No Different

I know I said that this chapter will be about Mir/San, but I decided I will focus on their relationship after Inu/Kag’s settles down. Sorry!

oct 15: "Shoutout to my wonderful beta, and all my loyal viewers :)" - for some stupid reason, this sentence wouldn't show up at the bottom, and I just noticed.. SO. sry about that.

Chapter 9: Crash & Burn


"Is it just me or is your dorm extra hot?" Sango shook off her sweater and flopped on Kagome’s bed, fanning herself. It was late in the evening when they got home from the daycare, and they were both exhausted. After eight hours, the kids were still bouncing off walls!

"Uh," Kagome waved her arms around her, "kinda broke here." She dropped her bag in a corner and sat down on her swivel chair.

"You got a hair tie? I need to freshen up."

Kagome pulled one off her wrist and flung it at Sango, "Go back to your dorm," she whined as she watched a bra-clad Sango prance around her room.

"Nooooooooooope," she said in a singsong voice as she slipped by Kagome, flipping her hair in an effort to cool herself.

"Holy mamma mia! Stop right there!" Kagome cried in sad attempt of an Italian accent. She pulled at Sango’s arm, "what are you now... a double D?" she gasped in awe, “please tell me how you do it.”

“Oh, don’t exaggerate.” Sango rolled her eyes as took a step back, avoiding Kagome’s prodding finger. "Don’t worry though, your time will come,” she teased, running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Kagome listened to the running water of the tap and looked down at herself, suddenly self-conscious.

"You know I was joking right?" Kagome looked up to see Sango smoothing a mask over her face.

"Hey! I saved up for that!" Sango gave her a big grin when she saw the scowl on Kagome’s face. She ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door in mock terror, only to reappear when the buzzing from Kagome’s purse caught her attention.

"Who is it?" questioned Sango as she peaked over her shoulders. Kagome momentarily forgot about the mask as she looked at her called ID,

"Bankotsu."

"Oh, it’s superman." Sango taunted with a sly smile as she raised her arms in a stance that showed off her muscles.

Kagome glared at her, "don’t make me rip that off your face." She flipped open her phone and pressed the speaker button. "Hey."

. . .

Bankotsu sat in front of his mirror as he waited for Kagome to pick up.

"Hi, it’s Bankotsu. No... too boring"

"Hello, it’s me." He kissed his teeth, "Who’s me?" One more try.

"Yo, what’s up?" He puckered his lips and did his best bad boy pose. "Great ... dorktastic." The list of failed attempts at being casual would’ve continue if Kagome hadn’t answered. He jumped in surprise when he heard her voice, the jolt sent the chair teetering backwards as he landed on the floor.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

He scrambled for the phone that was thrown against the wall. "H-hi, uh, I uh, I dropped something . No biggie. So... what’s up?" He slapped himself for the lame question. God, what’s wrong with me? I was never like this around women. In fact, Bankotsu was quite the ladies man in high school, once landing himself 3 dates to a school dance. Where did my heart-melting, shiver causing charm go?

"I’m on campus right now... just came back from helping out at a daycare. What about you?" There was a pause, "Oh, I remember I still owe you that dinner, am I right?" Kagome giggled knowingly.

"Uh, well. You don’t have to, I understand if you have other stuff to do," he tried to play it off cool, "but you know... it’d be best if-"

"Tomorrow, 7:00, Aiko’s Daycare. Jinan Street, I’ll see you there." Kagome almost laughed out loud, "Have a good night Bank."

"Kagome’s gotta daaaaaaaaate," an unfamiliar voice sounded from the background before he heard a click.

Bankotsu threw the phone on his bed and sighed in content, "Kagome’s got a date..."

~ ~


Kagome glared at Sango through the darkness of the room, "I hate you."

Sango shifted on the ground, pulling the covers over her head and faked a snore.

"Yeah, have sweet dreams but when you wake up," Kagome rubbed her hands together evilly, "let’s just say I have some markers around here."

"Oh don’t be a baby Kagome," Sango whined as she kicked the side of the bed. "Banky seems like a nice guy."

Kagome cringed at the nickname, "he does... and he is pretty hot." Sango snapped her fingers with a "ah-ha" and sat up, resting her arms on the edge of Kagome’s bed. "Don’t let him go."

