{.x.o.} | Rapture's Remorse | {.o.x.}

{x| Chapter 18: Renew |x}

A content sigh left her naturally pink lips as she rested her head upon a broad shoulder, her lids slowly shut to ignore the beautiful sunset that unveiled itself to them. A hand that knew the rough times of work took hers to interlace their fingers.

"Hey—"

No. Stop. Rewind.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted out as he ran out of his door to the end of the hallway after his initial stupor faded. Did she want him to give them a go? Well… she did leave Kouga. Granted, he wasn't much better than that man. He didn't make more money, he didn't have better credentials, he didn't have a better past… but he had to care for her more than that wolf bastard—right? Or was it just compassion for all she did for him? An extremely attached friendship?

Did he really want to take it to the next level?

That was why he didn't get out before the elevator's door shut, so he ran down the stairwell instead.

She wanted to… so why not? What was the worst thing that could happen? They end miserably and cease to speak? When that thought hit him he stopped midway. But… what if he did not follow? Would they still talk? After a while…?

"Fuck," he cursed as he started up again. He didn't know. He didn't doubt that Kagome also hadn't a full grasp on what they were doing. They were both being stupid.

As soon as he got to the first floor of his apartment complex he caught a glimpse of her leaving the lobby, with a sigh he kept up after her until he could grab her arm to stall her.

The tears in her eyes killed him…

"Kagome," he murmured as she jerked her arm free.

"What?" She grunted back, "huh?"

"Look… let's talk about this, okay?"

It was her turn to sigh, "fine… where?"

"Come here," he requested as he took her by the arm to lead her to the first bench they could find. "Kagome… it's not that I don't care about you, you know that, right?"

"But?" She jeered, she could already hear it.

"But…"

"If you say you are not good enough for me I will hit you," she warned him, "I am the one that decides that and I think you are. I know about your past, I accept that. I accept you."

"And that's great," he replied with a nod, "I'm glad… that's good… and I care about you but… I think… I do," he rephrased as he glanced away and up to the orange tinged city sky, "love you. I do. It's just… not… dating wise, I don't think. I mean… it's like—"

"Platonic," she stated and instantly his golden gaze returned to her hazels, "you love me, but platonically?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "you… feel differently?"

Her hazels flickered about him for a moment before shifting to the sky that would bear no stars, the lights would infringe on that little pleasure… one of the many reasons she disliked the city.

"I," she paused as she bit her bottom lip, "I don't really know. I want to say I do but… maybe I don't? Maybe I'm just scared of marry Kouga… of becoming exclusively his, if in the only actual relationship I have been in other than with him I couldn't even stay loyal—"

"Whoa," Inuyasha interrupted to win her attention, "I'm not advocating you get back together with him."

"I won't," she stated, "I shouldn't… If I have doubts now they'll only get worse later, right?"

"Yep," he chimed.

To that she rolled her eyes, "you would say whatever… are you jealous of Kouga?"

"I don't know," he honestly replied as he leaned back into the bench, "maybe a little but generally I think it was the fact that I really don't think he's good enough for you—"

"Do you think anyone is? Would you ever?"

"Maybe…"

"I love you," she confessed, he didn't flinch, he didn't let his eyes leave hers, and her heart did not rush at the declaration. Then her hazels shifted away so she could sit back more, "platonic, huh? I bet that would work well with a long distance relationship."

"Kagome," he muttered, "I—"

"I wouldn't cheat, you wouldn't cheat," she stated in a very matter of fact tone, "I think we're somewhere in between the way someone loves a friend and someone loves a…"

"Lover?" he redundantly added.

"Yep, I think that's a good start."

"I'm not sure—"

"When have you ever been sure about anything?" She inquired and knew from the stupor on his face that she had him stumped, "let's try, please? If it doesn't work it doesn't work."

"And we stop talking," he grumbled.

"Not true, people can stop dating and remain friends; we'd just have to work at it. Please, let's try? I like the idea of platonic," she smiled, "it's means no sex. It's spiritual, it's… nice."

