Broken Glass
Chapter Twenty-three
Kagome sat in her room the next day, staring at her ceiling. She was still processing everything that Inuyasha had told her about himself and his past. It was… hard to believe it all.
Firstly, he'd told her everything. That in itself was odd… especially since Inuyasha had been so closed off when it came to his past. But… in a way she had to thank Naraku for Inuyasha opening up to her. Had Naraku not threatened Inuyasha, who knew how long it would have taken him to talk about his past? It hurt a bit that it took such extremes to tell her everything… but then again, she reminded herself, they'd only known each other for about two and a half weeks.
The Thursday morning had dawned with dark clouds swirling in the skies. It was to be expected. The forecast for the weather was rain, rain and more rain. Kagome expected as much. It was always raining around here during the late fall, winter and early spring. It cleared up around May and started getting sunny again.
Kagome rolled over onto her stomach, resting her head on her pillow and staring at the wall her bed was situated against. It was odd registering everything.
'Bisexual,' she ran the word through her head. It did explain why Naraku was so keen on following Inuyasha around… and why it was hard for them to let go of each other. Naraku obviously still had feelings for Inuyasha. Inuyasha on the other hand…
She suppressed a squeal as she remembered what he'd said to her. 'He loves me. That's all that matters, I guess. The past is the past. I hope he knows that.'
She grinned widely and buried her head in her pillow. And this time she did squeal. She squealed loudly into the pillow—her small exclamation of happiness muffled by the fabric of her pillow. She felt her heart give a large leap and her stomach flop around within her. He loved her. No boy had ever loved her before… And it felt good, for lack of better words.
She kicked her feet a bit, the said appendages bouncing off her mattress. She felt giddy—which was expected of the girl. It was still hard believing it—but she was getting there.
'A few days ago I would have told anyone that it was impossible for teenagers to fall in love,' she told herself silently. 'Funny how a little thing can change that.'
She paused. 'Little thing? Hardly!'
This elicited another squeal from the happy girl as she squeezed her pillow close to her and bathed in the warmth of her blankets.
She felt like she'd never stop smiling. She felt on top of the world… and all because of one guy. It was an amazing thing, being in love. It caused butterflies to spring to life in her stomach just thinking about him. Her cheeks turned a bright pink at the thought of him.
But then a shadow fell over her as she thought about what else she'd learned. 'For years, my family has suffered because of Daddy passing away… and it's all because of Inuyasha's recklessness. Well, so he thinks. I don't think it's entirely his fault. True, he was part of the accident… but he wasn't the sole purpose.'
She rolled over onto her back and drew the covers to her chin. She felt safe and warm in her room… even when she was thinking these thoughts. The fact that Inuyasha had been connected to her and her life far before they'd even known each other was a scary thought.
She scraped her mind to remember him—remember him tormenting her, being nice to her… anything—but it didn't come. Inuyasha was wiped from her mind and she couldn't recall a single time she'd interacted with him. But that was the case for most of her tormenters… she just chose to forget their faces—but never their deeds.
The only one she could remember for sure was Naraku, but that was for obvious reasons—he was the first person she'd ever had a crush on and he was also the first person to rip out her heart completely.
Kagome sighed feebly and fiddled with the Star of David around her neck, watching the way the light on her ceiling glinted off of the silver surface.
'He's held it in for so long…' she realized with sad blue eyes staring at the ceiling. 'It must have been tearing him up inside… especially since he's been hanging out with me so much. I just… I never realized…'
She drew in a deep breath of air and released her hold on the silver star hanging from her neck. Surreal. That's what it felt like to her. She felt like she was in a dreamscape, desperately trying to awaken.
She ran a hand over her brow, shielding herself from the light above her, which—though not that bright—felt extremely blinding in that moment. Her mouth felt dry and her blue eyes appeared vacant.
'I was cheated out of a life with my father,' she pulled her head under the pillow. Was it wrong to feel angry? She felt upset, sure, shocked, yes… but could she possibly hate Inuyasha for what he'd done…?