Kagome rolled her eyes and push Sango’s arm off the edge, "speak for yourself, where's Miroku, huh? What happened to ‘dayum, who’s that fine thang’?" she asked mockingly as she chucked her pillow at Sango.

"Oh, no you didn’t," Sango cried out, quickly changing the subject, "Do I sense a pillow fight challenge?!"

"Bring. It. On"

So for the next half-hour, the ladies pummeled each other with pillows, neither able to contain their laughter. Kagome quickly ducked from a pillow aimed at her face and yanked her blankets off the bed, whipping it at Sango, momentarily blinding her. "Hah, take this!" Kagome relentlessly pounded Sango with her pillow, laughing evilly.

"Okay, okay! You win!" Sango waved her pillow, as if it were a white flag, in surrender. Kagome sighed tiredly as she flopped on the ground and rested her head on Sango’s stomach, both girls breathing heavily. Both girls gasped as the carpeted floor shook with a slight tremor. "SHUT UP!" a mumbled cry could be heard under them. Kagome look at Sango with disbelieving eyes, she was the first to crack up, followed by Sango. "Sorry!" Kagome yelled as she pounded her fist against the floor. The rest of the night was filled with silly jokes and hushed giggles, the pain and heartache was temporarily forgotten.

. . .

Kagome shifted uncomfortably on the floor until her eyes finally open. She squinted as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room. The sun shone through the curtains and reflected off the bleach white walls, almost blinding her. It’s definitely time for a paint job. Her hair whipped around her as she looked for her alarm clock. 8:45 it read.

"Oh shoot, wake up Sango! We’re late for class!!" Her tone rushed as she feverishly smacked Sango on the leg. "Get up!"

"I’m up... I’m up," Sango grumbled sleepily as she turned to lie on her stomach. Kagome darted around her room, stuffing books into her backpack as she pulled on her clothes.

"Sangoooo," Kagome groaned as she tossed a pillow at her. "I’m leaving, don’t blame me if you get in trouble."
Sango grabbed the pillow that hit her head and hugged it, "mmMmm." It wasn’t until she heard the slam of the door did she fully wake up. Sango wrestled with the blankets and pillows as she tried to stand up, "Oh man, I’m so late. Why didn’t Kagome wake me up!?"

. . .

Kagome sighed dejectedly as she hugged her textbooks. What a bad way to start the day. Not only was she half an hour late for class, she had to spend the rest of the class time, outside! Standing outside the door like a troublemaker! What was she? In grade 2? She had to PAY for those classes! Kagome growled as her paced down the sidewalk. It was early in the afternoon when her classes were finally over, now she was heading to the daycare. She wanted nothing but to be in a room full of kids, they always made her day, she was looking forward to her date with Bankotsu too.

Kagome eyes widen in surprise as she neared the daycare. Today it wasn’t Inuyasha standing there; it was Shippo. He sat beside the main entrance with his legs crossed, and his eyes closed.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?"

Shippo opened his eyes and jumped up excitedly, pointing to the door with a shy smile.

"You want to come in?" He nodded.

"Does Inuyasha know you’re here?"

Shipped shook his head. "Well, do you have his phone number with you?" His head tilted to the side and his tongue stuck out from the corner of his lips as he searched his pockets before handing her a sheet of paper.

"Okay, you can play with the other children for a while and I’ll tell Inuyasha to come pick you up later okay?"

Shippo nodded and turned to grasp the door handle, he pulled with all his might as his heels dug into the ground. The door slowly inched open until it was wide enough for Kagome to enter.

"Why aren’t you the little gentleman," she did a little bow and walked inside with Shippo in tow.

. . .

Kagome’s rocking chair squeaked as it rocked back and forth, Shippo sitting quietly in her lap.
"Are you sure you don’t want to join them?" Shippo shook his head shyly.

Kagome sighed as she rested her chin on Shippo’s shoulders. They’ve been sitting like that for almost 3 hours, and still Shippo refused to move. He sat very still, his head moving from side to side, as his eyes followed the children’s movements. Kagome could see the twinkle in his eyes whenever he’d laugh along with them. She was just waiting for the moment when Shippo would jump off her lap and run, laughing and screaming, to join the other kids. Nothing. During snack time, he would follow Kagome around the room as he munched on a cookie.

