Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Waiting on a Wish	By : Quillwing717 Category: InuYasha > General Views: 42890 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter
11

The
day was beautiful--unseasonably warm, quiet, and calming. The early
afternoon sun shone bright, the trees in the park were green, and the
walkways mostly empty of people, making their stroll all the more
enjoyable.

And
InuYasha was scowling again.

Kagome
bowed her head, hiding her smile as the hanyou once again shoved
Shippo from the top of his head. “I told you to get off,
Shippo! You’re sitting on my ears!”

The
smaller youkai landed lightly on his fox-feet, only to turn and jump
back up to cling stubbornly to the thick material of InuYasha’s
jacket. “But you’re not eating your ice cream, InuYasha.
It will melt if you don’t hurry, and then it won’t be any
good to anyone. You should just give it to me now.” He looked
covetously at the cone in the hanyou’s hand.

Golden
eyes narrowed dangerously at the kitsune over his shoulder. “This
is mine. You already ate yours, so back
off.”

“Mine
was too small.”

“Yeah,
well, you’re
small.”

“But
you’ll just waste it!” Small hands made a swipe for the
cone.

InuYasha
snorted, and held his arm out of the kit’s reach. “I paid
for them, remember? It’s mine to waste if I want.”

“Kagomeeeee!”
Big, pouting blue eyes turned on her when his grabbing didn’t
work, begging for sympathy.

A
giggle slipped through, despite her best efforts. Reaching over, she
plucked Shippo from InuYasha’s shoulder. “How about if I
share mine with you, Shippo? I don’t want anymore anyway.”
Immediately amenable to the suggestion, Shippo took Kagome’s
proffered cup and began scooping the strawberry cream onto his tongue
with the tiny spoon.

InuYasha
shook his head as he watched her stroll along, the little kitsune
tucked within the folds of her arms. “Did we really
have to bring him along?”

She
gave him a mildly chiding look. “It was you
who decided to come with us,
remember? Besides, he’s been stuck in that house for two days
now with all those sick children. He deserves a treat for being so
helpful.”

Ignoring
InuYasha’s grumbling “Feh”, Kagome kept walking,
enjoying the faint breeze that filtered along the path they followed,
listening only vaguely when Shippo started telling her how he’d
helped Kaede the night before.

It was
curious. For some reason, despite the uncomfortable incident that
morning, she was inexplicably cheerful today--even through the hectic
morning of examinations and herb and dosage discussions.
Interestingly enough, InuYasha had actually been a huge help that
morning--unwittingly, she suspected, as he hadn’t expected the
children to be so awestruck by him.

True
to Kaede’s prediction, several of the children had recovered at
least partially overnight, and the orphanage had been greeted that
morning with an energetic young hoard, all demanding attention and
food. Most of them, recognizing InuYasha from his previous visit with
Kagome, had just shrugged off his presence at the breakfast
table…until Shippo casually spilled the information that he
was a hunter.

After
that they hadn’t left him alone. He’d had a trail of
children, following him all around the house and garden for most of
the morning, wanting to know what it was like to fight a real
rogue. She pressed her lips together to suppress another grin. He
really hadn’t known what to do with so many children all asking
questions at once; it was amazing he’d kept his temper.

Still,
their curiosity had kept most of them occupied long enough for her
and Kaede to examine those still too sick to get out of bed. It was
understandable, considering he was hanyou himself, and actually
worked for the Alliance--which, of course, would fascinate any
orphanage full of children, hanyou or no. Now they had demanded
Kagome bring him back with her the next time she came to visit.

With a
brief, exasperated twist of her mouth, she wondered if she’d be
able to avoid going
anywhere without him in the near future. He didn’t seem
inclined to leave her alone for any length of time. He hadn’t
even asked--not that she’d expected it--to join her and Shippo
on their outing; he’d just come along. When she’d
finished assisting Kaede earlier that morning, he’d been
waiting for her in the kitchen with Shippo, the two of them having a
somewhat strange discussion about ramen and ice cream.

She
gave a little roll of her eyes. So, naturally, after a brief stop at
her apartment, they’d ended up at first
a ramen shop, and then
an ice cream shop. Shippo, a constant presence on either InuYasha’s
shoulder or hers since they left, had been alternating between
serious conversation with the both of them and annoying the hell out
of InuYasha. She was pretty sure he was doing the latter
deliberately. She’d spent most of the last few hours wavering
between irritation and laughter.

This
little foray into the park had been at her insistence. She darted a
covert look at InuYasha as he strolled along beside her. Her eyes
softened, and a tiny smile curled the corners of her mouth.

Remarkable,
the difference a night could make. Last night, he’d given her a
glimpse of himself that she was sure he didn’t give many
people. She was actually rather amazed that he had spoken so freely.
Still, it had felt so natural, talking and sitting next to him in the
dark. It was as if a bond of trust had already existed between them,
just waiting for the right moment to surface and strengthen the tie
drawing them together. Now, the deep, uneasy caution that had been
guiding her actions so far had relaxed. Now…

She
bit her lip. He was having the strangest effect on her today.

He
kept distracting her. Every time she looked at him, she was suddenly
struck with a distinctly feminine form of anxiety. Restlessness and
excitement, weaving through her like tiny strings, would tug on her
consciousness at the oddest moments, reminding her that she had
little left to hide behind, and even less willpower to try.

He
noticed her look, and raised an eyebrow in question. Fighting a
blush, she looked away without a word.

Today
was her day off. It was one of the few days where she didn’t
have any obligations to be anywhere or see anyone.

And he
knew it.

He’d
asked her, before they’d left the orphanage this morning, when
she had to be at work today. Without thinking, she’d replied
that she didn’t, and in the following silence, they’d
stared at each other. He’d gotten this look in his eyes, a
subtle flash of acknowledgement and intent, before he’d simply
nodded and turned away. Just the thought of that look had kept her in
a state of agitated awareness for most of the day, even as she felt a
curious contentment at being able to relax and spend time with him.

How
could she feel so safe and so defenseless at the same time?

