InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Plea of a Fading Soul ❯ Broken Hearted ( Chapter 4 )

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

The silence is unbearable. Inuyasha is still refusing to believe the Shadow Man exists... but then he sees him himself. What will his reaction be, and can he protect Kagome?

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Horror / Drama / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.03.2006 | Updated On: 03.03.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 347 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter Four
Broken Hearted

Inuyasha was sat on the hut porch, looking out at the dark night with disinterest. Miroku and Sango hadn't been gone long - but he already felt that emptiness he felt nowadays. Now that Kagome hardly ever spoke without mentioning him she spent less and less time with Inuyasha.
He was gradually feeling more and more alone.

Kagome was standing in the doorway, holding back the mat that blocked off the entrance. Inuyasha turned to look up at her for a moment, but she didn't meet his eyes. Instead she kept staring at the stars, seeming lost and confused. Inuyasha's heart beat quickened.

She looked so pale and thin - as if she hadn't been eating. Her eyes were clouded as if she were not of this world anymore. She was a walking corpse, her face sunken, timid - afraid. Inuyasha bit down on his tongue to stop himself from snapping at her. He hated her moments of silence.

Kagome's sad eyes turned on him and she cocked her head ever so slightly. Inuyasha blinked twice, and then stared into the night - his breath almost catching in his throat. He wanted to comfort her - protect her - but how could he do that when there was nothing he could protect her from?

“Is he out there?” he asked quietly as Kagome sat down next to him, leaning against him in her fear. She began pressing herself up against his side - begging without words for some kind of cover. Inuyasha put an arm around her, stung. She seemed to find comfort in his arms and she smiled slightly against him.

Inuyasha nudged her. “Kagome? Is he out there?” he asked, more softly this time. Kagome nodded wordlessly against him, taking in a deep breath. She didn't speak - she didn't need to. Inuyasha's blood turned to ice water. He scowled but said nothing.

He knew Kagome was just imagining things - maybe there was some kind of curse on her gradually driving her insane. He didn't like to think of her as crazy - he would stand by her, no matter what. He had to. He loved her.

His heart felt heavy all of a sudden, and his grip on her tightened.

Yes, he loved her. And he could never tell her - all because she simply wouldn't feel the same way about him. He'd be rejected. Or, if there was even the slightest chance they could be together, he would never even be able to put it into words. He couldn't. It wasn't in his nature.

“Inuyasha…” Kagome whispered.
Inuyasha looked down at her. He smiled, his eyes shining in the moonlight. He looked hurt. “Yes?”

Kagome's bottom lip wobbled. She bowed her head and averted her eyes, whimpering softly. “Please - please don't let him get to me.” She croaked, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Inuyasha tilted her head up until their eyes locked. His previously fake smile was now genuine. “Kagome, I won't let anyone hurt you - I promise,”

“Then there's something you must do,” Kagome's voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in confusion, but he let Kagome continue.
She took a steadying breath, and then carried on. “You must stay away from me, Inuyasha. You'll just wind up getting hurt by him…”

Inuyasha seemed to be choking on the air he breathed. His grip tightened even more and he forced Kagome to look at him. His golden eyes were ablaze. “I'm not running away, Kagome - do you understand? I won't leave you. Then he'll… he'll be able to get to you, and you just made me promise to protect you, I -”

Kagome smiled limply. She looked away. “That's what I meant. To `get to me' he has to hurt you. It doesn't matter what he does to me, but what happens to you. That's why you've got to leave me, Inuyasha. That's what I wanted you to do for me.”

Inuyasha's eyes widened. He felt a yawning chasm open up somewhere inside of him. Leave. Kagome wants me to leave…
“Y-You want me to go?” Inuyasha asked, his voice rising in pitch. Kagome nodded, wordlessly. More tears curved down her cheeks, but she said no more.

Inuyasha's mouth opened for a moment, and then he bowed his head. Not once did he let go of her. Automatically, he kissed her on the forehead. He was shocked afterwards at why and how he managed to do it, but it was almost on impulse.

And then Kagome was looking up at him, and he was looking down at her - and their eyes locked. Amber and brown.
Kagome's lips parted, and her eyes blossomed pink with new tears. Inuyasha wished he could stop her from crying. He pulled her into a fierce embrace and cradled her like a child.

“I can't leave you, Kagome. I don't care what happens to me - you're the only thing important in my life, don't you know that?” he told her, rocking her gently back and forth.
Kagome shut her eyes and shook her head from side to side. “Inuyasha, don't. You'll only make it worse…” she choked out, sobbing.

Inuyasha sniffed and clutched onto her, desperately. She wants me to leave because she doesn't want to see me get hurt - but I can't get hurt by something imaginary, can I? I have to stay here, by her side, to protect her from herself. I have to be there for her - it's the only thing I can do.

Kagome didn't say any more. She let herself be rocked gently to and fro, clutching onto Inuyasha's chest in an attempt to gain some comfort. She wept soundlessly against him, and Inuyasha refused to let her go. After all, he didn't trust her. She would probably just run off.

“I won't leave you, Kagome.” Inuyasha said, his tone determined. “And that's final,”

Kagome woke up with the sun on her face. Inuyasha was lying next to her, and at some point in the night he had fallen asleep. He looked so young and vulnerable when he slept - like a little child.

Kagome watched him for a moment, her face expressionless. Inside, she was smiling - but it wouldn't show on the outside anymore. The words and expressions were locked somewhere deep inside of her and they couldn't be set free - not until the Shadow Man left her alone.

