InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silver-Haired Beauty ❯ Truce and Lies ( Chapter 7 )

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Week One

Day Five

Kuroi woke up slowly. Looking around, she spotted Shippo curled up by her head, tucked securely into his fluffy tail. She smiled at the sight of the cute little kitsune. That small action made her wince and brought the previous night back with painful clarity.

"Oh no..." Kuroi quickly scanned the room in an attempt to locate her clothes. When she couldn't find them, she did the next best thing. Pulling the thin sheet around her unclothed body, she scooted out of the bed. As she stood up, she gasped when pain lanced up her abused legs. "Oh man, I really did a number on myself." Finally managing to stand steady, she limped out the room, noting the sudden lack of a door as she went.

The front room was empty, so she followed her nose towards the kitchen. Kagome was there eating breakfast, but no one else was with her. Tears sprang to Kuroi's eyes as she slid to the floor. 'I should never have tried to find him. I made him lose his new home.' Her voice cracked with guilt and tears.

"Kagome, where is Inu?"

Looking up from her food for the source of the question, Kagome saw the other girl fall to the floor weeping silently. Hopping up from the table, she went quickly to the fallen girl's side. "You shouldn't be out of bed yet! Come on, I'll help you back." Cold hands gripped hers, forcing her to look into pain-dulled blue eyes.

"Please don't be mad at him! Don't leave him alone Kagome, please. I don't want him to be alone."

Unsure of what to do, Kagome hesitantly placed her arm around Kuroi's slender shoulders. "I-I won't leave him alone Kuroi. I'm not really mad, and he'll be here real soon. I promise." The hope and relief shining up at her made her feel dirty and low.

'She really does care about Inuyasha being with me. That's actually all she seems to want is for him to be with me. I'm such a ditz.' Hugging the girl tightly, she frowned, suddenly disgusted with herself. 'After everything with Kikyo, I said I wouldn't be jealous over every little thing, and now look at me. Putting Inuyasha out because he helped a friend.' Resolving to change things, she pulled away and smiled congenially.

"Are you hungry Kuroi? I made breakfast." Brightening appreciatively, pale blue eyes slid away.

"I can't. I have to go back." Despite Kagome's protest, she tucked the blanket more securely around herself and struggled back to her feet. "I have to go back or Yamatsu will be worried." Something in her tone caught Kagome's ear.

"But not Sesshomaru?" though soft, she knew Kuroi had heard the question by the faint blush that crept over her face and neck.

"I don't care what he thinks! He can go to hell and like it." Wobbling a bit as one knee protested, Kuroi headed for the front door. "Kagome, don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Upon opening the door, she roughly hit a red wall. "Inu...eep!" Sweeping her up in his arms, the hanyou doggedly walked right back in past Kagome and deposited Kuroi back onto the bed. Removing his hands, he pointed one finger at her and growled softly, "You are staying put."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome came in after seeing the way he had rudely grabbed his friend and carried her off towards the bedroom. "What are you doing to her?"

"Having sex! What do you think stupid?" They both blushed to the roots at that remark but he kept talking, "She's still hurt and she's not going near that idiot brother of mine until she's better!" He didn't pause in his argument, "You should have done the same thing!"

"Like I can drag people around anyway I want! Not all of us got muscles instead of brains!"

"Yeah! Some people missed out on both!"

*giggle*

Frowning at the foreign sound, they both looked down at Kuroi, who smiled back in amusement. "It's good to see that you two love each other so much." Slightly embarrassed at having argued before a guest, they murmured an apology to each other. Kuroi just laughed in delight. "When Inu wasn't here, I thought you had sent him away because of me Kagome. I'm glad you're back home Koinu."

Her delight died as her face clouded over, and she dropped her head down to hide it under her bangs. "I don't want to be the one who makes you lose your new family Inu." Moving to stand again, she whispered, "I think I should go."

"No!!" Two sets of hands caught her shoulders and pushed her tenderly back onto the bed. Concerned eyes, both golden and blue watched her closely. Kneeling by the bed, Kagome took the hand not clutching the sheets. "You can stay Kuroi. It's alright by me and you know that it's fine with Inuyasha. We want you here for as long as you want to stay."

The hanyou huffed and sat on the other side, "Besides Cuckoo. I owe you something."

Before Kuroi could protest over the name, she felt claws running gently across the top and back of her scalp. She couldn't help it, at the contact she purred. "Ooh, that's really nice. I forgive you anything Inu, just don't stop."

