Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha
Notes to my reviewers: Wow, I didn't know you guys would get so emotional over chapter 21. Plus for everyone that asked ... my hair is now red.
KiLaLa, Kagome's Daughter : Darn, I hate to disappoint you.
Captured Moon : I'm sure you didn't mean to, but your review gave me inspiration for the next part of my story. Yeah. You should feel proud.
Inuyasha831 : Don't worry. They will end up together in the end. Even I don't have the heart to pull apart peanut butter and jelly.
Spike of Doom : Wow. I've gotten a lot of reviews where people called Kouga names, but you are the first to call him a sneaky bastard. I think it fits him well.
Commitmentette : ... you'd like me to say yes wouldn't you ... ha ha ha (evil laugh).
Natalie : Thanks. I'm sure my story likes you too.
Chapter Twenty-two: The Longest Month of Inuyasha's Life
A month had gone by seine Kagome left the group. Every once and a while Kouga or one of this wolf brothers would bring a message written by Kagome, but the little pieces of paper never mentioned anything about Inuyasha. She made a special point not to mention him or anything about him.
Every time a messenger came Inuyasha got a hopeful look in his eyes, but it would always fade when Sango would shake her head, telling him No. She hasn't tried to talk to you yet.
To Inuyasha the month felt like a year or two. He didn't really do anything other then sit in the tree and sigh. Miroku and Sango had to force him to eat and he hardly slept. He, overall, felt like half a person without Kagome around.
"Inuyasha," Sango stood below the tree with Shippo sitting in her arms "do you want to look for more jewel shards?" Their quest had basically come to a standstill without Kagome around.
He shook his head, but didn't bother speaking or even looking at her.
"Why don't you go relax in the hot springs for a little while." She was trying to think of something for him to do.
Once again, he shook his head. "No." His voice sounded really raspy. Like he hadn't talked for a long time.
Sango sighed and walked back to Kaede's house. "I wish I could think of some way to help him." she said out loud.
"We could get Kagome back." Shippo suggested.
"I don't know. Kagome seemed really mad when she left."
"Nobody can stay mad forever, right."
Sango smiled a little bit, "I don't know. Inuyasha can get on anyone's nerves."
Miroku joined Sango as they entered the house. "Any luck with Inuyasha?" he asked.
"No. I'm starting to get worried about his health." She mumbled.
Shippo jumped out of Sango's arms and walked to the door. "Where are you going Shippo?" Sango asked.
"I — I'm gonna go talk to Inuyasha." He said quickly before leaving.
"You can try." Miroku yelled out as Shippo disappeared.
Shippo jumped up the tree and landed hard in Inuyasha's lap. Inuyasha let out a grunt at the sudden weight, but didn't respond in any other way. "Inuyasha, do you want to come with me?"
"Where are you going?"
Shippo was surprised, nobody had gotten him to say more then two words over the last month. "When the next messenger comes, I'm gonna follow them and go find Kagome."
"No."
"Why not, you miss her don't you!"
"Yeah, but -"
"But what! If you miss her, you should go get her."
"Shippo, you're to young to understand."
"Tell me. Why don't you want to go find her?"
Inuyasha looked away from Shippo. "When she left the group she looked at me with pure hatred. I couldn't stand that look. I rather never see her again, then know that she hates me."
"But you've made her mad before"
"There's a difference between being angry at someone and hating someone."
Shippo jumped down from the tree. "Fine, I'll go alone." He started to walk back to the house but stopped. "Inuyasha. When I leave don't tell Sango and Miroku, ok."
"Why?"
"I don't want them to worry."
"They'll worry anyways."
"Not if you tell them that I'm at a friends or something."
"Fine."
"Thanks Inuyasha"
Shippo only had to wait another day for the messenger to come. He was sitting next to Miroku eating breakfast when Inuyasha yelled out his name. "Coming!" he yelled back.
"Inuyasha just called Shippo, do you think he's getting better?" Sango asked.
"I don't know, we could check."
They both walked to the door and looked out. The couldn't see Shippo anywhere, but Inuyasha walked over to them with a small piece of paper in his hand. "Here." He handed it to them, "This is from Kagome."
"Where's Shippo?"
"H-He went to a friends, I think."
"Oh." Sango saw this as her chance "Inuyasha, do you want some breakfast?"
"No."
"But you need to eat. You've lost a lot of weight."
"I don't care." Inuyasha mumbled before jumping back into his usual spot in the tree.
Sango let out a sigh and walked back into the house, followed by Miroku. "What did Kagome send us this time?" he asked. Sango unfolded the letter and read it out loud, she didn't know it, but Inuyasha's ear twitched a little bit. He was carefully listening, any news about Kagome made him feel a little better.
