It's 1:20 am and I have work in under seven hours #fuck

Holding on by a Thread

Chapter 3

"So… You dreamt about my bedroom?" Kagome questions in amazement.

Inuyasha nods, "Yeah, which was already weird because, well, I hardly ever dream." He notices that she's already sitting quite close to him, so he does something he's been wanting to do all day… He crosses his arms in his sleeves, and he instantly begins to feel a little better. A coping mechanism, of sorts. Now feeling like he can talk about their situation without losing his mind, he continues, "I woke up with the string around my finger, and I tried to cut it with my claw, but it wouldn't budge."

Kagome feels the slight tug on her finger when he crosses his arms, so she moves her hand to her knee, keeping it close to him. "I'm not sure if I dreamt the same thing as you, I don't remember dreaming about a cave, just a forest with a whole bunch of stars in the sky," She sighs wistfully. "It was so beautiful. I was actually kinda sad when I woke up from it."

"You did, too…" He mutters, awestruck.

Kagome looks back up at him. "What do you mean? You didn't sleep here?"

He shakes his head no. "I rarely ever sleep in here, only on… specific occasions," He relays. "I usually sleep in trees around here, but most often in my favorite spot, which is a bit far, by the village." Odd, he wasn't expecting to talk about himself. Didn't he already agree that he wouldn't do that? So why is he still talking?! He almost mentioned his human night, for Kami's sake!

If you two are stuck 'til then, she's gonna find out about it anyway.

Annnnd there goes his good mood.

Her voice brings him out of his inner musings, though. "You sleep in trees? How do you not fall?"

He feels as though she's still in the dark about what he is exactly. "I'm not human." He bites out darkly.

She shrinks back at his tone, but quickly fires back with an angry huff, "I guessed that much! Give me a break, will ya? It's not everyday I find myself in ancient Japan! Where I come from, youkai are supposed to be fantasy creatures!"

Two fur-covered ears don't take kindly to the echoes of her raising voice. "Okay, okay, geez, quiet down!" He whispers harshly, his ears laid back against his head.

"Why should I?" She plows on, louder this time, her eyes zeroed in on his own. She nearly raises it higher before she notices his eye is slightly closed. She focuses on his face now, and gasps at the slight contortion of what seems to be pain. The anger she felt disappears in a flash, "Wha- Inuyasha, what's wrong?"

"If you haven't noticed," He growls, removing his arms from his sleeves to point at his head. "My hearing is a bit more sensitive than yours."

Kagome's face morphs into absolute mortification. "Oh my goodness, I-I'm so sorry, I just—,"

"Ya know, it'd actually help if you'd shut up!" He snaps, his temper flaring.

Her eyes widen in surprise, and she quickly turns her head without a word.

He doesn't know why he lashed out like that, but he's never been known to be the patient or understanding type. Everything today has been a major bust, and saying he's stressed is an understatement.

He was expecting her to retaliate and fire back at him, not for her to actually shut up. He immediately feels a little guilt, for he already knows that she doesn't like their current situation, either.

He wants to blame her anyway.

His train of thought it broken as he catches a new scent, his ears hearing the quietest of broken sobs.

Aw, shit.

Kagome didn't want to break down into tears when he yelled at her, but she couldn't help it!

Her day has been awful! Her birthday has been awful! She's trapped in ancient Japan, unwillingly connected to a youkai who's supposed to be her soulmate, and she's sure he hates her guts!

She knows that she yelled first, and he tried asking her nicely to be quiet. Frankly, it was her who spurred his wrath.

But did he have to shout at her so angrily?!

As she tries to keep her crying under par, she hears him heave a sigh.

"Look, there's no need to cry…" He begins, his voice hesitant.

So much for him not noticing. Her mind grumbles.

"Today's just… Well, it's sucked," He refolds his arms, trying to convey his feelings verbally. He's never been good at that, because, well, he's never had to be. "My days are usually spent relaxing by myself. Because I like being by myself. I like my solitude, and it's suddenly been completely ripped from me, ya know? My mood is not at its best right now."

He glances her way to find her staring at him, her tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes portraying a look of understanding. A small smile makes its way upon her lips.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing… That today's sucked and all," An awkward giggle bubbling up from her throat. "But not because I like being alone. I'm just kinda sad cause I was supposed to spend today with my family and friends, but instead, I'm stuck here. Guess we're both in bad moods, huh?"

It's obvious she's trying to lighten both their moods, so he tries to go along with it. "Yeah, guess so."

"But hey! It could be worse!" She exclaims excitedly. "I'd hate to be stuck here alone on my birthday, so at least, I have someone to spend it with," She admits sheepishly, a little voice in the back of her mind telling her Of course it could be worse, you got your soulmate as a birthday present. She quickly shoves that thought away. She's no Disney princess!

"And what about me? Where's my stroke of luck, Miss Brightside?" He quirks a brow, holding back an amused grin at her look of sudden panic. She has no fucking clue.

"Ehhhhh, well, um, I guess…" She bites her lip, tapping a finger on her chin. The thought hits her in flash. Ah ha! Lightbulb! She gives him a wide smile, hoping he won't mind her answer. "You made a friend!"

She was not expecting him to bust out laughing at her comment. "I made a friend? Ah Hell!"

"What?! What's so funny?! We can be friends! We're already bonding over both hating this situation, I don't see the humor!" She tries to explain her answer, feeling a little miffed at his reaction. Then again, he sounds like a recluse. He probably doesn't want friends.

He wipes the tiniest of tears away from his eye, trying to get ahold of himself. "Y-you don't get it, do ya?" He wheezes. "Oh Kami, that's the hardest I've laughed in over a fucking century."

Wait, a century?! How old is this guy?! He looks like he's pushing seventeen, maybe eighteen!

