InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Expectation ❯ Chapter 5

Part 5

Releasing a small, pained breath, Kagome turned to her friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Bring him inside, Miroku-sama. Then I want the three of you to find a better way to occupy your morning than hanging around here."

Sango nodded, her understanding and sympathy expressed plainly by the look in her eyes. Shippou seemed very confused, but seldom would he question any wish of Kagome's. Miroku walked over to the struggling bundle that was the hanyou. Grabbing him by the collar, he dragged him past the small crowd of startled onlookers that had gathered in the road and over the threshold of the miko Kaede's hut, depositing him with a soft grunt on the wooden floor inside.

"Are you certain that you don't want me to remain, Kagome-sama?" he asked a little too hopefully. "In case he decides to run again?"

"Miroku-sama," Kagome sighed, bowing her head sadly. "Please don't think that I don't appreciate all that you're trying to do for me… but if he wants to go, I will let him go. I'm not going to hold him here against his will." She paused, then continued more quietly, "I can't force him to love me, Miroku-sama, and neither can you."

In spite of her efforts to remain unheard, the tightly-bound figure, now propped up in the far corner of the hut, heaved a deep, ragged sigh through his nose.

"Very well, Kagome-sama. I will leave you to it." The hoshi bowed politely to the young miko, then stepped out of the room, leaving her alone with her problems.

When she was certain that he had stepped off the porch and was, in fact, leaving, Kagome turned to regard her 'gift.' Reaching down, she peeled off the wide band of paper covering his mouth. She would save the blinders for last. She didn't want to see his eyes…and wanted even less for him to look at her.

"Kagome…" he whispered as soon as his lips were freed, and drew another deep, shaky breath. The world was dark beneath the ofuda that still covered his eyes, but he could tell from scent and sound that they were now alone together.

"I'm sorry he did this to you…" she whispered, carefully lowering herself to her knees in front of him to remove the rest of his binds. "Hold on a moment, I'll… I'll set you free."

Oh Kagome, are you talking about the scrolls, or something else?

"I'll stay."

~

"I thought you said you were going to talk to him, hoshi-sama."

Miroku's shoulders tensed a fraction of an inch, but when he spoke, his voice lilted with its customary ease.

"I did talk to him."

"I see." Sango said testily, folding her arms over her chest. "Was that before or after he was gagged? You know, I could have forced him to come back just as easily, but you left us under the impression that you could convince him to come back willingly! Do you even realize what you've done to poor Kagome-chan?" She said the last while poking him in the chest with her finger for dramatic emphasis.

"Sango," he sighed, "what do you want me to say? I tried talking to him, I did. He wasn't in the mood to be reasoned with. At one point, I was even quite tempted to come back without him entirely, and I would have, were it not for the promise I had made to Kagome-sama."

"Not like this, hoshi-sama!" the taijiya hissed furiously, gesturing wildly at the small crowd of villagers who were taking an almost obscene amount of time to disperse and go back about their business. "I know she didn't want this, this…spectacle! Even you must have realized that this wasn't-"

"Sango." His interruption was soft but firm as he captured her flailing hands in his own and held them tightly against his chest. "I gave her my promise."

Sango's breath caught in her throat, and the angry tension in her face dissolved into a look of befuddlement that he had to admit was very attractive. He watched with a quiet, almost amused sort of satisfaction as her gaze rose up to meet his, then dropped down to where their hands were clasped at his heart, a maidenly tinge diffusing across her cheeks.

"Y-yes." she sighed, her voice softened with resignation. "He is rather stubborn, isn't he?"

"Yes." he agreed, releasing one of her hands so that he could reach out his own to cup her chin and lift her gaze back up to his eyes. "But more than that, he's confused, Sango."

"Confused? He has no right to be. It seems to me that he made his choice when he…did…that…to her."

"Yes, that's true… But maybe he wants to…to give his heart to her, and his…current situation won't allow it. Maybe he's afraid of disappointing her, or of hurting her when she's already been through so much already…" he trailed off, losing himself in the warmth of her soft brown eyes, and Sango's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Inuyasha and Kagome, hoshi-sama?"

"Wh-Huh?" he asked stupidly, blinking and a bit startled.

"You were still talking about Inuyasha and Kagome just now, weren't you?"

"Inuyasha and…? Oh! Yes, of course, Sango! I mean who else would I be…I mean, really-" he stammered nervously, smiling like an idiot. "Inuyasha and Kagome…naturally…I mean, of course…"

"Hoshi-sama?"

"Yes, Sango?" he said casually, his momentary loss of composure seemingly forgotten as he reverted back to his usual self-assured tone and posturing, what Sango had come to regard as his 'playboy' look. Be that as it may, she was sure that she hadn't been imagining things a few moments ago, when he had been boring holes into her with those amazing blue eyes…

"Do you think he…loves her?" she asked, willing him to read between the lines of her thinly veiled question. She was almost positive that she had gotten through his defenses when he exhaled an airy,

"Oh yes, Sango."

