InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone ❯ Promises ( Chapter 22 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: RhiannonoftheMoon 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 3.7K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 3.7K | Status: Completed
A/N: I've started posting a new story that I've been playing with for a while. This one will remain my main project but I'll try to keep posting regularly to both. However, no promises.
FFnet:
TaintedInuShemeeko, dragonSpired48, Owari Nai Yumes, DragonessoftheMiko'sFlame, Toya's Gurl, MiniSparky, starlit333, Dark Inu Fan
Sangome: I don't think I'll write a lemon for EVERY time!
MMorg:
aNiMe HeLLcat, Black Rose28
Disclaimer - I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 22 - Promises
Inuyasha fiddled with the silk package in his pocket as he stared at the Bone Eater‘s Well. Kagome had dropped down it minutes before, casting him a disconcerted look as she disappeared into the pink light. He had insisted that she go back to her time without him; he had to take care of something. Sango, Miroku and Shippo were already on their way back to the demon slayer’s village; soaring over the trees on Kirara’s back. He was alone to search out Kikyo but he didn’t like the feeling that he was “sneaking around”, as Shippo had once put it.
He snorted and launched into the air toward the place they had killed the mole, scanning the treetops for a sign of Kikyo or her soul collectors. ‘She wouldn’t understand. I’m doing this for our own good; Kikyo may be the only person who knows what happened to those jewel shards.’
“Inuyasha, Mom wants to know if you can come over for dinner…“ Kagome pulled herself out of the well and looked around. She was alone in the field. ‘Where’d he go? To take care of something…’ Her heart beat faster as different possibilities strolled through her mind, but it kept coming back to one thought. She shook her head to dispel it, ‘He couldn’t have gone to Kikyo. He wouldn’t do that to me. He’s probably just looking for the shards…’
She sat on the edge of the well, thumping her heels against the ancient, weathered wood. “Should I go back through the well or try to find him?” Worrying her bottom lip with a fang, she lifted her head to sniff the wind. His scent was strong in the clean air; he would be easy enough to follow. He wouldn’t mind if she came after him. Once she got his answer, she could go back and he could finish whatever he was doing. Then again, if he had wanted her with him, they could have done it together when she got back. She whined quietly and hunched her shoulders, her face scrunched in agitation as her mind twisted in circles.
The whine deepened into a growl as her youkai instincts pushed to the foreground, ‘He’s your mate, go find him.’ She relaxed her shoulders and dropped to her feet, pulling her aura into herself so that she could search for him undisturbed. Catching his scent again, she leapt after him.
Feeling silly, Kagome edged around the mole’s body, trying not to look at it. ‘See? He’s just looking for the jewel shards.’ Following his winding path through the trees and remonstrating herself for being petty and jealous, she suddenly caught another scent and froze in her tracks. ‘That’s Kikyo’s scent…he didn’t…’ Her heart skipped a beat as the graveyard soil scent came again, mixed with Inuyasha’s unmistakable cedar. Running on the balls of her feet, she slipped silently through the trees toward the telltale smells.
******
“Inuyasha. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Kikyo regarded him through the thick fringe of her bangs. She had been careless to not move further away from the place they had last met. Not expecting him to come after her so quickly, she had tarried to watch the effect of her gift on the couple. “Twice in one day is uncommon for us.”
He closed the distance between them, “I need to ask you…did you see who took the jewel shards from the mole youkai?”
Kikyo shook her head slowly, relieved that he hadn’t come to return the gift. “I did not go near there,” she lied; carefully maintaining her sorrowful, pious mask. In fact, she had waited until they were asleep, disgust shining in her eyes. To think that she’d wanted to spend her life with an animal that would rut in the bushes with a cheap imitation. When she was positive she wouldn’t be seen, she’d collected the shards that they had carelessly left unguarded; how kind of them to supply her with the last thing she needed for her revenge.
A brief shiver of power touched her aura; jewel shards were near, and carried by the woman who had stolen her soul, no less; time to twist the knife. Kikyo schooled her beautiful features into an expression of devout love. “Inuyasha…”
“Kikyo?” She looked so much like the woman with whom he’d fallen in love so many years ago. His resolve to keep her at bay was quickly melting into pity. He had a life and love, but what did she, an undead creature, have? He couldn’t deny her the solace she seemed to need.
