InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hit and Run ❯ Morning Glory ( Chapter 3 )

A/N-- The song in this chapter (the few lines I quoted from it, anyways) is titled "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve. Awesome song. You should listen to it.

DISCLAIMER: Inu-Yasha Anime Manga Fans Worldwide = Not mine.

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Morning Glory

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His lips tasted like peppermints.

Kagome's heart thudded painfully in her chest as a blush crept to her cheeks. His lips were softer and silkier than his hair, sending mild shocks to her system. Her brain chanted internally, a mantra something along the lines of 'this isn't happening, this isn't happening, God, please don't do this to me, he's unavailable and this isn't happening' as his lips caressed hers in a chaste kiss.

What the hell had gotten in to him? What was he thinking? Their closeness put Kagome's mind in danger of shutting down. Had he hit his head harder than they thought?

Much to her relief, he broke the kiss-- but refused to let her pull away, his callused thumb caressing her cheek with surprising tenderness. Kagome gulped. What in the name of all things holy and good was going on?!

"Kikyo..."

Ooooh.

Hastily brushing his hand away, she shot back in her chair, her body completely ridged with embarrassment. Now that there was a larger margin of space between them, Kagome found herself able to breathe again, though her heart was still ramming itself against her ribcage.

What the hell had just happened?

An adorable look of confusion crossed Inu-Yasha's features as he tilted his head to follow her movements. Her face swam in and out of focus, so he blinked hard a few times, trying to rid himself of the blurriness as his eyes began to adjust to the brightness of the room.

Why had she pushed him away? She had never rejected him like that before.

"K-Kikyo?" he asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her face.

Kagome blushed again, brushing off the hand flippantly and refusing to meet his eyes. "Nope, sorry."

He studied the woman carefully, watching her shift stiffly in her seat. She looked around uncomfortably, pointedly avoiding his gaze and bowing her head to hide the flush that painted her cheeks.

Kikyo never blushed.

Violet eyes slowly unclouded, and when they did, he blanched, realizing his mistake.

Shit.

Something inside him snapped-- his frustrations boiled over in a mad display of violence as he thrashed around in his bedding, scaring Kagome half to death with his wild yells.

"Who the hell are you, bitch? Where am I? Where's Kikyo?! Damn it!!" Inu-Yasha's voice continued to rise, feeling helpless and confused. God, he hated that feeling! "Why the fuck am I here?! Are you listening, wench?!"

"Well, good morning, sunshine..." Kagome mumbled sarcastically, bristling under his gaze. Still, part of her was immensely thankful he wasn't bringing up the kiss in his mile-long rant.

What happened to the pitiful Inu-Yasha that couldn't even decipher bunnies from apologies in his unconscious state?

"Fucking bitch, answer me!"

'Why that little...' Guilt momentarily forgotten, Kagome sat up straight, balling her hands into fists at her sides as she fought to keep her temper.

"My name is Kagome!" she growled, staring him directly in the eye and giving him a glare that could wilt flowers. "And YOU should stop squirming, you'll hurt yourself, idiot!"

"Feh!" Inu-Yasha paused in his tirade, panting slightly. Amethyst eyes returned her glare tenfold and then some. "Wench, what the hell is going on? And you'd better give me a straight answer..."

His knuckles cracked ominously.

Kagome arched an eyebrow at him, finding it hard to be intimidated by a man who looked like a bad mummy in a corny horror film. "Are you threatening me?"

Inu-Yasha growled.

"Fine, fine, jerk," she threw up her hands in defeat. "I'm Kagome Higurashi, and you're in a hospital bed. I don't know who or where 'Kikyo' is, and for further reference I'm not her. You're wrapped and wired because the front of your car decided to get intimate with a rather large tree, and you decided to take an extended vacation to the Land of Nod when I called an ambulance," she huffed angrily, scowling. "There, happy now, O-Ye-of-Many-Bruises?"

Inu-Yasha froze and allowed the words to sink in, his amethyst eyes widening in shock-- he took a good look at himself, turning his arms to examine the bandages in horror, gently running his fingers over his gauze-encased chest. Kagome didn't miss the twitch his face gave when his fingers brushed over a sensitive wound beneath the dressing.

