The Lucky Ones
Chapter Sixteen
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The Lucky Ones
By Terri Botta
Disclaimer: I don’t own
Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I’m poor so don’t
sue.
Rating: R for later chapters.
Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome,
Miroku/Sango
Summary: Sometimes Fate hands
you a gift you never thought you’d ever get, and it’s up to you to accept it
for what it is.
Feedback to:
tci100@psu.edu
Website: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta
********
Chapter Sixteen
Three
weeks. It had been three weeks since they had begun… whatever it was that
they’d begun. Three weeks since she had refused his promise, but not refused
anything else.
told you you had to do something about Kikyou,’
Inuyasha mentally berated himself. ‘And
she’s right. You can’t stay between two women anymore, you stupid worthless
fuck. You can’t pledge yourself to one when you’re still promised to another.’
He growled
and took his frustration out on the carp he was gutting, blood splattering
everywhere.
with me, and the pup, and our own pups that will come aloaterater. I want to be
with her. But how can I? And what about Kikyou? How
can I abandon her when she suffered so much for me? How can I tell her I want
to choose Kagome? And am I choosing Kagome for the right reasons? Do I choose
her because she mates with me? No, we don’t mate, we… we make love as she calls
it. Mating is too harsh a word for what she does to me. So do I choose her
because she’ll make love with me? If Kikyou had made love with me, would I feel
any different about her? Kikyou woulver ver have made love
with you, you idiot. You’re a tainted hanyou, remember? That’s what got
you into this mess in the first place. Kikyou refused to touch you unless you
became human. So does that mean that Kikyou didn’t love me?’
He paused
to think about that and decided he didn’t like the taste it left in his mouth.
He moved to the second carp. It was still flapping weakly, gasping for breath.
Usually the fox kit would come fishing with him and
kill the catch as he swiped them onto the riverbank, but recently
and he knows what’s happened between you and he wants to know why you’re
house and thinks you’re an indecisive, woman-using, fucked up bastard.’
He let out
a snarl gut gutted the carp while it was still alive, the death feeling
unusually satisfying today. His youkai side was
raging, his blood boiling.
Kagome. Kagome mated with him, was fertile, and didn’t want to purify the
side was concerned, there was no choice to be made.
But his
human heart had other ideas. It remembered the lonely miko
who had reached out to an outcast hanyou. It remembered the long days of
following her, of sitting next to her, of listening for her call. His whole
body would come alive at the sound of her voice or the whiff of her scent. The
heart remembered the love he had held for her, the hope he had seen when he
looked into her eyes. <
<
knows that.’
He took the
livers and put them in the clay jar, noting that it was almost full.
have to provide for her. She’s still nursing the pup.’
He sighed.
son. Another reason to choose Kagome. They were
raising the pup together. He remembered all too well her distress and upset
when he had suggested taking Yukio away from her, to ‘free’ her from the burden
of her double life. He never wanted to see that look on her face again. Kagome
loved Yukio as if he was her own child and he would never hurt her so badly as to
take the pup away.
And what
would Kikyou do with the pup anyway? She couldn’t feed him. The pup would know
she was dead when he smelled the grave soil. He could just imagine it.
you away from a living, breathing woman who adores you and feeds you from her
own breast, and give you to an undead walking pile of clay and bones who can’t
feed you and probably wouldn’t want to even if she could. Aren’t I the best
He slammed
his hand to the ground to keep himself from losing control. The pain kept him
focused, kept him functioning. If he let himself fall apart now he might never
be able to put himself back together. Slinging the gutted carp over his
shoulder, he made his way back to the village.
He found Kagome sittwithwith the
old woman’s hut. She had Yukittiitting in her lap wearing the red dog shirt
that she loved so much. He was growing into it. Actually, he was growing like
crazy. He’d easily doubled his weight in the time he had been with them. By his
calculations the pup was just over twelve weeks old and showing it. Already he
was becoming more mobile, crawling out of his carrier on his own and sitting up
by himself. And he had almost a full set of teeth, much to
poor Kagome’s dismay. Even though the pup never bit her with those teeth, he
still put pressure on her nipples with them, making them sore and red.
love. They always hurt her, but it’s too soon for her to wean him.’
approached them and they looked his way when they saw him coming. Kagome
offered him a bright smile that always made his heart skip a beat and his
stomach clench because he knew he didn’t deserve her joy but couldn’t help but
feel glad to see it. Sango gave him a smile as well, but it was colder, more
reserved, and her eyes were veiled. Shippo pointedly
looked away, concentrating on the pup in Kagome’s lap, while the boy,
but I think part of his soul’s already dead. His sad face always gives me the
creeps. He’s seen and done too much and he remembers all of it. Sometimes I
wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to have just let him die.’
