AN: Thanks to all my loyal reviewers. I love you guys you boost my little ego. Sighs happily

Anyway sorry for the delay in updating had some problems with my phone line. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Just a reminder I don't own anything that has to do with Inuyasha or any series by Rumiko Takahashi or anything else that belongs to anyone else

Song Of My Soul

Part 9

The bright light of morning filled the kitchen with brilliance as she walked in. The smell of freshly made coffee greeted her. She looked around quickly to see if her estranged husband happened to be anywhere close but he was not there. When she awoke, he was gone. She didn't let it get to her. He had always been an early riser. She got a cup from the cupboard, filled it then wandered toward the back yard to see if her father-in-law was keeping up on the gardening. Since Inuyasha's mother died Rin or she would have to say something to him from time to time so the gardens didn't die off. She smiled when she saw the lovely flowers outside the french doors. To her surprise she found her husband setting at the patio table. His ears flicked her way when she opened the door.

"Hey sleepy head, it's about time you got out of bed." He teased with a chuckle at her scowl.

"Very funny." She replied cooly. "If you were so concerned about me getting up then why didn't you wake me?" She added as she sat down next to him to enjoy the fresh smell of the morning after the rain storm. He looked at her from the corner of his eye as he pretended to ignore her. She smiled and took a sip of coffee.

"If I woke you up it wouldn't have been to get out of bed." He joked. She chuckled at him.

"I see." She said with fake surprise. Then she became more serious. "I have to call my mom." She waited a minute to let him reply but he didn't say anything. "You know she will want me to stay there." She added then waited for him to blow up. To her surprise he just sat there staring at the flowers. His eyes seemed lost in thought for a long time. Finally he sighed, his eyes lowered down to the cup in front of him.

"I know but I don't want you to." He said as he looked at her hopefully.

"I thought you would say that." She suddenly found the cup in her hand interesting. There had always been times when it was hard to look in his eyes, especially when he wanted something. This was one of those times. "To be honest I want to stay at our house. Unfortunately the heat is off so I can't do that until Monday. So I have to stay somewhere." She continued running her finger around the lip of the cup in a nervous reaction. The tension flowing off him was almost too much to bare but she had to get this over with.

"Why can't you stay here?" He asked more calmly then she had expected. "I'll make some calls and see if maybe we can get the heat turned back on this weekend." He added quickly. She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Under the circumstances I don't think it would be a good idea. There are still some issues to work out." She patted his hand but he pulled it away as if she burned him. The anger he had been holding back came boiling to the surface.

"Why?" He spit out hotly. "Just give me one damn good reason." His hand slammed down on the table as he stood knocking his chair over in the process. She cringed but didn't move other wise. "What damn issues are you talking about? I thought we covered it last night but evidently I'm the only one who was paying attention. Or maybe I'm the only one who wants to work things out." He said angrily as he stomped over to the doors leading back inside. She closed her eyes fighting back the tears. A part of her heart did want to stay here but the other part still held the suspicions and feelings of betrayal. Inside she was relieved to hear him say he wanted to work things out but now she had to get over the fear she felt that this was all wrong. She stood up to walk back inside taking both their cups with her to the kitchen. She found him leaning against the counter over the sink. He looked like he was trying to control himself.

"Inuyasha?" She said in a meek voice that didn't sound like her own. He lowered his head and his shoulders slumped.

"Your right I'm sorry." He said not looking at her. "It would probably be best if you did stay with your family for now." The frown on his lips made his face muscles look strained. "I'm pushing too hard, I know. I always have." He ran a shaky hand through his wild unbrushed mane. "I'll go over and get your stuff from the house then make that call. I can drop you off when I leave if you want." His voice a little more steady now.

"Yeah." Was all she could say feeling somewhat disappointed he was giving in so easily. She set the cups in the sink then walked over to the phone to call her mom. After a lengthy conversation with her mother she finally hung up and went up stairs to change. All she had were the clothes that she came in but to her surprise Inuyasha had left another set of his sweats for her on the bed and she found her dirty clothes from the night before in a bag. She quickly walked over to the bathroom to see if he was there but didn't find him. A frown spread across her face and she went to Sesshomaru's room but he wasn't there either. Remorsefully she went back and changed into the clothes he had left her.

