Hey all.

I got 22 reviews! Yay!

Well, sorry I've been such a lazy-ass, but there is the small (not) matter of highschool. I had to study and take the Stuyvesant test and the Bard test, and I got into both, so I'm happy (Lab, Bard, and Stuyvesant basically comprise the holy trinity of highschools, Stuyvesant being the equivalent of Harvard for highschool and one of the top 5 highschools in the country (I got accepted into all three (whee))). Unfortunately, this means I am stuck with a huge decision of where to go…blah…

Aaaaaaaaaanyway, here is the update. I'm in kind of a quandary, because I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to go from here. I originally had a game plan (of sorts), but the reviews threw me really off track. So, I'm going to leave this chapter at a cliffhanger, and you get to vote for who you think should be there (well, you'll understand once I stop this mindless drivel).

So, on with the fic. Yay?

Kagome looked over her poem thoughtfully. Setting aside her notebook and pen, she picked up the acoustic guitar she had gotten as a Christmas present. She was meaning to save up for an electric guitar, but in the mean time, she would have to make do with this. Kagome tuned it, played a few chords experimentally, and then began singing. Her voice was charged with anger and grief; the guitar was only an extension of her body as she played and refined the song.

An hour later, exhausted and content, Kagome picked up her notebook. On the top of her page, she wrote "Alone I Break," set aside both her guitar and notebook, and lay down on the bed, asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. She was too tired to even change out of her clothes.

Beeeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeeep.

"Nnngh….whaa?" Kagome said groggily as she extricated herself from the tangle of sheets that was her bed. Stupid goddamn alarm clock. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sunlight streaming in from the window (those damn curtains), and then remembered the events of the past week. With another groan, she flopped back down. 'Damn. And the day was starting out so well,' she thought in exasperation. "I wonder what time it is," she muttered to herself, too much of a lazy-ass (har) to get up and look at the clock.

A knock on the door interrupted her musings. "Kagome, it's 11:00. Shouldn't you be getting back to Inuyasha?" her mother asked, opening the door and peering in. Kagome groaned in assent, and rolled out of bed. Her mother bustled off downstairs to get her backpack. Kagome dressed and was just about to go downstairs when her eyes fell on the guitar and notebook. Halfheartedly, she picked up the guitar and tuned it, concentrating only on the guitar.

"Kagome, come on!" Souta called from downstairs. "Okaasan wants you!"

Kagome snapped out of her reverie. 'Oh, what the hell,' she thought, and picked up the guitar and notebook and brought it downstairs. Pretty soon, she was out the door, but with two new additions to her usual load of stuff. Looking down into the well, Kagome grimaced at the thought of the incident with Kikyo and Inuyasha, but strengthened her resolve and jumped in.

It was a beautiful day in the Sengoku Jidai; a nice, clear blue sky, fluffy white clouds dotting it here and there. Kagome looked up and called out, "Hellooooooooo? Anyone there? I could use some help!"

A ball of red fur immediately launched itself at her from the well's edge. "Kagomeeeeeeeee, I missed you! I've been waiting for FOREVER," Shippo whined, clinging to Kagome as if his life depended on it. Kagome smiled.

"I missed you too, Shippo. Now, I want you to go and find Sango and Miroku and tell them I'm back. It's very important," she said. Shippo beamed, proud to be given such an important task. He clambered up the well and out of sight, leaving Kagome alone to wonder how exactly she was going to carry all this stuff up.

"Gaaaaaaah."

Somehow, some way, Kagome managed to get all her stuff out of the well, only to be met by a sullen Inuyasha. He avoided her eyes, as usual, and made a motion to grab her pack, but Kagome stopped him. "That's okay, Inuyasha, I can carry it myself."

Disappointed, Inuyasha stalked off, muttering something about killing Miroku and Sango. Kagome stared after him, puzzled. She shrugged it off, however, and began the trek to the village.

She was greeted by Sango, who immediately noticed the guitar. "What's that?" Sango asked, twanging the strings. "Just an instrument," Kagome said vaguely, picking it up. "Oh." Sango sounded disappointed. "I thought it was a weapon." Kagome chuckled. "Sure, Sango. By the way, where's Miroku?"

"He was dragged off by Inuyasha. He was yelling something about stubborn women, I think." Sango shrugged.

Kagome laughed. "Anyway, I'm going for a walk for a while; which direction did Inuyasha take?" she asked. Sango pointed North. "Oh, okay. Arigato, Sango-chan," she said, heading South of the village.

Presently, she came to a shaded grove of trees. 'This looks like a nice spot to rest,' she thought, sitting and resting her back against a large tree. Kagome closed her eyes, thinking again of the incident with Inuyasha. It seemed to be etched in her memory; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget the look of hurt and betrayal on Inuyasha's face, and the threat from Kikyo. But most of all, her mind centered on the embrace. "Argh," Kagome groaned in frustration, trying to rid herself of the horrid picture.

Unconsciously, she began humming the tune she had picked out on her guitar the night before. The song's melody seemed to have a cleansing effect, and pretty soon the humming turned into singing, Kagome's clear voice piercing the silence of the grove. Again, as with the guitar, all other thoughts washed from her mind; all she could concentrate on was the song. Kagome finished the song, and felt satisfied and sated. Everything was peaceful, until a rustling caught her attention.

"…who's there?" Kagome asked cautiously, getting up and searching for the source of the noise. She heard the rustling again, only in a closer proximity to her than when she last heard it. "Who's there?" Kagome asked again, a slight note of panic creeping into her voice. She looked at the tree from where the rustling seemed to have come, and then, to her shock, a figure stepped out from behind the tree. At first, Kagome couldn't determine their features, but as the figure made its way toward her, their face slowly became clear.

Kagome gasped.

"Kagome, I…"

Fin

So, as I said, you guys get to pick who the figure is (corny, I know, but hey, I'm tired). There are no limits on gender, although be advised, this is a het story. Remember, it can be anybody; vote for who you want, and the person who gets the most votes will…er…be the figure.

Read, review, and vote!