InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Father Figure ❯ At the Limit ( Chapter 9 )

AN: It's weird, they keep playing this continual advert on TV for a waist band that electronically stimulates the ab muscles. Every time I look up at the TV all I see is twitching ab muscles! @_@ Not nice! (well, nice on the men at least…)

Well you all couldn't wait for Inuyasha to kick Denji's ass… I think you'll like this chapter ^_^

Father Figure

At the Limit

Despite what she'd told Inuyasha, Kagome hadn't gone straight home. If truth be told, the thought of spending a whole day in the same house as Denji made her stomach turn…

She couldn't face up to him or her family - not for hours of scrutiny. She'd pass on that. So to eat up time she hung around her friend's house, catching up on the gossip, picking up the gifts that Hojo had sent to her… as well as the homework.

But all good things came to an end, and it wasn't long before her friend's phone rang. It had been Souta, asking Kagome to come back for dinner.

There was no real way out of it.

"I'm home!" she called as she walked in the door and stepped out of her shoes with practised grace.

"In the kitchen!" her mother called back. Kagome heard the clinking of plates and cutlery from the room. As she went to join them she received a few odd looks from her mother and Souta. "Where were you all day?"

"At Orika's house." She answered simply as she took her seat between her mother and brother… keeping her eyes trained on her plate… anywhere but Denji opposite her.

"Thought you might have been arrested by the fashion police." Souta quipped around a mouthful of Oden.

Kagome flushed slightly and glared at her plate. "Shut up." She muttered, half-heartedly.

From that point on Dinner went on in silence. For a while Kagome wondered where her Grandfather was, but knew better than to ask… that would just be asking for trouble and a dig from Denji. She just wanted to eat and run. The less talk, the sooner she'd be running.

"So how's school keeping up, Kagome-chan." Denji broke the silence.

A cold feeling clenched her insides and she struggled to swallow that last mouthful around the lump in her throat. "Fine." She managed to answer, a little more bluntly than she'd intended. She caught the glare her mother shot her for that. She tried again. "It's fine… thanks for asking." Though her voice was barely above a whisper.

The concerned thought hit her… when had she turned so timid?

Her appetite was lost on her and she began picking at her food, pushing it around her plate with no real interest. She heard her mother sigh patiently and looked up. "Kagome - for goodness sakes, what is the matter with you?" her tone of voice was slightly angry with a hint of the venom her mother was capable of when she was out of patience. What remained of Kagome's appetite disappeared completely and she started to feel queasy.

"Nothing. I'm just not hungry." She said quietly, not meeting her mother's eyes.

"You're never hungry - you never eat with the family anymore!" Mrs Higurashi scolded. "It's like you don't want to be a part of it anymore!"

"I'm just not hungry, alright?!" Kagome cried back defensively. At least she wasn't lying so far. She shot a look at Denji who was watching her in that calm, collected way. It would have been better if he was glaring, or leering… but with that neutral expression she didn't have a clue what he was thinking.

"You were down the well weren't you?" Her mother pushed. It was amazing. Now her mother didn't even need Denji to start am argument with her. "I told you, you weren't supposed to go there."

"I haven't been there!"

"Then where were you all day?"

"I told you - Orika's house!" Kagome cried.

"It's true." Denji jumped in. "I was there when Souta called Orika up."

Kagome didn't know whether to feel more relieved or threatened. Perhaps both. "See? I'm not lying to you, Mom."

"Though this morning, you were with Inuyasha, weren't you." Denji went on, watching her carefully. "He was in your room. Was he in there all night?"

Kagome swallowed hard and stared at him with wide eyes. No… he couldn't possibly be trying to insinuate that… she darted a look at her mother who looked downright betrayed. "Mom - that's not true! He just came to wake me up!"

"Right. The Hanyou from the past is Kagome's wake up call. And I suppose he went straight back home when you got up?" Denji narrowed his eyes slightly.