She groaned inwardly as she dialed Inuyasha’s number with one hand as she held Shippo in the other.

"Hello? Can I speak to Inuyasha please? – Yeah, tell him it’s Kagome and that I’ve got Shippo, yeah, tell him to come to Aiko’s Daycare, Jinan Street to pick him up at -" Kagome almost dropped Shippo in frustration when Inuyasha’s voice interrupted her.

"NO, I did not abduct him again. Wait, I told you last time- you know what, just come pick him up at 6:30 you stupid jerk." She huffed angrily as she slammed the phone back on its stand. Kagome caught a curious look from Shippo, "I can’t believe someone as adorable as you came from something as creature-esque as him." He responded with a sad smile.

. . .

It was ten to seven and Inuyasha still haven’t arrived yet. So much for freshening up before my date. When Kagome heard the chime of the door, she looked up, ready to curse Inuyasha to the pits of hell- to see Bankotsu standing before her with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

"Heh... I hope I’m not too early." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Just ten minutes," she joked, "Sorry. I didn’t have time to get ready. I bet I look like a mess."

Kagome fidgeted with her white button-up shirt and looked down at her black dress pants. Talk about plain Jane. Her hair was in a messy bun and she still had her glasses on!

"You look beautiful," he complimented as he handed her the flowers. In fact, to him, she looked very sexy, every man’s fantasy even.

Kagome blushed as she took the bouquet from him. "You don’t look too shabby yourself." Navy blue jeans and clean white polo topped off with a light leather jacket. Casual, but suave. Knowing to how dress for the ladies, plus flowers, he definitely deserves a two points.

"So, you ready to go?" Bankotsu offered her his hand.

"Well..." She hesitated as looked at Shippo then back at Bankotsu, "I’m still waiting for his daddy to come pick him up. He should be here in a few minutes, how about we wait outside? It’s pretty warm today."

"So, what’s your name little guy?" Bankotsu frown when Shippo flinched away from his offered hand.

"Uh, he’s not the talking type." Kagome covered nervously.

"I see." It was apparent why Shippo’s body language that Bankotsu wasn’t welcomed after a moment. There was an awkward silence until a loud voice interrupted them.

"Why do you keep bothering Shippo? Can’t you just leave us alone? I think you’ve done enough damage to one of us." Inuyasha yelled as he arrived, flying down the street.

Kagome gasped as if she had just been punched in the stomach. "Hey, who the hell are you? Don’t touch her." Bankotsu broke Inuyasha’s grip on her arm, thinking it was what made her wince.

"So are you her little boyfriend? Be careful, she might take all your money and burn your house down." Inuyasha sneered; completely forgetting Shippo was still there.

Tears began to form in her eyes when she felt Shippo’s grip on her arm tighten.

"I don’t care who you are, but no one is allowed to make Kagome cry," Bankotsu threatened with a growl as his arm swung back and swiftly connected with Inuyasha’s jaw. Before anyone could say anything, the two men were already on the floor, wrestling and punching each other. "Let’s just go Bankotsu! Don’t waste your strength on that stupid jerk." Kagome cried out, ready to leave the scene.

It was all too much for an eight year old to handle as let go of Kagome and ran across the street, dodging the on coming traffic.

"Shippo! Be careful!" Without a second thought, she sprinted after him. It was until the Bankotsu and Inuyasha heard a loud honking followed by a scream, did they refocus. Reality came crashing down on the pair as they realized what had happened.

"Shippo!"

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha was the first one up, he sighed in relief when he saw Shippo standing on the curb across the street.
His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Shippo’s expression, pure terror. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Inuyasha followed his gaze. Instantly felt a wave of nausea hit when he saw the scene before him. Sprawled in the middle of the street was Kagome in a pool of her own blood. Her once white blouse was now deep red; there were pieces of glasses embedded in her arm. Inuyasha looked at the truck that was just centimetres away; it looked as if one of the front headlights exploded. He cringed at the thought of what happened.

Inuyasha felt Bankotsu run past him and fall in front of Kagome.

"Someone call an ambulance!"