“Inuyasha,”
Kagome greeted as he joined them.
“More liver
and fish for dinner,” he said, offering her the clay jar and his catch.
“Thank
you,” she replied.
Yukio
squealed happily, making Inuyasha cringe, and opened his arms. The adult ou
ou
responded by rubbing the pup’s ears.
“Hey, pup.”
Inuyasha,” Sango commented.
“
gaze. ‘Woman knows what’s going on too.
Kagome talks to her a lot. I know how she feels about it. I’ve heard her say
she’d have dropped me off a cliff by now. It’s a good thing she’s sticking
close to home now that she’s starting to show. She’ll sit out the next shard
hunt, I’m sure of it.’
“Why don’t
you take them in to Kaede, Inuyasha.
I’m sure she’ll have an idea as to what to do with them. Maybe she’ll bake them
for us if we promise to share,” Kagome suggested.
“Yeah,
okay.” It was a clear dismissal and he felt a pang of jealousy. What were she
and the others talking about that she didn’t want him around to hear?
probably telling her all about your latest escapades. No… Kagome would never
betray our privacy that way,’ he thought, taking hill ill into the hut
where the old woman was tying up dried herbs.
and more liver.”
“Inuyasha,”
the old miko answered. “Put them by the fire pit.
I’ll cook them later.”
“Kagome
wanted to know if you could bake them if we promised to share.”
you’ll bring me more wood.”
He sat next
to her, crossing his legs. “I can do that later. Is there anything you need
help with right now?”
eavesdrop, Inuyasha.”
He snorted
and bit his lip. “I’m not!” he protested.
Her look
never changed but she reached over and handed him a bucket of fresh herbs.
“Separate those into leaves, stems and flowers.”
He grunted
and got to work, but the old woman was right, he was eavesdropping. Sometimes
he swore Kagome forgot he had enhanced hearing.
“So, you
were telling me about your trip home.” Sango’s
He heard
Kagome sigh. “It was good. I picked up my school work and celebrated my
birthday.”
“You’re
seventeen now, ne?”
fun.”
He smirked
as he separated the herbs. Yeah, her party had been fun, but not as much fun as
she’d had once she got home. He’d stayed behind to watch Yukio because no one
knew about the pup, and when Kagome got back she wanted what she called
‘birthday sex.’ It wasn’t any different from their normal lovemaking, except
that they were doing it on her birthday and in her bed, but she’d said it was
the best birthday present ever.
Come to
think of it, it had been just a little more exciting and urgent, but he’d
blamed the extra rush on knowing someone could walk in on them at any moment
and find them in a compromising position. And he’d taken extra care to make
sure he pleased her more than usual. He’d had no other present for her, so he
opted for giving her a couple of extra climaxes… okay, a few extra climaxes.
She could be so damned responsive when he got her going.
Inuyasha
squirmed where he sat, his body reacting to the memory and he had to squash his
arousal.
morning without thinking about her in my arms. Well, it could have something to do with the fact that it’s her bleeding
time right now and I can’t have her until it’s over.’
It had only
been three days but his body was already screaming, and he ha lea least another
two days to wait. Kagome had taken him into her mouth yesterday to help ease
the urge, and that had taken the edge off his need, but nothing compared to
being inside her and now that he had had her, he craved her like he craved
food.
reminded himself. Then they would have two weeks of worry-free, or mostly
worry-free, lovemaking until her heat cycle began. He was already making plans
about what to do on that first night.
He squirmed
again, growling to himself and concentrating on separating the herbs
shredding them with his claws. And turned his ears backward to catch more of
the conversation going on ide,ide, ignoring Kaede’s
“So, has
Inuyasha spoken with Kikyou?” he heard Sango ask.
He froze in
mid-separation, his whole body tensing as he listened for Kagome’s answer.
“No.” She
sounded calm, but sad.
