AN: a guest reviewer asked if I have a posting schedule. Short answer is no. I do this for fun and I don't want that pressure with a hobby. But reviews definitely make me want to write faster because I have solid proof that people like what I'm writing! Another user (ushmie) asked how many chapters I was planning for this story —16, give or take a chapter.

Chapter Eleven

They dressed silently before leaving the sanctuary of the sparring ring. The cooled sweat of her leggings mixed with the evidence of what transpired between them pulled at Kagome's conscience. Was this a mistake? Should she just go back to her room? And then Inuyasha was there, retrieving her top and delicately helping her put it on, adjusting her mused ponytail and slowly curling her flyaways behind her ear. Looking up at him, her stomach flipped at the emotions swirling in amber pools. No one had ever looked at her like that and Kagome's brain couldn't comprehend what he was wordlessly saying. Whatever it was, it scared her—the vulnerability, the hope, the guilt. Inuyasha's hand lingered at the side of her head, his claws lightly running through her hair, and she realized she didn't want to lie to him. She didn't want to hide who she truly was from him. He had already seen so many different parts of her but she wanted him to see all of her. But...could she have that? She stood on the tips of her toes to press a soft kiss to his mouth. Her eyes stayed open to stare into his, trying to reveal all her secrets without speaking the hard truths.

His large hand was warm around hers as he guided her through the house and out the front door. Kagome didn't think about the small cottage to the right very often, but now that Inuyasha was unlocking it with his thumb print she realized it was his private residence. It was quaint. Nothing like the extravagance of the main house. It was painted in warm creams and decorated in brown leathers, deep reds and weathered wood. It was very obviously a man's house. It smelled of sandalwood and fir trees and Inuyasha. It was warm and...felt like a home.

"Can I get you a drink?" Inuyasha's voice was low to match the dim lighting of the cottage.

"I don't drink." Kagome whispered, revealing another one of her truths to him.

Inuyasha smiled down at her, claws tickling her wrist, "I have water."

When he disappeared into the kitchen Kagome stepped farther into his living room. The sectional was large and deep and looked too comfortable for its own good. Visions of popcorn and movies and wood fires filled her mind and Kagome yearned for a normal life that included those things instead of weapons training and demon purification. Maybe both wasn't a bad compromise.

Her eyes traveled to the large bookshelf in the corner. It was filled with novels and biographies and Kagome got another glimpse into Inuyasha's mind. History and literature was something she knew he was knowledgeable about but seeing it in person was like a little secret they could share. She walked closer to examine the titles. The shelves were haphazardly organized with a few weathered titles even upside down. Kagome's eyes scanned the lower rows, slowly making her way up. She didn't know why she didn't see the picture from the start, it was literally at her eye level. But when her eyes finally registered the photo in front of her her heart stuttered in her chest. Her mom and dad were smiling back at her, happy and brilliant and alive.

It was always one of her greatest regrets: not taking any pictures with her when she left the shrine all those years ago. What eight year old thought of that? What eight year old who just watched her parents' murder thought of that? But those lonely nights in Mushin's cabin — it was all she could think about. She never wanted to forget their faces but twenty years was a long time to hold a memory. Seeing them again, it was like breathing for the first time after being underwater for too long. Her chest felt lighter and she was back at the shrine, running up the endless stairs, climbing the trees and having dinner with her parents. Her eyes blurred from the tears that were threatening to fall. She reached for the photo and pulled it closer. Her mom was wearing that necklace, god she had forgotten about that necklace. It was a small pink gem that didn't hold any significance to Kagome except that it was mom's. And her dad — he was holding her mom so tight, squeezing her shoulders into his side with one arm and holding up a peace sign with the other. His smile was so beautiful and Kagome smiled back at him, rubbing her eyes dry. She blissfully looked at her parents' faces until the logical question of why filtered in. Why did Inuyasha have a picture of her parents? There were two other people in the photo and Kagome looked to the woman standing next to her mother. She was slightly taller than Asako and her long black hair reached to her waist. She was beautiful and elegant and looked like she could have been a catalog model. Her smile was kind and her eyes sparkled violet. Kagome noticed her mother and the other woman holding hands in a sweet display of friendship.

