Sweet Surrender | By : inumom Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 7747 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story. |
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except some soundtrack CDs and the entire set of (dubbed) DVDs, except for the 4th movie, and I hope to get that soon.
AN: A couple of “firsts” here. This is the very first time I’ve tried to write anything in first person. Not only that, but I’ve actually tried to write first person citrus. A little creepy, if you think about it.
Sweet Surrender
1. Happy Birthday to Me!
It was late to be walking around in the forest. Still, I had made my decision, and I was determined to carry it out in spite of what my logical, rational side said. Fortunately, I had spent a great deal of time in this particular forest over the past couple of years, and knew exactly where my quarry would be.
As I drew nearer to my destination I nearly turned around, but decided that this was all for the best. Even if I could not have what I wanted, I might be able to gain a pale imitation of the secret passion I had been harboring for so long. That, I decided, would have to be enough.
Finally I was there. I looked up into the tree. Although it was dark I could see the smear of his snowy hair where he leaned his back against the massive trunk. He knew I was there but he waited for me to speak. “Could you come down here with me for a minute? I want to ask you something.”
In a blur of motion he rolled off the branch, dropping to land soundlessly on the thick moss behind me. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
Never able to resist pointing out the obvious, I said, “I’m not alone. I’m with you.”
“Is that really all that much safer?” he muttered. “So,” he said, his golden eyes shining in the dark, “What is it?”
Suddenly embarrassed, I sat on the mossy ground, staring at the hands clenching and unclenching themselves in my lap. “I don’t think I mentioned it, but tomorrow--no, tonight, it’s after midnight--is my seventeenth birthday.” He looked suddenly stricken, as though he’d realized that he’d done something terrible and expected me to ‘sit’ him into oblivion.
“Relax,” I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, “You don’t have to get me anything.” At the expression of pure relief on his face, I continued, “There is something I’d like you to do for me, though.”
He looked suddenly suspicious. “What do you want?”
I hoped that he couldn’t see my red face in the darkness. The only way out of this conversation was to get through it, so I swallowed around the lump in my throat and blurted out, “I want you to take my innocence.”
Once he managed to close his mouth, he shook his head slowly, not exactly the reaction I was looking for. “No.”
I could feel the tears starting to form. I knew that he didn’t find me at all desirable--he’d said so often enough--but I’d hoped that I could convince him to give me this one brief moment of happiness before he finally left me to go back to his first love. “Why?” I moaned.
“It wouldn’t be right,” he whispered. “Someday you’ll want to take a mate--this is something you should only give to your chosen mate.”
I shook my head. “No,” I murmured. “I’ll never take a mate. I’ll never love anybody again--it hurts too much.” I couldn’t think clearly--I leaped up and ran blindly into the forest. I could hear him calling to me, demanding that I stop and return to him. Still I ran, my tears blinding me, leaves and twigs slashing at my exposed skin, the chilly air burning in my lungs.
My foot went through a place where a spring flood had washed out the soil, leaving a deep hole covered with a few leaves and twigs in the forest floor. I gasped in pain as a jagged stub from a long-dead tree branch tore through my calf, impaling me motionlessly to the ground. I cried out in pain as I tried to pull myself free, only to feel my flesh tearing further. My shoe was already filling up with blood.
The tears flowed freely now as I realized that I was in real trouble--hurt in the forest, and nobody knew where I was.
I felt that I was being watched long before I saw the pale figure standing in front of me. As always, the miko’s voice was cold. “Poor little fool. You seem to have a small problem.” Her voice hardened. “You should have left this place forever when I told you to.”
There was a growing darkness on the edges of my vision, and her voice seemed to come from far away. “As I see it,” she said, “I have a choice. Either I can let you lie there like the pathetic weakling that you are until you bleed to death, or,” she continued, pulling an arrow from the quiver slung over her shoulder and fitting it to her bowstring, “I can end your suffering now.”
She pulled back her bowstring and took careful aim at the center of my chest. I dared not move for fear of spoiling her aim and prolonging my pain. I was so tired--maybe it was blood loss or just a reaction to my emotional turmoil, but I just had to close my eyes, if only for a moment.
It was, I thought, oddly appropriate that the one to kill me--after two years of fighting youkai--would be the very one who had been slowly destroying my heart for almost exactly that long.
I forced my leaden eyelids open again as an object passed above my head. The blur of red and silver-white moved too fast for my fuzzy mind to understand, knocking the bow from the miko’s hands, but not before she released her arrow.
Apparently, she had been surprised by the enraged figure bearing down on her like a freight train, because her arrow missed its mark, sinking instead into the flesh of my shoulder. Too hurt, weak, and tired to make out what the indistinct voices were saying, I allowed my eyelids to slip shut once again.
*
I could feel the pain in my leg and shoulder. I didn’t dare open my eyes, but it was obvious that I was still alive. I could feel a firm surface beneath me, and realized that I had been moved from the forest floor.
I shifted position experimentally. What could I do? Although my wounds were obviously not mortal, I would be immobilized for at least days to come.
