Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Inuyasha. Nor do I own Kagome, Sesshoumaru, Rin, Kagome's family, or any of the other copyrighted characters that may or may not appear in this fic. So please don't sue me, and enjoy the story!
Notes: For those of you worried about fluff, I'll put your minds at ease right now and reassure you that there will be *plenty* of Kag/Inu fluff, and probably some Sess/Rin fluff as well! I might even throw some Sango/Miroku in there if I can find a way to work those two into the plot without making it too complex and crowded. If I get to chapter 10 and you still think the story is lacking in fluff just let me know and I'll be sure to make that a top priority for future chapters. Really though, I think there'll be enough to go around.
This is Inuyasha's real introduction, as this is the first time he actually talks and we start to get a sense of his personality. I'm still trying to perfect his character, so pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase tell me if you like my version of Inuyasha or not! Feedback really helps shape my story because I know what gets a good response from my readers! Thanks&Enjoy!
Learning to Let Go
Chapter 4: I Live to Serve.
Her aunt dropped them off in front of her house and drove off with a cheeky wave, wishing Kagome luck with school. The drive home had been painful, with her aunt making small talk while Kagome tried to forget that there was a gorgeous half-Yokai boy who belonged to her sitting in the back seat.
She stared stupidly after the car for a long moment until the boy beside her shifted slightly. Kagome jumped, dropping the leash as though it had burned her and taking a step back. Her eyes met his, and for a moment Kagome was lost in their liquid gold depths. He didn't move, or speak, or even blink as he met her gaze in the same way he had earlier - with that hint of barely repressed challenge.
Kagome could tell without a doubt that her aunt was wrong - that even if this boy had been raised from birth to be a slave, even if he and been taught that he was worthless and could only live the life his master set before him, he didn't believe it. Here was someone who had not been broken, one of the few survivors of a grueling mental war that killed the spirit of it's victims.
"Do - Do you have a name?" she asked hesitantly, not really sure what the proper etiquette was with slaves when starting a conversation.
The boy gave her an incredulous glance, but answered promptly, "Inuyasha." His voice was nice, a warm baritone that sent an unexpected thrill through her. It was the first time she'd heard him speak.
She fidgeted for another moment, and he waited in silence, but something about his stance made her suspect that he was impatient. "Do you want to go inside?" she asked finally, not sure how to converse with someone who seemed unwilling to reciprocate.
She'd really startled him this time. "What do you mean do *I* want to?" he asked, looking almost annoyed. "You give an order and I follow it. That's how it works."
Kagome's eyes widened. "That's what you want me to do?"
Inuyasha stared at her hard for a moment, eyes narrowed. Slowly, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Keh!" he said finally, contemptuously. "You're not at all like what they said to expect. You don't know what to do with me, do you?"
Kagome bit her lip. "No," she admitted. "I just moved away from home. I've never lived by myself before and my family - well, my aunt, really - wanted me to have someone to protect me and take care of the house. She glanced over at the home they'd bought for her. "It really is too big for just one person."
He glanced at it as well. For a moment it looked like he was about to comment on it, but he seemed to hold himself back.
Determined to make the best of this situation, Kagome smiled brightly and held out her hand to him in a friendly gesture. "I'm Kagome, by the way. I forgot I hadn't really introduced myself. You're going to be living here - Oh! I completely forgot. Is there anything you need? Clothes or books or anything? I didn't even think about that kind of stuff." She looked at him hopefully.
Her new housemate was glaring down at her hand as if she were offering him a dead cat instead of a friendly handshake. "What's your problem, wench? Don't you know anything about the way things work? I'm a slave," he repeated, as if she might have forgotten. "You don't buy things for me or shake hands with me or introduce yourself. Do you expect me to call you by your name or something?"
"What else would you call me?" She asked, taken aback by his anger.
"'Master', obviously," he informed her, still with that derisive edge to his voice.
Kagome found it hard to keep her temper reigned in and dropped her hand, returning his glare. "I'd like it if you called me by my name, but if that's too difficult for you I certainly prefer 'Master' to 'Wench"!" she snapped.
"What the hell do you mean if it's too difficult for me?" he demanded. "I'm doing everything right. You're the one who's not going by the book. What's your problem?"
"What's my problem?" she echoed, incredulous. Kagome was getting madder by the minute. She hated being wrong, and it seemed that she had completely misjudged the boy in front of her. His challenging glare hadn't been due to his dislike of slavery, he'd simply taken an immediate disliking to her. She'd thought he was different, someone who could relate to her disgust with the whole enterprise, but it seemed her aunt had been right after all - slaves really did want to be treated as slaves.
Angry and disappointed, she took a step back, pointing at him accusingly. "You're the one with the problem," she shouted at him. "My aunt told me that slaves were brought up to be slaves, that they didn't know how to do anything else. I didn't believe her, but I guess she was right!" That strange feeling of being let down was throbbing in her chest, stronger than ever. She turned and took a few steps away from him toward her car, but paused and turned back. "I thought you were different. I thought you were going to prove her wrong."
Getting into her car, Kagome slammed the door as hard as she could as tears came to her eyes. She hadn't even realized she felt so strongly about this issue until she'd seen that beautiful, proud, powerful Hanyou demanding that she stop treating him like a person and start acting the way he'd been told a master should act.
Angrily, she twisted the key in the starter, feeling the engine purr to life. She'd take a long drive, and maybe some time alone would help her sort things out in her head.
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Inuyasha stared after the car until the taillights disappeared around the corner. Then he glanced around suspiciously. For the first time in his entire life, he was alone. No guards, no surveillance, no other slaves.
