Faraway
By Hayai Akurei
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Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns them all, thank you. I just write.
Warnings: OOC for those who hate it.
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"DAMMIT!"
A frightened flock of birds took the skies, startled by the sudden outburst. Down in the forest below, Inuyasha was storming in circles, golden eyes roiling as he randomly lashed out at anything, clearly upset.
Suddenly, he whipped out the Tetsusaiga and cleaved several trees in half.
Rather, he was enraged.
"What's wrong with me?" Inuyasha demanded, gritting his teeth and sinking his claws into the bark of a poor, unsuspecting tree. "I should be happy about all this! So why…why in the seven hells am I so torn up over…over him?"
He sunk to the ground, his shoulders shaking with grief. Emotions running amok, he began to beat the tree's trunk senseless, cursing all the while, in hopes of alleviating the turmoil in his heart.
But nothing seemed to help.
There was a rustle of underbrush behind him and he leapt to his feet, whirling around. Slowly, Kagome approached him, her eyes creased in worry and sympathy.
"Inuyasha…"
"Shut up!" he snapped, turning back around. "Just go away!"
The young woman sighed. Men.
He heard her start to walk up to him and he tensed. He didn't want her to see him this way: confused, furious, upset, and in pain.
"Just leave me alone!" he shouted. However, she didn't obey, and slid up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso in a gentle hug.
His shoulders were shaking, and the hanyou had to bite his lip to keep from letting everything spill out into the open. He was a demon, even though only half, and demons weren't supposed to let their emotions get the better of them.
"Shh…" Kagome whispered into his back. "It's okay, I'm here."
Inuyasha turned around in her arms, causing her to look up at him. Immediately, he grabbed hold of her and buried his face into her shoulder, holding her tight. Although it was very faint, she could hear him make little gasping sounds as the fabric of her collar quickly became warm and wet.
Words would do nothing to soothe the young man's grief, so she began to rhythmically pet his head, running her hands through the amazing silvery-white tresses with one hand, rubbing his shaking back with the other, all the while murmuring nonsensical whispers into his ear.
"He wasn't supposed to get involved!" he wept into her hair. "What did he think he was doing, interfering with my fight?"
Kagome wanted to talk to him, reassure him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But to get his hopes up and then have them later dashed upon the ground would break him, perhaps make him recede into himself even further. After all, he needed to get this off his chest.
"That idiot…why did he do it? He knew that he'd get hurt! And why would he care in the first place? What possible reason could he have had to take a blow that was meant for me?"
"Because he loved you."
"He did not love me! The bastard was insane, putting himself in danger like that!"
"It doesn't matter," she said softly, running her hands through his hair. "He still wanted to protect you. He couldn't help it."
For what seemed like an age, neither of them said a word, until Inuyasha held her closer, as if afraid to let go.
"Why am I like this, Kagome?" He sounded like a lost little boy, scared and vulnerable.
"Because deep down, you still love him. And love is more powerful than anything, right?"
"I guess," he snarled. "But he…"
"That's still enough," interrupted Kagome. It wouldn't do for him to just beat himself up over the matter. "And I think…he loved you too. Otherwise he wouldn't have tried to save you. It's kind of natural to want to protect those that you care for."
Gently, she pulled away just enough so that she could look into his eyes. "Let's go back, shall we?"
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Inuyasha somehow managed to keep his feelings reigned in as they walked back to the village. The other villagers wisely steered away, for fear of making him even more distraught.
As they approached Kaede's hut, the wizened old priestess came out to meet them. Kagome met her eyes, and her heart clenched. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Inuyasha asked almost timidly, "Kaede?"
She met his golden eyes, her voice heavy as she spoke. "He passed quietly, and in no pain. And he seemed quite at peace upon his departure."
Inuyasha's voice was almost hollow. "So he's gone then."
"Aye."
"The bastard," the hanyou grumbled. Kaede stepped out of his way. "He's still inside, if you wish to see him."
For a moment, he hesitated and looked at Kagome, who gave him a little nudge and an encouraging smile. At the very least, he could settle the things that hung between them, even if he could no longer answer back.
Putting on a brave front, he walked slowly inside, the woven straw door flapping shut behind him. Kagome sighed.
"Kagome?"
Her face brightened a little and she looked up, seeing their friends walk toward her.
"How is he?" asked Sango, bearing a sleeping Shippo in her arms. Kagome shook her head sadly.
"This has all hit him hard. He's really upset."
"I see…"
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Inuyasha slowly walked in. No one else was inside. The air, though absolutely silent, seemed to roar in his ears as he sat down by the bed, the fading stench of death and blood still lingering.
Stupid idiot. It was just as Kaede had said; he did look at peace. Bastard, for making him so uncharacteristically troubled.
"Well, don't you look relaxed," he drawled, aiming for his typical sarcasm. But even that sounded half-hearted. Clenching his fists, he lowered his head, feeling tears come unbidden to his eyes.
"You're a complete bastard, do you know that?" he ground out. "What hellish force of nature provoked you to protect me? Huh? You knew you were gonna get yourself killed, so why do it? Or were you just too cocky, thinking that you weren't going to be harmed by such a measly blow? You're such a damn fool!"
Of course, there was no answer.
"You must find this really funny, listening to me make a complete fool out of myself while you sit on your ass in the netherworld. Well, I hope you get a good chuckle out of this."
He was so pale, so much so that it looked unhealthy.
'Well, DUH, genius,' Inuyasha griped to himself, 'The bastard is bloody dead. Of course he'd look like death warmed over.'
Tentatively, he touched his face, feeling the cold and clammy skin beneath his fingers. He brushed unruly bangs away from the closed eyes, ones he'd never see open again.
"You're such a fool," he whispered, gazing into the familiar face. "Why would you see it fit to die for me like that? What could you have possibly gained from it? Nothing! So why?"
The hanyou swallowed, bitter tears splashing onto the floor.
"Kagome says that it's because you loved me. Is that it? I don't know…I guess I'll never know now, will I?"
He sniffed, trying desperately to hold back the tears, but in vain.
"But I…I do know that I'm royally pissed and crying for the first damn time in years because of you," he said, beginning to lose his voice among the broken sobs. "Because I love you too, you heartless bastard. How could I not?"
Gently, he cupped a pale, striped cheek, feeling the cool kiss of silver-white hair against his fingers. His resolve shattered, falling in broken pieces upon the floor as he wept freely.
"How could I not, Sesshoumaru? You're still my brother. You'll always be my brother…"
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Kagome sighed, feeling weary from the events over the past few days. Inuyasha darted into the woods that lay around the shrine, wanting to be alone. Walking inside, she set her bag by the door, taking off her shoes.
There was the sound of padding feet and Sota backtracked down the hall, his face brightening at the sight of his sister. "Hey! It's nee-san!" He waved happily at her, calling back, "Kaa-san! Kagome-nee-san is back!"
Her heart clenching, Kagome ran over and knelt down, embracing her brother tightly.
"Nee-san?"
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Author's Notes: Oh no. I can already see this forming a mini-story. Just great. I might just keep this a one-shot, or, depending if enough people read this and like it (reviews would be helpful too), I can upgrade it to a chapter story. Reviews are very much appreciated!
(a la Disney's Robin Hood in his blind beggar disguise) Reviews, reviews, reviews for the poor…