Hello my lovelies ;3
Welcome to the ninth chapter of MPHB! I hope any and all of you reading have had an amazing day so far (and hopefully you're ready for some beautiful romance to blossom in front of your very eyes ;P). As always, please enjoy your reading session to the fullest, grab some snacks and drinks to hide in a comfy corner to begin today's quest.
Bon appetite (o 3 o)
WARNING: today's chapter contains some depictions of a depressive episode, so if that topic is touchy for any of you, I would suggest you skip most of what I've written this update.
!I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS USED IN THIS FIC!
Chapter 9: Rose Quartz in a Teacup
Vibes: Fragile – Tatsuro Yamashita
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-a couple days after the last chapter-
Coffee: Strongly brewed coffee was the smell that invaded Kagome's sense of smell early Saturday morning, rousing her from the worst night's sleep she'd had since college started. From what she could remember, her dream really hadn't been as much of a dream as it was emotional torture; Kagome had been floating in stark nothingness for a while, to be honest, it was terrifying. I mean who would want to float around in never ending darkness? Not Kagome, that's for sure. After a while, however, there was a burst of light, it wasn't blinding white though, it came through in waves of splotchy colour, painting the endless nothing into the beautiful universe that surrounds our solar system. The sight was breathtaking to say the very least, but that wasn't all there was to her dream; After those beautiful colours had ceased to paint the darkness, an unmistakeable voice chopped through the heavy silence that surrounded Kagome.
"Hello darling." The voice sounded just as smile filled and warm as she remembered. Kagome's head whipped around so fast she probably would've given herself whiplash had it not been a dream, "P- Papa…?" she let out a shaky breath. He looked just as handsome and bubbly as she remembered, too. His wavy black hair fell across his face in those signature curtains he'd always refuse to get rid of as he slowly made his way to where Kagome had been gaping at him. The man let out a soothing chuckle, the crows feet around his eyes wrinkling as he let a teary smile take over his face before speaking again, "You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you princess, I guess it was all the vegetables we ate in our competitions, huh?" her father's bottom lip quivered a bit as he cupped Kagome's face in his warm, calloused hands. "You've become such a lovely young woman." He sighed, in a fit of nostalgia. Kagome's throat started to contract painfully at the sight of her father, tears welled in her eyes as she weakly cupped one of the hands on her face with her own. " Papa, I've missed you so much." She admitted as the tears started to roll down her cheeks, voice breaking as she whispered.
"I know baby, I've missed you too. I've been watching you grow up; you've done a great job for Mama and Souta, I'm so proud of who you've become sunshine." He spoke solemnly, pressing a kiss to Kagome's forehead before letting her go and retreating. It looked like it pained him to do so, his face tight with sadness, "I'll always be there when you need me, my darling girl." And with that, he was gone. The beautiful colours that painted the sky started to retract as Kagome screamed, "Papa! Papa come back please! Don't leave me again…". By the end of her screaming, Kagome's voice had turned into nothing more than a whisper as she sobbed and sobbed into what had become the vast nothing once more.
Kagome woke up with tears running down her face, staining her pillowcases. But she didn't care, it was the least of her concerns right now. Nobody could come back from that type of dream within thirty minutes, this re-opened wound would take days for Kagome to feel even a little better. Fully recovering would take a while, re-living trauma wasn't the best thing for someone's mental stability. So, you could probably understand Kagome's reasoning for staying in bed all day, only leaving when she really needed the washroom and to grab a small snack on the way back down the hall. Sango had been worried; Kagome was usually a busybody so when she barely emerged from her room all day it was unnerving. But when she'd checked up on her best friend, Kagome told her she was just tired and needed to rest a bit before sending Sango out of her cave.
Sango thought that Kagome was just having a rough go and needed a day to do nothing, everyone needs those days every once and a while, so she decided to leave Kagome and she would be up and running around the next day. But Kagome wasn't bumbling about when Sango rose from her sleep the next day or the day after that or the day after that. Kagome hadn't attended her classes in a couple days and she only left her room to pee and shower when Sango brought it up. She had no energy or motivation to do anything more than that, it was like an energy sucking leech had latched itself to Kagome's back and she just couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried. It wasn't like Kagome wanted to sit, rotting away in her room, she just… couldn't find the will within herself to move. It was like the dream had paralyzed her.
