InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of The Fallen ❯ Of Strangers In the Dark ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Blanket Disclaimer for Entire Story: I don’t own Inuyasha.


Of Strangers in the Dark

Kagome tossed her pencil to the table roughly and stretched her arms above her head, arching her back to loosen the kinks. Frustration and fatigue palpated just behind her eyes, causing pain to radiate outward to the rest of her head. She glanced over to her alarm clock almost afraid to look at it, ugly red numbers glared back at her. Groaning she flopped back down onto the desk. She'd been hunched over her practice sheets for more than two hours.
She sighed and looked out at the night sky through the single open window. She hadn't seen a single star through the glass in her entire life, the lights from the city below didn't allow them to shine. Her eyes moved down to her algebra book, she willed it to spontaneously combust and go up in tendrils smoke. She realized right there she needed to seriously take a break from arithmetic. She lifted her aching body off of the chair stiffly. She inched down the stairs and made her way to the wraparound porch of her family shrine. As soon as she opened the sliding door, a warm, comforting breeze floated through her hair. The smell of jasmine hung sweetly in the air. A soft smile graced her lips as she let the tension from studying melt away from her as she walked outside.

She let her eyes rise back up to the endless sky. The only thing she could see from the heavens was the moon, nestled quietly in its velvety black abyss. It was full this eve and it flooded her world with a soft ethereal light. Peace flowed through her as the soft hum of cicadas reached her ears.

gone out barefoot, loving the way the cool earth felt under her feet. She made her way over to the Goshinboku absently, watching its magnificent branches sway gently in the breeze as if dancing in delight at her arrival. She took a deep breath, loving it when she could steal a moment in time that was all her own.

As she came upon the massive trunk of the five hundred year old tree she noticed something odd about its shape. She slowed, suddenly wary of what it was, a chill spiraled down her back, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She squinted to make it out, cursing herself for not bringing an emergency light. Then the tree shifted again, allowing moonlight to filter down through its leaves.

Kagome stifled a horrified gasp behind her hands. Pure, undulated terror froze the blood in her veins.

skin glistened in the light of the moon, a stark contrast to the dark flow of liquid burbling up from gruesome wounds. Long, powerful limbs were sprawled out across the ancient tree's gnarled roots. A strong hand unfurled on the ground, dried blood and dirt embedded underneath the fingernails. An achingly beautiful face was turned up into the heavens, unmarred but for a few insignificant abrasions. Long hair, virtually colorless hung loosely to be toyed with gently by the wind.

Oh my Gods…” The exclamation had slipped passed her lips unbidden, dread rushed through her with every beat of her heart. She couldn't breathe, her chest constricted painfully with absolute panic. Her stomach churned dangerously as her wide eyes couldn't tear away from the dead man in front of her.

Then his thickly muscled chest hitched, desperately trying to drag air into his dying body. Hope flared in her chest spreading sudden warmth through her cold, stiff limbs spurring her into action. Maybe he's not dead… Her mind whispered at her. She desperately stumbled to her knees, crawling over to him, she felt for the man's pulse at the juncture of his neck. She winced as she made contact with his skin, it cold, no warmth from life at all. Tears formed in her eyes as she felt desperately for any sign of life. She had to push fairly hard to find one, but it was there, faint and sporadic.
She leaned back, her hands shaking violently. A numbing sigh of relief escaped from her, but it was quickly silenced as one of his hands flew up to grab her wrist. He dragged her to him with an incredible strength that no dying man should ever posses. She noticed then how large he was in comparison to her slight frame, she was nearly on top of him and still he seemed to engulf the space. Even on death's door he could easily snap her wrist, not to mention her neck, in two. Her heart sank low in her belly as she stared into the man's wild face.

“What are you doing, woman?” He gritted out, his lip twisted into a snarl, exposing a pair of sharp canines.

His straight rather arrogant nose was less than inch from hers, the intense gold of his eyes burned into her, making her shudder. Even in the lacking light it would be hard not to notice his furiously flashing eyes. He smelled of copper and infection, it caused her stomach to roll viciously.

