Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N: i could not apologize enough for taking so damn long to update. please forgive me

Special thanks: to all who read and/ or review

Dancing Hearts

Chapter Ten: To fall...

Soon after the dance, Inuyasha became a bit fidgety and soon came up with some excuse saying he had to leave.

Kagome was just now going around her apartment, shutting off all the lights as she prepared to go to bed. She was still softly humming the tune to the song she and Inuyasha had sung together when she heard two muffled pounds on her front door. Jumping slightly, she froze, her hand reaching for the lamp switch. She padded over to the door nervously, wondering who could be at her door this late at night.

She opened the door just a smidgen, and just in time to see the bloodied form of Inuyasha fall to the ground at her feet...

Damn Sesshomaru…why do things have to be this way? Inuyasha grunted as he used his momentum to continue at a very fast pace. To most people, he might just look like a black current of air whizzing by like a dark leaf in the breeze, to others, not even visible at all.

I can't let you hurt anyone…not again…

His demon blood yearned to escape...was starting to mix with him human blood...

His leg muscles ached from not having been used so strenuously for such a long while.

In his haste, he hadn't even thought to immediately remove the purple beads from his neck. Momentarily they were lightly bouncing this way and that against his very much so human chest. They were slightly glowing, their purpose being strained...

I can smell him. His scent is everywhere. But where is he?

Inuyasha had arrived at the very same park at which Kagome and Inuyasha had had their first conversation and real introduction.

His mind briefly halted and fluttered around the idea of Kagome.

"You are too easily distracted…brother." A deep voice reached Inuyasha's ears like Sesshomaru himself was standing not an inch away. But as soon as Inuyasha spun in midair, all he found was darkness.

"Are you thinking about that girl, perhaps? No, wait. There's a different one. Kagome…"

"Bastard!" Inuyasha slammed to the ground stirring up dust and yelled out into the seemingly empty area. Panic consumed him. His breath came out on a shudder. His shoulders shook from the mixture of anger and even greater fear for the woman he loved. Deeper loathing filled his being as the realization of his feelings for Kagome, and abandoned ones for his lost love surged through him. His skin burned with the many emotions. "If you touch a SINGLE HAIR-"

"Now, Inuyasha. Why would I want to harm her…" Inuyasha caught a flash of color out of the corner of his eye, he whipped his head around "When I can just kill you?"

Inuyasha was slammed by a strong force from behind. His back radiated pain as he flew through the air, knocked by the force of the blow. His stomach and chin painfully collided with the cold, hard earth with a bone-breaking crunch.

Inuyasha continued to lay in utter dizziness. His hand slowly crept to remove the confining beads from his neck. But before his hand even got near, a sharp, clawed hand grabbed the beads instead and bunched them together, tugging Inuyasha up with them. The grip tightened and the fangs of the subjugation beads dug into his already suffocated flesh.

"After all…we do have unfinished business…we never were able to finish our last fight."

Inuyasha could smell the green poison already and hear its deathly sizzle in the night's silence. But instead of feeling the impact he'd been expecting, or his flesh being torn apart, he instead was released and fell to the ground with a thud.

He gulped in as much air as he could, ragged as it was.

All light was suddenly dimmed as though some huge shadow was covering it from sight. He felt the air above him heated as though something had emanated a hot breath.

The last thing he heard was a deep, throaty growl...

Kagome ran, blood stricken, around her own house like a madman. Her breath came out on short gasps of air and her heart pounded against her chest like a drum.

It'd taken all of her effort, if not more, to drag Inuyasha's limp body carefully up the stairs. The task was the hardest she'd ever been put up to. Tears streamed down her face with hot gusto at the sight of more and more blood gushing from open wounds in her love's flesh.

Forget modesty, forget morale, she didn't care anymore. Kagome knew she loved this boy even if he didn't love her in return. These feelings were so real, and so strong. She could feel it pumping in her very veins, along with the hot blood that ran through them.

He came to her door for a reason, unbeknownst to her, but he still did, nonetheless. He could have gone to any other place with such injuries. Hell, the hospital was just two blocks down. Why come here? WHY?

So Kagome took immediate action. She didn't care that her own white clothing and clean flesh was now covered in his blood. His very own, hot, sticky, wet, crimson blood.

She wanted to help him, and that's exactly what she was doing.

