A/N: Ok, I know that I should get back to my MegaMan series I never finished, but I saw episode 16 of The Final Act and I just had to write something about it. Enjoy!

Games of Torment, Kagome's Scars

The tension was palpable; you might not be able to see it by looking at the group walk along the path, but to Inuyasha it was clear that the events with Hitomiko and Naraku had disrupted Kagome's good mood. Kagome had insisted that she was fine when Inuyasha had asked her, though she was perfectly aware of the pensive expression on her face. Eventually the Inu-gang decided to camp outside for the night. Sitting in a circle around the campfire, they all feasted on some spare ramen that Kagome had brought from her world. Uncharacteristically, Inuyasha restrained his consumption, watching Kagome from the out of the corner of his eye. Though she had hidden it well, he could still see that pensive expression marring her beautiful face.

Something's still bothering her…but what is it? Damn it Kagome; I'm WORRIED about you! Why won't you tell me what's going on in that head of yours?

Despite his worries, he kept his thought to himself; after all, she wasn't in any danger, so as long as she wasn't being actively hurt, there was no reason for him to make an outburst before bed.

Putting aside their used ramen cups, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo went to sleep, Miroku and Sango curled next to each other and Shippo snuggled against Kilala. Inuyasha turned to watch Kagome drag out her sleeping bag from her father's backpack, and about to open the zipper.

"Wait, Kagome!"

The young girl looked up from her task to the half-demon, a curious expression on her face.

"What is it, Inuyasha?"

He hesitated, torn between clamming up like usual and trying to ask her what was wrong.

"Keh, never mind; it's nothing!"

Kagome sighed as Inuyasha leapt up to take his perch in the trees. She finished unzipping her bag and crept inside, zipping it up around her as though it were a cocoon. As she snuggled to sleep, a passing thought went through her mind.

…I wish it was Inuyasha keeping me warm tonight…

For his part, Inuyasha found it difficult to fall asleep. Usually it was because he was used to staying asleep all night and gladly took the role of sentry for the rest of the group. This time though, his lack of fatigue was due less to his childhood habits and more to the worry passing through his heart as he watched Kagome slumber. His eyes softened at her peaceful expression.

Maybe I was just imagining things…I should get some shut-eye too…

However, just as he was about to close his eyes, he caught a whimper from the ground. Looking down, he saw that Kagome was twisting and turning in her sleeping bag, a grimace plastered on her face.

"No…No. Stop that. Stop calling me that!"

Damn it; this is just like what happened after Menomaru and Tsubaki!

Panicking at the memories of the last time Kagome was so distressed in her sleep, he jumped down, expertly slashing open her sleeping bag and grabbing her houlders, shaking her like there was no tomorrow.

"Kagome! Kagome? KAGOME!"

Where…where am I?

Kagome looked around, surrounded by an endless terrain of grass. As she took a step forward, she felt a pain in her forearms. Looking closely, she saw four small cuts in them.

What's going on here?

As if that wasn't enough, a ring of fire rose around her, blocking any attempt she may have had of running.

What's happening? Somebody, help me!

As she finished that thought, a group of kids suddenly materialized out of thin air, forming a ring around her, causing her eyes to widen out of nostalgia.

Hide? What are you doing here? What's going on?!

Instead of answering her unspoken question, her group of childhood "friends" started moving in the circle, chanting an all too familiar tune.

"KA-GO-ME, KA-GO-ME! You are no more than a bird in a cage. Crane and a turtle gonna slip and fall. Who's behind you now? Are they big or small?"

Tears gathered in Kagome's eyes; she hated this game! It made her hate the sound of her own name for years!

"STOP IT! Stop it right now, Hide!"

When she looked up, she gasped to see the ring of children replaced by copies of Inuyasha, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango. However, they continued the looped tune that drove Kagome mad.

No, not you guys too!

"Stop…please stop. Stop it…Stop it…"

She whimpered, hurt that her closest friends and crush would taunt her like this, singing that hurtful tune like a broken record. Tears ran down her cheeks when she heard a voice separate from the taunting chorus.

"KAGOME? KAGOME?!"

Kagome shot up, still held tightly at the shoulders by Inuyasha's hands. Once she had gotten a semblance of where she was, she took note of the panic in the half demon's eyes.

"Inu…Inuyasha?"

"Kagome…what happened? You were shouting in your sleep, saying to "Stop it". What made you so scared?"

Kagome looked down, feeling guilty for causing Inuyasha worry.

"It's nothing, Inuyasha. Just had some bad memories, that's all. I don't even know why I dreamed about them…"

Inuyasha moved them so that they were leaning side by side against the tree where he had been perched. He took her hand and looked at her softly.

