Author's Notes: Hello! People, please review more! I mean, I'll still continue writing, but encourage me more. I won't beg, it's not my kind of thing to do, but I will ask! Meaning, please do give me more reviews. ON WITH THE STORY!
Disclaimer: sigh I really don't want to know about this anymore than I already do.
Chapter 4 – Don't Do This To Me
Inu Yasha dropped his arms from around Miroku's waist and Miroku slided off Inu Yasha's lap, watching Kagome with wide eyes. Inu Yasha turned around lazily and stared straight at Kagome, who stared back. Her face was pale, her lips parched, her clothes were wrinkled and her eyes were wide open. She looked at the two men that had seemed so close just a minute ago with terrified eyes. Was she scared? Or was she shocked, rejected, disappointed? In a way, Inu Yasha felt guilty. He knew how highly she thought of him. He knew how much she adored him.
"Kagome..." called Inu Yasha softly. His voice was carried by the wind, making him sound even more vulnerable. The sudden wind had started blowing harder, whipping Inu Yasha's hair into his face. The woman in question stood up from behind the bush, her big brown eyes watery, a tear stain running down one of her pale cheeks, her long black hair messy and blown all over the place. Inu Yasha had noticed Kagome trembling slightly in her small and slightly skimpy outfit, so he took a step closer to her, trying to say something to persuade her to go back to the hut first.
"Inu Yasha!" yelled Kagome. Before he was even given the time to respond, she had started screaming again. "Inu Yasha! How could you?! I thought you cared about me! I thought you knew how I felt about you! I went all the way out here because I was worried about you! I was afraid that Naraku had come and attacked you! I was afraid that Sesshoumaru had wanted to kill you while you were alone! But no! Out of all the demonic things you could be doing, you had to be with him! Mi-Mi-Miroku! He's a monk! He loves Sango! He doesn't love you! HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU THE WAY I DO!" By now, Kagome's voice was trembling. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, crystal tears rolling down her face, falling to the cold ground. Inu Yasha watched with pity. He stepped forward again, reaching one hand out towards Kagome.
"Kagome I-"
"Inu Yasha! Don't you understand? We could be together! We could've spent the rest of our lives forever! Don't you love me anymore? What makes...what makes HIM so much better than I AM?" spat Kagome. She was frantic. Clearly, she had assumed that Inu Yasha had loved her. At least, if not her, perhaps some other woman, but never a man, much less Miroku.
Miroku sighed, and stood up from his spot. He looked at Kagome with sad eyes, clearly showing distress. He had not wanted it to come to this. It would force Inu Yasha to choose between the two. One of them would end up lonesome and angry forever.
"Kagome...I'm sorry, but I do love Inu Yasha, as much as you do. I know you love him too, but, well, it's not something I can control," Miroku chose his words carefully, no intending to hurt Kagome's feelings anymore.
"MIROKU! How could you do this to me?! You knew how much I liked Inu Yasha! You knew how much I cared about him! You were jealous! Weren't you?! Why did you have to steal him from me?" Kagome snapped. She felt rejected by Inu Yasha but anger for Miroku. In her eyes, Miroku had simply stole Inu Yasha away from her. He was the third person. She wasn't the intruder here. There was no 'love triangle' as far as Kagome was concerned. Inu Yasha loved her and only her! He had to!
Miroku sighed. Obviously, she was taking this a little worse than he expected. He turned to Inu Yasha. He seemed sad and slightly...regretful? –Is he regretting the fact that he ever chose me over Kagome?- thought Miroku. He sighed again. This was too much. He had to put an end to it, even if it meant giving in a little. –Or giving in everything...-
"The course of true love never did run smooth..." whispered Miroku, before bowing slightly and walking out of the woods, his purple and black robes moving against the wind.
Inu Yasha watched Miroku leave the two of them in the forest, until he could not longer see Miroku nor smell his scent. He turned back to Kagome who looked at him with depressed eyes.
