They'd been arguing for what felt like hours.
The more time they spent spent together, the more they seemed to argue. Kagome wasn't so sure that they would ever get along, no matter how hard she tried to get him on her side. It just seemed that nothing she did would change his mind about her. And what was worse- it wasn't even her that Inuyasha didn't like. He was mad at Kikyo and because she looked like the dead woman, Inuyasha didn't like her. Inuyasha could not look past the similarities between her and Kikyo to truly see their vast differences. Like it was her fault she looked like Kikyo, like her she had asked to hold the soul of the woman Inuyasha had once loved. The woman that had sealed him to a tree and left to sleep for fifty years, betraying the trust Inuyasha had built with her. Kagome had a hunch there was a whole lot more to that story, but the unwilling hanyou would probably never tell her the truth. A sigh escaped her as she fought to keep hold on the battered hanyou's arm, which was bleeding profusely after their most recent of battles. "Inuyasha, let me help you!" She snapped, tugging hard enough to pull his whole body towards her.
His golden eyes flickered and then narrowed as their gazes met, Kagome's blue eyes fiercer than he'd ever seen. Eyes so unlike the ones he'd remembered Kikyo having... "You're so unlike her." He spat as he tore his arm from her grasp, ignoring the shooting pain caused by his sudden movements. Even her touch was different than Kikyo's had been- softer, a bit warmer even, a touch that always left him wanting more.
"That's because I'm not her." Kagome's sharp tone could have cut him like a knife, her blue eyes darkening as she glared at him. The look was truly terrifying, now that Inuyasha looked a bit closer, and he couldn't help but to gulp. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I'm Kagome. Ka-go-me." It was becoming tiresome, having to defend who she was to everyone she met in this era. Everywhere she went, she was met by the stares of those who only saw Kikyo. In this era, she was nothing more than an imitation Kikyo, a reflection of the woman death had claimed so many years ago. Somehow, she had to make him and everyone else see that she was so much more than Kikyo's reincarnation.
She reached back out then, taking his elbow between her palms and drawing it back to her. "Now stop being a baby and let me look." Despite his want to pull away again, he allowed her to keep a hold on him with one hand, while her other brushed its fingertips across the flesh wound. He winced but did not speak, nor did she as she let him go to fish around in her bag, apparently looking for something. Out she pulled from it a small white box which she immediately opened and took out a small spray bottle. "Hold still, this might sting a little." She said a moment before she sprayed the wound, which sure enough began to sting enough for him to let out a curse. Kagome raised her eyes towards him but reached for a roll of bandages, wrapping them securely around the wound. "There." She said a moment later, gently patting his arm before scooting back, returning her belongings to her bag. At least that was taken care of.
Watching her for several long moments, Inuyasha couldn't help but to study her a bit more closely. She did indeed look quite similar to Kikyo, but her profile was a bit softer, her blue eyes shaped just a little differently. Her hair fell in waves rather than as straight as Kikyo's had, its curls enticing him to want to run his fingers through its length. Now that he was noticing, he had to wonder how it'd taken him so long to see.
"Thanks, Kagome."
He could not say what possessed him to say such a thing other than for the first time in his life, he truly felt thankful. For the first time, he felt compelled to tell the truth of his own heart. She looked up from her bag, turning to face him with a wide eyed gaze. This time when he looked into her eyes, they had reclaimed their gentle stare, a smile curving on her lips. She was right, she wasn't Kikyo... She wasn't anything like that woman had been. Where Kikyo had been reserved, Kagome was out spoken. Where Kikyo had been dull, Kagome was vibrant. So full of fire was this girl that it continually took him by surprise, no matter how many days had passed with her at his side. It was as if she feared nothing- no demon could deter her from doing what was right, and her nature was beginning to rub off on the hanyou, no matter how much he didn't want for it to. He was wrong to have looked over her all these weeks, wrong to have only seen Kikyo when she no one but Kagome.
Looking into his eyes, Kagome could see the truth reflected within their golden depths, that for the first time he was truly seeing her. He was looking into her eyes and seeing who she was inside, not who she looked like on the outside. Sitting back on her hunches, Kagome could not stop the wide smile from spreading across her face- she felt warm, as she had felt a few days before when he'd called her by her name for the very first time.
And now, for the first time, it felt like they might really begin to get along.