The Power of Compassion

A/N: Just for your info, its gonna be a Sesshy/Kag ficcy. =) I love these lately…

Sesshoumaru: *allows a grin to cross his face*
Me:: You, uhm, find something you enjoy?
Sesshoumaru: *lower lip is licked by his tongue*
Kagome: Are you eyeing Sayuri?!
(Sesshoumaru, understanding who yelled ceases the seduction of me)
(Kagome glares at me, I slink back)
Me: Kagome, seriously! I really don’t think that the great Lord Sesshoumaru would ever go for me…I mean, look at me! Feeding off of the muses and reviews, shut up in my own little world writing these blasted fanfiction stories…*me shakes my head*
(Kagome’s face softens)
Kagome: I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, but you just remember that Sesshoumaru is mine.
Me: And Inuyasha is a jerk.
(Kagome nods)
Me: Gottcha, Kagome. *salutes Kagome*
Kagome: O.o
Sesshoumaru: >)
Me: O.O *runs back to room to type, gets tackled by Inuyasha* *glare glare*
You hurt Kagome, that is unforgivable!! *tackles the hanyou back into the living room*Sessy and Kagome look up with O.O on their face* You don’t deserve her!!
Inuyasha: Dammit, wench! I just wanted to see you!
Me: *glare glare* What did you want to see me for?! Going to declare your undying love for me?!
Sesshoumaru: Never! He will not have you!
Me: O_O *blink blink*blush blush*
Inuyasha: Who says I can’t?!
Kagome: SIT BOY!! You will *sit* never *sit* take her away from *sit* ME!!
Me: ;_; KAGOME CHAN!! :: huggles ::

Eheh…now that that’s out of my system…on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don’t own InuYasha…Rumiko Takehashi does. Lucky lucky woman.

The Power of Compassion
Chapter 1: Lipstick and Perfume


Kagome stared at the white dress shirt again, tears welling up inside of her. ‘How could he do this to me?’ she thought painfully, her finger hovering just above a lipstick stain on the collar of her love’s shirt.

The haughty perfume stench was giving her an even worse headache than she had before she thought about all those nights Inuyasha had said he was, “Working late.” A couple of more tears slipped down her face, and she wiped them away angrily. She couldn’t let him get away with this. Paybacks were in order, but first, she had to just get away from him and his lies.

Gathering up some clothes and packing them in an overnight bag, she grabbed the keys to her Saturn VUE and headed out the door, not leaving a note or even a message on the phone of where she was. She turned her cell off and left, heading for the secluded Shikon Resort up in the mountains. She hadn’t been there since she was a child, but hopefully the owner, who would now be an older woman, would remember her. The woman was like a second mother to her; she hoped she didn’t forget her.

Upon entering the onsen, she looked cautiously around, not sure if the woman even still worked here. “Kagome…is that you, child?” a voice called out, as an older woman came out from behind the counter. “Kaede…?” she asked, looking the woman up and down.

“Hai!” she said, and Kagome effectively cut off any other thing the woman had to say by hugging her tightly, her tears finally falling again.

“Kagome? What’s wrong, child? Why are you crying?” she asked, worry and concern in her voice.

Kagome couldn’t answer her right away, as her crying constricted her throat and stopped any sound that wanted to escape. The older woman rubbed soothing circles around her spine and held her as she cried. Obviously, the person who inflicted this pain on her was someone close. ‘Did someone die? Her mother, perhaps? I know her father had already passed on…’ she frowned at the thought.

“Is your mother okay, Kagome chan?” she asked. At the nod of ‘yes’ she tried again. “How about your little brother?” Another nod of ‘yes’. ‘Ah, it is a male then that has hurt her so…someone she loved very dear by the looks of it…’ Kaede frowned again. This girl was the sweetest person she had ever met, even as a child, and for someone to hurt her like this, it was unforgivable.

“Do not cry, my little Kagome chan. Everything will work itself right in the end, whatever it may be that is ailing you. Why don’t you go ahead and check in for the night, and I will take you to the hot springs, ne?” she said, as Kagome’s tears stilled.

Kagome gave her another silent nod and trekked up to the front desk and checked in, her weary hand shaking as she handed over her Visa. She worked her way to her room, the day taking its toll on her quickly.

She set her bag on the single bed in the middle of the plain room. She sighed to herself, her mind recalling the image of the lipstick and the smell of the perfume on Inuyasha’s business shirt again. She wiped away a couple of stray tears and debated calling her sister and brother. She shook that thought away. She wouldn’t bother them with her problems. They had enough of their own with the coming baby and everything.

She brought out her bathing kit and towel and headed down to the springs, where Kaede was waiting patiently for her. “Hello, child. Please, relax and enjoy the springs. They will do wonders for you.” She said, leading her into a room where she could change out of her clothes. Kaede smiled softly before saying goodbye and going back to her desk.

