Kagome awoke the next morning still on Inuyasha's stomach, his soft breathing signaled that he was still asleep, but during the night his arms had found their way around her waist and was holding her to his chest. Kagome blushed.
Kagome tried to squeeze out of his grip, but he only held on tighter, growling at whoever would dare to interrupt his sleep, Kagome sighed in defeat and placed her head on his shoulder, leaning her face against his neck and inhaling his scent.
Inuyasha had always talked about how her scent was so hard to forget. She wasn't sure if that was a good of bad thing. Even if she didn't have youkai sense, she could still smell Inuyasha's scent. It smelled faintly of pine and herbs of some sort. She was surprised, she'd always expected Inuyasha to smell like the blood of all the dead demons he'd slaughtered, considering she'd never seen him take a bath.
But he smelled nice, nothing like she envisioned, and his smell calmed her. She closed her eyes and drifted back into an easy sleep, lying on top of Inuyasha.
Inuyasha cracked open an eye, the lovely smell of cherry blossoms and lavender filled his nose and he wondered vaguely why he'd smell that if he was in his cardboard box, which had become his home after he ran away from Kagome's shrine.
He blinked his eyes into focus when he realized that he was, in fact, back at Kagome's house. He paled. How the hell did he get here? He'd made a promise to never see Kagome again, like she asked, he only wanted Kagome to be happy, and if she was happy never seeing him again, then so be it.
He felt a weight on his chest and he looked down from the ceiling to focus on Kagome. Inuyasha panicked, what was she doing here?
All he could remember from yesterday was...
Inuyasha gulped. Kagome was going to be run over by those metal youkai, he remembered, he was on a rooftop, watching her, she'd been walking around her strange village all day, and had even hugged an old woman. He'd followed her from roof top to roof top and had noticed how upset Kagome was, and he'd wondered why.
Then she'd wandered out into the grey river with all the strange metal youkai. He'd realized her danger, but she seemed to not notice until a very large metal monster had come at high speed towards her, making an annoying honking sound. And then she'd passed out.
Inuyasha had leapt off the roof and grabbed her, only to discover what he was doing. He had rushed back to his box in hopes of getting her away from the rain. It had been raining a lot lately. But he had allowed her to sleep in his box, watching her silently.
And then she'd awoken. He had planned on returning her to the shrine and then returning to the village called Tokyo. But no, she'd awoken with a look of confusion plastered onto her face. Probably wondering why she wasn't dead….
And then she saw him. And he'd freaked out, trying to get away, but her having to resort to sitting him. Then the world became a haze and all he could remember was Kagome calling out to him.
He blinked and released Kagome. He couldn't stay here. Kagome never wanted to see him again, but...he wanted to see her.
Was that so wrong?
How could you stay away from someone you loved too deeply it pained you to be away from them for more than five minutes? He'd been in a living hell while in Kagome's large village; he'd felt like he would explode from not being able to smell Kagome's gentle scent.
Kagome smiled in her sleep and mumbled something not even Inuyasha's excellent hearing could pick up. Inuyasha's eyes softened. He'd always loved that smile. Especially when it was directed at him, only him. Always him. He wanted to see that smile for the rest of his days; he wanted to see that smile forever until the day he faded from the world and became no more. And even then he wanted to see it. See it when he fell into the eternal sleep.
Kagome's smile widened as she reached out for a pillow and clutched it to her chest, "Inuyasha…"
Inuyasha slipped to the window and cracked it open, immediately rain came pouring in and slammed against Kagome.
She sputtered and opened her eyes.
Inuyasha acted quickly and hid behind an armchair. He didn't dare move for fear of Kagome knowing he was in the room.