She
sighed. He’d been having the strangest effect on her since she
met him. Never in her
life had she reacted like this to anyone. It was as if her hormones
had been waiting specifically for him before kicking into
overdrive--karmic payback, she supposed, for scoffing at her friends
back in her high school days as they’d sat around dreamy-eyed
over boyfriends and crushes, yearning for some weird storm of passion
that would sweep away all common sense. As a teenager, she hadn’t
believe such a thing really existed.

Well,
she believed them now.

She
just wished she understood why he’d fixated on her. It couldn’t
be a normal reaction--Miroku or Sango would have warned her by now if
this was something he did often.

She
frowned as a thought struck. It wasn’t because…it wasn’t
because she’d saved his life, was it? She immediately cringed
away, disturbed by the very idea. Gratitude for doing her job? Some
kind of obligatory thanks? Such a fleeting, hollow reason…it
would be horrible if that was the situation she found herself in. She
could never accept it.

“Kagome?
What’s wrong?”

She
blinked, coming out of her thoughts with a start. “What?”
InuYasha was staring at her. She blinked again. So was Shippo. She’d
been so caught up in her musings that she’d slowed to a
standstill in the middle of the path. Now they both wore identical
expressions of concern on their faces.

Shippo
tugged on her arm, the tiny spoon still tucked in his mouth. “Are
you ok, Kagome? You’re not getting sick, too, are you?”

She
must look pretty upset for them to seem so worried. She blew out a
breath and covered her pensive expression with a smile. “I’m
fine, Shippo. I’m just…thinking about work. Nothing to
worry about.”

“Oh.
Ok.” Shippo seemed to accept that answer readily, and with
another covetous glance at InuYasha’s cone, went back to
scraping up the last of her ice cream. InuYasha gave her a measuring
glance, but fell into step beside her without a word.

After
another sideways glance, she swallowed the brief spate of panic. No.
She didn’t believe it. Using what was between them as some sort
of thanks…as some sort of unusual compensation? That kind of
insincerity didn’t fit with his personality. In fact, it felt
like some sort of betrayal to even consider that he would.

So why
did she feel like she was missing something important?

She
drew a deep breath, filling her lungs with air and let out another
sigh. Thinking about the situation was getting her nowhere, and
giving her a headache besides.

“Would
you quit it?” InuYasha spoke up again, and this time he sounded
irritated.

She
looked over at him again to find golden eyes focused on her, black
brows tensed into a mild frown. “Whatever it is, it’s
just making you upset. I can smell it, you know--you’re just
working yourself up, and it’s starting to bother me.
Walking in the park was your idea, so quit worryin’ already and
enjoy it.”

For a
moment, she just stared at him, eyes wide, lips parted slightly in
surprise. He stared right back, disgruntled frown still in place.
Then Kagome’s surprise turned into a genuine smile, and she
nodded. Satisfied, he started walking again, turning his attention
back to his cone just in time to catch another bit of vanilla cream
before it dripped to the ground.

Shippo
sat quietly in her arms as Kagome matched his pace, head tilted up as
he watched them both closely, a shrewd glint in the blue eyes.
Surreptitiously, his hand slipped into his pocket.

“I
talked with Kaede this morning.” The softness of her voice,
even more than the words she spoke, pulled his gaze back to her.
“She’s pleased that I’ve finally decided to resume
my training.” She gave a little roll of her eyes. “We’ll
be altering my schedule at work accordingly, and starting next week,
I’ll be training at the orphanage at least a couple times a
week.”

“Keh.”
He grunted, then shrugged, but didn’t manage to hide the brief
flicker of relief in his eyes. “Good. One less thing for me to
worry about.”

She
gave him a curious look. “InuYasha?”

“Hmm?”
He still didn’t look at her, concentrating on his now rapidly
melting ice cream.

“Why
do you--ah!” She yelped abruptly as her next step landed her on
something that rolled out from under her, taking her foot with it.
She stumbled forward, losing her balance as the toes of her sandals
scraped along the concrete. Realizing that she couldn’t stop
herself, she twisted mid-fall, attempting to turn so that she
wouldn’t land on Shippo.

She
didn’t get the chance.

Her
forward motion stopped as an arm slipped around her waist and she was
yanked back to press full-length against the stabilizing warmth of
another body. The back of her head come to rest on a chest, and she
blinked, momentarily disoriented by the sudden halt.

She
felt a sigh stir her hair, and couldn’t help her startled jump
when his voice growled into her ear. “Idiot. Watch where you’re
going. You could have been hurt.” His breath tickled her ear,
and a shiver quaked along her spine. He paused, then added in a
gentler, more tentative tone, “You’re…not
hurt, are you?”

Speechless
at finding her body overwhelmed by his for second time in one day,
Kagome shook her head. He hesitated, responded with a sound similar
to a wordless “oh”, then fell quiet. He made no move to
release her, and Kagome didn’t even think of suggesting that he
do.

It
felt good to be wrapped up like this. She could feel the rhythm of
his breathing all along her back. The arm pressed around her waist
was pleasantly heavy; his other arm wound up her side to grip at her
shoulder, trapping her arm against her body. She couldn’t see
his expression, but she could feel his head resting against hers. She
felt a slight shift when he buried his nose into strands of her hair.

Her
own breath was coming in brief, shallow puffs, and when she felt his
head bend a little closer, felt his mouth move down towards her neck,
her eyes drifted shut, and her head titled accommodatingly. Her hand
dropped to rest against the sleeve of his jacket; her other hand came
up to clasp at the fingers covering her shoulder. She brushed at them
with her fingertips, noting that the skin between them was still
cold.

She
frowned.

The
fingers on both her hands--empty hands--flexed. She noticed the
strange absence of the air in front of her body.

Wait
a minute…. Where’s…

“Shippo!”
Her eyes snapped open and her head jerked upright with a gasp,
smacking into the nose still nuzzled in her hair. They both winced at
the contact, and InuYasha stumbled back a step, clapping a hand over
his nose with an indignant, muffled “Ow!”

Kagome
gave him an apologetic look, but her attention was elsewhere.
“Where’s Shippo?”

