A/N: Yay! I've got new reviewers! Welcome! Welcome to my fanfic! - I'm so happy to have you all here! Now it's time once again to thank my reviewers individually!!!
Keeper-of-the-triforce - Um, was your review just for the first chapter because it was written on chapter 1. I was wondering if you have read the rest of the chapters already… Hmm… Maybe you could review more often, ne? BTW, thanks for the review and welcome! (to my fanfic, that is… because you're new and all…')
X-with stars - You're new too! Yeah, both are stubborn to the core. Well, at least Inuyasha still stayed. ' Let's just see what happens next! Thanks too for the review and hope you'd review again!
Babiixwolf - Wow! Thanks for reading my story! I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY glad that you love it! And thanks for reviewing too! You should do that more often from now on, ne? It will motivate me more if I had more reviews… - Again, thanks!
Bight pink star - Just want to ask, the word 'bight' in your pen name, um, was that supposed to be bright or is it just me? Just asking… ' Anyway, thank you for saying you love my story! And please continue reading and reviewing too!
Miko - Hi! Here you go, I finally updated! You should have left your e-mail ad so I can e-mail you when I update. How about you leave it this time? Inuyasha wasn't that mean… he's just a jerk. - Anyway, I still like him that way… and I think Kagome does too so… um, let's just let Inuyasha be and I'm sure he'll be able to realize his feelings for Kagome soon.
Profanity - You're also new here! Thanks for the review and for leaving your e-mail ad! So, did you receive my e-mail? Hope you'll review again!
INUYASHaHolic - Sorry that I didn't hurry in updating. Like I said in my previous chapter, no matter how hard I try… sigh I always end up late… ' BTW, thanks for the review too!
Kara Noboru - Thanks for the review! Even though it was short, it surely flattered me. Thanks and I hope you read on… - And review too! I need lots of reviews, you know!
Kitsune Kei - Ah! So you changed your pen name! I thought you were new! Hehehe! The rhyme (sort of ' ) you did in your review was so kawaii! Thanks for always reviewing and thanks for adding my story into your fave stories! It's a great honor for my part! -
Hersheykiss1012 - Yeah, I really made it fluffy for those who love fluff. And I think this chapter will have some fluff too! Thanks for being patient and always reading my chapters! You're one of my most loyal readers! Thank you very much!
Tamakia'gss - I thought you already forgot this story but hey! You reviewed once again! Thanks for the constant reviews! They always make me happy. I think last chapter was really cute, don't you agree? I agree that they're both so friggin' stubborn but I'm glad Inuyasha finally agreed to stay! He's really a good lil doggie! -
Angela - Wow! You're still there! I also thought you were gone but you're still there!!! - Arigatou!!! Thanks for always reading my chapters and saying they're great! I always feel happy when someone says that to me! Extra sorry for you, you reviewed chapter 14 twice already, forgive me if I took sooooo damn long… -
Kinchiata - You have reviewed! I'm sorry too for the chapters that you thought were lame… well, I'm glad you still read my stuff! - Arigatou gozaimashita!!! And about them (meaning Inuyasha and Kagome—who else?) getting together… well, you got to wait a little longer since Kagome still has to recover her memory. And there's still this problem with Kikyou and other stuffs… sigh Just wait…
Inferna - You showed up again!!! -does a happy dance in front of my computer, Hikari- Yup! Hikari's the name of my computer and do you remember her here in the story??? Anyway, back to your review… Yup, he stayed! Isn't he a good lil doggie? That's why Kagome loves him so much! - Thanks for reviewing!
Shinji-Higurashi - You love Kagome too? I'm also one of her fans! - Hey don't just die yet, here's the next chappie! Thanks for reviewing! By the way, you're new here, ne?
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Disclaimer: Don't you get tired of reading this same old stuff? Anyway, I'll just type it so I won't be sued or whatsoever… Inuyasha isn't mine… well, not YET.
Again, sorry for the delay. Blame it all on my modem; it's broken so I can't connect to the internet. Oh well… Hikari—my new computer—already got a modem so I can post again! And now, here's the next chapter of Stay! - Enjoy!!!
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Chapter 15
When Forgotten Memories Start to Haunt
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Kagome walked up to Inuyasha, not taking her eyes off of him—afraid that he might suddenly disappear if she would blink her eyes. "You're here!" She voiced out the only thought that occupied her mind the moment she saw Inuyasha with joyful eyes.
"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed. "Of course I'm here! Just where the hell did you think I was?!" He stood in front of Kagome with his hands tucked safely inside his haori while he looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Why are you here anyway?" He asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kagome told him, her smile immediately vanished to be replaced by a thin line that suggested only one thing—irritation. "I'm looking for the annoying jerk named Inuyasha." She said; the color of her eyes became stormy brown that perfectly matched her irked mood.
"And what do you mean by that?!" Inuyasha demanded with clenched fists.
"Nothing," replied Kagome tediously, walking past Inuyasha. "Dinner's ready, by the way." She said, not bothering to look back at Inuyasha anymore.
Inuyasha immediately spun around and shouted, "Hey you! I'm still talking to you!"
"Why is he always like that?!" Kagome thought to herself, gritting her teeth hard. "I was so worried and the least he could have done was to apologize for making me worry but all he did was make matters worse! He's so insensitive!!!" She continued to walk away, ignoring all the shouting Inuyasha had been doing to get her to come back.
Inuyasha was absolutely clueless about the reason why Kagome was acting unusual. "She's ignoring me and yet she won't even tell me the fucking reason why!" Inuyasha growled inwardly as he continued to look at Kagome's retreating form. "Damn it!" He cursed softly under his breath before leaping forward to go after Kagome. He was always irritated when Kagome was ignoring him and he was even more irritated when he didn't know what he did wrong. Moreover, the thing that he was irritated the most when she was ignoring him was the things he always end up doing—like the thing he was about to do. Inuyasha was now walking beside her, still annoyed that she was ignoring him and more annoyed now because he was the one who would have to start the conversation. "Hey Kagome! Why the hell are you ignoring me?!" He growled, looking at the girl beside him.
