InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fleeting ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 25 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

un_love_you prompt #29 – (Author’s Choice) – “If you don’t have to go, don’t.”

Kagome pressed through the door of the bustling café, balancing a tray of iced coffees in one hand as she dug into the depths of her purse with the other.  She slipped seamlessly into the sea of humanity that flowed over the sidewalks on this bright July afternoon, managing to unearth her cell phone moments before it rang.  A hint of a smile graced her lips as she flipped it open and pressed it to her ear, not even bothering to confirm the caller’s identity.

“Hai, Inuyasha,” she greeted him cheerfully.  Right on time.

They had settled into something of a routine over the last three weeks.  Sesshoumaru had thrown himself into his side project, launching his own independent trading company, and once again began to practically live at the library.  He’d turned one of the old study carrels in the basement into his company headquarters, and had almost immediately started retreating there every evening after work – and lately, most weekend afternoons – in order to carry out the company’s business.

Toiling away at a startup was grueling work, which Kagome had witnessed –and experienced – first hand.  She and Inuyasha exchanged emails on their private, secure server every morning, updating each other on anything of interest that might have happened the night before.  After her morning shift at work, she’d head to the post office, checking to see if he’d left any messages or packages that might be relevant to their cause.  And, finally, he called her every afternoon to fill her in on what Taisho Senior had been up to during working hours.

In spite of the tiring and sometimes boring work, she found it rather thrilling to be part of this venture.  She hadn’t lost sight of the larger picture – Sesshoumaru was trying to keep his father from buying up Hidecki Financial Group and using it, in turn, to threaten SHK, her family’s company – and oftentimes felt like a covert agent, especially when she had the chance to sneak messages to her flatmate under his domineering department manager’s nose at work.  Usually, however, whatever information Inuyasha had uncovered could wait until the evening, after she’d had the chance to pick up some dinner (as well as plenty of caffeine) and head for Sesshoumaru’s library-carrel ‘office,’ where they’d work late into the night.

Well, mostly he would work and she’d watch, but she pitched in where she could.  He’d opened new, separate accounts for all corporate communications and she’d very quickly taken them over.  She enjoyed answering phone calls (always in her politest, most professional tone), and organizing his inbox (to keep it streamlined and clutter-free).  Sesshoumaru seemed to appreciate her efforts, and the buffer she’d managed to build and maintain between him and those inquiring about his business.

With SHK hanging in the balance, she took none of it lightly.  Besides, she relished this perfect opportunity to spend more time with him.  This collaboration had only served to bring them closer than ever, and she was certain that, if everything went according to plan – if he succeeded in his campaign to best his father, if they saved her family’s company – then he would be hers (in every sense of the word) by the end of the summer.  

Their attraction to each other was undeniable; the temptation that came with being so close into the early hours of the morning was proving harder and harder to resist.  They’d shared a few clandestine kisses, in celebration of small, fleeting moments of success; she’d also kneaded the stress from his shoulders on occasion, and always let her fan drift his way as they sat side-by-side at the desk, breaking up the stale, hot air as they studied figures and spreadsheets and features from the financial pages.

Last night she’d dozed off while leaning against him, only to wake up sometime later and feel the welcome weight of his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.  She’d looked up at him, noting his closed eyes and soft expression, but quickly realized that he was not asleep by the pattern of his breathing.  She loved that he felt he could be vulnerable in her presence, even if he thought she wasn’t aware of it.

Just remembering that moment conjured the same warm, tingly feeling in her core.

“Kagome?  Are you still there?”  

Inuyasha’s words sliced through her reverie.  “What?” she mumbled, shaking her head slightly; she blinked, breaking abruptly from the crowd before she walked straight past her destination.  “I’m sorry, Inuyasha,” she apologized as she stepped into the lobby of the library and headed for the elevators that would take her to the basement.  “What did you say?”

She didn’t miss the hesitation in his voice this time.  “Something’s…come up,” he replied enigmatically.

“What?” she prodded, stepping onto the elevator, suddenly grateful to be alone if, as she guessed, she was about to be on the receiving end of bad news.

