A/N: Whoo! This story has been read over and I might've revised some parts. But please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter One:

The Sting of Loneliness

"Inuyasha, do you love me?" The cool whisper of a clay body's voice resounded throughout the small forest. Two lone figures stood facing each other, drinking in the sight of their lover.

Amber eyes widened in shock and then filled up with hurt. "Of course Kikyo! Do you not understand? I've come back to you every time you were nearby. If I could, I would search for you forever until you were mine." Inuyasha admitted. "How could you say that to me after all of these years?"

"It's been quite a while Inuyasha. But since then, I was dead and could not talk to you. Besides that, I was the one who killed you, stuck you to that tree, let you stay like that for fifty long years. How could you say that you love me when I'm the one who made you suffer?" Kikyo sniffed and pretended to cry, letting out a tear to add an effect.

Inuyasha engulfed the miko in a small embrace, which was returned gladly. Burying his head in her hair, Inuyasha took in the smell of death and clay, wishing that she'd smelled as good as Kagome.

'Ugh…not Kagome. Please, I don't want to think of her right now.' Inuyasha thought disgustedly, trying to focus on the woman he held in his arms. "Because, Kikyo, you are the one that I've loved in my past life, you are the one that I love now, and the one that I'll love forever into the future. It doesn't matter what you've done before, it's what's happening now." Emotions rising, Inuyasha gave Kikyo a tight hug before stepping back and dipping his head in for a kiss.

.:xX…Xx:.

"Oh boy! I can't wait 'til Mama sees all of the herbs that I've gathered for her. Lady Kaede would be pleased as well!" A young fox demon squealed in delight. Shippo hurriedly gathered most of the medicinal ingredients that was asked of him to retrieve, all the while humming to himself a short song that Kagome had taught him. But his song was instantly forgotten when he heard voices coming from a clearing that he'd always visited to practice his fox magic. Shippo ducked behind a bush nearby to two silhouetted figures standing under the pale moonlight whose light was temporarily blocked by passing clouds.

Shippo listened closely to hear the voices and decide whether or not to listen. But then he recognized a voice that he knew all too well.

'Inuyasha…what is he doing here?' Shippo thought with a confused tone. Then he waited and listened to hear the other voice, trying to confirm it. It was a voice he'd never recognized, but telling from the words that were being said it seemed as though the two were deeply in love with each other.

'But I thought that Inuyasha loved Kagome! He always stares at her with that weird look in his eyes as though she…she looked like one of those ramen cups that he likes to each so much.' Shippo thought innocently, hurt by the fact that Inuyasha might not like his Mama.

.:xX…Xx:.

"Inuyasha, if you love me, will you eliminate my reincarnation out of the picture? Will you love me, and only me?" Kikyo asked, still distrustful of Inuyasha's word. When he didn't answer her anger started to build up. She gripped the cloth covering his chest and glared angrily into his wonderful eyes. "Will you?" She asked with more force. The kiss was enough to distract her, but Kikyo had her mind set on something, most likely diabolical and evil.

Inuyasha sighed and destroyed his resistance to say yes. He gave a slight smile before reassuring that he would love only her, not giving a second thought about Kagome. After giving Kikyo a quick kiss he acknowledged the fact that he had to go back to the village pretty soon.

Kikyo still held on fast to Inuyasha's clothes and refused to let go. "Do me a favor then, Inuyasha. Declare your love to me in front of your group; tell them that you love me. Make sure that Kagome understands what you're saying or else you won't be seeing much of me." She demanded. She was so close to Inuyasha's face that he could feel her icy exhale on his cheek.

Inuyasha let out a small gasp, inaudible to Kikyo's ears, but he recovered quickly and gave a nervous smile. "W-why?" He asked out of breath.

Kikyo was having too much fun thinking of ways to hurt Kagome's feelings to even notice that Inuyasha had asked her a question. She let got of his clothes and made a gesture with her hands as if she were in deep thought.

"I know! Tell her to leave the group!"

This only made Inuyasha feel as though he were caught between two sources of ramen soup. He loved shrimp flavor, which he'd labeled as Kikyo, but he desired new flavors like chicken or beef, also known as Kagome. But hadn't he just admitted his love to Kikyo, the shrimp flavor? It was a terrible decision. As though he had to say goodbye to the time of his life and settle down with only one woman. Oh how he hated restraints.

"Um," He squeaked. "Is there a reason you want her to leave?" Desperately wanting to know why Kikyo didn't want to get along with Kagome.

Kikyo whirled around and gave Inuyasha a cold glare. "Are you this dumb, Inuyasha? Can't you honestly see that we've been fighting over you?"