But just as Inuyasha was determined to know the answer, Kagome was also as determined to ignore him.
"Answer me, dammit!" Inuyasha muttered frantically, pulling Kagome's arm that made her stop in her tracks and face him.
The night breeze blew softly, playing with Inuyasha's silvery white tresses and Kagome's raven black locks while it made the trees sigh as its leaves danced to the silent rhythm it started.
Kagome still remained silent as she stood in front of Inuyasha. Her head was bowed down; her bangs covered her eyes completely from Inuyasha's view.
"Kagome, say something, will you?!" said Inuyasha, unable to bear the silence that was surrounding them.
The deafening silence from Kagome remained but Inuyasha wasn't going to let Kagome win. If she was determined to ignore him, too bad for her because he was more determined to make her talk. "Kago—"
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered Inuyasha's name, interrupting his words.
"Finally." Inuyasha sighed in his mind after hearing Kagome's voice. He looked down at her and asked, "What?"
She raised her head to meet Inuyasha's eyes and said bluntly, "Let go of my arm."
Inuyasha didn't know what exactly he saw in Kagome's eyes the moment he stared at them but he immediately released his grip on Kagome's arm without any objection. Whatever that thing was, it was scary and Inuyasha knew that he better not mess with it or he'd be getting another big sit—no, not just sit—it would be a terrible series of sits. Inuyasha just froze in his position, staring at her figure nervously without saying a word or creating any sound. Even though the night was cool, Inuyasha felt beads of sweat rolling on the side of his face but he didn't make any gesture to wipe the sweat off—he would be committing suicide if he dared to move that very moment. The least he could do now was hope that she wouldn't get any worse where she would go shouting like all the gates of hell would be opening to swallow him up. "WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!?!?!?!" Inuyasha shouted in his mind.
Kagome's eyes continued to look at him with the same expression she had since she told Inuyasha to free her arm. Her expression wasn't simply angry; if it were just anger in her eyes, Inuyasha wouldn't have had this reaction. It was more than just anger—it was so much more. Kagome was definitely terrifying at times like this. Even though, she wasn't speaking a single word, her eyes were more than enough to make someone feel fear.
Inuyasha felt himself relaxing a bit when he saw the warmth in Kagome's brown eyes slowly returning. "Maybe I can talk now?" He wondered, still uncertain about the idea of uttering a sound in front of Kagome.
Then suddenly, the miko in front of him gave out a sigh like she had been holding her breath for so long—who knew, maybe she had been holding it. "Don't talk to me." She said calmly, turning her back to Inuyasha.
"Just what the hell did I do?!" Inuyasha asked, glaring a little at Kagome.
Kagome whirled around quickly to face Inuyasha once more and shot another fatal glare straight to his confused golden eyes. "I said don't speak to me! Can't you see that I'm angry with you?!" She said through gritted teeth; her eyes seemed to be burning in fire as she continued to look at Inuyasha while her fists that stayed in her sides shook in fury.
"Will you just tell me the fucking reason why you're angry with me?" Inuyasha retorted, getting more and more furious with the situation he was getting at. First, he was forced to stay in this time and now Kagome was mad at him—again. Plus, the worse part of that was he didn't even know what he did wrong this time that made her so angry.
Kagome bit her tongue to stop herself from exploding completely. "He doesn't even know what he did wrong!?!?!? Is he really that insensitive?!?!" Kagome thought, looking really pissed off with Inuyasha's insensitiveness. "Fine! He wants the reason, he'll get the reason!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stringing words together carefully. "Where have you been?" Kagome asked, opening her eyes once again to look at Inuyasha.
"Huh?" Inuyasha looked taken aback at Kagome's words and was more shocked at the way she spoke them—she wasn't glaring at him and her voice didn't sound angry at all. "Where did that come from?" The hanyou asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Really now, he's sooooo clueless." She thought, sighing mentally. "I was asking where had you been because I couldn't find you anywhere. You never answered when I called for you and… I was worried—very much." She said, looking at Inuyasha's eyes to see his reaction. Was it just her or did Inuyasha's eyes look guilty right now? She blinked her eyes then looked at him once more. The guilt she thought she had seen in those amber eyes was gone. "Maybe… it was just my imagination?" She thought, feeling her heart sink in despair.
"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed, looking away from Kagome's gaze. The way her eyes looked at him made him feel guilty… somehow. But she did not need to know about that anymore. "You always worry about useless things." He muttered arrogantly. "What the hell are you worried about?! It's not like there are youkais here—and even if there were, you absolutely know that I could easily defend myself, don't you?" Even though he said those words, he knew perfectly well why Kagome was worried. She thought he left her. "But I already told her I was staying! How many fucking times does she want me to repeat myself?!" Inuyasha thought, trying to defend himself from his conscience.
"It's not that, stupid!" Kagome replied; her thought was now proven. It was just her imagination. He wasn't even a bit guilty. "Because if he was guilty, he would know why she was worried. But NO, HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THAT TOO! Stupid Inuyasha!" Kagome thought. "I was worried because I thought you left me." She said; her eyes flickered with sadness.
Inuyasha stayed silent for a while. "I knew it. She was really worried about that…" Inuyasha thought, observing Kagome quietly from the corner of his eye.
"Why do you always have to make me worry?" She said the words softly with her head bowed down, like she didn't want Inuyasha to hear them but clearly, Inuyasha would hear them since he was gifted with sharp ears.
"I didn't tell you to worry for me." Inuyasha said faintly, still not looking at the upset miko standing in front of him.
Kagome was surprised to hear Inuyasha answer but she was more surprised to herself when she replied calmly. "I know… but still I can't help but worry." She said; her head was still lowered up until now, her eyes shaded by her bangs.
"But I told you I'm staying, didn't I?" Inuyasha pointed out, finally fixing his gaze at Kagome, who still hid her face from Inuyasha's eyes.