“I…”  He trailed off into the static created by the enclosed metal interior.  

She yanked the phone away, cursing the disappearing connectivity bars.  “Dammit,” she swore, shaking it for a moment, while at the same time willing the elevator to move faster.  Finally, mercifully, it lumbered to a halt, its doors shuttering open.  

Kagome shot into the dimly lit hallway, pressing her phone to her ear once more.  “Say that again, Inuyasha,” she pleaded frantically.  “I didn’t catch it.”

“Oh, hell,” he huffed, a note of disgruntled hysteria entering his voice, “I’ll just let Sesshoumaru tell you.  I gotta go.  Later, Kagome,” he added, before abruptly hanging up.

She frowned.  He’d never hung up on her before.  ‘Something’s come up – I’ll let Sesshoumaru tell you’?  She recounted their strange conversation silently as she contemplated her now-dark phone.  He’s never said anything like that to me before, either.

Dread settled like a stone in her stomach.

Still, she pressed forward, moving through the hallway that led to the old study carrels on quiet, nimble feet.  She’d once made the mistake of wearing sandals down here, only to discover in the light of Sesshoumaru’s ‘office’ just how disgusting the floors really were in this dusty, mostly-forgotten corner of the building.  That memory assailed her now for some reason, sending a disconcerting ripple of anxiety down her spine.

Please, God, she implored silently as she knocked on the door of the carrel, don’t let this be bad news.

“Sesshoumaru?” she ventured, turning the knob and easing the door open.  He was sitting at the desk opposite, giving her his back.  It was not an unusual sight, she reminded herself as she slipped into the makeshift room.  The desk was mounted against the only permanent wall offered, a thick slab of concrete that separated the carrels from the library’s other internal workings.  The other three walls were made of thick, dark oak – all solid, all windowless.  The prized computer was situated in the middle of the desk, which spanned the entire width of the concrete wall, and two high-backed chairs (one of which had been stolen from the carrel next door) were usually wedged under it.  Sesshoumaru hadn’t given much thought to the décor of his carrel-turned-office; ever practical, he always brought everything he needed with him, if only to ensure that he didn’t accidentally leave anything important behind.

The room had always been a bit gloomy, but right now it felt downright ominous, the air heavy and thick and full of tension.  It took her a moment to realize what seemed so out of place.

It was him.  Or, more specifically, his hair.

In the sticky humidity of the summer, he’d transitioned into lighter linen clothing, but had few options of how to deal with the heavy curtain of his hair.  He tied it back at the nape for his internship at SHK, which gave him a clean, professional look, but it offered little in the way of comfort as his working hours grew longer and deeper into the night.  He could – and did – take off his coat and roll up his sleeves in an effort to cool down, but found himself at a loss with his hair.  He’d balked at her suggestion to cut it, and had nearly had a cow when he’d discovered that she’d braided it in idle boredom one night.  From then on, he’d taken to pulling it back into a messy half-ponytail with a handful of extra hair ties, succeeding in both lifting the heavy mass away from his shoulders and back, and exposing the surprisingly delicate arch of his neck.  She’d teased him about it, of course, but secretly found this disheveled look incredibly sexy.

So walking into the room and seeing him sitting there – sleeves straight, coat on, hair down, head bowed – only made the knot in her stomach tighten.  She hesitated before approaching him, placing the tray of drinks she’d brought on the corner of the desk as she eyed him.  His hair fell over his shoulders, shielding his face from her completely – and for a single, crazy moment, she wondered if he had somehow fallen asleep.

“Sesshoumaru?” she tried again, sweeping his hair back.  “Is something – ?”  All it took was one look at his stony expression to answer her half-asked question.

Oh, yeah, she thought, swallowing hard, something is very definitely wrong.

She grappled for some other way to broach the subject.  “Inuyasha – said – something has happened – ?”

“So he knew about this,” Sesshoumaru interrupted, his tone flat, quiet, and cold.

“Knew about what?” she pressed, pulling out the chair beside him and sinking into it.  “Please, tell me what’s going on!”

