I nearly fell out of the tree right then and there. I was truly speechless. Those were about the last words I expected to hear out of Kagome's mouth. Just a minute ago I was verbally tearing her to pieces, and now I'm falling in love with her all over again. She loves me. I tried to stay cool when I jumped down from the branch, but when I saw her, she took my breath away. I always thought she was a cute girl, but today she was every bit the beautiful woman. She was wearing a kimono, the really nice kind I'd sometimes see on girls dressing up for a festival. It covered her body more than her usual uniform, but to me, she had never looked sexier. And her loose knot of hair only accentuated her stunning face and perfect skin. I wanted to hold onto this moment. This beautiful woman was standing in front of me, asking for my forgiveness, confessing her love for me!
"Ka-Kagome," I said unsure of what to say. My heart was pounding.
"Please, Inuyasha. I've never wanted to do anything that would hurt you. I'm so sorry. I-" Her eyes were pleading with me. I couldn't stand it any longer. I pulled her close to me, still unable to speak. I held her for a long time.
"Let's take a walk," I said to her.
"I'd like that," she said softly, smiling. We began to walk away when Miroku called out.
"Inuyasha! Catch!" He tossed Kagome's backpack to me. I wasn't really sure why, but I decided to take it anyway.
After fastening the pack behind me I looked to Kagome, who was trying to make sure the kimono did not drag on the ground.
"I'll carry you," I told her.
"But you're already carrying-" I scooped her up in my arms, cradling her as gently as I could.
"Keh! You barely weigh anything!"
"Thank you." The truth was I really needed to hold her. I savored that walk through the forest, taking every so often to gaze into those doe-eyes of hers. She looked back, but blushed under my unabashed stare. She seemed to have taken a step back from her earlier boldness and had become very quiet.
"When you said all that stuff before…" I started, finally breaking the silence. She looked away.
"Don't feel weird about it, ok? I probably sounded really stupid, but I felt like I had to say it or else I would, I don't know, burst or something. But if you feel weird about it, I'll never mention it again." I stroked her face and guided it towards mine.
"No! Listen, it made me feel happy! You make me feel happy, Kagome! I know we fight and get jealous sometimes, but there's no one on this earth that I'd rather spend my days with. There's no one else I'd rather laugh with, cry with. And there's no one else I'd be more honored to be loved by, because there's no one else I've ever loved this much. I never knew anyone could make me feel so deeply, Kagome. I owe it all to you."
A tear fell from her eye, which I took the liberty of kissing.
"Don't cry," I murmured, which only resulted in more tears. "Keh! I guess I'll just have to kiss away every last one of these suckers."
Kagome let out a giggle.
"Want to sit down for awhile?" she asked. I put Kagome down carefully and spread out her "sleeping bag" which had been stowed away in the backpack.
"Kagome, there is something else I want to say. I said some pretty shitty things to you this morning-"
"It's okay," she interrupted me. "I totally deserved it."
"No, it was outta line. That stuff about Kouga and Kikyo…I was just so angry."
"I know you were, but that was my fault." I looked at her, still surprised at her willingness to take blame, as she smoothed out part of the blanket with her hand. "Look, I was talking to Kaede today. It really made me think about you and me and Kikyo. I know there's a part of you that still cares for her and wants her to be safe and happy. And it's exactly that concern you have for others that I love about you. I want to do anything I can to help her as well. If spending time with you makes her happy you should do it."
"Is this some kinda trick?" I asked cautiously?
"No. For once, no games. I'm serious. I'm okay with it."
"From now on, I'm going to make it my mission to make it up to you," she whispered in my ear. "No matter what."