I
am
so
sorry
I have a lot of trouble writing this fic. Even Alone Like This gave me a world of trouble. Thank you for being a patient reader!
xoxo
-VQ
"What?!" Sango exclaimed. "Kagome that's crazy! I-I mean I'm not saying you're crazy but—"
"The moment he fell off the Cliffside, his eyes were open."
"But Kagome, this is the sacred jewel we're talking about. The entire time you were in there, you were seeing an illusion. The jewel was showing you exactly what you wanted to see."
Kagome clenched her fists tightly. "It all felt so real. Even Takeshi was there. We hugged and we kissed and we" her voice became a hushed whisper "were intimate."
Sango hung her head down and sighed sadly. "Kagome…"
"Maybe it is crazy. Maybe it's all so fresh in my mind that I can't get over it. I just…I felt like he was right there with me and had never left my side."
"I don't want to sound cold and tell you to move on but you have to. We have to get you past this so you can keep on living."
"But how?" Kagome asked as she trembled and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Inuyasha had been nearby listening in on their conversation. There he was watching Takeshi and being so worried about Kagome and she was stuck in an illusion of the husband she had lost. He could only imagine the pain she felt in her heart.
Then again, he didn't have to imagine. He felt that pain. He felt Kagome being pulled even further away from him. How could he console her? How could he get close enough to let her lean on his shoulder without scaring her away?
Kagome had stepped out of Kaede's hut and found Inuyasha and Takeshi playing in the grass nearby.
"Hey." She said with a smile.
Inuyasha loved that vibrant smile. But was it real? Or was it just masking the pain?
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Kagome nodded. "I'm just glad to be back home with Takeshi…and you, too." She said as she picked up her little boy. "Why don't we go see my new house the villagers built for me? I'm sure they did a wonderful job."
Inuyasha smiled and stood to follow her. Maybe she wasn't as far away as he thought she was.
One Week Later
Inuyasha walking out of Kagome's hut carrying two large jars when he bumped into Shippo.
"What are you doing, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked curiously as he jumped onto his shoulder.
"Getting some water for Kagome." He explained as he headed towards a stream.
"You've been spending an awful lot of time there." Shippo said knowingly with an eyebrow raised.
"So what? Kagome needs my help. We've all been over there a lot." He defended as he began to fill one of the jars.
"But you've been there more than the rest of us! Sango said you spent the night there last ni—" His sentence was quickly cut off by a harsh kick in the back. "Ow!" He yelped. "Why'd you do that?"
"You should mind your own business, Shippo. You're still a stupid kid so you don't understand some things."
"I do too! I know you're still in love with Kagome!"
Inuyasha kicked Shippo even harder and returned to Kagome's hut as quickly as he could.
"Hey, I brought the water." He said to the back of a preoccupied priestess.
Kagome turned to see him holding the heavy jars. "Thank you, just put them right there."
Inuyasha set them down and looked around. "Where's Takeshi?" He asked.
"Sango took him for the day. She wanted to get some practice since she's expecting one of her own with Miroku soon." She explained as she began dusting the shelves. "She also said she wanted to give me a bit of a break."
"A break? But you're wasting your free time cleaning!"
"A mother's work is never done." She told him as she began to rearrange some small jars.
"You're cleaning stuff that's already clean!" He said as he snatched the jars out of her hand and returned them to the shelves. "I think you're just trying to keep yourself busy on purpose.
"But—" Kagome sighed and sat down on her futon. "Okay, you're right. I'm dealing with a lot of stress right now and coping with everything is still difficult."
"I know." He said sympathetically as he sat next to her.
"That's right, you lost Kikyo. I almost forgot that you were coping as well. I'm so sorry."
He shook his head in contest. "It's okay. You kept my mind off of her death."
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." She said as an unavoidable blush appeared on her face.
"After you left with Ko—" He paused, not wanting to bring up Koga's name. "Uh…After you stopped traveling with us, I saw Kikyo again—but only in passing. I never ran off with her or anything. I was too busy dealing with the fact that I lost you."
Kagome looked up at him, completely shocked by his statement. "Really?"
"Y-yeah. I wish things were a bit different but…I'm happy you're here."
The two of them looked at each other, their eyes glossed over and full of emotion. Each of them had the same idea—to close the distance between them.
Just as they both leaned toward one another, Kagome heard a familiar voice outside that shocked her entirely.
"Is that Ginta?!" She said as she ran outside.
"Ginta!" She shouted as she rushed into his arms.
"Sis! You are okay!" He said as he hugged her tightly.
"Where's Hakkaku?"
Ginta's cheery face quickly turned grim and he simply shook his head.
"Oh…so…only you survived?"
"My injuries were more minor than the others. My arms, legs and a few ribs were broken, but none of my wounds were fatal. After I completely healed, I searched for your body, but I only found Koga's."
Kagome let out a shriek. "You found Koga's body?! Where is it?! I need to see him again!" She shouted desperately as she shook him.
"I already buried him at the base of the mountain. I was going to go back there before heading to the northern mountains to live with the tribe there. Why don't you and the little cub come too? We can raise him to be a great leader just like Koga wanted."
What was Kagome to do? She had obligations to her friends in the village, along with Koga's tribe. She felt torn in two.
"Well, I…"