Here Without You
===
Chapter One
"A hundred days have made me older
Since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lies have made me colder
And I don't think I can look at this the same
But all these miles that separate
Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face."
-Three Doors Down
Kagome stared at the letter in her hands, her mouth agape with awe. She ran a delicate finger over the ink, making sure that it was real, that it wasn't just a cruel dream.
Kagome Higurashi,
Congratulations! You've been accepted into New York University!
Slowly, a smile spread across Kagome's face. "Mama!" she exclaimed running dropping her backpack and running into the kitchen. Her mother turned to see what had Kagome in such ecstasies. "Mama, I got in! I got into NYU!"
A smile instantly appeared on Mrs. Higurashi's face. "That's wonderful!" she cried, embracing her daughter, "Congratulations, Kagome!"
Kagome grinned into her mother's shoulder, muffled laughter coming from her mouth. The two parted, still grinning.
"Why don't you go tell Inuyasha and your friends about the good news!" Kagome's mother said, still smiling.
Kagome's smile faltered. She hadn't thought about telling Inuyasha about leaving since she had filled out the application papers… How would he react to this?
"Inuyasha!"
Amber eyes opened lazily as the cheerful voice called to the hanyou. He knocked a few stray silver hairs out of his face and stared down from his tree, his eyes half-opened and plagued by disrupted sleep.
"Oi, Kagome," he called down. Inuyasha stretched his arms towards the sky and yawned, revealing pearly fangs.
"Inuyasha, come down here! I need to tell you something," the girl called.
Inuyasha closed his eyes and rested his head against the trunk of the tree. "Can't you tell me while I'm up here?"
"Inuyasha…" Her voice was threatening.
"Fine, I'm coming already," he replied with another yawn and stretch. The hanyou stood and jumped down from his branch, landing a few meters in front of Kagome. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Well?"
"Wait, I need to get Sango, Miroku, and Shippou, too!" She said, heading off towards the village.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, following behind the girl. Why can't she just tell them later? He wondered, Why can't she just tell me now, and them later? The hanyou yawned again.
Once they had reached the village, Kagome's eyes began to dart around in search of her friends. She almost instantly spotted them, Shippou's bright tail working as a sort of flag. Sango and Miroku were sitting on a bench close by, laughing softly as Kirara and the kitsune played. Kagome trotted to the trio, smiling warmly. Here I go…
Sango looked up and smiled in return. "Oi, Kagome-Chan."
"Sango-Chan," Kagome said, greeting her friend with a gentle nod. She did the same with Miroku and Shippou. "I wanted to tell you all something- something really, really important."
Inuyasha sat on the ground next to Shippou and snorted. "Then tell us already."
Kagome frowned slightly at the hanyou's brusque comment, but continued. "You know that since I'm eighteen, my schooling is over, right?" The group nodded. "Well… it's not. I got a letter today from a university, in the United States." Kagome thought for a moment. Do they even know about the United States…? "It's another country, far away from mine, and, um… I'm going to be going to school there."
The group sat in silence for a moment. Miroku was the first to respond to this bit of news. "Congratulations," he said, smiling brightly, and Kagome wondered if he knew what this new development meant for their group.
"Wait," Sango said, her brow furrowed, "What does that mean? Are you still going to be coming here?"
Kagome smiled wryly at her friend. "Not for a while, Sango-Chan…" she murmured, "I'll be there for four years, but I'm sure I'll be able to come back on holidays and over the summer." She smiled again and then glanced at Inuyasha. He hadn't said anything. Why wasn't he saying anything?
Inuyasha sat dumbstruck, his golden eyes wide with surprise. Kagome is… leaving? The hanyou stared at the girl, who was now staring at him. He blinked, finally finding his tongue.
"So, you'll be gone for four years?" he asked, trying to confirm that his fear was purposeful.
"Yeah," she breathed sadly, smiling wistfully at Inuyasha, "For the most part."
