Wow. People liked this story. So I, the inuficcrzy one, decided to post
another chap. Let me know what you guys think of it!
Chap 2: Apologies
"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked back into his eyes. "How did you do that?"
He didn't answer, still focusing on cleaning and tending her wounds.
She noticed that the cuts she'd made on his neck were mending already. "Inuyasha, let me see your throat, okay? When you're done?" He looked back up to her and nodded slightly. Five minutes later, her arm was totally healed, not a mark to show for it. He sat back against the wall once more.
She smiled, "Thanks, that really hurt until you healed me." Wrong thing to say. He winced at her words, and Kagome mentally kicked herself. She sat on her knees to better reach him and gently peeled some of the bandage away. The flesh was still raw in some areas, the allergens had slowed down his healing process, but he should be back to his old self in roughly an hour. Giving him that diagnostic, she stood up, holding out a hand for him. "Inuyasha? Please come with me."
The hanyou looked at her hand like it was a strange foreign object. He stood on his own and waited for her to move. Kagome looked sad for a moment, then turned to leave. He followed silently after.
Inu's POV:
'I've got to wash my hands.'
He was following Kagome up the stairs, a slow, steady pace for both of them. Kagome was still worried about his body's allergy. He was a lot more worried about what he'd done to her.
'I've got to wash my hands. I have to wash the blood, the smell of her off my hands, I've got to.'
Inuyasha could see the dried blood under his claws, and it almost felt like the stains were burning. Almost as much as his neck was. It reminded him of one of his fights with Sesshomaru. His older brother had grabbed him by the throat and thrown him at Kagome, burning his neck with poison.
Honest to all the gods, his striking Kagome hurt a lot worse than that.
'You baka. You stupid fricking idiot. How the hell could I have done that to her?'
He couldn't help the shudder that went through his body. The boy tried to recall what he was thinking when he'd dug in his claws, and kept drawing a blank.
Inuyasha just knew that he'd be replaying this scene in his mind for years to come in his nightmares. He imagined the claws going higher up her arm, or hitting her chest, or worse, her throat. He hadn't been fully conscious when it had happened. The wounds had been deep. It would have been so easy to kill her without realizing it, just a flick of the wrist and she'd have been dead.
This was worse than the time he'd turned all demon. Because this time he hadn't been a demon at all. He'd just been his regular hanyou self. He had no excuse for hurting Kagome.
Regular POV:
"You know, I'm not mad at you. It wasn't your fault."
He started. They were in the upstairs bathroom. Whoa. When'd they get in here? She'd sat him on the edge of the tub and was holding out a cup filled with cold water for him. "Here, use this to wash the rest of the strawberries out of your mouth. You'll feel better." He took it from her eagerly, flushing the remaining seeds and taste out of his mouth, spitting it out in the sink. The water was red with berry juice and his own blood. He did this three more times, hoping in a way, it could rinse away what he'd done as easily.
When he was done with that, he cranked the water as hot as it would go and used about half the bottle of hand soap. Kagome let him do it. It was like that time with the bandits. He'd killed them without a thought, killed them with joy. He almost hadn't been able to recognize her. When he'd regained his mind, he'd spent close to half an hour in the stream trying to wash the blood and scent off his hands.
"It wasn't your fault, Inuyasha. You were in pain, panicking, you had no idea what you were doing." Kagome couldn't help but notice the hurt look on his face. She just knew he was going to blame himself for something he had no control over.
She checked the wound again and instantly perked up. "Look, you must have gotten rid of the last bit of allergen; your throat's almost totally healed. I think I'll try taking out the tubing, okay?" He nodded, wincing slightly at the action. She gently worked the adhesive tapes and bandages off his skin, careful not to yank or pull the wound. With the utmost care the miko girl took out the plastic from his windpipe, instantly putting on a layer of disinfectant and a fresh bandage over it to protect it.
"Feel better now?"
The boy just looked at her. He then rolled his head and shoulders, despite her pleas not to. The girl couldn't help wincing at the sight of it. Inuyasha cracked his neck to one side then the other and settled back down.
