Summary: Having a blessing means that you will have a curse at another time in life. Protecting the jewel is no different. With the Curse of the Shikon No Tama- something unknown to those who haven't protected it -Kagome is starting to lose hope. If something isn't done soon, she may lose more than that... Sequel to The Games We Play

Rated M. Why? Because the first one was nasty and full of gore. This one is likely to be just as bad, maybe worse… Also because I have a twisted, sadistic mind…

"Talking" (duh)
'Thinking'

Dates Written:
July 31st, 2006
August 1st, 2006
August 3rd, 2006

This chapter is a bit longer to help make up for the last chapter being a bit short.

X x X x X x X x X x X x X

The Hearts We Break
Chapter Six: I Missed You

Edited By: InterwovenEmotions

X x X x X x X x X x X x X

The drive home had a detour to it. Sesshoumaru stopped by at a store to get milk and flowers, an odd combination, for sure. But the milk was for the fact that they had none in the fridge... At least not any that was unspoiled.

The flowers were a gift for Kagome. He was worried about her, and she seemed to be happy whenever he brought her flowers. Sesshoumaru let out a long sigh as he paid for the items and drove towards their apartment. A feeling that something bad was going to happen overcame him.

Naturally, he would have listened to that feeling. The last two times he had feelings or dreams of something being true, it turned out to be accurate. But now was not the time to be afraid of confronting his fiancé. If he didn't deal with the problems now, perhaps they would never be dealt with again.

That would cause one hell of an unhappy marriage.

Sesshoumaru parked the car and stepped out, holding the bag with the two cartons of milk in it. The flowers were in the same hand so he would be able to open the door.

Sesshoumaru walked in, closing the door behind him. He placed the milk in the fridge and began seeking Kagome. He wanted to present her with the flowers that he had bought her. But, as he stepped into the bedroom, he knew something was wrong.

Kagome didn't look like herself.

Literally.

There, sitting on his bed and carrying the vague scent of Kagome, was a demon. She- it -had blue hair and blue eyes. The outlines of her eyes were lined with red, confirming that this was a demon. Her mouth was open, revealing fangs that had possibilities to emit poison.

Sesshoumaru's sight drifted down as he dropped the flowers. She had crimson- the very color of blood -marks on the sides of her cheek, her neck, the backs of her hand, and her ankles... Almost like a tattoo of some sort. But Kagome couldn't have gotten that done so quickly.

Did that mean that this wasn't Kagome? Or was she merely possessed?

"Kagome...?" Sesshoumaru's voice was beginning to fail him. He wasn't sure if she heard it, until she whipped her head around to look at him. That was when he noticed that she had ears like him. She had demon ears. The jewel was in her forehead, halfway absorbed into her.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what was going on.

He was even more confused when Kagome shot out of bed. With demon speed, she appeared in front of him. His balance was thrown off and she took that opportunity to push him over. Within moments, she was straddling him, her hands to his throat.

She had claws, too.

This wasn't his Kagome. This wasn't her by a long shot.

"What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru attempted to push her off, but she was strong. It was hard to believe that she could have this much power unless... Everything pointed to the fact that Kagome was being possessed. She wasn't acting like herself, she didn't look like herself, and she didn't smell like herself.

She smelled like she was over 1,000 years old. Okay, Kagome didn't smell that way. The spirit that possessed her smelled like that.

"Welcome home. I missed you." Was the answer that the demon gave him. Sesshoumaru growled as the grasp around his neck tightened. He wasn't able to fight. Kagome's mind was inside her, even if she was being possessed.

What if she remembered what was going on and got mad at him for attacking?

He let all his muscles go limp in a sign of surrender. He wouldn't attack Kagome. He didn't want to even try attacking her. Seeing her- even though her face looked entirely different -made it impossible for him to even think of such a thing.

Slowly, she stood up. Sesshoumaru knelt up on his elbows but made no move to stand all the way. That would only cause the demon inside her to think of him as a threat.

Sesshoumaru watched as the look of pure anger vanished. It was as if Kagome's mind was in control once more. He didn't notice that her appearance remained the same. He just wanted to talk to his Kagome, the real Kagome, not an angry spirit's version of her.

