Hey Minna!! So...are ya all going crazy yet? Well, this chapter is going to basically lay out a lot of the past for you, and explain anything I may not have made clear earlier. And a twist you may not expect.

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And even though I appreciate everyone who reads this story, I'd thank you personally if I knew your names! So to my wonderful reviewers, here ya go!

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Ok, so here goes. *starts vibrating again....*

**I POV**

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

My eyes fluttered open, but were quickly blinded by the harsh lights above me. I blinked a few times, trying to understand where I was, and what that damn beeping was.

`Am I at work?' I pondered. I began to reach up to rub the sting from my eyes and immediately regretted it. A sharp pain shot up my arm, and frankly all the way through my body. I began to fell intensely sore, like I'd been put in a giant martini mixer and shaken, not stirred.

`What the fuck?' I tried to lift my arm more slowly and opened my eyes mindful of the light. I looked up at my arm and for a moment, I was more confused than I had ever been in my life. I felt like I'd just been born.

I was hooked up to an IV, and I could see the bulge of the needle below the skin. I realized I was in hospital.

That's when it all came rushing back to me, in a barrage of images. Kagome-kissing her, touching her, lifting her on top of me-Blackness-then her frantic voice calling my name; waking up to see Him, that bastard, wailing on her like she was a fucking punching bag, me hitting him...and choking him...and hitting him...

I felt anger rising in me again, and I attempted to sit up. My body cried out in protest and as I cringed in pain, I felt a hand gently press me back down onto the bed.

"Don't Inuyasha. Lay back down." I complied when I recognized the voice. I looked over the woman at my right, a look of concern set deep in her features.

"Mom?"

She was still in her formal dress from the ball, but her hair was in disarray and mascara ran down her face from tears.

"Inu...oh Inu, what have you done?"

I furrowed my brow and once again flinched in pain. `Shit! everything hurts!'

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? What you did to Kouga?"

My heart stopped and I panicked-had I killed him?

"Is he..."

"He's been released. Inu, you broke his jaw."

If it weren't for the look in her eyes, I would have smiled in pure satisfaction.

"What about Kagome?"

She looked at me in confusion.

"Who's Kagome?"

I found it strange that she hadn't found out who Kagome was yet. Seemed like someone would tell her. As I was about to explain, a doctor walked into the room.

"Oh, I see he's up. How do you feel, Mr. Shingetsu?"

"Like Shit."

"Well said." he chuckled as he walked over to me. He tapped on the IV and wrote down something on his clipboard. Then he got out a penlight.

"Now follow the light ok?"

He did a few tests on me then ruled out the possibility of me having a concussion.

"So why did he black out like that?" My mother asked.

"As I had heard, you got yourself a good look at your face. I saw you when you came in, Mr. Shingetsu, and I can understand why you went into such a state of shock. I've seen bare-knuckle boxers fare better. But you heal very quickly. Never seen anything like it."

I reached up to lightly touch my face. It still felt a bit swollen.

"Is it bad?"

"Well we've cleaned you up and you didn't need quite as many stitches as we had thought, so trust me, it's not half as bad as the other young man."

"So Kouga is okay?" My mother asked. I almost growled at her concern for him.

"He's...Well, I advised Mr. Warui that some surgery might be necessary. A broken jaw is a delicate matter to handle. So they're on their way to a specialist. Ms. Shin-"

"Mrs." She readily corrected.

"Mrs. Shingetsu, Mr. Warui asked me to relay a message to you. He says for Inuyasha not to worry about what's happened, and he realizes his son was at fault. He also said he would call soon so you two can discuss things."

"What about Kagome?" I blurted out. I was getting pretty fucking tired of talking about Kouga and Naraku.

"Miss Higurashi? I'm sorry I can't give out any-"

"Just tell me she's okay!" He sighed and nodded.

"She's fine. Just very shaken."

"Can I see her?"

"You'd have to ask permission from her parents, that's not my call."

"Inu, who is this girl?" I ignored her.

"I know Hitomi would want me to see her."

"Well I'll get a nurse to bring you a wheelchair"

"Already taken care of my good doctor." a very welcome voice called from the doorway.

"Where the hell have you been Miroku?" I asked grinning slightly.

"I had to convince them we were brothers so they'd let me in."

"He made me pose as his fiancee' so you better appreciate that we're here." Sango called, peeking in from the hallway.

"What about Faye and Mushin?"

"They needed to open the restaurant. They wanted to come later."

"I won't be here later, will I?' I asked the highly amused doctor.

"No, I'm going to submit your release papers right now." With that his pager went off and he excused himself from the room.

"Come on Inu, your chariot awaits." He and Sango walked over to the bed to help me get up and into the wheelchair. As I sat down, my mother grabbed my arm, her voice desperate.