'He hadn't known my father was in that car… he didn't know that losing his temper would result in the death of two people…' She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her confusion away. 'Should I be angry with him? Did I accept it too willingly? I mean, I barely knew my father, even if he'd been around the majority of my life… he was always busy… but… he's my dad. Can I possibly hate Inuyasha because he stole the life of someone I knew by accident?'
No. She couldn't.
She felt angry with him… he'd stolen something from her that was impossible to give back… but… she couldn't hate him.
She could never hate him.
"Do you really have to go away?" Naraku asked with a frown, his fists stuffed into his pockets and his eyes narrowed as he watched Inuyasha pack his bag.
Inuyasha sighed. Naraku had asked that question so many times, he'd lost track. "Yes, I do," he answered in monotone, suggesting the amount of times he'd had to respond to Naraku. He sighed again and brushed long, unruly bangs from his golden eyes. "I have no choice."
"You always have a choice," Naraku countered and leaned against the wall of Inuyasha's room. His frown deepened. "You could run away…"
"I don't think so," Inuyasha fixed Naraku with a small look out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention to his packing job. In his hand held a list of things he was not allowed to bring. With the amount of paper the list wasted they might as well have listed a list of what he could bring, which so far was very little.
Naraku frowned and hopped onto Inuyasha's windowsill, resting his back against the frame of the window. He watched Inuyasha pack with a lazy eye. "I'll miss you."
Inuyasha paused in his packing at looked at the boy at his window. He smiled lightly. It was those small moments that reminded him why it was that Naraku was his friend—he wasn't always a cold jerk.
"Hey, don't sweat it," Inuyasha said with a wave of his hand and a reassuring smile. "When I get back it will be just like old times."
"Kagome… um…" Inuyasha trailed off and looked away. Kagome frowned as they made their way through the park. The sun had cleared by mid-morning and Inuyasha had appeared so that they could spend their day together. Currently they'd been walking silently until Inuyasha's sudden call of her name, which then resulted in his incomplete sentence.
Kagome looked at him curiously and watched as he glanced at her nervously. "What is it?"
He shrugged one shoulder, as if trying to brush off the fact that he'd said anything at all. "It's nothing." She frowned. "Really."
"Wasn't it you who said that it's bad to keep things inside you?" she questioned. Inuyasha couldn't recall a time, but the way Kagome said it told him that he probably had. He sighed in defeat and waved his hand lightly towards a bench. They moved towards it and sat down.
She licked her dry lips and stared at the ground. Her thoughts from this morning still plagued her mind. She was a little angry with Inuyasha but her love for him and her concern for him overruled the desire to run away from him. She couldn't deny that she was startled by the fact that Inuyasha had contributed to the death of her father… but she couldn't blame him completely for it. He had no way of knowing.
"You can tell me," she mumbled, her voice weak and unsure. She didn't want to press Inuyasha. But she also wanted to reassure him that everything was okay—even if it wasn't. They'd make it through.
He smiled lightly and nodded his head. He tilted his head to the side and ran his fingers through the silver locks. "I just… I don't know…"
How to address it… he couldn't just come out and ask it. That would be… weird. He gulped down a lump in his throat. Why was it that he only felt nervous when he was around Kagome? Everything was out in the open now… so shouldn't he be happy that she was still here? Shouldn't he be happy that she hadn't run away from him, professing her undying hatred for him?
"Kagome," he began and bit his lip, trying to say it before he lost his nerve or trailed off again. "How can you… just be so accepting… of…?" He trailed off. "Damn it," he cursed, "I don't know how to ask you."
Kagome was silent, contemplating what Inuyasha was going to ask. 'How can you just be so accepting of… what I've done? What I am?' She knew what he wanted to ask but was unsure how to.
She took his hand hesitantly and refused to meet his gaze. She silently waited. When she felt his fingers wrap around hers, she looked back at him as she spoke, "Inuyasha… the past is the past. You are you now and I know that it was not your fault for what happened." She paused to let this sink in before continuing in what she had to say. She still refused to look at him. "I know that it was an accident… I know. And even though it's shocking…"
He'd turned to look at her with such an intense look that it made her falter in her words. His golden eyes smoldered with emotion and his lips parted as if he were to say something before falling closed. She understood his insecurities… she understood what was wrong with him.
