Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha

The Most:

Sorrow

          It was evening. Light shone across the shrine grounds through an orange filter, soft and delicate and pure like the muted glow of a fire. Long shadows fell over the dirt and concrete, appearing as handless puppets to the lazy eye – though there were very few of those to be found. The shrine was a ghost town but for one solitary figure, soon to be joined by another.

          The sound of wood grating against wood berated his sensitive ears, as familiar a sound as it was. He shut the well-house door behind him, wincing as he came into the light. It was not particularly bright, not bright at all really, but after the gloom of the well-house the soft glow of the sunset was nearly glaring. As his eyes adjusted to the pastel setting he took careful stock of his surroundings – a habit he could not shake.

          Right away, he noticed her where she sat, huddled against the trunk of the Go-shinboku. For an instant his growing irritation flared. She had promised to be back by that afternoon – it was hours past that time and there she was doing… what? She could have been picnicking for all he could tell.

          If she's only sitting around, he thought, frowning, then why in all hells didn't she come back sooner? Stupid girl… It was true, this was not the first time she was late in returning, and he doubted, no matter what he did, it would be the last, but that didn't mean he was about to let go of her tardiness so easily. No, not at all. He was angry, and she would know about it.

          Wrapping annoyance around himself as if it were a cloak, he set off in her direction. The cloak grew as he drew nearer to her – not moving swiftly, but not slowly either. With each step it became larger, and soon he was surrounded by an almost palpable fortress of irritation. It was a familiar barricade; one he had shielded himself with often in the past. With it he could hide anything… or so he had once believed. Before he met her: the one he had, ironically enough, used this barrier against most often. It was especially good for hiding concern he could not afford to show.

          He was ready to face her, from behind his invisible shield… at least he was… up until he drew near enough to catch a good whiff of her scent and stop dead in his tracks. She was as serene as the placid waters of a great lake, currents roiling beneath the surface. Dark and deep. His fortress became a sandcastle, and it was washed away by the tides if her sorrow. He wondered why he had bothered to build it in the first place.

          Only distantly did he hear her breath his name as she looked up to find him near. Her hair fell around her pail face and her shoulders, as dark and sleek as a raven's feathers, and her eyes greeted him silently, wells of infinite emotion. Surprisingly, there were no tears trailing down her face. Her expression was… pensive, if he were to put a name to it – belying what his nose had detected. Another time he night have been bothered by the lack of symmetry, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel that way. He just watched.

          "Inu-Yasha?" her voice shot him into focus.

          "What is it, wench!?" he snapped. His fortress nearly rebuilt itself.

          "I…" She cast her gaze to the ground, an epitome of meekness. "I'm… sorry I was late." He would have been worried if the comment had not sparked the rebirth of his anger. It crushed concern like a gnat.

          "And just why were you late?" he managed, almost too easily, to keep the sneer from his voice. Gnats were persistent sometimes.

          "I… I don't think you'd understand…"

          "Why wouldn't I understand?" he narrowed his eyes accusingly and swatted off his concern. He was goading her, maybe, but anger was so much easier to deal with…

          The fiery odor of temper flared into her scent. This was more familiar territory. "It's just not the kind of thing you'd –" She broke off with a sigh, and as the breath left her mouth, the anger fled her scent as swiftly as running water. "I don't want to fight you right now."

          He blinked. "Good. Let's go, then." It was only with difficulty that he managed to keep from shifting about uncomfortably beneath her gaze. How did she manage it? The girl could stare down Sessho-maru if she set her mind to it. "What?" he asked, finally. She dropped her head into her hands.

          "That wasn't what I meant," her muffled words reached his ears.

          He didn't know what made him squat beside her, and he didn't know what made him inquire, "What's wrong?" But it certainly wasn't concern. Certainly not. Whatever it was, she didn't look at him when she decided to reply.

          "I'm beginning to forget, is all. I mean, it's only little things… like the words to Sota's favorite cartoon theme song… the way my mother's best perfume smells… the tone of voice Grandpa uses when he starts one of his 'legends'…That doesn't seem like much to you, does it?" she still had not turned to him, and he didn't think she really wanted an answer to that question. Before beginning again she inhaled deeply through her mouth. "And my friends, from school, I don't even know them anymore! I know all of you so much better now… that when I talk with them they are the ones that don't seem real.

          "I used to think it was all just a dream… fighting demons and – and everything… it was all too horrible and too wonderful to be real. I thought that one day I would wake up and it would disappear and I would feel a little regret – like with most good dreams – but I would forget about it and go on with… with reality. I guess… I spent so much time dreaming that I can't tell the difference anymore… I feel trapped between two homes, and I have nowhere to go because I don't belong on either side…" she sighed, and her scent seemed to be more… fresh. The sorrow, and anger, and pain – and more things than he could name – were still present, but they were… repressed, muted. She glanced at him finally. "You don't have to say anything."

          Those words lifted a burden from his shoulders and immediately he felt more comfortable. He wouldn't have known what to say anyway… but being free to remain silent, he found he could not. "I understand." And he did. To a certain extent.

          She just nodded. "Thanks…" her gaze turned speculative as she trailed off. "Inu-Yasha…? What… What causes you the most… sorrow?"

          "Sorrow…?" he echoed, as if it were a foreign word. Half of him was amazed she would ask one of those stupid questions, even now. Another half was decidedly annoyed she would ask one of those stupid questions… even now.

          "Yes, sorrow. Sadness, pain, grief – you know, sorrow. You feel it sometimes, don't you?" Pain he was familiar with, certainly, and maybe grief, as well… but sorrow? It was a thing he didn't often think of. "It hurts me the most when those I care about are in pain." A part of him had known that already. "I know it sounds haughty of me to say so like this, but it is the truth…"

          "Death, I think," he said, after a moment. "My mother, and Kikyo… I think I would feel sorrow if the houshi or the taijiya or even the old hag kicked it…"

          "What about Shippo?" her voice was low and soft.

          "Maybe the brat too…" Maybe. He said it more to appease her than because of his own speculation.

          "And what about me?"

          "You aren't going to die!" The words came out harshly and he folded his arms across his chest, turning away from her in a manner that brooked no argument. "I'll protect you…"

          What would he feel if she…? Sorrow was not the word… it was something far beyond that…

          "I understand."

          He looked at her, and was sure she did.

To a certain extent.

A/N: I'm so sorry!!! I had this typed up for a while, but I totally forgot about it! I feel really bad because I had this new idea and I needed to write something simpler (this one was getting too serious for me)  Well, here's #3… I'm not so sure of it, but tell me what you think. Thanks much to those who reviewed!! I'm not sure how long it will take to get the next one out… I'll try for inside of a week, okay?  well, I'll c ya next time.