"Inuyasha! Who is Kagome?" An awkward silence filled the room I wasn't sure how to answer her question. How did I go about telling her that we'd all been keeping such a big secret from her?

"Mom. She's the reason I beat the hell out of Kouga." I said quietly.

"What! You hit him over a girl? Inu, I thought you had more sense than that! No girl is worth fighting over!"

"Shiori. With all respect, I think you need to see Kagome before you jump to such conclusions." Sango suddenly piped up. I looked at her, but she refused to meet my eyes.

"It's bad, isn't it?"

Instead of answering me, Miroku began to push me out of the room as Sango guided my mother behind us.

The entire time, I could feel my heart beat reverberate through my body. I was so afraid of what I was about to see. Finally we stopped at a room with a closed door. Miroku walked over and knocked. Kagome's grandfather opened the door.

"Ye- oh, it's you Inuyasha. Kagome has just woken up. She's been asking for you."

"How is she?"

He said nothing, but held the door open for us to come in. I kept my eyes on the ground before me as we entered the room. I heard Souta speaking to Hitomi in a hushed tone. Finally I looked up when we stopped right next to her bed. I bit back the gasp, but my mother didn't.

The entire right side of her face was almost entirely bruised. She was swollen and her lips were split in several places. Small cuts and tears were all over her face, the skin broken by the sheer force of Kouga's blows. She looked...dead. So many emotions coursed through me within mere seconds: anger at Kouga, pity, regret and pain and finally guilt. I couldn't help but believe she was like this because of me...

Then she opened her eyes and they focused directly on mine. The dull brown immediately melted as tears sprung to her eyes. She smiled ever so softly as I reached up to take her hand.

"Inuyasha." She whispered in a dry, cracked voice. "You're here."

"Yeah, I'm here. How do you feel?"

"Like shit."

"That's what I said."

"I figured. You don't look so bad though. How about me?"

"Just a little bruised." I lied.

"Fucking liar." she muttered. I heard my mother whispering to Miroku.

"You look beautiful." I whispered. Even though I knew she wouldn't believe it...I meant it.

"Now you're just being an asshole..." She closed her eyes and I saw tears flow down her face. She looked over at my mother who was gaping in pure shock as Miroku whispered back to her.

"Is that your mother?"

"Yeah." I nodded slightly. She smiled.

"She's so pretty. Why is she so dressed up?"

"Some date."

"Oh. Why is she crying?" I followed her gaze again to see my mother doing just that. She looked me in the eye and mouthed `I'm sorry'. I nodded and turned back to Kagome who was now looking at her own mother.

"Mom. can we have a minute alone please?"

"Yes, honey. We'll all be out in the hallway."

Hitomi, who was in a much better state compared to last night, stood and ushered everyone out of the room. When we were alone, Kagome burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry Inuyasha!"

"What? What are you sorry about?"

"This is all my fault! You got hurt because of me! I should hav-"

"Shut up Kagome." I interrupted suddenly.

She stopped sobbing and looked at me curiously. She was probably in too much pain to cock her head though.

"But-" I sighed and shook my head.

"Look, I don't care that I got hurt, it's not that big of a deal. What is a big deal is that you got hurt. I've never lied to you Kagome, so I won't start now. You look half dead."

"I know." She said, not meeting my eyes. After a moment of silence, I asked

"Why didn't you tell me about Kouga?"

"Because I was afraid of him. I don't like talking about him." Her eyes turned to mine. " Inuyasha, you know him don`t you?"

"Yes. I work for his father."

Her eyes went wide in shock.

"You mean...your other job...."

"Yeah. It's Naraku's company."

"So how do you know his son?"

I sighed aloud. This was going to be difficult.

"Kagome, it's a long story-"

"Do I look like I'm going anywhere soon?" My shoulders slumped in defeat. Might as well tell her now.

"Ok. But this is gonna be kinda hard to swallow. Well you know Naraku's company?'

"Yeah."

"Did you know he used to have a partner?"

"Yeah, Some guy, he vanished a long time ago though."

"That guy was my father."

I heard her gasp, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Your father?"

"Shoji Shingetsu. He disappeared eleven years ago. He and Naraku were best

friends and business partners. They formed-"

"The Shikon Corporation." She finished. I looked up to see she was still wearing the Shikon no Tama around her neck. The jewel rested on her fingertips as she gazed at it in realization. "You said he named his company after this. I didn't make the connection. But wouldn't that mean you or your brother inherited his share of the company after he vanished?"

"That was what would have happened had my mother not lost her mind. She signed everything over to Naraku. He gave me that job just to help us out."

"Inuyasha. Your mother. Who was she with last night?"

I gazed at in shock. She seemed to already know the answer.

"I know there was a charity ball last night. HE used to make me go them all the time."

