InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Past ❯ A Realization ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Sayo124

Disclaimer: Okay, who out there thought I owned Inuyasha? Raise your hand. . . .Well, I hope no one let their hand rise. But if you did, I bow to you, crown you, thrown you, and treat you like royalty - I even treat you to the grape thing. So NOW who thinks I own Inuyasha?

A/N: I love you all SO much. I can't stress just how much!

~reviewers~

To get the bad thing out of the way first- the preaching over the paintings... blah. Way too preachy, not that it's out of character for Kagome necessarily. Inspirational speeches like that just make me roll my eyes and cough up my Rolos. So did Inuyasha do anything to earn his fame or is he just famous because he's famous, like Paris Hilton? And if he is famous, how can people not know he's institutionalized? It's impossible to keep something like that from the tabloid press. And that calender... lawsuit waiting to happen. Yes Kagome, what a cool brother Inuyasha has, everyone should have a family member who's willing to exploit their image to make money. Especially when you're stuck in the mental ward from Hell. Hee hee, he likes getting kidnapped. I knew there was some life in there somewhere! One question though, I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it before since you print the ages every chapter. Inuyasha's not a minor, what's stopping him from leaving? Kaede can't legally keep him there against his will, not unless his parents pulled some strings and had him declared incompetant. Or are blackmailing Inuyasha with cutting off his funds if he leaves. Which considering they were willing to whore out his image for a calendar without his consent, wouldn't shock me. With a family like that it's no wonder he's crazy.

LoL. . . you don't like speeches like that? Tsk, tsk. Inuyasha's whole family is famous, true, but that isn't the whole reason why he's famous. He was born and instantly liked. (who wouldn't like to see a doggy-eared hanyou in real life? LoL!) He was talented and became an actor. The fame from his family added in a positive way to his popularity. . . in a way he's like Paris Hilton, I suppose. I can't answer your question about people knowing about him being institutionalized because it would most likely ruin part of the story - sorry! ::Laugh:: I love your humor on Inuyasha's brother! If my sister did anything like that to me. . . well, let's not go there - it's rated R. LoL! Yes, he liked getting kidnapped. ::sigh:: Once again, can't give you too much information on that. . . but I can tell you I wouldn't put that past his parents! ^_~

AGE:

Inuyasha: 19

Kagome: 18

Kouga: 19

Naraku: 19

Miroku: 19

Sango: 18

Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Fourteen: A Realization

Kagome gently smiled. `I suppose I do, too.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome smiled as she trekked down the hallway.

“What are you happy for, wench?”

Kagome's smiled faltered but didn't completely leave. “What's got you in such a knot, Inuyasha?”

`Knot? Keh!'

“What there not to be in a. . . knot about? I'm going back to a cage,” he mumbled.

“Cage. . .? You mean . . . your room- - - oh. I see how that's a cage.”

“It's not exactly a thrill to be trapped in a room for a week,” the hanyou grumbled.

“I guess not,” Kagome softly muttered to herself.

They rounded a corner and Kagome slipped her ID card into the reader before opening the door for them both.

Inuyasha growled, “Wench, you have to promise me that only I will open doors when you're with me.” He gently pried the handle from her hand.

“Uh. . . why would I do that?”

“Name your price.”

“Price?”

“Keh, wench is stupid. Name what I have to do so that you'll promise me.”

“Oh,” her face didn't betray her surprise. “Um,” she wrinkled her nose in thought, “Oh! I know! I know! In return of this promise, you have to promise me that sometime soon you'll tell me why you're here.”

That took him by surprise. Apparently his features showed that, though.

“Oh, but don't worry, you can tell me when you absolutely trust me. I know it'll be hard to tell me no matter what, but. . . I really don't think you should be hurting like you are. I don't really think it's right.”

Shock; the only feeling he felt was shock.

`Why? Why does she care so much?'

`Baka.' A small voice chuckled.

It was a huge agreement. He should snap; unleash his rage at such a thing; yell at her for being so stupid. But something inside him felt that he could trust her. That she wanted to be trusted.

`But why my past?'

He felt outraged before that she might hurt herself in an attempt to keep the door open. It was an absurd feeling, really. He shouldn't be like that. How many times had she held open the metal door for her patient? For the girl she took care of?

`Not near me, though. She won't do it near me.'

“Keh.” Inuyasha crossed his arms over his torso, supporting the door with his back.

Kagome smiled; somehow she knew that meant yes. “Great.”

Inuyasha couldn't help but smile as she led him to his room. “I'm kinda tired.”

He surprised himself - his tone was soft. He was sure he would have snapped it. That's what he did to Miroku, at least.

