InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Father Figure ❯ Backlash ( Chapter 10 )

AN: Drum roll please!!

And here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. The chapter where we all get to live out our pent up aggression through Denji. And all those sceptics among you who think I'm going to do my usual annoying habit of ruining this blessed moment by having someone stopping Inuyasha, or him breaking a nail or something so Denji gets away free…? Rest assured, no twists. Not until it's over at least…

Anyway - slightly longer chapter this time… maybe I drew out the Inuyasha vs. Denji scene longer than normal.

So enjoy!

Father Figure

Backlash

"I see…" Miroku said with a deep look of contemplation. "So Inuyasha has gone to avenge you, as it were?"

Kagome nodded glumly and felt Sango's arm tighten around her shoulders.

"And I thought you were bad, Houshi-sama." Sango said quietly, rocking Kagome lightly.

"At least I don't aim to traumatise the girls I acquaint myself with." He responded in an equal tone. They nodded in acceptance, knowing he was serious.

"I hope Inuyasha kills him!" Shippo said with feeling from where he was perched on Kagome's knee, facing the girl. It was like he was guarding her from further attack from anything else. "Anyone who does that to you Kagome - a quick and painless death would be too good for them!"

"Inuyasha can't kill Denji." Sango said, shooting the young Kitsune a doubtful look. "He's human."

"So?" Shippo pulled a face. "Does that make him any less evil than a Youkai?"

"No." Kagome answered for Sango. "He's just as bent and twisted… but Inuyasha can't kill him - it'll just make things worse…"

"Inuyasha knows that." Miroku consoled her from the other side of Sango. It seemed the demon exterminator was deliberately keeping any male from Kagome. "He won't be as dumb as to kill Denji. Maybe rough him up. But not kill him."

"We'll wait and see, shall we?" Sango didn't, for a minute, put her confidence in Inuyasha's intelligence to do the right thing. They'd all heard his shouting and cursing from the other side of Kaede's hut. The boy was angry… there was no telling what he'd do. Sometimes he could just be a little too protective of Kagome…

^_^

The whole house had quieted down. Souta had gone off to bed, as had Mrs Higurashi after wearing herself out with worrying over her daughter's disappearance. Denji started clearing up the lounge, putting away the new dog toys and turning off the television set. He moved around the kitchen for a while, washing the pots and dinner plates before turning off the light and heading back into the lounge to do the same in there.

His hand flicked the light switch and the whole lower floor of the house went dark. Time for bed. But no sooner had he put a foot on the bottom step of the stairs, he heard a discreet thump sound from the kitchen, as though something soft had just landed on the floor.

Probably just the dog, but he better go check to make sure it wasn't doing anything it shouldn't.

Back in the kitchen he looked around with confusion. The pup wasn't there, and there was nothing on the floor that looked as though it had just fallen there. But a slight draft of air brushed his skin and he looked up to see the window was now open all the way, the net drapes swaying slightly with a night breeze. No… he'd been sure that window had been closed a moment ago.

He moved forward and pulled it close with an effort… the window was a little stiff in its frame and make a creaking noise as he moved it. Surely no one could have just opened it a moment ago so silently? He was probably just getting scatty. He shrugged off his thoughts and turned to head back upstairs.

He'd started up the steps again when he heard another sound, just down the hall, the rustle of movement and what he thought was a glimpse of white. He stopped and leaned over the balcony of the stairs, looking down the hall. "Alright, who's there? Come out and show yourself." He said with a controlled calm.

There was no reply, but he hadn't really expected one either.

He moved slowly back down the stairs and wondered down the hall, leading into the kitchen again. There was nothing there.

A bang like a hammer on a nail echoed from the hall behind him and he jumped around and looked out the kitchen door, searching for the source of the disturbance. "Who's there?!" he hissed, but not too loudly, he didn't want to wake up the family upstairs.

A sharp crack of wood resounded from further up the hall and he dashed out of the kitchen, knowing the source at once. It was the shoe rack. When he arrived there he stared in surprise, not entirely sure what to think. The shelf that held his own shoes had broken in half - the others remained untouched.

