Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stains of the Heart ❯ Chapter Fifteen ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter Fifteen

 

She considered it a curious feeling.

 

Frowning, she returned her eyes to the stand of clothing in front of her, wondering again why Temari had decided to drag her to this place. A women's clothing store—she had never desired, nor wished, to enter one. She had left behind the pretty kimonos and the elegant pieces of clothing that had once been considered hers, and she did not wish to wear something so annoyingly revealing again. Yet she stood there, fingering a long black jacket, the image of a tall, red-headed male wearing one quite similar to it coming to mind. And, all the while, she knew that she had eyes staring at her from the window, the obsidian pair waiting for her to slip even an inch, and the other, from inside the store, were sharp and waiting for a clue to her past and secrets.

 

However, even if she refused to budge on information, and even if she refused to show weakness to that blasted Uchiha, she was still shown an ounce of kindness. Temari insisted on buying her something when she had realized that she had been wearing the same outfit, and possibly for even longer than she knew. It did not bother her to wear the same thing, even when it was caked in blood, but the Sunagakure kunoichi insisted that they use Gaara's money in order to get her something else to wear. Something about a woman not having to wear the same thing over and over again if she was not going on missions, and not really doing anything except sleeping and wandering about each day.

 

To be shown such kindness, even if it was given for other reasons, was not something that she was used to receiving. So, she wondered at the feeling that formed in her chest, and wondered if she had, perhaps, felt the feeling before. For a moment she almost thought she had, whether it was before she realized how utterly alone she was within those who had called themselves kin, or after she was not entirely sure, though. Her father had always done such ridiculous things in order to keep her from going outside of his control, so it was hard to decide whether or not she had truly had this feeling thrust upon her at any given moment.

 

She glanced up when Temari suddenly appeared, pulling the jacket from the rack that it was situated on and held it up. Then, she watched as the other kunoichi grinned and nodded, saying something about how it would look fantastic with something else she had seen. She was not even able to question what that thing was before the kunoichi was gone, searching through the racks of clothing for whatever it was she wished to find. However, she hoped that whatever it was, it did not come in any light color—she hated the idea of wearing such a thing.

 

Temari returned shortly afterward, holding up what she had found. “What do you think?” she asked. She was not sure what the woman would like to wear, but she supposed that anything would do quite well. However, she had watched her and heard things, so she assumed that anything dark in color was the best, which was what she had chosen. Then, when Kagome did not speak, she continued, “You can be truthful. If you don't like it, say so, and I'll put it back.”

 

“It is… adequate,” she replied, before turning away.

 

Temari grinned, “Good. I'll buy it then.”

 

Kagome gave a short nod, uncaring if the woman bought it or not. The emotion in her chest had been overridden by the feeling of something powerful heading toward her once again. She had yet to convince the annoying fool who spoke to her through her mind to tell her what was coming, but she supposed that it would not matter either way. She would find out, and when she did, she would have some fun before she ripped the life away from the thing that sent a small shiver down her spine. After all, she did not like it whenever those around her affected her so greatly, which once again caused her to question her own sanity.

 

She allowed Gaara to live—and though his rank as Kazekage was a very good excuse, she knew that was not the reason she allowed him to keep his life. He affected her in a strange way, one curious enough that she allowed it to continue. True, he was quite handsome, and the pleasure of watching him was enough to quench any female's thoughts, but she had seen many who held beauty—some more than he. No, that was also not the reason she let him live, so she supposed that it was the feeling that washed over her each time he was within the area. The feeling that anything could happen, but she would remain calm and at peace—that feeling, one she had never felt before, was certainly enough to keep him alive.

 

Then, after a short moment, she shook those thoughts from her head. The redhead filled her thoughts too much lately, almost as if her mind had decided to wrap around him and keep him. She would have snorted at the very idea, but she could not deny that he often filled her mind whenever she did not wish him to occupy it. He was unlike anything she had encountered, though she had seen many others with similar traits, and she could not help but wonder what it was that drew her attention toward him. The question roamed through her thoughts quite a bit lately, as well, because it was ultimate question that she wanted answered at this moment, but knew that she could not threaten to slit another's throat for it.

