Reviews

Mystical-Maiden: Yes, awww. Is it really that sad? Well, I can guarantee that it will be a happy ending. I don't think I could stand writing a sad ending. Enjoy the chapter!

Kibethan: Hurray! And thank-you.

yogi bear-321: The romance shall come. Don't fret. :)

deppfan1016: Psch, they won't get together. Why would I do something crazy like that?

fanfictiongeek36: Stupid Richard. I shall send him a package of rotten tomatoes. :(! Don't worry, everything will turn out for the best!

RCRhyo15: lol, okie. Thanks for coming out!

kitten's angel: I think this is longer and more interesting. Or at least, I hope...eep! Enjoy!

Dapphypac248: I know, right? (Sorry, I watched Mean Girls and..yeah..)

inuyashakagome: Awww. That is so sweet! Cookies for all!
loozer-09: Yes, but Inuyasha will make it all better. (And yes, I realize how insane that sounds)

crystal: yep yep yep! (Piximon 4 lyphe .)

Inferna: As my friend loves to say, hell no! There's still a few more chapters left :)

kaginu=love: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've been sooo swamped with school lately, and...yes I know I use that excuse all the time, but it's true! Plus my BF's gonna come see me this summer so I'm all hyped up about that. At least I updated now, right?

laku: Dun dun dunnnnn...

animekraze: Done and done!

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AN: I'm not even gonna try to justify myself. All I can say is that I'm sorry! I hope you readers can stay patient and bare with me. v.v;;

I am so upset with FF.net and that quickfix thing. They keep messing up my stars asteroids and faces. Damnit! [shakes fist]

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Her eyes were glued to the sky, and she half wished that her feet were glued to the ground so that she couldn't get any closer to seeing him. The walk to school was accompanied by a brisk wind and a slight chill that rode along with the air. The sun beat down harshly through a few scattered clouds that were poised against the light blue sky.

Kagome wondered what it would look like if the clouds were orange instead of white. It would look so much more vibrant, considering the fact that they were complimentary colours.

Hah, that was probably the only thing she learned in art that year.

'Sort of pathetic...' She thought to herself lightly.

But what did she expect?

She was pathetic.

Her eyes drew closed firmly, and she turned another familiar corner. Her stomach was doing strange flip-flops, while butterflies decided they wanted to make a home there. Her heart beat furiously against all the other feelings flustering within her, and Kagome found herself taking in violently deep breaths.

"Calm down Kagome..." She breathed to herself lightly.

She felt a light breeze ring through the strands of her hair and the high peaks of her school slowly appear in her view. Almost instinctively, her body tensed and that proverbial ache returned within her chest. Kagome's eyebrows drew together as she clutched the fabric of her uniform with her shaky fingers.

The pain was sharp, and it circled her heart. It felt so strong that it was as if her heart was drinking the kisses of that pain's essence from the shadows it created. Oh great...now she was becoming a poet.

Kagome's legs began to feel hard and numb, as if they were asleep. Each step echoed in her head, the now seemingly brick like material her shoes were made out of making contact with the cemented sidewalk. A swirl of feelings began to combine themselves within her, sending a wave of queasiness to ripple through her.

She staggered towards a sturdy looking tree and pressed the right side of her body against it. Her shoulder punctured against it, the bark of the tree brushing with the white cloth and leaving its marks apparent. Kagome breathed in and out rigorously, forcing herself to feel a bit dizzy.

Was she really affected by seeing Inuyasha this much?

The side of her head added to the pile of pain as it thumped rapidly. A pale hand was pushed against it in efforts to wish it away, but it was no use. She only felt worse and worse.

What was he doing to her?!

Even though she didn't love him anymore, he could still affect her this way, which was ridiculous...

Maybe there was a chance that she still did love him? She felt the same way as she did around Ryu, only a bazillion times worse. Her head felt light, her legs wobbly and shaky, screw that...her whole body felt like an unbearable version of multiple hells. Tears ringed around the corner of her eyes, and she drank from the sobs of her pain as her lower lip trembled.

Love made her feel so helpless...

