InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Eternal Curse ❯ Buried Secrets ( Chapter 16 )

The Eternal Curse

Chapter Sixteen:

Buried Secrets

A.N.: X.X nothing to say…sadly

Disclaimer.: I don't own Inuyasha. I can only dare to dream. *_*

Warning.: Long chapter ahead!

***

"Geez, will you hurry up?" Inuyasha growled, cupping his cheek with his hand. Kagome blushed furiously at the hanyou who was naked from top up. He was muscular, but lean, making him fast, yet not bulky, and the perfect, flowing white hair that ran down his sides didn't help matters. With a reluctant sigh, she tore her eyes away from his perfectly sculpted form, and began sewing again.

"You really got your clothes beat up ya know, so you should be grateful," she muttered, keeping her head down, towards her lap where his fire rat jacket laid.

"Whatever," he murmured, confused at the way her scent had spiked. Determined to stay mad at him instead of staring like a dippy schoolgirl, she decided to start an argument.

"I don't have an fire rat hair on me, so it'll be weaker than before," Kagome began as she weaved the thread through the needle to join the fabric of his shirt. "You lied to me, you know." Inuyasha cocked his head to the side, blinking in confusion at her abrupt swap of subjects.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Well you didn't technically lie…but you acted as if you never knew Kikyo, and you did!" Inuyasha blushed.

"T-That's none of your business!" he protested angrily, sticking his tongue out at her.

"It is my business when you might have some hidden information on my transformations! All I wanna be is a normal teenager! You promised you would help me." Inuyasha growled, as he felt himself get pressed up against a corner. There was no way out.

"But that's private!" he whined. Kagome ignored him, as she gingerly dipped her needle under the fabric.

"So that means you do know some things then, and you're keeping them from me," she said in a quiet, hurt voice. "I thought we were friends." Kagome gnawed her lip and yelped when the needle pierced the sensitive skin of her finger, and a bead of blood welled up at the tip. Inuyasha reached out to aid her, but she growled, and put her injured finger in her mouth. "I see you're not denying it." Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath of air permeated by Kagome's scent. He felt guilty. Of course he knew things about Kikyo and her secret plans to some weak extent, and he was sure of his feelings for both girls. He was infatuated with Kikyo, and sort of liked Kagome as a friend. Inuyasha had promised not to reveal anything no matter how much anyone asked. But her harsh, yet sad words made pinpricks to his heart.

"I kinda promised her that…" Kagome looked at him, eyes glistening with tears, a few of them escaping their confines and sliding down her soft cheeks.

"Because of a promise you are going to make me suffer everyday until I die!" she sobbed, blotting away the wetness with her long, draping sleeve. "Here!" She angrily dumped his unfinished haori in his arms and began to stalk out.

"Oi wait Kagome! You're not finished!" he complained loudly. She froze, clutching the door frame with trembling hands. Kagome turned to face him, more furious tears leaking from her chocolate depths as her hair whipped around her shoulder.

"Save it Inuyasha! Just save it! I thought we could have been friends or something of the like. But obviously my dead sister is more important to you than my happiness! She is more important to everyone! I hate you." Letting another choked sob escape her quivering lips, she fled, face in her hands.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Inuyasha yelled, slamming his fist against the cool marble of the wall. It cracked and a few broken pieces fell to the floor. His hand throbbed crazily and blood seeped through the cuts in his hand and it already began to bruise, but he ignored it. Inuyasha pushed his back against the wall, and slid down to rest on the floor.

***

Kagome didn't come out for dinner that night. Or breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day. And the next. When it reached four days, Queen Higurashi stomped to her daughter's room and pounded on the door, rattling the locked doorknob. She could hear startled, heavy sobs within.

"Kagome?" she called uncertainly. The knob twisted, and a bedraggled Kagome appeared in the door way. "Honey, look at me." She looked up and her mother gasped. She was no longer that beautiful, cheerful teen. Her hair was frizzy and unkempt, her eyes were blood red, her cheeks were blotchy and tear stained, her lips were chapped with little bite marks on them. There were more scars and welts than usual from her transformations. It was if she was angry and spiteful.

