Complete the Circle
Author's Note: I'm so sorry for not updating for like a month, but I had so many things to do for school that I just really didn't have the time. Actually, I still have a lot of things to do… I have a huge project for practically every class, but nobody wants to hear me complain. I wasn't going to update until my winter break started, but you're going to have to thank Tigerskyz (Chiyoko, I think) for instant messenging (is there such a word?) me. Otherwise, you probably would have had to wait two more weeks or so. If you thought I abandoned or forgot this story, you're wrong. I just couldn't think of anything to write, and hopefully, this chapter will be worthy enough of your time.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Closing the Distance
"The old man knows too much."
"So? What do you want me to do about it?" she asked, running her slender hand through her dark hair.
"Eliminate him."
"I thought you said you weren't going to kill anyone," she said idly, settling into a comfortable position on her chair.
"I said I would not kill anyone in the Hayashi district. That does not mean I cannot kill in other districts."
"The Youkai Council is not going to be pleased," she said, for the first time looking as if though she was actually listening to him.
"They have no power when it concerns humans. Besides, they'll soon be obsolete."
"Are you thinking about killing them, too?" she asked, returning to her lazy posture.
"After my plan is complete, I won't need to kill them."
"Ooh. I'm so scared," she said sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Just eliminate the old man. The rest of the players shall fall into their station after the old man is dead."
"Whatever you say, Captain," she said, exiting the room before he could think of a punishment for her. He looked at the near complete Shikon no Tama on the table, glowing with an iridescent light. There was still one piece missing, and that last piece would soon fall into his hands.
Shippou sat with Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Souta at Sango's house. The tension that surrounded Kagome and Inuyasha for the past few days had been a bit too much to bear, and so they had decided to meet at Sango's house to discuss about possible solutions to the problem at hand.
"Anyone have a great idea yet?" asked Shippou, still racking his brain for a way to bring the group together again.
"Maybe we should write Kagome a letter and say that it was from Inuyasha, and write a letter to Inuyasha saying that it's from Kagome, and then tell them to meet at some place under a full moon," Sango said. "It'll be so romantic."
"Unfortunately, that often doesn't work well in reality," Miroku said with a contemplating look on his face. "There is always some sort of misunderstanding that sets them apart again."
"Oh yeah?" asked Sango irritated. "Why don't you suggest something then?"
"How about inviting them to dinner or something and force them to talk to each other," Miroku said. "By talking, they should be able to resolve their problems."
"Yeah, right," Sango said, unconvinced. "It was talking that led to the problem in the first place. I don't think those two will have anything nice to say about one another until they have both cooled off."
"Why don't you just go talk to them individually?" asked Kohaku.
"And let Inuyasha bite my head off? No thanks," said Miroku, getting up and starting to pace.
"If only we could get the two to apologize to each other…" Sango said thoughtfully, knowing that all it took for Kagome to forgive Inuyasha was an apology.
"Hey! I have an idea!" Shippou said excitedly, and a few moments later, the rest of the group agreed with his plan. With a brief discussion, the group left to fulfill their roles, hoping that their intervention would get Kagome and Inuyasha together.
He leaned against the wall of his room, wondering what was wrong with him. Actually, he already knew, but he just didn't know what to do about it. He was still doing his daily duties as was expected of him, but the thoughts and feelings that ran inside of him were different now. The attitudes he had towards people had changed.
He sighed, walking through the hall of his silent house. His parents were still resting because of him. His "friends" were probably trying to get ready for the upcoming battle. And what was he doing? All he did was complicate things. Oh yeah, and yell at Kagome.
He felt like he should apologize, which was usually not a difficult feat for him, but this time, he felt as if he couldn't apologize. It was that old hanyou side of him. That Inuyasha did not have it written in his personality to ask for forgiveness. But even so, both past and present souls agreed that an apology to Kagome was needed, even if the past part did not know how to come about that request for forgiveness.
He sat down next to the garden where Sesshoumaru had been sitting several days ago. He felt tired. Physically, he never felt better, but mentally, he felt as if he was torn between two people. Whatever decision he made always came in conflict with some part of himself, and whatever remark he made was usually criticized by his other self. He was getting tired of struggling with himself. He just wished that the two lives could merge with each other and form one unified being, but he knew that he didn't want that to happen, either. He didn't want to have Inuyasha's personality fused into him.
