Human Compensation

“Whoa! That was close!” Shippou said as they stood outside the apartment complex watching the fire. “Is everyone okay?” Shippou had saved them with his foxfire. He'd surrounded them with it before they made it out of the explosion.

Everyone nodded, except Kagome, who was watching Inuyasha coming toward them. “Kagome!” He grabbed her and pulled her in his arms, holding her tight. “I thought you were gone.”

“We’re fine Inuyasha, don’t worry about us,” Shippou said sarcastically.

Inuyasha stared down at a blushing Kagome, his golden eyes searching her over. Kagome could only stare back at the concern she saw on his face. Everything was happening so fast in such a short period. The attempts on her life, Inuyasha falling in love with her, at least she thought he was, he hadn’t actually told her yet. ‘I swear my life is like one of those stories people write when they’re bored...’ She thought. ^_^

“Shippou saved us,” she said, hating the way her voice shook.

“Kagome, you’re trembling,” Inuyasha said.

“Yeah, I can’t seem to stop...”

Inuyasha held her close when her body sagged against him. “Kagome!” Shippou called out. It was the last thing she heard before darkness took over.

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She awoke later in a soft, warm, bed with a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She was laying on her side with his body spooned against hers. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was that held her. Inuyasha was beginning to make a habit of sleeping with her. The room was dark so she assumed it was night.

“Kagome? Are you awake?” Inuyasha’s voice whispered close by her ear.

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Just tired,” she said. “Where am I?”

“We’re at Sango’s apartment. We’re in her spare room.”

“Oh,” Kagome said. “What time is it?”

“Two in the morning,” Inuyasha said. “You’ve been asleep for a long time. I was so worried about you.”

Kagome frowned. There was something about Inuyasha’s voice. It didn’t have the slightly harsh, demanding, tone she’d grown use to.

“My life has been turned upside down since I’ve been with you,” she said.

“I know. I’m so sorry, about everything,” Inuyasha said.

‘Okay, now that definitely did not sound like Inuyasha,’ Kagome thought. His voice was softer, more calmer, and he was apologizing!? She turned around to look at him, but could barely see him in the dark.

She gasped in shock when she felt him placing soft kisses on her face.

“Inuyasha?” She asked.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I...uh...nothing,” she said, still not feeling right about this.

“I wish we could have met in different circumstances,” Inuyasha said with a sigh.

“Would you still have wanted me?” Kagome asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “If I had seen you passing by on the street, I would have wanted you.”

Kagome smiled. She ran her fingers through his bangs. His hair felt different. It wasn’t as thick it use to be and didn’t have that shaggy, soft, furry, feel like that of dog. Instead it felt silky, well groomed, kind of like human hair. She searched for his ears at the top of his head and realized they weren’t there! Quickly pulling away from him, she got off the bed and felt around for a lamp.

“What’s wrong, Kagome?” Came the voice that sounded like Inuyasha’s, but in softer tones.

She found a lamp on a small drawer by the bed and switched on the lights. Her scream woke up Sango who was in the next room. She ran into the room ready for battle, but stopped when she realized there was nothing wrong.

Kagome ran to her and stood beside her pointing, at the stranger staring back at her.

“Sango! Who is this? What’s he doing in bed with me? And where’s Inuyasha!?”

“Kagome, calm down, that is Inuyasha,” Sango tried to explain to her panicky friend.

“What? That’s not Inuyasha! Is this a dream? Am I still dreaming?”

“No, I forgot to tell you that Inuyasha changes to his human form the first of every month because he’s a hanyou.”

Kagome stared warily at the handsome man smiling at her from across the room. “Human form? You mean he’s human now?”

“That’s what I said,” Sango said, trying not to laugh at Kagome’s bewildered expression.

“For how long?” Kagome asked her.

“I can still speak Kagome,” Inuyasha chuckled. “Why don’t you ask me? I’m standing right here in front of you.”

