Indecision

Chapter Eight: Confrontation

Disclaimer: I didn't create Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kilala, ANYONE in this fic, for that matter (damn!)!!

0000000000000000000

Kagome tossed and turned uneasily, the dream replaying once again. It was only recently that her dream had become clearer, revealing Naraku, whom was watching the pursuit from the dark shadows. The wicked grin on his face, and the pain of betrayal from the man she cared so deeply for was what now awoke her in a cold sweat. She shot up, wide awake. This was becoming a nightly ritual, or, so it seemed, but Kagome was sick of it. As she tried to slow her breathing, a single tear streamed down her cheek. She asked herself the same question once more; the question she quietly asked herself every night: " Why?"

Inuyasha had seen her wake up. " It's now or never!" he thought to himself, jumping down to the ground.

Kagome heard him land, despite how quiet he had been. Startled, she turned around quickly, and stared at him, dumb-founded.

" I-Inuyasha?" she asked weakly. " You're...awake?"

He walked over to her, and sat down next to her. " Kagome," he said softly, " I want to know what's wrong."

She gasped, taken aback. " What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to be innocent.

" I've been awake every night, Kagome." he replied. " I've seen you, tossing and turning. I've seen you wake up late at night, like you just did. I've even-seen you cry..." He had to stop for a moment, another human emotion was coming into play, and he needed to pause to regain composure.

Kagome noticed he was struggling with something. " Is he....really worried about me this time?" she thought to herself, feeling as if it was all another dream.

" Kagome..." he said quietly, " I'm...worried about you....why can't you sleep?"

Now, her eyes grew wide. " He's worried about me?!" she thought, " This is getting really weird!" " I..." she started, but then she paused. " I'm fine, Inuyasha," she finished weakly, " It's nothing..."

" Forget holding back!" he thought angrily at himself. " There's no time!" Now, he grabbed her hands, and looked her right in the eyes. " I know it's nothing!" he insisted, " Quit lying, Kagome!"

Kagome felt tears forming, and she looked down at the ground. " But....I can't tell you what it is....I'm sorry, Inuyasha." she said sadly, trying to hold the tears back a little while longer.

" Kagome!" he said again, almost begging. He pulled her into him, and put his arms around her. Now, Kagome felt extremely awkward, but she also prayed she wasn't dreaming.

" Please, let this be real!" she hoped silently.

He tried again. " Kagome," he said, " I remember you once told me that you wanted me to tell you when something was wrong, because that's what friends do. How can you ask me to do something like that, when you can't even do the same thing? You have to tell me, Kagome!" His arms held her tighter now, and she closed her eyes, taking in the warmth of the embrace.

" Tell him..." a small voice screamed inside her. " There's no way he can say no!"

" I've been having...a really horrible nightmare..." she said weakly, giving in. " In the dream, we're sitting outside, staring at the stars, and suddenly..." She paused. " I can't tell him...yet..." she thought. Taking a deep breath, she continued. " Suddenly, we're attacked, and..." She stopped, unable to continue; unable to hold back her tears any longer. She managed to control most of them, but a few slid down her face nonetheless.

Once again, Inuyasha could smell the salt, and he could feel the tears dampening his clothing. So, he held her even tighter, and started stroking her hair. It was like a beautiful dream, and Kagome decided she never wanted to wake up.

" I'm sorry..." she whispered, closing her eyes.

" What am I feeling?" the hanyou thought, confusing himself to avoid what was becoming clearer and clearer with each passing day now-that he cared more about Kagome than he did Kikyo.

000000000000000

In the morning, Kagome had a rude awakening: even as the day went on, Inuyasha treated her the way he always did. He showed no sign of compassion, no change, nothing; it was almost as if the night before had really been a dream. As the day drew to an end, she had still seen no change in him, and it made her sad.