And he truly believed he was.

"I'm moving into my mother's house. Don't come after me. I don't want to see you." She said. This time, it wasn't the demon's voice behind her words. It truly sounded like her.

Sesshoumaru watched with a broken heart as she left. What he believed to be the Kagome he loved had just left, saying that she never wanted to see him again. Sesshoumaru was unable to form anything intelligent in his mind. His heartbreak was quickly turned into rage as he stood up, dialing a number quickly.

"Yes?" Inuyasha's voice drawled out from the other end of the phone.

"I want a sparring match. Right now." Sesshoumaru hissed through clenched teeth. Apparently, Inuyasha was able to sense his rage from the other end of the phone, because he heard him whimper.

"Alright... You going to tell me what happened so I don't make the same mistake?" He questioned. Sesshoumaru grunted in response then slammed the phone back into its cradle. He glanced around the apartment.

He loved Kagome. He truly did. But hearing her voice say that she never wanted to see him again was ultimate heartbreak.

If only he had noticed the deeper tone that her voice carried. Then he would have known that Kedamono had still possessed her...

- - -

Kagome groaned in pain and rolled over on the bed. Her entire body hurt, like she had run a marathon then had heat stroke. She looked around, half expecting to see Sesshoumaru hovering over her and speaking to her- the other half of her expected to be in a hospital. After all, how could she be in this much pain and not be in the hospital?

Kagome wasn't in the apartment or in a hospital, though. She stared at the walls in shock. She was in her old bedroom, in the shrine house. Kagome shot up from bed and looked outside. It was dark outside, but there was a fresh blanket of snow.

The heater hadn't been on. What kept her from freezing?

Kagome pushed the thought away as she stood up on tired muscles. She walked around her room before going downstairs. The place felt so creepy with no one else living there. Grandfather was dead. So was Souta. And her mother had moved into a retirement home.

The house was depressing, she had claimed. Kagome believed her now that she was in the house on her own.

Kagome looked at the calendar, blinking. She had last looked at the calendar on the fourteenth, and today was the sixteenth. Kagome stared at the colander, struggling to remember what had happened.

'That's right. On the fourteenth I was struggling with that Kea-mono in me...' She thought. A detached part of her brain quickly corrected her.

'That's KEDAMONO. It is NOT Kea-mono.' It hissed quickly. Kagome's heart skipped a beat as she shook her head. The voice was still there. And last time, it had been able to take control of her. What happened? She had no idea what had happened when it took over.

She barely even had the memory of it taking over...

"Someone please help me clear this confusion." Kagome wished under her breath as she went to rummage through the fridge at her mother's house. As she opened up the empty fridge, she was reminded that no one was there to keep it full anymore.

The phone rang loudly, causing Kagome to scream and jump back. She placed a hand over her racing heart and approached the phone. She needed to work on not being scared so easily. Her 'nerves of steel' left a lot to be desired.

"Hello?" Kagome asked, stifling a yawn and a wince.

"Kagome! Ohmygod! We finally got a hold of you! I was so worried that something happened to you! Especially since we saw Naraku walking around the wall casually! What's going on? Why'd you leave Sesshoumaru? Are you alright?" All the questions that Sango was asking made Kagome's head buzz in pain.

"I'm fine... Can I talk to you and Kikyou? Perhaps at the mall?" She asked cautiously.

"We'll have to meet at Kikyou's house. She's gotten to the point to where she's too far in pregnancy to go anywhere. Inuyasha will bite her head off for it." Sango explained.

"Alright... Can you pick me up? I'm at my mother's house without a car... I need to talk to you a lot, since I'm really confused." Kagome mumbled. The phone on the other end clicked off. Kagome stared into the receiver of her phone, sighing. When would Sango ever say bye to someone before she hung up?

Within moments, Sango was in front of the house, waiting for Kagome. Kagome didn't even give herself a glance in the mirror before she darted out the door. She needed help. She had missed an entire day of her life and woke up in the middle of another day.