"Okay," he sighed, "I give up; I'll give it a go."

"Jeez, thanks," she laughed as she nudged him, "you make it sound like I'm forcing you to get a root canal."

A smile laced her lips while a content sigh left them as she rested her head upon his shoulder. His hand took hers to interlace their fingers.

"Hey," she started, "you understand I am going to stay in Nikko, right?"

"And I'm staying in Tokyo."

"We'll have to work out a schedule, who will come visit who on which weekend."

"Sounds good," he nodded, "sounds annoying, too, but I could live with it."

[...]

"Fuck," he gasped as he grabbed his chest and stumbled backwards. His mind had been anywhere but right in front of him—generally, that meant on his… girlfriend. It still seemed like an odd concept, even a bit wrong, that Kagome was his. She had only spent the night before leaving so she could be back in Nikko in time for her nightshift at the hospital the next day. Of course, they didn't do anything inappropriate—not that it would really be inappropriate now that they were dating. Still, they hadn't done anything but talk about how 'this' was going to work. Being the neat and highly organized girl she was, Kagome made out a full scale schedule.

"We'll talk every day, okay?" She had made him promise before seeing her onto the train. It's not like that would be any different than before.

That was why he didn't notice someone standing in front of his door until he looked up from finding his key. And just great that someone was him—his so called 'father'. Now that he had his nose back and functional he could smell the similarities between them but that didn't mean jack shit.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha snarled as he moved past him to insert his key in the lock and open his door.

"To talk, preferably this time without being punched," Inutaisho requested as his golden gaze followed his every step, "I am your father, I feel like you should give me at least five minutes—"

"A father I never knew," he retorted as he turned around in his doorway, "a father that was never around. A father I really don't give a rat's ass about. A father—"

"That wishes he could have been," he interrupted, and for a moment that silenced Inuyasha enough for him to continue. "I had every intention of being a part of your life. Your mother, Izayoi, meant the world to me."

"Right, expect you were married at the time, right?" He grunted as he started to shut the door only for his father to stop it.

"I left her, for Izayoi, for you."

That earned a cocked brow as Inuyasha opened the door again, "bullshit."

"I could show you the divorce papers and everything," he promised, "it's your mother who left me, without a word, just a letter saying she was moving to Kyoto to raise you alone. That she wanted nothing to do with me. I… for so long I have been looking for her and you, to think all this time you were in Tokyo."

Weary to believe him was an understatement but he still let his golden gaze flicker over the man a few times, "I'm going to call my mom… and see what she has to say about all this."

A certain gleam appeared in the old man's eyes at the mention—was there still affection there for the woman that had supposedly left him? "Here," Inutaisho started as he pulled out a card, "this is my phone number and office address. Call me whenever, come stop by whenever, I'd love to… get to know you."

"I'll think about it," Inuyasha muttered but he took the card before he shut the door all the same to call his mother. It obviously made her day each time he did that, he could tell from the joy in her tone each time she chimed a 'hello'. It wasn't until he started to explain everything that he could sense dread, "so… mom, that guy's wrong, right? He's lying, right?"

The silence on the other side was far from assuring.

"Mom," he growled. Really? It was hard but he managed to forgive her after all the deception in regards to him and Kikyou but this too? He didn't know if he could be so forgiving a second time around…

"It's complicated, Inuyasha."

"Fuck, don't even trying that," he snarled, "after everything, this too? Damn it!"

"Listen," she begged, "it wasn't my choice to leave. I didn't want to… I didn't want to at all but I had to. Inutaisho's father wasn't a kind man and once he found out about me—that I was pregnant, that Inutaisho might leave his demon wife to be with me… he was furious. He came to see me, he threatened me, he threatened you… you weren't even born yet, I couldn't… I couldn't subject you to that man. I loved him but I couldn't risk everything, risk you, to stay. I thought it would have been better to leave. Inutaisho would have been disowned from his family… Inuyasha, it wasn't easy for me. None of it was. I didn't think… Inutaisho would still care… I didn't know he still wanted to meet you. I didn't know he was looking… I didn't."