Kagome couldn't remember any of her parents' friends but the obvious answer was that these people were Inuyasha's parents. Kagome felt weird seeing how close the two couples had been and knowing how her and Inuyasha...interacted. Kagome grimaced and then laughed to herself. What would their life have been like if their parents had lived? Would her and Inuyasha have grown up together? Had awkward crushes on each other? Or seen each other more like siblings like her and Miroku had? There was a world of possibilities in that one photo and Kagome didn't really want to think about a life not lived. Before putting the photo back on the shelf, Kagome looked to the man she assumed to be Inuyasha's father. And then everything stopped.

It was him.

That was him.

It was hard to breathe in the vent and even harder to stay silent. "What's wrong with your eyes?" It was the last thing she would ever hear her father say. The look of pain and betrayal, the struggle to breathe crumbling her father's face and then her mom was screaming. Kagome much preferred her mother's screams to the sounds that took over and silenced her. But she forced her eyes open, she needed to see who did this to her parents, who did this to her. The room was dim, the only light coming from the kitchen on the other side of the house. But it was enough light to see the jagged blue marks like lightning high on the man's cheeks.

Kagome's memory superimposed itself over the photo in her hands and it was undeniable that the two were the same. The long ponytail - of fucking course it was silver - she hadn't been able to tell that night but it was painfully obvious now. And his eyes...Kagome furrowed her brow. Familiar amber eyes stared up at her but she knew the man's eyes had been blood red that night. She shook her head, anger bursting through her. It didn't fucking matter. Demon's eyes changed colors, she had seen it plenty of fucking times. Kagome's fury burned through her, igniting every nerve in her body, and her mind screamed,

Inuyasha's father!

He said his parents died too!

Fucking LIAR!

Was his father still alive?

She would fucking kill him!

His fucking father?!

They had been friends!

Was Inuyasha covering up for him?

Did he know what his father did?

He had to know!

"I have sparkling water too if that's what you would prefer." Inuyasha's voice was low but everything sounded so loud to Kagome now. She whirled on him. He was behind the couch holding two glass cups. She had left her firearms on the gym floor but that was fine, she wanted to feel his life force in her hands as she pulled the truth out of him.

"Tell-" She inhaled sharply through her nose, "tell me who this is." She wanted to hear him say it. Say that it was his fucking dad.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in confusion. Even if the scent of Kagome's anger wasn't saturating the room, her face easily gave away her emotions—tight jaw, flared nostrils, narrowed eyes. He squinted down to her shaking hand that was holding the frame from his book shelf. That was even weirder. "That's my parents with some of their friends. They are the ones that were murdered the same night."

That's all she needed to hear.

Kagome's body moved toward Inuyasha. She didn't know what happened to the picture frame. Maybe she dropped it, maybe she threw it at his head. Fire burned through her arms and down to her fists as she lunged at him, using the couch as a launching point to gain a height advantage on him. Her right fist connected solidly with his left temple, the water glasses shattered to the hardwood. His body hitting the floor beneath her jarred her a bit, but she didn't stop the blows. Kagome got a few good punches in before Inuyasha finally reacted. Blood dotted the corner of his lip and his eyes were blown wide with confusion. He started dodging her hits easily enough but it was clear he wanted answers.

"Kagome what the hell?!" He yelled. Inuyasha rolled her off of him as gently as he could and stood across from her, fists not positioned for a fight. Kagome's rage burned hotter as her hands were no longer making contact with his body. She quickly ducked and shot her leg to swipe Inuyasha's. He was on his back once again. Kagome only landed one more hit to his eye before Inuyasha overpowered her to change their positions much like he had in the gym. Kagome hollered in rage and Inuyasha didn't recognize the woman beneath him. Momentarily distracted, he didn't anticipate Kagome's ankles coming up to wrap around his throat and pull him backwards. They grappled on the ground for a few moments before Inuyasha broke apart from her once more.

"Stop! I don't want to fight you!" His stupid fucking face was really pissing her off.

