Oh yeah, I don't own Inuyasha, so don't sue me. Well, you could, but all you'd get is 3 cents and a stick of gum. I do, however, own my plotline, so if you steal it, I'll sue you so that I can have more than 3 cents and a stick of gum :)

Now, on to chapter 2...

Correcting Mistakes

Chapter 2: Awakening

By: Remora29

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Miroku lifted Inuyasha off Kirara and took him into Kaede's hut. When she saw him, she could barely contain a gasp. His right arm and leg were sticking out at weird angles letting her know that they were broken. His head flopped around like a rag doll, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. But what was worse is the fact that that his torso felt like a pillow. All of the bones were broken and out of place, and she was surprised that he managed to stay alive long enough to reach her hut.

"Miroku, could ye lay him on the bed? I need to inspect his wounds," Kaede said. Miroku quietly did as she asked. As Kaede checked Inuyasha, Miroku went to a nearby stream and gathered water, knowing the priestess would need it to clean his wounds.

"What happened?" Kaede asked him as soon as he came back. He knew she would want to know about the day's events, but he didn't trust himself to tell her fearing that she would blame herself for giving Kagome the necklace. As he fought his own internal war, he could feel Kaede's eyes staring at him, waiting for an answer. With a sigh, he decided to tell her the truth.

"He got into a fight," Miroku said with a half-hearted smile, stalling for time.

"I figured that," Kaede retorted, not amused by antics.

"Lady Kaede, I do not wish to trouble you with what happened, but you have a right to know," Miroku said with a sigh. He then proceeded to tell her everything that happened, not leaving out anything.

"Tis worse than I thought, Miroku, but it does explain why he seems to have given up the will to live. I know not what keeps him alive, to be honest, and even if he does live, I cannot tell you if he will ever be the same. He has been betrayed and broken by one he loved, and this time, there was no trickery involved," the old priestess remarked, eyes downcast.

Miroku wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. He really wanted to know what Kagome was thinking when she pulled that stunt. Kaede had explained to her that Inuyasha most likely would not want her and Koga associating at all, or at least not until they were properly mated, but she hadn't listened. And to make matters worse, she kissed Koga. It was no wonder that Inuyasha didn't want to live. He probably felt as if he had nothing to live for, and that was a shame. Even though they were not open with their feelings, everyone in their rag-tag group considered the others family. If Inuyasha didn't make it, they would all mourn his loss. Miroku would lose his best friend. Sango would lose her brother-in-arms. Shippo would lose his surrogate father. Kaede would lose a friend as well. And Kagome, well to be honest, Miroku didn't know what Kagome would lose, if anything. He knew he shouldn't think that way, but he was beginning to get very angry with the young girl from the future. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Shippo come up to him and sit in his lap.

"Miroku," Shippo hesitated, "is Inuyasha going to be all right?"

The sound of the kit's voice broke his train of thoughts and Miroku realized that Shippo wanted an answer. The only problem was, he didn't know what to say.

"To be honest Shippo, I don't know. The situation is grave, but Kaede's doing all she can to help him," Miroku replied. Shippo's eyes filled with tears.

"I don't want him to die, the jerk. Why did he have to fight anyway," the kit wailed, inconsolable.

Miroku, at a loss for what to say or do, simply let Shippo vent his emotions and patted him on the back. He tried to soothe him as best he could, but he knew it was useless because he was hurting inside as well. Unlike Shippo, however, he was better able to control his emotions, so his face registered only the faintest trace of the pain he felt.

This was the scene Kagome and Sango returned to when they got back to the village: Shippo wailing while Miroku tried to comfort him. Hearing the kit's cries made Kagome's insides turn and she had to hold back the vomit that threatened to rise. She quickly made her way over to the pair to hear about Inuyasha's condition. When she got there, she wasn't prepared for what she saw. For the first time since their group had formed, Miroku and Shippo looked at her with something more than friendship and adoration; they looked at her with anger. Unable to bear their accusing gazes, she stared at the ground.

"How is he?" she whispered, hardly able to form the words.

