Here Without You

Chapter Five

I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time."

-Three Doors Down

Gentle flakes of snow fell from a grey sky, settling on the forest below. The trees now stood decorated with the icy substance, their lush, green leaves hidden until spring would reveal itself.

Inuyasha sat next to a stream, his head resting gently on his knees. He snorted, letting out a visible puff of breath into the cold air around him. One of his inu ears twitched slightly as a flake of snow hit it, sending a chill through his body.

With all of the snow and preparations for wintertime, the hanyou and company had hardly noticed another month creep by. October had finally given way to November, and Inuyasha was left with only his memories.

A small smile graced the hanyou's lips. Stupid wench, taking that himono to her world… His smile widened into a full-fledged grin as he remembered the last youkai that they had been required to fight: a giant fish youkai, flopping on top of Kagome's school like a fish out of water.

Inuyasha sighed lightly, a smile still upon his face. He remembered how he had been forced to wander around Kagome's world while she had also been forced into her friends' culture festival projects. He remembered her singing in the chorus; the way she had sung so beautifully and smiled so sweetly at him. In all of their running around, he had somehow forgotten to tell her how beautiful her voice truly was…

And now, it seemed that he had forgotten so many things. He had forgotten to tell her what an amazing person she was, had forgotten to say how Kikyo could never compare. He had forgotten to say thank you all of those times when she had helped him, had forgotten to tell her what he felt before she left…

A deep growl rose in Inuyasha's throat. That was it. He was done with it all. He gritted his teeth and rose from his position next to the frozen creek, turning quickly and darting towards the well. He ran quickly over the frozen turf, his face set and determined. He wouldn't keep forgetting; he would do what he knew he had to do.

---

Kagome stretched her arms high above her head, sighing in contentment. God, she loved weekends.

The girl smiled gently to herself, admiring the beautiful scenery that decorated Central Park. A chilling, fall wind swept through the wooded park, and Kagome pulled the hood of her NYU sweatshirt over her head. The wind continued to blow against Kagome's face, but she just smiled.

After all, she would choose a windy walk through the park over school any day.

Kagome stretched again, striding to a bench and plopping down. She let her eyes fall closed, a small puff of breath escaping her lips in a peaceful sigh.

"Hi there."

Kagome's eyes opened at the sound of the familiar voice. She lifted her gaze to stare at a boy in front of her, a smug grin on his face.

The girl smiled by means of hello. "Hey, Ricky."

Ricky grinned and sat down next to Kagome, the space between them on the bench almost nonexistent. "Almost didn't recognize you with that hood on."

Kagome quirked a smile. "That was kind of the idea," she said honestly. "It's nice to have a day to yourself, you know?"

Ricky nodded, never wiping that smile off of his face. "Totally."

And yet he didn't budge.

"So, are you going to the Thanksgiving party at my frat next week?" he asked, inconspicuously changing the subject.

Kagome shrugged. "I don't think so," she said softly, pulling her hood back. She ran a pale hand through her raven hair. "I normally go with Piper, but since she's going home for the holidays, I think I'll just stay home."

Ricky nodded, though he seemed genuinely disappointed. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to spending it with you."

Kagome nodded, blowing out a puff of air that ruffled her bangs. Hadn't Ricky gotten the clue that she wasn't interested in him?

"So, you wanna do something sometime?"

Obviously not.

Kagome raised her eyebrows for a moment, but quickly stood, ignoring Ricky's question. "Oh, look at the time!" Kagome then remembered that she wasn't wearing a watch. "I should be getting back. Piper and I were going to do some holiday shopping before she left. I still need to get my brother a Statue of Liberty Lighter!" Kagome forced a loopy smile. "Well, see you later!"

Kagome turned on her heel and began to skip away with feigned happiness. She rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. Dumb ass.

---

"Mrs. Higurashi?"

Inuyasha padded cautiously into the house, his ears titled forward in anticipation of a reply.

"Mrs. Higurashi?" he called again.

"Oi, Inu-onichan!" Inuyasha turned to see a boy of about twelve come trotting down the staircase. He smiled at the hanyou, giving a small wave of hello. "She's gone; went grocery shopping or something. And I think Grandpa's out doing… stuff…" He shrugged.