He opens his eyes to her look of confusion and suppresses a snort. "What, my age?" He asks. She nods dumbly in reply. "Look, wench, if you haven't figured it out yet, lemme put it in words for ya…" He mentally braces himself, for what could her reaction possibly be? She's not from this world, sure, but would she change her mind about being friends once she finds out exactly what he is? Only one way to find out. "I am a hanyou. Half youkai, half human, ya got that?"

Her stare remains blank. No reaction?

"So?" She says.

Un-fucking-believable.

A girl from some other world just basically told him that being a hanyou was no big deal. Maybe she just doesn't understand?!

"So?! Hanyou don't get to have friends, Kagome, and we're lucky if we're even wanted by either side of our own family. I don't have friends." He explains, more than a little irked by her nonchalance.

She gasps in surprise, quickly realizing what Kaede had meant when she said if her family 'wouldn't mind' Inuyasha having youkai blood. She meant being part youkai!

"Are you telling me that humans and youkai alike are racist towards hanyou?!" She nearly shrieks as the thought dawns on her. "Is that what you're trying to tell me?! That's awful!"

All thoughts of snide remarks and sarcastic comments flee from his mind. Racist? I mean, I guess? He shrugs, not really sure how to answer her rhetorical question. "I suppose so, yeah, if that's what you'd call it. The village we went to is an exception, since I more or less have been protecting them for more than a century."

He warily eyes her reddening face, absolute rage radiating from her small form. "W-why, how horrible of them! No matter what kind of racism it is, that's still the worst kind of discrimination! It's not like you're bad, but I guess…" Her ire unexpectedly deflates. "I guess they don't care, huh? They just… Hate you no matter what?"

Hearing her put exactly what the world thought of him in words made his heart pang just a little too painfully. Thankfully, he's good at putting up fronts.

"I ain't worth shit in their eyes. I'm the impurity, the abomination, on both sides," He stresses, the words like molasses pouring out of his mouth. He doesn't like talking about it… Then why is he? Maybe because he never has? "So, I'm in a class of my own, which is fine by me!" Though belonging somewhere would be nice. "I don't need your pity, either, I don't give a damn what they think." Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. "To put it bluntly, I don't have friends, and I don't need friends." Being alone is far better than being an outcast.

"But…" His eyes snap open. He nearly forgot he was even talking to her. "What if you want friends?" She asks softly. She tries not to cry again; his little speech was hard to hear. She can't even fathom what it must feel like to be on the receiving end of that kind of hatred!

He doesn't even look at her, a growl threatening to claw up his throat. "The Hell do you mean? I said I like being alone, didn't I?"

"There's a difference between being alone and being isolated, you know," She mumbles. "You can have friends and still be alone. I don't like being around people too much, either. I like my alone time, but I also like having fun spending time with people I care about, and who care about me. I'd hate to think that people wouldn't miss me if I stayed in my room all day or…" Her lip trembles as she remembers what exactly her family must be going through right now. "Or if I was trapped in another world…" She finishes sadly, rubbing her palm against her eyes and cheeks to rid herself of any fresh or leftover tears.

Kami be damned, he's feeling emotional. It's her damn fault, making me talk about stupid shit like that! And acting all sad and pitiful, ugh, can't she just stop?!

Before he's able to put his foot in his mouth, though, she speaks up again, "If it's all the same to you… I'd still like to be your friend," She looks right at him then— her eyes still red, her nose a little runny, and he's struck speechless by the hopeful expression she's giving him as she adds, "If you'll have me."

"So, you dug this whole stream yourself?" Kagome scans up and down the large creek, hands resting loosely on her hips. One end of the creek starts from a nearby river, and at the other end, what started as a small basin he dug himself, gradually turned itself into its own pond. "Amazing!"

"You think so?" He grins with a casual shrug of his shoulders, crouched down by the edge on her left. "Well, it sure beats having to run to the river all the time just to get a drink."

"I bet! That's really smart!" She compliments him, her hands folded behind her back as she swings back and forth on her feet.

"Bah, it's just easier, and I have a shit ton of spare time," He brushes her off, fighting against a blush. "Is fish alright for lunch? It'll be the only kind of meat we can get as long as we're, ya know…" He brings up his right hand and wiggles his pinky.

She rolls her eyes half-heartedly. "Yes, fish will be just fine. I'm not picky."

He stands up and motions his head downstream. "Alright then, follow me."

"I feel like I'm camping," Kagome laughs softly to herself as she takes another bite from her roasted fish-on-a-stick.

"Some camper you are, you couldn't even watch me gut the damn things."

She shoots him a pouty glare at his jab. "I'm sorry, maybe I just don't like to see the process of my food being killed!" She looks down forlornly at her once living meal. "If I had to watch that all the time, I'd probably never eat meat!"

Inuyasha grumbles under his breath, adding 'squeamish' and 'empathetic' to the list of things he now knows about this girl. "It's a part of life. Most animals eat meat, and sometimes, we are the meat. It's just how it goes. Ya get used to it." And with that, he continues munching on the last of his fish.

She doesn't reply, feeling as though that was the end of that topic.

Though, another question has been eating at her for the last couple of hours now… And she'd like to get her answer before nightfall.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" She starts cautiously.

"What?" He replies in a clipped manner, not pausing his meal.

"So, um, what are we supposed to do about sleeping arrangements?"

He halts midbite, eyes widening at the thought. She finds his expression amusing, his mouth hanging open and eyes practically bulging, but feels that laughing would probably annoy him.

He closes his mouth, squinting at his half-eaten food in 'deep' thought.

I wonder if cutting off my finger would be worth it?

A/N Sorry for the short chapter, I'm just really freakin tired rn and want to sleep but I also wanted to finish this so ta-daaaa!