. . .

[ A/N Hmm... I thought of ending there.... 0:) ]

The tension in the waiting room was thick. Bankotsu was pacing back and fourth in frenzy as Inuyasha sat on one of the chairs in silence. You could tell by his expression that his once cold demeanor towards the once horrid girl had started to dwindle. He almost felt guilty at that moment. Almost. His gaze was on Shippo, who was sitting huddled in a corner. He was young but he knew the odds, he understood the severity of this mess. It only made Inuyasha worry more. The look on Shippo’s face was still shock, and he didn’t let anyone get near him. It seemed as though every time the small child had the chance to make a friend or any kind of special connection, it was torn from him.

The door suddenly slammed open, startling everyone. Inuyasha stood up as Sango stormed in followed by Miroku.

"What’s going on?" Miroku questioned as he looked around at everyone’s face.

"I don-" Inuyasha was cut off by a sharp slap to his cheek that forced him to step back.

"It was you, wasn’t it? I know it was your fault. You had to have done something to her. How could you do this?! She’s just a girl!" Sango screamed in Inuyasha’s face.

"What the fuck?! I didn’t-" He tried to explain but Sango pressed on.

"She lost her parents Inuyasha! She did too. You’re not the only victim here! And for your information, she’s not rich anymore. She doesn’t have the million- billion dollars she had before," she waved her arms in fury, "Are you happy? She can barely pay her tuition. All she wants to do is finish school and become a lawyer. Live in peace. But what do you have to do? Fuckin show up after all these years for revenge. Now you got it, why don’t you go celebrate now huh? She could be dead!" Sango took a deep breathe to calm herself, tears clogging her throat "You know what you are? Huh? A pathetic little boy who’s stuck in the past. Yeah, that’s right."

Inuyasha’s balled fist shook as he tried to control his anger. Who the hell did this bitch think she was?

Sango took a step towards Inuyasha, so that they were almost nose-to-nose, "I should just kill you and bring you out of your misery," she whispered menacingly.

Miroku caught her just before she tried to launch herself at Inuyasha, "Calm down Sango."

She clawed at his grip around her waist, "Don’t fuckin return my calls, right?" she elbowed him in the ribs and slipped out of his grasp. Sango seethed in anger, blood rushing to her head, she could barely see straight.
All of a sudden, the room was quite as they watched Sango drop on the ground, in tears. She hugged her legs as she sobbed quietly. Just last night, she was talking and laughing with Kagome and now they were in the hospital. The situation was just to much, to real.

It wasn’t until a bit after midnight, did a nurse come in. "Please follow me," Everyone was up and on their feet in seconds as they followed the nurse to a room that labeled "P3980." A doctor was there, waiting for them. Sango pushed past everybody and was first to ask the doctor, "How is she? Will she be okay? Do you know what happened?"

The doctor sighed as he took of his glasses, "Well, her left ankle is swollen and bruised, so it’s probable that she tripped before she got hit. So far, I can tell you that she suffered a severe concussion, but we did a CAT scan on her and discovered some bleeding in the head. We operated on her and were able to clean out most of the blood, but unfortunately we cannot promise when she will wake up."

"What’s that suppose to mean? You’re a doctor for god’s sake. Help her. Save her. Do something!" Sango’s eyes were desperate, her voice pleading and on the edge, if not in, hysterics.

"She can wake up tomorrow, but it can be weeks, or even months. We can’t be certain, sorry." He said with an apologetic look as he turned and walked away.

No one moved, everything slowly starting to sink in. All eyes were on Shippo as he twisted the doorknob and entered the room. He sat down on the chair beside Kagome’s bed and held her hand. One by one, everyone filed in.

Kagome looked like a ghost, lying in the middle of the bed. Her dark hair contrasted her sickly pale skin, multiple needs and tubes were injected in her skin. The room smelt like rubber and the emptiness made everyone shiver. It was eerie silent, except for the beep of her heartbeat on the monitors.

Sango slowly approached the bed and climbed on top, curling up beside Kagome, while Bankotsu stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Kagome with intense eyes. Miroku and Inuyasha sat together on the faded green couch that was against a wall. What are they suppose to do now?

. . .