Screw the doctors.

Kagome laid him gently on the covers of her own bed. His breathing was no better than when she'd first checked it down on the threshold of her apartment.

The blood that hadn't spilled out so far was pumping ever so slowly through his veins, like rain dripping down a window. It fell with agonizingly, painfully, creeping speed and his blood pulsed just the same.

Kagome gently, but with experience and skillful hands, removed the clothing from his heaving body. His face, though splattered with blood, grew paler and paler. Kagome's heart pounded so hard, she felt it was audible to the naked ear.

Part of his now blood stained clothing stuck to deep wounds so that Kagome couldn't remove them without the greatest of cringes. With each painful action, part of her heart tore along with it.

Soon Inuyasha's breathing picked up and it seemed he was clenching his fists in agony. His legs kicked out in pain.

But he was still unconscious.

More tears fell down the broken-hearted girl's cheeks and a gentle glowing illuminated the room, emanated by her own body…

Inuyasha stared blankly at the white walls of the hospital, his eyes devoid of any emotion. He was sure all of this had been a dream. It had to be.

His father slowly made his way over to his son.

"Inuyasha." His father's voice was deep, once comforting, now more foreign than anything. "I just spoke to the doctor. And I found Sesshomaru. He is unharmed and will be in a stable condition by morning-"

"AND WHAT DOES THAT SAY FOR HER? HUH?" Inuyasha shouted suddenly, knocking the plastic seat over with the force of standing. He'd been silent for so long. All of his emotions scattered and crumbled. He turned mostly to his rage now.

"She will be okay," his father's deep voice paused in thought but continued in a business like tone that Inuyasha guessed was supposed to be comforting. "But... it is...advisable" he said slowly, "that both you and your brother henceforth stay away from her. She will undoubtedly be scarred from this experience."

Inuyasha growled, but still made no attempt to look into his father's eyes.

" Now, I know it is easier for Sesshomaru to lose control because he contains his form on his own. But you have the beads to stop yourself. Use them wisely, Inuyasha. I know this curse is not easy, but you must bear your burden with pride, and fight each day. And then, once day, you will break the curse, I am sure, and restore our family's honor. You and Sesshomaru both."

Inuyasha barely nodded his head; it could have been more of a twitch.

"You are my sons, make me proud."

Inuyasha grunted softly as he slowly started to wake. He did not dare open his eyes. Too many feelings were flowing through him and he still felt the delirium from the recent dreams that weren't only that. They were real memories; more like nightmares in reality.

He awaited the pain to erupt all over his body from last night's fight. Well…more like beating. But it did not come.

Groggily, slowly, his thoughts became less tangled and suddenly his eyes shot open.

Kagome!

He sat up with unheeded speed and winced at the slight pain in his ribs. Upon looking down, however, he realized the pain wasn't as great as he'd expected and he was already fully wrapped, bandaged, and already….healing…?

Usually only half my demon blood can heal my wounds this fast…oh no!

His eyes widened even more, as he realized where he was and he quickly fumbled for the beads. He sighed greatly when he found they were still laced around his neck. His hand wandered up, however and traced the scars of where the beads themselves had dug into his skin the previous night.

Finally becoming aware of where he really was, he took in his surroundings. Through the windows and the glass doors that led out to a balcony, morning sunlight streamed through.

There was a closed off space to the left but the room itself was not all that big, but comfortable. Everything was mostly white and he could now smell the sweet scent of burning candles. One was vanilla and the other caramel.

Bloody clothes lay in a pile on the white carpet. There was a trail of blood leading from the door like a pathway. Inuyasha grimaced; knowing it was his blood.

It appeared he was in Kagome's bedroom. His stomach flipped upside down at that thought but jolted to a stop.

Does that mean she's okay?

A fleeting memory flashed across his mind of Kagome opening the door last night before he welcomed the tempting darkness swirling about.

The only and main reason he'd come to Kagome was to be sure that she was safe. He would never let history repeat itself again. It was too horrible the first time.

After escaping Sesshomaru's murderous clutches, and leaving him somewhere around their manor, he immediately sped to Kagome's side.

But he had to be sure. Just as he was about to throw his legs over the side of the soft, comfortable bed, the bedroom door swung open.

In came Kagome, tray in hand, eyes wide at what greeted her.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?"