 

No, she knew that that answer had to come from herself.

 

“Tsk, tsk, stupid little girl.”

 

Another sigh escaped her lips as Temari returned to show her the set of pants she had chosen. She nodded, eyeing the large amount of pockets that she could easily store weapons in. However, noticed that the other woman had eyed her for a moment when the small amount of air escaped her lungs. The thought of anyone knowing of that one annoying person to stay out of her reach for so many years was almost shameful. Many had called her a monster, and they were correct to assume such, but the tales she had always heard spoke of the monster killing all who stood in its path—those who did not please, or angered it. The voice was an annoyance, and she would torture the one who continued to mess with her head should she ever find them.

 

“Thinking about mating, when you should be focusing on the opponent that shall soon appear.” The voice laughed for a short moment, before sneering, “How very human of you.”

 

Shut up.

 

“What's the matter little one?” the voice asked innocently. “Afraid to admit that you are human? That you have needs? That you wish to fuck your pretty little redhead until you collapse from exhaustion? Please, whatever it is, tell me, and I might be able to help you.”

 

She scowled. You are not interested in helping me in anything. Your only goal in life is to torment me with your constant presence.

 

“You're avoiding the subject, princess.”

 

She almost snorted. She knew that her body was attracted to the Kazekage, but she was not a fool. She knew that doing such things was dangerous, for not only could she find herself emotionally attached—which was laughable in itself—but she could find herself spilling secrets should he ask for them. No, she was not stubborn enough at this point to deny that she wished to lay with him, but she would not, and that was truly what mattered. There were so many possibilities—so many things that could go wrong—should she decide to travel down that path, so she would not, end of story.

 

“Oh, don't be that way, stupid girl. Perhaps rutting with your redhead will clear your thoughts on why you're so interested in him.” It snickered, lust trickling into its voice, “Or, perhaps you will finally let me out. Yes, what a wonderful thought that is. Fuck the boy, let us see if that will be enough for you to let me out.”

 

I will not lay with Gaara, no matter how many times you tell me to, insolent moron, she hissed.

 

“No need to be so defensive, girl. I do not care if you decide to breed with the former vessel of Shukaku or not. I will find a way out, and once I am, I will make sure that you do not see the light of day for quite some time,” the voice growled.

 

She snarled, I do not know what your game is, but no one will restrain me.

 

“Laughable. You want to know why?”

 

Why? Kagome snarled.

 

“Because, though you try so hard to deny it, you're being restrained from killing your precious Kazekage. By yourself, even.” It snorted, “Perhaps it is also time for you to stop being such a hypocrite.”

 

She had had enough. She snarled and hissed, blocking the voice from her mind as she focused onto other thoughts. However, she could hear the distant laughing in her ears as Temari returned, the clothing in bags hanging from her arms. Though annoying, she refused to acknowledge the distant sound for even a moment with the other woman now standing next to her, saying something about changing into the items now, and having her current clothing washed for another day. And, she nodded so that she would have another excuse to ignore the fool who had managed to elude even her senses for so long.

 

OoO

 

Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall that he had been leaning on, and glanced at the two women as they finally left the shop. His eyebrow lifted when he noticed that Temari was smiling and signaling toward the work that she had done on her companion. He snorted, since he was never one for fashion, but he did suppose that the long jacket went well with the rest of the clothing, and her personality. And it would be nice not to have to wonder where the blood patches on her pervious wear came from, since he had often wondered whether her pervious pair of pants had been red in color, or from blood.

 

She had gotten herself covered in it twice that he knew of, it could go either way.

