InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Guilt ( Chapter 7 )

Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She didn't really know what time it was, but she decided to get up. How'd I get on the bed? she thought as she tried to lift herself.

 

She found herself in the embrace of a certain still-asleep hanyou.

 

She blushed a crimson red, and picked at his fingers to try remove herself. He had a strong grip on her, even if he was asleep. She realized that he could snap her in two as easily as a twig if he wanted to. She gave up after a while and nudged Inuyasha with her elbow.

 

"Inuyasha, wake up."

 

He groaned.

 

"Fine, don't wake up. But can you at least let me get up so that I can start breakfast?"

 

Inuyasha gave a "hn?" which was actually really funny. Kagome giggled, then playfully kicked his leg. "Get up, doggy boy!"

 

Inuyasha sighed and loosened his grip. She extracated herself and went over to prepare some food for herself and Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha sat up and looked wistfully at his empty arms. It had felt good to wake up with something warm in his arms; it had taken quite a bit of willpower to convince himself to let go.

 

Whatever, he thought, covering the other thoughts up, I'm hungry, so I'll wait until she makes breakfast. She does makes better food than anyone I know.

 

Soon they had eaten and were headed out the door. Kagome didn't seem to think much of sleeping in the same bed, but Inuyasha had to keep mentally slapping himself to make sure he hadn't imagined the whole thing.

 

They turned a corner and joined the throngs of people as they surged up and down the street. As they made their way through the crowd, a bright little voice called to them.

 

"Sister! Kikyo, Kikyo!" Rin's voice shouted.

 

Kagome looked up to see her running towards them, waving. Suddenly, Rin bumped into a palace guard, who was obviously on patrol. He had been crossing the streets when Rin bumped into him. She was flung onto the ground and he grunted, more out of annoyance than anything.

 

"Watch where you're going!" he yelled at her, none-too-gently. The other guard with him muttered something that only Inuyasha's sensitive ears picked up. Something about teaching kids these days some manners.

 

The first guard hauled Rin up by her arm and growled in her face, "So you wanna mess with me? I think I'll throw you in jail for attempting to injure a royal guard!"

 

Rin shook her head, scared witless. "I-I didn't m-mean to...."

 

"Shaddup! I'm arresting you, you little brat!"

 

"Hey, you can't arrest her!" Kagome shouted, running over.

 

"Hey, what the-?" Inuyasha muttered as he looked at the empty spot beside him, where Kagome had been. Kagome ran over and slapped the astonished guard's hand away from Rin, putting a protective arm around her 'sister's' shoulder and glaring at the guard.

 

"You can't arrest her for accidentally bumping into you! As far as I know, you have no right to arrest children under the age of 12!" she shouted, relieved that she had memorized the palace employment contracts from before. The commotion was starting to draw the attention of the general crowd.

 

Oh, great, just what we need, Inuyasha sighed, irritated, more attention. That girl must be nuts to think if reasoning with those guards is going to get her anywhere. But then again, he reminded himself, she's used to having guards grovel at her feet.

 

The 2 guards seemed at a loss for words. The first one recovered and yelled back, "and just who do you think you are? You think you know the rules better than I do? I would know what I'm allowed to do or not, and I say that kid has committed a serious offense.

 

Kagome blinked. "What do you mean, `a serious offense'! It's part of your employment contract that states the rights of children! If your memory needs refreshing, take it out of your pocket and read it to the crowd!"

 

Kagome stood back, holding onto a bewildered Rin, surrounded by a dumbfounded crowd, facing 2 astonished guards and an open-mouthed Inuyasha.

 

She was obviously expecting the guard to draw the contract out of his pocket at any moment.

 

"W-what? What makes you think I'll be carrying that piece of trash around with me?"

 

Kagome looked confused for a second, then said, "'a palace guard is required to have the contract within reach at all times, so that he may consult it before violating the above listed crimes'! Does that sentence ring any bells?"

 

Inuyasha tried to say something, but couldn't. This girl was nuts. Who actually memorized other people's employment requirements and recited it to them? She couldn't be human.

 

The crowd seemed to agree with Inuyasha, if the whispers and stares were anything to go by.

 

The second guard stepped up and looked Kagome over. He smirked and leaned over to whisper something in the other's ear. Kagome couldn't hear what they said, but judging by the grin that came on their faces, she could tell it wasn't good.

