Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Revelations After Dark
The last to arrive in the leisure room, Kagome smiled at observing that the seating arrangements panned out somewhat like she had expected. Sango tried to take the reclining chair; however, Miroku had quickly grabbed her hand to pull her down onto the loveseat beside him. Sango cried out in alarm, holding her one arm out in hopes of steadying her hand to prevent a wine spillage. Narrowing her eyes at her male companion, Sango's cheeks burned red as the lush seats waded to her mid-thigh and encouraged her body to lean into Miroku, who happily and unabashedly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. After a few harsh whispered words, and cheeky smirks and replies from Miroku, Sango's body language eventually softened and she cupped her wine glass with both hands, allowing herself to lean into Miroku ever so slightly. Kagome smiled at seeing how her friend took small, quick sips of her wine to wash down her embarrassment. However, the openness of their signs of a relationship were warming to Kagome's heart.
Turning her eyes to the recliner, however, Kagome felt her spirits falter.
Souta had beat Kagome to the reclining chair—one of her favourite reading places—and she allowed herself a few moments to pout. Souta wasn't obtuse to the look on Kagome's face and he smirked at her knowingly. Gripping the handle and springing the footrest to life, Souta sighed dramatically and tucked his hands behind his head. Kagome smiled at his boyish antics and revelled in his presence; her frustrations over losing her preferred seat slowly gave way to gratitude to have some of her family around her again.
Turning her head to see that the remaining three-seater sofa was still unoccupied, Kagome licked her lips and kept her eyes on Inuyasha's back while she made her way over to the vacant seat. Inuyasha was a wild card in this equation. Upon entering the room, he had immediately devoted his attention to the large—unnecessarily large, Kagome would have argued—television cabinetry rather than find himself a seat. Kagome's eyes were glued on his back and then the side of his face while she sat herself down and took a hesitant sip of wine. Her eyes, full of intrigue, watched Inuyasha fiddle with remotes, open the cabinet to reveal the large-screen TV it contained behind its maple doors, and then open several drawers full of DVDs and Blu-Rays.
By this point, Kagome had realized that Inuyasha only had two seating options: the ottoman near Souta or one of the two seat cushions beside Kagome. Either way, Kagome gulped, when eyeing up the ottoman, she guzzled down a hearty mouthful of wine at the likelihood of having Inuyasha sit so closely to her. Turning her eyes to Miroku and Sango on the loveseat, their bodies melded so closely from the lilt of the stuffed leather seats, Kagome's cheeks flushed. Would she and Inuyasha be as close as Miroku and Sango? And that close so openly? Kagome's mind danced back to a montage of images from the Jacuzzi and the glances Inuyasha gave her across the dinner table. Kagome wanted to fan herself her face started feeling so warm. However, trying to bring her mind out of the gutter and into the present, Kagome tried to rationalize that the sofa was so spacious, Inuyasha wouldn't be pressed up against her like Miroku and Sango were.
There was no way Inuyasha would sit next to her when he had another arm of the couch, a whole cushion away from her that he could lean against.
There was no way, she thought. Right?
"Help yourselves, kids," Inuyasha groaned once he had opened the five drawers in the cabinet to reveal their movie-related contents.
Souta scrambled to his feet with a cry of amazement, resting his hands on his knees while he leaned forward to admire Inuyasha's collection.
"Jesus, Inuyasha!" Souta cried, clambering his fingertips over the hefty collection. "Is there a movie you don't own!?"
"Pick something good, Souta!" Kagome reprimanded with a laugh, followed by a sip of wine. She was grateful that Souta's boyishness brought a momentary reprieve from her asinine thoughts on Inuyasha's seating options. However, feeling the cool glass lip linger against her mouth, it wasn't long before Kagome's eyes followed Inuyasha as he moved towards her. Her cheeks flushed as he rested his weight against the couch arm on the side of the couch on which Kagome sat; he was so close his elbow was merely inches away from her shoulder. Forcing her brain out of the gutter, Kagome cleared her throat and adjusted her body to lean away from him slightly. Just his proximity made her chest feel tight.
