#- Merry Christmas, Inuyasha! -#
An Inuyasha Fanfic by Tobu Ishi
-Part 4- In Which Harsh Words Are Exchanged, and Kagome Learns The Meaning of 'Better Late Than Never'
________________
Bursting out of the well, Inuyasha took off running through the woods, just for the distraction of fast motion. It didn't help; every tree he sped past seemed to have the shape of Kagome and her human love traced in the patterns of its bark, or wound in its twining branches...
*Is this how she felt when she caught me kissing Kikyo?* The thought wove faintly through the wounded turmoil in his mind, but he shook his head angrily. *No, she probably just went and poured out her troubles to *him*...*
Speeding up, he went pelting past looming trees and foliage, running a wide, curving line just beyond the outskirts of the village. He stayed well into the woods; he didn't want anyone bothering him just then.
*Stupid wench...I should have known there was someone back there! Why else would she keep wanting to go back! All that talk about school was just a trick...* His fists clenched as he ran, his claws digging into his palms, but the pain wasn't enough to shift his attention from the greater pain tearing at his insides. *I should never have believed her! I should never have let her go back! She never really cared about me...*
He was nearly back to the well again, and the thought gritted his teeth. *Here I was, actually thinking about using the Jewel to...oh, never mind what I thought! I was an idiot! Women are nothing but pain and betrayal and-"
Suddenly, Inuyasha's foot caught on a trailing vine, and he slammed full-length into the ground, his momentum knocking the breath from his lungs. He lay there, the side of his face pressed against the musty earth of the forest floor, breathing raggedly; the strength to get up just wasn't there somehow.
"Chikushouu..." he whispered to the silent, uncaring forest. One of his outstretched hands curled into a fist, and he squeezed his eyes shut; a trickle of blood was making its way down his jawline from where he'd hit his face on a low-growing branch on the way to the ground, but he didn't care. *I could never have been a human anyway,* he thought miserably. * I can handle physical pain...but this hurts too much...*
A single tear slid down his cheek, and dripped to the ground...
Carefully, Kagome climbed out of the Boneeater's Well, looking uncertainly around. She would probably have to track him; he might be miles away by now...
A flicker of silver in the dark of the woods caught her eyes, and she zeroed in on it, following it through the shadows. *I wish I'd brought a flashlight,* she thought gloomily. *It can't be him, anyway. Why on earth would he have stayed so close?* Unless he'd thought she would be too busy with Hojo to come after him... Kagome grimaced, kicking herself mentally for being such a thoughtless little-
Her thoughts trailed off as she pushed her way into a stand of tangly vines...and recognized the sprawled form in the midst of them.
*Inuyasha...?* she thought, stunned. What had happened? She took a step forward, her heart in her throat...
His ears twitched. "Go away."
Kagome blinked. His voice was flat, but with an odd thickness to it...a tone she'd never heard in his voice before. "Inuyasha, I-"
He lifted his head to look at her, and for a moment his heart hammered to see her standing there, so beautiful in the moonlight...
*But I don't have a chance with her,* he remembered wearily. *She's got her human sweetheart...and all I am is a useless hanyou with my face in the dirt.* Wishing he could sink into the ground, Inuyasha settled for brusqueness instead.
"I know," he interrupted her, struggling awkwardly to a sitting position. His gi was all over dirt from his fall, and he had to force himself not to brush at it in embarrassment. "I saw it...I saw everything. So why don't you just go back to your precious festival and forget about me, huh?" Anger surged up with the pain in his heart, and he got to his feet, glaring at her. "In fact, why don't you just forget everything! Forget the Sengoku Jidai, and the Shikon no Tama, and me!!" Fists clenched, he stared at the ground. "You'd be happier back in your world. You never cared about anything here, anyway..."
Kagome frowned, looking at his face with puzzlement. Just then, he reached up to push his bangs out of his eyes, and the moonlight glinted off of something on his cheek...
"You've been...crying...?" Kagome murmured, stunned. She had never seen Inuyasha cry, not even when he thought Kikyo had fallen to her second death...not even when he saw Sesshoumaru's facsimile of his mother...
He might have gone red; it was hard to tell in the half-light. "Urusei, wench," he muttered, turning to go.
A small hand caught hold of his shoulder, stopping him. Slowly, Inuyasha turned to face her, and Kagome saw that his face was smudged with dirt and tears...and something more. Her insides wrenched, as she realized that it was heartbreak she saw written in his eyes...