"Mama," she muttered in a hoarse, cracked voice that didn't sound like hers at all. Kagome let her to her bed, and Queen Higurashi noticed that her dresses were very loose on her. She sat down on the cold, hard bed.

"Please Kagome, tell me what's wrong," her mother said in a calm, yet pitiful voice. The girl stared forlornly at the window. Inuyasha…he knows how to stop my curse, and because of Kikyo he won't tell me. Not after all we've been through together! I thought he actually liked me as a little more than friend, but that was just my hanyou side…Now I'll have to suffer forever until I die! "Sweetie?" Kagome cleared her throat, turning bloodshot eyes to Queen Higurashi.

"Mama…it's nothing."

"Nothing, huh? Then why have you been moping around for four days?" she asked, managing a soft smile.

"I'm being overdramatic and childish, and usual," she croaked quickly, hoping to cover up for herself.

"Look, you don't have to tell me what wrong, but at least take a bath, go downstairs and eat, socialize! Everyone misses you."

"Yeah right!" Kagome grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Everyone except Inuyasha." Queen Higurashi glanced at her daughter, her teeth unconsciously grinding against her bottom lip, brown pools full of pity.

"How would you know that dear?"

"BECAUSE THIS IS ALL HIS FAULT!" Kagome screeched, balling her hands into fists, but she backed down, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry Mama…It's just…" She put a finger to her mouth and began nibbling daintily on her already short nails - a habit thought to have been broken long ago, but always seemed to resurface whenever anxiety was afoot. Queen Higurashi looked disgustedly at her daughter's tattered fingernails but decided to delay that until later - a larger problem was at hand. She nervously put her hand on Kagome's knee and squeezed.

"It may be, but he seems to be moping around as well. Come out, forgive him, alright? That's all I'm asking you. Maybe you could do it at night."

"How did you know that he knew…ah! I'm getting all confused." Kagome let out a raspy chuckle, but quickly covered her mouth at the awful, grating sound that came from her own lips.

"You mean how did I know, right?" She nodded vigorously, as she began choking on a dislodged nail; Kagome hurriedly dropped her hands from her mouth. "Mothers do know these things. Plus, I think he might have a little crush on you." She blushed, covering her face her hands.

"Mama!" she cried. "That's not true. If he cared he would have told me!"

"Told you what?" Queen Higurashi asked slyly.

"Told me how to get rid of the curse! But he won't because of Kikyo!" Kagome wailed, but stopped when she realized what had just occurred.

"Oh," she replied, massaging her face with her hands. "Mmm…ah yes! Now I remember! That cute little 12 year old hanyou who visited for month or something of the like for a business trip! He met Kikyo and it was so cute!" But she stopped when she saw Kagome's crestfallen expression.

"He lies to everyone about her…even me. Kikyo is always better than me in everything! She even gets all of these boyfriends. All I got was Homo."

"Hojo. Keep your head up. From what I can gather, Inuyasha is shy and unconfident about relationships, so I would suppose he would lie to everyone about what really happened when he came on the business trip."

"Where was I anyway?"

"Oh, going around with your little life. You and Kikyo had recently had a fight so you weren't talking, even if it cost you not meeting a very interesting houseguest. Then later that day Kikyo died for an unknown reason and you had curse placed upon you by an evil witch." Her mother's eyes became distant and sad, shining with the suggestion of unshed tears. Which was Kikyo by the way, Mama.

"I know it was sad and all, and that he's shy. But after all of our adventures and moments," she paused in mid-sentence to blush again. "He still won't tell me! I'm under the impression that he wants me to suffer forever!"

"Now, now. Let's not jump to conclusions. Men are a very difficult species to figure out, you know. They could say one thing, but mean another. They could do one thing and think exactly the opposite. So you have to judge and observe and take your best bet. Trial and error, right?" Kagome nodded glumly, licking her dry lips and picking at a dark brown scab she had on her arm. "Don't do that, it'll scar."