"How can you be so accepting?" he demanded, his eyes dark with emotions. "You act like it's no big deal."
"It is a big deal," she disagreed with him with a gentle shake of her head. "But I also know how much it must have been weighing you down. Your story is heartbreaking, Inuyasha. It truly is… everything that you've had to go through… everything that you've experienced. It's hard to get back up after being kicked so many times." She lowered her eyes. "But… I know you're strong. At least, the majority of the time you are."
She looked back up at him when his hand came up and tilted her chin up. "Kagome…"
In that simple word—her name—she heard all the emotions within him. Everything she needed to hear she heard in those three syllables. She smiled and nodded her head. He dipped down and pecked her lips before quickly darting his head backwards.
"And it doesn't bother you that I'm…" he trailed off and blushed. "Bi?"
She knew that question was coming. The question caused her heart to flip. There was just something about Inuyasha swinging both ways that made her feel giddy. She'd grown up in a very liberal family—both her parents and her grandfather were democratic—and she accepted all sexual preferences; though she'd never known anyone with different ones from her own until now. She wasn't disgusted by it, either.
"I'm not bothered at all," she said cheerfully, her cheeks a bright red and her blue eyes glittering. "It's cute."
"Cute?" he echoed, one eyebrow cocking upwards.
Kagome nodded. "It certainly explains a lot. And the pink shirt..." She hesitantly fingered the fabric of Inuyasha's shirt.
"And the pants?" Inuyasha asked curiously, motioning to his flared pants he'd purchased from the girl's department.
Kagome shook her head. "Nah," she said slowly and smiled. "Just because you like to have pants that are kind of tight doesn't automatically make you gay. Sure, it may look like that… but, you know, I like these much better than you wearing baggy pants that drop down to your knees."
Inuyasha laughed and Kagome blushed with pride. When his laughter subsided, Kagome's tone turned serious. "I guess I had my suspicions… I mean," she said it lightly, as if what she was saying was taboo. "You and Naraku seemed to regard one another as more than just friends." Her voice dropped. "You never broke up did you?"
He laughed nervously and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close. "No, I guess we didn't." He laughed again and rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. He looked down at her and smiled lightly. "You sure it doesn't bother you? I know some people would just assume I'm gay…"
Kagome smiled and shook her head, ducking her head as her whole face flamed. "No," she mumbled. "I don't think you're gay. I don't care. You're still you. You're still the same Inuyasha you were before I learned you were bi. Your sexual preference shouldn't matter—you're still the same person. Anyone who can't see that is immature, close-minded and in serious need of growing up."
"Well put," Inuyasha said with laughter in his eyes—though Kagome couldn't see that due to her ducked head. He squeezed her shoulder.
"So…" she ventured, her face hot enough to fry an egg in winter. "Do you think Johnny Depp's hot?"
"What?" he asked, genuinely shocked by such a question. Then he laughed, closing his eyes and resting his head against hers. "Kagome!" he managed to say between his laughter. "I would never have expected such a question from you."
She giggled, too, despite herself.
"Heh, Kagome," he tilted her head upwards again and kissed her reddened cheek. "You're adorable."
"Well isn't that just so sweet?" a mocking voice sounded behind them. Both turned around to see Naraku standing there, umbrella tucked under one arm and a frown creasing his brow. He sneered at Inuyasha and Kagome like they were two dirty animals trailing mud into his house. "Don't let me interrupt."
Inuyasha frowned and stood, walking around the bench and blocking Kagome from view. He leaned against the frame of the bench causally and fixed Naraku with a look. "Naraku," he greeted the boy like he was a stranger.
Kagome felt her heart speed up. It felt different now from their other encounters… this time she knew the relationship between Inuyasha and Naraku—or the relationship they used to have. She scooted on the bench and peeked out from behind Inuyasha, looking at Naraku truly for the first time.
