Chapter 4: The Forgotten Gift

A/N: I apologize ahead of time for the spoilers this chapter has, especially if you haven't seen the second Inuyasha movie. If you haven't checked that out, please do! There's a huge InuKag fluff moment at the end and its my favorite scene of the couple. I highly recommend it when you get the chance.

"You...You kept this?" She asked, fascinated by the glimering object clutched in front of her. Carefully, she brought up her other hand and clicked the notch at the top and watched as the object mechanically unlatched in half and revealed two faces.

The young priestess stared down at the fragile heart-shaped locket, its thin golden chains dangling from her palm. The two angry faces of Inuyasha and herself glared back at her and she took a deep breath as the memories came flooding back.

It was her locket. The very gift she had given him early back before the epic battle Kaguya's castle.

And he had kept it. And he had even cherished it. The furious and stern look she gave, back a year ago against his equally mad and protective expression, shocked her. They had kissed that week. For the first time in their adventures and long journey; they had shared not just a simple kiss, but a meaningful kiss. One that would of changed their lives forever had the course of fate not run as it did.

Curiously, she looked up, as if expecting an answer to why. She had thought he hated the gift. Her eyes glittered with unspoken emotion and noticed that his face had gone red with embarrassment.

"Feh," was all that he could say as he shuffled his feet in the grass.

Suddenly, her vision started to cloud and she fought the urge to cry. She rose her voice to speak, but she found that she couldn't. It came out as a quiet choke.

Worriedly, the hanyou frowned. This wasn't the reaction he had expected from her.

"K-Kagome?"

"You...You..." She struggled, unable to contain the emotion.

"...?"

"I- You...You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say could or will be used against you." Her faltered expression regained itself and her face shone with determination. Bewildered, Inuyasha stepped back, once again bumping into the trunk of the large godtree.

'What the-' He stopped. If Kagome was trying to confuse the hell out of him, she was sure doing an excellent job. She might as well just sit him if she enjoyed playing with him. He took a look at her stance and found that she was trying to exert dominance.

"Oh yeah?" He retorted. He didn't quite understand the situation, but when he saw Kagome step back and falter a bit, he couldn't help but smirk. Two could play at this game.

Kagome quickly recovered and swiftly brought her right hand up to her face and rubbed away the extra tears that were swimming in the corners of her eyes. But despite that, Inuyasha could see the flush of anger on her face.

"Yeah!" She countered back. Her pouty and angered face only made her look cuter, in Inuyasha's view, but still grinning a bit, he challenged her back. Who could blame him? He was feeling a bit cocky as of the moment.

"Well, what about if...what if - if..I told you I- I love you, wench?" He couldn't help but stutter. Trying to be brave, he looked to her, waiting for her reply.

Kagome froze. Just when she thought she could maintain the situation, he had to blurt out what?

Inuyasha's nose twitched. The immediate scent ommited from Kagome was a strong sense of combined feelings. Nervousness, surprise, wonder, and..was that...lust?

"In-Inuyasha..." Her voice betrayed her feelings, and it showed all the shock the young priestess had in her. Her vision began to grow blurry again. She could feel them; little blobs of salty water were once again forming at the corner of her eyes. She resisted the urge to look him in the face. But she couldn't stop herself from looking down at her shoes and whispering, "W-why me?"

As the slow scene unfolded, the leaves in the background began to rustle, and the wind breezing around the two relieved the tension. Understandably, Inuyasha reached for the locket and gave her the questioning look of "and why not?". But seeing that wasn't enough, the hanyou chose to speak.

"Kagome...I kept it becuase I figured that it would help me...remember.." Inuyasha quietly struggled, trying to find the right words.

Her eyes drew to his handsome face; her face was eager, with her eyes widening, encouraging and beckoning him to go on.

"..you..and that t-time...I nearly lost myself.." He finished with disgust as he continued to look down at the locket grasped in her hand.

"Inuyasha, its over now." Kagome spoke softly. She gave a gentle little smile. It was touching, really. It wasn't often Inuyasha opened up and said the things held back in him for so long.

"Kagome...the locket-"

"Inuyasha...the kiss-"

Now both stopped. Their faces were flushed, both unintentionally matching Inuyasha's haori. Then both opened their mouth to quickly speak.

"I love you." They said in unison. Kagome blinked. Inuyasha gulped. If possible, their cheeks flared an even darker shade of crimson. Silence filled the air and the chirping birds lightly sang overhead.

And like the locket, everything suddenly clicked together. One of the two took a bold step forward and the space between them slowly closed. Their lips softly fell upon eachother's and Kagome couldn't help but moan. It seemed forever ago did they last kiss. Teasingly, Inuyasha nibbled on her bottom lip, urging her to moan more. Knowingly, she obeyed, edging for more.

Their tongues danced around and into eachother, colliding in their mouths. They both parted, letting air flow through their lungs once again. But their eyes gazed upon eachother's and Kagome couldn't help but feel content. This kiss was definately better than the first one.

Still clutching the warm and heated locket in her hand, Kagome slowly brought it up to Inuyasha's sight.

"I still just can't believe you kept this..." She murmured. Giving a little grin, Inuyasha replied, "It...helps remind me of you."

He took the heart shaped locket from her and pointed to their enraged expressions staring back at them.

"We're...we're mad when we're apart..." His voice trailed as his clawed fingers gently opened the locket to its full length, "And we're a shiny heart when we're close together..."

Kagome nearly stopped breathing. But then as fast as the shock came, it went away. Kagome clamped her hands over his and smoothly closed the locket.

'That's so sweet...' She amusingly smiled. The dangling chain was brought up and calmly, Kagome looped the cherished gift over his two furry ears and long silver hair, and let go, letting it hang loosely along with his beaded necklace. The golden shine once again reflecting the light and happy sunrays above them.

Silently, no more words were shared as they dived in for another breathtaking kiss to make up for lost time.