Disclaimer: Never owned Inuyasha, never will own Inuyasha, wish i could own Inuyasha
And here is the next chapter which I hope you will like!!!
Chapter 11: Regret
Inuyasha watched with numb shock as Midori tended to Kagome. She seemed cool and steady and her hands weren't even shaking but even Inuyasha knew she was on the verge of a break down.
Kagome's arm was bleeding badly. He didn't know one person could bleed so much. There were tears coursing down her cheeks but she made no sound.
Souta was running around just as calm as his mother getting everything she ordered him to get.
"....and hot water with a clean rag! Make sure it's absolutely clean. Get me the first aid kit from the kitchen!"
Junichi was the only one not hovering over his daughter. He walked right up to Inuyasha and punched him square in the jaw. Inuyasha fell backwards, hit the wall, and sank down to the floor.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He growled. He didn't yell but his voice was quiet which made it all the more menacing.
"I...I wasn't....I didn't think....."
"That is obvious. Did you not hear them howling?" he demanded.
Inuyasha opened his mouth but no words came out. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kagome who was white as paper. His cheek stung where Junichi had punched him and he could feel the bruise forming but he didn't care. All he had to do was glance at Kagome's wound, which was more visible now as Midori cleaned off the blood, for his pain to fade and seem pale in comparison.
Her flesh had been ripped to shreds by the carnivores teeth.
"We'll take you to the hospital in the morning sweetie." Midori said softly putting some anti-septic on the still bleeding gash. Kagome flinched as it burned her.
"No, I'm fine. It didn't look like it had rabies." she told her as the pain from the medicine made her eyes water more.
"Nonsense baby. You couldn't have known. We're going." Midori said it and it was final because Kagome didn't open her mouth to protest.
"Get up." Junichi snarled bringing Inuyasha's attention back to him.
He staggered to his feet but no sooner than he regained his balance did his fist come back and punch him on the opposite side of his face.
He went down again without even attempting to block.
"Daddy stop!" Kagome yelled as Midori wrapped the white gauze around her arm. It soon stained red.
"He needs to learn his lesson for going out with coyotes around." Junichi said his fists in tight balls proving he wasn't as calm as he seemed.
"He couldn't have known." Kagome lept to his defence.
"And there is the fact that he was out of the barn when he knows he's confined there." Junichi growled. Inuyasha knew that the reason was pointless. He just wanted to beat on him for putting his daughter at risk.
And he was all to willing to let him.
But Junichi saw the dead look in his eyes and stopped. "You feel that guilt, boy?" he asked. Some how that statement, naming the emotion that Inuyasha didn't think he had ever felt before, hurt more than the punches. But not nearly as much as the next one. "It's your fault Kagome is hurt. You know that." He actually flinched.
"All of that blood. Your the reason it was spilt. This was all your doing and you deserve to feel that guilt." he was merciless and Inuyasha had never felt so terrible. It was as if the guilt was eating him up from the inside.
"Junichi, stop!" Midori growled at him.
Junichi immediately closed his mouth even though another bad comment was about to come out.
Junichi might have ruled the farm with an iron fist and was able to do pretty much what he wanted but Midori ruled Junichi with a steel fist and was the true ruler of the farm.
"Leave him alone. Making him feel worse is not going to help anything and will only make things worse." she glared at him and he stepped back so he no longer loomed over the quivering mess that was Inuyasha.
Inuyasha had been grounded to the barn for the rest of the day as soon as the sun had risen. The worst part was passing the place where the fight had taken place and seeing the dark splatter of hardened blood.
He never felt like he had deserved a punishment before. Even when he was little and he would do something wrong and he was confined to his room he would beat the walls and kick and scream until he got his way. He still didn't feel like he deserved to be at the farm because he still felt like he had done nothing wrong.
But for hurting Kagome he felt as if he not only deserved that stinky barn but also that he shouldn't touch his money or see his friends ever again. He had never felt like a pile of shit but he did now. He watched Kagome leave with Junichi in the nice truck to the hospital while Souta, his new warden in charge, escorted him to the barn again. Her face was still a little pale and that fell on him harder than Junichi's fist.
So he sat in his barn, not on the mattress that he just then realized that Kagome had brought him in the first place, but on the itchy straw. Self loathing filled his heart as his brain made him feel worse than ever. All he kept seeing over and over again was Kagome doing some thing nice for him followed immediately by her getting bit because she had stayed to help him.
He felt like a slug and was left to his thoughts. No one disturbed him, not even with food, until the next day.
The barn door opening awake Inuyasha. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He wasn't sure when his waking dream turned into a sleeping nightmare but the sun was shining and he could hear birds chirping.
The ladder had not been removed when Souta left and Inuyasha felt no desire to go down. So Kagome did not need to move it into place to bring him breakfast.
As soon as he saw who it was, he jumped up and ran over to help her.
He silently grabbed the plate from her hands and pulled her up the rest of the way.
"Thanks. I brought you breakfast." she said pointing to the plate he had set on the floor to grab her.
"....y." he mumbled.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm sorry." it was the first time he had ever said those two words but there was no pride to shelve in order to say it.
"Don't be. Eat up. You haven't eaten since yesterday." Kagome said with a smile.
Her kindness sent a slice of pain through him worse than the guilt.
"Why are you still so nice to me?" he asked in a dead voice.
"What do you mean, why?" Kagome asked looking at his face which he had lowered. "Your a friend. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't saved you. So I don't blame you."
"Your the only one who doesn't." Inuyasha said. Her kind words only made him feel worse and worse.
"You say that as if you blame yourself as well." Kagome said taking his face in her hands and making him look at her.
His eyes were immediatly drawn to the hospitial style bandage she had tried to hide with a long sleeved t-shirt. He didn't say anything.
Kagome saw that, the self-hatred and guilt in his eyes and stopped smiling.
"Oh Inuyasha don't blame yourself." she walked forward and hugged him around his waist.
His arms stayed at his side but he lowered his head onto hers. "You couldn't have known there were coyotes out."
"I should have." he mumbled.
"There was no way you could have." she said looking up at him.
There was kindness in her eyes. Kindness and happiness.
He raised his hand and brought it down gently on her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
"I promise. I am going to work so much harder now. Your not going to do anything hard until your feeling better." he swore with a hard face.
"You don't have to do that. I can manage." she told him.
"I'm going to any way. I will make this up to you." The determination chased away some of his guilt. He still felt like a slug, but at least he would be a slug who was trying to help.
Kagome smiled in understanding. "Okay."
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Just a little bit of tiny fluff. Reviews please!