"If you're trying to scare me, it won't work!" he hissed, even though he could feel the tingling of apprehension crawling up the back of his neck.

Suddenly, without warning, an amazingly strong force slammed into him, vice like hands with excessively long, sharp nails twisted both his arms behind his back in the speed it took for him to gasp - then he made no more sound as he was slammed up against the hardboard wall of the hallway, the wind knocked out of his lungs. The strain increased on his arms and shoulders as he was pushed further up the wall by the grip on his forearms alone. A rough, malicious voice spoke close to his ear, chilling him.

"But you're so close to pissing your pants." The grip on his arms tightened painfully and Denji clenched his teeth against crying out. "I'd love to keep on scaring you but I promised a girl that I'd be back in an hour after I killed you."

"Kagome - sent you!" Denji accused with a grunt.

"Any excuse!" He was pulled back and slammed against the wall again, harder than before. "Give me any excuse and I will kill you! Scream - and I will snap your hunched little neck! Fight back and I will smash your head into the ground! Do anything next and I will throw you to the ground and beat the shit out of you!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

The next moment, he was hurled to the ground on his stomach and kicked so hard in the ribs he was flipped onto his back. For a while he closed his eyes against the pain, before realising he had a clear view of his attacker now. He snapped his eyes open and blearily focused on the man above him. It was too dark to see details clearly, but he could easily make out the insanely long hair for a man, and the almost blood red colours of his old style clothes. "What are you - an assassin?!" Denji stared with a caustic laugh despite the situation he was in. The man gave a menacing, rather dog like growl from deep in his throat and stepped forward threateningly.

He stepped clear into the moonlight from the window and Denji's expression wiped of pain and anger. It was just a boy…

"I'm a Hanyou." Was the bitten remark. "And you picked the wrong day to mess with my human. Full moon always makes me a little energetic."

"You're Inuyasha." Denji stated flatly for a moment before dropping his head back on the floor and beginning to laugh.

Inuyasha's threatening growl increased in volume and he stepped forward to grab Denji by the front of his shirt and began to drag Denji towards the door.

"Where are you taking me Inu Hanyou?" Denji was still smiling as though this was all some ridiculous illusion.

"I'm going to go dig your grave and bury you alive in it." Inuyasha snapped heatedly as he kicked the front door open and began dragging the human man out.

"Did she order you to do this?" Denji asked him, wincing as the gravel of the driveway scraped at his back. "Inuyasha - her little lap dog. Forced to obey her from the word go… or was it 'sit'?" he laughed again.

Inuyasha turned, having enough of the man, and lifted him high enough to crack a damaging blow across Denji's jaw. No real harm… but there'd be one hell of a bruise in the morning. If he hadn't promised Kagome he wouldn't kill Denji, then he'd feel less inclined to hold back his full strength.

Denji seemed to reel as his senses were knocked flying, but a few moments passed and he looked back up at Inuyasha slowly, meeting a glare with a glare. "Did she ask you to kill me?"

"Funnily enough, it's not just Kagome who thinks molesting little girls in dark rooms is a sin punishable by death!" Inuyasha's fist tightened in his shirt. "Believe me," he muttered with barely controlled rage. "I have killed humans for less than what you have done. I have killed monsters for no reason - other than the reason they were in my way. You can't hide behind the fact you're a human, just to escape your death."

"Then by all means. Kill me." It was almost a dare.

"Don't tempt me." Inuyasha's eyes flashed. "Maybe I'm not allowed to kill you, but I could quite easily tie you up and drop you off in the middle of one of these roads… purely accidental of course that you'd die as a result when a metal carriage crashes into you - but at least it wasn't technically me who killed you."

Denji laughed again, irritating Inuyasha to the extreme. "You won't do that. I suppose Kagome-chan told you not to kill me. That would be just like her."

"YOU don't know Kagome!" Inuyasha hauled him up to eye level and gave him a rough shake. "So don't pretend you do - you're not fooling anyone! And you can drop the 'chan' you degrading little worm!"