He was withdrawing from her like he used to when they were younger. She learned a long time ago it was his instinct to protect himself by pushing everyone away. It hurt but she had asked for it by giving him the impression she didn't want to be around him. He was only trying to protect his own emotions. She swallowed a sob as she walked slowly down the stair case toward the front door. Why did it feel like she was walking out on him again? Her heart clinched tightly in her chest with the same pain she felt the night she left for the States. A tear fell down her face but she wiped it away with trembling fingers. She glanced around the house she had called her second home for many years. Feelings of remorse and foreboding ran through her nerves like a virus leaving her uncertain and shaken. With a heavy sigh she opened the front door to leave. He shouldn't waste his time taking care of her when she treated him like this. She could walk to her mother's from here just like she had in the past when they were kids.

"Damn wench. You're still slow. Get your ass in gear." Inuyasha's impatient voice reached her ears. Her head snapped up to see him leaning against his car waiting on her. His face softened when he saw the tears. He dashed around the car and hugged her close. "Kagome, I didn't mean it like that. I was teasing." He nuzzled her neck lovingly. She sobbed into his shoulder.

"I know but this feels as bad as the day I left. It hurts so much I don't think I can take much more." She cried even harder when he made shushing sounds to sooth her.

"It will be ok baby. Stop now. It isn't forever. And this is what you wanted remember?" He whispered into her hair.

"Then why does it feel like it is good bye? Why does it feel like I will never see you again?" She tilted her head up to look into his eyes, the golden orbs she had loved for most of her life. He wiped the tears from her flushed cheeks with the pads of his thumb then leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Hey now don't say that. I'll be back with your clothes in a couple of hours" He hugged her close again.

"Why so long? It isn't that far and I only have one suitcase." She insisted trying to get her breathing back under control.

"I want to check the house out and make those calls. I won't be that long and if you want I'll take your brother with me ok?" He smiled. "I think you are just stressed with jet lag and may be having some post emotional flow at the moment. Did you ever talk to anyone about how you feel?" He asked while stoking her hair. She shook her head.

"I didn't exactly have anyone to talk to there." She paused for a moment thinking. "Naraku offered but it felt strange talking to my boss about my personal feelings you know?" He chuckled.

"Yeah it would feel weird." He stepped back and opened the door for her. "Well you have some tea and a nice long visit with your mom. I think that will make a world of difference." He kissed her temple as he buckled her in then walked around to his side. Just as he was starting the engine, she put her hand over his with the key.

"Why are you so calm? Usually you would be blowing up about now." She asked curiously due to his change of attitude. The old Inuyasha was more brash and did things without thinking or being considerate to others most the time. He smiled then looked out the windshield thoughtfully.

"Well after you left, I was quite a mess. Since you know me better then anyone then it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Anyway if it hadn't been for Sess and Rin I probably would have gone back to drinking. She finally got her PHD in Psychiatry and believe me none to soon either. Of course everyone was there for support but she helped the most. She made me realize that I tend to filter my aggression out on those I love because regardless of how bad I get they won't turn their backs on me. That was only one thing she showed me. The others I don't think I am ready to confess to yet." She giggled at his embarrassed expression despite the way she felt. He glanced at her and smiled.

"Well you know I'm here when you are ready." She replied feeling a little more relieved. He just nodded but didn't look at her. She sat silently during the short drive to her mother's house. He didn't say a word either but the silence was comfortable. When they pulled up, her mother was standing on the porch waiting for them. She waved excitedly and had the door open before Kagome could even reach for the handle.

Instantly Kagome was swept into a warm embrace. Her grandfather came around the corner of the house as quickly as his old legs could carry him, using his cane for support. Kagome felt a bit guilty watching him struggles so, but his arms wrapped around her and he sighed happily to see his little girl home again. She turned back toward the car but Inuyasha had already disappeared down the street without even a good bye. She frowned as her mother dragged her into the house by the hand, chattering on about so many things Kagome missed most of it. Her thoughts were with the same silver haired man who had occupied most her thoughts for the past two years.