He heard the doorbell ring and reluctantly got up to open the door. It was Miroku. Part of him wanted to shout and tell him to go away, while another part of him wanted to smile and invite him in. In the end, he didn't do either.
"Good morning, Inuyasha," Miroku said, inviting himself in. "Mind if I come in? Good," he said without waiting for an answer from Inuyasha.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in as neutral a voice as he could manage.
"Oh, nothing in particular," Miroku said, taking his shoes off and heading for the refrigerator.
"If there's nothing you need, then get out," Inuyasha scowled, getting annoyed with Miroku. He quickly suppressed his annoyance. He had forgotten that he had such a short temper.
"Oh there are things I need," Miroku said mysteriously.
"What?" asked Inuyasha grumpily.
"I need… Sango!" Miroku said suddenly.
"What the hell?" Inuyasha asked in surprise.
"You don't know how much I love her," Miroku said, putting a hand over his heart as if his heart hurt with the pain of love. "I don't think I can live a day without her."
"Don't lie, you sick pervert," Inuyasha said, starting to walk away from him. "You've always said that you love all pretty women. Why should Sango be any different from your usual pick?"
"Oh, you cold hearted idiot," Miroku said despairingly. "You do not understand the ways of love."
"Whatever."
"You have to help me!" Miroku said, pouncing on Inuyasha and starting to shake him. "I must get Sango to fall in love with me!"
"Sango is already in love with you," Inuyasha said, starting to get dizzy.
"Oh really?" Miroku asked, dropping Inuyasha on the floor.
"Yes," he said, getting up and dusting himself off.
"Oh no!" Miroku said suddenly. "I don't know how to express my love!"
"You seemed to express it pretty well when you kissed her while we were camping," Inuyasha said dryly.
"No! I must show another form of love. What shall I do?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha thought Miroku was acting a bit strange. He knew he wasn't Naraku because he just didn't smell like Naraku, but nonetheless, he had never seen Miroku this way.
"Come! Like the wind, we shall fly, to the sky until we…" Miroku thought for a moment.
"Die?" asked Inuyasha.
"No!" Miroku said indignantly. "Until we… Oh! How about this? 'Until we fly?'"
"You just said 'fly,'" Inuyasha said.
"Oh, who cares?" asked Miroku impatiently. "You're coming with me, and we're going to search for the perfect expression of love to give to Sango!"
"Why don't you go by yourself?" asked Inuyasha, but Miroku had already dragged him out of the door.
Kagome sat on the steps to the well house, thinking. Inuyasha was mad at her, and she supposed that she understood why. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't want Kikyo's mind in her, but she wondered what it was about Inuyasha that Musashino would not want in him. Inuyasha may be loud, mean, and rude, but sometimes he could also be gentle, kind, and compassionate. With all the negatives weighed against the positive, Inuyasha would still turn out to be good. So what was it that Musashino saw that she didn't?
She wondered if Musashino was only imagining Inuyasha's flaws. Or was Inuyasha's mind affecting Musashino's decision? She knew that although Inuyasha tried to portray himself as a confident person, he never really was. Was his own insecurity coloring Musashino's mind, and making him see only the bad side of him?
Kagome sighed, wondering what she should do. Suddenly she heard the steps of someone approaching her and looked up.
"Inuyasha?" she asked in surprise, never expecting him to show up at a time like this.
"Um, yeah…" he said, looking nervous.
"Err… Can I help you with something?" Kagome asked, knowing that it sounded rather cold, and slapping herself mentally for having said it.
"I…um. That is, I…" He started looking down at the pavement. Kagome waited patiently for him to continue.
"I… I want to apologize."
Apologize? Had the world been turned upside down? Then again, this may be Musashino apologizing, not Inuyasha, she thought, but quickly tried to erase it. It didn't really matter who apologized. The two people whom she loved were now one and the same.
"For what?" Kagome asked sweetly.
"For yelling at you the other day."
"Oh, I forgot about that already," Kagome lied.
"Oh. Okay, that's great," he said. "You want to…walk with me?"
"Sure," Kagome said, starting to feel that Inuyasha was acting strangely. She felt the youki around him, and it didn't feel like Naraku's. She wondered if she was just imagining things.
"So, how is your day?" he asked as they walked towards the park.
"Just fine," Kagome said, trying to join him in idle chatter.
"Good. That's good," he said. Kagome tried to keep herself from frowning. He was just acting too strange for her.
