InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fragment of Eternity ❯ Torn ( Chapter 14 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, but if anyone does- can I buy him? I've got. . . uh. . . ::counts:: 11 yen. ^_^;

Author's Note: Hey, guys- it's the ill authoress of FoE back to update! ^_^ So yes, sorry it's taken so long, but I've been busy (like always) and sick. Motrin is my friend.

Anyway, for all those who read it, I AM working on the update for Early December. Really, I promise I am. I just want to work on this story now. ^_^;

As Inu-Yasha says so adequately in Rosefire-sama's `Bottled Genius': Bite me.

^_~ Lol, just kidding.

One: ~Is that in your AN you said that you wanted to get something done in time for Valentine's day...wasn't that almost a month ago? (heh, ago...latin! ehem..)~

Yes, that is very true- V-Day was a month ago (tomorrow). I was talking about a V-Day/White Day one shot, though. So it would be my Valentine's Day one shot, but be posted on White Day. Do you know what that is? If not, I can explain next chapter. ^_^ (The only reason I'm not explaining now is my thumb is getting rather numb from typing and I've still got a chapter to do. ^_^;;)

***************Two: ~hi i have a question this is supposed to be an Inu/Kag fic right? well how can it be if inuyasha is dead and kagome isn't are you just gonna get kagome killed or something? it's kind of confusing.

Ja ne~

::Muffles a scream as she rips out her hair:: YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES! THIS IS A *&$_+!*@*~@*$)@*$ INU/KAG FIC! HAVN'T I ESTABLISHED THIS, LIKE, FOURTEEN TIMES ALREADY?!?!?!?!?!?!

I swear, if ONE MORE PERSON asks me that, I might just refuse to update for a month. . . ::grrr::

Three: ~And is Kikyo acting *eviller* or is it just me?~

^_^ Twenty sticks of pocky to SunshineDaisys! Yes, Kikyo is acting eviller. We begin to see more of the dark differences in this `new' Kikyo soon. . . ::buahahaha and all that good stuff::

Four: ~I think you should make your paragraphs a bit longer. I mean, the chapter seems long, but it's double spaced everytime there's a new paragraph, which is about once every 2 lines. And watch your spelling in some places.~

Okay, I agree with the spelling thing (for I know my spelling sucks) and I also agree with some of the paragraphs, but for the most part my paragraphs have gotten much longer and I'm proud of that. I use the double spacing so the chapters don't become big, incoherent blobs. ^_^

Five: ~-_- I'm disappointed. I wait forever for you to update this fan-fiction...and then there's a kiss between the wrong couple. (Oh, the painful reminders of episode 23... >_<~

^_^;;; I know, I know, I'm sorry. . .

Six: Someone mentioned that Inu seems to be developing feelings for `the living girl'. Well. . . yes and no. He sees Kag more as a friend at the moment than anything else.

Seven: I'm going to incorporate two comments: 1)~. . . I feel the relationship is being a bit rushed.~ and 2) ~The only thing bad about your stories is that Kagome and Inu-Yasha are almost always mad at each other.~ (Almost contradict each other, ne? ^_~)

1) Yes, like I said- I felt the romance was more drawn out when I wrote the outline. ^_^;; But don't worry- Inu and Kag are stupid. Things are going to be more drawn out than I think a lot of readers think. Thanks for sharing your opinion! ^_^


2) Well, aren't they always? If you read the magna and anime, it sure seems like it. I'm just trying to keep them in character. I don't think anyone would really want to read a fic like this (notice the rushed romance as well):

Kagome: ::bubbly eyes, hearts, stars:: Oh, Inu-Yasha! Despite all the fights I've started and ended I've loved you ever since you tried to make a scratching post out of me in the second episode!

Inu-Yasha: ::bubbly eyes, glitter, hearts:: Oh, Kagome! Despite the fact that I'm still attached to and/or in love with my dead girlfriend, I feel the same! Whenever Kikyo tried to kiss me I always imagined it was you!

Kagome: Oh, Inu-Yasha!

Inu-Yasha: Oh, Kagome!

Kagome: Oh, Inu-Yasha!

Inu-Yasha: Oh, Kagome!


Kagome: ::light bulb:: Hey, I know! Let's defy all common sense and get married (mated, whatever) right now! Who cares about our romantic rivals and the actual plot of this whole stinken' show? Everyone's just watching so they can see us make out anyway!

