A/N: I would just like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of my readers. Thank you very much for the nice reviews! After the good stuff, here's the bad stuff. I just received a not-so-nice review—in short, a flame. Oh well, I already used it to cook myself some hotdogs and marshmallows. But I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't send me one like that again—especially because it's not true. Here's the review she sent me:
You bitch! you mother fucking whore! You fucking stole my idea! You practacly took my story, and changed it a few time. This is so a flame. I wouldn't recemend this to any of my friends! Not even if you paid me $100,0,0,0!You make me sick. You give a bad name to all us authors. You peice of scum. Copy cat! Burn in hell!
Okay, first of all, if someone is going to flame me—do it properly. 'Cause if you want to express yourself make yourself understandable. One, it's practically NOT practcaly. Two, it's recommend NOT recemend. What's wrong with your keyboard? Three, it's NOT peice, it's piece. Duh! Next, just how did you conclude that I actually stole your idea? This story has been going on for more than a year already (I lost track of time and I don't care) and I have never ever been reported for plagiarism! Actually, I've received lots of review that say this is a NEW idea. Now if you still claim that this is your idea, present your proof. I'm ready to defend my story. Third, you're the one that's giving authors here in a bad name. How dare you accuse another author without any valid proof! Lastly, if you're going to flame me, don't hide yourself under an anonymous name! Show your real pen name or are you scared to face me? –smirk- Anyway, I'm still happy to receive a flame. Honestly, I can't believe my story is worthy enough to have a flame. See! I'm thinking positive here. You better get your proofs or I'm suing you for false accusations!
Now, to my readers, if you want faster updates, never do a flame like that. Constructive flames are accepted but flames like that one NEVER encourage writers. It makes them write slower. There's nothing wrong with flames as long as you make sure you have facts to support it. Thank you for listening to me and now let's get on with the chapter. Stay is really ending soon… -sniff-
YuniX-2 – Yeah, it is very obvious that Inuyasha hates Kouga but Inuyasha is not evil to let Kouga die. If he wants Kouga dead, he wants to do it fairly, meaning in a fight. Not just because he's injured or something… Thanks for asking though, I'm glad to clear things for you.
Kiara-star and Darkestflare – thanks to both of you for commenting about the 'already' thingy. I already reposted all chapters and I have reduced the 'already' in them. Thanks for your suggestion; I didn't notice that until you told me. Thanks again!
The Evil Liar – I'm sorry but I'm used to italicizing Japanese words so I'm sorry if it annoys you. Please bear with me… It's part of my style. Sorry. –smiles apologetically- But thanks for the compliment, I felt very special! Reviews like that makes me go on!
-
Disclaimer: That's why this is called fanfiction, okay?
-
-
-
-
Chapter 20
Indirect Confessions
-
-
-
-
"Inuyasha, come here for a while."
Inuyasha turned his head and looked at Kagome. "What for?"
"I need to put bandages on your wounds." Kagome replied, taking more bandages from her first aid kit. "You were also hurt, right?"
"Keh! I don't need that!" He said uncaringly, folding his arms over his chest. "I heal fast; you're just going to waste your time."
Kagome stood up with all the needed stuffs in her hands and walked towards Inuyasha. "I know it's just a waste of time for you—but I would like to do some help. Even just a little." Her words were soft, a sad smile settling on her lips. "Just let me help you. Please?" Her eyes connected with Inuyasha's, hoping he would finally assent.
The moment Inuyasha had looked into Kagome's eyes, he just knew he couldn't say no. There was something sad about her eyes and she really looked like she wanted to nurse his wounds. "I guess it's okay to let her take care of me once in a while..." He thought to himself. "Fine." He mumbled, sitting cross-legged on the grass.
Kagome smiled gratefully and quickly sat in front of Inuyasha to start nursing him.
Inuyasha was slightly blushing as he felt Kagome's hands gently taking off his haori. All of a sudden, he seemed to take very much interest on the view at his left—actually, anything as long as it wasn't Kagome. He didn't know why but his heart was beating rather loudly inside his chest that very moment.