"Super hero movie or horror?"
"Neither," Kagome and Sango both replied in perfect unison, causing the girls to laugh.
"I actually wouldn't mind a good horror movie," Miroku replied pensively, sipping at his bourbon neat. "I haven't seen a well-done horror film in a while."
"Yeah, right," Souta snickered, "You just want Sango to get scared so you can comfort her," he concluded with air quotations.
"Souta!" Kagome cried with a laugh. Inuyasha's eyes zipped around the room to observe each speaker.
"Don't go spilling my trade secrets!" Miroku playfully gasped simultaneously. Sango was merely silent and quickly took a sip of wine as her cheeks flushed.
"Oh!" Souta cried, lifting a Blu-Ray from the drawer. Kagome narrowed her eyes in hopes of identifying the cover picture on the item but she couldn't.
"I can tell by the picture on the front I won't like it," Sango sighed with a shake of her head. Sango felt she could make a confident call at observing the three masked figures, one with a shotgun over his shoulder and another with an axe held above his head. Somewhere else on the cover, Sango could clearly make out a dark-haired female with red lips and a look of terror on her face.
"Now, now, Sango," Miroku chided with a coy smile, "haven't you ever heard the saying don't judge a book by its cover?"
Sango rolled her eyes and leaned forward to place her empty wine glass on the table.
"We have to watch this, you guys," Souta argued, turning the Blu-Ray cover over in his hands to purview the film stills on the back. "I heard this one was amazing! Do you know that someone had a legitimate heart attack in the theatre because it was so scary? I think we have a winner!"
"Greeeeat," Kagome whined, leaning back into the seat and hugging herself, "it's not like I wanted to sleep tonight, Souta."
Just because there was a house on the back of the cover doesn't mean it's a movie about a break-and-enter, right? Kagome bit her bottom lip in discomfort and suspiciously eyed the Blu-Ray case once more.
Souta laughed, opened the case and handed the disc to Inuyasha's outstretched hand. Kagome had been so distracted by her analysis of the front cover that she hadn't noticed Inuyasha moved away from the arm of the couch.
"I didn't realize we had approved this decision," Sango commented with raised eyebrows, meeting Kagome's nodding expression. "I suppose my or Kagome's opinions don't matter, then, Souta?"
"Don't be dramatic, Sango," Inuyasha rebuked with a cocked eyebrow, cutting Souta off before he could even open his mouth. "It's not that bad of a movie. I bet ya you'll even like it."
"So you've seen it then?"
"Yeah."
Sango crossed her arms. "Is there gore?"
Inuyasha thought for a second. "There's some blood."
"Define some blood," Kagome piped in with skeptical eyes.
"If I remember correctly I think there was one scene with someone getting dismembered."
"And that's some blood?" Sango cried. "I'm vetoing this movie. Souta, what super hero film did you have in mind?"
"Oh, common, Sango," Souta whined, "I've actually wanted to see this one for a while. Miroku even seemed on board with it, didn't you Miroku?"
Miroku nodded his head only twice before he stopped due to the facial expression he received from Sango. Miroku laughed sheepishly in response.
"Why don't you borrow it, then, Souta, if you want to see it so badly?" Kagome offered, ignoring the look she received from Inuyasha at lending out his belongings.
"We don't have a Blu-Ray player at home, sis. Jeez, it's been that long since you went home you don't remember?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Download it then."
Souta sighed heavily. "You know I don't do that."
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Kagome retaliated. "Clearly Sango and I don't really want to watch that movie."
Please don't make me have to sit through this! Think of someone other than yourself, Souta. Come on!
"It really is quite well done," Miroku chipped in, diverting his gaze between the two obstinate females. "It's more suspenseful than anything. I promise you, ladies, it truly isn't that bad."
"You're just on their side because of what Souta said," Sango accused.
Kagome nodded in agreement. "You just want Sango to scream and need you."
Miroku laughed awkwardly and put a bashful hand behind his head. "I'm really that transparent, am I?"
