Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha, but I do own a bunch of poems that I've written, so, I hope you enjoy this one shot. Italicswhat is going on around Inu-yasha PlainInu-yasha's thoughts
I Do Care
Inu-yasha is sitting in the Goshinboku tree, like always. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara have gone to Sango's village in order to repair her Hirakotsu and Shippo is with Kaede. Kagome is taking a bath and obviously doesn't realize that someone is watching her. This is a short one shot about what is going through Inu-yasha's head as he watches Kagome.
I watch her. I can do nothing less. I want her as my mate, but I know that I can never tell her. I long ago gave up on Kikyo and would not go near her if not for my promise to protect her. I am torn between two people, two reincarnations of the same soul, two completely different women. One I loved a long time ago, and the other is the one I love now. I thought that I had finally found peace and happiness with Kikyo, but I was wrong. It isn't hard to admit that I was wrong in my own head, but I would never tell anyone the truth about that. I might not have found what I was looking for before, but I have definitely found it now, in Kagome, my love, my chosen mate. Peace, happiness, and acceptance. I hoped to find the first two, but I never thought that I would find the last one, in anyone really.
I keep watch over her while she bathes, even though she doesn't know it. I can't help but want to mate. She is so beautiful, so pure, so innocent, and so provoking without even meaning to be. She has become a part of me and if anything happened to her it would...I would never forgive myself. I truly don't deserve her, even if I do have her. She is always so caring, so kind, so forgiving. Even after that mutt Kouga kidnapped her, she still helped him and wouldn't let me kill him. I know that it's a bad idea to kill him, and me attacking him is more for show now, but I'll never admit that to Kagome.
He looks softly at Kagome while she has her fun in the water and then starts to get out. I am getting soft; at one time I would never let myself be toppled by a bitch. I say that fondly now, not like it was in the beginning. It used to be my favorite way to insult Kagome with, but now...She really is my bitch, my chosen mate; I just wish that I knew how to tell her. I can't stand it when that mutt Kouga tries to take her from me. I can't stand it when anyone, sometimes even my pack or her family, touches her. It makes me..."Arg!" He shakes his head in order to get away from that train of thought and looks to see what Kagome is doing. She has changed and is heading back towards the village. Inu-yasha sees this, knows that she is safe, and goes back to his musings.
I am glad that she is safe. I love her too much for her to be hurt. I'm going to have to make her leave when the Jewel is complete, that way I can seal the well, maybe we could meet again in a different incarnation, a different time, but not now. It would only hurt both of us to let her stay here. She once promised that I could use it when it is complete. If she keeps that promise, then I guess that I'll use it to seal the well with her on the other side and make it so that all of my pack will meet again someday.
I remember at one time that becoming a full-fledged youkai was all that I could think about, but now...Well, Kagome and my pack come first. I don't matter, but the people I care about are worth more then anything else in the world. I know that I, on purpose, continuously show exactly the opposite of what is true, because I really do care about my pack, but acting the way I do is the only way I can protect myself in this. I know just about nothing about showing that I care, or even wanting to show people that I care, but for now, I hope that they can see my concern and regard, even if I just about never show it.
Inu-yasha is so caught up in his own introspective thoughts that he doesn't even hear Kagome walk up to the tree. "Inu-yasha, I want to tell you something. Can you please jump down out of the tree?" Inu-yasha puts on his show, rolls his eyes "Feh"s and jumps reluctantly down from the tree. "What is it wench?" "Inu-yasha, I just wanted to tell you, that even though I haven't said it before, I love you." Kagome throws her arms around a very surprised hanyou's neck and hugs him. She had been pondering over whether or not to tell him all during her bath and finally decided that it would be the best thing to do.
She loves me? I don't understand. She can't love me...I...I don't know what to do...How? "Inu-yasha, I love you. I know that I've never told you before, but I didn't know how. I don't care what you do once the Shikon no Tama is complete. As long as you allow me to stay by your side, I'll be happy." He hesitantly wraps his arms around Kagome's waist, and then gains a bit of confidence when she doesn't abject and pulls her tightly against him. "I love you too Kagome. I just didn't know how to tell you, or even if you felt the same about me. I love you Kagome and I want you as my mate." "Inu-yasha, you don't even need to ask about that, I love you." He doesn't realize it at first, but the prayer beads, the prayer beads that had sat around his neck since the very beginning, fall to the ground and get lost in the grass, never to be used again.