"Well, yeah, you did tell me…" Kagome whispered; her voice had lost its intensity. "But you still make me worry…" She thought at the back of her head. Kagome sighed softly, hinting her weariness from fighting with Inuyasha. "I guess I really just worry too much…" She said, trying to end up the conversation. "Let's go back, Mama must be waiting for us." At last, she raised her head to look up at Inuyasha and waited for his response.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome's eyes for a while, trying to see her emotions through them. Then he hesitantly nodded. "She must be tired of this conversation too," thought Inuyasha; his eyes still transfixed in Kagome's eyes to make sure she was okay. And the answer he got? He got three. First, this conversation wasn't over yet. Second, she was still thinking about it and lastly and most importantly, she was definitely not okay.
Kagome walked silently beside Inuyasha, not daring to even glance at the hanyou next to her. She sighed inwardly and thought, "Maybe I'll just have to forget this. What else can I do, right?" She mentally slapped herself when she realized what she had been expecting ever since she started this conversation with Inuyasha—an apology. An apology for making her worry so much. "I repeat, don't expect apologies from Inuyasha. He only does that when—um," She paused to think of an instance where Inuyasha would apologize. Luckily she got a reasonable one. "When he's not himself." She finished, sighing—this time—noticeably.
Inuyasha glanced at his left, clearly catching the sound Kagome made. "You're still angry, aren't you?" He asked while he continued to walk; his hands were again hidden in the wide sleeves of his red coat.
Kagome turned her head a bit to take a glimpse at Inuyasha's face. A small smile crept on her lips when she found Inuyasha's eyes averted from her, looking uncomfortable with their present condition. "Not really." She replied honestly. "He is also bothered by this…" Unexpectedly, the thought that Inuyasha also cared in some way seemed to lessen her anger if not vanish completely. "He is bothered yet…" She frowned a little when she remembered something. "Yet he still won't say sorry…"
"Shit." The hanyou cursed in his mind upon seeing Kagome's lips curved into a frown."But you're upset." He stated it as a statement rather than a question, his eyes watching her features intently. It was clearly written on her face and knowing that fact made him more uncomfortable.
Kagome stopped walking to look at Inuyasha for a while, startled by his words. "I guess he isn't that insensitive after all…" She thought. "Don't worry, I'll be fine some time later…" She said, trying to reassure Inuyasha with a small smile. "Perhaps by then, I'll be able to forget."
But Inuyasha wasn't reassured. Neither Kagome's words nor her smile reassured him. She was still upset and that was really annoying. "Can't you be fine NOW?!" The sentence ran through his mind continuously, waiting to be voiced out. Seriously, Inuyasha wanted to say that to her but he only left that sentence drifting in his mind. Surely if he said something so demanding to Kagome at this moment, she might burst into tears or she might get angrier with him. He'd rather not take the risk. Both consequences would not make their situation more bearable.
But then again, 'some time later' was too long for Inuyasha and he wasn't willing to wait that long. He wanted their conversation forgotten but more importantly, he wanted Kagome to be fine—now. And his conscience was now speaking louder than usual and this time, he couldn't make it shut up; it was making sure that he would be guilty enough to say sorry. "Why do I always end up doing stupid things when Kagome and I fight?" He grumbled mentally, never liking the idea of saying sorry to Kagome. Was he really that desperate to fix their problem that he was willing to say the dreadful 's' word? The answer shocked Inuyasha to the bones. "I'm feeling really pathetic right now." He thought, taking a deep breath. "If I say sorry, will you be fine now?" He asked in a low voice; his eyes were safely turned away from Kagome.
Kagome's eyes widened in surprise when she heard Inuyasha's words. "I can't believe this. He actually wants to apologize?!" Kagome thought, looking at Inuyasha in disbelief. "Are you serious about that?" She asked just to make sure.
"Keh! Do you think I'd say something like that if I weren't serious?!" He said disdainfully, narrowing his eyes at Kagome.
"I'll take that as a yes then." Kagome thought, getting used at translating Inuyasha's rude language. She looked at Inuyasha for a while before she finally decided to say something. "I'm fine now." She said, giving out a warm smile at him.
The hanyou's heart relaxed a bit as he mentally sighed in relief. This time, her smile reassured him—like it always did. But she did not need to know about that… "Great!" He exclaimed, smirking arrogantly. "No need for me to apologize then." He looked away from Kagome to dodge her glares—just in case she'd be sending some towards him for saying something like that.
Unfortunately, Kagome wasn't glaring at him. Her smile remained unaltered and the warmth in her eyes had fully returned. "He really hates apologizing that much…" She noted in her mind. "But he would still do it for me." The thought melted away the remaining anger in her heart. "Don't bother apologizing anymore. That's all right." She said brightly. "It's enough for me that you wanted to apologize…" She thought happily.
"I really don't get you." Inuyasha stated, looking at Kagome with narrowed eyes. "Well, at least I ended our fight without saying sorry." He thought, looking at the brighter side of the ending they had come up with. He was snapped out of his thoughts when a hand suddenly grabbed his hand and began dragging him. "Bitch, why the hell are you pulling me?" He asked, looking at Kagome with a peeved expression on his face.
"We need to hurry because they are waiting for us." The miko explained as she walked even faster, still pulling the hanyou with her.
"It's not like we told them to wait for us," bickered Inuyasha.
"It still wouldn't change the fact that they are waiting for us." Kagome said with a lot of patience. Now where did she get that patience when it came to Inuyasha? "Maybe it comes naturally when you have to deal with a hanyou like him." She thought, not really caring about the answer. "So can we just hurry?" She added, looking back at Inuyasha.
"Whatever." Inuyasha muttered, rolling his eyes at Kagome.
"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome replied with a smile, translating Inuyasha's words once again. "Strange," thought Kagome. "No matter how annoying, insensitive, violent and rude Inuyasha is… I never really disliked him. Maybe I'm not acting normal already? Up to now, it's a puzzle for me… why I have endured to stay with him up until now—with him being a jerk and all… why?" Again, she searched her mind for any memory that would resolve her questions but still, they remained unanswered.