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It'd been a few days since Inuyasha had seen Kagome, like, at all. She hadn't left the dorms to attend classes or watch nostalgic movies with him and he was going feral with worry. What if she's gotten sicker since the last time I saw her? Has she eaten? Is she alive? Okay, so maybe he was being irrational but the image of a sickly Kagome haunted the poor half-blood's consciousness. Being the ultimate problem solver that he is, Inuyasha decided to talk to Sango after classes; If anyone knew how Kagome was doing, it would be her best friend and roommate, right? But when he wandered his way back to the space in between his and Kagome's doors, throwing his backpack onto the floor of his entryway, there was no sign of movement from across the hall. That was… majorly concerning considering Kagome hadn't left the house at all over the past few days.
Knocking gently, Inuyasha pushed the door to Sango and Kagome's apartment open and called out, "Kagome? Sango~? Anybody home?" only to receive the soul-shattering sound of silence. He couldn't just stand in the entryway and wait like an idiot; He had a mystery to solve goddamnit! So, he made his way further into the comfily decorated residence.
The first thing Inuyasha noticed was the lack of lights turned on, there should've been at least one or two sets of pot lights buzzing considering the cloudy weather, which made the apartment darker than usual; But there was nothing, no soft buzzing in the background, no warm light to aid in the art of seeing. However, lights being turned off weren't the most concerning thing in that sullen apartment. The tidal wave of rot what hit Inuyasha's nose was what set off alarms screaming in his head. Inuyasha followed the heart-stopping stench past the common space and down the short hall to what he could only assume was his beloved Kagome's room.
This wasn't the first time Inuyasha had encountered this smell, at college, this smell was common to find in the classes of suffering med students and sleep-deprived art kids. But the fact that this smell almost certainly belonged to Kagome, sweet, charismatic, anxiety-riddled Kagome… it was… heartbreaking. Inuyasha had to take a deep breath, and mentally prepare before pushing the slightly agape door all the way open; Fore what he was about to see was quite possibly Kagome at her absolute worst.
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Kagome had been busy staring at the wall of her partially decorated room, blasting Whirr, Lana Del Ray, Mitski, Hozier, and other artists who specialized in making music for the way she felt in the moment; Completely helpless. Usually, Kagome would be running around, doing many things at once, but the dream she'd had was absolutely debilitating. Kagome felt the weight of the world on her back, pinning her to the bed, making all motivation she could muster to even just brush her teeth of hair dissipate with the snap of a finger. She smelled like sweat and the musk of spending three days in bed, only leaving the pillowy comfort when necessary; Her dark circles were a deep purple and her face was pale and sickly. Depressive episodes like this were no stranger to Kagome, she'd had them ever since her dad's death. But they were no less debilitating now as they were way back then. Kagome hadn't wanted anyone to know except for Sango and her family, she knew how people would react if she said that sometimes she couldn't even be bothered to brush her teeth whilst dealing with all of the past traumas and grand theories of life.
While she was caught up in reliving her decisions as a person, Kagome failed to notice Inuyasha calling out to her. By the time he made his way to her room, it was too late, Inuyasha figured out what was happening with Kagome. She couldn't hide what was going on in front of his very own eyes. As soon as he'd barged into her room, Kagome was sitting up, trying to pull her hair back to hide the days old grease that had accumulated on her scalp, a soft, weak smile making it's way to her lips. "Inuyasha! Ah, you should've told me you were stopping by, I would've cleaned up…" Kagome trailed off, avoiding Inuyasha's dejected gaze. "Kagome… Why wouldn't you tell me it gets this bad?" He asked, voice close to a whisper. Kagome couldn't answer him, the fact that he found out her ugly secret brought her to tears. She bit her lip and looked away, ashamed that he had to see this side of her. She couldn't control it, she so desperately wanted to, to shove this side of her into a tiny box and throw it into the ocean. But she had to face the reality of her situation. Inuyasha had found out and now he would leave her just like Hojo did.
Tears began to spill over her waterline, the thought of not being able to see Inuyasha anymore would push her over the edge. What Kagome didn't expect was the big, warm hand reaching out to cup her cheek and wipe the drizzle that had started to come from Kagome's stormy eyes. "I thought you were going to leave me; Everyone does once they find out." She sobbed into Inuyasha's palm as he pulled her closer to envelop her within the safety of his muscular frame. "I would never leave you over something like this Kagome, I'll be right here beside you no matter how hard you try to get rid of me, everything is gonna be okay, kay'?" This only made Kagome sob harder, the thought of someone finally staying made her feel more relief than she'd ever felt; Someone was going to stick around.
