Every time I think I've finally made it, I learn I'm farther away than I have ever been before. I see the clock and its ticking away, and the hourglass empty… What the F***do I have to say? Please help me 'cause I'm breaking down, this pictures frozen and I can't get out! Please help me 'cause I'm breaking down, this pictures frozen and I can't get out of here. Believe me, I'm just as lost as you—Believe me, I'm just as lost as you. Keep it inside, the image portrayed, as if I couldn't stand losing as if I couldn't be saved, no way… A small confession I think I'm starting to lose it… I think I'm drifting away from the people I really need. A small reflection on when we were younger: We had it all figured out 'cause we had everything covered—Now were older it's getting harder to see… What this future will hold for us, what the F*** are we going to be? So lost, I'm just as lost as you, Oh well what am I going to do? I'm afraid I'm falling farther away (from where I want to be)… (Still Frame, Trapt)
Inu Yasha gritted his teeth as he thrust his Tetsusaiga onto the floor and followed Sesshoumaru out of the hut. "What are you doing? You aren't just going to leave her like this, are you?"
"I'll do as I please."
"Do you realize that by walking away from her now hurts more for her than any wound she could have gotten from battle? She loves you, Sesshoumaru, you shouldn't deny that."
"I never denied her!" Sesshoumaru quickly regained his composure as he motioned for Rin to get back on Aun's back. "Tell her that I have some business to attend—I'll be back soon."
Inu Yasha paused. "How soon?"
"Shortly after the new moon."
"Why then?"
"Don't play a fool with me, Inu Yasha. As much as I hate to admit such, you are my brother—I do know these things." Saying no more, Sesshoumaru mounted the two‑headed dragon and quickly disappeared into the dark evening sky.
Miroku stepped out of the hut, a solemn expression on his face. "He left?"
"Yeah, but he said he'd be back… How's Kyoko?"
"She'll be fine. Her left arm is broken pretty badly, she's pretty bruised up, and has a few minor scratches, but aside from that, she'll be just fine. I give her till tomorrow afternoon to be healed of the most of it, but the arm will probably take nearly a week to heal."
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Rin tugged at Sesshoumaru's sleeve as she watched the light from the village disappear into the distance. "Sesshoumaru-sama, why did we leave Kyoko-san there?"
Sesshoumaru ignored the child but quickly found himself wondering the same. [I could have stayed… She just returned—we were together again—but I let my pride get in the way of taking care of her… Was Inu Yasha right? Should I have swallowed my pride and stayed by her side? I—I guess I could go back… but those humans despise me as much as I do them, my presence would only lead to bloodshed that Kyoko would certainly despise me for…]
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ The Next Day ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Kyoko blinked her eyes a few times as she awoke in Kaede's hut. She was confused about her whereabouts at first, but she was soon able to recall the previous night's events. She stood, despite the pain it took to do so, and stepped out of the hut. She saw that Inu Yasha stood right outside of the door, as though waiting for her to awaken. She smiled at him as she took in the warmth of the morning sun. "Where's Sesshoumaru?"
Inu Yasha paused as he turned his gaze to the ground in front of himself. "He left last night, remember?"
Kyoko's smile fell as she did indeed recall. "He's not coming back, is he?"
"He told me that he had some business to attend and that he'd be back soon."
Kyoko's eye brimmed with tears. "I don't understand… I've been gone all this time, and I thought that since I've returned that he'd only be happy to see me and to stay by my side… I was gone for seven weeks—seven weeks too long to be gone… He must have had a good time during those seven weeks… without me… otherwise he would not have left so quickly…"
"Kyoko, I don't think it's like that…" Inu Yasha placed his hand on Kyoko's shoulder to comfort her but she pushed his hand away as she leaned her head onto his shoulder and continued crying.
Following some rare instinct for dealing with women, Inu Yasha wrapped his arms around her and spoke to her in a soothing voice, "Shh… it's okay, Kyoko… It's gonna be alright… It'll be okay…"
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Kagome was shocked at first sight of the scene, but quickly realized that Kyoko had just found out that Sesshoumaru had left. Kagome smiled as she thought of how much more kind and caring Inu Yasha seemed to be since she had first met him.
"So, Kagome, have you happened upon a reason as to why Sesshoumaru left her here as he did?"
Kagome turned around and looked at Miroku quizzically. "What do you mean, Miroku?"
"The moon has been waning for some time now, Kagome. We are nearing the new moon. How convenient it is that Kyoko should be with us then."
"You mean—Sesshoumaru's trying to protect Inu Yasha?"
"It's hard telling—but I think he has another purpose in mind, if any at all. Perhaps he is trying to show Kyoko something."
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
"Sesshoumaru-sama, when are we going to get Kyoko-san?"
"In a few days."
"But… Sesshoumaru-sama… Kyoko-san promised me that she'd tell me about her long journey as soon as she got back…"
"Quiet, Rin."
"But, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
"Silence, Rin."
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Kagome motioned for Inu Yasha to speak with her privately as he sat next to Kyoko, just outside of Kaede's hut. "Inu Yasha, are you going to tell Kyoko what is going to happen tomorrow night, or are you going to wait until she sees it?"
"Right now, I shouldn't be another worry on her mind, Kagome. Why don't you go home and prepare for us to resume our journey after Sesshoumaru returns for Kyoko?"
"Of course…"
Inu Yasha walked Kagome back to Kaede's hut, where she picked up her nearly empty backpack. "Kyoko… Kagome's going back to her world, do you want to come with me to take her to the well?"