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Kagome opened her eyes once again and shifted her position on her bed. Shortly after Inuyasha and she had finished having dinner with Kagome's family, her mother insisted that she should sleep already to be able to rest her mind. Unfortunately, she couldn't sleep. She altered her sleeping position once more, this time lying on her side to look around her room. It wasn't that hard to see things since she left her lampshade open to have a little light in her room; she wasn't that comfortable when it was completely dark. Then her eyes went to where Inuyasha was sitting; a soft smile tugged on Kagome's lips when she saw the hanyou asleep, his back leaned on the wall while his Tetsusaiga rested safely beside him.
Minutes passed by swiftly but Kagome didn't actually notice that she had been staring at Inuyasha for quite a while. It seemed like time had stopped running when she had fixed her eyes on the sleeping hanyou. Everything was silent around her and she felt at peace and contented; she didn't mind having to stay awake all night as she watched Inuyasha. Not at all. "He looks very calm when he's asleep…" She noted in her mind; her eyes stayed fixed on Inuyasha's sleeping face. "This is the first time I have seen him sleeping… or maybe not…" A sudden picture of Inuyasha's sleeping face flashed in her mind. Then the picture widened to show that Inuyasha was pinned on a tree with a single arrow. "That tree!" Kagome thought, remembering the huge tree she saw outside her house when she was looking for Inuyasha. "That tree was the same tree Inuyasha was pinned down!" She looked at Inuyasha's sleeping form with a confused expression on her face. "Why am I suddenly seeing a picture of Inuyasha pinned down on that tree? Is it a premonition or is it part of my memory? Maybe I can ask Inuyash—" A sudden rush of pain filled Kagome's head as pictures began to flash in her mind. The pain in her head grew more and more as the pictures flashed faster and faster. She could see lots of people in the pictures. Some of them were familiar to her but some were unknown to her. She shut her eyes tighter, trying to stop herself from seeing more pictures. "Stop it… already… I can't…" She couldn't say the words clearly with her head spinning terribly, giving her an appalling headache. "The pain… stop it… please…"
Inuyasha's ears jerked in alarm when he detected a small voice speaking. He quickly snapped his eyes open to find Kagome curled up on her bed, whimpering in pain. Acting immediately, the hanyou left his resting place and went to Kagome's side, trying to find out what was wrong with her. "Kagome! What's wrong with you? Tell me!" He said frantically, looking quite worried as Kagome continued to cry in pain.
Kagome still had her eyes shut but thankfully, she had heard Inuyasha's voice clearly. "My head… Inuyasha… it's painful… I can't… I can't take the pain… please… make it stop… it's too much…" She whispered every word with hardship, panting heavily as she clutched her head in hopes that the pain would lessen.
Inuyasha clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth hard. There was nothing he could do to help Kagome and he knew it. "Kagome…" He could only say her name as he continued to watch her shifting continuously on her bed; it made Inuyasha angry with himself to see her suffering greatly. "Damn it…Kagome's in pain and I can't do anything but watch her. Damn it…" Inuyasha thought, looking annoyed with the situation. Should he call for help? But that meant that he had to leave Kagome. He wasn't so sure that would be a good idea. His flow of thoughts was interrupted when he saw Kagome move.
"Inu…yasha…" She managed to say while still struggling to maintain her balance as she tried to sit up.
"Stupid! What the hell are you doing?!" Inuyasha said, hurriedly sitting on the side of Kagome's bed to help Kagome sit up.
Another flood of pain attacked Kagome's head, making her clasp her head with both hands again. "It won't… stop… the pictures… they keep on… flashing… inside… my head…." Kagome said while gasping for air.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome worriedly, his arms around her for support. "I can't take this anymore!" He thought, removing his arms around Kagome gently. "Just stay there for a while Kagome, I'm going to get some help." He quickly stood up for the door but Kagome quickly called out for him.
"Don't go…" Kagome said weakly, opening her eyes slightly to look at Inuyasha. She reached out her hand to grab his red sleeve; her face looked very pained and worn out. "Don't leave… me… okay?" A split second after she said that, she fainted.
Kagome would have landed on the floor but luckily, Inuyasha was fast enough to catch her before she did. Giving out a sigh of relief, he carefully laid Kagome back on her bed to make her rest. "No, I can't leave her… even just for a while, I shouldn't leave Kagome." He thought, looking down at the miko's resting figure. He crouched beside Kagome's bed; his eyes settled on Kagome's face. Her face was now calm; the hint of her suffering vanished mysteriously. "Kagome said something about pictures… does that mean that her memory is returning?" The hanyou thought with a bit of luck. "But if that's the case… why does she still have to suffer in the process?" A growl escaped from Inuyasha's mouth as he continued to look at the sleeping miko. He was annoyed—very annoyed. Why couldn't he protect Kagome from suffering so much? She always had to face lots of trouble when she was with him and he couldn't even protect her properly. Why couldn't it be just him instead of her that needed to feel pain? Why must it be her? "I never wanted this for Kagome… never." Inuyasha thought, feeling responsible for all the hardships Kagome was having. "Forgive me, Kagome. If it wasn't for me… you wouldn't be like this."
Kagome cringed her eyes then opened them slowly to find herself staring at the ceiling. "What happened?" She turned her head and found Inuyasha crouched beside her bed, looking at her. "Inuyasha…" She said feebly.
"Kagome, how do you feel?" Inuyasha asked her worriedly.
"I'm all right now." Kagome answered softly. "The pain's gone." She added.
"Are you sure?" He asked, still not completely convinced.
"Yeah, so don't worry anymore, okay?" She said, smiling reassuringly at him.
"Fine!" Inuyasha scowled, trying to convey a message to Kagome. A message that said 'I wasn't fucking worried, wench!'
Amazingly, Kagome got the message but she just smiled at him in return. Her smile read 'You were worried, stupid.' Did Inuyasha get the message as well? Kagome didn't know anymore because he had looked away. "Inuyasha, can I ask you about something?" She asked, remembering some of the pictures she had seen in her head.