"N - yes!" Kagome grimaced at her mistake. God… just dig herself deeper, why didn't she?

"He didn't come to wake you up did he?" her mother asked quietly.

"No…" Kagome's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"He was there all night." Her mother snapped a fiery gaze on her daughter. "Christ Kagome - you're underage!"

"Mom!" Kagome screeched. "How could you think something like that of me?!"

"It's true isn't it?" her mother pressed.

"No!"

"Out of all the lies you've been feeding us lately, Kagome, you expect us to believe this one too?" Denji asked snidely.

Something in Kagome snapped and she turned a furious glare in him. "Us? This has nothing to do with you! This is between me and Mom - stay out of this! How dare you step out of the blue and start assuming control over me like a parent! I barely know you!"

"Kagome!" Her mother barked angrily. Kagome's spark diminished and she realised what she'd done. "How dare you speak to Denji like that! He's done nothing but take care of this family like a father - the least you could do is respect the fact that he's trying to help us! Trying to help you!"

"Help me?!" Kagome yelled, feeling the emotional prick of tears in her eyes as she threw back her chair and stood up. "If you wanted to help me just leave me alone!"

Of course, that parting sentiment held no meaning. She just said it because at the time, it had sounded fairly decent. She stormed out of the kitchen, ignoring her mother's outraged shouting for her to come back that minute. She flew up the stairs and slammed the door so hard a picture frame fell off the wall beside her mirror.

Alone again, she struggled to keep the emotion bottled up inside. She wouldn't be weak. She just wouldn't give Denji the satisfaction of hearing her cry. She had to be strong… she couldn't be a coward… just couldn't. The tears threatened to choke her throat and a few escaped her eyes, spilling down her cheek.

But within a matter of moments she began to feel her body calm down… she was getting better at controlling the tears. A few moment seconds and the smothered sobs in her chest had ceased and she could breathe again… shakily… but without sobbing.

She stretched the baggy sleeve of her jersey over her fists and dashed at her eyes as she turned her gaze to the ceiling, sinking down to the floor against the back of the door. Downstairs she could hear her mother and Denji arguing over her. Of course, they weren't arguing to each other… more like bitching about Kagome in loud disgruntled voices.

"I've never seen her behaviour this bad before!" he mother was shrilly in anger. "I'm so sorry Denji - you must think I'm an awful mother."

"Of course I don't." his voice had turned soothing, almost too quiet for Kagome to catch. "You're an excellent mother."

"I was so looking forward to you two getting to know each other. She's usually such a nice, kind, refined girl… I don't know what's wrong with her. She's suddenly rude to me and you… and look at her clothes… it has to be a phase or something. Just hormones maybe…"

Kagome clamped her hands over her ears, blocking out the muffled sound of the conversation below. But it still didn't block out the sound of Souta's heavy footsteps up the stairs, or the fist he slammed against her door, jarring her body. "Well done Kagome!" he hissed spitefully and stomped off to slam into his own room.

Kagome clenched her hands tighter over her head and felt the tears threatening to spill again. No… the walls and floors weren't that thick… if she broke down and cried they would hear her.

But she knew that she couldn't hold back the floods for much longer. She needed out of that house. Since when her home had become her living hell, she had no idea. It had been a gradual transition since Denji had arrived. Well… right then she felt more secure and safe in a feudal age with demons, ogres and samurai.

She dashed at her eyes one last time and sniffed as she rose to her feet. She hurried to her bed and pulled out the dull yellow canvas bag from underneath. She spent a few moments going through it, checking she had everything she needed before closing it up again. A few packets of ramen for Inuyasha, that swimsuit magazine for Miroku, the few odds and ends that she'd need such as tooth paste, tooth brush, comb, moisturiser, hair styler, study books, nail polish.

She rummaged through her drawers and snagged a few extra sets of clothes and stuffed them into the bag as well. It was now considerably heavier than before, but she needed the stuff… she didn't intend to come back.