With an aggravated feh! Inuyasha opened up the Blu-Ray player, put the disc inside, and then plopped himself down heavily on the sofa. Kagome's body bounced in response to the weight of Inuyasha's sudden drop.
"You guys are just being giant babies and I've made the decision that we're watching this stupid movie, so will you just shut up about it?"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried indignantly, leaning her back into the armrest to lean further away from him. Why would he have sat himself on the crevice between the two cushions? There was maybe only half a foot between the two of them. Inuyasha's closeness to her made Kagome feel flustered. Her heart was already racing because of the anxiety building in her stomach because of the premise of this movie. "Sango and I said we don't want to watch this. Why can't we—"
"If you don't like it, leave," he brusquely replied, fingering the remote. "You girls spent too much time complaining and we men made an executive decision. Deal with it."
Kagome hmph'd under her breath while muttering, "You don't need to be a jerk about it."
Inuyasha gave her a narrowed eye leer through the corner of his eye but otherwise tried to pretend as if he didn't hear her.
Kagome licked her lips and tried to convince herself she was overreacting. Sure, she wasn't the biggest fan of scary movies to begin with, but the places where her mind was going was unfounded. It was just going to be some outrageous, unbelievable, unrealistic teen drama where people go explore things they would obviously run from, and the plot would be full of holes. There was even likely to be nudity to keep people invested.
Kagome sighed and shifted in her seat. Her heart was pounding for no reason. She had no idea what the movie was about. She was just jumping to conclusions that it was about a break-in that turned deadly. Kagome hadn't realized her hands were shaking.
The music on the selection menu started with an abrupt dissonant chord and it caused Kagome to jump. In reaction, Souta burst into laughter with his hand to his chest, ridiculing Kagome that the movie hadn't even started yet.
"Well, it didn't have to be so freakin' loud! Turn it down, Inuyasha!" She cried. "You'll make the floors vibrate!"
Inuyasha smirked at Souta and then hit play.
"That's the only way to watch movies, Kagome. What are you, new?"
Kagome sunk lower into her seat cushion and brought her knees to her chest as the eighty-inch screen turned black. Inuyasha simultaneously used a remote to dim the lights to a bare flicker. Kagome had never felt such a restricting weight on her chest before. Her entire body was on fire; every impulse was screaming run.
Red font appeared with another dissonant chord and Kagome snapped her eyes towards Inuyasha with a frown. She could clearly make out most of his face from the brightness of the television.
"This is so stupid," she muttered under her breath as another loud, abrupt chord caused her to jump in fright. "Sango and I should have been sitting together. We could have at least held other to hide from this stupid movie."
She heard Inuyasha sigh dramatically. Losing herself into the slow fade of a well-maintained lawn somewhere in suburban America, Kagome flinched unexpectedly when she felt Inuyasha's body come into contact with hers.
"What are you doing?" She whispered hotly, her cheeks flushing.
Through her peripherals, she could see Sango hiding her face behind a large pillow cushion and Miroku whispering words into her ear and laughing at the response those words elicited from Sango. Across from her, Souta was engrossed in the beginning developments of the film.
"Will you relax?" Inuyasha chided, reaching behind his head. He pulled a quilt from the credenza behind the couch and dropped it on Kagome's lap. "I saw Sango had found a hiding place and figured you needed one too."
"Oh gee, you're too kind," she replied sarcastically in a hushed tone to not interrupt the others.
Kagome flapped the blanket in front of her to remove all the folds before draping it over her bent knees. Turning her face back to the television once she had her fists wrapped in the blanket and hovering three inches from her eyes in case immediate coverage was needed, Kagome turned her eyes to peer at Inuyasha. Much to her surprise, Inuyasha didn't move back to the other side of the couch where he had been previously. The side of her thigh was pressed into the side of his and it caused her cheeks to warm. She didn't know if she should say something about it, so as the movie progressed, the main plot making itself apparent—much to Kagome and Sango's chagrin—Kagome let it slide, or tried to, at least.
After twenty minutes, Kagome began to shuffle uncomfortably. By an hour into the film, Kagome couldn't sit still, and Inuyasha's glances of annoyance were becoming much more frequent.