 

Temari sighed when the Uchiha dismissed them, turning his head in the other direction. She had thought that her work would at least catch his eye a little, but she supposed if she wanted that, she should have pulled out a tighter shirt for Kagome to wear. After all, the Uchiha's genin sensei had been Hatake Kakashi, and there were plenty of things that that jounin could have passed on to his students. Despite that, however, she had thought that he would at least stare a little, since Kagome was a very attractive woman, even if she did give off bad signals a lot.

 

Turning her head, Temari watched as Kagome pulled lightly at the edges of the jacket she now wore. She was not blind, she had seen the way she had admired the material, and she had decided that it would go well with the black shirt and silver pants. In fact, it truly was the only thing that seemed very different from her pervious outfit, since the pants were just a little longer—not to mention a different color—, and the other woman had removed the silver fishnet over her shirt. However, the sash around her waist, the bandaging she had redone around her legs, the gloves, and the black shirt looked identical to what she had worn not ten minutes ago.

 

“Temari!”

 

She glanced up, groaning when she noticed that Kankurou was rushing toward her. Along with him, at a much slower pace, was Gaara. However, though she knew that Gaara was showing interest in the woman at her side, she had to wonder what they wanted. Kankurou looked like it was an emergency, but he often looked that way, so it really was not something for her to go off of.

 

“There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!” Kankurou huffed.

 

“What do you want, Kankurou?” Temari scowled.

 

“Well, we simply could not wait to see you,” Kankurou started, motioning with his eyes toward his younger brother. “So, when you did not show up, we decided that it might be best to come look for you.”

 

Temari smirked, noticing that Gaara was scowling at them both. “I see,” she replied. She could not pass up the opportunity to poke fun at her youngest brother, since it was not often that she was able to. This was just the thing she had been waiting for, though she had not expected it would turn out this way when she had first checked her female companion's pulse.

 

“Hn.”

 

“Gaara-sama,” Kagome returned the greeting.

 

Gaara turned his eyes away from his smirking siblings, cursing them for realizing that he was curious about the woman Temari had saved. He had given the information he had obtained to Tsunade, and discussed it with her, but still the mystery around the woman hung like a thick fog. His curiosity was not waning, but rising with each new piece of information, and he hated that now his siblings knew of how much he was clinging to each piece. Analyzing them to the point that they seemed to swim through his thoughts while she was not there.

 

His eyes landed on Kagome, and he tensed for a moment.

 

Temari's smirk became a bit bigger when she noticed that Gaara's eyes were quickly drawn to Kagome's clothing—or, more importantly, her body. She knew how reluctant her youngest brother was to have a relationship, or even think about having one, because of the way he had been seen before he rose to be Kazekage. But, she was glad to know that he was showing interest in a female, since he had only spent time with Matsuri, and the girl was not one for males apparently.

 

His mind roamed back to when she had mentioned that she liked his clothing. Gaara was not able to help himself, for he felt himself growing a bit hot as he stared at the black material clinging to her flesh. He had not tried, nor wanted to, envision her within his clothing since the time she had brought up his fashion statement. However, the clothing that she was wearing was so very similar, so very close to being the same that his eyes roamed over it. He could easily replace it with the one that he was wearing, and see her smirk slowly, beckoning him closer. And damn it, his body heated a bit more at the thought.

 

Gaara jerked himself away from those thoughts the next instant. He turned his head, noticing that Temari looked ready to throw her head back and laugh in triumph, Kankurou was smiling in understanding, and Sasuke had risen an eyebrow at him. He refused to return his gaze to her, not when that image was so clear in his head. “Hn.”

 

A snicker broke through her thoughts, and she cursed under her breath.

 

“It would seem that Shukaku's former vessel wants to fuck you, as well.”

 

Damn it, she hissed.

 

“Oh, little one, I thought you would be happy about that. It means that you have a better chance of rutting with him,” the voice laughed.

 

Disgusting fool, leave me be! Kagome roared, forcing herself to block out the voice once more. The distant laughing could be heard once more, but she was glad that the annoying voice was no longer whispering so easily. She was in control—she was always in control—and no one was going to get the upper hand when it came to her. However, the words the voice had spoken before she managed to thrust it into the background once more were swarming in her head, and she cursed it for telling her such things.

