Purple Haze 5

Purple Haze

By: Aurora Collins

Disclaimers: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters associated with it. I'm only borrowing the characters to amuse myself and hopefully others. ^__^


Ch. 5 The Promise

      
       It had been months since Kagome was put into the pods and it would be several more months until the space station would be completed. A Stanford Torus was also being built, but it would take years to develop the plans and create the living area. It was a space habitat that could house up to 140,000 residents. Land masses would have to be excavated and materials gathered to make such a mega structure; but Souta was in a different area.

      He was part of a massive team that was in the process of creating a cure for PHV, also known as Purpuraetmortis Humi Virus. Each time when Souta thought he was close to a break through something would happen. Data would be lost or something would come up missing in the labs. Souta could have sworn that there was someone sabotaging the progress of their work, but his fellow teammates would always reassure him that the test were inconclusive; and therefore thrown away. Souta lived for his job and he worked hard every day. It wasn't until late winter when he finally saw the person that he considered a hero in his youth.

      Inuyasha was going through the labs as orders from his brother, Sesshomaru. Not like he knew what he was looking for. Probably to make sure that the humans kept working in peace with the demons that were recruited. The hanyou wore a suit that he abhorred from how constricting it felt, and in his older years he cropped his hair. He felt that with the change in the centuries he had to change himself. Besides, his daughter Mayumi always hounded him about looking professional and being able to keep up with current time.

      He finally came to the lab and he saw a young man at a telescope. The human looked intensely into the device and made notes on his clipboard. There was something familiar about him that Inuyasha couldn't put his finger on. When the young man finally looked at Inuyasha his eyes grew wide.

"Inuyasha is that you?" Souta said in surprise. He hopped out of his stool and nearly ran at the hanyou.

"Who the hell are you?" Inuyasha bit out, not sure who it was.

Souta grinned, "It's me Souta! Kagome's little brother!"

"No, it couldn't be you. Kagome's little brat brother? But that would mean that Kagome is around here. Where is she!?" Inuyasha yelled out as he grabbed Souta's shoulders.

      Souta shook Inuyasha off and all of a sudden got an upset look on his face. "Listen Inuyasha I don't think you should see my sister. You know she loved you and she was a mess for years hung up on you and the Feudal Era. She never really said it, but I knew better," Souta explained.

Inuyasha growled slightly, "Look that's none of your business. I just need to see her so that I can talk to her and explain some things. C'mon Souta!"
      
      "I said you can't see her and I mean it. It's just not a good time right now."
      
"Why the hell not?"

      "She's not well."

      "What happened to her Souta?"

      "She got the virus and she's in cryopreservation."

      "Why wasn't I told about this?"

      "I didn't know where you were, but your brother helped us out."

      "My brother! That good for nothing ass didn't tell me!?"

      "Maybe you should take it up with him."

      "I will and Souta… I really am sorry about Kagome."

      "I know Inuyasha, I know."
      
      
      A slam resounded on the door as it burst open. Sesshomaru was sitting behind his desk and he glanced up to see who the intruder was. He set down his paperwork and gave Inuyasha one of his stoic looks. "Can I help you Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked.

Inuyasha stormed up to the desk in three long strides and raked his nails against the wood, "You're an ass! Why didn't you tell me!?"

Sesshomaru already knew what his brother meant, but he wanted to rile Inuyasha into a fit. "Whatever do you mean?" the demon questioned as he finally set down his pen.

"Don't act stupid! You know very well what I mean! Why didn't you tell me about Kagome!?" Inuyasha pronounced with his fangs clenching.

       Sesshomaru smirked, "I thought you chose your path a long time ago. I didn't think you would care to know about her. You didn't seek her out or try to make things right with her. What makes you care now?"

"I still love her damn it! I always loved her as much as I loved Kikyo. Now she's sick and there's nothing I can do about it. The least you could have done was just tell me, and maybe I could have had the chance to talk to her," the hanyou finished off in a whisper.

"You wouldn't have been able to talk to her. She had to be frozen right away or she could have risked the chance of dying. Surely you wouldn't want that to happen to her," Sesshomaru replied tonelessly.   

Inuyasha scoffed, "Why would you go out of your way to help her? Now that I think about it, you never had any real connection with her."

      "I owed a favor to Souta. He is one of the lead scientists that are working hard to find a cure. We need the humans to survive this ordeal because we depend on them to keep the balance. Is that sufficient enough for you? You'll see her again in time," Sesshomaru said.

Inuyasha grunted, "I guess it'll have to do for now."

"Get back to work hanyou and tell my secretary to order me a new desk," the great demon lord ordered.

"Fine… whatever…" Inuyasha grudgingly began to walk out.  

Before Inuyasha left the office Sesshomaru stated, "And by the way, the cost of my desk being replaced will be taken from your next paycheck." Inuyasha's response was slamming the door with a huge thud.

