Summary: A songfic about Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha has once again driven Kagome back into her time, and he regrets it terribly. Based on the song This Love, by Maroon 5.

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Inuyasha (-tears-), nor do I own any part of the song, This Love by Maroon 5.

-This Love-

Inuyasha's ears perked up and he groggily pulled himself out of a deep sleep to see where the noise came from. He was high up in a tree, but he couldn't see anyone around for miles. Suddenly, the wind carried him an extremely familiar, and favorite, scent, from right below him. Inuyasha looked down to see Kagome kneeling by the stream, facing her face. "Can't you be quieter? Why did you have to go and wake me up?" he said, his annoyance at being woken up getting the best of him.
Kagome jumped and looked up. "Oh, sorry, Inuyasha, I didn't know you were up there."
"Yeah, well, maybe you should be more observant sometimes. It's rude to wake people up when they're sleeping." Inuyasha stretched and leapt lightly out of the tree, landing at Kagome's side. As soon as he landed, Kagome slipped on a patch of moss and flailed her arms wildly, trying not to fall backwards into the stream behind her. Calmly, Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the stream.
"Th-thank you Inuyasha." Kagome stuttered, looking into his e yes. She furrowed her brow, seeing unknown emotions flicker through his eyes. His golden eyes stared deep into hers, and Kagome felt like she was trapped in a spell, unable to move. Slowly, very slowly, Inuyasha leaned down towards Kagome, who still was staring into his eyes.
As Inuyasha got closer, Kagome took a step back, her reflexes kicking in. Unfortunately, she took the wrong step and slipped again on the patch of moss. She tumbled backwards into the stream, dragging Inuyasha with her.
"Damn you, woman! Where did you learn to stand? Hasn't anyone ever taught you balance?!" Inuyasha roared, the cold water doing nothing to improve his groggy mood.
"What? Me? It was your fault, acting all weird like that! Don't blame this on me. Besides, you needed a bath anyways." Kagome grumbled and began pulling herself out of the stream. Inuyasha simply jumped up onto the branch hanging over the stream, splashing Kagome with yet more water.
"Ugh!!! I hate you, you stupid mutt! SIT!" Kagome pulled herself up on the bank, just as Inuyasha went face first into the water. "I am going home to take a HOT shower and get away from you! Goodbye!" Kagome stormed off towards the well, still dripping wet and now shivering in the cool morning air.
Immediately, Inuyasha regretted what had just happened. He jumped out of the stream once more and shook himself off. Kagome was leaving again, and he already missed her.

I was so high I did not recognize
The fire burning in her eyes
The chaos that controlled my mind
Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane
Never to return again
But always in my heart

A little while later, Shippo came wandering through the forest, calling for Kagome. He looked up when he got to Inuyasha's tree, squinting his eyes against the bright blue sky. "Hey, Inuyasha, have you seen Kagome? She came this way a little while ago to wash in the stream, but she didn't come back."
Inuyasha growled. "She went to the well and left." Trying as hard as he could, Inuyasha could not manage to keep the regret out of his voice, and, naturally, Shippo picked up on it.
"Inuyasha! What did you do to her now? Did you have another fight?" Shippo looked concerned, though Inuyasha was sure it was because Kagome left, not because Inuyasha missed her.
"Why does everyone always blame me? I didn't do anything. She fell into the stream, blamed it on me, and went storming off, saying she was leaving. In fact, she was the one who woke ME up!"
"Well, whatever, you should go after her, make her come back!"
"No. I don't care if she ever comes back. I can find the jewel shards without her." Inuyasha jumped down from his tree and began walking away from Shippo. Away from Shippo, but right into Kaiede.
"You might be able to find the shards of the Shikon Jewel without Kagome, but can you live without her? You need her, Inuyasha, so go after her." Kaiede said softly.
"No! Why won't everyone just leave me alone? I am not going after her and I DON'T CARE IF SHE COMES BACK! IN FACT, I HOPE SHE DOESN'T!!" Inuyasha yelled, scaring poor Shippo, who ran scampering behind a tree. Inuyasha turned and ran off into the forest, leaving Shippo and Kaiede quite alone.
Alone in the forest, Inuyasha sat deep in thought. He was so preoccupied that he sat at the base of a tree, instead of leaping up into it. 'I don't care if she is gone forever. All she has ever done was 'sit' me and cause trouble.' Unbidden, an image of them just this morning came floating across his mind. 'Gah, I don't love her. I don't love anyone. All she ever does is leave me here, and I never know if she is coming back or not. Well, not anymore. It's over, I'm done. I don't care anymore.' With that Inuyasha leapt up into the tree, settling down for a long nap.

