Hey, thanks for reviewing, I hope you like this latest chapter. Yes, Ganheim, thanks for alerting me to that tidbit about the shards. I have not been able to see EVERY single episode of Inuyasha, and that's why I missed that bit. I'm just alerting everyone beforehand, in the next chapter, Kikyo will probably OOC... I'm sorry... The way she is portrayed and her actions are what I imagined to be able to happen in the situation of this fanfic, and once again, if she doesn't seem quite right, and if the things she does are not things she would usually do, I apologize again, and repeat it was just my interpretation of her actions in this type of situation. Please enjoy! And I'm sorry if anyone is a bit OOC in this chapter too!
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Inuyasha watched Kikyo's silent departure, without saying a word of good- bye. Uttering a soft sigh, he turned toward the well, peering into it once more. He hoped to see Kagome arriving back from her time era, but instead, he saw nothing but cold darkness. He turned his back to the well again, leaning on it. Inuyasha then realized how much he missed the company of the young girl, about whom he pretended he didn't care about, her actions even less so, and also pretended he didn't need her help to hunt down the Jewel Shards. Either way, he needed her, which he couldn't bring himself to admit.
Kagome's eyes fluttered open, staring up at the whitewashed walls of her room, the bright sunlight illuminating everything. Looking over at her calendar she saw it was Monday, a school day. She blearily got out of bed, changing into a different set of school clothes then brushed her teeth and went down to breakfast, deep bags under her eyes from only getting a few hours of sleep. Her mother was making pancakes on the stove while her brother, Sota, sat at the kitchen table, wolfing a tall stack of pancakes down. Her grandfather was probably out lighting incense sticks at the family shrine. Kagome sat down, sighing as she thought about Inuyasha, Kikyo and the Jewel Shards. The thoughts were scattered as a large plate of pancakes was plopped in front of her. "Eat up." Said her mother cheerily, smiling. Kagome smiled weakly, and managed to eat one or two, then pushed the plate away. "I'm not hungry' I'm just going to go to school." Her mother shot a worried glance her way, but sensed she didn't want to talk or explain why she was in a down mood. "All right, have a nice day, dear."
The sound of chattering birds awoke Inuyasha, getting rudely awakened with a blast of bright sunshine to his eyes. With a tired yawn, he rubbed his eyes, which were getting adjusted to the sunlight. He noticed his claws, fangs and silver hair were back, meaning all his wounds were gone. Gathering his thoughts, Kagome came to his mind. He perked his ears, glancing back at the well, and looking all around him for a sign of Kagome having come back. When he spotted that she wasn't here and found none of her tracks or a whiff of her telltale scent in the air, he let out a depressed sigh. "She must really be mad at me..." He said quietly to himself. "If only she didn't seal the well, I would have jumped into that well myself and went to get her." He continued, still talking to himself. Inuyasha wouldn't admit it, but he missed Kagome very much.
Kagome's grandpa wandered into the building where the well was, noticing Kagome's use of the scroll and the Jewel shards. "Hmm, what could that girl be doing? She knows perfectly well that no one can come after her but Inuyasha. Ahh well, she must have had a scare from some demon yesterday and sealed the well just in case. I'll remove it for her, that girl needs to learn to face her fears." He peeled the scroll off of the well's cover and went back into the house, placing it on her desk.
Kagome was walking to school alone that day, she was really early, so none of her friends were on the path there yet. "Hey Kagome, are you feeling better?" A pleasant voice asked her. Kagome stopped to see Hojo standing next to her and smiled. "Hi Hojo, yeah, I'm feeling better." Wondering, "I wonder what weird disease my family diagnosed me with this time... it's a wonder I still have friends..."
Inuyasha growled, disappointed in himself. He shouldn't be moping around waiting for nothing. He rose to his feet, dusting the dirt off of his clothes, then turned, facing the well. "Feh, barrier or no barrier, here goes nothing." He said finally, before jumping into the well.
He arrived in Kagome's time era, looking up from inside the well. So the well wasn't sealed, or perhaps it was. He climbed to the top of the well then smacked the hatch with his fist, watching the doors fly open. "Someone must have taken off the seal." He thought. Climbing out of the well, he sniffed the air, smelling Kagome's scent not too far away.
Kagome sat in her class after being welcomed back by her classmates and having to pretend to know every detail about the latest disease of hers. This time it was some weird case where she went blind and deaf at the same time. "I swear, Sota must be the one making all this up." She thought. She was in health class right now, and they were studying about people with disabilities. "Kagome? Kagome???" "Huh?" Kagome looked up to see the teacher looking at her.
The teacher sighed. "Kagome, I just asked if you could tell the class about your experience being blind and deaf at the same time, it would be helpful for our study of this unit to hear from someone with firsthand experience of being disabled. Kagome sweat dropped. "Umm... I don't really want to talk about it; I get creeped out just thinking of what it felt like." "Please Kagome; I must insist that you try. If you can't, then I won't force you."
Kagome stood up at the head of the class, thinking "All right, here goes nothing..."