The
stand it? You give yourself to him and agree to raise this child with him, and
yet you continue to let him two-time you.”
He
“It’s… it’s
not that simple,” Kagome defended. “Inuyasha can’t forget about Kikyou. I’ve
always known that.”
good-for-nothing jerk,’
“It is that
simple,” Sango argued vehemently. “Who broke his seal? Who has stayed beside
him? Who has cared for him and saved him? How many times have you risked your
life to protect him? Do you think Kikyou would have approached him when he was
in full youkai form? Do you think
would have comforted him and forgiven him when he slaughtered those human
bandits? Do you think
if your places had been reversed and it was you who needed purifying?”
Inuyasha
waited to hear her answer. He knew there were serious doubts about
has done? Is she truly only a shadow of the woman she once was?
He closed his
eyes, gritting his teeth at the wave of pride and bittersweet joy that welled
up inside his chest. The size of her heart never ceased to amaze him. Kikyou
had been pure and good, but no one...
as Kagome. Kagome forgave, and forgave and forgave. She harbored no hate or
bitterness or resentment. Yes, she wealoealous and envious of Kikyou but she
had every right to be, and she never let those negative feelings stay for long.
Kikyou, on
the other hand, had hated. Her hate had run deep and tainted their love well
before Naraku turned them against each other. She’d
never trusted him and he’d never really trusted her. Always she kept herself
apart, blaming her responsibilities and duties as a miko
for her aloneness; all the while cursing those same duties for dooming her to a
life of servitude at the cost of her own happiness. She wore her pain and
suffering like a shroud, using it to hold her away from others, especially him.
Kikyou had said she wanted to be a normal woman and live with him as husband
and wife, but what she had really wanted was freedom.
her because you loved her and were desperate to finally belong somewhere. And
she did love you. She did.
He stopped
his thoughts because Kagome was speaking again and he focused on her words.
“And we
don’t know what broke his seal. I mean, I know I was the one who pulled out
Sango
snorted. “I think it’s obvious that you did, and you could do it because you
have Kikyou’s soul. The only one who
have broken the seal was the one who put it on him in the first place.”
Her soul is Kikyou’s, well… except for the part that
Kikyou still has. I wonder. Does she miss that tiny piece sometimes? Does it
bring her pain? She’s never said…’
“I don’t
know anything about that,” he heard Kagome sigh.
scream for help. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I know it was she that
woke me. I don’t think she did it consciously. I think her soul just reached
out for mine and grabbed hold of it. I remember coming out of my long sleep to
the scent of her coming towards me, but before that…’
“What I do
know is that Inuyasha still has feelings for Kikyou and I can’t compete with
them. She was his first love, and he feels responsible for her death because
follow him rather than use the Shikon no Tama to heal
her wounds,” Kagome went on.
“Kikyou
chose to die because was was tired of having to live with her
responsibilities.”
Anger
welled in him at the taijiya’s callous remark.
“I…” Kagome
began.
“No,
Kagome, listen to me. I’ve seen it before. People in my village, men who had
fought youkai all their lives got tired of always
facing death, of always fighting. They’d make mistakes or lose their hearts for
the battle. Usually they’d die at the hands of a youkai
and everyone would say they died bravely fulfilling their duty, but
up. What looked like a valiant, brave battle was just seppuku in disguise
In time, I could tell the difference too, and from everything I have heard
about Kikyou’s death, she used it as an escape from a
life she didn’t want to live any longer,” Sango explained, her voice hard with
conviction.
that,” Kagome gasped.
that boy because you won’t. He clings to an idealized memory of a woman who
never existed and ignores the one in front of him. He takes responsibility for
something that was not his fault, and assumes blame where he is blameless. Do
you see Kikyou coming around and begging forgiveness for sealing him to that
tree? Don’t forget it was Naraku’s claws
that dealt Kikyou her mortal wound not Inuyasha’s, but it was
shot him.
Inuyasha never touched her.”
Inuyasha
felt like he’d been kicked in the gut, and he clenched his fists as rage roiled
up inside of him.
‘No.
That’s not true. It is my fault. If only I had trusted her… Kikyou would not
have died.’
Kagome
seemed to be reading his mind because her next words were, “But if they had
only trusted each other and their love, Naraku would
never have been able to force them to betray each other.”
