Broken Glass
Chapter Twenty-two

He looked at her, his golden eyes burning. He struggled to speak. Finally, he looked away from her. His voice was so soft that Kagome almost missed it. But once she heard the words she felt like her heart was ripped from her chest and smashed on the floor. "I killed your father."

Whatever she believed he was going to say didn't even come close to what she felt at that very instant. Her eyes widened and she released an audible gasp. He didn't move from his solitary position. His head was bowed in shame and he looked defeated.

Her father? Her father had died in a car accident- she'd been in the car too. Their car had been t-boned by a drunk driver. Her eye widened. Was it possible that Inuyasha… was the one driving the car? She wouldn't have put it past his old self. The delinquent Inuyasha seemed capable of doing any illegal act.

She keeled over and her hands covered her face. She began to cry, to weep, to wail. She couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop. She sobbed into her hands and her back heaved.

He raised his head and looked at her, his golden eyes swirling with emotions. "Kagome," he whispered with his voice clipped and haggard.

He was unsure whether or not comforting her was a good idea. He gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat as he watched the girl cry her eyes out. His dog ears flattened against his head and he crept towards her hesitantly. The girl continued to sob.

Before he could do so much as say her name, however, Kagome turned and flung herself at him. His eyes widened in shock as the girl's arms wrapped around his neck. She buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. She squeezed him tightly when he attempted to pull away and refused to relinquish her hold on the silver-haired boy.

"How long," she managed to sob out, her voice wavy and almost unintelligible. "Have you kept this inside?"

His eyes widened in surprise. Kagome was crying for… him? That made no sense. Hesitantly, he ran his hands over her back, trying to soothe her.

"What?" he whispered out.

"How long have you kept all this within you?" she cried.

"Kagome, I…" he trailed off. What could you say to a girl who was crying in your arms? That it was going to be okay? It wasn't. The boy she'd befriended was responsible for her father's death.

"How…?" she whispered out, pulling away and hiding her face. Inuyasha was confused for a moment.

"How?" he repeated, his eyebrows furrowing. Then he understood. Kagome didn't need to say anymore. How was it his fault? Why was her father dead now because of him?

He cleared his throat and looked around uncomfortably. The candles flickered, bowing to an unseen force. The warm golden light flickered off their faces. The silence seemed to stretch on for minutes… perhaps hours… and no one spoke. The only sound in the room was the occasional sniffle of Kagome's nose and a flutter of fabric as she moved her arm to wipe at her tear-stained cheeks.

He licked dry lips. "Bubbie was in the hospital because I'd pushed her down the stairs," he began slowly… his eyes staring at his sock-clad feet. "I got angry because I thought they were 'blaming' everything on me. They were. It was my fault Bubbie got hurt… but I didn't want to accept that."

He paused and licked his lips again. Pulling his knees to his chest he continued. "I walked around by myself and Zadie came to look for me. I guess he was a little drunk… but he usually has high tolerance and didn't think that it would affect him too much."

Kagome released another small sob, wishing and praying for a shred of evidence that Inuyasha was innocent. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Could she ever forgive him? Could she ever love him?

His eyes widened and he cleared his throat. He couldn't allow his thoughts to stray like that. "When he found me, we fought. We always fought. The last thing I said to my zadie was that I hated him."

He ducked his head and pressed a hand to his forehead. Clenching his eyes shut he took in deep breaths, trying to steady his shaking breath. "I punched him."

Kagome's eyes widened. "I punched him hard enough to get him disoriented. He lost control of the car… we didn't see the red light up ahead."

They sat in silence until Inuyasha spoke again. "We hit your car."

Kagome suppressed a painful gasp. Inuyasha clenched his fist, his fingers clenching the fabric of his slightly flared jeans. "If I hadn't punched Zadie, your dad would be alive and he'd be alive." He looked angry. "They'd still be alive! It's all my fault!"

Kagome stared at him, her blue eyes wide. Inuyasha had kept this within him. "And what's worse is that… they blamed Zadie for it because he had some alcohol in his system! They assumed he was a drunk driver.

"I ran away," he continued. "When the car was about to crash, I opened the door and jumped out. I didn't get hurt… I landed on the side of the road and rolled into a ditch. I wasn't in the accident… but I caused it."