Kagome striped and set her clothes aside, making sure to put her hair up before she scrubbed down and then set herself slowly in the steaming, hot water. ‘I’m alone….and I don’t know what to do with my feelings…I’m…alone…’ Kagome thought, more tears coming to the surface of her face. She had never felt this horrible before. Even when her father died, it was a comfort more than anything because he was so sick before he finally did pass. She sobbed silently to herself, berating herself for ever loving the hanyou. Her mother had warned her about dating a half demon, but did she listen? Hell no. She loved him, more than anything, and he took that and shattered it.

Her thoughts wandered to the many nights she had woken up and he wasn’t there in the bed beside her. She cried harder as she began to blame herself for everything. “My fault…it’s all my fault…maybe, it I would have given him what he wanted…” she lost her voice, as tears overtook her again. Kaede heard her sobs and it wretched her heart painfully.

‘Poor dear…she loved this man very much, and he must have done something extremely hurtful to make her blame herself. What happened?’ she thought to herself, walking up to the submerged girl and lending her silent support.

“Kagome…I don’t believe the situation is your fault. I don’t know much, but by the looks of it, a person you loved very much hurt you, and now you are blaming yourself. I don’t believe that the blame is yours. If you wouldn’t mind, child, would you please tell me what happened to you?” she asked softly, holding onto the girl tighter.

Kagome nodded softly, stilling herself as she prepared to relive the last few months of her life for the older woman. It was a lot easier telling her story to Kaede than her friends or family. They would berate her even further and tell her they told her so. This woman would not, Kagome knew for sure.

“Kaede…many times over the past few months, my fiancée to be…” she paused. “Ex-fiancée to be, told me many times that he had to work late. I didn’t think anything of it. Really I didn’t. If I would have, maybe…it wouldn’t hurt so much now, but anyway…” she paused and roughly wiped away a couple of stray tears.

“I was doing the laundry, and I noticed a stain on his white dress shirt. It was…a lip print…” she stopped, hanging her head as she visualized it again.

Kaede waited for her to continue. She wanted to hear it come from her own mouth. Only then would Kagome get better.

“There was lipstick on his collar, and a strong smell of perfume on it…” she stopped again, taking a deep breath. Kaede nodded and kept holding onto the girl.

“Do you think there would be a reasonable explanation for it?” she asked, looking down at Kagome.

She shook her head ‘no’ before continuing, “The lipstick, and even the perfume would be explainable, but not the woman’s unmentionables in his pocket.” She whispered, covering her face with her hands. Kaede held in a gasp. This man had committed a terrible act against Kagome, and instead of standing up to him, she got away. The poor girl was hurting, and she had no idea what to do. Kaede sighed. The onsen would only do so much.

“Well dear, it seems to me you need some time to yourself before you face him. Maybe for now, you should talk to your family and let them know where you are. I believe that would be the best course of action for you.” She advised, giving her a brave smile. Kagome nodded and got out of the water, wrapping a towel around her as she walked back to her clothes.

Kaede watched her go and sighed. Things were going to be rough going for the girl for awhile. She hoped the girl would survive it and not do anything rash.

~*~

“Kagome! Hey, Kagome! Where are you? We need to talk!” A silver haired hanyou called throughout the house they shared. “Kagome?” he called again, an uneasy feeling creeping in. “Kagome!!” he shouted, running upstairs to their room, his heart falling into his stomach. The room was a total disaster area and he noticed her purse and suitcase were missing. “Where would she go?” he questioned aloud, his eyes falling onto a wadded up dress shirt that seemed to have been thrown against the wall.

His eyes widened as he straightened the shirt only to narrow in anger as he cursed out, “Oh shit!” That phrase pretty much summed it up. ‘Shit, shit, shit! She knows…Kami, for her to find out this way…damn, damn, damn it all to hell!’ he thought, racing down the stairs two at a time.

He grabbed up the phone and dialed Sango first. “Moshi, moshi?” her voice came on. “Sango, hey, it’s Inuyasha. You haven’t seen Kagome, by any chance, have you?” he asked.

“No, why, what’s going on?” she asked, her motherly instincts heightening her sense of worry.

“She…ran off for some reason. She’s not here, and she didn’t leave a note.” He lied, not feeling like explaining the reason she left.

“THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE KAGOME!” she shouted back, anger now filling her voice, and it sounded ten times more menacing coming from the pregnant woman than it did from the non pregnant Sango.

Inuyasha gulped.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!” Sango shouted, only calming slightly when a pair of comforting arms wrapped around her waist. Miroku looked to her in silent question, his hands behaving themselves for once as he felt and heard the distress in his wife.

“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, WENCH!” he shouted back, his temper taking over. Sango wasn’t buying it.