Inuyasha blinked and averted his eyes. He wouldn't see Kagome for four years…
"When do you leave?" the hanyou heard Miroku ask.
"In a couple of months," the girl replied, her cheerfulness returning. "I'm so excited!" she cried, "I've never been to the United States before. And the place that I'm going to is called New York- it's supposed to be amazing."
Sango smiled warmly at Kagome. "I bet you'll have a great time, Kagome."
"Me, too," Kagome murmured. She glanced over at Inuyasha, and their eyes locked for a moment. Inuyasha's heart did flips inside of his chest as he told himself not to look away; that if he kept his eyes on Kagome's she would be locked in that moment with him, unable to leave. She smiled at him, her brown eyes still staring into Inuyasha's gold ones. "But, I'll really miss you."
The next couple of months flew by as if on wings, each day seeming shorter than the last. Kagome had taken care of everything: her plain ticket, packing her things, reserving a dorm room in New York… there was only one thing left: the final goodbye.
Kagome stared into the depths of her friend's brown eyes, resisting the urge to cry. "I'll miss you, Sango-Chan," she said, embracing the demon exterminator. Sango returned the hug. "I'll try and keep in touch through my mom and Inuyasha, okay?"
"Okay," Sango choked. She was also resisting the tears that were already filling her eyes.
The two parted and Kagome smiled wistfully at her friend. She turned to the Miroku, still smiling warmly at the monk. She walked up to him. "Bye bye, Miroku," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt him tentatively wrap his arms around her, giving her a small hug. She would have loved just to sit there and hang onto her friend, but his hand was heading south…
"Watch it, Miroku," she said, parting with the monk and glaring at him slightly. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
"Kagome!" The girl heard the high-pitched squeal before a small kitsune tackled her, clinging to chest.
Kagome smiled and gave him a hug, rubbing her cheek against the top of his head. "Bye, Shippou."
The kitsune gave a small sob, his shoulders bobbing gently.
"I'll be back," Kagome murmured soothingly, placing the kitsune on the ground. She heard a small mewing sound behind her, just as she put him down. The girl turned and gave the small cat demon a pat on the top of her head. Kagome scratched the spot behind her ear and Kirara gave a soft purr.
Okay… the girl thought to herself, the last goodbye… She turned, prepared to meet Inuyasha's confident gaze, but the hanyou was nowhere to be seen. Kagome looked around.
"Where's Inuyasha?" she asked.
Miroku snorted. "He didn't want to come. He's probably off moping somewhere."
Kagome sighed. "I'll be right back," she murmured, jogging off in the direction of Inuyasha's tree. Upon approaching the tall tree, she noticed a boy with silver hair and dog ears sitting in one of the higher branches.
Kagome cupped her hands around her mouth. "Inuyasha!" she called, staring up at the hanyou.
She saw Inuyasha stir and glance down.
"I'm not coming down," the hanyou said with the stubbornness of a child.
"Come on, Inuyasha," he heard Kagome whine, "Just come and say goodbye."
"No," Inuyasha shouted, "I'm not saying goodbye, because you aren't leaving!" Even after months of preparation, the hanyou wasn't prepared to say goodbye, nor to even accept the fact that she was leaving.
"Inuyasha…"
"Kagome…" Inuyasha mocked her tone. He heard the girl sigh.
"Osuwari!" she cried, sending the hanyou toppling down to earth, hitting a few branches on the way down. He landed at the girl's feet, cursing quietly.
Inuyasha raised his head out of the dirt. Okay, I definitely won't miss that, he thought snidely. He noticed Kagome kneeling down in front of him, her eyes sad and pleading.
"Inuyasha, whether you like it or not, I'm leaving," she said, each word cutting into Inuyasha like a dagger, "It's up to you if you want to say goodbye. But-" The girl made a sniffling sound. "I'd really like it if I got to say goodbye to you."
