Ahahaha and it's another painfully long wait for an update from me! Please forgive me guys!

School started again and we have exams this term (gasp! my first exams! ever!!) so I'm gonna be pretty busy. I actually wrote 6 pages on this two weeks ago and hated it, so I kind of kept on putting it off, hoping that suddenly it would become heaps better. When it didn't I eventually picked it up again and wrote this. It's not really that interesting, but it's an update. So please refrain from killing me or by any means using pointy objects to injure me!

Disclaimer: Don't own Inu.

Kagome blinked and looked around. She was in a meadow dancing with the glow of thousands of yellow dandelions, swaying gently in the breeze. Her silk white dress blew gently around her ankles… wait; white silk? Why on earth was she wearing white silk?

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.

"Don't you remember, Kagome?"

Kagome jumped and spun around. Behind her stood a beautiful woman; her hair inky black and tumbling in waves around her gorgeous facial features. She was smiling; a beautifully gentle grin revealing all of her perfectly straight teeth. She too was wearing a white dress, although she looked absolutely stunning. It made Kagome much more aware of how painfully pitiful she must look, dressed the same as perfection and yet looking not nearly as precious as the woman before her.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" the woman asked. Her voice was soft and gentle, like water. In fact; everything about her seemed to radiate gentleness.

"N-no. Well, maybe a little. I just thought I was alone, that's all." Kagome replied with a weak smile.

The woman chuckled. "You have never been alone, Kagome."

Kagome frowned, puzzled. "How do you know my name?"

"You really don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

The woman sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. You'll remember… eventually…"

-

-

Days went by painfully slow from then on. During recess and lunches the group were quiet, their thoughts centred around one thing; Kagome. Inuyasha had definitely taken it the hardest. For the first couple of days he hadn't left Kagome's side, but Izayoi had sent him back to school.

"You're doing no good here," she had insisted, "You might as well go and learn something. That's what Kagome would have wanted."

No evidence of the culprit had been found. Whoever it was, they had been impeccably clean about the process. Not a single drop of blood had been left, save for the large scarlet stain down the side of the dumpster. Inuyasha could still smell the thick stench of perfume curling up his nostrils, mixed with Kagome's blood.

His dreams were no longer plagued with Kikyo's face. Her last goodbyes had left his head long ago. Now it was rare that he slept at all. Whenever he closed his eyes Kagome's bloodstained face hovered beneath his eyelids. The circles under his eyes grew more and more noticeable around his bloodshot eyes, his face as pale as white sheets. People would whisper about him as he went past, although he didn't know why they bothered. His hanyou ears picked up every word they spoke.

"Hey, man." Miroku greeted hesitantly. Everyone had been incredibly careful with Inuyasha since Kagome entered hospital. With every passing day he looked a little more fragile; a little closer to snapping clean in half.

"Hey." The hanyou replied dully. He opened his locker and pushed aside all scraps of paper his fan girls had stashed there. He didn't care about them. When Kagome was injured, they saw it as an opportunity to 'comfort' a devastated Inuyasha and therefore gain a place at his side. They gushed promises that everything would be alright; that Kagome would be fine, that he shouldn't worry. Not that they cared or anything.

"What are you doing after school?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha frowned at his books. Why was Miroku trying to start conversation with him all of a sudden?

"Hospital." Was his simple reply.

Miroku nodded. "Thought so."

"I'm going to class." Inuyasha muttered.

"Wait!"

Inuyasha, who had been walking away, stopped and turned on his heel to observe his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

Miroku opened and closed his mouth several times, not quite sure what to say. "I… we… we know you miss Kagome."

Inuyasha stiffened. "So?"

"We just don't want you to go down the way you did with Kikyo. It's bad enough that Kagome's in hospital without you going all emo on us. We need to stick together and we can't do that if you fall apart."

"What do you want me to do, Miroku? Put on a smile and pretend she's dead?"

Miroku flinched. "No, of course not!"

"Then what?"

"I just want you to quit this depressed thing you've got going on. We're all sorry for Kagome; more than you know. You're just making it harder."

"So? What do I do?"

"Well; you can stop acting like she's already dead. She's in hospital, I know, but there's hope. Eat, sleep, talk. You could even crack the occasional smile. Act as though Kagome's watching over your shoulder. She'd kill us if she found out how badly we've let you fall."

Inuyasha almost smiled despite himself. The idea of Kagome killing anyone was completely unrealistic. Kagome wouldn't even protect herself; not if it meant hurting someone else.

"Alright. I can't promise you anything, but I'll try."

"Good. Well; I've got to get to class! See ya!"

Inuyasha watched his friend go and shook his head disbelievingly. Sometimes Miroku could be more than a little weird…

"Ready for class, Inu-kun?" Kikyo asked with a flirtatious smile. Inuyasha had told her that he needed space now that Kagome was in hospital; that he didn't want a girlfriend. It didn't stop Kikyo from latching onto him every chance she got.

