Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha. If I did, the Inuyasha and Kagome pairing wouldn't exist at all.
Author's Note: I'm onto an idea of questioning Kagome's "love" for Inuyasha. I've thought this for years and have made my stance known. I'm expressing it here on the surface. I don't know how deep I'll explore this. You've been warned.
A Hanyou's Serenade
Lonely hanyou, what it is you crave the most? Understanding for who you are rather than what you aren't. Stuck between demon and human. You're a mixture of both but neither one at the same time. Since you don't fit in with the humans, they fear and despise you all at once. As a child you were horribly mistreated. Children are ver cruel as it is, but their disdain was passed down from the parents. They acted out what they saw. People ignorant to a child's feelings. They didn't deign to respect him in the least. He was nothing to them. The humans treated him accordingly. Why should they even care? Pity that others could be so ruthless to a little one. Heartless bastards the lot of them. Fools lived in a bubble and ganged up on him before he could defend himself. Spineless cowards. Their offspring was even worse. Children beat each other up if allowed. They play too rough at times before they learn. The village children were taught to stick with their own kind. There was no room for someone not wholly like themselves.
Pick on the one who's different. He isn't like us so it's fine to dismiss his feelings. That one is just a freak. Let's just treat him lower than dirt.
Dirt. Now why is that familiar? Oh, yes! Being below the ground means that's where he belongs. A cursed necklace binds him to a girl who really isn't dissimilar to those kids who excluded him at every turn. She just says the word he wished never existed and down he goes. If this is some sort of twisted way to show affection, the sentiment goes over his head. Its like saying all he went through was out of love. Tough love. Tough, tough love. The type where punishing someone was for their own good. Or it hurts me more than it hurts me. This is for your good type of lesson. While the intentions may be well and good, Inuyasha is older than Kagome. Those days of teaching him anything along those lines are long gone. They ended when his mother departed this world. She protected him best she could and gave all the love a mother had. Warmth undoubtedly radiated from her entire being. She kept him safe from the cruel, cold reality. His mother tried to keep the bad things away from her son. He recognized that as love.
Now we stumble upon a contradictory statement. Kagome claims to love Inuyasha, but does she truly? How does constantly abusing the enchanted beads count as any kind of declaration of romantic inclination? Last time he checked love wasn't supposed to further destroy his self worth. He shouldn't feel as though he could do nothing right. The irony was in striving to create his own place he was placed under spell. Didn't that very thing defeat his whole purpose of finding acceptance? Being reprimanded for not doing what the girl deemed as right said the complete opposite. In fact it was pretty damn demeaning.
Soft and sweet words went so far without equally soft and sweet gestures. Consideration begins to be taken when one thing is said yet something totally different is done. He seriously ponders such a predicament. His situation is delicate even if he'd never admit it out loud to anyone. A brave, fearless hanyou that's fought to survive most of his life. His existence has mostly been a lonely one. Full blooded youkai wanted to end his sad and miserable and abominable self. He was discarded without a second glance most times. Who was he to them except weak? Too bad for them they greatly miscalculated how powerful he was. Dismissive superiority gave way to wrath when the hanyou proved to be a worthy adversary. Just ask the Lord of the West what happened to his arm. Pathetic half breed indeed.
Or go find wherever Naraku is hiding. He'd have much to say about Inuyasha. It goes without saying that he does have a forest named after himself. A lowly hanyou has quite an impressive résumé for one spat on time and time again. He has very admirable and honorable qualities that are quite attractive. Being overlooked all his life doesn't clearly paint a picture of his character. Most everyone has something negative to say solely based on prejudice. All youkai aren't the same. They're not totally uncaring and heartless. Maybe the majority is out for blood and destruction. We have the Shikon jewel as proof enough. Many have come seeking its power and have further corrupted the energy of the shards. They've shown themselves in that respect. Still doesn't mean the minority should be included in the lust for greatness. No, Inuyasha is trying to make it whole again. He's searching with his companions to rid the world of the jewel forever.
A point should be made that Kagome is responsible for shattering said jewel. Inuyasha is determined to get every single piece back. I digress. This miko has the ability to purify the shards, but she acts a different way with the hanyou. Yell. Scream. Accuse. Reproach him if she thinks he's in the wrong. She's the pure hearted one? The spiritual energy to untaint dark auras is within her? Kagome, who professes love for Inuyasha, has this gift. Her purity isn't up for debate; although, it is questionable at times. She's far from a saint too. She's only human and more than capable of making mistake. The judgmental face is the topic because it belies her sweet and gentle nature. Two faces for the past and the present. She smiles in his face one minute just to degrade him the next. He's her real life action star. This is real life. Everything she witnesses is what the history books she reads don't tell you. Where's the thanks? Not some silly semblance of gratitude buried beneath idealistic views.
Sitting Inuyasha doesn't constitute warm and fuzzy emotions. Her boyfriend shouldn't be subjected to such disgraceful and undue humiliation. If he was anybody else, it wouldn't even be possible! Isn't this a feudal fairy tale anyway? She sure is a damsel in distress, who just happens to be a miko, that needs rescuing. Did she fall in love? Her demeanor is hit and miss on that one. You don't basically create a relationship between yourself and a hanyou without his knowledge. You wouldn't then say he's unfaithful to you knowing full well it isn't so. Crying over a boy you aren't even with doesn't make sense. Rendering said hanyou immobile after seeing something you don't like isn't even a little mature.
What's a hanyou to do with himself? He's the scum of the earth for being himself. Full blooded youkai don't want him. Humans scorn him for his appearance. He's stuck right in the middle of two worlds and always will be. His determination and unbreakable will have carried him to where he now stands. Both at once and neither at all. He's not permitted on either side. Such a sorrowful and lonely place to be. A position of knowing without a doubt you're unwanted. An individual to the point of me, myself, and I. Just myself. How does a futuristic girl choose to be? Less than desirable in terms of being accepting. Inuyasha can tell the difference in what meaningful and genuine care is and isn't. He's not convinced Kagome does.