She sighed again, this time in sympathy, unable to imagine waking up in the hospital without anyone you knew or cared about there. 'Poor guy, I guess he does have a right to be upset. He must be so confused...'

Kagome briefly reminisced to the time when she had had an asthma attack in the third grade. She had been over-exerting herself on the playground and passed out; when she came to, the entire Higurashi household (including the cat) was gathered around her bedside with anxious faces. The memory had always been a fond one, reminding her of how much her family cared.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked quietly, watching Inu-Yasha warily as he inspected his broken body. "Can I get you anything?"

His eyes snapped up almost too fast for her to follow, locking onto her own and staring hard. She fidgeted nervously as he leaned closer, his eyes boring into her as he tilted his torso over the side of the cot to bring his face nearer to hers. Kagome could have sworn that those eyes were trying to see the back of her scull.

"I know you..." his eyes narrowed as he tried to place the woman's face in his mind. She still held a great resemblance to his fiancé, but that wasn't the nagging deja vou that haunted her face. It was mostly her voice, actually, that struck up a certain familiarity in his memory.

Kagome blinked, leaning as far away as possible without falling out of her chair. God, did he have to get so close? Even half closed, his eyes were unnerving.

"You..." And then it clicked; his eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and rage. "You... YOU! You're that idiot who ran out in front of my car!!"

She winced, his raucous voice causing her ears to ring. "Yeah, that was me. Sorry about that."

His face turned about three different shades of red in the span of ten seconds. "You should be sorry, bitch! You nearly got me killed!!"

Growling under her breath, Kagome placed a small hand on Inu-Yasha's bare shoulder, marveling inwardly at its firmness before shoving him backwards onto the cot. "Don't strain yourself being a jerk. You can yell at me when you're better, okay?"

"Wench," he grumbled in a raspy whisper as his whole body winced on impact. The fall had placed an uncomfortable amount of pressure on a particularly sore wound down his spine. It hurt. A lot. "If you want me to get better, idiot, then don't make it worse!"

"Ka-go-me. Is it that difficult, or do you just suck with names?" Kagome sniffed, lounging in the chair and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Besides, it's you who should be thanking me."

"What the hell are you talking about, you moron? Did you forget, or are you too stupid to realize that you're the cause of all this?"

"God, you are the biggest jackass I've ever met," she growled, smacking her forehead in frustration. Had she any idea of just how thick this man was, she'd have left him wrapped around the damn tree. "I'm the one that brought you here, you'd still be eating splinters if it wasn't for me!"

"Keh," Inu-Yasha scoffed, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have hit the stupid tree and we wouldn't be having this fucking conversation! This is your fault, remember?"

Kagome was going to explode any minute, she just knew it. Stubborn idiot, was it her fault he swerved to the left instead of the right? Had he turned right, he would have hit a mailbox instead... Besides, she was here giving him moral support, wasn't she? What more did he want from her?

"YOU did this to me, you fucking bitch!"

Kagome gritted her teeth, her fingernails biting deep into her palms. Just stay calm...

"What kind of moron stops in the middle of the fucking road?!"

Think happy thoughts, stay calm!

"God, were youtrying to kill someone or are you just brainless by nature?"

Must... not... destroy...

"I god damn well hope you have insurance, wench, 'cause YOU'RE paying for the damages to my car!"

That did it.

With an animalistic growl and a rage born from unadulterated aggravation, Kagome lashed out with all her might, her palm creating a loud, echoing SMACK as it connected with Inu-Yasha's cheek.

Stunned into an eerie silence, he reached up tentatively to touch the stinging bruise forming along his cheekbone. Kagome panted slightly, her hand still raised from the clout. She still felt quite a bit ruffled by Inu-Yasha's name calling, but the slap did help to make the situation feel a little more just.

Unable to gain control of his voice, he sent her a glare that probably could have killed relatively small animals. Kagome glowered back, un-intimidated and still very, very pissed.

"Listen up, you sadistic bastard!" Kagome wasn't usually fond of foul-mouthed words, but this was a special occasion. "You should at least appreciate the fact that I'm here, visiting you! Have you noticed that no one else decided to show up? Not your family, not your fiancé, no one! This room is empty! You should be grateful you got ANYONE to come, you're such a fucking jackass I'm not surprised nobody else decided showed up!"

