InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Such a Small World ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven

 

It was surprising how easily he was taking this, since she was positive still that he might not have made the right decision when she'd broke down in front of him, spilling her heart out. Now, though, he was being so kind, which was very unlike him unless they were completely alone, and so patient. Those two things pointed to one thing in Kagome's mind—there had to be something wrong with her boyfriend. She had understood the small gestures and the affection when they were alone, but she did not understand why he was holding her hand of all things while they walked toward the shrine.

 

It certainly wasn't unwelcome, even in public, but not something she had expected him to suddenly do. Usually he would stay close to her side, sometimes he would wrap his arm around her waist, but he'd never taken her hand as he was doing now. She liked it, she did, but she still wondered what was wrong with him, since there had to be something going on in his head to make him forget that he just did not normally do what he was doing. Even if she liked it, though; even if she didn't really care what had brought this on, she knew that she did not deserve it.

 

She hated that she couldn't stop herself from being guilty over the whole situation, especially when she had told Hiei that she would. She hated the man who had picked her up that night she had truly believed that the man she loved might have been unfaithful to her at some time, or was going to become so. But, most of all, she hated herself for allowing the women she thought were her friends to manipulate her so easily that she landed herself in this position. Everything had been perfect, she'd been so happy, and then suddenly a few choice words and everything spiraled downward. There was no telling now just how bad the situation could get, how deeply she could dig herself a grave, and when Hiei would realize that she was too much trouble for him to handle.

 

I'll try, echoed in her own ears again and again, but she wasn't so sure now. The times that she had said those words seemed so much farther away than they actually had been. I'll try; try being the key word—as she thought about it, she wasn't actually trying. The guilt, after her anger had completely ebbed away, began to eat away at her once more. No matter how much she wanted to get better for Hiei, she did not know how long he'd be able to take her crap, so she wasn't sure if there was a point to trying. Sure, she could get better and everything would go back to the way it was—the past behind them—, but there was that possibility that nothing would go right from that moment on.

 

He turned his head just a bit when she began to slow down, her head dropping a little further until she was staring at the ground. He wondered once more where the woman he had fallen for went, where she had hidden herself, but knew that in time she would reveal herself once more. Just like the night before her passion for life would come back, her happy smiles, and her simple need to care about everything and anything would return. However, as he stared at her, his grip tightened, and he asked, “Kagome?”

 

“Hiei,” she said slowly, “you don't have to do this.”

 

This again? he wondered. He had been positive that she was beginning to come back to him, but it seemed that she was still gnawing at herself mentally for having allowed Urameshi sway her away from him. He was not quite sure why it had resurfaced this quickly, or at this moment, but he did not like her looking so weak and fragile. She wasn't, she was everything but; yet the picture was set firmly in his mind at the moment and he wanted nothing than to shatter it. “Hn, what I do is of my own free will,” he replied.

 

“You still don't have to do this,” she muttered. Lifting her eyes just a bit, she briefly glanced at him, and then sighed. “You don't have to be with me because you feel you have to. No one will put it against you if you never want to see me again.”

 

Frowning, Hiei wondered for a moment if he'd have to spell it out to her. Normally she knew what he was thinking about by his posture, or at least his mood for the moment. Now, it seemed that she was focusing so much on the fact that she'd done something wrong that she could not tell up from down. He gave his own sigh, “I would not be here if I did not wish to be. You should know that well enough.”

 

“I'm not so sure that you do want to be here anymore,” Kagome bit the inside of her lip. She loved him so much, but she knew that she couldn't hold onto him if he did not wish to be with her any longer. She wanted to be with him, but she didn't want to bring him any more pain, and she knew that seeing her in pain brought him pain. She wanted to believe in herself once more, to try for him, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to do that, no matter how many times she told him she would.

 

His eyes narrowed, and he brought his other hand up to clasp her chin between his fingers. Forcing her to look him in the eye, he saw that she looked ready to cry, no doubt because of something that bastard Urameshi put into her head. Gently, he began to caress her jaw with his thumb, and leaned a little closer to her. Then, as he forced down the urge to smirk at her blush, he said, “Trust me, Kagome, if I did not wish to be here, I would have already gone. You should not trouble yourself with these thoughts.”

