Lady Catwoman
Disclaimer" I do not own the characters nor the plot of the anime/manga Inuyasha. I also don't own the song "Break Me" by Jewel. So don't sue!
Break Me
Kagome set down her pen, closing her journal. She sat there in that way for a while, undecided, chewing her bottom lip. Should she? Kagome wasn't sure. She sighed and lay her journal down beside her pen, standing up.
What did she have to lose? 'Inuyasha could laugh at me, I might lose his friendship because he thinks it's weird, he could make fun of me-' Kagome's mind started to helpfully supply before she shook her head firmly. "No." she said aloud, summoning every shred of courage she possessed within her body and soul. "It's now or never." And with that statement she took off, searching for the hanyou and fervently praying that she wouldn't lose her nerve.
Shippo was off playing with Kirara somewhere, and who knew where Miroku and Sango had gone? That left her alone, seeing as how Inuyasha had gone off somewhere.
"It doesn't matter what Inuyasha thinks. Just as long as you tell him how you feel about him. Besides, he has a right to know." Kagome kept talking to herself, trying to encourage herself before all her courage fled, searching for Inuyasha.
She was so intent on finding said hanyou that she forgot her journal, closed but out in the open. For anyone to read.
Inuyasha's sensitive ears twitched. Something had suddenly changed around him and it felt unnatural, making the hairs in the back of his neck stand on end. Sitting up straight on his perch in the tree, the hanyou sniffed the disturbed air a few times. He froze, his ears laying flat against his skull, recognizing that all-too-familiar scent.
As if on que, a strong, feminine voice rang out below him. The voice of one who should still be in a grave.
"Inuyasha." Kikyo hailed him, her soul collectors moving in hypnotizing patterns around her. ""I have come to claim you."
Inuyasha gazed down a the woman he had loved. 'Wait a minute. Did I just think "had loved"?' He shook his head and leapt down from the branch he had been resting on, landing deftly on his feet. Slowly, he straightened, never taking his eyes from her form. "Kikyo." The word was bereft of any emotion as Inuyasha eyed the resurrected Priestesses, trying to gauge her intentions.
"It is I, Inuyasha." The miko confirmed. Her eyes bore into him." I have come to claim you." She repeated, taking a step forward." It is taking too long for this Naraku to be destroyed. I must have you now."
Inuyasha stayed where he was. "'Come to claim me'? What's that supposed to mean?" The hanyou had a suspicion of what her intentions were.
"You life belongs to me Inuyasha. I have now come to rightfully claim it." Kikyo replied, confirming his suspicions, taking yet another step towards him.
'This is it,' Inuyasha thought grimly,' She's gonna try to drag me to hell now.' Now what did he do? He couldn't bring himself to kill her.
'But she tried to kill Kagome!' his consciousness angrily retorted.
Kikyo came a step closer.
'Kagome.' He suddenly thought. Her smiling face outshined any of the lasting remnants of love he had held for Kikyo.
'Kikyo. I loved you. I was willing to become human for you. But no more.' Inuyasha thought, watching as the woman who had pinned him to the Sacred Tree fifty years ago took another step towards him.
"No." he said forcefully, "No, my life doesn't belong to you, Kikyo. Not anymore, at least."
Kikyo laughed, a cruel smirk upon her lips as she laughed. It was a mocking laugh.
"You're right, Inuyasha. Your life doesn't belong to me. I, and mine belong to you." The Priestess said.
Faster then Inuyasha could blink, she had thrown herself into his arms, her soul collectors pushing him to her, as she clutched his forearms, gazing up at him. He was so
Surprised that all he could do was gape, looking down at her.
Kagome grew more and more confident as she marched through the woods on her quest to find Inuyasha. Abruptly, she stopped, certain she had heard his voice.
Her heart went into her throat as she hurried in the direction where his voice had come from. She rounded the giant evergreen, her mouth opening, the words on the tip of her tongue.
She halted, stiffening, the words dying on her lips, unsaid.
She had found Inuyasha. With Kikyo in his arms.
