DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: This author has no financial or non-financial relation nor do they possess any right to "Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale" franchise. Full ownership of all characters is the sole intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Wherever You Will Go


Inuyasha sprawled out on the bed and watched Kagome flit back and forth getting ready for their evening out. It was amusing to see how much effort she was putting into this. In his opinion, she was more beautiful without all the liquid and powders she was insisting on applying but even when he said as much she didn't believe him. Why she didn't believe him was a mystery as she had never worn that stuff during their quest, hadn't worn it the entire time he'd been here and he clearly had no issue with her natural appearance. Sighing, Inuyasha decided if she was really going to take so long, he might as well air out his cramped ears and reached up to remove the bandana before pausing and chewing his bottom lip.

"I showed the merchant my ears," he muttered barely loud enough for her to hear and she froze. Whipping her head towards him and, in the process, dragging her liquid eyeliner sloppily alongside her face. Not that she noticed.

"You did what now?" Kagome asked as her sapphire eyes widened in mild horror. He sighed shakily and blushed, "I said I showed the woman my ears. She wouldn't cut my hair unless I removed the covering so..."

"What...what did she say?" Kagome asked as she furrowed her brow in concern, "What did you say?"

"I told her the truth," Inuyasha replied vaguely before he cleared his throat and began playing lazily with a thread in the comforter, "She said I was still good looking and then she cut my hair."

"The truth," Kagome repeated skeptically, "What did you actually say? I doubt you said oh hi I'm a half-demon who needs a trim."

"It'll upset you if I repeat it," he admitted quietly as he continued to pluck at the thread and avoided direct eye contact.

"I won't get upset," Kagome sighed as she set down the small bottle and move to kneel in front of him. He glanced at her and snorted.

"You've got something right there," he teased as he ran his finger underneath the jagged smeared line and she groaned before giving him a knowing look.

"Nice try. What did you say?" she pressed and he shrugged.

"I told her the truth," he insisted before adding with a crinkle of his nose, "Okay, I said I had a deformity."

"That's not the truth Inuyasha," Kagome chided as she rolled her eyes and moved back to her vanity, "You're not deformed. You're part demon. There's a difference."

"Have you ever seen a demon with my ears?" Inuyasha questioned softly as he sent her a patient look, "Or a human with my ears?"

"Demons come in all shapes in sizes," Kagome pointed out as she picked up a make-up removing cloth and began wiping away the mistake, "As do humans. That doesn't make you deformed."

He nodded as though that made sense and for a while there was a companionable silence as Kagome continued getting ready.

"I..." he paused and plucked at the thread, "I might've also told her you were my wife."

Kagome's lips twitched upwards as she sent him an adoring look that seemed to relieve some of the sadness touching his eyes.

"I am your wife," she cooed happily and for some reason, he seemed relieved.

"So I can tell people that," he stated more than asked, "That we're married I mean. Even...even if its not true."

"You can tell the world Inuyasha," Kagome hummed affirmatively as she picked up a small bottle of foundation and began dabbing a little on her face.

"You said your shrine could do a ceremony," he began hesitantly as he began plucking at the thread again, "Do you want to do that?"

"Do you?" Kagome asked as she began blending and tilted her neck to make sure she didn't get lines.

"I...I think so," he replied honestly as he glanced up at her before turning his focus back onto the thread, "I'd like something more official. Makes me feel like I'm lying otherwise."

"Then we'll do that. We'll go tomorrow to see my family and pick a date," Kagome giggled before adding wryly in a completely too amused yet slightly irked tone, "I still can't believe you showed that woman your ears."

"She isn't going to say anything, Kagome," Inuyasha replied in a tired voice that had her freezing in confusion. That hadn't been her intent at all. He pressed his palms over his eyes and groaned, "I know you want me to stay hidden. I know it was stupid. You don't have to rub it in, okay?"

"What?" she blurted as she quickly turned to face him, "That wasn't why I...I just think its kinda funn..."

"Oh please, everything you bought is to make sure what I am stays a secret. If I said I wanted to go out without a hat on, you'd flip a shit. Don't lie," Inuyasha groaned in frustration before more depression and panic induced word vomit spilled out, "I'm a freak here. I don't exist here. I don't belong here. You've made that crystal clear."

"Inuyasha stop. That isn't what I..." Kagome protested but he was too far gone to listen.

"You know, I actually thought this was going to be fine," he continued heatedly, "I thought finding you again would be the hard part but boy was I wrong. I can't do anything right. What an idiot I am. I thought you'd be proud of me. Actually believed you'd be proud of me for figuring out how to do something on my own but I fucked that up too."

"Stop," Kagome ordered a little more firmly as she turned to face him, "Where is this coming from? I am proud of you. I'm happy you're here."

"Bullshit," he hissed as he suddenly shot up into a sitting position, "Admit it. Me being here is a mistake. All of this you've done has been fucking wasted on me. I can't even go out in public with you without hiding who I am. And you know this! You want me to hide. Ashamed of the half-breed bastard who makes your life miserable. You want..."