He was about to go out of the shrine, but paused, thinking that it wouldn't be such a good idea to venture out into Kagome's time era, without wearing something proper to cover his ears, which might attract unwanted attention. With that statement pointed out, he sat back down on the edge of the well, deciding to wait for her instead. He let out a sigh, feeling boredom taking over him, his head eventually nodding forward onto his chest, falling into a light doze as hours passed by.
Sota wandered around the Temple grounds, getting out from school earlier than Kagome did. He noticed the doors of the shrine containing the well were slightly ajar, so he went to investigate. Opening the doors wide, he saw Inuyasha sitting on the side of the well.
Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard someone enter the room, opening his eyes, awakening from his dose. He was surprised to see it was Kagome's brother. "Huh?" He bluntly stated, almost falling back in the well, surprised by Sota's sudden appearance.
Kagome had arrived back home from school, walked over to the Sacred Tree to relax in its shade while doing her homework.
"Hi Inuyasha, are you looking for Kagome? She just got back from school; she's right outside, by the Sacred Tree." Sota took Inuyasha's hand and led him outside.
He followed Sota outside of the shrine, seeing Kagome underneath the Sacred Tree. He paused in his tracks, feeling a sense of warmth flooding his senses. "Kagome?" He said softly, taking a step forward.
Kagome looked up from her textbook, her face turning pale at the sight of Inuyasha standing there with Sota, her mind racing, "How did he get through the well!?!?!? Grandpa must have taken the scroll off, I'll kill him later..." "Sota, mom wants your help with something, she asked me to tell you. She wants you to go... now." Sota looked puzzled at first since he knew their mom was out shopping, but he then looked back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha and got the hint. "Ok sis, I'll see you later." He walked back to the house.
He watched Sota leave, seeming to take an eternity, before turning his gaze to Kagome. He turned his gaze to the ground, trying to avoid looking into her eyes. "Uhh... Hi?" He said stupidly, since that was the only word he would get out of his mouth at this moment.
He took a deep breath, before taking another step towards her. He glanced up to the Sacred Tree, as the memory of Kikyo pinning him to this tree came to mind. He shook his head, trying to erase that thought.
With a shuddering breath, he hesitantly took a slow step forward, as he couldn't find any words to confront her with."I'm assuming you didn't just come here to stare, Inuyasha." Kagome said curtly, looking down at the pages of her chemistry textbook, flipping through her homework pages as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. However, her hands shook slightly, not noticeable to the casual observer, and her eyes were growing shiny, small tear drops starting to collect on the fringes of her eyelashes.Inuyasha glanced down to the ground, listening to Kagome's words, which were true. He then shifted his gaze back to her, noticing the teary eyed looked that she had. "Kagome..." He said quietly, almost in a whisper, as he took another step towards her and another, until he was right in front of her.
His eyes softened as his gaze met hers. He tried to ignore the emotion that was building up from inside of him, though, he failed to do so. He let out a sigh, before opening his mouth to speak, but then he closed it, finding that words could not escape him. He just stood there stupidly, staring into Kagome's watery eyes."Kagome? Kagome, are you here?" Kagome looked away from Inuyasha to see Hojo standing near the gate to the temple. "Hojo? Why are you here?" She brushed her eyes on the side of her sleeve then got up to meet him.His ears perked, hearing a voice of another. His head turned to the direction of where Hojo was standing as a low growl was emitted from jealousy. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, watching Kagome get up and walk over to the boy.Kagome opened the gate, letting Hojo in. He began, "Hi, I noticed you left your math textbook and I know that you need it for our homework tonigh..." He stopped as he saw Kagome's red eyes and dark patch on her sleeve that looked as if it had been stained with tears. Hojo also saw behind her Inuyasha, who was strange enough with his red hoari and bare feet, though what truly made his eyes open wide was the long silver hair and ears. He looked back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha, and then put two and two together. "Kagome... he... he didn't make you cry, did he?" When Kagome didn't answer, his blood boiled over. He walked right over to Inuyasha and demanded, "How could you make Kagome cry? What kind of insensitive jerk are you?!"He gave a low growl at the outburst of Hojo. "Feh, you do you think you are?! Get out of my face before I hurt you!" He threatened, as he continued his growling. His ears perked, as he listened to Hojo's comment about Kagome crying. He looked over to Kagome. "Kagome?" He said yet again in another quiet tone.Kagome ran over and grabbed Hojo by the arm, pushing him out of the temple, saying quickly, "I'm rehearsing for a little play we're putting on for the children in the hospital who are getting surgeries and have serious medical conditions, with that guy in COSTUME, he's my partner and I got upset because I couldn't get the scene right. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, thanks for my math textbook, BYE!!" Kagome closed the gates hurriedly in Hojo's face. He was a little skeptical about Kagome's story, but odd things always seemed to happen to her, so he went home in content, not thinking a second thought about what just happened, saying aloud to no one in particular, "I hope Kagome's play goes well."Kagome slumped against the wall near the gate, exhaling in relief at a disaster avoided.
