Gone

Staring at the spot where Kagome had been standing in less than a second ago, Inuyasha lifted his hand to his tingling cheek, where Kagome had brushed her hand against it, the scent of her tears still teasing his sensitive nose.

"Kag... Kagome?" He whispered, the pouring rain drenching him while he stood there, and he heard a shout from behind him as he instinctively caught the kitsune that went to race past him.

"Let me go! I have to go to Kagome! Inuyasha!" Shippo shouted, squirming in the dog demon's hold, tears running down his youthful face, and Miroku appeared at the dazed hanyou's side, whispering, "It appears Lady Kagome is quite upset."

"She should be! She..." Inuyasha started, his temper rising, but Sango cut him off, eyes flashing angrily as she got up in his face, shouting, "What you said to her was totally uncalled for! How could..."

Silence descended upon the group when she stopped speaking, instead staring at something directly below Inuyasha's chin, and he growled, shouting back, "I did nothing wrong! It was that wench! And you're not going anywhere Shippo!"

"I have to go help Kagome! Who knows what is out there that will harm her!"

"She'll be fine, she'll go home, pout for a while, then come right back!"

"No she won't, she's not coming back!"

"Yes she is damn it!"

"No she isn't Inuyasha..." Sango whispered, reaching out and grabbing what she was looking at, pulling at it, but Inuyasha growled, moving away from her reach and shouting, "The stupid rosary beads can only be removed by Kag..."

His eyes widened, jaw dropped, and his breath whooshed out of his mouth when Sango opened her hand, revealing the partially completed Shikon Jewel sitting on her palm, and with his free hand, Inuyasha reached up and felt for the missing rosary beads.

"Where... where'd they go?"

"Oh noooo!" Shippo cried, staring at the jewel shards in Sango's hand, and he burst into tears once again, continuing, "Now Kagome can't even get home! I have to go help her!"

"Ah, it makes sense now..." Miroku whispered, closing his eyes when Inuyasha dropped Shippo and spun around, grabbing the monk's robes and growling, "What the hell does that mean?"

"Lady Kagome spoke a few words before she left...saying she couldn't keep her promise, meaning she wasn't going to help us look for the jewel shards anymore. That is why she gave what she had of the Shikon Jewel to Inuyasha so he could continue without her. And her other words..."

"I'll miss you so much..." Inuyasha repeated, remembering her last words before she said goodbye, causing his heart to thud painfully against his chest, and he fought the pain, shouting, "Like I care whether or not she is going to help me? Feh, I'm glad she took those damn rosary beads off! Now nothing can stop me from getting the Shikon Jewel!"

Growling in anger, Inuyasha went quiet as silence descended upon the group, each of them trying to figure out what would be best to do as the rain slowed to a steady drizzle, but Shippo broke it, all of them surprised that he hadn't run off looking for her yet, "We have to go find her."

"I agree, she hasn't anyway to get through the well, so it is best that she returned with us." Miroku added, glancing at the pale Sango who was holding onto Kirara for support, and he changed his mind, saying, "Never mind, I'll take Sango back to..."

He stopped mid-sentence when a scream filled the air, one that sounded like...

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, his dog-like ears swiveling towards the direction the scream came from, and bounded off the ground and into the trees without hesitation, sniffing the air for her scent, not able to pick it up due to the heavy rain that had just drenched them.

Suddenly he caught it, entwined with another, fouler scent, and he quickly followed the scents as they got stronger and stronger, until he came to a clearing where there was a stream, stopping quickly.

Studying the area intently, he realized there was no one in sight, but a small object next to the stream caught his attention.

He slowly walked towards it, noticing her scent was spiked with fear, and when he was close enough to identify the object was, it felt like someone had struck him with a dagger in the gut and twisted it painfully.

Falling to his knees without a sound, Inuyasha picked up the rosary beads, his eyes glistening as the wind picked up, blowing his hair about him wildly, and he noted the rosary beads were still warm from being held as the pain inside him became too much, so he let the pain out with a cry, "KAGOME!"

He felt like breaking down and crying, pounding the ground with his fists like a child, the only thing stopping him was his own guilt, and he stared at the sky, clutching the rosary beads as he thought, She's gone...

"Inuyasha! What happened?" Shippo shouted, joining him just as Kirara cleared the trees, Sango and Miroku on her back, their expressions worried. "We've got to find her. she'll be around somewhere..."

The hanyou whispered, standing up and starting into the forest in a trance, clutching the rosary beads like they were his only lifeline, and after nearly an hour of searching, he finally stopped, his eyes downcast.

The rest of the group hung behind, silent, following him as he wandered through the forest, and he finally stopped, rotating to face them, his eyes downcast, chin against his chest.

"Let's go back to camp..." He whispered in a shaky voice, turning and racing through the forest, running to rid himself of the pain that made his whole body feel numb, except for the heaviness that settled in his chest, unrelenting, but his attention was caught by a peculiar smell when they neared the camp.

Opening his eyes when he reached the edge of their camp, Inuyasha gaped in disbelief at the charred remains, his gaze sliding around the camp in search of something, anything, that had survived the fire that had consumed the camp, and his gaze landed on the scorched pot that sat innocently in the middle of the ashes, the ramen inside it burnt and damp from the rain.

'It's all gone...' He thought in disbelief, simply standing there wordlessly in shock, not even noticing when Kirara arrived, with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo on her back.

"Oh my god..." Sango whispered, getting off Kirara slowly, taking in the damage around her, and Miroku simply closed his eyes, not choosing to voice his opinions.

"Oh no!" Shippo cried, dashing into the ashes to where Kagome's bag used to be, now a clump of ashes, and Inuyasha felt his heart constrict when he looked down at the rosary beads in realization.

'It's all gone... Kagome...'

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Letz move on to the next chappie, eh?

Hugz N Kissez, Ali