Her hair was dripping wet as though she'd just showered and Inuyasha realized that those weren't just his bloody clothes on the floor.

She hastily placed the tray on the bedside table and placed her hands on his chest with the greatest care. She guided him back to the bed and she too sat down next to him.

"You must rest! What the hell do you want to do? Reopen your wounds? I spent all night treating them and how do you repay me? BY GIVING ME A HEART ATTACK?!"

Tears were falling down her pale face. He could make out great fatigue written all over her beautiful face. For once, she had no make up on and her long, sleek, silky raven locks fell down to her waist.

Inuyasha's breath hitched as her beauty washed over him.

"Look at me…I'm like a blubbering whale…" she wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her shaking hand. "I was so worried about you..."

Inuyasha picked up her hand and began tracing a circle with his thumb in her palm. It tickled slightly at first. Then he brought her hand to his face and slowly kissed each of her fingers. Bringing her hand to his cheek, he closed his eyes and let her hand's warmth wash over him.

With his eyes still closed he asked, "How did you heal me so well? So fast?"

Without looking he knew Kagome had averted her gaze, which she had.

She gently removed her hand from his grasp and for a moment held it suspended in midair. She reached for the bowl sitting on the tray she'd brought in instead and said, "I made some miso soup for you. Do you want some? It should help make you feel better. Mom always said that having something warm in your stomach always helps."

He opened his eyes and found she still wasn't looking at him. She was staring intently at the bowl in her lap.

"Only if you feed it to me."

"What?" Kagome asked, her gaze finally snapping to his.

"Only if you feed it to me," he repeated.

Kagome mustered up her best glare. She couldn't maintain it and hit his arm lightly, careful not to hit a tender spot.

But she fed him, nonetheless.

Later on that evening, after Inuyasha had enjoyed a long nap and Kagome had cleaned up the worst of the mess of blood, the sweet aromas of Italian food and desserts wafted up the stairs and throughout the rest of the apartment.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He was trying his best to make his way down the stairs without Kagome's help. Anytime he'd needed to get up, such as to go to the bathroom, she'd lent him her full strength, and forbade him from moving without her being there to help. The delicious scents of Kagome's cooking, however, were too unbearable and Inuyasha couldn't stay away.

Kagome was busy bustling around in the kitchen, sauce everywhere, including on her face and shirt, and chocolate was smeared on the counter.

Kagome's back was to him as he crept up behind her silently.

She was humming softly to herself.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head in her hair.

She jumped lightly and blushed madly at his touch. They weren't officially together or anything so these intimate gestures always had her heart going. She didn't know how to react. Who would?

"Inuyasha…"

"It smells delicious. I couldn't stay away."

"You could have gotten hurt…"

"You should wear your hair down more often…"

"What if you'd fallen?" Kagome spun around and Inuyasha placed his hands on the counter so that she was trapped between it and his body.

"And you look as gorgeous without make up as you do with…"

"Whaaa….Wh…" Kagome had finally caught up to what he was saying and her tongue was suddenly horribly tied. She opened and closed her mouth a few times.

Inuyasha leaned in closer.

She hadn't realized how good he looked in her baggy white T-shirt and baggy sweat pants.

Kagome's eyes wildly searched his.

His lips were nearly upon hers; she could feel his hot breath against her lips. She closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to come clashing down. At this point she wasn't even sure if her heart was still working.

The phone's ringing tugged them both roughly back to reality.

Kagome's eyes shot open and she could feel Inuyasha's body sag with disappointment.

The timer went off and suddenly, all the magic of the moment was gone…Inuyasha took a few steps back.

Kagome rushed to the phone and stuck it between her ear and shoulder blade.

"Hello?" she said into the phone while slipping into a pair of oven mitts. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Inuyasha slump into a seat at the island.

"Kagome! Hey girl! How's it going! Haven't heard from you in a while…"

"Sango! Hey…. It's only been since last night…"

"I know, I know… I just…." Kagome could hear Sango pacing from the other line.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome took the perfectly baked lasagna out of the oven and placed it on top of the counter on a potholder. Inuyasha was now licking his lips in a way that made Kagome forcefully turn her back on him.

"No…no…. Not really, I just…I needed to talk to someone."

"Okay. About what?"