"About what?"
"About the pictures I saw in my head—"
"Don't force yourself too much to try and remember everything." Inuyasha interrupted, looking back at Kagome.
"Who said I was forcing myself? They just came out suddenly!" Kagome reasoned out.
"Go to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." He said, turning his back to Kagome and keeping his arms inside his haori.
"O-Okay." She answered hesitantly. "But can't I ask now?" She thought impatiently, looking at Inuyasha's back. A few minutes passed and she knew it was already hopeless. Or maybe she should give it another try… "Um, Inuyasha?" She said, still looking at the hanyou's back.
"Tomorrow, wench."
Kagome sighed in defeat. "Great, he started calling me wench again." She thought, changing her position so she was now facing the ceiling. It was really useless to talk to him and Kagome knew it. Once Inuyasha had his say, it was final. "He's so bossy." She thought, closing her eyes to let sleep take her away.
But sleep didn't come. Kagome had counted all sorts of stuff, from the basic white sheep to annoying white-haired hanyous but none seemed to work. She wasn't even a bit sleepy. She turned to lie on her side and looked at the silvery white-haired hanyou resting beside her bed. Tentatively, she raised her hand and tapped Inuyasha lightly on his right shoulder. "Inuyasha?"
The answer came quickly. "What? Aren't you sleeping yet?!" He said gruffly.
"I can't sleep." Kagome replied in a small voice.
"Just close your eyes and fucking sleep." Kagome heard Inuyasha say in his usual rude manner.
Pretending that she didn't hear what Inuyasha had said, she removed the blanket covering her and left her bed. "Did I disturb your sleep?" She asked apologetically, looking at Inuyasha while she sat beside him.
"I wasn't sleeping, stupid!" He answered back irritably, taking a glance at Kagome.
"You can't sleep too?"
"No, I just don't want to sleep."
"Why?"
"Because…" Inuyasha started, looking into Kagome's brown eyes. "I'm worried about you." That was the main reason but those weren't the words that came out from Inuyasha's mouth. Instead, he said, "Because I fucking don't want to sleep." He turned his eyes away from hers and added, "Now go to sleep."
"I told you I couldn't sleep." Kagome said patiently.
"Keh!" Inuyasha scowled. "Ever since you lost your memory, you always can't sleep when you ought to be sleeping." He complained.
"Maybe it happens to all those who lost their memories." Kagome said, shrugging at Inuyasha. She didn't really care much about her sleeplessness because she thought it was just normal to happen once in a while to every person. She would rather have that than lose her memory...
"Stupid, it's just you!" He answered back, looking at Kagome petulantly. For a second, Inuyasha thought he saw Kagome's eyes spark with irritation but when he tried to get a better look into her eyes, she had averted her gaze into the other side of the room. He quickly locked the thought in the part of his mind that was labeled 'trash' and reminded himself not to be paranoid again around Kagome.
Kagome sighed gratefully when Inuyasha didn't comment on her sudden silence. She could sense another meaningless quarrel between them was starting to develop so she thought it was best to shut up to cut their conversation. She really didn't want to have another petty fight with Inuyasha—mainly because it was hard to get an apology from Inuyasha and it was also tiring for her part to always give in and always be the one to say sorry instead of him.
Since Kagome didn't want to speak and Inuyasha's pride was also stopping him from starting the talk, silence grew between them. An awkward silence.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome sideways but her eyes were still avoiding him. He could feel the thought he locked a while ago surfacing again along with guilt. Next, he began to doubt that he was just being paranoid; the feeling that Kagome was mad at him was stronger now. His hunch was getting more and more disturbing when Kagome started showing the 'signs': she was quiet all of a sudden, she wouldn't look at him AND she was about to leave. "WHAT?!" Inuyasha exclaimed in his mind, hearing Kagome stand up. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes and was taken aback when he found her eyes looking straight at him. His heart was beating tensely as Kagome kept her gaze a little longer without saying a word to him.
"No, I'll just bother him…" Kagome thought, finally making up her mind. She turned her back to Inuyasha then walked towards the door, not saying a single word to the puzzled dog hanyou. When she had opened the door, she clicked the light switch of her room open and paused for a while to look back at Inuyasha, who was still staring at her with a befuddled expression. "Stay here, I'll be right back." She told him quickly before slipping through the door and shutting it behind her with a soft click.
"What the hell was that all about?" Inuyasha muttered, still gaping at the door. "Why did she just fucking leave me here?!" He stood up abruptly and began walking across the room irritably; his hands tucked within the long sleeves of his red coat. As he continued to walk to and fro, he would often pause in front of the door to glare at it and would also mutter something that related Kagome to the words 'bitch' and 'annoying'. Many times already, Inuyasha thought of going outside to demand—not just simply ask—an explanation from Kagome but whenever he was about to approach the door, he would always remember Kagome's words before she left the room. "Damn it! Who does she think she is to make me stay here?!" He thought crabbily, growling softly when he realized that Kagome was treating him like a pet dog. "AND WHY THE HELL IS SHE ANGRY WITH ME THIS TIME?!?!" Impatience got the better part of Inuyasha so he stomped determinedly to the door and grabbed the doorknob. It was time to talk to Kagome—no more buts. "Keh! I'm not her pet dog that she can order around!" He thought repulsively and wrenched the door open. He heard a startled gasp and saw wide brown eyes staring at him. "Kagome!?" His eyes widened in surprise to see the miko standing in front of him.
"Inuyasha…?" She said hesitantly, also looking flabbergasted like the silver-haired hanyou. "You scared me!" She closed her eyes and heaved out a sigh of relief.
"Keh! You're so—" He paused when he realized what he was about to do. The usual stuff, of course—insult her. And with the situation they were having right now—or he thought they were having, he knew it was best not to add up to her building anger—if there was any.
"Hm?" Kagome looked at him curiously when he didn't carry on with his words anymore.
