Koigokoro
by Sweet-Kioku
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha. I own Kagome's friend Miya, though, lol. I made her up. And Ms. Nariko.
A/N: Another update!! This is the last chapter, but it's nice and long, so don't worry! And it has another lemon in it!! Enjoy!!
CHAPTER VIII: Turning Point
It had been about five days since she left.
And Inuyasha had not left the well since. He had not eaten or spoken or moved. Just stared at the hole he dug in frustration over losing Kagome.
"Do you think we should bring him food or something?" Sango asked Miroku quietly one night while they were inside Kaede's hut.
"No, I think it's best we leave him alone. He's extremely upset," Miroku replied.
"Well, so am I, but I'm not going to starve myself," Sango said.
"We all have different ways of dealing with Lady Kagome's absence. Inuyasha is choosing to sit there and wait and pretend that Kagome will come back any day now," Miroku said sadly.
"Sometimes I wish that would happen," Sango whispered, her eyes welling up with tears.
Miroku gently took her in his arms and tried to soothe her. She continued to cry.
"I'm so glad you're here, Miroku. I love you," Sango whispered after a moment, looking at her wedding ring.
"I'm here whenever you need me, Sango. And I love you, too," Miroku told her gently, looking at his own ring.
It was odd. Kagome was unsure of what to say.
Hojo looked at her expectantly.
It was only Kagome's first day back to school in almost a month, and Hojo had run up to her and asked her out. Kagome didn't know. She knew that she might never see Inuyasha again, but did that mean that she should move on so soon?
"I don't know, Hojo. Give me time to think about it," Kagome said quietly. The bell rang, and Kagome walked inside.
But there was really nothing to think about.
Kagome didn't like Hojo. Maybe as a friend, but nothing more than that. And she couldn't do something like that to Inuyasha. Even though Inuyasha would never find out, Kagome would never forgive herself.
"Kagome!" squealed Kagome's friend Miya, running up to her happily. "Are your chicken pox all gone?"
"Oh…um, yeah. They are," Kagome said quietly.
"Hey, I heard Hojo asked you out!" Miya cried cheerfully.
"Oh…yeah. He did," Kagome said curtly.
"Well? What did you say?" Miya asked.
"I said I'd think about it," Kagome replied briskly as she walked to her locker. It had been so long that she couldn't remember her locker combination.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Miya questioned, giving Kagome a concerned look.
"Oh, nothing. Everything is wonderful in my life," Kagome said in a sour, sarcastic tone. She would need to ask a teacher to open her locker with a key.
"Oh, Kagome! It's so good to see you again!" Ms. Nariko said happily, smiling at Kagome.
"Same to you. I need the key to my locker because I forgot my combination," Kagome said dully. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. She had the sudden urge to just run out of the school and go to the well and break the board and remove the rocks and see Inuyasha.
"Sure!" Ms. Nariko smiled and handed Kagome the locker key. Kagome just wanted to slap that smile off Ms. Nariko's face.
"Arigatou," Kagome said as she went back into the hall to open her locker.
And this is how each day went, until Kagome finally memorized her combination again. Every day Miya asked what was wrong, every day she said nothing. Every day Hojo asked her out, and every day she said she'd think about it. But the only thing Kagome ever thought about, ever dreamed about, was Inuyasha.
::TIME PASSES::
Inuyasha was holding Kagome in his strong, loving arms. They were watching the sunrise. But the sun wasn't coming up, strangely. The sky was just dark.
"Inuyasha, what happened to the sun?" Kagome asked him.
"It went away when you went away, Kagome," Inuyasha replied sadly.
"But I'm right here, Inuyasha!" Kagome argued. Why was he acting like this?
Inuyasha didn't answer, and suddenly Kagome found herself inside the temple, standing next to the well. The well wasn't boarded up or full of rocks. Kagome could go home! She tried to jump into the well, but suddenly the board appeared and her whole body smacked into it.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted.
Kagome woke up on the floor after hearing herself call out for Inuyasha. She had had the dream again.
This was the eighth time this month. But this time, there were tears in Kagome's eyes.
