Chapter One

Chapter One

Kagome couldn't breathe. She clutched her heaving stomach, trying to hold back the bursting sobs that tried to be unleashed. Why did she even try? Every time, every promise, he always broke it. She didn't know why she still trusted him after all of the things he had done, but this, this was taking it too far.

How could he? He had always promised to protect her, to never hurt her, but how could he say that when he couldn't even protect her from himself. Over and over, he promised to stay by her side, but would then leave to go to her, to hold her in his arms, to kiss her cold dead lips.

She could have dealt with the pain of that. She knew that she couldn't break their bond, and she had always told herself that she would at least try to look the other way when he did stuff like that. But this, this was just too much. How could he? He had said he had just wanted to go for a walk, and she had found him in the arms of her, having…

She couldn't think. She fell to her knees, letting her tears flow, unleashing the sobs that made her feel as if she had been kicked in the stomach. She could barely draw a breath, and every time she did, she felt as if she would throw up. Her hair covered her face, tickling her cheeks and forehead, and Kagome drew slight comfort from her solitude. She didn't want anyone to see the state she was in, especially him. She didn't even think she could talk to Sango about it.

She would cry, and she would hurt, but she wouldn't show Inuyasha. She was such a fool…she had actually thought that Inuyasha would choose her over…her. They had been so close the past few days, always laughing, touching each other casually, smiling…and he would always promise her those same things over and over. What an idiot she was. She raised her head to look up at the Great Tree, the Goshinboku. The same spot where they had first met, and where Inuyasha had been betrayed by his love. It made her heart ache.

She lay still on the ground, waiting for her tears to dry out. She didn't want anyone to know of what she had just seen, what she had heard. She would go back to her friends and Inuyasha and act like nothing was wrong. She would pretend that her soul hadn't just been ripped to pieces. She would stay strong, and show Inuyasha that he couldn't hurt her. This was a complete lie. She sighed to herself, feeling like a fool.

Suddenly, there was the sound of bracken rustling. Kagome jolted upright, heart pounding. Who was it? Was it one of her friends? "Inuyasha?" she whispered tentatively. The bracken fronds froze. And then, quick as a bolt of lightning, a dark shadow burst from the trees, shooting toward her. She didn't have time to scream; teeth sank deep into her wrist, and fiery pain burst through her. She moaned in agony, a sound that only came out as a whisper. Her vision blurred as she felt something being injected into her veins. And then it stopped. The shadow was gone, as was the pain and everything else. The only thing to show that it had ever been there was a tiny red scar on her wrist.

Kagome stared at the strange scar, her heart pounding. Had she just imagined that she had been bitten? Maybe she had just cut herself on a branch when she had been running, and the sadness had fiddled with her mind, making her imagine strange things like biting shadows. She shook her head. Yeah…she had just imagined it.

Carefully, she stood up, wiping away the last of her tears. She knew she must look horrible, and decided to go find a stream.

The stars glittered coldly above her, lighting the forest path as she walked clumsily through the forest. She would have several new scratches by the time she got back to camp. A stream trickled slowly in a small clearing, its water reflecting the starlight. Kagome kneeled before it and cupped some of the crystal clear waters, splashing her face with it and smoothing down her hair. She gazed at her reflection. Her eyes were red from crying, but they weren't puffy, so hopefully they would just think it was from her washing her face. She would have to do something about her expression though. Her eyes glittered with pain and betrayal, her mouth drawn down in an uncharacteristic frown. She practiced for several minutes putting on fake smiles and cheerful expressions. They weren't that good, but they would have to do. She would just say she was tired.

The travel back through the forest was a hard one. The wind blew coldly, and with every silent step she took, her head was filled with images about the scene she had witnessed. She knew Inuyasha hadn't seen her or Kikyo for that matter. They had both been pretty busy. She blinked back her tears; camp was nearby, and she couldn't start crying again.

She saw the glow of the fire and heard the familiar voices of her companions. She gulped. Inuyasha's voice was among them. She emerged from the trees.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried, hopping up from his space next to Kirara to leap onto her shoulder. "We were so worried about you!"

Inuyasha stood, and Kagome tried her best to keep a straight face. "Where've you been wench? I was just about to go looking for you." Kagome flinched.

"I was looking for you," she said as calmly as she could. "But it seems like you're already here. Let's eat." She saw fear glitter in Inuyasha's eyes, and then guilt. Kagome bit her lip. He's afraid that I saw…

Kagome didn't talk the rest of that evening; she ate her ramen in silence, not joining in on her friends conversations. She ignored Inuyasha completely, knowing that he kept sending her glances filled with unspoken questions. She didn't answer him.

"Kagome…are you okay? You're all quiet." Sango piped up. Kagome glanced at her friend, the demon slayer.

