Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Protection
Inuyasha couldn't breathe as he watched Sango and the two guards escort a devastated Kagome from the room. The girl choked on sobs. She could barely walk.
His mouth was so dry his throat tightened with every gulp, struggling to parch the dryness by moistening his tongue with saliva. His ears crackled from the attempts to gulp past the lump in his throat. Anxiety slithered from the depths of his stomach and he had to stand, he had to pace. He felt so physically uncomfortable in his own skin.
Inuyasha felt his lungs burn from the breath he didn't realize he carried around the room with him. He sucked in a greedy lungful of air and continued pacing. Miroku sat silently on the sofa behind him, his eyes staring pensive holes into the carpet.
Inuyasha tried to rub the disbelief from his face with one hand. The skin on his cheek stretched downwards with the motion, pulling the lower lid from his eye. He paced to try to force out the discomfort bellowing from the core of his body. He felt so overwhelmed with information he didn't know how to organize his thoughts into a linear formation. He had so many thoughts he didn't know which to think first. He couldn't take it. The reality was suffocating him. He wanted to be ignorant of it. He wanted to deny what was staring him right in the face. But this was too big a sign for him to possibly ignore or deny, despite how desperately he wanted to.
The fire had been a message to him, of that much he was certain.
A stressed growl curdled in Inuyasha's throat. Rounding the room one more time, he stormed towards the television set, unable to take in the sight or sound of the nasally newscaster anymore. He smacked his palm against the front of the TV, meeting the power button brusquely and causing the tech to shake on its stand. Above all else, he couldn't take the sight of the fire anymore.
The anxiety was too much for his body to handle. His muscles, cramping under the stress, screamed for escape.
"What should we do, Inuyasha?"
Miroku's quiet, meditative voice spoke up from the silence and Inuyasha shook his head. Casting an arm behind him, Inuyasha used the gesture to tell Miroku to give him a minute. He knew that if he were to open his mouth right the rage directed at Miroku would be too much.
Inuyasha stopped pacing to rest his non-slung hand on his hips and took a deep, steady breath with his eyes closed. Forcing the breath out through tight lips, Inuyasha finally turned to respond to Miroku.
"I don't fucking know."
Miroku sighed and mirrored the action of rubbing his face with his non-casted hand due to disbelief and shock. "I'm sure I don't need to mention it, but you realize the significance of the fire, don't you, Inuyasha?"
"I'm not fucking blind," Inuyasha hissed. "I know what it means."
He could hear his tensed exhales dashing from his nostrils, the waft of air drifting across his upper lip. He ran an agitated hand through his hair. He needed to calm down. He knew he couldn't react like this. It's what they wanted him to do. They wanted him to be the same hotheaded kid he had been, to act impulsively without thinking, never weighing the consequences of his actions.
They preyed on impulse. They knew how to coax a weakness out of a person, to use that weakness against them. Patient manipulation had always been their ultimate weapon, time their primary resource. He knew them better than anyone did. He couldn't give them what they wanted.
They wanted him broken. They wanted him scared.
Days after Kyokotsu, Mukotsu, and Ginkotsu's release, Inuyasha couldn't understand how three ex-convicts would so willingly blow their immediate freedom by rushing back toward criminal activity. After the attack on the house, Inuyasha believed those three fuckers had acted on pure compulsion, united by a mutual hatred of Inuyasha. He genuinely thought Kyokotsu, Mukotsu, and Ginkotsu acted purely because of an independent need for vengeance.
But Inuyasha had been a fucking fool.
How could he not see the assault was orchestrated? How could he have dismissed Kyokotsu's threats so easily? He told Inuyasha the Family was coming for him. After ten years of being left alone, Inuyasha had called the man's words a bluff, believing that Kyokotsu and the other two idiots just wanted Inuyasha afraid. After all, fear was the family occupation and murder was their job.
Everything happens in twos, Inuyasha recalled. Everything always fucking happened in twos. Horrific memories surfaced in his mind that he promptly stifled and rammed back into the darkest depths of his memory. Now was no time to be nostalgic.
First, the break-in, and now, two days later, the fire…Inuyasha shook his head of the thought. Fire alone meant so much to them. Everything they did, everything they believed in, always contained so much fucking symbolism. Fire was the most serious threat they could have used.
And they used it against Kagome.
