Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha and company nor "Broken" by Seether ft. Amy Lee.

Author's Note: Wow, you readers out there are awesome!! *blushes* I never thought my lil ol' story would get such a positive response!! I really am touched, you guys are great!! I usually don't post again this soon, but you all just flattered me so much that I couldn't resist. (hint: flattery gets you everywhere…)

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~ ~ Chapter 2 ~ ~

~ ~ I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away ~ ~

[Inuyasha's pov]

Inuyasha stared at the well as Kagome stared at him; he was steadfastly refusing to look at her. If I look at her I might fall victim to that pleading look in her eyes. Shippou clung to her hand, begging her not to go, and Miroku was comforting a weeping Sango.

"Kagome, please don't leave me here with Inuyasha," Shippou pleaded. "I hate him, he's mean. I don't want him to make you go away!"

Kagome didn't reply. All she did was raise her eyes to Inuyasha's face, searching for a sign, any sign, that he wasn't going to make her leave. Her search, however, was in vain.

Shippou had come to see Kagome as a mother, and Kagome and Sango had become as close as sisters; it would be hard for both of them to not have her around. I can't let that interfere with my decision.

A very frustrated Inuyasha yanked Shippou away from Kagome and tossed him to the ground.

"Let go of her, you little runt," he snapped. "We're leaving the bitch so we can get back to finding the jewel shards!"

Sango, her eyes flashing angrily, picked Shippou up and cradled him to her chest as if to shelter him from Inuyasha's wrath. Denied the pleasure of tormenting Shippou in order to vent his feelings, Inuyasha rounded on Kagome. She's such a safe and easy target.

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for, wench?" he shouted at her. "Get lost, we don't want you here. You slowed us down before, and you're still doing it!"

Kagome's eyes flickered with anger, but she showed no sign of responding in any way. The flash was gone as soon as it had come, and it was replaced by wounded look that almost brought Inuyasha to his knees. Please Kagome, show me something, anything. All I want is a sign that you're going to be all right. The old Kagome would have 'sat' me at least half a dozen times for being a jackass, but not you. The new Kagome doesn't show me anything anymore. It's all my fault that you changed.

[Miroku's point of view]

"Come on everyone, let's give them some time alone to say their good-byes in peace," Miroku said softly.

I've got to keep Shippou and Sango from having to see Kagome's pain any longer. If I can't save Kagome from this suffering, at least I can save the others from it. Please Inuyasha, don't do this. Use this time to apologize and make things right between you two.

But even as he wished for it, Miroku knew that Inuyasha would never back down. He never has, and he never will. And, with one glance at the satisfied smirk on Kikyou's face, Miroku knew why.

[Sango's pov]

Sango saw Kikyou's smirk as well. I want to go up to her and smack that grin right off her face!!! But Sango knew that that would serve no purpose, except to anger Inuyasha further. Damn! I still need Inuyasha to help me defeat Naraku. But after that, I swear on my parents' graves that I will never be that bastard hanyou's friend again. How could I, after he's caused Kagome-chan so much pain?

Kagome, I wish I could protect you, but it's up to you now. You must learn to protect yourself, I suppose.

Sango felt the tears begin to slide down her face once more. I'll never see my little sister again. This is the second sibling I've lost…

[Inuyasha's pov]

I'm so glad Kagome isn't crying, cause that would make this so much harder. It's hard enough as it is.

As Inuyasha stared at Kagome, he felt his heart soften. "Kagome, you have to go home now," he said more kindly. "You'll be happier there, without all this fighting and suffering. You belong in your own time."

"If that's truly the way you feel, Inuyasha, then I'll go home," Kagome said softly. "I just need to you to answer one question for me: did you really mean it when you said you didn't need me anymore?"

Oh, Kagome.

"Yes." Inuyasha replied coldly. "Yes, I did."

Kagome choked back a sob. "Okay." She set her backpack on the ground and turned her back on Inuyasha. When she turned around again, she held the vial containing the fragments of the Shikon Jewel in her hand. Inuyasha held his hand out, and she handed the vial over to him. He snatched it away from her quickly, carefully avoiding making any physical contact with her.

She smiled sadly at him. Kagome, I wish I could save you from this pain, but I can't. Trust me, this is for your own good. I can't protect you forever, and this is the first step in learning to survive on your own. I wish I could keep you safe from harm, and spare you all pain… I wish I didn't have to hurt you like this.

Inuyasha hardened his eyes and glared at Kagome. She withered under his cruel stare, and turned away slowly. She walked to the well, and swung her leg over the side. All of a sudden she turned her gaze on Inuyasha again, and her intense eyes burned into him.

"Goodbye Inuyasha," she whispered.

Before he could reply Kagome was gone. Goodbye Kagome. I wish I could take your hurt away, but I know you'll be better off.

Sango came running up to Inuyasha, and found him staring into the empty well. Kagome was nowhere in sight.

"She's gone, isn't she?" she asked fearfully.

Inuyasha turned around and scowled at the taijiya. "Yea, she is, and we have to go, so don't start crying again."

"Inuyasha, how could you let her go? I didn't even get to say goodbye…" Sango shrieked as she sank to her knees.

Shippou leapt on top of Inuyasha's head and started gnawing on his ear while screaming, "How could you do this, Inuyasha? You're such a jerk! How could you let Kagome leave like that? What's wrong with you, Inuyasha? I hate you!"

Inuyasha's eye began to twitch, and he grabbed Shippou and yanked him off his head. "I did it for her own good!" he shouted. "She's going to be better off this way. This is what's best for her!"

Sango eyed him coldly. "You've never known what's best for Kagome, Inuyasha, and you never will."

