It has been several months since the Inu group's last encounter with Naraku. They had him cornered and were able to recover all of the jewel shards he possessed but unfortunately he was able to get away despite their best efforts. With the Shikon no Tama complete and Naraku nursing his wounds they are taking some time to recover both mentally and physically.
It was a warm summer night with a slight breeze and Inuyasha sat on his favorite branch in the Goshinboku tree. He loved this time of year. He would spend hours in the tree looking out over the forest enjoying the smell of the various blooming flowers and the other smells carried around on the wind.
This particular night though Inuyasha was deep in thought. He was thinking about Kagome again. He couldn't seem to get her out of his head. She had stayed by his side through everything even when he said he still had to help Kikyo. Although he still had feelings deep down for his former love he was no longer in love with her. He sometimes would wonder if he ever was in love with her to begin with. He would often act with indifference towards Kagome when others were around but he really loved her so much it hurt sometimes. It hurt him that he could never seem to get anything right with her even when he would gather the courage to tell her how he felt. It would always come out wrong or he would mess up then she would normally sit him into oblivion and run off crying making him feel even worse. If Inuyasha hated anything in this world, more then Naraku, more then Sesshomaru; it was to see Kagome cry. Even when she would try to hide it he could smell her tears as she tried to hide them.
Inuyasha sighed heavily then looked back up at the stars when a wonderful scent came to his nose. It smelled like fresh flowers and the rain all at once. Inuyasha was becoming intoxicated with the scent when he remembered who it belonged to. "Inuyasha", Kagome yelled up into the tree. "Are you up there. Come down here please." Inuyasha shouted back, "Why don't you come up here!" Kagome's eye started to twitch but she tried to keep her cool. "Because you're 50 feet in the air and I can't jump that high!" Inuyasha grunted then jumped down to the ground right in front of Kagome startling her. He grinned evilly at Kagome earning him a questioning look before he wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped up to his branch. This earned Inuyasha a quick yelp from Kagome as she flew into the air and then an evil glare from Kagome. "You know I would 'S' you 50 feet into the ground right now if I wasn't afraid of the branch breaking and falling." Inuyasha chuckled and then turned to face Kagome. His laughing immediately stopped as his gaze locked with hers. Kagome's face lost its former glare and harshness as they stared at one another as if trying to look into the others soul. "Umm Inuyasha?" "Ya" he dumbly replied. "You're holding me kind of tight." Inuyasha looked confused for a second then glanced down and saw his arm still wrapped tightly around Kagome's waist from where he jumped into the tree with her. He quickly released her and they both turned their heads away from each other. The light blush on each of their cheeks was hidden by the darkness of the night. Inuyasha was the first to recover and looked at Kagome whose head was still turned away from him slightly. He couldn't help himself as he stared at her once again. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked. The moonlight helped to accentuate her features slightly. Her eyes sparkled brightly almost as if there was a small universe inside of them. He wanted, almost needed to reach out and touch her long silky raven locks that glowed more brightly then any light in the middle of the night. "Beautiful" he whispered aloud. Kagome turned her chocolate gaze back to him and replied, "What are you talking about, what is beautiful." Inuyasha came out of his trance realizing he accidentally said the word aloud. "Just the moon. What else would I be talking about." He said a little more harshly then he meant. "Oh" Kagome replied with a slight trace of disappointment in her voice. "Ya it is quite beautiful." 'Why can't I just tell her how I feel about her? Tell her how beautiful she is and how much I love her.' "So, what did you want anyway Kagome?" It was Kagome's turn to stutter. "Umm I just couldn't sleep so I thought I would see what you were doing." In reality she couldn't sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about him. How much she wanted to be with him forever and how much she really loved him. "Well it's none of your damn business wench!" He regretted it as soon as he said it. The hurt look in Kagome's eyes didn't help much either. "Put me back down now Inuyasha..please." Kagome replied coolly. Inuyasha not wanting to upset her any further did as she said and grabbed her again and took her back down to the ground. Kagome quickly left his hold and turned her back to him. He could smell it again. Kagome's salty tears, she could never hide them from him even if she thought she could. Inuyasha took a step towards her but halted when she started to speak. "I just don't understand you sometime's Inuyasha. For a moment I almost thought…oh never mind. You will never understand how I feel. I just wish." "What Kagome" he whispered into the night. "I just..I just wish that sometimes you could be more like Hojo!" That being said she ran off into the darkness back to Kaede's hut. Inuyasha stood frozen for several moments. He thought better of giving chase to Kagome then leapt back up onto his branch. 'I had better let her cool off for awhile.' 'Is that what she really wants? For me to be more..like him' he thought sadly.
The next morning
Inuyasha walked back to the village. He pulled the door aside to Kaede's small hut to see Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kaede herself sitting around the hut eating some stew made for lunch. They all glanced up at him wearily as they saw him enter. "Where is Kagome" Inuyasha asked softly. Miroku sighed then answered his question, "She went back home Inuyasha, she was crying all night. Something happened that really hurt her last night. Any idea what that might have been?" he asked with one eyebrow raised. "Shut up monk!" Inuyasha yelled back. "How the hell would I know?" Then he turned around and left the hut. The rest of the group sighed and exchanged knowing glances. "Wont he ever get it right?" Sango asked.
Later that night
Inuyasha snuck back into the village. It was extremely late and he knew everyone would be sleeping by now. He quietly slid through the door to the hut and looked around. Shippo was curled up the in corner with Kirara. Kaede was fast asleep on her sleeping mat. He then glanced over the rest of the room and saw the monk and demons layer curled up together on their now combined sleeping mat. Miroku laid on his back while Sango snuggled up to his body with an arm thrown over him and her head lying gently on his chest. Inuyasha sighed slightly. 'That could be me right now. That could be me with Kagome if only..I wasn't me.' He crept over the various bodies. He then crouched down in front of the now completed Shikon No Tama. "Forgive me my friends. But I need this. More importantly, Kagome deserves this." He whispered softly to sleeping ears. He grabbed the jewel silently then crept out of the hut. He ran to the Goshinboku tree and sat down at its base. He rolled the jewel in his fingers watching it glow in the moonlight. He lifted his nose into the air and took a deep sniff enjoying the various scents of the night. He then lowered his head and looked out into the night. He could see almost everything perfectly and in such detail. Detail that none of his friends besides maybe Shippo or Kirara could ever comprehend. He sighed heavily. 'I will miss this so much' he thought. 'But for Kagome…I will do anything.' He closed his eyes tightly savoring his last moments. Things couldn't be the same anymore. Not if he wanted Kagome to be with him as he wished down to the depths of his soul. He closed his hand around he jewel. A brilliant pink glow illuminated the night. Bringing light to the entire forest for a brief moment before it faded. The hanyou Inuyasha…was no more.
Ok that is it for now. This is my first fanfic so please let me know if you guys like it or if you think there is something I should change. I am leaving the rating at M because although there is no M material in it right now there might be some later in the story so it is just in case. I want to give my thanks to WaterGoddess9who was nice enough to beta read this for me and give some feedback. Well let me know how you like it and tell your friends!