InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Torn ❯ No Choice ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Author's Notes: Hey look! I updated! Go me!

(Of course the update is rather dark again - so there goes the 'Go me' cheer.)

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"Hey guys!"

Kagome's voice reached the group and they looked up, surprised to see her there again so soon. It had barely been two days since she'd gone back to her time, Inuyasha was supposed to be going the next day.

Looking up in her direction, they immediately realized something was wrong. Kagome's smile was drawn, she looked tired and in pain. She was also not dressed in her regular manner. She wore some coarse-looking pants she'd called 'jeans' before and a long-sleeved shirt. For someone who knew they were having an unnaturally hot autumn, she was not dressed accordingly. She also had dark circles about her eyes, and winced a little when Shippo launched himself at her and crashed into her chest.

"Kagome-sama, what a pleasant surprise to see you again so soon!" Miroku gave her a smile and offered some water to her.

"Arigato, I'm ok," Kagome petted Shippo's head and pretended to be awed by his newest picture.

"Its lovely Shippo," she smiled brightly. "That looks just like our group."

"Do you think your mom would like it?" Shippo asked, "I drew it for you to give to her so she can know us all."

Tears formed in her eyes at his words, but she kept up her smile and thanked him, giving him a kiss on the forehead as well. "I'm sure she'll love it sweetheart, I'll give it to her as soon as I can."

"What brings you here so unexpectedly Kagome-chan?" Sango interrupted the moment, eager to find out what troubled her friend.

"Nothing much, I was just bored and got the chance to come for a little while," Kagome shrugged, "I have to go back later, but with everyone gone for the day, I figured it couldn't hurt to come say hello."

"I'm glad you're here Kagome, Inuyasha's been moody since you left," Shippo frowned, "I think he's worried about the well being sealed off again."

Kagome sighed, "Where is Inuyasha?"

"At the spring, he went to cool off for a bit, the weather's awful," Shippo yawned, "I went swimming yesterday!"

"How fun!"

Shippo sighed, curling up on her lap, "Yeah and I splashed Inuyasha and he got all mad and then he threw me really far in!"

"He didn't!" Kagome smiled at her friends, seeing how the kit was already half asleep as he talked.

"Hai, he tossed me way up and I landed in the middle of the lake... it was so fun..." Shippo gave on last yawn and closed his eyes, his breathing evening out in sleep.

Picking him up carefully, Kagome moved over to the shade where Sango and Miroku sat. Since Sango sat calmly beside the monk, she flopped down on the other side of the houshi, leaning against the tree as they did. Sitting in amicable silence for a few minutes, the peace was shattered when Kagome gave a scream.

To their surprise, she didn't slap the man as she tended to, but rather jumped away and shoved Shippo into his lap. Without another word, she turned away and would have run to the well had she not crashed into a large figure in her way. Screaming again when hands circled her waist, she closed her eyes and grit her teeth while she was shaken lightly.

"Hey! What happened?"

Inuyasha smelled the fear rolling off her and felt her trembling in his hands. When she shook her head and clung to his haori again, he held her close and looked up at the others. They were openly gaping at the couple, Shippo now awake and wide-eyed, watched Kagome's shuddering finally stop after a few minutes in Inuyasha's tight embrace.

"Hey what happened? Are you ok?"

"H-Hai," Kagome swallowed thickly and nodded, finally calming and letting go. "Gomen nasai, I-I had a..."

"A...?"

[I can't tell him about last night, he won't let me go back or he'll insist on coming with me!]

"A bad dream!" Kagome blurted out, "I watched a movie where this girl was raped and I had a bad dream and Miroku's grope was like the one in the dream and..."

"Curse you Miroku! What the heck were you thinking?!" Inuyasha glared at the ashen monk.

He gulped audibly and apologized, "I had no idea Inuyasha, you can't blame a man for his curse can you?"