"Talk to Kaede," Miroku told her, "she can tell you more about his present condition than we can."

Kagome slowly made her way to the hut, dreading both the sight of her beloved in pain and Kaede's scorn. Finally, she entered the hut and went into the back room where Kaede was tending to Inuyasha. The old woman looked up at her with kind, but troubled eyes.

"He lives still, but for how long I cannot tell ye. Child, I must know: what possessed you to do such a thing?" Kaede asked the one question on everyone's minds.

Kagome couldn't take it any more and broke down into sobs.

"I don't know. I don't know. I wish I could take it back. I'm so so—" Kagome started, but she was cut off.

"It is not I that ye need to apologize to. Ye have done more harm than ye could ever know. He no longer wishes to live, and I don't know how much longer I can keep him alive. Ye must find a way to bring him back, but I warn ye that he may not be the same person he was before this incident," Kaede explained.

But Kagome didn't care. As long as there was something that she could do to bring her love back, she would do it. Even if he hated her, she would nurse him back to life. It was the least that she could do, being the cause of his suffering.

From that moment on, Kagome took over Inuyasha's care. Anything he needed, she did for him. She placed cool cloths on his forehead when he got a fever. She crushed aspirins and mixed them with water to dull the pain of his broken body. She dribbled broth and water between his parched lips to make sure he ate during his recovery. She didn't even go home during that time and she normally went to see her family once a week on the weekends. Since her high school graduation, she had spent most of her time in the feudal era, but she was sure her family was worried. After a month of her gentle ministrations, Inuyasha began to show signs of life. He didn't wake up from his coma yet, but he didn't whimper in pain as much as he had before.

Six weeks after the incident, the moment Kagome had been both dreading and anticipating happened: Inuyasha awakened.

"Ugh," he grunted as he tried to move his body. He was almost fully healed, but his limbs were stiff from their healing and lack of use. Kagome, who had been napping in another corner of the room, woke up when she heard him groan.

"Oh Inuyasha, you're awake!" she cried, throwing herself on him. Tears rolled down her face and wet his blanket, but she didn't care. Now she knew he was going to live; now she could begin to atone for her actions.

When Kagome threw herself on Inuyasha, a flurry of emotions ran through his mind. The first was pain because although he was healed, his body was still sore. Next were anger, betrayal, despair, and finally love. Yes, as much as he hated himself for it, he still loved her. It hurt his heart deeply to know this, because he couldn't trust her. Part of him, the piece of his soul that loved her, wanted to gather her in his arms, comfort her, and reassure her that everything would be fine. However, most of him wanted her to leave him alone forever.

"Get off me," he said. It was quiet and soft, as his throat was dry from weeks of neglect, but the undercurrent of steel in those words could not be missed.

Kagome stopped crying and looked at him. What she saw broke her heart. His normally bright and expressive amber eyes were dull and emotionless. His face had slackened into a countenance that betrayed nothing of how he felt. He reminded her of Sesshomaru when he looked at her, and that thought sent a shiver up her spine.

"Inuyasha, please, let me explain," she cried, hoping he would give her a chance to tell him why she did what she had done.

"What's to explain?" he growled out. "You sat me during a fight with Koga. It's clear to me who you care more about—him. You used these damned beads for him, not for me. Why are you even here?"

"Because I love you, Inuyasha, and I'm sorry," she said quietly, letting the full extent of his words hit her.

"You love me?" he asked, sarcasm evident in his voice. Then he did something uncharacteristic of himself—he laughed. Only it was not a laugh filled with mirth and happiness but one rife with pain and bitterness.

"You don't love me. If you loved me, you wouldn't have allowed me to get hurt. You betrayed me. You're no better than Kikyo. In fact, you're worse. You led me to believe that you loved me for myself, something even Kikyo couldn't claim. You showed me glimpses of a life beyond prejudice and fear. You promised me a family, a home, a place to call my own, then you destroyed it with one word: Sit," he ground out through clenched teeth. Even though he was angry with her, it was still difficult for him to give up all those dreams he had dared hoped would come true.

