A.N. No long winded Author's Note this time!! Just a short thank you for all those who reviewed! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
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Truly Madly Deeply Eleven
(Tsuki)
Chapter Eleven
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(Tsuki)
As Kagome sat across from Sesshoumaru, she had to wonder about the odds of seeing him now.
They had met on the strangest terms then separated abruptly.
Now they were seated at the same dinner table eating a meal together.
Kagome stole a glance at him, for the umpteenth time since sitting down and then quickly returned her gaze to her food.
The moderate yet deliciously tart taste of the tilapia's tomato, onion, and garlic dress, coupled well with the lightly seasoned baked fish. However as she forked a piece into her mouth, she barely registered the taste.
Inuyasha took a sip of his drink and questioned, "So Kagome…I've been curious. How is it that you knew Sesshoumaru?"
Sesshoumaru threw a scathing look as his brother, who promptly ignored it. Rin looked a bit curious as well, not having prior knowledge of that tidbit.
Kagome flushed, "Well we were on the same flight back to New York. We met in the waiting terminal and ended up sitting next to each other." She decided to leave out the more embarrassing aspects of their meeting.
The elder brother then deadpanned, "It was she, who ended up making up for your incompetency and proffered a way to depart from the airport."
Kikyou, who was seated next to Sesshoumaru smiled wanly, but refrained from commenting.
It was then Inuyasha's turn to blush, "How many times do I have to apologize for that, Sesshoumaru? Jeeze," he grumbled.
Rin wiped her mouth with her napkin and set it down before questioning, "California, right? That's where you were? I vaguely remember Aunt Izayoi saying something about Sesshoumaru's trip there."
Kagome nodded. "Uh-huh."
"So you must be Souta's sister then… I knew I remembered the name Higurashi from somewhere, but I stupidly hadn't made the connection."
Inuyasha suddenly leaned closer to Rin. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her face. "Souta! That's a boy's name isn't it?"
Rin playfully rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, Souta's just a good friend. We took the same class." She almost even left out a laugh at his exaggerated sigh of relief.
Kagome furrowed his brows, "Is that so?" She suddenly pouted, "That jerk never tells me anything! It's a wonder I ever found about his girlfriend."
Kikyou watched Kagome's interaction throughout dinner that night and as it came to a close, a part of her finally felt that she understood why Kagome had been chosen by her synthetic dream system.
Things just seemed to gravitate to her.
Like she were some sort of magnet.
Although, what shocked her was the fact that she had come into some close contact with Rin as well. In fact it grudgingly made her admire Yura's attentiveness to foresight. Although she did condemn her manner of executing her intuition, she did have a grudging respect for it.
It was times like these that she felt almost inferior to Yura.
That woman was calculating and manipulative in ways Kikyou dared not be.
On some level Kikyou had known that Kagome and Sesshoumaru had come into acquaintance. She had arranged at least that much and transportation, and lack thereof on Inuyasha's part, from the airport.
What happened after that she had left up to fate.
And she had been dealt a slap to the face when she saw Kagura. Her eyes narrowed.
"You alright, Kikyou?" Her head snapped up at Inuyasha's question and she smiled softly, "My hand was just troubling me," she feigned, although the wound had long ago started healing and was showing signs of closing up.
Kagome instantly seemed alarmed, "You hurt your hand earlier?"
"It was a small wound." With that absentminded murmur, she stood and picked up the large tray she had brought in earlier. The younger girl spotted Kikyou's wrapped hand then as she lifted the dish to clear the table and she shook her head.
Before Inuyasha could even start off on a ranting stream of protests, Kagome shot up in her seat, "Small wound! Like hell it is! Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha—help me clear the table. Kikyou—sit down. Now!"
Everyone in the room stared at her unexpected outburst and she flushed, stammering with what she hoped was a commanding tone, "L-like I said, now!"
With she reached across the table placed Sesshoumaru's bowl in his hands before she grabbed her and Rin's plates and utensils and headed into the kitchen. Kikyou sat back down with a small laugh, "Unexpectedly forceful, isn't she?" Rin nodded a bit, a small smile on her face.
