Indecision

Chapter Eleven: Inuyasha's Near Confession

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story.

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Inuyasha arrived on the other side of the well; in Kagome's time. Sighing, he thought to himself about what he had to do. " I know what she said last night was a dream," he thought. " But, is it true anyway? Why would she dream about it if it wasn't true?"

Opening the door, he stepped out of the shrine, and started to walk to the house. It was a beautiful, sunny day, almost as nice as it had been in his time. But, times had changed; the air wasn't as clear, the morning sounds were disrupted by sounds of the city, and a lot of the trees that he saw every day on the horizon were replaced with tall buildings and skyscrapers. He sighed sadly as he saw this. " How can anyone possibly love this? Everything's been destroyed; it's almost a wasteland..." Trying his best to concentrate, Inuyasha walked around the house to the spot where Kagome's room was. Leaping into the tree by her window, he looked inside to see Kagome sleeping on her bed. He guessed she was still exhausted; she hadn't even crawled under the covers, or gotten changed. Opening the window, he let himself in, and sat down next to her, crossing his legs. Watching her sleep made him smile slightly. She looked peaceful, unlike the other nights.

" Maybe her nightmares went away..." he assumed. " Maybe she only has them when she's with us."

He was soon to be proven wrong; she suddenly clutched the covers tightly. A small, cracked voice said, " Don't die....please..."

Brushing the hair off of her forehead, Inuyasha asked quietly, " Who's going to die?"

Kagome's breathing became quick and shallow, and tears began to roll down her face onto the blankets. " Inuyasha...." she said, turning her head toward him. " Please....don't die!"

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Kagome had just gotten back home. As she climbed out of the well, she suddenly felt an urge to let herself drop back down it.

" I can't go back now!" she thought. " I just came back! Besides, what good would it do if I went back? Inuyasha is with Kikyo again; that's all he wants!" But, the feeling grew stronger. With a sigh, she let herself drop back down the well.

When she arrived in the Warring Era, she looked around.

" Something isn't right..." she said quietly to herself, her attention suddenly drawn to the forrest. She walked into it, trying to figure out what this bad feeling was. The deeper into the forest she got, the worse the feeling got, until she finally realized what it was.

" Oh, no!" she cried, thinking to herself, " Inuyasha's gravely injured!!!"

She began to run now, trying to find where he was. " I hope I'm not too late!" she cried.

She ran further and further until, suddenly, she came to a clearing. What she saw there made her heart stop.

Inuyasha clutched his chest weakly, lying on the ground. Naraku, whom had obviously fought the hanyou, and won, smirked as he faded into the shadows.

" You are too late," he said, " The jewel shards are mine, and the hanyou will soon be dead."

Kagome gasped, running into the clearing to the bleeding man. She held up his head, and looked into his eyes, pained.

" Inuyasha!" she cried, " Inuyasha! Can you hear me?!"

His eyes were glazing over, but he was still able to recognize the girl holding him. He smiled faintly. " Kagome," he said weakly, " I thought I wouldn't ever see you again..."

" I'm here, Inuyasha!" she said, a single tear running down her cheek. She smiled slightly. " How badly are you hurt? Can you move at all?"

" It's too late, Kagome." he replied, and she tried to shut the words out.

" Don't say that!' she said weakly, trying to sound light-hearted. " We just need to get you back to Lady Kaede, and-"

" Kagome," he said quietly. " I have to tell you something...before I die..."

Kagome shook her head, another tear following the previous one. " You're not going to die!" she insisted.

" Kagome..." he said again, but his voice was steadily growing weaker. Kagome barely heard.

" What is it?" she asked softly.

" I have to tell you....that..." He was fading faster than he could speak, and his eyes began to close.

" No!" she cried out. "Don't die, please!" She held him closer, and she put her forehead against his. " Inuyasha!" she whimpered, shaking as she cried over his now cold body. " Please don't die..."

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Kagome was shaking even now. True, the nightmare was different, but in a way, it was much worse than any of the nightmares she had ever experienced before. Her grip was tight, but not tight enough.

Inuyasha couldn't stand watching her this way; it was painful to even think of. He gently loosened the grip she had on the covers, and then lifted her into his lap. Putting his arms around her gently, he looked down at the frightened girl, whom had quickly adjusted, and began gripping his Yukata tightly. He brushed the hair out of her eyes again, but he could not look away from her. He once had thought that was because she looked like Kikyo; now, he knew the reason he was able to keep chasing Kikyo, to even come close to her was because it was she that looked like Kagome. He placed his hand on her cheek, and let it rest there.

" Kagome..." he said quietly, hoping it wouldn't wake her up yet. " I'm not going to die, Kagome. Not if you're with me. But, I need you with me..."

Kagome's dream had ended, and she was waking up, but she felt warm, strong arms around her. Recognizing the feeling, she kept her eyes shut, afraid that her love would let her go if she woke up. " I thought I didn't care anymore!" she thought. " I thought that's why I left! Wait....I left because I did care...I was too hurt to stay and see him happy without me...so I left him...what have I done?!"

Inuyasha held her a bit closer, and closed his eyes, unaware that she was now awake. " I need you, Kagome...." he said again. " I can't do anything without you....I thought you knew that. I wish you had....Kagome..."

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, and looked at him longingly. He was so close to her, she was in his arms, and he held her closer and closer by the minute. If only she could get him to do these things when he knew she was awake; if only he would say the words she wanted to hear.