They walked in silence until they reached the park, where they walked some more in silence. Usually, when she walked with Inuyasha like this in the past, she had felt at peace, but today, she felt discordant from the rest of the world.
They had reached the heart of the park, and she was starting to get bored. Suddenly, a rabbit youkai appeared.
"How dare you trespass on my territory!" she shouted in a shrill voice. "Now, I will have to destroy you!"
"We're sorry," Kagome quickly apologized, starting to back away. "We didn't mean to."
"Fools! I will not tolerate excuses!" The rabbit youkai started to attack by throwing dirt at them, which Inuyasha blocked with a large shield.
"Where did you get that?" asked Kagome.
"Err… It was just lying around there…"
Kagome looked at Inuyasha dubiously, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, something dropped down from the sky and the entire field was filled with fog.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, unable to see anything. She felt someone push her down, and she fell into a ditch that she hadn't noticed before.
"Stay in there. I'll take care of this."
"Inuyasha?" she asked, but he was already gone. "Don't leave me in here! Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Don't go!" No one answered. She heard the sound of flesh being cut and someone gasping in pain, but she couldn't see anything.
She wondered what had happened. Had Inuyasha…died?
"Inuyasha?" she called out, fear mounting her heart. "Inuyasha? Answer me!" But still, no one answered. She started to feel herself shake with tears and fear.
"You can't just go like this Inuyasha. You can't," she said crying. "You can't go. Don't go!" she shouted, hoping that would bring him back.
"Who the hell keeps on yelling out my name?" a familiar voice said grumpily. Suddenly the fog cleared and Kagome wasn't in a ditch, she was just sitting in a field of grass.
"That was weird," Inuyasha commented on the abrupt change of weather.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, wondering what was going on.
"What are you doing on the ground? Are you crying?" he asked bluntly.
"No!" Kagome said, standing up and wiping her tears away. She had an idea of who played this trick on her. "It's just my sinuses. I must be allergic to these flowers."
"You were never allergic to them before," he said.
"Well, I am now!" she said, irritated that she had been tricked. She wondered if the person standing before her was real. While he was looking somewhere else, she pinched his arm.
"Ow! What's wrong with you?" he asked, rubbing his arm.
"Heh heh. Just had to check if you're real," she laughed nervously.
"Yeah, well, Miroku told me to give this to you," Inuyasha said, not exactly friendly, but not hostile either. "He said that the only way to win Sango's heart was to get her best friend to convince her that a certain someone is good enough for her."
"That's stupid. Sango already likes Miroku," Kagome said, confused, but taking the package.
"I guess he's trying to bribe you to put in a few good words for him," he said, shrugging.
Kagome opened the package, wondering what was inside. It was a small glass ball with some strange pink gas inside it.
"What is it?" asked Kagome.
"No clue," Inuyasha said, looking at it closely. They both leaned in for a closer look, and their foreheads collided.
"Ow!" Kagome said, putting her hand to her forehead and accidentally dropping the glass ball. Inuyasha tried to catch it, but the ball seemed to jump away from his grasp, shattering on the ground.
"Is it just me, or is it weird that a glass ball can shatter in a field full of fluffy grass?" Inuyasha wondered out loud. Kagome agreed. She bent down to pick up the broken pieces of glass so that no one would be hurt by it later, but the pieces of glass suddenly disappeared. The strange gas that was in the glass before suddenly expanded and enveloped them both, causing them both to sneeze at the same time, then disappeared.
"Okay… What was that about?" Inuyasha asked.
"I bet it's a spell," Kagome said. "Miroku better not have gotten it from Jii-chan."
The both stood there and waited for the effects of the spell to take hold. Nothing happened.
"Guess it's not a spell after all," Inuyasha said, trying to be slightly friendly with her.
"I guess it isn't," Kagome said, wondering what exactly her friends were planning. And was the Inuyasha that had led her to the park Shippou? If that was true, then there must have been a reason as to why Miroku sent her that package. But why? What was that package for?
"Are you heading home?" asked Inuyasha. She nodded, still wondering what her friends were planning. "I'll walk you."
She looked at him, wondering if he was still angry. He had a stony expression on, and she figured that he was probably still unhappy with her, so she said nothing as she walked by his side.
"Kagome," Inuyasha said, not looking at her.
"Yes?" she asked, slightly happy, and slightly afraid of his reason for breaking their silence.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you like that."
"Oh, it's no problem at all," she said, trying to sound as if she didn't care. At least she knew now for sure that the Inuyasha from earlier really was a fake. And he wasn't mad at her anymore, which raised her spirits slightly.