Concerned,
she glanced around the area of the park where they’d stopped.
Trees scattered sporadically on either side of their chosen path,
casting pale, dappled shadows on the manicured grass. Up ahead, the
concrete walkway split of into two different directions. In between
where they forked, a large stone water fountain, surrounded by stone
benches, sparkled and bubbled cheerfully in the bright sunlight.
Somewhere among the trees, birds could be heard, and off in the
distance, the muffled sounds of the city tried to intrude. It was a
beautiful area of the park.

Shippo
was nowhere to be seen.

Slightly
frantic, Kagome turned back to InuYasha. “Where did Shippo go?”

He was
staring down blankly at his empty hands. “Where the hell did my
ice cream go?” He looked up, then around the path, eyes
narrowing when he spotted something of interest. He picked it up and
sniffed at it, then presented it to her with a disbelieving look.

Kagome
blinked at the small, carved toy snake in his palm. “That’s…Shippo’s.
It’s one of his favorite toys. He’s always playing with
it.”

His
expression immediately darkened. “I knew it! That damn little
brat!” His hand clenched around the toy and he turned to yell.
“Oi! Shippo! Give me back my ice cream! Don’t think I’m
going to let you get away with this. Hey! Are you listening? I can
track your scent, you know.” His scowl deepened. “Damn
fox. You could have hurt Kagome!”

Kagome
stared, wide-eyed, at InuYasha as he growled threateningly, glaring
at first the trees, then the fountain. The image of him snarling at
the foliage struck her as odd, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
A quiet snicker escaped, intruding on his furious rant.

One of
his ears twitched in surprise, and his mouth snapped shut. He glanced
back at her. She gasped into her hands again, trying to contain her
laughter, but it spilled over as soon as she caught a glimpse of his
bewildered expression.

He
stared. Her eyes sparkled with laughter over the cover of her hand,
and after a moment, a tiny smirk softened his mouth. “Keh.
Just what are you
laughing at? You do realize he planned
for that to happen, right?”

She
was still distracted by her mirth, or she never would have asked such
a silly question. “For what to happen?”

He
didn’t like that answer, because his eyes widened, then
narrowed again. “You need me to remind you already?” He
stepped right up in front of her, the intent to do so clear on his
face.

She
choked, sucking in a breath as she took a hasty step back. “N-never
mind.”

He let
her go with a snort, then dangled the pliable toy in front of her
face. “That little…he knew I wouldn’t let you
fall. He meant for us
to get distracted so he could steal my ice cream.”

She
frowned. “Meant for us to…” She glanced around
again, then colored brightly with realization. “Oh.”
Public path, public park, Kagome.
“No.” She let out a quiet moan. They’d been about
to…in the park…where anyone could see….

She
hadn’t even noticed. She shook her head, pressing her fingers
against her forehead. What
is wrong
with me?

He
lowered the toy, rolling his eyes at her embarrassment. “He
jumped out of your arms almost before you started to fall.” He
sighed, looking annoyed. “Tch! Damnit, that was my
ice cream.” He eyes scanned over the park once more. “I’ll
make you regret that, Shippo! You hear me, you little thief?”

He
still stood close, only a few inches from actual physical contact of
their bodies. Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. She started to back
away, then checked herself, casting a worried glance around them.
“Well, where is he? We can’t just leave without him. We
still have to make sure he gets back to the orphanage all right.”

InuYasha
shrugged and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He
started walking, resuming his stroll down the concrete walkway. “Tch.
Don’t worry about that little runt. He didn’t go far.
He’ll probably reappear as soon as he finishes my ice cream.”
A slight growl underlined that last sentence.

She
gave him a questioning look, but followed. “So we should just
wait for him?”

He
shook his head. “Why should we? He’ll come find us.”

“Hmmm.”
Her eyes narrowed at the fountain ahead of them. She reached out and
tugged on his sleeve. “Lets take a rest on one of those
benches. He can find us there.”

His
eyes fell to the hand curled in his jacket, but he let her pull him
along, voicing only a token objection. “We don’t have to
stop, you know. If he’s not here before we want to leave, I can
just sniff him out.”

She
smiled and shook her head. “No. That’s not why I want to
stop. It’s beautiful today. We should sit and enjoy the nice
weather before it gets too--”

He
stopped, bringing Kagome jerking to a stop with him as he pulled up
short behind her.

She
turned, but her question faded in her throat as she noticed his ears
perk alertly. He frowned, then took a half-step forward, lifting his
face to search the sky, nose quivering as he sniffed the air. She
watched quietly for a moment, wondering what in the world had caught
his attention. “Did you find Shippo?”

He
blinked, then muttered a curse. His hand suddenly slipped from his
pocket and grabbed at her wrist. “Come on.” Before she
could say anything in response, she was being dragged along the path
at a much faster pace than they’d set before. She had to speed
up to a jog to keep up with his longer strides. “InuYasha?”

“There’s
something I’ve got to do.” He didn’t look back at
her, but he sounded grim.

Confused
by his answer, and mildly concerned by the sudden change in mood,
Kagome followed without objection.

He
didn’t stop when they reached to fork in the path, but dragged
her halfway around the circular fountain. “Shippo!” He
stopped in front of one of the benches. Eyebrows raised, she watched
him glare at the empty seat. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”

When
nothing happened, he mumbled another curse and kicked at a large,
round stone hidden in the shade underneath the seat. She blinked. She
hadn’t even noticed it until just now. With a soft pop, and a
loud wail, the stone vanished in a puff of smoke, and in it’s
place, Shippo appeared, glaring at InuYasha. He rubbed at his head,
remnants of the stolen ice cream cone still in hand. “That
hurt!”

“Hah!
You’re lucky that’s all you got!”

Blue
eyes spotted Kagome. Darting out from under the seat, he jumped into
the protection of her arms. “Don’t let him hurt me,
Kagome. I’m just a kid.”

She
frowned down at him as he snuggled against her elbow. “Shippo,
that was a nasty trick you played on us, just to steal his ice
cream.”

“But--”

“I
don’t care about
the ice cream.” The both looked up at the curt interjection.

Shippo
stopped hiding long enough to looked skeptical. “You don’t?”

InuYasha
scowled at the kitsune, but shook his head. “Forget it. I have
something more important for you to do.”