Kagome's flight or fight response was making her begin to feel claustrophobic.
Sango groaned as she hid her eyes behind the overstuffed pillow on her lap. "I hate nighttime in movies. Seriously, though, why can't it always be daytime? Clearly, she's going to die now. This movie is the worst."
Miroku laughed and patted Sango's shoulder supportively.
Immediately, silence filled the room and the film, and Kagome covered her face with the blanket.
"I hate this," Kagome whined, her chest swelling with tears that loomed behind her eyes. Sango nodded in agreement and directed a nasty leer at Inuyasha when he laughed at the girls' behaviour.
"Let me know when she's dead so I can look again," Sango agreed.
"You don't know she's going to die," Inuyasha snapped, "you girls are being ridiculous."
Kagome shriveled her nose at him, but the sudden sight of the female protagonist roaming through her kitchen in her pajamas with a Chef's knife in hand caused Kagome to tear her eyes away. She felt like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. The movie's use of silence was more than Kagome could bear. Her stomach couldn't stop quivering in fear she was so on edge. She had been in a kitchen, roaming around alone in the dark when a hand clamped down on her mouth...
A startling scream, a sudden, shocking slam of a piano chord, and the tear of a sharp object piercing skin caused both girls to scream.
Then the gore that Inuyasha described as some blood overtook the scene and Kagome felt her stomach muscles clench in disgust. Kagome held a hand to her mouth as she gagged.
Souta roared with laughter at the girls' scream. Initially trying to stifle his snigger, Miroku too gave into the giggles that overtook him, the furious blush on Sango's cheeks too much for him to bear. All in the room were oblivious to Kagome's near-breakdown.
"It's not funny!" Sango cried, whacking Miroku in the arm. "This movie is fucking ridiculous! Some blood, Inuyasha? Are you kidding me? This scene is worse than Carrie!"
"I'm sorry, I forgot!" Inuyasha argued. To his detriment, Inuyasha smirked at Kagome; however, he found his smile falter when he saw the blanket finally move from her face and her eyes were red and watering
Tossing the blanket off her lap, and without one word to anyone else, Kagome stormed out of the room, trying to slam the pocket door closed on the way out; however, the door barely skirted a few inches behind her.
Briskly walking towards the stairs in the dark, Kagome felt her heart racing, enraged that Inuyasha and Miroku thought absolutely nothing about subjecting her to a film about a brutal, bloody break-in that clearly ended in a disaster for the female protagonist. Did they forget what Kagome had been involved in just a few months ago? Did they not realize how traumatic of an experience that had been for Kagome?
Bracing herself against the railing to the stairs, Kagome covered her mouth with her hand to try and stifle the tears that threatened to fall. Taking thoughtful, slow breaths, Kagome tried to dispel the building panic that fluttered throughout her chest and threatened to choke her. Kagome didn't want to be a spoilsport. She was the one who suggested the movie night and even when Inuyasha had been stupid, stubborn Inuyasha and had to have his way with picking the movie, Kagome tried to stomach the film.
But a break-in, rape, and murder? Really?
It was more than Kagome could bear.
A sudden noise behind her caused Kagome to cry out in fear and her footing faltered, landing Kagome on her bum and back on the stairs, wincing with pain.
"Kagome, it's just me," Inuyasha cried in alarm, reaching out towards her at the bottom of the stairs. "You idiot; why wouldn't you turn on a light? Are you okay?"
"I'm not talking to you, Inuyasha," she murmured, getting back on her feet. Her right buttock ached from her fall and she tried not to cup it in front of Inuyasha.
"What did I do to you?" Inuyasha retorted, his wide amber eyes muted in the darkness of the stairwell.
Kagome opened her mouth to respond but immediately shut it and then turned away from him. The darkness around them caused the claustrophobia and panic to swell within her stomach once more. Feeling her hands shaking, Kagome stuffed them into her pockets.
"Go back and finish your movie," she said instead, clenching her hands into fists from within her pockets. "I'm going to bed."