"Kagome... If you don't mind me saying this... You look like shit." Sango commented. Kagome glanced at her, not sure what she should say in reaction. She was glad that her friend was so honest and open with her... But wasn't that a little TOO honest and open?

"I know... I'm so confused, I need to talk to you guys and figure out what what's going on." Kagome said, tears welling in her eyes.

"Are you actually upset over Sesshoumaru? He said that you were pretty firm in your decision..." Sango trailed off. Kagome snapped her head at her fast enough to give herself whiplash.

"What!" She asked in a sharp note. Sango winced.

"Well... Two days ago, you told Sesshoumaru that you never wanted to see him again. You left your engagement ring behind. We all assumed that you two were breaking up..." Sango trailed off. Kagome didn't sound like she was aware of the break-up. That was... most definitely strange.

"Why would I break up with him! I love him, Sango!" Kagome hissed. Sango winced and pulled into Kikyou's driveway, cutting off the engine and pulling the emergency break to keep the car from rolling away. Sango stepped out of the car with Kagome following quickly.

No way was she going to let Sango weasel out of the question she had asked. Kagome followed Sango up the path and waited impatiently as Sango knocked on Kikyou's door. Neither of the girls noticed Kikyou open the door.

"I don't know why you did it, Kagome. No one does. Sesshoumaru told us about it, asking us again if you had ever hinted at being unhappy with him. It was one thing to see you getting your sexual fix from someone else. But having you leave him when he was already on edge about whether or not you loved him... That just broke his heart." Sango explained.

"For a demon- an emotionless one, even -I've never seen a harsh reaction about something like that... I'm not sure that Inuyasha would have reacted like that!" Kikyou snapped. Kagome looked at her, slowly becoming dizzy. Was it confusion or Kedamono that was causing it?

Kagome walked into Kikyou's house and went strait to her couch. She fell against the couch like she was unable to stand on her own. And, to Kagome, that's how it fell.

"Can you guys tell me what's going on? Why are you lying like this? Why are you guys saying that I broke up with Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, tears filling her eyes.

"You did. You tackled him when he came in the door two days ago. You were going to strangle him, but he couldn't push you off. He wasn't willing to hurt you." Kikyou began.

"And when you finally did get off of him, you told him that you were moving into your mother's house and that you didn't want to be followed. You said you never wanted to see him again." Sango finished.

"I... I still don't remember anything..." Kagome murmured. She dropped her head into her hands and didn't hold back her tears any longer. Her shoulders shook with the silent cries she formed, and only the occasional sniff could confirm that she was crying.

Sango and Kikyou looked at each other in confusion. Kagome had broken up with Sesshoumaru... But she had no memory on it? She seemed like she didn't even know about it until today. And then she began crying... Was it possible that she really had no memory of such a thing?

Inside Kagome's mind, there was a battle going on. A battle for memories and a battle to figure out what had happened two days ago.

"Kagome..." Kedamono's voice called to her. It sounded enticing- it sounded like an offer. Drop everything she was doing now and let him have control of her body. Let her mind fade from the world and into oblivion while he took control.

"I want to know what happened... You're the only thing that causes me not to remember. Whenever you're in control, I don't remember things. Tell me what you did!" Kagome hissed into her own mind. It grew silent, as if Kedamono was simply thinking.

"It is true. I did attack Sesshoumaru. I let my appearances soften so I would resemble you. Then I stopped choking him and told him to never come after you again." Kedamono explained. More tears spilled from Kagome's eyes.

"You should have seen the hurt that went through his face, scent... Everything about him reeked of hurt." Kedamono was just bragging now. But why would someone who was supposed to be protecting the jewel be bragging about something so horrible?

Kagome didn't realize that he knew what she was thinking when she wasn't speaking to him. He had an answer for her question and was going to give it to her.

"I'm a demon. Demons are the epitome of all things evil- sin, sex, murder... and sadism. I cannot help the fact that being a mere spirit for so long has kept me from holding my evil at bay. I had to see him hurting..."

"Then why do you protect the jewel?"