Her eyes glittered unnaturally bright in the late afternoon light as they filled with moisture. She blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. Inuyasha caught it on the tip of his finger and it quivered there, gleaming like a diamond. Kikyo grasped his hand and laid it against her cheek. “You won’t…forget me, will you?”
Sighing, he brushed away the next tear that fell. “I could never forget you.” With a small gasp, she flung herself into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. Shaking with laughter that she twisted into sobs, she wrapped her arms around his back. Feeling him embrace her, she laughed harder. He’d bought her performance. Lock, stock and barrel.
‘Inuyasha, how could you?’ Kagome’s eyes burned as she chocked on a lump that blocked her throat. She couldn‘t hear what they were saying, but their actions were clear enough. ‘You said you loved me,’ she pressed her forehead against the rough trunk of the tree and squeezed her eyes shut, her claws raking off ribbons of bark that fell at her feet in curly strips. ‘He loves her, too. Always has. You think he’ll ever stop?’ Her control over her aura, the power that hid her scent and the feelings broadcast through her mark, were slipping and she didn’t want to confront him right now, not when every instinct screamed at her to tear apart the dead woman in priestess’ clothes. Something was breaking within her and she clutched her chest, staggering away from her hiding place.
Kikyo smiled inwardly as Inuyasha’s ears twitched at the faint tearing sound. She hoped his little bitch was enjoying the show as much as she was. The hurt caused by this scene would only make her curse that much more potent. The power of the shards was growing distant; apparently, she’d seen as much as she could take. Pulling out of his embrace, she gazed up at him with liquid eyes and trembling lips. “Do you promise?” She could barely suppress the chuckle the bubbled up at his solemn nod; such a fool.
******
Laying on her bed curled into a tight ball, Kagome sobbed into her pillow. Her throat was raw and her head ached, but still the tears came, racking her small body with their force. Her pillows bled stuffing where her claws had gouged holes into them, but she didn’t notice and wouldn’t have cared. All she could see was her mate in the arms of another woman. All of those sweet words and loving caresses, did they mean nothing? Was she really second best to a walking corpse? Moaning, her voice hoarse with crying, she clenched her fist in her pillow, tearing gashes in the already perforated material.
At a light knock on the door, her eyes fluttered open. “Kagome?” her mother’s voice was muffled through the closed door.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome tried to steady her voice. “Yeah, Mom?”
“Do you need to talk about something?”
The love and concern in her voice brought fresh tears to her eyes, but she didn’t want to discuss it yet. The pain was too fresh, too deep. “No…”
“You know where to find me if you need me,” her mother’s quiet footsteps padded away and she was once again alone with her crushed heart. Dragging herself off her bed, she stumbled over the window and slammed it shut, locking it tightly. The shrine in which the well was hidden hulked liked an evil toad and she yanked the curtains closed, blocking it from view. Flopping back onto her bed, she rolled herself in her comforter and stared at her blank bedroom wall. What was she going to do?
******
Inuyasha jerked awake, the back of his head hitting the wall of the old well. Glancing up at the sky, the first blush of morning kissing the tops of the trees, he realized with a start that he had dozed off while waiting for her to come and had ended up sleeping the night through, but Kagome was not back yet. ‘She must have fallen asleep over there. We had a pretty busy day yesterday,’ he grinned lasciviously. ‘Maybe I’ll go over there and join her.’ He stretched luxuriously and then hopped down the well, anticipating crawling under the warm blankets with his mate.
The window was locked; short of breaking the glass, he couldn’t get into her room. He knew she was there; he could smell her even through glass. Frustrated, he applied more pressure to the window frame, which creaked in protest. He didn’t want to break it but he had to get in. She was upset about something; the scent of her tears permeated the air and her suffering radiated through her mark.
Tapping on the glass, he tried to peer through the gap in the curtains, frantic to catch a glimpse of her. Only a thin sliver of her desk was visible, no matter how much he craned his neck. Growling, he dropped from the window ledge and tried the backdoor. It was also locked, as were the front door and the rest of the windows. Stomping around to the backdoor again, he grabbed the doorknob with every intention of pulling the door off its hinges. The knob turned in his hand and swung open, revealing Souta’s sleepy face.
“Inuyasha?” he yawned and rubbed his eyes with a balled fist.
“Hey, runt. Where’s Kagome?” he peered around the boy into the brightly lit kitchen.