Kagome's eyes was filled with sympathy when she saw Inuyasha's bloody wound. "Just because of me…" She carefully cleansed the wound then looked up at Inuyasha. "You had to suffer like this…" She took the bandages lying on the grass and spun it around Inuyasha's abdomen with great care. "Inuyasha?"
"What?" He demanded, still not daring to look at Kagome. He could still fell his cheeks burning.
"I'm sorry you had to suffer like this…" She made sure her bangs safely hid her eyes from Inuyasha as she finished putting the bandages. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't—"
"Why do you always have to blame yourself for every miserable thing that's happening?!" He cut in, finally looking at Kagome but she was the one avoiding his gaze now.
"Because it is my fault." She replied with certainty, putting her hands on her lap.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it isn't your fault?!" He grumbled, looking a little mad that Kagome was blaming herself—always.
"But you got hurt because you were pro—"
"It's my choice to protect you! You never forced me to do that! So will you stop blaming yourself?!" Inuyasha wanted so much to remove the feeling of guilt in Kagome's heart but he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
"But I never wanted you to get hurt just because you wanted to protect me!" She argued, raising her head up to look at Inuyasha. Her eyes were watery and tears threatened to fall any second as she stared into Inuyasha's eyes.
"And I don't want you to get hurt again! That's why I'm protecting you!" Inuyasha answered back, clenching his fists. He looked down, covering his amber eyes effectively with his snowy white bangs. "It would hurt me so much more to see you get hurt because I wasn't able to protect you…"
"But you—"
"I want to protect you." Inuyasha lifted his head to make eye contact with Kagome. "Let me." He softly added, eyes almost pleading to her.
Kagome's cheeks immediately turned pink at Inuyasha's comment. All of a sudden, she felt at peace when Inuyasha said those words. "You really want to protect me?" She whispered, eyes shyly turning away from him. She felt like melting if she would be staring longer at Inuyasha's golden yellow eyes.
"Do you actually think I'll be glad to take a hole in my stomach if I really don't want to protect you?!" He asked sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at Kagome.
Kagome raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at Inuyasha. "He was supposed to say something sweet, that jerk!" She thought but still, she felt happy. She didn't need Inuyasha to say something sweet to make her happy. It was enough that he was always there for her. "Thank you, Inuyasha." She smiled another wonderful smile, making Inuyasha forget all the pain in his body.
"Just as long as I see that smile," thought Inuyasha, smiling back. "Everything will be all right…"
-
"Kagome! Inuyasha!" Shippou called out all of a sudden. "Kouga's coming around!"
"Kouga-kun?!" Kagome hurriedly stood up and went to his side to check on him.
Inuyasha looked at Kouga's direction and scoffed, "Keh!" He wasn't really interested with the wolf youkai so he just stayed put and tugged his haori back on.
-
Kouga's eyes slowly opened and he immediately spotted Kagome's worried face looking at him. "Kagome…" He quickly took her hands in his and said, "I'm so glad you're all right. I'm sorry I made you worry…"
"She wasn't fucking worried, you idiot!" Inuyasha instantly took Kagome's hands away from Kouga's grasp and placed himself between the two of them. "Just why do you have to get her hands every time you have the chance?!"
"And why do you always interfere whenever I get my chance?!" Kouga retorted as he sat up, looking very pissed off.
Inuyasha growled angrily, glaring with pure hatred at Kouga. "I'm beginning—no. I officially regret that I have helped you!" He declared with annoyance clearly etched on his face.
"Just what the hell are you talking about?!" He demanded, not having any clue of what Inuyasha was saying.
"Kouga-kun, Inuyasha was the one who carried you. I didn't even ask him to do that." Kagome explained.
Kouga seemed to have understood because he became silent for a while.
"Keh! Now, you know that you should be grateful to me!" Inuyasha told him, crossing his arms proudly in front of him.
Kouga ignored Inuyasha's words and shivered in disgust. "No wonder I smell like dog shit." He commented, looking like he was going to be sick.