Inu-Yasha: Okay! Who cares if my brother comes in the next minute to try and kill us? Or if Naraku discovers we're in love and uses it against us. Or the fact that I'm supposed to be loyal to Kikyo. Or the fact that many times it seems we can't even talk without starting an argument. Or the fact that our relationship is still in the developing stages in both the manga and the ani- - -

Kagome: Shut up and kiss me

::They get to it::~

In fact, it's that that's made me a little more hesitant to write one-shots. As I've matured as I writer, I realize it's difficult to incorporate a non-rushed, blossoming relationship in just one go.

I am probably one of the biggest romance writers out there for Inu-Yasha, and I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see Kagome and Inu-Yasha have quite a few more tender moments in both the manga and anime, but you have to acknowledge the fact that they both have a past and that they are very different people. They tend to disagree quite often- generally it leads to a fluffy moment. They get in each others faces- that's just the way they are. It makes them cute. ^_^

Anyway, what was I saying. . . ?

Oh, I dunno. ^_^;

Here's the next chapter- sorry for such a long A/N.

~*~

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~Fragment of Eternity~

Chapter Fourteen: Torn

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Kagome lay in bed that night, her back supported by pillows and her knees bent. Upon her thighs she placed her sketchbook, doodling dully with a brand-new charcoal pencil. Normally using new materials excited her, but. . . not tonight. Her blank azure eyes took in the black stains on the pad but barely registered them. She wasn't really trying to draw anything- she just needed something to do with her hands. It helped her keep her mind from thinking too much. . .

Sighing, the girl put her pad of paper beside her, resting her chin on her kneecaps. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she glanced listlessly over at Kikyo's diary, which was resting innocently on her bedside table.

Should she read it. . . ?

. . .

Trembling fingers reached out, picked it up- - -

And threw it into the dresser drawer, locking it without a second thought.

She couldn't bring herself to read tonight. Not when her mind was already so full of Kikyo and Inu-Yasha. . .

Kikyo and Inu-Yasha. Their names even sounded good together, didn't they? Sort of flowed off the tongue. . . Kikyo and Inu-Yasha. A weak smile painted Kagome's pink lips. They looked right together, too. . . Kikyo and Inu-Yasha. As if they were two corresponding parts of a puzzle.

Closing her eyes and banging her head lightly against her knees, the girl's hands subconsciously found their way to the sketchbook again. Sitting up straight after a moment of mental urging, she placed the pad back on her thighs; clenching the charcoal pencil tightly. She would draw- not thing.

But. . .

What TO draw. . . ?

She frowned slightly for a moment before turning to the next page in the book. She could sketch an anime character. . . maybe Sakura or Neko. She could sketch her room. . . a trinket on the shelves or something. She could sketch her family. . . perhaps Buyo. Or. . .

. . .

Her hand went to work. Skilled wisps of black quickly covered the page: curves and lines transformed into bodies, smudges changed into shading, eraser marks made highlights. And soon, for the second time in the past few days, she found herself drawing Inu-Yasha.

But he was not alone this time.

She- for whatever reason- had sketched the scene in the orchard grove. So, beside him, their lips connected was- - -

Was it Kikyo?

Her brow furrowed as she more closely examined the girl with the ghost. Sure, it looked a bit like Kikyo, but. . . She glanced up at the mirror across from her bed, looking at her face for a moment before turning back to the sketch. Yes. . . It looked even more like. . .

Her.

A dark magenta blush blossomed on her cheeks, slowly traveling up her temples to stain the tips of her ears. For some reason that she couldn't fathom, she had drawn HERSELF and Inu-Yasha kissing- - - !

Shocked and horrified, the girl instantly ripped the page out of her sketchbook and tore it to pieces, trying her best to make it unidentifiable. In mere seconds, the drawing was reduced to small squares of charcoal-smudged confetti that she promptly threw into the air; allowing them to dance to the ground like snow.

There.

Now no one would know.

Burying her pink face into her pillows and squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to turn off her mind and drift to sleep. After about an hour of fruitless attempts, she finally managed to; her sketchbook lying silently on the bed beside her.

*

It's 2 AM.

Do you know where your girlfriend's reincarnation is?

