Chapter Two Inu-yasha comes to Terms

Back in the village, Kaede and Sango were sitting side by side in the hut, making dinner. Miroku and Shippou were playing nearby. Very suddenly Kaede turned her ear up as if trying to catch a faint sound somewhere in the forest beyond their sight.

"It is done," she sighed, "my sister's soul is once again at rest." She opened her eyes and looked at Sango, who was taken aback by this revelation.

"Sango, can ye go see if Kagome is safe? I will stay with supper."

Sango nodded, bewildered and went in search of her friend.

'If Kikyo is truly dead (again), what could have possibly killed her? I hope Kagome is safe, wherever she is...' she thought to herself as she wandered into the forest. She could hear something just ahead of her that further startled her; someone was crying. The sound was coming directly above her, it was Inu-yasha!

"Inu-yasha-sama, are you Ok?" she called up, concerned, "where is Kagome?"

"Sango, Don't concern yourself with me and forget about Kagome. She went home and is not likely to return. Ever."

"Inu-yasha! What do you mean? What did you do?" Sango cried, cemented by shock to the ground below the tree. Inu-yasha said nothing but turned his back to Sango. She saw him raise a hand to his face; she was sure he was wiping tears from his face.

"Inu-yasha…" she called up, her voice softening, "Kaede said she felt that Kikyo was at rest… do you know what happened?"

Inu-yasha sat still as stone for a few seconds, then, without warning, jumped into another tree, distancing himself from the demon-slayer. Sango searched for a few minutes for a glimpse of the red haori between the deep green of the leaves. She finally located him and stood below the branch, looking up at Inu-yasha. He made no indication that he knew she was staring up at him, but she knew that he could smell her. When he made no move to jump away, Sango was encouraged.

"Inu-yasha," she said, gently, knowing that she was entering dangerous territory," I have trusted you with my life in battle. More importantly, you have trusted me. I am your friend. If what Kaede says is true, then you must truly be in pain. I am asking you to trust me again and confide in me the occurrences of the afternoon."

To her surprise, Inu-yasha jumped out of the tree, landing in front of her, his back still to her. He began to walk towards the lake and she understood to follow him. He made his way to an opening in the forest and crumpled against a tree, defeated by his emotions. He put his head in his hands and Sango could see tears splashing in the dust at his feet. Sango knew that Inu-yasha had to truly put a lot of stock in her friendship to allow her to see him so shaken. She sat, silently, next to him. After a few minutes sitting together in silence, Inu-yasha took a shuddering breath and raised his head, staring at the tree in front of him.

"I killed her." He whispered

"Kikyo?" said Sango, equally as soft.

"Yes" He continued, "I should have killed her the same night that wretched old witch dared bring her back. I just…" He paused and looked down at his hands

"I loved her, Sango. What could I do? When I learned of how she was deceived into thinking that I betrayed her, I swore to avenge her murder. I thought that if I killed Naraku, Kikyo would realize that I did not betray her. Maybe she would return to me."

Inu-yasha coughed and his face hardened. His voice toughened and became rougher, embarrassed at his composure in front of Sango.

"You did not know her, Sango. She was an incredible person: brave, tough and incredibly beautiful."

"Sounds like Kagome" murmured Sango, without thinking.

A shadow crossed the hanyou's face.

"yeah… but the Kikyo you met was an empty shell of herself. It was out of respect of who she was that I had to kill her. She would not have wanted to exist in the manner in which she needed to after being resurrected."

"oh... Inu-yasha," cried Sango "that's terrible... But what happened to Kagome?"

Inu-yasha stood up suddenly, the expression on his face blazing and determined.

"Kagome is safer at home. That is all we should care about."

He made a motion to walk away, but Sango grabbed him by the leg of his kimono pants.

"Inu-yasha, I realize that you care for Kagome, but so do I! Why do you think that she's better off at home, instead of here with people who love her?" Inu-yasha cringed, but Sango continued "We need her. You need her, Inu-yasha"

The white-haired hanyou hung his head, once again overcome.

"Sango… what am I to do? Once the shards are collected, she'll return to her era. I... we'll lose her no matter what we do. I can't go through that again."

Sango was momentarily without words, but still clutched Inu-yasha's pant leg preventing him from moving away.

"I refuse to believe that she would leave us…that she would leave you. Do you realize what she's already given up to come here with us? She's made her choice, even if you don't realize that. She keeps coming back to us, and if you don't know why, then maybe you should go ask her yourself... You might be surprised with how strong she really is."

Inu-yasha turned around to look down on his friend sitting in the grass, "Do you really think I should?" he asked softly

"Yes" answered Sango softly, "I do. Go to her house, talk to her, as honestly as possible... Don't fool yourself into making the biggest mistake of your life... "

Inu-yasha smiled softly and nodded. He walked away a few paces and hesitated. He turned around again and faced the slayer, still on her knees, a smirk splayed across his face.

"Sango, I'd better not hear that you've told that hentai, the runt, or even the old hag, any of this." He added softly, "and thank you. Not just for today, but for all your help this past year. I didn't realize… Thank you"

As he bounded away towards the bone-eater's well Sango smiled.