Chapter Ten
Perfect
Kagome was simply numb. Inuyasha refused to hear anymore of her secret, and now she wondered if had she lost him forever. She knew this would happen. Was it worth it? Was it worth him knowing and me losing him? He brought me back to life…
Her eyes began misting again. She took in a deep breath and focused on the last stroke of her paint brush. There. She finished her free-draw.
Sunset eyes, almond in shape, framed by a thick fringe of dark eye lashes and a strong set of equally dark eyebrows.
The school bell rang, unhappily singling the end of the school day. Kagome didn't want to go home. Being home and being alone were the two worst things for her.
The students filed past her, all eager to start the weekend. No one looked at her as she stayed seated, staring mindlessly at her drawing; not even Kouga, who had recently become a lot less devoted to her.
Her teacher smiled to herself and picked up her purse. She whistled as she left the classroom, clearly not seeing she still had a student within. The harebrained Mrs. Jordan didn't even turn off the lights or lock the door.
Kagome rolled her eyes because that was all she had energy for. Her fingers limply traced the arch of one intensely beautiful eye.
Oh Inuyasha…
What would he be thinking right now if he knew the rest of the story? Would it have mattered? It all boiled down to her dating her cousin-and-best friend-at-the-time's boyfriend; regardless under what circumstances, it is still wrong.
She stood up and went to her portfolio. She added her most recent drawing, she closed it but immediately reopened it to spread her semester's work along the long bench table. The overall color scheme was filled with reds (a color that looked wonderful on Inuyasha), silvers (the color of his long, unruly locks), and ambers (the color of his penetrating eyes). He had wormed his way into every aspect of her life, without her noticing.
When did she start to notice though? When he kissed her on New Years? When she wanted to kiss him Christmas Eve? When she felt the electricity of his hand holding hers while they ice-skated? When he protected her from Naraku? When she caught him watching her at lunch his first day here?
She smiled through the tears falling down her face. It was impossible to tell because before long, she had come to depend on him. There was just something about him, or maybe it was the whole package that made him a perfect match for her. He was her strength and protector. He helped her by embracing her oddities and freeing her of them by simply staying with her.
She learned to care about him like she never had with any other man. Inuyasha was all she needed and wanted. And now? Well, she was lost. She didn't want to talk about her misery anymore with Sango or Miroku. All week she went through the motions of her day much like she had before Inuyasha; quietly and behind the safety of her messy braid and chunky glasses.
"I should have just told him somehow." She whispered in a pained, small voice.
Kagome just couldn't help it though, she wanted to get it off her chest so bad that it just came out all at once. She didn't deserve to defend herself but she was selfish and hated being without Inuyasha. It had been especially rough since he had disappeared from their lunch table and now was sitting as far away from her as he could in their class together.
Her mind flooded back to the memory that was responsible for destroying the best thing she ever had.
Yes, she did cheat with Kikyou's boyfriend. But no, she had no idea they were dating. In fact, for a few weeks he had been flirting with her and even took her to a couple movies. One night when he took her home, he tried to kiss her. Kikyou walked in right as Kagome was leaning in.
Kikyou was betrayed and was so angry with Kagome. The days following she ignored all her cousins attempts to prove her innocence.
A week later, Kikyou agreed to see Kagome. Her cousin eagerly walked over to her house after dinner, late one night. She was just turning on Kikyou's street when she saw her cousin and the cheating boyfriend talking to each other a little ways down. Kagome kept walking towards them even though she was unwilling to be in the same proximity as the boy who deceived both her and her cousin.
Kikyou yelled something at the boy and moved to walk into her house. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. When Kikyou turned to confront him, she saw Kagome approaching. Kikyou glared at the boy and in a chilling voice, Kagome couldn't ever forget said, "She is all yours." And shrugged out of his grasp and into her house.
The boy, who was a few years older than both girls, turned in Kagome's direction. She tried to ignore his presence but he grabbed her as she walked by. She knew immediately something was wrong from the alcoholic smell on his breath and the unsteady way his body moved.
Kagome's body shivered and she regained herself. She looked around the empty Art room and hesitantly wiped her wet cheeks. How could Kikyou have not heard my cries? Was she so angry she would let him do that to me? Yet, even as she thought these things, she couldn't be mad at her estranged cousin. It all boiled down to the fault in Kagome. She had been foolish enough to care for that boy and he betrayed her.
Inuyasha would never betray me…
"But he isn't mine anymore." She sighed and held her stomach, which was twisting painfully.
"Kagome?"
Her heart skipped. She whirled around and there was Inuyasha standing at the door; he stepped forward.
"I'm sorry, Kagome. I know now that I should have listened to you before getting mad." His silver dogged ears were flat against his head.
"I didn't know it was her boyfriend." She said wearily.
He nodded solemnly. "I know; Miroku told me everything."
Kagome wanted to run into his arms and hold him but she wasn't sure. He knew everything now but he never said if he was still mad or how he felt about it.
"I understand if you don't want to be with me."
He snorted. "Why do you do that, Kagome? Why do you always push me away? It isn't your damn fault! Nothing was your fault!" He growled.
Kagome licked her lips and began shaking her head. Inuyasha came forward and embraced her tightly.
"I'm not leaving you, Kagome. Never. I can't. I need you." He vowed passionately.
Kagome let out a small choked noise and held on to him. "Thank you."
He pulled back and brushed her slightly array hair back. Next, he slipped off her glasses and tugged her hair tie out of her braid.
"You said you wouldn't wear these anymore."
She blushed. "I wasn't sure if you would still protect me or not after Valentine's Day."
