disclaimer: well poop, I still don't know how to use HTML. -_-;; which means, you poor people have to deal with this story being all jumbled together because when you hit ENTER or try and INDENT a new paragraph, the stupid thing doesn't WORK!! pttb. stupid thing... anyway... I don't own Inuyasha, so please don't sue. but please DO review, but be gentle. this is my first fic. ^_^ kind of sad, and don't mind Inuyasha's mouth there right in the beginning. ^_^;; he's got such a dirty mouth, get that boy some SOAP! ^_^ or some ramen to shut him up, that works too.... ^_^;; anyway, please review, flames are welcome to an extent. flame all you want, but PLEASE only if it's constructive. if you have any problems with the Japanese please email me.
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Kagome had been gone for a little over three weeks now. Inuyasha was getting impatient. Where could she be? She said she'd be back in... He counted off his fingers. Four days! It's been seventeen! He grumbled. Oh well. "Oi, Inuyasha!" there was a tiny voice from below him. He looked down from his sulking position in the tree at Shippou. He rolled his eyes.

"What do you want, Shippou...?" he groused. "When's Kagome coming back?" the tiny kitsune asked innocently. "DO I FUCKING LOOK PSYCHIC TO YOU!? I DON'T KNOW ANY MORE THAN THE REST OF YOU!!" He jumped out of the tree and stormed away, grumbling obscenities to whoever was listening. It was a good thing Shippou was smarter then to repeat them...

"Houshi-sama, I'm getting worried. Kagome-chan never has taken this long without telling us first. Do you think something may have happened over there?" Sango's soft and cool voice floated softly through the hut. "I'm not sure, but I'm surprised that Inuyasha hasn't gone to get her." "That's where he just went, I think." Shippou walked in and sat down next to Kaede, answering Miroku's statement. The monk nodded. "That's good." "I certainly hope that she's all right..."

Damn her, that girl... I can't believe she's taking this long!! What the hell is her problem!? Naraku could have gotten the entire Shikon no Tama by now!! I hope she realizes what she's...

Inuyasha's ranting thoughts were cut short as the scent of bitter salt hinted at his senses and he looked up to find Kagome. But she looked different... a lot different. Her usual school uniform had been replaced with a black top that seemed a little too small for her to Inuyasha, because it clung to her figure like a second skin, and a pair of dark denim jeans. The scent of salt lingered all over her. A sudden wave of some unintelligible emotion washed over Inuyasha making him stop dead in his tracks as she walked slowly toward him. "Ka... Kagome...?" he managed to say in a choked tone. She looked up and her face made his throat tighten up a little. She was ghostly pale, almost ashen looking, her cheeks sunken slightly. Her eyes had dark rings beneath them and were red and a little puffy. Inuyasha swallowed hard. "Kagome...?" he said a little more solidly. "Are... you okay? Did something happen to you...?" he flicked his ears around nervously. "Inu...yasha..." she said slowly, taking a shaky step forward. He walked quickly to her and stood in front of her, his face contorted in a mixture of fear, worry, and confusion. He reached a tentative hand toward her. She stepped forward and, surprising Inuyasha, lay her forehead on his collarbone. She clung lightly to his red haori, her fingers grasping it with what little strength she had at the moment. "Kagome?" he asked, startled. "Inuyasha, I..." she pulled back and looked up at him. He hushed her. "Let's get you back to Kaede-ba-baa's hut, you... need some rest." he reached around and draped his arm over her shoulders, guiding her toward Kaede's village. "Inuyasha..." she stopped, and he lingered. "Kagome, come on... you're... you don't look well." She didn't. In fact, she looked down-right DEAD. She wouldn't move, she just stared at him. He glanced away for a second, and when he looked back, the salty scent had filled the air again. She had tears streaming down her face, but wasn't sobbing like he would have expected. Those were no normal tears. He panicked. "K, Kagome?! Mou, nakuna..." he said in a rushed voice, swallowing hard again and trying to determine what to do. "Don't cry..." he repeated himself. "Inuyasha..." she stepped up to him again and pressed her face into his shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably, nervously placing an arm over her back. "Nakuna." he said yet again. She lifted her head to look at him, tears still slipping from her eyes. He tugged a napkin from one of her previous bento she had brought for him out and offered it to her. She shook her head slowly, looking down. "My..." she looked back up at him. She swallowed as he fruitlessly brushed away her tears with the back of his hand, only so they could be replaced by fresh ones. "My mother's dead."

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A/N: such irony in my name. Genki Chibi of Doom, yet I pick such a horrible NON-Genki topic as my first story. ^_^;; oh well, just because I'M genki doesn't mean my stories have to be. ^_^ review, please? I'll love you foreeeeeeverrrrrrr.....