"We can still have those things, Inuyasha. We can still have a family, a home, and a life together if you want it. I do love you and I'm sorry for what I've done. I just wanted you to get jealous so that you would treat me better. I know it was stupid and I'm sorry," she explained, hoping that he wouldn't turn her away.

"Jealous? You wanted me to get jealous? You really are something, you know that?" he stated coldly.

"All those times you, Miroku and Sango would talk about how stupid I was because I got jealous of Koga when it was obvious that you only wanted friendship from him and nothing else. How I had no right to be jealous since I was two-timing you with Kikyo," he said, pissed off. "I felt bad about hurting you when I went to see Kikyo, but I had to work out my feelings for her on my own. We were betrayed, Kagome. Fooled into hurting each other and I felt that I owed her something. But I always tried to respect your feelings when it came to the subject. I would tell you about the meetings and try not to hurt you. I felt badly about hurting you. I didn't feel worthy of your love."

"There were even times I felt that you deserved Koga, Hojo or anyone who wasn't me. That I wasn't good enough for you. I mean, who would want a worthless hanyou? A person with no real home to call his own. All I had to offer was my love, and I foolishly believed that was enough," he continued.

"I would have given you anything to make you happy, Kagome," he sighed, close to tears. "Hell, I've practically turned into your fucking lapdog, and you know it. You force me to do your bidding by holding that damn rosary around my neck like a noose. I mean, I know that I'm gruff, but I do have feelings, and it hurt to hear everyone talk about me like I didn't exist. I have been trying so hard these past few weeks to make you happy, and then you pull that shit. I don't deserve to be treated like this!" he screamed out.

"I told you I was sorry," she yelled, "what more do you want from me?"

"I want you to take them off," he stated, pointing to the rosary.

"Why?" she asked in a small voice, afraid of his answer.

"Because I no longer want to be bound to you," he replied.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she stammered.

"I mean that I no longer want to be your mate," he replied in a cold voice that would rival Sesshomaru's.

At his words, Kagome could no longer contain her tears. She shakily reached around his neck and lifted off the prayer beads over his head. Then she cried into her hands as she slumped down on the floor with arms around her knees. Inuyasha felt a fresh pain in his heart at her distress, and he could hear a small voice in his mind.

'Mate is upset. Make mate feel better'

But he chose to ignore it. No matter how much he loved her, he couldn't trust her. And they would not be able to have a relationship without trust. He held back a few tears of his own as he realized that he was yet again to be alone. Part of him felt as if it were his destiny to be by himself, always loving others, but never being loved in return. Dejected, he shakily got up off the futon to leave the room.

"Wait," Kagome cried, "can't we work this out?" She really did love him and didn't want him to leave her.

"No, we can't," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You made your choice when you used the rosary. You can't be naive enough to expect me to come back to you now. Leave me alone. You get to run away to your time when you're upset at me, so now it's my turn. Only, I don't expect you to follow me."

"Please don't, Inuyasha. I need you, I want you, I love you," she stated.

"Your words may be true, but I can't believe anything you say any more. I can't trust you. Kagome, if you really love me, you'll let me go. You wouldn't want to be bound to a bitter, broken man, even if it was of your own doing," replied Inuyasha.

With those words, he turned and strode out of the hut, despite his pain. He never looked back.

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AN: Another chapter done. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll try to update once or twice a week, depending on my work schedule, not on the number of reviews. Reviews are nice, but I'm writing this story because I want to write it.

Inu-Shinta:I like fanfics where Kagome ends feeling guilty for subduing Inuyasha because if you think about it, having the subduing rosary around him
makes Inuyasha seem like a fucking house pet.

I completely agree, Inu-Shinta, and thanks for your review. That's actually why I decided to write this story. It's purpose is to protect her from him if he tries to harm her, or, as she found out, when he turns demon. It is not there for her to get out her aggression, force him to do something he doesn't want to do, or because he annoys her. I mean, I like Kagome and all, but I thought it would be interesting to write about an intelligent Inuyasha, not the dummy who most people perceive him to be.