THIS HAS BEEN EDITED! MORE WAS ADDED! PLEASE READ!
OFFICIAL NOTE: Rin will not be speaking in the third person for the duration of the story.
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own so don't sue. You wouldn't get anything anyway.
'Speaking through the tree'
"nii-san" (sp?) - sister
--
Kagome ran.
She ran until she collapsed from exhaustion and then she forced herself up and ran again.
She ran to forget. She ran to escape the pain. She ran so she wouldn't have to remember...but she could only run so fast so long.
Kagome hit the ground hard, her ankle crying out in protest as muscles tore, a bruise already forming on the swollen joint. Cursing roots, rocks, and anything that stuck up from the ground in general, she struggled to get up and start running again, before her memories caught up with her.
When that failed, she punched the ground with blinding fury, in a rage that would have made even Lord Sesshoumaru raise a delicate eyebrow. Even as her fists became coated in blood and dirt, she continued, hoping that the pain would keep the tears already flowing down her face at bay.
Then, she began to cry, heart wrenching sobs that wracked her small frame with each gasping breath…and the memories came.
Flashback
Kagome walked toward the Sacred Tree, her feet leaving deep footprints in the soft snow, ghostly reminders of her passage. Pulling the pink shawl tighter over her shoulders, she glanced at the glowing shards in her hand before closing her fingers over the glass vial.
Placing her hand on the cool bark and closing her eyes, Kagome sought to find herself and maybe, find the past she held so dear in the gentle aura of the Sacred Tree.
'I can feel him. I can feel Inuyasha.'
'Kagome? Is that you, Kagome?'
'Inuyasha? How are you? Are you OK?'
'Heh, don't worry. This is nothing…I'm kinda surprised you're not here.'
'I…came back.'
'Heh. Got scared, didja?'
'No! I just…I…'
The memory of Kikyo forcing her to leave surfaced, immediately followed by one of Kikyo kissing Inuyasha, her expression tender. She couldn't tell him.
'You what?'
'Uh um. Never mind. You're right. Maybe I ran away.'
'Stupid, you never change.'
'What do you mean, stupid?!'
Kagome looked up and saw Inuyasha leaning against the Sacred Tree, his eyes closed.
'Inuyasha?'
"Oh! Hey, you are here Kagome! So, what have you been worrying about?'
'I just feel so helpless. I even ended up hurting you Inuyasha and I thought you'd be better off without me around."
'Would you stop going on like that!'
Inuyasha stood up and took a step forward only to grunt in pain. Kagome ran toward him, supporting him with her arms.
'Don't move. You'll only open your wounds.'
Inuyasha's hands tightened in her haori sleeve and she gasped as he pulled her forward into a gentle embrace.
'I need you with me Kagome! Haven't you realized that yet?'
Kagome felt the tears overflow and hung her head, letting them free.
'Thank you.'
'Now come on back Kagome.'
End Flashback
Kagome sat on the cold ground, more tears than she felt were possible for a human to hold winding a clean path down her otherwise filthy face. She had come back. She had come back and they had defeated Menomaru and everything was supposed to go back to normal…but it hadn't.
Flashback
"Hey Sango, where'd Inuyasha go?"
Sango glanced at Kagome, looking slightly surprised. She looked around the hut and shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't know. Maybe he wanted some time alone."
Kagome smiled.
"Well, I'll go look for him anyway."
Sango nodded and turned her attention back to Kilala. Since Kilala had broken free of Menomaru's control, she and Sango had been reaffirming their bond. At the moment, Kilala was purring as Sango's gentle hands ran over her fur.
Still smiling as she exited the hut, Kagome began walking down the well worn path to the Sacred Tree. When Inuyasha needed to think, he was usually found perched in the branches of the Sacred Tree and it was here that Kagome suspected she would find him now.
Lost in thought, Kagome didn't notice the voices until she was almost upon them. Startled, she slipped behind a nearby tree and tried to slow her racing heartbeat. When she gathered up the courage to peek out from behind its lowest braches, what she saw made her want to sink into the ground.
Inuyasha was there…holding Kikyo.
Kagome stifled a sob and tried to listen to their words.
"Kikyo…what are you doing here?"
Kikyo stirred in Inuyasha's arms and looked him in the eyes.
"I have come to say goodbye. I am going to Hell."
Inuyasha flinched, his hands tightening around Kikyo. Kagome stared at the two. Didn't Inuyasha remember that Kikyo had declared she wouldn't go to Hell until he did too?
Inuyasha stared into her sad brown eyes, seeing in them the longing for things that couldn't be, for the things Naraku had robbed them of. He sighed and held her closer, burying his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of earth and ashes. This was not his Kikyo…and yet…
"Kikyo, I love you. I always have…but I can't go with you."
Kikyo merely looked at him, as if she had been expecting this all along.
"It's my reincarnation, isn't it?"
"No! Listen Kikyo, even if I did go to Hell with you, we could never get back what we had. Too much has happened."
Kikyo sighed, her action unknowingly mirrored by her reincarnation.
"I know this…but…just for tonight…will you be with me?"
Inuyasha stared at her, his expression shocked and just a little bit knowing.
"Kikyo…"
"Please…just for tonight. We can face reality tomorrow."
Inuyasha hesitated, then, ever so slowly, leaned down and kissed her.
Kagome stared at him, stared at them. She couldn't breathe past the lump in her throat, yet somehow a strangled sound managed to escape and reach Inuyasha's sensitive ears.
His head snapped up and his eyes filled with such deep sadness that she couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran, trying to forget what she'd just seen and heard.
Inuyasha looked at Kikyo, her eyes half closed.
