InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fragment of Eternity ❯ Because He Loves Her - Part II ( Chapter 16 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Sure I own Inu-Yasha! That's why I'm writing FAN fiction! ::rolls eyes::

Author's Note: Hey, guys! I'm back! Did you miss me greatly? I missed you! ^_~

One: Inori-Sakura. . . I love you. ^_^ ::hugs:: (Lol- I'm saving your review.)

Two: ~So Kikyou's really gone bye-bye? Seems too easy...>_<~

No, Kikyo's still around. She'll be making another appearance in a few chapters. So you're right- that would have been too easy. ^_^; Gomen ne.

Three: Of Memories Past-sama is reading this story?! ---^_^--- Wow! I feel so honored! Thanks so much! ::bow bow::

Well, here's the chapter with the promised fluff! And, as an ADDED bonus- we find out WHY Inu-Yasha died!

Exciting, huh? ^_^ So let's get right down to it! Please enjoy!

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~Fragment of Eternity~

Chapter Sixteen: Because He Loves Her ~ Part II

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`Why. . . ?'

The word wouldn't stop echoing through her fatigued mind. `Why. . . ?'

Why was this happening. . . ?

Why did Kikyo do that. . . ?

Why did Inu-Yasha defend her. . . ?

Why did she care so much. . . ?

Kagome lay sprawled on her bed, sniffling into her moist pillow. All around her signs of night time were blanketing the room, but not once did she notice. Not when her stomach growled loudly in hunger, not when her bedroom walls were dyed the depressing shades of twilight, not when the cloudy sky parted a fraction to allow a single beam of moonlight to push through the her window: enveloping her body and bed in an eerie shade of iridescent blue.

In fact, she probably would have stayed in her sobbing stupor `til the next morning had it not been for one small interruption.

The phone beside her bed began to ring.

". . . ?"

Kag slowly lifted her red, puffy eyes, blinking away more tears as she ran the back of her hand across her cheeks; trying the stem flow the twin rivers there.

Who would be calling her so late. . . ?

Her hand reached out on its own accord, trembling slightly as it came in contact with the cool plastic of the cordless receiver. Pressing the `talk' button and lifting it gingerly to her ear, the girl took a shaky breath.

"H-hello. . .?"

"Hello? Kagome?" a cheerful voice chirped from the other end. "Kagome, is that you?"

The girl blinked in surprise. "Sa-Sango. . . ?"

"Kagome!" Sango cried happily, her voice crackling slightly due to distance. "Hey! I just called to say I missed ya, girl! What's going on?"

". . .

. . .

. . ."

"Hello. . . ?" The ebony haired teen could hear the frown in her friend's voice. "Kagome, are you okay. . . ?"

". . . ," the girl cleared her throat, dabbing her nose with a tissue from a small box near her bed. "Yeah. . ." A small, watery smile took over her lips as she put on a happy mask. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just. . . cut my cheek earlier today and it sort of hurt."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! You're feeling better now, I hope?"

". . . Slightly."

"Well, that's good. Can't have you accidentally killing yourself while Miroku and I aren't around to take care of you. Oh! But speaking of killing yourself-" Kagome winced, glad the exterminator couldn't see the look of pain on her face as she absentmindedly continued, "-how's Inu-Yasha?"

. . .

"Kagome. . . ?"

. . .

"Kagome, are you still there?"

. . .

"Kagome- - - ?!"

"I'm here," the girl whispered, her voice low. "Sorry. Inu-Yasha's fine, too."

Sango- being masterfully perspective- instantly knew something had happened. And- also being wonderfully nosy- was itching to find out what. "Kagome. . . ? Is there something you want to talk about. . . ?"

. . .

"Kagome, not to sound rude, but if you continue to not talk to me I've just wasted a whole lot of money on a long distance call. So talk, dammit, talk!"

A tiny, involuntary giggle fell from the girl's lips as her chin wavered. "I'm sorry, Sango. . . I just. . . just. . .

. . .

Yes. There is something I want to talk about."

"All right!" the young adult on the other end grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere!" With a loud, over dramatic `Ahem!', she took on the serious but gentle tone of a psychiatrist. "So, what's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering something, really," Kag murmured, head bowed as her voice grew softer. "I was just wondering how. . . well. . . how you knew you were in love with Miroku. . ."

. . .

"Sango. . . ?"

. . .

"Sango, are you there?"

. . .

"Sango, remember the money you were talking about earli- - - ?"