He growled softly to himself, as he put his arms in the sleeves of his hoari. "Good riddance." He muttered under his breath as he watched Hojo's quick departure. He then adverted his gaze to Kagome, tilting his head to the side a little, a bit confused why she cried. Determined to find out, he slowly made his way towards her, before he sat next to her in his usual dog like position. "So... What's with the tears?" He asked stupidly.
"Hojo was right about one thing... you are insensitive... you really have no idea WHY I'm upset?!?!?" Kagome cried out, tears welling up in her eyes again.
He blinked, seeing tears starting gather in her eyes. "What? How am I supposed to know?! You're the one who left before I could even get a chance to talk to you!" He retorted, wincing when he said it in a harsher tone than was necessary.
Kagome sighed, leaning back against the cool shaded stone to look over at the Sacred Tree, its upper branches waving in the breeze, a symbol of peace, wisdom, and revelation. Her tears stopped coming, and she knew what she had to say, no matter what the consequences, feeling the light realization of her destined words and actions as she did before. "That one day, a while ago, that day when Kikyo was being pursued by the giant soul catcher, the day you rescued her and proclaimed your bond to her, and your promise to follow her into hell... That's the day I knew for sure how I felt about you. I remember I told you the day I came back, that we both had a strong desire to be with you. Hers is spawned from revenge and hate, from her desire to claim you, the thing she lost 50 years ago through Naraku's treachery... even if she no longer cares for you like she did 50 years ago, she still feels possessive towards you, and thus claimed your life, and you, who still feel for her, claimed her own life. And I... yes, I still desire to be with you, though I, with my entire soul and life to live before me in a body not made of clay, my emotions, are not spawned from hate, jealousy or possessiveness, but rather entirely the opposite... and... well... I guess you could say that's part of the reason I am upset today..."
Kagome stopped speaking, a small, sad smile playing about the corners of her mouth, fingers running over the worn edges of her math textbook.
Slight twitching came from his ears, listening to everyone of Kagome's confession to him. He glanced to the ground as she brought up the mention of Kikyo. Pushing her away from his mind, he continued to listen to her. "Opposite of hate?" He thought to himself, shifting his gaze back to Kagome. She desired to be with him? His eyes widened a bit at the confession. Inuyasha always thought that Kagome was only with him to gather the jewel shards, and her previous mention of her desire to be with him was based on the shards. He thought that when the day the Shikon no Tama was finally back in safe hands, Kagome would long to go back to her own time era, away from Inuyasha and his bitter attitude.
He looked over to the Sacred tree, as memories of the past began to flood his mind. With one gentle shake of his head, he got rid of the thoughts, only for them to return to his mind once again. "Fifty years ago... She risked her life for me... It's only the right thing to do, to repay her with my own." He said in a rather quiet tone, trying to choose his words carefully. "I like being with you too Kagome. When I'm with you... I feel at peace..." He added, letting his gaze drop to the ground once more.
Kagome nodded slightly, her sad smile now mirrored in her eyes, though they were dry, as she had willed herself to not cry anymore. "Yes... she not only risked her life, she died..." She said quietly, while in her mind, she thought, "It wasn't for you she died, it was because of Naraku she died, while protecting the Sacred Jewel... it was his artifice that caused her to die... and the thing that has caused fate to deal me this cruel hand.... No, that is not true, it is only my destiny that I walk down this path, and it is destiny that Kikyo and Inuyasha should be together, just as they were 50 years ago, although things have changed since then. I have to uphold the law of destiny and fate as the High Priestess, Guardian of the Shikon No Tama..."
She continued out loud to Inuyasha. "Don't fret over this Inuyasha; it's destiny's hand that guides us, not our own will. We'll always be friends." Kagome got up and went over to her backpack, tearing a sheet of paper out from one of her notebooks and taking a pen from a pocket in her bag. She used the textbook as a writing surface, quickly writing out a message to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. She then went inside the house to get an envelope and sealed the letter and the three jewel shards on her desk inside, then used another demon blocking charm on the envelope, writing the kanji on the outside in ink.
Going back over to Inuyasha, she handed it to him. "I want you to give this to Sango, Miroku and Shippo. It's for them only; the charm on it won't allow you to open it. I have a test tomorrow; I'll come back after that. You go first, they'll have returned to Lady Kaede's village by now." She led him over to the well, keeping a smile pasted on her face as she went to make sure Inuyasha left to the feudal era.
Inuyasha tilted his head as he glanced down to the envelope in his hands, his eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion, before bringing it up by his ear and shaking it. His ears perked, hearing the clicking sound of the jewel shards."Kagome... Why are you giving these to Miroku and Sango? You know you can't travel back without these. It doesn't make any sense." He commented, shaking the envelope in front of her face. "Unless of course... you're meaning to stay here and never come back..."Kagome bit her lip. "Inuyasha, I had hoped I wouldn't need to use this, but I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry, good-bye... Inuyasha..." Kagome pressed her fingertips to her lips and reached out, gently brushing them against his cheek. She then held up the demon barrier scroll she had placed over the well before and walked slowly forward, the demon repelling energies of the scroll forcing Inuyasha backward until he toppled backward into the well.
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I hope you liked it! I know the scroll thing was a little odd... Please review and don't flame me in the next chapter!