Well… not for a while at least.

It was strange, she thought, as she carefully pulled up her window and slipped out into the cool evening, that a few days ago - yesterday even - she had sworn she wouldn't be a coward and run away. That she wouldn't abandon her family to a man like Denji…

But now that didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was that she needed to get out of there - away from the angry looks of her mother and Souta… away from Denji and his creepy aura… away from the possibility that he would touch her that way again…

She wanted to worry them. Make them all fret and panic that she'd never come back - that they'd screwed up and lost their only daughter. She indulged in that little fantasy as she carefully climbed down the tree outside her window. She imagined the way they would cry and beg her to come back - promising that they'd never let Denji back into the house again as long as she would come back!

But would they choose Denji or Kagome… the perfect father or the suddenly unruly teenage girl…?

Kagome had seen all the movies - where the parents always chose their children over their partners every time. It was a matter of love. Children were more precious than anything anyone else could offer. But was it that way in real life?

The answer was no. It sounded harsh, but it was the truth. They believed Denji… not Kagome… they stuck up for him at the drop of a hat - while Kagome had to struggle along to defend herself.

Right then, she knew it was a nasty thought, but she didn't give a flying fig that she was abandoning them. Leave them in their own mess, she thought crudely. The anger and rage at Denji making her heart bitter.

She heard the muffled sound of the television playing in the living room, and saw the warm glow cast by the window. Her mother and Denji had forgotten about the little fiasco at dinner already and were now watching the comedy hour, snuggled together and chuckling at the box.

Kagome clenched her fists. Didn't they care about her feelings? Didn't Denji care about what he was doing to her. Just by those simple callused and cutting remarks, the neutral stares that seemed to penetrate her soul. And that one touch to her knee… it had held all kinds of dark, disgusting feelings that Kagome could still feel. Her knee itched at the mere thought and she immediately tried to set it out of her mind. It was funny how a simple touch to the knee had shaken her to her very core.

She hurried to the well house and slipped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar like it usually was. She tiptoed towards the well and heaved her pack off her shoulder, before dropping it down into the well experimentally. It disappeared, like it usually did - but she couldn't never be too careful and dive in head first. Not after that time when Inuyasha had sealed the well. She'd hit the bottom like a dead weight and winded herself…

And he thought he'd been protecting her - she'd nearly sprained an ankle from that experience!

She dropped down into the well and felt the familiar floating sensation that accompanied the transition between the two eras. Five hundred years rewound in a matter of five seconds… and she touched down lightly on the ground, only to stumble over her bag and crumple to her knees.

At once she noticed the difference. The fresh air… the dim light that shone around her in the evening… an age so much purer than her own in a weird way. Dangerous, but the earth was still young. For a moment she just knelt there, eyes fallen closed as she breathed in a deep steadying breath.

Home… this was what home felt like…

There was a tapping sound above her and she looked up to see Inuyasha looking down at her with a lopsided sort of grin. It was the first time he looked more or less pleased to see her. "Glad you finally got your wits about you." He cocked his head at her.

Despite herself, Kagome felt a tug of a smile on her lips. Inuyasha had the power to either make or break her day. Fortunately, it was one of those good days she valued so much.

Yes… this was home…

^_^

"I don't think I've ever seen a flea move that fast." Sango laughed lightly as she sipped at the fizzy drink Kagome had brought. Miroku though the substance was… an acquired taste, but she liked the tangy taste. "Hears the word 'fiancée' and he's off like a firecracker."

"Oh I don't know…" Miroku was smiling too. "When the general danger thing approaches he's pretty fast in his getaways."

"Not as fast as Shippo though." Inuyasha cackled at the kit's expense.

"I don't run away in the face of danger!" Shippo stuck up for himself.

"Oh, that's right. You stay and tremble so hard I'm sure even Kaede could hear your knees knocking together from this village. And we all know how deaf she is." Inuyasha tucked into his ramen.