It had been three months and by this point, Kagome just wanted to die. She didn't dare try to go back to the Feudal Era because she was afraid that Inuyasha wouldn't want to see her. He was probably so mad at her for leaving that he hated her now. Kagome wouldn't doubt it.
Kagome was going out with Hojo, surprisingly, but she didn't like it one bit. Her so-called friend Miya had finally told Hojo that yes, Kagome would go out with him. Which wasn't true at all. But Kagome didn't feel like arguing. So whatever.
The phone rang. Kagome looked at the clock. It was 6:33 PM. Her sleeping patterns were so screwed up. She had come home after school and taken a nap.
"Hello?" Kagome asked groggily. She felt so shitty that she didn't want to live.
"Kagome, are you coming?" Hojo asked. There was loud music in the background.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry Hojo, I feel asleep and lost track of time," Kagome replied, groaning. She was supposed to meet Hojo at the school dance about half an hour ago.
"Okay, well come soon, okay? See you then!" Hojo said cheerfully. Listlessly Kagome hung up the phone and got up off the floor to take a shower. Afterwards, she changed into a bright pink tank and blue jeans. She dressed without any feeling or emotion.
Kagome walked out the door without telling her mother where she was going. She just left.
It was a chilly autumn evening. The sun was beginning to set as Kagome made her way down the street. The school was only a few blocks away.
Kagome tried not to look at the sunset. She would cry if she looked at it.
But her gaze wondered and fell upon the sunset.
She watched the sunset and the clouds turned a beautiful array of colors: pink and golden, to bluish gray and rested upon a deep gray color as the sky began to darken.
Kagome sat and watched the sunset. She sat right on the grass of someone else's lawn.
Why have I changed so much? Kagome wondered sadly as she watched the sunset. I'm failing school and I have to pretend that I'm happy every single day. Were Inuyasha and my friends in the Feudal Era really the only people in the world that made me happy?
Kagome's eyes brimmed with tears. She hated this life. She wanted to go back. She had made a wrong decision.
If she went back now, would Inuyasha be able to forgive her?
No, no, she told herself, going back now won't do. I have to go and meet Hojo. I have to at least try to be happy here.
But she couldn't be happy, she argued with herself as the sky turned from navy to black, she could never be happy in a life without Inuyasha.
Kagome slowly got up and continued walking towards the school where the dance was being held.
"Inuyasha, you need to eat more often! It's been two whole weeks since you ate anything! Please eat something!" Sango cried urgently.
Inuyasha did not respond. He simply stared blankly at the stone wall inside the well.
"I'll get you some foo—"
"Tell me something, Sango," Inuyasha said to her flatly, cutting her off. "Tell me why I should eat. Give me one good reason to eat."
"You'll starve to death!!" Sango shouted down the well at him. He was acting crazy. Miroku and Shippo watched them talk.
"That wouldn't be so bad," Inuyasha replied.
"Inuyasha, please come to the hut and have something to eat," Miroku tried to reason with him now. "This is insane."
"I know. But that's too bad. I'm not going to eat anything. I don't have a reason to," Inuyasha replied matter-of-factly. He wished they would just leave him alone.
"This is so STUPID!!" Shippo shouted suddenly. Miroku and Sango looked at the little kitsune, bewildered that he could yell so loud.
"INUYASHA, KAGOME IS NEVER EVER COMING BACK!! STARVING YOURSELF WILL NOT BRING HER BACK!! NOTHING EVER WILL!!" Shippo screeched. He began to cry.
That did it.
Inuyasha stood up.
"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked cautiously.
Inuyasha jumped out of the well and darted off into the forest.
"Kagome, so glad you could make it!" Miya cried. She ran up to Kagome with a few other girls: Sakiko and Fujita.
"Yeah," Kagome replied, giving them her best fake smile.
"Hojo's been like, looking all over for you!" chirped Fujita in a girly voice.
"I'll go look for him then," Kagome sighed. She really didn't want to see Hojo at all. A slow song was playing, and Hojo would want to slow dance with her.
