DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the original storyline.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi all!! Here's another chapter of Destiny! Enjoy reading!!
Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
A promise
~*~*~*~
There's no way I'm going to let her send me away again. Inuyasha thought
as he determinedly walked closer to the main door.
It has already been three days since she had so-called fallen ill and every
time he paid a visit, she refused to let him see her, as she was afraid of contamination
of some kind. He knew there was something else and he wanted to know why. That's
why this time; he's definitely going to see her, even if he has to break down
the walls.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Who is it?" a familiar voice asked.
"It's Inuyasha," he replied.
The door opened and revealed Kagome's father behind it. "Hello Inuyasha,
did you come to see Kagome again? But I'm afraid she will send you away again
today."
He smiled. "Don't worry sir. That won't stop me from paying a visit."
Kagome's father stepped aside and let him enter the house. "She's in her
bedroom as usual. She's been there ever since...I'm truly starting to worry
about her, but she refuses anyone to enter her room except for her personal
maid," he sighed.
Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard this. Aha! So there is actually someone
who knows what's going on. He thought hopefully. "Where is this maid
of hers?" he asked.
The father closed the door behind him. "She should be preparing my daughter's
lunch at the moment, you'll find her in the kitchen."
"What should I address her by?" he inquired.
"Her name is Maya and she's just a few years older than Kagome." Kagome's
father explained.
"Thank you," Inuyasha said and made his way towards the kitchen.
~*~
Just when he was about to enter the kitchen, a girl, holding a tray filled with
food, suddenly came out of it, startling him.
The girl indeed looked around Kagome's age. She had dark brown eyes and long
black hair tied into a thin braid with a pink ribbon at the end.
"You must be Maya," Inuyasha said as he noticed the typical combination
of a black dress with a white apron that the girl was wearing.
She nodded and slightly bowed. "Y-you must be the Inuyasha-sama that milady
is always talking about," she said politely.
"Please...do drop the formality," he smiled. "There's something
I need you to help me with."
The maid straightened herself up and gave him a puzzled look. "H-hai?"
~*~
Kagome gently touched the white bandage when she heard someone knock at the
main door below. It's Inuyasha... she concluded in her mind.
Kagome was dressed in a creamy yellow yukata with red embroidered sakura blossoms
near her right shoulder and her feet.
A part of her really wanted to go out of her room and meet him...but another
part of her rejected the idea as she reminded herself of the reason why she
shouldn't. If only I hadn't taken the shortcut that day, then I wouldn't
bump onto that arrogant bastard again...and I wouldn't___
She almost jumped up of shock when someone knocked at her bedroom door. "W-who
is it?"
"It's me...Inuyasha," the person behind the door replied. "Can
I come in?"
"NO!" she cried nervously. "D-don't..."
"But Kagome...you haven't left your room for three days now...your father
is worried about you...I'M worried about you," he pleaded.
Kagome dropped her face. "I-I'm sorry...but I can't...so please...go home
okay?"
"Fine!" she heard him grumble, followed by loud footsteps descending
the stairs and the sound of the main door opening and closing.
I'm sorry...Inuyasha... she mentally apologized again.
Shortly after that, someone knocked at the bedroom door again.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Who is it?" she demanded again.
"Kagome-sama, it's Maya. I have brought you your lunch."
Kagome walked to the door and unlocked it with a turn of the key in the keyhole.
"Come in," she answered as she turned around and made her way towards
her bed again.
"I'll put the tray on your dresser milady." Maya said as she put down
the tray and slightly bowed before she turned to leave the room.
"W-was he...angry...?" Kagome suddenly asked, causing the maid to
stop and turn around.
"I beg your pardon milady?"
Kagome sat down on the edge of her bed with her back to the maid. "Was
he angry...when he left?" she repeated.
"You mean Inuyasha-sama?" Maya asked.
She nodded.
The maid thought for a moment before answering. "Milady, he was rather
more disappointed and worried than angry when he walked pass me on the stairs.
A short moment of silence took place until Maya decided to speak again. "Forgive
me for asking milady, but why do you refuse to meet him every time he pays a
visit?" she asked out of curiosity.
Kagome sighed. "Because I don't want him to see me...not like this..."
she replied as she caressed the large square-shaped white bandage that was covering
most part of her left cheek.
She found it strange that her maid hadn't responded to her explanation but didn't
pay attention to it as she was too busy with her own thoughts.
Then suddenly, the silence was broken again. But this time, it wasn't Maya who
asked a question. It was a person who Kagome knew all too well.
"Like what?"
Kagome widened her eyes and jerked her head aside a little, enough to get a
good view of the person behind her and keep her bandaged cheek out of sight
at the same time. And there he was, at the corner of her eye.
"I-Inuyasha!!" she gasped.
"Like what Kagome?" he repeated with a serious tone.
He knew he would startle her by suddenly entering her bedroom but the suspense
became unbearable the longer he listened to the feeble conversation between
her and her maid.