“I-I live here… I was walking and found you. I need to go get an ambulance.” She stammered out in a whisper. She dared not move, for fear of him freaking and killing her on impulse.

“No hospitals.” His grip loosened, falling limply to the side. His eyes slipped closed and his body visibly relaxed, his chest collapsing with a long breath.

“Oh my god, I have to go call nine-one-one!” She went to go stand up when his hands were on her again, gripping both of her upper arms, his fingertips digging into the soft flesh there. She flinched from the sharp pain but didn't look away from his serious face.

“I said no hospitals!” He growled at her, his eyes trained on her scared face, clear and amazingly focused.
“But- I can't… I need to get you to the emergency room! You're going to die!” She shrieked, she could feel the hard length of his body through her pajamas, his skin like ice where it met with hers. Something in her was screaming at her to save him and she was inclined to go with it.

He leaned forward, favoring his wounded side, “No.” The tone was absolute. Final. The look in eyes clearly conveyed his choice. It would be death before it would be the hospital.

Fine, you ass!” Frustration and stress got the better of her as she snapped at him, her eyes lighting sharply with anger. She could've sworn she saw his lips lift in a small smile. Well, she didn't think this was a laughing matter what-so-ever. She got up and secured her footing against one of the trees massive roots, she needed to get him into the house.

“Can you stand?” She asked roughly, unable to wash away her clear panic over the situation.

His eyes cracked open and he nodded faintly. He grimaced as obvious shocks of pain rippled under his skin. He leaned heavily on the tree for support, but managed to get to his feet. She shifted over and maneuvered her body to his side as a crutch. Letting his arm come across her shoulders, they made their way, one agonizing step at a time, to her kitchen door.

As soon as they entered the residence she started screaming at the top of her lungs for her mother. The boy at her side suddenly collapsed as his knees could no longer hold the weight of his body. Kagome was almost dragged to the floor with him, but fought to keep her feet planted. Desperately she held onto him, not wanting him to hit the cold wood floor.

“Damnit…” She heard his groan, he was gripping his badly bleeding side, more blood flowing from the wound, covering his hand and running down his jeans.

Mama!” She hadn't realized how much of his own body he'd held up until now. She heard a flurry of footsteps as her entire family came rushing down the stairs. Light flooded the interior, causing Kagome to wince as her eyes suddenly adjusted to the brightness.

Oh my…” She heard her mother's horrified whisper. She was familiar with the shock of seeing this boy's bloodied body. She watched as her little brother and grandfather clamor to a stop behind her mother, twin looks of surprise written in every crease and curve of their countenances.

“Don't just stand there!” She hollered at them, her legs were starting to shake under the pressure of holding him up.

Her younger brother bounded out and took his right flank, taking half the battle off of Kagome's hands. He grabbed the strangers arm, throwing it over his shoulders, and lifted his body up.

“Aaahhh….” The stranger gasped out, the pull on his wounds must have been excruciating. Kagome's grip on the man tightened. Her heart contracting at his obvious discomfiture.

“We need to call the police! Where did he come from?” Her grandfather demanded as he made a move to the phone.

That instantly got the attention of their wounded guest, “No! No cops! No hospitals!” He attempted another round at holding himself up, a valiant effort, but one made in vain as his knees buckled under his own bodyweight.

“Son, I can't possibly let-“

The boy planted his feet firmly on the ground, taking his full height, nearly a foot on Kagome, and she'd always been considered tall. Despite his brilliant act, Kagome was close enough to feel his entire body quaking from the pain of his massive injuries. A trail of blood was left in their wake and it was once again gathering beneath him. Her eyes flew wide, turning them on her stunned Grandfather, silently pleading him to stop. He paused at his granddaughter desperate face, torn between calling for appropriate help or his gut.

“No. Hospitals.” The sound that immerged from him was not human, purely animal. It caused a case of goose bumps to run over Kagome's skin.

