Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine.

Chapter 3: As Time Goes By

And she laughed, and she sang, and she spun happily in his arms. Her head fell backwards, a grin plastered on her face. Her hands reached his and suddenly they were intertwined perfectly; just meant to be.

His mouth descended upon hers, and the world was more than wonderful for the both of them. She wondered if he could be more perfect, if he could love her even more. Maybe he could, maybe not, but for now, that was enough.

He was with her; he wanted to be with her… forever.

And she laughed again as soon as his mouth moved away from hers, and began muttering praises of her.

And he laughed, joined her in her merriment, in her joy.

And he loved her like – once upon a time – someone else could not.

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Anger enveloped him as he walked in the crowded streets. His hands formed firm fists, his lips a thin line.

He had been such a jerk; he was such a jerk.

He didn't care about the woman he had just hit, or the man he had pushed while trying to move forward… He didn't care about anything, nothing all, except for the recent news that had reached his ears.

Oh, how much he loathed himself.

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He was at the park, waiting for his long time friend. He had requested to meet with her; he needed to talk about a lot of things, about the past, but especially, about what he had left behind long time ago.

She arrived punctually, as usual. That was one of her best qualities. For the last ten years he had known her, she had never been late.

She smiled at him and sat next to him.

"So how was work, Sango?" He asked following the traditional rules to start a conversation with a friend. Always show concern, ask him or her about his or her day, the family, school, whatever. Just show that you damn care.

"It was okay, Inuyasha," she looked at him and then sighed loudly. "So, why am I here?" She asked him curiously. Inuyasha was not an 'Oh, I think tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day. Let's have a picnic' kind of man. Definitely, something was going on, and knowing him, a favor would be asked any time soon.

"I-I wanted to ask you how Kagome is." He said rather nervously, "I haven't seen her since… since the day we broke up."

Sango sighed again and ran a hand through her long hair.

"Well, that's quite a long time, eh? Almost… how much, four years?"

"Yes, almost four years."

"And how come you just remember her now?" An eyebrow arched upwards on Sango's face.

"Well…" Inuyasha felt ashamed. How could he tell her that during all this time, he had been thinking only about her? That he had confused love with infatuation? How could he tell her that he had filed for the divorce with Kikyou one year right after their wedding because he could not forget about Kagome?

There was a long silence, then, it broke with striking words.

"She is fine… She's about to get married in one month." Sango spoke clearly.

Inuyasha's eyes twitched and he felt his heart broke.

'Moron, moron. You are a moron!' He shouted in his head.

The sun was setting down and the night would come soon. Darkness would surround them and everyone would wait for the sun to come out again, to begin a new day.

The only problem was… he could not have a new day. Darkness had consumed him.

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"I saw him today. He asked me about you." Her friend said as she was peeling the potatoes with great agility.

"Who?" She asked curiously, her head slightly turned as she looked at her friend behind her shoulder.

"Inuyasha."

That simple name made her heart stop a beat, and from one moment to the other, she felt very uncomfortable in the room.

"It has been a while, right?" Her friend asked, "Since you've seen him."

"Yes… A while." She murmured. In the last couple of years, she had learned how to be happy without him, how to live without thinking of him. Her friends still visited him occasionally, but for her, he had disappeared from earth… until now.

"Are you going to invite him to the wedding?"

"I suppose," She sighed, "He didn't invite me to his, but I won't be like him."

"Tell me, Kagome, and be honest. Do you still have feelings for him?"

That was it. Finally, the million dollars question.

Kagome looked at Sango with thoughtful eyes before answering.

"You know, I haven't thought about him for the longest time ever. Right now, I'm happy with Sesshoumaru. He's the perfect man in my own standards, and I could not ask for more."

"And that means that…" Sango interrupted her.

"I love Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha is part of my past."

Kagome then moved towards the oven. "I think that the cake is ready." She said ignoring Sango's stare.

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One more chapter to go. -