She sat at the kitchen table listening to her mother raddle on about things she didn't really care about. Once in a while she would add a yeah or huh to the conversation so her mother would think she was paying attention. When the front door bell rang, she nearly fell from her chair as she sprang up to answer it hoping it was Inuyasha. To her disappointment it was Sango and the crippled Miroku. Sango burst into tears and hugged her so hard she couldn't breathe. Miroku had to remind Sango to let her have air. The young woman released her while a pink blush spread across her face.

"I'm sorry Kagome. I just missed you so much and was worried." Sango admitted. Kagome smiled warmly and hugged her again then turned to Miroku.

"So how did you guys know I was back?" She asked as she ushered them into the house. Miroku reached behind him and held out her suitcase. Her heart dropped into her stomach. She couldn't stop the disappointed look that appeared on her face. "Oh I see." She took the suitcase from him reluctantly. "You saw Inuyasha at the house." She set the case down by the wall next to the stairs as they walked into the living room. Miroku looked at Sango who had noticed her disappointment too.

"Yeah he said to tell you he would see you later." Miroku replied a bit worried by her reaction. Sango picked up on her depressed look and frowned.

"He said he wanted to make sure the house was ready for you when you went back there." Sango added hoping it would make her feel better. Kagome only nodded and offered them a place to set.

They sat in the living room and chatted about a lot of things that had happened over the past two years. Her mother brought out tea and some snacks for them while they visited. All morning she noticed no one mentioned Kikyo. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up or not, thinking perhaps they were trying to protect her like usual. They stayed until mid afternoon then excused themselves saying they had some things to get done.

Kagome waved good bye from the porch with a fake smile on her face hoping they would think she was ok when deep inside she felt withdrawn and empty. Inuyasha had sent them because he couldn't stand to be around her. She struggled to keep the tears from falling just thinking about how he was pushing her away. It hurt so much she thought her heart would burst from the pain. A hand on her shoulder startled her and she spun around to see the shocked face of her mother.

"Kagome are you ok?" She asked worriedly.

"Oh nothing a nice hot bath wouldn't take care of." Kagome smiled at her reassuringly. Her mother nodded and led the way back into the house. Kagome picked up her suitcase and headed for her old room. When she opened the door she was surprised to see it was pretty much like she had left it so many years ago. The pink comforter on her bed was still the same. The desk she used for all those years during school still set against one wall. With an air of nostalgia in the air she set her suitcase on the bed as she sat down with a little bounce. She smiled feeling a bit better and decided she would take that hot bath then think about things later.

The water felt so good she could have stayed in there for hours but knew that was not the thing to do right now. She couldn't stop the feeling of lose that was settling on her since Inuyasha was avoiding being there. She thought maybe she was being stupid but then another part of her would argue that it would take time. Since Kikyo was the only other person who really knew what happened between Inuyasha and her, and she was missing on top of it, there was little chance of her getting a chance to confront her. She could question Naraku but for the last 6 months he had done everything in his power to talk her out of coming back to Inuyasha. What his motives were she didn't know but there was little chance he would be truthful either. She sighed feeling stressed again. What little help the bath had done for her mood was now washed away by her self therapy. A knock on the door startled her.

"Kagome?" Her mother called.

"Yeah?" Kagome was so deep in thought she wondered how long her mother had been standing there trying to get her attention.

"You have a visitor." She announced.

"Ok, I'll be right there." She pushed herself out of the tub hurriedly hoping it was Inuyasha returning like he promised. Quickly she dried then pulled on the jeans and shirt she had brought in with her. She towel dried her hair then brushed it as fast as she could. Of course since she was in a hurry it seemed to take forever to get the tangles out. Finally she was satisfied and burst out the door. She trotted down the stairs feeling a bit giddy like she used to in highschool when he would come over. She stopped dead in her tracks staring at the dark haired man who was setting chatting with her mother in the living room.

"Kagome!" A brilliant smile spread across his handsome face. "I see you are adjusting well enough. I thought I would come to make sure you had everything you needed."

"Naraku, how are you?" She faked a smile and walked over to greet him. Disappointment flooded her heart making her feel like crying all over again.

AN: Ok another chapter up Hope you liked it.