It wasn’t until Inuyasha saw streams of light beam through the curtain blinds did he realize it was almost morning. Everyone around him was sleeping, including Shippo.

"C’mon Shippo," Inuyasha whispered quietly to Shippo as he tried to pry his grip off Kagome’s hand, "we should go home. We’ll come visit her later on okay?" Shippo looked up at him with tired eyes, but shook his head no.

"You’ll be more comfortable at home, and you need to eat something..." Inuyasha cooed in a soft voice as he tugged Shippo's arm.

"No!" Shippo screamed at the top of his lungs, as he clasped both of his hands around Kagome’s and laid his head down on the mattress.

"Let’s go Inuyasha, I’ll come with you, we should get some food for everyone." Miroku pulled at Inuyasha’s shoulders to get his attention.

He looked at Sango, who was now awake, but she remained motionless and silent. Bankotsu was sitting on the floor with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t asleep.

"Let’s go."

Inuyasha clenched his fist as he followed Miroku out of the room.

It was you, wasn’t it? I know it was your fault...

She can barely pay her tuition...

Unfortunately, we cannot promise when she will wake up...

He furiously kicked a chair as he exited the room, ignoring it as it roughly slammed against the wall.

. . .

Heh..heh... *scratches head*
So.. here's my excuse. .. just landed a job so .. work & volunteer & school. Basically.. I only have one whole free day to myself. So... I really don't want to put a deadline on this, I have enough. AHah, but yeah.. I wanted a chapter out for Thanksgiving, so I guess my beta read my mind and sent it back to me just in time:). Hope you liked it. Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it!

P.S. Forget what I said about my potential story Fluorescence, my ....insipiration for that kinda died :)

Edit: ohshoot, I knew this authors note was too short. I forgot to reply to my reviews.. -___-

iz-e-ma RR - I don't know...but I think I forgot to reply to your reviewer in my previous chapter.. I DONT KNOW. I was thinking about it for like. .. 5minutes .. and I still can't come to a conclusion... LOL. but yeah, thanks for the reviews! :)

kmoaton - every little boy needs a mommmmy, right? AHHA ;)And like I said before, I do have things planned for them.. but I think it'll be better when Inu/Kag is on good terms... I don't know.. I'm just going at it day by day.. ahah x) Who knows what I might think of next..

Caliha - Yay, great to see a new reviewer! And really?! well.. I'll have to do something about that.. now i'm thinking about changing my summary... LOL. xP But yes, THANK YOU. I'm glad you're enjoying this :)

HikariNeko33 - I knoww! You can just like.. bend and mold Sango's character into anything you want.. where as Kagome.. there's a limit, cause she has to.. suit Inuyasha. Ugh, maybe it's just me. Hm.. Push her to do something bad huh.. does this chapter count? LOL. :)

Harmony Sunsinger - Okay, so congratulations again! So happy for you guys:). Happily ever after:P. -- Ahaha, I promise I will not change anything after editing it, my beta told me that too......... LOL! -__-" But yeah, I can't wait to see how your stories will turn out, ALSO. pft girl, you don't need to continue The Affair if you don't want.. just add a chapter with: "OKAY, WE'RE GETTING MARRIED. HAPPY ENDING!!!" the end. LOL. i'm sure there will be no complaints :)

Selina MacCloverer - Yep.. I'm so afraid to make him OOC or ...jump from cold to ..nice in a chapter.. cause I know I don't like that.. so.. : But yeah, I don't think you need a beta. you're doing great, or..maybe it's just me. I don't really notice, I just speed by everyhting.. AHAH. :)

young Kagome - I think it was your reviewer that I accidentally deleted before...? If it is, sorry! I'm glad you're enjoying this. :)

lunajen - Thanks! I agree with you, that's why I'm slowly developing Inu's character, though i'm sure viewers are gonna get tired..everyone wants lovey dovey inu/kag moments! ^^. So far.. I have no idea how to get them together.. (that sounds horrible...) but by making him soften up to her. I'll need to come up with something.. and quick! heh.. <:)

Lissa - Aww, I keep checking.. but it's still not fixed! So unlucky that they happen to fall upon your story.. : Gosh, I'm just sitting here... waiting for that update. sighs* tehhe.