"You…you wanna talk about it?"

Tired of keeping her worries to herself, Kagome acquiesced and told him of the nightmare that she had, of how the children and even all of them had taunted her with that song. Inuyasha's ears drooped at the last part of her retelling.

She dreamt…she dreamt that I hurt her? That I taunted her so deeply? Kami Kagome; I'm so sorry! But…why do you hate that song so much?

"Kagome, there's one thing I don't understand. Why were they, and…us…singing that song in the first place? And why did it include chanting your name?"

Kagome sighed, not really wanting to explain it, but realizing that she may have to explain it to the anti-social half demon.

"I don't know if it was played in your time, but when I was a little girl there was a game called Kagome Kagome. Basically one person is chosen to be in the middle and everyone else dances in a circle while singing that song and the person in the middle has to guess who's behind him or her."

Inuyasha knew what the game was the moment the heard the words Kagome Kagome. He had never taken part in it, due to having no friends, but he had seen many other children his age play it when his mother was alive. However, he didn't interrupt her, letting Kagome continue with her explanation since it didn't explain why it hurt her so much.

"Because I was named Kagome, it doubled as a taunt; all the other kids my age would use the game as a way to make fun of me. And since I always knew who was behind me at the end, it gave them more excuse to call me a freak. It caused me to hate the sound of my own name for years."

Tears leaked from her eyes as she looked up and asked him "Inuyasha, what was wrong with my name? Is there still something wrong with my name?"

And I thought I had it bad…I may have been trained to loathe my heritage from birth, but at least my own name was spared. Kagome…

To boost her self-esteem, Inuyasha gave a soft smile as he wiped away her tears with his claws.

"Stupid; there's nothing wrong with you name. You have a beautiful name, Kagome. Don't ever feel ashamed of it."

Though still crying, Kagome smiled through it all, somehow more comforted by Inuyasha's words than those of her own mother. For Inuyasha's part, he was contemplating whether to share a part of his past with Kagome.

I asked her to be honest with me; it's only fair that I be honest with her…

"When I was a pup, I lived in a small village with my mother. Because I was half demon, I was labeled a freak. Nobody would play with me, with one exception. A group of villagers would take turns sneaking up behind me and kicking me from behind. They called it Kick The Puppy, because I was small and I couldn't defend myself yet."

"Inuyasha…I'm…"

"There's more. After my mother died, the villagers kicked me out of the village, and the ones who started it were the same band of children who had been bullying me from the start. When I turned around, they taunted that it was time to Kick Out The Puppy."

Kagome gasped at Inuyasha's tale; she had guessed that Inuyasha had been ostracized ad a child after meeting Jinenji, but she had no idea that he was subjected to such torment. She knew that to disclose such information, even to her, was very hard for him. Before she could speak further, Inuyasha continued where he left off with an even more startling confession.

I…I have to be honest with her…COMPLETELY honest…

"Back when we first met, after Kaede set the beads of subjugation on me, when you used the sit command the second time and remarked about how it was fun, I flashed back to those days, and suddenly became very scared that you would use the beads to do what those villagers did without having to touch me. That's why I called your attempt at sharing a meal with me a trap when you first sought me out."

Kagome cried at this, outraged with herself for ever having made Inuyasha feel pain with her commands, and for having made him feel fear with her thought less remarks. She inched forward and embraced him, causing the young boy to blush. She rubbed his back in a gesture of comfort, encouraged when he touched his forehead to hers.

"Inuyasha; I am SO sorry! I don't know why I said that, and I wish I could go back and retract what I said and what I did. But Inuyasha, I NEVER thought of you as any kind of punching bag."

"I know, Kagome. I figured that much out after you called me a hero. Besides, it doesn't bother me anymore. What those kids did doesn't hurt me anymore, because I have real friends now who care about me."

Inuyasha smiled as he kissed her tears away, bringing a sense of déjà vu.

"You made that pain go away, Kagome. Now you tell me how to get rid of your pain. Let me do for you what you did for me."

Her tears ceasing, she wrapped her arms tighter around Inuyasha's torso and moved her head to rest on his shoulder so she could whisper in his ear.

"…Hold me, Inuyasha. Keep me warm and protect me from those memories."

Wrapping his arms around her, he moved her into his lap and rocked them back and forth, the rhythmic motion making Kagome drowsy until she fell asleep. Inuyasha smiled before letting himself fall asleep too. Together they slumbered, joined in a place where no blood was shed, no flames threatened to devour them, and no children taunted them for being different.