They sat in a deep, unbreakable silence. Inuyasha felt as if he was hanging by a single strand… and Kagome held the scissors. He knew that she could snip away his one hold on sanity and hurl him back downwards. He couldn't bear to fall again. He'd come so far… must he move from his position into a descending spiral?

He felt something coil within him. Deep within his soul he felt something shatter. Kagome hated him now. 'But it's better that she knows. Better that she knows who it was she'd agreed to go out with. She deserves to know that she befriended her father's killer.'

He felt the painful grasp of reality clenching around his heart. 'I'll never be free of this torment…'

Kagome finally lifted her head and stared at Inuyasha. The said boy was staring at the ground, his eyes hazed over with deep thought.

The boy's eyes flew open when he felt the feather light touch of hands on his cheeks. With a broken heart evident in his golden depths, Inuyasha lifted his head and stared at her. She didn't break her gaze away. Soft, delicately blue eyes stared at him with an almost helpless look. Tears pooled in the depths and silently spilled down pale cheeks. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Her hands cupped his cheeks, her fingers lightly brushing silver locks from his haggard eyes.

Her lips moved again, her mouth parting in her attempt to speak to him. They fell closed.

He stared at her, golden eyes drinking in the sight of her. Hesitantly, shaking hands reached up and touched the hands on his cheeks. One strayed to her wrist and held it. Kagome's eyes moved to his wrist, where the crosses of scars yet to fade adorned the otherwise flawless skin. Silence fell between them.

Her hand moved from his cheek and he regretfully released the hand. She licked dry lips and touched the scars on his wrists. He stared with wide eyes as she traced the lines of the faded marks. After a long moment she looked at him, her eyes soft.

A gentle smile curved her lips and he felt his heart stop. "It's not your fault, Inuyasha." The words soothed him.

"Kagome, I…" he attempted to speak, but she gently shook her head.

"I forgive you."

Whatever she could have said wouldn't have come close to the relief those three words gave him. His eyes widened and he released the tiniest of gasps. Forgiven. He was forgiven by the one person it meant the most.

He bit his lip and he bowed his head. "Kagome," he gasped out, his voice wavering. He lurched forward and rested his head upon her shoulder. Silently, without a heave or a sob, the smallest amount of tears leaked from his eyes. Kagome sat silently, cradling the broken boy in her arms. It was her turn to take care of him.

"Will you go away again?" she whispered, bowing her head when the boy regained composer and no longer cried for the past. She stared at the ground, black hair falling over her face and hiding the defeated look in her eyes. "Will you leave?"

He heard the plea within her voice. A finger and thumb touched the underside of her chin and he tilted her head upwards. She stared at him, her eyes wide.

"There is nowhere I'd rather be," he whispered to her, his voice feather soft, "Than right here with you." He tilted his head to the side and his golden eyes fell closed. Silently, he pressed his lips to hers and she returned the kiss with only a bit of hesitance. He pulled away and looked at her with an intense look. "You are the most important person in my life, Kagome."

He kissed her again, his velvet soft lips pressed against hers. They didn't move from their position. When he pulled away again he looked at her seriously. "I'm not a lot, Kagome," he told her seriously, his golden eyes flashing in the dying light of the candles. "But… I want to be with you. I'll do whatever I can to make you happy." He looked at her seriously, his golden eyes glimmering in the darkness. "I love you."

She stared at him, blue eyes wide in shock -perhaps even terror- as she registered what he had said. Her mouth fell open as if she were to speak before she snapped it shut. Golden eyes, open to her like a window into his soul, stared at her hopefully. She could see the fear there- the hesitance. It was at that moment that she realized how lonely the young man before her was. It was in that moment that she realized how much he needed her, how much he needed to be protected and sheltered. Before her sat a broken boy who only sought for ways to mend himself.

"And that's how I met your father," Mrs. Higurashi said as she bit into a lump of tofu she'd cooked on behalf of Kagome's new vegetarian diet. The said fourteen-year-old looked up, her blue eyes shut tightly, betraying no emotions. Hidden behind frames of glass, the girl stared at her with an almost wistful smile. "We met in high school. Ah, to be so in love."

Mrs. Higurashi giggled to herself and placed a dainty hand over her mouth as she closed her eyes and wistfully remembered the man she'd married. He'd only been gone for a few years and the untimely way he was taken from them hurt, but the wounds were beginning to heal.

It had been over the dinner that Kagome had questioned how her mother had met her father. Mrs. Higurashi had been all too eager to discuss the tell-tale meeting. Souta had been disinterested until she mentioned how their father was a jerk when they'd first met. Then he'd been drawn into their meeting.

Now, at the end of their story, Grandpa Higurashi snorted. "Poppycock."

Kagome tilted her head to the side, the young teenager staring at her grandfather with wide eyes. "Why do you say that, gramps?"

Mr. Higurashi snorted and shrugged one shoulder. "Teenagers cannot fall in love. It was simply a fling that later cultivated into love after they met up again after college."

Mrs. Higurashi gave her father-in-law a hard look. "I don't believe that's true. Kagome, Souta." She turned her attention to her two children. "I believe that your father and I had a deep love that didn't deteriorate even though we were separated during college. We broke up our senior year and met up again at a reunion. It almost seemed like we'd never fallen out of love."

Mrs. Higurashi sighed wistfully. "Nevertheless, I believe that it does not matter what age you are… when you are in love, you are in love. Love knows no bounds…The age you are when you fall in love means nothing compared to the feeling you receive by being with the one you love."

Souta had long since tuned out the useless, mushy lecture his mother was bestowing upon her children, but Kagome was captivated by the words.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled at her eldest and only daughter as she spooned mashed potatoes into her mouth. "Kagome," she spoke after chewing and swallowing her food. "I believe that when you fall in love, you will know. Just listen to your heart."

"Hey ugly!" someone called behind her. Kagome didn't pause to look. She had grown used to the taunts and the jeers from her fellow classmates. It no longer fazed her; and if it did, she was able to mask her pain. The invisible girl walked down the hallway.

"Hey, ugly, I wasn't done talking with you," the voice pestered as it grew louder in volume and footsteps drew closer to her.

Kagome ducked her head and quickened her pace. 'Please,' she pleaded with whoever would listen. 'Do not make me suffer today.'

If anyone had been listening to her silent prayer, she was denied her request because she felt two hands shove against her back before she fell forward, the papers and the binder in her hands flying from her. A foot kicked her textbook away until it slammed against the wall at the end of the hallway. Kagome felt tears pool in her eyes.

"Heh," her tormenter laughed and departed, no longer interested in the girl on the ground.

She slowly sat up and moved towards her locker. After collecting her things, she dialed her combination and fluidly stepped aside. Nothing fell from her locker and to that she was grateful. She sighed. How had they gotten her combination in the first place?

She didn't want to know the answer. She turned to her locker. When she looked inside she was shocked to see that she had a valentine. Today had been Valentine's Day, but it might as well have been any other day for the load of attention she received on the day of love.

She touched the frilly pink heart-shaped Valentine and looked around. Had someone really given her a valentine? The eighth grader stared at the heart and read the words 'Happy Valentine's Day' before flipping it over and reading the note.

Whatever hopeful feelings of tidings she'd hoped to receive were dashed when she read the words 'Stupid Bitch.'

She felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest. For a fleeting second, she'd thought that maybe it had been from Naraku. But Naraku hated her. She knew that.

The heart fluttered from her hands and landed on the ground. Blue eyes watched its path. She watched with wide eyes as feet appeared and a large hand grasped the heart. Lifting her gaze, she watched one of her many bullies take the heart between his two fingers and thumbs and rip it down the center.

His smirk haunted her and his eyes narrowed. "You'll never be loved."

The words stabbed at her and she felt her breath hitch. The boy continued. "You'll never be loved because no one can love someone like you. Your existence is pointless… you're a waste of space."

She knew he continued speaking but had long since drowned out the words he spoke.

"No one will ever love you." With those words, the boy threw the remembrances of her broken heart-bits of paper-over his shoulder and stalked away.

Kagome watched the colorful paper fall the ground, the shreds similar to the feeling within her heart.

She fell to her knees and she felt tears fall down her cheeks. "No one will… ever… love me…"

It appeared she'd been too silent for too long because Inuyasha's broken whisper broke her from her musings of the past. Gently, he spoke, "Have I upset you?"

She stared at him as if only seeing him for the first time and quickly shook her head. "No," she breathed.

"Then why are you crying?" A hand strayed out and wiped the tears falling from her eyes. Dashing them away with a swipe of his fingers, his thumb traced the shape of her lips. He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm…" What could she say? Words escaped her.

"Kagome," he called to her, his eyes so stricken with terror and grief that it broke her heart. His hand cupped her cheeks as he continued to wipe the trails of tears from her eyes. "Kagome," he said her name again, his voice wavering.

