InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Nothing ❯ One-Shot

Nothing

By: emeraldoni

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho InuYasha, but I do own the plot for this story.

 

He had given her that look. She knew that look. It was a look that meant she should give up hope.

 

It was over.

 

She had lost.

 

No, it was no simple game she had lost. It was not a rolling of the die, or the pull of a wrong card. It was something much worse.

 

And now that she thought back on it, she never `had' it in the first place. How could it be lost, if she had never owned it?

 

It still hurt. Having someone move away from you, having someone hurt you, yet still care for you, that was the worst that could happen.

 

He had given her that look.

 

Kagome remembered each and everytime he had given her that look. He apologized with a single glance, a glance that told her what her future would be, what he had chosen.

 

Of course it would be her. Kagome shouldn't be surprised, in fact, she should have been prepared. During those long and arduous—yet strangely fulfilling—she should have been stealing herself against the disappointment.

 

She was his first love. Kagome was the aftermath.

 

Sitting on the shrine steps, Kagome prepared herself to face the hanyou once more. She had always been able to do it, after every single time, she had gone back. It was different now though.

 

She was unneeded.

 

Naraku was gone, along with the jewel. How it happened, Kagome barely recollected, but she knew it for a fact.

 

She should have been relieved, joyous, in fact.

 

She should have been.

 

She wasn't.

 

The young miko tried to hold back the tears that just wanted burst out of her, but to no avail. Slowly, fat droplets began to spring down her crumpled face.

 

She was so disgusted with herself.

 

She hated the fact that she was envious, jealous of someone dead. She hated the fact that she wished harm on another person, someone who wasn't evil.

 

She hated that she wished for all those around to be in pain, just like her.

 

Kagome was ashamed. How could she think such thoughts? She pushed them away, hugging her knees, her skirt riding up her thighs, and he cotton white t-shirt stretching across her back. Kagome paid no heed to her disheveled appearance. No one was home, and no one visited the shrine.

 

So she turned inside herself once more, her thoughts consuming her, her heart constricting her.

 

She almost wished she were dead.

 

She wished the others would die with her.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Kurama sighed as he shook his head with apparent fatigue. He had finally—finally—escaped the rest of very tiring group. The mission had been a success, but it put new meaning into the term `the end justifies the means.'

 

To put it plainly: it had been a disaster. The demon they had been sent upon—easy prey, really, not worth them all working together—had made a mockery of them. Stupid trickster. It was a damn crow, and the others had been talking of the illusionist as though it was Kurama's kin.

 

He had been polite enough, informing them readily, “Kitsune have nothing to do with crows.”

 

It was mostly to keep the actually kitsune in his head from having a fit. He considered crows downright “stupid” and beneath him.

 

Kurama was glad he had gotten used to having two conversations at once: one with Yoko, the other with everyone else.

 

Yoko was silent though as Kurama walked down the deserted sidewalk with an easy gate. It was easy for Kurama to keep a calm façade, but like anyone, he needed time away. He needed time to catch up with himself, without having everyone around.

 

He was human after all—oh, never mind.

 

`Don't even finish that thought, Red, or you'll get it.”

 

Kurama sighed: so much for his reprieve.

 

`Please be quiet. I need time to think.'

 

`You are. We are. I'm thinking. You are thinking. We are the same.'

 

Kurama rubbed a throbbing temple with his forefinger. One of these days he would turn the kitsune's back at him. Of course, he would have to be thinking clearly, and that probably wouldn't happen anytime soon.

 

The red haired young man's attention, though, was drawn away from his inner conflict.

 

`I hear crying, Red.'

 

`Me too.'

 

They were at the foot of steps that led up to shrine. Squinting, Kurama could see the vague outline of a girl at the peak of cobbled stone.

 

He started to make his way up.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

 

Kagome looked up and gasped at the intruder looking up at her from a few steps below. In a hurry she wiped away her stained cheeks hoping her face wasn't that blotchy.

 

“No, no, I'm okay,” she lied, “Nothing wrong with me!” A pitiful laugh issued from the girl's mouth, one that sounded cracked and broken.

 

Kagome, surprised at the grating sound at her attempted joviality, broke down once again.