Inuyasha looked up to notice that Kagome's eyes were brimmed with crystal tears, making them glisten. The hanyou gaped. Is that because of me…? "Oh, please don't cry," he mumbled, pulling himself into a sitting position. He hated it when Kagome cried.
"I'm not crying," she murmured.
"Yes you are," Inuyasha said, giving Kagome a deadpan stare. It was as clear as Inuyasha's fuzzy, white ears that she was crying.
Kagome wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, the tears lingering on her face for a moment. She glanced at the hanyou. "So, are you going to come and say goodbye?"
Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms and averted his eyes. "Feh."
Kagome smiled and pulled herself to her feet. "Then, come on," she said, heading towards the well and her friends, "My mother and I wanted to show you something."
Inuyasha sighed and followed after the girl, his ears drooping sadly. She really was leaving, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
After one more tearful goodbye to the gang, Kagome and Inuyasha jumped into the well, transporting themselves to her home.
Kagome walked into her house, a delicate smile appearing on her face as the hanyou followed. "I'm back, mama!" the girl cried, slipping out of her shoes and walking into the kitchen.
Kagome's mother smiled brightly at the two as they entered. "Hello, Inuyasha," she said warmly.
Inuyasha nodded his response. His eyes roamed over the small kitchen. "Um… you wanted to show me something?"
Kagome's eyes brightened slightly as if she was just remembering. "Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed. She walked over to the kitchen countertop and came back with a small device in her hand. "Inuyasha," she said slowly, "This is a telephone." The hanyou nodded; she had shown him this before. "Do you know what it's used for?" The hanyou shook his head this time. "Well," Kagome continued, "It's used to talk to people from far away. Like, when I'm in New York, you'll be able to talk to me with this." The girl smiled brightly.
Inuyasha gawked at the device, blinking. "I can use that to talk to you?"
Kagome nodded. "Mhm!"
The hanyou tilted his head slightly, looking at the telephone from a different angle. "How?" He snatched it from Kagome's hand and began to stare into the mouth piece.
Kagome giggled at his antics. "My mother will show you how to use it. Just come here if you want to talk to me, okay? Oh!" The girl clasped her hands together. "You can write to me, too. Just write a letter and my mother will send it." Kagome smiled again. "See? It won't be like I'm completely gone."
Inuyasha smiled for the girl's benefit. But you will be completely gone, Kagome… The hanyou's ears drooped slightly as he stared at the floor.
"Oh, Kagome!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed, "We need to go! You'll miss your plane!"
Inuyasha glanced up and noticed Kagome look up at a round thing with numbers on the wall. She sighed and stood. Inuyasha stood as well, looking at Kagome with confusion in his amber eyes.
"I have to go now, Inuyasha," she said, smiling wryly. She looked as if she might cry again. "I'll miss you."
Inuyasha's cheeks flushed; he averted his eyes. "Well, um… me, too." The color in his cheeks deepened.
"Oh, Inuyasha…" And before he knew it, Kagome had wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his haori. He heard her little sniffling sounds and felt her shoulders bouncing gently. The hanyou wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back, and wishing so badly that she wouldn't go. But, before long, the moment was over, and Kagome was prancing to the door.
The girl turned at the doorway, glancing back at Inuyasha. She trotted up to him and stood before him, staring up into his eyes. Then, she leaned up, lightly placing her lips on his cheek. Inuyasha's eyes widened his heartbeat racing. But, as soon as Kagome had placed her lips on Inuyasha's cheek, she removed them.
"I'll miss you, Inuyasha," she murmured, her breath on his cheek, "Sayonara."
And without another word, Kagome was walking away, leaving Inuyasha for a new world without him. The hanyou's hands clenched into fists, his ears flattened against his head.
"I… I'll miss you, too."
But she was already gone.
Author's notes: Argh... fanfiction-dot-net has this new weird spacing thing... dammit. --;; Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter.
[edit:] well, this breaker will do, I guess. But, I'm still annoyed. --; ::shakes fist at website::