"I'm fine," she assured, shrugging. "I'm just tired after trekking through the forest and searching for him." She jerked her thumb at Inuyasha without looking at him, although out of the corner of her eye she saw his ears droop.

"Well then, you should get some sleep. Didn't you say you wanted to go back to your time for a while?"

Kagome perked up. She had forgotten about that. "Yeah, thanks. You're right. I'll see you in the morning." She crawled inside Kaede's hut, feeling slightly happier. She would go home tomorrow and get all of her feelings straight. Spending some time away from Inuyasha would be good. She curled up in her sleeping bag, smiling softly to herself.

"Kagome…?" It was Inuyasha. She tensed. "Kagome? Are you awake…?"

She didn't answer.

She heard Inuyasha's sigh before he left the tent, and relaxed. She couldn't deal with questions from him yet.

She closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome said good-bye to her friends the next morning, promising to be home in three days. She hugged Sango and Shippo, smiled at Miroku, and coolly nodded at Inuyasha. She could see that he was confused by the way she was acting toward him, and watched as the guilt and fear in his eyes grew. Well that was fine with her. Let the guilt eat at him, reminding him of his betrayal. She saw that the others were confused too, but she didn't say anything, not even to Sango, who she normally talked about everything with.

The forest was cool and shady, blocking out the heat of the sun. Kagome let out a relaxed sigh, feeling happy to be alone in the forest full of birdsong, and have time to herself. She would fix this jumbled mess she had gotten into, even if it meant saying goodbye to Inuyasha. She shied away from the thought, but she knew that that was one of her major choices. She was now approaching the well that was the passage between her time and theirs, and she sped up, eager to go home and take a nice hot shower.

The travel home was quick. She jumped into the well, was surrounded by the dark blue light, and then was in her own time, in her well. She quickly climbed out and headed toward her house.

"Mom! I'm home!"

There was no answer, but Kagome saw a white slip of paper on the counter. She picked it up.

Kagome

I'm at the grocery store with your brother. Grandpa is visiting a friend. Food in refrigerator. Be home in a little bit. Be safe

Mom

Kagome gave a small smile and headed up the stairs, pulling off her clothes as she went. She quickly dumped her school uniform on the bed and then skipped into the bathroom, turning on the water for the shower. While she waited for it to get warm, she studied herself in the mirror.

She looked like a stranger, with the same raven-colored hair and pale skin, chocolate brown eyes. But her eyes were too bright, her pupils too wide, hiding the pain that she had locked up inside of her. She studied her smooth skin, her chest. And then she turned, and nearly threw up.

Her back was covered in deep, bloody marks. They were an irritated red, and a few had scabs. They reached down from the middle of her back to her waist. They seemed to throb, as if they had a pulse of their own.

She turned again, her breathing harsh. Her eyes were filled with terror. Where had those marks come from? She didn't remember getting wounded…and then she remembered the bite she had received yesterday. Was this a reaction to the bite? Was the bite poisoned? She began to hyperventilate, and had to place her hand over her heart to calm her. She would be okay. The marks didn't hurt…and maybe they would just go away. If they didn't, she would just talk to her mom and they would go to the hospital. She winced. She hated hospitals. You only get even sicker there.

She swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat, and clambered slowly into the shower. She would feel better with the warm water soothing her muscles.

She washed her face first, and then went on to her hair. The water seeped into her hair, running down it and onto her back…she screamed as fiery pain lanced through her. The wounds on her back were throbbing painfully. She screamed again, stumbling out of the shower, the pain almost making her fall to her knees. She looked in the mirror and saw blood racing down her back and down her legs, staining her skin. She whimpered in pain and fear, waiting for the pain to ebb.

When it had become a dull throb, she dug into the cabinets, searching for bandages. She found an unused roll in the back and carefully began unwrapping it. She watched herself in the mirror, making sure she didn't make any mistake as she wrapped the bandages around her torso. It stung, but she bit her lip and tried her best to ignore it.

She didn't go back into the shower, but instead washed off the blood on her legs with a cloth. She threw the cloth away when she was done.

She stumbled back into her room and got dressed clumsily, not noticing what she was putting on, and then climbed into her bed, shaking. She wasn't so sure if she should mention this to her mother; it would only make her more worried than she needed to be. She had enough to deal with taking care of grandpa and Sota anyway. She didn't some strange, throbbing marks to worry about.

Kagome bit her lip, still shivering. They would go away, she had to believe that. This was just like an allergic reaction.

She told herself that over and over, wanting to believe it.

And then came a quiet voice. "You are marked, and you can't change that. You belong to me now." There was quiet laughter and then, "Let the hunt begin."

Kagome didn't move from her bed for the rest of the day.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N Okay this is the third remake of this, the other two times just didn't work. I had too many ideas for this so I hope this one I can go through with. Okay read and review!