A/N I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 15

Yash was getting worried. He hadn't heard her moving in a while, but he didn't want to barge in. He knew she was mad at him. Dammit, if she would give him a chance to explain and try Sesh's ideas to correct this then maybe they would be okay, but now she was clearly avoiding him. It had been almost 2 hours since she had gone to take a nap, and he had heard her moving, assuming she was tossing and turning, but now it was quiet. Too quiet.

When it hit the 2 hour mark, he got up and listened at the door. He could hear the breeze blowing through the sliding door, but no other sounds were prevalent. He cracked the door open and saw a lump under the sheet, but that was all he could make out. Apparently, she really had been tossing and turning the blankets were a mess. He took a deep sniff and his heart dropped. Her scent wasn't fresh. It was fading as the wind blew in the room. He stepped inside and realized she had shoved one of the pillows and the blanket under the sheet to look like she was still in bed. His demon began growling and he could barely hold it back.

He had let her go; the world was dangerous and there was someone who wanted to hurt her, and he had failed to keep her safe. She hadn't trusted him to keep her safe, apparently. She felt she would be better without him, which might have been true, since he had already betrayed her twice. She needed someone who was worthy of her, and he could never be. Hanyou were a lot more common now than they were when he was young, but they were still looked down upon. They were still worthless. Even if his brother was trying to change that, it would never be the truth. But he still couldn't leave her out there alone. His demon was growling loudly in his head.

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to his brother, "Kagome's missing. I have to go find her."

Within seconds he received a message back, "She is currently with me. We are working on creating a cloaking spell for her. I will attempt to convince her to return to speak to you when she is finished."

He let out a loud sigh and flopped onto the couch. She was still safe; she was still within the compound. He hadn't fucked up everything, yet. His head was in his hands and he was growling loudly before he could manage to regain his self control. He pulled out the pen that was actually tessaiga and felt his demonic traits abate. She needed him to be better and do better. He wasn't worthy of her, but if he improved, could he be?

Kagome was speaking to a sorceress named Tsukimi. Tsukimi was circling Kagome as if she were a buzzard and Kagome was her next meal, but she said she was feeling her energies and trying to figure out the best way to harness her own power to create the cloaking spell. It apparently made the spell stronger and helped it to last longer. Kagome just wanted it to be over so she could leave. She wanted to trust these people; they had been nothing but considerate, with the exception of a certain silver-haired man, whom she was finding herself drawn to. He had made a few careless mistakes, and she was still rather irate about the whole thing.

Sesshomaru had at least explained that when Inuyasha started to lose control of his demon almost 500 years ago, he had learned the hard way that Sesshomaru could not help him without all the facts. In that regard, it had become natural for Inuyasha to tell him everything. He also warned her it was unkind to believe he did it to betray her on purpose. His entire goal since he saved her from the attacker on the subway the previous day was to protect her.

It only slightly calmed her anger. She was still pissed. It was unfair of him to tell her secrets. Which Sesshomaru said he understood, but she had been given a chance to tell him when she first met him. When she didn't, Yash must have assumed it was necessary to do so. Which would have made sense if he hadn't looked so guilty, like blabbing had been an accident at best. He barely noticed he had said something wrong until he heard her gasp.

After what had to be at least an hour, the sorceress clapped her hands in front of herself.

"Dear, that is going to be tough to beat. Your powers might as well be an atomic blast. I could power more cloaking spells from only 1% of your power than I could with almost anyone else I've met."

Kagome felt her gaze drop, she was bound to be a liability now. She heard Sesshomaru give the tiniest breath in, like he was shocked to see the kind of power she had. This might have been a mistake. She had given away more information and was more indebted to them than before. They could easily make demands of her, and she should be compelled to do what she could.

Sesshomaru stood from the fancy wingback chair he had been sitting comfortably in with one knee propped up over his other and a smartphone in his hand while he did whatever he needed to while the Sorceress worked.

"Thank you, Miss Tsubaki. I appreciate your help."

She followed Sesshomaru out. She needed to cut to the chase, "So, how do you want me to repay you? I have a feeling that what she just said is kind of getting your wheels turning. Any ideas, yet?"

He glanced over from the corner of his eye, "For right now, I have one request. It will not absolve all that you owe me, but it will be a start. If you are unwilling, then I will think of something else."

She huffed out her frustration. Of course it would not absolve all of her debt. This was going to be a long negotiation.

"What is it?"

"I would like you to give this one's brother a chance to speak to you before you attempt to run away again. He would be more than happy to accompany you on your trip to find the witch, and that may also become a part of the repayment if we can convince this witch to speak to him or myself. Though that will be discussed later. Will you speak to Inuyasha?"

Her mind froze, "You want me to speak to Yash? Why does it seem you are the only person who calls him Inuyasha?"

He glanced back at her again, "This one was introduced to him by our father nearly 600 years ago by that name. He has had to change it to fit in more, but he will always be Inuyasha to this one. If you would prefer for this one to refer to him by his pseudonym while speaking to you, I will do that. However, I had assumed you were one of the few who had been told his true name."

