Chapter 125
Quousque tandem?
"For how much longer?"

"You are my heart, my life,
my one and only thought."
—The White Company

Inuyasha lounged up on the edge of a building, as he waited for her school thing to end.

He knew that her studies were important. The only reason that he could read and write—somewhat—was because his mother insisted on teaching him herself. Even though he didn't appreciate it very much at the time, he did it because it gave him unfettered access to her attention. It wasn't hard to learn, and it'd come in handy periodically. Everyone always thought the hanyou was too dumb to learn, but he'd shown them, hadn't he? The dumb hanyou was the only one who'd escaped the attack that night, and now, here he was.

Five hundred years in the future waiting on Kagome to finish up learning whatever batshittery she was learning.

He knew it was important to her, and that's the only reason he wasn't being a little bitch about it.

Mostly.

He was bored, and he did miss her.

Shifting to lay on his stomach, he stared at the building waiting for the stupid thing to ring and release her back to him. Inuyasha huffed loudly to no one in particular as he waited, stretching out on the warm concrete as he listened to the school grounds in case Kagome called for him.

He knew that he shouldn't have expected her to come up to the rooftop during the eating period, but he still landed there, just in case.

This was important to her, and she was important to him, so therefore, this was also important to him, but he also didn't like it.

It stressed her out and overworked her. She was already the smartest person he knew, so what else did she need to know to survive?

Inuyasha stared out over the grounds, watching and waiting, moving when a noise came too close or he was afraid of being caught.

A loud bell sounded, and he watched as a mass of people began to exit the building. Inuyasha dropped down into the alleyway next to the gates and strolled through, waiting and hoping to see Kagome amongst the throngs of people.

Leaning back against the fence to hide his eagerness of seeing her again, his eyes meticulously scanned the crowd to find her.

People eyed him and whispered about who he was. His hair. His clothes. All the things that set him apart, but he'd endured far worse than random questions and comments.

He'd endure worse if it meant that he got to see her.

And then, she was there. Hobbling out of the doorway on her crutches, pausing to look around—hopefully for him.

The grin that broke out across her face when her eyes met his made something in his chest burn.

No one had ever looked so excited to see him, or really searched for him in a crowd—at least not for a good reason—until her.

She stopped in front of him, cheeks tinged pink with exertion, and picked up the pack from her shoulders to alleviate the strain for the moment.

"How'd it go?" He asked as she untangled herself from the straps. He could've just carried her by the backpack, but he felt like she'd probably be a little pissy about it.

"I'm wearing my uniform!" She stated proudly with a wide grin on her face. He looked her over, because she was wearing her uniform, but she had left with it on? There was something he wasn't grasping here, and he wasn't sure what it was.

"Are you proud that you kept your clothes on?"

"No!" She let out a soft laugh as she lightly smacked his arm. It was the kind of laugh that he'd missed for so long, and he'd only just gotten back. She felt like Kagome again. The whole version of Kagome. He loved her so much. "I'm wearing it, and I didn't freak out about it this morning!" She grinned. "I just put it on!"

He'd noticed this morning, that she hadn't stared at it, hadn't questioned anything, just put it on and asked to be carted downstairs for breakfast.

He was proud of her then, even though he didn't say a word about it. But a slow roar of pride burned in his chest as she sat at the table talking and acting like his Kagome.

"I missed you," she said softly, moving her weight a little from the crutches under her arms. "Did you miss me?"

He didn't miss the pink that rose up to her cheeks.

"What sort of dumb fucking question is that?" He retorted, and she just smiled. That wide, ear-to-ear grin that she always gave him like he'd just given her the greatest gift of all, even though it would amount to absolutely nothing. Whatever he could give her now would be worth nothing.

And she meant everything to him.

"Wanna go home?" She asked, leaning forward on the crutches just a little, and he nodded. He just wanted to be near her, and the best place for her to rest was at home.

"You okay to walk for a bit?" He asked her, and she nodded quickly, shifting to move with her crutches.

"I'll be glad to get rid of these things," she grumbled. "They're obnoxious."

"Kaede said that you need to stay off your ankle until it's finished healing."

"I know," she sighed, "I just hate them."

