AN: Hello all! I don't really have much to say except ENJOY AND HAPPY READING!

Sesshomaruinluv: You didn't get your stories mixed up, it's just that I pulled a very weird move. The girl that was in Kagome's dream was Kikyo, but not the Kikyo that's a clay doll. Rather it was the part of Kagome and Kikyo's soul that is the miko powers. The clay doll only has only a part of the soul, the part that is trying to kill all my favorite characters, sadly.

coyotesabre: Oh, I'm glad I have a loyal fan; I love those kind. I'm a loyal fan of your works too. Yay!

The One above All: Thanks for the compliment, Inuyasha definitely needs to evaluate his priorities; at least in my story I get to make him.

Eartha: Thank you for your review. I'm sorry if it gets a bit slow sometimes, I'll try to keep that it mind and work on it.

Disclaimer: We live in a materialistic world where anything can be bought for a price; one of these days I'm going to have the right amount of money and Inuyasha will be mine. I love this world!

Love Isn't Just a Memory

Chapter Twenty-Five: Long Awaited

By: Nimerin

Inuyasha had relinquished his grasp on Kagome's arm and was now walking slightly ahead of her so that they could find someplace quiet to talk. Eventually, he came to a stop in front of the Goshinboku and seated himself at the base. He really wanted to leap into the branches of the tree and just sit there thinking, but he had already gone through all of the trouble of dragging Kagome out here might as well get it over with. Kagome walked up to the tree and rested a hand over the rough bark, a small smile coming to her lips as one of the images from her memories came back to her. Inuyasha watched the way her beautiful lips curled into a contented smile and couldn't start his own unbidden smile from arising.

She sighed slightly and sat primly down next to him, "So why did you bring me all the way out here? Are you going to tell me about this Kikyo person?"

The smile that had adorned his lips moments before faded as he grunted, "Hai. So you only remember that feeling you get when you hear her name right?" Kagome only nodded in response so he continued, "Well, what is that you think you might be afraid of losing?" He honestly wanted to know the answer, it was confusing him; he had a slight hope that maybe it would be him, but why would she want a hanyou like him?

Kagome shrugged and looked at her hands that were folded in her lap. Inuyasha deeply inhaled and prepared himself for the much unwanted conversation. "Well, Kikyo wants your soul because you are her reincarnation."

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, a shocked expression apparent on her face, "What, but how is that possible? I mean, I know that I travel to the past, but how can she and I be alive at the same time?"

Inuyasha looked away, "She isn't exactly alive. She inhabits a clay body by using a peace of your soul and the souls of dead women."

"That's awful." Kagome replied softly as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Inuyasha winced at her response; he knew it was terrible for Kikyo to feed of off the dead girls souls, but he still didn't like to think of her like that. Kagome continued speaking, "It must be so terrible for her to live like that. Poor Kikyo."

Inuyasha turned and looked at her, shocked that even Kagome could be so compassionate. "You aren't upset that she is trying to steal your soul?"

Kagome frowned, "Oh no, I'm very upset about that and I don't intend to let her get away with that. I mean, I feel bad about her situation, but it isn't my fault she's like that and I don't think I should have to die because of it." She paused for a moment before continuing, "At least I don't think it is my fault, but I can't remember. What happened?"

Inuyasha shifted so that he was facing away from her so that she wouldn't see his face as he detailed the sordid history, "Kikyo was the miko who guarded the Shikon no Tama while she was alive. I went to get the Shikon from her so that I could become a full demon but I never succeeded. Instead of killing me she spared me and we ended up becoming friends. She was the first person to accept me and we ended up falling in love." Inuyasha blushed at the last sentence, and he couldn't help the feeling that what he said had been so wrong.

Kagome had been watching Inuyasha during the speech but when he muttered the last sentence she felt her gut wrench and she had to quickly look away. She almost felt like crying but valiantly fought down the lump that had formed in her throat. "So what went wrong?" was her choked response.

Inuyasha looked up at the sky, "Naraku went wrong, or should I say Onigumo?"

"Isn't Naraku the one that we have been fighting against?"

"Yeah, he's a hanyou now, but he started off as a human bandit named Onigumo. Kikyo had been taking care of him and treating his wounds. He became infatuated with her and began to lust over her and the Shikon. One day he made a deal with a bunch of demons and they devoured him making him the hanyou that he is today. He turned Kikyo and I against each other. Earlier we had made a deal that I would become human using the Shikon so no one would hunt me and I could live a normal life; if I used it for a pure wish like that then it would disappear and then Kikyo could be a normal woman. Naraku took my form and attacked Kikyo making her believe that I had betrayed her and she attacked me. So, I raided the village and stole the Shikon and Kikyo shot me with an enchanted arrow and pinned me to a tree for fifty years."