"Oh." Inuyasha dropped his head in disappointment.

"What did you need?"

"Ano… I…" Inuyasha's cheeks flushed to a light shade of pink. Now that he was about to actually say it, his idea did seem sort of stupid. The hanyou snorted. What do you mean 'sort of'? Inuyasha swallowed hard. "I wanted to talk to your mother about Kagome."

"What about Kagome?" Souta raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Ano…" Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head, his ears flattening. "I wanted to talk about visiting her."

Souta raised his eyebrows even more. "You want to visit sis in New York?" he asked with a bemused expression.

Inuyasha's blush deepened. "Hai…"

Souta's brow furrowed; he rubbed an imaginary goatee at his chin. "Well, we should probably run over some things." He grabbed Inuyasha's arm and led him into the kitchen, pulling him down to sit at the small table.

And thus the plotting began.

Inuyasha had never known how complex Kagome's world could be. Well, he had an idea, but not true knowledge. But, now, he knew of the world beyond Kagome's life and experiences; the world of fake I.D.'s (whatever those were), airplanes, and much, much more.

"What's a terrorist?"

"Just a dude with a bunch of weapons and stuff that tries to kill people and freak them out. Don't worry; you don't need to know about that. Anyway-"

Inuyasha tuned out as Souta continued to chat happily about automobiles and skyscrapers, and whatnot. Would that make Sesshoumaru a terrorist? And Naraku, too?

"Inuyasha, are you listening?"

No, not really. "You lost me at D-D-R."

"Oh, well DDR is this great game. You dance and these flashy lights come up, and, and…" At the look of utter confusion on Inuyasha's face, Souta cut himself short. "This isn't helping, is it?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

Souta sighed. "Well, I guess that I should leave most of it to mom," he said. "Though you had better figure out what to do with your sword. Either that or leave it here."

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed as his hands fell to clutch his beloved Tessaiga protectively. "I'll figure something out."

Souta nodded and pulled a box labeled 'Pocky' out of his pocket. He gave Inuyasha a questioning look. "Want some?" he asked, pulling two small sticks out of the box.

Inuyasha tilted his head, his ears pressed forward curiously. "What is it?"

Souta raised an amused eyebrow, smiling. "Pocky." Inuyasha gave him a blank stare. "Pocky equals food." Souta handed one of the sticks to Inuyasha, giving an exasperated sigh. "Jeez, Inuyasha, how can sis put up with you all of the time?"

Inuyasha growled slightly, biting off the dark end of the stick. If you knew about how many times I've saved her ass, you'd know.

Before either of them had realized it, an hour had crept by, leaving both of the boys sitting at the kitchen table with an empty box of pocky. And, as far as Inuyasha was concerned, it was the next best thing since Ramen.

"Do you have anymore?"

"Inuyasha, that's the fifth time you've asked. NO." Souta dropped his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands.

Inuyasha pouted in his disappointment, glancing at the clock in the corner of the room. The short line had moved to the next number. Did that mean that he had been there for a long time…? "Shouldn't your mother be home soon?" Inuyasha finally asked.

Souta sighed, rolling his eyes. "She should have been home an hour ago." He smirked. "Women always take at least an hour or two more than expected when shopping."

Inuyasha snorted, and as if on cue, Kagome's mother walked in.

"Souta, I'm home!" she called sweetly, walking into the kitchen. Her gaze instantly fell on Inuyasha. She smiled brightly at the hanyou.

"Why, Inuyasha, what a pleasant surprise!" she said, absolutely beaming. "We haven't gotten a visit from you for quite a while!"

"Uhh… hai…" Inuyasha said, once again made uncomfortable by Mrs. Higurashi's kindness. "Mrs. Higurashi, I wanted to ask you something…"

"Oh? What's that?"

"He wants to visit Kagome in New York City!" Souta blurted happily. Inuyasha shot the boy a glare that seemed to say 'Oh, thanks a lot.' Souta stared back, his eyes beaming innocently. "Well, you do."