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As Inuyasha held Kagome's shaking form, he made a mental note to find everyone that had ever dared to hurt his lovely girl, rip out their esophagi, prepare a beautifully cooked stew with said organs, and then proceed to feed it to Kagome. But right now he had to focus on getting his amazing Kagome back to normal. She'd long since stopped crying, instead choosing to focus on cuddling the death out of him, as if to prove he was real and not some conjured up delusion that her mind had created to fight off her loneliness. Addressing the musty scent coming from the small woman, Inuyasha spoke softly, "Kagome, you need to have a bath dummy." to which Kagome nodded in agreement, a small chuckle muffled by Inuyasha's red tee.
Shifting Kagome into a comfortable position to carry her (think koala on a tree), Inuyasha stood up and made his way to the shared bathroom. He sat Kagome on the lid of the toilet as he ran over to his apartment to grab a pair of his sweats and his favourite hoodie, then stopped by Kagome's room to grab some underwear all while the bath was filling. Once he returned, he turned the faucet off and poured some lavender scented bubble bath into the basin; After that was all taken care of, he turned to Kagome, who hadn't moved a centimeter, and told her to bathe while he waited in the living room. To this Kagome grabbed his large hand and whispered hoarsely, "Please stay. I don't want to be alone.".
This was not a reaction Inuyasha was expecting, but he couldn't turn down a request from his lovely little lady whilst she was so broken down. So, being the gentleman he was, Inuyasha began to gingerly remove Kagome's clothes, she was too weak to wash herself right now so Inuyasha would have to help. Of course, it was humiliating to ask such a task from him, but he'd already vowed to stick by her and didn't plan on going back on his words in this lifetime or the next.
After Inuyasha removed the last of her well-worn clothing, he helped her settle into the tub as he picked up what he assumed to be Kagome's shampoo based off of the scent alone. As he lathered her hair, Kagome began to speak again, "I had a dream about my papa. When I was young, he was killed in an accident, I saw the whole thing. Usually the nightmares are just flashbacks, but the most recent one-" Kagome shivered, "He was talking to me, present me; Telling me how proud he was of who I'd become, what I've done for my family… It doesn't seem like much but hearing those words after growing up robbed of my dad's presence, seeing him as alive as I remember him being before the accident, only to have him ripped away from me again—It hurts so much more than reliving his death.". To this, Inuyasha couldn't think of anything to say, so he relived some of his own trauma to hopefully make Kagome seem not as alone as she'd originally thought. "When I was around seven or so, my mom got cancer. Demons can't get sick like that, same for their mates, but her and my dad hadn't mated because he already had one, my step-brother's mom. I had to watch her slowly wither away, unable to do anything. You're not alone in this Kagome, I'm here and I understand what you're going through. I went through it a long, long time ago.".
Inuyasha had finished rinsing the last of the soap suds off of Kagome's frail body. He drained the tub and helped Kagome out of the basin, wrapping her in a big, fluffy towel to dry off as he sorted through the clothing he brought. After she was completely dry, he helped Kagome into a new pair of panties, his oversized sweatpants, and his favourite hoodie. Trying to ignore how absolutely adorable she was proved to be a difficult task; Kagome was practically swimming in the fabric of his large clothes, a small smile making it's way to her puffy pink lips, he could tell she was feeling a little better already. Then he took Kagome's small hand, and led her to her room, instructing her to sit on her bed whilst he cleaned up and made some food for them to enjoy.
It only took the hanyou about twenty minutes to come back with a plate of fresh chicken and cheese quesadillas and his laptop, equipped with many DVDs from the late 90s to early 2000s. As he set up what would be their lovely movie dinner, Kagome tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve to gain his attention. When Inuyasha turned around, Kagome's lips met his in a gentle, yet passionate kiss. They melted into each other's hold as the kiss continued. By the time they pulled apart, both parties were out of breath, hearts beating erratically as they panted. "I uhm, I really like you and uh thank you for what you did today... Inuyasha." Kagome muttered. Inuyasha on the other hand was speechless, Kagome had just kissed him. PASSIONATELY. And said that…she… LIKED HIM?! OH. MY. GOD. Kagome is going to be the death of me I just know it, but what an honourable way to die that would be. Inuyasha internally swooned at her forwardness. "I like you too… Kagome.".
The rest of the night was filled with shitty quesadillas, cheesy children's movies, and the beginnings of a new love.
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Hello my loves, how are y'all? It's been a while, but I've decided to come back :D
I know that you're all probably very unimpressed with me and I don't expect to receive complete forgiveness for abandoning this fic. School coupled with my own laziness got in the way of my writing but I'll be trying to write in my free time again. I hope to please you readers in the future, but for now take chapter 9 as my own sort of peace offering.
Love,
p0go (a.k.a. scribblefrog)