"Do you really think I enjoyed carrying your stinking weak body?!" Inuyasha replied hotly.
"It's not like I really asked you to carry me, dog-face!"
"How could you fucking ask when you were actually knocked out?!"
"Even if I wasn't, I still wouldn't ask for your help!"
"Don't worry because even if you begged me, I wouldn't help you!"
"You always act like you're a great hero…" Kouga stood up, still glowering at Inuyasha. "Then why did you let Kagome fall into Naraku's hands!?" He asked him, his azure eyes flashing with anger. "I would never let that happen to Kagome!"
Inuyasha couldn't answer. He just clenched his hands on his sides, taking every hurtful word Kouga threw at him. He knew he deserved every syllable of those words.
"She trusted you to protect her! What the hell did you do?!" He blamed Inuyasha greatly for Kagome's sufferings. "You failed her—so much!"
"Inuyasha…" Kagome stared worriedly at him.
"Inuyasha! Don't let him put all the blame on you! Say something!!!" Shippou exclaimed, trying to help Inuyasha out.
But Inuyasha wasn't exactly interested in doing anything to defend himself. He just stood there, looking back at Kouga.
"You don't deserve Kagome's loyalty! You don't deserve to be her protector! You don't deserve to be with her and that's why I'm taking her with me." He declared, eyes looking very determined.
Inuyasha didn't say or do anything. All he did was maintain eye contact with Kouga.
"Come on, Kagome." He took a step forward to approach Kagome but Inuyasha quickly stretched his arm to block his way.
"Kagome's not going anywhere." He said the words clearly, making sure every word sunk in Kouga's head.
"She's going with me, you bastard!" He pushed Inuyasha's arm aside and took a step forward.
"Try taking another step and I won't hesitate to cut you into half." He growled lowly, readying his claws.
"Let me se—"
"Kouga-kun…" Kagome suddenly spoke, making both Inuyasha and Kouga stop.
Silence filled the whole place.
"I want to… stay with Inuyasha. It's not his fault. Please don't put all the blame on him…" Kagome whispered as her eyes looked truthfully into Kouga's eyes.
"Kagome…" Kouga looked into Kagome's brown eyes, trying to ask her the question that he couldn't voice. "Why? Why do you wish to stay with him after all of the things that have happened?" Maybe the answer he was looking for was already obvious but he just didn't want to accept it. "…why do you love him so much?"
Inuyasha, on the other hand, completely didn't know Kagome's reason—but he was glad. He was glad that Kagome still chose to stay with him and he promised that he wouldn't make her regret that decision—never.
Kouga stepped back and glared at Inuyasha. "Make sure you protect Kagome, dog turd! Let Kagome die and I will personally kill you—slowly and painfully."
"Keh! You don't have to." He replied in a serious tone. "I would be killing myself when that happens."
"Hmph!" Kouga folded his arms and looked away from Inuyasha. "Make sure I don't have to."
Kagome's heart sighed in relief. "Kouga-kun, thank you."
-
"Inuyasha, it's going to be dark soon. Do you think it's safe for us to stay here in the fields?" Shippou asked, looking troubled as the sun started to sink.
"Shippou's right. The others need to rest too. We should be moving already." Kagome agreed, putting her yellow backpack over her shoulder.
"I've passed by a small shack not far from here. Maybe you could stay there. It looks empty anyway." Kouga suggested. "If we get moving now, we'll be there before dark."
"Will it be all right for us to travel? You're all injured…" Kagome looked slightly hesitant with their idea now.
"We're fine, Kagome." Inuyasha assured her. "The wimpy wolf can walk fine. He doesn't need any help."
"How about Miroku and Sango?"
"Kirara will be carrying them." Shippou told Kagome as Inuyasha started carrying Sango towards the back of the cat youkai.
"Wasn't Kirara hurt too?" Kagome asked, looking worried at Kirara's injured leg.
"She's fine now. The wound wasn't that deep. Right, Kirara?" The little kitsune looked up at Kirara with a smile.