"Uh," Was all Inuyasha could say before he was interrupted.

"Are you trying to protect her?" Kikyo accused with a heart-wrenching frown.

Inuyasha gulped and backed up into a tree. Being close to a powerful miko was dangerous. Especially when the miko became angry.

"N-no." He stuttered, something Inuyasha hardly ever does. Regaining his composure, he made up for that silly mistake. "No. I am not trying to protect her. I was just wondering who would be able to sense the shards once she's gone." That being confidently said, Inuyasha stood up to his full height and gave Kikyo a serious look.

"Good." Kikyo smirked, knowing that she'd always get what she wanted in the end. "Make sure you break the news tonight Inuyasha. I'll be watching." She gently cautioned before signaling her soul stealers to carry her away, leaving an utterly nerve wrecked Inuyasha far behind. "And I'll fill her place as the shard detector!" Kikyo yelled, hoping that Inuyasha would hear her message as she was lifted higher into the air.

Inuyasha waited until Kikyo had disappeared before sighing and turning away to head into the direction of the village.

'Should I really do this? Kagome was the one who freed me from the tree, right? She doesn't deserve to be treated like this after all that I've done to her. Besides, she's too weak to survive on her own.' Inuyasha's troubled mind rambled with questions waiting to be answered. He wanted Kagome to stay but he also wanted Kikyo to be there with him. 'But I deserve to have Kikyo with me…or do I?'

Somewhere along the road to the village, Inuyasha had made up his mind.

.:xX…Xx:.

Shippo sniffed. "So that's Kikyo…" He muttered and wiped a single tear off his face with the back of his hand. "Why does she hate Kagome so much?" Being a child, Shippo didn't understand as much as he would later on. But from what he'd heard, even a child would know that this was going to turn out bad for someone.

After pondering for a few minutes, Shippo's mind finally kicked in the right direction. "I need to tell Mama!" He gasped and scurried off to inform Kagome of the important news.

.:xX…Xx:.

'Is this how everything's going to turn out? Why, this is too easy.' A man cloaked in the shadows of the night thought smugly to himself. Standing high up on one of the tree branches, this demon watched with careful speculating eyes. "I will defeat Inuyasha soon enough. If my instincts are correct, he still has many feelings for that wench Kagome." The demon chuckled and let out an evil grin, one that hid his intentions well from eavesdropping eyes.

.:xX…Xx:.

Surprisingly Shippo made it to Kaede's hut before Inuyasha did. Shippo immediately began to search for Kagome, who seemed to be out at that moment. Only Sango, Miroku, and Kilala were there. The young fox demon let out a small growl before calming himself down and asking where Kagome and Kaede had gone off.

Sango looked a bit uncertain. "I saw them leave the hut with a basket. I think they're going to gather more herbs."

Shippo's eyes widened. "But they told me to get the herbs!" He retorted.

"I guess you were taking too long." Miroku stated.

"Too long?" Shippo practically screamed out his lungs. But then he remembered that he was spying on Inuyasha and Kikyo. "Oh yeah…I'd forgotten about them."

Sango caught this and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Who are they?" Sango interrogated, determined to find out the answer to her question.

Nervousness began to settle into Shippo's mind. Butterflies would take flight whenever he was questioned like this. "Um…um!" He whimpered. He wouldn't tell! He just couldn't tell! "No!" Shippo put his hands to his ears.

Kilala started to growl just a little bit, urging Shippo to answer her master's question.

"Shippo?" Miroku asked.

The tension in the room was too much for Shippo to handle. He let out the breath of air he'd been holding and ran out of the hut in search of his Mama. "Phew! That was close!" He exclaimed.

Back in the hut Sango, Miroku, and Kilala all shared a confused look. The looks were broken when Miroku let out a lecherous smile.

After a few minutes of silence, a slap resounded in the small village, followed by a regretful "Ouch".

.:xX…Xx:.

Meanwhile, Shippo finally found Kagome and Kaede not too far from the village. "Ka-go-me…" He cried, voice raspy and out of breath. "Ka-go-…"

Kagome spotted Shippo and smiled. But her smile instantly disappeared when she saw Shippo fall to the ground. "Shippo! What happened?" Kagome asked and immediately dropped her basket of herbs to tend to Shippo. "Shippo? Are you okay?" She shook Shippo's small body in anxiousness to see him awake. "Shippo?"

"K-Kagome…" He whimpered.

Kagome gave Shippo a slight smile, but her eyes held concern for her little 'pup'. "Shippo, please hold on."

Kaede retrieved Kagome's basket and stood by Kagome, inspecting the kid from afar.