"You want to know why? I loved- and still do after thousands of years, -the girl who made it. I loved her dearly, but she was always fighting demons. She was too busy for us to start a relationship. I understood that. So, I never did anything...

"But when she created the jewel- putting her own soul inside of it. I was thinking of her. My soul was dragged to the jewel as well. But since I was not going to fight her and I had no miko powers to aid her, I was forced to become the protector. To make sure that no one was able to take the jewel and use it unwisely." Kedamono's voice filled with the anger that had been in him for centuries upon centuries- the anger that had yet to even be seen.

"Kagome?" Sango's voice cut in through Kagome's mental conversation. Kagome slowly looked up at her- her tears being dry at that point.

"Hmm?"

"Kagome... You were spacing out for... for about forty minutes, I think. Is there something you want to tell us?" Sango questioned. Kagome shot up off the couch, instantly regretting it. She stood in a daze, waiting for the excess blood to drain from her head and for her vision to stop being black.

Finally, she turned to Sango.

"Find all the books you can about the Shikon jewel and its protector." Kagome said hastily.

"There were a lot of protectors, Kagome..." Kikyou whined.

"Oh... Yeah... Right... Find all the information on the Shikon jewel, Midoriko, Kedamono... Things that seem to relate to the jewel." Kagome said, heading for the door.

"Don't you want lunch?" Sango asked curiously.

"No! I need to talk to Sesshoumaru!" Kagome said, smiling. And, with that, she was out the door.

- - -

Sesshoumaru growled ferally as someone opened the front door to the apartment. His claws dug into the bed as he let out a sadistic smirk. Whoever decided to steal from his house was going to regret it.

Right now, Sesshoumaru was in pain. And right now, he would love nothing more than to see someone else in as much pain as he was in. When someone opened the door to the bedroom, he whipped his head around to see the intruder.

Kagome stood there, uncomfortable under Sesshoumaru's angry gaze. After a while, she stepped towards him. Each step seemed to take all of her willpower and strength. By the time she had gotten to the bed, she was exhausted. With no way to hold herself up, she sat down beside Sesshoumaru.

A few moments of uncomfortable and tense silence passed between the two before one of them broke it.

"What are you doing here? I clearly remember that you said you never wanted to see me again." Sesshoumaru's voice was low and angry. Kagome shivered; she hated knowing that he was mad at her. She hated it the same way children hated knowing that they had upset their parents.

"I... I need to talk to you." Kagome's voice seemed small and hesitant. Sesshoumaru was intimidating. But it was even worse when he was angry.

Sesshoumaru grunted. Finally, Kagome couldn't handle sitting next to him. She stood up, pacing a few steps in one direction before doing the same in the other direction.

"I came here to explain what happened to you." Kagome began.

"There's nothing needed to explain. You left me for whatever man was fucking you a few days ago!" Sesshoumaru roared. Kagome winced, but her pain was short-lived as his words began to settle in.

A man? With her? Nonsense; she hadn't had a man sleep with her since Andrew had raped her last.

"What man? I never slept with anyone!" Sesshoumaru stood up, his eyes beginning to burn into a demon red.

"Don't lie to me! I saw him pushing himself inside of you and you moaning. I know that you're having an affair!" He roared. A mixture of pain and anger flashed through Kagome's eyes. The pain left, but the anger stayed.

"I didn't sleep with anyone! That last man that ever did such things to me was Andrew! That was two years ago!" Kagome hissed.

"And Andrew is dead." Sesshoumaru mumbled.

"Actually... He's not..." Sesshoumaru's gaze snapped up to look at her, anger showing through his emotionless mask like it wasn't even there. "I didn't come here to talk about that... Not yet... I need to talk to you about what happened..." She trailed off. A few moments of silence passed before she took the chance to continue speaking.

"You remember when we... supposedly fought Andrew and Naraku... I changed into a demon-like thing..." Sesshoumaru gave a nod. "Well... That is actually the result of someone's soul being trapped inside of me..." The demon sitting before Kagome just stared. What in the world was that supposed to mean?