“In her room. Did you two have another fight or something?”
“N-no, why do you ask?” his heart thudded heavily in his chest at the thought that the anguish he felt from her could have been caused by him. Could she have seen him with Kikyo? But wouldn’t he have smelled her or sensed her presence? Not if she were masking it…
Souta shrugged and yawned again. “She’s been crying all night and now she’s sick.”
Inuyasha pushed past him and thudded up the stairs to her room, cursing himself for being an idiot by not telling her the truth in the first place. Bursting through her bedroom door, he was greeted by a rumpled, empty bed. “Kagome?” he shouted, not caring that his voice shook the house.
The mark on his back pulsed; she had heard him and she was near. He spun on his heel ran out of the room, locking onto the source of his mark on her. He flung open the door to the bathroom and almost tripped over Mrs. Higurashi as she sat rubbing Kagome’s back. Kagome glanced up at him accusingly, her silver eyes puffy and ringed with dark circles. She was sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the bathtub as limp as a rag doll. Mrs. Higurashi stroked her back and ignored the hanyou frozen in the doorway. “Do you want a minute alone, Kagome?” At her weak nod, she rose to her feet and looked the hanyou in the eye. “She’s had a rough night. Try not to upset her.” She left the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Sagging against the door, Inuyasha stared down at his miserable mate. “Kagome…”
Taking a shuddering breath, Kagome silenced him with a raised hand. “I saw you.”
“It‘s not what you think!” his words echoed emptily off the tiled room and he dropped to his knees in front of her. “I swear! I just wanted to ask her about the jewel shards.”
“Since when does asking questions involve touching?” she shot back, fury burning through her veins as the image of them together rose in her mind. Her stomach gave another heave, but she refused to give in to it.
“She was so lonely, I had to do something,” it sounded so stupid now that he said it out loud. What had he been thinking; hugging Kikyo like that?
“And what else did you do?” she ground out through her clenched jaw.
“Nothing! You have to believe me!”
Kagome’s mouth dropped open and she closed it with a snap, outrage sparking from her eyes. “Believe you? How can I trust you if you sneak off to see other women? You went to see her in the morning too, didn‘t you? Right after we…” His stricken gaze was answer enough. Closing her eyes and leaning her head against the tub, she pulled her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She was shutting him out; he could feel her pulling away, their connection growing fainter. “Kagome, you don’t understand,” he whispered, crawling towards her. He touched her shoulder; when she cringed from his hand he pulled away as if burned.
“Leave me alone, Inuyasha.” If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to be sick on him, which he deserved since it was his actions that had gotten her so worked up in the first place.
“I’m not leaving you,” he reached for her again and stroked her shoulder, hating the way she leaned away from him into the side of the cold bathtub. His gentle touched seemed to sooth her boiling insides and dissolve her resistance. Unbidden, hot tears rose in her eyes and she pressed her face against her arms. Inuyasha whined and crawled closer, enveloping her in his embrace. “Please don’t cry,” he murmured as he tried to nuzzle her face. “I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.” He licked at the tears that trickled down her face. Her body shook with sobs and he pulled her onto his lap, rocking her as if she were a pup.
She stiffened suddenly and scrambled out of his lap. Leaning over the bowl of the toilet and holding her hair out of her face, she retched. Inuyasha took the hair from her hand and rubbed slow circles on her back until she was finished. Pale and sweaty, her eyes and nose running, strands of black hair sticking to her temples, she was still beautiful. No more secrets, he promised her silently, smoothing damp hair from her face.
Gathering her into his arms, he carried her back to her bedroom. She lay against his chest, sniffling softly and twist her fingers in his haori. He kicked the door closed and laid her on the bed, kneeling beside it. Curling into a fetal position, she drew into herself and squeezed her eyes shut.
Resting a palm on the curve of her face, he spoke softly, “Kagome.” Reluctantly, she opened silver eyes but kept them fixed on a spot on his shoulder. “Kagome, look at me.” Her eyes wandered up to his, her gaze distant and miserable.
“There’s nothing between Kikyo and I. What I did…it was stupid. Please forgive me.” She blinked, tears seeping out of her eyes to soak into the blanket, but nodded slowly. The tracks of her tears left open wounds in his heart and he whimpered in pain. “You’re the only one for me.” She uncurled an arm and touched his cheek with her fingertips. Leaning into her hand, he closed his eyes and drew her scent into him.