He was a sucker for stutters and whimpers, particularly when it was his mother that was crying on the other line.

"Okay, okay… just settle down. It's okay, alright?"

"But it's not okay, you have every right to hate me," she blubbered on.

Damn it, he wished he never started this conversation…

[...]

"Inuyasha," Inutaisho greeted graciously with quite the grin as he rose up from his large desk to walk up to his son and lead him into the corner office that took up almost the entire floor, "I'm so glad you came."

"Yeah," he muttered in return as his gaze flickered all over the place. He knew once he actually looked over the card that the man had to be loaded, after all it was a card for Takamoru Inc., and he was Takamoru Inutaisho.

"You've spoken to your mother?" he wearily inquired as he pulled up a chair in front of his desk for Inuyasha to sit down in before he circled around and returned to his.

"Yeah," he nodded, "she said your dad threatened her or something like that, I don't know, she was pretty upset."

"She did… did she?" He murmured with a nod, "well, never mind that for now, I'd like to get to know you. Tell me, what do you do for a living?"

"I—" but before he got a word out the door to his office opened so a tall silver haired demon could waltz in as if he owned the place, once his already cold golden gaze landed upon Inuyasha they narrowed.

"Sesshomaru," Inutaisho sighed, "you know you should announce yourself—"

"What's he doing here?" Sesshomaru snapped.

"Hey, I know you," Inuyasha growled back as he stood up, "you're the guardian to Rin, the one that—"

"Be silent, no one is addressing you," Sesshomaru retorted.

"Sesshomaru," Inutaisho countered, "stop this, I—"

"Here's the report you wanted," Sesshomaru stated instead as he dropped a packet on his desk before turning to leave once more.

"That guy is an ass," Inuyasha muttered.

"He's a bit frigid," Inutaisho admitted as he skimmed over the packet before placing it to the side, "but he's your brother, my son from my ex-wife."

Great, great he had a brother. As if he wanted one, and to top it off he was an asshole, how wonderful.

"I don't foresee you two getting along," he sighed, "ever since I told Sesshomaru I found you he has been more… annoyed than usual. I believe he feel threatened."

"Why?"

"As of now, when I return Sesshomaru will become the CEO of Takamoru Inc., but now that I have found my other son I believe he worries I'd split the company and give you a part or something like that."

"I don't want that," Inuyasha assured, "I'm not a businessman, I don't want any part in your company."

He smiled and nodded before asking, "So you were saying you know Rin?"

"I'm a bodyguard, it's not dangerous, and for two years I pretty much played babysitter to her until that dick got me transferred to another person."

"Sesshomaru is very protective of her, she's his adoptive daughter. I can't say I was ever more surprised in my life when he brought her to meet me. I have no idea what sparked it but… putting that aside, Inuyasha, I have an idea."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" He sighed.

[...]

Airports, how he hated them, but he still sucked it up to wait at gate A like a good boy until people started to filter out. He glanced about until he say one familiar, worried, figure before he started to make his way through the crowd to her side. Instantly that sparked a smile, "Inuyasha."

"Mom," he greeted after she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "don't be so nervous, it'll be alright."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered as she glanced about, "I feel so odd… I haven't seen Inutaisho in years and years…"

"He's eager to see you, don't worry," he assured her as he started to lead her to the car that waited for them at the curb.

"Really…?"

"Really," he felt so strange, it was like playing matchmaker for his giddy mother and father… ever since Inutaisho proposed the idea he had been acting like an anxious teenager preparing for his first date.

"I'm so glad that you and Kagome are together," she chimed to change the subject as she grasped his hands, "never let her go, never let anyone tear you apart. Don't make my mistake, promise me, Inuyasha."

"I swear," he nodded, when they stopped in front of Takamoru Inc.'s building he helped his mother out of the car but didn't go to the door with her to her dismay. Instead, he forced her to go on alone.

As planned, he went straight to the train station to rid to Nikko. He took a taxi to the quaint little house that he adored and walked up to the door, it took two knocks before Kagome came to the door and opened it with a warm smile.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied.