Chapter 5

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Kagome's mother asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. The black-haired girl shook her head and leaned against the wall. Her brown eyes fell upon the 3 pieces of luggage that cluttered the hallway. She secretly did want to go. Anywhere for all she cared, anything to get her away from what reminded her of Inuyasha. Yet deep down, she knew she had to stay. That 'What if?' voice tugged at the back of her mind constantly. There was always that slim chance.

"Yes Mama, I'm sure. Just make sure you give my cousins my love." She said as she hugged her mother goodbye.

"As long as you promise to give Inuyasha my love when you see him." Mrs. Higurashi smiled at the confusion that came across her daughter's eyes. She kissed her daughter on her forehead and left her in her confused state, standing in the middle of the hallway.

Kagome blinked at her statement. She followed her mother outside and watched from the doorstep as her mama, brother and grandfather walked down the steps of the shrine to the awaiting taxi below. An entire week, with the house to herself. Then it dawned on her. A whole entire, lonely, week alone. She secretly wished that Inuyasha were at her side now to keep her company.

But no, she killed his Kikyo, she didn't blame him really for not wanting to be around her, given the fact that she is Kikyo's reincarnation. Her eyes slowly scanned the shrine and fell upon the well house. The knot began to grow again her gut. Her gaze fell to the ground as she turned around and stepped back inside. 'Maybe a bath will help calm my nerves.' She thought as she slide the door shut behind her.

Inuyasha watched her quietly, deeply hidden in the thick branches of the God Tree. He waited for a few minuets before jumping down and silently stepping into the house. His ears twitched, hearing Kagome upstairs in the tub. He walked into the TV room and settled on the sofa. He was amused with himself at how well he seemed to adapt to this era as he picked up the remote and flipped the black box on. He slouched into the sofa, resting his bare feet on the table in front of him, and the remote on his stomach as he stared at the colorful images that came from the screen.

"Fine! Go to your other love! It's nice to know this time between us mean nothing to you!" said a woman's voice from the TV, followed by a slap.

Inuyasha growled and changed the channel muttering 'Stupid drama' as he continued to hit the channel button.

Kagome stepped out of the tub, feeling refreshed. She stood in front of her mirror and stared at her reflection. Her eyes wandered down to the now practically healed wound on her shoulder. She frowned, knowing it was going to leave a scar. She wrapped a towel around her small figure and walked into her room to change.

She stepped out into the hall after changing into a baggy pair of sleep pants and a baggy t-shirt, with her hair wrapped up in a towel. She stopped at the top of the stairs, hearing the TV downstairs. 'Strange. I didn't leave the TV on.' She quietly walked into Souta's room, grabbing a baseball bat that was next to his bed, and started her nervous journey down the stairs. Bat in one hand, railing in the other, she quietly descended, trying to miss the stairs that made the most noise.

"You can stop sneaking around."

Kagome jumped and let the bat fall to the stairs, clunking loudly as it rolled to the floor. She slowly walked to the door of the TV room, and saw the hanyou, slouched on the sofa, channel surfing. "Inu..yasha?" She asked quietly. "What are you doing here?" She unwrapped the towel from her head, letting her damp black hair cascade down her back while tossing the towel to the floor next to the doorway.

Inuyasha didn't answer. He hit the power button on the remote and the colorful images winked out of existence. She couldn't see the expression in his eyes as they were being hidden by his bangs. "Sit down" he commanded. Kagome quietly obeyed and sat in the armchair that was next to the sofa. She clasped her hands in front of her, nervously playing with her fingers. She stared at her knees that were tucked under her, her bangs hiding her soft brown eyes from the hanyou's intense golden. "Talk."

Kagome raised her eyes to him, narrowing them. How dare he come in her house, unannounced, ordering her around. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about, but she decided to play dumb. "About what?" she asked bitterly. She stayed silent as the hanyou jumped up, clenching his fists. She heard him growl and she flinched at the sound, closing her eyes.

"About what?! How about you killing Kikyo?!" His whole body trembled, his fists in tight balls, claws cutting into his skin. He felt a small trickle of blood drip down his fingers, but he didn't care. He glared at the girl in front of him. All his anger and blame he felt towards her, the blame he wanted to forget, came flooding back, boiling over, taking over his senses. His breath came out ragged as he stared at the silent girl.

Kagome took a deep breath. Trying to calm herself. 'I won't cry, I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing me weak.' She thought. She gathered as much strength from her soul as she could and stood up. She looked straight into his eyes, took in a deep breath, and spoke. "So it's safe to assume that you wished I died instead of her?" her tone was surprisingly calm, which frightened Inuyasha.

The words that stabbed through his heart seemed to hurt him more than the arrow Kikyo shot him with more than 50 years prior. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke up before any sound came out.

"You love Kikyo. There's no denying that. So I don't blame you for being upset with me. But to even THINK that I would lay down my life and not defend myself when death is hanging over my head.." She stopped and looked away, her hands balled up into tight fists. She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. She had to be strong. He loved Kikyo. Not her.