No, no, no, no, NO! She was NOT in love with that idiotic jerk. He had just hurt her, and seeing him again was like making several identical wounds in her body and grinding salt into them with a dagger.

Yes...that's all it was.

Turning her full body towards the tree, she lightly pushed her hands against it and almost winced in pain as a few strands of the bark roughly brushed against her bare palm. The teenaged girl began to take in collective breaths, succeeding in calming herself down.

"It's going to be okay..." She chimed to herself.

Turning back around, she leaned against the tree for more support and hid behind the lush leaves that protected her from the beating sun. Cool winds blew themselves at her, forcing Kagome to press her eyes closed and take in everything. She felt a little better, but the pain in her heart still felt crisp...

A sudden pair of footsteps caught her attention, and they sounded like they were getting closer. She listened to the sounds of leaves being crushed around her, so she kept her eyes closed and waited for the person to pass by her so she could get back to thinking.

The footsteps did stop a little while later, but she could still feel the presence of someone around her. The wind blew harshly again and blew her hair over her face, almost trying to hide the face of this stranger. Soon, everything began to play in slow motion in Kagome's mind.

Her eyelids separated and through the dark strands of her hair, she saw white...

No...

Her tresses covered his form for a few seconds but she could still see him clearly. His expression was lifeless, and his arms dangled at his sides. His white hair swayed against the wind and momentarily covered his face, but he brushed it away so that he could see her clearer.

No...

Without realizing it, her knees began to shake and she wanted to fall to the ground, standing up was becoming too much for her. Her heart craved attention while it beat painfully in her chest. She continued to stare at him, taking in every detail of his face. The way his eyes glazed over with the colour of sad and the way his body ached with the lack of her.

How she could perceive such things with mere glances of him was beyond her, but she could tell. Kagome mentally told him to keep his ground, because she didn't know if she could handle talking to him. The tears sprinkled at the corners of her eyes, and her eyebrows began to furrow, but she wouldn't cry...

No...

Kagome watched as his foot stumbled and he began to walk closer to her, and she instinctively went numb, but attempted to push herself back and further against the tree, if that was possible.

Inuyasha didn't stop though, his footsteps crushed the earth under him, and he found his way closer and closer towards her before he stood a little distance away from her. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, and he seemed helpless to do otherwise with her. Their eyes locked and seemed stuck in place, because neither looked away, nor could they...

The silence lingered between them until Inuyasha thought that he should open his mouth and utter her voice while it was being strangled with his love.

"Kagome..." It was a slight whisper, and he seemed relieved to say it to her face. Even his voice ached for her presence, it sounded so tired and defeated. It seemed lonely, and not because he was...but because the sound of his voice didn't reach her ears and ring in it with delight.

But at the same time, it was that single name that brought her back to her senses, and she tore the gaze to shreds.

"Go away Inuyasha..." She tried to make her voice seem loud and cruel, but it only came out small and questionable, and giving him more reason to not believe her wish. She really wasn't good at this convincing this, at least not with him. His eyes could see right through her, and the scary part about it was...she almost wanted him to. She wanted him to see all the pain she had gone through for someone that her heart didn't even use its function on.

"How have you been?" He asked quietly after a little time had passed by, evidently ignoring her previous command.

"Fantastic." She answered in a tone that reeked of sarcasm.

"Sorry..." He told her, causing her to flinch inwardly.

"I bet you are." Kagome answered with a venomous tone before she leaped off the tree and began to walk away. Her legs still felt wobbly, but if she could just force herself to move, then she wouldn't have to deal with talking to him, this would work!

"Kagome, wait!" Her plan was mutilated as she felt his hand tighten on her arm and swing her around to face him.

"Let go of me!!" She resisted, but he was too strong for her, even if he wasn't holding her with very much strength.

"No, listen to me. We have to talk." He said sternly, trying to dodge her hands that were flying dangerously close to his face. Not to mention the very long nails that she possessed...

"We have nothing to talk about!" Kagome yelled back at him, using all the power she had in her to get free.

"Yes we do." He answered back calmly, noting the fact that she was getting weary and her attempts to get free were nothing more than mere movements.