Sesshoumaru stood with a raised eye brow and picked up the serving dish Kikyou had been about to take into the kitchen and piled various utensils and his bowl on it. With a snort he murmured, "Or excessively impulsive…"
Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head as he grabbed the remaining items left on the table, "I can't complain." However, he eyed Kikyou with a pout, "But how come you'd never listen to me like that?"
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(Tsuki)
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When Kagome finally took her leave, Inuyasha pushed Sesshoumaru to see her to her car. Although Kagome kept protesting that it was unnecessary, the elder brother followed her outside.
Sesshoumaru had felt the action reasonable, "You seem prone to falling asleep at the strangest moments. For liability's sake it would be wise for someone to keep watch while you are on our property…"
Kagome stared at him, "Hey! It was only once!" She flushed then in abrupt remembrance of their first meeting, "…or twice."
A smug look crossed his feature before he looked her over and a mask of seriousness appeared, "And another thing, I suggest you stray from caffeine and sugars, and overtake less stressful activities before you become a consistent insomniac."
She flushed. 'He had noticed?' She held her hands firmly at her sides so that they wouldn't unconsciously reach up to touch the make up covered dark circles beneath her eyes. To hide her embarrassment, she joked, "Did you just go doctor on me?"
With a small snort he continued, "I had noticed on the flight, though I had not expected it to persist." He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a card, "I also recommend that you see me for a check up, since it is apparently affecting your daily life."
Her eyes widened as she caught the name of the hospital. "Meguriawase Hospital?
That is a really illustrious place! I doubt I couldeven afford a check up there." she laughed a bit.
But he had posed a smart idea. She probably needed to see her physician to see if anything was wrong with her medically. She hadn't had the dream since last night, but that didn't mean that it had not happened in the first place.
She shuddered.
Besides, she couldn't keep falling asleep in random places because of her sleep deprivation.
Sesshoumaru in response to her earlier comment gestured for the card and drawled, "As much as it pains me to admit this, I do believe that I am indebted to you for what ever happened with Rin. The appointment will be free of charge." He wrote something on the back of it. "I should be at the hospital from eight until midnight; come at whatever time is convenient."
Kagome protested as he slid the card back into her hand, "I couldn't accept—Eight to twelve!" She suddenly gaped, "What kind of hours are those?! You work like that, yet I'm the one losing sleep! I hope you at least get a break or something…"
He looked at her and scoffed, "Of course. I plan on taking a two hour lunch at noon." Kagome looked incredulous and was about to comment on how that still meant he was working for twelve hours but refrained. He suddenly seemed to consider something, "In fact, that would probably be the best time for me. I'm on a surgical rotation this week and surgery has volatile hours."
The raven haired girl grinned, "Then I'll treat you to lunch afterwards!"
Sesshoumaru less than politely declined. "I think I've had my fill of lunches with you." He suppressed a shudder as images of her with a tray heaped with food filled his thoughts.
Kagome pouted, "I'm not that bad am I? Mama says I have a healthy appetite!"
Sesshoumaru raised a brow and Kagome felt her hand itch to pull it down. "Quite…"
"You're eating with me whether you like it or not, damn it!" She grumbled and stomped the last few feet to her car. "Now I'll see you at noon. Good night!"
The silver haired man followed suit, only instead he got into Inuyasha's car and back it out of the driveway so that Kagome could get out.
He nodded a bit when Kagome waved at him and as he returned the car to the driveway, he could not help but watch as her car disappeared down the street until it made a left turn at the end of the block.
There had been a time when Sesshoumaru had said she was an exception. She embodied every trait that made him cringe and yet whenever she was in his presence he never felt irked by her.
It made him wonder… How far would she go when it came to being excused from his usual norms?
That perhaps, was the one thing about her that he was able to find annoyance with.
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(Tsuki)
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For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Kagome did not need to apply foundation beneath her eyes.
