DISCLAIMER: They belong to that nice lady who also created Ranma 1 1/2. This
is one of those 'when I'm older I want to be' moments, you know?
SUMMARY: "He was tired of everyone assuming that Kagome was his woman".
Kag/Inu with a bitty bit of Kik/In. But mostly just Inuyasha.
RATING: PG-13 for one word.
First Place at the Summer Challenge at Inuyasha Fanfic (LJ)
RUMOURS
by Leni
He was tired of everyone assuming that Kagome was his woman. In the few months they'd
travelled together the rumours had grown in size and absurdity. When had people decided to
spend their free time studying them?
Everyone who crossed their paths seemed to believe he and Kagome were a couple. It only
made things more difficult. Handling Kouga would have been so much easier if the wolf
wasn't set on challenging Inuyasha's supposed claim. But he was obligated to respond to
that challenge, otherwise Kouga would take Kagome away. Yet that girl didn't seem
to grasp that simple concept. She still thought that they fought just because they
disliked each other. True, that was an added bonus, but not the real reason for their
enmity. But try to get that into Kagome's head. No, of course she had to grow a fondness
for that worthless piece of youkai. It was infuriating, having to pull his every punch
because she would never forgive that he damaged Kouga permanently. Why couldn't she get
into that head of hers that the wolf was not their friend? But every time that jerk
came sniffling up her legs, Kagome welcomed him with smiles and warmth. No wonder he
always came back for more.
What irked Inuyasha the most was that triumphal grin Kouga always wore before leaving, as
if he'd already stolen Kagome but left her under his watch momentarily. Inuyasha felt like
shouting that Kouga was stealing nothing from him, that if Kagome ever accepted his
proposition it would be her decision and he wouldn't be affected in the least. Yet
the words could never leave his mouth before the wolf was long gone. By the time they saw
Kouga again, Inuyasha would be deep in battle and too busy to clear the situation, not
that it would help anything. As things were, Inuyasha had the feeling he could turn blue
telling the truth of his platonic relationship with Kagome yet nobody would hear. It was
ridiculous.
Not even their friends respected their privacy. Miroku's and Sango's behaviour was growing
in boldness as time went on. When had that happened? Weren't those two around at all
hours? How could they actually pay mind to those silly rumours?
Miroku kept trying to ensnare him into an 'adult' talk. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. If he
would ever be interested in such a topic, he'd certainly not go to that pervert for
advice. Sango's attack was through Kagome, with her constant chatter about commitment and
the need thereof. Of course Kagome only nodded and pushed her friend into Miroku's waiting
hands. How blind could that girl be? If Kagome looked closer, she'd notice that the wicked
grin and big shiny eyes she sported every time Sango and the monk came within a feet of
each other were the same they shared inconspicuously when she and Inuyasha spent time on
their own.
Inuyasha wasn't forgetting old Kaede and her weighing stares every time he and Kagome
entered her hut together. If priest and exterminator went through the barely
concealed way, Kaede had no trouble lecturing him about his responsibilities to the 'young
girl'. At least the miko had stopped calling her 'helpless'. Inuyasha had laughed hard the
first time she called Kagome that. Somehow Kaede had gotten the impression that he was
marching to the same tune he'd danced around Kikyou; she even had that list of all the
ways Kikyou and Kagome were different. If she recited it once more, Inuyasha was sure he'd
scream. Instead he preferred to stay out of her way, sleeping on the tree and getting his
own food were small prices to avoid her. And if that old crow felt shunned, well, she
deserved it.
Inuyasha needed no list or 'subtle' hints. Did any of those fools actually believe he
couldn't tell the differences between Kikyou and Kagome? Even if both were alive, the
abyss between them couldn't be deeper. One was soft where the other was guarded, one made
wise moves while the other just ran wherever her heart led her... and pulled him right
along with her; the bitch.
Sometimes he felt as if the entire world was plotting against him. For months he'd had to
stop cruising through the village during boring nights. His hearing had always let him
hear the stories mothers told their children at bed. At the beginning they had had him as
the half-demon coming to eat them if they didn't behave. Those he had resented but
understood, after all, they probably had been telling the same tale for the last fifty
years. Everybody had blamed him for Kikyou's death; Inuyasha couldn't really blame them
for making him into the bad guy. But later he'd heard the stories change: His role had
been taken by Naraku and instead of the Great Miko, 'Inuyasha and his friends'
acted as the village's saviours. Even worse, mostly they summarised it down to 'the
half-human and his mate', or 'the priestess and her lover'.
Fifty summers ago Inuyasha would have moved heaven and earth for that silent approval.
Back then the villagers had been afraid of him, terrified at his involvement with their
protector. Now they didn't mind seeing them together; he'd even caught the wistful smiles
of the younger women. This was what he'd dreamt about with Kikyou, why couldn't he welcome
it now?
Because Kagome wasn't Kikyou. If Inuyasha hadn't had that clear enough, Kagome herself
insisted on that repeatedly. Kagome was not the woman of his fantasies, never the memory
of lost chances. She was real, tangible, right next to him at his every turn. Kagome was
his companion, his partner, his ward and sometimes even his nurse. She was his friend. Why
did noone understand that friends were all they were? He had no claim on her. She certainly
had no claim on him and if he went running every time she needed help, risking his life
and worrying for her flimsy health. Well... That's what friends were for, wasn't it?
It was absurd, the whole situation. Even Naraku had known that manipulating Kagome was the
most powerful attack at his disposition. That night still bothered Inuyasha, the image of this
girl pointing an arrow at him, the fact that she hadn't fired it. How right Naraku
had been, knowing before Inuyasha that he was helpless against Kagome, that he would never
abandon her. It had left him cold, suddenly having to recognise how entwined they were to
the eyes of the world. Every enemy automatically expected that holding Kagome hostage
would force Inuyasha to dance to their tune. Damn him if they weren't right. They had been
lucky so far, but what if... What if... Fuck. It was mindboggling, how that slip of a girl
could cause so many troubles without actually meaning to. In their months together
Inuyasha had saved her so many times that he'd already lost count, and how did she repay
him? By gluing herself to his arm until their smells intermingled and of course every
demon with a nose would think the worse. Stupid bitch, did she have a brain under all that
hair?
She did. Maybe that was the worst part. Inuyasha knew she had heard the rumours. But
Kagome never commented on them, she just smiled dismissively and changed topics so swiftly
that nobody but him noticed the evasion. Why? Maybe she... didn't care? Or was that her
way of accepting them? It was so difficult to make a guess without having her opinion. Did
Kagome actually like how everybody assumed she belonged to him? She wanted him, that much
he knew. He'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to have noticed it. Her every movement
gave her away, how her body moulded itself around him without complaints, how she leaned
toward him whenever they were together. But did she want him just like Kouga wanted her?
Inuyasha watched her now, running with Shippou down the road. Her laughter reached him and
she smiled at him widely when their gazes locked. Shippou called her name but she didn't
pay him any attention. Instead it was Inuyasha who broke away first, but the image of her
followed him. She was a summer breeze; free, warm and without boundaries. She moved
through time itself, no known law applied to her. What had he been thinking? Of course she
wouldn't like to be tied down to anything, much less him.
It was at times like this when Inuyasha realised why he didn't like everyone whispering
about their relationship. He didn't want the world assuming they were together. He didn't
want bedtime stories about their love. He didn't want to be forced into acknowledging the
situation.
He only wanted to hear Kagome say that these rumours held a bit of truth for her too.
The End
13/10/04
Feedback please?
