A/N: YOU GUYS IM SO SORRY! Both InuYasha: Two Bodies One Soul and Chains bound by Fayth have been temporarily suspended. I realized months ago that the USB where all my stories (These two plus various one-shots and misc. things) has completely disappeared. It has completely devastated me and now I have completely given up hope of finding it. And so, now I have to re-write everything that I already had done and, with the reality of work cutting a lot of the free time I used to have, it's a daunting task. But, rest assured, I do honestly try to work on them whenever I can. But until then, both stories will sadly remain suspended until I can write out their entire stories so that I may have it posted all in one go. It'll mean a long period of waiting but will assure you that you'll have about 30-40 chapter notifications in one go as a reward for the patient waiting. Hopefully, I haven't disappointed you guys too much over this.

Besides all the bad news, somehow my mind began to twirl around in there (can minds even do that?) and inspiration hit me like a train. This is the result. Warning: Much angst and there is no happy ending, maybe I might put in an epilogue and there will be some type of happiness. But if you expect a 'happily ever after' turn away now.

I, very sadly, do not own InuYasha or any of the characters from the InuYasha manga or anime. I write solely for my own entertainment and share my shitty writing for the world to see. The true owner is the ever awesome Rumiko Takahasi.

A/U, everyone here is human.

InuYasha is 26 – looks just like his human form

Kagome is 24

Kikyou is 25

Miroku and Sango, although very minor characters here, are both 24

Summary: He left her, all of the best intentions in his mind. Not that she knew it. Slowly, she felt herself sink into a dark abyss, lulling her into craving nothing but peace. Wanting nothing more than freedom from the constant pain within her. And when he finally realizes the lies and deceit…well, it may just be too late to forgive.

Chapter 1

The wind caressed her face, as if wanting to console her, although at this moment everything seemed to mock her.

Her, Kagome Higurashi.

She felt her long, wavy black hair flow along with the breeze as her chocolate eyes looked out towards the horizon. Her slender frame shivered slightly in the cool air, the temperature only slightly bearable. In her hands was a barely recognizable scrap from today's newspaper; the headline being the reason for her being out today.

Famous business CEO InuYasha Takahashi and his wife Kikyou to return to Kyoto today.

If she could have she would have laughed bitterly, but she found that all of her emotions were dulled.

Ever since he left her.

She could still remember that dreaded day.

"Kagome, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?!" she exclaimed, whirling around to face the dark haired, violet eyed man. "You're sorry?! How long, InuYasha?! How long did you know?!" she yelled out, unable to hold back the anger that continually welled up within her.

InuYasha looked away, staring intently at a specific spot on the wall, "She told me two weeks ago. I didn't think…"

She cut him off, "Of course not. You never think about me."

His eyes suddenly turned towards her and narrowed in anger, "You know that's not true!" he bit out, his hands clenched, his nails biting into his palms.

She laughed then, the sound empty. "If it wasn't you would have told me…we would have worked through it. Instead, you're going with her."

His brows furrowed in confusion, his anger quickly dissipating "I never…"

Kagome held a hand up to stop him. "Don't. No more lies, InuYasha. I saw it in your eyes the moment you said we had to talk." She wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to keep herself from falling apart, but she was failing miserably. "You're going to go to her…and I won't stop you." She ended in a whisper.

InuYasha took a step towards her, his eyes widening as she stepped back.

"Just go." She said, her voice seemingly devoid of any emotion. "Go, InuYasha. Go with her far away, and don't come back." She turned away from him, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "I gave up everything for you…if you can't do the same…then I don't want to see you again…never again."

That same night his family celebrated the engagement of their youngest, InuYasha Takahashi, to the well-known and respected model, Kikyou Nakamura. It was as if she had never existed, as if the 5 years she had spent at his side made no difference to his family.

Of course not, she scoffed at herself, she was, after all, poor.

She always knew that his family looked down upon her; a poor girl who only made it to the same prestigious university as their son by way of a full scholarship. She knew every time she would walk into his home with him, the stares they sent her way, the whispers behind her back.

They resented her.

Hell, they downright hated her.

It was no surprised that they fully supported the engagement. Kikyou after all came from a prestigious family like them. She had the 'perfect pedigree' to match with their son. It didn't matter that Kagome and Kikyou looked erringly similar. That they both were at the same university. That Kagome had a masters in economics and business management while Kikyou dropped of her major in drama and theatre out to pursue a career as a model.

With Kikyou, they only had smiles.

With Kagome, they only had frowns.