Somewhat
surprised, Shippo blinked, the blond poof of his tail waving
curiously. “Really? What is it?”

InuYasha
looked over his shoulder toward the end of the path on the right,
then back at them with a tense sigh. “Something’s come
up, and I have to leave now. I need you to make sure Kagome gets back
to the orphanage safely. Can you do that, Shippo?”

Shippo
nodded solemnly. “Of course. You can leave it to me. I’ll
protect Kagome no matter what.”

InuYasha
nodded, then looked back at Kagome. His expression was still set in
tense lines, his golden eyes serious. “Go back with Shippo, and
stay there until I come to get you.”

She
frowned at him. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

He
hesitated, then shook his head. “Nothing. I just have to go do
something. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done, so stay with
Shippo.”

“But…”
He was looking over his shoulder again. She drew a deep breath, then
sighed. “Ok. Be careful.”

He
gave her a short nod, then took off running, disappearing around the
fountain and down the path that branched off the main one. She stared
after him for a moment, then looked down at Shippo. “What was
that all about?”

Shippo
shrugged. “Who knows?” He eyed the tiny bit of edible
cone left in his hand. “Maybe he remembered something he forgot
to do because he was with you all night.” He popped the bit
into his mouth with a crunch. He swallowed, then looked up. “He
said he’d be back soon, though, right? Why don’t you wait
until he gets back and ask him again?”

She
looked uncertain. “You think he’ll tell me?”

He
nodded. “Sure. Especially if you won’t kiss him again
until he does. He really
likes kissing you. I can tell.”

Unfortunately
for Shippo, his offhand comment served to remind Kagome of his recent
indiscretion. He suddenly found himself in the unfortunate position
of being on the receiving end of her best glare. Unable to escape the
grip of her arms, he could only tremble as she turned and started
walking, her expression growing more ominous with each step. “Shippo?
We need to have a little talk about pranks in public places.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The
orphanage was quieter than normal when they finally returned from
their outing. According to Kaede, it was because most of the children
were actually down for a nap. Having such an energetic morning so
soon after being sick had sapped most of their collective strength,
and they’d each fallen asleep at individually favored spots of
play around the orphanage. Smiling, Kagome and Shippo joined in,
helping Kaede hunt them all down and transfer them to their various
futons. After which, Shippo--having consumed a full bowl of ramen,
and three helpings of
ice cream--decided that a nap didn’t sound like such a bad
idea.

With a
brief reminder to Kagome that she was “supposed to stay here,”
he curled up on Kagome’s favorite chair and was dozing within
minutes. Kagome went to check on Mrs. Hashimoto, whose fever seemed
to have come down a bit, then joined Kaede in the kitchen to help her
shell peas, happy to just sit and talk after such a full day of
activity.

Thirty
minutes and one speech on the importance of concentration and
meditation later, the loud peal of the telephone cut into their
conversation, surprising both women. The looked at each other. Thanks
to the invention and wide-spread use of cell phones, hearing the home
phone of the orphanage actually ring was a rare event. So rare, in
fact, that Kaede had considered having it disconnected more than
once.

Kagome
frowned at Kaede, who was already setting her tea to the side. “Would
you like me to answer it?”

Kaede
shook her head, already pushing herself up from the cushion she’d
been sitting on. “No need. I own the building, don’t I? I
may be old, but I am perfectly capable of answering a phone.”
With a bit of effort, she stood and disappeared out into the hallway,
where the nearest phone sat on a small table.

I
wonder who it is? Kagome’s nimble
fingers split open another shell, brushing out the peas before
tossing the empty husks into the growing pile. She listened absently
to the low murmur of Kaede’s older voice as she greeted the
caller. Probably just some salesman or something. No one who had any
actual business here ever used the house phone.

Not
that she wasn’t grateful for the brief respite. Apparently,
approaching Kaede this morning about resuming the spiritual training
had given the older woman incentive to talk freely about it at any
given moment. She seemed determined to pound as much information as
possible into her in the shortest amount of time. She’s
probably afraid I’ll change my mind,
she admitted ruefully. Already she was mentioning cutting back a day
on Kagome’s schedule at the clinic to devote to actual lessons
and practice.

She
sighed, wondering if it was really worth it. It seemed odd to her
that so many people seemed to have such an interest in a talent that
she showed no signs of possessing. It just didn’t make any
sense. Then again, recently, not much did.

“Kagome?”

“Hmm?”
At the sound of Kaede’s voice, she looked up to find the older
woman standing expectantly in the doorway. “What is it?”

“Is
your phone malfunctioning?”

Her
brow furrowed at the unexpected question, and she glanced around
until she spotted her purse on the counter by the sink.
“Malfunctioning? I don’t think so. Why?” She got to
her feet and walked over to rummage through the small bag.

“Because
that call was for you. It was from the clinic. They said they’ve
been calling you for over an hour now.”

Kaede’s
informative statement came on the heels of a cloud of dismay as
Kagome found her phone and flipped it open--only to find herself
confronted by a blank, lifeless screen.

“Oh,
no.” She drew in a sharp breath and pressed the power button.
Helplessly, she watched the phone light up, and multiple message
notifications pop up on her welcome screen. Unease filled her chest
and she turned an aghast gaze on Kaede. “I forgot! I turned it
off last night to save the battery because I forgot my charger. It’s
been off all day.”

Agitated
at her irresponsible lapse, not even bothering to check the messages,
she dialed the clinic. Her foot tapped out a rhythm of impatience as
the phone rang in her ear. Finally, a young male voice picked up,
sounding harried and out of breath. She didn‘t even let him
finish his greeting. “Eishi, this is Higurashi. I just got--”

“Dr.
Higurashi! Where have you been? It’s been over an hour now. Dr.
Hiraga’s furious that you haven’t come in yet. We’re
desperate!”

She
almost dropped the phone. “What? Come in? But today’s--”

“It
doesn’t matter what today is! You have to get over here now!
We--” A confusion of voices in the background cut him off.
After a moment, she could hear him mumbling indistinctly.