"Nothing." Inuyasha muttered, looking away from Kagome. "Just apologize to her while she's still not that angry!"Again, his conscience started to meddle with his thoughts. "Why will I apologize when I don't even know what I fucking did wrong?!" He retorted in his mind. "Then ask her!" It simply replied. "Like I could just simply ask her." He told his conscience. "Of course you could!" It answered. "Are you crazy?! I'll look like a complete idiot! Just shut the hell up!" Inuyasha argued back. "Stupid! You already ARE an idiot!" His conscience pointed out. "I said shut up!!!! Why does everyone always think that it's my fault?!" He remembered the instances—not just a single instance—when people around him would insist that he should go and apologize to Kagome. However, most of the time—no matter how much they insisted to Inuyasha, he never gave in. And even with his conscience—no! He still wouldn't give in.
While Inuyasha was having a hard time debating with his conscience, Kagome was staring at his face with a confused look on her own face. "Inuyasha suddenly shut up…?" She thought incredulously. "What happened to him?" She mused, trying to find the reason why he was suddenly speechless. "Um, Inuyasha?" She called his name to catch his attention.
Upon hearing Kagome say his name, Inuyasha quickly collected his present thoughts and threw them all inside his mental closet—this time locking them more firmly. "What?" He said dully, looking at Kagome with narrowed eyes.
"Were you going somewhere?" She asked curiously; her eyes trailed down to Inuyasha's hand, which was still grasping the doorknob.
He quickly yanked his hand from the handle and immediately said, "Of course not!" Not fully assured that his face wouldn't betray him, he spun around to hide his flushing face from Kagome. He could feel his whole face burning in embarrassment while cursing the damn doorknob in his mind.
"Oh… so you weren't going out…" Kagome said, looking amused as her lips secretly formed into a smile. Obviously, Inuyasha was lying. Why would he be opening the door if he wouldn't be going out? And when she asked him, did she just see Inuyasha blushing? Probably just her imagination, but still... the thought that Inuyasha was blushing, made her smile wider.
"I told you I WASN'T GOING OUT!" The hot-tempered hanyou repeated, still not daring to look at Kagome since he could still feel his cheeks glowing a perfect hue of red. At this rate, he wanted terribly to rip the blasted doorknob into shreds. "But Kagome always tells me never to ruin things in her house." He reminded himself. He walked towards Kagome's bed and sat on the floor, leaning his back on the side of Kagome's bed. "She'd surely sit me if I ripped the damn doorknob." He crossed his arms stubbornly in front of him and sulked to prevent himself from shredding the annoying article.
Kagome's smile didn't leave her lips as she slowly walked to Inuyasha, balancing the tray she held in her hands. "Is that so? I thought you were going out to look for me." She said nonchalantly, putting the tray down carefully in front of Inuyasha.
Inuyasha ignored the tray that was before him; he was more concerned in answering Kagome's statement. "G-going out to look for you?!" He stammered, the color on his cheeks brightening again. "Why the hell will I do that?!" He said defensively.
"I don't know…" She shrugged, also settling down on the floor opposite Inuyasha. "Maybe you were worried or something." She took one of the cups on the tray and handed it to Inuyasha. "Here." She said, also giving Inuyasha a set of chopsticks.
"I wasn't fucking worried!" He quickly answered back, not yet taking notice of the object Kagome had given him. He only noticed that he was actually holding something when he felt the warm temperature on his hand. The hanyou looked down at the warm container he was holding for a moment then said, "Ramen…?"
"Yeah." Kagome said, unable to understand why Inuyasha was gaping at the cup of ramen like he didn't know what it was for. "You like eating ramen, right? So I thought of getting you a cup for your midnight snack." She explained, getting the other cup of noodles from the tray for herself.
"Bitch, you mean you went out to get… food?" He asked slowly, narrowing his eyes at Kagome.
"Um, yes…" She answered tentatively, looking nervously at Inuyasha. "…why?"
"She fucking made me wor—I mean left me to get food!?" Inuyasha thought, feeling annoyed while he tried in vain to convince himself that he wasn't really worried about the raven-haired girl. He stole a glance at Kagome and noticed that she was still waiting for his answer. "Keh! I don't like this anymore!" He said as he looked away, not wanting the course their conversation was going to.
Kagome sighed in surrender, once again going along with Inuyasha's childishness. "He loves to leave conversations hanging in midair," thought Kagome, sighing again in her mind. She opened the lid of her noodles and started to eat quietly.
Time to time, Kagome would look up from her cup of ramen to take a glimpse of Inuyasha. As expected, he was very occupied with his food that he didn't even sense the miko's occasional glances at him. "He really loves ramen that much…" She observed, finishing up the rest of her food. After placing her empty cup on the tray, her eyes suddenly focused at Inuyasha to watch him silently. She didn't know why but her eyes always found Inuyasha to be the most comfortable sight to view. "No, it's just because he's the only moving thing your eyes can spot." She thought to herself. "Pathetic excuse—very pathetic."
Unexpectedly, Inuyasha became aware of Kagome's eyes observing him quietly. "Does she expect me to thank her for the ramen?" He wondered, taking a quick peek at Kagome only to find his cheeks starting to turn red again. "Keh! Well, I didn't tell her to get me one!" He reasoned out in his mind, making sure his eyes were averted from her gaze.
"I wonder if he's mad at me…" The young girl pondered, noticing that hanyou's eyes were avoiding hers.
"No, I'm not going to thank her." The hanyou thought to himself stubbornly.
"Inuyasha,"
"What?" "I still won't say thank you."
"I'm sorry." "Did I just apologize?! What am I doing?!?!?!"
"Huh?" Inuyasha managed to say, turning his face to look at Kagome in disbelief. "Why is she suddenly saying sorry?" He marveled. "…for what?" He asked curiously, unable to grasp the exact reason why Kagome was apologizing to him.
"I don't know exactly… It just suddenly came out," answered Kagome truthfully, biting her lower lip.
"You're saying sorry for some uncertain reason?!" Inuyasha said, looking pissed off. "Now you're acting different from Kagome."
"Eh? You mean I mustn't apologize?" Kagome asked in return.
