Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
I. Water
Friday, September 22, 2017
The brick wall feels rugged and unforgiving against his back. What he wouldn't give to be laying in his bed right now… But he has to wait. His skin burns, body still heated from the fight. That is how she finds him—eyes closed, face twisted into a grimace, shirtless body leaning against the wall of the alley behind Quik Mart.
He hears the gurgle of a milk gallon and the clacking of heeled loafers moving closer and closer.
"Go away."
He hears her lips part. Open and close. Open and close. A small sound, barely audible to his hypersensitive ears comes out of her mouth. He wonders what she wants to say. Maybe she's going to scream.
"Go away," he snarls. "Now."
She hesitates for a moment and then leaves. He opens his eyes and glances at the spot she once occupied. He would scoff if he wasn't so goddamn injured. "She fuckin' forgot her milk."
He closes his eyes again. Once the blood dries, he can go home without making too much of a mess. For now, he has to wait it out.
He had won the fight but didn't escape unscathed. He feels the skin on his chest straining with each breath he takes, feels his youki coursing through his veins to expedite the healing process. That tiger demoness was a piece of work, he'd give her that.
The sound of clacking disturbs his thoughts. She's back with a first aid kit in hand.
"I forgot my milk."
"Keh."
He feels her cool fingers lift his chin as she inspects for wounds around his face and neck. He looks at the wall in front of him. He isn't sure where else to look. He feels her hands flow down to his left bicep, then his forearm, then his hand. Her fingers, a hair away from the inflamed skin on his chest, follow the jagged lines carved by the tiger demoness. He hears her gulp, hears her rate quicken, feels her fingertips grow moist. Still she continues, moving swiftly but tenderly until she finds, disinfects, and dresses all his wounds. Even tiny scrapes, which would heal in the next couple of hours, have a bandage covering them.
Part of him wants to thank her. A big part. Instead he says, "Don't forget your milk."
"Thanks," she half-says, half-whispers. "I'm Kagome."
Brown meets gold, and he has a hard time remembering if he tells her his name or not.
He doesn't move right away so she waits with him that night. He tells himself he only moves closer so her weak human body won't freeze to death.
He learns that she lives at the Higurashi Shrine. That she has a younger brother named Sota and lives with her mom and gramps. That she likes the color green. That she hates math.
He tells her that he fights. That it's kinda like a job. That he has a bastard half-brother and an uncle. That he likes the color red. That he doesn't like school, and school doesn't like him.
He tells himself to enjoy normalcy while it lasts because half-breeds like him don't get moments like this often.
He walks her home. He wants to make sure she doesn't forget her milk.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Somehow they meet again. Kagome bumps into him as they both walk through the sliding doors of Hakurei Hospital. She's there to return her completed volunteer forms. He's there to visit his uncle.
Somehow her plans change and include visiting his uncle, too.
They take the elevator to the youkai geriatric ward on the tenth floor. He grunts a greeting at the nurse in Myoga's room. Old flea is still asleep. A quiet alarm goes off, playing a pleasant little song, alerting the nurse that it's time for Myoga to be given his hourly antibiotic. The nurse flinches upon hearing the alarm but doesn't move from her seat.
Inuyasha watches her movements. When it's clear she has no plans of standing up, he grows livid. "Why the fuck," he grits out, "are you not giving him his antibiotics?"
The nurse stammers, "I-I was given instructions by Mr. O-Onigumo that—"
"That fucking bastard! Toying with us for no fucking reason, goddamnit!" He clenches his fists so tightly his claws draw blood. He turns to the security camera in the room and flips it off. "Fuck you, Naraku! I'll fuckin' kill you the next time I see you!"
"I-I'm sorry sir, I just h-have—"
"Get the fuck out of my face," he snarls and she scurries out of the room. He breathes heavily in an attempt to calm down.
He feels bad that Kagome is here, that she's witnessing all this. She has no clue, no fuckin' clue, about Naraku and the fighting and Myoga and the accident, and he intends on keeping it that way. There's no reason for her to be dragged into his fucked up mess.
She doesn't ask. Doesn't reprimand or push. She simply puts her hand on his shoulder. He feels her fingers trickling down his arm until she reaches his hand and pries his clawed fingers loose, replacing them with her hand. The smoothness of her skin soothes the angry, red crescent marks in his palms. His breathing gradually returns to normal.
"Thank you, Inuyasha," Myoga finally says.
"Keh. I'll make sure you get your antibiotics, geezer."
"I know. You always do." Turning to Kagome, Myoga says, "I'm sorry you had to witness that, my dear. I'm Myoga, Inuyasha's uncle. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's alright. I'm sorry you didn't get your antibiotics. I'm Kagome, Inuyasha's friend."
Inuyasha can't help the way his breath quickens or the way he tunes out the rest of their conversation.
Kagome, Inuyasha's friend. She has no clue, no fuckin' clue about what that does to him, and he intends on keeping it that way.
Friday, October 13, 2017
At his fight against Koga on Friday, he sees her in the crowd. He's not sure how his eyes find hers so quickly.
She waits for him afterwards. He walks her home. A voice deep within the recesses of his mind sings quietly, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a… He won't let it finish that thought.
He learns that her dad passed away when she was young, but according to her mom, her parents were terribly in love. Her mom has been alone since, but she isn't lonely.
He tells her that his mom was human and his father was a powerful dog demon. He tells her he never got a chance to meet his old man. That's all he says. It's more than he's ever said to anyone.
At his fight on Saturday, he sees her as soon as she enters the warehouse. He tries to focus on the fight but his mind wanders to her. Her and her brown eyes and her smile and her voice and her laugh and her touch.
That night he learns that Kagome and her brother got into an argument earlier that day. She fumes nearly the whole walk home. Something about Sota ate the rest of the oden that was clearly labeled for her in the fridge and he always eats her food without asking and never replaces it. He can't help the mirthful smirk on his face.
At his fight the following Friday, she doesn't enter the warehouse until halfway through the match. He's battling Gatenmaru, a moth demon, whose venomous web has gotten the best of his fire rat robe one too many times. Gatenmaru punches his right cheek, and Inuyasha's face whips towards the crowd from the force. "Ha ha!" The moth demon boasts. "Take that half-breed!" For a flash, just a second, he swears he sees Kagome's eyes glimmering with tears.
He beats Gatenmaru. Even tears one of his wings off.
He tells himself in his changing room that he's gonna tell her to stop coming to these fights. That he has no idea how she found out about it but he plans to put an end to it once and for all. That girls like her don't belong in places like this. That she should just go back home to her nice and normal life, go back to hating math and bickering with her brother and living in a shrine with a family.
When he walks around the corner to where she's waiting for him, where she has waited for him the last two fights, he steels his heart against her and her brown eyes and her smile and her voice—
"Inuyasha!" She exclaims, and he hears the joy and relief in her voice. "You're alright! You did it!"
All logic leaves his mind, and he crushes his lips to hers.
That night he learns that she feels like a brook. Soft and sweet.
Part I of IV.
Author's Note: This is basically a revamped, condensed, Inuyasha-POV version of Fighting. It's my way of making sure the story (albeit in a different version) still gets to you in a completed form. Please check my bio for a longer note explaining recent decisions about my writing and stories. Let me know what you think, and (if you celebrate) happy holidays!
With love, SSW.