Full Summary:
Kagome is feeling hopeless after seeing Inuyasha with Kikyo over and over again. With their quest to find Naraku at a standstill, she returns to her time to rest before the final battle and come to terms with her unrequited love. But when a new boy at school catches her attention, Kagome is suddenly torn between the past and the present. Will she finally be able to move on? Will Inuyasha make her choice for her? Now Inuyasha knows why Kagome cries when he goes to Kikyo. KagxInu, KagxOC, fluff and fun!
Important Note: A long version of this author's note is located at the end of this chapter, but I promise in future chapters I will keep both beginning and end author's notes significantly shorter.
Short version: The point of this story is for Kagome to actually fall for some other guy and have to choose between him and Inuyasha. Why? Because I think Inuyasha deserves a taste of his own medicine!
This story will alternate (irregularly) between Inuyasha's and Kagome's POV, but it will be told in third person so it is easier to distinguish. Also, I will be using horizontal lines to break up scenes in the chapters, so make sure you read anything that isn't in bold because it's part of the story (I know some people like to skip the author's notes. I do it all the time haha).
If you have questions about why I've changed the plot regarding the jewel or why I'm writing this, check out the extension author's note at the very bottom. Thanks! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, obviously.
Colored dots danced across Kagome's vision as the sound of Inuyasha's footsteps tore her gaze away from the blaze in front of her. She had been pretending to listen to her friends' chatter while their fish popped and sizzled above the campfire. She blinked rapidly and watched him lean against a tree just beyond the light cast by the fire. He tucked his arms tightly against his torso, hiding them in the large sleeves of his fire-rat robe. He didn't look her way.
He never did after going to see her.
Kagome's shoulders slumped and she returned to staring at the flickering movement of the flames. It was probably bad for her sight, but that was better than seeing the faraway look of longing in Inuyasha's eyes. She understood the heartache that was causing his silver canine ears to droop and his head to hang low. He hated leaving Kikyo—almost as much as Kagome hated it when he went to her.
"You're back," said Shippo as he hopped in Inuyasha's direction, fluffy tail bouncing enthusiastically behind him. "So, what did Kikyo have to tell us? And why couldn't she tell us all together?"
Kagome gritted her teeth at the sound of her name. She shouldn't be irritated. Kikyo had just as much invested in finding Naraku and the Shikon jewel as the rest of them. Maybe even more so—she had her own death to avenge. What Kagome couldn't understand is why she had to drag Inuyasha away to talk about it.
From the way Inuyasha's ears twitched, she guessed he had heard her teeth grinding over the kitsune's innocent line of questioning. Neither chose to acknowledge it.
"There're no more shards left to search for. Naraku's got most of them, Kohaku has one, that mangy wolf has two, and we got the rest." Inuyasha finally looked Kagome's way, but she knew he wasn't looking at her; his eyes were fixed on the cord around her neck, the only visible evidence of the shards beneath her shirt. She tensed.
"So all that's left is to find Naraku," she said.
"And kill 'im."
Tension filled the air at Inuyasha's growled confirmation. They had all been waiting for this moment, when they would finally be able to take the next step in their quest to make Naraku answer for the misery he had caused.
Sango was the first to voice what everyone was thinking. "But how do we find him?"
A solemn silence settled on the travelers. Naraku had vanished without a trace weeks ago. Not even a whisper of his whereabouts had reached them since they'd retrieved their last shard.
"There's no way of knowing until he wants to be found. With those barriers, he could stay hidden forever," Miroku put his hand to his chin thoughtfully, staring into the trees around them as if they held the answers.
"He'll come out eventually," Shippo murmured. "He wants the jewel. Maybe we should just wait for him to make the next move."
Inuyasha snarled and aimed a venomous glare at the fox. "And let him take control? Not a chance! We'll just have to keep looking until we find something."
"Great. How exactly do we accomplish that?" Sango's voice was firm, but not challenging. "There's no point in wasting our energy searching for him right now. We have no leads, and no way of getting through or even finding his barriers. We should return to Kaede's village and prepare for what's next."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! After everything he's done to us, to Kikyo, and Kohaku, you want to just wait for Naraku to come and take out the next village?"
"Inuyasha! That was too far!" Kagome was getting ready to yell "sit" when she saw Sango's eyes fill with unshed tears.
Inuyasha walked past the fire and kneeled in front of the demon hunter, eyes hidden beneath his bangs while he faced the ground. "You're right. I crossed the line. I'm sorry, Sango."
Sango leaned forward and patted Inuyasha's shoulder in an unspoken gesture of forgiveness. He nodded slightly before leaving to jump into the nearest tree.
An uneasy quiet permeated the atmosphere once more while they ate. Kagome continued gazing into the flames without really seeing them.
It's almost over. What are we all going to do when we finally destroy him? She stole a glance at Inuyasha above them. Is he really going to give his life to her after fighting to survive for so long?