“I’ll leave you two alone so you can get to know each other,” Sango joked.

Kagome gave her a pleading look not to leave her.

Sango only smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll probably like him a lot better than his counterpart.” She closed the door behind her.

Kagome took her time turning around to face this man who was supposed to be Inuyasha. She jumped and hit her head against the door when she looked right into his eyes. How did he sneak upon her like that?

He smiled at her warmly and ran his fingers through her hair, rubbing the spot she’d bumped against the door. “You shouldn’t be afraid of me, I would never hurt you, Kagome.”

Kagome stared up at him. His golden eyes had turned into a deep violet. His white hair had turned as black as hers and his ears were human ears and on the sides of his head. Those were the only major physical changes on him. He still looked like Inuyasha, but his personality was completely different. She reached up and touched his ear.

He smiled, “do you miss them?”

She blushed a little.

“I’ve noticed that you’re quite fond of them,” Inuyasha chuckled. “Don’t worry, they’ll return tomorrow at midnight.”

“So, it only last for 24 hours?” Kagome asked.

“Yes,” Inuyasha said. He took her hand and led her to the bed.

She couldn’t stop staring at him. ‘Wow, even in human form he’s still a hunk,’ she thought. She stared at his hands noticing the claws were gone and replaced with human fingernails. She sat down on the end of the bed and watched him walk to the window.

“You’re not like him, are you?” She asked.

“Him?” Inuyasha asked, giving her a teasing smile.

‘He’s so cute,’ she thought. ’Why can’t Inuyasha smile like that?’

“I mean you don’t act the same,” Kagome said.

“No, that side of me is primitive. I have more demon blood running through my veins than human. It’s the reason why I can only be human for a day. It’s kind of hard to explain. When I’m in that form, I can’t control the way I act or feel because basically, everything is based on instinct. But when I revert to this form, I can control myself.”

“You’re usually impatient, bossy, and angry,” Kagome said.

“I blame it on the hormonal imbalance in my body. I’m half demon, half human. Both sides fighting to come out, but can’t, that’s enough to irritate anyone,” he joked.

Kagome smiled.

“Ahh, finally I get to see that beautiful smile I love so much. Does this mean you’re okay with me now?”

Kagome nodded, blushing slightly. He sat down beside her, examining the marks on her neck.

“Does it hurt?” He asked running his fingers lightly over the marks, causing Kagome to shiver slightly.

“No,” she said, looking down at her feet.

“I claimed you as mine without your consent. How do you feel about that, Kagome? I know I didn’t give you much choice in the matter.”

“I was upset at first. I mean I didn’t know the ways of a dog youkai until Sango told me.”

“I’m surprise you don’t hate me,” Inuyasha said, his voice a whisper.

Kagome turned to him. “No, I don’t hate you! I could never hate you!” She blushed at the force in her voice when she said that.

Inuyasha smiled back staring at her with those beautiful, violet eyes. Kagome could feel herself drowning in them.

“I’m glad,” he said, his eyes sliding down to her lips. “I’ve always wanted you, since the first day I met you. My counterpart just has a hard time dealing with those kind of emotions, since all I’ve ever known is anger, pain, and violence.”

“It must be hard working for the mafia,” Kagome said.

Inuyasha looked back into her eyes, then turned away. “I never really liked what I did, but my demon counterpart lives for it. It’s the dark side of me that I’m not very proud of, but what can I do? Besides, I didn’t always work for the mafia, but as soon as Sesshoumaru offered me the job I took it.”

“What did you do before then?” Kagome wanted to know.

“My mother died when I was ten. I got put in a couple of foster homes, but not too many humans wanted to adopt a hanyou, not even the youkai. I ran away when I was sixteen and old enough to get a job. I wondered from town to town doing odd jobs, making little money, stealing when I got the chance, and always getting into fights. I didn’t even know I had a stepbrother until Sesshoumaru decided to get in contact with me, that’s when he gave me this job four years ago.”

