Kagome wanted so badly to go and talk to him. But… at the same time… she was afraid to. Was he still upset at her? How would he react to her being there? But she knew she needed to talk to him. She needed to explain everything to him.

Now might be her only chance.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She quickly took her backpack off and took out the folder where she kept all her letters that she'd written to him. They were in order, with the oldest being in front and the newest being in the back. Then she grabbed his journal and slowly walked over to him. She very quietly set the folder down with the journal on top of it next to his backpack to his left. After that, she quickly left. She was amazed that he hadn't noticed her. But then again, it looked like he'd been deep in thought. She smiled a little, her first real smile in a long time. Allowing herself a flicker of hope, she took off toward the train. She didn't know what would happen, but she was sure she would soon.


As soon as he was done dealing with his books, Sesshomaru turned around and put his messenger bag style backpack back on with the bag resting on his right hip. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't notice the folder sitting on the ground by his feet. And his journal was on top of it. He immediately caught Kagome's scent and wondered how in the world she'd gotten it. He dropped it somewhere a while back and hadn't seen it since. It had fallen down a cliff, and honestly, he hadn't really felt like retrieving it. He hadn't seen it since. So how did she find it? His thoughts soon switched to the folder lying beneath it. It was full of papers, and he didn't quite know what to think of it. Why had she left that there with his journal? Slowly, he reached down and picked them both up. He stuffed his journal somewhat carelessly into his backpack and debated looking into the folder. With a sigh, he tucked it safely into his backpack and left the school.

Once he was home, he pulled a key from his pocket. Once he'd unlocked the door, he walked into the tiny one bedroom apartment. He didn't really have any furniture, just a little bed and a small nightstand. The only other furniture was the kitchen appliances (such as the stove) that had come with the place. Not that he used them. He stepped inside and closed the door. Once he was inside, he walked over to his bed and flicked on the light switch. Once the lights were on, he took off his backpack and sat down. He spent the next few hours doing his homework and all the makeup work his teachers had given him. None of it was very hard, and he managed to finish everything before seven. Once he was done with his homework, he pulled his journal out and set it down on the nightstand. After that, he pulled out the folder. When he opened it up, he was surprised to see what looked like letters inside.

And they were all signed by her.

He blinked in confusion and began to read.

Sesshomaru… You're my only one. Always have been, always will be. You're perfect to me. Everything about you is perfect. I've never found a single flaw in you, though you've probably found a million in me. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I know I don't deserve it. I don't know when or if you'll come back, but I hope you do. I want you to come home. We all do. I know you probably don't believe me. The others told me everything that happened.

If you do come back, I know you probably won't want to see me, let alone talk to me. But I hope that someday, you'll let me back into your heart. If you just give me a chance, I can explain everything to you. I can make things right again. If nothing else, I can try. If you don't want me to, I understand. I wouldn't want me to either. But if you're willing, I'd like a second chance. I want to set things right. If you give me a chance, that's just what I'll do. Please… Just let me try.

Just one more chance. That's all I'm asking for.

I miss you, whether you realize it or not. And wherever you are, I just hope you're safe. I'm so sorry about everything. No matter what happens, I just want you to be happy. You deserve that, if nothing else.

I love you.

-Kagome

P.S. I found your journal by the way. Its fine, and I'll give it back to you someday. I promise. I won't mess with it, and I won't let anything happen to it. I'll take care of it, just like before.

"Just one more chance…"

Should he? He didn't know. He knew he wanted to. But… something was telling him that that was a bad idea. He didn't want to risk getting hurt again… Forcing himself to focus, he began to read again.

You were right about those two. Yura and Waru, I mean. They're evil, just like you thought.

