The Mayu Flower
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha.
Chapter 8: Eternal Sorrow
"Some eggs for breakfast, dear?" her mother's warm voice asked as Kagome entered the kitchen with a stretch and a yawn.
"Thanks, mom. You're the best," she replied with a smile. Souta was already eatting his breakfast at the table beside her Grampa who, as usual, had his nose buried in the newspaper. "Morning Gramps, Souta, Buuyo," she said sleepily as she stepped over the mewing cat and sat down.
"How come you're so tired? You went to sleep early yesterday," Souta mumbled between bites of his breakfast.
"I...I just had trouble sleeping, that's all," she replied in a semi-curt tone. 'Nice job, Souta. I was hoping to not have to think about him today and just get on with my life,' she thought with a slight frown. 'No wait, it's not his fault. It's InuYasha's! Why did he have to come here so late to tell me...actually he never really got around to telling me what was on his mind. His eyes looked really sad though...' She shook her head. 'What am I thinking! He doesn't even care about me, why should I care about why he's sad? He was probably just sad because he was imagining Kikyou in my place!' Despite her efforts to force out the image of those sad golden eyes, she still felt a distance twinge of guilt. He had wanted to tell her something, but somehow she had stopped him. Not intentionally, but something had. 'Why do I even feel this way? I did nothing wrong.' For a moment her mind fell silent. 'He didn't even ask me if I was coming back. At least Kinuto cares about me.' At this thought she felt a little better. Her heart warmed a bit at the reminder of Kinuto, the one boy in the world she was confident cared about her for who she was.
After breakfast, Kagome picked up her bag and went to school. The day passed by strangely slow. Sad, golden eyes always seemed to creep into her mind's eye when she least expected it and hurriedly forced it away. By lunchtime, she was in a fairly sour mood.
"Kagome, what's wrong?" Eri asked. The four of them were sitting at their usual table at WacDonalds for their break. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi all wore concerned faces.
"Hm? Oh, nothing's wrong. Just something on my mind," Kagome waved away, slowly chewing her burger.
The three of them frowned. "You thinking about Kinuto or that other guy?" Yuka asked.
"Really, Kagome. I think you should just forget about your old boyfriend and get together with Kinuto. You yourself said he's a lot nicer than him anyway," Ayumi said with a nod. The two others nodded with her.
"He IS a lot nicer, but..." Suddenly anger at herself swelled up inside her. "No, no buts! Kinuto's a lot nicer than him and that's that!" Frowning into her burger, she seemed to forget her friends were there.
"Kagome...it sounds like you're not entirely convinced yourself who you want to be with," Yuka said quietly.
"Come to think of it, you never did tell us what happened between you and your old boyfriend," Eri suddenly said.
Kagome suddenly shot a look at her which made her friend's blood turn cold. "Do we have to keep talking about him? I want to put that all behind me, just please don't ask me again!"
The rest of their lunch break passed slowly. No matter what little conversation the group tried to bring up, the tensity of Kagome's words stayed with them. Finally it was time to get back to school. The rest of the school day slipped by in a blur of homework and lessons until Kagome found herself walking home with a strangely low spirit. 'Maybe I'll go visit Kinuto. That'll cheer me up, won't it?' she thought. In the end she resolved to do that very thing. Changing her root, she began to walk towards the boy's house.
'I did nothing wrong. InuYasha said he only cared about me because I was a symbol of Kikyou to him. Then he saw me with Kinuto and now he is jealous. There's no reason for him to act like I did something wrong, as if...as if he cared about me for me.' A car zoomed by the teen as she continued to walk along the sidewalk. 'Kinuto said he would accept me the way I want InuYasha too if he doesn't...I trust him, I just know he will accept me for who I am,' she thought and suddenly blushed a little. 'InuYasha has chosen Kikyou. That's all there is to it. I'll come back later for Sango and the others, but Kinuto is the one I love now...not InuYasha.' She felt a little better now, but the image of the hanyou's sad golden eyes flashed in her mind for a brief second before vanishing. The teen walked on with her thoughts still tumbling away.
In the Feudal Era...
The green hills stretched on an on with a few trees here and there. The sun sketched a beautiful sky with oranges and yellows near its evening seat and above it, unforgettable blue velvet stretched higher than one can imagine. Some stars had already started to dimly sparkle the sky in the east. Sitting on a lone cliff over-looking this wonderous sight was a lone hanyou, dressed in a plain kimono with long silvery hair and a pair of white dog ears. In his hands was the gleaming pendant bearing a white and red flower.
'Kagome...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...' he thought sadly. 'I should have never let you think what you heard that night was true. I should have told you the truth about what I said.' He dropped his golden eyes to the Mayu flower in his hand. 'I should have given you this when I had the chance...'
"Are you sure he came this way?"
His ears suddenly perked up at the faint voice. It sounded like Sango.
"Yes, I'm sure!" replied another voice. It was high and childish, like Shippou's.
"What would make InuYasha flee like this? I knew he and Kagome had their problems, but what happened to make him act like this?" came Miroku's voice. None of their group, or the rest of the village in that matter, had seen or heard from the hanyou for two days now. Shippou had seen InuYasha go to Kagome's time during the night of the full moon and a passing villager had seen him run through the forest the next morning, but there had been no news since.
There was a sudden hollow rustle. "Over here!" said Shippou suddenly and hurried through a bush. Sango and Miroku quickly followed. After coming free of the forest, the three of them found themselves on a cliff over looking lushiously green hills. There was no hanyou in sight.
Miroku bent low to the ground and examined it. "He was here in the least. I'd say a few minutes before we came here."
"Could he be avoiding us?" Sango asked.
"Possibly. I wouldn't put it past him to hide his troubles like this."
"Will he be okay, Miroku?" Shippou asked with a worried face. He jumped up onto the houshi's shoulder and looked out at the hills.
Miroku frowned and followed the kitsune's gaze. "I'm sure he is, Shippou. InuYasha can take care of himself for a few days." Still the concern on his face did not show any sign of fading.
From a couple of trees away, InuYasha stood perched on a branch, looking down at his friends with a sorrowful expression. 'I have to avoid you, there's no choice. I don't want to have to tell you what's going on for your sake...and for mine...' Slowly he let his mind quiet and let the lifeless void that had once been occupied by Kagome wash over him. He felt empty and cold...he almost reminded himself of Kikyou. He was half-surprised he had not started to think about seeing Kikyou again at this thought. Her memory seemed hazed and useless, like the love he had tried to keep alive had drained away once he had lost Kagome's. Turning around, he cast one last glance at his friends below before jumping further away and slowly walking off with a heavy heart.
Okay this one is freakishly short, but I promise my next one will be very juicy and long! Thanks everyone so much for all your reviews! I'm very grateful! Enjoy!
