Disclaimer: I do not own any character or happening in 'Inuyasha.' The
thoughts that led up to this story (of which I have subjected Rumiko
Takahashi's characters to) are all mine.
Muted
Chapter 1: Delicate Ears
His thoughts were very confusing. He had no idea how disturbing silence could be. Trying to concentrate, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall of Kaede's small shack. The afternoon sun felt warm on his face. He could still hear them, could still hear everything that was around him. But only if he imagined it.
And sometimes what he imagined he heard was wrong. Oftentimes his mistakes had gotten him in trouble. So he imagined what might have actually happened. Sometimes it was apparent, but other times it was hard to tell, like watching a movie for the first time, but the audio was muted. Not understanding annoyed him, so he turned his mind to past memories. He listened intently to all the sounds his delicate ears had captured.
It was all so wonderful...
Too bad he had taken it all for granted. Now he worried about losing the sound in his memories. He did not hear them calling his attention back to reality.
"Inuyasha!"
Kagome, Sango, and Shippou were trying to get the hanyou's attention, but it was not working. He didn't even flinch. Kagome reached out her hand, placed it on his shoulder and gently shook it.
He must've jumped three feet off the ground. Quickly resettling himself, he crossed his arms and fixed an angry glare at Kagome. His reaction frightened her, she had no idea it would be so hard for him to cope.
She hoped he would understand.
"Inuyasha, I'm really sorry that this happened to you... I mean- if I hadn't have left again you wouldn't have-"she glanced at him while speaking, it was hard for her to keep eye contact – she felt so guilty. He looked lost and confused, like a child who had forgotten the way home. She had never seen Inuyasha like this. It hurt her to see him so lost. It hurt her more that she didn't know how to help him.
His look changed. He shifted his eyes to look down at the ground, his shoulders slumped. He looked sorry, sad. He looked defeated. Kagome felt something on her cheek. She rubbed it off with her hand. Wet. Tears. She quickly turned her face away- she could not let Inuyasha see her like this, not when she couldn't explain. Sango comforted her as Shippou tried to translate for Inuyasha. Dogs and foxes had some things in common; perhaps he could make him understand in a different way.
He watched Sango take Kagome to the shack, and he stared for a few moments until Shippou caught his attention. He seemed to be putting on some sort of show... He watched for a while, amused by his act. He realized Shippou was trying to communicate with him when the kitsune child looked at him with a questioning "are you paying attention?" look. He tried to make sense of the charade.
They. Sad. Head. Walk. Cry. What?
Shippou had an idea. He transformed into a dog and attempted to communicate.
She was very regretful. Submissive. Sad about ears.
Inuyasha nodded his head slowly, opened his mouth and spoke in a motion of understanding. He meant to say "Ah," but he wasn't sure that was actually how it sounded. He hadn't tried speaking much since he couldn't hear. If he spoke wrong, it would show weakness, and he didn't want to be seen as weak now that he was deaf.
Shippou was communicating again.
Demon. Kirara perhaps? Shippou pantomimed 'Kirara' to answer Inuyasha's confused look.
Kirara. Kirara will help. Kirara will speak.
Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't have to be left out again. There were a few times he had felt alone. Even just last night- everyone was around the fire in Kaede's hut, talking about what happened (he had assumed). Every now-and-again a glance would come his way, a look of pity. He hated being pitied. And not a word was directed to him. Not that he could have understood, but it would have comforted him, at least, had they tried to find a way to speak to him.
He thought about this. He used to listen all the time. There were always times they didn't bother speaking to him. But watching them talk, and not hearing anything that was said was like watching someone keep a secret behind your back. It was agonizing.
She was home in her own time. Her class had a field trip to observe a new cutting-edge piece of technology in a factory for a rather popular electronics company. She herself owned a number of products from this company. Her stereo, her little television, her portable radio she used to carry everywhere. It was a little outdated now, but still very useful. Even her old hand-held game system which she had handed down to her little brother Souta was made by them!
To sum all this up; she was excited! She would not have missed this trip for the world. So excited that she had completely forgotten about Inuyasha.