"Inuyasha? Did you hear what I said earlier?" He wouldn't look at her. She sighed and sat down next to him on the tub. "Inuyasha, you didn't know you were using your claws. You had no control over that."
He flinched. When the hanyou spoke, his voice was rough and barely audible. "My demon half uses the same excuse."
Her eyes went wide. He sounded so-so-self-loathing! "Inuyasha, this is totally different!"
His golden eyes were hard with bitterness when he looked at her. "How? How is this any different from then? You smelled like fear then, Kagome." He blinked hard. "You smelled like it in the kitchen. There's still blood on my claws that I don't remember shedding, someone bleeding that I don't remember striking." He could no longer look her in the eye and stared at a spot over her shoulder. His tone grew even more scathing. "No, wait, this is different. This time I was still a hanyou. I was still in my right mind"-
"Inuyasha, you weren't!"
"I could have killed you." His voice got softer and softer. "I could have ripped your throat out, when all you were doing was trying to help me." His fists clenched beside him. "How is this any different from when I'm a demon?"
Kagome's voice rang with conviction. "The demon wouldn't have stopped. You did."
He looked up in surprise. "W--what?"
She looked him right in the face. "If I smelled like fear before, it was because I thought I was going to loose you. I thought you could die, and I'd never been so scared in my whole life. When you reached for me, I didn't care, I wasn't afraid of you. I just wanted you to let go so I could help you. I asked you to and you stopped, Inuyasha, even though you were in pain. You stopped."
She gave him time to take that in. 'Please, let him understand that it wasn't his fault.' The boy's eyes looked lost as he met her gaze again. "What if I don't stop next time?"
'Oh, Inuyasha.' Kagome took his hand into both of her own, running her fingers lightly over his knuckles and fingers to relax his fist. He opened his hand and she brought the pads of her fingers over the tips of his claws as if she was studying them. He hardly dared move or he'd slice her hand open. She then looked him right in the eye, almost defiantly, and brought his hand up to her neck, so that his fingers curled around her throat, then took her hands away. "I trust you, Inuyasha." She smiled at the look on his face.
Inuyasha was in shock. She couldn't possibly know what that meant to anyone who knew anything about dog demons. To let someone, anyone, near your throat, your weak spot, meant absolute and utter trust. To dog demons, it was a sign of complete submission, of extreme affection. Often only done between mates.
In four words and a gesture, Kagome Higurashi had rendered the great Inuyasha completely speechless.
But Kagome wasn't done yet. She put her hand back on his, took it from her throat, and with her other put something in his palm. The girl curled his fingers around it, making him take it. He dazedly pulled his hand back, and looked to see what it was.
It was the bottle that she'd used since the beginning of their quest. And in it were their few remaining shards of the jewel.
He looked back up in confusion. She smiled again. "Silly. I'm the guardian of the jewel. If I give the pieces to someone else, what do you think that says?"
Inuyasha barely managed a reply. "B-but you-I'm a-I could, corrupt it, couldn't I? Aren't you afraid I'll use it?"
Kagome shook her head, a look of serenity on it. "I trust you, Inuyasha, and that includes your judgment. If you think they can be used, I trust you to do what's right."
He knew with absolute certainty that Kikyo would have died again, from laughter, if he'd ever asked for shards of the jewel. She would have never let her guard down enough to even let him put his hair near her throat when she was alive let alone his hand. And here was Kagome, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that she trusted him.
The hanyou looked back into her eyes and found a smile. "Thank you, Kagome. But I don't think I need this just yet." He put the bottle back in her hands. The half dog demon then did something that Kagome never would have expected in a thousand years.
He slid off the tub, went on his knees and bowed. His voice was gruff when he spoke. "I'm sorry, Kagome, for hurting you."
Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. "I-Inu.ya.sh"-
Inuyasha had to move fast to catch her before she hit her head on the other side of the bath. Kagome had gone into a dead faint.
