InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Part 4: "A bubble bath, baka..." ( Chapter 4 )
Broken
By: Silena Buckelew (Lady Multi)
2003-2004
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Part 4: "A bubble bath, Baka..."
Inuyasha followed Kagome up the stairs to find Souta waiting at the top.
"Neh, what was the screaming about?" Souta asked.
"Not now, Souta." Kagome mumbled.
"Souta!" Kagome's mother called.
Souta looked at Kagome one last time before he ran down the stairs.
"Your mom will explain things to him in a light way." Inuyasha said as he followed her to her room.
Kagome walked into to her room followed by Inuyasha. She walked over to her bed and sat down.
Inuyasha stopped right inside her door after he shut it.
"You're avoiding getting close to me..." Kagome muttered. "It bothers me..."
Inuyasha mentally cursed himself for what he had to do. "It's not really my choice, Kagome."
"Oh, please, have you ever done what he's told you to do before." Kagome said sarcastically.
"Actually...I have, Kagome." Inuyasha said. "He was the one who told me about the Shikon no Tama. He told me what powers it held and told me to find it."
Kagome looked at him confused by his story.
"Don't worry about it, Kagome." Inuyasha said. "That was a long time ago; it doesn't matter."
"Kagome, the bath is ready!" Her mother called from down the stairs.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who was still looking at him with wonder on her face. "So, are you going?"
Kagome stood up and went to her dresser. She rummaged for some clothes while Inuyasha waited. She was wondering if she perhaps needed to buy some new clothes. Now that she was, indeed, pregnant; she was going to get bigger, obviously. She didn't hate the fact that she was pregnant; she just hated who made her pregnant and how he did it. She began to feel upset again.
Kagome had been trying to keep her mind cool until it was over, but every now and then she either became rather angry or rather sad. Maybe they were normal "mood swings" for a pregnant woman, or maybe it was just normal for someone who had been...raped. She was confused; she didn't know what to do until it was over. She was afraid to call her friends on this world, and she wasn't able to go back to see the others. She could only rely on her family...and Inuyasha. Three months were going to be a long time.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha called. "You stopped."
Kagome snapped out of her thoughts and continued gathering some clothes. "I was just thinking about something."
"What?" Inuyasha asked.
"I don't have to tell you everything." Kagome said. "But...I think I need new clothes..."
"We'll get you some, then." Inuyasha said. "Didn't you tell us about that market you called a mall?"
Kagome stood up and faced Inuyasha. "How do you intend we pay for what I want?"
"Your mother." Inuyasha mentioned. "I think she understands the situation, Kagome. At least we're in your time where you say 'medical care' is better."
Kagome eeped. "Oh my!"
"What?" Inuyasha asked as he watched her drop her clothes. "What'd I do-say?"
"The baby is a hanyou!" Kagome said. "What the hell will the doctors think! What if he has ears like you?"
"What's wrong with my ears?" Inuyasha asked.
"No, no; it isn't that." Kagome said. "Seeing people with ears like yours is not normal in this time. And since...he...was full youkai and I'm human-like your mother and father; the baby will be similar to you."
"So it will." Inuyasha replied.
"Baka!" Kagome yelled. "What will the people here do when they see the baby?"
"Call it a freak; call it worthless. Hate it. Try to kill it." Inuyasha said. "That's what they did when they saw me in my time."
"Science doesn't exist in your time, either!" Kagome yelled.
"Enough!" Inuyasha yelled. "You'll just have to wait, then."
Kagome calmed down. Now she had something else to think about-what people in the modern age would do when they saw a hanyou baby.
Kagome picked up her clothes and walked to the door. She led Inuyasha downstairs where the bath was. At first she was reluctant to let Inuyasha in the room, but eventually did anyway.
"What's with all the bubbles?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome smiled. "A bubble bath, Baka. Shut the door and turn around."
Inuyasha shut the door and sat down on the floor facing the door.
Kagome stared at Inuyasha the entire time while she undressed and got into the bath-tub.
Inuyasha grumbled to himself as he heard her get into the water. There was way too much tension in the room. "You know, I can leave, if you don't like the fact that I'm in here."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked.
"You're frightened." Inuyasha said.
"I should be." Kagome said.
Inuyasha's ear twitched.
"It's not because of you, Inuyasha." Kagome muttered.
"Feh!" Inuyasha muttered. "Oh, so that's why you're still afraid to look me in the eyes."
Kagome lowered her head. He was right; she was afraid to look him in the eyes.