And then he heard her sobbing. Inuyasha's ears drooped, he missed her smile. He never missed her tears, he never wanted to see her cry, it took all his strength not to jump out and wipe her tears away and telling her everything would be all right. She was so beautiful, so alive, so caring…she didn't deserve tears, she didn't deserve the torturous sobs that racked her body…and for what? What could make her cry so much? 'Me…'
"Inuyasha," she whispered so quietly Inuyasha almost didn't hear it, but sure enough his name had been uttered, and she mumbled it absently as she looked around the room, almost like she was calling out to him.
She collapsed into the armchair Inuyasha was hiding behind and Inuyasha dared not breathe for fear of her finding him.
"Inuyasha, where did you go?" Kagome sobbed as she clutched her heart and shook her head, "Why'd you leave?"
Inuyasha felt so guilty now.
But, wait, if Kagome didn't ever want to see him again, why was she crying over him? His mind was jumbled with questions, hoping for answers, yet not wanting to hear them in case he received the thing he didn't want to hear.
Kagome ran from the room. Now was Inuyasha chance, he dashed out the window and was running towards the well house when he stopped. He looked back at the house and sighed. He couldn't leave her. He couldn't give up Kagome.
He smiled at how stupid he was before jumping into the god tree where he could keep an eye on Kagome; he didn't even notice the rain pouring on top of him.
'The rain,' he mused, 'reflects my feelings. Sad and cold.'
Kagome awoke to find that her window was open and she was all alone on the couch. She instantly began to cry, she had been so close, so close to seeing Inuyasha, no, talking to Inuyasha, begging forgiveness to Inuyasha, her Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha," she whispered, unable to finish, "Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha."
She clutched her heart, which was hurting her from the twisting and turning it was doing as she collapsed into her favorite arm chair, she still cried, trying to stop, she wanted to run outside and jump down the well, sure that's where Inuyasha had gone, but she couldn't.
Did he really want to be away from her?
She couldn't take the pain and ran to her room, still sobbing and flung herself onto her bed. She heard shuffling downstairs and then rustling outside, amid the raindrops pounding the window.
"Stupid Buyo," Kagome mumbled and sobbed herself into an uneasy sleep.
Inuyasha sat outside watching Kagome until he was sure that she was asleep again before jumping into the room and staring at her lovingly.
He sat there, sadly watching Kagome, wanting to jump into the bed with her. A few days ago, his thoughts had been drifting in and out of being with Kagome, mating with Kagome, he still thought that, but now they were only mellow dreams pushed to the back of his mind, he couldn't bring himself to think of it when Kagome didn't even want him in that way. Her purity and her first time would be shared with someone she loved, not with the filthy hanyou who stared lovingly down at her.
He traced his clawed finger against her soft, pale cheek, still slightly red from crying; she sniffled and leaned into his touch.
Inuyasha sighed and leaned over, kissing her forehead lightly.
'I'm getting soft,' he thought dryly, 'I've depended too much on Kagome, and without her I'm a nervous wreck.'
Inuyasha was too busy thinking of Kagome he didn't notice Kagome wake up and stare at him for the longest time.
Kagome's heart leapt, 'He's here! He's actually here on his own freewill does that mean that he's not mad at me?'
Kagome didn't dare move. As she laid still in her bed, she thought of an analogy to Inuyasha's behavior. She saw Inuyasha as a guilty puppy…every time she moved he would fear the worst and run away. Like a guilty puppy who'd just been kicked by its master.
She held her breath and awaited her chance.
Inuyasha paused in his thoughts. 'Kagome's not breathing, but I can hear her heart,' Inuyasha thought in confusion. He turned his head to the side to look at Kagome.
It was that instant that Kagome tackled him to the ground and sat, straddling his hips with her legs, she held down his shoulders with her tiny, delicate hands, knowing that Inuyasha could break free, but not without hurting her slightly.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled in relief and anger.
Inuyasha looked at her guiltily his ears plastered to his head and the look like a deer caught in headlights.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered softly, leaning her head close to his so that their breaths mingled with one another, her clouded eyes staring intently at his amber orbs, "Please, don't run away."
