Disclaimer: I think about owning Inuyasha.
Okey dokey, y'all. I need to let y'all know that I tried desperately all week to get this chapter out but in between prepping for a history paper on the history of Chinese money and trade and how it has affected the world today and various issues with saving what I typed and having 500-plus words deleted somehow, it never got out. Hopefully, this will turn out okay and I won't get any monkeys thrown at me. I tried, really I did!
As a note to all of y'all who are upset that this story is not turning out as happy as y'all would like, please note the title. THINGS DON'T ALWAYS TURN OUT THAT WAY. But I am promising that the next time Kagome gets kissed, it will be for real. Is that good?
Now for my responses to y'all's reviews, you faithful crazy people…
Brekke rider of gold Wirenth: I don't' think anybody reads other people's reviews. So sorry. However, you were the only person that responded happily (i.e. no threats on my life). So here is a cookie for you!
Bazooie: ooh. All caps! Geez, you need to get off the caffeine…anyways, I've already gotten your Christmas present and I'd better be getting one from you because if I don't, then I'll just give yours to my dad. So there.
Mustard Yellow Sunshine: Um, by the way, I was thinking about your name and decided it sounded kind of nasty. But seeing as there is no sun at all at the moment, I guess I should be happy that someone has a sunny-ish name. Um, sorry I made you cry and all, but happiness will come. Eventually.
Lyerial: Yay for not one but two reviews! *hands over not one but two cookies* and hee hee; I made a story with a cliffy evil beyond all threats! That made my day! I'm also glad that you love my story (you are the first person to have said that to me) but I am confused as to why. Maybe there is reverse psychology going on or something…
Satori Blackthorn: Sorry for the confusion. I think I did mention that it would explain itself in the end. Keep reading and I'll keep writing!
Shadow Wraith: Hell, I've been feeling iffy about the story since I started it…And I thought you said you threw the voodoo doll away. Um, if you're looking for happy in the next chapter, you won't find it. These chapters sort of reflect my moods at the time of me writing them and I'm feeling kind of depressed now. But don't worry, it won't be as sad as the last one, I promise, okay?
Depressed-girl001: I really did try to get this chapter out soon. But the world is conflicting with all my grand plans at the moment. But you can be happy because it was only a week this time instead of three, so that's good, right?
And that is that.
Disclaimer #2: I don't own Vanessa Carlton or any franchises pertaining to said singer. I own her cd. I have forgotten the name, but that's okay because I didn't like it all that much anyways. Too sleepy for my taste. But anyways, I was desperate for a song that would fit the mood and dug through my cd collection for the lyrics.
And now, without further ado, here is chapter something, "Rinse".
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She'd do anything to sparkle in his eyes
She would suffer, she would fight and compromise
She been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright
For answers to questions that will haunt her tonight
~*~*~*~*~*~*
After waking up to find herself clutching her pillow and not a warm hanyou, Kagome had kicked off her blankets and set about getting dressed. She had been having dreams like this for weeks now. However, none of them compared to the one she had last night. The past dreams had teased her, with Inuyasha getting close and leaning down to kiss her but hen ending in a poof and an abrupt awakening back in the clearing with the fire burnt down to embers and Miroku's snoring. Never had they been so vivid. Lifting a hand to her lips, she could still feel his warm mouth against hers as if he had just kissed her. Looking around, she saw that her companions were still asleep, but instead of being on opposite sides of the fire, they were closer together. She could see that both of them had scooted their sleeping bags in their sleep until they were only a few feet away from each other. Why hadn't Kagome noticed that Sango was beginning to return Miroku's affections? Shrugging lightly, she returned to her own misery and started getting breakfast ready.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She must rinse
This all away
She can't hold anybody this way
She must rinse
This all away
She can't love him
This way
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sango awoke to the smell of breakfast wafting to her blankets from the fire. Kagome sat crouched next to the burning fire, staring directly at nothing in the flames. Kirara ran over from Kagome's side to where Sango lay and tugged on the blanket hem. Sango sniffed again and smelled that breakfast was beginning to get a little too crispy and, if she didn't hurry, they would be having berries from the trail again. Glancing over to where Miroku lay snoring, she wasn't surprised at all to see him five feet away, wrapped in his blankets. "Damn horny stalker," she muttered. "Mew!" said Kirara insistently, quickly glancing to the breakfast and back to Sango. "Mew!" Sango looked up to see smoke rising from the pan and jumped out of bed to save what might be left. Too late. Looking down at the charred mess, she sighed, picking up a nearby rock and chucking it at Miroku. She grabbed a basket and handed it to Kirara with the instructions to have Miroku pick some berries by any means necessary. Kirara ambled over with the basket in her teeth and nudged Miroku in the head with it. When he just mumbled and rolled over with his back to the tiny cat, Kirara sighed, much like Sango did when confronted with the exasperating monk. Standing up, she transformed and shot a burst of fire over Miroku's head, singing his hair. He jumped up, grabbed the basket and hightailed it to the forest with Kirara at his heels. Sango grinned at the sight and looked down to see Kagome's expression, but Kagome had turned her back to the rest of the group and still stared at the fire as if nothing had happened. Sango kneeled down next to Kagome, with worry on her face. Kagome had curled in on herself, with her arms wrapped around her knees. There were lined etched around her eyes and mouth and she had tears brimming in her eyes. Slowly, Kagome turned her head to Sango and pressed a handful of something in Sango's hand. "I'm going home now. Goodbye, Sango," was all Kagome said before going back to her already packed bedroll and picking up her belongings. Sango watched Kagome head off to the Boneater's Well and tears blurred her eyes as she looked down at all the Shikon shards that the group had collected.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
