InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forget Me Nots ❯ Scars ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“This is so stupid…” I grumbled, my arms folded over my chest as I leaned back against the large boulder.

“Oh stop complaining, I’ll only be a few minutes,” Kagome’s voice came back to me from the other side of the rock outcropping. I tried not to think of what she must be doing over there. Taking her clothes off and slipping into the water… putting that soapy stuff in her hair and all over her- I shook my head violently, telling myself to knock it off. I couldn’t believe I was even thinking like this!

I briefly wondered what the big deal was about bathing. She hadn’t smelled all that bad to me. But nevertheless, she had insisted that she needed to bathe and to change into ‘normal clothes,’ since I had apparently kidnapped her while she was in her ‘pajamas.’ I could only guess that the warm pants and sleeveless tunic she wore were sleeping clothes.

I sighed and settled back against the boulder, letting my eyes trail up to the sky. How on earth had I let this happen? She was supposed to be my hostage, only Kagome didn’t seem to see it that way. I had taken her from her home by force and yet she acted completely at home with me and in the den. I didn't get it.

I should tell her...

It all came down to that, I decided with a sigh. I sure wasn’t making any progress on my own, and Kagome seemed to know what was going on. The question was, would she tell me anything? More importantly, would she tell me the truth? I sighed again. Only one way to find out…

My thoughts were cut short as I heard the distinct splashing sounds of someone exiting the water of the river behind me. It suddenly occurred to me that Kagome’s towel and ‘normal clothes’ were sitting on the ground, neatly folded right beside me. Before that thought could connect in my brain, Kagome walked around the boulder, smiled sheepishly down at me, picked up her clothes, and walked back around to the river.

I sat in frozen terror. I was so sure she was going to kill me right then. She had just walked right in front me nearly naked! Sure, she had some kind of form-fitting, shiny thing covering her body, but that was still a heck of a lot of skin!! I could see all the way up to her hips! How could that girl walk around like that so casually?! I slapped a hand over my face, hoping I wasn’t getting a nose bleed just thinking about it.

When she came back around to where I was sitting, smiling and toweling her hair dry, my eyes nearly fell out of my head again. Those were her 'normal clothes'?! I could practically see all of her legs again! At least now she had her rear covered, and it wasn’t quite so tight, but I thought I might still be hard-pressed to keep my eyes on her face the whole time.

She smiled at me and knelt down to put her bath things back in the bag she’d brought from the den. My thoughts finally returned to what was important (besides Kagome’s legs) – I needed to talk to her about my memory lapse. How to go about it though? I stood when she looked about done and headed back toward the den, walking a few paces ahead of her. For some reason, I just didn't want to have to face her when I told her. She walked along behind me.

“Kagome?” I asked, fiddling with the sleeve of my white kimono.

“Yeah?”

“Um…” I scratched my neck nervously. “There’s, um, something I really need to talk to you about. It’s, uh, kind of important…” I could hear her shift her bag on her shoulder behind me. “I… I don’t really know how to say it,” I admitted, even though I knew I was just stalling.

After a long silent moment, she spoke and I could practically hear the smile in her voice. “Inuyasha…” She sounded half-exasperated, half-teasing. “You know you only have to ask if you’ve thought of a good use for the Jewel.”

“The Jewel?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, but not turning to look at her.

“Yeah, ‘the Jewel,’” she laughed, mimicking my tone as if I should know exactly what she was talking about. “You know, the Shikon no Tama, that little thing we only spent over three years putting back together?”

I stopped short, caught off-guard by her statement. We’d spent three whole years working together?! Before I could stop and think about what I was saying, it escaped: “What?!”

I heard the girl slow to a stop behind me, her breathing going all weird, becoming more uneven. “What do you mean, ‘what’?” she asked quietly, still sounding half-amused. Then she sounded worried. And scared. “Inuyasha..?” I heard her take a step back.

I muttered a curse and turned to look back at her. She took another step away from me. She looked suspicious, but the dominating emotion on her face was still fear. I couldn't mentally laughing at the irony of my situation: now, when it was suddenly obvious that I had no clue what she was talking about half the time; now, when I couldn’t hurt her because I needed information; now, when I was no longer trying to intimidate her; now, she was afraid of me.

“W-who..?” She didn’t seem to be looking at me anymore, her gaze going right through me. Finally, she looked me right in the face. “You… You’re not really Inuyasha, are you..?” I could only stare at ger her silently. How was I supposed to respond to a question like that if I didn’t know the answer myself?

“Kagome…” I began, stepping toward her and reaching out a hand in what I hoped would be seen as a friendly gesture. Apparently not, as I heard her heartbeat suddenly spike, and she turned and ran. I swore and took a running leap after her.