Inuyasha didn't say anything.
"Now I'm going to get up and we're going to go for a walk, and you are going to tell me everything, got it?" She asked, smiling slightly to show him she wasn't mad.
He still looked a little nervous but nodded stupidly anyway.
Kagome got up and reached down a hand for him. He looked at it hesitantly before getting up on his own. This movement pained Kagome but she started walking down the stairs towards the shrine. She always walked around the shrine when she had a lot on her mind.
She turned around to make sure Inuyasha was still following her and was pleased that he was. She walked to the Goshinboku and sat on the small bench residing there. She patted next to her signaling that he should sit by her.
He sat near her and looked at his feet, which were fidgeting with each other.
Kagome smiled at him and waited for him to make eye contact with him. He looked up after a few moments, his guilty puppy look still on his face.
"Inuyasha?" she wasn't sure if he was ok, he hadn't said a word, and his eyes were lacking the life they used to have before that night.
He bit his lip and looked at her questionably.
Kagome sighed, "Talk to me."
"Why?" he said, Kagome gasped at his voice. It was the kind of voice someone who'd seen hell, lost someone they loved, and witnessed uttermost pain and lived to tell about it. Kagome felt so guilty having been the one to put him through so much pain.
"Why, what?"
"Why?" he repeated and sat in thought, searching for a way to say it, "Why are you being so nice after you said you never wanted to see me again?"
Kagome began to cry and flung herself into Inuyasha's waiting arms, "Oh Inuyasha! I didn't mean it, I swear!" she continued to sob, "I don't know what the hell was wrong with me, I just...I just didn't want to be hurt, I thought that you were going to tell me you still loved Kikyou."
Inuyasha's heart crashed just then, "What? You thought that's what I was going to say!?"
Kagome smiled sheepishly, "Pretty stupid huh?"
"Yes!"
Kagome smiled, glad that the old Inuyasha was shinning through this old, depressed shell that sat near her.
"I'm so sorry Inuyasha, there's no way I could make it up to you," Kagome wiped away her tears and noted how it had stopped raining that hard.
"Well there is something," Inuyasha smiled sheepishly and Kagome wondered what he was talking about.
"I'd do anything..." She whispered with tears in her eyes.
Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck and blushed a deep crimson. He cleared his throat a few times and averted his gaze away from Kagome. Kagome's heart sank; He's going to ask me to stay in this time forever so he can be with Kikyou.'
Inuyasha cleared his throat and suddenly stood up away from the bench; he took a deep breath and grabbed Kagome's hands, getting down on his knees he looked up at Kagome, smiling softly.
Kagome's heart literally stopped for a few minutes and her heart soared.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes staring intently at hers, "Kagome…I, Inuyasha, ask for your forgiveness and in return offer my sincerest apologies for all I've done to you. Kagome, I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my days with you. Please…please, Kagome, will you become my mate? My wife?"
He blushed again but looked up at Kagome hopefully. Kagome was blushing too. Inuyasha had just proposed to her...
Kagome smiled, tears running down her cheeks as she stared at Inuyasha below her. He held her hands tightly, the claws brushing against her pale skin gently.
Inuyasha waited patiently for Kagome to answer. He'd done it. He'd asked her to mate with him, like he was going to before she yelled at him and he'd run away.
He cursed himself for being an idiot and not asking her sooner. Though by her hesitant demeanor he wondered if she was going to except, or did he disgust her?
Kagome threw herself onto him, knocking him to the ground and hugging him close to her, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"
She started to cry out of happiness and felt like her life was turning out all right now. Inuyasha grinned and stroked her hair lovingly, allowing her to lie on top of him. She'd knocked him to the cement, but despite her catching him off guard, it hadn't hurt. Simply because the fluttery feeling inside his stomach had yet to disappear. And every time he thought of Kagome as his, his heart leapt into his throat and he felt like everything was perfect.
'Love is such a strange thing.'