How she'd be soothed, how she'd be saved if he could see
She needs to be held in his arms to be freed
But everything happens for reasons that she will never understand
Till she knows that the heart of a woman will never
Be found in the arms of a man
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Miroku knew that something had gone wrong when Kirara stopped chasing him and ran back along the trail the way they had come. Dropping the half-full basket, Miroku rushed down the trail as fast as his robes would allow, preparing his kazaana in case there were a demon attack. He stopped dead in his tracks when he arrived back in the clearing. Kirara had transformed back into her tiny-cat form and was anxiously purring and rubbing her head against Sango's leg. Sango stared at a handful of shiny somethings and Miroku knew instantly that they were the shards. Tears poured down her face, a sight that bewildered Miroku. "What happened?" he questioned softly as he hurried to sit down next to Sango. Sango kept her head bent and whispered something too softly for Miroku to hear. Miroku leaned forward as Sango slowly and haltingly told him what had occurred that morning, struggling to keep the tears back. "…and now…she's gone…and I don't…think she's…going to come back…," Sango said before bowing her head again for another wave of tears. "Oh Sango," Miroku whispered before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her limp form onto his lap. She turned her face into the crook of his neck and he rested his chin on top of her head. As Miroku stroked her hair and her back comfortingly, in a surprisingly non-lecherous manner, she said, "First Inuyasha and now Kagome. Miroku, what's happened to our group? I thought everything was going so perfectly and now it's all falling apart in front of me." Turning his head in order to see her better, Miroku said sadly, "But Sango, things don't always turn out that way."
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She must rinse
This all away
She can't hold anybody this way
She must rinse
This all away
She can't love him
~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Kagome got back home, it was the middle of the afternoon. Souta was still in school, her mother had started a part-time job as a teacher's assistant, and Grandpa was probably out wandering and accusing people of being demons or something. As she dropped her massive yellow backpack in the front hall, Kagome heard it echo slightly in the deserted house. Sighing to keep back the tears, she headed into the kitchen for comfort food. Spying a bag of Oreos in the pantry, she grabbed them and took them up to her room. After changing from her school uniform into a pair of warm, fuzzy, flannel pajamas, she crawled under her thick quilt with the Oreos. She slumped down as the tears began to fall. She knew that she had done the right thing by leaving the group, but that didn't make the pain lessen any. Inuyasha wasn't coming back and Sango and Miroku were more than capable of finding the rest of the shards by themselves. She had discovered that she was now able to go back and forth between the eras without the shards, probably due to her prolonged contact with the Shikon shards. That didn't mean that she would return. Avoiding the situation would be best. Perhaps her dreams would go away now that the was back in her own time. 'But I don't want them to," she thought miserably before dropping the uneaten Oreos on the floor and pulling the quilt over her head in misery.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
And as she runs away, she fears she won't be followed
What could be worse than leaving something behind?
And as the depths of the oceans slowly become shallow
It is loneliness she finds
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Kagome announced to the rest of her family that she was going back to school. When questioned about her return, she just told them that they didn't need her anymore back in Inuyasha's time. Kagome hoped to bury herself in missed schoolwork so that she could forget a certain hanyou. Back at school, Kagome was overwhelmed by the rush and bustle. Many of her friends came to hug her and say how happy they were that she was back. Looking at their faces, Kagome only remembered the look on Sango's face when she left the clearing for the last time. Feeling faint and depressed, she went to the nurse's office and got permission to go home. School wasn't going to help Kagome forget. She didn't head home, either. Instead, she went to a nearby park and sat down on a bench. This park faced away from the city and looked out towards the suburbs. It looked almost the same way as it had 500 years ago, with the rolling hills and forest, considerably smaller but the same forest that Inuyasha had lived in then. Her eyes filled with tears and she put her head in her hands and sobbed. She didn't notice when somebody sat down on the bench next to her and looked out at the landscape, wondering what had caused the sudden tears. Looking down at the ground, she saw a pair of feet and looked up quickly. Hojo handed her a Kleenex and she took it quickly. "I saw you leave school early and I wanted to make sure you got home safely," he said, " It wouldn't do for you to tire yourself out and not have anybody to help you." Kagome smiled slightly but was still surprised that Hojo had followed her here from school. "Thank you very much for caring, but are you cutting class?" she asked, blowing her nose. "It doesn't matter, it's just civics, and I'd much rather be out her with you," he said, grinning and looking at her with his dark brown eyes. Kagome blushed and stared at Hojo, seeing him in a way that she'd never seen him before. Shaking her head to get that thought out of it, she remembered Inuyasha and the dreams she kept having. "I was wondering, Kagome," Hojo began slowly, "If you're all better now, would you like to go see a movie this Friday or something?" Kagome paused and then realized that this culd turn out to be a good idea. Kagome nodded and Hojo let out a relieved sigh. "I'll pick you up at 8, then." "All right, Hojo. Can you please walk me home now?" Kagome asked.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Okies, I know that was an odd ending but, hey, I'm in an odd mood. So I hope you enjoyed it and please keep the killer death monkeys tied up. Thank you!