Inuyasha forcefully sat himself down on an ottoman and buried his hand in his hair. Without any intention, and without even doing anything, he had made Kagome a target. By merely being around him, Kagome had put herself in danger. Inuyasha could never have known the band was getting out of jail—Kyokotsu's words haunted Inuyasha's mind: we're all getting out, the Family saw to that. That part of his life was supposed to be over. Everything to do with the Family was supposed to have been so far buried in the past Inuyasha could have argued it never happened. It was a bad dream, nothing more.
But why Kagome? The question circled and circled Inuyasha's frantic mind. He had been with Kikyou for years and they never touched her. Why was Kagome the intended target now? To get to him? Because the media had put Kagome on some God damned fucking podium with a neon sign saying 'Inuyasha's new bitch'? They preyed on weakness. Did that mean…
Inuyasha's lips fluttered from the intensity of his exhale. The sudden crashing reality hit him so hard it caused a surge of pain to inflate behind his eyes.
The media had fucked over Kagome. The world's perverted, obsessive need to know, their relentlessness to exhaust all resources to learn the truth, had put an Inuyasha-sized target on Kagome's head. No wonder this attack had been on Kagome. Kikyou was old news. Mukotsu had threatened Kagome, gone after Kagome, and Inuyasha had tried to protect her from him. Would Mukotsu have somehow reported that confrontation to the Family?
If that were true, then what the news had been saying about Kagome and what Mukotsu saw must have doubly influenced targeting her.
Inuyasha felt his stomach flip and churn nauseatingly. If he had waited ten minutes longer to tell Miroku to send the car for Kagome… The blood rushed from his face. He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought.
"I'm going to go check on Kagome," Miroku said in a groan as he pushed off his knees to stand. The silence that he had left for Inuyasha to try to compose his thoughts was beginning to make Miroku uncomfortable.
"Leave her be," Inuyasha barked, not bothering to raise his head. "She needs time to digest all this."
Fuck, I need to time to digest all this…
"You think time alone can fix this?" Miroku questioned heatedly. "You realize, Inuyasha, her entire home and all her possessions were just taken from her. At this very moment, Kagome has nothing more to her than the clothes on her back." Miroku shook his head crossly. "How do you expect her to simply digest all this? Surely, there must be more we can do for her."
"I don't fucking know, alright?" Inuyasha fought. He turned a glower towards Miroku, his eyes tired. "There's more important shit to worry about right now than Kagome's belongings, Miroku."
Miroku heard the patronization in Inuyasha's tone in the way he said Miroku's name. The utterance caused Miroku to sit back down and lean forward, his eyes narrowing at Inuyasha's obtuseness. "If you want to do anything to improve the current situation, you'll help her."
"Help her!?" Inuyasha shouted disbelievingly, his brows raised. "Her being around me nearly fucking killed her, Miroku! How the fuck am I supposed to help her?"
"She's scared," Miroku replied simply, his face softening. "She doesn't understand what's happening. She doesn't know what the future holds for her, and that thought is terrifying. She has no home, no job—" Miroku added, recalling his conversation with Kouga to end the contract— "and she just learned she may have died if we had been ten minutes slower to react."
Inuyasha growled heatedly and clenched his fist at hearing Miroku wholly verbalize the statement Inuyasha hadn't been able to complete himself.
"Put yourself in her shoes, Inuyasha," Miroku goaded, his tone laced with persuasion. "The world knows her home was destroyed. The media has tracked down almost every person who has ever been close with Kagome. Even Sango told me her apartment is ridden with reporters. What positive next steps exist for her, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha scratched at his head so roughly his scalp ached long after his nails were gone. "Well, you sound like you have an idea so just spit it out already."
Miroku sighed. "We have enough security and staff here to keep her safe," Miroku proceeded to say with cautious diction. "And, I think It's safe to say the house won't be targeted again because of the attention it will draw to them should they do so." Miroku knew he was beating around the bush and it was likely trying Inuyasha's patience. Taking a deep breath, Miroku just spat it out. "I believe the best course of action would be for Kagome to stay here."
"Kagome?" Inuyasha mumbled, his eyes wide in response to Miroku's words. The ache behind his eyes throbbed. "Live here?"
The idea of Kagome staying at his house caused Inuyasha's heart to lurch compulsively. His eyes zipped back and forth on the carpet in front him, trying to evaluate how he felt about the suggestion.