'Just listen to your heart.' Her mother's words returned to her and she stared at him. The words swept through her and she bit her lip. There was nothing else he could do.

His words returned to her. He loved her. But how? They'd only known each other for two weeks… two weeks where she'd felt truly needed. He loved her.

She'd gone through years of ridicule. Years of torment. Years where she truly believed that she was unloved. She'd cried tears at night; she'd gone to school as bravely as she could. And now, sitting before her was the only person she could truly consider loving romantically. Her heart thumped in her chest.

"I love you, too." The words escaped her before she could stop it… but after saying it she realized it was true. She loved him. She loved Inuyasha Cohen. It didn't matter to her who he once was, what he'd done. All that mattered was that he was here now… that he was here loving her, too. "I love you!" Tears escaped her eyes as she closed them and she sobbed uncontrollably.

She dove forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in his shoulder. He met her halfway, his arms wrapping protectively around her waist and cradling her tenderly against his chest.

"It's going to be okay, Kagome," he whispered, his fingers stroking her hair as he held her. She sobbed. "I love you," he repeated the words and felt a tremble run down Kagome's spine as she shivered.

The next morning, Kagome fumbled around her mother's room as she dug around the photo albums. Mrs. Higurashi poked her head in after she'd had her breakfast and stared at Kagome.

"Sweetie," she greeted her daughter kindly. Kagome glanced up before returning to her work. "What are you doing?"

"Where are my elementary school pictures?" Kagome questioned. Her mother pointed a box beside her. Kagome grasped it and opened it.

"Why do you need to know, Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi questioned as she watched her daughter dig around.

After throwing several snapshots aside and moving through Souta's pictures, she came across her class photos. She didn't answer her mother, so entranced by the work she was doing. Finally, she found what she was looking for.

Standing in the center of the picture at the back row stood the tallest child in her second grade class. Inuyasha Cohen, the name read. She stood at the front, sitting down and holding the sign that read her teacher's name and her class. She was the shortest in her class. Her eyes took in the features of the second-grade version of Inuyasha. She tenderly touched his rounded face with the pad of a finger.

'This was before you started getting angry, isn't it, Inuyasha?' she thought as the children in the picture grinned up at her. Inuyasha's golden eyes glowed brightly and he wore a hat on his head. Flips of silver hair fell across the sides of his face, covering the area where a human ear would have been. 'You look so happy…'

"Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi's voice roused Kagome from her thoughts. The said girl looked at her mother. Mrs. Higurashi walked to her and knelt beside her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes…" Kagome's voice was soft with emotion.

She set down her second grade picture and looked at her first. Nothing. Kindergarten. Nothing. Third grade. Nothing.

She found her fourth grade photo and sure enough, in the center of the picture stood Inuyasha. His hair was longer, but he still wore a hat. Her eyes gazed at the picture Inuyasha.

"Your smile is different," she whispered without realizing what it was she'd said. She looked at the second grade class photo. "Your smile is true here." She touched the second grade picture. She looked at the fourth grade picture. "But you're faking it here, aren't you?"

When she found the fifth grade photo, what she saw shocked and terrified her. Long silver hair draped over his shoulder and his ears were covered, as always, but the look in his eyes petrified her. He looked so angry. He wasn't even trying to smile.

She dropped the photos and ran from her mother's room.

"You're awfully quiet," Inuyasha whispered as they walked towards her eye doctor. Kagome had been shocked when Inuyasha had arrived like he'd done every day before the whole Naraku ordeal. He'd smiled at her tenderly and ushered her away.

Kagome offered a fake smile. "Sorry."

He frowned and came to a stop. Kagome blinked her eyes and stared at him in surprise. "What is it?" she whispered, afraid that something was wrong. He looked at her and she ducked her head, unable to keep eye contact.

"I've spent years pretending to smile, Kagome," he told her gently, his voice soft and comforting, despite his words. "And I know when others are faking."

Kagome didn't look up at him. "Oh…"

"What's the matter?" He looked at her.

"It's just that…" She hesitated, her head tilting to look up at him before looking away. How to say it…? "I'm unsure whether or not…" she trailed off again. She sighed. It wasn't coming out right.

Inuyasha smiled lightly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Squeezing it lightly, he led her towards the eye doctor. "It will be fine."

