Chapter 2: Revelations & Disappointments

Light filtered in through the partially closed blinds, slowly beginning to illuminate the room. The beams hit Kagome in the face as the sun steadily rose higher in the sky. Rolling over to escape the pesky rays she collided with a soft body next to her. Blinking open her eyes she took the time to study the man next to her while he slept. Hojo was a good man. They'd met her sophomore year in their anatomy class, him premed and her nursing. She was struggling and he always seemed to have the right answers. She'd never know if he offered to tutor her because he actually felt bad for or because he was attracted to her, but she was grateful none the less. I'd taken him almost a month to gain the courage to ask her out and they'd been pretty much inseparable ever since.

Brushing his sandy bangs from his face, Kagome wondered what she'd done in another life to receive the affections of such a gentle and caring man. She loved Hojo with everything in her and the day he'd asked her to marry him had been the happiest day of her life but it was in moments like these, when the world was quiet and her thoughts couldn't be silenced, when she wondered if spending the rest of her life with Hojo was the right choice.

He was smart, funny, charming, everything any girl could want in a life partner, but deep down she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Her thoughts drifted to a time when she'd thought she knew who'd she be spending her life with, when she'd given her heart so freely to someone that she never thought there would ever be anyone else who could make her feel the way he did. Her relationship with Inuyasha had ended just as quickly as it had started and to be honest Kagome wasn't quite sure whose fault it was. Maybe a little of both? In the end she had been the one to call it quits and to this day her heart still ached when she thought about it.

They were practically glued to the hip in the months after graduation. Her dreams had finally come true. She was Inuyasha's girlfriend, he'd openly admitted to caring for her and nothing could of made her happier. Except he never told he loved her, they'd make love and he wouldn't hold her afterwards. He'd simply look up at the ceiling quietly brooding for hours. The worst of it all was the way he looked at her sometimes, with such soul crushing pity and sorrow, and she had started wondering if he was even looking at her at all. When they'd started dating the wounds Kikyou's suicide had left them with were still too fresh and the trauma of her miscarriage had been what brought them together. Towards the end of their freshman year Kagome decided that wasn't enough. They both needed more time to heal and maybe then they could try again, but Inuyasha dropped out and Hojo came along.

"If you keep starting at me like that I'm gonna start to think something's wrong." Hojo's voice brought her from her thoughts and she smiled at him.

"Well I have been feeling pretty under the weather lately Dr. Akiktoki. I just don't know what's wrong with me. I'm always so...hot." She sighed dramatically and began to fan herself. She peaked at her fiancee from beneath her lashes and smirked when she saw him lick his lips and his eyes begin to darken.

"Oh I think I know just what you need to fix that." He was on her in a second and they both thoroughly enjoyed the start to their morning...twice.

Kagome descended the stairs quickly, the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen reeling her in. She watched as Inuyasha dutifully flipped several pancakes while also frying multiple pieces of bacon. Before she even had time to announce her presence, said man turned toward her and gave her a small smile.

"Mornin', you want some breakfast?" She nodded eagerly and took a seat at the counter. Inuyasha served her first and then made a plate for himself. Sitting next to her the two ate in companionable silence, only sounds of their forks against their plates echoed throughout the kitchen. Being the monster eater that he was, Inuyasha was the first to finish. Soon after finishing her plate Kagome wondered over to the sink to being to help him with the dishes.

Kagome's mother called earlier that morning inviting her over for dinner, and demanding that she bring Inuyasha with her. The two had gotten close when Inuyasha lived with them in high school. She supposed it was nice for him to get some type of motherly figure back in his life. After agreeing the two once again slipped into silence, until Inuyasha spoke up moments later.

"Is Hojo still here?" The tone of his voice had Kagome looking up at him. To anyone who didn't know Inuyasha as well she did, it would have gone unnoticed but she knew better. His tone was resigned with a mix of irritation and anger thrown in.

"No he's gone. Is him coming over a problem?" Inuyasha had been kind enough to let her stay here and she didn't want to impose.

"Nope, just as long you two keep it down next time." He laughed at the hot blush that stained her cheeks. She had always been so easy to tease.