[Miroku's pov]

Miroku took Sango by the arm and led her away, a sobbing Shippou following closely behind. Sango began ranting as soon as Inuyasha was out of hearing range.

"I will never trust that jerk again! He's lucky I don't kill him, take the jewel shards, and hunt down Naraku alone!" she hollered.

"I don't think Inuyasha has even realized the full implications of his actions," Miroku said calmly. "He has no idea how much he has hurt Kagome, or all of us, through his betrayal." Inuyasha, one day you will see the truth, and I'm afraid it will shock you. Once you understand what you have caused here today, I doubt you will ever be able to face yourself again.

"Well, I for one refuse to speak to him after our quest is over. Once Naraku is dead and the Shikon Jewel is pure, I will leave and never look upon that idiot hanyou and his dead mate again," Sango vowed. "You can either come with me, Miroku, or stay with him."

"Sango, what's going to happen to me?" Shippou whimpered. "Kagome was going to be my new Momma. Now I'm all alone."

Sango's face softened, and when she spoke, her voice was gentle. "Oh Shippou, of course you can come with me," she said quietly. But her voice changed. "I would never leave you here with that bastard!"

Sango's icy voice sent shivers down Miroku's spine. "Sango, can't you understand that Inuyasha is being manipulated by Kikyou?" Miroku tried to explain. "He is confused, he truly does love Kagome, and he cares for all of us. He just can't see it."

"Did you ever think that maybe he doesn't?" Sango asked bitterly. "All he can see now is that clay woman. She blinds him, Miroku, and turns him against us. As long as she is the most important person in his life, Inuyasha is not a person we can consider our friend."

Miroku was stunned by the power of Sango's words, and by the forcefulness with which she spoke them. Perhaps she is right. We cannot trust Inuyasha while he is blinded by his love for Kikyou. Is Inuyasha even our friend anymore?

Miroku didn't know.

[Inuyasha's pov]

Now I've lost all my friends too. What am I going to do?

But at that moment, Kikyou came up and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He was comforted by her warmth and her closeness, and for a few moments he felt like everything he had done, and all he pain he had caused, was worthwhile.

"I love you Kikyou," Inuyasha said.

She didn't reply. Inuyasha started to get uncomfortable. I denied everything for her. Doesn't she love me? Did I give everything up for nothing?

"I love you too," she said softly. Inuyasha was comforted by the words. Everything I did, I did for you Kikyou.

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Responses: (yay!) OMG, I love you guys so much!! I was stunned when I got 16 reviews for the first chapter!! *sniffle* You guys are the best reviewers any author could ever ask for!!!!

Kittie9078654: Well, I'm not sure if this is going to be a Kagome/Naraku fic or not… I've never written one of those before. Hmmm. But don't worry, I plan on getting back at Inu and the bitch in one way or another… muah ha ha ha ha!!! Thanks for reviewing!!

Arima1: Shhhhh don't tell anyone about my psycho killing job. But yes, it does get in the way of my writing time. *sigh* There just aren't enough hours in the day to write fanfics and kill people. What's a murderer/authoress to do?! J/K, thanks for reading this one too, I'm glad you liked it!

tessie-fanfic: Thanks for the review! Here's another chapter, as you requested!

WinterBlossom/Yuki*Sakura: Thanks for the review! Your wish is my command…

Ristos: Happy endings are in the eyes of the beholders (or in this case, readers). Yes, there's going to be a happy ending if you like Kagome, but not if you like Inuyasha and Kikyou. I can't say much more without giving everything away though. Thanks for reviewing!

Kashiaga: Yay a familiar reviewer!! haha don't worry, Kikyou won't be winning for long. I'm not a huge Kikyou fan, so I'll make sure she isn't too happy by the end of the story. Trust me!! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

ShortPoet: Another familiar reviewer, you guys are awesome! Kagome's broken heart will mend in time, so don't worry. I'm sooooo sorry it's been so long since I updated Story of Rin. I'm just extremely stuck, and I don't know how to get myself unstuck. I want to post what I have written, but it's crappy and I'm afraid of flames!! I'll try my best to un-stick myself and post chapter 11 soon. Thanks for being patient with me!

Pinayazngrl: I know, he is blind, isn't he?? As for what's going to happen to Kagome, I guess you'll just have to keep reading!! *wink* Thanks for the review!

Angel of the Black Moon: Ooh I love your pen name, it's pretty cool! Here's another chapter, just cause you were so nice about asking!! Thanks for reviewing!

Inu-Aisuru: I'm not giving away any pairings yet, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out! I'm glad you liked my story… it's a little angsty, but I find that drama is easier to write than comedy. For me, anyway. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Prissy: Thanks for the review! I hope you like where I'm going to take the story, and I hope you keep reading!!

Dante Gemini: Thanks for reviewing! I live to serve, so here's another update!!!! I promise to read and review your stories as soon as I get the chance. Ugh, finals…

Rachael: I'm so glad that you liked this story!! I was really surprised at the positive reaction it got, so I'm hoping that everyone continues to like what they read. Thanks for reviewing!

swimchick1614: Yes, Kikyou is still dead, but her and Inuyasha have still gotten back together. (ew) I don't like Kikyou much either, so don't worry, she won't win!! I'm not telling pairings yet though, cause I love surprises! (ah, cliffies… such suspense!) Thanks for the review!

Ultima: *blushes* Thanks! I'm really glad that you think my story is great! Thank you so much for the review!

Shiranai Yukino: Aww, please don't cry. It's a sad story now, but I promise it'll be all right in the end. But a warning: it's going to get worse before it gets better… No, it's not a one-shot. Hmmm, I just might kill Kikyou off, that's a good idea! Thanks!