"Mama, I don't get him!" she protested, tracing small circles with her fingers around the pink skin that developed under the scab. "He has to be the most confusing guy of them all!"

"That may very well be. But you can't hold a grudge forever. Look, all I'm saying is that you go talk to him and make up. Then do whatever you can to make both of you happy." She got up and walked to the door.

"I could only do that if I brought back Kikyo," Kagome pointed out, as she furiously began sucking her cracked lips. Queen Higurashi turned and smiled at her daughter.

"That can never happen. The best thing you can do is be Kagome."

***

It was night again. Kagome anxiously ran her clawed hand through her silver-streaked black hair, and hissed in pain when it hit a snag. Then she pulled it into a low ponytail with a ribbon. She applied some aloe to her lips, smoothed her dress, and fiddled with the straps to her summer sandals. Sure her skin still looked a little pale and she was still thinner than usual but there was nothing she could do until morning when she would finally be able to eat a breakfast of morning rice, honey, and bread and dinner when she could chow down on oden(yay!)

"Okay, this is as ready as I'll ever be," Kagome whispered, sneaking out her room, and knocking on Inuyasha's door.

"Come in," came is deep voice. She cautiously walked in, and saw him sitting at the window ledge, one knee propped up, the other dangling, facing the window, white hair drenched with silvery moonlight. Kagome heard him sniff and he turned slowly towards her. She visibly tensed. "Kagome?"

"Erm…hey Inuyasha I just wanted to apologize for the other day I was really-" Before she could say dumb, he had crossed the floor and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her to his strong chest. He rubbed his nose through her hair, taking in her scent as she melted fully in his arms, sighing as she nuzzled his neck. They stayed that way for a while, until he drew back and pointed to the bed, indicating that she should sit there. Kagome complied.

"Look, I've been thinking about this," Inuyasha began, pacing around, facing the floor.

"About what?" Kagome cocked her head and stifled a yawn, collapsing in his pillow, smelling his strong scent of forest and sky. Inuyasha rose an eyebrow but decided to finish.

"About what you said earlier. About Kikyo." Suddenly his throat felt like sandpaper and he swallowed harshly. He continued his pacing, as he held his arms behind his back. "I don't think it's fair for me to withhold information like that, so I'll tell you what I know. It could be today, tomorrow, or next week. I'm NOT making promises."

"So this is an apology?" Kagome asked, voice lightened with hope. He smirked.

"You wish." She growled, but nodded in agreement with his earlier statement. "Besides I promised I'd help you."

"Alright," Kagome said, yawning again. She tried to blink away the sleepiness creeping at the corners of her eyes, but it was getting increasingly hard.

"Well, I'll tell you the truth. I met Kikyo and I did exactly what I did here while my mom was working with your mom. I got to know her like I got to know you-" Inuyasha was cut off by Kagome's soft snores. He gaped at her for a while, before bending over to kiss her cheek and picking her up. Inuyasha lightly kicked open the door and went to her own room next door. He set her down, and tucked her in. "Goodnight," he said quietly and left.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, Kagome got up, and tentatively touched her cheek as if she could still feel the last traces of the kiss.

"He…he really kissed me?" she gasped, eyes widening. "Maybe Mama was right! Maybe he does care for me!" Smiling, she snuggled down in the covers, and fell into the best sleep she had in days.

***

She looked at him. He looked at her. She stuck out her tongue. He cocked his head.

"Sooooooooo," she began, shattering the dull, uncomfortable silence. Amber eyes traveled to meet her chocolate ones; they looked thoughtful.

"Look, I really do like you as a friend, so don't go getting all emotional!" he growled. Kagome sighed - that was the closest to an apology that she was gonna get.

"Alright I accept your apology."

"Huh?" he barked angrily. "I said nothing of the sort!" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"And…for last night…thanks," she mumbled, blushing as his own red hue crossing his face.

