InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Twisted Hearts ❯ Forever Stuck Together ( Chapter 9 )

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

Twisted Hearts

Forever stuck together

“This is where you will be staying. If you need anything, call any of the servants. Tomorrow you will choose your personal maid.” He said as he opened the door. Kagome followed him in, letting out a little gasp of surprise.

This could not be her room. Someone had made a mistake.

She turned to ask Sesshoumaru if this was serious, but he was already leaving. She raised a hand to stop him, but it froze when he suddenly stopped walking.

“And try not to get in my way.”

With that, he left.

--------

“Idiot!” She exclaimed. But then she turned back towards her new room and her anger departed and was swapped with wonder.

The room was decorated in what seemed every shade of blue that existed. The curtains were an alluring, dark sapphire, the drapes drawn to reveal a vast window with a view to the gardens and a balcony. There was a huge bed with smooth covers that were light blue at one corner. Kagome thought the bed to look extremely comfy, like one would lay on it and want to be swathed and rest upon it forever. The room was adorned with candles, ones that she noted to be also blue.

A beautiful rug laid on the walnut-wood floor, stitched with the most delicate of flower designs. The room also bared two luxurious couches and an armchair, all of which looked quite expensive. The closet was even bigger than Kagome's old room. Overall, the place was exquisite. Simple and elegant, she couldn't help but stare with wide, fascinated eyes.

Kagome had seen rooms like this, of course. She'd seen them in movies. She'd seen them in magazines. When Kagome was a little girl, she even used to pretend to be a princess, this room coming very close to the one she had imagined if she had been born a royal.

However, she never imagined she would ever live in these fantasies. To reside in a room like this had to cost more than her university and old apartment put together.

It was so… beautiful. She could still hardly believe it was hers.

Kagome walked towards the window and opened it, letting the breeze of the night come in. She stepped out onto the balcony. The moon was shining bright and she smiled. Her gaze lowered and met the gardens.

“Well”, she said, growing amused, “he actually has good taste.”

If he didn't, she thought, then he definitely knows who to hire to decorate his house.

Kagome went inside again, closing the window after her. She proceeded to her luggage that had already been conveyed and searched for pajamas. She stripped off from her wedding dress and folded it carefully; mind wandering pensively. Then she slid on her nightclothes and left for the bathroom, noting that it was like all she had seen of the house; decorated in perfect taste.

Kagome washed off the night's makeup, brushed her teeth, and returned to the bedroom. And as she moved towards her bed, she could hear her footsteps resounding all through the room.

“Oh!” The bed sank as she sat upon it, and she found herself enclosed by soft covers. She got under the sheets and noted that the blankets were of satin. The bed was warm, and she thought it ironic because she felt so damn cold inside…

Here she was, just married and alone in a bed with soft covers.

Here she was, 23 years old and feeling so old.

Here she was, married to a jerk to save her brother.

Here she was, Kagome in love with a man that would never love her. In love with a man that had left her for another. In love with her husband's brother. In love…

Here she was still naïve and stupid.

Kagome felt the tears threatening to fall again, but she resisted them. Now was not the time to cry. She had to be strong. Tomorrow it would be better. She would wake up and she would go to the university and then she would go to the museum.

She'd see Ayame there, and they'd work together, and the youkai would make things better because she understood her decision. Tomorrow, she would call Sango, and she would make her feel less alone. Maybe she would go see Miroku.

He always made her laugh, and since Inuyasha was…on his honeymoon, she wouldn't have to face him. If she had luck, she wouldn't even have to face Sesshoumaru.

Yes, tomorrow would definitely be better.

Tonight though, she felt miserable, and she fell asleep feeling like the loneliest person on earth.

---

He couldn't believe he was here, with her, on this day. He couldn't believe he had married her.

He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in so few weeks.

Inuyasha's ears twitched in the direction of the door.

“I'm back. We have to go to the beach. It is wonderful, and the water looks delicious. Oh, have you seen my swimming suit?”

Inuyasha smiled as he walked towards his Kykio.

“Um...No, but you could always swim naked.”

Kykio gave him a playful smile. “I suppose I could, but then others would see me. Do you want to share me, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha growled as he enclosed her in his arms.

“Never. You are just mine.”
She kissed him lightly on the lips and then freed herself from his grasp.

“Then help me find it. I want to go swim.”