She shook her head, "No. I was introduced to him as Yash, and that's all I've known him as. He never told me it was a pseudonym. But I guess I didn't tell him that I had changed my name either. It doesn't matter, anyway. Yeah, I guess if that will start to absolve my debt, I will go speak to him before I leave. I will not promise to let him accompany me. I can't guarantee he would even want that, anyway."

She followed Sesshomaru back to the small guest house and Yash was at her side the second she walked in the door.

"You idiot, why the fuck did you try to sneak out?"

She sighed and glanced at Sesshomaru, who was still standing there and staring at her. "This one has told you the first thing you can do, and you have done part of it. We will discuss the rest after you two are finished. Inuyasha knows how to contact me when you are done."

He turned and left as silently as a shadow, and it left her feeling a little unnerved.

"Kagome… I'm sorry. I know I have fucked up a lot, but don't try to sneak away again. I can't protect you if I'm not with you."

She felt her power building and couldn't hold back her anger again, "Who asked you to protect me? Now listen, I'm sorry I am. And I am very grateful that you stepped in on the subway, but you keep making decisions that involve me without discussing it with me! I have no idea where I am, I have no say so in if I am allowed to leave. I was TOLD by you that I wasn't allowed to go to work! I have lived for over 2000 years and no one can tell me what to do! Do you have any idea who I am? I am the daughter of a God! You will not tell me what I can or cannot do! You will not order me around like I am some meek human to follow orders blindly! You have taken far too much from me to be trusted! I will leave whenever I want!"

Rain was pouring outside by the time she finished her tirade, and Inuyasha looked like a puppy that had been kicked. Well, that wasn't her original plan, but his 'protection' spiel had been too much for her to take. She glanced to the roof and closed her eyes, stopping the downpour again. At least she hadn't brought another hurricane.

She watched as his eyes stared at the ground guiltily. She knew she had hurt his feelings. She had been more than a bit harsh, but he needed to realize she wasn't some weak mortal he was dealing with. She would outlive him by several millennia, unless her father and his siblings found out she existed. That could be the final nail in her coffin, and if she didn't get her emotions under control, it was more likely than not at this rate. She kept calling storms and hurricanes; it was going to get her noticed.

Inuyasha heard them coming and was at her side before the door was closed. Then like an asshole his condescension decided to make itself known, "You idiot, why the fuck did you try to sneak out?"

She sighed and glanced at Sesshomaru who broke up the brewing argument, "This one has told you the first thing you can do, and you have done part of it. We will discuss the rest after you two are finished. Inuyasha knows how to contact me when you are done."

He had to get her to talk; he had to start with an apology. It was the best way to clear the air, right?

"Kagome… I'm sorry. I know I have fucked up a lot, but don't try to sneak away again. I can't protect you if I'm not with you."

Okay, that was a terrible apology. It started out promising, but his protective instincts kicked in again. And, apparently, it didn't do wonders for her either if the spark of anger in her eyes was anything to go by. Her voice was low and calm, but full of deadly intent.

"Who asked you to protect me? Now listen, I'm sorry, I am. And I am very grateful that you stepped in on the subway, but you keep making decisions that involve me without discussing it with me! I have no idea where I am, I have no say so in if I am allowed to leave. I was TOLD by you that I wasn't allowed to go to work! I have lived for over 2000 years and no one can tell me what to do! Do you have any idea who I am? I am the daughter of a God! You will not tell me what I can or cannot do! You will not order me around like I am some meek human to follow orders blindly! You have taken far too much from me to be trusted! I will leave whenever I want!"

He was completely taken aback. He had taken over everything since things happened. He didn't bother to give her the ability to make decisions and had just assumed control. He hadn't cared about her wishes or desires, anymore than he cared about the fact that she could probably kill him faster than he could fight back. Not that he would. But it was still unfair. No wonder she was furious with him. How would he feel if the situation was reversed? How would he feel if someone he barely knew was taking all of his decisions away?

Plus, he knew she was meant to be his mate, but she didn't. That was a youkai thing, not a Gorgon thing. She probably didn't even know those instincts existed. He had been so quick to jump in and save the day; he hadn't even thought about asking if she wanted him to. He had been an utter fool. This was probably beyond saving at this point. And she would likely want to be as far away from him as possible.

His chin was against his chest as he tried to suck air into his lungs. What was he going to do? He glanced up to see her staring at the ceiling, and he heard the pouring rain stop. When did it start raining? Oh, of course. When he pissed off the daughter of Poseidon. Of course he did. Of course he would do that, wouldn't he?

His ears were tucked in against his head. He felt like the biggest asshole of the century and that was pretty terrible considering the assholes he had met in the last hundred years. Her soft voice pulled him out, though.

"Look, I understand that you are trying to help me. But you have to realize that I have been taking care of myself for a very long time. With very few exceptions, if I need help I will ask for it. Now, Sesshomaru told me, I needed to let you talk to me. I am already in debt up to my snakes' eyeballs and if this will help to absolve some of that then so be it. What did you want to tell me?"

He both wanted to kiss that stoic asshole and hit him. He hadn't expected this to be the next step. She was just so pissed off that a storm had appeared over the house, and now she wanted him to just talk about his feelings? But then, knowing Sesh, he hadn't told her what they were going to talk about. Likely just that he had things to talk to her about. This was going to be a long conversation.