"Do not fret, Kagome-san. He's only weary of travel. We did journey quite far from my hut." Kaede set the baskets down and took Shippo into her arms, like a mother carrying a small baby. She looked straight into Shippo's tired face. "Let him rest, Kagome-san. 'Tis the best we can do at the moment. Let us now hurry back to the hut and prepare supper." Kaede shuffled her feet and proceeded to walk to the hut with Shippo in her arms, leaving Kagome to carry the baskets back.

.:xX…Xx:.

After they arrived at Kaede's hut, Kaede set Shippo down near the door and prepared some food with the herbs she and Kagome had gathered.

Kagome positioned herself near Shippo's resting figure and stroked his fur, instantly calming the poor child. She stole a glance towards Miroku and Sango's direction. What she saw didn't surprise Kagome so much. Sango had once again slapped Miroku for being his perverted self, while Miroku was rubbing his overly abused cheek. Kagome smiled. She knew they were deeply in love, but they just couldn't say it for fear of…of…of what? Kagome just couldn't figure them out.

Everything was going great inside the hut, until Inuyasha came through the door with a determined look on his face. He looked at the entire group with a hard stare. But he could barely let his gaze meet Kagome's. His mouth was set in a straight grim line, and you could feel the tension start to rise inside the room. Inuyasha cleared his throat, demanding more attention to him. "I have news for all of you." He started, but paused for a long moment.

During that moment, Shippo seemed to have regained consciousness and was rubbing his eyes. He immediately sensed the intense discomfort and anxiousness in the room, so he opened his eyes wide and blinked simultaneously. As soon as his vision cleared, he focused his eyes on everyone else but didn't notice that someone had stood at the door. As he followed everyone's gazes to the figure at the entrance, Shippo let out a small gasp. Once he spotted Inuyasha he remembered what his mission was! To tell Kagome what he'd heard in the forest!

"K-Kagome, I need to speak to you." Shippo meekly asked, not looking at anyone but Kagome.

Kagome tilted her head to one side before nodding, approving Shippo's humble request.

"Could your news please wait, Inuyasha? Shippo wants to talk to me." Kagome stood up and was about to step past Inuyasha, but Inuyasha wouldn't let her and blocked the path to the door using his sturdy frame.

Chest puffed out in confidence and pride that he could stand to this lady without fear.

"No." He said firmly. "Let me finish what I have to say first before that little runt can tell you. It's really important, Kagome. I want you to hear me out for a moment. It'll only take a few minutes for me to tell you, and it's really important."

Kagome gave a confused look before slowly settling herself next to Sango for this 'important' news. "Hush Shippo. I'm trying to listen." Kagome gently scolded when a squirming Shippo gave a small yelp of protestation.

'Oh no! Kagome will be heart-broken when Inuyasha tells everyone the news that he loves Kikyo!' Shippo thought sadly, but still tried to wriggle his way out of Kagome's firm yet soothing hold.

Inuyasha gave Shippo a glare before beginning his slow but small speech.

"I love Kikyo. She's the only one I'll love forever," Inuyasha started. He wouldn't look at Kagome, knowing her reaction already but still not looking. "No one can ever change my mind from loving Kikyo. So please, keep your attempts to yourself and try not to get in the way when I'm with her." Inuyasha referred her to Kikyo. It was only then that he stole a glance at Kagome. What he saw was no surprise, yet it still hurt him so.

Kagome had hid her eyes to shield herself from staring unbelievingly at the hanyou that stood at the door. Sure her heart had been broken many times, but this had to be it. The final straw of soul she had in herself. She just couldn't face the fact that he'd chosen clay over flesh.

'So this is how it ends? After all that I've done for him? THIS is how he REPAYS ME?' She thought angrily to herself. Tears formed in Kagome's eyes, but they didn't fall. No, she wouldn't show how weak she was by crying. She'd rather eat a demon than cry in front of Inuyasha.

Tears dried up, a smile plastered on her delicate features; Kagome finally looked up and gave a fake grin of happiness.

"Congratulations Inuyasha! I knew you'd come to your senses!" Kagome laughed gently and in a few seconds, gave Inuyasha a great hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

This completely surprised everyone. Wasn't Kagome's heart supposed to be broken? Wasn't she supposed to be breaking down in tears and having to be comforted by Sango, Kaede, Shippo, and Miroku? Wasn't she supposed to be 'sitting' him?

But Inuyasha was the one that was mostly affected by this sudden mood change. He knew she felt angry with him at first, then she was crying, but now she was practically strangling him to death by giving him a bear hug.

"Kagome? Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked, unsure of her true feelings.

Kagome sniffed, but acted as though it were tears of joy instead of tears of sorrow.