I came down on her like a hawk on a mouse, knocking her off her feet and pinning her arms to her sides as we tumbled and rolled off the path. In the end, we were both dirty and scraped, but I managed to be on top, holding her down and practically hugging the life out of her as she struggled. “Kagome, just listen to me!” I hissed in her ear.

“Let go of me!”

“Kagome–”

“Let… GO!!” Some kind of power suddenly erupted out of her, burning me and blasting me back away from her. I suddenly knew what that strange sense of power around her was. It was the same power that had washed over me earlier that morning, though then it had been gentle, benevolent.

Kagome was a miko.

This just keeps getting better and better, I thought, swearing a blue-streak as I climbed rather painfully to my feet. I looked up to find Kagome facing me, half-crouched in a rough fighting stance.

“Who are you?” she demanded, watching me carefully.

I growled and tried to reach out to her again. “Kagome–”

The aura around her suddenly flared and I pulled my hand back with a hiss as it burned me again.

“Who are you?!” she demanded again, the air around her crackling with energy. “Where’s Inuyasha?!”

“I don’t know!” I yelled back, nursing my injured hand.

“What?!” She glared at me and I almost took a step back – she looked ready to kill. “Why are you impersonating Inuyasha?” she ground out, her aura sparking dangerously.

“I don’t know!” I growled again. Dangit, but I didn’t even know that I was impersonating anybody!

She seemed to force herself to calm down a little, though she still looked upset. “Tell me who you are,” she said, her voice straining to stay at a more normal volume.

I tried hard to keep from growling. Really, I did. “I. Don’t. Know!”

She stared at me, looking angry, then confused, and then just narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What is that supposed to mean?!"

“I have no memory of anything before I woke up, that’s what!” I snarled, flinging my hands around in frustration. Okay, so that wasn’t completely true, but I didn’t think the little visions I kept having counted for much.

Kagome looked at me unsurely. “Before you… woke up?” I nodded, continuing to glare at her. She looked away, her eyes widening, and then her hand came up to cover her face as if she were realizing something terrible. “Tell me,” she said, her voice pained from behind her hand.

I let out a long breath and began, still watching her warily. “I woke up in a hut in the village near here, covered in bandages, even though I was fine underneath. So I got dressed and followed some girl, um…” I had to think of what her name was, “…Sango, out to a well in the forest. She talked to this monk and kitsune brat and she kept saying, ‘He’s gone.’” I said a bit sheepishly, “I assumed they were talking about me, ‘cause she and that Kaede hag went into the hut I woke up in just after I left and then they both went off to look for me.” Kagome nodded, her face unreadable, and motioned for me to continue. I cleared my throat before speaking again.

“The monk said something about me going after ‘Kagome-sama,’ so I figured you were their leader.” Kagome smiled ruefully and shook her head at this. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what was so funny, but continued anyway. “They kept looking at the well, so I thought maybe it was a portal or something, and I jumped into it and went and got you.” I shrugged, looking at her honestly and waiting for her ultimatum.

Kagome nodded, turning away from me to sit down on the grassy hillside, looking thoughtful and a little lost. After a few moments she said softly, “You really don’t remember… anything?”

I nodded and looked away, just standing there uncomfortably. She looked up at me and I raised my eyebrows questioningly, looking back. “All this time… you were pretending?”

I shifted awkwardly. “It’s not like I had a choice…” I mumbled lamely, trying to defend myself.

She nodded, a weary smile tugging on her lips. “That’s just like you. You get into a difficult situation and you try to act all tough, like nothing’s wrong.” I flushed and looked away at her affectionate tone. She just smiled wider and turned away as I dropped to my haunches to sit as well.

“I just can’t believe it…” she said after a few moments, staring out at the sky. “You really don’t remember anything?” she asked again suddenly, looking at me beseechingly. I swallowed and shook my head. It was all I could do.

Kagome sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest, preparing to stand. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to try to get you to remember, huh? Come on.” She patted my hand and rose, not seeing my startled look or the redness that spread across my face at the familiar action. What was with this girl?!

I stood and we began making our way back to the den once again, both now much more subdued. I guess Kagome just didn’t know what to say now that she knew I had no idea what she was talking about. I stifled a sigh. It had been, well, kinda nice how easy-going and unafraid she had been around me before…

As we came around a bend in the path, I heard signs of life. I stopped and sniffed. Kagome stopped next to me, and didn’t speak, just watched me patiently as if she recognized the signs of me going on full alert. I frowned, ignoring her. It was the monk and the girl from the village. But what were they doing here?