He shoved the single piece of paper that he’d been staring at in her direction without comment.

“Oh, God,” she breathed, feeling her heart skip a beat as she read:  

CONFIDENTIAL MEMO

TO: SHK GOLD TEAM [NEGOTIATION]
FROM: S. TAKEDA, DIRECTOR
DATE: 3 JULY 2009

The bid for Hidecki Financial Group is cleared for go-ahead.  Please file today.  You are authorized to open with an offer that raises the current bidding price (as of 2 July 2009) by 5,000,000 yen.

Kagome glanced up at her companion.  “But – how could he have known about this?” she sputtered.

“Indeed, that is the question,” Sesshoumaru intoned darkly, spearing her with a cold golden glare.  “Obviously, this means that he’s not conveying to you everything that he knows.”  He narrowed his eyes.  “Or else you’re not telling me.”

“Sesshoumaru!” she yelped, unnerved by the accusation.  “How can you even say that?!  I’ve been totally honest with you!”

He gave a short nod.  “Then Inuyasha is the weak link here,” he surmised.  “That slimy little bastard is beyond useless.  Why did I ever entertain the notion that he could help me?  He has done nothing to further my cause.”

“That’s not true, and you know it!” she protested, reaching for the dozens of files containing her correspondence with him, which she’d stacked neatly beside the computer.  “What do you call this?” she inquired, waving the folders in his face.

“Incidental,” he shot back, pushing her hand away and reaching for the memo again.  “These are exactly the sort of nasty little surprises I’d hoped to avoid with the aid of his so-called ‘inside information.’”  He shoved to his feet and turned away from her as he continued to contemplate the damning leaked document.

“Wait a minute,” Kagome cried, shooting to her feet.  “How do you even know about this?  The Gold Team is the elite group of negotiators that Takeda himself hand-selected.”  She crossed her arms over her chest as she eyed him suspiciously.  “And we both know that Takeda would never let you within ten feet of them.”

“I have my spies,” he returned cryptically.  “And it is precisely the fact that Takeda engaged the Gold Team on this matter that infuriates me.”

She considered his response for a moment before unfurling her arms and circling around to look at him once more.  She hated it when he became sullen and angry and curled up within himself.  It was times like these when she so desperately wanted to help him, if only he’d let her.

“I don’t understand,” she admitted sheepishly.  “Isn’t this what we wanted from the start?  For SHK to make an offer on Hidecki, so that your father couldn’t steamroll them into merging with Taisho Enterprises instead?”

“Too little, too late,” Sesshoumaru sneered in response.  “Takeda’s bid now won’t save your company.”

Kagome fisted her hands in frustration.  “What are you talking about?” she asked him, wishing for once that he would speak in plain terms.

He looked away from her again and started to pace.  “For the last three weeks, I have meticulously plotted and put into action a plan that would grant Genkin Katsuro the legitimacy and history it needs to bid on Hidecki, and have its bid taken seriously,” he began.  “And during that time I finally discovered why my father was so intent on snapping them up.”

He snorted derisively.  “For once, the old man actually told me the truth,” he mused.  “Hidecki Financial Group has an investment bank and serious play on the stock market.  That means they can raise a lot of capital in a very short amount of time – precisely what he needs in order to make SHK, or any firm, for that matter, an offer that it can’t refuse.

“With SHK entering the fray, my father now sees that the stakes have raised, and may even believe that I have somehow shared my knowledge of his plan to use Hidecki against them,” he continued.  “That means that one of two things is about to happen:  either he is going to call their bluff and rocket the bidding war for Hidecki through the stratosphere, or he is going to withdraw his offer completely.”

You Taisho men don’t do anything by halves, do you, Kagome thought wryly.  “But why would he do that?” she prodded.  “Doesn’t he need Hidecki to complete his master plan?  I mean, you said yourself they can raise a lot of cash really quickly.”