"You may think it's nothing, but I…" he couldn't find the right words, but still he continued. "I'm just sorry. And I want you to know that…that Inuyasha may have loved you..." He paused.
"Yes?" Kagome asked, wondering what he was trying to say.
"…He may have loved you, but I… I can't," he said finally. Kagome felt her insides freeze and it was as if time itself had frozen in its place.
"What?" she asked, not quite sure that she had heard correctly.
"I can't love you," he said, trying to force the words out. "I… I just can't. If I did, I would never know if…if… Never mind. It doesn't matter."
But it mattered to her. She wanted to know why, why did he have to say that after all that they had been through? But her throat was stuck. She didn't know what to say and how to say it. What was she supposed to do, demand that he love her?
They walked the rest of the way in silence, and all the way back, she felt numb. She was suddenly so tired, as if nothing in the world could ever bring her back up again. It was like she was falling into a pit that she would never get out of.
"Inuyasha! Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted loudly. "Miroku, Shippou, they're back!"
She saw her three friends stand at the top of the steps of the shrine and wondered if they knew.
"So Inuyasha, when's your date with Kagome?" Shippou asked.
"What?" asked Inuyasha.
"You did ask her out, didn't you?" asked Shippou.
"You need to move faster, Inuyasha," Miroku said, giving him some advice.
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked.
"Miroku," Sango said, looking at Kagome and tugging at Miroku's sleeve. "I have this feeling that your spell didn't work."
"What do you mean?" he asked, but said nothing more when he saw Kagome's expression.
"What spell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Nothing," Miroku said quickly, backing away from Inuyasha.
"It was a love spell, wasn't it?" asked Kagome without emotion. The trio looked at her nervously. "Well, it didn't work. I'm glad it didn't work," she said, surprising them.
"Kagome-chan…" Sango started.
"I wouldn't want to be in love because of a spell, or for any other reason except my own heart. Isn't that right, Musashino?" she asked, looking at him. He avoided looking at her.
"Inuyasha, what did you do?" Shippou wailed.
"It's not his fault," said Kagome. "It's partly mine."
"How can it be your fault?" asked Miroku. "Inuyasha, what's wrong with you?! We worked so hard to get that spell and give it to you, and you blow it off like this?"
"Don't even start with me, Miroku," he said in a cold voice.
"I'm going to my room," Kagome said, starting to walk away.
"I'll see you guys later," Inuyasha said, turning towards his own house.
"Look what your stupid spell has done, Miroku!" Sango shouted angrily.
"It's not my fault!" he shouted back.
Kagome knew it would take more than a spell to affect Inuyasha's decision. He hadn't decided because of a spell. If the spell had caused Inuyasha to dislike her, then wouldn't she dislike him too? But she didn't, though she wished she did. It would make everything so much easier to accept, so much easier to live with.
Suddenly she started to feel dizzy. Then she felt as if though she couldn't breathe, and her heart felt as if though it would burst out from her chest. She collapsed on the ground, barely hearing her friends' concerned exclamations.
"I don't know if I…"
What? Her pain riddled brain tried to figure out the meaning of those vague words.
"What if I don't really love her?" a familiar voice said. Kagome wondered what was happening. It was as if the voice came from inside her own mind, but she knew it wasn't her thoughts. It was someone else's thoughts, and she was both curious and afraid of whose it was.
"I don't want… I don't want to be with someone if I don't really love them…"
"Kagome, are you alright?" Miroku seemed to have asked her a question, but she didn't pay any attention to him.
"It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be fair to her or me. I can't let the feelings from my past cloud my judgment. I can't say I love her just because he does. I won't let my life be consumed by the past. I won't live a lie!"
He was walking down the stairs when he suddenly felt the world spin around him and he had to sit down. But as soon as he sat down, he started to have difficulty breathing, and then it was like he was having a heart attack. He tried to force himself to breathe, hoping that it would stop whatever was happening, but it didn't. Then he felt as if though another presence had entered his mind.
"I…love him?"
Who the hell is this? he thought.
"Inuyasha… Do I like him simply because he was Inuyasha?"
Is this…Kagome?
"Or do I like him for just being himself?"
What is this, Kagome's thoughts? He decided he didn't really want to know, but her voice didn't stop speaking.