"Sorry," the exterminator interrupted with a cough, sounding rather taken aback. "I just didn't expect that. But. . . okay. Hmm. . . how I knew I was in love. . . Well, I guess I first knew something was going on when I began to feel. . . jealous."

Jealous. . . ?

Kagome swallowed. That was a check in the positive column. Uh oh. . .


"Jealous. . . ?" she squeaked quietly. "Jealous how?"

"Well, when he groped other women and stuff. I'd get really mad and beat him up for it. And one time, when he was drooling over a girl at a restaurant we went to, I poured a jug of water over his head and threw my spaghetti into his face."

That certainly sounded as if it had been an interesting sight. . .


"How. . . how else did you know?"

"He always managed to make me blush. No other man I'd ever met has ever managed to make me blush before. Oh- and being around him made me happier than anything!"

Kag's heart was beginning to pound louder and harder than it ever had as sinking realization slowly seeped into her every pore. All these were applying to her. . .

"And. . . well, I dunno how to explain it. I just felt this tug in my heart and soul and gut every time I was around him. . ." Check. "And I was always willing to forgive him, no matter what he did. Even I don't know why. . . But I was." Check. "And I didn't want anyone else to touch him or be around him- I wanted to keep him all for myself." Check.

The teen mentally ticked off the number of `yes's in her mind. That was six positives. . . out of six questions.

Shit.

"Anyway- why?" Sango questioned conversationally, acting cool though inside she was dying to know. "Do you think you're in love, Kag?"

*Click!*

. . . ?

"Kagome?"

"Sango?"

The girl's gawked at their respective phones in bewilderment.

"If you didn't hang up- - - ?" they began simultaneously, confusion etched on their faces and in their voices.


"Wait. . ." the exterminator suddenly glowered. "*MIROKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!*" Kagome flinched as she pulled the ear-piece away from her face. Ow. . . *that* hurt the eardrums. . .

"What- - - ?!" Miroku's indignant- and rather frightened- muffled voice came from the other end of the line.

"Were you listening in on our conversation?!"

"Wha- - - ? No!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! Sango, darling- I swear- - - !"

"LIAR!"

Kagome simply blinked down at the phone in her lap, only half listening as the sounds of the fighting couple trickled through the receiver- - -

*

- - - And downstairs, Inu-Yasha slowly hung the kitchen phone back on its hook.

*

It was astonishing. . .

How something so small- so pure- could make everything seem okay again. . . Simply by covering the earth in a single, delicate, crystalline blanket.

Kagome pulled her jacket closer to her skin, watching her breath become puffs of fog in the frozen air; hanging like transparent clouds before her. She had always loved to watch snow fall. . . Ever since she was little. But snow at nighttime always seemed especially wonderful. Watching those amazingly intricate, minute crystals dance down in gentle puffs from the velvet black sky. . .

For a while. . . if only for a short while. . . everything seemed so simple and clean.

She sighed, rocking lazily back and forth on the porch swing as she watched the dark heavens. She felt so. . . confused. And at the same time as if- somewhere inside- she understood what was happening. Her heart was still pounding rather painfully in her chest and her fingers were trembling, but she felt a strange, deep inner peace as well. . .

Perhaps it was because of the snow.

Kag laughed tiredly, shaking her head at herself and her thoughts as she smoothed the open page of her sketchbook. Pulling a charcoal pencil out of her low pony tail, she gently shaded in a soft sketch of- who else- but Inu-Yasha. An Inu-Yasha she had observed earlier that week- an Inu-Yasha who was absolutely fascinated by a tiny violet she had bought at a flower shop for class. He had been so cute. . . so tranquil. . . until he had seen her watching him.

Then it all went to hell.

What *was* it with men and showing sensitive sides?

But all the same. . . the mental snapshot had stayed with her.

She frowned slight, thoughtfully biting her tongue between her teeth as she touched up the sketch with loving fingers, caressing the picture as only a true artist could. Sticking the pencil back in her hair, the girl pulled out two colors- purple and gold- and added the only hues she was going to into the sketch: coloring in the flowers silky petals and the hanyou's soulful eyes. . .

"Hey."

Kag automatically jumped in shock, the colored pencils flying out of her hands and falling onto the cement front porch with a clatter.

"Inu-Yasha. . ." she gaped as she stared up at the ghost by the front door. His face held no hint of expression, but his hands held multiple things- canvasses, scrolls, pieces of thick parchment. . . "What're you. . . ?"

"I. . . uh. . ." He swallowed, taking a few steps closer and `sitting' beside her on the swing. "I. . . er. . . Keh!" He glared towards the sky, eyes narrowed. "I brought out some of my old paintings `cause you'd said you'd want to see them a while back."