 

She felt like she could dive into his eyes at that moment they shined with so much intensity, and she wished that she could. Her heart belonged to him, he held it however he wanted to in his hand, but looking so deeply into his eyes she felt like she loved him even more. Without a second thought she leaned a little closer to him, stopping just before she kissed him, and knew that she trusted him more than anything else. She had no reason not to, especially since he had never planned nor did he ever do what she had been driven to believe, before having it crushed with the blind truth. “I'm sorr—”

 

He roughly pried her lips open, not caring at the moment where they were, driving away the apology that had almost escaped her lips completely. She pressed closer to him, before he allowed his hand to slip away from her chin to the back of her neck, trying to devour as much of her as he possibly could. She did not even try to become dominate, instead submitting to him instantly and allowing him to dive as deeply into her cavern as he wished to. Then, releasing her hand for the moment, he snaked his other arm around her waist, trying to prove to her that he did want to be with her.

 

The passion he showed, the love that she felt, easily pushed away the thoughts that were currently swarming around her head. For the briefest moment she had wondered why she should allow him to touch her this way, she had allowed another man to touch what should have only belonged to him, but it didn't seem important any longer. Only the fact that he wanted to stay with her, as she had been told as he had taken her home the night she'd told him everything—only that was important, nothing else mattered. She gave into him, allowing him to do, as he wanted; yet taking pleasure from the kiss just knowing that he still wanted her.

 

Slowly, deliberately, he dragged his lips away from hers, allowing her to follow him as he pulled away before he finally pulled back completely. He held her close still, as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair, watching as her eyes opened in order to stare at him. If he had ever doubted she loved him before, the look in her eyes would have told him everything that he needed to know at that moment. However, he ignored that thought and allowed his forehead to rest on hers, saying, “I want this to work, but you have to want it to.”

 

She nodded, saying, “I d—”

 

“Higurashi-san!”

 

Hiei tensed at hearing the voice, and ignored how Kagome's hands suddenly gripped his arms as he turned to glare at the male. He took notice that the idiot was still riding that old bicycle, still had that innocent, hopeful smile, and still cast a small glance at his woman when he thought he could get away with it. He'd never liked him, never trusted him and his pitiful gifts, no matter how much he had seemed truly concerned for Kagome's health. He never had because as soon as he'd decided to take her as his girlfriend she'd become his responsibility—the only one who would take care of her if he had anything to say about it.

 

Hojo froze at the glare that he received from the man who held Kagome so tightly in his embrace. He was not blind, he had seen the intimate moment between them, and he was quite shocked that Kagome had allowed such a thing to take place out in the open. However, he pulled back the slight amount of bitterness that surely would have shown up in his tone, as he finally said, “I see you're doing well, Higurashi-san.”

 

Kagome blinked, feeling Hiei's arms tighten a bit more around her, pulling her closer to his chest. She nodded, however, wanting to be polite, “Yes, I haven't felt sick in quite some time.” As she said that, she knew she wasn't counting the emotional sickness that she had felt just moments before. “However, I am a bit tired, I think that Hiei and I should continue on our way to the shrine.”

 

Hiei liked that idea, as long as that idiot road past them and never returned. He knew he could not get rid of him completely without some help, or at least hurting him to the point that he broke him. Neither was acceptable at the moment, though, it would use up too much time that could have easily been used to help Kagome. However, his anger had sparked when he'd realized that blasted Urameshi was still affecting his girlfriend and the idiot in front of him might be a perfect way to get rid of it.

 

Hojo's face brightened, “If you want, I could get you something that would help you sleep a little better, Higurashi-san. I'm positive that I could find something that—”

 

“No,” Hiei snarled. He wasn't about to give that man another inch; Kagome was his responsibility. Besides, Akitoki's face had brightened a little too quickly to be nothing more than simply wanting to help her. The man was looking for every possible opportunity to make a move on her and he didn't like that at all. He much preferred the idea of Akitoki's face smeared into the pavement.