The girl took her hand and swiped at the lightly fogged mirror so that it would not affect her gaze.
She rubbed the area as she stared at herself in the mirror of Sango's bathroom. Her soaked hair was tossed to the side and was dripping water on the counter as she gripped her towel tightly with excitement. "They're almost completely gone! So long zombie, hello Kagome!"
The aforementioned person grabbed another towel and wrapped it around her hair before happily strolling out of the bathroom with a noticeable bounce in her step.
Kagome was so enthused in fact, that on the way out she ran, literally, into Kohaku. She had tripped mid-skip and had fallen into him.
He quickly grabbed her shoulders to steady her, his face ablaze with a blush as he took in her state of undress. "A-are you alright, Kagome?"
The girl giggled lightly, one hand gripping her towel and the other his arm, "Yeah, sorry Kohaku. That serves me right for acting like a morning person I guess…"
The boy chuckled and released her as soon as he was certain that she was balanced. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find some where to look besides the petit girl. "Just be more careful, okay?"
Kagome reached up and ruffled his hair, "Will do, kiddo."
He gently batted her hand away, his blush increasing a bit as he faced her and murmured, "I'm not a kid anymore, Kagome."
Kagome only smiled and gave a small wave, "Yeah, yeah, I'll see you later, Ko-chan."
Had Kagome not turned around, she would have caught the boy's frown at the childish nickname. She would have seen him mutter something wistfully underneath his breath and had she been paying for attention, she would have felt his gaze as he watched her leave.
Nevertheless she had not turned around and she had not been paying attention, so she ended up at the guest room door, completely unaware.
Thankfully, Sango had prepared the arrangements for her to spend the night, seeing as she had simply driven to the girl's house, straight from the Taisho's.
She had been in a daze similar to the one she was currently enshrouded in now and so had not truly been thinking.
However, everything had been prepared for her which was how she was able to sleep in her own pajamas, brush her teeth with her own toothbrush, wash her hair with her own shampoo, wrap herself in her own fluffy towel (although admittedly, the towel around her hair was Sango's), and slip into her own clothes to get dressed.
Though she was really starting to question that last thing.
The only downer to Sango picking out her clothes though: Sango was so used to dressing like something out of a corporate magazine, that she had picked the most boring outfit ever.
"Are these even my clothes?" she could not help but ask herself incredulously.
As Kagome slipped into the charcoal pencil skirt and the somewhat formal looking white 'A' neck top with a ruffled bust top and three quarter princess sleeves.
Kagome frowned as she looked down at herself, "She does realize I teach kindergarten, right? They'll laugh me out of my own classroom," she grumbled and headed towards Sango's room.
She found the brunette slipping into a pair of high heels. The girl stood after she had gotten her heel into the formal shoes, "Hey Kagome, how are you feeling?"
Kagome disregarded the question as she looked at the taller girl. She was dressed in a black half sweater, under which she was skipped in to a tiered deep wine and black colored, cotton sundress that almost fell to her knees.
Sango looked at her quizzically, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes! I look like I'm heading to a funeral I can't wear this, Sango-chan! I'll be ostracized!"
The brunette looked exasperated, "It's kindergarten! I bet none of them even know the word."
Kagome poked her index fingers together and toed the carpet as she pleadingly looked at her friend, "Please, let me borrow something!"
Sango waved her had towards her closet with a laugh, "Be my guest." She ran a hand through her lengthy brown locks before she put her hair in a professional looking high pony tail, a small smile lighting her face, "I'm guessing you had a full night's sleep."
Kagome nodded enthusiastically, "Yup! I've never felt better."
Sango smiled, "Good. Now I'll meet you down stairs for breakfast, okay?"
She nodded as she dug through the clothes, "'Kay, I'll be down as soon as I can." Sango looked at her wearily, "And try not to maim my closet…"
Kagome scoffed, "I'll try."
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(Tsuki)
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Kagome left immediately after breakfast. As a teacher she had to get to school half an hour earlier, unlike Sango who was allowed to arrive with the students.