Kagome sighed inwardly. She knew where this train of thought led, and she didn't feel like going down that emotional spiral at the moment. She noticed she had some fish left, but she couldn't muster the motivation to eat anymore. "Here, Shippo. Finish this for me. I'm not hungry anymore."
Shippo exchanged concerned looks with Sango and Miroku. "Are you okay, Kagome?"
She shrugged. "I'm just tired."
"You've hardly eaten anything," Miroku pressed. "You should finish your meal. You need your strength."
"I'm too stressed to eat," she murmured, once again offering the remaining food to Shippo. "Really. I'll eat tomorrow." The fox demon took the fish gingerly from her hands, but the worried frown never left his face.
"It won't help to stress over it. There's no telling when or how Naraku will turn up," Miroku spoke around a mouthful of food. "You'll starve before he comes out if you keep this up."
She shook her head. "That's not going to happen. It's just been a lot lately. Between searching for Naraku, protecting the shards, and—" she paused. And watching him run to her again. "And school, I guess I'm just worn out."
Sango met her eyes. Kagome knew she had read between the lines, but she didn't bring it up. "Do you have another 'test?'"
Kagome nodded. "I have a science test for the chemistry unit. There's no way I'm going to pass." She would have chuckled at the puzzled expressions on her friends' faces if she didn't feel so down.
Sango shrugged. "I don't understand school stuff, but I do know about overworking yourself. Maybe you should go home for a while."
Inuyasha leaped from the tree and landed beside Kagome. She jumped. She hadn't realized he'd been listening. "No way! Naraku could appear at any minute. We need to be ready for him!"
"Inuyasha—" Miroku started.
"He's right." Kagome interrupted softly. When everyone's eyes fell on her, she clenched her fist and met their gazes with what she hoped was a fierce expression. "We're closer than ever to finally defeating Naraku. I won't go home until we finish what we've started." She was trying to sound strong, but her voice was deadpan even to her own ears.
You don't sound strong. You sound resigned. She grimaced at her inner voice. She could see in the faces of her companions that they heard it, too. She looked away.
"I'm exhausted. I'm going to turn in early tonight. Let's just decide what to do tomorrow, okay?" Without waiting for a response she stood and went about setting up her sleeping bag, ignoring the feeling of multiple eyes watching her.
She turned away and listened to the sounds of her friends settling in to rest for the night. Maybe things will seem better in the morning.
Kagome rolled over for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few hours. Everyone else had drifted to sleep, but her sadness wouldn't allow her to rest for the night. She couldn't stop thinking about how close it was to being over and how she would have to say goodbye when Naraku was finally gone. She looked at Inuyasha. To her eyes in the dark, he was little more than a shadow in the tree branches. One day soon he would be less than that.
She scrunched her eyes against the thought and sat up abruptly. She was never going to get any sleep if she didn't clear her head. Slipping out of the sleeping bag, she decided to distract herself by refilling the canteen in her pack. She pulled it out as quietly as she could and crept further into the forest, following the sounds of the stream they'd passed earlier that day.
She was still walking when she heard a soft thud behind her. "You shouldn't go off alone at night," Inuyasha said.
They quickly came up to the stream. She shrugged as she kneeled down to dip the container in the water. "I can't sleep."
"I thought you were exhausted."
She snorted quietly. "I'm so tired I can't sleep."
"Keh. That doesn't make any sense."
She shrugged again as she replaced the lid on the canteen and leaned back to watch the water. "You can't really understand it unless you've experienced it. It'll pass."
"How do you get through it?"
"After going days without sleep, I usually crash and sleep an entire day away. Eventually I get my energy back." She raised her hand as Inuyasha opened his mouth to respond. "Don't start yelling. I know that's not an option here. This is a critical time for us. I'll rest when Naraku's gone forever." She managed to sound slightly less drained this time.
Inuyasha shook his head. "I'm not going to yell," he said softly. She turned to look at him. "You should go home."
Kagome blinked. You ... want me gone? The next time she blinked she saw red. "I can't believe you're doing this again! Sit boy!"
Inuyasha's face slammed into the ground. "Hey! What was that for?!"
She stomped her foot. "You're such an idiot, Inuyasha! Haven't you learned by now that it never works when you try to send me away to my time? When are you going to get it through your head that we're in this together?! I'm not just a weak teenage girl anymore!"
Inuyasha pulled himself up and placed a hand over her mouth. "Stupid, calm down! I'm not trying to send you away forever. We need you when the time to kill Naraku finally comes."
Kagome stopped struggling. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she tried to tell herself it was from her anger, not his nearness.
Inuyasha moved his hands to her wrists. "I know you're strong enough to do this. But Sango and Miroku are right, much as I hate to admit it," he grumbled. "Even your inner strength has its limits. You'll get yourself killed if you take him on drained like this. You should rest while you can."
Do you care about me, or my usefulness to the battle? She searched in the gold of his eyes for the answer, but all she saw was the stubborn look he gets when he's gearing up for an argument.