Inuyasha knew his hotheadedness was a wall he had erected years ago to shield his emotions from the rest of the world. His sarcasm and cynicism came to him so easily sometimes it surprised him. He couldn't help it. Over the years, Inuyasha's experiences had molded him to respond to his surroundings brashly. Without meaning to, Inuyasha had equipped himself with a defensive attitude and a brazen, sharp tongue as his primary means of defense against emotional upset.
Inuyasha sat there, mulling over Miroku's words. Without even completely opposing the idea of Kagome staying there—arguably, the more Inuyasha even thought of the idea, the more he agreed it was a good one—Inuyasha couldn't help the "My house isn't a fucking hotel, Miroku" comment that escaped his lips.
Miroku's eyes lit up as a knowing smile took over his face, his stitched cheek aching at the action. Inuyasha looked truly perplexed; however, Miroku wasn't oblivious to the slight colouring on Inuyasha's cheeks. Miroku inwardly smirked. He knew Inuyasha was open to the idea despite his gruff veneer.
"You have more rooms and space than you know what to do with, Inuyasha," Miroku retorted, the smile still on his face. "Days at a time go by where I don't see some of the staff because of the sheer magnitude of this place. Realistically, Inuyasha, you may not even know she's here."
Kagome's perfume still lingered in Inuyasha's nose from the night they danced at Kobura. Snorting, he shook his head slightly, realizing he could never un-know something. Simply knowing Kagome was in the house would linger on his mind. He knew Miroku's words were wrong. He would know Kagome was there.
Inuyasha's stubborn expression caused Miroku to question whether Inuyasha was sold on the idea. Opening his mouth to speak, Miroku jumped as Inuyasha's sudden words stole the ones Miroku was about to utter.
"Why are you so keen on her staying here, anyway?"
Miroku smiled. "You understand her situation more than you're willing to let on. Would you rather she leave here and house herself in some hotel until she can find a new apartment? Imagine how the media will flock to her the moment she leaves? They'll surround her new housing, just like her previous one, and you know she'll lock herself away for days, just as we saw her do.
"I'm not an ignorant man," Miroku smiled, releasing a breath. "I know you worry about her, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha's initial fear and anger began to meld into…excitement? Eagerness? Nervousness? His heart hummed and vaulted from its homestead in his ribcage. Why was he getting so worked up over the idea?
"I understand the decorum of the situation could be questionable," Miroku continued when Inuyasha failed to comment. He scratched at his stitches absently. "After all, we've never had one of your young ladies stay with us before." Miroku sighed, the skin beneath his cast suddenly growing irritated and itchy. Miroku flexed and wiggled his fingers in hopes the action would do something to satisfy the itch. "And the media would likely have a field day with the arrangement; however, I'm sure you and I could both agree that the media can go fuck themselves at this point."
Inuyasha laughed at the comment. Despite Miroku's background, it was still uncommon to hear the man curse.
"I still think she'd be better off somewhere else," Inuyasha finally said, raising his head to meet Miroku's gaze. "She's only in this mess because of me."
Miroku bowed his head empathetically. "What better way to keep her safe then, by having her under your own roof?"
Groaning from the movement, his body slow, achy, and tired, Inuyasha stood. He knew Miroku was right. Taking a few steps towards the door, Inuyasha's strides were halted by Miroku's words.
"Where are you going?"
Without turning to look over his shoulder at Miroku, Inuyasha simply said, "To get the maids to prepare one of the rooms upstairs."
Miroku smiled triumphantly as the visage of Inuyasha disappeared from the room.
Now, he just had to convince the girls.
Kagome's eyes throbbed she had cried so hard. She and Sango had taken respite at Inuyasha's dining room table, the two guards standing back uncomfortably but firmly in a doorway. Even they felt sympathy for Kagome.
Sango held the weeping woman to her bosom, Sango's arms tight around Kagome's shoulders. Vicariously experiencing the traumatic experience, the occasional tear fell from Sango's own eye. The girls had been like this ever since Kagome was escorted from the room, the news of the fire a devastating blow to Kagome's emotional state. Kagome uttered an infrequent grievance, mourning the loss of a few cherished items; however, she mostly wept.