'I never noticed before… but he looks so sad.' It was true. Behind the mask of anger plainly written on Naraku's face, Kagome saw the same look that she found in Inuyasha's eyes at times when he was in deep thought. They were both sad. She didn't know anything about Naraku's past sans his relationship with Inuyasha… but she knew that perhaps Naraku had suffered as much as Inuyasha. 'Inuyasha's… er… 'break-up' has hit Naraku hard.'
"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha demanded.
Naraku cocked his head to the side in what would have been an innocent gesture on anyone else but the dark-haired boy. "It's a free country… I can walk in the park if I want to."
Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed and he clenched the wood of the bench. Hesitantly Kagome placed a hand over his and she felt the fist relax under her soft touch. "Go away," he growled as he glared at Naraku.
Naraku frowned and his eyes darted to Kagome before going back to Inuyasha. "I thought I told you to stay away from her?"
Inuyasha smirked. "No. I can be around Kagome if I want to."
Naraku's smirk rivaled the silver-haired boy's. "Well, I'm sure she'll be curious to hear about… oh… what it is that keeps you two connected…?"
Inuyasha pretended to think before spinning around and looking down at Kagome. She looked back up at him curiously as he dipped down and pressed his lips against her forehead. Her face ignited into flames. He'd kissed her in front of Naraku….
He turned back to Naraku and his smirk gave him a rather mysterious look. "Nah."
Naraku frowned. "You're cocky. So sure that she'll like you after I tell her?" He looked at Kagome again. "Do you have any idea what Inuyasha has done? Do you even have the slightest clue as to how fucked up he really is?"
Kagome watched Inuyasha's hands fist again.
"Naraku…" he growled out.
Kagome felt courage bubble within her. Inuyasha was letting Naraku get to him. She had to do something, right? Right. Inuyasha trusted her with his life story and all the secrets that went with it. He trusted her enough to keep his skeletons in the closet.
"Shut up, Naraku!" she snapped out before she could stop herself. Both boys turned to her in shock and she clapped her palms over her mouth. A small squeak of surprise escaped her mouth and she stared with wide eyes at Naraku.
"What did you just say, bitch?" Naraku growled out. He, too, was angry.
"I… said… shut up," Kagome said lightly as she attempted to reign in her quickly retreating nerve. "You don't know anything about me! I trust Inuyasha and whatever he has to say to me he should know that I'll always honor his secrets…"
She gulped down a lump in her throat and mentally congratulated herself on a job well done. "You don't know anything about me!" she repeated, sitting up straighter on the bench so that the top of her head came to the level of Inuyasha's shoulder. "You've got nothing over Inuyasha!"
Naraku and Inuyasha watched Kagome in silence. Two pairs of eyes stared at her—one proud and the other furious. Kagome didn't feel herself shrinking underneath Naraku's blood-curdling glare. Instead, she felt strength rise within her when she saw the awed look on Inuyasha's face and the warmth that radiated from his soft smile.
Naraku gripped the umbrella in his hand. He huffed. He felt like breaking something—how had the wimpiest girl of all time mustered up the nerve to talk to him in that way? He glared at her but she refused to back down. She sat up tall—her back lacking its normal curve when she slouched—and her jaw was set in determination.
"Leave us alone, Naraku," Inuyasha spoke delicately, his voice as soft as velvet, yet the undertone of anger pierced him like a blade in the darkness.
Naraku took a step backwards and huffed. "Whatever," he snorted, turned on his heel and walked away. He'd lost… for now.
Kagome and Inuyasha watched him go. When he left their sights, Inuyasha turned to her with the widest grin she'd ever seen on him. He laughed and gripped her hips. Before she could protest, she was in the air, spun in a half-circle before being placed before Inuyasha, facing the bench. His smile never left his lips as he looked down at her.
"Kagome," he whispered, his eyes shinning proudly. "That was amazing."
In hindsight, what Kagome had done wasn't exactly the most amazing thing on the planet… but for her, it was the most daring thing that she'd ever done. She'd stood up to the person she feared the most.