"You're right. She was with Naraku."

"Why?"

"Because he's in love with her. He always has been. Kagome-I think that's why my

father disappeared."

It was her turn to look shocked.

"You think..." I nodded solemnly. "Oh, Inuyasha, haven't you told her?"

"She wouldn't listen. That's probably why Sess left. He got tired of trying to convince her. She just won't believe that he's dead."

We both fell silent for a few moments, letting all the new information sink in. I squeezed her hand tight.

"Kagome. Tell me what happened between you and Kouga."

She looked out the window behind me, smiling softly at the sunlight shining in.

"He seemed like such a nice guy at first Inuyasha. You have to understand that first of all." I nodded for her to continue. "I went out with him for about six months. I was seventeen. He was so nice at first, such a gentlemen. Then he just changed. He started getting angry at every little thing. He didn't hit me, but he would threaten me. I got trapped-we both know what he's like. I was so scared, I couldn't leave. So I just gave up and tried to accept that I would never get away from him. Then two years ago, he took me back to his house for my birthday. He got me drunk. Then he tried to...tried to force me. That's the first time he hit me. I ran. Then just when I thought I was safe, he fixed it so that I looked like I had attacked him, then stole his car. They were gonna put me in jail, and take away any chance for me to have a normal life. They threatened so many things if I tried to tell anyone what really happened. So we made a deal. I stayed quiet, and they'd leave me alone. All they did was suspend my license for two and half years. That's why I take the bus, why I don't drive."

"Kagome..." I whispered. I couldn't believe what the bastard had already put her through.

"About a month ago...he showed up at the shrine. He said there was nothing in that contract that said he had to stay away from me. He was right. I tasered the hell out of him that night. I didn't expect him to show up. Then again I should have known. He loves screwing up my life on my birthday."

Silence again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to scare you off. I didn't know how you'd react." The dormant anger rose again at her words.

"Scare me off? You mean me afraid of Kouga?"

"Well yeah, he's strong I-"

"I know he's strong, I grew up with the fucker." I snapped. She tore her hand out of mine.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you knew him either! How the hell was I supposed to even bring it up?"

"I asked you to talk to me!"

"You can't just walk into my life and expect me to tell you everything about me! Do you know hard it is for me to trust anyone?!"

"You said you trusted me!"

"I do! And if this hadn't of happened, I would probably have told you soon. It's not

like I was going to keep this from you forever!"

"If you had told me, this wouldn't have fucking happened!"

I regretted the words the moment they slipped out of my mouth. I immediately knew she would take it the wrong way. Her face twisted in anger.

"What? Are you trying to say this whole thing was my fault?" She demanded, her voice rising.

"No, that's not what-"

"You are! I can't believe you!"

"No!, Kagome, listen to me!" I tried to reach for her hand, but she moved away.

"I'm done listening to you Inuyasha! You're just like him! Everything's always my fault!"

"Ka-"

"And what about what else happened last night!? What did you really want from me? Or is that something else you two have in common?! Get out of here! I don`t want to see you anymore!!"

I felt as though she'd just slapped me in the face. I sat there stunned as she glared angrily at me. I couldn't believe she would think that.

"You really think that's all I want from you, Kagome? You think I almost killed Kouga just because I wanted to sleep with you or something? You actually believe I'm capable of that?"

"I've been fooled before." Her stare was unwavering. "Now get out." I stared right back in her in disbelief.

"You're lying, Kagome. You never trusted me, not for a moment. I guess I'm the fool here..." I lowered my eyes to the floor, feeling like my heart had been crushed.

I slowly backed away and began to wheel myself to the door.

I looked back at her, finally letting myself give in to the tears that had been building inside me for so long.

She tried to hide her shock at my weakness with little avail.

"Please keep my gift Kagome. Maybe someday it'll help you realize how much you meant to me."

As if on cue, Miroku opened the door, surprised to see me on my way out.

"Inu, where are you goi-"

"Home. Come on, Mom."

I didn't dare raise my eyes to anyone, but did nothing to mask the hurt I was feeling. Kouga could hit me a thousand times over and it still wouldn't hold a candle to what I was feeling -Like I was dying....

My mother pushed me down the hallway back to my room, Miroku trailing behind.

None of us spoke a word as I was released, or on the way home, or even after I limped into my room, silently refusing any help. I locked the door behind me and then slumped my back against the door. I slid down to the ground and didn't hold back the sob that forced it's way out of me.

Tbc…

Now that sounds a lot more like Inu-saying the wrong thing at the very worst possible moment. Please understand why Kagome reacts the way she does. She just got the shit kicked out of her, she's laying in a hospital, and the boy she's in love with just blamed her for the whole thing in so many words. How would you react?

Hope you liked!