InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Change of Heart - A Sesshoumaru & Inuyasha Story ❯ Dumping Kagome…Literally ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

*Comment: Nah, nah, nah, nah- Nah, nah, nah, nah-Hey, hey, hey-Goooodbye!

Finally!!!

And I went a little crazy with the Japanese terms on this one. (But I’ll send all the translations…just ask!)


It had been two days since the brothers had gone their separate ways. Two days since they had spoken so seriously.

As much as Sesshoumaru did not want to leave the Forest of Inuyasha without his Otouto, he felt like he had no choice. Maybe his brother would be able to think more clearly without him there. He could only hope. So, after patrolling a part of his border, hoping he would see the boy leaving the village to come home with him, he had returned to his Castle in the Western Lands alone. ‘Kami, I am so tired of being alone,’ he thought tiredly.

His Youki cried out for its Mate, pulling him, and he had to resist it for now. He must give Inuyasha time to come on his own.

As he landed on the balcony of his suite of rooms, he could tell Rin was in the sitting room. How long had she been waiting? He walked silently into the room to see a beautiful adolescent young woman, his adopted daughter, sitting at the low table he used for private meals and meetings. She seemed sad, and that upset him. Who or what had made her feel this way?

“Rin.” His low voice startled her slightly. “How long have you been here waiting for me?”

“Oh! My Lord! I am so happy to see you,” she smiled. “I have only been here since this afternoon; about three hours. It gave me time to think.”

“Mmmmm, but didn’t you have your training with Shizuka-san this afternoon? Did you miss your scheduled training?” he asked somewhat severely. To him, her training was very important. She already had incredibly dominant spiritual powers, and training to be able to use them correctly was very important.

Her head dropped, and she lost eye contact with him. “Yes, My Lord, I did miss my training. I just cannot seem to concentrate.”

“And why is that?” he asked her, kneeling to place his arm around her shoulders.

“My Lord, I know you asked me to think about my life very seriously, and I have. Yes, I still want to develop my skills as a priestess, but I have loved Kohaku for a long time now. I still do. I know he feels the same. We have written to each other often, and we used to see each other when Inuyasha-Ojisan would take me to the Slayer’s Village. Unfortunately, we have not seen much of each other since Ojisan’s miko returned.

“I know I am too young to marry, and I will always respect your wishes. But… Is there… What I want to ask is… Is there any way he could come and stay at the Castle sometime?” Rin asked softly, casting her gaze to the polished wood floor.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the top of Rin’s head, and started to stroke her hair while pulling her into his embrace. “Rin, I have come to realize a few things lately, and in doing so, I seem to understand your feelings better. As much as I want to protect you myself, I must recognize that Kohaku would be a very good choice as a mate for you. He is very strong, and could protect you and love you, as you deserve.

“Let me think on this, about the way we could integrate him into life here at the Palace. Once I have figured this out, I will let you know, and he can come here to stay; as long as you are both properly chaperoned at all times and his elder sister agrees. Would that make you happy?”

At his last statement, Rin’s head came up quickly and her shining eyes locked onto Sesshoumaru’s. “Yes My Lord! It would! Hontôni dômo arigatô!” She rose quickly, and then hugged him tightly before skipping off to her training, leaving a smiling Youkai Lord behind.

***

Things had not gone quite so smoothly for Inuyasha upon returning home. He too had postponed it for as long as he felt he could. He knew that no matter when he returned, he’d be ‘sat’ into the earth multiple times for daring to leave in the middle of an argument. He just didn’t want to go back at all. In his heart, he wanted nothing more than to leave and never look back, but he couldn’t do that.

So, here he was, standing at the edge of the village where their hut was, staring at the door, listening to Kagome rant inside. About him, of course.

He’d scented Kouga long before he reached the village, and knew he was with Kagome in their home. ‘Kouga. So she’s ranting to him? I almost feel sorry for the Wolf-cub,’ Inuyasha thought to himself.

He wasn’t feeling particularly generous towards the miko at the moment, so he masked his scent and aura, and waited, listening.

***

“I just can’t deal with him anymore!” Kagome whined. “He won’t listen to a word I say, and he can never agree with me. It’s almost like he resents me, when I’m the one who gave up everything to be here! He’s considered a ‘Prince of the West’, and yet where are we living?” She opened her arms wide and gestured at the hut they lived in. “He should have mated me in a way his pompous ass of a brother would recognize, but he never told me we had that option. Sesshoumaru even gave me a look that could kill the one time I greeted him as a brother! Which he is, since I am his brother’s wife! I haven’t done anything to deserve this!” Kagome nearly shouted.

