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Chapter Three – Endeavor

Endeavor – to make an effort

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Translations:

Je veux juste aller à la maison. Je veux être de retour en mon appartement! – I just want to go home. I want to be back in my apartment!

Danielle…laissez-moi partir de nouveau au sommeil. J'ai eu une nuit approximative. – Danielle… let me go back to sleep. I've had a rough night.

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He was livid. His mate was nowhere to be seen or smelt and he was angry. The red eyed demon had returned to his mate's home after talking to his brother but when he had reached the shrine, her scent was a couple hours old and had faded.

For a few seconds, he was reminded on his brother's words and he growled. "If your mate is truly back, then don't you think you should better yourself and make yourself more appealing to her after all these years?" His growl increased as he realized his brother was right. One thing he needed before he would attempt to cleanse himself, was his mate. Who right now, was nowhere to be seen.

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Pure white snowflakes fell from a dark gray sky as a woman with flowing black tresses sat beside the well, sobbing silently as several words came out of her mouth like prayers. "Je veux juste aller à la maison. Je veux être de retour en mon appartement!" Lifting her face from her folded arms that were on the lip of the well, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her yukata as she muttered, "God… please just take me home. First, I'm stuck in a country with people who are hard to understand while I do things that my servants should do… Second, I find myself in a place I don't know where it is, and third… I'm freezing!" Letting another tear slip, she sniffed a few times as she shakily got to her feet. "I'll give it one more try," she said to herself in hope. Breathing in deeply, she felt a shiver go down her spine as her nose burned from the cold night air.

What she didn't know was that not ten feet from her form was the same boy who she earlier had the pleasure of meeting.

Behind a giant tree, was Inuyasha, his eyes wary and his body rigid as he watched the girl lift herself over and into the bone eater's well, only to hear her scream in irritation. He didn't understand what she was so angry about. He slowly saw her lift herself out of the well with trembling arms and more tears streaming down already stained and blotchy red face.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he felt the familiar sensation of his youki returning to his human form as the sun rose over the tree tops. He closed his eyes when the sensation took over his body and when he opened them he saw Kagome laying down beside the well with her arms hugging herself. His canine ears twitched as he heard her sobs and his amber eyes went blank.

For some odd reason, even though he had only known her for a few hours, he felt as if he should help her. Plus, what was with her weird accent? A hushed growl left his lips as he barred his fangs at the thought of helping her. Why the hell should I help the wench?! All she has done is yell at me and slap me! His growl grew in volume before he crossed his arms, the growl stopping. What would be the use in helping her? A few scenarios ran through his mind before he glanced at her. She was in the same position as before, but she was no longer sobbing. A hiccup left her shivering form and he sighed as he heard her heart beat slowing. If she fell asleep in this cold, there was a possibility that she could die and he felt unusually responsible if she got in that situation.

Slowly, he walked toward her, his ears back and his eye brows knitted together in thought. With her eyes still closed and her body succumbing to sleep, he took of his fire rat haori and wrapped her in it. Picking her up, he took in a breath as he finally noticed how thin and weightless she was. When he had first seen her he hadn't noticed for she looked normal but now… she seemed like she hadn't eaten in days! With that thought, he secured her in his arms, trying to keep her warm as he walked away from the well.

While he walked, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander away from where they were going to her sleeping face.

He had never seen anyone so beautiful before. Her ebony locks were thick and long, her skin a pale white, her eye lashes lengthy as they rested against her rosy cheeks. The sight of her slightly sun kissed skin gave Inuyasha a small shiver that left as soon as it had come. As a Japanese male, he was supposed to be attracted to pale white skin wasn't he? Not skin that seemed like it had spent hours in the sun. Inuyasha's ears twitch slightly as he looked at her button nose which was red from the cold. Securing her in his arms more firmly, he took his eyes off her. He would take care of her until she was able to return to whatever village she was from and then he would kick her butt out and never see her again. "I'll give her ten days."

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Warmth.

That was what she felt. I must be home… guess I finally woke up from that nightmare. Not wanting to waste the comfort she was experiencing, she snuggled more deeply into what she assumed was her bed. With a sigh, she gave a soft smile and kept her eyes closed from the light that threatened to fully wake her. I must've left the blinds open. Before she could immerse herself in the land of dreams again, she felt someone nudge her shoulder and she scowled. "Danielle…laissez-moi partir de nouveau au sommeil. J'ai eu une nuit approximative."

"What the fuck did you just say?"

Her blue eyes snapped open and she gasped at the sight before her. "You!" As fast as lightning, she was sitting up and out of what looked like a hay nest with his haori around her. She looked around before glancing at him with chary eyes as she said, "Wait… it can't be you… who are you?"

"Keh, it's me bitch."

Once those words left his mouth, her face turned red and her blue eyes regained their fire. "You can't call me that!"

"So you remember me now?"

Kagome ignored him as she looked at him. Didn't he have black hair and violet eyes before? She saw something move on top of his head and she gasped.

Oh shit, he thought. He knew that sound. She had noticed his ears and now she was going to go running. He knew this was a bad idea the minute he had thought it! He fixed his eyes onto the fire and clenched his teeth. He regretted bringing her here; he wished he hadn't brought her. After so long, hadn't he learned to not do what he had done? One would think he would've learned his lesson! He had taken someone to his cave, someone, who would now, scream in horror at his ugly, disgusting, non-human, non-demon, sickening, horrible, revolt- he gasped. While he had been yelling at himself, she had gotten before him on her knees. In front of him, he saw her breasts as he felt her reach up and touch his ears. Her hands were soft and gentle as she pet him, the motion making his body tremble as a violent shiver ran down his spine. No one, in all his years, had ever treated his ears like she was right now. Usually people tried to rip them off, yank them, or burn them, or – holy shit, it feels amazing.

