Sigh—Sorry that it has taken me so long to get this next chapter up. Finals period, interviews, visits home and life have kept me quite busy these last few weeks. I've also been spending time plotting out the rest of the story, and it seems that I'm finally on track.

Ok, review responses are at the bottom, and I fixed the problem so people can't leave anonymous reviews.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha in any way, shape or form. I couldn't draw if my life depended on it, and my story-telling skills are not that great. I do own this plot, however, and if you steal it, I will sue you so I can pay off my loans :).

Correcting Mistakes

Chapter 4: Journeys

By: Remora29

As Inuyasha made his way to his brother's land, he reflected upon everything that had happened to him since Naraku's defeat. Proposing to Kagome, making preparations for their human wedding ceremony in her time and his, gathering the necessities for their demon mating, Koga...The happier times made him smile, but when he got to Koga, he frowned and felt the need to punch something. After whipping out Tessaiga and obliterating a few trees, he calmed down substantially and continued on his journey.

It was funny to him the way things changed. All of his life, his brother had hated him for what he was--a half-breed. Neither demon nor human, and shunned by all. Demons and humans weren't meant to get along, let alone procreate. His birth was nothing short of a miracle. His father and mother chose to have him and bring him into this world; they knew that his life would be hard, but they were sure that they would be able to protect him from the world until he could care for himself. They were wrong, and he was left alone at an early age, fending for himself and barely surviving. Sesshomaru, as his older brother, should have taken care of him, but he was jealous that his father had taken such an interest in the filthy creature and left him the Tessaiga. He had tried to kill him on more than one occasion, and often threatened the ones he loved more times than he cared to remember. But when he really needed Sesshomaru, he was there for him.

Sesshomaru had come to realize that his father, in his infinite wisdom, had made the right choice in leaving Tessaiga to Inuyasha. Humans were weaker than demons and needed protection, and not all were bad or beneath him as Sesshomaru had previously thought. The girl Rin was one example. She helped him when he was ill, and would not leave him alone even when asked. When he came across her dead body and revived her, he didn't understand what had caused him to do so. It was only recently that he learned that it was a feeling he had not had before: compassion. And Sesshomaru believed that if he could have compassion for an innocent child who did nothing but help him and love him, then he should make amends with his brother. So, a few weeks before the final battle, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had a long overdue conversation. They sat and talked, without swords or interruptions, for two days. Inuyasha vented all his anger and frustration at his brother, and Sesshomaru explained his actions. In the end, they had come to the agreement that when the final battle occurred, Sesshomaru would help Inuyasha and the others defeat Naraku. After that, Inuyasha would be welcome to return to the Western Lands as his proper role as second in command. While Inuyasha had explained the first part about Sesshomaru's help, he didn't tell his friends about moving to the Western Lands. He needed to think it over, and decide if he really wanted to return. The day before the Incident (as he now referred to Kagome's betrayal), he had resolved to return and was trying to find a way to tell the ones that he loved.

'The ones I love,' he thought to himself. Why did he keep repeating that? Who did that entail? He didn't want to think about those things, but he couldn't keep it off his mind. He knew who his loved ones were—Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, and, as much as he despised himself for it, Kagome. They had stuck with him through all the pain and trials of reforming the jewel and defeating Naraku, and they would be more than welcome to join him in the Western Lands. In fact, he wished they were with him now. He could really use their friendship and advice.

'As much as I want to hate her, I can't. Why do I still love her, after she hurt me so much? I didn't tell them how much damage she really did. Before she sat me, I was already injured, and her sitting me only made them worse. Then, after Koga broke almost every bone in my body, I felt like giving up. My spirit was leaving when I saw my mother. She made me return to my body because she said I hadn't finished my life's tasks yet and I had to rise to the challenge. After I returned to my body, I felt my bones try to reconnect. It took them a long time to restore themselves, and I felt every new connection made. It was excruciating. I don't understand why I had to feel that. I just wanted to die...'

Shaking his head to clear his depressing thoughts, Inuyasha looked up and saw that the sun had almost set. He was still a little sore, so he decided to catch some food and rest. After a quick dinner of roasted fish, he found a suitable tree and hopped into one of its sturdy upper branches. Breathing deeply, he relaxed himself and soon found a troubled rest.

Sango, Shippo and Miroku silently watched as Inuyasha sped away from Kagome. If he knew they were there, he didn't acknowledge him. He ran as if the hounds of hell were at his heels, but none of them could blame him. How else should he feel toward the woman who had ripped his heart out and almost had him killed? None of them wanted him to leave, but they knew that he needed time alone to take care of himself.

A quiet sob caught their attention and forced them to turn and look at Kagome. She was a pitiful sight. Black bags hung low beneath her eyes, which were clouded over with regret and sorrow. She looked as if she hadn't slept in a week with her rumpled and disheveled clothing. Her body looked markedly thinner, as if she hadn't eaten in a while. In short, she looked like hell. The remaining members of the fractured group wanted to comfort her, but didn't. She needed to understand the repercussions of her actions and face them on her own, without interference. They quietly left the forest and made their way back to Kaede's hut.

"I fear we have been remiss in our dealings with Kagome," Miroku said into the tense silence.

"How so?" Shippo asked, not understanding.

