InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sleep Paralysis ❯ Empathy, the Path Best Not Crossed-Part One ( Chapter 28 )

A/n: Did you guys like the last chapter ^o^? I hope you did! I really enjoyed writing it. Here's more.

 

And to everyone, welcome back!

 

Luna-

 

 

Chapter XXVIII: Empathy, the Path Best Not Crossed-Part One

 

 

 

“What?!” Inuyasha growled into the phone, practically screaming. Kagome flinched at the sound of his voice, grasping to waking reality and not quite remembering when he laid down next to her…

 

Silence reigned in the room for a moment, as Kagome tried to collect her bearings. Running her fingers over her naked body, she traced the scars that laid there… at that point, they were too numerous to count… Self-consciousness started to seep into her mind as she heard Inuyasha speak again, disbelief sounding softly from one whispered word…

 

“…what…?”

 

Kagome turned over in concern, staring at the back of Inuyasha's head as he bent halfway off the bed.

 

“…all right… we'll be there in twenty minutes…”

 

…Silence again.

 

“Dude, I can't help it. Afternoon traffic is a bitch… Calm down… Look the more you yell about it, the more time it's gonna take… Yeah. Yeah. All right. Twenty. Bye.”

 

Click.

 

“Get dressed,” was all Inuyasha said as he stood and pulled on some random shirt off the floor. Not questioning, and too worried to choke out an inquiry, she dressed as fast as humanly possible.

 

After a hurried note, jingling of car keys and slam of the door, they were gone.

 

 

 

 

~~~*~~~

 

 

 

 

Inuyasha circled the school parking lot, apparently looking for someone, and it only took one guess for Kagome to know who.

 

Miroku and Sango…

 

 

And it didn't take long either. Miroku came rushing towards the car, carrying Sango in his arms and Inuyasha slammed on the brakes and parked the car. Getting out, he opened the door to the backseat for Miroku as he gently placed Sango inside.

 

The boys looked at one another in assessment, talking silently to one another through looks and after a second, got into the car.

 

Peering behind her to gaze at her unconscious friend, she gasped and felt the tears immediately gather at the corners of her eyes. Two large gashes graced her torso, and a long cut across her left cheek bled down onto her shoulder.

 

“Wha…wha…?” though it lingered deep in her chest, the lump in her throat prevented her from asking the question.

 

…what happened…?

 

“Let's get out of here.” Miroku stated solidly as he slammed the car door shut, quickly followed by Inuyasha's door.

 

“Where are we going?” Inuyasha asked, peeling out of the parking lot and speeding down the back road that lead to the main highway.

 

“…Where the fuck do we think you're going?” Miroku snapped, glaring at the back of his friend's head like he was an absolute dick.

 

Leering at Miroku through the rearview mirror, Inuyasha arched a brow, “Dude, I'm not psychic. Where the fuck are we going?”

 

“Your house.”

 

Inuyasha recoiled, very nearly driving into a pole. “What?! Why the fuck are we going to my house?!”

 

“Because! How the fuck are we going to explain to Sango or my parent's why the hell our friend is covered in blood?! Your brother is the only one not home!”

 

Growling deeply, Inuyasha veered sharply over to the left, causing everyone in the car to jerk violently at the suddenness of it, causing Miroku to curse loudly.

 

“Damnit,, Yash! Watch the fuck what you're doing!”

 

Kagome turned her head to the side to look at Inuyasha, watching the muscles in his jaw work as he clenched and unclenched his teeth together, grinding them in his head to keep from yelling at Miroku.

 

Numbly pulling her gaze back to Sango, who still remained passed out, Kagome felt a stab on pain run through her at the sight.

 

It was more of a realization than anything, as she stared. She barely noticed the fact the boys began to go at each other's throats once again, for she began to fall into her own world.

 

…is this… how Inuyasha felt… when he saw me…?

 

Forcefully pulling dull sapphire eyes back to the single person she loved the most, she watched the way his golden eyes flashed in anger and helplessness… So much helplessness… so much they couldn't do…

 

…no, it was worse. Much worse, I know that…

 

The world began to narrow for Kagome…

 

…only things she felt…

 

…her breathing… the way her brows drew together in absent confusion… It made no sense…

 

None of it…

 

Except one thing…

 

How he felt at those moments.

 

…because…

 

The hurt in his eyes. The anger to cover up the guilt… The barely noticeable tears in his eyes every time she woke… The slight smile betraying the massive amount of relief he felt… she felt…

 

All of it…

 

…because… he loves me…

 

Because they loved one another.

 

Because Miroku cared deeply for Sango.

 

Because Sango didn't understand.

 

Because Miroku didn't understand.

 

Because… they wanted…to understand…

 

The anger, the words… to hide what they felt.

 

I don't want… to hurt anymore…

 

Everything was alive.

 

And it hurt… because…

 

Kagome didn't feel alive.

 

Not like that.

 

Not beautiful.

 

But it was okay… because…

 

Because I'm not alone.

 

“…kagome…”

 

Kagome turned slowly to look at Inuyasha… His eyes filled with that same hurt and worry… Always hurt… Always worried…

 

I don't want to hurt you, anymore…

 

Reaching over, she cupped his cheek, and smiled… before her world fell away.

 

 

 

 

 