"That's fine." Inuyasha said. "I understand; but there's one thing I need to get straight...I'm not leaving you unless you tell me to whether you like it or not. I feel responsible for what happened; I was supposed to protect you, and I wasn't there. So, I'm making up for it."
Kagome fell silent. When the room fell silent it unnerved her. (Say something! What?) She wondered to her.
"So...uh...what are you going to name him?" Inuyasha asked breaking the silence.
"Him?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah, your baby." Inuyasha said. "What are you going to name him?"
"Are you sure it's a him?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah, a him-a boy." Inuyasha said. "Personally, I think you should do something to spite Sesshoumaru-maybe call the kid 'Baka' or something."
"Maybe I should name him Inuyasha-2." Kagome said.
Inuyasha huffed and then laughed. "Yeah, that would really piss him off, wouldn't it? Have a brother and a son named Inuyasha would really touch a nerve."
Kagome giggled.
"Hurrah!" Inuyasha cheered. "She actually laughed."
Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
"For what?" He asked. "Cheering you up?"
"No." Kagome said. "For being here."
Inuyasha twitched his ear. "Feh! You know, you should really be thinking of a name for the baby as well as a fatherly choice. And as I said before, you can choose that wolf if that's what you want."
"I don't want Kouga." Kagome said.
"Well, who is your first choice?" Inuyasha asked. "Someone from this world who knows nothing of youkai or what a hanyou is? You live at a shrine and your grandfather didn't know what the hell a hanyou was capable of and now you're going to have one in the family."
"Inuyasha..." Kagome mumbled.
"Yeah?" Inuyasha asked.
"I...my choice is very difficult...and I'm not sure if my first choice is willing enough." Kagome said.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well...it's difficult, Inuyasha." Kagome said. (They already have someone else...someone they just won't let go.) She wanted to tell that he was her choice, but feared that he'd turn her down-Inuyasha did, after all, have Kikyo.
"Here's a name for the baby-Buyo, after that cat." Inuyasha said. "Naming the baby after a cat would also fry his nerves to a crisp.
"Do we really need to piss him off if we win?" Kagome asked. "After all, the baby would be stuck with the name forever."
"Hmm...Okay, no teasing names." Inuyasha said. "How about...uh...Mangetsu. Oh, better name-Watage."
"You want to name my baby either meaning 'Full Moon' or 'Fluff,' what is your head set on?" Kagome asked.
"Don't like them?" He replied.
"Well...it's not that, Inuyasha." Kagome said.
"Koinu is a good name, too." Inuyasha said.
"Okay, dog-boy, now your brain is set on dog." Kagome said.
"Would you prefer to name it after your little brother?" Inuyasha asked.
"Souta would probably love that actually." Kagome said. "But no."
"Shiruku would be a nice name, too." Inuyasha said. He crossed his arms. "Come on, am I the only one contributing the names here; he's your baby, Kagome."
"Hai, hai." Kagome said. "I know it's my baby and I am going to name it...eventually."
"You said 'it,' why don't you just say he?" Inuyasha said.
"Fine, I am going to name him eventually." Kagome said.
"Good." Inuyasha said. "Hmm...How about...Ranma?"
"Let me think of one, Inuyasha." Kagome said. "And where'd you get such a name to name a child? Sounds like something you'd give to a person with a curse."
Inuyasha shrugged. "Okay, fine, I'll let you think of a name. I'm just trying to help. You feel weird talking about it, don't you?"
"What?" Kagome asked.
"The baby." Inuyasha replied.
"Well...I kind of didn't want to be forced into this kind of situation..." Kagome said solemnly. "I really...don't know what to think or talk about, I suppose..."
"Think happy thoughts." Inuyasha said in a silly way.
Kagome laughed. "Where'd you come up with that?"
"Feh!" He blurted.
The room fell silent again.
Kagome was more comforted by sound. It kept her from thinking. "Neh, Inuyasha...?"
"What?" He asked.
"What...what was the worse thing...he ever did to you?" Kagome asked.
"I'm sure you don't want to know." Inuyasha said. "And besides, this isn't about what he did to me, Kagome."
"You don't have to...stay...if you don't want to." Kagome muttered.
"Kagome, I'm NOT going to leave you like this." Inuyasha replied.
Kagome really wished she knew what he was thinking. To her, it seemed like he felt obligated to be there, and she didn't like it. (He's probably mentally laughing at you. He says he considers it his fault, but I doubt it.) She sighed. Her emotions were beginning to play trick on her again; she wasn't sure if she was supposed to be angry or sad. She just wasn't sure of anything except that in three months she'd be a mother and "belong" to someone. One word came to mind when she felt she needed someone to help her through what she was going through-psychiatrist; but then she realized she'd probably be but into an asylum if she claimed she was pregnant with a youkai's baby and one of her friends was a hanyou from the past. Yup, if she let modern logic take the place of her own logic-she would be insane.