She smiled nervously. "It… wasn't that great…"
"Don't be so modest," he accused as he leaned down, bending at the knees so he could graze his lips across hers in a feather-soft touch. He pulled away so he could say, "That was amazing. You stood up for yourself."
Had anyone ever been proud of her before? Minus her mother, she couldn't really think of anyone being as astounded as this. True, Sango and Rin were supportive of her—but this seemed to mean a great deal more. She was being praised for her bravery from perhaps the bravest person she knew.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. He grinned and clutched her hips, pulling her close and pressing his lips against her forehead again. It appeared that he enjoyed kissing her… and it reassured her. She felt safe and loved in his arms.
"You really think so?" she breathed.
"I know so," he said happily, beaming down at her.
Inuyasha handed the ice cream cone to her before returning to the vender and handing over the specified amount of money. He returned a short moment later holding his double scooped ice cream cone with rainbow sorbet and raspberry. Kagome's was a single scoop of French vanilla. He sat down beside her on the bench and stretched out his legs.
They sat in silence for a long moment, both enjoying their ice cream before Inuyasha released a small yawn and arched his back. "I'm going to hate going back to school on Monday."
Kagome smiled lightly and took a bite from her ice cream. "Yeah," she agreed. "But it's Thursday, you still have time."
"I guess so," Inuyasha said slowly, his golden eyes staring at the sky. Patches of blue seemed to overpower the grey clouds and the sun peeked through the mass of clouds to shed light on the world. He smiled lightly and turned to look at her. "Enjoying your ice cream?"
Kagome nodded and blushed. "Yes, thank you."
He smiled and nodded before returning to his own dessert happily. Once again they fell into a peaceful silence. After the Naraku incident, they'd migrated to another part of the park that was less crowded. Sans the ice cream vender—who was making his rounds anyway and was leaving—and the occasional stray child running away from another, they were completely alone. Kagome finished her ice cream quickly and threw away her trash into the bin next to their bench.
Inuyasha was slower when consuming the ice cream. Besides, he had two scoops whereas Kagome had only had one. She watched him eat his for a long moment—his lips curved into a smile and his golden eyes staring ahead as birds flew from tree to tree.
Finally, he noticed her gaze on his and turned to look at her. Smiling he held the cone out to her. "Want some?" he questioned.
Kagome shook her head. "No, it's fine."
He still held it towards her. "Come on, it's really good," his voice came out in a soft purr that caused Kagome's face to heat up—again. She struggled to speak but was unable. He continued to smile and finally she reached out for the cone. Taking it in her hand she leaned forward and took a bite from the top scoop—raspberry. She smiled lightly and looked away quickly. "Good, isn't it?"
She nodded. "Uh huh."
He continued to smile and finished off his before throwing it away in the same trash bin as Kagome. They continued sitting on the bench. Kagome glanced at him over her shoulder, still refusing to turn and look at him. He wasn't watching her. His gaze had returned to the sky as he watched birds fly lazily overhead.
Mustering up her courage, she scooted closer to him so that their knees were touching. She lowered her head and waited. He was startled from his thoughts and turned to look at her. She didn't say anything as he looked at her.
He moved slowly towards her until their hips bumped and she almost fell over. She peeped in surprise and he chuckled. Looking up at him she returned his smile.
"Any ideas on what you want to do now, Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned as he leaned back against the bench, one arm folded behind his head. Kagome cautiously snuggled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
Kagome shook her head. "I'm fine just sitting here…" she said slowly. "Unless you want to do something," she added quickly.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Nope, I'm fine here, too."
'Two weeks ago I would never have told anyone what I wanted to do… I would have just said 'I don't care' or 'whatever you want to do' and that would be that.' Kagome looked up at Inuyasha who, once again, had his attention focused elsewhere. She smiled and released a small sigh of contentment. 'I guess it's Inuyasha's influence.'
"Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice cut through her thoughts. She turned to look at him curiously. He licked dry lips and clenched his hands together. "I… told you everything about my past… and, I know this seems kind of rude, and I don't want to pressure you… but…"
Kagome understood what he wanted to know. For the most part, Inuyasha knew of her childhood—the hated child, the one everyone made fun of. She placed a hand on his knee and stared at the ground. "I'll tell you."
A pebble hit his window. Or at least it sounded like a pebble—it could very well have been a rock for all he knew, but the fact of the matter was that someone was trying to get his attention by throwing something at his window.
With a sigh he stood up from the ground he'd been sitting on, just staring at the ceiling lazily, and moved towards his window. Brushing aside his curtains and opening the window he stuck out his head. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness but he saw the mass of a shadowy figure below.
He knew it wasn't Kagome at once. For starters, the figure was very masculine—wide shoulders and tall. Secondly, Kagome wouldn't consider coming to his window when she could use the front door, and Kagome wouldn't come out at night, anyway. That left only one conclusion.
With a roll of his eyes he called, "I highly doubt that it's Kagome, so what do you want Naraku?"
"Come down here," Naraku commanded. Inuyasha frowned and rested his elbow on the windowsill and rested his head in his hand.
"And what if I don't want to?" Inuyasha questioned.
Naraku's eyebrows furrowed. With a small snarl he walked forward and grasped the ivy that grew along the sides of the house. "Then I'm coming up."
'Those vines will break,' Inuyasha thought with a scowl.
"Fine, I'm coming down," Inuyasha stated with another roll of his eyes. No sense in the guy getting hurt. With a disheartened sigh he leaned over and started down the window. Only momentarily thinking about actually using the front door, Inuyasha grasped the vines Naraku had been holding a moment ago and climbed down. Half way down, just as he'd suspected, the vines broke. Landing on the ground as gracefully as one climbing from a window could, Inuyasha dusted his hands and discarded the now destroyed ivy vines. It was for future precautions—no one could climb to his window now.
"Well, I'm here," Inuyasha announced unnecessarily, opening his arms as if he was about to embrace Naraku. Eyebrows cocked upwards expectantly, as if he was waiting for Naraku to give him praise. "What do you want?"
"You know what I want," Naraku said firmly, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Hm…" Inuyasha hummed and rocked on his heels before leaning against the wall of his house. He pretended to think. "This is what… the fiftieth time you've come to me asking the same thing? What makes you think my answer will be any different this time around?"
Naraku scowled. "I'll tell her."
"Go ahead," Inuyasha said slowly, shrugging one shoulder. "It's not like you'll tell her anything new."
Naraku's lips pursed. "You told her? And she stayed with you?"
Inuyasha cracked a small smile and his eyes softened. "Yeah," he said, "She did. Kind of crazy, huh?" He hummed again and crossed his arms.
Naraku snarled. "She'll leave you eventually," he warned.
"And why do you say that?" Inuyasha questioned with eyebrows cocked upwards. He pushed off the wall and stood to his full height. He stared at Naraku. "Why will Kagome leave me?"
"You have too much baggage," Naraku accused.
Inuyasha sighed. "I do," he agreed. He looked up at Naraku and stared at him firmly, his golden eyes set in determination. "But I love her."
Naraku's dark eyes widened before narrowing while his hand balled into a fist. "No, you can't."
Before Inuyasha could say anything more Naraku was coming at him with a fist raised. This extreme reaction from the boy was unexpected, but Inuyasha was only surprised for a moment. He dodged quickly as the punch flew past his face. He growled and grasped Naraku's shoulder before throwing him against the wall of his house. He would not let Naraku get the best of him. They'd come to their climax… they were at the final confrontation, it seemed. Naraku's eyes narrowed and burned with fury. He quickly pushed off and swept his leg out, catching Inuyasha in the back of the knees and causing him to fall to the ground.
Inuyasha glared as Naraku sent a kick flying at his side. His heavy shoe connected with skin and bones and sent Inuyasha sprawling to the ground with a small, surprised gasp of pain. He writhed on the ground, grasping his side in pain as he felt pain shoot throughout his body. Naraku growled and kicked Inuyasha again so that he was lying on his back.