Kirara gave a short purr to show that she agreed.
"Youkais heal fast Kagome, don't worry anymore." Inuyasha told her, seeing that she wasn't completely convinced yet. He gently rested Miroku beside Sango.
"Are you sure it's safe for Miroku and Sango to travel?"
"Well, it's better than staying here." Inuyasha said.
After a few moments of silence, Kagome finally acceded. "I guess you're right." She said. "Let's hurry then."
-
Kagome stood outside the hut with Inuyasha behind her. "Kouga-kun, thank you for everything. You've been a great help." Kagome smiled.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" Kouga said.
Kagome nodded. "You too."
"Bye, Kagome."
"Bye."
Then, he was gone in front of Kagome.
"Weird, he didn't try to grab your hands this time."
Kagome turned her head even though she knew who had said that. It was Inuyasha. "Maybe, he forgot." She answered uninterestedly.
"You miss it?" He asked, trying to look impassive.
"Not really." Kagome replied honestly. She could sense a tinge of jealousy in the hanyou's voice. "Or maybe I'm just imagining things." She thought at the back of her mind.
"Was that a yes or no?" He didn't know why but he wanted a definite answer.
"What would you like it to be?"
"Keh! Never mind." He tucked his hands inside the red sleeves of his coat and avoided Kagome's gaze.
Kagome shrugged then said, "I'll just go check on the others."
-
Inuyasha was sitting on a wooden bench just in front of the entrance of the cabin. He silently watched the stars while thinking about all that had happened that day. His trail of thoughts was interrupted when Kagome emerged from the shack. "Don't you have any plans of sleeping?" He asked her without tearing his eyes off the starry sky.
"I wanted to talk to you." Kagome said simply then took a seat beside him.
Silence engulfed them when Inuyasha didn't say anything after what Kagome had said.
"Are you mad at me?" It was Kagome who was asking.
Inuyasha turned his head at Kagome with one eyebrow raised. "What gave you the idea that I do?" He questioned her.
"Nothing, just a hunch." She replied. Actually she just didn't know how to start the conversation so she said the first thing that popped out of her mind.
"Well, your hunch is perfectly wrong." He told her, looking back at the sky.
"Oh, okay." Again, the conversation she tried so hard to build was disappearing. Before it completely did, she spoke again. "Inuyasha, can I ask you a favor?"
This time, Kagome got Inuyasha's attention fully because he shifted his eyes again and fixed them on her.
She took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Can you please tell me everything that has happened to me when I was kidnapped by Naraku?" She looked at Inuyasha hopefully, waiting for his important answer.
"Why do you need to know?" He asked.
"Because… I want to know. I need to know." She replied truthfully. She knew deep inside her that she wouldn't be able to live peacefully if she didn't know everything. She must remember everything.
Inuyasha bowed his head and was silent for a while, thinking things over.
"I have a right to know. They're my memories." She said, wanting so much to convince Inuyasha.
A few more quiet seconds passed before Inuyasha finally raised his head again. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Kagome's heart warmed at Inuyasha's words. He was going to help her. That meant so much to her. "I already remembered the time when Naraku inserted a Shikon shard in my head to control me…" She tried to search her mind again for the unclear pictures. "Then, Naraku placed a necklace around my neck and I heard a girl's voice in my head. The other details are unclear after that."
Inuyasha didn't really like to tell these things to Kagome but she did have a point. It was her right to know. "Well, you only forgot a little. Remember Hikari?" As much as possible, he was trying to make things easier for Kagome to understand.
"She's the kind girl we met in the village before, right?" She answered, recalling a certain scene.
"Don't act so innocently, murderer!" Hikari said, still glaring at Kagome.
"So I did kill a lot of people, after all…?" Kagome frowned at the thought. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart—literally.
"What's wrong?" Inuyasha's concerned voice reached Kagome's ears.
Kagome looked back at Inuyasha, eyes wanting to know the truth. "Did I really kill the villagers, Inuyasha? Please tell me the truth." One thing was clear in her eyes—hurt.