"That will make this a lot easier then." Kagome's voice was deadly low as he watched her slowly get up from the floor. Inuyasha didn't miss the large glass shard she picked up from where the cups broke. But what really put him on edge was the sudden power of Kagome's reiki crackling around him. He had never felt spiritual power like this. Even all the missions they had done together, it never felt like this. And it was directed at him. He was in danger. The piece of glass in her right hand glowed pink and she lunged, aiming to slice his neck. Inuyasha used his demonic speed to block Kagome's arm with his left forearm while simultaneously putting pressure on a specific point near the back of Kagome's neck with his fingers. His right arm then came up to push into the point under her jaw with the heel of his hand. Kagome's body went rigid and the glass slowly fell from her grip. Inuyasha regrettably watched as Kagome's steel blue eyes unfocus and then rolled back into her head. Her reiki retreated and her body went limp in his arms.

Kagome was jolted back into consciousness with the smell of ammonia salts. Her head felt heavy and she knew when she moved, her neck would be sore as well. Keeping her eyes closed, Kagome took inventory of her body. Ankles, knees, thighs, wrists, biceps, torso - they were all duct taped. To a chair. Her hands flexed in annoyance and she reached for her reiki. But something was, was...blocking it? She could feel the energy in her chest but it was like it was bottled up, temporarily sealed away. Kagome's eyes flashed open to be met with a foreign necklace resting on her chest. Five purple beads between ivory, fang-like beads repeating over and over again like some hellish rosary.

"What the fuck are these?" She growled out, finally lifting her head. They were no longer in the living room. Kagome hadn't toured his place so she had no idea where they were. His office maybe? The only thing in the room were bookshelves against the walls and their chairs. Inuyasha sat six feet in front of her in a wingback chair, his posture obnoxiously relaxed.

"Beads of subjugation." Inuyasha's voice was even, guarded.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "What-"

"You don't get to ask questions here." He snapped, his voice changed to something gravelly and rough as he leaned his elbows onto his knees. It was then that Kagome realized her predicament. She was incapacitated, without her reiki at the whim of a the murderer's son. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to let the fear seep in.

"Who do you work for?"

Kagome steeled her face and just stared back at him.

"Who sent you?"

Though he had many of his father's demonic traits, Inuyasha looked far more like his mother. Maybe it was the eyes—large and open. They didn't look like that now though. Now they were narrowed tightly at her and sparked something dangerous. Kagome pushed out her fear and opted to focus on the anger that still bubbles right under the surface. She spit at him. But she didn't have much saliva in her mouth and that only led to the glob landing a foot in front of her shoes.

Inuyasha snorted humorlessly, "Let's go over what we know then, shall we? You see this picture, I tell you it's my parents and some friends, you lose your mind and attack me." He paused to see how she reacted to his synopsis. Nothing. Inuyasha looked back at the photograph. It was a memento of purpose. To remind Inuyasha what he was fighting for was the same thing his parents had fought for. He knew that the "friends" were Souta and Asako Higurashi: founding members of the Shikon Rebellion. And all four of them had died trying to get justice. Each time Inuyasha looked at this picture he only saw his mother. But now he was forced to figure out what this photo meant to Kagome.

Inuyasha moved his gaze from his mother to the other woman in the photo. She was small and lithe with a fierce look in her eye despite her bright smile. Not unlike the one that was trying to burn a hole in his head at that very moment… It wasn't until his eyes moved to the taller man next to the dark haired woman. As he analyzed the man's face, it didn't take Inuyasha long to see the similarities. The skin tone, the nose, the shoulders and, fuck, their steel blue eyes they were the exact same. Realization hit him like a train.

Kagome distracted herself by trying to rip the duct tape from her body. It only resulted in chaffing and more anger sizzling through her. She didn't even notice Inuyasha's silence for the last 3 minutes as she tried to rip the tape unsuccessfully. It wasn't until his next statement that she finally focused on him again. "Personally I like Kagome Higurashi. Has a nice ring to it." Kagome inhaled through her nose and she felt the resistance of the tape on her chest. "I should give you more credit sir, you're not as dumb as I thought you were." Of fucking course he figured it out, she let her emotions get the best of her and she showed her hand.