      

      
      Years passed by like a blink of an eye for Souta. He finally reached his 22nd birthday and he realized that he reached Kagome's age when she was frozen in time. Kagome would have been twenty-eight; almost twenty-nine years old. At this point Souta could never imagine his sister being that old. Through the years his research increased and he found several ways to make the virus slow down, but not cure it. It frustrated him to no end because the world as he knew was completely upside down. All the demons of the world finally came out of hiding and they lived with the humans with no fear of retaliation. Since demons outnumbered humans two to one it was only natural that demons would become the dominant race.

      Everyday life ceased with schools being closed down, businesses going under and humans were at the point of not caring anymore. Those who were deemed virus free were moved to the Stanford Torus where they would live and work to keep improving the living arrangements. The pods were relocated to a special area in space until a cure could be found and that is where Kagome was. She was among the lifeless bodies frozen in an endless loop of dreams.

      Souta honestly thought that all was lost, but he had a major breakthrough that he had to share with Sesshomaru immediately. He knew that his time was short because even though he was self-medicating he knew that he had PHV. The amulet he wore with the ancient holy powers was finally losing its effect to keep him safe. He could already be too late to save himself because he waited so long. Souta wanted to make sure that he had enough data to pass along to the next person that would take his place. One by one the scientists fell and the team decreased to just a few that worked around the clock. If something wasn't done soon then all would be lost.

      "Lord Sesshomaru, Souta is here to see you for your three o'clock meeting," the secretary beeped through the intercom. "Let him in," Sesshomaru said. The door opened and Souta walked in with a stack of paperwork. He set the files down on the desk and Sesshomaru immediately noticed that Souta didn't look well. The great dog demon didn't want to show concern, but he had to ask, "Are you feeling alright?"

Souta panted, "There's no time for that Sesshomaru. You have to see this." Souta sifted through the files and pulled out one with red tape on it. "I kept this one at my house and I know we're not supposed to do that, but I have a feeling that someone is sabotaging our work. I had to keep it safe."

      Sesshomaru glared at the young man because he did request that all research stay in the labs so that others had access to it to continue working 24 hours around the clock.

"I realized something a long time ago, but I never thought there was a connection until now. People with superior holy powers or those with some demon blood; meaning hanyou, rarely get sick if ever. Demons aren't affected by PHV at all and I was looking for a cure within herbs and other such things that we use in medications today. That isn't the case with this," Souta tried not to ramble on but he saw that Sesshomaru was getting impatient. He didn't know if it was because the dog demon wanted him to get to the point or because Sesshomaru was worried about him. "We need to use demon blood in our next tests for a cure, but there might be some side effects to the hosts," Souta explained as he pulled out the paperwork and handed it to Sesshomaru.

      Sesshomaru scanned over the documents handed to him and saw that the findings on infected cells from humans were being subsidized by the demon blood.  

"You see if demon blood can make the PHV lay dormant through a telescope then imagine what we could do when used to make an antivirus," Souta was getting excited, knowing that he was so close to a cure.

"What are the ramifications you spoke of earlier?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Souta sat down, feeling dizzy, "Some humans can't take demon blood without dying. Those that don't die might inherit some demon capabilities; such as longer lives, more strength or even some of the demons powers. There is also a chance of a demon bonding with a human through this process. You would call this a mate if I'm correct to assume. The demons that would donate their blood could only donate to one human host because if one demon were to have; let's say ten human hosts…. Well the end would be catastrophic to both parties."

      "A demon couldn't handle being a 'mate' to ten people, much less one if they agree. Most demons are against helping humans because when a demon mates, they mate for life. These demons would have to agree with the possibility of this happening to them," Sesshomaru said more to himself, knowing that Souta already had this knowledge.

Souta leaned against the desk, feeling pain jolt though his body, "Exactly my point, but demon blood is the answer. I know it is and I'm telling you this because someone needs to take my place very soon. I could trust only you with this information." Souta felt himself break out into a sweat.

This is when Sesshomaru stood up from his desk, "You have the virus."

      Souta could only smirk at that remark, "Yeah I do. I've had it for a while, but I had to get this research done. I don't know if I'm gonna make it. Please do me one last favor Sesshomaru. I know that you've already done so much, but I did all this for a very selfish reason. I want my sister to keep living, but I can't trust her with just anybody."

"You want me to be her donor," Sesshomaru stated as realization dawned.

Souta chuckled, "I do. I just want to die knowing that she'll be safe in a future where humans have some hope for survival. Will you promise me?"

Sesshomaru didn't even think when he responded, "I'll be her donor. Now enough of this. We need to get you to a doctor."

      Before Sesshomaru could move Souta began to cry out blood from the pressure that was building up in his head. He finally fell to the floor and Sesshomaru immediately went to the young man's side. All Souta saw was purple when he closed his eyes for the last time.