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should I keep this up? Post another chap? Its your call, peeps, so review and let me know!
Chap 2: Apologies
"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked back into his eyes. "How did you do that?"
He didn't answer, still focusing on cleaning and tending her wounds.
She noticed that the cuts she'd made on his neck were mending already. "Inuyasha, let me see your throat, okay? When you're done?" He looked back up to her and nodded slightly. Five minutes later, her arm was totally healed, not a mark to show for it. He sat back against the wall once more.
She smiled, "Thanks, that really hurt until you healed me." Wrong thing to say. He winced at her words, and Kagome mentally kicked herself. She sat on her knees to better reach him and gently peeled some of the bandage away. The flesh was still raw in some areas, the allergens had slowed down his healing process, but he should be back to his old self in roughly an hour. Giving him that diagnostic, she stood up, holding out a hand for him. "Inuyasha? Please come with me."
The hanyou looked at her hand like it was a strange foreign object. He stood on his own and waited for her to move. Kagome looked sad for a moment, then turned to leave. He followed silently after.
Inu's POV:
'I've got to wash my hands.'
He was following Kagome up the stairs, a slow, steady pace for both of them. Kagome was still worried about his body's allergy. He was a lot more worried about what he'd done to her.
'I've got to wash my hands. I have to wash the blood, the smell of her off my hands, I've got to.'
Inuyasha could see the dried blood under his claws, and it almost felt like the stains were burning. Almost as much as his neck was. It reminded him of one of his fights with Sesshomaru. His older brother had grabbed him by the throat and thrown him at Kagome, burning his neck with poison.
Honest to all the gods, his striking Kagome hurt a lot worse than that.
'You baka. You stupid fricking idiot. How the hell could I have done that to her?'
He couldn't help the shudder that went through his body. The boy tried to recall what he was thinking when he'd dug in his claws, and kept drawing a blank.
Inuyasha just knew that he'd be replaying this scene in his mind for years to come in his nightmares. He imagined the claws going higher up her arm, or hitting her chest, or worse, her throat. He hadn't been fully conscious when it had happened. The wounds had been deep. It would have been so easy to kill her without realizing it, just a flick of the wrist and she'd have been dead.
This was worse than the time he'd turned all demon. Because this time he hadn't been a demon at all. He'd just been his regular hanyou self. He had no excuse for hurting Kagome.
Regular POV:
"You know, I'm not mad at you. It wasn't your fault."
He started. They were in the upstairs bathroom. Whoa. When'd they get in here? She'd sat him on the edge of the tub and was holding out a cup filled with cold water for him. "Here, use this to wash the rest of the strawberries out of your mouth. You'll feel better." He took it from her eagerly, flushing the remaining seeds and taste out of his mouth, spitting it out in the sink. The water was red with berry juice and his own blood. He did this three more times, hoping in a way, it could rinse away what he'd done as easily.
When he was done with that, he cranked the water as hot as it would go and used about half the bottle of hand soap. Kagome let him do it. It was like that time with the bandits. He'd killed them without a thought, killed them with joy. He almost hadn't been able to recognize her. When he'd regained his mind, he'd spent close to half an hour in the stream trying to wash the blood and scent off his hands.
"It wasn't your fault, Inuyasha. You were in pain, panicking, you had no idea what you were doing." Kagome couldn't help but notice the hurt look on his face. She just knew he was going to blame himself for something he had no control over.
She checked the wound again and instantly perked up. "Look, you must have gotten rid of the last bit of allergen; your throat's almost totally healed. I think I'll try taking out the tubing, okay?" He nodded, wincing slightly at the action. She gently worked the adhesive tapes and bandages off his skin, careful not to yank or pull the wound. With the utmost care the miko girl took out the plastic from his windpipe, instantly putting on a layer of disinfectant and a fresh bandage over it to protect it.
"Feel better now?"
The boy just looked at her. He then rolled his head and shoulders, despite her pleas not to. The girl couldn't help wincing at the sight of it. Inuyasha cracked his neck to one side then the other and settled back down.
