InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Breaking a Heart's Promise ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

 

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Inuyasha stared up at the ceiling and counted the tiles. He was more than ready to leave this place where he had evidently spent the last several years of his life, but the doctors kept telling him that he needed to be patient a bit longer; that he still needed physical and speech therapy on a daily basis.

 

Glancing over at the clock on the wall, Inuyasha sighed. Kagome would be by in an hour. Deciding he was tired of lying around, Inuyasha sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed and worked on standing up. His legs wobbled and started to buckle beneath him. Inuyasha quickly grabbed onto the bed, trying to steady himself. Feeling like his legs were ready, he let go and took a few shuffling steps towards the door. He had almost made it when his body betrayed him and he collapsed onto the floor.

 

As he lay panting where he fell, Inuyasha felt a rage building within him. Slamming his fists on the floor, he gritted his teeth. `Damnit! Look at me! I am weak as a fucking baby!' he thought angrily. Inuyasha tried to voice his anger but soon gave up and let loose a wordless roar. Moments later, he heard footsteps approaching his room. Inuyasha looked up into Kaede's wide eyes.

 

“Inuyasha, are you okay? What are you doing out of bed?” she asked as she stooped down and lifted Inuyasha back to his feet. Putting her arm around his waist, she walked him back to his bed, where he angrily pushed her away and collapsed back upon the rumpled bedding.

 

Nurse Kaede put a weathered hand to his cheek and turned his face towards hers. Smiling at his sullen glare, she said, “Inuyasha, you must be patient.” At his growl, she shook her head. “I know that is not what you want to hear. Live with it. You have not used your body for 7 years, and you cannot expect it to return to normal in only a few days. You need to give yourself time to recover your strength.”

 

Inuyasha glared at her and mumbled something as he turned from her.

 

“What was that, Inuyasha? You must speak up.” He threw her another glare; Kaede was hard pressed to hold back a chuckle.

 

“I said…I feel…like…a…baby!” he ground out laboriously. Kaede patted his arm.

 

“I know, Inuyasha, but again, I ask you to be patient with yourself.” She stopped for a moment, thinking.

 

“I will tell you what, Inuyasha. I will see if I can set you up with a bit more physical therapy and get you some exercises you can do on your own. In the mean time, I want you to practice speaking aloud.”

 

Inuyasha sighed and gave the old woman a nod. Kaede smiled. “I am sorry, Inuyasha, I didn't hear that.”

 

“Fine,” he managed to spit out.

 

“Very good. I will be back in a while then.” Nurse Kaede stood and patted Inuyasha's arm once more before she walked out the door.

 

Inuyasha grumbled and flopped onto his side, his back towards the door.

 

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“Koga, I am sorry. We need to postpone the wedding. I can't marry you right now…” Kagome cried, pleading for his understanding.

 

Koga sighed and reached out to brush a wayward lock of hair from her face. “I understand, Kagome. After all, I told you to make sure you were ready for this.” He leaned over and captured her lips with his, giving her a tender, poignant kiss.

 

“I know that Inuyasha has come out of his coma. I can understand you wanting to step back and examine our relationship together in light of his recovery.” Koga paused and wiped away a tear that rolled down Kagome's cheek. “I will wait for you, my love. I just ask that you give me an equal chance. Remember, Kagome, you have changed these past 7 years, as has he. Neither of you are the same person you were that fateful day.”

 

“I know, but I have to try,” Kagome whispered softly. “If I didn't, I will always wonder `what if...'”

 

Koga sighed again and studied her face. Finding what he was looking for, he stood and kissed Kagome's forehead before leaving her sitting on the bench. Kagome watched him walk away from her as tears slowly fell.

 

Taking a deep breath, she swiped at her eyes and looked at her watch. “Oh no, I am late! Inuyasha was expecting me 20 minutes ago.” Jumping up, Kagome quickly ran down the block to catch the bus to the center.

 

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Inuyasha yawned and opened his eyes. He hadn't planned on falling asleep, but his body evidently had other ideas. Glancing at the clock, he growled. `Where is Kagome? She is late!'

 

Moments later, he heard running feet that stopped at his door before a tentative knock sounded. Kagome opened the door and smiled at Inuyasha.

 

He glared at her. “You are late,” he snapped crossly.

 

Kagome was shocked at his response. “I…I am sorry, Inuyasha. I lost track of the time and missed the bus.” She took a hesitant step into the room.

 

Inuyasha turned his head and gave a “Keh”. Taking that to mean she was forgiven, Kagome went over and sat on the bed.

 

“I brought you something, Inuyasha,” Kagome said as she withdrew a book from her purse. She handed it to him and he turned it around to read the title. It was J.R.R. Tolkin's Fellowship of the Ring.

 

“Thank-you, Kagome,” he said with a smile. It was one of his favorite books.

 

“I thought we could read aloud to each other, plus it will give you something to do during the day. When you finish, I will bring in the movie that was made from it a few years ago.”

 

Inuyasha looked at her skeptically. “Movie? Was it… any good?”

 

“It was totally wonderful! It won all kinds of Oscars and everything. They filmed all three books and made each one into an epic movie,” Kagome squealed excitedly.

 

Inuyasha laughed at her exuberance. “Well, let's get this story started then,” he said slowly. Kagome settled beside him and they took turns reading; Kagome started off the first page, Inuyasha read the second, Kagome the third, etc.

 

It was slow going and Inuyasha quickly grew frustrated with the effort it was taking him to speak out loud. After a particularly difficult passage, Inuyasha snarled and threw the book across the room. “Enough!”

 

Kagome looked at him in hurt surprise. She started to ask what was wrong, but changed her mind when he glared angrily at her.

 

Holding back tears that threatened to fall, Kagome stood up and slowly walked over and picked up the book. Smoothing the crinkled pages, she placed it on the small table beside the bed. Inuyasha stared blindly at the wall, refusing to meet Kagome's gaze.

 

“I am sorry, Inuyasha. I should have realized…” Kagome said softly. “I guess I will see you tomorrow then.” She placed her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, only to have him shrug it off. Kagome stood looking at him for a moment before turning away. If he had been looking at her, Inuyasha would have seen the lone tear that made its escape down her cheek. Gathering her things, Kagome walked quietly to the door. “Bye Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha lay still for a long time after Kagome left. He knew he had hurt her by his callous actions, but Inuyasha was at a loss as to why he had acted that way. Thinking back on her visit, he tried to figure out what went wrong.

 

`All I know is that I got angry that she was late showing up - that in itself was stupid. I know Kagome well enough to know that she always has a good reason if she is late.' Inuyasha sat up and looked at the book lying on the table.

 

`I was enjoying myself while we were reading; especially having her snuggled beside me. I guess I just got too impatient with my struggle to speak.' He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. `That still does not excuse how I acted at the end of her visit though. I was no better than a spoiled child.'

 

Staring at the book, Inuyasha reached over and picked it up. Finding where he had left off, he started reading aloud once again. `At least I can practice some more,' he thought to himself.

 

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TBC

 

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I did not have a very good December, and am now trying to get back into the swing of things.

 

I am curious to know what you all think is going to happen. I have the story pretty much mapped out, but I am wondering if anyone has figured out where it is heading yet. Leave me a review and let me know what you think.

 

Thanks go to my wonderful beta, Breezie for all her hard work.

 

As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review!