To Cherish and Protect Part Three
InuYasha stood next to the window. He saw Sango return without the young miko. He cursed silently. What he did to protect her caused consequences that destroyed him. He heard the conversation the monk and demon slayer had. Both knew what happen last night and in the morning. Both understood his position on why he did it, too.
The door open. The hanyou turned and watched as his friends walked in. A solemn look was on their face. “So you know?” His question was quiet as he looked at his friends.
“We know. InuYasha, as much as we understand, Kagome never will,” said Sango as she walked over to the hanyou. He knew that there would be difficulties. He did it, though, to protect her.
“However, while your intentions were noble, maybe you should have gone with it,” said Miroku as he took a seat near the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What? If you think that, then you clearing don’t know me,” gritted out InuYasha.
“We understand you, my friend. However, you need to know that we would never let anything happen to either you or Kagome.” Miroku smiled as glanced over at the demon slayer. Sango was smiling and nodding her head.0
“Fuck, I can’t. I know I want to, but I cannot tie her down or risk her life because of me.” InuYasha clinched his eyes shut as turned away.
Miroku chuckled. “You need to understand something. Kagome doesn’t care what you are or who knows. She would go to the ends of the earth just to be with you.”
Sango nodded, “She loves you, and that alone makes everything possible.”
InuYasha breathed deeply. He knew the girl loved him. It was plain and clear. She always told him that she didn’t care that he was a dirty half-breed. She cared about him for who he was. However, that still doesn’t protect her. Even if he allows passion to take over and she becomes his, Naraku or any of his enemies would use Kagome as a way to get to him. She would be put into danger, and that is something he couldn’t live with even if she was his forever.
“I still can’t,” said InuYasha with a defeated voice.
SLAP!
InuYasha looked shocked as he glanced at the demon slayer. Sango stood mad, but it wasn’t just her that surprised him. He cursed silently never knowing how close she got. Standing in the doorway was Kagome. She looked defeated as if she bored her heart out, and it was instantly crushed.
“I can’t take this. Take me home. Now!” Kagome walked away. Her voice was quiet and stern.
InuYasha swallowed hard. Sango stood, anger radiating from her. He knew that the damage he dealt and left was going to be hard to deal with, but he never expected this. Releasing a deep growl, he pushed around the demon slayer and ran out of the room.
Kagome was sitting on the steps of the inn. Tears burned in her eyes but did not want to fall. Her heart ached as if it was breaking into pieces. If everything she felt and thought was a lie, she didn’t want be around anymore. They could finish the journey on their own. She couldn’t stay, not when the feelings she had would never go away.
As she pulled her knees to her chest, she noticed a shadow covering her. “We need to talk.” The hanyou’s voice was calm, different than before.
“You made your choice. Just leave me be.” Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head against them.
InuYasha growled and silently cursed. He reached down and the grabbed the girl’s arm pulling her up. She fought and pushed against him. He growled a little deeper causing her to freeze all actions. Picking the girl up, InuYasha ran into the forest. This was it. He had to make her understand and stay. He was doing everything to protect her not hurt her.
InuYasha ran for some time stopping in a small clearing. Trees shaded the area giving the location a cool, lush feeling. He dropped the girl upon the ground and backed away. “Why did you bring me here? Sango explained everything to me,” said Kagome as she flipped around to stare at the hanyou.
“If Sango explained, why am I get the feeling you are not wanting to believe any of it.” InuYasha stood in the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest with only the glow of eyes being seen.
“It doesn’t matter what I know. What we did last night, it was destroyed by what you did in the morning.”
InuYasha cursed as he stepped forward. “I did it to protect you. I won’t deny that I enjoyed the night, but we shouldn’t have done it. Fuck, Kagome, you know how easy it is for anyone to harm any single person close to me. Look at my own fucking mother!”
Kagome stood, her hands in tight balls by her side. “That was different. Our friends would do anything to keep us safe. The only problem we have at the moment is Nar…”
InuYasha stopped her. He reached forward and grabbed Kagome’s arms. “Naraku! He’s our biggest problem, and he would know. I couldn’t live with myself if something should happen because of that.
Kagome shook herself out of the hanyou’s grasp and took a few steps backwards. “And you think I could if something should happen to you? InuYasha, can you not see? We cannot forget or even ignore what happen last night.”
InuYasha released a deep sigh as he raked his claws through his hair. “I’m not telling you to ignore it or forget about it. Just know that it won’t happen again. It can’t.”
Kagome swallowed hard. She stood strong with her hands in a tight fist, tears burning in her eyes. With a calm, stern voice, and looking directly into his eyes, she said, “InuYasha, take me back.” He didn’t have to be asked twice.