That instantly broke through to Kagome's mother. Fumiko went to the kitchen cupboards and started barking out orders. “Kagome, Souta, I need you to move him into the living room. Grandpa, roll out a mat for them to lay him on. If he doesn't want to go to a hospital, that's his choice, but he's bleeding all over my freshly washed floors. And I'm not having him die in this house.”

They all stood there for a moment, stunned by the woman's sudden change in direction. Even the stranger had to stare at the woman almost curiously, albeit behind half open eyes.

She looked up from her task of putting steaming water into a pan to see them all watching her. “Now!” The demand brooked no room for aguements
It was just what they needed to kick start them into gear. Since the man was on his feet, maneuvering to the next room was much easier than it had been getting him into the damn house. With the help of her brother she gently lowered him onto the mat that their grandfather had laid out for him. His jaw was clenched tight keeping at bay what she knew had to have been a scream of pure agony. Souta brought down some linens and a pillow from the hall closet as instructed by grandfather.

“Kagome get in here, I need you to help me carry in these supplies.” Her mother called out to her, Kagome ran into the other room the lingering panic instilling an extra urgency into her step.

She grabbed the large bucket of water as her mother picked up gauze and other various antiseptics and tools. They'd always had a large number of first aid supplies in case one of the guests visiting the shrine needed something. They all knew how treacherous the steps at the front were, as they all had taken a spill from time to time.

It took several trips for Kagome but she eventually got everything they’d need, her mother had already been kneeling next to the bloodied young man. They worked busily around him, all of them tending to him in some way. Fumiko started in on his wounds, she had to use a pair of scissors to cut off the remnants of his shirt. It exposed the full extent of his injury. There were actually four punctures in a crescent shape along the entire left side of his shoulder front and back, almost like something had bitten him. The wounds weren't clean in the least. It looked like someone had taken a dull serrated kitchen knife and proceeded to stab him repeatedly, making a game out of the neatly spaced mark. The black puss was still slowly dripping from the two biggest openings on his chest. Fumiko's expressions mirrored everyone’s in the room, a strange mix of disbelief, horror and disgust the most prominent.
“Gods, what happened?” She took a towel and dabbed at the opening, hoping to clean out some of the dark ooze so she could better see what she was working with.

His yelp of pain was almost unbearable for Kagome. She cringed as she watched him open and close his hands spasmodically, his eyes were closed tightly, his mouth pulled up to expose his teeth locked together tightly. Instinctually she reached out and grabbed his hand. He clutched at it for dear life, like a drowning man at sea. He cracked his eyes opened to look at her, they were glazed slightly, but the look of gratitude did not fall short on her. Kagome picked up a damp towel and started to wipe his brow, cleaning off the sweat and blood. She whispered soothing words to him as her mother continued to work.

Fumiko had been a pre-med student before she'd met her father. They'd graduated and gotten married right after college. Kagome was suddenly glad for her experience. It took nearly four towels to wipe off all the blood and puss before they could even start to stitch him back together. Fumiko had to sterilize a stitching needle threading it with fishing line; it was all they had on hand. Luckily the family had kept all of her old medical kits, just in case of emergencies. It was the best thing to do as it was hard for medical staff to get up the nearly one hundred stairs to the top of the shrine.
“Kagome I need you to do me a favor.” The look on her mother's face was nothing Kagome had ever seen before. Her brows were pulled tight over her eyes; she was so focused on her patient that she didn't even glance up at her daughter's face.

“I need you to go into the kitchen,” She continued, “And get that bottle of rubbing alcohol.”

She didn’t even nod, slowly removing the man’s death grip on her hand with a pang, she got up and fetched it hurriedly from the cupboard. “Here.” She shoved the bottle at her mother.
Fumiko took it and grabbed another clean towel. “Open your mouth for me.” She instructed, her face softening as she spoke to him in gentle hushed tones. He did as he was told and she shoved the towel between his teeth. “This is going to hurt.” She gave a quick apologetic look, the tipping bottle poised over his chest.

He nodded and physically braced for the pain.

She dumped the bottle over the openings in his chest, letting it wash over the entire area.