" Could I really have been dreaming?" she thought, gazing ahead at the man leading the group; his long, silver hair that seemed to glow in the evening light, his ears just barely peaking out. When he looked around, she caught a glimps of his thoughtful, golden eyes, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, the compassion and concern he had shown for her before was still hidden there, somewhere. She prayed for it; she wished that, maybe, she would see him look at her that way again.

Inuyasha glanced quickly at the girl, noticing that her eyes had been boring a hole in his back. He almost said something, but a hidden force held him back this time, and he looked away, both confused and embarrassed. " What the hell's the matter with you?!" he thought angrily, " You're acting weird!" He shook off the confusion and embarrassment, and continued walking. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. Everyone else stopped.

" What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

" I can sense something..." he said, looking around.

" What? What is it?" Sango asked.

Kagome looked around as well, but she didn't know what she was looking for. Suddenly, she saw a serpent fly past her. She gasped.

" Look!" she cried. " You idiot!" she cried at herself, " Now Inuyasha is going to realize that-"

Kagome didn't even get to finish her thought. " Soul snatchers!" he exclaimed, drawing the Tetusaiga from it's sheath. He started running. " Kikyo....are you nearby?" he thought. For the first time, though, even he realized that it took him a moment to switch his thoughts over from Kagome to Kikyo. " Kagome..." he thought. Suddenly, he realized what was going on. " What the hell?!?!" he thought. " Quit it already!"

0000000000

Kagome stood silently for a moment, watching him run after the soul snatcher. She felt weak again, and sad. " Thank god I didn't tell him the whole truth last night..." she thought. " It wouldn't have done any good, anyway! Besides, it's not like he would've professed his love to me or anything...Ah?! What am I saying?!?! Inuyasha would NEVER do anything like THAT!" She blushed furiously. " Oh, why did I even think that, anyway?" Groaning, she ran right after him.

Sango and Miroku stared at each other momentarily.

" Did I...miss something?" Sango asked.

" I think we both did." Miroku replied.

" Hey, don't forget I'm here!" Shippo exclaimed, jumping up and down. Kilala mewed in agreement.

" Right." Sango said, looking ahead. " Let's hurry!"

The group followed the path, not too far behind.

00000000000

Inuyasha ran though the woods, thinking to himself, " Kikyo...I've got to find you!" He knew how he was feeling; he knew that something had changed, but he didn't care. He would fight this as best he could; he would convince himself that he really loved Kikyo. As he continued to run, Kagome's scent grew weaker, and Kikyo's began to cloud it.

" Hn...they say absence makes the heart grow fonder..." he thought, " Let's see if they were right!" Inuyasha smirked at the thought. " Almost there!" he exclaimed, picking up the pace.

000000000

Kagome had lost sight of Inuyasha a while ago, and she felt out of breath now. But, she refused to stop running.

" I've got to find out what Kikyo's going to do to him!" she thought, trying her best not to tire out. As she ran, she could hear the others pursuing her as well, but she didn't want to stop and wait for them. " They aren't too far behind," she thought. " Besides, if we really need their help, they won't take to long to arrive!" Her eyes grew slightly misty at the thought of needing help.

" We won't need help..."she thought sadly, " At least, Inuyasha won't. He wants to find Kikyo! Even if he....held me like he did...ooh, I need to forget about that! He probably wasn't feeling well or something! He wasn't in his right mind, or..." She sighed. " I wish he did mean it; I wish he did really care about me..." She spoke quietly, almost as if she was afraid someone else would hear. Snapping out of her deep thoughts, however, she soon realized she had stopped running. That was when she looked up, and realized she didn't have much further to go.

" Ah!" she cried, " I've got to hurry!" With that, she ran faster than she ever had run before.

Up ahead, she noticed the trees were clearing away slowly. She knew she had to be close. Sure enough, she came to a clearing, and Inuyasha and Kikyo were standing in the middle of it.

00000000000000000000000

Author's Note: Whoa, we're cutting it here! I want to thank all of my loyal readers, and anyone else that I don't know of that's enjoying the fic! Keep on readin' now! ;) Trin