"Of course! You and Kikyo belong together! You guys couldn't have made a better couple!" She simply stated and let go of Inuyasha.

Kagome turned around and reached for her amazingly huge yellow backpack and took out all of its contents. She gave all of the ramen to Inuyasha and the rest of the food to the others. Now her bag had shrunk to Shippo's height. All that was left were her schoolbooks and her first aid kit.

Turning to Inuyasha, she said, "Just think of the ramen soup as an early wedding gift for you and Kikyo." After that, she easily passed by Inuyasha and walked out into the night, feeling the pain of being unwanted double in size with each step she took.

Everyone inside the hut sat there with his or her gifts in hand. Kagome certainly was hurt, but was clearly not showing it. The only ones who couldn't really see that were Shippo and Inuyasha.

Miroku put down his sack of packed onigiri and frowned at Inuyasha. "Great job, Inuyasha. Now's she's really going to leave us." Miroku stood up and left the hut, his intentions on trying to persuade Kagome to stay.

Sango sighed and set aside her portion of food as well before following Miroku. She gave a slight huff and a small shove at Inuyasha's shoulders before stalking off after Miroku, with Kilala trailing after Sango.

"Wait up, Sango!" Shippo exclaimed and hurried off after the demon exterminator. He wanted to know why Kagome was so happy when she was supposed to be sad.

Only Kaede and Inuyasha were left in the hut. Inuyasha glared at Kaede. "Well?" He questioned her rudely.

"Well what?" Kaede continued to stir a bowl of soup.

"Aren't you going to go after her and yell at me, too?" Inuyasha crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe with a pout.

Kaede seemed to only ponder for a few moments before answering. "No."

Flabbergasted by this answer, Inuyasha stood up in surprise, all attention on her. "Huh?"

"Thee are too dumb to even realize that ye have hurt thine own soul mate's heart. I am not going to waste my time on thee." She said in one breath and continued stirring. Kaede wasn't even going to waste her breath on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha growled and slunk down into a comfortable position before muttering about crazy mikos.

.:xX 1Year Later Xx:.

"Come on hurry up, Miko-sama! Thou must cure ma' sickly mother!" A small child cried frantically and was pulling a now-in-miko-garments-Kagome. As they neared a hut the child began to run more quickly and had even stumbled sometimes, but managed to continue running. "Right over here, milady!"

Kagome was led to a small shack and stepped inside. Wandering into a certain small room inside the shack, she spotted the boy's mother. The mother had run a high fever and was sweating so much that it slightly drenched the futon she was resting on. Kagome quickly went to the lady's side and reached to touch her forehead. But the moment that she laid a finger on her, she pulled back out of instant reflex. The lady's head was too hot for Kagome to touch.

Remembering the things that Kaede had taught in the past, Kagome closed her eyes and concentrated on the lady. She immediately spotted the demons that were terrorizing the woman's body. After sending a bit of miko power into her palms, Kagome reached out to touch the demons. They instantly dissipated under Kagome's touch and were gone. Kagome smiled and opened her eyes.

A gasp was heard from the little boy. "Wow milady! Thou has cured mine mother!" He cried in delight and hurried to give his mom a hug.

Soon after her hug, the mother turned to Kagome with the biggest smile Kagome had ever seen. "Thank you, Miko-sama! Had thou not come at such a time, meself would've died and left me son behind to starve! How can we show our gratitude?" The mother asked humbly.

Kagome giggled but waved her hand in an unnoticeable rejection of the offer. "Don't worry. I'm supposed to be doing this for people, not for myself." Kagome stood up and left the small room. But not before wishing good luck in the years to come, and left the shack.

Walking past more huts, Kagome sighed and trudged down the path to her hut a mile away from the village. Ever since that day she'd left her friends, Kagome had been a loner and a quiet person. She'd moved to another village far from where Kaede lived and became a miko that stayed close by her village, like Kaede. Kagome's thoughts suddenly wandered to the past. To the time when she'd left that dark, lonely night.

Kagome had ran all the way into the forest and sat down in a clearing. She then cried her heart out, her sobs echoing through the night. After a few moments it began to rain. She lifted her head up and looked around to see if anybody had followed her. Her feelings were crushed to find that nobody had come after her to bring the soon-to-be-wanderer back. Only rain brought her comfort now since it washed away her tears and promised a brand new start the next day. Kagome buried her face in her hands and continued to cry.

She hadn't noticed that somebody did follow her. Someone way up high in a tree stood glaring down at her petite figure, soaked by rain. Claws at his side, a striking amber gaze, and darkness used to disguise him, the figure gently pushed himself off the tree branch and landed gracefully on the ground behind her without making a sound. He slowly stalked his way toward her and was soon towering over the miko's small frame.