Kagome continued to watch me. “Inuyasha?” she asked quietly.

I shook my head, frowning. “There’s someone ahead on the path, just in front of the cave entrance,” I said just as quietly and began walking again. May as well just face them and get it over with, I figured. Besides, Kagome would be able to tell me if they were enemies or not.

We came around the bend and Kagome gasped when she saw the two standing there, although I had expected the sight. “Sango-chan, Miroku-sama!” she cried, rushing forward to greet them. She hugged the girl, who smiled and returned the embrace, and nodded politely at the monk, though I noticed she kept well away from him and his hands. Keh, stupid lech.

“Are you alright, Kagome-chan?” the other girl asked, concerned. I tried not to be too irritated at that. What’d they think, that I’d hurt her or something?

Kagome smiled at both humans. “I’m fine.”

“And Inuyasha..?” the monk asked, frowning, his staff jangling softly as he shifted his weight. Kagome looked over to where I still waited, the humans following her gaze. The two gasped quietly, and shifted minutely into slightly more defensive positions. “Is he..?” Miroku began, not taking his eyes off of me.

“It’s okay,” Kagome tried to calm them, touching the monk’s shoulder. “Everything’s alright, except…” My eyes narrowed, my entire form tensing as a score of thoughts rushed through my head. Was she going to tell them about the condition of my memory? Had it all been a trick? Would they attack me as soon as they knew I was at a disadvantage? …Was Kagome going to betray me?

Kagome must have seen my change in expression, or somehow gotten the message that I definitely wanted that information to stay between just her and me. She paused, her eyes turning questioning as she watched me for a moment, before slowly speaking again. “..Except that Inuyasha and I wanted some time alone for a while. You know, sort of catch up on everything that’s happened since the battle.” She turned away from me, smiling reassuringly at the humans again.

Sango nodded slowly, still giving me an uneasy look, while the monk arched an eyebrow, grinning lewdly. “Of course, you would want to ‘catch up’ on all the time missed while he was asleep…”

“Miroku-sama!!” Kagome screeched, her face flaming, while Sango just rolled her eyes and gave him a sharp crack over the head with her fist.

“You’d think he’d have learned by now…” she muttered, stooping to grab the now-unconscious monk under the arms. She looked at Kagome again, “Well, if you’re sure you’re alright, we’ll leave you to yourselves then.” With one last hard, suspicious look at me, she turned to make her way back to the human village, dragging the monk behind her.

I shook my head, still unsure of what to make of those two humans, and followed Kagome back into the den.

Kagome restarted the fire from the night before and the warmth almost immediately filled the cave, pushing away the chill from the cold stone walls. She seated herself on the fur bed, folding her hands around her knees and looking deep in thought.

“Tell me what you remember,” she said softly after several long, silent moments.

I shifted uncomfortably under her steady gaze, back in my spot across the den from her. “Not much,” I finally conceded, staring down at my feet so I wouldn’t have to look at her. “Just… little things, ya know?” I glanced up at her, hoping she did know.

“Like..?” Kagome prompted, lifting her eyebrows at me.

The first thing that came to mind was her scent. Right when I had first woken up and she had been lying on the futon next to mine, I had recognized that soft, sweet scent, although at the time I hadn’t the faintest idea why it seemed to relax me so much, allowing me to finally get some real sleep without those stinking herbs the hag kept sticking in my face. But I wasn’t about to tell her that, of course.

“There are some things that seem… familiar. Like I should know what they are, but I can't quite remember.”

Kagome nodded. “Well, that's something, at least.”

I nodded in agreement, clearing my throat. “I mean, it's almost everything. Like I feel like I should know certain people or places, and then when I see the place or the person does something, I just know that it fits, even though I have no way of knowing.”

“But you don't remember any specific people, or events?” Kagome pressed, frowning slightly now.

I remember you, I said silently, thinking of her scent, and my vision in the well-house. “I remember… being in a fight. No, some kind of big battle. I got pretty badly hurt, and you… you were there…” I trailed off, frowning. There was something wrong there. Kagome shouldn't have been there, I knew that much. And… something about a sword… Across from me, Kagome shifted, looking rather uncomfortable.

“You, uh, want some breakfast?” she asked after a beat of silence, changing the subject. She was already standing and making her way to the storage room in the back. I just snorted, glancing toward the front entrance of the den. We hadn't eaten yet today, what with Kagome sleeping late, and then insisting on taking time out to bathe. Not to mention the mini-battle we'd had on the way back... Whatever, I didn't really care if it was morning or noon. Ramen was a pretty universal meal.