That was a sentiment that Inuyasha could understand. He was barely tolerable on the best days, even worse when he was injured.

At least Kagome's patience was better than his own.

"I wish I could've come up to the roof for lunch."

"You shouldn't be taking the stairs in those things."

"I know, which is why I didn't do that," she sang, giving him a look. "This way, you wouldn't have to give me a lecture, and I wouldn't have to hear it."

"Like you actually listen," he scoffed.

"Fine, then I wouldn't have to pretend to listen to your lecture," she grinned at him like a damn smug cat.

"You're lucky I love you," he muttered, feeling his face grow a little warm in the bright afternoon sunlight.

"Higurashi!"

Inuyasha turned towards the voice calling after Kagome, shifting to intercept the stranger, and then rolled his eyes.

A boy with the bone density of a twig jogged up to them.

"Oh, hello," he said, stepping around like Inuyasha didn't matter.

"Oh, hi, Hojo," Kagome said, clear disappointment in her voice. She wasn't thrilled to see him, and if she didn't want to talk to him, then she wouldn't have to.

That was literally Inuyasha's one job in this relationship: keeping her safe.

And happy, but that was a close second.

He shifted so that he remained in between them.

"Who're you?" Inuyasha asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Who is your friend, Kagome?" Twig for brains asked her, like Inuyasha was just a mute wall.

"What do you want, Hojo?"

"Oh, I was going to walk you home."

"I've got that covered," Inuyasha pointed out.

"Inuyasha is walking me home."

"Oh," the boy looked a little crestfallen, and Inuyasha stood up a little straighter. He was taking Kagome home. "Well, is there anything I can help with?"

"I've got it," Inuyasha said, irritated that this little shit was insinuating that he wasn't capable of taking care of Kagome. Kagome shifted her weight on her crutches, and he flicked his tongue against his teeth. "You can go home."

"Inuyasha, be nice," Kagome chastised, lightly swatting his arm.

"I am," he growled out, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks, Hojo, but Inuyasha is going to walk me home."

"Are you sure? I don't mind," the brat continued to offer.

"It's really fine, Hojo," she said. "Inuyasha has it covered."

"But—"

"She said she's fine!" Inuyasha snapped out, letting his youki flare just a bit. Just enough to disturb him.

"Stop it," Kagome hissed, but Hojo was already taking a step back.

He might not be able to see the youki, but Inuyasha could tell that the idiot knew something was amiss.

"I will see you tomorrow," he said, shifting his pack and walking away.

"Fucking idiot," Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

"He's just being nice," Kagome told him as she limped next to him on the crutches.

"He's not just being nice," Inuyasha pointed to the alley way, letting her slip in ahead of him. "He's just like Kouga except less annoying about it. Can't take no for an answer, the fuckwads."

Kagome handed him the crutches as she took her backpack from him, slipping it on over her shoulders, and he kept a hand on her waist to help steady her.

Once she was done, he knelt down, allowing her to climb onto his back, where he used the crutches to support her.

Another reason why he hated these stupid things. Cold metal was not what he wanted to feel when carrying Kagome like this.

At least when she let him cart her around the shrine, he could actually carry her. He bounded up and off towards the shrine, feeling her arms tighten around his neck.

"I really did miss you today," she sighed, resting her head against his.

"Yeah," he breathed.

He'd missed her too, and at least he could be close to her now and when they returned from the shrine.

"Did you go home?" She asked.

"Nah, stayed there in case you needed me."

"Did you bring a lunch?" Kagome asked, and he just sort of shrugged the answer off.

"Not that big of a deal," Inuyasha said.

"Inuyasha! It is a big deal!"

"I've been hungry before."

"But you shouldn't have to be!"

"I'm not going to die from missing a meal," he said, dropping down onto another rooftop and continued running and leaping.

"You shouldn't have to miss a meal!"

His eyes slid to hers and then focused back on the rooftop ahead of them. She didn't need to know that he'd starve if it meant that she'd never have to.

"Like your mom didn't shove enough food down my throat this morning."

He might have been a little hungry, but it was barely anything worth even noting.

