InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Cruel Hands Of Fate ❯ Chapter Nine ( Chapter 9 )

They sat on a thick blue blanket at least twenty miles outside of Tokyo, staring up at a velvet sky littered with stars. The site was absolutely beautiful and brought a strange sense of nostalgia to Kagome. Tearing her eyes from the myriad of stars, she carefully studied her surroundings and realized they were sitting in an area that she and her friends had once camped at in the Sengoku Jidai.

 

Sighing happily, Kagome fell back onto the plush blanket and watched the stars wistfully, her thoughts taking a turn around the family she had left behind in an era not her own. While there was still the possibility that she could return to the past, she was hesitant to do so aside from the reason that she no longer had a purpose there.

 

She was wary of Inuyasha.

 

Some things are better left in the past I think. I have a long time on this Earth now and I might as well make the best of it. That thought in mind made her unconsciously turn her stormy gaze upon the young ruler who still sat next to her. The two had yet to speak since arriving in the wilderness, but the silence was comfortable and gave her time to sort out her thoughts as well as quietly ogle the handsome prince at her side.

 

From all the stories, fantasies and faerie tales she had heard growing up of the Gods, Kagome had figured them to be strict and serious and not necessarily fond of mingling with the human race. Sure, they would toy with the less-superior beings at times to stir things up and relieve their own boredom it would seem, but she had never thought that a god and a human could have a nice, civil conversation.

 

Studying the profile of Koenma, Kagome let her thoughts drift to the situation at hand. Although the Junior Ruler of Reikai was more than attentive to her and unimaginably sweet, she still felt slightly hurt over Hiei's smooth dismissal of her and their connection. Not that she blamed him because that would be wrong and pointless; she simply wished he could have at least responded better to her. She knew it would take time for the gravity of the situation to completely sink in but Koenma didn't seem to have much of a problem adjusting and with his help, she was sure she would come out fine as well. How would Hiei ever be able to deal with something of this magnitude without so much as speaking with her?

 

The young prince was lost in thought as well. He had caught himself staring at the young miko on more than one occasion since picking her up and knew that she noticed a few times when her cheeks would flush a pretty pink that brought out the blue of her eyes. She has seen and been through so much and is still so very innocent. She never deserved what happened to her and even if Hiei doesn't want anything to do with her, I will by no means leave her side.

 

He had found himself with more than enough time to think over things in the week that had passed since he had met Kagome and he found that his thoughts most often turned towards her. The demi-god was well aware that her heart had been abused badly and she probably wouldn't be ready for the kind of relationship he realized he wanted with her. She occupied his days and haunted his nights and it had taken all his will to control his excitement about being able to see her out of Reikai.

 

The thoughts that swirled tumultuously in his mind, although mostly featured Kagome, had also taken a few turns around Hiei. He had known the hybrid for many years and was well aware that it would take time for him to be able to accept the way things had turned out. At times, he had also caught himself wishing that Hiei had been replaced by Kurama, simply for the fact that the fox had never been quite so adamant about killing him as the fire demon was. That, and he had seen the sadness in the miko's eyes the day he had stormed out and spat his harsh sounding words; he knew Kurama wouldn't have ever spoken to her in such a way.

 

That was also part of the reason he had decided to take Kagome out of the city. She needed to be shown that regardless of the apparition's stand on things, he would treat her as she deserved to be treated. Momentarily, he had been near a state of panic wondering if he had been making a mistake by doing something so personal. However, upon seeing her smile and hearing from her own lips that she was happy to see him, he relaxed.

 

Koenma took a sidelong glance at Kagome and the picture she portrayed made her look even more beautiful than he had seen her yet. The moonlight washed over her features, painting the alabaster flesh in a silvery glow as moonbeams danced in her eyes. Long raven locks fanned around her face and tenderly caressed her neck and cheeks and a small smile graced her perfect lips. Apparently, his decision to bring her somewhere that might symbolize home for her was a good one.

 

As he blatantly studied the beautiful young woman, he made note that the scars he was sure he had seen before were no longer present. He assumed it was some sort of concealment spell but he knew they were there and he wanted desperately to know what had happened to her. “Kagome…can I ask you something?”

 

Her silent appraisal of the stars was broken by Koenma's soft words and her focus instantly snapped to him as she raised herself up on her elbows to look at him. “Sure. I can't promise I can answer it but ask away.”

 

Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at her and spoke gently. “That day I contacted you to see you…” He trailed off then, not really sure how to phrase the question without offending her or causing her to close up on him.