"You make me blush," he flashed his teeth and Kagome felt like she was prey being stalked, "So tell me why this picture set you off." There was no point in hiding the truth now, she was already caught so she might as well get as much information out of him before he killed her, "Your father is the one who murdered my parents." Kagome's voice was louder now, more bold in the face of death. Inuyasha's cheek twitched but he kept his voice even, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't?!" Fury burst through her chest and she tried to lunge forward, "Because I watched it with my own fucking eyes!" Inuyasha had never seen this side of Kagome. She was like a wild animal in a locked cage. Of course she was restrained but the rage burning through her eyes told Inuyasha something snapped. With sheer force she was able to scratch the chair closer to him while still trying to free herself, reiki pushing against the submission necklace.

"My father was a daiyoukai. He would have smelled you and murdered you as well if he was acting on his own accord." His voice was too even—too calm—it was scratching at her skin.

She roared, "Should I have thanked him?!"

"I'm saying he was possessed. By Naraku. Who was unable to smell the scents of your house to know you were even there."

Kagome paused, her eyes searching for any hint of a lie, "Why would you say that?"

"Because I saw it with my own eyes." Inuyasha didn't take his amber eyes off of her, "I had to watch my father take my mother's life. And when his youki finally expelled Naraku from his body he died protecting me. I was ten." Kagome's eyes darted back and forth between his, panicking. No that couldn't be true.

"And then I watched him do it again. To Kikyo." Kikyo. God he hadn't said her name in years and it felt foreign on his tongue. It had been even longer since he retold the story of what happened that night.

"She-" Inuyasha swallowed, "she was a member. A miko. Strong, but still inexperienced in her powers. Naraku possessed her to-" he paused again, shifting his eyes, "to try and purify me. When he couldn't control her reiki, Kikyo was able to expel him. But- he killed her before we could finish him off."

Kagome's stomach dropped. The way Inuyasha spoke of this Kikyo, Kagome knew she wasn't just a member. The hot rage that had been flowing so freely through her was seeping away to something that felt a lot more like ice cold dread. Inuyasha was telling the truth, she could feel it in her bones. But fuck, she wished he wasn't. Anger was so much easier for her. She didn't want to deal with whatever this was now. She had tried to kill him. She had tried to kill him without the influence of Naraku. She was going to be sick.

The sudden shift of Kagome's scent told Inuyasha his words had gotten through her wall of rage. The twinging smell of guilt and angst wafting off her skin was bittersweet. He had suffered a great deal at the hands of Naraku and he was sorry to see Kagome was another one of his victims.

"Naraku went after Kikyo because of her spiritual powers and I know he's going to come up with a plan to do the same thing to you."

Kagome felt like she couldn't breathe, "He will be dead before he even hits the ground." She needed to be mad at someone and Naraku was the perfect vessel.

Inuyasha's brows furrowed together in worry, "I'm serious Kagome."

Kagome's once roaring voice was now reduced to a pathetic whimper, "We have taken out each and every one of his people without issue." Was she trying to convince Inuyasha or herself?

"But they aren't him. There's a reason he's been around for so long." Inuyasha did not waver. He was strong and solid and Kagome couldn't understand how after everything Naraku had taken from him. Kagome slumped back into the chair, exhausted. All her carefully organized compartmentalized boxes had burst open and her body was fading fast. This was one of the longest nights of her life and sunrise wasn't for hours.

"I'm sorry." An unfamiliar sensation overcame Kagome. Her throat ached and acid ran down her arms to pool in her wrists. Her tired eyes brimmed with tears for the second time that night but she didn't have enough strength to stop them from falling this time.

Inuyasha hated the scent of tears. It only reminded him of his last moments with his mother. But actually seeing Kagome's tears...Inuyasha breathed as his youki stirred, yearning to comfort her. The hanyou stood from his chair, walked slowly towards Kagome and then carefully cut her restraints with his claws. But she didn't move. "There is nothing to apologize for." Inuyasha murmured.

She looked up at him and her eyes screamed that's not true but all she said was, "I should go." Again, she didn't move.

He crouched down to her level. He put his hand on the side of her face and grazed his thumb across her check, smearing the tears there, "Stay."

She looked up at him and stared into his eyes. How, after all that, could he still look at her like that? Her lip quivered, feeling another wave of dread and turned into his hand to hide the evidence. He picked her up from the chair. He put her arms around his neck and she continued to shield her face from him as if he couldn't smell her sadness or feel the dampness on his throat. She didn't even have the strength to wrap her legs around him so he held them in place for her.