"Oh I see - so this is your favour to her?" Denji pushed Inuyasha's hands away, but was only released because Inuyasha saw fit to release him. "She told you all about how I've 'mistreated' her. Don't believe a word of it, if I were you."

"Don't think for one minute that I'll take your word over Kagome's! Her words mean more to me than some fake's!"

"Indeed they do." Denji narrowed his eyes with an unpleasant smile. "You'd probably die for her wouldn't you? In that sappy romantic way teenage couples always pledge. I'll die for you Inuyasha - so won't you die for me? I'd avenge you if you were ever molested - so go avenge me!" he feigned Kagome's voice in a love struck tone that grated Inuyasha's nerves.

"You know shit."

"No, I know more than you think." Denji retorted. "You think that she's devoted to you don't you? That you have to protect her from harm because she'd weak and incapable of looking after herself. Well let me tell you that she's more capable of looking after herself than you think. All women are. Don't let them fool you."

"Shut your hole!" Inuyasha stepped forward and felled Denji with another sound punch to the head. If only he could hit without restrain… he needed to vent his anger properly! Holding back wasn't helping.

Denji pushed himself up with his hands. "You want to know how women defend themselves better than we give them credit for?" he asked rhetorically. "They use us. They hide behind their masculine shields and whenever they get attacked they send us to fight their battles."

"Kagome isn't like that, Asshole - you still know shit!"

"Kagome is more like that than any woman on earth!" Denji ground out. "It's called having a hero complex! You're her hero - her knight in red armour. You've saved her from danger, countless times, she's fallen in love with her hero - thinking that you can protect her forever!"

"Shut up - that isn't true!" Inuyasha was finding it increasingly hard to hold back and not attack Denji full on.

"But it is true - and a hero complex is a fickle thing." Denji continued. "The minute she finds someone stronger than you… someone better than you - a full Youkai perhaps…? … She'll be gone… You realise that as we stand here right now… you are probably the strongest creature on this earth."

Inuyasha ignored the ego that tried to inflate at the comment.

"But what about in your time where demons thrive all round? You're just a small fish in a big pond. You aren't the strongest creature there is when you're in that time, are you? The saying 'there are plenty more fish in the sea' comes to mind!"

"What are you babbling about?" Inuyasha hissed.

"Don't you get it?" Denji snorted. "Kagome-chan's never met anyone as strong as you before - women always desire the strongest men. The richest, the classiest - the ones who can protect them and provide best for them. Kagome's no different. She finds you - the strongest boy she's met and she thinks she's head over heels in love. I bet you think the same!"

"I told you to shut up." The control slipped fractionally and Inuyasha planted a fist in his stomach before regaining his temper again and stepping back, glaring daggers at the man.

"But…" Denji wheezed. "Wait till she meets all your friends from the Sengoku Jidai. She can have her pick of heroes then. She'll find someone stronger than you in a matter of time. The minute you let your guard down, someone will move in on your territory. The minute you fail to protect her like she always dreamed - she'll start falling out of love with you and look for someone else to be her hero."

"Kagome isn't like that!" Inuyasha repeated, letting the anger consume the fear that what Denji was saying was making sense.

"Oh, sorry. Does it hurt? You call her 'Kagome', so familiar - are you so attached to her already?" Denji spat a bit of blood onto the grass beside him. "Don't pamper your ego with such thoughts that she loves you. Remember - the minute you let her down… one time is all it takes… she'll abandon you."

"She's not a quitter. She's not flighty - or fickle!" Inuyasha hissed. "She's loyal and strong in both mind and soul! She's faced down monsters the size of buildings - she's killed a few too! And none have even fazed her as much as you… none have frightened her the way you have terrified her of her own family. You deserve to die - I don't care what she says!"

"So like I said - why don't you kill me and get it over with?" Denji replied smoothly. "Why don't you cut off the source of her fear?"

Inuyasha growled and dragged him forward again so they were almost nose to nose. "Now listen you cretin, because I am only going to say this once. You stay away from Kagome! If I hear you have looked at her, touched her, or spoken to her in any way, then I will be back with my excuse to kill you. I warned you. You're lucky that Kagome's a nice girl, she wouldn't wish death on anyone - not even you… but keep on going the way you've been going and you'll push her too far. She won't ask me to hold back next time. The next time I punch you your head will fall off your shoulders - you got that?!"