“Do you promise?”
FFnet:
TaintedInuShemeeko, dragonSpired48, Owari Nai Yumes, DragonessoftheMiko'sFlame, Toya's Gurl, MiniSparky, starlit333, Dark Inu Fan
Sangome: I don't think I'll write a lemon for EVERY time!
MMorg:
aNiMe HeLLcat, Black Rose28
Disclaimer - I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 22 - Promises
Inuyasha fiddled with the silk package in his pocket as he stared at the Bone Eater‘s Well. Kagome had dropped down it minutes before, casting him a disconcerted look as she disappeared into the pink light. He had insisted that she go back to her time without him; he had to take care of something. Sango, Miroku and Shippo were already on their way back to the demon slayer’s village; soaring over the trees on Kirara’s back. He was alone to search out Kikyo but he didn’t like the feeling that he was “sneaking around”, as Shippo had once put it.
He snorted and launched into the air toward the place they had killed the mole, scanning the treetops for a sign of Kikyo or her soul collectors. ‘She wouldn’t understand. I’m doing this for our own good; Kikyo may be the only person who knows what happened to those jewel shards.’
“Inuyasha, Mom wants to know if you can come over for dinner…“ Kagome pulled herself out of the well and looked around. She was alone in the field. ‘Where’d he go? To take care of something…’ Her heart beat faster as different possibilities strolled through her mind, but it kept coming back to one thought. She shook her head to dispel it, ‘He couldn’t have gone to Kikyo. He wouldn’t do that to me. He’s probably just looking for the shards…’
She sat on the edge of the well, thumping her heels against the ancient, weathered wood. “Should I go back through the well or try to find him?” Worrying her bottom lip with a fang, she lifted her head to sniff the wind. His scent was strong in the clean air; he would be easy enough to follow. He wouldn’t mind if she came after him. Once she got his answer, she could go back and he could finish whatever he was doing. Then again, if he had wanted her with him, they could have done it together when she got back. She whined quietly and hunched her shoulders, her face scrunched in agitation as her mind twisted in circles.
The whine deepened into a growl as her youkai instincts pushed to the foreground, ‘He’s your mate, go find him.’ She relaxed her shoulders and dropped to her feet, pulling her aura into herself so that she could search for him undisturbed. Catching his scent again, she leapt after him.
Feeling silly, Kagome edged around the mole’s body, trying not to look at it. ‘See? He’s just looking for the jewel shards.’ Following his winding path through the trees and remonstrating herself for being petty and jealous, she suddenly caught another scent and froze in her tracks. ‘That’s Kikyo’s scent…he didn’t…’ Her heart skipped a beat as the graveyard soil scent came again, mixed with Inuyasha’s unmistakable cedar. Running on the balls of her feet, she slipped silently through the trees toward the telltale smells.
******
“Inuyasha. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Kikyo regarded him through the thick fringe of her bangs. She had been careless to not move further away from the place they had last met. Not expecting him to come after her so quickly, she had tarried to watch the effect of her gift on the couple. “Twice in one day is uncommon for us.”
He closed the distance between them, “I need to ask you…did you see who took the jewel shards from the mole youkai?”
Kikyo shook her head slowly, relieved that he hadn’t come to return the gift. “I did not go near there,” she lied; carefully maintaining her sorrowful, pious mask. In fact, she had waited until they were asleep, disgust shining in her eyes. To think that she’d wanted to spend her life with an animal that would rut in the bushes with a cheap imitation. When she was positive she wouldn’t be seen, she’d collected the shards that they had carelessly left unguarded; how kind of them to supply her with the last thing she needed for her revenge.
A brief shiver of power touched her aura; jewel shards were near, and carried by the woman who had stolen her soul, no less; time to twist the knife. Kikyo schooled her beautiful features into an expression of devout love. “Inuyasha…”
“Kikyo?” She looked so much like the woman with whom he’d fallen in love so many years ago. His resolve to keep her at bay was quickly melting into pity. He had a life and love, but what did she, an undead creature, have? He couldn’t deny her the solace she seemed to need.
Her eyes glittered unnaturally bright in the late afternoon light as they filled with moisture. She blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. Inuyasha caught it on the tip of his finger and it quivered there, gleaming like a diamond. Kikyo grasped his hand and laid it against her cheek. “You won’t…forget me, will you?”