Her behavior just now had only confirmed my thoughts, though. She wasn't supposed to be in that battle for some reason, but why? My instincts told me she had fought beside me before, or were my thoughts just being influenced by her earlier statement that we had worked together for three years? I shook my head; this line of thought was too confusing, at least until I knew more.

After we ate, I felt myself becoming uncomfortably warm. I tried moving a little farther from the fire, but to no avail – the heat permeated throughout the den. I was still hot. So, almost unthinkingly, I began to remove my shirt.

It wasn't until I had it all the way off and was wadding it up to toss it on the floor across the den from me that Kagome looked up, a smile slowly forming on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she was getting some… improper thoughts.

“You still have so many scars,” she commented softly, surprising me when she looked up to meet my gaze. Her smile wasn’t suggestive – it was gentle, even sad. Remembering events long ago, hurts that had since healed over.

I looked down at myself, my eyes tracing the many scars criss-crossing my abdomen. They stood out against the rest of my skin, having only just healed. These were from this most recent battle, I knew. There were others, though, more faded, from times long past.

My gaze caught on the largest one, radiating out from my navel like a huge white sun, as thick as my arm if not thicker. I touched it lightly, gasping with the sudden flash of memory that came with it.

Claws biting into my back… poison eating at my flesh… pain, white hot pain… and that cursed sword again – I couldn't let him use it, couldn’t let him kill them… I couldn’t let her die…

“What's this from?” I asked thickly, closing my eyes, though it did nothing to dispel the memory from my mind.

“Sesshoumaru,” Kagome said softly, surprising me as her voice came from right beside me. She must have moved closer when she saw me wince at the memory.

“Who?”

“Your half-brother,” she said, her voice almost a sigh. “He was going to use the Tetsusaiga to kill us all, but you ran up and grabbed his arm before he could swing it. He punched a hole through your middle with his other hand." She touched the small of my back with the tips of her fingers, and I half-shuddered, knowing that was where his hand had gone through.

Part of Kagome's speech echoed in my mind. The sword. It was called Tetsusaiga. The Steel-Cleaving Fang. It nagged at my mind… What did that have to do with the battle I'd remembered earlier?

Kagome touched my right hand lightly, drawing me out of my thoughts. I hadn't noticed before, but now that I looked my hand and forearm were laced with old scars. They looked to be old burn marks, but from what? Yes, fire would burn me, but not so badly that it would leave a scar - with my half-demon blood, only the worst wounds left lasting marks. I glanced at my other hand, noting the half-healed flesh from when Kagome had burned me just earlier that day. …Could Kagome have given me these scars?

I looked back at my right hand, wondering. Kagome's hand had closed over mine, or as much as her smaller one could, her thumb lightly tracing the scars on my skin. She was half-leaning against my shoulder, probably without even realizing it, and I decided that I didn't completely dislike the feel of it. I looked back down at our hands and let my fingers curl around hers. She gave my hand a squeeze, and then pulled away, standing and moving away across the den.

"It is getting rather warm in here…" she murmured. She emptied what was left of the water in the tea kettle onto the fire, dousing out part of it, and then moved toward the storage room in the back. Halfway there, she grasped the bottom edge of her sweater and began to pull it off over her head. She was partially turned away from me, so she probably didn’t mean for me to see, but I did anyway: as she pulled off the thick over-shirt, it caught the hem of the lighter tunic she wore underneath, pulling it partway up with it. The shirt rode up, giving me a view of her abdomen above the waistline of her skirt and of the five bright scars running from one hip up to disappear under her shirt.

And then she was pulling her clothing back into place and had disappeared into the back room. She probably didn't even realize that I'd seen.

I couldn't deny that I was shaken. I had said before that when I saw something familiar, I would know that it was right, and this time, I really knew - that wasn't right. Kagome wasn't supposed to have any scars like that. Sure, maybe a nick or a bump here or there, but nothing serious. I wouldn't let her get hurt like that!

I’m sure on some level I realized just how rapidly my protective feelings for the girl were growing, but because of said protective streak I felt I had every right to, and even should feel that way. Which was why I also felt completely justified in the murderous rage that came over me.

It wasn’t the kind of rage that would usually have me swearing my mouth off and destroying anything that was unlucky enough to cross my path – because I knew I got that kind sometimes too. No, this was cold, calm, and probably all the more deadly because of it. And it all came from one interesting bit of information: the scars on Kagome’s stomach consisted of four slashes close together, with a fifth slightly further out. Put quite simply, claw marks.

Someone had tried to kill her, and if I ever found them, I’d make them wish they’d never been born.

Review please! ^_^

Edited 6.22.05, Reposted 7.12.05