Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inuyasha and never will. I just like to write about them...

Author's Note: This is my first fan-fic and my very first attempt to ever post my work anywhere, so to say the least I'm a bit nervous...bare with me here...review and tell me (please!!) both critiques and make sure to tell me if I'm doing something stupid er something, anything...I'm clueless please forgive me!

The Mirror

A shadow ran through the forest, not running but leaping in the darkness of the night. Trees flitted by; birds roosting in their nests far above shuddered in their sleep, unaware of the threat that'd just flown past them. At the edge of a clearing the dark figure leapt high into the air and landed without the slightest sound or wobble of counterbalance in the arms of a tall, powerful tree. Crouching there, the threatening shadow stared into the meadow, its feral amber colored eyes glowing, fixed solely on a small wooden well in the center of the grassy clearing.

In the limited light provided by the stars a keen-eyed mortal might've just made out that the shadow, hunched and observant as a night owl, had long and flowing silver hair. When the wind stirred the grass in the meadow below it also rippled the night-stalker's flowing mane of silver hair. Atop the stalker's head two neatly rounded ears were perched, pointed forward and intent, just as the gold eyes were, upon the meadow below.

The hours wore by and neither the stalker in the tree nor the meadow below him moved. At last the sun began to creep over the horizon in the east, chasing away the blackness and the stars of the night. In the distant village a rooster crowed, announcing the arrival of another day in Feudal Japan.

In the center of the meadow nothing moved, and as the light of the new day began to spread over the whole of Japan the figure in the tree seemed to sag, even as the newly arrived daylight revealed his form. Of course it was Inuyasha, the hopeless hanyou, waiting at the Bone Eater's Well for Kagome's return...a return that he knew was destined never to happen.

As Inuyasha began to lose patience with his nightly ritual his fuzzy white ears drooped, despairingly. Kagome would never come back, and though he'd tried time and time again to enter the Well himself and fetch her his attempts always failed. Whether it was because the Well's magic had simply failed or he had actually lost the ability to travel by way of the Well he, didn't know. The only thing that Inyasha did know for certain was that the Well no longer allowed him to see Kagome; therefore he could only wait for her to return to him...

This is all my fault! The hanyou berated himself; I brought this on myself! Even the Well understands that...

Wrapped heavily inside his own depressing thoughts the hanyou never heard the approaching footsteps. He was completely oblivious to having any company at all until a smooth, calming male voice reached his acute ears: Miroku.

"Well Inuyasha, fancy meeting you here this lovely morning."

Startled, but quickly covering that emotion with annoyance, Inuyasha turned his golden orbs down to the base of his tree, his glare angry.

"Mind your own business—you stupid hentai!" he snarled, clearly showing the lecherous monk a gleaming white fang in warning.

Below him the handsome, utterly calm and sensible monk sighed, shaking his head at Inuyasha's usual blustering hotheadedness. The hanyou never changed. It'd been close to a month since Kagome had left them, for reasons unknown to everyone—everyone, that is, with the exception of one sulking hanyou. Yet Inuyasha never admitted what'd gone wrong, or even mentioned that he missed the girl! He didn't need to, it was true—Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and the others all knew that Inuyasha missed Kagome just as he missed the moon on the nights when he became completely human.

"Monk," snapped Inuyasha from the tree above abruptly, snapping Miroku from his thoughts with a blink.

"Yes Inuyasha?" Miroku stared straight up the tree's length, but Inuyasha wasn't meeting him in the eye, the half-demon's stare was still directed at the Well, lost in thought.

"Do you know of any reason that Well might not let me pass through it?" the question was stated in a monotone, hinting at nothing, yet nevertheless it intrigued Miroku. He'd always wondered, over the last few weeks, if Inuyasha's pride could really keep him from crawling back to Kagome by traveling through the Well. The hanyou was far too proud and stubborn to speak of it to the others, Miroku knew, but at any rate he should've gone to drag Kagome back by force by now...unless he no longer could travel through it. The thought tickled Miroku's mind, calling out to him irresistibly, much the same as Sango's slender curves did to his hand.

"Inuyasha," Miroku started cautiously, "Are you saying that you can't go through the Well?"

"No!" Inuyasha snarled, outraged, though he knew full well that the monk had caught him, and in truth he'd not expected to escape with his latest weakness undiscovered. His pride had finally run dry on the subject—he'd stopped caring about himself. His need to see, to smell, to hear, to touch Kagome again overpowered his pride now.