Her eyes began to burn inexplicably, her body trembling. Haltingly, Kagome began to back away, finally tearing her eyes from the image if Kikyo in Inuyasha's arms. 'Moments away from a kiss, no doubt.' Kagome though bitterly, kicking whatever happened to be in her path as she tore through the woods, back to the camp.
How could she have been so stupid? How could she have forgotten about Kikyo? Inuyasha could never love her. How could he? He was in love with Kikyo.
At least she had been spared the misery and humiliation of making a fool of herself.
Inuyasha snapped back to reality, pushing Kikyo away from him. He glanced to the right in time to see the retreating form of Kagome as she disappeared from sight. The hanyou turned back to Kikyo and glared at the miko.
"Forget what I said and get off of me. NO. I don't belong to you and you sure as hell don't belong to me." Inuyasha said, his eyes hardening.
Kikyo's soul collectors began to weave around her form. Her eyes were sad, but a smirk played upon her lips.
"But why, Inuyasha? I thought you said that you would make sure that I was never alone again, did you not?" she said, her tone unreadable.
"And you won't be alone when you're back in the grave where you belong." Inuyasha ground out, almost surprising himself at this seemingly sudden change of heart. "You'll have all of those dead souls in you to keep you company. You don't belong here. It's my duty to put you rest, though. I've moved on, Kikyo. It's time for you to move on, too, and go back to the Spirit World, where you should be." Inuyasha looked the miko straight in the eye as he spoke.
Kikyo let out a soft laugh. It held no humor, but rather mockery and bitterness.
"Inuyasha," she said, her form beginning to rise into the air, her soul collectors lifting her. "My soul will never be at rest until it claims your life, and we dwell in the fires of hell together for eternity. You belong to me forever. Always remember this, Inuyasha, for one day I will claim you." With these final words she vanished with her soul collectors from sight.
Inuyasha growled. 'Like hell, bitch.' He thought, scowling. He didn't know when he had stopped truly loving Kikyo, but he was glad he had finally realized that she was not the one who belonged in his heart.
Kikyo was now no more than a tragic, vengeful fragment of the past, walking among the living. It was time to stop looking back at the past. It was time to move on to the future. Kagome.
Sure, there would always be a corner of his heart dedicated to Kikyo. But that was for the Kikyo he had known before he was pinned to the Sacred Tree and she had died. This new, resurrected Kikyo was not the one he had loved.
'Kagome..' Inuyasha suddenly straightened, turning to face the direction he had seen her running away. Had she seen him with Kikyo?
"Phsh. Of course she did. Dammit! And she probably got the wrong idea, too." Inuyasha cursed, taking off in the direction Kagome had fled, following her scent. A scent that was so pleasing to his nose. A scent he would know anywhere.
Her course was directionless. She had started to go back to the camp, but then rejected the idea. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara might come back. And she didn't want to face them now. Plus, that was probably where Inuyasha would be when got back from being with Kikyo. And she REALLY didn't want to face at the moment. Especially not now. Because she was about to cry. And he didn't like to see her cry.
The though of Inuyasha sent a sharp pang through her already bruised heart.
Kagome slowed her pace when she heard the sound of running water, the thunder of a waterfall. Stopping, she gazed up at the elegant cascade pouring down from a rocky ledge. It glimmered in the light of the sun, looking like something out of a fairy tale. She hesitated a second before taking off towards it.
When the panting girl reached the rocky surface, she climbed up the small cliff-face slowly, wincing as the sharp edges scraped the skin of her palms. Her trembling made it even more difficult, but Kagome reached the ledge at last, laying flat against the cool rock, catching her breath.
The ledge went behind the waterfall, Kagome noticed once she had heaved herself to her knees. The view was breathtaking-it was so beautiful. Her face was lightly misted and the temperature around her had dropped drastically lower, and she shivered slightly.
So, the waterfall hid the ledge. Good. It would serve her purposes, then. She would be hidden from sight and her sobs would not be overheard.
With that final thought, she allowed herself to be overtaken by her sadness and let what tears weren't already flowing down her cheeks fall.
How long she cried, she really had no idea. The sobs which racked her body seemed to last an eternity.
Sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeves, she stared vacantly at the curtain of water before her. Why did she feel so helpless in her feelings? Why did she feel so alone?
"Huh? What's this?' Inuyasha wondered aloud. The camp was still empty save for him. At the moment, he was currently examining a small blue book, with silver letters which spelt out "Kagome Higurashi's Journal", in fancy lettering. It was smothered in her scent.
He had followed her scent back to the edge of camp, where it then turned away, but this had intrigued him.
The hanyou flipped the journal open to a random page. It just so happened that the page in question was the entry that Kagome had written just before she had gone off to reveal her true feelings for and to him.
Inuyasha began reading the page, his curiosity getting the better of him.
It read:
"I'm not quite sure exactly what I feel for him. It's all a jumble of emotions that confuse me whenever I try to think about it. But...I'm almost positive that it's love. Yes, that's what it is. I know I've never felt this way about anyone before. I blush whenever I think about him that way and when he gets really close to me. My stomach flip-flops whenever he gives me a genuine smile, and my knees go slightly weak. My heart seems to speed up whenever I'm in contact with him. Maybe I should tell him how I fell, even though I'm not 100 sure myself. I really think I should."
'Could she be talking about me?' Inuyasha wondered, hope rising within in spite of himself. If Kagome was in love with him then he could tell her how he felt about her.
'She still thinks I'm in love with Kikyo.' Inuyasha realized as he shut the little book and put it back where he found it.
"Dammit!" he cursed aloud s he went back to following her scent, intent on finding her and setting her thoughts about what was going on between him and Kikyo straight.
'She has to know the truth.' The hanyou thought to himself fiercely as he trailed the path she had taken through the forest.
Kagome shivered again, her clothes and skin all layered with a coating of mist.
Swallowing, she wiped at her nose again before pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. As she sat there, in silence, drowning in her black despair, a song suddenly entered her mind.
It was a song that talked about being so much in love that there was no way they could make themselves stop thinking about that one special person. About being so helplessly in love. Where you felt so open and vulnerable.
It told of how that one person could hurt them, yet they would still have their heart. About wanting to feel love from that person., How your feelings take control and you just let go, letting them take you away.
Kagome cleared her throat and began to sing that song which had come so abruptly into her head.
Inuyasha sighed in relief as he came to the edge of the forest, sighting a waterfall.
"Stupid girl, running off on her own." he muttered, partly out of worry, the other part out of frustration.
Kagome was here somewhere. He could smell her. He knew her scent anywhere and this was definitely where it was coming from. It was somewhat fainter than usual, however.
'The waterfall' he suddenly realized, turning his gaze upon the majestic mountain of water pouring down from the sky, a layer of silver mist rising slowly from and around its base, swirling upwards.
Inuyasha began to walk toward the waterfall, sniffing all the way there. Finally, he knew where Kagome was. He stopped when he reached the bottom of the rock face Kagome had apparently climbed up to get on the ledge, which wound around behind the waterfall. The hanyou prepared to leap up the mini-cliff to Kagome when he froze, his ears perking forward.
The sound of Kagome's voice reached his doglike ears, drifting down from above, where she sat upon the ledge. Not only was it Kagome's voice, it was Kagome's voice singing.
'A song from her own time, probably.' He thought as he listened to the soft but pretty voice.
"I will meet you in some place
Where the light lends itself to soft repose"
Kagome's voice gained strength and became clearer with each note. 'She's got a good voice.' Inuyasha thought, impressed.
"I will let you undress me
But I warn you – I have thorns like any rose."
Inuyasha's eyebrows went up. 'Undress her?' he thought, staring up at the rock face with a curious expression. 'Maybe she means it in more than one way.' He thought. 'Like, she's open, or something, along with the other meaning.' The hanyou was surprising himself with his insightfulness. 'And the "thorns like any rose". Maybe that means that she has bad qualities, along with the good ones.'
Kagome's voice continued, ringing musically in the air and filling his ears as he listened.
"You could hurt me with your bare hands
You could hurt me using the sharp end of what you say
But I am lost to you now
There's no amount of reason to save me."