~~~*~~~

 

 

 

 

“What the hell?! What happened?” Miroku hefted Sango further up against him, bordering on shock and speechlessness. But his mouth could never be shut, so, of course, he opted for yelling instead.

 

After Kagome had passed out, a bright light had filled the car, nearly causing Inuyasha to crash into something else… Luckily, he had the presence of mind to stop the car on the side of the road to gather their bearings.

 

…Sango had been healed…

 

But neither of the girls would wake up.

 

Thus their dilemma.

 

Inuyasha slammed the front door shut with one hand, the other placed firmly on Kagome's thigh as he had slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Locking the deadbolt, Inuyasha made his way over to the couch and dropped Kagome down quickly… covering his face and shouting quite suddenly into his hands.

 

Jumping back a bit, Miroku felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck at his friend's sudden display of frustration, and he began to edge his way around the room.

 

“I completely fucking understand damsel in distress but this is fucking ridiculous! Twice in one day?!” Inuyasha raged on at no one in particular.

 

Perhaps the stress was getting to him…

 

“Err… Yash… chill out.”

 

And just like that, the rage was directed at Miroku… for all but an instant… before Inuyasha visibly deflated and collapsed onto the chair next to the couch.

 

At that point, every hair on Miroku's body was standing at attention… and he very suddenly wanted to get away from his emotionally disturbed friend at the moment…

 

“I'm…gonna… go… clean Sango… yeah, bye.”

 

Turning his back, he practically jumped up the stairs and went to the bathroom.

 

Maybe he was a piece of shit for leaving his friend alone like that, but there was a reason Inuyasha was careful about his temper.

 

Because when it came out, he was a demon.

 

Setting Sango down carefully in the bathtub, Miroku first decided to try and calm his dead nerves.

 

Turning on the facet, Miroku bent down and just stuck his head under the entire thing and closed his eyes.

 

The cold water ran over his head, and the sound drowned out the world.

 

The world… what in the world is happening?

 

 

 

 

~~~*~~~

 

 

 

As Miroku returned with Sango, freshly dressed in some of Kagome's clothes, he laid her down on the carpeted floor gently and looked at his best friend.

 

And he was where he had left him nearly an hour ago.

 

Hunched over his knees, his ebony bangs hiding his face... Silent as the dead.

 

Still, Kagome laid there, sound asleep.

 

And Miroku knew Inuyasha was holding back.

 

He wasn't telling him everything.

 

And despite it all, it was time for him to know.

 

“Inuyasha.”

 

He said his name firmly.

 

But Inuyasha didn't respond, though Miroku knew he was listening by the way his hands fidgeted at the sound of his voice.

 

“…I want answers.”

 

After a deep sigh, and a moment of silence, Inuyasha lifted his head.

 

And Miroku gasped.

 

His eyes were gold.

 

“…you're not going to like what you hear, and you're probably not going to believe me. But it's the truth to the best of my knowledge, and you must know I'm not lying to you.”

 

Swallowing hard, Miroku nodded. A feeling deep inside of him, dread… his mouth went dry.

 

He couldn't even talk.

 

And Inuyasha stood, as if he wasn't expecting a response anyway. He just stared at his friend hard, and continued to speak.

 

“I'm going to tell you my story. And then you need to decide if you want to leave. Because, apparently, now Sango can't.”

 

Clearing his throat, Miroku forced himself to make one thing clear.

 

“Wherever Sango goes, I go.”

 

Nodding solemnly, Inuyasha's eyes pierced Miroku's.

 

Miroku had never seen him so serious, so intense before.

 

“…hold onto that feeling and never let go then. Because you're in the long haul if you decide to stay.”

 

Miroku nodded once again.

 

He didn't like this feeling.

 

But he couldn't push away the fact he had feelings for Sango that he hadn't realized he had until today.

 

The thought of loosing her nearly drove him mad.

 

And all he had to do was remember the tears in her eyes and the fear in her voice, and that drove him to stay focused on what he wanted.

 

“…I'm ready. Tell me.”

 

Sitting back down stiffly, Inuyasha took a deep breath, and began.

 

“…I met Kagome in fourth grade. She was the spunky tomboy and I was a dick. So quite naturally, we fit well together. She could hit me if I got out of line. We were best friends for two years, and she didn't tell me… about her dreams… until we were in the sixth grade. By then, it had only been a few months since I had been having strange dreams as well. When she told me, I was so relieved… I felt like someone understood... But she understood far more than I would ever understand…. And… that's when things began to change… things began to happen I didn't understand…”

 

Breathing in deeply, Inuyasha leaned back and allowed his eyes to float over to Kagome… a soft, affectionate smile barely touched his lips as he spoke.

 

“…and it was then, our lives changed forever.”

 

Miroku frowned, not quite understanding.

 

“…how?”

 

Leaning back deeply, Inuyasha looked straight into his friend's eyes once more, to convey his sincerity.

 

“We understood what we were seeing, what we were dreaming for the first time. The things we saw that weren't supposed to be there, and what they were.”

 

His eyebrows drew down further, more questions arising than answers. They saw things?

 

“…what did you see?”

 

Inuyasha sighed and closed his eyes.

 

“…we saw demons.”