"So, I guess we should tell each other all we know right," Inuyasha started, clearing his throat more loudly than necessary. Kagome nodded, turning her attention to the floor as well. Gee, was it hot in here or what? She also blushed a deeper shade of red when she remembered that lead she had taken in the cave. He didn't pull away so maybe she had a chance…? Kagome smiled, thinking of how soft his lips had felt against hers.

"What are you thinking about, wench?" Inuyasha grumbled, expression completely serious. She shook her head, brushing away all those kind of thoughts.

"N-Nothing. Now I'll fill you in on all I know and you do the rest, alright?" Inuyasha nodded, cracking a wide yawn, exposing small, pointy fangs. He rubbed his eyes and put on a weak smile(kawaii!) Okay, so it was 5:00 in the morning and they had went to bed late(back! back you perverts! -_-') but he was a hanyou, so he should be able to handle it, right?

"Earlier, Kikyo and I had a fight. Mama said that you came over when you were 12 on a business trip and you met her. Then you er…started to like her," Kagome looked away from his face when she said those words, suddenly and indescribably jealous of her dead sister. What am I doing? I mean, I should feel pity for Kikyo…not jealousy…besides it's not like his my boyfriend or anything…oh my god! I know I am definitely blushing!

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked unsurely, turning his head at an uncomfortable angle so that he could see her face, which was stained with pink. She had said something about him liking Kikyo and suddenly spaced out. "You okay?" She nodded.

"Fine," Kagome answered, waving him away. "So, is it true?" She cursed herself for sounding whiny and hopeful, but it just sort of slipped out that way. Inuyasha blushed.

"Yeah…"

"Then, all I know is that she came after me and shot me with her bow and arrow. It wasn't a killing blow, I mean it was covered with all this sparkling light. She then collapsed, and I ran over to her. Kikyo apologized about her 'rash' actions. She looked really pale and then she just…died…" Kagome let her tears soak lightly into her sleeve and watched Inuyasha's eyes go distant. So that's how Kikyo died, he thought. "I'm really sorry about bringing up old stuff…sorry."

"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered, then began his part of the tale. "Since my Dad was dead, I didn't want to be left in the castle when Ma went away so she let me come. I never saw you once, not the whole month that I was there, and that was strange, so I really didn't know much about you other than you looked a whole lot like Kikyo."

"And is it true?" she whispered.

"Huh?"

"Do I look like Kikyo?"

Inuyasha pondered on that for a bit. Kikyo had dull hazel eyes and long black straight hair with a brown sheen. Her face was always pale and emotionless, everything perfectly controlled. She never smiled much and the air around her was always cold and hard, like the inside of snowball. Kagome had bright, chocolate brown eyes, wavy black hair with a blue sheen while she was human. Her face was slightly tanned and full of expressions. She always smiled, no matter the circumstances and she always filled with joy. The air around her was always warm and light, like the inside of a mug filled with hot coca. Whoa! He had spun off almost into their personalities as well.

He looked up to see Kagome looking at him expectantly, a hint of worry and a frown around her lips - looking almost like Kikyo had it not been for the shine in her dark depths.

"Yes and no. Your eyes are brown and hers were hazel. Your hair is curlier and you smile more."

"You noticed all that?" Kagome asked. What does she think I am? Ignorant!? (Well duh, Inu) I noticed a lot more than that. Kagome's lips are fuller and softer(by the looks of them at least), her skin is smooth and not pimply, her teeth are whiter cause I can always see them when she smiles, her form isn't so straight and she has smaller, yet better boo- "Inuyasha?" He shook himself mentally.

"Hm?"

"You really noticed all that, by yourself? Without the help of Miroku no hentai?" He nodded, hoping he wouldn't get berated for it.

"Yes." Before he had a chance to act, Kagome had launched herself on him, hugging him hard.

"Thanks!" she cried, nuzzling his cheek, while rubbing one ear, swathing him in her sweet scent. If he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging! Geez, if I compliment her like this all the time, who knows what'll happen? Hey, this feels kind of nice! "I never thought you noticed all of this stuff!"