"S-so…Inuyasha loves…loves…her." Kagome spat with hatred to her tortured mind. She couldn't even bring herself to say the clay body's name. "I oughta rip that piece of junk. He chose death over life? How could he?" Kagome's sobs only grew louder and louder. "Why? WHY?"

"Because he's loved her forever. Because he's thought of her every single day, nonstop." A familiar voice sounded right behind her, causing Kagome to jump in surprise.

Kagome stared at the man in surprise, but quickly turned into anger. "Why are you here?" She spat out. "And how would you know what he's thinking?"

The man took a step towards her. "I have a mission to execute and it's fairly easy to predict what my brother is going to do or say." He said calmly.

The miko growled in a defensive manner. "So? Why would you care, Sesshomaru? You've tried to kill your brother so many times, and here you are giving me advice on what he's thinking!"

"Are you forgetting, human? I am a demon. I can practically smell his emotions miles away from here." Another step toward her sent her backing up. Sesshomaru's stoic face had her body reeling with emotions and also made her back up into a tree. A ghost of a smirk was splattered across his face as he spoke, "What's with you humans? You are absolutely scared of us demons. The only time we'll hurt you is when you insult us."

Kagome swallowed a bit, wishing that she hadn't run out into the rain without her friends. She bit back a whimper and decided to stay quiet.

No emotions passed through the lord's face. There is a saying that the eyes are windows into the soul. Well, it seemed to Kagome that Sesshomaru had no soul but instead had a brick wall instead of a window. Something caught his attention and his gaze was directed to the corner of his eye.

"I must leave." He muttered silently, unheard by Kagome, and took a mighty leap into the air before disappearing.

Kagome's nerves were a train wreck. She had been scared out of her wits. After a few moments of recovery, Kagome finally understood why Sesshomaru had spontaneously left. Emerging from the darkness were her friends, except for Inuyasha and Kaede.

Sango immediately went to her friend's side and tried to dissuade Kagome from leaving forever. But was soon rejected. A determined look plastered on her face, Sango gave her friend a quick hug before announcing that she'd rather stick to Kagome than hang out with a clay body and a hanyou. But Kagome resisted the offer and promised to visit them from time to time.

Shippo had all of Kagome's feelings take a roller coaster ride. She couldn't control her sudden mood swings of happiness and sorrow. Shippo had instantly attached himself to Kagome's arm and wouldn't let go. He would whimper whenever Kagome would try to pry him off her arm, and he'd let out a single tear when she'd said that she'd visit. She'd even tried to cheer him up by promising a gift whenever she saw him, but nothing would work. Shippo had decided to stick to his Mama. It took all of Miroku, Sango, and Kilala's strength to pull Shippo from Kagome's arm. It was only then that he'd let go and actually paid attention to what Kagome had said to him. He finally stood at the sidelines with a pout on his face, but a thousand tears falling from his eyes.

Miroku gave a small grin, none of his lecherous ones, on that said he'd miss her for quite a while until he'd see her again when she'd drop by. Nothing was tried, no slaps were given, and no 'ouch's were there to follow. It was a silent exchange between the two, but no words were need to be said.

After crying a few more times, Kagome stood up and gave Kilala a pat on her head before trudging out into the rain, never looking back.

Kagomefinally reached her hut. She sat in the middle of the room and sobbed her heart out. Being heartbroken was one thing, being lonely was another. Now she had no one to help her out, or someone to share her hopes and dreams with. She should've let Shippo stay on her arm. She shouldn't have refused Sango's request. But once a promise was made, it was to be kept. Never to be broken.

All Kagome had left was her broken heart, shattered soul, and destroyed feelings to help her in her life. Suddenly Kikyo's life seemed a whole lot better to her. Not worrying about dying, since she was already dead. Kikyo's only goal in life was to bring Inuyasha to hell. Well, Kikyo finally had her chance to do whatever she wanted. Kagome wasn't going to be there anymore to interrupt her plans.

A knock at the doorpost had Kagome walking to the door to see who it was. When she lifted the mat, she gave a slight gasp and a mental frown in her head.

'Oh no! Not now!' She thought frantically.

.:xX…Xx:.

A/N: I love Inuyasha stories that mostly involve Kagome. I have two options, a Sesshomaru/Kagome fic and an Inuyasha/Kagome fic. It's either one of those. But this story just so happened to be a Sesshomaru/Kagome fic okay? For those that oppose Sesshy/Kag stories, then I'd advise you to stop reading this right now unless you are devotedly interested. Review!