Kouga was dumbfounded. “Kagome, are you serious? I mean, you’re my friend and I like you a lot, but if you had that necklace on me, I’d never come within a hundred miles of you. No one likes to be controlled or punished. YOU wouldn’t stand for that if it were reversed, right? So how can you expect Inuyasha to deal with it any better than he has? I still can’t believe he’s been so patient about it…”

“What?!” Kagome shrieked. Outside, Inuyasha’s ears flattened, trying to keep out the shrill sound.

“Damare!” Kouga held his hand up, telling her to be quiet. “You need to listen, Kagome. I realized before Naraku’s defeat that Inuyasha loved you more than I did, because he loved you even though you had him controlled. It’s why I stopped pursuing you and mated with Ayame. You should know Kagome, that any other demon would have simply killed you when they first had the chance after you put that necklace on them. That Inuyasha didn’t says a lot.

“It also says a lot about Sesshoumaru’s respect for Inuyasha’s feelings. I’m surprised he hasn’t come to kill you for the way you constantly harm a member of the Royal Family. He still might…” Kouga snarked at her.

Kagome had shot to her feet as Kouga began speaking, and had remained that way until he finished. She was furious. “Kouga! You think that way?” She stomped her foot and her hands were fisted at her hips. “If I didn’t have control of him, he’d be slaughtering humans whenever they made him angry. I’d never be able to live with him, because he’d never do anything I wanted him to if I didn’t have a way to force him! I just wish he could have used the Jewel to become fully human. We could have stayed near my family, instead of here.”

Kouga could only sit with his mouth open in shock as he listened to Kagome rant. He’d come to her hoping to reestablish contact; after all, she didn’t have a rosary on him, right? Things hadn’t worked out with him and Ayame, and he’d wanted to see if Inuyasha had left her yet, hoping to catch her on the rebound. Inuyasha obviously hadn’t left her. But now, he couldn’t even imagine wanting to be with Kagome, no matter how pretty she was. He’d never realized just how childish and selfish she could be. His respect for Inuyasha’s patience and control grew.

At that moment, without warning, Inuyasha stepped into the hut. Standing behind Kagome, she had yet to realize he was there, but Kouga’s eyes were instantly drawn to his face. The sadness and pain he saw in the Inu’s eyes was unfathomable; it actually made his stomach clench.

“Kagome,” Inuyasha said quietly.

The miko spun around, surprise written all over her features. “Oh! Inuyasha! Osuwari!!!” she screamed. “How could you scare me that way?! And where in the hell have you been?!” she demanded.

Kouga was appalled.

As he was pulled down by the spell, the Inu’s face had caught the wooden planks of the raised floor of the hut. He was bleeding badly from his nose and mouth, and even though the Ookami knew he wasn’t seriously hurt, he was still angry with Kagome.

Inuyasha had saved his ass more than once, he could admit that now (and the Inu had never bragged about it, letting Kouga keep his pride intact), so he decided he’d do what he could to help.

And besides, it was never a bad move to be on the good side of royalty.

After the spell had worn off enough, Inuyasha slowly stood again, spitting out blood. He didn’t yell, which surprised Kouga. All he did was speak quietly once again. ‘The Mutt seems to have aged decades.’ he thought.

“Kagome, I knew you had no respect for me. I knew in my heart you couldn’t truly love me, since you’ve refused to remove the rosary…it’s why I didn’t mark you as my eternal mate. Now, hearing your true thoughts and feelings… Well, never mind... I just think it would be better for everyone if you went back home. This era is not for you. I am not for you. I can’t stay with someone who can treat me this way,” Inuyasha explained calmly but sadly.

This calm attitude of Inuyasha’s only made Kagome even angrier. From behind her, Kouga could see she was drawing in a large breath, and he knew she was getting ready to yell the kotodama again.

While Inuyasha and he had never been the best of friends or anything, he couldn’t just sit by anymore and watch this. With his demonic speed, he launched himself up behind her and threw a hand over her mouth, holding her tightly so she couldn’t form any words.

Inuyasha was surprised. The Wolf was trying to help him? His eyes glazed over for a moment… It made him ashamed in a way; here he was, having this scrawny Ookami defend him. Maybe he truly was weak and pathetic…it certainly seemed that way, if he wouldn’t even defend himself.

Then, suddenly, he snapped out of his daze and came to a decision. ‘Enough is enough! Sesshoumaru, with more power than any other being, wants ME as a Mate. I have no business acting like this. This ends today! I’m better than this!’

“Kouga, release her,” Inuyasha ordered calmly.

“You sure? She’s gonna say that fuckin’ word again,” he replied.

“Yeah, I’m sure. And I’m sure she won’t say that word in my presence, ever again,” he said with calm confidence.

By now, Kagome was so angry she was shaking and could feel the anger and darkness bubbling up inside of her. How dare they do this to HER! She would show them both, as soon as Kouga freed her. Inuyasha was stupid to think she would not speak that word just because he said so!