Kagome
blinked at the phone. “Eishi? What--”

“Dr.
Hiraga says to come in now.
I’m sorry Higurashi, I don’t have time to talk. Do your
best to get here quickly.”

“But--”
She winced at another loud jumble of voices, then the tone went dead.
She clapped the phone closed and whirled to snag her purse off the
counter, berating herself both silently and aloud. “There’s
some kind of emergency at the clinic. I can’t believe
I forgot to turn on my phone! I’m such an idiot!”

Kaede
looked concerned. “ An emergency? Do you know what happened?”

“Mm-mm.”
She shook her head, already dashing out the door. “All I know
is that Dr. Hiraga is very upset with me, and Eishi is very busy.
Tell Shippo that I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

She
was gone before Kaede could say anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some
fifteen minutes later, her first sight of the building she worked at
stopped her dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide.

The
parking lot in front of the clinic could only be described as hectic
at best. Cars parked haphazardly in spaces where they were supposed
to be straight. An unusual number of people scattered about the
courtyard, some sitting dazedly on stone benches, most pacing or
talking with varying volumes to phones or other people. The ambulance
bay had two of the flashing vehicles parked near the entrance, back
doors flung open, and as she stood motionless, another came screaming
in, pulling up behind the first two. Several medics emerged from the
back and rushed a patient-bound gurney inside.

What
in the world…

Unconsciously, she started running, thankful that her skirt was loose
enough to allow freedom of movement; her sandaled feet made hard,
jarring smacks against the concrete of the sidewalk. She hit the
doors just ahead of a dazed-looking older couple, yanking the
mirrored glass open, only to stumble to a stop just inside the
waiting area. Her mouth opened, and she sucked in a stunned breath as
her eyes swept across the room. The older couple brushed past her
without a word of acknowledgement.

The
confusion outside was nothing to the turmoil within. The waiting room
was swollen, crammed full with wounded and crying humans and youkai.
Every seat was taken, every body was injured.

Directly
to her right, a young mother held her toddler in her arms, trying to
comfort the small child as she held a bloody cloth over a large gash
rending the little girl’s thigh; to her left, several men had
grouped together some chairs to help support their dislocated limbs
and compound fractures as they waited treatment. Wherever she looked,
similar incidents were repeated, with only the symptoms varying.
Everyone was covered with dust and debris; every face held the dull,
glazed-over appearance of post-traumatic shock.

Wherever
she looked, torn flesh and bone greeted her. All over the room, blood
coated clothes, tracked across dust-covered skin, and dripped from
open wounds and extremities. Lacerations, vomiting, broken, crushed,
and displace bone--every injury she’d ever studied or treated
was displayed before her eyes. The sobbing and screeching of agony
filled the air, almost drowning out the more significant sounds of
utter chaos from beyond the reception desk as the medical personnel
stretched their limited resources in an attempt to help the most
critical patients first.

Her
peaceful little clinic had suddenly turned into a war zone.

Kagome’s
fingers tightened on the medical bag she’d grabbed on her way
out the door, and she swallowed over the sudden thickness coating her
throat. She’d never seen so much suffering in one place before.

Something
terrible had happened.

Casting
several more helpless glances over the crowd, she made a dash for the
back, searching for the nearest familiar face. From the flurry of
activity in the halls, it looked as if every staff member employed by
the clinic had been called in--and with good reason. They’d
never had so many
patients. She dodged quickly as one of the nurses almost ran her over
as she pushed an old man in a wheel chair….Kagome swallowed
again. He was moaning quietly, holding the mangled bits of bone and
tendon that once had been his right hand on a blood-soaked pillow in
his lap.

All
these people…so many hurt. By…what?
For a moment she just stood there, biting at her lip as dread struck
like lightning, forming a cold, hard ball in the pit of her stomach.

Miso
ran by with a load of bandages in her hand. “Miso!”

The
nurse stopped, then whirled. “Kagome! Where have you been,
we’ve been calling you for hours!” Kagome opened her
mouth to explain, but Miso shook her head, cutting her off. “Never
mind. Hikaru has been making the rounds in the lobby. She has a list
of the most critical still waiting.” She gestured with her
chin. “If you could, start with helping her narrow down some of
the patients in there.” A scream of pain echoed from the back.
“We already have our hands full back here. Thanks!” She
was already half-way down the nearest hallway as she finished.

Kagome
gave a moue of frustration. “Miso, what
happened?”

Miso
just gestured distractedly and disappeared around a corner.

Kagome
turned and located Hikaru, kneeling by a young boy, a cat youkai, who
had blood coating down the side of his face and soaking into his
clothes. It was layered so thick that the side of his face appeared
black. Alarmingly, his eyes kept drifting shut, even though his
frantic sire was trying his best to keep him awake.

Frowning,
Kagome got to her knees next to the frazzled-looking nurse, and
unzipped her bag. She sent a quick glance at Hikaru. “What
happened? Why are so many people hurt?” The only thing she
could find was cleansing wipes, so she took a few out and started
clearing the area around the wound.

Hikaru
watched anxiously as the layers of blood squicked away, revealing
matted hair and a jagged cut running along the boy’s skull.
Blood welled steadily from the swollen edges of the cut, covering the
wound again immediately after each pass of the thin cloth--it was
going to need stitches. “You haven’t heard? A rogue
attack in Roppongi. Some giant youkai is rampaging through the area,
knocking over buildings, killing whatever it finds alive.” She
cast a concerned eye over the boy’s father, a small,
mild-looking youkai with glasses who looked decidedly green after
seeing his son’s injury.

Kagome’s
heart gave a deep, terrified thud as her breath caught in her throat.
Her hand froze on the boy’s forehead. “What?”

“They
say it’s huge, so big that it’s already knocked down
several buildings. It’s not the only one in the city, either.
Several smaller ones have come in with it. Already, the news is
saying that this is the worst rogue attack in at least fifty years.
The victims from the wreckage alone are in the hundreds. The
hospitals are overloaded, and several of them have been rerouting
their wounded to us and any other medically equipped facilities in
the area.”

The
sick feeling that had been teasing at the pit of her stomach for the
past few minutes gave brutal twist, and her whole body went numb. She
felt her eyelids tremble as they attempted--and failed--to blink.
“And…the hunters are fighting them.”

