InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ As Fate Would Have It ❯ Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

Dawn was still a few hours away as Sango stepped outside the hut, looking for Kagome. The girl had left sometime during the night, but no one had seen her go.

 

Minako had awakened for her meal a few minutes ago, but Kagome still was nowhere to be found. Sango was worried- Kagome never left in the middle of the night like this without letting someone know where she was going.

 

A movement caught her keen eye from the edge of Inuyasha's Forest. Sango took a step forward, unable to really believe what she was seeing.

 

It was Kagome. Clad in only Inuyasha's fire-rat haori, the young girl was half-running, half-stumbling away from something. Sango rushed toward her, her heart in her throat.

 

“Kagome! What's wrong? Is it a youkai? Were you attacked?”

 

As she came nearer, Sango gasped in horror as she saw the damage the younger girl had sustained. Blood clotted her lip and neck and blood-stains were seeping through the haori on either side of her hips. The most distressing sight, though, was the streams of blood running down the inside of Kagome's legs.

 

“Sango,” she breathed in relief, gasping for air. As Sango's arms wrapped around the miko she collapsed to her knees, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.

 

“Kagome…?” Sango asked, afraid of the answer. “Did… you… and Inuyasha…?”

 

Kagome nodded into her friend's arms. The taijiya tightened her hug around Kagome as fury built inside her.

 

“We'll make him pay, Kagome. Don't worry. He'll never touch you again.”

 

Kagome pulled away and looked at Sango through tear-filled eyes. “No! It's not like that!”

 

“But after what he's done to you? Look at you! He nearly ripped you apart! He could've killed you!”

 

“I… I've decided. I'm leaving, Sango. I'm taking Minako and I'm going home.”

 

Sango sighed. “I agree that that's a good idea for a while, but…”

 

“Not for a while. For good. I'm going home and I'm not coming back.”

 

Sango looked at her friend in surprise. “Not coming back? But Kagome! We need you here! You're our friend!” She looked deeply saddened. “What about Shippou?”

 

Kagome shook her head slowly. “You and Miroku must take him in. Please. For me. Don't let Inuyasha kick him out. Shippou needs you.”

 

“Of course. Shippou doesn't love us like he loves you, but…”

 

“Will you promise to keep him, then?”

 

“I promise. I'm sure Miroku will too.”

 

“Arigatou.” Kagome shakily stood up and walked into the hut with Sango trailing after.

 

She pulled out her spare clothes and swiftly pulled them on, mindless of the drying blood on her body. She used one of her monthly necessities to protect her panties so they wouldn't get stained. The rest would just have to wait for a bath once she got home.

 

Then she quickly packed up what clothes she had for Minako here and stuffed them into her bag. Miroku remained sleeping on his pallet, while Shippou had rolled over in his sleep, leaving Minako snoozing peacefully under her blanket.

 

Leaning down carefully, Kagome kissed the kitsune one last time. He smiled in his sleep but didn't awaken. Then she picked up Minako, wrapped the baby up snuggly, and stood up, facing the door. Sango stood there, watching her sadly.

 

“Do you really have to go?” she whispered.

 

Kagome nodded. She stepped outside and Sango followed. “I can't face Inuyasha again. Not after that.” She looked sad and forlorn for a moment. “I… disappointed him.”

 

Sango looked genuinely confused, but turned slightly and called for Kirara. The tiny cat ran up to Sango and rubbed up against her leg. She knelt down and looked at the cat youkai seriously.

 

“I need you to take Kagome to the well, Kirara. Make sure Inuyasha doesn't see you. And hurry!”

 

Kirara mewed, stepped back, and transformed into her full-size youkai form. Kagome gingerly got on her back, wincing in pain as she was forced to sit on extremely sensitive regions. She looked at her friend and gave her one last hug goodbye.

 

“Take care, Sango. Don't let Miroku two-time on you!”

 

“You be careful, Kagome. We will miss you terribly.”

 

With a soft “rawr,” Kirara took off and flew swiftly through the sky towards the Bone Eater's Well. Sango watched her friend leave with a heavy heart, yet she knew it was necessary.

 

Miroku stepped out of the hut, surprising Sango. “Something very serious has happened, hasn't it?” he asked her quietly. “Are you willing to tell me what?”

 

Sango turned to him and wrapped her arms around him, crying softly. The monk gently embraced her, resting his head on top of her head. Something must have upset her greatly.

 

“Inuyasha… he… Kagome… Kami, there was so much blood…!”

 

“Blood? Did he attack her? Or was it a youkai?”

 

“No… he… I think he forced… himself… on her.”

 

“Forced? I don't…” He gasped in shock. “Oh, Kami. You can't be serious!”

 

“I am. And now she's taking Minako and going back to her own time. For good.”

 

“Permanently? But… Inuyasha will just follow her, won't he?”

 

Sango pulled back and glared up at him. “Not if I kill him first.”

 

Miroku shook his head. “Now, Sango. We can't just kill him. Not yet anyway. We need to find out exactly what happened. You may have just misunderstood the situation.”

 

“I can't believe she's not going to come back.”

 

Miroku sighed. “I know. But if that's what she wants, then we have to abide by it.”

 

Sango looked up at him again. “There's one thing she asked us to do.”

 

“What would that be?”