This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore

Inuyasha sat there, thinking of all the times he came so close to telling Kagome how he really felt. The time he turned human while fighting the Spiderheads, when she wouldn't leave him, and even cried for him. The time when she thought he was mad at her, and wouldn't look at her because she reminded him of Kikyo. All these times and more flashed through his head, and with each one his heart felt heavier and heavier with regret and sorrow. Then he remembered all the times she left, while he pretended not to care, even though seeing her jump into the well felt like a piece of his heart had been torn from him.

I tried my best to feed her appetite
Keep her coming every night
So hard to keep her satisfied
Kept playing love like it was just a game
Pretending to feel the same
Then turn around and leave again

When Inuyasha came out of his thoughts, he felt horrible. He wished he hadn't said those mean things to her. He stood up and headed for Kaiede's hut, where he could smell the priestess and Shippo cooking some food. He had to admit, he was pretty hungry.
In a short while, Inuyasha arrived at the hut to find Shippo and Kaiede waiting outside, sitting around a small fire. "I knew it, Inuyasha. I knew you would eventually regret letting Kagome go. I can see it in your eyes." Kaiede said gently. "You should go after her."
"No, I am not going after her. She is the one who decided to leave. I am not going running after her like some lovesick puppy just because I miss her. I will not do it." Inuyasha sighed, flopping himself down by the fire, his head in his hands.
"You are a lovesick puppy, Inuyasha, and you're a stupid one too." Shippo stated, receiving a kick from Inuyasha, who screamed, "shut up, you runt!" after him as he ran into the hut.
The night slowly faded away, leaving Inuyasha still sitting by the fire holding his head up with his hand. Around dawn, he laid down by the smolders of the fire and fell asleep, exhausted by the emotional turmoil he had gone through that day, and sorely missing Kagome.
Inuyasha laughed as Kagome ran towards his, holding her arms out for a hug. He grabbed her up and kissed her firmly on the lips as she held tight to him. "Oh, Inuyasha, I missed you so much, but I don't have to go back through the well for a long time. School is on break and I have nothing to do back in my time, so I am here for at least a month." Kagome grinned, receiving a kiss in return.
"I don't think I have ever heard news that good." Inuyasha replied, grabbing her hand and leading her towards Kaiede's hut.
"Oh, Inuyasha, I have a present for you." Kagome said, a sly grin on her face. Inuyasha turned and saw her holding a box of ramen out in front of her.
"Ramen! Oh hell yeah! Have I told you how much I love you, Kagome?" Inuyasha pounced on the ramen, devouring it like he hadn't eaten in days.
"Yes, my dear, but it's always nice to hear it again." Inuyasha finished the ramen and stood up.
"In that case, I love you." Inuyasha grabbed her in a tight hug and leaned his head down for another kiss.

Inuyasha awoke abruptly from his dream, yelling in surprise as he opened his eyes to see Shippo standing over him, a silly grin on the fox demon's face.

I'll fix these broken things
Repair your broken wings
And make sure everything's alright
My pressure on your hips
Sinking my fingertips
Into every inch of you
Cause I know that's what you want me to do

"What were you dreaming about, Inuyasha? You had the weirdest smile on your face. You were dreaming about Kagome, weren't you?" Shippo laughing and jumped away before Inuyasha could hit him.
"Stay away from me, squirt. And don't talk to me about Kagome. I am not going after her, I do not care if she comes back, and that's final! I'm going to find some food." Inuyasha stood up and ran off into the forest.

This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore

Inuyasha wandered through the forest, half-heartedly looking for something to eat. He walked past the stream where he had fought with Kagome and through the fields where the villagers were working, looking oddly at the half-demon who was so obviously depressed. His steps lead him irrevocably to the shrine where the well was. He stopped and looked up to see Kagome climbing out of it.

Author's Note: Yay! It's done. This 'fic has been bugging me for a while, every time I heard this song on the radio or saw the music video on TV, in fact. And that has been a lot. So I finally sat my butt down in front of the computer and typed it out. It's my first Inuyasha fanfic, because I only became a fan of the series like a week and a half ago when I managed to stay awake long enough to watch it on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. I don't really know much about the series, so bear with me if some of it is out of character.