"Am I only thinking that I'm in love with him because of his cover? Because of his face? Or is it because it's just him? Is it even possible to love more than one person?"
Was it possible to love more than one?
"I feel as if though I'm betraying Inuyasha…"
That part of him that was Inuyasha felt as if though she was betraying him for…himself?
"But I… I really think that I do love him. All those times that he's joked around, his comments, his actions… I just can't help it…"
Inuyasha was starting to get really mad, while Musashino was starting to be slightly happy, which didn't help with anything at all since he was starting to have a headache.
"I know I love him, but… But that doesn't mean I don't still love Inuyasha. I… I love them both? That sounds like something Miroku would say. Or maybe even Inuyasha?
"I think I finally understand what Inuyasha felt. Kikyo… Me… How did he ever choose? Did he even choose?
"I wonder who he chose in the end… But it doesn't really matter. I understand now… He loved us both, and I suppose, that I too love both of him…"
But do both of us love her?
Inuyasha leaned back against the steps, trying to rid himself of his headache, and as he leaned back, he felt slightly better. He got up with much difficulty and took a step towards the shrine, and in that one step, all his previous pains disappeared. He felt perfectly fine all of a sudden. Kagome's voice also disappeared, for which he was not certain if he was relieved or disappointed.
He walked back to the shrine, having an inkling that the spell Miroku had cast really did work. It just didn't work the way Miroku had expected.
Kagome started to understand why Musashino didn't want to love her. He was afraid that he wouldn't be true to himself, and she knew that loving her without question would never give him the peace that he so desperately sought, both in the Sengoku Jidai and in the present time.
Suddenly she felt the dizziness, the lack of air, and the pains in her heart stop. She pushed herself to her feet, ignoring her friends' aid. And she saw Inuyasha appear above the steps, looking slightly ill. No doubt he had just suffered the same fate as she.
"Miroku's spell works," Inuyasha said, frowning slightly.
"Yeah," Kagome said, knowing that Inuyasha had probably also seen her thoughts on him by the expression on his face.
"Huh? Really?" asked Miroku, wondering what was going on.
"You two are in love with each other now?" asked Shippou.
"No," Inuyasha answered before Kagome could say anything. "We've just come to a new understanding."
"Are you two okay?" asked Sango in a soft voice.
"Oh we're okay," Inuyasha said, "but no thanks to Miroku."
"What did I do now?" asked Miroku innocently.
"This spell of yours… What exactly is it supposed to do?" asked Inuyasha menacingly.
"Make you fall head over heels for each other?" asked Miroku nervously.
"I don't think it's working the way you think it's supposed to work," Inuyasha said. "Kagome, please stand there and don't move."
Kagome stood there, wondering what Inuyasha was going to do. He started to walk away, but this time he was walking slowly and was going towards her house. As soon as he reached a certain distance however, she started to feel the same dizziness settle on her, but as he took a step back, the dizziness disappeared.
"What?" asked Miroku, not quite understanding what the demonstration was about.
"It's a distance spell," Sango said, realizing what Inuyasha was trying to show.
"That's right," Inuyasha said. "If we go too far away from each other, I don't think we'll be able to live."
"Isn't that a good thing? Now you two can be together forever," Miroku said in false naivety.
"How 'bout I beat you up?" Inuyasha said threateningly, but Miroku quickly ran away.
"Ha ha. If you try to come after me, then you'll start dying or whatever," Miroku said. Inuyasha could only clench his fist in anger.
"Whose idea was it to use this stupid spell anyway?" asked Kagome. "Is it you, Miroku?"
"Why do you even bother to ask?" asked Inuyasha.
"Hey, Shippou had some part in it, too," Miroku said.
"Since when?" demanded Shippou indignantly.
"He was the one who transformed into Inuyasha and led you to the park."
"What?" yelled Inuyasha.
"Sango was the rabbit who pretended to attack Kagome," Shippou said in his defense. "I wasn't the only one who was pretending."
"What?" asked Kagome, unbelieving of Sango.
"It wasn't entirely my fault," Sango said quickly. "I mean, your brother was the one who threw that fog spell in."
"Souta?" asked Kagome.
"Yeah, but Kohaku helped, too," Miroku said, earning a glare from Sango.
"All of you were in this?" asked Inuyasha incredulously.
"Yeah, well…"
"I don't believe this!" Kagome said. "Souta! Souta!" she shouted, storming to the house. How dare her brother meddle in her affairs? How dare any of them?!
