No good deed goes unpunished, they say.
Her deeds were harmless, full of simple forgiveness and unending smiles. She made him whole, she filled his heart, she poured her love upon him without hesitation. She tended his wounds, she mended his broken heart. She even gave herself to him, one moonless night, and they committed the purest sin.
But alas, her punishment came from him, when she so trustingly put the completed jewel in his hands. She had asked him, as her body shook with uncontrollable sorrow and anger, how he could have done such a thing. To make this wish, to betray her, would do him no good, she had warned. But, for reasons of his own, he hadn't cared. She was so distraught that she couldn't even bring herself to subdue him, even though that was the only thing she wished to do with him. And nothing her friends said did anything, nothing that the kitsune did changed him.
With the last of her waning energy, she had yelled at them all to leave. Against their better judgment, they did so, the taijiya and monk gathering up the kitsune and fleeing the scene. Even then, she knew she would never see them again.
"I'm leaving you, InuYasha." She wished that it was the truth, "I'm leaving you and never coming back."
"No..." he knew too much about her, he knew he was in full control, "...You aren't."
And then the purifying power of the Shikon No Tama encased him, pink turning to black as the youkai inside won their battle against Midoriko with his impure wish. Tears might have fallen from her eyes, but she couldn't remember. All she did know was that she had run, cutting herself in the thorn bushes she fell into and scratching herself on the tree branches that seemed to grab her. And he had caught her in his new body, his entire being changed.
"You aren't InuYasha." She had told him through her tears, as he pinned her down to the cold ground.
"But I am." His voice was new to her, more dangerous, "And you are Kagome – the woman who so foolishly loves me."
She stared up at him, her eyes trailing over his new face. His eyes were still golden, his skin was still tan, but beneath it she could see the evil. Fangs protruded from between his lips, jagged stripes lined his cheekbones. She could feel his sharp talons digging into her arms, she could see the strength of new muscles lining his skin.
And he just smiled down at her, ignorant to her pain. From that day on, she fell silent. Any connection to him, she severed. Even now, if she muttered the simple words that tied so many memories between them, the beads lay motionless – silent and dead, never to reawaken.
A/N: An intro, to say the least. Chapters will get longer as they go on. Reviews are more than welcome!