Sesshoumaru shook his head.  “Buying Hidecki was his backup plan,” he revealed somberly.  “Investment banks aren’t absolutely necessary when it comes to raising fast capital.”  He paused, sliding an assessing study down the length of her and back.  “You’re an economics student, and I know you’re not stupid, so tell me – what’s another way that a corporation as massive and wide-ranging as Taisho Enterprises could acquire capital quickly?”

She flushed under his sudden, intense scrutiny, searching his features as the possibilities raced across the back of her mind.  “It could sell its assets,” she finally replied, feeling a wave of nausea roll over her as the ugly realization of what he was driving at dawned on her.

“That’s right,” he confirmed.  “And in this case, the cost-risk ratio of doing so would make sense.  If he thought he could make enough money shunting off lesser subsidiaries to buy SHK wholesale, he’d do it – because what he’s gaining is, theoretically at least, more than what he’s losing.”

He drew to a halt, turning to face her plainly.  “But don’t you see?  Now that SHK has entered this bidding war for Hidecki – there’s no outcome in which I don’t end up on the losing side.”  He shrugged helplessly.  “Either SHK and Taisho Enterprises will drive the bidding up and effectively price me out, or my father will completely undo his legacy trying for this one, final comeuppance.”  

He wavered under a fine shimmer of outrage.  “He’d rather destroy his company than leave it to me,” he whispered, averting his eyes, the anguish raw in his tone.

“Oh, Sesshoumaru,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around him, pressing herself against him, and – for the first time – feeling the crushing burden that he carried.  Her heart broke for him; what a devastating realization it must’ve been, and what a torturous route he must’ve traveled to get there.  She had known nothing but love and support from her own father, and though she sometimes felt isolated from her family, she always knew, in her heart of hearts, that she could return home and they would accept her for what she was.  From what she’d gathered from conversations with both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, their father would not be quite so forgiving or accepting of his sons’ perceived faults.

Please stay with me, she wanted to tell him, and let me love you more than I already do…  Yet, she knew better than to give this desperate plea voice; she didn’t want him to mistake her feelings for mere pity or sympathy, neither of which he would stand for.  He wouldn’t understand that she loved him because of his flaws – because he wasn’t the ice prince he’d always been accused of being, because he wasn’t always in firm control of his life, his future, or even his past.  He wasn’t perfect, and he never would be, and she wished that she could show him how much that didn’t matter to her.

She loved him for his depth, his complexities, his passion, his vulnerability.  She loved the man beneath the hard, stoic façade, and wished desperately that he didn’t feel the need to hide behind his impassive mask, to shield his perceived inadequacies from the world.  

Please… she thought, tightening the brace of her arms around his waist, threading her fingers through his hair.

“Please…” she whispered against his chest, her words muffled by his finely-woven shirt.

She felt his arms encircle her – and for a moment, her heart rejoiced, brimming over with love and joy and support.  She wondered if he’d somehow intuited her thoughts – if this was him, accepting the support she offered so willingly – if they could ever be so close and connected that words would not be necessary.

“This is my destiny,” he stated, his tone low but firm, the words reverberating through him and into her, causing her to momentarily lose the ability to breathe.

“What is?” she managed, looking up at him, hoping against hope to see her feelings reflected in his eyes.  We are…?

“It is my destiny to fight with my father, and to win,” he replied instead, letting his arms fall away from her as he took a step back – away – his hands curling into fists at his sides as an air of determination rose around him.  “I have to be the one to foil his plans.  It has to be me.”  

Kagome furrowed her brow, not liking this turn his train of thought was suddenly taking.  “But why?” she questioned softly.  Why was he so intent on pursuing this, given how much pain it was causing him?  

His fixed his gaze at a point beyond her, somewhere in the middle distance.  “I am his heir, and it is my duty to succeed him,” he replied in a steely tone, sounding very much as if he’d rehearsed this little speech.  “And to prove to him that I am worthy of that succession.  This is my destiny – and Inuyasha and Takeda are only standing in my way now.”

