The one night I decided to stay in my time for an extra day. After all, what was the damage? I was sure Inuyasha could hold off shard hunting until I was back, and from what I heard, nothing really happened when I was gone. I felt like it was my right to stay with my family…

But that's the night when I couldn't sleep, and when I cried for a reason I didn't know. It was this sickening feeling, my whole body was shaking and I couldn't stop it. Little did I know that that was the night Inuyasha went missing?

I returned early to the feudal age, sprinted through the forest named after my beloved and tripped at the famous tree. I took my time getting up, slowly looking up at the hugeness of the tree trunk, the slowly moving branches and the sunlight filtering through the twinkling leaves.

It was a beautiful sight that caused my heart to sink. It was practically the same sight I first seen Inuyasha; the only difference was that he wasn't there. Tears trickled down my cheeks, but I made no move to wipe them away. My heart was heavy with grief, and it sank a little bit more.

When I pulled myself up, I took a moment to watch the tree before me; the only sound was the blowing breeze against the green leaves. I walked towards the tree and placed my hand on the trunk. I suddenly felt a little reassured, but it did little to calm myself.

When I pulled my hand back, I took my time to get to the village. I made sure all my tears were locked away, and put a turmoil free expression on my face. The sun was beating down on all the land, which also made me feel a little better but my thoughts kept retuning to Inuyasha, what could have happened to him…

But a logical (Or denying) part of my brain asked me why I was so upset. Nothing was wrong, and I was just over-reacting. It was my lack of sleep, or the upcoming math exam causing me to feel so depressed and worried. Maybe my time of the month was fast approaching? Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Inuyasha, and it wasn't serious.

I walked into Kaede's shelter, a forced smile on my lips. It faltered. Inside the hut, almost everyone was in the same mood I was in previously. Solemn expressions greeting me as I stepped away from the makeshift door. Kaede didn't look at anybody, she stared down at the bowl of tea she held, steam drifting up and tickling her olden skin.

Miroku was almost the same as Kaede, no expression was on his face, but in his eyes shown all the pain he was feeling. He held his staff the same way Inuyasha held Tessaiga when he was sleeping, leaned against his shoulder while he folded his arms around it. He didn't look up at me, either.

Sango did her best to smile as she seen me, but it was forced, and clashed with the unshed tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth to greet me, but no sound was made. She quickly clamped her lips together, before chewing on her bottom one. I could tell she had been doing this for a while, because it was swollen and plump. She looked away from me, as if saddened by my presence. Maybe she just didn't have the words.

Shippou was in her arms; he was the only one openly crying. His tiny shoulders shook as he took a ragged breath in, more tears leaking from his childish eyes. He grabbed his fox feet, sitting straightly on Sango's lap. He sniffled and looked at me.

A sign of happiness filtered through the tears in his eyes, but it faded quickly. He got up from Sango's lap and leaped at him, his arms out, as he was ready to embrace me. I caught him quickly, only a brief look of shock on my face. It was gone, replaced with concern as the kit resumed crying.

I looked around, looking at each of them again, before moving forwards and seating myself beside Sango. She pulled her lip between her teeth again, grinding it softly. For a minute it looked like she was going to speak again, but the hut remained soundless, only Shippou's sobs to chase of an uncomfortable silence.

I patted his back before taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to speak but Miroku beat me to the punch.

"Inuyasha has been kidnapped." His voice was silent, sorrow wearing it down. I gasped, my eyes wide. I thought I didn't hear him right, so I shook my head in a soft motion and squeaked.

"P-Pardon?" He looked uncomfortable, almost as if he was trying to find courage to speak again. Fortunately for him Kaede was able to speak, and she retold the tail that was only recently told to her. Apparently, A demon puppet came in the night. There was a huge battle, no one hurt but the puppet. In the end, a tentacle was shot through Inuyasha's gut, laced with poison that caused him to lose consciousness.