"You lecher!" Sango knocked him over the back of his head, "As if she doesn't have enough to deal with at home! No! She has to come back and worry about groping sicko's like you too!"

"Lechers..." Kagome giggled, "That's it! I'm cursed to be surrounded by lechers!"

The others looked at the girl again, slightly worried by the tense undertone of the laugh, "Kagome are you sure you're ok?"

"Just peachy Inuyasha," said girl sighed and stepped away from him, giving a small smile. "Thanks."

"Feh," crossing his arms, he leaned against the edge of the well and looked her over. "What are you wearing those for? And why are you here so soon?"

"You're not glad to see me?" Kagome asked.

He shrugged, but a look flashed in his eyes, proving that wasn't it, "What's the matter at home? Have you heard from your mom?"

"Hai, she's been gone for two and a half weeks now, she should be back in another month. They extended the treatment, it seems its going well," Kagome's voice wavered a bit, "She sounded a little stronger."

"That's good," Inuyasha reminded her, noticing her downcast tone, "If it'll help then its good for her to stay away."

"I know, I just worry," Kagome smiled at Shippo, who came over and hopped onto her shoulder, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Hugging her round the neck, he rested his head beside hers, "We're always here for you if you need us Kagome."

Nodding her head, she hugged him tight and kissed his cheek, "Hai, I know that, thank you for reminding me though."

"I'm terribly sorry for frightening you Kagome-sama," Miroku apologized, hesitantly stepping up to her side, Sango coming over with him.

"Its not your fault Miroku, I've just been really jumpy lately," Kagome looped her arm through his to show it was ok.

Annoyed by her closeness to the monk, Inuyasha stepped away from the well and nudged her chin up, making her eyes meet his. "You haven't been sleeping."

Kagome bit her lip and shrugged, "I told you, I've had nightmares."

"You should rest now," Sango took her arm from Miroku's and led her back to the tree. "Its nice and fresh here, you could get a quick nap."

Knowing she did need the sleep badly, Kagome nodded, looking to the guys, relieved to see Inuyasha coming over. Wordlessly he dropped to the ground, leaning against the bark of the tree next to the place where she stood. Kneeling down beside him, she pulled Shippo from her neck into her arms. Fiddling with her watch, she removed it and tossed it to Sango, asking her softly "Wake me when it beeps ok?"

Then to the group's surprise, instead of lying on the grass, she leaned against Inuyasha, lifting his arm to drape it across her waist, her body against his side, head pillowed by his sholder. Although her back was mostly to him, she was still being held by the hanyou and the touch seemed to soothe her as she fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Ignoring the looks from the others, Inuyasha sighed, curled his arm around her bringing her body back into his, and lay his head over hers. Sango and Miroku shared a look as they watched the sleeping couple. Finally things in that relationship were progressing, even if it was caused by some terrible circumstances, it was good to see those two getting closer.

It was nice to see Inuyasha being kind to the girl, she definitely needed it.

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"Tadaima!"

Kagome slipped off her shoes, gave a big yawn and stretched. It seemed no one was home, which was good because she could use some time to herself. Daisuke and Shinji had gone off to 'who-knew-where' and Souta had left that morning with Alexei for Yokohama. So he wouldn't be back for a while.

Heading upstairs to change her shirt, she removed it once she'd entered her room and sighed, seeing herself in the mirror behind her door. She only had a few bruises, and they were covered for the most part by her bra. Enishi had focused on her breasts after all and left them pretty sore.

Shuddering, remembering his hands and mouth on her, she whipped open the door and screamed when she crashed into someone. Rough hands caught her arms, shaking her while she was ordered to shut up.

Not recognizing the voice, Kagome shook her head and screamed louder, vaguely knowing no one would hear outside the shrine but making the effort anyways. One of her arms was released when she kicked the man in the shin, only to come back with a vengeance, slapping her hard across the face.

"Shut the hell up! Where's Daisuke?!"

