Disclaimer: Inuyasha and any of its characters do not belong to me.
—To all the pretty little broken things in life—
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Blue Eyes
Part I
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"Okaa-san?"
"Not now Kagome."
"But—"
"I said not now! Don't come in here ever again do you hear me!?" She snapped, eyes flashing with black anger and deep rooted self hatred.
Blue eyes welling up with tears, seven year old Kagome quietly closed the door to her mother's room and made her way through the darkness of the hallway. Her stomach growled as she wiped away the salty moisture falling down her cheeks.
She heard the front door open and then close, heard a heavy briefcase settle on the small table by the door. Maybe...maybe if Otou-san was in a good mood he could make something for her to eat. Filled with a renewed sense of hope, Kagome quickened her steps and abruptly stopped when she spotted her father slumping on the couch. But he smelled a little funny and his clothes weren't neat and clean like usual.
"Otou-san?" She ventured hesitantly.
His brown eyes—so much like her mother's in that moment—gazed at her and he slowly stood, mood darkening by the second.
"Stupid little girl. You are no daughter of mine." He seethed.
Unbuckling the belt at his waist, he slid it out, looped the black leather and stalked towards her like death itself.
"O-Otou-san?" Fear made her freeze, her young mind not understanding how her parents could be so cruel to her.
Weren't they supposed to take care of her? Weren't they supposed to love her?
Kagome's little body was thrown to the ground, the air knocked out of her.
"Don't you dare call me that!" He shouted.
And she suddenly screamed when the black leather rained down on her small innocent back.
"I'm sorry! I promise I'll never to do it again!"
"Shut up!"
And another and then another ruthlessly connected with her back, bruised and tore. The pain was overwhelming as she cried, screamed for him to stop—promised over and over again that she'd be a good little girl.
"Little bitch! Your okaa-san's a filthy whore!" He yelled without remorse, consumed by old fury and alcohol.
"You're another man's child! Not mine, never mine! Blame your lying cheating okaa-san for bringing you into this world, into this house!" He spat, delivering sting after sting until he finally stopped and threw the strip of leather next to her.
Kagome curled into herself, hands and lips trembling as her body lay broken and abused on the floor. She distantly heard her mother's door slam open, closed her frightened blue eyes when shouts and muffled cries rent the air of her suddenly home.
What had she done wrong to make her parents so mad at her? She was always a good girl. She always did as everyone asked. And she tried her hardest to please everyone she knew. Wasn't that good enough?
Arms shaking, Kagome slowly picked herself up, sobbing as a rush of agony shot through her entire body. Feeling desperately alone, wondering how her little world had become so frightening and scary, she cried herself to sleep that night...and for many many nights after.
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"Kagome-chan?"
The little girl stopped on her way out the classroom door and plastered on a smile. "Yes Kanzaki-sensei?"
"Is everything okay sweetie? You seem quieter lately." She knelt down in front of her, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Kagome winced and hurriedly stepped away. "I'm okay."
The once bright and sunny girl tried to smile reassuringly, but Mika noticed how sad and dull her beautiful eyes were. How they seemed broken somehow, silently crying.
"Kag—"
"I'll see you tomorrow Kanzaki-sensei!" She said as cheerfully as she could and ran out the door, disappearing around the corner.
...
"Class, I'd like to introduce a new transfer student. This is Inuyasha Taisho so please take care of him okay?"
Everyone chorused a 'Yes, Kanzaki-sensei' and the new boy, with the silver hair and the puppy dog ears took a seat in the back next to a quiet girl with wavy black hair.
"Psst...hey?" He whispered, poking her in the arm.
She started and rested her wide blue eyes on the new boy next to her. Inuyasha blinked, had expected to see the everyday brown normally associated with the Japanese.
"You've got blue eyes."
She frowned at the obvious statement and didn't know how quite to respond until she saw his. "And Taisho-kun has gold eyes."
His boyish features lit up, a smirk on his lips. "Chichi-ue says I got them from him."
She abruptly looked away and went back to doodling in her notebook.
"Psst."
Kagome glanced at him.
And he grinned, poking her again. "You're gonna be my friend."
...
Kagome didn't come to school the next day or the day after and Inuyasha silently wondered where she was. So when he saw her sitting all by herself on the swings in the park on his way home, he narrowed his eyes and angrily marched up to her.