Suddenly, there was a noise heard from downstairs. Inuyasha pulled away slightly, caught off guard, and he could now see a newly awakened Kagome. She smiled up at him, despite her disappointment.

" Inuyasha!" she said quietly, " I didn't think you'd come to get me."

" Wha?" he asked, confused. This wasn't like Kagome, at least, that's what he thought.

Sitting up, she pulled her hair behind her shoulders. " I'm ready to go back with you now." she said.

" You mean...I didn't even tell her the truth...and she wants back??" He sniffed the air. " Hn. It's about time you woke up, anyway." he replied, standing up.

She grinned. " He's back to his old self...but at least now I can still hope for the best..." Getting up, she followed him back to the well, and returned to the Warring Era.

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When they had returned, the air seemed cold, and the sun was now hiding behind cloud cover. Inuyasha helped Kagome out of the well.

" Something is wrong..." he thought, sniffing the air for any hints. " It's supposed to be morning! But, the way things look here, time passed quickly, and it's almost night time! What's going on?"

" Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed. " Are Sango and the others nearby?"

He sniffed the air again. " No," he replied, " I can't pick up their scent at all!"

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise come from the woods. Kagome stepped back.

" What was that?!" she whimpered.

" Don't be afraid, Kagome!" Inuyasha insisted, " I'll protect you. Now, come on!" He started to run into the woods.

Kagome took a moment to catch on, and she soon began to follow him. " What's going on?" she thought. " Where is everyone?"

As they ran, she began to have a strange feeling in her stomach, like she had been here before. " Quit worrying!" she told herself,

" We're in the woods right by the well! It should seem familiar!" But, when she lost sight of Inuyasha, she began to worry. She quickened her pace, and kept running ahead, unsure of what she might stumble upon.

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" We're almost there," Inuyasha thought, " I'll be able to identify this scent as soon as I get a little closer..." " Hang in there a little longer, Kagome!" he shouted behind himself, " We're almost there! I can smell it!" But, there was no reply. He stopped running, and turned to see Kagome was no longer behind him. " Dammit!" he cursed himself. " I let her fall behind!"

Suddenly, a cool voice behind him said, " Why do you worry about her, Inuyasha?"

Turning around yet again, he came face to face with Kikyo. He froze; looking at her made him think of what might have happened to Kagome. " Where are you?!" he thought.

Kikyo stared at him icilly, realizing that she did not have his undivided attention. " Has she blinded your eyes and your heart to me?" She stepped closer to him. " Tell me!"

" I don't have time for this!" Inuyasha said, trying to turn away, but Kikyo's piercing stare kept his feet frozen to the ground.

" I'm afraid I can't let you leave, Inuyasha." she said, " My love forbids it."

Inuyasha growled. " Don't tell me that you still care about me." he said, " If that's it, then forget about it! I'm sick of playing your games!"

" It isn't you, Inuyasha." she replied, and that seemed to hurt the hanyou, even just slightly.

" It's...not?!" he said, shocked.

" No..." she replied, caressing his face with her cold hand. " I may have cared about you when I was alive, but my love has made me realize that it wasn't real. My love for you was never real. Of course..." she added, looking away slightly. " If this is true, then it could be said that my reincarnation isn't truly in love with you, either."

" No!" Inuyasha cried, " That's not true! Kagome may be your reincarnation, but she isn't like you!"

" How do you know this?" Kikyo asked angrily. " Did she tell you that she loves you?"

" I heard her say the words!" he replied.

" But did she say them to you knowingly?" she asked.

Inuyasha paused. " I don't have to listen to you!" he shouted, trying to lift his feet off of the ground. He was frozen in place.

" You know I am right, Inuyasha..." Kikyo said, stepping back slightly. " And, now, I will introduce you to my love, whom is going to make good use of you."

Inuyasha looked behind the priestess to see a man coming out of the shadows. When the man was revealed, Inuyasha struggled to break free, but it was too late.

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Kagome kept running until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look, and saw Inuyasha sitting on the ground. She ran over to him, grateful that he had waited for her.

" Inuyasha!" she said happily. " Why did you stop? It isn't like you to do something like that..."

Inuyasha hung his head in silence.

Kagome put her hands on her hips. " Come on now!" she said, " We've got to find the others! Inuyasha!"

Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist. She stopped, and smiled slightly. " What is it?" she asked gently.

Inuyasha remained silent for a moment. Then, he looked up at her. When he did, everything came to her at once.

The woods she was standing in now.

The weird feeling she had while she was running.

Familiarity.

Red, glowing eyes that were unusual for the silver haired guardian.

" Oh no...." Kagome thought sadly, gasping as Inuyasha's eyes looked up at her wickedly, now bright red instead of the beautiful gold they usually reflected.

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Author's Note: This is so much fun! Wanna thank my reviewers for the last chapter!

Firestorm2004: Thankies for the praise! I'm glad you're enoying the fic; please keep reading!

Inuyashasonly1: Definitely! He'll tell her soon, I promise.

LittleLetty: 8 laughs 8 Thanks, I think :-P I wanted to jump into the lovey dovey junk really badly about a few chapter ago (think first few) but upon further reflection, the stroy wouldn't go too far if they already knew about each other's feelings openly, so...glad ya love it, though!

misery: I know, I know it's Kirara, but I'm american. Sue me. 8 laughs 8 Don't worry about sounding rude, though, there has to be critique around here somewhere! Thanks for the pointer; if I wasn't almost done with the story, I might have actually changed the names over! Keep on reading, you and everyone else! TTFN!!! Trin