Chapter 7
Just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, a swell of magic rose out of the depths of the well and spread across the clearing. Rather than help her out, however, Inuyasha just stood there tapping his damn foot like she was wasting his precious time. Kagome climbed up the vines growing along the inner walls of her time portal, a difficult task considering just how much her full pack was weighing her down.
Already, the taiyoukai was clenching his teeth, angry at the hanyou's thoughtlessness. She was bringing back supplies for their pack, including his beloved ramen, and yet he couldn't be bothered to help her up. She was a human woman! She shouldn't be expected to haul all that weight around, let alone have to climb a good fifteen feet to the surface with it strapped to her back. There were nothing but vines for her to use to get out of the well, which might break, causing her to fall and suffer a serious injury.
Finally, she came into sight. At first, it was just one hand, which gripped tightly to the old rotting wood. Then another hand joined the first and, as she pulled herself higher, a crown of black-blue locks rose from the darkness. She hauled herself up until she could lean her waist on the ledge and then rolled off into the grass with a tired sigh, shrugging off her pack. She looked up at the impatient Inuyasha and huffed in frustration.
"You couldn't give me a hand?" she exclaimed, quickly climbing to her feet.
Looking her over, Sesshoumaru frowned. She was tense, more so than usual. Something was wrong. Something had happened in her time to cause her distress, which sent his beast into a tizzy. She was supposed to be safe in her era. They couldn't follow her there! He tried to pass through in the hopes of learning more about that half of her life, but he merely landed on the dirt at the bottom of the long shaft, glaring up at the blue sky as if it had wronged him. He didn't like the idea that she was vulnerable in a place he couldn't go and protect her.
"Did you remember the ramen, wench?" the hanyou demanded, rudely ignoring her question, just as he had also ignored the fact that she had needed his help.
"Of course I brought the ramen! Have I ever forgotten the ramen? No! Gee, it's nice to see you again, too, Inuyasha," she muttered.
The hanyou seemed completely oblivious to her distress, not noticing how she seemed intent on keeping him at a distance. She kept tilting her head to the left as if trying to hide that side of her neck, and every time Inuyasha moved, she moved as well, almost evasively, ensuring that he always was on her right side. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, trying to determine a possible cause for her odd behavior. Something was definitely going on, and not knowing what made him nervous.
"Come on then, wench. Why are we just standing here?" Inuyasha moved close as if he planned on tossing her onto his back as he often did, and she shied away, pulling back as if fearing he would hurt her. "What the fuck, Kagome? What's your problem?"
He tried to circle her and again, she tilted her head drastically, lifting her shoulder until it touched her ear while trying to turn away. Sesshoumaru watched as suspicion bled into the hanyou's eyes, his younger half-brother taking in a deep pull of her scent.
"The fuck, Kagome?!" he practically screamed, moving faster than she could, grabbing a fistful of her hair and jerking her head to the right so he could see the left side of her neck. "Where did this come from? Were you sneaking around with my fucking brother?"
Now Sesshoumaru was utterly confused, but even more outraged at the way his half-brother was handling her. He was basically dragging her around the clearing by her hair as she let out little squeaks of pain. The scent of fear flooded the area, and he knew that something was desperately wrong. Still, there was truly nothing he could do. If he showed himself, she would find herself tucked behind the hanyou for 'protection'. She wouldn't understand that he was trying to rescue her, and his presence would likely make the situation worse, so he stayed still and silent, just watching while adding to the mental tally of Inuyasha's crimes against her, crimes he would someday pay for.
If things grew worse, he might have to intervene, but only if it were absolutely necessary. He couldn't protect her from her protector, the fact of which made him feel impotent, absolutely useless. What good was he, sneaking around in the shadows, if he couldn't help her?
"It wasn't my fault, Inuyasha! He was there, in my time! I didn't know what he was doing until it was done. What is it? What does it mean?" Kagome was bent nearly in half in an attempt to ease the pain of his rough tugging, stumbling closer to lessen the tension on her hair. Inuyasha kept moving, however, dragging her along with him.
"In your time? Sesshoumaru, my evil, cold, ass of a brother was in your time?"
"Yes! I've seen him a few times, but this was the first time he approached me, and then he did this!" she exclaimed while gesturing towards whatever was on her neck, the source of her distress and Inuyasha's anger.
"You've seen him before and never told me?" he practically snarled. "What, were you hoping to upgrade?"
Ah, the hanyou's insecurities reared their ugly heads once more as he assumed that Kagome was conspiring against him. He couldn't truly believe that she accepted him for who and what he was, and so he was always expecting abandonment and betrayal. Sesshoumaru couldn't understand the half-breed's lack of trust in the sweet little miko. Her devotion to him shone brightly for everyone to see, and yet his half-brother questioned it, completely missing the depth of her love.
"What? No! I didn't know what he wanted! He would just, I don't know, stare at me. I didn't tell you because I knew you would freak out, and there was nothing you could really do about it. I thought he was just doing it to mess with your head, that he wanted me to tell you so it would make you insane. Now let go of my hair!" she demanded loudly.
"Or what, bitch? You gonna scream for your new alpha? You really think he'd come and save you? If Sesshoumaru was walking by, he wouldn't even pause to look while I beat the shit out of you, let alone come to your rescue."
"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, her fear quickly growing into terror as the man she loved tugged harder on her hair, hissing more threats in her ear. She never thought he would hurt her, not even while she worried about what his reaction to whatever Sesshoumaru did to her would be. She trusted him with her life and, at that moment, she was wondering if her trust was misplaced.
