Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not, and never will be, mine (Sadly). Bumi is mine, however, and you will need my permission to use her in your story.

No Way Out
Chapter 14 - Longing

"I'm leaving, Inuyasha, and you can't stop me!" I yelled, starting to walk away again, but he grabbed my arm.

"Just... Listen to me, Bumi," he said, softly.

"Inuyasha... Let me go, please?" I looked up at him. "I don't want to be a replacement for Kagome. I just want to be left alone!"

I jerked my arm away, then started running.

I stopped running when I reached the valley. I was at the closet thing to a home that I ever had.

And, to my luck, Inuyasha hadn't followed me.

It was nearing nightfall as I approached the hot spring. I stared at it, smiling. This was where I met Kouga, and it was near where I met Inuyasha.

Then, my smile faded as I looked at my reflection. It was hard to tel, but it looked like my cheeks had been lined with silver.

I leaned closer to the water, and kept starting at my reflection. I didn't dare touch my cheeks, fearing that what I had seen was true.

And then, slowly, almost too slowly, I lifted my hand to my cheek, and felt exactly what I had feared.

I had been crying. Of course I wouldn't recognize the gesture, because I hadn't cried in two years.

Since Mama died.

But why was I crying now? I had no reason to cry, did I?

I shook my head while I stood up. No. I have no reason to cry.

I shook my head again, talking to myself. "Bumi, don't cry. Please, don't cry."

I sat down again. As I spoke those words to myself, I heard Mama's voice. Those were her last words to me, two years ago.

Now I felt like a mere child, crying over nothing. At least, it seemed like nothing.

Was I crying over Inuyasha? If I was, I shouldn't be. Inuyasha doesn't deserve tears, and neither does Kouga!

And yet, they received them.

Despite my tumbling emotions, I still wept. I closed my eyes, and felt the tears slide from my lashes down my cheeks.

When the rain came, I embraced it. It could wash away my tears, and it did.

It drowned my sorrows with its soft thump on the ground. It drowned out the loud beating of my heart as I saw illusions of Inuyasha and me, not fighting for once.

In the back of my mind, I could only hope it would happen, but I could never actually imagine it.

Inuyasha was a stubborn, arrogant jerk. A cute jerk, but a jerk none-the-less.

I rolled forward on my knees and stared once again into the spring. My reflection looked happy, genuinely happy, but distorted by the rain.

I kept staring at the water when a silverish blur appeared above my reflection. I narrowed my eyes a little, my vision blurred by the rain and my own tears.

I bit my lip. "W-why are you hear?" I turned around, still on my knees, and looked up at Inuyasha.

"Your obi came undone again," he said, wearing a small smile. His bangs clung to the side of his face, but fell around his shoulders as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up so I was standing in front of him. He turned me around, and I stared into the water again as he tied my obi.

"Why did you follow me, Inuyasha?"

"Who said I followed you?" He growled.

I closed my eyes. "Well, you're here."

He turned me around again, and I opened my eyes. "So? I only came because the others were worried about you."

"Then why are they not here?" I questioned, moving hair away from my eyes.

"They couldn't keep up."

Both of us were quiet for a few moments, and Inuyasha spoke first. "Were you crying?"

I stared up at him. "No! Of course not! W-why would you think that?"

Inuyasha stepped closer, and used his thumb to follow the trail my tears had made down my cheek. "Despite this rain, I can still smell the saltiness of tears. You were crying!"

I pushed Inuyasha's hand away. "I told you, I wasn't crying!"

"But I smell tears." So did I. But I couldn't let Inuyasha know that I had cried.

"So? Doesn't mean they're mine." I growled lowly. Inuyasha shrugged, his eyes following the trail of tears on my other cheek.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

I nodded and looked down, pushing his hand away from my face again.

"You'll get sick," he said, out of nowhere.

I stared up at him. "Huh?"

"It's cold. You'll get sick."

"Why do you care? I'm not Kagome, remember? Besides, I already told you that I didn't care."

"Then why are you crying again?"

I touched my left cheek. He was right. I was crying again. I turned away. It was bad enough Inuyasha could smell my tears, but I didn't want him to see them!

Inuyasha cupped my chin in his hand, and made me look at him again. Then, he settled his lips on mine. I felt my cheeks warm up, and pulled away. "Uh... Inuyasha? What was that for?"

He looked at me, and all I could see was his amber eyes. "I was wiping away your tears?"

"On my lips?"

"Well..."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions," he growled.

"I ask the perfect amount of questions, and they deserve answers!" I stomped my foot, almost stepping on Inuyasha's. "So, answer me!"

Inuyasha looked away, a stubborn look on his face. I knew I wouldn't be able to get an answer out of him.

Why does he have to be so stubborn? I asked myself.

"Inuyasha, answer me!" I yelled. I ignored my hair as it fell into my face again. I felt the rain pound the ground harder.

When Inuyasha went to leave, I grabbed his arm. "Inuyasha!"

He glared back at me and jerked his arm away. I frowned slightly, and felt tears prick the back of my eyes.

I mumbled softly, "Why do you hate me?"

I looked at the ground, and rubbed my arm. I could see Inuyasha's feet in my blurred vision.

I felt his hands on my shoulders, and he turned me around. I looked up, and saw the moon, a tiny crescent, beyond the rain. Then, I felt a tug at my back, and my kimono tightened once again.

Inuyasha turned me so I was facing him again, and I looked up at him. "I don't hate you, Bumi."

"You sure act like it!"

"That's just how I am!"

"And I don't care!" I snarled.

I closed my eyes when Inuyasha pulled me closer. He kissed the top of my head, and I looked up at him. "You confuse me, Inuyasha."

He didn't say anything; only smiled. He leaned down and settled his chin on my shoulder. I just realized I wasn't as short as I thought I was; I was just... small.

I kissed him on the cheek, savoring his taste and body heat. After staying in the rain, I needed to stay warm. I snuggled closer to him, and buried my face into his chest. "Arigato, Inuyasha," I mumbled into the cloth of his kimono.

His arms tightened around my waist. "What was that?"

I pulled away slightly, but still kept close to him. "I said 'Arigato,'"

"No, not that," he growled softly.

Within two seconds, Inuyasha and I were at least ten feet apart.

I laughed nervously. "Hey Kagome."

Haha! Isn't that just a mean cliffie? Sorry! Don't worry, this'll be updated tomorrow.

Review Shout-outs!

Courtney: Sorry to say, hun, but if you're looking for an Inu/Kags story, you might not want to read this story.

Ear-Tweak: Yes, I'm just such a caring authoress.

White Wolf: (I'm just gonna call you that, if that's okay) Love squares ARE interesting. Trust me, I know what it's like to be in one. Except, the one I was involved in was SOO much more confusing than Bumi's is. There was even a part were it became a love pentagon. And I'm just gonna shut up now.

Lisa: Yes, poor Bumi. I'm hoping you enjoyed this chapter! She wasn't as angry as in last chapter.

(PS... My writing sucks. I don't even know why you people are reading this! )