“What about your father? What happened to him?” Kagome asked.

“I don’t know much about him, only what my mother told me. He died before I was born. She said he died protecting her from a group of youkai that didn’t approve of their marriage.”

“I’m sorry,” Kagome said.

“You’re tired, you’ve had a rough day. Why don’t you go back to sleep,” Inuyasha suggested.

“What happened to our apartment?” Kagome wanted to know.

“After the explosion; it crashed.”

“Crashed?”

“There’s nothing left but rubble.”

“You mean, we’re homeless?”’

“I’ll figure out something, don’t worry about it.”

“And Kikyo, what happened to her?” Kagome asked.

“She escaped. It was all a plot to get me away from you.” Inuyasha watched the stunned look pass over Kagome’s pale face, before she bowed her head.

“Kagome,” he said taking her in his arms. “I swear I’ll find a way to keep you safe. I’m sorry you have to go through all this.”

“Why does she want to kill me? I can understand her jealousy, but it’s no reason to want to kill someone,” Kagome said.

“She wasn’t always like this. I met Kikyo two years after I started working for Sesshoumaru. Then, she was a normal person. I was attracted to her beauty and I did care for her a little. She was working as a high price hooker in one of those places a lot of rich men go to when they just want sex. I heard about it and decided to check it out for myself, that’s where we met. She was strong, proud and very good at her job. One reason why I kept going back.”

‘Okay, this is way too much information,” Kagome thought, resisting the urge to slap him, hard. ‘What happened to the sensitive, Inuyasha? Oh wait a minute, he must have been in his hanyou form, of course.’

‘After a while I made a proposition to her, I told her she could stay with me as long as she continued to please me and go to social events with me. I used her and she used me, but I never loved her. I never saw her as a mate. She was just someone I kept for my convenience. She seemed happy with the agreement and so was I. It’s not unusual for youkai to do something like that. Since most humans think we’re incapable of love. Then she met Naraku and he took a liking to her. He made her promises he never intended to keep, like wanting to marry her. He bribed her to be with him with more money than I was willing to offer. He gave her clothes, cars, even her own mansion. Kikyo left me without a backward glance, telling me she was an opportunist and it was nothing personal against me, but she still came back to me and I always took her in and let her go. During that time, I noticed she started to change, her attitude becoming unstable with each visit, until one day, she just snapped. I never really knew what caused her to change, but she became heartless, cold, like she was a body without a soul.”

“Do you think Naraku had something to do with it?” Kagome asked.

“I’m sure of it, but I have no proof,” Inuyasha said.

They were silent for a few minutes. Inuyasha sat on the bed holding Kagome in his lap, wishing he could smell her scent as sharp as he use to. He didn’t like his human side and was anxious for it to pass. At first, it had just been an annoyance, but now he saw it as a danger. He couldn’t protect Kagome in this form if something or someone tried to attack them again.

Kagome thought about Inuyasha’s life. He’d taken the time to explain it to her which made her understand him a lot better. Had he ever known real love? She couldn’t imagine growing up without a family or surviving the life he’d lived. Her heart went out to him. She looked up at him. He stared down at her. She leaned forward and kissed him, on the cheek, then quickly got under the covers, before he could respond.

Inuyasha sat on the bed in astonishment. His eyes wide with surprise. He slowly touched the spot she’d kissed. She’d caught him completely off guard. He had never expected her to do that. His heart raced as if he’d just ran a marathon. She’d kissed him? Kagome had kissed him! What confused him more, was how one simple kiss caused him to react so intensely, when he’d done much more than that with plenty of women. It was because of her. He didn’t love those women, but he did love Kagome. Even though she was 23, he knew she was still an innocent, and her innocent kiss had only made him fall deeper in love with her.

Kagome smiled in relief when he settled down beside her and took her in his arms. She hadn’t known how he would react.

“Kagome?” He asked, as she laid her head against his chest.

“Yes?” She whispered.

“I love you....”