“Of course, getting out like that must have exhausted you.” Kagome paused to unlock his door. “Why don't you rest?”

She was about to grab the handle when Inuyasha growled low. Kagome turned to face him and rolled her eyes. “After you, my Highness.”

Inuyasha opened the door and paused for her to go in before he followed.

“So, um, I think that is what you were supposed to have for lunch.” Kagome gestured to the lunch tray that held now-cold food.

“Yeah.”

“The kitchen staff will be curious and hurt as to why you didn't eat their food. Especially the chef.”

“Screw them.”

Kagome smiled. “Joker.”

With that, Kagome walked over, picked up the tray, and turned around to face the hanyou. “So, see you at dinner.”

“Yeah.”

With one last warm smile, Kagome slid her ID threw the scanner again before Inuyasha hurriedly walked over to open the door growling, “Such a sneaky wench.”

Kagome giggled. “See ya.”

The hanyou mutely nodded before she sidestepped to glide threw the open exit.

For some reason, when Inuyasha closed the door, the atmosphere seemed to dim.

Suddenly washed with fatigue, Inuyasha walked over and buried himself in the warmth of the mattress. In only a few seconds, his mind had traveled into sleep.

“Inu-kun, aren't you happy? It's my birthday! Why aren't you happy for me?”

“Sorry, just- - - I've been busy with work lately.”

The long-locked girl pouted. “Do you care more about work than me?”

Inuyasha rolled his amber eyes. “That's not even a question I'm going to answer.”

The girl's dark eyes filled with clear tears. “What? What does that mean?”

Panicked, Inuyasha blurted, “Of course work isn't all that important to me like you are.”

A smile spread across her features. “Inu-kun, if I'm that important to you, than you like me, right?”

The hanyou was taken aback. “Uh. . . when did I- - -”

“And since you like me, than will you date me?”

He was shocked; date?

“Date?” he repeated slowly.

The girl bubbled. “Is that a yes? Inu-kun! Will you say yes. Please?”

It was her eyes. Her eyes were so hopeful, he knew if he said no than she would cry; sob; wail. He didn't want her to feel hurt.

Inuyasha took a deep breath. “Yeah. Sure, why not?”

The young woman jumped up and down with excitement. “Yes! Oh, Inu-kun.”

She leapt into his arms.

He stood there, rigid. But allowed her to do so, making sure she didn't fall as she clung to him.

“Inu-kun,” a feminine voice purred. “Are you happy? It's been two months that we've been dating now.”

“Yeah.”

The girl frowned. “You don't sound it. Hey, let's go out; just you and me - tonight. We'll go and see a movie, have dinner.”

Inuyasha smiled and nodded, wanting to make his girlfriend happy.

The girl squealed as she jumped onto her boyfriend's arm. “Inu-kun! Guess what?”

“Wha?”

“Hitori was just proposed to! Aren't you happy?”

“Uh. . .”

The girl gasped sharply and stepped back, looking as though she had been hit. “You're not happy? Why not? Did I do something?”

“I'm happy, I'm just a bit stressed from work.”

The girl pouted. “Inu-kun, you're always saying that! Why? Am I not just as important to you as work?”

Inuyasha sighed. “You know the answer to that, Kikyou.”

“Then why don't you ask me to marry you!? You say I'm the most precious thing to you but you don't do anything to prove it!”

The hanyou inwardly cringed at the scent of salty tears. But no matter how much he couldn't stand to see a girl cry - especially a friend - he had to tell her the truth. “I- I can't just jump into a marriage. You know this.”

“Why? Because of your job!?”

Inuyasha shook his head. “Youkai mate for life. You're not ready for that. You really aren't and you know that, too. I don't think that your. . . feelings for me will last forever. Youkai have to be extremely careful when picking a mate or it could end in death.” Ignoring the almost unbearable scent of the tears that he knew the girl was holding back, he continued, “I'm sorry.”

The girl swallowed hard. “Inu- Inu-kun. . . how could you say that? Aren't you. . . happy?” The girl was doing her best to keep from sobbing at this point. “Are you so worried about me embarrassing you that you won't do something so life-changing?” A sob escaped her before she could continue, “I can change! I swear I can change! Please. . . just. . . please. . . please. . .” Her body was now shaking from the force of her tears.

It broke Inuyasha; completely and totally. She had been his best friend from childhood. She had stood by him through the incredibly tough times; when he had given up on himself. Every sob cut through him like a knife. “I'm sorry - I'm truly and completely sorry.” He knelt down to the ground she had sunk to. “You don't have to change; it isn't you, I swear it isn't, Kikyou.”