Kouga released Kagome, and shoved her in Inuyasha’s direction. As she was opening her mouth to yell, a large section of Inuyasha’s black silk kimono sleeve was stuffed into her mouth. Her eyes went impossibly round in shock and anger as Inuyasha used another strip torn from his sleeve to tie around her head, so the wadded up fabric in her mouth could not be spit out. Inuyasha then spun her around, and tied her hands behind her with yet another strip of the silk fabric. Then he sat her down hard onto the mat closest to the door. Finally, he sat down too, facing her.

“Now, Kagome, you’re going to listen to me. For the first time since you freed me from Goshinboku, you’re going to listen to me while you’re angry. Yes, you were a friend before and listened when you felt like it. But when you’ve been angry, not once have you ever listened to me. Now you will.” Inuyasha stated firmly.

“I was coming back here to see if there was any possibility of salvaging our love, or even our friendship. Overhearing you though, has convinced me that neither is possible. I wish it could have been different. I’ve loved you with all my heart Kagome, but I think my refusal to become human so long ago, maybe that set something in your mind, that I was no better than a dog. No matter why you’ve treated me this way, the facts haven’t changed. You treat me like a dog on a leash, and a dog on a leash has no way of finding love with its abusive master. Can’t you see that?

“Kouga was right. You would never in a million years allow anyone else to do to you what you do to me. Yet, in your mind, I deserve it. Why? Simply because I disagree with you sometimes? Or because I’m Hanyou? Because I have demon blood? Well, that’s not a relationship in any way at all. And it ends today.”

Determinedly, Inuyasha rose, grabbed Kagome’s bound hands, hauled her to her feet, and stomped to the Bone Eater’s Well, shoving her in front of him the entire way. He was more hurt and furious than he could ever remember being in his entire life.

***

Through the subtle connection he had to Inuyasha, both through his blood and as family, Sesshoumaru was startled by the feelings of anger, betrayal, sadness, and resolve he sensed coming from his little brother so suddenly. What could possibly be happening?

***

Kouga had followed at a safe distance, thinking to step in if necessary. He knew that no matter how angry and hurt the Inu was right now, he’d regret it later if he killed Kagome. He waited to see what would happen.

Upon reaching the Well, Inuyasha stopped and grabbed Kagome’s hands in his. He untied them, pulled them around, and retied them in front of her before she could react. Then, very deliberately, he placed her bound hands on the kotodama rosary around his neck and held them there easily, even as she tried to pull away.

“Kagome, I would have loved you for eternity. I would have been your willing slave, but I can’t live with you enslaving me the way you have. It’s over. This is why I have never marked you as my True Mate, and now I’m happy I didn’t. An immortal life with you while having to wear this rosary would have been the purest form of Hell. You are going back home, and I am sealing the Well forever.

“Now, if you ever, for even one moment, felt love for all of me… Please, I am begging you, remove this before you go.”

Kagome’s eyes narrowed. He thought he was just going to get rid of her? She’d left her comfortable life in modern Japan for him! He should have done anything she asked, just in return for what she’d given up to be with him! Well, if he thought, after his hurtful words, that she’d just meekly remove the rosary, then he was delusional; and if she didn’t remove it, then he’d never be able to send her back and make her stay away from him.

She was very wrong.

She shook her head ‘No’ violently. He had his answer; and although her refusal cut his heart into tiny pieces, he knew he’d made the right decision.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, Kagome was astonished to see, not fear or hesitation, but resolve, determination, and deep sadness. For the first time since she’d returned, she felt like she was losing control over him.

Calmly, Inuyasha picked up the bound and now-struggling woman. Holding her over the Well, he whispered his final words to her, “I loved you Kagome. But now, I’d rather be sentenced to a lifetime of solitude and loneliness than stay with you. Goodbye, Kagome.”

And with that, he dropped her. To Kouga’s amazement, a bright purple-pink flash of light erupted from the Well, and in his shock he ran forward, needing to know what had happened.

Just as Kouga was looking down the Well, and noticing with amazement that Kagome had completely disappeared, Inuyasha said from behind him, “Kouga, back up NOW.”

Instinct forced Kouga to jump backwards at that tone in Inuyasha’s voice. It was fortunate he listened to his instincts, because at that very moment the Wind Scar slashed by him, completely obliterating the Well. Debris fell down into the deep hole, filling it solidly, and the wooden frame at the surface had been completely destroyed.

“Holy shit, Mutt-face! Are you tryin’ to kill me?!” Kouga shouted.

“Of course not, you Wimpy Wolf. It’s why I told you to get back,” Inuyasha stated calmly. ‘Should I use the Meidô Zangetsuha? I probably should, but if she tries to use the Well and ends up in that void, she’ll probably haunt me as a kyûketsuki or something. So, no, this will have to be good enough.’

“But why? Why destroy some dry well? And what the hell happened? Where did she go?” Kouga was understandably confused.