Hello everyone,
I wish I could come see you guys. I miss all of you, especially Shippo. I would come down there, but I don't want to risk seeing Inuyasha again. I've decided to try and convince Kouga to let you guys come up here for a few days. It might take a little work though, you know that nobody is allowed to know where the den is. Don't worry, he'll eventually let you. Not many people know it, but he is a really big softy on the inside. He kind of reminds me of someone, but I don't know who. Oh well, I'll think of it later.
Love Kagome.
Inuyasha's ears drooped when Sango was finished with the letter. The only time Kagome mentioned him was when she said — I don't want to risk seeing Inuyasha again -. He didn't know what to think.
Kagome was the only person who ever stuck by him, even when he had been in his dangerous demon states. She was the very first, true, friend that he made. He had often fantasized that they would spend the rest of their lives together. He had even once tinkered with the idea of starting a family with Kagome. Now all that was gone.
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Kagome watched as the messenger walked away with her note and sighed. She wanted to deliver it herself so badly, but she knew that Inuyasha was there. She turned around and walked back into the cave.
Kouga was out hunting with some of the other of the wolf demons. There were only a few still in the den, but she didn't talk to them much, so she was a little bored. Finding nothing interesting around her, she walked into her room.
The first day Kouga brought her here, she demanded her own room. She told him that she didn't want to sleep in the same room with a bunch of other men.
It wasn't much. She had a bed against one of the walls. It was made out of several animal skins piled on top of each other. Beside her bed was her backpack. She reached inside of it and found a book she had been reading for the last few days, sat down, and opened it up.
She was getting so involved with the story that she didn't even notice Kouga had returned until he dropped a dead pig on the ground in front of her. "I've got some meat for you to cook tonight."
"Kouga, if you want me to cook dinner, you'll have to ask." She had obviously not lost the little spark that everyone siad she had.
"Will you cook this pig for dinner?"
"Alright. I'll make stew." She closed her book and set it on the ground. "Kouga, could you do a favor for me."
"Depends." He sat down next to her.
"I really miss my friends Kouga. Could they come visit the den."
"You want Inuyasha to come don't you."
Kagome looked at Kouga with a baffled expression, "No. I just want to see Shippo, Sango, and Miroku again."
"I don't know."
"Please."
"I'll think about it Kagome." He kissed her cheek and walked out of her room. Kagome stretched out on her bed. A small smile came across her face when she thought about getting to see her friends again.
She rolled over onto her side and tried to take a quick nap before she had to start cooking dinner for everyone, but a sudden uneasy feeling came into her stomach. She sat up and covered her mouth, she felt like she was going to vomit.
She drank a little bit of water and waited for the feeling to go away. It wasn't the first time that it had happened. She had been getting that sick' feeling almost everyday now, but she couldn't explain why.
Anytime that someone asked her what was wrong, she told them it was the stomach flue. However, it seemed a little different from the normal flue. Instead of being sick all day, like she normally would be, she would only feel like she was going to vomit for a few moments then she would be normal again.
She placed her hand over her stomach hoping whatever bug' she had would go away soon.
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Shippo couldn't help but feel proud of himself when he saw the wolf's den in the distance. He would finally get to see Kagome, and hopefully convince her to come back to their little group.
He waited till the coast was clear before running out into the open. He was getting closer and closer to the entrance of the den, before someone grabbed his tail and lifted him up it the air.
"Who are you?" It was one of the wolf demons that Kouga told to guard the den.
"I'm Shippo." He tried to sound tough "Kagome will be really mad if she finds out that you pulled on my tail."
"Y-You know who Kagome is."
"Yeah. She's my friend, and I want to see her."
The guard didn't know what to do. Kouga had told him not to let anyone in unless they had special permission from him, personally. "I'm not supposed to let you in."
"Why not?"
"Only Kouga gets to decided who is allowed in and out."
"Then get Kouga!" Shippo practically yelled. "I'm not leaving till I see Kagome!"
The wolf demon carried Shippo into the entrance of the cave, but no further, before yelling out for Kouga. They only had to wait a few seconds before Kouga jumped down in front of them.
"Shippo what are you doing here?" Kouga asked."I came to see Kagome."
"She's taking a nap now. Besides, you're not allowed in the wolf den. Go back to Kaede's house."
"Kagome is going to be mad when she finds out how you and your wolf pals have been treating me."
Kouga thought about it for a little bit. "You're right." He pointed to the wolf guard, "Drop him."
The wolf demon set Shippo down on the ground. "Where is her room?" he asked once his feet were planted firmly on the ground.
"Over there. Don't stay too long, I don't want Inuyasha to come looking for you." Kouga pointed him in the direction.
Shippo ignored him and walked past all the wolf demons with his head held high. He had never felt more nervous and brave at the same time. This must be how Inuyasha feels before a fight he thought to himself.
He found her room really quickly, partly because he was able to pick up her scent better now. He walked through the door and saw her sleeping on the bed everyone had made for her. "Kagome." He whispered.
Kagome flinched a little bit, but assumed that Shippo's voice was part of a dream she was having. She didn't wake up until Shippo actually placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Shippo!" she said happily, bringing him into a tight hug. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too. But there is someone who misses you more."