"Oh, Inuyasha," she whispered, tears appearing in her own eyes. He frowned, uncertain of what was going on...
Then, Kagome gently slid her arms around him, in a contrite embrace.
He stood, frozen, not understanding... *Kagome...why is she...?*
Pulling away, Kagome met his eyes. "Inuyasha, that boy was a friend of mine," she explained, her voice full of apology. "We were just talking, and, well, I don't know what happened...but it wasn't what you think!" She sounded almost pleading, and Inuyasha blinked, almost softening...but then, he pushed her away, turning his back to her.
"Why should I believe you?" he snapped, crossing his arms. "How do I know that everything you've ever told me isn't a lie?"
"Inuyasha, please-" she started to say, her voice thick with tears, but he whirled, interrupting her.
"Quit crying!! I don't understand you, Kagome! You kiss me, you kiss him, you act like you care but you constantly sneak off to see someone else...if you're trying to crush me, there are easier ways to do it!"
There was more truth to the accusation than Kagome wanted to think about. She clenched her fists at her sides, shouting right back at him.
"And what about you?! You want to play the blame game, huh? Answer me this-who can't even decide between the girl who tried to kill him and the one who saved his life?!"
"Kikyo is different!" Inuyasha spat back, flustered. "She, well, I...I knew her before I knew you!"
"Same with me and Hojo!" Kagome retorted, although she knew there was only a small space between the times she'd met the two boys. "And besides, time doesn't matter, it's caring that counts! Do you expect me to sit and wait for you forever, while you make up your mind? I have feelings too, Inuyasha! The world doesn't revolve around you and your guilt!"
Inuyasha's mouth worked silently, as he tried to think up something to throw back at her and came up with nothing. She was right; he had spent the last few months dithering uselessly about his responsibility to Kikyo, never thinking that he might have a responsibility to Kagome, too...
"Why do you care, anyway?" he yelled, burning with frustration and anger and humiliation. Kagome stared up at his face, bright and angry and tear-streaked...
*Tears for me,* she thought, and something in her snapped, or maybe just flung itself open...
"Stupid hanyou!" she cried, and suddenly the anger went out of her voice and there were only tears, as she looked miserably up at him. "Can't you see it? Inuyasha, I love you..."
He was silent, staring at her with unreadable eyes, and Kagome's heart sank. *Too little, too late...I blew it. I guess it's no more than I deserve.* Dejectedly, she turned to go.
She only took two steps, before a rush of wind announced Inuyasha, leaping in front of her. He straightened from his landing crouch, his eyes searching hers.
"Do you mean it?"
"What?" Kagome murmured, confused. Inuyasha blew out a long-suffering sigh.
"You said you love me. Do you mean it?"
"Of course I mean it," Kagome said, frustrated and a little confused. "Would I say it if I didn't?"
"More than that guy back there?" he pressed. Kagome sighed.
"More than anyone I've ever met...more than I ever thought I could love anyone, if you've got to know," she said, her voice dull and on the brink of crying. "Not that it matters now. I wasted my chance with you, and I know it. So are you going to let me past, or do I have to go to Kaede's to cry in peace?"
*S-she really loves me...? Even Kikyo never...never said...*
Kagome's vision was so blurred with unshed tears that she hardly saw him walk up to her. She did feel his hand, though, as he carefully wiped her tears away with a clean bit of his gi sleeve. Blinking, she looked up at him with a sniff.
"I-Inuyasha?"
"You crazy wench," he said, the fondness and relief in his voice belying the rough words. "Why didn't you just tell me? You could have saved me a couple of trips to Jigoku and back..."
"Inuyasha!" she wailed, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing with happiness.
And for once, instead of telling her to quit it, Inuyasha just held her close and let her cry herself out...
________________
-Part 5- In Which All's Well That Ends Well, and Our Heroes Learn the Value of Timing...and Locks
Coming soon!
(Author's Notes-) Hai, hai, wakatta...I stand corrected. Kagome no otouto no na wa *Sota*. I started this fic before I had read any manga with him in them, so I looked up his name from some random fic on ff.net, and apparently they were a bit confused, and passed it on to me. t_t***
I probably wouldn't have noticed it by now if you all hadn't pointed it out. Minna-san arigatou! T_T I promise, in this last chapter his name will be given the correct spelling. Mata ne! -tobu ishi.