 

Her eyes shifted toward the Kazekage, noticing the way that his eyes were turned anywhere but her. Her breathing picked up just a bit, feeling satisfaction shiver down her spine when she realized that the words had been true. He refused to acknowledge her now, trying to force away the feeling coursing through his body no doubt, and there was that delectable scent that now mingled with his own. God, she could bath her senses in it forever and never tire of it, which made him even more dangerous toward her.

 

A growl spilled from her throat, causing the others to glance in her direction. Damn it, though, she had no weaknesses, and she would be damned if she developed one now. She would not lust after the Kazekage—never. She would get rid of these insane thoughts, and remove the interest that she had in him. She would, for she had faced many challenges and conquered them all. This one would be no different, and once she had cured herself of this damnable feeling of right, she would continue forth and erase his image from her mind.

 

The Kazekage was nothing!

 

Suddenly, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. Her stride became long, hurried, until she was certain that only the Uchiha was following her at a quick pace. Then, when she was positive that she had created distance between herself and the one who caused such things to torment her, she came to an abrupt halt. Her head turned only slightly, watching as the Uchiha landed beside her with a scowl. She knew his mission well, watch her every movement, so she did not sneer at him the way she wanted to. No, instead she ignored him, turning her eyes up toward the small park at her left.

 

“You ran out of there pretty fast,” Sasuke commented. “Almost like you suddenly realized something and decided to get away from it before it could overwhelm you.”

 

She snarled at him, and then walked forward a bit more. “Do not try to make it seem that you know anything about me, Uchiha,” she hissed. Her mind was spinning, confusion filling in the spaces that she could not hold onto for long. At that moment she hated the Uchiha more than she hated anything, and if she did not care about her current peace—being unmarked for death—she would have killed him.

 

The laughter filled her head once more, making her anger spiral a bit higher. “That it's, stupid girl. Let me out.”

 

“You're making it rather obvious, aren't you?” Sasuke frowned.

 

She growled, “Shut up, Uchiha. You know nothing of what I feel.”

 

“Blood…”

 

Sasuke tensed at the rise in chakra he felt coming from her. It was bordering on a bloodthirsty level, and he was ready for the moment that she would finally snap. He had considered that she was a jinchuuriki, and he knew that the Kazekage had as well. The bloodlust he felt at that moment, rising higher and higher, was unlike anything he had felt since the time he had fought against Naruto while he was using Kyuubi's chakra. There was no doubt in his mind anymore, this woman contained something inside of her, and he was not sure how well the village would fair should this unknown unleash it.

 

Kagome tensed up, before she shook her head, and stomped forward. However, she was surprised when she noticed that a young girl was standing in front of her. Confusion filled her mind, and she stopped—everything stopped at that moment, as those innocent eyes stared up at her. Her body relaxed, though she scowled down at the little girl standing in front of her, wondering what it was about her that suddenly calmed her the way Gaara was able to.

 

The girl frowned lightly, “You look very sad and lonely.”

 

She blinked, confused with the girl's actions. Then, she watched as the young girl reached out and took her hand in her own. The action confused her even more, since children were usually afraid of her for several reasons, but she did not try to retract the appendage. No, instead she gave the girl a confused look, and replied, “What?”

 

“Rin said,” the girl giggled, “that you look very lonely. Lost.”

 

Sasuke frowned, allowing his body to relax. The woman in front of him no longer looked or felt ready to kill, but was merely staring down at the girl in front of her. She appeared confused, and he had to wonder what her experience with children had been like before. However, she looked like she was taking it in stride.

 

The girl nodded, “A lonely and sad beauty.”

 

“I do not know what you speak of,” Kagome huffed. She turned her head away from the little girl—Rin, apparently her name was. “I need no one.”