"Have you…ever noticed… anything about Miroku? Like… oh, I don't know..." Sango said slowly.

"Sango, what are you trying to say?" Kagome took out two plates and brought them to the other half of the room where her dinning room was situated.

"Do you…DoyouthinkMirokulikesme?" she said in one breath.

"Do I think Miroku likes you?"

"Yeah…"

"Course…has for a while. Why?"

"R…really? How come I've never noticed? HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

"I dunno…I think you were always too busy having fun…Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"Oh… no reason. You wouldn't mind if I invited him on our beach trip, would you?"

"Beach…trip? Oh my gosh. I can't believe I forgot! Wow…our annual beach trip."

"Yeah. Who you taking? OH! I KNOW! YOU COULD TOTALLY TAKE INUYASHA!" Inuyasha's head shot up at the mentioning of his name and he purposely stared intently at Kagome's pacing form.

"Oh…um…. I hadn't even thought about it…"

"Ayame's invited Koga and Rin's invited some boy as well. So if I invite Miroku and you Inuyasha, it'll work out perfectly! What do you say?"

Kagome stopped pacing and stared at the tiled floor momentarily. "I guess I can ask him…"

"Great! Call me back later or tomorrow, okay? Bye!"

"…Bye…" Sango's strange attitude befuddled Kagome almost as much as the suggestion that Inuyasha come on their vacation trip to the beach for a whole week.

A whole week with Inuyasha…at the beach…after what just almost happened…?

"What was that all about? Inuyasha asked suddenly, shaking Kagome from her thoughts.

"Oh… um, that was Sango. She wants me to ask you… well, I mean, I want to ask you too, because… I mean, I would really like it if you were to come…um… it's just… we, meaning I, would really like it if you… if you could come with us on our trip to the beach next Friday…" Kagome finished feebly and bit her lower lip hard. She could barely find the right words and now Inuyasha was staring at her with that intense expression upon his handsome face…

"I'd love to go…if you're going that is…" Inuyasha knew there was no reason to hide his feelings anymore. He knew he could never outright ask her out…or ask her to be his girlfriend, but this opportunity to go on vacation with her opened up so many doors.

Kagome's expression lightened by far and her shoulders even relaxed as though she'd been harboring intense anxiety.

"Yeah, of course. It'll be for a whole week though…are you sure you want to spend a whoooole looooong week with me?" Kagome asked mischievously and cocked an eyebrow in questioning.

"Love to."

After an amazing, super delicious dinner of lasagna and brownies and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, Kagome and Inuyasha were worn out.

Inuyasha helped Kagome as much as she would possibly let him, and by the time they were finished, they were both ready to fall right over.

Kagome found the strength to help Inuyasha up the stairs and she helped him onto the bed. She blushed greatly when she realized how close they were and that they were both on a bed together. As she went to get up he took her hand and stopped her.

"Please…don't leave me." His eyes were swirling with emotion and they more than anything, drew Kagome closer, and made her stay.

She sat back down and gently brushed his bangs away from his eyes. She was about to look away and tell him she would sleep downstairs on the couch but stay until he fell asleep.

But there was something she'd been wanting to ask him, something that hadn't left her mind as of yet.

"Inuyasha…why did you come to me? Why, when you were hurt and in dire need of a hospital, did you come to me?" there were tears in her eyes now.

He paused before speaking.

"I needed to know that you were okay," he said softly. He looked up, locked her gaze, and gently pulled her body down towards his own.

Kagome, careful of his wounds, wrapped her arms around his chest after shutting the lamp off.

She knew that was the best explanation she would get...for now.

The moon's beams reached out to the two and fell across their intertwined bodies.

They both sighed peacefully before falling asleep together. Their hearts beat as one, their breaths exhaled as one.

They'd fallen asleep together, and they'd fallen for one another...

They'd fallen...hard.

A/N: i cannot apologize enough...at first it was just writers block, i'll admit. then i just got busy. i was visiting a friend, then had to go to new york city (where i got really good inspiration by the way... lol) and lately i've just either been waaay too busy... or every time i sat down to write, nothing came to me. literally. and i did not want to give you guys some lame chappy after making you wait so long. so. here it is.

liked it? hated it?

i apologize again.

until chappy 11 of Dancing Hearts...

FALLEN ROSE PETAL