A wave of dizziness hit her and she quickly stepped back. She looked back at Inuyasha, who was a little ways away from her.
"Seven meters," she said out loud. She knew that the distance between her house and Inuyasha's was definitely more than seven meters.
"I guess you're going to have to stay with Kagome tonight," Miroku said in a voice that only he would use. Inuyasha socked him in the face.
"Your mother says it's all right for you to stay tonight," Mrs. Higurashi said. "So welcome to our humble abode!"
"Thanks," Inuyasha mumbled, feeling out of place. He knew that he had been in this house several times, but this time he felt as if he didn't really belong.
"You're going to sleep in the guest room," Mrs. Higurashi continued. "It's a good thing that the room is right across from Kagome's, otherwise we might have some problems."
"I'm going to do my homework," Kagome said, heading upstairs. Suddenly they both felt a wave of dizziness, and Kagome quickly took a step back while Inuyasha took a step towards her.
"This sucks…"
Kagome had to agree.
Kagome lay on her bed, trying to sleep. The distance between their beds was just enough so that they could both lie down without getting dizzy. Kagome was slightly annoyed with the spell, but on the other hand, she was also glad for it. She was glad to have finally understood what went through Inuyasha's mind.
But now that she knew, she didn't know how to fix it. How was she supposed to get Inuyasha back to normal? Well, as normal as he could be, that is. She knew she couldn't just ask him to forget part of himself; that would be selfish and unfair. But she couldn't stand seeing him struggle with himself everyday. She wanted him to be happy, or at least as he was before.
She sighed, wondering what was the best course to take. Should she try to guide Inuyasha on a certain path? What if he thought she was annoying? Did she have the right to guide him? Did she even know which path was the right one?
She sighed again, at a loss for what she could do.
"Stop sighing," a muffled voice said grumpily. She had forgotten how good his hearing was. She stopped sighing, and eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
She was in a field of softly swaying grass, whose harmony was broken with the beat of feet against them, crushing them to their death as the owners trampled them to attack their enemy. She turned towards where they were charging and saw two lone sentinels, who were soon joined by several others. But even together, they did not have enough to fight the onslaught of youkai that were charging towards them. They were all fighting for their lives, and one side's defeat, would be the other side's freedom.
She saw an elegant lady mount atop what looked like Kirara. Besides her stood a few more people. The light behind them made it hard to make out their faces. She looked at the attacking side, and saw that their side was covered with shadow.
"Keeper of the Jewel… Let it be known that this battle will not end in victory. The balance of the world will forever be linked in destiny with the Shikon no Tama. One more force is needed to tip the balance in the favor of the Light. Find the Last Soul. Find the key to end this battle forever…"
She woke up suddenly, hearing someone knocking on her door.
"The Last Soul? What's that?" asked Kagome to herself, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The knocking continued. "What do you want?"
"Get up already!" Inuyasha's grumpy voice rang out. "I need to use the restroom."
"You don't need me to baby-sit you," Kagome said, equally grumpy.
"The restroom isn't seven feet away from your room!"
"Oh," Kagome said stupidly, realizing why Inuyasha wanted her up. She got up reluctantly, put a coat over her pajamas and opened the door. "Let's go," she said, walking slowly. Suddenly she ran down the stairs, into the restroom and shut the door behind her. She felt dizzy, but only for a moment. She knew Inuyasha would come down fairly quickly.
"What do you think you're doing?" shouted Inuyasha.
"Ladies first," she gloated, and proceeded to do her morning ritual as slowly as possible.
Author's Note (Again): Was this chapter confusing? Too rushed? Too slow? I didn't really get to let this chapter rest in my mind for a while like I did with the other chapters, so I don't know if it even makes any sense. If clarification is needed, just ask, and I'll try to answer your questions (unless it's answered later in the story).
Is there something wrong with the pacing of this story? I don't know about you, but I feel as if though I'm rushing at some parts and slowing down too much at others.
Anyway, some of you asked for lighter stuff, and some for more dark… I hope I accomplished the lighter parts in this chapter, and I think (actually I hope) the more serious stuff happens in the next chapter. Things usually don't turn out the way I plan it, which is probably why this story is so long.
By the way, congratulations for passing the 300 page mark. I don't know how you guys can manage to read this much, but I'm glad that you are.
Hmm… Should I start a new story? Don't worry, I'll still finish this one, but should I write another story simultaneously? Might be hard on my schedule though… Oh well.