Forgiveness I
By: Stargazer
Summary: The pain is absolute. The arrow pinning him to the tree is the proof he needed. There is not one person worthy of trust. They all try to kill him. The first of a Trilogy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the song "The Unforgiven" by Metallica. If I did I'd be freakin rich.
New Blood joins this Earth
And quickly he's subdued
A baby with silver ears lay in a woman's arms. He begins to cry for his mother, who had simply gone for a bath. A man stalks across the room and slaps him on the cheek. The boy immediately stills.
"That'll do; filth. You never should have been allowed the air you use to cry. So shut up!"
His mother returns to the room with no knowledge of recent events.
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules
A young boy in a red haori looks for his mother in a crowded marketplace. Someone spots him and shouts. He knows not what they are yelling for. It is only when he feels the sting of tomato juice in his eye that he sees they are yelling at him. He runs.
It is the first of many beatings he will receive.
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
This time he knows not to leave the house in the daylight. There is something about him that makes the people angry. He asks his mom why they hate him so.
She begins to cry.
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on
A young man walks into a moonlit clearing. He is silent as he approaches a grave marked by a rough stone, his footsteps a mere whisper against the grass.
"Ten years, mother. There is no one for me."
He stays until the sun rises. His departure is as swift and silent as his arrival.
And on he's known, a vow unto his own
That never from this day, His will they'll take away
He dodges another attack. The demon is strong. Stronger than any he has faced before. But it will not beat him. He promised himself that he would prove them wrong.
He may be worthless filth.
But he would be the death of them.
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
He learns through the years. Nobody can be trusted. So he hides behind his anger. He hides behind violence and blood.
They will never know the pain he feels inside.
Never Be
Never see
Won't see what might have been
He crouches on the branch as the children play under his tree. Their father laughs and calls them over. He couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like if he were human. He certainly wouldn't have been cruel to the hanyou. His stomach cramps and he winces. Too long he has gone without food.
He silently drops on their roof and sneaks in their house. He steals the meat from their table.
They are a wealthy family. Besides, food doesn't come easy to scum.
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
A man with flowing silver hair watches as the woman dies. Her son screams and cries. From his hiding place he can smell the sickness taking her life. He knows how to cure her. He knows how to save this boy's mother.
They would never accept his help.
Besides, the boy is human. He will be taken care of.
He briefly considers trying to help. Instead, he steals a cabbage from the garden.
Never Free
Never me
So I dub thee Unforgiven
The moon slips behind the clouds. A helpless human crawls into a cave, the blood pouring from his wounds. He prays to the Kami that he will not be found. Then he remembers what blood flows from the gash on his back.
The Kami have cursed him.
He curses them back and vows to slaughter his attacker come sunrise.
They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
The hunters chase him. They have been on his tail for weeks. Was he such a threat that they would dedicate their whole life to hunting and killing him? He had never harmed a human. The arrow in his shoulder is jarred with every desperate leap. The taijiya continue their pursuit. His only choice is to hide.
What a coward they have made him.
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
A young woman stands in the clearing. Her hair blows in the wind as she invites him to sit with her. He knows her well. How does she enable him to trust her? Impossible. He trusts no one.
His heart betrays him as he goes to her side.
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
The attacks grow more violent with his ever growing love for the priestess. His struggle will never change. She will not touch him for his blood.
Even she who holds his heart cannot bear to love him.
This fight he cannot win
The tired man they see no longer cares
He lies in the rays of the dying sun. She asks him then. To become human.
She presents it as a gift to him. But he knows that it is for her. She cannot bear to be a half-breed's love. It is a disgrace to her great name.
He agrees. What else could be for him?
Her half-love is all he will ever have.
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me
The pain is absolute. The arrow pinning him to the tree is the proof he needed. There is not one person worthy of trust. They all try to kill him.
He looks into her cold, angry eyes and bows his head.
His one regret is that he is unable to slaughter her, too.
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown---------
-"CLICK"-
Kagome pressed the stop button, tears rolling down her face.
The stories that Inuyasha had told her of his life all came to her mind. How could he have lived in such horrible circumstances and still have a heart? How could the same hands that killed demons hold her so lovingly?
His strength once again surprised her. She thought that he had no more surprises left.
Inuyasha was one heck of a man, hanyou or not. And she was proud to be his. Neither of them had ever said as much, but they both knew. His embraces were long and warm. And her hand was accustomed to taking his. There was no dramatic confession scene. They just simply loved.
They had defeated Naraku months ago, but the group continued to travel, helping villages along the way. Once the Jewel was completed, it fused with Kagome's body. They no longer had to protect it. They considered settling down, but four years of hardship had bonded the group. Doing anything other than traveling and helping people was not an option.
Her door opened and Inuyasha stepped in, laden with food. Well, Ramen. That was food, right?
He stopped dead when he saw her tears. "Oi, wench! I leave for ten seconds and you're already crying? What now?!" He placed the food on her desk.
Kagome laughed. "It's nothing, Inuyasha. I'll be okay." She stood and slipped her arms around his middle.
Inuyasha returned the embrace. "I know you, Kagome. It's never nothing. Tell me or I'll get really annoying."
Kagome laughed and stepped back. She pressed the repeat button on her stereo before sitting down on her bed. Inuyasha joined her and listened intently, trying to discern what it was that made her so upset.
Halfway through the song, Kagome was sobbing loudly into his haori, and he was on the verge of laughing. He knew that this song made her think of his past. Why else would she be crying and saying "I'm so sorry" over and over again? His past was gone. She was his future.
It was just like Kagome to get upset over something that happened to him. Something that had nothing to do with her.
He reached over the tearful girl and turned off the stereo. "Why are you so upset? My life is different now."
She looked up at him, tears spiking her lashes and rolling down her face. "But it must have been so horrible!"
He sighed. They had been through this many times in the past four years. He pulled her closer and placed his chin on her head. "It was worth it."
She shook her head. "Nothing should be worth that! You didn't deserve any of it!" Her voice was muffled by his chest.
He pushed her back so that he could see her face. "You were." He lifted her chin with his finger and wiped the tears from her face. "Now can I eat my ramen, or do you have more things to cry about? Perhaps all the innocent little noodles that were killed to make my ramen?"
Kagome smiled and shook her head, getting up to go to the restroom.
Inuyasha retrieved his now lukewarm ramen and proceeded to shovel it in his mouth. He didn't have time to respond when Kagome kissed his cheek gently and then proceeded to the restroom.
He smiled and continued to eat, glad that there was someone there for him. The Kami blessed him after all.