Tender Passion
Summary: After four months of being away from Inuyasha, Kagome has trained her abilities, but still can not get over being without Inuyasha. What happens when they come to see one another again?
You can bet your bottom dollar there will be plenty of romance!
Rating: M for Mature
Warnings: Sexual Content; Extreme Violence; Offensive language
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters associated with the anime series or manga.
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Recollections
Chapter 1: Memories And Going Back
The rain was pouring down heavily and it was obvious that the clouds were full of ominous energy. The environment cried out in torment for a girl who was also crying. This sweet and innocent girl had been hurt.
Her name was Kagome. She fell to her knees in the mud as she chocked on her own sobs and muffled screams of frustration. Her mind was yelling out 'Why!' Over and over again. She did not understand why he kept hurting her. She loved him so dearly and her heart, being so young, could not take much more of this constant aching. She missed the warm feeling the engulfed her just from being in his presence. Kagome missed the times when he would give only her that rare smile of his and she missed how safe she felt whenever he was near. 'Inuyasha...' She bit her lip and held her hand to her chest, trying to hold in the aching in her heart.
It had been four months now and she was still unable to get over the pure truth of it all. Seeing him there that night. He had hurt so many people, he had even turned on her. What had caused that change? His transformation? All she had done was run away. She did not bother to turn back or go to her own time. She had just ran farther and farther in the feudal time. She had ignored demons and ran past them.
After all these months she was still out in the feudal ages. She had been staying in a cave and training herself as hard as she could. It was amazing what she could do with her miko powers at this point, but none of it had even caused the slightest bit of hurt to go away. 'Inuyasha... please... I'm sorry for running.' She would never forgive herself.
Flashback
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out. Depression muffling her words. It had happened again! Inuyasha still refused to just simply ignore Kikyo. Each time she saw them together, her heart could only break more and more. She couldn't help, but to think about how the two had felt for one another before she came along, before Naraku came along. It was true that she had only saw them talking, but that was enough to send her off running.
Kagome would run for all eternity if that would reliquish the thoughts of them together from her mind,
She understood perfectly well that there was nothing going on between Inuyasha and Kikyo any longer, nor was there anything going on between Inuyasha and her. In reality she knew that she had no right to be so upset, but that didn't stop her from feeling the way she did.
Currently, Kagome felt slightly guilty for running off. Kikyo could have forced, or tricked Inuyasha into going to hell with her. If Kagome had been brave, she would have been able to prevent something like that from happening. She needed to find him now, nearly an hour since she'd seen the two of them. She had to make sure he was still alive and well. She prayed that he was.
As soon as she could see Kaede's village through the coverage of trees, her heart seemed to explode in fear. Something was terribly wrong and she did not know what. Her instincts were telling her to run and turn around, but curiosity kept her going forward. Maybe this was one of those times when curiosity was not a such a good thing, but Kagome didn't care.
"Did a demon attack the village!" She inquired as she jolted towards the area. Because of her hasty pace, her lungs seemed to burn. "Inuyasha! Miroku! Sango! Shippo! Kaede!" She called out as she ran out of the woods and into the village.
Her eyes widened at the site before her. There were burning homes throughout small, deprived village. Her heart raced in concern for her friends, but also for the fact that she did not sense any unfamiliar demons. If it wasn't a demon, than what had caused such a disruption among the area.
"Inuyasha!" She cried out again, running through the village. Kagome hear the cries of men, women, and children. All of the words seemed incoherant as they were jambled together.
She hissed as fire scrapped against her, burning her arm. She also shrieked when a burning piece of wood almost came down on her. "Inuyasha!" She yelled once more. Kagome could only continue to wonder why she couldn't see him and why he refused to respond to her calls. Had he really gone to hell?
When she heard a woman scream 'demon' in the distance, she decided to follow it as her only lead. Considering Kagome had no bow or arrows with her, she knew this mayn't have been the smartest thing to do, but for now it was all she could do.
Kagome stopped in her tracks, completely baffled at the scene before her. She began to tremble. There stood Inuyasha, but rather than feeling releif, she only felt further agony. He was not himself. He was a demon. He stood, smirking, holding a poor woman by her throat. Inuyasha was soaked in the blood of innocents, whom he most likely killed, but none of this seemed to bother him.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome took a couple steps back, only to bump into a fallen body. She gasped and turned around. Her eyes grew larger. She could now see the bodies of all of her friends... Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Kaede. They were all there. Were they alive? With a closer examination she knew they were. Had Inuyasha had done this to them?
"You..." A voice whispered Kagome's way. It was Inuyasha. Kagome turned back to face him. His red eyes were glowing as they looked her way. "I want you. You're blood." He slowly stalked her way, after dropping the helpless woman.
"Inuyasha what have you done?" She cried out as tears brimmed her eyes. She took another step back. She was unable to handle the bitter reality of this all. It was to much for her to handle. First Kikyo and now this? There was only so much she could take. Kagome felt as though Inuyasha was two thousand miles away from her, even when he was right before her very eyes, walking, coming for her. "Stop!" She called out to him, her insides begging for his half demon self to resurface. 'Please!'