"I heard that!" came a warning call from the hut.

Inuyasha shrugged and went back to eating while everyone else huddled around the fire, chatting away like good friends do. Only… something wasn't quite right. He stopped eating and tried to figure out what was missing. He looked around and spotted Kagome leaning back against one of the nearby trees. She was watching them with a light smile, eyes half closed.

"What's with the face?" he asked pointedly. She slid her gaze to him and her smile widened slightly. But she said nothing and went back to watching the fire.

She hadn't touched the food that had been presented for her. She really was planning to starve herself wasn't she. Well… there was no point telling her so otherwise she'd get defensive and self-conscious about it - then refuse to eat out of spite. That was ok… because he had a plan…

He finished off his ramen and quickly regretted it… now he'd have to make room for what he wanted to do next. He moved to the little tray of morsels she'd been given and picked one up. "Not hungry?" he asked, popping the food morsel into his mouth.

"No." she shook her head. "you can have it if you want."

"Nah… too full." He shook his head. "How about we make a bet?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't know… the last time we had a bet you ended up loosing so badly I had to start taking possession of your clothes - and after that I had to start staking claim on body parts-"

"I know!" he said quickly. "This doesn't involve winning body parts anymore."

"I still own your left buttock by the way." She chided.

"Which I plan to win back right now." He said with a glint in his eyes "If I win - I get my butt cheek back - if you win - name your price."

"You're right buttock."

"No!" I groaned. "We're not doing body parts this time!"

She sighed and shifted against the hard bark of the tree. "Fine… if I win… I get to… have free rides wherever we go from now on."

"Is that all?" he looked surprised.

"Yes." She blinked.

Well, he'd expected something unreasonable, like a few extra days away in her time again without hassle. Well, carrying her close was better than allowing her to leave. He was going to turn out the winner of this bet no matter who triumphed.

"So what are we betting on?" she sat up as Sango and Miroku continued to chat away on the other side of the fire.

"I bet you can't each ten of these rice balls before I can." He said with a cocky, arrogant quirk of the lips.

She stared at him, and then at the rice balls. He wondered if she caught on to his game when she shook her head. "No way… you'll always win at scarfing food down faster than the speed of chewing."

"Not true!" he feigned offence. "Anyway, I'm full on ramen - so we have a more equal chance." He refrained from saying that she looked especially hungry… he didn't want to give the game away.

"I suppose." She looked at him suspiciously before shifting forward. "you're on. Ten rice balls?"

"Ten rice balls." He nodded and they both picked one up and locked gazes. Then at once the race was on. Kagome stuffed the cake into her mouth and Inuyasha did the same, wishing that he hadn't eaten so much ramen before hand.

Kagome was on her fourth rice ball by the time he reached the second. At once, the competitive streak inside him kicked into high gear. His motto: I shall never lose to anybody, no matter the circumstances, resounded in his mind. He sped up the pace and quickly caught up to her on the sixth cake and started to overtake. She saw this and frowned as she tried to eat faster, but was having difficulty.

By now the other three had stopped their conversation and were watching Kagome and Inuyasha battle it out for supremacy. Inuyasha finished his ninth rice ball and started reaching for the last one. Kagome's eyes widened and her hand shot out to snag the ball he was about to take. It was the last one left - and she was just finishing her ninth. Inuyasha saw her about to take a bite out of the tenth cake and lunged for her, trying to tackle the cake out of her hand. She squeaked and ducked out of the way, running around the other side of the fire, the cake on its way to her mouth.

"Noooo!" Inuyasha appeared out of nowhere, snatched the cake millimetres from her lips and rolled to a crouch, ending in time to pop the cake into his own mouth and look around triumphantly at the others. "Yes! I'm the winner! I knew I could do it!"

"A proud day for Hanyou's everywhere." Miroku said dryly as Kagome clapped.

"Nice dive." She told him. "I guess this means you now officially own all your backside again."