“Because it’s the only way I can think of to be sure that she can never come back, and I can’t think of another way to destroy this Well completely. As for where she went, she was from a time 500 years in the future. The Well was the portal she used to travel between her time and ours.

“Now, I am gonna sit here and wait, to be absolutely sure she can’t come back. I know her. She’s a kijo anyway, and angry enough that she’s probably doing all she can think of to make the Well work again from her time. I have to be positive I’ve destroyed it,” Inuyasha explained.

Kouga was getting tired of being shocked so many times this day. He was finding this very hard to believe. ‘Kagome from another TIME? How is that possible?’ he thought wildly.

“Okay, Inukoro, just how the fuck is that possible?” Kouga demanded.

“What, you think I know how it fuckin’ worked? All I know is that Kagome and I were the only ones who could use the Well. When I would disappear before? That’s where I went, to her time in the future. Honestly, didja’ never think anything was strange about her stupid clothes? Fuckin’ panchira all the time, she had no shame. Couldn’t be a munechira, right? At least breasts would have been entertaining.” Inuyasha sneered. “I begged her to wear something more practical, but nooo, she couldn’t do that,” Inuyasha smirked as he looked at the Wolf.

Suddenly, all the things Kouga had wondered about concerning Kagome started to make a little bit of sense.

“So, Inu, you want company while you wait?” Kouga asked, noticing how the sunset was making Inuyasha’s hair glow. ‘He wouldn’t be a bad choice for a mate, that’s for sure,’ the Wolf wasn’t quite sure where that thought had come from.

“Nah, not really. I’m gonna wait here for a while, then I’m leavin’ the village. I’ve had enough of humans. I think I’ll go to Sesshoumaru’s castle in the West. He asked me to come, and now I think I will,” Inuyasha stated quietly.

“Wait, Sesshoumaru asked you to come home?” Another shock for poor Kouga.

“Yeah. We talked the other day, and he asked me then,” Inuyasha said.

“Okay then. I think I’ll get back to my Pack. See ya’ around,” Kouga said as he turned to leave. ‘If Sesshoumaru asked him to come home, then I’d be smart to not interfere.’

“Hey, Kouga…”

“Yeah?” Kouga turned to look back.

“Uh, thanks. Thanks for grabbing her. We both know how I heal, but having her restrained for once was nice. I didn’t expect that, so thanks. I guess I owe ya’ one,” Inuyasha smiled.

“No problem, Inuyasha. See ya’ later,” Kouga said as he left, and Inuyasha was finally alone.

***

Sesshoumaru was confused. Such strong feelings of anger and hurt coming from Inuyasha before, then suddenly, those feelings were gone. He still felt some lingering traces of hurt, but there was more resolve there now. Again, he wondered what had happened.

‘I hope my Otouto’s resolve is about coming here. I do not know how much longer I can deny my Youki, and it is demanding I go and get him.’

***

After a full day and night of watching at the Well, Inuyasha finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was startled to realize he felt very different from how he’d imagined he would. He had believed that if he truly sent Kagome back to her time, he’d be feeling lost and abandoned. Alone and shattered. Instead, he felt relief, like a weight was removed from his shoulders. He felt kind of happy too, and he was looking forward to the journey to Sesshoumaru’s home. For the first time in his life, he was actually looking forward to his future with anticipation. It was a nice feeling.

He only wished he could have gotten her to remove the rosary. That would be his one regret about all of this.

Since Sesshoumaru had explained that stuff to him, he thought he could actually feel the beads weighing him down even more than before; chaining his Youki. Maybe he was imagining it.

Well, she was gone now, so he was stuck with them, and that just plain sucked. But it was nice to know Sesshoumaru still wished to be with him, even with the rosary.

He crept into the village in the early hours just before dawn, entering the hut he’d shared with Kagome. Quickly, he burned her ‘future-clothes’ that she’d had there, just so no one could find them later. Then he changed into his Fire Rat clothing, gathered up the outfits from Sesshoumaru, and came back out.

‘Wait, I’d better burn the bow and arrows too. If they have any remaining power in them, someone could get hurt.’ So he walked back in, and put the bow and arrows on the fire as well, and made sure it all had begun to burn well before he left.

He took nothing else; he’d leave the rest for the villagers. He stood for a moment on the porch of their hut, thinking of her; but then his mind turned to all the time he’d wasted, trying to make her happy… Happy enough to remove the rosary and love all of him.

‘Well, I’d better get started. I don’t think I’ll even say goodbye. They all were wary of me anyway, especially after my markings appeared permanently, so fuck’em. Let ‘em protect themselves for a change. I do deserve some happiness finally, just as Kaede said,’ was his final thought as he leaped to the tops of the trees in the Forest of Inuyasha, and began to speed towards the West.

~tbc
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MM doesn’t format things like I want them. So if you want the Japanese translations of anything, just ask.
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