She didn't have the energy to fight with him. "I guess it would be nice to sleep in my bed for once." She pulled her wrists from his grip and turned back to the stream. "I'll go back through the well as soon as we get to Kaede's village."
It was just before noon when the group entered Kaede's hut.
"How long will you be gone?" Shippo threw himself into her arms and buried his face in shoulder. "You're not leaving forever, are you Kagome? If Inuyasha said something to make you mad, I swear I'll—oof!"
Shippo's eyes watered as he rubbed the new bump on his head. "Pipe down, runt. I didn't do nothin' to her."
"This time," Shippo grumbled.
Kagome squeezed the fox demon in her arms. "Don't worry, Shippo. I'll be back in a few days. I'm just going to take my test and get some rest. I'll be back with lots of supplies before you know it." She smiled warmly at him.
Sango pulled Shippo from her arms and embraced her in a fierce hug. "You take all the time you need." Sango leaned to whisper in her ear. "Make sure to tend to your heart, too, okay?" Kagome's cheeks reddened at Sango's words.
Miroku hugged her next. "Don't stay gone too long! I'll get withdrawals from your beauty." Kagome rolled her eyes, until she felt his hand fall below her waist to her behind.
SLAP! "Pervert!"
Kaede shook her head "One day ye would do well to learn to keep your hands to yourself."
"Keh. Like that'll ever happen," Inuyasha sneered. "Come on Kagome. I'll walk you to the well."
Kagome stopped glaring at the monk and turned to Inuyasha. "Don't worry about it. I'll go back alone."
Inuyasha looked taken aback. "But Kagome—"
"It's the middle of the day. I'll be fine."
His ears drooped. "O-okay. I'll come find you as soon as we hear something about Naraku."
She nodded, threw her emptied bag over her shoulder and turned to leave. She felt Inuyasha's eyes boring into her back as she walked away. Don't follow me, Inuyasha. I need to get you out of my head.
When she arrived at the well, she hesitated before jumping in. What do I hope to accomplish while I'm there?
She looked behind her. Should I try to move on and start getting over him? She sighed. She knew it wasn't that easy. How do you just forget someone you're in love with?
She clenched her fists. "Get it together, Kagome. If you face Naraku like this, he'll eat you alive." With that, she jumped into the well and returned home.
Kagome,
Gone to visit some relatives for the weekend! We'll see you Monday if you're there!
Love, Mom
Kagome crumpled the note in her hand. "It's just as well. I don't really feel like talking to anyone right now." She climbed the stairs to her room and flopped onto her bed.
"Mrow?" She heard Buyo just as he settled on the pillow above her.
"What am I gonna do, Buyo? I don't usually let stuff get me down this long. How am I supposed to get better before I have to go back?"
The chubby cat merely nuzzled her in response. It was comforting, but not helpful. She sat up in her bed and stared out the window.
"All I want is..." She sighed. "Something impossible. How do I let go of that when I care about him so much?"
"Mrrrrow." Buyo got up and headed for the door, stopping once to glance back at her.
"You're right Buyo. I just have to take it one step at a time. I'll start by taking some time to myself today. Care to join me in the bath?' She chuckled at the cat's startled expression and headed for the bathroom.
"Tomorrow is a new day. I think some me time is just what I need."
Okay, so I know this chapter is really slow. That's why I've uploaded the first and second ones together. So please read the next chapter before you make any judgment on the story so far! I just had to get the background for the real story (Kagome's love life!) to begin. This was mostly just me trying to get a feel for the characters and set up the story for the events I want to write now that she's back in her time. Future chapters will be a lot more interesting (I hope)!
So I'll be honest, I'm not sure how this story is going to end. I know quite a few events I want to happen in the future, but I don't really know how it all will conclude. I guess we'll just go along for the ride and see where the characters take me, huh?
Thanks for reading! Go check out chapter 2 then leave me a review to tell me what you think! See you next time!
Extended Author's Note (From beginning):
Hi there! It's been a long time!
I'm a big fan of the Inuyasha anime (haven't had the chance to read the manga yet), but something always bothered me when it came to Inuyasha's relationship with Kagome. Everyone knows he got jealous anytime Koga or Hojo came near Kagome, but he was never actually threatened. They never stood a chance to Kagome because she had eyes only for him. That's great and all, but it always made me angry that Inuyasha never got a taste of his own medicine. I think after all he put her through, he deserved to feel what it's like to worry about her choosing someone else, at least for a little while.
I've ignored some of what happens in the canon plot to make this story easier for me to write. Just imagine that the episodes in which they go to borderland between the afterlife and the land of the living didn't happen, and instead all the shards stayed in Feudal Japan. Naraku and the shards' whereabouts aren't too important for this story as we're not focusing on that, so I'm not going to go too much into how the jewel is nearly complete in this story. Just roll with it ^.^