Even worse, how could I face my friends--how could I face him--after making such a fool of myself? Unfortunately, I had little choice: if I couldn’t persuade him to take me home I’d be stuck here until I healed well enough to jump into the old well without endangering my life.
Some birthday!
I cracked one eye open, hoping that nobody nearby would notice the motion. I was quite certain that I was alone--the occasional voices I heard were faint with distance. I cursed inwardly as I saw the silent figure hunched against the opposite wall of the hut.
Why? Why did I have to make such a fool of myself? Why did I try to pressure him into something he didn’t want? Why couldn’t I stop myself from wishing for something I could never have? Why did I keep coming back to this world to the inevitable heartache? Why did he interfere? Why had he stopped Kikyou from ending my pain forever?
“Why?” I was surprised at the weak, raspy sound of my voice.
He was by my side in an instant, leaning over me, his golden-amber eyes shining with concern and something else--pity, maybe? “Why what?”
I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears that began burning their way down my face, soaking into the futon beneath me. “Why did you stop her? I would have been out of my pain and you and Kikyou could have been happy tog--”
“No,” he said quietly. “This isn’t about Kikyou. What is this really about?” His eyes widened as he recalled our last conversation. “I never wanted this,” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion.
I turned my face to the wall. After what I had done to him I couldn’t bear to look at his beautiful eyes. “Neither did I,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to force you into doing something you hated. I knew what a huge thing I was asking for, and I’m sorry. I mean, you’ve done so much for all of us--I just hoped that you could somehow bring yourself to give me one last happy memory--”
“Is that what you think this is about?” he whispered. He moved closer--I could smell the woodsy, masculine scent that had come to mean warmth and comfort…and pain. “We’re not the same. When inuyoukai take a mate, it’s for life. I couldn’t give you what you asked for knowing that you would be stuck with a filthy hanyou for the rest of your life.”
“I understand,” I said, the pain in my chest choking off my voice. Of course! How could he ever want somebody else--after all, he had Kikyou. “It makes perfect sense. If you mate for life, you could never do…that with anybody else.”
“Anybody else--?” His voice was clearly puzzled, and I turned to look at him, heedless of the pain in my shoulder. I’d been wrong. There was no pity in those amber eyes, only sadness, warmth, compassion, and something else--something that I couldn’t identify.
Even the few words we had exchanged had tired me out. I guess I was more weakened from blood loss than I had expected. Still, I had to make him understand. As my eyelids began to slip shut, I murmured, “I’m sorry…shouldn’t have asked….”
*
It was an odd sensation---a warm, wet something moving along my wounds. Surprisingly, there was almost no pain as the gentle touches continued.
I could feel my muscles starting to relax as the treatment went on. The odd thing was that I couldn’t smell any of the herbs that Kaede usually used to prevent a wound from becoming infected.
The treatment ended all too soon, and I could feel snug bandages being placed on my leg and shoulder. Something soft and warm was wrapped around me, as my clothes had been badly damaged when I was injured. Breathing deeply, I could detect the warm, slightly spicy scent that clung to the garment along with the body heat of its owner.
My eyes flew open as I realized that it had not, after all, been the old miko who had been tending to my injuries. I could feel the heat growing in my face at the thought of his hands cleaning and rebandaging my wounds--tending the shoulder wound required that my upper body be completely exposed. It was embarrassing after the way I had practically begged for his attentions, but I would survive.
I had to--I had promised that I would remain at his side, regardless of the fact that he had chosen to protect the resurrected miko who hated him. There was no way I could even compete with her--after all, I had never died to follow him. ‘Or,’ the little voice at the back of my mind nagged, ‘Did she refuse to get her wounds treated just so she could finally escape the life she had grown to hate so?’
I decided that it didn’t really matter. He believed himself at least partly responsible for Kikyou’s death, and would do whatever his sense of honor demanded of him to right the perceived wrong done to his first love--even if it meant that he would one day leave me behind to follow her into hell.
I opened my eyes slowly, not at all surprised to see him sitting by my side. I gave him a shaky smile. “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”
His eyes never left my face. “You’re no bother. Do you think you could drink some broth? Kaede-babaa said it would help to keep you strong while you healed.”
I nodded slowly, amazed that the snug bandages around my chest and shoulder did nothing to impede my movements. “I think so.” As he returned almost instantly with a cup of the rich broth, I glanced at the growing darkness outside the window. “Oh, no! It’s almost dark!”
I immediately understood the reason for his confusion--I had never gotten around to telling him that I had to return home tonight. I shrugged as well as I could, then tried to explain. “It’s nothing really important: Mama was planning a party for me tonight with some of my friends from school. I’m sure she’ll understand if I don’t make it.”
He shook his head. “You’ll get there. Finish your broth first.”
I had barely set the cup down when he scooped me up off the futon, wrapped the brilliant red haori around me a little tighter, and sprinted out the door. With his speed, he made it to the well that was the gateway between his world and mine in only a few minutes. As he leaped to the edge of the ancient wooden structure, I clutched at his creamy white kimono and glanced up to meet his eyes. “Will you stay for the party?”
With a slightly preoccupied nod, he leaped into the well that would take us to my home in twenty-first century Tokyo.
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