He exhaled heavily and sat back down, letting his behind get reacquainted again as his stomach churned in protest. "Damn… I feel sick…" Well, it was worth the discomfort to see Kagome willingly eat up nine rice balls in one go.

^_^

"How come every time Kagome leaves - we get like a gillion rumours on Shikon shards - but when she comes back - there's not a dickey bird." Shippo complained loudly. "I think it's a conspiracy…"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as the kid rambled on and slid his gaze towards where Kagome sat at the end of Kaede's porch, she sat staring off into space again with that glazed look, hugging her knees and leaning sideways against a post.

She'd been alright last night, after losing the bet with the rice balls. But all through today she'd been sighing and making sad faces and generally looking miserable. Evening had sent in, and if possible, she was getting worse.

"Kagome, what the hell's the matter with you?" he called across to her, barking it out to get her attention… not sure she would hear him otherwise.

For a moment she stiffened up, until her eyes became glassier and her forehead sank to her knees, her body beginning to shake with quiet sobs. Shippo gaped at Inuyasha in shock while Inuyasha in turn gaped at Kagome in horror. Dammit… he hadn't meant anything mean by that… he'd just been concerned!

Tentatively he edged towards her, leaning down to try and see her face through the gaps in her folded arms, but she just hugged herself tighter and tried to turn away, her frame still trembling. He looked around helplessly… there was no one to comfort her, other than himself and Shippo - and Shippo wasn't incredibly useful as a comfort aid. He glared at the Kitsune pointedly, silently ordering him to 'beat it'. He wanted to deal with Kagome alone, he didn't want Shippo watching.

When the kid had disappeared round the corner he turned back to Kagome and scowled, unsure, still, what to do. "Why're you crying?! I only asked what was wrong!" he said defensively.

"Leave me alone!" she mumbled against her trousers.

"No I will not!" he straightened. "I've had it up to hear with you attitude! You've been acting so weird lately - I don't know what's got into you."

He frame shook harder as vocal sobs tore from her throat. Unwittingly, he'd just parodied her own mother's speeches.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, hovering over her and beginning to get nervous. "Come on Kagome… stop crying - it's so girly!"

"I am a girl!" she told him hotly between wet sobs.

"I know that! But you're not a girly girl!"

"Says… who?!" she looked up at him defiantly, the tears running freely down her face.

"Says…" he fumbled for words. "What kind of girl wears clothes like that? They look like men's clothes! What happened to the skirts you wore?"

"I got tired of them. They show too much. They lead people on…" she buried her face in her knees again.

He was entitled to agree with her there, but kept his mouth shut on that one. However, he wanted answers. "Right. This is getting ridiculous." She ground out, toughening up to her tears. "First you're all moody at me when I talk to you, you bite my head off at the simplest action or comment! Second, you burst out crying at the simplest action and comment! Then you stop eating - and don't look at me that way - it's so obvious how alarmingly think you got in such a short space of time! And now you're dressing weird to hide how thin you are! What is going on with you?!"

"I'm not hiding the fact I'm thin!" she snapped. She knew she was thin, it wasn't stupid anorexia or bulimia… she just couldn't eat with Denji around. "Being thin has nothing to do with it!"

"Then why are you dressing down like that?!"

"Because I want to! Because of Denji! I have to!" she snapped, half panicking that the fear was slipping from her own lips. She couldn't tell Inuyasha!

"Denji?" Inuyasha reared angrily. "That's fucking ridiculous! First you try and please him despite him being all jerkish and nasty - and now because he tells you to dress a certain way you do it for him! What are you - a carpet?!"

"Stop it!" she yelled, in full hysterics, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. "I'm not doing it because he asked me to!"

"Then why?!"

"Because!" she yelled, as if that was the end of the matter.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and circled her, looking up and down her form shrewdly, putting her on edge in a severe way. "You don't eat because of Denji! You don't stay with your family because of Denji! You won't stay with us because of Denji! And now you won't wear your clothes because of Denji or act normal because of Denji! Fuck Denji Kagome! You're a push over - a stupid little push over!"

