A few hours later, Emi, Kagome, Inuyasha, and Suichi were sitting beneath a large tree in the park near Emi's house. It had always been referred to as Goshinboku, the God Tree, because it seemed so tall that it reached the heavens..."
"Y'know, Inu-kun..." Emi began, "ya really should start standing up for yourself. I know today wasn't the worst of everything that's happened, but still..." She was just replied with by a grount, and she shrugged. Kagome fiddled with blades of grass she had pulled up out of the ground, twirling them beneath her fingers. Inuyasha's wounds were healing slightly, but not very quickly. His lip was still split, but the cuts under his eyes were almost healed. A dark purple bruise on his jawline, made more distinct by his silvery-white hair, seemed to be the worst of the damage. The young miko glanced up at him with sad, haunted eyes, but when espresso met molten gold, she looked back down, heat rising in her cheeks a little bit.
Suichi sighed, his eyes closed, face turned towards the branches of the tree above. Casting him a sideways glance, Emi softly asked, "What's wrong?" to him, so soft that he barely heard her. "Uh..." he murmured, opening his eyes and looking around. Everyone seemed so...depressed. He looked at Emi, glanced around to the other two again, then grumbled to her, "I'll talk to you...in private..." Kagome and Inuyasha heard him and nodded at the two, and they rose and began to walk around the tree laden park to the center, the most private area where few ventured because of the undergrowth, to where a small stone bridge arched over a quiet brook. The babbling of the water over the rocky shore made the place seem 100 years old or older. Suichi and Emi had both known of this place when they were very young, and had run into each other once before here. They both sat on the edge of the bridge, their legs dangling over the side towards the slowly moving water. Suichi was the only one who remembered this encounter, and he glanced towards the spot on the bank where they had first met.
Flashback
(A/N: I love flashbacks of when the characters are little kids! So cute and innocent...-happy chibiness- Uh, yeah. Onwards.)
A six year old hanyou girl ran through the park, clutching her favorite doll, a catgirl plushie, to her favorite spot in the whole world - the stream. Passerby, some young lovers on a stoll, others elderly men or women on a recreational walk, gave her odd looks as she dashed past. Her long black plaited hair bobbed behind her as she came around a corner to the stream, only to find someone else was there - an inuhanyou boy, around her age. He was sitting on the shore, crouched down, staring at his reflection. Every couple of seconds, a low growl erupted from his throat. He sounded more like a pup trying to sound intimidating than an actual inuhanyou. She crept up behind him so quietly that he didn't notice her until she was right beside him, looking at the reflection he was growling at. She smiled slightly; he was cute! But then she noticed something running down his jaw towards his chin. Blood.
She gasped and he turned, his teary eyes showing surprise, fear, and pain. A little bit of dirt was smudged on his cheek. Regaining his senses, he growled at her, but she wasn't afraid. He was her age, maybe a year older, and still yet a pup. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice kind and concerned. His ears flattened against his head tightly, and his growling ceased. "Get away from me," he warned. "Aren't you afraid of being too near me? That your pure blood might be tainted by my filthy stench?" She giggled softly and got a handkerchief out of her pocket that her mother had made her when she was young. She set her doll on the dry grass off to the side, and moistened the cloth, which she then handed to him. "My name's Emi, and no, I'm not afraid of being tainted because I'm not what you think I am..." His snatched the handkerchief from her grasp and tossed it back at her. "Leave me alone." She cocked her head, her tail swishing beneath her as she sat, crouching. "I said, leave me alone," he grumbled angrily, absentmindedly throwing a rock at her. It hit her on her shouder, but she didn't budge. He then reached for a larger stone and tossed it at her harder, which hit her forearm. She didn't wince, but the area of impact started to bleed. She sighed, her eyes tearing some, and picked up her doll. She was confused, why was he being so mean to her when they were so alike...?
"I'm sorry for bothering you...bye..." she whispered, and left. He looked at where she had just been. Her handkerchief was still there. He picked it up and looked around. She was nowhere to be found. "My name's Suichi..." he murmured to the trees around him...