Rapid as lightning, Naraku's foot was on Inuyasha's stomach, the heel digging into his flesh. Inuyasha flinched and hissed in pain, his eyes screwing shut and his hands grasping the ground in a painful grip. Naraku continued to dig his foot into the boy's stomach, eliciting shouts and gasps of pain from the boy sprawled on the ground. Their eyes locked and burned with the lust of battle. It seemed that Naraku had the upper hand and he found no guilt in showing this. He smirked victoriously as he ground his heel into Inuyasha. Inuyasha gasped in pain before he sent his leg flying upwards towards Naraku. With a powerful kick from Inuyasha, Naraku lost his balance and the presence of his foot disappeared from Inuyasha's stomach.
Inuyasha was quickly on his feet, crouching and growling. "What the hell is your problem, Naraku?" he demanded.
"You abandoned me," Naraku snarled as he charged towards Inuyasha, only to be avoided with a dainty little spin. They seemed like two dogs fighting with the amount of snarls and growls they sent one another. Their eyes were narrowed in their anger and their lips were drawn back in snarls. They looked like they were ready to tear one another's throats out without a moment of remorse. The hatred that seemed to burn in their eyes like fire was enough to freeze Hell itself.
Naraku skidded on the wet grass, turned around and ran back at him with his fist raised. Inuyasha blocked it and hissed as a painful shock ran up his arm. "You act like nothing happened to us. You promised me that we'd still be—"
Inuyasha's fist went flying and cut Naraku off as it connected with his face. Naraku stumbled and grasped his now bruising cheek. Inuyasha glared. "What makes you think I'll want to come back to you after this?"
Naraku spat something out of his mouth and it landed before Inuyasha. Whether it was blood, spit or a mixture of both was beyond Inuyasha. Despite that, the simple statement of disgust was enough to make both boys angrier. Inuyasha's lips drew back in what would have been a snarl on a dog. They both charged towards each other, fists raised and eyes set in determination.
"You deserted me, when I needed you most!" Naraku exclaimed as he sent a fist towards Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha tried to dodge and Naraku's punch only grazed his arm. He glared at Inuyasha. "Do you not care about me anymore? About what I've gone through in your absence?"
The two continued to run at each other, throwing blind punches as they squabbled back and forth. Naraku was livid and Inuyasha was equally as angry. They threw blows and knocked each other to the ground, digging their feet into their backs and stomachs, punching at their cheeks, bloodying their mouths, and blacking their eyes.
Inuyasha tasted the blood in his mouth and his vision was blurry in one eye, but he couldn't—wouldn't—stop what he was doing. With a final lunge, he managed to slam Naraku against the wall of his house with a small cry from the boy before him.
Naraku struggled against his hold, but a quick knee to the stomach knocked the wind from the already tired boy. They both panted, their brows slick with their sweat and their eyes swollen from their abuse. Blood driveled down Naraku's cheek from a cut that Inuyasha's sharp nails had delivered, and Inuyasha's split lip provided a small river of blood down his chin.
For good measure the silver-haired boy sent a punch at Naraku's other cheek. The boy shuddered in pain but made no move to retaliate. They stood panting, Inuyasha's hands pinning Naraku by the shoulders against his house. When Inuyasha regained his breath he wheezed out, "We can't be together anymore."
Naraku spat again but Inuyasha dodged it before it could hit him. Naraku's face was still livid but Inuyasha could see the defeat in his eyes—the dark orbs lacked the usual luster they possessed.
"What do you want me to do, Naraku?" Inuyasha demanded. He waved a hand distractingly to the side. "Do you want me to act like none of this ever happened? Do you want me to pretend that I didn't abandon you—I know I did, okay? But I will not go back to the way I was. It took me months in that stupid boarding school for me to realize that you were the only person who actually cared about me—not even Bubbie was as concerned for me as you were!"
Inuyasha took in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "But I also realized that if I continued to hang out with you… I'd go back to the way I was. I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to do more with my life—I want to be a good person, not some stupid criminal!"