An Inuyasha Fanfic by Tobu Ishi
-Part 4- In Which Harsh Words Are Exchanged, and Kagome Learns The Meaning of 'Better Late Than Never'
________________
Bursting out of the well, Inuyasha took off running through the woods, just for the distraction of fast motion. It didn't help; every tree he sped past seemed to have the shape of Kagome and her human love traced in the patterns of its bark, or wound in its twining branches...
*Is this how she felt when she caught me kissing Kikyo?* The thought wove faintly through the wounded turmoil in his mind, but he shook his head angrily. *No, she probably just went and poured out her troubles to *him*...*
Speeding up, he went pelting past looming trees and foliage, running a wide, curving line just beyond the outskirts of the village. He stayed well into the woods; he didn't want anyone bothering him just then.
*Stupid wench...I should have known there was someone back there! Why else would she keep wanting to go back! All that talk about school was just a trick...* His fists clenched as he ran, his claws digging into his palms, but the pain wasn't enough to shift his attention from the greater pain tearing at his insides. *I should never have believed her! I should never have let her go back! She never really cared about me...*
He was nearly back to the well again, and the thought gritted his teeth. *Here I was, actually thinking about using the Jewel to...oh, never mind what I thought! I was an idiot! Women are nothing but pain and betrayal and-"
Suddenly, Inuyasha's foot caught on a trailing vine, and he slammed full-length into the ground, his momentum knocking the breath from his lungs. He lay there, the side of his face pressed against the musty earth of the forest floor, breathing raggedly; the strength to get up just wasn't there somehow.
"Chikushouu..." he whispered to the silent, uncaring forest. One of his outstretched hands curled into a fist, and he squeezed his eyes shut; a trickle of blood was making its way down his jawline from where he'd hit his face on a low-growing branch on the way to the ground, but he didn't care. *I could never have been a human anyway,* he thought miserably. * I can handle physical pain...but this hurts too much...*
A single tear slid down his cheek, and dripped to the ground...
Carefully, Kagome climbed out of the Boneeater's Well, looking uncertainly around. She would probably have to track him; he might be miles away by now...
A flicker of silver in the dark of the woods caught her eyes, and she zeroed in on it, following it through the shadows. *I wish I'd brought a flashlight,* she thought gloomily. *It can't be him, anyway. Why on earth would he have stayed so close?* Unless he'd thought she would be too busy with Hojo to come after him... Kagome grimaced, kicking herself mentally for being such a thoughtless little-
Her thoughts trailed off as she pushed her way into a stand of tangly vines...and recognized the sprawled form in the midst of them.
*Inuyasha...?* she thought, stunned. What had happened? She took a step forward, her heart in her throat...
His ears twitched. "Go away."
Kagome blinked. His voice was flat, but with an odd thickness to it...a tone she'd never heard in his voice before. "Inuyasha, I-"
He lifted his head to look at her, and for a moment his heart hammered to see her standing there, so beautiful in the moonlight...
*But I don't have a chance with her,* he remembered wearily. *She's got her human sweetheart...and all I am is a useless hanyou with my face in the dirt.* Wishing he could sink into the ground, Inuyasha settled for brusqueness instead.
"I know," he interrupted her, struggling awkwardly to a sitting position. His gi was all over dirt from his fall, and he had to force himself not to brush at it in embarrassment. "I saw it...I saw everything. So why don't you just go back to your precious festival and forget about me, huh?" Anger surged up with the pain in his heart, and he got to his feet, glaring at her. "In fact, why don't you just forget everything! Forget the Sengoku Jidai, and the Shikon no Tama, and me!!" Fists clenched, he stared at the ground. "You'd be happier back in your world. You never cared about anything here, anyway..."
Kagome frowned, looking at his face with puzzlement. Just then, he reached up to push his bangs out of his eyes, and the moonlight glinted off of something on his cheek...
"You've been...crying...?" Kagome murmured, stunned. She had never seen Inuyasha cry, not even when he thought Kikyo had fallen to her second death...not even when he saw Sesshoumaru's facsimile of his mother...
He might have gone red; it was hard to tell in the half-light. "Urusei, wench," he muttered, turning to go.
A small hand caught hold of his shoulder, stopping him. Slowly, Inuyasha turned to face her, and Kagome saw that his face was smudged with dirt and tears...and something more. Her insides wrenched, as she realized that it was heartbreak she saw written in his eyes...