Hikaru,
busy with her clipboard, failed to note the faint, highly controlled
quality of Kagome’s voice. “All the hunters the Alliance
have at their disposal. They’ve been at it for a few hours now,
but that big one is still knocking down buildings. Several of them
have already died, I hear.” She gave a frustrated shake of her
head. “What is the Alliance doing, anyway! Aren’t they
supposed to protect us from…from,” her free arm swept
across the room filled with terror and misery, “well, from
this?”

Kagome
wasn’t listening. She swiped away more blood, set the
over-saturated cloth aside, and grabbed a new one, trying desperately
to fight the anxiety threatening to throw her thoughts into disorder.

The
reason for InuYasha’s abrupt and hasty departure earlier this
afternoon was now perfectly clear. He’d heard something, seen
something--knew somehow
that there was danger and went to investigate. He’d sent her
back to the orphanage because he’d been reasonably certain
she’d be safe there. And right now, he was out there, fighting
some terrible…

A loud
boom distracted her from her thoughts, and she jumped. The child’s
father winced, and she bowed her head in apology. Twisting around,
she darted a quick glance behind her to see what the sound had
been--and abruptly stilled.

Someone had thought to turn on the waiting room’s lone
television, on the wall in the corner, and the news coverage filtered
over the random noises of the wounded. A strange calm--a suspended
quiet--seemed to fall over the waiting area as everyone turned to
stare.

She
forgot about her patient. She forgot about the others in the lobby.
Instead, she stared in mesmerized dismay as live images from Roppongi
flickered across the screen, where some foolhardy news reporter with
a helicopter had decided to fly as close as possible to the
destruction.

It was
almost surreal, like a scene from one of the old Godzilla and Mothra
movies that were constantly playing on late-night re-runs. With much
better special effects.

It was
still too early in the day for a nightspot like Roppongi to have
that many people--but
the afternoon sun showed that the district was in ruins, spattered
with fire and littered with broken bodies and rubble that followed
the path the rogue had carved on it’s rampage. Huge chunks of
concrete, and twisted hunks of metal that used to be cars, lay
scattered across the roads. The flashing lights of police vehicles
dotted the scene, and the occasional, faint popping sound of gunfire
could be heard in the background.

The
youkai was huge--as tall as several of the smaller, multi-storied
buildings--and fierce. It’s purple skin rippled with muscle as
it stepped forward on two legs, swinging powerful-looking arms
through the district, sharp claws striking at anything in its way.

From
the wobbly, overhead view of the camera, figures that could only be
assumed to be the hunters darted around the giant, attacking from
various angles. They looked like they were trying to herd it, the
various physical and magical attacks all coming from one side,
beating the massive body in one direction. The rogue was smarter than
it looked, and it easily dodged the attacks the hunters threw at it,
while using its brute strength to retaliate. On one particularly
nasty exchange, a blow from the large hand sent several of the
figures hurling into the side of a nearby dress shop in an explosion
of debris and smoke.

Her
eyes strained in their attempt to penetrate the screen. She tried to
make out shapes, faces, costumes--anything that might tell her if her
friends were among the hunters attempting to destroy the large rogue.

A
large, pale boomerang ripped through the air and tore into the
rogue’s arm.

Her
eyes widened. Sango!
The beast staggered, and the thin purple head went back as a roar
echoed, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Just as quickly as it was
hit, the rogue turned and struck out at the attacker--a tiny, blurred
figure crouched low over a large feline shape--hovering in the air a
small distance from its elbow. Kirara! The
blow struck, and the hunter and her youkai companion went down.

Kagome
flinched, biting down on her tongue until she tasted blood. With a
brilliant orange flare, the pair recovered, flying quickly out of
reach, and out of sight of the camera.

A
chill shuddered along Kagome’s spine even as she breathed a
sigh of relief. Something that big shouldn’t
be able to move that fast!

Frantic
now, she searched for something else familiar in the confusion of
drooping, crumbling buildings and hunters. She was sure Miroku would
be there--he would never let Sango fight something so monstrously
dangerous on her own--but where was InuYasha?

Her
fingernails cut into her palm and she silently cursed the camera
crew. Damn them! Can’t they get any
closer? The reporter off-camera wasn’t
any use either, simply recapping vocally the information that the
camera was showing.

She
couldn’t see, couldn’t make out anything. Was he alright?
He was, he had to be. She tried not to think about the fact that
Hikaru said some were already dead…. He was far too strong to
be dead….

“Dr.
Higurashi! Dr. Higurashi! Please Dr. Higurashi, the boy is
unconscious now!”

The
alarmed tone of Hikaru’s voice cut through the looming hysteria
of her thoughts, and her attention snapped back onto the youkai child
in front of her. Her eyes widened to see him slumped back, while his
father frantically shook him, trying to wake him up.

With a
calming gesture, she stopped the shaking and felt for a pulse.
Relieved to find it faint but steady, she turned to Hikaru. “Go
find a gurney or a table. Since it’s not closing on its own, we
need to stitch this wound now.” Hikaru opened her mouth to
protest, but Kagome cut her off sharply. “If you can’t
find a gurney, then get me some supplies and we’ll do it right
here. You know which herbs I use.”

With a
nod, and a hesitant glance around the room, Hikaru got to her feet
and hurried off.

Kagome
looked at the boy’s father, whose features were haggard with
worry, despite his obvious attempts at composure. “He’ll
be all right. We just need to stop the bleeding.” The older cat
nodded his head gratefully, his shoulders drooping slightly as he
subsided, cradling his son in his arms.

Kagome’s
hands dropped into her lap, and she twisted the blood-slick digits
around each other. Her lips compressed tightly. The television was
still on in the background, and at each new explosion of sound, she
suppressed another wince.

In her
mind, she could almost see him dodging in and around the wrecked
clubs and hotels of Roppongi…using that strength of his to
propel out of the way of an incoming swipe of those deadly-looking
claws…maybe getting hit…maybe fighting anyway, despite
being wounded and bleeding.

