The Way the Wind Blew by thetroll

Chapter 1

Kagome sat on the edge of the well, listless.

She had no more tears left to cry. Her eyes were swollen and red and the skin around them felt raw, like it had been burnt. She'd cried so hard she'd wailed herself hoarse. 

She felt lethargic, listless, as she lay down, unable to even bring herself to eat though it had been hours since her last meal. She just didn’t care. Her eyes felt raw, the skin beneath her lids swollen and feeling as though they’d been burned. Her chest was heavy and each breath she took felt like too much of a burden on her exhausted body.

She’d cried so hard she’d wailed, burying her face in her lapels until she’d soaked them clear through. She’d then curled in on herself, weeping her hands until she was too dehydrated to summon any more tears.

Sorry, K'gome, but I ain't in a place to date. 'Sides, you deserve better than a man like me.

The words haunted her. He'd left her with those words and she'd cried, but she'd thought she understood his fears. Even thought she could help him overcome them. InuYasha wasn't the best man who ever lived, but he'd been hers and she'd wanted him. She'd loved him. And she believed she could help him overcome his fears and embrace a future together.

But when she'd finally gone to talk to him later that night, she found him in another woman's embrace. She didn't even bother to try and see who it was. She'd been too startled to try.

Sorry, K'gome, but I ain't in a place to date. 'Sides, you deserve better than a man like me.

The same words that had broken her heart earlier now haunted her, breaking her down further until there was no pride left at all. She'd just slumped to the ground, barely out of sight, and wept.

She hadn't even been angry. She didn't have the energy to be angry. All she could do was cry. Cry for the loss of what they had together. Cry for the time she'd wasted on him. Cry for herself because despite how much she'd hurt, she still wanted to go back to him, to beg him to change his mind, to cry out that she still believed they had a chance. She still couldn't fully let go of the idea that he would come to his senses and find her and beg for her forgiveness, tell her it was all some horrible mistake and that he did want her after all.

It was foolish. It was a naive dream. It was pathetic.

But she'd still wanted to do it.

Part of her now, hours later, wanted to be angry. Wanted to find the energy to curse him, to scream out that she hoped he rotted after what he'd put her through.

She couldn't summon up the energy to try. All she could do was slump down, heart breaking, and wish the pain would eventually leave.

.

Sesshomaru walked through the forest, his footsteps taking him further and further away from Rin. The girl had been distracted today, though she hadn't said about what. 

He suspected she was attracted to a boy. One of the villagers, perhaps. She'd acclimated readily enough to the village his half-brother guarded and now seemed to be moving forward with her life. He knew she still cared for him, but she was slowly being pulled further and further away from him. Soon enough, she wouldn't require his presence any longer.

It was an odd feeling, for one such as he. He'd never cared for another being in such a way before and he'd initially thought he'd return to his old life without issue. Instead, he found himself feeling bereft, lonely. He wanted to care for someone, he slowly realized. He wanted to someone to protect.

He stopped short as he finally noticed the woman in front of him. His half-brother's woman, yet InuYasha was nowhere to be found and the woman clearly had been crying. She'd been hurt, deeply, so much so that pain radiated off of her.

At first, he suspected something had happened to InuYasha, only to recall that his half-brother's scent had been both healthy and prevalent in the village. He wasn't sure what else could have driven the woman to such a desperate low.

He sighed; the woman had always been troublesome. It would be up to him to return her safely to her home. She'd earned that much, at least, by her destruction of Naraku.

"Come," he said, pulling her as gently as he could to her feet. "I shall return you to InuYasha."

She flinched and tried to sink down to the ground. It was only his strong hold that kept her from doing so. "No," she whispered, the voice so quiet and lifeless that only his inuyokai hearing allowed him to pick up the words at all.

He stared at her as she evaded his gaze. She kept looking at the ground, but he sensed the refusal within her was stronger than she was letting on. If he returned her to his half-brother, she would just leave again and she was currently in no condition to protect herself. He was hard pressed to assume InuYasha would be able to watch over her properly if she had already been left unattended this long.

His mind weighed the options but there was really only one it could accept. She would simply have to come with him until she overcame whatever issue she was having with InuYasha. He would take her back to his home and send Jaken back with a message to InuYasha so the hanyo could retrieve her later. He didn't dare leave her alone long enough to deliver the message himself.

"Come," he said again, "I will take you home. My home," he clarified at the panic he sensed within her.

She relaxed enough to allow him to gather her on his cloud without fear she'd fall. As he flew back with her, he found himself relaxing. Though he likely wouldn't keep her for long—the hanyo wasn't fool enough to risk doing without her—he would have someone to protect. Someone to look after.

For the time being, she needed him and he needed her.

For now, it was enough.