Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters therein. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she does a beautiful job!
Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.
One Question
Chapter 27 – The Box
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After three days, he knew it was hopeless.
He dropped his head into his hands as it started to pour.
Funny thing the weather, it always managed to match his mood.
He had waited for her.
He did, but how long was enough? How should he know when to stop looking… stop waiting and face the reality that she left, "and she took Ariana with her," he replied sadly to himself.
He just felt so desperate.
He knew he had messed up.
He knew that he should have been happy – happy to hear that the little girl that he loved was really his – happy to know that Kagome trusted him enough to finally tell him. Happy that everything was going to work out, but no, he had to make things difficult.
He just had to.
He took in a deep breath, gathering the courage to finally walk away from his post.
He closed his eyes, 'maybe just a few more minutes,' he told himself.
Miroku came and sat next to him, "you need to eat, man."
InuYasha looked straight ahead, not acknowledging his friend.
Miroku put the umbrella over his head, "I don't think this is how Kagome would want you to be."
InuYasha turned to look at him then, and Miroku could see how the man truly felt. He saw such sadness and remorse in his eyes. It pained him to see a friend this way.
"Kagome, hmmm... Well, if you happen to see her… maybe I will act different," he told him.
"So, you still haven't seen her?" Miroku asked him distressingly.
InuYasha shook his head.
"I take it from you being here, that no one else has either."
Miroku let out a deep breath, "no."
InuYasha released a long sigh.
"Should I give up?"
Miroku looked at his friend. It was weird seeing him like this… so pathetic. "Would you want her to if it was the other way around?"
InuYasha rolled his eyes, "you always give stupid advice."
Miroku grinned sadly, "Well, at least it makes you think."
InuYasha shook his head, "sure."
"If you really love her," Miroku started, "I don't think you should."
He got off the cement stair, "you need to eat something."
Slowly, InuYasha got up off the bench, "fine."
"InuYasha?"
He looked up to see her mother.
He walked away from the stairs leading to Kagome's apartment and went over to her, "Mrs. Rinne, have you seen Kagome? Do you know where she is?"
The older woman looked at him sadly, "I have seen her, but she left this morning."
"Oh," he replied as his head fell.
"Have you been waiting out here all this time?"
He let out a small laugh, "sad… isn't it?"
Mrs. Rinne felt her heart breaking for the young man, "I don't think it's sad at all."
He looked up at her, "did she…do you know where she went?"
She watched him with her kind brown eyes a moment, before she shook her head, "no. All I know is that she is going to call me when she gets settled in."
InuYasha tightened his fist, "so that's it, huh?"
He looked up into the sky as the little droplets landed on his face. "You know the one sad thing about this whole situation?"
He turned towards her, "I fell in love with her. I always get the girl who goes away."
He dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring.
Her mother gasped at the sight of it.
"I am so useless," InuYasha groaned as he placed the box back into his pocket.
Mrs. Rinne put a hand on his shoulder, "you need to find her."
He looked skeptically at her, "but how?"
She smiled at him, "I had to make sure that you really did have feelings for her, before I let you go after her."
He looked at her in bewilderment, "so you know where she is?"
She nodded her head, "how else would I be able to send her some clothes?"
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"Hey."
Eri looked at her friend sadly, "hey."
Ariana was tucked under Kagome's leg.
Eri bent down, "well who is this beautiful little girl?"
Ariana looked at her a moment, "My name is Ariana," she told her proudly.
Eri smiled, "Ariana, well you have a wonderful name."
Ariana smiled at her, "mommy said it was because I was a gift."
Eri looked at Kagome, "well that's because you were. Hey, do want to go play with my kitty? Her name is Kirara."
Ariana's brown eyes widened in excitement, "you have a kitty?"
Eri smiled at her, "I do. She is in the living room."
Immediately Ariana ran ahead of the women and into the living room.
"Thanks for that," Kagome told her as she entered her home.
Eri smiled at her, "it's no problem."
Kagome let out a deep breath, "He finally knows."
"Oh," Eri replied as she looked at her hands. Now everything was making sense.
"So, what are you planning on doing?"
Kagome's lips quivered as she looked at her friend, "I have no idea," she told her in a sniffle/giggle.
Eri hugged her friend, "you can stay here as long as you like."
Kagome hugged her back, "thank you."
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It had been a week since everything between them happened. A week since she finally summed up the courage to tell him, and a week since he told her that he didn't want to see her.
"Hey, Kagome!"
Kagome walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway where Eri was calling for her.
"Hey, what's up."
Eri turned and pointed at a box.
Kagome looked at her skeptically, "you called me because you got some mail?"
Eri looked at her dryly, "it isn't for me."
Kagome bent down to look at it, and there, legibly written in black permanent marker was her name.
Kagome.
She looked at Eri, "did you see who dropped it off?"
Eri shook her head, "I was just going outside to get the mail when I saw it."
Kagome took a deep breath and started to open it.
"Wait," Eri replied. "How do we know that it's not a bomb," she asked her cautiously.
Kagome looked at her dryly, "how would a bomber know that I lived here?"
Eri lifted her shoulders, "maybe it is a stalker bomber."
Kagome rolled her eyes, "it is probably just some clothes from my mom. She told me yesterday that she would be dropping some off."
"Oh," Eri replied. "Well, that would make more sense."
Kagome bent down and started to open the box, and when she finally opened it, "there is nothing in it."
Eri bent down.
All that they could see was little Styrofoam pieces. It really looked like there was nothing else in there.
Eri stuck her hand in the box, "wait, there is something in there."
She grabbed it, and she pulled out –
"A tape?"
Both women looked at each other.
"You can't tell me that there isn't something weird going on here," Eri finally said.
Kagome could only nod her head. "Where is Ariana?"
Eri left her side a moment, until she came back with the little girl and kitten in tow.
"What is that, mommy?" Ariana asked her.
Kagome looked at Ariana for a moment, "I think… it's a tape."
"A tape… what do you put on a tape?"
Kagome looked at Eri.
There were many things you could put on a tape. The sound of someone killing someone was the first thing that came to both of their minds.
"You can put lots of things on a tape, baby," Kagome finally told her.
"Why don't you go play across the hall," Eri told her.
"And holler if you need us," Kagome yelled.
"Okay," She replied once she got in there.
Eri looked at Kagome, "are we going to play it… or just stare at it?"
Kagome looked at her worriedly, "play it."
Eri took a deep breath, "Okay. I am ready when you are."
Kagome closed her eyes, and pushed play.
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A/N: Oh em gee! What can it be? Sorry for the small moment in time with no updates. Life got a little crazy there for a bit. Hope you all liked it :)