"No, you didn't!" Inuyasha quickly answered, seeing the pain in her eyes. "You just made the Ice Lady believe that you killed them but actually you never killed a single person!"
"Ice Lady?"
"She was the one that took over your body. She's the one destroying the village, not you Kagome!" He could still see the guilt in Kagome's eyes. "Do you understand me, Kagome?"
Kagome saw more pictures of her wearing a cerulean kimono while she held a baton. "Is that me? The Ice Lady..." She wondered as more of her memory returned to her. Along with the things she recalled, the guilt in her heart increased. "But she was still in my body and—"
"It still wasn't you! Don't blame yourself, Kagome!" He felt angry with himself as he looked at Kagome. Again, guilt was eating him. "If only I was there for her…" He clenched his hands tightly.
"How can I not blame myself?!" Memories of her previous attempts to kill Inuyasha came back to her. "I have hurt you... so many times." She didn't turn away from him. She continued to look into his eyes as tears fell continuously. She wasn't going to make any effort to stop them. She really needed to cry at that moment. "I remember those scenes clearly now! I saw the hurt in your eyes! I wanted so much to stop myself! I never wanted to hurt you… But I still did… I never wanted to do that..." Kagome felt strong arms pulling her forward and the next thing she knew, Inuyasha was already hugging her.
"Don't talk anymore. I understand." He hugged her tighter, hoping to take away the pain that she felt in her heart. "Please Kagome, stop crying."
But she couldn't. Instead, she cried harder. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry… Please forgive me." She continued to sob on his chest, not knowing what else to do. "I'm really sorry…"
"Ssshh… Don't apologize anymore. I told you it's not your fault." He whispered in her ear. "It wasn't you so you shouldn't apologize. I'm glad you came back to me."
"Inu—"
"Sorry, Kagome. I know you've been waiting for me to save you… I promise I won't leave you alone again. I'll stay with you always from now on." It was the truth. Now that he had made his choice, he knew that Kagome was his choice and would always be.
Kagome pulled away from Inuyasha gently and stared into his eyes. "You also promised Kikyou." She wanted to say that to Inuyasha but she hesitated. Maybe now wasn't the right time. She wanted to pretend that what Inuyasha had said was true—even just for tonight. "Thank you, Inuyasha. You don't need to apologize too; I never blamed you…" She whispered, smiling softly at him. She wiped her tears and looked at the stars. Even though it was just a pretend, somehow, Kagome's heart felt really great when Inuyasha had told her those words. How she wished all of those were true…
"Why?"
"Hm?" Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha again.
"Why don't you blame me for all of your sufferings?" He asked, up until now he couldn't understand her.
"It's because I love you." If only she could say those words to him but she knew that Inuyasha could never love her. "Inuyasha loves Kikyou…" She thought somberly. "He could never forget her." "It's because it's not your fault." She answered him.
"It is my fault!" Inuyasha tried to argue. "If I was able to save you, Naraku wouldn't have used you!"
"Even if it's your fault, I still don't blame you." She simply said.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to. I can't force myself to hate you." She replied, smiling kindly at Inuyasha. "That's why I'm staying with you, remember?"
"I don't think I deserve you…" He said barely louder than a whisper, averting his gaze from Kagome.
Kagome's reply was quick. "That's all right. Even if you think you don't deserve me, I'll still be here." She looked up into the sky once more and smiled. The stars seemed to be brighter at that moment for her.
"Kagome?"
She shifted his eyes to look at Inuyasha but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were looking above—at the stars.
"…Thank you." Inuyasha also thought the stars were more brilliant that moment.
Kagome smiled again then gazed back at the black star-filled sky. Even though they weren't talking to each other anymore, Kagome was contented. It was enough that Inuyasha was beside her. His presence was enough to comfort her and take away all her worries. She wrapped her arms around herself as the night breeze blew softly.
"You really should be putting something thicker, you know." Inuyasha said, taking off his red haori and draping it over Kagome's shoulders.
