Her Scent

Chapter 3

Summary: Whoever she is, that woman's scent alone drives me insane. I'm dying to see what she looks and feels like. I pounded my body harshly against the metal door, slowly breaking the frame. When I finally get to her, she's mine. Patients is a Virtue from Inuyasha's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha... blah blah blah.

Note: Because this is from Inuyasha's perspective, things are going to be a lot different with the certain parts of the story. Inuyasha's mind is much more graphic than Kagome's.

****Sorry for the false update, but looking through Patients is a Virtue, I realized I totally left out Inuyasha's point of view on the nightmare he had, so I just added that in here. I'm working on my new chapter now... I'm almost done with it. I should have it up in a couple days. :)****

For some reason, I was looking at Kagome in the lobby of the hospital... her pale face twisted into a dead look that just looked... disturbing. How could anyone look so empty? I was on my bed, my knees hugged up tightly to my chest... rocking... and doing just that.

Suddenly the scene changed. I was in the bathroom, blood all over my hands. I was surrounded by the wonderful scent of Kagome. I went to open the third stall and she crawled into the previous one. I went to grab her and she kicked at me then ran past me. I chased her to the end of the hall.

When she was in my grasp, I choked her and she managed to speak: "What do you want?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"Your flesh." I replied and raised my hand, my claws flexed as I charged my hand straight through her small body, her eyes widening in shock and pain, her body quivering in the weirdest way. Her eyes showed agony and fear. I finally pull my hand out of her chest and let her quivering form fall. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she made strange choking sounds, blood spilling out of her torso and mouth. She finally went still and her heartbeat died out.

My eyes shot open at about one in the morning, and I went to Kagome's room. I needed to see if she was safe. And I couldn't stop thinking about her cooking, and my growling stomach wouldn't shut the fuck up. I couldn't sleep with and empty stomach, and that was probably the cause of my nightmare. I slowly opened her door and peered in at her.

She looked so peaceful. She lay on her back with her head off to the side, snoring softly. She wore one of those weird sleeping mask thingies. Her hair was tangled in a sexy way. Her blankets were kicked off her, revealing her PJ's.

My dream seemed silly now. She was perfectly safe. I had not gone crazy and attacked her. But I needed her now, so I decided to stay and protect her. The dream had scared me into knowing how much I care for her safety.

I walked in quickly but quietly, sitting on the edge of her bed. It smelled so fucking good in this room! I couldn't get over it. I leaned in to her, whiffing her scent. I smelled a lock of her hair, where the amazing scent was the strongest. It wasn't just her shampoo. It was more natural than bathing chemicals. Her hair and skin smelled so sweet. She didn't have dragon morning breath, either. Usually if I smelled someones morning breath, I'd gag. Her breath smelled like the aftertaste of toothpaste... Bitter mint.

I also buried my face in one of her six billion soft pillows. Pillows usually smelled like drool. Hers smelled like her hair. I noted that she slept with her mouth closed. I could stay up all night smelling and watching her, and that's exactly what I did. When if got bright outside, she started quirming a bit, so I lay perfectly still. She made a cute noise and pulled off her mask. She seemed a bit jostled. She looked at me and sat up.

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"Maybe we should have a talk about personal space?"

Even if we did, I wouldn't keep away from her. "I'm hungry." I sat up, only able to imagine the amazing things she could cook for breakfast.

"Fine. Let's go." she sounded annoyed. She made her bed and looked at me. "How long have you been in my bed?"

He shrugged. "Almost all night. But I waited for you to fall asleep first."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" she was being sarcastic, but not in a mean way. I played back, though what I said was the truth.

"Of course. It was warm and soft, unlike the clammy hard hospital mattresses. Besides, you smell good."

"Okay..." she yawned really loud. I thought it was funny. "Alright, let's go."

I instantly noticed the way she kinda limped when she walked. I helped her down the stairs and lifted her into a chair in the kitchen. I remembered a trick for helping wounds heal. But her foot had a bruise on it, not a cut. Whatever, it should still work. The trick was that demon saliva was good for healing. I glanced at her to see her reaction as I licked her foot.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed. I stood as she pulled away. I licked her foot. I understand that being weird but it's not like I was trying to hurt her...