"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha cried, reaching for her hand as she shot up the stairs; however, he missed and got nothing but a handful of air. "Kagome, come back here! Hold on a second!"
She shook her head at him in response but he missed it as she finished storming up to the second floor and closed herself into her room.
Turning on the bedside lamp, Kagome anticipated a long night of fighting back tears, cursing Inuyasha in her mind, jumping in fear out of every small noise in the house that she heard, and trying to sleep with the light on. However, much to her surprise, without even knocking, Inuyasha entered her room and closed the door behind him.
"What happened back there?"
"I don't want to talk to you, Inuyasha," she responded coldly, her voice creaking with unshed tears. "Please just go away."
"You were fine an hour ago," he replied obtusely. "What happened?"
"What happened?" she echoed angrily, her watery eyes finding his. "You made me watch that…that stupid movie. How could you not think the subject matter would upset me? Are you really that thick-headed, Inuyasha?"
Kagome opened her mouth to say something else but instead turned her face away. She bit her top lip to prevent the tears that poked their head into view and then, unwillingly, were forced to retreat. For now.
"It was just a stupid scary movie, Kagome," Inuyasha sighed. "I don't understand why—"
"You don't understand why a movie about a residential house break in that led to a twenty-year old girl being raped, tortured, and then murdered, would bother me? Think about it for a second, Inuyasha." Her tears betrayed her then and Kagome spitefully angled her face away from him, wiping at her burning cheeks with the palms of her hands.
"You knew how scared I had been back then," she said immediately, not giving him a chance to speak. "When you came into the kitchen and found me with Mukotsu." The name on her lips caused fresh tears to fall. "You don't want to imagine the things the Family will do to you. That's what he said to me, Inuyasha. I think rape and torture are two things that can easily be imagined, can't you?"
By this point, Kagome was almost unintelligible with her words. Inuyasha, his heart breaking at his daftness, pulled her into his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. His body captured the vibrations of her sobs until she slowly lifted her head, her tears subsiding and turning her face away from him. Despite her anger, it felt good to be held as she gave into the sobs that had been building over the past hour. She just hated that Inuyasha had to be the source to encourage the feelings she had wanted to keep hidden, feelings that reminded her of a darker past she wanted to forget about.
"I didn't think, Kagome," Inuyasha breathed, his eyes turned to the floor. "It was just a movie, I didn't even think about it being like," he paused, "like that time. I didn't think it would upset you."
The silence that lingered then was stifling. Kagome shed a few additional silent tears and when Inuyasha finally turned to her with an open mouth to speak, the statement she directed at him rendered him silent and useless.
"How can you act like nothing's happening?"
The sudden change in tone caused Inuyasha's eyes to widen and his heart to jump into his throat.
"I get that it was just a movie, but the contents were so similar to what happened here. How can that not upset you? The circumstances under my being here: do you ever think about that, Inuyasha? That I'm staying here because someone set my apartment on fire? That I was hunted by a gunman who shot up the car I was in because he wanted to hurt m—?"
"No one will hurt you, Kagome!" Inuyasha bellowed, stealing the words from her lips. "For fuck's sake, don't talk like that! What has gotten into you?"
The loud silence that followed his shout caused Kagome's body to feel unsettled. The dejected look on his face caused Kagome's heart to pound. He clenched his hands into the duvet beneath him.
"You really think it doesn't bother me? The reason why you're here? I regret more than anything that you had been here when those assholes decided to break into this place. That everything you ever owned or loved was taken from you by that fucking fire. That you had a fucking gun pointed at you. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, Kagome. I didn't mean for you to get involved. But, I promise you—"
"—Involved in what, Inuyasha?" Kagome interrupted.
His silence rang loudly in her ears. In that silence, Kagome's thoughts had never felt clearer. She desperately craved mental release, craved to no longer be a slave to her wandering, frantic questions. Turning to look at Inuyasha, then, Kagome suddenly felt as if she had taken her first deep breath in ages. Her mind feeling set and determined, she truly felt like she could breathe.
