Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha in all his cute, fluffy, 'I-wanna-touch-his-ears'-ness! Sad, ne? What a bummer…
Stay for what?
The night was quiet as Inu-Yasha, Miroku, and Shippo sat around the campfire. Not a word was spoken between the three for a long time. It had been that way ever since earlier in the day, when the group passes by Kikyo, who was just passing by. They all saw how dreamily she stared at Inu-Yasha, and he had been thinking about her for a long time. For just a moment, then, the two had gotten very close. She almost kissed him… The only reason they backed off was because a demon had shown up. Kikyo vanished, and Inu-Yasha fought.
During the fight, Kagome was shocked at what she had seen almost happen. She had begun to think that he cared about her, but no… his only love was Kikyo. She couldn't remember when she had fallen for the half-demon. Maybe it was when he had saved her time and time again. Or maybe, she had loved him from the moment she first saw him pinned to that tree just outside of the small village. Still, it didn't matter. Inu-Yasha didn't like her, and lately, he had been secluding himself away from her and the others.
Kagome was so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that the bridge she was standing on was starting to collapse. She soon fell into the water. Sango and Miroku followed the rough current as Shippo stayed with Inu-Yasha until the demon was defeated. Then, they ran after the others. The current was strong, and Kagome had trouble keeping her head up. She could see her friends running along the shore, but her heart fell. She didn't see the one person she wanted to see. Her head dipped below the surface, and there was a great pain in her right arm as she hit a rock.
Soon, she felt herself being pulled, and the wind hit her body, making her very cold. Her arm hurt badly, but not as much as her heart was hurting. Miroku managed to pull her to shore and he sat her down and started checking over her arm. Inu-Yasha ran up and fell to his knees by her. She was shivering and didn't answer her calls. He tried to place his over-shirt over her, but she shrugged out of it. Though, she didn't seem to mind it when Sango placed a warm blanket over her. She ignored Inu-Yasha's questions and let herself be led away to a small, forested area. That was where they had been for a long time.
Inu-Yasha sat there silently, staring at the large fire. The hungry flames licked at the darkness and drifted up until they were no longer visible. He was lost in thought again, but not about Kikyo. He was worried about Kagome. Why was she being so distant? Why hadn't she accepted his help? She was always trying to win his attention, but he didn't understand why until a short while ago when Sango explained it. He had seen the way she looked at Sango and Miroku, as the two started to like eachother. Was she jealous? No, she didn't like Miroku; so then, why the looks? Apparently, she felt left out, or something.
Those words echoed in his mind. She hadn't bugged him because she was being mean… she liked him. He felt stupid for not noticing. He liked her, too, but he wasn't sure how much. He had been thinking about that earlier that day, when they had run into Kikyo. That's why he spaced out. He was thinking about how much he had loved her. He loved Kagome as much as he loved Kikyo… No, even more than that! The thought had hit him pretty hard. A short while ago, he didn't understand what love was, but he knew he felt warm and happy whenever she was around. His heart would beat roughly in his chest. That as love. However, he wasn't given the chance to tell her.
A noise broke him out of his thoughts. Sango was coming back towards the group. She had a tray of food in her hands. Sighing, she sat next to Miroku. The monk, in turn, put an arm around her, and she leaned against him a little. She had spent a while tending to Kagome, and Inu-Yasha was dying to know how she was. He was worried half to death, but she was silent. He thought he was going to go insane. Miroku noticed the anxious look on the demon's face as he stared at Sango, and turned to her.
"How is Kagome, Sango?"
"I can't say very good… She still refuses to eat anything."
"That can't be good."
Miroku saw Inu-Yasha lower his head from the corner of his eye.
"How is her arm? I saw that she was cradling it carefully before."
"It's probably fractured. I put it in a sling, but we need to get to another town fast so it can be put in a proper splint."
"Right. Inu-Yasha, how about we leave early tomorrow morning?"
"…"
"Inu-Yasha?"
"Fine…"
Sango looked down.
"Inu-Yasha, you've barely touched your food. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Slowly, he rose to his feet and walked off towards where Kagome was, carrying the rest of his food.
"Hey, where are you going with that?"
"You said she hasn't eaten, right…?"
That was all he said as he walked off into the dark.