What
if he was really hurt? What if he needed help? Would he get it in
time? Another scene flashed through her mind, this time of the first
time she saw him--How many days ago was it? Do
I even care anymore?--lying almost dead on an
operating table in the back. Sango’s words from that night
echoed through her head.

I
couldn’t even drag the stubborn ass out here until he was
unconscious. He kept insisting he was fine.

Her
breath hitched, and she surged to her feet, frantically looking for
her medical bag. What in the world was she doing here? Who would help
him if he was hurt? He just would
be the kind of idiot who refused medical treatment…

“Dr.
Higurashi, all the beds are taken. I brought you the supplies you
requested…but I know what to do, and there are so many out
here. If you want, I can stitch and dress the boy’s wound and
you can help someone else.”

Kagome
stared blankly as Hikaru came running up, arms filled with extra
bandages, boxes of gloves, and several other items for treating
wounds, including her herbs. For several moments, she stood in the
quiet chaos of the room, barely breathing, fighting a battle with
herself.

More
than anything else, she wanted to leave, to go find InuYasha and see
for herself that he was at the least still breathing. Realistically,
though, she knew she probably wouldn’t be able to get anywhere
near the rogue, and that even if she could, she would only be putting
herself in extreme danger--something he would definitely yell at her
for later…if he were ok to find out about it.

“Dr.
Higurashi?”

Honestly,
how could she expect to find him? It wasn’t as if Roppongi was
a small area, and there were other rogues in the city that someone
had to be deal with.

Then
she shook her head. No, he’d be around the big one. He’d
be fighting the giant rogue. He’d be fighting beside Sango and
Miroku. She knew it. They were all in danger, and she was sitting
here, doing nothing. The impulse to run, to go and--somehow,
someway--help her friends was overpowering.

“Dr.
Higurashi!”

It
wasn’t the nurse’s yell that finally brought Kagome out
of the confused depths of her mind, but the tiny moan that issued
from her young patient’s throat as he shifted on his father’s
lap, still unconscious. Her unblinking gaze focused on the dark,
viscous fluid that still oozed freely from the boy’s head. A
few chairs down, the little girl she’d noticed earlier started
screaming again. In the back, the sudden, distant drone of a flatline
was immediately followed by yelling and activity.

Gods.

So
many wounded, so few to help.

She
blinked, then drew a deep breath as she turned to Hikaru, gesturing
behind her while she spoke. “Go help the little girl who’s
crying--it looks like she needs stitches too. I’ll finish this,
then we can start on some of the others out here.”

Helplessly,
she sank to her knees as Hikaru gave a short nod and divided up the
supplies. The nurse moved the small distance to the little girl, and
Kagome clenched her teeth firmly on her tongue, slipping on a pair of
gloves before she turned to the boy and his father.

She
was desperately needed here; she couldn’t leave. She’d
just have to trust in her friends’ abilities. They’d been
doing this a long time. They would be ok. She would believe that. She
would have to, if she intended to make it through this mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At
around twelve-thirty the next morning, the hunters finally succeeded
in defeating the rogue. The patients in the lobby saw it first, live
on the television. Someone started a victory cheer that swept through
the clinic until it hit the operating room in the back where Kagome
was assisting Dr. Hiraga--their most skilled and experienced
surgeon--with a young woman who had been impaled on a pipe. At the
loud cry, both doctors looked up, and Eishi stuck his head through
the operating room door to deliver the news as he passed by.

With
restrained smiles all around, the small, makeshift operating team
returned to their procedure. With a deep sigh, and a retained sense
of distress, Kagome turned back to Dr. Hiraga’s directions.

News
of the rogue’s defeat, after countless hours of treating the
wounded and dying at a mind-numbing pace, it was just what the staff
at the little clinic needed to survive the next few. Already, the
extreme volume of people had begun to thin as the hospitals began to
catch up, and the more stable were sent home to make room for the
critical, relieving the smaller medical facilities in the area that
weren’t equipped to handle such emergency cases.

Thankfully,
the crisis had begun to pass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At
three-thirty, after almost ten hours of working non-stop on her feet,
Kagome was finally able to take a break. All she really wanted to do
at that point was sit down somewhere, so after getting a
well-deserved cup of very bad coffee, she made her way into the
waiting room. Finding a seat near the television, she massaged at the
ache along the base of her neck as she anxiously searched the rogue
coverage for any sign of her friends.

At
three-forty-five, Dr. Hiraga found her slumped over in her chosen
seat, head resting against an open palm, eyes closed, breathing even.
The coffee sat untouched in a Styrofoam cup near her feet.
“Higurashi!”

She
woke with a start, almost falling over the side of the chair as her
head slipped off her hand. Catching herself on the arm, she looked up
at the senior doctor, blinking owlishly. Her first mildly panicked
thought was that someone was in need of immediate medical attention.
“Dr. Hiraga? What’s happened?”

The
portly older gentleman gave her a narrowed, appraising look. “Go
home, Higurashi.”

She
blinked at him again. Go home?
“But…”

The
doctor shook his head. “Just go home. You’re exhausted to
the point that you will no longer be of help if we have another
emergency. The rest of us can take care of the minor wounds. Go home
and rest.” He paused. “And take tomorrow off as well.”

She
sat straight in her chair. “Dr. Hiraga--”

“I
won’t hear arguments. You were supposed to have the day off
yesterday. You’ll take it today. A well-rested physician takes
better care of patients than an exhausted one. Go home. Rest.”

She
stared at his already retreating back. Nice
thing for someone who spends half his life drunk to say.
She sighed. That was unfair. Dr. Hiraga--despite his disagreeable
habit of carrying small bottles of sake in several pockets at
once--was at his exemplary best in an emergency. Tonight had been no
exception. Occasions such as these served to remind everyone why
Kaede kept him around.

She
slumped over for a moment. She didn’t want to go home. Going
home meant having the time to think about something other than her
patients. Going home meant having nothing to dwell on but
possibilities. She’d been effectively avoiding that for most of
the night.

Swallowing,
she glanced at the television. Footage from earlier, when the rogue
had gone down, successfully contained within Roppongi, played across
the screen. In this clip--farther away than the previous live
shots--Kagome couldn’t find any indication of any of her
friends. In fact, it looked as if very few hunters remained to fight
the rogue.