"But Inu—"
"Keep it. I'll be all right." Inuyasha insisted, replacing the red garment on Kagome.
"Thanks." She hugged Inuyasha's haori closer around her, thankful for the warmth that it gave her.
Again, silence returned.
All of a sudden, Inuyasha felt Kagome's head leaning on his shoulder. Thinking that she fell asleep, he just remained silent.
"Is it okay?"
"Huh?" Inuyasha looked down at Kagome and found out that she was wide-awake. Her eyes were not directed to him but he could see her feelings clearly. She was afraid of something. "What could that be?" He mused in his mind.
"I said if it's okay for me to stay." She cleared her previous statement. "I'm of no use to you now… I lost my miko powers and I can't even sense the shards." She looked at the bottle of shards hanging around her neck. Still, one of them stayed tainted black.
"Well, I'm sure you will regain them when time comes." Inuyasha answered in a lay back tone.
"What if I don't get them back?" That thought scared Kagome very much. Inuyasha would probably leave her. "What will you do?" She asked, looking into Inuyasha's eyes.
Inuyasha smirked in return. "Then I'll just throw you off a cliff or maybe leave you here." He replied without much care.
"You'd really do that?!" Kagome looked very horrified at him.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Kagome. "Do you seriously think I'd do that?! Just why the hell do you think did I promise that I'd be staying with you always if I was planning to leave you?!" He asked.
Kagome sighed in relief then hit Inuyasha on the head—hard.
"What the hell was that for, bitch?!" Inuyasha demanded, holding his head. "That was painful!" He remarked, glaring at the young miko.
"It's because you just scared me to death, you jerk!" She exclaimed, glaring a little at him. "Be glad I didn't punch your stomach!" She muttered, looking annoyed.
"Keh! As if I care about your fucking miko powers! I promised to you, didn't I?!" He said, still grasping his injured head. "Don't you have any sense of humor?!"
"Does that mean he really meant that…?" Kagome wanted so much to believe Inuyasha but she didn't want to get hurt so she still pushed the thought back. "Well, some people use that sense of humor at the right time! And now is definitely not the right time!" She told him.
"Keh!"
"Jerk." She muttered under her breath.
Inuyasha didn't answer anymore.
Kagome looked at him and saw that his eyes were closed. "Inuyasha?"
"What?" He wasn't asleep but he still had his eyes shut.
"Is it really okay that I lost all of my miko powers?" She wanted to make sure that it was really all right.
"Yeah." He replied briefly, still not opening his eyes.
"It's okay that I won't be able to shoot purifying arrows anymore?" She asked.
"Yes." The answer was instant. Inuyasha didn't need to think about it anymore.
"Even if I can't see the shards anymore?" She questioned further.
"Yeah." Until now, Inuyasha's eyes were not opening.
"You're not mad?"
"No."
"Even if I—"
"It's okay!" Inuyasha interrupted. "Even if you can't purify shards anymore. Even if you don't remember everything anymore. Even if you think that it's not okay, it will still be okay."
"Really?"
At last, Inuyasha opened his eyes and shot an annoyed look at Kagome. "You worry too much!" He complained.
"Sorry." Kagome bowed her head, staring at her hands that were resting on her lap. "I just feel so useless right now..." She said in a small voice, maybe not wanting Inuyasha to hear.
"Of course you're not!" Inuyasha opposed strongly. "Stop thinking like that! Just stay with us and everything will be fine. We didn't want you to stay just because of your miko powers! We want you to stay." He wasn't very good at convincing people but he really hoped Kagome would believe him. All of the things he had said were true.
"So it's really okay? You're not mad?" She gazed up into Inuyasha's eyes, making Inuyasha look into her eyes. The fear and doubt he had seen before were gone.
"Good." He sighed mentally. "Sometimes it really takes time to convince her..." "If I'm mad at you then you won't be seeing me here right now." He pointed out to her. "And I already told you many fucking times, yes it is okay."
Kagome smiled brightly. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
"Promise me you'll stop thinking that you're useless?"
"I promise." She replied then covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.