Inuyasha didn't help her look. Instead, he stared at her, watching. Hell, she looked gracious and beautiful even when she was doing something as ordinary as looking for a swimsuit. He watched her long, black hair. It was shiny and soft and never out of place, and he wanted to run his hands through it and make it a little wilder.

Kagome's hair was always wild.

He looked at her thin, delicate figure and how it moved and seemed to break with the very air. Every time he touched her he did so carefully so as to not injuring her.

He had never touched Kagome carefully. He always knew she was strong.

He looked at her red lips that were saying something he didn't hear.

Kagome's lips were pink, and she was always loud, giving him no option but to hear her.

“Are you listening to a word I've said?”

Kykio was right in from of him. “Keh…”

“No, you are not.” She brought her palm to his cheek, a soft caress that made him tremble. “Come on, I found my swimsuit. Get yours and let's go swimming.”

Inuyasha looked into her brown eyes. Her eyes were always serious or filled with dry humor, like now. She never expressed her happiness in a way that was undignified. She never laughed with joy, or cried with happiness. Her way of showing how she cared were soft touches, invisible smiles, and sometimes a twinkle on her brown orbs.

Kagome always expressed herself to the extreme. The world always knew how she felt because she always had to express herself with everything she was.

Inuyasha brought kykio closer to himself, drowning in her scent, pushing thoughts of Kagome far away from his mind. He felt her body against his, kissed her red lips roughly, and loved her with all he had.

Kykio was his mate now, and he had to stop thinking about Kagome.

She had to be nothing to him. He had left her without second thoughts, and he didn't understand why he was comparing Kykio to her now. He didn't know, didn't understand….When Kykio was close to him, he could think of no one else. He would do anything for her. Her wish was his demand. He didn't know what was happening to him lately.

Ever since he had learned about Kagome and the bastard…

He couldn't stand the thought of Kagome with any other man. He wanted Kykio, but he didn't want Kagome to make her life with anyone else.

But she is already married to Sesshoumaru…

Inuyasha kissed Kykio, dazing his thoughts, making his mind stop.

“Let's go swimming later.” He said, and as Kykio's hands started to travel down his body.

Inuyasha let all coherent thought leave his mind.

`Make me forget these thoughts about her' he silently thought.

`Make me focus only on you. Make me love you like I've loved no one. Make things go back to how they were when we first met, when I let her go, when I chose you.'

---

It wasn't like they hadn't been trying. They truly had. Really, they had put all their efforts into it. They'd given it their best shot.

No one in the mansion could say they hadn't tried to avoid each other for as much as possible.

Unfortunately, for both of them, they just kept running into each other.

It was making Kagome go crazy and Sesshoumaru more irritable than ever.

He had gone to work every day, leaving as early as he could and returning as late as possible. At work, he didn't have to think of how infuriating she was because his father had obviously left him and his brother a lot of incomplete deeds. And since his useless half brother had taken a three-week honey moon, it was up to him to bring the company back on full. Work was turning out to be perfect for ignoring her.

When he returned, it was usually way too late. And if he had married any other person, he was sure he would never have to see her, what with his early mornings and late night. Unfortunately, she worked as hard as he did.

She thought that if she woke up very early and went to work she wouldn't have to see him.

`It isn't as if I am was making any excuses to avoid him,' she thought the day after her wedding.

It was just that with all the rushed wedding plans and all, she had gotten behind on her master's degree and her work at the museum. She rose at 5 o'clock, took a bath, dressed, and went down to have some breakfast. And to her utter astonishment, Sesshoumaru had been there too.

They both had refused to leave the room, and so they ended up having a very awkward breakfast. Kagome ate as fast as she could and left quickly. She went to the University, where she buried herself in the history of the Feudal Era. After hours in the library, she headed to the History Museum. Working kept her mind away from Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and her brother's sickness. She worked as late as she was allowed, which turned out to be 12 o'clock. She wasn't even going to charge for the extra hours.

In fact, she thought she should be thanking them for allowing her to stay out of her house for so long. She parked her very ragged car next to Sesshoumaru's very fine and new ones and entered the house.

The first thing she saw was Sesshoumaru.

It seemed he too worked as late as he could, and so they ended up meeting again. He was hungry, and she was hungry, and the servants were already sleeping. Kagome found out that her new husband was incapable of preparing even a sandwich.