He was angry momentarily. "I was confused but not about my feelings for you. I would have still protected you."
"I'm sorry."
"Damnit Kagome, stop apologizing. I was the ass here."
"Never; you aren't an ass."
He brought his lips down and kissed her mouth urgently. She responded eagerly, freeing a few happy tears.
She rested her forehead on his chest after. "There isn't anything else I have to hide from you. So you don't have to worry anymore."
Inuyasha urged her face up. "But there's something I should tell you." Kagome waited patiently. "But not here. Come on, let's get out of here and I'll tell you."
She nodded and went back to the table to pick up her drawings. Inuyasha lifted the one she did that day. He smirked while she blushed embarrassingly.
"I think I'm taking this one with me." He said teasingly.
"I-I just couldn't stop thinking about you." She answered honestly.
His eyes softened. "I couldn't either."
Inuyasha had Kagome wrapped in his arms as the two of them cuddled on her couch. He was happy Kagome had forgiven him for being so brash and leaving her without letting her explain. But that was the prime example of Kagome for you, she was selfless.
She sighed happily and idly traced his long fingers with one of hers.
Inuyasha had been miserable all week. He wanted to catch the first flight out of here to Japan but the only thing stopping him was Kagome. He still needed her even though his understanding of her previous claim had darkened her image fractionally. Finally, Miroku came to him and reluctantly finished Kagome's tragic story, for he couldn't stand to see them both this way.
Inuyasha immediately felt the fool and he waited for her outside her class room today. When she didn't come out, that's when he found her holding her stomach and looking more miserable than he felt. But now, now everything was good and it amazed him.
He should have known better about Kagome's claim, but it was in his nature to expect the worse. That's why he doubted her so much. His past shaped him to a shrewd man, and when he thought Kagome was the first person to be perfect, she fell so hard in his eyes when he found the first hint of imperfection.
His hold on her tightened and she relaxed into him some more.
It still surprised him how she accepted him back into her life so naturally. Miroku and Sango both said Kagome was fragile and didn't trust easily, so how was he able to just waltz right back in? Did that make him special?
His eyes hardened.
Of course, it did. He would be a fool not to see it. Inuyasha was blatantly the one to take credit for Kagome's change. It just made it that much harder for him to realize he would have to let her go eventually.
"Kagome?"
She reared her neck back and looked up at him. "Mhm."
"So I never told ya about Japan and my family…"
"I know."
"Well, I want to. So here it goes…"
Inuyasha's life in Japan had started out normal enough. His father was a powerful business man and full dog-demon. His mother was a generous and lovely stay-at-home human mother. He had one callous half brother who was a full dog-demon. Together, the four of them lived in great comfort.
When Inuyasha was in middle school, his father was murdered and then later a scandal arose of fraud and embezzlement. It shook the family apart and his older half-brother soon left the family to sort out the mess. His mother was genuinely heart broken at his father's passing and it wasn't until high school when she decided to remarry for Inuyasha's sake; the family had been doing poorly since the lawsuits brought on by the indictment.
At first, Inuyasha thought his mother was happy but it wasn't long before the rushed marriage began to become strained. His step-father became abusive and demanding of his mother and whenever Inuyasha came to her aid, they both were beaten worse. His mother insisted on avoiding police involvement since she already felt so much shame from his father's lawsuits.
Last year, his mother died of a rapid cancer. His step father immediately gained legal custody of Inuyasha until his eighteenth birthday. The man was rough on Inuyasha and harassed him about grades and forced him to get a job. Inuyasha knew he would have done something he regretted if he hadn't gotten this exchange program offer. It was by the grace of every God out there, that Inuyasha was able to make the exchange offer sound super prestigious. Inuyasha used what little money he had to his name to afford it.
By the end of his story, the girl in his arms was in tears.
"Hey, don't cry, Kagome."
"But it's so awful! Your dad and then your mom! And your brother never came back to save you! I'm so sorry Inuyasha!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
Inuyasha was never one to accept sympathy well, but when it was coming from Kagome, it only made him realize how compassionate and all the more perfect she really was.
"Keh. It isn't a shocker that Sesshomaru didn't come back. My mom's humanity and mine disgusted him. He never approved of our father remarrying." Inuyasha smoothed out her hair.
She's shed tears for me…
"I can't understand how someone could be so cruel to you… You are the strongest person I know." She mumbled into his chest.
He was strong? He wanted to snort, if he was strong, he would have just murdered the twisted man his mother remarried… He would have dragged Sesshomaru back home and forced him to take responsibility of the family their father loved… If he was strong, he wouldn't go back to Japan before his eighteenth birthday…
"Kagome, I-"
She leaned up on his chest on her elbows; her eyes were still shinning with unshed tears. "Thank you for sharing your story with me, it must have been really hard for you to open up to me like that."
He closed his mouth and nodded. He didn't know why but he felt choked up. She just heard how messed up his past was and she wasn't running away screaming, she was instead crying for him and thanking him!
He had never felt more close to Kagome than in this instant. They really had a lot in common; majorly, they both had pasts that defined them. But not for long. No. Inuyasha refused to let his define him anymore. Kagome believed in him and he would too. And somehow, Inuyasha was going to make sure her past didn't define her either.
Hello, hello!
Hehe, kind of sappy and cliché? Siiiiiick, that's what I was going for :) Nah, not really, but I couldn't help the words, they sort of typed themselves so I'm sorry if it was a little roll eyes worthy!
As always let me know what you think!
hugsLovingMyKitsune
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any of its amazing characters.