Chapter 1: Bickering and misunderstandings

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but the storyline is mine.

After many weeks of relentless shard hunting, the mood of the group was a dark one. They were at each other's throats, constantly bickering, giving one another the "silent treatment." Well….this at least applied to Inuyasha and Kagome…and the others were growing tired of their constant fighting.

"Would ya hurry up already?!?" Inuyasha basked at Kagome.

"I'm trying, you stupid baka! Get off my back!" she fired back at him.

They'd been trying to get a fire started for 10 minutes, but the wood was still damp from the previous day's rain. Sango and Miroku sighed in unison. They had decided to stay out the fights between Inuyasha and Kagome, and go about their business. They're arguing had become much too much of a normality for them to flinch when it happened each time. Suddenly, Miroku raised his head in alarm. "Something's coming.." he said quickly. Both Sango and Miroku jumped to their feet. The presence had also caught the attention of the quarreling Kagome and Inuyasha. Just then, above the trees, they caught sight of Kikyo's soul collectors. Miroku and Sango both relaxed, realizing that it wasn't an oncoming attack. "It's only Kikyo. I wonder what she's doing in these parts?" Miroku pondered out loud.

Inuyasha turned to Kagome, and saw that her face had gone from angry to sad. "Kagome..I.." he began, but she turned away from him and broke in. " Just go," she murmured, the pain in her voice obvious, "You're going to go regardless of what I say, so just go." The hanyou winced at her tone, knowing that she was already feeling hurt. He knew that everytime he left to see Kikyo, that it hurt Kagome deeply, though it was not his intent…but he had to talk to her. Kikyo could know the latest whereabouts of their sworn enemy, Naraku…and part of him…deep down…just want to make sure that she was alright. He could sense Kagome's tensity and could smell the tears that were surely welling up in her eyes. He stepped toward her, opeing his mouth to say something, but she began to walk away. "Feh," he muttered to himself, "I better just go get this over with." With that the hanyou took of into the forrest toward the direction of Kikyo's scent.

The resurrected miko stood in a clearing, surrounded by her soul collectors. Her back was turned to him, but she knew that he was there. "Hello, Inuyasha," she said quietly, "I wondered if you'd come." She then turned to him, "what is it that you wish to ask of me?" Inuyasha stepped toward her, and spoke, "Naraku…do you know his whereabouts?" Kikyo raised her eyes to meet his and studied him for a moment before she nodded. "His barrier is wrong at this time…and I suspect he's taking refuge at somewhere near the base of the Northern Mountains." Inuyasha nodded and thanked her, and then turned to leave. He then turned back to her, "Kikyo….are you…alright?" She laughed a little in response, and nodded, "Yes, Inuyasha….I am as well as I can be in this state…" Her gaze shifted toward the sky, and he nodded.

She returned her eyes to him, and spoke again, "May I ask something of you now?" He met his eyes to hers, and nodded silently. " These last times we've met…you've seemed different toward me…." She studied him firmly, refusing to release him from her gaze until he answered. "Wh-what do you mean, Kikyo?" he sputtered, unsure of how to respond. She knew why he was different…she knew what had changed…she just had to hear him say it. And he knew that it was time for her to hear it. "Do you still love me, Inuyasha?" He stared at her, and the silence dragged on for what seemed like forever before he responded. "In some way, I will always love you, Kikyo…" he began, but as he spoke her heard a faint sound coming from the bushes bordering the clearing. He could smell nothing suspicious, so he shrugged it off and continued. "…but it's not like it was before…I feel that I owe you the peace you deserve, and I will do whatever I can to help you get that…but…I can't be with you like I was before."

There was a long pause before Kikyo spoke, and finally she raised her eyes to him again. "Is it that girl? Kagome? My reincarnation?" Inuyasha fidgeted slightly, and exhaled deeply before nodding in reply. "Do you love her?" Inuyasha looked at her for a long time, knowing that what he was about to say was going to change things for the rest of his life. "Yes. I love Kagome." With that, Kikyo began to ascend slowly into the air, her soul collectors swimming around her, wrapping her in a bright glow. "That was all I needed to hear, Inuyasha." She spoke barely above a whisper, and then vanished into the sky. Inuyasha didn't know what to make of her reaction, but now all he could think of was getting back to Kagome.

The hanyou raced back to Kaede's village, and came to a grinding stop in the middle of the clearing where her hut rested. He darted his eyes over the surrounding area, trying to find Kagome. Her scent was faint in the air, but there was no visual sign of her. He saw Sango, Miroku and Shippo sitting near the fire, and he approached them. "Where's Kagome?" he demanded. Sango slanted her eyes at him and shot him a cold look, and Shippo followed her lead. Miroku cleared his throat, and was the one to answer Inuyasha's inquiry. " Well…when we saw her last she was crying rather hard, and said that she need to 'go think'. I assume that's what she's gone to do." Inuyasha groaned. Everytime Kagome had to "go think" that meant that she was going to go back to her own time for a few days, or at least until she wasn't still pissed off at Inuyasha. He then turned and started heading in the direction of the well, but was stopped when Sango jumped in front of him.

Inuyasha stared Sango down, giving her a warning to get out of his path, but she simply returned his hard stare. "Everytime you go to see Kikyo, it hurts Kagome. I know that you and Kikyo have a history, but you have to understand that its hard for her to be constantly reminded that you're in love with someone else!" she fired at him, the pain she felt for her closest friend screaming through her tone. Inuyasha stepped back slightly, taken aback by the raging words from the normally calm and collected Sango. She relaxed slightly, but did not move from her spot. "You need to give her some time alone before you go there demanding her to return." Inuyasha slumped onto a nearby log, and was silent for a long while. Finally he growled out in frustration, "AGHHH! When is she going to realize that SHE'S the one I love. NOT KIKYO! Fuck… That's what I told Kikyo tonight… that I love Kagome, and not her." Sango's eyes widened at the hanyou's sudden open expression of his feelings for Kagome. Sango looked at Inuyasha for a long time before speaking, and then spoke, her tone softend a great deal, "Maybe it's her you should be telling that to…." Inuyasha was about to fire back at her, but realized that she was right.

The hanyou nodded to Sango, and then raised from his seat, heading toward Kaede's hut. He wanted to retrieve a special gift that he'd been waiting to give her, and he felt that now would be time. It was time for him to show her how he felt….to let her know that he needed her…loved her. Just as he passed through the door, he noticed the moonlight shine off of something hanging by the door. He leaned in closer and gasped when he saw what was hanging there. "Kagome…..no……." he murmured, as he reached out to pull the string from the nail that it hung from. There at the end of the string was the vile….along with the sacred jewel chards…. Kagome's only way of passing through the well…and she had left them behind.

A cliffhanger?!? In the first chapter?! Jeez… I know…but I have to write something that will draw people back. J I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave reviews… constructive criticism welcome… please don't waste space by telling me I suck…but you can say you don't like it. More coming soon!