After a very heated discussion and a lot of insults, she ended up preparing them both a snack. He hadn't even said thank you, which had started another fight. After three other arguments, they had finally decided to go to bed.

They both had thought that they would be luckier the next day. Surely one of them would change his or her habits. Sesshoumaru was sure he had frightened the miko enough to make her wake up at least an hour later and come back earlier.

He had way too much work to change his itinerary. Kagome had thought she had annoyed her jerk of a husband enough to make him do pretty much the same. After all, she couldn't change her new routine. She was way too behind in everything to take at the least one hour off. Winter vacations were coming; she had to have everything in order.

As it appeared, the next morning turned out the same and they had both found each other having another awkward breakfast. At night, they had the same endless fights, and Kagome had prepared them something to eat somewhere between then.

Two weeks had passed already, and they had both come to the conclusion that the other would not give in. They were too proud. They couldn't stand each other, but they preferred to keep suffering instead of appearing weaker.

Which lead to the argument they were having right now.

“My car is not too old. It is perfectly fine!”

“It will fall to pieces one of these days, and I will have to go through the trouble of organizing your funeral.”

“Like I would die that easily!”

“You are right. I am not that lucky.”

Kagome chopped the carrots harder.

“You are going to ruin my carrots. I don't like ruined carrots.” Sesshoumaru said, testing her patience.

Kagome pointed the knife at him. “If you don't want me to ruin your precious carrots, stop annoying me.”

”I annoy you? It is I that suffers from all of your yelling. Unlike you, inferior human, I have sensitive ears.”

“Sensitive ears my ass!”

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Kagome just sent him an evil eye. “Can't you be civil for one night? It is too late for this.”

“Then you should come back earlier.”

“I can't come back earlier. I have a lot to study, and I have my work.”

“You could leave that job.”

Kagome sent daggers at him with her glare. “I will not leave the University or the Museum, and we are not discussing this again.”

Kagome angrily turned to the stove to see how the soup was doing. Really, the nerve of him, telling her to quit her job, hadn't they discussed this three nights ago?

“Maybe you should leave some work to Inuyasha. Then you could arrive here earlier.”

Sesshoumaru snorted. Kagome turned, surprised. Sesshoumaru was usually so…well, emotionless, except when they were fighting.

“The hanyou can't do anything right.”

“He's not that bad!” Kagome still didn't know why she kept defending him.

“He is.”

“Spoiled youkai!”

”Insufferable human.” Sesshoumaru didn't know why it made him angry to hear her defend his stupid half brother.

“Heartless scum.”

“Inferior being.”

Kagome served them both soups and put Sesshoumaru's on the table with a little bit more force than she should have, spilling.

“Look what you've done. Now someone will have to clean it.”

“You could help a little bit, you know.”

Sesshoumaru gave her a look that clearly said that he was too important to do inferior things such as cleaning.

Kagome murmured something while she went to grab a piece of cloth and cleaned the mess.

Sesshoumaru blew at his soup and then tried it.

“It needs salt.”

Kagome's knuckles were white. “If you don't like how I cook, you should do it next time.”

“I will not cook. That is something only commoners do.”

“Are you calling me a commoner?”

“Well, you were a commoner. Now you are married to me. You should thank me for giving you the honor of being in my presence.”

Kagome angrily sipped at her soup. “I will thank you for nothing. As far as I'm concerned, I helped you solve your little problem, and you should thank me for actually cooking you something. I could leave you here starving.”

“Your favor came with conditions, and since I allowed you to live here, the least you could do is prepare my food.”

“I had to move in. I was perfectly fine in my apartment, but we are married, so it's obvious I have to live where you do or it won't look real.”

Both of them went silent after that. Kagome looked at her soup. She thought about what he'd said. He was right, like always. He had married her because she was desperate. She hated him for always being right.

“I still think your car is old.” Sesshoumaru said casually. Kagome again became angry.

“My car is not that old!”

“You should exchange it.”

“It still works.”

“What will the world say if they see you in that car? They'll believe I'm not treating you right.”

“You are not treating me right.”

He shrugged, as if that was not important. “Change the car.”

“Don't order me around, and I will not change it. I don't have the money.”

Sesshoumaru stared at her in disbelief. “Do I look poor?”

Kagome stayed silent.

“I'll pay for your new car. Yours is embarrassing.”

“No.”

He looked at her intensely. “Why not?” His voice was low, dangerous.