The scream Kagome had been expecting never came. Instead he let his nothing escape his mouth, but the look on his face sent chills over everyone. The absolute torture in his eyes brought tears to her eyes. An overwhelming need to comfort him had her sinking back to her knees beside him, brushing his hair back from his face and shushing him, her lips close to the shell of his ear. “It's over, it's over.” She told him again and again. She felt his head lean into her soothing touch, relaxing as his body was pushed to his pain threshold.
It wasn't over however. They'd just started in fact.

As soon as the needle pierced his red, fevered skin, it was all the pain his body could take. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slipped into a merciful exhausted sleep. Kagome leaned over him and continued to wipe his face and chest, trying to clean up some of the dried blood on his otherwise flawless skin. She couldn't help but wonder who this stranger was, he was certainly handsome. She noticed small markings in his skin then, along his hair line and across his cheekbones. They were only slightly raised and off color by a shade or two from the rest of skin, kind of like a scar. They were delicate swirls, as brilliant as if they'd been painted by the hand of the Gods, and as beautiful as the rest of him.

They continued to toil over him for nearly three painstakingly slow hours; the boy was bandaged and resting. Kagome was still kneeling beside him, tending to him in any way should could. She'd washed his hair and put a bandage over the rather nasty cut above his temple. His hair was thick and smooth now, and his face was no longer contorted in pain. They'd have to keep an eye on him, especially for signs of fever, which was an indication of more infection. Fortunately what had been there hadn't spread to the rest of his body and after a thorough cleaning even the wounds had calmed. They'd also inspected the rest of his body for minor abrasions and bruises. They patched him up where he'd needed it, smearing antibiotic ointment on some of the smaller ones.

Fumiko walked into the room and nudged Kagome to join her in the kitchen. She handed her a cup of tea and they both settled at the table. Along the horizon the first rays of daylight started to peak, casting a lovely light pink color into the sky.

“Where did you find him, Kagome?”

“Under the Goshinboku. It was horrible to see him over there. He wasn't awake so I thought he was a corpse.” She shuddered at the fresh memory. “I don't know how he lived let alone walked up here like that…”

Fumiko nodded, exhaustion lining the creases by her mouth. “I've never seen anything like that, not even in my early days at Tokyo U.”

“You did an amazing job though Mama.” She reached over and laid a hand over her mothers, grateful that she was there.

She smiled sheepishly at that. “Thank you, it's been a very long time since I'd done anything close to that.”

Kagome made a face, attempting to lighten the mood. “Not too long, Souta is still prone to his occasional cuts and scrapes.”

Fumiko laughed. “True. Nothing to that extent though, thank God.”

Kagome nodded and turned over her shoulder to look at him again. She could see his outline under the covers they’d laid a top him. He looked so peaceful now that he wasn't in all-consuming pain. “I wonder who he is.”


*


The infection they had all thought would die a quiet death came back with a spiteful vengeance. It started off as a small fever, then a batch of minor chills but progressed dangerously. At nearly one hundred and four the boy was near convulsions. They’d had a fretful debate on whether or not to call the ambulance, especially because if they didn’t get it down and get it down fast, the boy was going to suffer brain damage. After giving him massive doses of fever reducing medicine and keeping him cool they’d finally managed to get it to drop. He was out of danger, but not out of the woods so to speak.
Kagome was currently wiping down his entire body down with a damp towel. Over and over again she dipped it into the ice water and ran it along every available inch of him. She could feel his muscles clenching and releasing as he went through another violent fit. The heat radiating off of him was so intense that it caused the room to become humid with moisture as he heated the water she continuously wiped him down with.
Kagome leaned back, exhausted and shaken. She wiped the sweat off of her brow and looked into the his face. It was haunted as he fought through his fever induced coma, the sight made her chest ache. Several times he’d opened his eyes, staring at something none of them could see, terrified and in pain. It was like watching an angel as his wings were torn asunder. The feeling of helplessness had overwhelmed her in those moments, pulling at her heartstrings in a way she couldn’t understand. She’d done the only thing she could think of, she’d pulled his head into her lap and stroked the long light tresses of his hair until they passed.