"What if I—" Kagome sputtered. "What if I ended up getting a cat ah—after all, Sango? It would be—"
"—Don't do that to yourself, Kagome," Sango interrupted angrily. "You can't think about things like that."
"But m—my home."
"I know," Sango cooed, rocking the girl in her arms. "I know, Kagome. I'm so sorry."
"Where do I…H—How do I…" Kagome's words disappeared in another wave of tears and Sango felt her heart breaking. Kagome was one of the gentlest and kindest people Sango had ever known. She didn't deserve her life to be shook and devastated like this.
The explosion was on her floor, Sango thought fearfully, the realism of the surreal incident knotting her stomach. Inuyasha's timing couldn't have been better. If that car hadn't—no, stop it, Sango, she immediately swore. If Kagome's not allowed to go there, neither are you.
"You can stay with me," Sango whispered, trying to mask the fear in her tone with supportiveness. "We can find a nice two bedroom somewhere so you don't have to sleep on the futon forever—" Sango's musings were interrupted by another eruption of tears from Kagome— "It'll be okay, Kagome. I promise you."
'The Family will want you. You will stay here until I return.' Mukotsu's threats were loud in Kagome's memory.
The newscaster reported that even though arson was suspected, at this time, they couldn't rule out the premise that the fire and explosion was an accident. But Kagome knew better. The sickening pool of grief and fear in her stomach told her so. This was no accident. She wasn't supposed to make it out of the apartment alive.
Inuyasha saved me, Kagome's mind uttered again and again. He's the one who got me out of there. He saved my life.
Forcing herself not to think about all the keepsakes, mementos, and valuables that had been brutally taken from her, Kagome sat upwards from Sango's arms. Kagome gasped for a lungful of air, desperate for a feeling other than grief to well up inside her.
A gentle tap on one of the three doorways into the dining room caused Kagome to turn behind her. A maid a few years older than Kagome stood before the girls, her hands clasped together. She bowed her head at Kagome.
"Ms. Kagome," the girl said while she bowed her head. "I've been asked by Mr. Taisho to arrange for you to be brought upstairs."
"May I ask why?" Sango called, speaking up for her friend.
"I'm afraid he didn't provide me with a reason," the girl smiled in apology, bowing her head slightly.
Sango turned a worried eye to Kagome. "Are you okay to go? You don't have to if you don't want to, Kagome."
Kagome sniffled and used the fingers of both hands to wipe at her eyes. "No, I'm okay," she whispered hoarsely. "I can go."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Kagome turned to meet Sango's eye, the emotional connection between the two women almost causing Kagome to give in to another wave of tears. Kagome stood herself up forcibly to prevent it from happening again. She was never one to wallow. Kagome knew that crying like this wasn't going to help her situation improve. Taking a deep breath, Kagome nodded. She needed to be strong.
Sango nodded in return and stood, tucking in the two chairs the girls had sat in. They then followed the maid, who identified herself as Ayumi, to the second floor.
Miroku had been waiting for them on the landing.
"Kagome. Sango," Miroku breathed solemnly as the girls appeared before him. "Kagome," he said again, his eyes softening painfully at the sight of Kagome's swollen eyes and flushed cheeks. "I'm so sorry, my dear girl."
Kagome nodded at him as thanks and sniffled, swiping at her nose with the back of her hand. Being around people like this caused Kagome to feel mortified. She just wanted to curl up in her bed, in the floral sheets she had picked up immediately after signing the lease. She wanted a cup of tea in the cat mug Souta had bought her when she went away to university. She wanted to protectively surround her body in the quilt her mother had made her as a graduation gift from teacher's college.
Kagome forced her mind away from the inanimate objects in her life that held such meaning. Sango was right. Kagome couldn't torture herself like this.
"May I speak with you a moment, Sango?" Miroku asked, his eyes bouncing between the two females on the landing.
Sango looked like she was mulling over his comment before turning to Kagome. "Do you want me to come with you, Kagome?"
Kagome shook her head. Despite the seriousness in Miroku's eye, she saw the way his eyes lingered a few seconds longer on Sango. Straightening her back, Kagome internally reprimanded herself for responding to the situation childishly, for turning to tears in response to what happened. She was allowed to grieve, but at the end of the day, escaping the incident with her life was more important than personal belongings. After all, she tried to convince herself, it's just stuff.
"I'm okay, Sango," Kagome said, trying her best to stay the fluctuation in her tone.