"And then you'll be just as guilty of murder as she is." Was Denji's cold reply.

"You just don't know when to shut up do you!" Inuyasha could contain his anger no longer and hit Denji so hard around the brow that the man slumped unconscious to the ground, a battered and bruised mess despite Inuyasha being on his best behaviour.

Inuyasha pulled a disgusted face and wiped a bloodied hand on his clothes. "Asshole." He muttered, before turning back and heading towards the well house. Hopefully that would teach the bastard for messing with Kagome. Now it was up to Kagome and her family to get the man out of the house.

^_^

The group looked up as they saw Inuyasha trudging out of the trees towards them. Kagome spotted the blood matting the knuckles of his right hand and her heart jumped into her throat as her body jumped out of Sango's embrace. "Did you-"

"No." he answered shortly before she had time to finish. "Just bashed him about… nothing deadly. Yet."

Kagome gave a shaky sigh of relief and slumped back down to the porch as Inuyasha came to a stop before her, arms folded and expression closed. "You have to tell someone." He said bluntly.

"But I already told you and-"

"No - I mean your family." He cut in. "You have to tell your mother. Denji spreads spiteful lies and rumours like an infection. If you leave it too long, he'll drug your mother into thinking all kinds of things about you. The sooner you tell her the truth, the better."

Kagome stared at the sparse earth under her feet, imagining how she would do just that. How did you tell a mother that her new boyfriend had molested her daughter? It sounded easy… just say it… but dealing with the aftermath would be the hard part. Dealing with her mother's questions, accusations and disbelief. There was no proof other than her word… would her mother believe her?

"She won't believe me." Kagome whispered, with meaning. "She won't. She love's Denji so much she'll go along with anything he says. She's blind. I want to tell her… but she doesn't trust me anymore."

Sango shook her head forcefully. "That's impossible. How could a mother not trust her daughter?"

"It's pretty easy when a man starts brainwashing her." Miroku pointed out.

"You have to tell her now. The longer you wait the less likely she'll believe you." Inuyasha told her seriously. "The sooner you tell her the sooner Denji will leave - and I'm sure you want him to leave just as much as me - if not more!"

"I know… I know…" Kagome breathed and pressed her hands over her face in despair. She'd tell her mother. There was no way around it. She had to. "I'll tell her in the morning, she'll be asleep by now."

"As we should be." Sango said, standing up and giving them all a meaningful look. They all traded looks over Kagome's head and started to head back inside Kaede's hut, leaving Kagome to some time alone with her thoughts. Inuyasha was just moving past her when her head reached out and caught the material of his hakama. He looked down to see her still staring at the ground as though it wasn't there. He waited for her to speak, which took a surprisingly long time. "What, Kagome?"

She started at the sound of his voice, as though suddenly remembering she was holding his clothes. "How…" she swallowed and tried again. "How bad is it…?"

Inuyasha shifted away, making her release his clothes so he could sit down beside her. "He's unconscious, lying on the ground outside your house as we speak. Well… actually, not as we speak, because as we speak, he doesn't exist yet in a way… not for another five hundred-"

"You didn't cripple him or anything?" she asked uncertainly.

He rolled his eyes. "No. Just punched him. I held back."

"Good." She sighed. "I thought you were really going to kill him."

"If he does it again I will kill him." He said with such complete seriousness that it scared her. "He had no right to touch you like that. He has no right to take over a family he doesn't look after properly. Forget what I said before - don't cherish having a stand in father, not when he's a complete prick like this guy."

She laughed lightly and slumped against his side, her head resting against his shoulder. The action took him by surprise and he sat stiffly for a moment before forcing himself to relax and awkwardly slide an arm around her shoulder, not sure if it was the right thing to do. It turned out ok, seeing as she shifted closer and clenched her fingers in the folds of his haori. "My hero…" she murmured with a light smile. "You always look out for me."

