Author notes: This chapter was written a couple of days after someone I loved died. That's why you may notice that I'm still kind of depressed in this chapter. And poor Inu has to deal with my emotions ^^U but everything will work for good, I promise =3 thanks to all of you for your reviews, alerts and reads ^^

Disclaimer: Besides the plot line, I don't own anything. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Yomiuri TV Corporation. I'm not getting any profit from this story; this was just made for fun.

Warning: Maybe there is bad language? I'm not so sure what you consider bad language... ^^U

Thanks to: Thanks to my beta reader, PandaStarz, for her wonderful work on this chapter.

Slavery.

Author: MikoAucarod

Chapter 9: Dealing with the news.

"What?"

"I trust you, Inuyasha, I know that you would never do anything to hurt me. And if you did, it doesn't matter. The life I have at this moment is almost perfect. I'm- I'm fine living like this…"

Kikyo opened his eyes. Were Inuyasha and Kagome talking? Didn't they know the phrase "Night is for sleeping" or "let me sleep and don't make me have to listen to people endlessly talking near my bed"? She could see their shadows on the wall in front of her; they were both standing in front of each other, and very close. She smiled slightly. Finally, things were as they were supposed to be!

"Even if I'm a murderer?" she heard Inuyasha ask. Ok, that wasn't the kind of confession she had been hoping to hear from him but, well, it was Inuyasha, you never knew what was going on in his mind. Yet, when she noticed Kagome tensing she knew that this late-night-chat wasn't any kind of love confession.

"Were you the one who hurt him or who attempted to do him harm?" Whose death? Inuyasha had killed somebody? Was that why he had left home all this time?

Kikyo observed how Inuyasha's shadow shook his head. He was suffering, you could tell that from miles away.

"I ended his life… but only because he was a Slave he was still there… I just-"

"You removed his shackle," Kagome whispered so low that Kikyo could barely understand what she was saying. So, Inuyasha had 'killed' a Slave… then her theory of removing their shackles definitely couldn't be used to release them… "You didn't kill him. You only released him from his agony…"

"It's still something bad. I snatched his life away from him. I snatched him from his family…"

"Did you know it at the moment? Did you know that would happen?"

Kikyo noted with displeasure how Kagome seemed to be tensing each time a little more. Who the hell were they talking about?

"No… Your father asked me to save him, to end the pain. And that's what I did- I didn't know that it would cause you pain for more than two years."

She heard Kagome gasp sharply, as if she was surprised. And Kikyo herself was. Inuyasha had killed Kagome's father.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha sounded worried, what if her cousin had a nervous breakdown – or something worse? And yet, Kikyo wasn't able to move from her position.

"Give him back." Kagome's voice trembled with anger. "I order you to give me back my father!" Despite the tone of voice, she barely spoke above a whisper. But she was angry and out of control.

"I can't revive the dead, Kagome… I'm not some kind of magician; I just follow orders."

"Then I order you to die."

Kikyo reacted and sat up on her bed, watching them both. The view in front of her was just… it was… damn, she couldn't describe it!

Kagome was standing with her back towards her, her arms at her sides and her hands tightly clenched. Inuyasha kept looking the floor between him and Kagome and his eyes looked remorseful and devastated… What the hell had happened to him? He didn't even dare to look in Kagome's eyes!

She observed the scene in front of her sadly. And she had thought just 20 seconds ago that this meeting was for a reason completely different!

"I can't do that either… the shackle keeps me from dying." Despite his look, his voice was full of anger and sadness contained. And Kikyo could understand him; Kagome had just ordered him to die.

"Do it."

"You don't mean it, you're angry." Inuyasha tried to reason, even if though at the bottom of his heart he felt devastated.

Kagome finally dropped to her knees, but Kikyo didn't hear any crying coming from her. She just seemed tired. Or she hadn't reacted yet to the news.

"Could you leave us alone?" whispered the girl, looking towards Kikyo. She had been detected by her, but not by Inuyasha who looked surprised to see her awake. Was he that bad? Had the order that he couldn't accomplish affected him so much?

Kikyo stood up and walked towards the couple, slowly. Then she put her hand over her cousin's shoulder and squeezed her softly.

"Are you sure you want me go to?"

"I don't know…" was Kagome's answer. At that moment her tears began to flow.

Immediately, Kikyo hugged her close, trying to comfort her.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, tightly. He hated to see her cry! And he felt like filthy scum, because he was the cause of her suffering!

"I think… that it would be best if you just go for a while, Inuyasha," Kikyo stated firmly, watching him, who stared back. He felt the stone began to hurt him slightly for not obey the order. But Kikyo had canceled her orders towards him, hasn't she?

"Inuyasha… I order you to never again obey any order coming from me after this command. Unless you want to do it, you need to do it, or if it's an order that will help yourself."

In other words, or he really wanted to leave or it was for the best… He felt miserable, completely miserable. He knew it, that's why he had avoided treating others, even Kaede or the guys. He always ended up hurting those who he loved!

Inuyasha turned around and walked towards the balcony, ready to go to the forest again. He would live alone, he could do that… it was devastating but he could do it.

But that wouldn't be a life anymore.

And then he heard her.

"Don't go! I'm sorry!" gasped Kagome, between sobs, looking almost pleading. Inuyasha looked at her, surprised and with a deep, profound relief in his heart. Kagome didn't hate him. "I didn't mean it- I… I don't know what I was thinking. I- I just… you- you won't hurt yourself, right?" She continued sobbing at the same time she stood up, being helped by Kikyo. "Don't listen that order, I don't want you to die- I…"

Seeing the worried sick look in her eyes, Inuyasha shook his head, slightly.

"Do you remember the first order you gave me, when you resurrected me?" He didn't wait up for a response and continued, "I cannot commit suicide. You ordered me to not commit any stupid thing against me. I just- I'll leave for all the time you need to assimilate what has happened. I know this… this is something really hard for you."

"Then don't go." Was the final order from Kagome, who freed from Kikyo's embrace and got near Inuyasha. Then she hugged him and hid her face in his chest, while silent tears continued to fall. "I need to know… what happened. Besides, I don't want to lose anyone else that's important to me."

That was enough for the half-demon, who embraced the girl. He had missed her so much!

Kikyo just smiled from her place. This wasn't anything related to a love confession but it was definitely something important in their relationship. They still needed to talk about that someday… but right now wasn't the time. Someday.

"I understand…" Lady Kaede was sitting behind her desk, while chatting with Kikyo and Sango. Kikyo had spoken with Sango and both of them had decided to tell everything to Kaede. "Yeah… I remember that a couple of years ago Ill- Iyun…" The old lady huffed and smiled, without being able to say his name. "I'm sorry. I remember that a couple of years ago, Israel and the guys went with me to do some shopping and while we were returning home he and Kouga were discussing or something like that. I don't really remember, but he was walking behind all of us, really angry. They used to argue a lot so I didn't pay attention. Israel is the kind of guy who the more you argue, the worst the discussion is and the fight just keeps continuing. So you can imagine how were those days when Kouga or Miroku decided to bother him-"

"Yes, I understand, Lady Kaede, but please keep on topic."

"Oh, sorry Kikyo," the old lady smiled a bit, "well, where was I...? Oh yeah,Israel. That time he deviated from the way we used to take, I didn't realize it until we were home. A couple of hours later he came back without the shopping bags that he was originally carrying and clearly disturbed. He didn't talk to anybody for two or three days after that.

"Do you think that it could be that time when he kil- killed Kag's father?" asked Sango, her voice trembling. Things just seemed so unfair for both of them. Kagome had lost a loved one and the one responsible was someone who she also loved and didn't want to lose. How was she supposed to react to that?

"Yes, for what you're telling me, I'm pretty sure that it was then when that happened. I remember that after that day he turned even more coarse and rude, even more than before… He has been through so much."

Both girls looked through the window of the room towards the terrace, where they could see their friends eating their lunch and chatting happily… but Kagome wasn't with them and Inuyasha was sitting and eating alone in a corner of the building.

"Things… aren't going well." Kikyo sighed, irritated. She looked towards the other building in front of them. Through the window they could see Kagome sitting and apparently studying in one of the classrooms. "And all she does is avoid the real world…"

"A lot of people do that to not suffer anymore. It's fine as long as they don't get closed inside themselves for good. Sometimes someone just needs to escape," spoke Kaede, looking at the girl, just as Kikyo was doing.

"But it isn't fair…" whispered Sango, depressed… Kagome and Inuyasha didn't deserve to suffer. Not now. Not anymore.

"Inuyasha, do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Whatever I say you'll still do it, right Miroku?" asked the hanyou, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. The monk only smiled and placed himself beside his friend.

"So… you finally discovered his identity – Sango told me. You should be grateful to see that despite all that, Miss Kagome really cares about you and doesn't want you to stay away from her."

"And yet these last days she has been avoiding me. Even if she told me to stay, we have barely spoken to each other. She spends her time inside her classroom, supposedly studying and today she didn't even come to take her lunch with m- us," the hanyou corrected himself, blushing slightly. "What am I supposed to do, Miroku? I hurt her. I damaged her in the cruelest way possible…"

Miroku looked at the sky, unable to say anything. There was nothing that he could say, really.

"She told me that she wanted me to tell her the whole truth, but not yet. She said that when the moment to talk comes, she would tell me but… if she asks me for the whole truth, if she asks me to be completely sincere with her…"

"You will tell her that you love her" finished Miroku, raising an eyebrow at him. Inuyasha stared at him clearly shocked and surprised. Was he that obvious? What the hell had that girl done to him? "Oh! It's that true, then? I thought that Sango was just delirious!" exclaimed the monk when he saw his friend's surprised expression.

It took a few seconds for Inuyasha to realize that he himself had made Miroku realize his feelings toward the girl.

"Damn it, Miroku!" he yelled, annoyed, before turning his head and looking towards the courts of the school. He didn't notice the smirk that appeared on his friend's face who had acted like that on purpose to snap him out of that 'depressed trance' he had been in.

'What has Kagome done to me?'

"I finished!" exclaimed the girl, entering her room and dropping over one of the beds, throwing away her backpack and taking off her shoes. If Shippou weren't in the room she would have gladly taken off her school uniform too.

"Have your exams already finished, Kagome?" asked the little kid, smiling softly.

"Yes! And from now on I have two delicious weeks to rest!" she exclaimed, with joy.

"It's good to see you smile again," Kikyo spoke, entering the room closely followed by Inuyasha. She also threw away her backpack and sat on the other bed in the room.

The hanyou stood in the doorframe, without knowing what to do.

"What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine," Spoke Kagome, smiling.

With a fake smile.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said, approaching the girl. Even when she didn't move away from him and when he spoke she had turned her eyes towards him, and kept her smile, he could notice that she was tense when she noticed that he was there.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Fake. That smile was false. That look was false. That sweet and nice voice tone was false… everything she showed him was false!

Kikyo took Shippo in her arms and left the room. This time, both needed to talk. And to ensure that neither of them would escape, she locked the door of the room. From the balcony the only one who could escape was Inuyasha and obviously he was the one willing to talk. There was no problem now.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Kagome?" he asked, weakly. His ears were lowered almost flat against his skull. He, who couldn't like, knew how to recognize the falsity from miles away.

"I don't know what are you talking about, Inuyasha." But her smile faltered a bit.

"You asked me to not leave, apparently you accepted the facts without a big fuss and then you act like this." Inuyasha sighed with irritation and scratched the back of his head, feeling helpless. "I hate seeing you angry or crying because of me, but if you need to do it, you need to do it. It isn't good for you to drown yourself in your own suffering."

Kagome looked down as Inuyasha spoke.

"Neither was it fine to order you to die…"

"No, it wasn't. But it was your love for your father speaking, Kagome. It's natural that your subconscious seeks to protect him."

"I don't know what's happening to me…" Kagome finally looked into Inuyasha's eyes, a look between depressed and crying for help. "I mean… I should kick you out of here but I can't do it. You're someone important to me, Inuyasha but… you killed my father."

'That is a fact', Inuyasha thought to himself. Even he felt uncomfortable being in that house. He felt he didn't deserve it.

"And yet… I can't tell you anything. And then I feel that I'm humiliating – I can't find the right word… dishonoring? insulting? – My father's memory for letting you be near us. What would he say to me? I feel so guilty… I… I wish to know what he would tell me, I…" Kagome gradually broke up until she ended speaking in whispers and soft moaning, because of her crying.

Inuyasha walked over to her and hugged her. She didn't complain.

"I understand what you're saying. God, of course I understand it. But your father never blamed you. Not even for a moment think that he's mad at you. You didn't know anything. You were just looking for a way to help me… and despite all… look how I repaid you."

The girl didn't say anything, but she slowly raised her arms and hugged him back. Yes, he had taken his father's life but… she couldn't blame him!

"It's also true that I didn't know who he was. And he… he was so badly injured, Kagome… I still dream with that day. I've never stopped thinking how could I have helped him. If there had been another way… If only I had passed through that place earlier, perhaps…" Inuyasha trailed off at the memories. At those torturous memories. "And when I discovered he was your father… God, Kagome, you have no idea of how miserable I felt…"

She lifted her eyes.

"I didn't know that you had also suffered for his death," she spoke softly and then sighed deeply. "I guess that in some way or another… this is something that made us both miserable."

Finally she had calmed down. Inuyasha was relieved for a few seconds.

"You know… nevertheless I wouldn't change anything. Yeah, I miss my father so much but – and even if I feel like a damn girl for thinking like this, because I don't think it's okay to say that kind of thing – if to have him back I would have to loose you, Shippo and even Kikyo, if I had to return to my old home and not been able to see you again I would rather not… I would prefer that everything run its course as it is… I've already lost him. I couldn't bear to lose any of you.

Inuyasha was touched by her words. It was true, it sounded a bit cruel but what was done was done and, to be honest, he also couldn't live without Kagome. Good or bad… who could determine what was right and what was wrong? He wasn't a bad person. He knew it. Shippo had told him too. Even Kagome's mother had told him that he was a good boy, even after he told her the truth. All she had done was to smile sadly and thank him for had taken away the suffering from her husband.

"You think you could… tell me now what happened?" Asked Kagome, alter a few seconds in silence.

"Is that an order?" asked Inuyasha, softly. He needed to take out that story from his heart but he didn't want to hurt even more the girl in his arms.

"The truth doesn't kill, Inuyasha…" She repeated the phrase she had said a few nights ago. "I need to know it and you need to get free of that episode… besides, this will help us to get over it… because we'll do it together."

Inuyasha stared deeply into Kagome's eyes. 'Together.' He loved when she said that word. Even if it wasn't said with the meaning that he craved, it filled his heart with joy to know that at least she thought of him as someone important in her life.

"Are you sure?" He asked, one last time.

Kagome just nodded and sat down on the bed again.

Inuyasha took a seat beside her and started his tale: the story of that fateful day two years ago, where he had his first and last encounter with Kagome's father.

+ e `8 V her and started his tale: the story of that fateful day two years ago, where he had his first and last encounter with Kagome's father.