Inu-Yasha did- in fact, he was floating beside her: arms folded over his chest and legs crossed Indian style. His golden eyes pierced her sleeping face with so much intensity it was rather odd that she wasn't waking up. Not that he wanted her to or anything.

Sighing, he rested his chin on top of his balled fists, watching the girl sleep through his lashes. It was sort of therapeutic, listening to her steady breathing. . . `She must be having good dreams. She's smiling. . .'

Just like she *hadn't* been doing that day.

Hanging his head, he allowed questions to fill his tired mind: Was she still mad? *Why* was she mad? Why did he *CARE* that she was mad? He loved Kikyo, he still loved her! But. . .

Hm?

His amber orbs suddenly noticed something on the carpeted floor. Paper. . . ? What was paper doing- in such small, carefully thought-out, torn pieces- doing on the ground? An artist never wasted paper in such a way!

Why had Kagome done that?

Curiosity filled him almost instantly, making him blink slowly down at the scraps. Then he raised a hand- - -

And made all the scattered fragments lift effortlessly into the air.


*

If he placed a piece here. . .

No, no- that made no sense.

But how about here. . . ?

Frowning deeply, the spirit slowly connected the pieces of the torn sketch, making a rather large puzzle of it. Using charcoal marks as clues and biting back every frustrated growl that threatened to spill from his lips, he toiled late into the night. Or, as it were, into the early morning.

Here?- No, not there. . .

Here?

Hmm-


Yeah. It fit there.

*

And there it was.

After three hours of careful, delicate work, Inu-Yasha was gazing at his finished product with wide, confused eyes.

"Wha. . . ?"

He turned to Kagome and floated a little closer to her, allowing the sketch-puzzle to flutter to the floor and crumble to pieces. But he didn't mind- he'd already gotten a good look at it.

"Why?" he hissed, brow furrowed. "Why did you draw that?" He waited- - -

But obviously, she didn't answer.

. . .

Sighing and shaking his head, he `sat' beside her on the bed, resting on top of her sketch book. "You confuse me, you know that, girl? You really confuse me. . ." Tapping his nails against his chin, he fished around for a meaning behind the picture. Why would she draw him kissing h- - -

!

No, wait- he was jumping to conclusions! Yeah, that was it- conclusions! Who said that the drawing was of *Kagome* and himself? It could be him and *Kikyo*- after all, the two girls looked sort of alike. . .

Sort of. . .

. . .


But. . . if that was the case- than why did he automatically think it was Kag in the sketch?

He thought for a moment, but came up with no reason behind his automatic assumption. That confused him. And as his confusion grew, so did his irritation. He didn't understand- and that just made him MORE annoyed.

Grr. . .

Why did it feel like if his soul was being torn in two opposite directions. . . ?!

"I really don't understand you," he whispered again, glaring at Kagome's snoozing form. "You help me get back my old girlfriend, and they you get all bitchy when you see me with her! Why?! And why do I care?! You're a friend to me, I suppose- I care about you a BIT. But only this much, see?!" He held his thumb and forefinger about a millimeter apart, waving the measurement wildly before the teen's face. "But Kikyo should mea- - - DOES mean more to me! I'm not gonna stop seeing her and crap just because YOU want me to. Do *you* understand, wench?" His eyes narrowed as she didn't respond, but then he remembered:

`Oh yeah. . . She's asleep.'

His hand fell limply back to his side as he watched her steady breathing. `Man. . . I just wasted all that time yelling at her for nothing?!' "Damn. . ." he exhaled in irritation. "I really hate you, you know that?" he murmured, contradicting both his previous words, tone, and actions- - -

As he reached out to gently brush her hair away from her face.

!

But he instinctively retreated his fingers seconds before they could actually come into contact with her milky skin. Bringing the offending hand to clench the fabric over where his heart should be, he quickly turned away- leaving the room before more stupidity managed to pour from his mouth. He'd go take a nap in the attic or something- try to forget all this.

And so he let the torn picture- and his torn feelings- remain scattered on the floor of Kagome's room.

~*~

Sorry it's a short chapter, but I feel if I make it too long I'll edit it poorly `cause I'm not feeling well and all. . .

Yeah.

^_^;

Hope you enjoyed and all that good stuff. . .

Ja ne!