It was a strange feeling, and not one he was entirely comfortable with. He didn't consider himself to be a social person, but being by himself, watching the taillights disappear, was reminding him strangely of the way his parents -
No! He wouldn't think about that. Unconsciously his hand went to the sword at his hip, the only legacy his family had left him. He sniffed the air delicately, his ears twitching. This was a much nicer place than the cities he was accustomed to, in his opinion. He'd never seen so many trees in one place before. And the house - it was still a bit overwhelming to think that he was going to be living there.
Nothing was the way he'd thought it would be. He'd been told that his master would be cold, uncaring, cruel. He'd been warned about the atrocities that slaves endured - murder and beatings and rape, though when those terms were used to describe behavior toward slaves, they were said differently - termination, discipline, and of course, it wasn't really possible to rape a slave, any more than it was possible to rape an inanimate object.
But it seemed that none of these things were in store for him. Instead, he had a master who was younger than he was, and damnably naïve about the way the world worked. Her innocence twisted something deep in his gut, a strange feeling that he had never experienced before.
For the first time in his life, Inuyasha found himself wanting to let himself hope. Unless you screwed it all up by being an asshole, he thought bitterly. He still couldn't believe he'd been so forward and so disrespectful. It had gone against everything he'd been taught, but it had felt so good, and he'd been wanting to speak his mind for so long.
Picked a great time to start, his mind berated. Scare off the first person to treat you as anything other than the scum of the earth. She's probably not going to come back. She's probably going to send you away, or give you to someone else who'll be everything you told her you wanted.
Cold fear gripped his heart. He hadn't realized that he cared so much already, that he'd let down his guard to the point where the thought of losing the sudden fortune that had presented itself to him hurt. Here he might never have to worry about being starved or beaten or killed.
What do I care? he told himself angrily. I can take anything they throw at me. No one can break me. He clenched his fists in the thin material of his shirt as the wind picked up. The sun was setting and the air was getting to the freezing point. He briefly considered going into the house, but she hadn't told him he could, and some small part of him was afraid of upsetting her further.
I won't apologize, he told himself firmly. When she comes back If she comes back he found himself gazing anxiously down the driveway, straining his excellent hearing and sense of sight for any sign of the girl. She'll come back. She has to come back.
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When Kagome pulled back into the driveway a few hours later, she was stunned to see Inuyasha standing exactly where she'd left him, arms crossed over his chest, looking sullen - and cold. She got out of the car, frowning in confusion. Why on earth would he still be standing there?
Still confused and somewhat hurt because of their earlier encounter, she didn't exactly relish in another confrontation with him at the moment. But it looked as if he wasn't going to back down.
Getting out of the car, she paused in front of him uncertainly, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't, she became even more confused. "What are you doing?" she asked him finally.
"Waiting for you," was the prompt answer, spoken with a sullenness that matched his expression.
Completely nonplussed, she blinked at him in consternation. "Why?"
"What else would I be doing?" he challenged.
"I thought - why aren't you waiting inside?" None of this made any sense to her.
"You didn't tell me I could go inside," he informed her with exaggerated patience.
Kagome stared at him for a moment. "You've been standing here all this time?"
He didn't answer, just glared in another direction. She was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "You must be half frozen! I didn't even think - I didn't know - " she turned toward the house, motioning for him to follow her.
He was staring at her now, all his anger and sullenness having evaporated. "You mean - you aren't going to get rid of me?"
She paused, bewildered. "Get rid of you? Why would I do that?"
He started to speak, then shook his head. She was still waiting for him to follow her into the house, but he was still hesitating.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"The leash," he muttered, so quietly she almost couldn't hear him. Baka, she thought to herself, frowning. She'd forgotten about it. Was he not allowed to move unless she was holding it? That was unacceptable.
Determinedly, she moved to stand in front of him, carefully brushing his silky hair out of the way.
"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked as her fingers found the clasp of his collar.
"Taking this thing off you," she told him, tugging it off of his neck and tossing it to the side with barely disguised revulsion. Her skin pricked with sudden awareness at his close vicinity, and she looked up.
Oh. She'd forgotten how magnetic his eyes could be. And he was looking at her now without the bitterness and anger and resentfulness that had colored his personality earlier.
"Why did you do that?" he murmured, and his voice was softer, tinged with amazement. She realized she'd somehow gotten thought his defenses.
"Because it's horrible," Kagome said, quietly but fiercely. "You shouldn't need permission for something as simple as moving and you shouldn't need permission to go into the house when it's freezing cold outside - especially since you live here now!"
The open amazement in his gaze was suddenly guarded, his beautiful eyes shuttered again. He straightened, glancing away. "You're crazy."
Kagome frowned, about to argue, but abruptly decided it wasn't worth it. He'd been almost civil, and while he'd called her crazy he hadn't yelled at her about how she was doing everything all wrong. That had to be progress, didn't it?
With a sigh, she turned toward the house again, this time aware of him following her. She unlocked the door and let him into the foyer, glancing at him surreptitiously. He was looking around, obviously trying to take everything in while attempting to look completely disinterested. She wondered briefly what to do about sleeping arrangements, since there was only one bedroom.
Well, first things
first. She'd better warm him up and feed him.
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Make sure to tell me if I'm getting OOC in my representation of any of the characters.
I think I'm making Kikyo seem too evil, but it's necessary at this point in
the story. I'm not really sure where I'm going with her character at the moment,
but she doesn't come in for a little while yet anyway. Inuyasha is the character
I'm really concerned about, so if you could let me know how I'm doing with that
I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!
Next chapter: Inuyasha gets fed - and we all know that the way to a hanyou's heart is through his stomach! ~_^
