InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Dreams ❯ Trust Me ( Chapter 9 )

Broken Dreams

 

Chapter 9

 

Trust Me

 

It was a full day later, and Kagome and Youkai still were not on speaking terms. He had not neglected his duties, such as changing her bandages, feeding her, and making more fur blankets that Kagome assumed he was going to trade when he went to the village in a few weeks. And presumably, he would take her along to await Kouga. Kagome was grateful that Youkai took such extreme measures to hide; the foul-smelling fire also hid her scent from Kouga. If Kagome had her way, she'd sneak off when Youkai left in the village and wouldn't hear anything from Kouga for the rest of her life.

 

She had been surprised by Youkai's claim that he didn't remember his past. She was surprised by the fact that Youkai didn't remember his real name, but to remember nothing at all was more then she expected. After his little confession, he had gone back to cutting up the bear carcasses and let the issue of her past drop. He had said that when she was ready to talk to him about her past, he would be ready to listen. Needless to say, Kagome wasn't ready and wasn't planning on becoming ready for a long time.

 

Youkai continued to surprise her in his generous nature. In her weakened state, he could have easily forced her to speak with him. But he didn't. Kagome couldn't figure out what his game was. Why was he doing so much for her? He was nursing her back to health and offering to reunite her with her friends, and all he had asked of her was that she talk to him about her past.

 

The thought that Youkai wanted information about the jewel struck her mind, and fear into her heart. She had been the jewel's vessel into this world, not to mention five years of traveling to find the shards. The idea of Youkai wanting the jewel was definitely a possibility. For all she knew, he simply wanted her alive and well so she could find shards for him.

 

Another thought came to her, and Kagome gasped as she remembered Tetsusaiga wasn't the only precious cargo in her pack. Painfully shifting her leg so she could reach it by her bed, she darted a glance to the awning for Youkai. He had gone out to find more water since their current supply had run out. Kagome wanted to check now while he wasn't there.

 

She leaned forward and twisted her shoulder to fling her arm over the bag. She reached down and felt for the flap on the small pouch on the front of the bag.

 

“You shouldn't move.” Kagome jerked backwards and Youkai walked into the cave with two buckets of water. The cuts and wounds on Kagome's arms flared up, and Kagome screamed in agony as pain shot through her torso. Youkai set the bucket down and ran to her side as she fell back onto the bed. Youkai cradled her head, and Kagome started to breathe deeply as she tried to remain still.

 

“Stupid girl,” Youkai scolded. “You're still hurt, you can't move that fast.” Kagome bit her lip and nodded and he pulled her blouse up to her bosom so he could inspect the wound on Kagome's stomach. He sighed and started to dab the newly seeping blood with the blanket.

 

“I…I…” Kagome heaved. She had started to explain what she was doing but caught herself. If Youkai didn't know about the six shards in her pack, and if she told him for nothing…she closed her mouth and waited as Youkai cleaned her up. He stood and retrieved the buckets of water. He knelt down again, tore off a section of his cloak near the sleeve, dipped it in the water, and started wiping away the blood. A few wounds had opened again, but it was nothing serious. Kagome had broken a few ribs in her fall, and a thick layer of bandages covered her entire upper body. The thick white wrappings kept the top of her torso safe for the most part, but the lower part was still covered in minor bruises and cuts.

 

“What were you doing?” Youkai asked. Kagome tensed as he asked his question.

 

“Nothing,” she lied. Youkai looked up from her stomach.

“You don't risk injuring yourself for nothing,” Youkai snorted.

 

“I was just looking for something, forget about it,” Kagome snapped. Youkai shook his head.

 

“I could find it for you,” he offered, He took a hand away for a minute and slipped it in the pouch Kagome had been reaching for. Kagome gasped.

 

“No, don't…” she pleaded. She trailed off as Youkai's hand emerged holding the glass vial of jewel shards. She gulped as Youkai cocked his head to look at the glowing pink shards.

 

“Hm, six shards,” Youkai mused. “Are these the Shikon-no-Kakera that the villagers discuss sometimes?” he asked, looking up at Kagome. Kagome stared back nervously. “I'll take that as a yes.” He said, slipping the vial back in the pouch. Kagome's stare lightened from fear to confusion as Youkai went back to cleaning her wounds.

 

“What do you want from me already?” Kagome shouted.

 

“What do you mean?” Youkai asked, dipping the cloth in the water again.

 

“You rescue me, feed me, take care of me. Why? You could easily kill me and take my shards, and no one would ever know about it. And yet you just clean my wounds. What do you want from me that you're taking this little charade of kindness so far?”

 

Youkai stared at Kagome for several minutes, during which Kagome was beginning to regret her words. If the idea hadn't occurred to him before, it certainly had now.

 

“What do I want from you?” Youkai whispered. “For one thing, you could start to trust me a little more then that.” Kagome glared at him then looked away.

 

“I don't think so,” she muttered.

 

“You sure are paranoid, aren't you?” Youkai chuckled.

 

“I'm just realistic. Nobody does favors and doesn't expect something in return,” Kagome replied. “I'm not sure what you want from me, but I'm not going to give it to you.” Kagome winced inwardly at her words. Here she was probably pissing off a nice guy who had done nothing wrong but…no! `That's just his game!' she scolded herself. `Make all nice and friendly, then turn on you!'

 

“You really don't trust me at all, do you?” Youkai muttered, shaking his head sadly.

 

“You haven't told me your real name, and won't even show me your face,” Kagome snapped. “You are acting very secretive, what am I supposed to think?”

 

“You are acting secretive too,” Youkai pointed out. “And yet I trust you. As for showing you my face…” Youkai raised the hand missing the thumb and wiggled about where the appendage should be. “You see this? This is nothing compared to my head. Trust me, Kagome; I wear this hood for good reason.” And with that, Youkai went back to cleaning Kagome's stomach, although he was almost done. Kagome stared at his head for a moment as his words started to sink in.

 

If his thumb was minor compared to his head, then what on Earth was under that hood? Kagome swallowed slightly at a disgusting mental image, and cleared her throat.

 

“Do you really trust me?” she asked. Youkai nodded.

 

“You have done nothing to break my trust, although it is a little odd that you do not trust me. I have no reason not to trust you,” he explained. “You do have reasons to not trust me, however, so I suppose it is somewhat understandable that you do not trust me.” Youkai stood up and carried the buckets of water to a small wooden basin in a corner of the cave that served as a sort of tub. It was lined with furs along the outside to prevent leaks was about half the size of a modern bathtub. Youkai dumped the water in the basin and left to refill them. Kagome watched him go and frowned as his claim she had reasons not to trust him echoed in her head.

 

`I guess I could give him a shot,' Kagome said to herself. She just hoped that any trust she started to place in Youkai wasn't misplaced.