Broken Hearts

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha or anything related to the anime.

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Well, no more delays, here it is.

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41- Playing with fire gets you burned

Kagome awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready to start the day off well. Her hand dropped from where it had been propped up on top of Inuyasha's pillow and fell to his side of the bed, which happened to be vacant. She sat bolt upright and saw he wasn't beside of her, where he had last been.

"Inuyasha?"

The aroma of eggs and bacon hit her full in the face and she realized he was down stairs, cooking breakfast for them. She smiled at the thought, and couldn't help but adore how affectionate and sweet he was.

She climbed off the bed slowly and stood at her window, gazing out into the dim sunlight. As she stood and observed the sky for a while, it seemed as if the clouds and the sun constantly fought for control over it. One minute the sun would shine, washing over everything with its golden rays, only to be squelched by the gray clouds once more.

Sighing, she headed down stairs and found Inuyasha in the kitchen just as she had predicted. He had food all over the table; four different plates buried by scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits. A glass full of milk sat beside of each one, next to the forks and spoons.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, a smile spreading across her face. "You must have been up early? Or maybe you had nothing to do while you waited for us?"

He dropped a frying pan into the dish washer and walked over to her, grinning. He wiped his long hair from his eyes "I wanted to treat you to something extra special. Since Sango and Miroku were staying, I decided to double it."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and peered up at him. "I'm impressed. Thanks." She paused and thought for a moment. "By the way, where are Sango and Miroku?"

"They're still sleeping." He answered as she dropped her arms from his shoulders.

"So late?" She inquired. "Why?"

"Didn't you hear them last night?" He wondered aloud, heading toward the table with a smirk.

Kagome felt herself blush lightly on their behalf. She knew what it felt like, but to hear that her best friends had done that in her mom's bed? It was utterly humiliating. "No…And I'm sure I didn't want to hear them."

He laughed and pulled a chair out for her to sit in. "You got that right. But it's no big deal." He pushed the chair up to the table when she had taken a seat in it and went to his own.

They ate slowly for a while, talking about how the weather was supposed to be for the next couple of days and how Christmas wasn't far off. They weren't sure of what they were going to do to celebrate, but they knew that they would be near one another on that special holiday.

Laughter coming from the staircase told the two that their friends had decided to get up, drawn to the kitchen by the wonderful scent of a decent breakfast. They practically tripped over one another to get into their seats and laughed so hard they had trouble taking their first bites.

"Someone's happy this morning," Kagome commented dryly, grinning across the table at Sango.

"I'll say," Inuyasha agreed, smirking at Miroku in this all-knowing way. Sango and Miroku only glanced at each other and erupted into fits of laughter once more.

"So," Kagome began, finishing her eggs and picking up a piece of sausage. "What was it like?" She joked, smiling.

"You should know." Was Sango's response.

Kagome felt her face flush and she gave a hasty, sheepish glance at Inuyasha and he smiled back. "Well…Yeah, never mind."

Sango laughed more and said, "Miroku and I have to go to his house to get more clothes…He forgot to bring extra."

Kagome giggled and nodded.

Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. "You sure that's why you're both going to his house?"
Sango shot him a, 'you better shut up,' look and she and Miroku left the table. The sound of the door closing told them that they had left the house. Kagome finished eating and rose to her feet, putting her dishes into the dishwasher. Inuyasha soon done the same and they were left standing in the middle of the kitchen with nothing to say or do.

"You all right?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

He walked up to her until his arms were around her and she was pressed against his chest. "Okay. I'm glad you are." He leaned down and their lips met. She slung her arms around his neck and he gently grabbed her hips, lifting her up slightly, bringing her closer to him and deepening the kiss. She tried to pull away, but he held on, toying with her. She giggled into his mouth and she lost her balance and fell backward, but he caught her and they froze into a dramatic dive.

"Wobbly?" He asked arrogantly, smirking like he always did, his skater boy hair falling down into his face.

"A little." She replied, running her fingers through his dark hair.

He leaned down and kissed her as if they were in a movie and he had just tipped her backwards in order to show off. When he pulled away, he lifted her back up to stand vertical and began cleaning up the rest of the dishes.

She smiled and turned to look out the window. Her smiled soon faded, however, and she struggled to get Inuyasha's attention. Her mouth had suddenly gone as dry as a desert and her blood had ran cold in her veins. "Inuyasha…"

"Yeah?" He turned from his work and looked at her back. His cheerful expression faded into one of concern. "What is it?"

"Look," she choked out, pointing to something in the distance.

Inuyasha complied with her command and saw a band of dark gray rising from a house nearby to the partially cloudy skies above. It was smoke. Thick, dark smock rising from a house nearby. He took a good look at the house.

It was Miroku's house.

"Shit," he cursed, jerking away from the window, Kagome hot on his heels. "We have to go check on them. Get your shoes on fast."

Kagome did as she was told and grabbed a small jacket from where it hung beside the door. She waited for Inuyasha to get to the door and when he did, he practically burst through the door and they raced down the sidewalk, down her driveway, and to the street. They ran for about five minutes before they reached his house, which was now obscured by orange flames and black smoke. Surprisingly, no one had seen it yet!

"Inuyasha…" Kagome had searched the yard to find it empty of any people. "Inuyasha, they're still inside!"

Inuyasha said a curse harshly under his breath and impetuously lunged forward toward the house.

Kagome gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Someone has to do something!" He cried over his shoulder. "They'll die in there!" He stopped a few feet away from the smoldering house, wincing from the extreme heat.