"If you think there's nothing wrong, then you shouldn't say sorry. Kagome doesn't say sorry when she knows everything's all right." The hanyou explained, finally putting his empty cup on the tray beside Kagome's container.
"Well, I don't feel like everything's all right. Maybe because you are mad at me or something…" She suggested.
"Who said I was mad at you?!" Inuyasha bickered; his eyes still had that cheesed off expression in them. "You're the one who's mad at me!" He pointed an accusing finger at the young miko.
"Me?" Kagome gasped in shock. "Why would I be mad at you?" "Wow! This is definitely a once in a life time moment! I can't find a reason to be angry with Inuyasha!" She thought in astonishment.
"You mean you're not mad at me?" He asked, his eyes looking quite surprised.
"I told you I'm not mad," repeated Kagome gently, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "Guess we're just too paranoid." She smiled at Inuyasha before picking up the tray on the floor and standing up to place it on top of her table. "I'll just bring them down tomorrow, I don't feel like going downstairs anymore." She thought, finally feeling sleepy.
Inuyasha was currently mentally killing his conscience for nagging him with pesky thoughts. "Damn conscience! Making me think that Kagome was mad at me!" He thought irritably. He was brought back to reality when he felt Kagome sit on her bed. He looked at Kagome sideways and said, "Since you don't feel like sleeping yet, why don't we talk about the pictures you saw a while ago?"
Kagome looked startled at Inuyasha's words for a second before replying. "The pictures?" She paused, trying to recover some of the pictures she remembered a while ago. A minute later, she sighed and said, "I can't remember any of them clearly anymore." She crossed her arms in front of her and pouted. "That's why I told you I must have asked them a while ago when I still remembered some of them!"
"You didn't tell me you'd forget them if you wouldn't ask about them immediately!" Inuyasha pointed out, looking at the girl grouchily. "I was just worried that you were pushing yourself too hard!" He added defensively.
"You were worried…?" Kagome whispered in shock, looking at Inuyasha with wide chocolate brown eyes. "This is actually the first time Inuyasha actually admitted that he IS worried about me… well, ever since I lost memory that is." She thought, her cheeks warming up.
"Of course I was worried!" Inuyasha stated straightforwardly, his eyes looking sincerely into hers. "Just seeing you lying there as you whimper in pain, who wouldn't be worried?!"
"He was really worried…" She thought, feeling her heart beating joyfully at the idea. "Thank you, Inuyasha." She looked down at Inuyasha, smiling gratefully at the hanyou.
Those smiles were one of the things that Inuyasha loved so much about Kagome. He liked seeing her smiles—especially if she was smiling because of him. It always gave him a wonderful feeling… "Maybe happiness…?" He thought, saying the closest emotion to the feeling he felt. Andhe would always scoff at Kagome because she would always be happy about small things… "Guess I'm spending too much time around her…" Of course, he didn't let Kagome get a hint of any of his present thoughts. He always told himself that she didn't need to know about that anymore. And he always had his ways of hiding his real emotions. This time was no exemption. "Keh! Anyway, you still forgot the pictures so I guess all we can do now is sleep..." He grumbled, looking away from her in case his eyes reflected his true feelings. He stood up and returned to his previous resting place, the empty space beside Kagome's small dressing table.
"Okay, we'll just sleep then," said Kagome obediently, standing up to turn off the light she had opened a while ago. "I'll just leave that one open." She thought, looking at the lampshade beside her bed before lying down on her own bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while, not yet closing her eyes. All of a sudden, sleep had gone some place again and she was once again—wide-awake. Or maybe there was something else that was keeping her awake… A thought perhaps? "That's right," thought Kagome, hearing the words clearly now at the back of her mind. "Inuyasha?" She called out, lying on her side to face the dog hanyou.
"What now?" He griped, staring curiously at Kagome. "Don't tell me you can't sleep yet?!"
"It's not that!" The miko objected, looking at Inuyasha in frustration for not taking the subject at hand seriously. "I remembered something!"
"One of the pictures?" Inuyasha asked, arching an eyebrow at her.
"Why aren't you taking this seriously?" Kagome asked him, glaring a little at him.
"I am taking this seriously, wench!" Inuyasha replied promptly, growling at her.
"Then take it more seriously." She ordered, pointing at Inuyasha demandingly.
"So just what exactly did you remember?" He inquired, returning to the real topic to be discussed.
"It's not one of the pictures… it's just a few words but I think they're really important…" Kagome closed her eyes for a moment, fumbling for the words she had heard clearly a few minutes ago in her head.
"Can't remember them anymore?" asked Inuyasha after a few minutes' silence.
"Inuyasha, I got it." Kagome said intently; her eyes still remained shut. "I remember the words now."
"Then say it already!" He exclaimed impatiently. "You're taking so long just to recall a few words!"
Kagome glowered at Inuyasha for a bit then sighed, averting her eyes from Inuyasha. She returned her eyes once more at the hanyou—this time seriously—and spoke the words gently, "Inuyasha, answer one thing for me… Can I stay with you?"
"Eh…" Inuyasha gasped in surprise upon hearing the words Kagome had spoken. "Did you just…?" His voice trailed off, not knowing how to ask the question in his mind. All he did was look at her hopefully, hoping that it could say what words failed to convey. "Kagome, will you stay with me—in spite of everything?"
Kagome looked back at Inuyasha curiously, not understanding the look Inuyasha was giving her. "Um, did I say that to you before?" She asked, wishing that she would be able to get something that could help her recall more of her memory.
Inuyasha nodded slowly, tearing his eye contact from her. He was beginning to get nervous with the flow their conversation was getting at. He was beginning to fear the answer that he might hear at the end of this conversation. "Sorry, Inuyasha. I don't want to stay anymore…" Just the thought of those words stung Inuyasha's heart terribly, what more if he would hear those exact words from Kagome?He'd probably wish he could wrench his heart out so he wouldn't need to feel the excruciating pain. "But what if I could save Kagome from suffering further if she doesn't stay with me anymore? What will I choose?" Inuyasha was so lost; why was life so full of difficult choices?