"Okay..." Miroku sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. When will he just grow up? No wonder Kagome left and didn't come back! Even so, knowing that it was likely Inuyasha really had lost the ability to travel through the Well; he began hesitantly speaking his mind on the subject.

"None of us have been able to pass through the Well Inuyasha. Only you and Kagome with her Jewel shards have managed it. Honestly I know little beyond that. This well and the Sacred Tree are connections between our time and Kagome's, but it seems to me that it's only your connection with Kagome, and hers with you, that allows your passage..." Miroku tried to crane his neck to turn his eyes toward the sulking hanyou but still Inuyasha wasn't looking at him and the monk couldn't read his companion's face.

Though Miroku didn't expect anything in the way of a reply Inuyasha surprised him. From the tree the half-demon grunted and shifted his position, the only warning Miroku had before suddenly the hanyou was crouched on the ground at his side, not even a speck of dust stirred from his landing.

"You didn't answer my question Monk." Snapped Inuyasha, irritably. He rose to his feet, flinging his silver hair from out of his face with a quick twitch of his head. The ears atop his head twitched and flickered, like nervous birds at dawn.

"The truth is I don't know Inuyasha." Miroku sighed, quickly realizing that the thought of Kagome's return really was hopeless. Inuyasha had hurt her in some way again and now the Well wouldn't let him travel through it, thus Kagome, surely on the other side and waiting in heartbreak, would think he'd ceased to care. After all, if Inuyasha cared, wouldn't he surely come after her and attempt to apologize? Or wait, that was too much to expect of the stubborn hanyou, Kagome surely was waiting to be dragged back to the Feudal Era. That was the only thing she'd get from Inuyasha, yet it was enough to keep her coming back.

"I wish you good day Inuyasha." Miroku piped up cheerily then, dismissing the matter from his mind and giving his friend a pat on the shoulder reassuringly. He turned and started to walk away, his staff jingle-jangling and glittering in the sunlight. Sango is waiting for me and my mischievous right hand, I don't want to keep her waiting, he smirked to himself.

Left behind, Inuyasha scowled and turned his back on Miroku's retreating form. He stood stock still, listening to the forest and the fading footsteps of his perverted friend, but all the while his eyes, golden and haunted, were locked onto the Well. The moment Miroku's footsteps receded into nothingness Inuyasha felt his knees quiver though he desperately tried to restrain them.

"Damn Well!" he snarled, quietly to make sure that Miroku wouldn't overhear his frustration, "Why now?!"

In a flash of heated motion Inuyasha crossed the meadow and kneeled at the Well, digging his claws into the dirt there, miserably. Ears alert and aimed at the darkness of the Well he stared into it, squinting his amber eyes, willing them to show him somehow that something had changed. When he leapt into it this time it would let him pass, it would lead him to Kagome's time and straight to Kagome. And, Gods help him, once he reached her, saw her, scented her, heard her breathing, her heartbeat—touched her soft skin—he'd never let go, never leave her again!

Growling determinedly, Inuyasha rose from his spot at the side of the Well, a clump of moist soil in each clenched, clawed fist. The loose earth crept between his locked fingers no matter how he squeezed, demon strength or no, and was swept away, out of his reach like the wind. Inuyasha was momentarily distracted by the sight, bitterly intrigued.

It flies away from me, no matter how hard I clench my fingers; it always gets away...just like Kagome!

Furiously Inuyasha threw what little soil and sand remained in his fists into the wind, giving up. As it flew away he screamed hopelessly, "What the hell am I doing wrong?!"

Once more he felt his knees shiver and Inuyasha gave into the weakness, collapsing onto his knees, his hands reached out and gripped the Well in anguish, squeezing so tightly that his knuckles flushed white. His head bowed in grief as his heart cried in the loneliness that seemed to define his life. The moment he found something it was ripped mercilessly from him...

"I'd do anything!" Inuyasha spat at the Well's uncaring darkness, a darkness he knew led nowhere for him.

"Anything for her!" he was shaking all over, fearing he'd never see Kagome again, fearing he'd never be able to tell her everything he'd always meant to, fearing that everything they'd had between them would end now, over such a stupid little argument...

Endnote: Nope, that's not the end of this one...I didn't really want it to have chapters but since I'm still learning this uploading business and all...I wanted to make sure I knew how to do chapters properly...pray for me! It's already done so if you're wondering about the "little" argument and whether or not I'll tear Inu and Kagome apart forever, well it's all settled in the next installment so don't worry! I'll have it for you tomorrow...