Kikyo and I were walking to class together after lunch today. Honestly, the day had been surprisingly bearable. That is, until two of Kikyo's old friends found us. They teased us of course. Called us ugly. Typical them. When they left, I thought that was the end of it. But of course, I was wrong. Yura came up to us just as we started to walk away. She called us losers and asked if I was having a bad day. She threatened to make it worse. As if she hasn't done enough damage. Without thinking, I ran away. Away from her, away from Kikyo, away from everything. They say running away from your problems doesn't solve anything. I suppose they were right. I ended up in a dead end hallway and Yura kicked my leg with everything that she had. I didn't stumble, or yell, or anything. I just dropped my books. I total wussy move, I guess. But it allowed me to take the weight off of my leg for a moment without showing anyone I was in pain. After that, I thought I'd have to face her. To take care of my own problems for once. But instead, Kagura came to my rescue.

You were right about her too, you know. She's a good friend. I'm glad you picked her. Not many people have the privilege of actually getting to know you.

I'm happy to say that I am one of the few.

-Kagome

He felt anger well up inside of him when he read that. Yura hurt her? Now he really wanted o take her head off. He'd wanted to for a long time now, but not this much… It took a few minutes before he was able to calm down. Once he was calm again, he returned to the letters.

When we went to the beach yesterday, I found it. Your journal. It was right there on the beach. Were you here? Where are you now? I hope you're safe and doing well. Or at least, doing better. I know you were hurting before. Maybe you still are. I just want to say that I'm sorry. I know words can never make things right again. Words cannot heal the wounded or mend a broken heart. But for what it's worth, I am truly sorry for everything that I did and anything that I will ever do that has or might cause you pain.

I'd gladly take it all away if I could. I'd suffer in your place in the universe would only let me.

But you know, I'm hurting too. But you don't know that do you? I made you think that I hate you. That's far from the truth. I love with all my heart, all my soul. As long as I live, I won't ever fall for anyone else.

That's a promise.

-Kagome

'She… She'd do that…? Take it all away…'

He wanted to believe her so badly. He wanted so badly to be able to trust her again. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. He never wanted to get hurt like that again… Feeling more lost and confused than ever, he turned his attention back to her letters.

When I first met you, you were so timid. You were afraid, and you felt all alone. I remember the first time I spoke to you. When I tapped you, you jumped as if I'd just zapped you. It took a long time before we really got to know each other. But even then, I didn't really know you. Your past remained a mystery to me. It's still a mystery, even now. It took me long time to find out about what was happening to you at home. And by then, it was almost too late. I spent the next six months worrying about you, trying to will you into waking up. I visited your room every day, and yet it felt like it wasn't enough. I felt like I was neglecting you somehow. I tried being there as long as I could, but I still had school and family to deal with. The doctors kept saying your chances of waking up were slim. They said that your chances of recovery were even slimmer. I didn't want to believe them, but when after six months you were still in a coma, I started to. I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I didn't know what to do. Then one day, you woke up. Sango and I were so happy we cried. When I was told we couldn't see you right away, I was devastated. I honestly didn't know if I could stand being away from you any longer, and I'd just seen you a few days before. Then eventually, I got a call saying you'd been released from the hospital. You know what happened after that, don't you? I thought I'd lost you. When your eyes closed that night, I wasn't sure I'd ever see them open again. The idea of losing you tore me apart. It still does. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you.

I just want you to be safe and happy.

-Kagome

By the time he was done reading that, his heart was racing frantically. Was it true? Did she really care? He wanted so, so badly to believe that she did. Because honestly, he knew he cared. As much as she'd hurt him before, he still loved her. He loved her so much…

Her scent was still strong on the folder and seemed to be everywhere. His breath grew shallower and his eyes closed. Her scent filled his nose and threatened to drive him crazy. It was absolutely intoxicating. She smelled so wonderful… He quickly set the folder down and went outside. He needed to get some fresh air. He couldn't think straight with her scent filling his extremely oversensitive nose like that. He needed to think about what to do.

He was so desperate for her, and he wanted her more than anything else in the world. He wanted her even more than his next breath. And even more than that, he needed her. He needed her in order to feel complete. In order to be happy. He took a deep slow breath and forced himself to relax. Once he'd cleared his mind a little, he thought long and hard about what to do. Eventually, he decided. He would talk to her. He didn't know when, and he didn't know if she would even listen. All he knew was that he needed to try. With a sigh, he went back inside and went to the kitchen. He needed to clean the blood off his blade…