 

Kagome could tell that what he wanted to say was important and she had a good idea of what it was now that he had started talking. “You want to know about my scars? Why you don't see them now?”

 

He only nodded before casting his head down and looking at his lap. “If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to.”

 

A warm hand on his cheek startled him into looking up and getting lost in endless pools of glittering cerulean. A small smile played across her soft, lush lips and he nearly forgot that he was waiting for an answer to a question. “It's okay Koenma.” She closed her eyes briefly and the shimmer of magic tickled across his skin for a moment before he looked towards her shoulder and saw a soft blue glow fading and leaving behind the scars.

 

Only the barest traces of the healed wounds were visible on her shoulders under the heavy curtain of her inky hair and his fingers twitched, wanting to sweep aside those silky locks and see for himself how bad the damage was. Her eyes still held his and he was content for the time being to stay where he was. A soft sigh left her lips and brushed across his, leaving his skin tingling.

 

“Do you want to see?” She spoke low, her voice a gentle whisper that was nearly lost on the breeze. He could tell by the tense muscles along her neck and shoulders that she was embarrassed by her scars and he wanted nothing more than to assure her that she had no reason to feel that way. He could only nod his head in answer to her question and watched as she slowly turned her back towards him and lifted her heavy tresses over her shoulder.

 

Small hands reached back and tugged at the zipper that held her dress together along her spine and soon pulled it down far enough for the material to separate and her scars to be bared. Kagome shuddered lightly as the breeze caressed her flesh and she felt her cheeks heat up with a blush of embarrassment. She hated how marred her skin had become; it made her feel even uglier than Inuyasha's constant comparisons to Kikyou had.

 

She was startled out of her self-loathing by the soft touch of warm lips along one of the many welts that lined her back and a soft gasp escaped her lips. “Wh-what are you doing?”

 

He ignored her question and grazed his lips along another line that was exceedingly long and jagged; a gash from a clawed hand, he was sure. “Please don't be ashamed Kagome. These scars are just proof that you survived something undoubtedly horrible. Who did this to you?” He whispered against her neck as his fingers lovingly caressed scar after long, angry scar.

 

Kagome's body trembled against his touch as he spoke softly to her and gently stroked her damaged flesh. She had never looked at her scars as medals of honor and courage for withstanding and surviving the torture she had; for so very long they were only testimony to the fact that she was too weak to fight her captor and another thing that made her less than worthy of anyone.

 

He paused in his perusal of her flesh long enough to question her, “Kagome? You don't have to tell me.”

 

She breathed air deep into her lungs and sighed heavily before speaking, her voice coming out a harsh whisper as she fought with the emotions that tied in with her horrible memories. “A few years back, I had just returned to the Sengoku Jidai and was expecting Inuyasha to be waiting for me as he usually was. After I had climbed out of the well, I was surrounded by miasma and although my powers purified the majority of it, there was so much that it caused me to lose consciousness.

 

When I woke up, I was changed up in a dungeon somewhere. Just as I had fully regained awareness, I heard a voice talking to me. When I looked up, it was…Naraku. I had gotten in the habit of leaving the jewel shards with Miroku when I went home when I realized there were still demons alive in my era. I refused to put my family at risk by having them with me. Naraku kidnapped me, thinking I still carried nearly half the jewel.”

 

Kagome paused for a moment, her breathing harsh and her eyes clenched shut tightly, fighting back the torrent of tears that stirred behind her eyes. With another shuddering breath, she spoke again. “I don't remember a lot of what happened. I know that I was kept captive for nearly two weeks, each day filled with whippings and beatings. When he was feeling particularly malicious, he would forego his `toys' and just use his claws. The bastard even made sure to infuse his miasma into every single wound so my miko powers couldn't heal them. He told me he wanted me to have plenty of reminders of my time spent with him.

 

After a particularly vicious session with him, I lost consciousness to blood loss and trauma. When I awoke, I was back in Kaede's village. Apparently, he had one of his lackeys drop me off near the village. Kaede told me I had been asleep for well over a week, I was nearly dead when Sango and Miroku found me.”

 

Silent, angry tears streamed down her face and her voice took on the timber of deep, heart-wrenching pain. “I found out later that Inuyasha wasn't there to greet me because he was with Kikyou. I suffered through all of that because he was off playing house with a corpse. You know what the first thing he said to me was? He told me I needed to “hurry my weak ass up and heal” so we could finish looking for shards.”