Something about what she said caused him to stiffen and stare off into space. She felt the change in him and frowned, wondering what was wrong. Suddenly he detached himself from her side and stood, refusing to meet her questioning gaze. "I'm tired…" he said simply, looking around for a decent tree to sleep in. "I'm going to bed - you should too. You need to get up in the morning to go home."

"Oh… alright…" she tried not to sound to dejected as she rose to her feet and slowly made her way to the drape covering Kaede's doorway. She looked around to whisper goodnight to Inuyasha… only to find he was already gone. She sighed and went back inside to unroll her sleeping mat for the night.

^_^

On the roof, Inuyasha stared up at the starless sky morosely. The clouds were cast over for the night, blocking the view of the heavens, but while his gaze was up there, his mind was elsewhere.

A hero complex… was that what they called Kagome's loyalty to him? If so he was majorly screwed…

If the only reason she stood by him, cried for him and took care of him when he was injured was because she was infatuated with this hero thing… then it was temporary… and one day it would wear off. Infatuations and obsessions were like that. Would she start to fall out of love with him when she met someone stronger? Someone like Sesshomaru? Or even… ugh… Kouga? The wolf was strong, and faster than Inuyasha. He'd sometimes had to save Kagome when Inuyasha had been to busy fighting to save himself.

Had it already started?

He'd already let her down too many times. Failed to be fast enough to get to her in time - let her get injured in a fight - sometimes he himself had been the cause of her injury. He'd let her down… would she start to drift away from him because of that?

Would… would the wolf become a more enticing prospect of a companion?

Inuyasha shook himself mentally and shifted on the thatched roof of the hut. He couldn't believe he was actually taking that bastard's words to heart. He should know better than to believe a liar like him…

Although… what he'd said had hurt, and there was often nothing more painful than to be told the truth… to have your eyes forced open to something you didn't want to see. Back when he taunted Kagome when they'd first met… or even when he'd all but shadowed Kikyo upon meeting her… he'd told the truth countless times, knowing that it would hurt more than lies, because there was no denying the truth.

Was that the case with Denji? Was he telling the truth…? He struck Inuyasha as the type to capitalise on people's feelings - finding the fear and zoning in on it.

Inuyasha growled and shifted again. No, it was a ridiculous thought to even dream of believing such a two-faced coward. He would not believe it. Kagome wasn't hat kind of girl - he knew the feelings she had for him were strong - whether or not it was love, he wasn't too sure yet. But he wasn't about to ask.

Though, there was a thin line between love and infatuation… and Inuyasha, of all people, couldn't even begin to recognise where one ended and the other began.

Did she love him…?

Or was it just infatuation…?

^_^

Kagome pulled herself out of the well with a grunt of effort, the ladder helped here since Inuyasha wasn't around to help pull her out, but it was still quite hard pulling herself over the rim.

For a long time she slumped with her back against the wooden structure, trying to summon the courage to step out of the well house and into her home. She'd been gone two nights and one day now… how would her family react to her now, after parting on such bitter terms?

A large part of her wanted to just duck back into the well and pretend she'd never come back… but the smaller part of her senses was in control, telling her to pick herself up and go back inside that house. She had to stop being childish and face her fears.

And what if she lost to her fears? Well… that was a risk that she couldn't avoid. The only leg she had to stand on was that she was right, she was the victim and Denji was the liar. She had truth and good on her side… Denji just had her family. Which was stronger?

Kagome drew in a shaky breath and stood up, pulling her bag over her shoulder and climbed the steps to the doorway of the small well house. She hesitated for only a moment, before pushing it open and stepping out into the cool day outside. The sky was overcast with grey clouds… nothing unusual about the weather. The house looked the same, as though it was just any other day she was returning from the feudal era…

Except today she felt sick with fear.

She tried to calm her nerves, telling herself that it was ok, it was just her family! She couldn't be scared of them - they gave her unconditional love! Somehow, these thoughts still didn't succeed in comforting her and she moved across the path, heading for the front door.