"Who?""Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha! Why would he miss me?"
"Because he loves you."
Kagome snorted a little bit, "He doesn't love me. He hates me. He is always mean to me. That's why I left."
"What about all the times he was nice to you"
"What times?"
Shippo stared at Kagome, confused for a minutes, but then he slowly understood what was going on, "Kikyou did this to you, didn't she?"
"What do you mean?"
"You can't remember how much you love Inuyasha and how much he loves you. What did she do to you?"
Kagome started to sound a little worried. "I-Inuyasha and I don't love each other."
"Yes you guys do." Shippo jumped across the room and reached into Kagome's backpack and pulled out her notebook. "See." He turned to the page with Kagome and Inuyasha sitting in the grass, Inuyasha's arm around her waist.
"W-When did I draw this?"
"I don't know, a while ago. And what about your gold chain."
"What about my gold chain." Kagome's hand flew up to the necklace around her neck.
"That was one of the gifts that Inuyasha gave you for your birthday."
"What?"
"Remember. You and I were swimming in the river, you found that necklace at the bottom, then found out that Inuyasha had hid it there to surprise you."
Kagome's eyes opened wide as the memory came back. She remembered feeling so guilty and waiting for Inuyasha to get back from wherever he had gone. She even remembered hugging him and saying sorry for finding the gift.
"And what about," Shippo could tell that he was having an effect on her "this." he turned to the last page where Inuyasha had written his note of love.
Kagome grabbed the notebook and looked at it. It took her a few moments, but she remembered the night that she read it. She remembered how cute Inuyasha looked when he was sleeping. And she remembered crawling into bed next to him and whispering Kagome is in love with Inuyasha.'
Tears came to her eyes as more and more memories came back to her. She remembered her birthday night. She remembered the way his lips felt. But mainly she remembered listening to his heart beat as she would sleep.
"Kagome?" Shippo was a little worried now that Kagome was crying.
Kouga walked into the room. "Shippo time is up."
Kagome had her hand covering her face, she was too upset to protest against it so she just stayed silent. When Shippo saw that Kagome wasn't making any effort to let him stay, he walked out of the door without any fuss and started on the long trip back to Kaede's house.
"Kagome, is something wrong?" Kouga rushed to her side.
"N-Nothing." She didn't feel like talking to Kouga about all these new memories. Maybe in the morning when I've sorted all this out she thought to herself.
"Why don't you just go to bed, I'll have someone else cook dinner."
Kagome nodded and laid back down on the bed. She didn't get very much sleep that night though. Shippo seemed to have broken down a dam of memories about Inuyasha that she didn't even know she had. Just before dawn she did, somehow, drift into an uninterrupted sleep.
She woke up around noon and felt Kouga's arm wrapped loosely around her. "Kouga." She poked him in the ribs a little bit. "Kouga."
He eventually awoke and sat up. "What?"
"Usually you're up by noon"
"I know, but you seemed really upset last night, so I decided to spend more time with you today."
Kagome rolled out of her little bed and stood up, "Kouga. Could I ask you something"
"Sure."
"Promise me you won't lie."
"Promise."
Kagome took a deep breath. "Did" she tried to think of how to word her question "Did Inuyasha and I ever fall in love."
"Who told you that?"
"Shippo."
"Do you believe Shippo?"
"Well, normally I wouldn't have, but last night I kept getting all these memories, but I don't even know if they are real or not. That's why I'm asking you. Were Inuyasha and I a couple?"
Kouga looked away from Kagome. Somehow Shippo had broken the spell and now he needed to think of what to say. He didn't want to lie to Kagome, but he didn't want her to go running off after Inuyasha.
"Kagome — you and Inuyasha," he looked her right in the eyes "were — and probably still are — in love."
Kagome walked over to Kouga and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you Kouga. I just needed to know that I wasn't going crazy. Thank you for telling me the truth."
"What are you going to do now?" he asked once she let go of him.
"I'm going back." She avoided his eyes as she packed all her things as quickly as she could.
"Kagome"
She could hear the sadness in his voice as she put her backpack on. "Kouga." She talked softly, knowing that this wasn't easy for him. "You don't want me for a mate."
"Yes I do."
"Kouga, you only think you do. Even if Kikyou gave me another potion, deep down you know that I would never love you as much as you love me. My heart belongs to Inuyasha and none other."
She started to walk away from him, but he grabbed her arm. "Kagome, please don't go."
"Sorry Kouga, but I have to." She kissed him softly on the cheek and walked out of the den without another word.
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Hip hip hooray
Kagome is finally going back to Inuyasha.
The half size lovable and always adorable Shippo saves the day again.
Before you guys send me — at least 7 reviews — I want to ask you a question. Has my story ever disappointed you? Like did I ever lead up to something, then totally made it suck?
Lots of love Daydreamer62386