In the wake of Inuyasha’s departure the silence was deafening. Crushing.
Shoulders hunched beneath the oppressive weight of it, Kagome stood there in the middle of the hut, staring after him long after he’d gone. Her own brash words had left her reeling. She had fired them off without thinking. Only now was she registering the horrible impact. The damage that couldn’t be undone.
She had promised—she had sworn—that she would never reject him. And yet she had. Brutally and irreparably so.
She stared bleakly ahead at the empty room, at all the invisible carnage that surrounded her. Dread gripped her heart in its iron claws. Her past mistakes glared back at her in her mind’s eye, in grisly accusation. She had done so many things she had sworn she would never do. One by one, it seemed, the pillars of her principles had given way. The foundations upon which she’d built her life were cracked and crumbling. From across the room, she caught a glimpse of her pale, drawn reflection in a mirror, and struggled to recognize the woman there.
Who even was she? What of herself did she still have left?
Maybe by fate or just by coincidence, she heard a whimper behind her. The soft sound snapped her out of it. Out of her misery, out of her own head. She turned and crossed over to the crib, picked up her baby and held him to her. She closed her eyes as she spoke soothingly to him. Her entire universe condensed, contained within the cradle of her arms.
After settling Shin back down for bed, Kagome slid to the floor, leaning her side against the crib. She resumed her blank, anxious watch of the door, but as the evening hours ticked by, it became clear to her that Inuyasha wasn’t coming home that night. In resignation, she dragged herself up and went to bed.
Restlessly, she slept, in a tense sort of half-delirium. How long this state of purgatory lasted, she couldn’t guess. All she knew was that it was still dark out when she was wrested from her half-formed dreams with a start.
She smelled the reek of him before she saw him. Almost before she even sensed him. Pushing herself up from the futon, she darted a glance to Inuyasha where he stood slouched and swaying in the door, grumbling under his breath. His silver head was bowed, his features shadowed.
Kagome sat up quickly, warily. He was incredibly drunk. Far drunker than she’d ever seen him. How he could even still stand was beyond her.
“…Inuyasha?” she said cautiously as she stood. Stepping down from the tatami platform, she padded toward him. “Inuyasha…can you hear me?”
His head lifted, though his ears still seemed to sag. His golden eyes narrowed at her vaguely. His slack mouth curled in something like a sneer.
“There she is…” Shouldering off from the door, he staggered a step toward her. “My so-called wife…”
Tamping down on her unease, Kagome squared her shoulders. Evenly, she met Inuyasha’s glaring eye.
“Let’s just go to bed now,” she said, as if speaking to an unruly child. She reached out to him tentatively as she did. “Okay?”
Inuyasha shrugged her off so harshly he almost overbalanced. “Go to bed…” he scoffed. “That’s funny.” He gave a hollow, scathing sort of chuckle. “Gods, listen to this bitch…” Sending her a fresh unfocused glare, he turned. “Think I came back for you…I didn’t come back for you…my so-called wife…heh heh.”
Anxiously, Kagome pursued him, taking him by the sleeve as he lumbered toward the crib. “Inuyasha, please—he’s sleeping.”
“‘Inuyasha, please,’” he mocked her, slurring. “…Fuck off,” he snapped, yanking himself free of her hold. His anger toward her seemed to be sobering him slightly. Kagome didn’t know whether this was a good thing or not. “Didn’t come back for you…I came back for him.”
Shin was wide-awake, of course. He’d probably woken up the moment Inuyasha had returned. As Inuyasha loomed over him, Shin shied away. His button nose was slightly wrinkled—no doubt from the acrid stench of the sake. When Inuyasha reached for him, Shin’s flickering reiki lit into him.
“…Fuck!” Inuyasha growled, shaking off his smoking claws. His searing eyes cut from Shin to Kagome. “Turned him against me now, have you…?”
Kagome retreated as Inuyasha rounded upon her. Her heart was in her throat. But just like with that riled snake, she was relieved his rancor was directed at her and not her son.
“You’re just drunk, Inuyasha,” she said, with a calm she certainly didn’t feel. “You smell funny, that’s all. You’re acting funny, too. He’s just a baby, and it scares him. He doesn’t know what to make of you.”
“Doesn’t know what to make of me…” Inuyasha’s seething glare settled back on Shin. “And whose fault is that?”
“It’s my fault,” Kagome said hastily, retracing her steps to stand between them. “It’s my fault, okay? If you want to be angry, be angry at me—just leave my son out of it!”
“Your son…”
Inuyasha reared toward her, enraged. He was on her so fast despite his drunkenness that Kagome could only gasp in fright and pain when his claws closed around her upper arms. Roughly, he shook her.
“He’s not just your fucking son! You tell me—” She cried out when he shook her again, so hard she bit her tongue. “You fucking tell me whose son he is!”
Kagome cringed. The taste of blood flooded her mouth. She opened it to answer when Inuyasha released her with a yowl.
As if in slow motion, they turned together. Behind them Shin was there in his inuyoukai form, his sharp youki-laced fangs sunk deep into Inuyasha’s exposed heel. Blood threaded from Shin’s snarling jaws, dripped to the floor. Inuyasha whirled clumsily toward him. Releasing him, Shin shrank back with a low whine. Before Kagome could even think to act, Inuyasha careened toward the floor. He crashed against the edge of the tatami platform and fell unconscious on the spot.
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Revised 10/6/23
Oh my! Oh my! The cat was almost out of the bag!
Hahaha, bet he’s poisoned!
Char, as always, you are my favorite. Been re-reading this and most of your stories this week.