"I'm not! I'm not! I swear I'm not!" she broke down into tears again, barely speaking coherently. "I hate him! I hate him so much I think my heart will tear apart! God I hate him more than anyone - Naraku, Sesshomaru - even Jaken! I hate him!"

"Then why-"

"Because he wants the opposite!" she stood and screamed at him. "He wants me to be calm and perfect - so I run away and do naughty things! He wants me to dress like I do normally - so I dress like a boy! I can't stand eating near him - he criticises me at every opportunity!" She broke off with a choked sob. "I can't stand him! I can't! God I want to hurt him so much - but I can't! I had to run away because he scares me - because if I stay I'll be worn down into this carpet girl you think I am! If I stay there I'll just crumble and die!"

Inuyasha stared at her, perplexed. "I don't understand…" he hadn't realised it was this bad.

"What's to understand?" she sniffed angrily and flopped back onto the porch. "He's a leech. He sucks the life out of me little by little. I had to leave… he's turning my whole family against me. And they all think I'm a liar and they won't believe what I say anymore."

Inuyasha sat down beside her as she seemed to gain some control. Though her eyes were still raw with tears. "I'll help you." He said simply.

She laughed harshly. "No you can't." she looked at him with self-pity. "You can't help. You're strong - you can fight any enemy and stand a good chance of winning. But this is my time. Enemies are weaker… but they're that much more stronger. You can't kill Denji - you can't just stick Tessaiga in him and end the problem, though how I wish you could. Life can never be that simple where I come from."

He stared at her, surprised. Since when had Kagome harboured such ill thoughts about anyone. Though… he knew she must have had more reason to it than just a few scathing remarks from Denji. There was something she was holding back, and a horrible clawed feeling twisted his stomach. His voice was deep and threatening when he spoke. "What did he do to you to make you so hateful?"

She was quiet for a while. He sobs had subsided and she stared straight ahead. Then without warning she reached over and touched his knee, squeezing it in a rather suggestive way. "It's amazing, isn't it?" she asked, still staring ahead.

He watched her hand on his knee, his heart doing silly little flip flops in his chest. He didn't understand her meaning, he didn't know what this had to do with Denji. "Does this scare you?" she asked quietly.

"No." he answered hesitantly. Should it?

"It's different when someone you know and trust touches you." She went on quietly, almost bitterly. "But when someone you hate… you loathe… touches you so intimately and you can't do anything about it…" she gave his knee one last caress before letting it go limp and looking at him. "It terrifies me. That he could do it again and no one will be there to help me… or believe me."

He snapped a stunned gaze to her, acutely aware of her hand still resting on his knee.

Denji… was going to die…

With a vicious snarl he ripped himself from the porch, away from her touch and started storming away, towards the well. At once Kagome panicked - this wasn't supposed to happen. "What are you doing?!" she yelled, running after him.

"I'm gonna tear him a fucking new hole in his fucking neck!!" Inuyasha yelled, ignoring the pulls as she tugged on his haori.

"Don't! You'll just make things worse!" she cried, devastated at what she'd sparked off.

"They're already worse!!" he spat. "I'm gonna fix things once and for all! NO ONE can get away with something like that!"

"But-"

"If you want to stop me you'll have to sit me!" he snapped, whirling on her with his head cocked in suggestion. "Well? Say sit! Go on - stop me - I'll only go later when I can stand again!"

Kagome's mouth worked, before she finally summoned words. "Don't kill him…" she couldn't say the S word… some sick part of her wanted Inuyasha to go and take her revenge. She wouldn't stop him.

He watched her carefully before hissing a venomous curse out and turning to run. He was satisfied she wanted this too. She wasn't going to stop him - that was as good as giving him her blessing!

Denji was a dead man…

AN: Ah… bliss…