Kagome felt a giggle start. At that moment, Kuroi looked exactly like Inuyasha had the other night. That's when it hit her. 'Not lovers, more like siblings! The two of them act like a really strange set of twins.' Angling her head as she watched them, she amended, 'Really, really strange twins.'

A jaw cracking yawn and accompanying gasp of pain from the bruised jaw signaled an end to 'visiting hours'. Kagome shooed Inuyasha away and pushed Kuroi down against the pillows. "Get a little more rest." She said gently, "Those scratches were light, but your jaw and hand needs to heal. Not to mention the bruises are going to ache for a while."

"Thank you Kagome. Thank you for everything." Kuroi's eyes turned soft and warm when Inuyasha took Kagome's hand in his. "I mean it, thanks for everything." Slipping back under the blanket, Kuroi thanked them both once more and closed her eyes. Deep even breathing followed the two as they left the room. Inuyasha covered the doorway with a temporary one made of woven reed before following Kagome back to the kitchen for breakfast.

"So, what happened at the mansion?" Setting a bowl before him, she went back to her meal.

To her surprise, he paled visibly and a shudder ripped through his body before he answered. "Let's just say that my father is a scarier man than I gave him credit for." In between bites, he told her about the entire encounter. Stunned, she zeroed in on the most important aspect to her.

"You tore apart your dad's house?! How could you be so dense?"

He yelled back in disbelief, "Hey bitch, did the fact that my old man went ten feet past nuts and threatened to kill his sons repeatedly just somehow fail to sink into that thick mass you call a brain?!?" She didn't bat an eye.

"No, but I'd threaten to kill you too if you had wrecked my house in the middle of the night!!" Pushing back a handful of long black hair, she sighed thankfully, "At least Kuroi is safe and sound."

"Where?" The little kitsune rubbed his eyes sleepily as he came in the room and sat down to eat. "Did she go back home or something?"

Both of them looked at him and then each other before bolting out of the room. The woven reeds were shredded since Inuyasha hit them first. The bedroom was empty.

"FUCK!" Moving past Kagome, Inuyasha started for the front door, but stopped with his hand on the handle. There was no guarantee she went back to the mansion, or even home. As fast as she could move, even injured, she might be leagues away by now. The simple fact was that he didn't know where to look.

Distraught, Kagome turned from the room to face him, "I don't get it. I thought you could tell when people were really asleep!?" She chewed on her lower lip and watched him pace.

"If it was anybody but her I could have!! Shit!" Crouching down, he grabbed his head in both hands and tried to think. What could he do, what could he do?

He could scent her out!

'Fart in a tornado ring a bell dickhead?'

Blood trail from the scratches?

'Fart in a tornado stupid!!'

SHIT!

Kagome watched the whirlwind of emotions on his face settle into helpless frustration. "I don't know how to track her Kagome. She doesn't have enough of a scent to go by, and the little she does have just smells like peach blossoms." The thud as his knees hit the floor sounded as hollow as his voice, "There's never any noise when she moves and nothing else to mark where she's been. If I hadn't been on patrol last night, I wouldn't even have known she was out there. Kuroi is a ghost as far as tracking goes."

Inuyasha felt powerless and hated it. It showed in every line of his body. Turning towards his heart and his comfort, he looked at her with pain darkened eyes and whispered, "But I don't want her to be out there hurt and scared. Oh god Kagome, I don't want her to be alone."

The air fled from her lungs at that simple phrase that incited so strong a sense of deja vu that it left her reeling. 'Dear god, what are these two to each other really?' Holding him in her arms, she let him howl in helpless rage.

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Crossing some stones in the middle of a stream, Kuroi wavered as a dull ache slammed her heart against her chest and drove her to her knees. "Oh Koinu, I'm so sorry." Wiping her unbidden tears away, she rose and made her way slowly back to the mansion.

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Midori found her later. On a trip to the less frequently used woodpile to catch mice for her snakes, she found the Lady passed out on the ground. Bandaged and clothed only in a sopping thin sheet, Kuroi was burning up with a low fever. Assessing the situation at hand, Midori did what any well-trained hand maiden in that situation would do.

The jade maiden cleared her throat and screamed. The well pitched shriek brought the guards who quickly summoned the head healer. He hastily instructed for the Lady to be loaded onto a palanquin and borne away for immediate treatment.

She received it under watchful yellow eyes.