“And how do
you think they could have done that? Naraku attacked
Kikyou first when Inuyasha wasn’t with her, then put
the Shikon no Tama back into the shrine just
so Inuyasha would steal it and be in a position for Kikyou to shoot him. Just
how do you think that could have gone any differently other than Inuyasha
finding Kikyou mortally wounded and watching her die in his arms?
only way they could have prevented that was if Inuyasha hadn’t left Kikyou
alone, which he did because she didn’t trust him and was ashamed of him because
he was a hanyou. If she had really and truly trusted and loved him, she would
never have asked him to become human for her. She would have loved him as a
hanyou the way you do. Kikyou’s powers weakened when
she fell in love with Inuyasha while yours got stronger. Why do you think that
is?”
clenched his fists so tightly his claws dug into his palms and blood seeped
down to splash on the wooden floor.
her, but no matter what I won’t… I
“Inuyasha,”
Kaede said softly and he opened his eyes to see her
holding a cloth out to him for his bleeding hands.
He was
reaching for the cloth when the reed door flew open and a very pissed off and
weeping taijiya stormed in.
“Do you
hear me, Inuyasha?! You don’t owe that undead clay pot anything! You fulfilled
your obligation when you killed Naraku and avenged
her death! So you stop hurting my friend! You’ll never find anyone who loves
you as much as Kagome-chan! Stop
two-timing her, you selfish, ignorant, indecisive jerk!”
She took
the wooden bucket with the herbs and smashed it over his head.
“BAKA!” she
screamed, tears streaming down her face, then she ran out leaving a very
stunned Kagome in the doorway, holding Yukio.
“
He was
holding his head and desperately trying to keep in the string of curses that
were begging to be let out. In a moment, she was by his side, placing Yukio in
his lap, pulling out one of her magic cold packs from her bag and putting it on
the rising lump.
“Please
forgive her, Inuyasha. She’s pregnant and all my books about pregnancy say now
is when all her hormones start going crazy. She’s not really herself and she
didn’t mean it,” she stammered, her hands shaking as she treated him.
He gritted
his teeth and said nothing. She saw the wounds on his palms and he knew she
recognized them for what they were, but to her credit she kept quiet. Digging
into her bag again, she took out the bandages and other supplies to clean and
dress the wounds. As always, she tended him with gentleness and care, wiping
the blood off of his palms and spreading healing cream on the cuts before
loosely wrapping them in white gauze. He didn’t bother to tell her that the
wounds would be gone by nightfall. In truth, he needed her tender touch to
soothe the aches in his soul, and he wanted nothing more than to lay his head
on her shoulder and beg her forgiveness for being such a bastard.
Instead he
opted for taking her hands in his when she was finished dressing them and
raised regretful eyes to hers. She looked back at him with sorrow,
understanding and love.
he thought sadly.
They looked
into each other’s eyes for long moments, then Kagome
leaned forward and hugged him. It was forgiveness, comfort and absolution all
at once and he wra arm arms around her, pulling her as close as he could with
Yukio in his lap, and buried his face in her hair.
“I love
you,” she whispered.
He answered
with a soft breath of air against her skin as he nuzzled his lips against her
throat, feeling the steady pulse of her heartbeat beneath his mouth. He let his
tongue sneak out and taste her flesh, but for once since they’d become lovers
his body did not react to her closeness, other than to feel solace in her
embrace.
silently.
She pulled
back and kissed him on the forehead.
“Can you
watch Yukio?” she asked.
He nodded,
still not really able to speak.
“I’m gonna
go make sure Sango is okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Okay,” he
managed faintly.
She gave
him a watery smile and left the hut quietly. Yukio watched her go and gave a
little whimper of distress.
Yukio
turned huge golden eyes his way and whined, stuffing his fist into his mouth.
The action reminded Inuyasha of something he’d gotten for the pup, and he
reached into the front of his haori to get it.
“Here,” he
said, handing Yukio a small river stone about twice the size of the pup’s fist.
snatched it and immediately put it to his mouth, gnawing on it because it was
too big to fit. Inuyasha gave a grunt of approval. The pup was still teething
and he’d already bitten through multiple teething rings that Kagome had bought
for him. He knew Kagome would be upset, but pups typically teethed on rocks.
This one was smooth and clean because he’d taken it
out of the river himself when he was fishing. Hopefully it would last longer
than the teething aids Kagome had spent money on.
