Chapter 2: The Humility of Telling the Truth

Disclaimer: I will never own InuYasha; otherwise I wouldn't be doing this fanfic.

A/N: Here's a LITTLE bit of fluff, so I'm being that nice to you. Smiles evilly

Kagome sat frozen on her rock, trying to find a way out of her situation. InuYasha was far away, probably with Shippo and the others, sleeping and dreaming happily. She could always call for help, but maybe Kikyo would immediately shoot her dead, then escape into the woods. Running was the best idea she had, but her body was totally stoned. Her legs would not cooperate.

"So, you're feeling the way I feel when I shot InuYasha?" her rival asked in a cold voice, amused. "It's your time to go; I can't have you wandering around getting in the way of my master plan."

"But you know that InuYasha has chosen you over me," Kagome argued. Maybe talking would stall Kikyo for a while, but the conversation couldn't go on forever. "I can't compete against you. You know that, don't you? He said it himself."

Flashback:

"What do you mean: You're going to defeat Naraku on your own?" InuYasha pulled Kikyo into a tight hug and Kagome's heart tightened painfully. "I'm the only one you have!"

"I'm sorry Kagome. I can't ask you back because my soul can't rest when Kikyo followed me in death. I have to protect her."

End of Flashback

Even while thinking this, Kagome's stomach lurched. The priestess was dead, and that was what spurred InuYasha to choose her over Kagome. A tear escaped down her cheek.

"Well, since you like to mourn over the past, I will keep you from your miseries once I put you to death. And, don't you know what's going on in that cur's heart?" Kikyo drew the string even farther, and Kagome began to panic.

InuYasha, please come! Kagome found the strength to stand up, but her body froze again. There the two mikos stood, the wind blowing through their hair...

Where InuYasha Is

"Damn this forest! Why did the path Kagome take to where she is right now; why does it have to be so darn long?" InuYasha practically shouted, flying this way and that through the trees as he followed Kagome's scent. He knew Kikyo was out to kill Kagome, but he wouldn't let her. Kagome was close by, he knew, but she could be dead by now. He had to be there.

Finally he came to a clearing. There he saw Kagome, frozen, and a bow which was strung. He couldn't see the owner of the bow, but he was sure that it was Kikyo. The two mikos hadn't seen him, so he quickly ducked behind a tree to watch.

"Kagome, don't make me laugh," Kikyo smirked. "You're trying to stall me, but in the end you'll be dead, as will be 'your' InuYasha when I find him." In the moonlight InuYasha could see Kagome shiver. She was clearly cold.

Kagome's P.O.V

What do I do now? I awfully scared, and my body just won't work! Wait...if I could just gather the strength to lift up my arms and reveal my body odour to Kikyo...I'm sweating, and this time, that's good.

Nobody's P.O.V.

InuYasha held his breath, waiting for Kagome's response. In amazement and confusion she struggled to lift both her arms. She was making slow but sure progress, but how would raising her arms help?

"Fine, fine, I give up," Kagome suddenly wrenched her arms up in a police-caught-robber manner. "Just kill me; I've got too much to be going on with. InuYasha loves you, and I guess I just want him to be happy."

No! Kagome, you idiot! I came here because I love you and I was all worked up about your safety! It took the entire dog demon's strength to restrain himself from revealing himself.

Kikyo smiled in the shadows as she took proper aim. Here was her chance. Here she could kill her reincarnation and be over and done with it. There would be no more teens to get in her way, and InuYasha would be hers.

Finally InuYasha could take it no longer. "No! Kikyo! Don't shoot her!" He darted across the clearing and broke the dead miko's arrow in half.

"Inu...?!" Kikyo whispered, her eyes widening. I thought you'd...loved me enough to actually come with me to Hell?"

"No, I never wanted to go to Hell," InuYasha stared right into Kikyo's eyes. All he wanted to do now was to send this clay person to Hell.

Suddenly, he fell over with a gust of wind. There was Naraku's smell again, and a growl started in his throat. Kikyo had evidently smelt it as well, and she ran off, yelling, "Curse you, you little brat!"

The clearing was silent. Kagome, her strength all used, finally fainted, falling down on the ground on top of InuYasha. The pair would have a big shock when they came to.

When the Others Wake Up

Sango shook Shippo and Miroku up. It was hard to not cry.

"Kagome and InuYasha have disappeared!" she exclaimed, and sobbed.