"Sorry." I said lowly. I tried to massage her foot instead, since that was the more normal thing to do. She watched me quietly as I did so. A moment later I felt her little hand running through my hair and jumped back as she fell out of the chair. On instinct, I went into a protective stance, but it was only Kagome so I placed her neatly back in the chair.

"Are you okay, Kagome?"

"What the hell was that?"

Oh no. I was embarrassed. She was ashamed of what was on my head. I had to play it cool. "What are you talking about?"

"Inuyasha, there's something in your hair. What is it?" She reached for me a second time. I stopped her arm and leaned in to let her look at my head better. Hadn't she noticed she'd never seen my ears before? I watched her gasp as my ears popped into her view. She looked amazed—fascinated... Did that mean she liked them? I was about to ask what she thought of them but she reached in again to play with them. Okay... not exactly the reaction I expected but it was better than horror.

"Sorry." she said lowly. The look I gave her must have made her embarrassed.

"What are you doing...?"

"Are they... Are they real?" she asked. I nodded solemnly.

"How?"

"I'm not exactly what you would call normal. I'm not... quite as human as you are. I'm different."

"Why do you have cat ears?"

Cat ears? Yeah, because I'm fucking Cat-man. "They're dog ears. It has to due with a birth problem." It came out a little harsher than it was supposed to. She wasn't stupid. She was a nurse—she'd know there's no such thing as a birth defect that gives you animal ears. I gave her the truth with a lot of effort.

"My father wasn't human."

"Umm?... Then what was he?"

"Otherworldly."

"Would you care to explain?"

I'd have to talk about my past. I wanted to trust her, but I'd still need a bit more time before I could talk about it. I nodded. "But after breakfast."

I watched her every move, trying to calculate what her reaction would be in comparison to her curiosity. I knew that talking about my father would lead to talking about my mother—which in return would lead to me talking about my past all the way up to the reason I got locked up in the first place.

I was taken off guard when she decided to start a conversation with me. Usually conversations started by asking a question, but she started by saying: "I can tell you really like my cooking, Inuyasha. I appreciate it." she turned and smiled at me. I wanted to smile back, but I kept the poker face. She turned and continued.

"I learned how to cook when I turned about seven years old. I used to make ramen and eggs all the time with my mother. Then eventually as I got older, I learned bigger, more complicate meals—after I got over my stupid fear of the stove catching on fire for no reason." she laughed nervously. I raised my eyebrows.

"You used to be afraid of cooking?" I'd never expect that from someone who cooks like her.

"Yeah, certain things like rice and fries and chicken... things the required cooking on the stove with hot water or cooking oil. But I got over that fear when I made my first batch of teriyaki chicken and rice in a frying pan. It came out so good, my mother encouraged me to be more creative and adventurous with my cooking."

"Any other hidden talents?" I asked.

"Umm... I play music. Classical music... like on piano and guitar. I used to play violin, but I got bored with it. I used to write songs and stuff."

"'Used to?'"

"I don't anymore because there's not enough inspiration anymore. I'm still into the same music, though. I'll never be as good as Namie Amuro or Keiko Matsui but I still try when I play. I like pop and classical music... some hip hop... some rock. Death metal is pointless to me. Buyo doesn't like it, either. He's like the male cat version of me, I swear. Of course he would be, though. I've had him since he was born.

"I got him for my fifteenth birthday. Besides family and friends, he's the best thing that ever happened to me." she paused in her story to fix our plates. I ate all the food, though I still picked up on every word she said to me.

"Tell me about your friends." I said with a mouthful of eggs.

"I may not be social, but I do have some... Sango, Miroku, Ayame, Rin, Momiji, Boton... We used to hang out all the time but ever since..." she stared off into space for a moment, making me extra curious. "Never mind. I just haven't hung out with them as much."

Ever since what? I wanted to ask so badly, but she looked so uncomfortable when she was about to bring it up. She continued to talk while she did the dishes and when we went into the living room. She told me more things about herself like movies and her—lack of— romance experiences. When I brought up her father, she got that look again and simply told me that she lived half of her life without the dude.