She sat up and looked around the hut. There was no one there. All she saw were the boards of the hut and her bag leaning against the far wall. She and Inuyasha were fully-clothed, lying on top of her sleeping mat with a blanket draped over them.

Suddenly, a sound behind Kagome alerted her to another presence - one she had missed - and her head jerked around in fear.
There, lounging against the wall of the hut and grinning mercilessly, was the Shadow Man.

“Hey,” he waved, narrowing his eyes in satisfaction. Kagome bolted backwards, the blanket falling to the side, discarded. She let out a startled scream… except no sound came out.

She didn't know what to do or say - all she knew was that her instincts were yelling at her to run away and don't look back. She crept over to Inuyasha, trying to hide him from the Shadow Man's view, but she knew in her heart that it was foolish.

Her chest was heaving with gasps for breath, and her blood was roaring in her ears.
He was going to do what he did last time… Trick her into thinking he'd killed Inuyasha - use some kind of shadow doll to look like him and make her think he was dead. Or, really kill him this time.

My greatest fear… My greatest fear would be for Inuyasha to die, or for me to never see him ever again. Because I- I love Inuyasha.

The Shadow Man stepped forward, his grin widening. “Hello, Kagome.”
Kagome didn't know whether you could die of fear. She felt pretty close to breaking point. She sat up in a defensive stance, trying to hide Inuyasha but knowing she seemed even more pathetic. The Shadow Man laughed.

He shook his head, chuckling. “Kagome, Kagome, Kagome,” he whispered. “You never give up, do you?”
“Leave us alone!” Kagome hissed, sounding more pleading than she had hoped. The steeliness in her voice seemed to have vanished when her words were out in the open. She mentally cursed.

The Shadow Man threw back his head and laughed harder. Kagome remembered, fleetingly, how handsome he was. She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
The Shadow Man looked back down at her and flashed a brilliant smile, before bending down next to her and fixing her in place with a paralysing glare.

“You'll never escape me, Higurashi,” he whispered, grasping the bottom of her chin sharply and pulling her close to him. His dark eyes shone in the sunlight and narrowed with pleasure. His smile was grim and dark - mischievous. He knew he was going to get what he wanted.

“He thinks you're insane. Everybody does. You haven't got a friend left in the world who trusts you. You're just the little girl who cried `wolf'. So if anything ever happened to you - they would just assume you did it to yourself.”

Kagome shook her head furiously, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She snarled at him. “You're wrong!”
“I assure you, Kagome. He doesn't love you. He never has,”
“Stop it!” Kagome pleaded, trying to pull her face out of his grip. He just held on tighter, chuckling.

He pulled her even closer towards him until his mouth was pressed up against her ear. He nipped at it once and then whispered to her, his already malicious grin widening. “There's only one way you'll get out of this nightmare, Kagome. And you'll see it - sooner or later,”

“Oh yeah? Well, what if I kill you first!”

For a moment, there was just confusion. The Shadow Man's eyes widened in disbelief and then a blade came out of nowhere, cutting in between Kagome and the man holding her. Kagome fell backwards in disbelief as the gleaming sword shot through the air at lightning speed and carved through the Shadow Man's arm, leaving his severed appendage to drop to the floor.

The Shadow Man gaped, and then he recovered - beginning to chuckle once more. He shook his head, and then all of a sudden he was gone - leaving nothing more than a thick cloud of dark smoke. “Foolish hanyou,” a voice echoed, and then he was gone. All was silent except for Kagome and Inuyasha panting on the floor of the hut.

Kagome blinked two or three times before focusing on the sight before her. Inuyasha was leaning on Tessaiga, growling in the direction the Shadow Man had left. Kagome had never seen him look so furious, yet beneath his anger there was something else. He looked… ashamed.

He had truly thought Kagome was insane, and hadn't believed her about the Shadow Man - yet he'd seen him. He'd seen him attack Kagome and… and lie to her, telling her stupid things like…

I assure you, Kagome. He doesn't love you. He never has… Inuyasha's growling got louder and he punched the floor of the hut. He couldn't believe he had let Kagome down like that, he couldn't believe it! Again, he punched the ground. And again, and again, and again - before a hand crept round his waist and he was frozen in place.

Kagome rested her head on the space in between his shoulder blades, her breathing slow. “You saw him,” she wheezed, sounding light-headed with disbelief. Inuyasha stiffened, and then sheathed Tessaiga. He sighed and locked his fingers with hers.

“I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, Kagome…” he whispered, sounding genuinely hurt.
Kagome smiled. “It's okay, really. It's fine,”
Her reassurance didn't make Inuyasha feel any better. He felt raw.

“Kagome…”
“My hero,” she grinned, nudging against his back affectionately. Inuyasha's eyes widened a second, and then he too smiled. He leant back into her arms. A comforting voice inside his head said: at least she isn't insane. At least I know that she was never crazy… and she won't be afraid again.

“Kagome?”
“Hai?”
“What he said… the Shadow Man… what he said was a lie - you know that, right?” Inuyasha said almost hesitantly, turning to look at Kagome.

Kagome blinked rapidly for a moment, not understanding. “Huh?”
A blush crept up the side of Inuyasha's face. He looked away. “I - uh - mean… what he said about, uh, not loving you and stuff. He… he was lying.”

It didn't occur to me that she would actually care whether she thought I didn't love her, but… since she acted like that - maybe… maybe she likes me too, right? Inuyasha wondered, still feeling numb inside.

Kagome's lips parted in disbelief, and then she grinned. Her arms wrapped tighter around his waist and she seemed to be glowing with happiness. She nodded. “Mm,” was all she said.