Inuyasha leapt onto the shrine grounds, making a few short bounds and then he was leaping up to the ledge by her window. He wanted to slip inside without anyone noticing and just have her to himself for a few moments. Then he could stand to share here with the rest of her family and friends.

"Fucking crutches," he griped, twisting around and leaping down to the ground before striding to the back door where he let her feet touch the ground and then was whipping around to steady her with a hand on her side as he leaned the crutches against the wall.

"My ankle isn't broken, you know," she pointed out as she put her foot down. "It's not going to hurt if it touches the ground."

Inuyasha just shot her that was part annoyance and part irritation at her statement.

Pulling the door open, he set the crutches inside before plucking the backpack off her shoulders and then sweeping her up and carrying her inside the house.

"I can probably walk a few steps without damaging anything."

"Kaede said to stay off your feet."

"You're being over-protective."

"You're being an idiot."

It wasn't even like she was heavy, and even if she was, even if he was human and couldn't lift a fraction of what he could now, he'd still carry her anywhere and everywhere she wanted to go.

He'd do whatever it took to keep her safe, healthy, and happy.

"You forgot my crutches outside," Kagome said, gesturing towards the door.

"Fuck those things," Inuyasha muttered. Those stupid things could rot. If she didn't have them, then she couldn't go to school.

Which would make her stay at home.

With him.

Unlimited time with him.

But that would also make her upset.

So it was easy to see the grand conundrum here.

He marched her through the house, leaping up the stairs and striding into her room. He let her backpack fall down next to her desk and then sat them both on the bed, rolling them both over so that he could hold her for just a few moments.

Kagome giggled.

"Inuyasha," she laughed as he buried his face into her hair. "So you can survive not eating for a whole day, but you can't stand not having a nap?"

"I don't need a nap," he grumbled, tightening his hold on her waist.

"So what do you need?"

"Nothing," he grumbled, but he didn't move. Because he did need just a moment, but voicing that seemed like a terrible weakness.

Kagome didn't say anything, but he felt her hands drift over his wrists, coming to rest over his own.

Somehow, she always knew what he needed and never shamed him for it.

They stayed there on her bed, together, for a little while. Enough that when she finally pulled away, it didn't quite feel like a loss.

She sat on the edge of her bed, twisting just a bit to look down at him.

It was the stillness in the room—the quiet—that made her so lovely. She was his, and he was hers, and that was all there was to it. But the way the smile slowly broke across her face as she looked at him, made every broken bone, every slice in his skin worthwhile. If he had to suffer the loss and the loneliness over again to have her, he'd agree to suffer in a heartbeat.

He didn't even know how much he'd endure just to have her forever.

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

"It's not that much longer until dinner, Kagome," he said, rising up onto his elbows.

"Still," she huffed just a little. "You could always go down and get a snack if you want."

"Nah," he said with a wave of his hand, "I can wait for you."

"You can wait, huh?" She asked him, her hand sliding out to grasp onto his fingers. "And yet you grumble about me taking too long to make ramen."

He let her move and rub his fingers as much as she wanted. He liked being touched by her. He liked that she sought him out.

"That was mostly to make Miroku stop talking," his fingers wrapped around hers, squeezing gently.

"How well did that work?"

"Never," he snorted, and Kagome laughed.

Another sound that he liked. He liked it even better when he was the cause of it. He liked making her happy and seeing her smile because of something that he did.

It made him feel like he mattered.

It made him feel special—better than everyone else.

He rose up on his hands, leaning back on them as he stared at her face. He was so close to her.

Pink started to spread out across her cheeks, and he could see her almost freezing as a million thoughts ran through her head. She was thinking too much—he could tell. She wanted to do something, and her dumb, smart brain was making her second guess.

"You're thinking too much," he told her, and she blinked at him, cheeks pinking even more.

It was cute. Cuter than she had any right to be.

"Why is your face so pink?" He asked, knowing the result.

And he wasn't wrong, watching her face grow darker and redder the longer she stared at him.

"It—It's not!" She twisted her face away from him in a clear attempt to calm the deepening red of her cheeks.

"Really?" He asked, tilting his head a little. "Looks like your cheeks are pretty pink to me."

"Shut up!" She snapped without any real venom or anger.