"Really? Tell me more."

"I don't wanna get too into it. I know you're keeping a lot of things from me and I don't think it's fair for you to expect me to come out to you if you're not gonna tell me anything."

What the fuck? I thought she be a little more sensitive about my situation. Then again, she was right. If she was gonna talk about the hard points in her life, I should tell her about mine, too. "Fine. I'll tell you a little about myself if you tell me a little about yourself."

"But I told you about myself already."

This is true... "Yeah, but I ain't stupid. You're only giving me small hints. I know that there's a lot more to your stories than what you're telling me, hon. I've been locked up a while but I know better. Besides, I told you some things last night like Hojo and I told you about my father."

"Well what do you think I'm hiding from you?"

I had to think. "Let's see... I know there's more to the story about your father. I see it in your eyes. It bothered you when you talked about him. Why?"

"My father... was a very bad person... He was a drug dealer, and he always cheated on my mother. When my little brother was born when I was eight going on nine, he beat my mother when she got out of the hospital and kept screaming at her about having boys. My father knew how bad of a person he was, and he thought all men were like that..." she wiped her face and continued. "When Souta was three, my father beat him with a baseball bat, thankfully it was only plastic. When my mother tried to call the cops, he threw her down the stairs...

"But my father loved me. I was his perfect little girl, his whole world, the only reason he didn't kill himself. I loved him too... But then he invited his friend over when my mother was out with Souta when I was twelve. My father fell asleep on the couch and his friend krept upstairs to my room."

Oh no... don't tell me... "You don't have to keep going if you don't want to." I tried to comfort her, wiping her tears away as best as I could.

"He raped me... for a whole hour. He threatened to cut me with his pocket knife if I cried for help." Wow. This guy better not still be alive. God help him if he is...

"Up until that point in my life, I was outgoing and friendly. It's that man's fault I'm such an unsocial stud. My father didn't wake up. My mother came home and found me on my bed, crying my eyes out. Thankfully I didn't start getting my period until I was thirteen. I told my mother what happened, and my father. He didn't take it so well. He went to his friend's house and killed him. He beat him to death with a metal baseball bat."

Good.

"For the next couple months, my father stopped beating my mom and Souta. He was so worried about me. He noticed right away that the life was taken out of me. I would hear him late at night crying in the bathroom just repeating that his baby girl was gone, she was messed up and it was his fault. I felt horrible. He took pills and never woke up...

"He wrote a note saying that he was sorry he fucked up my family's lives. But then that's when I decided I couldn't let my father think this was his fault, so I went back to hanging out with my friends and talking to boys. It made me feel better but I don't socialize anymore because I'm so hooked on starting my music career, even though I never get around to it." she laughed once.

I stared at her for a long time. What could I say to her? "Wow. Your life was almost as pathetic as mine." I wiped more of her tears. "But I like how you didn't take it out on anyone. Now I know why your mother was so worried about you when she came."

"So what's up with you? And your ears?"

"Well, you did tell me a lot, but I still want to know more. I'll tell you about my past if you let me in on one more thing?" She nodded, a little smile at the corners of her mouth. I was very happy to see it. "Why did you stop dating? Is that why or is it something else?"

She looked guilty. "Well... I was dating this guy Kitsu for about a week but he didn't seem to be into me, just my body. Whenever I would talk to him, he'd nod but he would be staring at my chest or something... I told him it wasn't working out and that night he slept with some other chick that my friend Sango knew... and she told me and I took action..." She sounded guilty.

"What do you mean you took action?"

"I beat her up. The girl he slept with. Turns out he was sleeping with her the whole time I was dating him." she laughed. I shook my head in disbelief. Kagome looked so innocent, but she beat someone up? I would've loved to see that.

"How come you never smile? Does it make you feel uncomforable? Are you not happy?"

"I'm happy... in a way. But That's not why I don't smile."

"Then why don't you smile?" she looked kinda pissed. She told me about her past, so now I'm going to stick to the truth with her.

"It's because of my past. It brings back harsh memories."

"Well you won't feel better about your past until you talk about it."

"I know."