"I do not take orders from worthless humans!" Inuyasha jumped forward, causing Kagome to shriek. She protectively held her hands over her head. She felt drops of blood hist her arm and faltered for a moment, before cautiously looking up. Her heart clenched. A bruised and battered Shippo had bitten into Inuyasha's arm. The kit was holding on for dear life, in order to safeguard Kagome.
"Shippo!" Kagome screamed for the child's mercy. She watched in horror as Inuyasha tossed the little fox demon and continued his way towards her. "Inuyasha, how could you? He was protecting me!"
"Exactly. He was protecting my prey." He hissed venomously. Kagome backed up a little more. Prey? As in, he was her predator... No, this was all wrong. Inuyasha was supposed to be the one protecting her from the predator. It was not supposed to be the predator! 'Why did he transform?' Everything seemed ruined now.
All Kagome could do was exactly what her heart and head told her to do. She needed to get away. She trusted Inuyasha would follow her and leave the others alone. So she ran and sure enough Inuyasha followed. She would lure him as far away as she possibly could.
End Flashback
In the rain, Kagome could only wrap her arms around her body. The memories hurt.
After running for about half a mile, Inuyasha had reached her. She knew very well that had could gave gotten to her sooner. He was most likely just playing games with her. He had slashed her, beaten her down.
Kagome was knocked unconscious and had awoken in the woods battered the next day with Inuyasha gone.
'He had not been able to control himself from hurting his friends... from hurting me.' She could still feel the deep, ceaseless pain she had felt then. The bruises were gone, but the scaring memories would never disappear.
Even after all that had happened, she missed him so much. Kagome knew he had not been able to control himself, yet she had stayed away anyway. What got her the most was that none of them had bothered coming and searching for her. She was not to far from the village, just a little out of Inuyasha's smelling range. That was all. If they wanted to find her they could, but they had not searched for her.
Even Inuyasha had not come. She missed them and she missed her family. She missed the modern time and Kaede's village. She just wanted to return and make sure that they were all still alive and well.
Today, she had decided, would be the day she returned to them. She begged that the villagers had worked together to rebuild the village.
After she checked on them, she would go back home, to her own time. She didn't really know if she planned on returning. They did not search for her, so chances were they did not want to see her. 'Do they hate me because I ran?' That was the only thing she could conclude. She had ran, because it she was scared, but she had also ran because it was all she could do.
Kagome finally pulled herself up from the mud. She headed over to the far back of the cave and began to gather up her bow and arrows. She had decided to leave all of her other belongings behind. Over the four months that she had spent in the area, she had been able to create a small supply of clothing and foods from a nearby village. Kagome had worked, tending fields and fighting off small demons, to get the money that she needed to feed herself.
Kagome exited the cave, hoping that the belongings that she left behind would be of some use to someone who may become stranded in the cold, or rain.
After twenty minutes of walking, Kagome began to recognize that area. She was not far from Kaede's village now. Her heart was pounding hard, as she wondered how the others would react to seeing her. She was a little excited, but at the same time nervous. She didn't even know if they were still living in the village. Heck, she didn't know if there ever was a village any longer.
Kagome also feared the encounter she would have with her family. It had almost been half a year since she had gone back to the modern era. They would cry in joy, but scold her for not contacting them. She had no idea how she would explain her long absence to them. She coudn't very well say Inuyasha turned into a demon. They may not allow her to see him farther.
Finally, Kagome could see the village. She exited the shelter of trees and simply stared at the area for what seemed like a millenium. She had helf expected it to be abandoned, but it wasn't. Kaede's village was just the way that it always was. People populated the dirt roads and tended to the fields. Children scurried happily around the area, throwing a ball here, tagging a companion there.
The miko (preistess) inhaled deeply. The rain had quit its falling and cleared, leaving thick, dark clouds overhead, which, like the rain, began to clear. Sunlight shun through the clouds, onto puddles on the ground.
The modern girl walked down the village streets, recieving a few odd look from the people. She just headed straight for Kaede's village. Kagome was afraid now. She was uncertain of what she should say upon entering the hut. Would the others even be there? Were they alive? Was Kaede alive?
She hesitated and placed one hand on the bamboo door that covered the entrance. 'Please don't hate me.' Were her finally thoughts as she quietly moved the bamboo to the side.
Everyone was... asleep! Considering it was still early, this wasn't really a shock at all. She was so happy to see them all there and comfortable, but more so she was happy to see that they were all alive. That was what mattered most.
A little smile played across Kagome's lips. She could feel tears of joy come to her eyes. It was then that she noticed something was wrong. Someone wasn't there. Inuyasha... 'Oh... no.' Her happy expression, changed to a worried one. Had she really expected Inuyasha to be there? No. She supposed she hadn't. Deep down, she knew very well that the villagers would no longer except him. The people of this village would not understand his situation.
A small mumble was heard and Kagome turned to see that Sango was opening her eyes. Another mumble, and another, and another. Everyone began to open their orbs and let in the morning sun. Kagome stopped and waited. The could only stare at her.
This is the edited version of the chapter.
I'm ending it here because it's a nice cliffy, especially on the first chapter. It will keep you all reading and waiting for the next chapter. I made this chapter nice and detailed, but not very long.
Next chapter: Seeing You Again
