Kagome ran.
Several villagers watched her haste, with at least three calling after her but she ignored them. The echo of her own voice became a taunting sneer in her ear.
Sit, boy.
Sit, boy.
She increased her stride with with each command, each memory. By the time she cleared the boundary of the village onto the road, every step sent fire through her lungs. Breathing came fast but still, she would not stop.
She tripped at least once and scrambled back up before her palms could even begin to bleed. It seemed like forever before she spied Miroku and Inuyasha making their way back towards the homes; rice, spices and cloth were stacked high on their shoulders, a symbol of a successful demon exorcism.
But Kagome only had eyes for her husband.
"Inuyasha!"
She ran for him, half tripping over her feet again and all but flung herself at him.
"Kagome! What the hell—"
"Lady Kagome, are—"
She didn't hear either of them. She just grasped those beads—those damned, accursed beads—and with every ounce of her physical and spiritual strength, she pulled.
The strand cracked like glass and they fell to the ground in piles, flickering like dying fireflies as they went, until they were simply burnt and aged beads.
Kagome slacked against her husband, resting her temple on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"
Miroku coughed and wisely withdrew. "I…see. Inuyasha, do you need—"
"I got this, Monk." Letting his rice fall to the ground, Inuyasha took hold of his wife by the shoulders. "Kagome, what the hell is it? What was that about?"
"Shoulda…done it…earlier." Wheezing, she shook her head. "How…"
"Here." Inuyasha thrust a leather skin full of water at her. "Drink then talk. You're gonna pass out."
Accepting the offering, Kagome drank. She'd not even realized how thirsty she was until it was quenching her throat. Cold and sweet, she must have drained it halfway before she handed it back.
Tucking it into his sleeve, Inuyasha looked her deep in the eyes. "Now, what the fuck was that?"
Tears running down her face so rapidly that it almost looked like they would burn into her cheeks, Kagome put her hands on his chest and neck, where the beads had once hung. "I'm a horrible wife."
"Eh??" Utter confusion met her eyes. "What the hell you talking about? You're a great wife. More than I ever thought—"
"I'm not!" She interrupted. "What kind of wife uses the beads like I did? I had no right to! I should have taken them off you years ago but I didn't!"
Inuyasha cocked his head and seemed to finally realize his neck was bare. Tracing his claws around the skin, tan lines were evident. "Kagome, what happened?"
Rubbing her eyes, she snorted away mucus and said, "Moroha was asking about it. After our fight last night. So I started answering her questions. And her questions made me think." She looked at him, eyes watery and wide. "I'm so sorry, Inuyasha. I had no right to use the necklace like I did. You stopped needing it way back when we first started journeying together. Or at least after we fought the seven. No, before that, even! Way before! I could have…should have…done something else. Anything else…"
"Kagome." Inuyasha was soft spoken, a rare feat for him. "Why did you decide to take them off?"
She broke. "Because you deserve better. I love you and our daughter's right. What kind of person restrains someone they love?" Curling her hands into fists on his haori, she cursed. "I promised you I wouldn't hurt you and I did!"
Inuyasha looked at her, reached out and stroked her hair. "Kagome, I hurt you too."
"But you never meant to! You and Kikyo…I know that was hard for you, trying to figure out where your heart was. But I hurt you because I was angry. And I didn't have a right."
Inuyasha cocked his head, shrugged. "Dunno how much of it was me figuring out who I loved. I knew the answer to that. Guess it was not wanting to…well, maybe I felt I owed her something. Ya know I can be kinda dense. But it stopped being love a long time ago. At least not the same kind." He looked at her. "Not like I feel for you."
"I betrayed you. The worst kind of pain. I promised I would never hurt you like everyone else did and look what I've done!!"
A kiss, soft but strong, pressed against her lips, pulling her breath away. Compassion and love flowed into her and she surrendered to it.
Inuyasha's claws caressed the tear rivers on her cheeks. "You've made dumbass mistakes. Just like I did. But you're different from everyone else, Kagome."
"I'm worse. Because I love you and I still hurt you—"
"You're the first person that ever said sorry."
That silenced her apologies. "What?"
"Everyone else…if they hurt me, that was just the way it was. I got used to it." He leaned in, rested his forehead on hers and drowned in her scent. "Not you."
"Not me." She repeated. "I…I got drunk on that power a little…a lot, I think." It shamed her to say it but it was the truth. "And instead of dealing with it, I just…made up reasons why it was okay."
"I know all about that, Kagome. The power., the urge, the anger. The weird ass thoughts that feel so good. My damn brain hates my guts." He smiled. "But you forgave me."
"Cause I love you. And you were trying. Still are."
"Well, then I forgive you. Cause I love you and you're trying." He rubbed his neck. "Ya took them off, didn't you?"
"Never should have left them on."
"Can't do nothin' about that." He kissed her forehead. "I forgive ya, Kagome." He whispered, close to her ear. "But thank you."