She really didn’t like the sound of that.  “What do you mean?” she asked carefully, wondering where, exactly, he was going with this.  After all, the battle being waged against Taisho Enterprises was about more than just him – the future of her own father’s legacy hung in the balance, not to mention Inuyasha’s ability to return to his real home, with his grandparents in France.

“I will not let my father destroy my inheritance,” he replied, lowering his gaze to meet hers, “and I will not let either of them interfere with it, either.”

A chill rippled down her spine at his sinister response.  “But what about SHK?” she asked.

He simply shrugged and turned back to the desk.  “That is not my concern.”

Kagome’s jaw dropped.  “What?!” she cried, grabbing his arm and forcing him to face her again.  “What the hell are you talking about?!”

He wrenched out of her grasp.  “It was never my concern,” he informed her coldly.  “This is – and always has been – between me and my father.  SHK was simply a means to an end – but now, it is simply an obstacle in my path.”

“How can you even say that to me?” she demanded, taking hold of him once more as traitorous tears prickled behind her eyes.  “After everything we’ve been through – you don’t even care?”

To her unending surprise, his savage expression softened, and he clasped her shoulders gently.  “I care,” he assured her, “because though I despise Takeda, your company has treated me well – you have treated me well, and I – ”

He released a jagged breath, squeezing her shoulders as his eyes fell closed.  After a moment, he composed himself.  “Ultimately, my loyalty lies with myself.”

“Do you think this is all just some sort of game?” she cried out, her tears spilling over her cheeks.  “Do you not really care who loses, as long as it’s not you?”

“I care, Kagome,” he shot back sharply, giving her a little shake.  “SHK is a good, strong, solid company.  It doesn’t deserve to be swallowed up by my father’s ambition.”

“It doesn’t deserve to be thwarted by yours, either!” she countered, pulling away from his hold.  “Why do you have to be so damn stubborn, Sesshoumaru?  Why can’t you see that your way isn’t the only way?  If SHK outbids Taisho Enterprises, your father will still be defeated – why won’t you accept the help that you were begging for a month ago?!”

She wanted to scream and shout and shove him – anything to make him realize that there was another way beyond his narrow scope of thinking.  There was another way that would allow both of them to win their inheritances intact, and to be together in the end.  Isn’t that what they’d been working towards all along?

Isn’t that what he ultimately wanted?  It’s what she wanted, and that was reason enough to fight.  

“It’s too late for that,” he reiterated angrily, bringing her back to the present.  “Do you think that Takeda would dare give me credit for bringing Hidecki to his attention?  No.  It has to be me – I have to do it my way – because my father has to know that it was me who bested him!”

Can you truly be so shortsighted? she wondered as she stared incredulously at him.  Are you so blindsided by your frustration and fear that you can no longer see the forest for the trees?  I love you, I love you, stop acting like this…stop pushing me away!

“Stop being so goddamned selfish!” she exclaimed instead.  “I thought we were in this together – I thought we were a team…!”

He narrowed his eyes as he gazed at her, his challenge as fierce as her words.  “I will not yield on this.  This is who I am, Kagome – this is who I always have been, and who I always will be.”

“So inflexible that you won’t bend until you break?” she hurled back.  She swiped furiously at her tears.  “Then you’re gonna have to learn how to yield, because when you break, no one is going to be there to pick up the pieces.”

She whirled around and stormed off before he could reply, before he could shake the foundations of her love for him any further.  She broke into a run as she hit the hallway, hoping she could make it to the elevators before her knees gave way beneath her.

Kagome stifled a sigh as she swirled her straw through her half-melted cocktail.  She sat at a table in the shadows of the club, ignoring the multicolored lights that glittered the dance floor, tuning out the ear-shattering beats of the music, disregarding her friends’ concerned expressions as they crowded around her, one after the other, trying to engage her in conversation.

She didn’t mean to snub them; she’d thought that dressing up and going out would distract her from the heartrending events of the afternoon.  She could feel the tension coiling between her shoulders, settling in her lower back, weighing down her calves.  What better way to be rid of it than to dance her cares away?  She and her friends really liked this club, and came here often, for its eclectic mix of American techno and European dance music.  Combine that with a bit of junk food and some alcohol, and she’d be partaking of her favorite method for working through angst.