 

Hojo blinked in confusion, before settling his eyes onto the man who'd captured Kagome so thoroughly. Then, softly, he asked, “Surely you would not object to something that would help Higurashi-san, would you, Hi—”

 

“Jaganshi,” Hiei hissed.

 

“—Jaganshi-san?” Hojo finished. “It would only be in Higurashi-san's best interest at heart, since I would not wish for her to not reach the deepest—”

 

“The answer is still `no',” Hiei replied. “She does not need your methods when she has mine.”

 

“Yours?” Hojo asked curiously.

 

“Obviously you do not see what she needs nor what she enjoys,” Hiei snapped at him, growing more frustrated that the idiot would not simply leave. “She does not wish for, nor does she need some type of herb to help her sleep, she is perfectly fine with my arms for comfort. It has worked many times before you suggested this ridiculous idea and it will work many times more.”

 

“Oh,” Hojo said. “I see.” He allowed a faint blush to cross his cheeks, hoping that Kagome would take notice of it, since then he would not simply be brushed aside. Besides, he rarely got to even glance at her anymore with that new boyfriend of hers—Inuyasha had only ever snorted in his face, and told him to leave; Bankotsu had rolled his eyes before saying his help wasn't needed. Of course, Bankotsu didn't count as a boyfriend, but both of them had been deterred from his advances toward her because of something Kagome said at one of these moments. “I'm very sorry for not noticing before, please forgive me, Jaganshi-san.”

 

“Hn,” Hiei began, “my forgiveness will be given once you have left my sight, Akitoki.”

 

Feeling how tightly Hiei was now holding her, Kagome wondered what it was about Hojo that he did not like. However, she decided that if she was going to trust him then she should trust him on this decision to get Hojo out of their sight, instead of telling Hiei that Hojo was simply a good friend trying to help. So, she faked a yawn, and snuggled closer to her boyfriend. Then, with as much sleepiness as she could fake, she said, “We really shouldn't keep you, H—Akitoki-san. After all, Sango is expecting us at the shrine and we still have to survive the steps without me falling asleep.”

 

Hojo stiffened a bit when Kagome acknowledged him by his surname, instead of his first as she normally did. However, he nodded stiffly, saying, “I won't keep you then. I must be on my way anyhow, my mother is expecting me to pick up some groceries for her while I'm visiting.” Placing his foot back onto the pedal of his bicycle, he dipped his head down, saying, “I hope to see you again soon, Higurashi-san.”

 

Watching as the idiot finally got the hint and left, Hiei relaxed his hold on Kagome, allowing her to step back from him. However, once the bicycle Akitoki road was completely out of sight, he turned his attention back to the woman staring at him in concern. No doubt she wondered why he'd become so hostile to someone that had always treated her with respect and cared so much about her health. That man, however, was treading on dangerous ground already, and it wouldn't take much for him to lose his footing and fall. “Hn.”

 

Kagome smiled a little, really smiled, as she watched Hiei cross his arms over his chest. “You really don't like him, do you?” she asked.

 

“That man treads on dangerous ground by bringing you gifts to flirt with you,” Hiei muttered darkly. “The others might tolerate it, but I will not. Especially not at this moment in time.”

 

Kagome stiffened at the words, knowing what they meant. When she lowered her head, she was surprised when Hiei's fingers once more found themselves underneath her chin to lift her face, though. She had not expected for him to react so quickly to her sudden change in mood, but it seemed that he noticed things much quicker than she did these days. Besides, she wasn't going to complain, she rather liked the warmth that came off his hand as it gently held her captive.

 

“I meant I will not let you out of my sight with another male that I do not trust,” Hiei told her quickly. “Not that I expect for you to do that again. I simply don't trust others with what I consider my own.” He didn't dare tell her that she belonged to him, because then he would get the yelling in his ear about how she wasn't an object speech again. Though his words did indicate that he believed she belonged to him, at least with his choice of wording it gave her a chance to say otherwise. He doubted she would, however, even as he thought about it, since her heart belonged to him, just as his belonged to her.