Inuyasha's body seemed to loose all it's strength. She was right. What was he thinking? His fists loosened and he stepped towards the girl. "Kagome. I'm." but was cut short when she stepped back.

"Get out, go home." Kagome whispered. She hugged herself tightly, keeping her gaze locked onto the floor. "The jewel is on my desk, grab it on the way out. I don't give two shits what you do with it now."

Inuyasha's ears twitched nervously after hearing the girl swear and just stood there dumbfounded. "You. you..don't want to be with me anymore?"

Kagome turned her face back to his, her eyes flashing with anger. "You already chose who you wanted to be with. And clearly it's not me. Go turn into a full youkai, Inuyasha. Cause it's clear to me that that's all you cared about. You never cared about me, the only thing you cared about was the damned jewel."

She stepped forward towards Inuyasha and took hold of his necklace. She started to lift it up, but Inuyasha stepped back, and grabbed her wrists, prying her fingers from it and pulling them away from the beads.

"What are you doing!?" he panicked. No matter how many times he hated being sat, he didn't want the beads removed. It was his precious link to her. He could feel her body tremble from his hold.

"I'm letting you go. What does it look like? I've seen how you looked at me since that day. I remind you too much of her. You can't look me straight in the eyes anymore." She was surprised at how much she was letting out, but she continued anyway.

"Do you know how much it hurt to see you run off to her all the time? How much it hurt to always live under her shadow? Do you know how much it hurts to." her words caught in her throat, she tried to free her wrists from Inuyasha's hands but he kept a firm grip and tilted his head to look into her eyes. She looked away and pushed on, "how much it hurts to love somebody, yet not have that love returned." her voice trailed off, as she closed her eyes.

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. He was speechless. She loved him? He guessed he always knew, but always pushed the thought aside. The only thing he could do was pull Kagome into an embrace. He felt her struggle at first, hearing her muffled voice protesting. "I won't let go Kagome, not this time."

He felt her struggle stop, practically falling limp into his arms. He held her tightly and buried his face into her hair. "Kagome. I'm so sorry. I.I just." his voice caught in his throat. Before he knew it, they were both on the floor on their knees, in a tight embrace. He didn't even realize his legs gave out on him, but he ignored it and hugged her tighter. "It hurts so much, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered.

"Then why." Kagome started to say but was quickly silenced when she saw her face mere centimeters away.

"Because..." Inuyasha started, yet his voice again failed him. He loved her. More than anything. He placed a hand on the side of her face, and made her look into his eyes. He had to make her believe. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. He felt her hesitate, but pushed on and took her mouth in his. He felt Kagome's hands reach up to cradle his face, and her tears drip onto his fingers. He reluctantly broke the kiss. "Because.. I love you too.." Inuyasha whispered.

Kagome was speechless. Was this a dream? She blinked, freeing tears from her eyes to slide down her cheek. She saw him lean forward again, but she quickly placed her hands on his shoulders and stopped him. She shook her head, her body trembling as she gripped his red fire-rat robe. "I.we.we can't do this." She said quietly.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he griped her arms gently. "Why?"

"Because I can't help but think that I'm just being the rebound girl."

"Rebound girl?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

Kagome sighed, realizing he wasn't familiar with her era's phrases. "Replacement." She stated.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he pulled her into another embrace. "Kagome, you're not a replacement." He placed a hand behind her head and felt the tiny scar on her scalp. He tucked her head to his shoulder and continued, "Yes, I'm upset that you killed Kikyo.." he felt Kagome tense at those words, "but deep down, I'm happy she's gone. She wasn't the same Kikyo I knew, and it pained me to see that. Now that she's gone.I know she can be at peace."

Kagome flung her arms around him and buried her face into his long silver hair. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry, forgive me please. I was scared I was going to die. I couldn't do that and leave you behind." Her words just spilled out of her mouth, out of her control. The anger that consumed her earlier melted away, leaving her soul wide open and vulnerable.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Kagome, nothing at all. I'm the one who should be apologizing." Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. "Kagome, you're the only person I care about. Not Kikyo, not the even the jewel. Just you." He gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead.

Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek in response and smiled, her cheeks tinged with a slight blush. "That's from mama, she sends her love."

Inuyasha smiled at the gesture and looked out the window "It's getting late."

Kagome nodded and looked at her watch and yawned. She then remembered that her family was gone, and she was going to be alone tonight, something she didn't want. She looked to Inuyasha. "Can you um.. stay with me tonight?" she whispered, barely making it audible. If it wasn't for Inuyasha's demon ears, he wouldn't of been able to hear her.

Inuyasha smiled and picked her up in his arms. "Feh. silly girl. You don't even have to ask that, I was gonna stay anyway." He gave her a mischievous smile and walked up stairs to her room to turn in for the night.

..or at least that's what Kagome thought..