"I don't know!" Kagome continued to struggle, ignoring the throbbing in her cheek in her efforts to get out of the man's hold.

"Kuso!"

Roughly shoving the girl backwards, the man watched her lose her balance and fall to the ground, wincing as her elbows hit the carpet. She glared at him, despite the fear in her eyes, and he smirked, encouraged by her spirit.

"My name is Wufei Taikisha, I am looking for Daisuke and Shinji," he announced arrogantly, "I take it you are Kagome?"

"Hai," touching her cheek, she slowly moved backwards, standing and grabbing her pj shirt from the chair she'd left it in. Slipping it on quickly, she forced herself to stand still without shaking as he the man came over and lightly touched her arms.

"You'll have bruises here," he touched the place where his fingers had dug into her skin moments before.

Kagome shrugged, "I'll survive."

He smirked, reaching up to her reddened cheek, a bruise already threatening there, "Where are the tapes from last night doll? I need them and I need them now."

"I have no idea," Kagome answered truthfully, "They didn't tell me anything about tapes. I just had to get the men drugged up and to Miwa, that's all I've done."

"Really?" An eyebrow raised at that, but anything else he might have said was cut off by voices from downstairs.

"Kagome? Taikisha-san?"

Daisuke came up to her room then, stopping in the doorway to his niece's room. He took in the situation at once, seeing the bruise on her cheek and the way her hands slid up to rub her darkening arms.

"You came early, we expected you this evening," Daisuke informed the main before him.

"As long as you have what I want," Wufei turned away from the girl to follow Daisuke downstairs.

"Hai, Shinji and I went to transfer them onto one disk for you," Dai led him down to the room where Kagome had been 'trained' the day before, Shinji waited there and closed the door after them, leaving Kagome to guess about what they could be planning now.

Shaking again, she grabbed her things and rushed to her mother's room and locked the door, using her mother's private bathroom instead of the one she shared with Souta. With two locked doors between the men and herself, she felt a bit safer, and she really needed another shower. Standing beneath the warm water, she rubbed her bruising arms and cheek, fighting down the tears that welled in her eyes.

She was just stepping out of the room, dressed in a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved tee shirt when she was stopped in the hallway.

"He's pleased," Shinji informed her, giving her a cold smile, "Only found one flaw, and that can be easily fixed."

"F-Fixed?" Kagome gulped, not liking the gleam in his eyes.

"Oh don't worry, its nothing too painful," Grabbing her arm in the same place where Wufei had, he led her downstairs to the room again. The room grandpa had used to meditate and find peace of mind, which would forever haunt Kagome from now on.

Reaching it, she stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening in terror at the sight of needles, strange pliers, and a pair of stools, one with a pair of handcuffs on it.

"Oh kami no! I hate needles!"

Kagome struggled, only to be brought low by his crushing grip on her arm as he single-handedly brought her to her knees in pain. Biting back her cries, she glared at him through her tears when he shook his head at her and dragged her over to the stool.

"Don't worry Kagome, its not as bad as you're thinking," Wufei leaned against the wall across the room, Daisuke standing beside him, eyes closed and turned away from the scene.

Meeting her furious and terrified gaze, he smirked and gave her a wink, "You might even thank me some day."

Knowing how loud she could scream from earlier, he came forward, removed a handkerchief from his pocket and touched her arm, making her gasp so he could force it into her mouth. "Bite on that if it hurts."

Nearly hiperventilating in her fear, Kagome was placed on the stool and pushed back, her hands cuffed to one of the legs of the table. She felt her shirt being lifted, a cool touch on her skin, and screamed despite the rag in her mouth at the touch of metal stabbing through her skin.

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Kagome's voice was hoarse, her throat ached as she lay on the sofa, sipping a cup of warm tea. Her free hand rubbing her neck a moment, she lowered it to her stomach but gasped as it was slapped away by a rough hand.

"Wufei just informed me earlier today of his plans," Daisuke sighed, "You'll be dropped by here at a designated hour afterwords."