As usual, it was unlocked and open and she stepped in, wondering if anyone would be awake this early in the morning. It was around half past six after all… usually the house didn't wake until around eight or even nine on a particularly lazy day.

But she knew they were up the minute she stepped into the hall - she could hear gentle voices coming from the kitchen. Her determination slipped a little, but she firmly slapped it up again and set down her bag beside the shoe rack, fleetingly noticing that the shelf with Denji's shoes was broken.

She moved through the hall and once more found herself hesitating to go on. She decided to just stop thinking and fearing then and there… she stepped into the doorway of the kitchen and looked in.

Denji was sat at the table with a black and blue pace, puffed up from the beating he'd received. Her mother was tending to his wounds with a damp cloth that she had been dipping in a bowl of water on the table. Souta was hovering, as though he was guarding the first aid kit, sitting next to Denji at the table. Grandpa, was yet again, no where to be seen. Where was he anyway?

The thought was lost on her when they all looked up at her, and for a long time nothing was said as they all stared at one another. Kagome's eyes were on her mother alone, pleading silently with her and any gods that she'd neglected that this wouldn't turn nasty. She darted a look to Denji and couldn't help but feel a surge of grim victory at the wounds on his face. He was bleeding from a graze on his cheek… it was enough to give her a smug glint in her eye.

Her mother must have noticed it.

Slowly, Mrs Higurashi lowered the damp cloth to the table and straightened to look across at her daughter. Her expression was closed and opposing. "I think…" she sad slowly. "We need to have a little talk, Kagome."

The air seemed to be getting thin and Kagome had trouble taking in enough oxygen. She suddenly forgot how she was supposed to put her plight across… all she could think about was how much trouble she was in.

"You sent Inuyasha…" Her mother was speaking in a slightly jerky, dangerous tone that Kagome had never heard before. "To make an unprovoked attack on Denji… how could you do such a thing…?"

"I didn't send him to do anything!" Kagome protested at once.

"Then why did he suddenly show up in the middle of the night and leave Denji bloody and unconscious in front of the house - we only found him half an hour ago!" Her mother yelled. "He could have killed him!"

"I told him not to kill him!" Kagome shouted back, before realising her mistake. That was just as good as admitting she'd sent him in the first place. "I mean - I tried to stop him - he wouldn't listen to me-"

"Souta. Go to your room." Mrs Higurashi suddenly snapped at her son without looking at him.

"But I haven't done anything-"

"Go!" Mrs Higurashi turned a hot glare on him. "I don't want you to hear this."

Souta shoved away from the table, angrily. "It's not like the neighbours can't hear either." He grumbled, shooting Kagome a dirty look as he brushed past her towards the stairs. That look nearly felled Kagome… out of all the people in her family, she couldn't stand the thought of Souta hating her for this…

Mrs Higurashi waited until the door to his room had slammed shut before speaking. "You have got a lot of explaining to do, young lady. I see now that you've been telling the truth the whole time."

"What?" Kagome blinked at her mother in shock.

"About what you said you do in the feudal era…" Denji's voice was slightly slurred, his eyes closed against a headache.

"You really do fight demons, don't you? You really do make a living out of it. Inuyasha really is the thug that contends with these demons - despite your attempts to make him a shining star in our eyes." Mrs Higurashi glared at her. "What kind of monster that can just beat a defenceless man into a concussion?! That is not the kind of person Souta should be idolising! Not the type of person you should be devoting your time to! Do you understand where this could lead to?! He's violent Kagome - don't you see?!"

"Yes - alright - he has trouble controlling his temper and he's like superman in the strength department - but he's a good person!" Kagome cried in his defence. "If you got to know him you'd know that he wouldn't hurt Denji without a good reason!"

"But he did hurt Denji for no reason!" her mother snapped. "And you associate yourself with this kind of boy?!"

"He was only defending me!"

"From what?!"

"From him!" Kagome jabbed a finger at Denji, glaring with all her hate and terror pouring out of her in waves. "He's the one who's turned this family against each other - he's the one who's been bullying me little by little every day! He's the one who is driving me away!"