She wrapped him tight in her arms, squeezed him as tight as she dared. "I love you. So much it hurts and I'm so sorry I…"
"Done, Kagome. It's done." He shook his head. "Just…please stop crying. I hate it when you cry." He stroked her chin, "Staying stuck in the past doesn't help. Trust me. I know."
She laughed, light and airy. "Look at you, being all wise."
"Ya rub off on me."
OOO
When Moroha came home later, her parents were sitting around the fire, arranging food into bowls and plates.
And there was no necklace to be found.
Yet, despite the fact her advice had been heeded, she approached cautiously, unsure. After all, this was the closest thing to a fight she'd had with her mother. She didn't regret it but—
"It's okay, Moroha."
There was no anger in her mother's voice. If anything, she sounded relieved. Crossing the room, she hugged Moroha tight and after a moment, the girl returned it.
"I need to thank you actually." Kagome smiled and stroked her daughter's hair from her face.
Surprise stared back at her. "You…wanna thank me?"
With a kiss to the forehead, Kagome nodded. "I do. It's hard to tell someone they're wrong. Harder when it's family."
She gently cupped her daughter's cheeks. "But you were right."
Inuyasha gestured them over and Moroha took her seat between the two of them. She looked up at her father, gazed at the empty space around his neck. "So…it's gone."
"Gone." Inuyasha cracked his neck. "Good riddance to the damn thing."
Kagome nodded. "I'd gotten so used to it, so used to….I made bad choices with it. I was mean when I didn't need to be. Thank you, little fire, for showing me." She kissed Moroha's head again before passing her a bowl of stew.
Taking it, a sense of relief flooded through the girl's body. "Didn't wanna make you feel bad, Mama—"
"It's okay," Kagome smiled. "Sometimes, we need to hear things we don't want to hear. I needed to hear it though."
Inuyasha took a bite of stew. "So, where'd you run off to while your mom and I were sortin' this all out? Trackin' demons?"
"Went to see Towa and Setsuna." She answered. "We explored a little and I caught a rabbit for Towa. She still tenses up." She shook her head. "Loves to eat rabbit but hates what gets it to her mouth."
Kagome gave a knowing grin. "I can sympathize. She spent a lot of time in the modern era. There, if you want a rabbit, you just go to a store and it's all ready for you. Different feeling having to see the process yourself."
Moroha shrugged. "Guess. Seems stupid though. Does she think it just appears?" Taking a bite of stew, she said, "But Setsuna is always helping her. Maybe not at catching it but feeling better about it." Moroha burned red lightly. "It's cute."
"Well, that's what family does, isn't it?" Kagome smiled. "Help one another. Sometimes, it's easy. Sometimes it's not."
Moroha agreed to that sentiment with a smile of her own. "Guess so. Hanging out with them is fun. They're good cousins." She perked up and gave her mother a light peck to the cheek. "And you're a good wife, Mama. Least you fix it when something's wrong."
Tears in her eyes, Kagome squeezed her daughter tight until the girl squirmed to be released. "Thank you, Moroha."
They fell into silence for a bit, eating, then it fell to Inuyasha talking about the demon ge and Miroku exorcised, with Moroha declaring she wanted to come along next time. Inuyasha laughed and declared it to be a promise.
Kagome swallowed her last bite and sighed. "I really am lucky."
"Why you say that?" Inuyasha slurped a bit of the broth up.
"You two. The two girls. Rin, Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Sango. Their kids. How did I get such an amazing family?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her but he couldn't hide a smile.
"Oh, yeah, about that." Moroha swallowed. "After talkin' with Towa and Setsuna and wanted to ask…"
Kagome took a sip of sake. "Ask us what?" She tipped the glass down her throat with a smile as Inuyasha took another inhale of stew.
"Think…you could make me a sister?"
Kagome choked and Inuyasha gagged.
Rubbing her head, so like her father, Moroha laughed. "I mean…everyone else has one. I think it'd be fun!" Her eyes turned soft. "And I'd like to have someone I could look over too."
Inuyasha hit his chest a few times to recover his breathing and Kagome coughed.
"Uh, well, a baby could be fun." Kagome began.
Inuyasha eyed her. "Well, I ain't gonna reject tryin'."
Initially, Kagome's rage flared. Their daughter was sitting right there!
Inuyasha winced, almost from instinct.
The motion drove home the epiphany Kagome had received earlier. Maybe her husband could be crude but if he wasn't, was he her Inuyasha?
And Moroha was laughing. "Yes! Sister!"
She softened her face, leaned over and kissed her husband on the lips. "Or a brother."
They lingered there a moment before Inuyasha turned to Moroha. "If ya want a sibling, ya needa git!"
Squealing, Moroha darted from the hut and Kagome shook her head.
But she was more than happy to relent. Her fingers caressed his neck, dancing over the tan line of those beads. She pushed up and laid a kiss to each one in turn.
Inuyasha was more than happy to return it.
