Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha under any circumstances.
Chapter 1: Promising
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Alone…
Lost…
Alone, lost in a forest…
Alone, lost in a dark forest…
Alone, lost in a dark forest, occupied by youkai…
She shuddered. Smooth move, eh? Running off from the others? In an area she had no clue about? In a different era?! That must have been the stupidest thing she'd ever tried in her entire life!! Idiot, idiot, idiot!! Things couldn't get any worse…
Thunder thrashed above.
Scratch that… Things just got worse…
Rain fell in sheets from the sky above… Great!! She stood there, letting the rain soak her thoroughly, staring sulkily into the sky, err treetops. The rain was cold and fell hard against her warm skin. She hugged her uniform close, seeking the warmth that rapidly seeped away from her. Now, what, exactly, had possessed her to run?
Oh, yeah…
Inuyasha.
Inuyasha and Kikyou, of course.
She couldn't stand the sight it; it tore her apart! Those two together… she should be happy, right? Kikyou may be dead, a living corpse, but Inuyasha loved her, right? She smiled sullenly. It's always been like that! One could hear it in his words. Kikyou this, Kikyou that, Kikyou could have done this… To me? Stupid wench…
She couldn't stand it!! He couldn't see her for her… he saw Kikyou and she despised it more than anything!!
Rubbing away tears angrily, she glowered at a random tree. Her eyes stung helplessly.
Pathetic, that's right! She couldn't even hold back a few silly tears. Maybe Inuyasha was right, after all, she was a wretched little girl… Maybe she should have just gone back home… not here. But… the others…
Sango was her best friend. She'd find others… She was like a mother to Shippo. Others would be willing… And Miroku… well, she didn't know about him…
New determination flowed through her as she strode back the way she assumed she'd come. All she needed to do was get back and… she stopped dead in her tracks. And what? How could she face Inuyasha after running off like that??
Sighing, she made a reluctant decision. Forget. Forget about it all… Forget about Inuyasha… Ignore him… Pretend he wasn't there… Just forget… It—it was impossible…
She'd have to forget his rants, his smile, his protection, and his determination… just disregard his all-out presence!! Forget… Do the impossible… Forget. Kagome fell to her knees in the mud. She couldn't; she couldn't forget Inuyasha… not willingly, at least. Tears slipped passed her clenched eyelids as she curled up at the trunk of a nearby tree. She buried her head in her knees and broke down as strangled sobs quaked throughout her lithe frame.
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"Kagome!!" the cry rang in the air. No answer… Where was she?! Sango called again, louder than the last.
"Kagome!!" Shippou's shrill wail echoed.
Stupid rain. He couldn't pick up her scent. Argh!! The hanyou was on his hands and knees, crawling around, frantically probing for a hint of the girl. Where in the seven hells did she go??
"Inuyasha, find anything?" Miroku asked, relatively calm. He leaned on his staff, searching with keen eyes while the others called out.
Inuyasha looked up with a glare. "Does it look like I have, Bouzu?"
Miroku blinked, completely unfazed by his threatening tenor. He shrugged mildly. "That's your decision, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha glared again but didn't respond, going back to work instead. …He caught something. Her scent, there it was!! He swiftly took off in that direction, calling back to them. After an ordered transformation by her master, Kirara turned demonic and leapt to the sky, letting the three others catch a ride.
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"Kagome…?" She recognized it instantly.
She ignored the call and buried her head deeper into her arms.
"Kagome?" The voice came closer. Inuyasha…Why couldn't he leave her alone?
She looked up and right past Inuyasha, knowing her friends were there. She knew they stayed their distance, expecting her to run to the hanyou. Scowling inwardly, she stood stiffly and walked right past Inuyasha, though pausing. She left him unnoticed, and went straight to taijiya. She rested her forehead on her friend's shoulder, seeking comfort as tears overfilled again.
Maybe it wouldn't be so hard, after all…
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Please review,
Senko