Pup
pacified, he turned his attention to Kaede and the
wreckage of the herb bucket.
“I’m sorry.
I’ll clean this up,” he promised, already picking up the scattered plants.
The old
woman looked at him with wise and sympathetic eyes. “Think nothing of it. I am
sure Sango herself will bring me a new bucket to replace the one she broke. You
are alright, are you not?”
“
He snorted.
“What? You got something to say too? Gonna tell me I’m a rotten, two-timing
bastard?”
The old
Kikyou-onee-sama is no longer the woman you knew. My
sister died over fifty years ago and what walks in her image is naught but a
fake shell of earth and bones.”
“But the
is Kikyou’s,” he insisted.
“The soul
is Kagome’s.
What animates my sister now is a stolen piece of soul that rightfully belongs
to her reincarnation,” Kaede corrected.
“Am I to
just abandon her then? To ignorantly go on with my life,
heedless of her pain and suffering?”
“Are you so
certain she would think herself abandoned?”
“Huh?”
“Inuyasha,
traveling companions have all returned here to this village. Where is Kikyou-
village of her birth andme, me, her sister. Here, we would know what she is and
she would have no fear of being discovered. And you are here as well, Inuyasha.
If she holds such love for you, why is she not here by your side?” the old
woman pointed out calmly.
Inuyasha
shrugged. He was glad Kikyou wasn’t there. When his two loves were in close
proximity, he always felt torn in two.
“How the
hell should I know? The last time we met, she was gathering shards too.”
“To what
end?”
“And then
what?”
“I don’t
know.”
“Inuyasha,
it pains me to admit, but you can no longer assume that my sister’s intentions
for the jewel are pure,” Kaede warned.
He shook
his head. “I refuse to believe to that. Kikyou… Kikyou’s
been different ever since Kagome saved her from Naraku’s
miasma.”
“Ah yes,
Kagome… that sweet, loving child who gives you all of herself and asks nothing
from you in return. Even when you were with my sister when she was alive, I
never saw your eyes soften for her the way they do for Kagome. You
to build her a house.”
He sighed
in defeat. “Yes. But she has refused me because of Kikyou.”
“She does
not act like one who has refused a bonding.”
He knew she
was referring to the cuddling and kissing he and
Kagome got up to when they were together in the hut. They had never made love
or been sexually intimate with each other under Kaede’s
roof, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were lovers.
“She told
me she would accept whatever I was free to give her until I had resolved things
with Kikyou,” he replied, feeling ashamed. ‘It
sounds pathetic even when I say it.’
“And have
you decided what you are going to do?”
He looked
away from the knowing gaze. “No.”
“But yet
you share your futon with Kagome and want to build her a house.”
He was
getting irritated again, but mostly at himself. “Yes, damnit,
I already said that!”
Yukio
dropped his rock and let out a plaintive cry. Inuyasha rolled his eyes even as
he shushed him. ‘Great, now the pup’s
crying. If he’s still bawling by the time Kagome gets back, she’ll think I’m at
fault and sit me for sure.’
with Kagome, have you not?”
He draped
Yukio across his shoulder and patted his back. “Yes, old woman, you know full
well that I have.”
“Then you
have already made your choice. It is just a matter of telling my sister.”
“How can I?
How can I tell her I choose Kagome? I made a promise to her and my life is
hers. How can I turn my back on her when she has returned to me?”
She came back through time to free you and right a terrible wrong. When
body, she upset the balance of things. Eventually, my sister must leave this
world and her soul return into Kagome. You know this, Inuyasha.”
He was
going to protest, but she cut him off by continuing, “And your life does not
belong to her. In that, the taijiya speaks true. Your
obligation ended with the death of Naraku.”
“I can’t. I
can’t abandon her and tell her she is all alone,” he replied brokenly.
don’t have my word.’
“If you do
not make a choice, eventually one will be made for you, and that choice may be
one you will not like. You may lose them both, Inuyasha.”
“I made her
a promise.”
“So did my
sister, but she is not here, Inuyasha. I have told you before that you cannot
be together. Kikyou-onee-sama’s wish was to die with
you. The time for you to live the life you planned together has passed.”
“But the
The old
woman blinked at him. “And then what? Whose soul would she have? Would you have
her take Kagome’s?”
