The Center of My Sorrow
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Kagome pulled her oversized yellow backpack up from the recesses of the well. The shrine house was quiet except for the sound of her own struggle with the weight of her things and the mumbled curses that spilled from her lips. A pair of strong hands suddenly appeared beside her and easily plucked the bag from her fingers and dragged it over the lip of the old well. One arm was bandaged, informing her of who had come to greet her this time.
She stared dully into the dark depths of the well. For the first time since he had known her, she did not offer him a greeting, or a thank you. There was no cheerful smile that he had so counted on seeing.
"Kagome?" she turned almost lifeless eyes to him and he caught his breath at th change in her. She had a face so full of sorrow.
Kagome suddenly threw her arms around the koorime, and buried her face into his shirt front. He could feel her shaking. He wasn't sure what to do so he tried to push her away so he could see her face. Then she started to talk.
"They are dead, Hiei. Sango...Miroku. They're dead and I couldn't stop it."
She started to sob pitifully. He wrapped his arms around her huddled, shivering figure and rested his cheek on top of her head. Having never been comforted like this in his own life, he found the gesture somehow familiar. In his dreams he was held like this. Someone was there to care for him, to care about him. A mother, a sister, a friend...it didn't matter. Just someone to hold him when he needed it.
She hiccoughed and shuddered in his arms. H was not going to ask, but he could tell she needed to talk of it.
"Her own bro-brother, Kohaku, he killed her. He kept swinging and she wouldn't fight him. She wouldn't believe that he wouldn't fight it. She let him-she let him do it. And when she couldn't move-" she clutched him tighter to her. "Naraku let Kohaku see what he did. He gave him back his mind so he could see..." another sob caught her. "And when Naraku took his life, even as she lay there dying, she still believed the best of him. She loved him s-s-soo much." she continued to shake in silence for a while. She was crying silent tears now, and they seemed so much more painful then the grief-stricken sobs that had preceded them.
"And Miroku, he saw it all. He loved her, you know. He saw the demon mob; knew he couldn't take them all in with the poison bees and live. But he did it anyway to save her, even though she was already dying. He used his air void and lay beside her. He finally told her...and it made her so happy. They died there, together only in those last moments. They should have told each other so long ago. It was horrible...and it was beautiful. I never got to tell them how much they meant to me. I never said..."
She pulled slightly away from him to look into his face. "Hiei, don't let others doubt your feelings. Don't let that regret rule over your life in the end...or for those you care about."
He didn't know what to say to that.
"It was selfish of them to put their pride above their love. To put their personal fears above the happiness they could have brought each other. They never took that chance until the end. It was with regret in their eyes that they died. Don't let someone feel the regret for you."
Would Yukina regret? Hell, he knew she already did. She felt like a failure for not finding her brother. And it was slowly consuming her...
Hiei sat with the now silent girl until she fell into an exhausted sleep. He moved her into her room, with the help of the girls mother. He knew he wasn't handling this situation very well, so he went to find the one who could.
He found him moping alone in the park. "Hn." he greeted the red head.
"Hello, Hiei."
"Get off your ass, Fox. Kagome needs you," he growled.
Kurama's green eyes came back to vivid life, lit from within. "Kagome's back?" He couldn't contain his pleased smile. He hadn't been ready for how much he missed her. Hiei's continued silence and somber look was enhanced by the impatience evident in his crimson eyes. "What's wrong?" Kurama demanded. His smile quickly vanished with the realization that something had happened.
"She needs you," he repeated and vanished.
Kurama found himself running, swiftly covering the distance to the shrine house. He didn't bother with the door, but sprang quickly up the tree and to her open window. Looking inside, he found her curled in a tight ball on her bed, fully dressed, but filthy. He could smell her tears, and Hiei's lingering scent on the air.
His step was so soft and movements so gentle, there was really no concern that he might wake her. He knelt beside her bed and rested his arms next to her tear-streaked face. Even in her sleep, the tears were leaking out. He wiped them away as they fell, and waited for her to wake up and tell him what happened.
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Shippo paced nervously around the garden in Sesshoumaru's home. It had been a full day since Kagome had sent him off with Rin and Jaken. Now, he waited for someone to come for him.
He quit pacing, and curled up next to a patch of flowers. The smell reminded him of Kagome and Kurama's mixed scent. It brought him a small measure of comfort since he felt so alone right now.
Shippo was agitated enough that he transformed into his other form, his four legged fox form, and tucked his pointed nose under one of his two puffy tails. He hadn't taken this form since he and his father had been running together...the day the Thunder Brothers took his fathers fur...
A small commotion inside sent the kit sprinting for the door on all fours. His paws scrambled for purchase on the stone floor and failed to find it. He slid into the open doorway of a room, unable to halt his mad dash. Recovering, he spun about and turned the corner, following the sound of raised voices.
The tiny fox remained unnoticed by the multitude of servants flocking around one door. When it opened to allow for Jaken to rush through, the kit followed close on his heals. The door slid shut behind them, effectively trapping him inside with Jaken and...Sesshoumaru.
Shippo couldn't help but let out a quick bark of happiness when he saw the demon Lord. He lifted his pointed nose into the air to sniff out his mother...instead he smelled blood. His perked ears and tails fell, and he couldn't contain the frightened whimper.
Sesshoumaru met the fox's wide green eyes. "She's alive and well, fox." He said nothing more. Instead, he stripped off the armor and upper half of his clothing. The healing wounds on his body did not concern him. It was the wound that Naraku gave him that troubled him. The hanyou's poison miasma kept the deep hole from closing. It was annoying, but not fatal. He could see the kit dancing from paw to paw, his impatience obvious with the nervous movement. He looked at the fox again, answering the child's unspoken question to alleviate his fears. "I took her to her home for a time. You may remain here until she returns."