"S-sorry." She sputtered out. She was mortified and she knew he'd never let her live this down. Her embarrassment was quickly turning to anger as Inuyasha continued to laugh at her. She turned to him pouting and her arms folded under her breasts. Quickly Inuyasha patted her on the shoulder and apologized for laughing.

"It's not really your fault," he said turning to leave the kitchen, "you always were a screamer." Laughing once more he barely dodged the frying pan coming his way.

Kagome didn't speak to him again until they reached her childhood home. Her mother greeted them both warmly with hugs and cheek kisses. She expressed her grief at his brother's passing and told him how worried she'd been when Kagome informed her of his decision to leave school, scolding him lightly for not telling anyone where he'd gone. When he told her he left to join the military she praised him and he blushed.

Inuyasha had always looked to Ms. Higurashi as the mother he'd missed out on having while growing up, and though he'd never admit it to anyone her opinion of him mattered. She'd allowed him into her home, adding another to mouth feed onto her already full plate. But she never made him feel like a burden and he'd be forever grateful to her for the unbelievable amount of kindness and care she showed him.

Even as he became reacquainted with a now teenage Souta, he felt as though he'd never missed a beat with the Higurashi family. The only one missing was Grampa Higurashi. Kagome told him that he'd died a few years earlier, the Alzheimer's finally doing him in. He actually missed the old geezer (another thing he'd never admit to anyone). His mood immediately went south with there a knock on the door and he heard Souta greet Hojo. Didn't the guy have anything better to do than hang around Kagome all day?

He tried not to let his sour mood show on his face, but everyone knew him too well. He watched as Hojo helped Ms. Higurashi with the finishing touches for dinner and told a joke that made her laugh. During dinner Hojo had taken his usual spot next to Kagome, which put him in Gramp's old seat next to Souta. He inwardly fumed when the prick whispered something in Kagome's ear and made her blush as she jokingly hit him in the shoulder. Then after he had to watch the kiss ass offer to help Kagome's mom with dishes and play video games with Souta.

Inuyasha chose to believe he didn't know why Hojo's presence bothered him so much, but he knew. He was jealous. He felt replaced and cast aside whenever Hojo was around, especially when it came to Kagome. He hadn't wanted to believe that Kagome had really moved on from him. Hojo's title of 'fiancee' and the huge rock on Kagome's finger should of been the proverbial nail in the coffin, but it hadn't really hit home until he heard them going at it this morning. That thought alone made him blister with anger and the fact that he really didn't have a right to be angry, only made him angrier.

Inuyasha thought on his failed relationship with Kagome. They'd been so happy at first, but after the dust had settled on their whirlwind romance everything went to shit. Maybe they were star crossed lovers and their relationship was doomed from the beginning. They'd both been through a lot that year and he'd hoped that they could heal each other, but in the end that had only resulted in more pain for the both of them. Was it fair of him to lean on Kagome to repair the pieces of his tattered soul when he hadn't even tried to do the same in return? He'd always been greedy with Kagome's love, taking more than he gave, and in the end it had ruined them.

As Inuyasha drove them both home, he stole a glance at her as he stopped at a red light. She'd fallen asleep with her head leaning heavily in her hand. Her mouth was hanging slightly open and her breathing was light. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone look more peaceful in his life and not for the first time he wished he could be like that, but the pain and mistakes of his past still haunted him in more ways than one. The day that Kagome had dumped him he'd been planning on apologizing to her, telling her how much he cared about her and how if only she could find it in her heart to give him a second chance she wouldn't regret it.

But she had given up on him and ultimately he gave up on himself. He tried to lick his wounds, be a man and find the courage to get her back, but he talked himself out of it every time. Eventually he realized he wasn't worthy of her and he never would be. Kagome had broken it off with him because she'd finally wised up and realized it too. It was too much for him to take so he did the cowardly thing and took off. Maybe the reason Kagome's engagement hurt him so much because deep down he'd been hoping she would wait for him.

But she hadn't and now it was too late.

Still taking this story one chapter at a time, thank you to the people right there along with me.

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