"Don't worry about them, Lady Sango," Miroku said calmly. Shippo simply stared at them with great curiosity. "I suppose InuYasha and Kagome are safe.

In the Clearing

InuYasha woke up to find Naraku's smell lurking around again and to find a still unconscious Kagome on top of him. "Wench!" he screamed, pushing the girl off him.

Kagome finally came to. Her underarms were really beginning to smell. She'd have to go back to the present and fetch her deo.

"Hey InuYasha," she smiled, and her pearly white teeth showed through. "I think I've got to go back to my own home. Entrance exams, as you might already know."

All she received was a half-hearted grunt, but that was much better than the hanyou trying to pull her back to Kaede's hut. "So, I'll see you in a while, then." She started off, but was suddenly pulled back into a hug.

"First of all, I want to know what that Naraku smell is," the dog demon hung onto her, not daring to let go for fear that she'd run off and not tell him."

"I can't, InuYasha. It's private," Kagome pleaded. "And, it'll also take a lot of coaxing to get me to tell you."

"Alright, then I'll give you the coaxing you want," InuYasha kissed her.

Kagome couldn't think of anything to say. As his soft lips met hers, she suddenly found that she wanted to stay there forever and ever. She suddenly felt something disgustingly (laughs out loud) wet licking her lips, asking for permission to enter. She reluctantly opened her mouth, but in her heart she was eager to continue.

Finally InuYasha broke away. "Now will you tell?" he asked, grinning.

"Well, I-"

"Oh, come on, get ON with it!" InuYasha exclaimed, rude again. "I was all worried about you, not coming back and all."

"Sit, you stupid jerk! I am going to find my way home-ALONE!" with that, Kagome stomped off the scene, fuming.

Ha, way to go, Evil InuYasha taunted. You made her furious. I bet she won't even look you in the eye by tomorrow. Just so you don't feel the pain, just kill her off.

"You think that just killing her will make me feel better?" InuYasha shouted aloud, making a few animal passers-by give him an odd look. "You'd better shut up and leave me alone."

Finally, upon reaching the tiny hut that was like his home, he lifted the flap, betting a million yen that Kagome wouldn't be there. Surprise of all surprises, she WAS there, sleeping peacefully. Her face was scarily scrunched up in pain, and she kept twisting and turning. The hanyou was about to go to her when he suddenly decided against it. He would wait for that stupid reincarnation to cool down. Sitting in his favourite corner, he got into his famous sitting style and fell asleep.

Kagome's Dream

It was a cloudy day, so everyone was staying at Kaede's for one more day. Everything was unusual. Miroku was sitting in InuYasha's favourite tree, and he was a hanyou. Sango was begging Kagome for candy, just as Shippo would In the meantime, InuYasha and Kikyo were together. For once, Kagome didn't mind. Suddenly, as the two embraced, Kikyo turned into Naraku and killed InuYasha off. And all the time, Kagome had just stood there, screaming...

In Reality

"Wake up, Kagome! Are you all right?" Wha...? That voice sounded awfully familiar. It sounded exactly like InuYasha's...

"What? How can you talk? I thought I saw Kikyo turn into Naraku and kill you," Kagome was still half-asleep, so the dream still had her in its clutches. It was hard to sound scared when it was InuYasha was talking...

"What? You can't even recognise me? What kind of person are you, to dream that I was killed? I'd never be murdered by Naraku!" InuYasha's voice sounded angry. Just thinking of Naraku made him retch.

Finally Kagome came to. She looked up at Kaede's ceiling, sighing at the relief of having just found out her past reality was just a nightmare. But the hanyou she loved had a scary tone of voice, and seeing him so angry made her slap him in fear. The dog demon, taken aback by this, was caught off guard for once.

His face suddenly turned from peach to red faster than a set of traffic lights. "What'd you do that for? Is that how you treat a guy who just saved you from a nightmare? Cut out of it!"

"Huh?" Kagome was wide awake this time, and she saw her own handprint on InuYasha's face. Laughing, she said, "So sorry about that. But we've got better things to think about, like packing. We're leaving Kaede's today."

"Ho hum. You're late at packing as usual," InuYasha sounded bored. As usual, he didn't have anything to pack. He always had his Tetsusaiga in its scabbard, and in the hanyou's opinion, that was called packing.

"Oh, if you've got nothing to do, you can always help me pack for the journey," Kagome chirped, forgetting momentarily about what had happened last night. She raised her arms to stretch, and InuYasha immediately rushed out of the hut.