Inuyasha's eyes softened as he listened to the lyrics, the words in them. ' "Hurt me with your bare hands." That's so true. I could tear her apart so easily. Especially when I transform into a full youkai. But I would NEVER do such a thing.' Inuyasha thought quietly. 'If I'm the one she's singin' about, that is. And that other part, too. She's implying that even if I hurt her, either by my claws or the words I say to her, she would still love me.' He thought back to all of the mean things he had ever said to her and felt his heart throb with a momentary pain.
He shook his head and kept listening to her voice. It was so soothing to his ears.
"So break meTake me
Just let me feel your arms again
Break me
Take me
Just let me feel your love again."
Inuyasha wanted nothing more at that moment than to bound up and over the mini-cliff onto the ledge and take Kagome into his arms, like the lyric to that song she was singing said. And break me?
'What could she mean by that? That I've broken her...?' the hanyou wondered.
'And the lyric "Take me". Like she was offering herself, wanting to give herself to me.' He felt something strong inside him for Kagome, something that lay within his heart. Love.
'Kagome,' he thought longingly of her. 'Please, please be thinking about me.'
She was the one he needed. Not Kikyo.
With every word she sang, Kagome felt a pang in her bruised heart. Yet, she felt compelled to sing it, and did so with every bit of meaning behind it that she could muster. The lyrics were just too true, so right.
Her voice had risen from soft and somewhat choked up to a strong, clear melody which rang out around the ledge she occupied.
Kagome unwrapped her arms from around her knees and changed her position, tucking her legs behind her as she moved into the second verse of the song.
"Feels like being underwaterNow that I've let go – lost control
Water kisses fill my mouth
Water, water fills my soul"
What a coincidence that the song spoke of water and here she was, hiding behind a waterfall, singing her soul out, seeing as how she had already criead out her heart.
Kagome blinked back new tears forming and kept on singing, though a single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek as she sang, glistening softly in the muted blue light of the waterfall.
"So break meTake me
Just let me feel your arms again
Break me
I'll let you make me
Just let me feel your love again."
She would never have Inuyasha. Never. Yet even though Kagome knew this, she would always feel the way she did for him. Always. Because she couldn't stop this feeling even if she tried.
Kagome's voice faded as she ended the lyric she had been singing. Her scent screamed of sadness, the smell of salt lingering over her like a fly over an open wound. She had cried. A lot. And was still crying.
Inuyasha felt himself become somewhat sad, too, wanting to go and comfort Kagome, but still wanting to hear the rest of her song. She had such a beautiful voice.
"Kiss me onceWell, maybe twice
Oh, it never
Felt so nice."
Inuyasha's ears twitched and perked forward. Had she just said to kiss her – and twice? Yes, she had. Now, more than ever he wanted, no, he needed her to be singing about him. Needed for him to be the one Kagome had said in her journal that she loved.
The silver-haired hanyou began to wonder what her lips would taste like. How they would feel pressed against his own.
A strong urge to go and sweep Kagome off of her feet and kiss her senseless came over him. But he resisted the impulse, though not without a struggle, choosing instead to let her finish her song.
Kagome wiped away the remnants of her tears off of her cheeks, still singing. She had found her voice had grown strength the longer she sang. Her words were sent back to her as they reverberated off the rocky out-cropping's walls and high, high ceiling.
"So break me Take meJust let me feel your love again, yeah
Break me
Oooh, I'll let you make me
Just let me feel your arms again."
Kagome took a breath and sung the final line to the song. The song was called "Break Me" by a music artist known as Jewel.
"Just let me feel your love again."
The last note echoed around her and then finally fade away as she sat in silence, thinking about a certain someone. A certain someone who she would never have.
"Oh, Inuyasha..." she whispered softly, those two words filled with unimaginable sorrow and pain, fighting back more tears.
When the last note had died away, Inuyasha prepared to make a leap to the ledge when his sharp ears picked up a sound.
"Oh, Inuyasha..."
Those words held immense sorrow and were whispered so very softly that Inuyasha only just barely heard them, even with his sensitive, doglike ears. And he was so pathetically glad that he did. He almost jumped with joy.
'Yes! She does love me! She sang that song thinking of me!' he thought ecstatically.