Sesshoumaru interpreted the soft bark as a thank you and told Jaken to let the fox back out. Shippo slipped out and returned to the garden to think. Sesshoumaru stayed where he was and tended to the poisoned wound.
The fight had not gone well. He knew, had it not been for the Miko's arrow, they would both be dead right now. He had known that she had power, but the extent of her strength had surpassed what he had imagined the girl could hold deep within her.
Unfortunately, Naraku was not destroyed, just temporarily defeated. Alone, Naraku's strength could never match the Tai Youkai's. No, Sesshoumaru had been defeated by numbers and his pride had been pricked, but he knew his honor was intact. The child Miko had saved his life. It was a debt he was determined to repay.
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Kurama watched the shadows on the wall lengthen as evening closed in. Kagome had not woken and Kurama knew she needed her rest. He let his fingers smooth out her hair as she slept, the action meant to comfort him more then her.
He tensed when he heard a person in the hallway approaching her room. He looked up when the door opened, but refused to abandon his spot.
Mrs. Higurashi glanced in and smiled, not at all surprised to see the young man kneeling by her daughter's bed. She hid her amusement at his confused expression and pushed the door further open with her hip. "Your friend told me you would be coming," she explained. "I must not have heard you arrive..."
Green eyes blinked. "I apologize," he began. "I was in a hurry..." he turned back to the sleeping girl, worry evident in his eyes. "Forgive my rudeness..." he continued quietly.
"No need," she announced cheerfully. "It's just as it should be!"
He looked at the older woman again, wondering what she could possibly mean by those words.
"You wouldn't be right for my daughter if your manners meant more to you then she does."
Kurama's lips pulled up in a wry smile. "That obvious, am I?"
She laughed quietly. "To everyone but her." She tucked a small lap quilt around the sleeping girl's bare legs and automatically smoothed out the wrinkles. "Dinner will be finished soon. I don't expect you down though. I would appreciate it if you could stay with her. I'll bring a tray up."
He nodded, a soft look on his face. "I'll stay."
I never doubted that, Mrs. Higurashi thought to herself. "What is your home number? I will call you family to let them know you are here."
Kurama lifted startled eyes to her calm face. "That isn't necessary. They are used to me being gone for extended lengths of time." He sighed when she raised one questioning brow at him. It was easier to agree then to explain so he gave in and gave her the number. The triumphant gleam in her eyes didn't escape his notice, but he was not in the position to question it right now, so he returned to his silent vigil.
"I'll make tea," she announced before sweeping from the room, his phone number tucked casually in one hand, hastily scrawled across a slip of paper taken from her daughter's desk.
Kurama was distractedly playing with the ends of Kagome's dark hair when she returned. She smiled at him again and placed a tea tray on her daughter's night stand. She left wordlessly and returned with arms full of bedding and pillows. Kurama watched mutely as she made a third trip and returned, dragging a heavy looking chair along behind her. This time, he got up to help.
"Your mother seemed quite relieved to hear you were here. She seemed pleased to know that you weren't off doing something dangerous." she grinned at him, eyes sparkling. "She is somehow under the impression that you have been disappearing periodically to be with my daughter."
I wonder where she got that impression...Youko giggled.
"She also said that next time you come home, she expects you to bring the poor girl home to meet her."
I bet! Shuuichi commented.
Kurama just carried the chair easily into the room.
"Put it where you were sitting. It is much more comfortable then the floor. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with the floor for the night, however." She spread the blankets and pillows out into a comfortable nest. She nodded, satisfied with her work.
He stared at her in disbelief. "Thank you..." he heard himself say automatically.
"Drink your tea before it gets cold," she scolded and left, pulling the door shut behind her.
Kurama stared at he closed door, trying to understand the human woman's unpredictable responses to the situation. He looked at the thick pallet on the floor and the cushioned chair beside him before sinking into it. So I'm expected to stay...
Don't complain.
I'm not. I'm just surprised.
Keh! Humans...Take advantage of the situation, fool.
Advantage? That's your expertise, Youko.
Hehehe! That's not what I meant, but...he considered.
Then what did you mean?
Make her love us, boy! Get her to fall in love with us!
How, exactly, am I supposed to do that?
It was very quiet in the room, while Youko considered this. I think, he said seriously, we love her.
Shuuichi snorted, and?
We have to love her, not just BE in love with her, the fox answered. You figure the rest of it out. Youko promptly shut up, his energy receding to the background.
Shuuichi's energy became prominent, and though Kurama's body did not change, his posture and mood did. The human was more emotional and his current moods more obvious.
He crowded closer to Kagome and twined his hand around hers. What happened to you out there? He wondered. Being the intellectual one, Shuuichi felt his thoughts going a mile a minute. He imagined one scenario after another, settling on none.
Kurama felt a headache coming on and gruffly told the human to step back. Shuuichi sighed and complied. A head ache for one meant that they all felt it. And he didn't feel like listening to either of them complain. So he relinquished control back to the overlapped version, namely Kurama, and settled into his familiar niche he rested at, carefully observing the situation.
Kurama was glad when the flighty human settled down. He sat there, Kagome's hand still in his, and a cup of tea cradled in the other. Wake up soon...he thought. I need to see you smile again...
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Okay, guys. I'm trying not to leave you at a major cliffhanger, so I will post one more chapter. I am sorry it took me longer to get these out then normal, but I've been sick...sniffle...I'm better now, though, so continue on to the next chapter!