Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Two Swords: The Tangled Web ❯ Confession ( Chapter 17 )

Okay. Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been working a lot lately. Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I have nothing.

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The sun had just started to crest over the horizon and most of the small village was asleep. One hanyou, though, was not. He was sitting on a low branch in his favorite tree looking at his hands. He had been awake for a few hours. The sound of Sanosuke and Sango arriving from their trip to the demon slayer's abandoned village had roused him. He did not speak to them when they arrived though. He could smell on them the reason they had taken so long and thought it best to keep to himself. But since then he wasn't able to return to his slumber. He was too busy thinking. He curled his hands into a fist, then stretched them out. He watched the early morning light glint off the edges of his claws. He hung his head. This was not the way it was supposed to be. He shouldn't have been sleeping up in the tree. He should have been by Kagome's side. He should have been in her arms. They should have been spending their first night together as lovers. As human lovers. But instead he sat in his usual resting place in his usual body. Kagome hadn't said a word about the kiss or embrace he gave her and neither had he. It was like it had never even happened, and Inuyasha was too proud to bring it up. He had the ultimate plan to show his love to her, but it hadn't worked out. He was too unhappy to think up another one. His head lifted as a scent crossed his nose. He wondered to himself why she was awake so early, but he ignored it assuming she wasn't looking for him. Then she reached the tree, and her soft voice floated up through the branches to him.

"Inuyasha?" He looked down at her. She did look remarkably like Kagome. She seemed more feminine in a way though. She had changed back into her pink kimono after Kenshin washed it for her. He had said he liked the way she looked in it. She was gazing up into the tree, trying to pick out Inuyasha's form. He jumped down to meet her.

"What do you want?" His words took her off guard. He was so gruff.

"I just wanted to talk with you."

"Fine. Talk." He sat down cross-legged on the grass, and she kneeled down gently beside him. She was silent for a moment. She needed to find the right words.

"Well, are you gonna say something or what?" She looked into his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to thank you, Inuyasha." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"For what?"

"For saving me. I know you had other plans for that jewel. Kagome told me."

"Keh! She doesn't know anything." He tried to keep his rough exterior up.

"Oh, I know that's not true. She told me at the hot springs today. She said that ever since she met you, you've been trying to use the jewel to become a full demon. It must have been really hard to give that up for me. You don't even really know me."

"How can she be so stupid?" Kaoru was surprised at his forceful tone. What was he talking about? She was trying to thank him for saving her, and he was calling her stupid.

"Excuse me, I'm not stupid."

"Not you! Don't worry about it. You're welcome. Now go back to the hut." He began to stand to walk away, but Kaoru grabbed his arm to stop him. She was not going to let anybody, even a hanyou, just walk away from her. He stared down at her in disbelief as she held tightly to his arm.

"Then who is?" Inuyasha jerked his arm from her. He didn't want to talk to her about it. He turned to jump back into the tree when something slammed him in the head. It was a branch from a nearby tree that had fallen some time before. Kaoru had picked it up and hit him with it.

"What did you do that for?"

"Because I wasn't done talking to you. Please sit down and answer my question." Inuyasha glared at her. She acted like Kagome too.

"Why should I?"

"Because I deserve to know. I'm trying to thank you, and you're calling somebody stupid. Please just talk to me. I won't let any one else know what you say." He grudgingly returned to his seat beside her. He looked hard into her eyes. He let down the mask that he used to cover his emotions, and she was shocked as the pain surfaced there.

"Kagome."

"What?" She was breathless. She had become so focused on his eyes and the intensity of them that she had forgotten her question.

"Kagome is the stupid one."

"Why?"

"Because she told you I wanted to be a full demon. She just doesn't get it." Kaoru was confused.

"But, isn't that what you've always said to her?" Inuyasha hung his head. What else could she have thought? He'd never said anything else to her.

"Yes." His pathetic position frightened Kaoru. She had never felt any fear of him before. Something inside her said he was okay. He wouldn't hurt her. It was just how it was. But now, she was scared. This sad creature was not Inuyasha. He wasn't supposed to act like this. She reached out and put her hand on his leg. She asked him what she desperately needed to know in a very soft voice.

"What were you going to use the jewel for, Inuyasha?" He looked at the hand on his leg, then at her face. She seemed so trustworthy. He felt like it was all right to tell her the truth.

"I was going to become a human." Kaoru was startled.

"Why would you do that? You are so strong and powerful now." Inuyasha almost laughed. Of course that's what everyone thought of first. Strength and power.

"I was going to do it for Kagome."

"But…" He cut her off.

"What good is strength and power when there is no one for you to really protect? I want a wife, Kaoru. I want children one day. I want Kagome to be with me, like you are going to be with Kenshin. I watched him ask you to be with him forever. You didn't even answer. You just looked so happy and kissed him. It broke my heart. You are ready to be with him for the rest of your life. But what about Kagome? She hasn't said a word about the kiss I gave her. She is acting like it never even happened. And how can I blame her? Look at me, Kaoru. Do you see what I am? I have claws. I have fangs. There are dog ears coming out of the top of my fucking head! How can I expect anyone to love something like that? I'm a damn half-demon! How can she possibly want something like me?" He had been yelling until his last sentence. There he had become very soft, as if he was realizing something for the very first time. Kaoru was speechless. She couldn't think of anything to say. She liked to meddle in people's affairs, but this was too much for even her. When Inuyasha stood a moment later, she didn't try to stop him. She just watched him walk away. He moved so slowly it seemed as though his shadow would trip and fall over him. He was usually so fast. When he was finally out of her sight, she heard a noise behind her. It sounded like a choked back sob and the hurried rustling of leaves as something ran away. She dashed over to the source of the noise and watched as a flurry of black hair and a green and white uniform dashed through the trees.

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A/N: Please review!