 

Inuyasha, on the other hand, heard every word, and stiffened. He felt his blood boil over. The second guard smirked at Kagome and said, "You seem to know a lot about us. Why not follow us to a more private place where we can discuss this at a more respectable term? Hmm?"

 

Kagome backed away a few steps. The evil glint in their eyes did not bode well. The guard took a few steps forward, gloating confidence radiating from his face.

 

Just then, Inuyasha decided to intervene.

 

Surprised, Kagome watched as Inuyasha came over to stand between the 2 guards and Kagome and Rin. The guard looked at Inuyasha scrutinizing, then scoffed.

 

"And just who do you think you are?" the guard sneered.

 

"Someone who's gonna kick your sorry behind," Inuyasha growled, crouching down.

 

"Oooooh, I'm so scared," the guard whimpered mockingly, as the other laughed. "Do you honestly think you can take the two of the best guards of the entire royal army?"

 

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who sputtered unbelievingly at their bare-faced lies. "Y-you aren't the best palace guards!! You probably don't even come in the top 100! The best palace guards are Kagura and Kohaku!"

 

The guard narrowed his eyes at her. "You know something; I'm tired of that woman smart mouthing at me. Who is she anyway? She seems kinda familiar....."

 

Kagome's voice became shriller as she answered, "I work at Miroku's Trading Company, and it's my job as his secretary to keep track of things going on in the palace!"

 

Inuyasha looked at her, confused. Here was her chance to prove that she was the princess, get her life back and get on with living, and she was pretending to be Miroku's secretary? What was she trying to prove?

 

"Hey, Kago-" he started to say, but Kagome hastily cut him off.

 

"Inuyasha, let's go. You don't want to get fined for assualting the palace guards."

 

"But I never-"

 

"Like I said, busy, busy, busy. Come on, we got work to do," Kagome said, dragging Inuyasha by his wide sleeves up the street. Soon the guards were out of sight, and Kagome ducked into a nearby alleyway. The first thing she did was to look down to see if Rin was okay.

 

"Where'd you learn all that stuff?” the little girl asked wonderingly.

 

"Well, I recently started working for Inuyasha's nice friend, and it's part of my job to know such things, sweetie," Kagome replied without missing a beat. It was partially the truth, anyway. She HAD started working for Miroku, even if today was to be her first day, and it probably WAS part of her job to remember things.

 

Rin just continued to look at her respectively. "I never knew you were so smart, Kikyo, usually you just talk weird and start hugging the guards so that they don't arrest you."

 

Inuyasha heard a slight disgust in her voice and Kagome answered, "Yes, well, I learned that being smart can't hurt."

 

Rin nodded gravely. "That's right. It can't hurt."

 

Kagome smiled at her in a sisterly way before asking, "So, sweetie, what were you going to tell me before you bumped into that nasty man?"

 

Rin thought for a moment before brightening. "Oh! You know the man I stole the purse from the other day?"

 

Kagome nodded. "That would be Miroku."

 

"Well, he and his wife want you to meet them at that same restaurant we went to last time! They want to talk to you about something."

 

Kagome frowned. "You mean, not at work, but at the restaurant?"

 

Rin nodded furiously. Kagome pondered, but couldn't think of anything they would want to talk about.

 

"Alright then, I'll go. Do you want to come Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, turning to Inuyasha.

 

"Before we go, I'd like you to answer a question of mine," Inuyasha looked at her.

 

"Fire away."

 

"Why did you run off before they could recognize you?"

 

Kagome was lost. "Oh, um.....oh! Rin, honey, would you do me a favor?"

 

Rin looked from Kagome to Inuyasha, and smiled. For a young girl, she was pretty smart, so she figured they wanted to be left alone.

 

"Sure, sis."

 

"Good, I want you to run over to a stall selling some lettuce and buy me some, okay? You can use the change to buy whatever you want, okay?"

 

Rin's eyes widened with joy as Kagome handed her a silver coin. "You mean....I can buy whatever I want?"

 

Kagome smiled sadly as Rin jumped up and down with happiness. "Thank you, Kikyo, thank you! I'll leave you guys to talk!!"

 

Kagome sighed as Rin ran down the streets with the coin clutched in her hand.

 

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Kagome shrugged, "Just thought you'd want some privacy."

 

"Where'd you get that coin?"

 

"Miroku gave it to me as a starting wage."

 

"Feh."

 

Kagome leaned against the brick wall behind her. She looked up at the sky and whispered, "Did you see how Rin reacted to that little coin? She was bursting with joy. And it was only a little coin, just enough to buy 2 pieces of candy or a small toy."