 

She tried to hold it back, the dam that she had been keeping locked up for so long, but the concern of one polite stranger tore down her guard.

 

Kagome cried.

 

Scalding tears ran down her face, and her body seized with the viciousness of the sobs. Her small frame was wracked with pain, and inner turmoil.

 

Even from where he stood, a few feet away, Kurama could feel the despair radiating off the young woman.

 

He did what he could.

 

He comforted her.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I'm sorry.” She sniffled, embarrassed at her outburst. The young man—she hadn't even caught his name yet—had brought her inside. Patting her back and making soothing noises, he had steered her in the direction of her home, smiling as she nodded yes to the question he asked.

 

Kagome huddled in her chair, across form the boy who had helped her, and he gave her a smile, saying that she had done nothing wrong.

 

“I'm sorry.” She said again, “I don't even know you, and you helped me. I was just feeling a little overwhelmed.” She cut herself off, feeling her throat tighten. Luckily the boy had decided to take up the reigns of the conversation.

 

“Do not worry about it. I'm just wondering whether you okay. You seemed really distressed.”

 

Kagome stared intently at the ground, “It's nothing.” She changed the subject, “My names Kagome Higurashi, and you are…?”

 

He gave her another smile, this one soft and friendly, “Shuichi Minamino, but you may call me Kurama.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I kind of like this place,” Kagome said conversationally, “It feels homey, relaxing.”

 

“I like it as well.”

 

The couple was sitting in a small café on a nearly deserted but cute street. After their initial meeting, the two had decided to meet again.

 

Kagome loved how Kurama was so kind. He was soft-spoken, reserved, and oftentimes a little too quiet, but when he smiled…

 

The miko felt as if she was wrapped in a warm, secure blanket. She was the only one. He smiled just for her.

 

She loved his hair, the way it fell down his back, long like someone else she could name, but completely different.

 

She loved how he addressed her with respect, as though they were equal. There were no condescending names or teasing insults. Her name came out soft and untainted on perfect lips.

 

She loved how he seemed perfectly normal. Kurama was not overbearing. He was not pushy. He was gentle. He was nice.

 

Kagome felt her heart tear.

 

She still loved InuYasha.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Kagome was so sweet. She had a temper, but she did not abuse it. She was generous. She was kind. She took him in with open arms, liking him for him, and not his looks.

 

She was cheerful and outgoing; she always held it in her to put others before herself. Staring at her from across the wood polished little table, Kurama hardly believed that the girl could be in so much pain.

 

She hid it well, so well she almost forgot about it sometimes. Yet at some inopportune moment, Kurama would notice a fading of her smile, a dimming of her eyes.

 

She was beautiful, though not in the commonly sought sense, and he hated to see her hurt.

 

`She is so perfect.'

 

`She's not that great looking.'

 

`She likes me for what I am.'

 

`She doesn't even know about me.'

 

`She has an open heart.'

 

`Obviously taken by someone else.'

 

`She is beautiful.'

 

`She's barely cute.'

 

`I really like her.'

 

`So do I.'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I have a secret you know, a really big one.”

 

Kurama looked down at the girl leaning against him on her couch, letting her know his attention was on her. Kagome's mother being out, they had decided it would be nice to watch some movies.

 

During the first movie, Kagome had ended up cuddled against Kurama. Kurama's arm had ended up around her shoulders.

 

“You probably wouldn't like me anymore, if you knew it.”

 

Kurama raised an eyebrow, “I don't think so. Everyone has secrets.”

 

“Even you?”

 

“Yes, I have a rather large one myself.”

 

Kagome turned her attention back to the screen of the television, “I think I would still like you, no matter what your secret was.”

 

Kurama smiled.

 

By the second movie, they had kissed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

“What the hell, wench, why haven't you come back?!”

 

Kagome stared at the hanyou from her position at the table, trepidation apparent as her eyes lay upon him, and inscrutable expression upon her features.

 

“Oi! Are you payin' attention to me?!”

 

He was her secret, such a very big secret. And then she thought about all she had been through. She thought about her friends, Sango and Miroku. She thought about the great evil they had defeated, and all the minor enemies before hand. She thought about all they had been through. She thought about her own little kitsune crying for her at the well.

 

She thought about the past two years of her life.