She had warned him. She didn't want to see him again. She definitely did not want to ever see Kikyou again. She could still remember when she walked out of InuYasha's home the final time, her head held high, trying to keep together as much dignity as possible. She remembered seeing Kikyou come towards her. It was ironic, as if she was literally leaving to be swapped for another. She remembered how Kikyou's usually innocent expression turn into a smug smirk, a silent declaration, taunting Kagome with the fact that she won.

Kagome remembered wanted nothing more than to tackle her down and scratch at her flawlessly fake face. Heh, she would have had the shortest modeling career ever then.

All because of one night.

All the pain that she had to work through, the dull ache that still resided in her heart was because of that one night.

"How far?" Kagome asked, not even sure why she insisted on continually hurting herself. But she had to know, he had to tell her.

InuYasha looked away again, his expression grim. "She says it's a month."

Kagome chuckled then, the sound so dark that InuYasha flinched. "So that was what, the second time you did this to me?"

InuYasha again attempted to reach out to her, only to watch her back away again. His hands fell to his sides, "I swear, I don't remember how…Kagome, I – I was just out drinking with the guys…and then the next day I was just there. I don't know how I ended up…"

Kagome cut him off again. "Stop. I've heard enough. You did it again, InuYasha. After I forgave you the first time…you did it again." She shook her head sadly, "It was the night when you told me you were staying with Bankotsu, wasn't it?" she stated more than asked.

InuYasha turned away, his body language a clear answer.

"I see…" she replied, turning back towards his bed, the one they had just had sex in not even an hour before. Where he had just proclaimed his love for her and now was throwing a bucket of cold water in her face. If she could have, she would have cried, she would have hit him, she would have yelled at him, taking out all her anger, pain, and frustrations out on him.

But she was so tired of it.

She just wanted peace.

Kagome picked up her black pumps and slipped her feet back into them before crouching down to pick up her jean jacket. She made her way back towards the door, her hand on the knob. "When will you leave?"

She could hear him shift his stance. She knew that when he did that he was nervous, she knew all of his tells by now. After a while, he finally replied, "Tomorrow morning."

Her hands trembled slightly before she forced them to stay still. "I wish you well then." She replied curtly before she turned the knob and left for a final time.

After he left, life seemed to have only gotten worse.

Everywhere she went, she couldn't get a job. Somewhere, in the deep corners of her mind, she suspected that InuYasha's family had something to do with it. They were the highest of the corporate world, they seemed to have influence everywhere.

But she never allowed those thoughts to gain force.

She was never the type to hold anger towards anyone. She was never the type for vengeance or deep hatred.

She didn't want to start then, and she certainly didn't want to start now.

She ended up getting a meager job as a supervisor for a small supermarket. The owner, Kaede, had always been nice to her family and quickly hired her. She would always be in debt to the kind, elderly lady.

While she worked, she continually struggled to find a job within her field. But it was as if the second the employers knew her name they would come up with any type of excuse to not hire her. Then her mother fell ill and she found herself working two jobs, reducing her life to nothing more than work, eat, and sleep. She struggled to keep the payments on their house, but she did it.

When her mother passed away, she became the sole worker in the house, only her and her brother the only family left. She continually worked her two jobs, even picking up extra hours on the weekends to be able to keep her brother going through college full time. At times, she felt such a massive amount of weariness that she simply wanted to stay in bed and sleep, possibly forever. But she made herself get up, not for her own sake but for Souta. She wanted so desperately for him to succeed where she couldn't. Her brother eventually took up a job along with college to help her pay the the heavy mounting bills. Months went by and watching him finally walk across the stage, accepting his diploma, was the best day in the 10 months of her dulled existence since InuYasha left.

Her closest friends, Sango and Miroku, continually tried to lend their support. Sometimes she would come home with the fridge and cupboards stocked with food. Other times, she would find random twenty dollar bills scattered here and there.

She knew why.

They knew that she would never outright accept help. She didn't want to have to owe them for anything; even if they insisted that she wouldn't have to. But she couldn't bear to see Souta stare at an empty fridge, so she relented and turned the other way. She saved what she could, and spent only for him; clothes, books, whatever was necessary. She found that she was losing more and more weight, she just never seemed hungry. Her clothes didn't fit her the right way anymore, but by this point she rarely dressed up for anything other than work. Kagome no longer had the energy to spend on things like personal appearance. So anything she did was for her brother. He was the only family she had left.