"Sleepy?"
"A little." She answered, feeling her eyes go heavier every minute.
"Go inside then." He told her.
Kagome nodded and stood up. "Aren't you sleeping?"
"Maybe later." He said, smiling a little.
"Are you sure?" Kagome asked him. She didn't know why but she felt uncertain about something—like she didn't want to leave Inuyasha's side.
"I promise I'll go inside later. You go ahead." He said.
She removed Inuyasha's haori from her shoulders to return to Inuyasha. "Here." She said, handing it to him.
"You keep it. I won't be needing it anyway." He said gently to her.
Kagome didn't know why Inuyasha was so sweet to her all of a sudden. Not that she didn't want it... "I won't be needing it too; I have my sleeping bag." She pointed out.
"Just keep it. I'll get it from you later…"
"Okay." Kagome finally gave in. She was about to go inside when she remembered something. "Inuyasha,"
He looked at her and waited for she had to say.
"I just remembered something. Don't you find it unusual that we were able to talk through our minds when the Ice Lady took over my body?" She asked, holding the bottle of Shikon shards in her hand.
"Yeah, it was pretty weird. Do you know how it happened?" He was also confused about that certain event.
"I don't know exactly but I think it had something to do with the shards Naraku placed in my necklace." Kagome started. "I really wanted to talk to you back then and when I saw that you were about to get killed, I suddenly heard your voice in my head. I'm so glad I wasn't able to kill you." She looked down at the fragments on her hand and smiled softly. Three of those had helped them. "You saved Inuyasha's life and also mine. Thank you." She thought.
"Yeah, me too." Inuyasha smiled too. "I was so relieved when I heard your voice." He didn't really mean to say it verbally but it was too late.
"Me too." She said, slightly blushing. It wasn't so often that Inuyasha told her his feelings and every time he did, it always made her cheeks flush.
"So... Does that mean you remember everything now?" He tried to change the course of their conversation.
"I think so." Kagome said, still not able to hide her blush. "Well, I'll be going inside now. Good night, Inuyasha."
"Don't wait for me anymore. Just go sleep, okay?"
Kagome nodded and went inside.
"Sleep well, Kagome." He smiled as he stared at the last place where he had seen the young miko.
-
Kagome prepared her sleeping bag and slipped inside it quietly. She looked around one last time to check on the others. They were all sleeping peacefully. Shippou slept beside Kirara, who was near Sango.
She hugged Inuyasha's haori close to her as a contented smile crept on her lips. "Inuyasha..." She murmured, finally closing her eyes. "I love you." If only she could say those words to him so easily... Every time she would think about that, she would always remember the night that she had seen Inuyasha and Kikyou together. Slowly, her smile vanished and melancholy filled her heart.
Why couldn't she be completely happy?
"Inuyasha has chosen Kikyou. I can't do anything to change that... All I can do is stay with him until I can no longer do that..." She thought sadly, holding Inuyasha's haori closer. "If only Inuyasha's words tonight were true... If only he had chosen me..." Silent tears rolled down her closed eyes and that was the last thing on her mind before she fell asleep.
-
Inuyasha stared at the sky again. It was peaceful around him. The shack was isolated so there wasn't much noise to be expected. Only the rustling of nearby trees and the sounds of night animals disturbed the silence. A smile was visible on Inuyasha's face. He was peaceful too. Guilt wasn't that harsh anymore because Kagome understood him. Kagome would stay with him and that was all that mattered. Everything would be fine now.
His thoughts were disrupted when he sniffed something in the air. The scent of tears was so near. Almost so sure that it was Kagome crying, he was about to check on her when another scent mingled in the night air. "This scent!" He ran out towards the direction of the familiar scent while his eyes searched the skies for something. It didn't take long for him to see them—Kikyou's long slithering soul-catcher youkais.
-
-
-
-
A/N: Wasn't that a lovely cliffie? Aw, I loved the fluff and drama here… I almost cried. T-T Next chapter already has a title! "Confrontation of the Three" Doesn't that title look promising or what?