Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Kagome Broken

His heart stopped.

Kagome…

His bare feet were frozen to the floor, too petrified by the onslaught on emotions as he stood there looking at Kagome. Her limbs twisted in odd directions as she lay face down on the floor, looking like a doll that had simply been dropped.

Broken.

There was no breath in his body as he stared at her from across the room. He hadn't been there to save her. He failed her. I'm so sorry, Kagome. I'm so sorry. His stubborn pride… oh gods… what had he done? It was his fault, all his fault she … she… she's still breathing!

Inuyasha was kneeling beside her before he even realized he had regained control of his body. She was alive!

"Kagome…" Her name was hoarse and broken as whispered it. How could she ever forgive him for failing her? Again. "What happened? Are you okay? Who did this to you?" A sudden thought had him seeing red and shaking in rage. "Is he still here?"

"In…Inuya…sha? What…?"

"Shhh. Be still. Don't move."

He was afraid to touch her in case he made her injuries worse. But he couldn't NOT touch her. He settled for gently touching the top of her head. Feelings of pride and terror warred with each other as he touched her damp hair. Kagome had fought, and fought hard. She was drenched in sweat, her blood was pounding through her veins, and her muscles were still twitching.

That meant that the attacker was still nearby!

Inuyasha jumped to his feet. He'd kill him. Torture him first maybe and THEN kill him. He was almost to the door when he heard Kagome call out to him weakly.

"Water…" she pleaded.

He was torn between the need to avenge her and the need to comfort her.

"Please…"

With a harsh curse, Inuyasha bolted to the kitchen. He couldn't deny her anything. Especially not now. He threw open the refrigerator door so hard it broke the hinges. He found several bottles of water of several different flavors in there, so he grabbed them all. He dropped them all too when he saw Kagome struggling to sit up.

"NO!"

He reached her before she could sit all the way up. Her arms were trembling with the effort and she winced in pain.

"Don't move, idiot! Stay still!"

He ignored his own command that she remain still as he pulled her towards him gently so that she would have something to lean on. So that he could hold her, knowing that her body was warm and alive, not cold and… and… he was so close to losing her.

Why had he let her return on her own? They hadn't argued or fought. She simply needed to go home and turn in assignments. They happened to be close to Kaede's and the others were also complaining about the need to rest and restock. She left cheerfully and waved at him before she disappeared down the well. Why didn't he follow her? Why had he allowed her to fend for herself in this dangerous world of hers? How could he have abandoned her like this after he swore to protect her with his life? Just because he didn't want everyone to tease him that he couldn't bear to be apart from her for more than ten minutes.

She looked at him with wide eyes, begging him. "Water…"

There was one bottle that had rolled within reach. He used his foot to pull it closer, then grabbed it and twisted off the cap. It broke his heart how greedily she drank the water, though her arms were nearly too weak to hold the bottle up. She leaned against him as she drank. A small rivulet dribbled down her chin, but she hadn't the energy to wipe it, so Inuyasha used the edge of his sleeve to dab at the liquid.

"Drink slower," he coaxed gently as he took hold of the bottle and lowered the end slightly to slow the flow. "You'll make yourself sick."

Her eyes crinkled a bit as she smiled around the lip of the bottle at him. That was a good sign. He wouldn't be able to stand it if she was hurt so bad that her smile would be stolen from her. And it would be all his fault.

He knew better than to leave her alone. If anyone could find trouble, it was Kagome. Not that it was her fault. But trouble seemed to just seek her out. And it was HIS job to keep her safe. He dropped his forehead onto the top of her head. Some great job of protection, he sneered at himself.

"Who did this to you, Kagome?"

"Tae…" she inhaled deeply, fingers trembling as she replaced the lid to her now empty bottle of water. "…Bo."

She knew him by name. That was good news. It would make seeking out this Tae Bo person easier. Then Inuyasha would make him pay dearly for what he had done to Kagome. Once he was certain that she was safe, he would start the hunt. Nothing would keep him from destroying him.

"Do you know where he is?"

Kagome turned her head and motioned in the direction of the television. It struck Inuyasha as odd that he hadn't noticed that the magic box was even on. His whole world had centered on the girl, nothing else. The dog demon sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of the intruder. But the only scent he could find was Kagome's family. He scanned the area, hoping to catch a trace of him in case his nose couldn't be trusted.

Nothing.

Perhaps Kagome was confused. Maybe she had hit her head.

Alarmed by the possibility, Inuyasha thrust his fingers in her hair and began feeling her scalp, looking for a bump or a cut, being careful that his claws didn't scratch. The sound Kagome began making could only be described as a purr… which made him a little uncomfortable, though he wasn't sure why.

"Do you know where he is, Kagome?"

Regretfully she pulled back. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Do you know where this Tae Bo person is? I'll make him pay." Gently he pulled her back to stroke her hair. "I swear to you, I'll make him pay."

Her lips twitched as she pulled away again. "Inuyasha… Tae Bo isn't a person… it's an exercise." She pointed to the screen again. "I was taking a study break and thought I'd work out a little bit. You know, get into better shape. Help me up?"

Still not really getting what she was babbling about, Inuyasha helped her to her feet. He was a bit nervous with how off balance she seemed, as if her legs were going to give out on her at any moment. Instead of risking any more damage to her, he simply scooped her up and held her for a moment. She had stopped talking and was now looking at him in a way that made him feel… funny. Powerful. Invulnerable. Scared to death! So he hurried over to the couch and set her down.

He watched the screen as the man was kicking and hitting the air, calling out directions for the others to follow, though he was talking to the screen. Kagome must have been watching him and following the directions.

"You were practicing fighting?" How odd. Why would Kagome practice hand to hand combat? Surely she knew he'd never allow her to be in the middle of all that bloodshed. It was too dangerous. And, well, he didn't want her to see any of that up close to the carnage if he could help it.