She waved and stepped out of the house in Sango's spaghetti strap tan bell bottomed top that reached her hips. It had small toffee colored polka dots and below the bust, it had a dark brown sash that she had tied into a bow and a layer of crinkled coffee accented the bottom. The shirt had an inverted W shape at the top and she finished the look with a cute brown pair of SoHos and similarly colored khakis.
She had waved and thanked Sango for the clothes and Kohaku for the breakfast, promising to stop by again before she headed to archery at the high school section of H.I.
The first two hours of class seemed to fly by before Kagome happened to look in her purse and came across a certain card that she had received yesterday during a recess break.
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the familiar Meguriawase Hospital business card. "I can't believe I almost forgot…"
She reread the card that she had glanced over at least a dozen times when she had gotten home.
I am immediately to be paged upon the presentation of this card.
-Dr. Sesshoumaru Taisho.
Her eyes traced the neat cursive for a moment before she placed it down.
She looked at the clock, "Ten o'clock," she murmured out loud, "I'll leave as soon as the kids go to their music class."
Half an hour before lunch, her class of twenty students left for supplementary chorus and instrumental lessons. The music teacher, Mr. Ishiroshi, was then responsible for taking them outside for lunch, since they brought their lunches with them to his class.
Kagome felt a rise of anticipation as time continued to pass and it drew closer to noon and she had parked in front of the hospital.
"Calm down, Kagome!" She reprimanded herself gently as she let out a wry laugh, "I never thought I'd ever be this excited to go to a hospital."
As she stepped out of the car, a slightly familiar looking Ferrari red BWM pulled up beside the passenger side of her car. Kagome let the familiarity slide as she walked passed it and out of the corner of her eye, she was a lengthy haired man who she was certain she wouldn't recognize.
With slow steps to she walked into the hospital, awed at the size and the appearance. Sure she had been to a hospital before. She wasn't what one would call graceful; she had gotten stitches at least a dozen times since she had been able to walk.
But being in Meguriawase—the only Asian run hospital in the entirety of the state, she couldn't help but be impressed by everything. It definitely had to be the most organized and pristine looking hospital she had come across.
Kagome walked up to the front desk pulling the card she had pocketed out as she shyly caught the attention of the nurse at the desk, "Excuse me, hi, my name is Kagome. I have an appointment with one of the doctors here."
The nurse, a faux dirty blonde in a pair of purple scrubs smiled, "I see, do you happen to have a name or should I check the schedule?"
She handed the card over, backside up, as the man from the BMW strolled up to the counter.
The nurse smiled and handed back the card, "I'll page him right away. You can wait in the waiting area over there." She gestured to an area off to the side where there were neat rows of red, connected chairs and two couches. Kagome thanked her and after she had walked away the woman turned to the new arrival. He had lengthy ink toned hair that fell down to his elbows in wavy tendrils. "Can I help you, sir?"
He smiled eerily as he watched Kagome leave and asked, "Does she come here often?"
The nurse followed his gaze and mused, "Honestly, that's the first time I've seen her here, but I can't really say since Megumi is usually on shift now. I don't think so though."
He nodded the smile not leaving his lips and the nurse giggled, "She is a cute one though."
"Quite…" He turned to her, "I'd like to set up meeting with Dr. Taisho. As soon as possible. He had been a client of my law firm and I need to discuss something with him."
The nurse laughed, "Sesshoumaru's been pretty popular this week. I'm not surprised but, I should warn you—that makes it hard to schedule appointments of any kind."
"I see. Are there any openings between this or next week."
There was a ruffle of papers as she checks a series of papers. Finally there was a victorious exclaim of, "He's free for most of the afternoon next Thursday. May I set the date for then?"
"I suppose that will do."
"May I have your name?"
"Nikimoto…Naraku Nikimoto."
She commenced filling out a small, blank card and she handed it to him. It merely stated the appointment time and date. "Here you go, Mr. Nikimoto."
He smiled and took the card, "Thank you." He turned back to Kagome, "Do you know her name?"