'How can you be so sure?' she thought weakly. She spoke this question to him.

He tapped his finger against his lips in thought and frowned. "I guess I'm not sure. I'm just hopeful. There's a difference."

He led her into the eye doctor and Kagome sat down, mumbled to the receptionist that her glasses were crooked and needed adjusting, and handed the frames over.

Inuyasha browsed through the various frames, picking at them, trying them on and examining himself only to return them to the stack. He ignored the fact how irritating it was to try and wear glasses without ears. Kagome joined him a few minutes later and he smiled at her before slipping wireless frames up the bridge of his nose. He smiled lightly at the boy in the mirror before removing the glasses.

He plucked another pair. "Here," he said simply and handed it to her. He smiled at her shocked look. Leaning over, her grasped the side of her glasses and gently pulled them free from her face. She blushed and looked down. His warm chuckle alerted her that she was foolish for being embarrassed. Raising her head a bit, she saw him hand her the glasses. "Try it on."

She looked at the glasses: thick black frames. She frowned thoughtfully. He grinned wickedly and she blushed again. Hesitantly she put them on and he tilted his head to the side. She glanced at herself in the mirror and released a sheepish little giggle.

"Cutie." The sweet sentiment caused her cheeks to burn and her lips to split into a wide smile. He smiled as well and took the glasses from her before leaning forward and tapping her nose with his index finger.

He stood straight and put them on. Kagome stared. He laughed sheepishly and removed them. "I look stupid."

She lowered her head. "No," she whispered, "You looked cute."

Kagome missed the wide grin on his face. "Really?"

Kagome nodded meekly. He laughed and placed them back on the rack before leading her outside. He handed her glasses to her and she eagerly took them. He smiled and wrapped and arm around her shoulders, causing Kagome's face to flame red. Inuyasha might have been her boyfriend, but she was still unsure about the whole display of affection she was often subject to. She couldn't say she didn't like it, however.

"Why don't you wear contacts, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked curiously. Kagome fixed him with a look. "Just curious," he defended.

"Well… my eyes are extremely sensitive and dry out quickly. It takes an estimated twelve seconds for my eyes to dry out after I put in a contact. And that's without eye drops…"

"How long does it take with eye drops?"

"Twenty five seconds," she said simply.

"Wow. Well, if it matters at all, I think you look cute with glasses." His smile warmed her heart and she blushed sweetly. He stood in front of her and stopped. Both hands held her shoulders as he looked down at her. He smiled again. "You're always cute."

"Thank you," she mumbled. He was too sweet sometimes, she decided. She looked at him and smiled shyly. He returned her smile, as he always did, and tilted his head to the side. "You're the… first one to think my glasses are cute."

His eyes softened. "Who in their right mind would believe that you aren't adorable?"

She smiled wistfully and shook her head, tresses of black hair falling in her face. "I was always hoping that… someone wouldn't care what I looked like."

Inuyasha was silent as Kagome continued to speak. He understood that she needed to get this of off her chest. She fidgeted, her hands clasping together and fiddling with the hem of her knee-length pink skirt. She stared at the ground.

"I was hoping that… they would see me for me." She gently shook her head and released a sardonic laugh. "I guess I'm just waiting for Mr. Perfect."

He was silent for a long time, his golden eyes staring at the crown of her head. He thought over her words for a moment before stating rather suddenly, "He doesn't exist."

"Huh?" The words alarmed her.

"If you go around searching for Mr. Perfect…" His words slowed and he blushed lightly. His tender smile comforted her. "Then you may lose Mr. Right…"

They stood there as his words trailed off to memory. Inuyasha's cheeks were pink and Kagome was looking at him curiously. He cleared his throat and Kagome smiled. She nodded once.

"I guess you're right, Inuyasha."

Author's notes: To those of who you insulted me, my story, or Inuyasha because of his sexual preferences can stop reading this story because I'm not changing it. If you judge this story based on that fact then you are not the kind of people I want to know. You're closed-minded and rude—if you didn't like it then you shouldn't have reviewed.

To those of you who were understanding and/or liked it, thank you, your warm and encouraging reviews made me feel much better after reading the rude comments I received from others. I'd also like to say i'm sorry, because, my beta has gone off to Hawaii and therefore updating will be slowed down for a couple of weeks. I'm sorry!

Fanart:
(By Josie101):
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)18718162

(By me):
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)18679272
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)18761219