CHAPTER 5: TO ERR IS HUMAN…OR HALF HUMAN.
Kagome sat at the desk in her room, she stared hypnotically at the mirror in front of her, vacantly, her gazes passed even her own reflection, and everything else in it. She stared blankly, not at anything in particular, as if nothing else existed in the world but her. She wrung her hands and sighed. She was finished crying; her eyes would turn to dust if she continued to cry.
"I…"
She thought to herself. "I killed him…"
She didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life with him, as he had wanted, but she didn't want him to die. She kept thinking there was something she could've done… something to make it better so it wouldn't have to end like this. But it was too late now. Naota was dead, and she believed herself to be at fault.
She put her head down on the desk. She had done so intending to cry again, but she couldn't. The sorrow was there, but the tears weren't.
****
Inu-Yasha was sitting on the floor of Kagome's house with his legs crossed, when Miroku and Shippou came in through the door.
Inu-Yasha cocked an eyebrow, and sighed. "What are you guys doing here?" he seemed more subdued than usual, he normally would have flared up if Miroku and Shippou had followed him when he told them not to, but he had no energy emotionally to be angry.
"What do you think? We're here wondering what was up… it's been a while since you left, and neither of you had returned." Said Miroku, then adding. "You're not mad? Are you okay?"
"No." Said Inu-Yasha. "And quite frankly, it's none of your business."
"None of our business?!" said Shippou. "That's not fair! We…"
"Shippou…" said Miroku. "That's enough. Let him brood for now."
"But-!"
"Shippou… leave it." Said Miroku. Shippou grumbled and walked outside.
Miroku waited until Shippou had exited the room, and then turned to face Inu-Yasha.
"Don't want to talk? Fine. But answer me this: Where is Kagome?"
Inu-Yasha flinched. "She's upstairs."
"I see." Said Miroku, folding his arms. "And what exactly has she been doing up there for so long?"
Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed. "How the hell should I know?!" he flared.
"How?" said Miroku, with a tinge of anger, which was rare for someone as composed and calm as Miroku typically was. "Call me crazy, but I think she's up there, crying because of something YOU did, that's why you should know!"
"You're making a LOT of assumptions, monk!" retorted Inu-Yasha.
"Fine!" said Miroku. "Tell me! Tell me I'm wrong! Tell me she's up there, fixing her hair, or studying or something! Tell me you're detached right now for some other reason that has nothing to do with her!"
Inu-Yasha got up from where he was sitting and stared at Miroku straight in the eyes. "Shut… up…" he growled through clenched teeth.
"Do you feel sorry at all?" asked Miroku. "Do you feel any re-"
A punch, cutting through the air like paper, hit Miroku in the jaw. He fell to the floor.
"What do YOU know?!" flared Inu-Yasha. "Why do you care, anyway?! She's not mad at YOU, so mind your own damn business!"
Miroku composed himself, he was about to return Inu-Yasha's attack, and his fist trembled with anticipation. But he sighed, closed his eyes, and simply said, "I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn." He turned around, to exit the room.
"If you must know what happened…" Inu-Yasha said, retaking his seat on the floor. "One of her friend's from school came in possession of a shard."
Miroku sighed. "I see." He said. "And her friend…"
"…Is dead." Inu-Yasha finished Miroku's sentence. "And… I guess I said some things I shouldn't have. That's all I'm telling you."
Miroku took a seat on the floor. "Fair enough." He said. "But is she coming back?"
Inu-Yasha sighed. "I hope so." He said. "At this point, I'm waiting for her to forgive me…"
"Well…"
Just then, there came a rapping on the door. In the next room, muffled voices could be heard.
"Kagome!" called her Mother. "It's for you!"
"Tell them to come back later." Replied Kagome, from upstairs.
"He says it's important." Said her Mother. Kagome reluctantly bumbled down the stairs, very fatigued. She could barely move her own legs.
She looked outside, and there, standing at the door, was Naota's father.
"You…" said Kagome.
"Just a moment of your time." He said. "That's all I ask."
Kagome reluctantly stepped outside.
"Uh… Kagome? Who is that man, exactly?" Asked her mother.
"It's a friend's father." She said.
"And what does he want?" replied her mother.
"I don't know." Kagome said, and walked outside.
Inu-Yasha and Miroku peeked out a window and watched and listened.
****
"I'm sorry for being so sudden." Said Naota's father, as he wrung his hands in worry. "But I needed to tell you something."
Kagome nodded.
"I…" he began. "This is all my fault." He said, almost in tears. "I was never there for him. If I were there for him… he wouldn't have killed himself…"
Killed Himself? Thought Kagome. That must be what the police are saying…
Naota's father continued. "What have I done with my life?" He said, burying his hands in his face. "I hurt everyone I meet…"
Kagome wanted to say something reassuring, something to comfort him. But she couldn't deny that at least in some part, this was his fault.
"I came here to thank you. For being Naota's friend for a while." He said. "And I want you to know that I saw him."
Kagome's head jerked up. "You saw him?!"
Naota's father nodded. "I think it was a dream… but I saw him. He told me… that he forgave me for what I had done to him… and that he hopes we can get along better when we meet again. Then he left, and told me he wanted to see his mother…"
Kagome stared blankly in shock of what he just said.
"I'm here because he also told me to tell you…" said Naota's father "That he's sorry for what happened, and to thank you for being his friend."
Kagome's eyes widened. She wanted to burst out in tears, but once again, they would not come.
"I have to go." Said Naota's father. "I have to pick up some broken pieces… and put them back together."
