"So…what do you want to?"

"Hmm…I'm not really sure."

"Well, there are many things we can do…"

"Oh? Like what?"

"Allow me to demonstrate…"

A tinny version of The Killers' Mr. Brightsides blared from his pocket as Inuyasha leaned in to kiss Kagome. He sighed, and Kagome giggled, slightly red in the face. He flipped open his phone.

"Yeah? This had better be good…" He blinked, as he heard the response. Confusion showed on his face. "Kaede-domo? I haven't talked to you in ages, how- " He was cut of in mid-sentence as he was told something he was never expecting.

The phone hit the ground.

Inuyasha stared at the wall with a frozen look. His amber eyes seemed to take in nothing at all.

Kagome reached out a hand. "Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Before her hand reached his face, he spoke.

"She's dead…Kikyo's dead…"

Two girls and one boy stood in front of the guys' room. Kagome was gnawing on her bottom lip, Sango had a concerned expression on, and Miroku was scratching the back of his head.

"What should we do?" asked a worried Kagome. "He's been locked up in there for the past three hours…"

Miroku sighed. "Well, I guess I could go try talking to him…it is my room, too, you know."

The others nodded. Miroku sighed again and unlocked the door. He slipped in and closed it with a wink at the girls.

Inside, he turned around. Inuyasha was sitting with his back against the wall, the Tetsaiga resting upon his shoulder. His eyes were shielded by his silvery bangs.

"Inuyasha? You alright?" Miroku tentatively asked.

No response.

He walked over and crouched in front of the tormented boy. "Kagome said something about a death?"

Inuyasha's head slowly rose. When his eyes met Miroku's, the latter recoiled slightly. Now there's something I didn't expect…not from Mr. Hardheaded over here…

What he saw was sadness, confusion, and desolation. This isn't the Inuyasha I know…

Miroku sat down, cross-legged, in front of his friend. "Who was Kikyo, Inuyasha?" he asked as kindly as he could.

"She was…a friend…" The words came out hoarse. He saw Miroku's skeptical eyes. "More than a friend, maybe…I met after right after I got out of the orphanage I lived at, when I was something of a delinquent. Feh, I think I tried to mug her…"

"Listen, lady," I growled. I flicked a switchblade open, holding it in front of her beautiful face. "Don't make me use this…just hand over your money."

"Why?" she asked. No emotion registered on her face. "Why would you become this person?" Her hand touched my cheek.

I stood, hypnotized. Finally, I smacked her hand away and shook my head. "Just who the hell are you, to be tellin' me who to be?"

The woman looked at me, and smiled slightly. "I am…Kikyo," she said. And then, she embraced me. In shock, I just let her hold me, confused. She released me, and walked away. Her wallet was in my hand.

For the weeks after that I watched her from the shadows and alleyways. I traced her routine; what stores she went to, what times she was on what streets. And she knew I was there…she had to, because she called me out in a park one day, when I was watching her from a tree.

"Won't you come down?" she called without looking at me. I recoiled slightly, before grudgingly leaping down. I sat on the bench next to her.

"Who are you, stalker?" she asked, nibbling on some bread.

"I'm not a stalker!" I pouted, arms crossed. "My name is Inuyasha, and I'm just…curious…about you."

We sat in silence for maybe fifteen minutes. Suddenly, she stood up. "I'm visiting my grandmother, Kaede, today…would you like to come?"

I blinked. "Er…sure," I muttered, looking away. At first, nothing happened. Then, after a about a minute, nothing continued to happen. I turned, and saw her walking down the sidewalk just outside the park. "Hey!" I yelled, racing to catch up to her.

And that's how it went. For a few years, actually. Sometimes we would visit her one-eyed grandma, or else we would relax in the park, just talking. Well, she was doing most of the talking, really…

Then, a year ago, I told her I loved her. In the park. I looked down, afraid to meet her strangely cold eyes. She lifted my chin with her hand. As she looked at me with her expressionless gaze, I felt trapped.

"Inuyasha," she began. "I am not for you. Go, make something of your life, become something other than an urchin mugging innocents." Actually, I had stopped mugging people shortly after I met her, but I was living more or less in the streets, or in empty apartments. "The place for you to go, where you can complete your life: Tokyo University. Go there, to make yourself a whole person."

She walked backwards away, into the street. I was too stunned to do anything. I just…watched her go.

For a while after that, I searched for her. I tore up the city looking for that woman. But I couldn't find. One search brought in front of Tokyo U. I stared at it for a brief time, and then I made up my mind.

"And now I'm here, and she's dead," finished Inuyasha.

Miroku was digesting all of this information. "That's…rough, Inuyasha." He shook his head slightly. "However, you have a commitment to Kagome. It's fine to feel morning, but I think you've found love again…"

Inuyasha head snapped up, hurt in his eyes. "How can I love someone when the first woman ended up a victim?"

For once, Miroku had no comment.

"How did she die?" snarled Inuyasha. He pulled slightly at the uncomfortable collar of his suit. "Tell me, Kaede-domo."

He had insisted on going to the funeral alone, despite Kagome's many protests.

The squat old lady looked at him with her only eye. "After she left ye, she lived as a miko for a Kyoto shrine. One time, a badly injured crook named Onigumo arrived, seeking a hiding place. He fainted on the stairs, and Kikyo took him in, and treated his wounds. However, once he got better, he seemed to have gone completely crazy. He began to call himself Naraku, and, according to Kikyo, acting very strange. One day, he tried to rape her, and when she resisted, he strangled her to death, then ran…" Her eye widened as she looked into the fiery amber orbs before her.

Hatred and anger were etched into the boy's face. His slightly exaggerated canines were bared.

"I swear," he began. "That I will end this Naraku's horrible life and avenge Kikyo's death!"

"What do you mean you'll be gone for awhile? What the hell does that mean?" Miroku inquired angrily.

Inuyasha slipped a red tee-shirt over his white cold-gear UnderArmor shirt, matching his red nylon pants. From his black belt hung the Tetsaiga. "I told you, I'm going to find and destroy this Naraku, the one who killed Kikyo."

Miroku actually looked angry. "What about school? You know, the one Kikyo wanted you to go to? This one?"

Inuyasha ignored him, heading for the door.

"What about Kagome?" Miroku pleaded. "What about her?"

Inuyasha paused. Then, he grasped the doorknob, and left the room, answering Miroku's inquiry with a simple, yet rough "Feh."

He was almost to the stairs when Kagome came up. She looked at him, and smiled. That fell off her face when she saw his expression, and the sword he carried.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"I'm going away for a little while," he said gruffly. He continued on towards the stairs.

"Inuyasha!" she called, the anguish so obvious in her voice.

He didn't even hear her voice as he descended into a new life.

Okay, okay, I know I have some explaining to do. The reason this is so late is simple: laziness. I'm sorry. I'm a selfish bastard. I've been going to parties, screwing around, and wasting time which I could have spent writing. Plus, I've actually fallen in love, something I was NOT expecting to do in high school. I have the awesomest girlfriend ever, and I want to spend as much time with her as possible. However, I've recently gotten a rush of ideas about this story, and its gonna take on a darker edge, at least for a little while. Plus, I'm gonna stop trying to think of things for my SDK fic, and stick to this one for as long as I'm in a creative mood. Once again, sorry for the delay. I'll try harder. If you're reading this, please review!

Kei