"I don't know exactly how it happened, but I'm sure he'll tell me. His name is Ketamana-- Kedamono! And. Well... It's his job to help protect the jewel. I've never had a problem with letting him out before. It's like he would wait patiently for me to let him take control...

"But he's been taking control of me recently, and there's nothing I can do about it... From what I can get from him, he takes control of the jewel's protectors because they aren't doing things the way he wants. After going from one body to another, he develops his own desires that he can't get fulfilled.

"So... He controlled my body. I have no memories of what happened. I really don't. I only found out today when Sango and Kikyou were talking to me about it." Kagome stopped and looked at Sesshoumaru for a reaction. His eyes were void of any emotion. Typical.

"Then explain you writhing and moaning when a man was fucking you." The hurt and pain in his voice had died down considerably.

"I don't know... I can only assume that Ketaman-- Kedamono! I can only assume that Kedamono was in control of me... Whenever I can't remember something, it seems that he took control of my body." Kagome explained.

"I see... Do you want to live at your mother's old home?" He asked, looking up at her.

"It's where I've lived since I can remember... But not without you." Kagome shuffled her feet nervously.

"Then we'll move there. You can go tell your mother that we'll start making payments to her. It'll be better than this apartment." He gave her a nod and a small smile. Kagome couldn't help it anymore. She grinned and hugged Sesshoumaru as tightly as she could.

"That you so much! Thank you, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome broke the hug after a few moments to fulfill Sesshoumaru's desires.

- - -

Kagome walked towards the retirement home. It was where her mother had insisted on living after grandfather had died. Her mother wasn't that old, but she always said she was going to die soon... With the vibe that the place gave off, Kagome had to agree.

Kagome was only a block away- halfway there from the apartment -when something caught her attention. Someone was following her. Rather than try to pretend that there was no one, she spun around sharply and came face-to-face with her worst nightmare.

"I missed you." Was all she could hear him saying. If he said anything else, she was in too much shock to notice.

O o O o O o O o O oO

I'm sorry that I can't be perfect. I'm sorry that I made another mistake. I'm sorry that something hurt you. I'm sorry that your heart had to break. But, out of all the things I could be sorry for... I'm sorry for having to say that I'm not allowed to love you anymore...

O o O o O o O o O o O

Changed the phrase above... I think it'll be from a poem that Kagome wrote. I had a poem rhythm stuck in my head as I wrote it...

Review Replies:
Kagome-chan88- Yeah, I believe you. Summers are miserable here. But this summer (could it be coincidence that it's the one I'll be here for two weeks... ?) is, supposedly, the worst it's been in quite a few years (was it seven? ten?)
GravityGrave- Guess it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was... I don't know whether or not he's a virgin. I haven't gotten that far... Have you ever noticed that you don't hear of virgin a lot? Sesshoumaru saw Andrew raping Kagome when she blacked out. And, technically, Kagome wasn't enjoying it. Kedamono was enjoying it. That help clear things up?
Veata- Yeah... I'm curious what causes pregnant women to want revolting food like that... Ew. Pickles and whipped cream... Blech!
InterwovenEmotions- Aww! Am I really cool! That makes me so happy! And... I had something else planned out, but I changed it for my own sanity. I was barely able to remember how it went. So... Yeah...
YoukaiMei- About the food that Kikyou eats... I try to think of the nastiest combination (Mustard and Ketchup) and try to think of something everyone likes (Ice Cream). I combine it and- tadaa! Disgusting food! The foods change for each meal she eats. And I'm sorry for not having Miroku in there. I'll try to have something with him in it verrrry soon. (Perhaps with him groping someone?)

I may not be writing for a while because YoukaiMei has given me a gift. Scenes of Inuyasha with the outtakes and bloopers... Plus a few other things... Okay, just kidding. The REAL reason I won't be on for a while is because life is going to kick up again. I am going to start school August 30th, and I am getting really worried. That means I'm going to start getting sick soon, and I won't be able to touch a computer while I'm sick. So... Any delayed updates are due to my worry or the fact that I've started school... Just a warning in advance.

Next Chapter: Vow Of Silence
Reviews Needed: 135

- Lonely Bird