 

Rin smiled a little, and then nodded again. “Yes, very alone. But, you're getting better now, aren't you? I can tell because you're hanging around other people, and your clothing smells a little like another person.”

 

She was perplexed with this girl's behavior. One look at her and the girl seemed to think she knew everything about her. Well, she would be damned if a young child managed to figure out more than she wanted anyone else to.

 

A small frown appeared onto Rin's face once more, and she stroked the hand within hers. “You've been alone for a very long time,” she whispered, “and you're used to being alone. But, you don't need to be alone anymore. No, Rin is here now, and Rin will be your friend, pretty lady.”

 

Sasuke glanced between them, realizing that there was a very confused look in Kagome's eye. That suggested that either she was still confused with the actions the girl was taking, or that the information she was giving out—however little it seemed—was correct. Then again, it could be a combination of both. But, Sasuke decided to ignore this for the moment, deciding that it was best to watch and wait for that to come forth. “Who are you?” he asked the girl instead.

 

Rin looked up at the man beside the woman in front of her. She smiled, tilting her head a bit to the side. “Rin's name is Rin. Rin's surname is Aoki, though,” she replied.

 

“Uchiha Sasuke,” he nodded.

 

Rin looked up, and asked, “What's your name, pretty lady?”

 

She frowned, before saying, “You may call me Kagome.”

 

“Kagome,” Rin tested it, before clucking her tongue. “Kagome has a very pretty name. Rin likes it.”

 

She said nothing.

 

Rin was not deterred, though. She smiled a bit more, and tugged at the woman's hand, “You'll come play with Rin, won't you, Kagome-chan? No one else is here, so you won't have to worry about too many people around you. And, Rin will make sure that those who do come leave you alone, since Rin understands that you do not trust many people, and don't like to try.”

 

Once again, Kagome huffed, “I don't know where you're getting this, girl. Besides, where is your mother? Your father? Why are you out here alone? Do you not know that it's dangerous, even when there are shinobi willing to protect a civilian?”

 

“Rin's glad that Kagome-chan worries, but you don't have to,” Rin smiled. “Rin's brother Kohaku will be coming soon, and Rin's ok. Besides, Rin wants to become a kunoichi, like Kagome-chan, so Rin must learn to defend herself sooner or later.”

 

“Why do you refer to yourself in third person?” Kagome asked, curious.

 

“Rin has always spoken this way. Rin's daddy tried to make Rin stop once, but Rin didn't want to. Besides, it makes Rin's brother Kohaku laugh, and Rin likes it whenever he laughs. Kohaku is the best brother in the world, but Rin's daddy makes Kohaku try too hard. That's why Rin wants to be a kunoichi like Kagome-chan, because then Rin will be able to protect him, and he won't have to try so hard,” Rin grinned. “That is Rin's dream.”

 

“It—” her tongue caught in her throat. Then, she forced out, “It is a good dream.”

 

Rin nodded, grinning wider. “Come on, Kagome-chan, come play with Rin.”

 

“I don't think—”

 

Rin tugged at her hand again, “Come play with Rin! Please, Kagome-chan.”

 

Sasuke watched as the girl tugged the older woman up the slope to the small park. Then, he watched as the girl giggled and tugged her over toward the swings, insisting that they push each other. He did not understand what had happened, but he moved up the small slope so that he could watch and wait. After all, this was something new that he could report to Tsunade, and that girl had a strange way of knowing little things about Kagome.

 

His eyes sharpened, since he did not quite understand how this Aoki Rin was able to know, simply by looking, that Kagome had been alone. Her strange way of knowing would also be something that Tsunade might like to know about.

 

OoO

 

KibaSin: Ah, and now I've finally got around to figuring out how to put more of the Inuyasha characters into the story. There will be only seven of them—who they are, and how they end up in the story might surprise you. Or, I'm hoping they will, since they might not be as you expected, while a few will be placed in positions that one might actually imagine them in. But, the others won't come in until they do, and I refuse to tell who they are.

 

Kiba