Kagome sighed trying to end the silence. She had finished "relaxing" in the bubbles and stood up and looked toward a mirror against one wall. It was the first time she had really caught a glimpse of herself. She had noticed the scratches on her chest, but not all of them. They looked horrible; she felt horrible. (They'd probably scar.) She thought. (I'll never be rid of them; I'll never be rid of how he touched me.)
Kagome had expected to be scarred while she traveled in search of the Shikon shards; she already had one from when the jewel was torn from her left side. Now the scar seemed like nothing compared to the marks which trailed from her shoulder to her thigh. There were others cuts on her chest and around her neck and even on the sides of her face where his fangs had grazed up against her skin.
If it were just the cuts and scratches she'd be fine; but the scratches were just a reminder to what he actually did do to her, and she'd have to live with it or die with it. Both ways seemed too hard no matter how much she wanted to cheer up.
Kagome was both angry and upset. She picked up a shampoo bottle and threw it at the mirror; shattering it into pieces.
Inuyasha covered his ears to the sound of the mirror breaking. "Kagome! What are you...?" He looked in the direction of the mirror to see the shampoo bottle rolling towards Kagome's feet. He noticed what was left of the mirror. The mirror piece was cracked but he could still see the reflection clearly. The piece showed Kagome's face and ran down for far enough for him to see just enough of her to notice the claw marks and other cuts on the upper-part of her body.
"Don't look!" Kagome yelled as she noticed Inuyasha staring at the mirror. She covered her chest with a towel and backed up partially. "You're going to laugh at me! You're going to call me names and poke fun, so don't look!"
Inuyasha heard her fumble with the towel and noticed that she had wrapped it around her by the looks in the mirror. He stood up and turned to face her. "Kagome! I wouldn't poke fun about something like that! I wouldn't call you names."
"Oh really...did you forget that I'm just your shard-detector?" Kagome yelled.
Inuyasha let out a deep breath. "Kagome...how long ago was that?"
"Who cares?" Kagome asked.
"I do, Kagome." Inuyasha replied. "Now...why'd you break the mirror?"
"None of your business!" Kagome yelled.
"Why did you break the mirror?" Inuyasha repeated.
"Cause I look terrible!" Kagome yelled. "I can't stand looking at myself! There, you happy?"
"Kagome...those marks--" Inuyasha began.
"Will stay." Kagome finished. "They'll stay forever, probably. I don't heal like you, Inuyasha. These scratches make it look like I've been attacked by a wild animal!
"And in a sense, that's true." Inuyasha said bluntly. "But, Kagome..." He took a step forward.
Kagome instinctively took a step backwards and ended against the wall. "Stop!"
Inuyasha froze.
Kagome put her hands over her face. "Stop looking at me! You don't care!"
"Kagome." Inuyasha called to her.
"Stop!" Kagome yelled as she slumped to the ground as she began to cry.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. "You're torturing yourself! How about you stop! You don't look terrible...so...!
"Shut up!" Kagome yelled. "You don't understand! You're not fully human, like I am!" After she realized what she actually had said, she looked up at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha was clearly hurt by the statement. He knew he wasn't human, and there was no possible way for him to fully understand what she was going through. The reason for that was that no one was going to understand what she was going through unless she let them. "You're right..." He said softly. "I'm not human. I am just who I am-the pathetic hanyou half-brother of the son-of-a-bitch who hurt you. You can hate me and tell me so all you want, but I ask only one thing, Kagome: give me just a little credit for trying to help you. You'll never get over this and nether will I. Sango and Miroku won't forget, and Shippo will remember and figure it out in the future. Things like this don't simply fade as you seem to want those scratches to do. If they went away, would you forget? Probably not. There's only one thing you should really understand about my brother; the longer you torture yourself over what has already occurred, the more you make him right."
Inuyasha turned around and faced the door. "Now...I'll be waiting in that 'living' room."
Kagome watched as Inuyasha left the room. It was quiet again and now she was alone. "I'm...sorry, Inuyasha." She muttered silently to herself. Now she felt even more terrible; she was hurting others because she was hurting-that was obvious. She said things she meant, but didn't mean to say. Things were jumbled and out of place in her mind. She would have to sort them out and find her own pride, she felt was desperately lost.
Kagome looked at the scattered pieces of the mirror. "Broken..." She mumbled.