He had come to collect her again, and had followed her class to the factory. And obviously (being from the past,) he didn't understand much of this metal mess at all. He would let nothing get in his way until he had found her.
Unfortunately, he had used a bit too much brute force..
He had taken out a few electronic devices, throwing the entire factory into chaos. A noise, a blur of red, and then his golden eyes. He looked like he felt triumphant – he had found her again. She was surprised, almost pleased, until she noticed that the entire place was falling apart. Her class had already left to find cover – there was no way she could catch up to them.
She had shouted out a warning, Inuyasha had saved her from the destroyed machinery. She had thought they were safe.
She was wrong.
She heard something barely audible, but it was driving the hanyou crazy. He clawed at his head and shivered fiercely. He screamed in agony as his ears began to bleed profusely- staining his hair, their clothes, creating streams over his hands, on his face.
This was all very strange, she was terrified. The new equipment sparked, shorted, and self-destructed. Kagome had tried to warn him, but he did not respond. There was no time for a second warning, though. Before she could do as much as reach out a hand, a large chunk of metal from the machine came flying and hit him from behind, knocking him onto her. She caught him, but fell back. She had tried to move, but she couldn't budge his unconscious body.
It was all over, she was sure.
She remembered seeing debris falling, and crying.
She abruptly woke from her nightmare, breathing heavily, sweating. She looked around, no on had awoken except for Kirara, who mewed softly and went back to sleep. She calmed her breath and let her heartbeat slow for a moment and let it sink in that it was all a dream. She looked at Inuyasha. He was sleeping peacefully, alone in his mind with not a sound to disturb him. Her selfishness had caused him to become deaf, and she hated herself for it. She wished she could give his sense back to him, wished she could go back in time and at least remember to tell him that she was leaving. But she couldn't.
The first thing she could remember since the accident was waking up at home. She guessed that Inuyasha had brought her there, refusing even to clean up until she was awake. She had said his name and he smiled at her. She had hugged him and went on about how glad she was that he was alright. She was surprised to hear no reply, he usually said something arrogant and stupid, but this time he just looked away.
"Kagome..." he said. He had said it slowly, precisely, softly, and far too airy.
That was when she knew for sure that something was definitely wrong.
Muted
Chapter 1: Delicate Ears
His thoughts were very confusing. He had no idea how disturbing silence could be. Trying to concentrate, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall of Kaede's small shack. The afternoon sun felt warm on his face. He could still hear them, could still hear everything that was around him. But only if he imagined it.
And sometimes what he imagined he heard was wrong. Oftentimes his mistakes had gotten him in trouble. So he imagined what might have actually happened. Sometimes it was apparent, but other times it was hard to tell, like watching a movie for the first time, but the audio was muted. Not understanding annoyed him, so he turned his mind to past memories. He listened intently to all the sounds his delicate ears had captured.
It was all so wonderful...
Too bad he had taken it all for granted. Now he worried about losing the sound in his memories. He did not hear them calling his attention back to reality.
"Inuyasha!"
Kagome, Sango, and Shippou were trying to get the hanyou's attention, but it was not working. He didn't even flinch. Kagome reached out her hand, placed it on his shoulder and gently shook it.
He must've jumped three feet off the ground. Quickly resettling himself, he crossed his arms and fixed an angry glare at Kagome. His reaction frightened her, she had no idea it would be so hard for him to cope.
She hoped he would understand.
"Inuyasha, I'm really sorry that this happened to you... I mean- if I hadn't have left again you wouldn't have-"she glanced at him while speaking, it was hard for her to keep eye contact – she felt so guilty. He looked lost and confused, like a child who had forgotten the way home. She had never seen Inuyasha like this. It hurt her to see him so lost. It hurt her more that she didn't know how to help him.
His look changed. He shifted his eyes to look down at the ground, his shoulders slumped. He looked sorry, sad. He looked defeated. Kagome felt something on her cheek. She rubbed it off with her hand. Wet. Tears. She quickly turned her face away- she could not let Inuyasha see her like this, not when she couldn't explain. Sango comforted her as Shippou tried to translate for Inuyasha. Dogs and foxes had some things in common; perhaps he could make him understand in a different way.
