He did it again. He once again made the mistake of saying something he shouldn't have said, resulting in Kagome's usual gentle voice screaming, "SIT!". This was the last straw. They had gotten into another one of their silly arguments. Without thinking, Inuyasha blurted, "I'm tired of coming to your rescue all the time when I could have already finished off every demon here in the Feudal Era. You just get in the way and slow me down. Why can't you be more like Kikyo was, you ARE her reincarnation". Inuyasha's temper had yet again gotten the best of him. He had hurt Kagome in one of the worst way possible to her… he compared her to his old beloved Kikyo. Kagome was so sick and tired of having to take in all of Inuyasha's hurtful words. Inuyasha knew the damage he had just done and therefore kept quiet. With his face in the dirt and Miroku, Sango, and Shippo flashing him dirty looks, he felt the guilt wash over him.
'Oh, why me? Damn it all! Can't I ever say the right thing? Feh, I'll always wind up in the dirt', Inuyasha thought to himself.
Kagome ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the Bone Eaters Well and jumped inside. She didn't want Inuyasha to see her tears. But with his keen sense of smell, he could sniff out the scent from miles away, causing him even more grief. He was angry at himself for hurting her so badly, even though unintentionally.
'Can't she tell how much she means to me? She knows that when my temper flares I tend to say things I don't mean yet she still runs away thinking I'm mad at her. I can't blame her though. Still… I could never be mad at her, no matter what'.
And these were Inuyasha's true feelings, coming from his heart, but never being able to admit it to Kagome or anyone else. Having to watch Kagome flee from him, tears in her eyes, killed Inuyasha inside. He couldn't bear to live with the thought of making her upset and unhappy.
Meanwhile, back at home at the dinner table Kagome was very quiet around her family. She didn't want to show them that she was upset.
"Mom, may I be excused?" Kagome asked while playing with her food.
"Yes, is there anything you want to talk about?" her mother asked sincerely.
Quickly getting on the defense she said, "NO! It's nothing! Just leave me alone."
And with that, Kagome ran up to her room. She just wanted nothing more than to get Inuyasha off of her mind but with everybody asking what was wrong that would be impossible. She hopped onto her bed, diving face first into her pillow hugging it tight and nuzzling her face into it as if it were that amber-eyed hanyou. As much as Kagome wanted not to think about it, nothing would stop the memories from running through her mind.
'Why do we always have to get into these stupid fights? They are usually so pointless, but this time he took it too far.'
As thoughts raced through her mind about her and Inuyasha, a new song had begun to be announced on the radio. It was then that she realized she left her other portable solar radio back in the Feudal Era along with her yellow backpack. She was in such a rush that she just took off without bringing back any of her belongings. Kagome thought about going back to retrieve her things, really just to have an excuse to see Inuyasha. Despite their argument, her feelings for him remained incredibly strong, but seeing him so soon after their fight caused her a great deal of apprehension.
"This next song is called 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry' by Chicago", Kagome heard. She turned up the volume and tried to listen to the words, attempting to let any thoughts of Inuyasha escape her mind, if just for the moment.
Sango eyed the hopeless half demon, knowing that he'd be way too stubborn to go to Kagome's era and apologize. Inuyasha just spent his time sulking very subtly, releasing a few sighs and grumbles every now and then when he thought the coast was clear. A small breeze drifted through the air and made its way over to Inuyasha's delicate nose. All of a sudden he caught a whiff of her scent, causing him to jump off the tree he was laying in and follow wherever the sweet aroma led to. He let out a huff as soon as he saw that it was only the yellow bag that carried her scent laid out on a blanket along with the solar powered radio. The radio was left on and he decided to lie down by it and inhale her soft scent. His ears twitched as he heard, "This next song is called 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry' by Chicago", not even knowing that the same song was being listened to by Kagome back in her time.
"Everybody needs a little time away,
I heard her say, from each other
Even lovers need a holiday
Far away from each other
Hold me now
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry
I just want you to stay
After all that we've been through
I will make it up to you, I promise to
And after all that's been said and done
You're just the part of me I can't let go"
His soft, amber eyes shot open after hearing those sweet lyrics that were now stuck in his head.
"I can't believe it. If that song doesn't explain how I feel about Kagome than I don't know what does. If only she knew."
Inuyasha laid back down, shutting his eyes, letting those words just seep into his mind and his heart as his own feelings really began to surface.
Kagome was too busy sobbing to hear any of the words from the song no matter how hard she concentrated. As soon as she settled down, she listened carefully to each and every lyric.
"Couldn't stand to be kept away
Just for the day from your body
Wouldn't wanna be swept away
Far away from the one that I love
Hold me now
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry
I just want you to know
Hold me now
I really want to tell you I'm sorry
I could never let you go
After all that we've been through
I will make it up to you, I promise to
And after all that's been said and done
You're just the part of me I can't let go."
And after hearing just a few simple verses, Kagome ran down the stairs, fled out the door, and ran to the well. The song made her realize that she couldn't just let a fight ruin a great relationship like this. Or whatever it was. After all, meeting someone like him doesn't happen everyday.
Inuyasha got up after the song ended and simply questioned whether or not he would have enough bravery to go and apologize to Kagome for what happened. He ran over to the well but was too deep in thought to realize the branch lying out in front of it. Once he came back to reality he realized and stopped short, but not short enough to miss tripping over the branch. Inuyasha was sent flying over the well, leaving a nice new bruise on his poor little head. He was a bit dizzy, but shortly after recovering his vision became clear again and he saw Kagome climb out of the well.
"Uh, Kagome… I… uh…" was all Inuyasha managed to babble out.
"Shh, don't say a word" Kagome interrupted.
A confused Inuyasha sat quiet, trying to predict what exactly was going on. Kagome slid over to his side, leaned over towards him, and lightly planted a soft kiss on his lips. Inuyasha couldn't believe what has just happened.
'She kissed me! I screwed up and she still loves me. I just wish I could tell her the way I feel about her. After all, I'm the one who's always messing up. I wish I could just stare at her like this all day. She's really beautiful.'
This time he did end up in the dirt, but for the better. Kagome, now being on top of the hanyou, came to her senses and began blushing severely, triggering Inuyasha to turn crimson as well.
"I really am sorry… for the fight and all… I didn't mean to say the things I said to you Kagome…"
'Oh no, maybe she had forgotten about the fight we had. What happens if I just reminded her about it… what if she decides to leave me… then I'll never have the chance to tell her my feelings…'
Kagome just flashed Inuyasha a reassuring smile, sending chills up his spine and placing a warm smile on his face. Just as she was about to lean in for another kiss, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye…
Kikyo.