The Mayu Flower

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha.

Chapter 7: Lost Warmth

"Damn this new moon," InuYasha growled to himself, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The black sky stretched far to the horizon with a few silver stars sparkling it, but the usual bright moon was no where to be seen. InuYasha sat at the base of a tree that stood just beside Lady Kaede's hut in the village. The others were inside having their dinner, but InuYasha had refused to eat and remained outside. His usual long silver hair was now black, his claws and fangs had shortened, his dog ears had converted to human ears, and his golden eyes had dimmed to a brown violet.

"InuYasha, are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" came a childish voice. Shippou stuck his head out of the door of the hut with a concerned look in his face. Instead of an answer, InuYasha simply glared at the kitsune until Shippou retreated back inside and out of view.

Fighting back his sigh, he looked back up at the sky. 'I can't wait until tomorrow morning so I can get my powers back and be rid of these stupid human emotions,' he thought. Dropping his gaze, he started at the distance forest where the Bone Eater's Well stood. Sadness and guilt started to creep into his mind, but he stubbornly pushed them away. 'That stupid Kagome! Why'd she have to go and return to her time! Does she hate me that much?' His mind quieted for a moment, letting the silence wash over him. Suddenly, he climbed to his feet and cast a glance to the hut. He remained there for a moment before he turned and began to walk towards the forest.

Not many people were out at this time so he had no trouble in sneaking out of the village. Slipping into the forest, he began to walk down the path towards the well. 'I'll just go see if she is all right. That's all. I won't talk to her, I'll just look and go,' he thought. Soon he came into a small clearing with a rather old and musty looking well in the centre of it. There were some vines growing along its side, but other than that it looked like any old abandoned well.

Coming to the side of the well, InuYasha looked down into its depths with a sullen look on his face. Darkness stretched down to the bottom. Second thoughts started to creep into his mind, but he forced them back as he climbed onto the rim of the well. Taking a breath, he jumped in. Blue light surrounded him for a few minutes until it faded into the walls of the well from the Modern era. He felt the ground reform beneath his feet as he landed. Once the light faded completely, he grabbed the sides of the ladder that had been installed and began to climb up to the top with some annoyance on his face. Usually he would be able to get out of the well with one jump but with his demon powers suppressed, he had to work to do things that usually came easy.

Once he reached the top, he left the hut and came to her front door. Since he didn't have his usual abilities, he could not jump to her bedroom window. Sliding the door open, he stuck his head in. There was no sound at all. 'If I had my sense of smell, I'd be able to tell if she were all right and leave by now,' he thought angrily. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him and passed through the kitchen. He checked the living room as well, but there was no sign of any member of Kagome's family. Deciding to check in her room, he began to climb the stairs. Getting to the top, he stuck his head into every room before getting to Kagome's. The place was empty.

Frowning, InuYasha debated whether he should go back or not. If he stayed for too long, they might come in unexpectantly and he'd be caught, but if not, he wouldn't be able to know if she was all right.

In the end, he stayed in her room. While standing, he looked over everything she owned, but touched nothing. He had come to visit a good many times and she had almost always been here, or at least someone from her family. It was strange to come and find no one there.

'Should I talk to her? I...I might not get another chance to tell her the truth when she comes back...if she can come back at all that is. She doesn't know about Kaede's theory. She doesn't know about the truth of what I think of her either,' InuYasha thought with sad eyes. 'I wonder if she still feels the same about me. Everything that's happened...who knows what goes on in her mind now...'

Suddenly from downstairs, the sound of voices and an opening door met his ears. Before realizing what he was doing, InuYasha rushed out of Kagome's room and hurried down the stairs.

"Hey, it's InuYasha! Today's the new moon, huh?" Souta said excitedly when the hanyou turned the corner into their view. The entire family was there, Kagome, her grandfather, Mrs. Higurashi, and Souta. At first all of them wore a smile, but suddenly one fell at the sight of InuYasha. Kagome's face was a little pale and her mother held her arm as if to give her support. Kagome quickly diverted her gaze, but InuYasha caught it. There was pain in her eyes, but there was also a calm warmth. Somehow InuYasha knew that this warmth was not for him. His heart fell a stone.

"Kagome, can...can I talk to you for a minute?" InuYasha said slowly, his eyes sad.

Kagome glanced up at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I..."

"Please?" he cut in with a hint of desire in his voice.