That's when the tentacle wrapped around his waste and carried him into the barred, and they both slowly disappeared. As they were fading, Naraku's voice told them not to come to find him, for Inuyasha wasn't staying with him, but with a close friend that was told to treat him as she found fit.

They all reassembled at the hut, telling the story and sinking into depressed thoughts. If I weren't so numb, I would've found it ironic how I didn't feel as sad as I did coming out of the well and finding no Inuyasha nearby. No more tears came out of my eyes that day, and deep into the night.

We spent most of out time to ourselves, even Shippou stopped crying, settling into the empty phase with me. But unlike anyone else, he didn't leave my side. He stayed by me. I thought it was because he felt more comfortable, or maybe it was because he was scared I was about to leave, too.

For weeks we moped around, moving from town to town, looking for a whisper About Inuyasha or anyone who would be interested in keeping him. We found none. It was the next night, after was strayed from a different village that we made a campfire and all sat around it. For some reason our hearts didn't weep alone, and we all found a comfort by being together.

We conversed well into the night, a lighthearted topic. This is how I pictured Inuyasha would've wanted it, normal. Like he wasn't gone at all. If he were dead (Like we grew to assume) then he wouldn't want us to be depressed. My smile was real that night, and my brain wasn't sifting through morbid death scenes.

I almost felt like everything was going to be back to normal, and soon, too.

The conversation drifted from idle topic and onto Inuyasha. The feeling was gone, and instantly we felt alone. Shippou tucked himself in my lap, holding my hand with both of his alarmingly small hands. Sango scooted closer to Miroku, not as a romantic gesture, but because I could tell she felt as alone as I did.

Miroku reached out and grabbed her hand, which she squeezed back. If Inuyasha was with me, I would've jumped up and laughed, telling him I told him that they liked each other. That idea made me feel more wrong than ever.

Shippou shook his head and tried to cheer us up before bed. Sango brought him to bed, leaving Miroku and I alone. Alone. We all felt so alone. And then there was this fiery hand squeezing my throat.

"Stupid Inuyasha!" I spat, unable to control what I was saying. I wanted to cry. "He should've been stronger!" And I did cry, I started to sob. Miroku looked surprised, confused at my outburst before he calmly listened to what I had to say.

"He shouldn't have let that thing take him! He should've fought harder. He shouldn't have been alone! Why didn't you help him?" I felt like it was everyone's fault. I wanted to scream at everyone for letting this happen. "Curse that Naraku into hell! Why did he do this?"

And that's when my heart pointed the blaming finger at myself and I knew it was true. "Why did I have to stay at home an extra day? I should have been there! I could have burst through the barrier with my arrow!" I continued to cry, my throat aching from the sobs, my stomach hurting. I was blinded with tears, numb with sorrow.

I felt so lost, so alone and numb that I almost didn't notice Miroku wrap his arms around me. I openly cried into his chest, the first time I really cried since I learned Inuyasha was gone. I soon calmed myself, now feeling more stupid than upset. Miroku didn't seem to have a problem. In fact, he almost seemed proud that I cried.

I excused myself to bed and fell asleep quickly. Miroku stayed awake, allowing me to leave. When I woke up, he was still sitting by the fire, though that by now was just smoke billowing into the gray skies. It wasn't a pleasant day.

We traveled again, through the rain. Though, again, we all felt better. Miroku was up to his antics again, making grabs at Sango, and then Shippou would call him an idiot under his breath. Sango would smack him, and I would shake my head.

After the rain got to unbearable, we once again made a shelter in the forest and slept early, we were almost all sleeping until Kirara growled loudly, Shippou jumped, and the rest of us groggily sat up.

Kirara burst into flames and flew into the forest, despite Sango's frantic calls of protest. We all got up and ran after the two-tail fire demon, worried out of our sleepy minds. We caught sight of Kirara slowing down, and eventually stopping in the middle of a dark and rather spooky looking forest.

And that's when we seen the collapsed body of Inuyasha, leaning against a tree.

To Be Continued...

Bwahahaha. Stay tuned for part.2