He had silently jumped up the stairs again as soon as he finished faking his
departure. And he settled himself against the wall next to the door of Kagome's
bedroom, which he asked the maid to deliberately leave ajar, so that he could
find out what was wrong with Kagome. But he became impatient and had entered
the room and non-verbally asked Maya to leave them alone without Kagome's notice.
Kagome quickly turned away her face. "Where's Maya?? Why are you in my
room?!" she asked panicky.
"I've asked her to leave, so it's just you and me now," he replied.
Kagome scowled. That Maya...how could she__ her thoughts were cut off
when she heard Inuyasha approach the bed.
"No!! Don't come near me!!" she cried.
The sound of footsteps stopped. "Why Kagome? What is wrong???" Inuyasha
asked frustrated, only to be replied with a silence.
"Kagome," he sighed impatiently. "We've known each other for
almost a year now! Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"
"B-because..." she began, unable to finish as she dropped her gaze
to her feet on the white carpet.
She widened her eyes when she saw a pair of feet before hers and quickly looked
up, only to see a shocked expression on Inuyasha's face.
"W-what's with that bandage on your cheek?" he asked with wide eyes.
"NO!!! DON'T LOOK AT MY FACE!!!" Kagome cried as she quickly covered
her cheek with one hand and turned away from Inuyasha.
She climbed onto her bed and scooted away when she felt another weight on the
mattress. "Go away...please..." she pleaded.
Inuyasha sighed. "So that's why you are avoiding me? Just because of a
scratch?"
"It's NOT a scratch...it's a horrible wound...it's ugly...a-and I'm ugly..."
she argued.
"Hey...you're not ugly Kagome," Inuyasha frowned. "Look at me
Kagome."
Kagome turned her head a little to look at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You are NOT ugly...okay?" he restated with a serious expression.
Just when he thought he had succeeded in convincing her, she turned away again.
"That's what you think...you haven't even seen it yet...this...this horrible
wound..." Kagome dropped her gaze as tears welled up in her eyes. "W-when
I look in the mirror, all I see is that...ugly...wound...now everybody would
say 'what an ugly girl' and then...I'll be all alone...until the day I die...n-nobody
would want to have a scarfaced girl...like me..." she sobbed.
Inuyasha frowned when the scent of saltiness filled the air and the sound of
drops of liquid landing on the covers caught his sensitive ears. She's...crying...
he concluded and bit his lower lip. I don't want her to cry...I don't want
her to be sad at all...but what can I do...? he asked himself mentally as
he looked up at her shoulders, which jolted with every sob she made.
As his mind was occupied with finding a way to stop her weeping, he instinctively
stretched out his arms to her. And before he knew it, he had wrapped them around
her waist and pulled her to his chest.
"I will..." he whispered in her ear as he tightened his embrace and
leaned his cheek against her hair.
Kagome widened her eyes. ...Eh??? And pulled away to look at Inuyasha
with a puzzled expression.
"If nobody wants to have you...I will..." he repeated, looking down
at her.
Her eyes widened even more as she heard this and she just couldn't believe her
ears. What...why...i-is he serious...??? She thought bewildered. But
then she dropped her gaze again. "Y-you're just saying that to comfort
me...I mean...you're only fourteen...and I'm only twelve...a-and you...I mean
we...aren't even in love with each other..." she sobbed.
"I admit that I don't feel for you that way right now," Inuyasha confessed
as he lifted her gaze up to him again with his hand on her chin. "...but
I will fall in love with you eventually...Kagome."
Kagome almost dropped her jaw as she heard this and her cheeks immediately reddened
at his straightforwardness.
"And when that time comes, I will ask for your hand in marriage,"
he continued with a genuine smile as he dried her tears with his thumb. "If
you're not taken by someone else by then, that is."
Kagome was still looking up at him with wide eyes. I-is he actually making
me an offer in marriage...??? B-but what if he's just toying with me...? How
can I be sure of what he's s__
"You don't believe me, do you?" Inuyasha smiled, having read her thoughts
from her uncertain expression. "Then I guess I'll just have to prove my
sincerity." With that, he leaned closer to her face and placed his lips
on her forehead.
Kagome froze and her heart skipped a beat when she felt his warm lips. She looked
up at him with flushed cheeks and a blank expression when he pulled away again.
"If you're still not convinced...then I guess I have no other choice than
to ask your father up here to be a witness of my promise to you," the hanyou
grinned and moved to get off of the bed.
"NO!" Kagome cried and clasped his sleeves.
"No what?" he asked with an evil grin on his face. "No, because
you will never believe me no matter how many witnesses? Or no, because you believe
me when I say I will fall in love with you eventually and will ask for your
hand in marriage when I do?"
His repeated offer in marriage made her blush even darker shades of red. She
looked down at her hands that were still holding onto his red garment. "I...I
believe you..." she whispered.
Inuyasha settled down on the bed again and smiled. "I will keep this promise
of mine Kagome," he said as he gently pulled her hands from his sleeves
and held them in his. He was relieved when Kagome finally looked up at him with
a smile on her face.
And now about that wound of hers... he thought as he raised his hand
to the white bandage on her cheek.
She saw this and flinched before he could reach her cheek.