“I don't want to take your money.”

“We are married. It is a normal thing to do.”

“No.”

“I will buy you a new car even if you don't want me to.”

“I like my car!”

“No one that is normal can like that car.”

“I do.”

“You are not normal.”

“You…”
And so they continued to fight.

Outside of the kitchen, Jaken and Yura, Kagome's personal maid even though she really doesn't do much as her lady wouldn't allow it, listened.

“They never stop fighting.” Yura said, as she witnessed the argument became more intense. Beside her, Jaken stood thinking.

“Lord Sesshoumaru” he finally said, “never cared.”

”Huh?”

“He usually leaves whoever is irritating him, but with her, he stays. He talks to her. He pays attention to her.”

“…Huh?”

Jaken turned angrily towards Yura. “Don't you understand? The last time he paid attention to a human was centuries ago, but it wasn't the same. Lord Sesshoumaru is interested in his new wife.”

“Isn't that good?”

“It…I don't know. I don't think Lord Sesshoumaru realizes that that woman is getting through his barrier.”

“How do you know so much about him?”

“I've been under his service for a long time.”

“Oh, and has he always been that cold?”

“… since she arrived, he is less cold.”

Yura turned to look at the newly weds. She couldn't see anything but anger between the two. But given what she had heard about Lord Sesshoumaru, that was too much. Perhaps…perhaps he was starting to care for her mistress?

As she watched them throw insults at each other, she thought that that was unlikely.

Still…

“Come on, Jaken. We should not spy on our bosses.”

Jaken took one more look at his Lord before following Yura.

---

Kagome looked at the books in front of her and thanked Kami for having the day off at the museum. There were mountains and mountains of books that she still had to read in the large library. Kagome grabbed the closest one and flipped it open randomly.

After reading the first paragraph over again five times, she decided that she just wouldn't be able to get any work done. She couldn't concentrate. Her thought kept going back to her problems, and all the amount of work she still had to do was not doing anything to make them go away.

She closed the book with a sigh and buried her head in her arms. She couldn't believe she was still thinking about him. After all the things he had done to her, and the way he had treated her, left her behind, made her feel less, changed her…

She should just get over him.

He was a married man. She was a married woman, and Sesshoumaru would probably kill them both in a very horrible way if he ever found them together. Not that Inuyasha would ever look for her. He had his Kykio, and there were no other women for him. He only had eyes for her.

Besides, right now they were on their honeymoon. Kagome was pretty sure that the last thing that was crossing Inuyasha's mind, if anything was crossing his mind, would be her.

And she had to stop thinking about that because it would make her ill and she didn't want to cry now. It was just torture.

She had never known she was a glutton for pain.

“Ugh, I need a vacation.”

“You know talking to yourself is the first sign of going crazy, right?”

Kagome's head snapped and looked at the person next to her. The wolf demon offered her a small smile that Kagome forcefully returned.

“You know you don't have to pretend when you are with me, right?” Ayame told her as she sat on the chair next to hers.

Kagome sighed and looked at the table. “I know, it's just…”

“You don't want to worry anyone?”

Kagome nodded.

“Look at me.” Ayame commanded. Kagome did as told obediently.

“Sango, your mother, your brother, his friends, even Miroku...we are all here for you. We want you to be as happy as you can, Kagome, and I know that it is hard for you to be with Inuyasha's brother, but you are strong, and you'll get through this.”

Kagome lowered her eyes.

“I did some research.” She said quietly. “About youkai, their traditions and all that.”

Ayame had a feeling she knew what was coming. “And?”

“It said that…that youkai only marry once in their lives, unless their wife dies. It said that once they choose someone to be their mates, they will forever stay with them. They won't allow anything to break them apart. I also found out that divorce is seen as something disgraceful. A youkai that separates from his or her wife is looked down upon.”

“Kagome…”

“Sango tried to tell me, before the wedding, that if I married Sesshoumaru I would never be able to separate from him, but I didn't listen. I guess that in the back of my mind…I thought that after his heritage was received and my brother was saved…I thought we would be able to split up, but…”

“You won't.”

Kagome looked at Ayame.

“You are youkai; tell me…if Inuyasha's father had a mate…I found that youkai only mated once…why did he mate twice?”

“Sesshoumaru's mother, Inuyasha's father first mate, died. Decades later he found another woman, a human woman, that could be his mate, and he didn't let her slip away from him.”