Kag blinked. She felt like she'd been doing that a lot lately. . .

"'Course, if you don't wanna see `em, I don't blame you or anything," he continued quickly, wincing at the drawn out silence as he made to stand up again. "I'll just go and leave you alo- - -"

"No!"

?

It was the hanyou's turn to blink stupidly, cocking an eyebrow at the now blushing teen.

"I. . . uh. . . I mean. . ." Kagome choked. "I mean I really want to see your pictures. So. . . don't leave. . ."

He was trying. . . He was trying to make up with her.

So she'd try, too. . .

Inu regarded her quietly for a moment before slowly sitting back down, eyes never leaving her flushed face. "Okay. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

"So. . . um. . ." the girl twiddled her thumbs nervously. "Can I. . . can I see?"

`Oh- yeah.' "NOO," he drawled dryly, trying to cover the embarrassment with sarcasm. "You CAN'T. That's why I spent the last twenty minutes draggin' them out of storage. . ." He sniffed disdainfully and handed the teen the pile of pieces. "I warn you, though- they're not very good."

Kagome's eyes widened as they fell upon the paintings, her thin, graceful fingers smoothing the edges on instinct. No. . . they weren't good. . .

They were great.

Still-lifes of fruit and flowers. . . sketches of blossoming cherry trees. . . water colors of autumn in the orchard. . . acrylics of giggling children. . . pastels of springtime rains. . .

It was like stepping into a different world. . .

"Inu-Yasha. . ." the girl breathed, flipping through masterpiece after masterpiece, "these are. . . they're amazing. . ."

"Feh. They're nothing special," he grunted, though she knew she caught a hint of pride in his voice.

"No, really," she murmured, completely captivated by their radiating beauty. "These are. . . are. . ."

Her voice trailed off as she turned to the last piece. ". . ."

. . .

It was of Kikyo. She was surrounded by laughing kids, each one begging for her attention as she handed them branches of blossoming sakura. Lush green grasses tickled their bare feet as soft pink kissed the baby blue sky, singing of spring. Kagome could almost hear the joyful giggles and chatter of the children, the tinkle of chimes and sweet-smelling wind, the rustle of clothing and long, silken hair. Kikyo's stormy gray eyes watched her from the canvass, her sheet of midnight colored locks shimmering in the bright, cheerful sun.

It seemed more like a photograph than a painting. . . It was too perfect, to real. . .

She gulped loudly, drawing Inu-Yasha's attention away from the peaking moon.

"What's wro- - - ?" he began.

. . .

"Oh."

. . .


"Inu-Yasha. . ." Kagome suddenly said softly, slowly and carefully turning the picture over in her lap, not wanting to look at it anymore. "When I was talking to Kikyo. . . She. . . She told me she died in a car crash."

!


She saw the boy tense, hands clenching in the darkness. But she couldn't stop now.

"Is that. . . why you killed yourself? Because she died?"

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Inu-Ya- - -?"

"No."

. . . ?

"Wha. . . ?"

"That's not why. . ." he whispered, his eyes slowly finding the sky again and locking on the gently falling snow. "That's not why I killed myself."

"Than why. . . ?" she pressed softly.

". . ." Inu-Yasha bit his lip, eyes clouding as his hands clenched the material of his sleeves. ". . . It. . .

It was my birthday. I was going for a walk through the garden, just enjoying nature. Kikyo had told me she was going to go out and get me the perfect present, and I was feeling sort of restless. I decided I'd go inside and make some ramen. But just before I turned the corner, I heard a car drive up. I stopped and watched. . . waited."

He was silent for a moment, Kagome waiting patiently.

"A man stepped out of the car. . . I recognized him from the park. When Kikyo's little sister, Kaede, came over, sometimes we'd all go and meet him and his sister- hang out with them. His name was Naraku.

I was confused.

The door slammed.

Kikyo walked out. . ."

Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. She could see where this was going. . .

"I'd never seen her so beautiful before. . ." Inu murmured, a small, wistful smile on his face as a humorless laugh escaped him. "She was out of her usual robes- wearing plain jeans and a midriff top. Gold bangles hung from her arms- the ones I'd bought for her when we first met. Her hair was down. She never wore her hair down for me, nor did she ever wear perfume. And. . .

She never smiled like that. . . Not for me.

She was positively *beaming* for him, her face alight with pleasure. I thought for a fleeting moment that maybe. . . maybe he was just going to give her a ride to the store. . .

But then she ran to him. . .

And. . .

And she kissed him.