"We don't!" She pressed further, suddenly feeling the adrenaline rush through her again. "I don't want to talk to you!" Kagome's voice was sharp, and she watched his expression carefully to see if those words would hurt him at all. A part of her prayed it wouldn't.

"Well that's too bad...! Because I told you that...I'd always be here, whether you wanted me to be...or not." Inuyasha stated, having to pause a few times because she was trying to free herself again. He had to place his hands over both of her arms to keep her from tearing one of his eyes out, or scratching his ears.

Kagome seemed to still suddenly and her gaze dropped almost violently from his eyes. Her hair swayed around in front of her eyes and they danced to the sighs of the wind.

What had he said wrong?

He loosened his grip on her and allowed her to wobble a little before regaining her balance.

"Kag..."

"That's funny," She cut him off. "Because you weren't there when I wanted you the least."

"What?"

Ok...now he was confused.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore." She said forcefully, as if having to chew on the words before she spoke them.

He stepped forward and brought her closer to him in an embrace. His voice was at a whisper, because he didn't want to upset her again.

"It does matter..."

She leaned against him for a moment, breathing in his touch while fingering his clothes with her unsure fingers. She could tell he was doing the same as his grip remained loose. He was being careful with her, just like a porcelain doll. And yet...she couldn't explain what that was doing to her.

At that moment, she felt so many different feelings. She felt loved, safe even, in his arms.

Her heart ached with pain, and even a sense of longing. Kagome didn't want to leave his side; she didn't want to live in a world without him. And yet, she wasn't sure if she could live with him.

Her eyes were watering, because he was hurting her, with his words, with his presence too. Yet, at the same time, she felt a strange sensation from the pain.

She was nervous. She was afraid of what would transpire between them if this carried on. Would she lose him forever?

Kagome was angry. Her insides burned with what he did to her, and she couldn't forget it. And most of all, she couldn't stand all of it.

Her hands pushed against him, and she muttered something lightly, but he didn't catch it, mostly because he was trying to come to grips with the fact that she had let him hold her for more than two seconds.

"Sorry?" He asked.

She sighed sadly, "It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done, we can't change the past. We can just...move on, without each other..."

Her voice was distant again, leaving plenty of room for doubt.

"But we love eachoth..."

"I don't love you!" She spat at him, feeling as though she had reminded him enough times.

"Yes you do!" He challenged.

"No I don't!"

"If you didn't, then you wouldn't be so hurt over this." He said calmly, forcing the rage within her to rise again.

He just had to get cocky about it...

"Getting stabbed in the back hurts no matter who does it, you jerk!" Her hands had found a comfortable spot on the sides of her hips. Definitely a force of habit...

"I didn't stab you in the back." Inuyasha told her.

"Oh no? Then what would you call it?" She questioned him harshly. "Tell me Inuyasha, what did you do?"

"I..."

He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward and suddenly losing his will to yell back the first answer that popped into his head. His gaze had fallen loosely from hers and he watched intently as her arms fell off her hips and swayed at her sides, once in a while beating against her hips.

Finally, his eyes rose higher and he met hers squarely, before parting his lips for a few seconds.

"I made the worst mistake of my life..."

His voice was sad, and she knew he made it that way on purpose, but her heart couldn't help but ache as her features faltered.

"That's what I did Kagome. I messed my life up when I was a little kid, and I have to suffer for it now. I didn't even know what I was getting into, I can't change the past, and I guess that's my fault."

Oh great...now she was starting to feel sorry for him when she should have been mad.

'Damn all these girly feelings!' She cursed mentally.

Inuyasha was watching her carefully with his golden eyes and waited for an answer. His look was almost intimidating, but at the same time patient. It made her feel obliged to answer in the next three seconds.

3

2

1

"It may not be your fault completely..." She started wearily, not completely sure of what she was going to say next.

Hope seemed to shimmer in his eyes and she continued to talk, and this sent a wave of happiness to flood her. However, he waited patiently for the but...

"But, you still did it, and in the process, you hurt some people." Kagome continued, making it up as she went along.

"I hurt you..." He injected.