Kyoko looked perplexed for a moment and then nodded.
Kagome, who seemed lost in thought for a few moments, clapped her hands together in delight. "I know, I'll bring something back for you, Kyoko!"
"You don't have to… It is more than enough that you have taken care of me and doctored my wounds…"
"It's okay, Kyoko, I always bring something back for Inu Yasha, no matter what."
"If it so pleases you." Kyoko glanced at the *Honekui well, sighed, and headed back towards the village.
(*Honekui=Bone-eating)
Kagome started after Kyoko, but stopped when she felt Inu Yasha's hand on her shoulder. He shook his head. "She needs some time to herself to sort all of this out. Right now, she thinks that her love for Sesshoumaru is unreturned."
"Are you sure? She looked like she needs someone to—"
"Yes, but neither of us are that someone. Until Sesshoumaru returns, we'll have to do as best as we can to cheer her up."
"Yes, but should she really be left alone like that?"
"Yeah—I know how she feels—she needs time alone."
"Okay, I'll be back by tomorrow night."
"You sure that you'll be back by then?"
Kagome smiled as she took his hand. "Of course I will. No test is as important as making sure that you'll be okay tomorrow… I'll be there for you."
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Kyoko shook her head as she turned away from watching Inu Yasha and Kagome. [They're so close… I wish that Sesshoumaru would at least let me know how he feels…Even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear… at least I'd know…] Kyoko sighed as she reached a tree in the middle of a clearing in the forest. She sat against the base of the great tree and closed her eyes. [Still… I do miss him… I know… whenever I see him next… I'll tell him how I feel… Perhaps then he'll feel compelled to tell me whether or not he feels the same way…] Kyoko yawned as she lay back on the base of the tree. [Just a little nap won't hurt…]
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Dream Sequence ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
[It's that oni…] Kyoko strained to force dust from her eyes as she heard the oni approach herself. She scrambled backwards as she heard the beast's claws fly through the air, wildly at Kyoko. She flinched as her vision finally cleared and she saw that the oni's claws had barely missed her. She leapt up and drew her sword, her gift from Sesshoumaru, and positioned herself to attack the oni. She dodged an attack from its left forearm and vaulted towards its chest. What she had not taken into account, however, was the beast's other arm. It forced her to the ground, pinning her down with its right hand. She struggled to escape, but to no avail. Her movement seemed only to make the creature push her into the ground further.
As she took what she was sure was her last breath, the beast's arm fell to the ground, severed by Inu Yasha's Tetsusaiga. Before Kyoko was able to do so herself, Sesshoumaru threw the severed limb out of the way, allowing Kyoko to get up. She smiled as Sesshoumaru approached her. "Kyoko, you shouldn't fight just yet."
Kyoko brushed herself off as she looked away from Sesshoumaru. "I'm perfectly capable."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then…." Sesshoumaru tapped her left arm with slight force, sending her to her knees in pain. "That's what I thought."
Kyoko held her injured left arm closer to herself. "Sesshoumaru…"
"Stay here." Sesshoumaru grinned playfully as he walked away from Kyoko and towards the oni, where Inu Yasha had diverted its attention.
[No… Not now!] Kyoko watched as Sesshoumaru walked towards the creature. He stood before it, his sword drawn and ready to attack. Kyoko looked to just behind the beast, where Inu Yasha had jumped into the air. She wasted no time to jump to her feet and began running—almost before her feet had hit the ground—to Sesshoumaru.
Everything seemed to freeze as she heard a voice, {Kyoko! Oi, Kyoko!}
~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ End Sequence ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~
Inu Yasha nearly jumped when he saw Kyoko sleeping under Goshinboku, the very tree that he had spent 50 years magically bound to. He had been sealed by Kikyo's arrow. Inu Yasha had long since realized that he did not hate Kikyo for what had happened, it had not been her fault. He had felt bitter at first about what had happened, but his mind was quickly changed when he found out about how Naraku had tricked the both of them. [Mistakes are made and forgiven…. Kikyo didn't know any better than I did about what had happened that day. But… that didn't stop her from hating me as she died… but I didn't… Mother always told me—'when someone is hurt by false intentions, they rarely blame the person who had made the mistake'…] Inu Yasha sighed as he watched Kyoko in a fitful slumber against the base of the tree. He shook away his own harsh memories as he assumed that Kyoko was now being held in a nightmare of her own. "Kyoko! Oi, Kyoko!"
Kyoko jumped as she awoke. Tears were swift to her eyes as she clamped her right hand over the top of her left arm, as though trying to contain the pain that had flared in her broken arm. "I—Inu Yasha?"
Inu Yasha grinned as he helped Kyoko to stand. "You okay, Kyoko?"
"Yeah…it was just—a nightmare…"
"Feh, must have been pretty bad to have you all flipped out like you are…"
"I think it might mean something… this isn't the first time I've had this dream…"
Inu Yasha looked at Kyoko in confusion. "Ah, I'm no good at deciphering dreams."
"It's okay… Don't worry about it…" [I think I already know what it means…. I've lost Sesshoumaru and he's not coming back… I think… I'll just stay here with Inu Yasha and Miroku…]
"Well then, let's head back to the village, Kyoko."
Kyoko nodded. She stood and followed Inu Yasha out of the forest. When they had reached the edge of the forest, she tensed—she sensed another yokai approaching quickly. She reached for her sword as she saw a tornado approach herself.