Not just kissed him, even- but *really* kissed him. . .

Then he helped her into the car and handed her a bottle- which she readily took-, gulping it happily down as they drove off."

Inu-Yasha's eyes had glazed over by this time. Kagome knew he was no longer on the porch with her- he was back to that day. . .

She wanted to help him escape it.

But. . .

"I went into the house, not believing what I had seen. I didn't want to believe it. . . I walked into Kikyo's room. . .

On her dresser. . . by her jewelry box. . .

There was the ring. . ."

"Ring. . . ?" Kag inquired softly, her voice cracking.

"The ring I had given her the day before. . ." Inu clarified in monotone.

"The silver one. . .

The engagement ring. . ."

Her heart broke for him.

"I still couldn't believe it. But I slowly began to as anger overtook me. I tore up Kikyo's room. I tore up my room. I destroyed all but one of her pictures.

Then I realized what I'd done.


Saddness. . . it drowned me. . ."

"Inu-Yasha. . ."


His sentences were becoming choppier and shorter as his breathing became more irregular. He was reliving his worst nightmare.

She *needed* to wake him up.

"Inu-Yasha- - -!"

"I took the ring!" he pushed briskly, unable to stop. "I took some rope! I went into the attic. . . !"

"Stop, please- - - !" Kagome clamped her eyes shut, burying them in her knees as she tried to block out the thought of that tiny room. . . "Inu-Yasha!"

He jumped, only now realizing what he'd been saying and how it had been affecting the girl beside him. Guilt washed over him- but he continued all the same.

"I. . ." Inu licked his dry lips, voice quaking. "I had hoped that. . . when she got home and found what I'd done. . .

She'd feel regret. . .

Remore. . .

Foolish.

I wanted to see those feelings.

So I stayed behind.

I waited.

But. . ."

. . .

"But. . . ?" Kagome whispered, slowly lifting her head.

". . .

She never came. . .

She never came back.

I only found out she'd died when I heard the neighbor's children crying. . .

The police had come and told them and their parents what had happened.

They- the feds- they were planning on telling me, too. . .

That's when they found me dead.

The neighbor's moved away."

He sighed as a flake of snow fell through his hands. "Time passed. Kikyo never returned- not even as a ghost. And then I realized. . .

I realized that when she died, she died with no regrets. With no reason to cling to life.

So she had moved on. . .

But I had not."

He hung his head, his moonlight-colored tresses blocking his pale face from view. "I'm forever stuck."

Stuck. . .

Stuck between worlds. . .

Between the living and the dead.

Kag trembled, feeling tears prickle in the corners of her eyes once again. "I-Inu-Yasha. . ." she murmured, wanting with all her heart to reach out and hug him. "Inu-Yasha, I. . . I'm so sorry. . ."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," he replied in quiet- but brisk- tones. "I was a fool."

"You. . . you were in love. . ." Kag comforted softly, clenching a hand over her heart as she leaned towards him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You did it because you loved her. . ." `Because you were betrayed. . .'

He looked away.

"I don't know what love is anymore, Kagome," he admitted quietly, voice raw with emotion. "I just don't know."

. . .

It was too much. She couldn't help it. . .

She began to cry- - - again.

And she began to cry loudly.

Really loudly.

"Ka- Kagome!" the spirit gaped as the girl suddenly exploded with loud sobs. `Code red' flashed continuously through his mind as the girl blubbered into her hands, her small frame buckling due to strong tremors. "Kagome, what the hell- - - ?!"

"I- I'm so- so sorry!" she hiccuped, hot droplets of water freezing to her skin as she hugged herself tightly. "Tha-that's so terrible- - - !"

"Kagome- - -?!"

"It's so aw-aw-awful- - - !"

"Kagome, would you just- - - !"

"It's so- - - !"

!

All of the sudden the ghost was on his knees before her, pulling her gently towards him with a careful tug of power. In an instant their noses were barely an inch apart, his hands cupping the air centimeters away from the flesh of her face. Her breath caught in her throat.


"Kagome!" he whispered forcefully, unrecognizable emotions swirling in his gorgeous honey orbs. "It's not *THAT* terrible! It's not as terrible as. . . not as terrible as watching you cry!"

Time stopped.

Her breathing stopped.

Her heart stopped.

"Please. . . please don't cry," he begged softly as a gentle wind swirled around them. "I'm not worth your tears."

And they sat there like that for a long time, oblivious to everything but the dancing snow and the intense color of the other's eyes.

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^_^ More fluff coming up next chapter!

Please R&R!

Ja ne!