"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha heard Kagome's concerned voice ask.
"Yeah." He replied at once, not wanting to let Kagome know what he was thinking.
"You don't look okay." She wanted to say but she thought that Inuyasha might not want to discuss whatever it was that was bugging him at the moment. "Okay then…" She said instead. "Can I ask why I said those words to you before?" "Perhaps we should just get back to the subject at hand…" She thought, waiting for Inuyasha's answer.
"Because we got into another fight." He replied, making sure that he chose the words he used carefully. Words that would not give much but would be enough to make her remember—on her on way and pace. "I can't just make her remember everything in one night… what's more, I don't think I want to hear her answer to the question she still hadn't answered before." Inuyasha thought, remembering how annoyed he was at Kagome when she didn't answer him although a part of him was also relieved that she didn't reply. "Maybe, I'll hear her answer next time…"
"Another fight?" She repeated curiously. "About what?"
"Uhm…" Inuyasha was currently having a hard time stringing words together that wouldn't involve Kikyou's name. s"We-we fought because I told you—well, not exactly tell you—you learned that you couldn't stay with me anymore so you came back here in your time. But after you thought things over, in the end you still came back to me and then you said many things together with that and—and it's really complicated." "Geez, I'm really bad at this! Did I make any sense?" He looked at Kagome's face and saw confusion clearly etched in her features. "Probably not much."
"Complicated?"
"I think you'd understand more when your memory comes back." Inuyasha replied hastily before Kagome could ask another question. He really wanted to end this conversation—now.
"I guess… you're right." She finally agreed, shifting on her bed so she faced the ceiling once more.
Inuyasha's heart was flooded with relief after hearing Kagome's reply. "At last, finished!" He thought victoriously. But Inuyasha was wrong.
Kagome stared at ceiling once more but didn't seem to be staring at it at all. It was because something was bothering her again. "Can I ask one more question before I sleep, Inuyasha?" She took her chances in asking the hanyou, knowing that if she didn't ask her question she wouldn't be able to sleep.
"You won't sleep until you ask that, will you?"
"No."
"You have so many questions," complained Inuyasha. "I'll answer that in one condition,"
"What?"
"That will be the last for tonight."
"I think it's already morning…" Kagome told him, looking at her alarm clock. It read past one in the morning.
Inuyasha muttered something about annoying bitches that always gave smart ass comments before replying to Kagome. "Fine! Just say the fucking question…" He said uninterestingly.
Kagome didn't turn to look at Inuyasha anymore but instead remained her gaze at the ceiling. "If we fight again—like that time… will that mean I can't stay anymore?" She asked, her heart beating fast inside her chest. "Will there come a time that I can't be with you anymore?" The thought caused immense pain, like her heart was being shattered into million pieces.
Inuyasha wasn't expecting that question from Kagome.It took him quite a while to recover from the shock and find his voice again. "Even though you knew my decision… you still wanted to stay. You were hurt badly when you knew my decision… and you continue to suffer because you are with me. Don't you want to leave me because of that?" He looked at her, waiting for the answer that would also answer the question he had asked before that she had left unanswered: whether she wanted to go home—permanently.
"I don't know what decision you are talking about but… I know that I chose to stay because I want to be with you always. Even though you say I was hurt because I stayed, I still don't regret that I stayed with you and I probably never will. Even though I lost my memory, my heart can never forget you Inuyasha. I can feel that deep inside… I always want to be beside you—even if I'll have to suffer, I still want to stay. So don't ask me to leave you 'cause I never will… I hope that's okay with you…" She said, turning her head to look at Inuyasha.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha didn't know what he did to deserve the devotion that Kagome was giving to him freely. Even though he would make her suffer like hell, she still wanted to stay with him. Was this for real? "Would you really stay with me—even after all the sufferings you've had because I wasn't able to protect you?" He asked, making sure that it was real.
"Yes." Kagome said, smiling warmly at him. "It's enough that I know you're trying your best to protect me." She added, her eyes showing nothing but sincerity and dedication to Inuyasha.
Now he was really certain about it. Kagome was still staying with him and it made him happy—very happy. "As much as possible, I won't let you suffer again Kagome. I'll protect you from Naraku with my life…" Again, Inuyasha made a vow to protect Kagome from further sufferings but he was forgetting something—or someone…
Kagome returned to her previous position and smiled contentedly as she gazed at the ceiling. "I can still stay with Inuyasha…" The thought made her heart happy—but why not completely happy? There was a doubt in her heart… what was it? Was it because there would come a time that she would leave Inuyasha? "No! I won't leave him! Never!" She protested, pushing the doubt aside. Or was it because there would come a time that Inuyasha would be the one to leave? Fear was now overwhelming in her heart. "Inuyasha?" She called out his name for assurance.
"What wench?"
Kagome sighed in relief inwardly. He was still there with her. "No, he won't leave me…" She thought to herself. "Good night, Inuyasha." She said, hoping he would answer back.
"Sleep already and try not to ask any more questions, wench."
"Maybe that's his way of saying 'good night too, Kagome'?" Kagome wondered, finally closing her eyes and feeling herself slip into unconsciousness. The doubt in her heart was pushed aside but not vanished—it would surely return when the right time had come…
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Kagome opened her eyes to find herself in a room—and it definitely wasn't her bedroom.
"Where am I?" She asked, looking around. The room was not well-lit so she couldn't see much of the room.
"Welcome back, Kagome." A voice from the dark corner of the room said. His voice was cold and sinister, making Kagome shiver slightly in fear.
"Who are you?" She asked, backing away from the source of the voice. "His voice is familiar and I know one thing for sure about this—I'm in trouble!"
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A/N: Wow! That's such a long chapter! That's the longest chapter I have typed for Stay! Imagine 14 pages for the chapter and 1 ½ page for the A/N! Wow! That's something! Anyway, just want to say thanks again for reading and if you want to check on the status of my stories, check it on my profile! I'm putting it there from now on! -