Sighing, he brushed away the next tear that fell. “I could never forget you.” With a small gasp, she flung herself into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. Shaking with laughter that she twisted into sobs, she wrapped her arms around his back. Feeling him embrace her, she laughed harder. He’d bought her performance. Lock, stock and barrel.
‘Inuyasha, how could you?’ Kagome’s eyes burned as she chocked on a lump that blocked her throat. She couldn‘t hear what they were saying, but their actions were clear enough. ‘You said you loved me,’ she pressed her forehead against the rough trunk of the tree and squeezed her eyes shut, her claws raking off ribbons of bark that fell at her feet in curly strips. ‘He loves her, too. Always has. You think he’ll ever stop?’ Her control over her aura, the power that hid her scent and the feelings broadcast through her mark, were slipping and she didn’t want to confront him right now, not when every instinct screamed at her to tear apart the dead woman in priestess’ clothes. Something was breaking within her and she clutched her chest, staggering away from her hiding place.
Kikyo smiled inwardly as Inuyasha’s ears twitched at the faint tearing sound. She hoped his little bitch was enjoying the show as much as she was. The hurt caused by this scene would only make her curse that much more potent. The power of the shards was growing distant; apparently, she’d seen as much as she could take. Pulling out of his embrace, she gazed up at him with liquid eyes and trembling lips. “Do you promise?” She could barely suppress the chuckle the bubbled up at his solemn nod; such a fool.
******
Laying on her bed curled into a tight ball, Kagome sobbed into her pillow. Her throat was raw and her head ached, but still the tears came, racking her small body with their force. Her pillows bled stuffing where her claws had gouged holes into them, but she didn’t notice and wouldn’t have cared. All she could see was her mate in the arms of another woman. All of those sweet words and loving caresses, did they mean nothing? Was she really second best to a walking corpse? Moaning, her voice hoarse with crying, she clenched her fist in her pillow, tearing gashes in the already perforated material.
At a light knock on the door, her eyes fluttered open. “Kagome?” her mother’s voice was muffled through the closed door.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome tried to steady her voice. “Yeah, Mom?”
“Do you need to talk about something?”
The love and concern in her voice brought fresh tears to her eyes, but she didn’t want to discuss it yet. The pain was too fresh, too deep. “No…”
“You know where to find me if you need me,” her mother’s quiet footsteps padded away and she was once again alone with her crushed heart. Dragging herself off her bed, she stumbled over the window and slammed it shut, locking it tightly. The shrine in which the well was hidden hulked liked an evil toad and she yanked the curtains closed, blocking it from view. Flopping back onto her bed, she rolled herself in her comforter and stared at her blank bedroom wall. What was she going to do?
******
Inuyasha jerked awake, the back of his head hitting the wall of the old well. Glancing up at the sky, the first blush of morning kissing the tops of the trees, he realized with a start that he had dozed off while waiting for her to come and had ended up sleeping the night through, but Kagome was not back yet. ‘She must have fallen asleep over there. We had a pretty busy day yesterday,’ he grinned lasciviously. ‘Maybe I’ll go over there and join her.’ He stretched luxuriously and then hopped down the well, anticipating crawling under the warm blankets with his mate.
The window was locked; short of breaking the glass, he couldn’t get into her room. He knew she was there; he could smell her even through glass. Frustrated, he applied more pressure to the window frame, which creaked in protest. He didn’t want to break it but he had to get in. She was upset about something; the scent of her tears permeated the air and her suffering radiated through her mark.
Tapping on the glass, he tried to peer through the gap in the curtains, frantic to catch a glimpse of her. Only a thin sliver of her desk was visible, no matter how much he craned his neck. Growling, he dropped from the window ledge and tried the backdoor. It was also locked, as were the front door and the rest of the windows. Stomping around to the backdoor again, he grabbed the doorknob with every intention of pulling the door off its hinges. The knob turned in his hand and swung open, revealing Souta’s sleepy face.
“Inuyasha?” he yawned and rubbed his eyes with a balled fist.
“Hey, runt. Where’s Kagome?” he peered around the boy into the brightly lit kitchen.
“In her room. Did you two have another fight or something?”