He shook his head. "No, Naraku, you were my best friend… maybe you still are… but, I will not associate myself with people like you." He shook his head again, as if trying to clear his head. "I won't change for you and I doubt you'll change for me…"
They locked eyes. "So what do you want me to do, Naraku? Hm? Do you want me to walk away and forget you?" His eyes darkened and he leaned forward a bit, his golden eyes blazing. "Or do you want me to kiss you?"
Naraku glared, his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. His fists were balled but he didn't dare throw a punch. They were locked in a battle of wits. Naraku sneered before averting his gaze and glaring off to his right.
Finally, almost at the same time, their faces relaxed and Inuyasha took a step away. He released his hold on Naraku and rubbed his bare arms as if he'd suddenly gotten a chill. He idly wiped away the blood from the cuts Naraku had caused. Naraku still didn't look at Inuyasha.
"So this is it?" Naraku questioned.
"I guess so," Inuyasha responded, his voice weak.
Naraku sighed and turned to look at Inuyasha. "How do you know I won't change for you? What makes you think I like being this way?"
Inuyasha's golden eyes saddened. "I guess I don't."
"You know nothing about me, Inuyasha. You're just like everyone else now… you look at me and see a delinquent… there was a time when you saw past that… there was a time when I could bare myself to you and you saw everything that was true about me! And you would do the same to me."
Inuyasha felt his insides turn to ice as Naraku spoke and glared at him. Naraku shook his head and looked away again. "There was a time, Inuyasha… when I thought you knew everything about me. Now, you know nothing about what I've gone through. You've turned away from me because you only see the criminal."
Inuyasha took a step towards Naraku and then stopped, feeling ashamed. He bit his lip and stared at Naraku. The said boy still refused to look at him, his eyes elsewhere—the luster had yet to return and he appeared vacant and lost. He shook his head and fisted his hands.
"You weren't the only one who was left alone, Inuyasha…" Naraku trailed off.
Inuyasha hadn't realized he was moving until he found himself in front of Naraku. Naraku didn't have time to respond because Inuyasha's arms were around him and he was hugging him. He closed his eyes and squeezed him tight. After a long moment he felt Naraku's head drop and his hands to hesitantly come up and return the hug.
"Naraku," Inuyasha said slowly. "I don't deserve to be your friend. I'll admit that I loved you once and I could tell you everything. You understood me… But… we've slipped away from each other and we've burned our bridges. We can never return to how it was."
Naraku's eyes shut and he released a small sigh. "I know."
"I'm sorry, Naraku…" Inuyasha felt like that maybe he'd cry, but knew that he wouldn't. He had no tears for Naraku and Naraku had no tears for him. "I wish that… things were different."
Naraku laughed bitterly and took a step towards the street, away from Inuyasha. "I think you'll do fine. You have people that love you, Inuyasha. You have a family and you have friends."
Naraku turned around and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Looking dejected and truly abandoned, Naraku left. He'd come for a confrontation with his former friend… and had gotten one; though it had not had the desired outcome he had wished for.
"Naraku," Inuyasha called after him and the said boy paused. Inuyasha took a step towards him. As Naraku turned to look at him Inuyasha was petrified by the absolute pain he saw reflected in his eyes. "There are people who care for you."
Naraku laughed bitterly and shook his head. "Nice try, Inuyasha, you know I can tell when you're lying."
Inuyasha's eyes saddened further and he felt like he was glued to his position where he was standing. Naraku shrugged one shoulder, as if trying to say it was no big deal and turned around.
"You were the only one who cared," Naraku stated calmly and walked away, never once looking back at the young man who stood behind him.
"Naraku!" cried a little boy as he raced towards his best friend. Silver locks of hair flew out from under his cap and he laughed.
Another boy turned around from his position on the swings and he blinked. "Inuyasha," he greeted.
In the darkness of his life a single flame was lit, and the little boy smiled at his best friend.
Author's notes: I actually really like Naraku's character in his story. He's a lonely boy. He's not evil… he just wants the one person he ever loved to love him back. Happy June, everyone! Guess who's still in school until the twenty-third?