-Chapter 7-
After dinner, Inuyasha and Kagome went back upstairs to finish studying.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. It was getting late.
Kagome looked up. 'I wonder if Inuyasha has a home... If he does, then why on earth would he have eaten out of the dumpster?' she thought.
Inuyasha felt her staring at him and looked at her with a questioning expression on his face.
"Um... Inuyasha? Do you have anywhere to go? Stop me if I'm being nosy, but... I saw you eating out of the dumpster and I was just wondering." she told him.
Inuyasha didn't answer. He was stunned by this sudden question.
Kagome once more handed him a notepad and a pencil. "You know, I've always thought that writing was never a form of talking. I think it's more of a form of..." she searched for the right word, "...art. Drawing. You know, because all you're really doing is just drawing lines and forming them into characters." She smiled at him.
He looked down, embarrassed over pretty much nothing. 'I can hardly believe how much she cares about me... It's unreal. But...I like it. I want her to care. But why can't I talk to her? I really do want to, but... What's holding me back?' he thought.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. If you don't have anywhere to go, then why not stay here for the night? I'm sure I can talk my parents into letting you." Kagome beamed.
Inuyasha blinked in response. That had just about done it. Nobody ever treated him so kindly before. And now, this one girl, was making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He blinked several more times in order to clear out teardrops that had formed on the corners of his eyes.
Kagome got up and prepared a pallet for him to sleep on. When she decided it looked comfortable enough, she beckoned Inuyasha to lay down by patting on the pallet.
Inuyasha got the hint and laid down on the pallet. It was luxurious! Astounding! And so, so comfy... He almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Kagome watched him as he slept. Her father usually wouldn't approve of this sort of behavior from her, but these were unusual circumstances! She didn't have much choice in the matter! He was almost exactly like that stray dog she'd found some time back. She rolled over in her bed and slowly fell into a light doze, then into a light sleep.
"Oh, Inuyasha! Did you get hurt?! They were picking on you again, weren't they?" a sweet, calming, female voice came.
"Yeah. But I'm fine! I'm okay! Really, I am!" a young, innocent, male voice replied.
"That's good to know."
"Hey, Mother? Tell me about Father."
"About your father?"
"Yes. I never got to meet him. You told me he died when I was born. How did he die?"
"Well, when you were born... Let's just say he protected me, okay?"
"Mother, I want you to tell me the truth. Everything. Please, don't lie to me anymore."
"...Okay. Your father's name was InuTaisho. He already had a son by the time I was pregnant with you. His son's name was Sesshomaru. Your father, unlike me, was a full-blooded demon."
"What kind of demon was he?"
"He was a dog demon. He'd just recently finished a tedious battle with another demon named Ryoukotsei. His wounds were great. When I was in labor with you, many castle guards grew weary of waiting to slay him. Somehow, they learned that I was birthing a child fathered by a demon."
"Was I the child?"
"Yes, you were. They despised the idea that they would soon have to protect a halfdemon, crowned as a young Lord. The army's general, who happened to have special feelings for me at the time, came into the birthing room, even though it was forbidden to men. He talked to me for a bit, though I remember not what he said. He killed me.
"How? You're alive now."
"Indeed. It was all thanks to your father. He came and killed off the army of men who were meant to slay him. He came to rescue me. By the time the general left, I was dead. You, however, had already been born. The general turned around to slay you as well, but was slain by your father. He revived me by using the Sword of Healing, Tenseiga. The last words of the general were, 'Burn the mansion to the ground!' and everyone did just that. I escaped unscathed, thanks again to your father. It turns out, the general hadn't yet died. He and your father died fighting each other. The last words your father told me were, 'Live long. And be strong with Inuyasha.'"
"I didn't understand much of what you said. But I did understand some of it. I was the reason for Father's death, right?"
"No! Inuyasha, that's not true!"
"Yes it is. It was because of me that Father had to come and protect you, isn't it? And everyone around here calls me a halfbreed. Mother, what's a halfbreed?"
"It matters not. But do not become one of them."
"I promise, I won't."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mother."