"Dropped off?! You mean you won't be there?" Kagome paled, shaking her head slowly, "No way."

Shinji scoffed, moving away from her to rummage around in a trunk of clothes, "Its not like you have a choice brat."

"No," Kagome sighed defeatedly, "I have no say whatsoever anymore."

"Its really not that bad, you're just a wuss," Shinji shook his head, "Girls get belly rings all the time, they're sexy."

Kagome sniffled, "I never wanted one."

"Well too bad, now you've got it and its not coming out," Shinji found an outfit and held it up to Dai, "What do you think?"

Glancing up, Kagome gulped and looked away, why bother giving her opinion when it wouldn't matter anyways. Biting back the tears that threatened in her eyes, she sipped her tea and forced her thoughts from focusing on the pain in her stomach, thinking instead of the warmth of Inuyasha's arms around her earlier.

It had been so nice, waking up with the breeze floating by, his body beside hers, moving evenly in rhythm with his steady breathing. She'd woken up before her watch alarm and just lain there, watching her friends sleep as well. Shippo lay in her lap, snoring very softly. Miroku sat beside her, head resting over Sango's on his shoulder. They probably hadn't realized they were leaning on one another before they fell asleep.

She wished she were there with them, that she could stay there until her uncle was finished and her mother was back. But that was impossible, he needed her help to gather the information, and her mother needed his contacts. If not for that, she would have left the man to pay for his sins on his own, after all, he'd allowed her to be dragged into his sordid affair. Would anyone blame her for leaving him on his own? After all that she'd been put through? After everything she was likely to see in the next few days?

Not likely.

Shaking away her angry thoughts, she was brought out of them by a soft touch on her stomach. Looking up she was both surprised and relieved to see the man frowning down at her. There was anger in his eyes, but not for her, no, he was glaring daggers at the man picking outfits out with Daisuke.

"When did the order for this come?"

Shinji shrugged, "Wufei paid us an early visit, he came to get the disks and saw her topless, he liked it but decided she needed some spice."

"Bastard," Alexei turned and kneeled beside Kagome, speaking softly to her, "How do you like it cara?"

"I hate it," she whispered, looking up at him hopelessly, "Shinji cuffed me to the table and forced it in. I hate needles and... Wufei gagged me."

"Gomen nasai," cupping her cheek, he gave a smile, "At least you'll have tonight to rest and let the pain go away."

"I'm going to a party," Kagome told him dully, "Wufei's coming to get me at nine."

"Here we go, the black tube top, navy shorts, flip flops and your hair can go up in a loose bun," Shinji announced.

"Shorts?" Alexei raised an eyebrow at that, seeing the relief in Kagome's eyes.

"Its a casual gathering, no need to dress too nicely," Shinji shrugged, "I've been to Atsushi's parties, everyone goes in jeans and t-shirts."

[Sounds great]

Kagome sighed, reached out to touch her belly button again and winced when she was slapped. This time Shinji aimed not for her hand but for the aching part of her stomach. Jumping with a slight yelp, Kagome glared and sat up, throwing her tea in his face.

"Jerk!"

Before he could retaliate, Alexei yanked her off the sofa and into his arms, standing and moving away from them. "Since there is still time before the party, you should eat cara.

"You can't watch her all the time Di Merrici!" Shinji glared, wiping the tea that dripped from his bangs.

"She is a child Shinji, if you need to retaliate you will only be lowering yourself to her age level," Alexei smirked.

So did Shinji, "A child doesn't have her breasts."

Kagome gasped, covering the mentioned body parts and glaring at the man over Alexei's shoulder as he laughed. "Ignore him cara, you narrowly missed another meeting with his hand, and this time I'm certain it would have been his fist."

"Gomen," Kagome whispered, "You warned me to be careful but I forgot, I just got so mad."

"He isn't worth your anger," Alexei set her down on a stool and went about making her some pasta.