"Inuyasha? Did you hear what I said earlier?" He wouldn't look at her. She sighed and sat down next to him on the tub. "Inuyasha, you didn't know you were using your claws. You had no control over that."
He flinched. When the hanyou spoke, his voice was rough and barely audible. "My demon half uses the same excuse."
Her eyes went wide. He sounded so-so-self-loathing! "Inuyasha, this is totally different!"
His golden eyes were hard with bitterness when he looked at her. "How? How is this any different from then? You smelled like fear then, Kagome." He blinked hard. "You smelled like it in the kitchen. There's still blood on my claws that I don't remember shedding, someone bleeding that I don't remember striking." He could no longer look her in the eye and stared at a spot over her shoulder. His tone grew even more scathing. "No, wait, this is different. This time I was still a hanyou. I was still in my right mind"-
"Inuyasha, you weren't!"
"I could have killed you." His voice got softer and softer. "I could have ripped your throat out, when all you were doing was trying to help me." His fists clenched beside him. "How is this any different from when I'm a demon?"
Kagome's voice rang with conviction. "The demon wouldn't have stopped. You did."
He looked up in surprise. "W--what?"
She looked him right in the face. "If I smelled like fear before, it was because I thought I was going to loose you. I thought you could die, and I'd never been so scared in my whole life. When you reached for me, I didn't care, I wasn't afraid of you. I just wanted you to let go so I could help you. I asked you to and you stopped, Inuyasha, even though you were in pain. You stopped."
She gave him time to take that in. 'Please, let him understand that it wasn't his fault.' The boy's eyes looked lost as he met her gaze again. "What if I don't stop next time?"
'Oh, Inuyasha.' Kagome took his hand into both of her own, running her fingers lightly over his knuckles and fingers to relax his fist. He opened his hand and she brought the pads of her fingers over the tips of his claws as if she was studying them. He hardly dared move or he'd slice her hand open. She then looked him right in the eye, almost defiantly, and brought his hand up to her neck, so that his fingers curled around her throat, then took her hands away. "I trust you, Inuyasha." She smiled at the look on his face.
Inuyasha was in shock. She couldn't possibly know what that meant to anyone who knew anything about dog demons. To let someone, anyone, near your throat, your weak spot, meant absolute and utter trust. To dog demons, it was a sign of complete submission, of extreme affection. Often only done between mates.
In four words and a gesture, Kagome Higurashi had rendered the great Inuyasha completely speechless.
But Kagome wasn't done yet. She put her hand back on his, took it from her throat, and with her other put something in his palm. The girl curled his fingers around it, making him take it. He dazedly pulled his hand back, and looked to see what it was.
It was the bottle that she'd used since the beginning of their quest. And in it were their few remaining shards of the jewel.
He looked back up in confusion. She smiled again. "Silly. I'm the guardian of the jewel. If I give the pieces to someone else, what do you think that says?"
Inuyasha barely managed a reply. "B-but you-I'm a-I could, corrupt it, couldn't I? Aren't you afraid I'll use it?"
Kagome shook her head, a look of serenity on it. "I trust you, Inuyasha, and that includes your judgment. If you think they can be used, I trust you to do what's right."
He knew with absolute certainty that Kikyo would have died again, from laughter, if he'd ever asked for shards of the jewel. She would have never let her guard down enough to even let him put his hair near her throat when she was alive let alone his hand. And here was Kagome, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that she trusted him.
The hanyou looked back into her eyes and found a smile. "Thank you, Kagome. But I don't think I need this just yet." He put the bottle back in her hands. The half dog demon then did something that Kagome never would have expected in a thousand years.
He slid off the tub, went on his knees and bowed. His voice was gruff when he spoke. "I'm sorry, Kagome, for hurting you."
Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. "I-Inu.ya.sh"-
Inuyasha had to move fast to catch her before she hit her head on the other side of the bath. Kagome had gone into a dead faint.
###$$$@@@
should I keep this up? Post another chap? Its your call, peeps, so review and let me know!