Hey everyone. Sorry for the wait, but school has been really hectic as of late. I had two weeks to do a science fair project, and she expected them to be good.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoy this, even though it is a bit of a filler chapter.

WARNING: Sadness. There will not be any lemon until the last chapter, so please be patient.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or the book "The Summer of My German Soldier" by Bette Greene.

The next morning when the sun began to rise, Sesshoumaru took what few things he had and made his way out into the forest.

"I hope she will forgive me."

Kagome's POV

Now, don't just walk away
Pretending everything's ok
And you don't care about me
And I know there's just no use
When all your lies become your truths and I don't care... yeah, yeah, yeah

When I woke up I had to stop myself from crying out loud. My body ached all over and I could feel the blood on my face, it took me a moment to remember that when I came home last night that my father was waiting for me. Apparently they had decided to come back home instead of staying with my grandparents, and he was not happy that I was gone, and this morning is proof of that.

"At least I get to see Sesshoumaru today." I said as I stood up, it took me a few minutes, but I finally got up and sat on my bed.

It took me another few minutes before I tried to make it to the bathroom, but I finally did. I looked like a mess, I would not be able to go into town for a few more days, maybe longer. My face was not as swollen as it could have been, but it was still purple and puffy. I could still see, and my eyes did not look that bad, so he probably did not punch me very hard, I could not remember exactly what he did, I must have hit my head at some point.

"I hate to see what is going to happen on my birthday." I sighed as I got a washcloth wet and gently washed my face of the dried blood that was caked on.

It hurt to move, but I did so anyway, I did not want to look that bad today, I wanted to be happy despite this. I went back to my room after I washed up, though it took a little work, I think I fell on my right leg at some point, but it did not hurt enough to make me stop walking. I went to my closet and carefully got dressed, this task took three times as long as it usually did, but I was happy when I was finally done. I walked back and sat on my bed before I reached for my brush and worked all of the knots out of my messy hair, finally after a few minutes I was happy with it, the knots were all gone and I could now work my fingers through it.

"I need to get out of here."

I got up again, though my leg protested as much as it could, and I walked out of my room again, taking the steps as fast as I could, but slow enough so that I would not fall on my ass. Kaede was not in the kitchen, so I went out the back door, I did not want to talk to her right now, I just wanted to get to Sesshoumaru. I suppose I feel so safe when I am around him that I want to be with him so that I may think for a little while that I will not be hurt anymore.

"That will never happen, at least not until I am old enough to leave this horrid place." I sighed again, I have been doing that a lot as of late due to my unhappiness with how my family is, though I love my little brother dearly.

I could not imagine life without him, he has been the only light in my dark world of pain, the only thing that had kept me going for so long, and then came Shippou and I had two people to live for. I guess now I can put Sesshoumaru in the category of people that I live for, he is my only real friend that I can talk to about what is going on, not that I do, but I know that I can if I ever need to.

Could you look me in the eye
And tell me that you're happy now, ohhh, ohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now?

I walked down the familiar path, I had been going down it everyday for weeks now, I could almost walk there with my eyes closed. I passed the same trees that I always do, everything was exactly the same, except for the feeling that something was missing. The air just seemed different than it had before, like something important was gone, but I have no idea what it could be. I decided to not think about it anymore, at least not until later, maybe Sesshoumaru felt the same.

I walked the rest of the way, not thinking about anything anymore, just watching the forest, it was so beautiful in the summer time. I finally came upon my hideout, not being able to keep my emotions at bay any longer, all I wanted to do was see my friend, so I ran inside without even bothering to knock first. When I got inside, I looked around, but there was no Sesshoumaru, though this was normal it left a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"He is probably just out in the forest." I tried to convince myself, but it was not working.

I ran back outside, trying to keep myself from going crazy. I knew he was gone, but I still had to look for him, I could not let myself believe the truth, not this time. I ran to the lake, but he was not there, so I ran down the path to my house, calling his name the whole way, but there was no reply to grace my ears. He was really gone. He left my life just as suddenly as she came in to it, and I did not find that fair. I wanted my friend with me, by my side while I was hurting.

"Did someone find him? Did he lie when he said he cared? Did he just use me so that I would not tell someone where he was" all of these questions played through my mind as I ran back to the house.

When I finally got to my house and made it in to the kitchen, the tears that I had been holding back broke through my hold. I was crying so hard that I almost did not make it up the stairs, but as soon as I did I ran to my room and over to my bed. I just laid there, the tears now gone, and thought over everything that had happened since summer began. I met Sesshoumaru, my father became worse than ever, and for the first time I felt like I was wanted on this earth.

"He's gone. He left me, that is all that it can be." I spoke into my pillow, trying not to cry.

I did not want to shed anymore tears, I should have known that he was not going to here here forever, he made that clear when we first met. I could not have actually thought that he would like in such a small and dirty place forever, he needs to be somewhere were he can be himself, and that place is not here.

"He is better off leaving, he has nothing to hold him back. Like I could hold him back, I was just someone for him to talk to, and to bring him food. I was no one special."