“No!” he
gasped, practically choking on the idea. ‘Never! Never would I
choose one at the cost of the other’s life! That’s why I haven’t been able to
choose. What if Kikyou’s life depends upon me being
there to protect her? I failed her twice… but… but I can’t protect her if she
keeps herself far away from me.’
“And say
this deed is done and my sister is alive again. Would you keep your promise and
become human for her so that you may live as man and wife?”
He
swallowed hard, pushing the lump in his throat back down. “If… if that is to be
our fate.”
“You would
leave Kagome and your little one to be with Kikyou-onee-sama?
You would abandon the life you have made with them in an attempt to resurrect
one that died fifty years ago?” Kaede asked
leadingly, making him feel pressured.
He looked
at the warm bundle of pup in his arms and a pair of golden eyes blinked back at
him, little ears twitching in the silver hair. He was shocked by the rush of
love and fierce protectiveness that flooded through him, and he touched Yukio’s
ears gently.
back on you and Kagome?’
“I don’t
know,” he said aloud.
“And would
you give up your power as a hanyou for a woman who could not love you as one
and forsake the one who has loved you as you are?”
“I don’t
know.” ‘Stop it, you old hag. You are
really pushing me!’
you have gotten yourself into a terrible bind; more terrible than the one you
got yourself into when my sister sealed you to that tree. I worry about the
outcome, for I see nothing but pain ahead if you do not make the right choice.”
“And that
choice should be Kagome not Kikyou, right? You think so too, don’t you
“You should
choose the one who loves you purely, Inuyasha.”
“Are you
saying Kikyou’s love is tainted?” Now he was really
getting angry. ‘No one speaks badly about
Kikyou…’
“I am
saying that you claim my sister loves you, but I repeat to you: if that is so,
why is she not here?”
“Because
she’s out there gathering shards while I’m here saddled with a pregnant
There was
dead silence, which was odd because he expected an answer from the old
his shoulder. His ears twitched and a familiar scent wafted into his nose.
Yukio smelled it too and made a happy burble, but his own heart sank into his
feet. He didn’t need to look in order to know who was there.
Resigned to
his fate and cursing his temper and runaway mouth, he turned his head to see
Kagome standing in the doorway. Her face was unreadable but her hands were
clenched.
“Kagome…”
he breathed.
She stepped
forward and took the pup from him, holding him against her shoulder.
“I came to
get him,” was all she said in answer.
“Sango is
herself again?” Kaede asked.
Kagome
nodded. “She sends her regrets and apologies and promises to bring you a new
bucket.”
The old
woman grunted an assent. “I am glad she has calmed. Stress is bad for the
baby.”
“She went
back to her hut to take a nap. Kohaku and
“Rest will
do her some good.”
here. What do I do? I know Kagome heard me say that. How do I make it better?’
he thought frantically.
“Kagome,”
he tried.
She looked
at him and he immediately regretted speaking.
“Sango says
to tell you she is very sorry for breaking the bucket over your head.”
He winced
at her cold tone. ‘Obviously her blow did
nothing to fix my fucked up brain.’
He saw her
take a deep breath and knew what was coming. He braced for it.
“I’m going
home.”
insensitive baka!’ Just: I’m going home?’
thought, stunned and concerned.
Somehow the
fact that she hadn’t punished him struck more fear into his heart than
anything else.
“Kagome…”
“I’m sorry
that Sango and Yukio and I are keeping you from doing what you want to do,” she
told him.
“I didn’t
mean it like that…” he tried.
“Why don’t
you go find Kikyou and you and she can hunt for shards together. She can see
them as well as I can so you don’t need me around.”
She turned
to leave and he stood up, intent on stopping her.
His face
hit the hut floor and he was oddly glad.
can make up, right?’
She was
walking towards the forest when he caught up to her.
“
He picked
himself up only to find himself subdued again, repeatedly as she let out a
string of sits that dropped him right there in the dirt. The truly frightening
thing about it, however, was not that she was pounding his face into the
ground. No, he fully expected that and was relieved to get it. The scary part
was that there was no anger or emotion in her words. They were just a carefully
and deliberately timed series of ‘osuwari’s
purposefully designed to make it physically impossible for him to follow her.
The last
thing he saw through his dust filled, pain-filled eyes was Yukio’s little face
peering over Kagome’s shoulder as she walked out of sight.