“But she died too.”

Ayame's face was somber. “Some youkai say that is his punishment for taking two mates.”

“Oh, so…youkai truly do mate for life.”

“Yes, the youkai that have mated more than once can be counted with only one of my hands.”

“But…” Kagome blushed. “You only have sex with one person?”

Ayame laughed, and the librarian angrily told them to be quiet. Ayame's eyes were twinkling.

“You are so sweet, Kagome. Mating and having sex are two totally different things. Sex is just body pleasure. When you mate with someone, you not only share your body, you share your soul, your heart, your life…did you know that if a youkai mates a human the human's life will enlarge and the youkai's will shorten?”

Kagome's eyes grew wide. “You mean…”

“Yes, if Sesshoumaru decides to mate with you, that will happen.”

To Ayame's surprise, Kagome smiled. “That won't happen. Sesshoumaru would never want to mate with me, and I wouldn't want to mate him.”

Ayame's smiled disappeared. “Kagome…we youkai can tell when one has mated. I know that you and Sesshoumaru haven't done anything, but…well, he is your husband, and youkai don't marry anyone that they won't mate.”

“You mean…”

“Knowing Sesshoumaru, he has already thought about this.”

“But he hasn't said anything!” Kagome said a bit too loudly.

The librarian once more urged them to shush.

“Kagome, would Sesshoumaru sit and talk to you about his plans?”

“…No.”

“Then?”

“I…I just never thought about this…I don't…I haven't even had sex with anyone, and to mate to such a horrible person…”

“You two are already going to have to share your lives, so what is the matter? You will only be more tuned to each other.”

“But I…I don't love him. I love…”

“Inuyasha; who is already mated with Kykio. You know that. You know that you can't have him, Kagome…”

“I know.” Kagome had her hands in fist over the table. She was trembling.

“I know that he doesn't love me. I know that he loves Kykio. I know he won't be mine. I know.”

She took a deep breath.

“ I'm aware of all this. It keeps me from sleep at night. It makes me want to cry. But just because I know doesn't mean it changes anything. I cannot make myself stop loving him, and his face keeps coming back to mind.

And when I look at Sesshoumaru, I am reminded of what is no longer mine. I know…but I cannot mate with Sesshoumaru. I don't understand the mating thing very much, but I do know that it has to have love involved. I already married without love. I will not mate without it.”

Ayame put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. “I hope…I hope Sesshoumaru respects your decision, but…eventually you will have to mate.”

”I just can't do that with Inuyasha's brother.”

“That bastard…”

“Quiet!” The librarian glared at them.

“If you can't behave, please leave this library. There are people here that are actually studying.”

Kagome and Ayame both bowed their heads. “We are sorry.”

The librarian glared at them again and turned away.

“Oops.”

“Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go have dinner someplace; I'm starving. We'll continue this there, where there aren't evil librarians.”

Kagome gave a soft laugh and hurriedly picked up her things. She'd accompany Ayame, but as soon as she was home she would have a very long talk with Sesshoumaru.

And he would be lucky if she didn't poison his food.

---

“I hope you have good news.”

Kagura bowed her head. “Yes, sir, we found that her brother was very sick.”

Naraku looked at her with little interest. “How sick?”

“Sick enough to drive her to marry Sesshoumaru Taisho.”

He gave her a nod, and she continued. “She had a relationship with Inuyasha Taisho, but he broke up with her because of Kykio. Our investigators said that she was very in love with the hanyou. Some days later, her brother went to the hospital. The next day, Kagome Higurashi and Sesshoumaru Taisho were engaged.”

“It all works for us, but why did Sesshoumaru marry her? She is a human. He hates humans. Even if their father ordered them to marry so fast, why would he choose her?”

“Their father wanted them to marry humans.”

Once more, Naraku thought, that old fool had made it easy for them.

“See how we can get this information to work for us.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Kagura?”

“Sir?”

“Book two tickets to Japan immediately. I think it is time we meets the Taisho heirs. We should start getting involved into their business.”

“Sir, no one in the Taisho family has ever wanted to work with you.”

Naraku waved his hand, taking importance out of that fact. “Times change, and our company has become powerful. Sesshoumaru is a business man. He'll see it is for the best. Anything else you have to tell me?”

“Kagome Higurashi is a miko. It may not be important, but we never know.”

Naraku smiled. “We never know.”

---