"Are you sure, Kagome?" she pressed, her softened brown eyes pleading for the truth from Kagome.
Kagome nodded, forcing a smile across her pained face. "You speak with Miroku. I'll be okay."
Sango sighed as she watched Ayumi lead Kagome down the hallway.
"Are you okay, Sango?" Miroku suddenly asked, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed.
"My heart is breaking for her," she exhaled, mirroring the position on the opposite railing. "I don't know what to do for her."
Miroku nodded understandingly. "Inuyasha and I came up with an idea that I wanted to run by you," he said suddenly, causing Sango's eyes to widen with intrigue. "As her closest friend, I realized that your support of the plan is necessary for it to work."
"What plan?" Sango prodded, her chest humming with curiosity.
"We both believe it would be in Kagome's best interest to stay here, at the manor."
"What?" Sango gasped with doubtful eyes. "She doesn't know either of you. This place isn't a home to her. How could you possibly think that would be best for her?"
Miroku raised his hands in line with his stomach in hopes of warding away Sango's scepticism. "Please hear me out, Sango," he continued.
He bit his lower lip anxiously before opening his mouth to speak. His stomach binding, he didn't know the words to express that wouldn't startle or worry the woman in front of him.
"Inuyasha believes Kagome might be in danger if she leaves here."
The expression on Sango's face fell in response to his words, the whites of her eyes widening in a shocked expression. "In danger?" she echoed. The thought seemed wild to her.
"I don't know how I can explain this to you without it sounding crazy, but I need you to trust me, Sango. The fire today was no accident—"
"—How can you say that?" she interrupted, her mouth agape.
"—and Inuyasha knows that the only way to keep her safe is to keep her here," Miroku droned, ignoring Sango's outburst. "His security has doubled. There are people to watch out for her. She'll have her own bedroom; her own space. She'll be comfortable here and—"
"How is she is danger?" Sango interrupted again, her volume increasing, her brow tightening. She refused to allow Miroku to brush off her question again.
Miroku released an onerous exhale and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "That's the thing, Sango. I can't tell you. That's why you have to trust me."
"How can I, or even Kagome for that matter, trust a man we barely know?"
Miroku's eyes looked hurt. "You know me, Sango."
"For not even two weeks, Miroku," she responded harshly. "I can't allow her to stay here. She'll come home with me. Kagome will stay with me where—"
"You'd subject her to the press in her current state?" He combated, his voice wavering. "Think about it, Sango. Think about her. How many people surrounded your apartment today? How many more do you think there will be once they catch wind Kagome is staying there?" Miroku sighed, trying to steady his nerves. "Kagome didn't leave her apartment for two days because of those vultures. How much will that escalate following recent events?
"You know I'm right, Sango," he pressed, his tone becoming gentler. "Kagome can't live like a caged animal afraid to leave the walls of a house."
"They won't know she's there," Sango refuted, her eyes shaking. He couldn't be right. She didn't want to believe him. "We'll sneak her in—we'll—we can…"
"The manor's property expands nearly 1,500 acres, Sango, all protected by gates and other security measures. Kagome could go outside here. She could be comfortable here." Miroku's expression softened as he took a step towards Sango. "I'll personally give you security clearance so you can come visit anytime you want.
"I really believe she'll be safe here."
Sango's breath quivered on her exhale. Miroku's words pierced her body to the point her hands were shaking. Was Kagome really in that much danger she needed protection, 24/7?
"Is she really in danger, Miroku?" Sango's soft voice beckoned. Miroku couldn't see the expression on her face. Sango's downturned chin caused her bangs to shield her face from his sight.
Miroku's shoulders relaxed. He hadn't realized he had been so tightly wound during this conversation. The look on her face when she finally met his eye, coupled with the way her body retracted and diminished from the weight of his words, pained him. He wanted to embrace her, to hold her against him and tell her everything would be okay. Miroku admired how much love she had for her friend.
"She is," he finally whispered, soft enough that the gravity of the situation finally caused accepting tears to fall from Sango's eyes.
"Kagome," Inuyasha articulated as soon as Ayumi guided her into the room. Bowing her head to Inuyasha, Ayumi turned on her heel and left, leaving the door completely open behind her.