Mrs. Higurashi's eyes widened, but she smiled warmly at the hanyou. "Oh, Inuyasha, that's a very kind gesture," she said, "but, I don't know…" Upon seeing the disappointed look on Inuyasha's face, along with the adorably sad wilt of his ears, she quickly added, "But I'm sure we can work something out."

Inuyasha glanced up, smiling brightly. "Really?"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled, sitting down with the boys at the table. "Hai!"

Souta leaned over the table eagerly. "What did you have in mind?"

Mrs. Higurashi tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Hmm… I'm not quite sure." Both of the boys gave her a deadpan stare. "One of my friends was going to go to New York for America's Thanksgiving. I might be able to work it out so Inuyasha goes with her…"

Inuyasha grinned. "Arigato, Mrs. Higurashi!" he said happily.

And then the plan went into motion.

"I can get the fake I.D. of him," Souta chimed in while they plotted. "I just need a picture of him."

"Oh, that's great- Wait. How do you know how to get fake I.D.'s?" Mrs. Higurashi stared crossly at her son.

"Umm…" The boy stared sheepishly at his mother. "School?"

Mrs. Higurashi gave a roll of her eyes and a wry smile. "Well, I guess it's okay for this…"

Inuyasha watched the display, a small smile growing on his face. In less than a week, he'd be with Kagome. He'd be able to see her, talk to her, touch her… see her. The hanyou grinned at the thought.

"Mrs. Higurashi?" the hanyou asked softly. The woman stopped in her scolding Souta of his ability to forge, and glanced at Inuyasha.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she asked softly.

"Can I call Kagome?" he asked shyly, blushing gently.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled. "Sure, sweetie. The number's on the table."

---

A loud ringing tone cut through the silence of the small room, alerting both parties to its presence.

"You know, for once I'd like to have a full morning's sleep!" Piper declared angrily, covering her head with a pillow.

Kagome rolled onto her stomach and reached for the phone on the bedside table. After a full night of shopping and eating with Piper, she couldn't say that she was exactly thrilled about being woken at five on a Sunday morning either.

"Hello?" came her sleepy voice as she pulled herself up in bed.

"Kagome?"

"Hi, Inuyasha." Kagome smiled gently, her annoyance at being woken up evaporating.

However, she couldn't say the same for her friend.

"Do you have a fucking problem with calling during the day?!" she shouted at Inuyasha from across the room.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

Kagome smirked and rose, heading for the door. "A banshee."

"Yeah, screw you, too," Piper called after her.

Kagome grinned, closing the door gently behind her. "How are you, Inuyasha?"

"Fine," he said. "Umm… how are you?"

Kagome lifted an eyebrow. Was Inuyasha being… considerate? "I'm good, too, Inuyasha. A little tired, but good."

"Good." There was silence on the other end, and Kagome heard the voice of her younger brother in the background. "Okay, okay!" Inuyasha yelled at the boy.

Kagome smiled. "What did he want?"

"He wants to know if you got his Statue of Liberty lighter, whatever the hell that is."

Kagome smirked. "Tell him he'll have to wait for Christmas to find out."

"What the hell is that?"

"Just tell him."

Inuyasha growled. "You'll have to wait for Christimas," she heard him say to her younger brother. "He says 'you suck.'"

"Tell him that I say 'No, you suck.'"

"Wait, I suck?"

"No, he does."

"Souta does?"

"Yes, tell him that I say 'No, you suck.'"

"But, doesn't he suck?"

"Oh, forget it." Kagome rolled her eyes, but a small smile crawled across her lips.

"Umm, Kagome?"

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"I miss you."

Kagome smiled, feeling butterflies rise in her chest. Though he had hinted numerous times, this was the first time he had actually said the words 'I miss you.'

Kagome smiled sadly, feeling giddy all of a sudden. "I miss you, too, Inuyasha."

The two stayed on the phone for at least another hour, Inuyasha proving to be one of the only guys that Kagome had ever met that had the ability to maintain a conversation. And, once they had hung up, some time around six-thirty, Kagome found herself blushing.

The girl sat outside of her dorm room for a moment, just smiling to herself, the butterflies still tickling the inside of her chest.

---

Author's notes: Review! ::flexes fingers:: ...please?