She gave him a short nod, getting that sympathetic feeling again. But now that she gave it more thought...he didn't really mean to hurt her, and he was only a kid when he made the deal with Mikaru and Kimaru...but she just didn't know if she could give him another chance at the risk of being hurt again...

"Kagome, listen to me." His tender hand reached under her chin and raised it higher so that she couldn't look away from him.

"I love you..." The words washed over her like a fresh blanket of rain, calming her senses.

"I know I hurt you, and you know that I'm so sorry for that. Like I said before, I can't change the past, but now that I think about it, I don't know if I would, even if it was possible."

This sparked her attention, forcing her to break out of her dreamy state and eye him carefully.

"If I never got mixed up with Mikaru and Kimaru, I probably never would have met you. I never would have fallen in love with you, and that, Kagome...would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Well, at least one of them." He gave her a crooked smile that she took in with ease.

"But I..."

"I know, you don't want to be hurt again, nor do you want to take that chance of getting hurt, but that's what life is all about. You can't stay locked up in your house all day hoping that nothing harmful will come your way because then you'd just be wasting your life."

"Inuyasha..." She sighed.

"Kagome, please...I can't live without you. And I know that you feel the same way. Despite what you say, I know that you love me just as much as I love you."

"I don..."

"Stop! Look, you can keep telling me that, but I won't buy it. You wouldn't be affected so much by me if you didn't love me. Why would you care about making me happy if you didn't care about me?"

"I never said I care about making you happy." She answered rather snippy, but he only smirked.

"You didn't have to."

"Well, maybe I'm just a nice person."

"Maybe you're just a nice person who's too afraid to admit she loves me and actually let me make her happy."

She knew he was right in her heart, but...

"Why would I be afraid of that?"

"If you're not, why won't you admit it, and let me do that?"

"Because..."

"Because why Kagome?"

"Just because!" She yelled at him, making him stagger back and lose the grip he held on her. Once she was free, she fell to the ground and slumped against the tree.

Inuyasha followed suit beside her, about to say something again when she spoke rather suddenly.

"Why are you so sure I love you?" She asked him, although he had already explained it before.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you remember back when I had to fight Mikaru and Kimaru?"

"Yeah..."

"Well even after you found out about what I had done, you still risked your own life to protect me from them when I was down. You don't just do that for anyone you care about, especially if they had done what I did. It was because of you that I was able to fight them; you bought me enough time and made it a fair fight. I never would've expected you to do that for me...it was then that I knew you loved me. And I know you still do Kagome. You have that same look in your eyes when you look at me as I do when I stare endlessly at you."

"But I'm not so sure..."

"Look inside you then. Listen to your heart."

"Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?"

"Just do it..."

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to think. Think about everything she and Inuyasha had been through, all the good times and the bad. She thought about everything he had done for her when he was her friend, how he had tried to get her together with Ryu, even though it was actually just a plot to get her to the two evil brothers.

She thought about when he fought for her with Ryu, and how he accidentally punched her. The way he always seemed to look so guilty whenever they were alone. He really did feel bad about lying to her like that. But he still didn't tell her about anything, maybe this all could've been avoided that way? Did he actually think she could bring his parents back?

Her mind traveled to the night that she had learned everything. All about his past, and his plans, everything he intended on doing. Her heart literally broke, and it was just a little while after she came to grips with the fact that he was the man she loved, not Ryu. But after hearing what Mikaru and Kimaru had told her, all of her feelings began to swirl around in her. But she guessed that was normal.

How was she supposed to act?

Kagome did fight for him, because she couldn't just let him die, not after he was throwing his life on the line just to protect her. Besides, it wasn't a fair fight, two on one. Her eyebrows drew together, but was that the only reason? She didn't know...something just sparked inside of her to help him, and to stop Mikaru and Kimaru from causing him anymore pain. She supposed that was love...after all, Inuyasha did.

Even today, all these emotions that stirred within her, what else could it be but love? Could anger really make you feel all these ways? Maybe she should go seek some professional help, yea...no. She could figure this out; it wasn't that hard after all. She could do this.

Did she love Inuyasha?

Or did she fall out of love with him?

Man...where was an 8 ball when you needed one?

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AN: You just don't get any eviler than that. Just a few more chapters, hurray!