"She just said it was Kagome." She looked between the two and giggled lightly, "You should just go up to her, I'm sure she won't mind."
Naraku looked at her. Clearly she was mistaking his interests as something romantic. But no. He was interested in her for reasons far less insipid than that. "Hmm…Yes. I think I will."
Kagome…
The nurse grinned and called lightly to him, "Good luck." And she returned to her work.
Naraku's crimson eyes glistened as he walked towards Kagome. He saw the raven haired girl look up as he approached and he was slightly taken aback when he saw her eyes light with recognition and smile brightly.
She stood and started towards him and Naraku looked at her, almost with bewilderment. He opened his mouth to question her actions but at that moment she had glided past him with a wave, "Finally! I can't believe you're late! I had expected you to be prompt."
Naraku felt a scowl flit onto his face as he turned slightly to see who she was truly addressing.
And his scowl deepened as he saw a flash of silver hair and Sesshoumaru stepped into view.
The scowl broke away to a smile.
It was beginning to seem undeniable that she was the one. Kikyou's unknowing pawn. And if so then she hadn't gotten the message.
"It seems that I need to try a little harder…"
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(Tsuki)
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Sesshoumaru took in the petit form in front of him, gazing down at the girl who barely reached his shoulder in flats. "Late? I do believe it's twelve now…"
Kagome looked at her watch, "I set my watch to run on H.I. time, and I do believe you're three minutes late."
"You're wasting my break with your erroneous accusations."
"You're wasting my break with your inexcusable lateness!" Sesshoumaru raised a brow and turned.
Said brow commenced to twitch, "You are truly vexing." He started walking towards the location of the nearest elevator. "Follow me."
Kagome moved to his side and looked up at his face. Although it was virtually a flesh composed mask, she guilty felt that she probably was irritating him. She sighed as they reached the elevators, "Sorry. I guess I am being a pain. If you want to go back on your break, I'll totally understand."
He took a step into the elevator and turned back to her, "How easily you forget. I do not believe in obligatory niceties." He extended a hand, "Are you coming?"
Kagome sheepishly took a hold of his hand, "Thanks, Sesshoumaru."
Once in the elevator, he took a chance to examine her. "You look better today. I'm guessing you were able to get a decent amount of sleep."
Kagome nodded profusely, "Nine hours, possibly ten, since I woke up half an hour late."
He looked as if he were mentally making a note of everything she said. "What was the average amount of sleep you were receiving before?"
Kagome grimaced, "An average… Uh, three and a half hours."
There was a loud 'Ding!' as they reached the floor. The only hint of surprise on the other man's face was the slight elevation of a certain feature that Kagome was trying her hardest to ignore.
…and not glue to his face.
But urges aside, Kagome quietly followed Sesshoumaru to an empty room. They were on the second floor in an examination room. He gestured towards a narrow plastic covered leather bed. "Take a seat."
She slid onto the bed as requested, cringing slightly at the sound she made as she rubbed against the plastic coating.
Sesshoumaru put his stethoscope into his ears and asked her to raise her shirt slightly. With a blush, Kagome complied and Sesshoumaru brought the hearing device of the stethoscope to her back. He would press it against one section of her left mid-back and listen for a moment before pressing the cool metal to another area and repeating the process.
All the while he continued his questioning, "Have you experienced any faintness of breath or dizziness from physical exertion? Take in a deep breath." He added the last comment in a low murmur.
"The latter, yes, but that's something recent. I'm a relatively active person, but lately I've had spouts of vertigo with even archery."
He removed the stethoscope from her back and placed it over the left side of her chest, "Define lately."
"Going on three weeks." Yes, it had been almost three weeks since the first dream had started up hadn't it?
"I see." He removed the earpieces from his ears and slid the stethoscope down his neck. "Insomnia can be a sign of other major medical issues, so I am going to ask you several more standard questions."
Kagome mentally willed the blush on her cheeks to die away. It had been about to fade but then Sesshoumaru had gotten a bit too close moments before…
"I need to you to lie down."