Just then, their eyes connected, and a kind of electric tingle went up and down their spines. Inuyasha was the first to lean in, then Kagome did. His breath tickled her lips while he licked his in anticipation…they were only inches apart…they closed their eyes…closer…closer…just a few more centimeters…

"INUYASHA-" Miroku had suddenly burst into the room, panting, wiping his dark hair from his face. A lecherous grin broke out at the scene before him. Kagome was snuggled in Inuyasha's lap, facing him, one hand settled on his ear, the other around his waist. Inuyasha had both hands on her hips. Both were blushing, and their lips had only been about…oh I don't know…three centimeters apart.

Kagome abruptly scrambled out of his lap, face favoring a tomato, though Inuyasha's was taking on the interesting shade of cherry-apple, torn between embarrassment and anger. Why did they always get interrupted?!

"I was coming to find you since I haven't seen you for a while and Queen Higurashi has some work for you to do. I've been around the WHOLE castle! But I see you and Kagome were preoccupied. The least you could have done was lock the door so unsuspecting victims couldn't bust in…oh and have I told you about French kissing? Very interesting way to kiss with the tong-" Before he could finish, Inuyasha leapt on him. Let's just say the poor perverted priest left with an extra few lumps, bumps, bruises, and cuts that day. Ooh…don't get a hanyou mad!

Inuyasha kicked him one more time for good measure and went back to Kagome, who had edged away from him on the bed. Their faces were permanently red until she made a rather big show of clearing her throat.

"Go on."

"What?" At first Inuyasha had the impression that Kagome wanted him to resume kissing her and blushed all the more furiously.

"I mean with the story…not the other thing…" she blurted out loudly, twiddling her thumbs.

"Oh," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Where was I?"

"You met Kikyo and never saw me," she said kind of sadly. Inuyasha felt something tug at his heart. He ignored it an continued.

"Well I guess your Ma told you the rest. Then, the last few days of her life she went…kind of crazy. She said that you weren't meant to be here and something about this guy named Naraku. Ma warned me to stay away from her and as we were leaving we saw this horrible explosion, but we only found out what happened after we went back home."

"That's all you know?" Kagome asked. He nodded. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Yeah."

"I'M SO SORRY! I assumed that you knew more. Inuyasha…it's all my fault that we fought," she wept, flinging herself on the bed so that he couldn't see how much the tears were streaming down her face right then. Inuyasha went over to her, scooping her up into his arms, as if she were a fragile porcelain doll, running skilled fingers through her hair, rubbing her back. He lightly blew into one ear, making a choked giggle come from her throat. Kagome looked up at him, trying to scrub away the tear-tracks on her face, and kissed him on his cheek.

"Thanks," she murmured against his skin. Kagome pulled back and he looked straight into her eyes. He loved everything about her. Her long, shining black hair, her brown eyes, her cute button nose, her smooth skin, her bright smile, her soft, luscious lips, her perfect body, and her wonderful scent - GODS how he loved her scent! But that was only physically. Inuyasha admired her high intelligence, her absorbing charisma, her tenderness, her sweet touches, the way she soothed him when he was upset, the way she sang perfectly. The way she was just Kagome and no one else.

Inuyasha gasped inwardly, pulling at one side of his mouth with upset fangs, almost drawing drops of scarlet blood. Is it possible, is it TRUE that I am falling in love with Kagome? But all of his troubled thoughts came to a screeching halt when he felt her small hand grasp his and snuggle against him, letting out a deep sigh, as if contented. Kikyo, though 14 at the time, never like to "cuddle." He tenderly ran his claw over her cheek, and placed another gentle kiss upon it. She squirmed, letting out a little whimper of protest when he pulled away. Inuyasha smirked, drawing the girl closer to his warmth. We'll have your curse sorted out tomorrow Kagome. I'll tell you the biggest secret I know later, I didn't want to shock you too much today. But don't worry, someday soon, you'll be mines.

That was my longest chapter yet! Can you believe it? Approximately 4,000 words. I am more than pleased how this turned out. If you found any mistakes please don't hesitate to tell me. Well that's all for now. Adios, Aloha, or Goodbye. Take yer pick.