Only – It wasn’t working this time.  Somehow, it only added to her feelings of helplessness and frustration.

“Kagome?”

She glanced up, meeting Sango’s anxious gaze before averting her eyes again.  Sango took her hand in her own.  “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Kagome slowly shook her head, lifting her glass to her lips and taking another healthy swig of her vodka martini.  “I’m sure,” she confirmed.  “Really…it’s no big deal.”

She could practically feel her friends’ eyes boring holes in the top of her head, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell them what had happened.  They’d all warned her before about falling back into a relationship with Sesshoumaru.  None of them really approved of him, though they tried to be supportive nonetheless.  She’d kept up her end of their pre-summer bargain, carving out a niche of time just for them, and they had held up their end as well, keeping the atmosphere fun and relaxing whenever they were together, and focusing the collective conversation on the positives of their lives instead of the negatives.

It hadn’t been all happiness and light, of course – life, in general, sucked too much for that – but it was the fun that had inadvertently brought them closer as friends.  Kagome felt especially close to Miroku these days, having sought him out on more than one occasion for his level-headed advice.  He, in turn, had confided in her about his plans to propose to Sango later in the summer.

She adored these people – they were worlds apart from Kouga’s shallow clique.  Nevertheless, she just wasn’t up for hearing about how her fight with Sesshoumaru might’ve been a blessing in disguise, or how this was simply his true nature coming to the fore, or how this was the perfect opportunity to break her sublease and just move on with her life.  She was about to graduate from university, after all, and what better time – or way – to make a fresh start?

“I suck, you guys,” she sighed, lifting her eyes to meet their collective gaze.  “I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to drag you down, too.”  She cracked a smile.  “One bad day and I’m wallowing in misery – there’s no need for you guys to join me.”

Miroku patted her shoulder supportively.  “That’s what we’re here for, though:  the good times and the bad,” he reminded her.  He exchanged long looks with both Sango and Inuyasha.  “We’re not going to judge you, Kagome.  We’re just worried about you.”

“There really isn’t any need to be,” she rushed to assure them.  “Look – I’m just tired.  I’m sorry that tonight’s been a total bust.  Can you give me a couple of days, and then maybe we can try this again?”  She turned on her best, most appeasing, puppy dog eyes expression.

Sango exchanged another long look with her boyfriend, but before either of them could speak, Inuyasha did.  “C’mon, Kagome,” he said, moving forward to take a firm hold on her arm as she slid out of her seat.  “I’ll walk you home.”  He glanced at their friends, sending a subtle nod in their direction, before guiding her toward the entrance of the club.

“Really, Inuyasha – ” Kagome started, intending to tell him that it wasn’t necessary for him to lead her like a child, but she abruptly snapped her mouth closed when she swayed uncertainly, suddenly feeling nauseated from the alcohol and carbs.  

“Thanks,” she managed instead as they stepped out into the warm night air.

He simply squeezed her arm in response, offering a small smile as they turned in the direction of the metro.  

They made it onto the train without incident, but as they drew closer and closer to their destination, Kagome could feel it all coming back:  her head growing heavy with tears, her stomach knotting over on itself.  The sorrow she’d tried so valiantly to hold at bay all evening threatened to overwhelm her.

The two stepped out onto the platform at her station, but instead of heading for the exit with the rest of the crowd, Kagome slumped down on a nearby bench and buried her face in her hands.  “Oh, God,” she whispered brokenly to herself.  Inuyasha was truly the last person she wanted to confide in, but he was the only friend she had at that moment – and it was all about to come out, whether she wanted it to or not.

“Kagome,” he murmured, brushing her hair over her shoulder as he sank down beside her.

An ugly, angry sob broke in her chest.  “I’ve lost him, Inuyasha,” she wept, feeling her face heat and her chest constrict and her heart throb painfully against her ribs.  “I don’t know what to do.”

