Disclaimer: You think I own Inuyasha? Let's think about this for a minute. (sixty seconds later) Right. I didn't think so either.
A/N: Yay, my first go at angst! (Actually, it's just really dramatic. Meh.) I'm as curious as to how this will go as you are. So let's get right to it, shall we?
My Quiet Place
Kagome's PoV
God, how I love forests. The trees, the fresh air, the serene quiet... Yes. I definitely loved forests. Some of my fondest memories reside in forests. But right now, as I sped past the trees, and the stones dug painfully into my feet, I wasn't too fond of the place.
I had no real aim for a destination. All I knew was that I needed to escape. I just needed to get away from it all...
"Kagome... I have a confession to make." Ayumi began. "Please don't be mad at me!"
"Oh, Ayumi," I sighed. "Like I would ever get mad." A total lie, of course. But I was feeling good this morning. Mom had made my favorite breakfast, Grandpa hadn't bugged me about my schoolwork, and Inuyasha had decided to let me have a few days of normal life. It was a nice change of pace.
"Well, if you're sure." Ayumi let out a loud sigh and looked at me. My heart wrenched at the look in her eyes. Something was horribly wrong... "I'm pregnant."
Oh yes, horribly wrong. It was hard to keep from screaming "WHAT!" and having hoards of teachers and girls rush into the bathroom we were talking in.
"Oh my God, Ayumi!"
"I know!" she cried, burying her face in her hands. "It's shameful!"
"It's more than shameful!" I gaped. "It's potentially fatal! You're only 15, Ayumi. What were you thinking!"
She looked up at me with teary eyes before snorting with humorless laughter. She was laughing in disbelief.
"I'm not stupid, Kagome," she whispered after her incredulous laughter had died down. "It wasn't my fault..."
I swallowed. Hard.
"I was raped," she murmured, much to my consternation. "It happened two weeks ago at Yuka's 16th birthday. I haven't told anyone, because I wasn't sure if I was really pregnant... I don't even know who he was..." She buried her face into her hands again as a sob rocked her. "I don't even know his name, Kagome! I can't file charges, and that's not the worst part!" She broke off in a hiccup for a moment as I digested this. "I don't even know who to blame. I can't scream his name, Kagome! I can't damn him to Hell! I can't--"
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
"Shh," I soothed the best I could. "It's okay. We'll fix it, I swear."
"Thanks, Kagome," Her relieved voice came from my shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You always come through..."
Oh yeah, like how I was coming through now? That's me. Reliable Kagome. Always good when life throws you a hardball. Just pull me out like a shield, and I'll take it for you. I'm just such a perfect person.
But sometimes, even us perfect people can't keep it together. Sometimes, we just have to snap and screw things up royally. Because, remember that behind the smiling facade lies a normal person who needs help just as much as everyone else. If we ever show that face, we're deserted. Like a forgotten toy...
I shifted my weight to my left foot, noticing that my shoes were starting to itch. But I couldn't pay attention to that right now. There was something more important at hand.
"Mrs. Kiki, may I please go see the school nurse?"
The sharply dressed woman behind the desk looked slowly up at me. Her dark brown eyes seemed so cold and relentless right now. Something inside me knew this would not end well. I ignored it.
"And why do you need to do that, Miss Higurashi?"
"Because I have some questions to ask her. They're important--"
"Can they wait?"
"Uh, well, I guess but--"
"Good. Have a seat, Miss Higurashi."
That something inside me was telling me to follow her order. To nod, walk calmly to my desk, and plop my happy ass down. It was saying I needed to be a good little girl. I ignored it.
"But Mrs. Kiki, this is important. It can wait, but it shouldn't--"
"Miss Higurashi, you try my patience. What is so vital that you must go now, when class is about to start?"
"I... I can't say."
"Is it personal?"
"Well, yes, sort-of..."
Something was warning me. Something was telling me to stop while I was ahead, and go sit. It was warning me. I ignored it.
The older woman clasped her hands together tightly and fixed me with a glare.
"Miss Higurashi," She raised her voice and promptly got the entire class' undivided attention. "What kind of emergency is this? Do I need to alert your mother?"