Now that raising arms thing has a lot of power, the unfortunate dog demon thought. I wonder if it's got anything to do with Kagome's strange behaviour.

With the others

"Did you notice that Kagome's been acting strangely?" Miroku asked, propping his staff up and sitting down. "She's been keeping her arms stuck to her sides all day. Right, Shippo?"

"Yeah, I know, you're right," grumbled Shippo. The little kitsune was not a morning person, as it was 5:00a.m right then.

Sango kept quiet. Kagome had made her swear not to tell anybody. That was a promise she would keep well; she didn't want to lose her tight bond. Of course, Miroku and Shippo were looking at her, expecting her to say something.

"Lady Sango, is something wrong?" Miroku asked. "You seem awfully quiet today. You usually give your opinion on everything. I say this is the work of the devil (A/N: the expression, you silly geese!)."

"No, it's nothing, but shouldn't you pack? You're only halfway done," Sango replied, eager to change the subject.

Miroku looked at his messy piles of clothing, then at the sun, before shrieking and telling Shippo to help him pack.

When Leaving

"Bye, Kaede-sama!" Kagome waved. "We'll see you sometime soon, I hope."

The group turned around to face the new path they were taking, one that InuYasha had found 'particularly strange'. Shippo was wide awake now, but grudgingly; the mischievous dog demon had splashed cold water all over him.

"Ho hum, will you guys hurry up?" snapped InuYasha, for Kagome had used the magic word on him for playing his little prank with Shippo. So he was in a terrible mood, naturally.

"Coming, InuYasha!" Kagome ran over to join InuYasha and co, who were already starting off.

Naraku's Castle

Kikyo, I will kill you when I get the chance, Naraku thought, touching the Shikon jewel for comfort. Then Onigumo will desire you no more.

The evil demon then called over his freedom-craving servant Kagura, who came with Kanna, the emotionless girl.

"What, Naraku?" Kagura asked. "You need me to do something else?" In Kagura's mind she gritted her teeth and growled silently at the man she loathed. She had never met anyone so mean and ambitious as her master.

Naraku, luckily, didn't see Kagura clench her fist in pure hate. "Of course I need you, or else I would never call you," Naraku did not meet the woman's eyes. "Kanna, please go. Your younger sister and I need to have a talk."

With InuYasha and co.

The sun was setting, and the group had set up camp. Sango and Kagome had gone to a nearby spring, therefore leaving the men and Kirara behind. Shippou, being the peacemaker, was trying, like Miroku, to make InuYasha admit that he cared for Kagome.

"Oh, stop it, you idiot," InuYasha snorted, whacking the little Kitsune on the head. "You know I don't care for that wench."

"Then why do you manage to tolerate her?" the little fox demon teased, despite his dangerous position. "That usually means you care for her."

"Feh," the hanyou sat on the ground and lowered his eyes. Perhaps a little nap would save him from the constant nagging of his friends. Every time Kagome wasn't around, the others would always turn him into a bad guy or interrogate him. Now what kind of friend it that?

With Kagome and Sango

"Kagome, tell me, what is your relationship with InuYasha now?" Sango asked, helping herself to Kagome's shampoo supply.

"Well...I'm not really ready to tell you. When I'm ready, I'll inform you, I promise," Kagome replied, blushing when she remembered her untruthful first kiss. But it was so good...

"Oh, alright then," Sango said, disappointed that her friend was feeling this way. "Let's head back to camp, then."

When Everyone's Fast Asleep

InuYasha lay awake, looking up at the stars. Kagome was the last to fall asleep only a few minutes ago, but he couldn't get comfortable with Kikyo's stench still infecting his sharp nose. How could she still be here? InuYasha wanted to investigate, but he couldn't leave everyone else unguarded.

Finally, he got up and darted into the woods, careful not to wake anyone up. UInfortunately, he didn't hear Kagome waking up as he was about to disappear.

Kagome had truly woken up, as she had only pretended to fall asleep. Hearing InuYasha getting up, she had slitted her eyes and watched him disappear. Now all she had to do was try and track him down, see where he was going.

InuYasha's POV

I can't let Kagome die...I have to protect her. Kikyo is already dead, and I guess that going to the Underworld herself is better than being killed by Naraku. I myself will see her go back to where she belongs. It's time for you to rest in peace, Kikyo.

The only problem was, WHAT would Kikyo do when she heard this 'particularly heartbreaking' news?

A/N: Ha ha, cliffhanger again! Oh how I love to torture my readers! Please review!