"Oh, Inuyasha," she whispered, tears appearing in her own eyes. He frowned, uncertain of what was going on...
Then, Kagome gently slid her arms around him, in a contrite embrace.
He stood, frozen, not understanding... *Kagome...why is she...?*
Pulling away, Kagome met his eyes. "Inuyasha, that boy was a friend of mine," she explained, her voice full of apology. "We were just talking, and, well, I don't know what happened...but it wasn't what you think!" She sounded almost pleading, and Inuyasha blinked, almost softening...but then, he pushed her away, turning his back to her.
"Why should I believe you?" he snapped, crossing his arms. "How do I know that everything you've ever told me isn't a lie?"
"Inuyasha, please-" she started to say, her voice thick with tears, but he whirled, interrupting her.
"Quit crying!! I don't understand you, Kagome! You kiss me, you kiss him, you act like you care but you constantly sneak off to see someone else...if you're trying to crush me, there are easier ways to do it!"
There was more truth to the accusation than Kagome wanted to think about. She clenched her fists at her sides, shouting right back at him.
"And what about you?! You want to play the blame game, huh? Answer me this-who can't even decide between the girl who tried to kill him and the one who saved his life?!"
"Kikyo is different!" Inuyasha spat back, flustered. "She, well, I...I knew her before I knew you!"
"Same with me and Hojo!" Kagome retorted, although she knew there was only a small space between the times she'd met the two boys. "And besides, time doesn't matter, it's caring that counts! Do you expect me to sit and wait for you forever, while you make up your mind? I have feelings too, Inuyasha! The world doesn't revolve around you and your guilt!"
Inuyasha's mouth worked silently, as he tried to think up something to throw back at her and came up with nothing. She was right; he had spent the last few months dithering uselessly about his responsibility to Kikyo, never thinking that he might have a responsibility to Kagome, too...
"Why do you care, anyway?" he yelled, burning with frustration and anger and humiliation. Kagome stared up at his face, bright and angry and tear-streaked...
*Tears for me,* she thought, and something in her snapped, or maybe just flung itself open...
"Stupid hanyou!" she cried, and suddenly the anger went out of her voice and there were only tears, as she looked miserably up at him. "Can't you see it? Inuyasha, I love you..."
He was silent, staring at her with unreadable eyes, and Kagome's heart sank. *Too little, too late...I blew it. I guess it's no more than I deserve.* Dejectedly, she turned to go.
She only took two steps, before a rush of wind announced Inuyasha, leaping in front of her. He straightened from his landing crouch, his eyes searching hers.
"Do you mean it?"
"What?" Kagome murmured, confused. Inuyasha blew out a long-suffering sigh.
"You said you love me. Do you mean it?"
"Of course I mean it," Kagome said, frustrated and a little confused. "Would I say it if I didn't?"
"More than that guy back there?" he pressed. Kagome sighed.
"More than anyone I've ever met...more than I ever thought I could love anyone, if you've got to know," she said, her voice dull and on the brink of crying. "Not that it matters now. I wasted my chance with you, and I know it. So are you going to let me past, or do I have to go to Kaede's to cry in peace?"
*S-she really loves me...? Even Kikyo never...never said...*
Kagome's vision was so blurred with unshed tears that she hardly saw him walk up to her. She did feel his hand, though, as he carefully wiped her tears away with a clean bit of his gi sleeve. Blinking, she looked up at him with a sniff.
"I-Inuyasha?"
"You crazy wench," he said, the fondness and relief in his voice belying the rough words. "Why didn't you just tell me? You could have saved me a couple of trips to Jigoku and back..."
"Inuyasha!" she wailed, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing with happiness.
And for once, instead of telling her to quit it, Inuyasha just held her close and let her cry herself out...
________________
-Part 5- In Which All's Well That Ends Well, and Our Heroes Learn the Value of Timing...and Locks
Coming soon!
(Author's Notes-) Hai, hai, wakatta...I stand corrected. Kagome no otouto no na wa *Sota*. I started this fic before I had read any manga with him in them, so I looked up his name from some random fic on ff.net, and apparently they were a bit confused, and passed it on to me. t_t***
I probably wouldn't have noticed it by now if you all hadn't pointed it out. Minna-san arigatou! T_T I promise, in this last chapter his name will be given the correct spelling. Mata ne! -tobu ishi.