Full Summary:

Despite Inuyasha's powerless position under Naraku's merciless command, he manages to find the one person in the world who can soothe his soul: Kagome. Inuyasha's job used to be almost easy to do because of his apathy, but now that they're together, they both have everything to lose. Can their love survive in such conditions, when giant obstacles and crushing despair lie around every corner? Discover the secrets of our heroes' pasts and present in this chronologically confused tale in which two broken lives find both their salvation and destruction in each other.

VERY IMPORTANT: THIS FIC (noticed I used the word fic which means that I don't own any of the characters…you like how I slipped that disclaimer in there? Very sneaky, huh?) is purposely written out of chronological order, so if you plan on having the slightest idea of what's going on, you'll want to pay attention to the dates at the head of every section

Quick A/N: I previously posted this fic on under the penname Schrodingerscat, so don't think I plagiarized this. Because I didn't. This has been edited since then (it needed it…badly), so it's not exactly the same as the other version.

This fic is rated for language, lemons, and violence. Warning: this chapter contains very miserable characters. Despite how much it may seem like it, this is not pointless angst; it really is part of a plot.

PLEASE review!

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June 12, 2004. 8:l6 AM. Kagome.

"Inuyasha," Kagome began, needing to get the words out. She couldn't look at him and instead opted to pour herself cereal for her breakfast, as they both had to leave for work soon.

"Yeah?" He sounded…empty. As if his soul had deteriorated. Rotted away.

"I'm sorry about what I said last night," she confessed truthfully. The last thing she needed was extra guilt.

"There's no reason for you to be sorry Kagome." He leaned against the counter next to her, and she finally found the strength to turn to him.

"But there is. I didn't mean it, I really didn't."

"Kagome, don't worry about it. Even if you did mean it. I deserve your blame."

She shook her head emphatically. "It's not like that. Inuyasha…I love you. That will never change. I just hate that I got hurt because of it."

"I hate it too."

"But I do love you. You believe that, don't you?" She gently touched his cheek.

"I believe you." He cupped the back of her hand and pressed his cheek into her palm.

"I'm just going to have some trouble…being…with you. It's not easy."

"I know."

October 5, 2004. 3:19 AM. Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to dispel from his mind the image of blood seeping from a stranger's walls. It felt wrong to bring those pictures into his apartment, where his mate rested. He unlocked the bolt and his hand closed around the doorknob, but he hesitated. More and more often lately, he hadn't been able to rationalize all the damage he caused, all the lives he took, as ways to maintain an income and a convenient outlet for all his frustrations. The scent of the blood covering his clothing wasn't helping him to forget.

The only thing Inuyasha wanted to do was go in, throw out his clothes, take a shower, and curl up in bed, holding close the (hopefully) sleeping girlfriend who was inside waiting for him.

With a sigh, he gave up and opened the door and stepped into his home, festering gory images and all.

He took a deep breath, soaking in the distinctive, calming smell of the only person who truly cared for him, and realized that the scent wasn't coming from their bedroom, where Kagome should have been at that time of night.

That wonderful, empty smell. For four months now, that smell had been lacking that which had made it so joyously complete. And it was entirely his fault.

Inuyasha cringed and locked the front door, then shook off his shoes, dreading what would happen when he stepped into the living room ahead of him. After what he'd just done, a little confrontation with his girlfriend should have been nothing. But the thought of Kagome being angry was infinitely scarier than the possibility of what could have happened had his task gone wrong.

If their imminent argument led to Kagome finding out what he'd just been doing…

He didn't want to finish the sentence, but his mind filled in the blanks unbidden.

She would leave him, and he'd be alone once again.

The lights were off and the room was nearly pitch black, but his eyes found her immediately. She was sitting cross-legged in their overstuffed armchair, looking very small, very hurt, and very angry. She was glaring at him with every once of negative emotion she was able to retain. The look was out of place amid her cozy-looking gray cotton pajamas.

"Where were you?" she demanded, not wasting any time.

Inuyasha sighed. "I got a call from work."

"For what? What kind of emergency can they possibly have in the middle of the night in your line of work?"

She already didn't believe him. That was fair though. By day, he was a martial arts instructor in a dojo downtown. It wasn't just a lie; it was a stupid lie.

"Some kids were trying to break in. They called me to come and stop it." It was the only possible excuse he could think of.

"Right, they called you, as opposed to someone whose job it is to be awake at this time of night and take care of those things, like…oh, I don't know…maybe the police!"

"Look, I don't know why they called me, but they-"

Kagome's broken sigh interrupted him. "Inuyasha…it's time to stop lying to me. Just admit it."

"Kagome…it's very, very late."