He simply pulled her close, bringing her head down on his shoulder.  “That’s okay – you just go ahead and cry,” he murmured.  “I know that you’ve just been bottling it up all night.”

She curled into him and sobbed, crying until she physically ached – until her chest was sore, until her face felt swollen, until her eyes had been rubbed raw.  It hurt – oh, God, did it hurt – but at the same time, it felt so good to finally let it all out:  her anger and frustration and helplessness, her sorrow and love and want, her stress and worry and anguish.

And he just let her cry, offering nothing more than a comforting arm around her shoulders.  He didn’t judge her, or dismiss her, or even try to get in a few well-placed digs at his erstwhile half-brother, as was his wont whenever the subject came up.  

“Feeling better?” he asked softly, as her sobs quieted into sniffles.

She shrugged.  “I guess,” she mumbled.

“Ready to talk about it?”

There was a hint of prickliness in his tone, as if he’d resigned himself to his fate.  It was so different from the last time he’d comforted her after she’d fought with Sesshoumaru; she almost wanted to laugh at the irony.

Instead, she sighed.  “He’s so blinded by his hatred right now that he can’t see anything else,” she told him.  “This battle of wills has consumed him, and I’m afraid – I’m afraid it’s going to destroy him.”

“Meh.”  Inuyasha shrugged.  “My brother’s stubbornness will serve him well enough.  He’s pretty clever about some things…”  His voice trailed off she shifted away from him, hauling herself upright and smoothing her skirt over her legs.  

“…but he can be really fucking stupid about others,” he continued after a moment.  “Why he can’t see how much you love him, I’ll never know – especially since it’s really damn obvious to the rest of us,” he muttered.

“Am I crazy to feel this way?” she mused aloud.

Inuyasha shrugged.  “You love who you love – I don’t think you can control it.”  

“Mmm,” she murmured.  After a moment, she stood, stretching her arms over her head, finally feeling the tension release across her shoulders.  Inuyasha followed suit, tucking his hands into his back pockets as he watched her.

“I just wish…”  She sighed.  “I don’t know.”

The two headed for the exit, taking the stairs to the surface one at a time.

“Believe me, Kagome,” Inuyasha intoned as he hooked his arm through hers, continuing their sedate pace down the sidewalk, “if he has even an ounce of compassion, he’ll regret losing you.  Our father could die tomorrow and leave him everything, and it still wouldn’t make him happy – because he wouldn’t have you to share it with.”

Kagome tucked her hair behind her ear.  “I wish I could believe that,” she said mournfully.

He considered her response for a moment.  “Well, believe this – sometimes you have to lose something before you realize just how much you wanted it in the first place,” he replied.

A bitter smile curled at the corners of her lips as they crossed through the parking lot of her apartment complex.  Don’t I know it, she thought to herself.  I’ve lost him twice, and it only hurts even more this time.  Tears prickled behind her eyes.  She wasn’t angry with him this time – she was afraid for him.

“Why can’t he just let me love him?” she whispered as they slowed to a stop in front of her door.  “Why can’t that be enough?”

Inuyasha turned her to face him and gently clasped her shoulders.  “Dammit, Kagome,” he swore softly, “I hate watching what this is doing to you.  It’s not your fault he’s acting like an ass – you’re not the one who’s unworthy here, he is.”  

He lifted a hand to cup her face, tracing the crest of her cheek with his thumb.  “Has he really made you feel so undesirable?” he murmured, tilting her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his.  Before his intentions even registered in her brain, she felt the brush of his lips against hers, soft and sweet, sympathetic and comforting.

“You’re not, you know,” he whispered against her mouth.  “You’re still very desirable to the rest of us.”

He kissed her again, and she let him, twining her arms around his shoulders.  In that moment, she needed to have her ego assuaged, her wounded pride soothed.  His kiss wasn’t forceful or passionate, only pacifying – a nice little reminder of what it was to be wanted.

She allowed herself this indulgence, to be swept away in this moment…

…and neither of them noticed their sudden illumination in the headlights of a newly-parked car – or the horror-stricken golden gaze staring out at them from the driver’s seat.