Soon enough he had made a salad, some , and buttered some bread and added garlic and a touch of parmesan cheese, which he'd grated himself. Kagome watched him cook and laughed at his jokes, the time passing by rather pleasantly with just the two of them in the kitchen. He managed to keep her from thinking of her troubles, including the ring in her belly and its dull throbbing.

She jumped when a hand smacked her bottom suddenly, a familiar dark laugh sounding in her ear, "Shouldn't let your guard down so easily brat."

"Go away Shinji, we were having a perfectly good time before you came in and ruined it," Kagome glared, watching him take a seat at the table.

"Actually its seven thirty brat, you have half an hour to eat and then you have to go up and change into the outfit set on out your bed." Shinji looked around the table for a drink and frowned. "No wine Alexei? I'm dissapointed."

"As if I'd just leave it out for you and Daisuke to waste," Alexei opened the pantry and pulled out a bottle of .

"For a light meal such as this, a white wine will do cara, its important to know what wine goes with what food."

"Of course," Kagome agreed, moving over to the table, sitting down across from Shinji to keep him from being too close.

Daisuke came in then, said nothing to any of them, merely sat and waited for Alexei to join them before serving himself dinner. They all ate quietly, not really wanting to argue or start up a conversation to break the tense air around them. Kagome found she liked the light wine much better than beer. She was still too young to be drinking but Alexei had insisted she have at least a little to start educating her palette.

Eventually it was time for her to change and she headed upstairs to her room, dreading the thought of going to a party without her uncle. On her bad was the outfit they'd mentioned earlier, black tube top, navy shorts and a pair of black arm bands to cover the bruises. Removing her shirt first and changing into her black strapless bra, she had the tube top over her head and was unzipping her jeans when her door opened.

"Good you're not done yet," Shinji had barely popped his head in a little, "Remove the undies too babe, those blue shorts are skin tight, they don't go with panties."

Kagome gasped, "But I can't go without them!"

"Sure you can," Shinji smirked, "Other sluts do it every day, makes their work easier."

"ARGH!"

Grabbing the first thing she could reach, Kagome picked up a snowglobe and threw it at him, watching it shatter when it hit the door. Staring in shock at the item on the ground wetting her carpet, she recognized it as the gift Daisuke had brought her from Disneyland and smirked. Stomping over to the door, she threw it open and stepped out of her room to see Shinji had reached the stairs and gone down a couple.

Bending quickly, she grabbed a figure that had broken away from the globe's stand and threw it at him, glad to see it hit him on the back of the head. He whirled around immediately, was at the top of the stairs with one large stride and seconds later was at her door and reaching for her bruised arms.

He shook her brutally while yelling, "You will NEVER throw anything at me again you little brat! No matter what Alexei might have told you, I'm the one who's been put in charge of this little group and I will not hesitate to teach you a lesson if I need to!"

Alexei and Daisuke were in the room then, struggling to pull the man away. Kagome cried out, feeling her arms would break beneath his furious grip, landing with a grunt when he shoved her away and she crashed into her bedstand. Concentrating solely on the pain, she wrapped her arms around herself and curled up, berating herself for her temper and slumping in relief when he was dragged out of the room.

He reminded her again about the shorts as they went out and she waited for the door to close behind them before she got up and finished changing, wearing them as instructed. Wincing with every movement of her arms, she stood before her mirror, saw the harsh bruises there and closed her eyes.

[Its my own fault, Alexei warned me about him, he kept me from getting hurt earlier but I just couldn't learn could I?]

"Kagome?"

It was Daisuke knocking on her door, "You dressed already? Shinji's cooled off now and Miwa's here to do your make up."

"Be right there!"

Grabbing the small black bands left on the bed, she checked herself in the mirror again, cleaned herself up with some tissues and hurried downstairs, not wanting to anger Shinji anymore.

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"Hey kiddo? Are you ok? You've been in there for hours."