"The only one tearing apart this family is you, Kagome!" Her mother shouted. "Why are you doing this to us?! Denji has done nothing to you!"

Kagome clenched her fists, beginning to tremble, she looked at Denji with desperation. "Tell her! Tell her what you did to me! In the cinema!"

Mrs Higurashi snapped a look on her partner, frowning in confusion. "What is she talking about?"

Kagome managed to drag the last dregs of her courage up to speak… but her voice was shaky and uncertain. "He was… he was touching my knee…!" Her mother turned a shocked look on her, mouth slightly agape. "That's why I ran away…"

Denji looked blankly at Kagome, the annoyance clear on his face, but also mixed with confusion. He was a very good actor. "Oh yes… I seem to recall your dog friend saying something similar before he beat me to a pulp."

Kagome scowled at him. "What?"

"He said I'd molested you. I'd touched your ass, not your knee." He frowned. "He said that he was avenging you for touching your behind."

"He never… I didn't tell him you touched my ass… I told him you touched my knee!" Kagome stared in confusion before realisation snapped in her mind. No… he was twisting it all over again. "I told him you touched my knee! Nothing else! He must have slipped up - I told him it was my knee."

"No you told him it was your ass!" Denji snapped back. "Now you're coming here telling us a different story - if you're going to lie to us Kagome-chan, at least try and keep them in order!"

Kagome gaped at him. "He never said anything about my ass! You're lying!"

"No - you're the one who's lying! What have I ever done to you to deserve this kind of abuse Kagome-chan?" he frowned at her. "I've never lain a hand on you - how you think you can just make up this absurd story is beyond me!"

Kagome struggled for coherent thoughts. He had this planned out so much better than her… she didn't have a chance in hell of out talking him. She turned to her mother with pleading eyes. "Mom - you gotta believe me - he's lying - please! Don't believe him too - he's duping all of you! He's making out to be a really nice guy - the perfect man but he's not - it's all an act to hide his true nature-"

"I don't believe this." Denji griped with irritation.

"He hates me - he's trying to tear us all apart!" Kagome ignored him. "Please, you have to believe me - you're the only one left…"

Her mother snatched doubtful looks between her daughter and her fiancé… who was she going to believe? The daughter she knew and loved? Had raised and protected for the last fifteen years? Or the new man she'd only known for a matter of months.

Her expression changed and resolved as she looked at Denji. She'd made her decision. She turned back to Kagome with a patient look on her face. "I think… the well has been a bad influence on you. Getting mixed up in all that violence and blood shed has done something to you… you're not the girl you used to be."

"Mom!" Kagome shrieked, nearly falling over as she ran forward and gripped her mother's sleeves. "Don't do this to me! You have to believe me!"

Her mother turned her face away, as though embarrassed or ashamed of her. "You've been under a lot of stress… stress no teenage girl should go through. I don't know what you have against Denji, but you can't take out your anger on him. You can't let Inuyasha take out his anger on him either…"

"Mom…!" Kagome breathed, feeling her legs give out and she crumpled to the floor before the older woman

"I'll call someone to come by some time next week to seal the well properly. I won't have you going back there. No more running away or fighting demons. I don't want you to see Inuyasha again, or any of your friends. No doubt they're all just as bad as Inuyasha… damn… I never thought that boy would be such trouble…"

"You can't… Mom - you can't seal the well!" Kagome begged, forgetting her dignity and pride as she gripped her mothers apron. "You're asking me to cut off a piece of my life - I can't do that!"

"I have to. It's for you own good." Her mother responded calmly, though the underlying distress could be seen in the slight tremble of her chin. It appeared to be hurting her mother just as much as it was hurting Kagome.

Kagome pushed away from her, staggering to her feel with a broken gasp, she shot hate fuelled glares at both her mother and Denji as she backed away to the door. "I hate you! I hate you both! I can't believe you'd do this to me!"

She ran straight out of the kitchen and bolted up the stairs to her room. She locked the door behind her, all the while feeling the breathless sobs choking her throat and the unshed tears blurring her vision. She ran to her closet and pull out a large bag - larger than her usual yellow one. Immediately she set about her room, grabbing her real necessities. Many, many sets of clothes, shoes, pictures, albums, books. She didn't waste time of trivial luxuries such as her music, her hair styling equipment or any packets of food.

She'd have all the food she needed in the feudal era.

She angrily swiped her tears away as she stuffed all the clothes into her bag. If her mother had the obscenity to chose between her boyfriend and her daughter, than Kagome was well within her rights to choose between her family and her second family. Kagome's mother had lost out. Kagome was leaving, and this time she wasn't coming back.

"Kagome!" the handle of her bedroom door rattled, but didn't open against the lock. Her mother started banging on the door instead. "Kagome - open this door right now! What are you doing in there!"

"Go away!" Kagome yelled, in full rage. "I hate you! I can't believe you'd choose to believe him over me! I'm your daughter - your own flesh and blood and you choose a total stranger!"

"You're not thinking clearly these days Kagome!" Her mother was still tried to battle the door. "Open this door - we need to talk!"

"We just did talk!" Kagome struggled to zip the bag up over its bulging contents. "Just leave me alone!"

"No - I love you - I won't let you destroy yourself and your life like this!" Her mother cried, there was a desperate edge to her voice that made Kagome pause. "You're angry that I brought a new man into the house without consulting you and now you're saying he's abusing you - I'm sorry but that's a little hard to believe! He's a teacher, Kagome! They do checks on teachers all the time - they'd never let him teach if he was the kind of person you say he is! You're wrong - and I'm sorry you're angry at me and him, but you can't do this to us!"

Kagome clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in pain and betrayal.

"Don't push me away Kagome!" her mother called. "I love you - don't tear this family apart anymore that it has been! Please!"

A long silence stretched out before her mother spoke again. "Let me in… Kagome…"

Kagome hesitated a moment, before she slowly turned and moved to the door to pull the lock back and turned the handle to pull the door open. She looked up at her mother in mixed anger and shame.

Mrs Higurashi looked past her to the bag on the bed and swallowed. "Were you just going to run away?"

"You chose Denji. I choose Inuyasha." Kagome said in a quiet voice.

Her mother sighed and moved past her into the room to sit on the bed. She patted the space beside her, but Kagome didn't move to take it. "Look… I promise you, I won't seal the well. I understand and respect that you have a life built there as well and keeping it from you is like cutting off an arm I suppose. But treating Denji like this has to stop. I'm sure when you allow yourself to get to know him then you'll like him the way Souta does. We can be a proper family again. Your hate for him is unwarranted…"

"No it isn't…"

He mother shook her head. "Kagome, sit with me, please?" She waited for her daughter to slowly move across to her and slide down onto the edge of the bed, a few feet away. "I don't want you going through the well at all until you make amends with Denji. I hate seeing you this way… it hurts me… please try to understand that I want you to be happy here - and once you are - you can travel back in time as much as you want - though just be wary of Inuyasha, ok?"

Kagome closed her eyes against a wave or remorse. Her mother was refusing to believe her. She was being told the truth, repeatedly, but she wasn't opening her eyes. Trying to convince her that Denji was corrupt wasn't going to work. Going through her mother to get rid of Denji was hopeless… "Fine. I lied. And I promise I'll try to get to know him and like him from now on."

"Really?" her mother sagged in visible relief and a small smile graced her lips. "I'm so glad… the sooner you get to know Denji the sooner you can go back to seeing Inuyasha."

"Mm." Kagome nodded with a tight expression.

Her mother squeezed her shoulder and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Kagome didn't relax after she'd left…

There was no way she would ever get to know Denji. No way she would ever like him. There was no way that she would even try to like him. He was a bastard and Kagome knew it. But seeing as her mother wouldn't believe Denji was anything but a human angel, she would have to find another way to get rid of him…

And another thing was certain. She was not going to forego visits to the past just for her mother and Denji. And she certainly wasn't going to prevent Inuyasha from visiting whenever he pleased…

Denji was not going to rule her…

AN: I guess the story is close to coming to a close soon… I hope… then I can get back on with life Exchange.