And with that, he left. Kagome ran inside.
"Kagome! I-" said Inu-Yasha as she passed him, but she continued up the stairs and slammed the door to her room. It was as if she didn't even notice him.
Inu-Yasha sighed. "What am I gonna do?" he said.
"Just give her a little more time." Said Miroku. "She won't stay this way forever."
The question was, when she was back to normal… would she still forgive him?
****
Inu-Yasha hadn't moved from his spot on the floor in a while. He had asked to be alone. Miroku was talking to Kagome's mother, and Shippou was playing with Kagome's brother, Souta. They were playing something Souta called "Video Games," but Shippou didn't really understand how they played. He seemed to be enjoying himself, though.
Just then, the door creaked open, and a small figure stood in the doorway. It was Souta, Kagome's younger brother.
"Um…" said Souta, humbly staring at Inu-Yasha.
"What?" replied Inu-Yasha, cocking an eyebrow.
"Um… have you tried to talk to my sister, yet?"
Inu-Yasha scoffed. "Feh. She doesn't want to see me."
"You may think so, but…" Souta said meekly.
"Hmm?" Inu-Yasha turned to face Souta, interested in what he would have to say.
"She… really needs someone right now." Said Souta. "I think you might be able to talk to her. Could you…um…."
"Could I what?"
"Could you… try talking to her?" Souta said sheepishly. "I think she might listen to you…"
Inu-Yasha shook his head. "And why do you think that?"
"Because… she likes you… she wouldn't be mad at you if she didn't like you, so… please…."
Inu-Yasha thought about that for a while, then sighed. He rose from his seat, and set out for Kagome's room.
****
Inu-Yasha stood at the door to Kagome's room for a long time. He hadn't really prepared what he was going to say to her at all, and was trying to think of something. He softly knocked on her door, which was strange, because he hadn't been in houses very much, and when he was, he had never bothered to knock before entering in his life.
"Who is it…?" came a soft voice from inside.
"It's… me…" he replied weakly.
"Would you just go away?! I gave you what you want…"
"Hey!" said Inu-Yasha. "I came here to apologize!"
Kagome opened the door, and Inu-Yasha was taken aback by the sight of her. Her clothes were wrinkled, and her narrowed, angry eyes were bloodshot from crying. She stepped aside, and ushered Inu-Yasha into her room. She took a seat on the bed, and crossed her legs.
"You were saying something about an apology?" she asked.
"Yeah…" he began, and then started pacing back and forth for a long time."
Kagome was growing impatient. "I'm waiting…"
"I'm trying to think!" said Inu-Yasha. Kagome rolled her eyes and waited patiently.
"I'm sorry." Inu-Yasha finally said.
Kagome was staring intently at him. "And?"
Inu-Yasha's jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief. "I'm sorry!" he repeated.
"That's it?"
"What else do you want?" said Inu-Yasha, frustrated.
"That's hardly what I call an apology!" Kagome said.
"That's not fair!" said Inu-Yasha. "I'm trying! This isn't easy for me, okay?!"
"Well, what do you want me to say?!" Kagome shouted. "After what you said, you should be lucky I let you in here at all!"
"L-Lucky?!" growled Inu-Yasha. "I'm here for YOU! Not me! You got that?!"
Kagome's eyes widened. Inu-Yasha sighed and took a seat next to her on her bed.
"Look, I know I'm not very good at this…" he began. "But I REALLY am sorry. I…" he stuttered. "I heard you talking to that kid's father…"
Kagome's jaw dropped. "You were eavesdropping?" she said.
"Yeah." Replied Inu-Yasha. "I didn't know it was like that…" he said. "I thought that kid was using a shard for his own ends, but I…" he stopped there. "I'm sorry." He said for the umpteenth time. "And… please don't blame yourself for this. You made him happy, after all. Nobody else seemed to be willing OR able to do that."
Kagome began to cry softly again. She rested her head on Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "That means so much… for you to say that…"
Inu-Yasha put his hand on Kagome's back. "It's okay, Kagome. Stop this, okay? He wouldn't have wanted you to be sad like this." Kagome stood up and sighed.
"You're right, I guess."
Inu-Yasha stood up. "Anyway, when do you want to go back? I won't force you to do anything."
"I guess tomorrow we could go back." She said. "I'm really tired now, though…Oh, you and Miroku and Shippou are welcome to stay here." She said. Then she added, "You wanna sleep in my room?"
Inu-Yasha flinched. "WHAT?! Absolutely not!"
Kagome burst into laughter. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
Inu-Yasha scowled. "Feh." He said. "You have REALLY bad timing, you know that?"
And with that, he went downstairs. It was getting dark and he was tired. He fell onto the floor downstairs and fell asleep, he felt like all the pieces were coming back together.
Souta, however, was still awake, in front of the television, trying to explain to Shippou how to beat the level 5 boss.
Authors Notes: I Guess that's about it. This was a REALLY hard chapter to write, and I put a lot of time and effort into it. I tried to make sure it didn't get TOO waffy, but I didn't want to make it cold and emotionless, either. Sorry for taking so long, but I've been really busy lately. Anyway, next chapter will be a short epilogue. Not much in terms of plot but just something to wrap things up. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this, the comments and support have been great, and let me know what you think. (I write these fics for YOUR enjoyment, after all.)
Oh, and I realize Miroku may have been a little OOC, but I don't believe he should be composed all the time. I think he gets mad once in a while like everyone else. Anyway, thanks for your support.