As she
watched, the large purple youkai, bloodied and battered from hours of
fighting, but still looking fierce, was suddenly hit with a
mysterious wave of energy. Kagome blinked, awed by the brightness and
the power of the blast. It swept across the screen, covering the
rogue completely, the force sending it flying backwards into what
looked like an expensive hotel. She winced as the resulting crash
took out almost an entire block of bars and restaurants.

The
most amazing things were the following clips--close-ups of the
decimated youkai as it lay amongst the crumbling remains of a
once-bustling district. Kagome couldn’t prevent her gasp at the
sight. Whatever had finally taken out the rogue, it had left very
little of the actual body…and had been powerful enough to
carve several deep grooves into the ground before it hit its target.

According
to the reporter voicing over the clips, the name of the hunter
responsible for the take-down had not been released by the Alliance.
Also, although the largest part of the threat had been eliminated,
several smaller rogues were still being hunted down in the area. All
citizens were urged extreme caution.

Then,
they cut to the casualty estimates. Millions in damages. Thousands
injured. Hundreds dead.

Fed up
with news reports, Kagome yanked her eyes from the screen and swept
them across the waiting area. People still sat scattered in among the
empty chairs, but the huge surge of wounded was gone now. The few
that remained had minor injuries at worst.

She
jammed her palms into her eyes, suddenly fighting tears. She’d
really been hoping to stay until…well, until he came for her.
It was the best way she knew to cope with the anxiety, the fear that
he was mortally injured. She knew without a doubt he’d show up
as soon as he was able.

The
fact that really bothered her--like a gnat constantly buzzing at the
back of her brain--was that the rogue had been defeated several hours
ago…and he still hadn’t shown up to make sure she was
safe.

The
muscles in her chest clenched, then twisted painfully. If he was
alright, if he was uninjured, then where was he?

Unable
to sit any longer, she surged to her feet, swallowing the ache in her
throat as she headed for the break room. Numbly, automatically, she
signed herself out and grabbed her purse, which someone had
thoughtfully tossed in here with all the other abandoned personal
belongings of the night.

Outside,
she paused, staring into the darkness beyond the yellow lights in the
parking lot. All night, she had been one step from running out the
door, one step from abandoning her patients and responsibilities in
favor of searching for someone she barely knew, yet felt a deep
terror of losing. It had been so close.

And
now…she didn’t know where to go.

Rummaging
through her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and started dialing.
First Sango, and she got a voice-mail with Sango’s voice
promising to call her back. The same thing resulted from her try at
Miroku’s number. After leaving calm-as-possible messages on
both, she hesitated only a moment, then called up the newest number
in her phone book.

InuYasha’s
number was no longer in service.

Slapping
the phone closed, she threw the useless thing back into her purse in
a fit of temper, then sighed, more upset with herself than anything
else.

Suddenly,
the demands and stress that had supported her throughout the
night--the adrenaline-laced tension that had kept her going, kept her
in such a heightened state of awareness--vanished all at once. In
their place, she was hit with a bone-deep weariness and an inability
to properly order her thoughts.

Everything,
all the emotions she’d been fighting all night came crashing in
on her. Every crushed limb or punctured lung…the anguish each
time someone had died on the operating table in front of her…every
horrifying vision of InuYasha, or Miroku, or Sango in their place
flashed through her mind.

She
was suddenly both physically and emotionally exhausted.

A
thick knot of wild, impossibly tangled emotions churned in her gut,
making her feel sick. I’m cold, too,
she added silently as her palms rubbed at her bare arms. She was
trembling; she wouldn’t be at all surprised if she was
suffering from some form of shock.

She
sighed. She had two options. She could return to the orphanage, where
InuYasha was likely to look for her first…when
he could, if he could.
Or she could go home and try to rest, try to recover some of the
equilibrium the night had drained from her.

Impulsively,
she turned towards the orphanage. The only thing she really wanted,
even now, was to see him, to touch him and know for sure he was ok.
But…

She
stopped.

She
was a wreck right now. She knew it. She hadn’t eaten or
slept--or really even ingested any liquid--for more hours than human
beings should go without those things; and all the while, she’d
been pushing her physical and emotional limits to the max. Those
facts, probably more than anything else, were contributing to the
disturbed, almost panicked state of her mind.

Drawing
a deep, meditative breath, she held it in her lungs, then blew out
her mouth. It was almost four in the morning. Everyone at the
orphanage would be sleeping, and who knew what kind of warding spells
Kaede would have up.

Besides…for
once in her life, she just couldn’t deal with children.

A
shower would be nice, though. A long, hot shower. Considering the
amount of blood and other internal fluids she’d dealt with in
the past few hours, she definitely needed it.

Allowing
her traumatized mind a partial shut down, she turned again and made
her plodding way towards her apartment, ignoring the chills that
walking alone sent along her back. As she turned onto her street, she
noticed the street lights were off, and all the apartments in view
were dark. Which meant she probably had no electricity.

Great.
So much for a hot shower.

Strangely
enough, it was the prospect of no hot water that brought a return of
the aching knot in her throat. As she climbed the stairs, it built
rapidly, pushing tears to the back of her eyes, threatening to
release them before she was ready.

She
did her best to ignore it, chalking up the over-emotionalism to pure
fatigue and anxiety. InuYasha was strong--strong enough to earn
Sango’s respect. He was fine. She was…positive. Clamping
her teeth down on her lip, she held it all in, promising herself a
good cry as soon as she was safely encased in the security of her
bed. She needed it. After the hellish night she’d just had, she
deserved some form of release.

She
was already digging through her purse for her keys as she hit the
second floor landing. Since the lights were all out, the outside
walkway was dark, with too many shadows for her tired eyes to see
much, so she just stumbled along from memory, blindly feeling for the
keyhole almost before she got to her door.

She
barely noticed the faintest shifting of clothing behind her….

…until
a rough, very familiar voice practically barked at her through the
darkness.

“Kagome!
What the hell did you
think you were doing, leaving the orphanage like that? I told
you to stay put didn’t I?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Waiting on a Wish