"You might die in there!" She pointed out with a shriek, tears stinging her eyes at the very thought.

"Go call 911!" He instructed. "Do whatever you can to get help!" He suddenly kicked down the blackening front door and disappeared inside.

Kagome screamed as a tear dripped down her cheek. "Inuyasha!" She placed her cold hand against her burning forehead. "Inuyasha, no!"

He didn't emerge and the flames soon engulfed the doorway, blocking his escape. She wanted to go running inside after him and lead him to safety. But she turned and ran toward a nearby house in order to use their phone to call 911, skidding to a stop with a gasp when she saw Naraku standing in her path.

Her breath hitched in her throat. "W-What are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here," he said cryptically. "I'm surprised you'd even waste your breath asking."

Kagome felt her heart drop to her ankles as she remembered his threat to kill everyone close to her if she told anyone. She had and he was making well on his promise; three of her friends were trapped inside a burning house with no possible escape routes, it seemed. She sank to her knees in the snow. "Why are you doing this?" She asked woefully, the tears streaming down her face.

He approached her and knelt down low enough so that he was eye level with her. He grasped her chin in his icy fingers and whispered, "You told me you wouldn't tell. But you did, so it's all your fault that they're in there dying as we speak. If you must blame anyone, blame yourself."

Kagome let out a whimper and squeezed her eyes shut tight. This wasn't happening. Her perfect Christmas break wasn't being ruined because Miroku's house was on fire and Miroku and Sango were still inside. Her heavenly morning wasn't being ruined due to the fact that Inuyasha was also inside, trying to lead them out to safety. None of this was happening because of a promise she hadn't kept. She told herself she would open her eyes and it would all be over. She'd be in her warm bed, snuggled against Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku in the room down the hall.

However, when she opened her eyes, she found the opposite. Everything was going horribly wrong and it was all cause by her negligence. And she was almost completely powerless to stop it. "I wish you would leave me alone." She whispered hoarsely.

He smirked. "I can't do that." He looked at a watch on his wrist and frowned. "I have to go and meet Kikyo for lunch. Have fun and let me know how it turns out." He then simply stood up and walked away as if there weren't a house beside him burning down.

Kagome took only a moment to compose herself before running to the neighbor's house. She called 911 and when she was sure they were on their way, she left and raced back to Miroku's house. She stood as close as she could get without getting scowled by the heat and stared into the fire. A few bystanders came, watching in awe, surrounding the house.

Finally, Kagome couldn't take it anymore and raced to the front entrance, peeking inside, squinting her eyes against the heat. "Inuyasha?" She yelled in order to be heard over the fire. "Inuyasha? Sango? Miroku?"

She remembered that there was a well nearby and she raced over to it, dripped out some water, and splashed it all over her, shivering as the freezing liquid chilled her to the bone. She then sped off toward the house and practically dived through the door, ignoring the shouts from the people witnessing her actions outside.

Once inside, she felt the heat immediately, but knew that she wouldn't be burned for a while thanks to the water. "Inuyasha?"

Loud coughing drew her toward the hallway leading to the kitchen and she found Sango, stumbling through the smoke and fire blindly. "Sango!"

The girl instantly became alert at the mention of her name and she soon found the source. "Kagome?" She wheezed.

"Where's Inuyasha and Miroku?"

"I don't know where Miroku is…We got separated. Inuyasha's here?"

"He came looking for you guys." Kagome coughed, despising the fact that the water wouldn't be able to help her against the smoke as well as it did the flames. Glass shattered somewhere and Kagome winced at the harsh noise it caused. "The door is this way." She turned and went back the way she came, tugging Sango's hand the whole way until they reached the door. Sango managed to get out, causing the spectators to erupt into cheers. Kagome told Sango to get away from the house.

Kagome went back inside, ducking low to try and keep some smoke out of her lungs, and continued to call out to Inuyasha. For a while, it seemed to be in vain for she would never get a response and couldn't find any trace of him. She felt the tears coming again. She thought she had lost him and Miroku forever. Miroku, one of her best friends. Inuyasha, the guy she loved dearly and who was possibly the father of her unborn child. The thought made her cry and collapse to the floor.

"Inuyasha!" She called out weakly. "Inuyasha…"

"Kagome?" She heard a voice rasp a little ways away from her. She turned and saw Inuyasha, helping Miroku walk, coming toward her. She nearly jumped for joy. What she did do, however, was jump to her feet and race over to him. He was dirty and looked a little sick. His hair was a knotty mess. Miroku, on the other hand, looked much worse. Something had fallen on his left leg and he struggled to walk.

"Did you find Sango?" Miroku asked.

Kagome nodded and took hold of Inuyasha's sleeve. "She's safe. Come this way." She led both of them the way she had led Sango and all three of them stumbled out into the dim sunlight, sucking in the fresh air and collapsing onto the ground.

"Miroku!" Sango raced up to him and embraced him tightly, kissing him on the cheek when she noticed his leg.

"Kagome, you…You…" Inuyasha wanted to call her an idiot and she knew it. What she had done was reckless and idiotic, but she had done it to save him. And had succeeded. He hugged her tightly.

"I thought you were going to die!" She sobbed into his chest. "Naraku was the one who done it and…He showed up after you went inside!"

Inuyasha tensed visibly but let it slide quickly. Kagome and the others needed to calm down, and he was going to help them the best he could. Naraku would have to wait.

Plus, the ambulance had just arrived.

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There you go. How was it?