"Sure." He replied half-heartedly. SOSE and English were the only classes he had alone with Kikyo. Once more he wished that Kagome was there with him. Then he wouldn't have to be alone. Kikyo offered little to conversation; she preferred the health of her nails to anything Inuyasha liked. And it was irritating how Kikyo constantly felt the need to touch him.

And so it was with a heavy heart that he made his way to class, his thoughts far away on the raven-haired girl battling between life and death in hospital at that moment.

-

-

The water was cool and relaxing against her skin; the sun revealing the natural blue tint to her hair. Kagome watched as the wind carried streams of white blossoms in dazzling circles around her. She didn't know where they came from; there were no trees save for the weeping willows and they did not shed blossoms. Perhaps they came the same way she did, although that was unhelpful seeing as she didn't know how she got here in the first place.

She thought of her friends; Sango, Rin, Ayame. She thought of Kouga, and Miroku, and Sesshomaru. She wondered about her family; about Korari, Ryousuke and Souta. Most of all she thought about Inuyasha.

She sighed wistfully, her toes wriggling in the trickling stream. She missed him. Did he miss her? Was he thinking about her?

No; he wouldn't be missing her. He had Kikyo. She imagined them holding hands, beaming at one another with eyes filled with affection and sighed again.

"You miss them, don't you?"

Kagome stiffened, but soon relaxed. She hadn't heard the mysterious woman sit beside her. She had asked what her name was, but the woman had refused. She had said that when the time came Kagome would remember, but so far that had only fuelled Kagome's confusion. What was she supposed to be remembering?

"Miss who?"

"Them; your friends. Sango, Rin, Ayame, Miroku, Sesshomaru, Kouga. And Inuyasha, of course."

Kagome stared at the woman, stunned.

"How'd you know all that?"

"I know many things."

"What else? What else do you know about me?"

The woman stared at her thoughtfully for a long moment.

"Everything," she finally answered, "Everything you've seen, everything you've heard; every thought, every memory… everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

Then, suddenly, Kagome was overcome by a memory she didn't understand. It was really one memory; simply many tiny flashes all at once, impossible to understand. She saw water, heard crying, felt something soft. A blanket, maybe? She saw two gentle brown eyes; the woman's eyes no doubt. She saw a faint glimmer of hope in impending darkness. None of it made sense. She blinked, then blinked again.

Her expression must have changed because the woman tilted her head to the side, observing with interest. "You remembered something, did you not?" she questioned.

Kagome nodded. She couldn't summon any words.

The woman smiled. "Do not worry. Keep trying and you will find it."

-

-

Miroku, Sango and Rin were all in the same English class. At that moment none of them were paying any attention whatsoever to the teacher. Miroku and Sango were in the middle of a heated conversation, communicating via scraps of paper passed to the other when the teacher wasn't looking. Rin, meanwhile, was texting Sesshomaru under her desk where the teacher couldn't see.

Rin honestly couldn't care less about learning English. She didn't try much at any subjects. After all, there was only one plan she had for the future and school wasn't going to help with that at all. It wasn't as though her parents actually cared about her grades or anything.

She was surprised that Sango wasn't paying attention, though. English was one of her best subjects. She always tried her hardest in these lessons and always got straight As. She glanced at the couple now. Sango had turned a bright red colour and was scribbling furiously. When she passed the note back Miroku paled and smiled sheepishly. He wrote something in reply, which must have worked because Sango's face turned back to its original colour; save for the healthy blush on her cheeks. Must be flirting, Rin thought with a sigh. She wished Sesshomaru was there, with her.

The bell rang and everyone stood to leave. Rin hurried to catch up with the couple, whose legs were quite longer than hers. There were often moments like these when she felt more than a little left out. Sure, she was happy for them. She just wished that there was room for her in their love life.

"Hey, Yash!"

Sure enough, there was Inuyasha. He made his way toward them and nodded in greeting.

"Inu-kun! Wait for me!"

To the trio's despair (and disgust), Kikyo ran over to them. Her much too-short skirt flung upwards with each stride, giving those behind her an unwanted view of her behind. She reached them and grabbed Inuyasha's arm, giggling like a child.

"Hey, Kikyo." Inuyasha said with a sigh.

"Why'd you run off all of a sudden? I thought you were going to wait for me outside!"

"Sorry." Inuyasha didn't sound sorry at all.

"Anyways, I'm hungry! Let's go!" she tugged Inuyasha in the direction of the cafeteria.

"I'm not." Sango declared, much to the surprise of everyone else. She shot a hideously fake smile at Kikyo and threw her packed recess into a nearby trash can. "I'm going to the library."