"Inuyasha," Kagome gulped, on the edge of her mental climax, "who is Naraku?"
The look on Inuyasha's face nearly knocked the wind out of Kagome. The silence that lingered caused Kagome's heart to stammer wickedly. Despite the discomfort she felt having finally pushed past the barrier of the conversation she thought they'd never have, Kagome could have laughed for not feeling regret; she felt the opposite of regret. She was glad this question was out in the open. She was glad to have finally addressed a topic of so many sleepless nights and endless inquiries.
Her ravings would end tonight. Of that, Kagome felt positive. She wanted answers.
"Where did you hear that name?"
Kagome was silent before licking her lips to speak; the dryness was all-consuming. "I," she stammered, "I heard you earlier with Miroku."
Inuyasha bit his lip as his eyes wandered the room. It was a gesture that told Kagome he was trying to control his temper; however, she could see the pure, red anger bubbling underneath his skin.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she upheaved, "I was coming back to clear the dishes and I heard you mention the name Naraku. Why were you and Miroku arguing about him?"
"It's none of your fucking business."
The terseness and the quiet of his words were so jarring that it caused tears to sting Kagome's eyes.
"It is my business, Inuyasha. Please." Her gaze pled at him for answers as tears casually trailed her cheekbones. "I want to help you, Inuyasha."
"You can't do anything, Kagome. Just stay the fuck out of my business!"
"Why are you shutting me out?" she cried, her eyes straining at him, watching him remove his weight from the bed and pace the floor before her.
"Drop it, Kagome!"
"No!" she cried definitely, standing to block his path where he was pacing. "Who is Naraku? Who is Musō? Why did you say his name in your sleep? What did they do to you?"
"Are you fucking kidding me, Kagome?" Inuyasha's face was ghostly white with rage.
"I just want to help you!" she cried with outstretched hands. "Please, Inuyasha," she cried, "let me help you."
"Stay away from me," he exclaimed, backing up towards the door.
Kagome, terrified he was about to leave her, threw her back up against the door and grasped the doorknob tightly in her fist behind her.
"Why does Naraku want to hurt you? What happened between the two of you?"
"Shut up!" he cried, turning away from her, his eyes glaring daggers into the floorboards. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!"
"Please," Kagome sobbed, "Inuyasha, just tell me who they are. Were you really being stalked when you were in the band? Was someone really trying to hurt you? Was it this Naraku person?"
"Shut your mouth, Kagome," Inuyasha choked. "Get away from the door. Now."
"What happened with the band, Inuyasha?" Kagome wept. "Why have band members been coming after you, Inuyasha? Coming after me?"
Inuyasha seized Kagome's shoulders so tightly a cry split between her lips. She could feel his rage coursing through every fingertip, his nails indenting the flesh of her triceps. Pain ran like lightning bolts down her arms. Her wide, tearstained eyes looked up at him in fear and concern.
"Inuyasha—" Kagome cried, "—you're hurting me!"
"Get away from the door. Don't make me—"
"—Tell me what happened!"
"Dammit, Kagome, I said move!"
Inuyasha pushed Kagome with such force she landed sideways on the bed, her mouth dry and heart pounding as she watched Inuyasha rip open the door and storm into the darkness of the hallway.
In the distance of the house, Kagome thought she heard Sango call out her name.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, lunging from her bed and out the room.
Inuyasha took the stairs three at a time and she heard his bedroom door slam long before Kagome made it to the third floor. Slapping the palm of her hand against his bedroom door, Kagome ignored the stinging pain and shouted Inuyasha's name.
"You can't hide from me, Inuyasha!" she shouted. She slapped her palms one more time, her hands aching from tip to wrist. "Open the door!"
The sound of objects being thrown and destroyed behind the wooden barricade in front of her caused Kagome to jump back from the door in alarm.
"Kagome!"
Kagome spun on her heel to see Miroku and Sango standing on the landing of the third floor. Souta hung back even further behind them, his face white with concern and unknown sentiments. Sango reached out for her friend, but Kagome took a step back, trying to show fierceness in her soft and vulnerable exterior.
