Human Compensation

Shippou was still at Inuyasha's and Kagome's apartment when he brought back the sleeping beauty.

“Is she okay?” He asked, following him to her bedroom. “What that’s weird smell?”

“Koga,” Inuyasha said.

Shippou eyes widened in fear. “Did he...?”

“No, I got there just in time to stop him,” Inuyasha said. “She’s exhausted. Why don’t you go home. You can come back tomorrow.”

Shippou nodded. He gave Kagome a light kiss on her forehead and left.

Kagome woke up when Inuyasha sat her, none too gently, on her bed. She stared up at him sleepily, wondering why he was standing over her frowning.

“Take off your clothes,” he demanded.

“What?” Kagome asked wide awake now.

“You heard me, take off your clothes!”

“Why? What are you going to do?” Kagome asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “I don’t want you if that’s what you’re thinking. You stink with the scent of that wolf. I can smell him all over you and I can’t stand it, so take them off.”

“I’m tired Inuyasha,” Kagome said, wanting nothing more than to lay down and sleep.

“You can rest as soon as you take off those clothes and take a bath. “

He growled slightly in annoyance when she hesitated. “Do you want me to do it for you?” He asked, wiggling his claws in front of her face.

“Fine! Whatever! Just get out of here so I can do it!” Kagome said, fed up with dominating attitude.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m never leaving you alone in your room again,” Inuyasha said. “I’ll turn my back to you.” He turned around impatiently and crossed his arms.

Kagome could see the rips in his clothing from the fight. She wondered how many times he had to go shopping, since his clothes were always getting destroyed. She took her pajamas from her drawer and put them on after she took off her clothes.

“Are you decent?” Inuyasha asked, after he stopped hearing the rustle of clothes.

“Yes,” she said.

He turned around and took the dirty clothes she’d laid on the floor and left.

Kagome frowned, “Inuyasha what are you doing with my clothes?” She called after him.

When he didn’t answer, she got up and walked into the living room. The fireplace had been lit. He didn’t! She ran to the fireplace and looked inside. Her clothes were burning!

“Why did you do that!” She yelled as he stood there looking peacefully into the flames.

“I told you, I couldn’t stand his smell on you.”

“You didn’t have to burn my clothes!” Kagome said.

“You still smell like him. Go take a bath.”

“I’m not taking a bath!” Kagome said, even though she really did want to take one. She just didn’t want to give into his demands. What was wrong with him? She knew he had always been sort of demanding and bossy, but he’d gotten worse since the incident with Koga.

He turned to her with a look that said he didn’t want anymore arguments from her. “I’ll fix your bath for you. Why don’t you relax on the couch. I’ll come get you when it’s ready,” he said in a softer tone.

She immediately became suspicious. Now what was he up to?

Inuyasha walked to the bathroom. He didn’t want Kagome becoming upset again. She’d been through enough already, but she had to understand that he didn’t want another male who wasn’t a friend, near her. Koga’s scent had almost drowned out his scent on her and he didn’t like it at all. In fact, he detested it.

Inuyasha gulped out of apprehension as he ran the bath water. He knew exactly what was happening to him, why else would he be acting like this? Kagome was the first woman in his life that had ever made him feel this way. How could he have fallen for her in such a short time? He had been attracted to her the first day he’d met her, but he never suspected a simple, naive girl like her, could have snuck her way into his heart without him knowing it until it was too late. He sighed. It was her damn innocence and pureness that made him fall for her.

The couple of weeks he’d known her she’d shown him a different view of the world. A place he could actually be happy in because of her. She saw the goodness in everyone and she was always so happy; smiling, laughing, even joking around with him at times, when she wasn’t arguing with him. He’d found himself hating to leave her side when he had to work in the evenings, and rushing to return to her when he’d finished. He knew his behavior with her was strange, but he chose to ignore it. Before she came into his life, he’d always looked forward to his second job, getting high off the thrill and excitement it gave him. He still enjoyed the fights, but it wasn’t the same anymore. Now, he had someone to come home to and he looked forward to her fussing over him when he came home hurt. He never bothered to tell her that he healed fast because he liked the attention she gave him. He found her fascinating, she was the only person he knew who got so much joy out of simple things such as cooking, cleaning, or just standing by the window and watching the sunset. He never wanted her to change and he never wanted her to leave him. He’d nearly had a heart attack when he discovered she’d run away. Kagome, out there alone in this dangerous city in the middle of the night. He still got the shivers just thinking about what could have happened to her.

He added some powdery medicine in the bath water and watched it dissolve. So now that he’d admitted to himself how he felt about her, the only problem was finding out how Kagome felt about him. Right now, she probably hated him.

“Inuyasha?” She said bringing him out of his thoughts.

Kagome looked at him curiously. He’d been staring into the water with a serious expression.

“I thought I told you to stay in the living room until I come for you,” Inuyasha said, staring at her.

“I couldn’t sit still. Is the bath ready?”

Inuyasha stood up. “Yes, I added some soothing powder for your cuts. It’s suppose to take away the pain.”

“Thank you,” Kagome said.

Inuyasha slowly walked out, glancing back at her.

Kagome smiled at his strange behavior. “Is something wrong?”