"No, ma'am!" I exclaimed. "It's not me I'm asking for, please, let me-"
"Ohh, Higurashi's got a problem!" one of the boys taunted.
"You're the one who has problems, Lan."
My mind raced as my fellow students began jumping rapidly to conclusions...
"What if she has virus?"
"What kind of virus?"
"Ten bucks she's pregnant!" jeered a senior girl who would know.
"But she's asking for someone else, right?"
"Then who's pregnant?"
That something inside me was telling me I had blown it. Telling me that Ayumi's secret would spread like wildfire. That I was the one to blame. This time, I listened. I spun around and my gaze found Ayumi. She was staring at me, too.
My heart wrenched at the look of hate she was giving me. This was not going well.
"I bet she's lying!" one girl offered. "She probably is pregnant and just doesn't want everyone to know!"
I opened my mouth to protest, but Ayumi beat me to it.
"She is. She told me earlier in the bathroom!"
I gaped. My inner voice squeaked and began burrowing deep inside me. Even it was deserting me...
"Ha! I always knew she was a slut!"
"Wanna meet me after school, Higurashi?"
"That's enough!" Mrs. Kiki walked around her desk and took me by the arm. "Everyone turn to page 96 in your books and study quietly until I return." The class rolled its eyes and rummaged around for the book.
But the only person I saw was Ayumi, quietly pulling out her book and ignoring my pleading looks. Why was this happening?
"Come with me, please, Miss Higurashi." Mrs. Kiki demanded coldy as she yanked me out of the room and down the hall...
Tears stung at my eyes as I continued running. My feet were screaming at me to stop... but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't. The pain of it all would surely catch me if I did. I would shatter into a thousand pieces with no one there to pick them up.
Not even my mother could help me now, I feared. She couldn't possibly understand the torment I was going through. The ache. The suffering. Her own life was too busy falling apart...
"But Mama!" I cried in disbelief. "I'm not pregnant! It's Ayumi!"
She ignored me and continued staring out the windshield at the road before us. Her eyes were filled with silent tears, as were mine, but she refused to speak. I scratched at my foot for the zillionth time today. Those shoes were starting to really bother me...
"Mama," I began in a semi-whisper. "You know I would never do something like that. You know I would tell you!"
The car in front of us suddenly stopped, and we barely avoided hitting it.
"Mama!"
"Kagome, just be quiet! Please!"
She glanced quickly at me, and I bit back my argument. Her eyes looked like Ayumi's had...
"Kagome," she said quietly after we had driven for a few minutes. "I know you're not pregnant. I believe that. But I'm taking you home for a reason."
My relief at her knowing I was not with child was cut short by what came next. I had thought it couldn't get any worse. I had thought it was over...
"Kagome... your grandfather died. He died last night in his sleep, and I didn't tell you this morning because I was afraid you'd be upset all day. I see now I should've said something, but..."
She trailed off, but I had stopped listening already. I was numb. Completely and totally numb. She had made my favorite breakfast this morning because she wanted me to be happy for as long as I could. Grandpa hadn't bugged me about homework because he was... he was...
Tears were streaming down my face freely now. And even though I couldn't see very well and was stumbling over tree branches now, I didn't stop running.
I tripped over a large protruding branch and fell hard to the floor. Letting out a yelp of pain, I jumped back up so quickly I might've given myself whiplash. My legs were in no better shape than my feet now. Even with that knowledge, I started fleeing once more. I had to get away. I had to get far, far away...
Mama opened the car door for me and helped me out. I could barely stand. My legs felt like they were made of Jell-o and were just as shaky. Somehow, I found the strength to stand.
Until Souta ran out of the house and flung his arms around Mama's waist. Until I watched him soak the front of her dress with his tears. Until he looked around her and saw me. I locked gazes with him... and that was it.
Tears formed in my eyes, and I had to put a hand on the car to steady myself. I needed to get out. I couldn't watch it all crumble this way. The control I thought I had on my life had been ripped brutally away and was now being thrown back at me with such force that I thought I might be crushed from its weight.
The weight of the choice I now had: stay... or run.
But where would I go? Where could I escape this madness...?
