Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe, but I sure do love playing with them. The rest is mine.
Chapter 9
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied as he calmly turned around to face her head on.
"Forgive me if I don't believe you...but I know how sensitive this thing is," he smiled weakly, pointing to the translator. "It's been a while since I've had to use one, and certain things clearly slipped my mind. I know you've overheard quite a bit, at this point. So...I'll ask again. How much do you know?"
"Seeing as you think it's right to keep things from me, why should I tell you? Seems only fair, wouldn't you say?"
"A lot happened yesterday," he weakly explained, and she shook her head at his pitiful excuse.
"So that makes it ok to lie to me?" she demanded, and he lowered his ears in response. "You could have taken me back to Earth at any point, Inuyasha - don't pretend that you couldn't have. You took me with you not because I'm some liability...but because I have the jewel."
He lowered his eyes, and that confirmed everything for her.
"God...I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yes," he whispered, looking back up at her. "You are. It's inside of you, and I had no choice but to retrieve it."
"So kidnapping me was the solution?" she snapped, and he pressed his lips into a thin line.
"It was, because at least now I have a chance at keeping you alive! The jewel is in the center of your heart. There is no way to get the jewel without killing you, and I wasn't about to let that happen."
"Why? You don't even know me!"
His breath hitched in his throat, and she watched him close his eyes as he clenched and unclenched his fists. It looked like he had a retort ready on his lips...like he was about to tell her something that he shouldn't. He quickly schooled himself and checked his composure.
"So I should just kill an innocent person because I don't know them?"
"It's certainly easier than whatever it is you're trying to do now."
"I'm trying to keep you alive. That's what I'm trying to do. Now that we found it, do you think we would just let it go because it's inside your heart? Say 'Oh ok. Our mistake. Let's go find another one to use instead!'?
No!
This is the one, Kagome...and the people I'm with won't give a fuck where it is inside you. They don't care if they spill your blood to get it, and it's not right!
You didn't ask for this, and neither did I! So, if I can only save one of us from this fucking thing, I'm gonna save you. I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how many doctors I have to consult with or what I have to do.
I'm not going to let you let you die!
That's the whole fucking reason I did this. Taking you is keeping you alive. Keeping you with me is keeping you alive."
"Don't you think I had a right to know?" she hissed, his impassioned speech making her heart race.
"Did you want that kind of stress put on you after what you woke up to yesterday? You were barely keeping it together then. Forgive me if I didn't want to burden you with everything all at once," he snapped snidely.
"Then when would you have 'burdened' me with the truth, huh? Right before you marched me into the operating room? What makes you think I'll even agree to surgery?"
"Because the alternative is that it gets ripped out of you, along with your heart," he replied lowly. "Refusing surgery is the same thing as choosing death."
"And what if I refuse both? Why can't that be an option?"
"It's not. One way or another, that thing is going to come out of you - I'm just the only one who gives a damn if you live afterwards."
Kagome slumped down onto the couch, placing her head into her hands and closing her eyes and trying to get the maelstrom of emotions swirling in her chest under control. This couldn't be real. This all had to be one giant cosmic joke. There was no way she had this thing in her heart.
No.
Way.
It just wasn't possible.
She saw a shadow slowly fall over her and she felt him crouch down between her knees, gently cupping her face in his large hands. It felt nice...why did this feel nice?
"I'm sorry, Kagome. I am. I wish this were happening to anyone else...anyone other than you. But it's not, and I'm so sorry for that. I wish it were me."
"Why?" she finally whispered hoarsely, looking down at him through eyes brimming with unshed tears tears. "Why is it me? How did I even get this fucking thing in me?"
He looked up at her, his eyes flickering back to hers and away again before he sighed and released her face.
"The jewel is like a pearl that your soul has created. It's the physical manifestation of some great pain that has happened to it, and it found a way to purge the evil from itself as an act of survival. It might not have happened to you...it might have happened to you in a past life...but it happened nonetheless."
"So now you're telling me that reincarnation is real, too?" she laughed disbelievingly, dismissing him.
"Yes," he told her quite seriously, "I am."
"There's only so much bullshit I can really believe at once, Inuyasha," she replied in a whoosh, shaking her head and rubbing the tears from her cheeks as they fell.
"I can't change what you choose to believe - I can only provide you with the truth."
She slumped back on the couch, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling.
"It's hard to believe. Everyone faces great pain at some point in their life. Why would my soul create this 'pearl'? Wouldn't everyone be able to?"
"Not everyone's soul is strong enough," he explained softly. "And not everyone has endured as much pain as yours."
"How would you know how much pain I have endured?" she demanded, and a look of complete and utter devastation flashed across his face before he shook his head.
"You have the jewel in you. That's how I know," he whispered, and she could tell that there was more that he was hiding. Again.
"You know more than you are telling me."
"I—"
The wall with the sozo box began flashing blue, and he swore.
"I'm sorry - I'm running late. We can talk more when I get back, I promise."
"Where are you going?" she demanded as he stood up and began changing. She averted her eyes, still in disbelief that he was so comfortable doing this in front of her.
"I have to meet with someone for training. I'll be back as soon as I'm done, though," he promised, coming to stand in front of her once he was fully clothed again. She looked back up at him and took in his appearance. He was wearing what could best be described as workout clothes, and he had pulled his long silver hair up into a top knot that was much like his father's. He wore a strange, black, sleeveless turtleneck that was made of a spandex-like material that completely exposed the tops of his shoulders, and part of his sides and chest. He also wore tight pants that clung to every muscle of his powerful legs and thighs.
"That's a different look," she commented, and he smiled smally as he knelt down.
"It is," he agreed. "I won't be gone long - no more than an hour and a half at the most. Remember...don't open the door for anyone, and don't leave."
"So...I'm trapped like a rat?"
"You're safe," he countered, shaking his head as the wall began flashing again. "Promise me you'll stay here?"
"Fine."
Yeah. Right.
She was going to find her way off this fucking ship.
A/N:
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! Oh, you mean you thought he was going to tell her everything this chapter?! It's almost like we don't know me!
Quick things to note - I realize that in the great chapter re-uploading, I got rid of the note saying that for the purposes of this story, I'm using Japanese as the alien language. I'm doing it because I'm not a linguist, and because it's fun to drop little hints like "Ananta" and you guys just automatically know what that means. Kagome will be clueless, and she's going to be speaking English in this. It was a creative choice, and I'm sticking by it :).
Quick shout out to Wenchster and YangireSenpai
And if you'd like to show your appreciation in another way…VOTING HAS STARTED! If you like the work that Saucy and I do, I would encourage you to take a second to head over to Feudal Connection on Tumblr, and vote for us! It's the second post on their page (AND YOU DON'T NEED A TUMBLR TO PARTICIPATE!) Saucy and I are up for Best AU/AR, and there are SO MANY other amazing stories that you should vote for / read that are up for awards too! You can also do:
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