He looked surprised at the question, then felt his cheeks growing suspiciously hot. “No, nothing’s wrong. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” He said as he quickly walked away. Embarrassed he kicked the couch and sat down. Now that he knew how he felt about her, he was beginning to see her in an entirely different way. All those feelings and desires that he’d kept hidden were refusing to be ignored. The primitive need to mate with her as quickly as possible so there would be no doubt she belonged to him was struggling to come out. It didn’t help that she was about to be naked a few feet away from him and he could smell her.... He jumped up and walked to the balcony, closing the glass doors behind him. He took in a deep breathe of fresh air to clear his mind. He was no better than Koga if he couldn’t control himself around her.

Kagome relaxed in the bath tub letting out a loud sigh. 'This feels so good. I don’t know what kind of medicine Inuyasha put in here, but I can barely feel any pain. My entire body is tingling. I’ll just relax for ten more minutes, then go to bed...yeah...just...a...few...more...minutes.....' She closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

*************************************************************

Inuyasha stood in front of the closed bathroom door. She’d been in there for a long time. Surely the water was getting cold by now.

“Kagome?” He called.

No answer.

He turned the knob, at least she hadn’t locked it, and walked in. She was asleep? Her body had slid deep into the tub and her chin was barely above the water. If she had sunked lower she would have drowned. He squatted down beside the tub and whispered her name, trying not to startle her. When she didn’t respond, he called her name firmly and rubbed his finger over her cheek. Kagome woke up with a start, confused and disoriented, she sat straight up when she felt the cold water against her bare skin and looked right into Inuyasha’s face, except he wasn’t staring at her, he was gawking at her naked breasts that were pointing in his face. Kagome let out an outraged squeal and backslapped him hard. Inuyasha let out a painful whimper when his face hit the tiled floor.

“You pervert! You could have turned away instead of sitting there staring!” Kagome yelled at him, wrapping her arms around her chest to cover herself.

“How was I suppose to know you were going to sit up and flash me?!” Inuyasha yelled back, rubbing the side of his face where she’d hit him.

“What are you doing in here, anyway?” Kagome asked.

“You were in here for a while so I came here to check on you. You were asleep and probably would have drowned if I hadn’t woke you.”

“Oh,” Kagome said, losing her anger.

Inuyasha stood up. “Get out of there before you turn into a prune,” he growled, walking out the room and closing the door.

Kagome slowly got out of the water shivering a little. She grabbed a huge towel and dried herself off, then put on her pajamas. Her bathroom was inside her bedroom so she didn’t have far to walk. Her bed looked very inviting. She dived onto it and laid down on top of the covers. Kagome didn’t hear her bedroom door open, didn’t open her eyes to see Inuyasha walking around the bed to the other side, and didn’t notice he was getting under the covers beside her until she felt the bed moving. She lifted her head and turned toward the movement.

“Inuyasha! What the heck are you doing?” She asked sitting up.

“What’s it look like? Is this where you're sleeping tonight? My bed is a lot bigger and more comfortable for two people, but I guess I can deal with this.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not sleeping in my bed,” Kagome said, pushing him off forcefully.

Inuyasha’s heavy body hit the floor with a loud thump. He lay sprawled out indignantly on his back, his arms stretched out like he’d just been crucified. He hadn’t expected her to push him off the end of the bed.

“Hey bitch, what you do that for? I’m not leaving you in here alone. You may try to runaway again!” he yelled, raising his head to glare at her.

“I’m not running away. I don’t have anything to runaway in! You destroyed my car!”

“That crappy junk was never a car, it was an imitation of a car,” Inuyasha said, rising to his knees.

Kagome leaned off the bed and grabbed his shoulders. “Sit boy!” She demanded pushing him back down.

“Hey! Will you stop it!” Inuyasha said, trying to get away from her firm grip.

“Stay!” Kagome ordered. “If you must sleep in here, then you’re going to sleep on the floor.” She threw him a sheet off her bed.

Inuyasha grumbled to himself as he pulled the sheet from over his head and adjusted it over his body.

Kagome snuggled under her covers and ignored him for the rest of the night.

Later that night, Inuyasha was awaken by strange sounds. He sat up and watched Kagome move restlessly under the covers that tangled around her legs. Every few seconds she’d mumbled something out loud and then whimper. She was having a nightmare. Inuyasha stood up and climbed on the bed beside her. He touched her gently, feeling her pajamas soaked from sweat.

“Kagome, wake up,” he said, gently shaking her.

Kagome opened her eyes and turned to him. “Inuyasha,” she cried throwing her arms around his neck. “I had a horrible dream about you.”

“Me?” Inuyasha asked in surprise. “It was just a dream, Kagome,” he told her, patting her back awkwardly.

“But it seemed so real. It replayed all those times you saved me, except this time, you died in every one. “

“Feh, you’re just worn out from everything that’s happened to you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise me,” Kagome said, her face buried in his chest. “Promise me that you’ll always be with me. I know we don’t always get along, but I’ve begun to see you as a close friend. I’m still angry about the mafia deception, but you’ve saved my life, kept me safe, and I can’t hate you even though I’ve tried. “

Inuyasha held her tight as he settled on his side and pulled the covers over them. “I swear to you, Kagome, we’ll always be together.”

Kagome smiled and closed her eyes. She didn’t push him away this time so Inuyasha kept holding her. He watched her until her body gradually went limp and her breathing became slow and even. She hadn’t understood the depths of his promise when he gave it to her. One day she would...