 

She nodded, allowing herself to relax. She should have known that, but her mind was quick to think that he was going to throw her to the curb. She shouldn't think that way, she should trust him as she did before, yet she had the nagging feeling that what she had done was too great to be fixed in some way. However, when she stared into his eyes once more, noticing that the fire within them was strengthening the longer she stared, she knew that she should not even think about thinking that way. He truly did want it to work between them, and she wanted it to work, so why did she have to torture herself with the possibility that it might not?

 

Once again she pushed down the guilt, telling herself that her love for him was stronger than what happened between her and Urameshi Yusuke. They would work around that problem, and she would never again doubt him or his loyalty—nor would she ever allow herself to slip into a bed that belonged to another man. She was determined for that to happen, she was determined to get better in order to make it work between them, because she wanted it to. He wanted it to, so it should be that way; and, damn it, she was tired of having something she wanted slip through her fingers.

 

“What were you going to say?”

 

Kagome blinked, noticing that there was a small amount of curiosity hidden in Hiei's eyes as he asked. For a moment she wondered what he was talking about, until she came up blank. She honestly did not understand what he meant, she knew she probably should, but she couldn't think of it at the moment. He was giving her so much all at once. Not overwhelmingly so, but enough that it seemed a bit strange for him to do. Especially now, since she doubted he'd spoken this much within the last few years. “I… I don't,” she saw the flames in his eyes die, “understand what you're talking about, Hiei.”

 

Sighing, Hiei guessed he should have expected that. “I wish to make this work between us, Kagome,” he said once more, annoyed with himself for saying it so many times in the first place, “do you?”

 

She didn't hesitate, saying, “Yes, I want this to work, or least for us to get past this and move on together.”

 

He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek, the flames returning to his crimson eyes. After he'd tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear once more, he reached down and grabbed her hand. He was not unaccustomed to holding another's hand, he was human after all, but he normally did not do this in public, usually wishing to show in a more drastic way that Kagome was not available. Of course, that could easily be shown in other ways, but he liked holding her close to his side. At the moment, however, he needed to do some errands that Sesshoumaru needed him to do, thus the near urgency to get her to the shrine where there would be others to watch over her—people he trusted.

 

They moved up the stairs silently once they reached them, Kagome pressing herself a little closer to Hiei by wrapping her arms around his left, instead of merely holding his hand. Her head was resting on his shoulder by the time they reached the top, the fact that she was still a bit tired catching up with her. However, she lifted her head just a bit when she noticed that there were three people standing outside in the courtyard, very close to the Goshinbuko. For a moment she wondered if they were there to see the grounds, until they got closer, and suddenly a squeal was heard.

 

“Oh, look! Kagome and her little cutie are here!” Jakotsu hollered, waving over toward them.

 

Hiei twitched at the nickname that the other man insisted on giving him. He felt the need to thrust something very sharp into Jakotsu's chest, whether it was a knife or a sword, to shut him up. He liked the fact that the man was protective of Kagome, though he often called her his own during those times, and that he wasn't going to try and steal her away. However, he did not enjoy Jakotsu's constant need to call him something that had to do with his looks, among other things, instead of his name. Not that he'd wanted Jakotsu to know his name in the first place, but Kagome had insisted at the time.

 

“Hiei,” Bankotsu greeted.

 

“Bankotsu,” Hiei replied in the same manner.

 

Sango smiled at them, before finally coming to stand by Kagome's side. After she greeted them, however, her face turned a bit dark, and she asked, “Kagome, don't you think it reasonable that I ask Bankotsu to leave if he called me a bitch?”

 

“Um,” Kagome blinked, glancing up at Bankotsu, “I guess so.”

 

“I told you she'd agree with me,” Sango said, wrapping an arm around Kagome's shoulders. “I am her sister, after all.”

 

“But,” Bankotsu began to argue.

 

“Ohhh,” Jakotsu giggled, “Sango's got you there, big brother! She did tell you that Kagome would agree that it would be reasonable if you'd called her such a thing. It's no surprise now why you're always having such woman problems; it's so clear to me that you're doing this type of stuff all the time.”

 

“No I'm not,” Bankotsu defended himself. “I rarely ever call her names and usually whenever I do it's in the heat of the moment!”