He pointed an accusing clawed finger in her face. "You!"
She almost fell off the swing in her surprise. The back of her shoulder hit the metal links and she yelped in pain, huddled into herself more.
Inuyasha frowned, looking at her more closely. "Why are you wearing a sweater? It's hot. And where've you been Kagome? That's your name right?"
She nodded, glaring at him from under her sooty lashes. "I'm cold."
"Keh, whatever." He crossed his little arms and stared at her. "I told you were gonna be my friend. That means you have to come to school."
Kagome looked at him and her eyes were so sad, so desperately lonely that Inuyasha scrunched up his brow in slight confusion.
"Why do you look like you're gonna cry?" He whispered.
"Because I'm sad." She looked down at her small, trembling hands.
Unable to face this boy with the silver hair and the bright gold eyes she slid off the swing and headed home with a sense of dread. But she was stopped as he grabbed her thin little wrist and promptly hauled her off in the other direction.
"Come on Kag-chan. Haha-ue will know what to do since girls are weird." He then tossed a grin over his shoulder.
"When you're not so sad anymore I can show you my turtles!"
...
A big bowl of steaming ramen was placed in front of her and she remembered how hungry she was. How hungry she always was. She looked up at Inuyasha's mother. She was very pretty with long black hair and honey brown eyes.
"Go ahead sweetie. Eat up." Izayoi smiled kindly at the beautiful little girl. She looked so famished, so starved for attention that it broke her heart.
Kagome nodded and picked up her chopsticks, immediately digging in with the first real smile Inuyasha had seen on her face since meeting her three days ago.
...
"Goodbye Yasha-kun!" Kagome grinned from the open doorway.
"See ya tomorrow at school!"
"Just a moment Kagome-chan!" Izayoi softly grasped her shoulder to give her a bag of treats but froze when the little girl tensed, gasped when she glimpsed the marks peeking through the neckline of her sweater.
Tears surfaced in Izayoi's eyes as Kagome spun around to face her. And her young scarred heart knew right away that Inuyasha's mother discovered her ugly secret. She could tell just by looking at her saddened eyes.
"I-I have to go now!" She stammered. "Okaa-san m-might get worried."
Kagome fled down the front steps of the large estate only to collide with a hard body. Warm hands grabbed her before she could take a tumble and she snapped her panicking blue eyes up to take in this newest stranger.
"I-I'm sorry." Came her bewildered apology. Her small body wiggled out of his hold and she once again took off running down the driveway and out of the iron gates.
Izayoi wiped her tears away as she tried to smile in greeting to her husband's eldest.
"How was kendo practice?"
"Fine." Sesshoumaru replied, still looking towards the gate. "Who is she?"
"Kagome. A new friend of Inuyasha's."
She felt a tug on her shirt and looked down at her son.
"Is Kag-chan okay?"
"I don't know dearest...but I hope so."
...
Blue eyes, melancholy and frightened, floated in his dreams that night. She was such a sad broken little thing. Beautiful in her crumbling innocence. No more than seven, eight years old and already she had the look of someone who'd seen and experienced far too much so early in life.
Sesshoumaru was still a young demon, about thirteen in human years, but he knew enough of the ways of the world to know that she was hurting. It reminded him of his own mother who'd died a long time ago. And it made him want to soothe her hurt, her pain away.
Maybe this time there would be a happier ending.
...
They found her sitting by the river near the school a few days later.
"Kag-chan!"
She refused to turn around and curled into herself, hugged her knees tighter.
"Kag-chan?" Still not getting a response, Inuyasha looked at his nii-san with pleading eyes, not knowing what to do.
Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to sigh and then sat down beside the little girl who had unknowingly crawled under his skin with only a panicked gaze.
She stiffened. The only visible part of her face was the shifting azure of her eyes.
"I'm Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha's older half brother." He said simply.
Kagome recognized him as the older boy she had run into three days ago in front of the Taisho estate. He was handsome she thought. And warm. He smelled nice too. She would've smiled if it weren't for the bruise by her mouth. It hurt too much to show her appreciation for their mere presence by her side. Kagome slowly lifted her head, used her long hair to hide the ugly purple bruise marring her skin.
"Kagome..."
She made the mistake of fully turning towards his soft voice. He caught her little chin between his fingers and his eyes narrowed.
"What happened?"
Curious, Inuyasha peeked over his brother's shoulder and his small golden eyes widened.