 

Inuyasha leaned back against the opposite wall, crossing his arms and frowning. "What's your point?"

 

Kagome looked at him. "When I was her age my father gave me 20 gold coins a week, not including all the gifts he used to pile up at the foot of my bed. I'm just saying," Kagome sighed, "I was so spoiled. Rin's made me realize just how ridiculous my life really is. I feel so ashamed for not realizing earlier."

 

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. He decided to press his question in a bored tone, "You still haven't answered my question. Why'd you try so hard not to be discovered back there?"

 

Kagome was silent for a moment, then spread out her arms, indicating the place around her.

 

"Look around, Inuyasha. What do you see?"

 

"What does that have to do with the question?"

 

Kagome seemed completely serious as she continued, "I see dirty walls, the street filled with mud and trash, shoppers looking wistfully at the products they can't afford, and street rats running around everywhere, taking what they can. This, this isn't how I imagined the city to be like. I sat at my window and looked out over the streets, not once thinking that there was another girl like me out there, starving and stealing money to afford a piece of bread. I never imagined that the palace guards abused their power this way. And I never imagined that there was a hanyou out there, trying his best to survive while I was served 5 square meals a day."

 

Inuyasha blushed, and asked a useless question to cover up his embarrassment, "you ate 5 meals a day and still managed to stay that thin?"

 

Kagome laughed a little and looked at him with sorrow in her brown eyes. "Living in the castle won't be the same now, even if I DO go back. I would never be able to live that life of luxury as I did before; not after meeting you, and Miroku and Sango and Rin. Inuyasha, don't you get it? I wouldn't be happy if I went back to the castle now."

 

Inuyasha looked at the fragile girl standing before him. She seemed lost, alone, bewildered; anything but the confident woman who had shouted at the guards moments before. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how to. He looked down as Kagome kept going.

 

"Inuyasha, you know that restuarant, the one we first met in?"

 

He nodded silently. 

 

Kagome smiled and shook her head. "That, THAT, Inuyasha, is the finest restuarant in town. Will you believe me if I say that the lowliest servants in the palace eat better than that? The food I made for you yesterday was taught to me by my governess, Kaede, who wanted me to learn how to cook simple dishes, instead of the fancy ones that I was learning then. Tell me, Inuyasha, have you ever tasted food of better quality than that?"

 

Inuyasha didn't even need to think. "No. It's the best meal I've ever had."

 

Kagome nodded. "I put too much sugar in, and not enough salt. I balanced the fish and the vegetables wrong; there was too much oil. The sauce was brittle, the meat wasn't completely cooked; some of it was raw. Inuyasha, THAT was the best meal you've ever had....."

 

Inuyasha understood now. Kagome had seen what poverty was like. She had seen the real world, and she didn't have the courage to turn her back to it. It wasn't her fault, but Inuyasha knew that Kagome would take it on her shoulders and blame herself for it.

 

"I can't go back to the palace, I can't. How am I supposed to live with myself, knowing there are people starving out there in order to pay their taxes so thatI can live comfortably? How am I supposed to live like that?!"

 

Before he could stop himself, Inuyasha had closed the distance between him and Kagome. Without thinking, he put his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle embrace; something he had never done to anyone before. He was shocked, but didn't want to pull away, so he held on.

 

She seemed shocked at this, but didn't make an effort to pull away. Inuyasha took that as a sign that she was alright with it.

 

They stood like that for what seemed like forever. Neither one said anything, because there was no need. They understood each other's message, and they took comfort in each other's warmth. Inuyasha felt Kagome hesitantly put her arms around him, returning the embrace.

 

He wished for time to stop right then.

 

Kagome closed her eyes, silently thanking the gods for giving her a chance to meet him.

 

Soon, Rin came running back holding a package of lettuce and a spinning top, which she was twirling happily on her finger, only to see her sister and Inuyasha in each other's arms. She skidded to a silent halt, smiling, happy for her sister, Rin quietly crept away to give them some privacy.

 

It was some time before they pulled away. Inuyasha looked at Kagome and asked, "You ok now?"

 

Kagome smiled a sweet smile and nodded. "We should get going before Miroku starts getting funny ideas on why we're so late."

 

Inuyasha nodded agreement, and they joined the street crowd and headed towards the restuarant. Neither of them said anything, but locked the special moment inside their hearts.