She nodded mutely and did as told and soon he began gently pressing down against her lower torso. "Tell me if you feel any sharp or sudden pains."
"A-alright…"'I never had this problem with my personal physician. Granted it has something to do with the fact that not only is she a 'she' but she also looks like she could be pushing ninety…I honesty doubt that I could get any redder—'
"Have you been menstruating regularly?"
Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru and he looked back expectedly.
A harsh scarlet suddenly blanketed her face and she squeaked, "What?"
Amber eyes rolled heavenward, "Standard question. I'm sure your regular doctor has asked the same thing during a physical."
"Well yeah, but she—"
A smirk flitted onto his lips, "I see. So you've never had a male doctor before." The increase in the rouge tint to her cheeks was enough to answer his question.
"I need preliminary information if I am to diagnose you correctly. I've had no prior medical information about you if you do recall."
Kagome averted his gaze and muttered, "I think I have. I'll admit, I don't really remember…"
He gave her a nod, "Have you ever been pregnant or suspect that you—"
Kagome covered her face with her hands, "No!"
She shot up into a seated position once he asked the next question. "Are you sexually acti—?"
"No!"
"Have you had a history with drug abuse and or—?"
"No!"
"Has anyone in your family had a history with liver or heart disease, or any hereditary disease?"
She had been tensed, waiting for some mortifying question, and was relieved when that left his lips. With a contented sigh she answered, "Not that I or my usual doctor has any record of."
Sesshoumaru carted over a blood pressure checking machine and strapped somewhat loosely over her upper arm, a black strap. For a moment, the Velcro was the only sound within the room before he spoke again.
"Describe with detail any daily or habitual occurrence that you might consider stressful."
Kagome deadpanned, "I work with children."
A snort sounded in the room along with a buzzing whir as the machine began adding filling the wrapped sack around her arm.
"Is that all?"
Kagome suddenly looked at him, "Well…no." She sucked in a breath as he gazed back. He continued, "Continue…"
"I kept having nightmares…There was always someone who I could never remember who was about—" She abruptly paused, looking troubled.
He frowned, "Yes?"
"He was about to…I-," She blinked perplexedly with realization, "I don't remember…" She rubbed her eyes, "But I was always petrified when they ended and they just felt so realistic…"
Sesshoumaru took note of her blood pressure. His frown deepened, "It's on the high side…"
"Describe your diet."
"Um…well in the mornings I usually eat cereal or grab some toast and that drinkable yogurt-y thing that comes in a bottle. On the weekends or if there's time I eat something a bit more substantial. For lunch I usually go to a café near the school and get a soup and salad combo, sometimes a sandwich. Dinner—whatever's in the fridge or I eat at my mother's…Basically to sum it up, during the work day I consume a lot of dairy, grains, fruits, and vegetables, and then at night I make sure to balance that with meat or fish."
He nodded and carted the machine away from her, "You said that the dreams started two-three weeks ago, this week included. Are you sure you haven't eaten anything irregular?"
Kagome shrugged, "I eat a pretty standard diet. Consistent consumption of the food groups, I drink a decent amount of water, I even take vitamins." She furrowed her brows, "I don't know what could possibly explain my insomnia…"
Sesshoumaru mused, "When did it begin specifically? What had you been doing?"
"I was in California at the time. It started my first night there. I had thought it was just from being homesick—"
Abruptly the lights began to flicker before completely shutting off.
Sesshoumaru cursed before rushing from the room with a grunted, "Stay here, I'll return shortly."
A dark haired man stepped into the room moments after Sesshoumaru left and Kagome felt a chill pass down her spine as she was met with the chilling gaze of the tall, scarlet eyed man.
He smiled slightly, "Kagome Higurashi...It's nice to finally meet you." His smile broadened, "I am Naraku."
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(Tsuki)
A.N. Naraku-Kagome confrontation number two! And this time it's not a dream. Uh oh. Poor Kagome. Sesshoumaru no where in sight and our heroine is all alone with the antagonist. What could he possibly be up to?
R&R