He laughed, reaching up to turn her face back to him. She let him move her, revealing a pouting scowl on her face.

"Pink is a good color on you," he said, leaning in to give her a kiss.

She didn't stop him, and he watched the pink flare up even brighter on her cheeks as she pulled away.

"Jerk," she muttered, and he laughed again. "I need to do my homework." She stood up, striding towards her desk before remembering that her ankle was injured, and he was already up behind her, steadying her as she wobbled.

"Dummy, it's not healed yet because you took one day off."

"Some days I'm really jealous of how fast you heal," she griped as he helped her sit down in her chair.

Pressing a kiss to her hair, he rose up and walked to where he'd abandoned her backpack and dragged it over to her.

"If you stay off of it, you'll heal faster."

She huffed out a breath of air as she sat there, digging out her books and papers. He migrated back to her bed, sprawling out onto the pink comforter that smelled so strongly of her that he couldn't help but close his eyes and enjoy the scent so strongly associated with home.

"Big Brother!"

Inuyasha groaned as he heard Souta roaring up the stairs and bursting into the room.

"Stay out, Souta!" Kagome shouted throwing a wad of paper at him. He laughed as it bounced off his head.

"What?" He slapped his hands to his cheeks in mock surprise. "Were you two kissing?!" He grinned evilly at Kagome. "Wait until I tell Mom."

Inuyasha already knew that this was going to end badly.

Maybe growing up without a sibling was the best. Sesshomaru being this annoying?

Fucker would be part of the 'no hands' gang.

He could wield Tensaiga by shoving it up his ass.

"Knock it off, brat," Inuyasha said, raising up on his elbows. "Your sister's trying to study, and I'm taking a nap."

"It's boring in here, come play with me."

"Fine, fine," Inuyasha said, sitting up and Souta cheered before darting off. He stood, stretching his limbs before walking over to Kagome. "You owe me."

He pressed his lips to her hair before walking out the door.

"For what?" Kagome asked.

"You want a list?" He shouted over his shoulder as he followed Souta down the stairs.

Inuyasha had no clue what he was doing. Only that there was a ball and he was supposed to not let it get past the sticks. Which wasn't hard?

The kid wasn't fast. Well, not as fast as him, but it wasn't a real challenge as far as Inuyasha was concerned.

The kid kicked the ball between his feet, and Inuyasha watched him as he moved it around with a deft ease.

It was quiet. The soft thuds as the ball knocked around his feet were the only sound between them, and then the kid sent the ball flying towards him with a deft kick. Inuyasha shot his hand out, knocking the ball back to him.

This time though, the kid didn't kick it right back or play around with it.

"Kagome's different," he stated. It wasn't an accusation but rather an observation. "She's better this time."

"Kagome's tough," Inuyasha said, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal. She hadn't told her family clearly, so he wasn't going to be the one that gave it away. Though a little heads up might've been nice, so he didn't feel like he was treading on thin ice.

"Do you love her?" He asked, and Inuyasha glanced up where Kagome's room was, like she would appear and magically help him answer that.

But, alas.

"Yeah," he answered with another shrug.

Souta nodded, nudging the ball with his toe, staring at the ground.

"Are you going to make her stay over there?"

Inuyasha tilted his head at the question.

"Keh," he scoffed. "Like I can make your sister do anything she doesn't want to do. Whatever we do will be her choice," he answered, and he meant it.

Souta seemed encouraged by this, nodding at the statement.

Inuyasha wasn't entirely sure what the cause of the sudden conversation was, but at least it was going well.

"Souta?" His mother called, leaning out the doorway. "Dinner!"

"Coming!" Souta called, rushing towards the door as Inuyasha followed.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I didn't know that you were out there," she said.

"I'll get Kagome," he gestured towards the stairs and her mother thanked him, like he was straining himself to help her. It wasn't hard. He'd gladly help her whenever it was possible.

He walked up the stairs, where Kagome was still sitting at her desk, working.

"Hey, it's dinner time," he said, thumbing over his shoulder towards the stairs.

She looked up at him and smiled.

"Did you have fun with Souta?" She asked.

"Sure, if you like getting pelted with a giant ball."

He lifted her out of the chair, carrying her towards the stairs.