But she had sworn to herself that the reason Inuyasha didn't want her was because of something she had to change.

She didn't whine anymore about his job - instead she did everything in her power to make things easier for him because she fell in love with him; head over heels in blissful love.

But Inuyasha was right, she shouldn't have changed. In the end, the understanding she had gained on Inuyasha's job was her downfall - she went too far to help. And it crushed them both.

A loud, swift knock startled Inuyasha out of his slumber.

“Inuyasha? Can I come in?”

After a few seconds, reality finally grabbed the half-awake hanyou. “Why are you asking, wench? You could just walk in.”

“I know, but. . . uh, forget it. But can I come in?”

“I really don't see why you can't.”

There was a pause and Inuyasha could hear her as she slid her card in through the reader. The door clicked, signaling it had unlocked. But before anything else, Inuyasha practically leapt out of his bed and to the door.

Listening intently on Kagome's exact location, he slowly opened the door halfway. “Sneaky wench, didn't I tell you not to do that anymore?”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Inuyasha. You act like I don't ever do that. I open doors all the time here and you don't know about it.”

`True, true; gonna have to fix that.'

“But what's got you in such a knot about it, huh? I'm not that defenseless, although I appreciate your concern.”

“C-concern?”

Kagome gave him a look. “Yeah, you're acting like a mother hen.”

“Keh!” `What an insult! I try to help her and look where it lands me! I just don't want my- - - My? How is she suddenly mine. . .?Mother hen - keh.'

“Wench,” he growled.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you here? It's not dinner yet.”

“Oh, well, it's time for you to see Miss Sango.”

“. . . Keh.”

Kagome giggled and turned to the door, sliding her card through the reader. Before she had time to blink, though, Inuyasha was grabbing the handle and opening the door. “We gotta talk about that, sneaky wench.”

Kagome rolled her eyes as she led him down the hall, “Yes, we do. I agreed to wench, not sneaky.”

“I could live with bossy wench.”

“No.”

“Sassy?”

Kagome sighed. “I think sneaky was the most polite.”

“Keh.”

Kagome smiled as a short, comfortable silence floated between them. There was a question weighing in her mind, but she wasn't too sure on weather or not to ask it now. . .

She almost jumped in surprise when Inuyasha sighed. “What's wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Kagome knew right away, for some reason, that he was lying.

“No. There is. . . Can you by any chance. . . tell me? I promise I won't laugh or anything.”

Inuyasha shook his head again, stubbornly. “No, there isn't anything wrong.”

Kagome swung around to face him, grabbing his hands. “I know there's something wrong, and I want you to know that no matter what it is, you can always tell me. I won't laugh or make fun of you.”

She smiled warmly as she pulled his hands up. “So. . .” Nervously, she started to rub small circles over his fingers. “Do you mind if- - - well I mean my girl. . . she said that she wanted to visit you. Do you mind if I bring her sometime?”

Distracted by the motion of her fingers, he was startled by the sudden silence. “Uh. . . what?”

Kagome winced. `I knew this was a bad time to ask it.'

“I asked if you minded if I were to bring my girl sometime to visit you.”

“No, why should I care?”

Kagome breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks. This will mean a lot to her. She seems to really admire you.”

“Right. . . Who exactly is she again?”

Kagome giggled. “I never told you. And I think I'll leave it that way until you meet her face-to-face.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and Kagome suddenly frowned. “Inu. . .yasha?”

“What?”

“Can I ask you something?” she bit her bottom lip.

“You just did.”

Kagome smiled at that. “Right.” Her frown surfaced again. “But. . . Inuyasha? Are you- are you. . .happy?”

The question caught him off guard as a million things flooded his mind all at once.

“Inu- Inu-kun. . . how could you say that? Aren't you. . . happy?”

“Inu-kun, aren't you happy? It's my birthday! Why aren't you happy for me?”

“Are you happy?”

“Inuyasha? Inuyasha? Are you okay?”

The hanyou shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Yeah. I'm fine.”

“But you still haven't answered my question.”

“What?

“Are you happy?”

“Keh, wench. Do I have a reason not to be happy?”

“Well. . . no.” `Yes.'

“Then let's go already.”

“Okay,” Kagome murmured before she turned and continued down the hall.

`She's different. When she asked me, she was sincerely concerned. So different and yet the same. I guess I should try to move on now. I can't keep my mind in the past forever. . . even if I want to.'

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So how was this chapter? Too dramatic? And did anyone notice I'm posting more often?

Well, later!

Ja ne. ^_~