 

Hiei narrowed his eyes at Bankotsu's choice of words, noticing that Kagome had turned a light shade of pink, but decided to ignore it for now. Catching their attention, he stated, “I must do a few things for Sesshoumaru today. I hope that you'll be able to watch over Kagome until I return?”

 

“Course we'll be able to watch over her,” Bankotsu replied. “What do you take us for, morons?”

 

“You really shouldn't have asked him that,” Sango sighed. “I mean seriously, how much of a moron can you become in five minutes.” Rubbing at her temples, she finally continued, “One of these days I'm going to hide that baseball bat from you, Bankotsu. At least then you won't be able to hit yourself over the head with it.”

 

“You're not touching Banryuu!” Bankotsu snapped. However, not a moment later, he yelled, “Hey, wait a minute! That's not cool, Sango, I've never hit myself over the head with my lucky bat, nor am I ever going to. Though, I know a few people that I'd like to hit with it.”

 

“I can think of a few, too,” Sango replied. “One of them is standing in front of me.”

 

“Oh, Sango,” Kagome sighed. She almost laughed, though, and was happy for the distraction. These three were always able to make her laugh—not as much as all of the brothers' and Sango together; but laugh nonetheless. That, and they made her forget her problems. Like when she'd lost Buyo III, they'd been the ones to cheer her up by constantly bickering back and forth while Jakotsu pulled her into a conversation that had nothing to do with what was happening in front of them.

 

“Don't worry about a thing, sugar,” Jakotsu said. “We'll take good care of Kagome while you're away and we'll get her all ready for when you come back to do the nasty.”

 

“Jakotsu!” Kagome cried out, not believing that had just come out of the homosexual man's mouth. Sure, he was always talking about that kind of stuff most of the time, but it usually never got as far as dragging her into it.

 

Jakotsu shot her a small glance, a slight roll of his eyes indicating that he did not understand her outburst as his gaze back to rest completely on her. “I was under the impression that your little cutie pulled you into the world of sexuality, Kagome.” He blinked, and then gasped; “Don't tell me that you were a virgin until that fatal day that that cute Urameshi got his hands onto you? That is simply not acceptable as a way for a girl to have her first time. You should have had a soft bed, some candles, and a very handsome man who loved you; not, not that, though admittedly cute man—”

 

Bankotsu hit his brother on the head again when he tried to start up once more. “Jakotsu, shut up,” he growled, noticing the way that Hiei had clenched his fist. Obviously the man was torn between doing what his boss told him to do, and staying to defend the fact that he had been Kagome's first. He knew; he'd accidentally listened in when Kagome told Sango about her first time while searching for something to eat in the kitchen and then retreating back to Sango's bedroom. Or, at least he'd deny that it was anything other but an accident.

 

“You're so mean, Bankotsu,” Jakotsu sniffled. “I would tell Kagome to hit you, but she looks ready to fall off her feet at this moment. Poor dear.” He moved forward, completely forgetting what he'd been talking about a few moments before, and took Kagome's hands. “We should get you to bed right away, that way you'll be fully rested for once your cutie comes back!”

 

That sounded nice, so Kagome nodded, but did not let herself be dragged away before giving Hiei a small wave of her hand. Then, she let Jakotsu drag her to the house and inside, where she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt her bed was waiting for her. Her nice, soft, comfortable bed—of course, the bed she shared with Hiei at his place was really nice too, but her bed was her bed, therefore making it special in its own right. Not only that, but it had been with her for years and with the new mattress she'd gotten it was even better.

 

“I will return later,” Hiei stated, before turning away. He knew that though they were a bunch of loons they would do everything in their power to make Kagome comfortable when she wasn't her normal self. He knew that she would be all right without him for a while, because they would be able to make her forget how long he had left her for. At this moment, he wanted nothing to make her think that he wasn't going to come back for her, because he would. Nothing would stop him from returning.

 

“I told you he wasn't going to simply dump her,” Bankotsu muttered. He watched as Hiei disappeared down the stairs and wondered for a moment if they'd walked from his place. However, it was not his problem if Hiei wanted to walk everywhere instead of taking the perfectly functional vehicle he had. Plus, that didn't really matter to him as much as making sure that Kagome was taken care of, especially after that damn Urameshi messed with her head, now that she was back on the shrine.