"Was Souta too fast for you?"

"Keh," he scoffed. "Hardly."

He leapt the last few steps, landing lightly on the ground floor.

"Show off," Kagome muttered, making him smile as he strode towards the table.

After dinner, Kagome had bathed and then sat at her desk for-fucking-ever, until he finally convinced her to go to bed after she'd tried nodding off at least twice. The second time, she'd nearly knocked her head into her desk.

"Alright, come on," he said, picking her up and carrying her over to the bed, where he'd pulled the sheets back when she'd started to nod off the first time and then refused to go to sleep.

"No, I have so much to study," she whined, reaching over to try and keep herself at her desk.

"You're going to put your eye out if I let you stay up any longer."

"I will not," she whined again, even though she really wasn't fighting him on anything at this point.

Her fingers tightened on his haori as he pulled away, fully intent on tucking her in and letting her sleep.

"If I have to sleep, so do you," she grumbled, tugging him towards the bed.

"Well, I need to turn your lamp off," he gestured to the light source behind him. Kagome eyed it, squinting in the stark difference of his shadow and it's brightness.

"Fine," she relinquished her grip on his haori. "But you better come back here." Her voice held a warning tone to it, and he snorted.

"Or what?" He asked, striding over to turn the light off.

"Or I'll get up and make you come over here. I can do it."

"I have no doubt that you'd hurt yourself trying to make me do whatever you wanted." He flicked the light off and Kagome flung the covers back with a flourish, eyes clearly focusing on his silhouette in the dark.

"You know that I can sit on the floor, and—"

"You are not sleeping on the floor!" She hissed.

"I don't need to sleep as much as you," he insisted, but she pointed to the empty space beside her with a scowl on her face.

With a sigh, he climbed into bed, slipping under the sheets as she made a show of flipping them back up over them both and curling up against him like a cat, moving his arm under her head like he was a piece of furniture with pillows.

"Make yourself comfortable," he muttered.

"I will."

He snorted at that, letting his fingers run through her hair, drifting slowly down to the ends before starting their trek over again.

If this was how he got to sleep every night, he could be very happy with his lot in life.

"Hey," Kagome said, her voice sounding like she was half-asleep already.

"Hmm?"

"Can you smell lies?"

Inuyasha let out a barking laugh before slapping his hand over his own mouth to stifle the noise. His entire body shook as he laughed into his hand.

"What the fuck?" He gasped. "No!"

"Oh," Kagome breathed.

"God, I'm going to use that on Miroku the next time he starts his bullshit. Imagine his face!" He took a deep breath to settle himself. Of all the things she thought he could do—smelling if someone was telling the truth or not?

Honestly.

She really was the dumbest smart person he knew sometimes.

"If I could smell lies, don't you think that I would've figured out that Kikyo wasn't being honest with me from the get go?"

"That makes sense."

"Get some sleep, Kagome, before you ask anymore dumb questions."

"It's not a dumb question. You always just do things and act like it's normal."

"Well, rest assured that you're just a really shitty liar."

"I am not!"

"Then maybe, I just know you well enough to know that you're bullshitting me." He turned his head pressing a kiss to her hair.

She huffed with clear irritation, but she didn't pull away.

"And maybe I trust that you won't lie to me," he whispered.

She squeezed him, and he rested his other arm across hers, holding the little fragile little band of bone and muscle and flesh around his middle.

She trusted him—that notion alone was enough to make that deep swirling pit of whatever it was, churn and rise up in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole.

For once, Inuyasha wasn't afraid of it. He wasn't afraid of being swallowed up—consumed by this boiling affection that felt like it could destroy him—erode him down to nothing if he let it go too far and too long.

And even if it did? It'd be worth it to experience this for just a little longer.

A/N: Happy Thursday!

Sorry that it's been a blip. I'm still not 100% on where this is going, mostly because
*gestures vaguely*
LIFE is being a little shit. Between the vertigo and working and just everything else, I'm still struggling. Updates might be intermittent, but just be reassured, I will finish this and I am trying, but trying is a struggle.

I hope this chapter makes it worth the wait you've had for this. Thank you for having patience on this and all my stories. You have no idea how much it means to have your support on all these.