In the time it took for a brief look of hurt flashed across Inu-Yasha's handsome features Kagome had swung from being psychotically angry to tremendously guilty. Perhaps she had been a little harsh, she really shouldn't have brought up his family like that-- it was a despicably low blow...

However, the pained expression on his face was quickly replaced with indignation and anger, accenting the fresh bruise on his cheek.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about." His eyes were dark and his voice was cold. Kagome shuddered. "You don't know anything."

She had to look away, unable to hold his scorching gaze for very long, staring sullenly at the far wall. Inwardly, Inu-Yasha seethed. How dare she... how dare she! He hated that look she was giving him-- that disgusting blend of sympathy and guilt.

She had no idea how his life was. She had NO FUCKING IDEA! She was a stubborn bitch, a stupid obstinate wench. And stupid obstinate wenches shouldn't talk of what they don't know.

"I... you..." Kagome started, wanting so badly to stay angry but finding the guilt too much to silence. Damn it. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things..."

It was the truth, and she felt horrible. She was an awful person; bringing up an injured man's evident abandonment and all that just to win a petty argument. Even after all Inu-Yasha had tantrumed and threatened, Kagome felt like the bad guy in the scenario.

Inu-Yasha scowled, but the heat in his glare tapered slightly. "Feh, damn straight."

Kagome blinked, not quite sure how to answer. She was relieved she no longer had to roast under his sweltering glower, but she hated seeing anyone miserable--including Mr. I-hate-you-and-I-have-a-wrench-up-my-ass-that-I-twist-hourly.

"Look, this whole experience hasn't exactly been a picnic for me, either--" Inu-Yasha snorted, wondering how in the world she could possibly compare her pathetic brush with guilt to his broken and bandaged torso. "-- But I want you to know that I am sorry about it, and that I'll do what I can to make it up to you."

"Feh," came the reply.

Taking that as means to continue, Kagome pressed on, babbling more to herself than Inu-Yasha. "I figure that I can do some housework for you while you recover, and hopefully work off my debts."

The man narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome efficiently cut him off with more prattle before he could get in a word of protest.

"Kaede told me that you live alone, so-- since it probably goes against your manliness to learn how to cook-- I figure you wouldn't mind having me cook for you a few nights a week. A man can't live off of instant ramen forever, you know. As for the damages to your car; I can pay you whatever I get from my birthday money now, but I'm sort of working through college and don't really have a lot of spare funds, you see."

Kagome paused for a breath, and Inu-Yasha jumped in before she could start up again.

"Birthday money?" he asked skeptically, folding his arms across his injured chest and scowling deeply. "Right, let me guess: your birthday's inexplicably-- and not to mention extremely conveniently-- half a year away, am I right? Oh, but don't worry, you'll pay me back eventually, right? Keh, what do you take me for? An idiot?"

Kagome chose to ignore the last comment, telling herself that it was far too easy (though extremely satisfying) to take a jab now.

"Actually, today's my birthday. You'll get your money, you greedy jerk, I'm no liar," she mumbled, suddenly overcome with a dreadful surliness. Why was she wasting her twentieth birthday, one of the few birthdays she actually spent at home, with The World's Biggest Tight-Ass?

"Keh, what? Are you expecting a compliment? Fine. Wonderful. Congratulations on popping out of your mom today, wench, because I'm sure it took so much effort on your part, right?"

"That's it," Kagome growled, rising from her seat and striding determinedly towards the door. "I'm out of here. I hope they accidentally remove your bladder while trying to figure out how you managed to ram your head so far up your ass, scumbag."

Privately she pondered where in God's name had she learned such vulgar phrases, though she figured it was probably Inu-Yasha's testosterone-driven ego that triggered her mind to spawn the nasty little snippets.

Before he could make a spiteful comeback, the door swung open with a dry creak as Kagome stomped out, head held high and refusing to look back. Inu-Yasha snorted, folding his arms across his chest and staring heatedly at the wall, not quite pouting but dangerously close. 'Wench.'