Kagome nodded and watched his face closely as she tried to take in all the information. It fitted with a lot of the images that she had but it still didn't explain how Kikyo got to be in the situation she was in. "Um...but how did she end up like she is now?"

"She died from wounds inflicted on her by Naraku when he was in my form. You showed up fifty years later and set me free from the tree. Then you shattered the Shikon when you were trying to get it back from crow youkai. We started looking for it and then some witch named Urusae stole her ashes and made a clay doll and she moved your soul into Kikyo. For awhile there she had the whole thing and was trying to kill me because she thought that I was the one that betrayed her. You took your soul back except for the little piece of hate for me that she had from when she was killed. So yeah, now she's the walking around as the undead."

"And she wants my soul for what? I mean, won't she still have a clay body even if she gets my soul?"

Inuyasha's face scrunched up as he tried to figure out her question, "I don't know; maybe it just makes it so that she doesn't have to keep collecting the souls of the dead women."

"I guess, but that still won't really make her alive; she'll be killing me but she won't be living either, I don't think that's really fair."

Inuyasha shrugged, "I don't know why, she wasn't like this when she was alive."

Kagome looked thoughtful, "Do you suppose she is acting corrupted because she only has the piece of my soul that made her hate you when she died?"

"Probably." Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably when he though of what he had to tell her next. "Um.. Kagome, I still have to tell you a few things."

Kagome looked up from her concentrated stare, "Oh, what else is there?"

"Well, since Kikyo came back, she has been trying to drag me to hell with her."

"What?" Kagome gasped, "But why would she want to do that? I thought you two loved each other."

Inuyasha blushed a bit, "She wants to be together in hell. I guess she realizes that she can't go on living forever so she wants me to be with her in hell forever."

"Iie! You can't go with her, that's just not right. If she really loved you then she wouldn't want you to suffer with her, she would want you to be happy and live." Kagome cried.

Inuyasha snapped reflexively at her comment, "What would you know about it?"

Kagome shrunk back and winced, "Gomen Inuyasha," she replied softly, "It wasn't my place." A few tears slipped down her face and Inuyasha panicked.

"Kagome, stop crying."

Kagome wiped the tears away her hand and shifted so that her back was to him and he couldn't see her face. She was trying to hide the fact that she was still crying from him, but couldn't succeed due to her exceptional sense of smell. "Aw Kagome stop crying." He pulled her into his lap and tried to make her feel better by rubbing small circles on her back and occasionally running a clawed hand through his shoulder. "I didn't mean it Kagome, gomen."

Kagome sniffed the last few tears away and looked up at him with watery doe eyes, "Honto?"

"Hai, really." Inuyasha shifted so that she was now cradled closer to his body and her head was resting on his shoulder as she peered up at him. Inuyasha couldn't deny how absolutely beautiful she looked to him at the moment and before he could even hesitate to think he leaned down and laid a soft kiss to her lips. Suddenly he realized just what it was that he was doing and jerked back, a bright blush coloring his face. "Gomen Kagome I didn't mean to do that to you. Please, don't be mad."

Kagome looked up at him, her own cheeks stained crimson, she looked dazed and confused, "Why would I be mad?"

"Because," Inuyasha's eyes were hidden by his bangs, "I kissed you and I'm just a worthless hanyou."

New tears threatened to spill over Kagome eyes as she gazed at the forlorn hanyou. She shifted her body so that she was now seated face to face with him while on his lap. "Oh Inuyasha," she softly whispered as she pulled his face up to look her in the eyes. She placed a hand on either side of his face and forced him to look at her, "I don't think that your worthless at all. It doesn't matter whether you are hanyou or not, you are a great person and I like you the way you are. I may not have all of my memories, but I do know how I feel about you." Kagome's blush became even more pronounced at this point and she looked off to the side. "Besides, I liked the kiss."

Inuyasha looked pleasantly startled, "You liked it?" He choked out.

"Hai." Kagome squeaked.

"Would you mind if I," Inuyasha stuttered and blushed, "I mean, can I kiss you again?"

It was Kagome's turn to be surprised, and she was so shocked that all she could do was nod. Their lips met once again in a short but sweet chaste kiss. When they parted, both of them sighed happily. Kagome lay her head up against Inuyasha's shoulder and closed her eyes sleepily as he shifted to hold her in a more comfortable position. After a few moments of sitting there, Kagome mumbled something before drifting off to sleep, "Inuyasha, I think I figured out what it was that I was afraid she would take." Inuyasha waited quietly for her response, the euphoria of the previous moment making him far more patient than usual. Kagome finally muttered her response, "It was you."

Inuyasha gazed down at her, a soft expression on his face; he realized by her breathing pattern that she had fallen asleep right after her last comment. He held her closer to his chest and nuzzled his nose into her hair, "Don't worry Kagome, I'm not ever going to leave you."