Inuyasha tensed, the male voice outside Kagome's door sounding new and unfamiliar. Frowning, he remembered her mentioning her uncle and guessed it must be him. Standing beside the door, he realized the man was knocking and guessed it was across the hall on the bathroom door.

[Hours?]

Alexei knocked again, she'd been locked in for so long now, but Shinji had gone out for the night and wasn't around. He was probably at Miwa's waiting for her return. Hearing the water finally shut off, he sighed and moved away from the door.

When it opened a few minutes later, Kagome, wearing a pair of flannel pj's and a long-sleeve t-shirt, slowly stepped out and shuffled over to her room.

"Hey are you..." He reached out a hand to cup her chin.

"Please don't touch me," she whispered, her voice shaky.

Alexei nodded, stepping back furthur, "I've arranged for you to have a couple of nights off, three to be exact."

"Can I leave?" Kagome asked, "Spend the night at a friend's house?"

"I don't know," he hesitated, swallowing when she finally raised her head and met his eyes.

Where once her eyes had sparkled with joy and innocence, they now had the look of sorrow and wisdom, a dark wisdom, one she should never have acquired. Weighed down by his role in her education, he nodded silently, seeing the briefest sign of joy flash once again through her eyes. With a bow, she thanked him and turned away, entering her room and closing the door behind her.

Keeping her head down once inside, Kagome threw the clothes and towels she'd held onto the floor by her desk and collapsed on her bed, curling up tightly on her side, her face buried into her pillow.

In her distress, she'd failed to notice Inuyasha, who'd watched her silently, deeply troubled by the tone of her voice. What had happened? She'd seemed tired earlier but not afraid, and she'd definitely been afraid when her uncle spoke to her just now. Moving silently over to her side, he saw her rubbing her arms, massaging them and his frown deepened.

Reaching out a hand to her shoulder, her head turned, mouth open to scream, but was cut off by his hand covering it quickly while he shushed her.

"Its just me Kagome, don't freak out all right?"

Removing his hand, he was surprised when she scooted back towards the wall, lifting her pillow between them. "Go away Inuyasha! Go back through the well!"

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, siting at the edge of her bed. "A pillow won't fend me off wench, unless it has a seal on it, which it doesn't."

"Please Inuyasha, leave me alone," Kagome lowered the pillow, curling up around it and still not facing him.

She was shaking, he could see it and feel the slight movement of the bed too. Worried, he reached out and winced as she visibly recoiled from his touch. Wondering at her sudden aversion towards him, he remembered her words earlier and frowned. She'd asked her uncle not to touch her, he'd barely caught the whispered words, but his enhanced hearing helped. She'd screamed when Miroku groped her, not that that wasn't a normal occurence, but her fear afterwords had definitely not been normal.

Something was very, very wrong here.

"What's going on Kagome? Since when don't you want to be touched?"

Kagome shuddered, "I told you, I watched a movie and it was freaky."

He huffed, "And you showered for hours in the middle of the night because...?"

"Because I was dirty," Kagome sat up, leaning agaist the wall, head still down but not quite as much as before. At least he could see her neck, that was a good step.

"You were dirty from...?"

"Sweating," Kagome shrugged, "I had a nightmare and was tossing and turning earlier, I had to shower to get the sweat off."

"Really?" Inuyasha crossed his legs and cupped his chin thoughtfully, his free arm draped across his chest. "That explains why your bed was perfectly made when I came in just moments before you entered the room? Why you also asked your uncle not to touch you outside in the hallway?"

"My uncle?" Kagome's head lifted.

From where he sat, he could have sworn she had a bruise on her right cheek, but the night added strange shadows sometimes, it might have been a trick. Nodding, he reminded her quietly. "The man knocking on the bathroom door a few minutes ago?"

"Oh that's Alexei, he's not my uncle, he's a friend of the family," Kagome shrugged, "I watched the movie with him the other night. I told you I'm still freaked out so I was sleeping in my mom's room before I woke up and showered."

