Beyond the door to her room, the hanyou stood, his ears twitching as he tried his best not to listen. creased his forehead, his mind working furiously. A tinge of worry crept down his spine.
This isn't right.
That… that never happened. I'm sure of it.
He looked away, walking down the stairs.
What's going on?
She awoke to the sound of crickets chirping. All around, her room lay shrouded in twilight, the lone table lamp perched beside her bed doing little to dispel the darkness. For a moment, she remained so, allowing herself a period of calm to shrug off the haze of sleep, and for the events of the past day to again firmly entrench themselves in her mind. She turned slightly, angling herself to take in the sight of the hanyou who now shared her bed, absorbing with her eyes every inch of the firm, muscular body he had laid bare before her. His face was radiant with a child-like innocence he could not afford to show in his waking moments, his chest rising and falling as he slept, his entire self framed by silken, silver-white hair that was heavenly to the touch - save for one sculpted, powerful arm that reached across what little space divided them to protectively cradle her equally exposed form.
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to dwell on this one, perfect moment, allowing herself to wish for what she now knew to be the impossible.
Mentally, she shook her head. Her future had already been decided, decided the moment they had chosen to fight Naraku. For the greater good, sacrifices had to be made. Naraku had to be defeated, even if the sacrifice needed to accomplish it was her.
Again, she opened her eyes, gazing on the face of a sleeping hanyou. Her thoughts returned to the intimate moments they had shared just hours ago, returning to the moment she had declared her love to him.
And to the moment he had reciprocated, the moment that had left her shocked and overjoyed beyond all expectation.
But the problem still remained.
How will I tell him? How can I tell him that I want to be with him forever; that I want to love him, and him to love me until the day we die… but that it cannot be so?
The very thought was enough to push her to the brink of tears, but her resolve held firm. No. There must be something that can be done. There has to be.
She paused.
I need a shower.
Gingerly, she started to lift his arm, trying to get up while moving as little as possible so as not to wake him, but her efforts had the opposite effect, rousing him just enough for him to murmur slightly and tighten his grip into a firmer hug, before falling back into sound sleep. Now unable to move, the girl sighed. Craning her head to look at the door and the lights beyond, she caught sight of her alarm clock on her desk - an exact replica of the one her hanyou had destroyed accidentally ages ago - it was already 7pm, which meant that her family was probably already back. For a fleeting moment, she hoped that Souta, Mama or jii-chan wouldn't decide to come in right then and check on her. She found herself suppressing a small smile, imagining how she could possibly explain the situation.
Not that she could do anything about it right now.
Laying her head back down on the pillow, she again found herself gazing at him, inhaling his scent, resisting the urge to lean forward and kiss him, and watching with amusement as his furry, silver-white ears twitched as he slept. Smiling slightly to herself again, she twisted gently, somehow managing to get one slim, well-toned arm free from his grasp. Then, acting on instinct that had served her well over the years, she reached up with the free hand to stroke his right ear, watching as the ear in question reacted, first by flattening out against his head, then by quivering ever so slightly at her touch.
So preoccupied was she with lavishing attention on his ear that she didn't notice his eyes opening, the shimmering amber of his irises glowing in the darkness of her room as his gaze focused upon her.
"You realise that if you keep on doing that just a little longer… we won't be done before morning"
Startled, the girl looked down at him. The hanyou had a silly smirk on his face as he propped himself up with one hand, his other arm still wrapped around her.
"…not that I'd complain, of course"
The unexpected cheerfulness of his demeanour was like a balm to the troubles that concerned her, and the smile that lit up her face at seeing him awake and obviously in good spirits was genuine beyond all measure.
Leaning forward, the hand that had been busying itself with his ear came down to lie on his chest as she brought her lips to his cheek in a light kiss. As they parted, she spoke softly.
"I'm glad you're feeling better"
His eyes met hers as he replied.
"What about you"
She smiled at him again, her hand reaching up to stroke the face she had just caressed with her lips.
"I couldn't be better… what happened today… was more than I'd ever hoped to be possible"
At that, Inuyasha blushed slightly, breaking eye contact as he looked away. She sighed. Guess some things take time to change. Pushing his arm aside, she got off from the bed, walking over to her wardrobe and fishing out a plain, cotton bathrobe that she quickly shrugged on. Turning around to face him, she watched as the hanyou sat up, looking back at her, the quilt covering him from waist down.
She finished tying the bathrobe around her waist before gesturing at her table, "There are some clothes for you over there… I don't think your stuff's dry just yet so that'll have to do for now"
"Why, Kagome"
The unexpectedness of his question struck the girl hard, and she froze, momentarily unable to answer. She looked away.
"Why… what"
The silver-haired hanyou frowned slightly. Silently, he stood up, casting aside the quilt and crossing the distance between them in quick purposeful strides. Reaching out, he drew her close to him, embracing her in his arms again. Resting her head on his shoulder, he asked again.
"Why did you do it, Kagome? What… what made you decide to… to offer… um"
Inuyasha trailed off, clearly not too comfortable with what he had to say, yet unable to not ask. The girl paused, closing her eyes as she buried her face deep into his shoulder, asking herself the very question her hanyou had just given voice to.
Because… because there's no more time.
Looking up at him, she willed herself to smile.
"Because it was time, Inuyasha"
The hanyou blinked, his eyes again narrowing into a frown that hinted of concern and worry. He opened his mouth, as though about to ask something else, but caught himself at the last moment. He returned the smile.
She turned away, "I'm going to take a shower now. We can go down for dinner after that"
The smile turned into a grin, "A shower… huh? That sounds like it can be… fun"
Kagome stared incredulously at the one holding her, his intent obvious from the way he gazed at her. She shook her head, the smile still plastered on her face.
"Inuyasha… you can't be serious. Do you know how exhausting today has been for me? After… after that, and all the running around I did today"
She gave him a mock-evil glare, "Some of us don't have the stamina of a hanyou, y'know." The grin on his face refused to subside, "That's… a pity now, isn't it"
The girl froze.
"I… I really need to go take a shower now, Inuyasha"
For one, long moment, the hanyou stared at her. Then, moving his hands up to rest on her shoulders, he leaned forward, his lips touching her forehead.
"Okay"