"We've been treating Kagome like she's from our time when she really isn't. Here, by her age, she would have been married with a child or two. In her world, she's still considered a child, and her recent behavior has shown me how wrong we were in our dealings with her...

"None of us said anything when she used the rosary excessively because we thought that it was amusing. We would all laugh, call Inuyasha names, and basically put him down in front of her. We took her side in every argument, and let her have her way in almost everything. In essence, we made her the leader when she really wasn't," he finished.

"But we were just having fun. I don't think we hurt the jerk; it's hard to hurt his feelings," Shippo retorted.

"No Shippo, you're wrong. Inuyasha has feelings; he just rarely lets others see them. We shouldn't have always sided with one and not the other. I'm not saying Kagome wasn't justified in using the subduing spell sometimes, just not always. And she is childish in some ways, we just overlooked it," Sango replied, for once agreeing with the monk.

"So what do we do now?" Shippo whined. He didn't want his family to break apart, but he felt helpless to stop it.

"Nothing," Miroku replied. "We wait for Inuyasha to contact Kagome and see where we go from there." With that comment, the group headed inside for a much-needed rest.

Days passed with still no word from Inuyasha. Then weeks. The group tried to return to a semblance of their normal life. Sango and Miroku would often venture to one of the nearby villages to perform exorcisms and small demon exterminations. They never really left for a long time or encountered many problems, but they needed to be doing something. All of the sitting and waiting was driving them insane, and, if they thought about it enough, they were running away from Kagome.

Kagome was in terrible shape. She barely ate or slept, and spent her days sitting beneath the Goshinboku waiting for word of her beloved. At night, when she came into the hut to sleep, she would curl into a ball, silently crying to herself and cursing her stupidity. She missed Inuyasha: his eyes, his hair, his laugh, and his swagger, everything about the young hanyou that she had betrayed. Beaten down by life, she was ready to do whatever it took to regain his love and be by his side forever. After all, that's what she promised him, wasn't it? And she wasn't about to go back on this promise.

One morning, about three months after Inuyasha's departure, Kagome felt a prick on her skin and swatted at something—Myoga.

"Ah, good morning Kagome. And how are you today?" Myoga asked, only to be polite. Anyone could look at the girl and tell that she was in bad shape. He actually pitied her. He knew she was suffering, but so was Lord Inuyasha, and it was his duty to make sure she understood this.

"Myoga!" she yelled, happy to see him. "How's Inuyasha?"

Myoga knew she would ask him about his master, and he didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want her to know how badly Inuyasha was doing. Instead of lying, he decided to ignore the question completely.

"Kagome, we have much to discuss. Lord Inuyasha has sent me here to bring you and your friends to him. He desires to speak with you."

Kagome didn't know how to react to the news. Should she be happy that he wanted to talk to her or sad that he sent Myoga to her with the message instead of telling her himself? Did he still hate her or did he want to work things out? Would she have a chance to redeem herself or would she be condemned to love him from afar? She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that the others had entered the hut and were conversing with Myoga.

"Is that okay with you, Kagome? Kagome? Hello?" Sango asked, trying to figure out if Kagome was fine with their plan to leave out in the morning for the Western Lands.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure that's fine," she replied, distractedly. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She stayed slightly outside the circle of her friends, pondering her situation.

The others looked on at Kagome with mixed feelings. She seemed distant, but greedily ate the stew that they offered her for lunch. They could tell that she didn't know what to think about this recent development, but that she saw it as more of a positive sign than anything else. Also, they thought it would be good for her to get out on the road again and out of the village. She had moped around so long that people began to avoid her, thinking she had been cursed.

Dinnertime rolled around and the companions had finally finished talking to Myoga. He bid them farewell as he had other matters that needed his attention. Kagome had sat in a shocked stupor all day and had hardly spoken to the others. At least she ate dinner—in fact she had two helpings. Everyone was happy that she was getting her appetite back, although they were uncertain as to the outcome of her meeting with Inuyasha. None of them wanted to think about their group splitting up, so they decided to dwell on happier memories. The atmosphere of the hut was the lightest it had been since the Incident

Everyone went to bed early so that they could be well rested for the journey. Right after dawn, the travelers set out toward their friend's new residence, the Lord's Castle of the Western Lands. They knew not what awaited them, but they looked forward to the journey with eagerness, if only to see Inuyasha again.

Review Responses:

OmegaNight: I'm so glad that you like my story. I just found yours, Life Without Him, and I really enjoy it. About InuYasha's OOC-ness—yes, it is a plot device. I want him to punish her, and he will, but I couldn't have him do it with the regular yelling and screaming. She betrayed him and hurt him deeply, so I felt something a little more drastic was in order. That's what the next chapter is about—Kagome learning what she has to do to be forgiven. About the pairings: there were be some Miroku and Sango, and a little Sesshomaru and Kagura (I don't put him with Rin cause I see her as his surrogate daughter—a person who teaches him how to care for humans), and probably Inuyasha and Kagome (but only after a lot of trials and I might be evil and not have them get together in the end).

Jade'sAttic: Thanks for your review. I'm glad you read the story even though its summary is generic. I didn't want to give too much away in the summary, but I guess I should make it more interesting if it's scaring readers away :).

Whimsy: I know what you mean about some of the other stories, but then again that's how some people see romance. Not me, but it may be because I'm slightly older.