Kagome's red, swollen eyes widened as she took in the glamourous bedroom she stepped inside. Grateful that her cheeks were already flushed from crying, Kagome knew her face would have otherwise lit up like a Christmas tree. Despite the door being open, Kagome was standing alone in a bedroom with Inuyasha.
The walls were a whitewashed lavender, drastically contrasting against the fiercely dark grey of the wooden floorboards. The king-size white-wooden sleigh bed stood prominently on the far side of the room to Kagome's right. The curved angle of the headboard caused the bed to jut out from the wall at least a foot. Blue and violet flowers gently decorated the white duvet that puffed upwards from the mattress. Kagome's eyes couldn't fathom how many decorative pillows were piled atop the bed. Two white doors were closed on the left side of the room, the side where Inuyasha stood. A towering white-wooden dresser with sixteen drawers and a large rectangular mirror lay immediately in front of Kagome, two six-foot windows on either side of it. Kagome guessed the room had to be at least twenty-feet wide.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly.
She jumped in response to her name as a question, interrupting her mesmerized exploration of the fanciful room. She turned her eyes slowly to meet his, her orbs feeling laborious and tired in their movement underneath swollen lids.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, turning his eyes away from hers.
Kagome clutched her fingers together in front of her and nodded. She worried that if she were to open her mouth, more tears were freefall. Kagome distracted her mind from her emotions by turning her eyes to look upon Inuyasha's arm. The limb was contained within a sling in front of his chest. The navy blue material contrasting drastically with the white of his V-neck t-shirt.
"Does it hurt?" she asked suddenly, her eyes trailing the outline of his shoulder and then his arm.
Inuyasha followed her gaze and looked down at his arm, understanding filling him. He turned to her eyes again, smiling past the white bandage covering the bridge of his nose.
"I've had worse," he replied. He had intended for the comment to come across as a joke; however, the sombre look on Kagome's face proved his humour had failed to come across.
"I'm—" he opened his mouth to say, suddenly feeling very awkward and stupid for standing in front of her like this. He couldn't tell if the bedroom door being open made him more or less uncomfortable. "I'm really sorry, Kagome," he finally said. "About your apartment."
Kagome nodded in appreciation of his words. She opened her mouth to say thank you, feeling strings of saliva pop from the wideness of her open mouth, but she quickly closed it. Kagome really felt like an emotional roller coaster.
"I'm glad you're safe," he mumbled, widening his stance. Kagome's cheeks burned in response to his words. She tried to ignore the ache in her eyes as she blinked furiously. She wanted to understand why Inuyasha had her escorted to this room.
"I wanted to—to," he paused, drawing her from her pondering. She noticed a flush tinting his cheeks. He looked uncomfortable. Inuyasha swore at himself for acting like a child as he absently scratched at his cheek.
Fucking out with it, he cursed himself.
"I wanted to know if you'd like to stay here…with m—at the house," he said quickly, alternating his word choice at the very last second. His cheeks burned, his stomach tossed. Why was his body responding this way at a simple question? This was ridiculous, he thought. The way he was acting was completely uncalled for.
But he couldn't help it. He felt physical and emotional pain at the sight of Kagome. The state of his body was evidence of the incident on Sunday night. The state of Kagome's body evidenced the events of today. Despite the irritation of his body taking time to heal, what he had experienced felt like nothing in comparison to what Kagome must be dealing with.
She hadn't even known who he was a week ago, for fuck's sake. Now, he had cannonballed himself into her life with such force that everything was collapsing around her. True, he hadn't been the one to instigate her attending Rin's party, but that whole evening wouldn't have happened—wouldn't have instigated Kagome being there Sunday—if Inuyasha had really kept his distance.
Taking a few steps towards her, Kagome's head shot up suddenly at the sound of his footsteps.
He wants me to stay here? First he offers me the car and now…his home? He wants me to stay in his home?
I can't stay here, another voice from within her screamed. The implications of that…what would Mama think…I couldn't. I can't. I've already hurt them so much.
You know the fire wasn't an accident, the initial voice retorted smugly. Don't be an idiot, Kagome. You know he saved your life. You know it would be safe here.
No! the other bawled. Stay with Sango. That's the better choice. It's the decent choice. You can't live with a man you don't know. Be smart, Kagome. You're smarter than that.