"You don't have to talk about it but you told me you would. It's not fair if I share my dark past with you if you won't share yours. I don't see how you couldn't trust me. I'm letting you live with me, I trust you with my secrets, I feed you and I don't want you to die... How can you not trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you. I just never told anyone about it... Hojo is the only one who knows, but he knows because he knows the people... He has my file. But I never actually told anyone."

"I'd rather hear it from you than Hojo. He'd probably twist it up some way to make you look bad." She was yelling now, angry. I couldn't understand why.

"Well, I do look bad. No matter whose point of view you get the story from... I'm the bad guy."

"Can I get it from your point of view? You don't have to talk about it if it bothers you that much... I just want you to trust me. Do you trust me, Inuyasha?"

"Of course. Which is why I'm going to tell you what happened to me." I tried to get into a comfortable position and looked her in the eye. "Where to begin? Do you wanna know what Hojo knows or would you like my life story?"

"Life story please." she really wanted to know, because she really cared. I had to trust her and be one hundred percent honest.

"About my ears... We'll start there. I was born with these ears. My father, as I told you before, is not human. He's a descendant of a great dog demon or something. Most of them take on the form of a human, somewhat..." I flashed my eyes in the direction of my ears.

"My father looked like me... silver hair, gold eyes, pointy ears and all. Or you could say I look like him. There are only about two thousand of us left. They were the dominant species in Japan about five hundred years ago. Other demons battled with them and they wiped each other out. Few lived, and had to mate with humans in order to keep us going. As generations passed, we began to look more and more like humans. Full dog demons are very rare. There are probably only fifty or so left."

"Now moving on to my birth." Or in other words, the hard part.

"My mother was a prostitute and my father had a drug and alcohol problem. My father paid her for sex and her birth control didn't work... so I was an accident. My mother didn't even know she was pregnant until she was two months in and nobody slept with her after that so she had no money to get an abortion. Because my mother also had a drug problem, I was born premature. She was only six and a half months pregnant. I had to stay in a hospital for 4 months and the doctors kept me hooked on all this medicine and shit. I couldn't even breathe on my own so I was hooked up to an oxygen tank. When I was healthy enough to go home with my mother, she was still broke and we lived in a homeless shelter for almost a year. I learned to walk by then.

"My father found out he had a son and I met him... He was an okay guy but him and my mom argued a lot. They decided that I was the best thing that ever happened to them and despite them hating each other, we all lived under my father's roof because he wanted to see me grow up with my family. He and my mother eventually fell in love and got married. When I was two and a half years old and able to talk, my father lost his job and started shooting up. He was HIV positive and died a couple months later.

"The day after his funeral, my mother cried for hours and I didn't know how to make her feel better. She came in my room and told me that I was the best thing that happened to her. She kissed me good night and tucked me in then went to her room. She began cutting her wrists and made scars that spelled out my father's name in deformed letters. It scared the hell out of me and my father's old friend, Totosai raised me while she was taken away. I never got to visit her and she died in the psychiatric hospital because the nurses gave her too much medicine."

That's the only reason I resented ever Kagome. Now, I could care less because I know she's a good person.

"When I was nine, new neighbors moved in next door and they had a daughter named Kikyo. Me and her became really good friends, riding bikes together and playing with worms in her back yard. Two years later we learned about the birds and bees and touched each other. When middle school came around, we started having sex at Totosai's house when he wasn't home, but never became official. We were only physically attracted to each other. The only other connection I felt with her was a friendship connection. In high school we were finally going out but it was tough to kiss her when she started smoking pot and drinking."

I closed my eyes, remembering the day she came to me with that dumb shit...

I stood, waiting for her in the parking lot next to her car. She came out a couple minutes later and smiled when she saw me. As she walked towards me, she pulled something out of her pocket. It looked like a sandwich bag. There was something green in it... weed. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Hey, baby," she said sweetly, wrapping her arms around my waist. I couldn't take my eyes off the bag she held.

"What's that?" I asked her, though I already knew. She looked at it and smiled to me.

"Inspiration. It will make you fly. I thought we could use it later when Totosai leaves."

"I ain't doin' that nasty shit." I pulled out of her embrace. She frowned at me.

"Why not?" she sounded angry.

"Because my father died from doing that kind of stupid shit. How long have you been doing this?"

She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "I've been doing it for like six months now."

And I've been kissing her? I knew there was something gross about her taste. "You can stone all you want, but I ain't."

She pursed her lips then smiled again. "Okay, I will. But when I'm done, do you still wanna fuck?"

She didn't understand that I was being sarcastic? What a stupid bitch. It's not like I'm gonna die without sex. I ain't a nymphomaniac. I pushed her away and started walking to the mall. I called to her over my shoulder: "I'll pass."

I didn't see her for the rest of the day. But when I got home, there was an unpleasant surprise in my bedroom. Kikyo's red face was towards me, her arched back on the bed—my bed, some random guy on top of her, fucking the shit out of her. A blue light in the corner of my eye caught my attention for a split second. A video camera. And they wouldn't stop. They both glanced at me for a second, and went on. That heartless bitch had the nerve to cheat on me in my own fucking bed?

Without thinking, I went straight up to them and ripped his head off with my claws. Kikyo stared in horror and started screaming at me. "How could you do that? I wasn't even at my orgasm yet, you stupid cunt!"

"I'm a stupid cunt?" I screamed louder than I though I ever could. I whacked her right across the face as hard as I could. Taking hold of her ankles, I jammed my foot straight into her crotch and she screamed in pain.

"Are you done now?" I yelled sarcastically and dropped her ankles. I walked away while she cried, not even caring anymore. What did I ever see in her? She was so nice to me when we were kids, and now she's just a heartless whore.

After being trialed, I killed Kikyo's parent for pressing charges against me. A simple snap of their necks—nothing too brutal. Kikyo could only stare at me in the hallway. She looked so frightened of me, it was satisfying.

"Inuyasha... I'm so sorry." she whispered. She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me. I was too startled to hug her back. She just watched me kill her parents, and she's apologizing to me... She pulled me into her room and we fucked for the last time. I sensed something when I fell asleep... Kikyo was moving around.

I opened my eyes to see her aiming an arrow at my chest. Before she could release the bow string, I jumped up with lightening speed and wrapped the bow string around her neck. Her arms uselessly reached my hands to pry them off, making strange choking sounds. I stared down at her redish-purple face into her light brown eyes as her heart stopped beating.

I killed her. I watched her die with her eyes open. I felt no regret. I did not miss her. She wasn't good to me. She was bad in bed... killing Kikyo felt so good, I set out to kill my next victim...

"Do you want me to continue?"

"If you don't want to say anymore, you don't have to." Her warm hand covered my cheek. It was so soothing. I put my hand over hers and laced my fingers through hers, leaning into her soft touch.

"It's okay... Kikyo slept with another man in my fucking bed. I walked in on her fucking him with a video camera on my dresser, taking in everything. They kept going while I stood there, and because of my harsh childhood, I was usually shy but I snapped. I literally ripped off the guy's head—and he looked to be in his thirties, fucking a sixteen-year-old. Kikyo started crying, not because I killed him, but because she wasn't done. I slapped her so hard the left side of her face had blisters and I almost broke her neck with the force.

"I grabbed her ankles and slammed my foot into her crotch, making her bleed. I wasn't used to such violent acts but boy—it felt... so good. She told her father and they pressed charges against me. It was actually her parent's idea, so I killed them two nights after the trial. Kikyo knew it was me"—hell, she saw me do it—"but was too scared to tell anyone. She was being really nice to me so I forgave her and we had sex once more... then in the middle of the night she tried to kill me with a bow and arrow, but I killed her instead. I choked her with the string of the bow. Killing began to feel so good I would break into people's houses and do horrible things to them.

"I would beat them with extension chords. Sometimes I would kill them without even touching them. An old man that used to scream at me when I played manhunt with my friends, I put a pot of cooking grease in his oven and put it on 500 degrees... I did some sadistic shit, but only to people I knew but didn't like.

"When Totosai died, I was put up for adoption because I was only sixteen. The family I lived with abused me until I was eighteen because I was a freak. They beat me with hangers and tools... the father threatened to shoot me and broke my arm by slamming a VCR on it. That was when I really went on a killing spree. I even killed small children. Members of the town began to disappear one by one, and no one knew who was doing it until a silver hair was found in the bathroom of some dude that I drowned in his tub. I probably killed over seventy-five people.