Kagome sighed and nodded after a minute. The smiles of the rest of her family dimmed into concern, but no one said a word. Kagome walked past InuYasha and led him up the stairs into her room. As soon as he was in, she closed the door and then turned around to face him.

There was a rather uncomfortable moment of silence before InuYasha took a little breath, trying to decide how to begin. "Are...are you okay?" he began.

"Of course," she replied in a neutral tone.

"How come no one was here?"

This time Kagome didn't reply right away. "I...went out with my family," she answered. Something told him that was not entirely true, but he didn't push it.

"The others are really worried about you, when you left and didn't come back..."

"I had to come back to get something. I...forgot...that the well might not let me through so I'm stuck here for the time being," she replied.

'It's now or never...' InuYasha thought. "Kagome...the other day...I overhead Kaede talking to Miroku and Sango...about the well." Kagome blinked in sudden curiosity but remained silent. "Kaede has a theory to why the well isn't working. Part of it you already know, but..." He struggled to think of the right words. Instead he tried to take a different approach. "Kagome...what does Kinuto mean to you?"

"What does he have to do with anything?" InuYasha noticed how her sharp expression had softened when he had said Kinuto's name. His heart fell another stone.

"He...I-I can't explain right now. Please tell me," he answered.

Kagome sighed and her cheeks started to redden slightly. "I already told you he's just a friend." Her cheeks began to flush into a deeper pink, betraying her lie. "I don't know why you care anyway, it's not like you have a reason to be jealous or anything."

InuYasha tried to ignore the stab in his heart he had just felt. "You just saw him again, didn't you?"

Kagome's face turned into a light scarlet and she crossed her arms and darted her gaze away from him. "So what if I did?"

He examined her face while she wasn't looking. Was this the face he had when she asked him if he had gone to see Kikyou? He tried to push the thought away. 'She loves him...' he thought. 'Kagome...' "Kagome...I need to tell you something..." 'Wait...should I tell her the truth about the night she saw me with Kikyou? If I tell her, will it change anything? She obviously loves Kinuto now, but does that mean...'

Kagome turned to face him. Her usual warm chocolate brown eyes were now cold and almost distant. So like Kikyou's, but it seemed these bore deeper into his soul with a meaning he was just beginning to understand. 'There's no warmth in her eyes...the eyes she had once shed tears from for me...they're cold now...' His heart continued to sink through his soul. 'She...she doesn't love me anymore...she doesn't care about me anymore...she loves Kinuto now, she's forgotten about me...why, Kagome...why...'

"Well?" Her voice cut his thoughts cleanly, but their sting was still fresh. 'Why are his eyes so sad?' she wondered.

InuYasha dropped his gaze. His heart felt like it had broken into a million pieces, it felt as if where it had once been there was a black hole sucking in everything he felt into a terrible ache. "N-nothing. Nevermind..." he mumbled quietly. He suddenly turned away from her and opened the door. "G-goodbye...Kagome..." he whispered, not meeting her gaze and strode out of the door.

She watched him walk down the hall and down the stairs, heard her brother's annoying enthusiasm, but never heard a reply from the hanyou. She waited for the sound of the sliding door opening and closing before closing the door and falling onto her bed. 'What was that about?' she wondered. Rolling onto her stomach, she grabbed her pillow and held it beneath her chin with her arms wrapped around it. 'He never told me what Kaede's theory was. Oh well, I'll find out the next time I'm able to get through.' There was a distant stab of guilt at the little care that she showed for the problems with the well, but she pushed it aside without a thought.

With InuYasha...

The hanyou rushed into the shrine and down the well without taking much notice. Once in the Feudal Era, he took three steps away from the well and towards the village when he stopped. The wind caught his long black hair and pushed it, but he stood as still as if he were the only person alive. His eyes were closed and he was surprised his hands weren't shaking. His heart felt like it had fallen down into the black hole that now took its place long before. 'Kagome doesn't care about me anymore...' That single statement rang through his mind, tearing and scarring his soul. For that time, he forgot all about Kikyou or the Shikon jewel or Naraku...all he could think, all he knew right now was that a girl that had warmed his heart for what seemed like years was now lost.


Let the tragic drama begin! I hope this chapter tugged your heart a good amount, that's what I was aiming for. Anyway...

I'm so proud, I managed to finish this chapter ahead of scheduel! I just couldn't help but right another chapter, even though I should be working on projects and reviewing for exams. lol Anyway, please review! Reviews are really the only thing I get out of writing this fanfiction so please, please, please review! Thanks again!