"Kagome, please," he pleaded as he reached out to her cheek again.
This time, she let him and he was relieved about it.
He took a corner and slowly began to peel it off. He stopped when he saw her
frown. "I'm sorry, did it hurt?" he asked worriedly.
Kagome shook her head. "Never...if it's you," she smiled.
Inuyasha returned a smile and continued to peel off the bandage.
A scowl appeared on his face when he finished the job. This... he thought
as he examined it more thoroughly.
It wasn't just an ordinary wound caused by clumsiness. There were five parallel
gashes running diagonally from her left ear to the bottom of her lower jaw.
By the depth and size of the gashes, Inuyasha knew it had to be inflicted on
purpose by someone or something with claws.
"Who was it?" he asked.
Kagome gave him a puzzled expression. "What do you m___"
"Who did this to you?" he rephrased.
She dropped her gaze. "I-I shouldn't have taken the shortcut that day...I
didn't know he would be there...if I knew...I wouldn't even dream of taken that
path..."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. He...?
"He was harassing another girl...so I stepped in and told him to stop...and
the girl got away...but then he got pissed...and he hit me...very hard..."
A growl escaped Inuyasha's throat. "It was Kouga...wasn't it?"
She widened her eyes. "H-how did you__"
"His scent still lingers around the wound," he explained as he leaned
closer and sniffed the set of gashes. "Don't worry, I will definitely make
him pay for what he did to you," he whispered in her ear before he pulled
away.
"In the meantime...use the medicine I gave you for the wound, it should
help, if not heal it completely," he said reassuringly.
Kagome nodded and smiled. "Arigatou...Inuyasha."
"Where are you going?" she asked as she saw him get off of the bed
and walked towards the door.
"I'm going to make the bastard pay for what he did to you," Inuyasha
growled as he pushed it open. "There's no way I'm going to let him get
away with this."
There's no stopping him I guess... Kagome thought to herself. "Promise
you will come back?" she asked.
"Ah," he replied before walking out of the room and closing the door
behind him.
~*~
After hearing the sound of the main door opening and closing, Kagome pulled
up her legs and leaned her chin on her knees while sitting on her bed.
Her lips curled up into a wide smile as she replayed Inuyasha's words in her
mind.
"If nobody wants to have you...I will..."
"... I will fall in love with you eventually...Kagome...and when that time
comes, I will ask for your hand in marriage."
A blush crept up her cheeks as her fingers touched the spot on her forehead
where she felt his warm lips a moment ago.
Her train of dreamy thoughts crashed when she realized someone had entered the
room and was standing before her bed. When she looked up, she found herself
looking into a pair of shocked eyes.
"F-father?!" she gasped surprised.
"K-Kagome...y-your cheek...h-how..." he stuttered out of shock.
Kagome widened her eyes. Oh no...
[AN: Her father doesn't know about that wound of hers, hence the reaction of
Kagome.]
Uh-oh...what's going to happen now? For your information, Kagome's father may
seem very kind, but he is overly concerned about the wellbeing of his daughter
since she's the only child. Combine this fact with how this chapter ended and
the outcome will be...bum-bum-bum-bum...the next chapter ^o^!! Please look forward
to it ne?
Next chapter: Unwilled separation
~*~
\\"What do YOU want?!"//
\\"Oh I think you already know...or should I refresh your memory and painfully
remind you what the consequences are of laying a finger upon what's mine?"//
\\"Kagome...?"//
\\"F-father...h-he entered my room after you left...and he saw the wound
on my cheek. He became angry and scared...a-and he said...he said..."//
\\"What did your father say Kagome???"//
~*~
Vocabulary:
-sama: suffix that you put after someone's name whom you respect very
much. Often translated as 'lord' or 'lady'.
hai: yes
arigatou: thank you
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
Kagura wind fairy: Good question ^-^. I was asking myself the same thing
too hahaha. As a matter of fact, I haven't really thought about it. Because
no matter how well I have planned out the chapters in advance, I will still
end up changing a lot of things and thereby expanding the story. And about that
prolonged prologue thing, it will end very soon...as a matter of fact (as you
might have already derived it from the teasers of the next chapter) it will
end with the next chapter ^-^. When I first started the story, I had two possibilities,
either make the prologue short and start the real storyline right away, or make
it long enough to show you readers how 'unforgetable' their childhood was and
then start the real storyline. I really hope the prolonged prologue wasn't a
bit too long (which would have become boring instead of interesting). Anyway
enough of my endless rambling, I hope you will continue to like the story! Thanks
for reviewing!
Ks-Starshine: Thanks!! I hope you liked this chapter!!
whitemiko: Thank you very much ^-^! I think your question has been answered
now, has it not?
KaGs&YaShA: Thanks! I'll try my best to update asap!
Kyia: Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading them ^-^!
Inukamisashi: Thanks!
Rhexi: Hahaha you scared the hell out of me when you said you'd be lying
if you said you liked it!! Thank God you loved it ^-^! Thanks!!
~*~
Lots of greets
~Kittymui~
Posted: 10 February 2004
Last Edited: 12 February 2004
Spelling check: YES