 

“She asked us to take in Shippou. To raise him as our own, as she's doing to Minako.”

 

“I see. Well, there's only one problem with that.”

 

She blinked in surprise. “There is?”

 

“We have to get married first.”

 

Sango blushed. “I don't know. After seeing what happened to Kagome…”

 

Miroku embraced her tightly, letting his love for her radiate out from him like the sun. “Sango, koi, I would never hurt you the way that Kagome was hurt. If I was causing you pain in any way, I would stop. No questions asked.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“I promise.”

 

She squeezed him back. “Aishiteru, Houshi-sama.”

 

He smiled. “Aishiteru, my taijiya.”

 

A soft mew interrupted their embrace. They both looked down to see a tiny Kirara walking toward them. She jumped up and landed on Sango's shoulder.

 

“Did Inuyasha see you?”

 

The little cat youkai mewed. Miroku nodded, understanding at once. “Excellent work, Kirara. Now it is up to us to wait. And pray.”

 

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Inuyasha stumbled out of the woods, the same look of shock frozen on his face. His eyes were blank and his ears were drooped. He wore his hakama and under-shirt, but the shirt was loose and not tucked in. The lavender crests on his cheeks were dormant now, still visible yet no longer glowing.

 

All in all, the hanyou was a rumpled mess. He stumbled over a rock, stopped, turned, and blinked at the rock, trying to figure out what just happened. He looked down at his hands, staring in horror once more at the blood that stained his claws.

 

He turned and shuffled to the river, kneeling by the water and scrubbing his hands. He scrubbed and scraped, washing the dried remnants of Kagome's blood away.

 

Yet still he washed. He continued to rub his hands as though they were still covered in her blood. One thought continued to run through his mind, over and over.

 

How could I have done this to her?

 

“How could you have done that to her?”

 

Inuyasha whirled around to see Miroku looking at him curiously, Sango glaring accusingly. Sango looked like she was about ready to kick his ass, which he felt he truly deserved.

 

“I… I-I didn't… I never…”

 

“It should be you bleeding right now, not her!” Sango yelled, trying hard not to run down there and slice something off with her wakizashi.

 

His ears drooped even more as he lowered his head. “I know. Kami, I wish it was.”

 

Miroku looked at the hanyou, confused. “Then… you didn't mean for this to happen?”

 

His golden gaze shot up in irritation. “Hell no! I mean…” He dropped his head again. “I wanted to make her my mate… not hurt her like that.”

 

“Didn't anyone tell you that she's a human?” Sango still looked ready to do some damage. “She's more delicate than a youkai or a hanyou! You could have killed her!”

 

“I know, dammit! I didn't know what I was doing! I was just trying to do what Sesshoumaru told me!”

 

Miroku eyed Inuyasha critically. “Sesshoumaru, you say? What did he tell you to do with her?”

 

“He said I had to have sex with her.”

 

“And that was it? Nothing more?”

 

Inuyasha flushed. “Well, I didn't know what he meant. So he kinda had to tell me how to do it.”

 

“Dear Kami.” Miroku looked to the sky. “That explains quite a lot.”

 

Inuyasha looked at the ground. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

 

Sango growled, a sound worthy of any youkai. “Don't worry about where she's at. She needs to be away from you. So let her be!”

 

The hanyou sighed. She had gone home to her era. “I figured as much.” He looked up at the taijiya, a serious look on his face. “But I'm telling you- I will not be kept from my mate for too long. She's mine now and I will not let her go!”

 

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Kagome sighed as she sank in the wonderfully hot water. I really needed this. She closed her eyes as the heat of the bath relaxed her sore body and washed the blood away. The bleeding had stopped, luckily, so there was no reason to tell her mother what had really happened to her. As much as she hated deceiving her mother, she just wasn't ready to tell her that she was no longer innocent.

 

Her mother had been delighted to see Minako again and gladly took the little girl from Kagome for some good old-fashioned spoiling so Kagome could get cleaned up. She had blamed her wounds on carelessness during a battle with a youkai and her mother seemed to accept that. Now, if only that baka Inuyasha wouldn't show up to give light to the lie…

 

Kagome's expression saddened. Inuyasha. For so long, he had been a part of her life, and now she didn't know how to feel about him. Love…. Pain…. Disappointment… it all mingled into a turmoil of numbness.

 

She could still see him- his face remained in her mind, feral and seductive as he lay on her, his long silver hair flying. His golden eyes shining in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees as he looked down on her, making her pulse race. The feel of his mouth and his tongue on her, setting her skin on fire. The marks on his cheeks glowing as he tore her when he first entered her. The pain…

 

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the sad memories. He had what he wanted- physical release without the unbreakable ties of commitment. She was a fool. She had thought he loved her, as she loved him. Now, she only felt used. Yet her heart still ached to be with him.

 

She sighed. She was home now, back in her own era. She had no reason to go back. Except the jewel shards, but she could go with Miroku and Sango to look for them later. For now, she just wanted to rest and take care of Minako.

 

Reaching for the loofah and body wash, Kagome nodded firmly. She would only go forward from this point. Whether or not Inuyasha came after her meant nothing. All that mattered was Minako. Yes. She would live for Minako and take care of her, letting nothing hurt either one of them again.