"I was supposed to be sentenced to death, but doctor Hojo stuck up for me. He knew there was something wrong with me by the look on my face. He knew about the family abusing me and not feeding me. He got a look at my permanent record and presented it to the judge at my trial. I was angry at him for snooping around but didn't go berserk because I knew he was trying to save my ass. He told the judge that being locked up for a year or two—even though I've been locked up for six—would do me good."

Kagome looked shocked. "Hojo only knew about your past because he read your permanent record?"

"Yes..." I covered my face with my hands. "He was so worried about me... and would always talk to me but I never got better. Then—" I stopped to let a tear slide down my face. This was really getting to me. This was why I never spoke of my past. Even just thinking about it brought out the little bitch in me. But at least the story was getting to the good part... the part where Kagome came into the picture.

"Then you started working at the hospital. Your scent drove me nuts because you smelled so sweet. I've never been so stunned by anyone's scent before. It's even better than Japanese Cherry Blossom. And it wasn't even perfume! Your flesh just naturally has this amazing odor.

"I would hear your soft voice in the building, sighing and speaking only when you were spoken to. The day you were filling in for whoever-the-fuck, I had to have you. You were only one floor above me, so close and you smelled so wonderful. That's why I kept sniffing you. You just smelled so good the closer I got to you, that's when I got carried away and attacked you."

I moved my hand to look at her. She must've felt my pain, because her beautiful black eyes were now teary. I leaned towards her to wipe away her tears. She was too beautiful to cry. She didn't deserve to. She didn't go through that pain.

"Is that it?" she asked. I nodded, feeling the urge to hold her in my arms. I needed her. I needed her compassion. I needed her warmth. I needed her friendship. I wrapped my arms around her, crying into her shoulder. She hugged me back, sobbing into my chest while she rubbed my back to comfort me. She kept whispering that she would be here for me, that she wouldn't allow pain to come my way anymore.

I began to realize I was crying more from appiness than emotional pain. Kagome did care about me. She was a kind person. She only knew me for not even twenty-four hours, and here she was, comforting me because she felt for me and what I went through. That was all I needed. She's all I need... All I want in my life to be happy.

"Thank you." he whispered.

I leaned onto her more, to savor the moment of being pressed against her in an embrace, then looked at her. She wiped my tears away and kissed me on the cheek. It was so warm... she was so dazzling, the muscles in my face pulled up in an unfamiliar way.

I was actually smiling, and it felt so good. I kissed her on the cheek and held my lips there for a couple seconds. I embraced her again, licking her scent off my lips... she tasted just as sweet as she smelled. I had to taste more of her. I kissed her neck a couple times.

"Kagome. You found me. It feels so good to get that out of my system."

"That's good to hear."

"Now, you have to face Hojo. I bet you hate him now."

"Yes." Good.

"You think I'd be better off dead like he thinks?"

"No. Of course not. I care about you."—I felt my face light up—"You feel good now, so you wouldn't be better off dead."

"It doesn't hurt as much now to think of my past. It's almost... refreshing." I smiled again.

"That's also good to hear." she whispered.

I leaned into her hair. "God, I love your scent..." I snorted, hoping to make her laugh. She giggled adorably, like a child. "I think I should hide my ears again and dye my hair black. 'Sound okay to you?"

"You really want to get out, don't you?" She leaned back. I took her hands in my lap. Staring down at them, I nodded.

"Then I'll go out today and buy some dye. If we disguise you, you can be in public, but no killing."

"I don't want to kill anymore if it hurts you. I didn't really want to go outside anyway. I just wanted to breathe you in. And now I can, all I want and there's nothing you can do about it."

I heard her bubbly laughter once again. "It's not harmful, so I guess I won't do anything about it. I can't believe you broke out of your room so you could smell me."

"You smell great. I can't help myself." I winked at her. Her face turned pink. Now that our bad pasts and deepest secrets were out of the way, I could work on bonding with her more on a friendship level... or more.