The hanyou smelled fresh salt brewing on her scent, which only made him more eager to taker into his arms and tell her how he felt.
Unable to keep it inside any longer, Inuyasha scaled the small rockface easily, landing on the ledge in a crouch. He heard Kagome sniff. She had her head hanging down.
"Hey, Kagome, You've got a really good voice." Inuyasha said, getting her attention. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts and sadness that she hadn't noticed his entrance onto the ledge.
Kagome gasped and she looked up, startled, her eyes wide, with panic in them, like a frightened doe. She was caught in the throes of surprise and indecision, her disheveled appearance making him want to hold her even more.
With the tear-stains streaking her cheeks, her nose pink, and eyes wide with more tears forming in them, Kagome looked for all the world like a forlorn angel to Inuyasha. Hell, she was an angel, as far as he was concerned.
Kagome's head jerked up when she heard Inuyasha's voice. She was so take by surprise that all she could do was gape. Neither of them moved. Inuyasha's eyes had a strange look in them.
'The same as when he almost kissed me that one time. Before Kikyo was resurrected. If only I hadn't freaked and pushed him away. Then maybe things wouldn't be like they were now.' Kagome realized, thinking ruefully. The sight of Inuyasha standing before her at this moment, the one who had made her heart ache so, was almost too much for her.
The tears that had been welling in her eyes now fell afresh as she felt her heart give a painful squeeze. All the despair she had locked away at the thought of Inuyasha with Kikyo broke through.
"Kagome. Please don't cry. It makes me sad." Inuyasha said, walking over to her and crouching in front of her.
Suddenly Kagome felt her mobility return to her limbs. With hardly a thought, Kagome sprang to her feet and began to flee, panic of Inuyasha hearing her sing that song, and no doubt what she had whispered desperately after she had finished the song. Panic and embarrassment.
Kagome heard Inuyasha begin to follow her, and she looked back as a reflex to see. Mistake. She had reached the end of the ledge, slick from the waterfall. Kagome let out a yelp of surprise and fear s her foot slipped and she was unable to catch her balance. She started to fall forward into the waterfall, feeling herself beginning to get drenched.
Before her foot had even left the ledge, she felt Inuyasha grab her arm and pull her back, away from danger. Kagome spun around and raised her free arm to strike him, to get him to release her, so that she could run far, far away.
Inuyasha easily caught her wrist, now holding both of her arms.
Kagome twisted and pulled futily in Inuyasha's grasp, turning this way and that, looking at anything but him, halfheartedly trying to break away.
Inuyasha merely held onto her, looking down at her with sadness and affection, slowly pulling her to him as she struggled weakly and sobbed. The hanyou transferred his grip from her wrists to her shoulders as he pulled her in to him, wrapping her securely in a tight embrace.
Kagome was caught in the throes of an internal struggle. Part of her wanted to run away and hide from Inuyasha, but more of her wanted him to hold her tightly, despite the fact that he had, however inadvertently, caused her pain. Well, he and Kikyo.
The last of her resolve dissolved and Kagome ceased her halfhearted struggles and surrendered herself to Inuyasha, burying her face into his haori as she sobbed her heart and eyes out again.
"Kagome..." Inuyasha whispered into her wet hair softly, affectionately. He could feel the water from Kagome's body start to penetrate his clothes, but he didn't care. Just as long as he was embracing her, it didn't matter.
The hanyou held her to him protectively, drawing her closer, taking in her scent and stroking her soaked locks in an affectionate manner.
Absently, a lyric from the song came back to Kagome.
"Just let me feel your arms again."
After a while, Kagome's sobs faded and the tears ceased to flow. She pulled away from Inuyasha, who released her, and took a few steps back from him. She looked at the hanyou with sadness, yearning, confusion, and a myriad of other emotions in her eyes. Her barriers had been dropped. She had left herself open, prone, vulnerable, as easy to read as an open book.
Kagome began to shiver, the combination of water and the chill air making her cold. Without a word, Inuyasha removed his haori and handed it to her. She took it gratefully, wrapping it around her saturated body.
"Damn you, Inuyasha..." she mumbled, but the hanyou's keen ears picked up the words.