"You think I haven't noticed that!" She was yelling now, fighting back tears. "Do you think that I haven't noticed that it's very late every time you mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night?" She took a deep breath. "Turn on the light, Inuyasha."

He couldn't do that. He knew he was covered in dried blood. Kagome would be terrified and beyond pissed to see him like this again. "I…" There was no way out of this.

Kagome hugged herself tighter, a picture of hesitant fear, and Inuyasha felt sandpaper wrapping around his heart and squeezing. Immediately, he strode over and put his arms around her. A small bit of relief came to him as she sank into him, pressing her face to his neck. His hand held the back of her head, and he turned his face into her long, soft hair.

"Tell me you don't go every night where I think you go," she whimpered, clinging to his shoulders. "What is it that you do when you leave me?"

"It's nothing, Kagome. Nothing at all." He lifted her and plopped into the chair, pulling her securely into his lap.

Her shoulders started shaking, and he smelled the salt of her frustrated, exhausted tears. "That's such bullshit," she whispered. "Every night, I wake up to hear you walking out, and I'm sick and tired of waiting for you to come back, waiting to see if you'll stop keeping secrets from me without having to force it out of you. Goddamn it, Inuyasha, tell me I'm wrong! Tell me that you'd never do it again, simply because you promised me you wouldn't." She sounded spent, and she sniffled. All was quiet as he felt her shift slightly, then she jerked away from him.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked

She scrambled off his lap and, as she settled sadly a few feet away, her form a beautiful, faint silhouette in the darkness, he could see that she was shaking slightly.

"You smell like blood," she whimpered. "It's not yours, is it."

Goddammit.

He stood and she took slow steps backwards, away from him. "I knew it. I fucking knew it." The anger was gone from her voice, replaced by a rigid chill.

"Kagome, this isn't what it seems. Please, just calm down." His voice was very even as he walked towards her, hands outstretched.

Her back reached a wall and her eyes never left his as he stepped ever closer to her. He didn't smell real fear on her, but her anxiety was nearly suffocating. Suddenly, her hand flicked out, and the room was filled with harsh light.

Her gasp attacked his ears as she saw the state he was in: the soiled clothes, the hair matted with blood, the gash in his side that had stopped bleeding, but was taking its time to heal.

She slid down the wall and her hands clenched each other at her chest. "What the fuck did you do, Inuyasha?"

"Kagome…please-" He reached for her.

"Stop! Don't come near me."

A growl ripped through his throat and in a fraction of a second he was crouched in front of her and leaning to bring his face close to hers, his hand tenderly gripped her chin. "Kagome, you know I'd never hurt you. You never have to fear me." His breath grazed her delicate skin as he spoke.

She shoved sharply at his chest, sending him back a few inches. "Don't you get it? I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid of what you did."

He took her face in his hands. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

She gripped his wrists and wrenched his hands away. "How can you possibly tell me that?" She stood and skittered away a few steps. "After what you did, you have no right to tell me to calm down. You said that this would never happen again! You said…" She trailed off, staring at him in horror as he stood tiredly. "You promised me. How could you do this, Inuyasha?" She sounded so defeated, so broken, so full of hate.

"Kagome, please…just calm down. I know what I said, Kagome." He wanted to hang his head in shame, but he kept his eyes carefully, remorsefully on hers. "And I'm sorrier for breaking that promise than I could possibly say, but I had to."

"You had to?"

He could practically taste her sarcasm, bitter and rancid. Inuyasha took a few steps toward her. Thankfully, she didn't retreat. "Kagome, this has nothing at all to do with you. This time, we're going to be completely separate from all that shit. This isn't going to affect our lives ever again. I promise, I won't let it."

"No, Inuyasha, that's just what you'd like to believe. Wanting things to be a certain way doesn't make them so. And for further reference, your promises don't mean shit anymore. Don't touch me!" she spat angrily, batting his hand away from her face.

He growled, instincts and temper flaring, and stepped forward enough for her to have to crane her neck to look up at him. "I'll touch you whenever I like, mate."

Her brown eyes darkened. "No, Inuyasha, you've lost that privilege after all you've done. I can't trust you anymore."

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A/N: I don't like the ending of this chapter. It had an adequate ending before editing, but I took out a lot of stuff that needed to be moved to a different chapter, so this is what I ended up with. Oh well!

The story does get better from here, once the plot is developed, but the dates also get more confusing. I've actually already finished writing this fic, so I'll update often if I get reviews. If I get a lot of reviews, I'll be more motivated to keep proofreading, so the chapters will come out faster. In other words: please review!

I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of In Alignment with Angels.

THEponkey