Trust: A Chapter In Parts

Kagome opened her eyes, yawning. Next to her Inuyasha slept on. Apparently he had moved during the night, the zipper on the sleeping bag was down about half-way and he hung out of the open flap.

'He looks so peaceful.' she thought. Usually Inuyasha slept very lightly, constantly anticipating an attack. Now he looked as if he were really resting, his ears laying peacefully against his head. Kagome couldn't help reaching out and giving them a rub. The twin appendages twitched a little in responce.

Kagome smiled a bit. The only other time she had really gotten to examine his ears was when he was still pinned to the sacred tree. Inuyasha hated having his ears touched, even though it obviously felt good.

'Probably because people use'd to pull on them.' she thought sadly. She felt the place where they atattched to his head and lightly rubbed the fuzzy hairs that covered them. Inuyasha groaned in his sleep and moved closer to her.

Things really were much better without the beads. Inuyasha was opening up to her, letting her see him at his most vulnerable, letting her see his real self. Without the beads, he was less high strung, more relaxed because he didn't have to spend every waking moment around her dreading being slammed into the ground. He hadn't complained when she had asked him to spend another day at home. He even went shopping with her and her mother. That night his sleep was untroubled by nightmares, but she got into the sleeping bag with him anyway.

'You deserve to be happy and loved. You deserve to hold your head up high and have pride.' she thought, still stroking his ears. 'And you will from now on, I promise.'

She had learned that getting someone to love you wasn't like training a dog to do tricks. She had learned that you couldn't force someone to love you. Love took time. She knew it would be some time before she got a frank "I love you." from Inuyasha, and that was okay. Inuyasha showed he loved her by his actions, not his words.

Scene change

'Free.'

Inuyasha ran at top speed and jumped from building to building, much too fast for the humans below him to notice. He reveled in the glorious feeling of the wind whipping through his hair and curressing his skin. Pure freedom.

He hadn't been able to enjoy this feeling for a long time. Before, he would feel the beads around his neck when he jumped, the chaffing serving as a constant reminder that no matter how high he jumped or how fast he ran, he was not free.

How he had hated those cursed things! They reminded him, every hour of every day, that he was not free, could not do as he pleased, and was not as good as any human. Every sit from Kagome drove that message home. But more then that, they were proof that no matter how many times he saved her life, protected her, or carried her on his back, she would never trust him. It was as if every morning after he woke up she said to his face "I don't trust you. For all I know a filthy half-breed like you could murder me in my sleep. You are not my equal. You are not even worthy of the respect and dignity I give my cat."

Mabey that wasn't how Kagome had meant it to be, but it was how he had felt.

But now he knew the truth. Kagome did trust him. He wouldn't break that trust. To Inuyasha trust was a sacred thing and those who broke it were the worst kind of scum.

But he did need to get back soon. Kagome's mother would be just about done with breakfast.

'I should do this with Kagome.'

Scene change

Inuyasha helped Kagome through the well, emerging on the other side. Greetings were exchanged with Kirara, Sango and Miroku, the monk with a visible handprint on his face. Together, they walked towards the village.

"Where's Shippou?" Kagome asked, looking around for the young fox.

"Still off sulking." Sango said, keeping an eye on Miroku's cursed hand in case it started to wander.

Unbeknownst to them, Shippou was in fact plotting with the beads. His plan seemed good, and he was sure it would work. He only had to take the first step.

First, he would hide the beads in Kagome's pack. Then he would tell Inuyasha that she wanted something out of it. He would find the beads and accuse Kagome of planning to put them back on him. They would get in a fight, and then she would put them back on and sit him. Inuyasha would be back in his place, and Shippou in his as Kagome's favorite.

"Shippou?" He heard Kagome call out. He quickly hid the beads under some leaves and tried to look innoccent.

"Hi Kagome!" He exclaimed, trying to act normal.

"Hi Shippou." she said, sitting next to him. "I just wanted to appologize for spanking you like that the other day."

The kitsune's ears perked. "So you admit that I did nothing wrong and will put the beads back on Inuyasha?"

Kagome picked him up and setting him in her lap. "No. I'm not sorry I spanked you, just sorry that I used my hairbrush. What you did was cruel, just like keeping the rosary on him."

Shippou jumped up. "I knew it! He's put you all under some sort of spell and turned you against me!"

"I'm not against you Shippou. I'm finally treating you and Inuyasha fairly. It wasn't fair to Inuyasha for me to keep those beads on him when they weren't needed, and it isn't fair to you for me not to punish you when you deserve it. I have to teach you right from wrong." Kagome told him as she sat him back on her lap. "Inuyasha didn't put a spell on me or anything like that. All it was was my own conseince finally getting through to me."

"Look at me Shippou." she said when he tried to leave. "A few nights ago Inuyasha was crying in his sleep. He had a nightmare about his mother's death, thanks to that mean joke you played."

"He did, really?" Shippou couldn't imagine Inuyasha crying about anything.

Kagome continued. "Do you remember when the thunder brothers skinned your father, how scared and alone you were? Inuyasha has been like that nearly all his life."

Shippou looked down, ashamed. He hadn't thought of it like that.

"I want to be able to trust you Shippou. I want Inuyasha to be able to trust you."

Shippou nodded, then took the beads from their hiding place, handing them to her.

"Thank you Shippou." Kagome took the beads from him. She concentrated for a bit, then threw them down as they turned to dust.