Feeling a little reckless, Kagome decided impulsively to go out on a limb and tell Inuyasha how she felt about him. If he didn't already know.
"I'm not going to try and hide it anymore. Besides, I must be as transparent as a pane of glass." Kagome let out a choked laugh. "So I won't try to deny it, to save myself from more pain. I love you, Inuyasha. I love you, and I always will. But ever since Kikyo's come around, I'll never have my chance. There's no room in your heart for me anymore...is there?"
Kagome's voice resonated with a sad wistfulness, her eyes reflecting the same emotion as she stared up at him.
Inuyasha shook his head. "No. No, Kagome. That's not true." He walked up to her, closing the space between them and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"What do you mean 'That's not true'?" Kagome asked, staring down at her feet. Her heartbeat quickened slightly.
"What I mean is that you're wrong, stupid-"Inuyasha began.
"Stupid?! You're such a-"Kagome interrupted him in an outburst. She lapsed back into quiet again when Inuyasha placed a finger on her lips to silence her. Kagome looked down at Inuyasha's finger on her lips and blushed in spite of herself.
Inuyasha sighed. "Now would you let me finish?" Kagome nodded mutely.
"Okay. What I mean is that what you said wasn't rue. There is still room in my heart for you, Kagome." The hanyou continued, removing his finger from her lips. "In fact, you are the one in my heart."
Kagome gasped, her heart beginning to beat faster. Yet, even so, a single word could not help but escape her lips.
"Kikyo."
Inuyasha put his hand that had silenced her outburst back upon her free shoulder, so that now he was holding onto her.
"Kagome, I'm sorry I've been such a baka and that it took me so long to see, to realize that Kikyo is not the same one my heart loved fifty years ago. My heart had moved on, but my mind was still stuck on her, stuck on Kikyo. But now my mind has finally caught up with my heart. And it's you, Kagome"
Kagome's heart was pounding now, racing with a small hopeful joy.
'Could he mean it?' she wondered as Inuyasha moved closer.
Things seemed to be reduced to slow motion as their faces drew nearer. Kagome hardly dared to breathe as Inuyasha's face came closer and closer to hers. Inuyasha closed what little space was left between them and pressed his lips upon her own, gently but passionately.
Kagome inhaled sharply at the sensation of Inuyasha's lips pressed warmly against her own, her eyes closing in bliss. She clung to Inuyasha's shirt as she returned his kiss, so tender yet so full of meaning and affection that it left her breathless. It was short but so very sweet. Words echoed through her mind as Inuyasha softly broke the kiss.
"Kiss me once."
The hanyou gazed intently at her and Kagome stared back, so many things running through her mind. Clarity, relief, joy, and most of all, love. Always love.
"I don't want to be the cause of any part of your hurt anymore, Kagome." Inuyasha said softly." You have to let me know. Will you let me protect you, Kagome? From everything, demon and your pain. Will you let me?"
"Yes. Always." Kagome responded, her reply barely a whisper.
Inuyasha held her to him protectively, possessively, and captured her lips with his own once more in a kiss that all he felt within himself for her. All of his passion, his affection, his devotion, his kindness, his tenderness, his love.
Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss, returning it with an equally fiery passion and love, succumbing to his arms.
"Well, maybe twiceOh, it never
Felt so nice."
The golden sun broke through the clouds and shone upon the cascading waterfall, filtering through the ribbons of water and illuminating the kissing couple with a blue, crystalline glow.
They stayed in that way for several precious long moments, the kissing building in intensity, before pulling apart, breathing a bit heavier than usual.
"I love you, Kagome." Inuyasha said, holding her tightly to him. Kagome's cheeks were flushed and her brown eyes sparkled.
"I'm so glad." Kagome murmured, snuggling into Inuyasha's chest. "I love you too." She was so content in the arms if her hanyou. Her Inuyasha. Not Kikyo's. Inuyasha smiled.
"Just let me feel your love again."
So....the story ends. I hope you have enjoyed reading this little one-shot fic of mine.- Now all you have left to do is REVIEW IT!!!!!meows
Lady Catwoman