"No," she denied with a wave of her hands. "Yes. Well… not really." She gave a yawn and made a humming sound. "Even though you kick and hit as part of the exercise, it really isn't fighting."

"I don't understand, Kagome. Why are you doing this?"

He forgot his question when he felt her head land on his shoulder. She had fallen asleep. No, she had exhausted herself to the point of collapse. This just wasn't acceptable. Why was she doing this to herself? She was hurting herself and he didn't know why. It made him angry. Part of him wanted to shake her awake to explain herself, the other part wanted her to get some much needed rest.

"Oi! Wake up, wench."

He couldn't help it. He had to have answers.

Instead of waking up, Kagome snuggled closer, practically burrowing into him. Once again he was having trouble deciding what to do… or not to do. Waking Kagome meant she'd be moving away from him. Not waking her meant he didn't get his answers. He grit his teeth against what he was about to do. He couldn't protect Kagome from hurting herself if he just let it go.

"Wake up!"

He felt the loss of her heat as she grumpily moved away and mourned. This time she let herself fall backwards onto the sofa. Still half asleep she pulled her legs up to get into a more comfortable reclining position. This meant, however, that her legs ended up on Inuyasha's lap. He sighed.

She must really be tired.

While she slept he took off her shoes, but decided to let her keep her socks on. There was something about taking them off that seemed like he was taking advantage of her, regardless of how many times he told himself he was innocent. He pat her leg like he had done when she was sick. He let his mind wander to the reasons why she was learning how to fight.

Did she not trust him to protect her?

Did she think she'd have to protect herself against him?

Did she WANT to start fighting?

Did she want to stop using the bow because… because it was the weapon Kikyo used?

None of the reasons he thought of made much sense though. Of course he would protect her with his last dying breath, surely she knew that. It was stupid to even consider that she would have to protect herself against him. Besides that fact that he'd cut out his own heart before hurting her, she had the protection of the rosary. And Kagome was just too soft hearted for hand to hand combat. She'd slug an enemy and then probably apologize for it.

The bow seemed like the perfect weapon. She could fight at a distance, so it was less likely she would get hurt. But if it made her too uncomfortable… well then, he'd find some other sort of weapon that she would like instead.

"You okay?"

Inuyasha turned to Kagome. He almost laughed, since that was his line.

"Yeah." He didn't move her legs from his lap, and let his hand stay where it was. He wasn't going to move it or draw attention to it. Maybe she wouldn't realize it was there… "Why?" He decided to clarify. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"Mmm. You mean Tae Bo?"

"Yeah."

She sighed. Then, regretfully, she moved her legs from his lap and sat up. Groaning and wincing as she did. "I thought it would get me in better shape." She blushed. "The rest of you are great fighters and can run for long distances. If we have to go far I always have to be carried."

"I don't mind."

Smiling she let her head fall on his shoulder. "But I should be stronger. Faster. I'm not carrying my weight in battle. Someone is always having to watch out for me."

"I don't mi…"

"I know," she interrupted. "But I feel guilty. A friend of mine told me about Tae Bo, and I thought it would be a great way to build up my strength and endurance. I thought that with all my running and walking around in the Feudal Era that I would be in good enough shape to handle it. But it used an entirely different set of muscles." She groaned and stretched. "I have muscles that hurt that I didn't even know I had!"

Inuyasha was silent for a moment. Trying to make sense of what she was saying. In the end he decided that the only way to have his questions answered was to ask them.

"You trust me?" he asked. "To take care of you, I mean."

"I trust you, Inuyasha."

He sat up a little straighter, trying to fight his smile at her confidence in him. "You don't want to fight hand to hand?"

She chuckled as she leaned over and took another bottle of water that was lying on the floor. "I don't think I'd do so good at that. I'll leave that to you and Sango. I'll stick to the bow, thank you very much. But I should be prepared just in case I have to."

He had to agree with that. Maybe he should teach her some basic self defense moves. He decided not to ask anything about the bow.

"You don't like me carrying you?"

"Um… it's not that." She was blushing. He would love to ask why, but was almost certain that he was sporting a blush of his own. "I do. I just don't want to be a burden. I want to carry my own weight. To do my share."

"Keh. You do your share, wench. You feed us. You tend to our wounds. You make sure we rest. You listen to their problems. You take care of us." He couldn't believe that she didn't think she was doing her share. Just because she didn't do most of the fighting didn't mean she was a slacker. "Oh, you find shards. And when you put that purification energy into your arrow you can get rid of dozens of demons at once." He shook his head at her. "You're stupid if you don't think you pull your weight."

She choked a bit on the water she was drinking. Laughing, she wiped her chin. "That's the sweetest insult I've ever heard."

After screwing the top back on her water bottle she plopped backwards on the couch again. Inuyasha brought her legs up and put them on his lap. She looked at him in wonder, but he didn't say anything. She didn't complain, and she didn't move them. Eventually she sighed and closed her eyes.

"I'm soooo tired."

"So you aren't going to do this to yourself anymore, right?"

She shrugged sleepily. "I dunno. It was good exercise. And it was fun."

"You were collapsed on the floor." I thought you were dead and my life was no longer worth anything.

"Well, maybe I should have exercised a little restraint. Next time I'll make sure to take breaks when I need them."

Inuyasha growled a little. "I'll make sure of that."

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Goodness!"

Inuyasha glanced up from his spot on the floor and saw a startled Mrs. Higurashi looking down at him. Kagome was breathing heavily as she lay bonelessly next to him.

"What happened to you?"

"Tae…" gasped Inuyasha as his leg twitched and spasmed, "Bo…"

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note: I thought I was in good shape before I tried Tae Bo…