“Kagome?”

Her mother walked through the living room entrance. She was wearing a fresh pair of pants and an oversized shirt that had belonged to her father. She looked refreshed but the little crease on her forehead told Kagome she was concerned.

“Mmm? You need anything Mama?” Fatigue caused the edges of her vision to become blurred. She blinked several times to clear her sight.

“No, baby, but you do. You need to go to sleep.” She walked over and pressed a soft, cool hand to Kagome’s face.
She leaned into it heavily, loving the feel. The temptation was almost too much to resist but Kagome couldn’t take that chance, she shook her head up at the older woman. “I can’t. I’m too scared to wake up and find him dead.”
Disapproval marked Fumiko’s face. “I won’t that happen, but you need to sleep.”
Kagome didn’t say anything else just shook her head again, eyes glued to her stranger. When had he become her stranger? Kagome didn’t linger on the thought. She still wasn’t going anywhere, she’d have to collapse before that happened. She heard her mother’s exasperated sigh and knew she’d won. She was as stubborn as her father, something her Mama never let her forget. She smiled up at her fondly, it was still radiant despite her lack of energy.
“Go get some sleep, I won’t be out for a while, and you do need to be in good shape in case this goes from bad to worse. I’ll call you if I need you.”

Fumiko put her hands on her hips, “Fine, have it your way.” She leaned down and kissed her daughter’s cheek before returning upstairs. She knew that sometimes she couldn’t control everything, if she pushed her daughter to get some rest she’d just sneak out later to do it anyways. Fumiko paused on the bottom step of the stairs looking over at her oldest child, a tired smile curling her lips.

Kagome heaved a great sigh. It was going to be a very, very long night.
* * *Inuyasha rose to wakefulness in degrees. First he noticed that he wasn’t in his own bed, the thing beneath him was only a few steps up from cardboard. The other thing he noted was the Gods awful pain radiating out from his shoulder. Even breathing hurt. In fact, his entire body felt as if he’d been put through a meat grinder and shit out the other end.

What the fuck happened?
That’s right … he’d been fighting back a Lesser demon when a Minion demon had come from behind and bitten him, injecting his poison into him. That’s why he was in such damned agony. Minion demon venom, while not usually toxic enough to the people of his race to be fatal, it did cause severe flu like symptoms and extreme agony. That explained how, but not the why of his whereabouts. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened his eyes. The brightness of the room made him wince, but as his genetically enhanced pupils adjusted to the light quickly. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him.
A girl.
She was sleeping. Her arms wrapped around her knees, her head nestled comfortably on her folded arms, her heart-shaped face propped up in his direction. Obviously she’d been tending to him through the night, judging from the towel crumpled in her merciless grip. She had long black hair that floated around her shoulders in graceful disarray, falling forward around her face like a curtain. Her voluptuous lips were drawn down in a frown, her delicate brows were also low over her eyes, bunched in what seemed like sleep-induced worry. She was beautiful despite the large bags hanging beneath her eyes. She was still in her pajamas, a tank top and a pair of shorts. Strange stiff, rust colored stains covered her shirt.

My blood...


Memories of the night before came flooding back to him. She’d been the one that’d found him under that tree and dragged him into her home. She and her family had put him back together until the wee morning hours. He’d never met a human like her, or her family for that matter. Especially that mother of hers, a smile broke over his face despite his predicament. She’d been a very feisty one last night, commanding her family like a General going into battle.


Right then the girl started to move, her hands twitching and her eyes sweeping from side-to-side under her lids. Her body tensed and she whimpered like she was in pain. The sound disturbed him, put him on edge. He didn’t want this girl in pain. Absently, he reached out to touch her, his fingertips brushed her smooth, bare legs almost lovingly.


Kagome awoke with a jolt. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, her skin covered in a cold sweat. The severe light in the room hurt her eyes and she squeezed them shut to alleviate the sudden ache. What time was it anyways?