She sighed as she glanced around. She wasn't looking too hard when suddenly she felt a hand tap on her shoulder.
It was Hojo.
"Hey Kagome," Hojo said, smiling at her.
"Hi, Hojo," Kagome said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had hoped that she wouldn't be able to find him so she could just go home.
"Want to dance?" Hojo asked, still smiling.
"Sure," Kagome muttered. If she didn't then she would never hear the end of it.
The slow song played and Hojo wrapped his arms around her waist. Kagome placed her hands on his shoulders but kept her distance from him. She was not about to get close to Hojo.
However, Hojo kept trying to pull Kagome closer to him. Each time he tried, she pulled away. It was starting to piss her off when suddenly Hojo yanked her close to him and kissed her squarely on the lips.
Kagome's so-called friends, who were nearby, all gasped and stared at them. They expected Kagome to be happy and tell Hojo that she loved him.
Wrong.
She stared at him for a moment, shocked. He gave her that stupid smile. But the smile quickly disappeared as she slapped him across the face.
Her eyes filled up with tears and her stupid friends gasped again.
"What was that for!?" Hojo yelled at her angrily.
She glared at him as the tears started falling down her cheeks. "Don't you ever come near me again," she hissed in a voice of deadly calm.
And, leaving Hojo stunned, Kagome ran out of the school, sobbing uncontrollably.
Inuyasha looked around. The coast was clear. The others had left.
He approached the well again, but this time, he sat next to it instead of inside it.
His stomach growled. He noticed a plate of meat and rice had been left next to the well. The others had left it for him, like they had been doing for the past three months.
He took the plate and ate the food quickly. He still didn't see why they wanted him to eat, but he couldn't ignore his stomach for more than two weeks at a time.
He had found that he rather liked being alone. Of course, things wouldn't be this way if Kagome were here. Thing would be different. He would be happy, for example. He would have a reason to eat and do all the things he normally did.
The only good thing about all of this was that Naraku was finally gone. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Inuyasha had defeated him several weeks ago. Sango had a permanent limp from the battle, and Miroku would have scars forever, but his cursed hand was healed. The shikon no tama was safely in Kaede's care. Inuyasha hadn't decided what he wanted yet. He didn't really want to be a full demon anymore, but he didn't want to be human, either.
He sighed and stared at the well. He leaned up against a nearby tree and started to drift off to sleep, dreaming sadly about his beloved koibito Kagome.
Kagome ran aimlessly, letting her feet take her wherever they wanted. She cried and cried. She couldn't believe what just happened.
Hojo had kissed her.
Suddenly, Kagome hated everything. She hated Hojo and Miya, Fujita and Sakiko, even herself. She wanted to kill herself. Maybe she would when she got home.
No one had kissed her since Inuyasha, and for that, Kagome despised Hojo. It was almost as if Hojo had made Kagome forget the feel of Inuyasha's lips by kissing her, and now she would never be able to remember again.
It was a few moments before Kagome realized where her feet had taken her.
She was in the temple. In front of the boarded-up well.
And she had a hammer.
Using the back of the hammer, she got the nails out of the board. The board eventually came off.
Kagome's heart was pounding. Without thinking, she began picking up the rocks, one by one, and putting them on the ground beside the well.
Twenty minutes later, the well was empty. Kagome had started crying about five minutes ago.
"Please, Kami…" Kagome had whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks, "let him forgive me."
She let the wonderfully familiar blue light envelope her as she jumped into the well.
Inuyasha was half asleep, half awake. So naturally, he was fully awake when he heard a rush of wind and saw a blue light emit form the well.
His heart skipped several beats.
Either he was hallucinating or dreaming, but he knew that what he was seeing wasn't real. It couldn't be.
Kagome was pulling herself out of the well.
This was a very real dream. He could smell Kagome's scent: the deliciously sweet scent of ichigos and banira, just like always.
Kagome did not see him sitting there. Her back was turned to him.
He was rather glad. Even if this was a dream, he didn't know if he could stand to see Kagome's face. He was sure it would make him cry.
He could smell salty tears. They were Kagome's. She had been crying.