End Flashback
"Inuyasha's been acting...strange...lately," Suichi finally said. Emi turned her gaze towards his wavering reflection in the water, meeting his eyes through the reflection. "He's been more reclusive than ever, locked up in his room. This morning, I caught him staring at his mirror, like he was about to punch it. He turned towards me, growled, pushed me out, and slammed the door. I don't get it. He's never been like this. Ever. It's starting to scare me a little bit." Emi's tail twitched. "Kagome's been having a rough time settling in. She's been staring out of the window to the outside world, but if I ever invite her to come outside or go to the ice cream place down the street with me since I swear to the Gods, the guy that owns the video game store across the street is stalking me," she paused and snickered at this - it seemed true, he always stared at her when she walked to the ice cream parlor, "she won't budge. It's concerning me. I don't like it, and though I realize she's trying to adjust to life here after losing her family so brutally, it's a little unnerving...She seems dead."
Back at Goshinboku, Inuyasha and Kagome were basking in silence. Inuyasha was leaning against the side of the tree to her right, his shoulder almost completely out of her view. She grumbled to herself, and moved the left sleeve of her shirt unintentionally, exposing her wrist.
At the exact moment Inuyasha turned to give her a questioning look for her grumble.
She looked down and mumbled, "Oh, shit.." and pulled her sleeve down hastily, but not fast enough. She turned and saw Inuyasha's face, his beautiful golden eyes, filled with shock, going from her eyes to her now covered wrist and back to her eyes. She turned her head to the ground as he got up and walked around her, carrying his notepad and pen. He settled back down and touched her shoulder with his pen. She looked up, then down at his notepad.
Lift your sleeve back up.
She whispered softly, "You weren't supposed to see that, though..."
Life your sleeve back up.
Sighing, Kagome lifted her sleeve with hesitation. Long red welts covered her pale skin, most superficial, as if made by a safety pin (which was probably the tool of choice,) others...deeper. More serious. Inuyasha ran the pads of his fingers over her pale skin, wincing at each deep one. 'Kagome-san...' he thought painfully. He had so much pain from others it was more than enough, so he had never turned to this way of dealing with stress, though it wouldn't really help - his wounds would be healed soon enough if he ever had. Taking his hand away from her milky skin, he wrote again.
Why, Kagome-san?
"You can just call me Kagome, Inuyasha..." She sighed. "And...I don't know. It's addicting. Do it a few times, you're hooked." She leaned against the tree for support and closed her eyes. She couldn't take the look in his eyes. Already, Kagome had a bit of a crush on him, but wouldn't let anyone know.
That's not a very good answer, Kagome.
"Yeah, well, I saw my father kill my family, then himself a couple weeks ago. I held my brother as he died. I dunno what you've been through, but that took a lot out of me."
Inuyasha's pen was still as he contemplated this.
Sango and Miroku walked down the sidewalk in town. Well, more like Sango walked, Miroku followed and tried to make small talk. "Oh, Sango, my love, please speak to me!" Miroku pleaded. "Eat me," she grumbled. He stopped dead in his tracks, and from surprise that he would actually go after she said that, she turned her head to him. He had a look on his face like he had just placed the winning bid on eBay for a collection of pictures of Sango getting dress and undressing. "My dear...right here? Now? I'd be happy to, but there are so many people..." Taking a step towards her, to embrace her, she backhanded him, her fist balled up. "Fucking pervert," she grumbled, stalking off towards her house around the corner.
A/N: Okay, well, now that's over with...I'm sorry that this is kind of a short chapter, but I felt the need to update suddenly, so...yeah. About the SI thing, I hope nobody is offended by it. It's a common teen (Hell, even on into their 20's, 30's, and 40's people do it...) problem, and I...yeah...Kagome would be perfect to have this happen to, though it's almost always her who is the SI in a lot of stories. I halfway thought about have Inuyasha as the SI, but then I thought, "His Demonic healing. Damn." Whatever.)
outkast: I appreciate the idea! I actually have been planning something like that happening anyways, but I wasn't sure what the dialogue to use. And of course, he'd have to love his mother a Hell've a lot. Elsewise, he'd be really OOC. I know he is already, but he'll regain his trademark arrogance sometime later in the story. Until then, please keep readin' 'n' reviewin'! -tosses c00ki3-
Hey...what's that down there?
Farther.
Just a little more.
Yeah. That thing. oO (Emilydoesn'tknowwhattheHellsheistalkingabout,soweadviseyoutoreviewatyourownrisk,thoughnotdoingsocanresultinseriousharmfulreactionsfromEmily.Pleasedonottakealcoholoranymedicationspriortoreview,anddon'tfeedthelittlecyberchipmunksthatinfestthenet.They'llstealyoursoulfasterthanKanna'smirror.)