 

Sango scowled, before hissing, “And I told you that I didn't think he was going to. Heck, the night that he brought her home I told her that he wasn't going to be an idiot like Inuyasha and leave her. I also told her that Hiei is a good man, no matter what anyone else thinks of him, so you can shut your mouth before you spew out anymore nonsense today.”

 

Her lip twitched upward, and she turned completely to her boyfriend, before crossing her arms. “Besides, you still have to leave,” she said at last, noticing that his attention was drawn to her chest. She'd expected for him to look, which was why she'd crossed her arms, in order to make it quite obvious. He was such an idiot at times; she doubted that he'd even realize what she was talking about.

 

“What?” Bankotsu asked softly, blinking a few times.

 

Smirking, since she was right, Sango brought a finger up as a mother would when scolding their child. “I told you that if Kagome agreed that it was reasonable for me to kick you off the shrine grounds for calling me names that I would do it. Since I was appointed the groundskeeper until Kagome is well, I want you to leave.”

 

“W-wait,” Bankotsu snapped out of his breast-induced trance, “I gotta stay here to help with Kagome.”

 

“I'm perfectly capable of handling Kagome myself, thank you very much,” Sango continued. “Plus, I'm her sister, while you're her sister's boyfriend. I will be much more help to her than you will be, so you can hurry home my dear. Maybe in a couple days I'll change my mind about making you leave and forcing you to stay off the grounds.” She turned and walked away from him, smirking as she did so.

 

“You can't do this!” Bankotsu yelled.

 

“I can,” Sango called back. “But since I like you, I won't call the police in order to make you leave. However, I do expect you gone within the next ten minutes, and for you to start thinking about why you shouldn't call me a bitch.”

 

Watching her walk into the house, Bankotsu kicked a small pebble underneath his foot. His day had been shot to hell. However, as he turned away toward the stairs, he began to mumble to himself. Sure, he shouldn't have called Sango that, and he shouldn't have told her that he knew all that stuff and she didn't need to remind him, but this was harsh. So harsh, in his opinion, that he muttered one final word as he touched the top stair, before leaving the grounds completely.

 

“Bitch.”

 

OoO

 

KibaSin: Hm, it took me nearly two months but it seems that I have finally gotten myself back into action when it comes to updating at least three to four times a month on a story. Unless it's starting to come toward the end, then I just get lazy with it and kind of ignore it until I start to finish something else. (I'm such a bad person that way) Anyway, I have finished this chapter, and I hope that you enjoyed it, since I bet you didn't expect for me to update again so quickly since I updated yesterday. But, I couldn't help myself.

 

I need to update my Naruto/Inuyasha Crossover this week, too. And my Sesshoumaru/Kagome stories. I'm so lazy.

 

Kiba

 

Review Replies:

 

madmiko: Of course you can say how much you love it! I love the way they interact too, it's so fun to put them together, especially Sango and Bankotsu (I figured for once I wouldn't put her with Miroku so whose better than Bankotsu besides Hiei? But she couldn't have him; I just can't read Sango/Hiei pairings for some reason) Yeah, usually I try to be nice to Kikyo, but I figured that I need to make her a character for this story to make Inuyasha leave Kagome—it worked out really good, though. And Keiko is amazing. I couldn't help but make her a bit more calm, since I figured that she has a child now, she's got to have a little more patience than she did when Yusuke and her were dating. I might show you how Yusuke's doing in the next chapter, I might not (depends on how I'm feeling when I write it). It would be great to see how hard Hiei could pound Yusuke into the ground if he ever saw that tape. I doubt that I'll destroy it so soon, though, there are so many things I can do with it. (I'm so evil)

animeboysrock23: Oh, but there was lots of Hiei/Kagome interaction in this chapter. Did you like it, did you?

PureMiko_Kagome69ner: I hope Hiei kills him! Seriously, especially after all the little hints I gave during this chapter to what he's thinking. Stupid Hojo.