“N-no, why do you ask?” his heart thudded heavily in his chest at the thought that the anguish he felt from her could have been caused by him. Could she have seen him with Kikyo? But wouldn’t he have smelled her or sensed her presence? Not if she were masking it…
Souta shrugged and yawned again. “She’s been crying all night and now she’s sick.”
Inuyasha pushed past him and thudded up the stairs to her room, cursing himself for being an idiot by not telling her the truth in the first place. Bursting through her bedroom door, he was greeted by a rumpled, empty bed. “Kagome?” he shouted, not caring that his voice shook the house.
The mark on his back pulsed; she had heard him and she was near. He spun on his heel ran out of the room, locking onto the source of his mark on her. He flung open the door to the bathroom and almost tripped over Mrs. Higurashi as she sat rubbing Kagome’s back. Kagome glanced up at him accusingly, her silver eyes puffy and ringed with dark circles. She was sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the bathtub as limp as a rag doll. Mrs. Higurashi stroked her back and ignored the hanyou frozen in the doorway. “Do you want a minute alone, Kagome?” At her weak nod, she rose to her feet and looked the hanyou in the eye. “She’s had a rough night. Try not to upset her.” She left the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Sagging against the door, Inuyasha stared down at his miserable mate. “Kagome…”
Taking a shuddering breath, Kagome silenced him with a raised hand. “I saw you.”
“It‘s not what you think!” his words echoed emptily off the tiled room and he dropped to his knees in front of her. “I swear! I just wanted to ask her about the jewel shards.”
“Since when does asking questions involve touching?” she shot back, fury burning through her veins as the image of them together rose in her mind. Her stomach gave another heave, but she refused to give in to it.
“She was so lonely, I had to do something,” it sounded so stupid now that he said it out loud. What had he been thinking; hugging Kikyo like that?
“And what else did you do?” she ground out through her clenched jaw.
“Nothing! You have to believe me!”
Kagome’s mouth dropped open and she closed it with a snap, outrage sparking from her eyes. “Believe you? How can I trust you if you sneak off to see other women? You went to see her in the morning too, didn‘t you? Right after we…” His stricken gaze was answer enough. Closing her eyes and leaning her head against the tub, she pulled her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She was shutting him out; he could feel her pulling away, their connection growing fainter. “Kagome, you don’t understand,” he whispered, crawling towards her. He touched her shoulder; when she cringed from his hand he pulled away as if burned.
“Leave me alone, Inuyasha.” If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to be sick on him, which he deserved since it was his actions that had gotten her so worked up in the first place.
“I’m not leaving you,” he reached for her again and stroked her shoulder, hating the way she leaned away from him into the side of the cold bathtub. His gentle touched seemed to sooth her boiling insides and dissolve her resistance. Unbidden, hot tears rose in her eyes and she pressed her face against her arms. Inuyasha whined and crawled closer, enveloping her in his embrace. “Please don’t cry,” he murmured as he tried to nuzzle her face. “I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.” He licked at the tears that trickled down her face. Her body shook with sobs and he pulled her onto his lap, rocking her as if she were a pup.
She stiffened suddenly and scrambled out of his lap. Leaning over the bowl of the toilet and holding her hair out of her face, she retched. Inuyasha took the hair from her hand and rubbed slow circles on her back until she was finished. Pale and sweaty, her eyes and nose running, strands of black hair sticking to her temples, she was still beautiful. No more secrets, he promised her silently, smoothing damp hair from her face.
Gathering her into his arms, he carried her back to her bedroom. She lay against his chest, sniffling softly and twist her fingers in his haori. He kicked the door closed and laid her on the bed, kneeling beside it. Curling into a fetal position, she drew into herself and squeezed her eyes shut.
Resting a palm on the curve of her face, he spoke softly, “Kagome.” Reluctantly, she opened silver eyes but kept them fixed on a spot on his shoulder. “Kagome, look at me.” Her eyes wandered up to his, her gaze distant and miserable.
“There’s nothing between Kikyo and I. What I did…it was stupid. Please forgive me.” She blinked, tears seeping out of her eyes to soak into the blanket, but nodded slowly. The tracks of her tears left open wounds in his heart and he whimpered in pain. “You’re the only one for me.” She uncurled an arm and touched his cheek with her fingertips. Leaning into her hand, he closed his eyes and drew her scent into him.
“Do you promise?”