He watched Sango take Kagome to the shack, and he stared for a few moments until Shippou caught his attention. He seemed to be putting on some sort of show... He watched for a while, amused by his act. He realized Shippou was trying to communicate with him when the kitsune child looked at him with a questioning "are you paying attention?" look. He tried to make sense of the charade.
They. Sad. Head. Walk. Cry. What?
Shippou had an idea. He transformed into a dog and attempted to communicate.
She was very regretful. Submissive. Sad about ears.
Inuyasha nodded his head slowly, opened his mouth and spoke in a motion of understanding. He meant to say "Ah," but he wasn't sure that was actually how it sounded. He hadn't tried speaking much since he couldn't hear. If he spoke wrong, it would show weakness, and he didn't want to be seen as weak now that he was deaf.
Shippou was communicating again.
Demon. Kirara perhaps? Shippou pantomimed 'Kirara' to answer Inuyasha's confused look.
Kirara. Kirara will help. Kirara will speak.
Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't have to be left out again. There were a few times he had felt alone. Even just last night- everyone was around the fire in Kaede's hut, talking about what happened (he had assumed). Every now-and-again a glance would come his way, a look of pity. He hated being pitied. And not a word was directed to him. Not that he could have understood, but it would have comforted him, at least, had they tried to find a way to speak to him.
He thought about this. He used to listen all the time. There were always times they didn't bother speaking to him. But watching them talk, and not hearing anything that was said was like watching someone keep a secret behind your back. It was agonizing.
She was home in her own time. Her class had a field trip to observe a new cutting-edge piece of technology in a factory for a rather popular electronics company. She herself owned a number of products from this company. Her stereo, her little television, her portable radio she used to carry everywhere. It was a little outdated now, but still very useful. Even her old hand-held game system which she had handed down to her little brother Souta was made by them!
To sum all this up; she was excited! She would not have missed this trip for the world. So excited that she had completely forgotten about Inuyasha.
He had come to collect her again, and had followed her class to the factory. And obviously (being from the past,) he didn't understand much of this metal mess at all. He would let nothing get in his way until he had found her.
Unfortunately, he had used a bit too much brute force..
He had taken out a few electronic devices, throwing the entire factory into chaos. A noise, a blur of red, and then his golden eyes. He looked like he felt triumphant – he had found her again. She was surprised, almost pleased, until she noticed that the entire place was falling apart. Her class had already left to find cover – there was no way she could catch up to them.
She had shouted out a warning, Inuyasha had saved her from the destroyed machinery. She had thought they were safe.
She was wrong.
She heard something barely audible, but it was driving the hanyou crazy. He clawed at his head and shivered fiercely. He screamed in agony as his ears began to bleed profusely- staining his hair, their clothes, creating streams over his hands, on his face.
This was all very strange, she was terrified. The new equipment sparked, shorted, and self-destructed. Kagome had tried to warn him, but he did not respond. There was no time for a second warning, though. Before she could do as much as reach out a hand, a large chunk of metal from the machine came flying and hit him from behind, knocking him onto her. She caught him, but fell back. She had tried to move, but she couldn't budge his unconscious body.
It was all over, she was sure.
She remembered seeing debris falling, and crying.
She abruptly woke from her nightmare, breathing heavily, sweating. She looked around, no on had awoken except for Kirara, who mewed softly and went back to sleep. She calmed her breath and let her heartbeat slow for a moment and let it sink in that it was all a dream. She looked at Inuyasha. He was sleeping peacefully, alone in his mind with not a sound to disturb him. Her selfishness had caused him to become deaf, and she hated herself for it. She wished she could give his sense back to him, wished she could go back in time and at least remember to tell him that she was leaving. But she couldn't.
The first thing she could remember since the accident was waking up at home. She guessed that Inuyasha had brought her there, refusing even to clean up until she was awake. She had said his name and he smiled at her. She had hugged him and went on about how glad she was that he was alright. She was surprised to hear no reply, he usually said something arrogant and stupid, but this time he just looked away.
"Kagome..." he said. He had said it slowly, precisely, softly, and far too airy.
That was when she knew for sure that something was definitely wrong.