He could even hear her breathing. This was the most realistic dream he had ever had.
"Inuyasha?" she called out softly. Her voice sounded just like it used to, like an angel's.
But she began walking away from the well, still calling out his name.
Inuyasha pinched his arm. Hard.
He felt it.
"KAGOME!!!!"
Kagome was having second thoughts. Perhaps she should go back. Inuyasha wouldn't want to see her. He must hate her, after what she had done.
But just as she began to turn around, she heard his voice.
Screaming her name.
Kagome thought she might faint when she saw a red and silver blur racing towards her at the fastest she'd ever seen a creature move.
It was him! It was really him!
"INUYASHA!!!"
Kagome cried into his haori as she finally felt his arms around her again. His warm, loving arms. He held her so tightly like he was never going to let her go.
And Kagome never wanted him to.
Inuyasha took in a shuddering breath. The two had been holding onto each other and crying for the better part of an hour.
Kagome looked up at him.
"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!! I never should have left!!" Kagome sobbed, holding into him tightly.
"It's alright now, koibito. It's okay just as long as you're here," Inuyasha whispered to her, gently stroking her hair and holding her close.
"Inuyasha……" Kagome stuttered. She had to tell him what happened.
"Hm?" he asked softly.
"……Hojo kissed me," Kagome said, starting to cry very hard again. "But I didn't want him to."
Inuyasha suppressed the growl that wanted to come out of his throat. Instead, he just hugged her tighter.
"It's okay, Kagome. As long as you didn't want him to, I'm not mad," he told her gently, still stroiking her hair.
"I slapped him in the face right after," Kagome replied confidently.
It started out as very tiny laugh. But it got bigger. And before they knew it, Kagome and Inuyasha were laughing like they were crazy. They were just so happy to see each other again that they didn't care that they might come off as insane to other people.
And the thought of Kagome slapping Hojo just struck Inuyasha as funny.
Kagome caught her breath after a moment. "I haven't laughed in so long……" Kagome said quietly. She plopped down on the grass and sighed.
Inuyasha sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
After just a peaceful, quiet moment of bliss, Kagome whispered, "I love you, Inuyasha."
"And I love you, Kagome," Inuyasha said softly. He gently lifted her chin, gazed into her beautiful eyes for a moment, and then kissed her.
It was the best kiss ever. Their tongues wrestled fiercely, and Inuyasha could tell that Kagome was feeling a little needy. After a moment, Inuyasha laid Kagome down and started kissing her neck. She started breathing raggedly again, just like all those months ago. They got a little more passionate and Kagome quickly started taking off her clothes. She needed him right now more than ever, and Inuyasha felt the same way.
Things got extremely intimate and both of them were almost naked by the time Inuyasha finally asked, "Do you want to…?"
Kagome winked at him and giggled as she removed the rest of her clothing and jumped on top of him. It felt so good to finally feel complete again.
And after several minutes, Kagome and Inuyasha screamed, and they both just held each other for a moment. Kagome had waited so long to be in Inuyasha's arms again. She had needed him, wanted him and loved him. This was heaven.
Inuyasha started to doze off when Kagome squealed, "I have to see Sango and Shippo and Miroku and Kilala and Kaede!!!!!"
Inuyasha woke up and stretched. "Miroku and Sango got married," he told her, smiling as he got dressed.
"You're kidding!!!" Kagome cried out joyfully as she got dressed, too.
"Nope. Oh, and we got rid of Naraku," Inuyasha said casually, now fully dressed. He smiled when he saw her reaction.
Tears of joy welled up in her eyes and she gave out a joyous shriek.
After Kagome was finished getting dressed, Inuyasha took her hand and began walking back to Kaede's hut.
She stopped walking. The sky was turning pink and she remembered something.
"Inuyasha," she said softly.
"Yeah?" Inuyasha asked, turning around and looking at her.
"Can we watch the sunrise?" Kagome asked softly.
THERE YOU GO!!! I FINISHED IT!!! YAY!!!!
THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!! ::Throws streamers and balloons everywhere::