Her voice came out soft and steady and it scared Inuyasha beyond belief. “If one hair is harmed on her head because of your foolishness, I swear to you…you will regret ever looking at my little sister. That is not a threat, Inuyasha, but a very real promise. Good bye.”

He heard the dial tone as Sango ended the call, and Miroku held her as she broke down into tears. “Honey, what happened? What’s wrong with Kagome chan? Is everything okay?” he asked softly, holding her.

“Kagome ran off somewhere. Inuyasha did something to her, so she left. She didn’t leave a note or anything, so I don’t know…” her voice was stopped as the phone rang again.

She looked warily at it as Miroku picked up and answered, “Moshi, moshi?”

He smiled as Kagome’s voice answered back. “Yeah, Sango’s right here. Hold a second.” He replied, handing the phone to his wife.

“Kagome!” she shouted out, relief in her voice.

Miroku tried to catch their conversation, but both were speaking softly. He jumped as Sango shouted out, “HE DID WHAT?! Kami, Kagome, I’m so sorry…” she said, her voice softening as she asked, “You want me to come up there?”

“Are you sure?” Sango paused. “Alright, as long as you’re sure you’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, I’ll get your mom’s jewelry box from the house.”
“Don’t worry about it Kagome, what are sisters for?”
“Sure, I’ll tell mom and Souta. Don’t worry.”
“It’ll be okay, just don’t do anything rash, and you’ll get through this just fine. If you want, you can stay with us until you get resettled.”
“Are you sure? It would be no…well, alright. If you’re sure. At least have Miroku hook you up with a job away from him. He has connections, he wouldn’t mind helping out.”

Miroku looked quizzically to her a moment before concentrating on her words again.

“We’ll give you all the time you need. Just relax, Kagome. Don’t blame yourself either! You were way too good to him for him to go out and do that…aw, don’t cry Kagome, please. It’ll be okay…Kagome?...Don’t worry…I know it hurts…but you have to be strong…calm down, I can hardly understand you…Are you sure you’ll be okay? You know I could just…alright, alright. Just…take care of yourself, alright? I’ll see you Monday, okay? Alright?...Alrighty then. See you then. Bye, sis.”

Miroku looked to her with a questioning expression that eased when she began to cry. She gripped him tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. “Shh…Sango…what’s wrong, koi?” He frowned. He had never seen her reduced to tears before except when their youngest brother had been killed in a car accident.

“Damn…Inuyasha!” she cursed, sobbing again. “What did he do?” he questioned softly, holding her. “He…he…” she growled out, her tears ending. “He cheated on her, that fucking mutt!” Miroku gasped out, his eyes widening.

“Are you sure, Sango? How did Kagome find out?” he asked, setting her down as he put a pot of water on to boil in the kitchen. “That bastard had a pair of the slut’s underwear in his pocket and a shirt with lipstick and perfume stains on it! He didn’t even try to hide it! Damn hanyou!!” she shouted out, only calming when he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “All this aggression isn’t good for the baby, please try to calm down, sweetheart.”

She nodded in response and picked up the phone again, calling Souta and telling him what happened. She left it to him to tell their mother. She rubbed her forehead as it throbbed angrily at her.

“Damn hanyou…” she whispered again as a hot cup of tea was set in front of her. She smiled gratefully up to her husband and took a sip as he sat across from her at the table. “What’s she going to do now?” he asked, keeping his voice calm, although he felt no calm under his façade.
He was going to KILL Inuyasha for hurting her like this. She had done nothing but give him her complete devotion, and this was how he repayed her. He was going to KILL the hanyou, but not if Souta or Sango got to him first. Not to mention Houjo. There would be nothing left of him.

“She’s at the Shikon Resort right now, relaxing in the hot springs. She always did love our family trips up there. There was an older woman whom she bonded with while she was there. Kaede, I think her name was. I hope she’ll be okay.” Sango whispered aloud, her face softening in worry.

“So what did you mean by ‘job away from Inuyasha’? She doesn’t really work for him, does she?” he asked.

“She worked at home for him, taxes and organizing stuff for his secretary at the office. He didn’t really pay her anything, come to think of it. She just needs to get away from that jerk. Can you help her out?” she asked, setting down her mug.

“Sure. Credentials like hers will get her far. She graduated top of her class from high school and even college, right?”
“Yeah. She got a degree in business associations, is that any good?” Sango asked. She was a fighter for hire as a demon exterminator.

“That’s an excellent resume starter. I’ll be able to find her something with no problems. Don’t worry, Sango. We’ll help her out all we can. She’s a strong girl, she’ll get through this.”

“I hope you’re right. I really hope you’re right.” She whispered out, putting her head in her hands again.

~*~


A/N: yah! How you like so far? Please R/R!
A/N #2: Thanks to all reviewers! =)
A/N #3: Next Chapter: Hanyou Scents of Deception