"I'll be back."
Kagome had barely run ten feet when Inuyasha landed in front of her.
"Kagome…"
Kagome looked away, staring at anything but the hanyou in front of her. She had never realized just how much was on the forest floor. She watched as a centipede crawled over a twig and a trail of ants searched for food. She counted the individual grains of dirt, anything so she wouldn't have to look at Inuyasha.
"I can explain…"
Kagome's head snapped forward. She felt tears welling up but refused to acknowledge them by brushing them away.
"Oh, you don't have to explain Inuyasha. It's Kikyo, the woman you love, the woman you'd die for, the woman you can't refuse."
Despite his stricken face, she continued, months of suppressed anger and feelings of inferiority welling up into this one conversation.
"No. You don't have to explain. After all, now that she's back, you two can have another chance right. Inuyasha, the brave half demon and Kikyo, the perfect priestess, guardian of the Shikon Jewel. No, you don't have to explain yourself to this lowly reincarnation Inuyasha."
Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull. He took a tentative step forward, his hand outstretched. He froze when Kagome took a step back.
"Kagome, it was just for tonight. Nothing else would have happened after that. You wouldn't have had to know."
Kagome laughed, a bitter sound that echoed in the silence.
"You really believe that Inuyasha? You think she would have just let you go after she had a taste?"
Inuyasha remained silent and Kagome continued.
"No, Inuyasha. She would have asked to stay with you and you would have let her."
The slight flinch told Kagome she was right.
"Where would that have left me, huh Inuyasha? The weak, untrained reincarnation, only good for detecting shards and the occasional arrow? What would I have done then? Just sit back and watch as she took over?"
"Kagome…"
"NO! Inuyasha, you said you needed me, remember? But, you don't. You have me…but every time she shows up you go to her. Every time she needs help, you go to her, whether I'm in danger or not!"
Inuyasha stepped back, his gaze on the ground.
"No Inuyasha. I know she is your first love. I know you will always care about her and always feel the need to protect her because you promised, and that's just who you are. And I love you for that…"
Inuyasha's head snapped up, his eyes wide and his mouth open at the confession.
"…but I just can't take it anymore. I need some time alone Inuyasha, some time to sort things through."
Kagome turned toward the forest, and took a step forward. She looked backwards and saw Inuyasha standing there and saw Kikyo walking up to him, unnoticed as of yet. She gave a wane smile.
"Go to her Inuyasha and let me go."
Seeing him about to run forward and grab her, she did the only thing she could.
"Sit, boy."
The word itself was spoken softly and only had just enough power to force Inuyasha to his knees, just enough so that she could get away.
"It's all right Inuyasha. I may only be the weak reincarnation, but I can take care of myself for a couple of days. Goodbye Inuyasha."
Before her tears could actually fall, she turned and fled into the darkness of the woods, leaving behind an Inuyasha near tears himself.
"Kagome…"
End Flashback
Kagome's sobs still wracked the forest, though her tears had long since run dry. She knew it was her fault that she felt this way. She had known Inuyasha would one day go to Kikyo, no matter his feelings for her because Kikyo was his first love and he still felt responsible for what had happened to her. She had known but she had still hoped.
With a tremendous effort, she quieted her breathing and allowed the exhaustion to finally set in. And as her vision darkened, she thought she felt a demonic aura approaching…but that was ok. She probably couldn't have defeated it by herself anyway, even if she had been at full strength.
Kagome closed her eyes and let the numbing bliss of unconsciousness grab her. Maybe the demon would kill her. Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe if she woke up, she would feel better. Maybe tomorrow, everything would be fine and she could go back to the village and she and Inuyasha could get into a big fight over something insignificant and she would sit him and everything would go back to normal.
She doubted it, but maybe…just maybe…
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Sesshoumaru's eyes widened, so very little that if one wasn't paying attention, they would never have noticed.
What was the miko doing here?
Rin raced forward, shaking the unconscious girl in a futile effort to wake her. Her voice became slightly panicked when she realized that nothing she was doing was having any effect.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! What's wrong with Kagome-nii-san?!"
Sesshoumaru scanned the girl with a practiced gaze. She had multiple lacerations that slogged crimson blood. She was a filthy mess but did not look to be in any obvious danger of losing her life.
Ignoring the squawking Jaken, the taiyoukai bent down and brushed Kagome's tangled bangs away from her closed eyes. The girl instinctively shied away from his touch, exposing tearstained cheeks.
Rin fidgeted anxiously to the side, her own eyes beginning to fill with crystal tears. Jaken began muttering to himself but was otherwise silent.
What had happened that the strange miko was not with his accursed half-brother and their motley group of friends? Why was she in so much emotional pain, he could sense it from miles away?
"Jaken, make camp. We will stay here for the night."
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This was much harder to write than I thought it would be. I swear I sat staring at a blank computer screen for over twenty minutes trying to think of something Inuyasha would actually do that would make Kagome mad enough that she would leave him for a while.
I didn't want this chapter to turn into one of those stories where Inuyasha goes to Kikyo with absolutely no regard for how it would make Kagome feel or even worse, deliberately wanting to hurt her because that is just so stupid and ridiculous because Inuyasha would never ever do that.
I think I did a fairly decent job on this though in the fact that this seems like something that could have actually happened and as much as I hate to put Kagome through even that, it's necessary for the story to go the way I want it to.
So anyway, my muse decided she likes me enough that the story will continue even though she still is holding the plot captive…so if you guys don't get updates for a while, it's either a) her fault or b) I just haven't had internet access, more than likely the latter.
So…push the little review button and tell me how terrible you think I did.