 

It was all a secret.

 

How could she do such a thing?

 

Kagome felt as though she was betraying her friends, her comrades, her family.

 

“I have to tell him…” She muttered.

 

InuYasha's ears perked up, “What was that?”

 

The miko shook her head, “Nothing… It was nothing.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I have to tell you something. I have to tell you my secret.”

 

Kagome stared, almost panicked, at the boy in front of her. Kurama wore a solemn expression.

 

“You may not like me when I tell you, it's really big.”

 

Kagome nodded.

 

“I am not normal, you know. I am not exactly… human…”

 

The girl tilted her head, stunned into silence, her expression betraying nothing but shock.

 

“I have a kitsune youkai inside of me. He is me. I am a demon.”

 

For a moment, all was still. Kurama lost hope in those few seconds, when silence lay thick in the room. She would surely leave him now. She would tell him he was crazy. She would say he had to leave.

 

She smiled.

 

Kagome was awash with relief. Was that all he had to tell her? That was nothing! She didn't care, that actually made it easier for her. She laughed out loud at the great feeling budding up inside of her. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad, after all.

 

“I know a kitsune demon.” Kagome uttered.

 

Kurama, if he had any less dignity, would have gaped. He had thought this girl perfectly normal. Apparently, he was wrong.

 

“He's really cute, too. He lost his parents though, so normally I'm the one who takes care of him.”

 

Finally, Kurama found the words that had been haunting him. They stumbled out of his mouth in an ungraceful mess, though obvious in their intent, “You mean, you don't care that I am not human?”

 

The girl grinned, “Nope. In fact, it makes things easier for me. I have a secret too, you know, though I think it might be a little bigger than yours.”

 

Kurama stared at the girl before him, the one that he thought he knew so well. He was almost disappointed with his misguided assessment of her state of normalcy.

 

“Since I was fifteen I've had this secret. It happened on my birthday, you know.” Kagome sat forward, leaning across the table, looking into Kurama's eyes, “You know that well house in the back?”

 

Kurama felt as though they were gossiping about a love affair gone wrong. It did not feel as though it was some huge secret.

 

“The well, it leads five hundred years into the past.”

 

Apparently—`Again' Yoko reminded him—he was wrong.

 

Kagome was staring at Kurama's face, trying to judge his facial expression. In an almost repeat of the earlier secret revealing, Kagome burst out, “You don't think I'm crazy, do you?”

 

Kurama shook his head vigorously from side to side, “No! Not at all!” he calmed for a moment, “Did that have to do with the first day I met you?”

 

Kurama was then truly shocked for the first time that day. The sunlight filtering into the once again deserted kitchen, Kagome did something unexpected.

 

She smiled.

 

At the mention of the topic of their meeting, the girl would usually become solemn. Her bright demeanor was still obvious, but it was just as obvious that it was forced.

 

Kurama was stunned.

 

`She is so beautiful…'

 

“Yeah,” Kagome answered, “It did, but I'm over that now. I can finally lie that at rest. It won't bother me again.”

 

Kurama believed her. The way she held her chin up, the way her smile did not waver, they way her shoulders were placed strait, they all spoke of confidence within herself: confidence that she had finally put that problem, that pain, behind her.

 

Kurama stood up, walking slowly over to the girl.

 

`I guess I didn't misjudge her.'

 

`No, you didn't.'

 

She was generous.

 

He was kind.

 

She was open hearted.

 

He had an open mind.

 

She could make a friend of anyone.

 

He could form an ally of an enemy.

 

She trusted him, her love placed at his feet.

 

He needed her, his love held in his palm, positioned for all to see.

 

Without warning Kurama pulled Kagome into his arms, his face buried into her raven black hair. The young woman's arms wrapped around the well define shoulders of the one she loved.

 

“I really like you, Kagome.”

 

“I really like you too… both of you.”

 

 

Fin

 

A/N I hope you liked this. It's my second Yuyu+Inu fic. As a warning though, I've only read up to the eighth volume of Yu Yu Hakusho, so my perceptions of the YuYu cast has been formed—a lot—from fan fictions. I hope Kurama isn't way out of character. Of course they both were a little bit, but I guess that is bound to happen.