"Miroku, do you have keys to Inuyasha's room? Please, it can't end like this. I need to talk to him."
"What happened, Kagome?" Sango asked, her eyes begging her friend for answers.
Kagome licked her lips and ignored Sango. The sound of Inuyasha's fury in the room behind them caused Kagome to flinch and shut her eyes until the episode passed. Opening her eyes, Miroku witnessed the tired pleading directed at him.
"I need to talk to him, Miroku," Kagome begged. "Please. Do you have keys?"
"I don't think it's a good idea, Kagome. When he gets like this—"
"—I don't care," she interrupted stubbornly. "We're going to finish this conversation tonight." Clenching her hands into fists, she added, "I'm really worried about him, Miroku. For his sake, I need to talk to him. Can't you hear him in there? He's hurting; can't you guys hear it? He needs help. Please, let me help him."
"What happened, Kagome?" Sango repeated. "What did Inuyasha do?"
Kagome smiled self-deprecatorily and shook her head. "I asked him who Naraku is."
The name caused Miroku's body to visibly stiffen and Kagome's eyes slowly turned to meet his.
"I overheard you and him, Miroku. I heard about the truck, Naichō, Naraku, all of it."
"Kagome," Miroku gasped, "what are you saying? What have you done?"
"I want answers, Miroku," Kagome sighed, tears running down her cheeks. "I want to know why I'm involved. And I'm not leaving this door until Inuyasha tells me why."
"Miroku," Sango called in a hushed tone, "what is Kagome talking about? What conversation is she talking about?"
"Do you have keys to Inuyasha's room, Miroku?"
Kagome's question overpowered Sango's and the silence between the three friends was loud in between the sudden bursts of Inuyasha's rage behind them.
"It's not safe, Kagome," Sango cried, "Jesus Christ, listen to him in there! I don't want you going anywhere near him right now, Kagome. He's not himself."
The sound of glass breaking caused Kagome's body to wince and she licked her lips thoughtfully.
"He won't hurt me, Sango," Kagome nodded. "He's shocked, and in pain, and I think a little afraid. I know he's upset with me for bringing this up, but Inuyasha wouldn't hurt me. I'd bet my life on it. Now, do you have keys, Miroku, or do I need to go ask Kaede?"
Reaching into his pocket, Miroku gripped his set of house keys in his fist, slowly drawing them into the open. He hated that he saw some truth to what Kagome said. For how many years had Miroku thought it would be sensible for Inuyasha to confide in Kikyou? But Inuyasha always said his past was a burden he needed to bear alone; no one would ever understand.
Miroku had seen firsthand what Inuyasha had been like back then, when he was a drugged up tool of destruction for the Kuzawari Gang. When undercover, Miroku had witnessed some of the unspeakable evils that Inuyasha had done, been forced to do. Miroku had seen how dangerous Inuyasha had been when he was backed into a corner.
And now Kagome had backed him into one. He truly could not believe this would end well for her.
"Please don't do this, Kagome," Miroku implored, his palm face up and the keys glinting before Kagome's eyes. A plea gleamed in his periwinkle eyes that Kagome chose to ignore. "This is much bigger than you think it is."
"Thank you for your concern, both of you," she added, turning serious eyes towards both Sango and Miroku. "But, I want this closure. And from what I'm seeing in Inuyasha, he needs it too."
Resting her hand on the doorknob, and steadying herself with tightly closed eyes and a deep breath, Kagome sunk the key labeled "Inu Rm" into the door lock. The rampage behind the door went silent as Kagome turned the key, opened the door, and stepped into the fury that awaited her.
Author's Note
Slacker McSlackington here. Sorry, friends…life gets in the way sometimes.
But, here we are! We're on the cusp of the big revelation about Inuyasha's past. Are you excited? What will happen between him and Kagome? What do you think he'll tell her? Will our favourite stubborn half-demon even say anything? Sigh…it also doesn't help that my heart says angry sex, but my commitment to the story says not yet…soon though…very soon…
I'm so excited for the next chapter