyes and he held my hand the entire time. He cried. It was the first time I had ever seen him do that. He... he had protected me with his body. I don't think he did it because he loved me. I think he just did it because he thought he'd be okay. He knew that he had a better chance of being okay than I did, so...
"I've thought about that a lot, actually. On whether or not I loved him, or whether or not he loved me. We only dated for six months, but... but I had told him things I never told anyone before... he was there for me, unlike Inuyasha."
She smiled sadly.
"Years later, I told Inuyasha all of the things I had kept to myself, but he never really got it like Bankotsu did. He hugged me and kissed away the tears, but he didn't get it, you know?"
She sucked in a shaky breath.
"I'm always so depressing when you come to visit, Kouga! I have no idea why you keep coming back," And though she meant it as a joke, he can see the insecurity in her eyes; can see that she really does wonder.
So he smiled and gently grasped one of her hands, still clenching the bed sheets. Eventually, she loosened her grip and held his hand right back.
"It's okay," He told her after a moment. "I told you all about my depressing history. We've all got one, I think... some people just hide it better, or... or maybe they just don't care about it. But Kagome... it's fine. I'm here if you ever need to talk. Always."
She finally let a tear drop. He caught it with the tip of his finger and shot her the brightest smile she had ever seen.
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