After I said that I became mad at myself. I knew that I was someone special to him, he told me himself, and I still believe it, he could not have been lying to me. His eyes told me the truth, and the truth was that he cares about me, like I care about him. I just wish that he was here to tell me these things, I miss him so much already, and if it feels this bad now, how will it feel later?

You took all there was to take,
And left me with an empty plate
And you don't care about it, yeah.
And I am givin' up this game
I'm leaving you with all the blame cause I don't care, yeah, yeah yeah,

Could you look me in the eye?
And tell me that you're happy now, oohh oohhh
Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased,
Are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
Are you happy now?
Are you happy now? yeah, yeah, yeah.

I had fallen asleep and did not awaken until later that day. Kaede said that lunch had long past, and that she saved me some, but I told her that I was not hungry. I did not lie, I really did not feel like eating, or sleeping, or thinking, or walking...I just wanted to be near him, the one that I had grown to depend on for a single ounce of normalcy.

"I hope that he finds a nice place to live, and that he finds happiness wherever that may be." I thought as I walked out the back door.

It was nice out today, the sun was shining as a warm breeze blew by, but inside I was covered in darkness and sorrow. I missed him, and I wanted him to be happy, but I also wanted myself to be happy. I know it is selfish of me to want him to stay here, but I cannot help how I feel. I thought he liked it here, he was safe, no one knew where he was, but I suppose he did not fit in here. He needed to find a better place where he could live a somewhat normal life, where he did not have to depend on an annoying teenage girl for meals.

"I hope he makes it somewhere nice, maybe a place with the ocean near by so he can go swimming like we use to." I said to myself, still thinking about all of the things that we would do.

We would go swimming, play in the rain, have picnics, or just sit there in silence. The quiet had become something that we both liked, we had talked about it once, how it was so comfortable to just to be near each other, we knew it was because we had become such good friends. We did not have to talk, and that is one thing that I loved. It hurt to have him gone, but I knew with time that it would get better, though I do not know how much time. True, we barely knew each other, we just started getting to know each other. I was starting to see a sweet side to him, under all of that scowling, and I wish I could see it just one more time.

"Stop it. You are being pitiful again." I said, nearly slapping myself, which would have been stupid.

"You do not need him that badly, you barely know him. All you need to do right now if concentrate on your life."

Do you really have everything you want?
You can't ever give somethin' you ain't got
You can't run away from yourself

I knew that was what I needed to be doing, my birthday was at the end of the week, so I needed to play nice until then, do everything right. I guess with Sesshoumaru around I did not think about it as much, because I knew I would see him the next day and it would not be so bad. I suppose I will just have to take it like I did every other year, it would not be so bad, I still have Shippou.

"Yes, little Shippou."

I had not seen him in a few days, he had a cold from playing in the water too much, so I sent him home with enough food to last him a while, and I told him not to get out of bed unless he was better. He listened to me, though today is one of those days that I wish that he had disobeyed me.

"Kagome-chan"

My lovable little, cannot stay put, kitsune. I turned around to find him standing right behind me, like he had known just the right moment to come and find me. I bent down and picked him up, not saying a word as I hugged him, trying not to cry, I had already done that enough today. When I felt his warm little body against mine, that is when I decided that I should not be sad. I had something very special right here, and I should cherish it.

"How does a picnic sound" I asked as I set Shippou down, smiling at how cute he looked at that moment.

His face lit up with one of the biggest smiles that I had seen in a long time.

"Just you and me" his innocent little voice asked, looking up at me with his big green eyes.

"Yes, just you and me." I said, laughing a bit at his antics.

He smiled even more, if that were possible, before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards my house.

Could you look me in the eye?
and tell me that you're happy now, yeah, yeah
come on, tell it to my face or have i been replaced,
are you happy now? Ohhh, ohhhh
are you happy now?

That afternoon had been so much fun. I missed being alone with Shippou, he always seemed more open when it was just the two of us. We ate and played, even went for a quick swim before I had to go home. I promised that we would spend more time with each other, he was thrilled with the news.

"But, I still wish that Sesshoumaru was here with us."

Yes, I still can not stop thinking about him. I guess I was just so comfortable with him around, that it just seems empty now that he is gone.

"No more."

I sighed as I laid down on my bed. I was so tired, my body ached all over, and that only proved to remind me.

"My birthday is in two days."

I almost cried again. I actually forgot about that horrible day, at least for a time, but now the reality of it has come back. I do not even know if I will make it to see my next birthday, if I do it will be some sort of miracle, one that I am almost hoping will not happen.

"Is that a reason why he left"

Did he leave because of my problems? I thought that I had left him out of it enough. No. I am just being paranoid, he left because he had to.

"I just hope he is happy now."

I closed my eyes, hoping that I may have a dream of a day that Sesshoumaru may be back in my life.

Would you look me in the eye?
Could you look me in the eye?
I've had all that I can take
I'm not about to break
Cause I'm happy now, ohhh, ohhh
Are you happy now?

Okay, there is going to be two more chapters. The next one should be out by the end of the month. Thanks for reading.