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Thank you, Warring Star!! You honor me! So thrilled you enjoyed the scene – and my other stories too!
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Oh yes, hun, even went all the way to ff.net! I really enjoy your gift at writing (yes, you are truly gifted), cuz saying you’re talented would be falling short. 🥵❤️
I wonder which one you are going to pick up after this one? Absolutions maybe? That one left me cold 🥶 at the edge of your huge cliffhanger 🤣
As always, wishing you a happy weekend
I love this story. Well written with suspense around every corner.
I wonder if he subconsciously knows that isn’t his son.
Aww thank you so much, Katherine!! 🥰🥰
So glad you’re enjoying the suspense!!
Lmao oh boy. WHY DO I FEEL LIKE INUYASHA ALREADY KNOWS.
Liquid courage gonna finally let the cat outta the bag?!
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We shall see…! Thanks so much for sharing, Uissuteffu! Love hearing your reactions!! 😊💕
Ooooooh you know how to drop a cliff hanger!!
Hahaha promise I won’t leave ya hanging too long…! 😉
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OMG the suspense here is INSANE ‼️ you could win 2023 best fanfiction with this one I wish they still did that on dokuga idk if they do but this story THE LEMON ima read this over again for sureee 🥰😩🫠
Yay thank you, Nooch!! That is the highest praise! 🥰
So glad you’re enjoying the suspense!! (And the spice!! 🌶🌶)
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Maybe he hit the floor because Sesshoumaru knocked his ass to the floor so fast nobody seen it. Sesshoumaru is going to beat his ass to the ground if he hurts HIS son. He knows Kagome is low life but the child can’t help it!
Lol Sesshoumaru has certainly been known to hit Inuyasha for less…
Thanks for sharing! ❤❤
Hi!
Ooohhh. That was close. . .I don’t think Kagome can really say she WANTS to stay with Inuyasha anymore after a scene LIKE THIS.
Good job Shin! Protecting mama just like papa would do!
Thanks!
-EM
“Good job Shin! Protecting mama just like papa would do!” – 😊
Yeahh it’s a dangerous situation for Kagome, no matter how you slice it…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, EM! Hope you enjoy the next chapter 🥰🥰
Ohhh poor Shin! He must be so scared of the big bad drunk uncle! And yeah see! This is what I mean by sooo not feeling bad for Inuyasha! A wife is allowed to say she doesn’t want to sleep with you and it’s not breaking a promise not to reject someone that’s messed up! Not that Kagome is totally innocent in this but still not a reason to threaten someone or pressure them into something they don’t want. For all Inuyasha knows, she’s just not ready emotionally for sex after the baby, especially with how often he was rejecting her while she was pregnant and horny.
Rant over 😛
Many valid points raised here 😊
Both Kagome and Inuyasha have their fair share of blind spots…
So loved hearing your thoughts on this scene and the dynamics at play! Thanks so much for sharing, M-Yan!! 🥰🥰
I love your writing so much!
Inuyasha and Kagome have a very dysfunctional relationship and it just needs to end for both of them, that way Inu can find a better match and Kagome can admit she wants to be with Sess since he treats her more like a whole person. Usually. Sometimes he’s just horny lol.
” Sometimes he’s just horny lol.” – 😂😂
Thank you, M-Yan!! Hope you enjoy where things go from here…! 💕
Inuyuaha knows and has known since he last time he was drunk…. She still has her mating mark. He just doesn’t want to be sure that he knows. Inu doesn’t think to deeply on it because of what it means in his messed up ( chosen to be so ) life. This Kagome needs to get herself together and put on her big girl underwear to fix this… all are stubborn to the stupid point and still young enough/heathy enough to deal with all the engery that it takes to keep this all up.
“This Kagome needs to get herself together and put on her big girl underwear to fix this…” – hahaha love it! well said 😊
Fantastic insights, Celes!! Thanks so much for sharing your take! 🥰🥰
Char and since I seen one of the comment about that topic I just want clarification didn’t Sesshomaru mark her as his mate when they had sex like I remember him telling her he marked her in every way possible so she belonged to him?! .. does that mean she’s his mate and when he bites her that’s why it feels amazing to her
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He bit and scarred her early on in the story, but the mystery surrounding this has yet to be fully explained…
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Char and since I seen one of the comment about that topic I just want clarification didn’t Sesshomaru mark her as his mate when they had sex like I remember him telling her he marked her in every way possible so she belonged to him?! .. does that mean she’s his mate and when he bites her that’s why it feels amazing to her
Inuyasha has to know, I think he’s in denial, I think he’s known when he noticed that mating mark Sesshoumaru left on her neck. Another thing, I read back a few chapters, since Kaede’s a Miko, would she be able to detect the difference between inuyasha’s youki and Sesshoumaru’s. I’m sure Kagome healing much faster is because of her and Sesshoumaru being mated.
Thanks for another suspense-fully enjoyable read! I always look forward to your updates
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There is certainly a lot left to be pieced together here…
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Maya! So glad you’re enjoying the suspense!! 🥰🥰
Inuyasha has to know, I think he’s in denial, I think he’s known when he noticed that mating mark Sesshoumaru left on her neck. Another thing, I read back a few chapters, since Kaede’s a Miko, would she be able to detect the difference between inuyasha’s youki and Sesshoumaru’s. I’m sure Kagome healing much faster is because of her and Sesshoumaru being mated.
Thanks for another suspense-fully enjoyable read!💙
You’re a master at writing suspenseful scenes Char!!!! Brava!!!
Aww thank you, mim!!! 🙏🙏😭❤️❤️