She squinted and looked around the room, her eyes falling on her companion. She was surprised to see him awake. His eyes weren’t flashing at her; instead they were a soft molten copper color. They caressed her like silk as they moved along her body taking her in. She had to suppress the urge to shiver under the long, fixed stare.

The fact that he was awake took a moment to fully register with her, especially being distracted by his sensual gaze. Irrational panic flared up in her without warning. She reached forward with a shaky hand, pressing her palm to his forehead to make sure the fever she’d worked so hard to break was really gone. It had vanished, his skin perfectly cool. Relief caused her to become weak, and she flopped back onto her butt unceremoniously.

“Good morning,” he said calmly, the corner of his full mouth tipped up in a lazy smile. It was the first time she’d heard his voice without the sharp bit to it. It rumbled out of him, dark and carnal.

She bit her lip, a pretty little blush pinking her cheeks, the heat spread through her, warming her to the tips of her toes. She was sure she looked horrible this morning. Her hair was probably impossibly tangled and frizzled. She tucked a piece of it behind her ear. “Mm, how are you feeling?” The oddness of the situation tickled Kagome, how often did someone greet a complete stranger in their own house, who’d just hours ago been on deaths door for literally the first time? The next thing that struck her as weird was the way their conversation was unhurried, it was relaxed like they’d done this a hundred times over.

He lifted his good arm to feel the stiff bandages on his chest. The bindings were tight and secure. He winced as his palm floated over his wounds. “I’ll live.” He said gruffly.

The natural light from the windows lit his hair, like a halo of pure spun silver. It was fairly longer than she’d seen other men wear it, falling just past his shoulders. His skin had returned to its warm glow, the sickliness of death no longer lingering there. She did notice though, the same small markings on his shoulders and hips, the design dipping down below the sweat pants he was now wearing. She had a fleeting urge to trace the delicate swirls…She shook herself and not wanting to be caught staring she distracted herself with asking him a question, “So tell me, what’s your name?”

Funny how she’d seen this man half-naked, had her hands on his bare chest, and she had no idea who he was, didn’t even know if he was a vigilante on the run, maybe he’d gotten those wounds being chased by the police? A flash of the ugly black holes caused her to shudder; if that was the cause it was a serious case of police brutality.

“My name is Inuyasha InuTaisho.” He offered off handedly as he continued to inspect his various bruises and abrasions.

Kagome tilted her head to the side curiously, noting bother names references to the Inu part of his name. “Mine is Kagome Higurashi. Do remember anything from last night?”

He nodded at her. “I remember everything up until your mother started to stitch me up, and then it’s black.”

She shook her head in amazement, shaking her head and casting her hair in a tumbling mess around her shoulders. “I can’t believe you lasted that long.”

A sudden warmth of pride flooded through him at the comment. He’d always had a ridiculously high pain tolerance. It was one of his greatest assets in battle, his impossible stamina. It had also almost cost him his life more times that he could count.

“Can I ask what happened?” She gestured at his wounds.

“I… I had a run in with a couple of bad guys last night.” He looked like he swallowed something rotten as he said it.

That’s it? Kagome somehow got the feeling that he was hiding something but she didn’t push him anymore. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “Oh, then how did you get all the way up here?”

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably under the girl’s watchful eyes. He’d never been very good at lying, even though his entire species relied on those lies and deceit to live, ironically enough. He’d actually followed the demon into the woods parallel to the shrine and had planned to attack him on the sly, a quick battle. Unfortunately he’d failed to take into account the Minion and ended up getting a nasty bite from the fucker. He’d dragged his ass up those ridiculous stairs because he knew the shrine would be considered holy ground, an area that the Lesser and Minion demons could hold no domain. He fought for a good line, something that was believable. “I was on my way home when I was attacked. I don’t know who they were…” Which really wasn’t a lie, he knew what they were, but not who and he had been attacked. “I just headed up here to get away, didn’t think about it really.”

The girl’s eyes widened, it was then he noticed there peculiar color for the first time. They were the most pristine indigo blue he’d ever seen, almost violet in color, a thick fringe of sweeping black lashes making them appear all the more luminous. They were sincerely the most gorgeous pair he’d ever looked into. They stayed like that for a moment, in quiet consideration of each other. There was no room for awkwardness, only curiosity.