After his graduation, Souta was able to find a comfortable position in a well-established business. As he worked, the bills finally began to shrink and for once Kagome didn't feel an impossible heaviness of pressure on her shoulders. After a while of insistence on his part, Kagome finally left her second job and remained in the supermarket, eventually taking over as manager. Even then her brother looked at her with concern in his eyes and she couldn't understand why. Was it so wrong to just want to sleep?

Was it so wrong to want to be at peace?

To not hurt anymore?

Regardless, she continued with her mundane life. Working day by day, trying to carve some meaning in her life. A reason to live. Soon she began to speak to her friends once more, getting reacquainted with each other's lives.

And now, she was finally beginning to relax more.

She began to hang out with old friends. And even though her emotions were non-existent by that point, she could feel the constant ache in her heart recede slowly. Waking up in the mornings was not as difficult as it used to be. Of course, there were days she just wanted to stay in bed and sleep, but she trudged through it, forcing herself to move on with her life. She had even met a nice man, Kouga, who was very dedicated in starting a relationship with her. And, although she knew she could never love anyone else again, she was willing to give him a chance.

She was finally ready to move on, and find her own success and happiness. To fight against the deep seated need to just sleep, to just let go and find peace.

That is, until she saw this morning's paper.

Now, the ache that had begun to recede came back with full force, and she found herself here. Watching the sun slowly rise from the horizon, the wind softly flowing around her, the salty smell of the sea water surround her. It was ironic, she always used to be happy watching the sunrise. She and InuYasha would sometimes simply drive out towards the beach and sit there, in silence, watching the sunrise together.

But now if anything, she only felt worse.

Kagome sighed, the weariness finally crashing down upon her. Five years with him reduced to nothing, ten months, although to her it felt like ten years, were devoted to her family, to helping her brother. But now he was a professional in the making, he didn't need her help anymore.

And in the end, who would miss Kagome Higurashi if she were to disappear?

That thought was what led her here, at the Otonase Bridge. She sat upon the railing, her hands gripping tightly at the metal, the newspaper article flying off somewhere in the breeze. Only now as she looked down at the ocean below did she realize how high she was. She could faintly hear the sounds of frantic voices behind her, most likely yelling at her to come back towards them. She could also hear the sounds of sirens, figuring that someone called the police.

Kagome sighed, she just wanted to find peace and she couldn't even be left alone for that. She figured the Kami must be laughing at her misfortunes since it seemed that in every turn there was only that, misfortunes.

"Miss" the cackle of a microphone was heard from several feet behind her. "My name is Hiten, I would like to speak with you. Can you tell me you name?"

She only caught the last part of the question, completely missing what the name of the person was, "Kagome Higurashi." She replied automatically.

"Okay then Kagome, can you come down from the railing so we may talk?" the voice, definitely male she concluded, asked.

"No." she replied.

"Kagome, whatever is wrong we can help you." The voice stated.

"No one can help me," she felt something wet slide down her cheek and wiped it, pulling her hand back to see that she was crying. She laughed then, amazed that now of all times she would be crying.

"We can get you help, whatever you need, but I need you to step down and come back to us."

"I just want peace," she stated firmly.

"Kagome, is there anyone we can call? Someone to talk to you?" the voice replied, still calm and composed.

"No one can help me," she firmly repeated, "My life ended ten months ago…I have nothing left." The tears continued to fall, and the ache within her heart only strengthened its hold on her.

"There must be someone who needs you." The voice countered back.

Kagome simply shook her head. Her brother was stable; he had a great job and was even getting a, in her opinion, cute crush on a nice coworker named Hitomi. Sango and Miroku had each other; her other friends were happy. She wouldn't be holding anyone back. There was no point. She had no life anymore. And she just wanted the ache it to stop hurting.

She just wanted peace.

"Is there someone you love? A husband? A boyfriend? Any family?" the voice insisted, grating on her already thin patience.

"There was someone," she answered back before even thinking. Her mind at this point already concentrated on her decision.

"Who can we call, Kagome?" the voice asked, trying to sound calmer, as if that would persuade her to step down and away from the railing.

Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath before replying, "InuYasha…. InuYasha Takahashi." She then loosened her grip on the metal rail and felt her body tip over the railing, to the shock and horror of the many people behind her.

She would finally have peace.

She would never hurt again…

Never.

A/N: Well then…that was a bitch move wasn't it? *shanked*

I'm SORRY! I DID WARN YOU, DIDN'T I?!

Chapter 2 (the final of this two shot tale) will be uploaded next Saturday for sure. And how would I know that? Because it's already typed and waiting *winks*

Reviews are loved…and rewarded with cookies~