"You know what; I'm not that hungry either." Rin decided, following Sango's example. Miroku did the same.

"Well, you're hungry; aren't you Inu-kun?" Kikyo said, fluttering her lashes at the nonchalant hanyou. Rin smirked despite herself. Inuyasha was never hungry; not since what happened to Kagome, anyway.

"No thanks," Inuyasha replied, "I'll go with you guys."

Rin could have cheered, but she held it in. Something told her Inuyasha wouldn't appreciate it very much.

-

-

More water, more fear, a scream. Nails scrabbling desperately against a wall of rock. Kagome frowned. She couldn't understand it. Whenever she closed her eyes unintelligible shapes flickered underneath her eyelids. She had paced from one end of the meadow to the other and back again. She didn't know how long she'd been there; it felt like hours, but the sun hadn't shifted at all from it's place far above her head. The woman had disappeared suddenly and was yet to return, so Kagome was completely and utterly alone. More than once she wondered if she was dreaming. But no one had dreams like this… did they?

"I miss you guys." Kagome sighed to no one in particular. She wished she could go home.

A terrible thought struck her. What if she was stuck here forever? What if she never saw them again? What would they think? Would they think she'd run off? Panic set in, making her heart thump heavily in her chest. She slumped into the lush green grass and curled into a tight ball. Tears fell. She shuddered with the force of her sobs; sobs lost to everyone but her. She was completely alone…

"Oh, Kagome."

Or so she thought. The woman bent down and wrapped her arms around Kagome's slender shoulders. Kagome flinched away.

"What is wrong, child? Why are you crying?"

"You've done a lot of mind reading so far. Why don't you tell me?" Kagome knew she didn't mean to sound so bitter. She just wanted everything to be the way it was before. She was sick of being in this meadow. As nice as it was, it was nothing compared to the traffic-jammed, too-loud, foul-smelling streets of Tokyo. She wanted to go home.

"Oh, Kagome."

"Would you stop saying that? Please?"

"I know you miss home. I would feel the same way, if I were in your position. It won't be forever, though. Do not fret."

"Then for how long? How much longer do I have to stay here? Will I suddenly wake up when I'm thirty and find myself at home again?"

"Of course not."

"Then how much longer?!"

"Just until you remember."

"Not that again!" Kagome groaned. She wrapped her arms tighter around her knees and refused to open up to the woman's comforting touch.

Then she made the mistake of closing her eyes. She saw a young girl tugging; pulling against the endless grip of a rope around her ankles. She saw the girl struggling for breath. She felt her pain; her need to scream…

She jumped to her feet and took off running. The woman didn't try to follow her. Instead she watched sadly as Kagome sprinted through the grass with tears rolling uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Oh, Kagome…" she whispered.

-

-

Sango snuck a glance from over her book at Inuyasha for the umpteenth time that period. He was staring out the window with a faraway look in his eyes. Sango could pinpoint the exact location of his thoughts without him saying a word. They all could.

She sighed to herself. Today was one of the first times they'd been able to shake Kikyo off of Inuyasha's arm and actually managed to get some peace. It was too bad that now everyone was reluctant to talk. If Ayame was here then maybe they would actually be able to get a conversation started, but the poor wolf demon was sick. Kouga was hanging around with Ginta and Hakkaku, who had done a fair amount of complaining about how he was spending too much time with his girlfriend and too little with his friends. Kouga eventually caved and agreed to spend the week with them and them only. Ayame was unhappy, but since she lived with him he had no trouble sneaking into her room and watching her until she fell asleep.

"Mr Tsukumo, can you put some music on please?" Rin asked politely. The librarian looked up and smiled a smile he would have considered kindly. Rin simply thought it was creepy. Mr. Tsukumo was a frog demon with leathery green skin and huge, bulging eyes which tended to wander to certain areas of the female anatomy whenever students walked past. He had a reputation as a pervert, but his lecherous mind often meant that he would offer girls anything they desired.

He reached over and but a CD into on his desk. Soon the library was filled with quiet music; not loud enough to be distracting, but loud enough that the group could hear every word Rascal Flatts sang.

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok
But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most
Was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was tryin' to do

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go
But I'm doin' It
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone
Still Harder
Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken…

The song continued and Rin snuck a glance at Inuyasha, inwardly cringing as she did so. An aura of doom was hovering over him and he was clutching the desk so hard that Rin feared it would snap in two. Obviously this was not the best song to choose.

It was with great relief that the bell rang; the song ending as they filed out of the library in complete silence. The words still echoed loud and clear in Inuyasha's ears:

What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away…

Ha I didn't really like that song much until I listened to it for a couple of times. Now I love it! The whole country strumming thing in the background is annoying though...

And you guys probably have no idea what I'm talking about! Lol. Ah well. See yas.