He broke their little staring match as his head fell back to the side as he heard a pair of footsteps heading down the staircase. A small woman emerged. She was middle-aged, but still very pretty. Her short black hair was cropped in a way that was practical for her age, but also showed off her bone structure. She was around the same size as the girl, maybe a few inches shorter. A smile lit her face as she looked on at him.


“I see our guest is awake. Can I tell you, sir, that it’s been almost twenty-four hours since you first walked in my doors?”

A pair of surprised faces stared back at her.

Inuyasha was stunned, he’d never been out for more than nine hours in his life, and that was after he’d nearly been cleaved in two by a horde of Lesser demons. He must have received an incredibly high dose of venom for that to happen.

“Really?!” Kagome almost shrieked.

Fumiko’s dark head turned in her daughter’s direction at that, a very wont-take-no-for-an-answer look fell onto her face, “You need to change and shower, no negotiation. Mr. –?“ She paused to look at Inuyasha expectantly.

“Uh, Inuyasha InuTaisho, ma’am.” He replied almost bashfully.

“Is safe and sound, now get your butt upstairs Miss.” She pointed to the staircase sternly.

Kagome stood up, blushing. First her mother was making her aware of her hygiene, or lack thereof, and judging by the curious, but amused look on Inuyasha’s face, was also airing the fact that she’d been unwilling to leave his side this entire time. Utterly mortified as she already was it was then she realized that she was still wearing the cloths that he’d bleed all over her in.

“Yes, Mama.” She picked at the shirt nervously and obeyed, climbing the stairs two at a time.

Fumiko turned back to her injured guest and patient, “Hungry?” She smiled.

* * *

The family made a couple of adjustments before dinner. Now that Inuyasha was past his frightful night they decided to convert one of the upstairs bedrooms into a recovery room. The big debate around the table was however which one they should use. Inuyasha wasn’t allowed to move upon Fumiko’s ordered and instead was given a tray of late morning breakfast to eat right in the living room, Kagome was only mildly grateful that he’d be out of earshot.

Grandpa crossed his arms, jutting out his chin stubbornly. “I refuse to have this, this delinquent in my room. Besides that, you should never put the elderly out.”

Souta gave him a bored look, “All the more reason we should Grandpa.” He got a sound swat for the dry remark. He just continued to cast dirty looks while rubbing the growing knot at the back of the head, the old man had a pertain for using stray objects for target practice with the kid, he was starting to think he rather enjoyed knocking Souta sideways.


“Well, Souta’s room’s out. It’d take an entire day to shovel out that mess.” Fumiko said with a rather pointed, clean-your-room-later look. “And I don’t think it’d be appropriate to have him in my room.”

All eyes went to Kagome. She turned bright red, something akin to the shade of an overripe tomato. “Uhm…” Were they really going to kick her out of her room to let that gorgeous boy lay all over her bed?

“Okay, well, after dinner I’ll help you set up shop.”

Decision. Finalized. Mother’s word was absolute. Fumiko smiled at her daughter sweetly. Kagome fought the urge to cover her face with her hands, instead she became overly interested in her plate and picked at her food delicately with her chopsticks.

This cannot be happening…


A/N:
So, pretty much I’d let this story fall to the wayside because I couldn’t stand writing it. It occurred to me that I had to fall back in love with it and that meant a complete and total overhaul. This is my revised version, the first few chapters will be relatively the same in its general gist, BUT I am going to recommend rereading it completely because facts and whole sections of the story will be different or altered in ways.
I hope that no one is angry with me, I understand I’m pretty far into the story, and major spoilers some of you may have already read will ALSO be the same, but don’t ruin it for the newbies!
All my Love and Apologies,
Leah Chae
PS:
Formatting problems fixed... Sometimes Mediaminer makes me want to hurt myself I get to frustrated. I either have HUGE gapes between paragraphs or I have like a run-on confused mess thats as long as the freaking Bible! I mean REALLY?!

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