Kagome winced before closing her eyes in pain.

"Sit," she whispered before flinching when she heard him crash against the bed muttering curses all the way. Slowly making her way over to him, ignoring the look of utter betrayal and look in his eyes, she gently cupped his cheek and shook her head.

"I don't know what started this but you being here isn't a mistake," she murmured affectionately, albeit a little sadly, "If you want to go out without a hat, I won't stop you. If you want to show more people your ears, I won't stop you. Will I be afraid for you? Yes. I don't know what happened to demons. I don't know why they aren't around anymore. Not knowing makes me afraid there might be someone or something out there that might hurt you and take you away from me. So yes, I'll be afraid but it isn't because I'm ashamed of you. It's because I love you."

Inuyasha's nostrils flared as he continued to glare up at her.

"You know I've never thought any differently of you," Kagome continued as she gently reached up and began stroking his ear, "You know I love you. I know this is hard. I did all of this to try and make it easier for you because I knew it would be hard. I wanted so badly to make it to the feudal era because that would've been so much easier."

"I can't believe you sat me," he hissed as he narrowed his eyes in silent accusation. Kagome sighed heavily and pulled back.

"Inuyasha I don't know what you want me to say," she sighed as turned away and began putting away her makeup, "I don't know what to say. What to do."

She paused and let out a shuddering breath before adding softly, "You don't seem happy here. I love you but...but I don't want you to feel trapped. I want you to be happy. If you want to go back..."

Those words hit him like a ton of bricks instantly vaporizing the unnecessary anger that had been welling in his gut. The scent of her sadness and pain burned his nose and sent him spiraling into a mild panic.

"No. No. No. No. No," he breathed as his heart began racing. The second the spell released him he rushed to her and pulled her into his arms, "I didn't mean...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't."

If anything, the scent of sadness and pain increased as she wrapped her arms around him. Suffocating. Consuming.

"I'm sorry," he managed hoarsely as he buried his nose into her hair, "I'm so sorry. I'm just...I'm just tired, okay? I'm just tired. And I say stupid shit. You know I do. I just...I'm sorry."

'Fuck. What is wrong with me?' Kagome thought miserably as she closed her eyes in pain and pressed her cheek over his racing heart. Her mind was getting whiplash trying to keep up with his radical emotional swings. He only got triggered because she made that stupid comment and then she'd followed that up with the exact wrong thing to say all things considered. Suggesting he go back was probably the dumbest thing she could have possibly said but she felt frustrated and lost and...and she wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to be the man she knew. The man she remembered. And he just...wasn't.

Not right now anyway.

The thing was...that man was still in there. Yes, people change but this was something else entirely. He was just a little lost in the weeds. No matter how much he might be struggling, this man was still her Inuyasha. And she would never abandon him when he needed her most.

Might get him a therapist though. And probably a psychiatrist.

But that was a conversation for a different day.

"Inuyasha stop apologizing," Kagome demanded gently as she passively rubbed her hand up and down his back, "It's alright."

"Don't leave me," he begged as he held her so tightly it hurt, "Please don't leave me. I'll do better. I swear I will fucking do better."

"I'm not going to leave you," Kagome soothed with a heavy sigh, "Relax Inuyasha. Just breathe."

"I love you," he whispered in a small voice before inhaling deeply and letting out a shuddering breath.

"I love you too," she comforted. She began swaying slightly and soon he followed suit with her still in his arms. The motion seemed to calm him and his vice grip on her slowly relaxed. Focusing on his heartbeat, Kagome tried to think back to their quest. For signs that this had been an issue, although clearly not as severe, back then. Surely, this wasn't something new. He always seemed so confident. So smug.

Except when Kikyo was involved. Or at least, when she assumed he was thinking of Kikyo. She paused her movements as images of him staring off into space, and scowling to himself in a corner pushed their way forward. The strangely despondent look on his face sometimes when they were idle and had no leads. He rarely smiled. Never laughed. Seemed permanently angry at the world. Confided in her that he had always felt alone in the world. Had he been struggling with this back then?

"Do you..." he began hesitantly as he rested his chin atop her head, "Do you still want to go have food?"

She wanted to ask if he was feeling up to it but thought better of asking.

"Are you hungry?" she asked instead as she pulled back to look at his face and he seemed to be reading her reaction just as intently. His face fell as he found whatever it was he was looking for and he released her.

"I could eat," he finally replied as he gave her a somewhat strained smile and scratched the back of his neck, "I'm okay Kagome. I'm fine. Just...just a little tired is all."

She wanted to point out how utterly not okay he was but again, decided against that too.

"Do you want ramen?" she asked and she was surprised when he shook his head.

"I want something different," he admitted quietly before appearing to think very hard, "What is something people like in this time?"

An idea occurred to Kagome and she smiled softly.

"Know what? Let's do something fun," she offered as she gave him a reassuring smile and he seemed to perk up some at her tone, "Would you be up to learning what young adults do on a weekend?"

He smiled shyly and nodded.