"I'm sorry Kagome. I didn't mean for this to happen. I mean, I do love you. But not the way I love Miroku. Not as a lover. You're my best friend, and I don't want to lose someone so important to me," explained Inu Yasha. He hoped Kagome would be more understanding. But instead of what he had assumed would be her reaction, she began to cry even more. He groaned silently. In truth, he had no idea what he should do. It was true; he loved Kagome, but only as a sister. He never saw her as a lover. Maybe at first when Kagome constantly reminded him of Kikyou, but now, she was just one of his close friends. Kikyou was still here, but the Kikyou he fell in love with had died, so he didn't feel any passion for her either.
"Kagome, please...don't do this. Don't make this any more harder than it is..." pleaded Inu Yasha. He looked straight into those bright brown eyes that had once been so cheerful. Now they were full of disappointment, disbelief and betrayal.
"Inu Yasha...just...forget it. Whatever," said Kagome with finality. She stalked out of the woods, her small form trembling as the wind was still quite strong. Inu Yasha shook his head gently and jumped into a tree, watching Kagome until she was out of his view. He looked up at the sky. Unlike last night, there was no moon. There were no stars. The sky wasn't a pure colour. Different shades of black, blue and gray were mixed among the clouds. The twinkling stars and the vibrant moon were far away. The wind had died down, but there was still a cool breeze in the higher branches of the taller trees.
Later, during the midst of the night, Inu Yasha returned back to the camp. He looked to see Kagome curled up in her sleeping bag, her face stained with old tears. –She cried herself to sleep...-he thought morbidly. He turned to look at Miroku, who had positioned himself under a big oak tree, his hands wrapped around his staff and his head hung low. Inu Yasha walked towards Miroku and knelt down, cocking his head to the side, watching Miroku's face and expressions. It was during the night when the masks of everyone had been removed, whether they wanted to or not. Miroku seemed lonely. Rejected. Misunderstood. –This is all my fault...- Inu Yasha blamed the incident on himself, not even considering the fact that Miroku may have had a part in it.
Purple eyes slowly slid open, catching the loving gaze from Inu Yasha in front of him. Miroku smiled.
"It's not your fault Inu Yasha," said Miroku in a soothing voice. He reached his hand up to brush the stray strands of hair that had fallen into the beautiful creature's eyes. He trailed his fingers from the side of his face down to his chin. Looking up at his koishi, he still saw the pain and distress.
"None of us wanted this to happen..." continued Miroku, "But...an incident has risen. You must choose one of us. I won't force you to make any choice you don't want. But remember, no matter who you choose, remember, I'll always be there for you." Inu Yasha gave a small smile. –Miroku.- He was willing to sacrifice so much, for the happiness of everyone else. Still, he frowned. Who was he going to choose? Well, he would obvious choose Miroku, but what about Kagome?
"You know who I would choose...but I just don't know what to do about Kagome," Inu Yasha sighed. He honestly hadn't the slightest clue about this kind of stuff. This was a woman's thing. They always knew how to solve these kinds of romance problems and shit.
Miroku gave that same reassuring smile again. He ran his fingers through the hanyou's hair, feeling the soft texture and watching the light bounce off the silver hair as he moved the strands around. "She needs time; we have time."
Inu Yasha still looked disbelieving. Miroku, shook his head silently and chuckled lightly. Catching a glare from the hanyou, he grinned good-heartedly. Miroku leaned over slowly, placing a soft kiss on Inu Yasha's lips, before withdrawing, leaving his eyes closed for a second, and then opening them slowly.
"Go to sleep Inu Yasha, we're leaving tomorrow," concluded Miroku. Inu Yasha agreed silently and leapt up into the branch above Miroku and curled up, closing his eyes, trying to relax his muscles and forget about what happened today. At the bottom of the tree, Miroku looked up briefly, before sliding his eyes back closed. –Kagome...- he thought as he rested, -Please, don't let this relationship ruin our friendship...please.-
Author's Notes: Not much of a cliff hanger. I admit, I didn't know how to end this chapter, so it kind of dragged on. It's not my best work, sorry! I'll try harder next time. If you review, I'll try even harder next time! It all depends on the amount of reviews I get...!