"But?"

"But." he laughed, a touch of the nervousness from before creeping into his chuckle. "Well, you said it best yourself…he's stubborn."

"And confused, as you said." He nodded, and as he did, Sango began to feel a faint tingling sensation on the bridge of her nose. Was it her imagination, or was his face drawing closer?

"Yes, confused…"

"And stupid, you guys! Don't forget stupid!" the nearly forgotten kitsune suddenly piped up, hopping upon Miroku's head and completely obliterating the moment. Sango pulled her hands away from the monk's, coughing into her fist and looking thoroughly embarrassed. The almost serene expression on Miroku's face changed to a grimace as he struggled with himself to keep from tossing the furry little intruder into the nearest tree.

"Hai, Shippoouu…" he muttered, his voice straining with the effort it took not to explode. "very, very stupid!"

"Ah, hoshi-sama…" Sango interjected, quickly trying to shift everyone's focus away from what had 'almost' just happened. "Don't you think that maybe we should go somewhere else? Kagome-sama did ask us to leave."

"Yes, of course, you're right…" he muttered, still cursing his bad luck and Shippou's unfortunate timing under his breath. "At any rate, it wouldn't be good if Inuyasha were to come out here and see us all standing about suspiciously."

"Mmm." Sango agreed, nodding her head. "Alright Shippou, Kirara, let's go see if we can find ourselves a cherry tree… Hoshi-sama? Why are you lagging behind?"

"Ah." Miroku laughed a bit awkwardly as a guilty smile spread over his face. "Well, someone has to stay behind in case things turn ugly, ne?"

"He wants to eavesdrop." Shippou whispered into her ear conspiratorially.

"No, no, no! It's not like that! You misunderstand me, Sango! Don't listen to the kid, what does he know? S-sango? AAH! Now really, I must object…" The hoshi's voice faded away into the early morning breeze as the taijiya dragged him away by his earrings.

~

Kagome paused, momentarily thrown off her guard, but recovered quickly and went back to removing the scrolls from his body.

"No, Inuyasha."

"Kagome, I'll stay."

She nibbled on her bottom lip as she considered this, glad that the ofuda covering his eyes was still in place. She didn't want to think about what she might have said or done next if she'd had to look into his eyes. Willing herself to remain calm, she summoned up the courage to speak the words that had to come next.

"I don't want you to force yourself. I couldn't live with that…or you." She tried to say it with some finality, but her voice had a tremulous waver to it that she couldn't seem to control. Attempting to cover it up, she took her time tearing apart the scrolls binding his wrists, making a long, drawn out riiiiiiiiiiip. As soon as they were free, he began to rub at his wrists, massaging away the pain and stiffness while encouraging the circulation back into his hands. They were pale, she noted sadly, save for the tell-tale pink welts where the ofuda had rested against his skin.

"I wouldn't be forcing myself." he muttered, sounding hurt and more than slightly annoyed. "Why do you say things like that? Why did you tell Miroku that I abandoned you? You know I wouldn't do that, Kagome."

"Do I?" she said flippantly, tearing the binds from his ankles a bit too forcefully and eliciting a wince as the thin edge of the paper nicked his skin. "You'll excuse me if I'm not entirely convinced."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"It means I don't believe you!"

"You don't believe…?" He brought his hands up to his face and tried to peel the ward from off his eyes, but every time he reached his fingers out to touch it, white hot sparks of energy leapt across the distance between the scroll and his fingertips, discouraging further attempts. Finally, tired of the pain and greatly frustrated, he snapped.

"Damn it, Kagome, why did you think I abandoned you?"

"Oh give me a break! Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

"Baka! Listen to me, the only thing I forced myself to do was leave. Staying is easy!"

"How can you say that to me?" she cried, her voice breaking under the force of her emotions. "Why are you doing this? God damn you! You left! I was vulnerable, and I put my trust in you and you left! Miroku had to tie you up and drag you back, and now that I'm letting you go, you're telling me that you never wanted to leave? What am I supposed to do with that? Are you just trying to break my heart or drive me insane to boot? Answer me!"

The interior of the small hut was charged with the young miko's anger, so much, in fact, that the it seemed to crackle and hum. He could feel the electricity in the air as an almost tangible thing; it had raised the small hairs on the back of his neck. It must have been an awe-inspiring sight, but as he was blind to it, the only thing he felt was the inevitable guilt and sadness that came from knowing he had hurt her.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I thought I was doing what you wanted."

In the next instant, Kagome reached out and ripped the binding scroll from his eyes.

"Don't you lie to me Inuyasha! Don't you dare lie to me!" she hissed, tears spilling from her eyes as she glared at him defiantly. "You look me in the eye right now and tell me the truth! It was one thing when you were just stringing me along, but now I have someone else's future to worry about, and I won't let you play with us like this anymore! I need the truth, Inuyasha! Out with it! What is it that you want?"

Grabbing her by the upper arms, he pulled her into an embrace.

"I'll stay."