"Inuyasha..." I muttered. "Inuyasha..." I began to stumble towards the well. "Inu--"
"Kagome! Where are you going?"
I didn't even feel Mama try to grab my hand. I just walked more rapidly, slowly regaining the feel of my legs. I kicked off my shoes.
"Inuyasha... Inu..."
"Kagome, come back!"
I broke into a dead run.
"Inu--INUYASHA!" I screamed as I flew into the well house and leapt over the edge...
I needed him. Plain as day, cold as rain, I felt the need for his arms around me. I was safe in his protection. But where was he? I couldn't find him in the village, or in his favorite tree. My last hope had been to search the forest. His forest.
I suddenly broke out of the dense trees and found myself in a clearing. I saw a flash of red, and suddenly the hanyou I'd been searching for was ten feet in front of me.
"Inuyasha..." I whispered.
"Oi, wench, I thought you were... staying..." His eyes widened in ill-concealed shock at my current state. Blood trickled from my right thigh down to my bare feet. My left leg was no better, and my feet were a lost cause. My sleeves were scratched up beyond repair, and streams of silent tears still flowed down my face. "Kagome," he breathed before taking a step towards me.
I started to fall, but he caught me halfway before sweeping me up into his arms and holding me tightly. I couldn't do anything but throw my arms around his neck and cry. He rocked me gently in his embrace and even whispered soft words into my ear. I didn't hear them, but they made me feel better.
I finally stopped crying and just let him hold me. We sat there for quite a while without speaking, but then he couldn't keep it to himself any longer.
"Kagome, what happened?"
I closed my eyes and took a shuddering breath.
"Everything," I answered hoarsely. "Ayumi got raped, she's pregnant, she told everyone I was pregnant, Mama picked me up at school, told me Grandpa's dead--"
His arms tightened around me.
"--and Souta was crying, and no one would listen, and... Souta... and I... I needed you!"
I allowed him to crush me to his front, even though I could barely breathe. The feeling of being in his arms was worth any pain I might endure in the process. He let go after a few moments had passed.
"Kagome," he murmured softly as tears leaked from my eyes again. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"But you're hurting!" He nuzzled my neck. "You shouldn't have run through the forest."
"I couldn't find you! And it was all after me! I had to get away... I had to get away..."
It took him a minute to figure out I was speaking hypothetically and nothing was really chasing me. But once this registered, he kissed my hair and relaxed so that I was sitting in his lap and he could look me in the eye.
"So you ran away?"
It was hard to miss the disappointment in his voice.
"Yes. But--"
"Kagome," He sighed. "Running away won't help anything. Besides, your family needs you right now."
"Inuyasha!" I cried indignantly. "I can't help them right now. I have needs, too!"
"What do you need?"
"I've already told you," I whispered. "I need you."
"That's not very specific." Inuyasha was giving me a disturbed look. The thought of anyone needing him had always been bothersome in his mind.
"I don't know! Inuyasha, just... just make it go away..."
I rested my forehead on his chest as sobs threatened again.
"Please, just hold me..."
I felt him sigh softly and gather me up in his arms again. I wrapped my arms around his neck once more and buried my face in the crook of his neck.
"Okay," I heard him whisper. "I'll protect you."
This time it took me a minute to realize he was speaking hypothetically, and I almost laughed at my stupidity. But it was hard to think about anything when he was cradling me like this. My thoughts faded away and the light-headed feeling I had spread through my veins. Soon, all I could feel was his touch, and then barely even that. Peace was finally taking over. The peace in knowing that, somehow, it would all be okay. Somehow, as long as he was with me, I'd make it through. A perfect peace.
This was where I belonged. Inuyasha's tender embrace was where I was safe from everything. From my friends, from my family, from the world and all its troubles. From heartache, from fear, from pain... It simply evaporated when he told it to.
I knew I'd never be able to live without him. He was the only one who understood me better than myself. He was my escape. My dreams come true. My shelter. My friend. My love.
My quiet place.
Fin
End A/N: Well... in my defense, I tried. T.T I know it could've been more angsty and terrible, but I just wasn't in the mood for a complete tradgedy. I'll write something completely evil someday, I promise. :P Review maybe?