"I fell."
"On your face?!" Inuyasha yelled. He might've only been eight years old but he wasn't stupid.
"Nii-san, let's take Kag-chan home so she can live with us!"
The older Taisho ignored him and watched as her eyes blurred over with heartbreaking tears. He released her and standing up, extended his hand—silently asking her to take it.
"How about you stay with us for awhile?"
Kagome sobbed as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her green sweater. Hesitating for only a moment, she reached for his outstretched hand—so much larger than hers—and let Sesshoumaru pull her up.
...
Izayoi embraced the little girl, wanting to offer some sort of motherly comfort. She cupped Kagome's face in her soft hands and smoothed down her unruly black hair. Touga playfully shoved his wife aside and held out a very large hand for Kagome to shake while he introduced himself. And he thought she was such an endearing little thing when she nervously shook his finger and politely introduced herself as Higurashi, Kagome.
"I'll have to contact your parents sweetie and we'll definitely have to go pick up some of your things but I'll talk to them okay?"
Kagome nodded. It really didn't matter though. Her mother wouldn't care. Her father—wherever he was— wouldn't either.
...
When night fell, so did the nightmares.
She woke up screaming and crying in the darkness. But she was soon engulfed in warm strong arms, a familiar scent surrounding her. She slowly relaxed as Sesshoumaru held her, rocked her back and forth on a bed that wasn't hers. And though Kagome had only just met him, even though she didn't know him all that well, it felt like she did. Honestly and truly did. And for once in her short young life she felt safe and maybe even a little loved.
When the moon was kissed by the sun they finally fell asleep.
...
"Sesshoumaru-kun?"
"Yes Kagome?"
"When I grow up, I'm gonna marry you! I'm gonna be your mate!"
Inuyasha almost choked on the water he was drinking. "What!? What about me?"
She turned towards her very best friend of two weeks, three days and ten hours as a large grin curved her lips. "You'll be my brother of course!"
He grumbled at her and thought about it. He could be cool like nii-san if he was her brother. Protect her from all the bad people and suddenly the notion of becoming her brother was quite appealing.
Sesshoumaru walked over to where she sat in the kitchen and bent down so he could stare into her blue eyes he liked so much.
"Is that a promise my little blue eyes?"
She furrowed her brows, her little mind churning. "Only if Sesshoumaru-kun and 'Yasha-kun promise to stay by my side."
"I'm not going anywhere stupid, I promise!"
After a moment that felt like a lifetime to her, Sesshoumaru nodded.
And Kagome smiled, the happiness finally reaching her eyes. "Okay. Then I promise too."
...
Kagome returned home a couple days after they made the promise, stronger but still wary of what hid in the shadows and around the corners. When she closed the door behind her, she was immediately greeted by her okaa-san's bitter voice.
"Back so soon?"
"Yes okaa-san."
She spotted her leaning against the wall where the clock ticked and ticked above her. Her face looked pale, gaunt even and a part of her wanted to hug her mother—instill some life into her and feel once again her loving touch.
"Come and give your lonely mother a kiss Kagome. I missed you while you were away."
A small flicker of hope and she was making her way over, ready to cry on her okaa-san's shoulder because for so long she had missed her too.
Her mother's hand sharply connected with her cheek.
It was the first time she'd ever hit her. And it hurt. It hurt so bad from deep inside her crying heart that she could hardly breathe.
"Don't give me that look. I am your family Kagome. Not them. And they'll never be, no matter how much you wish and pray. Because in the end they'll leave you, just like your father."
"Stop it!" Kagome shouted, shaking her head and refusing to listen to her mother's spiteful words. "They won't do that! They promised!"
She bent down, ran the back of her cold fingers down the side of her daughter's face. For a brief moment Kagome thought she saw the mother she had loved with all her being in those dead and hollow dark honey eyes. But it disappeared much too quickly for it to have been at all.
"Just you wait darling. Those blue eyes of yours won't be so bright then."
...
A year later her mother's words came true.
When Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had become such a stable force in her life, how could they suddenly disappear? When they had become her only happiness, her only light how could they just vanish as if they had never been there at all?
And as Kagome frantically rushed down the empty hallways of the Taisho estate, as the last of the movers stared pityingly at the lost and broken little girl—the gray heavens heard her heart break into a million little pieces...and cried.
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...to be continued...
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