[She's lying]

He knew it, of course he could tell, Kagome was a terrible liar. Actually, she'd been a terrible liar, it almost seemed like she'd been practicing because she was getting better. But she couldn't fool him so easily, her scent gave her away. She was afraid, and uncertain, and in some kind of pain.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw she was lying down now, back still pressed tightly against the wall. She hugged her pillow against her chest, using her right arm as a substitute for it. Eyes shut, she looked small, like a little girl, a lost little girl. He smelled her tears then, figuring it had to do with her mother's extended absence, he sighed and stretched out beside her on the bed.

"Inuyasha you should go," she whispered, keeping her eyes shut, feeling the bed adjust to accomodate him. "If they give me permission I'll come back tomorrow ok? But please go now."

Her voice cracked a little, a sound he found so disturbing he reached out to take her hand. "Why?"

She jumped, would have pulled her hand away if he hadn't held it tightly and let out a shaky breath. "Please?"

"No," tugging the pillow away, he reached out and slid an arm around her waist, ignoring her feeble attempts to struggle while pulling her over to his side. She gasped suddenly, one hand lowering to her stomach as she froze in his embrace.

"What is it?" he asked, moving her hand out of the way.

"Its..."

She'd barely begun to explain when he'd lifted her shirt enough to see her belly. He sucked in a breath, staring in shock at the piece of metal with a shiny star at the bottom that was impaled through her skin. With a slight frown, he reached out a clawed finger and touched it, eliciting a gasp from her while he inspected the strange object. Her skin around it was hot and bled a little as he moved it about.

"Its a belly ring," Kagome explained, "Lots of girls my age have them."

"Why?" Inuyasha glanced up to her face, "Why stab yourself like this?"

[Because I was held down and forced to do it?]

"For fun," she shrugged, wincing when he moved it again, "I think its still tender."

Inuyasha nodded, smelling a little more of her blood coming from it. To her surprise, he lowered his head and settled his mouth over it, his tongue carefully tracing over the bleeding area. The touch was shocking and yet soothing, her pain ebbing and leaving a very warm feeling in her belly.

Lifting his head, Inuyasha lowered her shirt and moved back up beside her, smiling at her bemused expression, "I'm an Inu-hanyou remember? Ever notice how dogs lick their wounds? Its because they have healing properties in their saliva. Humans do too but not as many."

"Oh"

Hearing footsteps on the stairs then, she tensed, listening and wincing when she realized it was Shinji. He'd been given the guest room across the hall from Souta's. He slammed the door shut, muttering curses that brought a frown to Inuyasha's features. Relieved that he hadn't come over, Kagome slipped off the bed, quickly locked her bedroom door then came back to lie down beside Inuyasha.

Wordlessly, she climbed over him, lay down and with a sigh, curled up against his side. Resting her head on his shoulder, she lightly held onto his haori again and relaxed a little. "I'm sorry for freaking out and acting weird Inuyasha, everything's become so hard."

"Hai, I bet it has," Inuyasha also sighed, moving his arms to hold the girl close. "Its late Kagome, get some sleep now."

"I don't want to," Kagome whispered brokenly, a few tears forming in her eyes, "I don't want to do any of it Inuyasha, I just want to help my mom."

[I know how that feels Kagome]

"But I have to... or she'll hurt more..."

Melting against him, Kagome's mumbles died down, her heartbeat evened out in a steady rhythm. Holding her close, Inuyasha meant to stay awake and keep watch over her, being hanyou giving him the advantage of needing less sleep, but her body was so soft and warm. Her breath tickled his neck and her scent soothed him, surrounding him, and then he too was fast asleep.

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Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews. Sorry it took me forever to update, I promise to have the next chapter up much sooner.

Oh, and xxxpeachesxxx: Asakura is Shinji's last name ^_^ Thanks for the tip though!

Until Next time!