After several moments passed, he came to his senses and pushed her away violently, making sure she didn't hit the fire.

When she saw his livid expression, with his eyes turned away from her and his ears hiding in his hair, she gasped. "I'm sorry! Did that hurt?"

Golden eyes widened and his mouth opened as he took in a breath. She can't be fucking…

"Inuyasha? I'm sorry if I hurt you! I just saw your ears and couldn't help myself! I won't touch them again."

...Serious? Slowly, he looked at her face, noting her worried expression as she hesitantly reached out a hand towards him, the other over her heart. "Aren't you…"

"Aren't I what?" Kagome asked as both of her hands rested in her lap, not noticing that her light blue yukata had ridden up and was no exposing part of her thigh.

"Aren't you disgusted by me?"

She looked at him then. Truthfully, he looked like a beaten puppy and a confused man all at the same time. His ears where at attention, awaiting her words, and his eyes were focused on her, wide and… hopeful?

Inuyasha wasn't prepared for the gentle smile that graced her lips or the soothing look that was in her eyes. She began to crawl closer to him and he noticed how her yukata had opened a little in the front, making him blush. When she was less than a foot away, Kagome took his large, rough hand in her petite and soft hands, making his heart flutter.

"I don't find you disgusting at all… Inuyasha."

Maybe it was a little too much for his bruised and battered fifth teen year old brain to comprehend but one thing he was sure of, was that she had to be some sort of vixen. No human in their right mind would ever touch his ears like she had or say he wasn't a vile beast meant to have died when he took his first breath. With that thought, his eyes narrowed and he took his hand from hers, a small growl in his chest. "You are one conniving bitch, vixen. You did a great job smelling and looking perfectly like some human. Why don't you turn back into your kitsune form? Let me guess… my brother hired you just so I could, once again, be reminded of my vile existence? Well it worked, it was a great joke." He stood then and walked to the cave opening, not turning around as he said, "I'll get you back to full health but after that, you're gone."

As she watched him leave, she felt a tear reach her eyes before falling down her cheek. "B-But… It's wasn't a joke."

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Outside the cave, getting covered by snow, was Inuyasha. A grimace was upon his face and his bangs coverws his eyes as he listened to her crying.

There was no way in hell she had meant it; she was just continuing to put on an act. Okay so maybe she wasn't a vixen, maybe she was just some human who had decided to play with him while she let him nurse her back to health.

Damn it, he cursed.

A small part of him was telling him that she might've been telling the truth while another was saying to go inside and kick her out already, let her survive on her own. If she died, hey, it wasn't his problem… was it? The small part of him that was hopeful was the kid in him that had wanted only to be accepted while the other was what he had become after years of torture and humiliation.

Keh! The sooner I get her out, the better! With his decision made, he turned back towards the cave, letting the snow fall off him on the way. The sooner he got her out, the sooner he could go back to living by himself.

The image he saw when he came back sent a small pang through him, the child in him feeling sympathetic.

Kagome was lying in the hay nest with his haori wrapped tightly around her as she faced the fire. He could hear her holding in tears and when he could see her face, he saw her biting her lip.

"What're you crying for, wench?" When she didn't retaliate, he grew concerned and scowled. "Look, bitch, I'm trying so do you want to tell me what the fuck's wrong or not?"

She sat up slowly and wiped her cheeks with the sleeves of her yukata. "I just miss my home. My parents sent me to my Grandfather in hopes that I would learn how to not be a 'princess' and to learn what's it like to not have servants doing everything for me."

"Are you some kind of princess?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Shaking her head, Kagome gripped his fire rat with clenched hands. "My father is the Japanese Ambassador in France; he receives a fair amount of money so most of my life I've had people clean my room and make my meals. Even when I had my own apartment, I had a maid… her name was Oceané; she was one of my best friends." When she looked at him, she noticed that he seemed lost and sighed.

"Why is it you're so skinny and frail?"

"Huh?" Looking at him, Kagome saw his intense look and she bit her lip, looking at the fire. "In order to continue being one of the top models in France, which is extremely hard being the only Asian model, I have to be skinny. Almost to the point of anorexia so that way I can fit into all the clothes. Being tall has its quirks I guess, I rarely gain weight."

What the fuck is she talking about? Mod-ell? Fer-ance? Sighing through his nose, he gave her a curious look. "I don't really understand your situation, but it's not healthy to be so thin. That's why… while you were asleep; I stole some food from the nearest village." Getting up, he walked over to the barrel she hadn't noticed was behind her and took out some meat. "When it's done cooking, you're eating all of it."

Good thing I'm not a vegetarian, she thought as she saw him put what she assumed was deer over the fire, hanging off a stick. That's a lot of food. "Aren't you going to eat any of it?"

"I'm a hanyou as you've already noticed; I don't need to eat as much."

With sad eyes, she noticed how he practically spat out the word hanyou with such venom that could've burned a hole straight through the deer carcass. "Inuyasha?"

He grunted in response as he slowly turned the cooking meat.

"I don't find you disgusting at all… in fact, I find you rather handsome,"

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Hope you like it. Please review.

Trembling Rose