Don't think like that. Look at him. Look how genuine he looks right now. Remember what he did on Sunday? How he protected you from Mukotsu on Sunday? He saved. Your. Life. Your home was torched, and you would have gone up with it if it weren't for him.
"I—" Kagome spoke. The voices in her head were so conflicted she had to bite her lip to placate more tears.
Could she stay with him? Should she stay with him? Kagome had no experience to draw upon to make a rational decision. She had no home. She knew the media would be waiting for her, waiting to publicize her pain, revel in capturing and embellishing her tragedy.
Inuyasha felt his heart beating in his throat. Why was his body so on edge waiting for a reply? He wanted to convince himself that maybe he had uttered the question too quietly for her to hear. He didn't want to think that she didn't want to stay here. He didn't want to think that she was so against the idea. He had pretended to hate the idea with Miroku—My house isn't a fucking hotel, Miroku, he had said—but, in reality, it delighted him. He couldn't justify the thrill that blew up within his chest at the premise of Kagome consciously choosing to stay with him.
He knew all this pain had been his fault. He knew he was to blame for how much hurt and suffering Kagome had experienced. He wanted her to say yes. He wanted her to choose to stay here at the house, with him, so he could find ways to make it up to her.
"Okay," she said finally, her eyes downcast. Inuyasha watched her tug on the hem of her shirt, refusing to meet his eye.
"Okay?" he prodded questioningly. Did he hear her right? Did she really say yes?
"Okay," she repeated, slowly raising her eyes to meet his.
Inuyasha's heart felt like it could explode from the synergy of elation and grief. He couldn't handle the pain on her face knowing he had caused it. He was the reason the whites of her eyes were bloodshot and the skin of her eyelids were distended. Red trails down flushed, pale cheeks caused Inuyasha to feel a hollowness spread through his legs up to his chest. He may not have lit the match that destroyed her apartment, but he naïvely provided the kindling.
He didn't want her to hurt anymore.
Before his brain could scream at him to stop, Inuyasha clumsily closed the distance between them. With his uninjured arm, Inuyasha grabbed hold of one of Kagome's hands that gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled her against his chest. When his brain finally caught up to his body, he realized it was a sorry excuse for a hug. His damaged arm hung limply between them, preventing their bodies from touching, from fully connecting. Inuyasha's uninjured hand pressed into the space between Kagome's shoulder blades, his fingers indenting her skin ever so gently.
A tuft of air flew from Kagome's lips as Inuyasha gripped her hand and pulled her against his upper torso. She tumbled face-first into Inuyasha, her nose depressing in his chest from the force. She could feel his rigid arm against her stomach, his suspended fingers merely inches from the underwire of her bra. She felt the fingers of his other hand press between her shoulder blades, holding her to him. Her skin felt hot underneath the contact of each individual digit.
"Inuyasha," she stammered. His name was a muffled moan leaving her mouth, her lips brushing against the material of his shirt. His scent was so irrefutable Kagome could almost taste it. It surrounded her in a protective bubble. It didn't even matter that the hug, in and of itself, looked absurd.
He felt the hot breath of his name waft over his chest after her utterance, his skin feeling cold once it dissipated. With her forehead pressed against his chest, Inuyasha feared that she would listen to his heart, pounding and vibrating his body from their contact. He didn't want her to know just how severely she affected him.
"Thank you," she muttered, her words even softer than his name. Before the final syllable left her lips, Kagome pressed her cheek into his chest and connected her arms around his waist.
Inuyasha could smell the salt from her tears. He could feel her heart fluttering from within her own chest. His body grew warm, wound-up from amazement that Kagome had said yes to stay here, that she had allowed this contact between them.
Resting his chin delicately on the top of her head, Inuyasha allowed a smile to score the front of his face. His eyes stared outwards into the hallway, eventually closing as he breathed in the scent of Kagome's shampoo and the trace of saline from her tear-stained cheeks.
They wouldn't get her here. They will never harm her, Inuyasha swore. He would do everything in his power to protect her. The gravity of the future ahead of them, Inuyasha sighed, tightening the lids of his eyes.
Yes, he would protect her. No matter what the cost.
"This will be your room, Kagome," he whispered into her hair.
He felt her arms tighten around his midriff and he smiled. He knew she was saying thank you.
Author's Note
So much fluff incoming, I hope you're ready. Brace yourselves, friends! Lots of interesting plot development on the way.
Please review!