Outside, Kagome hastily weaved her way around the chaos in the hallway, flushed with anger and steaming inwardly. How dare he insult her like that, when she had come on her BIRTHDAY to make sure he was okay?! She had never met anyone so ungrateful! The least he could do would be to apologize for calling her names; she DID call an ambulance for him.

She sidestepped a nurse carrying an IV bag. Well, screw him, the bastard! That jerk didn't deserve her sympathy.

She had almost made it out the door without any interference. Almost. As soon as she placed a foot on the rubber mat to activate the automatic glass doors, Kaede caught her arm. She jumped in surprise, contemplating whether she should wrench herself from the grip and make a run for it-- God, did she hate hospitals.

"Ms. Higurashi--" Kaede started, but Kagome held up a hand.

"Please, just Kagome. 'Ms. Higurashi' makes me feel old."

"All right, Kagome then," Kaede nodded, her eye gleaming knowingly. "I want ye to know that we appreciate ye coming here. It was a kindly thing ye did, visiting Mr. Hatsuyo and making sure he was well."

Kagome felt her resolve melt, feeling slightly guilty for regretting coming. "Yeah."

"Would ye like us to inform ye on Mr. Hatsuyo's condition?"

"If you would, I'd like that." There was no hesitation in her answer. "Besides, I'll be visiting every once in a while until Inu-Yasha's recovered. Just keep me clued-up if his brains start leaking out his ears or something."

Kaede smiled, revealing teeth that were crooked but still intact. "Of course, child. I'm sure Mr. Hatsuyo is grateful for the sentiment as well."

Kagome stifled a snort. "Do me a favor, Ms. Kaede-- please, tell him I'll be by tomorrow with his first payment."

Without waiting for the elderly nurse to respond, Kagome ushered herself out the open doors, listening for the soft breath of air as they closed automatically. As she walked to her car she noted glumly that it had stopped raining, leaving behind only soggy puddles and a damp fog that clung limply to her clothes and hair.

'This is YOUR fault!' Inu-Yasha's voice echoed in her mind as she stepped into her Saturn and buckled up. 'YOUR fault! YOUR fault!'

She growled inwardly, remembering his tactless insults and ramming the key into the ignition. Sure, she felt accountable for the whole thing, since she was pretty much the only party to blame. However, she was sure she'd have felt a whole lot worse for the situation if Inu-Yasha hadn't turned out to be such a complete ass.

"Of course Mr. Hatsuyo will be 'grateful the sentiment'," Kagome mumbled tetchily, lacing the words with sarcasm even though no one was around to hear her. "Grateful my ass. Jerk."

Subconsciously she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, thinking vaguely of peppermints before pulling out of the parking lot. Finally, she was heading home; Sota would be furious that she had spent half the day at the hospital when she had promised to spend it at home with him.

With a deft flick of her wrist she switched the radio on, checking for oncoming cars before merging with the main road. The sound of a steady snare and an odd combination of classical strings and a gravelly vocalist filled the small car-- a sad but uplifting sound combining the almost holy sound of violins and cellos with the sharp, grating voice of the singer.

Kagome began to hum along; the melody was rather repetitive and not difficult to learn. The lyrics were simple as well, taking a rather cynical view of life but were pretty all the same.

"... Well I've never prayed but tonight I'm on my knees, yeah," The vocalist sang brazenly. "I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah..."

She smiled, tapping the steering wheel in sync with the rhythm. Kagome could almost feel the tight muscles unwinding as the music relaxed her, loosening the knots in her back and shoulders. Up until now, she hadn't realized how unbelievably tense her visit with Inu-Yasha had made her.

"Ah, much better," Kagome sighed to herself, rolling her shoulders and making a turn into her subdivision. "It's a good thing I don't have to deal with that jerk everyday, or else no chiropractor would be able to untangle my muscles."

Oh damn, that was right. She had promised Kaede she would visit, and she had told Inu-Yasha she would help him after he was released. She chewed the inside of her lip tensely.

Great. Just great.

She pulled into the drive, waving to Sota as he peered out the window, obviously eagerly awaiting her return. Kagome warmed to the idea, cutting the engine just as the radio faded out the last few words of the song:

"... It's a bittersweet symphony, and that's life..."